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Show j - The Strdn&e Case of By Randall Parrislj 1 1 ; lj , ' Author of ' ' j i j-i 2 1 I I v - Copyright by Randall Parrish I I i ; FA.i i 1 1 ' ' ' J ""' ''" ttaaaiaM m.-m.-.. -"irr .r, I j ance with the young woman?" West-cott West-cott went on, his voice hardening slightly. "If.so, I have not the sllght- 1 est objection to telling you that It consists con-sists entirely of acting as her escon from the station to the hotel. 1 do not know why she is here, how long she Intends staying, or what her purpose amy be. Indeed, there Is only one fact I do know which may be of interest to you." Beaton, surprised by the language of the other, remained silent, his face turning purple, as a suspicion came to him that he was being made a fool of. "It Is this, my friend who she is, what she is, and why she happens to he here, Is none of your d- n business, busi-ness, and if you so much as mention her name again in my presence you are going to regret it to your dying day. That's all." Beaton, glancing about at the uplifted uplift-ed faces of the card plnyers, chose to assume an air of Indifference, which scarcely accorded with the anger In his eyes. "Ah, come now," he blurted forth, "1 didn't mean anything; there's no harm done let's have a drink, and be friends." Westcott shook Ifls head. ' "No, I think not," he said slowly. "I'm not much of a drinking man myself, my-self, and when I do I choose my own company. But let me tell you something some-thing Beaton, for your own good. I ainnniniinniniinnm)mw claim the fortune that was left. I struck the vein again when my last dollar was gone. Thnt was a month ago. i wired my old partner for help, but" He stopped, listening Intently. They were nearlng a small bridge over Bear creek, the sounds of Haskell's Has-kell's revelers growing nearer and louder. Suddenly they heard an oath and a shot, and the next moment a wild rider, lashing a foaming horse with a stinging quirt, was upon them. Westcott barely had time to swing the girl to safety as the tornado flew past "The drunken fool!" he muttered quietly. "A puncher riding for camp. There will be more up ahead probably." prob-ably." His little act of heroism drew the man strangely near to Miss Donovan, and as they hurried along in the silent night she felt that above all he was dependable, as If, too, she had known him months, aye years Instead of a scant hour. "And In this strange country coun-try she needed a friend. "Now that I've laid bare my past," he was saying, "don't you think you might tell me why you are here?" The- girl stiffened. To sny that she was from the New York Star would close many avenues of Information to her. No, the thing to do was to adopt soroe "stall" that would enable her to Idle about as much as she chose. Then the mad horseman gave her the Idea. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I forgot I hadn't mentioned it. I'm assigned by Scribbler's Magazine to do an article on 'The Old West, Is It Really Goner' and, Mr. Westcott, I think I have a lovely start." A few moments later she thanked Providence for her precaution, for her compauion resumed the story of his mining claim. "It's might funny I haven't heard from that partner. It isn't like him not to answer my wire. That's why I've waited every night at the depot. No, it's not like Top,' even if he does take his leisure at the College club." Miss Donovan's spine tingled at the mention of the name. "Pep," she murmured, mur-mured, trying to be calm. "What was his other name?" "Cavendish," Westcott replied. "Frederick Cavendish.' A gasp almost escaped the girl's lips. Here, within an hour, she had linked the many eastern clues of the Cavendish affair with one In the West. Was ever a girl so lucky? And Immediately Imme-diately her brain began to work furiously furi-ously as she walked along. twinnmniuwinwiinn The girl folded the message, thrust It in her jacket pocket, then turning to the mnrshal and Westcott, gave each a firm hand. "You've both been more than kind," she said gratefully. "H , ma'am," Dan deprecated, "thnt warn't nothln' I" And he hurried into the street as loud cries sounded outside. "Good-night, Miss Donovan," Westcott West-cott said simply. "If you are ever frightened or in need of a friend, call on me. I'll be in town two days yet, ! and after that Pete here can get word to me." Then, with an admiring, honest hon-est gaze, he searched her eyes a moment mo-ment before, he turned nnd strolled toward to-ward the rude cigar case. "All