The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1918-01-31
CHAPTER X.
$50 Lonu, Buck!"

RID reshted nnt ons sns apo pe and %et se
the diShpan on the stove with
water TO heat He remade his bunk,
spreading on the army blanket which
he took from the saddle on Rather.
He swept the floor as neatly as any
woman could have done it and laid
two wolf skins down in their places
where they did duty as rugs. lie
washed and wiped his few dishes,
keeping Bucks knife always within
reach and sending an inquiring glance
toward Buck whenever that unhappy
man made the slightest movement,
though, truth to tell, Buck did not
make many. He brought two pals of
water and set them on the bench in
side, and in The meantime he had cook
ed a hess of Yrunes and set them In a
bowl on the window sill beside his
bunk, where the air was coolest. He
strOpped his razor painstakingly and
shaved himself in leisurely fashion and
sent an occasional glance toward his
prisoner from the looking glass, which
made Buck swallow hard at his Ad
ans apple.
And Buck during all this time never
once opened his lips, except to lick his
tongue across them, and never once
took his eyes Off Ward.
I've sure put the fear Of the Lord
into you, haven't l, Buck?" Ward OBJ
served maliciously, wiping a blob of
hairy lather upon a page torn from an
old mail-order catalogue. II was
kind hoping you had more nerve. l
wanted to get a whack at you just to
prove I'm not jOshing."
Buck swallowed again, but he made
no reply.
Ward washed his face in basin of
steaming water, got can of talcum
out of the dish cupboard and took the
soap shine off his cheeks and chin. He
combed his hair before the little mir
rOr, trying unavailingly to take the
wave out of it with water and leaving
it more crinkly over his temples than
it had been in the first place, and re-
| tied the four-in-hand under the soft
collar of his shirt
Il wish you'd talk, Buck" he said,
| turning toward the other. He looked
very bOyish and almost handsome, ex-
cept for the expression of his eyes,
which gave Buck the shivers, and the
set of his lips, which was cruel. 1--WE
rnod hoU, tho TbiDLS hoDd ont who =
they call the death-of-a-thousand-cuts.
I was thinking I'd like to try it out on
you. Butch, well, this is Friday. 1t
may as well go as a hanging" He
made a poor job Of his calm irony, but
Buck was not in the mental condition
, to be critical.
! The main facts were sufficiently
/ ominOus to offset Wards attempt at
; facetiousneSs. Indeed, the very weak
! ness of the attempt was in itself omi-
nous. Ward might try to be coldly
malevolent, but the light that burned
| in his eyes and the rage that tightened
! his lips gave the lie to his forced CON-
pOSure.
He went out and led up the horses
to the door. He came back and started
to unite Buck Olney's feet, then be-
thought him of the statement he had
promised to write. He got a magazine
and tore out the which,
oddly enough, was a somber picture of
Death lowering with OutStretchad
wings over a battlefeld-and wrote
several lines in pencil ON the back of IL,
where the paper was smooth and
white
Flows that?" he asked, holding up
the paper so that Buck could read
what he had written. II amt in the
mood to sit down and write a whole
book, SO had to boil down your pedi-
gree. But that will do the business all
right, don't you think?"
Buck read with staring eyes, looked
into Wards face and opened his lips
for protest or pleading. Then he fol-
lowed Wards glance to the knife on
the table and shut his mouth with q
snap. Ward laughed grimly, picked
up the knife and ran his thumb lightly
over the edge to test its keenness.
Put fresh edge on it for me, huhT
he commented. well, we may as well
get started, reckon. I'm getting al.
mighty sick Of seeing you around"
He lOosened the rope that bound
Buck to the chair and stood scowline
down at him, drawing in a corner OF
his lip and biting it thOughtfully. Then
he took his revolver and held 1t in his
left hand, while with hts right he un
did the rope which bound Bucks
hands.
stick your hands out in front oi
you" he commanded "You'n have e