Show 11 frt I I 1 f Jf 1 f. f r rr t. t I KON m N I Z U r r f N 7 CHAPTER I r a x fi 17 1 Holt Holt- Frees rees His MI Mind d. d i. i Macdonald whirled In his tracks Old GId Holt was leaning on his elbow elbow ely el el- y i bow with his head out of the win win- dow You better come Ome and beat me up tip first Mac he Jeered Im Tm a all allt 1 t stove up with a busted laig so you can wallop m me good Id I'd come out there 4 but Im I'm too crippled to move Youre not too crippled to go back t to Kuslak Kusiak with me If you cant can't walk you'll ride Buyback But back you go Fine I been worrying about how to to get there Its It's right good of you to bring one of or these here taxis for me as the old is 18 Where have yon you cached the gold you stole I aint seen the latest papers Mac What is this stuff about robbin a bank and Milton s Youre under arrest for robbery and andr r murder Am I U Unload the particulars I When did I do dolt doit it all You know when Just before you left town Holt colt shook his head slowly No sir Bir I cant can't seem to remember It Sure it aint some one else youre you're thinking about you yon to fix on me as one of the bold bad bandits Because you had not sense enough to cover c ver your tracks You might Just os 58 well have left a note saying you did It First you come to town and buys buys' buy s' s one of th the fastest dog teams In Alaska r Why 4 s an easy one I bought that r team to win the he Al Alaska sweepstakes from you And Im I'm goin to do It The r team wasn't handled right or It would have won last time time I gotto got to mullin It f. f over and figured that old Old lid l Holt wits was the dog puncher that could land those huskies In in front See You ou bought It to make your getti get get- getaway ti away after the robbery retorted Mac Mac- c donald I t Its a difference of opinion mak makes s horse rac races s. s What else have you got against us usi We We found In your room room one of th the k s sacks that had held the gold you took from t the e bank it from the right I took It bank In the afternoon where I had had hadIt It on deposit to pay for the team I r bought bought- Milton's b books will show that ti Bu But y you u didn't find any sack I 1 took when your bank was robbed robbed robbed-if If lf it was added old man t r robbed the e cantly c I r Of course I knew yo you would have an nn alibi Have you got one to explain why you left town so 50 suddenly the c night the bank was robbed Milton was killed after midnight Before morning you and your friend Elliot i x r routed out Ackroyd and b bought a lot lota lotof lotof a of S' S supplies from him for a hurry hurry up up t trip You slipped around to to the corral and hit bit lt the tra trail l right into the blizzard Will you tell m me why you were in such sucha a hurry to get away if It wasn't wasn to es escape e cape j from the town where you had murdered a decent old fellow who nev never had r had harmed harmed a sou soul Ill I'll tell teU The black Sure you you eyes yes of or the little man snapped eagerly I Ic c came me s so p p. p d q be because aus that side pardner pardner pard- pard ner nero o of mine Gordon Gorgon Elliot wouldn't let I me me walt wait till mornin He had a n reason f town that wouldn't wait walt a minute on one big enough to drive him bim right Into the heart of the blizzard MeI Me I Ja tagged ged along I I can guess his reason reason j Jeered ered the Scotsman But Id I'd like to h hear nr you put a name to It n. i t t Holt grinned maliciously and waved a hand toward the girl who w was as pillowIng pillow pillow- 2 Ing log the head of bier ier lover The name of his bIs reason Is Sheba ONeill O'Neill but its it's to be Sheba Elliot soon looks like You mean The little miner took the words tri trl triumphantly i out out of his mouth He HeN N leaned forward and threw them Into t the face of the man he be hated I mean x that while you was dancin and philan- philan derin with other women Gordon Elliot was buckin a blizzard to save the life of the girl you both claimed to love He was mushin into fifty miles of frozen hell while you was up with potted grouse and champagne Simultaneous with the lame goose and andr the monkey you was doln r l T r this lad Was was wind jammin through white drifts He e beat bent you at your own game gamp man Youre You're a bear benr for forthe forthe forthe the outdoor stuff they tell teU me You chew che- up p a blizzard for breakfast a and d J throttle a pack of wolves wol to work uan u- u up y an appetite for dinner Its It's your dalty All right Take your hat bat off oft to that who has hns whaled i you blind He e has you Colby Colby Colby Col Col- by Macdonald Macdonaldj You dont don't run In his hiss hiss' s' s class I see he Is holding his hald bald up y again Give him another hour half-hour and andr r hell he'll be ready to go to the mat with again w you fou J e big Alaskan pushed away a fear that had been lingering in his mind ever i since he be had stumbled on that body after after- burled buried in the snow yesterday noon Was his enemy going to escape a him after all Could Holt be telling tiie he tru true trot reason why they bad had left lert town so hurriedly He would not let himself himself himself him him- self believe belleve it You ought to work up a better story than that he said