Newspapers / Forest City Courier (Forest … / Dec. 20, 1928, edition 1 / Page 14
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About the middle of the afternooi Jennie awoke. They cooked a meal and afterward sat beside the littl fire. She had never been, in his ob servation of her, anything but a tra gic figure, an unhappy girl, the far •therst removed from serenity an poise. That characteristic capacity agitation struck him as stronger ii her this day. He attributed it, how ever, to the long strain, the suspense nearing an end. Yet sometimes when her eyes were on him, she die not seem to be thinking of her free dom, of her future. "This time tomorrow you'll be in Shelbyville," he said. "Where will you be?" she asked quickly. 'Me? Oh, I'll be making tracks for §ome lonesome place," he replied. The girl shuddered. 'l've been brought up in Texas. I remember what a hard lot the men of my family had. But poor as they were, they had a roof over their heads, a hearth with a fire, a warm bed—somebody to love them. "And you, Duane, Oh, my God!j What your life must be! You must| ride and hide and watch eternally, j No decent fod, no pillar, no friendly j word, no clean clothes, no woman's i hand! Horses, guns, trails, rocks,J holes—these must be the important! things in your life. You must meet! 9f i She ended with a sob and dropped her head on her knees. Duane wasj amazed, deeply touched. "My girl, thank you for that thought of me," he said, With a tremor in his voice. "You don't know how much that means to me." She raised her face and it was tearstained, eloquent, beautiful. "I've heard tell—the best of men go to the bad out there. You won't. Promise me you won't. I never— knew any man—like you—like you. I—l—we may never see each other again—after to day. I'll never for get you. I'll pray for you and I'll never give up trying to —to do some thing. ! "Don't despair. It's never to late. It \yas my hope that kept me alive— l out there at Bland's—before you came. I was only a poor weak girl. I But if I could hope—so can you. Stay away from men! Be a lone wolf! Fight for your life! Stick out your exile—and maybe—some day—' Then she lost he£ voice. Duane j clasped her hand, and promised to remember her words. In her des-1 pair for him she had spoken wisdom ! —pointed out the only course. Duane's vigilance, momentarily j broken by emotion, had no sooner j reasserted itself than he discovered J the bay horse, the one Jennie rode I had broken his halter and gone off.! The soft wet earth had deadened the j sound of his hoofs. His tracks were plain in the mud. There were clumps of mesquit in sight, among which the horse might have strayed. It turned out however, that he had not done so. Duane did not want to leave Jen nie. alone in the cabin, so near the road. So he put her up on his horse and bade her follow. The rain had ceased for the time being, though evidently the storm was not yet over. The tracks led up a wash to a wide flat where mesquit, prickly pear, and thornbush grew so thickly that Jen nie could not ride into it. Duane was throughly concerned. He must have her horse. Time was flying. It would soon be night. He could not expect her to scramble quickly through that brake on foot. Therefore he decided to risk leaving her at the edge of the thicket and go in alone. Suddenly there came an unmistak able thump of horses' hoofs off some where to the fore. Then a scream rent the air. It end ed abruptly. .Duane leaped forward and tore his way through the thorn} brake. He heard Jennie cry again— an appealing call, quickly hushed. 11 seemed more to his right, and hi plunged that way. 4 He burst into a glade where i smoldering fire and ground coverec with footprints and tracks showet that campers had lately been. Rush ing across this, he broke his passag >n out to the open. But he was too late. il, I j His horse had disappeared. Jennie j was gone. There w r as no sound. *-j It came to him then like a blow f-1 that he loved the girl, d j yi For three long and terrible years n »Buck Duane rode up and down the T _ j Texas border. j His fame grew steadily until he 5 ' I was the most noted and most misrep- t rented outlaw of his day. ] Hundreds of men in the border i towns claimed friendship with him. 1 j Every honest rancher betw ee n { Brownsville and El Paso would have 1J been glad to shake his hand and hide i him. Every outlaw along the river j feared him; every crooked gambler in 5 1 the monte dens played fair when ■ j Duane happened to drop in; every i imitation bad man in the southwest of Texas wanted