Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1939-11-10
CHILD OF EVIL
''s; =s = sss s:--- By OCTAvUS ROY COHEN

voice cracked. She said, 'sWait a
minute!"
They waited. Babe took three
steps forward. She stood before JEFF
Butler.
She said, ''How did you know that
Kirk Reynolds was wearing glasses
that night?"
Jeff's head moved uncertainty on
his long, thin neck. He said, why,
ma'am Is. know he was wearin'
glasses
Babes words were quiet. They
carried accusation and conviction.
She said, eyes, Kirk was wearing
glasses. But listen-all of you: only
three persons in the world knew
that he was wearing them. One was
Kirk. One was me. And the third
person who knew was the man who
killed him." Her finger went out to-
ward the big swamp angel. "That
was you" she accused-.'It was you
that killed him, JEFF Butler!"
Looking down from the veranda
upon men with guns and a woman
with blazing eyes, Kay Forrest
found herself thinking, "Why, of
course it was JEFF Butler who killed
Kirk" There was no reason why
she should think that, no reason why
she should be thinking clearly at all,
except perhaps that the past twenty
minutes had been too dreadful for
her really to be afraid.
A man with rope and other men
with guns, incongruous against a
background of azalea. Men who had
come to commit mob murder; men
who had been deferred only by the
presence of a grim young man and
three women. Kay saw things hap
pening down there on the lawn. She
saw six swamp angels step back
from the man who had melted them.
She saw Babe Henkel move still
closer to JEFF. She heard Babes
voice, bitter, NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
"You killed Kirk Reynolds. You
probably came to get Barney Ham,
ilton-but it was Kirk that you muir
dered."
JEFF Buffers loose lips were work.
ing, his Adams apple bobbing con-
vulsively. He was holding tight to
his gun and looking around in des-
perate search for an ally. He
whined, II didn't do no such of a
thing"
Then how did you know he was
wearing glasses?"
II didn't know II Just
thought -
Babes eyes never left Jeff's face,
but she spoke to the others. Hes
lying. Kirk never wore glasses un-
til that night. Nobody else saw
him."
They knew it was true. Jeff's
fright was a confession of guilt. He
cringed. He clustered half-hearted-
ly. Dan Creedon stepped forward
and with a sudden, sharp gesture,
wrenched the shotgun from Jeff's
hand. jeff said, Gimme that :"
But he made no effort to retrieve it.
Then Babe Henkel spoke again
to the would-be lynchers. She said,
You came to get the man who
killed Kirk Reynolds. Well, you've
got him.
The swamp angels shuffled their
feet uneasily. They made no move
toward jeff They had been
reused to a peak of mob fury, and
now they had been dropped from
that peak. The lust fo- violence
had vanished. They were bewil-
dered and helpless. Almost apollo
getic. They whispered among them
selves and moved imperceptibly
away from jeff Butler and the wom-
an who accused him.
The climax had passed. Even Kay
Forrest felt the Tightening of ten
sion. And with relief came the dam
ger of hysteria. She glanced at
Mrs. Hamilton and Margaret and
saw that their faces were no longer
taut; that the fright had gone from
their eyes, but that their lips we're
none too steady.
Babe said, AREN'T you going to
do anything" The swamp angels
did not answer, and their silence
was all she needed. She swung on
Dan Creedon. Here's the man who
killed Kirk -
Dams voice was quiet. Better
take it easy, Babe
"Why?"
Because they'll convict this guy
for it. Doesn't that give you what
you WANT"
Barney stepped down from the
veranda, still grading his shotgun.
He moved warily toward the group
surrounding JEFF Butler. He was
very quiet about it: very sure of
himself. He raised the muzzle of
his shotgun and pressed it against
Jeff's ribs. He said, Get inside
the house."
JEFF protested Dan Creedon
snapped, Get a move on!"
JEFF made last despsiring plea.
You'll amt a-goin' to leave 'em
do me thisaway - But the
swamp angels were leaving. edginp