The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1921-01-27

~'' u. W..
Her breath came fast as she read
and crunched the paper into the palm
or her hand. She understood, and felt
no hesitancy. Westcott had made dis
coveries so important he must com
municate them at once and there was
no other way. He dare not come tc
her openly at that hour. Well, she
was not afraid-not of Jim Westcott
She paused In her hasty dressing, won
derfng at herself, dimly aware that a
new feeling partly actuated her desire
to meet the man again-a feeling thor
oughly alien to the Cavendish mys
terry. She glanced into the cracked
mirror and laughed, half ashamed al
her eagerness, yet utterly unable to
suppress the quickened beat Of her
pulse.
She was ready almost In a minute
and had blown out the lamp. She al
most held her breath as she opeped
the, door silently and crept out into
the hall. Twenty feet down this mas.
sage ended in door. This was I'M.
locked, and yielded easily to the grasp
OF her hand. 1t opened upon a mar.
row platform, and she ventured forth
Az the bottom she was in a gloom al.
most fmpenetrable, but her feet felt q
cinder path md against the slightly
lighter sky her eyes managed to dis.
tinguish the gaunt limbs of a tree not
far distant, the only one visible and
doubtless the cottonwood referred TO
In the note.
SE"trS.ng there in the black shadow
or the building she realized suddenly
the terror Of her position-the intense
lo'"'liness: the silence scented ia
kini,e her. Still 1t was not far to the
tree. nnd surely there could be no dan.
ger mt this hour. If there had been
Wcstcott would never have asked her
to come. The very recurrence of his
hume gave her strength md courage.
1t was rough path, sandy, inter-
spersed with small rocks, and led
down into a gully. The tree stood on
the opposite bank, which was so steep
she had to grasp its outcropping roots
in order to pull herself up.
Even after gaining footing she saw
nothing of Westcott, heard no sound
indicating his presence. Suddenly
something moved to her right and she
shrank back against the tree, uncer-
tain If the shapeless thing approach
ing was man or beast. He was almost
upon her before she was sure; then
her lips gave utterance to little sob
of relief.
"Oh! You frightened me sol"
The man stopped, scarcely a yard
away, burly figure. but with face in.
distinguishable.
"Sorry to do that" he said, "but no
noise, please"
She shrank back to the edge of the
bank, conscious of the grip of a great
fear.
"You-you are not Mr.. WestcottY"
she choked. 'Who are you? What is
it you want?"
you've been playin' in a game
what's none O. your business. Now I
reckon it's the other party's turn to
throw some cards. Thought yer was
comm out yere ter meet up with Jim
Westcott, didn't yer?"
She made no answer, desperately
seeking some means of escape, the full
Significance of her position clear be-
fore her.
Got a nice little note from jim"
the fellow went on, "an' lost no time
a gittin' yere. Well, Westcott is not
liable to be sendin' fer yer again very
soon. What ther h."
She had dashed forward, seeking to
place the trunk of the tree between
the::, the unexpected movement so
sudden, she avoided his grasp. But
success was only for an instant. An
other hand gripped her, hurting her
back helplessly.
You are some sweet little lady's
man, Moore" snarled a new voice
raspingly. Nov let me handle this
business my own way. Go get that
team turned around. I'll bring the
girl. Come on now, miss, and the less
you have to say the better"
She grasped at the bark, but the
fellow wrenched her loose, forcing her
forward. "Keep still, you d tiger
cat" he hissed, cor I'll quiet you for
good''
"What is 1t you want of me? Who
are you?"
"We1l discuss that later. Just now,
move On-yes, straight ahead. You
see that wagon over there2 Well, that
is where you are bound ut present.
Move on pronto."
She realized the completeness of
the trap into which she had fallen,
the futility of resistance. She was as
helplessly I'm his power as though
bound and gagged. Before them ap.
peared the dim outline Of canvas
covered wagon silhouetted against the
sky. to which was hitched a team Of
horses.
AS they approached, the shapeless
figures Of two men appeared in the
gloom, one at the head of the team
and the other holding back the canvas
top. Her guard gripped her arm, and
peered about through the darkness.