Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-07-17
THE ST.. PAUL SUNDAY GLOBE SUNDAY JULY II 1881.

Beaver Ridge to git bag of gold that I'D
left thar, and 1 found out all about it.
The boys described Jim Cortland to me,
and I've been huntin' for that man ever
since"
There was short silence, during which
the trapper never once removed his eyes
from his three companions
"And you mean to wipe out that man?''
said the gambler, coolly.
"You'n find out do, stranger"
elbow do you know it was Jim that
murdered the young man? There's no
proof. Many an innocent man has been
hung on strong circumstantial evidence, y
said the gambler.
"And many guilty man has been
shot," rejoined Lewis, doggedly. sim
going to shoot the man that walked over
George Atwood, and pitch his body over
this bluff"
What conld the old trapper meant
Was the murderer even then lurking IN
the vicinity? or was that dark stranger
Jim Cortland?
If this were the case, the action of the
trapper's young ''pard," in seating him.
self at the gambIer'i right hand, might be
part of a preconcerted plan to s'wipe out"
the murderer.
Not being fighting man myself, nat
urally began to look about for some place
of refuge. None offered, unless l went
down the steep descent Of the loose rocks,
near at hand, and that looked like dan
gerouS feat.
But the gambler did not appear to
understand the signigcant words and
dark looks of Abe Lewis any better than
[ did,
"Where is this Jim CortlandF' he in
quired.
"You see that strip of pine?" said
Lewis, without moving his eyes from us
three, but with one hand pointing across
the canyon rumbling at the foot of the
preclpice, two thousand feet below, to
where the shadows were darkening over
a bong stretch of pines. "Well, Jim Cort-
land come up the river, this afternoon,
on the outside of them woods. come up
on the inside"
Here met the steady gaze Of the trap
per, and was struck by sudden fear. l
had come up the river along the edge of
the pine forest. Could he suspect me of
being the murderer?
But on second thought felt easier.
The other stranger might have come up
where 1 did, and l could easily prove an
abb at the time of the murder by my
friends in Virginia City.
All this passed rapidly in my mind
while the gambler was saying:
care you sure you've spotted the right
man? You never saw him. All you've
got to go by is the description given by
the Beaver Ridge men?"
81 know the man Pm after" asserted
Lewis, "he's about your size, "closely scan
ming the gambler, who never changed
muscle as he gazed into the fire. "Under
the circumstances ken describe HIM
pretty close. He's got black hair, black
whlskers and square shoulders; his face
is little tawny and his nose peaked. He
is tough lookin' cuss, but he won't kill
another man, unless he gets over me. |
am on his trail, and one or t'other of us
will have to kick the bucket,
answered to this description and so
did the gambler, but there was no other
point of resemblance between us.
eff you are certain as to the man."
said the stranger, with a cool glance.
Let's all go for him. How far ahead is
he now, do you think? Come, old man,
give us hand in the game"
"I'll do that, stranger But the muir
derer amt ahead of this crowd, not much
he amt"
ooh, then you've passed bim-you are
on the lay for him?'' said the gambler,
looking uneasily down the rugged. dark
ening slope which we had assembled
sHe amt behind, either" answered
Lewis
"What? Then it must be this galoot,
here"
And the gambler seized my shoulder
with one hand, while the other rested Oh
his revolver, and his eyes were fixed, not
on me, but on Lewis.
Before 1 could make move the old
trapper cleared me of the charge.
"No, sir" vociferated Lewis, at the
same instant drawing his revolver.
Jim Cortland whipped out his revolver
and both men fired
The gambler revolver flashed first, but
the ball sped harmlessly over the head of
the trapper.
Young Andrews had knocked up the
villains arm at the right moment.
The shot fired by Lewis took effect in
theimurderer's brain, land he fell backward
over the log, dead.
The trapper Immediately approached
the body of his victim, and lifting it up
as,if it were mere child's, he bore it to
the brink of the precipice and hurled it
down over the loose rocks.
Several big stones accompanied it in its
downward course, and it was soon swal-
lowed up in the gloom that was deepen
ing over the canyon.
81 couldn't bury him to better advan
tage among these rocks. eff he comes to
life, he can't climb out of that hole,'' said
Abe Lewis, coolly resuming his seat be-
fore the fire.
But the chances of any spark of life re-
naming in the body of the murderer of
poor George Atwood, after the well-di-
rected shot from old Abe's revolver had
reached its mark, was very small indeed
and so, without further thought on the
subject, we wrapped ourselves in our
blankets and then ''turned inn for the
night.
We were reused from our slumber
early next morning by Abe, who had pre-
pared our morning meal, after partaking
of which, as our paths lay IN different
directions-I being on my way to join
my old 'spardner' in the mountains, and
Abe and his young Yankee friend being
engaged in their regular business Of trap
ping, we parted company.