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Show SOUTH CACHE COURIER, HYRUM, UTAH THE RED LOCK A Tale of the Flatwoods By DAVID ANDERSON Author of The Blue Moon" Copyright by The Bobbs-Mem- CHAPTER XIV ll Co. Continued. 18 , one of the kind that sputter a while before making much light the chimney of the lamp was raised ; the match laid to the wick. Out of the dark flared the powerful form and truculent face of Black Bogus. After a somewhat close study of the tracked floor, he went around on the other side of the lamp to the ruined hearth, lifted up a loosened slab of stone and felt under It. Apparently what he expected to find was not there, for he swore, put the slab back, rose and slouched across the floor toward the rubbish heap. The man hiding behind It crouched still as one of the cabin logs and fingered the pistol butt at his hip. But the ruffian only rummaged out an old box, carried it back to the light and sat A match scraped ed The tracks had been made by a boot much worn and frayed. The man that made them must have been large and heavy, for his boot heel had dented deep Into the floor boards, and the length of his stride Indicated him to be little, if any, under six feet. The profusion of tracks, together with a matches scatnumber of tered about the floor. Indicated that he had been there some time possibly several times. The woodsman found himself wondering what manner of man he could down. have been, and what his purpose. And Drawing a short pipe from his why did he bring a lamp Instead of a pocket, he filled It from a grimy totoo none were plenty bacco candle? Lamps with it of another sack, lighted In the' Flatwoods. Again there came the with the matches, and, sputtering over him that strangely disquieting air of a man quite at his ease, began inpremonition of danger intangible; to smoke. definable; deadly deliberate. As he smoked, the bitter lines of his Everything pointed to the conclusion face relaxed a trifle, and its that the cabins unknown visitor would resemblance to a face that come again probably with the night. dwelt and would ever dwell In his The lamp on the box, the blanket ready across stole the mind memory again to hang over the window, were not of the watcher. without a purpose. What that purpose But Black Bogus had not smoked might prove to be could only be con- long until it became apparent that he jectured possibly horse stealing. But was anything but a man at his ease. no, or why a lamp instead of a candle? Every sound outside received his lie glanced up at the loft except strained attention, and when not lisfor a few boards lying loose and scathe smoked viciously. tening, tered about upon the joists, the cabin At last he shuffled himself erect, was open to the roof; he looked felt of his elbow where It had rested around into the dim far corner bach heavily upon the larger box, knocked of the door it was half filled with the ashes from his pipe, dropped an a clutter of rubbish, broken boxes and arm across his knee, bent forward the like but no tracks led that way. and seemed lost In thought Using the greatest care to conceal Shifting his pose after a time, he his footprints, he opened the door, put away his pipe, straightened, stepped cautiously out, closed It and, reached into the inside pocket of his sura look after critical about the faded J coat and drew out a thick rounding weeds and bushes, slipped bunch of a handful of away up the side of the timbered bluff, bills that greenbacks to be an assortappeared unto woods his and back the through ment of tens and twenties. finished chores. The woodsman guardedly shifted out After a hasty supper, he drew his revolver; bent over It a brief but bis position so as to get a better look. As he did so, his knee accidentally thoroughly competent Instant of Injostled the rubbish heap. triggespection by the candle; tried the With an oath Black Bogus chucked ; twirled the cylinder ; dropped r-pull It back in the holster; blew out the the money back into his pocket and leaped at one bound into a corner out candle and laid his hand to the The warning of the mountain of range with the window, a heavy girl crossed his mind he turned back ; revolver balanced in his hand, his eyes closed the hearth of the cook stove to sweeping evety nook and cranny from hide its light; opened the door softly which the alarming sound might have and stepped ' out Into the gathering come. At that tense instant a bat, darting night toward the dead woodchoppers about under the rafters, blinded by cabin. The cloud-banhad dissolved In the the light, dashed itself against the cabin gable and fell almost at the deswest when he again reached the hovel and the sky was hang- perados feet. Damn the thing I he growled, placing out its stars the big ones already ing his foot upon the out, and the little ones coming. He again crept down the wooded creature and grinding It to death, at face of the bluff and, under cover of the same time thrusting the heavy rethe fallen oak, festooned with the wild volver Into his pocket and turning cucumber vines, stole up to the chink back to the light. In the wall and peeped between the He slouched down on the smaller logs. The cabin was apparently empty box ; took the money out of his pocket of Its unknown intruder. again and began a close Inspection of After listening intently for some each bill, one by one. Ten of the bills time he again stole around the. wall to the ones that appeared to the man the" door, pushed it slowly open and watching him to be the newest he entered. As soon as his eyes grew ac- laid out upon the box. The others he customed to the gloom, he saw that the put back In his pocket. room was just as he had left It a few Then an astonishing thing happened to the ten new bills. He took from hours earlier. .. Not daring to venture out on the his greasy, wrinkled trousers a plug floor, the light being too dim again to of tobacco and snipped off a chew risk hiding his trail by stepping in the with his powerful teeth; drew from tracks, he reached up, caught one of the side pocket of his coat half a the joists and, swinging from hand to handful of what looked to be ordinary hand, crossed to the far corner of the black soil of rotted leaf mold; moisroom ; concealed himself behind the old tened It very slightly with tobacco boards and boxes of the rubbish heap juice; rubbed a little of It on each bill and scoured them between his and sat gripping his sore shoulder the had and exertion hands, rumpling and crumpling them opened gash, the he could feel the blood crawling down in every conceivable way. He rolled the corners between his fingers and his side. There Is something depressing, fear- thumbs; bent the corners down; twistsome, about entering an old deserted ed and scoured the bills as if he would house especially after nightfall. And wear them out. It soon appeared that to wear them this