Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-26

IN HER RIGHT HAND SHE WAS AUTOMATIC P

&C. PISTOL. THE HAND WAS WABBLl
After supper he said: There is no
reason why you shouldn't go to sleep.
I'm so full of coffee that I'm awake
for the night. Shall 1 take you into
| the cabin?"
"Oh, nO--out here-youll wake me
YOU muslin case anything hap
pens"
Nearby, a rock rose from the ledge.
| There was earth at it's foot, soft but
dry. Against that he established her.
He folded one blanket under her. en-
shrouded her with the other; as pro-
lection against dew laid a slicker over
all.
Her eyes closed against the moon.
| light. He went back to the ledge.
Once, when their world stood in black
ness, he tiptoed over to the rock and
bent over her. For long time he
gazed down upon her. Then he re-
turned to his ledge. He put on Peter
sens spare slicker, lay down, closed
| his eyes.
breakfasts ready"
| He sat up. The sun was streaming
over the plateau and over Sally Flint.
! "Of course, Petersen didn't show
up?" she asked as they breakfasted.
Not a sound all night, except the
rauCous noises of nature. Well. /
didn't think he would. 1t was just a
chance that he'd left a cache"
Yes. But / took stroll this morn
ing and found something, not impor-
tant. L suppose, but interesting"
| WHAT"
She led him to the farther corner of
| the ledge where the road emerged.
It's just this" she said. You see
| that old tunnel down there"
Eyes, The Grey Ghost"
"Well, there's a trail to it's en-,
trance
Naturally"
"But it's a fresh trail! At least
there are little horseshoe prints-bur-
ros, 1 suppose. The rain would wash
away old tracks, wouldn't it?''
surely. Jumping Jehoshaphat!
That was why Petersen was so choosy
about my looking into it. Why didn t
I think of that? OF course. it was his
| cache. It's empty. But l want the
evidence while his tracks are fresh"
TT was only two minutes before they
were running down to the trail.
Burro tracks laced the trail, became a
| web at the prism before the tunnel
| door.
Grant knocked the hasp from the
! door and threw it open. They entered
| and came upon a big. shapeless hole
running a dozen feet into the tunnel
wall. 1t was timbered with fir trunks.
| And on its bottom lay a shovel and
| pick. unrusted.
keep the flash going" commanded
| Grant.
He seemed to be jamming himself
| into the farther wall Of that hole,
| digging with his hands.
1.-The torch, pleased" he called.
| He took a long look, handed it back,
| picked up the shovel, made dirt fly.
| He scoop2d up a double handful. AS
| he turned toward her the light caught
| his face. 1t streamed perSpiration and
his mouth vas gaping spasmodically
| but his blue eyes blaZed.
1.-The cachc?" she asked.
1.-THE cache-no." he exclaimed. at 8
its a bonanza! We mustn't take
any chances with this air. But every
things all right. More than all right.
Come running now!
When the cutter air freshened their
nostrils Grant said:
1.-The dunderhead! Cousin Rossiter
told Petersen to loot the property.
Petersen knew gold when he saw it,.
but he never thought to find the boun-
diaries of the Ravenal. And the Grey
GhoGt- The old boy who ran that
tunnel and gave up in 1893 just missed
the vein he was after by six feet,
Then it caved in-right to the face Of
the vein. And Petersen found 1t and
thought it was part Of the Ravenal.
And after he'd cleaned out the Rave
nal he started to clean out the Grey
Ghost. He hadn't finished that one
pocket. There's fortune lett in 1t.
Where there's pocket there's q vein.
Where there's a vein in this district
there's more pockets. It's a second
RayenaI, and it isn't scratchedi'
She was taking it all with still Sc
renity. He remembered in a flash how
calmly she had received the news that
her fortune had been stolen. He had
credited it then TO her courage; was it
that, or only a slow Imagination?
And courage was the thing he had
most admired in her.
whats to be done neGt?" she
asked.
til that's done. Did you see any ink at
the cabin?"
1--WE a fountain-pen in my bag"
Come on" He raced up to the
plateau. When she entered the cabin,
he showed toward her two written
sheets and the pen.
Sign here" he said.
II was waiting for you to say that"
she said.
What"
Offer me the Grey Ghost-signing
these papers means that, doesn't it?"
"Of course
She shook her head slowly. deliber
dtely
You've offered me more than the
Grey Ghost she said.
His eyes showed his puzzlement.
She read their expression, for she
added:
Faith in people. If you'd grabbed
it, without offering it to me, I'd have
known what easy money does to every
one. What it did to my cousin Rossi-
ter. But there are people good enough
and strong enough"
Like YOU"
You found that vein. I'd never
have known. OF course, the claim is
YOURS
"Who saw the trail of the Grey
Ghost? And'-here he clutched at an
idea-"I'm your employe. You've
hired me. Whatever l discover be
longs to my employer"
1T wasn't on my property"
Now. look here-while we debate,
there's gold in the Grey Ghost. and it
belongs to whoever sticks up three
lines of writing. I'll tell you what I'll
and we can thrash out our differences |
later"
She considered moment.