The Winslow mail., 1924-04-04

BE leaped at him as he was climbing
| quickly into the saddle. Winton rec
ognized the man now AZ Van Worst, the
diamond thief.
Van Worst lost his balance, but man
aged to pull revolver from an open
holster and fred at Sam pointblank.
BY a miracle Of good luck Sam lodged
the shot. and q moment later was rae
ing at the top of his speed toward the
shelter Of Kashs store.
Van Worst saw Winton and, standing
beside his horse, aimed deliberately
and fired. The bullet whipped Win
toms cheek. Next moment Winton was
graphing with the thief. Van Worst
raised the revolver and brought it,
butt downward, smashing across Win
tons head.
Winton dropped, but staggered to his
feet in time to see Van Worst leap into
the saddle and ride away like the wind
toward the desert. Then Sans shout
was heard. The negro appeared again,
leading horsesby the halter, the sad
die and bride across his arm.
He had remembered that KaSh kept
a horse in his stable, racer which he
had acquired cheap as the result Of a
bet, and owing to an injury to the ami
mails fetlock. 1t was one Of the best
horses in Nalopo, and the sight Of 1t
between the shafts Of Kash's cart had
created a good deal Of feeling against
the Armenian.
Sam began to slip on the bride
hastily, while Winton, snatching the
saddle from him, adjusted it and began,
to pull in the girth.
"Pll catch him!" said Sam.
Winton would at any other time have
been astonished at the transformation
in the man The negro who had run
yelling from the Chronicle office on the
day before now seemed devoid Of fear.
''You get help for Ned Burns" said
Winton, and mounted
The horse needed no urging. 1t had
been kept for days together in Kash's
stable, it's only exercise the pulling Of
the storekeeper's cart on the slow
rounds of MalOpo. The sense of
rider brought back the memories Of
the old days. 1t dashed off in pursuit
Of Van Worst as if Winton's mind conf
municated to it's own the urgency of
capture
Winton stuck to his seat doggedly
and tried to keep his senses The
blow had reopened his old wound, and
the blood was pouring into his eyes in
a binding torrent. But he concentrated
all his will upon the chase. Unless he
could regain the diamond the syndicate
would oust him from his control of the
Big Malopo and make him the jest Of
the community which he had come to
hate.
And somehow he felt that he was, in
an unknown way, fighting for Sheila as
well as for his own.
Van Worst came into sight, little
/ speck far out upon the plains. He
4 had left the road and was striking
across the desert in the direction of the
native territories, ten miles away.
Malopo was a protectOrate, the Grim
/ inaI law of the colony ran there. In
the tribal lands, however, Van Worst
could laugh at pursuit until he found
/ his opportunity to slip across the bor-
der into the Transvaal or Damaraland.
/ Winton knew this The horse, sight
| ing the fugitive, threw all it's efforts
into the chase and began to gain swift
! ly. 1t was an eery ride across the
sand under the moonlight. Winton,
/ sick from the chlOrOform and the blow,
! knew that he could not last long, but
/ how he was going to return he did not
! stop to think. He felt in one of the
/ holsters and found a revolver there.
And, holding the weapon in his hand,
he waited grimly while his horse over
! hauled the other.
! They had raced past an outlying
! farm, which showed in the distance, the
pOplars standing up like ghostly septi-
/ nels across the fiat Now nothing was
| visible anywhere except the desert.
Malopo was far behind WintOn gained
steadily. He could distinguish that
Van Worst turned to watch him, and the
action slowed his horse for few mo-
ments Winton gained more and more.
Now only two hundred yards separated
/ the fugitive and the pursuer.
When they were hundred PAGES
apart Van Worst swung round in the
saddle and fired The bullet few into
the sand twelve PAGES away. Now only
fifty PAGES separated them. Van Worst
pulled in suddenly and fired once more.
He had only two more shots, and there
would be no time to reload. Winton
calculated that; but the ball whistled
uncomfortably close, and this time he
answered twice without effect.
Van Worst sat on his beast like
statue, aiming carefully at Winton's
body. Winton spurred his horse. mean
ing to ride him down. At the same
time he half swung himself out Of the
saddle, crouching against the animals
neck, so as to avoid presenting a mark.
Van Worst fred his fifth shot 1t
would have killed Winton; it struck