Show itofe A romance of othe amla ijac 1 jAc north woods 0 L D lip I 1 T U S apy 1932 irH CHAPTER APTER IX continued 11 alley would III warmly bless blesa ell benj all they would I 1 out but but miss hilss It ichards site she 11 be t ti inking just what weve agreed la is the logical thing to think that I 1 caused the trouble and when she let tile me fco 0 o trot ble went with me hie ahe sheriff nodded lie ile turned to stare at join john it I 1 tile the darkness 1 I get gat you son dpn binens oi ways are hard for a lullu to follow but I 1 notice we keep tran and tryan and sometimes sometime ve ise 10 the nans hang of em cm III 1 A world orld of understanding and sni pithy and encouragement camic etith the tone and jolio john left the sheriff elier ll with ith spirits higher than they had bad blen bien for days ile lc was ins after his supper that nlelio this was nas Sat saturday urMy and tie whole 1 hole town wits was gathering at the atie for the weekly dance tie lie round found himself despite his indifference strolling up the steps of tile the recreation hall Couill coapes coupes ts swirled past girls and looked tit nt him significantly lie ile siw SION one whimper to tier her partner and the hie ui in in ill looked tit at john and nodded till mid chuckled lie ile was tile the dince ended lie he turned to en eli it arl watching frona from a seat near tile d r sije she and he bowed bonded though he 1 did I not rei remember vember ever having slen seen tier her she robe quickly and cattle caime to tort coaids aids I 1 allm im skirts swaying yIng grae gratefully fully about her thighs i gues you dont remember me ar N r I 1 cli trip I 1 she said 1 I m marle marie I 1 arnel I 1 I 1 used to be in the chi aligo ollic e uti oil tie he said taken aback 1 I 1 gut ss sa it its a one on we uiel I 1 in a place lire ti here ere are so BO many good look ing girls though you cant blame a poor boy from the lie woods if heger confused can 1011 slie she daubed tied goo GO d linel I 1 dian didn t expect you to reme inter tile ine A si 1 I nien of a definite city type he saw her clothing her makeup make up her hold manner III ii how long hive you been here he asked I 1 burteen months in the office I 1 suppose Us I 1 the orchestra struck up NN ell s se e said I 1 fuess I 1 bet ter iet i et back to tile the gris girls 1 I oil cint cm t we dance than tier her smile flashed she ilai had accle ach leed ed since leaving the university he enned little but from the first few steps he realized that her was as an exceptional dancer lahl responsive graef graceful ful they thren threaded ded the swirl of less adroit couples in silence slie she tuond tier her face him very elf carse ge I 1 in gi aglid id you came she said and he did not catch the peculiar qua ity of tier her tone so am I 1 it I 1 this Is the first time lye ive enned dinted 1 1 I 1 don t mean that ordinarily I 1 d babe a come back for you mr celk belk nap cap flu but I 1 dont don t feel fee like wise cricklin crick lii tonight I 1 came here hop ing I 1 d f ce you I 1 did what I 1 don I 1 usually 10 to lo find and was a little bold I 1 guess getting jou ou to talk to me le I 1 e ettling to tell you A lot you know I 1 so that s interesting V 1 it ft ill be but I 1 cant talk here ere and we cant can t go out together togi I 1 ve got to see you alone john was as not very verb good at inter breting flomen 1 I dont don t quite tin derst ind he said cautiously 1 I wrate rate it a litter to ailes hldi HILIA ards on does docs that menn mean anything I 1 tier her ekes ees as he studied them to he be honest enough I 1 es lie he admitted and if I 1 hada hadn t written that let ter I 1 I night light have gone for a rile ride or whatever lint hat ecer ever they do up pere ere in the 1 if f that hat isn t enough I 1 it tny bay this in Iam hit ha li LU in scared stiff since you came here ere rhin s that tant hid neer beer going on before lune stopped since you clime came into the picture now are ara ion oil Inte interested 1 I ery much I 1 rahe winic music stopped they both ar plau led vigorously when the en core started she put pill her cheek close to his III leave after the next nest dance im m hire with till other birli from the onice I 1 live in the third house after you turn right at the post office you alk past a half heur after I 1 leave and be waiting in the storm he N r i I 1 see gee you and if the street a empty open tile the door for you afar a moment he said bald fair enough I 1 lie ile filtch through lagging utes beell he heedless ell of tin tile music and laughter alRh ter and tall talk about him sitting 19 the wall henrt heart thumping lie ile wont rent out and strolled down donn the swung rapidly along the sidewalk with its ita high plies piles of snow on either side scanning the bouse fron fronts the third was pain painted teI white it t set bac thirty feet from the street As he came rio bore of it the door of the storm house which during the winter protected the tiny front porch from pr opened inward ile he saw her standing there and she beckoned come in elie blie eald bald looking down the street and thedoor the door shutting them into tre ate little cubicle all right now peaking in a nor mal tone old lady vogle toils la is tier her house Is dear deaf as a post she sleeps like a log too it if