PAGE SIX
WPTll
ROCK
SEVENTEENTH INSTALMENT
SYNOPSIS: Ruth Warreu, living !
in the East, comes into possession i
of three-quarters interest in an Arizona
ranch, left to her in the will I
of her only brother, reported to j
have died while on busings* in Mex- {
ico. With her ailing husband ana j
small child she goes to Arizona to j
take possession, tbbiking the cli- j
mate may prove beneficial to her 5
husband's weak lungs. Arriving at |
the nearest town, she learns that i
the ranch. "Dead Lantern," is 85 |
miles across the desert. Old Charley j
Thane, rancher and rural mail car- I
lier, agrees to take them to the j
"Dead Lantern" gate which was 5 j
miles from the ranch house As |
they wearily walked past a liture
overhanging boulder in a gulch tn
coming to the ranch house, a voice
whispered. "Go back! Go back."
Ruth's husband, caught in a rain
shortly after their arrival, contracts
pneumonia and passes away
before medical aid can be brought.
Ruth, penniless and without friends,
attempts to carry on but is balked
at almost every turn by the crafty
and plotting Suavely. Despite obstacles
of all kinds Ruth gives her
i:otes on her ranch interest to purchase
cattle. She is assisted by Old
Charley Thane and his son. Will
Thane. A Mexican family has been
hired to assist with the. work. A peculiar
sickness develops with the
livestock. Snavely calls it "liver fever
. . . and says he has a powder
tor the water to cure the disease.
Ruth's whole future is at stake on
the development of the herd to meet
her notes following the first roundup.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." whined Uie
voice, "but T jest can't open it." j
"Well, why can't you open it yer
arm broke?"
"I'm takng a bath," said the voice
sweetly.
This was too much. Old Charley ,
planted the sole of his boot against j
the door with all the force in his j
body The door flew inward and \\ illj
Tlu?no stopped ttbr> threshold.!
"Come right in. Dad ? I kiisw you'd I
raiFaumc uety;"?-Old
Charley sat down slowly on the
bo&. utterly heedless of the wash ba- j
sill. After a time he murmured j
mournfully. "If you was only ten year i
old again for about half an hour! . . I
Later, after he had eaten Will's j
supper, the old man was somewhat
mollified. "Will, you ornery pup,:
danged if this ain't the happiest day j
vT'yc seeii ---And -you've already boon |
here a month You son-of-n-guu?
provn' up on your homestead. And
you're all through with real estate?
Plumb through?"
i?? "Plumb through, Dad. Turned everything
I had into cash a month
ago. Cash'll come in handy when we
buy that section south of us here audi
pick up some more stock."
Old Charley nodded happily. "I always
knew you'd be comin' back some
of these days. But what have you
been doing here the last month ? Sleeping
most of the day, I reckon 1
never saw you so fat an' glossy." |
* * ? ?
Ruth slowly awoke and saw that it
was still dark. She wondered idly
why Ann was moving about in the
kitchen so late, and was luxuriously |
slipping back to sleep when she heard j
the thump of boots, as Suavely came
from his room and walked across the.
house to the kitchen. Suddenly Ruth
knew that it was morning?the long- j
awaited morning when the round-up
was to begin. As she rose and struggled
into her riding clothes, the great
weight of anxiety which had lifted
during her sleep settled back upon
her. Ti t- round-up?would there be
enough cattle?
In the two months since she had
accidentally placed poison in the
.spring troughts no new harm had
come to the cattle?but were they
enough to meet her note? Her desire
to find the answer to this question
increased with each day, but she
could not estimate the number of
salable animals scattered cvSr the
ranch; she could not give an intelligent
guess about weights and quality
and price. She only knew that
she had lost more than a tenth of
the value of her note.
Then, too, if her deal with Parker
- z. =- 1- J- ?.t-- <- 3
JVixti lo uu tut: i.muii any gouu, vuiy
the poorest of the cattle could be sold
?only the steers and the old cows.
The rest of the 3tock and the fine
trulls must remain for the improvement
of the ranch. Ruth could not
see much advantage in selling all the
cattle to keep the man Witherspoon
from foreclosing on the note?what
good was there in three-quarters' interest
to a cattle ranch with no cattle?or,
to a ranch which only
brought to fifteen hundred dollars a
year?
