Mw""ft'i ! -hiymn ,. .,..j.i RED CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF 1 i 8 iU n M P i I Jfl ?i ff s The Real Man By FRANCIS LYNDE (Copyright by Chi. CHAPTER XXIII. 17 The Flesh-Pota of Egypt Convinced by Vorda IUchlandcr's telephone message to tho conRtruction camp thnt he stood In no Immediate danger, Smith spent the heel of the af ternoon in tho High Line ofllces, keep ing In wire touch with Stllltngs, whom he bad sent on a secret mission to Ilcd Dutte, and with Wllllnina at tho dam. The High Lino enterprise was on the knees of the gods. If Wllllums could pull through In time, If the river-swelling Btortns should hold off, If Stanton Bhould delay his final raid pnst the critical hour and there was now good reason to hope that all of these con tingencies wcro probabk tho victory was practically won. Smith closed his desk at six o'clock and went across to the hotel to dress for dinner. Tho day of suspense was practically at un end and disaster still held aloof; was fairly outdistanced In the race, as It seemed. Williams' final report had been to the effect that the concrete-pouring was completed, and the long Btraln was off. Smith went to his rooms, and, as once befnro and for a similar reason, ho laid his dress clothes out on tho bed. Ho made sure that ho would bo required to dine with Verda Itlchlnndcr, and ho was strip ping his coat when ho heard a tap at tho door and Jlbbey came In. "Glad rags, eh?" said the blase one, with a glance nt the array on the bed. Tvo Just run up to tell you that you needn't. Verda's dining with tho Stnntons, and she wants me to keep yon out of sight until afterward. By and by, when she's foot-loose, sho Wants to seo you In the mezzanine. Isn't thero Borne quiet little Joint where we two can gofor a bite? You know tho town, nnd I don't." Smith put his coat on, nnd together they circled the square to FrascatPs, taking a table In the nmln cafe. While they were giving their dinner order, Stnrbuck cumo In und Joined them, and Smith was glad. For rea sons which ho could scarcely have de fined, he was relieved not to have to talk to Jlbbey nlono, and Starbuck played third hand admirably, taking kindly to tho sham, black sheep, and filling him up, In quiet, straight-faced humor, with many nnd most marvel ous tales of tho earlier frontier. At the end of tho meal, while Jlb bey was still content to linger, listen ing open-mouthed to Stnrbuck's ro manclngs, Smith excused himself nnd returned to tho hotel. He had scarce ly chosen his lounging chair In a quiet corner of tho mezzanine before Miss Itlchlnndcr came to Join htm. "It has been n long day, hnsn't It?" sho began evenly. "You have been busy with your dam, I suppose, but I I hnvo had nothing to do but to think, and that Is something that I don't often allow myself to do. You have gone far slnco thnt night last May when you telephoned mo that you would como up to the house later nnd then broko your promise, Montague." "In a way, I suppose I have,!' ho admitted. "You have, indeed. You are a to tally different man." "In what way, particularly?" "In every conceivable way. If ono could believo In transmigration, one would say that you had changed souls with sotno old, hard-hitting, rough riding ancestor. Ilavo your ambitions changed, too?" "I am not suro now thnt I hud any ambitions in that other life." "Oh, yos, you had," she went on smoothly. "In the 'other life,' as you call it, you would have been quite willing to marry a woman who could assure you n firm social standing and money enough to put you on a footing with other men of your capabilities. You wouldn't bo willing to do that now, would you? leaving tho senti ment out as yon used to lcavo it out hen?" "No, I hardly think I should." Her laugh was musically low nnd meet, and only mildly derisive. "You nro thinking that it Is change of environment, wider horizons, nnd all that, which has changed you, Mori taguo; but ! know bettor. It Is a woman, and, as you may remember, I have met her twice." Then, with a faint glow of spiteful fire In tho magnificent oycs : "IIow can you muko yourself believo that she Is pretty?" IIo shrugged ono shoulder In token of tho utter usclcssncss of discussion In that direction. "Sentiment?" ho queried. "I think wo needn't go into thnt, at this Into 'Way, Verdu. It Is