KmiimU st .'K
THURSDAY, OCTOBER If, IMS
tAGE 31
fur PfliUVt im nnroa J TUt uirui tMnC MATlNI AN
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Fine Serial Fiction in new form. .... Three Prise Short Stories (of four instalments
mm n4 m a-t
each) by a master story-teller. .... ineyre net jaeacn at ms dost.
IN FOUR INSTALLMENTS
SYNOPSIS: Ben Furlong, a
young but practical oil man and
driller from the Pennsylvania field,
drifted into the Texas oil country,
broke and looking for work. Fin
ally he fetched up at the Durham
home where live an elderly aunt,
shortly widowed by the explosion
of a powder wagon, and her. neice,
pretty Bettjr-Durham. . . . Per
haps because of his smile, Betty
cooks some food for Ben and while
he eats he learns the aunt, in town
on business, has an oil man, Tiller
Maddox, sinking an oil well for
her. ... A short 6 inch bolt
worked loose from the rigging and
is in the bottom of the well. Work
has been suspended for days as
the crew "fish" for the bolt and
operating funds dwindle away.
Furlong offers to give a hand but
Maddox objects. . . . Betty in
sists and overrules Maddox so
Furlong fashions a tool which
brings up the bolt. ... On the
order of Betty's aunt, Furlong is
given a job. . . . Maddox shows
his dislike for the new hand, es
pecially because Ben and Betty
are so friendly. While the two
are in town shopping one evening,
Maddox calls upon the aunt, de
manding she help his case with
Betty or there will be no well.
. . . NOW GO ON WITH THE
STORY.
THIRD INSTALLMENT
"Did you drop that bolt in the
well?" Mrs. Durham hleated, in
dismay.
"I ain't sayin' I did or I didn't.
But "remember, if this well ain't a
producer, you're blowed up, and it
ain't a-goin' to produce till there's
a Mrs. Tiller Maddox to see it
and to get her share! We bar
gained that out, long ago. Yes, an'
I ain't afraid of you goin' back on
our deal, either. You don't dast."
"I-iIll try again."
"You better do more'n try. I'll
give you just one more chance. If
she don't come across, I want you
to go visit your folks Saturday
evenin', an leave her here
der stand?"
me wonder sometimes "
"Wonder what?"
"If he didn't tell Tiller something.
Something that makes her scared
of him. Sometimes she acts like
it's only because of him that she's
nice to me. . . . J don't know
what I'd, do if she sent me away.
I haven't got a red cent. There
isn't a living soul I could"
Ben passed his arm around the
slim, girlish figure and drew it to
him. "That'll be about all for
you!" He kissed the cheek next
to his and Betty hungrily pressed
her face closer. "Good thing you
aren't an heiress and me with less
than a hundred dollars!"
"You behave yourself, or you'll
J . ! T 4 . T .itn. iinnp j l
rr i en to warn jdciiv. j.i who h
i ' 1 1 1 1 r t i inn t- bnvii7 mpnnp i i
but a
-fgt tSI
curiously,
CT1VP ?"
It was Mrs. Durham's time to
hesitate, her words came with an
. . , i ms Dusmess. w uc sui c,
quarter interest. , ... ; . . . .,. the
"Humph!" The exclamation was r A J "'
one of scorn. L. , 4. . ' u
There s gratitude for you! Meb- ,eave her .fl . nce
be if its a real big well Id do & ran Re trfcd tQ
t T,0Uy0HnVe S?L in HU a car to run him back to the
Betty! the widow cried m ds- fQr hire
traction. If you dont hell nun and wag some time
eve ytning. ne sua so i, unu discover ft truck
well don't come in the farm auit . . . . tW Hirpr.
WOrth " I mcii was avv S"'"! .-
"So! That's why you're so gen- -J- was considerablv after darU
erous. Now you isten to me 1 Furl m Opportunity; he
wouldn't marry Tiller Maddox, not mnT w three miles.
or all the oil in Texas, not if it r "
was to save your inc. f. . . . Durham
"Wait! Don't make tip your "j
t I T T I iiuiucsicau.
mind in a hurry. I-Im going over Evidently Betty was asleep. at
to Cousin Annas I t, rmtin., w;nHnw
When? What for? d Ben wondered how
"Right after dinner. You think , .. . . u -.u,
it over while rl'm none, dearie. I
Ben passed his arm around tbe
slim girlish figure and drew it to
him.
wreck this car," the girl warned
him.
