NORTH PLATTE SEMTAVEEKLY TUTBUNR
1
1 1 OP THE I f
J PETERRKYNE C U
Pi COPYRIGHT, By PETER JB.KYNE fljiffl
CHAPTER X.
11
A careful analysis of Shirley's feel
ings toward Hryce Cardigan linmcdl
ntcly following tin Incident In Pen
nington's woods, hud showed her tlmt
under more propltloils circumstances
who might hnve fallen in love with tlmt
te:npestuous young mini In sheer rec
ognition of the inany lovable mid man
ly iuilltles she hud dlseerncn In lilin.
A mi offset to the credit side of
Hryeo's account with her, however,
there appeared certain debits In the
consideration of which Shirley always
lout her temper and was limnedlately
iullc certain -.she loathed the unfor
tunate, man.
lie hud been an honored nnil (for
might Shirley knew to the contrary)
welcome guest in the Pennington home
one night, and the following day had
assaulted hlK host, committed great
bodily Injuries upon the hitter's em
ployees for little or no reason save the
satisfaction of nn abominable temper,
made threats, of further violence, de
clared his unfaltering enmity to her
nearest and be.st-loved relative, and In
the next breath had hud the Insolence
to prate of his respect and admiration
for her.
However, all of these grave crimes
mid misdemeanors were really Insig
nificant compared will) his crowning
offense. What, had Infuriated Shirley
was the fact that she had been at some
pains to Inform Hryce Cardigan that
she loathed him whereat he had
looked her over coolly, grinned a little,
and declined to believe herl Then,
seemingly as If fate had decreed that
her futility should he Impressed upon
fier still further, Hryce Cardigan had
been gninted an opportunity to save,
In a strikingly calm, heroic and pain
ful manner, her and her uncle from
certain and horrible death, thus plac
ing upon Shirley an obligation that
was as Irritating to acknowledge as It.
was futile to attempt to reciprocate.
That was where the shoe pinched.
Tleforo that day was over she had
been forced to do one of two things
acknowledge In no uncertain terms her
Indebtedness to him, or remain silent
ami to bo convicted of having been, In
plain language, a rotter. So she had
telephoned him and purposely left
ajar the door to their former friendly
relations.
Monstrous I He had seen the open
door and deliberately slammed It In
her face. Luckily for them both sho
bad Ward, all unsuspected by him as
he slowly hung the receiver on the
hook, tho soliloquy wherein he gave
her n pointed hint of the distress with
which ho abdicated which knowledge
was nil that deterred her from despls
lug him with the fervor of a woman
scorned. "wi"-"mv..
' Tho fascination which a lighted
uindlo holds for n moth Is too well
.known to require further elucidation
hero. Tn yielding one day to a desire
to visit tho Valley of tho (Hants, Shir
ley told herself that she was giving
I lien to gather wild blaekborrles. She
had been thinking of n certain black
berry pie, which thought naturally In
duced reflection ou Hryce Cardigan
and romlnded Shirley of her first visit
to the ("Slants under tho escort of a boy
n kiilckcrhockc'rs.
Her meeting with Molra McTnvlsh
hut day, and the subsequent friend
ship formed with tho woods-boss'
daughter, renewed all her apprehen
sions. On the assumption that Shir
ley and Hryce were practically
strangers to each other (an assump
tion which Shirley, for obvious rea
sons, did not attempt to dissipate),
Molm did not hesitate to mention
Hryce very frequently. To her he was
the one human being In the world
utterly worth while, and It Is nat
ural for women to discuss, fro
tpicutly and at great length, the
Kiibject nearest their hearts. Mnlra
described Hryce in mluiite detail and
related to her eager auditor little un
conscious dally nets of kiuduoss,
thoiiglitfulnesH or humor performed by'
Hryce his devotion to his father, his
Idealistic attitude toward tho Cardi
gan employees, his nblllty, his Indus
try. And presently, Jlttle by little,
Shirley's resentment against him
faded, and In her heart was born a
?rent wlstfulucss bred of tho hope that
some day Bho would meet Uryce Cardi
gan on the street unrt that ho would
pnuso, lift his lint, Btnllo at her his
compelling nmllo nnd forthwith pro
ved to bully her Into bolng friendly
and forgiving browbeat her Into nil
ntltlng her change of heart nnd glory
ng In It.
