Show 1 I Vh i ON TRilL A P F CIE 1 II 1 KAINE RAINE I Copyright 1907 by William MacLeod Kalne Raine r j. j f- f CHAPTER CHAPTER XVI 9 Gordon Spends a Bus Bus' Busy Evening r. r Paget smoked placidly but the heart within him was troubled It looked as asIf If It Selfridge had made up his mind to frame Gordon for a prison sentence The worst of ot It was that he need not Invent any evidence or take any j chances If Macdonald came through t on the stand with an Identification of ot Elliot as ns one of ot his assailants the j young man would go go down the river 1 t t to serve time There was enough co corroborative cor cor- A. A ro testimony to convict St. St f t t Peter himself If f. 1 Im Tm Just telling you what he said c- c Diane explained And it worried me j i f His smile w was s cynical I couldn't help m ir thinking that if It he wants to get even with Gordon Gordon- mJ f I 4 Mrs Paget Page stopped The maid had hadj hadi f j i t t Just brought into the room a n visitor l Diane moved forward and shook hands tt with him How do you do Mr S Strong rong Take this big chair rya 1 n Hanford Strong accepted the chair t and a cigar He came promptly to the 5 Sl object of ot his callI call c r I I dont don't know whether this Is where I should have come or r not Are you ii folks for young Elliot or are you for II J j d Selfridge he demanded t 7 I you If If you put it that way were we're for Elliot El El- hot liot smiled Peter vi a-vi r All right Let me put it another r way You work for Mac Are you on gyp a his side or on oh Elliots Elliot's In this matter of ot f fi the coal claims Diane looked at Peter Peter He took his r time to answer 4 1 We hope the coal claimants will w win n. n but weve we've got sense enough to see that Gordon is in here to report i the facts That's what he Is paid for d Hell He'll tell teIl the truth as he sees it II It his superior officers decide on those facts against Macdonald I dont don't see ti that Elliot is to 0 blame how It looks to me agreed Strong Im for d wide-open wide Alaska 1 but that dont don't make It right to put this f young fellow through for a crime he didn't do Fact Is Is I like him Hes He's square So Ive I've come to tell teIl you some some- thing some some-I k He smoked for a minute silently before before be be- bei i fore he continued rye Tye got no evidence in his favor z but I bumped into something a little littley y while ago that didn't look good to me J t You know I room next him at the hof ho ho- S. S f tel I heard a noise in his room and andI I thought that was funny seeing as he was locked up In Jail jall So I kinder listened and heard whispers whisper's s and the s sound of ot some one moving about There s a door between his room and t mine that Is kept locked I lo looked ked c through the th keyhole and In Elliots Elliot's ll f room there was Wally Selfridge and nd another man They were looking t through papers at th the desk Wally put a stack of ot them in his pocket and 1 they went out locking the door behind them They had no business doing that burst burst- out Diane Wally Selfridge Isn't pp an officer of the law Strong nodded dryly to her Just what I thought So I 1 followed them ti They went te to Macdonald's offices Atter After Alter Af At- ter a while Wally came out and left the theother theother other man there Then Then presently the lights went out The man is camped there for the night Will you tell ten me why wi Why repeated Diane with her t sharp eyes on the miner Because Wally has some papers there he dont don't want to get away from S S him Some of Gordons Gordon's papers papers of oft t 1 course said it All his notes' notes and evidence In the case of the coal oal claims probably contributed con con- con contributed Peter r. r t Maybe Wally has stolen them but he hasn't nerve enough to burn them till till he gets orders from Mac So hes he's f holding them safe at the office guessed d Strong Its an outrage Surest thing you know Wally has t. t fixed it to frame fram him for prison and to play safe sate about his evidence on the it coal claims ti 1 i What are you going to do about It Diane asked her husband sharply Peter rose First Im I'm going doing to see Gordon and hear what he has to say Come on Strong We may be gone quite a while Diane Dont Don't wait walt up for me me 1 if you get through your stint of nursing Gopher Jones let them Into the ramshackle ramshackle ram ram- 55 i- i shackle building that served a as a Jail r r and after atter three dollars had Jingled In Inthe Inthe inMA MA the palm of ot his hand he stepped outsIde outside outside out out- side and left the men alone with his prisoner The three put their heads together and whispered Til urn meet you outside the house of Selfridge in half halt an hour Strong was the last thing that Gordon said before Jones Jones' came back to order out the vis vis- as the place Ras was dark again f Gordon set to work work on the flimsy fram framework work of his cell cell window He knew already It was wa was so decrepit deci that bo could escape es any time tim Jie he desired desired- v but until now there had been no reason reason rea rea- son why he should Within a quarter of ot an hour he lifted the Iron-grilled Iron sash bodily from the frame and crawled through the window He found Paget and Strong waiting for tor him in