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Show jtj - Harold Titus. - " SYNOPSIS ,from "Yonder" ,rv Into the lumbcrlnn p. He has brought to'" 0 n mill Pn St""rt' .,r'to reach lineup. 1 bad been eai," CHAPTER l-Continued 2 -ntotiers felt their middles ach-,L ach-,L followed those straining Vp , AWln the Bull sought ; Elliott's extended hand ed by inches. Uis ot nd raised Jerkily, up nnd up. His Z tilted. His great torso was wrenching at the hips. and. "".his. Elliott leaped hi,h, ne down running, sent water , back and forth the length ;Vtl until with a throaty 1 , r,,.e and humilintion, of U and jealousy, the great Bull , --in- a stride, went sideways and wkrd. disappeared beneath the Vlaee of the pond with a mighty y,ti ami cie lip l,Iowi"S aud llnkins Ms black thatched head. Hats went into the air, then, with yips aud yells and en-tic en-tic oaths as Ben Elliott, ''mnn" heavily, brought the log to i top and, hands on his knees. Moi blowing and grinning and latched the ni:in whose title he had Sen swim for the broom sticks. The Bull slunk quickly toward the ,-ler room of "the mill, water reaming from his pants and ieves. The pond man threw out spite pole and brought the cedar ; to shore and there Birney. the raouncer and master of cereuio-vs. cereuio-vs. ireeted Elliott with a clap on i back and. with the other hand, h ;--st a roll of currency at him. r- "Here's your money and you sure se it'1 he cried, close In Ben's in .-inmate himself heard. "Youd j) : ;nn a foul, anyhow!" ie, ft frs surged around the victor IE ;:J r.'.'.ictt accepted - this homage Mesily. :le -InA!" he said to one enthusl-:v- :1c well-wisher. "1 got the breaks : iuck." 'Luck he domned !" shrilled Bird-e. Bird-e. ill lick any mnn ave me own : or me heavy who says 'twas :k! Too got stuff, me b'y; you on : rats!" irt- -Tanks, chnm!" Elliott laughed. 'jipe ynrj don't find me out!" an- :s shnaldered his way slowly to hen park-sack and, surrounded by Ba- admirers, with- Bird-Eye In the ;ona f, changed to his shoes again. all - 'coked about for Don Stuart. iave ":og his neck to see over the cits "J which was now moving up jtar. T'Tincup's main thoroughfare. ":o ye want?" Bird Eye asked ' Dnnny?" his T;:h' Stuart- The old duffer's ion top of being sick, and 1 rmer : " 'ooli out for nim-" bout iIan at Dis elD0W salQ" cau" tbe 3 afeerii Don won,t do visitiD In Tincup." Bird-Eye "-1 to him inquiringly and the -NJed. "Brandon. He found e - rere while th' birlin' was goin' ' - fcs likely made ether arrange- be 13 '" dirty stinker!" Bird-Eye said his breath. "So he's drivln' ir - already, is he? Well, th' sir iwn" rson'i !ltis dririnS wh out?" Elliott ' Brandon. Americky i be a free country but Tin- . t0'1 in it, thin. Owld Donny je b welcome here 'nd 't's likely l;1'1 bis orders to move on." Dustiu .,,, hitcl)ed h.g ksack a b,t oup 01 ' -!Jl'! thls? 0rders? What's l8t el, :;lith hin" Seemed like a mereU - ..3 old gaffer to me. Bent on ' to Tincup, too; wanted It :: e kid wants candy. Got . :tv' Wh0's golng t0 soon b , ,re had hopped nimbly to a '11 .!''lch polnt ne could see id vfh0' Vt "nS heads. yo "" h exclaimed. "Sure, m gal "" ,Bran(1on hissell who's If J Dnnny off!" s- ;i'a"e,l his nwk and could W'101- men ';i ,. 0ne was hs com-1 com-1 L e' Mrlier tht day; nnhhJ not seen be-!'n be-!'n n had D,,n Stuart by V ' W Cf,n"ict was not V-5S ' ,?8sl8,ance which Ben ifc 1 hfcV fellow- As El- 1lMr., 6 feene old man but the other ' r'r'-';.V"rce,Jr hesitated in the station. 