Nebraska Newspapers

    [CHAFFEE
I ROARING HORSE
P BY ERNEST HAYCOX
r—
The sun was down and the
shadows swirling across the
Cesert. In the dimming light
ley faced each other, and
Jim Chaffte saw in her the
rlsion of the woman he had
always carries in his heart; a
wisp of brown hair strayed
mcross her cheeks and she
Sited a hand to brush it back
l~a swift and graceful move
ment that brought with it a
Saint fragrance of perfume,
tier lips were pursed, and her
Syes met his glance squarely
as if wishing to speak.
t “I’ll be riding close to my
Wtfit the next week,” said he.
renow’s falling up in the
tooaka. It will be here soon.
Wnd—other things are going
lo happen.”
| “Is that the only reason,
iim?”
She used his first name. So
laturally did it fall into her
oft and slightly wistful ques
ion that he hardly noticed it.
le drew a deep breath. “No.
lo—it ain’t. A man can make
his own luck—but he can’t
change the universe to do it.
Ma’am—”
f “My name,” said she, just
above a whisper, “is Gay.”
| “I have said it many times to
myself. Gay. No other name
avould fit you. And I will be
kayin’ it many more times—
after you’re gone. A man’s got
(to play the cards as they fall.
He can’t stack the deck.”
| She made a small gesture
faith her hands. “You don’t
know me, Jim. You are setting
hie too high. Oh, see me as I
inn!” And after another in
terval she added: “Perhaps I
know more about affairs in
the country than you think,
af I asked you to be—a little
fcareful, would you remem
W?”
L He shook his head. "Now
You’re setting me too high.”
| "No. I’m not!” said she, the
energy of her answer raising
her in the saddle. "You are
honest, you are—a gentleman.
What more should you be?”
Bbe took up the reins and
moved away. Ten yards off
turned, and he saw the blurrey
white oval of her face. "I’m
asking you to be careful. I
know many things I wish I
could tell you. Perhaps I’ll be
here more than a week. Good
light, Jim.”
' "Good-bye—Gay.”
"No—good-night.”
She pressed her horse and
,aced toward the house. A
glimmer of light sprang out
along the desert. Chaffee
watched until she had faded
Into the falling darkness; and
then wheeled and raced north
ward in the direction of the
canyon. The premonition of
trouble filled his mind,
f “Those tracks struck
straight for the middle herd.
What else but rustling? I ain’t
got time to get back home and
roust out the boys. I’ll have
to tackle this alone.”
| His horse was tired, he him
self was weary; yet the farther
he rode the more urgent and
the more alarming was the
warning in his mind. A gray
mound stood vaguely over on
his left hand, and at this mark
he shot away toward the
bench. The herd was in that
vicinity. On he galloped, the
horse gallantly stretching out
»t Chaffee’s impatient words.
Time passed; he slackened
pace and veered along a great
circle. Nothing of the herd was
visible in the deep darkness.
Impelled by the same fore
boding, he straightened out
lor the canyon again. Cattle
didn’t shift so far of their own
accord in the short space of
time between midafternoon
and night. Reasoning along
line of the most probable
course of travel rustlers would
take with so large a bunch of
cows, it seemed to him he
ought to swing at right angles
and head into the undulating
11
folds of the bench. Yet try as
he would, he could not over
1 reach the impulse to keep his
present trail.
He pulled up. Away to his
left and somewhat ahead he
caught the vast and ominous
rumbling of a herd in swift
motion. Without further
thought he raced off at a
tangent. The rumbling grew
deeper and swelled above the
sound of his own progress. All
of a sudden he was on the
flank of the herd, seeing the
dark mass stretch out in an
irregular line. He dug his
spurs deep into the sides of
his exhausted pony and shot
forward among the lead steers.
