The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-01-26

out its dips and angies-had beer
moved from Its place In the corner b
the living room and was stood upor
It's three legs at a small, square win
dow which looked out over the plateau
bench of the mountain to the south
eastward. 5&@ .%@
Two mornings afterward l found out
the why and wherefore of the ole
transit and it's "set up" as IN engineer
would say. Daddy Hiram and l were
standing with our backs to the hearth
fire, waiting fer breakfast to be put
on the table, when Jeanne came in
from the kitchen with a great stack
of hot batter-cakes. AS she darted
out again after the coffee and bacon,
she paused just a fraction of a second
to put her eye to the telescope. l
didn't see what kind of a signal it was
that she passed to Daddy Hiram, but
whatever its nature, it made him get
action in a tearing hurry.
up into the loft with you, quick,
Stannle!" he yipped at me; and as
went stumbling up the ladder in blind
obedience / saw him hastily helping
his daughter to remove my plate, knife
n fork, spoon, coffee cup and chair;
in other words, to %ohliterate swiftly
and completely all signs of the pres
ence of a third member of the family.
In a minute or so there was a gruff
hail from somebody outdoors and Dad
dy got up to go and look out.
"Why, hello, Ike, you old geezer!"
he called. "What under the shinin'
sun fetches you up on old Cinnabar
this early in the mornin'? Light down
and come in; you're just in the nick
o time for breakfast"
While / was cudgeling my brain in
a vain effort to recall what, if any,
awakened in me by the mention of an
Ike" person, this particular Isaac pre-
Sented himself at the cabin door and
dumped in with the stiff-legged walk
of a man who has ridden horseback
far and hard. l knew then why I
should have been able to dig that men,
Dry association. This was Mr.. Isaac
Beasley, my Angelic friend of the over
grown silver star and the unshaven
~cOuntenance.
Huh" he grunted, them griddle-
cakes shore do look mighty righteous
to me! been ridin' sense two hours
afore sun-up; wild-goose chase clear
over on t'Other side O. Lost mountain.
Couple O. prOspectOrs blew into Angels
day afore yistidday and said they'd
seen that con-dummed lunatic that got
loose from US and busted up a car FIR
the railroad; them y~oddleheads said
they'd seen him workin' In the Lost
Creek p~lacers."
"A looney?" said Daddy Hiram. as
innocent as a ~two-weeks-old lamb.
yep; that feaer that stole an in
spection car and got it smashed up
and Their took to the hills. You hain't
seer anything of him, have ye?"
"Nary a lunatic," said Daddy Hiram
calmly.
His breakfast eaten, Friend Isaac
showed no disposition to hurry away
much to my chagrin. He tool time
t o smoke a leisurely pipe with Daddy
Hiram and to ask a lot Of indifferent
questions about the drowned mine.
"Hain't heard nOthin' firm yer own
ers yit, have We, Hiram" he wanted
to know, after-as it seemed to me
the subject had been pretty thoroughly
talked TO death.
heard Daddy's reply, made as to
one with whom the matter had been
e%anvassed before.
"Nothin' but that cIippin' from some
newspaper back East, teliin' about Mr..
Dudley's passin' out"
kinda curious somebody don't tell
We somethin', amt it?" the marshal
put in. Looks like the heirs d be
either fishin' r cuttin' bait on this