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THE LONG PATROL
THE LONG PATROL
BY ALBERT M. TREYNOR AUTHOR OF THE TRAIL FROM DEVIL'S COUNTRY. GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS NEW YORK COPYRIGHT, 1924, 1926, BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY. INC. PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. CONTENTS CHAPTER I The Ambushed Trail II Knights of the Law III Without Mercy IV Find the Woman V Shadows of Silence VI The Doorway of Dread VII The Hunted Woman VIII The Runaway Girl IX Go Get 'Em! X No-Man's Country XI The Voice of Warning XII The Rendezvous XIII Blind-Ma
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CHAPTER I THE AMBUSHED TRAIL
CHAPTER I THE AMBUSHED TRAIL
Near the foot of the valley slope lay an inanimate, drab-colored object of some sort, barely defined against the smooth sweep of the snowy mountainside. From the wooded ridge above, it appeared as a faint speck upon the panorama of wintry landscape. Ninety-nine travelers in a hundred might have passed that direction and never noticed any break in the monotonous waste of white. But on that evening, a little before the fall of dusk, there rode by chance, from out of the pass and over the trail, th
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CHAPTER II KNIGHTS OF THE LAW
CHAPTER II KNIGHTS OF THE LAW
In the wild mountain district where Corporal Dexter and a few knightly comrades rode in the service of the King's Law, there was not more than one officer available to patrol each two hundred square miles of territory. In the back hills were certain inaccessible regions never visited by civilized beings. A crime committed in such an out-of-the-way valley as this might remain unsuspected for years. The murderer of Constable Graves could have no inkling that a second officer had just ridden down t
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CHAPTER III WITHOUT MERCY
CHAPTER III WITHOUT MERCY
For a breathless interval Dexter held his position before the closed door, listening to the amazing voice within. A woman! Her words came to him, decisive and sharp, in high-keyed inflection. It was too dark to look for new footprints, but whoever she was, she must have arrived there during his absence. But whence had she come? What was a woman doing in this far-off, snow-buried forest? Even a vivid imagination failed to answer. Had he acted on first impulses, Dexter would have thrust his way in
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CHAPTER IV FIND THE WOMAN
CHAPTER IV FIND THE WOMAN
The corporal had faced horrors before. It was not the hideous envisioning of tragedy that froze his blood: it was the haunting memory of the voice that he had heard—the voice of a woman. "Lifeless tongues never talk!" she had said in dreadful resolve. And the sound of that voice still echoed in his brain. The fatal shots were fired by a woman. Somewhere among the shadows this woman must be hiding now, backed in one of the dark corners, probably, crouching cat-like with weapon in hand, watching e
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CHAPTER V SHADOWS OF SILENCE
CHAPTER V SHADOWS OF SILENCE
In a moment Dexter was on his knees, with his face close to the ground, and he studied the marks in the snow with the peering concentration of a man trying to read a page of fine-lettered type. A light dusting of wind-blown drift had begun to form in the trampled depression, and instead of crumbling there now was a slight banking up around the edges. As near as he could reckon by the faint clews vouchsafed him, the print was less than an hour and more than a half hour old. So this woman, whoever
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CHAPTER VI THE DOORWAY OF DREAD
CHAPTER VI THE DOORWAY OF DREAD
With the hot glare beating back in his face, Dexter stood with blinking eyes, hearing the hiss of falling sparks and the fierce crackle of the mounting flames. Tongues of fire lapped around the windows and darted angrily from the crevices between the logs. As he peered through the pitchy black smoke, a gust of flame lashed out at the corner of the cabin, and he saw that the door was open. He remembered closing and wedging the door fast when he left the place a while before. It would seem that a
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CHAPTER VII THE HUNTED WOMAN
CHAPTER VII THE HUNTED WOMAN
From the sudden, startling sounds in the direction of the brook, the corporal guessed that the hunted woman had stolen and mounted his horse, and the spirited Susy was bolting through the woods with her unacquainted rider. The intelligence reached him subconsciously; he had no time for actual speculation. The active part of his mind was fully preoccupied just then, as he found himself struggling in the dark with an unidentified someone who had crept upon him from behind and seized him in a crush
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CHAPTER VIII THE RUNAWAY GIRL
CHAPTER VIII THE RUNAWAY GIRL
With teeth fastened in his lips the corporal stepped forward to bend above the tumbled figure of the woman. She was so quiet he thought she was dead. But her fingers were warm, he found when he pulled off her mitten, and the tide of life still flowed vigorously through the slender, flexible wrist. His light gleamed upon the curve of a soft cheek, pallid as marble against the faint blue shadow line of the vein throbbing in her temple. Her hair, trimmed in a boyish bob, straggled over eyes and for
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CHAPTER IX GO GET 'EM!
