The Spanish American. [volume], September 16, 1922, Image 2

About The Spanish American. [volume] (Roy, Mora Co., N.M.) 19??-19??

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THE SPANISH-AMERICAN.
III ?"wpí;?J
1 üll
Copyright by '
STEWART KIUO COMPANT
"HANDS UP!"-
SYNOPSIS. - Looking over Big
Muskeg, a seemingly impassable
swamp in the path of the Mlssa
tibi railroad, Joe Bostock, builder
of the line, and Wilton Carruthers,'
chief of engineers, are considering
the difficulties. A rifle shot instant,
ly kills Bostock and breaks Car
ruthers' arm. Carruthers tries to
carry the body to a post of the
Hudson's Bay company, where Mc
Donald is the factor. McDonald's
daughter. Molly, sees Carruthers
struggling In the muskeg and drags
him from the swamp, with his bur
den. Unaccountably, her father
objecst to her saving Carruthers.
Weakened by his wound and exer
tions, Carruthers Is disturbed by
the appearance of Tom Bowyer,
Bostock's business rival and per
sonal enemy. Bowyer insults Mol
ly, and Carruthers strikes him.
Carruthers declares his love for
Molly. She promises to be his wife.
Carruthers has to reach the town
of Clayton to attend a meeting at
which Bostock's enemies plan to
wrest control of the Missatibi from
him. Molly goes with him. They
are delayed by a storm. Attacked
by his dogs, Carruthers' life Is
saved by Molly, who Is forced to
kill the animals.
' CHAPTER IV Continued. 1
5
"You will, eh?" sneered the sergeant,
with a side glance at Myers. ( "Got any
sort of special pull In Clayton?"
'Enough to put the lid on you."
i "Well, 1 guess you won't be going
. Into Clayton yet a while," Jeered Pe
ters. "You're coining back to the Pas
with us and Joe."
Wilton realized that Myers had
come -up quietly upon the other side
of him. He had the bewildered feeling
of being In a trap.
"What the dovll do you mean by
that?" he shouted.
The sergeant thrust his . face for
ward Into his own, grinning ma
liciously. ' ! , 1
"It means' that I arrest you for the
wilful murder of Joe Bqstock," he an
swered. ."And I warn you, In the
king's name, that any statement you
make will be used against you."
Ai the same moment Wilton felt the
touch of steel against hi right wrist,
and swung bis hand free Just hi time
to -svold the nap of fpe handcuff.
Looking at Sergeant Peters after the
Instant's sideward glance, . be , found
himself covered by the heavy, regula
tion .45 Colt. Before he could st,ir,
Myers had seized him from behind and
made a violent effort toslip the hand
cuff upon his wrist. .',''
Wilton heard Molly scream.. The
.girl came running out of the room
with her hair tumbling about her
shoulders, and caught at Myers' arm.
The caretaker started toward them,
itlll holding the frying pan, In which
he was cooking the potatoes, his face
working with rage.
"You d n fools!" he shouted, laps
ing Into his vernacular In his excite
ment, "you got it all wrong ! Mr. Car
ruthers was Joe's best friend. So that
was your game when you come here last
night, eh? You'll get broke for this
yob. already, both of you fellers, I tell
jrou."
Molly was grasping at Myers' hand
s the constable still fumbled nerv
ously with the handcuff. "Won't you
men listen to common sense?" she
cried. "Mr. Carruthers Is the chief
engineer of the line. All his Interests
are bound up with It Why should he
want to rnurder Joe? He was Joe's
best friend. Everyone In Clayton can
tell you that. Why, he risked his own
'life to save him! - Somebody's put
you on the wrong track., They're try
ing to make use of yon. to keep him
out of the way . while they ruin the
line. And you'll pay for your mistake,
that's sure!" ,
And, with frenzied desperation, she
succeeded In pushing Myers awáy
from Wilton, and interposed between
him and the sergeant, whose revolver
pointed steadily at his forehead.
Peters scowled viciously at her.
"You can tell all that at the Inquest,"
'he snapped. "I've got orders to bring
you In, too. Get out of the way !"
At that the superhuman tension that
'held Wilton's rage In bounds seemel
'to snap. His ears were ringing, and a
spottcfl mist floated before his eyes.
