Nebraska Newspapers

    'Btf
Harold Titus.
W. N O
ieavici
CHAPTER XIV—Continued
—16—
‘‘Dawn!” he called loudly as he
shoved open the door. “Hello,
who's here—”
He had crossed the threshold,
peering into the gloom, a sudden
and cold misgiving sweeping him.
“Turn hack; withdraw!" a small
voice warned but before tip could
gather himself a blow struck him
and he went down under a heavy,
living weight
But as KUlott went down, with
his assnilaut. on top, lie drew his
knees upward, bowed Ids back and
with a trick of rough-and-tumble
fighting used the very In> met which
had floored him to toss the man on
beyond.
He heard him curse, saw the
other turn as he pitched across the
floor and scrambled to his feet.
“Brandon!" he cried hoarsely as
■ savage joy swept him.
Brandon did not speak. He rushed
with head lowered. Great arms
wrapped Ben's body, a head drove
Into the pit of his stomach, driv
ing the breath from his body.
He fell to the floor fighting, but
his blows were weak. Ineffective. A
hand clutched at his throat and he
tore at it with all his strength. The
fingers shut down on the windpipe
and he writhed under that agony,
summoning all his courage, all his
will to break free, to outlast that
strangling pressure. But he could
not do It. He went numb; his brain
clouded. He lay still and then after
• time, sweet air poured again into
his lungs.
That was all of which he wras
aware for a long interval: air, bath
ing his tortured chest Air. which
had been denied him by the stran
gling grip of a man's hand.
That thought burned away the
haze which enveloped him and he
started to throw himself over, to
rise, to he up and lighting. But he
found that he was unable to move.
His hands were stretched out
above his head; a harsh bond held
each wrist helpless. He tried to
kick and failed. Ills feet were
locked together and held there as
by a great weight.
Footsteps, then, came across the
floor, and Nicholas Brandon looked
down at him In the dim light, a
whisky bottle in his hand, swaying
a bit on unsteady feet.
“So!" he grunted and laughed.
“So you fell for it! So you fol
lowed your blessed Dawn, eh?” He
went off into a tantrum of crazy |
laughter.
Ben twisted slowly against his
bonds and discovered that the rope !
which bound him was wet. He
could no more free himself with
out niil ihan he could hope to fly.
“It worked!” Brnndon cried.
“G—d. how it worked! ‘Dawn!’
you yelled like a fool, standing out
side there. ‘Dawn!’ . . . And then
stepped into my trap, eh?”
He sat heavily In a chair.
"It all worked, even to the
weather! Yon came alone. It's
starting to snow. Nobody’s nearer
than the Hoot Owl and the smoke
of a burning camp wouldn’t be seen
twenty rods a day like this.”
He leered.
Smoke of a burning camp! Ben’s
racing thoughts connected that idea
with the odor which tilled the room.
. . . His fingers felt the strands
of hemp that stretched from his
wrists to the posts of hunks against
the wall. Surely the rope hnd been
soaked in kerosene. So it was Bran
don’s intent to leave him tied
helpless, to fire the building. . . .
Then his mind centered on thwart
ing the scheme of this ruthless man
gone wholly mad. . . .
“Yeah. It worked ... so far,’
he replied, and grtnnod.
Brandon snorted In contempt.
“So far, yes; and on to the end, It’ll
work. You’re tied fast, aren’t you?”
—leaning low so Ben could see the
cruel lights In his eyes. “You’re
tied hand and foot! I’ll touch the
camp off. You’ll roast . be
cause this old camp’ll burn like
h—1 itself! They’ll find your bones
here; they’ll find an empty whisky
bottle. That's all they’ll find.”
Brandon had schemed competent
ly: no detail which would Impli
cate him seemed to have been over
looked. Still, fear did not manifest
Itself In Elliott’s heart; only con
tempt was there for a man so mer
ciless. Contempt and a stout deter
mination to stall for time.
“You’re smart, Brandon," he said.
“I’ll a<lmit that. The plan’s so good
I’m surprised that you overlooked
a bet."
The other turned sharply.
“A bet?” he cursed derisively.
“What d'you mean, a bet?”
“A little thing. A thing almost
anybody might overlook. But It’s
bound to come to light If I don’t
■how up. and one murder charge’s
u good as another. I’m talking
about a letter Don Stuart wrote me1
Just before he died."
