Show bov f na 1 11 T NUN R L 1111 N 1 N G T iler mary imlay taylor RELEASE THE STORY THUS PAR FAR jane returned from the cabin and jim told her he had phoned the sheriff to come and get sherwin ii jane turned white she mounted again and rode off jim after her soon they could see stenhart and the sheriff racing ahead jim finally stopped janes horse sherwin was standing on a cliff stenhart crawling along a ledge sherwin waited suddenly he confronted his cousin then stenhart crumpled reeled backward and fell over the ledge he was caught by a dwarfed tree limp but not dead sherwin looked down and in that moment came the turning point he uncoiled a rope tied it and began to descend the cliff CHAPTER X he sought a foothold a crevice and found one where the tree had rooted a wide fissure in the wall of rock he swung toward it got his foot into it and holding thus to the rope and the cliff reached down and laid his hand on Sten harts body he thought he was still conscious for his heavy eyelids quivered but ne he lay there a dead weight swiftly cautiously sherwin wound the rope around his body and made it secure under the armpits balancing himself on a foothold so narrow that a touch might hurl him down then grasping the slack of the rope he began to climb the ledge seemed a thousand feet above him but at last he lay on its brink gasping he heard sounds now other than the cataract the crashing of boughs he took no heed of them for as he rose to his feet he saw the tree that supported stenhart go down and the motionless body swing out on the end of the rope sherwin braced himself and began to haul him up by main strength slowly surely he drew his enemy out of the abyss steadied him at the edge of the rock brought him safe over and laid him down his own muscles ached and his head swam but stenhart still breathed he opened his eyes and looked up in Sh erwins face sheer terror leaped into his eyes but he was spent helpless his white lips moved but only one word came in a whisper water A mountain spring was trickling close at hand and sherwin cupped the water in his hands and wet his face and lips and again stenhart tried to speak but as his rescuer bent to listen heavy hands fell upon him and there was a shout of triumph get him sheriff sherwin on his knees beside the injured man looked up to find the posse closing in he shook off the man who had grasped him and rose to his feet just as jim keller panted up the trail hold on cutler jim cried that man saved stenhart I 1 saw sav him at the risk of his own life aint taking no chances mr keller here you adams you handcuff him hes the man were after sherwin offered no resistance ne submitted with an iron composure he had bad thrown away his dear bought liberty to save stenhart 1 I reckon he can walk after all said the sheriff how you feeling now mr stenhart stenhart tried to stand upright but his eyes had met Sh erwins and his mouth went dry he wet nis lips shaking all over wed better carry him said jim cheer up old chap youre sound no bones broken 1 I can walk said stenhart thickly leaning heavily on jim the ledge is mighty narrow can you manage without help mr keller the sheriff was solicitous ol 01 for the man who had helped him make his capture oh well do jim threw a supporting arm around stenhart it was on the tip of his tongue to tell the men to go ahead with the prisoner and bring help from the ranch and a car for the injured man but he remembered jane he must go first himself the thought impelled jim to look back at sherwin and something in his white face made him recoil at the sight of his bound hands he beckoned cutler to him Is it nee necessary essary I 1 mean those handcuffs by jove I 1 saw what he did hes a brave man the sheriff nodded grimly cant take chances mr keller hes a jail breaker swore he was goin to kill stenhart I 1 aint so all fired clear in my mind what he meant to do with him he had him all trussed up with that ropel jim shut his teeth hard the suspicion was horrible but he remembered that he had telephoned for cutler he had given this man into their hands and there was jane they began the descent slowly jim supporting stenhart went ahead behind came the sheriff then the men bringing sherwin A heavy cloud had risen in the west its purple edges were swe sweeping upward the sunlight went out and as they entered the steep trail thunder rolled deeply across the hills the way narrow and difficult grew dim with the darkness of the approaching storm stenhart weak and stunned from his fall stumbled and set the stones rolling and tumbling ahead of them steady old chap said jim and his supporting arm tightened it seemed to him that stenhart suffered with some trouble of the mind as deep as the stiffness of his body not once had he lifted his dark eyes to look ahead of him and he was ghastly pale jim glancing back at the steep path saw the feet of the men following them before he saw their bodies the sheriff came next sherwin he knew was last with his guards overhead the trees locked their branches now and a dense thicket surrounded them they could hear the cataract less distinctly but the rush of wind in the treetops tree tops made a tumult jim steadying stenhart spoke slowly in his ear 1 I saw you you and sherwin he said quietly 1 I was out in the road theres an opening in the trees one glimpses the ravine how did you come to fall in that way max stenhart roused himself he lifted his head bead and tried to meet jims questioning eyes but he wavered and gasped 1 I he was going to kill me he said weakly that was it I 1 remember now sherwin was going to kill me it was the naked truth no mortal man knew how the change had swept into Sh erwins soul but jim keller had seen the rescue he saved your life at the risk of his own jim retorted bluntly I 1 he went down on a rope and brought you up and lost his chance to make a getaway stenhart Sten bart passed his hand over his eyes with a groping gesture 1 I 1 cant understand it he muttered he was going to kill me he hates mel then by heaven he did a great thing he risked his life for his worst enemy are you sure old chap quite sure that he was guilty Sten harts face took on an ashy whiteness his lips shook 1 I tell you he did it he cried wildly 1 I oh my god what lightning the heavens had been torn by a jagged flash the dark woods were for an instant ablaze with it then the roar of thunder rolled crashing around them echoed from height to height the very earth beneath their feet seemed to tremble with the reverberation stenhart reeled cove covering ring his eyes with his hands jim trying to steady him was suddenly swung aside by the other mans blind agony of terror the fall had broken his nerve he was almost hysterical the rain began to fall in a torrent and jim trying to catch up with him again came cam abreast of a windswept