Maddox carried out his intention.
Un- He discharged Furlong on Friday
night, explaining that the well was
"She's gone away over Sunday
to visit her kinfolks."
"Who's looking out for Betty?"
"I dunno. Tiller, I reckon."
Furlong frowned. ,For a while
he listened inattentively to his com
panion, then he rose and left the
rink.
Conditions all over the oil fields,
as. he well knew, were unsettled,
and he did not relish the thought
of Betty out there alone in that
a - . i I 1 dl IIIIIUUdC i UUL .vui "vv
After a moment Betty Inquired, w the fact that Maddox pro-
you posed to shoot the Durham well.
What ailed the man?
After some indecision Ben decid
"I'll give 'em to you."
"How much will
and silhouetted against it he saw
the girl herself, then blackness en
gulfed him. f
The next he knew Betty u.urnain
his head in her lap
and splashing water into his face.
Tt struck him as queer that, tne
lamp should be burning when only
the fraction of an instant betore
all had been darkness.
(Concluded next week)
Effigy in Armor
Under the floor slabs of a church
at Sunderland, England, workmen
found the effigy of a knight in
armor.
HAVE YOU TRIED
Pay-and-Take-It
COFFEE RBCENTLY?
If you have you know it's extra
good if you haven't you are
missing something.
It's PURE RIO th Strongest
Coffee that grows.
Now ISc per Lb.
PAY-AND-TAKE-IT
Located on the Square
Next Door to Press Office
he could best awaken her without
causing alarm. Visitors in the
country at this time of night were
not common. He decided to -call
. i t 1
soitly irom outsiae ner winaow, so
The town lay hot and gasping he do8ed the ietly behind
iHpr thf ciin I hfrf was tlO I.. . ... i ,1
him and made his way arouna tne
eel like you was my own kin. I
want to do right by you and"
"Rats!" said the girl.
under the sun. There was no
shade out-of-doors, for nothing house
grew in tne streets, not even grabs,
its cinder yards, its board walls
and iron roofs radiated waves of
heat like those from a stove.
Late in the afternoon Ben Fur
He paused in surprise when he
had turned the corner of the
building, for the kitchen door was
open. A momentary panic swept
over him: then he drew a breath
... . -- over mm; tnen ne arew a uream
lone entered the skating rink, paid I r i:f f. u
his admission at the turnstile, and . . ... ,.. m,.mpA vnrp
went through. Here, at least, was whos there?" she cried.
a place to sit down out of the sun.
Out of the whirling throng
the floor shot a figure; it
Ben's friend, the engineer of the
Maddox rig. He rolled up to the
bench where Furlong sat and col-
apsed upon it. had Keen overturned, then a scream.
"Whew! It's hard work havin a purlong uttered a shmt. he leap.
He opened his lips to speak re
assuringly, but the sound died in
his throat, for inside Betty's room
he heard a man's voice, then a
stir, a movement. . This was fol
lowed by a crash, as if a chair
good time in this town," he panted
'Landed a job yet ?
"I've cot some prospects Itned
ed forward. Some marauder had
entered the house just ahead of
him. Incredible as it seemed, he
For a moment Mrs. Durham star- down, and the next morning Ben
ed at the speaker, then she said: broke the news to his sweetheart.
"Tiller Maddox, you're a dirty Betty was indignant. She was for
dog!" appealing to her aunt, but he re-
"Say! I've took all the back fused to permit her. He promised
talk I can stand for one day. You to let her hear from him in a day
heard me. You do like I tell you, or so.
an' you needn't to get back from Betty's face was flushed, her eyes
your visit till Monday." were shining, when she entered the
Wnr until Bpn and Bettv had house after he was crone. She was
finished their shopping and were surprised to find her aunt awaiting
on their wav home did he tell her her.
about the trouble he had had with "Tiller came over the other night
Maddox that morning. when you was in town," Mrs. Dur-
"He let on he was fooling, but ham began,
of course he fire me the first "Did he?"
chance he gets," Furlong predicted. "He talked a lot about you. Till
"Oh. Ben! Whv did you do it?" er's a fine man dearie v
"We were bound to tie into Betty broke out irritably : "Don't
Mrh other sooner or later. You let's start that all over again.
can't choose a time to get fight- "Oh, your head's full of Furlong,
ine mad : it's as much as you can I suppose ! But what s he got
do to pick good footing." Nothing. Not even a job. Now
"Aunt Mary won't let him fire Tiller wants to marry you and
you. She doesn't trust him any you better do it."
more than I do." "You know very well I'll do noth-
"Say! What has he got on ing of the sort."
her?" "Maybe you won't and maybe
The girl did not look up from you will." Mrs. Durham's lips set
her driving. She fetched a deep themselves in lines of inflexibility.
breath as she said: "I'd dearly "If you got a smitch of sense you
love to know. There's something will. D'you want to be poor all
queer about it. . . . Uncle Joe your life or d'you want to be
was a sweet, easy-going man and rich?"
she rode him with a Spanish bit. "I tell you I won't! I won't!"