CHAPTER IX GO GET 'EM!
The north wind rattled among the dry branches of the brookside junipers, but for a space of ten seconds no other sound broke the straining silence that had fallen upon them. The girl stood motionless, gazing vacantly at Dexter, finding nothing whatever to say. "I'm not making an accusation," he told her. "But we have to hold you for the time being as a witness. Perhaps it won't amount to more than that." She swayed a little, as he had sometimes seen a man reel at the first numbing shock of a pis
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CHAPTER X NO-MAN'S COUNTRY
CHAPTER X NO-MAN'S COUNTRY
The corporal lingered by the smoking embers, gazing with a queer, ruminative look in his eyes towards the spot where quaking branches cut off his last sight of the departing travelers. Behind him he could hear the faint sputter and hiss of live fire still gnawing under the cabin timbers. A chorus of shrill, thin pipings sounded from the dimness of the woods, and a band of chickadees wheeled forth in elfin flight, whisked past his face, and vanished across the clearing. He stirred abruptly at the
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CHAPTER XI THE VOICE OF WARNING
CHAPTER XI THE VOICE OF WARNING
Dusk was falling, and a hush of emptiness and desolation brooded over the clearing. The cabin door was closed, and no smoke came from the mud-daubed chimney. Dexter's eyes searched over the ground, and he saw only the single track of footprints. Evidently the girl was the only one who had crossed here, either departing or arriving, since the fall of yesterday's snow. Quite certain that the dwelling had no present tenant, the corporal nevertheless was taking no chances. Slinging his carbine at hi
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CHAPTER XII THE RENDEZVOUS
CHAPTER XII THE RENDEZVOUS
The spoken name had all the effect of a galvanic shock. "Alison!" Dexter kicked the blanket from his legs, and in the darkness blundered across the room. He reached the bunk, drew a match from his pocket, and struck a light. As the flame flared in the darkness he stared downward and saw the boy's motionless form stretched at full length on the mattress. From all appearances, the patient had not changed position since the evening before. He was lying in his blankets, facing the wall, with eyes cl
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CHAPTER X BLIND-MAN'S CHASE
CHAPTER X BLIND-MAN'S CHASE
With face cold and inscrutable, Dexter crossed the cabin to stand by the bunk. For a moment he regarded the boy in silent speculation. Whatever the young man's hidden thoughts, he was taking good care to keep them to himself. And there was no way to force him to betray secrets. An officer has no right to employ extreme methods in dealing with a law-abiding citizen; and there was no evidence to accuse Smith of any illegal act. Grounds for his arrest or detention were lacking. Even the time-worn p
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CHAPTER XIV PATHS OF PERIL
CHAPTER XIV PATHS OF PERIL
Overcome by astonishment, Dexter stood motionless and breathless, peering at the far-off figure with swimming senses, exerting all his will force to keep the binoculars from wabbling in his tightly gripped hands. He had come there looking for Alison Rayne—on a fool's chase, he persuaded himself a moment before—and now, when he actually saw her he found himself staring across space with the awed wonderment of a man who beholds a miraculous apparition. So the boy in the cabin yonder had reached he
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CHAPTER XV THE BRINK OF DEATH
CHAPTER XV THE BRINK OF DEATH
In the shocking moment of discovery Dexter found no time to wonder what malignant fate had brought the outlaw here at this unwelcome juncture. He merely grasped the fact that "Pink" Crill was kneeling on the cliff above, looking down at him. Instinctively he crowded himself into his niche, shrinking inwardly. It was a seventy-foot drop to the rocks below, and he knew at sight that this Crill was a man without scruple or mercy. The crevice offered some protection, but after crouching motionless f
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CHAPTER XVI UNSEEN ENEMIES
CHAPTER XVI UNSEEN ENEMIES
The amazing uproar lasted only for seconds, and then intense silence once more settled over the palisade. There was no one in sight, and Dexter could not imagine what calamitous events were taking place on the other side of the cliff. But as his glance swept back and forth along the brink of the precipice, the momentary quiet was suddenly shattered by a second shot. In a flash he stooped to grasp his pistol. "I'm going up," he announced, and hurriedly belted his holster about his waist. "You sta
