^rcnAY. JANUARY
WANT ADS
^rrvrED? For Rawlei?
S coo families. Reliabl
|t?S should start earning $2
* and increase rapidly
H? lav. Rawleigh, Depi
?U.S? Richmond, Va. 1-29
<tvted--used cars.
Inair or equip with net
0 a batteries on time pay
s wq repair all make
ltPTto suit. Weekly, mor
time. braxtoi
^SERVICE. Whiteville,^
^-r^Crwo or three fui
R, rooms for light hous<
iea n the Carolina Housi
Pf w GASKINS, Southpor
s.B 1-8C.
-rrroTRENT-To desirab
J Located on old Souther
road 3 miles from Bol
IS allotment 31-6 a,
' Fc,r tern s apply to Mrs. .
Lf0X. 210 E. King St., Kins to:
C.
^Thatching: use egj
! vnnr ov a flock to rail
csfisj&ys
I Booking ?n - CLEi
L- hatching. 2.12,
L"s. supply N
hnuTAirs _
. *.ratnr'^ Xotic6
feU??<B- * de
r^-rH
K:rr??^-n
fef53TI^JrsS"
lrrier and by \inPr ,hat certa
I sale c0?1?, made to me on t
K?e June 1930. by Geor
b day ot June. Mitchell, r
Retell and Kn?ua. T,nou 52,
I', duly recn,rJe?f l?runswlck cou
L- n-.j. records of Bruns?i (
f Bhich.reference Is he ^
ta*r* 'sss
t., described ^ . pUb
t. J will offer for salei a
K,, to the highest bidder 10 c(
ft-- court house door In
I Soithport. Brunswick coumy.
Latdav. 4th day ?' '"knowing dl
f o'clock noon, the following ivi
k?r?n?UToof WTO,
|KunVd0Uanyd described
|? ATS-0".
?tWr,2?tr\?c
ik! on the south side of the 1
PR'.os-n road: thence about ?u
! i?t eighty-seven twent
1 first station, containing
* fV'cLEMMONS. Mortgage.
Cited and posted this the 4th d.
I December. I9?.r?
Jfrt W. Davis. Attorney for t
wtfajie.
FORECLOSURE SALE
y virtue of the power of ss
" aired in a certain deed of moi
P made hv Annie L Piner a:
Jmtd. Charlie E. Piner. to Fr
"yrson. bearing date July 201
c and duly recorded in Pook '
P <51. of the records of Brur
Wnty, the undersigned will s
'Pttbltc auction to the highest bi
, JJJ/ash at the courthouse do
' southport. N". C., at twelve o'clo
t Oil
Friday. January 31st, 1936
one-third interest in certain trac
' . situate in Town Creek tow
i Brunswick county. State
22 Carolina, bounded and de
as foilows:
Fract: Lying on the Nor
5. , Fowri Creek, adjoining t
J? formerly belonging to Mil
and beginning at an oak i
JW* m Edward Smith's lin
J thence N. 70 degrees W.
J? 5 . a marked pine, another
^tilths corners; thence with t
degrees E. 462 poles to
4 " center of 3 pines: then
(,,7';' W. 116 poles to a pin
u?r L riegs. W. 460 poles to
a ?> .2 ar,d black gum on t
m,,; the creek; thence with 1
JJM courses of the creek to tl
tj u;'ati?n. containing 350 acr
Hum5 '"e same tract which w
the State to John Be
St-,,and excepting from sa
Sidi.t '? acre. whereon t
CSi ip frih stands,
dt nf t ct: Situate on the Nor
? ,J Creek and also adjoi
He't>J,a 8 formerly belonging
* fining at a pi
'ittr?. n i'?ne- running thence
h ii-l E'2 poles to a stake
1 fcpcIL r. hSnce w'th his line i
ter, v S-.190 Poles to a stak
tsvl*, degrees W. 130 poles
tr* ,.|.!n .or near Evans' lin
i tWmuL hls line s- 2ftn PO'es
V*i ,. t containing 100 acre!
"tif-rlL0^ ^tnate ? the nor
?ft, i^2 c,reek and -Iso adiol
Pott,. formerly belonging
L& plan.d beginning at a hir
hvy "ans corner in Mont
thence with his li'
I 166 noles to a stah
5 (1 r thence his line S.
