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Show ilflE GROSS-CUT II il By Courtney Ryley Cooper Ttie sun was slanting low, throwing I II "HURRY1" Copri.stbi Little. Brown Co. deep shadows from the hills Into the If little valley with its chattering, milk- p 1 to escape It; she told all too plainly, both by her actions and her words, that she knew something of the mystery mys-tery of the past and had falsified to keep the knowledge from him. It was loo galling for thought Robert Rob-ert Falrchlld hastily made his toilet, then answered the ringing of the dinner din-ner bell, to be Introduced to strong-shouldered strong-shouldered men who gathered about the long tables; Cornlshmoo, who talked an "h-Iess" language, ruddy- I "HURRY1" STNOPSISL-At Thornton Falrchlld' Falr-chlld' death his son Robert learns there has been a dark period In his father's life which for almost thirty years has caused him suffering. suffer-ing. The secret Is hinted at in a document left by the elder Falr-, Falr-, child, which also Informs Robert he Is now owner of a mining claim In Colorado, and advising him to see Henry Beamish, a lawyer. Beamish tells Robert his claim, a sliver mine, is at Ohadl, thirty -eight miles from Denver. He also warns him asalnst a certain man, "Squint" Rodatne, his father's enemy. en-emy. Robert decides to go to Ohadl. faced Americans, and a sprinkling of English, all of whom conversed about things which were to Falrchlld as so much Greek of "levels" and "stopes" and "winces," of "skips" and "man-ways" "man-ways" and "rises," which meant nothing noth-ing to the man who yet must master them all, If he were to follow his ambition. am-bition. Robert Falrchlld spoke but seldom, except to acknowledge the Introductions Introduc-tions as Mother Howard made hlra known to each of his table mates. But It was not aloofness; from the first, the newcomer had liked the men about him, liked the ruggedness, the mingling of culture with the lack of it, liked the enthusiasm, the muscle and brawn, liked them all all but two. Instinctively, from the first men- The sun was slanting low, throwing deep shadows from the hills into the little valley with its chattering, milk-whlte milk-whlte stream, Boftenlng the scars of the mountains with their great refuse dumps; reminders of hopes of twenty years before and as hare of vegeta-, vegeta-, tlon as In the days when the pick and i gad nnd drill of the prospector tore the rock loose from its hiding place under the surface of the ground. The scrub pines of the almost barren mountains tk on a fluffier, softer tone; the Jutting rocks melted away into their own shadows; it was a picture pic-ture of peace and of memories. And it had been here that Thornton Falrchlld, back in the nineties, had dreamed his dreams and fought his fight. A sudden cramping caught the son's heart, and It pounded with something some-thing akin to fear. The old foreboding forebod-ing of his father's letter had come upon him, the mysterious thread of that elusive, intangible Thing great enough to break the will and resistance resist-ance of a strong man and turn him Into a weakling silent, white-haired sitting by a window, waiting for death. What had It been? Why had it come upon his father? How could It be fought? He brushed away the beady perspiration with a gesture almost al-most of anger, then with a look of relief, re-lief, turned In at a small white gate toward a big, rambling building which proclaimed Itself, by the sign on the door, to be Mother Howard's boarding house. A moment of waiting, then he faced a gray-haired, kindly faced woman. forward along the road and the noise told a story of speed. Far at the brow of a steep hill it appeared, seeming to hang In space for an Instant before leaping downward. down-ward. Rushing, plunging, once skidding skid-ding dangerously at a small curve, it made the descent, bumped over a bridge, was lost for a second In the pines, then sped toward him, a big touring car, with a small, resolute figure clinging to the wheel. Then, with a report like a revolver shot, the machine suddenly slewed in drunken fashion far to one side of the road, hung dangerously over the steep cliff an Instant, righted itself, swayed forward for-ward and stopped, barely twenty-five yards away. Staring, Robert Fair-child Fair-child saw that a snail, trim figure had leaped forth and was waving excitedly excited-ly to him, and he ran forward. His first glance had proclaimed it a boy; the second had told a different