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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 28, 1922)
THE NORTH PLATTE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE Big mm t mx lustrations btj CopvtriqhV bu William. MacLeod ' " ' SYNOPSIS FOrtKWOIlD.-Motorlng through Arl- snftfi. n rtnrfv nf AfMtflrnerff. father ana daughter and a male companion. stop to rtltness a cattle round up. The girl leaves tie car and In attacked by a wild steer. A masterpiece of riding on the part of one of the cowboys saves her life. CHAPTEIl I.-Clay Lindsay, range-rlder on an Arizona ranch, announces his Inton tlon to visit the "big town," New YorK. CHAPTEIl II.-On the train Undiay becomes Interested In a young woman, Kitty Mason, on her way to Now York to bocomo a motlon-plcturo actress. She Is Warned as fair prey uy a leuow irv lsr, Jerry Durand, gang politician and $X-prUe Hghfer. Perceiving his Intention, ndsay provoKes a quarrel ana mrows urand from the train. Chapter III, Continued. Ilr. Bernstein personally conducted tils customer to tlio suit depnrtment. ! ''I wait on you myself on account you I was n stranger to the city" he ex plained. j Tlio llttio mnn took a suit from a , rnclt nnd held It nt nrm'a length to ad mlro It. Ills flngors caressed the woof of It lovingly. Ho ovldently could bring himself to part with It only after a struggle. "Worsted. Fine goods." lie leaned toward the iiingo-ilder and whis pered n secret. "Imported." Clay shook his head. "Not whnt 1 want" Uls eyes ranged the racks. "This Is moro my notion of the sort of thing I like." Ho pointed to a blue serge with a llttio stripe In the put torn. The denier detached ttio coat lov ingly from tlio hanger and helped his customer Into It. Then he fell back, eyes lit with enthusiastic amazement Only fnto could have brought togethor tills mnn and this suit, so manifestly destined for each other since tlio hour when Dvc began to patch up tig leaves for Adam. "Like a coat of paint," tie murmured aloud. The cowpuncher grinned. Ho under stood the business that went with sell ing a suit In some stores. But It hap pened that ho liked this suit himself. "How much?" he nBked. The owner of tho store dwelt on tho merits of tho suit, Its style, Its dur ability, tho perfect lit. He covered his subject with artistic thoroughness. Then, reluctantly, ho confided In b whisper tho price nt which ho was go ing to xncrlllce this suit among suits. "To you, my frlcndt, I niako this garment for only sixty-nvo dollars." Ho added another secret detail. "Below wholesale cost." A little devil of-mirth lit In Lind say's eye. "I'd hate to have you rob yorcsclf llko that. And mo a porfect stranger to you too." "Qvallty, y umlerstan me. Which n man must got to llvo garments like I done to appreciate such n suit. All wool. Bvery thread of It. Unshrink able." Mr. Bernstein caressed It again. "Ono swell ptoco of goods," ho told himself softly, almost with tears In his eyes. "All wool, you say,?" asked Clny, feel ing the texture. He had mado up his mind to buy It, though ho thought the prlco n bit stiff. Mr. Bernstein protested on his honor Unit there was not u thread of cotton in It "Which you could take it from mo that when. I sell a suit of clothes It Is like I am dealing with my own brother," ho added. "Every gar ment out of this store takc3 my per sonal guarantee." Pay tried on tho trousers und looked ut himself In tho glass. So far as he could tell ho looked Just llko any other New Yorker. The dealer leaned forward aiul spoke In a whisper. Apparently ho was ashamed of his softness of heart. "Flfty-llvo dollars to you." "I'll tako It," tho westerner said. fho clothier called his tullor from tho rcur of tho store to make an aa Justment In the trousers. Meanwhile- ho deftly removed tho tags which told lilin In cipher that tho suit hud cost him Just cloven dollars and seventy- five cents. Half nn hour later Clay sat on top of r Fifth ave'nuo bus which was Jerk log its way uptown. Ills shoes were sblned to mirror brightness. Ho was garbed In a blue serge suit with a little sjjripe running through tho pattern. That suit Just now was tho apple of bJs eye. It proved him a Now Yorker and not a wild man from tho Arizona deacrt Tho motor-bus. ran up Fifth avenue, cut across to Broadway, passed Go Iambus circle, and swept Into tho Drive. It was