Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1909-12-15

found him in garden under an
apple tree reading a newspaper. He
was an old fellow in spectacles, and,
assuming that I was an idler from
the summer colony, he greeted me
courteously. l questioned him as to
the character of the winters in this
region. spoke of the employments of
the village folk, then mentioned the
canOemaker.
Yes; he works the year round down
there on the Tippecanoe He sells
his canoes all over the Countrywide
Hartridge, that's his name You must
have seen his sign there by the cedar
hedge. They say he gets big prices
for his canoes"
81 suppose he's a native in these
parts?" l ventured.
mo; but he's been here a good
while. 1 guess nobody knows where
he comes from-or cares. He works
pretty hard, but guess he likes it."
Hes an Industrious man, is he?"
"Oh, he's steady worker; but he's
| a queer kind, too. Now, he never
votes and he never goes to church;
and for the sake Of the argument,
| neither do P'-and the old fellow
winked prodigiously. He's a mighty
odd man; but 1 can't say that that's
against him. But he's quiet and peace
able, and now his daughter"
"Oh, he has a daughter?'
| Eyes; and that's all he has, too;
and they never have any visitors. The
| daughter just come home the other
day, and we amt hardly seen her yet.
She's been away at school"
81 suppose Mr.. Hartridge is absent
sometimes; he doesn't live down there
all the time, does he?"
II can't say that 1 could. prove it;
sometimes 1 don't see him for a
month or more; but his business is his
| own, stranger" he concluded, point
eddy.
You think that if Mr. Hartridge
had visitor you'd know it?" l per
sisted, though the shopkeeper grew
less amiable.
We'll, now, l might; and again !
mightn't. Mr. Hartridge is a queer
man. 1 don't see him every day, and
particularly in the winter l don't keep
! track or him.
With little leading the storekeeper
described Hartridge for me, and his
description tailed exactly with the
man who had caught me on the canoe
makers premises the night before
And yet, when 1 had thanked the
storekeeper and ridden on through thd
village, l was as much befuddled as
ever. There was something decidedly
incongruous in the idea that a mar
who was, by all superficial signs, al
least a gentleman should be estab
lished in the business of making ca
noes by the side of a lonely creek il
this odd corner of the world. From
the storekeeper's account, Hartridgt
might be absent from his retreat fol
brook and wished to annoy his sister
it was not so far from this lionel!
creek to the Connecticut town where
Miss Pat lived. Again, as to the daugh
ter, just home from school and no
yet familiar to the eyes of the village
she might easily enough be an inven
ton to hide the visits of Helen Hol
brook. l found myself trying to &C
count for the fact that, by some means
short of the miraculous, Helen Hol
; brook had played chess with Miss Pa
at st. Agatha's at the very hour / hat
seen her with her father on the TiI
pecanoe. And then l was baffiet
again as remembered that Paul Stod
dard had sent the two women to ST
Agatha's, and that their destination
could not have been chosen by Heller
Holbrook.
My thoughts wandered into man:
blind alleys as 1 rode on. l was thor
oughly disguised with myself at find
/ ing the loose ends of the Holbrooks
affairs multiplying SO rapidly. Tn,
: sun of noon shone hot overhead, and
turned my horse into road that LEI
: homework by the eastern shore of tn,
, lake. AS 1 approached little countr,
/ church at the crown of a long hill
J saw crowd gathered in the highwa,
, and refined my horse to see what hat
, happened. The congregation of farmer
and their families had just been dis
missed; and they were pressing abou
: a young man who stood in the centel
of an excited throng. Drawing closer
: was amazed to find my friend Gil
I lespie the center of attention.
: "But, my dear sir" cried a tall
! bearded man whom / took to be the
minister of this wayside flock, "yo,
must at least give us the privilege O
, thanking you! You cannot know wha
. this means to US, gift so munificen
far beyond our dreams"
, Whereat Gillespie looked bored
shook his head. and tried to force hi.
a way through the encircling rustics. H,
was clad in Norfolk jacket ane
: knickerbockers of fantastic plaid witt
a cap to match.
A young famer, noting my CURIOSITY
!. and heavy with great news, whispered
to me:
THAT boy in short pants put a 81 ,00'
: bill in the collection basket. All II