The Ely miner., 1925-02-27
by
by
Victor Rousseau
(Copyrlght by W. G. Chapman.)
WNU Service.

4
the hut began TO waver. Lees trachea
ffattened, his lungs felt as IL they
would burst. Pathway grinned dia,
bolically into his face; his beard like
some foul fungus swept it. Lee flung
his arms out instinctively to breathe
One of his hands encountered some
thing. 1t was the pistol.
Lees fingers closed on 1t. And, as
If he concentrated all that was left of
himself in his left hand, he raised the
weapon and brought it crashing down
upon Railways skull.
Instantly Railways clutch relaxed
| his eyes glazed, as chickens eyes glaze
at the moment of death. The mans
head dropped foolishly forward on
Lees breast. A stream of curses was
cut off in foolish mutterings.
Lee struggled to his feet and stood
gasping for breath, while Railway,
mumbling stupidity, swayed to and fro
upon his knees on the floor of the hut.
Suddenly Estelle appeared to be
galvanized into life. With a low cry
she ran to Railways side, knelt down
by him, and put her arms about him.
She drew his head down on her knees
and began chafing his hands. She
looked at Lee in bitter hate.
Haven't you done me wrong enough
in the past, that you should come here
to kill my man?" she cried. do you
think you can arrest him? You
couldn't get a mile from here before
you would be captured"
But Lee. without paying any atten-
tion to her, hurried to the bedside, and
looked down at the captured. girl. She
lay there, an unconscious, huddled
heap, one knee bent under her. Her
face was deathly white, and there was
a scalp wound at the back of her head
which had been bleeding freely. She
breathed family. Her hair was cut
short and jagged about her head,
making her look more than ever like
a boy.
Estelle laid Pathway gently down
and came toward Lee with sudden
comprehension. Its for her?' she
whispered earnestly, laying her hand
upon his arm. you came here to
rescue her?'
She read the answer in his eyes.
"Oh. I'll help you, I'll help you,
then!" she cried wildly. you'll take
her away! Trust me, then, and listen
to me. There's no time for explana-
tions now. It's only miracle of luck
you found him alone. Some men are
due at any moment in the motor boat.
Two more have gone to meet them
with message. They're coming from
down the lake. There may be just
time TO escape them. You must take
the York boat. You can't pull Ii
alone against the stream. Keep TO
the left channel past the island, then
run ashore, and you'll be safe in the
forest, wherever you are going.
Hurry, hurry!"
Lee made no audible reply, but his
mind automatically registered Es-
telle's instructions. He bent over the
girl again, raised her in his arms
go that her face rested against his
shoulder, and carried her out of the
but.
AS he turned at the entrance he
saw that Railway had risen to his
knees again.
Blood was dripping from the wound
in his scalp, and he was staring about
him in the eager effort to remember.
Lee crossed the open space at a
run, scrambled down the descent,
placed the girl in the bottom of the
boat. and, seizing pair of oars. be-
gan to pull furiously for midstream.
The current caught him and sent him
whirling along toward the long, fiat,
wooded island in the middle of the
lake that came into view.
In a minute or two, however, the
flow of the river, diffused over the
whole of the lake, ceased to afford him
any appreciable assistance. The heavy
York boat responded only slightly TO
the pull of the single oarsman, SEEM
ing to creep on by inches.
Suddenly Railway appeared upon
the promontory, Estelle beside him,
clinging to him. He pushed her from
him, shaking his fist at Lee, and. his
hoarse, furious bellows came across
the water like the roaring of an en-
ragged beast of the forest. For few
moments he stood thus outlined
against the rising sun; then he dis
appeared.
Lee struggled at the oars. From
time to time he strained his ears to
catch the sounds of the oncoming
motor boat Although the new arrivals
would know nothing of his activities
at the promontory, he was pretty
sure that any solitary oarsmau ap-
pearing in that region would be
stopped by them; then he would be at
their mercy, for Pierre and Shorty
would be members of their party.
If once he could round the point of
the island, where he would be out
of sight both of the promontory and
of the motor boat coming up the chan.
mel, he could pull straight for the lake
shore, take to the woods. make for the
mission, where he meant to leave the
girl for safe-keeping.
Lee felt his spirits rise. 1t was o
fsatter only of half hour. And there
were two packs in the boat. With
one of these they could 1--we in the
forest till she was able to continue
the journey. And, looking down at
the unconscious girl, he felt again
that odd sense of tender companion
ship in his heart for her, fed. perhaps,
by the realization that the one thing
he had dreaded had not come to pass
He had feared that If ever again he
met Estelle the old passion for her