Adventure, February 1917 — page 124: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

[122 “He said, ‘It’s all right, kid. Tl explain later. Don’t believe anything you hear,’ and he left me. He ran. “T shuddered. The way he ‘said ‘kid? I wasn’t too frightened to notice that. “‘The man across the street came over to me and asked, “Wasn’t that Toby Findley?’ I said it was. He looked at me apprais- ingly and said: ‘I guess you’re all right. But you’re in bad company, little girl.’ ” “T begged him to tell me what was the _ matter, and he did.- He was a detective from Denver. He was after Findley for ‘some kind of robbery. He showed me the warrant—and that made me remember that Findley had my marriage certificate in his pocket. “T was sick with fear and shame. I thought when they caught Findley they would learn I was his wife. But they didn’t. He had a chance to hide at first and get into another camp. He never told that we were married. I thought he did it to protect me, and admired him forit. I spent a miserable week before father returned, and I was in torment as to whether or not to tell him. Father was very stern. ~ “T know now that the reason Findley went to the penitentiary without telling any one that I was his wife—and he wrote me asking that I say nothing about it; as though I were ‘anxious to—was that he knew father wouldn’t waste any time in getting a divorce for me. And he wanted a hold on me when he came out of prison. “He was sent to prison for two years. Father died about eight months before Findley came out. I had thought and thought the situation over, and determined to wipe out every bit of evidence of that - marriage. I was encouraged because I had been fortunate enough not to have anybody notice that Findley had been recently married when they caught him. But it had been several days before the detective caught him, and then in another camp close by. “When father died I came into some money, and I followed the plan I had de- cided upon and went back to Colorado. I didn’t tell the clerk what name on the register I was anxious to have out of it, but paid him a big price to tear out one par- ticular page. He said himself the chances ~ were that no one would ever discover it. “I went to the justice that married us, and asked if he kept a record of the people Adventure ~ he married. He said that he kept no per- sonal record. Simply recorded the license. *‘So in one way and another I made sure that I had gotten rid of every record. I couldn’t, of course, find the witnesses. I remembered that they had been two people who just happened to be there. I feel satis- fied: that they don’t even remember the marriage; and if the certificate is destroyed, their names will be lost. “T wrote Findley to come to me as soon as he was out of prison and sent him the money. He tried to make me think I was his wife. I offered to pay him for the cer- tificate, and never dreamed that he could be so detestable as he was. He laughed and . said I could pay him a regular monthly income and he would keep the certificate. I told him no, and said I wanted it myself. “His price. was outrageous. It was simply unpayable. There was nothing I could do but mail him bills every month. I-did have judgment enough not to send checks!’’ Both she and Norcross were nervously eager to know what plans I had, and begged me to tell them if they might really hope that I would succeed, and he offered me a large, specific fee for success. “TI can’t tell you a thing. Along about midnight we may know more about it. As for the fee—we'll discuss that later—after the ‘success.’ I believe Miss Rankine has covered the tracks about as well as is possible. ~But if we get the certificate, I suggest that you send rapidly as you can some wise legal friend out to Colorado to go over the ground again and make sure. Also he might investigate Findley’s record thoroughly. Perhaps we can turn the tables and blackmail him into leaving the country. Things like that have been done before to my tertain knowledge. _ “T don’t want to raise up any false hopes, but if you two can be here between eleven and perhaps one or two o’clock tonight, I may be able to bring or telephone some- thing that will be of interest.” Before I left, I had Norcross repeat just what he had told Findley that morning about expécting to raise money to buy the certificate. Evidently Findley had _be- lieved him. Crooks have an idea that there is abso- lutely no bottom to the purse of a million- aire, or a millionaire’s. son. With Findley Eomichbooks (CO)