Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1915-03-04

kerSOu. THAT there Is Il girl mixed
UP in this affair Tom Gallon never
walked like that"
He rode slowly down the steep hill
till he reached the pumping engine
Bill Tub's. the bulky, so,,den faced
engineer, came to the doorway
lis this The Master Key" de
manded Wilkerson.
1T certainty Is" was the response
"And-old Tom Gallon runs it,
Wilkcrson pulled util II liiSis. diviiiire
Bill TubbS ruin. vice and .h, en-
gineer. after long drink wiiire nus
mouth with the back Of his oil, IlHds
$50 you are lookin. fnr Thomas Gal
Ion. are you? Well. he owns this mine
hut it's mostly run by u young girl
there in that bungalow on The hill
You see. Tom amt up to what he used
to be. The ore is gcttin. worse every
day and the old mans sick W there in
his house"
I'm going up to see INN now" said
WilkerSon. He rode on II few wards
and surveyed the snug houses. stamp
mill and all the apparatus of the grow
ing mine and snarlcd so this Isl what
lie wanted for himself"
The man he was seeking lay prop
ped up III bed. To Ruth lie gave ev
erything-silks and down and all the
soft things of this life Himself he
still slept OH il hard cot with IL straw
pillow under his head TINT is. he had
slept 1t seemed to him that sleep
had forever fled. and he was now look
ing up into ltuth's face almost plead
ingly. trying to keep his grim old lips
from asking sympathy There was
reason in his mind that he sIiou!d ac
cept no tender mniStration from The
lovely girl who stood beside him HIS
sacrifice must be compete. 80 when
his daughter bent over hin, and asked
him If he felt all right he mustered
smile.
There's nothing the matter With me
Ruth" he was saying. aud his g,:lucc
sought that of John Dorr. who stood
nj the foot of the bed The eyes %
the two men met. and Dorl impcrcop
tfbly nodded his head i'll token thai hc
would not tell. Not that he yet knew
the secret of "'rhe Master Key" but
lie recognized the fact that sooner OF
later he was to Know
Ruth stopped over and said:
Papa. | don't believe yon do feel
we'll I'm going to make you some
thing hot to drink I'll bring yon a
toddy." And she went into the kitch
on and shut the door.
When she was gone John nodded
pleasant Good night" and also left
Then old Thomas Gallon rose anu
thumbed diary.
Il am hunted" he wrote slowly. "al
ways haunted. Am to die without
knowing whether Wilkerson is alive
and that Ruth is safe?"
At that moment he glanced up and
thought he saw the sinister face of his
former partner at the window BY the
strongest effort of will he managed to
control himself and went on writing:
"Wilkerson still alive by night!
When will he come out into the dayI
He shall never have the key that
would unlock the secret To my little
girls happiness. ! will trust John"
Fancy to yourself scenes that must
have fled like swift films before the
old mans eyes as he put the diary
away The desert and its mortal
thirst: Wilkerson, ever drinking greed
lily of precious water: gold; murder.
his escape with the plans their loss
III the chest when the vessel went
down in Il caldron of flame: the image
OF his dying wife: the picture of the
babe lie had lifted from her chill breast
Ruth. for whom he had suffered. He
bowed his head on his folded arms.
Such is the bitterness that the night
brings upon those who are alone.
When Ruth came in with the steam
ing glass of toddy she quietly set the
glass down and went out on the porch
to look at the light across the guch
which marked John DORIS window
Youth was calling to youth
1t WAS no appnlition chat Gallon had
seen at the window this time 1t was
really Wilkerson. who. after one salts
fled glance. rode swiftly away.
1t was midnight when he raped at
the door of the Vale Vista railroad
station and called the sleepy agent
Il want to get IL telegram through
right away he said brusqnely There
is an extra dollar in your pocket if you
ran rush it !"
The slender boy who represented the
Rocky Mountain Southern railroad 81.
LIANT IN t,,l In, tl,n
wick of the lamp and showed blanks
md pencil across the counter
You look half asleep to me-" Wilker.
son growled as he picked up the pen
iii
The boy scanned the stranger quiet
~ and opened the drawer of his tel,
pgraph desk and faced his visitor
nsain. Wilkerson caught the CLINT of
the steel barrel of revolver in that
drawer
'You must have some money in the
safe" he snarled,
The boy looked ut him with steely
blue eyes and stated In a perfectly
matter of fact tone. II merely wanted
to show you that l am awake" Their
glnnces met 1t was Wilkerson's eyes
that fell
he grasped the pencil and wrote on
Che yellow blank:
Vale Vista. Cal, March II.
jean Darnell. Aston House. New York
City. NJ Y:
Have found Gallon at last. Address
"Master Key" mine tomorrow.
WILKINSON.
fIe showed the paper across to the
operator and said roughly: "Now. earn
A1,,< oykro x7oIlnrp III bon~n1 txr<,