n field thnt neither vof us entered, or enred to enter, In tho days thnt nro gone. If I say that Corona Buldwln has quite uncon sciously on her part, I must nsk you to believo taught mo what lovo means, thnt ought to bo enough." Again sho was laughing softly. You seem to have broadly forgot ten tho old proverb about a womnn Rcorncd. Wliat have you to expect from mo after making such an admis sion ns that?" , Smith pulled himself together and stood tho argument firmly upon Its unquestionable footing. "Lot us put all Uiexo Indirections Sciibnera Sou) aside and bo for the moment merely a man nnd a womnn, as God mndo us, Verdn," ho sold soberly. "You know, and I know, that there was nover any question of lovo Involved In our rela tions past and gone.' Wo might have married, but In that caso neither of us would have got or exacted any thing more than tho conventional de cencies and amenities. Wo mustn't try to muko believo at this Into day. You hud no illusions about mo when I wuh Wutrous Dunham's hired mun; you haven't uny Illusions about me now." "I'erhnps not," wns tho calm rejoin der. "And yet today I havo lied to save you from those who are trying to crush you." "I told you not to do that," ho re joined quickly. "I know you did; and yet, when you went away this morning you knew perfectly well that I was going to do It If I should get the opportunity. Didn't you, Montuguo?" He nodded slowly; common honesty demanded that much. "Very well; you accepted the serv leo, and I gave It freely. Mr. Klnzle believes now that you aro another Smith not the ono who ran nwny from Lawrenccvlllo last May. Tell mo : would the other woman have dono as much If the chance had fallen to her?" It was on tho tip of his tongue to say, "I hope not," but ho did not say It. Instead, he said: "But you don't renlly care, Verda ; In the way you are trying to make mo believe you do." "Possibly not; possibly I am wholly selfish In the matter and am only look ing for some loopholo of escape." "Escape? From whom?" Sho looked nwny and shook her head. "From Wntrous Dunham, let us say. You didn't suspect thnt, did you? It' Is so, nevertheless. My fa ther desires It ; and I supposo Wntrous Dunham would like to havo my money you know I havo something In my own right. Perhaps this may help to account for some other things for your trouble, for one. You were in his wny, you see. But never mind thnt: thero are other matters to be considered now. Though Mr. Kinzlo has been put off the track, Mr. Stan ton hnsn't. I havo earned Mr. Stan ton's Ill-will becauso I wouldn't tell him about you, and this evening, at table, ho took It out on me." "In what way?" "IIo gnve me to understand, very plainly, that he had done something; that thero was a sensation In prospect for all Brewster. He was so exult antly triumphant thnt It fairly fright ened me. The fact that ho wasn't afraid to show some part of his hand to me knowing thnt I would bo sure to tell you makes me afraid that tho trap has already been set for you." "In other words, you think ho has gone over Klnzlo's head and has tele graphed to Lawrencevlllo?" "Montague, I'm almost certain of it 1" Smith stood up and put his hands behind him. "Which means that I havo only nfew hours, at tho longest," ho said quietly. And then: "Thero is a good hit to be done, turning over tho business of tho ofllce, nnd all that: I've been 'put ting it off from duy to day, saying thnt thero would bo time enough to set my house In order after tho trap hud been sprung. Now I am like tho mnn who puts off tho making of his will until It Is too lute. Will you let mo thank you very heartily and vanish?" "What shnll you do?" she asked. "Set my house In order, us I say as well as I can In tho tlmo that ro innlnu. There lire others to bo con sidered, you know." "Oh; tho plain-faced llttlo ranch girl among them, I suppose?" "No; thank God, she Is out of It entirely In the way you meun," ho broke out fervently. "You menn that you haven't spoken to her yet?" "Of courso I huven't. Do you sup poso I would ask any woman to marry mo with tho shadow of tho peniten tiary hanging over me?" "But you are not really guilty." " "That doesn't mnke any difference: WOjtrous Dunham will see to it that I get what ho has plunned to glvo me." Sho was tapping nn Impatient tat too on tho