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m. - NOVELIZED F I ~ll , i pnionnc o cnouuc. 4. ? ^ SYNOPSIS. ! John Carr, miner, commits suicide. His r will directs his nephews, John Davis and (Hawk Morgan, to work his gold mine j and names them as joint guardians of his adopted daughter, Ethel. He specifies that certain sums shall be paid to Ethel, his nephews and two servants and that the remaining profits shall be used for the benefit of the John Carr Foundation .lor the support of war widows and orphans. Morgan proposes disregarding the latter clause and dividing the profits. He quarrels with Davis over the proposition and later attempts his life. ! Morgan, on the roof of the lean-to, iagaln thrusts with his lance at the [breast of the prostrate John npon his [bunk below. Again the point of the * ?reat bowie knife just grazed him as rjohn, by a desperate twist of his arm. diverted it, allowing It to plunge lb self into the mattress upon which he lay. Jpst as the knife buried itself In . tbe mattress It was violently swayed Mdewise and stood there quivering, as though the long rake handle to which was strapped had been released by 1 J~ ?-V. ine luuius w invjjLi iiau uciu 11 uvui above. 1 As Morgan upon the roof made his last shove with the lance at the one below whom he was endeavoring to A slay, from out of the darkness a lariat came whistling and tightened over his V shoulders as he knelt there. From .the ground there came a vicious jerk [ Closed With His Treacherous Enemy, j \ ; upon the rope, and the would-be as* :X ^sassin came tumbling to the earth, . [where he lay stunned In a drift of - snow. I i Within the lean-to Davis, now that ^the attack upon him had ceased, quick-1 fly threw off the entangling blanket and 'got upon his feet Then pulling on his ! boots he picked up his gun, rushed tc a low window and threw it open, v Through the darkness he obtained 1 a momentary glance of & rapidly van^ jishing human figure as it sped up the ! mountain side. The window from ; which he looked was upon the side of ithe lean-to, while the senseless Hawk | Morgan was lying across the end. j Pausing only long enough to fix the j picture of the fleeing man in his mind, *iJohn leaped through the window and ; ibtft6d in hot pursuit Morgan regaining his senses just at / ithis moment slowly raised himself to j a sitting posture in the drift. The tcold air and snow had swept the fog jof insensibility from his brain and (for a few seconds he remained silently j watching the figure of John as it was j swallowed up by the darkness. Then _ ; arising he threw off the lariat that [had caused him his tumble and once jmore scrambled to the lean-to's top. !From here he pulled out the lance, released the roof board and tossing the lance toward the barn sprang to the . v [ground and started in pursuit of f Davis. Taking a short cut which he had -noticed that afternoon, Hawk gained j rapidly upon the one he was pursuing, [the result being that presently he was; tclose upon the other's heels. It quick-1 ;Iy became apparent that the strange : figure which was in the lead knew the mountain side perfectly, for despite the strenuous endeavors of Davis the other man a little more than held ;hls own in the flight It was but a few . moments later that the stranger gained !the summit of the ridge, where for a [fleeting instant he was outlined against ^ ; the sky, then with a leap he vanished. In that second when he had been re vealed clearly Davis had raised his -gun, but before he could pull the trigger the leap and disappearance had icome and the weapon fell unused to \ his side. . s ; n He thrust the pistol back into his t, belt and once again pressed on, closely . followed by the Hawk. He reached the summit of the ridge and -looked about but no one was in sight. And in that moment the Hawk, creeping up on him from behind, gave him a violent push. With a cry and J * a futile upflinging of his arms, John j reeled and disappeared even as sud I denly as hid the one who had preceded him. For an instant Hawk Morgan stood 9 the brow of the cliff and looked IL5'/ ri?5fivit!