The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, July 17, 1919, Page 7, Image 7
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EPISODE 3
? ,
SYNOPSIS.
. John Davis and H&wk Morgan, executors
of the estate of John Carr, miner,
joint guardians of his adopted daughter,
Ethel, quarrel over the disposition of
the profits of the mine. Morgan secretly/!
makes several unsuccessful attempts on
' the life of Davis, in one of which the latter
Is rescued by a mysterious hermit.
Morgan summons a villainous accomplice i
named Spider Bellas and they plot to kill
Davia.
John Davis, tricked into crossing
the log which had been nearly sawed
Id two by the would-be murderer, j
Hawk Morgan, made a wild sideways
leap as the trunk gave way beneath
his weight Landing in the branches
f a near-by tree he went crashing
through them until by good fortune
he managed to hook one arm over a
lender bough and stay his descent
From this he hung for a moment, then
as he felt his strength come back he
reached up and grasped the limb with
his other hand. Hawk, seeing that
his intended victim was about to save
himself, drew his weapon and fired.
The bullet half severed the limb which
gave away, and John again plunged
downward.
Had it not been that there were a
Dumber of fir and cedar trees pro- i
Jecting from the side of the steep In-line,
Davis certainly must have ended
ip a dead man. As it was, however,
their tops through which he fell while
not rugged enough to tear him limb
from limb checked his fall greatly,
< plunging at last into a great mass of
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uvn wiiiv,xi uau a vcuauvu^u v*v?? ^ v*m
the ridge. Here he lay motionless, almost
completely buried one arm thrust
bore the surface.
From the brink of the canyon side,
Morgan, the, arch conspirator, peered
as the other man went crashing down
in his long fall. A wolf-like smile
spread the watcher's face.
"He's gone to glory this time, all
right, and the girl end mine will eventually
all belong to me."
On the other side of the gap from
which Spider Bellas had been hurled
John when the former tried to kill
him, the Spider arose from the little
ledge upon which he had fallen, little
the worse for the battle he had been
engaged In. Limping slightly and cursing
beneath his breath he started to
cross the ravine lower down. The
noise of Davis' falling body made him
^ turn his head, and for an Instant he
saw the other in mad flight. From
where he stoodShe was unable to see
the termination of the fall, but upon
the opposite side of the brink he saw
- the figure of his confederate, the
Hawk, and waved him a salutation of
triumph over the success of their plan.
This done the Spider resumed his
way, his intention being to join the
Hawk upon the other side.
Morgan, seeing his victim end up a
a motionless body at the bottom of the
canyon, set about obliterating all
traces of the fact that he had been
tampering with the fallen trunk of the
pine, whereupon he began to retrace
the trail leading to the cabin. Ethel,
-i seeinsr him anDroach. opened the door
and came forth to greet him. Hastily
the Hawk told her of the accident to
John, the breaking of the tree beneath
him and his fall to death. White of
N face the girl paused only long enough
to throw on a heavy wrap, and closely
followed by Rainface they retraced
their steps to the scene of the tragedy.
The Indian, following with ropes and
blankets, met the Spider and was told
who he was, whereupon that rascal
reiterated the story of Morgan and the
four hastened on to their grewsome
task of rescuing the body.
While this had been happening the
Hermit of the Mountain, fur dressed
and on a hunting trip, chancing to pass
along the bottom of the canyon, saw a
gun and cap lying upon the snow. Instantly
his keen eyes swept the side
of the'descent, noting the broken tree
* tops through which John had crashed.
Realizing that someone had fallen
through them he began casting about,
ft moment later discovering the out +?n^(ncr
arm r\f fho ennw-hnriod nrsp
Beetling over him and finding*him
aenseless, the old Hermit quickly examined
the body for signs of life.
Finding them, he straightened up and
looked around.
Above him some twenty feet was a
ledge of rock from whieh a bowlder
* projected, and unwinding his lariat
from his body he made a cast that settled
the noose around the bowlder.