“Stunrt didn’t know! He knew
nothing. 1 tell you! He wasn’t
even here! He took Faxson's word
for it aud even Faxson didn’t know.
He was usleep In that room right
there”—pointing—"and he enme out
while we were talking and Mae
went crazy and—”
Elliott could not restrain the im
pulse to laugh in n wild shout of
triumph.
“While we were talking! So
that’s it! And you’ve sworn that
you weren’t here that night! And
you were here after all!"
“I wasn't here. ... 1 wasn’t here.
. . . Wasn’t here. 1 tell you. . . .
And McManus won’t dare come
hack, with a warrant waiting. . . .
He won’t dare . . . won’t dare. . . .’’
“So you admit, as the rest of us
now know, that McManus didn't
throw himself Into the river that
night, eh V So you admit lie still
lives, do you?”
“Admit notiiing . . . nothing. . . ,
He’s a murderer, 1 tell you, . . .
And 1 wasn’t here . . . He's a mur
derer, 1 tell you. . . . And I wasn't
here . . . wasn’t here. ’ . .”
He rubbed his [minis together,
looking about dully, like some hunt
ed, haunted thing. . .
And back to the northward three
people came through the darkening
forest on Elliott’s trail, bending
low against the mounting storm.
Two men were ahead, beating down
a track for the girl who followed,
pleading with them now and again
for more speed.
Ben watched Brandon narrowly.
The man’s mind, under the Influ
ence of the whisky he had taken to
goad himself to go through with his
murderous plan, and beneath the
shock of Elliott’s fortunate shot In
the dark, was cracking. Ben need
ed time, now; he spoke:
’’I’ve a proposition, Brandon.
How’d you like to trade? How’d
you like to huve Stuart’s letter for,
say, the use of my hands and feet
for a minute?”
Brandon come slowly close nnd
leaned over him.
“Mean that? Where is it?"—
craftily.
“My affair.” Even then, he could
feel the bill-fold in Ids breeches
pocket where old Don’s letter re
posed. “What d’ you say?”
Brandon’s fingers plucked at his
lips.
"For the letter. And for word
of McManus, 1 might, Elliott. I
might trade your liberty for—”
He checked himself with a grunt
as if realizing that he had by his
own words placed himself complete
ly in Elliott’s hands.
“To h—I with you and your ques
tions I" Brandon snarled, straight
ening. “To h—1 with you, Elliott!
I’m not afraid of lies and McManus
was so drunk he never knew what
happened!
“They’ll rind your bones,’’ he
growled between teeth which re
mained clamped to still their rat
tling, “They’ll find . . after a
while . . . your rotten bones.”
From beneath the sink he
dragged an oil can and sloshed its
contents along the walls, across the
floor, over Ben’s body until Elliott
lay In a pool of Inllnmmahle liquid.
“You crossed me!” Brandon cried,
digging Into a pocket. “From the
moment you hit town, you did what
no one else had dared do! You
kept it up, turning them against
me, slipping through every trap 1
set!” He found the match for
which he searched. "But you
sealed your doom when you look
me on, Elliott!” The match flared.
“It’S over now, you fool ' It’s
the trail Faxson took for you!
Cross Nick Brandon? H—I. .
He took one step to a pile of oil
drenched debris against the oil
soaked wall. He bent forward to
apply his torch nnd stopped, ns if
frozen, hand extended.
A shout outside; a body crashed
against the door. It burst open and
Tim JefTers plunged Into the room.
Behind him came Martin and as
Dawn slid down the steep drift to
the entry the burning curl of tinder
dropped to the floor and Brandon
whirled.
“Get him, Tim!” cried Ben.
"Nail him! Don't give film a
chance!"
With a muffled shout Martin and
Jeffers flung themselves on Bran
don as he charged for the door
way. lit screamed. lie fought
frantically but quickly they bore
him down.
“Take that!" Tim’s voice bel
lowed. " 'Nd that! 'Nd that!”
The sound of knuckles on flesh
came with the words. . . . Curses,
Inarticulate shouts, and then
Dawn’s frantic voice:
“Ben, where are you?"
The struggling ceased suddenly,
with r long, gagging Round from
Brandon.
