Show 6 lot OLIVER 4 CA C T B E GEORGE EORGE BARR mccutcheon COPYRIGHT OELL NU SERVICE CHAPTER IX 9 oliver may withdraw the ensuing three weeks were vere busy ones for or oliver ire he was oft off election beering by day and out speechmaking by night in district schoolhouses in town halls balls and at mass meetings held at the county seat the opposition press stirred to action by the harassed mr gooch printed frequent reports ot of their search for old oliver baxter baiter they made sensation out of two or three minor discoveries such as the finding of an old straw hat in one of the pools and tile the unearthing of a stout spade handle at the edge of the swamp not tar far from where the he old man and his son bad parted company t malone and his gang of italian laborers were conducting the quest leisurely the chief operative was bored admitted it to oliver and mrs grimes and lizzle lizzie meggs and to the high heavens besides mid afternoon of a windy jay day in october it was the nineteenth to be exact he be sat in the shelter of the kitchen wing ills his chair propped against the lie wall reading a book lie he yawned dawned frequently and seemed to be habin having 9 great difficulty in keeping his pipe going from time to time he dozed ills his partner charlie his name was out in the swamp directing the efforts of eight or ten men who were sounding the scattered mud mod holes with long poles or digging q random in sections where the earth was sufficiently solid to bear the weight of man or beast these men were nere now dow far out beyond the wire fence within a hundred yards or so of the pond mr Mal malones rest was disturbed shortly before three by the arrival ot of oliver october the two had become quite good friends say malone would you mind calling off those grave gravediggers dIggers of yours for halt half an hour or so so I 1 am expecting a committee here at three a clock sure said malone ue he got up slowly lowly ney hey he shouted over his shoulder come out a 0 knock oil its four la in new york lie added in an aside to oliver As ive said before sir air baxter its all d d foolishness digging up your place like this mrs grimes says the house is likely to fall down donn on our heads at any minute danute said oliver she notified Doti fied me die this noon that our hired gill lizzle lizzie bleggi has decided to give up her place unless your men fill up some of the graves dug ui it my cellar ill have eni put some planks over those holes said the detective that reminds roe me now that stopped work under the porch you might call off your jour watchdog give the old boy a little deeded rest oliver walked to the corner joseph sikes was sitting on the back steps his coat collar turned up about liis ills throat his aged back bent alint double his chin resting on the mit toned hands that gripped tile the head bead of his cone cane his wrinkled irin kled face screed eed up into it a dogged clogged scowl better step into the kitchen uncle joe and ask lizzle lizzie for a cup ot of hot coffee works over for today the h 1 it Is groI growled ed mr slices sikes without changing his position let him alone said malone alone SI good gond natu iles hes butell hatching ng out some new trouble for me As tor for fink ink hes down there in the swamp from morn mom log ing till night supervising ising the whole blamed job they are abe th best friends ive got in the world malone said oliver earnestly well well clear you sos you can have your committee meeting in peace said the detective 1 I haie hae put it up to county headquarters malone said mild oliver in an emotionless tone as to whether I 1 should may in the race or withdraw what do you mean withdraw asked the det detective elive sharply well its only fair to give them a chance to put pui someone else on the ticket in my place if they feel come off youve got old gooch licked to a standstill so what hat the devils got into you were not going to find your fat fathers tiers hotly body my boy ilow how 10 to lo you yon know you are not going to rind nud it was olivers sus pris ins 1119 question malone malovic started what has hag caused you yi to 10 change your tone like this bixter iti getting on my nerves malono malone 1 ilowit mind saying so said the lounger man frowning 1 I lart rou fou said bald malone it ines eg give a fellow the ol livera but now dow petting getting pir im the ticket you do anything vi PC ena nort hurt B baxter lucym malone SI alone I 1 can feel it in the air that a great many people believe I 1 know what became of roy my father mr air slices sikes who had shuffled around the corner overheard the remark ue he fairly barked it dont make a particle of difference what abat they believe provided nobody Is able to find the corpus delicti got cot to dig up your fathers corpus delicti before what in thunder are you laughing at sir moone EI none to whom this question quest loo was addressed in sir mr slices sikes most aggressive manner put ills his hand to his mouth and succeeded in replying with as straight a face as possible ive been reading an awfully funny book mr sikes its about detectives there Is no telling what mr sikes would have said to mr malone about detectives in general if the delegation from headquarters had not arrived a minute or two later CHAPTER X the corpus delicti the automobile came swinging up the drive on the tall of mr malones defensive explanation eipl oliver hurried oil off to greet the occupants of the car mr sikes hobbling bobbling along in his wake malone refilled ills his pipe as he strode across the stable yard in the lee of the barn he scorched his fingers his gaze waa avas fixed on the swamp far out in the danger zone a number of men were compactly grouped A soli soil tary figure was running toward the baxter house while from the main highway to the right of the slough a dozen or more scattered people were picking their way gingerly across the intervening space the detective dropped the charred