The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1914-04-24

4
/ yet lacked two hours TO supper.
time; but in 20 minutes Sam and |
we're plunging deep into the reheated
beans. hot coffee and cold beef
Nothing like a good meal before a
long ride" said Sam, Eat hearty"
| had a sudden suspicion.
"Why did you have two horses sad
dled?" | asked,
zone, two-one. two" said Sam.
"You can count oan'e youg"
His mathematics carried with It
momentary qualm and a lesson The
thought had not occurred to him that
the thought could possibly occur TO
me not to ride at his ssde on the red
road to revenge aud Justice Il was
the higher calculus / was booked for
the trail ! began 10 eat more beans.
In am hour We set forth at a steady
gallop eastward, Our horses were Ken.
tucky bred, strengthened by the mes
quit grass OF the West Ben Tatum's
steeds many have been swifter, and
he had a good lead; but II he had
heard the punctual thuds of the hoofs
Of those trailers of ours born in the
heart Of feudland, he might have felt
that retribution was creeping Hp on
the hoofprints of his dapper nags
Our FIRST sight of them we had In
Guthrie,
What are you waiting for, SAM" I
said in a whisper Let him have It
nowl"
Sam gave a melancholy sigh.
You don't understand; but he
does" he said, "He knows. Mr. Ten.
derfoot. there's rule out here among
white men in the Nation that you can't
shoot a man when he's with a woman.
| never knew Il to be broke yet. You
can't do it, You've got to get him in
a gang OF men or by himself That's
why. He knows It, too. We all know
So, that's Mr. Ben Tatum! One OF the
pretty men" I'll cut him out of the
herd before they leave the hotel and
regulate his account"
After supper the flying pair dlsap-
peared quickly Although Sam haunted
lobby and stairway and halls half the
Isght, in some mysterious way the
fugitives eluded him; and in the morn
ing the veiled lady in the brown dress
with the accOrdion-plaited skirt and
the dapper young man with the close
clipped hair and the blackboard with
the prancing nags were gone.
Five miles farther We came upon the
future great western city of Chandler.
The horses OF pursuers and pursued
were starved and weary. There was
one hotel that offered danger 70 man
and entertainment to beast: so the
four Of us met again in the dining
room at the ringing of a bell so reson-
ant and large that it had cracked the |
welkin long ago. The dining room
was not as large as the one at Guth.
RE.
Just as We were eating apple pie /
how Ben Davises and tragedy impinge |
upon each other! Il noticed Sam look |
ing with keen intentness at our quarry |
where they were seated at table |
across the room The girl still wore
ne ulON II ulcoo Will ldNt GOlldI anu I
cuffs and the veil drawn down to her
nose The man bent over his plate
with his elose-cropped head held low
There's CODE" I heard Sam say,
aither 10 me or to himself, that won't
let you shoot a man in the company
IF woman; but by thunder, there
lin't one to keep you from killing a
woman in the company OF a mani"
And, quicker than my mind could
ollow his argument, he whipped
lolts automatic from under his left
lrm and pumped six bullets into the
lody that the brown dress covered
he brown dress with the lace collar
md cuffs and the accordlon-plaited
kirt.
The young person in the dark sack
uit, from whose head and from whose
Ife woman's glory had been clipped,
aid her head on her arms stretched
pom the table; while people came
unning to raise Ben Tatum from the
oor in his feminine masquerade that
ad given Sam the opportunity to set
side, technically, the obligations of
he code
Copyright, by the Frank A. Munsey Coz
He Had to Explain.