Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-01-30

In the AFTERNOON OF the Crusoe
hazardbhe had pulled out to the isfet
in the middle of9he lake. had drawn
the light boat up on the sand and
had climbed theolovn bluff to smoke
the pipe of reflection in the shade
of theetrees. 1t was here, with his
back to the bole of a great oak, that
sleep found shin, shifting the pipe
from hise teeth and plotting out the
hour in which the sun was sinking
behind the western hills and the
wind was rising. Froms this sleep
unawares he was awakened byathe
whipping Of the branches overhead
and the crash of tiny breakers on
the beach; and when he came alive
TO the res1itles he sprang up quick
ly and ran down to the little cove
where heshad left the boat; ran and
looked and congratulated himself
ironically; for the boat was gone.
"ByJovei ought to have ieath-
ere medal for this, and III get it If
they ever find out at headquarters"
he jeered. Hello. theree Boat
ahoyI'
, A small cat-boat with two women
and q man in it was scudding down
the lake, and the involuntary Cru
soc yelled himself hoarse. But the
wind was against him. and the cat
boat held its oDurse toward Wa
haska,. heeling smartiy to the flaws.
Griffin climbed the bluff and meas
ured his chance Of ESCAPE in glance
that boxed the compass. OF to the
southwark a.. steam-launch was maxi
ing for the hotel pier. but there was
no other craft in sight save the cat
boat. Wheredpon. be re6llea his pipe
and prepared to take the conse-
quences- OF his carelessness phAo-
sophicaI1y, sas he did most things.
81 guess I'm safe tocmalse night
I've slept out of doors. All the
same. hope9thfs wind won't blow
up a rain 7 wonder if I couldn't
srig up shelter of some kind under
the lea of this kingdom of mine"
Coming down TO the bluff edge to
see, his attention was once more
drawn to the yawing cat-boat- The
wind was .couaing in sharper flaws.
and the nianship Of the man at
the tiller of the small craft was a
thing to be admired. He was evil
IDENTIFY making for one of the private
landings below the. hotel. and as the
boat came under a hill-broken lea
Of the shore the alternating gusts
and lulls called for quick eye and
steady nerves. Griffin was q bit of a
sailor himself. and he gave, the un-
known skipper Of the ecat-boats his
due need Of praise
by Joves9 he's no fresh-water
sailor. Most of these. countrymen
up here asvould have had that sail
double-reefed long ago. wonder
| who he is?"
b The answer to the query was sug-
! gested when the cat-boat came up
| into the wind at the small pier on
the water front Of the FarnhaIn
grounds, and the suggestion was IS
| the spark of fire. to a trainGOf pow
| der. There was a swift succession
| OF eminor explosions as the spark ran
| along the train of conclusions in the
| detectives mind, and then the crash
Z of great one. Griffin sat down on
the edge of the bluff and held hts
head in his hands. 9
@Heave1s and eartht What wood
en-headed tobacco signs we all are
when it comes to showdown. he
eiaculatcd. Here I've been agonfz-
ing over this thing for amonth
whengthe answer to all the answer
| less questions has been parading in
I should have found Miss Farnham's
lover I should have my man, but
had to be maroo1red out here in the
| middle Of the lake before I could
put two and two together. Mr..
| Y
YOU please-it will be unlucky for
you if you can't prove up on your
record"
| From apostrophising the man to
obserying his movements at long
range was but step. and Griffin
| whipped fieldSglasssfrom his pocket
and focused it upon the boat and
the Farnham pier. He saw the big
sail SILVER down. and moment later
| Griswold handed the two young
women up to the pier. There was a
little pause. apparently of expostu.
| lance. on the spart OF the women
and then the big saib went up agssin
| Tapping and shivering in the wind
like a huge white flag. The cat-boat
| edged away from the pier, fell off
| came about, and pointed its SHARP
cutwater straight for the island
Griffin shortened the glass and
dropped it into his pocket.
'sWell, now; that's more than good
natured." he muttered- "You may
be q robber of banks. Mr.. Griswold
but you've got kind heart In you.
When the rescuer's purpose tt
| bring up under the lea of the islanc
became evident the castaway scram
4 bled down the low bluff and made
his way around the southern point