The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1921-01-21

~ tf'fNNNt lHsit7T VIE 3tlfEs
burst forth, "and later she was sorry
! believe II was she who came bacl
and took the body away
y hardly see how that theory help
niiieh. How could she take him.
Perhaps she may know some So
cret passage There might be one IN
defneatli flo not know. vel hi wltn
other way could The body have beer
rcinoyed?"
shelby shook his head glo0mily. hi;
eyes searching the floor for any EVIL
denee and finding none. TO all ap
pearances II appeared smooth and
solid.
u don't know he said. "That idea
may be as good as any. You might
take this broken knife Of mine an
see II you can start ANYTHING. What
was goln' on out there2"
Nothing much that could see.
There are men hiding behind the bank
OF the creek think they are Indians
and there may be others Off to the
right In the weeds"
"I1st guard left there to see that
we don't get away. They'll wait until
dark and then try to burn us out,
] reckon; the bucks don't like my
shooting. That was a rifle"
Yes; the bullet struck the log"
He crossed over and looked out anx-
iously.
Il thought 1t might be signal, but
] guess not, Don't seem to be any
thing moving"
He Strengthened up again, his eyes
the room. III we only had
two more in this outfit we might give
those devils run for their money.
The trouble is we can defend only
two sides, an they know anyhow,
laud does. I'm goin' to haul this
bench over on that side; then you can
stand up there, and shoot through that
hole In the window while pepper
them from here in front. Wen make
Il hot while Il lasts"
She watched him shift the bench,
and then stood upon It to look out.
The sun had gone down, and the val
ley swan In a purple haze. If she
would utilize what little light still re-
manned, she must search at once.
Nothing out there2"
II can see nothing moving. 1t Is
growing dark. Let me take the knife"
He gave II to her and she got down
upon her knees on the floor, anXiously
testing the openings between the
blocks with the broken blade. Shelby
turned his head occasionally, barely
able 10 distinguish her movements, yet
felt little confidence In the success of
the effort. Any attempt at escape
through the door would he suicidal; In
all probability, In spite of the silence,
and seeming loneliness of the scene
without, a dozen rifles were even then
trained on the entrance, ready to
shoot them down the instant either
appeared. And there was no other
way out, unless II might be through
some secret passage existing under
ground. Macklin had certainly disap-
peared somewhere; the vanishing Of
his body was no miracle, and this
theory of how II might have been ac-
complished alone appeared reasonable.
In spite of his doubts, the man held
to Il measure OF hope; nothing else
than this remained which he could
cling to; their only chance lay in
some such discovery. Yet the woman
cropping on her knees in the deepen,
ing darkness gave no sign of encOur,
agement. Shelby could bear the strain
no longer In silence.
''fhere Is nothing to be found?" he
asked anxiously, no appearance of a
uapY" ....
She lifted her head, with face
turned toward him.
"Nothing that seem able 10 move.
she answered. II have found block
which does not appear to dit as tightly
as the others; ! can get the knife
blade between, and II doesn't seen
TO touch any earth below, yet TIN
slab is immovable."
"Let me try my strength"
lie started back to join her. but q
that instant there came "A suddel
burst OF ride fire without. bullet
thuddlng into the cabin walls, tn
sound punctuated by savage wells
| Shelby whirled about instantly an,
dropped TO his knees with eyes peer
Ing out through the opening hetweet
the logs. Olga also deserted he
search, and climbed to her post of dc
fsuse on the bench. The bullets Oh
no damage, generally finding billet 1
the solid logs, although a few crashe
through the planking Of the door. 7
Shelby the meaning was sufficient
plain; the real danger lay, as he e.
pected, at the rear; all this noise wa
being carried on merely to attra,
their attention. He called across, III
able to see his companion, but we
aware where she was.
Don't waste any shot until you $,
something within range. Those Il
lows ont there are just plugging avn
blindly. They'll never rush this sid
Keep your eyes wide open, thong