Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, February 16, 1922, Page 2

CHAPTRR 1.—Young Carlyle Wilburton . Dale, or “Bill Dale,’ "Fan ho clect fo, be rator, in_eastern Tennsssce, abandon- - l!t. of idle ease—and incidentally a b, oacolin Claverlng, at the alcar™ datarinined 1o make, hia dwn way in lite, He Jitletord typleal e aniatnenr girn Heck, & charac- r ot the hills, takes i to John Mare- 1 ‘Moreland is_chiet of his ‘Which haa an old feud with the | ]Jllllf'ffll He talls Dale of the killing ther, David Morel ears Zho. e ot cien ol epomts, by & MR’ Dained Cariyle, Moreland's descrip- tion of “Carlyle’” causes Dale to belleve the man_was his father, _ ' CHAPTER Dule. arranges to make his homé Illh the Moreland family, for Whots Do entertains & deep respect [APTER 1I1.—Talking with lllllurd pext day, Dale {» ordersd b hek Adam” Ball, bully of the dmflc{. | "m.a‘h:' nght. they 5 tg: bnlly, He ar- ranges with John Mon d to develo] though badly used op. David's cosl deposits, ' Ber' Littlefor sends a challenge to’ John Moreland to | meet him with his followers next day, in | Morelund agrees. i CHAPTER 1V.—During the night all the guns helnnglnx la the Littlefords and the terlously disappe: CHAPTER V.~Dale arranges to £0 to Clucinuati to secure money for the min- | ing of the coal. The two clans find their Moapons, which the women hat hidden, =04 “line up for hattle. *“Bi effort to stop the fighting, crosses tu the Mdreland side of the river, and s accl- dentally shot by her father and serlously wounded. abe" orelnnds CHAPTER VI—To get proper nurgleal ald, Johin Moreland, Hen Littleford and Dale couvey “Babe,” unconsclous, to the efty. Doctors assure them she s not lni‘:lmu)y hurt. Dale meets an old friend, bby ~ Mclaurin, - who had married jcia Claveril ’l‘ellln his father of David Moreland's coal, the old gentle- Aotiomu convince ia son ‘of. his e killl 33 Mnrdlnd. ER VIL-It is rlnxrd fi!lt 13 to stay .with Mrs. McLaurin 1o De educated. - Dale, refusing his fath- er’s proftered financial ald to develop the mine, interests Newton Wheatley, capl- f, Who akrees to furnish the money. Date realizes he loves “Babe.” CHAPTER VIIL — Returning to the Halfway Switch, Dale meets Major Bradley, lawyer, and ‘real friend of the mountalieers, whom - he = engages as wounsel for the company. A man named Goff, of evil repute, tries to bribe Dale t0 betray the Morelands by aselling him the coal deposits, and telling them they #re of litfle value. Dale attempts to thrash him, but Goff draws a revolver. Dale fs unarmed. CHAPTER IX.—Goff enlists the aid of a turbulent crowd, the Balls and Torreys, 10 make trouble for Lalé's company. The Lllllatorfl.l and Morelands agres to forget the old 'feud and dwell in harmony. €l A'PPER. 2, ‘Babe” returns to her home,’ fearing she is a burden to. the Mc- Laurfns. Dale remonstrates, and she agraen io go back, for the gake of an ucution, ~ Waylald by “‘Black Adan Ball, Dile fights a pistel duel with the desperado, and Ball is killed. Dale is ar- r“'ml and taken to jail at Cartersville, sn't see how Nis shot could have ktll&d Ball, CHAPTER XT.~There ta much apecula- tionas to who really killed Bull, tho xeneral oplnion helng it was By Jleck, who had constituted himaell” Dale’s llltu‘lln. ! | ulAP’l‘FR \u ~ Caled Moreland, son of Joln Mor , admits firlng the siot whicli kiiled Iinll ‘and takes Dale's place in fufl. 3 iy ihnozent, but takes the Llama. for the killing in order that Dale ;n[:n ‘continue the development of the nine. (Continueqd’ frov 'ast issue) CHAPTER X1i} Sentenced to Hang. Shérift Tom Flowers and four able deputies rode out of Cartersville very early;on the following morningl They went to the Biy Pine mountain country, and,; by a scheme that-entailed some shrewdness on the part of the chief officer, arrested two Balls and two Torfeys on suspicion and look