A day divinely young anu rair. The iiagrnHce of a lingering spring was wafted to the 'nostrils. Glimpses ot tfle park tempted (May. Its vWnd 1M patksl The children playing on ja gius vrblla thlr maids In neat caps' aid a KM go41p4 together on the bch AM rj W J0." ktfium m) m W Arizona feafl sm J& miopolls. .fitoBftwhtft la tha mlf thr-flur gjrfots be dMqsnded jfa. the Jo? f li'Ri - 1bwn dm mm, 1M oun by SlliitraMacleodRaine. IIBBCcDf,P"i H Ul r SI Raina i tlio bus ana let ins footsteps roiiow nis ..,4 - ......... f Inclinations Into tlio park, no struck across the Drive Into a side street An apartment house occupied the corner, but from tho other side a row of hand some private dwellings faced him. Tho Janitor of tho apartment house was watering tho parking beyond the sidewalk. The edge of tho stream from tho nozzle of the hose sprayed the path In front of Clay. Ho hesi tated for a moment to give tho mnn time to turn aside the hose. But tho Janitor, on this particular morning had been fed up with trouble. One of tho tenants had complained of him to the agent of tho place. Another Iwifl moved away without tipping him for an hour's help In packing ho had given her. nd'wns Bulklly of tho opin ion that tho wholo world was In a conspiracy to annoy him. Just now tho approaching rabe typified tlio world. A llttio flirt of tho hoao deluged Clay's newly shlned boots and tho low er six Inches of his trousers. "Look out what you'ro doing I" pro tested tho man from Arizona. "I tank you better look where you're going," retorted tlio one from Sweden. Ho was a heavy-sot muscular man with a sullen, obstinate faco. "My shoes and trousers nro sopping wot. I bellovo you did It on purpose." "Tank so? Val, yust ono teng I Ink to tell you. I got no time for d n fulo trilk." The westerner startod on his wny. There was no use having a row with a sulky Janitor. - But the Swede misunderstood his purpose. At Clay's first step fonvard ho Jerked round tho nozzlo nnd Jet the rnngc-rlder linvo It with full force. Clay was swept back to the wall by tho heavy pressure of water that played over him. The stream movet' swiftly up and down him from head to foot till it had drenched every Inch of the perfect ttfty-llve-dollur Hult. He drowned fnthoms deep In a water spout. He wns swept over Niagara Falls. He ciime to life again to find himself the choking center of a world flood. He gave a strangled whoop nnd charged straight at the mnn behind the hose. Tho two clinched. While they struggled, the writhing hose slapped back nnd forth between them like an agitated snake. Clny Juiil - one ad vautuge, Ho wns wet through anyhow. It did not matter how much of the dolfigo struck him. The Janitor fought to keep dry und ho had not a chance on earth to nut-coed. For ono hundred and seventy-live pounds of Arizona bone and muscle, toughened by years of hnrd work In sun and wind, had clampivl Itself up on him. Tho nozzle twisted toward tho Janitor. Ho (Inched, went down, and was Instantly submerged. When ho tried to rise, the stream beat him back. no struggled halfway up, slipped, got again to his feet, and came down sit ting with a hard bump when his legs skated from under lilin. A smothered "Vat fell 1" roso out of tho waters. The Janitor could hot un A 8mothered "Vat T'elll" Rose Out of tho Waters. derstaud -what was happening to him, Ho did not know that ho wns being treated to a now form of the water cure. Before his dull bruin had functioned to action an iron grip had him by the back of tho neck. Ho was Jerked to his feet and propelled forward to the curb. Every Inch of tho way tho .heayy stream from tho nozzle broko on his face and neck. It paralyzed his re sistance, Jarred him so tiat he could not gather himself to fight Clay bumped him up ngn-tnst a hitching post, garrotod him, and swung the fjoso arounu. uio post in such n way JJkTU II. V as to encircle tho feet of the man. Tho cowpuncher drew the hose tight slipped the nozzle through the Iron ring, and caught the flapping nnns of the man to his body. With the deft skill of n trained roper Clay swung tho rubber pipe round tlio body of the man again and again, drawing It closo to tho post and knotting It socurely be hind. Tho Swede struggled, but his furious rnge nvnllcd him nothing. When Clny stepped back to Inspect his Job he know he wns looking nt ono that had