As he did so he felt the pres
sure of anUher bunch of stock
thundering in from his right,
converging with the mass he
was now abreast. He was ;
trapped in the van of a wide
I flung line of onrushing,
brutes, frenzied by mass fear
and mass sound. He thought
for a moment to make one
effort to break their stride.
Drawing his gun he fired
point-blank into the weaving
formation abreast him. A brute
fell, but the bellowing and the
fury seemed only to rise
higher. And far back he heard
what he thought to be a man’s
voice dimly crying a warning.
The warning came to him
equally soon; somewhere in
the immediate foreground was
the canyon. He bent low and
slipped his quirt, alternately
yelling into the pony’s ear and
flailing the buckskin thongs.
With one last magnificent
burst of reserve strength the
horse pulled away, yard by
yard; and Jim Chaffee, crying,
"So long, duck ! saw a ience
i post §&oot up from the ground j
j and bear abreast of him. He i
kicked the stirrups, flung his
feet far ahead, and let go, the
force of the impact rolling him
head first. He waited, in that
flashing fragment of time, to
hear the bursting and shrill j
singing of barb wire as his ;
horse struck. No such sound
came. Still rolling, he caught
; instead a distant screaming;
and then the rush of the cattle
engulfed that sound. His
| hands touched the jagged
rocks of the rim; he gripped
them with the pressure of
death and swung himself down
into the black maw. His boots
touched a flimsy lodging; he
got a new grip on an outcrop
just below the rim; and,
braced to the shock, he hung
there as the dust rolled against
his face and the very pit of
hell seemed to engulf him.
CHAPTER VII
Fang and Perfume
William Wells Woolfridge
called his ranch house “Wolf’s
Head,” and there was about
it a blending of dual person
ality of the owner. The house
was a veritable mansion
standing massive and solitary
in the desert, designed by a
famous Eastern architect who
himself had overseen its
erection. Lava rock and
squared timbers braced it;
lodge pole pines framed it
all around. Massive beams
supported a vaulted two-story
living room, along three sides
. of which ascended a stairway >
that ran into wide galleries.
After dark, when the remote
corners were clouded by
shadow, it suggested the
spaciousness of some Gothic
temple; and the same fathom- 1
less mystery. There was a fire
place wide and deep enough
for a tier of four-foot logs
laboriously, hauled from the
distant mountains. From place j
to place were ranged trophies
gathered by Woolfridge
throughout the world; and as
if tiring of this stark coloring
he had thrown around wall
and corner all sorts of tapes
tries and fabrics and bits of
statuary of which nobody but
himself knew the full price. |
into ims living room, nair
lighted by lamp and fire, Gay
Thatcher stepped.
Her immediate reaction was
one of utter astonishment. She
stopped and flung up her
head, eyes immediately falling
upon objects here and there;
and catching instantly the
effect of the whole arrange
ment. “Why, Mr. Woolfridge!
I never dreamed—”
He was in evening clothes, a
suave and chubby-cheeked
host, groomed to precision. He
bowed slightly from the hips,
smiling with an urbane pride, j
And he raised her hand in
such a manner that for a
moment she thought he was
about to salute it in the con
tinental style. But, looking
closely at her, he straightened
and stepped back a pace. “I
told you that perhaps I could
offer some small diversion to
the monotony of this land. '
After all, an exile must com
fort himself. You have no
luggage?”
“Just a few things in my
saddlebags. I never imagined
such splendor, Mr. Woolfridge,
or I would have done you
greater honor in clothing. In
the open country I always go
about ragged. And since this
was but an overnight visit I
didn't bother to—”
He interrupted her. “My
dear, make no excuses. You
are lovely, in whatever dress,
wherever you are.” A wiry
Filipino lad darted through
the door with the girl’s saddle
bags. Woolfridge raised his
voice. “Ysabel.” A Mexican
woman came down the stair
way and took the bags. “You
will want to freshen up,” said
he. “Ysabel will show you to
vour room.”
