OCR Text |
Show fW'Sr L$U, rC- Illusion.. ty emucrtVou ' 0 Uut iili wan keen enough to see that Hi a first recognition would be Inevitable; In-evitable; she even admitted the fart that Armstrong would probably pre-clpltale pre-clpltale It himself. Well, no human soul, not even their writer, knew tbat she had deBtroyed them, she had determined de-termined to do i at the first convenient conveni-ent opportunity. Itefore that, however, he Intended to ahow them not to New-bold New-bold but to Armstrong, to disclose his perfidy, to convict hltn of the false-hood false-hood he had told her and to Justify herself even In hla eyes for tbe action she had taken. Mingled with all these quick reflec-tlnna reflec-tlnna waa a deadly fear. Hlie ai quick to perceive the hatred Arm-strong Arm-strong bore on the one hand because of the old love affair, the Iouk cherished cher-ished grudge breaking Into sudden life; on the other she realized that her own failure to come to Armstrong's Arm-strong's hand and her love for New-bold, New-bold, which she neither could nor had any desire to roncenl, and the cumulation cumula-tion of there passionate antugonUms not In deed. NothlnK could wrest that secret from her. Khe had been Infected In-fected by Newbold'a quixotic tdeaa, the contagion of hi perversion of common com-mon sense had fastened Itself upon her. She would not have been human either If ahe had not experienced a thrill of pride and Joy at the potability potabil-ity that In Home way, of w hich the yet swore ahe would not be tho Instrument blind or otherwise, the facta might bo disclosed which would enable Newbold to claim her openly and honorably.wltb-out honorably.wltb-out hesitation before or reinorise after, aft-er, aa his wifo. Thla fascinating flash of expectant, hopeful feeling she thought unworthy of her and strove to tight it down, but with manifest liu-pchHijlllty. liu-pchHijlllty. It has taken time to set these things down; to speak or to write la a flow process, and the ratio between outward expression and Inward la as great as that between light and sound. Questions Ques-tions and answers between these three followed os swiftly ui thrust and parry Ix-twecn accomplished swordsmen, and "I did not think after that kiss In the road that you would go back on me this way, l'.nld," he said quickly. "The kiss In the roud." cried New-bold New-bold staring again at the woman. "You coward," repeated she, with one swift envenomed glance at the other man. and then she turned to her lover, hhe laid her hand upon his arm, she lifted her face up to him. "As Cod Is tny judge," she cried, her voice rlhlng with the tragic Intensity of the moment and thrilling with Indignant In-dignant protest, "he took It from me like the thief and the coward ho wad nd he tells It how like the liar ho is. We were riding aide by side, I was utterly unsuspicious, 1 thought him a gentleman, he caught nie and kissed me before I knew it. I drove him from me. That's all." "I believe you,'' said Newbold gently, gent-ly, and then for the first time, he addressed ad-dressed himself to Armstrong. "You came doubtless to rescue Ming Malt-land, Malt-land, and in so far your purpose was admirable and you deserve thanka and respect, but no further. This la my cabin, your words and your conduct render you unwelcome here. Mini Maltland Is under my protection; If you will come outside I will be glud to talk with you further." "t'nder your protection?" anecred Armstrong beside himself. "After a month with you alone I take It ahe needs no further protection." New hold did not leap upon the man for that mordant Insult to the woman; his approach was alow, relentless, terrible. ter-rible. Fight or ten feet separated them. Armstrong nun him half way, his Impetuosity was greater, lie sprang forward, turned about, faced the full light from tho narrow window. "Well." he cried, "have you got anything any-thing to say or do about It?" liut Newbold had atoppid. appalled. He stood atarlng as If petrified; recognition, recog-nition, recollection rushed over him. Now and at last be knew