Polk County news. [volume] (Benton, Tenn.) 191?-1983, 1921-01-13


arms. but didn't dare touch any to-
night"
You will not tell me where my wife
is being held?"
"What good, senior! You could aid
her not at all. There is no great harm
coming to her yet. Sacrista! why you
worry about her? bring her with
me; did / not promise?"
"Yes, / trust you. Pancha,' lie said
warmly. "and will do just wha, YOU
say. But-but, don't you understand:
if | knew where she was | would feel
better"
She laughed almost s'0rnfully.
bah! what the difference, senior?
You not know if told you. But us
not far away; perhaps by daylight
YOU might see Get from up there; log
house all alone under the bluff. Yet
you lie hid. senior, and trust all to me.
II have promised that"
Good senior; l will 60"
She drew her hand away, and he
knew she was gone, although no move
ment of her figure could he distin-
guished. Shelby swung the bag OF
provisions again to his shoulder and
began feeling his way blindly forward.
He had retained the knife, with
which he had effected escape from the
cabin, and. although the point OF the
blade had been broken he did not feel
entirely unarmed. There was no pos
sibiIity for him to lose the way, the
unbroken walls shutting him tightly
in so that even the star-decked sky
was invisible, while the path he must
follow led almost dizzily upward. II
was boulder-strewn and he fell twice
vet toiled steadily on, never permit
ting his hand to leave the guidance or
the wall to the right, and carefully
testing the placing of each foot in
fear of some pitfall. He could neither
Judge time nor distance, yet it was
long before light came into the SKY,
when he finally clambered over rock
barrier across the path, and came
upon a shelf of stone, the left wall OF
this strange cavern abruptly dlsap-
nearing. Fearful of what preclplce
might yawn there, as soon as he again
attained his feet Shelby fiattened him.
self against the one rock front remain
ing. scarcely daring to venture for
ward more than an inch or so at
time. A few feet brought him to the
caves mouth, a mere hole, scarcely
wide or high enough to receive his
body. He explored the black interior
to the length of his arms, finding II
larger within than at the entrance.
She insisted there was no danger. and
the silence seemed to prove the place
contained no inhabitant. Doubtless
the omen shelf of. rock would be eX-
nosed to view from the valley below
with the first flush of day. To avoid
discovery he must creep in out OF
sight.
This was accomplished without diff
ficulty the floor being fairly level, and
the roof rising so that he could almost
stand erect. Shelby explored every
inch of the space, knife in hand, and
NOT entirely satisfied until the task
was completed. 1t was only box of
q place, less than fifteen feet long.
and perhaps half as wide, narrowing
at the top, as though in some great
cataclysm of past ages two masses OF
rock had been hurled together, leaving
this little jog between. 1t was hot in
there, and Shelby, dragging after him
the bag of provisions, removed MS
coat. A few moments later he rolled
ii into the formsof pillow, and lay
down, staring ui Vat the black vault.
He could think now, recall all that
had occurred so swiftly, and weave
this and that together. He had acted
recklessly; there was no doubt OF
that. No one but blind fool would
have ever ventured alone into this
place to free a prisoner. He should
have ridden to Ponca, and called upon
his friends for help; perhaps he might
even have been able to obtain the
services of troop of cavalrymen from
the fort down below-the major knew
him and would believe his story. Why
hadn't he done this? Why had he been
so rash, and bull-headed? The an
swer flashed into his mind, as though
some voice had spoken-it was love
of Olga Carlyn! He knew it Instant
ly: made no further effort to deceive
himself. Lying there in that black
silence, staring blindly upward, he saw
the wcmon again as plainly as though
in the flesh-saw her, and knew that
he loved her. Her eyes smiled at him,
with such usefulness in their depths +;
there was nothing sullen about her eX-
preston any longer she was all wom-
an. and-he loved her.
He covered his eyes with an arm,
and rolled over. God wasn't there
ANYTHING he could do but waltz lie
felt wild to act: to accomplish some
thing; TO strike some definite blow In
her behalf. His wife! She was his
wife-Olga Carlyn! II meant much to
him now. How deathly still 1t was (;
how terribly dark. He felt hot and
stIt,ed there in the cave, yet did not
move. or change his position, and so
he finally fell asleep.
CHAPTER X.