THE TILLAMuOK HEADLIGHT
Friday, September 15, 1922
*
T th e’k t’!< -ntell was Fear It
self. He knew the ways of men only
too well. Too many times he had
8 seen members of bis herd fall stricken
K at a word from the glittering sticks
I
they carried In their hands. He ut
I
S tered a far-ringing snort.
V
I It was a distinctive sound, begln-
nlng rnther high < n the scale as a
V
$ w loud whistle and descending Into a
I
Killer knew
V deep b; ss b.i’.' l- And tl
V
hat sound meant. It
V perfectly ,-wlit
was a simple iy of saying that the
s
/«A
W’oul d progress no farther down
$
Í elk
that trail, The bear leaped In wild
ÿ By Edison Marshall s fury.
■/
Ì
Tim
bull
seemefl
to leap straight up.
Author of
ÿ Ills muscles had been set at his first
••The Voice of the Pack“
I
alarm from Turner's sn’-ll on the
wind, and they drove forth the pow
V
V
limbs ns If by n powder explo
V
I erful
riustrations by Irwin Myers
sion. He was full In the air when the
V
L.
forepaws battered down where he lia«1
fee*
Copyright by Little. Brown & Co.
been. Then he darted away Into the
«■overt».
SYNOPSIS
The grizzly knew better than to try
to overtake him. Almost rabid with
CHAPTER I.—At tiie death of his foster wrath he turn«»«! back to Ids ambush.
The
Strength
f the Pines
father, Bruce Duncan, in an eastern city,
re elves a mysterious message, sent by a
Mrs Ross, summoning him peremptorily
to southern Oregon—to meet "Linda."
CHAPTER II.—Bruce has vivid but baf
fling recollections of his childhood kt an
orphanage, before his adoption by New
ton Duncan, with the girl Linda.
CHAPTER IIL—At his destination,
Trad's End, news that a message has
beer, sent to Bruce Is received with
marked displeasure by a man introduced
to the reader as “Simon."
CHAPTER IV.—Leaving the train,
Bruce Is astonished at-his apparent fa-
mll: irlty with the surroundings, though
to h'.s knowledge he has never been there.
CHAPTER V.—Obedient to the message,
Bruce makes his way to Martin's
*" ‘
cross-
roads store, for direction as to reaching
Mrs. Ross’ cabin.
’
CHAPTER Vl.-On the way, "Simon
_
sternly warns him to give up his quest
and return East Bruce refuses.
CHAPTER VII.—Mrs. Ross, aged and
Infimi. welcomes him with emigion. She
hastens him on bls way—the end of "Pine-
Needle Trail."
CHAPTER VIII.—Through a country
puzzhngly tamlllar. Bruce journeys, and
finds his childhood playmate, Linda.
CHAPTER IX.—The girl tells him of
wrongs committed by an enemy clan on
her family, the Rosses. Lands occupied
by the clan were stolen from the Rosses,
and the family with the exception of
Aunt Elmira (Mrs. Ross) and herself,
wiped out by assassination. Bruce’s fa
ther, Matthew Folger, wa$ one of the
victims. His mother had fled with Bruce
*n 1 Linda. The girl, while small, had
been kidnaped from the orphanage and
brought to the mountains. Linda’s father
had deeded his lands to Matthew Folger,
Iger,
_____ , which
_____ would
___ confute
iute
bit the agreement,
the enemy’s claims
’ '
to the property, " has
been lost
CHAPTER X.—Bruce's mountain blood
responds to the call of the blood-feud.
CHAPTER XI.—A giant tree, the Sen
tlnel Pine, in front
rront of
or Linda
umms
’s cabin.
caum,
seems to Bruce’s excited Imagination to
be endeavoring to convey a message.
CHAPTER XII.—Bruce sets out In
search of a trapper named Hudson, a
witness to the agreement between Linda’s
father and Matthew Folger.
CHAPTER XIII.—A gigantic grUzly.
known as the Killer, Is the terror of the
vicinity, because of his size and ferocity.