When the girl returned ;
fifteen minutes later Wool- j
fridge had changed back to
his riding clothes and a table 1
had been placed by the fire, i
silver all aflash in the light. 1
He came toward her.
“Really,” said she, “this em- :
barrasses me. I—”
“That,” said Woolfridge, tre- i
mendously earnest, “is the last
thing ip tfje WQl'W I WdRt you
to feel. I mean that as I neVei1 ‘
meant anything else. It was !
only a foolish fancy of mine.
The pomp and circumstance
of a lonely exile.” He placed
her in a chair and went around
the table to his own seat. “I
was worried about you. I
should have disregarded your
instructions and sent a man
over to guide you here.”
“I like to ride alone. I had j
no trouble at all. I have so
little chance to go adventuring
as I grow older that I always
look forward to the opportun
ity” She lifted a salid fork
and spoke as an apparent
afterthought. “But I found
company. Chaffee—Jim Chaf
fee took me to the canyon.
And came nearly home with
me.”
“Interesting,” said Wool
fridge, engaged with the serv
ing. “Would like to have seen
the chap. There is a character
for you. Did you say he was
traveling back to Stirrup S
after you left him?”
“I believe in that direction,”
replied the girl. She had a
moment’s glance at his face
as it turned away; nothing but
serenity dwelt upon it. “You
spoke of being an exile, Mr. i
Woolfridge. You don’t really
mean that.”
“Yes, very much so. Volun
tary exile. What is there for a
man to do in the cities? I
found myself growing soft,
getting old. Going around and
around. There is no place in
America I cannot go, my dear
lady, with credentials that
will admit me to the best cf
homes. I am in a position to
do almost anything I want to
do. But I relegated all that
and came here. Why? Well, ;
because—’’
He leaned forward and
something of the mildness
vanished from his face; she
thought she saw a hint of the
iron in this man. “Because I’m
in the wrong century. I am a
good business man. But I
would have made a better buc
caneer one hundred years ago. :
I am laying myself open to
you. There is that urge in me.
Something pulls me off the
oe uen cracK. i ount tms nouse
on the strength of that. I live
here on the strength of that.
It is not good for a man to
live alone; neither is it good
for a man to stifle his im
pulses and tread the machine."
"And have you found what
you seek?”
He turned squarely to her.
She saw the will of the man
very plainly then. “I am on
the very edge of finding it.
There—”
"Please. I didn’t mean to
ask into your affairs. Let us
consider that unsaid.”
"Why so?” he asked. “I
should like you to know. I’m
too cautious a business man
to show my trumps before the
proper time. And yet I am
egotist enough to dream of
power created by my own
hands. I have inherited al
most everything. Now I create
by myself. Miss Thatcher, the
time will come—and it is not
far distant—when I can say
that I have achieved. When I
have built up a little kingdom
in my own right.”
“Whatever greatness there
is in us,” said she gravely,
“comes out in the struggle we
make. And whatever evil there
is in us also comes out.”
"Very true,” agreed Wool
fridge. "But few men have the
courage of their convictions. I
mean the smashing desire to
take everything before them
and see the end. You may
not think it, but I have that
desire. As for evil—it is a word
too much used. Tell me, what
is evil, except a label arbi
trarily applied by society to
this case and that case as so
ciety wills? There is much in
justice done in the name or
that word.”
i am not a pnnusupner,
said Gay, and smiled.
Immediately he lost his
seriousness and became the
affable host. They finished
the meal and lounged in front
of the fire, talking of idle
and inconsequential things.
Presently he showed her his
collection of fabrics. Midway
in thij§ a horse podded up tg
the front door and a rider
struck the ground heavily.
