n * 'XZk'QU Harold Titus w.m.u ^ a v i ci. THE STORY Ben Elliott — from "Yonder” — makes his entry Into the lumbering town of Tlncup, -bringing an old man, Don Stuart, who had been eager to reach Tlncup. Nicholas Brandon, the town's leading citizen, resents Stuart’s presence, trying to force him to leave town and Elliott, resenting the act, knocks him down. Judge Able Armitage hires Ben 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 • murder charge hanging over his head. Brandon sends his bully, Du val, to beat up Ben, and Ben throws him out of camp. Old Don Stuart dies, leaving a letter for Elliott, "to be used when the going becomes too tough.” Ben refuses to read it at this time, believing he can win the fight by his own efforts. Eire, sub-* dued, is found to have been started with gasoline. The Hoot Owl gets an offer of spot cash for timber, that will provide money to tide it over. But there Is a definite time limit on the offer. Ben discovers Dawn McManus is not a child, as he had supposed, but a beautiful young woman. The railroad bridge over which the Hoot Owl lumber must pass, is blown up. CHAPTER VII—Continued —10— Beu threw more coal into the Are box, looked at his water gauge, choved the reverse lever down into the corner and opened the throttle. The little old locomotive gave a sharp, an almost startled, bark as valves released their power, send ing from Its stack a great puff of cumulous vapor into the still morn ing air. The drivers spun and she let go a rapid series of exhaust coughs. He shut off; opened again, and this time the tires found pur chase. The slack came out, the cars moved and, Journals squealing, belching and stuttering, they broke over to the down grade. Elliott had her wide open, now, and the loads, on that grade, ran easily despite the binding cold In their journals. The rock and pitch of the engine were beyond belief. It seemed as though its weight must carry the light steel from its spikes as the careening ‘threw tons of strain first one way and then the other. The curve at the trestle’s ap proach rushed up the valley toward him and through Elliott’s mind awam all manner of misgivings. It aeemed at the moment that If by any freak chance the wheels should stay on the rails, then those rails must surely give before the strain that the train’s fiight would exert as it took that curve. He threw one quick glance backward to see Tim Jeffers crouched on his high perch as a circus rider might stand on his boldly galloping steed. The old man chewed briskly and, ns he caught a fiash of Ben’s face, spat and made one impressive gesture with a mittened hnnd, bidding the younger man get outside. Ben had done all that he could do In the cab. Nothing within his power would be of avail If they left the track nnd. Inside, he would have no chance at all should the wild run come to its end in the smoking waters of the river. And so he backed into the gang way between tank and engine and slid down to the step, clinging to the hand rails, staring ahead, ready to let go if the worst, and the high ly probable, happened. The curve was there, the length of their locomotive ahead. . . . The trucks took it with a screech and a bounce and a grind. She turned sharply and Ren thought he felt her tipping, tilting, the step beneath his feet rising as the force that 6trove them off at a tangent as serted Itself. ... He swung far out, to give tier that much more bal ance, and they were straightening out with the loads thundering and clanking and leaping behind and he breathed deeply, realizing that for the Interval his lungs had not func tioned. And now they charged at the bridge, at that rough, new crossing of Hoot Owl. The engine bounced and quivered and seemed to stumble as she took the newly laid track. Rut she slammed back to balance and her tires chewed the frost, and they were over and charging the rise beyond! Ren clambered back into the cab and tugged at the throttle, cursing because it would not open wider. He strained as though by his very posture to help the machinery meet that demand upon It. Nobly, the little locomotive breasted the rise; bravely she lunged Into that hill with the exhaust roaring fit to beat the rusted, burned stack from her. She spat cinders and smoke high Into the nlr and the steam clouds from the leaking gaskets enveloped Elliott, curling about him, shutting off his view. They were slowing, now. The roaring drum of the ex haust had dropped now to a sharp panting. They were half-way up before he touched the reserve lever. He let it down slowly, a notch at a time, using every last Inch of the momen tum he had gained. Up, now, three quarters of the way. Hen could see the rails on the hit of level going at the top. Up another train's length, slowing with each foot gained. Afar off, across the snow blanketed country, a plume of white vapor trailed a break In the forests. That was the local, crossing the rlv er. swinging In toward his siding “Go it. girl! Go it, girl!” he yelled at the engine, swinging one fist. She shoved her nose over the crest, seeming to weave it from side as In distress. Her drivers slipped and spun a half turn; caught on sand, held. She began a stutter ing. dying puff. The sound wav ered, She