■0; PARADISE ty tittups Q.'idoe ~~’ • tolaM,M»#dACfcmwrjtnc^AJt rlgMta r*sen«4 , Jjfajl !'CTp %tritedhananggmert wtmVietwoRtan Havofeper Strvicahco. M itironn - John -Hannon, wealtny ranch owner, , hi* blind wife. Belle, and ^helr beautl '• «... La_T7.1 Hire lianntlv tflPfithar -■/ Pr m m, i ful daughter, Val, live happily together In Hannon's wonderful ranch home, Paradise. Redstar Is the king of the Red Brood of * horses owned by the master of the ranch. Escorted hy the cowboys of Pardise ranch, Val attends the Fourth of July celebration at Santa Leandra. Valen trie from the Boeder, while dancing With Lola Sanchez, Is shot at by a Jeal ous suitor. Val saves Velantrie s life by causing the bullet to go wild. During the celebration at Santa Le andra the peerless Redstar disappears from Paradise. Val Is heaarbroken and rides for consolation to the Mission to gee her friend, Father Hlllalre. She finds Velantrie at the Mission visiting with Father Hlllalre. GO OH WITH THE STORY The wistful look In the strangers •yes deepened with a sort of swift sickness and he picked up his hat. <*rll go," he ■ said gently, but the father shook his head. “Stay until she leaves,” he said des perately, ‘‘we've had little speech to gether.’' Not for an the poor treasure* oi bumble house would Father Hlllalre have toad Velantrle’s whistle Out the quiet air, have seen The Comet oome trotting down beneath the hanging trees. So Velantrle stood and watched while, Val came and sat In one of the ancient chairs and put the baby1 on her knee "’ to play with Its rose-leaf fingers and touch with understanding hands Its little waxen cheeks. "It’s a beautiful baby, padre,” she said, wisely regarding* the Infant, “a darling bundle of. sweetness. But 1 think with you that Marla Is not so well. The cough persists.” ”1 know,” said the father anxiously, "and I have tried all my remedies In vain. She sickens for the sight of that worthless one for whom she has never ceased to mourn.” "If I had hold of him." said Val. with sudden swift viciousness, "I’d kill him." . "My daughter!” said the priest sharply, and the girl blushed. But Ve lantrie smiled .as he dropped into a chair across the little open space of the sanded walk. "Suppose,” he said In the low voice that was sweet with musla, "that some one brought him back sealed, under pain of death, to be good to Marla and the cherub here? Would that please you?"1 "More - than anything in all world!’ cried Val Impulsively, ceptr-^’ But she broke, the speech glanced at Father Hlllalre. “It would be a holy work," she fin ished gently, "and I should be very glad." "Then,” said Velantrle, still smiling, "It shall be done. Who is the man, padre, and from where did he leave this part of the country T” “It is only a peon from down by Ar guentja across the line by the name of ,■ Mesos Peouento, and he melted into the west somewhere. , It is a heavy this "ex ana l? promise you make, my son.” i "But one I shall be glad to re deem,” answered Velantrle. : V Val looked at him with deep eyes ; that were sweet with a new depth '■ and a sort of wonder. This stranger that she toad begun to meet. talked quietly of big deeds and was quick as running waters. She th<- ,ght of his acceptance of Lolo’s chai, .nge that night In Santa Lea:.dra and how •' swiftly he had caught her meaning. So she played With the baby and listened to the quiet talk of the two men and the summer day drowsed to ~ ward Its close, and the stranger Stayed as If he did not mean to leave. Bonifacio brought Lightning, and Velantrle- looked .at him with keen eyes. Always this -man looked at horses. On the range'. In the streets of the scattered towns, everywhere, ■ It was horseflesh for which he searched untiringly. An expression of admira ' tlon passed across his speaking face. "That Is a beautiful horse, Miss Han > non," he said, "a swift horse, too, I know." Val smiled. "The swiftest In the country," she " said proudly, "better than Clenden nlng’s Dollar. Better than all others, except one.” • ?; At that slight reference to the lost Red*tar her. features- ’clouded—and Fattfer Hlllalre .felt - the sweat start on his flesh. But she eald no more and held out - her hand. - I "Goodby, ratner. ru come again. ■ 1 Boon.” . Then she turned and, "with an ap ' pearance t of timidity that sat oddly , £ an Val Hannon, held out the same hand , ’ to Velantrle. Again the man Wok It ' and again dhe lather saw that un • x v conscious eagerness In both young /:'1V faces. ,f When the girl was gone, sailing like a kite In the winds aoross the reaches of the green plain, he wiped his face r and the lines seemed to have been graven a trifle deeper therein, as If he felt a pressage of disaster. CHAPTER X