Then fastening the loose end of the
rope about the senseless form, he ascended
the lasso hand over hand until
. he stood upon the ledge. This done, it
was but the work of a couple of minutes
for him to hoist the recumbent
figure to his perch. Next he raised
the form of Davis to his shoulder and
bore him away, having left no ^ue
behind him on the snow as to how he
had vanished with the unconscious
man he had found.
The rescue party finding the place
where Davis had fallen saw the marks
In the snow where someone had ap- j
proached him, but no trail leading
away firm the spot. So far as they
y could discover both the dead man and I
ftfto finder of the body had vanished |
NOV
into thin air. There was nothing left
to do but retrace their steps, Ethel
with a heavy heart and Morgan with a
much-puzzled brain.
Walking with heavy steps beneath
his burden the Hermit continued his
way until he reached a cave at the
foot of the ravine, the mouth of the
place being well screened by a growth
of shrubs. Into this opening he carTied
his burden and lighting a lantern
again examined him. Finding no
bones broken, he secured a bottle from
a small medicine chest. Carefully he
read the label.
"To induce sound sleep give patient
twenty drops in water." The old man
drew the cork.
"And keep him unconscious I must
until I can return him to the Indian
and the girl." Pressing the draught
to the still senseless man's lips he
watched the other until he saw a gentle
stirring of the form, soon followed
by the deep breathing of slumber.
Then taking down a bow and arrow
he wrote a note, fastened It to the
arrow's shaft and stepped to the mouth
of the cave.
Night had fallen when he cautiously
drew near the cabin. Taking aim at
a lighted window he let the arrow fly,
and with a splintering of glass the
shaft passed through and stood quivering
in a table. Alarmed by the
sound of the breaking glass, the occupants
of the place ran to the table.
Ethel, arriving first, snatched the paDer
from the shaft and opening it
read aloud.
"Davis is alive and in a deep sleep
in a cave hidden by brush at the south
of Pinnacle Rock in the gorge. See
Jeremiah YI-25."
"And what does he mean by thatl
Who is Jeremiah?" growled the Hawk.
Without speaking the girl slipping into
her room picked up her Bible.
Quickly improvising a litter and securing
lanterns and pine torches Ethel,
Morgan, Rainface and the big-hearted
Bridget started on their way to find
the cave. With Pinnacle Rock as their
guide they soon located its entrance,
and pushing aside fche screen entered.
A glance showed them that it contained
no evidences of ever having been inhabited,
the only object that saet
their eyes being the form of the unconscious
man. Ethel, rushing forward,
fell upon her knees beside it
"Thank heaven he still lives." she
cried fervently as she lifted her face
after having it?before his lips that
she might feel if he were breathing.
Murderous though his disappointment
was that he had again failed to make
way with his rival, the Hawk was
obliged to smother it
"That's lucky. We must get him
back to the cabin as soon as we can."
Placing him upon the litter they began
their return.
An hour later John, sufficiently revived
to stand upon his feet turned to
Wnrtrpn
"I thought I heard a shot as I clung
to the tree just before I fell," he said.
The one addressed shook his head.
"There was no shot The report you
heard was the breaking of the limb as
It gave. away. For a second I thought,
myself, that it was a shot."
"Guess I'd better go to bed," murmured
Davis drowsily. "I've had excitement
enough for one day." Yielding
to the entreaties of the girl that he
occupy her room that he/ might
have a comfortable bed, he at last
went into the room and throwing off
his outer garments threw himself up
He Was Driven to the Earth.
on the mattress and quickly fell into
a deep sleep. Curling herself comfortably
in a big chair at his side, the girl
settled down to watch over him
through the night that she might he
on'hand' to minister to any need, while
Rainface, with a grunt of approval,
curled himself up like a dog on the
mat before the door.
An hour passed and all was still
save the breathing of the sleeping
man. Softly arising the girl again secured
her Bible and opening it at
Jeremiah VI-25, read:
"Go not forth into the field, nor walk
by the way, for the sword of the enemy
and fear is on every side." Struck
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by a sudden thought she turned to the I
i Book of Micah and again read:
"A man's enemies are the men of his j
own house."
