The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1924-01-17

The act was purely involuntary, but a
sight me his eyes that instantly drove
every other consideration out of his
mind-from behind a log a man was
gl0werlng at him.
He ducked out Of sight In a flash,
and the woodsman' stopped to his task
-~carelessly without so much as the
flick Of an eye to betray that he had
seen anything at all-but he had
caught a distinct view Of a SLOUGH hat,
a rough flannel shirt, open at the col
lar, a glare of dark eyes that smOl-
dered In a face dark and scOwling and
covered with a stubble Of black beard
the desperate OF the festival.
TeXie's startled whisper, as she had
fastened the %bandages about his Shout
der the evening before. flashed across
his thought. The face behind the log
and the face of his memory rose 10 his
mind as distinct as a reflection In
Whispering spring. Unbelievable
though il w~as-against all reason in
the light of that terrible letter-he
saw the resemblance she had fancied
vague, half intangible, but none the
less a resemblance.
With the tail Of his eye on the log,
the woodsman went on with his work,
apparently absorbed in ii, really with
no other thought than to put as great
a length of fence row as possible be
tween himself and that scowling face,
and In as short q time as was prudent.
The moment he thought himself out
Of sight, he took out a rail of the fence,
every caution known to woodcraft,
crept back through the underbrush to-
ward the log. The broken outline of 1t
at last came into view through a clump
of hazel. He raised his head ever so
little and lay listening. Not a false
note disturbed the soft purr of nature;
the pulse of the woods beat normal.
He dropped his head crawled up to
the log. The leaves were flattened and
still warm. but the man was gone.
He searched the moss and leaves UNI
I'll he found the trail-the scrape of a
pNOt ~ q SD'N vi hi'iS EAoulih Ut ~
foot of AZ oak. After that II was easy.
There were two sets of tracks. To his
surprise one set led back toward the
cliffs above the homestead. He fol-
lowed 1t. AT a point along the bluffs
that commanded the nearest view of
the cabin under the crimson rambler
the missed leaves and broken weeds
beneath a clump of bushes at the very
brink of the rocks showed where the
renegade had concealed himself. Three
half-burned matches, with which he
had probably lighted his pipe, lndlcat-
ed that he had remained some time.
Jack glanced down at the tiny CABIN,
the barn-lot, turned and followed the
trail back under the trees.
Past the log II led, away TO the
north, down the face of the wooded
bluff and into the narrow road that
threaded Eagle hollow. He followed 1t
within sight of the rude howell at the
head of the hollow into which Loge
Belden and his sister had lately
moved; stopped; studied the place
critically for a moment; finally turned,
climbed the BLUM and. with an
comfortable feeling of hidden eyes
upon him, returned to his task ut the
fence.
The forenoon was gone by the time
he finished II. AS he trudged back,
the corner where he had found the
yellow orchid drew his eye irresistibly.
Raking away the dead leaves he dug
II up, being careful to leave enough
soil about the roots to prevent their
whitening, and carried II In his hands
out through the trees and up among
the tumbled ramparts Of Black rock.
In the tiny flower bed at the foot
Of the sandstone pinnacle where the
three names were carved. he followed
out a place in the rich leaf-mold and
set the orchid with the others-an OF
them doubtless having come there at
different times In the same way rose
TO his feet and stood deeply ponder
inc. as his gaze rested on the three
names carved In the rock. That baf-
aing resemblance, In spite of him.
would creep back into his thought.
The bold frankness OF the mans
| face settled to a deeper t~houghtful-
ness; he looked down at the new or
child among the old, fresh and piquant
as when he dug II out of 'as fence
corner; glanced toward the red-roofed
cottage, and set his feet to the rough
| path that led down to the fallow yard.
CHAPTER VII