Show THE STORY THUS FAR SYNOPSIS on the isolated meaer 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 meaner meager a stepson arrives and takes poss possession ossion he insult insults deborah ay aid d she resolves to leave but there seems no ability of h nor jr getting away mea ger gloats over Debo deborah s pit plight he tells tier ber he has sent tor for a justice of the peace who will marr marn them tomorrow horri fled the girl secures a revolver the justice cornelius garrity scoundrel co undrel and bosom friend of L meager eager arrives with a party among them the frisco kid notorious desperado despite deborah a protests the justice performs the marriage ceremony she e escapes and reaches her roo room in there she stuns meager with the revolver and rushes to the tabler stabler hoping to secure a horse and escape tl TI ere she meets the frisco kid some how he inspire I 1 er with conal dence and she explains the situa tion the kid tells her his name Is daniel kelleen that he Is no friend of meager they ride off oft together into the desert pres antly she realizes that kelleen 1 Is the frisco rid but doesn doean t tear fear him deborah hears the story of the frisco kid CHAPTER IX continued her eyes traced tracei the rugged bluff hopelessly to attempt scaling that would only bring her into full view yet there was as a fringe of thick bushes below into which she might plunge this seemed the only hiding place available and she crept through the thick fringe of brush into the shadow the two horsemen came slowly raut cautiously louly up the slight slope staring about them suspiciously yet finding nothing at the summit bu but a bit of trampled grass to tell that the had been occupied previously deborah secure in a cleft of the rock behind a five foot screen of chal chai chaparral arral crouched motionless with ears strained to detect the slightest sound she was ras unable to see but could hear plainly and tl it ere was no difficulty in recognizing the voice of sanchez whatever do aou ou suppose has become of tl it em jose he asked corn com they were to have come yesterday you tell us and yet they are not here but someone Is senor see there has been camp made that was the guard the ranch brand Is on the pony grazing yonder I 1 took note as NN we e rode by I 1 wonder where in h 1 I the fellow has gone but he has naught to do with case beers beer s outfit the gulch is empty e ex capt for tl it e lad me w e met below and what nhat does he do in here senor who vias ras it vou call him sanchez laughed mirthlessly hiding out jose there is no rea son on to fear that guy he ile s the isid TI tie e frisco kid iud sure I 1 hear of him they say he held up the los colos stage sanchez laughed not all they say he ile Is the devil devils s own onn it if half the tales be true a smooth spoken boy enough but not the ort sort to make sport of meager knows him aye and he slapped his knee roughly at the happy thought and that is why tl it e lad Is here no doubt I 1 have it now bob could not come himself jose so he be sent tl it Is fellow but NN why by the h 1 d dant t he tell me I 1 wonder who tell you the kid either lither one of em I 1 like to know what I 1 im in bein stacked up against on a job like this Case beers lucky but his outfit this trip would rould be a mighty rich haul it if he should happen to fall dove down n guns ammunition and booze for villa tome some combination thit it Is to go over the tho border tonight and a nice wad of money comes back that will te I 1 e the kid s job peri perl aps if meager doesn doean t sho chov v up by dark R we e ban faient en t f aty orders beyond hee heie i you th senor bob mas be would send bond I 1 im lm to bring back the sure its it s fifty fifty w ith casebeer and fi falsco isco Is all rigl t he iles s square sq aare as they i ike ile em IN ive e al at I 1 eard balses h 1 of course now an then but I 1 e never doul ie crossed anybody aint that him that bluff yonder sure it Is rodn rid n ti Is way ray I 1 in coln to ask him strai fel t when I 1 e gets here deberal frightened bv what she heard lifted herself sl ghaly so as to eee see better up the narrow valley the approaching horseman was ins in plain view and even at tl it jt at distance tl it e girl had no doubt as to his identity her iler nerv erv heart seemed to cease beat ing as she knelt anxiously watching his approach the horse loping stead lly ily the man snaking gently to the movement of the animal who in deed deel was he this daniel Re kelleen lleen thia this frisco kid was he a real man in whom she could trust and believe in whose honor she could con fide or was he what nhat these ruf ruffians flans so confidently proclaimed in outlaw a desperado of the frontier an escaped felon hiding from justice and even now engaged in tie committal of crime TI ese fellows took it tor for granted that he was present on the same crin inal mission as themselves he had d beritely left her and rode away seeking traces of casebeer Case beers s gang in the valley seemingly there was no escape from the one IKU won that at tee be was part of the con BY T Il ANDAli copyright by A C g co he ile had lied to her deceived her told her a fairy tale laughing at her credulity while coldly going for R ward ard R with ith I 1 Ms Is on