She never would have let him take declared the girl. "The big, black,
me in when mv folks died, only greasy brute!"
I did all the work. But he sure "Now don't fly off the handle till
loved me. When the oil excite- I'm through. I've been pretty
ment came thev rowed and fought good to vou
for months. When ever he got an "I've earned my keep ever since
offer she claimed he was trying I came. You'd have paid more for
to orive the farm awav and threat- a hired girl than I cost."
ened to go to law. I told you "Oh, hush up and let me finish.
hr.nt that Hp stood it as long I We v alius f ieht like this. Your
1UV u . wwv - u ..,
as he could; then he up and an- Uncle Joe cared a lot for you and
nounced that I'd been more of a and I want to respect his wishes,
daughter to him than she'd been a When that well comes in this
wife and he aimed to give most of farm'll be worth I don't know
his money to me anyhow, and then what. Anyhow, my heart's set on
he made that lease with the Plan- seeing you get a good home and
et people. That's how Maddox have everything. How'd you like
came. I think she'd have poisoned to live in a fine house in Dallas?"
me. if she dared, after what uncle "What ails you ? Are you losing
Qaid When he was killed I sun- vour mind. Aunt Mary?"
nosed, of course, she'd throw me "And you can have 'em if you
out, but she didn't. No use to do marry Tiller. Marry Furlong and
it, I suppose, inasmuch as he hadn't you'll spend your life over a cook
left onv writinc As a matter of stove."
v mm J ww rw i 7
fact, she was better to me than "How can Tiller give me things
she'd ever been. That's what makM like that?"
o-- r t i iifxii. naicmuic us 11 sec
up. What's the matter? You fired, had arriv8(i barely in time.
too?" "Rettv!" he veiled "Bettv!" He
"Naw! Maddox laid us off for made for the door beyond.
lhat throaty clamor trom tne
ignis lumii, iiicauwiiiic, cuiiiniucu.
"Did Betty come with her?" Ben Th ere hast movements, the
i.. : . , ,
cagcuy iiiquucu. sounds oi a struggle
ine engineer snoox nis neau; a
4H4HiM4..ili''ii'4''i't
. i fHVi W .7 . t T
You know how scared Tiller is of
nitroglycerine? When we left he
grin spread over his face. "Say! the front part of the house, but
V.. 1.Mn. Wrvii. cr-ii-Arl 1?i11r 1Q Of -1 1 A t.
us pian was simple ana ne was
guided by those shrieks of terror.
The door to Betty's room was
closed, but it opened when he
found the knob. He glimpsed the
dim square of a window opposite
i
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Let us explain to you a plan
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tection. ED. J. CARPENTER
Agent
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JEFFERSON STANDARD J
LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY f
Julian Price, President
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and such a nice room
at
Th- next h knew Betty Durham
was holding his head m her Up.
was hidin' out in the brush like a
quail. The powder wagon came an'
he took it on the run."
Powder wagon? What's a pow
der wagon doing there?" Ben in
quired. "Why, he aims to shoot the well.
He got a permit an' the stuff's on
the eround. ready for the men."
"He's crazy if he shoots that
well." Furlone declared. "What's
he thinking about?"
"So I told him. 'Leave her alone
an' she'll blow herself in,' I says
to him. She's couEhin' now. an'. I
bet as many wells has been ruined
by that stuff as they is wells that's
been made.
"I'm going to see Mrs. Durham."
Ben rose, but the other explained:
300
ROOMS
300
BATHS
300
RADIOS
OfM BlloMf ffOfli
0VSI tibial down-town
Near bui Motion
end all motor hlshwayi
5vS P -.
nil -
rl OW often, when some of your friends axe
telling of a particularly pleasant visit to Atlanta,
the expression is heart And we had such a nice
room at The Atlantan T
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Delightful outside rooms, with every comfort
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US