a quick
getaway and, strange as it may seem, Aaron Logan sought the same
person and with a similar purpose.

13

Adine Lough had high rating in the community affairs of Adot. Her zeal
for higher education, her church work, and her general deportment gave
her contact with the better element that was trying to modernize--trying
to lift a community up and out of the rawness of frontier days. But if
the critics, the estimators of social standing, had seen her and her
associates on this fine October afternoon, they would have moved her
down several rungs on the social ladder.

She was in close conference with a midget, an ex-circus man, out of
work and advertised widely to give a talk at the warehouse Saturday
night! (They would hear this talk before making a final estimate.) And
Adine's other conferee was old Landy Spencer, a notorious resister of
progress, who spoke in the language of other days, whose
appearance--from battered hat to narrow bootheels--simply pictured the
undesirable past; his associates, when he came to town, were of the
rabble--the lower stratum. Very true, in other days, the bank had
given him a rating as not needing endorsers if he sought a loan. Very
true, Judge Sample had stated publicly that he would accept Landy
Spencer's word without the formalities of being sworn, but as a social
factor in the community, Landy didn't know where the social ladder was
located, let alone about reaching the lower rung. And all afternoon
Adine Lough was in close conference with such as these!

Landy returned to Jode's place sooner than he was expected. There was
a sheepish grin on his weathered face. "They beat me to hit," he said
in a low voice as Jode went back to the stove for his steak and
potatoes. (His companions were munching wafers and drinking chocolate
milk.) "Ike had already been en done hit."

Being served, and with Jode in the kitchen, the aged courier disclosed
the results of his mission. "Ye don't tell Ike what's on yer mind;
jist give him rope, git him started, en he'll come from under cover. I
went to his shop en he wasn't workin'. Seemed to be waitin'. I prodded
in, en he unfolded that he was waitin' for Logan. Our Logan, ye
understand. Hit whetted my int'rest; I prodded ag'in, en with results.
Ike said that Logan came to his shop Tuesday. He'd seen Ugly Collins
a-hangin' 'round Ike's place, en he wanted a quick move by Ugly. He
slipped Ike two new twenty-dollar bills en told him to loa