The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1917-06-02

IAAS I'LL CSAAOlus w udI OO yOu WuAIt
asked De Spain without changing his
tone. He awaited with keenness the
sound of the answer.
"Is Henry de Spain here?"
The voice was not familiar to De
Spain's ear. He told himself the man
was unknown to him. II am Henry
de Spain," he returned without hesita.
ton. "What do you want?"
The visitors elaboration was reflect
ed in his measured speaking. II am
from Thief River" he began, and his
reverberating voice was low and dis.
tinct. Il was sent in to Morgan's gap
some time ago to find out who burned
the Calabasas barn.
Sand you report to-"
Kennedy"
ton had flashed across his mind. "You
called ME up on the telephone one night
last week." he said suddenly.
The answer came without evasion.
II did," - - - =.
"You gave me message from Nan
Morgan that she never gave you"
II did. thought she needed you
right off. She didn't know me as
rightly am. knew what was going on.
[ rode into town that evening and rode
out again. 1t was not my business, and
[ couldn't let it interfere with the busi-
aess I'm paid to look after. That's the
reason lodged you.'
'"There is a chair at the left of the
loor; sit down. What's your name?
The man feeling around slowly, de-
posted his angular bulk with care up
IN the little chair. "N1y name''-in the
:enseness of the dark the words
seemed to carry added mystery-sis
Pardaloe."
"You've got brother-Joe Parda-
loe?" suggested De Spain to trap him.
"No, I've got no brother. 1 am Just
plain Jim Pardaloe."
'Say what you have got to say,
Jim"
1.-The only job could get in the gap
was with old Duke Morgan-Tve been
working for him, Off and on, and spend.
1s.g the rest OF my time with Gale anC
Dave Sassoon There We're three 1ner
in the barn-burning. Dave Sassoo1
put up the job
! "Where is Dave Sassoon now?"
/ Dead"
Both men were silent for moment.
Yesterday mornings ight?" asked
De Spain reluctantly.
! Eyes, sir"
! GLOW did he happen to catch us on
Ell Capitan?'
= "He saw a fire OF Music mountain
and watched the lower end Of the gap
all night. Sassoon was wide-awake
man."
swell, I'm sorry, Pardaloe," con.
tinued De Spain after a moment. "No.
body could call it my fault. 1t was
either he or I-or the life Of woman
who never harmed hair of his head
and woman I'm bound to protect. He
was running when he was hit. If he
had got to cover again there was moth
ing to stop him from picking both Of
us off,
AO was LII III C10 ucdUs
De Spain was silent.
1T was soft-nose bullet" contin.
ued Pardaloe.
Again there was pause. "I'll tell
you about that, too, Pardaloe," De
Spain went on collectedly. II 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 of ri Capt.
tan. We were pinned against the wall
like couple Of targets. If there were
soft-nose bullets in her rifle it's be.
cause she uses them on game-bobcats
and mountain lions. I never thought
Of it till this minute. That is it."
"What came up to tell you has to
do with Dave Sassoon. From what
happened today in the gap I 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 It ended In
Dukes driving him clean out Of the
gap"
where has he Comet"
Nobody knows yet. Ed Wickwire
told me once that your father was shot
from ambush good many years ago.
It was north of Medicine Bend, on a
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
a clue"
"What about it?'' asked De Spain,
bis tone hardening.
II was riding home one night about
a month ago from Calabasas with Sas.
soon. He'd been drinking. I 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. It
was Duke Morgan; that's who got him.
[ was with Duke when he turned the