She left David sleeping and went
into the dining room. She and Suavely
breakfasted silently by lamplight,t
then went to the conals.
It was just light enough at the corcala
to distinguish one horse from
another. The six Mexican cowboys
were waiting by the gate, each with
a cigarette in liis mouth and a rope
or bridle over his arm. Snavely indicated
to each of the men the horse.
he was to ride for the day. The Mex-j
ican entered the corral, caught his.
mount, and led :i to the stable shed. ;
Ruth. Suavely, and the Mexicans
rode into the north pasture. About!
three miles from the ranch house;
Snavely gave each man his orders,'
then rode away to the '.vest. To Ruth
he had said nothing, nor could she
understand much of what Snavely had
told the Mexicans. She stayed where
she was, on a hilltop. The men, she
supposed, would ride west and distribute
themselves along the line fence
through the mountains. They would j
then all start eastward, driving the!
cattle before them.
I
She waited two hours on that ull-j
top before she saw the first cattle >
coming. Two miles to the north r.n j
ant like string moved over a ridge arirtj
disappeared into a ravine. A moment
later, and much nearer, she saw a
small bunch of cattle emerge from
the underbrush followed by a man
on horseback?Snovely, she thought.
By the time the first two punches
were opposite her, three more were
in sight and she turned her own
horse eastward. She soon came upon
three cows, each with a calf, and
drive them before her. Just where
she was driving them she had no
very clear idea. but. she could see
that the other riders were converging
toward a common point and governed
herself accordingly. This point proved
to be a level piece of ground about j
half a mie from the eastern end of
the pasture.
The nine small streams of cattle
merged, flowed on, and were thrown
into an eddying pool by the circling
riders. Two of the men left at once,
lopmg to a ravine where mesquitc
was plentiful. When they returned,
dragging firewood at the end of their
riatas. the cattle wore in a closepacked
bunch, and the remaining riders
sat their horses at intervals
around the circle Suavely, Alfredo;
Don Francisco and one of the extra
Mexicans, kicked off their chaps, and
building a fire, laid on the branding
irons; Ruth and three Mexican-; keen
- - -?r .
ing iho- hord together, meanwhile. J
When the irons were hot Snavely
motioned to the grizzled ola Juan,
who left Ruth's side of the herd and
! advanced into the center pf tbe milling
cattle, swinging his riata.
Ruth had her hands full. With only
three riders to keep the herd in place
many of the cattle decided to break
away. Every ten seconds, it seemed
. to Ruth, some animal on her side of
the herd would bolt. She had abanaoiied
oid Brisket tor such active? riding
in favor of Boots, a springy
young horse with an alert mind and a
thorough knowledge of the cow business.
He enjoyed running after animals
that broke from the herd?Ruth
rather suspected him of egging thernj
on.
Such riding is exhilarting sport for
half an hour?rather like the fastest j
moments of a fast polo game, but in j
three hours it can be wearing.
When all the calves had been bran- j
ded the hard was driven to the hold- :
ing pasture, a small enclosure of one j
thousand acres. As the cattle passed:
through the gate the counting began; i
one mill counted calves; another |
yearling3; another grown steers, and
a fourth, cows.
The count was over and the riders'
were returning to the home ranch j
when ltuth rode up beside Snavely.j
"Well, how docs it look?" j
"How does what look?" replied
Snavely.
"I mean?do you think we're going
to have enough? Weren't there a good
many calves and young steers in that
bunch ?"
"Can't tell nothin' yet," said Snavely
gruffly. "X don't know if you're
goin' to have enough or not. As a
guess I'd say you ain't."
"1 have It all figured out Just how
many we?"
"You figgered, I reckon, that a
quarter of the sale don't apply on
that fool note, didn't you?"
Ruth drew Herself straight in the
saddle. "Certainly, Mr. Snavely."
She reined in her horse and dropped i
back between Alfredo and old Don
Francisco The Mexicans pulled their '
horses aside to make room and with
many smiles and chuckled began i
talking to her. They loved to hear ;
her broken Spanish. By the time the
company reached the saddle shed, i
Ruth had learned that Don Francis
WJ twiisiucii-u UJU uttLie large aau i
fat and the calves plentiful. He also
succeeded in conveying to her the results
of the count.
