bo to risk leaving tUe road altogether
and dashing 08 Into apace . . .
And It >u Impossible to atop th?j
cyc%? so brief was all bla warning.
In desperation Alan chose the outilde
of the road; and for the apace of a
?Ingle heartbeat thought that he might
possibly make It. but wltS "It 7 ^oxt
realised that b* would not ? seeing the
front wheel awing off over the lip of
the slope.
At this he acted sharply Nwd upon
ahear Instinct. Aa the cycle left the
road altogfc'hcr he rlaked a broken
knee by releasing his grasp of the
handlebars and straightening out his
lac and driving it down forcibly
against the roadbed. The effect of this
waa to lift him bodti? from the aad
dle: the machine sfept from beneslb
hltn like some strange projectile
burled from the bore of a great gun;
and Rose craabed against hi in In the
same fraction of a second.
Headlong they plunged aa one nnwn
" tha blHsM*. struck Its shelving sv-r
faoe a good twenty feet from the brink
Triaa W? LlfUd From the Cjtr and Carried into th? Hot*!.
g Sacrifice.
But Tom Barcui hadn't failed to
profit by the warning Implicit la Atta'a
accident ? .
Alan, ike told blmeolf ahrewdly,
would never bare ran bla cycle at to
foolhardy a pace without good rea
son: and under the ciroumetancea good
roaaon waa aynonymoua aolely with
purault.
Ha waa therefore on the alert, quick
to aaa the racing autocapMle. when It
came hurtling round the bend, and In
the Mrr nick of time graaped Judltha
arm and a^ung bar bodily with him
back out of bam'i way, jnld the
treea that bordered tt>e taaide of the
road.
Of neceaalty hit motorcycle ?offered.
Abandoned In the middle of Cte rood.
It waa atrock by the buff era of the
motir car and flung aalde da If It had
b<*n nothing more ponderable than ?
I daa of atraW? landing half-way down
the embankment, a hopeleaa tangle of
?haltered tubing and twlatod wire. .
At flrat bluah the ^wMmHalwa
teamed aurprlalng. that the ear did
of the road, and flying apart tumbled
their aepanue . waya do*n the re
main dor of. the drop and Into tbe|
friendly aheiier of ttio underbrush.
Something nearly mlraculoua aaved
them whole. Beyond a tew acmtche*
and brnlaea and a nevero shaking np,
they earaped unharmed. And they
wars picking themselves up'aad re
gaining their breatb and re-collecting
their acattared wlta when, wl>h Ini
petua no leas terrlfllc than their own
had b*n, the punning motor car
awung round the bend at. t hurled It
aelf directly at the two who remained 1
upon the road- above.
I CHAPTER XLIX.
?
delay. Tbe racing ear wu tardr out
of sight wjieu ho sprang (rom tbe
sheltering trees and, Judith at his
hsstl. nelted headlong down tbe alope
to tbe spot where tbv others bad van
ished
To find thfcm not only allvo but
practical!/ unscathed affected that
loyal aoul almoet to tears
But When congratulations bad beea
mutually exchanged, there fell an
awkward pause. The wee of tbe fcur
sought one another's ruefully, each
pair quick wlU) the tinuttered but In
exorable inquiry: What neat?
In tho outcome, It was Mr. Baroua
who advanced the suggestion which
waa adopted ? though thla waa Its re
ception more through lack of a better,
than for any actual appeal intrinsic
In the proposition. ' ?
"When we broke down, I saw," he
ventured, with a backward jerk .of
his thumb to lndlcr^c the road, "a can
yon brandling off from thla one about
a quarter of s, mile orer yonder. It It's
all the ?ame to you people, We might
atroU round "that way and see. what Its
natural attractlona may be? It any.
Bat It's sore a 'mighty poor sort of a
can i ? -o that doesn't lead anywhere ?
and nothing could possibly be mora
fatiguing to ,our mercurial and rest
leas tempers than to squat down here
and (old our hands In our laps and
wait for something to turn up? and
anyway \>e can't be worse off than wa
are ? and ? "
"gufflclentl" Mr. Law Interrupted
with a bleak smile.
