The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, July 19, 1917, Image 6
RA3T
HIE GREAT ROMAt
n <6* LOU15 JC
Novelizatton of the A J
Same Name ProUuceu
Film Service, Inc., i
What ton, Inc.
j THE CAST.
MRS. VERNON CASTLE as
Patria Charming.
MILTON SILLS as Donald Parr.
WARNER OLAND as Baron
Huroki.
DOROTHY GREEN as Fanny
Adair.
SYNOPSIS.
Baron Huroki of Tokyo, conspiring to
embroil tlx* I'nited States ami Mexico in
order to pave the way for the Japanese
Invasion of the Pacific coast, is hunted
from tlx- country by Patria Channing,
sole executrix of the $l<H?,(K.?n,000 trust secretly
created by patriotic progenitors to
combat tin* national perils inherent In
"unpr?*par< dness." Kstablishing himself
just across the Mexican border, Huroki
schemes to he revenged upon Patria. who
ins us vast properties just north of the
border.
Tll/r I r T I I r- r> I ^ ~ ?
i vvuLr I M tNSUUt
"Peace" Which Passeth All Understanding!
BEFORE THE STORM.
The punishment administered h.v tlie
Channing ranch hands to the raiding
party which, under the leadership of
that redoubtable scoundrel, Pancho
Zelava. had descended?literally like
wolves upon a sheepl'old?upon Patria's
hacienda in the quiet of early
morning. seemed to work with salutary
effect upon the understanding of
Senor Zelayn and his .lapanose confrere,
Huron lluroki.
D ays of complete peace followed
that abortive raid, lengthening into
weeks.
Scouts sent out by Captain Donald
Parr, acting f??r Patria. reported that
Zelaya and lluroki had apparently
never again ventured forth from the
mountain fastnesses to which they
had been driven by the ('banning
people, after their rescue of Patria
and Donald.
Nor was there perceptible any Indication
of concentration of Mexican
soldiery in the country south of the
border?whether troops of ihe de facto
government or followers of Zclaya's
outlaw fortunes.
In natural consequence that vlgl1??...I,
i .1. t ? ?
uiiht miiicii n.'Kl tH'Cn eXellcil among
border landowners by the raid insensibly
relaxed. The stronger guards
which they had established against
further attempts against their lives
i:nd properties were weakened hy
decrees. With a single exception. they
relapsed into that fatally false sense
of security which had theretofore been
theirs, thanks to lontr intinnnitv from
such outrages as had boon visited upon
other sections or the border country.
That solitary exception was a noteworthy
one?Vatria C'hanning. who
had suffered too much at the hands
of Baron Huroki and his associates to
believe that anything short of complete
preparation to cope with further
attentions would discourage the enemy.
"
* Such measure* hen. as Patria and
tier counselors reckoned she must take
to provide against possible disaster,
must necessarily he put into effect
with the greatest secrecy. A minimum
of show must mask a maximum of intelligently
directed protective efforts.
Patria spent days riding over her
lands in company with Donald. Hodman
Pillshury and a small staff of
chosen lieutenants. The topography
of the countryside was examined with
minute attention.
The tremendous acreage of the
/"banning ranch favored such secrecy.
It would have been almost possible to
mobilize and* maintain a great army
within Its boundaries undetected?it
would have been altogether possible
had the resources of the land been sufficient
to clothe and equip and provision
such a force.
As It wn?. a very considerable number
of men was added to the normal
population of the ranch without attracting
any attention whatsoever.
Picked employees rode forth fromthe
hacienda well-nigh dally, for a
time, on long tours into the interior
and east and west along the border.
And the results of their adventurlngs
appeared daily, hy twos and threes
and singly?seasoned horsemen all,
alert, clear-eved. determined patriots.
As a rule they timed their arrivals to
occur during the hours of darkness;
and as soon as they had reported to
Donald Parr, they were assigned to
specific duties at a distance from the
inaia ranch houses, and disappeared
Into the night as silently as they had
corrie. The hinterland of the ranch
xvranowea tnem up; in its remoter
*tretch??s they lived and wrought sedulously
at their tasks, all ready for that
ftumipons which might come at
any hour. Meantime the.v drilled quietly,
a* cavalry, as artillerymen, and as
machine gun crews. Within a period
of time surprisingly brief, Patrla had
at her command a secret legion of
trained fighting men, ready for any
emergency, inured to hardship, familiar
with the border country, resolute
und willing.
