Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-12-11

could grasp her motive she leaped to-
ward him and toward the bed of
boughs, found the ragged stone, and
lifting it high above her head flung it
full into his face The man staggered
back, crying out in throaty harshness,
cry Of blind rage. But he did not
fall, did not pause more than brief
instant.
A little dazed, with blood in his
eyes, he lunged toward her. She had
found the club now and struck with
all her might, again beating into his
| face and again and again. He sought
to grapple with her and she beat him
back. She saw his hand go to his
hip, and heard him curse her, and she
leaped in cn him and, painting with
| the blow, struck again. He flung up
his arm. She struck once more. TAX
| ing the blow full across the face,
| Quinnion reeled back, stumbled at an
uneven spot in the rock floor bal
anced, almost falling.
Only moment he held thus But
there was a chance to pass him in
the narrow way, and she took her
chance, her heart beating wildly. And
as she shot by she struck again.
She heard him after her, shouting
curses, stumbling little, coming on.
The door was open, thank God, the
door was open! She shot through.
If she could but take time to close it (!
But there was no time for that; he
was almost at her heels. And out
side was the ledge and the dizzy climb
| down.
| If she slipped, If she fell, well, 1t
would just be clean death and moth
| ing more. Quinnion was but few
steps behind her. He had not fired.
Had he perhaps dropped his gun back
| there in the darkness? Or was he
so sure of taking her, alive and strug-
Cling, into his arms in another mo-
ment?
She was on the ledge. It was dark,
pitch-dark. But she found hand
| hold threw herself flat down and
thrust her feet out over the ledge, less
afraid of what lay below than what
came on behind her. She was grip
! ping the ledge now with her hands,
already torn and bleeding, her feet
| swinging, touching sheer rock wall,
slipping, seeking foothold. Quinnion
was just there, above her. She must
move her hands so that he could not
reach her. 1t seemed an eternity that
she hung there, seeking place some
where to set her feet.
| She found it, another lesser ledge
which she had almost missed, and
knew that this way she had clambered
upward with Bayne Trevors. If she
/ could only find another step and an
other before Quinnion came upon her
/ She held her club in ner teeth; she
must not let that go.
/ Ouinnion was over the ledge, fol
lowing her. She heard his heavy
breathing, heard him cursing her
again. She was goiEg sc slowly, SO
j slowly. and Quinnion would know the
wav better than She Quinnion would
i make better time in the dark.
She moved along this lower ledge
At each instant she wondered IL II
were to be her last, If she were 60
ing to fall, if swift drop through
the darkness would be the end of life
Suddenly there was scarce room in
the girls breast for hatred of Chris
0uinnion, SO filled was it with the
love of life. She wanted to see the
sun come up again, she wanted the
/ sweet breath of the dawn in her nos
trils, the beauty of sunlit world In
| her eyes. She thought Of Bud Lee.
| Clinging to the rocks, hanging on
desperately, taking score of des.
perate chances momentarily, she made
her way on and down. She found
scant handhold and, almost falling
dropped her club, heard it strike
strike again. Black as the night was
it's gloom was less than that of the
i cavern to which Judith had grown ac-
customed: little by little she began
i to>make out the broken surface of the
cliffs. The chasm below was poo
Of ink: above were the little stars
i in the eastern sky, low down, was
promise of the rising moon.
| The surge iof quickening hope came
i into her heart. sHad she hurt Quin
Il MON more than she had guessed? For
slowly as she made her hazardous
way down, it seemed to her that Quin-
MON came even more slowly Gould
she but once get down into the gorge
| below, could she slip along the course
of the racing stream, she might run
and the sound of her steps would be
lost even to her own ears in the
sound Of the water; the sight of her
flying body would be lost to Quin-
MONS eyes.
Then she heard him laughing above
her. Laughing, with, snarl and q
curse in his laugh, and something OF
| malicious triumph. Was he so GER
tain of her then?
Ruth" called Quinnion. "Oh
Ruth! The girls gettin' away. Coin
down the rocks. Head her off at the
/ bottom
Judith had found, because her fate
was good to her, the long slanting
crack in the wall of rock up which she
had come that day with Bayne Trev-
ors. There was still danger of fall,
| but the danger was less now than
it had been ten seconds ago. She
could move more swiftly now and
confidence had begun to come to her
that she could elude Quinnion. But