Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1924-03-29
CHAPTER X-continued.

in his own room in the cottage upon
the claim.
He thought he was dreaming; and
when at last he convinced himself Of
the reality Of the four walls he i'm
aginCd that he had dreamed every
thing from the assault 10 Sheila.
Then the honest face Of Sam ap-
peared before him. like a dusky half
moon; and Winton had never seen
Sam with so much pleasure In his life
before
whats happened7' he asked.
ITS all rigst--lt's all right, Mr..
Garrett" said Sam, putting a cup OF
water to his lips. Winton drank
gratefully and, too weak to make in
Quries, went to sleep again.
Later in the day he awoke, feeling
more like himself sam was still at
his bedside In exactly the same posi-
ton that he bad occupied before.
"sam, tell me what's happened"
said Winton in perplexlty. did
dream about the burglary?
No, indeed, Mr. Garrett. But that's
oil over and done with. II you'll go
TO sleep. sir
Ibid / ride out into the desert?"
"Weil-yes, Mr.. Garrett But you're
back home now, and that's all"
Tell me how got here at once,
Sam"
Wen, Mr. Garrett" said Sam re
iuctantly. Il happened to find you in
the desert"
How far out?"
about ten miles. sir. You were
lost and you'd tainted and your head
was cracked open. You wanted to
fight me, sir had quite a little diff
Guilty getting you home, sir. And you
fell of the horse twice. You gave me
this. Mr. Garrett" he continued, point
ing to one optic. which Winton no
tiCed was discolored. "But that's all
over and"
"When, Sam7'
1.-TWO days ago Mr.. Winton. You
see, your head had been cracked open,
and you weren't altogether RESPONSE
bic. | don't think I'd have got you
home, Mr.. Garrett, II you hadn't sud
denly collapsed The doctor was quite
doubtful until this morning"
Sam" said Winton humbly, "may
shake hands with your"
Sans black hand went out and met
Winton's white one. After that Win
ton lay very still. thinking Of Sheila.
1t was not until the following day
that he learned what had happened.
The police had discovered from the
evidence of natives in the adjoining
compound that Kash had been engaged
for weeks in the excavation OF the
tunnel The expectation at the start
seemed to have been that Wlnton
would make his headquarters In Ma
iopo His presence on the claim
proved disconcertlng: ard since muir
der would have meant the certainty of
ultimate arrest. and the prescribed
penalty, Van Worst had resorted to the
chloroform outrage to avoid the com
mission of capital crime.
However. Burns had heard the men
in the cottage. and had exchanged
shots with Kash. killing the Armen-
Ian but suffering a serious head In
jury from blow by Van Vorst's ie-
yoyer butt II was believed that
piece of bone was pressing on the
speech center. for, though fully con-
sclous and considered out Of danger
Ned could only utter meaningless
sounds, and was consequently unable
TO describe what had occurred.
They had tried to get his evidence
IN writing. but the marks that he
made upon the paper were meaning
less.
An inquest had been held promptly
Burns had been exonerated, and a YER
dict of justfable homicide returned
Winton's evidence was taken at his
bedside for the Information OF the
Bechuanaland police who hoped TO
round up the fugitive.
Van Vorst's action was the most
inexplicable part Of the affair. The
general opinion In Malopo was that
the man. known for years as the most
CRAFTY and cautious purchaser OF
stolen stones in the country. had sud
denly developed streak OF vicious
ness and adventure There had been
talk OF sending a body Of police into
the native territories In pursuit of
him, but ultimately It was decided TO
telegraph all the border posts to watch
for him. Through one of these Van
Worst must eventually pass on his
way back to civilization.
What surprised Malopo most, per
haps, was tbs fact that Van Worst had
gone 10 such pains In order 70 secure
single stone OF no extraordinary value
--at least not OF enough to make its
possession worth outlswry Winton
puzzled over this for some time until
Sheila's explanation suddenly came
back into his memory.
II Davis and De Witt had plotted
the robbery, In order to get him into
their power, they would stop at moth
ing: and they must have some knowl-
edge Of the claims value which he
Lacked