Show the devies own by RANDALL author of PARRISH arwe atea she t the treib W bior ett illustrations A romance of the black hawk war IRWIN BY MYERS S copyright by A 0 mcclurg A co S CHAPTER XI 11 continued 14 bhole caboodle like a charm he said good thought the deputy might show up ugly but a quart 0 redeye sure axed him athars our party a colln now ye re ter stay right ye are they were advancing toward us up the bank which sloped down toward the creek hale moved forward to meet them across the little open pace and a moment later rom my hiding place among the motionless horses I 1 became able to distinguish the slowly approaching figures there were tour in the party apparently from the garb two men and two women the second man might be the preacher but if so why should he be there why should his presence at this time be necessary hie two main conspirators bad special need or als services I 1 could conceive no reason for his having nav part in the action that night had I 1 been deceived in their plans even as this fear overwhelmed me with confer nation I 1 was compelled to notice how helplessly the first of the two women walked as though her limbs refused to support her body even though up upheld by the grip of the man beside her kale joining them immediately grasped her other arm and between the two she was impelled forward the saloonkeeper seemed unable to restrain his voice yer give her one h 0 a dose he growled angrily halt 0 hot a bin bough nough why d it ache kin hardly walk well the odds it was clr by who replied sarcastically she got more lecause she t drink we had to make her take it and it no easy job gaskins will tell you that have you got your man here 0 O course hes waiting with the bosses but im il d it I 1 like this she dont know does she maybe not now but shell come around all right and she signed her name so there aint no hureh she seemed to get worse after that come on we cant stand talking here lets get them off jack there isn t any time to waste I 1 suppose well have to strap her into the saddle I 1 helal back and permitted them to merely leading my own horse slightly to one side and keeping in his shadow gaskins brutally jerked the shrinking mulatto forward and forced her to mount one of the boises she made some faint protest the nature ot which I 1 failed to catch clearly but ali fellow only laughed in reply and her to keep quiet lloyse ut lei ed no word emitted no sound made no struggle as the two other men lifted her bodily into the saddle where karby held her swaying helplessly against him while rale strapped her securely into place the entire proceedings were so brutally cruel that it required all my strength of will to restrain myself from action my fingers closed upon the pistol in my pocket and every impulse urged me to hurl myself on the fellow trusting everything to swift bitter fight I 1 fairly trembled in eagerness to grapple with karby hand to liand and crush him helpless to the earth said the saloonkeeper at last testing his strap 1 I reckon she cant fal off now how even it she dont rit up worth a d go ahead now moffett both men stepped aside and I 1 led nn horse forward the movement brought me more into the open and face to face with karby by some trick of fate at that very instant a star glenro piercing through the screen ot leaves overhead struck full into my ee with an oath he thrust my hat back and stared straight at me I 1 could not sec the mingled bate and horror glaring in the mans eves but tace could be no doubt of his recognition the acknowledgment found expression in a startled exclamation by god you here 1 that was all the time I 1 gave him every pound of strength blui every ounce of dislike I 1 drove a clenched fist into that surprised face and the fellow went down as though by an nr ev en as he reeled hale leaped on me cursing understand the cause yet instinctively the presence of an enemy ills grip was at my throat and even as his fingers closed savagely he struck me with in the stomach and aroc an elbow into my face ulie next instant we were locked together so closely any blow became am south and agility waging cerce battle against brutal strength I 1 think I 1 was his match yet athla 1 never knew for all my thought centered in an effort to keep hla hands from reaching any weapon whatever happened to me there must be no ularm no noise sufficiently loud so as to attract the attention of sentries on cuard this affair must be fought out with bare and sin in to the end 1 held him to roe in a bear grip but his overmastering strength bore me backward my body bending beneath the faul every muscle ached r D boj vou sneak ln bayl ho hissed savagely and his jaws snapped at me like a mad beast let go I 1 d ou let go crazed by the pain I 1 swerved to one side and half fell my grip torn loose from about his arms but as jn scantly closing again around his lower body he strained blit failed to break my grasp and I 1 should have hurled him ov erthe hip but at that second gaskins struck me and I 1 went turn blang down with the saloonkeeper falling flat on top of me his pudgy fingers still clawton fiercely at my throat it seemed as though conscious ness left my brain crushed into death D you you Sn eakin opyl he hissed savagely by those gripping hands and et the spark of life remained for I 1 heard the