\J ROM VITAGRAPH PI down Hie dizzy descent where his victim had disappeared, then with a brutal laugh he turned and began his descent to the cabin. Arriving at the place where he had been tumbled unconscious In the drift i he picked up the lance from the place I where he had cast it and hastily entered the barn. Passing into the harness room he unbound the bowie-knife 'fnswv-i fkn knnAln ft# tkn palro fftSSPf xiuiii iiic uauuic ui iuc tuuv) the handle aside and restored the i deadly blade to its sheath upon the | wall. Then with a sweep of his hand he removed the bandana handkerchief I which had concealed his face, after ! which he took off the fur coat of the old prospector, Carr, and once more stood revealed clad In his own apparel. i Within the living room of the cabin ! Rainface, still lay sleeping upon the I floor by the fireplace. Well advanced In years and wrinkled as the palm of one's hand, he slept profoundly, a light covering over him. Through the window in the lean-to out of which John , Davis had leaped In his pursuit of i the fleeing stranger a strong draft of j the cold mountain air came rushing, ! creeping beneath the crack between ! the loosely fitting door and floor of ! the room. At once the temperature | of the inner room became sensibly j j reduced, and as the chill fell upon j | Rainface he drew his light blanket) j closer in his sleep, grew quiet again \ for a moment, then slowly awoke and' sat up. As his keen old eyes roved j about the room they apparently alighted upon something that aroused his] suspicion, for arising silently he passed i j to the door leading into -the lean-to,! listened, knocked gently, then as there; was no response he turned the knob and pushed the door ajar. Cautiously he scanned the interior, j Nobody was there and entering he J crossed the room and peered out of the open window. Once more noth- ; lug unusual met his gaze. Without it was both snowing and j blowing and through the flying flakes j he saw no disturbance of the snowj which spread the ground. Wondering what had become of Davis he came] back into the living room, closing the! door of. the lean-to behind him and. approached the door of the room ijij which Ethel slept. For a moment he j hesitated, then raised his hand and knocked. I / *> * Half a mile away from the cabin1 and high up in the face of a cliff, screened from observation above by a big overhang and also sheltered from! ! sight from the other side by a lip of I ragged rock, a small cave had burrowed'itself into the side of the mountain. From a tiny ledge of rock where it had been placed, a lantern cast its yellow flood of light over the stone walls and floor of the place. Standing in the center of the room was a man who was smooth shaven, wrinkled and old; the sole occupant of this hidden retreat; the Recluse of Mys-i tefy Mountain. As he stood panting from his ef-J forts of the run and after detaching, the rope by which he had gained this place after escaping from Davis his eyes chanced to glance from the en- i trance and to the side of the precipitous descent close at hand, and an in- ] voluntary gasp escaped him. For down the side of rock the body of a man was plunging in a fall that seemed must result in certain death. ; Throwing his rope in a swift turn about a iuttine piece of rock, he grasped both ends firmly and begab: letting himself down. Reaching a i place where he could secure footing he released the end of the rope that j he had been paying out, and drawing; it to him threw it in loose loops over! his arm. Then running to the edge j of the ledge upon which he had fouift, a foothold he looked down just in; time to see John bringing up in a: small avalanche of snow. Swiftly the Hermit acted. Again i making his rope fast he lowered him'1 self to the pile of snow and approach- j Ing the prostrate form bent over it. j Faint signs of life were visible, and1 taking a hitch around the silent figurej he climbed back to the mouth of his cave and began hauling the limp form up. It was a difficult task and few i men could have performed it, but the arms of the old Hermit of the Mountain were like bars of iron, and foot K*. hnfdon nrnsp At thp pnd UJ IWt LliV UUi U> V of several minutes of severe labor, the limp form was deposited upon the floor of the cave. Again bending over the one whom he had elevated to this place, the old Hermit carefully examined him. The heart was still beating and the breath ot life was parting the lips. No bones seemed to be broken, and after a brief examination the Hermit straightened himself up. "He isn't going to die," he murmured. "He is young