To this romarkablo state of mind
Jtml Shlrloy Sumner attained nt the
timo John Cnnllgnn, lending his Inst
little trump lu n vain hopo that It
would onnblo him to tnko tho odd trick
tn tho hugo gnmo ho had ployed for
fifty years, decided to soil his Valley
f the (slants,
Hhirtqy, as explained In n preceding
thaptcr, had been vronent Urn nlht
.I olin Cardigan, desperate and brought
to bay at last, had telephoned Penning
ton at the Intter's home, accepting Pen
nlngton's lust offer for the Valley of
the (Hauls. The cruel triumph in the
Colonel's hniidsome face as he curtly
rebutted old Cardigan had been too ap
parent for the girl to mistake; she
realized now that a crisis had come In
the affairs of the Cardigans, nnd across
her vision there Hushed again the
vision of Hryce Cardigan's hoinccom-lng--of
a tall old man with his trem
bling arms clasped around bis boy.
with grizzled cheek laid against bis
sons, as one who, sccKing comiort
through bitter years, at length had
found It.
Presently another thought came to
Shirley. "I wonder!" she mused. "He's
proud. Perhaps the realization that
he will soon he penniless nnd shorn of
his high estate has made him chary of
acquiring new friends In his old cir
cle. Perhaps If ho were secure lu bis
business affairs Ah, yes! Poor boy!
Ho was desperate for fifty thousand
dollars!" Her heart swelled. "Ob,
Hryce, Hryce," she murmured, "I think
I'm beginning to understand some of
your fury that day In the woods. It's
all n great mystery, but I'm sure you
didn't Intend to he so so terrible. Oh,
my deal-. If we had only continued to
be the good friends we started out to
he, perhaps you'd let me help you now.
For what good Is money If one cannot
belt) one's dear friends In distress?
Still, I know you wouldn't let tn help
you. for men of your stamp cannot
borrow from n wonlan, no matter how
desperate their need. Aiitl yet you
only need a paltry Jlfty thousand dol
lars I"
Shirley carried to bed with her that
night the woes of the Cnrdlgans, and
III' the morning she telephoned Molra
McTnvlsh and Invited the latter to
lunch with her at home that noon.
When Molra came. Shirley saw that
she. had been weeping.
'My poor Molra I" she said, putting
her arms around her visitor. "What
has happened to 'distress you? There,
there, dear! Tell me nil about It."
Molra laid her head on Shirley's
shoulder am) sobbed for Several min
utes. Then, "It's Mr. Hryce," she.
walled, "He's so uhhappy. Komi
thing s happened ; they're going to
sell Cardigan's redwoods; and they
don't want to. Just before I left the
olllce, Mr. Hryce came In and stood
a moment looking at me so tragi
cully 1 I asked him what had hap
pencil. Then he patted my cheek oh,
I know I'm Just one of his responsl
bllllles and said, 'Poor Molra! Never
any luck!' and went Into his prlvnto
oilico. I waited a little, and then I
went In, too; nnd oh. Mls,s Sumner,
he had hlH head down on his desk, nnd
when I touched his head, he reached
up nnd took my hand and held It
and laid his cheek against It a little
Molra Described Dryce in Minute De
tali. while and oh, his cheek was wet.
It's cruel of Cod to make him un
hnppy. He's good too good. And
oh, I love him so. Miss Shirley, I love
him so and he'll never, never know.
I'm Just one of his responsibilities,
you know; and I shouldn't presume.
Hut nobody has ever been kind to
me but Mr. Hryce nud you. And t
can't help loving people who an kind
and gentle to nobodies."
Molra's storyher confession of
lovo, so tragic because so hopeless
stirred Shirley deeply, She seoted
herself In front of Molra and cupped
her chin In her palm.
"Of cflurso, dear," sho said, "you
couldn't possibly sco anybody you
loved suffer so ar.d not feel dreadfully
about It, And wbou a man llko llryco
Cardigan is struck down, he's npt to
iiresent rather u tragic and helpless
llgure. He wanted symputliy, Molm
woman's sympathy, and It was dear
of you to give It to him."
