The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1939-01-12

talking about. Old Man Coffee has
been loading you with Look here:
is he in on this?"
"I'm virtually certain he knows.
though he figured it out different
than did,"
Figured out what? Spit it out.
mani"
Horse" said Wheeler with more
sadness in his voice than he had
ever known in the world before. 'T
can name you every step Of
Horse Dunn's voice blazed up.
breaking restraint I'm Gods name.
how did you find out?"
"From something Marian said.
After the first shot at her, she said,
I'm glad it happened. I can't tell
you why know now what she
meant by that. Those shots proved
to her that no one who loved her
was mixed up in the Short Crick
works. And today it suddenly came
to me that just to fix that idea in
her mind might have been reason
enough for dropping those shots
near her. Then I remembered the
night when you taped up your ankle
where it was skinned, and spoke of
Strengthening your spur. Of course,
a spur doesn't skin mans ankle
bone. Some boot weapon would have
to do that; and a derringer would
have fitted ina derringer carrying
a shotgun shell. The shot in the
saddle fooled Coffee, for a while:
it looked to him like it came from
farther away than the horses had
stood apart. and made him think
there was a third man. But / just
happened to think that the shot could
have come from short, weak gun
with the same effect. Well"
Wheeler finished-"Coffee has been
to Pahranagat; he found out that
Flagg came through there like a
bum"
"Dear God," Horse Dunn whis-
pered. "It's-the end of the rope. T"
He pulled his hands away, and be-
gan to pace the two strides that the
cell permitted-back and forth,
back and forth.
Marian" Wheeler begged, "tell
him you see"
Marian raised her face, surpris-
ingly in command of herself again.
Her voice was steady. ST do see
it! l see it ALL"
Dunn's pacing stopped: he raised
big shaking hands, pleading hands.
"And yet you-you ain't-you don't
think"
Marian cried out to hin-and
there was pain in her voice, but
there was glory in it, too-"I think
nobody ever loved anybody so much
as you have proved you love mel"
ST II can't hardly believe''-
Horse Dunn sagged down onto the
bare steel cot within his cell. 'Mar-
ian, if you're telling me that you
you know-and yet you're backing
me, still"
The girl was pressed against the
bars that kept her from him. "I'm
telling you that believe in you with
all my heartl"
Horse Dunn stood up slowly, like
man in a dream.
The light within the concrete walls
had strengthened with the rising o.
the sun-or perhaps it was only thai
their eyes had become more &C
customed to the half-dark; but nov
they could see that into Horse
/ Dunn's face had come a war-hk'
glory. Once more he looked like ;
young man. The girl reached
through the bars and upward t.
grasp his great shaggy head be
tween her hands.
He said, "How much have yol
told her, boy?"
"She knows only what shes
! guessed, l think. The rest of thu
story has to come from you"
The boss of the "a appeared t.
consider for what seemed a lonl
time. "I-I don't know as l cal
make out to do that. Life hasn'
gone easy, or smooth, with me
Other times, long ago, I've facet
down other men, more men thar
these. But I swear I never raised
gun to any man, without he got hi:
breakl l stood with empty hands
always, until their guns showed
from the leather"