Show c a an n 01 tJ I O ei ir sA SERVICE SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING CHAPTERS Ion long Mark Kin King prospector Is on his way to the home bome of Ben Caynor Their DOr bor CIona Iri friendship strained by Gaynor's Gaynor marriage King Kine has bas not met Mr Cay Gaynor or a witha Gaynor's eighteen daughter King and Gaynor Caynor share with desperado gold Id Swen Brodio Brodie and hi his crowd knowledge of 01 s a VASt store of 01 bidden King A prospector tor Loony Honeycutt i is believed to know the hiding place everts els Mrs Caynor and Is Gaynor's Caynor Impressed by Gloria youthful beauty Among to guests i Is Gratton Cratton whom King at once dislikes With GlorIa King ride rides Coloma Coloma Intending to sound Honeycutt He finds And Brodie with the old prospector and animosity flare KIng Is attracted by Gloria She and her ber mother return to San Francisco In a spirit of adventure the girl accompanies Gratton Cratton On a business trip At Coloma abe finds her ber father badly hurt burt lie give her ber a message for King wring urging her ber to get it to him bim et at once GlorIa reap e she be has compromised herself by her ber Journey with Gratton Gratton Francisco proposes marriage morTice and Gloria knowing her ber adventure Is f the talk of 01 San Fran Fran- cisco apparently accepts him bim Gratton arranges for th the marriage by a country Judge thelast King unseen by Gloria Gloria the tho ceremony from Irom a window At the last moment the tho girl refuse to utter the requisite yes King enters and Gloria appeals to him bim for lor protection Gratton Cratton dismissed reveals his knowledge of 01 the treasure and makes make threats threat With his bis departure King heartened by Glorias Gloria's appeal to Mm bim urges her ber to marry him Really In love with him bim nod and seeing a way out of her dilemma the girl consents Gaynor'S message to King reveals the approximate location of 01 the treasure and urges King to go et at once rid and It It Alter After the wed wedding ling ceremony Gloria asserting the necessity for lor forrest rest after olter her trying experience Kin King leaves her ber and prepares for lor hIs trip CHAPTER Continued VI-Continued VI Continued 10 10 Do you know do you guess have ha you the faIntest Suspicion how v I love loye you Its It's sweet of you lie he told her softly to get up and come corne down and see me off olT Oil Oh said Gloria I am gln going with you ou Not Nat once had King Ring dared think that she should go with him Into the mountains on this flU quest est of ot his lIe Ile pondered and stared at nt her Dont you ou want me asked Glo Glo- Gloria Gloria ria Arent you glad Mark It was not on any spur of the mo mo- moment moment moment ment ment but after long deliberation that she had decided that she would go with him If It It were rumored that she had gone out of town with Gra ail n If It Gratton Gralton wanted fo to be bengl Gral d d feed rumor then on top of t If she she appeared within reach of n a reporter without a husband there would be talk I If It It were an answered that she was married to Mark MarIe King there would be the question And where my dear Is thIs Mark King From upstairs last night she had heard fragmentary fragmentary fragmentary tary outbursts from the judge Irregular no license Now Glo Gin Gloria ra ria meant to kill the snake outright not to allow n the scotched reptile to writhe free She was married she was going with her husband Into the wilderness on the most roman roman- romantic romantic tic of all nil honeymoons The papers were free tree to make male much of or that Of Ot course I want you said saM KIng slowly Glad Glad Clad that you ou want to come with me Cant Can't you see that I am I he gladdest man on nut nut- I have already written a mes mes- message mes- mes message message sage I wanted to send to a girl girlfriend girlfriend girlfriend friend In San Francisco I was go- go going go going I ing to have It phoned In to her It tells te her Im I'm Im I'm married To you Mark And that were we're ort oft on the most wonderful trip to together ether Into the heart of the wild country God bless you he said heartily But Gloria glancing at him swIftly saw that his eyes were clouded Of course she said If It you dont don't want a girl along along- along You Vou saId last night that you weren't afraid y PI I i i I III I II IIII s II Have You the Faintest test SuspIcion How I Love You Brodie and his men of anything they didn't even en Tuft That could do da where to go That they'd know where to find you ou never ne know But But- And I meant It t Yes him she ed edI edher her Was Was's there come s 's wanted j I to would there be er dan danger I rec r L J Jany any to her It he thought so danger the llie faintest liken was that there he would say to her hood ot of what the In no DO no matter It if they made a quick q his heart But days each out tWO dash In and one day at Gus In- In Ingle's In Ingle's wn sot Dit over o In one could go inon on onay gle's coves caves out Trey Tey another They ay come came at least a n full till days day's head start of any possible followers No In his heart he did not believe that there would be any danger to Gloria Further the thought struck hIm that she would not be altogether safe here there was as venom In Gratton Grattan