CHAFFEE
ROARING HORSE
•Y ERNEST HAYCOX
T
T
■ ■■ ■53»"jeg-:
**Ride ’em down—block that
Erch! Block It!” And
?sently, ripped and battered,
stood in the doorway with
half of the old crew ranged
around him afoot while the
others charged backward and
forward with their horses. The
tnob broke, re-formed, and
fought for the door. Then it
was split in fragments by the
constantly circling horses and
the foremost section left high
and dry on the porch, threat
ening the defenders.
“Step back” warned Chaffee.
•'■We’re taktn’ Woolfridge to
the jug.”
“Try it,” retorted a near
figure, and smashed Chaffee’s
face with a hard fist. Chaffee’s
bead snapped back against the
door frame, and a fiery rage
came roaring to the surface.
After that he almost lost ac
count of his own acts. His gun
Was out and he knew he felled
the man with a sweep of the
barrel. Another came on but
never reached him; the rest
V his partners were using the
ptme tactics. That cleared the
^nmediate neighborhood of
the door for a little while.
“We mean business,” called
Chaffee. “Go on and pull down
few houses if you want to
Work off steam. But Wool
fridge goes to the jug.”
Alki Stryker had been
■wallowed up during the me
lee, but his voice rose like a
rocket now. “Ne’mind—let’s
get them buzzards which was
Imported to kill. Let’s get Per
rine and his outfit! They’re
out the back end o’ tq,wn!
Come on—come om
That was a rallying cry. The
porch almost instantly became
deserted. The mob raced along
the street and sifted down the
alleys. Firing began and the
yells came shrilly back, like
the sounding of a wolf pack.
Chaffee spoke hurriedly. “You
fellows close In here. Couple
hit for the back way to see
they don’t try to fool us. I’m
going after Woolfridge. Saw
him a second ago climbin’
toward the sky.’’
He turned in and walked
to the stairway. Looking up
he saw Woolfridge standing on
the landing and just about to
disappear down the hall. It
brought him to a full halt,
for he discovered a gun in the
man’s hand and a pinched
look on the soft cheeks.
“Come down, Woolfridge.
Your skin ain’t worth much,
but such as it is you owe it
to Stirrup S. Step along. We
can just make the jug before
anybody gets rash."
Woolfridge nodded slightly.
•‘You made a worthy stand,
my friend. But was it worth
the trouble?”
“I've got to live a long time,’
muttered Chaffee, "and I
don’t want you on my con
science. You’ve bothered me
enough as it is. Come down.
“And supposing I don’t?"
asked Woolfridge in a droning
monotone.
“Then I’ll come up." said
Chaffee.
“Come ahead, grumeu
■Woolfridge, and immediately
disappeared from ~*ght.
One of Chaffee’s partners
left the door. "That means
business. He’ll get leaded yet
before the night’s over. Better
a couple of us take the back
stairs and some more hike up
thisaway. Mcbbe—’’
But Chaffee, still watching
the landing, shook his head.
“It’s my play, Mike. He expects
me to try it. He’s issued the
Invite. I’m goin' up there
alone. Just stay right here and
wait." ,
That drew the puncher s
tmmediated protest. And the
rest of the old Stirrup S riders
closed in. dissenting. ‘‘What
lor—to get ambushed?” de
manded one of them. ‘ Don t
be a durn fool.”
Chaffee climbed the first
Farm Solvency Prevail*.
Nearly Two Thirds are Wholly Free
of Mortgages.
Wheeler McMillen in the Outlook
and Independent.
Despite all the expenditures for
the machinery of the modem Amer
ican standard of living, the agri
cultural balance sheet indicates
healthy solvency.
A hard-up larm owner always
><14* recourse to mortgage his land.