contemptuously You can throw a a husky through the holes in It How could Elliot know for Instance that Miss ONeill O'Neill was not safe 2 The same way you could a known it snapped old Gideon He TIe phoned I to Smiths Smith's Crossin and found the stage hadn't got In and that there here was wasa a whal whale of a storm up in the hills hills' v I Macdonald set his face Youre lying to me You stumbled over the stage while you were making your getaway get get- away Now y youre you're ure playing it for an alibi r Elliot h had d risen Sheba stood beside him tm her hand in his She spoke quietly Its t the truth Believe it or not as you please We care nothing about t that a t. t The stab of her eyes eye eyes the carriage of the slim pliant figure with its suggestion suggestion tion of fine gallantry try c challenged her former lover to d do his worst On the battered face of Gordon was wasa a smile So long as ns his Irish sweetheart sweet sweet- heart stood by him he did not care If he be were charged with high treason It was worth all aU It cost to feel the warmth of her brave impulsive trust The dee deep set deep se set eyes of Macdonald clinched with those of his rival You cached U the rest of the gold I suppose he said doggedly With a l lilt lt of his shoulders the younger man answered lightly There are none so blind as those who will not see Mr Macdonald He turned to Sheba Come We must make breakfast breakfast break break- fast Youre going to Kusiak with me me his enemy said bluntly After we have ave eaten Mr Macdonald Macdon Macdon- old ald returned Elliot with an Ironic bow Perhaps If you have not had breakfast yet you will Join us I 4 We Ve start I in half an hour announced an an- an flounced the owner mine-owner curtly and he turned on his his heel I I The rifle lay where Sheba had hOO I dropped it when she ran ran to gather her stricken ken lover into her arms Macdonald Macdon Macdon- I ald picked It up and strode over the brow of the hill without a backward look took He was too proud proud to stay stay and watch t them em It was Impossible 10 to escape escape escape es es- es- es cape him In the deep snow that filled the hill bill trails und and he was convinced they would attempt nothing of the kind The Scotsman felt for the first time in his his' life old and spent Under tremendous tremendous tremendous tre tre- tre- tre difficulty he had for tor two d days ys and had at last run his men I down The lust of v vengeance had bad sat I on n his shoulders every mile of the way and and had driven him feverishly for for- ward ward But the salt that had had lent a savor to his passion w was ls gone Even though he won he ile lost For Sheba had gone over to Jo the enemy With the fierce willfulness of his temperament nt he het he tried t to tread under underfoot loot foot his doubts about the the- guilt of Holt bit and Elliot Elliot Success had kad made him arrogant arrogant midI and he was waS' not a good loser s 1 d k I I Sheba heba Had Had Gone Over ver to the Enemy He lIe hated th the man who had robbed him of Sheba but he could not escape respecting respecting re re- him Elliot had fou fought ht until he ha had l been hammered down Into unconsciousness unconsciousness unconsciousness un un- un- un consciousness and he had crawled to his feet and stood erect with the tha smile of ot the unconquered on his l lips ps Was this this the sort of ot man to murder In cold blood a kindly old gentleman who had bad never never harmed ed him The only answer Macdonald found was that Milton Mllton had taken him and his partner by surprise They had been driven to shoot the cashier to cover up their crime Perhaps Holt bolt or another had fired the actual shots but N Elliot was none the less guilty The Th heart of the Scotsman was bitter within him He Intended to see that his enemies paid to the last ounce He TIe would hurry them to the gallows if money and In Influence could do it It None the less his doubts persisted If they had planned the bank robbery why did they wait walt so long to buy buy- sup sup plies for their escape Why had they not taken the river instead of the hill trail The story that his enemies told hung together I It had the ring of truth The facts supported It One piece of evidence In their favor Macdonald alone knew It lay buried burled In the deep snows of the hills He shut his strong teeth In the firm resolve resolve resolve re re- solve that it should hould stay there r e s s The weather had moderated a good de deal l. l but the trail was a protected forest one The two teams now going down had come up so that the path was packed fairly hard and smooth Holt lay propped on his own sled against the sleeping Sheba behind Gordon She chatted with t them em both but ignored entirely the existence of Macdonald who followed followed fol fol- lowed with his winning prize Siberian dogs Though she tried not to let her lover know It It Sh Sheba ba was troubled at at heart henrt Gordon was practically the prisoner of ofa a man who hated him bitterly who believed be be- him guilty of murder and who would go through fire to bring punish punishment ment meat home to him She knew the power of Macdonald With the money back of him he had for two years fought against and almost prevailed over a strong public opinion In the United States He was as I masterful