The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, July 10, 1919, Page 7, Image 7
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- NOVELIZED F
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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