Show A a j tf f A 1 I W BT WN N t th st an ath ST r nar f th it alt y or lit 19 trie rill ini THE KILLERS CHARGE TOO LATE the tear up snarling with wrath but for a moment it dared not charge tito avi sudden appearance of the girl and the horse held him hia momentarily at bay the girl swung to the ground in one leap imp fired again thrust her arm through the loop of the bridle rein cin then knell at I 1 braces side the white blade that she carried in in liar her left hand imbed at his bonds the horse plunging phi nging seemed to jerk her body lack back and forth and endless seconds seemed to go by before the last of the thongs was severed fevered in reality the ilia whole rewie re wie was unbelievably swift the man mail helped her alt all lie he could up up into the alto saddle she cornin commanded once wore more the pistol cracked then the horse broke and ran in a frenzy of terror bruce was ual full in the ilia saddle by then and even at the ilia first leap his arm swept out ou t to the ilis girl gill on the ground beside him ut ire swung tier her towards him and at the same unto time her hand anch caught at the arching back of the saddle never had her ft fine ne young strength been put to a greater test lest than when she pulled herself up lip to a position of security the killer s charge had come a few seconds too late 1 I I 1 here you have them the hero hem the heroine and the great grizzly which dominates more than one scene in the strength of the pines for ehlt stirring story Is a tale of the oregon wilderness where nature mikes makes civilized man look small mall out but to the right kind of man nature gives strength from tier her strength dy by the girls cabin stands a great sentinel pine and from the army of pines at its back comes the strength that gives tills this city man the power bowin at long odds adds from the evil clan of mountaineers that menaces him and the girl he loves this Is edison marshalls marchalls Mar second novel hes a native of oregon and lives it at medford he began to attract attention in 1918 1916 when lie ho was a newspaper man by his short stories in 1921 1021 he won the first prize of thi the society of arts and sciences of new york with a tory the rho heart of little shikara kara his first book was the voice of the I 1 pack nick which ch was published in 1920 and Is still selling belling read the strength of tile the pines and you will see why his hia public has bren been won BOOK ONE THE CALL OF THE BLOOD CHAPTER I 1 bi alnico was alas wakened by the sharp ring or 0 lila telephone bell instantly lie ho was fully aroused in complete coir coil trot rol of 0 till nil ills his faculties facilities and tills Is not common to wen bred in tile of cl illation civilization stather it Is it a trait or of tho lio wild creatures a little matter that hint la Is it if they care nt lit till nil about living fron learn the trait too bul eliut q bruce was tins a dweller of nf it seemed st strange rangen jn thin then lip lie grunt grunted Vil anti and glanced nt at ills watch beneath chepil lie lo 10 low iio had pono to bed curly it just midnight now I 1 lie ile had no doubts whatever concerning ile linture of this coil there hall been une ino hundred 1110 it dullni tile previous month ills foster fallier had recently died ills his ans as being set tied led up and had been it abing a medhat Kome 14 0 vhal s line lits fill ere dItori llo ile understood under tile annn i real en financial situation lit last tit nt ills 1113 benth tho the whole bushness busl ness structure collapsed like the lie egg eliell it was truce lind find supposed that niort of the hie debts lint lind been paid bowl lie wilia my dered as 03 he fumbled into lils ills bedroom slippers whether the thousand or SD all dollars dol lats left would tilt clarill of lie antion ann who vr calling in 9 ilia bilm to the yoila ils Is sir bir Iun hii can cun i lie ile sold cold w ly y into we the transmitter ilow do you ou to do mr air duncan a voice answer answered co portion tile 1110 if I 1 rot got you up un I 1 ant to talk to your son bruce 11 bruce emitted a little of amazement nt whoever talked tit nt tit alic enit end of 61 tho the lit ll 11 ie e isnow th attlio diw elder ican S 1 I on ad 1 I lind flail a moment of grim girlin in which ho he mused that tills this yoke would lime hao lone done rather well it if it could arouse lili ills foster father to at mi ewer awer it it tito the elder air duncon dici last month lie on simply there was ns not tho the slightest trace of in tits ills tone no wayfarer on oil the ilia street could have been as fur far us its facts went mt more of a stra tiger to tit hini there was no sense or of 1 at atiles ills lentil death aai a nd n 1 0 for pretense now la Is druco lie ifo heard the other agn 0 O old man im sorry ills hla contrite camp came 1 I know of your our iriss tills Is barney Hiiri icy wegan nond I 1 just list got cot in from the west find a tilt of news for mont lis my illy carnat I 1 barnebl Bar neyl of 0 lourse Lour sc the grov grev on in bruehs race face for baniky we kail gan it mun man nhom tic lie find mot and lea led to know on of tile the gym hoor of tits hla club was mas quite near to being it 11 acu real friend antl nd karney voice changed tit nt once nce went back t to its saine urgent but bill rather