been done thoroughly, "I keel you, by d n, ef you don't turn mo loose I" roared the big man In a rnge. Tho range-rider grinned gnyly at him. He was having the tlino of his young life. Ho did not even regret his flfty-flve-dollnr suit "Life's Just loaded to tho hocks with disappointment, 011c," he explained, and his voice was full of genial sym pathy. "I'll bet n dollar Mex you'd sure like to beat me on the bend with a two-by-four. But I don't reckon you'll ever get that fond wish gratified. We're not liable to meet up with each other again pronto. Today wo'ro hero and tomorrow we're at Yumn, Arizona, say, for life Is short and darned flcetln', as the poet fellow says." He waved a hand Jnuntffy and turned to go. But he changed his mind. Uls eye had fallen on a young woman standing at a French window of tho Iioubo opposite. Sho was beckoning to him Imperiously. The young woman disappeared as ho crossed tlio street, but In a fow mo ments the door opened and sho stood thero waiting for mm. Olay stared. He had never before seen a girl dressed like this. Sho was In riding boots, breeches and coat. Her eyes dilated while sho looked at him. 'Wyoming?" sho asked. "Arizona," ho nnswered. "All one. Know It tho moment I saw you tlo him. como in." alio stood aside to let him pass. That hall, with Its tapestried walls, Its polished floors, and oriental rugs, was reminiscent of "tho movies" to Clny. Nowhere else hnd he seen a homo so stamped with tho mnrk of ample means. 'Come In," sho ordered again, a llt tio Bharply. no came In nnd she closed tho door. "I'm sopping wet. I'll drip nil over the floor." Whnt are you going to do? You'll be arrested, vou know." Sho stood straight nnd slim ns a boy, and tho frank directness of her gaze had a boy's sexless unconsciousness. There camo to them from outsldo the tnp-tnp-tnp-tap of a policeman's night stick rattling on the cufbstone. "He's calling help." "1 can explain how It happened." "No. lie wouldn't undorstund. They'd find you guilty." To a manservant standing In tho background the young woman spoke. "Jenkins, have Nora clean up Uie floor and the steps outside. And remember I don't want the pollco to know this gentleman Is here." "Yes, miss." "Comet" said the girl to her guest Clay followed his hostess to the stairs and went up them with her, but ne -went protesting, though wltn a chuckle of mirth. "Ho sure ruined my oiotnea n neap, i am i in to ue seen." Tho suit he hnd been so proud of was shrinking so that his arms and legs Btuck out like signposts. The color had run and left tho goods a peculiar bilious-looking overall blue. She lit a gns-log In a small library den. "Just a minute, please." She stepped briskly from tho room, In tfer manner wns n crisp decision, In her poise a trim gallantry that won him Instantly. "I'U bet sho'd do to rldo with," he told himself In n current western Idiom. When sho camo back It was to tnko him to a dressing room. A complete chnngo of clothing was laid out for him on a couch. A mnn whom. Clay recognized ns n volet Iro had scon his dupllcato In tho movlng-plcturo thea ters at Tucson was thero to supply his needs nnd nttend to the tempera ture of his bath. "Stevens will look after you," sho said; "when you are ready como back to dnd's den." His eyes followed to the door her resilient step. Once, when he was a boy, ho had seen Adn Ilcliau play In "As Yon Llko It." Her acting hud en tranced him. This girl carried him back to that hour. Sho was boyish as Rosalind, woman In every motion of her slim nnd lissom body. At tho head of tho stairway she paused. Jenkins was moving hurriedly up to meet her. "it's u policeman, miss. 'Hs como about the tho person that enmo In, and 'o's tnlkln to Nora on tlio steps. Sha's n-Jollyln' 'lnj, as you might say, miss." His young mistress naadod. She swept tho hall with tho eye of a gen- rnl. Swiftly she changed the position f a. Turkish rag so aB to hldo a spot i. a the polished floor that had bcon i M-ently scrubbed and wns still moist. i i on sno openea tno aoor ana saun tt red out "Does tlio officer want something, Nora?" she nskod Innocently, switch lui; tho end of a crop against her rid lng-boots. "Yes, miss. Thore's boon a ruffian batm' up Swedes an'.tyln' 'em to posts, Tills officer thinks ho camo hero," ex plained Nora. "poefl ho want to look In tho house? "Yes, miss." Then