Show A Il Z Harold Ti tt c 4 aa SYNOPSIS Ben Den Elliott from Yonder makes his entry Into tho the lumbering town of bringing along an anold anold old ld man Don Stuart who had been eager ager to reach rench Nicholas r Brandon the tho towns town's leading citizen f Stuarts Stuart's presence trying to force torce him to leave lea town and Elliott resenting the tho act tut knocks him down Elliott Is arrested but finds a a. friend in Judge Able Armitage Tho The judge hires him to run the tho one lumber camp the Hoot Owl that Brandon has not been able ablo to grab This be belongs belongs bo- bo longs to Dawn Dann McManus Janus daughter of Brandon's old partner who has hns disappeared with a n. murder charge Brandon hanging over his head sends his bully Duval to beat up Ben Den and Ben Den him in a fistfight fist flat light fight and throws him out of camp Old Don Stuart dies leaving a n l letter let let- t- t 1 ter ter for tor Elliott to be used when the tho going becomes too loo tough Ben refuses to open tho the letter at this time believing he ho can cnn win tho the fight by his own efforts Fire FIro breaks ou out t tIn In the mill When the tho flames aro are extinguished Don Den discovers that the lire was started with gasoline Tho The Hoot Owl gets an offer of spot cash for tor timber t that at will provide money to tide It over But Dut there thero Is a riito time limit on tho the offer i CHAPTER V Continued V-Continued 8 8 g Shortly after dinner on the tho following fol lowing day Ben lien Elliott set out to Investigate a story of ot a trappers' trappers camp on Squaw lake which lay to the northward of ot Hoot Owl V Things were going swimmingly on onto to the Job He Be was a bit ahead even of t the stiff schedule of ot production he lie had set for himself and If It the weather held reasonably good and lie could frustrate these attempts to slow alow him up he would turn the tho trick which engaged him for tho the present It was a good six miles to Squaw lake but he did not follow the most direct route Swung right and left lert now vand no and then smiling when he came cameon on a particularly fine piece of ot tim ber Certainly the Hoot Owl stuff looked better every time he be went through It Money roney standing on end endi Y i J for for tor an orphan girl If It he lie Ben Elliott should be strong enough h to outlast Nicholas Brandon's ruthlessness and persistence I lie wondered about Dawn McManus known and marked as ns the daughter of ot a murderer Tough he told himself f for r a child t to grow up under a cloud like that g He Ie started back after a fruitless Investigation and had not gone more than way half to camp when he lie came suddenly upon a fresh snowshoe snow snow- shoe trail trall He lIe stopped short with a little thrill Another prowler The Theone Theone Theone one had shortened his measures meas meas- ures s yesterday The tracks were only moments old he knew by the way 0 the freshly falling snow lay In them Ben went faster taster breaking Into ajo a n jo Jog trot where the going was good A half baH hour later he saw the moving g figure ure before him Ben nen saw him turn bout looking upward stare Into the wind which blew from rom the northwest northwest north north- west and swing to go with It rot Not completely lost as a greenhorn might be he not floundering In panic sand and traveling meaningless circles but still far Car from certain In lions Ben nen felt a tightening In his hits y throat This the tho chances were t would ouM be an encounter with one I of t the men who most certainly acting on Brandon's orders sought to hamper and hamstring him A savage sa anticipation ran his veins with that to meet this prowler would be n a greater grenter satisfaction even en than throwing Bull nuB Duval out ik j of f his camp had bad been Elliott pushed on moving faster than the other cutting down the distance between them as ns the thickening thickening thick thick- ening gloom loom made It Impossible for Cor him trim to see Bee clearly at any distance The man before him stopped suddenly suddenly sud sud- denly and faced about Elliott hesitated hesi hest wondering whether he be had been heen seen or not If It no not he lie wanted wante to trail secretly If It so sone so- so He ne dipped Into a sharp ravine climbed tb the other slope and ond came ame face Coce to face tace with the tho most loyel lovely girl Irl he could then or afterward after aCter ward remember r having seen In his life Ute Great brown eyes looked at him The nose was small aristocratic the mouth red lipped mobile he Imagined but now It was set rather grimly Into an expression of ot extreme petulance Ho no did not re register lster consciously the knitted toque of or soft maroon wool nor the well tailored Jumper and knickers Impressions leaped at him In ensemble rather than detail de do- tall tail a trim td trig competent little littlefi fi figure re Oh Olt he said when she did not speak Oh Why hello 1 I Ilie lie grinned then but no responsive a she save smile changed the tho girls girl's face tace ci C or even een I lighted her eyes ejes Good afternoon she said brusquely almost sharply r I 1 taw saw your our trail That Is s I How different this be beginning from the manner of ot address he be had planned 1 J He felt Celt called upon now to explain his presence