Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-07

now 40 you hlNe NnAN I'D NeuE
THE rein's been cut near through" re-
piled Carter. II wonder II held as long as
it did"
"a dirty, low-down trick" commented
Mike. "Iil hang It back on the peg Jest
now, but don't use Il agin fer a bit"
AS he re-entered the saddle room briskly
his heel slipped on the plank floor. bring
ing him down. "Td take me oath that was
a banana peel, II It was on the sidewalk
he exclaimed, after a gymnastic twist that
nearly dislooated his neck. Some OF you
fellows Is pretty careless wit hoof grease.
I'm thlnkin'."
More out Of curiosity than anything else
he peered down at the cause Of his sudden
slip. What the divil Is It, anyway" he
muttered. k~neeling and lighting a match,
which he held close to the spot. bot
t'umbs!" he exclaimed? It's candle grease.
Have sither Of you b'ys been in here wit
a candle? It's agin the rules"
There isn't q candle about the barn, an
you know it. Mike" cried Carter, indig-
nantly.
Mike was prospecting the floor with an
other light.
Here's two burnt Matches" he contin-
ued. picking them up. AN they we're
~lcighted last night. too. See that; they're
long, an that means that they wasn't light
used fer lightin' a pipe or a cigar-jes' fer
tcuchin' of a candle, that's all. l knew
they was loighted last night" he said, as
though to convince himself, FER they're
fresh, an amt been tramped on. II they'd
been here fer two or three days, roight in
front Of the door. dey'd have the black
knocked of 'em wild you boys feet. This
wan didn't loight at all hardly, an there's
a little wool fuzz stickin' to it-Gee! that
names somewan sthruck Il on his wool
pants. Git the lantern, Ned, p'raps wen fin
out somethin' more. The loight from that
high winder amt good enough fer trackin'
a bear"
When the lantern was brought, Mike con-
tinued his detective operations, nose and
eyes close to the floor like a black-tracker."
What's that, Ned?" he asked, pointing
his finger at a dark brown spot on the
boards.
Carter crouched and scrutinized Mikes
find. Tobacco spit" and he gave a little
laugh.
"Roight you are. that's what It is. Now
who chaws tobaccie in this stable?' he de-
manded Of Carter. with the air of a cross
examining counsel.
II don't"
Does Finn %
mo, l don't think so."
Didn't Shandy always have a COB Of It
in his cheek-the dirty pig?"
Yes. he did, Mike"
81 fought so; l fought It was that black
guard. But how did the swine get in here?
The stable was locked, an / had the key in
me pocket. I'll take me oath to that"
Carter took his cap of, ran a hand re-
fiectively up and down the crown Of his
head, canvassing every possible entry there
might be to the stalls. Suddenly he re-
placed his cap and whistled softly. 81 know,
Mike; he crawled through the dung window.
I've seen him do 1t a half-a-dozen times.
When he was too lazy TO go for the keys he'd
wiggIe through that hole"
Mike said nothing. but led the way to the
back Of the stable. There he climbed up on
the pile Of rolling straw and examined
closely the small, square opening with its
board slide through which Shandy had
passed the night before.
"Gasusl / fought SOL" he calculated.
Here's more tobacco spit, where the cut
I%t'rcat divil stood when h opened the
winder."
Locking down. his eye caught the CLINT of
something bright deep in the straw. He dug
his hand down into the mass and brought
up a knife. Whose is that, Ned?" he
cueried.
Carter looked at it closely. "Shandy's."
he answered; 'I1l swear to that-I've Dor
rowed 1t from him more than once to clean
out the horses hoofs."
bot t'umbs upl ia hang that by to a
beam II l had him here-he cut that rein
as sure as God made little apples" de-
clared Mike, vehementIy. AN the gall av
him, too. to sit there in the ould stand to
watch the black run away wit somewan an
kill 'em. Now jest kape yer mouth shut,
Ned. an we'll put a halter on this rooster.
BY hivins! whin / git him I'll make him
squale, tool"
The seriousness OF Porter's accident be-
came clearer to Doctor Rathbone the follow
ing day. He impaired this information to
Allis; told her that in all probability II
would be weeks before her father would be
strong again,
I'm the meantime. little woman, what are
you to do with all these hungry horses on
your hands? % he asked.
The girls answer came quickly enough,
for she had lain awake through all the
dreary night thinking out this problem.
I'll Cook after them" she answered the
doctor, quite simply.
A smile OF skepticism lowered about his
full lips as he raised his eyes to the girls
face, but the look OF determination, Of conf
dence that he met put his doubts to flight.
II believe you can do It II any man can"
and he put his big hand on her slight
shoulder as much as to say, I'm behind
you'll believe in YOU"
OF course an inkling Of Porter's condition
had to be given his wife, though the full
gravity was masked. This was done by Allis
and Mrs. Porter Immediately became a prey
to abject despair, /
The FIRST thing to be done was to get rid
OF Diablo. She was too gentle to ask that
he be shot, but he must &c, everett he were
given away. She would willingly have sacri-
feed all the horses. Always with their pres
ence had come financial troubles, spiritual
troubles; now the lives Of those dear to her
were in actual peril. No wonder the good
woman was rendered hysterical by the
strong emotions that swayed her.
In her depression she somewhat startled
Allis by insisting that they must send for
Mr.. Crane at once. After all, 1t was not 80
unreasonable; with the master Of Ringwood
helpless, with whom else could they consult
over their entangled condition? Fer the last
year Porter had found 1t necessary to keep
in constant touch with the bank; so they
must become familiar with the details Of the
ENHANCEMENT.
Mrs. Porter had come to have the utmost