WgTf-S Ifyffl
Harold Titua
w. N.O
»a aV i ct.
SYNOPSIS
Ben Elliott — from "Yonder” —
makes his entry Into the lumbering
town of Tlncup, bringing along an
•Id man, Don Stuart, who had been
eager to reach Tlncup. Elliott de
feats Bull Duval, "king of the river,"
and town bully, In a log-blrllng con
test. Nicholas Brandon, the town's
leading cltisen, resents Stuart's pres
ence, trying to force him to leave
town and Elliott, resenting the act,
knocks him down. Elliott la arrest
ed, but finds a friend In Judge Able
Armltage. The Judge hires him to
run the one lumber camp, the Hoot
Owl, that Brandon has not been able
to grab. This belongs to Dawn Mc
Manus, daughter of Brandon's old
partner, who has disappeared with
a murder charge hanging over his
head. Brandon sends his bully, Du
vs], to beat up Ben, and Ben worsts
him In a flat fight and throws him
out of camp. Old Don Stuart dies,
leaving a letter for Elliott, "to be
used when the going becomes too
tough."
CHAPTER III—Continued
Elliott smiled. "Maybe It’s only
s sick man’s dream, Bird-Eye. And
again maybe it’s an ... an ace
In the hole. I’ve never yet looked
at my hole card until I’m beaten
on the board. I’m not beaten yet,
by a long walk.”
Bird-Eye scratched hls head.
“No, not yet. ’Nd may Hi’ saints
kape ye evlr as far from a lickin’
as ye are now, Ben Elliott! But . . •
I’d loike to bet my noble tourin’
car thut owld Donny wrote some
thin’ to do with th’ killin' av Sam
Faxson, I would!’
“Well, you can’t get any takers
here, Bird-Eye. Not tonight. Into
the hay, now, and let me sleep.”
And about the time Ben Elliott
burrowed Into hls pillow and shed
responsibility and perplexing prob
lems, Nicholas Brandon turned in
the pacing of his cold and other
wise deserted office and cocked
hls head alertly. It was not unusual
for him to be late in his office. But
those drawn shades and this quick,
restless, harried march to and fro
around and about, and thnt per
aplratlon which beaded his fore
head, and the sudden stoppings and
listenings at the slightest sound . . .
Those were not usual for a man so
thoroughly established in hls com
munity that he dictated every phase
of its life and activity.
He stopped after a time and open
ing a drawer of hls big desk took
from it a bottle of whisky, shook
himself and muttered softly. For a
time he held It In his hands, de
bating. Then, with finality, mut
tered: "No. ... A clear head now!”
He shut the liquor In its place and
resumed his pacing.
Nicholas Brandon may have ruled
Tlncup and the surrounding coun
try with an iron absolutism. But
tonight, alone In hls office, remem
bering the words and looks and
gestures of Bird-Eye Blaine, a low
ly employee of an insolvent ven
ture, seeing again the flash of that
letter waved before his eyes, he was
no commanding figure. He was a
frightened man, a hunted man, bat
tling to retain a hold on himself.
CHAPTER IV
BEN ELLIOTT had been on the
Job at Hoot Owl Just two weeks.
Able Armitage was with him for the
night. Ben was tireless, It seemed.
Since the beginning he had labored
daytimes, schemed until late at
night, and now he spent another
hour with Able, trying, as he said,
to make every dime look like a dol
lar.
"Now, say!” His face took on a
curious smile as they Anally folded
their papers. "I haven't had much
time to think about anything but
patching up this outAt and getting
It to function, but through It all
one thing’s kept bobbing up so oft
en It’s got my curiosity on its hind
legs.
“Who was McManus? What about
Bara Faxson? Where does the little
girl you’re guardian for come In?”
"Little girl!” Able said, startled
and then smiled. “Why, Dawn is—”
“I keep hearing about these men
McManus and Faxson and how
Brandon Is trying to beat you down
ao he can cheat the orphan child.
How about It all?”
Abie’s smile died out. He shoved
up his spectacles and rubbed his
eleepy eyes.
“I’ll have to make a long story
ahort; Just hit the high spots. First,
Nicholas Brandon and Denny Mc
Manus came into this country when
they weren't much more than boys.
