Show a I 41 l 1 w Harold Titus 4 n. n NU V c GC e. e SYNOPSIS Ben Den Elliott from rom Yonder Tender makes his entry Into the lumbering town of ot bringing along an anold anold anold old man Don Stuart who had bad been eager to reach Tincup Elliott deElta de- de Elta Bull Duval king o of tho river ird d town bully In n a log log con con- test Nicholas Brandon the tho towns town's loading citizen resents Stuart Stuart's presence presence presence pres pres- ence trying to force him to leave town and Elliott resenting the tho act knocks him down Elliott Is arrested arrest- arrest cd ed but finds ands a friend In Judo Able Ablo Armitage Tho The hires him to torun torun torun run the one ono lumber camp the Hoot Owl that Brandon h has s not boen boon able to grab This belongs to Dawn McManus Mc Jc- c- c Manus daughter of or Brandon's old partner who has disappeared with witha a n. murder charge chargo hanging over his head Brandon sends his bully Duval Duval Duval Du Du- Du- Du val to beat up Ben Den and Bon Ben In a fist fiat tight fight and throws him out of or camp Old Don Stuart dies leaving leavIn a letter for or Elliott to be used when the going becomes to too tough CHAPTER III III-Continued III Continued G 6 Elliott smiled Maybe Its It's only n a sick n sick mans man's dream Bird E e And ln mn maybe be Its It's an nn nn an nee ace aceti v ti In J lu the hole Iv Ive I've never yet looked nt at my ray hole card until Im I'm beaten on the hoard board Im I'm not beaten yet b by a long walk Eye Bird E e scratched his heo head No not yet et Nd may th saints kope kape ye e lr evir as ns far tar from a n MS as y ye e e are now Ben en Elliott I But Dut Id I'd bike to bet m my noble car Unit that Donny wrote some some- thin to do with th thO kullin killin av ay Sam Faison Fanon I would I 1 Well you yoo cant can't pet get et nay any takers here Blyd Bird Ee Eye Not tonight Into the hay now and let me sleep And about the time Ume Ben Den Elliott burrowed Into his pillow nn and shed responsibility and perplexing problems lems Jems Nicholas Brandon turned In Inthe Inthe Inthe the pacing of or his cold and otherwise otherwise other otherwIse wise deserted office and cocked his head hend l alertly It was not unusual for tor him to be late In his office But ut 4 those hose drawn sha shades es and this quick restless harried march to and fro around and about and that perspiration per per- which beaded ed his forehead forehead fore fore- head hea and the sudden and at nt the slightest sound Those were not usual for a n man so thoroughly established In his com corn that he dictated every q phase of f Its Ufo life and activity He lIe stopped after a n time and openIng opening open open- Ing a 0 drawer rawer of ot his big desk took tool from It Jt a 0 bottlo bottle of or whisk whisky shook himself and muttered softly For a 0 time he held It In his han hands s de de- de- de bating Then with finality muttered muttered muttered mut- mut No A clear head hea now no I He lIe shut the liquor In Its place and resumed his pacing Nicholas Brandon may have ruled and the surrounding country country coun coun- try with nn an Iron absolutism But Dut tonight alone In his office rem remembering em bering t the e words and looks nn and gestures of or E Eye Bird e Blaine a lowly lowy low low- ly y employee ee of ot an nn Insolvent venture venture ven ven- ture seeing again the flash of ot that letter Jetter waved before his eyes ejes he was no DO commanding figure lie II was a n frightened man a n hunted man battling battling battling bat bat- to retain a hold on himself CHAPTER IV IVr r t T BEN EX EA ELLIOTT had been on the job at nt Hoot Owl Just two weeks Able was with him for the night Ben en was tireless It seemed Since the beginning he be had labored daytimes schemed until late Inte at nt night and now v ho lie spent another hour with Able Alile trying as ns he lie said 40 make every dime look like a del del- el lar lar Now My finy 1 His nis face tace took on n curious smile as they finally folded their papers I III haven't had much time to think about nn anything but patching up this outfit and getting It to function but bot through It all allone allone one things thing's kept bobbing up s so se oft otto often en Its It's got cot my curiosity on Its hind hindle le legs s Who was McManus lc lonus What hat about 4 Sam ra Paxson Whore Where docs does the tho little girl Irl youre you're guardian for come conic In Little Able said startled and then smiled Why Dawn Is IsI IsI Is- Is I keep hearing about these the men McManus and Farson Fuson and how Brandon Is trying to beat bent you yu down downS so S She he lie can cheat the orphan child How no- about It nil alii Ables Abie's smile died out He lIe shoved 4 up his spectacles and rubbed his c eyes cs Ill In have o to make a n long Jong story short Ahart Just hit the high spots First Nicholas Brandon and Denny McManus McManus Mc Mc- Ic- Ic I Manus came Into this country when I they weren't much mere boys i They were the tile first hardwood operators opere oper- I In this country Thc They'd d had some experience and a n little money Jut but they hit lilt at tho the rJ right lit ht time picked up a raft of or timber for n a A tong ong on rn st started turning It Into a n fortune McManus lc was married and had the daughter