anybody comes up tin walk malk here you go straight jit through the kitchen and out the back bach door I 1 I 1 who would come lie asked sus bus vicious now paul corbel might come she I 1 sald said I 1 oh III I 1 yes besl I 1 and 14 1 he fount you here r yes and it if he found you here with me held hed he might kill mel with me hed he might kill noel met dramatically in the habit f coming to your room Is he les iles I 1 she said I 1 ro not going to try to put anything over on you mr air belknap I 1 coulden couldn t even if I 1 want ed to and I 1 dont want to ehnts generous im sure out but 1 I 1 know tills this Is a wila sounding sort of thing but I 1 want vant you to believe that everything I 1 1 say Is gods truth I 1 its a long lon story mr air belknap it its a the kind of a story with a moral far as I 1 in concerned I 1 guess she laughed a trifle bitterly I 1 im m coming clean I 1 ve got to to show you how I 1 know these things and to make you understand why 1 I tell em to you A girl girls a got to shoot square as long as the other does I 1 ve done my part up here I 1 ve been given a airty den eat from the beginning I 1 I 1 and now her voice vo I 1 ce was as coarie unpleasant filled with aner I 1 don t misjudge me mr hir belknap I 1 please don t do that I 1 I 1 v was as only a kid when paul gorbel corbel corn coin fenced coining into the chicago of flee fice I 1 was a typist there and he well ell he propositioned sitio ned me while he as ln in and out of chicago seeing y your 0 ur fa ther about building the new plant here her I 1 wa to come up tip here as his secie tary As soon as we could make feord bood with the ton town n so there wouldn t be any gossip he sauil wed be married well we made good with tile town ton ile fles a smart lye I 1 ve been awful NN neve e ve go got by but bill I 1 dasent hoard heard tiny any wed ding hells bells I 1 first it was the of heading off if gossip because hes he s vt awful particular eular about his stand ing then it wils was something else again lou ilou see everything aveo tiling had been be tween meen paul and your fattier father loep of the lie others in the chica chicago so office had anything ani thing to in do alb it IL this isn supervised and audited like the belknap company plants ire I 1 never knew why hy hut but a year ago paul cime back till all in a huff your fattier just with ith the way things were going led comm aced to ask quest questions lons about the plant ard the hunk bank that here ere hard for paul to an s awer er lie came up tip himself lust just as snow came and there wits a lot of tall scratching I 1 m here to tell the world I 1 but he never found out anything now ow paul commenced to figure that lie he was vas about through with sour rather father tied lied gone as far as he could in getti getting gettier nr stock in ID this company ile he was going a good deal further in other waie that I 1 II 11 explain after a while all along I 1 id d had a feeling thal thai lie he aint sh sho ting with roe mouth month bea re here a I 1 t acen it tant he ft I 1 was sure of it seems been ming to mn mahe ke this blien arb ards for rou Y your r she laughed or a violently nell 11 start she felt john tie be had I 1 hed been gone on OD her since before her father died but the uld man iman deda t like him and I 1 buesa whatever he knew he be handed banded on to 10 this girl because she fill fall its got under my skin of course A girl cant help it it if she gets jeal ous mr mir belknap well tell as I 1 say bay she ehe dian didn it have bave time tor for anything but her job anyhow after her father died yuu see the bank here had a lot of their notes and paul knew all about her aft affairs airs ue ile got his big idea about that property last fall I 1 remember the day he hit bit on it 1 ile he floured that the RIO ards arda company was in such a bad ay that he could close it up la in a few weeks it lie he could crowd it a littia harder he be wanted anted to do that but he be dian didn t daro until he heard your father was going to europe ile he counted the days until he thought he be was safe and then opened up tip she laughed a bit nervously j 1 I guess ion know what happened well he ald did it all on ills his own and timed it so your fattier father get wind of what was going on before he willed lie ile started gumming up her railroad he brought in this baxter to clean up tip her men ile elc did a lot of other things that I 1 dont know abut probably thinking b e could force tier her to the wall buy at his own price and then he could go over there as sole owner leaving his stock in this company in the bank as security foi the lonn it would take to swing the deal get it tied be free of your fattier father them now I 1 hippen happen to inov how he worked it lie he let the story out as he hes a a way of doing that your fa ther was responsible for till all this lies hes smart paul I 1 ne he spread that story pretty cute ill say gut bill you mr t belknap sort of upset his buggy 1 ile he found out who this john steele wab and roud on d ought 1 b ve heard him ravel he dictated that letter and I 1 had to write it to tc ellen chardi Pl the rhe dirty doubis cros serl S h he fumbled for her handkerchief and blew her nose alti vigor well I 1 said john with his heart rapping tits ribs well and its about as I 1 