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Show JIM RATH WAY fiVNOf'SIH.-Ifl An'if-ron, Itoy-n.1 Itoy-n.1 Caruifliun Mounted Police Her-Knt, Her-Knt, la arit 1-j Ktony ratine to nrr.-it a man ri;im;(l I vlly for murfW. li la alM'i lnt ruct-d to look lifter Jim ltathway, rpu?el hft.-ui of thfl "Kiva Tra'i'irs," illluit liquor runn.-r.i. At l.lul F;tlls h n Hr. U !' 1 1 y la :rr' 1 1 f-'J with liavlriK f'.uii.J a KoUi ruin, and H ri.Ihnli. At thn hot.-l ai-ru-urs a (jlrl, (l.vlou:ily 'jut of !itce in the roujh MiirroundinKS. A half-t.rr.-fl, l'lrir Iiri'l a rw.rn;, union. "Short y ," annoy the K 1 rl. A n -fl.-iHon Int.-rf-wcH In lir he ha If. Th Ktrl net out for Shiton Lake, which Ih hIho Aridt-r-fon's ohjt-c-li v. 1 1 i ovriuk h-- r and t lift ' (wo men with whom hf: had iron- j hlf the niht lif-fure, She I.h sus-pl sus-pl lotifi of him and the two men are hoHt'.l. I'ierre and Shorty rid ft on, A ri !. rnn and the rl following. In the hills the road I.h Mown up. hefort arid Ic'hlnd the two. Andt-rsun, with hla Iiothh, In hnrlf-d down the mountain moun-tain wide M-n.'icdcsH. Krenvorliig con.se I o iu.n-.s.M, A ndcrson finds lh (..Irl han disa pP'-a rt-d, hut he corwludeu hIip Ih alive and prob-nhly prob-nhly In Ihe power of I'lerro and Shorty. On foot hi in a k eg hla wny to Slston Lake. CHAPTER V Continued 4 Satisfying himself thai (hero was no wuy f ii I 1 1 :i c ti except hy water, unless un-less theio existed sumo trail across the swamps, which lliero was no time to fltnl, Lee waded into t lie lake, then swam. Tlie current run strong; tlie shock of tiie icy water nt first numbed, then Invigorated hlin. It cleared tlie doubts mid fears of night from his brain. Swimming diagonally against the current, cur-rent, in a fcivnilniilesl.ee bad readied the flat terrain nt the base of the promontory. lie ivnded ashore, shaking himself like a dog. On tlie terrain were heaped great mounds of waste and garbage from tlie encampment above; piles of disintegrating cans, rotting cases, Innumerable In-numerable bottles partly covered with the silt and protruding from It the accumulation of a long period. Looking through tlie mist, Lee perceived per-ceived a small York boat, of the kind used universally between Hudson's bay mid the Mackenzie, riding moored against the rocky edge of the promontory promon-tory some distance away. The elevation, long, low, and flat, formed an ideal fortress; with tlie only approach apparently by water, It was evident that it would be a formidable formid-able proposition for any body of the police to attack, in tlie event of defense. de-fense. Lee begun to make his way across the terrain, keeping under the shelter of the cliff to escape observation from the huts, above. It was growing light now, and he could see the surroundings surround-ings clearly. He reached the end of the patch of ground without coming upon any place by which It might be possible to nscend to the summit of tlie promontory. lie hurried back, doubling on his tracks, examining tlie cliff in the other direction. He reached the other side of the flat terrain, only to ind that the elevation presented the same insurmountable insur-mountable flank to Mm everywhere. Hut then of a sudden he realized that the Y'ork boat must be drawn up at the point of entrance. And It was with this that he must make his flight with the girl, benching the boat across the water somewhere, taking to the forests. And without hesitation he took to the water again and swam with steady strokes toward It. In two or three minutes he had gained its side. The kidnapers must have left their horses at some refuge or rendezvous In the forest and brought tlie g.'rl by boat to Siston lake. And it was evident that they could not have arrived so much as tn hour before. The York boat was moored opposite a cieft in tlie great dome of the promontory, prom-ontory, which offered easy access to the summit. Lee waded ashore once more. Hut before attempting the ascent as-cent he drew his automatic from Its holster and examined it. Tlie holster was lined with waterproof, and only a few drops glistened upon the surface of tlie weapon. Scrambling up the acclivity. Lee saw the two bills among the trees immediately im-mediately overhead. He scrambled up the low wall of rocks, and was about to step on to the elevation when of a sudden a man came out of the farther hut am made his way toward the nearer one. I.ee ducked his head down just In lime to escape detection, and through the interstices between the bowlders he watched the man until he bad entered en-tered the hut