CHAPTER II.—Continued.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13204, 30 June 1906, Page 6

CHAPTER ll.—Continued.

Placing his revolver peady, did necessity for it arrive, and springing to the door, he removed the wooden bat. The door did not It was secured on tho outside. He was a prisoner ! Not for long. Surely these roughly hewn planks would speedily give way to pressure such as hi& They did not move an inch. Madly he flung himself against them, tore at them with his hands, his passion augmented by a sharp cry from the girl, as one hurt or in pain. j Great Heaven ! they could not have forced her to sign, and were now completing their fiendish work ? ' Oh, what agony for him to be so near, yet incapable of aiding her ! Again and again he shouted words of encouragement, then was seized with fresh alarm, as by the cries which were once more repeated, he knew they were forcing her from' the house. For what purpose ? He feared to think, his very blood seemed - "turned to ice. Idiot ! Was he quite bereft of reason ? Was there not a ' window ? Even as he remembered he had reached it ; it was small, but lai'ge enough to admit of his egress if he could open it ; it was in one piece, the four tiny panes of glass fiored in one heavy frame. Was 'this secured, too ? No ! * In a second he had flung it wide ; in front of' him reared higk the snow-capped mountain, against ,the side of which the farm clung ; a supernatural gleam was emitted from it in tfeat dull, blue-gray night ; to the left was' the path by which he had arrived at the God-forgotten place ; to the right, the awful dip of the mountain, shooting hundreds of feet almost precipitously down ; over all, the deep, solemn silence, with the exception of the perpetual torrents. The torrents ! Bae kad been too excited to, he a r them ;he scarcely did co now, as, with a roar, they appeared to rush in at him through the open window. It was Alma of whom alone he thought. On leaning out to see how far he was from the ground, he experienced an intense thrill of joy as he beheld the woodstack immediately beneath. Just then he he a rd Alma's voice again, now raised i* fury. He guessed the truth ; they had secured her in one of the outhouses. Now was the time,- then, for him j to escape. Forcing his body through the window, he dropped safely to the woodstack ; thence it wae easy to reach the ground. One or two loosened logs rolled noisily down. For a second" 'he lost his balance, but leaped quickly after them. Scarcely, however 1 ., had he done so, before a terrific blow fell on his shoulder, just avoiding his head, and m a foing him reel and stagger. Recovering himself, though yet dazed, ,he swung round and sprang at his assailant. In a second he . had grappled with him ; but th« next, another blow, this time better aimed, crashed down an his head, and with one loud cry he dropped senseless to the ground. "You've 1 settled him," muttered Ned, as the two bent over -the motionless form. "Well, he's only himself to thank. He'll never be inquired for here. If he is, they'll find him at the foot of the mountain. Quick! before that girl can know." But even as they stooped to lift Rae, Alma was there, panting, flushed, angry." "Confusion !" ejaculated Randy, "she's escaped! 1 " Alma had come swiftly forward, but as her eyes rested on Ra«, his white, ashen face, his closed lids, and motionless form, she recoiled with a low cry of terror. "'What is it ?" she exclaimed. "What, nave you done to him? Why does he lie there, and not speak ?" "Because he's dead," growled old Randy. ' "Dead-dead !" "Dead as the kids we kill for our dinner. Yes, dead— ke'H never speak again, be sure of that— and it's you that's brought death upon him. You've killed him !" The girl made no answer, only repeated, "I— l V She was colourless, her eyes were dilated, her lips were apart with' horror. Never had she seen the death of any of her; own kind. Her hands were pressed to her beating temples ; she had the appearance of one distraught. As • they raised him by the kead and feet., and moved toward the precipice, she slowly stepped back out of their way, only Her eyes following Lester Rae's form. Then, abruptly, with a great shriek, throwing up her arms, she cried : j "I— l ! : No, it is you wfco have j killed him— you ! I hate you ! Dead j dead—dead I" And as the word, uttered by those clear, ringing tones, was caught up, and tossed, and echoed back by the mountain's, she fled — fled, heedless ■whither, ns long as she could put

distance between her and tkat awful tight.