CHAPTER XIV.—Dave Turner, sent by
Simon, bribes Hudson to swear falsely
concerning the agreement. It brought to
light, he knowing Its whereabouts.
was cross; and he didn’t care who
knew It. He was hungry too; but
hunger is an emotion for the beasts
of prey to keep carefully to them
selves.
•
The Killer moved quite softly. One
would have marveled how silently his
great feet fell upon the dry earth and
with what slight sound his heavy
form moved through the thickets. He
moved slowly, cautiously—all the time
mounting farther up the little hill that
rose from the hanks of the stream,
lb- cr.m? to an opening in the thicket,
a little brown pathway that vanished
H'llckly into the shadows of the cov-
erts.
The Killer slipped softly into the
heavy brush just at Its mouth. It was
his ambush. Soon, he knew, some of
the creatures that had bowers in the
heart of the thicket would be coming
along that trail onto the feeding
grounds on the ridge, He had only
to wait.
The night wind, rising somewhere In
the region of the snow banks on the*
highest mountains, blew down Into the
Killer’s face and brought meson era
that no human being may ever receive.
Tlmn his sharp ears heard th<* «ottnd
of brush cracked softly as some one
of the larger forest creatures came
up the trail toward him.
The steps drew nearer
Killer recognlze«l them.
They were
plainly the soft footfall of some mem-
her of the deer tribe, yet they were
too pr< «nounced to be the step of any
of the lesser deer. The bull elk had
left hl « bed. The red exes of the
grizzly seemed to glow as he waited,
Great though the stag wns. only one
little 1 'low of the massive forearm
be needed; The huge fangs
w
l ave to close down but once.
¡■ear did not move a single tell-
.uscle. He scarcely byealbed.
¡:1 wav almost within striking
now. The wicked red ey«-s
already discern the dimmest
’■ «>f his outline through the
Rut all at «»nee he stopped,
Iftlng. The Killer kne«v that the
I neither deteete«! his odor n- i
him. and he had made n<? move-
rlmt the sham «■’■«■« could de-
Yct the bull was evidently
*■! He stood immobile, one foot
nostrils open, head raise«L
The the wind flowing true, the grtz-
tly iders’oofl.
A uneent smell reached him from
bel- —evidently the smell of >» living
cr. tnre that followed the trull along
’he «trram thst flinrisl through th«
d«n He recognized It In nn Instant
He had fletertefl ft many time« p«r-
icn!«r|y when he went Into th«
r|esrw«
t0 k1)1
It wnf
jn»n an «flor almost unknown In this
tlen. Dave Turner, brother nt
mon,
walking doom the «treaw
^»rd Hudson’s amp.
CHAPTER XIV
Simon Turner had given Dave very
definite Instructions concerning his
embassy to Hudson, “The Jlrst thing
this Bruce will do,” Simon had said.
i “Is to hunt up IludsoiP-the one living
man that witnessed that agreement
between Ross and old Folger. One
reason is that lie’ll wunt to verify
Linda's story. The next 1? to per
suade the old man to go down to the
courts wtth him ns Ills witness, And
wlint you have to do is line him up
for our side first.”
“You think—" Dove’s eyes wnn-
flared about the room, "you thlnk
that's the best way?"
“I wouldn’t be fellin’ you to do It
if I didn’t think so.” Simon laughed—
a sudd«'n, grim syllable. "Dave, you’re
a bloodthirsty devil. I see what you’re
thinking of—of a safer way to keep
him from telling. But you know the
word I sent out. ‘Go easy I’ That’s
the wisest course to follow at present.
The valley people pay more attention
to such things than they used to; the
fewer the killings, the wiser we will
be. If he’ll keep quiet for the hun
dred let him have It In pence."