the shadows of a pine outside outside outside out out- side the yard of ot Selfridge To begin with you walk straight home and go to bed Peter the young man announced Youre not In this Youre You're not invited to our party I dont don't have to tell teli you why do I U UThe The engineer understood the rea reason He was an employee of ot Macdonald a aman aman aman man thoroughly trusted by him Even though Gordon Intended only to right righta a wrong It was better that Paget should not be a party to it Reluctantly Reluctant Reluctant- ly Peter went home Gordon turned to Strong I owe you a n lot already Theres There's no need for you to run a risk of getting into trouble trouble trouble trou trou- ble for me If things break right I Ican Ican Ican can do what I have to flo do o without help And If they dont don't Strong waved an impatient hand Cut it out Elliot Ive I've taken a fancy to go through with this I never did like Ilke Selfridge anyhow anyhow any any- how and I aint got a wife and I dont don't work for Mac Why Shouldn't I have some fun Gordon shrugged his shoulders Allright All Allright right Might a as well play ball and get things moving then The little miner knocked at the door Wally WaIly himself opened Elliot from the shelter of ot the pine saw the two men in talk Selfridge shut the door and came to the edge of the porch He gave a gasp and his hands went trembling trembling trem trem- bling bUng into the air The six-gun six of ot the th miner had been pressed hard against his fat paunch Under curt orders he moved down the steps and out of the yard to the tree tree At sight of Gordon the eyes of ot Wally stood out in amazement Little e sweat beads burst out on his forehead for he remembered how busy he had been c collecting evidence against this man n. n what W do you want he asked Got your keys with you Y Come with us Wally breathed more freely For a IX moment he had thought this man man had come to take vengeance on him They led him by a alleys leys and back streets to the office of the Macdonald Yuk Yukon n Trading company Under orders orders orders or or- ders he knocked on the door and called out who he was Gordon crouched close dose to the log wall Strong behind him Let me in Olson ordered Sel Sel- fridge The door opened and a man stood yi cyl the threshold Elliot was on top of him hiD like Ilke a panther The man went T Was V on Top of Him Like a Panther down as though his kne knees s were oiled hinges Before he could gather his slow wits the barrel of ot a revolver was shoved against his teeth Take it easy Olson advised Gor Gor- don Get up up slowly Now step back into the office Keep your hands up Strong closed and locked the poor floor behind themI themI them I want my papers Selfridge Dig up your keys and get them for me Elliot commanded Wally did not need any keys He knew the combination of ot the safe sate and opened It From an inner drawer he drew a bunch of ot papers Gordon looked them over carefully Strong sat on a table and toyed with a revolver which he Jammed playfully into the stomach of ot his' his fat prisoner All here announced the field agent agent The safe robbers locked their prisoners prison prison- ers era In the office and disappeared Into the night flight They stopped at the house of the collector of customs a genial h. h lI young fellow with wh whom m Elliot had bad played tennis a good deal and left the papers in bl his hands for sate safekeeping After which they returned to the hotel botel and reached the second floor by way of ot the back stairs used by the ants Hero Hero- they parted each going to his own room Gordon slept like a schoolboy schoolboy schoolboy school school- boy and woke only when the sun poured through the window upon his bed in a broad ribbon of warm gold He got up bathed dressed and went down into the hotel dining room The waiters walters looked at him in amaze amaze- ment Gordon ate as if It nothing were the matter apparently unaware of ot the excitement he was causing He paid not the least attention to the nudging I and nd the whispering After he had bad finished finIshed finished fin fin- breakfast he lit a cigar leaned back in his chair and smoked placidly Presently an eruption of men poured into the room At the head of them was Gopher Jones Near the rear Wally Val Wal Vally ly Selfridge lh lingered modestly He was not looking for hazardous ture Wharf you doing here demanded Gopher bristling up to Elliot The young man watched a smoke wreath float before he turned his mild mUd gaze on the chief of ot police Im smoking Dont you know we Just got In from hunting you you two two posses of ot us been out all night Gopher glared savagely savage savage- ly at t tie the e smoker Gordon looked distressed too bad Theres There's a telephone in my room too Why didn't you call up Ive I've been there all night i The deuce you have h ve exploded Jones And us combing the hills for you Young man youre you're mighty smart But ut I want to tell you that you'll pay for this Did you want me me for anything in particular particular particular-or or lar-or or Just to get up a poker poter game asked Elliot suavely The leader of the posse gave himself himself himself him him- self to a n Job of ot scientific profanity He was spurred on to outdo himself because because because be be- cause he had