Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-03
Ask No Questions
By Beldon Duff
ccpyisht By North Newspaper Alliance. me
ocpyriFh Newspaper Alliance ma

counted all those warning pufTs and
Snorts
At distance of some or 10 PAGES
from the knoll the man stopped and
with every appearance of leisureliness
searched among the clump Of young
plum trees. Having found one to his
liking, he proceeded to cut himself a
! switch, looping off the leaves with the
| point of a long wicked looking knife.
/ The horse, meanwhile, one eye aware
! of everything that was going on,
Snatched bit of clover.
The man kept advancing, his hands
raised above his head the bride held
| out suggestively between them.
| What the Killer thought was not diff
! flcult to imagine. He laid small ears
/ close to his head and curled a vicious
/ lip
Annassa Vests faith in the new
! Corners ability oozed away. A great
horror, the certainty that Otto had in
deed. been trampled under those dane
ing hoofs and that she was about to see
his fate re-enacted here before her eyes
brought her to her knees in front Of
the open window
stop" She cried. But even had the
cry been heard, it was too late. The
stranger had already made his spring
for place on the bare black back.
What followed in the next few sec
onds was too Kaleidoscope to describe in
detail. A whirling picture of man and
beast--of pounding hoofs and flying
mane-of a plum-tree switch--of that
one pale eye of the Killers flashing in
the moonlight.
The horse had reared on his launches
and was paving the air, preparing to
fling himself backward in a suicidal
attempt to be rid of his detestible bur-
den. A well timed cut across the nose
brought him to earth again.
Cunningly changing his tactics,
Dracula began a series Of leaps, each
one ending on four stiff legs. To the
last leap was added a frantic spin,
from which both horse and rider
emerged dizzily wondering what the
next move would be.
1t was at this moment that the
watcher in the window heard a sound
in the room below-the scrape of a
chair as though some one had risen
hurriedly. followed Immediately by the
squeak of heavy tread over the two
loose boards near the fireplace. Too often
had Annassa stepped on those boards
herself not to recognize their dolorous
plants. Without doubt the jealous
deputy had caught hint of what was
going on and had risen to attend to
it. And then the thought: Suppose he
should feel it in the line of his duty to
take a pot shot at the night rider? She
called:
You IN the south pasture-look out!
Man coming! Gun!"
The stranger flung a look over his left
shoulder, a wordless, fleeing question
The big black horse, quick to feel,
sensitive to understand and interpret,
did not have to be told that his riders
attention had been momentarily dis
tracted. All he needed was an OPEN
ing, and this was it. In a flash he had
the bit between his teeth, had Whirled
about and was headed for the stone
wall
Too late. Miss West saw what she had
done. Helpless she could only grind
her finger nails into the wood Of the
window sill and wait, an unwilling wit
ness, while the man she had sought to
save from the deputy's gun was carried
to what looked like certain destruction. !
AS for the rider not until he was (
within stride of the wall did he snap
out of the trance into which her mop
perfume cry of warning had plunged
him. But when he did come to it was
with lively appreciation Of the danger
that lay ahead. Digging his knees into
the foam-splashed sides of his mount,
he brought all the power In the upper
part of his body to bear on the frail
curb bit.
Another leap and they had reached
the stone barrier.
There came one heart-rending second |
Of indecision, one last culver of oppo-
sition before the Killer, unable TO es-
cape his heritage of obedience, rose in
response to that mighty upward tug,
SKINNED the wall like swallow in mid
flight, and, f1attening out on the road
beyond, disappeared in weller of rage
and gravel.
Miss West hung limp across the win
dow sill till the last hoof beat had been
lost in the leafy stiffness of the Wood
road. Gradually her lips parted in a
smile. Had her heart not already been
given to another, here, right at hand
were all the qualifications she had
dreamed Of as being necessary for ro-
nance. youth. Physical attractive
ness. Daring She checked them Off
one by one, on her finagers, adding
Mystery" Which last brought the dis
turbing thought: What was man like
this doing, skulking about the barns
Of Brides House in clothing that would
have shamed the average tramp?
A bell tinkling sharply in the hall out
side brought her back to her surround
ings with start-an agitated tinkle re-