The Benson signal., 1917-11-03
CHAPTER XVII.
Hope ForIorn.
--17-

night that seemed to bring them, In
spite Of their devotion, to the end Of
their dream. They parted late, each
trying to soften the blow as it fell on
the other, each processing a courage
which, in the face of the revelation,
neither could clearly feel.
In the morning Jeffries brought
down to De Spain, who had spent a
sleepless night at the Office, letter
from Nan.
De Spain opened it with acute mis-
givings. Hardly able to believe his
eyes, he slowly read:
Dearest-A wild hope has come to me-
Perhaps we don't know the truth Of this
terrible story as 1t really is. Suppose we
should be condemning poor Uncle Duke
without having the real facts? Sassoon
was wretch, Henry, if ever one lived
O. curse to everyone. What purpose he
could serve by repeating this story, which
he must have kept very secret till now, /
don't know; but there was some reason.
must know the whole truth-I feel that
J. alone, can get hold of it, and that you
would approve what / am doing If you
were here with me in this little ROOM
you my heart.
Long before you get this I shall be
speeding toward the gap. 1 am going
to Uncle Duke to get from him the ex-
act truth. Uncle Duke is breaking-has
broken-and now that the very worst has
come, and we must face it, he will tell
me what 1 ask. Whether I can get him
to repeat this to you, to come to you, to
throw himself on your pity. my dearest
~ ia for this
am going to try, and for this I beg Of
your love-the love of which I have been
so proud!-that you will let me stay with
him until I at least learn everything and
can bring the whole story to you. If 1
can bring him, I will.
And I shall be safe with Unexpectedly
safe. Gale has been driven away. Pard-
aloe, I know I can trust, and he will be
under the roof with me. Please. do not
try to come to me. 1t might ruin every
thing. Only forgive me, and I shall be
back with what I hope for, or what I
fear. very, very soon. Not till then can
I bear to look into your eyes. You have
a better right than anyone in the world
to know the whole truth, cost what 1t
may. Be patient for only a little while
with NAN,
1t was Jeffries who said, afterward.
he hoped never again to be the bearer
of letter such as that. Never until
he had read and grasped the contents
of Mans note had Jeffries seen the
bundle of resource and nerve and
sinew, that men called Henry de
Spain, go to pieces. For once, trouble
overbore him.
When he was able to speak he told
Jeffries everything. ''It is my fault" F"
he said hopelessly. ''I was so crippled,
so stunned, she must have thought
see it now-that was making ready
to ride out by daybreak and shoot
Duke down on sight. It's the price a
man must pay, Jeffries, for the abil-
lty to defend himself against this
bunch OF holdup men and assassins.
Because they can't get me, I'm gun
man"
"No, you're not 'gunman.'
"a gunman and nothing else. That's
what everybody, friends and enemies,
reckon me-a gunman. You put me
here to clean out this Calabasas gang,
not because of my good looks, but
because I've been, so far, a fraction of
second quicker on trigger than
these double-d-d crooks"
Jeffries, from behind his pipe, re-
garded De Spain's random talk calmly.
81 do feel hard over my fathers
DEATH" he went on moodily. "Who
wouldn't? If God meant me to forget
1t, why did he put this mark on my
face, Jeff? I did talk pretty strong to
Nan about it on Music mountain.
"I did feel, for a long time, I'd like
to kill with my own hands the man
that murdered my father, Jeff. My
mother mus have realized that her
life Of bloodshed. I've been trying to
think most Of the night what she'd
want me to do now. don't know what
I can do, or can't do, when I set eyes
IN the old scoundrel. He's got to tell
the truth-that's all I say now. If he
lies, after what he made my mother
suffer, he ought to die like a dog-no
matter who he is.
81 don't want to break Mans heart.
What can I do? Hanging him here in
Sleepy Cat, if / could do it, wouldn't
1elp her feelings a whole lot. IF I
could see the fellow" De Spain's
hands, spread before him on the table,
drew up tight. eff I could get my fin
gers on his throat, for minute, and
talk to him, tell him what think Of
him-I might know what I would want
to do-Nan might be there to see and
judge between us. I'd be almost will
ing to leave things to her to settle her
self. I only want what's right. But"
the oath that recorded his closing
threat was collected and pitiless, IF
any harm comes to that girl now from
this wild trip back among those wolves
God pity the men that put it over. I'll
wipe out the whole accursed clan, if l
have to swing for it right here in
Sleepy Cat"
John Lefever, Jeffries, Scott in turn
took him in hand to hold him during
three days, to restrain the fury of his
resentment, and keep hin from riding