The St. Johns herald., 1921-08-11

| marrylu yOug
 "I know she didn't"
 'Lord, I'm sure glad O that. sorter thought that was what she plugged me for; that would be the Mex of it; they're h-l on that sort O thing. like her, she's a good scout. Why ain't she here? Where is she now?"
 "She has gone for a doctor; went down into the Hole to get horse to ride" -sssqsssse,.s.l.
 "Where is she goln'?"
 "Gerlasche; there's an army sur- geon there."
 "Yes, I know," wearily, "an' where you got me?"
 "In small cave part way up the bluff"
 "Sure, Eagles cave. Pancha took me up yere onct, an .-howed it to me. An you two lugged me all that ways"
 "Yes."
 He struggled to force back the Ob- struction in his throat.
 "Well, what did you do that fcr?" he asked almost savagely. 'That's what I don't get through my nut l ain't done nuthin' to make either one of yer decent ter me. thought Shelby here was deader'n a dOornail, an 1 reckon you know what l was aimin' ter do with you. There ain't no use beatin' about the bush. So now, what'd yer do 1t fOr?"
 Shelby's hand reached out and touched that of his wife.
 "Well, Kid, I'll tell you," he said frankly, i've did it for Pancha."
 Macklin grinned grimly, exposing his teeth.
 'I reckoned that was bout the truth" he said recklessly. "But I'll tell yer one thing-Pancha's never goin' ter get back before slide out. I got what's comin' to me, an there ain't no doc ever goin' ter hold me back from goin'-that's straight, OP man."
 "Pm not so sure, Kid"
 "Well, I am. Lord, a man gen. orally knows when he's got his dose, I reckon; an it ain't goin' ter do no- body no good fer me ter keep my lips shut Say, lady, you let your man put his shoulder back O me, an hoist me up higher. There now maybe I can get this thing off my chest"
 You want to explain somethingT
 Sure; didn't l tell you. ain't goin' ter leave this game wide open fer Indian Joe to cash in on. You been decent to me, an I'll 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 of pain on his face, but he went grimly on.
 "Td been on considerable of a bat down there, an was soberin' up. You know the Custer house"
 "Yes; the old hotel"
 "Well, it ain't no palace; you could throw a cat through them partitions in places; an I woke up to hear a couple O guys talkin' in the next room. Furst didn't care what they was say in, an then I begun to take an inter- est. Seems one of lem was a lawyer from Kansas City, or Omaha; an the other gazabo was a rich guy from down East, who was huntin' niece who had disappeared out in this cOun- try-the name was Churchill"
 ''Is your name ChurchillT
 "Minel Not in a thousand years. That was all a lie. Well, as near as I could get hold of the story, this yere girls mother was nursin' in Richmond durin' the war, an fell in love with a Tank an married him. She never know'd she was no heiresS, an didn't 1 dare go home cause she'd married a Tank. Her people didn't get on to it | for a long while, an then, 1 reckon. l 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 somehow that she'd married regular army oft1- | cer, named Carlyn, an gone West with | him. 1 dunno just what delayed lem | after that, but afore they got these ! folks located the woman died, leavin' a little girl, an her husband-he was a colonel by that time-put her into a Catholic school. Meanwhile, the colo nel got on to some extent, an began to make inquiries down East; but, be- fore he accomplished much, he got mixed up one night in a street fight | down in Sheridan, an would bave been killed if it hadn't been for ser geant he had with him named Cal kins. He got him home alive, but he croaked later. That left the kid alone at school, but these folks didn't know where"
 Tt was in St. Louis."