story. A girl dressed in far different fashion from Robert Falrchild's limited lim-ited specifications of feminine garb-she garb-she caused him to gasp In surprise, then to stop and stare. Again she waved a hand and stamped a foot excitedly ex-citedly ; a vehement little thing in a snug whipcord riding habit and a checkered cap pulled tight over closely close-ly braided hair, she awaited him with all the Impatience of Impetuous womanhood. rocking down the mountain side, around a curve and out of sight-while sight-while Falrchlld merely stood there, staring wonderlngly at a ten-dollar bill I A noise from the rear, growing louder, and the amazed man turned to see a second machine, filled with men, careening toward him. Fifty feet away the brakes creaked, and the big automobile came to a skidding, dust-throwing stop. A sun-browned man In a Stetson hat, metal badge gleaming from beneath his coat, leaned forth. "Which way did he go?" "He?" Robert Falrchlld stared. "Yeh. Didn't a man Just pass here In an automobile? Where'd he go straight on the main road or off on the circuit trail?" "It It wasn't a man. It It was a boy. Just about fifteen years old." , "Sure?" "Oh, yes" Falrchlld was swimming swim-ming in deep water now. "I got a good look at him. He he took that road off to the left." It was the opposite one to which the hurrying fugitive in whipcord had taken. There was doubt in the Interrogator's Inter-rogator's eyes. "Sure of that?" he queried. "I'm the sheriff of Arapahoe county. That's an auto bandit ahead of us. We" "Well, I wouldn't swear to it. There was another machine ahead, and I tlon of his name, he felt they were watching blm, two men who sat far In the rear of the big dining room, older than the other occupants, far less inviting in appearance. One was small, though chunky In build, with sandy hair and eyebrows; with weak, filmy blue eyes over which the lids blinked constantly. The other, black-haired black-haired with streaks of gray, powerful In his build, and with a walrus-like mustache drooping over hard lips, was the sort of antithesis naturally to be found in the company of the smaller, sundy complexloned man. Who they were, what they were, Falrchlld did not know, except from the general attributes which told that they too fol- CHAPTER III . 2 Three weeks later, Robert Falrchlld sat In the smoking compartment of the Overland Limited, looking at the Rocky mountains In the distance. In Ms pocket were a few hundred dollars; dol-lars; In the bank In Indianapolis a ew thousand, representing the final Ijroceeds of the sale of everything that 'ad connected him with a rather I ireary past. Out before him Three weeks had created a metamorphosis meta-morphosis in what had been a plod-Jlng, plod-Jlng, matter-of-fact man with dreams which did not extend beyond his ledgers led-gers and his gloomy home but now a man leaning his head against the window win-dow of a rushing train, staring ahead toward the Rockies and the rainbow they held for him. Back to the place where his father had gone with dreams aglow was the son traveling now back Into the rumpled mountains moun-tains where the blue haze hung low and protecting as though over mysteries myste-ries and treasures which awaited one man and one alone. It thrilled Fair-child, Fair-child, it caused his heart to tug and pull nor could be tell exactly why. The hills came closer. Still closer; then, when It seemed that the train must plunge straight Into them, they drew away again, as though through some optical illusion, and brooded In the background, as the long, transcontinental trans-continental train began to bang over the frogs and switches as It made its entrance into Denver. Fnirchild went through the long chute and to a ticket window. "For goodness sake, come here I" she called, as he still stood gaping. "I'll give you five dollars. Hurry!" Falrchlld managed to voice the fact that he would be willing to help without with-out remuneration, as he hurried forward. for-ward. She dived for the tonneau, Jerking with all her strength at the heavy seat cushion, as he stepped to the running board beside her. "Can't get this dinged thing up!" she panted, "Always sticks when you're in a hurry. That's It 1 Jerk It Thanks I Here!" She reached forward for-ward and a small, sun-tanned hand grasped a greasy Jack, "Slide under the back axle and put this Jack In place, will you? And rush It I I've got to change a tire in nothing flat I Hurry 1" lost 'em both for a second down there by the turn." "Probubly