The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1913-10-09

ne TOOK care or this poor shepherd
nursed him TIL he died and buried
him, taking all precautions. You can't
complain Of that, can your That's
the act Of good ranger and brave
man. You wouldn't have done itl" he
ended. addressing Gregg. sickness
MP there two full miles above sea level
h quite a different proposition from
sickness in sulphur City or the Fork.
! shall not condemn Mr.. Cavanagh till
! hear his side of the story"
Lee turned a grateful glance upon
him. You must be right. I don't be-
heve Mr. Cavanagh would deceive any
one"
"well. wen soon know the truth"
said Dalton. "for I'm going up there.
II the ranger has been exposed he
must not be left alone"
"He aim alone" declared the sher-
~. Tom phoned me that he had an
assistant"
stevenson. suppose" said Redfeld.
who entered At this moment. SVEN
son IL his assistant"
81 didn't see him myself" Gregg
continued. but I understood the dep
uty to say that he was an old man"
stevenson is young man." correct
ed Red6eld-
The sheriff insisted. TON said II
was an old mana stranger to him
tall. smooth shaver. not very strong.
he said-'peared to be cook He had
helped nurse the dago. so Tom said"
That's very curious" unused Red
field. There isn't an old man In the
service OF this forest There's a mis-
take somewhere"
well" concluded Gregg. that's
what he said thought at first II
might be that Old hobo Edwards. but
this Teller being in uniform and smooth
shaven"- His face changed; his
voice deepened Say. believe II was
Edwards. and. furthermore. Edwards
Is the convict that Texas marshal was
after the other day. and this man
Cavanagh-your prize ranger-is har-
boring him"
field
TIE sheriff banged his hand upon
the table That's the whole mystery
see It all now. He's up there con-
eealing this man. He's given out this
smallpox scare Just to keep the Off
GERS away from him. Now you've got
itr'
The thunder In his voice drew to-
ward him all those who remained In
the dining room. and Lee found her
self ringed about by a dozen excited
men. but she did not finch She was
too deeply concerned over Cavanagh's
fate to be afraid. and. besides. Red
Geld and the forester were beside her
The. supervisor was staggered by
Gregg's accusation and by certain con-
frmatory facts In his own possession.
but he defended Cavanagh bravely.
you're crazy" he replied. why
should Ross do such a foolish thing?
What Is his motive1 What interest
would he have In this man Edwards.
whom you call tramp He can't be
relative and certainly not a friend
Of Cavanagh's. for you say he Is a
convict. Come. now. your hatred of
Cavanagh has gone too far"
Gregg was somewhat cooled by this
dash Of reason, but replied: II don't
know what relation he Is, but these
are facts. He's concealing an escaped
convict. and he knows IT"
Dalton put In quiet word. what
Il the use Of shouting judgment
against a man like Cavanagh before
you know the facts3 He's one OF the
best and ablest rangers on this forest.
don't know why he has resigned.
but I'm sure
HAS he resignedY' asked Gregg ca
serly.
"He has"
"A good job for him. was about to
circulate a petition to have him re-
moved"
"If all the stockmen In the valley
had signed a petition against him II
wouldn't have done any good" re-
piled Dalton. I'VE know a good man
when we see him. I'm here to OFFER
him promotion. not to punish him"
Lee. looking about at the faces of
these men and seeing disappointment
In their faces. lost the keen sting Of
her own humiliation. "In the midst of
such a fight as this how can he give
time or thought TO mel" Painful as
the admission was, she was forced to
admit that she was a very humble
factor in very large campaign. But
suppose he falls Ill" Her face grew
white and set and her lips bitter.
THAT would be the final tragic touch"
she thought. ito have him come down
Of a plague from nursing one of Sam
Gregg's sheep herders." Aloud she
said: His resignation comes just In
time. doesn't II? He can now be sick
without loss to the service"
Dalton answered her. THE super
visor has not accepted his resignation.
On the contrary. shall offer him a
higher position. His career as a for
ester is only beginning He would be
foolish to give up the work now. when
the avenues Of promotion are just
opening. I can offer him very soon
the supervision of a forest"
As they talked Lee felt herself sink
H. k....