? h'? eu')',"e' his corner, then
? Ms ell,ne K 10? ooles to
R iiST ; thence N. 83 d
?' "iTr-J. Vr'es to a pine, On
?line v j, thence with the Ru
degrees E. 24 poles
f tract2 ther corner of said Ru
Ujence with the line
h Pound-. P?'PS t0 a plr
?v ]s e comer; thence h
'+< p^f^rees W. 104 poles
?.N d .lrs corner: thence h
bi-Fis w- "4 noles to
kWe, ??ert thence his line
ti, P^les to a stall
^ 40 j i1 is an*l ml tot
W " W 174 nn1?Q
L .. 40 dp* * ?ine: thence h
(>' & corner? 1 E' fi0 T>n,e'' ,n
il 45 alonsr M#wli
W- ooles
' to the >**** B*y ?
beginning, contain!i
, 8, 1936
What To Expect
j In Wool Blanket
5
' Warmth And Durability
Are Two Principal Qualities
A Housewife Seeks
In A Blanket
V
Warmth and durability are the >
s J two principal qualities a houseIwife
seeks in a blanket. But at'
? present she has to go chiefly by
c S price, appearance, and feel?not'
- sure guides to good value, say |
r" .home economists in the United i
' i States Department of Agricult,
I ture, who have just finished a
* j study of many kinds of blankets.
- They say the different properties
'e | of blankets can be compared if
. the label carries definite information.
In 1932 a group of manufacturers
agreed that if the word
n*' "wool" appeared on the label the
'c j blanket must contain at least 5
^ percent wool. Such labeling is not
le compulsory, but those who use
;(j j it have agreed to designate blunge
kets containing 5 to 25 percent
;(1 wool as "part wool, not less than
jr 5 per cent," and to label those
j. having more than 25 percent with
.* a guaranteed wool content given
_ jin percentage. The housewife
j would find other information
jhelpful.
Two or more blankets may be
?! compared by weight if all are
, the same in fiber, size and price.
a" [But 1 wool and 1 part-wool blann
jket cannot be compared in this
C. 'way.
v. j The ideal blanket label also
f | would give length and width,
D [breaking strength in the direction
m|of filling yarns?a measure of
le i durability, and information as to
le|wormth and air permeability,
i A blanket in which a great
j deal of fiber has been raised to
n_ form the nap may be warm when
.jj used indoors, but it is not suited
for outdoors because it does not
e" resist wind.
r [Safety Pens To
j Handle Bad Bulls
,in I
I
ge Unnecessary To Slaughter
at 1 Young Bulls Of High
Breeding Simply Because
en They Have An Ugly DisPtl
position
lie |
sh j "Never slaughter a high grade
N. Iyoung bull just because he has
lS6 an ugly disposition.
:s- "The indiscriminate slaughterfs
ing of young bulls is a great
o- hindrance to herd improvement
as j in this state," said John A. Arey,
on | extension dairyman at State College.
ns When a bull has been found to
have the ability to transmit good
In- type and high milk producing cart
parity to his daughters, Arey adth
ded, he is a proven asset to the
?j. herd.
"a The life of these bulls, which
"d take the guess-work out of breedto
ing. should be prolonged as long
y- as they are active,
s. A dairy bull can be handled
ay safely, and his period of usefulhe
ness extended, by keeping him
in a safety bull pen, Arey point~~
jed out.
del Such a pen can be built by any
nd dairyman at low cost from mated
erials usually found around a
w] farm, he added. During the winis
| ter months, when farm work is
a! not pressing, is a good time to
or build the pen.
ck A complete set of plans showing
the details of construction
may be secured free by writing
of the agricultural editor at State
!S" College, Raleigh, N. C.
th
he 250 acres, more or less,
es Saving and excepting from the foreDn
going description of the three several
e; tracts of land a tract of 100 acres,
90 more or less, heretofore conveyed by
of Lindsey Walker to his brother, and
lis 10 acres heretofore conveyed by him
a to one Peter Eichorn.
ce Fourth Tract: Lying in Town Creek
e; Township, adjoining the lands of
a i Locke on the east side, and being a
he part of the Sullivan land, beginning
he i at a stake on the west side of Still
he Branch; runs S. 16 degrees W. 120
es poles to a spruce pine; thence N. 74
as degrees W. 40 poles to a spruce pine,
n- thence N. 16 degrees E. 120 poles to
id a dead pine; thence S. 74 degrees E.
he 40 poles to the Beginning.
