The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1932-11-11


nothing else, and the half-open drain
cock merely suggested one of the many
road accidents that may happen.
Obsessed by the thought that the life
Of Betty's father might be hanging in
the balance for the lack of the instru-
ments in the surgeons bag, he snatched
it and the penciled map out Of the
car, and with the f1ashlight for a Ian
tern, started on afoot.
Hour after hour he pushed over a
road which finally became no road at
all, but upon which he could OCCASION
ally see the tracks of an automobile.
It was these faint tire marks that
kept him going, and it was not until
the grazing dawn found him hating to
stare at way-worn car drawn up in
front of log cabin beside the road,
which here ended abruptly, that the
suspicion that he had been cleverly
victimized struck him.
Before he could recover from the
blow the cabin door opened and an I'M
shaver, gray-haired man came out to
voice establishment at finding that he
had visitor.
swell, well, stranger! Where on top
Of earth did you tumble from?" he
called out.
Briefly, and hurriedly, Markham ex-
planned, and the gray-haired one
laughed.
Somebody's done played mighty
mean joke on you, reckon. Their
amt nothin' the matter with old Doc
tor Bonehunter, as we call him. He
was down here yiste'day to see If /
wouldn't drive the Lizzie to town and
fetch him out some more picks and
! shovels. The place where he's bone
diggin' is only about six mile on
through the hills. He amt hurt none.
No! reckon lisa joke, and I'll say
it was a mighty mean one. You been
trampin' all night?"
"a good part of it," said Markham,
convinced now that he had been gotten
out of Brewster by subterfuge Then,
overwhelmed by sudden realization of
what the plot might mean not only to
himself, but also to Lands and pos
sibly to Betty, ut isn't a joke; it's the
way bunch of crooks took to get me
CO of town and lost in these hills
You've got car and it will be worth
a hundred dollar bill to you to get me
back to my car and give me gas enough
to run me to Brewster. Will you
do it?"
IF 1 had the gas wouldn't hold
you up for no robbin' deal like that.
But amt got it; don't reckon got
more'n enough to run to some place
where / kin bora enough to get in
with. More'n that, got to do little
tfnkerin' on the Lizzie afore she'll run.
You come on in an we'll see what-all
we kin do with the li'r old buzz
wagon"
Markham entered the cabin with his
host and helped him cook breakfast
of bacon and pan-bread. He learned
that his entertainer was prospector
and that his name was. Jackson Griggs;
also that he knew Starbuck WELL
"Sure, i know Billy" was the way he
put it; ''knowed him when he used to
punch cows in other end o. the Park"
After breakfast they fell upon the
outworn flivver. The old machine was
little more than wreck; overhauling
killed all of the forenoon before it was
completed; period in which Mark
hams anxiety became a maddening
thorn in the flesh.
What had the plotters, whoever they
were. been doing in his absence? What
had they done to Lands? That Owen
too, had been put out of the way, he
could not doubt for moment. That
was the meaning of the telephone call
which had taken Lands out of the
hotel-a call doubtless sent by the
gray-haired accomplice who had gained
access to the Little Alice offices and
had posed as the bookkeeper. Then
there was Betty. Wasn't her danger
as great as that which menaced Lands
and himself? For she knew-she must
know-that she was the one who. at
Canby's instigation. had opened
Owens safe for the abstraction of the
black box
At the long last the car consented
to run, and the return to Brewster was
begun. 1t was slow business over
the wretched road, and Markham's
need of sleep was so overpowering that
he slept in his seat most of the way.
AS Griggs had predicted, he had
barely gas enough to enable them to
reach the first house on the paved
road; but here they borrowed enough
to make the run to town. At the
hotel entrance Markham pressed lib
eral reward upon the old prospector
and hurried in. AS ne passed through
the revolving doors a man accosted
him. 1t was Stillings; and before he
spoke, Markham had read the story of
anxious worry in his face.
Miss Betty" said the lawyer quick
ly. "Do you know what has become
of herr"
II left her at your house last night
about nine o'clock. Do you mean to
say"
"!She didn't go into the house." Still