The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1916-04-20
CHAPTER xxilI.
Proof at Last.

Proof at Last.
The summer was upon the hills with
a vengeance.
Mighty onusual," said Ma Daily. |
this here heat. Hottest it's been fer
many a year; Its a.goin' to be
mighty dry season an it's a.comin
early"
Which prophecy seemed due TO he
fulfilled A blue heat haze lay deep In
the valleys. hung amid the hills. The
deep door of pine needles in the big
woods was already dry as powder. and
II was only late July. The camp was
humming ahead with the work. They
had exceeded their expectations in
getting out logs, sending out more
than they had planned
Miss Ordway still mistress of the
little south room. worked feverishly
at the new story of the timberlands
A bit of her brightness. some OF her
painstaking cheeriness. was gone with
the summers heat. She had thought
that long before this she would have
won. that the engagement she had so
daringly announced would be a fact
She could not understand his holding
out against her.
Sandry had made many trips to
Salem. consulting with the lawyer he
had summoned from the East. who was
turning heaven and earth in an effort
to prove what Sandry knew to be
true Of Hampden. but II was unavail.
ing The young commissioner at Sa.
lem was "on to his Job" and the weeks
few by with not one raveled end TO
the ball Of fraud and deception and
| criminal Intrigue which lay snug in the
doctored records OF the state land OF.
flee. Miss Ordway had dropped her
filing for the timber claim and the
young commissioner was uneasily
searching his Offices for the two let.
ters and n missing account book. He
did not family suspect that the last
| time he had seen them was during the
visit to Salem of the charming new
acquisition to the ring In fact.
some of those days we're still shrould
ed In a nebulous haze OF mystery-red
wine and red lips and heady infatua'
| tion.
But things were approaching an
other change in Dailys lumber camp
One day in late July Sandry wrote sew
eral letters and Poppy ordway, lean
| ing Familiarity over his shoulder.
reached out hand for them.
I'm going up 10 the forked stick"
she said languidly, "and I'll take
them"
/ The dainty fingers we're all but
trembling with eagerness, for she saw
that one OF them was addressed to
John Il. Musseldorn. at town in New
Jersey. There was none TO observe
her on the sunny Siletz road behind
the low growth Of spruce, and when
she strolled down the little meadow
again toward the cook-shack. that par
ticular letter lay safe inside the bosom
OF her dress.
She went straight to the south room
entered and closed the door. Her
hands trembled violently, but there
was no compunctlon for what she was
about to do In her heart. She was
pretty well armed with knowledge that
would give her a hold on Sandry. il
case she was forced to use II, bu
here. she believed, would be proof pos
tive, the actual written word that sh'
might hold before his eyes in some
hard event of the future.
With strong excitement she slit thu
envelope, drew out the sheet and be
gan to read Faster and faster cam'
her hot breath. redder and redde
grew her cheeks. while triumph spar
killed. in her eyes, She moved slight!
! on her slippered feet. little motion
of satisfaction that set her garment
whispering-as when the tiger. scent
ing its prey. squirms before the lear
With eager haste she sat down a
D her typewriter and began to write
! When she had finished an hour later
= after long intervals OF study, there la
1 under her hand a very credltable brie
of the famous Whitby case--a verba
!. tim copy OF President Whitby's las
( letter. a concise history OF Walter SaI
dry's life since college. the notes /.
+ the red morocco book, plainly spec
fed as his delifious words. and cop
: Of this letter 70 Mssssldoru. Take