own n elins pi ins deborah grasped all this almost in scantly unable to perceive any ability of escape bioni the net her iler limbs trembled yet ale e could only kneel there in silence w ancl ing the approach ap of the rider A wild hope thrilled inte into her feirt l that perhaps this man w m as not all bad tl it at wl at ever his reil real life might be he may have hane meant to be squire with her and would yet protect her surely he never had bad revealed I 1 er presence to these others perhaps that was why I 1 e had not returned NN with ith them I 1 she might see the strangers and hide first words sent a thrill through her heart he was ras playing a part tor for her protection he ile reined in his mount sharply glancing keenly about but with face expressionless esi onless as his eyes finally en countered the two tao aR altIng him whose horse Is that he asked inquiringly indicating the grazing grazin animal I 1 know not that senor Us alea men gers ger s brand I 1 can see that for to myself but it was not riot here when I 1 edme by was anyone besides you two sent in here on this business no senor there was a touch of deference in sand ez voice most un usual deborah wis uis quick to note and appreciate only the two of us let it might be for we knew not even that you were nere to come also that was ras an afterthought and why NOW I 1 rode so hard and straight I 1 knew about you dian didn t I 1 sl SI senor no doubt kelleen helleen swung one leg carelessly over the pommel of his saddle and deliberately rolled and lit a cigarette his face expressed no emotion no particular interest yet deborah was ras certain the keen searching ees ekes hid swept swiftly over her covert conert and up the steep front of the overpowering over towering cliff he suspected where she was vias lidden 1 and ras as endeavoring to pro hect her from discovery but who was he really playing fair with was he be trying to deceive both or merely playing a desperate game in which a single slip would mean disaster was he outlaw or honest man nothing in the situation or in the conversation thus far overheard gave her certainty she dare not move scarcely venture to breathe as she watched the three men below when la Is this casebeer Oase beer gang ex pecked kelleen questioned tonight senor it was to be ear her but they not come now not until tonight they never nener cross the desert by day no I 1 reckon not it would be too ricly any trouble here lately non non senor not of late trou brou ble it was all fixed the senor meager he know who rho best to see come yes last week a man N the approaching horseman was in plain view come an question but he ride away an kno v nothing A troop come sol diers from tl it e fort an stay two three day dav I 1 talk with ith officer he drink with bob then they go back to nogales it be all right sure tl en see we kno inov v they not be back soon as this week so we send word nord for casebeer yes I 1 see but it Is not so sure after all perhaps they do come back the mexican shook his head post no senor know we have watch natch alwaes senor meager very slick stick bird when not drunk you at the ranch last night certainly you saw me there why you not there alone senor the judge came also from nogales ile brought the word rord for that he came not to marry meager that all came later by what tov jou call luck vi IV I 1 ere d s this not tt it era ern ng come from t out of Cali basis seiw senor by nay of the river riner then tl it ey will enter down below tl it rough the gorge this ie Is no place for us S appose they delayed I list night and took a chance to come on otis morn ng by t and why rhy not TI ev d be under rock con cover er all the list part of the way its beyond I 1 ere tl it at they d ha have e tl e open desert to cross lets r de down domi there and R wait alt sa idle up both of you there Is just as good camping ground down dovin below witt in five minutes the three wee trotting soberly do doan nn the valley not one of tt it em glanced bad and deborah lifting her head higher and higl higi er to peer after them tl it rough the brush screen watched until tl it ey disappeared entirely about the sharp protuberance of rock which marked the end of the abe N vista ista kelleen had done this pur his conversation with rith these men had been largely carried on for lier benefit an ani guidance he kne kaev v v m I 1 ere ero sl e v w is that sa s1 1 e could easily through these means he endeavored to convey conney to her pecked tie tl e complete con situation in wh ch he wis ris ir nolven and then this accomplish ed he I 1 ad inveigled the two unsuspecting mexicans away thus div lag ing her opportunity to escape unseen deborah was ras not yet wholly con vinced of tie t ie man s innocence in spite of his evident intention of sl beld ing her from discovery ils intimate with bob meager the un der standing berneen bet v een him and san chez was seem angly proof positive that he was an important link in this conspiracy the man was ras endeavoring to make I 1 er tl it ink oti oil berwise but the doubt of him lingered in her mind in the night she hid bid begin beg in to trust to believe the fello v s very recklessness and good humor had been attract attractive he her vague suspicion seemed to vanish in his presence but now this