OCR Text |
Show A TALE- OF THf TIATWOOV& twmj ANDERSON M J5 Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb V iyTVft " TBBBBBBBBiBBBBBBBBBBBBaBBiBBBBi -"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBETaBBBr sasJaTsSsalsaflsaP COPYRIGHT 'W THE bS&BS-MERRJLL CX)ttFKNY 8YriOP83. , ClIAPTHIt l.-Nvr having known hl father, and living wttli lili mother on a houseboat on tho Wubash river, "The Pearlhuntef'-lhe onljr name ht haa learna from hor a part of th ttorjr of her sad life. Th recital la Interrupted by a fearful nt of coughing and ha hurrlei ishore to aeek a root that anTorda rallat ileturnlnj with tha root, lie meets youna- alrl whom ha mentally chrlatans the "Wild lloae." She elude him befora he can make her acquaintance. CHAPTEn It.-A vacant cabin on tha fiore haa attracted tha attention t tha itllni woman, and they more Into It Their flrat meal la Interrupted by a uranrer who raaeata their preeence. Th youth drtres th man froai their bom. HI pretence haa etranfely affected th mother. That ntsht th youth nnd within with-in muaael tha larcaat ptarl that ha been found on the rlrer. the "Blue' Moon." Returning exultant to' th cabin, he discover dis-cover hie mother dead, ah haylna succumbed suc-cumbed white endeavoring to leave a meaiage reveallnf the eecret. ot hit, par entage. CHAPTEtl III.-At the village of Fallen llock, to which he lake the rem for aafe keeping, the "Penrlhunter" meet the atranger who had disturbed hla mother In their cabin, and Inaulta him. They part as blller enemies. CIIAPTnil IV. - In the vlllaue the Pearlhunter" eeea the girl who had attracted at-tracted his attention In tho woods. She Is annoyed by the stranger, and the "Penrlhunter" rescues hor from his unwelcome un-welcome attentions. He accompanies her to her home. CHAPTCR V.-At the house he meets the father of his "Wild nose." known to the locality as the "Win Man," mentally Irrtsponslble as the result of a wound received re-ceived from a man wearing a red mask, a notorious desperado. Tho youth declares de-clares his Intention of devoting the money he Is to get, for tho pearl to paying pay-ing for a surgical operation which will restore the old man's reason. CHAPTUIt Vt.-In the cabin that nlht the "Pearlhunter" Is aroused from sleep by the stealthy visit of a 'man who concents con-cents a red mask In the wall nnd makes his escape. The "Pearlhunter," mystified, and suspecting foul play, destroys It-Next It-Next day I,oulo Solomon, pearl buyer, purchases the gem for JS.OOO. CUAPTEH VH.-Solomon accompanies the youth to his cabin and within a few minutes of their parting the pearl buyer Is stabbed and robbed of the gem. Th "Pearlhunter" Is charged with the murder mur-der and robbory and Is saved from lynching lynch-ing by the Intervention of the sheriff. Tho mob believes the "Pearlhunter" Is the "Hcd Mask." Ho" Is confined In the village lockup. CHAPTEn VH.-The stranger offers to secure th release of the "Pearlhunter" If he will promise lo leave the lclnlty. The youth refuses. Made desperate by the stranger's threats of harming the girl, the young man pries the bars from th window of his cell and escapes. Tlie Pcarlhuntcr's gorge rose nt seeing see-ing his mother's picture. In such hands, nnd his breast burned to dash Into the cabin and scttlo bis score with tho sacrilegious wretch once and for all. Hut It wns not his to do as he pleased Hint night. HU activities for the moment mo-ment were- limited to keeping his eyo fast to the chink. Tho man by the trunk straightened, carried the picture to the candle and Stood Looklno Long Upon it stood looking long upon It. Ho laid It ' to his lips, ugaln nnd ngaln, as If lio would drink up tlio beautiful fnco from tho card. Ho pressed tho plcturo to his bosom i held It ngaln to the cnndlo nnd whispered to It In tones that did not carry to tho car of tho' amazed listener. Ho strode up and down the room j nnd thero was on his face a look thnt no man had probably ever seen there before, and probably would never seo again, ' I - aV . , . 