Only the drills of her fiylng corps
could not be kept under eover; but
RLA
KE?/PRER\REDNE5S
)5EPn VANCE n
otton Picture Play of the ,mJ~
f for the International
. ruler the Direction of
Ccf\ right Stjr C?mf>jny.
.n-se 11:1 <1 boon tfolnp on for weeks beoiv
her arrival at the ranch.
Occasionally their reconnaissances
*MPI*1fkf1 wwi ' c<uit clioj iif I lin iiti*
anes south of the border; hut the retorts
of their observers were Invariably
destitute of alarming Information.
Vpparently the Mexican population
Aas apathetic^ restgoo*1. ihc pursuits
** l'here was no more gun-runaing
that could bo discovered. There
vas no movement of troops perceptible.
There were no raids. There was
not even a lonely case of sniping to
keep the patrols on the qui vivo.
For all that, l'atria's preparations
voce pushed forward with unbated
energy. .
There came :Vday, several weeks
Ttor Zalaya's futile raid, when this
ting v.Miian lae'e <>nl to review her
modest but wonderfully ellicient forces.
She returned to the hacienda in the
quiet of evening, weary but exhilarated.
'Tin not afraid." she told Donald
"i'li a nod of her head indicating tlie
Moxi.-nn nvumtains in the south-?their
ragged ramparts looming in purple
-hades against the silvered skies of a
perfect moonlight night. "Let them
eome !"
lie laughed sympathetically, but
.took a reproving head.
"Let tm not fall into the pit of overonfldenee."
he said "T know how von
'eel. It's wondorttil to Know tlisit we
have sill 11 lino follows to rally to ,
>11r <lofon<o in oaso of need. Hut aftor
all. tlioy'ro only a handful ; and what
1 four i< that tho next act of agression,
when it conies, will he invasion >
in overwhelming forces. We have
- mo as far as we can in the matter of
making those men the toughest kind
t hard-hitting fighters; hut there
aren't enough of them to withstand
an army's advance. From now on we
must devote all our energies to the
planning of means to equalize superior
numbers witli superior intellia<
nee. We must he prepared to deliver
a staggering blow before the enemy
ran tii a I out how insigniticant our
forces are."
They sat In silence for n little, both
gazing out over the shadowed dis1
? - 1 t ?
iiimv:" i?? >? 1111 me noruer.
"It is too quiet?too quiet altogether,"
Parr mused aloud. "I can't .
forget tliat Huroki is somewhere out
there?hiding, planning. restlessly
scheming to serve ids country's purposes
and at the same time to gain his
revenge for the setbacks he has received
at our hands."
"Xor can I forget it." the girl replied.
"Of one tiling we may feel assured
: if Huroki lias any voice in the
councils that are taking place down
there, the Idow. when it conies, will
fall here first of all."
The shadow of premonition darkened
her mood transiently. She shivered
a little.
"1 wonder," she said, "what iniquities
lie is hatching down yonder?"
There is a certain psychic sympathy
between the minds of those that hate
well, even as it is with those who love;
there was less coincidenee than might
be thought iti the fact that, at annrox
imately the same time. Huron Huroki
was 1111?Ti 11 ix substantially similur observations
eonrerning I'atria. at u dist_anee
of snnii'tJjing like a day's ride
from the hacienda.
The scene was the main room of an
adobe dwelling of somewhat more pretentious
proportions and appointments
than is commonly to be found in the
wilder sections of inland Mexico.
There were a number of other adobe
houses near it; but this was the largest
of tit" lot; and it was further distinguished
i?v a restless going nod
*- v ? * * -* \* ~T " ? . - . . eol.ttng
"t orderlies alld otheefs of si I perjor
rank in the field uniforms of
the Japanese army?though there wsis
not linking a sprinkling of others attired
in the livery of the troops loyal
to the tie facto government of Mexico
The dwelling was, in short, the
headquarters of General Nogi, commander
in chief of the allied Japanese
and Mexican forces which had been
secretly gathered together in lids remote
retreat and were now marking
time, under arms, against receipt of
word from Tokyo to proceed with the
long-planned invasion of the southwestern
United States.
t-'l'.ilii I Itii ullirti* mill ...1.1..%.
.win i m. piiftin viiiiiif in r I'll v> 111? 11
thi? (1<|UMrters building stood the
valley sloped away In dimly moonlit
perspective; and as far as one could
see It was a city of dust-colored tents
populated by regiment upon regiment
??f highly trained and etlieient troops.
Within the headquarters building. In
a large room, brightly lighted and furnished
with soldierly severity, an Informal
council of war was In progress.
