Show till ranum A THE STORY THUS FAR t SYNOPSIS on the isolated meager ranch on the southern border deborah meredith trained nurse Is in attendance on mrs meager whose husband has re bently been killed immediately after the death bob meager mrs meager a stepson arrives and takes possession he insults deborah and she re resolves to leave but tl ere seems no ability of her getting away mea mem ger gloats over deborah a plight he ile tells her he has sent for a justice of the peace who will marry them tomorrow horri fled the girl secures a revolver the justice cornelius garrity scoundrel and bosom friend of meager arrives with a party among them the frisco kid notorious desperado despite deborah e protests the justice performs the marriage ceremony she escapes and reaches her room there she stuns meager with the revolver and rushes to the stables hoping to secure a horse and escape there she meets the frisco kid some how he inspires her with conn dence and she explains the situa tion the kid tells her his name Is daniel kelleen that he ie in no friend of meager they ride off together into the desert pres antly she realizes that kelleen Is the frisco kid but doesn doean t fear him CHAPTER VI VII I 1 continued 7 pop reynolds heyl he said lightly then I 1 am sure his story must have been a good one so he told you I 1 was a ty bad man well now you ye we met me do you be bileve it 1 I 1 I don t know she confessed doubtfully I 1 I 1 would rather not think that which Is a hopeful sign well please try not to think so for the next halt half hour at least then maybe I 1 can tell you my side of the story there Is no time now for weve we ve sim ply got to get under cover do you tee see that blu blue ridge over yonder you know what it Is the meager ranch isn t it yes and in twenty minutes as soon as tl ti e mist rises they could pick us out from there with a good field glass well ivell have to find a safer place to talk in than this here lead the horses its it a only a step to the rim then well both have hay e to make the descent afoot they moved forward slowly into what hat appeared to be the interminable desert the man plowing bis his way through sand the tired animals fol lowing with drooping heads suddenly he stopped gripping the reins tightly and pointing with his c ther hand deborah needed no guld price for her eyes were A ere already riveted on the yawning gash in the surface of the desert staring down with a startled feeling of aw e into the ai al parent ly bot hot romless cl el aim not five yards away A moment she gazed hardly comprehending too thoroughly dazed by this phenomenon of nature to completely grasp its significance then she felt kelleen lift her bodily from the saddle and lead her forward to the very edge below lay exposed in the cold gray of the dawn the full marvel a deep gorge as thoi gh scooped out by a R giant spoon cut directly across the barren sand plan with no evidence anywhere aboe of its existence to the eye it seemed some three hundred feet wide but much deeper the side walls rocky and irregular the arev ices tees and ravines cl el oled with sand while millie far I 1 elow appeared the soft green vegetation and along the base of the opposite wall much more precipitous cip itous than the side on which they stood the silvery sparkle of a small stream deborah diew a quick breath glancing aside into the face of the man at her side you have been down there yes the descent Is net not larla difficult along these ravines the sand gives purchase pur chise even the horses aill pick their way he smiled at the consternation in her face what la is it he questioned feir fe ir of the passage or of the frisco kid she looked straight at him beneath lee leveled led bro bros a conscious of the sudden flush of her bleeks cl beeks Is either neither I 1 am not afraid I 1 did not believe you would be for yov you are not that sort at all the truth Is young lady you really haven t so much on in in this matter of lecog I 1 happen to know quite a bit bout about vo i abacut me you what may I 1 ask just a bit as I 1 say a mere picture not easily forgotten I 1 saw you once before ever you came to meager a ranch and I 1 have remembered it ever ince since do you remember a morning la in august 1918 when tl e thirty third division went over the top waded a river and cleaned out the heights beyond it wai was a sharp fight and lote lots A of the boys never came back you remember dont jou ou I 1 les ea well ivell I 1 was there and I 1 got mine about eight clock mine must have ben plenty for they hauled me back to the first fIrstI line lne hospital and had some sart ot of surgical job done before I 1 woke up the man next to me died and the nurse who was with him she was as heavily built with very light hair jessie seevers I 1 dont know but she gave me a drink of water and then they put an other wounded guy into the place where the dead body had been he was just a kid not more than seven teen I 1 reckon and was mas crying like a baby his nerves all shot to pieces you were his nurse and I 1 lay there and watched how you fixed him up its it s not likely youve you ve forgot that isol nol isol nol she bent her head he ile was from my town I 1 ie e he died that night I 1 didn dian t know for they took me away but I 1 lay there and watched you for another hour