The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1920-11-19
Chapter xi-Continuod.

Wa AAO
In my cell. q keeper opened the door.
you're wanted downstairs" he an
nounced.
"What is 1T" I asked, wonderingly.
you've got a visitor"
"WhO?" / questioned eagerly. Could
It, l wondered, be Barbara2 Had my
sternly depressed longing to see her
In some way communicated itself to
her through the ether and impelled
her to throw caution to the winds and
come to the prison to see me?
II don't know" the keeper answer
ed. Its a man. / don't know who
he Is"
A man. Who could 1t be? In all
the monOton0us 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. I was revolving In my mind the
possibilities Of my callers identity.
Who could 1t be? Spurred on by
my curiosity. I FASTENED into the u
sci room. There sat my great-untle
Rufus.
He looked in much better physical
condition than when l had last seer
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 ] could trace no vestige there Of
the terrible fear that had seemed to
obsess him on the last occasion Of our
meeting.
For q moment we eyed each other
without speaking. I was wondering
and well l think l might-whether
the suspicious I had at times in regard
to him had been wholly without foun-
dalton. Could it be possible that the
crafty, misery 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 l de-
termined to be wary In what I said
to him. The fires of anger toward
him began to kindle within me as
looked at him. / felt that it vas his
fault hat I was locked up here.
Meanwhile he had been studying me-.
His keen old eyes had surveyed me
from head to foot, returning to rest
fixedly on my face, as though he was
trying to read my thoughts. l o
dered what was passing In his
mind. Was he inwardly chortling
at the plight In which he found
met Was he distressed to see
a blood-relative behind the bars? Did
he believe that l was guilty Of the
murder Of Daisy Lutan2 How had he
learned Of my arrest2 What was his
purpose In coming to e me? But
his expression was unfathOmable, SO
far as ] was concerned.
He was the hrst to speak.
"So-you didn't do It, did your"
"Of course not" retOrted indig-
nantly. did you suspect that ! was
. Murderer1"
He shook his head ~disparaglngly,
smiling an inscrutable smile.
''The evidence against you certainly
looks convincing"
II don't care" exclaimed with
heat. I'm as innocent OF the killing
Of Daisy Lutan as"-I hesitated-'as
you are"
He nodded his head ~approvingly.
"There. there, boy. don't get excited.
OF course / know you are innocent.
You're OF the CASTOR blood. and there
never was a CASTOR that was a MUIR
derer or q lawbreaker. never sus-
pected you for a single second. / was
or in the Maine woods twenty miles
from q railroad. / didn't see a news
paper until day before yesterday v e
ming. My eye just happened to catch
4 paragraph about the Granddeck. It
was about your trial for the murder
Of Miss Lutan being set for next week.
That was the FIRST / had heard about
It. travelled all night t 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 I had
heard since my Incarceration.
"Well soon have you out Of here"
hs went On. nov that / Am here to
help you. ! got you into this. and
ri get ron out Of II II It takes every
cent / possess. There's more than
one light left in old Rufus yet. Now
start at the very beginning and tell
- Ayerything that has happened
since ! have been away"
What ! relief It was to talk freely!
With my mind once and for all clear
ed Of all suspicion toward my old
gTeat-uncle. ! began my story. Some
how the tie Of blood IS strong in time
a. trouble. I found II vastly easier
q talk with my aged relative than 1t
hA6 ben With either German OF my
lawyer
began with my chance meeting
WITH Barbara Bradford In the park