This 28th day of December. 1935.
th FRED ANDERSON, Mortgagee,
n- By John D. Bellamy & Sons,
to Attorneys. 1-22-c
ne
S. CERTIFICATE OF DISSOLUTION
in To all to whom these presents may
N. come?Greeting:
e: j Whereas, it appears to my satisfacto
tion, by duly authenticated record of
e; the proceedings for the voluntary disto
solution thereof by the unanimous
i. consent of all the stockholders, depoth
! sited in my office, that the James B.
n- Church Company, a corporation or
to this State, whose principal office is
ie. situated in the town of Southport,
is' I County of Brunswick, State of North
ne Carolina (J. B. Church being the
re. | agent therein and in charge thereof,
201 upon whom process may be served)
ee has complied with the requirements
a of Chapter 22, Consolidated Statutes,
e- entitled "Corporations," preliminary to
s- the issuing of this Certificate of Diss
solution :
to j Now therefore, I Stacey W. Wade.
?- ) Secretary of State of the State of
S North Carolina, do hereby certify that
le, the said corporation did, on the 17th
day of December, 1935, file in my
to office a duly executed and attested
Is j consent in writing to the dissolution
a 'of said corporation, executed by all
S. the stockholders thereof, which said
:e, j consent and the record of the proi's
I ceedings aforesaid are now on file in
o | my said office as provided by law.
lis | In testimony whereof, I have herea
j to set my hand and affixed my offir's
cial seal at Raleigh, this 17tk day of
to December, A. D? 1936.
id STACEY W. WADE,
tg l-22c Secretary of State.
THE I
' THE'"sTORY'
PROLOGUE.?At a gathering of
cronies In the village of Liberty.
Halne. Jim Saladlne listen* to the
history of the neighboring Hostile
Valley?Its past tragedies, Its superb
fishing streams, and, above all, the
mysterious, enticing "Huldy." wife
of Will Ferrin. Interested, he drives .
to the Valley for a day's fishing. I
though admitting to himself his j
chief desire is to see the reputedly
glamorous Huldy Ferrin.
CHAPTER 1?"Old Marm" Pierce :
and her nineteen-year-old granddaughter
Jenny live In the Valley.
8ince little more than a child Jenny
has at first admired and then deeply
loved young Will Ferrin, neighbor- j
ing farmer, older than she, and who
regards her still as merely a child.
I Will leaves the farm?his father's
1 ?and takes employment In nearby I
Augusta. Jenny, despite her grandmother's
comforting, is disconsolate.
CHAPTER II?His father's death
brings Will back to the Valley, but
i ha returns to Augusta, still unconI
sclous of Jenny's womanhood, and
love. Neighbors of the Pierces are
Bart and Amy Carey, brother and
elster. Bart, unmarried and something
of a ne'er-do-well. Is attracted
by Jenny, but the girl repulses him
definitely. Learning that Will Is coming
home, Jenny, exulting, sets his
long-empty house "to rights," and
has dinner ready for him. He oomes
?bringing his wife. Huldy. The
girl's world collapses.
CHAPTER m.?Huldy. at once
perceiving Jenny's secret, mercilessly
mocks her discomfiture. Huldy
soon becomes the subject of unfavorable
gossip in the Valley, though
Will apparently is blind to the fact.
CHAPTER IV?Entering his home,
unlooked for, Will has found seemingly
damning evidence of his wife's
unfaithfulness, as a man who he
knows Is Seth Humphreys breaks
from the house. With the echo of his
wife's derisive laughter In his ears.
Will pursues Humphreys. He overtakes
him, and after a struggle
chokes him to death, though Humphreys
shatters his leg, with a bullet.
At Marm Piercrs house the
leg Is amputated. Jenny goes to
break the news to Huldy. She finds
Bart Carey with the woman. When
he leaves. Huldy makes a mock of
Jenny's sympathy, declaring she has
no use for "half a man" and Is leaving
at once She does so.
