The evening world. Newspaper, March 19, 1915, Page 23

phe tedennbeohalahahahed on CHAPTER Xill. HMTHER it was a wild-goose | chase or not that Hasard Went On, the shadow of the , Mountains lay in white eun- light on the frosen lake be- fere-he came bome. Meeting Rider, he oald he was on his way to sce Bophy. ‘“@be' te not there,” sald Rider. “Gone walking with Atherton.” Later Athe:ton came back from an imapection 0. the mine. He went straight to Hazird with an odd prop- caition; mamcly, that Hasard should clear. out with all the gold already mineé-and.that Atherton should take over the mine's ownership. He of- Atherton slowly. “I'm talking busi- ness. Do you mean, straight without any trimmings, that you won't tal my offer about the dog-teams and get ous with your stuf? Even if you take the rs Nol” fell, then, I guess I'll come in on your mine. It’s a kind of home with- @ mother busin this weather, anyho sald Hi “your men talked, I've for the easiest way. and from all I can 1 think you're going to have it, T wanted to help you out. I saw this benny | ba know you aren't alone here, an guess you’ ta have gwome good old fashioned jumping out of your Lastluck Bomebody’s playing it on you, seein to now it." I t to know ‘t play it on me, anyhow,” zard succinctly. “As far ed you can put out "t need your ai ce, I wouldn't have you or yo men in my mine, not a damned one of you; and as for your ghosts and your claim jumpers you can talk about them to some one else; they won't it straight. one-horse cab on shares with you, for you'd go off with the horse the first day and hook the cab while I was Be for. it. And you know it mugh;abeut this place saa ‘o@ering to help get your gold - +. Out of it wasn't all gall. But if you ‘won't go,” he laughed suddenly, “I'll seo what Sophy says! For there's one thing you can’t get hot in the coll about; this isn't any fit place for her to be." “That's the only thing you've men- ‘a none of my business, Hazard smoothly; but he went to the window as Atherton’s dog teams tore up the river ley. Dvery team was complete, but there was not a gray dog among them; yet it was im le there could be any about, but it worried Hazard. uetebed them turn south. was cold, It was odd, but not a man of Hasard’s outfit had ever been south of the claim since they had ; before that he remem- v HE WOLF-MAN CHAPTER XIV. HUT in, somehow, they Hasard bad always th: S solld wedges that closed it. When the men swarmed out at be never even gave them an qrder, only pointed to the glare over the mine; they knew what they had ‘to do. But for an ugly minute they hung in the wind. It took another to put the fear of God in them over Atherton’s Jeaven of superstition. ' When they moved off with a rush Hasard was suddenly aware of Rider, inert on the office threshold; and at the thought that came to him he swore. 2 He turned and shouted to Sophy, and at the ring of his voice the girl came tearing to him. “Get in there and stay, will your”, eaid Hasard. “I can’t trust to a tin- tack key in a shingle door to-night, and Rider's useless.” But for the last clause it was an order; she was no more the girl he loved, but a doubtful quantity. ‘Lock the door, and don’t let in one soul till I come. I suppuse you care for the gold; I don’t know, but I'm trusting you!” i kno rpl; i I need to! But for to- night stand by the men and me, To-! morrow you can t me abou rou | and Atherton.” And be raced after his men. | moment Sophy stared after | him. Then she locked the office door | on herself and Rider, snoring in the corner where Hazard had flung him, and went dully to the window. If Hazard knew what she had meant to say he was behaving like a fool—there was only one way to treat It. But he had never been a fool. “He can’t know, he can't,” thought that Atherton ved it all,” she thought I don’t know what to think; wery bit of my gold if I m sure the wolf-man was straight, for all it doesn’t look like it. It’s I that have been the sneak- hold my tongue he peered through the frozen window. All she could see of the fire was the glow that grew and reddened till it frightened her. Across it, as she stared, Atherton and his dog teams swept like black demons over the orange of the snow, and giaepae yelling, in the indigo it's nearly always too late. an 8 Hazard hear me, and nly she remembered the gold. Curiously enough, it lightene: her heart. Hazard must know what knew, for he had put her here as sentry; yet the thought startled her, too, The office was familiar enough. She had often sat all day alone in it, with the men away as they were away now, but it had never looked qu! like this befo: cold, shut-in little place between crimson snow and bi -red sky, with a drunken man who had a grudge against her locked in witb her, soul to hear