j PAGE SIX
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FOURTH INSTALMENT
SYNOPSIS:
Silas Spelle, highhanded, lowprincipled
cattle baron, Ls out to
smash the local bank and force
foreclosure on the small ranchers
of the Kanab desert country so that
he can seize their range lands. He
10 u^uavu wjr j^u. owiroucR, president
of the Cattlemen's Bank, and
by San Juan Delevan, prominent
rancher who has been crippled by a
fall from his horse. Johnny Clehoe
and his partner, Tex Whipple,
are cowpunchers employed by San
Juan Delevan to fight the rustlers
and protect his interests.
Now Go On With the Story
A week after they had gone on
their quest Tex Whipple and Johnny
Clehoe rode slowly up out of the
gulf of the Kanab Desert, to where
the San Juan Plateau loomed dim
and purple in the violet dusk. They
were gaunt, hollow-eyed and weary.
Their faces: their <lothes; their
horses were gray with dust and the
grime of the desert. Their eyes were
bloodshot: their lips cracked and
raw from the bite of alkali dust. In
front of them, slow and ponderous,
moved the cattle they had regained
from the rustlers. It had been a
terrific task to nurse exhausted and
faltering orutes across the torrid
wastes but the job was nearly done
now and the cattle were traveling
raster, naving smelled the wate?- in
the troughs on the slope above.
Arriving at. the corrals Tex and
Johnny turned their charges over to
Pink Crosby and Pod Fortune, all
that remained of the Pox D punchers.
then unsaddled their horses,
turned them into the pasture and
walked with stiff, awkward strides
up to the ranehhouse.
San .Tuar. Delevan and his daughter
Ronny were on the veranda.
"We brought yore cows back, San
Juan," said Tex wearily. "Had to
bump off two o' yore fr;rmer punehcrs
to get em. But they're ail here,
every dang haid."
'Good boys." rumbled San Juan.
"By God. it's a relief to find men
yuh can trust. Ronny, yuh go help
Chang rustle grub for Tex an' the
kid. Set it on this table. Tex, yuh
an' Johnny go wash up an* then
while yuh eat youh can give me the
story."
A good wash and plentiful food
made new men out of Tex and
Johnny. Johnny ate until he nearly
fell out of the chair and until even
Runny was moved to remark about
I "
"Goodness Tex, don't you ever
feed this child of yours? [t seems
Jimposible to fill him up "
"Miss Ronny." drawled Tex. "I'll
apologize for him. Ordinarily I'd
be plumb ashamed of him but I
gotta admit he dang near earned
the right to eat his fool haid off this
ftrip."
Johnny was quite shameiess and
unabashed. He yawned and grinned
and rolled a smoke.
"Ain't often I get service like
this. Gotta make the most of it,!
y'betcha. An' yuh know yuh'd feel j
offended if I didn't eat yore cook- i
in'," he ended, addressing these
(words to Ronr.y, "I could do with
that kind of cooki.n' the rest of my
life, I'll tell a man."
"Hawl Haw" rumbled San Juan
as Ronny blushed and fleU. "Klnda
sudden, that kid, eh, Tex""
"He's purty danged fresh if yuh
ask me," chuckled Tex. *T'n he
don't mind his manners I'll work i
him over with a quirt."
"Huh," snorted Johnny. "Jest try
it. yuh frazzled out ole tie string.
Sow to show .yuh I'm a gentleman
I'm goin' in an' help Chang wash
the dishes."
"Heh?heh," sniffed Tex scornfully.
"Gettin" mighty considerate
of that Chink seems to me. Wonder
if yuh think yuh're foolin' anybody.
I hope the little lady smacks youre
face with a dish rag."
When Johnnv had cone the levity
slipped immediately from Tex's face.
Ke turned to San Juan.
"'Sorry the kid an' me had to
Will Your Ship Come
In?
Years do sot make fortunes; they
only make old men and women.
Bat at sixty our Registered Pollf
cy Plan says, "Now I'U pay the
UUa,"
yXaDc It over with our Qualified
General Agent.
