The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-07
The Tanning of Red Butte N
Western. . .
,oo ooO-
Copyright. 1910, By Charles ScriSner's Sons

the narrow aperture left by its remov al. A crawling minute later he was crouching beneath the loosely jofnted floor of the lighted room, and the ave nue of the ear had broadened into a fair highway.
 Almost at once he was able to verify his guess that there were only two men in the room above. At all events there were only two speakers. They were talking in low tones, and Judson had no difficulty in identifying the rather high pitched voice of the owner of the Wire Silver mine. The man whose profile he had seen on the win dow shade had the voice which belong ed to the outlined features, but the listener under the floor had a vague impression that he was trying to dis guise it. Judson knew nothing about the letter in which Flemister had promised to arrange for a meeting be- tween Lidgerwood and the ranchman Grofeld. What he did know was that he had followed Hallock almost to the door of Flemister's office and that he had seen a shadowed face on the of flee window shade which could be no other than the face of the chief clerk. It was in spite of all this that the i'm pression that the second speaker was trying to disguise his voice persisted. But the ex-engineer of fast passenger trains was able to banish the inpres- sion after the first few minutes of eavesdropping.
 Judson had scarcely found his breath ing space between the floor dmbers and had not yet overheard enough to give him the drift of the low toned talk when the bell of the private line tele- phone rang in the room above. It was Flemister who answered the bellringer,
 "Hello! Yes, this is Flemister. Whats that? A message about MT. Lidgerwood? All right; fire away"
 "Who is it?'' came the inquiry in the grating voice which fitted and yet did not fit the other man.
 The listener heard the click of the telephone earpiece replacement.
 "It's Goodloe, talking from his sta- ton office at Little Butte" replied the mine owner. "The dispatcher has just called him up to say that Lidgerwood left Angels in his service car, running special, at $40 which would figure 1t here at about Il or little later"
 "Who is running it?" inquired the other man, rather anxiously, Judson decided.
 civilians and Bradford. A fool for luck every time. We might have had to wipe out a couple of our friends"
 The listener under the floor had a sensation like that which might be produced by cold wind blowing up the nape of his neck.
 "There is no such thing as luck, " rasped the other voice. My time was short-after I found out that Lidger- wood wasn't coming on the passenger. But managed to send word to Mat thews and Lester, telling them to make sure of Williams and Bradford. We could spare both of them, if we have to-"
 "Good!" said Flemister. "Then you had some such alternative in mind as that I have just been proposing"
 "No," was the crusty rejoinder. "I was merely providing for the hun dredth chance I don't like your alter native"
 "Why don't you?"
 "Well, for one thing, it's needlessly bloody. We don't have to go at this thing like bull at gate. I've had my finger on the pulse of things ever since Lidgerwood took hold. The dope is working all right in a purely natu- ral way. Tn the ordinary run of things 1t will be only a few days or weeks hands and quit. and when he goes out I go in. That's straight goods this time"
 "You thought it was before" sheer ed Flemister, "and you got beautiful ly left" Then, You're talking long on 'naturals' and the ordinary run o1 things but I notice you schemed with Bart Rufford to put him out of the fight with a pistol bullet"
 JudsOn felt sudden easing o1 strains: He had told McCloskey that he would be willing to swear to the voice of the man whom he had over heard plotting with Rufford in Cat Biggs' back roon1 Afterward, after he had sufficiently remembered that 6 whisky certainty might easily lead uI to sober perjury. be had admitted the possible doubt. But now Elem 1ster's taunt made assurance doubly sure. Moreover, the arch plotter was not denying the fact of the conspiracy with "the killer"
 "Rufford is bloodthirsty devil like yourself,' the other man was say ing calmly. "As I have told you be fore. I've discovered Lidgerwood's weakness. He can't call a sudden bluff. Rufocd's play-the play I told him to make-was to get the drop on him, scare him up good and chase him out of town-out of the country. He overran his orders and went to jail for it.'
 "Well?" said the mine owner.
 "YOlJr SrharDa rp,, or1tIir,od if fr