her if she heart out. It was not that she was afraid of Rider, but he would be no use if she needed him. It might be madness to think she could need him, but to-day she had lost her bearings, and she was suddenly afraid, “Tl just have to do whatever I can till the men come back,” ehe thought. “Oh, pray they won't be long!” Bi ming back was the | ingth of the sheds solid, glowing line di it each the country. He. knew enough to keep out of the nope, enybow, ‘As be turned the key in the door to leave the office he ran into Rider and ke without a second glance at him. ay expects me to din- ner. "t let one, or half a one, of Al on’s men out of the bunkhouse I see you. Understand thing in his head might be foolishness, but till he knew be would act on it. der broke into a string of oat! by e cares whi off with Atherton this | God knows where.” A wi of ‘9 whiskey made bim grab “shi more le hio- out to tl Hazard. He swore, locked the door, and being rattled, opened Sophy’ without mocking. M2 see the girl Jumo ffom Atl ‘on's side. “Have you seen Rider?” she cried, and if Hagard had not been done with doubt it would have settled him. Yes; if seeing him's kicking him back to Hee bunkbesee,” be responded 5 y “Dinner’s ready.” she said rather bitterly, “mostly Mr. Atherton’s ba- Té not! And as Haga con. nol moved to the outside door #1 e4, “Where are you going?” “Nowhere,” curtly. “I've got to see where Rider is!” For if the foreman had not happeted to hit the bunk- heuse he must be tying somewhere in tart. ‘ Don’t forget that Next Week’s Complete ee MARIFE. 99 Novel in The Evening World will be re you eat! paee Hi edge of the basin; and each man, as he knew it was too late to save it, knew too that there were no more Doards to build it afresh, and that the loss of it meant working out of doors with nothing to break the sweep of the Arotic wind, endless delaye with every snowfall, and about half their present output, There was no need to harry them to work now; they worked lke machines, hacking down timbers, smothering the whole ditch with s1 as Atherton stood back a minute m2. her burn,” he yelled to a “It's too late to choke her out much. How do you suppose it caught? “Bee about that afterward,” snapped jovelling welts of snow wher- ever he could fling it, and stepping back to clear his face before the steam froze on it. Hazard said nothing at all. Ather- ton was the only soul who been near the mine all that day; one of Atherton's mei ho had his dogs to wee to, might easily ve been out- side the bunk house; had been accidental and the careless dropping of Atherton’s matches, there was no accident about the wedges in the bunk house door Some one had with art and no knocking; after all, quite simpl: harder the men pushed to get out the mot irmly they shut to, And this was Christmas! “It looks like it,” thought Hasard arimiy, as at last the fre died to a mass of blackening embers, chiefly because there was nothing more to enfng ‘Wo ‘o ashes. % uutae . Fridey, March rg “A Mere Scrap of Paper!” a:et0ntha, By Robert Minor blaze. Ol work, that could never be done again in this country of un- dersized trees with not a board in one of them, was gone. “I can log her up somehow,” Hazard thought, staring at the ruins, “but it just means that much time lost as far as the output goes. I was right, all right, when I said I saw my bad luck coming.” “What?” asked Atherton, with that irritating trick of his. turned on him slowly, “I didn't speak, but I'm going to,” bis voice hoarse with steam and flying “What on earth were . you about with your matches this morn- ing?” “It thi think | what you think, you can ," said Atherton fippantly. “Why don't you say it was an ac- cident?” Atherton shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn't one I could have prevented. I'm not running the Lastiluck mine.” “Not yet. I suppose if yeu had seen, by my taking your offer this morning, you'd have seen there wasn't any fire; and one of your men wouldn't have been conveniently out- side while mine were bailed up in the bunkhouse.” + Atherton turned away, and turned back again. “You've insulted me three times to-da; he said, very quietly for him. ‘m not going to waste breath in saying you'll be sorry for it, for I mean to make you damned sorry. I didn’t set your sheds on fire nor lock in your men, but I know who did. Just men who're go- ing to fight you for your cial Hazard looked up at the empty mountains scornfully. “This morning yu said I'd have trouble from a unt,” be retorted. eo men thought it was a a good deal worse to my mind; ghosts don’t burn before they murder, if you want the plain word. You've been here five months, and I've found out in twenty-four hours more than you ever thought of--un- less to-night's made you think. Ican show