| Show THE MAN I P S I c SLY PIS Harold Titus n. n V t cm h CHAPTER XII XI XII Continued i t IS 15 15 He went into bis bia sleeping chamber chamber chamber cham cham- ber and took down a n rifle rUle from its rack on a n pair of ot antlers He threw open th the chamber but it was empty He Jerked jeered open a dresser drawer and pawed through it In a n fruitless search for cartridges cursing because be cause he found none His breath he threw the rifle was ragged as on the bed and rumpled his hair wildly Bring Elliott out I Show us Ben I Get a rail I l These and other other other oth oth- er terrifying cries stood out above t the constant mutter of the mob Brandon rushed back to the front office and waved his arms for tor si silence sl- sl 7 lence as he stood in the shattered t J glass of his window but the sight of ot him only provoked hoots and Jeers which were forerunners of ot a y r great billow of or savage snarling r rage The men were having trouble with the sign post He heard the stair door tried and a voice called Hustle with that post I j III 1 i U U I J 11 k r I It t He Could Not Satisfy Them Coming I They were coming In Into J to get him I He could not satisfy them I He did not know where Elliott was Last night Delaney had bad promised to try again but be he had bad not come cometo to report though Brandon had waited waited wait walt ed late And now the crowd was howling for Elliott lacking Elliott they would take him He covered his face with his hands Lands tried to stop his ears In those menacing cries he be beard heard the knell of ot his reign For years he be had bad ruled by the force of his willand will willand and now that force was not enough Bit by bit Ben Elliott had caught the fancy of ot the country and now with that group of ot stout men as a rallying point the entire town was setting up a demand for the mIssIng missIng missing miss- miss Ing Elliott They wanted Ben El EU Eh llott Ilott They would have Ben Elliott El El- liott llott Go home bome homel t I he screamed and waved his arms standing close to a a. broken window Clear out you 1 I i Fair warning Im I'm giving 1 I i But his words were drowned In 10 a I great yelL Men came lugging that post across the street while Tim I Jeffers hastened toward them with gestures of protest Hold your heads now 1 Give us Hoot Boot Owl boys a chance Well We'll get what we come for tor or well we'll take Tin Tincup cup apart But no of property until everything else tails falls I 1 His will prevailed a moment He lifted his face to Brandon We mean business Will wm you yon come out and show us Ben or must we come and get you We wont won't wait much longer An opening there a chance to d delay I Coming I r Brandon croaked Tm Im coming 1 I IA A gratified mutter went up from the crowd and burst Into shrill words Coming Like Liko the devil he would go I He was ransacking drawers draw draw- ers era now V dumping their contents on the floor In his frantic search for rifle cartridges that should be there He sought a key for tor a locked trunk and could not find It He tried several but his hands shook BO so that he be might have bave failed to tomake tomake tomake make the proper one operate even had bad he be found it Again Agala Jeffers' Jeffers voice demanding his presence came out of ot a strange silence I I he Coming shouted thickly and seized a hammer and attacked the trunk lock Ammunition must be beIn beIn bein in there The crowd milled now trampling tho new snow enow completely out ol ot hand at this delay Two or three aided Tim in his plea for tor at least leat temporary moderation but others rebelled rebelled re reo I belled and fought to get the post which would batter down the stair i door And then came a hush a quick spreading hush which swept the crowd like a shadow And then rose a quick popping of ot excited voices Elliott I Here he Is I I Look I Hes hurt I Bundled to the ears in a great overcoat cap drawn low supported on the one side by John Martin and andon andon on the other side by Able Armitage he came slowly painfully out of ot the side street He scarcely seemed to tobe tobe tobe be aware of ot that throng did not look either to the right or the left let All AU his energy was bent on moving forward He Be gained the middle of ot the street In an Impressive hush Then he murmured a word to Able and they halted I He looked about at his men and aud I smiled a trifle weakly but In his look was a quality which clearly indicated that love which strong strongmen men have for tor their kind Its all aU right boys he said and only those In n the first ranks could hear his voice was that light They didn't get me badly I appreciate this but want you yon yonto to get back to camp camp campHe He panted for breath and lifted his bis face to the broken windows above Far back In that room he caught a glimpse of a face watchIng watchIng watching watch- watch Ing him cocked him cocked as though striving to hear Its my fight he went on Not yours I dont don't want any of ot you hurt Go back Will you go back The crowd stirred Y You ou bet we will Ben I a man called Now that youre you're located i If It you ask It It we will I Tim Jeffers worked his way to toBen's toBen's toBen's Bens Ben's side and put a hand on his shoulder listening to what Able told him Go home boys I Tim Jeffers called They