The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1923-11-01
CHAPTER xIv-continued.

RetIeen. The knife dropped from his
fingers and he rested motlonleSs,
scarcely breathing. his eyes staring
up into the dark. lie had won he
was not seriously hurt. yet for the mo.
ment could not even realize his vic
tory. Yet gradually Re knew the
knife he had wielded-the knife-he
had Killed the man. Whoever he was
he had killed him: he lay there now
beside him in the d~ark-dead. The
very horror OF II started NEW the
blood In his veins. that dead man lying
there. ~motiOnless. becoming cold, with
open eyes staring up AZ the tunnel
roof. And he had killed him-killed
him with the knife. Yet II had been
a fair fight. man to man, and one Of
them had TO die. He could breathe
better now. and he sat ~. trembling
and shrinking back from contact with
the dead body. lie could not see II.
but he knew It was there.
Keiieen struck a match. which gave
forth al first a dim. spectral light he.
tween his trembling fingers, then
glowed into a sudden flame. lie
thrust II forward over the body Of the
dead man, and stared down at the M
turned face. For n moment not u
muscle relaxed. his form that of a
statue, as his eyes searched those
CHASTITY features. Where had he seen
the man before? that hairy face7
those long, mlsshapen arms? Dead,
OF course he was dead-but who was
he? Somewhere In his memory. dim
indistlnct. clung n recollection which
would not become wholly clear. Then
the vision came, his lips uttering .
startled exclamation.
by Cd | know row: It's Man
uei Gomez! It's the ape-manI"
Manuel Gomez-the murderer. the
outlaw. the dread scourge Of northern
Mexico. that bloodthirsty wretch
whose crimes had made him an object
of detestation on both sides Of the line
for years. Manuel Gomez. the killer
OF women and children, the destroyer
OF towns, raider, thief. bandit and In
surrecto-the ape-manl KeIleen had
never seen him before. hut he knew
there could be no other like that, and
every story he previously had heard
Of the fellow came trooplng back to
his mind In vivid memory-cruel re-
morseless. without mercy. hunted like
n Wild beast. yet eve escaping the
tolls, he had left n trail of blood over
all that land. Well. he was dead now
Xnf HON ~ /, tn 80 lo ,l..,g xtV,a
this his hiding place? or was the man
there for some new crime? If So
what? And Bob Meager? Juan San.
chez? Were they also sharers in his
viilainy? Could they be members of
this fiend's gang? Was II from here
he led his hellhounds over the desert
and plain?
The recurrence Of these names In.
stantly brought back 10 Kelleen a
realization of his W peril. Gomez
was dead. killed by his hand. Unwit-
tingly. unknowingly, there in the dark.
In desperate combat. he had avenged
n hundred murders by the thrust Of a
knife, But these others-they were
still alive; they would surely come.
There could be no doubt of that. All
that Deborah had told flashed across
his mind-her encounter with this
same Mexican rufian-why. she had
even described the fellows long, ape
like arms, hut he never once had
thought of Gomez-of her creeping on
ward along the tunnel: the sudden
change In Its direction, and her stun.
bling over a dead body In the dark.
Jie recalled the story Of her escape,
creeping up that narrow passage.
through which she could barely
squeeze her slender body the firing
after her from below, and her aim
less shot sent in return then the des-
perate struggle which ended on the
desert above. And what then? Mea.
ger, Bob Meager, going straight to that
uel-uslng his very name.
Well, there was no Manuel now on
guard there, but he could not face
these other two alone, and they would
surely be there by dawn at least. lie
arose to his feet. stlll dazed and con.
TuStu, uuTulN dUlt w ttH ulTettlolS.
hut driven by a wild impulse 10 escape.
20 get safely out Of that silent black
ness, that grave. In which he felt
smotnered and imprisoned. His crop
ing fingers discovered a crevice in the
stone, as though the solid rock had
been rent %asunder. a deep. irregular
cash yawning the length OF his arm
He even advanced a step into the
strange assure, wondering at It's exist
erce. tempted to explore It's secret.
when they camel He heard Them
pressing aside the vines and Chamber.
ing to the top Of the rock which helped
conceal the entrance. They did this APP
parently without fear. with no impend-
ing sense Of danger. and then dropped
10 the floor Of the tunnel. There were
two Of them he could tell that by the
sound-Meager and Sanchez. But
where, then. wal Deborah Meredith
CHAPTER XIV