Evening journal., 1922-11-03
CONTINUED From Our Last Issue.
EPISODE TEN
The Twilight of Mike
~


\ TO do this anyway, sooner or later
But with the noise Of the hunting
dogs filling the forest. QuiDtana was
afraid to fire.
About an hour later Quintana was
. s-en. challenged, chased and shot
at by State Trooper Lannis.
Quintana ran. And what with
the dense growth Of seeding beech
and oak and the heavily falling birch
and poplar leaves, Lannis lost Quin-
tana and then his trail.
The State Trooper had left his
horse at the crossroads near the
scene OF Darragh's masked exploit,
where he had stopped and robbed
Sard-and now Lannis hastened
{ back 20 find and mount his horse,
and gallop straight into the first
growth timber.
There was no sound OF DOGS when
Lannis rode in on the narrow,
spotted trail whence he had fiDshed
ouintana into the dense growth Of
saplings. that bordered Z.
= once. very, very far away west
ward in the direction OF Star Pond
no fancied he heard a faint vibration
4 n the ar that might have been
hounds baying.
He was right. And at that very
moment sard was dying, horribly,
among two trapped offers as big
and fierce as the dogs that. had
4 driven them into the drain.
Somewhere among the birches,
between him and star Pond. was
Harrod Place. And the idea oc-
CURED 20 him that Quintana might
have ventured 10 ask food and shell
ter there. Yet, that was not likely
because Trooper Stormont had
called him that morning on the tele-
phone from the Hatchery Lodge.
However TO reassure himself
Lann.s rode as far as Harrod Place
and found game wardens on duty
along the line.
Then he turned west and trotted
MS mount down 10 the hatchery,
where ne saw Ralph W!er. the
superintendent. standing outside the
lodge talking 10 his assistant
George Fry.
When Iann.s rode up on the op-
posite side OF the brook. he called
across TO wier:
You haven't seen anything Of
any crooked outfit around here, have
you. Ralph? I'm looking for that
kind"
See here" said the superinten-
dent. Il don't know but George Fry |
may have seen one OF your guys |
Come over and he'll tel you what |
happened an hour ago"
Fry's boyish face seemed agitated; |
he looked up at the state Trooper I
with the flush OF tears in his gaze I
and pointed at the rife Lannis car /
RED:
II ia had that" he said excited
IS. I'D have brought in a crook, you
bet,"
where did you see him?" in
CURED Lannis.
Jest west Of the Scaur, about an
hour and a half ago. 1 was stockin'
the head OF scaur Brook with finger
lings. You know how 1t is in
the woods. l kinda felt some
BODY near. And. by cracky'-there
stood a man with a big. black auto
matte pistol and he had a bead on
my belly.
Well said l. what's troubling
you and your gun. my friend?'-I
was that astonished.
He was a slim-built, powerful
guy with a foreign face and voice
and way. He wanted TO know II he
had the honor-as he put ito in
troduce himself 10 a detective or
game constable, or a friend Of Nike
Clinch.
Il told him I wasn't any OF these,
and that / worked in private
hatchery; and he called me a liar"
Young Fry's face flushed and his
voice began to CULVER:
That's the way he misused me-
and he backed me into the shanty
and I had 10 sit down with both
hands up Then ne filled my pack
basket with grub. and took my AK.
and strapped my kit onto his back.
And talking all the time in
his mean. sneezy foreign way-and
] guess he thought he was funny. for
he laughed at his own jokes.
He told me his name was Quin-
tsna, and that he ought to shoot me
for rat. but wouldn't because Of
the stink. Then he said he was
going to do a quick job that the
police were too cOwardly to do
llhk ne was --NAhH az AAAAA sAthf l
Clinch down to Drowned Valley and
kill him; and IL he could catch
Mikes daughter, too. he'd spoil her
face for life"
What noxt?" demanded the
Trooper impatiently. Tell your
Story and 'quit thinking how you
were misusedi" '
He told me to stay in the shanty
for an hour or he'd do for me good" |
cried Fry. 49,. "Once I got up and C
went to the door: and there he
stood by the brook. wolfng my s
lunch with both hands. I tell you c
he cursed and drove me. like . dog,
inside with his big pistol-my God {,
like a dog. .. A
"Then. the next time I took o
chance he was gone. .. And a
beat It here to get me a rifle" The
10y broke down and sobbed: HE 9,
drove me around--iike a dog-he =,
did"
You leave that to me-" inter- :,
rupted Lannis sharply. And. to -
wler: you and George had better0 y
get a gun apiece. That fellow might NJ
some back here or go TO Harrod -
Place II we starve him out" IN
wler said to Fry: go mp 70
Harrod Place and tell Jansen your
story and bring back two 45-70's
-. And quit sniveling. 49,. You
may get n shot at him yet" 81
pohfpd tho curtains If har oper GO