Show f sho Z I 1 1 I 1 i 1 v yke 1 S illustrated 4 y DJ t t t r N ro I 1 J n SYNOPSIS ItlY 1 ward an ensign nat in fit the th united alt j states army on his hi gray t to F fort ort Ilar armax war meta simon a re ne kids has name ha bag been COnner tad with all a uner of or atrocity i a aloo headed handed for fo port airmar m rm e with a mesne from the general nc ral himilton Hi mllton miltan kulil hl him M to the fort at Cle har flar inars anar hayward meef meets lien ilene 1 auvra who prof tenes to recognize him hm he haa has no recollection of having aen seen her before hayward volun a era IS t to 0 c carry a message for or ilanor to pend U 1 kir w where akere hamilton ta to stationed th the n ertil wont indian tribe are re reedy for or war and are re only held back br by the refusal of the friendly wyandotte Wyan dote dots to join T ta a utter latter are the return of 0 AN a PJ pa te tab a rell sious teacher whom th they y believe aleve to be a prisoner bayward jay w a mission to I 1 to assure the wyandot Wynn dota 0 that hat 1 41 I a e man I 1 to not nut held 1014 by the soldiers itene aska kj Ilar wArl to tt it fit hf accompany him rho tells him that at 11 a quarter blood wyandot Vyan dut ij d missionary mim anionic the indiana we has ha been in search of her father rhe she insists that ahe she has ha een seen flair viard before but in a british form refuses afu her rr iut and farls for tho north accompanied br 1 a I ta ut ranard ran rd and a private so thy cru corm cor m an n the trail of a war part party and ta from the indian indiana amle ahel ler lot lit a hot on an island land heyward finds 1 it pd man in the hut it prove proves to 4 raoul a it former french oan ter er who in Is railed called by hy the Wyan dota dots I 1 w white hit ahlf hief ilene appears a and ana li in by her Inal stance that they have inet before itene ilene the murdered man aj as her father who wait wa known conf among the indiana aa as A a pa tee tah farady reports minx a band of maraud inc indian indians in the vicinity and with them aimon girty P atly ay a evidence con convince vine the cirt irl that there Is I 1 a Inri tish officer by the name of who rein tiles the american american they find escape cap from the bland land rut cut 0 off ff round around the arabit at discovers ditc overa A white whit nian in a uniform anil and leave leaves him for dad after a desperate dei des petate flicht the in deans rapture the cabin after a hald in n which fl ayward la is wounded wound fil nane tiene maven from death at the anda finds of the savages and conceal co neals him in n the to rellar liar of the cabin CHAPTER XIII 1 continued I 1 cot got to my handi hands and knoek knees determined to discover for myself the nature of the passage any fora form of action waa was belter than merely to llo there inert I 1 had to creep forward and found barely room for the of my body my aly aund hurt gut ut to maka make me cautious of every movement and consequently my ad vanco vance waa was 1 there never mover was blacker darkness it wae was like a weight pressing 1 me back anil and the silence was like that of at the grave I 1 could hear my own but my hand hands and knees nee raade made no found sound on the earth floor whatever of savage fury waa was occurring above no echo found ray way to where I 1 burrowed below to all appearance tie pe arance ranc the tunnel ran la in a direct una line at least I 1 could discover DO no awl dance ot at deviation I 1 stopped to ret a is moment bitting sitting cross legged my bead boad barely ea escaping tho the root suddenly from out that in tenee tames darkness before ma cf me a peculiar pecullar found sound intensified by the ions long silence and the contracted walla walls I 1 could not fill whether it waa was cough or groan something man or animal waa was certainly there in the tunnel biding bid crouched in the darkness dar kne unaware aware ae as yet of at my presence theft then it would not be an animal it must be a knan oman f J got upon hande bands and inces kneed acain again lowly and with utmost caution aware that if it I 1 waa was to escape notice I 1 must advance as stealthily aa as a wild cat the slightest found sound would carry far la in that ii allery I 1 moved forward a yard two three yards extending one band hand out into the dark and feeling ablit care cars fully before betom veri venturing turIng another inch mine the movements of a A had bad almost convinced myself there waa nothing there either brute ar or huan acan yet come gains instinct continually told ae me there waa was I 1 felt an uncanny presence r and an defined ill sense of danger I 1 could not cast off I 1 came to a dauie ause actually afraid to go on my flesh cre creeping eVing with horror I 1 treated on one knee my face thrust forward as I 1 stand blindly into the awful black neo I 1 even held bold my breath in net listening for the slightest merciful godt godl some same one wax bharat I 1 could hear bear now tho the faint pulsing of a breath ai an though through clogged biow fails yes and a meaningless mutter dog of tais iipp lip CHAPTER XIV I 1 A Ot struggle ruggle underground it remained poised breathless hud la in the dark hesitating heil tating A dozen considerations through my dimind as I 1 evritt swiftly ly decided what to do I 1 could scarcely