"Didn't come to?"
"No," Marm Pierce told him.
"No."
"You look her over, did you?" the
I sheriff urged. He explained: "I
J guess likely I'll want a doctor to
| see her, but you might have noticed
some special hurt on her."
The old woman told him: "Why,
she was hurt cruel. Sheriff. Looked
like she'd fell on her head and side.
There was scratches and cuts all
over her; and a deep bad cut on
her neck. And her face was banged
where she'd hit a tree, or a rock or
. the like."
"I mean to say," he persisted,
I "nothing to show. . .
The old woman shook her head.
I "Nothing that she couldn't have got
j from falling the way she did."
The sheriff sighed as though dlscouraged,
and Marm Pierce asked:
| "You didn't know Huldy, did you,
Sheriff?"
"I've heard tell of her," he answered.
"Guess the whole county has, if i
it comes to that." the old woman
! assented. "But you can see for yourself,
a lot of things might have
happened to a woman like her."
j "It was account of her," Bart reminded
them, "that Will killed Seth
Humphreys. I dunno as I blame
him. I dunno as he went to kill
Seth; but Seth had a gun. and \Vill,
with his leg shot to pieces, he had
honn nn trt Soth's noplr nr 0P>t
IV uaug t'U vv Wkai V ,
another bullet in him. But Huldy
was back of that."
"I heard she'd left Will, sence," j
the sheriff reflected. I
"She come back," Bart explained, i
"She took a shine to Zeke and de- '
elded to stay." j
"Will take her back, did he?"
"Dunno as he could help It," Bart
confessed; and he said slowly:
"Will, he always stood a lot from
her. Sheriff! No matter what she
did, I dunno as he'd?harm her."
He added harshly: "But If he did, j
I wouldn't blame him!"
The old woman's sharp eyes fixed
on him. "You trying to let on that j
Will killed her, Bart?" she asked, in 1
a matter-of-fact tone. "Speak out !
No sense in talking around corners." I
"I'm not letting on a thing about
It," Bart assured her. "I'm trying
to see through it Granny, the same
as you."
"I can see a-plenty," she said
crisply.
The sheriff said, floundering: "I'd
like to talk to this Zeke. Might be
he'd know something. Maybe Will,
he'll fetch him. Looks like I'd have
to talk to that man."
But when Will and Jenny presently
did return, they were alone.
This hour she spent with Will was
for Jenny deeply comforting. Huldy's
accusation had faded into a !
cloudy unreality, like the substance i
of a dream. But Jenny now, more j
than any other emotion, felt a '
grievous sympathy for Will, for the
remorse she knew he must endure;
and she strove in small ways to reassure
and comfort him, not by
words, but by her steady supportlng
presence at his side.
STATE PORT PILOT, SOUT1
They crossed the brook, and I
climbed the steep trail, and came
up through the orchard to the barn;
and while Jenny held the lantern,
Jenny Stood Silently By.
Will let the cows into the tie-up
and secured them there. He pulled
down hay for them, and went to the
kitchen for the pail and returned
to milk. Jenny stood silently by.
He spoke only once of that which j
filled both their minds. "I'd like
to know where Zeke's gone to," he I
i saiu.
"He'll be around by and by," Jen'
ny promised him. "It's all right, '
Will"
But her own words faintly startled
her; since clearly, if Will must live j
with the secret knowledge that he i
' had killed Huldy, the world could I
never be all right for him again;
and she wished suddenly to take
him in her arms, and tell him that
she knew, and held him blameless. 1
But she perceived that to do this, |
to confess her knowledge of his |
j guilt, would be to open between
j them a gulf never to be bridged,
j So she was silent; and later, j
j when they came back through the ;
wet woods together, she decided
I that this was a matter none should
j ever know. And thus resolving, she
found strength for the task before
her, and was at peace again. Huldy
was dead. Let it be by accl- I
dent. The world would presently |
forget that Huldy had ever lived.
When with Will she came back to j
the little house in the Valley, she
had somehow stilled her fears.
Till she saw the sheriff there.
When they came In, she felt her
strength drain away. But then, and
by Will himself, her foreboding was
turned Into fearful certainty; for
Will said to this man:
"Why, Sheriff, what fetched you |
[ here?"