1 ' s 'y-AJ - , -, After long moments ho roused himself, him-self, unbuttoned his vest, nnd put the picture cnrefully nwny In nn Inner pocket. The watcher outside tho wall winced; his lips drew toscther In n tense line. Hut tlioi-c was much to be seen Just then. The man Inside had risen, crossed the floor, put the things bncls In the trunk, rinsed the lid nnd picked up his lint. Next moment the candle was blown out. The Penrlhunter Penrlhunt-er bnrcly hnd time lo creep Into the fringe of weeds when the cabin door opened and softly closed. With n brisk step thnt Indicated he had flung off the spell of the past, the notorious rcnegnde wnlkrd nround the west end of the cabin, past the spring, and straight to the tiny pool under the wntcrfall, whero the Pearlhunter, who had stolen along the north wntt of the cabin had his second astounding surprise sur-prise since coming down the bluff, Jumping lightly from rock (o rock In the slinllow water Of the pool, the bandit npproiiclietl the cnlnfnct, the third leap landing him upon the flat lop of n rock nlinost within the very wash of the fulling water. 1'nii.slng an Instant to pull his hut tight and turn up the collnr of his coat," he sprang straight Into tho thin blade of the falls. Ills leap must have carried car-ried 1 1 1 in completely through to the other side. It wps the first the Pcnrl- j hunter knew, or even suspected. Hint there wns an open space bejomi. So completely did the falling water hide everything hack of It Hint probably the man who liml Just leaped nnd tho man who wnlrlied him were the only two ho knew thero wns anything any-thing bnck of It. The Pearlhunter stretched himself flat under cover of n clump of sprouts growing nbout un old white oak stump, nnd kept his eyes fixed on the waterfall. Time goes slowly to one wlm watches and wnlts. It was probably not more than ten minutes, though It seemed fnr' longer, when, without so much as a diverted (leek of spray In warning, tho wuterfnll flung forth up on the fiat-topped rock n lithe and active ac-tive figure that sprang lightly to shore over the two intervening stones. Pausing on the, brink of the pool barely long enough to shake his coat by the lapels and to knock his hat against his hand, be Immediately set out along the bluffs toward the village, vil-lage, as unconcerned as If'he had not Just pulled off ubuut the moot tiensa-Honal tiensa-Honal stunt ever seen by a nutwoods-man. nutwoods-man. The Pearlhunter slipped out of the cover and softly followed; trulled him up tho bluffs, through tho, corner of Hie woods nnd out to tho river road where It angles nortli through the cut In tho cliffs; listened at the fence, near where the pnth crossed It, tilt tho receding re-ceding steps were well on their way to the village. CHAPTER X. The Candle In the Cranny. All the way back to Fallen llock tho Pearlhunter pondered the scenu ho had gazed on through tho chink In the cabin wall: tho man's tninsflgured fnco; his actions with tho plcturo thnt nbovo all the picture. It puzzled him, lingered him. That such a man should have her picture; his mother's with the dnrkly beautiful fnco and wonderful wonder-ful eyes warm against his breast I It was another reason why bo should hunt lilm down. Tho Pearlhunter wns as brave as tho woods make them but It Is no dls-credit dls-credit to his manhood to say thnt his blood ran n llttlo fnstcr as ho stepped down off the rock Into the water and wnded through tho falls. Every Inch of tho way had to be felt out with lils fingers before Ills feet could be trusted to follow. Tho roar of the falls had dulled a llttlo when suddenly n sound enroo out of Hie dork Just ahead a sound like a garment rubbing against somo rough surface. Tho Pearlhunter stepped to ono side of tho pnssngo and flattened hlniKcIf against tho wall. Out of tho dead silence tho sound camo again. A grin loosened his face. Tho very sound he had half expected a horse contentedly munching his hny. Tho Pearlhunter came out from ngalnst the wall and Inched his way deeper Into the blackness of tho pas ngu. It abruptly widened until ho was no longer uhlo to reach from one wall lo tho other with his outstretched arms. Though denied tho hso of his eyes, ho knew Hint tho passngo broadly broad-ly expanded Justjhero and beenmo a cave. Ho stood In tho very cntrunco of It. Tho next step Ihero wns no help for it light I Desperato and dangerous danger-ous tho first spark, and tho cave might spring to llfo. Still, It was bet-ter bet-ter than to stmnblo over n sleeping man; or walk Into a knife. With his revolver hnjonced, his fare to tho open fs J.fc--, V V - -- TwwaineMhofarnictTetchofTus arm, bringing Ida body aa fir as possible possi-ble from tho light, and with lils fingers fin-gers fumbled out a spot suitably smooth and dry for there must be no failure. The watch scraped. A tiny flame leaped away from the rock. It lighted up the place surprisingly. The cave was not large hardly twice tho size ot an ordinary room. Tho first swift glance showed him that except fbr the horse It was empty. Tho stub of a candle caught his