The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1925-03-12
Continued from last week.

Lee swung his rifle butt f~uriously
knocking over barrels and boxes in the
vain hope that Railway, 1t least. was
hiding behind them. But he was no
there. Shaking off the priest, who
sought to detain him, Lee ran back to
the hut in which the men were herded.
Where is she?" he shouted, levelling
his rifle at Pierre's face.
I'm the hut across the neck" Pierre
babbled, gray with the terror Of death.
Lee ran back across the promontory
once more, needless of his compan-
ions shouts behind him. He dashed
along a little trail that ran into the
heart of the reeds, finging the dry
stalks right and left, as one parts a
hanging screen of beads.
For a few moments he felt the
ground hard beneath his feet. Then
the little path ended. He trod on
Quaking muskeg. He pushed on
Again q path seemed to open before
him. Again it closed. The head-high
reeds were all about him now, the
muskeg held him, and he went floun-
dSAAAS III IL 1ud 4AhC a Gu Na1ADOu.
He struggled on, sometimes sinking
knee deep In the swamp. He dashed
his rifle against the rafting reeds,
swinging it around and around his
head, in the effort to beat them down
and discover what lay before him.
But they rose resilient from the ground
like armed enemies, and in the dark
he could see nothing.
He shouted Joyce's name, and now,
bewildered, he began TO circle blindly
on his tracks among the reeds, dash
ing them down as if they were human
enemies. Yet all the while, though
he was ignorant of it, chance was di-
recting him, circuitously, toward the
hut in which Joyce sat.
Railway, the moment that he re-
covered from the shock Of hearing
Lees voice at the head of the attack,
hurried to the cabin. Estelle met
him.
Put u that light" Railway
snarled.
TITS him |" he half whispered. And
1 thought he was dead!"
Listen to me, now! Y He began
talking swiftly under his breath. Es-
telle crept closer to him. She listened
as If he hypnotized her.
you mean that, jim? You swear
to leave that girl behind9'
II swear 1t, Stella. I've got the gold
cached near the motor boat. Every
things ready, and I've had a fresh
drum Of gasoline put in"
They heard Lee calling again.
"Now, Stella! Railway whispered.
Stella slipped from the hut and hur-
ried a little distance along the path.
Lee, struggling In the swamp, sud-
denly heard Joyce imploring close
at hand out of the darkness, in a voice
of anguish:
Lee! Leel Come to met Help mel"
"Joyce! Joyce! It's l! It's Lee"
And suddenly he stopped. The in
stinct of treachery came to him be-
fore he realized that this was not
Joyce who called . Estelle, the
Estelle with Joyce's voice
Turing him TO destruction.
Out of the dark a blow descended
on his head, sending him reeling tor
ward, He struggled in Railways
arms.
Fiercly they fought in the cabin
doorway.
Then Lee was seized from behind.
A kick behind the kneecap sent him
spraying on the floor, He felt HIM
self being pinioned. A moose was
slipped about his neck, strangling him
until he was no longer capable of re-
sistance. Ropes were fastened around
his body and legs. A gag was thrust
in his mouth. He was helpless as q
trussed chicken.
Then the room leaped into light, and
he saw Shorty fastening the ends OF
the O D to a beam, and Railway
standing over him.
A moan came from Joyce's lips, and
her body strained against its bonds.
Railway looked at her and uttered
his hyena laugh.
Taking the lighted candle from the
table, he set it down in a hole beneath
the sill. A thin coil Of smoke quickly
began to spread upward. Within a
the tinder-dry thin boards OF
the hut were covered with running
flames. Smoke began to fill the in
terror.
Railway waited till he was sure the
hut was well alight, then he slashed
the bond that tied Joyce to the bed,
picked up the struggling girl, and car
led her down the path as easily as a
.hild, In spite of her resistance.
AS he neared the neck a spire OF
lame shot up from the hut behind
i'm.
He was half way to the water when
figure, silent and tense as a cat.
at him from among the reeds /
was Leboeuf, tracking Lee. Rath-
by instinct alone, sprang slde-
Ire Just in time to save himself