OCR Text |
Show ATTvCe. OF THE TIATWOODS 1 ' gsBBaria gsftgsssssrr copyrjght'by THE EE&B5-MERRJLL OOftEKNY SYNOPSIS. CHAPTEn l.-Necr having known hit father, and living with hi mother on a hoiiMboat on tho Wabash river, "The Pearlhunter" the only name he has-learns has-learns from her a part of.lhe story of her lid life. The recllnl U Interrupted by a fearful fit of coughing and he hurrle aehore to aeek a root that afford relle. Returning with the root, ha 'meet a young girl whom he mentally chrliten the "Wild Rote." She eludee him before h can make her acquaintance. CHAPTER 1I.-A vacant cabin on the hore has attracted the attenUon of the ailing woman, and they move Into It. Their flrat meal la Interrupted by a tranger who reaenta their preienca. The youth drive the man from their home, lit preaence ha etrangely affected the mother. That night (he youth find with, In a munel the largeat pearl that haa been found on the river, the "Blue Moon." Returning exultant to the cabin, he discovers dis-covers hi mother dead, she having uc-cumbed uc-cumbed while endeavoring to leave a message repealing tilt secret of hi parentage. CHAPTER HI. At the village of ftllen i Rock, to which he takes the gem'for safe keeping, the "Penrlhunter" meets the tranger who had disturbed hi mother In their cabin, and Insult him. They part as bitter enemies. CHAPTCll IV. - In the village the "Pearlhunter' sees the girt who had at traded his attention In the woods She Is annoyed by the stranter, and the "Pearlrunter" .rescues her from his unwelcome un-welcome attentions He accompanies her to her home. ' CIIAPTHR V. At the house he meets the father of his "Wild Rose," known to the locality as the "Wild Man," mentally Irresponsible as the result of a wound re-reived re-reived from a man wearing a red mask, a notorious desperado. The youth de' Clares his Intention ot devoting the money he Is to Ret for the pearl to paying pay-ing for a surgical oporatlon which will restore the old man's reason. With the Kulf." still MlcliliiR In tin denil mnn's breast, they cnrrlod hln down to Hie hunt, ilrlvlnjr the I'cnrl hunter beforo them. There they loaded load-ed them In, the dead and the Ihlnc nnd rowed hnck tip thocrlver to the lllnpe Ihe second time tmt tiny; the snnie trip; the siime bont; the fntiiu live men. Then, a crent dny opening; the Rrentest trnde over ninde nmons pearl Ushers nlong the Wnlmsh In prospect; now, tho dny nearly done; the pcnrl lost; one of the men dead J another likely soon to be I Wlint n difference In the crowd that met them at tho whnrf! Ajpiln driving driv-ing their prisoner before them, the three grim henchmen, cnrrled the (lend man up the hill to n small Y't ot open ground west of the Mud Hen nnd laid him down upon tho grnss. For the second time that day the tillage emptied Its houses to meet them. Women came this time old women with seared faces; girls with blooming checks; and children, rinnl men that had drunk to the l'enrlliunt-er l'enrlliunt-er barely two hours ago came out of the Mud Hen end stood stnrlng at him In sullen silence. Men from the stores and uli ops came rnnnlng. Men that had neither stores nor shops straggled strag-gled In from every quarter of the village vil-lage and Jostled about In the evergrowing, ever-growing, ominously muttering circle. Suddenly, nnd unexpectedly; two of tho henchmen caught the I'cnrlhunter nnd held him nhlle the third tied the red mask over his eyes. Hound as he uns, he had Hung them looso In nn In stnnt nnd mked the mask off ngnlnsi his shoulder. Hut that one brief mo-i mo-i ment was .enough. The mischief was done. Women screamed; men muttered mut-tered nnd swore; but all shrank back, widening tho circle. Who started It, who said It first, will never bo known. Nobody knows how tho mob forms n low mumble; a quick flare Into frenzy; mild eyes grown wild; st.olld faces afire; u rnb-bin; rnb-bin; n clamor; reason down, blood lust up. "Hung'lml Hnng'lmr - Kvcn the women took nptho cry, so great wns tho terror of his name the fIted MaRk a name that mlghthavc stampeded the village. The mob charged htm. Round as he was, he dashed nt them. A butt of his shoulder shoul-der eaughtlhe foremost man, a burly blacksmith, on Ihe Jnw. He went down like n beef under the mallet. A drive of tils