them away without trouble. I'he two Balls and, the two Torreys were.lodged I the "Cartersville Jail and -offered, their liberty and exonera- tion frofn all blame in the dynamiting affafe I they would- give the numes of the other guilty. parties and appear against thefh. The mountaineers ue- elured stoutly that they knew nothing whatever of .the “matter,: and . when predsure was applied they grew sullen andirefusedl to talk at all that. they I3 was pl 0., y did gknow s\m‘ Mdr, and he finafly ordered, tha bg. kept in o celigon dlfi‘hmu 3 Water unth theif tongues loosened. At which the Ball and, Torreys, swore: loudly and BV they would rot in jail first ‘59 ‘thelr kinsmen came’ and shoff up l‘he"io\mvand liberated them by force¥:” [ me,um 1s m-on: that you four are "guilty,” ‘grimly smiled the sheriffy “And it your folks want to try storm- jug- the -jail, let them. A full com- pany of militia can be rushed here witliin an hour, at any time, and we'll give, your folks ail the fun tliey want.” 1t may be Tecorded.that the four hillmen never confessed. - . . . Bili Dale, closely shadowed by one lapky Samuel Heck with his inevitable, aver-ready-rifte, went among the work- ers’ with a cheer that' he did not feel. For Caleb Morelgnd was In Jail, m\fl Cdleh” Moreland was Innocel thiere” was_ one_‘sincere “\bt’ Sflfl . . . c-"ngm (3% wanted to know. it closely. | as the Moreland Da}‘hlflll Dale: Yayes w‘xs “driving e Nftle railrond abead ‘with all his might and all the might of-his men, Hayes was | in high favor with those under him; they worked even harder when he was ahsent thari they worked when he was | standing over them. - - The days ran on, and there wasno | sign of a hostile demonstration from the Balls and Torreys. Judging from appearances, they were wholly satis- fied with Caleb Moreland’s being in Jail, Henderson Goft had disappeared: Dale hoped that he was rid of the wan for all time, but he wasn’t. Goff was not so-confident as was Major Bradley that he could establish his innocence in the matter of the dynamiting of the two bulldings . and the trestle. He wished very much to steer clear of arrest, for reasons of his own, and he was biding his time in a little town in western North Cavolina. \When. the dynamiting affair had blown over, he would go b and try again, ‘perhaps by an altogether new scheme, to get himself into possession of the More- land coul. Then there came to the neighbor- hood a man whom no Moréland, and none of the Littlefords, had ever set upon before, e was a very ub- couth mountain man, with long bluek; | huir and shaggy beard; his clothing | was outlandish and ragged. He had not much to say; there was about him, somehow, an air of myste i Two days after his arrival, in the | afternoon, the stranger met Dale'mid- way between the Halfway switch and the openlng of the coal vein, and stopped ‘him with an unpraised hand. “Do you know good coal when' ye see 1t?” he drawled. “Why?" asked Dale, on, his guard. . looked: sharply in all Clrections, - as - though he wished - to make sure that no person .was within carshot of them. l"flnlemly sotis- fied, he drew from a trousers pocket ing black lump of ceal, which he held out for Dale’s inspection. “What do.ye think o this heie?” he Dale took the lump and examined It w apparently as good oul, which:had sent Dale the expert Hayes Into raptures, 4 ] “What Do Ye Think o' This Here?” He Wanted to iKnow. then lookml d’ou‘lv at the stranger. He appeared be honest; his gaze was steady, and seemed very Inno- cent, “Where did you get this?” Dale asl < The alerty think this ‘mifle is th Lo'unlry"" rowed. ‘Do ye You're a-fixin’ to in the whole 3 Ahis? Dale re- " arayled the other, hat's your name, aid where are you_ from?” 4 'Ehik;tine the answer came readily: 4My ngme it's Walt Turner, and I'm from ‘Furner's Laurel, Madison county, state o' Nawth Ca’liner. But my flnd 1t aln’t nowhars clost to home. ’Taln’t no more’n about two hours o* walkin® from right here, mister. Ef you'd jest up and go along wi’ me, I'd show it to yer Dale considered.: There might be a considerable _yein -0 this-new coal: Even it heiwas:gent to the state penl- tentiary forja term: of ‘years, Hayes was ennrely; apable of carrying on the mining opel;ltlons. “rd llke :to’take my mining man, Hayes—'* “Nol” ‘quickly objected Walt Tar- ner. - “I «don't -want: nobedy - else -to know whar’ it’s at but'jest you and- ne.’ That away, ye sce, ef I'm treated crooked. I'll know edzac| y who done it —and T'll shore git you!’ But I heerd tell’ at you was powful squnre. mis- “Conld. I get back here bctore nlght- fall?” Turner's eyes lighted. *“Shore!” “Then lead the way,” ordered Dale. Walt. Turner from Turner’s Laurel, Mudixon. county, state of North Caro- lina, crossed the little creek on.stones and went straight to the northeast, mis; mil¢, and hard on his heels followed the Morcland Coal company’s stalwart general manager. The way was exceedingly Ttough. The two 1nen. climbed rugged cliffs, threaded dense thickets of great laurel, mountain laurel, sheep 'laurel, ' and huckleberry ‘bushes. They - were one hour In a-stretch of woods where' the \80 thickly thiat the fhterlacing branches overhead shut out cpmpletely the light of, tifé:sun and half the Tight of. day. Fearing u-ponther, ot a wildcat, Dale Kept his revolver Joosened and ready 1o its holster. Walt Turner armed him- with a long staft—for snakes, he id; and then he proved it by killing a rattler that had elght rattles to jts il difficult; and two hours after the be- inning of the little journey Dale saw betore him a small and almost circular, level-bottomed basin-walled in by low A small ereek ruwi through this n and made two easy w: of en- trance. In the hollow they saw clumps ot laurel and huckleberry busbes, and wild grasses knee-high; toward . the center stood a solitary big and gnarled black- walnut {ree. They entered at the polnt at which the creek ran in, and went to the wal- nut ‘'here "Lurner halted. and \I:wml Bill Dale with a peculinr glint In his eyes. Dale was looking at the « - walls of stone, and at'the green forest that.rose ahove them; he was marveling, as only a 1o wonderful jgrandeur of it all, Wait. Turner, of Turne’s Laurel, opened his slit of & mouth and spake, “Here's the Kitty!” Dale was brought out of nls en- joyment most rudely. . From behind clumps of laurel and huckleberry bushes, - from the tall. grasses, from everywhere—it- seemed from nowhere —there sprang dozens . of Balls and Bill Dale Had Walked, as Gently as a Kitten, Straight Into a Trap.’ Torreys with rifles In thelr hands! Hill'Dale had walked, as'geufly ‘as a Kltted, straight inte a tedp. 4 ms right band .moved toward the; Imtt jof his revelyer, then dropped at ' s side. It was foollsh, worse llban useless, to show fight ; dozéns |- of r fles were staring athim with flnelr ] m,t)‘l! ‘mtrderous ‘eyes, ,and - thetr |bgl|c awould riddle him if he; sliowed | fight »!llc’*j,lnln}ed toward “Walt.Tur- b Uy pRuaib fool té vlul(‘b\l}!’\mve my find aymyfo! nothin'2, I'beei wll o' mv"life 'mw e “Iow am I t0 know.**frowned Dale, “that you've really got A find?" “Ye'd believe yore own two eyes, wouldn't ye?” “Yes,” Dale agreed, “I'd believe my own twmo eyes, of ‘course. What's your nage, gud where, are yoa from? “What do /1 git oaten it? I don't | own the, moyntain it's in, but it shore can be bought 1o’ fifteen cents a acre. And pobody knows about it but jest me. It luys closer to the raitroad 'an this’ here Moreland vein. too. What da I git outen it, mister?’ The mountjiineer ‘seemed more hon- 4esg than .ever. but, Dale was siill on ‘hm xum*d, “He' auke e I ugal Sman of the Balls. er \\:N laughing openly. *“Pore Titt E f41¢fever 1 have the chauce,” mut- Iwrml Bill Dale, “I'll thrash you for 'lhl« cule little joke of yours.” “You won't never have the chanst,” laughed. Walt Turner. The Balls and the Torreys began | to clost in on all sides, and a solid | ring ot dork ‘and for the most yart | hearded, ‘wickedly - triumphant. fnces | formed itself around Dale. Adam 3all's father, the acknowledged leader of that band of cutthroats that was now (he Ball-"Torrey faction, glired ‘at Dale witivbinck eves that: were filled withfhe? fife "o’ intense" hat ¢ ho solzédiDale’s revolver: ufl ‘thrust ng the Ball settlement by a good | liemlocks; -poplars and hickories stood | But they traveled rapidly, notwith- |! standing the fact that the going was |! of beauty can marvel, at | 1£ " inside the wal Jeans ‘trousers. Dale felt the grip of rough hands on:lis shoulders und avms. He fully realized his ‘great danger; but he strove to keep all signs of feor out of ‘his countenance, and hé was not unsuccesstal. “I. presume this is what you cal¥ taking the:la into your ‘own'hands, fsn't it?7 he’sald with ‘a.smile that was ‘forced. A “Edzactly’ ‘snapped old Ball. “We ketelied ye, fo’ the law, and we held we turned ye over ‘en, by. gonnies, the se. the very next; ishurift he comes B flu Mr o us! W Svoutt try ye- and punish 10 a-sheptin’ my’ son. blood, by gonnies, wel) punish “yeifo a-doln® needn’t he. skeores none. at all. plumb shore to git Jesflce. rn prom- ise ye jestice.” “Yon've - evidently o\erlooked thg | fact: that another ‘man confessed to the killing, and that that “was why | they liberated me,” said Dale. {1 *1's some cussed frame-up,” snarled |!the leader of the gang. “No:man' o earth “don’t ‘like’ no other-‘man’ ‘well jenough o' that. Asides, you're the ione ’at killel my son Adam, by gon- Inies, and you're the one *at must suf- fer fo' it. Right here onder this liere warnut tree we're a-gein® to hold co'te and have yore trial, by jedge and jury, rand ' yowll' shore 'git ‘what's’ a-comin’ ” : Bil Dale_cut in with sonie Bitter- ness: “And you’ll be the judge, and your plans havealrcady heen Yaidzand I'm to be hanged hy the neck imtil dead; eh? Well) yo'll pay denrly for it, ‘1" promise you: “We. 'alivays have to pay for what we get, you kndw, The Morelands;aud the Littlefords witl be quick to settle (he account.. “You know that.” “No,” old Ball don’t know: ‘thatl™: He turned to‘the others. “Sct down, boyS, It's the same price as standin’.” The Jury will please s {over thar,” poiniing to lis right,. “The pris'ner and his gyards will please set right over .thar,” polnting to his_left. ‘The hon'rable jedge, which s tme, will please set right thar,” indi- cating a spot at the base of the gnarled walnut. “*“Ihe rest,” he finished, “will set nu)\\lnr they d—n plmws. Set down, men.” His orders were. obeyed. Dale found himself sitting on the ground between sagreed” lotly, *¥ aline ot {welve; mountaineers—the so- ‘called jury ‘0o his left was the appointed judge, and to his right ‘lounged a s¢ or move of men whose attention w: then being turned to- sward a jug of fiery new whisky that {had never been medr to a revenue stamp or anything else that was hon- est. The jug téaveled rapidly from ione hairy mowth'to another. ‘01d Ball passed the jng to ‘a mem- ‘ber of the “jury,” and announced: “Well, dammit, co’té’s open now.” “Kitty, kitty, kitty!" taunted Walt ‘Turner. “Pore little kitty!” The mockery began. It was ridicu- lous, and yet it was grim. Adam Ball's father' limself furnished most of the. cvidence; also he acled as prosecuting attorney. Of course there was no counsel for the defense, and it wouldn’t have helped if Dale had had a proverbial Philadelphia lawyer on the grounds; all the proof and elo- quence and pleading in the world never would hdve changed, in the slightest de- gree, the sentence that had been cut and dried for Bill Dale. The mock