The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1921-02-16


figure. flew down the trail in front
Cranston pressed back the hammer OF
his rife The click sounded loud In
the silence. He had grown tense and
still, and the leaves no longer rustled
His eyes were intent on little
clearing, possibly one hundred yards
up the trail The trail itself went
straight through IL. And In an in
slant more. Hildreth pushed through
the buckbrush and stood revealed i'm
the moonlight
If there is one quality that means
success in the mountains IL is con-
slant, unceasing self-control. Gran
ston thought that he had II. But per-
haps he had waited too long for Hill
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's at
rention by any sudden movement. All
must be cautious and stealthy. But
in spite Of all these good resolutions,
Cranston's gun simply leaped TO his
shoulder in one convulsive 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 ii went
up. Ii was only a soft sound; but In
the utter silence II Travelled far. The
gun barrel caught the moonlight as II
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 IL was
wholly possible that Cranston would
have answered this question for him.
This same letter had fallen into GER
tain soiled. deadly pair Of hands
which was the last place in the world
that Hildreth would have chosen, and
IL had lten all the evidence that was
needed. at the meeting of the ring the
night before, to adjudge Hildreth a
merciless and immediate end. Hill
dreth would have preferred to wait in
the hills and possibly 20 write another
letter, but a chill that kept growing
at his finger tips forbade It, And all
these things combined TO stretch his
nerves almost to the breaking point
as he stole along the moonlit trail I'M
der the pines.
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
this final sound. when he saw the
CLINT that might so easily have been
gun-barrel, his nerves and muscles re-
acted at once. Not even fraction OF
second interviewed. His gun flashed
up and little, angry cylinder of
flame darted, as snakes head darts,
from the muzzle.
Hildreth didn't take aim. There
wasn't time. The report roared In the
darkness; the bullet sang harmlessly
and thudded into the earth and both
of them were the last things in the
world that Cranston had expect
ed. And they were not moment too
soon. Even at that instant, his finger
was closing down upon the trigger.
Hildreth standing clear and revealed
through the sights. The nervous re-
Spouse that few men In the world
would be self-disciplined enough to
prevent occurred at the same instant
that he pressed the trigger. His own
fire answered. so near to the other
that both of them sounded as one re-
port.
Most hunters can usually tell, even
II they cannot see their game fall,
whether they have hit or missed. This
was one of the few times In his life
that Cranston could not have told He
knew that as his finger pressed he had
held as accurate a bead" as at any
time in his life. He did not know still
another circumstance-tha in the
moonlight he had overestimated the
distance to the clearing and instead
Of one hundred yards 1t was scarcely
fifty. He had held rather high. And
he looked up, unknowing whether he
had succeeded or whether he was face
to face with the prospect Of a duel
to the death In the darkness.
And all he saw was Hiidretn, rock
ing back and forth In the moonlight
a strange picture that he was never
entirely 10 rorget. 1t was a motion
that no man could pretend. And he
knew he had not missed.
He waited till he saw the form of
his enemy rock down, face half-buried
In the pine needles. 1t never even oc-
Cured to him to approach TO see II he
had made a clean kill. He had held
on the breast and he had a world OF
confidence In his great, shocking, big
game rife. Besides, the rife fire might
attract some hunter In the hills; and
there would be time In the morning
to return to the body and make GER
tain little investigations that he had