him, all right." The voice came from the tonnenu. "Maybe he figured to give us the slip and get back to Denver." "Let's go I" The sheriff was pressing press-ing a foot on the accelerator. Down the hill went the car, to skid, then to make a short turn on to the road which led away from the scent, leaving leav-ing behind a man standing in the middle of the road, staring at a ten-dollar ten-dollar bill and wondering why he had lied I CHAPTER IV Wonderment which got nowhere. The sheriff's car returned before Fair-child Fair-child reached the bottom of the grade, rowed the great gamble of mining. But one thing was certain; they watched hlra throughout the meal ; they talked about him in low tones and ceased when Mother noward came near; they seemed to recognize In him someone who brought both curiosity nnd innate enmity to the surface. And more; long before the rest had finished their meal, they rose and left the room, Intent, In-tent, apparently, upon some Important mission. After that, Falrchlld ate with less of a relish. In his mind was the certainty cer-tainty that these two men knew him or at least knew about him and that they did not relish his presence. Nor were his suspicions long In being fulfilled. ful-filled. Hardly had he reached the hall, when the beckoning eyes of Mother Howard signaled to him. Instinctively In-stinctively he waited for the other diners to pass him, then looked eagerly eager-ly toward Mother Howard as she once more approached, , "I don't know what you're doing here," came shortly, "but I want to." Falrchlld straightened. "There Isn't much to tell you," he answered quietly. quiet-ly. "My father left me the Blue Toppy mine in his will. I'm here to work it" "Know anything about mining?" "Not a thing." "Or the people you're liable to have to buck up against?" "Very little." "Then, Son," and Mother Howard laid a kindly hand on his arm, "whatever "what-ever you do, keep your plans to yourself your-self and don't talk too much. And what's more, If you happen to get into communication with Bllndeye Bozeman and Taylor Bill,' He your head off. Maybe you saw ein, a sandy-haired sandy-haired fellow and a big man with a Falrchlld, almost before he knew it, found himself under the rear of the car, fussing with a refractory lifting Jack and trying to keep his eyes from the view of trimly clad, brown-shod little feet, as they pattered about at the side of the car, hurried to the running run-ning board, then stopped as wrenches and a hammer clattered to the ground. Then one shoe was raised, to press tight against a wheel; metal touched metal, a feminine gasp sounded sound-ed as strength was exerted in vain, then eddying dust as the foot stamped, accompanied by an exasperated ejaculation. ejacu-lation. "Ding these old lugs I They're rusted! rust-ed! Got that Jack In place yet?" "Yes 1 I'm raising the car now." "Oh, please hurry." There was pleading In the tone now. "Please!" The car creaked upward. Out came Falrchlld, brushing the dust from his clothes. But already the girl was pressing the lug wrench into his hands. "Don't mind that dirt," came her exclamation. "I'll I'll give you some extra money to get your suit cleaned. Loosen those lugs, while I get the spare tire off the back. And for goodness' good-ness' sake, please hurry I" Astonishment had taken away speech for Falrchlld. He could only wonder and obey, while behind him "He's He's Gone, Mrs. Howard." who stared at him with . wide-open eyes as she stood, hands on hips, before be-fore him. "Don't you tell me I don't know you! If you ain't a Falrchlld, I'll never feed another miner corned beef and cabbage as long as I live. Ain't you, now?" she persisted, "ain't you a Falrchlld?" The man laughed In spite of himself. him-self. "You guessed It." and again stopped to survey the scene of defeat. "Dangerous character?" Falrchlld hardly knew why he asked the ques tlon. The sheriff smiled grimly. "If It was the fellow we were after, he wus. plenty dangerous. We were trailing him on word from Denver-described Denver-described the car and said he'd pulled a daylight hold-up on a pay-wagon for the Smelter company so when the car went through Golden, we took up the frail a couple of blocks behind. He kept the same speed for a little while until one of my deputies got a little anxious and took a shot at a tire. Man, how he turned on the Juice! I thought that tiling was a Jack rabbit, the way it went up the hill I I guess It's us back to the office." The automobile went Its