seemed to stop. . . . and cleared her cylinders with a short belch. . . . She was on top. Her last breath had turned the trick. “Hold to It, old timer! Hold to It 1" Ben croaked. The first car gained the crest. The locomotive was on the down grnde. now; the second car coming across the peak. The third car rumbled over the top and Tim .Tef Half a Mile Down the Track the Local Pulled in Toward Him. fers, dropping his peavey, wormed along the logs and flopped down to the brake wheel as Ben shut her off, set the brakes and with a boy ish swing of one arm yanked on the whistle cord to set her voice scream ing. Back on the last car Tim clubbed brake wheels. Out on the first, Ben Elliott drove the shoe home. The ancient locomotive dug her heels In and settled back. Down and down they went on the frost slick steel, gathering speed that was as alarming as the slowing of their pace had been a moment before. But with every train length trav eled Tim Jeffers was setting more brakes against the humming wheels. She slid, she slipped, she squealed and complained and clattered her way down that final mile. They had her under control at last and slowly they edged around the curve at the millpond, out onto the siding and to a full stop. Ben, dropping down, ran across to the main line and held up his hand. Half a mile down the track the local puffed in toward him. The whistle sent up Its cloud of steam at his signal, he heard the engineer shutting off and in minutes the train slid In, brakes grinding. “That stuff go?" the conductor called, swinging down from the way car. “That stuff goes!" Ben said al most reverently and turned to face Tim who was filling his pipe with unsteady hands. It was a moment for the right word. But Tim Jeffers was not a man of words; not of many words. “Well, you done it,” he said slm ply. “Yeah. With your help.” “Still needin’ a camp boss?” “Badly!" “S'pose I’d do?” “Do! Ix>rd, Tim, If—” “All right. I’m hired to get out logs again. Guess I’ll Idt .Mr, Bul ler for a cuppa carfee. I’ve rode trains now ’nd again, Ben, but of all the rides I've ever took that was what you might call th’ dang dest!” In a Minnesota lumber town a bearded man sat near the stove In a small hotel and heard the story of what was happening in distant Tlncup. “Know him?” another listener asked the narrator. “Not the kid. I know Brandon, ’nd I know Tim Jeffers. Top load ed for him three winters. If Tim’s back there’s a hot scrap on and . . . gosh! but I like scraps." ' “Mean you’re pulling for Tin cup?” “I’ll say I am!” The bearded man cleared his throat. “You think, then, that the lad's got a chance of making It against Brandon?” he asked. "It sure looks as If he had a chance. With old Tlncup shanty boys hitting back for their stamp ing grounds his chances are getting better. Ever been In Tlncup, Mar tin?" The other closed the blade of his pocket knife and pulled at the lobe of his left ear with his hand. “I’ve heard of the place," lie said quietly. “Better hoist your turkey and come along with me. Likely be could find a place for a good book keeper." Martin smiled oddly but made no other response In far Hung camps and mill towns the story was being repeated. Just such men were leaving jobs and turning their faces toward Tlncup, known through the Lake states for the tyranny that Nicholas Brandon hud exercised there so many years. Ben, sitting with his feet on Abie’s desk in the justice's oflice, grinned broadly ns he told of the latest developments on the Job. "Sixty-four men In camp this morning,” he said. "Over thirty of ’em new and the best looking bunch of loggers I’ve seen since I wus a kid." Aide glanced at a letter he had been holding. "And with the Milwaukee people standing ready to finance us it looks as If you might, maybe, per haps be getting ready to find It all down hill and shady, Ben. I think that interesting this particular bank is the best piece of wTork you’ve done yet.” "Nothing, Able. All I hnd to show was what we were doing. They can’t lose with the lumber behind their notes.” "Unless Brandon finds a way. "You’ve got to watch every loop hole, Benny. And you’ve got too much for one man to do." “Oh, It’s not thnt bnd. Things are straightening out. Tim’s a wonder; Buller isn’t missing a bet. We ought to keep right on step ping.” Ben rose to go and, as he did so, the door opened and Dawn Mc Manus stepped in out of the lightly falling snow. "Oh!” she cried In surprise. It was the first time she had seen Ben since that morning a month ago when he took the veneer logs on their mad ride to save the Iloot Owl operation from Immediate in solvency. "Am I interrupting?” “Come In, Dawn,” said Able, ris ing. And Elliott said: “If you are, It’s nice to be Interrupted.” She looked at him and, at first, her eyes held that coolness which was almost hostility but this melt ed and she smiled. “You say nice things, Ben El liott !” "How can anyone help saying nice things to nice people?" She made a playful mouth at him and Ben watching her ns she ndvanced to Abie's desk, thought again that he never had supposed women grew to such loveliness. Her errand with the old justice was brief. She and Ben went out together, Dawn on her way home, Ben to finish his errands in town. At