let him cmna In." The young mistress took thorosponslblllty on her own shoulders. Sho led tho pollco man Into tho hall. "I 'don't really seo how ho could have got In here without some of us seeing him, offlccn" "No, ma'am, r don't seo how ho could." Tho putrolman scratched his red head. "The Janitor's n Swede, nnyhow. He Jlst gucsscu tt. I enmo to make sure av It I'll bo sorry for troubling yuh, miss." Tho snillo she gave him was warm and friendly. "Oh, that's all right. If you'd care to look around . . . But there really Is no use." "No." The forehead under the red thatch wrinkled In tnought "Ho snld he seen him come In here or next door, an' he came up the steps. But nobody could have got In without some of youso sceln' him. That's a lend pipe." The ofllcer pushed any doubt that re mained from his mind. "Only a muddle-headed Swede." CHAPTER IV Clay Takes a Transfer. While Beatrice Whltford waited In the little library for the Arlzonan to Join her, sho sat In a deep chair, chin In hand, eyes fixed on the Jetting flames of the gas-log. A little flush had crept Into the oval face. In her blood thero tingled the stimulus of ex citement For Into her life an adven ture hnd como from fnrnwny Cattle land. A crisp, strong footstep sounded In the hall. Her fingers flow to pnt Into place the soft golden hair colled low at the nape of the neck. At times she had a boylike unconcern of sex ; ngnln, a spirit wholly feminine. Tho clothes of her father fitted Lindsay loosely, for Colin Whltford had begun to take on the flesh of mid dle age and Clay wns lean and clean of build as an elk. But the westerner . was one of those to whom clothes nro ' unlmportnnt. Tlio splendid youth of ' him would hnve shone through the rags of a beggnr. "My nnme Is Clny Lindsay," he told her by way of Introduction. Mine Is Beatrice Whltford," sho nnswered. They shook hands. "I'm to wait here till my clothes dry, yore mnn snys." "Then you'd better sit down." she suggested. Within Ave minutes she knew tlint he had been In New York less than three hours. His Impressions of the city amused and entertained her. He was quite simple, she could look into his mind as though It were a deep, clear well. There was something In extinguishably boyish and buoyant about him. But In his br.onzed face and steady, humorous eyes were strength and shrewdness. He wars tho last mnn In the world a bunco-steerer could piny for n sucker. She felt thnt. Yet he mode no pretenses of a worldly wisdom ho did not have. A voice reached them from tho top of the stairs. ."Do you know where Miss Whltford Is, Jenkins?" HIn tho Bed room, sir." The an swer was In the even, colorless voice of a servant The girl rose ut once. "If you'll ex cuse mo, " sue said, ana stepped out ot the room. "Hello, Bee. What do you think? I never saw such Idiots as the police of this town are. They're watching this house for a desperado who assaulted some ono outside. I met a sergeant on our steps. Says he doesn't think tire man's here, but there's Just a chance he slipped Into the onscment It's ab surd." "Of course It Is." There was a rip ple of mirth In tho girl's voice. "He didn't como In by tho basement at all, but walked In at the front door." "Tho front doorl" exploded hor fath er. "What uo you meanT wno let mm In?" "I did. Ho came as my guest, at my Invitation." "What?" "Don't shout, dad," she advised. thought I had brought you up better." "But but but what do you mean?" ho sputtered. "Is tills ruffian In the house now?" "Oh, yes. He's in tho Red room here and unless bo's very deaf he hears everything we nro saying," the girl answered calmly, much amused at the amazement of her father. "Won't you come In and see him? Ho doesn't seem very desperate." Clay aroso, pinpoints of luughter dancing In his eyes. He liked the gnjr j , i . i - auanciiy oi una young wumuu. A "moment later ho was offering a brown hand to Colin Whltford. "Glad to meet you, Mr. Whltford. Yore daughter has just saved my ltfo from tho police," the westerner said, and his friendly smile was very much in evidence. "You maka yourself at home," an sw'ercd tho owner of a large per cent of tlio stock of tho famous Bird Cage mine. "My guests do, dad. It's proof that I'm n porfect hostess," rotortcd Beatrice, her dainty, provocative face flashing to mirth. "Iliripl" grunted her father dryly, "I!d like to