sed tone you wont believe me f I 1 tell volt iou BO an I 1 wont try to toll tell ou on tho file phone lint but I 1 me up right away fuyi or course t ill bo be clift in a minute 11 pruce hung up p slowly descended dese ended to tits his library tind unshed flashed on oil aho lights for the birti arst time lie wits M re reeled elid plainly ills was n type hill at tile samo same line lie he jest best type tun too no ile had tile the face and the body of nn nil athlete it roan mail who keeps himself fill nt anti and there was nothing mawkish or et about won him it Is true that trien dd look at braves eye es s bet act in nu rown cut facin ever knowing exactly why they lid did so go rp I 1 ey find startling potentialities they were quite cleat clear now wide tt ond cool yet irwy lind a strange depth of 0 express expression io li und and that mean somewhere boltie nth the lie bland and cool exterior a for foi great unit und pas iwa ile he loid only a few minutes to walt then barney wegan tapped nt fit his loor tills mail wits as bronzed ly by the sun suit never more tit it never straighter lilt iiii taller and more little ile ho had just faine coine front the lie fur far placed place 4 tito embarrassment barras nt that bruce had detected lit in ills his voice was iia in ili ills face and man tier i too ton think in im arnzy for i routing outing you out nt at this time of night bruce lid li begun began and im going to got get this thag mutter matter off my chest ns as soon as possible and let YOU iou go to bed its nil batty anany but I 1 vos aa cautioned by nil 1111 tile lie devils of the deep to see sec you the moment 1 nine come liere here on the stand bruce sold said steadily and tell away allut lut tell me something list first was nn our real father if lie ha waa u ill know im up a wrong tree I 1 dont mean to tie ile personal ilo ile 11 aint I 1 thought you 1011 it my real father Is something like you ou of n mystery 1 I wont bo be it a mystery long iles hes not eh ch what oie old ling fing sald incuse me old man for saying hag nut but she iscis one it if there latiny Is tiny such lord knows who slie she la Is or ili ether or not a lop of yours lint ill begin at tile begill rill g Y you 0 u ill know nw I 1 ens way ny hock back on tile the oregon frontier inck back in tho lie Civic cascades ailes I 1 was tw for steelhead I 1 in n if a river they call tile llie roge while way up on oil the tipper I 1 heard of a vince place called trolls traits end anda a place where wise men dowiot do rut 11 go e and nd of of course you went qt course the name sounds bounds bill silly y now but it wont if you ever go there me are only aae n few families bruce tittles anti and tittles miles apart lit in tle the whole reglo region anil its enormous no oil om knows how big lust aut ridge on one tiny lay my lily gule stopped tit nt n br boolen olen don will old it tation on oil the llie hIlI sIlle flir fr 11 drink of waler I 1 was ns four faw 1 miles 1 in niep coulp the gulde guide come ack anil and me if I 1 was from tills thin very aily I 1 1 I told him yes cs rind and naked him film kv eliy I 1 ly lie wanted to know ile he wild slid that this old woman sent word secretly cec to 1 10 1 0 10 1 I 1 tile the mans voice alro broka e and changed Chang col that queer bruce I 1 every byrry stranger st that crime to fish or hunt in the region of trolls und end wail wanting ting to know if they cattle aroln here I 1 ival ana tile tho first one eliat t tin nn au prell dyca il ye anil ami the plo sold that lint I 1 pip alic wanted me to 0 o come to liar robin colln ond and see sc fl tier lier 1 I went bild I 1 wont deverlle deser lle to you how site she lucked ril ill lit al on i seo for I 1 yourself it if you iou chip C to bisnow out our lip ber instructions Instruct lons A AJ now tin the strange binic ni nic part omos conics in tile oil itoh i la 11 tier her ali arin in poin teI li it r vain in m 11 ariit tile lne if f I 1 1 k N L roii ii dy by EDISON MARSHALL author of the voice of the pack pach 1 I told tier her there mere might he several newton duncans in a city tills this size you should have hae seen tile lie villa grow till fill tier her face after so sn long after so site cried in the queerest sobbing wity then ihen site she took inart heart in art anil and hean lignell tills this newton duncon had n son 11 ister soll sim named bruce she told me inc and tbell I 1 said I 1 knew you ou you cant imagine tile tic change tint that come over ner her I 1 thought thou glit shed die of fiealt heart failure the whole hole thing filing bril clif cl if you must know gave me the creeps tell him film to conic come hero here she begged me dont lose 0 moment As won roon ns you iou get bet home tell him to conic here of f course I 1 risked why hy site she lindne written to Dull con the answer was simple enough that she know lion how to write those 11 in file that alint could write or she was n trifle vague ague on that point dispatch a letter something ts Is up imece ond I 1 dont know what but mie t lip sald for you iou to come back and find unda linda bruce suddenly leaned forward fon nril the brown face had grown quite white what hat else elic did she say sav bruce asked lie ile spoke slowly nith with evident difficulty ISi irney answered with the same slowness ench men word