Woolfridge paid no attention
to the distraction until the
Filipino lad came soundlessly
in and ducked his head. Wool
fridge excused himself and
went out. The girl heard the
rider’s voice come strongly
through the door, and almost
instantly was hushed and
trailed down the yard. She
stood with her back to the fire,
very thoughtful. Beside Wool
fridge in town, she had judged
him from surface appear
ances; and, since she was a
wise young lady, she had
added something to those ap
pearances and given him
credit for being more than he
seemed to be. Yet she was not
prepared for the h :its of
character thrown off this eve
ning. She felt somehow on in
secure ground. Almost as If
she were on unsafe ground.
He came back at the end of
ten minutes; and, though he
smiled easily and resumed the
tour of inspection, there was
about him a subtle change. He
lost a little of the urbane
courtesy; he made no parti
cular attempt to carry on
small talk. The girl all of a
sudden decided she was weary
and said as much.
“It has been a long day. 1
believe I had better go up."
“I’m sorry. There are a
number of things yet to be
discussed.’’
“For instance?” she sug
gested, standing at the bottom
ef the stairs.
“My dear girl, you are a com
plete mystery to me— and tc
others. Don’t you think it fair
to let some of us in on what
you have done all these
years?”
(TO BE CONTINUED)
-- ,
Q. What is the business of a
church court in reference to social
reform? M. K.
A. Ecclesiastical courts meet to
determine matters of church polity
and also the action of the church
In conformity with its declaration of
principles In regard to social oi
spiritual matters such as the stand
of the church i\pon marriage, birth
control, prohibition, child-welfare,
education, confederation and many
other church principles.
/ I Ul/ilC Iyi» II(I> (U niaiv.%
Fijm New York Herald.
Once niOJC. in conformity with a
>us .report, Mr. Hoover's public
committee recommends that
the public domain be transferred to
the separate states. These govern
ment lands, amounting, roughly, to
)00 acres, lie in 11 western
ObviouMv the states would
accept the grant of this
l property if made without
themselves. In fact, the pro
tposal cottars from a committee ot 18
jerx of whom the representa
of the 11 states form a ina
ctively only a small oart of the
public lands still owned by the gov
| ernment is suitable for immediate j
use. Aside from that which has !
passed into private hands for farm- |
ing and mining purposes, large areas
! have been set aside as forest re
serves, national parks and as min
eral lands subject to special restric
tions. Of what remains most is
; desert or barren land, available only
in part for grazing or to be turned
to profit possibly through the devel
opment of mineral areas. But
throughout the West the prevailing
1 opinion has long been that the
United States government, which
still holds the title, is a grudging
and unfriendly proprietor, and, if ,
it were dispossessed, the public do
main might be converted into cash
to local advantage. Nowhere else
has the policy of conservation and
of supervising closely the exploita
tion of national resources, timber,
minerals or water power aroused
such persistent resentment.
The real purpose behind the proj
ect to transfer the public domain
to the states is its more rapid alien
ation to private owners. With 11
states set up in the land business
on their own account, even when
surrounded by certain safeguards as
a condition of the transfer, there
would be grave danger of reckless
and improvident, nrartiThe na
tion still has an important stake
though it be of uncertain or only
prospective value, in its public lands
It should be slow to let go of it 01
to relax its control of property ot
which it is trustee for all the people
- ' 1 ——■■■■■
Q. Please compared the wood
pulp production of Canada and the
United States. J. F. U.
A. The total pulp production in
Canada has risen from 1,716,000
tens in 1919 to 3.608,000 tons in 1928
In the United States the production
in 1919 was 3,517,000 tons, and this
production has risen steadily up tc
1928 when it amounted to 4,150,00<
toua.
PYJAMAS.
In by gone- years pyjamas wer«
Designed lor wear in bed;
None dreamed lor them another
use.
Not ecu the most ill bred.
Of outing flannel they were mad«^
With pin stripe neat, of pink1,
Or strong, white cotton cloth, per
haps,
And guaranteed "no shrink."
Out now that modest robe de nuit
Has crawled from out the hay;
We meet it in the living room,
And on the broad highway.