eye, stuck by Its own tallow to nn out- j standing stool of shale Just beyond the mouth of the passage. He crossed the passage and held the match to Hie wick. In tho better light ho studied the plnco more closely. Tho cavo could not havo been far below tho ground, for nn oak root had fouud Its way through the wall. It was to this that tho horse was tied.' For a moment he wns strongly tempted to stay where ho wns till bis prey returned the following night nnd then rid the l'lntwoods ot him, nnd tniKt what evidence lie already had to prove his cose. lttit n better plan hnd been forming ever since he mine Into the cave, and there wns much yet to be done; though the enve would have made a good hiding hid-ing place during the coming dny always al-ways provided the baudldt did not chance to return before Ids time. Selecting n spot that he Judged to be about right for the take-off, lie leaped He Leaped at the Falls . . , ,anl Landed on the Flat Rock, at the falls, and, half to his surprise, landed on the lint rock outside. It was tike breaking through (he crust ot creation Into a new world. Marveling Mar-veling at tliu small amount of water that had clung to him, he sprung over the two Intervening rocks to the shore. Ho hurried nround to the front of tho -cabin, rnlsed tho Intch, entered nnd closed the door. Snatching up somo cold biscuits nnd strips of fried bacon, ho hurriedly made six sandwiches sand-wiches nnd stuffed them into his pockets. pock-ets. Itestlng nt the spring long enough to eat two of bis sandwiches, he drained n gourd of wntcr, crossed Hie branch below the falls and hurried nway up tho bluffs .Into tho deep woods. A ratio and more north of tho wa-terfnll, wa-terfnll, Wolf Itun bends west to double dou-ble and twist and loop through a tangle tan-gle of bills and gulches known as Fox Den, the wildest and most InnccessI-bio InnccessI-bio district of the Fiotwoods. Tho Pearlhunter bad heard of tho place. Ho resolved to tako IiIh chances there. Tho spot was no great distance nbovo tho three-gabled eabln. Away up the bare front of n cliff his eyo lighted on the mouth of whnt appeared ap-peared to be a clcft'ln the rock. Wolf Ilun wnshed ngalnst n nnrrow ledgo ot tho very foot of tills cliff, Ho spread himself fiat against tho fnco of the rock nnd strained from crovlco to crevice. crev-ice. It was a prodigious task, hut all tasks havo nn end either nt the bottom bot-tom or nt tho top. Tho Peorlhuntcr's task finally ended nt tho top. It had to. Tho strata gaped npart half the height of a man, leaving n wide-open senr In the face of the cllir. It wns perhaps per-haps ten- feet deep, and seemed to be closed at tho back by the dipping together to-gether of the two strata. Itolllng back as far within tho open-Ing open-Ing ns tho converging strata would comfortably allow, bo dropped his battered bat-tered head upon Ids nrra to sleep the rest of tho night awny. The Pearlhunter waked with tho woods. His limbs nnd breast nnd shoulders wero so soro that "he was half glad tor tho snug place to Ho In, Ilko n fox In his burrow, while the hounds beat up tho woods at fault. Lack of water wns tho greatest drawback. Thirst wns already beginning begin-ning to nnnoy him. Ho took out his snndwlchcs nnd nto two moro of them, snvlng the other two until Inter In tho day. Tho salty bacon mndo tho water wa-ter more tempting still. Ho drew back a llttlo space from tho brink of the ledgo out of sight of It. Tho sound of It still tempted him. Voices reached him suddenly, breaking break-ing upon tho silence from nround n shnrp turp of tho gorge down stream. Ho drew Ills fnco bnck from the brink of tho ledgo and lay listening. Ii wnt. fnr too risky to look. His enrs made " 5 i . " 'l ' i golnf at top speed, a sure sign that JH eyes and ears were not aa busy as M they might have been. Opposite the H cliff where tho fugitive Jay, the atep H stopped, H "What's that hole up tlicro" JH It was a gruff and heavy voice that aaaafl asked, thick still with tho flaro of tern- IsaHf per that had not yet cooled. 'HPi "Wolf den, raoro'n likely," answered jHft! one of the others, 'H "It wo wus up Hi' bluff cross there iflri I fumlnst the hole, wo could see In,"- 'V suggested n voice. 