The Ely miner., 1930-02-14

me TO persuade Mr. Sianley?"
"You don't need any help" told
her. "ie's persuaded"
"ls that true. Mr.. Stanleyi May {
have the case alone. for a little while
Ionger?" She was all breathess with
eagerness.
"Drat II all, yes" Sam said. "Tm
id II know what | ought to do.
But you are dead game. Il Well.
shake on 1t, Miss Macdonald. You'll
do the best yOd can for US, ] know"
The hand she held out to him was
trembling. and her voi"e as she thanked
him trembled But still | was amazed
when. right after Sam had gone out
Of the room, she said to me, "hlary,
| believe on my soul that have just
had an experience that is too strong
for me-" and hid her face In the
crook of her arm and began TO cry.
In the week that followed had
times of thinking that Sam had likely
made mistake in keeping Miss Mac.
DOHuIu OIi dlOue.
couldn't begin to describe the
horror Of that week. II is, suppose,
what hooks call paradox to Say that
the worst thing about the week was
that nothing, just nothing, happened.
To all outward appearances the Desert
Moon ranch was as peaceful as an
empty grave: hollow peace, false
peace, and all of us conniving at the
falsity made It worse.
Sam locked up the house early
every evening. Then, trying TO make
1t casual, one and another of US would
go sauntering around to make sure
that ha hadn't overlooked door, or
window. People were constantly
jumping, and starting, and looking
behind them at nothing. None OF Us
women ever went far from the house.
except Mrs. Kicker, who went every
day to visit Martha's grave She
went alone. I would not have gone
with her, not for any price. | was
afraid Of her. was afraid of Hu.
bert Hand. By Wednesday of that
week | was afraid of every one In the
house except Miss Macdonald and
Sam. Friday found me doubtful of
Sam. None of our minds went
straight, those days. am sure that
the T'nd of each one of us on the
place always excepting Miss Mac
Donald's-did as mine did II went
cropping In the dark: II bumped into
obstacles of doubt; II tripped over
fear ano fell into senseless stupidi-
ties; it lost its way, and wandered
into wild suspicious. | tell you, there
were times, during those frightful
days, when | found myself seriously
considering whether or not | had com.
mitted the two murders.
At that moment | was certain that
every one on The place was more or
less insane, especially Miss MacDon-
aid. think yet that was right
about the others. ] know, now, that
was wrong about Miss Macdonald: |:
but she had certainly given me plenty
of reasons for thinking either that she
had lost her senses entirely. or else
that she had never had any to lose.
All week could see Sam watching
her and growing more and more i'm
patient. On Thursday ne said to me
that she was too busy flirting with
John to have time for anything else.
That was not fair. She didn't flirt
with John-she wasn't the sort who
would flirt with anyone. But she
surely did begin to notice him, and his
attentions to her.
tried to make excuses for John.
Poor little Danny wasn't, had to
admit, much like the girl he had fallen
in love with. She had lost practically.
all Of her prettiness. and she looked,
all the time. too white and wan and
generally dragged out to seem quite
wholesome.
She had explained to John about
the-reference to her and to her doll
In the code letter. He had taken II
all right, and had been, as she said
to me, ''sweet" about 1t, and never
doubling her word at all. Still, sort
Of thought that /. grain of suspicion
might still be bOthering him. And !
knew that he had not been quite able
to forgive her, not for telling of her
suspicious concerning Sam. but for
suspecting Sam In the first place.
On Friday morning. when Sam came
zigzagging into my kitchen, ordered
Zinn:a out Of 1t, his voice all thick
and husky, he fell down into
chair. "Mary," he said, we've got
the report from the Frisco chemists"
Miss Macdonald had thought IL nee.
essary to have Martha's body ex-
humed and sent TO San Francisco.
That Is what the coroner and the un-
dertaker had been about on their sec
ond trip TO the -anch. Sam had not
wanted Mrs. Kicker to know. That
had suited Miss Macdonald better,
too; so they had had the men do the
work while we were all at dinner that
day. They had been careful to fix the
grave so that IL would not show that
it had been disturbed; and then. be-
ing men, they had left their shOvels
right there in the cabin for the first
person to find. AS you know, the first
person had been Mrs. Kicker.
We had been waiting ever since for
the chemists report Sans first
words were reassuring.
"It is too good . he true," he said,
and repeated, dazedly, ''toO good to be
true. Miss Macdonald had her as
sistants trace the prescription from
Doctor Roe. The powders were harm
less. didn't cause my girls death.
The report proves-Miss Macdonald
says The report proves"
take II easy, Sam. What does
the report proven"
~SnInphOdY gaye her q deadly nOiSOn