you what you've got to fight if you want to see it. You won't be- Leve me if I tell you.” “I haven't time to listen,” said Has- ard bruskly, striding off in the dark to look for Kelly, and stumbling on him as a black huddle against a rock. “Better take the men home, ther no use in stayin, he sald curtly. “She's all gone up. Kelly took out his pipe. “I guess Tul stay for a while, if you don't mind,” be returned. “Olsen's kind of hunting round mourning for his burnt up shovels, and I guess me and the men will stay out with him and observe the night." He shoved the anaky-head of a revolver suddenly out of his pocket. “I hooked it from you," he observed calmly. “There's been too much talk of ghosts and things to suit me, and I seen some sort of a thing roaming round here when first | came up. I'm going to shoot a hole in it and take the men back comfortable, I don't want any more fool scares in my bunk-house to-night. Just let me get things quieted down, and I'll have the men home cool and easy inside of an hour. I ain't never cheated you, Mr, Hazard, and there's something that’a past me said Hazard slowly, “you can stay an hour.” As he spoke he wondered if he did not see the strange dog slipping past in the fring: den thought smote him. If the beast were not Atherton’s there might be some truth in his story of other men being at Lastluc! tin he knew it was not worth while explaining gray shadows to Kelly. He strode to where Atherton stood smoking calmly, and touched his and if the fire hy sleeve. “Have you lost a dog iately?” he asked. Atherton twitched hie arm away. “Look for yourself,” he said buffily. “You can see the teams well enougn I'm going home, if you don’t want me to show you what I said about other men being here. I don't know any- thing about S, unless it's theirs.” Hazard, listening to the indifferent voice, decided it was not a thing Ath- erton would dare to lie about. “If you've got anything solid to show me I'l come,” be said wearily. “Other- wise, I'm going back to my dinner.” “Oh, it's solid enough,” with a quick viciousness like a bronco’s. “It won't take long, elther; I guess we can load up on the dog sieds for part of the way, though it isn’t far.” It was quite far enough to be safe for a prisoner, though, if once he got Hazard kidnapped in the wolf-man's house, with the garrison of bis own men who had replaced its solitary in- mate. And with Rider drunk, Sophy as easily managed as she had ever been, Atherton felt bis Gngers already on the Lastiuck gold. He could just keep in jaughter as he turned to call up his men. Hazard was just tired enough to have hesitated about any expedition on bis own legs. He sat down on a dog sied as Atherton muttered some- ing to his drivers that ended in wo'll do,” and flung bimself op the leading sled. Hazard supposed he bad sent the others ho but Kelly would bave sense eno Not to let them go alone, and he sat apathetically as the teams moved off; for once in silence. They went South, where Atherton had gone that afternoon, and they went It might have been at a mile’s dis- tance that Atherton stopped. “Here'a where we'd better walk,” he suggested. “That is, if you mean to come.” “I'm here,” said Hazard, yawning, “You're not there, though. There's time to if you think we'll have trot Hazard laughed. In ite of his headlong ways Atherton had had a reputation for caution in the last place where Hazard had enjoyed his society, and be forgot that he had also bad a reputation for turning like &@ weazel at the last pinch. “1 expect that’s all right,” he said easily. “Bring on your claim-jumpers —they seem to have & blame ag ort, till to-night.” je rather hoped there was & camp of men in the gully ahead of him; once there was good, solid human trouble, he would know what Ather- ton meant to be at. He followed him at @ walk down something that feit like a path—was a path; and his at- tention grew as he trod it, The man was not lying; human feet had worn the snow to@ smooth thread. It wound @ good deal; Hazard tried to keep the trend of it uselessly; Atherton never faltered. Suddenly he stopped short, and stood out of the wi “There,” he wrispered; and Hasard really started. ‘There was a light ahead of him; more, in a little cleared log house, He could see t! ing through the open door; miner's toola cast carelessly on the floor beside !t. His eyes turned sud- denly hard. There was no one to be seen, but that was not to say the place was empty. He walked up to it and looked inside, on a heterogeneous mixture of rifles and picks, and not a buman soul. “That's what I struck thie morn- ing,” Atherton’s voice came oddly high and careless of auditora. “Won- der I proposed I should join up with you? I guess the lot of us could BY 4H. stand them off, if they are the old- fashioned kind.’ “You can stand them off your own claim when you get one,” returned Hasard Pes te tae There, among the rifles, was the complete dress and mask of wolfskin that had been used against him till the ghost business panned out and thi ede wore fired. It all tallied eo f1 he wondered if fed were going to apologize to Ather- . “You still mean,” asked bape “you won't have any of me in yours’ “We threshed that out this morn- ing,” said H and turned to look Into the mussle of a gun. “Stand still,” snaried Atherton, “You wanted it in, and you're go- ing to have it. You're on my claim, getting oat my gold that [ swea to get at last y I couldn’t—never mind why—eod when I can u've struck tt, with my information ige- way stole. There's no sense in my hanging round prospecting claims; there aren’t any other claims. This one was a freak, and my freak at that. I’ve got no time to waste at it, either; I've good and particular rea- sons to get all there is out of It in a fortnight, and go; it’s what I'm here for, You're hei your foreman’s drunk; your girl's been engaged to me for a year; your men are stuck out on the hill looking for ghosts, and I'm not expecting igeway back to help you out any. I guess you've run on your claim jumpers all right—for I'm them! You needn't look at the path; my dog-drivers 1 behind are stoping It up, and there's no other way out of thie place unless you cap y down the home. I've got you ne." Hazard was not looking at the path, not even behind him. His ears were good enough to tell bim five men had come out from behind the house, and that he had had no dream about the second lot of dog sleds. For reasons of his own be stood stock atill im front of Atherton, and did not Dimeelf a He stuck out his. heels to nd rolled over and over somethi: staring. him the light of stars. Atherton's gun—and the Lord knew why it bad not gone off in the ag 2 gan-slide he had executed—was in his hand still, and mechanically Has- ard twirled the cylinder. There was not a single cartridge ip ith =f be bad relied on it, and ata; to do some shooting——“Well, I've had luck, if I've had no horse sense,” he muttered; and sat up with a sudden feeling of a familiar place. ‘The storehouse!" be said blankly, the black bulk that loomed in front of him was home, though he could not tell how he had there. No sound of pursuit came from behind him; he listened rather dizsily till he wns sure of it; and suddenly heav himeelf to his feet, worse, The shots of him, up at the office, Either Ather‘on had turned on Sophy, or-—- “Good God,” muttered Hagard, “she'd never fire on her own men!” He tore round the corner, saw a figure in the stariirht by the office door, bawled it neatly in the back of the Ae a_with his empty gun; and wen sprang at him from the bunk. door, | Bophy could see all she wanted to of her compan- ton, which was that he slept; but as the minutes dragged by his lethargy infuriated her. She rose suddenly and shook him. “Rider,” she ordered “Rider, wake up! help me.” But there was no intelligence in the sodden face, and samehow Sophy CHAPTER XV. HE hours had been long tn the office. In the reflection from the burning sheds sharply; You've got to , had no desire to atir the fire to eee from him. As be fred be thought Jumped aside, but he was also nearly certain he bad winged some one; and had no desire to stay to wee woo. He had got to get back to the office be- fore Atherton’s drivers closed in on bim in front—and be could bear their feet coming up the path—and his other men bebind. There might be no wey out but the path he bad come, but there was genera! direction. He was across the clearing and in the bushes before be heard Atherton shout; he did not hear what, nor did he particularly care. The thing that worrled him was the sheer drop of the cliff, impossible to descend except in the river bed, and the memory of Atherton's low. men be had left bebind that had prob- ably strung them out in a cordon be- tween Hasard and Kelly even, let alone Sophy. Hazard doomed at the stars, and began to run; quietly enough at firet, then recklessly where he never could have run in daylight. Up places and down he co Rot see, over rocks, with the feeling that he was taking hours to it. He did sot know how late It was when at last he gained the top of a rise where ¢ poly, by low bu Aa he pushed through them he down, with anything but hie own voll- tion, and for a moment knew nothing but that he wae coasting violent) downhill, apparently into a solid wal: Atherton it better. She eat down instead and Metened. But there was no sound at all, if she'did not count a drunken mane breathing, and by and by something that startled her till she Pealized it was ber watch ticking ia the atillness, She felt as if she had stared at it for