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Show SOUTH CACHE COURIER HYRUM, UTAH to- W;j i , 'VCDICCEi OjF THE . J ccpvjfr. 7920 WLwaivsai aat; CHAPTER IV. a , aszas conpj.mr. sy little, jbjsovsm, waiiaL Bili rode away to the valleys the last of the live stock the horse that Dan But the terrible fangs were never had ridden to Snowbird's defense. lo know her white flesh. Some one Nothing had been heard of Lnndy had come between. There was no Hildreth, who used to live on the chance to shoot: Whisperfoot and the trail to the marsh, and both I.ennox girl were too near together for that. and his daughter wondered why. There But one course remained ; and there were also certain officials who had was not even time to count the cost begun to be curious. As yet, Dan In this most terrible moment of Han had told no one of the grim find he Fallings life, there was not even an had made on his return from hunting. Instants hesitation. lie did net know And he would have found It an exthat Whisperfoot was wounded, lie tremely difficult fact to explain. saw the beast creeping forward in the It all went back to those inner weird dancing light of the fallen lan- springs of motive that few men can tern. and he only knew that his nesh see clearly enough within themselves not hers, must resist Its rending tal- to recognize. Even the first day, when ons. Nothing else mattered. No oth- he lay burning from his wounds, he er consideration could come between. worked out his own explanation in reIt was the test; and Dans instincts gard to the murder mystery. He prompted coolly and well. lie leaped hadnt the slightest doubt hut that Continued. 15 The cougar with all his strength. hounded into his arms, not upon the prone body of the girl. And she opened her eyes to hear a curious thrashing in the pire needles, a strange grim battle that, ns the lantern flashed out, was hidden In the darkness. Ami, that, battle, in the far reaches of the Divide, passed into a legend. It was the tale of how Dan Failing, his gun knocked from his hands as he met the cougars leap, with his own unaided arms kept the breath from the animals lungs and killed him in the pine needles. Claw and fang and the frenzy of death could not matter at all. Thus Failing established jefore all men his right to the namehe bore. And thus he paid one of his debts life for a life, as the code of the forest has always decreed and in the fire of danger and pain his metal was '' ' tried and proven. life-givin- g BOOK THREE The Payment. CHAPTER I. The Lennox home, In the wilderness of the Umpqua Divide, looked rather like an emergency hospital for the first few days after Dans fight with Whisperfoot. Its old sounds of laughter and talk were almost entirely lacking. Two injured men and a girl recovering from a nervous collapse do not tend toward" cheer. But the natural sturdiness of all three quickly came to their aid. Of course Lennox had been severely injured by the falling log, and many weeks would pass before lie would he able to walk again. He could sit up for short periods, however; had the partial use of one arm ; and could propel himself after the first few weeks at a Snail's pace through the rooms In a rude wheel chair that Bills ingenuity had contrived. The great livid scratches that Dan bore on his body quickly began to heal ; and before a week was done he began to venture forth on the hills again. Snowbird bad remained in bed for three days; then she had hopped out one bright afternoon, swearing never to go back Into it again. Evidently the crisp, fall air of the mountains had been a nprve tonic for them all. Of course ther had been medical attention. A doetjr and a nurse had motored up the day after .the accident ; the physician had set the bones and departed, and the nurse remained for a week, to see the grizzled mountaineer well on the way of convalescence. But it was an anxious wait, and Lennoxs car was kept constantly in readiness to speed her away in ease the snows should start. At last she had left him In Snowbirds hands, nnd Bill had driven her back to the :ettlements In his fathers car. The die was now cast as to whether or not Dan nnd the remainder of the family should winter in the mountain. The snow clouds deepened every day, the frost was ever heavier In the dawns, nnd the road would surely remain open only a few days more. Once more the three seemingly had ithe Divide all to themselves. Bert Cranston had evidently deserted his on cabin and was working a trap-linthe Umpqua side. The rangers left the little station, all danger of fire past, and went down to their