carpet with ono shnpely foot. "Why don't you turn this new lenf of yours back und go homo and fight It out with Wutrous Dunham, once for all?" sho suggested. "I shnll probubly go, fast enough, when Macauley or ono of his deputies gets hero with tho extradition pnpers," ho returned. "But ns to fighting Dunhnm, without money" She looked up quickly, nnd this time thero wns no mistaking tho meaning of tho glow In tho magnificent brown eyes. "Your friends havo money, Monta gueplenty of It. All you havo to do Is to say that you will defend your self. I am not suro thnt Watrous Dunhnm couldn't bo mndo to tako your place In tho prisoner's dock, or that you couldn't bo put In his place In the Mwrenccvilte Hank nnd Trust. Yon havo captured Tucker Jlbbey, nnd that mcano Tucker's father; and my fu thcr well, when it conies to tho worst, my father always does what I want him to. It's his ono wenkncsH." For one little Instant Smith felt the solid ground slipping from beneath his feet. Hero was u way out, and his quick mentality was showing him thnt it wns a perfectly feasible way. As Verdn Illchlundcr's husband and Jo slnli Illchlundcr's son-ln-lnw, he could fight Dunhnm nnd win. And the re ward: once more he could tako his placo In the small Lawrencevlllo world, and settlo down to the life of conventional good report and ease which lie had once thought tho acme of any reasonable man's aspirations. But at the half-yielding moment n word of Corona Baldwin's flushed Into his brain nnd turned tho scule: "It did happen In your case . . . giv ing you a chance to grow nnd expand, nnd to break with all the old tradi tions . . . nnd tho break left you free to mako of yourself what you should choose." It was the relncnr nuted Smith who met the look In the beautiful eyes nnd made answer. "No," wns the sober decision; nnd then ho gnve his reasons. "If I could do what you propose, I shouldn't be worth tho powder it would take to drlvo a bullet through me, Verda, for now, you Bee, I know whnt love means. You suy I havo changed, and I have changed: I enn Imagine the pnst-und-gone J. Montague Jumping nt the chance you nre offering. But the mill will never grind with the water that Is past: I'll tako what is coming to me, nnd try to take it like n mnn. Good nightand good-by." And he turned his back upon tho temptation nnd went away. Fifteen minutes Inter he wns in his ofllce In the Klnzle building, trying In vain to get Colonel Baldwin on tho distance wire; trying nlso and nlso In vnin to forget the recent clnsh nnd break with Verda Rlchlander. Ho was Jiggling the switch of tho desk phono for tho twentieth time when n nervous step echoed In tho corridor and tho door opened to admit William Starbuck. Thero was red wrath In the mlno owner's ordinarily cold eyes when ho flung himself Into n chair und ensed the nausea of his soul In an out burst of picturesque profanity. "Tho Jig's up definitely up, John," he was saying, when his speech be camo lucid enough to bo understood. "We know now what Stanton's 'other InMs! "Your Friends Have Money." string" wns. A half hour ago, a deputy United States marshal, with a posso big enough to capture a town, took possession of tho dam and stopped tho work. IIo says it's a court order from Judge Lorchlng at Bed Butte, based on tho claims of that infernal paper rail road I" Smith pushed tho telephone aside. "But It's too late I" ho protested. "The dam Is completed; Williams phoned mo before I went to dinner. All that remains to be dono to save the charter is to shut tho spillways and let tho water buck up so that It; will flow Into the main ditch I" "Right there's where they've got us!" wns tho rasping reply. "They won't let Williams touch tho spillway gates, and they're not going to let him touch them until after wo have lost out on tho tlmo limit 1 Williams' man says they'vo put the seal of the court on the machinery and have posted armed guards everywhere. Wouldn't that mnko you run around In circles and yelp like a scalded dog?" CHAPTER XXIV. A Strong Man Armed. Smith put his elbows on the desk nnd propped his hend In his hands. It was not the nttltudo of dejection; It was rather a trancelike rigor of concentration, with each and nil of the newly emergent powers onco more springing ullvo to answer the buttle call. At tho desk-end Starbuck