Dave hadn’t forgotten. But Ills fea
tures were sharper and more ratlike
than ever when he came In sight of
Hudson’3 camp, just after the fall of
darkness of the second day out. The
trapper was cooking his simple meal—
a blue grouse frying In his skillet,
coffee boiling, and flapjack batter
ready for the moment the grouse was
done. Dave’s thoughts returned to
the hundred dollars In his pocket—a
good sum In the hills. A brass rifle
cartridge, such as be could fire In
the thirty-thirty that he carried In the
hollow of his arm, cost only about six
cents. The net gain would be—the
figures flew quickly through his mind—
ninety-nine dollars and ninety-four
cents; quite a good piece of business
for Dave. But the trouble was that
Simon might find out. The word had
gone out, for the present at least, to
"go easy." Such little games as oc
curred to Dave now—as he watched
the trapper In the firelight with one
hundred dollars of the clan's money
In his own pocket—had been prohibit
ed until further not.ee.
The thing looked so simple that
Dave squirmed all over with annoy
ance. It hurt him to think that the
hundred dollars that he carried was
to be passed over, without a wink of
an eye, to this bearded trapper; nnd
the only return for It was to be a
promise that Hudson would not tes
tify in Bruce’s behalf. And a hundred
dollars was real money! Just a little
matter of a single glance d««wn his
rifle barrel at the figure In the silhou
ette of the fire glow—and a half-ounce
of pressure on the hnlr triirger. Half
't ■ *
.-ij0-
Dave Helper Himself to tne Food of
the Man That, a Moment Before, He
Would Have Slain.
Jesting with himself, he dropped on
one kflee and raise«! the weapon. The
trapper did not guess hts presence.
The blood leaped In Dave's veins.
But ho ennght himself with a
wrench. He realized that Simon bad
spoken true when he sold that the old
days wore gone, that the arm of the
Inw reached farther than formerly,
«nd It might even stretch to this far
place. He remembered Simon's In
structtons. “The quieter we can do
t?«eae tb’ng«. the better," the clan
Tender had said. “If
can
through to October thirtieth with nt
ki;i;rg», '.ha aufar it la for us _Gc
He dropped to bls kuee the very sec-
on«I tlmt the gun leaped to Ids shoul
der. He seemed to know that from a
lower p« -ill.«a the targ< t would be
more dearly revealed. The finger
pressed buck against the trigger.
The dl«ti«nce was far; Bru«‘e was
not a practiced rifle shot, and it bor-
ilereil on the miraculous that Ids lead
went anywhere near tile bear's body.
And it was true that th« bullet «lid
not reacli a vital place, it stung like
a wasp at the Killer's flank, however,
cuttlug «1 shallow flesh wound. But it
was enough to take bls dreadful atten
tion from the mortally wounded trap
per in the pine needles.
He whirled ubout, growling furious
ly «mil biting at tiie wound. Then lie
stood still, turning ills gaze first to the
pale face of Dave Turner thirty feet
above him In the pine. Tiie eyes glowed
In fury and hatred, lie hml found
men out at last; they died oven more
easily than the fawn, He started to
turn back to the fallen, and the rille
spoke again.
It was a complete miss, this time;
yet the bear leaped In fear when the
bullet thwacked into the dust beside
him. 11c did not wait for a third, ills
caution suddenly returning to him.
and perhaps his 'inger somewhat sati
ated by the blow he had dealt Hudson,
lie crashed into the security of the
thicket.
Bruce waited a single Instant, hop
ing for another gllmpso of the crea
ture; then ran down to aid Hudson.
But In driving the bear from the trap
per's helpless body he had already
given all the aid that he could. Un
derstanding came quickly. He had
arrived only tn time for the Depar
ture—just a glimpse of a light as It
faded. The blow had been more than
any human being could survive; even
now Hudson was entering up«»n that
strange calm which often, so merci
fully, Immediately precedes death.
