The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1923-11-07
CHAPTER xIv-contInusd.

heueen. Inc knlIe cropped from nj
fingers and he rested motionless
scarcely breathing. his eyes starin
up into the dark. He had won; h
was not seriously hurt. yet for the mo
ment could not even realize his vic
tory. Yet gradually he knew; tn
knife he had wielded-the knife-h,
had killed the man. Whoever he wal
he had killed him; he lay there nov
beside him In the dark-dead. Tn,
very horror of 1t started anew thu
blood In his veins, that dead man lyinf
there, motionless, becoming cold. witt
open eyes staring up at the tunnel
roof And he had killed him-killed
him with the knife. Yet 1t had been
q 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 II was there.
Kelleen struck a match, which gave
forth at first a dim, spectral light be-
tween his trembling fingers. then
glowed into a sudden fame. He
thrust 1t forward over the body of the
dead man, and stared down at the up
turned face. For moment not a
muscle relaxed. his form that Of a
statue, as his eyes searched those
CHASTITY features Where had he seen
the man beforef that hairy face7
those long. misshapen arms7 Dead
OF course he was dead-but who was
hef Somewhere In his memory, dim,
indistinct, chung a recollection which
would not become wholly clear. Then
the vision came, his lips uttering
startled exclamation.
by Cd know now; It's Man
uel Comet It's the ape-manl" ~r
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 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 trooping 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?jor was the man
there for some new crime7 If So
what7 And Bob Meager7 Juan San
chez7 Were they also sharers in HIS
villainy7 Could they be members of
this fiend's gang7 Was 1t from here
he led his hellhounds over the desert
and plaln7
The 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
a hundred murders by the thrust Of
Knife. But these others-they were
still alive; they would surely come.
There could be no doubt Of that. All
hat Deborah had told flashed across
lis mind-her encounter with this |
anne Mexican ruffian-why. she had
wen described the fellows long, ape {
Ike arms, but he never once had =
bought of Gomez--of her creeping on
ward along the tunnel; the sudden O
hange in Its direction, and her STUN /
ling over dead body in the dark. b
lie recalled the story of her escape. 1
Keeping up that narrow passage.
through which she could barely I
queeze her slender body; the firing O
fter her from below. and her aim U
sss shot sent IN return; then the des- S
crate struggle which ended on the
esert above. And what then? Mea- 1
er. Bob Meager. going straight to that I
anne hole and calling down for Man r
el-using his very name. "
Well, there was no Manuel now on /"
uard there, but he could not face |,
hese other two alone. and they would n
urely be tbeye by dawn at least. He
rose to hts feet. still dazed and con- s.
used. hardly able to tell directions. I,
ut driven by wild impulse. to escape. a
, get safely out of that silent black
ess. that grave, IN which he felt
nothered and imprisoned. His CROP II
lg fingers discovered crevice in the N
.one, as though the solid rock had A
cen rent asunder. deep. irregular l.
ash yawning the length Of his arm. Il
e even advanced step into the y,
range assure. wondering at Its exist
ice. tempted to explore Its secret.
hen they camel He heard them m
ressing aside the vines and Chamber
x to the top Of the rock which helped II
,nceal the entrance. They did this APP c,
arently without fear. with no Impend-
g sense Of danger, and then dropped
the floor of the tunnel. There were II
70 of them he could tell that by the Al
,und-Meager and Sanchez. But II
here, then. was Deborah Meredith
CHAPTER XIV is