| Show HE FREE FREI TRADERS TRAbERS t FOR LIFE IFE A FIGHT Anderson Ro- Ro 1 LeI l police er StonY Range to JI it is I. to named pell for tor t a min man Iso 10 Instructed toI to 19 I. I JI fsr reputed I nr J Jim Traders illicit 3 ot f Free At LIttle Fill FaU got t I. I credited with I d' d mine an and gold sold tiuS In it a tb the hotel appears appear At ce In In eb ut lut of ot pl puce place and com companion Id s the girl An- An oil In her behalf nan POD for tor Lake irI iatI out Andersons Anderson's lc Ie d I. I also and the th hr her t. t with whom horn he h. had trou- trou I es DID n Jit Ith She U t. au before t f night it IU i him and the tw m men n Joal ot n. n perre Pierre and Short Shorty on ald ad th the girl trl on O. An Anderson er road I In the hills hili the In i J before and behind Worn lolD Op A Anderson with hi I flown down own the moun moun- rte rI I. I hurled enI I Anderson disappeared but he he I girl has alive and Is abe be ot of Pierre and 1 In the power toot foot he makes make hla hi oTt ort SIt O On Lake he heL heill SI a to companion of da day L ill di girl with a and w. w Conner for sweetheart of former In a lila hie hien abused who had dron and almost n w Estelle strikes strike Ill ure with Anderson I to I l escapes capes with ft th tn thief help f And companions companion's rL it i and she ahe I. I sUf suf- Ie d Ii I. i clouded dislocated knee H with a eta seti the knee and and Ut tb girl a. a comfortable a. a Hs H. has haa a a broken ribA rib A plan to make mke their wa way waya IWO two I a Moravian mission minion o ot which nr ther McGrath has haa charge charce ripen ripens Into lit elf a Ill girl Irl remembers remember that n. n a T rum tan Sima Is I. Joyce loyce PeU Felly Pelly She I. I ol ot the man mn Anderson Torn iu uK I been bean n tint stIlt to arrest rut her lier love for tor her father tween rJ d 3 her bel regard for tor Anderson the therl id rl I practically drives drive him from forest Anderson r t r. r In the upon the entrance to a or Ifs rr and Is convinced he has ha te Felly's PalSy's mine DIne CHAPTER X Continued X-Continued Continued X I 1 k e paw 1111 that from Irom the point where Ill u I clinging there appeared to be beill ill easy descent to the bottom b only the upper parts of the cliffs pe e gorge forge that were he could go no further now l 11 j for Joyce was rising in hima him TU n. half halt afraid she might tiling thing rash IOme gme way Hallway seemed to be with Telly Pelly perhaps he was him Suppose then that tha itri had gone goDe back to the tIe Free leu ei II headquarters on Siston t take lake ke ltd d Into the storm in her frenzy pole they had been followed 7 remembered his bis fancy that he ht had hadt hadIS i t u IS Indian watching them The i r Traders would surely have b been n the trail at either end of at the i bowing that sooner or later they I emerge emerie out of ot the t forests rests ts II he be Remembered remembered th the shadow in In log lor house nd t this ls specter In Inci inch th ci he be hs had baa v began liMe uram iome In his bis mind a formidable i itt ct as asLee Lee Lee clun clung there he herd hert rt rd i s rumblIng rambling sound above hl his 4 u tad and a moment later later's s 's something W Ced td past past it and and smashed up upon n the thead ad J 4 of t tie fe e ch chasm sn Looking d down n rut laW w fragments of at an an enora enor- enor II a boulder l lying on on the ground Im ben beneath benceth h him hlin r I le ha had haq had bad a narrow escape And nd l antl he be het t turned to reenter enter the tel L B But i before he had thrust his h l In came came anI an- an I Sr ru And nd this time ft was f I the hi little projecting gledge ledge above e ta tJ hI that t s saved d d. d hl hI his life I lie be b boulder ulder struck th the edge of ot It I oa oat Into the air and just missing mashed hashed to IJ pieces ICeR below Blocked t looked up but the overhanging I lahut Slut Hint out the of ot everything Pt Dt the overhanging bush bushes S and the ether r or not human agency was for tor the fall of the two der i ll It was wa that tha t th the tun tun- I mouth did not appear to be a l healthy slot spot at nt that mo ino- nd Lee be forcel his head and shout 1 DUd and groped tor for the rock if t er bruising his th thighs s and t the f IdEs edges of ot the open- open Extending his hs hands he felt otI II lurt the Ice of the wa worn water f In In- r all ajl lIe grasped the ladder Lf r to lt Jt pulled himself up and nna 4 footing 11 then thea of a Sudden Lee had the that he Ie e There was vas not ta 11 the was another living HYIng thing tunnel It was absolutely t ly dark for tor ex ex- interior the faintest r reflection from ot o the irvin gorge which filtered below and d though Lee could hi hear the taInt faintest est sound sound und he lie felt lbS by Inner I Dot er erthe sPI sense se that hearing hI he felt the rhythmical r its hit It life lite 81 a I lor o human being n Lee t felt lt human 4 1 h ha hatred rd flung out ut to- to n flee l oj ely h hO knew th thin thA 1 n l nc ite I unter und con con M 4 ever f l h than an n an any pt experienced Jie He w SOW uteri hal had that the fall of f th the two q I e had been bees been no accident acc he Uto eater had been hEen en end th I hm that watcher t It It to the d death ath And And ot of ott 5 t