Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-02-03
fRFCkLES
BY
Gene Smaee@m-
Porter
COPYRIGHT. 1904. BY DOUBLEDAY. PAGE
CHAPTER K.

CHAPTER K.
FREcKLIs WINS HONOR.
EaTlHEN the men reached the trail
Treckles yelled ut the top of
his voice: Head them of en-
o the south, boys: Fire from the
SOUTH"
As he had hoped. Jack and wessner
instantly plunged into the swale. A
storm of lead spattered after them.
They crossed the swale. running low,
with not even one backward glance.
and entered the wood beyond the cor
duroy. ~
Then the little party gathered at the
tree. 4.
"Td better fx this saw SO they can't
! be using it If they come back" said
Freckles. taking out his Ratchet and
| making the saw teeth fly.
Nov we have to get out of here with.
out being seen." said the Bird Woman
| to the angel. ut won't do for me to
make enemies of these men. for l am
liable to meet them about my work
any day"
"You can do 1t by driving straight
north on this road" said Freckles. Il
will go ahead and cut the wires for
you. The swale is almost dry. You
! will only be sinking a few inches at
most. In a few rods you will strike a
cornfeld. will take down the fence
| and lei YOU :nto that. Follow the fur.
rows and drive straight across 1t until
you come to the other side. Be follow
ing the fence south until you come to q
road through the woods east Of 1t.
Then take that road and follow east
| until you reach the pike. You will
come out on your way back to town
and two miles north Of anywhere they
are likely to be. Don't for your lives
ever let 1t out that you did this" he
earnestly cautioned. ''for it's black en-
emies you would be making"
Freckles snapped the wires. and they
drove through. The angel leaned from
the carriage and held out his revolver.
Freckles looked into her face and lost
his BREATH Her eyes were, BLACK. and
her face a deeper rose than usual. He
felt that his own, Was white as death.
"Did l shoot high enough " she ask
ed sweetly. ~ really forgot about ~
Ing down."
Freckles WINGED. Did the child know
| low. near She had gomez Surely she
| could not Or was It possipfe that shs
| had the nerve and skill to lire like that
| purposely?
II will send the first reliable man ]
meet for Mclean" said the Bird Wo.
/, man. gathering up the lines. III j
don't meet one when we reach town
! we viii send a messenger. II 1t wasn't
| for having the gang see me l would 50
; myself"
Round eyed. Freckles watched the
| Bird Woman and the angel drive
away. After they were out of sight
and he was safely hidden among the
branches Of q small tree. he remem-
bered that he had neither thanked
them nor said goodby. Would the Bird
| Woman and the angel come again?
| No other women that he had ever
known would. But were they like any
other women he had EVER known? HE
thought Of the Bird Woman's unrufled
face and the angels revolver practice.
and presently he was not 80 sure that
| they would not come back.
What were the people out In the big
world like? His knowledge was 90
very limited. There had been people
. at the home who exchanged a stilted.
! perfunctoxy sort OF kindness for their
salaries. The visitors that called on
.lreceiving days he had divided into
| three classes-the kind that came with
q tear in the eye and Hypocrisy In e..
cry feature Of their faces; the kind
that came in silks and. jewels and
handed out to those poor, little mother
hungry souls IN toys that their chill
| dren no longer cared for, in exactly
the same spirit In which they pitched
biscuits to the monkeys at the zoo"
and for the same reason-to see how
| they would take them and be amused
by what they would do; and the third
| class; that he considered real people,
| who made him feel they cared that
he was there and would. have been
| glad to see him elsewhere.
Now, here was another class that
had met him as a BOZ and brother.
| With them he could for the only time
in his life forget the lost hand that
every day tortured him with q new
pang. What sort Of people were they
and where did they belong. among the
classes he knew He had to give it up
because he had never known others
ike them, but how be loved them!
Out in the world where he was soon
going were the majority ike them OF
were they Of the hypocrite and bun
throwing ~classes7 Freckles did not
know, but he reached tbs ultimate
conclusion that people like the Bird
Woman. the angel, Mclean and the
Duncans were, very rare. hence their
exceeding preciousness.
He had forgotten, the excitement. of
the morning and the passing Of dms
when distant voices aroused him. and
he softly lifted his head. Nearer and
nearer they came, and ~ the heavy
wagons rumbled down the east tail
he could hear them plainly. The gang
were shouting themselves hoarse for
the Limberlost guard. Frsckles didn't