Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1935-08-01

|
Hal bent over and snapped his fin
gers at Doc. The dog came at once.
hoped his forefeet up on Halls knee,
and tried to repay Hats. deft massag-
ing with ticks at his nose.
SOUNDED off at that fella Crack In
New York, didn't hep Kerrigan was
! saying.
| Hal looked. up and found Barry's
eyes on him, solemn again. and family
| hostile. "Yes;" she said, Then, "Here,
Doc" She. snapped the lead to his
collar, gave Kerrigan friendly smile
and said, II think I'll sit In the car"
They watched her walk away, her
arms swinging to the unstudied, in
quiring grace Of her long-legged steps.
Kerrigan's brown eyes were pleased to
| themselves, almost genial, as he looked
at Hal. Hollywood, guess" he said.
in odd gentleness.
Shouldn't wonder" said Hal.
Got everything" Kerrigan said, with
sort Of wistful benevolence. sought
to make the number-one spot If she
screens like her looks"
"And If Miller doesn't kill us ALL"
said Hal.
kerrigan sucked a wet breath
through narrowly parted lips HE
seems to lead easily In his Sleep I
guess he's all right. Anything't hap
pens comes under the head of expert
ence anyway, and that's profit"
II suppose So"
The twinkle was more personal as
Kerrigan watched him with amusement
and care. "Only supposeT' he said.~
Hal smiled. well, I haven't had
such hi Of lot-really."
"If fifty years can say anything to
you," said Kerrigan kindly, unurgent-
ly, II recommend the collecting Of ex-
perience. Cigar bands, postage stamps,
porcelains, even dollars aren't in it."
He stopped before Hal expected him
| to.
"You have collection?"
Decent" said Kerrigan without ar
rogance. Decent enough. Some have
escaped me because I've looked too
hard for 'em; there're couple of holes
| I'd like to fill"
| "Such as" said Hal.
tits probably different with different
collectors" Kerrigan said with polite
semblance of caution. Most people
would think the hole in mine was
little on the seamy side, perhaps" He
looked at Hal in detached honesty.
1--WE never been alone with man
man who deserved to be killed-and
killed him."
Hal searched for some trace of mad
ness in the brown, wise look, but he
could see none. He laughed shortly.
"Ill remember that" he said, land
let you know If anything turns up"
Kerrigan's eyes smiled in appreciative
warmth, and Hal let his own answer
them with an involuntary addition to
civility.
The after-lunch leg Of the journey
lay through more hopeful country.
There were strata Of good smells
smell Of new hay, of flowers, of the
fertile, country richness about cow
barns.
Barry's eyes, in the mirror, were
deep with their blue thoughtfulness,
far away from the car now, oblivious
of it's passengers and Of Halls studies
Of her smooth-featured solemnity. Once
or twice she looked In Cracks direc-
| ton, as If wondering what he might be
like; but not Halls straight, timber
back before her nor his quick, gray
eyes in the mirror, caught her curl
osity at all.
Then in the silence, watching the
endless concrete run in from the con-
tours and white-posted curves ahead,
Hal came slowly by an illusion of
some presence riding with them in the
car-something that had been there all
along but was perceptible only now
that the first stiff fringes of strange
ness had been talked away, were be-
ing dozed away. 1t seemed family
1 very family, when Hal tried to fix 1t
and examine it-portentous, like thun.
der muttering in the next valley after
su1try day.
The mans driving is getting me, Hal
thought: at my time of life, too. Or
is, it because the low hour Of the days
coming, without signs of bath or
clean clothes or whisky and soda?
Hal was honestly trying to marshal
some innocent and friendly remark to
draw Barry from her isolation-and
scare off his own faint uneasiness--
when somewhere down on the floor
the impetuous rattle of a smothered
alarm clock hurried up into the silence.
Doc sprang up, barking, and Mrs. Pull
sipher dove forward with a scared
grunt, as if for the start of shoe
| tying contest. Burrowing with grim
diligence into her black, near-leather
hold-all, she brought up the alarm
clock and stopped it just before II
could trail YEARLY off of itself.
"Why did you wind it again, John g.
she said all in a breath, her face red
her eyes angry as if she had been
lucky to escape with mere fright.
John was terribly embarrassed. "I-
III don't know" he said. Ill
don't know"
In the mirror, Hal watched Barry'i