Show iann THE GIRL AT THE HALFWAY H S E A S T O 0 R Y T H E P L A I 1 N S BY E HOUGH AUTHOR OF THE STORY OF THE 1993 til attleton comeans navi airs CHAPTER cont aued the left arm of the sheriff dropped the whole body of ike anderson shot low through the bruni as was the sheriff s invariable custom melted and sank into a sitting posture leaning against the edge of the stoop the sheriff with a leap sprang behind ithe fallen man not firing again ike landerson cn with a black film now come upon his eyes laired his revonel and fired anc twice three times four alires five times tapp ng the space in front of mm r and carefully with his fire then 1 e sank back wearily into the sheriffs arms all right marirn remarked ike anderson somewhat irrelevantly CHAPTER the bc ly of the cr me hour atter hour in the heat of the da or the cool of the evening the giant mexican strode on by the side of the two horsemen sometimes trot ting like a dog more often walking ith a shambling w de reaching step tireless as any wild animal espres sl onless mute the colossal figure strode along like some creature in whom a human soul had not yet found home the mexican was running the back trail of the horse of 1 greathouse ithe missing ranchman and it was avery early seen that the horse had not returned oer the route taken by greathouse Gre alhouse when he started out had gone along the valley of th smoky alver whereas the course of the loose animal had been along the chord of a wide arc made by the val ley of that stream a chirse much shorter and easier to traverse as it evaded a part of that rough antry known as the breal s of the smoky a series of gullies and draws r n bing from the tableland down to the deep little river bed the afternoon of the first day brought the travelers well within view of a timber line but the rough country along the stream BBS not yet reached when they were forced to quit the trail and make their rough tor the night there was a curious feeling of dainty in franklins mind as they again took saddle for the journey that the end of the quest was not far dis tant and that its nature was arede neither he nor curly ex pecked to find the ranchman alive though neither could have given letter and line for this belief As for juan face nas expressionless as ever que cami a amigo asked curly in cowboy patois which way the mexican pointed up the stream with carelessness and they turned thither As they resumed the march now along the level floor of the wind ing little valle franklin was revola ing a certain impression in his mind in the mud at the bank where they had stopped he had seen the imprint of a naked foot a foot very large and with an upturned toe widely spread ing apart from its fellows and it seemed to him that this track was not so fresh as the ones he had just seen made before his eyes troubled he said nothing but gave a start as cur y without introduction remarked as though reading his thoughts cap I 1 seen it too his footprint at the banka yep he s shore been here afore neither man said more but both grew grate esl both looked kincon to their beacons the can plunged ahead as confidently as lefore and in the tangled going his speed was greater than that of the borses cullado careful juan aled curly warningly and the latter arned backed a face inscrutable as iver the turned an angle of the valley ind came out upon a little flat among he trees toward this open space he mexican sprang with horse ex cited cries the horses plunged bad snorting yet in the little glade all as silence solitude swiftly frank in and curly dismounted and made ast their horses and then followed ip the mexican their weapons now oth drawn this glade now empty had once icid a man or men here was a trod len place where a horse had been aed to a tree here was the broken ind of a lariat here had been a little bivouac a bed scraped up of the scanty fallen leaves and bunches of aller grass here were broken bushes broken howa there was the fire low unken into a heap of ashes a ong large white heap very large for cowman s camp alre and there and there was it there was some ahing there lay the object of their learch in a flash the revolvers cov red the cowering figure of the giant aho vho prone upon his knees was now abing gibbering praying calling up n long forgotten saints to save him rom this sight 0 santa maria 0 purissima uris sima 0 madre de dios he wringing his hands and shiv bring as though stricken with an ague pe writhed among the leaves his ees fixed upon that ghastly shape which lay before him there in the ashes of the dead fire as though embalmed as tho agh alive as though lingering to ace ise and to c evict la fie bod of greathouse the missing man bot medely a charred incinerated mass the figure lay in the full appearance of 1 fe a cast of the actual man molded with fineness from th white ashes of the fire biot a teatsie hot a limb not a fragment of clothing was left unde strayed yet none the less here stretch ed across the bed of the b arned out fire with face upturned with one arm doubled beneath the head and the other with clinched hand lay the image the counterpart countr part nay the identity of the man they sought it was a death mask wrought by the pity of the destroying flames these winds thib sky the air the rain all had s ared and left it here in alon most terrible unbar alleged incredibly yet irresistibly tr e felt his heart stop as he looked upon this sight and curly s face grew pale beneat i its tan they gazed for a moment quickly then curly sighed and stepped back keep him covered cap he said and go ing to I 1 is horse he loosened the long lariat araba juan he sa d quietly get up and the g ant obeyed as meekly as a ch id curly tied his hands