the man. The face that, confronted him waa the same face that had stared out at him from the locket be had taken from the bruised breast of hla dead wife, which "You both misjudge me," was the an-awer. an-awer. "I shall take no advantage of this man. I would disdain to do ao If It were necessary, but before the last resort I must have speech with him. and this la the only way In which I can keep him quiet for a moment. If aa I suspect, hla hate measures will) mine." "You have the advantage," protested protest-ed Armstrong, "flay your say and get it over with. I've waited all these years for a chance to kill you and my patience Is exhausted." Ftlll keeping tho other covered, New. bold stepped over to the table pulled out the drawer and drew from It the locket, l'nld remembered she had haa-tily haa-tily thruat It there when he had handed hand-ed It to her, and there It had lain tin-j tin-j noted ond forgotten. It was quite, evU dent to her what was toward now. Newbold had recognized tbo other man, explanations were Inevitable, j Willi his left hand Newbold sought the catch of the locket aud pressed the spring. In two steps he faced Armstrong with the open locket tbruct j toward blm." "Y'our picture?" he asked. 'Mine!" "Do you know the locket V" "I gave It to a womnn named lxiuls Hosser five or six years ago." "My wife." "Y'es, she was crazy In love w ith me, but" With diabolic malice Armstrong left the sentence uncompleted. The Inference Infer-ence he meant should be drawn from hla reticence waa obvious. "I took It from her dead body." gritted grit-ted out New bold. "She was beside herself with love for me; an old affair, you know." Bald Armstrong more, explicitly, thinking to use a spear with a double barb to pierce the woman's and the man's heart alike. That he defamed the dead waa of n) moment then. "She wanted to leave you," he ran on glibly. "She wanted me to take her back and" "Untrue," burst forth from Knld Maftland'a lips. "A slanderous, dastardly, das-tardly, cowardly untruth.." crashing about the little room. ino two men on earth could have been better bet-ter matched, yet Newbold had a alight advantage In height and strength, aa he had also the advantage In simple life and splendid condition. Armstrongs Arm-strongs hate and fierce temper conn' terbalanced these at first, and with arms locked and legs twined, with teeth clenched and eyes blinded and pulses throbbing and hearts beating, they strove K get her. The girt shrank back acnlnRt the wall Bnd stared frightened. Hhe feared for her lover, sho feared for herself. Strange primitive feelings throbbed In her veins. It was an old situation, when two male animals fought for supremacy su-premacy nul the ownership of a female, fe-male, where destiny was entirely re moved from her own bauds. Armstrong Lad a:ow h!mt.tlf In hit true color ut Inst. She flpuld have nothing to hope from blm If be waa the victor; and shrt even wondered Jrj terror what might hapten to her If the man she loved triumphed after tl:i pactions aroused In such a battle? She grew sick and giddy, her bosom rose and fell, her breath came fast aa sho followed the panting, struggling, clinging cling-ing grinding, figure a about the room. At Tnst there had been no advantage to either, but now after five minutes or was It hours? of fierce fighting, the strength and superior condition of her lover Legan to tell. Up was forcing forc-ing the other backward. Slowly, Inch by Inch, fool by foot, step by step, he mastered him. Tile two Interwin-' ing figures were broadside to her now, sho could see th'dr faces Inflamed by the lust of the battle, engorged, blood red with hate and fury, but there wa . a look of exultation on one and thef shadow of approaching disaster on tbe other. Itut the conaclouanesa that hel was being mastered ever so little only! Increased Arrnstrong'a determination! and he fought back with the frenzy.l the strength of a maddened gorilla, and again for a space the Issue was la doubt. Hut not for long. The table, a heavy cumbersome, four-legged affair, solid almost as a rock, stood In