the corner where their ways parted they stopped and Dawn hesitated in what she had been say ing. Then, looking into his face, she asked: "Does Mr. Ben Elliott ever take tea with a young woman? You know, I am beginning to think that I like to talk to you 1" "Then the risk of having It re ported that I’m a lounge lizard Is as nothing.” The house where Dawh lived was the house in which she had been born, a sprawling white frame structure beneath whispering hem locks. The fine odor of baking bread permeated the place and as they entered Dawn lifted her voice In a light hail: “Oh-ho, Aunt Em!” Sounds came from the rear; a door opened and closed, and then another door opened which gave into the room where they stood, and an ample woman In a checked apron, her face flushed us by stove heat, entered hastily. “Yes, dearie— Well I’’—stopping in surprise. “Aunt Em, this Is Mr. Elliott. "How d'y do!" Her voice was full and deep, like a man’s. “I’ve seen you, young man, and if I was a hand to say what most folks say I’d tell you that I feel like we're old friends.” She shook hands vig ously. “You’re a big young feller, Ben Elliott!”—eyeing him up and down. Dawn laughed again ns she drew off her coat. "Don’t you tell a soul, Aunt Em, but we are going to have tea! If his shanty boys ever heard about if they might think lie was too much civilized for them.” “Pshaw1 As If what other folks think counts!" She looked narrowly at Dawn and Ben saw the girl’s face change. “It’s what I’ve told Dawn ever since she was little, Ben. that It’s what you think about your own self that matters; not what anybody else thinks. Well! You two set and I’ll get ten." She hurried out and Ben drew up a comfortable chair before the fire. In the half hour that elapsed be fore the older woman returned Ben learned much about Dawn McManus. This was her house, her home. Aunt Em, then a young woman, had been housekeeper, there after Dawn’s mother died. She had stayed on, keeping the place up through the years that Dawn was away at school, making a living for herself by baking, and now that Dawn was home again she was the girl’s closest friend and only confidant. "There are so many people here now who are not . . . No, I’ll put It the other way: I’m not con genial company for many people in this country. It isn’t their fault. It’s wholly mine. People have a right to their opinions, of course. Evidence was strong against my fa ther. But he was no killer. He never harmed anyone. I’m sure of that. When people think of him ns alive and a fugitive or dead and disgraced it stirs my temper 1 You’ve heard about m.v fnther." “Of course. “Naturally, you would.” They talked, after that, of per sonal tastes, of the glories of big country, of the limited recrentlons offered by little towns. “Just the movies! Now nnd then there's a dance," the girl said, “but none of the boys seem to wnnt to take me. . . It Is my fault, like ly." She was staring moodily Into the Are. "I frighten them away. Mr. Brandon asks me to go to the movies now and then, but ... I don’t know . . ." "So Brandon wants to amuse you. does he?" "Yes. He’s been awfully kind to me, always. Of course, I know that Able nnd a lot of people think he’s after the Hoot Owl nnd Is quite ruthless about It, but they can prove nothing. He was so good to me when I was little nnd talks so rea sonably to me now that I can't believe their suspicions are well founded. Still . . . Things do seem to hnppen at Hoot Owl. Mr. Brandon’s explanation of the Are and dynamiting is that you made an enemy of Bull Duval and his friends, and that they are striking back for spite. That sounds rea sonable, doesn’t It?” “Yes," said Ben, unwilling to ar gue any such point with her. At this Juncture Aunt Em came In with food that was surpassingly flne and for an hour they sat and talked while darkness fell. Ben was rising to go when the doorbell rang. Aunt Em went to answer the summons, nnd as a man’s voice sounded In the hallway Dawn broke short what she had started to say. A moment later Nicholas Brandon entered the room. The man’s face, as he crossed the threshold nnd saw Ben, was fe of him Elliott could think of nothing adequate to say for an instant. When he did speak, he said levelly: “In a lady’s house the only thing to do is to reply In kind. Isn’t that true?’ The other bowed slightly, but ill* eyes did not meet Elliott’s.’ "I'm glad you are so generous,” he said, and probably only Ben caught I he mockery in the tone. “Am I too Inte for tea, Dawn?" Aunt Em. standing In the door way, watched this with grimly set lips. Dawn replied that Brandon was only just In time and Ben, picking up his cap and coat, pre pared to go. "You were talking of dances,” he said to Dawn. ‘‘There’s one on the cards for Saturday night. I’m told. Would you mind going wdth a mere employee?" (TO OU CONTINUED.) Hard and Soft Wood* Some hardwoods are softer tliaa some so-called softwoods. Simple Motif in Bedspread Design Br GRANDMOTHER CLARK Some need lew orkers hesitate when it comes to crocheting a bedspread, because too much work and time Is required to finish It. The design shown above Is about the simplest pattern known and works up fast. This model Is worked In cream, rose and yellow carpet warp