Imt the foreclosure man has to nail
op hla sign before the owner can
he put out of business. The posses
sion of a mortgaged homestead has
long since ceased to be a disgrace
<«* almost anv city i.oma owner
M
step and turned about, face
tremendously sober. “Now
listen, boys. I've got first call
on that gentleman. It was
Woolfridge who killed Dad
Satterlee, the finest friend I
ever had. It was him that
bought my ranch out from
under me. He was responsi
ble for havin’ Mack put out
of commission. And it was the
same gent who has sent me
through all this miserable
course of sprouts in the last
few weeks. It’s my turn. He
still thinks he’s top man of
the two of us. What should I
do—back down and let him
keep on thinkin’ it? Not by a
Jugful. Boys, you let me alone.
I am going up there and call
his bet. One of us is proud.
Him or me. I aim to find out.
Stay here. Keen everybody
away lrom that second floor
until you hear one of us sing
out.”
There vas a grumbling dis
agreement among them, but
Chaffee turned and continued
on up, gun drawn. His face
rose above the landing and he
had one swift survey of tbe
hallway, dark excepting for a
patch of light coming out of
an open door—the door to
Gay Thatcher’s room. Then he
ducked and lunged to the top;
a bullet roared in the cramped
space and ripped at a post in
the railing. Swinging wide he
reached the shelter of the wall
leading along the back cor
ridor and the back stairs. For
a moment he rested silently,
listening. He thought he heard
Woolfridge shift and breathe
somewhere In a room along the
main hall.
“Woolfridge—you had better
give up and go to Jail.”
The man’s voice, still even
but rising to a slightly higher
pitch, floated down the corri
dor. “You will find me in my
room. I am waiting for you.”
“You won’t have to wait
long,” muttered Chaffee, and
without stepping away from
his protected spot, shuffled
his boots against the carpet.
The answer was quick in com
ing, gun roar following on gun
roar. Both shots crashed
through the flimsy boards of
the far wall. “That,” said
Chaffee to himself, “is three
cartridges gone. Three to go
unless he’s got a supply in his
room. I’d better cut this
short.”
He drew his bream ana
swung around the corner into
the main hall. As he moved he
fired point-blank at the black
end. raking the left wall where
Woolfridge’s room was. He had
to keep the man humble while
he ran the distance; he had to
keep the man flinching. There
was no time for him to duck,
and even if there had been
time he would have never
thought about it. Jim Chaf
fee’s blood was on the race;
all the old. berserk anger
swelled his veins and over
whelmed his caution. He
I wanted to crush, to destioy.
He wanted, at the moment, to
wipe out whatever lay before.
And so he raced past the lane
of light, battering the black
ness with his gun, and hear
ing an answering roar match
his own. One bullet cut a path
across the plastered expanse
beside him. Another he felt
strike the floor at his feet.
: There was a third—some cool
s monitor in the recesses of his
brain kept counting the shots
■ -—that he thought touched
him. Then he was at Wool
fridge’s door, turning on his
heels, poising, plunging
through. Immediately he col
lided with the man and was
locked in a hand-to-hand
struggle.
The bitterness and the fero
city of Woolfridge’s resistance
was something he never
dreamed the man capable of.
! That mediocre body with its
I softness and fashionable
or look at the bonds issued by al
most any industry!)
The sheriff will have a long wait
before he gets around to all the
barn doors, because most of the
owners so far have not even put
on the plasters. Nearly two thirds
of the total number of farms, and
nearly four fifths of the total value
of farms, are wholly free front mort
gage indebtedness.
The figures in percentages are 64
per cent of all farms, and 78 per
cent of total farm value that are to
tally unencumbered.