right, now, ma'am?" Pete Tlm-mons Tlm-mons said, picking up her valise. The girl nodded, and together they went up the rude stairs to her room, where Timmons paused nt the door. "Well, I'm glad you're here," he said, moving away. "We've been wait-in' wait-in' for you to show. I may be wrong, ma'am, but I'd bet my belt that you're the lady that's been expected by Netl Beaton." . "You're mistaken," she replied shortly. . As she heard hlra clatter down the stairs Miss Stella Donovan of the New York Star knew that her visit would not be In vain. The miner waited, leaning against the desk. Timmons came down the stairs, eager to ask questions. "Lady friend o' yours, Jim?" he asked. "If I'd a knowed she wus comin' I'd a saved a better room." "I have never seen her until onlght, Pete. She got off the train and Carson Car-son asked jue to escort her uptown it was dark, you know." "What do you suppose she's come yere for?" "Not the slightest idea; I take it that's her business." "Sure; but a feller can't help won-derin', won-derin', can he? Donovan," he mused, peering nt the name; "that's Irish, I take it hey?" "Suspiciously so; you are some detective, de-tective, Pete. I'll give you another clue her eyes are Irish gray." He sauntered across to the stove, and stood looking idly at . the card-players, card-players, blue wreaths of tobacco smoke circling up from the bowl of his pipe. Some one opened the street door, letting let-ting in a babel of noise, and walked heavily across the office floor. Westcott West-cott turned about to observe the newcomer. new-comer. He was a burly, red-faced ifi "THAT'S ALL." ; Synopsis. Frederick Cavendish, New York man of wealth, receives a letter from an old friend, Jim Westcott, urging him to come at once to Colorado. Deciding to go, he employs a lawyer, Patrick En-right, En-right, to draw up a will leaving most of his estate to charity, with a mere pittance to John Cavendish, his cousin and only relative, a dissolute dis-solute youth. That night Frederick Cavendish Is murdered In his apartments. apart-ments. No will being found, John Cavendish Inherits the estate. Two months later Enright informs John Cavendish of the existence of the will and offers, for $100,000, to say nothing of It John agrees. Stella Donovan, newspaper writer, learns from Frederick Cavendish's valet that he Is not satisfied the body found was that of his employer. She Is directed by Farrlss, city editor edi-tor of the Star, to follow up the case. Stella learns of the will En-right En-right had drawn up, also of John Cavendish's Infatuation for Celeste Le Rue, chorus girl. A conversation conversa-tion Stella overhears between Celeste Ce-leste and John Cavendish convinces her Frederick Cavendish Is alive, the victim of a conspiracy engineered engi-neered by Enright to secure his fortune, and that Celeste knows where he Is hidden. Ned Beaton, notorious gunman, Is also mentioned. men-tioned. Celeste Is about to leave for Haskell, Colorado. CHAPTER IV. 3 Miss Donovan Arrives. WThen the long overland train paused a moment before the ancient box car that served as the depot for the town of Haskell, nestled in the gulch half a mile away, it deposited Miss Donovan almost in the arms of Carson, the station agent, and he, wary of the wiles of women and the ethics of society, promptly turned her over to Jim Westcott, who had come down to Inquire if the station agent , held a telegram for him a telegram that he expected from the East. "She oughtn't to hike to the Timmons Tim-mons house alone, Jim," Carson said. : "This yere Is pay day up at the big mines, an' the boys are havln' a h of a time." In view of this disclosure, Miss Donovan welcomed the courteous acquiescence of Westcott, whom, she Judged to be a man of thirty-one, with force and character these written In the lines of his big body and his square, kind face. "I'm Miss Stella Donovan of New York," she said "'rectly. "And I," he returned, with hat off in the deepening gloom, "am Jim Westcott, West-cott, who plugs away at a mining claim over yonder." "There!" laughed the girl frankly. "We're Introduced. And I suppose we can start for the Timmons house." As her words trailed off there came the sound of yelling, sharp cries, and revolver shots from the gulch below be-low where lights twinkled faintly. Laughing warmly, Westcott picked up her valise, threw a "So-long" to Carson, and with Miss Donovan close is niy gun which Moore has in hU hand. I cannot fight you alone and unarmed; but I can talk yet." "I reckon yer can, if