know, young man, why the police are shadowing this house?" "I oxpect thoy'ro lookln' for mo." "I'expect they uro, and I'm not sure I won't help Uiem And you. You'll have to show causo If I don't." "His bark Is much worse tlmn his bite," tho girl explained to Clay, Just as tnougn ner,rutner wero not present, "Hnip!" exploded the mining mag- nato a second time. "Get busy, young fellow," Clay told tho story ot tho flftf-flve-dollar suit that I. Bernstein had wished on him with neur-tenrs of ro grot at parting from It. Tho cow puncher dramatized the situation with some nativo taieat xor mimicry, m arms 'gestured like the lifted, wings of a startled cockerel. "A man gets chance at a garment like Unit only onco In a wlillo occasionally. Which you can take It from me that when I. Bernstein sells n suit of clothes It Is shust like he Is dealing with his own brother. Qvallty, my frlcndts, qvallty I Why, I got anyhow n suit which I might be married In without shnme, un'erstan' me." Colin Whltford v.us of tho West him self. He had lived Its rough-and-tumblo life for years before he mado his lucky strike In the Bird Cage. He had moved from Colorado to New York only ton yed'rs before. Tho sound of Clay's drawling voice was like a mes sage from home. He begun to grin In splto of himself. This mnn was too good to ho true. It wasn't possible thnt anybody could conic to the big town and Import Into It so naively such a genuine touch of the outdoor West. It was not possible, but It had happened Just the same. Long before the cow puncher had finished his story of hog-tylng the Swede to n hitching post with his own hose, the mining man was scaled of the large tribe of Clay Lindsay's admirers. He was ready to hide him from nil the pollco In New York. Whltford told Stevens to bring In the flfty-flve-dollar suit so that ho could gloat over It. He let out n whoop of delight nt sight of Its still sodden nppenmnce. He cxomlnod Its sickly hup with chuckles nf mirth. "Gunmntrod not to fade or shrink," murmured Clny sadly. Tlo managed to cot the cont on with "His Bark Is Much Worse Than His Bite," the Girl Exclaimed to Clay. difficulty. The sleeves reached Just be low the elbows. "You look like a lifer from Sing Sing," pronounced Whltford Joyously. "Get a hair-cut, and you won't have a chance on earth to fool the police." "The color did run and fado aome" admitted Clay. "Worth very cent of nine ntnety- elght at a bargain sale before the Swede got busy with It and he let you hayo It at a sacrifice for fifty-live dollars I" Tlio millionaire wept happy tears as a climax of his rapture. He swallowed his cigar smoko and hud to be pounded on the back by his daugh ter. Jenkins came to the door and an nounced "Mr. Bromfield." Almost on his heels a young man In Immaculate riding clothes sauntered lata the room. Ho had the assured ose of one who has the run of the house. Miss Whltford Introduced the two young men and Bromfield looked tho wosterner over with a suave In solence In his dark, handsome eyes. Clay recognized him Immediately. He had shaken hands once before with this well-satisfied young man, and on that occasion a fifty-dollar bill had passed from ono to the other. The New Yorker evidently did not know him. It became apparent at once that Bromfield had called to go riding In the park with Miss "Whltford. That young woman came up to say good-by to her new acquaintance. "Will you bo here when I get back?" "Not If our friends outsldo give me a chnnco for a getaway," ho told her. Her bright, unflinching eyes looked Into his. "You'll come again and let us know how you escaped," sho In vited. "I'll co'talnly do that Miss Whlt ford." "Then we'll look for you Thursday afternoon, say." "I'll be here." "If tho doIIco don't net vou." "Tiey wbnt," he promised serenely. "When you'ro ready, Bee," suggested Bromfield In a bored voice. Sho nodded casually and walked out of ttio room like a young Diana, straight ns n dnrt In her trim slender- ness. Clny slipped out . of the house by the back way. From tho top of a bus Clay Lindsay looked down a canyon which angled across tho great city llko a river of light. Ho liad como from one land of gorges to anothor. In the walls of this one, thousands and tens of thousands of cUif-dwellers hid themselves during the day llko animals of some quoor breed nnd poured out Into tho