ci preacher utter a yelp which ended in a moan as a blow struck him then hale was jerked off me and I 1 sobbing ly caught my breath my throat free into my dazed mind there echoed the sound of a voice Is thet nouga jack then holler D 3 yer yer try thet again an III spill brains yet got all over this kontry yes its tim kennedy an hes ter ye now yer lie whar yer are yer aln t killed be ye knox I 1 managed to lift myself out of the dirt still clutching for breath but with my mind clearing no I 1 guess im all right tim I 1 said panting out the words with an effort become of kirby dont let him get alpy 1 I aint likely to nes a byln right whar yer dropped him holy smoke sounded ter roe like ye with a pole ax I 1 got his gun an taets w huts mahln this skunk hold so blame hlll oh es I 1 will jack rale im just a achan for ter jet ye hav it and the other fellow he hit me my ol 01 arlen gaskins him nil right the deputy gave vent to a short mirthless laugh oh I 1 rapped him with the butt had ter do it hed got bold ov a club som whar an coln ter give yer another it will be a I 1 reckon tore he takes much interest I 1 do with this red headed gink I 1 succeeded ia reaching my feet and stood there a moment gaining what view I 1 could through the darkness the short struggle desperate as it had been was apt a noisy one and I 1 could heir nothing about us to indicate any alarm kennedy had one hard alnee pressed into kales abdomen and the star rays reflected back the steel glimmer of the pistol held threateningly before the mans eyes the horses beyond stood motionless and the two women in the saddles appeared like silent shadows I 1 stood up once more peering through the darkness and listening whatever was to be done I 1 must ile clde and quickly have itale stand up but keep him covered dont give him any dome to break away now wait there Is a lariat rope banging to this saddle get it it was a strong cord and of good length and ne proceeded to bind the fellow se curey in spite of his objections I 1 charge of the tim aho vho fops more expert did the job in a workmanlike manner now gag him tim I 1 said quietly yes use the neckerchief that do all we can hope for Is a few hours start Is karby dead im afraid not but he has fiol on ugly bump and lost some blood his head struck a rock when b all it will be a while I 1 before he wakes up how about your man he over and bent down above the fellow feeling with hla hands la the darkness I 1 reckon lies a goner cap he admitted mit ted as though surprised gosh I 1 hit the cuss harder than I 1 thought fair caved in his hod the pore devil I 1 reckon its no great loss ter nob body but are you sure be if dead abat will put a different aspect on all this kennedy 1 I 1 gravely facing him as he arose to Us feet ahat and the belief I 1 now have that karby baa already consummated his plan of marriage with miss beaucaire alre you mean he has yes that he lias forced the girl to assent to some form of ceremony probably legal in this country I 1 overheard enough between him and kale to suspect t at least and she Is even now under the influence of some drug ahe spoken nor does she seem 0 o know what Is going on about her 1 hav strapped her into the saddle the h they did it has been a hellish affair all the any through and the only vay in which I 1 can serve her if this Is so is by getting her away as far away as possible and where this devil can never find her again what bothers me right now Is your case mine lord the matter with me considerable I 1 should say you can t be left here alone to face the result of this nights work it gaskins is dead from the blow ou struck him these two fellows will swear our life away just for revenge even it sou told he whole story what chance w i ou have that would only expose us and still fall to clear you it would merely be your word against theirs you would have no witnesses unless w e were caught 1 I reckon taets true I 1 bout it then there Is faly the one road to take tim I 1 insisted weve got to strike the trail together whar 1 I cannot answer that now I 1 thought it out set we can talk that matter over as w e ride I 1 have a map with roe which will help us decide the best course to choose othe first thing is to get out of this neighborhood be 5 ond pursuit it you only hid a horse two critters down in the crick bottom r reckon thet karby an gaskins tied em good then you will go you agree with me aint else fer me ter do hangin aint never bin no hobby 0 mine then lets start decisively pick up one of those horses down on the bottom and turn the other one loose ill lead on down the trail and you can meet us at the ford once across the creek we can decide which way to travel there must be four hours of darkness yet I 1 picked up the trailing rein of my horse my arm through it tim faded away in the gloom like a vanishing shadow the young woman me strapped securely to her saddle made no movement exhibited no sign of interest her head and body drooped yet her hands grasped the pommel as though site still retained some dim conception of her situation the face under her hood was bent forward and shaded and her eyes although they seemed open gave no heed to my presence I 1 touched her hands thank god they were moist and warm but when I 1 spoke her name it brought no response I 1 started foward on foot