The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1937-10-21

but they climbed continually; and
the twist of the dry stream length
ened the miles. He knew that Of
ten Marian was trying to conceal
from him the laboring of her breath
in the high air. It must have
seemed to the girl that she plodded
and stumbled all night long through
that uphill sand, while Wheeler's
long stride led out relentlessly. She
could not know how much he slowed
his pace for her.
The broad canyon narrowed and
steepened until it was a twisting
gorge between vast black walls.
The going became sleeper, and the
sand shelves ended; the dead stream
was an interminable staircase of
lodges and tumbles of rock.
They had travelled an intermina-
bic time before Wheeler whispered
to her, "We've got to be quieter
now" And still they went on,
slimbing long way.
He was moving slowly and very
cautiously when at last he turned
off and worked his way up grav-
cling slide of stone; then forward
through twisting juniper that chung
to the step land. He stopped, grip
ped her shoulder, thrust her down.
ward to her knees.
''What-"
He stopped her whisper with a
quick hand over her mouth; but
directly ahead, not a dozen PAGES
away she was answered by the
sudden long snort of a pony. He
was peering through the juniper;
her eyes followed his, straining in
the canyons black shadows. What
he was looking at took form in the
darkness, and without moving
seemed to appear suddenly all at
once. With a shock she saw that
they were not fifteen steps away
from small ruined shanty set hard
against an overhanging wall of
stone
The shack at the head of the
gulch was windowless, and it's door
was open into blackness. Beside
it, tied some yards apart, were the
horse which had snorted, and Sec
ond animal that might have been
either a horse or mule
Wheeler backed away, drawing
her after him, foot by foot. Fifty
yards away in the shelter of the
rocks he made her sit down. No
sound came from above except the
uneasy shifting of the ponies feet;
and Wheeler permitted himself a
deep breath of relief. She could
hardly hear his whisper i'm the
dark: II didn't remember it was so
close"
'Is he there?"
someone's there, or the horses
would be gone. Wait here"
Slowly Wheeler made his way
upward again over the rocks,
Through juniper scrub. Walking
upright, but very quietly, he circled
and approached along the rock wall,
until his hand found the side of the
cabin itself. He pressed an ear
against the rough timber, and list
ened for long minutes. But he
could hear nothing, not even the
drawing of breath.
He took out his knife and cut
plume of brush. Standing close
against the corner of the cabin he
struck match and set the brush
aflame. He swung an arm around
the corner of the cabin and threw
the lighted brush through the open
door.
Crouching low, he moved ten
PAGES from the cabin and circled
slowly, watching the lighted door
way.
He could see the blazing brush on
the cabins floor of hard-packed
earth, and no hand moved to put
it out. Behind the flame the cab
ms interior was barren; he made
out an ancient brush jacket hung
against the wall, the three-legged
ruin of crude table, the black
shadow of bunk. Someone was
here-should be here; but if the
fugitive had been in the cabin he
would have thrown a blanket over
that torch by now. Wheeler won
dered if the man was behind him,
or drawing a bead on him from
above.
AS he circled a high-heeled boot
came into view upon the cabin floor.
That boot was unnatural; it was ly-
ing on its side, yet not on it's side
tilted up little upon it's toe. When
he saw that, something turned over
inside Wheeler, for he knew what
was in the cabin. He Strengthened
up and walkd to the door, stepped
inside quickly and fattened him.
self against a wall.