General Nogi himself presiding.
He was a man of nearly sixty, yet
carried his compact and athletic body
with the ease of twenty-five. His
heavy-lidded eyes were as bright as
any youth's; the network of wrinkles
that Inclosed them with the whiteness
of his hair, alone betrayed his age.
And the habit of Incontestable authority
was distinctively his. A man who
measured his words before uttering
them, who spoke seldom, having once
spoken, was to be obeyed to the letter.
he dominated the conference ub-,
volutcly.
i
fn that presence th*v blustering, valiant
/clave diminished to bis right
stature, tluit of a rowdy isli l?ni|TKaii*t,
not lacking in courage and Initiative,
conspicuously deficient in education,
wisdom, judgment.
Only less dwarfed was the representative
of the Oirrnnzn interests.
General Torreon, a trim and intelligent
Mexican, well grounded in the
fundamentals of his trade?which was
simply and exclusively war.
Huron Huroki alone seemed able to
address Nogl in terms of equality?if
without once suggesting any reluctance
to accord the commander in
chief the deference that was Ids due.
This, perhaps, was quite natural, in
view of the authority with which
Huron lluroki had been clothed by the
imperial government at Tokyo?an authority
only second to that of General
Nogl, who was liuroki's only ranking
officer in the allied camp.
The occasion which hurt hi ought
about this coo?f?tv?i?v was the failure
of the Mexican system of espionage
to secure any accurate Information as
to conditions immediately north of the
border.
This was due to the uncommonly
thoroughgoing and tireless system of
patrols organized by Donald Parr r.r.d
maintained by Patria ami Iter neighbors.
Kor sev? r.i! \t?eks spy after spy had
sought to penetrate the lines?and invariably
had been obliged to give up
the attempt. No less than three,
through unehronieled mischance, had
vanished utterly and inexplicably. And
no information of any real value had
been reported back to headquarters by
those who. acting under instruction,
had confined their efforts to long-disOitwKi
! l*1- 1
...... v- Tiiimn wiiii uie Jim or
powerful binoculars. They saw l'atria's
biplanes hanging ill the skies nr
swiftly coursing through them; but
that was all.
And hour by hour it was believed by
all those present at this conference,
the moment drew nearer when the
word to advance would he given out by
Tokyo.
"It is not only humiliating." TIuroki
was declaring, "it is madness,
downright madness, to contemplate n
movement in force without first-hand
information as to what this accursed
girl is up to. Tt Is insensate folly to
underestimate her ability and anxiety
to hinder and embarrass us. It is all
very well for you gentlemen"?he addressed
himself superficially to Zclaya
and Torreon?"to point to our
forces and say the United States can
muster nothing to withstand It. That
is true?as far as we know, lhit you
make the mistake of thinking you
have only the regular army and the
National Guard to reckon with. You
have something else?this puny slip
of a girl, this insignificant Patiia
('banning. I know her, as you do not ;
and 1 tell you she is like a living
flame of patriotism ; she is intelligent,
T^e ^'9ht Was ir
resourceful. unafraid. and sin- controls
7.~> per coin of ilie anus and anitmmltion
industries of lite I'nited States.
In addition, she lias at her command
this immense treasure, this htindredinillion-dollar
trust, which she iulurited
and declares she will spend it for
the sole purpose of defeating our
plans . . . since, us It appears, her
country is too niggardly and shortsighted
to spend a dollar in its own
defense!
"And we sit here in ignorance of
her plans! We must know them, and
we must know them without more delay?or
we risk a setback that explodes
our entire scheme of invasion !"
"How can that he?" Torreon inquired.
With a grunt of impatience Huroki
nointed to a erreiit toimirrnnlilenl ' mjin
spread out on the table between them.
"Have you forgotten that our chosen
line of march strikes directly through
the Ohannlng ranch property? And
what are we going to find there? What
Is this girl doing there, all tills time
while we sit here twiddling our
thumbs? She isn't Idle?I promise you
lliut Klin / rt nnr/iKooA I* I' ^
? ??% ^??\ v??i* iiunuf *i nrru i?r<
the host military intelligence in the
United States. Is it sensible to suppose
that her advisers have overlooked
the fact that via the Chnnntng ranch
is the shortest and quickest route
toward our goal??that, if we strike at
all from this quarter, It will naturally
and surely he along that line? And,
such being the probable case, is it wise
, to Imagine fftie In taking no step* to
prepare a trap for us? ... I tell
you, we must know! Your spies lutve
thus fur fulled; we run employ none
of ours, for it would he fatal to have
a Japanese caught In an net of espionage."
