Show Selwood of Sleepy Cat Ct CHAPTER XV Continued XV-Continued Continued 19 19 He lie left Margaret argaret In th the office and f took McAlpIn well down dO the dark gangway near one of ot the big oat Where have you got Haynes asked Selwood I McAlpIn shuffled about and scraped his feet teet John he saId sad mU catty but speaking fast last to skate over o very thin Ice its this way Hn nes wasn't the worst of at them devils devils now now was waa he be The barn boss looked hopefully for fora a sign of ot assent from his listener but Selwood was silent and emotion emotIon- less It made It a little harder to goon go goon goon on but McAlpIn pushed ahead The teamsters was for stringing up everybody every every- body body they after this last fight down at Bartoes isu But i I JU Just stood em era off oft on Haynes Baynes lIe He told me how v come the l house bunt burned Starbuck Star Star- buck back and Bartoe sent him to tell tel yo you that they wouldn't tou touch h company property It If you stayed neutral But Buthe he be couldn't couldn t find you and gave the thc word to Lefever and Lefever said aid the teamsters would stay out of ot It But some of ot the teamsters had grievances ances agin ag n the gamblers and went out with the Vigilantes so Starbuck said Bald that released em and they fired the bunk bunkhouse Where Is Haynes RI Right ht here her In this bin explained McAlpin pointing to the bin at their hand hes under the oats tied oats tied up up- and all safe till you decide whether you'll let et them dashed Vigilantes hang him him but but he wasn't the worst of them devils John not by no manner 0 o means at all Get him out directed Selwood still non committal McAlpIn handing his lantern to Selwood sprang Into the bin and began to paw down Into the oats In one corner he had left eft an nn cunningly contrived ed with empty sacks and after digging at this corner McAlpin Mc Mc- AlpIn uncovered Ha Haynes nes cut the ropes from his arms arras and digging out cut the ropes from froin his ankles Ed Ed Edl I l 1 began Selwood Sewood Haynes Interrupted him Dont say anything Jo John n. n I cant can't help the way things have hase gon gone But Ill I'll say say this I dont don't know no moren a child unborn who fired the hall hair Bull BuH Page told me the Vigilantes were coming up the hill after affer me so I had to light out out Well whatever's coming to you Ed theres there's nothing coming tonight You know thIs country tween here I and Medicine Bend Backwards and forwards John Meg Hyde has begged Starbuck from me Its It's not coming to him but rye r been fool tool enough to give gl In If It they can get to Medicine Bend they'll be safe saCe I If It one of the team catches sight SI ht of Starbuck hell he'll shoot DIm mm They've got to get to the tue B Dr by keeping of oft off the big trail and Ing lug through the canyons and be beh beb the rocks rock Its It's your chance Ed got nothing like hanging against not not an anything like it McAlpIn have e the horses a at the back door you can do your best to make It s w Starbuck and Meg H Hyde de Hustle Leaving McAlpIn to explain wood walked rapidly back to dingy smelly office Margaret H was feverishly waiting He dire her to go Into the room harness-room apprise her husband making only request that Starbuck under no r r. r I r. r speak k to him After Margaret Margaret Mar Mar- garet had gone in and come out again he told her to go to the gangway gang gang- way door and wait walt took the lantern from her hand went Into the room h himself and bending over Starbuck cut the ropes that bound him steadied him on his cramped feet unlocked the gangway angway door threw it open and pointed to Meg outside Starbuck beare eyed blear ed and blood blood- misted his bh hair dishevelled and his trousers and shirt awry was a desperate desper esper ate sight He gazed at Selwood stand lag the with lantern In one hand and gun In the other Selwood silently handed him the gun Starbuck had had been forbidden to speak Ills lips were sealed lIe He tucked the gun Into his trousers s waist band and tool took a st step p toward yard the door that meant meant freedom Before the threshold thres thres- hold he stopped turned to Selwood Sewood and spoke John he said In a tone that surprIsed sur- sur surprised sur sur- his listener Ive been a He applied to himself the scurrilous epithet t so commonly and freely used among frontier men But Selwood heard It from the lips Ups of ot one who meant now to condemn fittingly only his own shame not his mother Ive I been one one one-I I know It he be hurried on But nut It if I can ever make it up to to- to Meg Meg and and you you you- Selwood waved him on on Never mind me he said evenly Your chance lIe lies ahead of ot you He lIe pointed to the tile door Take it CHAPTER XVI Face to Face With a n good part of ot the town burned most of the people in hiding end and with few provisions saved from the burned stores Sleepy Cat la lay Stunned by oy Its misfortunes From the cr cross bar bar ss-bar of ot the first telegraph tele tele- graph pole planted plante In Sleepy Cat with grandiloquent words hung two ister sinister sin sin- reminders s of ot the work of the reinforced Vigilantes But was us the tue sensational when It It became that Starbuck or organizer ami arabs of or the crooks had to