A threatening crowd
met them a block from the jail; but Burton's men were
armed with rifles which they succeeded in convincing
the mob they would use if their prisoners were molested.
The telephone, however, had carried the word to Oak-
dale; so that before Burton arrived there a dozen auto-
mobile loads of indignant citizens were racing south to-
ward Payson.
Bridge and The Oskaloosa Kid were hustled into the
single cell of the Payson jail. A bench ran along two
sides of the room. A single barred window let out upon
the yard behind the structure. The floor was littered
with papers, and a single electric light bulb relieved the
gloom of the unsavory place.
The Oskaloosa Kid sank, trembling, upon one of the
hard benches. Bridge rolled a cigaret. At his feet lay a
copy of that day's Oakdale Tribune. A face looked up
from the printed page into his eyes. He stooped and
took up the paper. The entire front page was devoted to
the various crimes which had turned peaceful Oakdale
inside out in the past twenty four hours. There were
reproductions of photographs of John Baggs, Reginald
Paynter, Abigail Prim, Jonas Prim, and his wife, with a
large cut of the Prim mansion, a star marking the bou-
doir of the missing daughter of the house.
Pages:
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181