They were the Arst hardwood oper
ators In this country. They’d had
some experience and a little money
but they hit at the right time,
picked up a raft of timber for a
song and started turning It Into a
fortune.
“McManus was married and had
the daughter. Dawn. Brandon never
married. Just when they were
swinging nicely, everything run
ning smooth as butter, McManus’
wife died. He was as deeply In love
as any man I’ve ever seen and It
sent him completely to pot. He
took to heavy drinking and got him
self In a bad way.
“Of the two, Denny was the more
popular. He was friendly, charita
ble, had a heart as big as a camp
stove and as soft as a sponge. He’d
go the route for anybody. Why—
probably you’ve never even heard
thlt—when old Don Stuart rimmed
the company It was McManus who
stood In the way of prosecution.
Don had cruised and bought a lot
of stuff for them. He always had
been a drinker himself and on one
spree got Into some sort of mess
and crooked the company out of
three or four hundred dollars.
Enough, anyhow, to let himself In
for a long term In the penitentiary
If they’d pushed it. Brandon wanted
te prosecute, all right, but McMan
us stood up for Don. That was typ
ical of the man: friendly, forgiv
ing, a real human being, if you un
derstand.
“But Mac went to pieces himself.
He would be off on a bender for
weeks at a time and scarcely get
over the shakes before he’d start
on another. Finally he got so bad
that Brandon sent him out to a
hunting camp on the river with a
fine old trapper named Sam Faxson.
Great old character, Sam. Brandon
figured—and it seemed reasonable—
that Sam could keep Mac away
from the booze, you see. He was
t’aere a week or so, tapering off
gradually, Boeing nobody but Sam.
Brandon was working away like a
nailer, buying up a lot of stuff for
himself, probably figuring that If
McManus didn’t strnlghten up he’d
operate on his own hook. McManus
"No. ... A Clear Head Nowl”
had this Hoot Owl stuff cinched
in his own name before he went
bad.
“Well, one night we were In the
middle of a three-day blizzard and
Sam Faxson stumbled Into Don Stu
art’s shanty on the edge of town,
shot through the arm and frozen
so badly that he died the next aft
ernoon. Don’s story”—voice slow
ing and a dnger raised for empha
sis—“was that Faxson told him Mc
Manus had gotten out of booze and
turned ugly and that when he—Sam
—tried to prevent him from starting
for town after more whisky he went
wild at Sam and shot him. He was
hit In the arm, had to have help
and In trying to get It suffered more
exposure than any mnn could stnnd.
“Well, that caused a great stir!
A party hit straight out for the
camp and couldn’t lind hide nor hair
nor sign of Mac. A couple of old
trailers agreed that somebody hHd
gone down to the river below the
camp the night that Faxson was
shot. The Mad Woman Is swift at
that bend and never freezes. The
trail seemed to go right to the edge
of the stream and the accepted the
ory was that McManus, realizing
what he had done, had drowned
himself. The fact that nothing has
ever been seen'or heard of him
since lends strength to that suppo
sition.
“An Inquest was held, on Don’s
story a warrant was issued for Mc
Manus and so it stands, after all
these years.”
He rubbed his face.
“Now, that’s thnt. The thing that’s
stuck In the minds of some of us
Is this: that McManus, under no
circumstances, ever showed a quar
relsome streak, let alone giving evi
dence of being a killer. However,”
—with a shrug—“he’d been on a
long, long drunk.”
He paused and shook his head.
Then went on:
"Brandon carried on the partner
8hlp and his own Interests, buying
his own logs In the nnme of the
tlrm and sawing them In the mill.
He bought right and left, left and
right. As soon as another man
would plan to operate here Itrnndon
would try to buy him out. If he
couldn’t buy at his own figure
things commenced to happen to
that man. . . . Duval has figured In
a good many failures!”—nodding
profoundly. “The man seemed to be
obsessed by the Idea that he must
own all the timber In the locality.
‘‘Finally It came down to this
one piece, owned by McManus,
which was the Inst which Itrnndon
wanted and that he didn't have.