Of silk, cerise or mauve or jade,
With lines phantasmagoric,
It gives a modest man such pain,
He needs some paregoric.
All this today. Tomorrow? Ah,
The world moves on a-pace;
The bride will do her Mendelsshon,
Pyjamed all in lace.
_ —Sam Page.
Colorfol Celebrities.
Prom New York World.
When Alfalfa Bill Murray had
oeen safely inducted into office as
governor of Oklahoma they might
well have called it a day. It was
one. First oi all, Bill had to borrow
$250 to get to the capital from his
home in Tishomingo. Once arrived,
he was greeted by Millett Hoy
Koy Bitty, Indian chief, in painted
lace and all accouterments—Mrs.
Murray is a member of the Chick
asaw tribe. Alfalfa Bill needed no
amplifiers to carry his inauguration
speech and subsequent message to
the waiting crowds. Like Dr. Butler
of Columbia, the man who was
elected by the largest majority in
the brief history of the state was
very critical of the parlous condi
tion of college athletin. He thinks
he is going to cut th<* taxes.
They have picturesque governors
In the West and South, and we do
not need to go back to “Bloody
Bridles" Waite of Colorado to be
gin the list. There w'as Governor
Hogg of Texas, who named his
daughter Ima, and Governor Frazier
of North Dakotsa, who named his
twin daughters, in honor of the
state university, Unie May and
Versie Fay. The Fergusons, Jim
and Ma, were recent portents in
Texas. There was Governor Vard
anian of Mississippi, long-haired
and vociferous, and Governor Bil
bo. his understudy. There is Gov,
Huey P Long of Louisiana, who be
comes a senator on March 4.
Comparing such colorful person
alities with more humdrum execu
tives of the big industrial states,
one might be tempted to generalize
that campaign funds talk in the
East while the West and South
listen to the big, rangy man with
the big voice and sombrero—and
then one thinks of Len Small and
of Illinois, which is both East and
West and has plenty of money in
politics, to be cured of rash
theories. We can be thankful for
the picturesqueness of the Alfalfa
Bills without worrying about the
cause and course of their political
evolution.
CHILDREN GET TREATMENT
Miami, Fla.—(UP)—Six small
children, suffering from heart dis
ease, have arrived here from Boston
to begin eight months of treatment
and observation under Miami's win
ter sun. The children, sent by Dr.
Paul D. White, Boston specialist,
under auspices of the New England
Heart Association and the Ameri
can Heart Association, will have
regularly prescribed sun-baths daily
and graduated exercises in the open
air.
Rural Mail Service.
From Indianapolis News.
Rural mail service daily in th<
United States has progressed to s
point where, in the fiscal vear that
closed June 30, almost 25,000,000
persons lived along established
routes. That number is not far from
the total farm population of the
nation. Only a comparative hand
ful of people living in the more iso
lated and inaccessible country dis
tricts are without this convenience.
During the last 12 months 167,493
families were added to previous lists
by extensions. Probably no federal
undertaking ever has justified it
self more quickly, and few have had
so rapid a growth.
Carriers are traveling regularly
over 43,840 routes, covering 1,316,420
miles, a government report an
nounces. The cost to the national
treasury is about $106,000,000 an
nually, a small sum when contrasted
with the immense contribution made
to the social and economics welfare
of the United States by facilitating
communication and commerce. The
wonder Ls that the movement to ap
proximate city service in handling
mail did not come sooner. It was
not until 1891 that the idea was of
ficially suggested. John Wanamak
er, then postmaster general, pro
posed to Congress that a test be
made of the plan, it was termed
fantastic in many quarters, and
nothing tangible developed at that
legislative session. In 1893 an ap
propriation of $10,000 for experi
mental routes was voted reluctantly,
to which amount $20,000 was added
in 1894. Mr. Wanamaker declined to
use the money, declaring the
amount too sma'l to attempt a
demonstration of the validity of the
policy.