way then, and Falrchlld his, still wondering. And so thoroughly did the incident engross en-gross him that it was not until a truck had come to a full stop behind him, and a driver mingled a shout with the tooting of his horn, that he turned to allow its passage. "Didn't hear you, old man," he apologized. apol-ogized. "Could you give a fellow a lift?" "Guess so." It was friendly, even though a bit disgruntled ; "hop on." And Falrchlld hopped, once more to sit on the tailboard, swinging his legs, but this time his eyes saw the ever-changing ever-changing scenery without noticing It. In spite of himself, Falrchlld found himself constantly staring at a vision of a pretty girl In a riding habit, with dark-brown hair straying about equally dark-brown eyes, almost frenzied fren-zied In her efforts to change a tire In time to elude a pursuing sheriff. Some way, It all didn't blend. If she hadn't committed some sort of depredation against the law, why on earth was she willing to part with ten dollars, merely mere-ly t nve few moments In charging a tire and thus elude a sheriff? If "When can I get a train for Ohadl?" The ticket seller smiled. "You can't get one." "But the map shows that a railroad runs there " "Ran there, you mean," chaffed the clerk. "The best you can do Is to get to Forks Creek and walk the rest of the way. That's a narrow-gauge line, and Clear creek's been on a rampage. ram-page. It took out about two hundred feet of trestle, and there won't be a train into Ohadl for a week. Stranger out here?" "Very much of one." ' "In a hurry to get to Ohadl?" "Yes." "Then you can go uptown nnd hire a taxi they've got big cars for mountain moun-tain work and there are good roads " nil the way. It'll cost fifteen or twenty dollars. Or" Falrchlld smiled. "Give me the other system If you've got one. I'm not terribly ter-ribly long on cash for taxis." "Certainly. No use spending that money If you've got a little pep, and it Isn't a matter of life or death. Go up to the Central loop anybody can direct you and catch a street car for Golden, That eats up fifteen miles and leaves Just twenty-three miles more. Then ask somebody to point out the road over Mount Lookout. Machines go along there every few minutes no trouble at all to catch a ride. You'll be In Ohadl In no time." Falrchlld obeyed the Instructions, and In the baggage room rechecked his trunk to follow him, lightening his traveling bag at the same time until carried only necessities. A lunch-' lunch-' n, then the street car. Three quarts quar-ts of an hour later, he began the ve-mile trudge up the broad, smooth, refully groomed automobile highway high-way which masters Mount Lookout. A rumbling sound behind him, then he stepped to one side, a grimy truck driver leaned out to shout as he passed : "Want a lift? Hop onl Can't stop too much grade." A running leap, nnd Falrchlld seated seat-ed himself on the tailboard of the truck, swinging his legs and looking out over the fading plains as the truck roared nnd clattered upwnrd along the twisting mountain roud. Upwnrd, still upward! The town below became merely a checkerboard thing, the lake n dot of gleaming silver, sil-ver, the stream a scintillating ribbon stretching off into the foothills. A turn, and they skirted a tremendous black mustache, sitting at the back jbf the room?;' Falrchlld nodded. "Well, stay away from them. They belong to 'Squint' Rodalne. Know him?" She shot the question sharply. Again Falrchlld nodded. "I've heard the name. Who Is he?" A voice called to Mother Howard from the dining room. She turned away, then leaned close to Robert Fulrchlld. "He's' a miner, and he's always al-ways been a miner. Right now, he's mixed up with some of the biggest people In town. He's always been a "You're Thornton Falrchild's boy i She had reached out for bis handbag, and then, bustling about him, drew , hlra Into the big "parlor." "Didn't I know you the minute I sow you? Land, you're the picture of your dad 1 Sakes alive, how Is he?" There was a moment cf silence. Falrchlld found himself suddenly halting halt-ing and boyish as he stood before her. "He's he's gone, Mrs. Howard." "Dead?" She put up both hands. "It don't seem possible. And me remembering re-membering him looking Just like you, full of life and strong and" "Our pictures of him are a good deal different. I I guess you knew hlra when everything was all right for him. Tilings were different after he got home again." Mother Howard looked quickly about her, then with a swift