The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-08-24


person known as Mr.. Maurice Ro-
dame"
"Oh! One thief identifying an
other"
Sheriff" Again the voice from be-
low.
"Yeh,"
We've found a cache down here
Must have been made in a hurry-two
new revolvers, bullets. a mask. a cou-
pie of new handkerchiefs and the
money"
Harry eyes grew wide. Then he
stuck out his hands.
1.-THE evidence certainly is piling
up" he grunted. Il might as well
; save my talking for later"
That's a good idea" The sheriff
snapped the handouts into place.
Then Fairchild shut off the pumps
and they started toward the machine.
Back in Ohadi more news awaited
them. Harry, if Harry had been the
highwayman, had gone to no expense
for his outfit The combined general
store and hardware emporium Of
! Gregg Brothers had been robbed of
the articles necessary for a Disguise
also the revolvers and their bullets.
Robert Fairchild watched Harry
placed In the solitary cell of the county
| jail with q spirit that could not re-
| spond to the COrnishman's grin and
| his assurances that morning would
| bring a righting Of affairs. Four
nh o oh
| of DEMONSTRATING, of burglary, of high
way robbery, and worse, the final as
| sault with attempt to kill. Fairchild
| turned YEARLY away; he could not
| find the optimism TO join Harry's
| cheerful announcement that ii would
| be ''all right" The appearances were
| otherwise. Besides. up in the little
| hospital on the HILL Fairchild had seen
| lights cleaning as he entered the jail,
| and he knew that doctors were work.
| ing there over the wounded body Of
| the fiddler Tired. heavy at heart,
| his earlier conquest of the night sod
| den and overshadowed now, he turned
| away from the cell and its optimistic
| cccupant-out into the night.
| 1t was only a short walk to the hos
| pital and Fafrchild went there to
leave with at least a ray Of hope. The
| probing operation had been completed {;
| the fiddler would live, and at least the
| charge against Harry would not be
| one of murder. That was a thing for
| which to be thankful; but there was
| plenty to cause CONSERVATION, as Fair
| child walked slowly down the dark,
winding street toward the main thor
| oughfare. Without Harry, Fairchild
| now felt himself lost. Before the big.
| genial, eccentric Cornishman had come
into his life. he had believed, with
some sort of divine ignorance, that
he could carry out his ambitions by
| himself, with no knowledge of the tech
nical details necessary to mining, with
| no previous history of the Blue Pop
| by to guide him, and with no help
| against the enemies who seemed every
where. Now he saw that 1t was i'm
| possible. More, the incidents of the
night showed how swiftly those enc
mics were working, how sharp and
stilettO-like their weapons.
That Harry was innocent was GER
tain-tO Robert Fairchild.
Looking back over it now, he could
see how easily Fate had played into
the hands of the Rodaines, if the Ro-
DANES had not possessed deeper con
Germ than merely to seize upon a hap
pening and turn 1t to their own ac-
count. The highwayman was big. The
highwayman talked with a Cousin
| T. I~p oil iShy on oPl
cousin Jacks" in the mining country
Those two features in themselves
Fairchild thought, as he stumbled
along in the darkness, were sufficient
to start the scheming plot in the brain
of Maurice Rodaine, already ugly and
evil through the trick played by Harry
on his father and the rebuke that had
come from Anita Richmond. 1t was
an easy matter for him to get the In
spiration. leap out Of the window, anC
then wait until the robber had gone
that he might flare forth with hi:
accusation. And after that.
Either Chance or something strong
err, had done the rest. The finding o.
the stolen horse and the carelesslI
made cache near the mouth Of tht
Blue Poppy mine would be sufhcien
In the eyes Of any jury. The evidence
wes both direct and circumstantial
To Fairchild's mind. there was small
chance for escape by Harry, once hi
case went to trial.
Down the dark street the man wan
dered, his hands sunk deep in MI
pockets, his head low between MI
shoulders-only to suddenly galvanlz'
into intensity, and to stop short tina
he might hear again the voice whlci
had come to him. At one side wa
a big hOuse-a house whose occupant
he knew inStinctively. for he had Seel
the shadow of a woman, hands OUT
stretched. as she passed the hght
strewn shade of a window on the sec
ond floor. More. he had heard ne
voice supplemented by gruffer tones