match and started briskly down to meet the runner he was no longer bored he was an alert vital keen sensed hunter bunter of f men mrs grimes stood on the front porch as the three committeemen cumi tumi entered the house mr sikes ambled up as they disappeared through the door ile he stopped short in the gravel walk just below where abere mrs grimes was standing standen stand ln ile he felt that it was necessary to lower loner his voice weve were only six more days to go serepta Sc Se repty lie he said this Is the n nineteenth yes ile he ali wl be thirty on the twenty fifth I 1 cope hope be satisfied joe sikes I 1 tie he pondered gloom gloomily liy setting back there on tile the kitchen steps I 1 got to chinkin th inkin about the last time I 1 was up here before old ollie disappeared I 1 wonder it if you remember her what nhat he said to me and silas setting right here on this porch 1 I remember the poor old thing saying he go to sleep nights because he was afraid a mob would come up to the house and take oliver october out and hang him for something hed never done 1 I guess maybe that was it and another tiling thing tie he say lie be blame oliver it if lie he up and heat beat ills his brains out for letting that gipsy queen lift the veil and cause all tills this worry what are you trying to get at joe alkes oh particular I 1 just thought id warn arn you not to say anything thin about our talk that hut night nigh t LP e chally caully what he sold said about oliver beatin hie brains out I 1 menn mean he be added sternly ernly sl that hint you find and me and silas vever never heard him say anything like that then or any other time got into you joe im just giving you a few instructions tl sarepty Se repty in case anything dues does li impsen ippen youre so BO darned good and fig as the saying buying Is that ive myself sick over you I 1 mean anjean about swearing to a lie ile 1 I would swear to a million of them she cried it if it would mould be any help to oliver october birds of a feather said mr sikes rather proudly come colne in and have a cup of coffee joe said she she come came down from the porch and together they started fur the rear of tile the house look out yonder joe in the swa swamp tilli she cried suddenly kud denly pointing trough the fringe of trees theres there u crowd 1 sarepty Se repty he moaned they they have found something out yonder I 1 feel 4 11 in 1 my buries bones tile the corpus delicti I 1 guess I 1 wont have any coffee ill just mosey out there und and see happened walt wait a minute that silas link coining across this swamp they stood istook and waited in due time 1 silas panted ills up the lie incline aud and came churning toward ward tatai mr sikes stalked forward followed by bj mrs grimes well demanded the former they fished up a puffed mr link absolute clience lence til except tor for the painful wheezing of thelast the last speaker Bp eaker ollies Ol lles asked mr sikes at last no telling unrecognizable it must have had clothes clot lies on put in mrs afro grimes stoutly you know ollie baxters clothes clothe if yo yon 11 got any clothes clot lies on no clothes on demanded mr sikes then it cant be ollie he ere had bad his new suit on mr link hesitated that detective says the chances tire are that whoever did the killing stripped the body and burnt the clothes he be said slowly reigh weightily tily A longer silence than before mr links listeners seemed turned t to 0 stone finally mr sikes moistened hla his stiff lips what do you mean silas by by killing I 1 it if you feel sort of squeamish se repty reply begun began mr link considerately haibe maibe be better im not squeamish retorted the redoubtable little woman go on the top of the skull Is smashed in split wide open announced the news bearer in a hushed sepulchral voice then apparently eager to get it over with lie he hurried on have died a natural death have committed suicide somebody hit him over the head bead with a heavy instrument most blast likely an ax or a hatchet burled buried six or eight feet deep in a mud liole they pulled up a hand first with one of them poles with a hook on it then they set to work scoop scooping ng out the hole with shovels gasn wasn t long before they got down where they could dont tell any more mope dont tell any more quaked mrs grimes lean on me sarepty Se repty 1 said mr sikes who it if anything was as weaker than she sent tor for the pollee police and for my men went on mr link and telephoning tor far the sheriff and coroner and everybody else look at the automobiles rushing down that way and people running on foot and oh my lord joel joe if it should turn out to be ollie it will it will look mighty bad for oliver october I 1 the news spread like wildfire be 1 fore nightfall everyone in rumley knew that the body of oliver baxter had been found and that he had been foully murdered and then came the startling rumor that old man baxter had bad gone to his safety deposit box in the vaults of the bank three lays days before his disappear 1 ance and bad removed five lib i erty bonds rumor kumor pure and simple yet acce accepted lAed as tact fact by those who roamed the streets A grave unanswered question too had bad to do with the money so lavishly spent by young oliver several thousand dollars in cash where had it come from simple simpie as rolling off a log I 1 there much doubt era as to where and how oliver got his ready cash I 1 cut but to split ills his own fathers head open with a spade and throw him into a supposedly bottomless pit and burn bla hi clo clothes 1 for now all those mho w ho thronged thron ged the streets were saying that oliver october had murdered his father the E treet leading to the baxter residence was alive with people curious silent awestruck awe struck men and women who stared intently Int enily at the windows the sheriff had returned to the county seat after cautioning oliver to keep his head and await developments TO BE BB CONTINUED |