1 vVue now-'' Ki-1-Eve , - I J n"n away from Tn- V Httfr,War('' Bird-Eve j "n bcard sidewalk and swinging on. Ho overtook tlio two he followed Just In time to honr Smart gasp: "ain't long to . . . nve Kick I'd like . . . stay here. . . Ain't pleasant to . . . be sick and not . . . among friends." "Never mind," the other said as one might to a protesting child. "I've told you any number of times to stay away." On tills reply Elliott moved abreast of the num. "Hollo, old timer!' he said, addressing ad-dressing Stuart. "Going some place?" He did not look at the mnn said to be Nicholas Brandon. Uis manner man-ner en the questiou was almost casual. cas-ual. "Oh . . . hello," Dan panted. "I . . . Mister Brnndon, here . . . won't let me . . . stay." Then Elliott looked at Brandon. A man of undetermined age; not old, neither young. Powerfully built, with a peculiarly white face and eyes as black as night. These eyes bored Into Elliott's now, keenly, keen-ly, intelligently, with the look of a man who is accustomed to gauging others without delay or hesitation. "Oh, tliis man doesn't want you to stay!" Ben said softly. And then with a smile, to Brandon: "I sort of took the old timer under my wing today. He wants to stay here quite badly. I'll look after him." "There's no place for him here," Brandon said positively. "Come, Stuart, it's almost train time." He twitched at the old man's arm but Ben broke in, brow wrinkled as if he wanted to handle a perplexing matter fairly. "Well, now, say! No place? Suppose Sup-pose a place was made for him a few days? I'd sort of planned on that. There's a hotel here, and I'd be willing to ' "I don't know you," Brandon Interrupted In-terrupted and irritability crept into his voice. "I've never even seen yon. I've known this man for years. He's an old employee of mine. This is my affair. I never have others, especially strangers, meddling." A low whisper came from Stuart and Ben rubbed his chin with one knuckle. "Yeah. I am butting In, I guess. But . . . You see. the old timer told me a little about himself. He's been lonesome a long time, I take it. He's not what you'd call in robust ro-bust health. I figure that if I was in his shape I'd like to be with a few old friends myself and if " In the distance a train whistled and on the souud Brandon's eyes snapped. "I've no time to argue my affairs," he said sharply. "Come, Stuart." "But, Nick! See . . . here, !!lM With a Sharp Oath Brandon Went Down Into the Half-Thawed M.re of the Street. Nick . . . I'll never get back again. It's lonesome, bein' sick '. alone, where you can't . . Nick! You're . . h,irt' Ing my wrist !" He winced from the grasp and on that the last shadow of a smile went out of Ben Elliott's face. He put l.iniself squarely before Brandon "Let him go," he said quietly but his look drove hard into those black "'The man hesitated and Hushed. If you nren't looking for trouble, he said, voice edged with wrath, 'you'll keep out of this! Fair enough. But unless you ve got a better reason than I know about let the old timer alone! Let go of his wrist!" he added sharply, as Stuart winced again. Til thank you to keep out of .let-go-hls-wrist, you d-d "'Hfhud gasped Brandon's forearm fore-arm with both hands ,e",ns JL'I pack slip to the sidewalk. The clulch on Don Stuart's arm loosened vlth iv snarl Brandon drew back and swung for Ben's jaw. Elliott ducked, swayed forward and bending bend-ing his supple body caught Brandon Bran-don about the middle, drove his head into the man's chest, raised a tuee to his groin, lifted him from h s feet, swung, shoved nnd Uung him free. With a sharp oath Brandon went down in the half-thawed mire of the street, sprawling lgnominiously on his back. Well, new! That was something else again. Men had been coming, edging cautiously near during the brief argument between Elliott and Nicholas Brandon. But when Brandon, Bran-don, the man who ruled Tincup and its county, was seen lifted from his feet and tossed lgnominiously Into the mud, trampled by lis horses, stirred by the wheels of his wagons mid tractors, the street which led through the town, to his mill . Well, then they came a-run-ning! Bird-Eye cackled an Impudent laugh and turned to watch the faces of the vanguard who came to see their liege lord, sprawled in the mud there, scramble to his feet. Their voices were raised In incredulity. In two decades