The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1917-06-26
THE JUDGES CATCH"
BY OLIVER GRAY.

The judge was fishing. He was a
good fisherman, not because he caught
so many of the finny tribe, but because
he could sit hour in and hour out, day
in and day out, week in and week out,
without getting a single strickland
without losing his patience.
His thoughts were drifting like the
white clouds in the blue sky reflected
in the water. "Any fellow is a fool
who goes to a summer resort. It's nice
to be freei If a fellow was married
he'd have to go where the family want
ed. Look at poor Willis, dragged away
like a lamb to the slaughter. He didn't
want to go to the mountains any more
than l want to go to the bad place.
That's what he gets for getting mar
RED" Suddenly he felt a pull on his
line. He reeled in slowly, very slowly.
Its a big bass, I'll bet" he exulted.
But to his surprise he hauled in o
a bass but a pOcketbook. 1t was a
long, fiat purse of patent leather with
fiat plates of silver at each end and a
silver clasp. He turned 1t over
thoughtfully. Wet and soggy as 1t
was, 1t had not lost its identity and 1t
was coming to him slowly that he had
seen that same purse before.
"Of course" he argued, her name
and address are inside and it's ridicu-
lous for me to waste time guessing.
But there's something about that purse
that brings back-I have 1t. 1t was
the case of the Crockett heirs and the
whole family connection was in court.
She wore dark blue and had sort of
co~pper-colored hair and deep blue eyes
and she dropped this pocketbook three
times, and every time young Skillings
picked it VI for her she blushed as red
as her hir. Pretty girl! She was
afraid of me, | remember. Wouldn't
look at me at all. Thought I'd bite
her head off | guess. Come TO think
of it | lost some sleep over those eyes
for several days. If l were like Willis
and hadn't the sense to keep my head
| might be married to them by this
time.
'Tll just open it to make sure it be-
longs to her." But the first thing he
pulled out vas a newspaper clipping,
wet and discolored, but nevertheless
perfectly decipherable. In the center
was his own photograph! On the mar
gin vas written in ink, THE peachiest
thing you eve Jaw. Only about thir-
ty. Dream of him every night. Sorry
when the case is over"
Shades of Izaac Waltonl The fish
were forgotten.
He gathered up his tackle and poles,
picked up his oars and rowed down
river to the landing and thence went
afoot cross fields to his farmhouse.
mr.. Elder, l found a pocketbook to-
day with a Miss Eileen Porter's card
in it. You don't happen to know her
do your
mo, l don't believe / do. Nobody
around this neighborhood by that
name. Must be-oh, / know; she's like
ly one of those city girls who visited
the Kramers. They have a summer
home here on the hill, but they're away
now"
"All right" answered the judge, cas-
ually. "Ill hunt up her address in the
city when / go home and send it to
her. By the way, Mrs. Elder, I've had
some important mail today. / must go
home for a while at least"
The city was hot, dusty and noisy,
~unbearable after the cool, fragrant
quiet of the country. The judge did
not go home. He left his bags at a
hotel and took a taxi for Howard ave-
nue., the address on Miss Porter's card.
But the house was deserted. Then he
called up the editor of a society paper
and found hat the Porters had gone
to Pinehaven in the mountains. "That's
where Willis is" thought the judge.
Must be some place."
So he took the first train to Pineha-
ven and arrived at the hotel at nine.
BY ten he was shaved, bathed and
dressed for the dance downstairs.
Willis found him at once. "You old
dog Got tired of sitting In a lonely
old boat all day, didn't you? / told
Molly I'd get you yet. This is a cork
ing place. Wait till you see the golf
course-and the girls I"
A JuN6C 0tOO0 ~ 90 AOhS 40 hC
could. then he hunted up the girl. When
he saw her his heart gave a great jump
and he cursed himself for a tardy fool.
Perhaps he was too late. Those eyes
And that hair
There was a moon, so they cut the
dance and went out. The mountains
with the sharp outline of the pines
against the sky were wonderful.
1T doesn't seem as IL / had been fish,
Ing on a lonely river two hundred miles
away from here at noon today"
How Interestingly Did you catch
anythingf"
Eyes, this" He gave her the purse,
still damp and fiabby.
why, It's mine / dropped it out of
n boat over a month ago. There really
isn't much of value in 1t. Only a."