Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1925-04-17

| CAASlCus
Impatient of their evasion, Lee
dashed out of the hut into which Lee
boeuf, McGrath and he had herded
them, searching for Joyce. He ran
into the hut adjacent, then raced
across the promontory to the huts near
the neck. But Joyce was not in either
of these.
There remained the central store
house. and. running toward 1t, Lee
dealt a succession of furious blows
against the door with his rife stock.
1t cracked splintered and fell off Its
hinges
McGrath was at his SIDE The
| priest struck a match, and by the light
of the tiny flare 1t could be seen that
the interior of the place was empty.
Lee swung his rife butt furiously,
knocking over barrels and boxes in the
vain hope that Railway, at least was
| hiding behind them. But he was not
there. Shaking off the priest, who
sought to detain him, Lee ran back to
| the hut in which the men were herded.
I Where is she?" he shouted, dwelling
MS fl0e at Hlofre race.
"In 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, flinging the dry
stalks right and left, as one parts
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 a 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 f1oun-
dering in the mud like mired caribou.
He struggled on, sometimes sinking
knee deep in the swamp. He dashed
his rifle against the rattling 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
lie was ignorant of it, chance was di-
recting him, circultously toward the
| Int 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 out that light" Railway
snarled.
ITS him " he half whispered. "And
l thought he was deadw
Listen to me, nowr' 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 behind"
II swear 1t, Stella. I've got the gold
| cached near the motor boat. Every
things ready, and I've had fresh
drum of gasoline put in"
| They heard Lee calling again.
| "Now, Stella |" Railway whispered.
| Stella slipped from the hut and hur-
ried little distance along the path.
Lee, struggling In the swamp, sud
denly heard Joyce imploring close
at hand out of the darkness in voice
Of anguish:
Lee Lee Come to me! Help mel"
Joyce Joycel It's II 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
mimic. Estelle with Joyce's voice,
Turing him to destruction.
Out Of the dark a blow descended
on his head, sending him Keeling for
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
sprawling on the floor. He felt him
1 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
| trussed chicken.
Then the room leaped into light, and
he saw Shorty fastening the ends Of
the rope to 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 1t down in hole beneath
the sill. A thin coil of smoke quickly
began to spread upward Within a
| minute the tinder-dry thin boards OF
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