the way. Newbold at last backed Armstrong up against It and by superhuman effort bent him over It, held blm with one arm and using the table aa a aupport, wrenched bla left band free, and sunk bla fingers fin-gers around the otber'a throat It waa all up with Armstrong. It was only a question of time now. "Now," Newbold guttered out hoarsely, "you alandered the dead womnn wo-mnn I married, and you Insulted the living one I love. Take back what you aald before you die." "I forgive blm." cried Enid Malt-land. Malt-land. "Ob. for Ood'a sake don't kill him before my eyea." Armstrong waa past speech. The Inveteracy of bla hatred could be seen even In hla fast glaring eyea, the Indo-mltableneaa Indo-mltableneaa of bla purpose yet spoke In the negative ahake of bla bead. He could die, but be would die la hla hate and In bla purpose. Knld ran to the two. ahe grappled Newbold'a arm with both her own and strove with all ber might to tear It away from tbe other's tbroat Her lover paid no more attention to her than If a summer breeze bad touched Mm. Armstrong grew black In tbe face, bla limbs relaxed, another second j or two It would have been over with him. Once more the door waa thrown open: through It two anow-eovered men entered. One swift glance told them all. One of them at least had expected expect-ed 'V On the one side Klrkby, on the other Maltland. tore Newbold away from bla prey just In time to save Armstrong's life. Indeed tbe latter waa to far gone that be fell from tbe table to the floor unconscious, choking, almost dying. It waa Knld Maltland who received bla head In ber arras and helped bring blm back to life while the panting Newbold stood staring dully at the woman he lovd and the man be hated on the floor at hla feet (TO BE CONTINUED ) v'Jf gab "Your PIcturtT" He Aakad. . xt SYNOPSIS. r.nM Mcllland. a frank. fr and un- lld ynuriK riilliulrl.iii Kirl. Is M" ih Ci.l.itmlo mountains iY hr nr,J 'ii(-rl Mnlllikml. Jumf r,,'"r;""' V.iu.nd u pfulK. fll in Ion wli.j '-' Ht- -r.iari.nt wunina Ihrltl lti lrl- tinil. ml Armlr.'ii "'", t.t.nit.,.. mil.. ,ul a dfioiit" """";; CMt.l rrs tl. Morv of """"i ,i,f . nJ wa an arrloualy liurl mat T" niH.-H.1 to Hkm.I l.i-r to prrvcnl lier l ai.-n by .lv.-a hll h wriil ' tp fclrfcliy. (he olJ gul! Who "j; hl,h ha aaya wr fmiml n " ,, iHt.an'a bmly. Hi roa.l" the '"""Jvi.iUi Klrkby'a rlieat kr-ra ' "'''J. SMlhina- in mountain airam .'" '" . tarkmi by a t..ar. t.lh l n,?lrV",J?.r an.. A alorm a.M i th ,rl i'V.tVi A auMrn t. liis lri.f"ria i-c" -.... hrr. h. la res. " " " , Kln l..ri.,lt afi.r a thrilling ri"; (...ra in grxnl ennfuolon ui"'" "l,.,rin k alalllan.l ar.fl ! Klrkby reli ef tr ulrl. KiiM 1ioyr s t-r ankt. la aprxlii.il ari'l 1 1 I " " ri. (.. wala. II. r tnyatrt loiia u CHrrira hi r lo bla hiii. K.nl.l . Ui-P in I he alransr imin'a Ijiii'k. it hroakfiml f..r llnLI. afl.r " sh.y ft on lour of lnp- tlon ,T",, tnf K'rM.l of hla unmi" aafnl a" n'l" fln'l tlin Maillanrl t iitn ra. II. that l:c 1 Hit from I'lilU'l'tp'oa. " .rn.lt fall In lov. with l-lrsl.l Th wn rwm-m a r-ailalln "f t"a ! r-txii r-txii aaturMlly la llmt a'ranrt aollni'ta ina r.latloi.a of tha irl a.xl lor ra.-u.r ! ,)ti- miiialonil and aitul".l. The alrnna-r alrnna-r t.l;a of a wlf. he ha'l ,"''' , ' n.1 xvi h haa sworn l ever rherim ..t m- iiHiry l.y II vlntc In to.lliud.-lnhl. to.lliud.-lnhl. however, rnnl.aa tlo-lr lov. lor a. It oIIut. Hh. I' m I htil b" ..,. wli.i kltt.d hla wim In the niuuntnlii t tn. I !li-ov.ra Id. wni.r of lh Miera lo N.-wlH,l.ra wife to ha. t"n J"1""" Armi.iri.tiK. NeUild ijed.h-a to aliirl lo On- .lM.-,i,i-ril for help The """,.'? ra. k. hy th. twllrf that he unfiiltliful t.. Iii wife- memory. '! I-1'1'' '"'I'1' e.1 1 l.ll him of the l. il.r In her pa- a.-.', .in ArtriKlroriK. a.-. oinpMriled hy KUk l.y anil Itola-rl .M.ilU.iml llml a not. thai Newbold had hit In lha deaerud ' atnn, and know lhal h Blrl la III hla le,..'ii I'at. hrltika all lha aetnra to. eii-r Newlaild r.luriia Irom hutilltiK nan,.