trial was being held solely bebause the Balls and Torreys felt that by hold- ing it they were insulting the majesty of the law and making their’ ven- | geance sweeter. It became worse than | a travesty. .. . | Night fell during the wordy and | | profane harangue of the Ball lender, and it was ordered that a fire be built at once. At oncg a fire was builf, dry brushwood belng used, and i its red and fiickering glare the faces of the hillmen lookeq doubly dark and doubly wicked. Then the judge begged a chew of tobacco and deliberately kept the whole twist, and told the jury to ‘go out and bring back a verdict with- out losing time, The twelve mountaineers rose un- fly and went to the creck, and e of them uncovered another to a revenue stamp. They drank ‘heavily and. returned to the walnut tree . court without mentioning - the trial. . The foreman was a Tnncv, and a particularly bad ove. His swarthy face, with its bigh Cherokee cheek- Dones and its thin-lipped mouth, was ultra-cruel, ultra-vicious. He entered the circle of red and fiickering firelight slowly, smiling evilly, and the other eleven crowded up close behind him. {Tle cleared his'throat, spm hetween two fingers at the fire, and turned to the judge. . “Gentlemen_ o’ the jury,” growled [the ruling Ball, vhave ye reached n verdiet ¥ “We have, yorehonor,” very prompt- Jy answered the Torrey who fore- man. “And we ha' found the prisner guilty o' the wust kind o’ coldbleoded, premeditated mudder in the fust de- gree, yore honor.” 01d Ball Teveled a kuotty forefinger toward Bilt' Dale. “Fo' the killin® o’ my son Adam.” he ‘pronounced sentence, “you sh'll ng by the neck ontel dead, from a limb o' this heré warnut:tree, by gon- nfes, at sunrise in the mornin’.” Although he had well known what the sentence would be, Dale went sud- denly ashen. ‘TMen he took a firm grip on himself and began to reason. He could not hope, he decided, that the Morelands and the Littlefords would find - him. before “the. sun - rose. thoa<}iThey would iss him, of course, nnd and _lonk \they. would-suspect foul play. o two pairs of mountaineers and facing ! ag of fiery new whisky that wus alien | ‘Fwith fife minutes’ rest between flgfits’?’ i 1 i i -1 bled | |1 don’tihip' them all T.bang’ immedis; ately. ! { thing well nigh impossible to do, much | did nof:. | than | o THURSDAY EVENING, "EBRUARY 16, 1922 for him; Dut finding Bim o that wild- erness—it was impossible, It became plain to him that he would bave to save limself_if he ‘were saved. He believeit his best. chance ‘lay In. his proving that he was anything but a coward; the worst mmmlmneer, he knew, admired a brave man. = . ‘So he'tnrned slightly. foward the| self-appointed ‘Judge and nsked calm- ly: “Is there ahopt ‘you?? “Shore, fi‘gonn[esl Y ‘all game. {I'm the tell'&s ‘at show“ wildeats lm\v to flg ity Whac nhmit' by “Tll see it you're:all gnme sald, and- he smiled’ when he *T'l make yon this? propns!l(on fight any ten of you, two at nnvmlng renlly gnme f T.whip them all:1 go fl‘(c, any 1 Al parties to. be barehanded, no guns and no knives, : Are you that Zame?” Ordinarily, it would have been a as Dale kuew of the pugilistic art, great as was his strength and endur- ance. But now most of ‘those about Dale were drunk and therefore weak- ened, and he believed he had a chance | if old Ball accepted. But Judge Ball didn’t aceept. Doubt- | less he remembered his son - Adam’s fight with Dale. *The’ eain’t be.no fightin® in co'te,” he said. “You shli bang by. the neek onfel‘dead, at sunrise in:the mornint.” ‘There was a mumble of approval from the others. Doubiless they, too; remembered (hat the young:man whom ‘they held a-captive had once whipped Bla¢k Adam Ball, . the ‘mountaiveer. (oliath, with his bare hands. They aveithe one good trait that Dale had ‘hoped they possessed; while tlicy mugt. have admired him. for hiy | courage, Uley were afrald to fight him without ‘wéipons. = Dalerecalled the fact that the Balls were not originally hilifolk, but loslanders who had taken to the mountains in order to-avoid | being forced to fight during the Civil war, a peéople without a principle. “The Cherokee Torreys, of course, were aven worse. “Kitly, kitty, kitty!” Walt Turner called tauntingly again. “He walked into the trap like'a pore little kitty!” | A plowline of half-inch cotton rope was produced, and the conderuned man was securely bound, standing on his fect and facing outward, to the big wainut. Desperate as. was his case, Dale couldn’t help being a trifle amused "at that part-of it. It .was Rwin mYERS T It W:s So Very Melodramatic. so very melodramatic. And yet, it was so- grimly real, and his hopes seemed so thin. . . . ! The Morelands and the Littlefords | | would eventually learn the truth and | make the Balls and Torreys pay a dear price, no doubt, but that—that wouldn't give him back his life! The men were divided into two wateh The first was to, remain awake and on guard until midnight, and the other was to go on duty from | midnight until. dawn. The second | wateh, with which was the faction's | leader, had @ nighteap of the vitriolic | v, flung itself sprawling on the | ground and straightway went to sleep. | “The first watch sat. around the | crackling brushwood fire and played | eards for chews of tobacco, cartridges | and pocket kuives, sa trange and outlandish songs and-:drank more whis! One very drunk Torrey gam- way .all his tobaccd, all his eart- ridges, his knife, his rifle and‘hj§ belt, his coat and his hat, his Doots and his shitt—and offéred to bet Lis trousers and his cars on the turn of a single | card! It was funny, and it was di gusting, too. Itrwas all the work, of. whisky, which, Bill, Dale had always, | hated because it-mide men fools, made: them mouth their secrets and made themn commit murder. « ... After some ttvo hours of these warse bacchanalian orgies the ~ first watch, heavy with drink, stopped play- cards and singing = outlandish congs, forgot all orders and began to’ Then it was that Dale thought of the man who had been his faithful | suardian for many days, the lanky | By Heck. Wy hadn’t he thought of 1 Heck before?- He wondered -if Heck had followed him to the trap, if Meck was near him-even then, if Heck had gone for help. | By Heck had not.followed Bill Dale. | to the little basin. But be had fol- - Help, because e feared to leave Dale j‘the tree.to the left. In the glow of | from the laurels to their left: 16weéd Henderson Goff, and: Henderson Goff had followed Dale to the little basin. Goft had returned to the Big |- Pine ‘Mountain’ country only that:day and he knew nothing of'the plans of the, Ball-Torrey faction until he. wit- nessed the miockery of a trial. ' Goff {was notv crouching in the darkness on the low line of cliffs to the eastward from ‘the “walnut tree; and not far behind him, well- hidd n in the black laurels, watching him and wntchlng Billy Dule, crouehed By Heck, - - Dy ;ugrdian had not gone for utterly | unm'omeleq ‘dn’ the hands’of the; gang. nt.‘énttyums. He belleved that_-he’ icould; wue Dale himself. V\hw,,me qu;ywmch became a-little mote drowgy -would steal up. be- ‘hing@ithe tree:and-éat. the cotton rope. «Then ‘e realized that Goff had.dis- abpenred !ntlr(;‘y. He crept forward nuemlv, ms eyes alert, and a moment later he sawGofi stealing toward the walnut' tree. He climbed noiselessly down over the face of the cllff and followed Goff like a shadow, When | Gof's hands touched the tree, By Heck | was within' ten feet of it.