"I'd gladly dlo for him." Molra an
sweral simply. "Oh, Miss Shirley,
you don't know him the way we who
work for him do. If you did, you'd
love him. too. You couldn't help It,
Miss Shirley."
"Tell mo about his trouble. Molru."
"I think It's money. He's been ter
ribly worried for n long time, nnd I'm
nfrnld things aren't going right with
the business. It hurts them terribly
to have to sell the Valley of the
(Hunts, but they have to: Colonel Pen
nington Is the only one who would
consider buying It; they don't want
him to have It and still they hnve
to sell to him. Mr. Hryce says his
father has lost his courage at bust :
nud oh. dear, things nre In such u
mess. Mr. Hryce started to tell me
all about It and then he stopped sud
denly and wouldn't say another word."
Shirley smiled. She thought she
understood the reason for that. How
ever, she did not pause to spoculnte
on It, since the crying need of the
present was the distribution of u ray
of sunshine to broken-hearted Molra.
"Silly." she clilded. "bow needlessly
you are grieving! You say my uncle
has declined to buy the Valley of the
OlantsV"
.Molm nodded.
"My uncle doesn't know what he's
talking about, Molra. I'll see that he
does buy It. What price are the Cardi
gans asking Ur It now?"
"Well, Colonel Pennington has' of
fered them a hundred thousand dol
lars for It time and again, but last
night he withdrew that orfer. Then
they named a price of tlfty thousand,
ami he said he didn't want It at all."
'He needt It. and It's worth every
rent of a hundred thousand to him,
Molra, Don't worry, dear. He'll buy
It, because I'll make him. and he'll
buy It Immediately; only you must
promise me not to mention a single
word of what I'm telling you to Hryce
Cardigan, or In fact, to anybody. Do
you promise?"
Molru seized Shirley's hand nnd
kissed It Impulsively. "Very well,
then." Shirley continued. "That mat
ter Is adjusted, and now we'll all be
happy. Cheer up, dear, and remem
ber that some time this afternoon
you're golitg to see Mr. Hryce smile
again," und perhaps there won't be so
much of a cloud over his smile this
time."
When Molm returned to the olllce
of tin Cardigan Nedwood Lumber
company. Shirley rang for her maid.
"Hrlng me my motorcont and hat.
Theluin," she ordered, "and telephone
for the limousine." She sented her
self before the mirror at her dress'ing
table and dusted her adorable nose
with a powder-puff. "Mr. Smarty
Cardigan,"1 she murmured happily,
"you walked rough-shod over my
pride, didn't you? Placed mo under un
obligation I could never hope to meet
and then Ignored inc. didn't you?
Very well, old boy. We nil have our
Innings sooner or later, you know, and
I'm going to make a substantial pay
ment on that huge obligation as sure
as my name Is Shirley Sumjier. Then,
some day when the sun Is shining for
you again, you'll come to me and be
very, very humble. You're entirely
too Independent, Mr. Cardigan, hut.
oh, my dear, 1 do hope you will not
need so much unoney. I'll be put to
my wit's end to get It to you without
letting you know, because If your af
fairs go to smash, you'll be perfectly
Intolerable."
She paused suddenly. 'No, I'll not
do that, either," she soliloquized. "I'll
keep It myself for an Investment. I'll
show Uncle Seth I'm a business wom
an, after all. He has had his fair
chance at the Valley of the ,Olnnts.
after waiting years for It, and now he
has deliberately sacrificed that chance
to he menu and vindictive. I'll buy
the valley but keep my Identity secret
from everybody; then, when Uncle
Seth finds a stranger In possession,
he'll have a tit, and perhaps, before
he recovers, he'll sell me all his
Squaw creek timber only he'll never
know I'm the buyer. Shirley, "my dear,
I'm pleased with you. Heatly, I never
knew until now why men could be so
devoted to business. Won't It be Jolly
to step In between Uncle Seth and
Hryce Cardigan, hold up my hand like
a policeman, and say: 'Stop It, boys
No lighting, If you please. Ami If
anybody wants to know who's boss
around here, start something.' "
When her undo came home that
night, Shirley observed that ho was
preoccupied ain't disinclined to con
versutlon.
