THE WASTREL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15306, 20 May 1913, Page 4

THE WASTREL.

PUBLISHED BY - SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.

:BY HAROLD BINDLOSS, > Author of "The Impostor," Pioneer," "Hawtrey'e Deputy," etc. •'• "COPYRIGHT. CHAPTER XXVlL—(Continued.) As it '■■ happened Prescott was riding steadily through the stinging frost. He had been unable to obtain a fresh horse, but he 'had borrowed a saddle, and the Clydesdale, though far from fast, possessed good staying powers. For all that, he had been forced to rest part of the day at an outlying farm, and while there a man brought him word from Stanton, whose line of travel ran • roughly level with his three or four leagues to the west. The trooper's. horse had gone badly lame, and Prescott was instructed to push on while he sought another mount. It was a very bitter night, but the farmer was used to cold, and riding alone in the moonlight he made the best pace he could across the white desolation. There was nd sign of life on it. Nothing moved in the reeds beside the frozen ponds and the shadowy bluffs he passed; no sound but the thud of heavy hoofs broke the overwhelming silence. By and by he left the trees behind, and, pressed cn-'into a vast glittering plain which ran back to th 3 horizon, unbroken by a bush, and inexpressibly lonely., .. In the early morning he reached a homestead where he rested until the afternoon. He chafed .at the delay, but as the Clydesdale was badly jaded, it could not be avoided, and Wandle would have to stop now and then, unless . he could hire fresh horses, which might be difficult. Starting again, he came to a little wooden settlement in the evening and rode first to the livery stable. Ihe telephone wires, which were being stretched across the prairie, had not reached the place, and he surmised that the police had been unable to communicate with it. The livery man was busy in one of the stalls, but he came out and answered Prescott's question. "" " Yes," he said, "a fellow like the one you speak of came in here about an hour ago His team looked pretty used up and he wanted to hire another, but I couldn't deal. Keep my horses hauling cordwood through the winter, and the only team I have in the stable is ordered by a drummer for to-morrow." "Can't you find me a mount? I'll pay j*ou what you like." "No, sir," said the other. "When I engage to drive a man round I've got to make good. If I didn't it would soon ruin my trade." Seeing he was not. to be moved, Prescott asked : "How do you strike the south trail" - ' ' "Go straight • through the town. Jp forks in about three miles, arid you can take either branch. They're both pretty bad, but the west one's the shorter and the worse." "What's between the forks?" " A big patch of broken countrysandhills and bluffs. About eight miles on the other trail runs in again." '" Aro there* any homesteads on the ■way?" " Nothing near the trail. There's a shack where two fellows cutting cordwood camp." Prescott considered wh ?n he had thanked the man -He. was tired and his horse was far from fresh, but he understood that Wandle's team was in a worse condition. Thero was a possibility of his overtaking him if he pushed on at once. Leaving tho stable, he meant to walk a short distance to ease - his aching limbs, but he saw* a mounted man trotting up the 'street and called out as ho recognised Stanton. '"', '■■ ■-:■—.- " I thought I'( might get news of you here," said the troooer, pulling up. "Have you found out anything ? . Prescott told him what he had heard, I and Stanton nodded. ' -

•''Then' wo had better get on. The horse I've got is pretty fresh." ■ In another minute or two they had left the lights of the settlement behind and Prescott prepared for a third night on the trail. His eyes were heavy, long exposure to extreme cold had had its effect on him, and the warmth seemed to be dying out of his exhausted body. By and by they came,to a straggling clump of birches with ' blurred masses of taller trees behind, where the trail broke in two, and Stanton, who dismounted and struck a few matches, examined the snow carefully. < ' ' " Nothing to show which way Wandle's gone, ' he remarked. " Somebody's been along with a bob-sled not long and rubbed out his tracks. Anyhow, 111 take tho shorter fork." '

They . separated; tho trooper, riding on in the moonlight, Preecott entering the glocm of the trees, and he soon found the trail remarkably uneven. So far as he. could make out, it skirted a number of low, thickly-timbered ridges, swinging sharply up and down. In places it slanted awkwardly towards one edge; in others it was covered with stiff, dwarf scrub. One or two of the descents to little frozen creeks were alarmingly steep and the Clydesdale stumbled now and then, but it kept s its feet and Prescott felt that, everything considered, he was making a satisfactory pace. "Stanton, ho supposed, was two or three miles to the west of him, following the opposite edge of the high ground, but there was nothing to indicate which of them was the nearer to Wandle. '