The sheriff hesitated. "I kind of
j hoped you'd bring this Zeke Dace j
i back with you," he said, evasively.
Will shook his head. "I dunno [
| where Zeke's got to," he admitted in
I troubled tones. "He wa'n't to
I home." And he persisted: "But
j Sheriff, what fetched you?"
Jenny was breathless, waiting for
1 the answer. Then Saladlne said
' gravely: "1 sent for him. Will."
Will stared at Saladine. "What
for?" he protested, bewildered.
And then the sheriff said: "Why '
Will, the thing Is, It looks to every- I
body as If maybe Mis' Ferrin didn't
just fall off of that ledge. They !
' think some one maybe throwed her
off."
j Jenny's throat constricted stran- j
I gllngly. The hounds were on the j
| trail.
I As though from far away she
heard Will stammer: "Killed her,
you mean?"
"Something like that."
wttiii j Ma honri howed.
VY Hi OLUUu nnu u.?
| "I guess not," he said firmly at last
"Who'd do that?"
"I was thinking maybe this Zeke !
Dace," Sohler suggested.
But Will shook his head. "No
Sheriff," he insisted. "Whatever did
happen, It wa'n't Zeke. He wouldn't
go to hurt her." And he continued,
half to himself: "There might have
been some to hurt Huldy; but not j
Zeke! Why, I'd as soon think I did
it myself," he said.
Jenny felt the shock of a great
blow.
Then Bart chuckled. "That's a
joke, Will. I mean, to think you'd
hurt Huldy," he explaimed, and
he added hotly: "Not that anybody'd
blame you! She needed It"
He spoke to the sheriff. "Anyone
around here will say the same!"
Will moved a little toward him.
"I don't take that kindly, Bart,"
he said. "I don't want that Idnd
*
KPORT, N. C
of talk from yon or anybody. Not |
bout Huldy. Not now."
There was, briefly, silence; but
after a moment the sheriff said,
half to himself, in almo3t querulous
tones:
"It's a pity she didn't come to
long enough to tell what happened
to her!"
And it seemed to Jenny suddenly
that this familiar kitchen was
very small, and crowded, and
stifling hot. She felt strangled, and
her hand flew to her lips, and stark
terror choked her. Then she saw
Marm Pierce watching her with eyes
suddenly keen and shrewd; and 1
she felt smothered, and shrank J
back into the corner by the door.
After the sheriff spoke, there was j
silence for a moment; then Jenny j
had a respite, for Joe Matthews, j
the undertaker, came out of the
dining room. He spoke to Will. I
"There, Will," he said. "I've j
done all that needs doing tonight; |
and if you want, I'll carry her
home." He hesitated, added: "But
if you take my advice, let her lay
here tonight. I can 'tend to everything
a sight better in the morn- \
lng."
Marm Pierce said: "She's welcome
to stay, Will!"
Will nodded. "Well, likely that's
sensible," he agreed.
Jenny, while their attention was
thus turned away from her, opened
the door and stepped out on the
porch, grateful for the taste of
cool, moist air. In the kitchen she
heard the sheriff say doubtfully;
"I guess, Joe, you'll want to go
along home now. I don't know as
I ought to leave yet, though. I'd
like to see this Zeke Dace, first.
But I wish't you'd bring Doc Harris
in the morning. I want him to
look her over."
When presently the undertaker
came out to depart, Jenny drew
aside out of his way. Sohier and
Saladine crossed with him to where
his truck stood, spoke with him
there. Then Bart came out, and
? J /.natiollv
men sue saiu; nc int. uici
The girl was silent for an lnstai
before she could go on.
"Her mouth was still kind <
j laughing," she finished. "And she soi
J of coughed. I guess that was whe
j she died." A deep tremor shoo
I her, but her voice was firm. "SI
{laid there, looking at me. and hei
|mouth grinning at me; but I guess
she was dead by then. Anyway
I she didn't say any more."
She finished and was still, wait
Ing. And suddenly she was ver.i
{tired, dreading what was to come
Yet for a while no one spoke ai
jta
chapter x
! JENNY'S disclosure for a momen
J hushed them all. Mann Plerc<
jwas the first to speak.
