The Little River news., 1920-06-09

< go and ask right away. | Don't you think we'd better let | Uncle Alec find out? He's not so 1 likely to stir up curiosity" Curly sug- gested.
 Within a quarter of an hour Alec 1 Flandrau joined the others at the hotel. You kids are right at the head of the class in the detective game. Cass bought a brown hat. about 9 30 in the mo'ning. Paid five dollars for it. Wouldn't let them deliver the old sack"
 With her lieutenants flanking her Kate went straight to the office of the sheriff. Bolt heard the story out and considered it thoughtfully.
 You win, Miss Cullison. You haven't proved Fendrfck caused your fathers disappearance by foul play. and you haven't proved he committed the robbery. Point of fact I don't think he did either one. But it ssr- tainly looks like he may possibly have manufactured evidence"
 Curly snorted scornfully. You're letting your friend down easy. MT. Bolt. By his own story he was on the ground minute after the robbery took place. How do we know he wasn't there minute before? For if he didn't know the holdup was go- ing to occur why did he bring MT. Cullison's hat with him punctured so neatly with bullet holes?"
 Hold your hawses a while, Elan drau. and look at this thing reason able. You're all prejudiced for Gull lison and against Fendrick. Talk about evidence! There's ten times as much against your friend as there is against Cass."
 "Then you'll not arrest FendrickY
 "When you give me good reason to do it," Bolt returned doggedly.
 The four adjourned to meet at the Del Mar for discussion of ways and means.
 "We'll keep a watch on Fendrick- see where he goes, who he talks to, what he does. Maybe he'll make a break and give himself away" Curly said hopefully.
 But my father-we must rescue him first"
 As soon as we find where he is. Killing him wouldn't help Cass any, because you and Sam would prove up on the claim. But if he could hold your father a prisoner and get him to sign relinquishment to him he would be in fine position"
 'If we could only have Fendrick ar reSted-"
 "What good would that do? If he's guilty he wouldn't talk. And if he is holding your father somewhere in the hills it would only be serving no- tice that we were getting warm. No, Pm for still hunt. Let Cass ride around and meet his partners in this deal. We'll keep an eye on him, all right"
 Maybe you're right" Kate admitted with a sigh.
 Sher,f Bolt though politician,
 
 that Cullison's friends believed him to be partisan in a matter of this sort. For which reason he met more than half way Curly's Overtures. Your: Flandrau was in the office of the sher- if a good deal, because he wanted to keep infOr.?' ad ni -~ new develop ments in the W. : s. >bcry case. l. was n enc of t..ose occa s:ons that Bolt tossed across to bjn le ter he had just opened.
 ''Ive been getting letters from the village cutup or from some crank, 1 don't know which. Here's sample" The envelope, addressed evidently in disguised hand, contained one sheet Of paper. Upon this was lettered roughly,
 "PLAY THE JACK OF HEARTS,"
 Flandrau locked up with a sugges- ton of eagerness in his eyes.
 What do you reckon it means?" he asked
 "Search me. Like as not it don't mean thing. The others had just as much sense as that one. l chucked them into the waste-paper basket One came by the morning mail yesterday and one by the afternoon. I'm no mind reader, and Pve got no time to guess fool puzzles"
 Curly emptied the basket on the floor and went over its contents care fully. He found three communications