Crooking a deferential arm, Barcua
oflcr;d It to Judith.
"Everything- U ? loveiyar the formal
garden,"' he Insisted ? "to aweetly ro
mantic. Are you (?me for an 141*
M.unt-r, Just to while the Idle M?i
away?'
Tha women fyind spirit enough (or
n wan anile aa she tucked her hand
gratefully beneath hla arm.
"You'ro the cheerfuleat aoul I over
tact," ahe said demurely. "What I'm
going to do without you when ? If ever
? wo get out of th!? awful bualneaa,
goodness only knows."
"Let's talk of ftomethlng else," he
suggested hazily.
' "Unless, -f course," ahe pursued
with unbroken gravity, "I marry
'
"Heaven." the young man prayed
fervently, "fortmd!"
"Thaffla hardly gallant-r."
"I mean ? heaven forfend that you
should throw yourself away!"
"Humph!" she mused. *Pcrhaps
you're r'rtt"
Their banter waa not without a
subtle object, namely, to reassure the
girl who followed, supported by her
lover's arm-"
In the coarse of the last 1< hoar*
Roso'a Jealousy of her slater's new
found friendliness with Alan had
become aontely evident The least
courtesy which circumstances now.
and again demanded that be ihow'
Judith or seem a boor, wa# enough
V> cloud the" countenanoe of Alan's
betrothed. ?. U ... .
Nor, Indeed. w4a Rom aUotether
deetltuto of plau.lbl, cica?e tor Ul*
feeling. It ni undeniable that bo
jhMM Abn ud Judith a bond of aym
pathjr bad grown out of the trial* and
hardships they ha#, of UU Buffered
In common. It. waa undeniable? but
e*e* In bU raoet ? mrlrale though ta
>U? denied It fierce!/. Judith, da
the other hand. rMoaif acko-swledgod
?' tree* to hereelf. but aecreOy <Ja
rtra? a etrangaly a it act and poignant
pleaaura ftw U>e knowledge that >he
toted 10 raadljr. and hopeleaaty,
SfUKSmf. ?** hoffOedd $*M
? ' ' . 1 ' 11 .1
be MeorW her. and ? ?ui?kly, *n?
that the Mtcrlflcs It ahould dMWd
would be complete. . . .
Mow prayers are sometUnva. an
ew cred when ths boon crated la' topd
for the aouL . . .
Slowly aod painfully these lour
toiled alone an obeeuxe trail that fol
lowed the Winding! of the Utile river,
until ? branch (truck Into Ike main
stream and so discovered to them yet
another trail leading Into the west
ward 'canyon.
; Then again slowly and painfully
they plodded on following blindly an
other trail blazed by Fates aa blind as
WW
Above them, on the road they had
abandoned, the crimson raoer-doobled
back to the point where It had passed
Judith and liarcua; Its MeaMoU de
scended, explored; and cam* present
ly upon the trail of the fugitives.
Bloodhound* oould not hate set
',';J down upon a scent with mora
good will and eagerness than Mr. Mar
rophat and hla faithful aide.
The sun was Ugh and kjaslng above
the canyon when the pursuit cauie
within rise' shot of the ekaac.
A spiteful shot roused the quar
tet from a pause of lethargic dltaay
dae to tardy appreciation of the bet
that they had penetrated wlUessly al
most to the end of a blind alley.
A hasty oouasll of war armed Alan
with Judith's revolver and poated him1
behind a bowlder commanding the ap
proaches to the chasm. Thf weapon,
a powerful .45, had a range sufficient
to numb the Impetuosity of th* as
sassins and keep them under cover
mm* **!-*?' "?? ^-*1^***'" es
says the fugitives were making to
compass an escape.
For In the ahed behind an abandoned
log cabin? souvenir, no doubt, of some
forgotten prospector? Baireus had un
earthed a length of afoot hempeu rope.
