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Show ffR itf Jin I . IS VALLju Y II I if OF THE I i j Cat ANTS : J :. IS ' Ml 0 PE-TERD.KY1SIE- CV. 9 vltj!iu77fc& or "cappy rtoss'X I IfifL copyRieHT, sr peter ja.KVWEjM H ' SYNOPSIS. H ' CHAPTER I. Pioneer In tlio California 1 redwood reKlon, John Cardigan, at forty- aoven, la the leading citizen of tiequola. Swnor of mills, ships, nnd many acres of Imber, a widower after threo yoara of 1 f married life, and fathor of two-day-old B ( Bryce Cardigan. H f CHAPTER II. At fourteen Dryce makes v I the acquaintance of Shirley Sumner, a vls- 3 Itor to Hcquola, and his junior by a few V , years. ToKether they vlnlt the Valley of m , . the Qlants, sacred to John Cardigan and H j his son as Uio burial place of Uryoe's 1 J mother, and part with mutual regret, H '' CHAPTER Ill.-Whlle Bryce Is at col- ! t lege John Cardigan meots with heavy business losses and for the first time views the future with uncertainty. . CHAPTER IV.-After graduation from B ! college, nnd a trip abroad, Bryce Cardl- ' gan comes home. On the train he meets Shirley Sumner, on her way to Sequoia to m make her home there with her undo, f Col. Ponnlngton. Bryce learns that lilt B . father's eyesight has failed and that Col. ' Pennington Is seeking to tako advantage ol ' the old roan's business misfortunes. H, CHAPTER V.-In the Valley of th ' Giants young Cardigan finds a tree felled t ' directly across his mother's grave. Indies Indi-es ' cations are that It was cut down to securt ' the burl, and evidence seems to show thai n I Pennington and his woods-boss, Julef t Rondeau, are Implicated In the outrago. Ht CHAPTER VI.-DInlng with Col. Pen. i ntngton nnd his niece, Bryco finds tin C ' room paneled with redwood burl, confirm- Ing his suspicions of Pennington's guilt r, In a diplomatic way, unpercelvcd by Shir- k ley, the two men declare war. R CHAPTER VII. Pennington refuses tc V. renew his logging contract with tho Cardl- V cans, believing his action means bank- M, ruptcy for the latter. Bryce forces Ron- T denu to confess he felled the tree In th ' Valley of tho Giants, at Pennington's or- ''r . dor. After punishing the man. Bryc ". burls him at Col. Pennington, who, with Bhlrley. had witnessed the fight Penning- . ton Is humiliated, and the girl, Indignant, orders Bryce to leavo her and forget tholi ' . friendship. He leaves, but refuses to ao i cept dismissal. iH ' CHAPTER VHI.-Retumlng to Sequoia. 1th train on which Shirley, hor uncle, and , Bryco are travollng. breaks away from the locomotive, and Bryce, who could have , escaped, ht the risk of his Ufa cuts out the caboose and saves them from certain death, being painfully Injured In doing so. CHAPTER IX.-MoIra McTavlsh. childhood child-hood friend of Bryco an employed In hit office, makes Shlrley's'acqualntance and the two become frlonda. Needing monoy V badly, John Cardigan offers to sell Pon- nlngton tile Valley of the Giants, but tin k Colonel, confident the property must soon K, bo his through the bankruptcy of hli K.'i , enemies, contemptuously refuses. TJn- f known to her uncle. Bblrley buys tht T,.' Valley nnd the Cardlgnns have a, new f lease of business life. They Interest capl ! tal and decide on a scheme to parallel B ', Pennington's logging railroad. i CHAPTER X. Buchanan OgUfy, roll. B road contractor and Bryco's collogo friend, ,. decided on by the Cardigans as tbf W man to flguro as tho builder of tho pro- posed railroad. Bryco goes to Ban Fran Cisco to meet him. t . CHAPTER XL-Ogllvy ostentatiously ft i begins work of surveying for the line, $ i which Is announced as n proposed through n ; route. Pennington, vaguely alarmed, do- ! ' i cldcs to block operations by making it Im- f possible to socuro a franchise for tho llni i i through Sequoia. In' this he plans to on- jl list the aid of the mayor, Poundstone. Hi , t CHAPTER XII.-"Buck" Ogllvy, ni t builder of the projocted Northern Call- H fornla & Oregon raUroad, moets Molra B McTavlsh and Is much Impressed. Bryce ' -v and his father make plans for securing a K- - -franchise for the lino from the city L council, M, l CHAPTER Xlll.