sat with his hands locked over ono knee, too disheartened to roll a clgurette, normal solnco for nil woundlngs less than mortal. After a minute or two Smith Jerked himself around to faco the news-brlnger. "Does Colonel Bnldwin know?" he asked. "Sure I That's tho worst of It Didn't I toll you? Ho drove out to the dam, reaching tho works Just ahead of tho trouble. When M'Graw and the posso outfit showed up, tho colonel got it Into his head that the whole thing was merely unothcr trick of Stanton's a fake. Glnty, tho quarry boss, brought tho news to town. Ho says thero was a bloody mix-up, and at tho end of It tho colonel and Williams were both under arrest for resisting tho officers." Smith nodded thoughtfully. "Of 'aY7BV V i ft H llll Ll ' III ,2JJqPlst. SWlHIl!iiilil courso; that was Just what wus needed. With the president and the chief of construction locked tip, nnd the wheels blocked for the next twenty-four hours, our chnrter will be gone." "This world and another, 'nnd then tho fireworks," Starbuck threw In. "WWfc tho property all roped up In a law tangle, and those stock options of yours duo to fall in, it looks ns If a few prominent citizens of the Tliuan yonl would have to tako to the high grass und the tall timber. It sure does, John." "Do you know, Billy, I hnvo been expecting something of this kind and expecting It to be u fake. That's whj I sent Stllllngs to Bed Butte; to kcer. watch of Judge Lorchlng's court. Stlll lngs wus to phone me If Lorchlng is sued un order." "And he hnsn't 'phoned you?" . "No; but thnt doesn't prove nny thing. The order mny hnvo been is sued, and Stllltngs may have tried t let us know. There are n good mnn ways In which n man's mouth may bt stopped when thero nre no scruples on the other side." "Then you think Uicre Is no doubt that the court order la straight, and that this mun M'Grnw is really a deputy marshal and has the law foi what he Is doing?" "In the absence of nny proof to the contrary, wo are obliged to believe It or nt least to accept It. But we're not deud yet. . . . Billy, It's run ning In my mind that we've got to go out there und clean up Mr. M'Graw and his crowd." Sturbuck threw up his hands and mude a noise like n dry wagon wheoL "Holy smokel go up against th whole United States?" he gusped. Smith's grin showed his strong, even teeth. "Stnrbuck, you remember whnt told you one night? the night 1 drugged you up to my rooms in the hotel nnd gave you n hint of the rea son why I had no business to make love to Coronn Baldwin?" "Yep." "Well, the time has come when 1 mny as well fill out the blanks In the story for you." And with Billy look ing straight into his eyes, he did so. At the end Stnrbuck was nodding so berly. "You sure have been currying n buck-load nil these weeks, John, never knowing what minute wus going to be the next. Now I know nbout this Miss Rich-pastures. She knows you nnd she could give you nwny if Pile wanted to. Has she done It, John?" "No ; but her father has. Stanton has got hold of the end of the thread, and, while I don't know It definitely, it is practically certain he sent a wire. If tho Brewster police nre not looking for me at this moment, they will be short ly. That brings us back to this High Line knockout. As the matter stands, I'm the one man in our outfit who has absolutely nothing to lose. I am an officer of the company, and no legal notice has been served upon me. Can you fill out the remainder of the or der?" "No, I'll bo switched if I can 1" "Then I'll fill It for you. So fur ns I know legally, you understand this raid has never been authorized by the courts; at least, that is what I'm go ing to assume until tho proper papers hnvoJjeen served on me. Therefore I am free to strike one final blow for tho colonel nnd his friends, and I'm going to do It, If I can dodge the police longuough to got action." Stnrbuck's tilting chair righted itseh wltt. a crash. "You've thought it all out7 Just how to go at It?" "Every move ; and everyone of there n straight bid for a second penitentiary sentence." "All right," said the mine ownei briefly. "Count mo In." "For information only," wns the brusque reply. "Ydu have a stake lr llio country nnd a good name to main tain. I have nothing. But you cue tell me n few things. Are our work men still on the ground?" "Yes. Glnty