Dawn Brandon never married Just when they were swinging nicely everything e running running run run- ning smooth as ns butter McManus' McManus wife wiCe died He fie was as deeply In love lovens as ns any man Ive I've ever eer seen and It sent him completely te tt pot He De took to heavy drinking and got himself himself him him- self In n a n bad way Of O the two Denny was the te more popular He Ho was friendly charitable charita charlta- ble had a n heart henrt as big as a camp stove and as ns soft as a 0 sponge Hed He'd ed go bO the route for tor anybody Why Why Why- probably youve you've never even heard beard this when this when eld Don Stuart rimmed the tho company It was McManus Ic Ianus who stood In the way of ot prosecution prosecution- Don had cruised and bought a n lot lotof lotof of ot stuff for them IIo He always had been a 0 drinker himself and on one spree got Jot Into some sert sort of at mess and crooked the company out of oC three or four tour hundred dollars Enough b nn anyhow how to let himself In n for n Ion long term In the penitentiary J If they'd pushed It Brandon wanted t to prosecute all nn right but Mc McManus lan us stood up for Don That was typical typical tP ical leal of ot the man friendly forgiving I ing a real human being If you ou un un- But ut Mac Inc went to pieces himself He ne would be off on a bender for lor weeks at nt a n time and scarcely get vcr over the tho shakes before hed he'd start starton on another Finally he got so 80 bad that Brandon sent him out to n a hunting camp on the river with a n afine afine fine old trapper named Sam Great old character Sam Brandon figured and figured and It seemed reasonable reasonable- that Sam could keep Mac nc away from the booze you see He lie was there a week or so o tapering of off gradually s seeing nobody but Sam Brandon was working away like a n nailer bu buying up a lot of ot stuff for himself probably figuring that If It McManus didn't straighten up hed he'd operate on his own hook McManus r r r I Ia 1 I a t No A Clear Head Now had this Hoot Owl stuff cinched In his own name before he went bad Well one night we were In the middle of ot a three day blizzard nn and Sam stumbled Into Don Stuart's Stuarts Stuarts Stuart's Stu Stu- arts art's shanty on the edge of ot town shot through the arm and t frozen ozen so 80 badly that he died led the next afternoon aft art Dons Don's story story voice voice slowing slowIng slowIng slow- slow Ing and a finger raised for emphasis sis was vas that told him McManus McManus Mc Mc- rc- rc Manus had gotten out of or booze and turned ugly an and that when he he Sam Sam trIed tried to prevent him from starting for town after more whisky he lie went wild n at t Sam and shot him Ho He was hit bit In the arm had to have help and In trying to get It suffered more exposure than any man could stand Well that caused a great grent stir I IA IA A party hit straight out for the camp and couldn't find hJ tilde hide e nor hair nor BI sign of ot Mac A couple of ot old trailers agreed that somebody had gono gone down to the rl river n r below v the camp the night that Faison was shot The Tho Mad Ind Woman Is 18 swift at nt that bend and never freezes The trail seemed to go right to the edge of ot the tile stream and the accepted theory theory the the- ory was that Mc McManus realizing what he had done had drowned himself The Tho fact that nothing has hns ever er been seen or heard of ot him since lends strength to that suppo uppa An An Inquest was held on Dons Don's star story a n warrant was wits Issued for McManus McManus Mc Mc- Ic Manus Ianus and so It stands after all these se years Ho Dc rubbed his face Now that's that The thing that's stuck In ill the tho minds of ot some of ot us Is tills this that McManus lc Innus under no circumstances ever e showed a n quarrelsome quarrelsome streak let alone giving evidence evidence evi I dence of being a 0 killer However er with with a shrug shrug bed hed been on along n a long long drunk Ho ne paused and shook his head hend Then went on Brandon curried carried on the partner I ship and his own Interests buying his own logs Jogs In the name of ot the firm and sawing them In the mill He De bought right and left left and right As soon as ns another man would plan to operate here Brandon would try to buy him out If It he couldn't buy at nt his own figure things commenced to tt happen to that man Duval has hns figured In Ina Inn ina a n good runny many failures nodding In-nodding nodding profoundly ly The Tho man seemed to be obsessed by the Idea that he must own all aU the timber In the locality Finally It came down to this one piece owned by McManus e which was the last lost which Brandon wanted nn and that he didn't have He commenced to Jockey so he lie could get title to It Homer Campbell was ju judge ge of or probate then Nick went to Homer with a n petition to have McManus rc Innus declared lc legally aUy dead so the estate could be probated and this timber disposed of at Mac ha had been gone Jone seven years an and such an arrangement could be br brought about according to law you ou sec see However Homer lIomer got the notion that Brandon was a mite too anxious anxious ous oos satisfied himself that while Brandon was getting rich personally the partnership was In a bad way and decided