Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1939-12-28

ace wall, riding slowly because the
sails was following on foot. He had
ridden about fifty yards to a curve
in the road when O'Leary stepped
forth from shadow. He didn't look
like O'Leary. He was wearing a
turban, and dressed like dripping
wet, dirty Hindu of no caste or os-
tensible occupation. Norwood drew
rein and listened, watching the road
for pedestrians.
81 didn't stable the mare in the
city. She's back in camp. I'll need
her later"
"What for?"
GAS soon as I'm dressed decent
again, I'll go back to the bazaar. I
told a yarn about coming back to
camp for more money. I'm going
to need it."
"What happened?"
"Plenty. I was right about Moor
Mahlam. They've ditched him. So
I did too. He was only ground bait.
He talked too much, then tried to
have me knitted to stop me talking.
They'd a trap set for me and I
walked straight into it. A woman.
I'll tell you about her later; she'd
fill dictionary"
sNever mind about the woman.
What happened?"
Nothing happened there. 1t
couldn't. I left your mare tied up
to the veranda railing, military
saddle and all, and your initials on
the bride. So they couldn't take
chances. And I could. And I did,"
"That's enough about you. What
happened?"
Kindergarten stuff. Confidence
game. The woman's bully fattered
me I knew the woman's sister in
Lahore, and he said the woman's
sister'd given me a rep for being
smarter than most, and a man O.
my word. Then he introduced me to
the woman. She's all honey and poi
son. Sister my eye. Two words,
and I knew she was lying about
that"
''Never mind her lies, or whose
sister she is. How much truth did
she tell your"
'Not much, barring that I'm the
most exciting man she'd ever seen.
She was true enough excited, so I
knew the bully was listening in; and
he weren't her proper bully nei-
Their; he was someone who'd been
rung in on her, and she scared O.
him and not used to his ways. She
said there'd be a thousand rupees
for me if I'd act discreet"
''Whose thousand rupees?" asked
Norwood.
"Trust your Moses O'Leary. l
asked her that quick. She said it
was Prince Rundhia's thousand ru-
pees. So I knew it wasn't"
"What does she want you to do?"
"She told me a mess o. lies about
Prince Rundhia having quarrelled
with the temple Brahmins, and him
wanting to get back at 'em, to spite
'em. She told me, and I acted sur
prised, that there's a diamond mine
in the temple area. There's a thou
sand rupees for me if I persuade
you to run your survey line slap
through the temple area, so that
the mine will belong to the Mahara-
jah instead of the temple priests"
'What did you tell herr"
81 said you're easy, but you're
honest. I said I'll have to find some
way of artfully deceiving you if
you're to do what's needed. I said
I'd have to look into it, and I made
her tell me where the mine is and
how to get look at it. She came
clean"
GLOW did she know"
"She'd been told. And she was
out of her depth already. She want
ed word with the bully, and she
tried to get me to stay where I
was. But thought of the bay mare
standing outside in the alley, and
she fidgety, and you fond O. the
mare and liable to find fault with me
if she should come to harm. And l
guessed it 'ud be wise to look into
the woman's story first"