The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-04-30
CHAPTER XVII.
The Trail to Ottawa.

to darkness and silence as profound
as that of my former Inconsistencies.
For the moment / felt no certainty
even that / was actually alive. yet
slowly, little by little, reality con
i quered, and / became keenly con-
scious of physical pain, while memory
also began to blindly reassert itself.
i could see nothing, hear nothing.
All about was impenetrable blackness
and the silence of the grave. found
myself unable to move my body and
when | desperately attempted to do
so, even the slightest motion brought
pain. | became conscious also of q
weight crushing down upon me, and
Estifiing my breath. One of my arms
was freei1 could move it about within
narrow limits, although it ached as
/ from a serious burn. BY use of it |
endeayored through the black darkness
TO learn the nature of that heavy OBJ
Jeet lying across my chest, feeling at
1t cautiously. My fingers touched cold,
dead flesh, from contact with which
they shrank in horror, only to en-
counter a strand of coarse hair. The
| first terror of this discovery was over
whelming, yet l persevered, satisfying
myself that 1t was the half-naked body
of an Indiana very giant of a fellow
| which lay stretched across me, an
! immovable weight. Something else,
| perhaps another dead man, held my
| feet as though in a wise, and when /
ventured to extend my one free arm
gropingly to one side, the fingers en-
countered a moccasined foot. Scarcely
daring to breathe, l lay staring up
ward and far above, looking out
through what might be jagged, over
hanging mass of timbers, although
scarcely discernible, my eyes caught
the Silver .glimmer of star.
II was alive-alivei Whatever had
occurred in that fateful second to de-
fleet that murderous tomahawk, its
keen edge had failed to reach me. And
what had occurred? Then it was that
the probable truth came to me-that
flash and roar; that last impression
imprinted on my brain before utter
darkness descended upon me, must
have meant an explosion, an upheaval
SCATTERING the cabin, bringing the roof
down upon the struggling mob within,
the heavy timbers crushing out their
lives. And the cause! But one was
possible-the half-keg of blasting
powder Kennedy had placed in the cor
ner as last resort Had Tim reached
it in final mad effort to destroy, or
had some accidental flame wrought
the terrible destruction? Perhaps no
one could ever answer that-but was
there alone, the sole survivor? Had
those others of our little party died
amid their Indian enemies, and were
they lying now somewhere in this
darkness, crushed and mangled in the
midst of the debris?
Kennedy, Elsie Clark, the half
witted boy Asa Hall-their faces
seemed to stare at me out of the black
ness. They must be dead Why I had
seen Kennedy fall, the needless feet
crunching his face and Asa Hall
tossed into the air and shot at as he
fell. Eloisel Eloisel I covered my
eyes with the free hand, conscious that
was crying like child-Eloise. My
God, Eloisei | wonder if tainted
knew so little after that; so little, ex-
cept that I suffered helplessly. If
did not faint, then I must have been
upon the verge of insanity, for there
was az time-God knows how long
ION II ~xya shlanIy
4 Sonic Slight, scarcely distinguishable |
noise aroused me. Yes, it was actually |
a sound. as though someone moved in
the room-moved stealthily as though |
upon hands. and knees, seeking a pas
sage in the darkness. l imagined / |
could distinguish breathing. Who, what
could it be? A man. a prowling wild |
animal which had scented blood? But |
for my dry, parched lips would have
cried out-yet even with the vain
doubt silenced me. Who
could be there--who? Some sneaking,
,owardly thief; some despoiler of the
lead? Some Indian returned through
he night to take his toll of scalps,
hoping to- thus proclaim himself
mighty warrior? More likely enemy
han friend. 1t was better that | lie
ind suffer than appeal to such fiend
lor mercy.
The slight sound shifted to the right
# where lay, no longer reminding
ne of the slow progress of moving
Dody, but Father as though someone
we're attempting blindly to scrape to-
,ether ashes in the fireplace. pressed
ny one free hand beneath my neck.
nd thus by an effort, lifted myself
o as to see more clearly beyond the
boulder of the dead Indian. The first
my, Pickering spark of fire had caught
be dry wood, and was swiftly bursting
nto flame. In another moment this
ad illumined that STOPPING figure, and {
ested in a blaze of light upon the /
1wered face, bringing out the features !
S though they were framed against +
ne black wall beyond-a woman's
ace, the face of EloiseI
| gave vent to one startled, inarticu- ?
tie cry, and she sprang to her feet, $
ne mantling flames girdling her as
lOloh she were a Statue In that first :