The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1925-03-06
CHAPTER VI-Continued

The joint slipped into position, the
tortured body ceased Its protest, and
Lee rose. the perspiration streaming
down his face
trembling In the nervous reaction
from the struggle, Lee listened to the
increasing noise of the motor boat
again.
1t rose to roar as 1t passed again
along the channel Immediately in
front of his hiding place. and gradually
dwindled away.
Leaving the girl where she had
fallen back into Inconsistencies, Lee
assembled one of the spruce trees and
scanned the channel. The motor boat
was moving up the shore of the island
along the edge of the reeds. 1t con-
tanned Pathway and two other men.
Another York boat was coming from
the direction of the promontory,
This contained three men also.
Six on the trail; and Lee guessed
that they would leave no nook un-
searched in their determination to To-
cate himself and the girl
The island appeared to be about
mile in length by third wide. Lee,
seeing that discovery was only a mat
ter of time, decided that it would be
better to abandon the boat and take
refuge somewhere In the underbrush.
If the York boat had not been found
by nightfall, he could return with the
try m 70 fha
If it were discovered, their situation
would be no worse
He strapped one of the packs about
his back, picked up the girl, and, thus
encountered, proceeded through the
thick brush, making for the opposite
shore, where he put the girl down in
a small declivity where the growth was
thickest. Removing the tin pannikin
from the outside of the pack, re OBJ
tanned water and poured some down
the girls throat. He noted that the
swallowing reflex was present, a ia
vOrable sign in Inconsistencies. as he
had learned at the front.
Toward the middle of the afternoon
the sun, which had shone brilliantly
throughout the morning, went perma-
nently behind the clouds. Another
snowstorm was beating up. A few
soft flakes began to fall.
Suddenly a distant hubbub broke
out and continued. There was no mis-
taking what was meant. The York
board had been discovered.
The Free Traders began to beat
across the island, calling to one an
other. Their voices gradually sounded
nearer. Crouching beside the girl in
the thick of the brush, Lee waited. AT
a distance he saw two of them pass
through the trees and disappear. The
shouting died away.
AS Soon as they had passed him.
leaving the girl where she lay. Lee
slipped softly through the under
growth, making his way back to the
sandy spit. His expectations were
confirmed. The York boat had dis
appeared. -.
Reaseending the spruce tree, he saw
the two York boats moqred to the
motor boat In mid-channel, a man with
a rifle seated in it on guard.
They were trapped on the island.
Lee made his way back, and waited
while the afternoon wore away. The
snow fell thicker. He took Off his
mackinaw and placed it over the girl.
She was no longer In a coma. bur
semi-conscious, and unaware of her
surroundings She muttered and
tossed; sometimes it was all Lee could
do TO quiet her. And the disjointed
fragments Of speech that fell from her
lips indicated the same mental an
guish that she had repealed TO him
during their ride through the range.
He shuddered to think of her mental
agony IL she had awakened to find
herself a prisoner in Railways power |
at the promontory.
And even in the darkness of their
desperate situation. he drew new hone
from his resolution. And gradually his
plans formed in his mind.
Then night began to fall, and Lee
breathed vast sigh of relief. I'm
less: bis plans miscarried. they should
be safe upon the mainland well before
miirighf.
These depended. of course. upon his
being able 10 capture one of the heats.
TIE hes, plan for the Free Traders
would have been to have Withdrawn