urged Bridge, "be calm. Let us get at theroot 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 evenheard of. It seems to me that he must have some guilty knowledge himselfof 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 shouldbe, and then look once more at me. Which of us might be a murderer andwhich a detective? I ask you.
"And as for yourself. I find you here in the depths of the wood digginga 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 fromyou, for you do not look a murderer, though I cannot say as much foryour desperate companion."
The girl looked straight into Bridge's eyes for a full minute before shereplied as though endeavoring to read his inmost soul.
"I do not know this boy," she said. "That is the truth. He was spyingon me, and when I found him he told me that you and your companions werethieves and murderers and that you were hiding there watching me. Youtell me the truth, all the truth, and I will tell you the truth. I havenothing to fear. If you do not tell me the truth I shall know it. Willyou?"
"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 uponthe Oskaloosa Kid.
Quickly and simply Bridge told the girl the story of the past night, forhe saw that by enlisting her sympathy he might find an avenue of escapefor his companions, or at least a haven of refuge where they might hideuntil escape was possible. "And then," he said in conclusion, "when thesearchers arrived we followed the foot prints of yourself and the bearuntil we came upon you digging this grave."
Bridge's companions and Willie Case looked their surprise at hismention of a bear; but the gypsy girl only nodded her head as she hadoccasionally during his narrative.
"I believe you," said the girl. "It is not easy to deceive Giova. Now Itell you. This here," she pointed toward the dead man, "he my father. Hebad man. Steal; kill; drink; fight; but always good to Giova. Good to noone else but Beppo. He afraid Beppo. Even our people drive us out he, myfather, so bad man. We wander 'round country mak leetle money when Beppodance; 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. I find heem dead. He have fits, six, seven year. He die fit.Beppo stay guard heem. I carry heem home. Giova strong, he no very largeman. Beppo come too. I bury heem. No one know we leeve here. Pretty soonI go way with Beppo. Why tell people he dead. Who care? Mak lot troublefor Giova whose heart already ache plenty. No one love heem, only Beppoand Giova. No one love Giova, only Beppo; but some day Beppo hekeel Giova now HE is dead, for Beppo vera large, strong bear--fiercebear--ogly bear. Even Giova who love Beppo is afraid Beppo. Beppo devilbear! Beppo got evil eye.
"Well," said Bridge, "I guess, Giova, that you and we are in the sameboat. We haven't any of us done anything so very bad but it would beembarrassing to have to explain to the police what we have done," herehe glanced at The Oskaloosa Kid and the girl standing beside the youth."Suppose we form a defensive alliance, eh? We'll help you and you helpus. What do you say?"
"All right," acquiesced Giova; "but what we do with this?" and shejerked her thumb toward Willie Case.
"If he don't behave we'll feed him to Beppo," suggested Bridge.
Willie shook in his boots, figuratively speaking, for in reality heshook upon his bare feet. "Lemme go," he wailed, "an' I won't tellnobody nothin'."
"No," said Bridge, "you don't go until we're safely out of here. Iwouldn't trust that vanishing chin of yours as far as I could throwBeppo 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 hundreddollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the menwho robbed and murdered in Oakdale last night. I'll give him a hundreddollars if he'll go away and say nothing about us."
"Look here, son," said Bridge, "every time you open your mouth you putyour foot in it. The less you advertise the fact that you have a hundreddollars the better off you'll be. I don't know how you come by so muchwealth; but in view of several things which occurred last night I shouldnot 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 wouldbe similarly impressed."
The Oskaloosa Kid appeared hurt and crestfallen. Giova shot a suspiciousglance at him. The other girl involuntarily drew away. Bridge noted theact and shook his head. "No," he said, "we mustn't judge one anotherhastily, Miss Prim, and I take it you are Miss Prim?" The girl made ahalf gesture of denial, started to speak, hesitated and then resumed. "Iwould rather not say who I am, please," she said.
"Well," said the man, "let's take one another at face value for a while,without digging too deep into the past; and now for our plans. This woodwill be searched; but I don't see how we are to get out of it beforedark as the roads are doubtless pretty well patrolled, or at least everyfarmer is on the lookout for suspicious strangers. So we might aswell make the best of it here for the rest of the day. I think we'rereasonably safe for the time being--if we keep Willie with us."
Willie had been an interested auditor of all that passed between hiscaptors. He was obviously terrified; but his terror did not prevent himfrom absorbing all that he heard, nor from planning how he might utilizethe information. He saw not only one reward but several and a gloriouspublicity which far transcended the most sanguine of his former dreams.He saw his picture not only in the Oakdale Tribune but in the newspapersof every city of the country. Assuming a stern and arrogant expression,or rather what he thought to be such, he posed, mentally, for thenewspaper cameramen; and such is the power of association of ideasthat he was presently strolling nonchalantly before a battery of motionpicture machines. "Gee!" he murmured, "won't the other fellers be sore!I s'ppose Pinkerton'll send for me 'bout the first thing 'n' offer metwenty fi' dollars a week, er mebbie more 'n thet. Gol durn, ef I don'thold out fer thirty! Gee!" Words, thoughts even, failed him.
As the others planned they rather neglected Willie and when they came toassisting Giova in lowering her father into the grave and covering himover with earth they quite forgot Willie entirely. It was The OskaloosaKid who first thought of him. "Where's the boy?" he cried suddenly. Theothers looked quickly about the clearing, but no Willie was to be seen.
Bridge shook his head ruefully. "We'll have to get out of this ina hurry now," he said. "That little defective will have the wholeneighborhood on us in an hour."
"Oh, what can we do?" cried the girl. "They mustn't find us! I shouldrather die than be found here with--" She stopped abruptly, flushedscarlet as the other three looked at her in silence, and then: "I amsorry," she said. "I didn't know what I was saying. I am so frightened.You have all been good to me."
"I tell you what we do." It was Giova speaking in the masterful voice ofone who has perfect confidence in his own powers. "I know fine way out.This wood circle back south through swamp mile, mile an' a half. Theroad past Squeebs an' Case's go right through it. I know path there Ifin' myself. We on'y have to cross road, that only danger. Then we reachleetle stream south of woods, stream wind down through Payson. We allgo Gypsies. I got lot clothing in house. We all go Gypsies, an' when wereach Payson we no try hide--jus' come out on street with Beppo. Mak'Beppo dance. No one think we try hide. Then come night we go 'way. Findmore wood an' leetle lake other side Payson. I know place. We hide therelong time. No one ever fin' us there. We tell two, three, four peoplein Payson we go Oakdale. They look Oakdale for us if they wan' fin' us.They no think look where we go. See?"
"Oh, I can't go to Payson," exclaimed the other girl. "Someone would besure to recognize me."
"You come in house with me," Giova assured her, "I feex you so your ownmother
no know you. You mens come too. I geeve you what to wear likeGypsy mens. We got lots things. My father, him he steal many things fromour people after they drive us out. He go back by nights an' steal."
The three followed her toward the little hovel since there seemed nobetter plan than that which she had offered. Giova and the other girlwere in the lead, followed by Bridge and the boy. The latter turned tothe