olved that the
Governor's last charge to him should be kept. He saw Congdon beyond the
light of the conflagration taking aim at Carey with careful calculation.
Carey must not be killed; no matter what the death toll might be, the
man responsible for it must be taken alive. He raised his hand as a
signal to Congdon not to fire, and waited, hanging back in the shadows,
watching the wild gyrations of the madman. Carey seemed now to be
oblivious to everything that was happening about him as he continued his
dance of triumph. In the midst of this weird performance, suddenly
widening the circumference of his operations, he stumbled. As he reeled
Archie rushed in, gripping his throat and falling upon him.

The breath went out of the man as he struck the ground, and Archie
jumped up and left him to Congdon and Leary.

Perky was kneeling beside the Governor tearing open his shirt which was
already crimson from a fast-flowing wound.

"He's hurt bad; it's the end of him!" muttered the old man helplessly.

"There's nothing to be done here," said Archie, tears coursing down his
cheeks as he felt the Governor's faltering pulse. "We must cross to
Huddleston as quickly as possible."

At Carey's downfall his men fled through the woods, pursued by several
of the Governor's party. Perky seized the rockets and touched one after
the other to the flames of the bonfire. The varicolored lights were
still bright in the sky when the answering signal rose from the bay.

"The tug's moving up," said Perky.

A thousand and one things flitted through Archie's mind. The Governor
had not opened his eyes; his breath came in gasps, at long, painful
intervals. To summon aid through the usual channels would be to invite a
scrutiny of their operations that could only lead to complications with
the law and a resulting publicity that was to be avoided at any hazard.
If a doctor were summoned from Calderville, he would in all likelihood
feel it to be his duty to report to the authorities the fact that he had
a wounded patient. It was hardly fair to call upon the young woman
physician at Heart o' Dreams, and yet this was the only safe move.
While Perky and Leary were fashioning a litter he knelt beside the
Governor, laving his face with water from the brook. He despatched two
messengers to Heart o' Dreams, one through the woods and the other in a
canoe.

They would make the crossing in Carey's launch, while the tug, now
showing its lights close inshore