ed that he wouldn't be a n party tc tt any scheme to rob nn an esta estate te That ended Homer politically Nick put up another cnn candidate and trimmed us properly and we knew that when the tile new Judge came In hed he'd take orders from Brandon So Homer Domer surprised Brandon on by reopening reopening reopening re re- re- re opening the McManus matter declaring de do- daring claring him Je legally dead dea and appointed appointed appointed ap ap- ap- ap pointed me n administrator for the estate an and guardian lan for Dawn Nick lck was pretty mad all nH right I commenced to pry Into things found that the tho partnership books certainly did look ba bad nn and decided to take a licking there and sold out the Mc McManus lanus Interest We Wo were I stung all nH right but there was no use squealing I 1 took the money paid up the mortgage on the Hoot Owl sent Dawn off to school Inthe Inthe In the tho East where she woul wouldn't nt be known as ns the daughter of ot a murderer mur mur- derer derer-a derer a cloud which was misshaping ing her whole life and life and tried to tomake tomake tomake make some money for her how It stan stands s to date Ive I've failed Were We're on the ragged e edge ge the estate right now considering considering con con- the location of ot this timber Umber In Dran Brandon's ons on's territory as a n liability liability ity is insolvent Dawns Dawn's hn had to come back here to live where she's unhappy and what's ahead of U us depends on you Ben Den gave gaye a wry smile This killing thing now Did anybody ever eyer suspect Brandon Brane fn n i Able shook his hea head and McManus were alone And McManus disappeared I 1 know what's In your mind Ben But there was nothing to support the cion don He lIe sat silent a moment nn and then asked read old Dons Don's letter yet yeti Not yet Im I'm superstitious I dont don't like to use all Ive I've got until I have hn to dont don't even like to look Jook at my hole cord card Well WeH Its It's your message that letter letter let Jet ter your OUr prop property rt Able said sold And the nuts nut's going to get tougher fast fastI I hate to think what'd happen If Il we had to stop sawing for two or three days n s 's right now no noA A shutdown own certainly would put temper Into the shell of ot the nut Ben Den and an and He lIe stopped short Into the stillness stillness still sUH ness of the room came come a n muffled shout Ben Den started to his feet nn and Able turned a bewildered face Inthe Inthe in inthe the direction of oC the sound Fire I a walling voice cried Th mills mill's on fire I Buller could coul be heard bounding from his bed In the tho next room Able lurched to t the e door to see Ben en Elliott Elliott El El- liott flying toward the e yard mill silhouetted ed against the dull duH glow of angry flame arne which showed through cracks In the mill The wide doorways to the ground floor were rectangles of oC dull duH orange The fire was In there beneath beneath be be- neath the deck under the carriage carriage eating Into the very ery vitals of ot the mill mm A water barrel stood beneath the slide Its bucket dangling from a n astick astick stick laid across the top but the tho barrel was empty empt Ben seized the bucket smashed the thin Ice that had formed over o the hot pond filled his pall pail and rushed through tho open doorways Into the tho smoke smoke- He ne had a n clear sense of ot Bullers Buller's voice crying the alarm and of or answering shouts as the men began turning out of ot their blankets Ben soused his bucket of ot water Into the tho heart o of the burning area nn and It t scattered the blaze blazo with a sound The ho flame did not go out It only scattered His eyes and nod reason his told him then what his nostrils had failed to register In his first excitement Gasoline he panted ns as he lie ran out colliding with Buller Duller In the doorway Somebody touched her heroff oft off I Soaked with gasoline in there Look Its It's spreading fast fasti IMen J I Men were coming shouting as ns they ran through the darkness In all aU stages of ot partial dress they came crowding close to Elliott and Buller Duller Stand still you and keep still stUl J Ben snapped You McFee and you and you you pointing pointing to In Roll Boll that barrel of salt up from the siding Now Xo 1 Snap Into It You Tan and you and you you Indicating In ing ot other er men men men- men get get t every ery bucket bocket In the place Water Sater buckets from rom the barrels In the yard and olon along the tramways palls pails from hns t kettles anything that'll hold and carry water You there get me an nn ax and a n shovel el Snappy now lIlls l 1 Ills His voice had bite to It and as ns ashe ashe he toned tolled the men off oft for these explicit explicit ex ex- errands they went on the run Buller Duller I 1 Get upstairs and knock a n hole In the floor to the left of ot the saw Couple of boards wide So long measuring long measuring with his spread hands Weve We got to get that flame drawing straight up Instead of or mushrooming all over the floor hot bot tom Form the rest of ot your men Into n a bucket brigade e and pass Water water water wa wa- ter up the slide e. e Fast as ns you youcan cnn can cant I Dont Don't anybody think about nn anything but sending up full tuU buckets buckets buckets |