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Show A TALE. OF THp TIATWOODS COPYRIGHT "BY raSBS-MERRJLL CQNJNY 8YNOP8I3. . CAPTEH l.-Never bavin known hit father, and living Uh hit mother on houseboat on tho Wabaah river. "The 'earlhunter"-the only name he' hae-tearna hae-tearna from her a part of tho story of her :! life. The recital la Interrupted by fearful nt of coughing and he hurrlee tahore to seek a root that affords rello'-fteturnln, rello'-fteturnln, with the root, he meet a young girt whom he mentally christens the "Wild Itoee." She. eludes him before he can make her acquaintance. CHAPTER Il.-A vacant cabin on the .shore has attracted the attention of the attlac woman, and they move Into It Their first meal Is Interrupted by a stranger who resents their presence. The youth drlree the man from their home. Ills pretence haa strangely affected the mother. That night the youth Soda within, with-in, a mussel the largeet pearl that haa been found on the river, the "Blue Moon. Returning eiultant to the cabin, he discovers dis-covers his mother dead, she having succumbed suc-cumbed while endeavoring to leave a meeeage revealing the secret .of his parentage. par-entage. CHAPTER Il!.-At the village of Fallen .Rock, to which he takes the gem for safe keeping, the "Pearlhunter" meets the stranger who had disturbed his mother In their cabin, and Insults hint. They part as bitter enemies. i 1 The Boss made no reply. To him they were merely faded roses. lie was sitting on the doorstep about to light hls pipe when the younger man called 'him. With the freshly filled pipe in one hnnd. -the unlimited match in the' other, he rose, and stepped hack Into the cabin. The Pearlhunter was standing before a small hair-covered trunk, scarcely bigger than an ordinary ordi-nary suitcase of the present-day. It stood open, with the lid thrown back, eractly as It tint) stood two nights before be-fore when he came up from the river j n ml found Ms mother dying. Its contents con-tents neeir.oil to Indicate that they had I been runimnged through iiy some one whose linsle had Ivee'n great doubtless doubt-less by his mother, it hurl him to recall re-call the rntie of that, Jinsto. Tlio bloddstdlncd glove sho'had held In her hand. lay .uppermost, probably tossed there by one of the river men. "It's time to know what's In this trunk." A certain tensenqss In his voice escaped es-caped the Roj.i. "Don't y'ur "I've never seen Inside of It before." The Boss was In the net of acraplng his match. He stopped; looked around out of the tall of his eye, but whatever his thoughts, he made no comment. "First of all, here's this glove." the young man went on, lifting the glove from tho trunk. "You know where we saw tt flint." The Boss threw away the stub of his match and felt (he tlmcstalned nnd mildewed article. "West Point." he muttered. "Hit's tli' kind thorn sprigs wears ofllccr's, I'd say, offhand." The other stood considering It; laid It aside; nnd lifted the next article from tho trunk. It proved to be n woman's dress of rich brocade. Little 'as the two men knew of such matters, It Impressed even them ns being of tho very fluent materlnl and of finished fin-ished workmanship. Under It lay other articles of woman's wear, all equally rich, though now yellow with tho stain of time. Down beneath everything else lay n small box which tlie Boss, from an experience which befell him ns n soldier In the far South, knew to be sntlnwood. The young mnn stoodwlth It In Ills hand, afraid to raise the lid afraid to put It to the test. So far, tho trunk had given up nothing. Ho was still nameless. Wliut If this, too, should ' prove n blank? At last tho reorlhuntcr raised the lid some baby clothes, clean and neatly folded; a plain gold ring wrapped In a handkerchief of tho finest cnmbrlc; and, under nil, a picturewhat pic-turewhat the Iron-Gray-Woman must havo been In her girlhood, He snatched It up, carried It to the light of the door and looked long upon It. After a tlmo he came back to the trunk. Tho