head to (be pit of the stomach crumpled up nnotlfcr. A well-directed well-directed kick lnld out n third. He fought as the men of his blood had nlwajs fought. Hut what rnn one man, with his hnmls tied, do against many? They had his blouse ripped off, bis shirt In i-breds, nnd n hundred hands Mill Itching to get nt him. They bent his fnee; his hodv whereor n fist or u club could reach him. A stick of stow wood In tho hnnds of n lanky wnndrhnppcr laid open nn ugly gash nrrnss his head. Ilnlf-tlazcd, ho wns trying to wink tbo blood nnd' mist out of his eyes when a roar was heard on the outskirts out-skirts of thocrjxwd, nnd tho stocky form of thc'pld ifosif wed' awn flght- .'I Ing his wny Into the circle, lie hnd prohnhly gone up to Fallen Hock, as he had prothlned the night before, missed Ihe lVnrllmnter, niidjwme on to the tllngo. lie fought well, and opened n narrow swath, half-way through the circle to his friend. Hut Just there somebody struck him above the enr with the tint of a bnrrel stne. The ripple subsided ; the swath closed. The I'cnrlhtiiili'r's Inst friend wns ilmvn nnil nut. The rope was flung over a limb. Half n hundred hands, somo of them women's hands, stretched up ready to pull, Half n hundred hands did pull. The rope tightened slowly. A hush fell on the mob; n hush so deep that "the creak of the tightening rope could he distinctly heard. That last flnnl scene, the last stroke that stops n life It Is a solemn moment; ceu to a mob. The I'enrlhuniCT WHS lifted! Ul? la.V ilfiM ffps ot his toes left tho grass; "flames rnn up nnd down his spine; the world turned black. There came a sudden dash ot hoofs, and a man rode straight at the moh. It lakes n hurdy person In withstand the charge of a horse. The i crowd parted. The horseman renched the dangling man, nnd with one slash of n huge Jnekknlfe, cut tho rope. The stroke emtio lmrely in time. The I'enrllitinter, only saved from crumpling down to the graxs by tho arm of tho horseman, diooppd limp ' nnd gasping against the shlu ot the horse. Slowly tho worldtpilt reeling; the light ciuiHi buck ; ho raised his e.xes; caught the glitter of a sheriff's star upon the test of his rescuer. It Is marvelous how one hnuo mini, with the law behind him, can nwo h mob. "Who is this iniiii?" jelled the sheriff. A nmn, whose mouth hnd been mashed hv n butt of the I'earlhimter's "Who It This Man?" Yelled the Sheriff. hend.-clawed the red mask up from tho ground, trampled nnd soiled, but still unmlstnknhlc, and held It high. Tho sheriff started ; glared hard at the l'carlhunter. "An' so It's you they've roped I" he growled. "Damned If I hnln't a notion no-tion to let 'em finish tho Job." A snarl ran through, I ho mob. They surged forward. The slier I IT drew his revolver again, nnd cursed them back. "Hed Mask or red devil I" ho stormed, "he's entitled to a trial under un-der the law ; arid a trial he'll git." Tho mobiinnttored ominously but fell' back, leaving fcomc- little spneo about the horse. Tho l'carlhunter was the tallest man there. His height enabled him to see with tolerable clearness to tho outskirts of tho crowd. He swept bis eyes, over the hends of tho others llko a man looking for something he fully expected to Hnd. He wns not disappointed. In the outer edge of the crowd, leaning carelessly against a hitch rack, stood the man he wns expecting to see. U had come out of the Mud Hen nt the beginning of the uproar hut had taken no part In tho lynching. Hc,ylldn't need to. Ho had a whole fuwn to do It for him. The l'erlmntcr wns not surprised to see him theie. Why shouldn't ho be there, n very much Interested n-poc-tator nt the final working out of his well-laid plot, a plot thnt had wnrkei) out so Infinitely belter than ho Im'l planned? 