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Show LEHI FREE PRESS. LEHL UTAH HER TWENTY-FOU- k HOURS OF Parisian fcLady of the Queen fur a Day. A Romance of the North Woods CopjnrUbt. CHAPTER XII Continued "Te P He stepped close and she could ae tbe madness flickering deep Id his eres. "Too fired blm! I knew joa would; I fixed that. I did! He eouldnt explain that the fool! He couldn't keep on. And then he came to me and dared me to put blm to .work and I did and be walked Into the traps and out again, without a cratch ! And all the time be wan closing In, closing In. It wasn't Brad-shawho did It ; the poor dumb fool It oever'd have suspected me. wasot Bradshaw. It was Belknap! But Bradshaw won't serve that waNo warrant for arson!" rrant voice dropping to a whisper. "It's a serloos charge, arson! They'd have aent me away for It . . . Belknap would! It's better to ve shot him down and get away Instead of spending yeara In prison for arson? Isn't It Ellen? I didn't lose my head so had ly, did I? Smart, wasii't It? Smart to . . . smart to keep free . . . free. . . ." Ha looked about slowly, still like a man waking from a bewildering dream, 'then sat down heavily and drew a hand across bis eyes In that weak gesture for clarity. "Of course he said, "we can begin again somewhere else. . . . You and L . . ." lie looked about "Grub here; guns here; blankets, axes. . . . We can hide out. I can hide out!" taring hard at her. "And you'll go with me. I won't be cheated out of Belknap can't take all everything! there la from me! I'll have you, Ellen! By O d, I'll have you at last !" She retreated as he rose and stepped towards her, stripped for tbe moment of even her front of fearlessness. "Stay back !" she cried. "Don't come near me, Paul" beseechingly. He stopped with a sorry laugh. "Still hate me, eh? . . . Well, youll He brushet his eyes get over that "What'd I say, Just onca mora. a minute ago? What'd I now ay about Belknap? Mustn't believe It A man gets upset . . . Ellen. Bays things he doesn't mean. I don't know what I'm doing." "Of course you're tired," she said. "You've come a long way. Take off your coat and cap. Sit down, here by the flre." He let her help him and, seated again, he spread unsteady hands to the stove. "Where's Wolf?" he asked after a long silence. Ellen speculated swiftly. "He'll be back any time. I was waiting for him when you" "Don't He to me!" he cut In sharply. "I know where he Is; miles away, after wolves In the Caribou! He won't be back for days. . . With a sharp hiss the coffee boiled over and he turned quickly at the sound. The girl snatched at the opening It rendered. "Here's coffee for you, Paul Sugar? There's no cream." "Just he mumbled. "Black I" black. She poured a great cup of the scalding beverage and he took It clumsily from her. "Careful." she said. "It's hot . . He drank the coffee slowly ; she filled the cup again. He appeared to be oblivious of her presence for long Intervals. His hands, under the stimulant, ceased to tremble so violently, and she thought that perhaps this device for gaining time might work against her. Three cups, he drank, scarcely speakwas gone. ing, and another half-hou- r 1" he "There said, setting the cup on the hearth with a clatter and rising. "Better now !" He eyed the girl closely. "Where were we, eh? We were Oh, yes: about you . . . you're paying. . . . You're paying for not loving me! You've scorned me, you had him wait outside your office and throw me out . . . Well, he Isn't here now" advancing. Ellen backed away as he came forward, heart pounding In her throat. "Paul!" she cried, but he did not seem to have heard. "He won't know; you can't call him!" He seized her wrists In his clammy grip and drew her close. "We'll leave here together, you and J, . . . Just you and I, and" "Let me go!" she cried, wrestling against his hold. "Let me go, Paul !" She tore one hand free and struck at his face with It In a paroxysm of fear. "Let me go, I say 1" She staggered and would have fallen except for the table as Bhe broke from She poised there a moment, . his hold. one hand on the oilcloth, the other at her throat watching him. Then, like a flash, she whirled and flung herself against the outer door, tearing It open, crossing the threshold in flight as he cried out and leaped forward. The girl's strength was no match for his. He caught an arm and dragged her back Into the room. "None of that!" he said evenly. "None of that Ellen! You've eluded tie for . . . long. now. That's over. We're here . . . together . . . alone. She circled the room to a far corner and stood there, hands behind her back, while he dragged the table alonx ... ... ... ... ..." ... . ..." By HAROLD TITUS 13L the wall and placed door. It against the other in her arms and swung it In a brief