Tim rose, looked around the room
and moved to where Elliott’s prone
figure showed indistinctly in the
gloom.
"Well I’ll be d—d!" he said.
"Get up. . . . What? What's this?"
"Trussed up, Tim. Out me loose.
. . . Hurry! This Is going to be a
great party!”
A knife blade clicked open; the
oil-soaked ropes parted. Ben
lurched to his feet.
Dawn, running Into the kitchen
of the camp she knew so well, came
back with a lamp, its reservoir half
filled. The wick was lighted and
the shadows of the room retreated.
“We seen the note," JefTers mut
tered. “Dawn there, ’d come out
We suspected you were In trouble
and—”
“Never mind about me, now," Ben
broke in.
"But you’re all that matters!"
Duwn said. "Ben. ... It was my
note that decoyed you. It was an
old one. written to him. He’d
saved it."
Elliott smiled and covered her
bunds with his.
"Never mind anything that has to
do with me. I’m only an accident
In this. It's going to be a wonder
ful day, dear Dawn. This part is
tough for you, but . . ." He gave
liis head an emphatic twist, smiled
at tier In assurance, then, putting
iter gently aside, stepped close to
Martin.
"Let him up, now . . . Here. . . .
Into this chair, Brandon."
He stood back a pace and rubbed
his chin with a knuckle.
“We’ve got tills citizen In quite a
stew," he said. “He schemed to get
me out here and did a good job."
He looked at Dawn quickly. "I
hadn't even had time to wonder
about that note. It doesn't matter,
though. You saw me tied, there;
that rope’s soaked with oil. The
place is drenched with It. He was
just touching her off when you
three came in and it would have
been ns neat a murder ns I’ve heard
about in a coon’s age!”
"A lie!” Brandon muttered. "Was
only trying . . trying . . . let
ter. . . ."
"Have you forgotten what you ad
mitted to me, Brandon?" Ben asked
sharply. "You gave it away, gave
yourself away!”
‘You fool, you. You think you've
got me cold, eh? You’ve nothing on
me that’ll amount to a snap of my
thumb I” His gaze went back to
The Wick Was Lighted and the
Shadows of the Room Retreated.
Dawn. “And I’ve watched you
shrink and cringe all your life, and
I’m glad now that It’s warped you
and weakened yon—”
“Mold your tongue, Brandon!”
That was Martin’s voice break
ing In. thickened and shaken with
congested rage.
He advanced toward Brandon
slowly. He halted and did not speak
for a long moment. Ryes still fast
on the oilier, he renched toward the
table, groping for a pair of rusted
shears which lay there. A cloud
came over Brandon’s eyes and he
blinked.
“And you'd taunt her with It!
Because McManus disappeared!"
Martin said slowly with low tensity.
“Ah. It made a plausible case. Bran
don. ... It, and your stories. . .
Then he did a strange thing. He
lifted those shears in a quick ges
ture to his chin and a lock of the
thick heard fell away.
“And you’d make lives h—I be
cause you held the power. . . . And
you’d write to the hiding, skulking
McManus tor years and fell him she
was gone . that she was mar
ried . . that she hated her fa
ther’s name, eh?’’ Another lock of
hair fell, and another. His blue eyes
were burning, now, and Brandon's
chin trembled as a look of horror
crept Into his face.
“But If he was to come hack,
Brandon, nno swear to her with his
own I!ps that he did not kill . . .
swear so. to a girl like that. . . .
She’d believe him, wouldn’t she?
She’d believe him, wouldn’t she, and
he at peace. . . At peace. . . .
Ay, at peace with herself and . . .
the one she loves.”
lie cut the last lock from the
bearded Jaw and flung away the
shears. He stood erect, spreading
his hands.
“See!” he cried. “See, Nick Bran
don?”
The man In the chair made as If
to rise. He could not. He lifted an
arm as though to fend a blow.
"Denny 1” he choked. “Denny Me
Manus. . . . You’re a d—d . . .
you’re a . .
Lie ended In a wild scream and
cowered back against the wall.
Reside Ben, Dawn was trembling.
Fie put his arm about her and she
sagged against him.
“So I wouldn’t come back, eh?”
the man they had known as Mar
tin cried, and whirled to face her.
“I came. Dawn! I’ve come back
to tell you that I'm not afraid. . . .
