The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1921-12-16

| tue ibuuCf.
In the living room found a mighty
sober-faced old Daddy putting break
fast on the table.
tits Just you and me for 1t, this
nornin', Stannie." he muttered, laying
plates for two; and his mild old eyes
looked as IL they were about to take
O bath.
'lvhat" I exclaimed HAS Butler
ton gomez"
"Uh-huh; bright and early-'fore
day, l reckon; leastwise. didn't hear
him when he went"
"But where's Jeanie7 She isn't sick
is she?"
He shook his head dolefully.
mo; she-she's gone, too"
mot with BullertonT l gasped.
sit sure does look hathaway, Stan
for me. a-tellin' me not to worry none,
and sayin' l needn't look for her till
l saw her agin."
At first l could hardly believe my
own ears. 1t was so Incredibly out of
keeping with jeanne as l had been
| idealizing her.
Are you going after them7" 1 de-
manded.
"What for?" was the respondent
query. "'Tain't a morsel o. use, any
way you look at It. JeanIe's q won.
an growed. and she don't have to have
the old daddy say she can, r she
mustn't. Besides, they was probably
pitchin' out to catch one o. the early
trains-there's one each way, east and
west-and them trains We been gone
a couple o. hours"
Daddy had done his best with the
breakfast. but l don't recall any meal
of my life that ever came so near
choking me. 1 told Daddy about the
smashing of the machinery, and the
proof / had that 1t had been a piece
of sabotage
Reckon maybe he allowed you'd find
out he done it and try a dogfall 7
somethin' with him to pay him back?"
Daddy queried.
II don't know" l confessed.
l went on eating in silence, or rath-
er trying to eat, and turning over the
puzzling and bad-tasting questionings
in my mind. How could Jeanne go of
with Fullerton, knowing him to be the
scamp he was? And why. If she had
had she blocked his game by telling
me that l wasn't to sell him the Gin
nabar?
1t was In the midst of these refiec-
lions that CHANGED to feel In the coat
pocket where l had been carrying the
deed turned over to me by Daddy
and for the second time that
1 nearly choked. The pocket
was empty
whats hit you now. SOM" Daddy
inquired; seeing my jaw drop, l sup
pose.
1.-The last thing there was in the box
hat could fall out and hit me-" | CUR
,led 'Bullerton has stolen my deed
o the Cinnabarl !"
1.-The mischief he hast Plum sure
you hain't lost ii out o. your pocketr
We made sure. without the loss Of
| moment; looking In my loft sleeping
)lace and In the mine buildings. The
Iced was gone, safely enough, and We
10Th agreed that Fullerton had had
,lenty of chances to steal 1t. Wearing
'yerclotLes while / was working about
he machinery, l had often left my
oat hanging in the cabin. AS mat
err of fact, l hadn't worn 1t at all on
he previous day.
'Well, Daddy" said /, after the pro-
,nged search had proved futile.
where does this leave mef"
Threshing the facts out, we soon
Dund where II left me. Grandfather
asper, as you may remember, had
Iade no mention of the mine, or, in
eed, of any legacy to me in his will
5 1t had been probated there was no
eed of Ii because he had already
aeded the Cinnabar TO me. and at the
me of his death II was nc longer
nong his assets. Moreover, his law
FRS had told Fullerton according to
ullerton's story told me In the Pull
an smoSeroom) that there was no
cord of any mining transaction
hatever in his papers. Therefore, In
e absence of the memorandum which
Y grandfather had given Cousin
ercy-and which Percy had doubt
SIS carried with him TO China-there
rs nothing but the deed to show for
y ownership; absolutely nothing.
AT TINT, the loss of the deed wouldn't
we been fatal IL the document had
en- properly recorded. Ii hadn't
en-. And now. with the unrecorded
ed gone, there was nothing to prove,
at ! had ever owned the Cinnabar'
lie loss was total-with no insur-
ce.
Daddy Hiram was shaking his head
after we had run this last
nch of straw through the threshing
chine.
With things looking as blue as the
lest milestone that ever clicked
on scythe. we tried to settle upon
ne line of action. Copah was the
Inty seat. and the obvious first step
uld have been for me to go there
search in the county records for
dence of the sale of the mine to my