The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1924-04-17
CHAPTER XIII
Deaths Harvest.

WlntOn was only NdSuSly aNdiC VI
the quick termination of the trial, witt
its expected. though illogical verdict
of mot guilty" He saw Judge Davis
lifted and carried out by his support
ers; saw De Witt, his face twitchine
nervously at the verdict, stride from
the courtroom; then he was pushing
his own way outside among the eX-
cited, buzzing groups, and perceived
old Seaton moving slowly among the
crowd, which parted to make way for
the man whose tragedy affected them
with horror.
"Where are you going, Daddy?'
asked one man, trying to stop him.
I'm going to find my GAL" mumbled
Seaton. "She's been all I've had.
Maybe l amt her father, but I'm going
to her"
Slowly he walked away, and nobody
attempted TO stop him. Winton, after
a momen of doubt, realized 81. it
would be useless for him to interfere.
He watched Seaton's departure with
a 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 AMI
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 e
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 e
struggle in progress; the h~eaving
shoulders of a horse appeared above
the crowd and suddenly the horse and
its rider er erged at a furious gallOp,
scattering the crowd right and left.
Through the gap thus formed Win
ton could see a man lying upoE the
ground, resting on his elbow. His
hand clutched a revolver.
The rider was De Witt. Amid the
yells of the mob he dashed in a cloud
of dust across the market square and
turned down the street leading to the
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
his supporters, and the blood was
streaming from a 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
in the anticipation of just
such a contingency, had shot the
and galloped away.
So swift was the maneuver that
found itself totally unable to
with the situation. There was
Wild talk of forming a posse to pur-
;ue the outlaw. But De Wits hor~e
vas the fastest in Malopo, and, 4: in
he case of Van Worst, pursuit seemed
mpracticable.
While an impromptu mass meeting
being held Winton made his way
Jack to the claim. He understood
all that the verdict mean to him,
nd the thought of Sheila filled his
1t was growing dark. Early the next {
Forming he meant to ride out into the I
ills and bring her back with him. t
nd they should never be parted {
gain. He thought with infinite pity |
f her sufferings, with tenderness of |
err loyalty. 1t seemed most fit that (
is lips should be the first to tell her
hat would remove the dark cloud +
'om her forever. /
AS WintOn turned into the road that Z
d toward his claim there came the Il
Idden suffering of heavy drops, and Y
len a deluge. He covered the last a
lndred yards at a racing pace, but a
: was drenched to the skin before he n
ached the cottage. o
After the long months of drought
e rains had broken. The thunder Fl
owIed in the distance; the brilliant e
flashes Lit up the heavens. a