Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1912-10-19
The Rose
In the Ring
BY GEORGE BARR M'CUTCHEON
Copyright Dodd Meade
y GEORGE BARR M'CUTCHEON
Copyright 1910 by Dodd. Mead @ Co.

membered that he was in their world
Come. she said to her daughter
They withdraw. leaving him to devour
his feast alone. Slowly the others. tax
ing their cue. edged away. When next
the clown approached him. fresh from
Il merry whirl in the ring the tray was
on the mattress at his side. every par
ticIe of food gone. The boys face was
i'll his hands. his elbows on his knees.
suddenly it dawned on him that the
clown WAS stirring intently at his face
With quick understanding he shrank
back. but did not Withdraw his gaze
from the eyes of the other.
BY ingo,T muttered the motley
one. ''You-you are the one they're
uniting fOr-all over the state. The re-
ward bills, l remember now"
The lad had risen. \ look of abject
misery and dread leaped in his eyes
Let me CO. he said almost in
whisper, fiercely intense. Tn get out.
l haven't done any harm to you. Don't
keep me here i minute
Then you are the Jenison boy.' in
open mouthed wonder. well. I'll be
iicgcred, Here, Don't bolt like thatr'
Let go of me-" cried the boy. strik-
ing at the hand that clutched his arm.
Il won't let them catch me, Let me
go,'
"Nobody's going to 'urt you ere"
said the clown coolly Just you re-
member that | am not going to give
you up-lcastwise not Just vet So
you murdered your grandfather. did
you? Well. l wouldn't ave took you
to he that kind
Il didn't do it. didn't do it,
There was pitcous appeal III his wide
eyes Il swear l didn't. They're try
ing to put it on me to save some one
else oh. please. don't keep me here,
They-they arc-they must he here by
this time looking for me. oh. if you
knew how I've tried to dodge them,
They had bloodhounds last Sa turday.
OH He covered his face with his
hands ana shuddered as with 4 mighty
chill
And YOU didn't do it, the clown
asked, something like awe in his
voice.
Before God l did not. IL loved
my grandfather. l couldn't have done
it. Why. he was the only father l had
the only mother. He was everything
to me. 1t was He caught himself
up quickly in his wild declaration Il
them talking it over before it happen
talking about"
Then why don't you tell your sto-
ry:" demanded the clown.
They've got the evidence against
me- oh, you don't know, You can't
know how it looked to the world.
There's a man who says he saw me
with gun at my GRANDPA theirs win
dow. He did see me there and 1 had
| a gun, but not to kill poor old grand
| daddy. No. no, l heard some one
walking on the gallery-a thief. l
! thought. l crawled out of my win
| dow with my shotgun. but |
| oughtn't to tell you this. You must
| let me go. I'll never tell on you, l
| swear
Wait minute interrupted the
clown. laying his arm over the boys
| shoulder. Mrs. Braddock can tell by
| lookin' in your eyes whether you're
| good or bad. As far as I'm concerned
l don't believe you did it, Mrs. Brad
! dock crossed over to them. smiling.
This ere chap. ma am said Grin
adj. lis David Jenison, the boy want
| ed for that murder near Richmond last
week You've seen the reward bills
| His grandfather. you remember
You are the .IeniSon boy" she said
| slowly even unbelievingly. The one
/ who killed his GRANDPA
But l didn't do it, he almost
walled. ''You-you must believe me
=. ma'am didn't do it, He stood
/ before her. looking straight into her
eyes
i NO. Mrs. Braddock.'' said Grinaldi
/ he didn't do it,
| How do you know. Grinaldi: How
/ can you
Because he says another person did
: it, said Grinaldi calmly.