- Heck made sure his rifle was ready and took an- other step forward, watching, listen- ing. . Fhe shyster coal'man leaned around the low-burned fire the blade of a small knife in his hand gleamed dull red. . He whispered cautiously: “Youre in a fix, Dale. And it's none-of -my doing, either. ~Give me your word.that I'll get that coal prop- erty for fiftcén thousand, and I'll slash the rope. - How' about it? Sick of this country, aren’t you?” There came a few seconds:of silence save for the lusty snoring of the sleep- crs and thie musical tinkle of the little creek, after which Goff muttered dis- appointedly: . “Well, . then, hang!” And Heck knew- that Dale had re- fused-to sell the Moreland coal for « song even to save his life. As Goff stepped backward, the muzzle of the tall hillmaw’s "rifle went against the small of his back, and the tall hilunan whispered hoarsely, through teeth tightly- clenched : at rope, d—n yore soul! h "at rope, or I wisht T may drap Ulead eof I don’t shoot yore backhone into four thousand picces, igod! Slash it Goft straightened in surprise. The | rifle’s muzzle went harder against his | back and he knew it for exactly what it was. He moved a hand upward, then downward and the cotton rope wits severed in half a dozen places. “Stiddy thar, now!” whispered By ITeck, and he Dbegan to back away. “Come along wi’ me, ve dadslatted, banjer-bellied skunk. Bill he'll foller.” The three of them hurried into the deeper shadows. Soon Heck. halted Goft and torned .to.Dale. “S'arch him 10’ a gun, Bill, old bo; Dale lifted 'from Henderson Goff's right-hand - coat-pocket @ blued and stub-nosed magazine pistol. “Dang my eyes and blast my for- rard!” ITeck exclaimed in a 1oufiled voice, “Ie's plumb- death on them little popguns, ain’t he? _ Say, Goff, et ever ye shoots me with a thing like thatand 1 find it out, danged ef I don’t spank ye ontel yore nose bloods; Now, 1¢'s go, you'uns. And ef ye jest cheep out.a noise, Mister Goft, the buzzards will pick the meat offen yore bones afore tomorrer night.” “Move, shyster!” Dale. 3y Heck led the way to the line of clifis to the westward. They had climbed the rugged wall and were about to set out through the- pitchy dark woodland, when a volce that | they knew well hailed them softly | fréwned Bill “Hold on, thar!” “John Moreland, by jlggels"‘ mut- tered Heck. Morcland hastened soundlessly to them. *“I reckon ye didn’t mean no harm, By,” he said in tones that ex- pressed n deep regret, “but yit I shore wisht ye hadw’t ha® done it.” muel Heck was very proud of himself. He straightencd there in the darkness, | “What'n the name o' the'dévil makes ye wight sech a thing as that, John?” lie demanded in a half angry volce. ) “’Cause,” growled the big hillman, “you went and ‘spliled@ h—1 out o’ the main big picnic. We meant to wipe out all o' them thir lowdown Balls and Torreys, By. When they went to hang Bill Dale in the mornin’, we'd ha’ had a good reason fo’ a-killin’ ’em every- one—the weasels! Ye sce, By, every man Morcland but Caleb, and every man o the Littlefords, is hid here in these laurels, and has been ever sense that thar fool trial begun. We was Jjest a-waitin’. How did we happen to know it? : “At's casy, By. Me and Ben Lit- tleford was on our way atter more dypamite,, when we ‘seed Bill Dale afollerin’ that stranger man, and Goft a-follerin’ Bill; and you a-fellerin’ Goff. We knowed sSomethin’ ongodly mean was In the wind. So I follered you, By, a-bréakin® Ot bushés as I went to wark the trail, and Ben he went back :and got the rest of ‘em and fol- lered me.” Then to-Dale, “Well, Bill, what're we g-goin’ to do with this here cusscd polecat Gofr?” Dale turned to the shyster coal man, who was still being closely watched by Heek. “I told yon I was preity apt to thrash you the nest time we met, didn’t 17" clipped Dale. “Do you want to get out of this country for good, or do you want to fight me to a fin- ish? I'm through talking right now, Goft.” “T'd guess I'd rather fade,” acknowl- edged Goff. 1 “Then fade!” ! Goft slunk off through the brush. _Wken they had covered a mile, John Marciand grasped l)ule by an avin and sald to him: “I reckon you think we're sort o blood- thirsty, by us a-waitin’ to kil off that pack back thar; don't ye? Well, we. ain’t blood-tbirsty, Bill. Them Balls and Torreys. ain’t wo'th nothin’ - to theirselves, nor to their famblles, nor to, nobody else. The sooner they're dead the better off they'll be, and the better oftf thefr famblies’ll be, and the better off ‘everybody else will: be. You ain’t'safe, nor X aln't safe, as long as the.