He, opened hts eyes ami looked with
s«mie wonder Into Bruce's
rati —a fury that
ppnv. Dir»
first living crea-
If hf'll kc
him have I
♦und he
Dave »It
1 chas
fai
low of bls
all. ’
the trull
re mon t try to sii
In
,t‘
till r
P
a moment iudson heard his s
: I
In
wolf
n
looked up. They met In a cirt' of
>w
It V||g u
firelight.
if t ti y I h
nve
It Is not the mountain way to frater
Wil 8
nize quickly, nor are the mountain quarry In « h< ther
tlje
Uhl tl
men quick to »how astonishment. true tit at tl
ne—
Hudson had not seen another human pleasure of
t 111
and
being since his last visit to the settle the ecstatic
the
bite
to
r
ments. Yet bls voice Indicated no
In tills case
: surprise at this visitation.
part of the work for him. It was just
"Ilowdy," he grunted
"Howdy," Dave replied. “How about a simple matter of driving the crea
ture away from his deml.
grub?”
But at that Instant fate ttiok a hand
"Help yourself. Supper just ready.”
Dave helped himself to the food of In the merry little chase. To the
the man that, a moment before, he fawn. It was nothing but a sharp clang
would have slain; and In the light of of metal behind him and an answering
the high fire that followed the meal, ♦shriek of pain—sounds that hi Its
he got down to the real business of terror It heard hut dimly. But It was
an unlooked-for and tragic reality to
the visit.
“I suppose you’ve forgotten that the wolf. His leap was suddenly ar
little deed you witnessed between old rested In midstlr, and he was hurled
Mat Folger and Ross—twenty years to the ground with stunning force.
ago," Dnve begun easily, his pipe be Cruel metal teeth had seized Ills leg.
and a strong chain held him when he
tween his teeth.
Hudson turned with a cunning glit tried to escape. He fought It with
ter In hla eyes. • Dave saw It nnd desperate savagery. The fawn leaped
grew bolder. "Who wants me to for on to safety.
But tliure was no need of the grizzly
get It?" Hudson demanded.
"I ain't said that anybody wants continuing its pursuit, Everything had
you to,” Dave responded. “I asked turned out quite well for him. after
all. A wolf is ever so much more till-
you If you had."
Hudson was still a moment, strok- Ing than any kind of seasonal fawn;
Ing absently his beard. "If you want and the old gray pack leader was lm-
to know," he said, “I ain’t forgotten. prisoned and helpless in one of llud-
But there wasn’t Just a deed. There son’s trnps.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
*
•
was an agreement, too.”
“I know all about that agreement,”
In the first gray of morning, Dave
Dave confessed.
Turner started back toward bls home.
“You do, eh? So do I. I ain't likely "I’ll go with you to the forks In the
to forget.”
trail," Hodson told him. “I want to
Dave studied him closely. "What take a look at some of my traps, any
good is It going to do you to remem how."
ber?" he demanded.
At the same hour—us soon as It was
"I ain’t saying that It’s going to do light enough to see—Bruce was finish
me any good. At present I ain’t got ing bls breakfast In preparation for
nothing against the Turners. They’ve the last lap of Ills journey. He had
always been all right to me. What's passed the night by a spring on a long
between them and the Rosses Is past ridge almost In eye range of Hudson's
and done—although I know just In camp. Now he was preparing to dtp
what way Folger held that land and down Into the Killer’s glen.
no transfer from him to you was le
Turner nnd Hudson followed up the
gal. But that’s all part of the flhsL little creek.
As long as the Turners continue to be
The first of Hudson’s sets proved
my friends I don't see why anything empty. The second was about a turn
should be said about It.”
In the creek, and a wall of brush made
Dave speculated. It was wholly It Impossible for him to tell at n dis
plain that the old man had not yet tance whether or not he had made a
heard of Bruce’s return, There was catch. But when still a quarter of a
no need to mention him. “We’re glad mile distant, Hudson heard n sound
you are our friend," Dave went on. that he thought he recognized. It was
“But we don’t expect no one to stay a high, sharp, agonized bnrk that
friends with us unless they benefit to ! I dimmed into a low whine, “I believe
some small extent by It. How many I’ve got a coyote or a wolf up there,”
furs do you hope to take this year?"
he said. They hastened their steps.
“Not enough to pay to pack out.
