The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1919-07-10

Il - - - < ~
have reached Pittsburgh before Scath
lin got away? He's sharp, you know
Have you got the telegram"
TITS inside" said Harrington. "Just
step in" And the two men went into
the house. Jean could hear their low
troubled voices, rumbling on. but she
could not hear any more words. and
she sat shivering 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. It 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
IL she did hear, until the whole reyela-
tion was in her possession; and then
she vas too much frightened to stir OF
think 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 u~nmistakable. And the
little paper in her hand that had to do
with water 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! II
was plain that IL she should go down
now and give 1t to those two men she
would be most welcome; but she was
sure that it would not be right for
them to have it. They had admitted
enough to make her feel that 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 1t, sprang
into being. Her decision was made.
She must somehow get that paper 10
Jasper Holt, and that just as soon as
possible. She must not let her brother
know that she had 1t. II she were
mistaken about this. Jasper Holt
would be true and tell her SO and re-
turn the paper. She felt as sure Of
him as IL she had known him all her
life. But there could besno mistake,
It must be his. The men had prcti-
cally owned it! ay
II made her shiver with cold to think
how dreadful all this was. Brought up
to strictest integrity, 1t seemed terrible
that one in their W 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
eousness. She had heard her father
talk about graft" maybe 1t. was
something like that. Maybe James
thought he was doing good service to
cut Jasper Holt out Of his water right
somehow; and maybe, in some strange
unexplainable way, he was justified.
And yet-what did they meal about
the location Of the silver mine? oh,
1t 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. ,e,,
Il occurred to her how easily she
might wash her hands OF the whole
matter by dropping that bit of paper
out Of her window and letting IT be
found or not, as the case might be.
How easy to live sometimes IL one
had no conscience to reckon with
and no hearti
II seemed a. long time that she sat
trembling by the pen 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 APP
parently about to take his leave. His
voice had lost its easy assurance,
ct looks bad" he said, very bad!
It looks as il Scathlin had bungled
things. If Holt suspects We have any
thing to do with it, why, our fish lis
dished. 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 o something OF the
sort to make It look natural"
But that throws all RESPONSE
bility on me-" sid harrington an
grily. "And It looks mighty funny to
have those two. important papers gone.
These are NOUS to anybody without
those ~ .alg
"Of course, hut you're not supposed
to know that, and he can't do any
thing but buster. Anyhow. as far as
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