Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 13, 1920 — page 120: what you’re looking at

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

398 went to sleep, and when you woke—’’ the judge leaned forward, his face tense, and his eyes agleam. “Yes, sir,” said Gus, “that was it. I went to sleep and slep’ clean through sup- per-time an’ all, and when I woke it was dark, I heard a splashin’, and I wondered where I was. Then I recollected, and I thinks, half awake: ‘Well, I got them danged kids this time, and V’ll cowhide ’em good, too!’ I meant to. They make me a lotta trouble; the cows won’t drink.” “Let that go,” some one broke in. Gus blinked, some one in the back of the room laughed, there was a rap, a sharp call to order, and he went on. | ‘‘ What was the noise?” asked Judge Llewellyn. “Tt was a boat—a motor-boat,” an- swered Gus Dirks. ‘‘ When it come along- side to where I was a layin’ they shut off the motor. He done it,” he asserted, point- ing to Billy. Then he grew suddenly alert and a mean smile played across his usually expressionless features. ‘‘ He done it,” he ’ said loudly again. ‘ He was in that there boat with her. I knowed her afore, and I seen her after it happened. I never miss seein’ a corpse. I enjoys a viewin’ of ’em.” _ “Did he speak?” asked some one, I do not know who; everything about that time was hazy for me. ‘Ves, sir; him and her, they talked.” “ What did he say—now be careful, my man—what did he say?” 3 “He says: ‘ As fer money, Ill give yuh that; but you knowed I was as good as married to another woman. It was you who told me to come up to the cabin that night, you who started this here; and now, when—’ ” Billy stood up and simply shouted: “ 7t’s a damned lie!’’ and after he was rep- rimanded sharply, sat down, looking fool- ish. Gus went on: 3 “She says,” he stated, “‘TIl expose you! You'll pay for this, you—’” and he strung out some epithets that sounded as if they had come from Gloria. These were silenced, and then the court-room went mad. Some fat woman with beads on her waist wept so loudly that they had to take her out. She kept moaning: “ My Gawd! Sar A Eee “! 0 PF ee Be ag aie Fn en gt ee ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. My Gawd!” TI found afterward that she was exhibiting some pickle company’s pro- ducts in a local store, and had never been near the town before, and didn’t know a soul in it. After her exit, again there was some sort of order, and the case went on. For ob- vious reasons they asked where the body of Gloria Vernon was buried, and it was found that it had been cremated. This had been her wish, and it was disclosed by an aunt of hers who lived in New Rochelle. At this news Dick Codman spoke; and it was the only time I ever knew his enthu- siasm to rise so high that it broke the wall of his silence. He simply said: ‘“ Smart! Darned smart!” as he looked toward Gus Dirks. I did not think so. I thought very little, to be truthful; my whole soul, being, heart, were given over to and wrapped in horror and forming a blind prayer. But dimly I heard the rest of the questions and answers. The coroner testi- fied to Gloria Vernon’s looks in a way that showed his carelessness; a carelessness which he shared with an examining physi- cian, a carelessness that now proved to be criminal negligence. There was a mo- ment’s excitement when, after the coroner had described Gloria Vernon after the mur- der, he rolled over in a faint. Some one admitted that Billy and I had had a disagreement at that time; some one else had seen Billy talking to her; another some one had seen him walking by the creek the very day of the murder, plastered with mud, haggard, and locking miserably unhappy. - I spoke up, and told why he looked that way; said that. it was my fault; that we had quarreled; but that 1 knew he was in- nocent of this charge. I heard myself growing more and more incoherent, and, gasping, I stopped, Billy’s arm around me, my head against his shoulder. My excite- ment had made things swim before me, and because of that I closed my eyes. When I opened them I encountered old Nathan’s gaze. His eyes seemed to tell me that it would be all right. There were mutters of: ‘‘ Poor little thing!” and “ Now, ain’t that sad!” then Eomicboo cS