Val Calls j John Hannon stood in the deep room where the Indian blankets glowed anfi, held his wife In the bend of his arm. His face was a strange mixture of con flicting emotions. A veritable sickness of parting sat upon It and his dark eyes burned upon Belle's sightless face with such a passion of love as rarely lasts beyond the fires of youth. He kissed her again and again and studied the curve of her faded cheek, the curls of soft hair at'her temples. And Belle’s expert fingers Passed] over his features, "reading" hfs face before departure. When he was gone] she would, drop In a chair and weep like > a school girl, but she sped him now like any Spartan. “And again, John dear,” she asked anxiously, “will you be back this time? - Will It be as long a trip as the last one?" > The man raised his eagle’s head and looked out through the window across the plains. What visions he saw none might know, but ' his eyes deepened - and glowed and he’ smoothed her hair absently. Presently he came hack to the mo * ment. ' "No,” he answered brusquely,, “not so »• long this time." Then be kissed ‘her again, motioned to- Val to come and take, her, with an imperious nod of his head, put her ’ . gently In the girl’s arms and was gone. Paradise settled into a sort of pleas, ant lethargy after the departure of ' the master. Belle Hannon was already speaking of the time when her hus band- should return, and Val spent : many hours rocking lastly In the gay m fringed vhammocks. She was her old - self again in sweetness, in her eager £gr« foe all the creatures of the house Hold ana me rancu, u u»- « *** her heart she did not cease to mourn for the vanished Bedstar. Sometimes at sundown she would cup her hands to her lips and, giving the two keen, long’-drawn whistled notes/listen wist fully as if from somewhere in the far I fringes of the Blind Trail Bills she must each the fine faint echo of his i ringing answer. ■ But always the vast alienee of the illimitable land was .unbroken, and Briston coming in from the dust and drouth of a long day’s ride would look at her pityingly. . The days passed and the master had been gone a fortnight when one day Boyce Clendenning rode in on Dollar. Val, seeing him from afar, met him in the patio with smiles, all freshly clad in a starched print dross. In hon est fairness she must accord him re spect. She did not dislike him. either, when it oame down to cases, for Boyce Clendenning wSs very much a man in a land where men must be all of that to prosper. “Hello, Boyce,” she greeted him, lay ing an admiring hand on Dollar’s silver shoulder, “this is a tre^t^-you' coming iso far to see us. Or were you going by?” “Hardly," said the man, sweeping down to take oft his hat and extend his hand, “I oame because I wanted to.” As Val led Clendenning into me depths of the cool old room Belle Han non rose with the manner of a duchess and smiled toward the sound of their approach- The man had heard of John Hannon’s blind wife—who in the range land had not?—but he had never seen her. Now he looked at the delicate beauty of her face. Its quick, receptive Intelligence, Its high mark of characT ter, and knew why her daughter was as far above'the other girls of the country as the clouds above the grass. He took Belle’s hands, ioth of them,' with a sudden pleasant liking which communicated Itself Instantly to the vibrant brain behind the hands, and the two were friends at once. "This is Boyce Clendenning. Belle,” said Val, and the man felt a strange surpirse at the girl’s use of her moth er’s first name. He was to learn that that was one of their playful Intima cies which made the friendship of this mother and daughter so rare and so perfect. "I know,” said Mrs. Hannon, "you are the man John Hannon likes above all others among the ranchers, there-, fore you are good and worthy of re gard. I shall like you, too.” Clepdenning laughed, tossed his hat away and sat down to a long and com fortable visit. But finally the conversation drifted, as all speech must In the rangeland, to cattle and finally to rustlers. “I suppose you’ve heard that the Plying T’s had trouble?" he asked Idly. "No,” said Val at once. “What?” "Lost eighty head of faffsteers ready for the driving." "Good gracious! How?