"I noticed In this evening's paper.'
she remarked presently, "that Mr,
Cardigan bus sold his Valley of the
(Hants. So you bought It, after all?
"No such luck 1" he almost barked
"I'm an Idiot. I should bo nlnced In
cbnrge of a keeper. Now, for heaven's
sake, Shirley, don't discuss that tint
tier wim me, ror ir you no, in go
plain, lunatic cruzy."
"Poor Uncle Seth." she purred
sweetly. ' Her apparent sympathy
soothed Ills rasped soul. He contln
ued :
"Oh, I'll get the infernal property
and It will bo worth what I have to
pay for It, only It certainly does gravel
mo to rvnlten that I tun about to be
held up, with no help In sight. I'll
see Judge Moore tomorrow nnd offer
him a quick profit for his client
That's the game, you know."
"I do hope tho new owner exhibit
somo common sense, undo denr," she
replied, and turned bnck to the piano
"Hut T grently fear," sho added to her
self, "that tho new owner Is going to
prove a most obstlnato creature and
frightfully bard to discover." .
True to his promise, the Colonel
called on Judge Moore bright and
early the following morning. "Act
Three of thut little business drama
entitled 'The Vulley of the Giants.'
my denr Judge," he announced pleas
antly. "I play the lead In this act.
You remember me, I hope. I played
a hit In Act Two."
"In so far as my Information goes,
sir, you've been cut out of the cast In
Act Three. I don't seem to find any
lines for you to speak."
'One line. Judge: one little line,
What profit does your client want on
that quarter-section?"
"That quarter-section Is not In the
market, Colonel. When It Is. I'll send
for you, since you're the only logical
prospect should my client decide to
sell. And remembering how you butt
ed In on politics lu this county last
fall and provided a slush fund to beat
me and place it crook on the Superior
court bench, In order to give you an
edge In the many suits you nre al
ways llllng or having filed against you,
1 rise to remark that you have about
I Should Be Placed tn Charge of a
Keeper."
en split seconds In which to dlsnp-
icar from my omce. lr you linger
longer. I'll stnrt throwing paper
weights." And us If to emphasize
lis remark, the Judge's hand closed
over one of the articles in question.
The Colonel withdrew with what
llgnlty be could muster.
Upon his return from the olllce that
night. Hryce Cardigan found his fu
ller had left his bed and was seated
icfore the library lire.
"Keeling a whole lot better today,
eh, pal?" his son queried.
John Cardigan smiled. "Yes. son,"
le replied plaintively. "I guess I'll
inanage to live till next spring."
"Oh. I knew there was nothing
wrong wltn you. .man i;ariigan. nine
a KHitthy check wouldn't cure. Well.
we can afford to draw our breath now
and that gives us a fighting chance
partner. And right after dinner you
and I will sit down nnd start brewing
a pot of powerful bad medicine for
the ('olonel."
Accordingly, dinner disposed of, fn
ther and sOn snt down together to pre
nine the plan of campaign. Kor the
space of several minutes a silence set
tied between them, the while they
puffed meditatively upon their cigar
Then the old man spoke.
"We'll have to tight him In. tin
dark."
"Why?"
"Hecnuse If Pennington knows, or
even suspects the Identity of the man
who U going to parallel his logging
railroad, he will throw all' the weight
of his truly capable mind, his wealth
nnd his ruthlessness iigtilnst you and
vim will be smashed. You have one
advantage starting out. The Colonel
doesn't think you have the courage to
parallel his rood In tho first place; In
the second place, he knows you haven't
the money: and In the third place lu
Is morally certain you cannot borrow
It, because you haven't any collateral
m secure vnuf note. So. all things
considered the Colonel will be slow
to suspect us of having an ace In the
hole: but by Jinks we hnve It, and
we're going to play It. You must en
gage some reliable engineer to look
over the proposed route of the road
and give us an estimate of the cost of
construction."
"Kor the sake of argument we will
consider that done, mid that the est!
mate comes within the rrope of ti
sum Gregory is willing to advance us,
"Now, then, you nre going to lu
corporate a company to build u road
twelve miles long and a private road
at that. That would be u fatal step.