heard a In t titter or two be behind behind hind him When he had finished he formed a procession He with Elliot handcuffed beside him was at the head of It It marched to the Jail jall CHAPTER VII Sheba Does Not Think So The fingers of Sheba were busy with the embroidery upon which she worked I but her thoughts were full of ot the man who lay asleep on the lounge His strong body lay at ease relaxed Already health was flowing back into his veins Beneath the tan of the thin muscular cheeks a war warmer er color was beginning to creep Soon he would be about again vigorous and forceful striding over obstacles to the goal he had set himself Sheba had sent him a a check for the amount he had paid her and had refused ref refused re re- re- re f fused sed to see him or anybody else Shamed and humiliated she had kept to her filer room The check had come back t to her by mall mail Across the face of it he had written In n his strong trong handwriting I ul dont don't welsh on my bets You cant can't give to me what Is not mine Do not think for an instant that I Ishall Ishall Ishall shall not marry you Sh She moved to adjust a window blind bUnd and when she returned f found und that his i steady eyes were fixed upon her I Youre getting better fast she sa said d. d Yes The girl Irl had had a a favor to ask ask of ot him and lest her courage fall fail she plunged into It Mr Macdonald if you say the word Mr Elliot will be released on ball bail I Iam Iam Iam am thinking you will be so good as to say It It His narrowed eyes h held ld a 8 cold gut gift ter Why You must know he is innocent You must must must- mustI I know only what the evidence shows he cut In warily on n his guard He may may mayor or may not have been one of my attackers From the first blow Iwas I Iwas Iwas was dazed But everything points to It that he hired hired Oh no I Interrupted the Irish girl eyes shining softly The way of It is that he saved your life lite that he fought for you and that he is in prison because of It It If that is true why doesn't he hebring hebring hebring bring some proof of ot It In Proof I she cried scornfully lly Between Between Between Be tween friends friends- Hes no friend of ot mine The man is isa Isa isa a meddler I despise him The scarlet flooded her cheeks And I am liking him very very much she flung back Macdonald looked up at at atthe the vivid flushed face and found it if wholly charming He liked her none the less because her fine eyes were hot and defiant in behalf of ot his rival Very well he smiled Ill Til get him out if it you'll do me a n good turn Thank you Its It's a bargain Then sing to me What shall I sing Divided Sing The long lashes veiled her soft eyes while she considered In a way he had tricked her into singing for him a song love-song she did not want to sing But she made no protest Swiftly she turned and slid sUd along the bench Her fingers touched the keys and she he be- be gan Sheba paid her pledge In full tun After the first two stanzas were finished she sang the e last ones as well An what about the wather when dhave Td d d dhave have Paddys Paddy's boat Is It pie one that would be afeard to grip the oars an an go afloat Oh I could find him by the light of t sun sua or moon or star But theres there's caulder things than salt s ways s between us us so they are Och anee aneel I Sure Sore well I know hell he'll never have havo heart to come coma to me mec c An love lovo is wild as aa anT any wave that wanders wanders wan wan- ders on the sea the same if It he ho is near me mo Us the tho same if It he is far tar Isis His thoughts are hard an ever hard between between between be be- tween us so the they are Och anee aneel Her hands dropped from the k keys ys and she turned slowly on the end of ot the th seat The dark lashes fell feIl to her F l d fl p- p Im Going to to Marry You Sheba hot cheeks He He did not speak but she he felt the steady Insistence of ot his gaze In self defense she looked at him The pallor of his face lent accent to the fire that smoldered In his eyes Im going to marry you you Sheba Make up your mind to that girl he said harshly There was infinite pity in the look sh she gave h him m. m Theres caulder things than salt waves between us so they are she quoted Not if It I love you and you love me By the Lord I trample down everything everything everything every every- thing that comes between us us She knew the tremendous driving power pt pf the man and she was afraid in her heart that he would sweep her from the moorings to which she clung There is something else I haven't told you The rhe embarrassed lashes lifted bravely from the flushed cheeks to meet steadily hiS hiff look I ul dont don't think that that I care I-care care for you I that am am shamed at my my fickleness But I don't dont not dont not with the full fuU of my heart His bold possessive eyes yielded no fraction of ot all they claimed aimed Time eno enough gh for that Sheba Sheb Truth is that i youre you're afraid to let yourself love me Youre You're worried because you you cant can't measure me by the little two-by-four two rule foot-rule you brought from Ireland with you Sheba nodded her dusky little head headIn In naive candor I think there will be some some truth In that Mr Macdonald Youre You're lawless you know I Im a law to myself if that's what |