that's goln' ter do yer eriy good." "So the La Roslta Mining company Is nbnut to be revived. Is it? Eastern capital becoming interested. I've heard rumors of that for a week past What's the Idea? Struck anything?" Lacy, a long, rangy fellow, with a heavy mustache, nnd a scar over one eye, partially concealed by his hat-brim, hat-brim, grinned at the others as though at a good joke. "No, nu'lhin' particular as yet," he answered ; "hut you hev. an' I reckon thet's just about as good. Tryin' ter keep it dark, wasn't yer? Never even thought we'd caught on." "Oh, yes, I did ; you flatter yourselves. your-selves. I caught one of your stool-pigeons stool-pigeons up the gulch yesterday, and more thnn ten days ago Moore and Edson made a trip Into my tunnel while I happened to be away; they forgot to hide their trail. I knew what you were up to, nnd you can all of you look for a fight." "When your partner gets out here, I suppose," sneered Lacy. "He'll be hete." "Oh, will he? Well, he's a h of a while coming. You wired him a month ago, and yer've written him wlce since. Oh, I've got the cases on you all right, Westcott. I know you haven't got a cent left to go on with, nnd nowhere to get any except through him." He laughed. "Ain't that right? Well, then, yer chances look mighty slim ter me Just at present, pres-ent, ol'-timer. However, there's no fight on yet; will yer behave yerself, an' let this man Benton alone if I hand yer back yer gun?" "There is no choice left me." "Sure; that's sensible enough; give It to him, Moore." He broke the chamber, shaking the cartridges out into his palm; then handed the emptied weapon over to Westcott. His manner was purposely insulting, but the latter stood with lips firmly set, realizing his position. "Now, then, go on over thar an' sit down," continued Lncy. "Maybe, If yer wait long enough, that partner o' yours might blow in. Come on, boys, let's liquor. Big Jim Westcott has his claws' cut, and It's Beaton's turn to spend a little." Westcott sat quietly In the chair as they filed out; then took the pipe from his pocket and filled it slowly. He realized his "defeat, his helplessness, but his mind was already busy with the future. CHAPTER V. A Night and a Morning. Stella Donovan never forgot the miseries of her first night in Haskell. When old Man Timmons finally left her, after placing the flaring lamp on a chair, and went pattering back down the bare hall, she glanced shuddering-ly shuddering-ly about at her unpleasant surroundings, surround-ings, none too pleased with the turn of events. The bed-clothing, once turned back and Inspected, was of n nature to prevent pre-vent the girl from disrobing; but finally final-ly she lay down, seeking such rest as was possible, after turning the flickering flicker-ing flames of the lamp as low as she dared, and then finally blowing It out altogether. Her thoughts, never still, wandered over the events of the evening eve-ning the arrival at Haskell skitlon, the strange meeting witli Westcott, and the sudden revelation that he was the partner of Frederick Cavendish. The big, good-natured miner had Interested In-terested her from the first as representing repre-senting a perfect type of her preconceived precon-ceived ideal of the real westerner. She had liked the firm character of his face, the quiet, 'thoughtful way In which he acted, the whole unobtrusive bearing of the man. Already ho had awakened her trust; she felt convinced con-vinced that If she needed friendship, advice, even actual assistance, here was one whom she could implicitly trust. She was young and she awoke rested rest-ed and refreshed, In spite of the fact that her body ached at first from the discomfort of the cot. She stared about at the bnre, board walls, the hul-Iet-scarred mirror, the cracked pitcher, before she could fully reassure herself; her-self; then stepped upon the disreputable disreputa-ble rug and crossed to the open window. win-dow. She straightened up, emitting n swift breath of delight, ns her wide-open eyes eiirveyed the marvelous sewie of mingled loveliness and graudeur. The stream, curving like a great snake, gleamed amid the acres of green grass, Its swift waters sparkling in the sun. Beyond, seemingly at no distance at all, yet bordered by miles of ";irf nnd desert, the patches of vivid green Interspersed In-terspersed with the darker coloring of spruce, and the outcropping of brown rocks, the towering peaks of a great mountaln-chnln swept up Into the clear blue of the sky, black almost to their summits, which