had tig nicil out lies played his own game using my mv in ther a cards and my fathers name 11 that s it I 1 but that aint the halt half of it john I 1 again her hand gnp on his arm the thing that got your ft fb ther susi niclous was how the lumber was grading it up an awful lot of low grade sturt stuff well that a easy if you re nolde every week eek car after car of good number two common and better rolls out of Nam billed to the north star lumber company in st paul as cbill yes sirl you car can check 0 on n that I 1 nodding ner her voice was ns a bit hoarse now and that north star company Is paul corbel ue he on owns us it I 1 kno know iv that end cind he know how I 1 found oi 01 1 oh hed kill me if he kew but it s true desperately its true john he a double crossing your fa ther every day in the week and w whan lian your fatter father tried to check up on it by an inspection at the othet other end gorbel corbel fixed that too some wa way y I 1 think he watt sv clied cars in st paul on oil the inspector in other words hes he 8 stealing Belli belknap nap gor bel be blind t she ended breathing rapidly and john stood there so BO clo close ae to her trl emotions surging in his henrt he looked don at tier her face so close to his I 1 I 1 im m sorry he said and meant tant chilt poor light headed bended kid 1 he thought A gold digger yes yea course coarse vindictive cruel selfish she wanted him to kiss her bow she v was as swaying close to him lie put hla his hands on her shout ders gently thank you marle he said maybe there are things III be isk ing or of you later I 1 Z T do your job and bit alt if I 1 hae bae to see you ill write a note and let you plan the meeting 1 I m awfully obliged good night I 1 ile he went vent then leaving tier her in tile the doorway she watched him go and finally turned into the house with a sigh gosh Go I 1 she bald gosh As hard to make as a million dollars dollar sl in his room roem at the boarding house john wrote a letter before he turned in it was to bradshaw brief and to the point and the par read and so send the following message to T A wolcott st an thonya trust co Minnea minneapolis polls lie fie Is an old friend open hn hl reply and follow any leads he may give you find out at once all you can about investors in and officer rp of N rth artar tar lumber co st SL paul also andrise nie me of its local standing stop send reply to nat Brads liaw this address JOHN kni KNAP rhel had not attended the fiance lie he hail lind find oil or er matters to occupy him neither had baxter haxter been in hie file hall though on other saturday he tind had oc coupled hla his place by the fire and made his big uncouth observations of women for the benefit of boys and low grade men tonight he be stood in the shadow of a lumber pile with gorbel corbel and took his orders but he took those orders snapped at him coldly with voth grace but a pose it kills him I 1 the man aan muttered so much the bet bettor terl I 1 good G il gorbel corbel I 1 dont want ant to kill any of old tom belknup a I 1 1 I ra giving you your orders if you dont go through with it I 1 remember I 1 know who has your and your pictures that crowd me corbel I 1 spose have it to do youve got me in a hole bole good guess title week eck remember you ve every chance in tle the world to get away with it ILI and so while john belknap tolled lit at the hoopond in a fever of sus bus pense and ex e bement death ti stalked talked him waiting alting skulking in the shad owa but this morning he was on the far side of the pond that eve ining he worked close to another man of the crew this day one man alone could not handle tile the stake etalee trips on the tilted heavily laden cars the next the pond was full and no loads had bad been set in so on until thursday thursday afternoon then with the yard engine setting in more cars pulling out leaving the loads on the canted track beside the pond to throw dark shadows beyond them A browle could come through the lum her yard then and stand well screened to watch ue he could stoop and look beneath tile the cars carp and set sei the pond men working ile he could slip forward silently in the snow squatting on the dark side if f the trucks waiting uniting watching across the pond wits was ole a log slowly towards the slide where other workers were busy bua and now around the end of the pond fond came john belknap walking swiftly pike rolp over his shoulder lr ile was abreast the car now and the prowl er hands on the trips hent bent low to took look beneath saw hla his legs A alst of breath a jerk with great hands and loge log vi were ere careening down upon the man beneath them I 1 on the first stir john looked sharply lie ile had a glimpse of a smooth beech log bursting from om the chains that had held it it hurtling at him through the air outrider of a score of others rolling bouncing leaping to towards ards him halml I 1 no pace to go there I 1 eight feel ahead would put hina him in the clear eight feet backi backward ard and he would be safe but eight fet are two it takes a man ilme time to got get under way one other place then the pond I 1 before the pike pole which had been on his shoulder lilt hit the ground he dived for a gap cap between two togs logs in the pond 10 strike them to have that lolling timber come on him would |