| Show hel r a W s L e AV by COURTNEY RYLEY COOPER 0 by the hell bell syndicate inc service CHAPTER 11 II 2 A new marshal barts interview with leon harrows barrows had been but little different front from othera in the past that barrows had refused to tell the identity identify of the person who had furnished the money to sustain franklin rogers during the days when tits his son had been held in hospital after hospital did not surprise bart in the least the true amaze ment was the fact that he and tits his fattier father had possessed a friend who desired to remain in the dark for friends with them had been very few seven years before they had come west to play with fate in the tilling of a quarter section of dry sandy soil they had fought for their water rights and obtained them at last then they lind worked as only a father and son can work when there Is perfect communion mu tilon A dry winter in the mountains with a consequent dwindling irrigation supply had taken their savings in one summer then a crop bountiful and marketed at high prices ha had I 1 lifted them to the pinnacle only to be followed by war more than two years after the ending of the war bart had been allowed to come home and start on the winning road in spite of tin an invalid father and the pressure of debt only to find a mystery at the bottom of it all who had been the man who had taken notes only as a formality who had entered into a pact with tits his fattier father bart gave it up and joined a little group in front of the polling place who surrounded tom jordan the apparently successful candidate bart looked around for the other aspirant broad shouldered blustering bull branni ston eton but failed to see him instead lie ile moved forward quietly as a girl came around the corner a rather childish appearing and wistful featured girl who hesitated then turned toward the bent angular figure of an old man who mho followed her find and who hastened to her side with a sort of doglike dog like devotion in obedience to her silent command coming for the results miss fran nl ston he questioned yes she smiled quickly who won they finished counting the ballots in here yet the other oilier four precincts gave a majority of about to toni tom jordan did they honestly hart bart rogers believed lie he caught a tone of hope in her voice olce then then fathers beaten it looks that way im so sorry bart rogers looked at it her quickly wondering it if what she said were the truth if youre sorry pro im sorry too miss Fr anniston lie ile moved closer to her but to tell the truth I 1 voted the other way 1 I I 1 ii understand she hesitated and turned away as though to tilde hide the expression which a bitter memory lind had brought to her features then the doglike dog like old jim once more following her she went on but bart rogers watched after lier her to him slie she represented more than a pretty likable girl she was all and nothing an unattainable ideal to him she represented the gap the near hatred which stood between him and bull Fr anniston her f fat ather lier a gap which dated back to the night before bart had bad left for france ile he had been walking along the road toward town when suddenly lip lie had stopped at the sound of a girlish scream foli fol i owed by the hoarse anger burdened voice of a man lie ile had turned and running back the road had leaped toward a man and a girl the girl cringing and frightened the man bellowing over her fist clenched for another blow then bart rogers had fought fought with all the strength in him fought against superior odds and he had won while in the background the frightened girl had crouched in the arms anna of a whimpering prematurely aged man only to learn when once victory had bad been his that lie he had fought a fattier father to prevent him blin from beating his own daughter more than once had find bart rogers wondered if bull Fr anniston still strove to bent beat his daughter and if old jim shrunk whimpering and helpless in the background more afore than once too hau he dreamed of the time when the ithe load of debt which now was ills his he lifted that he might think of other things than work of a girl perhaps a girl for whom be might strive that the frightened wistful glance might depart from her eyes forever and glowing Imp beam there in but the dream had bad not come ute tru so now as in the past lie he was wall a w watcher atelier looking after them as aa they mado made their way down the street the crowd at the curbing moved moed forward we uio workers surging about the red faced somewhat docile appearing tom jordan lis as lie he went forward to receive the verdict the election judge grinned and PU put t forth a hand so im mayor eh genial easygoing old toro tom jordan ex cattleman merely stood and grinned gosh I 1 then the workers surged about him while at the very edge bart rogers stood smiling and satisfied lie ile had wanted tom jordan to win not that jordan would make a w wonderful on mayor but rogers knew ono one thing that tom jordan would try to do the ho right thing whether he accomplished plis lied the feat or not at last the group about the newly elected mayor parted and bart rogers true to small western town fo form ani went forward to proffer hla his congratulations the big cattleman boomed with happiness just as he had done with the others who had shaken his hand then suddenly lie he sobered 1113 hart art lie he said quietly as he drew him film aside ive had my eye on you for a long time now I 1 want to ask you a personal question are you as friendly with bull Fr anniston as you are with his daughter 1 I vote for him I 1 im nor not a in Frati man mr air jordan good enough dart bart I 1 I 1 had a hunch you but I 1 just wanted to be sure you see bart im easy coln im the sort of fellow who lets tits his friends play piny with him and do him up brown ra cathern thern say no to lem em so im lookin for a young fellow with a good strong chin that I 1 can say to here theres only one job in this town that has to to do with the keeping of the peace e and the marshal im going to give you that job I 1 want him the kind of a fellow pinch my best friend if lies hes done wrong and tell me to go to li I 1 if I 1 come at along long and try to get him out understand exactly all ri right gh t bart rogers and a big friendly hand found a place on the younger mans shoulders ive been looking over the herd considerable and ive just about come to the conclusion that youre the critter I 1 want what say but I 1 dont know anything about the job know anything about war until you went into it did yc you no true all right the same thing goes here what say can I 1 have a little time to think it over sure a weekly week if you want it 1 I guess I 1 ought to know by th that n t time then the obart bart thanked jordan a and nd shorted started tobun to run home A half mile and he dropped into a walk again to ease the pull on his lungs for the mark of a bullet still remained there unnoticed most of the time but ready to protest at the first heavy strain five