The Coolidge examiner., 1933-08-25
The Man From
BlaXtOn
By CLARISSA MACKIE
q. by Mcclure Newspaper syndicate.
WNU Service

lie." he said deliberately, did ! see
you last night at the dance with
Bill Hinker?"
Were you there, dad?" smiled AL
mira Kent.
Il certainly was-and there was
whole posse with me-" retorted the
sheriff bluntly. Perhaps we were
looking for somebody that you'd
been dancing with, my girl :"
She flung up her brown head and
revealed glorious dark eyes fringed
with black. "Of course Bill took me
you know l have been out with
1 him before"
Il know il, Allie. And your moth
er and have both asked you not
to have anything to do with him"
IF you would only tell me what
Bill has DONE" she hesitated.
We'll. he has been mixed I'd in
all kinds of messes, Allie The time
has come when he has got to be
WELL suppressed. He drinks like a
fish-gambles, morning, noon and
night, has been suspected of several
holdups, and there were witnesses to
prove that he was the masked man
who held up the bank on Monday.
He has all the brass in the world,
daughter, and he must have cleaned
up lot of gold from that robbery
1t is a wonder that he hasn't asked
you to run away with him-he is
that kind and the neighborhood Is
getting too hot for him, | guess"
Almira's face reddened deeply.
Perhaps her father had guessed the
truth-for she had promised to
elOpe with Billy Hinger.
And now. her father seemed to un-
derstand all about it. even to the
planned elopement
Who is that man. father?" asked
Almira with sudden interest, as a
rider swept into the gate and dis
mounted from a spirited black horse.
That? Oh, that's the man from
Blaxton." muttered her father and
went down the steps to greet him.
The two men talked together In low
tones, and Almira. sewing In her
small rocking chair, guessed that it
was police business"
After a little while the man from
BlaxtOn rode away and the sheriff
came back TO the porch for a mo-
ment before calling for his own
horse. you better not elope to-
night. Allie" he said tersely.
AS Almira sat there, thinking
busily. she heard cautious footsteps,
and then, in the small grove of
young walnut trees, she glimpsed
Billy Hinker's heavy face and mo-
tioning finger. Then he dropped
down among the walnut sprouts She
did not know that Curly Rob. one of
the cowboys. had also seen that
brief appearance OF young Hinker.
and that even now he was whisper
ing a message over the house tele-
phone.
SO the girl dropped her sewing
and picking up a magazine, saun-
tered over TO the walnuts where
there was a seat under the largest
tree. Here she sat down and pre-
tended TO read. but her downcast
eyes were fixed on Billy Hinker.
Get one of your dads horses for
me-" he whispered hOarsely. 81 got
to get out of the country right now,
see? The sheriff and his posse are
after me-see? You want me to
get pinched?" he asked acutely.
'Of course not, Billy But /
think if you just tell dad what you
told me-abOut taking the blame for
another fellow-he will see you
through. | know he will"
He stared at her. astounded. II
don't get you!" he said cOntemptu-
ously. You told me that you'd be.
my girl-and now when | ask you
10 get me one of your dads horses
TO save me-you sit up and yap
about something else"
'Ill get you my own horse, Billy.
Poncho is my very own, and | have
a right to"
Get him, then" snapped the
young man sharply.
Almira ran to the corral and
caught her pretty black horse, which
she saddled She mounted him,
walking him leisurely around the
house toward the walnut shoots. Just
as she slipped out of the saddle Billy
Hinker leaped onto the horse and
went tearing out Of the yard and
down over the eastern trail toward
the mountains. Five minutes aft
erward her father and the man from
Blaxton. heading a posse. swept past
the house. and turned down the east
ern trail. Almira tainted.
a couple of hours afterward, AL
mira awakened in her cool little
room 10 find her pretty mother sit
ting beside her, looking terribly worn
and anxious. "Oh, mother, is daddy
all right?" was her first question.
and when her mother nodded she
gasped a question about Billy
Hinker
Caught" said her mother briefly.