were dazzling with the white of unmelted snow. Women were deceivers ever, as Jim frnds out. t'rC HIS CONTINlKiX) "Miss Donovan Is a Lady." know your style, and you are mighty apt io gst Into trouble out here if you use any Bowery tactics." ' "Bowery tactics!" "Yes; you claim to live In New York, and you possess all the earmarks of the East side bad man. There is nothing noth-ing keeping you now from roughing it with me but the sight of this gun in my belt, and a suspicion In your mind that I may know how to use It. That suspicion Is correct. Now you go back to your barroom, where you will find plenty of your own kind to associate with. It's going to be dangerous for you to hang around here any longer." Beaton felt the stendy eyes upon him, but was carrying enough liquor to make him reckless, lie stepped backward, feigning a laugh, watchful to catch Westcott off his guard. "All right, then," he said, "I'll go get the drink; you can't bluff me." Westcott's knowledge of the class alone brought to him the man's purpose. pur-pose. Benton's hand was in the pocket of his coat, and, as he turned, apparently appar-ently to leave the room, the cloth bulged, With one leap forward the miner was at his throat. There was a report, a flash of flame, the speeding bullet striking the stove, and the next Instant Benton, ls hnnd still helplessly helpless-ly Imprisoned within the coat pocket, was hurled back across a card table, the players scattering to get out of the way. All tl pent-up dislike In Westcott's West-cott's heart found expression In action ac-tion ; the despicable trick wrought him to a sudden fury, yet even then there came to him no thought of killing the fellow, no memory even of the loaded gun" at his hip. He wanted to choke him, strike him with his hands. "You dirty cownrd," he muttered fiercely. "So you thought the pocket trick was a new one out here, did you? Come, give the gun up I Oh ! so there 'Is some fight left In you? Then let's settle It here." It was a struggle between two big,, strong men the one desperate, unscrupulous, un-scrupulous, brutal; the other angry enough, but retaining self-control I They crashed onto the floor, Westcott still retaining the advantage of position, posi-tion, and twice he struck, driving his clenched' fist home. Suddenly ho became be-came aware that some one had jerked his revolver from its holster and, almost al-most at the same Instant a hard hand gripped the nerk-band of his shirt and tore him loose from Beaton. "Here now enough of that, Jim," said a voice sternly, and his hands arose. Instinctively ns he recognized the gleam of two drawn weapons fronting him. "Help Beaton up, Joe. Now, look yere, Mr. Bully Westcott," and the spenker shook his gun threateningly. threat-eningly. "As it happens, you have Jumped on a friend o' ours, an' we naturally propose to take a hand In this game you know me!" Westcott' nodded, an unpleasant smile on his lips. "I do, Lacy," he said coolly, "and that if there Is any dirty work going on In this enmp it is quite probable you and your gang are In It. Now listens lis-tens you've got me covered, oud that A sudden turn about the base of a large cliff brought them to Haskell, a single street running up the broadening broaden-ing valley, lined mostly with shacks, although a few more pretentious buildings were scattered here and there, while an occasional tent flapped Its discolored canyas in the night wind. They went forward, Westcott watchful watch-ful and silent, the valise In one hand, the other .grasping her arm. The narrow nar-row stretch of sidewalk was jammed with men, surging in nnd out through the open door of a saloon, and the two held to the middle of the road, which was lined with horses tied to long poles. Men reeled out Into the street, and occasionally the sharp ciack of some frolicsome revolver punctuated the hoarse shouts and bursts of drunken laughter. No other woman was visible, yet, apparently, no particular attention was paid to their .progress. But the stream of men Ihlckened perceptibly, until Westcott was obliged to shoulder them aside good-hunioredly in order to open a passage. He released her arm and suddenly gripped the shoulder of a man passing. He was the town marshal. mar-shal. "Say, Dan, I reckon this Is your busy night, but I wish you'd help me run this lady through as far ns Timmons; this bunch of longhorns appear to .be milling, and we're plum stalled." The man turned and stared at them. Short, stocklly built, appearing nt first view almost grotesque under the