"Whew!" she exclaimed. "I de
clare, "it's hot as love in hay time
j here !*
[ Bart opened the door into th<
Jshed, to admit some air.
{ The sheriff crossed his feet ant
(sat in a deep embarrassment Hh
shoes scraped on the floor; anc
[Marm Pierce said:
"I smell a lamp smoking."
The lamps here were all in or
der; but when she opened the dooi
into the dining-room where Huld;
lay, a reek of soot and smok<
emerged. The old woman bustlet
In there, complaining, scolding th<
absent Joe Matthews.
'Takes a man to make a mess o
+Vifri<va '? elifl nrnfocfnfl 5hp hrniHfh
lanugo, ouv piVkVUVW. ?? ? ?
out the lamp, its chimney black
"He left It turned up too high,'
she declared; and replaced It wit!
another lamp, and they heard he
raise the windows a little from thi
! bottom, "1*11 air out a mite," sh<
SU1U IU sJCUUJ taouauj .
"Hot in there, ain't it?" And in
a lower tone: "Don't you worry,
Jen! Nothing to be afraid of."
He too had seen her terror then I
It must have been plain, for them
all to see. But even as she thought
this, she realized suddenly that she
was no longer afraid, and wondered
why. And then, without speaking
to Bart, she came quickly back into
the kitchen where were Marm
Pierce and Will. Her hand touched
Will's sleeve, and peace tilled her;
and a deep enlightenment and certainty,
like a revelation.
Then the truck departed, and
Bart and Sohler and Saladine returned
indoors. After a moment
the sheriff appealed to Saladine.
"Jim," he said. "Looks like you
could figure something out of this
business. I guess you was the last
one to see Mis' Ferrin alive."
Saladine shook his head. "I don't
see into it at all," he confessed.
Bart turned to Will. "How about
you, Will?" he urged. "Didn't
you hear her screech when she
fell? I'd have said everybody in
a mile could have heard that. It
sounded mighty loud to me."
Will shook his head. "The noise
wouldn't carry up to the farm, with
the hill between, and the trees."
He looked at Saladine. "I mind,"
he said, "when you went off with
Huldy, Zeke he come out of the
shed like he'd go along after you.
I stopped him, made him stay behind."
And he continued after a
moment: "Seems like I kep' him
there a sight longer'n It'd take
you to get down to the brook. Supposing
you didn't stop any time on
the ledge."
"I didn't," Saladine said.
There was silence for a moment;
tben Will spoke again, gropingly.
"By the time I figured you'd be
gone." he explained, "I left Zeke
and went into the house; but when
it come on to rain, I wondered
where Huldy was. I come out on
the porch and yelled for Zeke, but
he didn't answer, so 1 went hunting
them. I started to go down the
path to the brook. But then decided
there wa'n't any use in that"
He added with a glance at Saladine:
"I see tracks where you'd
gone down, where your boots had
slipped. ..."
Saladine spoke quickly. "Boots?
I've got shoes on. It was someone
else," he Insisted. "It wa'n't
me."
Will said stubbornly: "It wag
boot tracks that I see. Somebody
with boots on had gone down the
trail"
And Bart spoke. "Guess Zeke
bad boots on, didn't he?"
Will considered, and he nodded.
"Likely," he agreed. "Yes, he did.
I mind, now. He did."
The sheriff stirred. "The way
if looks to me," he decided, "Zeke's
the one to find; and we ain't likely
to find him, long as we're setting
here!"
"Nor you can't find him outside,"
Harm Pierce cried sharply. "Show
some sense, Sheriff! You couldn't
see Zeke ten feet away, a night
like this, if he was a mind to hide.
Set down. Use your head, 'stead
of your feet! Use your eyes!"
"What good's my eyes going to
do me here?" he urged.
"There's been enough to see, if
you wa'n't blind," she told him;
and she looked briefly at Jenny.
"Jenny," she called sharply. "You
were almighty scared a while ago.
I think you know something more'n
you've told. You was down brook
this morning. Did yon se^ anj
thing, hear anything at all?" He
tones were Insistent.