distinct for you ou to tome coine and she he mode me swear to if tell jell toil on the first train chilt there was no time to lose iwic the mails voice broke lind cha changed aged iiii asti t that 1 queer bruce bruce slowly stiffened the only sign of emotion i was one that even cen Bar barneis barneys eyes tr mined trolliet to the dimness of the file wilderness der ness failed to see it was just nil all ter ever clasp of ills his hands over oer the chair arms until the blue veltis eliis stood out there was as nothing else about him to indicate flint tile the lend call lind bad spoken to him tent one of the great dreanie of ills his life wits coming true lie he spoke rather painfully did lid did you iou get the idea that tile the old AvOl women lall was undo linda 1 I kit get that idea barney answered site she spoke of unda linda as site she might a young girl and ami how low do you iou got get therel there buy a ticket for deer creek in 80 southern thern oregon there was no need for bruce to write the naine it was branded lit in ills his consciousness then take up the file long road of tile divide clear to a little store they call it fifty tittles miles back then ask directions from there ask site she told tile me to tell ou on for sirs mrs ross koss bruce leaped up tip all und turned swiftly through tho the door barney called a question to ills vanishing figure just for f 1 r it an it instant bruce turned his dark acs glowing beneath ills straight brows im Pl phoning innIng asking for reservations on the first train vest he an 8 ered CHA CHAPTER IP tl before the gray down dawn came ov oer erthe the I 1 land and bruce dunca ill had 1 started westward lie ho had no nil self amazement at the lightning dec decision lAlon lie he was as only strangely and d deeply exultant tho the bensons fly went too drep deep within him to be easily seen in ili the lie first place it wn ans adventure and 1 11 auces life hall not been very cry advert heretofore then there wits was a sense of relief lit at tits ills anddew tin and on expected freedom front the lie pr oblenis lems tits father lind deft lie he would have no nn more con conseil stil with impatient creditors no more would lie strive to gather together tho rullis ruins of the lie Jiu sIness igind attempt to salvage the small recall ing frim ments of tits his rathers fathers fortune lie he find bad no plans lie know which velch way iny to tit turn all nt at once through tile the ims nies ge that 13 barney jitney hall had brought him lie hall had seen been a clear trull trall ahead it was wai something b tn do something tit at last that mattered finally there tharo remained the lie enit eminent nent rift fall that tills this was nn answer to tn ills Is I 1 ill brenni ram lie he was coln to nard linda lit at last tito girl had been the one lit in his memory that ile he hail lilt cabied for ind and who ho find cared for him the one poison person whose hose interest in him was real linda the little spitfire of if ills his boyhood liolio od had flail suddenly tho the one ty tn lit ills his world and as it in of tier her tits his memory reviewed it tile hie few impressions ho fie and retained of ills his childhood first was tile Squi lre houie the tit wacie un woman flail turned tin ned blin over to the nurse lit in clinich cl inico sometimes when tobacco smoke was hacay upon him bruce I 1 ruca rol field lill catch n very ury dim and ami fleeting glimpse c of the face it wits was anly lily ii glimpse only the faintest blur in hilla half tone and then filet quite gone yet fie imar gave gae up trying ohp few fei tonies that tier her jr ir nory did cine to him it brought 11 lillin lillinger ber of filings with it one lie of thrill was 11 0 grelet und of alint terrible tragedy tind terror ahn of lie he othild not even guess 18 hels beert through fire firc the bursi nurse told did the ihu IH when ahrn lie ho cattle came ili ID ond fill door lud closed close behind tile lie woman von bruce did if reme niter thle words be many ears elapsed before hr he litty ailed them out aliv 1111 11 lindi it meint built RU li lipa fires as swept qa ali ae IF w i stad sir cail ever berg aeeti eq i ot or tile llie northwest it wua woe kotul other oilier dread tire fire alint seared the spirit unil and burned the bloom out of tile fine face and nil all tin tile gentle lights out of ohp eyes cus it lid however leave certain lights but they were lure such that their brought no pleasure to bruce they were just juit a wild glare a fixed as of great four or fy the I 1 he boman had find kissed him tin pone gone quickly alid he fie lind had bien been too toil doting yoting to it if site she till hud carr carried uny lilly sort of bundle clove cloe to tier breast yet et tile nuin man considene con if there in must list have been such a bundle lie it possibly account tor for linda and there were vure no doubts about tier lier lit at till nil of course lie he find no memories of tier her that iret day nor for the first scars airs but all later inter memories of the atie square istl imre house always included her she must liae have been nearly genrl four years younger lhnn himself thus when lie he its taken to the houst she MUS only tin nn infant but thereafter the nurses pill nit them together often find when unda linda was able to |