Licking Valley courier., 1921-03-17

more. Tie vague shadows UR The Two
men had vanished. but their progress
through the underbrush could b. plain.
ly distinguished. Feeling themselves
absolutely alone I'm that wilderness
neither made the slightest effort to
proceed silently. Shelby sat upright
on the edge Of the gully. straning his
eyes through the darkness.
A strange fortune had brought him
the very information he most needed.
His whole thought centered instantly
on The fate Of the girl. What course
wOnd-s she choose under these circlll>
stances, when the facts were finally
revealed to her? Undoubtedly she he
lieved him dead; her captors would
impress that fact upon her first of all.
so as to make her realize her com.
plete helplessness. Besides she cared
nothing for him; had married him in.
differently, merely to thus escape
from worse fate. He could not hope
that loyalty to him, under such condi.
tlons, would greatly influence her de.
| cisiOn. Somehow the thought hurt
Shelby, and brought to him the knowl.
edge that he did care. He cared very
much indeed, and this truth colored
his thought and decision.
He dare not follow those men nj
present; he could only wait where he
was, and plan his course of action.
There was no danger of his losing
them, for he knew where they were
going, and, in measure, at least.
about who they were. Shelby had
never been in that strange sink known
as Wolves hole, hut he had talked
with man who had. An immense
hole In the Bad Lands. through which
! flowed branch Of the Cottonwood
strange malformatlon of nature. so
| completely concealed as TO he invisible
until the surprised traveller stood OIL
Its very edge. and stared down into
the gloomy depths below. The walls
were preclpitous, impassable except
IN foot by daylight, and at only two
points could the sink he entered OF.
horseback; from the west beneath tn,
protection Of a cataract, where the
stream plunged headlong over a hgl
ledge Of stone, and fran The other
hSiremity down narrow ravinf
through tunnel scooped out by SOM
torrent In long-pnst ages. original"
discovered by wandering trappers
WHO camped there out Of the winter
storms. II had later become the head
quarters for an Illicit Indlnn trade lr
liquor and finally the rendezvous 70,
criminals Of all kinds, enger to ge'
beyond the reach Of the law. II was
rumored that there was actually Il
town there, with women Of class.
with certain rude attempt at GOV
ernment by q few self.copstltuted au
thQrities
Shelby visioned all this In his mem
ory, questioning his chance Of ever
successfully Invading such a spot with
out aropsipg suspicion. Il was plain
~ proven by their testimony thni
MaCklln was taking his captive 10 this
spot for safe hiding. He and his In.
dian accessories had ridden on. ang
iOus to reach this security with ms ~.
lie delay as possible. But would Shpl.
by dare to follow? To he sure. excppr
TO the Kid, he was unknown. which
might make him welcome. Yet the
danger Of detection was great.
Apparently. there was no Other
feasible way In which he could holn
TO serve Olga. He weighed this. with
no conscious thought Of himself. cold
ly and deliberately coultng the
chances, and decided to make the NJ
tempt.
Convinced as to his duty. and urged
TO II by the personal Interest hp fell N
the girl. Shelby cast all hesItancy
aside. He would make the attempt
fortune had surely favored him thus
fur. and might again. He went hack
TO where the buckskin waited. mount
ed the animal, quiet enough by This
time, rode down TO the edge Of III,
stream. and sat silently In the saddle
while the beast drank. II was dark,
clear night, the stars overhead like
lamps In the sky, the air cool and
fresh. He turned the pony up the val.
ley, making no effort to hurry the AMI
NAL. deslrOus only at present Of keep
Ing well In the rear of the two horses
men ahead. He knew the course they
would take, must take, up the valley
OF the Dragon Sas far as the great
bend; and then across the plateau un-
ti' they reached the Cottonwood. lie
would simply follow cautiously untll
daylight, then search for the trail 10
make sure, and endeavor from some
elevation, to pick them up with his
field glasses.
The grass In the valley was thick,
but not long. II presented no obstacle
TO travel, but the horses hoofs made
no noise. Finding the rider updemon.
Stratiye, the bucksklp lowered his head
and moved forward steadily at rapid
walk, Shelby swayng In the saddle,
hRf Qsleen, yet keenly awake to any
unusual sound.
Hour after hour passed, the valley
narrowing as they advanced, the hills
on either hand growing darker and
more sharply defined, and the ribbon
Of the sky above constantly contrast
Ing. The man endeavored 10 think,
but found II useless; there was little
he could plan In advance-only con.
tinue on and trust to fortune. His
mind lcaped from point 10 point, YET
settled upon nothing. He knew where
he was In a vague way. recalling to
memory the outlines Of this country
us traced upon the map, but by this
tlmc he w1s well beyond the range
Of his own cattle, or any region he had
ever hunted over. All about stretched
tGe desert Of the Rad Lauds; he
could picture In his mind the scene
presented from those bluffs, either Of