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Show 'ir'"rT' ClO22 QEOBGS RBOBAH 0QMUAi4Y ' (Continued From Oar Last Issne.) CHAPTER II Qulntsna, on a rox-trot along the rock-trail Into Drowned Valley, now thoroughly understood that It was tho only sajictuary left him for tho moment. mo-ment. Egress to the southward was closed; to the eastward, also; and ho was too wary to venture toward Ghost Lake. No, tho only temporary safety lay In the swamps of Drowned Valley. Ho meant to settle matters with Mlkn Clinch anyway. Ho was not afraid of Clinch; not really afraid of anybody. It had been tho dogs that demoralized Quintana. Ho'd had no xperlence with hunting hounds I did not know what to expect how I to maneuver. If only he could have j seen these beasts that filled the for- est with their hob-goblin outcries -If he could have had a good look at jihe creature who gave forth that i weird, melancholy volume of sound' "Bon!" he oald coolly to hlmsolf "It was a crisis of nerves which I experience Yes . . I should have phot him. that fat Sard. Yea. . Only those damn dogs And now ho shall die an' rot that fat Sard all by hlmse'f, parblou like ono big dead thing all alone In the wood. A puddle of guts full of diamonds' dia-monds' Ah' mon dieu! a million francs In gems that shine like festering fester-ing stars in thLs damn wood till the world end Ah, bah nomo de dlou "Halto la'" came a sharp volco from the cedar frinrre In front. A pause, then recognition, and Henri Picquet walked out on the hard ridge beyond and stood loaning on his rifle and looking sullenly at his lender. Quintana came forward, carelessly, careless-ly, a disagreeable expression in his eyes and on his narrow lips, and continued on past Picquet The latter slouched after his leader, who had walked over to tho lean-to before which a pile of charred logs lay in cold ashes As Picquet came up. Quintana' turned on him. with a gesture toward to-ward the extinguished fire: "It la cold like hell." he said. "Why do you not have somo fire?" "Not for me, non." growled Picquet. Pic-quet. and jerked a dirty thumb in' tho direction of ih- lean-to. And there Quintana saw a pair of muddy boots protruding from a blanket "It is Harry Beclc. yes9'' he inquired, in-quired, yhen someth.ng about the boots anil the blanket silenced him j Ho kept his eves on them for a full minute, then walked into tho lean-! to. The blanket also covered Harry Beck's features and there was a' stain on it where it outlined th prostrate man's features, making a I ridge ov r the bony nose After a moment Quintana looked around at Picquet. "So. He Is dead Yes" Picquet shrugged: "8!nce noon, mon capltaln "Com ment?" "How shall I know" It was the' fire, perhaps green wood or wet 1 It Is no matter now. ... I said to him. 'Pay attention, Henri; your wood makes too much smoke.' To me ho reply I shall go to holl. . . . Well, then- was too much smoke for mo. I arise to search for wood more dry. when, crack' they begin to shoot out there " Ho waved a dirty hand toward the forest. " 'Bon,' said I. 'Cllneh, he have seen your damn smoke'' " 'What shall I care?' he make reply. re-ply. Henri Beck, to me Clinch hej fdiall shoot and be damn to hlrn. I cook me my dejeuner all the same.' "I mol'O representation'' to that Johnbull. he sny to me that I am a frog, and other injuries. while he lay yet more wood on his iere fire. "Then crack! crack' crack' and zing-gg! whee-ee! come the big bullets bul-lets of Clinch and P's voy..us yonder. " 'Bon.' I say. 'me, I make my excuse to retire.' i "Th'-n Honri Beck he laugh and say. 'Hop It. frog!' And that is all he has find time to say. when erack! spat! Bien droit he hix lf n-n-- mon capltalne here, over the left eye! . . . Like a beef surprise be g i over, crash! thump! .And like a beef that dies, the air bcilow.s out from his big lungs " Picquet looked down nt the dad comrade in a sort of weary i impassion im-passion for such nrddity. "So he pass, this ros-biff goddam I Johnbull, Me. I roll him In! there. Je no sals pns pourquoi.j . . Then I put out the firo and leeve " Quintana let his sneering plance rest on the dead a moment, and his thin Up curled Immemorial con-' temnt for the Anglo-Saxon Thrn lie divested 'himself of the basket-pack which ho had stolen from thn Fry boy. "Alorr " h said calmly, "'.t has been Mike Clinch who shoot my frien' Beck. BInt " He threw a cartridge Ir.lo the breech of hi.i rifle, adjusted hi.' ammunition am-munition belt en bandoullere, catre-'.essly. catre-'.essly. Then, in a quiet voice: "My men") Picquet. the time has now arrive when it become er necestary that we go from here wjiy. Done 1 shall now go kill