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

Relleen. The knife dropped from his
fingers and he rested m~otlonless.
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 vie
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 dark-dead. The
very horror OF 10 started anew the
blood in his veins. that dead man lying
there. mOtionless. becoming cold, with
open eyes staring up at the tunnel
him with the knife. Yet II had been
a fair fight. man TO man. and one of
them had 10 die. He could breathe
better now. and he sat up. trembling
and shrinking back from cOntact with
the dead body. He could not see IL,
but he knew II was there.
Keiieen struck q match. which gave
forth al first a dim. spectral light be.
tween his trembling fingers. then
Elowed into a sudden flame. lie
thrust II forward over the body of the
dead man. and stared down at the up.
turned face. For a moment o q
muscle relaxed. his form that of a
statue. as his eyes searched those
CHASTITY features. Where had he seer
tine man before? that hairy face2
those long. mlsshapen arms? Dead!
OF course he was dead-hut who was
he? Somewhere in his memory. dim
indistinct, chung a recollection which
would not become wholly clear Then
The vision came, his lips utterIng u
startled exclamation.
by Cd | know low; It's Man
uel Gomez! It's the ape-manl"
Manuel Gomez-the murderer. the
ontlaw, the dread scourge of northern
Mexico. that bloodthlrsty 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 he 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 ever escaping the
tolls, he had left n trail OF blood over
all that land Well. he was dead now
Yet how came he to he there? Was
this his hiding place? or was the man
There for some new crime? If So
what7 And Bob Meager? Juan San
chez? Were they also sharers in his
vilIainy? Could they he members of
this flend's gang? Was Il from here
he led his hellhounds over the desert
and plain?
The recurrence OF these names in.
stantly brought back TO Kelleen q
realization OF his WI peril. Gomez
was dead, killed by his hand. Unwlt.
tingly, unknowingly, there in the dark.
In desperate combat, he had avenged
n hundred murders by the thrust of n
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, 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.
lie 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-
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 al least. lie
arose to his feet, still daZed and ron.
fused. hardly able to tell directions.
hut driven by a wild impulse 10 escape.
60 get safely out Of that silent black
ness. that grave. In which he felt
smothered and imprisoned. Ills crop
ing fingers discovered a crevice In the
stone, as though the solid rock had
been rent asunder. o deep. irregular
cash yawning the length of his arm
He even advanced a step into the
strange assure, wondering al Its exist
erce. tempted to explore its 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
p~arently without fear. with no impend.
ing sense Of danger. and then dropped
70 the 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