Williams news., 1921-06-03
By EDISON MARSHALL
Copyright. 1920. by Little. Brown & c


 1 that Hildreth would have chosen, and
 it had been all the evidence that was
 needed. at the meeting of the ring the
 night before, to adtudge Hildreth 8
 merciless and immediate end Hil.
 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 it. And all | these things combined to stretch his l nerves almost to the breaking point as he stole along the moonlit 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 glint that might so easily have been a gun-barrel, his nerves and muscles re-
 acted at once. Not even a fraction of
 second intervened. His gun flashed
 up and a little. angry cylinder of flame darted, as a 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- sponse 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 if 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-that 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 Hildreth, rock ing back and forth in the moonlight a strange picture that he was never | to forget. It 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. It never even oc- cured to him to approach to see if he | had made a clean kill. He had held | on the breast and he had a world of | in his great. shocking, big game rifie- Besides, the rifle fire might | attract some hunter in the hills: and there would be time in the morning to return to the body and make cer- tain little investigations that he had in mind. And running back down the trail, he missed the sight of Hfldreth dragging his wounded body. like an Injured hare, into the shelter of the 
 Whisperfoot,s that great coward. came out of his brush-covert when the moon rose. It was not his usual rising time. Ordinarily he found his best hunting in the eerie light of the twf- light hour; but for certain reasons, | his knowledge of which would be ex- -remely difficult to explain, he let this time go by in slumber. WhisperfOot lad slept almost since dawn. It Is a significant quality in the felines that hey simply cannot keep in condition without hours and hours of sleep. In his matter of sleeping, they are in a 1frect contrast to the wolves, who never sleep at all, unless 1t s with one eye open, and in still greater contrast to the king of all beasts. the elephant, who is said to Humber less per night than that great electrical wizard whom all men know md praise.
 The great cat came out yawning. as ,raceful a thing as treads upon the .arth. He was almost nine feet long rom the tip of his nose to the end of lis tail, and he weighed as much as many a full-grown man. He stood and awned insolently, for all the forest world to see. He rather hoped that he chipmunk. staring with beady eyes rom his doorway. did see him. He i would just as soon that Woof's little on, the bear cub, should see him too. But he wasn't so particular about l Voof himself. or the wolf pack whose t ong had just wakened him. And s bove all things. he wanted to keep ut of the sight of men.