, 1922-10-04
CHAPTER Xxx


fellow occupants of the room-fully
seven brawny men seated in chairs
about the walls. Lets hear you drop
your rifle" one of them said.
Bruce recognized the grim voice as
Simon's-heard on one occasion before.
He let his rifle fall from his hands. He
knew that only death would be the
answer to any resistance to these men.
Then Simon scratched a match. and
without looking at him, bent to touch
it to the wick of the lamp.
The tiny flame sputtered and flick
cred, filling the DON with dancing
shadows. Bruce looked about him.
Simon sat beside the fireplace. the
lamp at his elbow. AS the wick
caught, the light frightened and stead
led, and Bruce could see plainly. On
each side of him, in chairs about the
walls, sat Simon's brothers and his
blood relations that shared the estate
with him. They were huge, gaunt
men, most Of them dark-bearded and
sallow-skinned, and all of them regard
ed him with the same gaze of specula-
tive interest
Bruce did not finch before their
gaze. he stood erect as he could, in
stinctively defiant.
"Our guest is rather early" Simon
began. Dave hasn't come yet, and
Dave is the principal Witness
A bearded man across the room an
swered him. But / guess we amt
goin' to let the prisoner 60 for lack
of evidence"
The circle laughed then-a harsh
sound that was not greatly different
from the laughter Of the coyotes on
the sagebrush hills. But they sobered
when they saw that Simon hadn't
laughed. His dark eyes were glowing.
you, by no chance, met him on the
way home, did your" he asked.
81 wish l had.- Bruce replied. "But
1 didn't"
II don't understand your eagerness
You didn't seem overly eager to meet
u.s.
Bruce smiled wanly. These wilder
ness men regarded him with fresh In
terest. Somehow, they hadn't counted
on his smiling. 1t was almost as II he
were of the wilderness breed himself,
instead of the son of cities. I'm here,
am / not?" he said.s ut isn't as If you
came to my house first
Eyes, you're here" Simon confirmed.
"And I'm wondering If you remember
what I told you just MS you left Mar
tins store that day-that 1 gave no
man two warnings
II remember that" Bruce replied.
II saw no reason for listening to you.
I don't see any reason now, and 1
wouldn't If 1t wasn't for that row OF
guns"
Simon studied his pale face "Per-
haps you'll be sorry you didn't listen,
before this night is over. And there
are many hours yet in II. Bruce-you
came up here to these mountains to
open old wounds"
"Simon. / anne up here to right
wrongs-and you know 1t. II old
wounds are opened, / can't help it."
"And tonight" Simon went on as II
he had not been answered, "you have
come unbidden into our house. 1t
would be all the evidence the courts
would need, Bruce-that you crept in
to our house in the dead of night. If
anything happened to you here, no
word could be raised against us. You
were a brave man, Bruce"
$50 1 car suppose you left the
note?"
The circle laughed again, but Simon
silenced hem with a gesture. you're
very Keen" he said.
"Then where Is Linda?" Bruce's
eyes hardened. II am more interested
| q. hn- xyho.aah1,,tc @Ao- H. Att- koflr
with you"
1.-THE last seen Of her, she was going
up a hill with Dave. When Dave re-
turns you can ask him"
The bearded man opposite from
Simon uttered a short syllable Of a
laugh. "And 1t don't look like he's GO
ing to return" he said. The knowing
look on his face was deeply abhorrent
to Bruce. Curiously, Simon's face
flushed. and he whirled IN his chair.
"Do you mean anything In particu-
lar, Old Bill?" he demanded.
"It looks to me like maybe Dawes
forgot a lot Of things you told him,
and he and Linda are havin' q little
sparkin' time together out in the
brush"
The idea seemed to please the clan.
But Simon's eyes glowed. and Bruce
himself felt the beginnings of a blind
rage that might, unless he held hard
upon 1t, hurl him against their re-
morseless weapons. 81 don't want any
more such talk III Of you. Old Bin,'
Simon reproved him, "and we've talked
enough. anyway" His keen eyes stud
led Bruce's flushed face. One OF you
give u guest Q chair and fix him up
in 1t with a thong. We don't want
him flying OF the coop and getting
shot until we're done talking to him.
One Of the clansmen pushed a chair
forward with sudden fierce, striking