-Ogllvy. in h buslnesi i Interview, favorably Impresses tho Mayor, and later engages that official's son as at- : torney for tho new road. Through him H' they obtain tho tempornry frunchlse. ! Pennington, finally convinced that tht '; Cardigan Interests nro' behind the scheme, , gets to work to balk them. H; CHAPTER XlV.-Pennlngton reftjsei H. -1 Bryce the use or a locomotive and trucki H! to movo equipment for laying n switch, , 4 "'' Bryce and Ogllvy plan to steal both H' and during tho night put in n crossing H rutting Pennington's tracks In tho city, i Pennington bribes Mayor Poundstono to i Ignoro tho temporary franchise granted H nnd to rotuao u permanent one. That H night Pennington hears the Cardigan H trncklaylng crew at work and hurries to V the spot, H CHAPTER XV.-Bryco nnd Ogllvy dlsre- ' gnrd Pennington's frenzied remonstrances H ' nnd contlnuu work, but the Colonel gets B word to tho Mayor nnd also employs a W f desperado to shoot Bryce. Bryco is wound- ' fd. Work on the track Is stopped by the chief of police. 8lilrloy accuses hor uncle m of conniving nt the murder of Bryco, nnd the Colonel leaves for San I-tnnclsco to safeguard his Interests through further S legal nroceedlngs, B CHAPTER XVI.-AnttcIpatlng Penning- V ton's action, Ogllvy has made arrange- Hf monts to secure a restraining order from B the federal courts enjoining the Colonel from Interfering with the construction of their line. Victory for tho Cardigans Is m plainly In Bight. K CHAPTER XVII. H Events followed each other with re- B freshing rapidity. While the crew ol H the big locomotive on the crossing H busied themselvcB getting up steam, H Sexton nnd Jules Rondenn tolled nl H Uie loading of the discarded boiler and H heavy castings nbonrd two flat enrs, H By utilizing the steel derrick on the H company's wrecking car, tills task vrna H completed by noon, nnd after luncheon H' the mogul bncked up the main line K pnst the switch Into the Lngunn H Grande yards; whereupon the switch j engine kicked tho two flat cars and the H wrecking car out of the yard nnd down H to the crossing, whero tho obstmctlon: H were promptly unloaded. The police H watched the operation with alert Inter- H est but foreboro to Interfere In this H high-handed closing of a public thor- H opghfare. H To Sexton's nnnoynuco and secret H apprehension, Bryco Cardigan nnd H j Buck Ogllvy promptly appeared on the H ' scene, both very cheerful und lavish H 'with expert advice as to Uie best H ! method of expediting the Job In hand. B To Bryce's surprise Jules ltondcau at pcared to tnko secret enjoyment of this good-natured chaffing of Uio Lngunn Ln-gunn Grande inanngcr. Occasionally he eyed Bryce curiously but without animus, and presently he flashed the latter a lightning wink, ns If to say: "What a fool Sexton Is to oppose you I" "Well, Rondeau," Bryco hailed the woods-boss cheerfully, "I see you havo qulto recovered from that working over I gnv yon somo tlmo ago. No liurd feelings, I trust T shouldn't care to have that Job to do over again. You're n tough one." "By gar, she don' pay for have hard ' feelings wis you, m'slcur," Rondeau answered bluntly. "Wo have one fine fight, but" he shrugged "I don' want some more," Ho approached Bryce nnd lowered his voice. "For one month I am do good all zo tam. We don' fight some more, m'slcur. And I have feel ashnme' for dose Black Minorca feller. Always wlz him cot Is ze knife or ze club nnd now eet is zo rifle. Cochon I W'en I fight, I fight wlz what le bon DIcu give me." "You appear to have a certain code, after all," BrycoJaughcd. "I am inclined in-clined to like you for It You'ro sporty In your way, you tremendous scoundrel scoun-drel I" "Mebbcso," Rondcna suggested hopefully, hope-fully, "M'sleur likes mo for woods-boss?" woods-boss?" "Why, what's the matter with Ten-nlngton? Ten-nlngton? Is he tired of you?" Tho color mounted slowly to tho woods bully's swarthy cheek. "Mademoiselle "Made-moiselle Summalr, ho's tell me pretty soon he's goln' be boss of Laguna Grande an' stop nil thces fight An' w'en Mademoiselle, he Is In the saddle, good-bye Jules Rondeau. Thces country coun-try I like him. I feel sad, M'sleur, to leave dose beeg tree." Be paused, looking rather wistfully at Bryco. "1 am fine woods-boss for somebody," ho