Immediately above him. lie looked about forty years of age. He was shorter than I.ee. but apparently appar-ently of great strength. He had an untrinmied black beard, he walked with hunched shoulders, and there was a look of singular ferocity and cunning on his face. A dangerous, ti encherous customer. I.ee I bought. lia.Iiway! When he had disappeared within the hut I.ee stood up. Craning over the rocks, he could just catch a glimpse of the interior. He saw the man standing over what looked like n camp bed, on which he could distinguish dis-tinguish the head and shoulders of a K'.rl. lying perfectly still. Lees ieart leaped. He gripped his automatic, levelled It. A single shot from where he stood, w-'l iiliue4 hou!4 be sufficient. And at that moment Instinct and desire de-sire struggled with discipline as never before, with tlie maxim Inculcated during dur-ing his eight years of service, never to take life except when life Is In Immediate Im-mediate danger. Then discipline won. Lee let the muzzle drop. And at that moment he heard the growling voice of the man. and the answer an-swer of a third person Inside the hut a woman. Tlie words were Inaudible, and now, hesitating no longer, Lee scrambled over tlie rocky ridge and made his way toward the door obliquely, so as to remain re-main concealed from tlie sight of those within. Tlie man's voice rose in a falsetto snarl. "What do I mean to do with her? What would I do with her? She's mine, ain't she?" "And what nbout me?" Low as the voice was, restrained, yet passionate, something about it sent a sudden shiver through Lee, and for a few moments mo-ments he could only remain a helpless help-less listener. "You?" be laughed. "You can stay on here's long as you want to, I guess. There's I'ierre and Shorty If you want a man " "You coward!" Her voice was vibrant vi-brant with Indignation. "I tell you you've made a mistake In bringing t hat girl here. You'll regret It. That mine doesn't exist. And when she finds you've fooled her, what are you going to do?" "So we're jealous, are we? Well, I've been tired of you for a long time," lie jeered. "Jim " There was desperate pleading plead-ing In the woman's tones "I gave up all for you. Let her go. Don't cast me off. I love you, Jim " And now Lee knew. A mist trembled before his eyes, and, gripping his automatic, auto-matic, he sprang forward to the door. He must have shouted, though he was unconscious of everything but the desire to get Rathway by the throat. Wheeling, Rathway swore, and then, heedless of Lee's pistol, leaped. But in the moment before they closed, Lee saw the woman's face and knew her for bis dead love, who had broken his life and changed it utterly Estelle. Lee did not shoot. Instinctively he obeyed that unwritten law of the police po-lice tradition not to take life save In the last extremity. Hut the sight of this sinister figure, the wholly incredible presence there of Estelle, the woman who had wrecked his life, and the girl lying unconscious un-conscious on the bed in this man's power, aroused in Lee's heart a sleeping sleep-ing devil of whose existence he had hardly been aware at any time in his life before. lie was conscious only of a mad desire de-sire to kill, but to kill with nature's own weapons, In obedience to man's instinctive law. Clubbing li Is automatic, Lee leaped to meet Rathway's charge, and breast to breast they met, rebounding like balls of rubber. Rathway's hand shot out and grasped Lee's wrist before the weapon descended. Then, interlocked, they stood almost motionless, matched so evenly that neither budged an Inch before tlie other for a full minute. Rathway's sneering face was upturned up-turned to Lee's. Malice and hate gleamed from his bloodshot eyes. Beside Be-side them stood Estelle, with her hands V4 A Single Shot From Where He Stood, Well Aimed, Would Be Sufficient. still clasped in the gesture that she had made at the moment of Lee's intervention, inter-vention, struck dumb and motionless with terror and amazement. Rathway was proving himself the stronger. Malice and hate became triumph, tri-umph, derision. Lee's pistol lurnd was being bent back. Lee adapted himself with quick instinct to tlie discovery that be was the weaker in nt'ii and shoulder muscles. As Rathway's body slowly assumed a forward tilt, sliif'ng his center of gravity, Lee sudde.'.'