'WhjRhjmldn't a nmn roine to see himself bunged? toe-.. r-r- with the ropo'liround his "iiCcR lh6" wrong neck nhd no proof to put It around tho right one. Something swelled under the rope; something that surged up to his eyes and struck out n splinter of fire. Ho turned to tho man on the hor&e. " "Sheriff, If you'll stick my gun bnck and cut my hnnds loose, I'll rope 'jou the real Hcd Mask." It wns an unwise thing to say. Ho knew it the moment he'd said It. It was unlike him. The nmn leaning In apparent cnrelessness. against the hitch rack was probably quite un-nwato un-nwato that he wa suspected. It ( might prove a costly mlstiiko toi let him know that he was. Hesldes, It wns extremely unlikely Hint he 6ultl havo the pearl still on him. With! the pearl gone, the proof. would be gone. The I'enrlhuntcf'H usual slow caution should hnvo brought n good innny consideration!) con-sideration!) to bis mind before'be said Hint. Hut a ropo nrolmtl a mnn's neck makes n prodigious difference In the look of things. One cannot help wondering won-dering what would have been tho outcome out-come had tho sheriff heeded the. request re-quest nnd cut looso the hands of his prisoner. Things would have happened hap-pened and Ihey would hnvo happened hap-pened fast. Tb,e sheriff laughed; n hnrd, raspy laugh. A good ninny things In (hat laugh: the Jangle of handcuffs; tho grate of ke.vs In stiff locks but never n mile of tnlrlli. "He's roped now." "He's not." wns the rcnrlhunter'a Inanitions answer, "but ho's hnntjy." He had purpely raised his voice. Hut (he man for whose ear It was Intended In-tended never shifted Ids position; never changed, even In the slightest, hi easy smile. Ho did slip his hnnd down tho front-.of his frock coat nnd 1oocn It against his side, but tb". wns nil. The sheriff swore turned slowly 111 his middle nnd glanced the crowd over, "Ladles nn' gentlemen," ho said, pulsing puls-ing his voice, "as I said before, tills mnn Is entitled to a trial, an' a trial he'll git. He'll bang but It'll lid. the law Unit hangs Mm, nn' not you. 1 nil-vIo nil-vIo you to brook up this damn fool-I fool-I Ishuess nn' go home." I It could be seen with half nn eye Hint the sheriff was In no humor to stand any back talk. Tho crowd didn't try It; they obeyed many sullenly, some grumbling openly, A few slaved. Tho mnn tennlug agnltst tho htlch ruck went bnck to tho Mud Hen. The village of Huckeyc sliflggles for n quarter of n mllo nlong the river road. Tho road Is n bigger Institution than the town. It formed tho principal princi-pal street. The vlllngc lockup, or, Jail, stood In plain sight n short wny to the west on the north sldo of the roiui. The sheriff dismounted, picked up Ihe silt and trampled blouse, throw It about the shoulders of his prisoner and untied tho severed rope end still knotted about his neck. With a muttered mut-tered command, ho made n slight motion mo-tion toward tho Jail with his revolver. The reorlhunter, still with bound hnnds, his shirt so tattered that It left him bnlf-naked from his waist up, tho blood upon his face and body fast Stiffening Into clots, obeyed tho com-mnnd. com-mnnd. Inside the lockup tho sheriff cut his hnnds loose, nnd Immediately stepped outside ntid locked the door, seeming to hnvo no fnney to tarry after his prisoner's hands wero free. Turning bnck to his prisoner ho pointed out his house nnd told him ho would bring over somo supper Inter on. Tho Huckeyc lockup wns n two-story, two-story, rectnngular structure of heavy )ogs. There were two cells, with a hnllvvay between, on tho first floor, nnd the same arrangement nbove. The Penrlhunter wns the only prisoner, so he had free range of both loner cells. The barred gale opening to the stair leading to the upper floor was hcnvlly padlocked. The door of the Jail faced south faced the river road. Each cell hnd one window; tho window of tho one looking cast, tho window of the other looking west. These windows win-dows wero. both rather Inrgor than might have been expected. Knch contained con-tained a single snsh, with tho four bnrs to each window, (.ct In nuger holes In Uio logs nt the top nnd bottom, bot-tom, Tho sash wns hinged nt the sldo co ns to swing In, The I'enrlhuntor opened the sash nt the west window nnd swung It bnck as far as It would go. Through tho bars he could look out under tho cool, cnlm trees In the Jail jnrtl. The river road wound dusty nnd dry tnwnrd the sundown; wound to tho first curve nnd hid Itself In the hills; wound nn to that sharp turn at the rim of the deep woods by the low fence. And thcro the pnth Jiegnn, the dim slim path worn by wonderful feet ; tho path (hut led .to n girl with eyes llko'tho placid sky nt .the bottom of tho Wring; "eyes that "trusted" him, thnt would look for him. Whnt would they be llko when ho didn't conic; when thd word reached her that ho was tho ' Hcd Mask? Ho thought of that bit of scarlet cloth behind the books, with the knife thrust near nn eyehole. Whnt It ho should never have tho chance to set himself right If he should die without tho chanco7 Whnt would tho eves bo like then? The thought distressed -him well-nigh well-nigh ptiht hearing. Ho winced as though It had been n blndo that slabbed him. 