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Show RAMlNGsflj ! jKty ROBERT WCHlffi GEORGE R DOKLAM COMUAHY tijouunuoa in ii uur ulsi ivmm i CHAPTER U. Whn at last Eve arrived at the i place of pines a'-'uln, anil saw the far, .spectral glimmer of Quihtnna'a flro, Jthe girl was almost breathless. But dawn was not verj far away and there j remained little time for the taking alive of a dangercd: man. Where two enormous pines grcv. close together near a -upling. she knelt down, and, with both hands scooped out a big hollow in the immemorial I layera Of pine needles Here she placed her trap, it took all hef strength and j skill to set it; to fasten tho chain around the base of the sapling pine. And now. working With only the j I faintest glimmer of hor torch, she cov-l cred everything with pirn- needles. It was not possible to restore thoj forest floor; tho place remained ls-J lble a darker rougher patch on tlio bronzed carpet of needles I smooth by decades of rain and snow No animal would have trodden thati I suspicious apace, But It was with man 'she had to deal a dangerous but rea- i Jsonlng man with few and atrophied1 instincts and with no experience ln I traps, and. therefore, in no dread eif them Before She Started she had thrown la cartridge Imo tin- breech of hor I rlfla. j Nov sh? pocketed her torch and j seated herself between the two big i pines and about three feet behind the I bidden trap Dawn was not far away. She looked , upward through high pi. letups when istnrs shone; and saw nu slpn of dawn j But the watcher t.j the I i i o beyond was astir, nov. in the imminence of uia.vn. and evidently meant to warm (himself before leaving. Eve could hoar him piling dry wood ion the fire, tile light on tho tree , trunkn grow redder, a pungent reek of Smoke waa drawn through the forest for-est aisles. She sniffed It. listened, and watched, her rifle across her knees. i Eve never had been afraid of anything any-thing Shi) was not afraid of thls man. It It t-amo to combat she would! have to kill. It never entered herj mind to fsar Qulntana's rifle. Even I Clinch was not SS swift with a rifle as she. . Only Stormont had been BWlfter thank God! She thought of Stormont sat there In tho terrific darkness loving him, her heart of a child tremulous with adoration Then the memory of Darragb pushed In and hot hatred possessed her. Always, In her heart she had distrusted the man Instinct had warned her. A spy! Whut evil had lie worked already? Where was hor father? Evidently Quintans had sacaped him at Drowned Valley. . . . Qulntana was yonder by his flrt- preparing to rice the wilderness wil-derness where men hunted him. . . . But where waa Clinch ? Had this sneak. Darragb, betrayed hlni' Was Clinch already In tho clutch of state troopers" U as ho In jail? I At the thought the girl felt sllght-1 sllght-1 faint, then a rush of angry blood Htung her face In th; darkness. Except Ex-cept for game and excise violations the stories they told about Clinch w,-re lie He had nothing to fear, nothing to be ashamed of. Harrod had driven him to lawlessucas, the government took away what was left him to maki a Ung. He had to live. What if ho did break laws made by millionaire and fanatic' What of it He had her love and her respect and her drop, deep pity. And the3.' wen enougb fur any girl to fight for. Dawn spread a sllv.-ry llpht above tho pines, but Qulntana's fire still reddened red-dened the tree trlnks and sho could hear him feeding it at Intervals. Finally sh Saw him. Ho came out on tho edge of the ruddy ring of light and stood pe ering around at the woods where already a vague gra ness w;uj revealing nearer trees I nui i .1,1;;.. UI LUIUBU 1113 l..l U ;and looked at his fire, Evu rose and stood between the two big pines. Behind Be-hind erne of them she placed her rifle. it was growing lighter In the woods. She could see Qulntana in the fire ring and outside saw him go to tho spring rivulet, lie flat, dring, and, then on his knees, wash his face and hands In the Icy water. It became plain to her that he was nearly ready to depart She watched him preparing And now she couM . a him plainly, and know him to be Quln-tana Quln-tana and no other. Ho had a light basket pack. He put some articles into It. stretched himself him-self and yawned, pulled on his hat, hoisted tho pack and fastoned It to his tmck. stood staring at the fire a long time; then, with n sudden upward look t tho ronlth -where a slight flush tslned a cloud, he picked up his rifle At that moment Eve called to htm .in a eioar ana nteaay voice The effect on Quintana was Instant; h' was behind a tree before her voice ceased. "Hallo! Hi! You over there!" she called again. "This Is Eve Strayer. I'm looking for Clinch. He hasn't been j home all night. Have you seen him?" After a moment she saw Qulntana's head watching her not at the shoulder shoul-der hi lght of a man, but close to tho ground and just above the tree roots. "H.-y" sh- i-i i. .1 "What's tho mat-I mat-I tor with you, ovir there '"' I'm ask-ing ask-ing you who you are and if you've seen I my father?" After a while, sho saw Qulntana coming toward hor, circling, creeping j swiftly from tree to tree. As he, flitted througn the Shadows the trees between wnich she was standing bid her from him. a moment, instantly she placed her rlflo on tho ground and kicked the plno needles over It. As qulntana continued his encircling maneuvers Eo. apparently perplexej, walked out Into the clear space, putting put-ting the concealed trap between her and tjulntana, who now came stealthily stealth-ily toward her from the rear. It was evident that ho had recon-noltered recon-noltered sufficiently to satisfy himself i that the girl was alone and that no trick, no ambuscade, threatened him. j And now, from behind a pine, and startllngly near her came Quintans ' moving with confident grace, yet hold- lng hlu rifle ready for any emergency. Eve's horrified stare was natural; I sho had not realized that any man I could wear so evil a smile. Qulntana stopped short a dozen I paces away The dramatic In him ; demanded of the mom.-nt Its full value. He swept off his hat with a flourish, bowed deeply where he stood "Ah"' he cried gaily, "the happv i i encounter. Sonorlta. God is too good j to us. And it was but a moment since ! I my thoughts were of you! I swear , it:-" It was not fear. It was a sort of j slow horror of this map that began j to creep over the girl. Sho stared at bis brilliant eyes, at his thlek mouth, too red shuddered slightly. But the too of her right foot touched the stock of her rlflo under the pine needles. She held herself under eontrol. "So It's you, she said unsteadily. I thought our people had caught you." Qulntana laughed. 'Charming child," he said, "It is I who have caught your people. And now. my God! I catch you' ... It Is ver" funny Is It not?" She looked straight Into Qulntana's black eyes, but the look ho returned cent the shamed blood surging into "By God," he said between his white, even teeth by (Jod'" Staring at her he slowly dlscngagel his pack, let It fall behind him on the plno needles; rested his rlflo on It; slipped out of his macklnaw and laid that across his rifle always keeping his brilliant eyes on her. His lips tightened, the muscles In his dark faeo grew tenso, his eyes became a blazing insult For an Instant he stood there, un-j un-j encumbered, a wiry, graceful shape In his woolen breeches, loggings, and gray shirt open at the throat. Then be took a step toward her. And tho girl watched him fascinated. One pace, two, a third, a fourth the girl's Involuntary cry echoed tho stumbling crash of the man thrasn-lng. thrasn-lng. clawing, scrambling In tho clenched Jaws of the boar-trap amid a whirl of flying pin" noodles. He screamed once, tried to rise, tdrned blindly to s.-izr the Jaws th at i clutched blm; and suddenly crouched. loose-Jointed, cringing lfk- a tr&ppi I wolf the true fatalist among our lessor brothers. (Continue-! in Our Next Issue.) oo |