The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-01-24


The woodsman frowned 1t the
words, but apparently decided to pass
them over.
"Then-nobody needs t know" He
dropped u half-opened hand toward
the body of the fallen robber. 'He's
enough t satisfy Jerry Brown, and one
more mark ag'in' i'm won't make no
difference t Black Bogus now"
Still watching the window. as well
as the man leaning on the door of the
safe, he picked up the ruins of the
ivory-handled six-gun-being careful
to hunt the pieces that had scattered
about the room-and dropped them all
into the pocket of his hunting blouse;
lifted the tall hat from the floor and
held it forth; motioned toward the
pen window.
The other took the hat; put it on
with curious deliberation stared hard
at he scattered money stepped
around the body of his dead associate;
crossed the floor and, closely followed
by the woodsman, who still watched
him narrowly, crawled through the
NlIQOW dhu SlUOQ III apparent StOllu-
ness, as if waiting to be told what to
do next.
The woodsman, no little raukled
that his offered clemency-an offer
that had cost him much to make-had
been received with cold, even naughty
Indifference, dropped to the ground
behind him and stood a moment sound
ing the night. Except at Uncle Nick's,
where Mrs. Curry probably lay tossing
with anxiety, not a candle was alight.
He closed the window and turned to
the stolld figure in front 81 MIN.
I'm givin' y'u time to warn Loge
Belden off and take t. the woods-if
y'u're quick. When L think the times
up, I'm amin T. fire off Pap Simon's
shotgun and rouse the village. This
house will be put under guard t'night,
and t'morrow all that money will be
took t. the city and put in the bank,
where 1t ough' T. ben long ago'-a
thought of the mountain girl crying
under the window the night before
crossed his mind, and his voice grew
crisp and cold land If y'u never
come back, wy, that'l be soon enough
FIR me; but if y'u do, y'u've got t. come
clean"
A black scowl swept the bearded
face of the other; his eyes glared dan
g%erously. Warhope-the bound boy
that he had committed the blunder of
so vastly undertaking! He half turned,
a muttered oath on his lips but mas
tered the o%utburst, and, with the air
of a man who bowed to circumstances,
strobe across the yard, nursing his
shattered hand and fumbling the elab-
crate frock coat about him.
All unknown to the woodsman there
lay concealed In that same frock coat
another weapon-a small single-shot
pistol of heavy caliber that thugs OF
the underworld often carried, deadly
at close range but inaccurate at a dis
tance-a weapon that the men of the
woods knew nothing about. AT the
brink of the yard, just where it dipped
to the little park, he suddeny snatched
1t forth; whirled and fired.
Even with his right hand shattered
and having to shoot with his left, with
almost no light at all, the shot dis
closed what he could have done with a
real gun-the bullet scorched the
woodsman's blouse and passed between
his left arm and his side. The man
crouched at the brink Of the yard
the success of the shot-his
lo-roxo+o a+tnpont-lynnu that If
failed swore, and dashed away up the
path that led into the jaws of Eagle
hollow.
1t all occurred in the flick of an in
slant. Amazed at the ~treachery, the
woodsman sprang out of the dim
of candle-light thai fell through
the window. He snatched out his re-
volver and was just straining a step in
when, from somewhere in the
yard behind him, there came a low cry
his name-so faint as to leave a
doubt that he had heard. 1t froze him
into a listening statue.
1t came again-a woman's cry
borne upon the breath of the night.
He would nave known that voice
among shouting thousands. He turned
and bounded down the yard toward the
gate.
Up from the gate she came, half
running, ~half-reeling, but before he
could reach her she stopped, stood for
a momen cropping with her hands,
dropped forward and fell with her face
upon the grass.
With a cry, Jack Warhope caught up
the unconscious girl in his arms, to dis
cover that she must have been in the
river, for her garments were complete
ly saturated and her hair hung about
her shoulders, sodden and dripping.
He was wrapping his hunting blouse
about her when, with a startled ex-
clamation, he jerked away his hand
and held it up between his face and the
- c,a,,Jrol nth h1oOd He lie