f". NOVEMBER
PS?
9\tf Ben
Am
Jr ilWi"
\ORY
j
a gathering of j
age of Liberty,
e listen* to the \
rhborlng' Hostile I
redles, Its superb j
!. above all. the I
: "Huldy," wife
ested. he drives
a day's Ashing,
to himself his j
e the reputedly |
rrln. j
Marm" Pierce
ear-old grandin
the valley,
n a child Jenny J
ind then deeply '
rrin. neighborn
she, and who
merely a child,
n?his father's
lent in nearby
Ite her grandIs
disconsolate. I
father's death
he Valley, but
a. still unconmanhood,
and '
e Pierces are
. brother and 1
21, 1935
Saladlne was quick to assent to
this suggestion, and for a definite
reason. He himself had been wishing
he had access just now to a
telephone. So he and Bart set out,
and when Jenny heard the car depart,
she came Into the kitchen and
found Will alone, and asked where
they had gone. Will told her, and
she stayed with him. Marm Pierce,
when her task in the dining room
was done, left them alone.
"I'm going up and change my
dress," she decided. "I'd feel more
fitten In something decent."
Jenny smiled at her In grateful
understanding, but Will sat silent,
and Jenny came beside him. Huldy's
accusation had begun to lose,
in the girl's mind. Its shocking force.
She was prepared to let this secret
of Huldy's last word remain forever
hidden, to let Huldy's death pass as
accident She herself could forget
and none other need ever know.
They still sat here, in half darkness,
when Bart and Saladine returned.
Jenny went to the door to
meet them.
Will asked Bart: "Did you get
hold of Joe?" Bart nodded. "Coming
tonight, is he? What time'll he
get here, you figure?"
"Might be an hour or two."
Jenny heard a step In the dining
room, and heard the blinds drawn
down; and then the door opened and
Marm Pierce emerged. She had
changed into black. Jenny said
softly: "Yo're all dressed up. Granny!"
The old woman spoke apologeti
cally. "Well, I knpw, Jenny," she admitted.
"There wa'n't no real sense
in putting on my best, a night like
this, and me not going anywheres."
She looked at Will. "But I got to
And He Stood Looking Down at Hie
Wife's Body,
going to stay here tonight, Fll be
respectable to keep her company."
Will got to his feet. "I better go
up to the farm and milk the cows
and chore up," he decided. "Won't
take me long."
Bart protested: "Sho, Will. Zeke
will do the chores."
Will shook his head. "I dunno
as Zeke's there," he reminded them;
and he said, looking at them all,
his eyes moving as though with an
effort from one to the next: "Zeke
will be upset about this. He'd do
anything for Huldy. He's going to
take It almighty hard." He was silent
for a moment, said then again :
"But the cows; they've got to be
milked." Even In this hour of death
and sorrow the small dally tasks
could hold a man in bondage,
j "Yes, Will," Jenny agreed.
"You'd best go. I'll fetch a lantern."
She went Into the shed, and he
began to put on his coat and hat;
but In the shed she donned her boots
and oilskins, returned all accoutered
to face the storm. Will looked at
her, and she saw something leap In
his eyes. Then she opened the outer
door.
"I'm going rtth you, Will," she
told him.
Will's head rose a little. "Why
yes, Jenny," he said slowly. "With
me. If yo're a mind I"
And they went out Jenny closed
the door with a sense of escape,
a deep relief. Alone with her.
Win was secure.
Yet-If she could have read S*ladlne's
mind, she would have been
dismayed; for Saladlne had taken
advantage of that trip to Bart's
house to telephone Sheriff Sohler
In Liberty. It was Increasingly
clear to him that not accident nor
any sudden Impulse to self-destruction
had hurled Huldy off that
high ledge. And If murder had
been done, then the sheriff should
be here.
."gar: unmarried ana someid
ne'er->1o-w?U. Is attracted
Let but the girl repulses him
v.",Learning that Will la comE?i
Jennv. exulting:, seta hla
J1-'t house "to rights." and
' / hl?\Fe 002J#
taring his wife. Huldy. The
I world collapses
UTTER ni? Huldy. at one#
,,-s. jer.-v? secret, mercllesa- (
.v-k< tier d'scomflture. Huldy
incomes the subject of unfas".
gossip in the Valley, though
Ujarentlt is blind to the fact.
il?TER n*?Entering his home,
iirf for. Will has found seemlimning
evidence of his wife's
Ikfulaess. as a man who he
i ? 5eth Humphreys breaks
:ke house With the echo of his
i derisive iauehter In his ears,
jjmes Humphreys. He over- 1
i titr.. and after a struggle
i! tin to death, though Humin
shatters his leg. with a bulII
Marm Pierce's house the
b amputated. Jenny goes to
I tie news t" Huldy. She finds
Carey with the woman. When
site" Huidv makes a mock of
fi sympathy, declarlne she has
set::"hai: a man" and is leavi:
once She does so.
try told me you was over j
[didn't know as you'd mind ]
i Irs' your car over."
lij you did." -Tim agreed; I
8r smiled Will's hand.
ijKS you know. Will, how I
tot this." he said.