In his hatred ns as In his love The dominant fighting figure in the the thel Northwest he trod his sturdy way through opposition like a Colossus Nor did she any longer have any Illusions ons about him H He could be both ruthless ruthless' and unscrupulous when It suited suited his ls purpose As the day wore toward noon her spirits drooped She was tired physically ly and this reacted upon her courage j i The warmer warmer weather was spoiling the trail It became so soft and mushy th that t though snowshoes were needed they hey could not be worn on account of the heavy henvy snow which clung to them every time a foot was lifted They wore mukluks but Sheba Sheb was wet to the knees knees The spring had gone from her step Her shoulders began to sag For some time Gordons Gordon's eye had been seeking a good place for a day camp amp He found I It In a bit of open open timber Umber above the trail and without a word ord h he his team from the path Where are you going demanded Macdonald Going to rest for an hour hour was El El- Ellot's Elliots Elliot's Elliot's Elliots liot's lots c curt rt answer Macdonald's Jaw clamped damped He strode forward through the snow beside the trail Well see about that The younger man faced him angrily Cant you see she Is done man There I Is Inot not another mile of travel In her until until until un un- un- un til she has rested rested The hard gray grav eyes tyes of the Alaskan took In the slender weary figure gure leanIng leaning lean lean- Ing against the sled On a soft and mushy trail like Uke this where every footstep punched a hole In the loose snow the d dogs gs could not with any extra w weight A few miles farther down they would come to a main trav main trav traveled road and the going would woul be bet bet- t ter r. r But till then she must walk Macdonald Macdonald Mac Mac- donald gave way with a gesture of his hand and turned on his heel At At the campfire Sh Sheba ba dried d her mukluks stockings caribou mitts and short skirts Too tired to eat she f forced h herself to swallow a few bites and drank eagerly some some tea Gordon had brought blankets from the sled and he persuaded her to lie He down for fora a few minutes m nute ca call l me soon If I should si sleep ep she said drowsily and her eyes were closed almost before the words were were of off her lips Ups When Macdonald came to order the start half an hour later she was still asleep Give her another r thirty minutes min min- utes he said gruffly Youth Is resilient Sheba awoke r rested sted and ready for work While Gordon w was W is untangling the dogs she was left alone for a minute with the mine mine owner The hungry look in his eyes touched ched her Impulsively she held out her hand Youre going to be fair arent aren't you l Dir Mr r. r Macdonald 1 Because Because you you-don't you you you-d don't dont nt like him you him you wont won't He looked straight into the dark appealing eyes Im going to be fair to Robert Milton he told her harsh hursh ly Iy Im going to see his murderers hanged If it costs me every dollar oll r I have In the world None of us objects to Justice she told him proudly Gordon has nothing nothing noth noth- ing to fe fear r if only the truth Is told Then hen why come to me he demanded de de- She heS' heS hesitated then with a II wistful little smile spoke what was vas In her ber heart Tm afraid you wont won't do Jus JUI tire to yourself Youre You're good good and ana brave and brave and strong But youre you're very willful and set I dont don't want to lose my friend I want t to know that he IsaU is all aU I have believed him a him a great man who stands for the things that ar are fine and clean and Just Then It ft Is for my sake and not for his that you w want ant pie to drop the case ag against Elliot Ellion he asked ironically For yours and for his bIs too You cant can't hurt him Nobody can cnn really be hurt from outside not outside not unless he Is a traitor to himself And Gordon Elliot Isn't that He couldn't do such a athing athing thing thing- thing thing-as as this with which you charge charite him bIm It is not In his nature He Be can enn explain everything I 1 dont don't doubt that He and his friend Holt bolt are great little explainers In spite of his bitterness Sheba felt felta a change In him She seemed to have a glimpse of his turbid soul en en- I In battle He lie turned away without with out shaking hands but it struck her that he was not Implacable While they were at nt luncheon half a dozen pa laden with supplies for a telephone construction line outfit outfit outfit out out- fit had passed T Their clr shod harp hoofs had punched sink holes s in the trail at every step tep Instead of a smooth bottom the dogs found a slushy bog cut t to pieces At the end of an hour of wallowing Macdonald called a halt There Is a cutoff Just below here It will save us nearly two miles but butwell butwell butwell well we'll have to break brenk trail Swing to the right Just below the big willow he told Elliot Ill Join you presently and relieve you on the Job But first Miss ONeill O'Neill and I are going for a little lit little little lit lit- tle side trip All three of them looked at him In Insh sh sharp rp surprise Gordon opened his lips Ups to answer and closed them again without speaking Sheba had flashed a warning to himI |