- and ae- a limn ner Hi" hut It la 4 imea Arniklrona. win. hita al lt -i.. U" inlaalBtf Kirl. d ha rnlera Hie -l.in. Artiialn.na pleads hla lov. (or Kind, bul h reinlnda him of hla atTW. IM. l-ir Newbold wife. M arows In-awhl'in In-awhl'in arid Knld ordera hltn Irom her tareie-ii.'e. NewU.ld relurna opportunely CHAPTER XXII-(Continued) Armstrong confronted Newbold therefore, lustful of battles; be yearn-4 yearn-4 tn leap upon him. his fingers Itched to arasp him, then trembled slightly as W rtiblm! them nervously against his rtinn.lii; I Is face protruded a little, his ryea narrowed. -Aly name la Armstrong." he said, determined to precipitate the Ismie without further delay and flinging the ''worda at tbe otter In a tone of bee- taring defiance which, however strange to aay, did not aeem to effect : Newbold In any perceptible degree. Tbe name waa ao Illumination to lm, though uot at all In tbe way the speaker bad fancied; the recollection f U waa tbe one fact concerning ber Vnat rankled In tbe aolltary'a mind. He had often wanted to ask Knld Malt and what ahe bad meant by that chanc allusion tn Armatrong which n had made In tbe beginning of their arrjualntanea. but be had refrained. ,.t first be bad no right to ruestlon fr; thore could be no natural end to uheJr affections; and latterly when skelr hearts bad been disclosed to each ' . whr In the wild, tempestuous, pas . stonate acenes of the last two or three . Jays, be bad bad tblnga of greater 1110-.ment 1110-.ment 10 engage bla attention, aubjecta more Importance to diacuss with aWr. lie bad for the time being forgotten Armstrong and be bad not before known what Jealousy waa until be bad entered that room. To have aeen ber with aay mao would have given biin cute vain, perhaps just because he hi been ao long withdrawn from human hu-man society, but to see her with thla Minn who flashed Instantly Into bla recoileetlon upon the utterance of his stnif was aa added exasperation Newbold turned to the woman to whom Indeed k bad addressed hla question in tbe first place, and there a something lu hla movement which 6noke a galling almost contempt iou . obliviousness to the presence of the o'her man which waa Indeed bard for .Hltn to bear. Jlate begeta hate, tie waa quite on-ious of Armstrong's antagonism, which waa entirety undisguised and peo and wbtcb waa growiag greater ith every pawing nontit The aw-erv aaalnsl Newbold waa raanlng up in ibe mind of hla visitor. "Ah." eoolly aald tbe owner of the , table to the first of bla two Ivieits. 1 do remember you did mention tbat . name tbe first day you sprat here. ; la be a a friend of yours V "Not now," answ ered Enid Maltland Kb in waa la a strange alate ot t perturbs"! m account of tbe dtlem-sna dtlem-sna In etirb she found herself Involved. In-volved. Mhe waa determined not to betray Ibe ncvoarlous roofldeac of tbe tiead Kbe hoped fervently tbat - Newbold wowld not recognlre Arm- etrooc aa the as a of the locket, hut If he 4 ahe waa reaolute that be abould 4M also be reeocatted aa the . futrn of be lei 1 era. al least not by ber . art Newbold wss I 00 rant of the ei faience of the letters and she did not Intend that he ebonld be enllght-, enllght-, aed aw far aa she could preveat It ank His Finger Around the Otber'a Threat. would only make blm the more dee perate. Whether Newbold found out Armstrong Arm-strong a connection with hla past love, there waa sufficient provocation In the present to evoke all the oppugnatlon and resentment of bis nature. Knld felt aa ahe nilaht If the puncheons of the floor bad been sticks of dynamite with active detonations In ever; I. eel tbat pressed them; as If the slightest movement .n the prt of any one would bring about an explosion. The tensity of tbe situation waa bewildering be-wildering to her. It bad come upon her with auch startling force; tbe unexpected un-expected arrival of Armstrong, of all the men on earth the one who ought not to be there, and then the equally atartllng arrival of Newbold. of whom perhapa tbe same might have been aald. If Newbold bad only gone on. if be had not come back. If ahe had been rescued by ber uncle or old Klrkby Klrk-by Hut "If a" were Idle, ahe had to face the present situation to whirh she waa utterly unequal. 