The Sauk Centre herald., 1907-05-16
CHAPTER IN.

IF any ECHO of doubt concerning his
undesirable conspicuousnesS sound
ed family in Joe's mind, il was 81
\ lencel eftsoons. Canaan had not
forgotten him. Far from it, SD far that
il began pointing him out TO strangers
on the street the very day OF his re-
turn. His course of action, likewise
that OF his friends, permitted him little
obscurity. and when the rumorS Of his
finally obtaining lodging at Beaver
Beach and OF the celebration of his in
stallation there We're presently con-
frmei he stood in the lime light in
deed. as Mephistopheies upsprung
through tie nap door
The welcoming festivities had not
been 50 discreerly conducted as 10 ac-
cord with the general policy Of Beaver
Beach. Al unfortunate incident caused
the arrest of one of the celebrators and
the ambulancing TO the hospital of an
other on the homeward way, the ensu-
ing proceedings in court bringing TO
the whole affair a publicity devoutly
unsought for. Mr.. Happy Fear (such
was the habitual name of the imprison-
ed gentleman had to bear a great
amount of harsh criticism for injuring
a companion within the city limits aft
er daylight and for failing to observe
that three policemen were not too dis
tant from the scene of operations to
engage therein.
Happy. if he had ii in mind to harm
him. said the red bearded man to Mr..
Fear upon the latter's return to socie-
ty, why didn't ye do it out here at the
beach,"
Because returned the indiscreet.
"he didn't say what he was goin' TO
say till we got in town"
Extraordinary probing on the part of
the prosecutor had developed at the
trial that the obnoxious speech had re-
ferred to the guest of the evening.
The assaulted party. one Nashville"
Cory, was not Of Canaan, but bit of
driftwood haply touching shore for the
moment at Beaver Beach, and-strange
is this world-he had been introduced
to the coterie of Mikes Place by Hap
by Fear himself, who had enjoyed a
brief acquaintance with him on day
when both had CHANGED TO travel in
cognito by the same freight. Natural
ly Happy had felt responsible for the
proper behavior OF his protege-was.
in fact. bound to enfoNe it; addition
ally, Happy had once been saved from
a term OF Imprisonment (at time
when it would have been more than
ordinarily inconvenienb by help and
advice from Joe. and he was not one
to forget. Therefore he was grieved
to observe that his own guest seemed
to be somewhat jealous of the hero of
the occasion and disposed to look cold
ly upon him. The stranger, however,
contented himself with innuendo
Cmere expressions of the face and 9TH
er manner of things for which one
could not squarely lay hands upon
him) until such time as he and his
sponsor had come to Main street in
the clear dawn on their way to Hap
py's apartment, a variable abode. 1t
may be that the stranger perceived
what Happy did not-the three blue
coats in the perspective. At all
events. he now put into words of SIM
pie strength the unfavOrable colcep-
ton he had formed of Joe. The re-
suit was mediaevally immediate, and
the period of Mr.. Cory's convalescence
in the hospital was almost half that Of
his sponsors detention in the county
Jail.
When Happy Fear had suffered.
with a give and take implicitly Of pc
tience. his allotment of months in
durance and was released and sent
into the streets and sunshine once
more, he knew that his first duty lay
in the direction of general apology to
Joe. But the young man was no lon
ger at Beaver Beach; the red headed
proprietor dwelt alone there and, re-
ceiving Happy with scorn and pity,
directed him to retrace his footsteps
to the town.
"Ye must have been in the black hole
Of incarceration indeed if ye haven't
heard that Mr.. Louden has his law Of
fee on the square and his livin' room
behind the Office. It's in that little
UIlSh uuiiuih StiuiSht oSioSI iioih thC
sheriff's door O. the Jail. Ye've been
neighbors this long time. A hard time
the boy had persuadin' any one to rent
to him, but by payin' double the price
he got place at last. He's practic-
in lawyer now. and all the boys and
girls of our acquaintance go to him
with their troubles. Yell see him
with murder case to try before long
as sure as ye're not worth yer salt!
But 1 expect ye can still call him by
his name of Joe, all the same"
1t was a bleak and meager little Of
fee into which Mr. Fear ushered him.
self to offer his amends. The cracked
plaster of the walls was bare, save for
dust There were no shelves. The fat
brown volumes, most of them fairly
new, were piled in regular columns
upon a cheap pine table. There was
but one window, small paned and
shadeless. An inner door Of this sad
chamber stood half ajar, permitting
the visitor unreserved acquaintance
with the domestic economy Of the ten
ant, for it disclosed a second room,
smaller than the Office and dependent
upon the window Of the latter for air
and light. Behind a canvas camp cot,
dimly visible in the obscurity of the
inner apartment, stood small gas
stove surmOunted by a stewpan, from
which proiected the handle Of q big