The Washington times., 1935-01-29

~NONAAC OAooG4uS. Minutes DdS
He flattened back as voices
came to him from near at
hand. The sound drew closer,
and peering cautiously out, Dick
saw a group of riders slowly
filing by him, intently scanning
every rock and crevice. While
still in view the leader halted.
pointing to Dicks tracks in the
sand, and with one accord the
men raised their eyes in the
direction Of his hiding place.
First Victim
But it was one thing to find
those telltale footprints and an
other to follow them with any
comforting degree of safety, so
Tor a time the little band of
pursuerS stopped to hold coun.
Gil. Not one of them but knew
Lowell's deadly power with the
revolver.
Not one but knew the steel
nerve, the calm and steady eve
that awaited them among those
Sheltering rocks. Swift death
!urked back there. But they
knew too that not one would
dare face Sari's wrath if they
Tailed to bring this chase to its
final bloody end.
CHAPTER xxx
At length they seemed to
reach an agreement, each man
handed the reinS of his horse
to one Of their number, and
dividing into two groups, they
began deploying like an ad-
vance wave of Sharpshooters
along the face of the rock.
Slowly they moved, almost fear.
1uIly. and not until long mo-
ments passed could Dick at last
make out the sounds of their
Stealthy advance. Then, almost
directly in front of him a boot
heel clinked against a boulder,
and he knew that the first of
his enemies was within close
range. Keeling behind a ledge
OF rocks he waited, cooked auto
matte in hand, until very family
he heard the steaIthy sound as
Of a body cautiously sliding over
. rough surface.
Half rising, Dick took a short
step forward, then impelled by
some unheard and indefinable
warning, Sprang back just as a
bullet flattened with q vicious
thud against a rock not two
teet before him. At the same
moment a Shot rang out, but
TO Dicks amazement the sound
came from high above.
Again the hiss of lead, and
another shot from above, and
leaning far back, Dick looked
up to see on the Barriers edge,
silhouetted against the sky, the
dark outline of a man with
drawn automatic, peering down.
Again the figure moved, seek
ing a clearer view, and once
again the revolver raised, but
this time Dicks own weapon
spoke.
Deafening the shot crashed
and reechoed among the rocks,
and even as Dick watched he
saw the dark form above grow
rigid. sway, then slowly wheel.
ing, fall face forward over the
edge Of the cliff. Twice in it's
long descent that clutching
body turned in the air, then
struck sickeningly upon jagged
boulderS just beyond. From
out among his purSuers Dick
heard a cry Of mingled fright
and rage, and a man, bursting
from his place of concealment,
rose in full view, running fran.
ticaly for the open desert. It
would have been an easy shot,
but Dick only watched him,
then settled back, squatting in
cowboy fashion on his heels
while he slipped a fresh cart
E1oge INTO the clip.
Final Smoke
Immediate danger was over,
but those shot from the Bar
rier's rim brought a new ele-
ment of fatality, for now Dick
realized that Sari'S men need
only ascend the Barrier to have
him hopeleSsly at their mercy
from above. He looked at the
rocky wall behind him, its sur.
face fresh with newly blasted
stone, vainly seeking some fis-
sure where he might find
safety from that overhead fire.
And even as he stood there the
rapid galloping of horses told
him that part of the band was