"What would you suggest, then?"
Torreon asked thoughtfully.
"Find some way to stimulate the efficiency
of your system, flot us some
trustworthy information?no matter
how."
"If I may make a suggestion?" Zelaya
ventured. At a nod from Nogi
he proceeded, pulling at his mustache
xo inusK tne smile of relish with which
he anticipated permission to commit
yet another atrocity on American soil.
"It is a long time since we have
broken the peace of the border hereabouts.
And these Americans have
short memories. Let me send a few?
a tr.fir mindful?of my men to execute
a flying raid on tlie damning
ranch. I will guarantee results."
"How so?" Nogi demanded.
Zelaya bent over the map and with
the blunt, end of a greasy forefinger indicated
a certain point.
"Here is a house fully twenty miles
from the hr.cienda," he said. "It is the
lv>iiit* of the man named Morgan,
ranch foreman, lie lives there with
his son, his sister ami his mother?his
wife is dead, lloth Morgan and his
sister are deep in the confidence of the
Senorita Charming. Let my men
bring in either of these . ."
He paused and showed his teeth in
a smile of gruesome significance. "And
I will promise to induce him?or her?
to tell us everything we want to
know."
Kagerly Tluroki's eyes sought the
face of his commander in chief. It
told him, however, nothing. Impassively
Creneral Nojii deliberated ; it
was Hourly two minutes later when he
delivered his verdict.
"I.et this thing be done." he said ;
and rose, ending the conference.
"PEACE WITH HONOR."
Ctoinez was the name of the man
chosen hy Zelaya to do the work he
had suggested?"CJoinez the Killer"
was the sobriquet hy which he was
known to his fellows; a quiet-mannered.
sad-faced Mexican of something
a little under the average build of his
breed.
Listening gravely to the instructions
of his superior, he nodded gentle coinprehension.
and sallied forth to exe- '
cute Zelnva's will with no more coinpassion
in his heart than he would
have felt if ordered to exterminate
all hut one or two of a nest of rattlesnakes.
He journeyed northward that night
1>V inotorcvole. and sm>nt tho follow!mo
< 1 jiy in what appeared to be desultory
riding about the country just south of j
the border, pausing at the dwelling of
his friend and that to pass the time of
day.
In all he made just twenty such
'^/^Mfli^^Hr w^WMara^Pw^CT
? > :;'
m x :: ^
iwj .
^.y'y^X ''// ;
ry^y. '*' * - ^gQyHpMM^B^^BB .^fipSwaMHiiBHM^MBfr^a^^K
i Deadly Earnest.
rsil's. Thc?n lie retired to well-earned
rest.
In the gray dusk of the next dawn
twenty mounted and armed Mexicans
rendezvoused with the Killer at a I
point some two miles south of the
boundary line of the Channlng ranch,
and about twenty miles from its hu- '
clotida.
He whs well-informed as to the habits
of the patrol?both that maintained
by the Cnited States government und
that which Patria damning had organized.
'Since it was the custom for
raiding parties to cross the bonier by
night or In earliest dawn. Gomez re
frnlnod doing anything as commonplace.
He reeognlzed no necessity
for a clash with the patrols when It
could he avoided by the exercise of a
little patience.
Conducting his command to n point
where they could "Nkulk under cover of.
wooded ground, secure from spying
eyes, he scouted on afoot to a spot
1 whence, lying at length on the crest
of a little hill, he could spy through
the undergrowth that concealed him.
Below him, just beyond a shallow
arroyo, lay the Morgan homestead.
It was a Sunday morning, very quiet
and warm. The peace of unaccustomed
indolence enveloped the homestead.
By convention It was a morning
for a late breakfast?late, that Is,
In the esteem of folk In the habit o*
rising with the sun. So' It was all
t or two hours after* suti-up when the
| smoke began to ascend from the chlm-j
t ney. of. the peaceful Morgan kitchen.
| In The dooryard H*id Morpm and his
| sister Hess were watching with tinj
bridled tiimiseinent 'he efforts ol* Bud's
little hoy. Sinn, to ilde an aged ami
well-informed donkey ? a sad-eyed
01 eature who demonstrated his intelligence
hy lylnjr down as often :is the
child got firmly seated on his hack.
Their laughter came clearly to the
ears of the Killer. llis own eyes
twinkled sympathetically. Then he
yawned and Imped that their summons
to breakfast would not he too b?ag
delayed. It bored (him to wait there
in the heat and dust without the solace
of a cigarette.