doubt re turned with redoubled vigor and for the moment she actually fearel him as much as the man she had tried to kill more perhaps for meager was only a rough passionate brute while the very verv nature of kelleen rendered him a far more dangerous adversary if he also was interested in her and the girl felt that he was aas she was ras in greater danger now nov than on the ranch from which she hid fled she shrank from the thought yet it haunted hei bet and v would not be driven away where could she go what could she do to escape the mans return suicidal impossible as it appeared she must find some means of leaving tl it at fatal valle before he came back again alone seeking her the girl drew back slowly with eves searching the open valley intent first of all on reaching the horse graz arg below the only possible way ray was ras the one she had tal en in climbing there along a ledge of stone close in against the rock wall the whole fice of the cliff was a mass of trall trailing ng v nes clinging in some mj mysterious ster lous NN way ay to imperceptible crevices in the rock completely nelling its front far up above her reach deborah pressed these back to gain passage and had advanced a dozen steps or more when slie she stopped paralyzed with fear star ing into two terrifying eyes she could not move mone a limb or scream in it atiat at first instant of hon honor or then a hand reached out swept the conceal ing vines aside and gripped her CHAPTER X within the tunnel deborah struggled to break away emitting one startled cry for help be fore ti e fingers of her assailant closed viselike be on her throat she was ras in the grasp of a giant merciless in the ex of his power pomer and felt herself dragged helplessly through the tangle of vines into blackness beyond it ni as a man she he knew th tint it although she had bad no glimpse of the face and made desperate effort at release given un usual strength by terror but the grip on her throat tightened remorselessly and her po ver ner of resistance wined until she suddenly lost consciousness and all sense of her surroundings her body lay limp in the fellow s arms and with a growl of satisfaction he bore the motionless seemingly lifeless body back through the deepening shadows and cast it down on the stone f foor tl TI e man stood above tl ti e huddled fig ure of the girl hardly defined shapeless in the gloom and laughed silent ly he ile bent down and touched her only to straighten up once more con vinced she was ras not dead A rifle leaned against the back wall nali and he picked it up tested its mechanism and moved silently forward to tl it e en trance the weapon resting in the crook of his arm cautiously he parted the leaves and looked out searching the full length of the deserted valley hotl dotting ing of consequence met his gaze for he rest cd ed back on a convenient boulder and continued his vigil as motionless a ae the stone on which he sat he ile must I 1 ave remained in that position for an hour occasionally shaking his head and muttering incoherently to himself then suddenly and without warning the fellow appeared to relax his head sinking forward on the arm resting above the gun muzzle and he sank into a deep sleep deborah stirred slightly in the black corne where he she bad had been thrown and slow painfully ope opened nd lie ebes es her iler body weakened bv struggle seemed I 1 helplessly elp lessly inert wt wl lie ile at first I 1 er mind failed to function no flash of n emory re burred to aid her full conselo conscio asness came carne slowly reawaken ing first to the bruised body and the throat lacerated I 1 a those cruel hands SI ale e could scarcely swa ow nw or move her lin bs ditl out pain then rheu her eves accustoming accustom ng themselves to to I 1 pen pern ad ng gloom tl e girl began dimly to perceive percele ol 01 ejects about her and thus grasp something of the situation little by little the details came back the clutch on her throat the wild hopeless struggle end ng so quickly in darke dar knes she could scarcely restrain a of terror vet jet the very sense of her situation held her silent her R I 1 0 e body trembling violently where 4 b 2 her bruised limbs ached was she where had her assailant gone was the thing man or beast the questions were vere unanswerable she could he be assured of but one thing she was ras still alive slowly sile silently the girl succeeded in lifting herself partially from off the hard rock on which sl e lay using the rough outcroppings of the wall mall as support to the effort her iler bruised limbs ached and her head throbbed with agony as she changed her posture ever so slightly yet tie movement served to clear her mind and bring back a measure of courage her iler tl ought swept back to kelleen and the anem ory of the man was ras no longer wholly fear of his presence in spite ot of her doubts her distrust the recollection of their night s ride together recurred nov no v as almost a pleasant remco brance criminal outlaw he might ie le but he w m as no brute no beast of tl it a e jungle aither he had sl own himself a man en even en a gentleman yet what 1 help could she expect from him it if he was loal and worthy how could he be of any aid beyond all doubt the man would rould return in search of her |