Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1911-10-05
awhile, then slowly followed us. much
IN fha pirI'e a pna rant discomftura

! Barker said he thought he would leave
me. giving as reason that he had
heard of farm for sale In the locality
and he would look it up. Since it was
evening. concluded TO go no further
that day, and. driving my team into u
wood, | embarrassed my horses, fed
them, made some coffee and prepared
to spend the night there Barker, who
by this time seemed TO repose In me
confidence that i didn't care to have,
told me that the girl was going To
sleep In a house in Tracy, and when
she awoke in the morning he would be
missing.
| ! made no reply to this. l was not
especially prejudiced In his favor, and
| there was something about the girl
! that drew me to her. l confess | had
come to believe that some game was
| being played between the two, and
! had sufficient curiosity to be interested
! In 1t. There are, so many possible
complications in any affair in which
woman is concerned that / had no
faith in any theory / formed with re
ever. that they were deceiving each
other.
About o O'clock Barker and l turned
in. The night being pleasant / didn't
sleep in the wagon, nor did he. !
slept few hours when something
awakened me. Barker was standing
near with his back to me. He had
- .,
I could not see what il was. | knew
by series of clicks that ii was a re-
volyer which he was examining, cock
ing it and lowering the hammer to re
yolve the chambers. Then he put IL
i'm his hip pocket, and, taking another
pistol from his other hip, he examined
that IN the same way. He next looked
mt his watch. trying 10 make out the
time Of night then, stepping stealthily,
moved away from the bivouac.
Ny curiosity in the little play that
was going ON so near me impellod me
TO get UP and follow the man. He took
road LEADING southwark down to-
ward a little town at the foot Of the
plateau called Jasper. l dared not
r,-.'- -r-- r'.. '..' ..- io lC-"'
therefore kept about a hundred yards
in his rear. I was in danger Of losing
him, but I would rather do so than
have him know that l followed him. !
finally did lose him. but soon again
caught sight of him or what | sup
posed was he What was my surprise,
keeping my eye on the figure before
B ric in, ha
ground and showing its silhouette
against the sky to see the garments Of
a woman instead Of a man.
Had Barker taken on n disguise?
Had / lost him and fixed my gaze on
another? An explanation soon de-
veloped. Against the sky / 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 I looked the man turned to the
right and entered wood. Then saw
the woman do the same. / entered the
wood at the point as near as could
determine it that they had entered and
soon found myself in ravine. 1t was
dark as pitch in there, and could not
choose my steps. Occasionally
would catch faint sound as one of
the persons 1 followed dislodged a
stone or broke a stick under foot.
Guided by such indications / pushed
on till suddenly 1 was halted by a
sound Of another kind.
| t. oil toI
All was still for a few minutes.
Then / heard some one hurry past me
up the declivity, but / could not see
who 1t was. l stood listening till
heard a groan coming from below.
Then / went down as rapidly as !
could in the dark and after going
some distance stopped and listened.
Another groan nearer guided me, and,
moving toward it, l soon came to an
opening in the trees admitting enough
starlight to show me a body lying on
the ground. i bent over it, at the
same time asking
"Who are your"
"Pm Barker. Is that your"
eyes, it's 1. What's the trouble?"
"Ive been shot"
"Badly hurtY'
81 think I'm done for. must give
you some information at once. I'm
John Archard, a United States gov
eminent detective employed to hunt
up these Illicit mountain whisky stills
and bring those who run them to JUS
tice. I've come here after q man who
is running a still. Some one who has
got on to what l was after has fol
lowed and shot me-"
"Whom do you suspectf"
I'm at loss to know. 1t may be
that Nancy Parks, suspecting that I
was intending to shake her, watched
and followed me, not knowing any
thing Of my mission and thinking my
object to be simply to get rid Of her,"
A very different theory occurred to
me. Judging from what had seen, l
surmised that in Nancy Parks he had