arc, crying out as she set It with a thud against the plank of the "There!" he said. "There we are!" He smiled oddly. "I've things to do, Ellen. I'm going on. I've got to get an outfit together. Can't have you running off while I am busy. . . . I'm going on! And you're going with me! You're the one thing I've wanted that I didn't get I almost had all the rest but you. I never came near having you until now. . . He laughed again, mirthlessly. "And now you've got to go! I can't leave you here, to go back and tell them. I I never can't harm you, Ellen could harm you . . . unless you try to get away again. . . ." He moved to the cupboard, opened the doors and surveyed the contents. Salt tea, sugar, he took down and carried to the table. He eyed the utensils next, picking up kettles one by one, examining them, selecting one of the lot eventually, placing It also on the table. A frying-panext; a closed door, throwing her weight on it "Open that door, Ellen !" he shouted thickly. "Open It, I say, or I'll beat it down !" She knew that he could get In, but breaking down the door would take time . . . time . . . the most precious thing she could win! He tried to break through by hurling his weight against it repeatedly and failed. He retreated, muttering. "Stay there, then!" she heard hlra say, "until I'm ready." She cowered In the darkness, hugging the log which propped the door tightly, shuddering, listening to him move and mutter. . . . And miles back there John Belknap stopped and straightened, pressing hands to the small of his back, aching from the hours of travel In a stooped posture. teapot Flour and other articles, until the CHAPTER XIII ...... ... end of the table was heaped with them. After this he started rummaging, peering 'under the bed, tearing aside the calico hanging at one end of the room to paw over the deep shelves behind it, muttering to himself. Then, he asked : "Where's he keep his Ellen gestured toward the fur loft and tried to speak. The words would not come; the Inspiration, the hope, throbbing In her heart, choked them back. "In there," she finally said. For a moment he stared at the door and Its fastening, and then looked at her. "You bring the lamp," he said. Without response she moved to obey, and he watched her walk to the table, lift the lamp In both hands. He stood aside, shoving the door open, and she passed within. A single pack-sacwas hanging from a rafter and he took It down. Ellen started to move Into the outer room. "Walt!" he said, and with a queer chuckle went first "Now you may come," he remarked when he crossed the threshold. "That hook . . . lt'd hold a person In there a long time. He had seen the opportunity as Ellen bad seen It Upset as he was, Paul Gorbel's mind still pursued Its function of guarding his own Inpack-sacks?- " k ..." terests I Time was what she needed now; time and daylight She watched the clock, ticking Its way through the growing hours, marking the death of night Her heart tripped faster than the clicks of the mechanism. . . . He selected rifle ammunition, muttering, now and again making a sound that was hybrid between sob and chuckle. He gathered his plunder in a pile on the floor and reached for the A dangling strap caught pack-sachis eye and he cursed savagely. . . . "Rivets?" he demanded. "Where does Wolf keep em?" "I don't know, Paul. Til . . . I'll look- .- "Look then!" She began to look, searching In those places where she was certain rivets would not be kept, using up minutes, counting even seconds so spent as precious. Wolf might come, some wayfarer might come . . . but daylight would surely come. A girl can take strength from daylight can command resources which darkness makes unavailable. Gorbel looked up at the clock and cursed. "No time to fool !" he snarled. "Get to be going, you and 1 1" His look chilled her and she turned her face away, making motions towards searching In the table drawer. . . . Time! She needed time! Gorbel found the rivets on a small shelf behind the door. He repaired the cut strap of the pack-sacand began stowing the appropriated supplies in it He had found Jerked venison and chewed on a chunk hungrily. "You must eat 1" Ellen said, hot with inspiration. "You can't take the .trail on Just coffee, Paul." The girl made a great clatter with utensils. "The bacon's In the fur room. Will you got It?" she asked. Cunmng showed In his face. "You get it . . ." She took a knife from the table, a knife; she picked a long, flashlight from her own pack, went quickly through the door of heavy planks Bacon hung there from a peeled log that lay across rafters, but It was not at bacon that the girl looked. She gauged the length of that stick. Eight feet probably; four Inches through at Its smaller end; stout cedar. The fur room Itself was the