| Show l' l 1 I Oliver f October I on CO I Cb M If l I It By By Jo f J Georoe George Barr flurr McCulcheon ji 11 1 1 JI r. r I Copyright B Bet BeTI l Srn 11 CHAPTER XII XII Continued Continued 11 11 From all sides boomed the shouts and curses of a quickly ly revived revised pur- pur pur- pur t pose I. I I Rush flush em I Kill the 1 Beat Deat their heads ol orr 1 Get him I Get him v f Suddenly a strange voice rose above the clamor Rich full vibrant It fell upon pon puzzled ears and once again there was pause All An yes eyes were upon upon the the owner of this wondrous clarion yO voice Ice A startling figure she was vas erect upon the front seat sent of or Lansing's carMen car Men of I Hold flold Hold Holds I command you I Is there one among you jou ou who has hns not heard of the gypsy's prophecy cy of ot thirty years ago agol Let him speak who will wili and let him speak I for all t A score of ot voices voiced answered f. f Aye jAre she went on You all have ha heard It I ask one of you any you any one pf of you you you-to to stand forth and t tell ll the rest rest of this craven craven mob what the gypsy fortune teller said on that wild and stormy storm night 1 She SIte said the baby son son of Oliver Baxter Daxter would be hung for murder before before be be- fore tore he was thirty years ears old bawled someone I And what else did id she say rang out ut the yO voice lee of or J Josephine os Judge Jude Oh a n lot of things that dont don't matter matter matter mat mat- ter now y yelled a man b back k In the crow crowd d. d Get busy bo boys s We e cant can't cant can't- Stop Slop me varlets I You bell believe eve she spoke the truth when she uttered that prophecy Answer Anser Yes I came f from om a n hundred d throats Then you jou ou must know that this boy bor was adjudged innocent of this crime on the day he was born fell slowly distinctly from the lips of Josephine I will repeat the words wor s of the gypsy g woman She said lIe He will not commit com corn mit mft a mur murder er He lIe will be han hanged ed for fora forn a n crime he lie did not commit Speak Are not those the words of the j I gipsy Absolute silence silence ensued It It was was as asIf asIf asif If the crowd had tt turned to And so she cried le leveling her iier finger at the men In the front rank rank you have ha done your our part toward makIng making mak mak- ing lag the prophecy come true true- You have hung Oliver October Baxter In spite of the fact that you jou OU were told thirty y ars ago that he would be Innocent The mob stood rooted to the tie ground A sudden shout went up those the In-the front rank rank rank-a a shout of relief Oliver October was struggling to his feet assisted b by Jane and Lansing HI His arms released from their bonds i were thrown across their shoulders I his chin was high he he was was was' coughing violently Dont tr try to speak yet et Baxter Daner cautioned Lansing Plenty of time Youre You're all right You'll be yourself In Ina Inn a n few minutes Thank God we got gothere gothere gothere here when we did They got him Into the forward Cpr car nr where he huddled down Ja e and her mother They riley heard hi him per hoarsely jerkily Never Ne mind about me me Im Im I'm all ll right They wont won't try try try-It It again I Look ok after Aunt Aunt Serepta Serepta first She's She lur hurt They left her lying her lying up up- up Dont w worry orry old top cried S Sammy eagerly Ill go back and loot laok out fo Jon her You go along with Doc Doe Hell He'll fix fir you up All you jou ou need Js Is ls a 0 gO good d stiff stiff stiff- Clear the road rond I roared a score score of voices as Lansing's car e moved slowly and off oft the sides down the slope mid and up the the bank stunk slunk the obedient The once bl bloodthirsty bloodthirsty blood blood- thirsty horde bore off swiftly hen but still dubiously through I the night which now seemed to mock them with Its silence An hour later Sammy Parr expressed expressed ex ex- pres pressed d h himself somewhat some Irrelevantly In the parsonage arson ge sitting rooi g-rooi Say Miss Judge you ou were we great I I 1 never ever y t heard anything like flke that speech of ot y yours ms And your our 1 e- e f L LV V hZ It gave gae me me the queerest queerest kind kind 0 ol oln shivers n S I. I I j Josephine the floor her i ii i fin v brow knitted In thought was She S 1 I muttering to herself Oliver 1 lying I II I on a a C