\i’re alive, ned grayely. “Amt it." “Yau, 'wmlldn‘:,\ cnsgeq.,meca (Continued in Next. Iasue) AGE AND THE MODERN YOUTH Attitude of the Youngsters Is by No Means Necessarily a Mark of Disrespect. When we find the children slipping away, excluding us from -their pleas- ures, it's time to let them understand that we're far from belog ready for the 1p heap. The fact that children don’t run to bring father's slippers as they used to, doesn’t mean any lack of consideration for the parent. who has worked hard all dny to support his family. I prefer to think the passing of fhis custom in- dicates 2 hope in the young mind that father Lasn’t yet reached the slippered age, but still has a stomach not wholly satisfied with warmed-over eabba. Slippers are the symbol, the outward and visible slgn of approaching senil- ity. Father would be u lot better off If lie forsook the old armchair the family to a vaudeville movie. When my fifteen-year-old son Tooks fn-on me when I'm shaving and asks, cheerfully, Hm\ s the Lero feel- ing this morning?” I am flattered. He doesn't mean to be impudent; he is merely greeting me as though I were a comrade of his own age. I should certainly forfeit his confi- dence in my sense of humor if T put down the razor to tell him that in my youth children showed thelr parents more respect. I tried that for a year or two and it didn’t work. My past is nothing to him; he finds the world as it is sofliclent for all purposes, and If he ean have the car this afternoon he'll be very much obliged I"—Meres dith Nicholson in- Harper's Magazine, Gifts of the Ocean. _ As soon as the season ends, the beach combers’ get bisy ou all the heaches of the. famous summer re- sort, say; New York corvespondent. One beach comber abserved was carry- ing a silk uinbrella filled with jewelry 'and another half filled with coins. e explained that the rain had aided him in detecting the presence of the jew- elry and coins in the sand. For years beach combing at: Rockaway has heen a fall industry. Hundreds of persons frequently take part in the search and diseover many valuable articles lost by - summer itors, Last year so nuwmerous were the combers that the supports under some sections of the pavilions and hotels were weakened as the result of-their activities and the police had to patrol the beach in an effort to ebeck the underminiug of buildings. NEVER FORGET When you feel hopeless and despaiz of evergetting back your health, there is one medicine that you shnuld try before giving up altogether—Bul- garian ‘Blood Tea assists nature to flush the poison-soaked kidney, stir the lazy liver, gently move the bowels and purify the system. And when you. take it steaming hot at bedtime it breaks up a bad cold and guards against influenza, pneumonia or other sickness. - Why not ask your druggist or grocer for a trial box today. ' USE SLOAN'S TO " WARD OFF PAIN ITTLE aches grow into bi; ing unless warded off by an agp[l?;‘xm- tion of Sloan’s. R.hcumamm, neuralgia, stiff joints, lame back won’t fight long against Sloan’s Liniment. r more than forty years Sloan’s iment has_helped thousands, the world over. You won’t be an excep- tion. It certainly does produce results. It penctrates wilhout rubbing. Keep this old family friend always handy for instant use. Ask your neighbor, At all druggists—35c, 70c, $1.40. - S1loa Liniment ™~