ftKJSJ- DUANES
WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE i
Buck Duane, quick on tke draw,
kills Cal Bain in self-defense and
find* himself an outlaw. Flying from
pursuit, he meets Luke Stevens, an
other outlaw, and the two become
pals. Luke narrowly escapes capture
and Duane is shocked to find his
brother outlaw severely wounded.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
Feller's name was Brown. Me an'
him fell out over a hoss I stole from
him over in Huntsville. We had a
shootin' scrape then. Wal, as I was
straddlin' my hoss back there in Mer
cer I seen this Brown an' seen him
before he seen me.
"Could have killed him, too. But
I wasn't breakin' my word to you. I
kind of hoped he wouldn't spot me.
But he did—an' furst shot he got me
here. What do you think of this
hole?"
"It's pretty bad," replied Duane,
and he could not look the cheerful
outlaw in the eyes.
"I recon it is. Wal, I've had some
bad wounds I lived over. Now, Buck,
get me some place in the brakes—
leave me some grub an' water at my
hand —an' then you clear out."
1
"Leave you here alone?" asked
Duane sharply.
"Shore. You see, I can't keep up!
with you. Brown an' his friends will
foller us acrost the river a ways.
You've got to think of number one in
this game."
"What would you do in my case?"
asked Duane curiously.
"Wal, I recon I'd clear out an'
save my hide," replied Stevens.
Duane felt inclined to doubt the
outlaw's assertion. For his own part
he decided his conduct without fur
ther speech.
First, he watered the horses, filled
canteens and water-bag, and then
tied the pack upon his own horse.
That done, he lifted Stevens upon
his horse, and holding him in the
saddle, turned into the brakes, being
careful to pick out hard or grassy
ground that left little signs of tracks.
All that night, Duane, gloomy and
thoughtful, attentive to the wounded
outlaw, walked the trail and never
halted till daybreak. He was tired
then, and very hungry. Stevens
seemed in bad shape, though he was
still spirited and cheerful. Duane
made camp. The outlaw refused
food, but asked for both whisky and
water. Then he stretched out.
"Buck, will you take off my
boots?" he asked with a faint smile
on his palid face.
Duane removed them, wondering
if the outlaw had the thought that
he did not want to die with his boots
on.
"Pard, you—stuck—to me!" the
out law whispered.
Duane caught a hint of gladness in
the voice—he traced a faint surprise
in the haggered face. Stevens seem
ed like a little child.
To Duane the moment was sad,
elemental, big with a burden of mys
tery he could not understand.
Duane buried him in a hollow
arroyo and heaped up a pile of
stones to mark the grave. That done
he saddled his comrade's horse, hung
the weapons over the pommel, and
mounting his own steed he rode down
the trail in the gathering twilight.
Presently the trail widened into a
road, and that into a kind of square
lined by a number of adobe and log
buildings, of rudest structure. With
in sight were horses, dogs, a couple
of steers, Mexican women with chil
dren, and white men, aH of whom ap
peared to be doing nothing.
His advent created no interest un
til he rode up to the white men, who
were lolling in the shade of a house.
This place evidently was a store and
saloon, and from the inside came a
lazy hum of voices.
As Duane reined to a halt one of
the loungers in the shade rose with a j
loud exclamation.
"Bust me if thet ain't Luke's!
hoss!"
The others accorded their interest,
if not assent, by rising to advance to
ward Duane.
"How about it, Euchre? Ain't thet
Luke s bay?" quiried the first man.
"Plain as your nose," replied the
fellow called Euchre. ii
There ain't no doubt about thet •
then," laughed another, "fer Bosom- '
ler's nose is shore plain on the land- j
scape."
These men lined ud before Duane, j
and as he cooly regarded them he f
thought they could have been recog
nized anywhere as desperadoes.
The man called Bosomer, who
struck out in advance of the* others,
was a hardlooking customer, with
yellow eyes and an enormous nose.
He had sandy hair and a skin the
color of dust.
"Stranger, who sre you, an' where
did you git thet bay hoss?" he de-|
manded.
His yellow eyes took in Steven's
horse, then the weapons hung on the
saddle, and finally turned their glint
ing hard light upward to Duane.
"Stranger, who are you?" asked
another man, somewhat more civilly.
"My name's Duane, "replied Duane
curtly.
"An' how'd you come by the
hoss?"
Duane answered briefly, and his
words were followed by a short sil
ence, during which the men looked
at him. Bosomer began to twist his
bearded tips. j
"Recon he's dead all right, or no-1
body'd hev his hoss an' guns," said I
Euchre. j
"Mr. Duane," began Bosomer, in'
low, stinging tones, "I happen to be
Luke Steven's side pardner."
Duane looked him over, from dus
ty, worn-out boots to his slouchy
sombreo. That look seemed to in
flame Bosomer.
r "An' I want the hoss an' them
guns," he shouted.