thicket he heard the men behind scrambling and shouting and thought of jane he had made her stay behind was she out there still holding the horses he grasped stenhart again and they came to the last lap of lit sangre de criste she whispered awed it is a judgment his dreams his bis terrible dreams the descent it was as dusk in the trail and the rain blinded but suddenly there was a tongue of flame from the thicket a sharp report and stenhart crumpled up and sagged into jims arms at first he did not sense what had happened it seemed a part of the tempest of Sten harts utter collapse and then he felt something warm and wet on his hands and knew it was blood good god hes shot jim gasped then he shouted but his voice was cut off by a volley of shots the men behind had been quicker than he they were crashing into the thicket stenhart meanwhile hung heavily I 1 I 1 y against him hes got me this time he murmured im shot jim he thought it was sherwin but the sheriff came up panting hit you did he here adams you hold up mr stenhart I 1 want you he hurried jim we killed th fellow who did it caught him running they pushed into the thicket rain dripping from their hats and soaking their clothes two of the posse were bending down over a prostrate figure the dead man had fallen face downward but they hey rolled him over and jim saw his distorted face its jordan he said soberly he meant to get me im afraid poor max is done for by george then weve killed two birds with one stone weve got the outlaw and the escaped convict in one baal sorry about mr stenhart maybe the men had better make a stretcher for or him eh some ones got to go to the ranch and get a car I 1 jim stopped short he saw jane coming she ran to him and clung about his neck forgetful of the quarrel oh jim I 1 thought you were hurt or her voice trailed she knew thatis was not sherwin for she had seen him standing grimly between his guards jim pointed to jordan its done with jane im going to have the poor devil decently buried jane ride back to las palomas get mac to send the big car and it if she can come through this send fanny im afraid poor max got it bad hes collapsed be quick jim she clung to him whispering you know what he did sherwin I 1 mean dont let them take him away do something say something oh jim you you must jim loosed her arms from his neck look here girlie ill promise to do all I 1 can but for heavens sake get out of this quick get a car stenhart may be dying it may mean a lot to all of us quick vim jim I 1 must speak to him P her brother caught her sternly by the arm and dragged her to the end of the thicket now go he said or I 1 swear ill have him sent off now jane caught the look on his face and saw beyond him the deathlike death like face of stenhart leaning against two deputies only partly conscious hes all in cried jim cant you see beat it the girl half crying ran out into the road the storm had nearly spent itself and she loosed tex from the sapling where she had tied him ane aar springing into the saddle turned his head homeward she must get help for stenhart her heart reproached her for the relief she felt when she heard the shots she had thought only of sherwin and her brother jordan had slipped out of her mind she imagined sherwin still bent on revenge though the miracle of that rescue seemed to lift him above such a thought they were both safe poor max well she could pity him yet if he knew he had sworn to a lie about his cousin it a judgment of god in a strange tumult of feeling she galloped home but all the while she seemed to vision sherwin going down into the abyss to save the life of his foe it was right it was noble it was like the man he had seemed to her and he had given up the sure hope of escape he was to go back to that prison which had been such an agony to his free spirit tears blinded her as tex thundered across the bridge and she saw old teresa and fanny on the piazza in great anxiety for the absent ones my heart you are dripping teresa cried seizing her as she dropped from the saddle but jane scarcely heard her call mac she said sharply panting her hands clasped tightly against her breast and you fanny youve got to go in the car jordan tried to shoot jim and wounded stenhart afraid hes dying 1 fanny suddenly white gasped jims safe jane nodded at last aware of old teresa the little brown woman dropped on her knees crossing her sell self sangre de criste she SS awed it is a judgment r dreams his terrible dreams jane looked down at her white lipped it was her own thought voiced again she shivered fanny had sped upon her errand and she was alone with the little old peon womb wom an the wind swept over them and she looked up storm clouds black and threatening were rolling around them and the shining peaks were swathed in a mantle of purple now and then a red flash tore the black mist asunder as though some hidden furnace was belching fire in the midst of the canyons jane who knew that sherwin had given up his hope of freedom to save a lite life felt suddenly a thrill of utter pride and thankfulness nothing mattered so much as that he had cleansed Us soul li oi they brought stenhart bac baca 1 las palomas through the driving storm the wind was snapping branches off the great trees and whipping the rain across the long slope in mighty gusts the big car came swiftly followed by the dripping horses and men of the posse jane watching from the veranda saw Sten harts white face and closed eyes as they bore him in but her own gaze was following the drenched figures going down to the mens quarters she made out Sh erwins tall head and then the others closed up about him she drew a quick breath of relief he be was here jim had not let them hurry him away then she was aware of other things she herself had telephoned for a doctor but it would be two hours or more before he could reach them in meanwhile ane jim and cutler had carried the wounded man in and laid him on his bed fanny quiet competent greatly conc concerned emed was doin doing all she could stenhart had lost consciousness but now under her ministrations he was slowly coming back to himself mechanically jane obeyed the young nurses behests behesta beh ests helping as best she could but her hands shook and her lips were v dy suppose while she was her herthe Z an 1 to took 0 k sherwin away sh she e w would nev er see him again t fanny banny quietly and deftly at wa work ork suddenly saw the girls face and she went ov over er to jim he was standing by the door helplessly staring at stenhart take jane away fanny whispered to him her kind eyes grave and admonishing ashes borne a good deal today I 1 can do it all now until the doctor comes if he comes in time jims face fell ayou you think she nodded hes going to die jim slowly perhaps it will be bad take her away TO BE CONTINUED |