Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-11-27
Chapter IL \

|GN for its new sensation
= N Is The return of Hugh
&- Stres and his apparent
N curious transformation
was the prime subject of conversation
For a half year tie place had known
but one other event as startling That
was the finding some months before
of dead body that Of comparative
stranger in the place-thrust beneath
a thcket on Smoky mountain, on the
very claim which now held Prender-
CAST and his partner
The amen corner" of the Mountain
Valley House had discussed the pros
and cons exhaustively There were
many who sneered at the loss of mem
DRY and took their cue from Devlin
who smarting from bis humiliation
and nursing venom. revamped suspi
cions wherever he showed his battered
face In his opinion Hugh Stires was
playing a slick game"
Your view is coored by your preju-
dices. Devlin." said Fielder He's been
| blackleg in the past-granted But
give the devil his due AS for the
! other ugly tale there's no more evil
dence against him than there is
against you or met
'They didn't lind the body on my
ground" had been the others surly
retort. land didn't clear out the day
before either"
The phenomenon. however. whether
credited or poohpoohed. was draw
ing card More than few found oc-
casion to climb the mountain by the
hillside trail that skirted the lonely
cabin These as likely as not saw
Prendergast ounging in the doorway
smoking while the younger man
worked. leading trench along the
brow of the hill to bring the water
from its intake. which Harry's quick
eye had seen was practicable.
The spectacle of Hugh Stires. who
had been used to pass his days in the
saloons and his nights in even less be-
coming resorts. turned practical miner
added touch of opera bouffe to the
! situation that to a degree modulaled
the rigor of dispraise. 1t was the con
sensus of opinion that the new Hugh
Stires seemed vastly different from the
old; that if he were playing a game
it was curious one.
On the one side was a black record
eXemplified in Neutrality-suspicious. in
fanny a shuddering adherence of his
past self as be saw it through the pitt
|. less lens of public opinion; on the Other
was grim constancy of purpose. pas
sionate wish to reconstruct the warped
structure of life of which he found
\ himself the tenant. days of healthful
4 peace inspiring toll a woman's fac,
that threaded his every thought AS b,
welded his pick In Ale trench or labo
liously washed out Che few glistenint
grains that now We're TO mean his dai
ly sustenance he turned often to gaZ,
mp the slope where, set in its foliage
the glass roof of the sanitarium spar
! killed. softly through the Indian haze
Strange that the sight should mysteri
ously suggest the face that haunted
him!
Prende:gast saw the distracted re
gard as he came up the trail from tn
town. He was in an ugly humor. Tn
! to Harry he had not returned to tn
hiding place in the wall and with thi
in his pocket the faro table had tina
day tempted him The pouch wa
empty now.
Harry's back was toward him, an
the gold pan In which he had bee
washing the gravel lay at his fee
4 With pnisalaSS rnirt hloSS louub prnr
dergast stole into the cabin and reacl
ed down from the shelf the bottle int
which each day Harry had poured hi
scanty findings He weighed it in hi
hand-almost two ounces. a little les
than $50 He hastily took the empt
bag from his pocket
But just then a shadow darkened th
doorway. and Harry entered He say
the action and. striding forward, too
the bottle from the others hand.
Prendergast turned on him. sinh
ter snarl under his affectation of su
prise Cant you attend to your ow
rat killing?" he growled Il guess Nv
got right to what | need"
Not to that" said Harry quietl.
I'VE shall touch the bottom of til
-four sack tomorrow. You expect to g
your meals here, | presume
Il still look forward to that plea
ure," answered Prendergast, with a
evil sneer Three meals day and
rotten roof over my head. When
think of the little have done to d
serve it, the hospitality overcomes m
All have done is to keep you fro
= starving to death and out of quod
the same time. only taught you
safe way to beat the game. an east,
one than you seem to know. and
\ live on Easy street"
~ am looking for no easy way" r
sponded Harry. whatever you mes
by that expect to earn my living
Pm earning it now It's an hone
method, at all events"
you've grown all fired particul
since you lost your memory" retort,
g Prendergast. his eyes narrowin
you'll be turning dominic one of the
r. days. Perhaps you expect to get t
town to take up with you and to NAL
OF love to the beauty in the green ridil
habit that brought you here on
horse the night you were out of 20
Tx head"
in Harry started What do you mean
he asked thickly
I'll PrcndergaSts oily manner was go
to now. His savage temper came uppt
most.
IS II forgot you didn't know abo
=, l. that no Snpffaj na1a paaf Of