He fondled the grip of his revolver
and repined that his orders had been
strlet? tiiat he might not shoot now,
when the three offered him such fair
targets, ami have done with the business
without delaying to take two of
them prisoners If possible.
In due time, however, the mother
nnniMii'iwI t? -? - ...
( ... , ... in*- inmrwsi.v and cniicu
th??in in. The donkey was abandoned
to crop liis own breakfast. The dooryard-was
left untenanted. Gomez subjected
the surrounding landscape to
one final, prolonged scrutiny, then
turned, squirmed back through the underbrush.
rose to his feet, and hurried
to rejoin his fellows.
T.cuding their horses, the Mexicans
moved forward furtively, surrounding
the home /Without rousing the suspicions
of its tenants.
To these the attack came like thunder
from the blue. They breakfasted
behind doors closed and bolted?by
habit of precaution; that circumstance
alone provided tlieni with a chance for
their lives.
There came a sudden rush of feet
in the dooryard, and the front door
was furiously buttered with rifle butts.
Simultaneously a window adjoining
the table was smashed in. Bud Morgan
had barely time to spring to the
cartridge belt and holster which hung
on the wall behind them when the first
shot sounded, lie emptied a revolver
at the window in response?meanwhile
urging the two women and the child
into the adjoining bedchamber.
As they disappeared the front door
began to give to the blows of ?.o
........ W KM (I A.
Rnd )i:m 1 a scniml revolver ready f<?r
the rush that followed its breaking
In. The satisfaction of seeing two of
the raiders fall was at least his before
he was charged and carried to the
floor by half a dozen Mexicans.
Why he was not shot outright passed
his understanding. His weapons empty.
he fought madly with his bare
hands. He was a young man. and
hard and powerful; the combined exertions
of the six could no* avail to
keep him down for long. One after
another he struck and kicked them off.
then struggled to his feet. At the
same time he was assailed from behind;
a staggering blow from a gunbutt
all but felled him.
Sick with pain, he reeled out through
the doorway. There others awaited
him. He went down again under their
assault, again fought his way to ids
feet-, tills time with n revolver which
lie had wrested from the grasp of one
of his adversaries.
Gomez the Killer confronted him as
ne rose?weary of eye, almost diffident
of manner, watching his proy warily,
revolver poised. It was becoming
plain to Gomez that this man was not
to he taken alive. As Hud caught sight
of him. he fired. The American's head
jerked hack sharply, there was a look
of agony on his face, swiftly erased
hv <he hlnnkness of uneonseiousness.
Ids knees twinkled. and he dropped?
one side of his head n mass of hlood.
It never oeeurred to the Killer to
doubt that his bullet had penetrated
Hud's brain. He wasted no more
thought upon the unhappy man?after
irritably kinking 1dm?and passed on
into the house.
The bedchamber door was down.
Within. Hess Morgan was fighting for
ner life. A dead Mexican .iust beyond
the threshold testified to the skill with
which she had used the revolver
which, its every chamber discharged,
she was now employing as a club.
Slender and young, a mere slip of a
falr-hal red girl barely out of her
teens, she fought with science and the
desperation of one who faces, if not
death, worse than death. She had no
reason to anticipate any sort of mercy;
her mother lay dead, a bullet through
her heart, in a far corner of the room;
her little nephew had just dropped
out of the window to he ruthlessly
shot down as he fled round a corner of
the house.
Lounging in the doorway, a shoulder
against, it, Gomez rolled and lighted a
cigarette, watching her struggles with
a glimmer of approbation. Gringo
women like this, with such spirit nnd
strength, were worth fighting for. The
Killer regretted that he must hand
her over to his superior. What a
woman?once he had tamed her!
She was standing off no less than
three Mexican desperadoes?one she
stretched out with a skull cracked by
a shrewd Mow fr*m the butt of the revolver,
even while Gomez watched.
But the others were too many for her;
stepping buck to avoid their rushes,
she tripped over the body of one of
their fellows, ar?d went down. That
.was the end; in another moment she
wirs helpless th their hands.
