The Elk Mountain pilot., 1924-05-08

.
Mr.. Lapelle has engaged in several.
with disastrous results to his adyer.
saries?"
Il think he has already mentioned
something of the kind to me-"
I'D sooner be your friend than your
enemy. Mr.. Gwynne," said the gambler
earnestly. Il am permanent citizen
OF this town and 1 have no quarrel
with you. AS your friend, am obliged
to inform you that Barry Lapelle is a
dead shot and as quick as lightning
with pistol. l hope you will take
tnls In the same spirit that it Is given"
thank you, SIR" said Kenneth,
courteously. by the way, do you hap
pen to have pistol with you at pres
ent. Mr.. Trentman?"
The other looked at him keenly for
a Few seconds before answering. ~
nave. l seldom go without one"
IF you will do me the kindness to
walk with me up to the woods beyond
the lake and will grant me the loan of
your weapon for half minute, think
1 may be able to demonstrate to you
that Mr.. Lapelle is not the only dead
shot in the world. I was brought up
with pistol in my hand, so to speak.
Have you ever tried S shoot a ground
squirrel at twenty PAGES? You have
to be pretty quick to do that, you
know"
Trentman shook his head. "There's
lot Of difference between shooting a
ground squirrel and blazing away at
man who is blazing at you at the
same time. I'll take your word for
the ground squirrel business, Mr.
Gwynne, and bid you good day."
MY regrets to your principal and
my apologies to you, Mr.. Trentman."
said Kenneth, lifting his hat.
The gambler raised his own hat. A
close observer would have noticed a
troubled, anxious CLEAN in his eye as
he turned to retrace his steps in the
direction of the square. 1t was his
custom to saunter slowly when trav-
ersing the streets of the town, as one
who produces his own Importance and
enjoys 1t leisurely. He never hurried
He loitered rather more gracefully
when walking than when standing
still. But now he strobe along briskly
in fact, with such lively decision
that for once in his life he appeared
actually to be going somewhere. As
he rounded the corner and came in
sight of the jail, he directed fixed,
consuming glare upon the barred win
dows; quite noticeable scowl set
tied upon his ordinarily unruffied brow
nf gpt
even apprehensively.
He was troubled. His composure
was sadly disturbed. Kenneth Gwynne
had given him something to think
about-and the more he thought about
1t the faster he walked. He was per-
spring quite freely and he was little
short of breath when he flung open
the door and entered his "den of In
iquity" down by the river. He took
in at glance the three men seated at
table In corner of the somewhat
commodlous "cardroom." One Of them
was dealing "cold hands" to his COM
panions. A fourth man, his dealer,
was leaning against the window frame,
gazing pensiysly down upon the slow
moving river. Two of the men at the
table were newcomers In town. They
had come up on the Revere and they
had already established themselves in
his estimation as Skeletons" that is,
they had been picked pretty clean by
"buzzards" In other climes before
gravitating to his "boneyard." He
considered himself good Judge of
men, and he did not like the looks of
this ill-favored pair. He had made up
his mind that he did not want them
hanging around the "shanty"; men of
that stripe were just the sort to give
the place a bad name! One of them
had recalled himself to Barry Lapelle
the night before; said he used to work
for a trader down south or some
where.
Without the ceremony of knock on
the door, Mr.. Trentman entered a
room at the end of the shanty, and
there he found Lapelle reclining on a
cot. Two narrow Sits In puffed ex-
panse of purple grading off to green.
ish yellow indicated the position of
Barry's eyes. The once resplendent
dandy was now sorry sight.
Say began Trentman, after he
had closed the door, II want to know
just how things stand with you and
Martin Hawk. No beating about the
bush, Barry. l want the truth and
nothing else"
Barry raised himself on one elbow
and peered at his host. what are
you driving at. Jack?" he demanded.
throatily.
Are you mixed up with him in this
stockrunning businessf"
"Well, that's hi of a question to
ask a"
Its easy to answer. Are your"
Certainly not-and l ought to put
bullet through you for asking such
an insulting question:"
Hes in jail. charged with stealing
sheep and calves. and he's started to
talk Now look here IaDpllp I'm your