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CHAPTER XVII AT FIVE HUNDRED YARDS
CHAPTER XVII AT FIVE HUNDRED YARDS
The two officers halted to scan the heights, towering shadowy above them. They stood in the middle of the broad plateau, with the horseshoe curve of the mountains hemming them in like the rising tiers of a vast amphitheater. The lower slopes were circled by a belt of dense-growing evergreens, but the open, snow-covered level stretched between, and the nearest sheltering thicket was at least a quarter mile distant. Any object moving against the white background of the snow-field must present a co
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CHAPTER XVIII LODGING FOR TWO
CHAPTER XVIII LODGING FOR TWO
The roar of the gale drowned all sound of departing footsteps. Two seconds after the girl had bade him farewell, Dexter had lost sight and knowledge of her. He did not call after her, or attempt to stay her flight. His first concern was for Devreaux; and with a muscular strength surprising in a man of his slender frame, he lifted the wounded officer's weighty bulk in his arms, and trudged forward in search of shelter. With his head bowed before the freezing blast, his shoulders stooped under the
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CHAPTER XIX THE HONOR OF THE SERVICE
CHAPTER XIX THE HONOR OF THE SERVICE
While the storm raged over the mountains Dexter was confined in his cave for three days and nights, watching over a man who slumbered on the shadowy borderline of death. He performed the herculean task of skinning and dismembering his bear, and hanging out great haunches of meat to refrigerate in the below-zero cold. Also he contrived to gather enough downwood to keep a small fire going in the entrance of the cavern. Otherwise he could do nothing but sit in brooding loneliness, listening to the
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CHAPTER XX WHEN SPRING CAME BACK
CHAPTER XX WHEN SPRING CAME BACK
Through January and February the temperature fell lower and lower, and winter, like a white, constricting monster, bound the forest country in tighter embrace. The gray specter of famine walked through the wilderness, reaching here and there and everywhere with a blighting touch of death, threatening at the last to take off the surviving creatures of the coverts and runways, that still tried so hard to live. March came with high winds, with clear sunny days and nights that crackled under the fro
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CHAPTER XXI PATH OF THE AVALANCHE
CHAPTER XXI PATH OF THE AVALANCHE
The walls of the gulley hemmed Dexter in on two sides, and he saw at a glance that it would be foolish to try to climb out of the trap into which he had blundered. Either he must gain the lower exit in time to fling himself from the path of onrushing death, or else go down, crushed and buried, under hurtling tons of ice and snow and shattered tree trunks. A single misstep, a fraction of a second lost, and his one slender chance was forfeit. He went down the steep pitch of the gulley with snowsho
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CHAPTER XXII THE MAN-TRAP
CHAPTER XXII THE MAN-TRAP
Held to the ground by the fallen tree trunk, Dexter could make no move in self-defense. His own pistol was buttoned in its holster, strapped to the right side of his body. His right arm was broken, and it was impossible to reach far enough over the trunk with his left hand to touch the butt of his weapon. He waited, quiet and relaxed, his eyes clear and unwavering as he gazed into the bore of a blue steel barrel, pointed exactly at the center of his forehead. There being no help for it, he could
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CHAPTER XXIII FAIR WARNING
CHAPTER XXIII FAIR WARNING
With his head bent backwards, Dexter watched the file of men make their way up the banks of the stream. Stark walked ahead, his eyes on the ground before him, never once deigning to glance behind. The others paused now and then to look covertly over their shoulders, as though still reluctant about obeying orders. But it would seem that none of them dared to interfere with their leader's plans while the black mood oppressed him, and they trudged, hushed and subdued, at his heels. Stark reached a
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CHAPTER XXIV A HARD-WON PROMISE
CHAPTER XXIV A HARD-WON PROMISE
For two or three seconds the girl and the policeman faced each other tensely in the soft moonlight; and then, as she met his steely gaze, her eyes narrowed, her lips drew apart, her breathing quickened. "Let go!" she panted. With a twist and a wrench she tried to withdraw her slender wrist from his grasp. He shook his head with a slight movement, and his grip tightened. The restraining clutch seemed to madden her, and she fought wildly, furiously, to free herself. But disabled as he was, shaken