FRANK M. PAYNE,
General Agent
SECURITY
Life & Trust Company
Tb? Strong Home Company
w.
m?mmiw??mmmmm???? ?? ?
i(jwvi
LP. HOLMES
[ salivate those gents with the cattle "
"I'm not." bit out San Juan savI
ageiy. Shore they had it coniin*
| the damned double-crossln" coyotes.
Things trailed out jest as I figgercd
they 'vould at the Springs. They
wa'nt no marks of any stampede
was there ?"
"None whatsoever," answered Tex.
"The sign showed they just cut out j
that bunch an* headed 'em north- .
west." j
4T knew it. Ever since I got hurt .
I been figgerin* Wade an' his crowd i
was crooked. Pink Crosby an' Pod |
Fortune are good boys but the rest i
was workin* with Wade. Yuh know
Tex, I'll tell yuh somethin* about i
how I got hurt I was drivin' a ]
thousand haid of my prime stuff to
the railroad at Saw telle. We had .
the herd bedded down at Skelton
Springs. The night was quiet, no
wind or nothin'. I was sound asleep i
when the break came. Fust thing I ;
knew they was a lot of bellernf an'
shoutin' an' when J got outa my tarp <
I saw the cattie was on the run. I
chucked a hull on a bronc an' forked
him an' lit out to try an* turn 'em
so they'd take to millin'. It was
dark as the ace of spades an* everybody
was ridln' hell-catoot. They
was men ridin* on both sides of me.
"All of a sudden on plain level
ground my boss turned u somer* ,
sault. O' course I hit hard an' my ,
light went out. When I came to it
was jest break in' day. My back was
hurtin' like hell an' I seemed dead
from the waist down. My bronc was
lyin* jest as he fell, with a hroken
neck. They was a canteen tied to 11
I the saddle an" as I was dryer'n hell 1
I drug myself over to him to get a
drink. While I was rcstiif I got to
figgerin' it was kinda funny that
hoss should have fallen that a way on
level ground. I looked him over an'
jest above the fetlock of the near
front laig I found where he'd been
burned with a rope."
' Hell!' burst out Tex. Yuh don't
mean to tell me one of Iheru dar.g
snakes roped youre boss an" Ihrowed
him apurpose?"
Tex, that's jest exactly what hap- ,
pened."
"Then the whole thing was a
set-up?stampede an' all?"
4T figger it was. An' they run off
with eight hundred haiJ of my
j stock. I couldn't do nothin*. I was
a d&nged sick man. Wonder yet why
: I didn't die. Loosin' them cattle
! jest about broke me. I got a morti
gage I was gonna clear up with the
sale of that herd. An* it's taken the
j last of my ready cash to bring in
' that last herd what I bought over
| on the Simon's Gulch range across
tlip T u'nai-A tiiti 1 ritu^lin' on
> the ragged aidgc right now An' I
i don't know how the hc!l I'm gonna
I take up that mortgage. I can't stall
' off Ed Starbuek much longer, ail'
I still keep my self-respect. Ed was
I over to see me the other day yuh
know, that was him yuh rode in
with. Ed's one white man, but he
cair.'t run his bank oil notliin'."
At this moment there came the
clink of a shod hoof against rock.
Tex was instantly alert. "Hoss
comin'," he pronounced softiy.
Through the dim murk a rider approached,
coming In along the Cariliion
trail. There was the sound of
a stumble and then a volley of curses
in a harsh, Scottish brogue.
Delevan grinned and leaned back.
"Okeh Ter," he chuckled. "That's
Doc McMurdo. Tough ole Scotchman
but pure gold underneath. Comin'
out to take a look at this damned
i back of mine I suppose."
The rider dismounted before the
I veranda with another rumble of profanity.
"Light down Doc, light down,"
called San Juan "Yuh seem to be
havin' yore troubles."
"Tic thft W/1TV1 mO.-l tnlil nuut "
rasped McMurdo. "And this crazy,
drunken baste I've been r-r-ridlng.