Through this he saw Peters an Infinite
distance away, the revolver, now hard
ly larger than a pencil, pointing at his
'head. Behind the sergeant he saw An
dersen, a doll-like figure with a -toy
pan in his hand. He leaped at Peters,
heard the weapon discharged, nd was
conscious of the sting of powder on
his forehead and a commotion in his
hair.
Peters had shot to kill, but the
weapon, the least bit diverted by Mol
ly's Intervention, hJ.d been re-aimed
at Wilton's forehead a little hurriedly,
find he bad forgotten that the strong
ammunition, of which complaint had
frequently been mnde.by the police su
perintendents, was apt to throw' the
bullet high at short distances. .
Wilton shot his uninjured arm for
ward with a vicious swing that caught
the sergeant on the cheek and sent
him 'staggering backward. But the
force of the blow, communicated to
Wilton's left shoulder, wrenched the
wound and forced a groan of pain
frcaa hit 'Uw. Peters reeled, regained
úm mm
VICTOR ROUSSEAU
' " " ' ' w ;
his balance, and rushed foard agajn,
swinging the revolver aloft, butt fgr
ward, in his hand. . '
With his powerful build he could
have delivered a blow that would have
crushed Wilton's skull. But before the
btow fell Andersen had raised his pan
and brought It down edgewise upon
the sergeant's head, cutting the scalp
to the bone and drenching the man
with the boiling greaSe.
With a scream of pain Peters stum
bled forward, letting the revolver fall
from his hand, slipped In the grease
that had begun to ooze along the floor,
and fell full length on the . planks,
where he lay writhing In anguish, and
trying to clear his eyes of the melted
fat and the blood that streamed down
his forehead. f
Instantly Molly stooped, snatched tip
the .weapon, which had fallen at her
feet, and covered the constable, .who
had flung himself upon Wilton again.
Myers stopped dead and threw his
hands up automatically.
"Get over there!" said Molly briskly,
pointing toward the wall behind the
sergeant.
Myers obeyed Immediately, and took
his post against the wall, the picture
of confusion. Peters struggled slowly
to his feet. Has face and pea-jacket
were covered with a film of grease,
over which the blood from his wound
was trickling. The tables were turned
with dramatic completeness.
"You know what this means !" splut
tered the sergeant, trying to clear the
fat from his eyes.
"I do, and I'll take my chance." an
swered Wilton, gritting his teeth at the
pain from his Injured arm. The wound
did not seem to have reopened, but
eitlier his blow or the grasp of the
constable had displaced the broken
ends of the bone, and he could feel
them grating together at his slightest
movement. "Keep your hands up, both
of you !" he ordered. "Give me the re
volver, Molly! Got a rope, Andersen?"
"Well, I guess I have," grinned the
Swede.. He stepped to a packing case
behind the . stove, and brought out a
short coll 'of manila, ' which, with a
kitchen knife, he sliced Into four or
five lengths. , 1
"I tank I tie them to that beam,"
he said, indicating one of the vertical'
uprlehts of the wooden shack.
"At! right, Andersen," sijld Wilton.
"Tie 'em so that they can sit down.
They'll have some time to wait, and
they may get tired of standing."
He took the revolver from Molly and
slipped It Into his pocket, Peters let
loose a string of vicious oaths 3 An
dersen proceeded to truss him up, but
neither man offered any resistance.
The caretaker stepped back and looked
at his work with critical satisfaction.
"I tank you get to Clayton by to
morrow night, all right, Mr. Carruth
ers," he said with droll complacency,
putting some more potatoes In the pan.
Despite their elation, Molly, and
Wilton could eat but little, wash
ing down the food, which they could
hardly masticate, with gulps of coffee.
They were glad to get out Into the air.
Wilton made his way to the cache, un
locked It, and took out some frozen
fish for the dogs, which were giving
tongue vigorously Inside the stable.
"Here, Papillon !" he called. "I can't
make out what's the matter with those
men, lying In their blankets at this
"Keep Your Hands Up, Both of You!"
hour, with the dogs howling for their
breakfast,"' he said to Molly Indig
nantly. "They must have known I'd
feed them before starting on a run like
the one we've got before us. I suppose
they heard the row and got scared back
to bed," he added.