Gratton Cratton knew v from Glo Glo- GlorIa's Gloria's rias ria's own lips that she had brought the message from her father In Coloma hence Gratton might sus sus- suspect sus- sus suspect suspect and Brodle Brodie after him that Gloria was In possession of ot old Loony ony secret ecret Instead of seeming hazardous to take Glo Glo- GlorIa Gloria ria with him It began to appear that his new responsibility of guarding her from all harm barm had be- be begun begun be begun gun already and that he be could best protect her from any possIble evil e by having her ber always with him e e e e eKing I King estimated they would be gone ganc five days and then making due allowance for any reasonable delay provisioned for far ten GlorIa was much Interested In everything and looked out to the mountaIns eagerly when King had swung her herup herup herup up to her saddle on mackIe Blackie the tall sober sober faced horse You are not afraid that I 1 can take care of you arc are you Gloria he asked And Gloria laughed gaily answer answer- answerIng answerIng answering ing My fy dear Mr Man Ian I am not not the least bit afraid of ot anything In all the world thIs tills morning I There were red spots spats In GlorIas GlorIa's cheeks when ben they start started ell King sought to guess at what might be bethe bethe bethe the emotions of ot a young oung girl going on with Glorias Gloria's present emotion emotional al vain adventure adventure vain task of a mere man seeking to fathom those trou trou- troubled trou- trou troubled troubled bled feminine depths marking depths marking that she was a little nervous and dis dis- dis trait I know the place Gus Ingle trIM tried to describe he said as well ns as asI I know my old o hat Or at least Id I'd have saso said sa so until he mentioned the thIrd cave Ive I've been there dozens ot of times too but Ive I've got to see seemore seemore seemore more than two caves cafes there yet I do wonder wonder do you suppose well we'll find It as he says At least well we'll see about it It And whether there be heaps and pIles ot of red red gold as the tale be sure our trip Is going to be worth the two da days s 's ride Ill I'll show you such chasms and gorges and ern crags s as youve you've never turned those two lovely eyes of yours on Mrs GlorIa KIng As they Journeyed King ob- ob observed ob observed served ser that Gloria displayed none or of that chattering singing gayety of their former rides together be he re- re re- re remembered re remembered sympathetically that she had had very little sleep last night and that she had bad endured a wearisome wearisome some same twenty four hours before and that the long nervous ous strain under which she had struggled must certainly certainly have told upon her both physically and mentally So go bellev believing ing log that she would be grateful tar for silence he grew silent with her King well before midday reached the spot In which from the first he had planned that they would noon Lie was quick to help her to dis dis- dis dismount dismount mount and noted that she carne came down stiffly the eyes which she turned to him were heavy with n fa fn- fn I tIgue gue Maybe I shouldn't have ha let you after all dear come he saId con con- contritely contritely tritely These are arc harder trails than wee weve we've ridden before and eve bad to keep at It steadier The last two days das have hn been hard to get through with she said as asI she yielded to his Insistence and sat at down on the sun sun warmed p pane pineneedles ne needles I am sorry I am so- so soso so soso so- so sotIe so solIe He lIe didn't allow v her to run down the elusive e won word Nonsense be he told her heartily youve you've got a right to be tired hit when youre you're OU e had bad some lunch and a acup acup cup of ot hot coffee you'll be top tip tip I 5 again You'll sec see I King unsaddled and tethered the horses borses built his little fire and went I about lunch-getting lunch with a n Joy he be beI I had never known In the old accustomed accustomed tomed routine before Now and then I he glanced toward Gloria he could not nat help that But he saw that she was lying back her eyes closed and while his heart went out to her he did not force his sympathy on an her ber herShe She seemed to be asleep But Gloria was not nat asleep Never had her mind raced so BO It was done and she was Mark Rings Kings wife I higher and higher loomed that tact fact above all other considerations But there were other considerations her father hUl hurt she did not know how v badly her mother mystified by now perhaps Informed of GlorIas GlorIa's marriage Gralton Gratton with the poison polson extracted from fram his fangs had the fangs still Brodle Brodie somewhere Bro Bra BrodIe Bradie Brodle dIe dle with the horrible face She shivered ered and stirred restlessly and King who saw everything e thought that she had dreamed a bad dream But lunch was ready rendy he came carne to her with plate and cup And again Gloria did her best to smile grate grate- gratefully gratefully gratefully fully You Yon are so good to me mc Mark lark MarkI she said Her IIer eyes were thought thought- thoughtful thoughtful thoughtful ful would he always be good to her Even en when but when but she was as too loo weary to think I 1 want to learn how bow to be good to you ou wife of