Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1900-07-05


remember that shall be linking i,
you every minute"
THANK you for that" he said &Et
added: Il might as well get cut her,
| and walk up to the house"
Her only answer was to whip up the
pony; her face was pinched by pain as
she drew up at the gate in front of the
house. He got out.
"Good-by," he said.
She held out her hand.
''Good-by," she echoed, and as he took
her hand he felt her quivering fingers
tighten round his own. II am going to
pray for you night and day" she said.
Andthen she turned her pony and drove
slowly homeward. AS he was entering
the gate, he saw her stop and look
back; then she signaled him to come to
her. Obeying, he found her face wet
with tears. ....
'Is there nothing l can do for your"
she questioned.
He reflected, and then: =
''If you should happen to meet David
on your way back, please tell him what
I have done, and that l came to the
sheriff.
Il wish it were something harder"
she said, pressing her handkerchief to
her twitching lips. "Oh, it is SO awful
there is so little to hope for-you see
you are so despondent!'
He could not deny this last charge;
her very words seemed to add weight
to his gloom. Lifting his hat, he
turned away.
| There was an open passage between
the two front rooms of the sheriff's
house, and at washtub, on a little
back porch, battling stick in hand, he
saw Mrs. Ratcliff. She was about 80
years of age, but might easily have
proved that she was a third older, If
her appearance had been taken as testi-
mony.
Ronald raped on the door-facing to
attract her attention, and when she
looked. up he asked her if her husband
was at home.
HE was Jest this minute" she said,
coming forward and wiping her hands
on her apron. HE took his gun jest
now and went into The strip Of woods
| down thar at the foot O. the feld. Is it
anything important?'
II came TO turn myself over to him,
Mrs. Ratcliff; if you could send for
him, perhaps he would like for you to
do it,"
81 could blow the dinner horn" she
betrayed no surprise, if she felt any,
over his announcement. 1T might
wake the baby, but l reckon l could
quiet it down agin.'
She gave him a seat in the passage
and took his hat and laid it, according
to rules of hospitality, on her bed IN
the room on the left. Then she reached
I'D for the cows horn, which hung on
nail on the porch.
Have you got yoreself in trouble,
Mr.. Fanshaw?' she asked, as she raised
the horn to her lips.
give killed Sydney Hart, Mrs. Rat
cliff" He gave this explanation after
a slight hesitation, for he feared that
being woman and alone with him 1t
might upset her nerves.
"You don't say" she CALCULATED;
"well, I'll be switched"
She did not seem more surprised than
if he had told her that he had had
tooth extracted, and then he remem'
bered that she had been Ratcliff's cooa-
panion in many rough experience
One night when he was taking three
desperadoes to Jail and had stopped at
home for refreshments, he found that
the mountain streams ahead were so
much swollen by recent rains that he
could not 60 on, and there was nothing
open to him but to convert their com
nany room into temporary prison.
| Mrs. Ratcliff sat up till daybreak with
shotgun on one knee, and a restless
baby on the other, and remarked after
wards that she didn't sleep half the
night.
Ronald watched her as she stood like
an Amazon in the doorway and gave
two long echoing blasts on the horn.
Then she came back to him.
sWell I reckon you had obleeged to
do it," as she looked into the room on
the right at the little box cradle. MIR.
Ratcliff lowed you an sgd would have
taste O. one another's gore fore long;
he lowed he'd never seed a man with
wore reckless nerve, an that Hart never
would sleep till he'd bucked ag'in IT,
The baby being quiet, she stepped
back to the door. II see Mr.. Ratcllft
comm lickity-split through the broom
sedge. We agreed when thar was any
thing important fur me to blow twice;
7 reckon he'll think the house is afire.
NV la! did you ever see body ske'
daddle like that? You'd think hoop
snake was at his heels! Nothin' amt
the matter!" (she shouted this to her
husband); "you are wanted-thats
ALL" She stood in the doorway and
waved her hands. Il want i'm to see
I'm unframed ur he'd break his fool
neck"
moment later the sheriff came into
the passage painting and perspiring.
"Well, l lowed the niggers had riz,
he laughed.
Briefly Ronald explained what he had
come for and Ratcliff pulled his long
brown beard thoughtfully. He would
have made joke if he were at funeral
and the joke had been at the expense
of the corpse.
sIts bad on me, he said, drily, "if you
fellers kill out many more ringleaders
like Syd I'll be out of job-that skunk
has been bread an meat to me fur a
long time. But, no jokin', we'd better
make a bee line fur town, an I'll see
if can't git you up bond. You are