width of the cabin but barely six feet In depth. The far wall, like the others, was of tamarack lo,;s. She dropped the knife, reached upward, rolled the peeled cedar across the rafters until one end was clear, pulled on It, brought It sliding down. Gorbel bad turned to look. "Here!" he cried. "Here, you. . . ." She shoved tbe far end against the bottom of the wall, she bussed the thln-blade- slow-growin- Paul Gorbel hefted the ax carefully. was strapped shut; the The pack-sacrifle, its magazine filled, lay across the table. "One more chance!" he panted. "One more chance for you to come I'm coming In, then !" out The girl did not reply. He swung and struck and the ax edge bit deeply into the hand-hewpine planks. She cried out then in fright, but put more of her weight on the post which blocked the door. His blows fell rap-Idlassaulting the boltheads that Indicated the position of the upper hinge. The door began to give a bit under the driving. The barrier was yielding, sagging Inward. With a sob the girl clutched at the post which slipped as Its good angle of purchase was disturbed. She could not get It back Into place between blows. She removed her weight from it, tried to shift It . . . The door, sagging on the lower hinge, tilted Inward. . . . She was up then, backing from him as he stood in the lamplight, long knife In her hand, the other spread across her breast. "Don't come in here!" she whispered. "Don't come in here or I'll . . . I'll do the only thing you've left me to do!" He strode forward and stopped as, with a cry, the girl flashed the long blade at him. He recoiled, cursing. "I could kill you!" "You could, of course!" "You think I won't V "You might But I'm not leaving this camp!" "You think I wouldn't, eh?" fumbling for the rifle. "You think I wouldn't shoot you down? . . . Well, think again! Leave you here to spread the word? Leave you alive to get back and spoil my twenty miles of covered trail. Today they can trail!" In a mutter. "Today a trall'll be an open book. . . ." He looked out Into the coming dawn. A light breeze stirred, the stars were k ... y, ... ' I All WNU the weapon from her frantic grasp, she lifted her voice again: ! back '." "Stay back, John Stay and she voice, that Clear and shrill caught breath for another warning over scream, but Corbel s palm, hard hermouth.shut it back. He gathered her with In his arms, held her close, ran her the length of the room and threw her, sprawling, into that dark, chamber. He seized the door, dragged it shut on its sagging hinges and slipied the heavy iron hook into its staple. He staggered back to where he had and dropped the gun, snatched it up aimed through the shattered window. Out there in the open burning the sound of that shot, the whine of the wild bullet stopped John Belknap in his tracks. He whipped Nat's pistol from his pocket, a foolish gesture, and as he realized the futility of giving battle to a screened adversary he heard a girl's voice lifted. Muffled, the sound was, but he caught the last words clearly. "Stay back!" someone had called, and he thought the words were preceded by his own name! ! Stay back, he had been warned But mile a of A back? quarter why stay of open lay behind him, and before he could cross the sheltering ridge to the southward he would be made a sieve by even the most Inaccurate of marks- ... out: TV "Stay gone; Back, John! Stay thin cloud streamers glowed a lemon color. "Today It won't snow east B.: In and" !:!" the He crouched then and his head thrust forward. She heard a ragged breath sizzle through his lips as he towards a window, rifle crept, at ready, and she heard the safety click open. . . . "Belknap, eh?" he muttered, and In the tone was something of savage Joy. "Belknap, after me. . . . Out yonder, coming down the slope of the old burning towards the swamp was a man. He swung forward with long strides, with something relentless in his very posture. The rifle butt slipped to Gorbel's shoulder; his check pressed the worn walnut of the stock. And then a girl was leaping forward, screaming, dropping the knife she held, hurling herself upon him. Her hands touched his sleeve as the gun roared. She all but knocked him from his feet. And as he swung her about, almost lifting her from her feet as he wrested cat-lik- ai.tn? the wait movements silent in the new snow, ducking low as he to a passed the near window, coming door. beside the halt "Two!" he counted as the rifle crashed once more. . . . After an other wait he could whisper "Three!" . . And then "Four!" Five and six shots, then, and spruce branches were clipped off and dropped and feet sounded on the cabin floor. . And then John Belknap had his left hand on the latch, his shoulder to the stout door, was swinging It rrr.f "Stay back. Gorbel! I'll drill you, s'help