Gomez straightened up from the
doorway. "Come," he said quietly
"hold her fast, but don't hurt her."l
j Struggling hopelessly, the girl was I
dragged from the house and thrown |
Into the saddle of a horse belongfhg I
| to one of the fallen Mexicans. Her
captors rode knee-to-knee with her, on
I either side. There was no possibility
' of escape, yet she would not lose heart. I
I She affected a sudden weakness, sat i
droopingly, with head bowed and i
I hands clasped on the pommel. The
j cavalcade swept to the tune of rushing II
i hoofs out of the dooryard, down into ji
he arroyo, up Its farther bank, and so
southward -^toward tho?? fur purple
111 lis. Itehind
It the Morgan homestead
roaml with flumes, a funeral pyre for
the l?o<|y of th?' murdered mother. ^
The girl wouhl not let herself thluk^
of that. She understood now that she
had heeli taken alive for a purpose.
She must defeat that purpose, either
hy escaping or by bringing lier own
<l( ath about in attempting to escape.
She dared not think ot the horror that
lay behind, lest it unnerve her and
make her fall. Jlifr
Leaving the open country, tfilp raiders
took to the highroad. If they had
eluded the patrol#, they did not hope
for lone t<i iro iiimnrsiieit Their \
course lay in open Might by the ftist^
practicable route to the hills. Thh.v
spared neither their horses nor them <#1
selves.
It so happened that the animal ridden
b.v Hess Morgan was one of the
~
Within Bess Morgan Was Fighting for
Her Life.
poorest of the lot. It lagged. They
who rode beside* her were constantly
drawing ahead, and then with eurso^
reining hack. Deceived by her apparent
resignation, they gave her more room.
Ahead of them, when they had ridden
for about twenty minutes, the road
swung round a high-bunked ben*, (hit
of the slope a tree thrust a brunch
over the road. Bess saw, and took her
one chance. 9
A furtive twitch at the reins caused
her horse to lag still more decidedly.
The others wot; to a full length ahead*
as they swept nAind the curve.
Raising both anus, the girl caught,
the overhanging branch and lifted herself
bodily from the saddle. The horse
rocketed on, relieved of its burden, tit 1
somewhat faster pace. I
But thfc* efforts she made to swing I
up on the limb of the tree and bv that 1
1
route gain the top of the hank wntt g
hopeless. She hud put too great v 1 '''"(M
upon her strength in her struggle; W1
failed her now. She dangled helpless- I
iy for a moment or two, then dropped J
to the roadway. |
As soon as that happened, terror 4
lent her new strength. She turned uud 1
ran wildly back along the road, seek- d
ing some place where she might find W
temporary cover by the roadside. I
That refuge was denied her. On the I
one hand was open country, destitute- 1
of anything considerable enough t<v U
hide behind: on the other, the coiicnvftl
wall of the IdutT.
And already her escape was diseov- I
erod. She could hear the thunder of I
returning hoofs. Still she held on. run- I
nlng as she had never dreamed she I
would be able tO run, dc^E^te her i
straining lungs and aching mimics. H
The hoofs were very close ""behind .1
her now. She put forth one lost en- 1
deavor?which failed in its inception. 1
Overtaking her, the Mexicans rode';l
up on either side. As she ran, the;-fl
riders swttng down from their snddle/Mfl
/ HHfUf Itoe oione It " r.. t-f^*
nil III inn, iiiiiii^; IHT i ;i ir iy
off her foot and utr her so while,1
tho.v wheeled thoir horses and dashed
back. ?
* * * * * * *
Scorching boat helped Hud Morgan'* i
return to consciousness. He roused
slowly, rolled over to get further'!
away from the flames that were devouring
his home, and sat \>P. With iv*
splitting pain in his head.
The hand that he instinctively lifted I
to his temple came away dripping with 1
blood. Vet be was not serlousl.v>A
wounded. The bullet had rut a deep J
furrow in the side of his head, hut Jl
had failed to penetrate the skull. T J>jJ
the temporary unconsciousness that *1
followed the wound, he owed his pres-^|
cut liberty and his escape from a tor- fl
tured death somewhere In those hills'
to the flfouth. 1
Yet life was bitter to savor anew.oA
As he staggered away from the burnlag
house that entombed his mother,
he came upon the riddled body of his 3
son. ?
What his subsenuent actions werffci'l
he never knew. It was late afternooiglfl
When he rode up to the Chaoninj? ha-vJB
olenda, more mad than sntioVon th?01
hack of a borne without stradle or , I
bridle. I
It was an hour later before he reijl
covered sufficiently to gasp out hb'.il
tale of horror to Patrla and Donald; 11
Parr In the library. I
When he had finished, the mm .
bowed his head on his folded
rind sat racked with dry, cnnvuisix &J|
sobs.
On either side of hlin Patrla an<v|3
Donald roupht, then avoided, r I
[ titer's eyes. 1
(TO BE CONTINUED. ||