Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-12-01
The Woman i'm The AlCOVe
ANNA CATHERINE GREEN
Copyright, 1906. The Bobbs Meril! Company

WpTQ--
The grim doctors eye flashed an
grily and I stopped.
Were you a detective from the dis.
trict attorneys office in New York,
sent ON with special powers to exam
inc him, should still say what I am
going to say now. While Mr. Fair
brothers temperature and pulse re
main where they now are, no one shall
see him and no one shall talk to him
save myself and his nurse"
turned with sick look Of dtsap-
pointment toward the road UP which l
had so lately come.
"Have painted, sweltered, trem-
BLEED, for three mortal hours on the
worst trail a man ever traNersed to go
back with nothing for my journey?
That seems to me hard lines. Where
Is the manager of this miner"
The doctor pointed toward man
bending over the edge Of the great
hole from which, at THAT moment, a
line of Mexicans was issuing, each
with sack on his back which he flung
down before what looked like fur
mace built of clay.
That's he. Mr. Haines, of Phila-
delr1,ta What do you want of him?"
Permission 70 stay the night. Mr..
Fairbrother may be better tomorrow.
ri won't allow 1t and ann master
here, SO far as my patient is con-
cerned You couldn't stay here with
out talking, and talking makes excite
ment, and excitement is just what he
can not stand. A week from now l
will see about it-that is, II my pa
tinues to improve. ann not sure that
he will"
"Let me spend that week here. I'll
Maybe the manager will let me carry
sacks"
| Look here" said the doctor, edging
me farther and farther away from the
tent he hardly let out of his SIGHT for
moment. You're a canny lad, and
Shall have your bite and something to
/ drink before you take your way back.
But back you go before sunset and
with this message: No man from any
paper north or south will be received
here till hang out blue flag. say
blue, for that Is the color of my
bandana When my patient Is in a
condition to discuss murder I'll hoist
it from his tent-top. It cam be seen
from the divide, and If you want to
! camp there on the lookout, we'll and
good AS for the police, that's another
matter. / will see them IL they come
butt they need not expect to talk to my
patient. You may say so down there
1t will save scrambMng up this trail
to no purpose"
you may count on me-" said I;
trust New York correspondent tt
do the right thing at the right time tc
head off the boys. But doubt IL they
win believe me-"
I'm that case shall have barri
cade thrown up fifty feet down the
mountain-side," said he.
"But the mail and your supples?"
ooh, the burros can make their wa.
up We shant suffer"
"You are certainly MASTER" I re
marked.
All this time had been using m.
, eyes. There was not much to see, bu
what there was was Economically in
: teresting. Aside from the furnace ant
what was going ON there, there wa
little else but sleepingtent, cook
ing-tent, and the small one l ha
, come on first, which, without the leas
t doubt, contained the sick man. Thi
t last tent was of a peculiar construc
) ton and showed the primitive natur
Of everything at this height. 1t COT
j sisted simply of a cloth thrown over
) thing like trapeze. This cloth di
. not even come to the ground on eithe
!. side, but stopped short a foot or S
, from the fat mound of adobe wlic
q serves as base or floor for hut @
/ tent in New Mexico. The rear of tn
g simple tent aIbutted on the nountadl
t side; the opening was toward the va
g ley. I felt an intense desire to loo
|. into this opening, 80 intense that
thought would venture on an a
y tempt to crafty 1t. Scrutinizing tn
r resolute face of the man before m
). and fattering myself that detecte
Q signs OF humor underlying his profe
q s,ional bruskness, ! asked, somewh:
r. mournfully If he would let me G
n away without so much ais glance /;
+ the man had come SO far to Sc
i "a glimpse would satisfy me now"
a assured him, as the mint of twink
!" flashed in his eye. "Surely there wi
n be no harm in that. I'll take it i
9. stead Of supper"
a He smiled, but not encouraging
N and I was feeling very despondnen
a indeed, when the canvas on which On
eyes were fixed suddenly shook al
N the calm figure OF a woman steppt
out before us, clad in the simple
n garb, but showing in every line
II face and form a character of mtngl.
a kindness and shrewdness. She WI
M evidently on the lookout for the dc
m tor, for she made a sign as she sd
him and returned Instantly into ii
#. tent.
~ "Mr. Fairbrother has just fall,
Id asleep" he explained. ut isn't d
cipline and shall have to apologi
is to Miss Sierra, but If you will prouni
Nv not to speak nor make the least d
ne turbance l will let you take the O
as peep you prefer to supper"
an promise" said.
1t Leading the way to the opening,
nd whispered a word to the nurse, tn