and tough a> a hickory knot. He probably hit h:> head against something in that tumble and for the time beiDg is knocked out. J5*^c he will come out of it all right." For a moment he stood looking | r/w * Cyrus Tfov HOTO PLAY clown at the other silently, then spoke aloud again in the low tones of one who has long lived in great solitudes. "I ain't certain just how he is going to take this when he come to, so I guess I'd better be on the safe side. He is liable to start in being rough if he has a chance, therefore ru truss him up for the time being until I can find out how he wants to act. Might as well tie a handkerchief over his face, too, in case he should be a mite curious or want to start trouble." Hoisting the still motionless one upon his back, he started down a small tunnel which evidently had been blasted from the rear of the cave. * Back in the living room of the cabin Rainface, knocking at the door of Ethel's room, listened a moment for a response from within. None came and for a second time his knuckles fell upon the panel. Hearing him this time the girl listened, sat up in her bed and then called out demanding to know who was there. The voice of the old Indian came faintly through the door. "Me, Rainface, knock. Young chief ?he gone." With a little cry Ethel sprang from the bed. Thrusting her feet into her slippers, she drew on a wrap and throwing the door ajar breathlessly asked what had happened. Silently he led to the lean-to, opened the door and rmfnf-eri 1 at thp bed. Then Still Un speaking but indicating by motions that the window had been open he stood immobile as he watched her face. Greatly alarmed and wholly puzzled at the mystery of it all, the girl stepped back into the living room and opened the outside door. A flurry of snow struck her in the face. She turned to Rainface. "Fire your gun. That will brina Mr. Morgan, and maybe Mr. Davis is with him." With a nod the Indian drew his weapon and fired twice into the night" Within the harness room Morgan, hearing the reports and knowing that the alarm was raised, smiled grimly ah he drew on his coat. Leaving it unopened as though he had responded with the greatest of haste, he rushed out in the direction,* of the cabin, throwing open the door and entering "What is the matter? I heard the shots and came as quickly as I could," he exclaimed as he looked into the agitated face of the girl. Quickly she approached him. "Mr. Davis is gone. Wasn't he with you? Haven't you seen him?" As he was about to reply a sound as ot a stone thrown against the door caused them to wheel with a start. For an instant they stood looking into each other's face, then striding to the dooi Morgan threw it open, and the form of Davis lurched heavily into the room. Quickly Morgan and Iwiinface grasped him, and closing the door laid him on a robe before the fire. Clasping hei hands in her anxiety Ethel bent over him, while Rainface severed the bonds by which the Hermit had bound him before he had brought him there and hurled the stone against the building. Bridget, awakened by the commotion | i " 'Vm ypB ' "V' ' *'' * :'. >' -?; ' : , ^: '. . : ' '^/ ^y ^ Broke Beneath His Weight. came rushing into the room, her hair in curl papers and a blanket thrown about her, while Rainface, acting upoi the orders of Morgan, brought a bot-j tie of whisky from a locker and J pressed it to Davis' lips. Keviyed bj the stimulant, the patient sat up. j "Tell us what happened to you,' j cried Ethel as the victim of the Hawk'}; treachery was once more able t< speak. He shook his head. "It is almost as much of a mysterj; to me as it can be to you. I found j myself attacked in the night by some ; one who was trying to spear me fronj the roof of the lean-to. Somehow 3 managed to save myself, then as th<j attack ceased. I jumped from the bunt j and looked out of the window. I sa\t, a figure fleeing up the mountain an< j pursued it. All at cnce it vanished I over a rhff, and as I stood there won dering, something thrust me violently from behind. I fell and knew noth mr. v'nsend Dn CowiftEt, 1015), bp VuwrajjH ing-more until I opened my e?es here." Morgan, listening, said nothing until the other finished, then lighted a cigarette. "You must have had a bad dream, old man. and walked in your sleep until you fell over the cliff," he said cynically. Davis turned upon him. . "It