With the aid of a rusty shovel he
had hacked this Into two equal lengths.
One of these lengths he prooaiMed to
make fast aroond Ms own waist, then
around Rose's. The other be left to
be similarly employed by Alan and
Jadlth. For it was agreed that they
must climb, and while tb* cliff offered
no problem to daunt a mountain climb
er of any pretensions. It w*a consid
ered best that the fugitive* should be
hitched up la pairs against any pos
sibility of a allp. Th* ? pairing had
been determined by the fact that
Barcns boasted some slight experience
In mountaineering, while SoM r.-as
plainly the most exhausted of the two
women, the least able to help herself
In an emergency.
He had worked his cautious way,
with th* girl in tow, to a point mid
way ,up the fao* of the cliff, following,
a long diagonal that provided the eer
iest climbing, whan Alan atole back
to Judith and reported that, on the
evidence of observation and bdlaf. he
waa convinced that the pursalt had
turned fcack? perhaps for want of am
munition, perhap* to execute some
leaa hazardous attempt upon th* Uvea
of th* fugitives.
Without delay. then, ho made ' the
tree end ot the rope fait around ilia
own waist, and, following tljc war Bar
cue bad chosen, began the ascent.
Two-lhlrda of the climb bad been
accomplished, and Rose and Barcus
had arrived In safety at the top, be
fore the temptation to look down
proved Irresistible.
Immediately beneath bia heels the
faco of the ellB was deepl7 hollowed
oat, leaving a drop ot SO test to a
shelving ledge of mx ale as steep as a
roof. -ri?jse eavA? perhaps another
f.fly iL'et below? Jutted out over an
other fall ot a hundred feet.
Alan shuddered and swallowed hard
baton resuming the ascent
Another 10 feet brought bim to
a ledge quite elx feet wide, ottering a
broad and easy path to the summit
Ha gained this with a prayer of heart
felt relief and was on the point ot
rising to his feet when a cry of horror
from Barcus and a acraam of Wrroi
tram Boa*; watching over the upper
edge, warned him barely to lime to
enablo bim to snatch at add grasp a
knob of .rock boforo Judith's weight
tautened the* royo between tham and
jerked Alan'a legs from under him.
His feet and legs kicked Us empty
air beyond the lip ot the ledge, be
lay ffcee downward, clutching desper
ately the knob of rock, praying that. it
might not come away in his ftasp,
that bis grasp islght hold, that Baretjj.
might am*? in time
both. The rope waa cutting into Us
watat like * dull knife. Tke drag ol
Judith's body was frlghtfgt He could
feel her swinging Ilka a rtndulum at
the end at Its SO feet. ??d could
Imagine tat too vlvlflf. what woulo
happen If- the rope, should prove
fanltjL .& . X &i&i;} - O XJ
The tall ot JO- feet to the shale
roof waa nothing. What would fol
low would, however, spall doaih. The
?t of her body would set thwj
ttv raoUtm, llko iralcache
and beyond the eaves waa only emptt
neaa and the bowlder-strewn bed ot
titf chasm, a hundred feat below I
The sweat poured from Us face Uke
raln.^Hls^swee ststrtad In ^ their sc*k
L ? ?
?? - 1 y: r
Mdlth had somehow ?c?p?l bring
prccipttatcd orer the ma* of the
(hale roof roused him -and fin him
B?rr? enough to muffle the climb.
.' -It ?u tru#. when he found courac*
to look a&d mo for him??l(, ah* Uy
within thro* yards of the brink **?
pine, her face uplifted to the ?un? uo-' '
(tlrrtw; ehe dared not etlr; a ilnxl*
His Scrum* Brought Attet ida^oa.
moTcmeat *u calculated to Mi the
abate DM agsiU IB auUuo. ? t ?
I Painfully h? reiUied that It U. Bar
cos asserted, aho had deliberately eat
tha rqpo- herself, Judith had offered
op her lit* to spare his ova.