knifed Ben last night but sut hes he's well wen took care of ot You teamsters get out your horses weve we've found what we come for tor To last Hoot Owl hand camp every ery I IMen Men relaxed The post that was to ha have hap p shattered In Brandon's door was dropped The mob was wassa sa satisfied Slowly Ben Hen Elliott made his way back to Dawns Dawn's home As TIm Jeffers took his place beside the sick man Able Armitage drew Into the post office entry to watch the mob disperse Emory Sweet was standing there The king is dead I Able muttered muttered mut mute solemnly staring at those broken windows Long live the king I said sald Emory Pause Dead tell men no tales No uNo but sometimes a corpse will kick back I CHAPTER XIII XUI T FURIOUSLY Nicholas Brandon saw as the days passed the wreckage wreckage wreck wreck- age of or his power pile up on a floor of ot public resentment of or loosened e ex expressions expressions ex- ex of ot distrust and contempt and hatred which had grown and festered unobserved for years As he walked along the street he saw faces leering at him from wIndows windows windows win wIn- dows and men he passed averted their glances in a gleeful sort of ot embarrassment or looked at him with surly defiant glares In yard and mill he was conscious conscious conscious con con- that his employees were thinking only of his fall He discharged discharged discharged dis dis- dis- dis charged one man for loafing and the fellow only laughed at him La Laughed 1 Theres plenty of ot room at Hoot Owl for tor good hands bands he said and laughed again That mob had not wrecked the town as they had threatened but the ruin they left was of ot far more consequence Their coming had stripped Brandon of ot everything but buthis buthis buthis his material possessions and now these only mocked him In survival Back In the office he paced the place like a caged animal Mall arrived He took the packet of ot letters and drank deeply from I his bottle again I He thumbed the letters absently until the tho script on one caught his The contained eye envelope a single sheet of ot note not paper and he hl unfolded It with trembling fingers On the sheet was written I never want to see sea you again I r know now what the whole country has known and been afraid to admit ad mit for years I have ha thought ht you were my friend but now I know you are my worst enemy as you are the sworn enemy of ot those I love most IDA DAWN WN He stood for a time staring at the paragraph then read rend It again and drained his whisky bottle Such a note now was to have ha been expected expect expect- ed by an nn ordered mind of course but his fevered brain had not foreseen foreseen foreseen fore fore- seen any necessity for tor abandoning this the most precious of at his hopes bopes A meticulous office man was NIcholas Nicholas Nicholas Nich NIch- olas Brandon and thou though h he be had suffered the severest blow of ot his experience experience experience ex ex- ex- ex just now he be mechanically went about his habitual procedure He had bad received and read a letter ietter It required no reply The next step stepIn In orderly procedure was to file It ItIn ItIn t tIn In the great safe ante to which only he had bad combination and keys reposed two tiles flies side by side He took both out and placed them on the desk He opened one and a cruel smile twitched his lips Ups It contained letters letters letters let let- on paper of ot varying size color and quality He riffled rImed through these stopping now and again to read a phrase a sentence a paragraph Pleas these were a writing begging begging begging beg beg- ging for help and he smiled again In the other file were more letters letters let let- some yellowed by age and these older ones had been written in ln the unformed script of ot a child Dear Uncle Nick they all aU began Always that though the handwriting grew formed and mature mature mature ma ma- ture until It was identical with that on the single sheet he had Just read These were Dawn McManus McManus' letters to him saved since her childhood He ran through them almost Idly his senses dulled by whisky and the calamity which had befallen him A narrow slip of ot tablet paper fell teU out ont He looked at the penciled note on one side Meet us at Antler Lodge this af at- Dawn Happier memories that brought of the time Dawn had brought girls home with her from school for tor Thanksgiving and had taken them to the hunting camp for a week Brandon had gone with the party and it was there that he had first remarked Dawns Dawn's emerging womanhood womanhood womanhood woman woman- hood that the desire for tor her bad had keen kindled in n his blood i there In Inthe Inthe inthe the camp where her father as the whole country knew had been with Sam on the night when Fax- Fax son fled fied to his death But Dawn had never known that She had laughed and been happy at Antler lodge Meet us at Antler Lodge this afternoon Dawn afternoon Dawn He Be read It again It bore no date It was It betrayed no Indication of the time that had passed since Its Inscription The note had been left leet on his desk for tor him three years before He leaned forward sharply and his e eyes es narrowed After a moment moment mo mo- ment meat he straightened and smiled oddly A look like Uke relief reller almost like