was nothing of the kind, Hawk Morgan. If that were so, how did I manage to tie myself up and bring myself here?" "Wish I knew," returned the other, for once truthful. He looked at his watch. "Seven o'clock. I'll go and wash myself for breakfast" Out he went leaving them to puzzle out the strange occurrence. Breakfast finished, Rainface hitched a sleigh to take Bridget to the settlement to restock her larder. As they were departing Morgan gave the Indian a letter with instruction to post It, and as they disappeared down the trail he re-entered the harness room. Taking a bow from the wall he strung it tested It then picked up an arrow with a long, keen edge. Drawing, it to the head he sent it whizzing across the room, wliere it buried itself for several Inches in the | wood. He withdrew it looking at the I hole it had made with satisfaction. "Bows make no noise, and arrows do the work as well as bullets," he murmured as he again began donning j his disguise of the handkerchief and ' lur coat. weaving tne narness rwm ] he crept cautiously to the window of j the living room and peered within. | Davis was bent over a table writing, ; his back to the prowler, and satisfied with what he saw Hawk stepped to the kitchen window. A quick glance showed him Ethel within, putting the final polishing touches upon a shining aluminum frying pan. So bright was the dish that she was holding it be! fore her face and smiling at the rej flection which she saw within it, and j satisfied that she had not observed ! him the man sneaked back to the I window of the living room. Silently sliding the window a short distance ! aside he fixed the notch of the ar1 row to the string and bent the bow, his cold eyes fastened upon the unsuspecting one at the table. As the arrow head pointed Itself at the middle of Davis' back, Ethel, wholly unaware of what was taking place quietly entered the room with the shining pan. Seeing John at the | table absorbed in his writing, and suddenly possessed with the mischievous j idea of thrusting the pan between his ; face and the paper so that he would , unexpectedly be confronted by his own image, she advanced daintily on tip; toe toward him, the utensil thrust | out Close behind the back of Davis, from i the side of her eye she caught a I glimpse of the man at the window j with, the drawn bow and deadly ari row point aimed with murderous in| tent. Quick as a flash she leaped i, forward with the intention of interposing her own body between the point i tho nnoiKnopHnf nnp. and as she ami ULIV uuwuv|/vvv.^0 v ? I did so Hawk loosed the shaft. Whlzj zing, it sped upon its errand, encounter| Ing the outthrust metal pan and pierc: ing it to half the length of the long head. Aroused by the involuntary cry of the girl Davis sprang to his feet just j in time to catch Ethel, as overcome by *he shock of it all, she fell forward unconscious in his arms. Mor! gan, seeing that his design had failed, j threw his coat and bow aside, and whipping the handkerchief from his i face, drew his pistol and deliberately fired a shot at his own forearm, then ! two more into the air. Then running , a.-ound the house he once more appeared before the front door where he picked up the bow and coat, and I w'.th a face apparently much worried, ! burst into the room where Davis was j still supporting the girl. ' "Are you all safe?" he demanded i quickly. Davis nodded. | "Yes, why? What happened?' The i Hawk drew a long breath. "I saw a man, face covered by a handkerchief, standing at that window drawing a bow. Just as he let go I fined. He dropped the bow, whipped out a gun and returned the shot. Then he ran. I fired, but he got away leaving the coat and bow." He held out his left arm with a laugh. "He lust raked my arm, but it doesn't amount to much." The girl gave a cry.