The Calumet news., 1911-07-19

VUDS0N was apparently unmov-
ed. You're forgetting that ]
was plum fool drunk, Jim.
~ didn't see either one of 'em."
but you heard"
"Yes. one of 'em was Rufford, as
you say, and up 10 n little bit ago I'd
"a been ready TO swear 10 the voice
of the one you haven't guessed. But
now | can't"
"Why can't you do it now?"
"Sit down and I'll tell you. I've
been Jared. Everything I've told you
so far l can remember or il seems as
if l can, but right where broke off n
cog slipped. / must n been drunker
than | thought | was. Gridley says
he was going by, and he says called
him I'm and told him. foolwise, all the
things was going TO do to Mr.. Lid
gerwOod. He says he hushed me up,
called me out TO the sidewalk and
started me home. Mac. I don't re-
member a single wheel turn OF all
that. and il makes me scary about the
other part"
McCloskey relapsed into his swing
chair.
You said you thought you recog-
nized the other man by his voice. IL
sounds like a drunken pipe dream, the
whole of it. But who did you think
IL wasp
Judson rose up, jerked his thumb
toward the door of the superntend-
ent's business Office and said, "Mac, il
the whisky didn't fake the whole bust
ness for me the man who was mum
bling with Bart Rufford was Hal
lOckr'
"Hallock" said McCloskey. "And
you said there was woman in IL.
That fits down TO the ground, John.
Mr. Lidgerwood has found out some
thing about Hallock's family tear-up,
or he's likely to find out. That's
what that means"
What more McCloskey said was said
to an otherwise empty room. Judson
had opened the door and closed it and
was gone.
Summing up the astounding thing
afterward, those who could recall the
details and piece them together traced
Judson thus:
1t was 10:40 when he came down
from McCloskey's office, and for per
haps twenty minutes he had been seen
lounging Mt the lunch counter in the
station end Of the Crows Nest. At
about IL one witness had seen him
striking at the anvil in Hepburn's shop.
the town marshal being the town
blacksmith in the intervals of official
duty.
Still later he had apparently forgot
ten the good resolution declared to Nc
Closkey, and all Angels saw him stag
gering up and down Mesa avenue.
into and out of the many sa.
looms and growing. to all appearances,
more hopelessly irresponsible with ev-
cry fresh stumble. This was his con-
dition when he tripped over the door
step into the Arcade and fell full
length on the floor of the barroom.
Grimsby, the barkeeper, picked him
up and tried to send him home; but,
with good natured and maudlin per-
tina city. he insisted on going on to the
room In the rear.
The room was darkened. as befitted
its use, and lighted lamp hung over
the center of the oval faro table as IL
the time were midnight instead of mid
day. Eight men, five of them miners
from the Brewster copper mine and
three of them discharged employees of
the Red Butte Western. were the bet
tors. Redlight himself. in sombrero
and shirt sleeves, was dealing. and
Rufford. sitting on "A stool ut the ta-
ble's end, was the lookout.
Judson stumbled round the table. los
ing his money and dribblng foolish.
ness. Now, faro is a silent game, and
more than once an angry voice com
manded the foolish one to choose his
! lace and to shut his mouth. But the
sx-engineer seemed quite incapable of
doing either. Twice he made the wa
vering circuit of the oval table, and
when he finally gripped an empty chair
1t was the enc nearest to Rufford on
the right and diagonally opposite to the
dealer.