sntlnwood box was the last artlclo In It, nnd It had told htm nothing. Ho laid tho plcturo In It, replaced re-placed tho baby clothes and ring, closed the box nnd put It hack. He even took a sort of melancholy satisfaction satis-faction In replacing, with studied, nontness, the glove, the dress nnd other articles, after which ha closed the lid, locked It, pocketed the key, Rnd turning to the window, stood stnr-Ing stnr-Ing out over tho river. He wns still a mnn without a name. Tho Boss stepped, bnck from the door. "Tho Bluo Moon." ho said. "Hit orta be putt nwny safe." As If tho statement recalled thoughts that had siroyod far, the young mnn reached In his pocket nnd drew forth, the pearl, still-rolled In the bit of cloth. The two days of ripening nnd the clmfo of the cloth hnd grently enhanced en-hanced Its brJUIaucc. Quietly rolling thopeTirl up lii tlio'clotlfngaln.ho left the cabin nnd, 'followed by tho Boss, strode down the. slope through tho-trces'to tho-trces'to tho iioaf, and together they rowed away toward the 'village. Tho famo of tho I'onrlhiinter hnd preceded lilni. As ho coma up from tho" wharf 'into tho town, the Mud Hen, tho'onc saloon of the place, disgorged dis-gorged a swaggering, swearing population popu-lation that gathered round him. The Boss' crew, camped half a mllo hclnw Fallen Hock, and tho crew of Bull Mastorson, camped threo miles above, wero both there. Resides these, the Ohenchnln, n small steamer plying between be-tween tho ports of tho Wabash, hod come In that morning, bringing other river men. Caught In tho swirl of tho crowd, tho I'enrlhuntcr and his companion wero swept into tho Mud Hen. A hundred hun-dred voices clamored to have the pen rl laid upon tho bar where all could file by nnd seo It. Thero fell a few minutes min-utes of comparntlvo quiet while the hungry eyes of tho river men wero devouring de-vouring It. Then followed drinks all round at tho expenso of the Under; nnd what followed Is not a plcasnnt task to describe. Tho Pearlhunter, remembering that mound of fre.h earth at Fallen Itock, kept his head nnd drank but little. The Boss, on tho other hnnd, "cut th" log loose," ns tho rvcr men say. By iinon ho was ulnglng snntches of half-forgotten half-forgotten songs and fighting tho Indian In-dian wars nil over ngoln. Coming up to where his young friend leaned ngnli'Ht tho bar, In easy reach of the pearl, still lying upon Its bit of cloth, he throw an nrm about his neck nnd leant hard upon him, something he couldn't havo been hired to" do when sober "Come "ere, you fcllejs, Thls'n'snr ' .-r ' .,' ' ' me, an It's to th Pearlhunter, th whitest man along th' Wabash an' be- A d t' th' man what says "s ain't I" The rabble swarmed about the bar II that were able. Bottle necks gurgled; glasses clinked; red whisky slxxled down hot throats; n few shouted; some swore; others merely laughed foolishly. That lost drink was the Boss' finish, fin-ish, lie wilted down Into the nearest chair; lurched heavily over upon a table ta-ble and lay there mumbling, or laughing laugh-ing in high, shrill key; occasionally shouting out n note or two of a boating boat-ing song that had been old on the rlvr er for a quarter of a century. It wns parly afternoon before the Pearlhunter dared to think seriously of depositing the pearl beforo river etiquette permitted him to rcmovo It from the bar. lie tried to rally tho Boss. All he fot wns n further Installment In-stallment of the Indian wnrs. Half disgusted with I nil, he turned bnck to the bnr and stood leaning Ids chin upon Ids hnnd. A door opened from another part of the building tho Mud "Hen being nn Inn, tho only ono In tho plnce. A man entered. Crossing the floor with ns llttlo attention atten-tion to the crowd ns If tho plnce had been deserted, he ffwnggercd up to the bar. Perhaps lie secretly wished that somebody would jjet in his way. He had Just that air about htm. The Pearlhunter heard the door open; felt the hush thnt fell the hush that always falls upon the rabble rab-ble nt the coming of a masterful