The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1925-01-01

knowledge of pain, In terms of which
he visualized existence.
That pain seemed to have existed
from all eternity. filing all space and
time. 1t usurped all the functions of
the body. He was the nucleus Of 1t,
sprawling like an inert being at the
heart of creation, and out of him pain
radiated through the universe.
And then came sight-chaos of
brown and green, fantastic mountains
clothed with sparse, ~unbranching trees,
earth's primitive creation, huge con-
tinents that he bestrode, q Brobding-
nag OF his species, solitary in the
world.
Lee became ware that his eyes
were open. And very slowly he grew
aware of his own identity. He began
looking about him.
Then he made the discovery that the
mountains he had seer were boulders,
was lying upon the ground, with a
great rock on either side of him, half
way down the gorge at the bottom of
which the torrent coursed. Low scrub
alder and other growth formed a sort
of fan-work over him, completely
c%onceallng him. Above this fan
work was a glimpse of the gray sky.
He began to remember things. he
had been riding, had been thrown
from his mount. The inspector had
sent him to bring somebody in-Snell,
Kelly-Pelly He must have %encount
cred Pelly and have been shot Pelly
had been a fool not to finish the job.
He must get after him again. And
what had happened to his horse?
Now from where he lay he had a
glimpse of the fawn tanks, the shin
ing steel circlets beneath the hoofs.
His horse was lying lower down the
slope, at the very edge of the rocks
beside the torrent. Pelly must have
shot his horse as well. Or perhaps 1t
was only the horse, and Lee had been
stunned by the fall.
The red rim of the sun was just
dipping into the horizon and Lee re-
that when he had last seen
it, it was midway in the western sky.
But he had seen 1t from a cliff top.
With that the girl flashed into the
picture. Lee saw her and her horse
topping down the ravine. He remem-
bered his own fall, the landslide, the
dynamite. Memory grew complete, the
last links snapped into place.
He realized that he had been flung
the heights above, and that by a
miracle of luck his descent into the
rock-strewn torrent had been arrested
by the scrub growth which held him.
Otherwise those rocks would have
and battered him almost out
of semblance to a man, or tossed him
into the whirling torrent.
AS it was, it was a miracle that he
had survived the fall. Probably he
badly injured. He must count
On broken limbs.
He tried TO rise, and instantly the
body screamed it's protest. With i'm
nense difficulty he succeeded in get
ing upon his hands and knees. He
lexed each of his limbs in turn. He
relt his body and ribs, he patted him
self all over.
1t was incredible, but though every
MUSCLE in his body seemed twisted, and
e was aching and bruised from head
0 foot, no bones appeared to be
roken,
Peering along the edge of the ravine,
ZEE saw the girls horse lying a little
istance away.
The effort to get upon his feet
eemed to consume an incredible
of time. BY the exercise of all
is will Lee managed to keep his
until the rocking earth had
comparatively stable. Then,
orcing his rebellious limbs and
into coordination, he stag
cred toward the girls horse.
1t was alive, but its back and limbs
ere broken, so that it was completely
lralyzed. 1t looked at Lee as lie APP
reached out of its bright, pathetic
yes, instinct with the foreknowledge
death.
Lee was sick with the fear that he
ould either find the girl dead-bat-
red almost out of recognition among !
lie rocks-or missing drowned in the
below. I
He searched every inch of the sur {
'unding terrain within a radius of t
rec hundred yards, and then aban- I
)ned hope. Anger, boiling up within /
m, assisted in reviving strength. He t
ould follow her murderers and shoot l
EN- down like the wild beasts they I
ere. t
Before leaving the side Of the in
red horse Lee drew his automatic,
hich had remained buckled in his belt
lister throughout the fall, and merci- G
lily ended the animals life with a e
ngle shot over the heart. L
Now there remained the pursuit,
.ngeance-then the original duty of t
cking up Pelly. But he swore that q
would take onS man NOT three To Y