The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1924-10-31

afraid tAat tone of sympathy might
merely aid the girl to shake to
pieces" we've got chance to be
on our way before Number Two and
Number Three get into the game.
Let's run for 1t, Judith"
| Judith shook her head.
well stay here until morning" she
said finally, her voice surprising Lee.
who had looked for sign of weakness
to accord with her sudden pallor and
visible trembling.
| what for?" he wanted to know.
Wen have another fight on our
hands If we do. Those fellows, this
deep In 1t. are not going to quit while
they know that there's all that money
in the shack"
| Il don't care" said Judith firmly
II won't run from them or anybody
else | know And, besides, Bud Lee,
am not going to give them the
chance to get Crowdy away.
Do you think he is going to die?"
mo. l don't. Doc Trip Will Ak
him up
Then here 1 stay, for one. When
go, Bill Crowdy goes with me He's
going to talk, and he's going to help
me send Bayne Trevors to the pen"
Bud Lee expressed all he had to say
in silent whistle He'd made another
mistake, that was all. Judith wasn't
going to faint for him tonight. !.
"Then,' be said presently, setting
her the example, "slip some fresh
cartridges into your rifle and get ready
for more shooting. I'll put out the
light and we'll wait for what's next"
Judith replenished the magazine Of
her rifle. Lee, watching from under
the low-drawn brim of his hat, noted
that her fingers were steady now.
Crowdy moved in his bunk, lifted a
hand weakly, groaned and grew still.
Lee rearranged his bandage.
"Put out the light now?' he asked
Judith.
NO." she answered. "Since we've
got to spend the night with man in
Crowdy's shape, 1t will be more cosey.
won't it, with the light on?'
She even put sat Der hand to one OF
the books on the shelves which she
could reach from her bench.
"And now" she added. I'm sure
that our hermit won't mind if we peep
into his library, will hep
NO" answered Lee gravely. "Most
likely he'll be proud"
! Lee found time TO muse that life is
made of incongruities, woman of in
constituencies. Here with badly hurt
man lying ten feet from her, with
every likelihood of the night stiffness
being ripped in two by rifie-shot, Ju-
dith sat and turned the pages of a
book. Bud Lee flushed as he watched
her. She turned the pages slowly,
came back to the fiy-leaf page, read
the name scrawled there and, turning
swiftly to Lee, said accusingly:
David Burrill Lee, you are a hum
bug!"
Wrong again. grinned Lee. "A
hermit, you mean! "A man with a
soul"
"Scat!" answered Judith. But, I'M
der Bud Lees teasing eyes, the color
began to come back into her cheeks.
She had been a wee bit enthusiastic
over her hermit, making of him pic
turesque ideal. She. had visiohed
him, even to the calm eyes, gentle
voice. A quick little frown touched
her brows as she realized that the
eyes and voice which her fancy had be-
slowed upon the hermit were in actu-
atty the eyes and voice of Bud Lee.
But she had called him dear. And
Lee had been laughing at her all the
time-had not told her. would never
have told her. The thought came to
her that she would like to slap Bud
Lees face for him. And she had told
Trip she would like to slap Pollock
Hampton's Good and hard!