Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1904-07-11

bad wasn't the matter"
But nothing-nothing that bad
could have happened. They haven't
ound-any-anything."
But why hasn't he come back,
child?"
well he's lying hurt somewhere,
that's all"
Then why haven't they found him?"
81 don't care she cried and choked
with the words and tossed her DISNEY
eIed hair from her temples. lit isn't
true, Helen won't believe it, Why
should /? It's only q few hours since
he was right here in our yard talking
70 us all. / won't believe it till they've
searched every stick and stone of Six
Crossroads and found him."
1T wasn't the Crossroads" said
the old gentleman, pushing the table
away and relaxing his limbs on the
sofa They probably didn't have any
thing to do with it. We thought they
had at first, but everybody's about
come t. believe it was those two fell
lows that re had arrested yesterday"
1t wasn't the Crossroads" echoed
Minnie. and she began to tremble vio-
lertly. Haven't they been out there
YETI
What use? They are out of it, and
they can thank God they are
They are not" she cried, very much
agitated. They did it. 1t was the
White Caps. We saw them, Helen
and l."
The Judge got upon his feet with an
oath. He had not sworn for years IN
til that morning. whats thisT' he
said sharply
Il ought to have told you before, but
we were so frightened. and-and you
went off in such a rush after Mr.. Wiley
was here | never dreamed everybody
wouldn't know it was the Crossroads;
that they would think of any one else
And | looked for the scarecrow as soon
as it was light, and it was away off
from whore we saw them and wasn't
blown down at all; and Helen saw
| them in the field besides; saw all of
| them
He interrupted her. what do you
mean? Try to tell me about it quietly,
| child" He laid his hand on her Shout
| der
She told him breathlessly what she
| and Helen had seen. and he grew more
and more visibly perturbed and I'M
easy, biting his cigar to pieces and
| grCaning at intervals. When she had
finished lie took a 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 at the window.
The soft ground had been trampled
| by many feet. The boot prints pointed
| TO tie 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 nOrthward through
| the next field. From there the next field
to the north, lying beyond the road that
was continuation of Main street,
| stretched to the railroad embankment
| The track, ruggedly defined in tram
| pied loan and muddy furrow, bent in
a direction which indicated that it's
terminus might be the switch where
the empty cars had stood last night
waiting for the 1 o'clock freight. Though
the fields had been trampled in many
| r.IacsoS NV tho coarcbiDU portioS 10 fp1t
sure of the direction taken by the
Crossroads men, and he perceived that
the searchers had mistaken the tracks
he followed for those of earlier parties
in the hunt. On the embankment he
saw a number of men walking west
and examining the ground on each side
and a 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, theil
eyes fixed on the ground. Suddenly
one of them stood erect and tossed hi:
arms in the air and shouted loudly
Other men ran to him, and another fal
down the track repeated the shout ant
the gesture to another far in his rear
This man took it up and shouted an(
waved to a fourth man, and so they
passed the signal back to town. Their,
, came almost Immediately three long
. loud whistles from a mill near the sta
ton and the embankment grew blacl
with people pouring out from town
While ~searchers came running from
the fields and woods and underbrusl
on both sides of the railway.
Briscoe began to walk on toward tn
embankment.
The track lay level and straight, no
dimming in the middle distances, tn
rails converging to points both north
west and southeast in the clean washe
air like examples Of perspective in
childS drawing book. About sevent
miles to the west and north lay RoueI
In the same direction, nearly six mile
from where the signal was given, th
track was crossed by a road leadin
| CT 10