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Show ejfiiiiiiiiiiriiiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiL I THE RED LOCK I nllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllirrrr- Tale Qf e pjatwoods " """""""""""""""""""""""" M CHAPTER XIV Continued. 19 "Let y'u alone after y'u bungled It the way y'u did with fifty pistols In the air and you drunk h 1 1 This was my lay, anyhow, and a one-man Job, only you and Loge had t' mess In and now, with y'ur long tongues and iqulrrel whisky, y'u've Jlm'd It." "Mess In !" The shadow among the gnarled roots raised a trifle. "Who hid y'u an' nursed y'u back, well again after that marshal dern' nigh croaked y'u last winter? Mess In !" The other strode a hard step nearer; . apparently realized that any sort of an outbreak just there and then might prove dangerous ; finally turned and gtalked away up the yard. The parlor door opened, closed. Black Bogus half rose, slipped away up the path and the woodsman was alone with the voice of the night. Counterfeiters the mystery was lleared. Simon Colin money-lender; n4- "Let Y'u Alone After Y'u Bungled It the Way Y'u Did With Fifty Pistols In the Air an' Y'u Drunkl" money-hoarder offered just the right opportunity. Their plan was absolutely flawless each night to slip out a number of good bills and replace them with counterfeit coun-terfeit bills of the same denomination. And the rumpling of the spurious bills in tobacco-stained leaf mold to make them appear old and worn, so practically eliminating the chances of detection it was a master thought. Crouched In the shrubbery, the woodsmun pondered the revelations of the night. But what to do? Proof It was the one big word that confronted con-fronted him. Since they had printed their supply of counterfeit bills before coming to the Flatwoods, there would be no outfit nothing that fire could not destroy. A thought of the concealed houseboat, house-boat, with the shapely heelprints on Its dusty after deck, crossed him; and assumed a new significance. But one false move and even that would disappear dis-appear and they, had their eyes on him. But with all the caution of his woodcraft, wood-craft, Jack Warhope was not a man to plan and scheme. He came of other stock than that. A stroke to the core when the ripe Instant came and devil take the chips, was his way. A bold thought took shape in his musings mus-ings but the ripe instant had not yet come. Another night would bring it, with the banker warned and both of them on guard. With a grim look on his face he crawled out of the shrubbery, stole back to the path winding along under the dense shadows nt the base of Black rock and slipped through the corner of the orchard to his own (mull cabin. Pausing in the fallow yard under an old apple tree, Just now renewing Its youth in the glory of full bloom, he stood for a long time sifting the sounds of the night and frowning back toward the red-roofed cottage. The moon stole up under the edge of the east and cast a glittering spear that broke against the face of Black Rock. A quiver seemed to thrill over the sleepy world at the bold assault. The geese lu the bam-lot honked and clapped their wings, a bullfrog down in the bayou cleared his throat ; a soft breeze waked, rustled the leaves of the old apple tree and snowed the man white with blossoms. He had his hand on the latch when suddenly there rang out upon the silence of the night, from the direction di-rection of the red-roofed cottage, a woman's wild scream, repeated again and again. He whirled, rigid, striving to dlstin-y dlstin-y gulsh the cry hut all women- scream much alike. Next moment he was dashing -;ross the orchard toward the sound rrobably the most awesome on earth- woman's wild cry in the night. The mind had ceased when he came out of the orchard and a candle was flitting about the sitting-room. He leaped the orchard fence and ran around to the porch. To his surprise the sitting-room door was partly open and he dualled In. There In his big armchair In the jvoui that served as otilce, half bent , By DAVID ANDERSON Author of "Ths Blus Moon" Copyright by The Bobba-Merrffl C. back over the chair arm. his grizzled head lolling down horribly, sprawled the old money-lender dead. Texle was crying wildly in the arms of the housekeeper. The preacher had just come from the parlor bedroom bed-room and stood stooped and trembling, peering through his huge spectacles in awed silence. But great as his haste In dressing must have been, he had found time to put on the frock coat and high neck stock demands of custom cus-tom that he had probably found impossible im-possible to deny. Jack found the dead man still warm. He noticed that his night shirt was torn to shreds at the neck and sleeves, and that his face was scratched and streaked wifh blood, but there was no wound apparent that could have caused his death. The room presented every evidence of a struggle. A chair was over-turned over-turned ; the cover on a 6mall stand had been brushed away; the rug was dragged back a foot or two from before be-fore the dead banker's writing desk, where, for an Instant the woodsman bent a searching eye upon some faint markings that, in the dim candle-light, could barely be traced upon the dusty floor-boards thus laid bare. The old man's sawed-off shotgun was lying on the floor, where It had probably been wrenched fmm his hand before he could use it. Jack had only time to note these particulars when a rabble of people from the village, alarmed by Texle's screams, came running up the yard and stormed into the house. A moment mo-ment later Jerry Brown, the town marshal, bustled in and took charge and the peaceful cottage passed Into the hands of the law. The house was cleared of all but the preacher, the woodsman and two or three women, a messenger sent to the city for the coroner, and a deputy put on guard at the door pending his arrival. Seventy years ago the coroner's office was in the saddle, the coroner, then as now, always a physician, usually usu-ally of the "saddle-bags" type, a race of men staunch and true, who, next to the minister and teacher, did most to nurse the young republic to