The Oakdale Affair Part 8

"So do I," replied the man.

"There must be some good in him," she continued, "even if he is such a desperate character; but I know he's not The Oskaloosa Kid. Do you really suppose he robbed a house last night and then tried to kill that Dopey person?"

Bridge shook his head. "I don't know," he said; "but I am inclined to believe that he is more imaginative than criminal. He certainly shot up the Dopey person; but I doubt if he ever robbed a house."

While they waited, The Oskaloosa Kid trudged along the muddy road to the nearest farm house, which lay a full mile beyond the Squibbs' home.

As he approached the door a lank, sallow man confronted him with a suspicious eye.

"Good morning," greeted The Oskaloosa Kid.

The man grunted.

"I want to get something to eat," explained the youth.

If the boy had hurled a dynamite bomb at him the result could have been no more surprising. The lank, sallow man went up into the air, figuratively. He went up a mile or more, and on the way down he reached his hand inside the kitchen door and brought it forth enveloping the barrel of a shot gun.

"Durn ye!" he cried. "I'll lam ye! Get offen here. I knows ye. Yer one o' that gang o' b.u.ms that come here last night, an' now you got the gall to come back beggin' for food, eh? I'll lam ye!" and he raised the gun to his shoulder.

The Oskaloosa Kid quailed but he held his ground. "I wasn't here last night," he cried, "and I'm not begging for food--I want to buy some.

I've got plenty of money," in proof of which a.s.sertion he dug into a side pocket and brought forth a large roll of bills. The man lowered his gun.

"Wy didn't ye say so in the first place then?" he growled. "How'd I know you wanted to buy it, eh? Where'd ye come from anyhow, this early in the mornin'? What's yer name, eh? What's yer business, that's what Jeb Case'd like to know, eh?" He snapped his words out with the rapidity of a machine gun, nor waited for a reply to one query before launching the next. "What do ye want to buy, eh? How much money ye got? Looks suspicious. That's a sight o' money yew got there, eh? Where'dje get it?"

"It's mine," said The Oskaloosa Kid, "and I want to buy some eggs and milk and ham and bacon and flour and onions and sugar and cream and strawberries and tea and coffee and a frying pan and a little oil stove, if you have one to spare, and--"

Jeb Case's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "You're in the wrong pasture, bub," he remarked feelingly. "What yer lookin' fer is Sears, Roebuck & Company."

The Oskaloosa Kid flushed up to the tips of his ears. "But can't you sell me something?" he begged.

"I might let ye have some milk an' eggs an' b.u.t.ter an' a leetle bacon an' mebby my ol' woman's got a loaf left from her last bakin'; but we ain't been figgerin' on supplyin' grub fer the United States army ef that's what yew be buyin' fer."

A frowsy, rat-faced woman and a gawky youth of fourteen stuck their heads out the doorway at either side of the man. "I ain't got nothin'

to sell," snapped the woman; but as she spoke her eyes fell upon the fat bank roll in the youth's hand. "Or, leastwise," she amended, "I ain't got much more'n we need an' the price o' stuff's gone up so lately that I'll hev to ask ye more'n I would of last fall. 'Bout what did ye figger on wantin'?"

"Anything you can spare," said the youth. "There are three of us and we're awful hungry."

"Where yew stoppin'?" asked the woman.

"We're at the old Squibbs' place," replied The Kid. "We got caught by the storm last night and had to put up there."

"The Squibbs' place!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the woman. "Yew didn't stop there over night?"

"Yes we did," replied the youth.

"See anything funny?" asked Mrs. Case.

"We didn't SEE anything," replied The Oskaloosa Kid; "but we heard things. At least we didn't see what we heard; but we saw a dead man on the floor when we went in and this morning he was gone."

The Cases shuddered. "A dead man!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Jeb Case. "Yew seen him?"

The Kid nodded.

"I never tuk much stock in them stories," said Jeb, with a shake of his head; "but ef you SEEN it! Gos.h.!.+ Thet beats me. Come on M'randy, les see what we got to spare," and he turned into the kitchen with his wife.

The lanky boy stepped out, and planting himself in front of The Oskaloosa Kid proceeded to stare at him. "Yew seen it?" he asked in awestruck tone.

"Yes," said the Kid in a low voice, and bending close toward the other; "it had b.l.o.o.d.y froth on its lips!"

The Case boy shrank back. "An' what did yew hear?" he asked, a glutton for thrills.

"Something that dragged a chain behind it and came up out of the cellar and tried to get in our room on the second floor," explained the youth.

"It almost got us, too," he added, "and it did it all night."

"Whew," whistled the Case boy. "Gos.h.!.+" Then he scratched his head and looked admiringly at the youth. "What mought yer name be?" he asked.

"I'm The Oskaloosa Kid," replied the youth, unable to resist the admiration of the other's fond gaze. "Look here!" and he fished a handful of jewelry from one of his side pockets; "this is some of the swag I stole last night when I robbed a house."

Case Jr. opened his mouth and eyes so wide that there was little left of his face. "But that's nothing," bragged The Kid. "I shot a man, too."

"Last night?" whispered the boy.

"Yep," replied the bad man, tersely.

"Gos.h.!.+" said the young Mr. Case, but there was that in his facial expression which brought to The Oskaloosa Kid a sudden regret that he had thus rashly confided in a stranger.

"Say," said The Kid, after a moment's strained silence. "Don't tell anyone, will you? If you'll promise I'll give you a dollar," and he hunted through his roll of bills for one of that lowly denomination.

"All right," agreed the Case boy. "I won't say a word--where's the dollar?"

The youth drew a bill from his roll and handed it to the other. "If you tell," he whispered, and he bent close toward the other's ear and spoke in a menacing tone; "If you tell, I'll kill you!"

"Gos.h.!.+" said Willie Case.

At this moment Case pere and mere emerged from the kitchen loaded with provender. "Here's enough an' more'n enough, I reckon," said Jeb Case.

"We got eggs, b.u.t.ter, bread, bacon, milk, an' a mite o' garden sa.s.s."

"But we ain't goin' to charge you nothin' fer the garden sa.s.s,"

interjected Mrs. Case.

"That's awfully nice of you," replied The Kid. "How much do I owe you for the rest of it?"

"Oh," said Jeb Case, rubbing his chin, eyeing the big roll of bills and wondering just the limit he might raise to, "I reckon 'bout four dollars an' six bits."

The Oskaloosa Kid peeled a five dollar bill from his roll and proffered it to the farmer. "I'm ever so much obliged," he said, "and you needn't mind about any change. I thank you so much." With which he took the several packages and pails and turned toward the road.

"Yew gotta return them pails!" shouted Mrs. Case after him.

"Oh, of course," replied The Kid.