Laying the book aside she rested
i J her cheek upon her hand and became
, lost in thought. "The men of the
, house!" Rainface, Morgan, the Spider
?could it be possible that one of them
was plotting against this other man?
Deeply she pondered.
, Meanwhile within the harness house ;
the two desperadoes sat with heads
close together over a bottle of whisky. !
Morgan began cursing loud and deep.
"If I can do away witn mm 1 get tne
All He Saw Wm the Terrible Machine j
| Upon Which He Was Lashed.
gold and girl. Curse him, he seems to !
1 bear a charmed life, though." The
Spider raised the bottle.
1 "His luck can't hold out forever.
We've got two strings to our bow this
time, and the scheme we have just
thought out has got to work." The
other rascal clenched his fist and
struck the table.
"It would seem so. You go up the i
trail in the morning and fix the dead- j
fall and I will look after the trapdoor ;
before anyone is up. One more drink
and then we'll turn in." A moment i
later they had put out the light.
By the first light of morning Morgan
crept cautiously down the cellar i
by means of the outside door. Care!
fully he examined the ceiling, until in i
1 the dim light he stood beneath the j
place he sought. Directly above his
head was a trapdoor of sufficient dimensions
to permit a man to drop,
1 hinged upon one side and held up on j
1 the other by a huge iron bolt which j
was worked by means of a lever. ;
Drawing an oil can from his pocket, 1
the Hawk began carefully lubricating j
the rusty iron lever. Finishing this
and being assured that all was in j
working order, he left the cellar with j
the secrecy with which he had come.!
Nor during this time had the Spider
been idle.
Leaving the harness room in the \
ghostly glow of daybreak, the Spider |
found a place on the mountain trail j
1 that promised to suit his evil purpose.;
A slight fall of snow had come during !
the night, and trodding his way along
it in such a way that anyone follow-:
lng it would be sure to follow in his
steps, the Spider bent his steps between
two trees with rough bowlders;
upon each side of them, halting when .
he reached the place he had chosen.
At this point a huge tree trunk had
fallen until it hung above the spot, j
caught in the branches of its fellow
trees, and here he began the setting
of his trap.
First cutting a trigger which he
placed and cunningly concealed across
the trail in such manner that a passing
foot would strike it, he cut the
log in such manner that the slightest
disturbance would send it crashing
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UVTTU? iLi\/ T 1 LUU1J \.t UCUlUg IV U^U^Ai ,
whatever creature chanced to be pass-!
Ing beneath. The connecting rope be-1
tween the trigger and trunk he care-1
fully concealed with debris of the for- j
est, then with a look of satisfaction
for a moment surveyed his work, after
which he stole away with the caution ;
of a lynx.
As the breakfast horn blew, Mor- j
gan and the Spider came from the
bam wfth the sleepy air of men just;
awakened from a long night's sleep, j
Calling their morning's greetings to i
those of the cabin they entered the!
cabin and ate heartily as they talked j
of the events of the day before. The
Hawk turned to the others.
"Mr. Bellas is a mining expert who
will be of great assistance to us in
locating the missing mine," he said,
with a meaning glance at the Spider.
"This afternoon we will search the
hills for it. Suppose that you. Rain- j
face, give friend Davis the keys to
Carr's desk that he may look over j
them while Bellas ai>d I are searching!
for the mine." John, still weak and
shaky from his fall of the day before,
nodded his assent.
"I am afraid I could not keep up
with you today," he acquiesced with a
weak smile. The prospect of being
several hours alone with the girl at
his side was ample compensation for!
his aches and bruises of the day be- j
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fore. Cuuningly the Hawk began placing
chairs and the table, arranging
them so that his victim must sit over
the trapdoor.
"And now for the search," he said
as he drew the Spider's arm beneath
his own. Out of the door they went,
merely glancing at Rainface who just
outside the door of the porch was
working at the stormdoor with ax and
other tools, but no sooner were they
beyond the vision of any possible
watchers than they wheeled, stole upon
the cabin again and disappeared
into the cellar.