motion closed the door. "Son," she asked In a low voice, "didn't he ever get over It?" "It?" Folrchlld felt tnat he stood on the threshold of discoveries. "What man to be afraid of and he was your father's worst enemy 1" Then, leaving Falrchlld staring after her, she moved on to her duties In the kitchen, "Rodalne's a rattlesnake. His son's a rattlesnake." (TO BE CONTINUED.) there had been nothing wrong, could not a moment of explanation have satisfied sat-isfied anyone of the fact? It was too much for anyone, and Falrchlld knew It. Yet he clung grimly grim-ly to the mystery as the truck cluttered clut-tered on, mile after mile. A small town grndunlly was coining Into view. A mile more, then the truck stopped with n Jerk. "Where you bound for, pnrdner?" "Ohadl." "That's It, straight oheod. I turn off here. Miner?" Falrchlld shrugged his shoulders do you mean?" "Didn't he ever tell you anything, Son?" "No. I" "Well, there wasn't any need to." But Mother Howard's sudden embarrassment, embar-rassment, her change of color, told Falrchlld It wasn't the truth. "lie Just had a little bad luck out here, that was oil. His his mine pinched out Just when he'd thought he'd struck It rich or something like that." "Are you sure that Is the truth?" For a second they faced each other, Robert Falrchlld serious and Intent, volley, Its slopes falling away In sheer descents from the roadway. A darkened, dark-ened, moist stretch of road, fringed by pines, then a Jogging Journey over rolling roll-ing table land. At last came a voice from the driver's seat. "Turn "IT up here at Genesee mountain. moun-tain. Which wav do you go?" "Trying to get to Ohadl." Falrchlld shouted It above the roar of the engine. en-gine. The driver waved a hand forward. for-ward. "Keeji to the main road. Drop off fhen 1 nuiKe the turn." ! "Thanks for the lift." "Aw, forget It." The truck wheeled from the main jowl and chugged away, leaving Fair-child Fair-child afoot, making as much progress as possible toward his goal until good fortune should bring a swifter means of locomotion. Suddenly he wheeled. Hehlnd him sounded the swift droning ajf a uiirtiw, cut-out open, at It rushed Staring Wonderingly at a Ten-DolUr i Bill. ' a girl In whipcord riding habit and close-pulled cap fidgeted first on one tan-clad foot, then on the other, anxiously anx-iously watching the rond behind her and calling constantly for speed. At Inst the Job was finished, the girl fastening the useless shoe behind the machine while Falrchlld tightened the last of the luus. Then as he straightened, straight-ened, a small figure shot to his side, took the wrench from his hand nnd sent It, with the other tools, clattering clatter-ing Into the tonneau. A tiny hand went Into a pocket, something that crinkled was shoved Into the man's grasp, and while he stood there gasping, gasp-ing, she leaped to the driver's seat, slummed the door, spun the starter until It whined, and with open cutout cut-out roarl'ij again, was off and away, and nodded noncommittal ."Just thought I'd ask. Plenty of work around here for single nnd double Jackers. . Things are beginning to look up n bit at least In silver." "Thanks. Do you know a good place to stop?" "Yeh. Mother Howard's bourdlng house. Everybody goes there, sooner or later. You'll see It -n the left-hand side of the street before you get to the main block. Good old girl; knows how to treat anyboYly In the mining game from operators on down. She wss here when niinCng was mining:" Falrchlld lifted his bag from the reur of the vehlcl!, waved a farewell to the driver und started Into the village. vil-lage. And then the vision of the girl departed, momentarily, to give place to other thoughts, other pictures, of a day long gone. Mother Howard looking at him with eyes defiant, yet compassionate, Suddenly Sud-denly they twinkled, the lips broke from their straight line Into a smile, and a kindly old band reached out to take him by (he arm. "Don't you stand there nnd try to tell Mother Howard she don't know what she's talking about!" came In tones of mock severity. "Hear me? Now. you get up them steps and wash up for dinner. Take the first room on the right. It's a nice, cheery place." In his room, Falrchlld tried not to think. His bruin was becoming too crammed wit It queries, with Mrunge happenings and with aggravating mysticisms mys-ticisms of the life Into which his father's fa-ther's death hud thrown him to permit per-mit clearness of vision. Even In Mother Howard be bad not been able |