The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1921-03-10

| OF the house.
Gardeners gone (" he exclaimed.
rs he came up to the men.
Some Of the party removed their
| hats.
oh, not that way--not that way 90
exclaimed tho doctor. ~ mean he's
gone-skipped-bcat It, If you under
stand. Most extraordinary was
taking his pulse. II was about formal.
and he seemed resting easier. so I
slipped downstairs for the antidote.
Nhen ] went back-l was only gone a
moment-there wasn't sight or sound
Of him"
Sergeant Grey conducted a swift
examination, not Of Gardeners room.
but OF the one in which Allan was ly.
ing. lie was rewarded by finding the
Iittle slip of paper. with a few crys.
taIs OF powder still cllnging to IT, The
coroner examined the crystals through
MS magnifying glass; then, somewhat
duhiOuSly, raised them on n moistened
lnger to his tongue, and after n mo-
ment's hesitation swallowed in an i'm.
2ressive. scholarly fashion.
"Saccharum album !" he exclaimed.
Common white sugar! Most extraor.
dinaryi"
But Sergeant Grey was at the open
window. II was only an eight-foot
drop TO the soft earth, and to the po-
Iiccman there was no longer any mys-
terry In Gardeners disappearance. The
mock suicide was carefully planned
rlse TO he employed by Gardiner IL the
worst came TO the worst.
II want all of you men, and a horse
for EACH" said Grey quickly. turning
upon them like a general marshaling
his officers. There are dozen differ
ent trails he may follow, and we must
put man on each. will give imme-
date pursuit, in the hope of riding
him down before he can throw us Off
the scent and ! will leave II to you.
Mr.. Arthurs. TO organize the posse and
scour the whole country until he is To-
Gated"
Grey knew that the main road, If
followed far enough, dwindled into
pack trail, which in turn seemed to lose
Itself in the Businesses of the noun
tains. but in reality opened into pass
leading through the range. He gave
Gardiner credit for knowing as much.
and concluded that the fugitive would
make a bolt straight through the
mountains.
An hours hard riding brought him
into tremendously rough country.
where the trail nj times was nothing
more than a narrow defile or ledge.
and sheer walls of rock rose thou
sands of feet above. their giant edges
cutting the blue sky like the teeth of
n mighty saw. Far below. n ribbon of
green and white, the river rolled in its
canyon. Here and there thin stream
Of water sprayed down the mountain
side. cutting damp, treacherous belt
across the trail But at one such spot
Grey's heart leaped within him, for
there, Enthusiastically clear in the thin
soil and soft rock. were the marks of
a horses shoe, not an hour old. A
few minutes later he saw Gardiner
swinging round spur of rock half a
mile further up the pass.
Suddenly. at a turn in the path, his
eye caught a sight which made him
throw his horse back on his tracks. A
sheer precipice fell away thousand
feet below him. and beetling cliffs cut
on the sky above. Across the path
trickled little stream. And there I'm
the stream. so clear they could not be
misread. were the marks cut by a
horses feet sliding over the preci-
pice.
The policeman dismounted carefully.
There was scarcely room for him 10
pass his horse on the narrow ledge
Where the stream had worn IL II
sloped downwards at an uncomforta-
bile angle. He knelt beside II and
traced the marks Of the shoe-calks
with his finger. They led over the
edge. Eighteen inches down the
mountain side was fresh scar where
steel had struck a projecting corner of
rock.
A thousand feet below the green
water slid and swirled in the bed OF
the canyon.