Ksj I do," Will agreed. They
i:> Indoors.
it down here by the stove,
1 laid Jenny softly. "Your
lare hound to lie cold Take
tent out to lind you. will." i
explained. "Hut yon vva'n'l j
as out hunting them." Will
Bland he looked at Sain dine,
lint come Imyk after she
r-th you," he said. "When j
N on to rain, I went to find
Isidy was foolish about rain,
'1 She'd stay out in It, i
H to like it."
idded: "But I couldn't find
Kwheres."
Ws Zeke?" Bart asked,
huso." Will confessed. "I ain't
ka sence."
took the suitcase into the
I toom where Huldy was, and
'- ? door hetween Msrm
B*asthere; she said crisply: :
4, be you? Fetch Will?" |
V la tiie kitchen." .Tenny asV
"I want to get her dressed ^
Bute her look as nice as we i
Bfcm he sees her."
"Pierce nodded, watching the
hi she saw that Jenny'B counts
*as Illuminated, and by j
-ore than mere happiness; |
-ore than the selfish happl- |
Wch. if she loved Will, she
hi in the fact that now he |
^ to love her, too. It was
B^?b she were committed to a
W^vhlch she found peace and
-.? they were busy here, the
B*h pitiless outside. The aftB?.
though It was not yet late,
Bfteajy shrouded In a sort of j
Bf'ben Jenny went at last to j
B^ tome in.
followed her Into the dining j
?*l'tre Huldy lay; and he stood
~t lown at his wife's body, his
Ftei bowed. Jenny was close
almost touching him;
* 1 nodded faintly once or
B;'t was as though she spoke
Fcomfort and of heartenBft
^ Hps did not move.
I. ^ *?nt back Into the kltch 7
J? three, Bart and Will
''line, stayed there, hud,t07e
w,u had the
K^tor of a man numbed by
F ? muttered ruefully: "I
He ,nt where Zek? has got
D t one t0 S? nff- a Aki
! ' Zeke didn't like rain."
latw, he said: Til want
B *lt home." He added humBkfj
Do as she'd want It so;
a %*,ot 'l that way. I'll have
to Joe Matthews, over
K^sted, helpfully: "I can1
k. ? Place, Will, and tele- m
8|l'ne here can drive me
TH1
CHAPTER IX
VTET Saladine was relieved to see
* Will and Jenny thus depart t<
tend the cows, for he thought Wll
| might well resent his having sum
moned the sheriff. Even Bart had
resented It, a while ago.
But despite Bart's resistance
I he got Sheriff Sohler on the wire
j These two were old friends, and
Saladine spoke excitedly, telling
I what had happened. "And Sheriff,'
j he suggested, "there's a steam mill
down below here. Tou better And
out If any of the men from there
were up this way. And see II
Win Haven Is In Liberty. He
stayed with Bart Carey last night
but he set out to go to Libertj
this morning."
When Will and Jenny went out
Marm Pierce said doubtfully:
"I dunno as that's flttln 1 I dunnc
as I'd ought to let her go."
No one replied, and she lifted
her head.
'fBut I dunno as I could have
helped," she confessed, her tones
not displeased. Her eyes met Saladine's.
"Waiting Is a long weary
business when yo're young," she
told him; and then she chuckled,
"1 guess I can throw that Illy
root away!" she said In an obscure
satisfaction. And then she
added briskly: "Drat that Jenny!
She's gone and left me to get supper,
and me In my best bombazine!"
She found an apron, tied
It on.
As she began to be busy, she
looked at him reflectively. "Tou
nln'f In onn tn rrr\? liAmn "
Uiil V 111 U1JJ UU11J IU feCL IIULUC,
she remarked. "We can put you
up If yo're a mind to stay."
Saladine hesitated. "Why, much
obliged," he said. He thought the
time to speak had come. "Mis'
Pierce," he said, "I dunno as you'll
think I did the right thing; but
it looked funny to me that Mis'
Ferrin would just?fall off that
ledge 1"
. "I sh'd think It was," she agreed
sharply.
"And. there wa'n't no reason she
Should jump."
"She wa'n't the kind for that!"