hopt to move backward without noise nor if I 1 succeed ed would I 1 c any better at 08 with him still till bloc blIt alax las the passage there was nothing for it then but to come to hand tips dul but the fellow whoever he be might be whether white or indian was man doubtless doub lles armed while I 1 wats weaponless to get him right was a desperate chance yet a chance which must bo be taken fortunately I 1 had him located his heavy breathing being unmistakable and evidence also that the man remal nod unaware of ay my prea pres once I 1 shifted one foot forward to get firmer amer purchase and then grasped for bin him the darkness dar knes my band cacao came la in contact with A boulder shoulder then gripped it mass of loux bair hair he ito gave vent 1 to a cry startled 1 a I tuft inhuman in Hs its wilda wildness ess trog cling silos backward to quietly my ray other hd cloned oa on air dut but I 1 held barj hard to what I 1 had dirst dragged ged oft off my balaun bala ao his enters fingers after my threat mm ter we to do 6 other wise aba than claw at lit each other after that first cry neither of us uttered a but I 1 closed in on him getting a stronger grip ho was a man a white man for he be wore a rough coat coal and his face w WM covered with a growth of straggly coarse whiskers ekers enemy or friend I 1 could not be ure sure nor did I 1 find opportunity to discover we both fought liko like beasts retorting resorting to teeth an and d malls his life one object wae was to wrench aln gelf self loose hut but my fortunate grip 1 on his hir tolled foiled this effort yet boll his hand hands were free the one clutching ig roy my throat but in those first bron balth th less seconds I 1 could not local the other he ile wae was lying on hie his side with right arm underneath fearful of a weapon I 1 let the fellow gouge at my throat with long apelike ape like ilke fingers while I 1 struggled fiercely to expose the hidden hand if it it proved empty I 1 knew I 1 could handle the man that I 1 possessed the strength to draw him to roe ins to crush him into subjection with in the tise visa of at my arms straining every muscle I 1 could bring into play I 1 succeeded in forcing him over onto hie his face cul but be he was a cat wiry full of tricks tricka in come some manner he be twirled his arm out of ny my grip there was a flash of reddish yellow flame searing across my eyes an awful report ilka like an explosion in my tanned stunned ear ears where the be bullet went I 1 will never know but I 1 saw the maa N face leap out at me from the darkness daj knees just an instant of reflection as an though thrown against a screen by som some flash of light the unmistakable face of a negro yet startled as I 1 wae was by this appael tion hie his view of at me bad no less lose an at effect uren in that single instant of the hate in bis his eyes changed to fear to uncontrollable us panic hie his lips gave tent vent tu to a alid ald cry an exclamation in mongrel french and before I 1 could stiffen in resistance or recover froia from my own shock the fellow al flung his pistol at me and jerked free froe the flying weapon tore a gash in my scalp but hia his hasto and fear proved bis his own undoing half stunned as I 1 was by the blow I 1 heard him spring to hie his feet the dull crash of his head as be he struck the hardwood slab stab of tho the low roof and then the thud of a body on tho the tunnel floor door in his luste laste his desperation bis his strange fright he had forgotten where he was and attempted to spring erect my head reeled tho the blood from this new now cut trickling down don my cheek the negro lay motionless in the darkness I 1 could ot even distinguish his bea beath b ea eath th its ng although I 1 hes hest tinted listening intently hf halt fearing fi artna pome ora trick what bad frightened the fillow so what had brought that look of insane terror into his bin eyes it waa was aa as if be stared at a ghost tho the very sight night of at which bich had erased crazed him I 1 mastered my own nerve nerves and crept forward along the passage feeling blindly in adrance with one outstretched hand until it came in contact with the man a figure ith clinched teeth I 1 touched the coarse hair with my angers then the ore head the dealt retained som boutt warmth yet the feeling was oot not nat mat ural lt it seemed lifeless for the in this appeared impossible why w did it himself be he crashed hoh own against the slab yet I 1 could not make tle affair seem real or probable and a I 1 had seen seea few of at the race but had always been told they were of thick skull but if this man was actually dead his head bead must bare have cen smashed like an eggshell egg shell and it t waa was I 1 found the it moment tier later tho jagged ago edge of bono bone the fellow u dead tone dead there wae was no heat beat to his heart no throb to his pulse still dazed by the discor ery I 1 ran MY fingers along the roof root overhead hoping to find something there which would account for the mystery no flat surface could ever hav have jabbed that wound ah ahl I 1 I 1 felt it if tha th sharp avnir t ct c I stake r r tra ing ins beaw between can the log logs the poor fellow had struck that with sufficient sulli clent tow to pene penetrate the brain I 1 conquered my abhorrence and