Id d not lIot f the relish the prospect ot of a crazed old man one hardly In IC othar way than by the death of ot one of them It t would be a sharp relentless relent relent- le less s struggle In which Lees Lee's disadvantage disadvantage disadvantage tage lay In the fact tact that he could not be the first to fire Lee called Is that you yon ou Telly relly I 1 want to talk to you No answer came He lie strained his eyes upward through the darkness i and wheels whee-Is of light flashed across his bis vision and went out Telly Pelly listen lIste to me mel I Lee tried again You know what Ive I've come for tor Youve You've got no chance Surrender Surrender der and you'll get fair treatment Still no answer and yet Lre e could feel teel that other human personality close to him lie He waited baffled There was no wa way to move save vertically ver ver- and ond there was wall no possible retreat retreat retreat re re- re- re treat for tor him The smooth Ice granite walls alls were all about him The tunnel tun n nel 1 was a straight t. t narrow shaft up and down from the rocking atone stone ab v to that deadly drop below It was Impossible Impossible- to rush the other Impossible to do a anything except to clamber stiffly up those slippery rungs of rock expecting every Instant to ht heir r th the roar of ot Telly's Tellys pistol and to toE receive E elye the bullet In his breast It was was absurdity And once again Lee tried a e. e relly Pelly you'd Telly you'd better give up I can shoot you rou from here Surrender t I and and and- He nl did not nt end that sentence For 1 I us s clung khe-clung he clung there In In a moment the ve him him h had d materialized Into I life lite action fury A bellow burst from fromi i Its throat throat and the sound round compress compressed d within the shaft an deflected from w wall u to wall sounded like ilke the roar of some prehistoric md monster And a heavy body w was s precipitated against him with a force that all but dislodged him For an Instant Lee struggled wildly to o retain his balance and and then there came eanie me a blow over the heart that knocked the wind out of him Lees Lee's hand encountered an enormous hand at his chest Within that hand he felt the hilt of ot a knife Reaching back L Lees Lee's es e's fingers closed upon the thelast thelast thelast last inch or two of ot a wide blade The steel appeared to be burled buried almost almost al al- al most to the extremity within his body There was no sense ot of a stab but hut buttor for tor an Instant Lee Iee felt a deadly faintness faintness faint faint- ness nelS overcome him and again he reeled and clutched for tor foothold Then he had torn the hand away plucked out the knife and hurled It down through the darkness of ot the tunnel Into the gorge below The next Instant he was fighting the most desperate battle ot of his life lite to win through the tunnel before he bled Into unconsciousness lIe He caught nt at two long sinewy arms that clutched his body in the endeavor to fling tUng him down and holding on by their knees and feet teet the two wrestled In complete silence It was was a man the man the thing that held Lee but it seemed more like a monster monster mon mon- ster Iter for tor the naked arms were covered with thick hair ball underneath which the sinews moved over each other like liken steel bands Lee was no match in wrestling he could onI only cling ding on like grim his lungs constrict under that pressure and expecting every every ev ev- ery moment to feel teel his injured rib crack In his side His left lett hand encountered a groove t In In the r rocky rung above him Mm and gripping It determined that nothing should t tear ear ar lila his hold awa away with his rl right ht fist he began hammering his assailants assailant's assailants assailant's as as- Incessantly face tace and body r rebounded t from th the great chest hegt as If It were of rubb rubber r. r and each blow se b breath eath Issuing hoarsely from tram the lungs lungs' with raucous wheezing that filled the tunnel ot Lees Lee's It th other could have got left hand tie he might have torn torl- him from his hold but as asif If u unaware of his fda hold his assailant put all all his strength Into the endeavor to force torce breath from his body and twist him backward while Lee let clinging on desperately desperately des des- continued to batter the face tace and ond body Although It was impossible to draw drawback drawback drawback back his arm far tar enough to deliver a blow with full force Lees Lee's lower position gave him the ad advantage of ot equipoise over his strange strone assailant and enabled him to administer fearful fear tear ful tul ul punishment For a minute or two it wa was ivan problematic withstand the matic matle whether Lee could strain long enough to conquer The great shoulders swung Lee from side to side in thi the shaft like a n child and andall andall all nil the while Lee believing hi seriously if It not fatally wounded fought on with the mechanical action of at a 11 piston dashing his fists Into his opponents opponent's face until at nt last groans grouns bean began be be- gnu gan an to hurst burst from the other Then feeling the clutch relaxing L Le Lee let go his his' hold a an 1 standing straight up on n the run rung brought both holhi fists into