mo my frien' Mike Clinch." Picquet. unaetonlshed gave bim a heavy, bovine look f Inquiry. Quintana tald softly "Me, I havei enough already of thin damn woods. I Why shall we starve here when I there lies our path?" He pointod' norlh: his arm remained outstretched out-stretched for a while. "Clinch, he Is there. ' growled Picquet. "Also our path, I'aml Henri . -And, behind us, thc- hunt us now with dogs. ' Picquet bared his big white teeth in fierce surprise. "Dogs?" he repeated re-peated 'with a sort of snarl. "That Is how they now hunt us. nv frien' like they hunt the hare In the Cote d'Or . . . Me, I shall now reconnoitre that way!" And he looked where he wus pointing. Into tho north with smouldering eyes, Then ho turned calmly to Picquet: "An' you. I'aml ?" "At orders, mon capltalne." "C'est blon, Venez." They walked leisurely forward with rifles shouldered following the hard ridge out across a vast and flooded land where the bark of trees glimmered glim-mered with wet mosses After a quarter of a mile the ridga broadened and spilt Into two, ono hog back branching northeast They, howover. continued north About twenty minutes latr Plcquot. creeping along on Qulntana's left, and some sixty yards distant, discovered something moving In tho woods beyond, be-yond, and flrod at it Instantly two unseen rifles spoke from the, woods ahead. Plcquot was Jerked Clear around, lost his balance, and nearly fell. Blood was spurting from hi1: right arm. between elbow and shoulder. shoul-der. He tried to lift and level his rlf! v his arm collapsed and dangled broken brok-en and powerless; his rlflo clattered to the fovest floor. For a moment he stood there in' plain vlev. dumb, de.hly whlto, then he began screaming with fury 'while the big soft-no9ed bullets came streaming in all around htm. His brokon arm was hit again. His screaming ceased, he dragged out his big clasp-knife with his left hand and started running toward the shooting shoot-ing An he ran. hli manned arm flopping like n broken wing Byron Hastings stepped out from behind a tree and coolly shot him down at close quarters. quar-ters. Then Qulntana's ririe exploded twice scry quickly, and tho Hastings boy stumbled sideways and fell sprawling. He managed to rise to his knees again he even vas trying to stand up when Quintana, taking his time, deliberately began to empty his magazine Into the boy. riddling him limb and bod v and head Down once more, he still moved hl3 arms Sid Hone reached out from behind a fallen log to grasp the dying dy-ing lads ankl and draw him into shelter, but Quintana reloaded swiftly swift-ly and smashed Hone's left hand with the first shot. Then Jim Hastings, kneeling he-hind he-hind a bunch of juniper, fired a higi-eic-ity bullet into tho tree behind whleh Quintana stood: bul before ho could fire again Qulntana's .shot In reply came rlpoin,',- through the Juniper Juni-per and tore a ghastly hole In th- calf of his left leg. striking a blow that knocked young Hastings flat and paralyzed par-alyzed as a deod flounder. A mllo to the north, blocking tho other exit from Drowned Valley. Mike Clinch, Elarvey Chase, Cornelius Blommera, and Dick Berry stood listening lis-tening to the shooting. "Lt gosh." blurted nut Chase "it sounds like they was goin' through. Mike. B'goah it dor . " Clinch's little pale eyes blazed, but he said in his soft, agreeable oice- "Stay right hero, boys Like as not somo of 'em will come this way." The shooting bolow ceasod. Clinch's nostrils expanded and flattened with every breath, aa he stood glaring Into the woods. Ilnr. " ho said presently, "you nn' Corny go down there tin' klnda look around. And you elgnal If I'm wanted. G'wan, both o' you. Git!" They started, running heavily, but their feet made little noise on tho moss Berry came over and stood near Clinch For ten minutes neither man moved- Clinch stared at the wools In front of him. The younger man's nervous glance flickered like a snake's tongue in every direction an 1 he kept moistening his lips with his tongue. Presently two shots came from the south. A pause- a rattle of shots from hastily emptied magazines. "G'wan down there. Dick!" said Clinch "You'll be alone, Mlke " "Au right Tou do like I say; gtt along quick!" Berry walked southward a Uttlo way He had turnod very white under un-der his tan. "Gol ding ye!" shouted Clinoh, "take it on a lope or I'll kick the pants off'n ye'" Berry began to run, carrying his rifle at a trail. For half an hour there was not a sound In the forests of Drowned Valley except In the dead timber whern unseen woodpeckers hammered fitfully at the ghosts of ancient trees, (Continued in Our Monday Issue) |