together ether with BI Big lIa Haynes made his escape No explanations were forthcoming from the stage barn It had happened that that was all The man captured by Selwood was his own prisoner it was said and he was the person to feel teel most aggrieved Bill Bm when told that Starbuck Starbuck Star Star- buck was missing stamped and snorted snort snort- ed but under the s skillful ministrations ministrations of at Bull Page was vas wa diverted from his noisy intention of headIng a death chase after the fugitives and was persuaded instead to go to bed The breakfast served that morning in Doctor Carpy's Sleepy Cut hotel was unusual At sunrise a barrel barre of ot salt pork was luckily found In and rolled from a dark corner of the stage warehouse and together with a n barrel bar bar- rel reI rd of ot flour and a sack of ot gre green n coffee H. H commandeered wi need Not until he had assembled this provender could the busy surgeon- surgeon landlord get awa away to Int Interview the padre who he was then told by S Scott ott had bad gone up to the railroad station to visit the wounded Carpy opened the waiting room door to look for his man pan and paused At the far end of the room on an up-ended up keg his back supported supported sup sup- ported against the wall Carpy saw one of his much-bandaged much Vigilantes Bending over o him with a n cup of ot water while the wounded man drank was aman n a man of ot advanced years whose dark easily Identified him as one of ot that small but widely Idely scattered band of ot of otmen men known to the Indians o of 01 every ever tribe of th the West from the Staked Plain to Hudson Dudson bay as black black- robes Padre said t the e surge surgeon n coming up with blunt raillery Im rm glad to see you making yourself useful Itou If It you ou want a Job nursing Ill I'll hire you yon right now Im I'm doctoring this outfit When the robe back-robe smiled his features features' fea lea tures tures' lost lost- their stern repose It would not be new work he replied in n a heavy beavy foreign accent but Im I'm Im I'm sorry to see such warfare such bloodshed bloodshed- and what about Padre some of ot this Sleepy Cat blood needed to be shed shed shed-In In fact a good deal of it observed the doctor evasively Ill tell you ou all nil about it First though I want to ask you OU a u afew afew few questions Padre adre about something that happened In this country a long long time ago going ago going on thirty years ears How long Jon have hare you traveled this country Padre Carpy Carp was was' not a l hard man to t read Single minded bluntly outspoken en his honesty of intent was written on his open countenance and the experIenced experienced expert expert- read reader r of men men before him perceived perceived per per- I It all The composed posed sed black black- robe parried his question all in good part with another n th ther r How oid are you ou Doctor Carpy laughed and shook his head near fort forty forty- Padre Padre Padre-It if I must t nv It ft iS re rt rt el elig ig 0 Is LA Roper I fIr never knew any of the officers at the fort Were you ever there No The hearted good-hearted surgeon began beJan to grow unc uncomfortably warm In his dif dif dif- Well then ou I never married mar mar- ried ned an anybody body at the fort Never Was there any other black back robe t through h this this this' country t thirty years ears ago Padre he continued with oozing hope The padre answered att after r careful t thought hought No 1 0 said he Doggone it I exclaimed Carpy knitting ills his brows but reduced In the clerical presence to his one effe effeminate epithet I r cant can't see how It is and Is-and and Bob Scott swears you are the man What do you mean my rny Doctor Did you ever marry anybody out here bere Many of the Indians of ot course my ray Doctor sometimes a white man man man-a a trader or a trapper and an Indian woman woman very very rarely a white couple very elJ rarely usually rarely usually on the steamboat Once camping on the river below Fort Pierce I married a young oung army officer to a young oung white woman But that poor man was killed soon afterward after atter ward wardIn wardIn ward ward- In the Roper massacre at CrawlIng Crawling Crawl Crawl- Ing Stone wash My God 3 exclaimed Carpy Carp the perspiration starting out from his forehead the very stor story He seized the padre Incontinently by the arm Come Cornel I Before the two I men reached the hotel the padre urged to a brisk pace by his ills companion had all of ot the stor story the tile doctor r had Selwood had brou brought ht Trac Tracy up from frolD the tile barn baru to the hotel made him comfortable In Inn a room room and and was walking down the stairs when Carpy Carp opened the front door of th the hall ball and ushered his companion In Hes rIes got It HI Iti I cried Carp Carp Carpy to wood Sewood Sel Se- loudl loudly and before an any one else could speak a word O d. d Hes the man f lit lib married them theta Carpy In his cx- cx caught the padres padre's arm with one hand to urge him him- forward torwald and shot the other like a semaphore at Selwood out lIes Hes got It John cried the doctor This TIlIs la tho the man maul He lIe mar mar- By tSy Frank H. H Spearman Copyright ht by Charles Charlei Scribner Son Soni Service ned ried them He ITo knows