uuggestcd hopefully. "You think Miss Sumner dlBllkcs you then, Rondeau?" "1 don' theenk. I know." He sighed; sigh-ed; his huge body seemed to droop. ' "I am out of zeo good lack now," he murmured bitterly. "Everybody, she hate Jules Rondeau." Again he sighed. "Dose beeg trees I In Quebec wo havo none. In zee woods, M'sleur, I feel here!" And he laid his great "W'en I Cut Your Beeg Tree, M'sleur, I Feel Like Hell." calloused, hairy hand over his heart "W'en I cut your beeg trees, M'sleur I feel llko hell." "That Infernal gorilla of a man Is a poet" Buck Ogllvy declared. "I'd think twlco beforo I let him get out of tho country, Bryco." "'Whose salt he eats, his song he sings,"' quoth Bryce. "I forgive you Rondeau, and when I need a woods-boss woods-boss llko you, I'll send for you." At eleven o'clock Saturday night the deputy United States marshal arrived In Sequoia. Upon tho advice of Buck Ogllvy, however, he mado no attempt at servtco that night notwithstanding the fact that Jules Rondeau and hit bullies still guarded Uio crossing. At eight o'clock Sunday morning, however, how-ever, Bryco Cardigan drove him down to tho crossing. Buck Ogllvy was nl-ready nl-ready there with his men, superintending superintend-ing erection of a hugo derrick close to the heap of obstructions placed on tho crossing. Soxton wns watching him uneasily, nnd flushed as Ogllvy pointed him out to tho marshal. "There's your ment marshal," he announced. The marshal approached and extended townrd Sexton n copy of tho restraining order. Tho latter stmck It aside nnd refused to accept It whereupon the deputy marshal tnn- ped him on tho shenlder with It "Tag I You'ro out of the game, my friend," ho said pleasantly. As tho document fluttered to Sexton's Sex-ton's feet tho latter turned to Jules Rondeau. "I can no longer tnko chargo here. Rondeau,' ho explained. "I am forbidden to Interfere." "Jules Rondenu can do ze Job," the woods-boss replied easily. "Ze law, sho havo not restrain' mo. I guess, mebbeso, you don' take dose thcengs away, eh, M'sleur Cardigan. Myself. I Ink sec." Tho deputy marshal handed Ron-dcau Ron-dcau a paper, nt tho same tlmo showing show-ing his badge. "You'ro out too, my friend," ho laughed. "Don't bo foolish fool-ish to try to buck tho law, If you do, I shall have to place a nice little pair of handcuffs on you and throw you In Jail and If you resist arrest I shall have to shoot you. I havo one of these llttlo restraining orders for very able-bodied man In tho Loguna Grnndo Lumber company's employ thanks to Mr. Ogllvy's foresight; so It Is useless to try to beat this gnmo on a technicality." Sexton, who still lingered, mado a gesture of surrender. "Dismiss your crow, Rondeau," lie ordered. "We're whipped to a frazzle." A gleam of pleasure, not unmixed with triumph, lighted the dark eyes of the French-Canadian. "I tW M'siour Soxton sho cannot fight M'sleur Cardigan Cardi-gan nnd win," he said simply. "Now mebbe he believe that Jules Rondeau know something." "Shut up," Sexton roared petulantly. petulant-ly. Rondeau shrugged contemptuously, contemptuous-ly, turned, nnd with a sweep of his great arm Indicated to his men that they were to go; then, without a backward back-ward glance to see that they followed, tho woods boss strode away In tho direction of tho Loguna Grande mill. Arrived at tho mill office, ho entered, took down the telephone, nnd called up Shirley Sumner. "Mademoiselle," ho said, "Jules Rondeau speaks to you. I have for you zeo good news. Bryco Cardigan, she puts In tho crossing today. One man of tho law she comes from San Francisco with papers, and M'sleur Sexton say to mo: 'Rondeau, we ore whip. Dccsmess your men.' So I have deesmess dozo men, and now I dees-mess dees-mess myself. Mebbcso hlmcby I go to work for M'sleur Cardigan. For Mademoiselle I have no weesh to make trouble to fire me. I qucct I will not fight doso dirty fight some more. An rovolr, mademoiselle. I go." And without further ado he hung up. "What's this, what's this?" Sexton demanded. "You'ro going to quit? Nonsense, Rondtaa nonsense 1" "I will have my time, M'olour," said Jules Rondeau. "I go to work for a man. Mebbcso I am not woods boss for heem, but I work." "You'll