"Sheriff Sohier is in Liberty today,"
Saladine Explained. "I telephoned
him from Bart's, and told
him he'd best come in here."
Silence was long. Then she
asked: "Is he coming?"
"Yes." :
She nodded. . "Well, that's a
relief to me," she decided. "I'm
an old woman, but I can see a hole
in a doughnut as far as the next."
She spoke to Bart. "Folks around
here don't bother the sheriff much
with their troubles," she said, as
though appealing to him for confirmation.
"But I say it's the fitten
thing to do. I don't see as it
can do a mite of harm." She
j looked at Saladine keenly. "You
I figure someone pushed her off ol
j the ledge, do you?" she asked.
Bart said earnestly: "Sure,
! Granny! That ledge is as safe as
j your floor here. She couldn't fall
! off unless she did It a-purpose;
and she wouldn't"
Marm Pierce nodded briskly.
"That's the way it looks to me,'1
! she agreed. "So It comes dowr
I to a question of someone did It
| Bart, who do you reckon It was?'
r* ?_ t_ I _ 1 1 lit
Me snooK ms iieuu. wuuiuu i
j say a word," he declared. "I'v(
took notice that Just keeping youi
| mouth shut saves a peck of trouble
I sometimes."
She seemed to weigh this. "I'n
I
II
11 Farmers a
! i SEE US BEFC
Ij Windows & Do
I Hardware & F
II
11 Big stock of H<
; | Meat Grinders
!(
i; ?
j [ A COMPLL
\ (
i' International F
I I
i | TRUCKS am
I WIL
| j Implemen
1(INCORF
Whitevl
KitmKHtltitltDtg!
*
E STATE PORT PILOT, SOUi
thinking Zeke might have, Bart, i
Ain't you?"
! "He might," Bart admitted. "But j
> it's not my business, and Bm not!
I '
: mixing In." He looked toward
" Saladine and grinned. "Saladlne
there, he told the sheriff to cheek
up on Win, and the steam mill j
. j men."
j There was mirth In Marm !
I Pierce's old tones. "It wa'n't Win!" j
she said. "He might brag and
j blow, and get big ldees, but It j
1 wa'n't him!"
I Bart said: "Matter of fact, I
don't think it was Zeke, either.
He'd not hurt Huldy. If it come
> right down to someone killing her.
..." He hesitated huskily: "Well,
r if I was the sheriff, I'd look for
one that had reason to."
Marm Pierce watched Bart with
i some displeasure in her sharp old
1 eyes. Presently she asked him:
"You going home to supper,
1 Bart 7"
" 'Lowed you might want me
! here," he suggested,
i She nodded, In a surface hospl
tality. "Certain. Stay where you be.
Right now, the more folks around,
i the better I like it" She bustled
briskly to and fro upon the business
of supper, grumbling about the
danger to her black bombazine.
! Then suddenly she stood still,
and her head lifted. "Car coming,"
She said softly.
Saladine and Bart stepped out on
the porch, and saw the flicker of i
headlights through the woods I
toward the road. The old woman
j came to join them; and they
| watched together while a light truck
with a long body pulled into the
yard. Two men alighted, and Saladine
saw the big form of the sheriff,
and another, who carried a
black bag in his hand.
Saladine and the sheriff nodded
to one another. Joe Matthews spoke
to Marm Pierce, stripping off his
coat. "The road's real bad. ma'am,"
he said.
Sheriff Sohier unbuttoned his
overcoat, but did not remove it.
"Best to keep Mis' Ferrin here
tonight, If possible," the undertaker
advised. "I can take her home in
the morning."
Marm Pierce nodded. "She can
stay," she said. She opened the
door into the dining room. They
! went in together, and she closed
I /Iaad
IUC UUVli
The sheriff looked at Saladlne,
and at Bart. He said to Saladine:
'Evening, Jim!"
"This Is Bart Carey," Jim ex- j
| plained. "Bart here, he found her,
j Sheriff."
Sohier looked Inquiringly at the i
| | other man; and Bart explained: "I I
! I was fishing down brook. Down back
of Will's barn there's a ledge, and
1 a steep drop below It I heard a
| screech, and a .sort of thump like
' a pa'tridge when you nail him.
1j Climbed up there and found her.
j Marm Pierce is good at doctoring. I
'lowed maybe she could do some'
1 thing."
1 "Wa'n't dead?"
' I *As good as, It turned out," Bart
> replied. "She never come to at all."
Sohier nodded; and Saladine said
! slowly: "I seen her, this morning,
'! Sheriff. I left my car at Will's, and
' she showed me the path down to
the brook, come as far as the ledge
with me. There's nothing slippery
t there, no way she could trip; and?
