Elbert County tribune and Elbert County banner., 1921-08-26

1aDr1c OF v1lldlny Win WD1cn was
confronted. The situation was fairly
clear, yet there were strange lights
and shadows In 1t I found hard to
reconcile. Moreover. what should l
dof How could l serve best--by Inn
medlateIy telling my story to the Of
ficers of the law. and thus washing my
hands clean? or by continuing to en-
| act the role of Harry Daily, and in this
way entrapplng these fellows red
banded? ! had had fully enough Of
Harris for the present. His boastful-
ness and pride of crime dIsgusted me.
1 had no desire to be associated with
| the fellow, or pretend, even for n
worthy purpose, to be his companion.
Yet. all this had happened so sudden
ly and Unexpectedly / could not de-
| terrnine the best course to pursue.
remained daZed and confused, the
only clear decision being an eagerness
| to bring him, and these others also, to
| justice.
We were the last to leave the place
and emerged from the building into
the deserted yard, leaving all In ST.
lence and darkness behind us. The
door closed tightly, secured by a night
latch. and we stood motionless in the
drizzle. BY that time was ready
| with a suggestion. but by good fortune
he took the initiative.
"we better slip out OF here alone, 1
reckon" he whispered. ''Fll go up
this way, and then you take sneak
through the lumber yard. Likely well
catch the same car going down. If we
don't. look me up at Costigan's place
you know where that is?"
Sixth avenue, isn't it?"
.'Sure Ask for Parker, and It will
be all right If amt in, leave a note
where can hunt you up. 1 got to
keep my eye on Alva tomorrow, so he
don't get away with the stuff"
"You expect him to drawT"
Not before night; but, just the
same, l want to know for sure. You
wait here five minutes, for I've got the
longest trip to make. You'll show up
all right?'
you can't lose me: 1t looks too
good"
He chuckled and patted me on the
shoulder in an excess of friendliness,
evidently feeling to some extent the
whisky he had been imbibing so freely.
That's the talk, DAILY. Well, so
long
He slipped out through the gate into
| the dark of the alley, leaving it slight
ly ajar for me TO follow. / sheltered
myself behind the high board fence
and listened to the soft slush of his
| feet in the mud. The sound vanished,
and all about was silence and dark
ness. l waited only long enough to be
sure he was safely out of the way, and
then followed, eager TO he Off. One
thing was certain, l would make no
effort to Join him on the car; would
use the remainder of the night to de-
eide the future, working out the prob
| lem alone.
To make certain that l avoided any
| possibility of encounterlng the fellow
again, passed directly through the
deserted lumber yard before emerging
upon Cans street. This thoroughfare
was at this hour desolate enough, not
n light showing in the houses, or
moving figure visible as far as 1
could see in the dimness of the street
| lamps. The rain was steady, the pave
ment shimmering with moisture. the
only sound the patterlng Of the drops
as they fell. II any policemen We're
abroad l saw no signs, and, with col
lar turned up to my ears. i chose to
walk rather than seek the block to the
east and the possibility of street car.
The factory district ended in row
of houses, dark and silent at this hour,
| hut ha 1T I
pushed forward briskly, so buried in
thought as to become practically in
sensible to the unpleasant surround
ings. The night had been full one,
far exceeding my expectations, vet
left me more puzzled than ever as to
my own duty. So far ! knew of no
act OF crime with which these men
could be connected; they We're mere
ly proposing a future attack on neu-
tral government. II, however. / con-
sented to play my part with Harris. /
| would not only be in ample time to
circumvent any danger Alva and his
gang might contemplate, but also gain
ample evidence for their conviction
and expulsion from this country. In
addition to this would. be in position
to block the daring plans of this inter-
national thief. Altogether 1t seemed
to me that the wiser course for me to
pursue was to wait. and watch, ready
to act at any moment. but keeping my
own council until certain that the
specific moment had arrived.
Nor was / oblivious to the strange
impression left upon me by my en-
counter with Marie Gessler. She had
interested me oddly, and l could not
drive her memory from my thoughts.
Our moment of conversation had been
peculiar, and her words and actions
remained as a constraint. Why had
she stood there, her hand on the door.