The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1894-10-30

ward found her horse, and then pushed
on through the storm to get aid in
searching for her After submitting to
a round of abuse by the company for
undertaking to conduct the girl across
the mountains in the face Of the storm,
which, they declared, must have been
more severe at the Silverton end of the
road, Miles begged permission to ex-
plain. 1t was reluctantly granted.
1.-THE gal got telegram from Den
yer to come home right away, " he said,
81 'nd's tn Silverton branch o. tn Rio
Grande is blockaded at Durango her
aunt, what tn gal wus visitin at Sill
verton, begged me so hard to fetch her
over here nd send her out by stage to
tn station on tn main line at 1
couldnt refuse nohow. Yesee, he fall
tered, glancing pityingly at the sleeping
girl, rye see, the gals mothers dead
murdered Sunday nightp'
A murmur of sympathy was expressed
by the listeners. The sheriff turned his
eager eyes upon the face of Poker Joe,
who had returned to his seat at the
poker table He had been apparently
deaf to the story told by Miles, and
though his face still bore deathlike
hue he proceeded with his card playing
as ooolly as if nothing unusual had oo-
cured
Sheriff Smith was puzzled. He would
have staked his life on the accuracy of
his suspicious, but there was not the
shadow of real evidence upon which to
base a reason for placing the man under
arrest. There were discriminating cir
cumstances, however, which, since the
identity of the girl was made known,
had imbedded the suspicion deeper and
deeper into the mind Of the sheriff
Poker Joe's arrival in town that even
ing, his display Of large amounts of
money occasioned by his heavy losses at
cards, his agitation caused by the pres
enoe of the girl and his excitement and
anger at the words of the sheriff. But
there was one thing absolutely requisite
to the welding of these links Of circum-
stances into a chain of evidence. 1t
would be a disastrous venture for the
sheriff if he should fail He turned to-
ward the pool table just as the barkeep-
er, who was industriously engaged be-
hind the bar rubbing the glasses, looked
up and for the first time realized the
significance of the sheriff's recent re-
marks to Poker Joe. The shock he re-
ceived from this CLEAN Of intelligence
caused him to drop thin glass to the
floor. The ringing of the broken glass
startled the entire company from the
reverie into which they had fallen. The
sleeping girl awoke sprang to a sitting
posture on the pool table, and with
frightened look, as if she had awakened
from some terrible dream, turned sud
denly toward Poker Joe. She uttered
fhrtek of recognition and fell back on
the table, hiding her face.
The gambler arose instantly. He
clutched at his belt nervously, and stag
gering to the door passed out.
Major Downey, who by this time had
fully realized and comprehended the
sherifF's suspicious, approached him and
whispered:
"Quick, Glare, or he will escaped"
Wait" said the sheriff calmly, lay
ing a hand on the majors arm. 1T
may not be strictly legal, but It Will be
better for the girl Wait " Then, bend
ing an ear toward the open door as If
in anticipation, he motioned the excited
persons surrounding him to maintain
silence.
The snow had ceased falling. The
outer atmosphere was cold and still
The moon ventured out from behind
shifting cloud and cast its glimmering
light upon the shroud Of snow.
The clear, keen ring of a pistol shot
broke the mental tension of the listen
ers. who nodded significantly to each
other The girl ON the cot started nerv
ously and drew the covering more close
ly about her head and face.
Poker Joe wins his bluff, !" Sheriff
Smith remarked quietly, but had
him on dead square showdown. -
Lewis Henry Eddy in San Francisco
ArQOnaut