presence. pres-ence. He turned his eyes slowly toward to-ward the iicwcomer. His nerves were as steady as the woods make them, but they were not quite proof against what he saw. It was the Man-ln-the-Fancy-Vcst. A look flashed between them. The Pearlhunter fancied the other stiffened, stif-fened, and be was quite conscious of a tightness creeping Into his own spine. Tho Blue Moon was still lying on Its bit of cloth upon tho bar, where, among the river men, it wns ns safe ns anything of value ever gets to be In this avaricious world. He dellhcr-ntely dellhcr-ntely picked It up nnd thrust It Into his pocket. It wns n distinct nffront. Blood hnd nin In tho l'lntwooils for less. The man facing him started; flushed; his right hand dipped toward his hip. The Penrlhunter's body became like Iron electrified; his eyes like flecks of steel In tho tlreglow. His hand hnd closed upon tho pistol butt while the -other's hnnd wns still on Its way. "Draw!" bo hissed. "Drawl I'd glvo the Bluo Moon If you would 1 There's a twenty-year-old score to set-tie, set-tie, between your blood nnd mine I" A dead bush fell. The moro sober men of the crowd Jammed doors nnd windows, others huddled ngnlnst the walls; Some hnd dived under the tables. ta-bles. It was a moment of keen tension. ten-sion. Not ii man breathed. The line between life nnd death Is a hair line when two gunmen stund face to face. Tho chances are split almighty fine. The Mnn-lii-the-Knney-Ve.st evl- 4? 1 He Swangered Up to the Bar., dently decided they were split a little too fine. Ho slowly relaxed tho pose to which the dangerous Instant had strung him; lifted his hand; folded his arms; turned; leant ngnlnst tho bar; and stood coolly looking the other over. Tho I'enrlhuntcr had been linlf crouched. Ho straightened and took his hnnd uwny from his hip. "When I got ready to Icavo Flnt-woods Flnt-woods I'm cxpcctln' to ask you some questions and I'm cxpectln' to bo answered." an-swered." His voice crisp ns the snap of sleet ogolnst window glass, ho stuffed tho pearl deeper Into his pocket, In n manner man-ner that somehow hnd tho effect of emphasizing the affront. Tho other shrugged bis shoulders, barely perceptibly; Ills Up curled In a hnrd smllo that carried all the forco of a sneer, but ho mndo no answer. With tho air of n man bored unspeakably unspeak-ably ho sauntered across tho room to the door by which ho hnd entered; paused an instant; glanced back over his shoulder; tossed up ids chin contemptuously; con-temptuously; pushed out, nnd clo-eil tho door. But, for nil his easy acting, It did not esonpo the IVnrlhunter that tho blue In his eyes wns black, i CHAPTER - H The Qlrl With Basket 1 It was Juno outside. June It slipped down out of tho cool delta and dingles of the woods and soothed the H Penrlhunter's face, red with tho stifle' H and reek he hnd Just left. He filled H his Inngs with It Juno he tasted It LLH With half an eyo en tho door of tho Mud lien, half an car over his shout H der, he crossed to the bank. H "What name!" Inquired the old H banker, making out the receipt, ,after H having plnccd tho pearl away ta the H The color set tho. tan on the young a ' H man's fnco afire. It was something H be hnd not foreseen that a name H would be required;. and he had none. . H A pearl worth thousands,, but no name i H ho would gladly have given "the one H "What name?" repented, the banker,- , H looking over his glasses out through H "Penrl hunterl" tho other stam- - "Pearlhunter whntr H "Just Pearlhunter " ..