The Raymer enterprise., 1920-03-25

yetioW mud n ne 8ufm0unte0 the
bank. dragging his valIse along after
him. So 1t was this fellow passenger
who had given these fugitives refuge;
1t was his presence In these parts
which had decided Kirby to make the
venture ashore. He glanced up At our
entrance, the glare Of light overhead
revealing deep. ugly scar across his
chin and Z pair Of deep-set. scowling
eyes.
Back In time fer supper. hey. Ken
nedy." he growled. none too cordially.
"Who's yer frien'r
"A feller whut's goln' ter enlist.
He's all right. Jack" the deputy hic.
coughed thlckly. Les liquor. an then
we'll eat I'm payin' the bill-so
whut's II ter yerr
"Nuthln' tall; eny frien' o yers gifts
ther best l have"
He set out q squat bottle on the bar,
and thinking II best to humor the both
Of them l poured out a stiff drink,
fully aware that Rale was observing
my features closely.
"Seen yer afore sumwhar. amt II"
Il reckon" I replied IndlfYerently,
watching Tim fill his glass. II worked
my way up on the boat: saw yer on
board"
Sure; that's It; 'tain't In my line
fer ter forgit a face. Yer amt en-
listed yitf"
mo; ! reckon I'll wait till maunin'.
an clean up bit furst. How bout
sum soap an water fore eati-an'
yer cudn't loan me . razor. cud yer
Wal got plenty o. water, an may.
be cud scare up sum soap. Tim yere
he's got razor. an II he's q frien' O
yers. ! reckon he mought lend It ter
yer"
The deputy gulped down his drink,
and smacked his lips, clInsing with
one hand to the bar. regarding me low
ingly.
Sure; he's friend o. mine. Shave
him myself soon's l git sober. Whuts
theft Yer can't waltz Oh, all righ,
then, take It yerself. Mighty fin' razor,
of man."
Rale found me q tin basin. water, a
bit Of rag for a towel. and a small,
cracked mirror, In which my reflection
was scarcely recognizable. He was q
man Of few words. contenting himself
with uttering merely dry comment on
Kennedy. who had dropped back into
a convenient chair and buried his face
on the table.
Tins good fellow. an never saw
him so blame drunk afore." he said, re-
gretfully. HE an Kirby he'd a row,
an ! reckon thet's whut started him
drinkin'."
"A row; q quarrel. you meanr for
getting myself In surprise. "who's
KirbyT
Joe Kirby; yer sure must know him
II yer river man. Slim sorter Teller,
with smooth face; slickest gambler
ever wus, ! reckon"
why. Of course" getting control Of
myself once more. ave picked him
up. long with Tim. down river. He'd
two women with 'em. didn't theyl
runaway niggers?'
Rale winked facetIously, evidently
rather proud Of the exploit as 1t had
been related to him.
"War. ther way I understan', they
want both Of 'em niggers; however.
that was the story told on board. This
yere Joe Kirby is pretty slick. let me
tell you. One Of ems q white CURL,
who just pretended she wus niger.
| reckon thet even Kirby didn't catch
on ter her game at furst; an when he
did he wus too blame smart ter ever
let her know. She don't think he
knows yet, but she's liable fer ter find
out mighty soon"
But he cannot hold a white wom-
an protested stoutly.
Can't, hey! Wal. reckon there
are ways o. even doin' thet, an II thar
be, Kirby'll find 1t. reckon she won't
find no chance ter raise holler fore
he's got her tied good an strong"
do you mean." I asked. horrified,
"that he will compel her to marry
him7"
"Sum smart little guesser, amt yerl
| reckon she's In a right smart way ter
do II. ct thet."
"And wus this the cause Of the quar-
rel between Kirby and Kennedyr
"Wal. reckon It wus: leastwise
Tim wudn't be mixed up In the affair
none. They he'd 1t prutty blame hot,
an | reckon thar'd bin a dead deputy
II hedn't bin fer me. Tim thought |
wus a prutty gud frien' an cum over
yere ter liquor. an eat. Ther joke ov
1t Is. he never know'd thet Joe he'd told
me all bout the fix he wuz In. afore
We cum ashore. H. II wus oil fixed
up whut wus ter be done-only we
didn't expect the steamer wus goln' on
north. Thar's sum boys wantin'
drink; see yer agin."
finished shaving. making no at
tempt to hurry. buslly thinking over