Jenny, though her heart wa
pounding, spoke after a momen
steadily enough. The way wa
clear before her now, all douhti
resolved. But she only said: "
told you I heard someone talking
In the woods."
Marm Pierce came closer to thi
girl. "Jenny, I can see more thai
most; but I can't see everything
What was It scared you, a whih
ago, when the sheriff said tha
about wishing Huldy had come to
before she died? What was It
Jenny?" she demanded.
Jenny looked at Will's bowe<
head, and her smile suddenly wai
radiant as the sun. "It don't meai
a thing to me now," she protestei
softly. "Because I can see I
wa'n't true."
"What was it, Jenny?" the ol<
woman insisted.
"Huldy did come to, for a mln
ute, before she died," said Jenn;
then.
Marm Pierce cried in a deep in
credulity:
"Jenny, she never did!"
And Bart exclaimed: "Sh<
couldn't, Jenny! Why, she was a:
good as dead before I ever got he:
here!"
Jenny repeated slowly: "She did
anway!" And for a moment shi
said no more. She sto.id near th<
cabinet over the sink, where knlve
and forks and cooking dishes wen
stowed away. Bart was by the doo
into the shed. Marm Pierce wa
i between Jenny and the stove; an.
j Sheriff Sohier sat in front of th.
! oven with his greatcoat loose abou
| him.
Will was beyond the stove, nea
the other door. Impassive, waiting
i Saladine, watching Jenny, though
j she seemed in this moment to wea
a mantle of grace. She looked a
' Will and ner eyes held his, and he
! tone was gently mirthful.
"She told me you did it, Will,
said Jenny, with a smile on her lips
| and her glance serene.
Bart uttered a low ejaculation
J but Marm Pierce spoke in brls
I Insistence.
"How come you didn't call me?
"I didn't want you," Jenny tol
| her gently.
"The more fool you!" said Mari
j Pierce briskly, her patience nea
I the breaking point. "What ha[
, pened?" she demanded.
The sheriff spoke heavily. "Mil
j Pierce, you let her tell it her ow
way," he urged. So Marm Piere
I was silenced; and Jenny's eyt
| turned again to Will. The big ma
J shook and swayed where he stooi
: as though this that Jenny had <
j say had struck him nerveless.
Then Jenny faced the sherl
j steadily and she said: "Mis' Fe
j rin looked at me, and ber mout
twisted into a kind of laugh, an
! she said something. First off,
l couldn't hear her. She was awfi
weak, and I leaned down and
said to her, 'It's all right, Mi
| Ferrin!' And she laughed at m
i I mean her mouth twisted as if si
I was trying to! And this time
j heard what she said."
Marm Pierce exploded in a fieri
, Impatience: "Get on with It, Je
j ny! What did she say?"
And Jenny answered: "She sa
j I could have him now!
"I guess I kind of moved bac
[ at that, away from her! It wi
I like she'd slapped me!" Her che<
! was pale, and she spoke almo
I humbly. "I didn't know what 1
| do," she confessed. "So I just tri<
' to tell her it was all right, and
| told her Will was coming."
Her tones shook, then steadied.
"And then she said It," she coi
| eluded. "She said, kind of slo
, and weak: 'Will knocked me off'
And she had to wait a minute, at
' " - - ?1J. ?n^ U If ? "
3JEVBH
r explained, talking to herself 'in the
other room,
s Then she returned, shut the dlnt
ing room door again,
s "Well!" she emulated. "1 des
clare, I've had about enough of
I jthe goings on this day. Jenny, why
;, i didn't you tell me this here be|
fore?"
8 I Jenny looked at Will, and she
l said: "Because first off I was afraid
;. It was true." She smiled steadily.
i "Only I knowed that even If It
t was, I didn't care!"
i, "How do you mean, you dldnt
; care?" the sheriff asked, In a dull
perplexity.
1 But before Jenny replied, Marm
5 Pierce spoke, in a sort of defiance,
j "I'll tell you that, Sheriff," she said:
j 'The thing Is, Will and Jenny had
( got to like each other mighty well,
before Huldy come back after that
j time she went away. Will he's fine;
! and so's Jenny. No barm In It I
. | hoped Huldy'd not come back ever.
j ! It looked to me that Wlll'd be better
off If he was rid of her for good
and all. But when she did come,
| Jenny, she didn't see him after
that, till today."