He commenced to jockey so he could
get title to It. Horner Campbell was
judge of probate then. Nick went
to Homer with a petition to have
McManus declared legally dead so
the estate could be probated and
this timber disposed of. Mac had
been gone seven years and such
an arrangement could he brought
about according to law, you see.
“However, Homer got the notion
that Brandon was a mite too anxi
ous, satisfied himself that while
Brandon was getting rich personally
the partnership was In a had way,
and decided that he wouldn’t be a
party to any scheme to rob an
estate.
"That ended Homer politically.
Nick put up another candidate and
trimmed us properly and we knew
that when the new judge came In
he’d take orders from Brandon. So
Homer surprised Brandon by re
opening the McManus matter, de
claring him legally dead and ap
pointed me administrator for the
estate and guardian for Dnwn.
"Nick was pretty mad, nil right!
I commenced to pry Into things,
found that the partnership books
certainly did look bad and decided
to take a licking there and sold out
the McManus Interest. We were
stung, all right, but there was no
use squealing. I took the money,
paid up the mortgage on the Hoct
Owl, sent Dawn off to school In
the East where she wouldn’t be
known as the daughter of a mur
derer—a cloud which was misshap
ing her whole life—and tried to
make some money for her.
“That’s how It stands to date.
I’ve failed. We’re on the ragged
edge; the estate right now, con
sidering the location of this timber
In Brandon's territory as a liabil
ity, is Insolvent. Dawn’s hnd to
come back here to live where she’s
unhappy and what’s ahead of us
depends on you.”
Ren gave a wry smile.
“This killing thing, now. . . . Did
anybody ever suspect Brandon?”
Able shook his head.
“Faxson and McManus were alone.
And McManus disappeared. I know
what’s in your mind, Hen. Rut there
was nothing to support the suspi
cion."
He sat silent a moment and then
asked drily:
“Haven’t read old Don’s letter
yet?"
"Not yet. I’m superstitious. I don't
like to use all I’ve got until I have
to; don’t even like to look at my
hole card."
“Well, It’s your message, that let
ter; your property," Able said. "And
the nut’s going to get tougher fast
I hate to think what'd happen If
we had to stop sawing for two or
three days right now. A shutdown
certainly would put temper Into the
shell of the nut, Ben, and—”
He stopped short. Into the still
ness of the room came a muffled
shout, Ben started to his feet and
Able turned a bewildered face In
the direction of the sound.
"Fire 1” a walling voice cried.
•*Th’ mill’s on fire!"
Buller could be heard bounding
from his bed In the next room. Able
lurched to the door to see Ben El
liott flying toward the mill-yard,
silhouetted against the dull glow of
angry flame which showed through
cracks In the mill.
The wide doorways to the ground
floor were rectangles of dull
orange. The fire was In there, be
neath the deck, under the carriage,
eating into the very vitals of the
mill.
A water barrel stood beneath the
slide, its bucket dangling from a
stick laid across the top, but the
barrel was empty. Ben seized the
bucket, smashed the thin ice that
had formed over the hot pond, filled
his pail and rushed through the
open doorways into the smoke. He
hud a clear sense of Boiler’s voice
crying the alarm and of answering
shouts as the men began turning
out of their blankets.
Ben soused his bucket of water
■ Into the heart of the burning area
and it scattered the blaze with a
wooshing sound. The flame did not
go out; it only scattered. His eyes
and his reason told him, then, what
his nostrils had failed to register
in his first excitement.
“Gasoline!" he panted as he rnn
out, colliding with Buller In the
doorway. “Somebody touched her
off! . . . Soaked with gasoline in
there. . . . Look, it’s spreading fast I”
Men were corning^ shouting as
they ran through the darkness. In
all stages of partial dress they
came, crowding close to Elliott and
Buller.
“Stand still, you, and keep still!"
Ben snapped. “You, McFee, and
you and you,"—pointing to individ
uals. “Roll that barrel of salt up
from the siding. Now 1 Snap into
it!
“You and you and you,”—indicat
ing other men—“get every bucket
in the place. Water buckets from
the barrels in the yard and along
the tramways, palls from houses,
kettles. Anything that’ll hold an4
carry water.
“You, there; get me an ax and a j
shoveL Snappy, now!”