There can b« a lot of borrowing
! on the old farm yet. In bleeding
Kansas 59 ner cent of the farms
grooming was a collection or
striking, c1 awing, twisting
muscles. Chaffee wrapped one
arm around the man's neck
and compressed it with every
cruel ounce of strength he
owned. He heard the actual
snapping of vertebrae, but he
could not catch Woolfridge’s
gun, and his own face and
shoulders suffered a constant
battering from the weapon’s
constant slashes. The front
sight ripped across his cheek;
he felt the blood warming
chin and throat. It roused him
to incredible fury. He released
his grip and freed himself for
a terrific sweep at Woolfridge
with his own gun. It struck
bone. He heard the man
whimper. Resistance for the
moment ended, and in that
moment Chaffee secured an
other clamping hold on Wool
fridge, whirled him around,
and smashed him against the
edge of the door frame. It re
vived the last of the man’s
energy, embarked him on a
series of violent, jabbing
punches. Chaffee made no at
tempt to block them. He had
Woolfridge out in the hall and
was slamming him from side
to side like a figure of straw.
The light coming through
Gay Thatcher’s door fell upon
them. At the same instant
Woolfridge, crying with a
shrillness almost impossible to
the human throat, brought
his knee into Chaffee’s groin
and jabbed the thumb of his
free hand in Chaffee’s eye.
It scarcely missed its mark but
the pain of the nail’s slicing
impact was worse than any
thing that had so far hap
pened. The man was spent,
reeling in Chaffee’s arms, re
sorting to all the last and
most vicious tricks. Chaffee
drew back, struck a slanting
blow across Woolfridge’s head.
The overlord of Roaring Horse
went down, sprawled face on
the floor, half across the
threshold of the girl’s room.
He was finished, for the time
being dead to the world.
Chaffee sagged against the
wall, struggling for wind,
hearing his partners calling
from below. He shook his head,
beginning to feel the throb of
his slashed face. Then the
I stairway drummed with boots
and a handful of Stirrup S
men were crowded on the
scene.
“By Jo, yuh give us a scare,”
said the foremost. “Why didn’t
yuh sing out?”
“Don’t feel much like sing
ing at this precise moment,”
muttered Chaffee.
“Bleedin’ like a stuck hawg,”
commented another, and
walked around the prone
i Woolfridge “Dead, or ain’t
! yuh lucky thataway?”
“He’ll be ail right in a few
minutes,” said Chalfee. He
discovered his gun still in his
; fist. Holstering it, he wiped
his face with a handkerchief.
But there was a throb to one
arm that he couldn’t locate
until he skinned back his
coat. The last Woolfridge
bullet had drilled a neat hole
in the fabric and broken skin.
One of his partners was sharp
eyed enough to discover it and
he swore.
I “Pinked yuh and scratched
I hell out o’ yore face. The very
j same dude you was so all-fired
anxious to save from bein’
sprung on a limb. Beebe yuh’il
get over these fancy notions
sometime. He musta clawed
like a woman.”
“Pick him up.” said Chaffee.
“Down the back stairs and
through the alley to jail. Got
to get him inside before these
homesteaders catch wind of
it.”
They hoisted the inert
Woolfridge between them and
lugged him along the hall.
Chaffee followed, scouted the
alley, and then went ahead to
the rear jail doer. A few
minutes later Woolfridge lay
on a jail bunk, locked behind
the bars with six punchers on
guard. Chafiee sat a moment
in a chair and soothed him
self with a smoke. Outside, in
! the main street and down
along the various alleys, he
heard parties of the home
i steaders beating around for
i fugitives; a shot broke
are mortgage free: and even in poor
old mortgage-ridden Iowa, where
land speculation rode the whirl
wind without directing the storm, 44
tier cent of the farms have no mort
gages to worry their owners.
Good Effects Expected.
Prom the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
The new license law places no
obstacles in the way o' rationally
planned marriages. It does place
obstacles In the way of tho^e that
are conceived on the spur of the
moment. Prom the sociological
viewpoint .if ;.ot from tha mer
cenary angle, that effect U u> be
through tne town occasionally,
but '.i appeared a." if the mob
had spent its fury and that
a certain calm was returning
to this embattled town.
‘ Believe I'll stroll out and
see the extent of the dam
ages,” said Chaffee, heading
for the door. “You fellows
stick close, now. I’ve had
enough trouble getting that
fellow, and I don’t desire to
lose any more hide on his ac
, count.”