happiness spread over his face tace e eFine Fine strength of or body healed Ben Elliotts Elliott's wound rapidly By midweek midweek midweek mid mid- week he was dressed and sitting before before before be be- fore the fire with Dawn talking of ot othis his bis return to Hoot Boot Owl on the morrow mor mor- row And all aU the time rye Ive been wondering wondering wondering won won- dering Dawn why you wouldn't let me come Youve You've been so kind so generous so so friendly And yet only a few days ago you Uhf M MI Mt My l y t I 1 Cant Can't Stand It Ben BenIn told me I must never come again Why was It Dawn Why when I Ilove Ilove Ilove love you so 7 Dont 1 I she begged in a light whisper Please 1 I But its it's beyond any power I have to keep still sUll I love you Dawn better than life nee Can you believe c that when rye seen so 80 little of ot you Look at me I 1 I fiercely Dont you like It it Dawn being loved Ah Like It In Its It's wonderful wonder wonder- ful Ben Its It's too wonderful I l She averted her face Cace And loved by me Yes yes I Its It's all wonderful Its It's too wonderful Ben Things like Uke it Just cant can't be bel I Why not Its It's wonderful you yon say and yet Cant Can't you explain explain explain ex ex- plain 1 You cant can't understand perhaps Sometimes I cant can't understand my myself self Always Ive I've wanted to be beloved beloved beloved loved by by you Ben Elliott 1 I Its It's given ghen me the only true happiness happiness happi happi- ness Ive I've ever er had And then I had to remember what I am Cant Can't you see that a girl who Is known as the daughter of ot a murderer cant can't let any man manlove manlove love her foolish 1 I Its It's terrible I 1 know for you to bear But IP t me help dear girl Irl let me stand by your side and help I INo No IINo no nol I cant can't bear It I I couldn't take a cloud to you and to I your children children And And Its It's all a tI i mistake all aU a He lie I My father was no killer I Her ller voice rose In sharp conviction on that He was kind and gentle be he never would hurt another an an- other All AU these years Ive I've known it and others know It but Just It being being beIng be be- ing sure in our own minds Isn't enough The whole world must know knowl I Something tells me my father father father fa fa- fa- fa ther is alive somewhere waiting watching suffering ButterIng But until we can prove that or something else elee comes up to banish this cloud No dont don't kiss me again I I cant can't stand It it I tell teU you I I cant can't stand It It Ben Benl I 1 Sobbing she fled fied from the room He made no further moves toward toward toward to to- ward love making after aner that but far Into the night he talked with Dawn of ot her ber father She had not heard all of ot the story he realized She Shedid Shedid Shedid did not know for tor Instance that the tragedy which preceded Mc McManus' McManus Ianus' Ianus disappearance took place In Antler lodge she did not Dot know how tar far farher her father had gone In his attempts to drown sorrow of or his wife's death by drinking But she did know that son Fax was dead that her father father tather fa ta- fa- fa ther was blamed and that a dusty warrant for tor his arrest on a charge of ot homicide still reposed In the county records Next day he be declared that he felt fit to drive back to camp and for tor foran foran toran an hour argued with Dawn trying to win her promise that he might come again but she begged him to stay a away way for a time at least CHAPTER XIV XIVA BLE told Dawn of ot Bens Ben's activity A ABLE ity watching her face tace narrowly narrow narrow- ly because he understood the obstacle obstacle obstacle ob ob- ob- ob stacle that was between these two He saw hope come followed by misgiving and trouble It was on Friday that Dawn left Tincup striking across country far tar from the road toward Hoot OwL She was going to see Ben Elliott and tell him that she must see him now that her heart could have no peace pence without him that he must come to her and let her stand beside beside be ber side him while he pried Into the past and attempted to make it give up truth Martin was alone In the office when she entered and started up so sharply at sight of her that the girl In turn was startled Im sorry sorry 1 she exclaimed a abit abit abit bit mystified Did I frighten you No Not frightened My thoughts w were re far from here Is Ben about seen him since dinner Dont Don't know where he went went Tim Jeffers Just down from camp entered then Wheres Ben at 1 he asked Mar Mar- tin I 1 dont don't know Miss McManus here was just asking Martin moved to the old table Ben used for a desk Sometimes he leaves a note for forme forme forme me when hes he's going away He bent over the table looking at the Utter litter litter lit Ut- ter of ot papers on It No he left no word Hum What's this He picked up a slip of paper read the single line Une inscribed on it and looked at DawnI Dawn I II 1 didn't mean to pry Probably hes he's gone to meet you though This is a note for tor you yon A IIA note l I Why I Frowning Frowning Frown Frown- ing she took the paper and read Meet us ns at Antler Lodge this afternoon afternoon Dawn Dawn Why I she cried MI uI didn't I But I must have bave I looking from one to the other my writ writ- I Ing I |
