Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1921-04-02

The trail entered the heaVy tnlckelS,
and he had to ride slowly. 1t was az
wild a section as could be found on
the whole Divide And just as he
came to a little cleared space, three
strange dark birds flung up on wide
spreading wings. m
lie knew them at once All noun,
taineers come to know them before
their days are done. They We're the
buzzards, the followers Of the dead,
And what they were doing in the
thlcket just beside the trail Dan dld
not dare to think.
OF course they might be feeding on
the body of deer, mortally wounded
by some hunter. He resolved to ride
by without investigating. He glanced
up. The buzzards were lowering in
the sky. evidently waiting for him TO
pass. Then, mostly to relieve a curl
Gus sense of discomfort In his own
mind, he stopped his horse and dis
mounted.
The twilight had started to fall, and
already its first grayness had begun
10 soften the harder lines of forest
and hill. And after his first glance at
rhe curious white heap beside the
trail. he was extremely glad that II
had. But there was no chance to mis-
take the thing The elements and
much more terrible agents had each
wrought their change, yet there was
grisly evidence in plenty to show what
had occurred Dan didn't doubt for
an instant but that 1t was the skele-
ton of Landy Hildreth.
| He forced himself to go nearer. Inc
| buzzards were almost done, and one
| white bone from the shoulder gave I'M
mistakahle evidence Of the passage OF
bullet What had happened there
after, he could only guess.
He got back quickly on his horse.
He understood, now, why nothing had
been heard of the evidence that Landy
Hildreth was TO turn over to the
courts as to the activities of the arson
ring. Some one-probably Bert Gran
ston himself-had been waiting on the
| trail. Others had come thereafter.
| And his lips set in his resolve to let
this murder measure in the debt he
had to pay Cranston.
The Lennox house seemed very 81
lent when, almost an hour later, he
turned his horse into the corral. He
had rather hoped that Snowbird would
be at the door to meet him. The dark
ness had Just fallen, and all the lamps
were lighted. He strobe into the liv-
ing room, warming his hands an in
slant beside the fireplace The fire
needed fuel. It had evidently been
neglected for nearly an hour.
Then he called Snowbird His voice
echoed in the silent room, unanswered
He called again. then went to look Tor
her. At the door of the dining room
he found the note that ste had left
for him.
It told. very simply and plainly, that
her father lay injured in his bed. and
lie WIS u IGlIulH anu Wv "h"e -
could for him. She had gone for help
to the ranger station.
He leaped through the rooms to Len
nox's door then went in on tiptoe
And the first thing he saw when he
opened the door was the grizzled
mans gray face on the pillow.
you're home early, Dan" he said
"How many did you getT
1t was entirely characteristic
Shaggy old Wool is too proud to how
= over the wounds that lay him low, ant
This gray old bear on the bed had par
taken of his spirit.
"Good Lord" Dan answered. "HoV
badly are you hurt?"
"Not so bad but that Tn sorry that
Snowbird has gone drifting twelve
miles over the hills for help. It's
dark as pitch"
And 1t was. Dan could scarcely
make out the outline Of the sombel
ridges against the sky.
They talked on. and their subject
was whether Dan should remain tf
take care of Lennox, or whether he
should attempt to oyertake Snowbirf
with the horse. OF course the CIR
had ordered him TO stay. Lennox, or
the other hand, said that Dan cou'c
not help him in the least, and desired
him to follow the girl.
"I'm not often anxious about her,
he said slowly. "But It is long wall
through the widest part of the Di
vide. Some way--I can't bar accidents
tonight. don't like to think Of hei
on those mountains alone"
And remembering what had lain be
side the trail, Dan felt the same. He
had heard. long ago, that any ANNA
that vnce tasted human flesh loses Its
fear OF men and is never to be trusted
again. Some wild animal that still
hunted the ridges had, In the last
month. done Just that thing. He left
the room and walked softly to the
door.
The night lay silent and mysterious
over the Divide. He stood listening
The girl had started only an hour be
fore, and 1t was UNLIKELY that she
could have traversed more than two
miles of the steep trail in that time
Although the horse ordinarily did not
climb hill more swiftly than a hui
man being, he didn't doubt but that
he could overtake her before she
went three miles farther. But where