‘ Bein’ such a big-hearted
guy,” retorted one of his part
ners, “yuh shouldn’t mind a
little item like that.”
He cruised along the walk,
finding the homesteaders col
lected in parties and going
about with something like a
military orderliness. Ap
parently they had gotten to
gether and adopted a thorough
plan of policing the town;
both street ends were blocked
by sentries; there was a guard
at the hotel now, one at the
bank, and a few at the stable.
But he saw that the danger
of mob action had passed by
and their anger cooled to a
reasonable determination.
They had vented their des
tructive temper. Arriving at
the far end of the street he
was met by a party and chal
lenged with an abrupt ques
tion.
“Where s Woolii'idge/
“In jail,” replied Chaffee.
“Well—mebbe that’s the best
place for him. He’ll hang, any
how. We been snoopin’ around.
Got five more for yuh to put
in the cooler, includin’ Lock
lear. They’s three fellas layin’
cold in the stable, a couple
bein’ them imported gunmen.
But we ain’t through yet. That
man Perrine ain’t to be found.
While we’re cleanin’ up this
one-horse town we aim to get
him.”
Chaffee turned back.
Abreast the bank he was
stopped a second time. Josiah
Craib came out of the door,
ducking his bald head. He was,
as usual, solemn and seem
ingly bowed by the weight of
his thoughts. His gaunt cheeks
lifted to Chaffee and he spoke
a sparing phrase.
“Jim, gather all gents for me
and stay around while I say
my say.”
• Chaffee raised his gun and
sent a shot to the sky. Home
steaders tumbled out of the
buildings and through the
shadows. They collected in
front of the banker, eying him
with a close and not altogether
friendly interest. They knew
nothing about him, nor had
he played a part so far in
their tangled affairs. Yet he
was a banker and they had
seen Woolfridge often talk
with him. Therefore he was
under the cloud of suspicion
Josiah Craib must have felt
that suspicion, but if he did
he gave no sign of it. He stood
on the steps, watching them
group nearer—a clumsy
figure convening the impres
sion of sluggish moving blood.
Nobody knew what lay behind
the deeply sunken eyes;
whether that turning glance
concealed craftiness or
whether it covered nothing
more than the short and
colorless thought of one who
passed his life without im
agination. When they became
quiet and he said that which
he wanted to say, they still
didn’t know. Nor did they ever
know. But this is what he
said:
(TO B* CONTINUED
AUTO-PHOTOGRArilY.
How off to the photographer
In days gone by, you've hied,
And drioped with icy sweat the while
That oily worthy cried:
“Chin higher now—eyes to the front
Hold that a minute, please!"
Then all at once your beipp
quaked—
A cataclysmic sneeze!
Old stuff, and soon out moded. nov
There is a new invention;
Self consciousness to oanish quite
is its proclaimed intention.
You walk into a cabinet
And sit down in a chair;
Then view yourself, this way ana
that,
In mirror hanging there.
If you're a maid, you’ll note which
Pose * ,
Best shows your pout or dimple;
Then press a button heath your
hand— . , ,
Your picture—Just as simple!
\ —Sam Page.
I desired. Iowa can afford to be at
’ the bottom of the list in number
of marriages if those that are ef
fected are permanent and happy
Ancient Temple Idola
Turned Into Swords
Peiping — (UP) — Ancient Chin
ese idols are being turned into
swords for use in modern warfare,
according to a report from Kaifeng,
Honan. .
The idols were discovered in an
old temple, made of brass and Iron.
Local military J-adns decided the
tivatai ahouM ha tuarf for sword*
Plans fcr “Air Calls” in
Far East Watched
With Interest
EY HARRY W. FRANTZ,
United Pres* Correspondent.
Washington — (UP) — When
Col. Charles A Lindbergh and Anne
Morrow Lindbergh pay iheir friend
ly •‘air calls” in far eastern coun
tries, It is certain that no group in
the world will follow their adven
tures with greater interest than
students of the Friends’ School at
Washington.