canyon nt sunset Now the river In Its bed wns allvo with a throbbing tide. Cross-currents of' humanity flowed Into It froaa side streets and ebbed out of It Into others, Streams of peoplo were swept down, caught hero and there, In swirling ed dies. (Taxis, private motors, and trol ley cars struggled In tho rdcoway. All this Clay saw In a flash while his bus crossed Broadway on Its way to the Avenue. His eyes had become accustomed to tills llrllllahcb Tn tho weeks that had passed slnco his descent upon Now York, but familiar ity hod not yet dulled the wonder of It. Ho had become a fnst friend of Miss Whltford. Together they hnd tramped through Central park and motored up the Hudson In one of her father's cars. They had explored each other's minds along with the country and each had known tho surprise and delight of dis coveries, of finding In the other a quality of freshness nnd candor. Tho bus Jerked down Fifth avenue like n boat In heavy seas pausing hero and there at the curb to take on a passenger. Whllo It was getting under wny after one such stop, another downtown bus rolled past. Clay came to a sudden alert atten tion. His eyes focused on a girl sit ting on a back seat In tho pretty childish faco he road a wistful help lessness, n pathetic hint of misery that called for sympathy. Arizona takes short cuts to Its ends. Clay rose It- iantly, put his foot on tho railing, nnd leaped across to tho top of tho bus rolling parallel with tho ono he wns on. In nnother second he had dropped Into the seat beside the girl. "Glad to meet you again, Miss Kitty," ho said cheerfully. "How the big town been using you?" The girl looked ot him with a little gusp of surprise. "Mr. Lindsay I" Sud den tears filmed her eyes. She forgot that she had left him with the promise 1 never again to speak to him. She was in n far country, and ho was a friend from home. The conductor bustled down tho nlsle. "Sny, where do you got this movie-stuff ? You enn't Jump from the top of one bus to another. That ain't the system of transfers wo use In this town. You might 'a' got killed." "Oh, well, let's not worry about that now." "I'd ought to have you pulled Three years I've been on this run" and" "Nlco run. Wages good?" "Don't get gay, young fellow. I can toll you one thing. You've got to pay nno.ther fare." Clay paid It The conductor retired to his post "What nbout thnt movie Job? Is It pannln'- out pny gold?" LIndsny nskeM Kitty. Bit by bit her story enme out It was a common enough one. She had been film-flammed out of her money by the alleged school of movlng-plcturo actors, and the sharpers hnd decamped with It As she looked ot her recovered friend. Kitty gradually realized nn out wnrd transformation in his nppenr nnce. He was dressed quietly In clothes of perfect fit made for him by Colin Whltford's tailor. From shoes to hat he was a New Yorker got up regardless of expenso. But the warm smile, tho strong, tanned faco, the grip of the big brown hand that buried her small one all these were from her own West. So too had been the non chalance with which he had stepped from the rail of one moving bus to that of the other, Just as though this were his usual method of trans fer. "I've got a Job at last," she explained to him. "I'm working downtown In Greenwich Village, sailing cigarettes. I'm Sylvia the Cigarette Girl. At least that's what they call me. I carry a tray of tlioni evenings Into the cafe." "Greenwich Village?" asked Clay. Kitty was not able to explain that tho Village Is a state of mind which is the habitat of long-haired men and "8ay, Where Do You Get This Movie Stunt Stuff?" short-haired women, the brains ot whom f uactloned in a way totally alien to all her methods of thought "Can't you ceme down tonight to The Purple Pup or Tno Sea Siren and see for yourself?" she proposed, and gave bun directions for finding the classic re sorts. Tm dressed silly in baro feet and sandals and what they can a smock. You won't mind that, will your "You'll look good to me, no matter what you wear, little Miss Colorado," ho told lier with his warm, big broth er's smile. "You'ro good," the girl said simply. "I know thnt on the train oywi when I when I was mean to you." Thore camo Into her voice a small tremor of apprehension. "I'm afraid of this town. It's so so klnda cruel. I've got ho friends here." TO BE CONTINUED