manhood. Early the next morning the coroner arrived. After a short consultation with Jerry Brown, he entered the room where the tragedy occurred and began his inquest. Aside from the disarranged furniture, furni-ture, the torn garment, the scratches on the face, there was little evidence, . and no clue whatever to the person or persons with whom the old man had waged his fatal battle in the dark. ; Not a cent of money, or any article of value, had been taken. The safe ; was' still locked, apparently Just as ' it had been left the day before. ; Texle testified that she had heard a struggle, and words strained and muffled and Indistinct that she immediately imme-diately sprang out of bed and ran toto . the housekeeper's room that they lighted a candle and hurried downstairs down-stairs that there was no one else in the room except her father, and he lay back across the chair arm Her voice choked into silence. "Were the doors all closed?" "All but the door of the settin'-room settin'-room It was open a little bit." "Was it closed when you went to bed?" "I s'pose so father never failed to shut and lock It" "Was there more than one key t' ' the door?" "No, only one." "Where was it kep'T" "Hangln' b'hlnd the door." "Marshal," directed the coroner, "will you see if that key is still hangln' there?" The marshal peeped behind the door. I "Yes, it's thar yit, Y'ur Honor," he , answered. The coroner relaxed his gruff sever- 1 iry long enough to offer the weeping girl a word of kindly sympathy, and then dismissed her. The housekeeper was next called. Her testimony agreed In every particular par-ticular with Texie's. And then came the preacher. In his peering, Jerky way, he testified that he was a heavy sleeper that he had heard nothing till Miss Texle screamed that he had then hastily thrown on the few articles of dress necessary to make himself presentable before ladies that he had opened his door and hurried across the parlor, across the sitting-room and into the office, where he was horrified to find his dear friend dead, and the room in Its present disarray. dis-array. "Is it true that you carry a key to the parlor door?" "It is. Brother Colin placed it at my disposal the evening I came." "Where Is It?" "Here." He drew It forth and held It toward the coroner, who waved It away. "Did you lock the parlor door las' night?" "I did." "You'rr excused. The coroner loosed In his note-book, glanced Into the corner of the room I wnre Jack Warhope stood near iYxle's chair and motioned with his I nxnd. The woodsman approacned the I tatile. "What do you know of this cue?" i In his slow, careful wgy the woodsman woods-man told what he had heard and seen, from the moment of Texie's scream to the arrival of Jerry Brown. "What was yon doln' up so late 7" The question probed deep. Things would have happened had he answered it and 'they would have happened fast. Back along the wall the preacher preach-er straightened a trifle and his eyes tightened behind the huge spectacles. "I was studyin'." Just what the character of his "studies" had been he let fall no word, and fortunately the coroner did not ask. Back along the wall the tightened tight-ened eyes behind the huge spectacles relaxed. "Is It true that you carry, and have for some time carried, a key to the kitchen door?" "Yes, sir." "Where was that key las' night?" "In my pocket." He drew It out and held it forth; the coroner waved it away; back along the wall the eyes behind the tinted spectacles tightened again. "It appears from the evidence that you was the only person who could have entered this house las' night without breakln' in." Texle slowly rose from her chair j her eyes suddenly dry and wide. "Your Honor w'y that's Jack Father trusted him the same as he did me " The coroner looked toward her; waved his hand. The girl glanced helplessly at the woodsman; sank back into the chair and buried her face In her hands. Uncle Nick had edged through the crowd and approached the table. "Doc, Y'ur Honor, he never done It, He couldn't. Hit ain't in 'im n'r the men 'e sprung from. W'y, I'd back the boy with my life." The coroner looked at him; turned again to the woodsman. , "Your name's Warhope?" "Yes, sir." "Son of CoL David Warhope?" "Yes, sir." The coroner mused a moment, then went on. "I knowed your father, and I don't believe It has ever been my privilege t' know a nobler man or a finer gentleman." gen-tleman." He turned to Uncle Nick,' anxiously fumbling the coonskin cap In his fingers. "You say you'd be wlllin' to answer for this boy's honesty with your life?" "I would that." "So would I." He turned to the woodsman : "Young man, you're excused." ex-cused." Tense strung bodies 'relaxed ; faces cleared ; a murmur swept the crowd a murmur that, only for the presence of the dead, would have swelled to a cheer. After writing a hasty line or two in his worn note-book, the coroner rose La grim severity and rendered his verdict to the effect that Simon Colin came to his death from an acute attack at-tack of apoplexy, precipitated by struggling with some person, or persons, per-sons, unknown, who had entered the house probably with Intent to rob. Looking around over the assembled villagers, a man seriously conscious of the trust the state had committed to "It Appears From the Evidence Thai You Was the Only Person Who Could Have Entered This House Las' Night Without Breakin' In." him, the coroner folded up his notebook, note-book, came out from behind the table and the inquest was over. The crowd was sent away ; th woodsman helped Jerry Brown and the coroner carry the dead man into hl room and lay him upon his bed. Watching a chance when no one wa looking, Jack snatched up the sawed-off sawed-off shotgun and hurriedly examinee' the caps on the tubes. He found what he was looking for the fulml-n'p fulml-n'p had been removed from the caps, rei. terlng them absolutely neutral. No am tint of hammering could have cau led them to explode. Crossing the floor, he took down th key. which the marshal had left hang Ing behind the door undisturbed, an studied it critically. On tne sbft of 1: was a faint discoloration that fouli be nottiini else but blood. (Ti BE COKTlNUEttJ |