Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1931-03-12


recess in which they could crowd
themselves and even sit upright.
Jeems explained to Toinette the mean
ing OF his strange behavior outside.
First they will find the loose stones
and the marks | made and search TOR
US In every hole and Granny of the
pile" he said. when they discover
the arrow | hope they will believe we
have fed into the forest"
They waited In silence wherein
the beating of their hearts was like
the sound OF tiny drums in%the gloom
OF their hiding place. shudder ran
through Toinette. but she whispered:
Il am not afraid"
She felt Jeems fumbIing for his
Ratchet and heard him place IL quietly
on the naked rock at his side
Then the rock itself seemed to give
forth faint sound as II some one had
I taTTpu-t gently with stick.
This sound grew into others that
were soft md swift. and .Jeems knew
| that moccasned feet were all about
them. Low voices added themselves
to the patiering tread. Toinette fixed
| her eyes on the crack throughoswhich
! came the shaft OF light, and OCCASION
ally II was darkened as body passed
It. The tread Of feet came arid went.
and they heard the clatter OF rocks.
But for time all voices dieh away.
|, and 1t was this silence which became
| almost nnbearabe for Toinette. This
clutch OF danger which they could
not see or cope with seized upon her
| until each moment she expected to
hear a ghostly creature stealing into
their hiding place or TO see pair OF
i flaming eyes on level with her own.
1t was feeling Of horror instead Of
! fear. and with It came a strong desire
10 cry out and ease her suspense In
| scream.
| .ieems. too. had almost found him
self in the grip Of something which he
!, could not control. Not moro than a
/ quarter of an hour passed IN this sus-
| nense, hut 1t seemed TO be lifetime.
Then there were voices again which
increased in number and excitement
until, above them al, Il yell rose from
| the valley as one Of the sfarchers dis.
covered the arrow
When Tainette raised her head she
/ heard no evidence Of life other than
4 their own on the ridge. Thank God.
than fh{t,tt NM t,ety -.
ley" said Jeems.
| Tonette touched him with a eau
| tioning hand. and In the same mo
| mont he WAS aware of The sound her
! ears had canghtl Some one was near
| the rock More than one--there we're
| two! Their voices were distinct
/ though low. and they stood so close
| that their forms shut onl the light
from the crevce. To his establishment
.Jeems heard d language which Hepsi-
bah Adams had taught him. and 1t was
not Mohawk These were Senecas.
The discovery thrilled him. He hated
| the Mohawk Ratchet wielders who
were the scourge OF the southern
| frontier, but the Senecas, also brethren
| OF the Six Great Nations, he douhly
! feared, for while the Mohawk killers
| were the wolves Of the wilderness, the
| Senecas we're Its foxes and panthers
| combined. One was creature OF dark
ness and surprise, the other a light.
ming fash that came and went with
| deadly sWiftness. He might trick !
Mohawk, but Seneca was the clev.
crest Of his kind.
He felt his blood turn cold as he
| listened to the two. One was arguing
| that the arrow was a ruse and that
| the fugitives were somewhere not far
away; the other. whose mind was still
| on the huge pile OF stones discredted
| the thought that 1t had been thorough
| ly searched and set of to find some
| proof OF his suspicious. The first OF
| the two speakers remained. and neither
| Toinette nor Jeems could hear him
| move. Ii seemed an lnfnity Of time
before movement came again outside
| the rock. Metal scraped II as the
| NV@ANSu Aiuat q Istib6 pfulC III IL LOT
| his gun, footsteps went away, re.
turned, and halted close to the narrow
aperture through which they had
| squeezed their bodies under the stones.
The savage was looking at the en-
trance to their hiding pacel Jeems
pictured the warrior, his doubt and
hesitation, and was as sure In his
visloning as though no barrier lay be
tween them. lie heard a grunt. The
| Seneca was on his stomach, peering
In, and the grunt was an expression
OF the foolshness which had made
him grovel like this. In moment, he
would rise and go away. But the mo-
| ment passed. One-two-three-
dozen. Toinette was like one dead
unbreathing. Odd. sensing a mighty
danger. knowing that 1t was coming,
crouched like sphinx.
AT last the silence was broken SO
softly that the disturbance might have
been that OF tress OF Toinette's hair
falling from her shoulder across
Jeems' arm. The Indian had thrust In
his head. He was lIstening-smelliny