havo to wait until the Colonel Col-onel returns. Rondeau." "I will have my time," said Jules Rondeau patiently. "Then you'll' wait till pay day for It Rondeau. You know our rules. Any man who quits without notlco waits until the regular pay day for his money." Jules advanced until ho towered directly di-rectly over tho manager. "I tol' M'sleur I would have my tlmo," he repeated once more. "Is M'slcur denf In zo ears?" Ho raised his right hand, much ns a bear raises Its paw; his blunt fingers worked a little and there was a smoldering Are In his dark eyes. Without further protest Sexton opened the safe, counted out tho wages due, nnd took Rondeau's receipt re-ceipt "Thank you, M'siour," tho woods boss growled as he swept tho coin Into his pocket "Now I work for M'sleur Cardigan; so, M'sleur, I will hnvo zeo switch engine wceth two flat cars and zee wrecking car. Doze dam trash on zee crossing M'sleur Cardigan docs not like, nnd by gar, I take hcem away. You ondcrstand, M'sleur? I nin Jules Rondeau, and I work for M'slcur Cardigan. La la, M'slcurl" Tho great hand closed over Sexton's collnr. "Not zeo pistol no, not for Jules Rondenu." Quito as easily as n woman dresses a baby, he gagged Sexton with Sexton's Sex-ton's own hnndkcrchlcf, laid him gently gent-ly on tho floor nnd departed, locking tho door behind him nnd tnklng the Icoy. At tho corner of tho building, whero the telephone line entered the office, ho paused, Jerked ones nt the wire, and passed on, leaving tho broken brok-en ends on tho ground. In tho roundhouse he found Uie switch engine crew on duty, waiting for steam In the boiler. The withdrawal with-drawal of both locomotives, brief ns had been their absence, had caused a glut of logs at tho Lngunn Grande landings, nnd Sexton was catching up with the traffic by sending tho switch englno crew out for one trninload, even though It was Sunday. Tho crew had been used to receiving orders from Rondenu, nnd moreover they wero not nwnre of his recent action; henco nt his command they ran the switch englno out of tho roundhouse, coupled up tho two flat cars and the wrecking car, and bncked down to the crossing. Upon arrival, Jules Rondenu Ron-denu lenncd out of tho cnb window nnd balled Bryco. "M'sleur," ho said, "do not bozzor to mnko zeo derrick. I hnvo hero zeo wrecking car nil you need; pretty soon wo lift him off zee crossing, I tell you, eh. M'sleur Cardigan?" Cardi-gan?" Bryco stepped over to tho switch engine nnd looked up nt his Into enemy. en-emy. "By whoso orders Is this trnln hore?" ho queried. "Mine," Rondenu quickly answered. "M'sleur Sexton I have tie llko one leetlo pig and lock her In her ofllce. I work now for M'sleur." And he did. Ho waited not for a confirmation from his new mastor but proceeded, to direct. operations like tho borri driver and lad6r of men that ho was. With hts Into employer's employ-er's gear ho fastened to tho old costings cost-ings and tho boiler, lifted them with tho derrick on Uio wrecking car, nnd swung them up and around onto tho fiat cars. By tho middle of the afternoon after-noon the crossing was onco more clear. Then the Cardigan crew fell upon It while Jules Rondenu ran the trnln back to tho Laguna Grnndo yards, dismissed dis-missed his crow, returned to the mill office, nnd released tho manager. "You'll pay through tho nose for this, you scoundrel," Sexton whimpered. whim-pered. "Ill fix you, you traitor." "You fecx noUilng. M'sleur Sexton," Rondeau replied Imperturbably. "Who Is witness Jules Rondenu tie you up? Somebody see you, no? I guess you don' fecx me. Sacrol I gucs3 you don' try." CHAPTER XVIII. Colonel Pennington's discovery at San Frnnclsco that Bryco Cardigan had stolen his thunder and turned tho bolt upon him, wns tho hardest blow Scth Pennington could remember having hav-ing received throughout his thirty-odd yenra of give and tnkc. Ho was too old and experienced n campaigner, however, to permit n fuUlo rage to cloud his reason; ho prided himself upon being a foeman worthy of any man's steel. On Tuesday' ho returned to Sequoia. Sexton related to him In detail the events which had transpired since bis departure, but elicited nothing more than a noncommittal grunt "There Is one