The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-01-10
They Totaled Exactly Three Thousand
Five Hundred Eighty Dollars.

the blinds of the two small windows
and lighted his candle.
What to do with the bundles of mon
ey? A key to the dead bankers safe
found the chance to open it and put
them back. He took the thick bundles
out of his blouse pockets and began to
count them. They tOtaled exactly three
thousand five hundred eighty dollars
one hundred seven twenties and one
hundred forty-four tens. The woods
mans eyes lifted at the amount. Such
a sum in five nights-it showed what
Hopkins might have done in time.
But what to do with it?-the man
bent his br0ws over the problem. 1t
is only Just to him-and the blood
that was in him-to state hat it never
so much as crossed him that he might
keep it, with probably nobody ever
the wiser.
It was too late to take it back to the
~red-roofed cottage that night, and too
bulky to carry in his pockets. Decid-
ing at last to hide it until next day
gave him a chance to take Texie into
his confidence, he wrapped the bundles
in a towel raised the rug; very care
fully loosened a board of the floor hid
the package under it; replaced the
board and rolled the rug back into
place with studied exactness.
Then he blew out the candle; raised
the blinds of the two small windows
and slipped out into the yard.
Twilight had long faded into dark.
Only an occasional candle picked out
the ragged outline of the village. A
dog fox back in the hills was trying to
tell the rest of the foxes how lonesome
he was. Over along Eagle run the frogs
erOaked-without interruption. He
listened to make sure.
CHANGING back at the cabin door to
make certain he had closed it, he
across the corner of the or
,hard; along the path at the base of
Black rock into the little park and
stole in under a dense clump of syringa
barely three steps from the rus
ic seat at Whispering spring.
For those who know how to listen.
lature has a thousand voices-and the
woods never sound a false note. A
,ood length of the night was gone
vhen the frogs along Eagle run gave
i'm the u he was expecting. He
Ould trace the progress of the enc
ade down the stream-dOubtless fresh
rom his task of making old money
ut of new at the deserted cabin-as
ell as if he had his eyes upon him.
Presently there came the very faint
reak of a rail where the path crossed
ne fence out of the fallow pasture lot
ito the little park. A moment later
hulking form bulked huge in the
loom; Black Bogus stole out of the
ladows and crouched down among
he gnarled maple roots at the end Of
le rustic seat.
The woodsman lay so close that ne
)uld hear him breathe. After listen
g intently for some minutes, the
renegade raised his hands to
IS mouth and gave the call of the
.reech owl. Jack found out what he
anted to know-Hopkins had not had
Ie chance to communicate with his
'nfederates.
Again and again Black Bogus repeat
his call, at intervals Of a few min
.es, until he had given it a dozen or
teen times, each time growing more
stless and disturbed. At last he ba-
n to swear, and the call began to re
mble less and less the %plaintive wall !,
the bird he Knocked. Finally he rose, !,
tened a moment and, with no very :
eat effort at concealment, stalked up =,
e path. y
The woodsman rose and softly fol =
Swallowed him up the branch
q into ti.@ mouth Of the hollow. At !.
e squalid hovel Of dead Henry Spen- =
r he yaulted the fence, stalked up
2 yard and pushed open the sagging :,
mr.. =