B She concluded: "But Jenny and
s Will would have married before
p this, if Huldy hadn't been married
to Will. Jenny loves him and he
loves her, and I'm glad of It, if It
" comes to that. Jenny's fine, and
I Will's a man!"
e
g "And nobody'd blame him for hlte
ting Huldy," Bart insisted, quick to
r Will's defense. "She needed It,
s j bad! But he never meant to knock
j her off the ledge!"
e Jenny cried, swift, Indignant:
t i "Will never touched her, Bart I"
"I know he didn't," Bart loyally
r agreed. "But I'm Just saying, IT
, | he did!"
't "He didn't!" JenDy repeated
r crisply.
j I The sheriff looked np at her.
r 1 "How come you to be so sure, Jtany
V he asked In sober tones.
" j "If I wa'n't sure," Jenny chaii,
lenged, "d'you think I'd ever hare
j told you, or anybody, what she
: said?"
k "You wouldn't want to marry a
| man that'd kill his wife, would
you?" Sohler urged; and Jenny's
d ! eyes met his fairly, and hers were
misty with deep tenderness,
n "He didn't," she Insisted steadr
| fastly. "But I'd want to marry
>-! Will any way It come, and no mat1
ter what he done 1"
3> "Well, that ain't telling me how
n you know he didn't do It?" the sher:e
Iff repeated doggedly. "What made
,g you sure, all of a sudden, now?"
n "Just?coming to my senses," *
1,' Jenny decided. "I was kind of
:o numb for a while; but then after
I'd been with Will for a spell, X
ft was sure 1"
r-1 The sheriff, surprisingly, chuck:h
' led. "I'd admire to hear you testify
id j like that in court," he declared. "Fd
I j like to see what the Judge would
ill' say." He became grave again, and
II looked at last at Will. "How about
s' I it, Will?" he suggested sobeny .
e. j "Anything you've got to say?"
te' Will, with all their eyes upon
I him, stood futabllng for words. "If
It was anyone but Jenny told me, I
:e j wouldn't believe Huldy said It," be
n- J declared.
"'Tain't true, I guess you'll say.". '
Id j "No. No, It ain't true."
The sheriff frowned. "How come
k,! Mis' Ferrln to say a thing like
131 that, then?" he protested. "Don't
;k J seem as If a woman would tell a
st straight-out lie, the minute before
to she died 1"
Hi | "She was out of her head, I
I j reckon," Will offered.
But Jenny said: "No, Will, she
was same as always. She knowed
a- J me, knowed every word she said."
w [ The man Insisted almost pleadingly:
"Jenny, she wouldn't tell a
id thing like that only If she was
crazy, or out of her head, or someit
thing."
Marm Pierce had been silent longj:
>f but now she spoke, In sharp angryrt
tones.
in "Will Ferrln, you're a fool!" sheik
exclaimed. "I guess most men are,
ie where a woman's concerned; but
f yo're a bigger fool than most. Tow
, know as well as anyone that Huldy
was no gooa i~
HJa head lifted as though he
would apeak, bat her voice rose.
' "Now don't try to shut me up, Will
Ferrin!" she cried. "For I'm going
' to have my sayl Land knows why
Huldy married yon; but everybody
knows she was a bad wife to you.
She was bad from her toes up. Dead
as she is, I'll say so, if it's the last
' word I do say. She'd have drove
1 any man that wa'n't a saint or ?
tool to kill her long ago; but yo?
' didn't kill her. Yoo always would"
speak soft to Huldy, and stand anything
from her, and come down
5 hard on anyone that tried to tell'
you the truth about ber!"
She turned as though on a sud'
deD thought to the sheriff. "Will
' didn't hit her." she insisted. "He
wouldn't have the spunk to! He
always did treat Huldy like a lady,
j no matter how she behaved. Maybe
If he'd took a hoop-pole to her
long ago . . ."
But she checked the word, swung
to Will again.
(Continued next week)
Since a crop cover is important
to protect soil against erosion,
plant the roughest land to timber,
use more of the. rougherland
now in crop for pasture;
introduce more legumes into roB
tation; practice strip-cropping oa
6 long slopes.