Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 80: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

646 he drew cautiously back, casting a circuit around the place where he had stood. A few paces on he found what he sought —a stout sapling bent down across the trail, held by a thong of deer-hide, and in .the end of this thong a noose, cunningly set above the trail, and so arranged as to tighten about the neck of one striding along; tightening, it would free itself from the trigger which held it, so releasing the -bent sapling. Three paces farther, and Ku-ro would have been caught—whirled into the air by the upspringing tree, to dangle, his neck broken, above the trail! “In very. truth,” spoke Menzono-nan, “ this is a crafty foe we seek!” Kt-ro grunted, and with a stroke of his dagger severed the thong, the sapling leap- ing upward, thrashing against the near-by branches, scattering the dry leaves abroad. That night Ku-ro and Menzono-nan slept on the ground. The freshness of the trail told them that they were drawing near their foe, and they grudged the time to wattle a platform among the branches. They knew it was dangerous to lie in the open; lion or leopard might follow their scent and spring upon them as they slept, but they chanced it to save time. During the night—an hour or so before the dawn—Ku-ro woke to a faint noise in the.forest. .Eyes wide, but no muscle mov- ing, he lay listening eagerly. ‘‘ Pat-pat ” —slowly, and then again “ pat-pat,” it sounded, like a deer browsing — yet not quite like. Puzzled, he listened; then as he was about to wake Menzono-nan, sud- denly—whir-r-r/ and. an arrow buried its head in the ground close by his ribs, the shaft protruding, quivering. | Then Kuro knew what was the noise, and with a cry he leaped to his feet, seiz- ing his weapons. His companion also was afoot, and arrow after arrow they sped into the darkness, only to be answered by a mocking laugh. They dashed in pursuit, -but Tu-sen, fleet of foot, eluded them, and their frantic search and furious curses came to naught. So the hunt went on for weeks, the two at times drawing near their enemy, the hunted man at times blinding his trail so -¥ ol a -~~6@ q ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. well that they were at fault. Gradually the long cold closed in, the leaves, fallen from dead branches, forming a rustling carpet under foot, and the dark gray clouds chasing one another day after day across the sky. At length one morning Ku-ro woke to find the earth hidden under a light fall of snow, and he shouted aloud for joy—the trail would lie plain and clear! In all haste Ku-ro and his companion built a fire and cooked food, afterward casting forward and about till they struck the footprints of the hunted man. At once it became ap- parent that he also knew what the snow would bring, for he had struck straight eastward—no more turnings and doublings now—toward the high hills which reared their white peaks far off near the horizon. Onward, ever onward toward the moun- tains led the trail, over low ranges of hills, down and across fair valleys, through brush which lined the streams, up again in ever- rising gradations, the high hills drawing ever nearer and nearer day by day! On- ward, ever onward, now walking, now run- ning, sped the chase, halting at times that the hunters might cast about and pick up the trail, partly obliterated by drifting winds or by light falls of snow, but always Straight toward the mighty peaks where dwelt the River of Ice. Never had Ku-ro been among these peaks, but many tales of them had he heard, and well he knew the desolation which lay there; well he knew that the chance of return was small for those who went unprepared, yet ever the bitter hatred, the lust for vengeance, urged him on. Closer and closer to their prey the hunt- ers drew, noting from the aspect of the trail and from the ashes of the fires that the hunt was near its end, and ever upward they climbed, till at length they found themselves fairly within the High Hills, hot on the footsteps of him they sought. Twice, indeed, did they catch sight of ' Tu-sen, a tiny black dot crawling slowly over the snow, a mile or more in advance, and frantically they strove to close, but the fugitive redoubled his efforts and kept his lead. cCOmiclbooks CO