me!" He pressed his body against the stump, but the man inside did not reply, with words or gunfire. That silence descended again. All manner of impulses, of hopes, of fears, a vast array of miscellaneous and conflicting emotions, surged . . Ellen, here, through John. with Gorbel! Ellen., under the same roof with a man who had nothing to lose but his liberty now! Why had she come? Why had Gorbel borne so straight for this place? "Ellen !" he called, suddenly frantic "You all right?" Her voice was fainter "Right!" now, husked with tears. The rifle spoke again, six barking shots, and on the last John leaped up. Two small windows flanked the cabin door on this, the western exposure. He ran for the end of the building sinking deeply, floundering and straining until he threw himself flat In the great drift at the corner. He wriggled close against the log wall, hold-Inthe pistol at ready, holding his breath, listening. No sound came to Indicate that Gorbel had seen hint close In. John removed the snowshoes and C ... open. No turning back, now! He shoved with all his strength and the legs of the table which Gorbel had set across the entry rumbled on the planks as John pushed it sideways. He had a look at a drawn and haggard face, stamped with terror and cruelty as Gorbel, rifle In one hand, -- i fit TuT1 -In the gay nineties,- ,, letin of the National city, "the washerwoman or seuses in each quarter of the of Paris elected a queen from iaJl themselves, and the queens ua .j, turn elected a 'Queen of gue! This honored lady of the tub borne on a throne to the t$nJ, of the republic, who bestowed her a golden bracelet. Among presents she received ?iuu la tZ a dress which might serve for h wedding gown, and a crown whid might later be pawned or osi u parlor decoration, depending Epo the vicissitudes of the queen's attf years. "Recent celebrations have be, merely processions of floats, pj. tesque or lovely according to th moods of their designers. queens of queens have been beaatl. ful and with no background f suds. The president now present them with wrist watches. Brrio queen for the day Is selected from the 20 queeag represent the 20 arrondissements f Paris. In addition to these queens there are many more, including queens of students, hucksters, dre s osg ' men. Shelter was In only one direction, straight on towards that cabin from which his life had been attempted, and he began to run. At any leap now his flesh might be rent. He could not hear the muffled sounds of scuffle within the cabin, could not know that he had seconds of safety. He took the only chance open to him and ran until blood roared in his ears, and as he dropped forward into the snow, another rifle shot crashed again, the missile clipping a bare birch twig from its branch in line with where his head had been. Then, as his pulses slowed, he made out an odd, indistinguishable sound coming from the cabin. It rose and fell, stopped; began again. Then another, a man's voice, cursing sharply. . . . And a shot! On that the girl In the cabin screamed again. His name ! "John Belk"John!" she called. nap! Are you hurt?" He stiffened, at the muffled sound, raised his head In an Ineffectual effort to see through the thick growth before him. "Not hurt!" he cried. "Not hurt!" The rifle crashed. A bullet tore through the screen of boughs to his Another snapped above his right. head, a third to the left; a fourth went Into the stump before him with a plunky spatter. Then silence once more. . . . A woman, a woman who knew him, had given warning. . . . What woman? "Ellen?" he shouted. Her answer came from the close confines of the fur room : "John. . . . John, are you all right?" "Right!" he yelled, raising himself a bit so his voice would carry better. "Is It you, Ellen? Where are you?" Again the rifle, shooting savagely, aimlessly now. Six times, shot after shot, until echoes came ringing back. "Right!" he shouted again. "Where are you?" At the east ". . . fur room. end. . . . Stay safe," she called. "He has a world of ammunition and Is shooting at you through the window !' Another voice then, a muffled snarl of warning. And on the sound John hunched to his knees, rose to a nearly upright position, pistol in his hand. He could see now, through the upper branches; he saw a movement within, a shadowy, Indistinct movement, and fired. A pane of glass pulverized, the figure in there shifted quickly; he shot again and his ball tore through the other of the two windows he could see. He dropped for shelter and cried GLOHY makers, and typists. "The number of queens has gron so great that it Is now impossible for each to have a separate for herself, and others for her attendants ; so each queen has ber car filled with her ladies li waiting. The automobiles of the queens are followed