hundred yards he gained his breath again and once more increased tits his speed only to turn suddenly from the road to stop and to watch with something of amused interest as a car cai lurched over a hill bill bore down upon him then in a swirl of dust passed him on the way to town bull Fr anniston mused rogers as lie he eyed the dust hazed form of the man at the wheel sure Is hurrying guess he must be beating it into town to find out how bad lie he got whipped iri in the election soon however three more machines roared past and lie once more resumed tits his journey wondering slightly the cause of four racing machines each loaded to its limit but only for a moment then the throbbing of other engines from the rear caused him again to stand vide in straight succession three blustered by nor did the occupants seem to heed tits his waving signals as he strove to flag them at lost however in obedience to tits his frantic appeals tin an overloaded vehicle came to a skidding stop and rogers laughing ran toward it just had to flag you ou lie he apologized so many blamed machines passing I 1 cant keep to the road well hurry up the driver was playing placing with the hand throttle this things to big too miss thing rogers stared what thing happened happened the man at the wheel stared blankly at him as rogers caught the windshield and clung precariously to a footing un on the running board as the machine started again dont you conw oil I 1 happened I 1 oil you mean over there where been drilling where else do you suppose 1 III 1 I 1 I dont know A sudden excitement cit had swept cool thoughts from the brain of dart bart rogers do you really mean it struck oil over oer there you mean the derrick over by ay iy my place youre ciure rogers arent you the driver looked at him with a new in how much land have you got la A hundred and sixty what do you want for it 1 I 1 I dont know tell me about the oll oil there any joke about this Is there juke of course not bull fran neston brought the word the well came in about an hour aso ago its ite a gusher from what he said run barrels a day 0 bart rogers could only repeat the shouted announcement of the driver ten thousand barrels a day and trio well was less than a halt mile from hir bin division fencel fence 1 that meant what did it mean meant what it mean oil pools are not selective things they extend for miles and this dart bart rogers knew As the chugging motor car whizzed away the last mile the shouting driver told him of the possible 1 wealth which lay for him in the future then the car turned the last bend in the road and there before him dart bart rogers saw a dream come true the sun was waa just setting and silhouetted against it was the oil derrick a black skeleton like thing spraying toward the sky a spouting stream of ebony which disintegrating and drifting with the wind caught the sheen of the dying sun and burst into myriad rainbows A floating mass of colors such was that spray which new flow high from the gushing well colors which seemed to wipe out for bart rogers tits his colorless past and commingle into a painting of happiness for the future nearer and nearer they came to the derrick and the thronging persons about it then bart unable to hold himself longer leaped from the running board of tha car as the machine wallowed ina in a and raced toward the derr derrick ck will it last it seemed to be the only question he could think of as he forced ills his way toward the drillers drillars dr illers will it last they 1 looked at him with scornful ful eyes of course last its just the beginning this coun arys going to be a madhouse of money inside of three months oil and its high gradel grade 1 bart rogers rogera turned awny away pale with the realization of what had happened trembling with the excitement of it throbbing with the knowledge that his troubles and the troubles of the roan man w who ho awaited him in the little cabin over the hill were over rich I 1 lie he gasped and there was an instinctive reverence in the tone 11 I 1 aich I 1 ile he swerved away now running plunging through the irrigation ditch in water to his armpits then dripping scrambled onward neither realizing tits his wetness nor caring A half mile away lay a little cabin just visible when lie ho reached the top of the hill a cabin where the rays of the setting sun had blazed the windows to ruddy gold as though in prophecy and where awaited the man to whom bart rogers longed most of all give the news of happiness and of wealth ive got to be careful with him he said to himself got to ao break it easy get him too excited better not tell him the whole truth better let it grow day by day yes it better just tell him that brought in oil enough so that we wont have to worry then through sheer will power he r restrained est rained himself to a walk valk so that his own excitement might not betray the true importance of tits his message then his eyes beaming what tits his lips could not say lie he forced himself to a leisurely pace and approached the house hello dadi dad I 1 it was the usual evening greeting placing his hand upon the shoulder of the slumped figure he w waited as he be always had waited in the vain hope that this might be the night where there would come an answer when some faint vocal sound would tell of a return of speech and a chance for recovery but there was Is only silence As usual bart patted the shoulder lovingly and turning groped through the gathering darkness for the lamp got a little news today dad he be chatted as lie shook the old oil burner and scraped the wick with the burning 11 match atch they brought in some oil over at the derrick pont think it amounts to so much but whatever it Is it boosts the price of our land anything that looks like oil you know means money of course it may a amount in aunt to a lot and then it may amount to nothing so I 1 guess we get excited about it ile he wiped the chimney and adjusted it set the lamp upon a table then he went to the chair which always awaited him film the one beside the big comfortable one where rested the invalid yep dad whatever it is were bound to come out ahead oh ob and lie he allowed a bit of his enthusiasm to roll forth in a laugh were going to get there yet et y ou on and 1 I just wait an and d see 1 I ile he stopped ills his outstretched hand had touched the placid plat id one of tits his father it was cold ghastly cold suddenly trembling lie he rose and faced the form in the chair dad lie he culled called dad 1 but the tha faint reflected rays of the lamp showed no answering light in the set stare of the eyes the mouth was dropped and drawn the features were fixed again bart rogers called in a voice that bore a note of agony feverishly he grasped the ley icy hands and rubbed them hoping against hope ile HP burled his head against the chest where as a tousle headed boy he often had rested praying hoping but bart rogers fattier father was dead mora complications the hero her at war with the heroines herol nc fa therl but love will find away TO BE BB CONTINUED |