* ’ “Rustlers again. Drove them through the Needle’s Bye into the Blind Trail. Trail was broad as daylight up to the face of the cliff, then of course it nar rowed and was lost on the rock, for the pass intb the hills is so narrow that only two steers can enter at the same time. The Owners trailed their cattle there—to face two rifles sticking out on either side of the pass, a per fect guard. No man’s fool enough to deliberately give his life for a bunch of steers, so they went quietly, back to the ranch. But the county's bussing, you bet, and t'in with It heart and soul.” ,Val*s dark eye flashed, for she thought of her own loss, word of which had been noised about the country. Tm with you, too,” she said bit terlyv "heart and soul. If the ranchers ride on the rustlers’ trail I want to go along. I’d like to kill tne man that took the Redstar.” * “It’s coming, sooner or later, that ride," answered Clendenning. “It must come, or we lay down our hands, beaten- I’ve been talking to the Attl son boys and Quinlan and they all fa vor organization and short shrift, for the victims we may catch with the goods. It looks like the work of the Black ^Rustler, that clever lifter whom none meet and but few have ever glimpsed—the smooth, silent chap Who works like a machine, with neatness and precision, and rides the fastest horse' ever seen in these parts. There are some wonderful stories afloat about that horse—a great bay horse, tall and high-withered, seventeen hands they say, and so fast that those who have caught a far glimpse of him say it runs like a.super-horse. As taixea vat Hannon s eyes dc camewlde, dark pools of retrospection. “My land!” she said softly, “I believe I’ve seen that horse—from .the top of Mesa Grande one day at sundown. I had ridden the Redstar Up and was sit-' tins on the rim, looking across the ranges, when a band of men came out of the north up Santa.Lendra way. and one did ride a wonderful horse—a long red horse that lay down and ran for all the WorM like Redstar himself! And j the ri3Sr rose In his stirrups and waved (his hat to me!” "Dii he wear a black mask?” asked Clendennlng, quickly. “Why, I couldn’t say. He was far and away too far off for me to see his face. I only/got the genera loutllne and color—and that mighty seeming, of speed.” .“It might have been. There is a Whisper about that he has been in Santa Leandra several times, but no body cares to question the Black Rust ler.” An hour later he took his leave and the two women sped him from the patio where the sweet spring talked in the stillness. “Val,” said Belle Hannon, quietly, Tm with your dad, I favor Boyce Clendennlng. He Is honest, straight and of (fixed purpose. If he sets out to catch the Black Rustler, he’ll get him sooner or later. If he promises to love, cherish and protect a woman, he’ll do so till he dies.” And. she did not know. with what utter prophecy she spoke. - Val laughed, a ringing peal,; and Shook her shoulder playfully. “John. Hannon .had better be get ting back,” she said lightly, "or his wife’ll be falling in.,love with his best friend." The riders were doming in with rat tle of spur and bit chain, the red veils were beginning to sift down from the blue infinitude above; and tihe long twilight would soon be falling over Paradise. Val, standing alone In the patio after Belle had gone indoors, looked down across the empty fields, for the Red Brood grazed no more without a guard, and a sigh lifted her elim breast. * ■.' CHAPTER XI ~ -*'■ The Lure of ti e Padre’s Garden There was a time after Clendennlna’s visit -when ' nothing- happenedv.to stir tie quiet life at the ranch. Val talked with the riders about the trouble at the Fying Y and Briston had little to say. In fact there was an unostentatious reticence in their speech about, the whole affair. She did not. kn9w that every man-jack of . them hadlbeen filled with ai vague dismay over the incident of (the dance hall at Santa Leandra, nor^that they had listened to faint whispers concerning: the armed strang ers. . "Holy smoke!" said Perly the lo^ quacious, ,"it that there Velantrie was th’ Black Rusier an’ our Val saved his fotten hide', her name’ll be all over •this country- an’ I see where this bunch’ll do a lot of flghtln’.v l. ’ \ John Hannon did-not return as soon as they had expected him, and time dragged a little. Val rode to the Mis sion many times, but never again did she encounter a tall stranger In . the dry garden, and though she drew the talk artlessly to this stranger a time or two. Father Rllliare was non-com municative and she learned no more about him. She helped the boys with the break ing of the new string of horses, for John Hannon’s daughter was better than a lot of men at that, and her dusky skin burned a tawnier shade in the sun, while her cheeks were like roses in the sunset. The boss had been gone five weeks. August was blazing on the range land. The heavens were high and hard with heat and the sun shone continu ally, Rut always at dusk 'there came out of ihe south the little cool.wind that whispered along the levels, and the marvelous colors sifted down from infinitude. ■ And then one day, Val, riding aim lessly far down