The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-12-15
The STRENGTH Of the Plies

been before-a warm figure lying still
and helpless for his own terrible pleas
ure. A few more steps and he would
be near enough to see plainly; then
after the grizzly habit-to fling into
the charge. He paused, his muscles
setting. And then the meadows sud-
denly rang with the fluctuations Of
his snarl.
Almost unconscious, Bruce did not
understand what had caused his utter
ance. But strangely, the bear had lift
ed his head and was staring straight
over him. For the first time Bruce
heard the wild beat Of hoofs on the
turf behind him.
He didn't have time TO turn and
look. There was no opportunity even
for flood Of renewed hope. Events
followed upon one another with star
Ting rapidity. The sharp, unmistak-
able crack Of a pistol leaped through
the dusk, and bullet sung over his
body. And then a wild-riding figure
swept up to him.
1t was Linda, firing as she came.
How she had been able to control her
horse and ride him into that scene
Of peril no words may reveal Per-
haps, running wildly beneath the lash,
his starting eyes did not discern or In
terpret the gray figure scarcely score
Of yards distant from Bruce; and 1t
is true the grizzly's pungent smell
a thing TO terrify much more and to
be interpreted more clearly than any
kind of dim form In the moonlight
was blown in the opposite direction.
Perhaps the flashing strap recalled the
terrible punishment the horse had I'M
dergone earlier that evening at the
hands of Simon and no room was left
for any lesser terror But most likely
of all, just as in the case Of brave
soldiers riding their horses into bat
tie, the girls own strength and cour-
age went into him.
The bear reared up, snarling with
wrath, but for moment it dared not
charge. The sudden appearance IF
the girl and the horse held him mo-
mentarily at bay. The girl swung to
the ground In one leap, fired again,
thrust her arm through the loop Of
the bride rein, then knelt at Bruce's
side. The white blade that she car
ried In her left hand slashed at his
bonds.
The horse, plunging, seemed to jerk
her body back and forth, and endless
seconds seemed TO go by before the
last Of the thongs was severed. In
reality the whole rescue was unbeliev-
ably swift. The man helped her all
he could. "Up-up into the saddle"
she commanded. The grizzly growled
again, advancing remorselessly toward
them, and twice more she fred Two
of the bullets went home in his great
body, but their weight and shocking
power were too slight to affect him.
He went down once more on all tours,
preparing to charge.
Bruce, in spite Of the fact that his
limbs had been nearly paralyZed by
the tight bonds, managed to grasp the
saddlehorn. In the strength of new
born hope he pulled himself half up
on 1t, and he felt Linda's strong arms
behind him pushing up. The horse
plunged In deadly fear; and the Killer
leaped toward them. Once more the
pistol cracked. Then the horse broke
and ran in a frenzy of terror.
Bruce was full in the saddle by then,
and even at the first leap his arm
swept out to the girl on the ground
beside him. He swung her toward
him, and at the same time her hands
caught at the arching back of the
saddle. For the first fifty feet she
was half dragged, but slowfy-with
Bruce's help-she pulled herself up
to a position of security.
The Killers charge had come a few
seconds too late. For a moment he
raced behind them in insane fury, but
only his savage growl leaped through
the darkness fast enough to catch up
with them. And the distance slowly
widened.
The Killer had been cheated again !;
and by the same token Simon's oath
had been proved untrue. For once the
remorseless strength of which he boast
ed had been worsted by greater
strength; and love, not hate. was the
power that gave 1t. For once a girls
courage courage greater than that
with which he obeyed the dictates Of
his cruel will-had cost him his vic
tory. The war that he and his out
law band had begun so long ago had
not yet been won.
Indeed. If Simon could have seen
what the moon saw as it peered OUT