u. u b smiled d up nes ne's nesi d' d i lo lol ely lo l e eye es Then he lie sat sat up Sammy ammy h he crl cried out Fit with the ring of enthusiasm in his do me a or fa will Sure said Sammy g to his lils feet teet S. S 4 Stand up with sith me rne c f i Im I'm n going to o ire I r 1 S tro y Ill n nt not t stand t d. d up yop wIth old boy but C Ill I'll let you jou o lean lenn leanon on me meT T Now gasped Serepta Grimes Grime In In- great grent agitation lets now les e enow now now cried Jane softly and for the Ue first time that night the color c came cume me b back bRck ck to t her cheeks CHAPTER XIII Mr Gooch Sees Things a at Night Horace Gooch was going to bed H lie He hal had had a hard day and amI It was nine ocl k He Ie had hud a n book a worn well copy of or David Harum but he did not begin reading rending at once He was thinking of tie the man many dark and lonely nights old Oliver Baxter Daxter had spent In Death Swamp It gave him a creepy feeling He lie tucked the covers a n little littlemore littlemore more tightly under his chin chin but but still 1 the tho creepy feeling persisted Hey Horace 1 Someone was knocking at the front door door and and the voice loicel I There was only one voice In the world like that Mr Gooch went to the window Ho lIe hesitated a n moment then boldly drew the curtain apart Hello lIello Horace came wafting up up to Mr l Gooch That you Say open up and let me In Mr Gooch grasped the window frame for support Good G G-d G d I he gulped but in a voice so strange and hollow that he did not recognize It as his own The figure gure drew v nearer the house Im Ollie Baxter Daxter For goodness goodness' sake sake Horace Hornce dont don't tell me youve you've forgotten forgotten for for- gotten your oni only brother in I IGo I- I Go away awny Youre You're dead I You come down here and let me meIn In cried the other Ill soon soon show you jou Im I'm not dead Mr Gooch was not convinced convince It was wa's was Oliver Baxter r and he Vils was very ery mu much h alive e Well Yell what do you want I want to come in and spend the night with you that's what 1 I want Presently the two were seated In Goo hs h's warm kitchen I. I Now o v d demanded Mr l Gooch where have have you be been n all nil this time Mr Baxter Daxter sti stretched etched out his wrinkled wrinkled wrin wrin- kled legs and filled his pipe and lit It till the while keeping his keen little eyes on his in brother Well WeB sir he began presently I hunted this country over oer before I found round her She remembered every every- thing It took me nearly two weeks to get her to admit that she lied and andI I g guess giess ess she he wouldn't ha have e done It If I ha hadn't nt offered her a hundred dollars to tell the truth Are you jou ou talking about the gypsy gyps who told his fortune Inquired Mr Gooch comprehending suddenly Yes Queen Marguerite I finally got her to confess that everything she ald said was false Oliver aint going to tobe tobe tobe be hung any more than you or I. I All spite work she SIl says S Got mad at allot all of ot us us S So that's what what- youve you've been heen u up to you blamed old idiot exclaimed d Gooch Letting us all think you were dead I That reminds me me-I me I was Just wondering w whose os bc body dy I it is j ft cant can't possibly be jours ours The one they found In the the swamp yesterday i I mean S Mr Baxter Inquired with sudden n In Interest In- In terest ferest In the swamp eh Out In La one oue of the pools Why Jt It must be beTom beTom Tom Torn Sharps Sharp's body Tom Sharp was killed with an ax right out there on onUi Ui the edge of t the swamp thirty years ago He was was killed by a gypsy gypsy- Say Horace If It they think that body Ismine la Is lamine lamine mine who Is supposed to have killed me Mr Ir Gooch experienced a strange and softening of ot the heart A A Aman man that used to work around your place said he after a n moments moment's I Hesitation Silence fell between them Mr Baxter Baxter Bax Bax- ax- ax ter was thinking profoundly his brow wrinkled his e eyes es fixed on one of his hisbon bon bony hands Just so It wasn't Oliver wasn't-Oliver Oliver he said at nt swallowing hard He had r removed move the the gaudy audy muffler His Adams Adam's apple appl rose and fell fell twice con con con- Id hate to have people think he did It Dont worry about that said Mr G C Gooch ch Get along to bed bell snow now THE END j |
