The Winslow mail., 1924-06-06

, Wnofc are you gong, bduuy
asked one man, trying to stop him.
I'm going to find my GAL" mumbled
Seaton. "She's been all I've had.
Maybe amt her father, but I'm going
TO her"
Slowly he walked away, and nobody
attempted to stop him. WintOn, after
a moment of doubt, realized that It
would be useless for him to interfere.
He watched Seaton's departure with
mind that was too numbed to enable
him to understand the fullness of his
! success. There was no doubt that the
legality of the syndicate's acquisition
| Of his shares could now be questioned.
He could regain the majority and
keep control, If Seaton's acQuittal
were followed as it must be, by De
Wits arrest and his conviction
! But there was more than that. Win
ton began to realize, in a daZed sort
Of way, that the disclosure had given
! him Sheila. He knew she loved him,
/ in spite of all her bitterness in the
past. He would go to her, make her
his wife, and take her home to his
own country, where the past should
| never trouble her
He was broOding over this when he
heard two revolver shots ring out in
| quick succession. Looking up. he dis
covered that he was alone The crowd
was running toward the south side
Of the square, where there seemed to
| be some commOtiOn Winton saw a
struggle in progress; the heaving
shoulders of horse appeared above
the crowd; and suddenly the horse and
| its rider emerged at a furious gallOp,
scattering the crowd right and left.
Through the gap thus formed Win
ton could see man lying upon the
ground, resting on his elbow. His
hand clutched revolver.
The rider was De Witt Amid the
yells Of the mob he dashed in cloud
of dust across the market square and
turned down the street leading to the
new suburb. The horse bounded
across the rivulet, topped the ridge Of
the diamond ground, and disappeared.
The fallen man was being helped to
his feet. He staggered In the arms
Of his supporters, and the blood was
streaming from bullet-wOund In his
shoulder.
Winton gathered what had occurred
from the excited conversation that
followed. The sheriff had attempted
to arrest De Witt on the strength Of
a court order hastily secured. De
Witt, who had had a swift horse ready
outside, in the anticipation of Just
such a contingency, had shot the
sheriff and gallOped away.
So swift was the maneuver that
Malopo found itself totally unable to
cope with the situation. There was
wild talk Of forming a posse to pur-
sue the outlaw. But De Wits horse
was the fastest in MalopO, and, as in
the case of Van Worst pursuit seemed
| impracticable.
While an impromptu mass meeting
was being held WintOn made his way
back to the claim. He understood
now all that the. verdict meant to him.
and the thought Of Sheila filed his
heart.
morning he meant to ride out into the
hills and bring her back with him,
and they should never be parted
again He thought with infinite pity
of her sufferings, with tenderness Of
| her loyalty. 1t seemed most fit that
his lips should be the first to tell her
what would remove the dark cloud
from her forever.
AS Winton turned into the road that
| led toward his claim there came the
sudden sputtering of heavy drops, and
then a deluge. He covered the last
hundred yards at a racing pace, but
he was drenched to the skin before he
reached the cottage.
After the long months of drought
the rains had broken. The thunder
| growled in the distance; the brilliant
! lightning flashes lit up the heavens.
The rains poured in torrents upon the
desert, which sucked them up and
stored them in its hidden springs.
Winton felt utterly worn out after
the day. An unreality hung over the
past; it seemed as if everything had
| been a dream since the night in Shei-
las house.
WintOn vas about to go to bed when
there ca1gIe feeble tap at the door.
When he opened it he saw Judge Da-
Wis standing there, wet through.
| He was shocked at the change in
the judges aspect He seemed to
have aged a dozen years; he was an
old, broken man. He came forward
uncertainty and sat down.
Winton tried to get him to take of
his wet clothes, but the judge shook
his head vacantly, as if he hardly un-
! derstood
you remember what we talked
about that day2' he asked, with moth
ing in his voice In the least like
Quaver.
| Aau naron &o ro,, FOr tho