Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1944-01-28
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behind him not very far is another
senior following him. This is Senior
Chatfield. Pancho and I recognize
him but we do not speak. We are
loafing on the street near the wharf
all the time, and soon Senior Chat
field comes walking very fast to-
ward the town. He does not see
us. Pancho asks: What is his hur-
ny, Felipe?' and say I do not
know. Then wonder if the senior
with the fine clothes is still out on
the wharf. And say to Pancho,
Let's 60 and talk to the senor,' be-
cause he is I'm gran caballero, and
perhaps we can sing for him.
"Well, senior, we go, Pancho and
I. But he is not on the wharf. We
think the launch has come and TAX
en- him, only the time is too short.
But we do not know
Silence fell upon us at the con-
clusion of this lengthy account. Rog-
ers thanked the youth and turned
to Lombardo.
"Senor," he said, "are you salts
fed now, as 1 am satisfied, that
when Sam Chatfield separated from
Dwight Nichols at the hotel that
night, he followed George Rumble
to the wharf because he feared that
Rumble would tell what he knew,
and killed him with the knife he had
taken from Reed Barton's room?
And threw the body from the wharf
and tossed the bag and the weapon
after him, and then returned to
meet the others of the party at the
hotel?"
eyes, Senior Rogers, I am salts
fed"
1.-THE death of Sam Chatfeld can
have been only an accident. It &C.
CURED before the fate of George
Rumble was known, and for that
reason confused me. A perfectly
natural accident, I should say, and
a fate justly due the man."
II agree, senor."
Rogers abruptly left us and went
to the companionway. He disap-
peared for a few minutes, then re-
turned carrying the huge black SOM
brero with its silver ornaments. He
stopped before US, turned the hat
upside down and his fingers slip
inside the sweatband. He drew out
slip of paper, and held it out to
Lombardo.
"The handwriting is that of Rum
ble," he said. I noted the imma-
ture, schoolboy writing I'd seen be-
fore. "You can verify it at the
newspaper office. You will note the
names in the following order: Mad
ison, Barton, Rogers, Nichols, Chat
field, Chesebro. Those are names
of the men in this party, excepting
Rumble's. You note that every
name is crossed out in the same
heavy pencil line, except the name
of Chatfield. For what it's worth,
it's the evidence, Senior Lombardo,
offered by a dead hand. BY what
means he discovered Sam Chat
fields guilt we'll never know. The
slip was found only last night"
II am satisfied, Senior Rogers"
Lombardo repeated, rising. 81 shall
60 ashore now and set Pedro free.
He cannot be guilty now"
AS the two shook hands and went
down the ladder, followed by Felipe
and Pancho, the launch appeared
with Elsa, Margaret and Berta, ca
ger now to come aboard, to leave
Mazatlan behind them. They paused
to say goodby to Lombardo and
Doctor Cruz and the two boys, and
then came up the ladder.
We slowed the launch and dashed
it down, and an hour or so later in
the full sunshine that beat down
upon us out of a hot sky we lifted
anchor and dropped down stream
toward the long swells of the open
ocean.
(THE END)