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CHAPTER XXV A VOLUNTARY PRISONER
CHAPTER XXV A VOLUNTARY PRISONER
The vertical rays of a blazing hot sun aroused Dexter from his lethargy. He felt light and warmth beating upon his face, and with the first faint stirring of consciousness his ears were aware of sounds of dripping water. A crisp smell of wood smoke drifted to his nostrils, and there came to him also stray wisps of odor that moved him to a pleased, drowsy recollection of an appetizing stew he had eaten some time or other from a camp kettle. He lay with his eyes closed, a little puzzled by his rev
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CHAPTER XXVI MAN AND WOMAN
CHAPTER XXVI MAN AND WOMAN
A voyageur in the best physical trim would have found it fatiguing to travel along the rough mountain slopes, breaking a path over fallen snow crust, wallowing through deep, soggy drifts. Before he had traveled a mile of his journey, Dexter found himself growing short of breath, slipping and floundering more than a trained mountaineer should. It took determination to push onward, but he kept going as long as he could; until his head was reeling and his legs tottered under him. The heavy pounding
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CHAPTER XXVII THE FALTERING FAITH
CHAPTER XXVII THE FALTERING FAITH
It was disconcerting to meet an armed and hostile man at the place where he supposed his friend was waiting, yet Dexter did not for an instant lose his self-possession. He noticed that the rifle barrel did not hold quite steady, and he was aware that the inexperienced youth might fire in nervous excitement at any second, without giving him a chance. Before he could make up his mind what to do, however, a voice screamed out behind him, and Alison stumbled forward, apparently with some wild notion
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CHAPTER XXVIII THE ESCAPE
CHAPTER XXVIII THE ESCAPE
Inspection of the ground in the neighborhood of the cave discovered only one line of fresh bootmarks, and these, it was self evident, had been made by Archie Preston. But there were older tracks, still visible in the thawing snow, and after investigation, Dexter decided that the stale prints corresponded in size and pattern to the soles of Devreaux's service boots. In places where the sun's rays reached the ground the impressions had almost disappeared, and the corporal estimated that the trail
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CHAPTER XXIX THE BLAZED ROAD
CHAPTER XXIX THE BLAZED ROAD
As Dexter had expected, the boy's departing foot tracks were clearly defined in the wet earth, and after breakfast he packed up and started to follow. Alison seemed rather disquieted by his cool assurance, but she was ready to leave when he gave the word, and for the present, at least, she made no effort to delay him or to interfere with his plans. The trail ran off in a generally northwest direction, leading through a scraggly patch of jack pines, across a grassy meadow, and thence through a wi
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CHAPTER XXX DANGEROUS WATERS
CHAPTER XXX DANGEROUS WATERS
Dexter searched about him with wide bewildered eyes. A deep, lifeless hush brooded once more over the forest, and he saw nothing anywhere but the still shadows of trees. His woodsman's instinct assured him that no human being lurked within hailing distance. Yet he could not doubt the testimony of his own senses. He had heard the thin, far call; a muffled, impalpable voice, that was the voice of Alison Rayne. As he waited with bated breath, the murmur of sound again flickered through space—micros
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CHAPTER XXXI ILL-FAVORED COMPANY
CHAPTER XXXI ILL-FAVORED COMPANY
For an interval of ten seconds Crill stood like a man turned to putty, his mouth sagging as though it had suddenly lost muscular support, his babyish complexion changing to a sickly grayish hue. "Where—what the—?" he started to mutter, and then somehow failed to find the words to finish. "You're wondering how I got here?" inquired the corporal politely. "I merely followed down through the pass. I didn't die under that fallen tree, as you probably supposed." "What are you doing here?" the officer
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CHAPTER XXXII COPPERHEAD
CHAPTER XXXII COPPERHEAD