'B I The other voices grunted; and the aaavSs Pearlhantcr heard them hopping bark 9i across tho stream, beard them clawing aaat' their way through the tangled under- 9lL brnsh op tbo opposite bluff. The scar B'' In which bo lay dipped slightly to- JQ, ward tho rear. lie rolled back as far HL as possible, so as to have the proteo r. i Hon afforded by tho slightly higher " j edge; stretched himself on his right H side; and waited for them to como M Into View. saaB: Fortunately tbo sun hit their sidn aaaaV of tho gorge, nnd tho Pearlhunter jaB!' could sco them well, white, being on H ' the shady side, and back In tho dark- 'B ness of tho scar, they could not sen B him nt nil. Tho three of them drew SS together in consultation. The Pearl- B hunter could not make, out their words. VJ but the manner In which they handled SM their rifles, which they had mnnnged H to drag up with them, Indicated only ,jB too plainly the general drift of what H was being said. H With a final nod nil around, they S faced tho pocket, and one of them Hl raised his rlflo. The bullet struck tha ' jHjl roof of the scar Just In front of htm, fll showering him with dust and bit" of jVfl hKv The second, (lred, TJie bullet U i pAs'seti close to lils feet and lost ' j elf fnr back In the crevice where th H two strata of shale converged, i j It was now (ho third one's turn. M There en me tins hot spit of smoke; H the vicious slap of the report. Hut H even before ho saw the one, or hoard H the other, ho felt something llko n H red con! sting his sldo Just under thn jH Ills side! A thousand flnmes hail H got nt It. Something wnrm and sticky H ran down under his tattered shirt mill JH made It iuus.sy. The Humes reuehed H his fnco nnd twisted It. The nir s'eeineit H to forsake the pocket. IIo crnwlcl to the front of tho scar. H Ho couldn't tako his cjea nway from - H the wuter glancing nlong nt thn foot H of the cliff. The Annies hnd scorched H him dry. If he could only have one, '!l sup of tho water to moisten his lips ill t-o Hint the brenth could get through. 1-IbbbbbI IIo crawled n llttlo nenrcr tho open- hoammmmm! lug; held Ids face out over tho ledge. rl Tho ledge seemed to bo rocking up I H nnd'dowii; the trees were dipping nnd I iaaH going nround In n queer whirl that . 1H made iittn dizzy, lie had never. known li! trees to act llko tliut. Tho tops ot Uammmmm! thn gorge were bending together. The 8 gorge ciiino together slowly shut out Isaaaai tho ulr shut out the sky, 'saal - . Iaaaal CHAPTER XI. laammmml Only the Hunted Know. aafl For n long, time the Penrlhunter lay lisH .wondering why thn gorgo didn't fall IH In. While he lay and wondered, a LaHl other atrnngo thing happened the jHa very strangest of all. iaVl The top of tho gorge began to open aHal opened nnd let In two llttlo pntche.s ijH of sky. He kept his eyes on them ; two llttlo spots ot blue set between iraaaafl clouds of pink nnd gold. Tho gorge faaaafl top opened wider. He enmo back to Uaafl tho two patches of sky; smiled oddly laaaafl they bad transfigured ; had become 'lammmmmi Hie eyes of tliu Wild Itose. Ijaaammm! Tho shooting had brought her. Her JjJH nrm was under his head, and she wns H saying something. A tlngo of crimson jH deepened tho pink In hor cheeks when !H his eyes came open. What It ho Imd sBaaaafl heard I Hut she met his eyes with SaaaH frank directness. He Iny looking up IsbbbbbbI at her a long time; trying to compre- iOammmmi bond It all; tho wonder of It I that llaaaaafl she was thero I SH She helped him edge a llttlo nenrcr 9aaaaaaai tho brink of tho ledge, raised htm, and ItH ho drank out of her cupped palm. i'Lammmmm! Whether It was tho cup ho drank Caaaaafl from, or tho thirst thnt parched him, tfaammma! ho took no thought, but It wns tho isaaaamm! sweetest drink Hint ever passed his H lips. Sho ensed him bnck upon tho H ledge, her arm still under his head. A Ibbbbbbbi strand ot her hair fell upon his face. H She tried to shako It off. Ho put up c'bbbbbbi his hand and covered it. Ibbbbbbi Her eyes dropped to his wounded Ibbbbbbbi i.u naBBaaBl "I didn't know ho wns tho ncd fpl Mask," she said, as if In pursuance of IsbbbbbI his first remark, "till those men enmo itH this morning." SbbbbbbI Her next words wero low and thought- j ful. "I'vo wondered If It could havo been be that hurt Daddy)" sjjH "It was him." !aH The girl's breath quickened. Ilesnw 'SbbbbbI her fingers clench. IbbbH Hut thero was much to do. Tier eyes TIbbbbb! turned ngnln to his blood-stained gar- Hbbbbb! ments, nnd sho sot nbout uncovering Ibbbbbb! the wounded side. Thero was llttlo pIbbbbbI enough to remove n shred or two of IIbbbbbI tattered shirt; a laying back of tho IIbbbbbbi torn blouse. After the first start "at- sH sight of the- wound she becamo curl- H ously thoughtful. Tho color mounted M to her foco; ho tried to meet her eyen, bbbbb! but they turned nwny. SIbbbV (To Be Continued) I IIbbbbb! |