offices the federal building of one of the 'little cities below. Because he was worse than useless In the deep snows that were sure to come, one of the ranch hands that had driven up with e Cranston had killed Hildreth. to prevent his testimony from reaching the courts below. Of course, any other member of the arson ring of hillmen might have been the murderer; yet Dan was inclined to believe that Cranston, the lender of the gang, usually preferred to do such dangerous ork as this himself. If it were true, somed where on that ridge clues would be left. Moreover, it was wholly possible that the written testimony Hildreth must have gathered had never been found or destroyed. Dan didnt want the aid of the courts to find these clues. He wanted to work out the case himself. It resolved itself into a simple matter of vengeance: Dan had his debt to pay, and he wanted to bring Cranston to ruin by his own hand alone. While It was true that he took rather more than the casual interest that most citizens feel in the destruction of the forest by wanton fire, and had an actual sense of duty to do all that he could to stop the activities of the arson ring, his motives, stripped and bare, were really not utilitarian. He had no particular interest in Hildreths case. He remembered him simply as one of Cranstons disreputable gang, a poaener and a fire bug himself. When all is said and done, it remained really a personal Issue between Dan and Cranston. And personal issues are frowned upon by law and society. Civilization has toiled up from the darkness in a great measure to get away from them. But human nature remains distressingly the ame, and Dans desire o pay his debt was a distinctly human emotion. Sometime a breed will live upon the earth that can get clear away from personal code vengeance from that age-olof the ' hills that demands a blow for a blow and a life for a life but the time is not yet. And after all, by all the standards of men as men, not as read in idealistic philosophies, Dans debt was entirely real. By the light held high by his ancestors, he could not turn his other cheek. Just ak soon as he was able he went back to the scene of the murder. He didnt know when the snow would come to cover what evidence there was. It threatened every hour. wind promised It The air was sharp and cold, and no drop of rain could fall through it without crystallizing into snow. The deer had all gone and the burrowing people had sought their holes. The bees worked Of no more in the winter flowers. all the. greater forest creatures only the wolves and the bear remained the former because their fear of men would not permit them to go down to the lower hills, and the latter because of his knowledge that when food became scarce, he could always burrow In the snow. No bear goes Wise into hibernation from choice. old bachelor, he much prefers to keep just as late hours ns he can as long as the eating places in the berry thickets remain open. The cougars had all gone down with the deer, the migratory birds had departed, and even the squirrels were in hiding. The scene didnt offer much in the way of clues. Of the body itself only a white heap of bones remained, for been the agents many and terrible-haat work upon them. The clothes, however, particularly the coat, were practically intact Gripping himself, Dan thrust his fingers into its pockets, then into the pockets of the shirt and trousers. All papev that would in any way serve to Identify the murdered man, or tell what bis purpose had been In Journeying down the trail the night of the murder had been removed. Only one explanation presented Itself. Cranston had come before him and searched the body himself. Dan looked about for tracks, and be was considerably surprised to find the blurred, indistinct imprint of a shoe other than his own. He hadnt the least hope that the tracks themselves would offer a clue to a detective. They were too dim for that. The surprising fact was that since the murder had been committed immediately before the fall rains, the water had not completely washed them out. The only possibility remaining was that Cranston had returned to the body after the weeks rainfall. The track had been dimmed by the lighter rains that had fallen since. But yet It was entirely to be expected that the examination of the body would be an afterthought on Cranstons part. Possibly at first his only thought was to kill nnd, following the prompting that has sent so many murderers to the gallows, he had afterward returned to the scene of the crime to destroy nny clues he might have left nnd to search