before the stretchers came I 1 never saw you again I 1 would have liked to mighty well and I 1 even know your name then just a memory of your face he ile reached out his hand s lv 1 I 1 I wish shake hands bands with me he be said almost hesitating at his boldness and sorter pretend to for get that frisco kid business I 1 have forgotten it she answered steadily their eyes and hands bands meet ing you v were ere a soldier in my divi slon I 1 believe bellee in you and am year your friend CHAPTER vill story of the frisco kid to deborah E kelleen elleen was no longer a bandit a fleeing fugitive from jus tice but a soldier who had been wounded in battle who had played the part of a man while to him the girl was no longer a stray runaway in whom he be felt little interest but a nurse whose face had haunted his memory since he had bad first watched her in the glow of the french sun they stood there on the rim of that strange crater the grim gray desert circling them about neither able to think of a word to say deborah a eyes fell and she ditl drew her hand turning to stare into the depths below the slight movement served to arouse kelleen to the situation well this will never nener do he ex claimed new cheerfulness qs in his tone they will have a glass trained oa on us over there before we ne get to cover welt we if send end the horses down first chev 11 find the best route and we can follow come sultan over you go old bov oh no vou re not afraid weve done this little irick trick before go on sir I 1 he ile struck the animal with the flat of his hand and with a reproachful shake of the head sultan vly and cautiously began the steep descent seeking a path along the deeper layers of sand and ng from gulch to gulch better to obtain foothold the other horse followed fol follow loved ed hut but not without a struggle trembling with fear and keeping close to th the trail left by the leader kelleen touched the girl girls s arm come he said briefly a bit of command in the voice really it Is not so dangerous as it looks from here sultan has found the best trail and well mell drill along after him they made it slowly picking their path along the trail left by the two animals finding purchase in the sand occa occasionally donally steadied by an outcrop ping rock or the exposed root of some clinging shrub the drop was more exten extensive she than deborah previously had realized from above and the sharp descent left her breathless the sand disappeared as they reached the lower levels the walls be coming sheer rock but slashed with gullies and finally these were more or less choked with vegetable growth at the bottom where the two horses were contente contentedly dIv munching the short grass the valley had all the appear ance of a new land made fresh and verdant by the magic touch of water deborah at the foot of the long descent clung to the projecting root of a tree and stared about her with wide open eyes unable to restrain her amazement why this Is simply marvelous she exclaimed I 1 did not appreciate what it meant from up there you have been down here before you said you Yo ayou you do not believe you are the I 1 only one who ubo has made this dincov cry ery no that Is hardly probable there were reasons why it was nas impossible for me to determine the truth when I 1 was vv as here before 3 vet et I 1 found evidences that others had been before me the remains of a camp fire an exploded cartridge shell and even the imprint of cattle I 1 have no wish to frighten you miss deborah but my idea Is that probably thi this place hita h been and t perhaps still stil I 1 Is ft a hiding place tor for thlen thieves es cattle stealers you mean les and runners this whole border Is honeycombed with that sort of thing and this hole Is c an ideal hideout come lets let a sit don doin lere 1 ere and eat blat wl at achane we hae for I 1 am not going to risk a fire and ill tell you a theory ive rye in worked out outs please do the bag of food the girl baa had secured from the ranch kitchen was vas direfully cire fully strapped to the saddle of saltan sultan helleen procured this and si read the contents on a strip of grass they were ere both eating when he resumed speech 1 I am inclined to think be said g avely that this has been a for that sort of traffic for years I 1 don dont t believe many have known about it or else son e whispers would I 1 ave reached me but this particular section of the border has been a sore spot for years someone stumbled on this place just exactly as I 1 have perhaps r several some bodies but my p besent notion Is that the discoverer was either bob meager or one of the disreputable gang he has with him ills his determination to get control of the ranch at his fathers death the bellois fello s he has brought there from front across the line hie and Garr garrity itys s deep in terest in the affair all combine to mike mke me suspicious do you see the ranch and this hole together make an ideal outfit for running either cattle or munitions across the border and some of tl ti ose fellows over there hae have been at that job for years then how do you dare come here with me because it alone promised security for this one day tonight well we 11 go on but we could not travel across the des ert in daylight without being seen her ees ekes were on his face inquiry