Twice he na'threw me. How's the
back, Delevan?"
"About the same Doc, no better
?no worse."
"Lucky ye ar'r-e to be alive. Delevan?Tve
bad news for ye. The
bank's been r-r-obbed. Starbuck,
Stinson and Bur-r-ney are dead,
poor-r devils."
"What?" exploded Delevan. "The
bank robbed?Starbuck daid?an' the
rest? I?hell?when did it happen,
Mc?"
"Thursday afternoon. The dom
thieves got clear away. The sheerif
has come and gone wi'out doing a
thing. "Tis a wor-rthless mon he is.
An e-ex-aminer is on hand and de- |
ciares uie bank insolvent. 'Tis r-rumored
has it that that scheming
gr-rasplng Silas Spelle is taking over
all the bank's paper and mortgages."
Delevan laughed harshly, hopelessly.
"That means I'm finished.
Spelle will foreclose on me the first
damn thing he does. He's been wantin'
my range for a long time. Tex,
I reckon yore job won't last long
atauga democrat?every t
now." ?i
Tex was thoughtful for a too- Az
meat. "How much is that mortgage i th<
worth?" wa
fWl Lnouakxiu Juliai o. G'vvuvSc J
I could cover it if I wanted to sell [ erj
off all my stock. But without stock, j tlv
what good would the range do me?" s|*
:That's right," nodded Tex. "San
Juan, would you consider goin" in st?3
psrdners?" Wl
? "Who with?"" ag
"Me?me an' the kid."
Tex?I'd jump at the chance. It'd ^
be the best thing whatever happened
to me. Bein' tied to this damn chair
the way I 1 cain't get around an*;
take care of my spread tike I should.;
With yuh an' the kid in with me we j sji]
could make things hum?but, wait a [
minute. We're fergettin* Spelle an'
that damn mortgage." j
"Not a leetle bit, we ain't," snap-! oai
ped Tex. *4I been lookin* for a chance i
like this. Johnny's old enough now j ad
to start settlin' down, an' gettin' his! frc
spurs hooked into soniethin* perma- ]
nent. I got a pretty stake saved up! ou
fcr the kid an' I know where I can 1
get more. Together it'll be plenty to'
squelch Mister Silas Spelle. An' we'll j
make the kid foreman, San Juan. He ;
leeds some responsibility now, some- j enj
Lhin' to make him ferget his kid stuff j ^
in* turn man. Yuh got a sweet range w-(
tiere?the kind I been lookir.' fer a
long time. Is it a go?" |
"Tex?it 3hore is. Yore talk puts! L(
some strength in this damned, worth- wi
less oie carcass of mine. Shake!" 1
Daylight the following morning ^
found Tex far out on the Kanab
Desert, pounding along at a steady
lope. He had three horses and was
changing from one to the other every
two hours In this way he did not A
have to halt to rest them. Ali jfl
through the scorching day he rode ^
steadily. At evening he halted for
half an hour at a brackish, green
scummed water-hole. While the
horses were drinking and resting ^
Tex wolfed down n couple of powdery
sandwiches, took a long drink $
at his canteen, rolled a smoke, then
resumed his steady ride.
The pale moon rose, arched and
descended. The black heart of the
dawn took form, hovered?lightened
7H
priced
as low as
Over 22 Million
Sold ? that's how
good it is I
Let us show you whyifs
a better tiro than most
dealers offer at their
highest prices.
fPum
il Pro
2^Hmm
MABEL SEK
E. E. M
tlURSDAY?BOONE, N. C.
mil was gone. The sun came up. R<
id with it'3 rising Tex rode up to wi
shipping town of Sawtelle It we
is rails end of a spur the S. W. Mi
p. hsd thjxjw" up along t'no u*t*nt. jv
11 edge of the Kanab Desert to tap Me
> cattle ranges of the district and Ivi
>iadic outbursts of activity. Ba
Tex went direct to the ratlroad Ol
ition. He was greeted at the ticket Bii
ndow by a yawning, heavy-eyed Jc
ent Ri
When's the next train out ?" de- ?
mded Tex. ?