the body for any evidence against the arson ring. Dans next thought was to follow along the trail and find Cranstons ambush. Of course it would be in the direction of the settlement from the bodytas the bullet had entered from the front. He found it hard to believe that Hildreth had fallen in the exact spot where the body lay. Men Journeying at night keep to the trail, and the white heap itself was fully forty d k He walked twelve feet, then turned back. Out of the corner of his eye it seemed to him that he had caught a flash of white, near the end of a great, dead log beside the path that the wounded Hildreth had taken. For a moment he searched in vain. Evidently a yellow leaf had deceived him. Once more he retraced his steps, trying to find the position from which his eye had caught the glimpse of white. Then he dived straight for the rotten end of the log. ("O BE CONTINUED.) tree-cla- -- Every back-trac- home. -- d he turned up the trail toward Hildreths cabin. It might be possible, he thought, that Hildreth had left some of his testimony perhaps such rudely scrawled letters as Cranston had written him in some forgotten drawer in his hut It was but a short walk for Dans hardened legs, and he made It before midafternoon. The search Itself was wholly without result. But because he had time to think as he climbed the ridge, because as he strode along beneath that wintry sky he had a chance to consider every detail of the case, he was able to start out on a new tack when. Just before sunset, he returned to the body. This new train of thought had as Its basis that Cranstons shot had not been deadly at once; that, wounded, Hildreth had himself crawled Into the thickets where Whisperfoot had found him. And that meant that he had to enlarge his search for such documents ns Hildreth had carried to Include all the territory between the trail and the location of the body. It was possibly a distance of forty feet, and getting down on his hands and knees, Dan looked for any break In the shrubbery that would Indicate the path that the bounded Hildreth had taken. And it was ten minutes well rewarded, as far as clearing up certain details of the crime. His senses had been trained and sharpened by his months in the wilderness, the and he was able to wounded man from the skeleton clear to the clearing on the trail where he had first fallen. But as no clu2S presented themselves, he started to turn Strange, Grim Battle. feet back from the trail In the thickets. Perhaps Cranston had dragged it there to hide it from the sight of anyone who might pass along the lonely trail again ; and it- was a remote possibility that Whisperfoot, coming in the night, had tugged it into the thickets for dreadful purposes of his own. Likely the shot was fired when. Hildreth was in an open place on the trail : and Dan searched for the ambush with this conclusion in mind. He walked back, looking for a thicket from which such a spot would be visible. Something over fifty yards down he found it; and he knew it by the empty brass rifle cartridge that lay half buried in the wet leaves. The shell was of the same caliber as Cranstons rifle. Dans hand shook as he put it in his pocket. Encouraged by this amazing find, - ANCIENT RACES PLAYED BALL Tossing the Sphere Is Supposed to Have Had Deep Symbolic Meaning Centuries Ago. Although It is a proven fact that the game now designated baseball is of modern and purely American origin, the use of a ball in ceremonies and games goes back many centuries. Four thousand years ago, in the twelfth Egyptian dynasty, a Coptic artist sculptured on the temple Beni Hassan, human figures throwing and ball catching balls. A used in games played on the Nile over 40 centuries ago, has a place among the many archeological specimens in the British museum. It has a sewed cover and is in a remarkable state of preservation. The game of ball was prized by the Greeks as giving grace and elasticity to the human figure, and they erected a statue to one Aristonlcus for his Ancient medical proficiency In It practitioners were wont to prescribe a course of ball playing, where the modern doctor would order a diet of pills. It Is supposed that bail tossing had a deep symbolic meaning when played in the spring of the year; and that the tossing of the ball was intended first to typify the upspringing of the leather-covere- d Feel as Hid' y I Ceili Drag Thni the Days Work fa the complaint of many a woman in the household, office or factory After suffering feeling prn, nervous, weak dizzy, dragged-dow- n and by weaknesses of her sex with eyes sunken, black