But no answer came to his call, and
suddenly Molly uttered a cry and
pointed. On the other side of the
stable were the tracks of a sleigh, ob
literated at the entrance by the falling
snow, which had drifted against the
building.
Wilton wrenched the doof open. His
sleigh and the dogs were gone, togeth
er with the rifle, shotgun and transit-
compass. The half-breeds had deserted
during the night. '
; "They must have guessed that those
men meant to arrest you, or else they
heard them talking," said Molly.
But Wilton had hurried to the horse
stalls, separated from the dog stable
by a stout door. He breathed a deep
sigh of relief. The second sleigh was
there. For a moment the thought of
possibilities had made his heart almost
stand still.
He came back grim and resolute.
"There's something pretty deep In all
this business," he said. "I know why
the men ran away. The sergeant gave
them the tip to. I saw him talking to
Papillon last night And that's the
reason why they wouldn't sleep In the
shack because they meant to run. I
suppose the policemen Were afraid
that they would make trouble, or try
to help us. But I can't fathom It
Those men acted like criminals. That's
not the way of the police."
He clenched his fist and swore un
der his breath. t
"I'll have those fellows broke for
this, If I have to go to Ottawa," he
said. "And I'm going to run down
those breeds. If it takes me a lifetime.
Í tell you this, Molly: It's all bound
up with Joe In some way or other, and
Tom Bowyer's at the bottom of It"
"But first remember . Kitty," said
Molly softly, laying her hand on Wil
ton's shoulder. .
Even the slight touch made him
wince, for the pain of his broken arm
was becoming unbearable. He realized
that In all probability he was In for a
long spell of Illness. He knew that
the bone would have to be reset His
head felt strangely light and the
ground seemed to slope downhill from
him In all directions. But he shut his
teeth hard, and would hot let Molly
guess. And a feverish energy took
possession of him. He must hold out
for the Journey, until' after the share
holders' meeting until he had " told
Kitty I ,
"We'll take the police sled and start
at once," he said to Molly. "It looks
as If a storm was brewing. I'll tell
Andersen to let those fellows go about
noon, and I'll leave the revolver with
him."
. Inside the shack they found the po
licemen eating their breakfast on the
floor, with the caretaker diligently
serving them. They were still bound,
but their hands were free.
"Turn them loose at noon, Ander
sen," Wilton feald. "Give them enough
slap-bang to carry them on their way.
Just turn them loose and see that they
haven't any dangerous weapons to do
you mischief with."
"You bet I take care for that,",
grinned the Swede.
Wilton let Andersen harness the
dogs, to save his strength for the jour
ney. In a few minutes the sjed was
ready, with the sleigh carrying Joe's
body attached behind, and the huskies,
harnessed, sitting docile in the snow,
awaiting the command to mush.
The sun was Just showing above the
horizon when Wilton and Molly start
ed on the second stage of their jour
ney to Clayton. .
CHAPTER V.
The Bitter Cup.
Hardly had they topped the rise be
hind which the cache was situated
when the full force of the wind caught
them. A blizzard was sweeping up,
and It grew In strength all that morn
ing, until by noon It was almost a hur
ricane. They pushed on doggedly un
til about one o'clock, avoiding the
temptation to rest at the auxiliary
caches which had been established
along this part of the road.
At one o'clock they came , to an
empty, cache and horse stable, which
had been built In anticipation of win
ter development work, and had formed
the hub of many radiating reconnols
sance roads. They had come no more
than six miles, and It was still a good
fifteen Into Clayton. By this time the
blizzard had Increased to an Intense
violence, driving great sheets of snow
along the road. It was Impossible to
face such a hurricane any longer. .
"We'll have to wait till this lets up
a bit Molly," said Wilton.
The little shack, hardly more than
four walls and a roof, was unoccupied.
Wilton broke down the door and went
In. He found the key of the stable,
unlocked It, and unharnessed the dogs.
He drove them In and shut the door.
Then he took the blankets out of the
sleigh and went Into the shack.
To build a fire was Impassible, but
thev ate biscuit and tinned beef, wash
ing It down with water.
"It'll have to let up soon," said Wil
ton. "If it doesn't we'll Just have
to face It again."
A dozen times he had regretted hav
ing yielded to her "Insistence to ac
company him. Traveling In- that
weather was hard on a man, let alone
a girl such as Molly. He looked at
her In wonder as he saw her apparent
unconcern, the courage with which she
faced the difficulties of the Journey.