Pennington would know somebody was
going to build a logging road, and re
gnrdless or who the builders were, he
would have to tight tliein in seir-prc-
tectlon. How ura you going to cover
your trail, my son?"
Hryce pondered. "I will, to begin,
have a dummy board of directors.
Also, my road cannot be private;
slnoe we must bo a common carrier,
we might as well carry our deception
still further and Incorpornto for the
purposo of building a road from He
quoin to Grant's Pass, Ore., there to
connect with tho tfoutnera rnciiic."
John Cardigan smiled. "The old
drvnm revived, eh? Well, the old
Jokes nlways bring a hearty laugh.
Peoplo will laugh at your compnny,
I haroiiRA folka un thlM wnv reallzA tht
tho construction cost of such n road
Is prohibitive."
"Well, since we're not going to build
more thnn twelve miles of our road
daring the next year, und probnbly not
more thnn ten miles nddltlonnl during
the present century, we won't worry
over It. It doesn't cost n cent more to
procure a franchise to build a road
from here to the moon. If we fall to
build to Grant's Puss, our franchise to
build the uncompleted portion of tho
road merely lapses nnd wo hold only
that portion which we have construct
ed. That's all we wnnt to hold. More
over, deeds to rights of way can be
drawn with a tlme-llinlt, after which
they revert to the original owners."
Good strategy, my sou I And cer
tainly as ii common carrier we will be
welcomed by the farmers and cattle
men along our short line."
'Well, that about completes the
ough outline of our plan. We have
a year In which to build our road ; If
we do not hurry, the mill will have to
shut down for lack of logs, when our
contract with Pennington expires."
"i ou forget the mnnager for our
new corporation the vice president
and general manager. He must be a
man of real ability and a person you
can trust Implicitly."
I have the very man. His name Is
Hack Ogllvy and only this very day I
received a letter from him begging me
for a small loan. I hnve Huck on Ice
In a llftli-chiss San Francisco hotel,"
"Tell me about him, Hryce."
"I'll read you his letter. I claim
there Is more character In a letter than
In a face."
Hero Bryce read aloud:
"Golden Gate Hotel Kooms Fifty
Cents and Up.
"San Francisco. Cal.. Aug. 10. 1010.
"My dear Cardigan: Hark to tins
voice of one crying In the wilderness;
then picture to yourself the unlovely
spectacle of a strong man crying.
"Let us assume that you have duly
considered. Now wind up your wrist
and send me :i rectangulur piece of
while, blue, green or pink paper bear
ing In the lower rlght-and corner, la
your clear, bold cblrogrnphy, the magic
words 'Hryce Cardigan' with the lit
tle upand-ilown hook und nourish
which Identities your signature given
In your serious moods tjd lends value
to otherwise worthless paper.
"W lien you knew me last, i was a
prosperous young contractor. Alas I I
put all my eggs In one basket and pro
duced an omelette. Took a contract
lo build a railroad In Honduras. Hon
duras got to fighting with Nlcnragun;
the government I bud done business
with went out of business: and the
Nicaragiian army recruited nil my la
borers and mounted them on my mules
and horses, swiped all my grub, and
told me to go home. I went. Why
stay? Moreover. I had an Incentive
consisting of about nn Inch of bnyone.t
fortunately not applied In a vital
stmt which accelerated rather than
decreased my speed.
"Hurry, my dear Cardigan. I .fin
ished eating my overcoat the day be
fore yesterday.
"Make It a hundred, and God will
bless you. When 1 get it. I'll come 1c
Sequoia nnd kiss you. I'll pay yoa
bnck some time of course.
"Wistfully thine.
"HUCK OGILVY!.
"P. S. Delnys are dangerous, and
procrastination Is the thief of time.
H."
John Cardigan chuckled. "I'd tnicc
Hack Ogllvy. Hryce. He'll do. Is he
honest?"
"I don't know. He was, the last
time I saw him."
"Then wire him a hundred. Don't
wait for the mall."
"I have alreadv wired him the hun
dred. In all probability ho Is now out
whirling like ir dervish."
"Good boy! Well. I think we've
planned sufficient for the present,
Hryce. You'd better leave for San
Francisco tomorrow and close your
deal with Gregory. Hire a good law
yer to draw up the agreement between
you ; be sure your're right, and then go
ahead full speed. When you return
to Sequoia, I'll have a few more points
to give yon. I'll mull them over In the
meantime."