.y drove his knee into tlie back of Ilatr-way. Ilatr-way. causing tlie man to stumble fob ward. The Impetus of the body projected pro-jected against him sent the pistol flying fly-ing out of Lee's hand; but Lee, In tlie moment of Rathway's loss of equipoise, drove his fist home into his face, splitting split-ting bis lips and sending him reeling. Iln an Instant tnejr were together nuln. ileliveiinu and receiving a buo- By Victor Rousseau ( Copyright by W. O. Chapnnn.j WNU Service. cession of pile-driver blows that fell like flails upon each other's faces and bodies. They clinched, rebounded, clinched again ; then of a sudden Rathway Rath-way got home a furious kick to the groin that sent Lee stumbling. For the first time Estelle screamed, and that aroused Lee to the consciousness conscious-ness that he must finish his enemy almost immediately, before aid arrived. He shook away the Mm that was creeping creep-ing over bis eyes, and, sick and nauseated nau-seated from the kick, he closed with Rathway again. They went to the floor of the hut together, and struggled there like two dogs in the dirt. There was no longer any attempt at fisticuffs. The primitive Instinct to rend and tear possessed both of them equally. They scrambled about the floor of the hut, clawing at each other's oth-er's throats. Lee got Rathway's beard In his right hand, ami with his left began smashing at his nose nnd lips. Rathway bellowed, his hands closed on Lee's throat, clung there, worrying him like a bulldog. Lee felt that he was fainting. He was slowly forced over; Rathway's fingers closed on his neck. The two tightened, and the walls of the hut began to waver. Lee's trachea flattened, his lungs felt as if they would burst. Rathway grinned diabolically dia-bolically into his face; his beard like some foul fungus swept it. Lee flung his arms out Instinctively to breathe. One of his hands encountered something. some-thing. It was the pistol. Lee's fingers closed on It. And, as if he concentrated all that was left of himself In his left hand, he raised the weapon and brought it crashing down upon Rathway's skull. Instantly Rathway's clutch relaxed, his eyes glazed, as chicken's eyes glaze at the moment of death. The man's head dropped foolishly forward on Lee's breast. A stream of curses was cut off in foolish mutterings. Lee struggled to his feet and stood gasping for breath, while Rathway, mumbling stupidly, swayed to and fro upon his knees on the floor of the hut. Suddenly Estelle appeared to be galvanized Into life. With a low cry she ran to Rathway's side, knelt down by him, and put her arms about him. She drew his head down on her knees and began chafing his hands. She looked, at Lee in bitter hate. "Haven't you done me wrong enough in the past, that you should come here to kill my man?" she cried. "Do you think you can arrest htm? You couldn't get a mile from here before you would he captured." ' But Lee, without paying any attention atten-tion to her, hurried to the bedside, and looked down at the captured girl. She lay there, an unconscious, huddled heap, one knee bent under her. Her face was deathly white, and there was a scalp wound at the back of her head which had been bleeding freely. She breathed faintly. Her hair was cut short and jagged about her head, making her look more than ever like a boy. Estelle laid Rathway gently down and came toward Lee with sudden comprehension. "It's for her?" she whispered earnestly, laying her hand upon his arm. "You came here to rescue her?" She read the answer In his eyes. "Oh, I'll help you, I'll help you, then!" she cried wildly. "You'll take her away! Trust me, then, and listen to me. There's no time for explanations explana-tions now. It's only a miracle of luck you found him alone. Some men are due at any moment In the motor boat. Two more have gone to meet them with a message. They're coming from down the lake. There may be just time to escape them. You must take the Y'ork boat. You can't pull It alone against the stream. Keep to the left channel past the Island, then run ashore, and you'll be safe In the forest, wherever you are going. Hurry, hurry!" Lee made no audible reply, hut his mind automatically registered Es-telie's Es-telie's instructions. lie bent over the girl again, raised her in bis arms so that her face rested against bis shoulder, and carried her out of the hut. As he turned nt the entrance he saw that Rathway had risen to his knees again. Blood was dripping from the wound in his scalp, nnd he was staring about him in tlie eager effort to remember. Lee crossed the open space at a run, scrambled down the descent, placed the girl In the bottom of the boat, and, seizing a pair of oars, began be-gan to pull furiously for midstream. The current caught him and sent Mm whirling along toward tlie