on her trail rather than to demand a n reason renson CorlIer for Cor lier her being there I J saw V your trail he I begun c un again and I thought It seemed to me you jOU might be a 0 little lost Ao Ae A a matter of ot fact I am completely completely com turned around she site said suld It was silly of me to come Into the woods especially on a day like this without u a But nut I did and here I am She was e eyeing him closely now as though searchIng searching search search- Ing for some special detail of face or fi figure ure Lost I He thought a lost Diana I II I kept losing my bearings and had trouble getting oriented and am getting a little tired It was so silly sUly Downright stupid I If It you ou know this country you ou can set me right I should be back In before beCore long ong or they'll worry Ben wondered quickly and irrelevantly Irrelevantly vantly who They ml might ht be Yes he could get bet her out In a n half halt hour he could have hare her In his his' camp and send her on her way to town But Jut In a n half halt hour And with her ier manner so clearly hostile for tor no reason at all She Impressed him ilm as n a young woman most desirable desirable de de- de to know v well and also as one whose confidence would be slow slown In n acquiring Lost eh ell he asked and laughed oddly Matter of ot fac fact I came out without a compass myself That was truth He needed no compass for tor a short swing such as he had hod made today todD his sound woodsman's Instinct would hold him safe Well that complicates matters the girl said Ive got to get out of ot this timber and Im I'm not good for much more travel In this sort of ot going I haven't ent been on webs In several se years and Ive I've gone further than I should have By Dy George that's too bad I he said and hoped that none of ot his men who would be trekking Into camp by now v would shout or sing so their voices would break down the Illusion of ot empty distances surrounding surrounding surrounding sur sur- rounding them which evidently possessed possessed possessed pos pos- the girl Too bad I Its It's getting getting get get- tin ting dark sure enough but It Isn't very ery late Inte If It you could sit down and get your our second wind now now now- But nut what good will trill that do If It we stay here until Its It's really dark there may be no getting out until morning All I have e with me mo Is a cake of ot chocolate and the prospect of a n hungry cold night In the woods with you Isn't alluring Ben rubbed his chin Im sorry If It the Impression I make Is as bad as asI asI as- as I meant nothing personal But nut I dont don't know you I dont don't fancy being lost with an anyone one let alone a stranger stran stran- ger ger lie Ile thought she almost smiled as asIf asif asit if it relenting a bit from rom her brusque brusque- ness Look Looks 1 I he said pointing aloft alot to where a break in the clo clouds ds near the zenith let about the last of or ther the r 11 Q 4 11 1 Ii h hL L Good Afternoon She Said Brusquely daylight through Its going to clear Well We'll have e stars directly Let me build a little shelter and a fire Ore here A few minutes rest will do a alot alot alot lot of ot good and with stars we can cnn get anywhere She hesitated seeming to con con- sider Ill All 11 right I must admit the last lost half hours hour's going has line been hard Out como came his belt ax ox ore oft went the Uie lower limbs of young hemlocks In Inless Inless Inless less than It would take an un ordinary man to lop the branches he lie had a n bench bends of trampled snow on a n knoll covered with aromatic boughs and n thick windbreak of ot them behind It Then attacking a huge birch stub I he peeled off a n quantity of Joc I bark buk This he lighted from a n match matth carried In a tightly corked bottle and as ns the quickly burning stuff shed a n comfortable glow on the tho bower bow bow- er he be had hind built he knocked dead branches from a n hemlock fed them thew to the flame and then turned to n nearby dry top of ot a fallen Callen maple knocking ore oft substantial faggots She eyed the fire as he stood erect drawing ore oft his gloves es and spreading his bl big hands to the i warmth I Strange she said that you I should be lost From the wn way you make yourself comfortable In the woods Id I'd say MY you'd been born In timber From the way you jou know woodcraft woodcraft wood wood- craft when you see It Id I'd say Its It's as strange that you should be lost l 1 What I know of ot the woods was learned years ears ago One gets rust rusty Ive I've discovered ered Who are aro you and what are you doing here Her Ber directness quite took his breath Well my names name's Ben Elliott If IC that means any anything thins to you And 1 I Iwas was looking for somebody who has hns no business to be here Who are you and what brings you Into this timber timber tim Urn ber He lIe was bound now to break breakthrough breakthrough breakthrough through her aloofness That That she replied however howe Is largely my own affair But Jut Mr Elliott El liott Mott If It you ou should guess that I was simply trying to lose a n certain unpleasant unpleasant un pleasant pleD mood In the woods where I once was quite wouldn't bo be far from right She spoke incisively ely and unhesitatingly unhesitatingly but it seemed