That my heart’s clean. ..." He gath
ered her In his arms, dropped his
cheek to her head and closed his
eyes. ‘‘I’m no killer. I don't know
who killed Faxson. Nick told me
I did and I lost my head for an hour
and then It was too late. . . . I’ve
hidden for years because he’s writ
ten me things, terrible things to
read, little Dawn. Rut I couldn't
stand It longer!”
“And a warrant!” Rrandon
croaked. “A warrant’s here . . .
there, In Tlncup. Murder won’t
outlaw. . . . You'll pay . . . you'll
pay. . , .”
McManus drew Dawn even closer.
“But you’ll know, little Dawn!
. . . You’ll know!" he murmured.
“Walt!" cried Ben. “All of you!
Listen! This . . . this . . . this
thing, here, as much as admitted to
me that he killed Faxson himself!
He was here In this cabin the night
Faxson was shot. He was here, I’m
telling you| He admitted It to me.
not teu minutes ago!
“I don't know much about the
rules of evidence”—tugging at the
bill-fold in Ids pocket—“but I've a
good guess about what Don Stuart
had to tell the night he died, now
that Brandon lias trapped himself!"
He shook the soiled, folded en
velope from the purse. “Pve had
this thing for weeks and like a fool
1 didn’t read It. . . .
“Listen I”
He ripped open the flap and
Brandon, cowering against the wall,
watched him with jaw sagging.
“1 have been a coward.” Ben
read aloud. "McManus did not kill
Faxson. Rrandon did. Brandon
had Mc.Munus drunk and was get
ting him to sign away his share of
the partnership when Faxson tried
to stop it. Brandon shot Faxson
and when McManus was sober
enough to understand, told him
that he—McManus—had done It.
McManus believed him. 1 don’t
know wtiat became of McManus.
Brandon came to ine before Sam
died and told me McManus had lit
out and that if I did not swear that
Faxson said McManus shot at him
be would send me to the pen for
stealing from the company. This Is
God’s truth. 1 was afraid to do
anything else. I have been a cow
ard. I am sorry I did not tell this
years before.”
Brandon’s head was twitching.
“Lie," lie gasped. , drunken
bum. . .
"No He, Brnmjyu. it’s truth!”
Ben said without heat, quite soberly.
Tim Jeffers turned to McManus
smiling gently, and as he moved
Brandon sprang forward. With a
wild cry he gained the doorway,
snatched it open and plunged out
side.
“Get him!" Tim cried and Mc
Manus followed, leaping out into
the gloom of late afternoon. . . .
“Don't leave me alone! Not here,
Ben!"
It was this cry of Dawn's which
arrested Ben on the threshold. He
turned to see her swaying dizzily.
“Hold me! Hold me close. . . .
Ah, Ben, dear!”
Her arms clasped his neck and
she begau to cry softly.
“Easy 1” he said unsteadily.
“Easy, now! It’s all over. . . .
Everything’s over!"
No sounds of the three who had
fled into the darkness came for
many minutes and then old Tim
Jeffers stamped grimly into the
room. He did not speak as the two
looked inquiringly at him. He
waited for the man who had been
known as John Martin. ... He
came slowly, tills man. breathing
heavily.
“Compensation," he said in a whis
per as he advanced toward Dawn,
arms outstretched hungrily. “The
Mad Woman has him. . . . Here it
started. . . . Into that river 1 was
supposed to have gone. In a con
fession of murder. . . . There he
went tonight. . . . We saw it, Tim
and 1. . . . We watched him swept
under the tee. . .
• ••••»•
It was after midnight when the
group assembled in the McManus
home. Tim JelTers, Able, Doctor
Sweet, Denny McManus, Dawn and
Ben Elliott sat rather silently In
the long, low living room while
Aunt Em busied herself In the
kitchen.
Little was said and when Aunt
Em appeared, bearing a tray laden
witii glasses and n bottle, she
wulked into a bushed silence.
“Fiddlesticks, what folks you
are!" she exploded. “Sittln' here
like It was a funeral Instead of
about the happiest time this house
has seen In a coon’s age!"
She passed the glasses hut no
one spoke. She took the last her
self and looked around the circle of
faces in dlsgup*.
“Has i he cat got *it your
tongues?" she demanded er-d Able
chuckled and old Tim Jeffers
smiled.
