Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-03-03


as It was light, ana 1t was nway OF
from where we saw them and wasn't
blown down at all; ard Helen saw
them in the field besides; snw oil Of
them
He interrupted her. "Whnt do you
mean? Try to tell me about 1t quietly,
child" He laid his hand OH her shout
der.
She told him breathlessly what she
and Helen had seen, and he grew more
and more visibly perturbed and un.
easy. biting his cigar to pieces and
grooming ut intervals. When she had
finished he took few quick turns
about the room. with his hands thrust
deep in his coat pockets. and then.
charging her TO repeat the story to no
one. left the house and, forgetting his
fatigue, rapidly crossed the fields to
the point where the bizarre figures OF
the night had shown themselves to the
two girls ut the window.
The soft ground had been trampled
by many feet. The boot prints pointed
to the northeast. He traced them back
ward to the southwest through the
field and saw where they had come
from near the road. going northeast;
then, returning. he climbed the fence
and followed them northwnrd through
the next field. From there the next field
to the north, lying beyond the road that
was Il continuation Of Main street,
stretched to the railroad embankmcnt.
Tho track, ruggodly defined in tram
pied loan and muddy furrow, rent In
direction which Indicated that its
terminus might be the switch where
the empty cars had st91d last night
waiting for the o'clock freight. Though
the fields had been trampled in many
places by the searching parties, he felt
sure of the direction taken by the
Crossroads men, and he perceived that
tho searchers had mistaken the tracks
he followed for those of earlier parties
in the hunt. On the enbankment he
saw a number of men walking weat
and examining tho ground on each side
and u long line of people following
them out from town. He stopped. He
held the fate Of Six Crossroads in his
hand, and he knew it.
The men on the embankment were
Walking slowly. bending far over, their
eyes fixed on the ground. Suddenly
one OF th"m stood erect and tossed his
arms in the air and shouted loudly
Other men ran 10 him. and another far
down the track repeated the shout and
the gesture to another far in his rear
This man took II up and shouted and
waved to a fourth man, and SO they
passed the signal back to town. There
came almost Immediately three long
loud whistles from a mill near the sta
ton, and the embankmcnt grew black
with people pouring out from town.
while the searchers came running from
the fields and woods and undcrbrush
on both sides OF the railway.
Briscoe began to walk on toward the
embankment
The track lay level and straight, not
dimmng I'm the middle distances. the
rails convergng to points both north
west and southeast in the clean washed
air like examples Of perspective In a
child's drawing book. About seventy
miles to the west and north lay ROuen
In the same direction. nearly six miles
from where the signal was given, the
track was crossed 10y road leading
directly south to Six Crossroads.
The embankmen. had been newly
ballasted with sand. What had been
discovered was a broad brown stain in
the sand on the south slope near the
top There were smaller stains above
and below, none beyond it to left or
right. and there were many deep foot
lining the place eXcitedly. talking and
gesticulating. 1t was Iige Willetts
who had found it. His horse was
tethered to ii fence near by at the end
Of lane through a cornfeld Jared
Wiley, the deputy sheriff, was talking
to Il group near the stain, explaining.
you see. them two must have
knowed about the o'clock freight and
that 1t was to stop here to take on the
empty lumber cars. don't know how
they knowed 1t. but they did. 1t was
this way: When they got out the win.
dow they beat through the storm
straight for this side track. At the
same time Mr.. HAIRLESS leaves Bris.
GOES, goin' west. 1t begins to rain,
He cuts across to the railroad to have
sure footin and strikin' for the
deepo for shelter-near place MS any,
except Briscoe's. where he's said good
night already. and prob'ly don't wish
70 90 bacE foar of Ciyiu' trouble OF
kecpin' 'em up. Anybody can under
stand that. He comes along and gets
to where we nre precisely at the time
they do, them comm from town. him
strkin' for it. They run right into
each other. That's what happened.
They re-cog- nized him and raised ur
on him and let him have it. What they
done 1t with 1 don't know. We took
everything in that line off Of 'em.
Prob'ly used railroad iron, and what
they done with him afterward we don't
know. but we will by night. They'll
sweat It out Of 'cm up at Roucn when
they get EN-"
II reckon maybe some of us nigh:
help" remarked Mr.. Watts rchectively.
Jim BardlOck swore violent oath.
That's the talk" he shouted. "Ef ]
amt the first man Of this crowd to Sc,
my foot In Roowun and first TO beat In
that Jail door I'm not town marshal
Of Plattville, county Of Carlow. state
OF Indiana. and the Lord have mercy
on our souls"
Tom Martin looked Mt the brown