The Argosy, January 1906 — page 139: what you’re looking at

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

THE OUTCAST. gun from the scene of the murder—pro- viding Lloyd had carried his gun into the woods that morning. The weapon had certainly not come to light, and this explanation of its disappearance seemed the most reasonable. Orrin had interested Lloyd in fish- ing, and the trout had now begun to rise to a fly. One morning the doctor eut his office hours short, and accom- panied the herbalist and Lloyd to the trout stream, which wound for a part of its length through the confines of the swamp. He had obstinately kept away from the place in the woods where his uncle had been shot; but as they followed along the banks of the stream, on this morning, in pursuit of its finny deni- zens, the physician was. startled sud- denly to find himself within sight of that hummock where he had first halted in his mad flight after the murder. He would have hurried on, eager to lose sight of the spot; but Orrin pro- posed resting, producing a lunch which he had brought im his basket, and Lloyd agreed to the halt. “As for Burress, he dreaded fa remain, and yet he dared not leave them. His condition of mind at the moment was not governed by his usual calm judg- ment. What could possibly happen here to disturb the secret which he had kept locked in his bosom so long? What was there here to discover? The agony of spirit which he had suffered at the foot of the tree against which the old herbalist leaned had left its mark only on his soul—not upon the scene itself. His fear was childish; he tried to convince himself of this. But be could not eat, and remained lost in gloomy reflections while Orrin and Lloyd talked. J inally the latter rose and went nearer to the stretch of soft and dangerous morass at the foot of the little island. 321 Something sticking out of the black mud—half on the solid ground and half in the mire—had attracted his atten- tion. “ What is this?” he-asked, as he al- ways did when he came upon a new object. “It is iron, I guess. It is round. It is a hollow thing—a tube, eh? See, doctor!” Burress’ attention had wandered. His chin was sunk on his breast. He did not look up, or answer; but Orrin rose quickly and came to Lloyd’s side. “What ye got, See?” he asked curiously. The next instant he uttered a startled exclamation and seized the object, draw- ing it, with some difficulty, completely from the quagmire. . “It’s a gun—a rifle!” gasped Orrin, scarcely above a whisper, staring at the weapon with bulging eyes. “ What’s a rifle?” asked Lloyd. Orrin did not reply, and the other turned to Burress. “Doctor, you tell me what this is?” cried the afflicted man. Burress was at last aroused, and rose slowly to his feet. His gaze wandered idly to the thing in Orrin Padaock’s hands. As though a bullet from the gun itself had stricken him, he fell back for support against the bole of the tree. Neither of his companions noticed his emotion. Orrin still regarded the rifle with a puzzled frown; Lloyd drew nearer to examine the mystery. Instantly Burress saw that this was the rifle he had hidden the morning of the murder—the weapon which he had thrust into the mire of the swamp. The heaving of the frozen mud in the early spring had vomited forth the gun again; the very earth refused to hide the evi- dence of his crime! He believed Orrin Paddock was al- ready suspicious. The herbalist held in his hands now the evidence to convict him of the murder. Would he be sharp enough to see this fact? (To be continued.) WELCOME. So glad the word of greeting, So sweet the kiss and smile, That parting, for such meeting, Were almost made worth while. George Alison. ecom chook (ef)