Arroyo Pecos way, came up from the cool shade of the ford on Little Antelope, and face to face with two men—Velantrie on a big white horse and a slim dark Mexican with a sullen face. Instantly Velantrie's face lighted with the smile she had not forgotten, and his broad hat came off with a graceful !sweep. "Miss Hannon!” he cried, and It was well for Father Millaire’s peace of mind that he could not see the look of sud den joy that flashed between them. “Mr. Velantrie!” mimicked the girl with a laugh, “it’s been long since we met in the padre’s garden.” "Has it?” said the man eagerly and simply, and Val blushed. “Hasn't it?” she asked honestly. "Lord—yes,” said Velantrle, softly. For a moment they were -silent, look ing at each other with the -age-old wonder that comes once in every life. Then the man ' thought quickly and sharply of the- Church door—and the woman—and became on the instant the indifferent, smiling stranger. Val saw the change and became grave herself. Velantrle turned to the rider beside him, a slim, good-looking youth, scarce more than a boy, and waved an elo quent hand. "Let me present Senor Mesos Peceu ento,” he said gently, “of down Argu enta way, bound for the Mission to work for Father Mllliare and, inci dentally, for wedlock in the chapel.” Val Hannon blushed again, but the look she flashed Velantrle was elo quent of gratitude and gladness and admiration for so successful a quest. They spoke for a few moments more, but the spontaneity, was gone from their meeting, and presently the strangers rode into the Antelope to emerge to the sightof the distant Mis sion gleaming palely in the light, whll# Val Hannon touched Redcloud -Jtnd went on toward the, sl)uth. Velantrle, strong oh the bit of his’ own desires, went straight to his des tination. - v “I think, padre,” he said, “that I shall come but little .more to this country. Ferhaps no more." The old man looked at him keenly. ■"Why?" he asked simply. "Because it-is not well that ^should.” Father Millaire sighed. "No," he said sadly, “it is not well.” "This white’s a good horse,” Velan trle said, “but I miss The Comet— laid up with a sprained tendon.” He rode straight back the way he had come and he was deep in thought as he neared the fringes of the Little Antelope. Thought that concerned Val Hannon. Valentrie had known many women, but none of them had come into his life for more than a fleeting touch. He was, as he had told Father Hlllaire, a man who mastered himself. He had ridden away from much that a weaker man would have stayed for. Therefore he struck the big white horse with a heel and rode through >he sliallow water—and there, com ing slowly along, slouched gracefully in her saddle, as if she idled on a way she was used to making at speed, was the girl herself. Val Hannon for the first time to “cte liv.erer,” that it carried, hope as well as fear, and that its owner had merely to speak and his words, ‘running afar I among the peons,/were like rlatas { creeping on the ground to bring back the thing they Sought. Continued Nhyt Sunday.) A MAN WHO BECAME FAMOUS Doctor £. V. Pierce, whoso picture appears above, was hot only a success* ful physician but also a profound student of the medicinal qualities of Nature’s remedies, roots and herbs, and i by close observation of the methods i used by the Indians, he discovered their great remedial qualities, especially for weaknesses of women, and after care ful preparation succeeded in giving to the world a remedy which has been used by women with the best results for half a ceubury. Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription is still In great demand, ! while many other so called "cure-alls” i have come and gone. The reason for ; its phenomenal success is because of Its absolute purity, and Dr. Pierce’s high i standing as an honored citizen of 1 Buffalo Is a guarantee of all that Is 1 claimed for the Favorite Prescription as a regulator for the ills peculiar to women. Send 10c. for trial pkg. to Dr. Pierce’s : Invalids Hotel, Buffalo, N. T, CSee our Invisible Bifocals, near and far vision in one pair of glasses. They keep your eyes young in looks as well as in usefulness. We can save you money. Tty us. DR. VINEBERG ETB SPECIALIST Masonic Temple i Amazed Comment —is frequently heard among car owners because Vesta Batteries cost about what ordinary batteries cost. The universal opinion seems to be that, as . Vesta Service , —is so much a thing apart, its cost would be consider-, ably higher. VESTA, WITH ITS EXCLUSIVE PATENTED FEATURES ' ■ ■ • -,-1, ■ ; —which do conquer '"shorts” and other common battery ills, costs practically the same as ordinary batteries. 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