long, flat, wooded island In the middle of the lake that came into view. In a minute or two, however, the How of the river, diffused over tlie whole of the lake, ceased to afford him any appreciable assistance. The heavy York boat responded only slightly to the pull of the single oarsman, seeming seem-ing lo creep on hy inches. Suddenly Rathway appeared upon the promontory, Estelle beside Mm, ,'linging to him. He pushed her from him, shaking his fist at Lee, and his hoarse, furious bellows came across tlie water like the roaring of an enraged en-raged beast of the forest. For a few moments he stood thus outlined against the rising sun; then he disappeared. dis-appeared. Lee struggled at the oars. From i time to time he strained his ears to catch the sounds of the oncoming motor boat. Although the new arrival, would know nothing of his activities at the promontory, he was pretty sure that any solitary oarsman appearing ap-pearing in that region would be stopped by them ; then he would be at their mercy, for I'ierre and Shorty would be members of their party. If once be could round the point of the island, where he would be out of sight both of the promontory and of the motor boat coming up the channel, chan-nel, he could pull straight for the lake shore, take to the woods, make for the mission, where he meant to leave the girl for safe-keeping. Lee felt his spirits rise. It was a matter only of a half hour. And there were two packs in the boat. With one of these they could live in the forest till she was able to continue the journey. And, looking down at the unconscious girl, he felt again that odd sense of tender companionship companion-ship in his heart for her, fed, perhaps, hy the realization that the one thing he had dreaded had not come to pass. lie had feared that If ever again he met Estelle the old passion for her would flare up In him. Now they had j met, and that love of the past filled Mm only with wonder, and a vast pity for her, that she should have come to this to be tlie discarded companion of an outlaw. He no longer condemned her. He no longer resented his wrongs. It was as If a cleansing sponge had been passed over all that had happened. The left channel between the Island and the shore was almost blocked, In places, with reeds and water growth. It was a huge water morass of dead vegetation, nearly half a mile wide. A few more strokes, and be meant to pull toward the lake's shore. The pulling had grown to be an enormous effort. Lee was again conscious con-scious of fatigue. He felt drowsy in the Increasing warmth of the sun. He could have fallen asleep In a moment. But suddenly his senses leaped Into activity. From far away he had caught the urgent warning of Imminent Immi-nent danger, the faint put-putting of the motor boat. CHAPTER VI Trapped on the Island And instantly he began straining at the oars again, redoubling his efforts to gain the shore before the motor boat rounded the point. And of a sudden his attention was attracted by something creeping along the opposite shore. It was a small canoe and a single man in it Rathway ! It was impossible not to admire the courage that Inspired the man after the drubbing he had received. Rathway Rath-way was, of course, on his way to warn the expected party. Lee drove harJ for the left middle channel of the lake. The main body of Siston lake came into view, a vast expanse of shining water, the shores receding Into the hazy distance, out of which a small, black object began be-gan to be visible, like a bug skimming the surface. Now the canoe containing Rathway was almost abreast of him. A few more furious pulls ten, fifteen fif-teen ; now canoe and motor boat and promontory were all hidden behind the point of the island. Lee labored at the oars, turning the Y'ork boat's head toward the bank. Once there, they would be safe. But his strength was falling him. Curse t he clumsy boat, which hardly seemed to move! The putting of the motor engine had grown Infernally loud. It added a horror of its own to that sense of pursuit pur-suit which makes the bravest man something of a coward, the added horror hor-ror of the fugitive who hears the distant dis-tant bay of bloodhounds. Then suddenly the motor stopped. That meant that the canoe had come abreast of it. Rathway was passing the intelligence. And the shore was still a hundred yards distant. There was no chance of reaching It unobserved. It would be neck and neck for It, and it was doubtful whether I.ee could have escaped alone, much less with the girl and the pack to carry. He swung the boat's blunt