第27章

The eyes of the girl widened in surprise and fear as she learned that three watchers lay concealed at the verge of the clearing.She bent a long, searching look in the direction indicated by the boy and then turned her eyes quickly toward the hut as though to summon aid.At the same moment Bridge stepped from hiding into the clearing.His pleasant 'Good morning!'

brought the girl around, facing him.

"What you want?" she snapped.

"I want you and this young man," said Bridge, his voice now suddenly stern."We have been watching you and followed you from the Squibbs house.We found the dead man there last night;" Bridge nodded toward the quilt enveloped thing upon the ground; "and we sus-pect that you had an accomplice." Here he frowned meaningly upon Willie Case.The youth trembled and stammered.

"I never seen her afore," he cried."I don' know nothin' about it.Honest I don't." But the girl did not quail.

"You get out," she commanded."You a bad man.Kill, steal.He know; he tell me.You get out or I call Beppo.

He keel you.He eat you."

"Come, come, now, my dear," urged Bridge, "be calm.

Let us get at the root of this thing.Your young friend accuses me of being a murderer, does he? And he tells about murders in Oakdale that I have not even heard of.It seems to me that he must have some guilty knowl-edge himself of these affairs.Look at him and look at me.Notice his ears, his chin, his forehead, or rather the places where his chin and forehead should be, and then look once more at me.Which of us might be a murderer and which a detective? I ask you.

"And as for yourself.I find you here in the depths of the wood digging a lonely grave for a human corpse.

I ask myself: was this man murdered? but I do not say that he was murdered.I wait for an explanation from you, for you do not look a murderer, though I cannot say as much for your desperate companion."The girl looked straight into Bridge's eyes for a full minute before she replied as though endeavoring to read his inmost soul.

"I do not know this boy," she said."That is the truth.

He was spying on me, and when I found him he told me that you and your companions were thieves and murderers and that you were hiding there watching me.

You tell me the truth, all the truth, and I will tell you the truth.I have nothing to fear.If you do not tell me the truth I shall know it.Will you?""I will," replied Bridge, and then turning toward the brush he called: "Come here!" and presently a boy and a girl, dishevelled and fearful, crawled forth into sight.

Willie Case's eyes went wide as they fell upon the Oskaloosa Kid.

Quickly and simply Bridge told the girl the story of the past night, for he saw that by enlisting her sym-pathy he might find an avenue of escape for his com-panions, or at least a haven of refuge where they might hide until escape was possible."And then," he said in conclusion, "when the searchers arrived we followed the foot prints of yourself and the bear until we came upon you digging this grave."Bridge's companions and Willie Case looked their sur-prise at his mention of a bear; but the gypsy girl only nodded her head as she had occasionally during his nar-rative.

"I believe you," said the girl."It is not easy to de-ceive Giova.Now I tell you.This here," she pointed toward the dead man, "he my father.He bad man.

Steal; kill; drink; fight; but always good to Giova.Good to no one else but Beppo.He afraid Beppo.Even our people drive us out he, my father, so bad man.We wan-der 'round country mak leetle money when Beppo dance; mak lot money when HE steal.Two days he no come home.I go las' night look for him.Sometimes he too drunk come home he sleep Squeebs.I go there.Ifind heem dead.He have fits, six, seven year.He die fit.

Beppo stay guard heem.I carry heem home.Giova strong, he no very large man.Beppo come too.I bury heem.No one know we leeve here.Pretty soon I go way with Beppo.Why tell people he dead.Who care?

Mak lot trouble for Giova whose heart already ache plenty.No one love heem, only Beppo and Giova.No one love Giova, only Beppo; but some day Beppo he keel Giova now HE is dead, for Beppo vera large, strong bear--fierce bear--ogly bear.Even Giova who love Bep-po is afraid Beppo.Beppo devil bear! Beppo got evil eye.

"Well," said Bridge, "I guess, Giova, that you and we are in the same boat.We haven't any of us done any-thing so very bad but it would be embarrassing to have to explain to the police what we have done," here he glanced at The Oskaloosa Kid and the girl standing beside the youth."Suppose we form a defensive alli-ance, eh? We'll help you and you help us.What do you say?""All right," acquiesced Giova; "but what we do with this?" and she jerked her thumb toward Willie Case.

"If he don't behave we'll feed him to Beppo," sug-gested Bridge.

Willie shook in his boots, figuratively speaking, for in reality he shook upon his bare feet."Lemme go," he wailed, "an' I won't tell nobody nothin'.""No," said Bridge, "you don't go until we're safely out of here.I wouldn't trust that vanishing chin of yours as far as I could throw Beppo by the tail.""Wait!" exclaimed The Oskaloosa Kid."I have it!""What have you?" asked Bridge.

"Listen!" cried the boy excitedly."This boy has been offered a hundred dollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the men who robbed and mur-dered in Oakdale last night.I'll give him a hundred dollars if he'll go away and say nothing about us.""Look here, son," said Bridge, "every time you open your mouth you put your foot in it.The less you adver-tise the fact that you have a hundred dollars the better off you'll be.I don't know how you come by so much wealth; but in view of several things which occurred last night I should not be crazy, were I you, to have to make a true income tax return.Somehow I have faith in you; but I doubt if any minion of the law would be similarly impressed."The Oskaloosa Kid appeared hurt and crestfallen.