The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1942-07-16


against earth or rock. The shock
nealy sent him overheard, but he
regained balance and edged for
ward.
He CROPPED. He touched clay
and stones. The logs forward
end was overweighted. It began
to slip. Jerry had to work back,
more amidships, and paddle his
vessel broadside to the unseen
shore. Again he clawed at the
dark wall.
A thousand to one, he was get
ting nothing but useless dirt be-
tween his cropping fingers, but he
scraped and scooped few hand
fuls if only from an impish hatred
of that giant cliff. He filled his
pockets.
He was about to reverse the
log and return to the farther
shore. He was at a moments
pauce. It's quiet was broken.
Something had moved. Where?
It must have been far overhead,
in the blackness at the cliff-top.
1t came again. With it came a
soft patter as of rain on the wa
ter. Rain-or falling earth. A
mother landslide?
A rush of descending wind cut
short all calculation. Like the
sweep of a monstrous eagle drop
ping on it's prey, what seemed a
derelict three trunk crashed
doWnWards.
The derrick shaft had gone.
Jerry struggled against water, I'M
der water-deep water.
His first thoroughly apprehend-
ed emotion was dread lest he
should be caught again by that
hideous current which cOursed
into the lakes subterranean out
let. To escape this, he swan in
what mere mad conjecture de-
clarded safe direction. He came
up for breath, but sank when he
found his head in a disk of star
shine. Swimming vainly, how
ever, he did eventually and quiet
ly make land at the dark spot
from which he had embarked, and
there he jumped into his clothes.
"The dirt didn't slip out, any,
how" he muttered as he patted
the pockets of his wet coat.
He stood rigid and listened. He
had resolved to ascend the cliffs
by the way he had come, but e.,
ven more cautiously and then,
surprising or overtaking his enc
my, to fight the thing out, but the
quiet of the night brought wis
dom. If his life had been at
tempted, it was far better to let
the would-be murderer proceed
in false security, under the be-
lief that he had been successful,
until one conclusive piece of evil
dence as to motive-as yet lack
ing-should be secured.
Somehow or other, Jerry was
convinced, Twombley had muir
dered Joseph Slim, intending,
with the smallest possible part of
the $4,000 insurance money, to
buy this deserted ore bank, of
some value of which Angie Slim,
or Joseph himself, or, it might be,
one of Twombley's own ancestors,
had given the astute broker spec
ial knowledge. Now the dead
mans sister, somehow smelling
out that crime, was-horrible as
it might seem-levying blackmail
as the price of holding her tongue
regarding the shedding of her
own brothers blood. But before
a capital charge could be placed
in the hands of the police with
any hope that they would pursue
the investigation, there must be
some proof that the iron mine was
worth its purchase for even so
small sum as five thousand.
Jerry wouldn't 60 back tonight to
Ironburg.
Instead, he struck down the val
ley that opened into the lake
struck at first gingerly, but at
last boldly, across the lowlands,
assured that somewhere there he
must find another road to Amer
icus. Nor was disappointment
his reward. A group of fields
passed, he came to a byroad; it
brought him to a highway. BY
knocking at the door of farm
house and arousing from sleep to
wrath it's Pennsylvania-Dutch
proprietor, Jerry learned that a
certain crossroad would conduct
him to Americas.
ITO pE T0NTTNI1En)