* 'Til heal It for you. But that coat and bow?one belonged to Uncle and the other to Rainface. They were kept in the harness room." "Somebody must have stolen them i In my absence," said Morgan coolly. "You and I had better stick together. Davis. Maybe it was the mysterious stranger of last night." "Yes," responded John very soberly.1 "It looks as though we might need each j other's help." That afternoon when John and! Ethel were in the stable looking at i the horses, Morgan crept into the cellar beneath the cabin. Examining the , ceiling his eye alighted upon a knot j hole in the floor, and carefully he j noted its location. Then drawing a ' ps , short and heavy automatic he thrust j the barrel into the hole, aimed it care j fully at a given point in the room above,, then wedged it fast in place. Then tying a stout cord to the trigi ger he ran it along the ceiling toward the front of( the house and forced it through the front wall. Running as it did along the cellar ceiling and up the slanting door, it was not visible to ] anyone coming back from the stable < or barn. Entering the cabin the Hawk examined the place of the knot hole in 1 the floor, carefully calculated the dii rection which the bullet would take, : i then nlaced a table and chair where 1 ^ I ] Encountered the Outthrust Metal Pan. j they would be in direct range. As | 1 J Ethel ajid John came back from the' i | stable he addressed the latter in a* I friendly voice., 1 "Suppose you draw up some simple articles of agreement as to how we ' shall work the mine when we find It, 1 Davis." 1 "All right responded the one adi dressed. Going to the table which had 1 ! been placed in range by the plotter he ; seated himself and began writing, j j Morgan, pointing down the canyon at; ( ! an imaginary object, thus diverted the j ! ! attention of the girl while he grasped j | the string. The next instant there | was a flash, a roar and a cloudj of smoke. \ Startled by the explosion so close behind her, Ethel turned upon the inslant to see Davis pitching forward out of his chair and falling hands outj stretched upon the floor. With a cry j she brushed by Morgan and ran toward the prostrate and unconscious man, the Hawk close following on her I heels. Together they lifted John up. Across the'' side of his head was the I track of a bullet where it had plowed its way, grazing his temple and stun; ning him. Owing to the fact that the ! injured man had turned his head to ! look at the pair just at the instant! \ that the shot was fired, the "bullet j ; merely had missed his brain. Paus-., ing only long enough to see that his j | plot had again failed, the Hawk left i his would-be victim to the ministra| tions of the'girl and hurrying to the I cellar removed the pistol, concealed i the line and went back to meet Raini face and Bridget Wegan. "It was another dastardly attem'pt j on his life by the mysterious stran! ger," explained Morgan with an as* i sumption of great indignation. Point; ing to the hole in the floor he told 1 them that the shot had come through j it, and turned to Davis. 1 am?^ v+r* An ttaiii* 14<fo onH svna iwu auruipio uu jvui iuv uuu vuv i j on mine," he said. "We cannot let; j this thing go on. Suppose we go and | search the vicinity?" "He must have a cup of tea first , to brace him up after this," insisted i | the kindly hearted Irish woman, and ' Morgan agreed. ! Leaving John for his cup of re| freshing brew the Hawk approached ! the barn. As he did so a man came j sliding down the hillside, bringing up at his feet in a cloud of snow. In| stantly Morgan whipped out his pisj tol, but in the act of firing stayed his finger as he saw who the newcomer I was. "Spider Bellas!" he exclaimed as I he replaced the weapon. "You made t i good time in coming." The Spider t ! gTinned. 1 ! "Yes, I got yer telegram. I conld t i have come up with the Indian and the a Biddy, but I thought I'd better take a ? , horse and the trail on the other side a i of the mountain. Well, now I'm here, o i and what do you want of me?" t Quickly Morgan explained his plan, ft ending by saying: v "As soon as Davis gets across. I show yourself and lead him on. Don't i t let him catch you. ^Just give me time { a to fix the thing up, then make a circle J h and meet me here tonight. Get me?" n With a nod the Spider turned and went up the canyon. Providing him- t. self with snowshoes and a small b shovel and saw which he concealed v beneath his coat, Morgan met Davis at the door. He addressed the other, d "Suppose we keep together until we iiave crossed the gap, then I'll take the ridge while von go up the valley. We must time ourselves so as to get hack before dark." "All right," assented Davis, and side by side they started off. Along the mountainside they went until they reached a ravine which was of considerable depth save at one point where an overhanging shoulder of the rock met a somewhat similar jut on