The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-11-18
CHAPTER XIE-Continued

DGdllS, WdlSlllllS Nldl ldli
she testified against the Bender fac
ton at the Inspiration hearing. He
knew that there was nothing behind
the embittered man which would
prevent his firing upon the girl-if
a reason for such an act could be
conceived. But still he could think
of no explanation for the firing of
that other distant gun.
Abruptly he turned and went back
to the fire. Marian was sitting up
trying to press the redness from her
eyes; she seemed steady again.
Sorry" she said.
1--WE got to go on up the canyon"
he told her.
81 thought you said Magoon
wouldn't stop there, now"
He told her, shortly, of the dis
tant report of the gun.
but who could it be?"
81 don't know. But-I've got to
60 up and see."
Pm ready to start" Marian said.
"Ready-?"
''I'm going to go where you 60"
He considered a moment. She
looked tired, and there was long
hour of rough travel between them
and the hidden cabin. But he sup
posed she would not want to try
to wander back through the dark
alone nor could he, against her
will, leave her to imagine horrors
in the dark. The hard twist of his
mouth turned a shade more grim.
Every WE'LL" he said. 'But you're
going to be a little tired before the
nights over, I'm afraid"
81 don't care anything about
that"
To tired rider a trail can unroll
unfortunately ahead; much worse is
a trail on foot, forever upward into
increasing dark. To a walker &C
customed to the saddle one mile
seems ten. It could not have been
more than three miles to the ancient
shack at the head of the gulch, but
they climbed continually and the
twist of the dry stream heightened
the miles. He knew that often Mar
ian was trying to conceal from him
the laboring of her breath in the
high air. 1t must have seemed to
the girl that she plodded and stum-
bled all night long through that up
hill 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-
BILE time before Wheeler whispered
to her, We've got to be quieter
now" And still they went on. climb
ing long way. .......
He was moving slowly and very
cautiously when at last he turned
off and worked his way up gravel
ly slide of stone; then forward
through twisting juniper that chung
to the steep land. He stopped,
gripped her shoulder, thrust her
downward to her knees.
"What-"
He stopped her whisper with
quick hand over her mouth but
directly ahead, not a dozen PAGES
away, she was answered by the sud-
den long snort of 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 m wing
seemed to appear suddenly all at
once. With a shock she saw that
they were not fifteen steps away
from a 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 second
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 in the dark:
81 didn't remember it was so
close"
SIS he there?"
Someone's there, or the horses
would be gone. Wait here"
Slowly Wheeler made his way up
ward again over the rocks, through
the juniper scrub. Walking upright,
but very quietly, he circled and APP
preached along the rock wall, until
his hands found the side of the cabin
itself. He pressed an ear against the
rough timber, and listened for long
minutes. But he could hear nothing,
not even the drawing of a breath.
He took out his knife and cut
plume of brush. Standing close
against the corner of the cabin he
struck a 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 cabins
interior was barren; he made out
an ancient brush jacket hung
against the wall, the three-legged
ruin of crude table, the black
Shadn,u of q hunk Someone was