The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1920-07-09
CHAPTER xl-Continued.


nounced.
what Is it?' | asked, wonderingly.
you've got a visitor"
'Who?" l questioned eagerly. Could
1t, wondered, be Barbara? Had my
sternly repressed longing to see her
her through the ether and impelled
her to throw caution to the winds and
come to the prison to see me?
u don't know" the keeper answer
ed. ITS man. l don't know who
he Is"
A man. Who could 1t be? In all
the monotonous time l had been be-
hind the bars, only two men had come
to see me, German and McGregor. 1t
could not be either of them, for both
were well known to the prison attend
ants As l fastened down the long
corridor past the dismal row of barred
doors, | was revolving In my mind the
possibilities of my callers identity.
Who could it be? Spurred on by
my curiosity, FASTENED into the coun-
sci room. There sat my great-uncle
Rufus.
He looked in much better physical
condition than Wien | had last seen
him, more vigorous and healthier. His
skin was Drowned from exposure to
the sun and wind, and his eyes were
clearer and brighter AS I studied his
face l could trace no vestige there of
the terrible fear that had seemed to
obsess him on the last occasion of our
meeting.
For a moment we eyed each other
without speaking. / was wondering
and well l think | might-whether
the suspicious l had at times In regard
10 him had been wholly without foun-
dalton. Could 1t be possible that the
crafty, miserly old chap was the mas
ter mind at the bottom of all the
mystery and plotting? AS my previous
suspicious came up in my mind | de-
termined to be wary In what / said
to him. The fires of anger toward
him began to kindle within me as l
looked at him. l felt that it vas his
fault that l was locked up here.
Meanwhile he had been studying me.
His keen old eyes had surveyed me
IRON head to foot, returning to rest
fixedly on my face, as though he was
trying to read my thoughts. ! Won
dered what was passing in his
mind. Was he inwardly chortling
Mt the plight in which he found
me? Was he distressed to see
blood-relative behind the bars? Did
he believe that ! was guilty of the
murder of Daisy Lutan? How had he
learned of my arrest? What was his
purpose in coming to see me? But
his expression was unfathomable, so
far as | was concerned. w
He was the first to speak.
"So-you didn't do 1t, did your"
"Of course not" 1 retorted indlg-
nantly. Did you suspect that l was
a murderer
He shook his head disparagingly,
smiling an inscrutable smile.
1.-THE evidence against you certainly
looks convincing"
Il don't care" exclaimed with
heat. I'm as innocent of the killing
of Daisy Lutan as"-I hesitated-"as
you are"
lie nodded his head approvingly.
There, there, boy, don't get excited.
OF course l know you are innocent.
You're of the Castor blood, and there
hot
derer or a lawbreaker. l never sus-
pected you for a single second. l was
off in the Maine woods twenty miles
from railroad. l didn't see q news
paper until day before yesterday eve
ming. My eye just happened to catch
paragraph about the Granddeck. 1t
was about your trial for the murder
of Miss Lutan being set for next week.
That was the first l had heard about
It. travelled all night to get to you"
My feelings toward him underwent
sudden revulsion. There was every
evidence of sincerity In his manner.
The knowledge that he believed In me
was the most welcome news / had
heard since my Incarceration.
wen soon have you out of here"
he went on, NOW that l am here to
help you. / got you into this, and
I'll get you out of 1t II 1t takes every
cent l possess. There's more than
one fight left In old Rufus yet. Now
start at the very beginning and tell
me everything that has happened
since | have been away"
What a relief 1t was to talk freely
With my mind once and for all clear
ed of all suspicion toward my old
great-uncle, began my story. Some
how the tie of blood is strong in time
of trouble | found 1t vastly easier
TO talk with my aged relative than it
had been with either German OF my
lawyer.
began with my chance meeting
with Barbara Bradford in the park
as the blackmailers awaited her there.
/ told everything that had followed
with the utmost detail, even TO such
small matters as my first meeting
with Wick and the undue curiosity