Show GIFT OF THE D DESERT ESER CHAPTER XIV continued 14 with the instant all strength left kelleen tho the knife dropped front from ills his fengers and tie ho rested motionless scarcely breathing his eyes staring up into the dark ue had find won lie ho was not seriously hurt yet dortho tor the moment could not even rett realize lize ills file victory yet gradually lie ho know knew the knife tie ho had wielded the knife ilo he had killed tile tho man whoever ho he was wan lie he lind killed him lie he lay iny thero there now beside him film in tile dark dead tile the very horror of it started anew the mod in life ills veins that bend man lying there motionless becoming cold with open eyes ilig up at tho the tunnel roof and lie ho hod had little killed him k tiled killed him with the knife yet it had find been a fair light man to ninn man and one of them had to die ilo ile could breathe better now and he sat ant up trembling and shrinking back from contact with the dead body tie ilo could not seo it but ho he knew it was there nelleen struck a match which gave forth at first a dim spectral tight light between ills his trembling fingers then glowed into a sudden name flame he thrust it forward forwald over the body of tile the dead ninn man and stared attired down at the ab upturned face for a moment not a muscle relaxed ills his form that of a 4 statue as his eyes searched those ghastly features where had biad he seon seen the man before that hairy face those long misshapen arms dead I 1 of course lie he was dead but who was bo be somewhere in hla his memory dlin dim indistinct clung n recollection which would not become wholly clear then the vision came ills his lips uttering a startled exclamation by Q G d dl I 1 I 1 know low its manuel gomeri its the ape mant man 1 manuel gomez the murderer the ho outlaw tile the dread scourge of northern mexico that bloodthirsty wretch whose crimes had made him nn an object ot of detestation on both sides of the line for years manuel gomez the killer hiller of women and children the destroyer of towns raider thief bandit and in sur recto tho the ape man I 1 kelleen had never seen him before but he knew there could bo be no other like that and every story ho he previously had heard of the fellow came trooping back to his mind in vivid memory cruel remorseless mor seless without mercy hunted like a wild beast yet ever escaping caping et the tolls lie he find left a trail of blood over nil fill that land and well ile ho was dead bowl yet how came heto he to be there was wag this his hiding place or was the man there for some now new crime it if so BO what and bob meager juan sanchez were they also sharers in hie hh villainy could they b members of this fiends gang was ana it from hero here lie ho led ills his hellhounds hell hounds over the desert and plain the recurrence of these names jamea in brantly brou brought glit back to kelleen a realization of his own peril gomez was dead killed by his hand unwittingly unknowingly there in the dark in desperate combat he had avenged a hundred murders by the thrust of a knife but these others they were still alive they would surely come there could be no doubt of that all that deborah had told flashed across his mind her ber encounter with this same mexican ruellan why she had even described the fellows ell owls long apelike arms but he never once had thought ot of gomez of her creeping onward along the tunnel tile the sudden change in its direction and her stumbling over a dead body in tho the dark ile he recalled ther the story cf her escape creeping up that narrow passage through which sho she could barely squeeze her slender blender body tho the orang after her from below and her aimless shot sent in return then the desperate struggle which ended on the desert above and what then meager bob meager going straight to that e nine game hole and calling down for manuel using his very name well there was no manuel now on guard thero but lie he could not face these other two alone and they aou would id surely be there by dawn at least ho H arose to his feet still dazed and confused hardly able to tell directions but driven by abild n wild impulse to escape to get safely out of that silent blackness that grave in which he ha felt smothered and imprisoned his groping fingers discovered a crevice in the stone atone as though the solid rock had been rent asunder a deep irregular gash yawning the length of his arm lie he even advanced a stop step into tho the strange fissure wondering at its existence tempted to explore its secret w when ben they camal camp I 1 he heard them pressing aside the vines and clambering to the top of the rock which helped conceal tho the entrance they did this apparently parent ly without fear with no tra impending pend sense of danger and then dropped to the floor of tho the tunnel there were two of them he be could tell that by the sound menger meager and sanchez but where then was deborah Mer meredith edithl 1 CHAPTER XV r the tha light gozs out kelleen waited in tin an agony of suspense his thought with the missing by randall parrish by A C Q mcclurg mcclun co garl rather than on his own peril or tile nearness of those men groping blindly toward him film in the darkness ant that they were surprised startled nt at not being greeted by