nose toward the nearest patch of reeds. Twenty yards! He put all his strength into that last effort. Now the reeds were closing about him. In front of him a little open channel appeared. ap-peared. Using one shortened oar as a paddle, he drove vigorously, and found himself in temporary safety. A thick wall of reeds extended between himself him-self nnd open water, rendering the Y'ork boat invisible. Then tlie motor began to roar. The shouts of Its occupants became audible. The motor boat had rounded the point. Lee had escaped discovery by the skin of his teeth. And very cautiously, so as not to betray his whereabouts by any undue un-due agitation of the reeds, Lee pushed the boat toward the island, llis plan must now lie to drive ashore, trusting to escape detection until nightfall and to make the wooded shore of the lake in the darkness. Through the reeds tlie marshy foreshore fore-shore began to lie visible, and a sandy spit projecting to the water's edge. Above it was a hummock overgrown with birch and red spruce, with a tangle of sheep laurel and birch and poplar behind it. Lee worked bis heavy boat noiselessly noise-lessly toward this spit. But suddenly he stopped. The motor boat was com- Itig up the open channel hardly a stone's throw distant. He could hear Rathway in It, bellowing commands to Ms companions. He could hear the reeds rustling against the boat's stile as she forced her passage through them. "They're not In here!" be heard Rathway say with an oath. "Get Into the channel and beat up the Island !" I.ee. crouching In the stern of the York boat with ids pistol in his hand, breathed a sigh of relief as the motor boat withdrew. Tlie roar of her engine en-gine began to grow fainter. In a few minutes It had died away. Lee forced the Y'ork boat ashore upon the spit of sand, and stooping, raised the girl in his arms and carried her Into the shelter of the spruce thicket, where he laid her gently down. For ihe first time since her injury, he had the opportunity of examining Lee Forced the York Boat Ashore Upon the Spit of Sand, and Stooping, Stoop-ing, Raised the Girl in His Arms and Carried Her Into the Shelter of Spruce Thicket, Where He Laid Her Gently Down. her. Her prolonged unconsciousness alarmed him. But she was beginning to revive at last, and, after assuring himself that the pulse beat fairly strong, he proceeded pro-ceeded to make as thorough an examination exami-nation as possible of her injuries. He turned his examination first to the cut in her head. He tore strips from liis shirt, went down to the water and cleansed them thoroughly ; then, returning, he proceeded to wash and bandage it. It was a bad gash from a rock, and she had bled a good deal, which was a good thing, relieving the concussion which had no doubt been the cause of the prolonged insensibility. insensibil-ity. Having ascertained that she seemed to have received no bodily Injuries In-juries beyond contusions, Lee examined exam-ined her limbs. He saw that one knee hung awry. In a moment he had the gaiter off, and discovered that the Joint had been dislocated. Short of the setting of a broken bone, there are few operations more painful than the restoration of a Joint into position, and Lee prayed fervently fer-vently that the girl's unconsciousness would last until he had put to her service the knowledge which he had acquired with the Canadian army medical corps upon the western front." It was unnerving, holding that white knee between his hands, so instinct with life, so fragile, delicate, so wonderful won-derful when viewed as a piece of mechanism which he was to manipulate like some clumsy journeyman, called In to repair the work of a master. Fortunately Lee had assisted at precisely that same operation several times in tlie field; and, trying to disregard dis-regard tlie moans of pain - that came from tlie girl's lips as he proceeded, he fumbled with the displaced hone. But that struggle was terrible, for i the body of itself knows no dignity. Cionseious, Lee knew that the girl would neither have flinched nor moaned; but unconscious she could not control the prolests of the body, which bad to be restrained by something some-thing almost brutal in its frank violence. vio-lence. But Lee struggled on, feeling the shaft head of the bone scour the edges of the socket under the cap. A finnl struggle, the weight of his whole body and shoulders thrown to his task and suddenly It was accomplished. Anderson faces a pretty tough proposition. What on earth is he going to do with this helpless help-less girl? (TO HE CONTINUED.) |