Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1901-03-06
[CoNTINUEr-l

she referred Ia label and who, one and
all. had a lingering tenderness for this
unfortunate old man which not even
this seeming act of madness on his
part could quite destroy, felt n species
OF reaction at this and surveyed the
singular being before them with per-
haps the slightest shade OF rclentlng
IN their severity. Swcetwaaar alone
betrayed rcstlcsSnvss. Knapp showed
no feeling Mt all, willie Frederick look.
cd like one pctriled and moved leither
hand nor foot.
Crime that Is the outcome oi fore.
thought is lcSpicabie" she wrLa on.
with a deIlberaieueSs 80 hard that the
more susceptible Of her auditors stud.
dercd. But crime that springs fIIm
some Imperative aud o~v,ypOwrring nc
ceSsiiy OF the mind or body might well
awaken S~ymppthy. aud | am ngc
ashamed of having been sosry for this
frpnz!cd and suffering man. Weak aud
impulsivc H. yoe may consider me. |
did not wan him 10 suffer Og account
Of Il moments mad1rss. as he gudoubt.
edly wogld il he wlre ever found with
this money in his possession. so
plunged IL deeper lGto the soil and
trusted to the confusion which crime
always awskcns even IN the strongest
MUD for him not to discover uly GJb.
~terfuge."
"Ha! Wonderful, Dcgilish subtlg.
eh? Glover. too clever" ware some III
the whispered ordinations which this
curious explanation On her part brought
out. Yea only SweeiwItcr showed his
open and entire disbelief Of the story.
the others possibly remembering that
for such natures rs beers there Is no
governing Inv and no commonplace in.
depreciation
To Swectwatcr. however. this wes
hut so much display Of feminine re-.
source and Subtlety. Though he felt he
should keep still In the presence Of
men So greatly his superiors, be- could
not resist saying:
Truth Is sometimes stranger than
fiction. | should never have attributed
any such motive as you mention To the
young girl | saw leaving this spot with
many u backward look nj the hole from
which we aftrrward extracted the
large sun Of money In question But
say that this rchuryinc Of stolen funds
was out OF consideration for the feeble
old man you describe rs having carried
them there. DO you not see that 10y this
act you can he held as an accessory
after the factI'
Her eyebrows went M, and the dell.
cate curve Of her lips was not without
menace as she said:
"You hate me. Mr.. S~weotwatcr. Do
you wish me to tell these gentlemen
whyf"
The flush which. Notwithstanding
this peculiar young mans nerve, In.
stantly crimsoncd his features was a
surprise TO Frederick. So was II 10 the
others. who saw In II n possible Hint rs
10 the real cause OF his persistent pu:.
suit OF this young girl. which they had
hitherto ascrihed entirely to his love Of
Justice. Sighted love makes some
hearts Could this ungainly
fellow have once loved this b%ewitchln.
piece Of unreliability and suffered from
her disdaln?
Ii was a very possible assumption,
though Sweetwater's blush was the
only answer he gave 10 her question,
which nevertheless had amply served
It's turn.
To I'LL the gap made by his silence
Mr.. Sutherland made an effort and al.
dressed her himself.
"Your conduct" said he. "has not
been that of n strictly honorable per
son. Why did you fail to give the
alarm when you re-cntcrrd my house
after being witness to this double
tragedyT"
Her serenity was not to be disturbed
81 have Just explained" she remind
ed him. that ] had sympathy for Tho
criminal"
ave all have sympathy for James
label. but
81 do not believe one word Of this
story %intcrposed Sweetwater, In reck
less disregard Of the proprletles. ~
hungry. feeble old man, like label. oil
the verge OF death. could non hay,
found his way up into this woods, n
you say. You carried that money there
yourself. miss: you are the
"Hush." interposed the coroner au
thorltatlve,y. "Do not let US go too fas
yet. Miss Page has IN mir Of speak
ing the truth. strange and unaccount
able as II may seem. label was an nd
mirable man once. and If lie was L.,
into theft aud murder it was not unit
his faculties had been weakened By
his " suffering and that OF his mucl
loved brother"
"Thavk you." was her simple reply
and for the first time every man thor,
thrilled at her tone. Seeing It, all th,
dangerous fascination of her look an,
manner returned upon her with doubl,
force. 81 have been uuwise." said she
'and let my sympathy run away will
my Judgment. Women have impulse
of this kind sometimes. aud men ban,
them for II till they themselves colnI
20 the point of feeling the need Of jus
such blind devotion. am SURE | re
greet my shortsightedness now. for
have lost esteem by II. while be"-
With a wave OF the hand she dismisse,
the subject, and DR.. Talbot, watching
her. felt n shade of his distrust leav,
him and In its place a species of nd
miratlon for the 1.-THE. graceful. be
witchlng personality before them. witt
her childish impulses aud womanl!
wit which half mystliied and half i'm
posed upon them.
Mr.. Sutherland, on the contrary. wa
neither charmed from his ontogonisu