The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-05-16

hall, where he he'd been fetched from
the station.
1.-THE hall was full of cowboys, ranch
ers, Greasers, miners, an town folks.
along with some strangers. l was
about to get started up this way when
Pat Have come in.
pat, he's the sheriff. He come into
the hall, an he was roarin' about
things. He was goin' to arrest Danny
Mains IN sight. Wal, I Jest polite-like
told Pat tibet the money was mine an
he needn't get riled about it. An
If | wanted to trail the thief l reckon
I could do it as well as anybody.
"ThenNhe cooled down a bit an was
askin' questions about the wounded
Greaser when Gene Stewart comes in.
Whenever Pat an Gene come together
it reminds me of the early days back
in the seventies. Jest naturally ev-
erybody shut up. Fer Pat hates Gene,
an l reckon Gene amt very sweet on
Pat.
"sHello Stewart You're the Teller
I'm lookia' fer said Pat. There was
some queer g~oings-on last night tibet
you know somethin' about. Danny
Mains robbed-Stillwell's money gone
your roam horse gone-an' this
Greaser gone, too. Now, SEEM tibet
you was up late an prowlin' round
the station where this Greaser vas
found. 1t amt unreasonable to think
you might know how he got plugged
is it?'
Stewart laughed kind of cold, an
he rolled a cigarette. all the time eyein'
Pat, an then he said II he'd plugged
the Greaser it'd never hev been SIGH q
bunglin' job.
1T car arrest you on suspicion,
Stewart, but before l go tibet far |
want some evidence. l want to find
out what's become of your boss. You've
never lent him since you he'd him, an
there amt enough raiders across the
border to steal him from you. It's got
a queer look-thet boss bein' gone.
You was drunk last night2'
Dlc"dit -ncfef DdllcO du eye.
You met some woman on Number
Eight, didn't you? shouted Have.
~ met a lady, replied Stewart,
quiet an menacin' like.
"'You met AL Hammond's sister, an
you took her up to Kingsley's. An
cinch this, my cowboy cavalier, I'm
goin' up there an ask this grand dame
some questions, an if she's as close
mouthed as you are I'll arrest herr
Gene Stewart turned white. l fer
n expected TO e him jump like
lightnln,' as he does when he's riled
sudden. But he was calm an he was
thinkin' hard. Presently he said:
Pat, thet's a fool idee, an If yon
do the trick it'll hurt you all the rest
of your life. There's absolutely no rea-
son to brighten Miss Hammond. An
tryin' to arrest her would be such a
id outrage as won't be stood fer in
Ell Cajon. If you're sore on me send
me to Jail. I'll go. If you want to
hurt Al Hammond, go an do it some
man kind of way. Don't take your
spite out on us by insultin' a lady who
has come hyar to hev a little visit.
We're bad enough without bein' low
down as Greasers.'
at was a long talk for Gene, an l
was as surprised as the rest of the fell
lers. 1t was plain to me an others
who spoke of 1t afterward tibet Pat
Have he'd forgotten the law an the
fBoo- in tho mon ON hiS hato
I'm a-goin', an I'm a-goin' right
nowp he shouted.
Stewart seemed kind of chokin',
an he seemed to hev been bewildered
by the idee of Hawe's confrontin' you.
An finally he burst out: BUT,
man, think who it is! It's Miss Ham,
mond If you seer her, even if you
was locoed or drunk, you-you couldn't
do It.
"'Couldn't I? Wal, I'll show you
d-n quick. What do I care who she
is? Them swell eastern women-Fve
heerd of them. They're not so much.
This Hammond woman
suddenly Have shut up, an with
his red mug turnin' green he went for
his gun"
Stillwell paused in his narrative to
get breath, and he wiped his moist
brow. And now his face began to lose
its cragginess. 1t changed, 1t softened,
1t rippled and wrlnkled, and all that
strange mobility focused and shone in
a wonderful smile.
AN then, Miss Majesty. her there
was somethin' happened. Stewart took
Pats gun away from him and throwe ed
1t on the floor. An what followed was
beautiful. Sure it was the beautiful
est sight l eyer seen. Only 1t was
over so soon! A little while after,
when the doctor came, he he'd another
patient besides the wounded Greaser,
an he said thet this new one would re-
quire about four months to be up an
around cheerful-like again. An Gene
Stewart he'd hit the trail for the bor-
der"
CHAPTER w