The whole picture loomed suddenly
Maybe two hundred dollars In bount . before their eyes. There was no wolf
ies before New Year—coyotes and In the trap. The steel had sprung,
wolves."
certainly, but only a hideous fragment
“Then maybe fifty or seventy-five of a foot remained between the Jaws.
dollars, without bothering to set the The bone had been broken sharply
traps, wouldn’t come In so bad."
off, as a man might break a match In
"It wouldn’t come In bad, but it his fingers. There was no living wolf.
doesn’t buy much these days. A hun Life had gone out of the gray body
dred would be better.”
many minutes before. The two men
“A hundred It is,” Dave told him saw all these things as a background
with finality.
only—dim details about the central
The eyes above the dark beard figure. But the thing that froze them
shone In the firelight. The mbney In their tracks with terror was the He Opened hie Eyes and Looked With
changed hands. They sat a long time, great, gray form of the Killer, not
Some Wonder Into Bruce’s Face.
deep In their own thoughts.
twenty feet distant, beside the man
"All we ask,” Dnve said, "Is that gled body of the wolf.
light In them wns dimming, fndlng like
you don’t take sides against us."
The events that followed thereafter n twilight, yet there was Indication of
“I’ll remember. Of course you- want came in such quick succession a» to neither confusion n««r delirium.
There wns, however, some Indication
rqf. In case I'm ever subpoenaed, to re seem simultaneous. For one fraction
call signing the deed Itself.”
ol' an Instant all three figures stood of perplexity nt the peculiar turn af
“Yes, we'd want you to testify to motionless, the two men staring, the fairs had taken. "You’re not Dave
that."
grzzly half-leaning ««ver bls prey, his Turner,” he said wonderlngly.
Dim though the voice was, there
"Of course."
head turned, his little red eye» full of
They chuckled together In the dark- hatred. He uttered one hoarse, sav- was considerable emphasis In the tone.
ness. Then they turned to the blnn- age note, a sound in which all his Hudson seemed quite sure of this
kets.
hatred nnd his fury and his savage point, whether or not he knew any
"I'll show you another trail out to- power were made manifest, whirled thing concerning the dark gates he
was about to enter. He wouldn’t nave
morrow." Hudson told him. “It comes with Incredible speed, and charged.
into the glen that you passed to
Hudson did not even have time to spoken greatly different If he had
night—the canyon that the Killer has turn. There wus no defense; his gun been sitting In perfect lunlth before
been using lately for a hunting was strapped on his back, and even his own camp fire and the shadow was
ground.”
,
if it had been in his hands, its bullet now already so deep his eye» could
would not have mattered the sting of scarcely penetrate It.
"No," Bruce answered. "Dave Tur
CHAPTER XV
a bee in honey-robbing. The only
possible chancq of breaking that dead ner Is up n tree. He didn’t even wait
The Killer had had an unsuccessful ly charge lay In the thirty-thirty deer to shoot.”
night. He had waited the long hours rifle In Dave’s arms; but the craven
“Of course he wouldn’t." Hudson
through at the mouth of the trail, but who held It did not even fire. He was spoke with assurance. The words
only the Little People—such as the standing just below the outstretched dimmed at the end, i«n«l he half-closed
rabbits and similar folk that hardly limb of a tree, and the weapon fell Ills eyes as If he were too sleepy to
constituted a single bite in his great from his-hand» as lie swung up into stay awake longer. Then Bruce saw
Jaws—had dime his way. Now it was tiie limb. Tiie foct that Hudson stood a strange thing. He saw, unmistak
morning and It looked ns if he would weaponless, ten feet away in the clear able as the sun In the xky, the signs
have to go hungry, He started to ing. did not deter him In the least.
of a curious struggle In the uiiin'»
stretch bls great muscles, intending to
No human flesh could stand against face.
leave his ambush. But all at once that charge. The vast paw fell with
The trapper—a moment before «Ink
he froze again into a lifeless fray resistless force; and no need arose for ing Into-the calm of dentil—was light
patch in the thickets. There were a second blow. The trapper's body ing desperately for a f«?w moment - of
on the trail. Again they was struck down as if felled by a respite. There could be no other ex
fps of deer—but not of the meteor, and the power of the Impact planation. And he won it at fast,—
forced it deep Into the carpet of pine an interlude of half a dozen breati^
needles. The savage creature turned, "Who are you?" he whispered.
