The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1925-01-09

Mad Ruth was gone again, and Ju
dith stood by the thick door, hel
heart beating furiously while she
waited. 1t seemed to her eager i'm
patience that Ruth would never come
back. Then after long, long time
she heard a little scraping sound
upon the rock ledge outside, the
sound of quick step. And then, be-
fore she heard the snarling, ugly
voice which she had heard once and
had never forgotten. she knew that
this time she had waited too long
that it was not Ruth coming.
I One man-and there might be 9TH
ers. She stepped back to her bed
hid the two weapons and waited. She
must make no mistakes now.
The door was flung open. Outside
it was dark. pitch-dark. But evident
ly the man entering had no fear of
being seen. He threw down bundle
of dry fagots, and set fire to them.
The blaze, leaping up. casting wav-
ering CLEANS to where Judith stood.
showed her plainly the twisted, ugly
face of Quinnion, his red-rimmed eyes
peering at her. filled with evil light.
1.-The better to see you by, my
dear!" was Quinnion's word of greet
ing. Judith made no answer. She
| drew a little farther back into the
shadows, little closer to the things
she had hidden among the fir
branches.
'Ho," sneered Quinnion, his mood
from the first plain enough to read in
the glimpses of his face and in the
added harshness of his voice. ''Timid
little fawn, huh? BY Cd, man
would say from the bluff you put up
| that ii was all dream about findin'
you an the handsome Lee in the cabin
together! Stan off all you d-n
| please; I've come to tame you, you
little beauty of the big innocent eyes y
Not drunk; no. Quinnion was never
! drunk. But, as he came a step closer.
the heavy air of the cave grew heavier
with the whisky he carried, whisky
enough to stimulate the evil within
him, not to quench 1t.
"Stand back!" cried Judith, with a
sharp intake of breath. 81 want to
talk with you. Chris Quinnion."
$50 you know who | am, do you?
Well, much good it'll do you"
Il know who you are and what you
are she told him defiantly. suddenly
sick of her long hours of playing
! baby, knowing at the moment less
fear than hatred and loathing Listen
to me: Bayne Trevors has come out
| in the open at last; he has made his
big play and is going to lose out on it.
Your one chance now is to let me go
and to go yourself. Go fast and far,
| Chris Quinnion. For when the law
knows the sort Bayne Trevors is and
how you have worked hand and glove
with him, it will know just how much
his word was worth when he swore
you were with him when father was
killed! Coward and cur and muir
| dered ~
| Quinnion laughed at her.
| Little pussy-cat," he jeered. you've
got claws, have you? And you spit
and growl, do you? Want me TO let
you go back to that staggering lover
of yours, do you? Back to Lee
That's enough, Quinnion," she said
sharply.
us it?" He laughed at her again,
and again came on toward her. the
| red-rimmed evil of his eyes driving
quick fear at last into her. Enough
Why, curse you and curse him,
haven't begun yet When I'm through
with you I'll 60 fast enough. And he
can have you then an On well
come TO him !"
"Stop!" cried Judith.
His laughter did not reach her ears
now. but as he kicked the fire at his
foot and the flames leaped and
showed his face, she read the laughter
in his soul; read it through the gleam-
ing eyes, the twisted mouth which
showed the teeth at one side in hor-
rible leer. His long arms thrust out
before him, he came on.
| "Oh, my Cd" cried Judith. MY
Cdr
Then suddenly she was silent. She
thought that she had known the ut.
termost of fear and now for the first
time did she fully know what terror
was. His strength was many times
her strength, his brutality was un-
bounded, she was alone with him
There was no one to call to, not even
Ruth, the mad woman.
| She was shaking now. shaking sc
that she could barely stand. Quinnior
came on, his long arms out.
I She felt the strength die out of her
body, grew for a moment blind and
dizzy and sick. She tried again to
call out TO him. to plead with him
But her voice stuck in her throat.
! He was gloating over her, look
strangely like Mad Ruth's In his eyes
Good Cd! He was like Mad Ruth
the same eyes, the same long, power
full arms, the same look of cunning
In flash there came to Ler suspi-
man was blood Of Mad Ruth's blood
bone of her bone her son. and. like
her, tainted with madness.
He shot out long arm. his hand
barely brushing her shoulder. She
shrank back. He stood, content to
pause moment. to gloat further over
her.
"You little beauty" he said. pant
ing. "You little white and pink and
brown beautyl"
Judith had shuddered when he
touched her. But strange thing had
happened to her. His touch had
angered her so that she almost for
got to be afraid, angered her so tina,