Before the disconcerting discovery that he was trapped on the island, Dexter had already framed his tentative plans for the future. The capture of the Chicago outlaw at such a time had left him in a rather embarrassing situation. The man was too important a prisoner to take any chance on his escape. But to keep him in custody meant constant danger. Stark was not a person to let a belt full of gold slip through his fingers, and he undoubtedly would scour the woods to find its wearer. Dexter had d
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CHAPTER XXXIII HIGH STAKES
CHAPTER XXXIII HIGH STAKES
At times before this the corporal had faced death without a tremor of fear. Now, as he looked into the malignant face, hideous and bestial, looming before him in the shadow of the fireplace, he felt loathing and disgust, but he was not afraid. Crill outweighed him by nearly a hundred pounds; he was crippled, unarmed, defenseless. Yet as he felt the logs behind him, and knew there was no further retreat, the beat of his pulse grew slow and regular and an icy calmness gripped him. His hand was sti
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CHAPTER XXXIV GAMBLERS' OATHS
CHAPTER XXXIV GAMBLERS' OATHS
While the two men were settling the business at hand, Alison had stood by in silence, looking curiously from one to the other, a little bewildered, and also a little frightened by the singular turn of events. But as Dexter faced her, her head went up resolutely, and she mutely questioned him with her eyes. "If you don't mind?" he asked with a smile. "Why, no, not if you wish it," she replied. "Please," he said. He placed a third stool at the table and laid the pack of cards before her. Then he c
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CHAPTER XXXV HAZARD OF THE GAME
CHAPTER XXXV HAZARD OF THE GAME
The newcomer had arrived without a sound. Evidently he had just forded his way across the rapids. Water trickled in rivulets from his legs and his clothing clung to his spare frame; but in spite of wetness he still retained his well-groomed, debonnaire appearance. He smiled appreciatively at the scene before him as he absently thumbed the hammer of the rifle he held gripped in his hands. "Is the party still on," he inquired, "or am I too late?" He waited for a second or two, but as nobody had an
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CHAPTER XXXVI THE GRIM ACCOUNTING
CHAPTER XXXVI THE GRIM ACCOUNTING
The bullet only grazed Stark's face, and he recovered himself in a flash, knowing that he was not hurt. With a muttered exclamation he swung to confront the small, slim figure kneeling before him in the shadow. Dexter saw the man shift the aim of his rifle, realized that Alison's life was forfeit. He gathered his muscles, and a long leap carried him across the floor to her side. The weight of his body forced the girl to the floor as he flung himself upon her; and he held her so, shielding her, w
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CHAPTER XXXVII NEWS FROM OUTSIDE
CHAPTER XXXVII NEWS FROM OUTSIDE
What happened after Dexter had delivered his prisoners into the keeping of his opportunely arrived comrades, Dexter never afterwards remembered. He may have suffered a sudden physical collapse, or perhaps he simply fell asleep while standing at attention before his officer. But when his eyes opened in reviving consciousness, he found himself stretched comfortably in a warm bunk with a blanket tucked about his chin. He might have been lying there for hours or for days. There was no way of guessin
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CHAPTER XXXVIII THE GREATEST GIFT
CHAPTER XXXVIII THE GREATEST GIFT
The boy stood with uplifted head, breathing heavily through parted lips, a mad joy burning in his eyes. But the two officers ignored him to observe the effect of the news on his sister. Alison had given a single broken cry as her brother handed her the newspaper. She moved on tottering feet to the window, but her hands were so unsteady that she could not possibly have read the wavering print of the eagerly gripped news sheet. By a mutual impulse Devreaux and Dexter crossed behind her. The colone
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CHAPTER XXXIX YOU NEVER CAN TELL
CHAPTER XXXIX YOU NEVER CAN TELL
For a moment Devreaux and Alison stared at Dexter as though they were not quite sure whether he had taken leave of his senses. There was a suggestion of a smile on his lips as he faced them in the failing twilight. "All of which explains why Stark hated me so," he remarked after an interval of silence. "He knew it was I who had arrested his wife, and he could not help blaming me for the tragic circumstances that came afterwards." "Wait!" expostulated the colonel. "You say that the one who was sh
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