said there were only s few stragglers who came to town wltt him. Most of the two shifts are stay ing on to get their puy or until thej find out that they aren't going to gel It." "And the colonel and Williams: th marshal Is holding them out at the dam?" "Uh-huh; locked up in the office shuck, Glnty says." "Good. I shan't need the colonel, but I shall need Williams. Now an other, question: you know Sheriff Harding fairly well, don't you? What sort of a mnn Is he?" "Square, as n die, and as nervy ns they muko 'cm. When ho gets a war runt to serve, he'll bring in his mun, dend or alive." "That's all I'll ask of him. Now go und find mo un auto, and then you can fndo nwny nnd got ready to prove i good, stout alibi." (TO BE CONTINUED.) Candles Vs. Electricity. The Society for Electrical Develop ment, anxious to encourage a wider, use of electricity for lighting, has pre pared figures showing it Is much cheap er than candles or kerosene. A recent test of six candles showed that for 1 cent only 2.08 -candle-power hours were obtained. If electricity for lighting costs 0 cents for a kilowatt hour n 20-wntt lamp can bo lighted for 50 hours for 0 cents. Tho efficiency of n 20-wntt Incandescent Is a candle-; power for 1.17 watts. Thus a 20-watt' lamp will provldo about 17 candle power. It will burn 50 hours for 0 cents, or 850 cnndle-power hours wlllj cost 0 cents. One cent will buy 04,4 candle-power hours, or 85 times as; much light as can bo obtained from v candle for 1 cent With the Fingers ! Says Corns Lift Out Without Any Pain Sore corns, hard corns, soft corns or any kind of a corn can shortly bo lifted right out with the fingers if you will npply on tho corn n few drops of frcczone, says n Cincinnati authority. At llttlo cost ono cun get n small bot tle of freczonc nt nny drug store, which will positively rid one's feet of every corn or callus without pain or sore ness or tho danger of Infection. This new drug Is an ether compound, and dries tho moment It is npplicd nnd does not Inflame or even irritate tho surrounding skin. Just think 1 You can lift off your corns nnd calluses now without a bit of pain or soreness. If your druggist hnsn't frcczone he can easily get a small bottle for you from his wholcsalo Urug house. adv. Minimum of Waste. "No waste, now, mu ; no wnste. We nil gotta help." "You attend to your own business," snapped ma, with some acerbity. "The only things I throw nwny nro ten leaves and egg shells." GAVE UP HOPE Oftea Wished For Death to End Her Misery. Doan's Effected a Complete and Lasting Recovery. "I was helpless with kidney trou ble," says Mrs. Ellen Janls, 1404 N. Third St., St. Charles, Mo., "and be gan to think my case was beyond tho reach of medicine. The pain In my back laid me up In bed and It seemed ns if my back had been crushed. I couldn't sleep and was so nervous I was almost frantic. "Flashes of fire came beforo my eyes and the pains in my head were terrible. My sight wns affected Mrs.jaaU. and there were (large, puffy spots beneath' my eyes. "How I suffered when passing tho kidney secretions 1 I screamed In agony nnd I often wished I might die and be out of misery. I had night sweats nnd mornings on get ting up I was so weak and numb I could hardly stand up. 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Molllo had very pronounced Ideas regarding tho rights and wrongs of her sex. r "Don't you think, Sallle," sho asked ono day of her dearest friend, "that a woman should got a man's pay?" "Well," roplled Snllle, after a mo ment of deliberation, "I think sho should let him havo car fares and lunches out of It." Youth'H Gompan clon. Cleveland may voto on subway bond ing proposals In next general election. EAT V"R THKBKT MCARONI rm ii ta f IHEf ORIGINAHnflCHaiKAtf Indoor Uoset 30,000 Mu-nmi mi Mere Comfortable, HealtkfaJ, CoBTcaieat Ellmlnat wa .oat. boots. oven rault. and coat pool wnloll ara brMdln nlantt u rault ana com pool. Ion aro breed Ins plaora for.asrms. Hats warm. sanlurr, clo tlooo tol I fit rlhi In jour boom. Ho coins oat la cold weathar. A bona to inrsllds. Kndorwd by State ooaioa 01 lit salth. ABSOLUTELY ODORLESS Pnt It Anrwhem In Thn Ilonna Tha rerms are Biuea or a cnemicai process in water In the container. No mora trouble to emotr than aabea. 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