That evening Ruth Studied these,
figures in connection with others she
had gatherf-i in her conversation with
Old Charley and her studies of the
cattle raisers' magazine. But she
went to sleep as undecided as ever.
The round-up would take four days
and if on each of these days the
count ran as high as on the first, and
if on one of those days about one
hundred extra animals should appear,
Ruth knew that she could meet her
note. Provided, of course, that' Old
Charley had guessed shrewdly about
the prices the cattle buyers would be
WATAUGA DEMOCRAT?EVER
Mm
paying'. . . .
Ruth never knew how she got
through the fourth and last day of
the round-up. Twice, after the cattle
had been gathered and tne branding
began, she left the herd and rode into
me roothiiis. But neither time did
she see a single overlooked cow or
calf.
She stood biting her lower lip and
pulling at her saddle strings as the
counting began. There simply must
be more thai' one hundred and twenty
bead, she kept telling herself?
there juSt had to be!
As the last of her cattle passed
through the gate, the counters drew
together and Ruth rode up. She listened
as each man gave his count
to Suavely and wrote the figures m
her notebook with trembiing finkem:
32, 15. 44. Twice she added the column
before shp was an rs> that !-hf?
total was 151. Then witn a slap she
whirled lier horse and galloped toward
the ranch house. Her cheeks
were wet and she sang a throaty
chant to the pounding hoofs: "I've
won! I've won!'
That evening after supper while
David and Ann were making the
chickens secure against skunks and
eoyqtes, Futh put on a gown she had
not worn for more than a year and
did her hair three times.
When David came in he asked,
"Why are you dressed up so beautiful,
Mama?"
"Oh, just because." Ruth did not
quite know, herself', but she was con-j
vinced it was the thing to do. ' ii
think we ought to celebrate once in i
awhile, don't you, David? '
"Dike a party?"
"Rather, yes."
"Mama! Let's go down to the barn
-they've got a nice fire there and
Alfredo's playing music. Shall we Y
Come on!"
Ruth grasped the boy's arm ar.d
led him guiltily out of the house by
way of the back porch. Snavely was;
in the sitting room. j
The Mexicans sat around their fire.!
talking .laughing and singing, as the
mood and the ever-active strings oij
Alfredo's guitar persuaded them.!
When they saw Ruth, wonder shone
pleasure. They all sprang to their
feet, but Don Alfredo was first.
Ruth smiled, went to the fire and I
spread her hands. "It ?s cold," she
said in matter-of-fact Spanish, immediately
Francisco bowed her welcome
and hurried to the barn tor
one of his rawhide chairs. But when
he. returned Ruth had seated herseir j
On th* fmtmn ttaxr t- fn \Tflirdji, - She I
O w
was not going to be the only one ot|
the group who sat on a chair, gown
or no gown.
Gradually, it became apparent to
the Mexicans that the Senora Kuth
and her son had merely come to the i
fire for warmth and company. De-1
lightedly, they assured each other of I
this by smiles and nods. Little Magda
sat closer to Ruth, and made her own,
importance felt among her companions
bj> speaking exclusively in English,
thereafter.
Suddenly Ruth had an inspiration,
and with many pauses and appeals
to Magda for the right word she made
a speech: "My friends. We have worked
and gathered many cattle, the
iuiuu-up naa oeen goou. 1 think we |
will have a celebration?una fiesta j
grandc Some of you have friends in
Palo Verde?bring them and the
mothers and children. On Saturday
we will cook a cow."
(CONTINUED NEXT WEEK)
CAMPUS CHATTER
FROM A. S. T. C.
By TRAUTS N OMR AC
Both the freshmen and varsity
football teams chalked up another
victory each for this season. Tuscuium
was mercilessly beaten by a margin
of 20 to 3.
Mr. Harris, former appraiser for
the Federal Band Bank, spoke to the
student body recently on Jiis experiences
in Africa. He used the question
and answer method with much success.
When be asked the student body
to write and bive to the ushers any
question they particularly wanted answered,
he soon found enough questions
to keep him busy for an hour
or more. Time did not permit his answering
all, however.
* ?