Lindbergh attended this school,
in seventh and eighth grades, dur
ing 1913-14 and 1914-15, and the
students and alumni naturally
have been eagerly interested in his
aeronautical exploits. After his suc
cessful trans-Atlantic flight special
exercises were held to commemor
ate the event.
But the Friends’ School also has
extraordinary ties of sympathy with
the countries of the far east, be
cause of the large number of Jap
anese, Chinese and Americans now
resident in the Orient, who attend
ed it. The modest brick school
house cn I street, in fact, seems
peculiarly identified with the devel
opment of good will between the
United States and far eastern coun
tries.
Famous Alumni
Most Famous of the school alum
ni is the Princess Chichibu, who
graduated in 1929, a few months
prior to her marriage. She was the
daughter of Ambassador Matsudaira
and during her school years made
records fcr scholarship, athletic pro
ficiency, and personal charm which
have become a “tradition” at the
school. Her sister, Masa, also attend
ed the school and was exceedingly
popular.
Children of other distinguished
diplomats from eastern countries
have attended the institution.
Julia, daughter of former Chi
nese Minister Alfred Sze was
there six years, and her daughter,
Betty, a year, before the minister
was transferred to London.
The boys of former Ambassador
Shidehara of Japan attended the
school. Last year Nasaru Debuchi,
son of the pesent ambassador of
Japan, graduated there, and since
has entered Princeton university.
The ambassador's daughter, Taka, is
now at the school.
Many in Far East
Among famous American gradu
ates of the school, now well known
in the far east, is Nelson Johnson,
United States minister to China,
formerly chief of the far eastern
division at the state department.
Mrs. Cabot Coville, w.fe of an
American diplomat in Japan, is
another alumnus of Friends’
school. When a student she was
Lillian Grosvenor. She is the
daughter of Gilbert Grosvenor,
president of the National Geograph
ic society.
These are only a few of the form
er students of Friends' school who
are widely acquainted in the Orient.
The list inciudes numerous Chi
nese students sent by the govern
ment, and many Japanese of offi
cial and diplomatic connections.
The superintendent of Friends’
school is Dr. Thomas N. Sidwell, al
so its founder. The curriculum is
supplemented by an encouragement
to moral purposes, and particularly
the cultivation of friendship and
good will among the various peo
ples of the earth. Since Dr. Sidwell
has spent a life-time inculcating the
thought of international good will
In his young charges, the school
naturally has taken special interest
and pride in the former attendance
of Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, now
known w'orld-ide as the “Air-Am
bassador of good will.”
The Birth of Our Solar System.
From Journal of Commerce.
A British scientist, Prof. Harold
Jeffreys, has a new theory of the
creation of our solar system, in
cluding the earth and the other
planets that revolve about the sun.
It is, needless to say, a natural and
not a supernatural birth that has
given our system to creation.
As Jeffreys has it, billions of
years ago a star, chancing to pass
close to the sun, caused huge tides
of gaseous matter to rise from the
sun and whirl off into space. This
matter developed into "knots,”
which gathered other particles in
space, and in time came to be the
planets and their satellites—Nep
tune, Uranus, Saturn. Jupiter
Mars, Mercury, the Earth and Ve
nus—all the result c,f a chance star!
That flying matter exists in
space is a scientific fact, and a
"knot” of matter attracts smaller
masses. So, according to this
theory, our solar system, like Tousy,
“Just growed.” Let it go at that. But
ages passed before the earth' cooled,
gathered water and an atmosphere,
and developed plant and animal
life. Man came to be the highest
form of animal life. He picked up
somewhere reason and spirit, and
learned to love and hate. So far no
scientist has accounted for him
end his characteristics so satisfac
teorily as the Good Book, the Bible,
and we let him go at that.
TWIN’S ONLY QUARREL
London—Thomas and William
Hamer have been twins for 75 years
and they've lived their lives togeth
er, doing everything alike and en
tering the same bi nness. Their only
quarrel arose after they were mar
ried. fhey were both married on the
same day, but in different churches.
