The Jasper news., 1921-03-31
By EDISON MARSHALL
cOpyrisht i1so. by Lttio. brown 4 CO

4
dreth to come; and the strain had told
on him. He had sworn to take no
false steps; that every motion he
made should be cool and sure. He
didn't want TO attract Hildreth'1 at
tention by any sudden movement All
must be cautious and steaIthy. But
in spite Of all these good resolutions,
Cranston'a gun simply leaped to his
shoulder In one convulslve motion at
the first glimpse of his enemy as he
emerged into the moonlight.
The end Of the barrel struck a
branch Of the shrubbery as It went
up. II was only soft sound: but In
the utter silence It Travelled far. The
gun barrel caught the moonlight as It
leaped, and Hildreth saw its CLINT in
the darkness.
He was looking for trouble. He had
dreaded this long walk to the settle
ments more than any experience OF
his life. He didn't know why the let
ter he had written. asking for an
armed escort down to The courts, had
not brought results. But II was
wholly possible that Cranston would
have answered this question for him.
This same letter had fallen into q GER
tain soiled. deadly pair Of hands
which was the iast place In the world
that Hildreth would have chosen. and
II had been all the evidence that was
needed. at the meeting Of the ring the
night before, to adjudge Hildreth a
merclless and immediate end. Hill
dreth would have preferred to wait In
the hills and possibly to write another
letter, but a chill that kept growing
at his finger tips forbade 1t. And all
these things combined to stretch his
nerves almost to the breaking point
as he stole along the moOnllt trail un-
der the pines.
A moment before the rush and whir
of the grouse flock had dried the roof
OF his mouth with terror. The tall
trees appalled, him. the shadows fell
upon his spirit. And when he heard
this final sound, when he saw the
CLINT that might so easily have been O
gun-barrel, his nerves and muscles re
acted at once. Not even a fraction OF
second intervened. His gun flashed
up and little, angry cylinder oi
fame darted, as a snakes head darts
from the muzzle.
Hildreth didn't take aim. TherS
wasn't time. The report roared In tn,
Carkness; the bullet sang harmlessiy
and thudded into the earth; and botl
Of them were the last things In thu
world that Cranston had expect
ed. And they were not a moment to,
soon. Even at that instant, his fnge
was closing down upon the trigger
Hlldreth standing clear and reveale,
through the sights. The nervous re
sponse that few men In the worl,
would be self-discipllned enough t
prevent occurred at the same instan
that he pressed the trigger. His owl
fire answered, so near to the othe
that both of them sounded as one n
port.
Most hunters can usually tell, eve
II they cannot see their game fal
whether they have hit or missed. Thi
was one o: the few times in his lit
that Cranston could not have told. Fl
knew that as his finger pressed he hL
held as accurate q "bead" as at an
time in his life. He did not know 81
another circumstanee-that in IN
moonlight he had overestimated N
distance to the clearing. and Instea
of one hundred yards It was scarcel
! fifty. he had held rather high. An
he looked up. unknowing whether 4
J had succeeded or whether he was fas
! to face with the prospect Of du'
to the death In the darkness
} And all he saw was Hildreth, rocl
, ing back and forth In the moonlight
! strange picture that he was ney'