everything Padre Carpy Padre Carpy turned to his companion compan compan- ion and pointed to his friend friend their boy standing right there therel I Selwood had need of nil all his restraInt restraint restraint re re- re- re He lie stood motionless on th the lowest tread of ot the stairs The missioner nils- nils scanned the serious features before before be be- fore tore him with composed and penetrating In ing eyes ees Is this then theIl he said for Selwood Sewood made no attempt to break the tile silence Is this repeated the robe black slowly the child of ot my marriage of that young lieutenant so long ago The gambler made no answer answer Instead Instead In In- stead he sat down on the stair stall and burled buried his face in his bandaged hands hand S S Selwood elwood spent long hours that morning with the black H He urged him to come up to the the hotel and remain over night But the old oM campaigner would not leave his Indians Indians In In- and professed profess d himself unwilling unwillIng ing to tu risk sleeping In a room lest Jest he take cold he be preferred to camp camp with I 9 1 The Roper Massacre at Crawling ling Stone Wash his hIs escort who had pitched his tent down by the river rIver and and could not be dissuaded But he wrote out for Selwood Selwood Set Sel Sel- Sel wood such details as he could remember remember ber of ot the eventful night of ot the marriage mar mar- ringe of ot his father and mother and gave gaye It to him aim Next morning Carpy dragged Selwood Selwood Sel Sel- wood Into his hils office planted him In Ina a It chair and sat down facing him eager to hear bear all of ot the padres padre's stor story When the younger man had recounted recount recount- ed td d it In full fuli Doctor Carpy told n a tory Kory himself John he chuckled with much enjoyment en eu- jo Ive been kind of mean mean What have he yew been doing doln Ive been riding the old general told told him the padres padre's here and audI proved pro all you ou claimed up to the hut hilt Then I sa says s 's What have you got to tosa sa say to that What did he say What in blazes could he say B But t the pid pd mans man's changed John Hes He's broke old broke old age a comm Then somebody planted a bullet close to o his ribs last night and that anno annoyed annoE E d him I told him ab about t to yow you o going down to Bartoes Bartoe's alone and leaving directions for Lefever to bring t the he teamsters Into action soon as you ou got Christie out And how you you u clea cleaned ed up Starbuck and cleaned out the place S I and burnt It Wen Well that pleased him Dash It Doctor he lie S says S 'S finally blood will tell It will tell ten 1 I The bo boys boy's got It In him Taking the te credit aUto nil aU to himself laughed Carpy Could you beat that Now ow John continued the doctor I had him brought up here to the hotel Hes He's asleep now After a n while go up and see him lIe He wants to see you you you- OU Selwood shook his head I dont don't want to see him Carpy Carp raised his chin Dont be bea a mule mue that's some of your old grandfather grandfather grand grand- father coming out In you not you not your mother Some while later ater go up like JIke a man and see the general general to to tell ten you the truth he aint a long time for down here even en If It he gets ets well wen of thIs this wound wound whIch which I think he I wilt will J Then In Carpy fashion he sprang a further surprise How you feeling th tha g morning John Selwood almost stared at him This was a question the doctor never asked of anybody under any circumstances circum dream stances Doctor Carp Carpy's s patients were told not asked how v they felt But Selwood was ready for him Ill ln ask a question myself Doctor Did you come out here In a wagon train I fIr did The first Job I got west of the Missouri river continued Selwood was driving a team of ot mules mues Same as I John same John same as me I was a youngster youngster and and you rou know I wasn't a busk husky one By the time Id I'd driven those mules a week if It he the owner had knocked me on the head Id I'd have thanked him hm for tor it Everybody Everybody Every Every- 1 very very- body In the outfit was dead afraid the Indians would get us after the first week I was dead afraid they I had hind sneezed and coughed and snorted In that alkali dust till tin my nose and eyes and throat were plum burnt up Then one evening after the hottest day Id I'd ever felt In my life lIte on the Platte bottoms bottoms bottoms bot bot- toms toms toms- Carpy nodded hard blazes on tJ those ose bottoms want It It- It somebody up ahead yelled I Iwas Iwas I r was Just about able to raise m my head and look over the mules' mules ears There Ther ahead of ot us far us-far far far away away I I saw snow the snow on top of the Rocky mountains Youre asking me are you how I feel tonight If it It wasn't Just forone for forone forone one thing Id I'd sa say I felt better than Ive I've ever felt since that I saw th that t snow on top of the tile Rocky mo mountains the one thing I Selwood Seh shrank In a little You couldn't mend it I know what's matter a-matter with you rou And maybe I cant can't cure lIre you not you not I myself But Blit theres there's a little huzzy upstairs upstairs upstairs up up- stairs with her head as full fuU of ot you you as |