was the cabin of dead Henry was the very thing he was attempting flatwoodsmen Few would Spencer. to do, for as he worked them and care to go near It much less Into it broke them In his powerful hands, at such an hour. Jack watched the last faint light they lost their newness and took on from the west die out in the smudged the look of bills that had been long He . was making old window so foul with clay that he had in circulation. not been able to make out more than money out of new. Light began to the bare outline of the face that had dawn on the man watching him. An hour or more he spent at the peered through it a few hours before. He knew the bats were darting about task. When at last it appeared to be In the cabin, for the dark was alive finished to his satisfaction, he examwith the click of their teeth. A ined them all close to the light, bill screech owl shivered his lonesome by bill. wail from an upstanding branch of They appeared to pass the very the fallen oak. painstaking and critical inspection, The woodsman half started, listened for, with a satisfied grunt, he picked up his pipe, relighted it and smoked closely, smiled. The sound was genuine it was a screech owl. nervously. Another hour or more he smoked The low wash of Eagle run, lapping the rocks In its shallow bed, came up and fidgeted; finally turned the lamp across the lonely road; the meian low; strode to the door, opened It a choly note of a whippoorwill carrledj i narrow slit and peeped out But apparently enough of the night down out of the woods. A sound fell upon the night the low had not gone for whatever purpose he gwlsh of weeds In the yard and the had In mind, for with a muttered woodsman grew tense and strained. grunt, he closed the door; strode Im"There followed a guarded footfall; a patiently back and forth across the hand fumbled over the door. It floor a time or two; slouched down a heavy step creaked the upon the box and, without turning up opened; sagging floor; a form bulked huge the light, again hunted his pipe. It must have been well toward midand black In the gloom; a hand and arm passed across the window and night, and the cramped position of the man behind the rubbish heap had bon the blanket into place. half-burne- d half-haunti- door-latch- ., k half-stunne- . grown almost unbearable, when, after many peeps through the narrow slit at the door. Black Bogus blew out the light and very softly slipped out of the cabin. The woodsman rose, listened to the low swish of Black Bogus receding steps among the weeds until there came th j creak of the rails as he climbed the fence Into the Eagle Hollow road. Opening the door with the utmost caution. Jack slipped out and stood listening the steps had turned down the road toward the village. Ha closed the door and followed. He had not shadowed the renegade far until it became plainly evident that he was a very Indifferent woodsman. Sticks snapped under his feet, bushes slapped back into place as he brushed against them, and once or twice his boot struck the ground with a clumsy thud. Clear down to the mouth of the hollow Jack stalked him. He took the path that led along the east bank of the stream, and, when he came to the fork, followed the branch that led to the little park. The woodsman stole after him, taking the path himself this time and grinning dryly at the compliment he had paid the fellow the night before In thinking he might notice the croaking of the frogs. It was a refinement of woodcraft of which Black Bogus had probably never dreamed. Down Into the little park and to the seat, at Whispering spring the hulking shadow crept; again, as on the night before, the man crouched down among the gnarled maple roots by the rustic seat. cotThe windows of the tage were dark. The place lay serene and peaceful, with no spark of light alive to show that it was awake to the sinister web of evil slowly weav'' ing about it. After an interval spent in listening, the crouched figure among the gnarled maple roots lifted his hands to his mouth and again the lonesome wall of the screech owl shivered out upon the night. The woodsman seized the favorable moment to steal closer and to conceal himself in a clump of shrubbery much nearer than he had ventured the night before. Black Bogus had given his rather clever imitation of the screech owl three times, and was on the point of giving it, again, when the parlor door opened anrf the tall figure of the preacher, without his glasses and with the stoop gone from his shoulders, came out on the porch. With a step that carried no suggestion of mincing nervousnegs he came down across the yard. The white butt of the at his side looked as if It belonged there. He went straight to the spring ; took down the dipper, making a very obvious amount of clatter in doing so; dipped himself a drink; hung up the dipper; turned back toward the house ; stopped by the rustic seat, and held out bis hand. Black Bogus reached in the breast of his coat, drew out a package, the bunch of bills, without a doubt and laid It In the waiting hand. The preacher put it inside his shirt bosom ; turned away; hesitated; came back a step. Bogus, be ready any night now the hurried tones barely carried to the man hidden in the shrubbery theres a barrel o money In there. I wouldnt a believed any man would risk so much about im, and that old, safe a horse jockey could open it Its all right slippin the goats" he patted his breast in among the sheep like were doin; and its lucky we printed down the river off o them new plates; and that was a great idea of mine mussin em up in leaf mold dampened with tobacco spit sos theyd look like old bills. The devil Imself couldnt tell em. It works, and wed carry it through, Hes only for one thing Warhopel suspicious. I saw it that first evening at the supper table. Thats why I went on that fool seinin spree t throw im off ; and thats why I couldn't leave no notes under the slab at the old cabin as wed planned. Where he got his clue I dont know, but hes got it I had the devils own time blindin them hawk eyes of his this afternoon. Warhopel and t think Logo had im right at the point of a and let im beat im on the draw. An me had im at the point of a knife there In the schoolhouse, the man among the maple roots broke in why didnt yu let me alone?" The other whirled on him, and his voice thickened. d . red-roofe- Experience as Nurse Causes Mrs . Fleming to Endorse Tanlac Practical Nurse for 16 Years Tells of Recovery Thanks to Tanlac Recommends It to Patients. I would never have believed any medicine on earth could help me like Tanlac dicT, is the precise statement of Mrs. Celia Fleming, 1915 Addison St., Berkeley, Calif., a practical nurse of sixteen years experience. In 1904 a serious operation weakened my system so I never saw a real well day until I took Tanlac three years ago. 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