FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   >>  
pon a sofa. The girl stood motionless, her eyes once again bent upon the floor. "What's the matter?" asked Burton. "What's wrong?" "Everything is wrong, Mr. Burton," Jonas Prim's voice was crisp and cold. "This is not my daughter." Burton looked his surprise and discomfiture. He turned upon the girl. "What do you mean--" he started; but she interrupted him. "You are going to ask what I mean by posing as Miss Prim," she said. "I have never said that I was Miss Prim. You took the word of an ignorant little farmer's boy and I did not deny it when I found that you intended bringing me to Mr. Prim, for I wanted to see him. I wanted to ask him to help me. I have never met him, or his daughter either; but my father and Mr. Prim have been friends for many years. "I am Hettie Penning," she continued, addressing Jonas Prim. "My father has always admired you and from what he has told me I knew that you would listen to me and do what you could for me. I could not bear to think of going to the jail in Payson, for Payson is my home. Everybody would have known me. It would have killed my father. Then I wanted to come myself and tell you, after reading the reports and insinuations in the paper, that your daughter was not with Reginald Paynter when he was killed. She had no knowledge of the crime and as far as I know may not have yet. I have not seen her and do not know where she is; but I was present when Mr. Paynter was killed. I have known him for years and have often driven with him. He stopped me yesterday afternoon on the street in Payson and talked with me. He was sitting in a car in front of the bank. After we had talked a few minutes two men came out of the bank. Mr. Paynter introduced them to me. He said they were driving out into the country to look at a piece of property--a farm somewhere north of Oakdale--and that on the way back they were going to stop at The Crossroads Inn for dinner. He asked me if I wouldn't like to come along--he kind of dared me to, because, as you know, The Crossroads has rather a bad reputation. "Father had gone to Toledo on business, and very foolishly I took his dare. Everything went all right until after we left The Inn, although one of the men--his companion referred to him once or twice as The Oskaloosa Kid--attempted to be too familiar with me. Mr. Paynter prevented him on each occasion, and they had words over me; but after we left the inn, where they had all drunk a great deal
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   >>  



Top keywords:
Paynter
 

killed

 

wanted

 

father

 

Payson

 
Burton
 
daughter
 

Everything

 
Crossroads
 

talked


property

 

Oakdale

 
street
 

sitting

 
minutes
 

country

 
driving
 
introduced
 

Oskaloosa

 

attempted


referred

 

companion

 

familiar

 

prevented

 

occasion

 

afternoon

 

wouldn

 

reputation

 

foolishly

 

business


Father

 
Toledo
 

dinner

 

matter

 

bringing

 
intended
 

Penning

 
continued
 

addressing

 
Hettie

friends
 

surprise

 
looked
 
discomfiture
 

started

 

turned

 
interrupted
 

posing

 
ignorant
 

farmer