The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1917-06-23

'He saw a fire on Music mountain
and watched the lower end OF the gap
all night. Sassoon was wide-awake
man."
'Well. I'm sorry. Pardaloe," con-
tinued De Spain after n moment. "No-
body could call II my fault. II was
either he or Tor the life Of woman
who never harmed a hair of his head.
and woman I'm bound to protect. He
was running when he was hit. II he
had got to cover again there was moth
ing to stop him from picking both Of
us off,"
"He was hit In the head"
De Spain was silent.
ut was soft-nose bullet" contin-
ued Pardaloe.
Again there was pause. 9TH tell
| you about that. too. Pardaloe." De
Spain went on collectedly. IL lost my
rifle before that man opened fire on
us. Nan happened to have her rifle
| with her-if she hadn't, he'd we
dropped one or both of US off I'll Capt.
tan. We were pinned against the wall
like couple Of targets. II there were
soft-nose bullets In her rifle It's be-
| cause she uses them on game-bobcats
and mountain lions. / never thought
Of 1t till this minute. That Is It,"
"What I came up to tell you has to
do with Dave SassOon. From what
happened today In the gap l thought
you ought to know It now. Gale and
Duke quarreled yesterday over the way
things turned out; they were pretty
bitter. This afternoon Gale took it up
again with his Uncle, and 1t ended In
Dukes driving him clean out of the
gap"
"Where has he gomez"
"Nobody knows yet. Ed Wickwre
told me once that your father was shot
from ambush good many years ago
1t was north of Medicine Bend, on q
ranch near the Peace river; that you
never found out who killed him. and
that one reason why you came up into
this country was to keep an eye out for
clue"
"What about it2" asked De Spain.
his tone hardening.
II was riding home one night about
month ago from Calabasas with Sas-
soon. He'd been drinking. l let him
do the talking. He began cussing you
out, and talked pretty hard about what
you'd done, and what he'd done, and
what he was going to do" Nothing,
it seemed, would hurry the story.
FINALLY, Sassoon says: That hound
don't know yet who got his dad. II
was Duke Morgan; that's who got him.
I was with Duke when he turned the
trick. We rode down to De SPANS
ranch one night to. look up rustler.'
That" concluded Pardaloe, twas all
tSassOon would Say"
He stopped. He seemed to wait
There was no word of answer, none OF
comment from the man sitting near
him. But, for one. at least, who heard
the passionless, monotonous recital Of
u murder Of the long ago. there fol.
lowed a silence as relentless as fate
silence shrouded In the mystery Of
the darkness and striking despair into
two hearts-a silence more fearful
than any word.
Pardaloe shuffled his feet. Hs
coughed, but he evoked no response. Il
thought you was entitled to know,
he said finally. "Now that Sassoon will
never talk any more"
De Spain moistened his lips. When
he spoke his voice was cracked and
harsh, as If with what he had heard he
had suddenly grown old.
"You are right, PardalOe. I thanh
you. I-when lin the morning. Par
daloe, for the present, go back to the
gap. will talk with Wickwire-to
morrow"
"Good night, Mr.. de Spain"
"Good night Pardaloe."
Bending forward, limp, In his chair
supporting his head vacantly on bill
Lands, trying to think and fearing t.
think, DE Spain heard Pardaloe's meas
ured tread on the descending stepa
and listened mechanically to the 70
treating echoes of his footsteps dowr
the shaded street. Minute after min.
ute passed. De Spain made no move.
A step SO light that 1t could only have
been the step of delicate girlhood. u
step tree as the football of youth,
poised as tie tread OF womanhood and
beauty, came down the stairs Slight
as she was, and silent as he was. she
walked straight to him In the dark.
ness, and, sinking between his feet.
wound her hands through his two
arrls. 81 heard everything, Henry
she murmured, looking up. An invol-
untary start of protest was his only
response. II was afraid of a plo,
! against you. stayed at the head I'd
the stairs. Henry, told you long ago
some dreadful thing would come he
tween us-something not our fault
And now 1t comes to dash our cup OF
happiness when 1t Is filing"
She stopped, hoping perhaps he
would say some little word, that b
would even par her head, or press het
hand. but he sat like one stunned. III
1t could have been anything but this T.
she pleaded, low and sorrowfully. "Oh
why did you not listen to me before
we were engulfedi My dear Henry
You who've given me all the happiness
have ever habitat the blood of my