years by the time the bands went to midnight. It bad been 7 when the fire broke out, aud where were the men? The shack was dark now except for the faint lignt off the snow: there was nothing to keep then re was also no have known that among @ thousand others in a city ; and It did not sound like At It was too Ugbt, too furtive--and unconsciously she laughed out with relief, The wolt. wae the only person at Lastluck who would come to bi softly and so secretly. She bad been i Hi i? H ig Sophy weren't drunk?" window, but Hasert’s & ie : & i a, 5 i i Atherton tl t f : sf afternoon's work was lown under three men who ji, -house good. “TL was watohl I guessed ra rk be fo than ‘up at the the the matter with yout For { sake don’t keep me here all inight! uf tae it’e all right, we've had rather a |Tve A shot through my shoulder, and bf bry he killed?” Sophy thought she ecreamed it, but her voloe was quite even. | “I don’t know. We couldn't find t_me in and I'll tell you.” find him?” “Not The men are looking for {bim.” Sophy drew a sharp breath. * there's only—me,” she said oddly. “Yea, and for Heaven's sake what's bs da you? Open the door!” Sophy knelt motionless. She was sudden); Loge for Rider’s distrust aim. “Can't or had de: eavi swept over her, but Ai ton should never come in. And quite muddenly she spoke on it. If Rider was not drunk he was net sober; for a moment his thick head ft lead main doilie: sytaclby.. 4 ing. “If you're counting om me,” she an- nounced deliberately, “T'll never let you in here. I’ve known all day what you wanted, and I only pretended I didn’t. I've played with you—do hear? played with you! You see I've inown you a long time: wait here alone for you, not only me you've got to fight.” “The foremai erton scornfully, “I saw to that.” He her feet and “You can fight with she cried fiercely, “you've got to fight for me aow. Quick, the door!” For all answer Rider flung himself againat it. He was just in time. Some- thi that was too heavy for Ather- shoulder crashed against his ‘Get a un,” he cried thickly houlder, ‘28 seemed to move from the door. nh} eprank ctutonga Rider, me afterward,” “1 can't On!" her fingers had closed on one. Aa she for Rider’s hand the door came in on him like a battering ram. Rider leaped clear of !t, fired, and missed; but Atherton staggered in hi spring at him. Someth had burt. led through the night behind him, and caught him on the back of the head. He gulped for an instant, but he fell. hh nate ht y and foug' doggedly with his fits, Bome of Ather- men were down, but the test pressed him hard. The girl heard her own voice screaming to keep them out as she shoved in cartri: 3 and turned like a Gash to ahi behing Rider's knees, deliberately into the face who had stooped to he snatched the @un. Whether he believed in the gi or not she was playing up well. He thought dissily that Atherton'’s men would have o,quarves for bev, ane yelled to her: back! Mind the window!" Sophy obeyed instinctively, The window was broken and there was 80 second gun, but at least she could see any one coming against the stars; and yates d af i i ; e i ay i s $F Letts i Ee) 38 z i E i ay } iM ts 2 tf ej 4 H & 5 Hi ee TST gE Zz os i fil aif EEE HEE i ron cee here too long to of ither! It's oles runk,” sald Ath- suddenly she screamed again, but thie V! time with a different note in It. - “Olsen,” she shrieked like a wildcat at Rider. “Olsen's coming!” For round the river turn she saw the big Gwede, his axe whirling hie head as he flew along on the skis he had made 6o long ago and used 80 little, Behind him ran Kelly and the men, yelling, but the girt Bhe saw him swung out on 4 begin to run; saw him breath through the door, huntiig him to vain al) day, and abe his had been right to believe in him. If he were not straight he would never have come to her now. Bhe slipped softly by the Rider and as softly to drawing out the key till through. In the dark Rider's little pig eyes opened alertly ae she did it, and be. hind her his face was not th a drunken man. But Borhy stared throu; tl keybole, Clise to it, ine the keyhole, she id wee e in the star- RIDER HAGGARD foreman’s gun was empty. In a Berserker rage that was a match for six men, Olsen was more th than # match for Atherton’s. They gave back; ran: one of them caught hold of Atherton and hauled him etag- cringe ar two did not move, and phy covered ber eyes. the dead men ashe did It for; had shouted somethin: answered; that was all; but what they READ IT. ought,” she sa! onty the worst nearly ruined us. 78 paves to Rider followed her together In silence in her shack, and ecratch bis mussy bead. (Te Be Ceatinued.) Its hero is Allan Quatermain (hero of “King Solomon’s Mines”), and the story is written in H and most enthralling vein. 's very best hy