Charlevoix county herald., 1920-06-11

got It."
sit was Enright. then. who fred the
shot?"
"Sure, It was Enright; saw him.
but that didn't cut any ice after got
inside. Do you see? The whole crowd
was Lacy's gang; they'd do whatever
he said. 1t was your gun that had the,
discharged cartridge; Bill was yellini
that you fired 1t, and Enright, o.
course, would have backed him up to
save his own neck. What was the row
about-your miner
"Partly, but mostly another affair.
The best thing l can do is tell you
about It. What's going on up thereT'
He pointed up the stream, and Bren-
nan shaded his eyes to look. although
careful to keep well under cover, conf
dent that any movement would be-
observed from the shore. He gazed
for some time before he seemed en-
tirely satisfied.
"a bunch of the boys crOssln' the
old fork" he said quietly. "Goin' to
picket the other bank, l reckon.
There's likely to be some more comm
down the opposite way from the
bridge. That's Lacy's idea-to starve
US out"
"They seem quiet enough"
"There won't be any more fightin'
unless we try to get away, / reckon.
They know we are armed and can
shoot. You better keep down, though.
Jim, for they're sure a watchin' US all
right, an all Lacy cares about Is to
put you out o. the way. He'd just as
soon do 1t with bullet as rope. Go
on with your story"
Westcott told 1t simply, but In full
detail. The marshal listened quietly,
to the narrative, the quick action Of
his Jaws alone evidencing his interest,
although he occasionally interposed a
question. Except for WestcOtt's voice
there was no sound, beyond the lap
ping of water against the rock, and
no figures of men became visible along
either bank. The party above had
crossed the stream, and disappeared
up a rayine, and nothing remained to
indicate that these two were fugitives,
hiding for their lives, and facing a
desperate expedient in an effort to es-
cape their pursuers. AS the speaker
finally concluded the silence was al
most oppressive.
"How do yer suppose Bill Lacy got
into the AFFAIR."" asked Brennan, at
last thoughtfully. II don't put no sor-
ter deviltry beyond him, yer under
stand, but I don't quite see how he
ever come to get mixed up In this yere
New York mess"
I'm just as much In the dark as
you are, as to that" admitted West
colt doubtfully. 81 am convinced, how
ever, that Cavendish is still alive, and
that another body strangely resem-
bling his was found In the New York
apartments. According to Enright
this was not part Of their scheme, but
merely an accident Of which they took
advantage. How true this Is will new
er be known unless we discover Caven-
dish, and learn his story. Now, If he
is alive, where has he been concealed.
and for what purpose2 Another thing
begins to loom up. The mere hiding
of the man was all right so long as the
conspirators were not suspected. But
now when they are aware that they
are being followed, what Is likely to
happenf VIII they become desperate
enough to kill their victim, hoping thus
to destroy absolutely the evidence Of
their crime? VIII their vengeance al
so include Miss DonovanT
mot unless they can get you out Of
the way first" decided the marshal
grimly. "That is .Lacy's most impor-
tant job-you are more dangerous to
them now than the girl. That meet
ing today was prearranged, and Bea-
ton was expected to land you. That
was why he. hid behind the curtain,
but something caused him to make
false move; they never expected you
to put up that sort o. fight, Jim, for
nobody knew yer In this camp fer a
fightin' man. But what's yer theory
bout Cavendish? Let's leave the dead
man In New York go, an get down
ter cases."
II figure 1t out like this, Dan.
believe Fred got my telegram, and de-
cided to come out here at once with
out telling anybody what his plans
were. All he did was to make a will,
so as to dispose of his property In
case anything happened. His employ
ing Enright for that job unfortunately
put the whole thing In the hands of
this crowd. They were ready to act,
and they acted. Beaton must have
taken the same train, and the two men
got friendly; probably they never knew
each other In New York, but, being
from the same place, IL was easy
enough to strike up an acquaintance.
What occurred on board Is all guess
work, but sudden blow at night, on
an observation platform, at some
desert station, is not impossible; or 1t
might be sickness, and the two men
left behind to seek a physician. Here
Yves where Lacy must have come In.
He goes east occasionally, doesn't hep
A. I'll. - IA -