- i- . H "Penrlhunlerl, .Why, that's u (. i. ' H "It's It's nil I have." ' H "Pearlhunter well I" - 1 The banker had his mouth already H Ret to any something more but ho . ' H didn't. Instead, he took a better took ' at the tall .young fellow on the other H side of the window. Dipping his pen H Into the Ink well a second time, al- H though It wna already overloaded to H the dripping point, he went on tilling H the receipt. Mint bring this with you when you H want your pearl. Mr. Pearlhunter." jH "And If I lose It?" jH "Then welt Just bring your face. H Ves, thnt will do your face. I reck- H on you won't loso It." The old fellow chuckled ns if he H hnd surprised himself making n Joke. H It usually puts a man In a good hu- H mor to discover thnt he tins mode a H Joke.' The banker stood rubbing hit H bony hands together while the Penrl- assH hunter wnlked H Wlint next? The Penrlhuntcr stood on the sidewalk outstdo of the LLI bank door and debated thnt very jH question : a question In two parts; 'ssLH first, whether to go back to Fallen H Itock; second, whether to mnke an- H other try after the Boms. He finally . decided' In favor of the Boss. Tho .H thought drew tils eyes toward tho ''sssl Mud Hen across the street. The Man- In-tlic-Fancy-Vcst was standing Just H .Inside the door. H At tho moment, a young woman H with a basket on her arm come out of H n grocery a block up the street nnd H wnlked rapidly toward tho saloon. BH The mnn Just Inside tho door nppar- cntly wns wntchlug for her. SIio seemed to know thnt he would bo ' there to dread that he would be to H Judgo by the way she hurried past. The man stepped out on ttie sidewalk jH as tho girl camo opposite, and tried fH to stop tier. Ho even stepped In jH front of her. She turned out around j him nnd, with a hare word or two In response to his efforts to engage her j In tnlk, hurried rapidly on. IH He stood looking after her till slio wns n block or more down the street H road would bo the better word, IH Klnco the river road formed the one - j street of the village nnd then dcllb- iH crntely followed, 'aLI All thoughts of tho cnbln nt Fallen IbbsI Bock, of tho Boss sprnwlcd over n. table at tho Mud Hen, Instantly fled iaeH the mind of tho I'enrlhuntcr. Ills IiiH Fonicu'hat passive face livened; Into IjH Ills slow eyes enme a quickened Inter- 'sLI rst. He hardly knew why ho followed. loLLI Ho simply found himself walking uf- lsil ter them. ILH The river road, as It follows along ' jH tinder the brow of the cliffs below lieLH Buckeye, makes many turns. The. isLI girl and ,lipr pursuer wero walking iksl fast when tho Pearlhunter peeped out " ! nround n "turn and looked after them. . IH My running nt such 'times, ns the wind- IH Ings of tho pad hid him, hc"'hnd ' jH cnught up with them as near ns svnj ,. jH prudent. The girl was walking very"..' liifl rapidly. It was plain Hint she knew' . , HiH ilio was being followed It Vtii ' IH equally plain that. she dd not .nW - BeH lor pursuer to know. that sho know It. IB Hut walk ns fnst'ns she would, the man . H following her yvnlkcd Just n lilt faster. jB Nearly a irillo below the vlllnge,. and . H half that distance nhovo Fallen Bock, H tho river road angles abruptly to the ' B north through a cut In tho cliff nnd B lends l;ick Into tho level highlands. WtnVJ Just where tho road turns n path v LflV leaves It, crosses n dilapidated rait MBBBBH fence running along tho cant line of ll tho Wnrbrltton lands, and enters the IBH woods. The .girl took this path. Sho Bfll wns In tho act of climbing tho fence y low nnd broken where the path flH crossed It when, with n prodigious H step or two, tho man following cnught DH up with her and took hold of tho fl bnskct. HJ "Allow me to assist you," he said. IBBJ Tho Pearlhunter, from whero' ho H had darted behind n clump of hnr.cl H growing rank nlong the side of the. H road, could Just distinguish tho - M Without answering, tho girl sprang H to the ground on the opposite side of H tho fence, but without letting go of M tho basket. Neither did tho other let H go. Placing Ills dlscngngcd bund Bfll upon tho top roll of tho fence, bo Wfll vaulted lightly over. The Pcarlhun- IH ter seized the favorable Instant to H steal nearer. The sunbonnct hid tho jH girl's fnco so that he could not seo It, but he fancied the plump brown lmiul flH on the basket hnmtlo was trembling. jH Tho smllo on tho face of the mnn HBb clinging persistently to tho other shlo HBl of thu banket meant things that n ' HHl binllu tins no business to mean- HBJ (To Ho Contlnaod) OBJ |