broad brim of his hat, Stella, recognizing the marshal, was conscious only of a cleanshaven clean-shaven face, a square Jaw and a pair of stern blue eyes. "Oh, is thnt you, Jim?" he asked, briefly. "Lord, I don't see why a big boob like you should need a guardian. The lady? Pardon me, madam," and he touched his hat. "Stand back there, you fellows. Come on, folks!" The little marshal knew his business, busi-ness, nnd it was nlso evident thnt the crowd knew the little mnrshal. Drunk nnd quarrelsome as many of them were, they made way the more obstreperous ob-streperous sullenly, but the majority in a spirit of rough good humor. The three passed straight through the surging mass in the man-crowded lobby lob-by of the disreputable hotel. At the desk, wide-eyed with excitement, excite-ment, Miss Donovan took a service-worn service-worn pen proffered by landlord Vetp Timmons, whose gray whiskers were ns unkempt as his hotel, and registered regis-tered her nnme. "A telegram came today for you, ma'am," Peter said in a cracked voice, nnd tossed it over. Miss Donovan tore It open. It was from Farrlss. It read : "If any clues,- advise immediately. Willis digging hard. Letter of instruction instruc-tion follows. F ARRIS." -'''' J man, who had evidently been drinking heavily, yet was not greatly under the Influence of liquor, dressed in a checked suit of good cut and fashion, but hardly In the best of taste. He bore all the earmarks of a commercial commer-cial traveler of a certain sort a domineering domi-neering personality, making up by sheer nerve what he might lack in brains. But for his words the miner wmld have given the fellow no further thought. "Say, Timmons," he burst forth noisily, and striding over to the desk, "the marshal tells me a dame blew In from New York tonight is she registered regis-tered here?" The landlord shoved the book forward, for-ward, with one finger on the last signature. sig-nature. "Yep," he said shortly, "but she ain't the one you .wuz lookln' for I asked her that, fnrst thing." "Stella Donovan huh ! That's no name ever I heard ; what's she look like? Dark or light?" "Waal, sorter medium, I should say; brown hnir with a bit o' red In it, an' a pair o' gray eyes full of fun some girl, to my notion." The questioner struck his fist on the wood sharply. "Well, what the devil do yon suppose sup-pose such a woman hns come to this hole clear from New York' for, Timmons? Tim-mons? What's her game, anyhow?" "Blessed If I know," nnd the proprietor pro-prietor seated himself on a high stool. "I didn't, ask no questions like that; maybe the gent by the stove there might give yer all the Information yer want. He brought her up from the de-poo, de-poo, an' kin talk English. Say, Jim, this yere Is a shorthorn frum New York, nnmed Beaton, an' he seems ter be powerfully Interested in skirts Beaton, Mr. Jim Westcott." , The two men looked nt each other, the miner stepping slightly forward, nnd knocking the nshes out of his pipe. Beaton laughed, assuming & semblance of good nature, "My questions were prompted solely sole-ly by curiosity," he explained, evidently evi-dently not wholly at ease. "I wan expecting ex-pecting a young womun, and thought this new arrival might prove to be my friend." "Hardly," returned Westcott dryly. "As the landlord informed you, Miss Donovan Is a Indy." If he expected this shot to take effect ef-fect he was disappointed, for the grin never left Beaton's face. "Ah, a good Joke; n very good Joke, Indeed. But you misunderstand; this Is altogether a business matter. This young woman whom I expect Is coming com-ing here on a mining deal It Is not n love affair nt all, I assure you." "I thought possibly you might care to question me regarding my acqualnt- "The Drunken Fool," Ha Muttered . Quietly. , behind him, began making for the distant dis-tant lights of the Timmons house. As they followed the road, which paralleled paral-leled a whispering stream, the girl began be-gan to draw him out skilfully, and was amazed to find that for all of his rough appearance he was excellently educated and a gentleman of taste. Finally the reason came out. "Fm a college man," he explained proudly. '"So was my puftner same class. But one can't always remain In the admirable East, nnd three years go he and I came here prospecting. Actually struck some pny-dirt In the hills yonder, too, but it sort of petered out on us. It was broken In two by some upheaval of nature. We were si III trying to And It when my part-,". part-,". -bnr riimi wd he went East to |