The Winslow mail., 1923-11-16


She had escaped from that hell under
ground, yet was but little better off
than before. She was upon the edge
Of the desert stretching outward
toward the Meager ranch 1t would
be impossible to crosc this on foot,
with neither food nor water to sus-
tain her; nor could she for a moment
contemplate seeking refuge there, even
If it were possible. Her only hope
was to circle that hidden chasm, and
then endeavor to find her way north
until she reached some human habita-
ton. The hope Of accomplishing this
was the merest mirage; the attempt
probably meant death. She had no
horse, no food, yet somehow, in the
exhilaratiOn Of that first moment Of
release, She could not wholly despair
God had been good; she would go on
courageously, and trust Him.
She arose to her knees, and looked
about. 1t was a lonely, contracted
scene, amid which she was concealed
Some rift in the rocks led down to
that opening through which she had
just crept. Perhaps it had formed a
watercOurse in other ages, but now
the sand Of the desert had drifted in,
and covered all with a yellow mantle
Of desolation. The sides were too
steep to scale even on foot, the loose
sand foiling every attempt, so she was
compelled to follow the course Of the
defile in seeking way out. For the
first few yards of advance the girl had
no suspicion she was not alone A
patch Of sagebrush limited her view,
and she was threading her way through
| these, when the sound of a voice
speaking caused her to crouch sud-
denly down in the midst of the thicket
and lie mOtiOnless, scarcely daring to
breathe. 1t was the voice itself which
paralyzed her every volition, a voice
instantly recognized, never to be for
gotten-the voice of Bob Meager.
He was not dead, then; the blow
struck had ne more than stunned the
man, and-and she was his wife.
Deborah's fingers dug at the sand in
sudden agony, as the hideous thought
came home anew to her mind. In
some mysterious way he must have
discovered what had occurred, sus-
pected that she and Kelleen had rid
den away together, and then followed
like an Indian on the trail. She lifted
her head suddenly; another voice
spoke quietly, indifferently. Surely
the voice was familiar; it must have
been Kelleen himself who spoke
She crept forward inch by inch,
crouching low behind the sage until
she could see the figures of two men.
Neither one faced her; Meager sat on
the side of the bank, his horse grazing
Just beyond, while the Frisco Kid
remained in the saddle, his mount still
| breathing heavily, as though he had
only just arrived after a hard ride.
"Well, what difference does it
make?" he asked quietly. cam I in
on this or not?"
"Of course you're in now," was the
surly response. Il reckon that was
what caused you to show up in these
parts, amt it? I wondered what was
being pulled off when you rode in last
night. Say, kid who really piped it
to you-Casebeer or Garrity?'
''The less you know about that the
longer you'll live, Bob" Kelleen re-
piled calmly. 'It is enough that 1 do
know, not only what you are up to out
here, but that it was also your game
to double-cross me. You tried the
same game once before, Bob. The
scheme has never worked very well.
You haven't got the brains to do it
with. Casebeer never told me any
thing; nor Garrity. All needed was
! to know you and your kind. You were
never honest in your life, and when
1 heard about this deal it was easy
enough to figure what was up"
"What deal, Kid? What do you
mean?'
"This ranch Inheritance Garriry
fixed up so nicely for you. No,
haven't all the dope-not yet. But I'm
on my way to it, all right; the rawest
deal I ever heard about, and it win
blow up like a punctured balloon just
as soon as your stepmOther gets nerve
enough to see a good lawyer. That's
true. amt it, Bob?"
"The old man left it to me-"
| Eyes, he did-not. / was down in
| old Mex when l first heard what was
going on up here Young Clair got
hold of one end Of the story somehow
and told it to ME. You remember
| Clair"
"He worked here on the ranch"
Eyes; that's what made him talk
| He's square, that kid. and you fired
him, and every other American on the
place; then put on Mexicans. That
made him sore When he told me
that I came pretty near knowing what
was up
"You did, hey! Wanted a hand in
| the gamew
"Why shouldn't I, Bob? I held you
up when you was fiat, didn't I? There
is no reason why you should forget
1