This quarter closes with a top registration
mark of 865. If the number
)f new faces we see is onv Knoio fee
a guess, we feel sure that the one
thousand mark will be reached this
winter.
* *
The number of teachers expected
to return afcer Christmas will be far
less than formerly, because of the
new eight-months school law.
Do women live longer than men?
Get the answer in an absorbing reticle
in the Baltimore Sunday American,
issue of November 26. Boy your
copy from your favorite newsboy or
newsdealer.
Y THURSDAY?BOONE, N. C.
J ^ at L^st ^ ^ j
MoAlister Colvma>i. of Radburn,
N J., author, who for years bad run
for offices of 1* S. renntor, state
senator, congressman, alderman, as
ae:nblyman and council; always on
the Socialist ticket, was "written
in'' ;in<! made .lustiee of the Peace
lie says l.o will serve
FILLKK lis
COSTLY TO STATE FARMERS
Filler material used largely in lov
grade fertilizers and consisting prrn
cipally of 3and and other inert mate
rial is costing North Carolina farm
era about one million dollars a year.
This startling statement was mad
recently by Dr. Oswald Schreiner o
the United States Department, of Ag
rioulture in urging beFnre manufac
turers the use of a smaller numbe
of grades and a minimum plant foo
content of at least 16 per cent. I
asking that filler material he eliirv
nated. Dr. Schreiner said estimate
by the Bureau of Chemistry and Soil
indicate that in normal years 900
000 tons of filler are used in mixe
1 fertilizers, involving in North Cart
I lina alone an additional cost of SI
000,000 to farmers.
In contrast to some other state
I where the minimum plant food cor
| tent is 21 per cent.. North Carolin
I has for more than 20 veara used lei
j tiliz.ers with an average of only 1
I per cent, of actual plant food an
1 the use of worthless filler is increm
| ?ng.
It is felt by extension workers (
j State College that not only ghoul
; North Carolina farmers plan to in
i prove their soils this fall by the U?
of legumes and by terracing and otl
er good farm management p?-actice
but thev should at Lhe same time hi
[gin to give serious consideration !
| their plant food problems. Not aJwaj
| is the cheapest fertilizer the test <
I the most economical fertilizer. Tl:
I use of sand as a inter should espi
Iciallv he nrntested agauiat.
Progressive growers in some se
tions have lately begun to demar
limestone as a filler. This act3 i
a supplement to the ^ther plant foe
and has a beneficial ciiect on the so
j where the dolomitie form of lim
stone is used, it has no detriment
effect on the fertilizer mixture.
i ragtag VOfTH IM)I!!,THV WOHH
FOR THE COMIMi YEA
i
The rising costs of poultry feed ai
the rapidly widening spread betwec
the price of eggs and chickens i
compared with Lhc price of this fee
does not permit of ar.y laxity in it
management and planning in 193<
In addition to the rising costs i
all poultry feed, the grower is coi
I fronted with heavy storage holding
' in both poultry and eggs.
"There is no certainty that tt
prouucis are goin
to increase sufficiently to compel
sate the grower for the increase
price he must pay for feed, therfore,
he must make a careful 3tuii
of all factors entering into his pr.
duction," says Roy S. Dearstyne, i
the poultry department at State Co
lege.
In the first place, Dearstyne poin!
out that chickens inherit the cap;
city to lay eggs therefore the grow<
wants to select his breeding b'.r.from
those which lay the greatei
For Fastest
Known Relief
' Demand and Get VJ
GENUINE BAYER
ASPIRIN
BECAUSE or a unique process
in manufacture. Genuine Bayer
Aspirin Tablets are made to disintegrate?or
dissolve?INSTANTLY
you take them. Thus they start
to work insSanlly. Start ' taking
hold" of even a severe headache,
neuralgia, neuritis or rheumatic pain
a few minutes after taking.
And they provide SAFE relief?
for Genuine. BAYER ASPIRIN does
not harm the heart. So if you want
QUICK and SAFE relief see that
you get the real Bayer article. Look
for the Bayer cross on every tablet
as shown above and for the words
GENUINE BAYER ASPIRIN on
every bottle or package you buy.
Mom bar N. R. A.
OENUINE BAYER ASPIRIN
DOES NOT HARM THE HEART
NOVEMBER 23, 1933
18th amendment to the Constitution
of the United States.