and more no man save Bird-Eye Blaine had dared lift even his voice In Tincup In other than respect for Nicholas Brandon. And now this stranger had picked him up and thrown him away! But Brandon was up, lurching for the sidewalk where Ben Elliott stood, legs spread, fists clenched but with good humor repossessed and grinning as he had grinned at Bull Duval; grinning as a man will who loves combat for Its own sake and not at all as one who fights in red rage. However his smile faded and his jaw settled as Brandon uplifted his face in that rush. Murder was there, In the black eyes, in the loose hanging of the lower lip, in the purple flush of his cheeks. Murder, Mur-der, and no less. As quickly as that homicidal look had come, it passed. Something like fear swept those eyes, driving it away. Not fear of this encounter, Ben knew; not fear of a stronger, younger man. Something Some-thing else again ; something entirely entire-ly different. It was the sort of fear that comes from within; the kind of fear a man has for his own impulses. im-pulses. Brandon halted abruptly. His fists relaxed into hands and with one of them he brushed rather aimlessly aim-lessly at mud on his sleeve. A dozen men were close, then, holding back, watching, waiting, listening. Others were coming. And as Brandon halted, looking up Into Elliott's face and evidently fighting for self-control, one of these new arrivals pushed to the front and came up importantly. "What's the matter, Mr. Brandon?" Bran-don?" he asked sharply, with the manner of one ready to render service. serv-ice. Brandon did not reply at once. He settled his coat on his shoulders. shoul-ders. "Sheriff, arrest this young man Immediately," he said then. "I'll swear to a complaint of assault and battery myself." A sigh of relief, of disappointment, disappoint-ment, of laxing tension, cr of all these combined, went up from the growing group. The sheriff turned to Elliott and touched his arm significantly. sig-nificantly. "You'd better come along, Elliott," Elli-ott," he said. "You took in too much territory." Ben looked about almost foolishly. fool-ishly. He was embarrassed and surprised. sur-prised. He had expected a rough and-tumble fight In what he considered con-sidered a righteous cause and surely sure-ly he was the sort who would nave been on familiar ground in such an encounter. But here he was. with a sheriff plucking at his sleeve ! He laughed a bit sheepishly. "All right, Sheriff. If it's arresting arrest-ing you run to here in Tiiicup, likely I'm it!" He turned for his pack-sack and as he did so observed old Don Stuart sitting weakly on the step of the vacant store building before which the scene had been enacted. He was obviously a sick man and trouble clouded Elliott's eyes. "Minute, Sheriff," he said and crossed to Don, thrusting one hand into a pants pocket. "Here, old timer," he said gently gent-ly The hand came out and into Stuart's palm he pressed a thin nacket of bills and some change. "Get one of your old buddies . . . Here you !"-straightening and heckonlng Bird-Eye, who ap-proachedwith ap-proachedwith alacrity. "Get the old Umer to a hotel. Better get a doctor, doc-tor, too. He's heeled enough to take care of himself a few days. Aftei that . . . "'e'11 see-" He turned then and fastened a severe se-vere gaze on Brandon. "And you, chum, let him alone! he warned. "Until a doctor says he can travel, you, jvatch your step BUuthlI?r!ndon ignored this. He wa, buttoning his coat, pushing I, way through the group, which fell "r'sirt," said Ben to that worthy. "Let's go!' CHAPTER M RTF ARMITAGE, justice of the A oence m Tincup, looked over "".'Now young man, you're charged thaultaiid bal.eryon the per- son of Nicholas Brandon. Are you I guilty?" From the rear windows of his cluttered little ollice, Able had watched young Ben Elliott emerge from the status of a complete stranger to the populace to that of Its latest hero by sending