The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1936-05-14
CHAPTER XIII-Continued

udI 1TOLu the DOA anu SlAu TIC ihfOAtSN
glass over the small opening in the
top. Then he sat down to wait.
Hi! All loaded up, eh?"
The bee had appeared in the glass,
crawling about the interior intently,
seeking escape. Carefully, Young tipped
the tumbler to its side; the insect con-
tinued its investigation for a moment
and then, finding the way to freedom,
poised an instant on the rim and took
hasty wing.
AS the bee launched itself, Kerry
stood erect and tense, eyes on the
swiftly moving dot against the pale
sky. Out it went in a great circle and
back again, skimming over the box.
Wider it circled, and higher; again and
again it swooped above its newly dis
covered source of treasure, widening
the circle each time, and Young's body
moved as he followed the course. ).
Then, with a final swoop, the bee
Strengthened out, bearing a bit east
of north, and disappeared behind a
hemlOck stub.
"There!" he said and looked down
at the bewildered dog. That's the
way it works, Tip, and that's our job
for the Sabbath"
At his word Tip sneezed and Young
laughed heartily.
Hes taking the bacon home, chum!
He gave the box all those swings so
he'll know where to come for more
of what he found. Oh, yes, he'll be
back. He'll fight wind and distance
and anything but rain or cold to get
here so longs there's drop left. And
he'll tell his buddies about it, tooI'
More bees appeared on the firewood,
but Kerry gave them no heed. He
smoked and stood over his box, waiting
through a long half hour. And then
a louder buzzing, a more intent sound,
came out of the silence, and a bee
zOomed over the box, lighted on the
cover and disappeared within.
"And his gang!" the man cried in
triumph. His gang, Tip! See? Two
more three L. four seven!"
Singly and in braces they dropped
to the box, sought the hole and, up
ending, went through it out of sight
When no more appeared, Young
placed his hat gently over the hole,
picked up the box and, stepping care
fully over the tangle of down stuff so
as not to fall and invite temporary
disaster, made his way to the foot of
the stub where the first bee, homeward
bound, had disappeared.
Reaching there, he placed the box
on stump, removed his hat, slid the
upended tumbler- over the hole and
Squatted. Almost Immediately, bees
appeared inside the glass. He let three
show before liberating them and then,
with bated breath, followed their cir
clings until they had Strengthened out
and marked poplar tree, five rods
away, as the last certain point on their
course.
''Not so good, Tip" he muttered.
"Took that first Teller a half hour to
go and come. Maybe it's a big tree;
if so, he may have a lot Of crawling
around to do to get rid of his cargo.
But, even so, its a long ways off.
They'll do mile in five minutes in
country and weather like this. i.
Timber's not so far from here; they
won't fly so fast in there as they will
in this burning. And we won't be
able to see so far, either. -.
swell, it's like leap-frog. Come on,
chum, let's drag the duffle up!"
Again nearly half hour passed but
more helpers and when he moved the
box forward to the base of the poplar
tree, a handful of bees were trapped
there and when the last had gone, he
replenished the supply of honey which
served as bait from his bottle.
That was few minutes after eight,
just at the time when Nat Bridger,
drawn and gray of face, hammered
loudly ON Tod Vests door.
West answered sleepily from above
and after a short interval appeared
His greeting, which began with some
thing of his old geniality, petered out
to a crisp:
"What the devils up?"
Enough! l been tryin' to get you
for three hours by phone but either
you slept like hell or"
whats up, 1 asked youT-jaw
quivering.
swell, Young made getaway.
Must we had help from outside, looks
like. He's goner'
For moment the room was silent
and then came a hollow rattle: Tod
Vests teeth clicking as spasm of
fear shook his great frame.
you poor sapr' he rasped. "You
poor, simple :"
Bridger protested and West stormed
and explanations, excuses, regrets
mingled with condemnations.
I've done all / can. I've notified
every sheriff for two hundred miles.
He went east. Took my car and drove
a tire fiat md left it Chances are,
though, he's to hellangOnew
On this, something like relief flick
cred in Vests eyes but it was of short
duration. This Young was not the
sort of man who fees in the face of
as flimsy a charge as had been placed
against him. He had hoped at the
most to keep Kerry in safe confine-
ment until Bridger and the prosecutor
Stuart which would forever remove
from his own breast those cancerous
fears. But now
"Gone, eh?" he muttered. swell,
you've been made a monkey of by him.
How'll folks think of that when they
go to vote for sheriff again? l tell
you, Bridger, you got just one chance
that's to start things movin' against
Stuart and not let 'em stopI'
.'Wen, I'm tryin', amt i. But what
can l do when Ezra's Sittin' on the
evidence? I've got lines out to locate
Bluejay, but it's Ezra whc'u gum VI
. tha works 7"