Through the knot hole in the floor
that the Hawk had unsuccessfully used
in his former attempt upon the life of
John, he peered into the room above.
The chair in which Davis sat and
which had been cunningly placed by
the plotter was just at the edge of
the trapdoor, which was concealed by
a rug. Seeing that their victim was
in the place desired, very cautiously
he drew the bolt of the lever.
Sitting unsuspectingly in his chair,
John, caught by the trap, felt, himself
going down. The desperate spring
which he made to right himself was
all unavailing; beneath him the rug
disappeared and the next instant his
legs* were through the hole. Before
he had time to call out he was jerked
downward, his head striking violently
upon the side of the trap and leaving
his mind a blank, the next instant
landing a senseless, huddled heap upon
the basement floor below. With a
few swift movements the Spider
thrust the rug into the room above
and replaced it as it had been the moment
before, as quickly hoisting the
trap to its former place and shooting
back the lever. Not over five seconds
had passed, and the room above remained
the same as before except that
Davis vanished as a bubble bursts.
Binding the senseless man hand and
foot they gagged him and placed him
In a long wooden box which bore the
label "Mining machinery for John
Carr," closing the lid with a metal
clasp.
"I reckon hq's settled this trip,"
panted the Hawk. "Now for the next
move." Quickly they left the cellar.
Ethel, entering the room which she
had left the moment before .on some
slight errand, stared about in amazement.
It was empty. Softly she called
"John?where are you?" but there
was no response. Bridget and Rainface,
attracted by her exclamations
came hurriedly In, followed a moment
later by the Hawk and Delias.
"What's up?" demanded Morgan.
Swiftly she told them of the unaccountable
vanishment of the missing
one.
"Another mystery," murmured the
Hawk in the tones of one greatly perplexed.
"Come on and we will scatter
and search. The scoundrel cannot
have gone far." Drawing his revolver
he rushed from the room the otl*
ers upon his heels, filled with wonderment,
dazed by the suddenness of it
all and half wondering if the world
had gone mad. A half hour's search
revealed nothing and slowly they returned,
standing idly about uhtil the
girl with a despairing gesture again
entered the room.
In the cellar below a flicker of consciousness
returned to the imprisoned
John, and feeling the returning tide
of life he began to writhe and twist j
beneath his bonds. His feet touched
the end of the chest, and discovering
that he could maae a souna Dy Deating
them against it he began a tattoo. |
Ethel in the room above him, hearing j
the weird sound and being.unable to !
locate it, ran to the door and called ;
to the others telling them of the mys- j
terious noises that had reached her
ears.
"What has become of it?" queried ,
the Hawk as they all strained their j
hearing.
"Listen," she breathed. But John, j
convinced that he could make no one :
hear had become silent
"Ghosts, most likely," sneered the
Spider with a leer at her. "Spooks !
come back to the scene of the crime." j
"More likely-it was further deviltry I
on the part of that mysterious stran- :
ger," added Morgan. "Bellas here, and
I will go to the barn and' keep a look- .
out If he turns up we'll get him
DU11". >Y 1U1 a mot aoouiaiiv.^ tv
that she need pot fear so long as they
were there to protect her, they disappeared
within the barn.
Once there they lost little time In
pursuing the plan they had decided
upon. Closing the door behind them
they passed to a side entrance which !
lay beyond the view of a possible j
watcher from the house, and making :
a short detour crept silently into the 1
cellar. Gloom filled the place, and 1
feeling the way with their feet they '
approached the box and bent over it. j
As they did so a form arose from he-'
hind it and a mighty blow sent the |
Hawk reeling across the room, while the
Spider felt himself gripped in a stran- i
gling grasp. Back and forth across
the room the pair fought in the semi-!
darkness, while the Hawk, half dazed \
by the blow he had received, staggered
uncertainly about unable to distinguish
friend from foe. Ethel and Bridget,
startled by the sudden turmoil beneath
Y
I The floor, clutched each other in alarm, j
"Howly SaiDts, but it must be all !
the divils of the Pit, thimselves. i
Phwat shall we do?" cried the Irish- j
woman. Ethel sprang to the table j
and the next instant a lighted lamp
was in her hand.