the other side. At this point ibe gap was narrowed to a distance / which could be bridged by a fallen tree, and in fact as tney arrived upon Its edge they saw that a prostrate pine, of a size that would easily bear :he weight of a man, traversed it from in aHoc TViow noneoH hafAPO iv jl. iitj ^/uuovu mvavi. v & ) ^ scanning it with care. ~t0| "It will take us over easily enough," laughed the Hawk. "However, you had better let me go ahead so if anything should happen it would be mo instead of you that took the tumble." "Mighty decent of you, Morgan, but [ don't want anybody to take any risk on my account," returned Davis. But pushing the other good-naturedly ' _.3a iside the plotter mounted the trunk ind balancing himself with his arms, crossed in safety. John followed him with equal ease. Upon the other side they separated, . Morgan going up the ridge at the left' and John pursuing his way straight on and keenly surveying the landscape about. He had accomplished but a short distance when he saw the Vv form of Spider Bellas standing beside a tree, and suspicious that this might be the unknown stranger who was plotting against his life, John drew his gun and ordered him to throw up his hands. But darting behind the tree like a weasel the Spider darted j away, with John In hot pursuit. Barely waiting until John was out of sight the Hawk returned to the tree. Hastily drawing his small shovel and saw from their, places of concealment he fell to work upon a plan that promised to forever rid the world of the rival whom he hated with all his rat's soul. For ten minutes he worked with desperate energy, then with his ' :|j task finished to his satisfaction he covered all traces of his efforts with snow and taking his place behind a tree sat down to watch the end of the . !-i. L] J I. 4. i man wnose existence uiu mir w thwart his evil designs. Darting amongst the trees with surprising swiftness of foot, the Spider svas upon the point of eluding the pursuing Davis when he stumbled and Pell headlong. Close before him was a rift deep and steep, and in the very act of being precipitated down it * J tvhere he would have fallen a mangled corpse almost at the foot of his waiting confederate, the hand of John leaped forward and dragged the other to his feet and safety. "Who are you?" he demanded as they faced each other. The reply of the one who had just >een saved from death was a blow in he face. Taken wholly by surprise, the rescuer was nearly knocked from lis feet, but quickly recovering his lalance closed with his treacherous , ?nemy. Still partially dazed by the ilow John fought fiercely, but the >ther securing a favorable hold threw ilm heavily. For a moment they ? oiled upon the edge of the descent, riien John having regained his strength lifted his foe in his arms and turled him over the edge. Breathless 'rom his efforts the victor stood lookng at the place where the other had lisappeared. Seeing that the other, had vanished 'rom the scene, John glanced about ;t was growing dark and remembering v,? TTToe. moot \frtrcfln hpfnrn iJMl lie )tao iw ujcvi, light fell he retraced his steps to the 'alien pine. As he reached It the lawk arose from his seat and welcomed him. . * ^ "Better hurry or we will be caught >ut here in the mountains after curew, he warned, and with a nod the msuspieious one stepped upon the low nearly sawed through tree. He lad taken but a few steps when a earning crack startled him, and with he trunk slowly bending beneath his velght he turned in a desperate efort to again reach terra firma. But >efore he could regain it the treacherously cut support gave way and the rank began rushing down. Knowing hat to fall with it meant death, John eaped sideways into an overhanging fee. Clutching wildly at the branches is he sought to stay his fall, by great :ood fortune he finally checked himself nd brought up hanging to a limb by ne arm. Slowly, painfully he grasped 1.^ cimnnrtinn- hnrch wifh his Other IltT ? _ iand and began to draw himself uprard. From the opposite side of the gap he ITawk saw that his victim was bout to save himsolf, and drawing is revolver leveled it at the clinging inn. There was a flash and a roar, and he frail hough cut by the bullet broke eneath the weight of the one who ras hanging from it. Like a falling rocket John plunged lownwapd. (END OF SECOND EPISODE.) f ' - Z' >v