Bruce bowed his head until bla ear
the white fangs caught the light in the
open mouth. The head lunged toward was close to the lips. “Bruce Folger,"
lm ¡.ti ««red,—for the first
In his
the man's shoulder.
No man ma say what agony Hud- knowledge speaking Ills full name.
son would hnvf endured In the last “Son of Matthew Folger who lived at
few
• ■• bla life If the Killer Trail's End long ago.”
The man still struggle«!. "I knew
had been given time and opportunity,
i the Klib
His tignai way wax to linger long, it," he said. “I «aw it—In your face. I
gply tak
he pr
«■losing again and again see—everything now. Listen—can you
wolf—t
mouth
g likeness whi destroyed. hear me?"
had just
"Teo."
male that
rhe hire u 1st was tqxm him; there
“jtsucces«
«een no mercy to the dy- , ”1 Just did ■ wrong—there's a
through the thicket» in search of a lag «real re in the pine needles, Yet hundred dollars In my pocket that I
lair, arid be came out on the trail not It tran-i ed that P"* «n's fl« sb wns Jti’t got for doing It. I mad» a prom
fifty feet distant, halfway between the not to
low thoM rending fangs a ise—to lie to you. Take the money—
it ought to be yours, anyway—ana
bear and the fawn. The one wns al- second t
tn« st ns «nn«rl«e<l as the other. The
to her»; nnd use It t«>war«l fighting the
On tb< I.lllxi
fawn turned with a frightened bleat this lan<! ha«! droppwt to
In wrong. It will go a little way."
•’Yes.” Bruce looked him full In the
and darted away; the wolf swung into the shrubbery, bls rifl«.- II
eyes. "No matter about the money.
pursuit.
level of ills eyes. It was
What did you promise Turner?"
The bear lunged forward with a had come In time to see
"That I'd lie to you. Grip my arm»
howl of rage He leaped Into the trail through n rift tn the tre»s
mouth, then ran a« fast as he cool«!
The bear
on Hudson, and the with your hand«—till It hurt». I've
In pursuit of the running wolf, He man had g<«ne down, before Bruce only got <«ne breath more. Your fa
was too enraged to stop to think ‘ that even Interpreted him. Then It was ther held those l«n«U only In trust—the
a grizzly bear has never yet been able Just a gra) patch, a full three hundred Turner»’ deed 1» forged. And the
to overtake a wolf, once the trim leg» yards away. Hi» Instinct was to throw secret agreement that I witnessed Is
got well Into
into action. At first be the fun to hla aboulder and Are with hidden—"
The breath seemed to go out of the
couldn't think about anything; be had <>ut aiming; yet he conquered It with
been cheated too many times.
His an iron will. But be did move quickly. tuan. Bruce sb«x>k Mm by the shout-
I
first impulse was one of tremendous
page 3,
ders. Dave, st
to hear the re»
“It's hidde
words were no
uud wbut folios
to hoar lu vain
Ing. The abut
i
und the Uds lit«
A traveler had
Bruce got u|
in his eyes.
slowly
Turner wus ell
six st
tree. Bruce
seized bis rifle.
Tiie effect o
He clung fust
lie thought a
claws—could 1
Bruce iuld the gun behind him. then
stood waiting with his own weapon
resting In his arms,
“Come down, Dave," he cominnuded.
“The bear 1» goue."
Dave crept down the trunk and
halted at its buse. He studied tiie
cold face before hliu. "Better not try
nothing," he advised hoarsely,
I
“Why not?" Bruce i asked. “Do you
think I’m afraid of u i eownpl?" The
man started nt the words; his head
bobbed backward a» if Bruce hud
.«truck him beneath tiie jaw with his
fisL
“l’liiple don't cull the Turners cow-
ards and walk off with It." the man
told him.
