The Barrier by Rex Ellingwood Beach
page 290 of 353 (82%)
page 290 of 353 (82%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
inane.
Then Stark spoke intelligibly for the first time. "Arrest him! You've got to believe what I told you now, Burrell." He poured forth a stream of unspeakable profanity, smitten by the bitter knowledge of his first and only defeat. "You'll hang, Gaylord! I'll see your neck stretched, damn your heart!" To Poleon he panted, excitedly: "I followed him for fifteen years, Doret. He killed my wife." "Dat's damn lie!" said the Frenchman. "No, it isn't. He's under indictment for it back in California. He shot her down in cold blood, then ran off with my kid. That's her he calls Necia. She's mine. Ain't I right, Lieutenant?" At this final desperate effort to fix the crime upon his rival, Burrell turned on him with loathing. "It's no use, Stark. We heard you say she killed herself. We were standing outside the door, both of us, and got it from your own lips." Until this moment the man had stood on his own feet, but now he began to sag, seeing which, Poleon supported him to the bed, where he sank weakly, collapsing in every joint and muscle. "It's a job," he snarled. "You put this up, you three, and came here to gang me." An unnatural shudder convulsed him as his wounds bit at |
|