The Dolores star., 1923-07-27
CHAPTER XIII
Jack the Climber.


Mr.. William Spencer, after arriving
In the fallow-field where stood the
clump of bushes that hid the broken
Indian motorcycle, made rapid sur
vey of the situation. He resumed his
task Of Quartering the ground for
| tracks.
This. being unfrultful. occupied but
little time. He gave It up and went
forward again, dipping down into the
crag.plts beyond.
Billy had formed upon the factors
already in his possession a theory
which appealed to him strongly. He
hoped to prove 1t. But the hope was
very slender.
"If Id only got wise to this two
| days ago" he said gloomIly, Il might
have done something. But there's no
saying how old the tracks are. And
there's so little time"
! He looked about him thoughtfully.
| The area Of the crag-pits covered
some twenty acres; n wide bottom of
red sand studded here and there
with tangled bushes. The place was
shut In by low red bluffs of coraline
crag, with few gaps In them through
which winding paths sloped up to the
higher ground.
THE soil tells me nothing" said
Billy to himself; "too loose and wind
blown to hold a trail more than two
days. But there's fve-maybe six
caves. most of them too plain and
easy-anybody can see 'em. Still, I'll
go over them. My own first. / guess
there's nobody could have found that"
He wound his way through the
bushes to the screen Of brambles that
masked the cave where Aimee had
taken refuge on the night OF the bur-
glary, and after scanning the ground
near Its approaches, pushed the brIars
aside and entered cautiously. The
cave was empty-save for that super
motorcycle the Flying Sphinx. which
stood waiting in patient dumbness at
the lar end, weeping slow tears of oil
INTO little pool beneath the silencer.
Billy laid hand upon his Arab
steed, and sighed. Then his face
frightened amazingly.
your time'll come again and
mighty soon!' he said with affection.
lie turned, and left the cave. 1t was
holy ground to him now; for one
night 1t had been Almee's refuge.
He passed farther along the pits
inspecting second and much more
obvious cave on his way. He was lust
about to emerge from It when some
thing caught Billy's eye. on the far
side OF the pits. He shrank back
quickly into the caves mouth and fiat
tened himself against the wall, watch.
ing.
The object which gave him pause
was very small, and fully four hun.
dred yards distant. But 1t showed
against the skyline and to the eye of
1rontiersman anything that cuts the
skyline, and that moves ever so little.
Is ut once apparent. What Billy saw
was the upper part of head, peerinp
over the edge Of the little cliff on the
opposite side.
A pair Of shoulders followed the
head, and their owner was obviously
watching the pit with a desire to dis.
cover whether the coast was clear
There was curious furtiveness about
the hgure that presently appeared
and dropping down the cliff by a .teer
path reached the lower ground and
crossed 1t at a run.
Billy crept from the gloom of the
caves mouth and. crouchins behind
inc briar bushes. peered through them
eagerly. The running figure was .
woman-a small woman clad in ,
khski-colored dust-cloak, carrying !
little red bundle. She ran vith ;
stoopins gait beading low a. sh1