gomez was plainly evidenced from tile first gruff utterance reaching his ears where tile li 11 1 is Is tile the fellow meager exl exclaimed almed angrily 1 I told you I 1 called him from up above and lot got no answer now by a dl di ile he even down here oil oh lies hero here til fill right there was vas no chance for life his getting away without our knowing it we vo had our men abent hero here fill all tile the 1 your ment meager laughed scornfully those greasers they aou would id only bo be playthings for manuel el 1 man I 1 you tin and your gang oven eten keep your eyes on FrIs cl 10 lie ho sure told me one d n straight story ile he seemed to know about fill all was going on id heard a lot about jilin him knew he was a friend of yours tin and supposed him all right and spilled till all you know knew d n a files alex anyhow 11 well aint ho he aint he alint lie ile nent nothing just now I 1 did run with him a bit of course down below the line but lie invited into this game and ills his being with garrity was just an accident at lenat least I 1 took it that way at first now I 1 sorter brechon it maybe ans oil nil a put up job I 1 aint exactly made up my mind what the guy gay was up ujust U to just suspected something was going on ond and decided to butt in I 1 reckon but after lie ho got out hero here snooping around there gasn wasn t nothing to do but put him out 0 the way specially after he stole my horse 7 1 aint so sure lie he stole your horse what do you mean just what r told you before youre so bullheaded nobody can tell you nothing I 1 never did think that fellow you shot was alone lie ile wits waa to somebody when we crept up I 1 board him 11 talking to himself you never saw nobody but him film no I 1 he was up on that hint rock against tho the sky but there might have been somebody else out 01 0 sight eight on tile tho ground you was in such a d n hurry to get to casebeer Casc beer you do anything else course I 1 knew the kid was alone and after that tumble he took bo bother ther no more we had to get case beers gang out of here before daylight 1 I dont know why you told mo ino much why you let the outfit go on what did you nant to unload the mules here for and then send them back 1 I get any chanco chance to tell you it was waa after you yolk left last night that I 1 got the dope why I 1 had to ride out hero myself by G don d on my wedding night ile iio laughed out loud say sanchez theres some real girl let mo me tell you thinks knocked me out rapped me with a gun when I 1 was drunk and got away D d if sho she dl ant the little vixen ive got to go back and iliew her what kind of a henian heman he nian man I 1 am when pro im sober sho she got mad at you I nather tather that I 1 thought she was the soft sort but chos a wildcat got me the first swipe but shell never find me so BO dead easy the next time ill 11 tench her khos boss when I 1 got this job out of the way what was it you asked why you stopped casebeer what garrity came to tell roe hed got on to something theres a leak somewhere we coul tint get the stuff through tonight a bunch of cavalry are up in box canyon H I 1 ll 11 I 1 aliat b rought brought tew cm there the judge dian didn f t know lie got it from somebody at the post tile the outfit started south but where they were bound you dont suppose they know sure not only suspect that stuff Is being run through again along this trail all we got to do Is llo low awhile no ono one has seen gomez 71 1 ile he pu puk his head bend out or of this hole you seen him yourself junn juan come on he must be back in asleep somewhere now likely ono one on wall shall I 1 strike a mutch match senor no not here walt till we turn the bend then it will not show outside cant be long now till daylight comes Ke kellien Kell licen cen silently pressed into the rift of the rock the dead man at his bis feet could mark the passage of the ti le two clearly by the scraping of feet as they groped their way along the stone floor following the opposite wall they would miss any contact with gomez body and there was nothing he could do but stand and let thorn them pass the two men had bad turned the sharp corner the ille slight pound of their movements ments ce ceasing astrig to reach his ears then the faint glow of a match reflected along the rock wall the silence broken by meggers Me agers voice theres The rex the lantern juan juaa in that see ace eire eero turn up tha with the name flame brightened suddenly but tho the outer tunnel yet remained black only in the distance the light flickered dickered along the w wills alls casting weird shadows ono of tile the men evidently held the lantern up peering about curiously lies iles not here senor cherod the old devil anyhow they moved forward with tile tho if light gilt find and kellien Kell cen nil all fear swiftly lost in its ills intense interest crept on to the curve in the mo tunnel from which point lie he could see sec their olm dim shadows behind him but unnoticed daylight began to be visible the mantle of vines concealing the entrance the dark feure on oli tile lie floor assumed fumed as vague outline outI lne tho two men in the ina lantern lern glow camb to a halt thrusting tile hilgh forward peering nt int the object which hud had attracted them the mexican identified it first in a sudden cry