The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1920-09-18

along the smooth surface of rock.
The door fitted so closely she could
not even determine it's exact outlines.
Baff1ed, her glance wandered about
the cell, seeking vainly for any sign
OF weakness, and then, giving way ut
terly to her despair, the girl flung her
self on the bench, covering her eyes
to shut out those hideous surroundings.
What should she do? What could she
do? What possibility of hope lay in
her own endeayOrs? From what
source could she expect any outside
help?
After those first moments of COM
plete despair. there came greater calm
ness, in which her mind began to Crap
pie with the situation. These outlaws
would never dare to take her life.
There was no occasion for them to re-
sort to so desperate deed. And
why should Lacy desire to take her
life? Most assuredly he did not, or
the act would have been already accom-
plished. The very fact of her hav-
ing been transported such distance
was sufficient evidence of his purpose.
The conspiratorS merely suspected her
mission in HASKELL they We're afraid
she knew more of their plans than snr
really did. The telegram, stolen by
Miss La Rue. had convinced the lead
ers that she might prove dangerous if
left 1T large. and they determined to
hold her helpless until their scheme
had been worked out and they were
safely beyond pursuit. That was I'M
doubtedly the one object of her capture.
Lacy had no knowledge that MendeZ's
band was at the rendezvous; he sup
posed them to be on a cattle raid to
the south. with only man or two Of
his own left as guard over Cavendsh.
Cavendish! Her mind grasped clear
ly now the fact that the man was not
dead. 1t had not been his body found
in the Waldron apartments, but that
of some other man substituted for
purposes of crime. Cavendish himself
had been lured westward, waylaid In
some manner and made prisoner, as
she and WestcOtt had suspected.
Through the cooperation of Lacy
he had been brought to this desert
den, where he could be held indefinite
ly, with no chance of discOvery-killed
il necessary. She had heard of such
places as this, read of them, yet never
before had she realized the possibility
Of their real existence. 1t all seemed
more like a delirium Of fever than
an actual fact. She rubbed her eyes,
gazing about on the rock walls, scare
ly sure she was actually awake. Why,
one might ride across the desert, and
pass by within a hundred yards of its
rim, and never even be aware of the
existence of this sunken valley. Yet
these men must have made use Of II
for years, as place to hide stolen
cattle and into which to retreat when
ever pursuit became dangerous.
Those huts without were not new
ly built, and this underground cavern
had been extended and changed by no
small labor. What deeds of violence
must have happened here; what
scenes of unbridled debauchery this
desert rendezvous must have wit
messed. She shuddered at the thought,
comprellending that these cells had
never been chiselled without pur-
pose, and that she was utterly help
less in the hands of a band of thieves
and cutthroats, to whom murder
meant little enough, If it only served
their ends. MendeZ, no doubt, was
brute and monster, yet it was Juan
Cateras whom she really feared-he
was cruel, Shiny, seeking to hide his
hatefulness behind that hideous smile;
and he had already chosen her for
his victim. Who would save her
Mendez? Lacy? She did not know;
and somehow neither of these was the
name which arose to her lips, almost
in the form Of prayer; the name she
whispered with faint throb of hope
| in its utterance-Jim Westcott.
The big miner was all she had to
RELY upon; he had been in her mind
| all through the long ride; he arose
| before her again now, and she well
coined the memory with conscious
throb of expectation. Those people
back there could not conceal for long
her absence from him; If he lived he
| would surely seek her again.
Her womanly instinct had read the
message in the mans eyes; she was
| OF interest to him. he cared; 1t was
no mere ordinary friendliness which
would bring him back; no! not even
| their mutual connection with the case
| of Frederick Cavendish. Her eyes
| Frightened, and a flush Of color crept
into her cheeks. She believed in him.
in his courage-he had appealed to
her as a man.
Suddenly she seemed to realize the
yearning Of her own heart. her utter
faith in him. He would come. he
must come: even now he might have
i discovered her sudden disappearance,
and suspected the cause. He would
never believe any lies they might tell
she had departed without a
word, without a message-he would
find out the truth somehow; he was
not the kind to lie down, to avoid
danger when It confronted duty-and,
hos,,les- he cared. She knew this,