The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-04-27


standing Bear has great infiu-
ence over her." he said, 81 fear the
Blue Hawks have little chance"
Then we must keep the girl
from the Golden Canyon" Loomis
replied IF she fails to appear
there in time to render judgment.
the Golden Pool will be divided
between the two tribes and we will
receive one-half of the wealth at
any rate" AS they were talking,
Sheldon approached them. He, too,
had interviewed the girl and failed
But the crafty Loomis then I'M
folded a plan which his partners
heartily approved of.
Loomis and Julia Wells departed
for the bank nearby to deposit the
/ Wampum Belt The bank was
owned by Dan Murdoch, who was
also the proprietor of gambling
house, although few people in San
Mario knew it. After the Sacred
Wampum Belt had been plac-
ed in a strong box in the vault,
Loomis drew Murdoch aside.
q want to make you a PROPOSE
ton which should be worth your
while" he told him. 81 want to
keep Ruth Randolph here for TWEEN
ty days. No harm is to come to
! her. Just see that she does not es-
/ cape. 1t means big money in your
pocket" Although Murdoch didn't
approve of that kind of business,
! the color of LOOMS money was too
much for him. He agreed.
, In the meantime, Phil had arriv-
-, mi ID
! Loomis leave the bank it did not
take him long to understand the
situation A small cavalcade of
cowpunchers came riding down the
main thoroughfare to make their
monthly purchases as the general
store Phil saw that they were
! from his ranch, and he quickly
drew them to a side street and I'M
| folded a plan. The cowboys laugh
! ed with glee.
Five minutes later Stanton enter
ed the bank, nodded to Murdoch,
and stepped over to the desk, pre-
tending to write out a check Sud
denly the sound of a great commo-
I ton in the streets was heard. Re
volver shots mingled with shouting
and the stampede of horses came
to their ears. The bank manager
rushed to the door to see what the
excitement was. and Phil, who
had noticed joyfully that the door
of the vault was partly open. slip
ped unnoticed into the open vault.
Soon the excitement in the street
subsidized, and Murdoch stepped
back into the bank and closed the
door of the vault.
Phil. on the inside, felt anxious
as he saw the door closed, but he
was more excited over the hope of
finding the Wampum Belt than he
was over his escape from the
vault. Finally his eyes fell upon
the strong box He seized it fever
ishly and opened it. There was the
coveted belt. He thrust it inside
his shirt and then began to wonder
how to get out of the vault Al
ready the close atmosphere was
getting to him. He pounded upon
the door and shouted, but there
was no answer.
Meanwhile, Murdoch had sent for
Ruth Randolph and was interview
ing the girl in a private room, con-
nected with the bank After lock-
ing the door. he turned to the girl
and said bluntly: "A certain party
has paid me big money to keep you
here for twenty days. l suppose
you know what it's all about?"
What do you mean?" asked the
girl, alarmed and angered.
! Just what 1 say" came the calm
answer But one thing I'll tell
you that might ease your state of
mind. The Wampum Belt is in my
vault, and nobody can get it except
| me because nobody else knows the
combination. I'm just telling you
! this because 1 think you're a good
kid. seer"
But 1 can't stay here" pleaded
the girl. You must let me co."
We'll. 1 sure hate to see you in
/ this mess, but I've got to keep you
here. I've accepted their dough,
and bargains a bargain
Ruth's eyes fell on a pack Of
cards lying on a table. An idea
came to her You're a gambler"
she said. will you cut the cards
to decide whether I'm detained-or
leave with the belt
,, Murdoch grinned. She had dis
covered his weak point He pulled