Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-03-01
THE BREAKING POINT
BY MARY ROBERTS RINEHART

1t was not until the next day that they
knew that Jim had not been alone. s1rh
who was with him had been pinned under
the car and had died instantly.
Jim had woven his bit in the pattern and
passed on. The girl was negligible; she
was, she had been. That was all. BUT
Jim's death added the last element to the
impending christopher 1t sent Dick west
alone.
For several days after his visit to the
LIVINGSTONE ranch Louis Bassett made no
move to go to the cabin. He wandered
around the town, made promiscuous ac-
quaintances and led up in careful CONVEX ea
sations with such older residents as ne
could find, to the Clark and the Living
stone families. Of the latter he learned
nothing; of the former, not much that ne
had not known before.
One day he happened on a short, heavy
set man who had been the sheriff at the
time of the Lucas murder, and who had
led the search into the mountains Bas-
sett had brought some whisky with NM
and on the promise of a drink lured VIE
kins TO his room Over his glass the
sheriff talked.
s'All this newspaper stuff lately about
Jud Clark being alive, is dead wrong, ne
declared, irritably, "Maggie Donaldson was
crazy"
"sure he's dead" Bassett agreed, amia-
b1v s'You found his horse, didn't you?
Eyes. Dead. And when you find
mans horse dead in the mountains IN
BLIZZARD, you QOn ue6u any AlIoAO
dence 1t was five months before you
could see a trail up the Goat that winter
Bassett nodded, rose and poured out an"
other drink. - tn1.
II suppose" he observed casually, that
even if Ozark turned up now, it would De
hard to convict him, wouldn't it?'
"Well, yes and no." he said. 1T was
circumstantial evidence you know. NO
body saw it done. The worst thing against
| him was his running Off
| ahO wit
Accurately speaking, there were none.
John Donaldson came the nearest ana mes s
dead Lucas wife was still alive, the last
| l heard, and [ suppose the valet is Lloatlhs
! around somewhere"
II suppose if he did turn up you'd make
try for it." Bassett stared at the END Oh
! his cigar. x,,,,
lins said somberly '"There are some folks
in this county still giving me the laugh
over the case" ,I
The next day Bassett hired quiet horse,
rolled in his raincoat two days supply or
food strapped it to the cantle OF MS SAD
die, and rode into the mountains. lie hae
not ridden for years, and at the emu ~
, the first hour he began TO feallze cnd' NO
was so sore that he could hardly get OUT
of the saddle, and so stiff that once QUIZ
he could hardly get back agaln, - oonroo+
He found it practically Impossible TO conne -;
this frenzied fugitive with the quiet man III
his office chair at Haverly, the man VINO was
or was not Judson Clark. He lay on Dank
at noon, while his horse, hobbled Srazeu win
grotesque little forward jumps IN an upla i
meadow, and faced the situation squarely!
Either Dick Livingstone was Clark or ne was
the unknown occasional visitor at the LN-
ingstone ranch. If he was Clark, ana IL thaC
could be proved, there were TWO courses ~ pIn
to Bassett He could denounce him TO the
authorities and then spring the big story Oh
his career Or he could let things stand;
From professional standpoint, the hrsC
course attracted him; as man, he began 10
loo shed
light on Judson Clark. He had Deen lm-
mensely popular; there were man IN the Town
| who told about trying to save him from MINI
self He had been eXtravagant, but ne na9
also been generous He had been a good
kid" until liberty and money got hold Oh
him There had been more than one man
in the sheriffs posse who hadn't wanted 70
find him.
After an hour or so he determined to go
! on. Let them throw him over gorge II they
so determined. He got up, gruntlng ana
leading the horse beside a boulder, climbed
painfully into the saddle. To relieve MS ue-
preston he addressed the horse jocularly:
eft would be easier on both of us If you
were two feet narrower in the beam, old top
he said
Nevertheless he made good time. BY s
o'clock we know that he must have made
thirty-odd miles, and that he must be near
the cabin. also that it was going to be bitter
Ily cold that night, under the snow helos, ana
that he had brought no wood axe. For the
last mile or two the horse took his own way.
He had defnitely/decided that he had misseu
the cabin, when the horse turned off the
trail, and he saw it.
1t was built of rough logs, the clinks once
closed with mud, which had fallen away The
door stood open, and his entrance into its
darkness was followed by the scurryfng OF
many little feet. Bassett Unstrapped his
raincoat from the saddle with fingers numb
with cold, land flung it to the ground He un-
hitched and removed the heavy saddle, hob
bled his horse and removed the bride, and
turned him loose with slap on the flank.
Continued Saturday. Renew your subscrip.
ton now. We cannot supply back issues.