I "You or anybody else can have
them for all I care. I just fetched
I them in. But the pack is mine," re
plied Duane. "And say—l befriend
'ed your pard. If you can't use a
civil tongue you'd better cinch it."
"Civil? Haw! Haw!" rejoined the
outlaw. "I don't know you. How do
' we know you didn't plug Stevens, an'
stole his hoss, an' jest happened to
stumble down here?"
"You'll have to take my word,
that's all," replied Duane sharply.
"Stranger, Bosomer is shore hot
headed," said the man Euchre. He
did not appear unfriendly, nor were
the others hostile.
At this juncture several more out
laws crowed out of the door, and the
, one in the lead was a tall man of
, stalwart physique. His manner pro
, claimed him a leader.
He had a long face, a flaming red
[ beard, and clear cold blue eyes that
fixed in close scrutiny upon Duane.
r He was not a Texan; in truth Duane
j did not recognize one of these out
laws as native of his state.
. - "I'm Bland," said the tall man au
thoritatively. "Who're you and
, what're you doing here!"
Duane looked at Bland as he had
, at the others. This outlaw chief ap
peared to be reasonable, if he was
, not courteous. Duane told his story
, again, this time a little more in de
tail.
j "I believe you," replied Bland at
( [ once. "Think I know when a fellow's
' | lying."
! "I recon you're o\n the right trail,"
I put in Euchre. "Thet about Luke
■ j wantin' his boots took off—thet sat
. isfies me. Luke had a mortal dread
r of dyin' with his boots on."
[. At this sally the chief and his men
, | laughed.
| "You said Duane—Buck Duane!"
t queried Bland. "Are you a son of
, Duane who was a gun-fighter some
, years back?"
"Yes," replied Duane.
j "Never met him, and glad I
. didn't," said Bland with grim humor.
Bosomer appeared at the door,
pushing men who had tried to detain
. him, and as he jumped clear of a
last reaching hand he uttered a snarl
| like an angry dog.
Manifestly the short while he had
spent inside the saloon had been de
voted to drinking and talking him-!
self into a frenzy. Bland and the J
j other outlaws quickly moved aside, 1
letting Duane alone. When Bosomer
saw Duane standing motionless and
watchful, a strange change passed
quickly in him. He halted in his
tracks, and as he did that the men!
who had followed him out piled over j
each other in their hurry to get to*
one side.
Duane saw all the swift action, felt
intuitively the meaning in it, and in j
Bosomer's sudden change of front, j
The outlaw was keen, and he had ex- |
THE FOREST CITY COURSE*, THURSDAY,. NOVEMBER 22, 1928
[pected a shrinking or at least a
j frightened antagonist.
But Duane did not speak a word,
rHe had remained motionless for a
jlong moment, his eyes pale and
steady, his right hand like a claw.
That instant gave birth in Duane
a power to read in his enemy's eyes
the thought that preceded action.
But he did not want to another
man; he did not intend to. When
Bosomer's hand moved Duane's gun
was spouting fire, and Bosomer fell
I with his right arm shattered. He
j would never be able to draw a gunj
again.
When Duane went out with]
Euchre the sun was setting behind a!
blue range of mountains across the j
river Jn Mexico. The valley appeared
to open to the southwest.
"The only feller who's goin' to
j put a close eye, on you is Benson,"
said Euchre. "He runs the place an'
sells drinks. The gang calls him
Jackrabbit Benson because he's al
ways got his eye peeled an' his ear
cocked. Don't notice him if he looks
you over, Buck.
j "Benson is scared to death of
j every newcomer who rustles into
j Bland's camp. An' the reason, I
[take it, is because he's dons some
body dirt. He's hidin'. Not from a
sheriff or ranger! Men who hide
from them don't act like Jackrabbit
Benson.
"He's hidin' from some guy who's
huntin' him to kill him. Wal, I'm al
ways expectin' to see some fellow
ride in here an' throw a gun on Ben
son. Can't say I'd be grieved."
"What have you against him?" in
quired Duane, as he sat down beside
Euchre.
"Wal, mebbe I'm cross-grained,"
replied Euchre apologetically. "Shore
an outlaw an' rustler such as me
can't be touchy. But I never stole
- your and inspect rims assure VIIMX
«by poor tire application. If imum mileage. We have the experience and eauioment
your tire is improperly applied it means a pinched tube and to do the work right. qupment
Sg ** *""* Safefy y °"
11
OTHER SIZES PRICED PROPORTIONATELY LOW
DOGGETT MOTOR COMPANY
FOREST CITY, N. C.
I
\
nothin' but cattle from some rancher
jwho ever missed 'em anyway. Thet
' sneak Benson —he was the means of
puttin' a little girl in Bland's way.'
"Girl?" queried Duane,* now with
real attention.
"Shore. Bland's great on women.