It is known that one was married
an hour before the other, but both
claim the distinction. That caused
their only quarrel.
AIRCRAFT SALES
New York — The aernautical
Chamber of Commerce reports that
sales of American military and
commercial aircraft and engines
during the first three months of
1931 totaled $9,018,914. an increase
of $39,252 over the first three
months of 1930. Although sales in
creased, production was off 10 4 per
cent.
i ——'
Never Mind How.
T won $20 playlhg cards
night."
"Honeatlrr* ,
MW*U, I won .
fislereoiizedWax
Keeps SkSn Young
Oei an ounce nod nao as directed. Fine parti cl <*»of tuted
•kio peel off until all defects such M pimple* liver
*»« *Qd freckle* disappear. 8kin is then soft
and vdvety. \ oar fare looks years younger. Mr lisiaf
" a a brings out the hidden beauty of your akin. T#
rerojve wr nkfes use one oun<a Powdered Haxotlt#
dueolved in one-half pint witch base!. A t drug stort*.
- - | --3
Movie*
Movies of surgical operations are
being used to teach operative pro
cedure to student nurses. The new
system gradually habituates the
nurse to the ainiosphere of the op
erating room and she is prepared to
attend operations without fainting
on the first occasion, writes It. Fawn
Mitchell in Ilygeia Magazine.
Sometimes Seem* So
"The lawyers make some glowing
ploas for tiie.se prisoners.”
‘‘To hear the orationn, anyone of
them has led a better life than I
have,” commented the weary court
clerk.
Her Handicap
Tiie Golfer—They’re all afraid to
play me. What do you think my
handicap is?
The Girl—Oh, I don’t know. It
may be your face.—Rehoboth Sun
day Herald.
Boon to Smallpox Patient*
Smallpox patients confined In
rooms which admit light only
through a special red glass have less
scarring than patients confined un
der ordinary light conditions.
How One Man
Lost 22 Pounds
Mr. Herman Runkis of Detroit,
writes: “A few lines of thanks from
a rheumatism sufferer—My first bot
tle of Kruschen Salts took all of tha
aches and swellings out of my joint*
—with my first bottle I went on a
diet and lost 22 pounds and now feel
like a new man,”
To lose fat safely and quickly
take one half teaspoonful of Kruschen
Salts in a glass of hot water
before breakfast every morning—an
85 cent bottle lasts 4 weeks—Get it
at any drug store in America.
If not joyfully satisfied after thel
first bottle--money back.
Thank Goodneas
The mayor had just laid the foun
dation stone of a new wing for the
hospital, and the spectators awaited
his speech.
“What can I do, Mary?” whispered
the mayor to his wife. “I’ve laid the
stone on top of it.”
Worth Pondering Over
If the devil can have first chand
at our children doesn’t make t
particle of difference to him how
high we build our church steeples.
—Capper’s Weekly.
Guidance Provided
We need only obey. There is guid
ance for eacli of ns, and by lowly
listening we shall hear the right
word.—Emerson.
Roman Decadence
The use of poison In the Rome of
the emperors was a common method
of taking life and wreaking vengeanc*
on an opponent or enemy.
With Sound Defect*
Love is a beautiful story, and mar
riage is the talkie version of it.—
Life.
No system exactly fits all the peo
ple, for they are of various grades of
imperfection.
Actors were tlie first people who
learned to be photographed without
making a fuss about it.
-r
One of the jo.vs of life Is to have
a friend who, you think, is just about
ideal.
Why are the righteous so inter
ested in the affairs of others?
is food
tcuched
by £lies |
Be sufe
Larfe&C Seiler In 3 21 Counliloa
” ■ •* _i-ii'.T~~rr .- iLi1. j;r\ :* - r -3
3 >..x City Pt®. Co., f!j. 33-1031 •
•tIMO'KI