Ills voice hnd bite to It and as
he tolled the men off for these ex- j
pllclt errands, they went on the
run.
“Buller! Get upstairs and knock
a hole In the floor, to the left of
the saw. Couple of boards wide. So j
long,’’—measuring with his spread
hands. “We've got to get that flnme
drawing straight up Instead of
mushrooming all over the floor bot
tom. Form the rest of your men
Into a bucket brignde and pnsa wa
ter up the slide. . . . Fast as you
can! Don't anybody think about
anything but sending up full buck
ets and taking down empty ones.
You stand by the hole, Buller, and
knock her down ns she comes
through. Not so fast, now, that you
spill water and drop pails. Hold
your heads and your feet. It's our
only chance to lick it. . . . Hike,
now 1”
Grunting and cursing, four hus
kies came lugging the barrel of salt
and Ben, trying to still his excited
breathing, snapped his Angers as
he waited for their arrival.
’’Gasoline!” he shouted to Able,
seeing hint for the first time. "Wa
ter won't touch It! We've got to
smother It and we can’t get sand
handily and salt should do. If Buller
can hold her w'hen she sticks her
head through the floor!
“Up here, boys! Close, now!”
Ben heaved on the heavy barrel of
salt himself, rolling It In to the
doorway which led directly Into the
Are. “All right. . . . Jake! Into
the bucket line, all of you !’* He
swung his ax on a wire hoop and
the barrel popped open. He struck
again to clear away staves and
drove a dozen quick blows Into the
lumpy salt that spilled out, to pul
verize It.
Next he grabbed up his shovel,
scooped It full and disappeared Into
the smoke.
His eyes smarted but he took his
time, blinked and surveyed the fire.
Then he swung his shovel upward
and sideways and sent Its burden
In a plastering, spattering smear at
the center of a particularly hot
spot. The blue-green-orange com
bination of living Are gave up at
once to a saffron smudge.
Ben leaped into the open again,
breathed deeply, tilled his shovel
and doing bis best to hold his breath,
edged back Into the smoke. He
drove that shovel of salt hard upon
flame, too, nnd retreated at once.
A dozen trips, and he had the flame
down In an area the size of a blan
ket. He worked to the right, then,
going further into the mill, coughing
nnd reeling, and when he emerged
that time he retched painfully. He
stood over his salt pile a moment,
gulping fresh air while nausea
shook him. He breathed quickly,
forcing his lungs to pump deep and
fast, sending clearing life through
his arteries. His head steadied, he
scooped up more salt and com
pressing his lips against the shak
ing coughs, ducked into the mill.
Faster and faster the buckets
came up, some big, some small, now
nnd then one that leaked away Its
precious contents. Fire found hold
on the edges of the hole Buller
had made In the floor. Little
tongues of flame ate Into the
dry wood and curled upward. To
Buller’s right a linger of fire crept
up between two boards; beyond It
another appeared. In a dozen places
fire was coming through the floor
and Buller, swnying on his feet as
he coughed, turned to the next man
In dismay.
"He said ..." he choked.
“Got to have air! Move up !”
The line moved up. The man who
had taken Buller’s place soused a
bucket of water across the floor,
knocking down those tendrils that
wormed through from below. Then
he attacked the uprushlng column
of flame again.
Down below Ben Klllott had the
heart of the burning litter a writh
ing mnss of saffron smoke. He start
ed out. fell nnd crawled to the en
try, got his knees beneath him nnd
retched again and again. His eyes
smarted madly and streamed tears;
he coughed as he vomited and It
seemed ns though he never would
find strength to rise. But, he did
after a moment and renewed Ills at
tack.
“Here, you! I liree men. . . .
Two buckets each!” Ben crnnked as
he ran out to the foot of the slide.
“Throw It high, nnd hard. So!"
he cried hoarsely nnd flung the first
water himself with a wide, sweep
ing, overhead swing. It knocked Are
off the nigger, blotted out an orange
panel on a heavy sill. “Now, you!"
he cried to the next mnn.
They filled th«*ir own buckets nnd
that duty took them Into the fresh
air, cleared their lungs, kept the
nausea down, steadied both legs and
heads. With hissing splashes the
water from their palls went slosh
ing against the overhead woodwork
and gradually the glare through the
thick smoke subsided.