"Oil, the lowest coward I" Bruce
said between set teeth. "The yellow
est. mongrel coward! Your own con
federate—and you had to drop your
gun and run up t tree. You might
have stopped the beay’s charge."
Dave's face twisted In a scowl
"You’re brave enough now. Walt to
see wbut happens later. Give me my
gun. I'm going to go."
“You cun go, but you don't get your
gun. I'll fill you full of lead If
try to touch It."
Dave looked up with siane care,
wanted to know for certain if
tenderfoot meant what he said.
man was blind in some things,
vision was twisted and dark, but lie
made no mistake about the look on
the cold, set face before him. Bruce’s
Unger was curled ubout the trigger,
uud It looked to Dave us if It itched
to exert further pressure.
I don’t see why I gpare you, any-
y," Bruce went on. Ills tone was
self-reproachful. “God knows I hudu't
ought to—remembering w'lio uud wlmt
you are. If you’d only give me one
little bit of provocation—’’
Duve saw lurid lights growing lu
the man's eyes; and all nt once a con
clusion ciuue to him. l^e decided he u
make no further effort to regain tne
Ills life wus rather precious to
strangely, and It was wholly
plain that a dread and terrible passion
wus slowly creeping over his enemy.
He could see It In the darkening face,
the tight grip of the hands on the rifle
stock. His own sharp features grew
more cunning. "You ought to be glad
I didn't stop the bear with my rifle,”
he said hurriedly. "I had Hudson
bribed—you wouldn’t have found out
something that you did tlnd out if he
hadn't lain here dying, You wouldn’t
have learned—"
But the sentence died In the middle.
Bruce made answer to It, a straight-
out blow with his fist, with all his
strength behind it. in the very center
of ills enemy’s face.
CHAPTER XVW
Dave Turner traveled hard and late,
and he reached Simon's door just be-
for«» sundown of the seeon«|_ «lay.
Bruce was still a full two hours dis
tant. But Dave did not stay to knock.
It was chore-time, und he thought he
would tln«l Simon In his burn, super
vising the feeding ami cure of the
live stock. He hud guesse«! right, and
the two men tmd u moment's talk in
the dusky passage behind the stalls.
"I've brought news." Dave said.
Simon made no answer at first. The
saddle pony in tile stall Immediately
In front of them, frightened at Dave's
unfamiliar figure, had crowded, trem
bling, against Ills manger. Simon's
red eyes watched him; then he ut
tered a short oath. He took two
strides Into the stull an«l seized the
halter rope in his huge, muscular
hand. Three times he jerked It with
a peculiar, quartering pull, a curbing
that might liave been Ineffective by u
man of ordinary strength, but with
the
the Incomprehensible might of
<
great forearm behind It was 1 really
terrible punishment. Dave thought
for a in mment hlw brother Would break
; the whites began
the animal's
unlmal’s neck
r
to show about tile soft, dark pupils
of Its eyes. The strap over the head
broke with the fourth pull; then the
horse recoiled, plunging end terrified,
Into the op|H)«lte corner of the stall.
Simon leaped wlrti shutter
at th s creatures shoulders, b
arms encircled Its neck, his st
he«i vi <1, and he half-threw It
floor, Then, as It staggered
his «envy fist flullwl against II
in nnd again he struck, an«
'■darkness of the stable It
ulfui thing to behold. Th«
r, always quickly ar«m»si
a him; Ills brawny form
with the agility of u panther.
Dave, wiioee shallow eyes were
wont to feast on cruelty, vlev
scene with some iliirm. It wnsi
he was moved by the agony
horse. But tie did rememb«
horses coat money. un«l Simon
determine«! to kill the anltunl
hts passion was spent.
The horse cowered, and la a luo-
meat more It was hard »<> remember
he wns a memlter of a noble, high
spirit««! breed— a swtft runner, brainy
■s a dog. n servant faithful und
worthy. He stood quiet et luat, hie
bead banging low. knees bent, eyes
curiously f irrowfu) and dnrlr 81 mon
Caatened the broken strap about bla
It on
r
veeks,
lights in hjs
n
perceptible «
Ing. ft did
if
moved.