to him that behind this brusqueness was something something some some- thing quite different something he could not quite fathom Ho lIe was about to remind her that she had hadnot hadnot hadnot not yet revealed re her Identity when she went on Looking for some one who has no business here you sal said Just who are the they what are they doIng do do- In tag Ing As s to the first I cant can't tell you For the second their purpose probably probably ably would be to attempt to hold up upa a timber operation In which Im I'm I I rather interested not so far from here I Her eyes were on him with a curious expression which might possibly have ha been personal Interest interest Inter inter- est To hold yon you up How I I Are you from Tincup I am am You know people there therel And what seems to be be the towns town's most famous tradition I dont don't understand It that Nicholas Brandon I finishes what he starts out to do That whatever cr he says goes gocs come i what may Ive Ie heard that said People like to talk i Right nIght But Im I'm managing an outfit outfit outfit out out- fit that's encouraging rough going from Crom some source All sorts of things are happening and Im I'm trying I to head off certain of ot them i I see see She looked away and puckered her delectable lips as though to whistle Ben rubbed his chin again She was not even Interested In learning more about him but where many young men would woul I have ha been i piqued at that he only laughed softly i he Joke she asked almost al I most defiantly I was Just thinking that Its It's a n funny Cunny situation when a man gets into a n scrap and If looks so big to him that he thinks the whole darned country must be watching It and him and then along comes a nice girl who's been In a position to hear bear all about It nn and I who ho Isn't h interested Interested Inter inter- ler ested a dimes dime's worth She looked up at nt him slowly You mean that you want to talk about It Perfectly natural that I should Im I'm In one whale of ot a fight and hang hay hav having lag ing ng the time of my life liCe Its It's the first Job Ive I've found Cound In a coons coon's age that was hard bard enough and complicated enough to be he worth working over what Ive I've heard about you ou Youve Oh Ob so you have ha heard about me Of Ot course I live In Few v have any secrets In a town to of ot Tincup's Tincup's Tin Tin- cups cup's size Ben nen chuckled chuckle I again Well then If It youve you've heard that much about me and antl my Job maybe there Isn't anything I could tell you that would be Interesting Mn Maybe be not she said with an anair anair anair air of or dismissal L Ben watched her closely as ns she slowly broke a twig to bits with her slim fingers Deer nse used I to yard jard In the swamp back of ot here she sold said When I Iwas Iwas Iwas was a little HUle girl I used to come out and try to make mako friends with them That's why I came out today wondering If It f they'd started to yard yet Its too early for them to yard Yes but the snow may get deep I enough any tIa day to bunch hunch them Snow I he lie said SD-Id and shrugged If It It gets Jets deep In a hurry the deer will yard yarl all right and antl maybe Ill I'll be licked and a little girl done out of ot all she has In the world All AU she has In the world MeanIng Mean Mean- In lug Ing Just what If It you live U In and antl know the town you must know about the owner of ot this property This Is the Hoot Owl timber A queer smile twitched d at the girls girl's lips Sometimes I think I r do as ns often otten I wonder what she's like 1110 really like I happen to be bo Dawn Dann Mc Ic- Ic Manus Janus Ben BCD Elliott opened his mouth asIf ns as If It to speak Then cloud closed It u again and ami made a n foolishly helpless movement movement movement move move- ment with one hand He lIe stared at nt ather ather her and began to stammer Why I Vh Why you Why Able said I He laughed outright outright out out- rl right then as his misconception became became be be- came clear Oh If It Id I'd given It a second thought t Id I'd have hare known Able first told me about you ou as a little girl It stuck In m my head bend a n little girl But nut that was years a ago o of ot course Gee J I Why then youre you're lost In your own back yard you might sa say tI I was she corrected But a few minutes ago I heard some one sing sins out and Just now the cook called the crew v to supper Then why didn't you you you- Because I was rather curious to tot toI toY A Y t 9 I y The Pool Rooms Room's a Good Place for You to Be discover what sort of man mon Is standIng standing stand stand- In Ing between me and poverty poverty poverty- per perhaps haps per ironically this And of course I knew you OU weren't verent lost Elliott flushed on that I played at being Ing lost myself so Id I'd have ha a chance to talk to you Im I'm glad I did ditl unless It has offended you No Im I'm Im I'm only ready to togo togo go in now now She adjusted the harness of her shoes dexterously and they set out outOn outOn On the way to camp Ben tried to talk to her further but her responses were brief and Her I Interest appeared to be only poorly I aroused even on such a vital matter matter mat mat- ter as the operation of ot her own property and so finally he gave up trying to make talk |