behind his back took away his knife and bound him fast to a tree juan offered no resistance whatever but 1001 ed at curly with wondering denb protest in his eyes as of an animal punished curly turned again to the fire it s him all right said he that s cal frankin nodded curly p eked up a bit of stick and began to stir among the ashes but as he did both he and franklin ut melted dow an exclamation of surprise by accident he had touched one of the limbs the stick passed through it leaving behind but a crumpled form leas heap of ashes curly essayed in vesti gatlon upon the other side of the fire A touch and the whole ghastly figure was gone there remained no trace of what had lain there the shallow incrusting shell of the fickle ash broke in and tell all the thin ex gerior covering dropping into the caa ern which it had before them lay not charred and dismer bared remains but simply a flat table of ashes midway along it a slightly higher ridge at which the wind hith arto erto not conspiring now toyed flick ing away items here and there car crying them spreading them returning tham unto the dust cal greathouse had made his charge and left it with the frontier to cast the reckoning CHAPTER the trial your honor said franklin to the court I 1 appear to defend this the opening sentence of the young advocate might have been uttered in burlesque to call this a court of justice might have seemed sheer libel there was not the first suggestion of the dignity and solemnity of the law had no hall of justice and the court sat at one place or another as convenience dictated this being an important case and one in which all the populace was interested judge antol had the largest avail able assembly room which happened to be the central hall of sam pres ton s livery barn the judge sat behind a large upturned box which sup ported a few battered books at his right the red nosed prosecuting actor ney shuffled his papers along the sides of the open hallway through whose open doors at each end the wind passed freely sat jarv and audi ence indiscriminately mingled the prisoner himself ignorant of the meaning of all this sat on an upturned tub unshackled and ed back of these fig ires appeared the heacks of a double row of horses bad of the seated men others were massed stand ng in the doorways outside the building stood crawls now and then increased or lessened by those who passed in or out of the room where the court was in session these interested spectators were for the most part dark sunburned men wearing w de hats and narrow boots with spurs they all were armed leaning against the sides of the man gers or resting a hand upon the shoulders of another they gazed calm ly at the bar of justice the attitude of was one of sardonic calm As a function as a show this trial might go on yo honah said the attorney for the state arising and striking an at learned in earlier forensic days yo honah an gentlemen I 1 rise to present to ou an to push to the ulal mate penalty of the law a case of the most serious the most crime committed by the most desperate and dangerous criminal that has thus far ever disturbed the peaceful courar pi buah quiet little community ther he sets beto ou he cried sudden ly raising his voice and pointing a forefinger at the prisoner who sat smiling amiably tl ere he sets the hardened and self confessed crimi nal guilty of the foulest crime upon the calendar of buah Is T mur derer gentlemen a murderer with red hands an with the brand of cain upon hib brow this man this fiend killed buah fellow citizen calvin greathouse he brutally murdered him the orator knew his audience he 1 new the real j wy the shuffling and whispers were his confirmation yo hoi ah began the accusing vo ce again I 1 see him now there sets the man there he is beto you his guilt has been admitted answer me gentlemen what is buah auty in this caspa shall we set this incarnate fiend free on the lan again shall we let him come clear this charge shall we turn him loose again in buah to burdei some other of buah t zensi shall we set this man freed H s vo ce had sunk into a whisper as he apol e the last words leaning tor ward and looking into the faces of th ury suddenly he straightened up his clinched hand shaken high above his head no he cried no I 1 say to ou ten thousand times no this man shall not go tree justice yo honah justice gentlemen is what this community asks an justice is what it is a coln to have yo honah an gentlemen I 1 to the statement the defense franklin rose and looked calmly about him while the buzzing of corn ment and the outspoken exclamations of applause yet greeted the speech of the prosecutor the sentiment of pity was strong in his heart he resolved to use all he know of the cun ning of the law to save this halfwit ted savage he determined to defeat if possible the ends of a technical jus tice in order to secure a higher and a broader estice the charity of a di vine mercy he realized fully how much was there to overcome as he gazed upon the set faces of the real jury the crowd of grim spectators your honor and gentlemen of the jury he began defending this man I 1 stand for the law the depre tentative senta tive of the state invokes the law I 1 yield to no man in my desire to see a better day of law and order in this town we are two years old in time but a century old in violence Is it merely your wish that we add one more grave to the long rows on our Is that your do vou want a trial or do you wish merely an execution gentlemen 1 tell you this Is the most important day in the history of this town let us here make our stand for the law the old ways will no longer serve we are at the turning of the road let us follow the law to be continued |