more matter, sir, which will doubtless be of Interest to you," Sexton continued apologetically. "MJss Sumner called mo on tho telephone yesterday and Instructed mo formally to notify the board of directors of the Laguna Grande company of a special meeting of the board, to be held hero nt two o'clock this afternoon. In view of tho Impossibility of communicating with you while you were en route, I conformed to her wishes. Our by-laws, as you know, stipulate that no meeting meet-ing of the board shall be called without with-out formal written notice to each director di-rector mailed twenty-four hours previously." previ-ously." "Whnt Uio devil do you mean, Sexton, Sex-ton, by conforming to her wishes? Miss Sumner Is not n director of this company." Pennington's voice was harsh and tremblod npprehenslvely. "Miss Sumner controls forty per cent of the Luguna Grande stock, sir. I took that Into consideration." "You He I" Pennington all but screamed. "You took into consideration considera-tion your Job as secretary nnd general mannger. Damnation I" IIo rose and commenced pnclng up and down his office. Suddenly he paused. Sexton still stood beside his desk, watching him respectfully. "You fool!" ho snarled. "Get out of here and leave me alone." Sexton departed promptly, glancing nt his watch as he did so. It lacked five minutes of two. He passed Shirley Shir-ley Sumner In the general office. "Shirley," Pennington began In a hoarse voice as sho entered his oUIco, "what Is tho meaning of this directors' direct-ors' meeting you have requested?" "Be Beated, Uncle Seth." the girl answered quietly. "If you will only be quiet and reasonable, perhaps we enn dlspcnso with this directors' meeting which appenrs to frighten you so." He sat down promptly, n look of relief re-lief on his face. "I senrcely know how to begin, Uncle Seth," Shirley commenced sadly. "It hurts mo terribly to bo forced to hurt you, but there doesn't appear to bo "I Cannot Trust You to Manage My Financial Affairs In the Future." any other way out of It I cannot trust you to manage my financial affairs In the future this for a number of ren-6ons, ren-6ons, tho principal ono being " "Young Cardigan," ho Interrupted In a low voice. "I Biipposo so," sho nnswercd, "although "al-though I think until very recently thnt It was thoso sixteen townships of red cednr thnt crown grnnt in British Columbia In which you Induced me to Invest four hundred thousand dollnrs. You will remember that you purchnscd thnt timber for mo from tho Caribou Timber company, Limited. You snld It wns an unpnrnlleled Investment Invest-ment Quito recently I learned no mutter how that you were the principal princi-pal owner of the Caribou Timber company, com-pany, Limited I Smart as you are, somebody swindled you with that red cedar. It wbb a wonderful stand of timo'ef-sb read tne cruiser's report-but report-but fifty per cent of It despHe Its green nnd flourishing appearance. Is ' hollow-butted I And tho remnlning fifty per cent of sound timber cannot bo logged unless the rolttvn timber Is logged also and gotten out of the wny. j And I am Informed that togging It spells bankruptcy." She gazed at him steadily, but without with-out malice; his face crimsoned and then paled; presently bis glance sought tho carpet While he struggled to formulato a verbal defense against her accusation Shirley continued : "You had erected a huge snwmlll and built and equipped a logging rood beforo you discovered you hod been swindled. So, In order to save ns much as possible from Uie wrtck, you decided to unload your white elephant on somebody else. I was tho readiest victim. You were the executor of my father's estate you were my guardian and financial adviser, nnd so you found It very, very cosy to swindle me I" "I had my back to tho wall," ho quavered. "I was desperate nnd It wnsn't nt nil Uio bad Investment you have been told It Is. You hod the money moro money than you knew whnt to do with and with the proceeds of Uio sale of thoso cedar lands, I know I could make an Investment In California redwood and more than retrieve my fortunes mnke big money for both of us." "You might have borrowed the money from me. You know I have never hesitated