The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-23

have to buy us on 10 do that What they'll pay
will depend upon tho lead but we dom moye on
ESQ to e,s eaeS I @an ne'i But" sssiS sseptooi in a iowsi
but perfectly distinct voice, IT there should b,
Marshall, their only witness, should happen e
get In the way Of q revolver or, have his head
cayed in, there might be some difieulty In thcir
There was a breathless silence for the moment,
chairs sha 3 'h Bnt ne %Srf IN ie%r or or protest, Every one
had heard tho speaker distinctly, and every man
distinctly understood him. Some OF nv them st., Mer re
who at other times might have shrunk from sug.
only the fair removal of a natural enemy. :.
A right, boys. I'm ready TO. wade. in ct
once. Why aint We on the road now We
.ySS Loo,' repeated Hall, eagerly. ivan
Eyes. said steptoe. shortly. administering q
kick under the table to Hall, az no had no wish
to revive the previous irEitnhtlity Of his com
you'd have had to wait for Mr.. Halls arrival,
anyhow. And now you've got your order you
and meet on the other side of tho hotel at
Hymcttus. I'll be there before you. Pick up
your shS SSS..t and %,S drills s as you SoD Eoi ,6 pr%s% Ieni
shootin' irons for ailthat.. Now scatter.
It was well that they did, yacating the room
had mSfo entered Il, or r" Hail" manifest disturbance
over Van Loo's visit would have been noticed.
When the last man had Disappeared Hall turned
quietly to ,Stoptoc:, well. what did he say y
Don't know, said steptoe with uneasy curt
we'll. Mrs. BARKER. Il You want to Know" no
s sSSss cn %ass F partno sase Jack ' Hsm Tils was ., che hsr 9.
fns w what 'G ths SSenfi t. has stG tRRa a'% jcS sa to do ,n @its our
jobf" He was losing his temperi everything
seemed sRe w to aqtn ru npoin sh aw aIfs %ItS M Xan b BAKER"
gasped Hall. 1T was with her money! and the
fear Of boing, connected with the Wheat Trust
which Ilent him for the same purpose. And he
knows all about that Job. for I wanted to get
him to 60 into 1t with . us; Your ~, name am "a and nd mine line
business to arrange with them. The bank dar'n't
sSssier rG tr nl%; eaE sne ihsa f shIRs VIXEN h they N a sfeR
along WITH Ms; Barker's spee9latiops. but !
with desperation, you trusted him, too"
In an Instant steptoe caught the frightened
Down OF on the table. 4 y you at traitor, 3 liar,
or a besotted fool r. no said. hoarsely.. Speak.
When and where did I trust him Z"
You said in your te- him.
MY notef = repeated steptoe. releasing Hall.
YES" said Hail. tremblingly searching in his
vest pocket. II brought It with me. 1t isn't
much Of a note. but there's your signature, plain
. He handed steptoe a torn piece of paper, folded
in a three-cornered shape, Steptoe opened II. He
instantly recognized, the paper on which he had
Boomville hotel. But, added to II, in apparently
the same hand. in smaller characters, were the
The blood II flushed into his face - But he quickly
collected himself and said hurriedly; A right.
l had forgotten, it. Let the DID sneak go.
this claim at Marshall's,. and it's we'll that he
isn't in it to SCOOP the lions share. Only we
mese 9 fi2st wa ssd t a, Un sett ans f ss th nSw; ras 1or TO 20
work; III follow you before Marshall comes up.
Get; I'll settle up here" -,
away. leaving him alone. He drew out the piece
Of paper from his pocket and stared at 1t again.
G Gss ti It Vas ISo the he. One Ssla BE 81 h ! 'e W.T., to hi his ~ T lie b M9T
that night Had he picked It up in the hall or
passage when the servant dropped it, When
nized it a iendish thought, followed By a spasm
OF more fiendish rage, had sent the blood to his
face; But his crude Common sense quickly dis.
with Van Loo. But had she seen him passing
through the hotel that night, and had SOUGHT to
terrourse with the child. and confessed every
signature as a proof of identityi Women
Perhaps she disbelieved her sons aversion to
ts and n was trying to sound Van Loo. As for
had put them to. 10 cared little. He believed
denly remembered that in the old. days his son
Loo's wonderful chirographical powers and his
faculty Of imitating the writings Of others, and
and eHasperating thought came into his teverish
oonsciousness. What II Van Loo, in teaching
the boy. had even made use of him as an limo
cent accomplice to cover up his own tricks.
ethics e steptoe. nor Of his sons P possi.
the big strike he had held different views: II was
simply, a fierce: selfish, jealousy that another
might nsdn. have profMt A. sy the lads hslp,essnse les , and
lie had at first e u OF sHa 'f his sd mi ton n and
graces and accomplishments, which. though he
scorned them himself. he was, after the common
parental infatuation; willing that the boy should
profit by. Unable, through his own conscious
ness, of distinguishing between Van Loo's super
fcial polish and the true breeding offs gentlemen,
his son which might be serviceable to himself.
d had told ps. his wife the truth when he
he had not told her how its discontinuance after
they had left Heavy Tree Hill. had affected her
ton for that ~specious rascal. Nor had he told
her how this had stung him. through his own
It fsi Wss P s5ssa e, hat the O sSe SmsS1 msa v fss h ho~ thss
evening. she might have become aware OF Van
Loo,s power over her child. How she would
How, perhaps. they had plotted together How
Van Loo might have become aware of the place
Where MS son WAS kept, ana mad been br1bed by
the mother to tell her! He stopped In n whirl Of
giddy fancies. His strong common sense In all
other things had been hitherto proof against
such idle dreams or suggestions, but the very
strength Of his parental love and jealousy had
awakened In him the terrors Of imagination.
His first impulse had been to seek his wife,
Hymettus, where she had said she was going. It
was on his way to the rendezvous ut Marshal's
claim. But this he as instantly set aside: It was
his son he must find; she might not confess. or
might deceive him; the boy would not, and. II
his fears are correct, she could be arraigned
a%fterward: 1t was possible for him to reach tho
little mission church and school, secluded In a
remote valley BY the old Franciscan fathers,
years unknown to his wife. It would DO a long
ride. but he could still reach Heavy Tree Hill
afterward before Marshall and tho expert
arrived. And he had a feeling he had never
felt before on, the eve Of a desperate ad-
yenture-that no must sec tho boy first.
He remembered how tho child had often
accompanied him In his flight, and how he
had gained strength; and IL seemed to him a
Of luck from the touch of that small hand
In his; Surely II was necessary now that at least
his mind should be at rest regarding him on the
eve of an affair of this moment. Perhaps he
might never sec him again. At any other time,
and under the influence of any other emotion,
he would have scorned such q sentimentalism-
he who had never troubled himself either with
preparation for the future or confederation for