mine he said very ery gently That Is all on earth I ask Just to make male you happy You love me so much Mark she asked as one who wondered at what she had read In his lo low voice and glimpsed In his eyes Gloria he be told her ber gently I dont don't understand this thing they call love lore yet It Is too new too wonder wonder- wonderful wonderful ful But I do do know that In nil all the world there Is nothing else that mat mat- matters matters She looked at him long and curl curi curiously You would do anything you could to make me happy Anything Mark lark I pray with all my heart and soul that I always may I 1 Gloria seemed to rest through h the noon hour and to brighten When she saw him the second time look at the sun she got up from the ground and said Time to go Im I'm ready And after that banquet I feel all me again I 1 lie he laughed and went wont off ort after the horses singing at the top of his I voIce She stood very ery still looking off after him her brows puckering Into into a shadowy frown Oh If It she could only read herself herselt as he al- al allowed al allowed lowed her to read him If It she could only anly be as ns sure of Gloria as she was of Mark 1 If It she could only look deep Into her heart as she looked Into his Did she love loye Mark KIng Twice she had been sure that she loved loyed him But nut that was so long ago And now that she had al- al allowed al nl allowed lowed him to carry her out of ot the What now Oh Ob If she had only let him go on alone this morning If It she site had remaIned where she could rest and think and thus come conic to see clearly even en Into her own troubled heart They came about four o'clock to a small meadow mcadow Gloria drew rein and looked at hIm with large eyes across the tWenty twenty twenty ty paces separating them I 1 cant can't go any further she said bleakly Im tired out outi I P lie was quick to see a gathering ot of tears and swung down from his horse borse and went to her with lon long strides his own eyes filled with con conn concern cern tern Poor Ioor little he said hum hum- humbly humbly bly Ive J let you OU do yourself up And It t was his duty hIs Ills privilege and no ones one's else In the world to shelter her to stand between her herand herand herand and all hardship In a moment he be was unrolling a n pack maln making a tem tem- temporary temporary couch for her and command commandIng commandIng Ing her lovingly just to lie down and look up at the treetops above her herand and rest while lie he staked out the horses borses Gloria threw herself face ace down on the blankets She did not nat know what possessed tier her she fought faught for repression hid hiding ing log her face from him Out of ot a hideously stern world u black spIrit had leaped upon her ber it clutched at ather ather ather her throat It dragged at her he heart rt She was so nervous that now v and aguin a fierce tremor shook her ber from head hend to foot Dusk gathered while King worked over his fire The aroma of ar boil ball boiling boll Ing Ing coffee rose crept through the theair theair theair air blended with the aromas of ot the woods Ue lie set out his dishes upon a topped flat rock replenished his fire threw on some fresh cut green cedar boughs baughs for their delightful fra fra- fragrance gronce grance and went to call Gloria Gloria too tired bodily anti mentally to wage a winning battle those black vapors apor which loCI flock so frequently abOut youth had suffered and yielded and gone down In misery Hers lIers was a state slate of overwrought O nerves which forbade clear thinking which dis dis- dis distorted distorted and warped and magnified A cup of or coffee and a lilt hit of or sup sup- supper supper supper per King fling said gently feel feela feea a lot better beller She rose wearily and followed him saying absently I am not hungry It was good of you ou to go to nil all of ff this trouble 1 Iam am afraid I am not much of a camper Tuckered out he thought Clean Clenn tuckered out I And finally when she pushed her cup away and let her two hands drop Into her lap b bo he gathered the I dishes and carried them thorn away to the th nearest pool to wash them When he lie came back to her In n the hush of the he first hour of ot nIght night he thought that he understood bier need for silence and spoke only anly Infrequently Infrequently and briefly And now he said taking up hIs handled short handled nr or I am going oln to tomake tomake tomake make for my love lady the finest couch for tor tranquil restful sleep that mortal ever efer had As S he strode away toward n a grove of firs he lie was lost to her eyes before he lie had gone a hundred paces lIe He worked swiftly grudging every mInute away from her And then he stopped sa sat t dou down n upon a log and filled tilled his pipe with slow fingers Hed He'd force himself to smoke one pipe before he went back to her thinking that she would be grateful for a few moments alone Almost with the first puff purt ot of smoke there came to him Glorias Gloria's piercIng scream cream Ills Ilis heart stop stop- r t I II IY It I Y t- t tN tt N 1 t Just as Though I Were Your Property Property ping he jumped up and ran through the trees to her shouting Gloria I Im I'm coming What Is It t Theres something therein there In In the bushes she cried excited excitedly |