Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1924-05-01
and stood gazing at It's yeAsv ~
child. nattsned and faded. IN al fikeli-
hand the very one he Mad feun4 fer Yer

and stood gazing at tt--a yeHov ~
child. nattsned and faded. IN al fikeli-
hood the very one he Mad found fer ker
the Friday before lady slipper day
Over the mans fine face spread light
I that TRANSPORTED it.
But there was task caIling-tense
nsistent mayhap horrible. Taking
out his pocketbook, he put the flower
carefully away frowned hard down
| the river shore.
Knowing that the narrow by-road led
through the wooded flats almost to AL
pine island, angled sharply and crossed
to the bluffs something more than
mile above Black rock, he went back
to Graylock, left Brownie prancing ana
paving the weeds, and rode cautiously
on down the river.
Just short Of the point where the
narrow road angled toward the bluffs,
he again hid GrayIock, went on afoet
some distance farther and stole througs
| the trees to the river bank
Creeping down to the edge of the
water, with caution so great that a
crane wading rod or two below failed
to take the alarm, Jack crawled out
among the limbs of cottonwood that
had uprooted and Topped over the
stream and peered down the sides Of
the island, lying less than two hundred
| yards below.
A short distance down the south side.
| almost completely hidden among the
! willows and riding at the end of rope
| hftched to tree on the bank, lay a
| small houseboat with skiff tied at its
side-unmistakabl the same tiny craft
| that had found concealment at the
head of Mud haul.
The woodsman was Just stealing
| back through the limbs of the cotton
wood, with the bold intention Of creep
| ing farther down the bank and swiM-
| ming out to the island, when man
! came out OF the snug little cabin, care
| fully closed the door. fumbled a wkNe
| as If locking it and stood on the diminN-
| tive forward deck looking guardedg
| about
There was no mistaking the somber
| frock coat, neck stock and high hat
it was Caleb Hopkins. A moment he
stood listening at the door; glanced
around again In every direction. and
| slipped over the side of the houseboat
/ into the skiff
] AS he rowed up around the head cf
the island and across the north chan-
mel to shore, he passed within less than
fifty yards of where the woodsman lay
concealed, his eyes hard and danger
| Gus, his fingers betraying an almost ir-
/ resistible inclination to stray toward
/ the butt of the revolver at his hip.
! Drawing the skiff well in among the
| fringe of scrub willows, Hopkins
| glanced back in the direction of the
| houseboat, snarled out an impatient
exclamation and set off across the bot
! toms. The woodsman rose and softly
! followed; Swallowed him through the
| tangle of bushes and vines and fallen
4 logs out to the River road watched
/ him cross, pick his way up the bluff
and slip away among the trees Of the
upland
The unguarded safe, the bundles of
money under the floor of the cabin at
thS iOAuSolOdui SloooCu Liz WOOhSthdh .
mind. But there was a far higher
stake in his tense thought just then
than safes and bundles of money The
/ frock coat and high hat were no sooner
\ well out of sight than he sprang up
from where he lay i'll the thicket at the
edge Of the bottoms anG hurried back
to the skiff; slid it out from the will
lows and crossed the channel to the
island. There he hid it again and
slipped through the tangle of under
brush and driftwood to where he could
get view of the houseboat
/ There reached him the dull sound OF
footballs on the cabin floor, end the
+ tiny craft rocked slightly as some one
evidently crossed from side to side, but
there was no sound Of voices; from
I which he concluded that the unknown
tenant was alone.
I In the fast gathering shadows he
crept to the edge of the island crawled
with extraordinary care under the
hand to the dimnutive forward
deck
The Ntr he had watched Hopkins
fumb over he had locked-pad-
locke. the outside He stood still