Nine fifteen. Ticket? Where to?"
"Sevier."
The agent selected a strip of paste
ard. pounded dates on it, and
pped it through the wicket. "Twelve
tiers and forty-two cents."
Tex folded up the ticket and stowed
away and tossed a golden double
gle on the counter.
Keep the change a minute," he
jured. "Can I send some telegrams
mi here?"
"Sure. Here's the pad. Write "em
t."
To Be Continued.
i
BRIDAL SHOWER
Misses Madge and Maude Williams
tertained a number of friends at
:ir home last Tuesday afternoon
fh a hrfHal shmvar Vionorln.t xfr-a
? ?*lO.
m Smathcrs, the former Mi3s Dorly
N'orris.
Contests were enjoyed by all. the
nners being 'Misses Mary Alice
ird and C-Iarcia White. Mrs.
lathers received many useful grafts.
l.Vi 1'ACKAGE, hjvv $1.00
i.00 PACKAGK, now 60c
BOONE DRUG CO.
Tho KEXALL Storo
??-i9m
m ri
$R50
LOOK! V
GOOa/ftAR "
PATHFINDER &
-S*" fiiam ?
30x3 0 $5.50 ..
ir* 4M-21 7.00 L
m MS.19i8^0 a,
5-00-19 % 8.80 ?
tl &K.11 Q TC it
I&50-17 loljQ I .1
& HODGES
| CO MP,
/ We Tire Watauga County
SERVICE
ASSOCIATE TIRE
VICE STATION, Mabel ?
cGUIRE, Todd
freshmen's consisting- of sandches,
pickles, cake ana iemonado
re served to the following guests:
isdames Bert Mast. Bill Fletcher,
t^lf Hiahmnn T (3 ffPfi Rnhort
est. Charles ililicr. E. S. Williams,
1 Wilson. Boyd Wilson, Edward
iir<i, Eloyd Scchorn; Misses Ruby,
iver. Clarcia White. Mary Alice I
lird, Editi, Thomas. Mae Rcece. 1
-.veil Miller. Eouise Williams and j
ith Hodges.
BIKING START
RAMfcriMn Tnn
Keeping pace with th<
puts this bank into th
institutions today. Modei
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maximum safety and hel
ducting your financial af
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ecutive. regardless of win
Why not put our claims
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Watauga C<
BOON
Deposits Insured
SPEC!
TIRE BARGAINS ON
New First Line Tires (1
5.50x17 - 5
6.00x16 5.25x17
lur
Quality Retread T
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Used Tires all sia
omplete line of accessor
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uaranteed or your mone
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ig cost with any compet:
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] TIRE
fr
Boone, N. C.
FREE ROAD SE
: DEALERS:
FTN. VIEW SERVICE STATIC
M. & M. MOTOB CO., Be
AUGUST 20, 1936
Members of the newly organized
4-H calf club in Cabarrus County
have been selecting good calves and
plan to raise a fine group of animals
this year, uie county agent reports.
In Robeson County 3.66S work
sheets had been signed by the first
of August The county agent also
reported distribution of 2.496 cotton
adjustment checks totaling $88,180
"ED THIS WAY
HAS ADVANCED
; necessities of the times
e front ranks of financial
n methods, modern polid
foresight assure you of
Ipful co-operation in confairs.
Courtesy, too, is a
3u wish to consult our ex- '<
at your problems may be.
to the test by conferring
lling or establishing of reg
connections?
ounty Bank
[E, N. C.
1 Up To $5,000.00
I
IAL!
E WEEK ONLY
-imited number) IE
; 9.22 |(
10.27
814 I!
ires will give more
new tires . . . Why
baldheaded tires
old tires retreaded
a new tire . . . and
ir an teed. Ask for
:es 50c up,
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... vy c upcciaid
Polishing.
>
lubricatory in this
i jobs absolutely
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irol Pep Gasoline
2heck your operatitive
brand and see
1RV1CE
*
>N, Laxon
>one