(TO BE CONTINUED )
Cock-Crower'i Job Ended
From 1041 to 1840, the kings of
England maintained an official
“Cock-crower,” a mnn who appeared
In the king’s apartment at midnight
on Ash Wednesday and crowed, to
remind the monarch of Christ’s be
trayal. On this night in 1840, the
new I’rlnce Consort, who had never
heard of the crower, was quietly
reading when his door flew open
and a voice cried, '“‘Cock-a-doodle
doo.” The shock was terrible. Thus
ended the 790 year-old Job.—Col
lier's Weekly.
NURSERY BLOCKS
CROCHETED RUG
By GRANDMOTHER CLARK
This crocheted rug called “Nursery
Hlocks" Is made up of small blocks
In different color combinations, as
sembled and then a border crocheted
nil around. Each block measures
about 8 Inches and outer border 4
inches, making a finished size 33 by
30 Inches, and requires about 5 lbs.
of rng strip material.
A rug made of blocks and then as
sembled enables you to make a rug
In any size or color desired. Make
the blocks in any size. Arrange color
scheme to suit particular room in
which It Is to be used, or make It
of lilt and miss colors and use it nny
where. Either way It remains a
practical rug. and easily innde up In
spare time.
Full Instructions for this rug and
25 others can he found in rng hook
No. 25, containing crocheted and
braided rugs, also Instructions for
crochet stitches used and how to pre
pare .vour rng mnterlnls for use.
This book will be sent to you post
paid upon receipt of 15c.
ADDRESS. HOME CRAFT CO.,
DEFT. C., Nineteenth & St. I.ouis
Avenue, St. Louis.
Inclose stnmped addressed envelope
for reply when writing for any In
formation.
FOR JOINT WAR
TO CURB PESTS
Malter Vitally Affecting All
Nations.
The control of many insect pests
is essentially a problem of the North
American continent, not of Canada,
or of Mexico, or of the United States
alone, according to Lee A. Strong,
chief of the bureau of entomology
and plant quarantine, United States
Department of Agriculture. National
boundary lines mean nothing to these
insects, Mr. Strong says. So why, lie
asks, should eacli nation undertake
to deal Individually with pests that
attack the forests, fields, orchards
and gardens of mor; than one of the
North American countries?
Through internationally co-ordi
nated programs, Mr. Strong points
out, definite results linve already been
obtained In the face of apparently
insuperable difficulties. Co-operative
grasshopper surveys and control op
erations in the northwestern states
and in the southwestern provinces of
Canada, for example, proved effective
in suppressing recent grasshopper
outbreaks on both sides of the bor
der. Moreover, Canada and t lie
United States have profited alike
from Joint notion on European corn
borer control and on gypsy moth
eradication in adjacent areas.
Notable also, Mr. Strong continues,
have been the results of entomolog
ical co-operation with countries to
the south. With the aid of the Mex
ican authorities, the United States
Department of Agriculture lias suc
ceeded in keeping the Mexican fruit
fly from becoming generally estab
lished In tin* Rio Grande valley of
Texas. By this co-operative effort,
Mexican fruit growers were also
helped in the control of tlie* fruit fly !
in its native home below the Rio l
Grande,
Co-operative work on tlie citrus .
black fly in Cuba hns reduced the j
numbers of that fly until It is no |
longer a serious pest in Cuban orch
ards and tin* likelihood of spread Into
Florida is materially lessened. The
black fly was controlled within a few
years by a parasite front Asia. Ento
mologists of tiie United States De
partment of Agriculture found that
this parasite checked the black fly In ]
Malaya and, with the aid of the Cu
ban government. Introduced It Into
the Island’s citrus groves.
International co-operation. Mr.
Strong believes. Is Just as essential
for research as for Insect pest eradi
cation and control. All control and
eradication programs, he points out,
must be based on the results of ento
mological studies. "I can conceive of
no tlner, more necessary type of con
servation." he soys, "than the control
or elimination, whenever and wher
ever possible, of those forms of ani
mal life which destroy the good things
for society and contribute nothing
good to society. To that end, I am
for more and. If necessary, larger pest
control and extermination programs
bused ou more and lietter co-ordinat
ed programs of research."