play lilay No Ni human being could fearful hove have stood up against that punishment Lees Lee's fI fists ts were wet with blood Mood The grasp about him relaxed blows blows- lIe He redoubled ti the fury of ot his hammering ham- ham that he hp wits was and bare face tuce of the rock mering at nt the I assailant was gone lr of his fet on OIL Lee ree the he Z d ll ES ea of ot the rock ladd ladder r. r cautiously e abo him Then ell te-ell feeling j continued his ascent until at nt r TAe Lee e cot length oame Ame ime a tiny glimmer of ot sudden sudden sud sudden Into a changing light from above abote den glare as AI of ot high noon Th The t tunnel f pty t The glare decreased to a glimmer Le Lee understood what it meant Ills assailant as aR had bad tilted back the rocking stone and tied fled In IB another moment or two Lee WM wu B By a Victor Rousseau j r rw W. W O O. Chapman beneath the stone lie Ue flattened him him- self Belt upon the ground and aneS drew his hll au an- He Ue fired one shot hot and arid before be be- fore tore the echoes had dl died d away awal had pushed the It stone atone one back and emerged pistol In hand The glare had been only In contrast to the dark ot of the tunnel Outside It was melancholy twilight Lee emerged into a solitary snowbound world There was no sign alp of at his Ma antagonist who had evidently had bid enough for tor the present I Lee looked do down don at the fragments of shirt that remained to him expect ing to find himself soaked in blood He lIe was astonished to see only a thin thin thread on his hia chest lie tore th the rag open There was only a scratch on th the skin from the knife point but there was a spreading under bruise bruise under the thick coil coils colls of ot Joyces Joyce's hair hall in which the knife blade had become entangled The blow struck Immediately over over th the heart would have hine killed hilled him In Instantly Instantly instantly In- In but for tor that Lee raised the tresses reverently rt to hi his lips Ups And I with a deep feeling of ot tenderness toward the girl he began to make his hi way through the twilight toward the log Jog hou house bouse e. e He lie was torn between apprehension for her and speculation as 81 to bis ii assail assail- ant thought had been that tha the man was Felly Pelly But Dut now he h. be b gan to doubt this An old man mn might have had his assailants assailant's strength he he would not have had the endurance But Dut stronger still was wal the the conviction that that monstrous form torm which had attacked him in the shaft could nev never r have been the father tather of Joyce Yet Yet wh who but Pell Pelly knew th the secret of ot the mine The problem was Willi at present Insoluble insoluble uble but Its consideration brought with it the fear tear that Joyce might have hate been attacked as well Lee quickened his hili footsteps through the storm It He Flattened Himself on the Ground and Drew Hi Hlf Automatic which was now cow subsiding though the snow still sUlI tell feli III st steadily lIe He blamed Named himself bitterly for tor having left the girl Surely the strength of at that love lo and tenderness he be felt toward her would reach her her and she would respond I S SAnd And he lie planned 1 what he hf would say sayto sayto sayto to her lie would woold advise lse her that lt was nas Improbable that her father tather would nominal s sen sentence n n- n re receive tIe anything but a n tence that he might even en go free tret that In Jn the tho absence of witnesses a conviction conviction tion prove Impossible His best surrender Lee Ite cou course e would be to hopeful began hgan to grow grol more The 10 log hou house e came Into sight standing t bare hare and blenk bleak In the snowy y wilderness There was no within Lees Lee's alarm Increased i lIe He hurried to the door lIe He called but no noan struck a match an answer cume came lIe He By Dy the tiny light he saw that the kitchen and the adjacent room were WE're empty And he began going from room to room striking matches and railing calling her and knowing all nil th the while the futility fu tu- fu- fu of It Joyce was not in the house honse She bad had fled Into the snow IIno and desperately weary as liS he lie was after his hi encounter Lee had no alternative but butto butto butto to take up the que quest t. t She he could could not have been been have gone far tar hut but she must roust In ma Ina a state of desperation to have pone gone Which The out Into that storm way wal since obliterated ob ob- obliterated lining falling snow had surely long her footprints He lie made his way down toward the trail b beside the river Only two way wa aye toward the I were ere possible one ran raD nine or II ten mIlt miles awa away theol the other ol ir In the opposite direction t the Free Traders Traders' headquarters a nut But suddenly Lees Lee's hopes hopES and 1 leaped up confidently StoopIng Stooping Stoop Stoop- spirits ing lug he lie traced the tracks of a along alon the trail troll It had hall been drawn by bya going Inthe in inthe inthe and it was a B single horse the direction of ot the mission In In- inference one reasonable There was BI only McGrath must have Father ference had bad met perhaps aps he be been parsing taken bar r with him Urn 1 Joyce and be he had cad a a a t a aLee Lee |