hes-itated to Join In your enterprises." "This wns too big a deal for you, Shirley. I had vision. I could see Incalculable In-calculable riches In this redwood empire, em-pire, but it was a tremendous gamble and required twenty millions to swing It at the very start I dreamed of the control of California redwood; and If you will stand by me, Shirley, I shall yet make ray dream come true and half of It shall bo yours. It hns always been my Intention to buy back from you secretly and nt a nice profit to you that Cnrlbou red cedar, and with tho acquisition of Uio Cardigan properties I would have been" In position to do so. Why, that Cardigan tract In Uie San Hedrln which we will buy In within with-in n yenr for hnlf n million, is worth Ave millions at least. And by thnt time, I feel certain In fact, I know the Northern Pacific will commence building In from the south, from Wll-llts." Wll-llts." "I shall" ho began, but. he paused abruptly, as If he had suddenly remembered re-membered that tact nnd not pugnacity wns tho requirement for the hnndllng of this ticklish situation. She silenced him with a dlsdnlnful gestnre. "You shnll not smnsh the Curdlgnns," sho dcclnred flruily. "You ' are devoid of mercy, of a sense of i sportsmanship. Not, then. Uncle' Seth, listen to me: You hnve twenty-four hours In which to make up your, mind whether to accept my ultimatum or refuse It If you re-; fuse, I shall prosecute you for fraud nnd a betrayal of trust ns my father's j executor on that red cedar timber deal." He brightened o trifle. "I'm afrnld that would be a long, hard row to hoe. my dear, and of course, I shall have to defend myself." "In nddltlon," Uie girl went on quietly, qui-etly, "the county grndd Jury shnll be furnished with n stenographic report of your conversation of Thursdny night with Mayor I'oundstonp. Thnt will not be n long, hnrd row to hoe, Uncle Seth, for In nddltlon to the stenographer, I hnvo another reliable witness, Judge Moore. Your casual dlsposnl of my sednn ns n bribe to the mnyor will be hnrd to explnln and rather nmuslng, In view of the fnct thnt Bryce Cardigan mnnnged to frighten fright-en Mr. Poundstone Into returning tho sednn while you were away. And If thnt Is not sufficient for my purpose, I hnvo the sworn confession of the Blnck Minorca Uint you gave him five hundred dollnrs to kill Bryce Cardlgnn. Your woods boss, Rondenu, will nlso swenr thnt you nppronched him with n proposition to do nwny with Bryco Cnrdlgnn. I think, therefore, thnt you 1 will rcndlly see how Impossible n sit-! sit-! untlon you hnvo mnnnged to crente nnd will not dlsngreo with mo when I suggest thnt It would bo better for you to lenvo this county." Ills fnce fcnd gone grny nnd hng-gnrd. hng-gnrd. "I enn't," ho murmured, "I enn't lenve this grent business now. I Your own Interest In the compnny render such n course unthlnknble. Without my hnnd nt the helm, things will go to smnsh." "I'll risk that. I want to get rid of ' thnt worthless red cednr timber; bo I think you had better buy It back from mo at the snme figures at which you sold It to me." "But I haven't the money nnd I can't borrow It. I I " "I will hnve the equivalent In stock of tho Lngunn Grnndo Lumber compnny. com-pnny. You will cnll on Judgo Moore to complete the trnnsnctlon nnd lenve with him your resignation as president of the Lngunn Grnndo Lumber compnny." com-pnny." The Colonel raised his glnnco nnd bent It upon her In cdld nppralsnl. Sho met It with firmness, nnd the thought enme to him: "Sho Is n Ten-nlngton Ten-nlngton I" And hope died out in his henrt Ho hegnn pleading in mnudlln fnshion for mercy, for compromise. But tho girl wns obdurate. "I nm showing you moro mercy than you deserve you to whom mercy wns ever n sign of weakness, of vnclllntlon. Thero Is a gulf between us, Undo Seth a gulf which for a long tlmo I have dimly Bensed nnd which, bo-cause bo-cause of my recent discoveries, bus widened until It can no longer Do bridged." He wrung his hands In desperation and slid to his knees beforo her: with hypocritical endearments he strovo to H take her hand, but she drew away from (H him. "Don't touch me," she cried H sharply and with a breaking note In H her voice. "You