Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-07-30

| upon me- dropped on TO steep aDous
midnight When I awoke was standing
| half dressed in one of the courthouse cor.
| rtdors. Bob was holding one Of my arms,
our family doctor the other. and Alice
was shaking me and hall crying; she
| had sent for the doctor without my
knowing it, and when he came they had
found me out of bed and missing, and
| had begun search.
| "'Sleep- walking said the doctor.
| "AIl of US went back to the house, and
| the doctor told us some remarkable
stories about the strange things people
had done while in that condition. was
feeling rather chilly after my trip out,
and, my wife was out OF the room at
| that time I pulled open the door OF an
old wardrobe that stood in the room and
dragged out big quilt ! had seen In
there With 1t tumbled out the bag of
money for stealing which Bob was to be
tried-aHd convicted-in the morning.
How the jumping rattlessnakes did
that get there? / yelled, ard all han1s
must have seen how surprised l was BOD
"'You darned old snooser,' hs said,
with the old-time look on his face,
saw you put it there. / watched you
open the safe and take It out. and fol
lowed you I looked through the win
dow and saw you hide 1t IN that ward
. Then. you blankety- blank. fop-eared,
sheep headed coyote, what did you say
you took 1t Gorf
{" Because said Bob, simply, I didn't
4 know you were asleep
( 81 saw him glance toward the, door OF
the room where Jack and Zilla were
and I knew then what it meant to be g
] mans friend from Bob's point of view
I Major Tom paused, and again directed
his glance out of the window. He saw
some one in the Stockmen's National
/ Bank reach and draw a yellow shade
down the whole length of its plate glass,
/ big trent window, although the position
! Of the sun did not seem to warrant such
! iros NM 8
Nettlewick sat up straight in his chair.
He had listened patiently, but without
consuming interest, to the Majors story.
! 1t had impressed him as irrelevant to the
situation, and it could certainly have no
effect upon the consequences. Those
/ Western people, he thought, had an ex-
aggerated sentimentality. They were
not business like They needed to be
the Major had concluded. And what he
/ had said amounted to nothing.
May I ask" said the examiner, ''f
you have anything further to say that
| bears directly upon the question of those
! distracted securities ?"
"Abstracted securities, sirr" Major
Tom turned suddenly IN his chair, his
blue eyes flashing upon the examiner.
What do you mean, sir ?"
He drew from his coat pocket a batch
of folded papers held together by a
rubber band, tossed them into Nettle-
/ wick's hands, md rose to his feet.
{ La
every stock, bond, and share Of EN-.
! took them from the notes while you
were counting the cash Examine and
compare them for yourself"
J The Major led tn eway back into the
banking room The examiner, astounded,
perplexed, nettled, at sea, followed. He
+ felt that he had been made the victim
/ of something that was not exactly q
/ hoax, but that left him in the shoes OF
one who had been played upon, used,
nd Il cd wit K
/ ling of the game. Perhaps, also his Of
fetal position had been irreverently Jug
gled with. But there was nothing he
could take hold Of An official report
/ And. somehow. he felt that he would
never know anything more about the
matter than he did then.
Frigidly, mechanically, Nettlewick ex-
amined the securities, found them to
/ tally with the notes. gathered his black
wallet and rose to depart
Il Will say" be protested, turning the
indignant glare Of his glasses upon Ma
jor Kingman, that your statements
which YOU have not Condescended to ex-
plain-do not appear to be quite the
thing. regarded either as business or hu-
NOR. do not understand such motives
or actions
Major Tom looked down at him Sc
renelv and not unkindly.
Son he said. there are plenty Of
things in the cbapparal, and on the prai-
ries. and Up the canons that you don't
understand. But / want to thank you
+ prosy story. We old Texans love 10
/ talk about our adventures and our old
comrades and the home folk have long
ago learned to run when we begin with
Once upon time, so we have to spin
our yarns to the stranger within our
, gates"
The Major smiled. but the examiner
only bowed coldly and abrutly quilted
~ i'm, fF1v al a los
nnally across the street in q straight line
and enter the Stockmen's National Bank.
Major Tom sat~down at his desk and
drew from his vest pocket the note Roy
I ut hurriedly. and now. with something
like a twinkle IN his eyes, be read II
again. These were the words he read:
Dear Tom:
hounds going through you. and that
means that we'll catch him inside of
couple of hours, maybe. Now, ] want
YOU TO do something for me. We've got
just $1,000 in the bank, and the law re-
Quires that we have $4,000. I let Ross
and Fisher have $4,000 late Yesterday
afternoon to buy up that Gibson bunch
of cattle. They'll realize $4,000 In less
than thirty days on the transaction. but
that won't make my cash on hand look
any prettier 10 that bank examiner. Now
7 can't show him those notes. for they re
just plain notes Of hand without any
security in sight. but you know very
we'll that Pink Ross and Jim Fisher are
two of the finest white men God ever
made and they'll do the square thing.
You remember Jim Fisher-he was the
one who shot that faro dealer In IL Paso.
I wired Sam Bradshaws bank 10 send
me $4,000, and it will get in on the
narrow gauge at 10:35. You can't let q
bank examiner in TO count $4,000 and
close your doors. Tom. you hold that
examiner. Hold him Hold him II you
have to rope him and sit on his head.
Watch our front window after the mar
row. gauge gets in, and when we've got
the cash inside well pull down the shades
for 4 signal Don't turn him loose till
then. I'm counting on you. Tom.
Your Old Pard.
BOB BUCKLEY
President Stockmens National
The major began to tear the note into
small pieces and throw them into his
waste basket. He gave a satisfied little
chuckle as he did so.
COMPOUNDED old reckless eowpuncher."
he growled contentedly, that pays him
some on account for what he tried TO do
for me in the sheriffs office twenty years
ago"