The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1921-02-12
"You want TO explain something"

"YOu want 10 explain SOIne'hlhS
"Sure: didn't / tell you. amt
coin' ter leave this game wide open
fer Indian Joe to cash in on. You been
decent to me, an Ill play white as
can"
He spoke slow, heSitatingly, as
though his mind wandered, stopping
every moment or two for breath. once
he coughed sharply, an expression Oh
pain on his face, but he went grlhily
on.
"Td been on considerable of hat
down there. an was soberin' up. lou
know the Custer house"
YES; the old hotel
"Wen il amt no palace; you coulu
throw cat through them partitions
in places; an / woke up to near
couple o. guys talkin' in the next ROOM
Furst I didn't care what they was say
in an then | begun to take an inter-
ST Seems one of 'em was lawyer
from Kansas City, or Omaha; an the
other gazabO was n rich guy from
down East, who was huntin' niece
who had disappeared out in this cOuh-
try-the name was Churchill
rs your name Churchill?'
mine! Not in a thousand years.
That was all lie. Well, as near as
l could get hold of the story, TINS Eere
girls mother was nursin' in Richmond
durin' the war, an fell in love WIN
Yank an married him. She never
know'd she was no heireSs, an dldh
dare go home cause she'd marrleu Il
Yank. Her people didn't get on to IL
for long while, an then, l reckon
they didn't get the story straight
Maybe they didn't try very hard
ANYHOW she'd dropped plum outer
| sight. Later they found out someho"
that she'd married a regular army OH
Ger. named Carlyn, an gone West witt
MIN. [ dunno Just what delayed Ell
after that, but afOre they got theS'
folks located the woman died, leaVlh
little girl, an her husband-he was
colonel by that time-put her into I
Catholic school. Meanwhile, the colo
|
10 make inquiries down East; hut, be
fore he accomplished much, he go
mixed up one night in street hgh
down in Sheridan, an would bav'
been killed if ii hadn't been for a ser
geant he had with him named Cal
kins. lie got him home alive, but n
croaked later. That left the kid alon
at school, but these folks didn't know
.. where"
! ut was in ST. Louis"
"Sure, they found out later but b
that time she'd gone. This yere oil
! sergeant. Calkins, had come with
mower Of attorney, or something al
I got her out. That's where l furst be
? gun TO get real interested-after thi
5 fellow Calkins got into the game. L
tell yer why got it into my nut tina
! maybe I'd hit hot trail, where II
: ranncd ont all right, there might b
some Doodle in it for me. run steer
$ for the NJ about four months one
:. and we used to drive into Ponca
t bIow ourselves. | knOwed there wa
Z" an oil fellow hangin' round there,
n McCarthy's place mostly. sorter til
l. horn sport. they called or Dad Cal
l. ms: an I'd heard somewhere he ha
,, a girl Iivin' with him bout seventies
Y or so. Somehow l got to mullin' Ov
It this. an finally decided to see VIII
t kind of a lead I'd struck. 1t locke
Y like easy money, if she was the gil
t. an didn't know yet what was up"
4, You went to POnca for that pu
pose"
le Just prOspectin' like. Them 9th
two guys went off somewhere else, q
Is so l had easy sailin'. / couldn't
" next the girl at all. / reckon s
TO never left the shack; but | got lo
he at her, an it wasn't no trouble TO pi
Up up an acquaintance with Old Dad.
was tight-mOuthed. though, drunk
n sober. an finally l had to throw I
Mt fear of God into him to make hi
Mt spill"
"You mean you threatened him"
TO "Yepi i never supposed 1t wou
shake the CUTS out of him the way
III did, though. The old fool went pill
W. batty when ! told him what | knOw'