In 1896, $10,000 more was sup
plied for the venture. Trials under
taken in West Virginia and Indiana
—the route in this state having
hope in Bartholomew county as a
base—showed the merit of the plan.
The system stimulated national uni
fication. and ranks as an important
event in our history.
19 Farms Within Old
Village of Illinois
Cahokia, 111.—(UP)—This village,
die oldest in the state of Illinois,
has a population of 286, according to
the recently completed census re
port. Nineteen farms are located
within the village limits.
One-Armed Golfer Makes
Difficult “Hole in One”
Deal. Englahd — lUP) —Handi
capped by an adverse wind, Captain
C. E Wilson, a golfer who lost his
right arm in the World war, holed
out in one at the fifth hole on Prin
cess links, a distance of 190 yards.
GARDEN PAD
A piece of linoleum, with Its
outer edge bound in colored ad
hesive tape, makes an ideal kneel
ing pad for the garden, and no
cost whatever. ,
"SCIENCE rescues tho
DEAFENED”
by Floyd Gibbons
Noted journalist describee hit visit
to a leading electro-acoustic lab
oratory. Everyone who is hard of
hearing should read it. Reprinted
from the Review of Revitwi. Send
24 stamp to Dept. C bl)
SONOTONE
1* WMt 44th St. New York City
lb Si l l ERINH WITH PILES, any kind.
l.rt pit* hrip yo!i. Drop mo a line. FKED C.
WHITNEY 516 23th St., Dei* Moines. Iowa.
Sunshine///>
—All Winter Long
At lha Foremost Desert Keion
of thaWest—marvelous climate—warm sunny
days—clear starlit nights — dry invigorating
air — splendid roads — gorgeous mountain
cones—ftneit hotels—the idoal winter hom®
write c.-eo a Che trey
PALM SPRINGS
fallfornia
Russian Measurement
The Russian verst is it measure of
length equal to 0.G02S8 miles.
WOMEN SHOULD'
LEARN USES
OF_MAGNESIA
To women who suffer from nausea,
Jr so-called “morning sickness,” this
is a blessing. Most nurses know it.
It is advised by leading specialists:
Over a small quantity of finely
cracked Ice pour a teaspoonful of
Phillips' Milk of Magnesia. Sip slow
ly until you are relieved. It ends
sick stomach or inclination to vomit.
Its anti-acid properties make Phil
lips’ Milk of Magnesia quick relief
in heartburn, sour stomach, gas. Its
mild laxative action assures regular
bowel movement. Used as a mouth
wash ft helps prevent tooth decay
during expectancy.
If sleeping late gives you a head
ache, you make a great virtue of ris
ing early.
Was a Problem
‘Mary Jane caused me many
anxious moments,” says Mrs. G. G.
•McDowell, 40",'t Wentworth Ave.,
So., Minneapolis, Minn. "She was
listless, weak, had no appetite.
"She suffered a lot from colds
until I began giving tier California
Fig Syrup. It made her strong,
aide to avoid colds; gave her a
good appetite and digestion. She is
the picture of health, now."
For over 50 years, California Fig
Syrup has been helping bilious,
weak, headachy, constipated babies
and children. Doctors by thousands
recommend this pure vegetable
product. Children love its flavor,
if acts gently to open the bowels in
colds or children’s diseases. Bowels
become regular with its use and re
main that way.
Emphasize the name California
or vou tnav get an imitation.
IAXATIVE-TONIC for CHILDREN
--—-—3
Fishing is often just an excuse
What the man wants is to sit on I ha
bank ami daydream.
---;--3
'^cd^wUu in
your mouth?
Ccated tongue, bad breath? Watch
them vanish when you clean accumu
lated waste matter out of your system.
Fecn-a-mint works thoroughly, gently,
efficiently with smaller doses. Noit
habit-forming. Safe for young and old,
FOR CONSTIPATION
S ou t City Ptfl. Co., No. It -1531.