Birds Display Enmity
at Sight of Airplane
Birds are more frightened of air
planes than are hlg game, an Eng
lish aviator reports. When flying
over Britain I have noticed that the
pheasant, partridge, and even the
domesticated hon are thoroughly
scared when nn airplane drones In
their direction. They appear to think
that a plane Is a giant hnwk nhout
to swoop down on them. It Is a curi
ous assertion among people who
lived on the east coast of Britain
during the World war that they re
ceived their first warning of Impend
ing Zeppelin raids from pheasants.
These pheasants invariably awoke,
began calling to each other and scat
tered away In fright long before the
noise of aero engines became appar
ent to human ears.
There are several cases of con
dors nttneking airplanes crossing the
Andes. Once, it is told, a large condor
espied an all-nietnl airplane winging
through the blue. Immediately the
huge bird swooped down and struck
the Intruder with stunning force on
the wing. All that was left to tell of
the encounter was a large rent In
the wing, some fenth rs, and a con
dor’s leg complete with Its foot.
Life’* Important Thing*
My list of the four most preferable
things in life Is: First, wisdom ; sec
ond, domestic happiness; third, rec
ognition and encouragement: fourth,
welfare of one's country.—Donn Inge.
LIFE IN THE U. S. A.
It’s good to have money, and the
things that money can huy, but It'a
good, too, to check up once in a a bile
and mnke sure yon haven’t lost the
things that money won’t buy.—Dr,
G. II. I.orimer.
Dr. Pierce’s Pleasant Pellet* are the orig
inal little liver pill* put up 80 years ago.
They regulate liver and bowel*.—Adv
Mere Atom
A rnnti wrapped up in himself
makes a very small package.
A Law Every
Mother Should
Know and Observe
Never Give Your Child An
Unknown Remedy without
Asking Your Doctor First
According to
any doctor you
ask, the only
safe way is
never to give
your child a
remedy you don t know all
about, without asking him first.
When it comes to "milk of
magnesia," that you know every
where, for over 60 years, doctors
have said "PHILLIPS’ Milk of
Magnesia for youK child.”
So—always say Phillips' when
you buy. And, for your own
peace of mind, see that your
child gets this; the finest men
know.
Safety jfot tymtutJtymU
You can assist others by refusing
to accept a substitute for the
genuine Phillips' Milk of Mag
nesia. Do this in the m
interest of yourself
and your children
— and in the in
terest of the
public in general.
Phillips* &
/Milk vf /MaqnetoiL.
THESE PICTURES SHOW
Modern Three-Minute Way to
Ease Sore Throat
1 Crush and stir 3 BAYER Aspirin
• Tablets in a third glass of water.
2 Gargle Thoroughly — throw your
• head way back, allowing a little to
trickle down your throat. Do this twice.
Do not rinse mouth.
3 If you have a cold, take 2 BAYER
• Aspirin Tablets. Drink full glass of
water. Repeat if necessary, following
directions in package.
Ease Pain, Rawness, Soreness
Almost Instantly
Here’s a safe, modern and effective
way to relieve sore throat. A way
that eases the pain, rawness and
irritation in as little as two or three
minutes. Many doctors advise it and
millions are following this way. Try it.
All you do is crush and stir 3
BAYER Aspirin Tablets in M glass
of W'ater and gargle with it twice—
as pictured here. (If you have signs
of a cold, take BAYER Aspirin and
drink plenty of water.)
Get real BAYER Aspirin Tablets
for this purpose. They disintegrate
quickly and completely, making a
gargle without irritating particles.
BAYER Aspirin prices have been
decisively reduced, so there’s no
point now in accepting other than
the real Bayer article you want.
PRICES on Gtnuina Bayar Aspirin
Radically Rtducsd an All SIzm
1:45 a.M., m.tM
r >
WHAT DO YOU THINK/
THE REGULAR PRICE Of
CALUMET BAKING POWDER
IS NOW ONLy25^A POUND/
f AND THE
NEW CAN 15
SO EASY
TO OPEN /
