The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1941-01-23

A look of despair came upon lips
momentarily closed; she spread her
hands hopelessly, and then said,
Its always true that one lie has to
be covered with another, and an
other. Bill Hollister lied at the
Chino Drake inquest"
Inside Walt Candy everything
seemed to stop. He sat like stone.
Steadily Helen went on: 'He lied
about being on the south rims that
day the cook was killed. / know,
because / was on the south rims
then myself. Bill wasn't there. Now
win you give me the bullet?"
He shook his head. Il haven't
got it."
"But you can get it for mel" she
said quickly Cant your"
Tomorrow, maybe, in town. 1
suppose Wen be called in for a
hearing over Powell"
"And then, Walt, you'll CO." The
girls voice was all at once surpris-
ingly tender.
Candy looked at her. you'll tell
me nothing, Helen?"
"Only this, there's going to be no
war on the Emigrant range, no more
killing. I'm working our troubles
out here"
"You arel" Then Walt Gandy's
smile came slowly, the fine lines
crowfooting his bronzed skin. "All
the more reason for me to stick. Do
you think for minute I'd quit?
Curiosity if nothing else would keep
me hanging around. But I'm in this
as much as anybody. I'm in the
groove, and I'll see where it leads,
regardless!"
'You mean that?"
''Why not?"
Helen Cameron half rose from the
bench, hands on the table edge. and
once more the color was gone from
her face. She dropped back. "You
don't know what you're doingl You
can't! What if you are in it? Go
ahead and throw your life away
and even that wouldn't stop all this
horrorl But / can stop it-and I'm
going to!"
She'd try, no doubt of that, in
whatever way seemed open. Yet to
Walt Candy a forced note in this
breathless outburst had too much
the sound Of lashing herself into do
ing something almost beyond her
nerve.
His glance shifted out the WIN
dow into rapidly graying afternoon.
He avoided her desperate eyes, but
could still hear the oyerwrought
quickness of her breathing. Abrupt
ly it ceased; and then in a darting
look he caught the focus of her gaze
fixed beyond him.
Slowly, Candy turned, and was
aware that he had been sitting with
his back to the closed hallway door.
In the instant of that discovery he
knew the meaning of the girls look.
They were not alone in this housei
He sprang up. But Helen was
ahead of him in reaching the door.
Backed against it, both hands be-
hind her gripping the knob, she con-
fronted him cold as steel: Don't
you darel'
Candy reached in under his coat,
came out with the thirty-eight, and
at sight of it her face blanched.
She choked "Waltl" came from
lips that were suddenly trembling.
Sharply he said, "I don't want to
hurt you. But I'm going i'm With
his left arm around her he took the
two small fists in his one. She
struggled.
"I'm sorry" said Candy. "Things
like this have gone far enough. I'm
going to see who is in there-who
has been listening to my talk!"
He had the girl at one side of the
easement now, released her abrupt
| ly, grabbed the knob and flung the
door inward. In the same move he
thumbed back the gun hammer.
The door banged hollowly. Moth
ing sounded after that. For a Sec
ond Candy waited, then stepped
from the kitchen into dim part of
| the house where he had not been
before.