The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1919-07-10
"~rittsburgn. A telegram. He'd just

Have you got the telegram
ITS inside" said Harrington. Just
step in And the two men went into
the house. Jean could near their low,
troubled voices, rumbling on, but she
could not hear any more words, and
! she sat shiyering over what she had
heard.
Scathlin! Scathlin! Why was that
word so familiar? Scathlin? All,
She had heard il from the lips of Holt
himself, before she went into the
sleeper. 1t was what he had called
the old man.
Was this wrong, this Involuntary
eavesdropping? She had not meant
to listen, had never thought there
might be anything said that she would
understand, or that they would care
II she did hear, until the whole reyela-
tion was in her possession; ard then
she was too. much frightened to-stir Dr
him what She ought to do. Was 1t
not right, perhaps, that she should
have heard; and, yet, what could she
do? 1t was all too evident that Jasper
Holt was about to be cheated in some
way. That remark about his private
papers was unmistakable. And the
little paper in her hand that had to do
whitewater rights was his also. Water
rights were sacred things, in the west,
and most important. The losing of
them had often been the cause of the
sweeping away of whole fortunes, she
knew; and the little bit of paper that
proved his right was in her trembling
hand to bestow where she would! 1t
was plain that if she should go down
now and give it to those two men she
would be most welcome; but she wa2
sure that it would not be right for
them to have it. They. had admitted
enough to make her feel hat there
was some plot against Holt; and sud
denly all her latent dislike Of her
brotherinlaw, which had been lying
dormant through the years because
there was nothing to rouse it, sprang
into being. Her decision was made.
She must somehow get that paper to
Jasper Holt, and that just as soon as
possible. She must not let her brother
know that she had it. II she were
LulStahCh dDOut LhiO, SuopOl 11OlI
would be true and tell her SO and re-
turn the paper. She felt as sure OF
him as if she had known him all her
life. But there could be no mistake.
1t must be his. The men had prcti-
cally owned it!
1t made her shiver with cold to think
how dreadful all this was. Brought up
to strictest integrity, it seemed terrible
that one in their own family should
swerve from it; there must be some
other explanation to the talk she had
heard. Things in the business world
were queer, and a lot of shady things
were done under the name Of right
e%ousness. She had heard her father
talk about graft" maybe it was
something like that. Maybe James
thought he was doing good service to
cut Jasper Holt ont of his water right
somehow; and maybe, in some strange
u~nexplainable way, he was justified.
And yet-what did they near about
the location of the silver mine? Oh,
it was too much for her! II she had
never known and loved Jasper Holt,
and trusted him, she would have gone
down and put the whole thing in
James hands and gone to bed think
ing nothing further about it. But now
her whole soul was reused to do the
right thing toward her lover, who, she
saw, was under the ban, and who
seemed to her to be in the right in
this case at least.
1t occurred to her how easily she
might wash ner hands OF the wnoie
matter by dropping that bit of paper
out Of her window and letting it be
found or not. as the ase might be.
How easy to live sometimes if one
had no conscience to reckon with.
and no heart!
1t seemed a long time that she sat
trembling by the open window, afraid
to stir lest the men downstairs should
hear her move; unable to think CON
nectedly and decide what she ought
to do. But at last the two men came
out on the piazza again, the guest ap-
parently about to take his leave. His
voice had lost its easy assurance.
ut looks bad!" he said. very bad!
1t looks as if Scathlin had bungled
things. II Holt suspects we have any
thing to do with it, why, our fish is
dished. I guess there's nothing else to
do but send him back those papers,
saying that a stranger put them into
your sisters hands to bring to you,
and you know nothing about them. but
seeing his name among them you sup
pose they must be his. You could add
a word about being grateful for his
care of the girl or something of me
sort to make it look natural
But that throws all the responsi-
bility on me- said Harrington an
griiy. "And it look mighty funny to
have those two important papers gone.
These are no use to anybody without
those
"Of course, but you're not supposed
to know that, and he. can't do any
thing but buster. Anyhow, as far as
I see, it's your oA1y chance, and you'll
havs to do it mighty quick or that
won't do snH good. I wouldn't keep
l asNSe 94Ef# .Eaehs