letons left by the raging fire-fiend.

Progress was slow. It was almost too slow for the man's eager nerves.
He wanted to reach his goal. His lean body thrilled with a profound
joy. He lusted for the battle which he knew to lie ahead of him. But,
even so, he gave no outward sign. His face was set and harsh. His
small eyes bored through the gloom, thrusting to penetrate beyond
every bend in the winding road. Nothing escaped them. Each small fur
that fled in terror at his approach was carefully noted, for they told
him things he wanted to know.

Now the final steep was reached. It was truly precipitous. The sharp
hoofs of the team clawed their way up. Such was the struggle that even
the man found himself leaning forward, instinctively desiring to help
the laboring animals. The bends in the trail were sudden and at brief
intervals. It was as though those responsible for the original
clearing of the road had realized the impossibility of a direct
ascent, and had chosen the zigzag path as the only means of
surmounting the hill.

The moments passed. Bend followed bend. The man in the cart found
himself mechanically counting them. Two more. One more. The summit was
almost reached. And beyond? He sighed. Maybe it was the sigh of a man
whose nerves are relieved from their tension, knowing that beyond this
last bend lay his goal. Maybe it was inspired by sympathy for his
struggling horses. Anyway, his whole manner underwent a change. The
watchfulness seemed to have gone from his eyes, his muscles to have
relaxed. He leant back in his seat like a man full of weariness, and
securely fastened his reins to an iron rail on the side of the cart.

He was at the bend now. The leaders were abreast of it. They were past
it. He--

There was a sharp rattle of firearms, and half-a-dozen bullets swept
pinging their way over his head. A hoarse voice shouted a command to
halt. His horses plunged forward. But, quick as lightning, his hands
flew to the reins, and he drew them up to a standstill in the open.

"Hands up!" shouted the same voice; and a horseman appeared on each
side of the team.

Then came an exhibition of the gambler as he was, as in the old days
he had always been known. It was all done in the fraction of a second.
Simultaneously his two guns leapt from his holsters and two shots rang
out. There was an ominous echo from the woods. One horseman reeled in
his saddle, and the horse of the other man stumbled and finally fell.