Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1921-08-17


more alone, so as TO think over, and
piece together as best / might this
fabric Of villainy with which / was
confronted. The situation was fairly
clear, yet there were se~ange lights
and shadows In IL / found hard TO
reconcile. Moreover, what should l
dol How could l serve best-by i'm
mediately telling my story 10 the Of
icers OF the law, and thus washing my
hands clean? or by continuing 10 en-.
act the role OF Harry DAILY. and in this
way entrapplng these fellows red
handed7 ! had had fully enough OF
Harris for the present. His boastful-
ness and pride Of crime disguised me.
| had no desire 10 be associated with
the fellow. or pretend. even for
worthy purpose, 10 be his companion.
Yet. all this had happened so sudden
ly and Unexpectedly | could not de-
termine the best course TO pursue. I
remained dazed and confused, the
only clear decision being an eagerness
g. bring him. and these others also. 10
justice.
We were the last to leave the Mace.
and emerged from the building into
the deserted yard. leaving all in 81.
/ lence and darkness behind US. The
door closed tightly, secured by a night.
latch. and we stood motlonless I'm the
I drizzle. BY that time l was ready
with a suggestion. but by good fortune
I he took the initiative.
"We better slip out OF here alone. l
reckon" he whispered "Tll 20 up
this way. and then you take a sneak
through the lumber yard. Likely well
catch the same car going down. II we
don't. look me up at Costigans place
You know where that isg"
"SiNth avenue, isn't it,"
"Sure. Ask for Parker, and Il VIII
be all right. If amt in. leave a note
where / can hunt you up. got 10
keep my eye on Alva tomorrow, so he
don't get away with the stuff"
"You expect him 10 drawn
mot before night; but, just the
same, | want to know for sure. You
wait here five minutes, for I've got the
longest trip TO make. You'll show up
all righty'
"You can't lose me; It looks too
good"
lie chuckled and patted me on the
shoulder In an excess of friendliness,
evidently feeling to some extent the
whisky he had been imbiblng so freely.
That's the talk. Daily. Wen, so
long"
lie slipped out through the gate into
the dark OF the alley, leaving It slight
~ ajar for me to follow. sheltered
myself behind the high board fence
and listened 10 the soft sluSh OF his
feet In the mud. The sound vanished,
and all about was silence and dark
ness. l waited only long enough TO be
sure be was safely out of the way. and
then followed. eager 10 be off. One
thing was certain, l would make no
effort TO join him on the car; l would
use the remainder Of the night TO de-
eide the future, working out the prob
lem alone.
To make certain that l avoided any
possibility OF encounterlng the fellow
again. | passed directly through the
deserted lumber yard before emerging
upon Cans street. This thOroughfare
was at this hour desolate enough, not
light showing I'm the houses, or a
moving figure visible as far as
could see I'm the dimness OF the street
lamps. The rain was steady. the pave
ment shlmmering with moisture, the
only sound the pattering of the drops
as they fell. If any policemen were
abroad / saw no signs, and, with col
lar turned up TO my ears. / chose 10
walk rather than seek the block 10 the
east and he possibility of a street car.
The factory district ended In a row
OF houses, dark and silent az this hour,
but the walking was good, and l
pushed forward briskly, so buried In
thought as TO become practically In
sensible 20 the unpleasant surround
ings. The night had been fun one'
far exceeding my expectations, yet
left me more puzzled than ever as TO
my own duty. So far / knew of no
act az crime with which these men
could be connected: they were mere
~ proposing a future attack on neu-
trail government. II, however. l con
sented TO play my part with Harris,
would not only be IN ample time TO
circumvent any danger Alva and his
gang might contemplate, but also gain
ample evidence for their conviction
and expulsion from this country. In
addition to this would be In position
TO block the daring plans of this inter
national thief. Altogether II seemed
10 me that the wiser course for me TO
pursue was 10 wait, and watch. ready
70 act az any moment, but keeping my
own council until certain that the
specific moment had arrived.
Nor was I oblivious 10 the strange
impression left upon me by my en-
counter with Marie Gessler. She had
interested me oddly. and l could not
drive her memory from my thoughts.
Our moment of conversation had been