to kill him, bragged on ) j his name, hunted him when fired by # drink. ? j The better half of that widely scat- j i tered populace especially in localities • j Duane had visited, was loath to be s lieve him perpetrator of the crimes /.laid to him. The ignorant and out- J lawed class fastened on his name all | the rustling, hold-ups, robberies, ; murders, when direct evidence did i I not point to someone else. i I In a sense, the reputation of every j J famous outlaw developed by these I ! wild years had suffered more or less! I from this natural exaggeration and j misrepresentation. But no outlaw be- J ! fore him had ever had such a host j' of admirers and partisans who fiercely gave the lie to any accusation j of robbery or crime attributed to j him. j. It was widely known that he had. never earned a dollar in his outlaw career. It was sworn by many and reputable men that he had never stolen one. Fgw towns or villiages' jon that border had no storekeeper j who had not a tale to tell about; Duane, the Lone Wolf. One afternoon, from the top of a long hill, Duane saw the green fields and trees and shining roofs of a town j he considered must be Shirley; and at the bottom of the hill he came up ;on an interesting road. There was a placard nailed on the cross-road sign-post. Duane drew rein near it j and leaned close to read the faded j print: ' I SI,OOO REWARD FOR BUCK x || DUANE DEAD OR ALIVE Peering closer to read the finer, j more faded print, Duane learned that ; he was wanted for the murder of i Mrs. Jeff Aiken at her ranch near ; j Shirley. The month of September (was named, but the date was illegi- Jble. The reward was offered by the | woman's husband, whose name ap jpeared, with that of a sheriff's, at j jthe bottom of the placard. I Duane read the thing twice. When • he straightened he was sick with the j' ! horror of his fate, wild with passion j at those misguided fools who could | 'believe that he had harmed a woman, i j When Duane reached the crossing of the roads the named Fairfield on the sign-post seemed to be the thing that tipped the oscillating balance of decision in favor of that direction. He answered here to unfathomable impulse. l J In Duane's state of mind clear reas - 1! oning, common sense, or keenness • were out of the question. He went ! because he felt that he was compell l ed. Dusk had failed! when he rode into a town which inquiry discovered to •'be Fairfield. Captain Mac Nelly's 3 camp was stationed just out of the * village limits on the other side. 5 J No one except the boy Duane • [questioned appeared to notice his => : arrival. Like Shirley, the town of 5 was large and prosperous, ' compared to the innumerable ham ~ lets dotting the vast extent of south ~ j western Texas. As Duane rode ithrough, being careful to get off the " main street, he heard the tolling of i a church bell that was a melancholy i y reminded of his old home. -j There did not appear to be any t camp on the outskirts of the town. © But as Duane sat his horse, peering around and undecided what further a . move to make, he caught the glint d jof flickering lights through the d darkness. i- j Heading toward them, he rode per e .haps a quarter of a mile to come up- THE FOREST CITY COURIER, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1028 . on a grove of mesquits. The bright ness of several fires made the sur ? rounding darkness all the blacker. Duane saw the moving forms of r men and heard horses. He advanced naturally, expecting any moment to be halted. 5 j , "Who goes there?" came the sharp call out of the gloom. ! Duane pulled his horse. The gloom was impenetrable. ' i ! "One man—alone," replied Duane. I j "A stranger?" ! "Yes." • ' I I "What do you want?" "I'm trying to find the ranger camp." "You've struck it. What's your j errand?" j "Get down and advance. Slow. | Don't move your hands. It's dark, [ but I can see." Duane dismounted and, leading his horse, slowly advanced a few paces. He saw a dully bright object, a gun, | before he discerned the man who j held it. A few more steps showed a dark figure blocking the trail. Here Duane halted. "Come closer, stranger. Let's have a look at you," the guard order-! Ed curtly. Duane advanced again until he j stood before the man. Here the ray j of lights from the fire flickered upon * Duane's face fantastically. f "Recon you're a stranger all right. What's your name and your business with the captain?" Duane hesitated, pondering what j best to say. "Tell Captain Mac Nelly I'm .the man he's been asking to ride into his camp after dark," finally