The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-04-04

TAR as the hotel. a brown, thin,
leathery man undraped himself from
a chair in the lobby when Elliot opened
the door F.. He was officially known as
the chief of police of Kusiak. Incl
dentally he constituted the whole po-
lice force Generally he was referred
to as Gopher Jones on account of his
habit of spasmOdic prospecting.
81 got to put you under arrest. Mr..
Elliot" he explained.
What for? demanded Gordon. sur
prised.
doc thinks it will run to murder.
1 reckon"
The field agent was startled. You
mean-Macdonald?'
The brown man chewed his Quid
steadily you done guessed it"
That's absurd, you know What
evidence have you got?"
First off, you'd had trouble with
him. 1t was common talk that when
you and Mac met, guns were going to
pop. You bought an automatic re-
volver two days ago. You was seen
practicing with it"
''He had threatened me-"
you want to be careful what you
say, Mr.. Elliot. It will be used against
you" Gopher shot a squirt of to-
bacco unerringly at the open door of
the stove. you was seen talking
with Trelawney and Northrup. Money
passed from you to Them
II gave them a loan of ten dollars
each because they were broke. Is that
criminal?" demanded Gordon angrily.
That's your story. You'll git a
chance to tell 1t to the jury. shouldn't
wonder. Mebbe they'll believe it. You
never can tell
found him where he was bleeding to
death and brought him in"
That's what 1 heard say. Kinder
queer, amt it, you happened to be the
man that found him?"
Nothing queer about it. I was rid
ing in from Seven Mile Creek camp"
Gordon was exasperated, but not at all
alarmed.
$50 you was While you was out at
the camp you asked one of the boys
how big the pay roll would be-
Does that prove 1 was planning
hold-up? Isn't that the last thing L
would have asked if I had intended
robbery"
Don't ask me. I amt no psycholo-
gist. All I know is you took an inter
est in the bank roll on the way"
I'm here for the government inves-
tigating Macdonald. 1 was getting in
| earning my pay. Can you
understand that?"
Gopher chewed his cud impassfveIy.
"Sure I can, and l been earning mine.
| BY the way, how come you to be beat
up so bad, Mr.. ELLIOTT"
81 had a fight with the robbers"
"Sure it wasn't with the robbed ?
That split lip of yours looks to me
| plumb like Macs John Hancock"
Elliot flushed angrily- "Of course if
you intend to believe me guilty"
Now, there amt no manner O. use
in gettin' het up, young fellow. Meb-
be you did it; mebbe you didn't Any
how, you'll gimme that gat you been
toting these last few days"
GordOn's hand moved toward his
| hip. Then he remembered.
II haven't 1t. I left it"
You left 1t at the Forthwith one
shell empty. That's where you left
| it," interrupted the officer.
Eyes. I fired at Northrup as he
rushed me-"
'Um-hu," assented Jones, impudent
unbelief in his eye. "At Northrup or
at Macdonald"
what do you think 1 did with the
money, then? Did I eat it?"
Not so you could notice it. Since
you put it to me fiat-fOOt, you gave
| it to your PARTNERS. You didn't want
it. They did. They have got the
horse too-and they're hitting the
| high spots to make their getaway"
Elliot was locked up in the flimsy
Jail without breakfast. He was furi-
Gus, but as he paced up and down the
narrow beat beside the bed his anger
gave way TO anxiety. Surely the Pag-
cts could not believe he had done such
a thing. And Sheba-WOuld she ac-
cept as true this weight of circum-
stantial evidence that was piling up
| against him?
1t could all be explained so easily
And yet-the facts fitted like links OF
a chain to condemn him. He went
over them one by one. The babbling
tongue of Selfridge that had made
common gossip of the impending trag-
edy in which he and Macdonald were
the principals purchase of the
automatic-his public meeting with
two known enemies of the Scotsman
during which he had been seen to give
them money-his target practice with
the new reyOlyer-the unhappy chance
that had taken him out to Seven-AIile
Creek Camp the very day of the rob-
bery-his casual questions of the min
ers-even the finding of the body by
him. All of these dOve-tailed with
the hypothesis that his partners in
crime were to escape and bear the
blame, while he was to bring the body
back to town and assume innocence.
Paget was admitted TO his cell later
in the morning by Gopher Jones. He
shook hands with the prisoner. Jones
retired.
Tough luck, Gordon" the engineer
said.
what does Sheba think?"
1--WE haven't told her you have beer
arrested. 1 heard it only a little while
ago"
"And Diane?'