The National tribune., 1910-11-10

This seemed to set him to thinking;
but still he could not bring himself to
| join in my suspicious. ] told him how
JEFF Davis had acted in stopping after
he had started out of the store, and
making flimsy pretext of asking the
prices of things / knew he had no use
for, In order to hear what was said
about sending money up North.
And now, Higginbotham," I added
you have unintentionally put these
blood hounds on my trail, and / won't
dare to leave here until we can find
some way TO throw them off the scent.
They have me spotted any way,
think; for know too much about their
Fort Gibson record; and they would, no
doubt, be glad of chance to put me
out of the way, especially If they could
at the same time make good haul. I
shall be afraid now to carry my own
money away from here. We must find
some one going up who will carry our
money FOR US; keep il quiet until sew
eral days after 1t is gone; and then give
out In the hearing of these suspects
that the money has been gone long
enough to be out OF their reach. Not
until they have been thrown off my
track in some such way will il be safe
for me to start back to Lawrence"
Throwing the RascaIs OF the Track
Higginbotham was very sorry that he
had been SO thoughtless as to endanger
| me by talking too freely provided my
suspicious of the Texans should prove
correct; and, realizing that his impru-
dence was likely to get Inc into trouble,
he agreed that the only remedy was to
adopt some such measure as 1 had
| suggested to counteract the probable eff
,, feet of his reckless talk.
| We both quietly set about looking up
some responsible person who would be
gong ID the country nv " yyp
could send our money, and by that
evening | had found the desired oppor-
tunity. MIR. Noel, of the firm of Noel &
Mcmillan, who had also just set up
store In our town, was going to start to
Lawrence in a buggy, early the next
morning, and, as he was q comparative
stranger in Baxter Springs. and no one
but his partner. Mcmillan, knew that
he was going. he would probably not
be noticed by the outlaws or their
friends. He agreed to carry the money,
started in the early part of the night
instead of waiting till morning, and
slipped away unnoticed.
After he had been gone a couple of
days, Higginbotham and / took occa-
sion to announce, when jeff Davis and
his pals were present, that we had sent
our money off by Mr.. Noel and would
soon have a new supply OF goods. This
thought would divert their attention
from me- unless they had determined to
put me out of the way on general prin-
cipics, or for the supposed safety of the |
gang, which / afterwards discovered had |
really been their conclusion.
In the mean time, some thief went |
through my wagon one night during my
absence, and stole my blankets and |
some other stuff, but got nothing of |
much value. This theft was subse- |
quently confessed by Joe Boyrston
| had now overstayed my time in BaX- |
ter Springs by some days, and l still /
tarried from Il dread of some underlined |
dangers from these robbers that / could |
not shake off. My wife, in Lawrence, !
became alarmed at my protracted stay, |
and sent her brother, Al. Collins, down
TO Baxter Springs, on horseback, to see
what had become of me. Feeling some |
what reassured by this reinforcement l
then hitched up, and Al. and l started
home.
A Presentiment of Danger
/ can call it nothing else but a pre-
sentiment, that | felt at this time of
serious impending danger: else why did
my mind present to me the exact plot
that the robber gang had actually de- /,
tesmined on-though unknown TO me
then-at one of their recent meetings. |
for killing and robbing me? Altho !
I had no knowledge of their plans, and |
no definite reason to suspect that