(TO HE CONTINUED.)
Selfishness Gains Nothing
Men should .see life as more tnnn a
means of personal advancement. Self
ishness may achieve, but Its inglorious
name will soon be forgotten In the
round of yesterdays. It's life that
lives for the common good thnt lays
tribute on humanlt.v and carves an In
delible name lu the very foundations
of history. Call It Utopian If you will.
Facts show that men must die to renl-
ly live. And men who give themselves
to human betterment live as they raise
others from unreasonable drudgery to
honorable toll ami common comforts.
Birds That Speak.
Havens, crows and magpies are all
better speakers than parrots. They
are not so versatile ami the sounds
they utter are less varied, but their
voices and articulation are far more
human. A crow's talk In the next
room mv ,siiy m, mistaken for thnt
of ft ,.rs.-on. Parrots are the best lm-
Itnlors; thnt Is to say. they mimic
whistling and other noises, particular
ly laughing, to admiration. It has been
remarked that their voices In speaking
are llko that of a crazy person.
Reasons OA Using Stone,
The forest rangers on Mount Rainier
have a house on top. of the mountains
built of stone, whereas under usual con-
dltlons It Is the custom to construct
these buildings of wood. The prox
imity of the stone and tho scarcity of
wood nnd the difficulty of obtaining It
from the lower lovls Is responsible
for this depnrturo.
SAY "DIAMOND DYES"
Don't strek or ruin jour material In d
poor dye. IniUt on. "Diamond
direction la package.
"CORNS"
Lift Right Off Without Pain
Doesn't hurt a bit! Drop n Httlfl
"Freezone" on nn aching corn, Instantly
that corn stops hurting, then shortly
you lift it right off with lingers. Truly I
Your druggist sells n tiny bottle of
"Freezone" for a few cents, sufficient to
remove every hnrd corn, soft corn, or
corn between tho toes, and the calluses,
without soreness or Irritation.
BROUGHT HIM TO THE POINT
Maidens Confession Was Something
Most Dilatory Lover Could Hard
ly Affect to Ignore.
For many months he had been entlna
free sunnerH nt her father's expense
nnd the fair Mabel thought It ttme he
got n move on. One evening as they
sat together In the parlor she carried
out her little scheme.
"Oh. how funny," she cried suddenly,
as she turned over the pages of On
evening paper.
"What Is It?" he asked.
"Why. here's an advertisement tn
which It says, 'No reasonable offo- ro
fused.' "
"Whnt's odd about that?" asked th
young man In surprise.
"Oh, nothing," she replied coyly, try
lug to raise a blush, "but tliost ar
my sentiments exactly."
Three weeks later the Invltntl.
nouston Popt."
Dont Forget Cutlcura Talcum
When adding to your toilet requisite
An exquisitely scented face, skin, ahy
and dusting powder und perfume, re
derlug other perfuipes superfluous.
You may rely on It because one of tb
Cutlcurn Trio (Soup, Ointment an4
Talcum). 2fic each everywhere. Adr
Too General.
Director General Hlnes said of a
llagnosls of the railroad trouble:
"That diagnosis won't go down. It
s too general. In fact, It reminds ma
of n young wife I know.
"Her two-year-old baby w s cryln
terribly one day at the lanch table,
and her mother-ln-luw entered the
room and said :
" 'What on earth ts baby crying
nbout?'
"The young wlfr made a distracted
gesture.
"'It's either,' she said, 'that she
wants 'more mince tile, or thnt she'
eaten too much!"'
Willing to Walk. '
"One of these days they will be run
nlng airships regularly for passengei
service."
"That's why I'm so strong for goo
roads."
"Aviators don't use roads."
"No. Hut I don't wnnt to be oblige
to use airships."
Sure
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painful consequences by taking
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Omaha Crematory
Send for illustrated booklet
Address or call on
Forest Lewn Cemetery Assn,
720 Brandeis Theatre Omaha, Neb
FRECKLES
Ammjs, ChUtM4
W. N. U, OMAHA, NO. 28-1920.
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