Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1925-04-17
CHAPTER xIx-Continued

stop therew he growled. "Well?"
What d'you want?"
They shifted uneasily in front of
him. "Wel, there's ben some grum-
bIin' about that gold, JIM" Shorty
youchsafed. 1.-The boys kinder seem
to think you amt plannin' to play fair
with 'em. They've put Kramer on
guard to watch the motor-boat in case
you might be amin to git away with
her"
whats thatT' snarled Railway.
He sprang to his feet. From the
door of the hut he could discern a
shadowy figure near the parapet. For
an instant he was about to rush at ii
In his rage. But then his cunning
came to his aid. He turned back into
the hut.
whats their game-and yours?"
Shorty hesItated. "Well, va see,
Jim, me and Pierre's allus stood by
va, and we kinder thought we'd let va
know the boys has been talkin' things
over among themselves"
Railway smiled sourIy. He knew
the pair of them would not have hest
fated to side with the mutineers If
they had thought there was any chance
of outwitting him. Pierre and Shorty
knew Railways vigilance, his infinite
resource.
spill it"
''Well, Jim, l guess they're gettin'
ready to rush you, now you've put out
your light. They're aiming to tie you
mp and git away with the gold in the
motor boat"
Just to tie me? They @wouldn't
hurt me?2 Railway snickered, and the
pair shuff1ed their feet uncomfortably.
He laughed. And his plans to meet
this situation leaped into his mind.
He must let the men attack, and then,
when he had finished with them, he'd
make short work of Pierre and Shorty,
and Estelle too. His confidence was
coming back.
'sThey sent me and Pierre to see II
you'd gone to sleep here"
"Well, / aint," Railway returned,
laughing again. He knew his non
chalance at once discounted and
bound them to him through fear. 1--WE
gone to the hut across the neck to say
good night to the girl, and maybe, If
she presses me, / won't be hurrying
away. Get that?" he asked, as they
guffawed self consciously.
you'll go back and tell 'em I'm
gone, Pierre. You got your gun,
Shorty? All right. You and NELL
have a quiet little session in the
swamp, waitin' for 'em to come along
the trail one by one-eh, Shorty?'
He clapped each one on the shoulder.
"There's gold enough in that sack to
make us three millionaires, and there'll
be a d---n sight less sharing" he said.
And listen, boys. I've cached 1t, so,
If I'm croaked. nobody'll get 1t. See"
The men were fools anyway, but
trebly so when their cupidity was
aroused. Railway imagined the greed
leaping into their eyes, and laughed,
He was reckless now. The hooch devil
rode him at last And in his minds
eye he saw the picture.
And what holocaust for Joyce
No one could prove anything, either,
even if they caught him. And the
bodies of Lee and Pelly would never
be found. There was Estelle, of course,
but whatever happened, she would
never give him away
Curiously, Estelle, who had doomed
so prominently as his chief difficulty,
now assumed an insignificant part in
the problem. He didn't even consider
what disposition he was going to make
of her.
you get back, Pierre, and say you
met me going over to the neck" he
said. "And hold 'em twenty minutes"
Pierre departed. Railway and
Shorty went softly out of the hut
among the pines Railway felt sure
enough of his companion TO walk in
front of him.
They heard the voices of the men
about the fire rise into loud declama-
tion as Pierre returned: then the
sounds were cut off as they turned
along the track through the morass.
Presently the stables came into sight
above the reeds, and the hut beyond,
with light In it.
Railway could see the silhouetted
figures of the two women, Joyce in a
chair, motionless, and Estelle upon the
bed beside her. He swore through his
teeth as he watched them.
Il guess this place will do" he said
to Shorty.
They squatted among the reeds,
Aheir pistols in their hands. II had
been showing internationally through
the night, and it was an eerie watch,
even for the unimaginative. in the
bitter cold and blackness. The night
wind rustled the dead stalks of the
reeds; the muskeg, more treacherous
for the surface ice that concealed,
but could never bind it, stirred and
heaved impereeptibly, like a vast sea.
Across the neck Of land the flames Of
the camp fire fiickered against the