Still, no one spoke until a/t**r old
Tim had said bis say. He rose to
his feet, a giant of a man In that
low-celllnged room. He eyed the
clear wine in his glass and then
looked about, lifting It In a little
gesture of salute.
"Well,” he said.... “Happy dayel"
[THE ENDJ
BRISBANE^
THIS WEEK
Explaining to Canada
Mr. Morgenthau's Work
A West Point for Crime
Alfred du Pont
Canada, hearing of a proposed
United States "camouflaged mill
Arthur Hrlahanr
t a r y airplane
base near her
bonier,” asks for
Information. The
State depart
ment will glad
ly supply It.
No military
forts sepnrnte
the two coun
tries, no battle
ships on the big
lakes. Inhabit
ants on both
sides, being civ
ilized, huve no
Idea of attack
ing each other;
neither craves what the other owns.
Some day, let us hope, the two
countries will be one, by mutual
agreement, or Canada might annex
the United States In a friendly way,
If that were more acceptable, a ma
jority of voters ruling.
The North American continent,
from the Mexican border to the
North pole, should, he one nation,
or if Mexico and others would come
In, all the way down to the Panama
canal, so much the better.
There will be no war between
this country and any part of the
ltrltish empire. Common sense for
bids It. Any air base of ours
would probably he as useful to Can
ada as to ourselves, and we should
he delighted to see Canada estab
lish a string of « r bases to the
north of us, especially along her
Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
Secretary Morgenthau, never In
business as a hanker. Interested,
personally, in farming more than In
money, has shown the outside
world, to Its surprise, that he can
make the American dollar keep its
place in the procession, regardless
of many billions of bond Issues, no
gold basis, and other novelties.
Gamblers that ordinarily enjoy
speculation In “exchange” are
afraid of the American dollar. And
curiously, while some Americans
are sending money to other coun
tries, to make It “safe," foreigners,
and especially Itritlshers, are In
vesting more and more heavily In
the United States.
Washington discusses a “West
Point for war on crime,” a semi
military school under the attorney
general to train fighters to meet the
national crime army, that collects
almost as much money as ttie na
tional government itself takes in.
The war would be simple if gov
ernment would treat crime as It
would an outbreak of yellow fever,
or Asiatic cholera, taking it really
seriously.
Habitual criminals are known,
men of ten or fifteen convictions,
racketeers, gunmen. Make' it clear
that once locked up they would
never get out as long as they lived
and you would see the crime fade
away.
Very had news for the country, In
which efficiency and energy counts
as public asset number one, is
the sudden death of Alfred du Pont,
stricken with heart disease in his
residence near Jacksonville, Fla. At
seventy years of age, Mr. du Pont
was planning, as he should be, all
sorts of new enterprises that would
have been interesting to him. He
needed no more money, wanted to
be useful.
Great Britain Is excited about the
Germans building submarines, es
pecially annoyed to learn that tbo
submarines are of a “super" type,
carrying guns as well as torpedo
tubes, able to bunt British or other
ships anywhere on earth, some al
leged to carry a small airplane, eas
ily launched. Britain has plane
carrying submarines, but that Is
different. German submarines now
finished are about to start maneu
ver practice off Wllbolmshafen.
Nations rise to great heights,
glorious power, then crumble, dis
appear; desert sands cover their
streets and temples. Patient ar
cheology digs them out und won
ders. Bead Volney’s "Ruins of Em
pires" to find Hint process well de
scribed.
What causes it V L*o nations grow
old und die “naturally," inevitably,
as individuals do? Sometimes
plagues wipe them out; the black
death nearly destroyed Europe. Ma
laria tore down the power of Rome.
A crime, unbelievable, has been
reported from Texas. Howard Pier
son, aged twenty, killed his mother
and father, then shot himself in the
arm, pretending that bandits had
done it.
After police had kept him awake
for awhile lie confessed, said he did
it “for revenge."
He did it actually, authorities de
clared, for $17,0<M) insurance on ids
father's life. He killed the mother
because she would have got the in
surance.
® Xing Feature* Syndicate. ln«*
WNU Service.
MEMORY OF WAR
lasting
Horror Has Small Effect on
New Generation*.