planned to kill Bryce H Cnrdlgnn 1 And for thnt nnd that H nlono J shall never forgive you.k' H She fled from Uio ofllce, leaving htm R cringing nnd grovelling on tho floor. "There will bo no directors' meeting, iff Mr. Sexton," she Informed tho mnna- iff ger as she passed through tho general W ofllce. "It Is postponed." H That trying interview had wWhed H Shirley's soul to a degree tJuotc$if?.Gr M fnlnt nnd wenk. She at onco set out ff on n long drive, In the hopo thnt bo- ff fore she turned homeward again she 9 might regain something of her cus- W tomnry composure. fj Presently the asphaltum-pavcd j street gavo wny to a dirt rond and H terminated abruptly at tho boundaries 85 of n Held thnt sloped gently upward w a field studded with huge block red- i wood stumps showing dismally 9 through coronets of young redwoods ffl Uiat grew riotously around the bnso i of tho departed parent trees. From H the fringe of the thicket thus formed, 1 the terminus of nn old skid-road f showed nnd n slgnbonrd, freshly pnlnt- cd, pointed tho wny to tho Valley of 1 Uie Giants. S Shirley had not Intended to come i here, but now that sho hod arrived, It occurred to her that it was hero sho wanted to come. Parking her car ft by tho side of the road, oho alighted I nnd proceeded up Uie old skid, now g newly plunked and with tho encroach- 1 Ing forcstratlon cut away so that tho f daylight might enter from above. On 3 over tho gcnUo dlvldo sho went nnd i down toward tho amphitheater whero J the primeval giants grow. And as j she approached it, the sound that is silence In tho redwoods tho thunderous thunder-ous diapason of the centuries wovo I Its spell upon her; quickly, lmpercept- j ibly thero faded from her mind tho j memory of that grovelling Thing she hod left behind In tho mill-office, and f In Its place there came a subtle peace, 1 a feeling of awe, of wonder such a j feeling, Indeed, ns must come to one In Uio realization thnt man Is distant 1 but God Is near. H A cluster of wild orchids pendent 1 from the great fungus-covered roots j of n giant challenged her attention. 1 Sho gathered them. Farther on, In I t spot where a Bhnft of sunlight fell, 1 ihe plucked nn armful of golden Cal- js Ifornla popples and flaming rhododen- ffl dren, and with her delicate burden H she came nt length to the giant-guard- cd clearing where tho halo of sunlight I fell upon tho grave of Bryco Cardl- 1 gnn's mother. There were red roses nn It n couple of dozen, at leait, and 1 thet-e t-lii' ifurrnngod lu order to make jg room for bur own offering. jj "Poor dear J" she murmured aud- 1 Ibly "God didn't spare you for much ' i happiness, did ho?" I A voire, deep, resonant kindly. H "Who Is It7" i spoke a few feet away. ' "Who Is It?" u Shirley, startled, turned swiftly. Scntcd across the llttlo amphitheater I In n lumberjack's easy-chair fashioned H from nn old barrel, John Cardlgnn sat, ff his sightless gaze bent upon her. "Who H Is it?" he repeated, I "Shirley Sumner," she answered. ff "You do not know me, Mr. Cnrdlgnn." ff "No," replied he, "I do not. That I Is a nnme I have heard, however. You ff are Seth Pennington's niece. Is some- I ono with you?" I "I nm quite alone, Mr. Cardigan." I "And why 'did you come here alone?" ff he queried. ff "I I wanted to think." ff "You menn you wanted to think ff clearly, my dear. Ah, yes, this Is tho ff placo for Uioughts." He was silent ff u moment Then: "You wore tldnk- M Ing aloud, Miss Shirley SumuA, J lieurd you. You snld: 'Pooryji' 9 God didn't spnro you for much nap- I plncss. did he?' Then you knew m about her being here." ff "Yes, sir. Somo ten years 'ago, j when I was n very llttlo girl, I met jf your son Bryce. IIo gnvo mo a rldo 1 on his Indlnn pony, nnd wo enmo hore. 9 So I remember." I "Well, I dcclarol Ten years ago, 9 eh? You'vo mot eh? You've met 9 Bryce since his return to Sequoia, I I believe. He's quite a fellow now." I "Ho Is Indeed." I John Cnrdlgnn nodded aogely. "So 9 that'B why you thought aloud," he re- 9 marked Impersonally. "Bryce told you 1 about her. You aro right, Miss Shir- 9 ley Sumner. God didn't give her I much tlnm for happiness Just three B yenrfi; but" oh, such1 wonderful years I 1 (Continued next week.) 9 |