CHAPTER L.
Retrlbutlon.
. And ret the Terr consciousness ot
the girl's danger was all the stimu
lant that Alas needed to recall him to
himself.
Once arrived with Barcua at the top
ot the cliff, he lost no time la setting
about preparattoas to effect her res
cue.
In thla bualneaa Fortune amlled upon
him, as It wet*, by predisposition
< A broad roaftpay ran alone tha top
of the precipice, turning off at a
little distance to the right, to descend
tha mountainside.* And Just beyond
this turning Providence had chosen
to locate tha camp of a hydnnllc min
ing outfit
Alan's appearance at the top, In
face, was coincident with tha arrlrel
at that point of half a doaen excited
miners; and he had no mora than
voiced his demands than three of their
number were hastening back to the
camp to procure rope and mora bands.
Within five minutes Alan, against
tha protests ot Boaa and Bareus, was
bolng lowered over the edge and down
to the ahala roof on which ha land
ed at a spot far to one aide of Judith,
to escape all danger of sending a sec
ond landslide down upon her.
Picking his way carefully down to
the very brink, Alan edged along this,
more than once saved a fall to death
only by tha rope, until he stood Im
mediately below Judith.
Then pausing, he Instructed her
earefally, toaaed tSe end of tha rope
Into her hands, and whan aha had
wound It twice round her arm, crept
np to her aide and helped her make It
faat about her body.
Hla signal to ibe miners that all
was well edseed prompt raaponse.
Tnere Was a giddy Interval In whlcu
tha two swung perilously ? between
heaves and earth.' Than they stood
once more la safety.
Supported by e7mpalMie -hands,
the quartet staggered lata oaan,
their story, aa condensed by Bareus
<ak? breathlessly confirmed by Also,
already winning them mthuatasUc
champions. ?
L ?W ?*.
m
? w
E&msssm
Sylvania Woods, of
fcftNN
y tec* and bead v
e-pairt' would kill n* H|
o! my hou?cwork. After taking three I
, 1 began to feel tike a new woman. I soon
ana now, I do all my housework,
'- water milt
The Woman's
I
Va ? I 841,1 i8* Carillfl when ? feeI ^HWo bad,
??
tonic. Yw Mnnot msike a mistake In trying Cardul
tor your trouble. l>. has been helping weak, ailing
women for more than fifty years.
Get a Bottle Today!
i * $ *
W
cSW -ii"r><iwvv)<JW- ,11
EMU
(located in Brick Store at Warehouse)
NOW OPEN' FOR
4
liiy.
We carry a complete fftock.of Beef, Pork, Sausage, Fish aad
Country Produce; also a general line of Fancy Groceries.
We invite die patronage of everybody in town and country.
We will pay the highest market price for country produce.
.. Bring iM your chickens and eggs. :' v ' .
Remember friends, oar place will be kept in a perfect Sani
tary condition. Phone us your orders they will receive our
. Prompt and PerMnal Attention.
p|r. Zeb Byoura, who is an expert meat carver, will take
I pleasure in serving you to the best of his ability.
?It * ,.'<i?rw?1v b?r. -.f.l. ?"
> '?
.
134
Orders delivered in town
2%
5 ?' ?
H2
m
^Loyd Horton
' Attorney-Ai-I<?w - W
Room* Horton Building
. ? Practices w:icr#v?r ?ci?
vice* art dulrcd.
FarrtvHle, N.^arotln*.
FARMV1LLE LODGE.
?X 1. 0; 0, P. No. 373.
Meets every Monilny niehi in
K. of P. hall in the Horton Build
ing. All visiting Brothers wel
v . ?
FARMVILLE LODGE. No. 218
M K. of P.
Meets Every Tpesdsy Night in
their Hall in Horton Bid*. - 1
VI?fangBrother?Weteoine
DR. PAUL E. JQNES
'K &X; DENTl^ ;,l
? : Office in Un* BuUdin* ? $
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