searched him tobacco a knife kan k an ugly weapon chit and steel a few colne coins and some powder and rifle 1 balls there were no pistol bullets and the thought occurred to me that the smaller weapon did not belong to him he be had appropriated it elsewhere I 1 crept about and across the body searching torching tor for it in rain vain but I 1 found the rite and took time to test its flint and load it it I 1 wae as still engage at this task blindly feeling abent la in the dark for everything needed and always con clous of at that dead body beside me when I 1 suddenly detected konot not n the putt puff of at powder which still lung to the passage but the acrid pungent odor of at burning wood even aa as I 1 began to breathe the fumes fames they in creased in intensity the narrow tun nol nel filling rapidly with the smoke waves and ard setting me to coughing t rea lliel at it once what had happened mademoiselle word of warning cout ing back to mind their they were burning the cabin and though th til ough game orlace orifice the moke smoke was being swept down into this underground passage if it MON were no outlet no to way by wl ch it could escape as ngath at to the open air I 1 must die mare in that black bole choked ud and I 1 might lie ile there forever beside this gideons ne me gro lie ile there uell our bone bones rotted and we also 1 became b came earth the horror ot of t the ile brought me to my knees tho the air was stifling my aung heavily for breath as the lvke cloud clouds filled the V passage only ai 4 I 1 bent my nostrils close agavnia the harthern ear thern floor A 00 r could I 1 find rid 1110 paying air ken alrea in my terror I 1 clung to the to n gabs lu rife desperately the ent entrance fading forth into the cave cellar mut be closed or the smoke cloud giuld never be so dense and suffocating to open it might require strength the blowe blown ot at the gun stock it I 1 retained power to burst my way through I 1 must huny burry already I 1 felt my bead head reel dizzily my open lips gulping for air I 1 crept forward recklessly eely li in the dark bruising my body against the sides 1 t the tunnel actually feeling the ening smoke swirl about me in dense clouds I 1 gasped for breath and drew a bit of at cloth about nod coee a and mouth in slight protection I 1 was panic strick en on overcome by sudden horror yet some nature within compelled me to struggle on suddenly I 1 came to a body lying lengthwise of at the passage the bead head to the south thie this new disca discovery very was a shock yet seemed to affect me little I 1 crawled over him as though he was no more than a stone in the pa path th yet ac as one hand came down in the dark oa an the upturned face I 1 elpe expert ri encee a sudden thrill the flesh vw was warm the man lived barely bad had my numbed mind grasped this helplessly when my my file barrel thrust before me struck the end of the passage the taint faint sound of contact signifying wood not three feet extended between the mans head and this barrier which blocked us from the outside air desperate half crazed indeed not only by my ov own n situation but aleo also by the memory of those bodies behind in the dark tunnel I 1 found scant knee room la in the small space and fumbled madly about for som somi i latch the surface was of wood vi roughly faced but smooth eave ears for what might be a handle la in the r mid aid die a mere strip bevelled to give fin ger bold hold I 1 pulled at this la in vain then pushed with my shoulder against the oak but the wood held firm weak as I 1 was an and in eo so crumpled a position I 1 could bring to bear but small strength to batter the door down was the out only Y hope left no matter what noise resulted or the possibility of capture by the savages ea I 1 could not lie ile there and choke to death lu in that place of horror better any danger than such a fate late I 1 drew back and struck the power of at fear giving strength to my arms again and ann I 1 drove the iron bound ride stock against the hard bard oak I 1 left the center and attacked the sides feeling the wood give slightly encouraged by thia this I 1 redoubled my efforts forta ef central islas my blowe blows on one spot until tain tala the tightly jammed door was be ing 1 driven from the groove it waa vita hot and stilling ining st the perspiration streamed from me the smoke waa was suf gut locating deadly I 1 gasped and choked my head swam with dizziness I 1 felt my strength ebbing away despair clutched me roe yet I 1 etrick no longer with clear intent but automatically driving the heavy gun butt against the slowly yielding wood with every pound of strength I 1 had left it seemed as it I 1 had struck my last blow blodi I 1 believe belleve al no now I 1 had I 1 believe my body fell with ith it I 1 carnot remember clearly only I 1 I 1 fell forward irto light air know the wood gave way and I 1 fell forward into light end air my to face toco CO Vilt without hout my body still in the tunnel merciful mother I 1 how ilow I 1 gulped la in those first refreshing breathe breath bow how the clogged lings rejoiced I 1 glanced back into the tunnel suddenly demeral ring the man who still lived it if he were ere out the door might be forced back into place again that volume ot of smoke suppressed I 1 the cloth across my iaco and |