8be had entirely repudiated Armatrong. Arm-atrong. that waa ine aure point: ahe knew how guilty be bad been toward Newbold a wife, that waa another; ahe realized how be had deceived tier, tbat waa tbe tblrd. These eliminated tbe man from ber affections, hut It is one thing to thrust a man out of your heart and another lo thrust blm out f your life; be waa still there. And by no means tbe sport of blind fate Ahjiitrorg Intended to have something to tay aa to ibe course of events, to ' nee his own powers to determine tbe : issue. I Of bu.t one thing beside ber hatred I for Arttetreng waa Knld Maltland ab-' ab-' eolutely terula; she would never dis-- dis-- close fee man she loved tbe fact tbat the ou, the memory of who supposed paMlesj he cherished, bad been) unfaithful t him U heart If yet between earh demand and reply they had time to entertain these awlft thoughts as the drowning compass life experiences In seconds! ;l may not be ber friend." said Armstrong Arm-strong steadily, "but she left me lu these mountains a month ago with more than a half way promise to marry mar-ry me, and I have sought her through the snow a to claim the fulfillment" "You never told me that." exclaimed Newbold sternly and again addressing the woman rather than the man. "There waa nothing to tell," she answered an-swered o.ul kty. "I was a young girl, heart free; I liked thla nan. perhaps 1 because he was so different from thoae ! to whom I bad been accustomed, and when he pressed his ault upon me. I told blm the truth. I did not love him. I did not know whether I might grow to rare for blm or not; If I did. I should marry blm and If I did not no power on earth could make me. I And now I hate him!" She flung the words st him savagely. Armstrong was beside himself with lory at ber words, and Neabold'a root Indifference to biin persorally was unendurable un-endurable In battle surh as be waged be bad the mistaken Idea tbat anything any-thing waa fair. He could not really tell whether It waa love of woman or hale of man that waa most dominant; he saw at once tbe atate of affairs between be-tween the two. He could hurt tbe man and tbe woman with one state- j ment; what might be Ita alienor effect he did not step to consider, perhapa If be bad be would not then have cared greatly. He realised aaywsy tbat alnce Newbold s srrlval his chance with Knld waa gone; perhapa whether wheth-er Newbold were alive or dead It waa gone forever; although Armstrong did eot think that, he waa not capable of thinking eery far Into the future In hla then condition, th present bulked too Urge for that bad been a mystery to bltn for all these years. "Well." tsuntlngly asked Armstrong again, "what are you waiting for. are you afraid?" Proni Newbold'a belt depended a holster and a heavy revolver. As Armstrong Arm-strong made to attack blm be flashed It out with astonishing qulcknesa and presented It. Th newcomer waa unarmed un-armed bla Winchester leaned against tb wall by hla fur coat and h had bo pistol- "If yon mor n step forward or backward." back-ward." said Newbold with deadly calm. - iu Mil you without mercy." "So you'd take advantage of a wean-ealea wean-ealea man, would you?" sneered Armstrong. Arm-strong. -Oh. for God's sske." cried th wo- , mna. "don't bill htm." Put the man paid no attention to her Jn tbeir excitement; perhaps they did not even bear ber. Newbold tbrust bla platol violently forward. "Would you murder me aa you murdered mur-dered the woman?" gibed Armatrong In bitter taunt. Then Enid Maltland found It In her heart to urge Newbold to kill him where be atood. but abe bad no Ume If she could hsve carried out ber de-atgn. de-atgn. for Newbold flung tbe weapon from blm and th next moment th two men leaped npor each other, straining, struggling, daring, battling like savage beasts, earh seeking to clasp his fingers around the tbroat of the 01 ber and then twist and crush until un-til life waa gone. gating nothing, fighting la a grim ail nee that waa terrible, they reeled |