“You’re «I
u'ws," he
said. “If It'« » us Imp
s xorrni >t
the other m lews yon
girt don't
take my time
"AU right." the other replied sul
lenly. ".You don’t have to hear it. But
I’m telling you It’s of real Importance
thi» flint'—anil some time you'll find
out." He scowled Into tiie dark face.
’Tint salt yourself."
Dave walked clear to the d«M>r. then
turned. “Don't be u fool. Simon," lie
urged. “Listen to what I have to tell
you. Bruce Folger know» where that
secret agreement is.”
For once In his life Dave got a
response of sufficient emphasis to
satisfy him. Ills brother whirled, his
whole expression undergoln«. un kn
mediate and startling cluing»,
it
there Was one emotion that Dave had
never seen on Simon's face It was
fear—ami he didn't know for certain
that he saw it now. But there was
alarm—unmistakable—and
surprise,
too.
"What do you mean?" he demanded.
"Out with it I" Ills tone was really
“What Do You M»an7
Out With Iti"
urgent now, not Insolent us usual.
“Good Lord, man, don’t you know
that If Bruce gets that down to the
settlements before the thirtieth of
next month we’re lost—and nothing
in this world can save us? We enn’t
drive him off, like we drove the
Rosses. There’s too much law down
in tiie valleys. If he’s got that paper,
there's only one thing to do. Help
me snddle a horse."
“Walt a minute. I didn’t say lie had
it. I only said he knew where It was.
He's still an hour or two walk from
here, toward Little river, and If we
have to wait for him on the trull.
we've got plenty of time, And of
course I ain't quite sure he does know
where it Is."
"The
Simon smiled mirthlessly.
news is beginning to soun«l like the
rest of yours.
“Old Hudson is deud,” Dave went
on. “And don't look at me—I didn’t
do It. I wish I had, though, first off.
For once my judgment wus better
than yours. The Killer got him.'
"Yes. . .Go on.”
“I was with him wlun it happened,
My gun got jammed so I couldn't
shoot."
“Where Is it now?"
Dave «crumbled in vuln for a story
to explain the loss of his weapon to
Bruce, and the one that came out at
last didn’t do him particular credit,
"I—I threw the d—n tiling away,
Wish I hadn’t now, but It mude me so
mail by Jamming—it was a fool trick.
Maybe I cun go back after It and find
It."
Simon smiled again. "Very go<wl so
fur,” he commented.
i
Dave I flushed. "Bruce was there,
too— ■fact
fact Is, creased the bear—and
the last minute before he died Hudson
told him where the agreement was
hidden. 1 couldn't hear all he said—
I wus too far away—but I heard
enough to think that he told Bruce
th«* hiding p luce.”
“An«l why dhtn’t you g«et that Infor-
matfi>n nwuj fr<>m Bruc «■ with your
gun?"
"Didn’t I tell you th.p thing was
Januned? If It hadn't of t >e«>n for that.
I’d done sotm»thing more 1than find out
where it Is. I’d stoppicd this non-
sense «me* atid tor nil, al p.l let a hole
through that tenderfoot b lg enough to
Hue through. Then there'd never ba
any more troiuhle. It's tire thing to do
Simon looked at tils brother'» fac«
with some wonder, More crafty und
cunning, Dave wus like the coyote in
that be didn’t yield so quickly to turf
as. that gray wolf, bl» brother. But
when it did come, It scared hliu. It
tia«l com« now, 31m«>n couidn’t nil»
take the fact; he *nw It plain In the
glowing eyes, the clenched bends, the
drawn Bps Dave was remembering
the pain of the blow Bruce had gi en
him and the smart of tiie word« that
had preceded it.
"You und be must have had a little
««.«Ion down there by the creek,"
Sinton suggested slow ly, ‘wl.en y «r
gun w us jammed. Of course, he
(
the gun. What's th* n«e of
lie to me?"
"He «JM. What could I «Je F
"And now you