Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-09-25


volver which he was examining. cock
Ing II and lowering the hammer 10 re
volve the chambers. Then he put II
in his hip pocket. and, taking another
pistol from his other hip. he examined
that in the same way. He next looked
at his watch. trying TO make cut the
time Of night. then, stepping stealthily.
moved away from the bivouac.
Ny curiosity in the little play that
was going or so near me imDellCd me
to get up and follow the man. He took
6 road leading southwark down to-
ward a little town ar the foot Of the
plateau called Jasper. 1 dared not
walk near him lest my steps be heard.
! therefore Kept about 4 hundred yards
in his rear. ! was in danger of losing
him. but I would rather do 50 than
have him know that 1 followed him I
finally did lose him. hut soon again
caught sight of him or what l sup
posed was he. What was my surprise,
keeping nv eye on the figure before
me, upon its passing over n rise in the
ground and showing its silhouette
against the sky TO see the garments OF
d woman instead of a man.
Had Barker taken on q disguise?
Had lost him and fixed my gaze on
another? An explanation soon de-
veloped Against the sky I saw two
figures They looked TO be side by
side, but one was in rear of the other.
/ could see the legs Of one; the other
from the waist down was bell shaped
like woman's dress.
As looked the man turned to the
right and entered wood. Then 1 saw
the woman do the same. 1 entered the
wood at the point rs near as I could
determine it that they had entered aud
soon found myself in a ravine. II was
dark as pitch in there. and I could not
choose my steps Occasionally,
would catch u faint sound as one of
the persons 1 followed dislodged a
stone or broke a stick under foot.
Guided by such indications l pushed
on till suddenly l was halted by
sound of another kind.
1t was the crack of a pistol or rife.
All was still for few minutes.
Then l heard some one hurry past me
up the declivity, but l could not see
who it was. l stood listening till l
heard a groan coming from below.
Then l went down as rapidly as l
could in the dark and after going
some distance stopped and listened.
Another gfoan nearer guided me. and,
moving toward it, / soon came to an
opening in the trees admitting enough
starlight 10 show me a body lying on
the ground. / bent over it, at the
same time asking:
'Who are you?"
I'm Barker. Is that you?'
eyes. it's l. What's the troubled"
'I've been shot"
Gladly hurt?'
81 think I'm done for I must give
you some information at once. I'm
John Archard. Il United States gov
ernmcut detective employed to hunt
up these Illicit mountain whisky stills
and bring those who run them to jus
tice. I've come here after a man who
is running a still. Some one who has
got on to what I was after has fol
lowed and shot me"
Whom do you suspectT
I'm at n loss to know. II may be
that Nancy Parks, suspectiug that I
was intending TO shake her. watched
ana lOlDWtI NE, Iet kl-NN INK any
thing of my mission and thinking my
object TO be simply to get rid OF her"
\ very different theory occurred TO
me. Judging from what ] had seen, ]
surmised that in Nancy Parks he had
happened Oh one who loved the man
he was after. / reckoned that man to
be Elijah Hanks. Likely the govern
ment man had led Nancy TO size him
up for what he really was and to feel
assured that he proposed to arrest her
lover. She had pretended to be infat-
uated with Archard and followed him
to keep him in view till she could
warn her lover. Having failed to
make Hanks understand her when she
saw him from the wagon. she had
stucl, to the man who was trying to
get him. followed him and shot him
Just before he was about to raid the
still
This turned out to be the true YER
sion of the story. But l kept my
knowledge Of it Il secret, and Nancy
Parks was never accused Of the shoot
ing. The government man recovered,
but was never convinced that Nancy
was not infatuated with him.