Rocky Ford enterprise., 1916-12-22

snail pe your grateful debtor for what
you have done tonight May I 60
nowf"
She gave him leave, and when he
was gone. she went to her stateroom
to write as ho had suggested. An hour
later she gave the newly written letter
to the night clerk: and the thing was
done.
In the ordinary course of things,
Miss Farnhan's letter should have
reached New Orleans in time to have
procured Griswold's arrest at any one
of score of landings south of Mem
phts. When the spires of the Ten
nessee metropolis disappeared to the
southwark. he began to think that her
resolution had failed.
He had no means of knowing that
she had given her letter to the night
| clerk within the hour of their inter-
view on the saloon deck promenade;
nor did he, or anyone else, know that
1t had lain unnoticed and overlooked
| on the clerks desk until the Belle
Julie reached Cairo. Such, however
was the pregnant fact; and to this
purely accidental delay Griswold owed
his first sight of the chief city of Mis-
souri, lying dim and shadowy under its
mantle of coal smoke.
The Belle Julie made her landing in
the early evening. and Charlotte was
busy up to the last moment getting
her own and her aunt's belongings
ready for the transfer to the upper
river steamer on which they were to
/ complete their journey to Minnesota.
Hence, It was not until the Belle Julie
was edging her way up to the stone
paved levee that Charlotte broke her
self-imposed rule and slipped out upon
the port promenade.
The swing stage was poised in the
air ready to be lowered, and two of
the deckhands were dropping from
the shore end to trail the bowline up
the paved slope to the nearest moor
ing ring. There was an electric arc
light opposite the steamers berth. and
Charlotte shaded her eyes with her
hands to follow the motions Of the
two bent figures under the dripping
hawser.
One of the men was wearing a cap,
and there was a small bundle hanging
at his belt. She recognized him at
once. At the mooring ring he was the
one who stopped to make the line fast.
and the other. a negro. stood aside. At
that moment the landing stage fell,
and In the confusion Of debarkation
which promptly followed. the thrilling
bit Of byplay at the mooring ring
passed unnoticed by all save the silent
watcher on the saloon deck.
While the man in the cap was still
on his knees, two men stole from the
shadow Of the nearest freight pyramid
and flung themselves upon him. He
fought fiercely for moment, and
though he was more than doubly out
weighed. rose to his feet, striking out
viciously and dragging his assailants
up with him. In the struggle the
bundle dropped from his belt. and
Charlotte saw him kick 1t aside. The
waiting negro caught 1t deftly and
vanished among the freight pyramids;
whereupon one OF the attacking pair
wrenched himself out OF the three.man
scuf1e and darted away in pursuit.
This left but a single antagonist for
the fugitive, and Charlotte's sympa-
thles deserted her convictions for the
moment. But while she was biting
her lip to keep from crying out, the
fugitive stepped back and held out
his hands, and she saw the CLEAN of
polished metal rejecting the glare Of
the arc light when the officer snapped
She handouts upon his wrists.
1t was with a distinct sense of cul.
pability depressing her that she went
, back to her aunt, and she was careful
not to let the invalid see her face. For.
tunately. there was thing to be done.
and the transfer to the other steamer
came opportunely to help her to re-
establish the balance Of things dis
torted.
She was sorry. but. after all. the
man had only himself to blame. None
the less. the wish that someone else
might have been his betrayer was
promising to grow later into remorse-
full and lasting regret when, with her
aunt. she left the Belle Julie and
walked up the levee to go aboard the
Star Of the North.