But his fears were centered chiefly
on Kitty. Suppose he couldn't go on !
Suppose he couldn't be at the share
holders' meeting on the morrow 1
Toward the middle of the afternoon
the wind seemed to have lessened,
though the driven snow still swept In
blinding clouds along the road. It ,
might bt possible to reach Clayton
soon after nightfall.
"I think we might try again, Molly,"
he said. , ...
T think so, Will," she answered.
He caught hit to him. "You ar the
bravest woman I know," he said, kiss
ing her. "We must succeed for Kit
ty's sake." !
She kissed him back. "Of coursl
we shall, W1Í1, dear," she answered.
Wilton went Into the stable and
called the dogs. They were lying with
their noses together, and at his en
trance sprang to (helr feet with men
acing growls. They knew very well
what his advent portended, and it was
plain, that their wolfish temper was
thoroughly aroused.
Wilton had handled a Tefractory
pack once before. He. knew that quick
action .was necessary. He stepped
forward, and, as the gleaming Jaws
gaped at him, and the animals pre
pared to spring, snarling and quiver
ing with rage, he brought his whip
across the leader's nose with all his
strength.
. immediately, with maddened -yells,
the pack leaped at him. Wilton swung
right and left with the whip, and then,
Immediately, Witn maddened Yells,
the Pack Leaped at Him.
retreating till his back was against
the' wall of the shack, he laid about
him with the shortened" stock.
With gaping Jaws and wicked, blood
shot eyes, the pack came on again and
again, leaping at him, tearing at his
clothes ; one sank its fangs Into his
right hand, and, as he freed himself
with a smashing blow, the others were
upon him sideward.
. In an Instant he was struggling wltü
his one hand against the heavy bodies
that bore him back, shielding his
throat thrusting the whhpstock Into
the red, cavernous Jaws, while the an
guish from his wrenched shoulder al
most made him scream with pain.
Everything was swimming round
him. They had him down. Their bel
lowing howls grew fainter In his ears.
Mechanically he kept his right hand
at his throat. The left, torn from the
sling, flopped grotesquely in front of
him. He heard the click of the fangs
that met In It, and felt no pain. He
was swooning.
Suddenly he heard the "snap-snaj)"
of a revolver. A leaping body seemed
to stop short In the air, and tumbled
on him, knocking him on his face.
Dimly he heard the discharge of the
weapon again. And then, out of a
semi-stupor, Molly's face, and her
tears upon his cheeks.
She was kneeling beside htm upon
the floor of the stable, stanching the
blood from his wounds with a strip
torn from her petticoat. Upon the
floor lay three of the dogs, dead. Two
more were writhing and moaning In a
distant corner. 'Wilton looked up. .
Molly bowed her face upon his and
broke Into hysterical waeplng. It was
the first sign of weakness he had ever
seen In her. He -held her In his right
arm. fie saw that his blood had
stained her hands, her clothing.
"Molly," he said weakly, "Molly"
She wept In utter hopelessness. "It
Is useless, Will," she sobbed. "Let us
die here. We can't go on. They have
torn you. Your arm is broken again.
Oh, the snow the snow " ..
She , seemed to have completely
broken down. She -crouched beside
him, her whole body shaken by her
sobs. And in his apathy It seemed to
him good to He there, with Molly at
his side, till he grew stronger, or
"Molly! Remember Kitty and
Joe!" ' .
His .words seemed to galvanize her
back to courage. She got up. Her
face grew suddenly composed. With
streaming eyid she bandaged up his
wounds. She Improvised another sling,
to hold his arm.
"I shall walk Into Clayton," she said.
"Ybu must He In the shack. Help will
come by noon tomorrow, perhaps
sooner."
"Seven miles yet, and the
meeting's at nine," he said. "I
can't make It, Molly." .
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Repulsive Birds.
, The greatest bird gourmand Is the
vulture of southeast Europe. Seven
vultures can strip the carcass of a
horse In half an hour. After such a
meal they can fly only a few yards.
They stand with puffed-out bodies,
drooping wings, and blood-shot 'yet,
uttering hideous cries.
HRflffl ?W
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MKk3
Most Unwelcome Truth.
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EL. ( 01
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