Gunnison news-champion., 1921-01-28
RANDALL
PARRISH

rsn u' ter rn"y naG uUrrEeuy uepart-
.1 o. haf al BEEN carefully planned.
With NarsIu 10 ch"0.. ~. time. aud
Nmu executed quietly. TEsir only mis-
abe ars .r leaving him behind alive.
EuI f0r that one error no one ever
.-n.' hngr snusu uha' had occurred
Jr dreamed ~ her fate. And uou as-
-u--I ~ safety. believing the dad
.nn0f r,ll nn tales. that They had l.fr
.rr.rf no evidence NJ 'harr crime. the
ru'rl aas rfa.u- car"'ss-l7 ur-usz The
.r... rr..r. seeking arrraas here
ed. 'n rar.'.1s urS
s.,|'r r.-nct bic lo--. ro ~. len,
.rr .r.-n' a aarr- hn'" l" rrrr.m.
-.. 'n-.'' r-a.'r- first and then
.... .. ns ahle 'ha animal gusr~h.f
'. f .r' leaving tho hueA zsIu there.
fn -s.r railing 0r 'ha ground be
-'r.h.H ne steep slfo ~ butte. md
.. 'rr 'nr distant horizon with a rold
glass II was tracEl,s- waste. dr-ar
ruf deserted u Hll ne Sur rhIns
rha' moved crossed his range u
,i.I0n: nud. ~ last. he snapped the
held glasses hack INTO their cuse.
slipped down the s'o.t. face % the
butte. H1t silently -.mOuut.d
Tie sun vas som. time past The
meridian end lc '..' coneia~-t those
r, fu.lor.-l rnuf r.r b. far from she
rruV hc urs catr7 ar.us tn loraf.. he
ram" up"r % rn less 'hHu an hour.
leading straight down @ ua-rO. ynl.
Icy. 90 l"rr GENERAL course vus directly
west o., H,m0un'rI. nnd studied ,he
'~urlr n'h rarc This was bis party
hr,orH dugh'-fve horses one with
spr' lnu'
NJ hour later he found whore the
pn~'y hni halted. mode q FIRE among
zmua r"rAs and prepared food He
studied every sign with care h0g!u,
Tor som" message ~ EUlhunra from
her hu' there was none Either she
Ind h-rn 700 carefully watched ny her
rur'"r- or had given up Iu despair
any Thought uf rescue Doubtless she
h"ifrIrd him dead also; p"rhaIrs had
even Witnessed the blow struck. but II
wt would Hssuredly have heUu In.
furm-' of what hud happened. The
stamping of fhe ponies h0Ufs lUdi-
-ated 'hnr the party had remained In
that SPOT FOR some time. IN no hurry
20 proceed Shelby studied the foot
prints. satisfying himself that four
Ucr" Indian. nnd one white unques.
Hunnhlg MurkIln With only five
horse this moan' that the girl rode
EIih me ~ the mou. probably the Kid.
u" discovered where she probably
WAS sitting during rhe meal, torn
piece Of CruupIed saoking bearing
uufc" testimony thHi her hands had
been bound aud released so that she
might eat. The fellows were evident
g unRrrnId of her any longer. and
had not tied her up again when they
'esumed The Journey.
II was nearly sundown when the
rail he followed swervcd to the right
up steep bank. where the ponies
hoofs slipped In their struggle to at
min the top. Shelby gave the buck
skin his head. and the game little
devil went scrambllng up, until they
came forth on HAT plain above. Shel.
" iA'tfl'i biiN AAAAAR'' w
a higher point Of rock. lying concealed
oehind its summit. while he swept the
scene below through the field glasses.
He never had been there before, yet
he knew ahOu, where he was: this
must be Dragon creek. and not far
below would he Wolves hole. of which
he often had heard-a famous hiding
pt, To Inrlar
outlaws. These fellows evidently were
heading for there. but would they try
20 complete the journey? His hope
-entered on their camping somewhere
until morning: II sufficiently assured
u safety this would probably be their
|. choice. Through the field glasses he
studied the course OF the stream. and
the little patches Of wood intently. At
last he was rewarded-a faint spiral
Of blue smoke arose above some dis
tant trees, the evidence Of camp
fire. He lay there motionless, silent,
his eyes glued to the glass. planning
his action, and waiting for the night.
AS the gloom slowly deepened Shell
! by was able TO distinguish the flicker
| OF that far-off fire. but the distance
was too great to permit any knowl-
edge of its surroundings The trail
leading down was narrow. and rock
strewn. and he determined to try the
passage while faint glimmer OF twi-
light yet fingered. Leading the buck
skin. and moving with the utmost eau
tion. he began the descent.
The gloom did not greatly retard his
movements, for, through the glasses.
he had mapped out the salient fea-
lures. and so impressed them upon his
memory as to 60 forward now con-
fidently. The camp fire was located in
the third grove Of trees. and there
we're no signs Of human presence be-
/ tween. However. he took no chance.
but advanced quietly on foot. leading
his horse. and using every precaution
aEainst discovery,