circles and pale cheeks such a woman is quickly ed to health by the Favorite Prescription of Dr. Pierce. Changed, too, in looks, for after taking Dr! Pierce's Favorite Prescription the skin becomes clear, the eyes brighter, the cheeks plump. It is purely vegetable and contains no alcohol. Druggists sell it in tablets or liquid, or send Doctor Pierce, at Invalids' Hotel in Buffalo, N. Y., 10 cents for trial package. Redding, Calif.' "Dr. Pierces Favorite Prescription is perfectly wonderful. I owe everything to this medicine. When I was passing thru middle age I suffered everything. Finally, I decided to take Dr. Pierces Favorite Prescription. It stopped the headaches, the pain3 and the hemorrhages. I never had any more trouble. It really is Mrs. R. B. Ralph, 60 great. Terllurium Street. Lacked Proper Outfit The man next door to Allen has a new car and little Allen often goes with him to the garage to keep him company while he tinkers with it He sometimes seems to get as much pleasure out of it as does its actual owner. The other day something happened which threatened for a time to dim his enjoyment The owner of the car came home with a jumper suit in which he appeared the next time he went out to work on his car. The next time he started out to the garage he whistled for Allen but no boy came. Then' he went over to Aliens house and hunted up the little Come on out to the garage fellow. with me, son, he said. Allen looked at him sorrowfully, I cant, he said sadly. I havent any Indigarage underwear like yours. anapolis News. four-year-o- A "I ld 50good cigarettes for 10c from one sack of GENUINE mu DURHAM TOBACCO Disrespectful. Finnegan (to his spouse) Shure the It Might Have Been True. children these days have no manners at The bass singer in the choir of an all at all. Phwat do yez think that Indiana town cordially jtests the young omadhaun next door said to tenor singer in the same church. Nor me? Mr. Finnegan, he sez, git yer does lie make any attempt to keep his picture took an Ill send wan o thira to' me tayelier for a valentine. Bofeeling hidden. The other evening he was out driv- ston Transcript. ing with some friends whe the driver of the car almost ran down a man. FOR Just as he swerved his car to the SWAMP-ROO- T side the people in it recognized the man they had missed as the tenor KIDNEY AILMENTS singer. Oh, breathed the driver, "that was a narrow escape. A few feet more There is only one medicine that really as a medicine roj and some woman would have been a stands out curable ailments of the kidneys, liver ana widow. , Yes, a happy one, too, added the bladder. stands the Dr. Kilmers Swamp-Roo- t bass soloisC highest for the reason that it has proven to be just the remedy needed in thousand cases. upon thousands of distressing life of nature after the gloom of winn Swamp-Romakes friends quickly ter. And, whether this was the case cause its mild and immediate effect is soon among the people of antiquity or not, realized in most cases. It is a gentki it is a remarkable fact that the ec- healing vegetable compound. Start treatment at once. Sold atme clesiastics of the early church adopted this symbol and gave it a very special drug stores in bottles of two sizes, .... um and large. tn significance by meeting on Easter day However, if you wish first to test u and throwing a ball from hand to great preparation send ten cents to Kilmer & Co., Binghamton, N. Y., fr hand, to typify the Resurrection. an -- ot . Valuable to Science. The telescope gives enlarged views of distant objects, the microscope shows only what is almost im contact with' its lens, and by giving a means of making Intermediate observations the modifications of the Davon microtelescope have proven a boon to the naturalist. With great depth of focus and a large field of view, the short focus type, for example, has a working distance of 10 to 18 inches, and magnifies 15 to 38 diameters. An adrod serves as a justable rubber-tipperest to support the instrument at the desired height for studying such objects as insects, plants and rocks. d sample bottle. - When writing be sure mention this paper. Adv. Better Adjectives. I heard the speech last night was nothing of It extempore. kind. It was rotten. Dont be afraid, to ask Thats the the questions. find only way you can a good many things. was ou Farrington. Sure (Relief Chief Ailment. large proportion of our troubles Is caused by too much bone In the head and not enough in the back. (S. C.) Record. A You are not very good If you are not better 'than your best friend Imagine you to be. Lsvater. BEHoaitf |