The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-08

swered the judge.
Nelson sfuffied his feet uneasily.
It's all In the business. 1 might hang
! around your house all the time, ana
what'd L learn about the doin's of Grim
iuals? go where they congregate- See
An L owe it myself now to show. You
I'm a good sheriff.
| ..Oh, 1t is clear, TO me that you are,
Gavin replied the judge. Your zeal
/ in trying to capture this fellow is com
nlendable.'
I'll get him. I've covered about all
the roads now. I'll have them all.
watched in day or so. You see, the
| mines are so blamed busy ROW it's hard
to get men who want the job.
There's the read TO Sacket It's
beastly road, but III have a man there
| tomorrow. The hardest Is the old trail
UP along the Big Elk Creek. It's almost
! covered now with brush, and no one
uses it. But them engineers might have
discovered it. 1t leads to nowhere, since
the old fort at the Forks is gone. but
i the fellow might take it an strike off
/ at the FORKS toward Helena.
L must get Batty to go up there
! Batty knows the trail, but he's down to
/ McCassatt now. He'll be back. probabl,
tomorrow with Roper, his brother-in-
| law. They are both good fighters. I'll
| send them BOTH
| Above the porch a fair head was rest
| ing on the window sill of the upper
! room, and two strained ears were taking
in eagerly all that was said below.
Nellie's sleep was short The voice OF
/ Gavin, the man she most feared and
hated, had aroused in her the instinct
OF self-preservation as Wen as an ever
increasing desire TO assist Cayright.
We'll, said the judge, send them.
But I've my own opinion about it. I
don't believe he as gone so far as
! that"
| Where can he be. then? We've hunt
ed the county over
| Have you? l know you've made q
good search But my own opinion is
that the fellow is somewhere on Hub
bick's farm"
BY Jove."
Where could he be?'' put in Nelson
| Hubbick's farm is a big place. said
the judge. You know the herders sell
dom come 10 the house. Hubbick had
| habit of making the rounds once In
a month or two, and seeing the head
ones in each quarter. Now, these msn
| have not been heard from. They GER
tainly took shelter somewhere during
the storm Why could this man not be
| concealed by some of Them"
BY Jove:" exclaimed Gavin again
Il thought we'd done the farm from end
to end
Perhaps you did, answered the
judge. Il am merely expressing a pass
ing thought
Til take stock of it, anyway" said
Gavin Now, judge, before we part,
seem that you're going away for a
couple of days, / want to ask you about
something more important to me than
this murder case. What are you going
TO do with NelHe2''
'Eh.' said the startled Judge. What
am 1 going to-whyI don't believe /
; quite understand You, Gavin. In what
respect-what do you mean?''
Il mean just what / ask What are
you goin' to do with Nellie? / like the
little girl, judge. I've thought lot of
her right along but you've kinder dis
| couraged me, an she amt shown nc
| likin' for me. But this sort of changes
!; things, don't 1t? She had Hubbick, then.
!, an you But now Hubbick's gone, an
you amt quite so fond of her as you
was"
You go rather too far, Gavin. when
you say I am not so fond of Nellie as
ever. I am much disappointed IN the
girl, I admit. That she should assist
the murderer of her parents to escape
seems to Indicate wild and reckless
strain 1 never suspected was In her.
. Yet know her brother, and. after ALL
what is bred in one might be expected 10
appear IN the other Spencer Deckton
is man 1 should never trust very
much. Yet 1 wish he were here I'd
like to have talk with him about
Nellie. He's her brother. and the nat
ural person to take charge of her
! Gavin crossed his legs and moved his
spurred boots nervously.
Now, look here, Judge tell me square
who's the best-Spencer Deckton, Mel
lies brother, or me2''
"Why-Gavin, really you ask queer
questions should say that you, being
conscientious sheriff. must certainly
be higher in the scale than Decl1ton.''
"An right Thank you. judge. That
shows you amt prejudiced. Now, then,
let's look at it. You're a judge. YOU
can't afford to be considerate. Nellie
has done wrong in helpin' this fellow &c
escape You can't overlook that. Mel
lies parents IS dead You've got a
daughter, and don't want Nellie here.
Now, judge. you've known me many
=
There's nothin' refined and elegant
about jim Gavin. But he's a hustler
when he's reused He knows his duty
an does it. Now. bein' only a sheriff
. an not a Judge, I can overlook things
that you can I.
~ like Ne..le--I love her. 1t wouldn't
kill my love If she was a murderess
herself instead of just helpin' n nu--
derer Give her TO be. When you
, come back, marry us. AS my wife She
, can't do no mischief. an III be the
happiest man In Montana, and I'll make
her happy, too
| There was a pause of several minutes
t 1T is an ingenious argument. Gavin
I admit that the problem Of what to dc
!. with Nellie has bothered me. I've go'
Hubbick's will, and she inherits every
/ thing But she's under age and needs
q guardian. A husband would be bet
! ter, If he was an honest one. If she
: married you. it would put Deckton out
of IT
Il suppose when he hears of this
business, he'll come right up TO mana &c