He rode on, ' wishing it was a little lighter, for the faint gleam of the moon amopg the trees confused his sight and made it difficult to distinguish the trail, 'while to loave it might lead to his plunging down ' soma precipitous gully. At length he saw a yellow glow ahead, and soon afterwards came upon a little shack in an opening. Small logs were strewn about it and among them stood tall piles of cordwood. The door opened as he rode up and a man's dark figure appeared in the entrance. ; "Have you seen a rig going south?" Prescott asked. "I heard one about seven or eight minutes ago," was the reply. "The fellow didn't seem to be driving quick." "Thanks," said Prescott, and rode off with a feeling of satisfaction. • He had gained on Wandle, who had probably been delayed by some mischance on the trail. If the Clydesdale could be urged to a faster pace he might overtake him, but this must be done before thta fugitive could hire a fresh team. Next, he began to wonder what progress Stanton had' made, for the relative positions of Wandle and the constable were now important. If Stanton were far enough ahead he would reach the spot where the trails united. before the absconder, in which case they would/ have him between them and it would be better for Prescott to save his horse's strength, because speed might be required. On the contrary, if Stanton were riot yet abreast of him, he ought to push on as fast as possible. Wandle, he was glad to remember, could not know how closely he was being followed.. Turning the matter over in his mind, he rodo at. a moderate pace .while the rough track wound deeper into the bluff. The partial obscurity was now extremely puzzling. Here and there • a slender trunk glimmered in the faint moonlight that streamed down between the branches, and little patches of ■ brightness lay across his path, ,but this intensified the darkness of the background. It was hard to tell which of the dim avenues that kept opening up was the trail,, and the state of the short scrub no longer guided ; him, since the cordwood cutters had not penetrated so far with their sled. He must go forward, however, and he was gazing anxiously ahead with eyes that ached from long exposure to - the reflection from, •: the snow when the : Clydesdale stumbled violently. He had scarcely time to clear his feet of the stirrups befqre . the beast went, down and he was flung into a clump of brush with a force that nearly drove 'the breath out of him. f. For a few moments - he lay still, dimly conscious . that the horse was struggling in the snow j and 'then rousing himself with an effort , got 'up unsteadily.

He : felt -badly shaken/but he' saw the horse scramble -to its feet without assistance and • stand , trembling, ' looking • about for him. '!'.'. ' ,1. It did not seem to be injured when he seized the bridle, and none of his bones were broken, but ho felt incapable of mounting and waited a while, wondering what he should do. He was tired out and sensible of a depressing lassitude, the result of nervous "strain. Then as the bittec cold nipped him, a reaction set in. Wandle, he "remembered, had with detestable cunning plotted to ruin him ; it might hi difficult to clear himself unless the man were arrested. For the sake of the girl who had maintained his innocence with steadfast faith the suspicion he laboured under must be dispelled, .-nd he was seized by a fit of furv against his betrayer. Nerved by it he got into the saddle and rode on, urging the Clydesdale savagely through the wood. Half an hour later he heard a measured drumming sound and Stanton's voice answered his hail. Then a horseman rode out of a gap in the trees and pulled up near him. . , " I suppose you have seen nothing of Wandle?'' Prescott said. " Not a sign," said Stanton shortly. " Have vou?" • . Prescott raised his hand and sat listening while he struggled with his rage and disappointment. The night was still; he thought he would hear any sound there might be a long distance off, but nothing broke the silence. . "I learned that I wasn't far behind him from a. chopper, and half expected you would have headed him off," he said, and made a rough calculation before he added : " I can't think he has passed the spot." " We'll try to fix that." Stanton dismounted and struck several matches. The little flame burned steadily, but it showed none of the marks for which he searched the beaten snow with practised eyes.' " No," he said: " I'd stake a month's pav the fellow's not ahead." They looked at one another frankly puzzled ; and then Prescott broke out in a harsh voice " Where can the —— rustler be?"

" Couldn't have left the bluffs on my side without my seeing him, and if he'd doubled back on* his tracks you'd have met him." Curtis remarked. " He's not likely to be hiding" in the woods. He'd freeze without a proper outfit, which he can't have sot." They grappled with the problem in silence for a minute or two; and then Stanton said, "We'll take the back trail. The fellow must have broken out for open country on your side. r. I guess he knows where *ther« : a homestead he might find a team at."

Prescott agreed, and they rode off wearilf the way he had come, shivering with the cold that had seized them while thcv waited. The expectant excitement which had animated them for the past hour had cone and was followed bv a. reaction. Their bodies were half-frozen, their minds worked heavily, but both were conscious of a grim resolve. It was the trooper's duty to bear crushing fatigue and stinging frost, one that was sternly demanded of him, and the farmer had a stronger motive. He must clear himself for Muriel's sake and he was filled with rage against the man who had tried to betray him. He would go on, if necessary, until his hands and feet froze or the big Clydesdale fell. . (To be continued daily.) ■'■,■'■"