Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1924-12-25
CHAPTER XIV
The Tools Which TreUorS
Used

OSG0
To Judith life had changed from
pleasant game in the sunshine to
hideous nightmare. In a few drag
ging hours she had come to know in
credulity, anxiety, misery, detection,
black hopelessness, and icy terror. She
had come to look through a mans
eyes at that which lay in his heart,
to feel for the first time in her fear
less life that the fortitude was slip
ping out of her bosom. that the
strength was melting In her
She lay on rude bed of fir-boughs,
an utter, impenetrable blacknesS like
palpable weight on her eyeballs.
When it was silent about her, and for
the most part silence reigned with
the oppressive gloom, she yearned
so for little sound that she moved
her foot along the rock floor under
her or snapped a dry twig between
her fingers or even listened eagerly
for the coming Of the terrible woman
who was her jailer
GrOpingly, again and again she
went over in her thoughts the long
journey here, seeking fruitlesSly to
know whether she had come north,
south, or east from the ranch-house.
1t was one Of these three directions,
for there were no such mountains
as these to the west, no such monster
cliffs, no deep cavern reaching into
the bowels of the earth. The sense
that, even were she freed, she had
no slightest idea where she was, which
way she must go, stunned her.
"Will l go mad after whlle?" she
wondered miserably. "Am | already
going mad? Oh, God, have mercy on
me"
From the instant when, Saturday
night, she had been gripped suddenly
in mans strong arms, when another
man had smothered her outcry, she
had known in her heart that Bayne
Trevors was taking his desperate
chance in the game. But in the dark
ness she had had only the two vague
blurs of their bodies to guess at. They
had been masked; her own eyes were
covered, a bandage brought tightly
over them, her mouth gagged, her
hands tied behind her, her body lifted
Neither man had spoken. Then, tied
in the saddle, she only knew that she
was riding, that one man rode in
front of her, leading her horse, the
other following close behind. The
sense of direction which she had lost
in those first FIVE minutes she had
never been given opportunity to re-
gain. She might, even now, be gun
shot from her own ranch; she might
be twenty miles from it.
For the greater part of that Sat
urday night they had ridden; and
when trails died under them and rocks
rose steeply, they walked, she and one
man. The other stayed with the
horses. Not once did she hear a
mans voice; she did not know wheth-
er it was Trevors himself, or Quin-
MON, or some utter stranger who
forced her into this hiding.
They had climbed cliffs, now going
down into chasms, now following roar
ing creek sr making their way along
the spine Of some rock ridge. The
one man with her was masked, his
eyes rather guessed at than seen
through the Sits Of his bandanna
handkerchief. He had jerked the band
age from her eyes, since blindfolded
she would make such poor progress
But still he guarded his tongue.
"He would speak," she thought, but
that would recognize his voice. 1'rev-
ors or Quinnion? WhichT
i Feeling the first quick squirt of hope
when she saw that there was but one
man to deal with, she was aQuiver to
seize the first opportunity for flight.
But that hope died swiftly as she
recognized that no such opportunity
was to be granted her Once she
paused, looking to possible leap
over a low ledge and escape in a
thick bit of timber But the two
eyes through the Sits in the impro-
vised mask had been keen and quick,
a heavy hand was laid on her arm,
she felt the fingers bite into her flesh
as he sought to drive into her a full
comprehension Of his grim determina-
tion that she should not escape.
1t was when they had clambered
high upon a mass Of tumbled boulders,
topping ridge, that Judith had seen
the mans face. Docilely she had
obeyed his gestures for an hour now,
suddenly maddened at the silence and
the mask over his face, she sprang un-
expectedly upon him, showing him
from the rock on which he had
stepped, snatching off his mask as she
did So For the first time she heard
his voice, cursing her coOlly as he
gripped and held her.
1t was Bayne Trevors, at last come
out into the open, his eyes hard on
hers.
It's just as well that you know
whom you are up against" he said
as he held her with his hand heavy
on her shrinking shoulder.
Summoning all of the reckless fear
lesSnesS which was her birthright she