angly you dislike bob meager very much was that why you were nere so willing to I 1 elp me not altogether it may have had weight I 1 confess now however that thought has gone entirely and judge garrity he Is 19 utterly despicable let you seemed very friendly with him only last night on excellent terms he lie smiled good natu you are quite a cross examiner miss meredith sometimes you know she drew in her breath sharply it becomes necessary to play a part in life what Is the cause for all this shrewd questioning I 1 hardly know myself but it Is all so strange and has happened so sud denly I 1 am just beginning to think clearly how did you happen to serve in the thirty third division they were all illinois troops so you even noticed that I 1 was transferred from what hat command the regulars was that not very unusual you you were an enlisted man I 1 did not say so he smiled back and now that you drive me to a con bession I 1 might as well make a full breast of it I 1 was transferred to take command of a company A captain yes why I 1 she drew in her breath sharply leaning forward with new eagerness then surely you are not now what I 1 thought you to be an fin outlaw a renegade you are not really the the frisco kid oh yes I 1 am at least I 1 am all the frisco kid there e ever eer er was vms to the best of my knowledge although I 1 fall to line up entirely with the reputation so kindly gl glien ven me by pop reynolds renolds the frisco bid lid Is an entirely manu fractured character made tor for a purpose do you grasp the idea she shook her bead but her eager eyes belled belied the action you have a glimmer nevertheless ill explain this of the bor der has been a hotbed of outlawry for years it has baffled every command ing officer assigned to tl Is district we had no information to work on suspects were numerous but proof lacking finally a plan of action was wag evolved but to carry it out success fulia a desperado with an established reputation as a bad man was vias first of all roost most essential with this end in view the frisco kid was carefully put on the stage newspapers along the coast and near the border began to note his exploits d snatches spat ches regarding him were vere sent east for his capture dead or alive were posted it was nas intimated finally when nhen his name had become sufficiently familiar that he had escaped into mexico and then that he had been seen again in this neighborhood troops were dispatched to run him down don and word to that effect scat seat broadcast on both sides the line you see the purpose of it alir all to win the confidence of the real gang exactly and it worked the end Is already in sight but who then are you daniel kelleen just as I 1 told you a captain in the rd cavalry you lou you volunteered for this sery ice tee yes you vou see it was impossible foi the department to use any officer who had been stationed late y along this border such a one might be immell abely recognized and the whole acl erne eme ruined at once at the same time whoever was chosen to play the character must have intimate knowl edge of the border I 1 met the requirements fully as I 1 had served here ten years ago as a mere boy and knew the country fairly well so here I 1 am the frisco kid md deborah held out here hand bavely I 1 im in glad you told me she said la in all frankness CHAPTER IX A new viewpoint she had been sleeping for nearly two hours with head supported on a saddle the steep wall all of the canyon on one side of her and the valley itself shut completely off by a thick growth of shrub she had not realized how tired she was and in fact rested there some time in this nook kelleen had bad found staring with wide open eyes up at the strip of blue sky her mind still active the knowledge of who this man really was had brought her instant relief and a new sense of safety in his arese prese presence ice so her heavy eyes closed and she slept something must havie awakened the girl suddenly for she sat bolt upright with eyes wide open in fright rel el leen had bad disappeared but beyond this no change of any kind was apparent the entire scene was so calm aej peaceful that Debo deborah s heart ceased its first violent throbbing and she even smiled at her earlier fear and arose expectantly to her feet what had become of kelleen through the tree branches behind which she had been concealed deborah searched the full length of the chasm within reach of her vision but discovered no trace of his presence it was not likely the man would be ab sent long it must already be noon by the sun and actuated by a desire to do something she finally began to arrange a meal for his return she had opened the bag of provisions when suddenly her eyes caught sight of something moving tar far below and to her right objects at first hard to distinguish and then quickly dis berned as two horsemen emerging from the very cleft in tl e rocks where she had decided the canyon probably ran they came steadily on growing more distinct each minute yet still too far away aay for recognition she crouched lower loer behind her screen and waited breathlessly two what hat could that mean it seemed highly improbable that kelleen helleen child have enco entered a friend in this spot a man in whom he had faith who was returning with him if this was vas as he so |