and meas ures 41 i Inches for each square. Kind the size spread you want to make and then figure how ninny squares It will take. You will he surprised how fast the work progresses if you spend only spare time on making the squares, and the little material re quired to take with yqu when not working at home. When the squares are finished slip-stlteh together and finish with a simple edging. The squares may he set together point to point, thereby producing a pointed edge Instead of straight. Tills Is one of the thirty motifs shown In book No. 27. all Illustrated with Instructions, and will he sent to you postpnld upon receipt of 15c. The use of these motifs Is not lim ited to spreads. My using different sizes of thread many attractive and iiselu) nrticles can he crooheted. Address — HOME CHAFT CO.— DEPT. It—Nineteenth and St. Louis Ave.—St. Louis, Mo. Inclose a stamped addressed en velope for reply when writing for any Information. Chemists Seek Means of Slowing Down Oxidation Oxygen, which gives us life, Is nlso man's grentest Industrial ene my, notes a writer In the Montreal Herald. The air we breathe con tains one-fifth oxygen, and this gas Is a highly corrosive substance. When a house burns down It Is simply combining with the oxygen In the air. When sonp turns hrown on a chemist’s shelf It Is merely an other instance of the corrosive qual ity of oxygen. But it Is the motor Industry thnt suffers most from the ravages of oxidation. Its two chief organic essentials, rubber and pet rol, are especially susceptible. Thou sands of pounds worth of these ma terials have been utterly wasted owing to the action of air—ant now the scientists have struck back. They have been experimenting with the development of substances known as anti oxidants These com pounds when mixed with any prod uct, slow down oxidation to such an extent that Its usefulness and life are Increased tenfold. Scientific Oddities Itecemly two very important scientific discoveries have been made. One is that under the state of Mon tana ties a vast glacier composed of various gases, which have formed a natural refrigerating agent and frozen an underground lake. Tin* other is that, suspended sixty miles above the North polar regions, Is a canopy of ice particles. French physicists who visited Greenland say that It is the cause of many vio lent thunderstorms. In contrast to these is the huge subterranean fire which rages beneath a mountain In the stale of Colorado. It started In a coal hod years ago, and |>erlodi cally, as the mountain Is eaten away, It slips down till now it Is 100 feet lower than It was ten years ago.—London Tlt-IMts. BEAUTY REGIME MUST BE RIGID TO GET RESULTS Failure to practice them regular ly is one of the reasons, a good many women seem never to get the most good out of their beauty routines. If you do your exercises once a week instead of every day you can’t ex pect to see a rapid Improvement in your figure. Drinking eight glasses of water only one day out of the month isn’t going to keep your complexion clenr and smooth, and dieting three days a week and then stuffing yourself with sweets and starches the other four won’t make you lose weight. If you renlly are serious about keep ing 'your skin, hair and figure lovely through the years you simply must stick by whatever rules you have made. The same general idea applies to use of cosmetic preparations, too. One innsk won’t clenr up a muddy complexion, but If you use n mask on a certain day each week for six months you will see an improve ment. If you are trying to get rid of fine lines around your eyes apply eye cream, muscle oil, tissue builder or whatever, each nnd every night be fore you go to bed. One applica tion of anything Just won’t correct defects that have accumulated over a period of years. You have to lenrn to pick the right nids, use them properly and, above all, consistently. You should allow at least fifteen minutes each morning for applica tion of make-up; about hnlf an hour nt night before you go to bed for brushing, cleansing and creaming; two hours one day a week for a visit to a beauty shop or for thorough skin nnd hair reconditioning treat ments at home. The total is only seven nnd one-quarter hours per week—certainly not too much time to devote to your personal nppear nnce.—Alicia Mart, In the New York World-Telegram. * 31 patmtid tw a atra layinIXfc ol Gum-Dippad | © 1836, t. T. * a. Co. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Listen to the Voice of Firestone— featuring Richard Crooks, Gladys Swarthout, or Nelson Eddy—every Monday night over N. B. C. JVEAf Network • • • • A Five Star Program f FOR 20% MORE POWER In tanning, quick starts and more power are a big advantage. In the •a Firestone Extra Power battery, the new Firestone Allrubber a Separator gives you as j much as 20% greater * power and far longer battery life. FOR QUICK STARTS AND a LONGER MILEAGE I ut a new set of Firestone Spark lMngs in your car— truck and tractor—you'll be surprised how much quicker they will start, and how much fuel you will save. FOR BETTER BRAKING CONTROL Firestone Drake Lining is put up in sets, making it convcnicntforyou toreliue your own brakes. 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