The Holly chieftain., 1923-12-27
CHAPTER xIv-continued.

scarcely breathing. his eyes staring
up into the dark. He had won: he
was not seriously hurt. yet for the mo-
ment could not even realize his vic
tory. Yet gradually he 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 dark-dead. The
very horror of 1t started anew the
blood in his veins. that dead man lying
there motionless. becoming cold. with
open eyes staring up at the tunnel
roof. And he had killed him-killed
him with the knife. Yet 1t had been
a fair fight. man to man. and one Of
them had to die. He could breathe
better now. and he sat up. trembling
and shrinking back from contact with
the dead body. He could not see 1t,
but he knew 1t was there.
Kelleen struck match. which gave
forth at first dim. spectral light be-
tween his trembling fingers. then
glowed into a sudden flame. He
thrust 1t forward over the body OF the
dead man. and stared down at the up
turned face. For a moment not
muscle relaxed. his form that n
statue, as his eyes searched those
ghastly features. Where had he seen
the man before? that hairy, face?
those long, misshapen arms? Dead!
OF course he was dead-but who was
he? Somewhere in his memory. dim.
indistinct. clung recollection which
would not become wholly clear. Then
the vision came. his lips uttering a
startled exclamation.
"By Cd! know row; It's Man
uel Gomezl It's the ape-man"
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-man! Kelleen had
never seen him before. but 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
wild beast, yet ever escaping the
tolls, he had left trail of blood over
all that land. Well. he was dead now !!
Yet how came he to be there? Was
this his hiding place? or was the man
there for some new crime? II So
whati And Bob Meager? Juan San
chezf We're they also sharers In his
villainy7 Could they be members of
this fiend's gang? Was It from here
he led his hellhounds over the desert
and plain?
Tie recurrence OF these names in
stantly brought back to Kelleen a
realization Of his own peril. Gomez
was dead. killed by his hand. Unwit-
tingly, unknowingly. there in the dark.
in desperate combat, he had avenged
Il hundred murders by the thrust Of u
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 ruffian-why. she had
even described the fellows long. ape
like arms, but 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 dead body In the dark.
He 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
same hole and calling down for Man
uel-using 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. He
arose to his feet, still dazed and con-
fused, hardly able to tell directions.
but driven by wild impulse to escape.
to get safely out Of that silent black
ness that grave. In which he felt
smothered and imprisoned. His crop
ing fingers discovered n 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 step Into the
strange fissure, wondering at its exist
ence, tempted TO explore its secret,
when they came! He heard them
pressing aside the vines and Chamber
ing to the top Of the rock which helped
conceal the entrance. They did this ap-
parently without fear, with no impend-
ing sense Of danger. and then dropped
to tie floor of the tunnel. There were
two of them: he could tell that by the
sound-Meager and Sanchez. But
where, then. was Deborah Meredith
CHAPTER XIV