It Is not so loug since war was
•’outlawed" and the outlaw was os
tracized. Even that mild and gentle
child named Neutrality was not
mentioned in polite or academic so
ciety. The slogan was not neutrality
In thought, hut peace In thought.
Now the outlaw Is found not to be
dead, hut lurking In the woods, and
It Is discovered that all nations bor
der on the same forest. The youth
uud some of their elders contemplate
the future possibility of war by for
swearing any participation In It—
when It comes. Veterans' organiza
tions advocate legislation now to
take the profit out of war—when It
comes. Scholars and students of
peace begin to re examine the utility
of our traditional neutrality policy
ns a device for keeping 11s out of
wnr—when It comes.
Through It all drones the refrain
of those who picture the horrors of
ihe next war—the wiping out of
clues from the air; newer and more
frightful gases: death rays. The
dime song was sung before 1014
and long, long before. It tins never
deterred nations from war, because
it acts. If at all on the Individual
ind not on the mass, not on the na
Ion, not on ttie government.
Even for the Individual It is too
iverwhelming and too remote to tie
;rnsped except by those In whom It
touches and torments the chords of
personal memory. Soon a new crop
ias ripened. Those Impersonal things
known as governments respond more
•eadlly to the stern high calls of na
lonal honor and prestige. They
•leek, often sincerely, the welfare of
heir country. It Is both 11 material
mil a spiritual welfare. Would
•Itlier he served by war today «r on
i near tomorrow?—Philip Jessup,
n Current History.
Might Try It
If you have a tree that bears no
rult put a stone In its first crotch
ust before blossoming time; the
ree will surely be fruitful after that.
-Old Relief.
--—
DEBT TO SCIENCE
When sugar was first made from
beets it required about 20 tons of
beets to produce one ton of sugar;
now It lequires hut sis tons, the
changp being due to scientific pro
duct inn of beets.
Week’s Supply of Postum Free
Head the offer made by the Postum
Company in another part of this pa
per. They will send a full week's sup
ply of health giving Postum free to
anyone who writes for it—Adv.
Meet It Bravely
Main thing in life is not to elude
danger; but to elude the fear of it.
Rash
Disfigured Face
Disappeared After
Using Cuticura
—.—
“A rash broke out on my face
from some external irritation and
spread very rapidly. The skin was
red, and the rash burned and Itched
so that I scratched night and day.
Then it developed Into large spots
or eruptions and disfigured my face.
"I tried different kinds of soaps,
but had no success. I rend about
Cuticura Soap and Ointment and de
cided to send for a free sample.
The result was so good that I
bought more, and after using one
cake of Cuticura Soap and one box
of Cuticura Ointment the rash dis
appeared." (Signed) Herbert B.
Skyles, It. D. 1, Vlntondale, Pa.
Soap 25c. Ointment 25c and 50c.
Talcum 25c. Proprietors: Potter
Drug & Chemical Corp., Malden,
Mass.—Adv.
AILING ALL THE TIME?
Mrs. Dan Xnorapson ot
800 E. 16th St.. North
Platte. Nebr., said: "At
one time I was in a de
pressed and weakened con
dition, had headaches, my
appetite was poor and I
ached all over. I was ailing
all the time. Bat Dr.
Pierce's Favorite Prescrip
tion restored ray health to
normal. T Rained weight ami my appeme
was fine." All druggist..
Write to Dr. Pierce s Clinic, Buffalo,
N. Y., (or free medical advice.
/-- /■■■" .. " ->
BY EVERY THE PEOPLE’S
VOICE CHOICE
/ /O.
-\ -
LET’S VOTE LET’S DOTE
ON IT . ON IT
I NOMINATE
FOR EVERY PLATE
___J
jiLsi__
Once you taste Grape-Nuts Flakes, you’ll cheer
too! Crisp, crunchy, delicious—and nourishing.
One dishful, with milk or cream, contains more
varied nourishment than many a hearty meal.
Try it—your grocer has itl Grape-Nuts Flakec
is a product of General Foods.
So Easy to Use... and It Lasts
Always insist on Simoniz and Simoniz Kleener
for your car. If dull, the new, improved Simoniz
Kleener quickly restores the lustre. It’s sur
prising, too, how easy Simoniz is to put on, but
it’s hard for weather to wear off. That’s why
your car stays beautiful when you Simoniz it.