Evening star., 1921-10-09

it should have been in an asylum
Hap's not right"
~ ~
DY 8 o'clock that evening most OF
- the valleys deer hunters, all OF
the local adventurers and the usual
quota Of high-school sons Of thought
less parents were off on the man
hunt in the eastern mountains.
On reaching the timber-line they
separated. 1t was agreed that II any
of them found signs Of Ruggam the
in quick succession land keep shoot
ing at intervals until the rest come
up"
In the northern part Of our town, a
mile out on the Wexford road, is the
Mcbride place. It is a small white
a neat rail fence inclosing the whole.
Six years ago Cora Mcbride was
bookkeeper in the local garage. Her
maiden name was Allen. The town
called her "Tom-boy Allen" She was
the only daughter of old Zeb Allen.
warden. Cora, as we had always
known her. was a full-blown, red
blooded, athletic girl who often drove
cars for her employer.
duncan Mc6rlue was cnlel me
chanic in the garage repair shop. He
was an affable. sober. steady chap,
popularity known as Dunk the Daunt-
less" When he married his en-
ployer's bookkeeper Duncan and the
Allen girl motored to Washington in
they bought the Johnson place and
Cora quickly demonstrated the same
furious enthusiasm for home-maktng 6
and motherhood that she had for ath-
letics and carburetors.
Three years passed, and two small
boys crept about the yard behind the
white rail fence. Then-when Duncan
and his wife were making a great go
of matrimony" in typical Yankee
fashion-came the tragedy. In the in
fantile-paralysis epidemic the Nc
Brides suffered the supreme sorrow-
twice. Those small boys died within
two weeks OF each other.
Troubles never come singly. One
afternoon this past August Duncan
completed repairs on Doc Potter's
runabout. When he cranked the ma
chine to run it from the workshop
to hold.
Duncan was taken to our memorial
hospital with internal injuries and
dislocation of his spine. He re-
manned there many weeks. In fact,
he had been home only a couple OF
the Mcbride letter box the daily paper
containing the story Of Ruggam's
break" and the reward offered for
his capture.
Cora returned to the kitchen after
obtaining the paper and sank wearily
into a wooden chair beside the table.
AS the headlines caught her eye
she picked up the paper and entered
the bedroom where Duncan lay. It
was becoming rumored about the viii
lage that Dunk the Dauntless might
never operate on the vitals OF an
"Dunnie." cried his wife. Hap Rug
gam's escaped" Sinking down be-
side the bedroom lamp, she read him
the article aloud.
Her husbands name was mentioned
therein: for when the sheriff had
the local garage to convey him and
his posse to secure Ruggam, Duncan
had presided at the steering wheel
He had thus assisted in the capture
and later had been a witness at the
trial
The reading ended, the man rolled
IF I wasn't held here 7 might gom co.
thousand myself!
We caught him over on the Pur-
something about head Of hair-black
hair-sticks up like wire. He must have
had an awful impression of Mart's
face and that hair Of his"
IT remember about Aunt Mary
Crumpett's telling me of the trouble
her husband had with his prisoner
before the trial." his wife replied. HE
had those crasy spells often. nights.
He kept yelling that he saw Martin
Wiley's head with it's peculiar hair.
and his face peering in at him
through the cell window"
give thousand dollarsw muttered
Duncan. "Gawd. I'd hunt the devil
for nothing II only had a chance
Cora smoothed her husbands rum
pied bed and comforted him. When he
had dosed OF she arose and left the
room.
In the kitchen she resumed her