The Snowflake herald., 1917-09-21

sage to you from the Unseen WCrld.'
"Charges collect, / reckon" the
Ranger grinned.
Strange waved aside the suggestion
ut came unbidden, and pass 1t on
for what it's worth" AS Dave turned
away, he added, hastily, "It's about
skeleton in the chaparral, and a red
haired woman"
Dave stopped; he eyed the speaker
curiously. "Go on" said he.
But a public street, Strange eX-
planned, was no place for psychic dis
cussions. Dave agreed. When they
were alone in the fortune-telling spar
Ior," he sat back while the medium
closed his eyes and prepared to explore
the Invisible. After brief delay Phil
began:
II see a great many things-that
woman I told you about, and three
men. One of 'em is you, the other two
is Mexicans. You're at water hole
in the mesquite. Now there's a shoot
ing scrape; l see the body of a dead
man. And now the scene changes.
Everything dissolves. I'm in q man.
sion; and the red-haired woman comes
toward me- Over her head floats a
skeleton"
Dave broke in crisply. "All right |!
Let's get down to cases. What's on
your mind, Stranger
The psychic simulated a shudder-
a painful cOntortion, such as anyone
might suffer if rudely jerked out of
the spirit world.
"Eh? What was Z? There! You've
broke the connection" he declared.
'Did / tell you anything?"
"No. But evidently you can"
''I'm sorry. They never come back"
"Rot!"
Phil was hurt, indignant With some
stiffness he explained the danger of
interrupting a seance of this Sort but
Law remained obdurate.
''You can put over that second-sight
stuff with the greasers," he declared,
sharply, "but not with me. So, Jose
Sanchez has been to see you and you
want to warn me. Is that it?"
81 don't know any such party"
Strange protested. He eyed his caller
for moment; then with an abrupt
change of manner he complained: !:
"Say, Bo! What's the matter with
you? I've got a reputation to protect,
and do things my own way. I'm get
ting set to slip you something, and you
try to make me look like a sucker.
Is that any way to act?"
81 prefer to talk to you when your
eyes are open. know all about"
''You don't know nothing about any
thing" snapped the other. "Joses got
it in for Mrs. Austin"
"YOu said you didn't know him."
swell, l don't. He's never been to
see me in his life, but-his sweetheart
has. Rosa Morales comes regular"
Rosa Jose's sweetheart" !"
eyes. Her and Jose have joined out
together since you shot Panfilo, and
they're framing something"
"What, for instance"
The fortune-teller hesitated. 81 only
wish I knew" he said slowly. "It
looks to be like killing"
Dave nodded. "Probably is. Jose
would like to get me, and of course the
girl"
ooh, they don't aim to get you. You
amt the one they're after"
''No? Who, then?"
II don't know nothing definite. In
this business, you understand, a fell
low has to put two and two together.
All the same, I'm sure Jose amt cary
ing no epitaph for you. From what
I've dug out of Rosa he's acting for a
third party-somebody with pull and a
lot of coin-but who it is don't know.
Anyhow, he's cooking trouble for the
Austins, and / want to stand from
under"
Now that the speaker had dropped
all pretense, he answered Dawes ques-
tions without evasion and told what
he knew. 1t was not much, to Dawes
way of thinking, but it was enough to
give cause for thought, and when the
men finally parted it was with the un-
derstanding that Strange would
promptly communicate any further in
telligence on this subject that came
his way.
On the following day Dawes duties
called him to Brownsville, where court
was in session. He had planned to
leave by the morning train; but as he
continued to mediate over Strange's
words, he decided that, before going,
he ought to advise Alaire of the fell
lows suspicious in order that she
might discharge Jose Sanchez and in
other ways protect herself against his
possible spite. Since the matter was
one that could not well be talked over
by telephone, Dave determined to go
in person to Las Palmas that evening.
Truth to say, he was hungry to see