"We must go and see. It might be
John in distress," she cried. Quick
as a cat Bridget seized a rolling pin
and, rolling the sleeve up a mighty
arm, went waddling toward the cellar
door.
"May the Lord have mercy upon
thim who is bateine him, be they saints
or devils," she cried as she went heavily
down the steps. Lamp held high
the girl followed her close.
As the tight from the lamp falling
over them revealed the faces of the
struggling men each to the other, by
common consent they ceased their battling,
and as Davis in amazement
dropped his arms his heart leaped as
he found Ethel clinging to him, sobbing,
pressing her cheek against his
shoulder. Gently he drew her to him.
"Where have you been?" she asked,
quickly returning his embrace and
freeing herself as a faint tide of color
arose to her cheeks. Grimly John
pointed to the box.
"In that thing where I lay until I
; managed to break my way out" He
| took a step toward Morgan. "What
i were you doing hefe."
j The Hawk fell back a step before
the threatening front of the other.
"Don't be too hasty, Davis. Bellas J
and I were in the barn watching and
| we saw a man in a fur coat and with !
I his face masked sneak around the cor- '
j ner of the house. We followed, but
! when we had arrived there he was '
j out of sight Seeing the cellar door
open and thinking he had come down
here, we came down also and had hard!
ly entered when you jumped us like 1
; a mountain lion. Had it not been that (
i Miss Ethel and Bridget heard the rack- j1
et and came, I believe you would have
killed us both before we could have 1
gotteD out of here." Slowly, deep in '
thought, John turned to the door.
"This thing has got to stop. We ; j
j must catch that man or none of our j
I lives will be safe. What the meaning |1
' of all of it is I don't know, but I am | (
! going to- catch the villain and find i
I out." Morgan pointed directly up the j1
j mountainside. 11
"He must have gone that way. Til
i go to the right Let Bellas wait five
minutes then go to the left. Davis, (
^ j
Surveyed Their Devilish Work.
yon wait ten minutes, also, then come '
straight up the trail. We'll search
the ridge and meet at the top."
Davis, the last to depart, had made
but a few steps when Ethel came hur- (
rying up to him. In one hand was the
letter which had been attached to the
arrow, in the other the Bible, and
opening the book she read to him the
words from Jeremiah and Micah. Hei '
hand fell on his arm.
"Don't go," she pleaded. "I am afraid j
for you." Rainface, joining them, ah
so showed his disapproval John
laughed.
"That message means nothing. Morgan
is my nearest relative and Bellas
his friend, therefore mine. We'll b# J
back in half an hour." '
With a parting wave of his hand h?
went up the trail, his rifle ready and
his eyes searching every suspiciouslooking
object. Cautiously he advanced,
every step bringing him nearer
to the trigger of the dead-fall which (
lay between the two trees. (
Slight as was the impact of his foot v
* * 'j. ~?. ii-j "r _ i (
against tne trigger it starneu uuuu
and he shot a glance ' upward. The
mighty tree already was falling, de- c
scending upon him with a force that ?
would crush him to pulp. He tried
to spring back, but his feet caught *
in the rope and tripped him, and before
he could recover himself he was c
driven to the earth and lay half
stunned, half crushed on his back, the 1
trunl> across his chest.
Had it not been that there was a 5
small depression in the ground where
he fell, and which prevented the full e
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p
weight of the tree from bearing upon
him, he must have been crushed to
death by its fall. Knowing that he
could not long survive the awful pressure,
despairingly he cast his eyes
about. His ride lay close at hand,
and seizing it and using it as a lever,
with a mighty effort he raised the
trunk a few inches and wriggled himself
free. Bruised and battered he
gathered himself together as best he
could, and went staggering along a
trail. In his dazed condition he did
not realize that instead of taking the
path which led to the cabin, he was following
the way which wound up at the
small sawmill which John Carr in hie
lifetime had constructed for the sawing
of the logs which went into hie
buildings.
