The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1923-08-09

as 1t was on every side. He found
the side-gulch, saw the cabin, saw
Hahn's saddle horse grazing free.
Blaze In the corral. the cabin door
open with the moon streaming In. He
mad pieced out the puzzle to his own
satisfaction. Brandon and HIS men
had arrived and, In Hereford, they
had run across Wyatt, procuring
horses there and saving themselves
the trip to Three Star. Butch's body
was evidence that they had not been
unsuccessful. Wyatt's that the fight
had not been all one-sided, the sur
prise not perfect. And, II Plimsoll
had been warned. what had become
Of Mollyf
He got an answer that made his
heart stand still. then pound In a rush
OF action. On the floor, In the beam
of the moon lay the luck-piece, few
links Of gold chain attached to the
coin. STOPPING for 1t, he brushed a
strand Of brown hair. Then he saw
Grit's body beneath the table. Fury
boiled In him. chilled to icy wrath
and determination. He put away the
coin and hauled out the dogs body
into the moonlight. 1t was timber
and still warm. Sandy rose from his
squat and swiftly examined the cabin
He discovered lantern with oil In Il.
which he it, He had no fear of In
terruption. Before very long Sam
and the Three Star riders would be
along. The sight of Blaze suggested
that Molly was not far away. II she
mad gone, by force. or her own free
VIII. the probability was that her own
mount and saddle would have been
requisitioned
He found warm water In a kettle
he had the first-aid kit with It's band
ages, Iodine. lint. And, above all, he
had keith's silver flask, half full. He
did not fall to note the empty bottles
on the table, the blood marks where
Plimsoll's veins had sprinkled and
Grit had stained the floor. He found
too, a button Of horn with fragment
OF black and white check, torn from
Molly's riding coat In the struggle
sandy's anger crystalized into one am
billion beyond the finding of Mohy,
and that was to kill Plimsoll. II pos
sible with his hands. He pictured the
struggle between the gambler and the
girl. desperate on one side. brutal on
the other. and. whether the stake had
been won or lost. he resolved that
i'lmsoll should die for that attack.
Now his hope hung on Grit. He
took the collie's head on his lap and
examined the blow made by the butt
of Plimsoll's gun. II had laid bare
the bone but he did not think It either
splintered or fractured. Sandy knew
hat dog or wolf or coyote WILL lie
n torpor after being badly wound
d and often recover slowly. waking
ON the recuperating sleep revival
4 But. II he could bring Grit bach.
he must make fresh demands on him.
He washed the wound on the head
and poured iodine into 1t. He did
the same with the hole In the leg,
cleansing II from the dried blood and
hair. II had stopped bleeding. He
dislnfected It, stitched 1t. closed 1t,
bound II with adhesive tape and
strengthened 1t with a bandage ad-
Justed as expertly as any surgeon
could have done. He pried open the
jaws with but little resistance and let
the tongue slip back before he poured
In q measure of Scotch and water
between the canine and incisor teeth.
For q moment there was no response
then Grit coughed, choked. swal-
lowed. Sandy repeated the dose with
less water. 1t went down naturally
Almost Immediately he felt the heart
stroke strengthen. Grit sneezed,
opened his eyes and feebly thumped
his tall as he licked Sandy's hand.
Grit. oil pardner." said Sandy seri-
ously. the dogs head between his
hands. "yo're sure mussed up a heap
an | hate to do 1t, but got to call
on you, son. Mebbe II won't be such
a long trick, but l can't git by with
out yore nose, Grit. It's worth more'n
all I've got. An I know yo're game"
Grit wagged his tail more vigorous
ly and tried to get on his feet, but
Sandy prevented him until the third
dose was administered. Then he car
ried the dog outside to save him every
foot OF unnecessary progress, and set
him down. The collie stood up, wab-
bly, on one foot but able to stand,
looking eagerly at Sandy. commencing
to snuff the air. Sandy let him smell
the coin, the strand of hair. the piece
of cloth and. with his keenest sense
stimulated with the perfume that
stood to Grit for love. the dog wrin-
killed. his nose and cast around. But
ne led direct to Blaze and stood by
the horse uncertain while Blaze
nosed down at him.
Carried out Of the cabin, son." said
Sandy. "We1l guess at Plimsoll.
He's got clear of the locality. Blaze
knows but he can't tell. We've got to
cast about" He picked up the dog
again, puzzled, and looked about him
in the gulch. suffused with moonlight.
There sh'ud be soft dirt under those
asps, let's give look-see there"
They had not gone five feet into the
trees before man and dog made sim
ultaneous discovery. For Sandy 1t
was a heel-mark left by Plimsoll.
treadlng heavily under his burden, a
slight depression enough, but plain to
Sandy. Grit began to struggle In his
arms. Molly's hair or body must have
brushed against lower boughs at the
same height that Sandy carried the
wounded Grit and the scent still