The Argosy, March 1907 — page 183: what you’re looking at

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

~ _ “ Wal, doesn’t, he always come across lots?” “No, he _ doesn’t! -drives.” e Sometimes he This interrogation was really unnec-' essary, for it was well enough known that Manning had on occasion used the short cut, and the remainder of the in- ference from the indications was to the effect that Tom Fuller, started from Fielding’s at about the same moment WHAT BECAME OF TOM FULLER.-~ that Manning started from his house in . the opposite direction; that the young men met midway—that is, that about this spot—and had it out in the dark- ness. As Manning was in evidence and Ful- ler was not, it followed that the city man had beaten the rustic—and what then ? . “Manning couldn’t: lick Fuller if ‘twas a fair fight with nature’s weapons,”’ said Jones, the butcher’s helper. “YT seen Manning with a _ revolver _oncet,” remarked young Jim Carey, who did chores for the postmaster. Men turned grave faces toward the boy. « When? Where?” they asked him. “ Day after the Fourth,” he answered. “Some of us went swimming down to Blake’s Cove. He was there, shooting at a target. He had a fifty-cent piece stuck in the sand-hill ’bout as high as his head, and was firing at it.” ‘A man might shoot up here,” said the constable slowly, “ and the shot never -be heard nowheres. It’s so fur from any houses.” ° Isabel turned her back to the crowd and put her apron to her eyes. ‘““A man that would even try to hit a fifty-cent piece must be a good shot,” remarked Bemis. “ Guess if he couldn’t hit the coin he could hit a.man at short range,” said Jones. = “ Belle,” the constable demanded, -“did you ever hear Manning make any threats against Fuller?” ‘No, I didn’t,” she sobbed. ‘Just the same, I think it’s mighty serious,’ observed the constable. ~All agreed to this. They even ques- - tioned what disposition had been made of the body. If Manning had shot Fuller and killed # 755 him, he must have concealed the body somewhere, and. that theory was incen- tive for further search. Constable Haw- kins took charge, subdivided the party, and before dark the woods and all the land surrounding the knoll for a con- siderable distance had been thoroughly examined. - Not a trace of the missing man was found, not a clue to suggest another theory. - : By common consent, when darkness made it- impracticable to continue the search, the searchers gathered at the summit of the knoll. ‘They were in the deepest sort of quandary over the un- usual problem that confronted them. It seemed impossible that a murderer, unaided, could have carried the body of — his victim farther from the scene of the encounter than they had been during the search, and it was. equally incredible that Fuller, having started for Man- ning’s house, should have changed his mind and gone elsewhere. They were still talking the matter over vaguely, undecided as to what ought to be done next, when Francis Manning and his father joined them. ‘The vil- lagers at once gathered in a close group about the newcomers. did not keep them waiting. “TI have just learned,” he said, ‘ that one of the young men of the village has disappeared, and that you suspect my son had something to do with it.” “Wal, Mr: Manning,” responded the constable uneasily, ‘it’s pretty well known they didn’t bear each other any too much good-will. They had a fight 2 ““T regret to say that I know all about that,”’ the city man interrupted. ‘‘ What are the facts about Fuller?” “ All we know is that he left Luke Fielding’s house at about half past eight—— ‘I know that, too. come from there.” “Then you know as much as any- body—'less ’tis your son.” “TI understand you think he and my >, We have just ‘son had another fight, and you believe < my son did him grave injury. Is that ee “What else can we think? If ’twas light you’d see there was a scrap of some (Eo) JOO mile Manning Senior — m cS .€O PP TT