The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1909-07-08
The House of the Black
:. ..,:: Ring e.,ze.... 20.

and keep up the search till we've run
over his hole property. l tell you
We've got 'em this time" The squire's
unnatural calm was more exciting to
the men who knew him than any mo-
ment of buster would have been. 1t
was the nus before the typhoon.
Amos alone seemed to. be un-
impressed. He sat and mok slow
~, but there was a little knot be-
! tween his eyes h a no one had ever
!seen there before.
AS said before. squire" he said
go slow? You say this job Is Jest like
the Sugar Valley job and done by the
same gang. but the Farthings cleared
themselves of that"
Who says they did? What's your
proof that Jim Farthing want in it,"
Wal. Rose"
"Pshaw! That don't prove nothing.
She want Responsible: the doctor says
so. The Paintings had her right in
their power. Didn't you see how AL
Farthtng's little black y was on her
every minute, AMI how wild and f1us-
trated she looked? Her story Is ebso-
lutely unreasonable on the face Of 1t.
Then how about the handkerchief"
h letters can stand for a good
many things besides Jim Farthing.'
How do you know but the one that
done this job left 1t there jest on pur-
pose to turn suspicion onto Jim? It's
easy enough to mark q handkerchief"
Squire, wheeling pom him instantly.
That's rot. Things may happen once,
but they don't twice. Talk common
sense, II you're going to talk here. We
amt boys"
a the same Squire, you let me
advise you to go slow-mighty slow.
You've got a cool. c~lean-cut. clever man
to deal with. and hell eucher yeh I'M
less you've got both bowers and the
Joker right in OUT hand. The day he
cleared himself here in the store. seq
I to myself: The man that deals with
keep his head"
"Humph!!" snorted the old man.
You'll see some things before you're
much older. He's tackled the wrong
man for once in his life. You wait and
see."
IAN right: I've said my say Amos
Say, I agree with Amos in one thing,
Squire" Lem Fisher was nervous and
excited. He gesticulated almost con-
vulsively. You keep out Of this, Squire;
don't you tech him wunst. Don't you
dast to. You can't ketch this here
Farthing. sheriff or no sheriff. I don't
care if you seen him with your own
eyes still right here in the store wunst,
stealing things, he'll clear himself
Already. He's q hacker and you've gut
to fight fire with fire still. He'll tech
your life next"
Ulie. He'll hack you sure's death"
"Humph!" grunted the old man.
II tell you 1t amt no small matter;
no. 1t amt. Nosuh."" Lem was tre-
mendously in earnest. Jest you see
what he did to Rose already. She's he'd
I told you-uns she'd h: = e when I
seen her that morning you 0 o her
away I didn't know her. She was that
pale-paler n a winter ghost-just like
Katie Barndollar when she was hacked
with the oppnehmer. She won't last
the summer out still; you can send her
to Pittsburg or Rooshey. I don't care.
Again o leave the Farthings be. it
II be too late Already yet. I tell you,
Squire. you are the next one; you're
liable to go any minute like poor Karl,
with q black ring round your neck.
I'm your friend. Squire, and for Gods
sake you take my advice. You Co."
lowering his voice to a shuddering
whisper-"you go to Gran'maw Miiler's
this very night. this very night,
Squire. Fore Gods. it's your only
chanct." =
"oh. I'm all right. Lem" He spoke
with an indulgent tone. IT carry words
slip of dark paper from his inner pocket
and handed it over to the circle.
II don't know about this, Squire"
Lem examined it with the air of an ex-
pert. and the others crowded around
to look over his shoulder. That's for
Il ffl1hfsN1tvNs n thfnf M, ,~rA Nit I,,~-pA
stand ag'in AL Farthing. Nosuh. You
take my advice, Squire. and go this
VERY night. It's your only chanct."
'Oh, don't YOU worry, Lem. You don't
know where l got them words"
II don't care where you gut 'em: they
then relapsed into silence.
The hours passed slowly. Some of
the men went home to dinner; others
lunched at the Squirrels expense. They
discussed in detail all the robberies and
inferred and deduced and ~conjectured.
The Squire dwelt much on Karl Keich-
line; his character, his abilities, his tact
and honesty and his lovable qualities
generally. He worked himself into q
passion of Indignation and pity. The
poor boy had been like a son to him;
he was beginning to lean on him and
love him. I'm getting to be an old
man." he went on pathetically. THE
cares of my business are Weighing upon
me. and now I'm all alone.' There
were actually tears on the old mans
cheeks as he went on, and a thrill of
real pity went over the crowd. Karl
had been a general favorite everywhere.
IT. was four forty-ave whensthe sheriff
and posse with pomp and dash swung
up before h store. The details Of the
, raid had all been carefully planned over
the telephone. mi they delayed only
a moment. Leaving their horses the
, Gap.
Twenty rods from the Farthing place
a great silence came over them. The
excited humble of voices fell to q whis-
) per and then. q few steps further on.
died out entirely. There was no move
. ment about the house n not q sound,
though they listened intently. Squire
Hartswick and the sheriff held a whis-