leading mv horse the others trailing after the darkness knowing nothing of the way I 1 was thus better able to pick the path yet I 1 found this not as it was rather plainly outlined by the forest growth on either side the trail was clay with a few small stones embedded in it and the horses made little noise in descent except once w hen nies animal slipped and sent a loosened bit of rock rolling down to splash in some pool below we came to the bank of the creek at last a narrow stream easily ford able but with a rather steep shore line beyond and waltha there a moment un all tim em embred cred from out the black woods at our right and joined us he was mounted and believing the time biad arrived for more raad movement I 1 also swung up into saddle and ranged iho girls horse beside mine they were not stock to be proud of et they did fairly well tims mount evidently the best of the four the going was decidedly better once we hid topped the bink we may have ridden for two without a word for although I 1 hid no intention of pro far in this direction I 1 coald discover no opportunity for changing our course so as to baffle pursuit that karby and italo would endeavor to follow us at the eirl lesl opportunity vas most probable they were neither of them the sort to accept defeat without a struggle and after the treatment they hod received the for revenge would be uppermost nor alms far would there be any difficulty an their picking up our trail at least as ajr as the creek crossing and this mould assure them the direction we had chosen then suddenly out of the mysterious darkness dar kniss which closed us in another grove loomed up immediately in our front and the trail plunged sharply downward into the depths of a rugged ravine I 1 was obliged to dismount and feel my way cautiously to the bottom delighted to discover there was a smoothly flowing narrow stream running from the ei stward between high banks overhung by trees it was a dismal gloomy spot a veritable cave of darkness yet apparently the very place I 1 had been seeking tor our purpose kennedy right yere sir lord but its dark found there Is a creek here I 1 dont know where it flows from but it seems to come out of the east one thing Is certain we have got t get off this trail if we j can lead the horses up stream a may and then circle back it would keep those fellows guessing for a while come here anit see ft hat you think of the chance ye let me go abeid with the gurl an then follow after ua leaden miss alres boss T jemley crickets faunt deep bough nough fer ter drown us anyway an I 1 t much 0 the dark athars likely ter be sum place whar we kin get out up whar tha h are them bosses we succeeded in the animals by feeling and I 1 w acted alted on the edge of the bank the tw 0 reins wrapped about my arm until I 1 heard the others go splashing dow n into the water then I 1 also groped ray own way cautiously forward the two horses trailing behind me down the sharply shelving bank into the stream tim chose hi course near to the opposite shore and I 1 his lead closely guided largely by the splashing of eldies animal through the shallow water our movement was a very slow and cau alous one kennedy halting frequently to assure himself that the passage ahead was safe fortunately the bot torn w as firm and the current not par strong our greatest obstacle being the low hanging branches which sw ept against us I 1 think we must have waded thus to exceed a mile when we came to a fork in the stream and plumped into a tangle of uprooted trees which ended our further progress between the two branches after a little search w e als covered a gravelly beach on which the horses hoofs w leave few permanent marks beyond this gravel we plunged into an open through whose intricacies we were compelled to grope blindly tim and I 1 both afoot and constantly calling to each other so as not to become separated I 1 had lost all sense of direction when this forest finally ended and we again emerged upon open prairie with a myriad of stars shining overhead CHAPTER XIV the island in the swamp the relief of thus being able to perceive each other and gain some view of our immediate surroundings after that struggle through darkness cannot be expressed in words we were upon a rather narrow tongue of land the two diverging forks of the stream closing us in so after a short conver we continued to ride straight forward keeping rather close to the edge of the wood so as to better conceal our passage our advance while not rapid was steady and we must have covered several miles before the east began to show gray the ghastly light of the new dabu revealing our tired faces ahead of us stretched an extensive swamp with pools of stag nant water shimmering through lush grasi and brown fringes of cat tails bordering their edges some distance out in this desolation and only halt revealed through the dim light a somewhat higher bit of alanl rocky on its exposed side its crest crowned with trees arose like an islain tim stared across at it shading bis eieg with one hand if we coln ter stop eny whar cap be slid finally 1 I reckon aint no better place then thet we kin alt I 1 follow ed his gaze and noticed that the mulatto girl also lifted her head to look we certainly must rest I 1 con fessel miss seems to be sleeping but I 1 am sure Is |