The Snowflake herald., 1918-03-29

volver two days ago. You was seen
practicing with it."
'sHe had threatened me-"
'You want to be careful what you
saw. Mr.. Elliot. 1t 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"
81 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 g
chance to tell it to the jury, shouldn't
wonder. Mebbe they'll believe it. You
never can tell"
'Believe it, Why, you muttonhe0d
l found him where he was bleeding tC
death and brought him in."
'"That's what / heard say. Kinder
queer, amt it, you happened to be the
man that found himw
"Nothing queer about it. was rid
ing in from Seven Mile Greek camp
Gordon was exasperated, but not at all
alarmed.
$50 you was. While you was out al
the camp you asked one of the boys
how big the pay roll would be-"
"Does that prove was planning a
hold-up? Isn't that the last thing
would have asked if I had intended
robbery"
"Don't ask me. amt no psycholo-
gist. All know is you took an inter
est in the bank roll on the way
"I'm here for the government inves-
tigating Macdonald. l was getting in
Notwithstanding my pay. Can you
understand that?"
Gopher chewed his cud impassively.
"Sure I can, and l been earning mine.
By the way, how come you to be beat
up so bad Mr.. ELLIOTT"
II had a fight with the robbers"
"Sure 1t 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.
81 haven't it. 1 left it"
"YOu left it at the Forthwith one
shell empty. That's where you left
it," interrupted the officer.
eyes. 1 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 I did with the
money, then? Did eat it?"
"Not so you could notice it. Since
you put it to me flat-foot, you gave
it to your pardners. 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 aiEsy
Jail without breakfast. He was furi-
Gus, but as he paced up and down the
Hd EEOW D6dI DESIu6 LIE Deu nus anger
gave way to anxiety. Surely the Pag-
cts could not believe he had done such
a thing. And Sheba-would she ac-
cept IS true this weight of circum-
stantiaj evidence that was piling up
against rim?
It could Ill be explained so easily.
And gnt-the facts fitted like links Of
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-his 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 revOlver-the unhappy chance
that had taken him out to Seven-NIile
Greek 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