The Bozeman courier., 1927-07-15
PAGE NINE

"She knew" he said, choking a little
over his words. because she was here be-
fore-the only living witness. oh, now
understand! Give me moment-just
moment"
He dropped heavily to the ground and
held his head in his hands, while the
agitated Gabrielli gulped hard and
mopped his own forehead with gaudy
silk handkerchief.
"Well that's the first I knew they was
any quicksand in these yere woods!" mar
veled Angus Whirtie. IAN me born and
raised yere and passin' the spot every
blessed time druv' to town." He looked
around with a grieved air as though eX-
pecting public sympathy for his ignor-
ance Of this fatal man trap.
"It had something to do with Miss
Morrow Prof. Blount persisted. How
did she knoW?"
because" Roderick Blair explained,
"as Straker says-Alison was here, a
child of two years old when that same
quicksand buried her mother and John
Straker. ought to tell you, Alison, that
| 1 promised your father I would bring
you back to Blue River some day to see
! if your memory would reveal anything
to you. Your father never believed that
your mother ran away with John Straker.
| yet nearly everybody else thought so.
Even Miles believed 1T, and when he
heard your name and connected you so
painfully with his tragedy, he wasn't any
too pleased to have you at Blue River.
Tell me, my child-how do you remem-
ber it all?''
Alison pressed her hands to her tenn
Piles; there was that look in her eyes
which Blair had noted so often before,
the expression Of clear crystal in which
one ought to be able to read all things
Of the future and the past.
| IT remember went to pick a red f1ow-
er for my doll" she said slowly, land the
sand pulled me down and down. I
screamed and they both-a man and a
woman-rushed to drag me out. They
flung me clear of the sand but it caught
and buried them. I ran crying into the
woods. don't remember any more"
| She sank exhausted into Roderick
Blairs arms.
1T might be possible" suggested Prof.
Blount, respectfully scientific, Ito recover
the bodies"
Miles Straller gave him a curt negative.
mo, they'll rest where they are" he
said.
"An' put barb wire fence around it
an cross" added Angus Whirtie. my
old deef an dumb pap, he never believed
that story, neither. He allus said su'thin
had happened to 'em. He never believed
lold man Straker'd go of like that with a
woman and leave the kid to die in the
. wooos. That's why he stuck to Blue
River after everybody else'd cleared of
with their noses in the air.
There isn't much more to tell. The
lpicnic party tratled back to Straker's, be-
} ing in no mood at the moment to con-
, tinue their excursion to the Sulphur
Springs, and Prof. Blount occupied him
self for the rest Of the day in getting
as accurate information as he could Of
the old story.
: To his own satisfaction he proved a
} clear case for the couple who were sup
, posed to have eloped and abandoned a
Two year old baby to the mercy of for
est beasts and starvation. Whatever might
! have been their other intentions, they
5 had not done that. And was it likely
! Prof. Blount demanded-that Alison's
mother should have sent on a trunk
= ahead to her sisters if she meant to run
D away with John Straker, or that he had
( not even provided himself with money
S or single change of raiment?
:. Six weeks later when the little party
Y Of visitors said goodbye to Blue River
S they were the fewer by one than when
they arrived.
:, And that is why Victor Gabrielli finds
b 1T difficult to write the last act Of his
= play. Logically, he felt that he should bC
y the hero, when actually he had to play
S second fiddle and be nothing better thar
a best man at the wedding Of Mile:
: Straker and Alison Morrow.
e They bade him an affectionate adieI
s from the marble landing stage and HI
e passed out Of their lives forever, but the,
knew that they owed him great debt.
4 Copyright: 1926: BY Elizabeth Y Miller