said Duane. | The ranger bent forward tt> peerj hard at this night visitor. His man ner had been alert and now it became tense. "Come here —one of you men quick," he called without turning in the least toward the camp-fire. "Hello! What's up, Pickens?" came the swift reply. It was followed by dapid thud of boots on soft ground. A dark form j crossed the gleams from the firelight. Then a ranger loomed up, to reach the side of the guard. Duane heard whispering, the pur port of which he could not catch. The second ranger swore under his breath. Then he turned away and started back. "Here, ranger, before you go, un derstand this. My visit is peaceful— friendly, if you'll let it be. Mind, I j was asked to come here after dark.' Duane's clear, penetrating voice! carried far. The listening rangers at j the camp-fire heard what he said. j "Ho, Pickens —tell that fellow to [ wait," replied an authoritative voice. Then a slim figure detached itself from the dark, moving group at the camp-fire and hurried out. "Better be foxie, Capt," shouted a ranger in warning. "Shut up—all of you," was the re ply- This officer, obviously Captain Mac Nelly, soon, joined the two ran gers who were confronting Duane. He had no fear. He strode straight up to Duane. ! "I'm Mac Nelly," he said. "If you're the man uon't mention your name —yet," All this seemed so strange to Duane, in keeping with much that had happened lately. "Buck Duane! It's you?" he whis pered eagerly. "Yes.'* "If I give my word you'll not be arrested —you'll be treated fairly— will you come into camp and consult with me?" "Certainly." i "Duane, I'm sure glad to meet you," went on Mac Nelly and extend ed his hand. Amazed and touched, scarcely realizing this actuality, Duane gave his hand and felt no unmistakable grip of warmth. "It doesn't seem natural, Captain Mac Nelly, but I believe I'm glad to meet you," said Duane soberly. "You will be. Now we'll go back to camp. Keep your idenity mum for the present." He led Duane in the direction of the camp-fire. (Continued Week) —■mcjcjcmcmcmcicjEmacjcicjcjcJCium'ign'jgjgigjgjt^rererejgrarajaJHJEraPfftp 2 fi f I —y a Don't Worry About . E Why take the joy out of the i about baking your Christmas Cakes and Bread. We are in a posi- S tion to do all the worrying for you and still save you money. S We now have on display at all leading Grocery Stores the finest line of Bread, | Cakes and everything an up to date Bakery could possibly make. ig* Our cakes are rich and delicious. Ask your neighbor where her Christmas 51 cakes came from and of course she will say The Forest City Bakery. Then go to 1 your Grocer and buy your Supplies early. But don't be misled, insist that they come 1 from our BAKERY. w Our products can be found at your nearest Grocery. Store, buy them there and 1 make this the most joyful Christmas ever. jS Wishing all our friends and customers a very merry Christmas and a happy £ and prosperous New Year. B FOREST CITY BAKERY Forest City, N. C. Bj Kl _! Wmas6ift #uQQHsion*| | ' "1 111 i n iff ii - !II sspW "> COUNTLESS 5 DELIGHTFUL GIFTS FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THE FAMILY GI FTS "HE" WILL ~~ GIFTS "SHE" WILL | 1 KAIM. APPRECIATE B -FOUNTAIN PEN SETS -IVORY TOILET SET . | —CIGARS —KARESS PERFUME SET S —SMOKING SETS r_ 1 „ T . XT g —FIANCEE PERFUME SETS I —CIGARETTES ' 3 pip E g —LADIES' HAND BAG S —BILL FOLDS 6* g -d —COTY S PERFUME -TOURISTS SETS "Sof HOUBIGANT'S PERFUME g —KEY CASES w 2 J MOTTOES | —PIPE SETS |B „ —LADIES PEN AND PENCIL 5 —FLASHLIGHTS Z S fi SETS Cj —TOBACCO POUCH S P —MANICURE SETS | —SHAVING SETS ® —COMPACTS § —PARKER PEN SETS —BATH POWDER § —MILITARY BRUSHES a —BATH SALT | RAZORS . • Q —PERFUMIZER 3 —THERMOS BOTTLE 3 CASE rr\ —HOT WATER BOTTLE l 2 jj ~ LUNCHKIT J —CHRISTMAS CARDS | ; Whitman's and Hollingsworth's Candies \ a BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS—The most complete assortment we have ever carried. L] 1 Peoples Drug Store 1 a Phone 26 3 Forest City, N. C. 3 3 gj r \ | REAL ESTATE LOANS INSURANCE j t If you have a house and lot, a farm, or real estate ♦ J of any kind that you want to sell, write or see me. i If you want to borrow money on improved prop- * ♦ erty or farms, I shall be glad to go into the matter with ♦ ♦ you. J t If you want to buy property of any kind, any- * ♦ where, see me, ♦ 9 ♦ ! Chas. Z. Flack j J Phone 40 Forest City, N. C. J
Forest City Courier (Forest City, N.C.)
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Dec. 20, 1928, edition 1
14
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