The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1921-02-10

Things Began to Go Badly With the
Farmer.
envy, ne was ready 10 seize any advan-
tage. and with n great effort he
brought his Jaws together upon the In
truder.
With yell OF pain Gardiner sprang
to his feet, Jerking the farmer into
halfsitting posture as he did so, and
Harris. with a great gasp for air, re-
linquished his sudden and unexpected
advantage. But Gardeners head was
again In command: he rushed through
the door, half falling over the obstruc-
ton as he went. and In an instant was
lost In he gloom Of the night.
For some minutes Harris lay on the
floor. recovering his breath. As the
oxygen welled back into his lungs he
began to realize that. save for his
choking. he was unhurt. With return
ing strength his thought reverted TO
Allan. and. calling the boys name, he
sprang TO his feet The first thing was
TO get n, light. He found matches In
his pocket. struck one. and peered ca
gerly into the gloom as its flckering
flame beat hack the darkness. A blan-
ket. rolled and stained, lay In the door
way, and within was figure that
might once have been man. Harris
heart almost stopped at the sight al
lam" he gasped. "my boy, Allan" He
tiptoed across the crumbiIng floor to-
ward II. holding the match before him.
A mans boot and part OF trouser leg
protruded from the mass. He held the
match downward. leaning over them.
They were not Allan's.
Thank God" he murmured. swell
ing with great hope. thank God for
that"
He struck another match and found
the lantern When he had lighted II
he surveyed the little building, and
saw Allan's gun lying at the end far
thest from the door Not until that
moment did he think Of the money.
Allan had been uppermost In his mind.
and when he thought OF Allan money
was no consideration. But now a great
wave Of understanding rushed In spon
him. Yes, the bag was gone. They
had been attacked by robbers. Knowl-
edge OF their expedition had In some
way got to evil ears, and while he
slept Allan had been set upon. The
boy had emptied his gun-the huddled
mass in the doorway told that tale
plainly enough-but other robbers had
seized the cash and Allan had pursued
them empty-handed. They had fired AT
him as he rushed from the building
onds after the first loud report. He
was not quite clear as TO his own
share In the fight but he saw the gen.
eral plan OF II plainly enough. He be-
gan 10 wonder what had happened to
Gardiner and Rifles. Had they been
shot down as they wound through the
woods? This was evidently the work
of a gang prepared to stop at nothing.
Harris never for moment suspected
his old neighbor Of treachery. He was
himself hard. grasping. money-seek-
ing man. but he had a code Of honor
none the less. and within It's limita-
tons none was more honorable than
he. To have done what Rifles had done
would have been quite impossible for
John Harris, and because II was i'm
possible for him its possibility for
Rifles never suggested itself
Harris had not yet fully realized the
loss of his money. II was overshad-
owed by the more tragic events of
which one evidence lay before him.
His anxiety Tor Allan doomed larger
In his mind. although he had little
doubt the boy would take proper care
Of himself. and. even II unarmed,
would come back with the money and
perhaps with prisoner. The fact
that Allan had not taken his gun was
reassuring; II there had been any
great danger he would not have left II
behind. But he must get out now and
aid In the search.
As he reached this decision his eye
caught a CLEAN OF something shining
on the floor. He walked TO II and
found a revolver. fully loaded except
for one chamber. which had been dis
charged. This Is evidence" said he
-"importsnt evidence" Harris had
all the Old Ontario contempt for this
kind Of weapon. and knew compare
lively little about It. but he concluded
from its appearance that II was al
most new. As he examined Il his eye
fell on the initials. -. t." cut In the
grip.
~. t." he said to himself. -. T.
Those initials seem familiar. III just
leave this thing where l found II, I'M
I'll the police see It."
Replacing the weapon on the floor,
he stole out the cabin. avoiding the
silent obstruction In the doorway. Out