by floats which often caricature current events, There may be, for example, the ogre of high prices, the housing problem, and the vulture-facelandlord. "The route of the procession it equivalent to a sight seeing tour of Paris. It passes through the most Interesting sections of the city: the Latin quarter, the Place de la Concorde, the Madeleine, the Opera, and Port Saint Denis. The procession stops at two places, the Elysee palace, where the president kisses the hand of the queen of queens and bestows a wrist watch upon her, and the Hotel de Ville where tbe city fathers' place her on a dais which Is occasionally used for the entertainment of a visiting sovereign, "Mid-len- t Thursday is the only day except the French national hold to Grow Fuzzy, to Darken. the other outstretched for cartridges scattered on the cot, swung to face this intrusion. "Drop it !" snapped Belknap. "Drop that gun!" He knew what was coming before It started. He could have fired then and felled Gorbel In his tracks but he did not. He was no killer; not when the weapon in the other's hand was Things Began empty. But an empty rifle is a weapon nevertheless. He saw the quick bracing of Gorbel's feet, observed the short sharp gesture with which he hurled the gun. He ducked, quite sure of himself, too sure of himself. The butt of the rifle missed his head as It sailed towards him, but the barrel, trailing, dropping as It came, rapped him across the skull. It was a heavy blow. His cap was protection enough to turn It from a stunning shock to simple bewilderment for a second or a fractional second. He fired as Gorbel rushed. He fired quickly, with Intent to kill; but he fired blindly, too; was off balance when he squeezed. The bullet found some other mark and Gorbel was upon him, beating him down, sprawling over him as the pistol, knocked from John's grasp, skittered across the floor. Locked together, they rolled over with a mighty threshing of legs, upsetting the table, coming to rest against It, John, head now cleared, on top, grappling for Gorbel's throat. The body beneath him heaved and bowed. It was like steel, with the strength of desperation. They were up again, locked once more, and John could feel ragged breath, hot on his cheek. He struck at the hand which groped for his throat He stamped on Gorbel's feet. They had an Instant of blows, toe to toe, and then Gorbel was on John's throat. He tore at the locked grip and could not break It He drove his knee upward and though the force lifted Gorbel from his feet his throttling hold did not weaken. Things began to grow fuzzy, to darken. A buzzing sounded In' his ears, growing louder. His legs went limp and he sagged to the floor. Gorbel leaned over him, both hands locked on John's throat, heedless of the other hands clawing at them. . ... iday on July 14 when the Technical Vagrant Listen, judge ; I'm a but this town was named after my Judge Impossible ! Vagrant But true ! He was named in 1776 and this town wasn't on the map then ! Brooklyn Eagle. r. Salt Lake City's eNpvest Hotel II1E HOTEL TEMPLE SQUARE 200 Rooms 200 Tile Bathi Radio connection in every iw RATES FROM 1.50 Tabenuck Jjat opposite Mormon ERNEST C. ROSSITER.- (TO BE CONTINUED.) Wealth Made Available by Ravages of Rivers Agricultural experts In the United States are worried about the amount of soil that Is washed down to the sea by American rivers every year. According to an official estimate," over rOO.OtK).ooo tons are lost annually in this way. Rut It Is only fair to take Into account the fact that If rivers denude the land In this way there Is a credit side to their activities. By softening and breaking up rocks they have made It easier to work mineral deposits. Valuable alluvial deposits of and plntlnum, such as are foundgold in some parts of the world, are also due to the action of rivers on the land. They have been set free by the wearing away of the rwks in which were hidden and carried downstreamthey to Places where they can be secured with much less trouble. London Answer, Paris boulevards are closed to vehicular traffic and turned over to the crowds of pedestrians struggling to get close to the festival cars. are "Celebrations for now held iu Corsica, Italy, and Spain. Nice and Cannes on the French Riviera, stand out, however, as the cities where the holiday spirit of the occasion is enjoyed with prewar zest and where the populace ii not just a crowd of observers bat active participants in the fun." NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING THE advertisements find in your you newspaper bring you New important news. to quality in regard , and prices. Just as the "ads" bring you new on how to buy advando the tageously .. so merthe ads" offer opportunity the chant of Increasing his at small expense. WNU W - |
