Evening star., 1918-04-14

out here on this deck ana 1eei mIserd doie
about it a while and smoke pipe until
I'm calm."
The cook and the crew went aft
through the cabin, and Shagbark seated
himself on the edge Of the deck with
his feet hanging down and smoked IN
head and listened to the sounds from
the boats inner cabin. Presently there
was silence. Shagbark slid from
the deck to the sand and bent over the
skiff. He grasped the heavy stone
that had been bound to the suicide and
lifted 1t to the deck OF the houseboat
He clambered to the deck himself and
wrapping his arms around the stone
carried It into the cabin. Hot as the
night was. he closed the cabin door
and lighted the oil lamp. For several
minutes he bent over the stone. Then
he walked to the door of the small
room partitioned off as his daughters
bedroom and tapped on the door.
Eyes, dad?" the girls voice answered.
swered
Allie. you'd better go to bed. II you
amt gone. I want you to go uptown
early tomorrow and find out something
for me-"
Shagbark put out his light and went
out upon the deck again. He sat there
smoking. A half hour passed. 1t was
getting cooler, and the smoke from his
pipe drove the mosquitoes away. He
might have sat there in comfort for
hours, but presently Henry House
alone, came down the levee and pu,
his hands on the bow Of the skiff to
push 1t into the river before jumping
in and grasping the oars.
Hot night" said Shagbark
Hey? Oh! Yes. it's hot night" said
Henry House.
He gave the slSiff great push and
stepped in, and for minutes after tina,
Shagbark heard the squeaking of one
of Henry Houses oarlocks as the finder
of Ben Bratmans body rowed toward
his shack on Twin Island.
The next morning Shagbark spent 9
long five minutes with Alice. The girl
gown. sneakers on her feet and chear
straw hat on her head, was ready fol-
whatever task her father might pro.
pose. She had filled her valise with q
fresh supply of Infallib1e Grease Re-
mover-plain brown soap wrapped In a
printed label-for this was what she
used to open conversations. To offer
the small cake of soap and ask 2s
cents for it invariably brought more
than a mere refusal to buy Even the
herself the pleasure of telling Alice she
certainly had impudence to ask 2s
cents for anything like that-and the
wlstful, saucy. appealing face of Shag.
bark's daughter. with the words Alice
knew SO well how to choose. opened q
8
she appeared mere child.
You don't need to bother about
them two men that happened onto this
Henry House when he- was getting the
body out of the water, Allie" said
Shagbark. Find out what more you
can about Henry House; find out what
more you can about Ben Bratman, too
Allie. I guess maybe you'll find he had
a girl he spent some money on. Maybe
she was a married lady. Find out
Maybe the landlady can tell you"
"A1l right. dad"
II shouldn't wonder, K you can ge,
her to tell, If she had arranged to skir
out and meet this Bratman man some.
where in day or two and go off with
him. Maybe you can find out from her
well. l don't know whether she would
know how much cash Bratman took
when he went-how much he had in
his pocket-but you might ask her.
"I will, dad"
You might sort of say you dom,
think eight hundred dollars was much
for him to carry off," said Shagbark
And. Allie. 1 guess you can find out II
Henry House ever bootlegged whisky
Folks generally hear rumors like that
Maybe somebody at the town hall will
know whether Henry House used to
come there. I dare say there will be
plenty of gossip this morning. You
ought to be able to hear where Ben
6ratman got his whisky.
Yes. I'll find that out"
$50 now you know just what to do.
You go to that clearinghouse and ask
for breakfast-Mrs. Calways-and get
her interested in telling everything
she knows. You ought to be.
But Mack and Wenty came by" said
Shagbark. Look here. Al1few
He dragged from under the caved- in
sofa the stone to which was still at
tached the bit of rope.
When Mack and Wenty and Henry
House landed here beside the boat and
I looked down on them. I saw some
thing. Allie. I saw a dead man and
the pool of water that had dripped
from his> clothes, and the water still
seeping from his clothes and from his
hair. and the water still moist on his
face and hands. and the water still wet
where 1t had soaked into the rope; but
Allie"
Yes"
The stone was dry, The stone and
the part of the rope bound around the
stone. and two or three feet close to
the stone was all dry The stone had
never been in the water, Allie. You
see, Allie, the reason was that Henry
House was pulling the body out Of the
water when Mack and Wenty came on
him; he was putting it in the water.