I'll tell you about this girl when we
get out of here. Some of the gang
are goin' to be sociable, an' I can't
talk about the chief."
During the ensuing half hour a
number of outlaws passed by Duane
and Euchie, halted for a greeting, or
sat down for a moment. They were
all gruff, loud-voiced, merry, and
goodnatured. Duane replied civilly
and agreeable when he was person
ally addressed, but he refused all
invitations to drink and gamble.
Evidently ne had been accepted,
in a way, as one of their clan. No
one made any hint of an allusion to
his affair with Bosomer. Duane saw
readily that Euchre was well liked.
One outlaw . borrowed money from
him; another asked for tobacco.
Next morning Duane found that a
moody and despondent spell had
fastened on him. Wishing to be
alone, he went out and walked a
trail leading around the river bluff.
He thought and thought.
When he returned to the shack
Euchre was cooking dinner.
"Say, Buck, I've news for you," he
said, and his tone conveyed either
pride in his possession of such news,
or pride in Duane. "Feller named
Bradley rode in this mornin'. He'd
heard some about you.
"Told about the ace of spades they
put over the bullet holes in that cow
puncher Bain you plugged. Then
there was a rancher shot at a water
hole twenty miles south of Wellston.
Fackon you didn't do it?"
"No, I certainly did not," replied
Duane.
"Wal, you get the blame It ain't
nothin' for a feller to be saddled with
gun-play he never made. An , Buck,
if you ever get famous, as seems
likely, you'll be blamed for many a
crime. The border'll make outlaw an'
murderer out of you . . . Wal, thet s
enough of thet. I've more news.
You're goin' to be popular.
"Popular? What do you mean?"
"I met Bland's wife this mornin'.
She seen you the other day when
you* rode in. She shore wants to
meet you an' so do some of the other
women in camp. They always want
to meet the new fellers who've just
come in. It's lonesome for women
here an' thley like to hear news from
the towns."
"Well, Euchre, I don't want to be
impolite, but I'd rather not meet any
women," rejoined Duane.
"I was afraid you wouldn't. Don't
blame you much. I was hopin'
though, you might talk a little to
thet poor lonesome kid."
"What kid!" inquired Duane, in
surprise.
"Didn't I tell you about Jennie —
the girl Bland's holdin' hdre—the one
Jackrabbit Benson had a hand in
stealin'!"
"You mentioned a girl. That's all.
Tell me now," replied Duane abrupt
ly. •
(Continued Next Week)
RELIEF FROM CURSE
OF CONSTIPATION
A Battle Creek physician says,
Constipation is responsible for more
misery than any other eause."
But immediate relief has been
found. A tablet called Rexall Order
lies attracts water from the system
into the lazy, dry, evacuating bowel
called the colon. The water loosens
the dry food waste and causes a
J gentle, thorough movement without
;forming a habit or ever increasing
jthe dose.
Stop suffering from constipation.
•Chew a Rexall Orderlie at night,
j Next day bright. Get 24 for 25c to
jday at Hall-Rudisill Drug Co. 26-tf
J
j If tuberculosis is extensive in the
j poultry flock, it is best to dispose of
(the entire flock, clean and disinfect
I the premises, and restock with
i healthy birds. However, if the in
| fection is slight, the tuberculin test
ing of birds is advisaole.
Rodents Destroy Trees
It does not take long for a hun
gry rodent to rum a valuable fruit
tree. In regions where rodents are
prevalent, wire, wooden veneer, or
some other kind of protector should
be placed around the base of trees,
and all grass and weeds should be
removed from near the base. Mice
work at the crown of the tree just
beneath the surface of the ground
and on the roots. They are control
led by poisoning. Ask your county
agent, State Experiment Station or
the U. S. Department of Agriculture
how to do it-
Professional Cards
. DR. FRANK WILKINS
DENTIST
National Bank Bldg.,
FOREST GITY, N. C.
DR. CHAS. S. McCALL
DENTIST
318 National Bank Building
New X-Ray Lady Assistant
DR. R. R. HOWES
DENTIST
Phone 186
Forest City, N. C.
DR. B. M. JARRETT
CHIROPRACTOR
New Farmers Bank Bldg.
Forest City, N. C.
Tu«g., Tfeurs., Sat., 2 - 7 p. m.
M. L. Edwards Stover P. Dunnagan
EDWARDS & DUNMAGAN
• LAWYERS
Rutherfordton, N. C.
General Practice in State a*4
Federal Courts
Lodge Notices
FOREST CITY LODGE,
No. 381
A. F. & A. M.
Meets every second and fourth Tues
day nights,at 8 o'clock. Visiters wel
come.
J. S. Wood, Secretary,
G. C. Mcßrayer, W. M.
Forest City Lodge, No. 1669,
LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE
Meets every Tuesday night, Pythian
Hall. Visiting brothers welcomed.