! she wa'n't the kind to kill herself."
r j He added: "I was here when Bart
: brought her."
The sheriff nodded. "I telephoned
1 in to the steam mill, Jim," he reII1
nd Builders I
4 1
)re you buy ]|
j:
iors ! I
! i
( J (
arming Tools j
>1
j |
irness & Collars | j
|!
& Choppers j \
f|
I
:te line of j |
arm Implements |!
J TRACTORS !!
f
,SON ||
t Company
ORATED)
\let N. C. 11
. i I- '
Tv" .. i , . " .
fHPORT, N. C.
[ ported. "The crew had been there i jn
all day." He added: "And old Win
Haven was In Liberty, at the store.
He told me that when he left Bart's
he went up the road past Will's, A
and along the high land till he hit |e
the Mac's Corner road." P1
"I told you I see his tracks by the ica
brook." Saladine protested. "Or? j*11
some one's tracks." he added fairly. I^1
"I took it they was his." I
Sohier reflected slowly: "Them |
tracks you saw, they might have nc
been old ones." !re
"Rained hard last night." Bart nc
reminded him. "They was fresh to
day. I see them myself, when I ^
fished down."
The sheriff asked: "Carey, yon
got any Idea who'd want to?hurt
Mis' Ferrln?"
Bart hesitated. "I wouldn't go to
say," he said. He added, with a
deep reluctance: "Not unless It was
Zeke. Zeke Dace works for Will.
Zeke was kind of crazy about her,
and?jealous of her. He might
have got mad at her." Yet he added
honestly: "But Will don't 'low that
Zeke would touch her."
"Where Is Zeke?" the sheriff
asked.
Bart shook his head. "Dunno. Nobody's
seen him sence."
Marm Pierce came out of the
dining room. She told the sheriff
she was glad to have him here.
He nodded, and asked slowly:
"Was Mis' Ferrln dead when she
got here, ma'am?"
"As good as," the old woman assured
him. "She was all broke to
pieces, and bled white, and she
died before I got around to it"
(Continued next week)
InteresJ In Pork
Parasite Poster
They are turning the "heat"
on trishinae, those michoscopic
parasites that sometimes get into
pork and that may cause trich- \
iy
S! ' ...
5; ; V . V.'," ,
i; !
**
t :
| WH
) MEF
< * IN\
I $$$
I Wednei
I:
*:
Special V;
of E\
i \
f!
?
Thousands of Do
Goods will be ol
most profitable e^
ville on DOLLAJ
Look for the stg)
who are participc
"OfHi
0
i
/
*- - -- ? - ??_
\
osis in humans if they eat the sh
eat not well enough cooked, re
ie United States Department of la'
griculture has frequently warn-; ar
dtaht trichinae are occasionally]
-esent in raw pork, a fact which led
.used the Bureau of Animal j in
idustry recently to emphasize [ pc
ith a small poster its message, jha
k>ok pork thoroughly." J to
In response to a recent an- (de
mncement in the press, the Bu-jmi
au has received requests forllai
:arly a thousand copies of the J an
ister. The principal interest was! as
It's Quality j
That Coi
GROCl
READ THESE SI
Friday and
-AT
Garrell E
5 lbs. SUGAR Cloth Bag
10 lbs. SUGAR Cloth B;
25 lbs. SUGAR Cloth Bn
4 lb. Carton FLAKE WH
8 lb. Carton FLAKE WH
Guaranteed FLOUR, 24 1
2 lbs. GROUND COFFEE
2 lb. Jar PEANUT BUT1
2 lb. Jar SALAD DRESS
FAT BACK MEAT, per
S =
ITEVIL
#
>ru A*
LVIIA1
rITE YOU 1
DAY:
sday, Dei
alues In Merc
rery Descripl
liars worth of Brand A
Efered at most attracti
vent for everyone shop
El DAY.
is on the windows of i
iting in this event?
CIAL DOLL
DAY ST(
/
#
TEHEE
iown by packers, with other
quests from public officials,
wyers, physicians, educators,
id writers.
Some packers said they intendto
use the illustration widely
connection with the sale of
irk products. The Department
s authorized interested persona
reproduce the poster in any
sired quantity. Plans are being
ide to issue the poster in a
-ger size and in the German
d Italian languages as well
English.
\nd Price
Lints In
RIES
FECIALS FOR
Saturday
\
brothers
28c
ag 55c
S $135
ITE LARD 55c
ITE LARD $1.00
b. sack 80c
! 25c
rER 30c
SING 30c
lb 16c
IE
fTS
ro
$$$; .
4th
:handise
don
Jew Christmas
ive Drices. A
ping in Whitethe
Merchants
AR
)RE"
tl >