The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1943-02-11

/ SS-44CNA4A42S - ~ 49, 49,
And the two of them are the stage
robbers; that's something else I'd
bet my boots on.
"You sound like you knew what
you're talking about" said Cody. II
| gather the same idea as you do
about the hold-up. But how come
you cinch the shooting Of Early Bill
on Tom Gough?"
'You don't see a man wearing a
new hat every day, Cody. Early
Bill, before he checked in his chips,
told Doc Joe and the Judge how he
had whanged away at the hombre
that ported him; how he had shot
the feller's hat of. He said, Watch
out for man with hat with a
hole IN il, or man without any
| hat at all, or a man with a brand
new hat Now climb on your pony
and let's travel"
And at the ranch house, while Cal
Roundtree and Cole Cody were CIV
ing their attention to Waldron and
Tom Cough, Aunt Jenifer was busy
ing herself in her own fashion. She
scurried post-haste to her own room,
closed the door and was going to
lock il when she discovered there
was no key In the lock. She hurried
to AIMS room adjoining. The door
was closed but unlocked; no key
there either.
But she thought, that Waldron
mans door is locked. He's got a
key. There ought to be others some
where. So, carrying her lamp, she
went proving through the house,
key-hunting. She looked at all locks
en- PEASANT, she opened all drawers
| IN tables and dreSsers, she ran her
fingers along cupboard shelves. She
came to closed closet and opened it
to peer inside, and, of all places,
found key In the lock within the
! closet.
She tried II in her own lock; it
| fitted and she shot the bolt home.
She locked herself IN and went to
AIMS door, the farther one opening
upon the corridor. 1t fitted there,
too. Another hnlfl It seemed as
though all the locks in the house
were the same. And right then the
inspiration and the temptation
assailed her to try her key On still
another door. If it worked on these
locks, why not On Rance Waldron's?
She scurried to that door through
which Waldron had passed so many
times, always locking it behind him.
And the key fitted the lock, and
the door opened! She was thrilled
with a sense of adventure and was
also just a mite frightened.
She entered bedroom that was
in considerable disorder. She
glanced at the bed itself with its
covers dragging on the floor; then
around the room until her eyes came
to full stop at a table on which
there were some papers and couple
| Of penciled account books. She
tipped over pages: Cattle bought
and sold; numbers IN the various
herds, cost and sales prices; that
sort Of thing for the most part.
| Among the scattered papers was a
new letter signed by Andy Jenkins.
| It said:
Deer Bill, done my job all
right, better than you specialized
| what mean is ! got the whole ten
thousand and am bringing II with
me only I am staying day with
my relations and will ketch the
stage next day.
Yours truly,
Andy jenkins"
$50 that's f." Aunt Jenifer mum
| bled to herself. THAT Waldron dev-
il found this letter and got busy, him
and the man he's been hiding in
here all day. No wonder he wanted
to get rid of US"
She crunpled the teIl-tale letter
IN her hand and hurried into the
| other room and tried the door lead
ing to the outside; again the key
| fitted. She closed the door again
and began taking stock Of this Sec
| ond rooms contents. There was a
splotch on the floor; q rug had evil
| IDENTIFY been drawn TO cover II, then
| its edge turned over by careless
| foot as the two men departed. And
| that spot looked to Aunt Jenifer like
q blood smear. So she leaped TO
the same conclusion that had Of
fered itself to Cody and Roundtree.
On the next step she was already
| decided. She would unlock the out
| side door again, leave II unlocked,
| but closed, make her retreat through
| Waldron's room, slip out of his door
| that led into the corridor, lock that
door and carry her key of with
her. Then when he came home and
found his outer door unlocked he
would have something to think
about; when he missed the Jenkins
letter which he had been too great q
| fool to destroy or hide, he'd have
still more matter for thought.
But there wouldn't be the vaguest
hint to make him think that this had
been an inside job. And even though
| for one reason or another he did
get the idea that Aunt Jenifer had
had something to do with il, he
| couldn't really be convinced-and
he'd be mighty careful about speak
ing of It to her, for fear Of tipping
his hand. And watch her play inno-
cent tomorrow!
Now she wanted to hurry faster
than ever, for she kept telling her
self that she was Ii den of muir
derers. Yet she kept telling her
self also that now was her one and
only chance to make a thorough
search in these two rooms.
Well, she had done all she could
now, and had better scamper for
her own quarters.
So she did as she had planned,
unlocked the outer door, removed
the key and turned to retrace her
steps through Rance Waldron's door.