Mr. Bull Duval to a damp and Ignominious Ignomini-ous finish In the log biriing. After that he picked up an old clarinet and commenced to play a halting, aimless and not completely musical tune. He was so occupied either with the musical performance or with his thoughts that he did not hear the tramp of many feet on the walk outside and was unaware that he was about to be called on to function func-tion In an official capacity. When the door opened, though, and Ben Elliott, Hlckens, the sheriff, and Nicholas Brandon, followed, it seemed, by the total male population popula-tion of the county, surged through the doorway, the clarinet's squawking squawk-ing leaped Into a shrill squeal an, died away. The judge's feet dropped to the floor and he swung his chair to face the entrance. The sheriff stated his errand, the cftmplalnt was drawn, Nicholas Brandon Bran-don affixed his signature and then for the first time Able looked closely close-ly into the face of the defendant. It was a long and searching look and was met steadily by a pair of clear steel-gray eyes. "Are you guilty or not?" Able repeated re-peated and Ben Elliott who had stood at ease before him. slouch hat In his great brown hands, gave his head a grave twist "Well, If pitching a man off the ijiiiS(lf jk 1 1 I o I "Guilty, Eh?" sidewalk Into the mud is called assault as-sault aud battery in Tincup, then I'm about a hundred per cent guilty," he said. A stir in the room followed that and Able frowned, a convincingly judicial frown. "Guilty, eh?" He cleared his throat at length. "Now how about this disruption of the peace, any how?" The sheriff spoke. "You see, Able, 'twas this way: Mr." "Now, Just a minute, Art. This accused has pleaded guilty, as I understand un-derstand it. I don't see any need of anybody else saying anything. He's thrown himself on the mercy of the court, you might say. and it's regular and proper and according to the spirit of the statute that I question ques-tion him before passing sentence." The sheriff sniffed nnd subsided. Clearly, there was little friendship between him and the justice. "Now, Mr. ..." Able glanced at the complaint again. "Mr. Ben Elliott, how come that you go about the country tossing reputable citizens citi-zens into the mud?" "Why, he was trying to make a friend of mine do something he didn't want to do. That's all. I butted In, I guess; he got hard and so." shrug "1 lost my head for a minute and put him In his place." "In the mud, yon mean." "Yeah. In the mud." "Well, go on ; go on. Go back to the beginning. I want to know all about this affair." Elliott drew a long breath. "I started for Tincup several days ago. I was a long ways off, over In Minnesota. This morning I got down to the junction west of here and while I waited for my train got talking to this old tinier, Don Stuart, who was in the station. .Maybe .May-be you know him. Judge. Other folks here do." Able blinked twice; hard. "The old fellow is about all in. I'd say. He's got it into his head that he's about to die and probably his guess Isn't such a bad one. Seems this used to be his stamping ground, that he's been away a long time and that he'd started hack to finish his days here where he could see some old friends. He went broke on the way and was just sitting sit-ting there this morning wailing for something to happen. I happened. I wasn't any too well heeled myself, my-self, but I had enough for his ticket so 1 brought him along. "As luck would have it. I got a chance to pick up a few dollars of Tincup money as soon as we got in nnd I had to have it. with the old j timer on my hands. While I was ! ,v getting this cash this mnn j Brandon evidently saw my buddy 1 and started rushing him back to the depot to take the next train , hack to where he came from. I j didn't like that so well. I Iried to j talk him out of it but Mr. Brandon isn't a greater talker. That's all. Here I am !" ' ' (TO BE CONTINUED.) |