Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1918-02-22

make him keep quiet; I thought for
the moment that / had killed him, and
I knew, then, just how far / had gone
on the road I've been travelling ever
since a certain night in the middle Of
last May. The proof was in the way
I felt; l wasn't either sorry Of horror
stricken; 1 was merely relieved to
think that he wouldn't trouble me, or
clutter up the world with his worth
less presence any longer"
"But that wasn't your real self"
she e~xpostulated.
'Twhat was II, then7"
81 don't know-I only know that It
wasn't you. But tell me; did he der
"No."
"Yhat have you done with hlmT"
do you know the old abandoned
WRESTLER mine at Little Butter"
IT knew It before It was abandoned,
yes"
81 was out there one Sunday after
noon with Starbuck. The mine is bulk
headed and locked, but one Of the keys
on my ring fitted the lock, and Star
buck and / went in and stumbled
around for a while In the dark tun-
nels. I took Jlbbey there and locked
him up. He's there now"
"Alone in that horrible place-and
without foodT"
"Alone, yes; but I went out yester-
day and put q basket OF food where he
could get It."
what are you going to do with
hlmT'
II am going to leave him there until
after I have put Stanton and Kinzle
and the other buccaneers safely out Of
business. When that is done, he can
go; and I'll go, too"
She had risen, and at the summing
up she turned from him and went aside
TO the one window to stand for a long
minute gazing down into the electric
lighted street. When she came back
her lips were pressed together and she
was very pale.
When I was In school, our old
psychology professor used to try to tell
us about the underman the brute that
lies dormant inside of us and is kept
down only by reason and the super
man. I never believed 1t was anything
more than a 6ne-spun ~theory-until
now. But now / know 1t is true"
He spread his hands.
Il can't help It, can II"
1.-THE man that you are now can't
help It; no. But the man that you
could bolt he would only come
back" she stopped with a little I'M
controllable shudder and sat down
again, covering her face with her
hands.
SIN going to turn Jibbey loose
after I'm through" he youchsafed.
She took her hands away and blazed
up at him suddenly, with her face
aflame.
"Yesl after you are safe; after there
is no longer any risk in 1t for you
That is worse than II you had killed
hlm-worse for you, 1 mean. Oh, can't
you see? It's the very depth Of coward
ly infamy"
he smiled SOurly. You Inlnk I'm
a coward2 They've been calling me
everything else but that in the past
few days"
"You are a cowardW she flashed
back. you have proved 1t. You
daren't go out to Little Butte tonight
and get that man and bring him to
Brewster while there Is yet time fol-
him to do whatever It is that you are
afraid he will dol"
Was 1t the Quintessence Of feminine
subtlety, or only honest rage and in
d~lgnatlon, that told her how to ain
the armor-pierclng arrow7 God, who
alone knows the secret workings Of
the woman heart and brain, can tell
But the arrow sped true and found til
mark. Smith got up stlfly out Of thu
big swing chair and stood gloominl
down at her.
"You think 1 did 1t for myself
just to save my own worthless hide