its a body a dead ronn man he exclaimed lie ile has been killed manhei lal 1 monger meager hold held back the coward gripping allm but sanchez bore the lantern forward desperate to learn the truth ills his startled voice came down the passage not gomez he be cried aud and no face I 1 ever saw before perhaps you know the nian man no but there tins has been a fight or a murder see lie he jilin has been shot and lu la the back by G dl d t goniea must have done this job but what has become of tile the old devil and who wits was this kid what waa lie he doing here see it if there Is finy anything thing in his pocket juan give me the lantern lie ile held it up as the he mexican Alex icat dropped to ills his knees a and fid began to rummage through the dead A moos clothes the increasing daylight of I 1 now up with your handel the desert found entrance far ab above ove and stole down the lie narrow passage in it a faint ghastly glimmer which only added to the ghastliness of aba scene tho the strain was too much for lengers Uen gers nerves and aud lie swore gruffly coine on he be said fiercely bring g tile the light well search every inch of this d d hole kelleen turned his first impulse being to escape to rush toward that dim glimmer of light now plainly marking the tha cave entrance yet tile tho futility of such an effort came to him film instantly there was it a better way than that and he whirled back to face them as the two came forward the glow of the lantern glimmering like a red star the hand band with the weapon in it fell to a level and he fired the glass flickering into a thousand pieces the light instantly extinguished gui guts shed bed Kel Kellec leens ns plan of action had bad formed swiftly in his mind he had a glimmering of what this conspiracy meant but must learn more only one method anil was possible blea a confession from bob meager the real secret of this tunnel was in his possession now that manuel gomez was dead re be must be made totals to talk in this encounter were altogether on his side he knew them where they were they possessed knowledge of his exact position who he was or whether they faced one opponent or a dozen they had find been taken completely by surprise mur prise startled by the sudden attack confused in the darkness he had both 0 of them absolutely at hie mercy the silence was intense after that first startled second there was no movement not even the sound of breathing audible the two stood motionless ti crouched back against the wall peering into the black blackness nest from whence that tongue ot of flame had bad leaped into their very faces yet revealing nothing they could neither mini nor act who bad fired bred manuel gomez gomex some enemy who had trapped thew them were they ibey facing one man or p do dozen z eti into what t had they blindly walked confident of jim hm own safety realizing that lie ho had the whip hand licen smiled grimly every everi nervo nerv tense his revolver poised tho the altun tion pleased pl cased iscil him librn drop your guns both of 0 youl ho he commanded sternly quick now I 1 ive got you against tho the light who tile tho bl b l stop that I 1 drop them or I 1 shoot hoot something besida fl a lantern its ita a hair rig trig gerIm playing with ne lie igard both weapons camons fall to tho the HOOF floor medger meager cursing impotently but the mexican nell Kelle kelleen benl cn laughed alig hed kick them aay fram you yau thata right t not ad fellows when properly I 1 handled I 1 see sec now up tip with your illings Il hands linds and back against the wall there chere fp ho could not see he fellows not flo 00 much an aa an outline of them yot yet knew they obeyed tho the order it w was as a blurt bluff which worked because they halt half believed themselves silhouetted against that distant gray barof light far down tile the plis passage sage targets not to be easily missed that co cool 0 1 stern voice unfamiliar in tho the c choing tunnel meant business rasped sped like a steel file on meaders Me agers nerves by a d til I 1 who tire aro you hi snarled savagely what the h hl 1 do you want the first la is of no importance meager returned kelleen with emphasis but ill answer the latter question unbuckle Un bucklo your belt bell go on I 1 know what youre doing yes yea take it off on ive got y you oil boys boya covered make one false move and sure taste lead now throw that belt about the mexican sure I 1 know who you both are I 1 came hero gunning for you two guys around ills his arms arins now d n you draw it tight yes ex exactly acely what I 1 mean strap them to ills hla body I just what happened Is not clear kelleen could not see lie he dare not take a step closer to make sure the chances are arc that sanchez had bad two guns glins lit it hla waist he find bad discarded one but the other yet remained not certain that lie he was as not outlined against the background of light lie he dare daie not attempt to draw but now ills his hands i lowered as meager drew the belt about ills arms desperate bitter with liate hate hla his fingers must have gripped tile the lii butt tt with one convulsive effort lie he fired in tile the direction of the voice the bullet struck the side clde wall sent a splinter sp linter of rock tearing into nelleene Nel leens cheek check yet even na as lie he |