No doubt but there will be a grant
upward trend iu business tn North
Carolina from now on as many of the
good people of the nation will cast
their lot with you The action taken
was a real advertisement for your
State. The eyes ot the people are upon
you.
Enclosed you will find check for
renewal of my subscription to the
Watauga Democrat. Keep it coming.
?B. O. GREEK.
Rupert. Idaho.
Silage stored in a trench silo by
T. T. Foster of Caswell County is in
excellent condition ano is keeping just
as well as that stored hi a vertical
j number of eggs in a year. If produc-1
Ition does not exist, it cannot be put \
into the birds by heavy feeding or j
excellent care, as important as these j
I are. Where a grower doss not have
j birds which produce egg3 profitably.!
he should buy some baby chicks this
j winter from flocks which do produce
profitably.
In the second place, dole feeding
never paid any pouitryman, Dearstyue
says. If best 1 esuits arc to be |
secured the birds roust be we!, red i
with the proper elements. Home
grown feeds should be used if available.
Constant and careful culling will
aid in keeping the flock profitable.
Disease prevention is also important,
finally, the local market snoolii be
thoroughly canvassed for underdeveloped
outlets. Graded eggs 'clu u the
first class bor-rding houses or hotels
will pay more than ungraded and
dirty eggs, Dears tyne says.
IDAHO RESIDENT PHOTO
OF NORTH CAROLINA
Editor Democrat:
j Three cheers for North Carolina lj
received with much pleasure news of I
v Lhe great odds by which the people j
. of my old home state saw fit to vote|
. against the proposed repeal of thei
%VAW.VAVW?VW.%W,'.\W
,?> A.]
n? <smc A ft i
j: We especially feature
>; and Christmas Card
; Bibles, Stationei
j I things that m
| CELEBRATING C
j VERSARY AS BC
J As wo approach Christina
5 that we have just rounde<
I the people of this territor
I* we have done business in
I patronized, and we are pro
!pie nave piacea in us. we i
citizens that we will endea
fully hereafter, thus merit
and confidence.
WE SHALE EXPECT YOU '
> COMPREHENSIVE SHOW!
< PLEASURE. EVERY POC
j | AND EVERY MEMBER C
| Will C.
| "THE GIF
THREE MINUTES TO BELIEVE
INDIGESTION
Don't suffer from Indigestion while
waiting for ordinary remedies to give
relief. Get Bisrna-Rex, the delicious
tasting antacid powder that gives lasting
relief in three minutes. It acts
four ways. Neutralizes excess acia;
relieves the stomach of gas: soothes
irritated membranes; and aids digestion
of foods most likely to ferment.
Get Bisma-Rex today at the Boone
Drug Company, the Rexali Store. Big
jar for only 50c. ?Adv.
WAVVVVWVlAVAWWtWAV.
rhe Gifts I
that Last |
<
live her jewelry . . . the J;
le gift that will please 5
er more days of the 5
ear and more years ?f i
er life than anyhing 5
tse you could choose. ?
I
nd there are plenty of ?
jifts for men, too, at ^
WALKER'S %
vho again offers the ^
very latest in 5
AN I CURE SETS f
IAMOND RINGS <
SILVERWARE 5
PENS and PENCILS |
WR IST WATCHES |
TRAVELING SETS J
GARET LIGHTERS
[ECKLACES |
FATHER SETS |
GENT'S WATCHES $
ALL KINDS RINGS |
Ve invite you to look ;<
>ver our line and com- j;
>are our prices with ;I
>thers. 11
s Christmas decorations S;
s, Tags, Seals, Books, ;
y and many other ;!
ake Ideal Gifts. !;
)UR TENTH ANNI- \
)ONE JEWELERS!! |
3 this year we are reminded I"
1 out ten year3 of service to "J
y. During the time in which IIJ
Boone we have been freely J?
ud of the confidence the peo- i'
ook to the future assuring the \
-vor to serve them even more ?|
ing their continued good will J
i J
K) CALL AND INSPECT Ol.K I
S'G OF GIFTS OF LASTING J. '
KETBOOK MAT BE FITTED i|
>F THE FAMILY PLEASED i
Walker jj
T STORE" |