The Hawk and the Spider looking
from a window of the mill where they
had retired for a consultation, saw
their escaped victim come stumbling
toward them. The voice of Morgan
arose In a savage curse.
"Now how in h 1 did he escape
that dead-fall." The Spider already
was upon his feet, a glare In his eyen
and a heavy billet of wood in hin
hand.
"Never mind how he did it for the
fact Is that he did. But Fll get him
now." Raising his arm he hurled the
billet, and the missile flying true as a
bullet landed with a crash upon the
advancing one's head. Beneath the
Impact he wenf down as does an ox
smitten by a mauL
Rushing from the mill the two ruffians
fell upon him, , and picking him up
bore him quickly out of sight within
the building. Throwing him upon the
Boor they stood gazing down upon him,
the hatred of two fiends showing in
their faces. The Spider drew his gun,
"I'm going to plug him now good
and plenty," he swore, but seeing the
other's movement the Hawk struck
ap the weapon.
"Put that gun away, you fool. We
Bon't want to leave any bullet holes
behind us. Anyway, I've got a better
scheme?a scheme that will make
bim repent with his last breath that
be dared stand between me and that
mine and the girl."
"As you say," growled the Spider.
'But what's the main idea?" Without
answering him the Hawk stepped
to the gasoline engine which propelled
the saw, started it, then pointed to the
traveler which was used to carry logs
to the spinning disk with its jagged
:eeth.
"We'll put him on that and let the
machinery do the rest. He's tough, all
ight, but I reckon that buzz saw will
oe able to bite him. Lend a hand
lere."
Quickly securing bonds they tied the
still unconscious one hand and foot,
:hen stopping the machine they laid
Davis upon the traveler, lashing him
jpon it so that when the contrivance
vas again put into motion he must
nevitably be carried to the whirling
)lade and his body severed even as
vould have been the trunk of a pine,
rhen drawing back they surveyed their
i?MJ ^??i- i i.u
leviUHU wors wuu siiiisi.u.v:uuu.
"It's too merciful au end for him,"
>aid the, Spider. "After all the trouble
le has made us and caused us to feel
like a pair of fools, I'd like to see him
wriggle a bit just before he realizes
what is going to happen to him."
"Leave that to me," swore Morgan.
'We'll wake him up so he can see his
3nish."-. Suiting the action to the
word he picked up a bucket of water
ind dashed it in their captive's face.
Slowly the eyes of John opened and
tie glanced about, but the two wouldie
murderers had crouched beyond the
line of his vision and all he saw was
the terrible machine upon which he
was lashed. He gave a great surge of
lis body, but the cords which bound
lim were of great strength and the
?ffort was wasted.
Sneaking up to the switch which put
:he machine into operation, the Hawk
:hrew it on and slowly at first, then
'aster second by second until its voice
irose to a snarling whine, the saw bejan
to spin. And as it did so the traveler
which bore the body of the helpess
one began slowly to approach the
whizzing teeth.
Seeing it all and realising that anither
minute must be his last if he re
1 J .1-ViAi.fl ha n"<i? Tahn r?nt
HUiLltU iitaiicu nucit in. ??wv? ^v.w
ill the great strength of his body Into
i last terrible struggle against the
ashings which bound him.
(END OF THIRD EPISODE.)
What's in a Name?
In the purchasing agent's office of
>ne of the largest, if not the largest,
corporations in Marion county, there
vas a clerk named Shaw and a stenigrapher
named Smart.
The wife of the purchasing agent
called over the telephone one day and
isked for her nusoana.
"He has just stepped out," replied *
diss Smart, who answered the phone.
"Oh, pshaw!" exclaimed the ptirihasing
agent's wife.
Misunderstanding, the stenographer
eplied: "Why, he's not here, either."
"Oh, you're smart," commented the
mrchasir.g agent's wife.
"Yes. that's my name," replied the
itenographer.?Indianapolis New*