Part 37 (1/2)
She had not mistrusted him; but these others she did mistrust When they asked to use the telephone she refused and ordered the it but an excuse to enter the house; but they argued thethat they had discovered an escapednear-by--in fact in her own meadow--and that they wished only to call up the Kansas City police
Finally she yielded, but kept the dog by her side and the shotgun in her hand while the two entered the room and crossed to the telephone upon the opposite side
From the conversation which she overheard the woman concluded that, after all, she had beenman who had come earlier in the day and purchased food froitive tallied exactly with that of the younga ood woht that she had been in the house alone when he had come and that if he had wished to he could easily have et him,” she said, when the tramp had concluded his talk with Kansas City ”It's awful the carryings on they is nowadays Why a body can't never tell who to trust, and I thought hiot, too”
The dog, bored by the inaction, had wandered back into the summer kitchen and resuainst the wall talking with the farht shi+n hat remained of the heel of his left shoe He supported himself with one hand on a small table upon the top of which was a family Bible
Quite unexpectedly he lost his balance, the table tipped, he was thrown still farther over toward it, and all in the flash of an eye tramp, table, and family Bible crashed to the floor
With a little cry of alarather up the Holy Book, in her haste forgetting the shotgun and leaving it behind her leaning against the arm of a chair
Almost simultaneously the two trae book had fallen upon its back, open; and as several of the leaves turned over before co to rest their eyes ide at as revealed between
United States currency in denoly inserted between the leaves of the Bible The tramp who lay on the floor, as yet too surprised to attempt to rise, rolled over and seized the book as a football player seizes the pigskin after a fu out his elbows as a further protection to the invaluable thing
At the first cry of the wo, and bounded into the roo--a un stood almost within thethe fellow's intentions the dog wheeled from the tra for the other ragged scoundrel
Theroar The dog collapsed to the floor, his chest torn out Now the woan to scream for help; but in an instant both the tra her to silence
One of the a moment later with a piece of clothesline, while the other sat astride the victiers closed about her throat Once he released his hold and she screaed Then the two commenced to rifle the Bible
Eleven hundred dollars in bills were hidden there, because the wos of a lifetiained consciousness, she saw the last of their little hoard transferred to the pockets of the tramps, and when they had finished they de that she ht reply
She told theed therowled one of the men, ”an' youse had better pass it over, or we'll find a way to make youse”
But still she insisted that that was all The tra in the stove A pair of pliers lay upon thesill With these he lifted one of the hot stove-hole covers and returned to the parlor, grinning
”I guess she'll reins to woik,” he said ”Take off her shoes, dink”
The other growled an objection
”Yeh poor boob,” he said ”De dicks'll be here in a little while We'd better be ot”
”Gee!” exclaiot all about de dicks,”
and then after awhich his evil face underwent various changes of expression froriot to croak her,” he said ”Dey ain't no udder way If dey finds her alive she'll blab sure, an' dey won't be no trouble 'bout gettin' us or identifyin' us neither”
The other shrugged