The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1917-02-08

and after ages had passed for the girl.
maddeningly cool and dnrufhed. he ar
, rived. But his first words, too, were
an order that she leave the room, and
unable TO combat his professional
bleakness, meekly she had TO obey. Lit
tie and wholly hopeless she stole down
stairs
Caleb and her father were confront
| ing each other before the fireplace
when she reached the lower floor. but
the queer note of restraint in their
voices meant nothing to her. until she
heard her father cry out in sudden
anguish.
Cal" he cried, Gal. you don't think
was a party to this attempt at muir
der?"
Then, at Calebs reply. which went
hurting back at him, the girl was
crouching. white and still. and clutch
ing at the stair rail
PARTY! Attempt, Because you did
not pull the trigger are you any the
less guilty."
'Do you believe that would muir
der the man my girl lovesT" Dexter
Allison moaned now
Barbara gasped at the deadly anger
which crossed Caleb Hunters face
Caleb had lifted hand in righteous
| accusation.
"You have dealt in crookedness," he
Numbered. You have thriyed on Gun
ming. And, being law unto yourself
In this country. you have gone unpun
ished until now. You aided and abet
ted a vicious and INSCRIPTIONS scoun
drel in his villainy. and now you have
looked upon the result of your works
Law has never touched you. SIRE
! prisal has passed you by. But. BY
God, sir. warn you that If that boy
dies-if he dies-I shall see that you
meet me at thirty PAGES the next
morning. And shall not miss-l shall
be your law
They had been friends for close t.
| forty years yet they were worse thai
strangers now. Dexter Allison comic
not answer. He could not speak aloud
| Caleb's finger had swung toward thu
| door in gesture unmistakable. ALI
son turned, and, CHASTITY of face. me-
the eyes of his daughter.
Barbara" he appealed to her fran
tically. Baby
But she shrank, q huddled heap OF
misery. away from him.
"You-too:" she whispered. Your
And then. DULY: And you're my ia
ther.'
The shoulders beneath the garisl
plaid rose and fell pitifully. This
| then. was the moment which he fear
ed. He gulped aloud and hung his
head and turned his feet toward home
Barbara rose after he had gone and
! crept into a chair.
One after another they tried to per
suade the girl to rest. Miriam came
and talked to her. and Caleb, ant
even Miss Sarah p ssing through thu
room stopped to urge her again to &,
| to bed. But she met them all with tn
| same wordless refusal. She was wait
ing for him when the doctor. descend
ing in the morning. tried to combine
| automatically. praise for what she haC
done with disapproval of her obsti
macy.
"My dear child. this INSTRUMENTATION
will help no one" he said, land 1t may
| end In your collapse at just the moment
when you are needed most"
"Will he live:" was all she would
say. Twill he live?"
And before such hopelessness the
doctor could not lie
"He is hard hit and very, very weak
he had to admit. The shock is great
and the tissue damage-unpromisin
It is far worse than ] expected. but he
is still alive. and most men would have
been already dead. And his vitality Is
a marvel. even to me-"
He might have comforted her buf
with no other statement could he have
told the truth He failed also in his
effort to persuade her to go to bed: he
had breakfast with Caleb. and she re
| fused to eat. And she was still there
in her chair, asking only to he let alone.
when Garry Devereau and Fat Joe ar
rived She rose and ran 10 meet the
latter, but the doctor who knew how
many such situations the pudgy river
| man had weathered. summoned him
Immediately, and Barbara had to wait
an hour before Joe came back down
stairs. By the lapels of his coat she
| clung to him then.
Hes mighty sick" reluctantly Joe.
| too, told the truth.
"The doctor said that it was worse
than he expected" she droned. They
sent me away. but if he isn't going to
live won't let them keep me from
him!'
Joe's sympathy was unspoiled by pro-
fessionalism.
"Sick is one thing''-his confidence
was almost convincing-"and dyin' is
another. And Shucks! ! amt going
to let no book taught medico worry
me yet! Men get we'll because they
are bound to get well. or they die be-
cause it's their time to die-and he's
got too much to live for nowf'
Her hopeless face made deception i'm
possible. but Joe comforted her. just
| the same. He persuaded her to eat
| III. L.. ,.l xx-J,a,, ha fnnpd fhaf his