'Hie crinkle of paper In his litlli'ieil blouse caught his attention, atten-tion, lie thi'w the paper forth tho druftl in tho fast falling light In-smoothed In-smoothed It mil mid pored over the wot ds Ilglllll II day' Ills gient dny I He had watched It -l i Into a starry world upon tMgiSfpsV'jr ' nildnlghl ; luul wnlchPil'lF ivtlMri,tl"ie-giiJea of dinwi. t onWraanftTrfoTtmeWnnlw!wBlB Dentil (lona bnck Into tho night 1 H Ho left tho window! dropped down H upon tho ono broken chair In the coll H und burled his face in his hnnds. H CHARTER VIII. t M Silence That Came Alive. H The I'cnrlhunter wag not n man to jH bo long held down. Ills day wns gone; H but the night remained. H Tho sheriff was to bring his supper H to him. The fact suddenly been mo H significant. Maybe he'd corao inside. H Mnjbo bo'd come atone. M A rusty stove out In the hallway be- H tween tho two cells cnught his eye. No WM poker; no lid. The door was, fastened fM In n manner thnt prevented its being H taken off. The" hearth wns gone. Noth- H Ing loose. Hq stood studying It. The H legs I Ho darted behind tho stove, H 'lifted It, nnd wrenched ono loose, hid H It under his rumpled btouso; nnd went H to the enst window to watch the H sheriff's house. t A scratching at tljo west window H cnught his enr. Ho listened till It H wns repented ; crossed the hall and H tiptoed to the window. A hnnd enmo 1 up to scratch tlio window ledgo ngaln. H Thq IVnrlhunter laid his pajm upon H It. It wns snatched away; but came jH hnck again. gH "That you, i'cnrlhunter?" H "Yes." The man on the outside rut sod him- jH self oven with the' window. Tho Tearl- jH hunter would hnVei recognised him In jH half the light tho Hoss. Ills fnen .H came close to the bars on the outsldn; ill the I'enrlhunter's face cntne close to jH tho bars on tho Inside? The friendly H butt of a six-gun came across the win- M dovv ledge. The comfortable fed of jJ It In his lingers gave the Penrlhunter H n CUm" lC!iC 0l '"'" A ''Hide It In y'ur- punts leg, or jH some'r's," the Hoss whispered, "An' M IIIIWsssssWsslllllll'l I j essssssl If 111' IT I If ifnl l I mm I 1sy&&f? V"55-! '(ssssss! vfp & I "Hide It In Your Pants Leo, or 8om 'gggfl ere's." jjH here's some more bullets, nn' th' caps H an' powder flask." ' Tho .voting man grasped tlio hard 'Jt old hand nnd whispered nn awkward M word or two. The Hoss drew his hand bnck nnd swore, 'ggggj "Hit nln't no morc'n you'd 'a' donn !H fer me," lie growled, "Now listen. jH Ilull Mns'tersun ho's enmped threw 'h mile up the liver. He's got seven jH men; an' I've got five. Thnt makes fourteen, countlu' mo nnd Hull. Wo i'H c'n plum upct this domed of ment M house. An' once't wo git y'u out, let M 'em lny a claw on y'u ng'ln, If they M devil dn'st." iH "No, no," the Pcarlhunter muttered. igggfl "You mustn't do that. You'd cross tho 'jggsH law yourselves." M "I.nvvl" the Hoss sported, In tils 'aggfl , honrso whispers, "lilt nln't th' law, 'liggfl nor th' sheriff I'm fen r In'. Hit's them iH cussed town ynps. They're wild nt M th' name of th' Hed Mask. They - think i'ou'ro him, nnd they're like a vJ herd of deer that's got n wolf down. . They're holdln' n mcctln' right now - b'hlnd th' Mud Hen. If they start H ng'ln, tho sheriff cay n't hold out ng'ln' j 'em. That ttmbcr-buyln' feller, him M with th' flowery vest, 'pears t' bo M eggln' 'em on. I'd like t' know what igfl th' thunder" iH Tlio tall form of tho rcnrlhunlcr iH stiffened In the gloom; his Angers iH gripped tho revolver butt. j "You might get Hull Mnstcrson," ho )H aald, "and wait across there on tht igH lower point of .Alplno Islnnd. Hut :H don't do anything unless the moh starts. I don't know much law, but I H do know the law couldn't hurt you for l rescuing a sheriffs prisoner from a iH mob." ' H "Law! Law!" Tho Boss growled. iH "When I know they've ketched th' 'H wrong man" H (To Bo Continued) 'H |