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Show BEAR RIVER VALLEY LEADER, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15. 1932 m ffi'Vi'ViiiTiiiirari'isTTTiTiiiyrfasri r ft waa while they wwe eliding silent-ldown the eteep grades that they passed a large closed car itopped midway on one of the tangenta, ai If its occupants had halted to view the sunset glorie. "Sightseers,' said Markham; and then, suddenly, "Say, Owen; wasn't that the Nordvke Canby'a carf What Landis might have answered was lost in the limbo of things unsaid. Aa they rounded a "hairpin" curve and shot away down the succeeding tangent tbey could see the stopped car high above standing behind a row of y The Black Box of Silence By Francis Lynde Illustrations by O. Irwin Myers (Caprrif ht ij TUliuB Carar QifM.) 1 THE STORY CHAPTER L Having: demonstrated ttas power of an extraordinary silencer, tha "Black Box," which he haa perfect d, Owen Land la, young inventor, in the little town of Carthage, confldea to lila chum, Wally Markham, that he fears the device, If exploited, might h used for evil purposes. That night tha Hack box la stolen from a aafe in Lend!' laboratory. n CHAPTER II. Landla telle Markham the only person, beside himself, knowing; the combination of the safe, la Lawson, with whom the Inventor Betty la In love. Markham takes a plaster cast of a woman's footprint, found beneath tha window of the laboratory. CHAPTER III. Betty, daughter of a college professor, la well known to Markham. Both he and Landis believe her to be above suspicion, but to assure himself he takes an opportunity to fit the caat to one of Betty's shoes. They are identical. Betty telle him Herbert Canby, a atranger in town, who ia posaa a had driven her ing torn from"promoter," the theater the previous dozed in the and she had that night, car. Markham doea not tell Iindis of hla discovery. That the girl should have deliberately stolen the Invention from Landla' safe la unthinkable, but the evidence of the plaster cast seems to prove she was present at the time of the robbery. CHAPTER IV. Markham, vaguely suspicious of Canby's honesty, searchea hla hotel room, In his absence. He finds volvers and a complete set of burglar's tools. Canby returning, brings the revolvers and burglar's kit to the hotel clerk, claiming to have Just found them in his room. That night the safe in the bank of the small town of Perth-dal- e was blown open and looted, the noise of the explosion being unheard. Satisfied that his "black box1' Is in the bands of crooks and Is being put to the uses he feared, Landis, with Markham, drives at once to Perthdale. CHAPTER V. At Perthdale they find confirmation of their fears. Three strangers, riding In a Pleetwlng, and claiming to be business men of Louisville, are the only possible suspects. Markham and Landis decide to follow them, although advices from Louisville seem to guarantee the standing of the three. At BU Joseph Markham eea Canby's car, a Nordyke. He learna Canby Is driving west, with Betty Lawson and her father aa his aTUests In the car. The Pleetwlng, Markham's car, and the Nordyke, form procession on the Pikes Peak highway. CHAPTER VI. While he and Landis Are sleeping, Markham's car is stolen and wrecked. He buys another, and they go on. On the road to the mining town of Copah they get news of the Pleetwlng, ahead of them. At a hotel in Copah they meet Betty. She is surprised at their presence In the . West, and explains the reason for her and her father's Journey. Markham overhears a conversation between Can-b- y and the three Louisville men which convinces him he is on the right track. CHAPTER VII. Markham and Lan-41- s follow the three men in the Fleet-winThey find the commissary of the Cinnabar mine has been held up and robbed and two men killed. Again there was no sound of the explosion. At Brewster they learn of the arrival I Canby and his party. Markham meets a distant relative. William Star-bucmine owner. He gives them some information which piles up the evidence as to Canby's crookedness. g. k, CHAPTER VIII. At Brewster meet Canby. He telle them he Isthey in the West on business connected with his mine, the "Old CJuavapal." Betty and her father are with him as guests, the professor being Interested In paleasontology. onLandis and Markham are saulted the street by knife wleld-- . era, but beat off their assailants. Hence-- , forth, Markham decides, the two of 1 them will go "heeled," their enemies evidently having become desperate. CHAPTER IX. Landis, despondent ; because of hla belief that Betty Is In J love with Canby. is encouraged by Markham. Leaving the car to Ina burned auto, off the road, vestigate are shot at, but unharmed. The they jjihooters declare they took the two to 'be bears, which they were hunting. Uvidence. later, convinces Markham land Landis that the shooting waa at-- 1 tempted murder. CHAPTER X. Returning, with Betty, from a dinner with friends of Star- buck, Markham beats off two men who attempted to kidnap him. At the hotel ihe finds Landis has gone out. Three men from Louisville are registered, of the same names as the three whom he ..and Landis have been following, and 'they certainly are not the same men. -- CHAPTER XI. Seeking Landis, Markham la decoyed Into taking a from Brewster, and gets 'long trip back to find both Betty and Landis tare missing:. CHAPTER XII. Landis. lured from 'the hotel, is kidnaped and confined Ir. an old mine drift. Wander nr. he finds (Betty, also a prisoner. He tells her part ( ms experiences, out learns little joTrom her. Seeing what appears to be a iignt, rar away, he leaves Betty, to Investigate, and finds a gang of miners at work, hla silencer the noise. Ja anger he destroys muffing the mechanism of the machine. The gang, dismayed, run from the drift, two men JTrora their talk, Landla fearsremaining. they may nd Betty, and from a hldtnanlno .attacks them with a shovel. In the both men, but is tight he subdues fcadly hurt and makes his way back to Betty only to fall Into her arms unconscious. - CHAPTER XIII. In a hospital Lan-41- a learns from MarVHam the details of Canby's plotting. One of his accomplices bad told of the seising of Imand Landis and the place of theirBetty Their rescue followed. prisonment. Canby. bead of a criminal band, had "salted" the Quavapal to aell it to a Louisville group the three men whose names hla confederates had use but, badly needing money and learning accidentally of Landis' silencer, he had stolen it and had his gang use it In their bank and other robberies, and also to conceal his operations In the QuavapaL From Betty herself Landis learns how Canby, the night of the disappearance of the silencer, had hypnotised her and had ber open the safe. That part of the mystery cleared up, all that remains Is the wonder, as had ever had Betty sees it, why any doubt of her love for him, sue convinces him of hla error. course." "I suppose so; though I couldn't make them out very welL" "But see here; Canity was an hour ahead of ns at the last place we In quired, which was only a few mile back. His car couldn't have been the one we saw stopped up there on the mountain grade." "Of course not. The people who were In that car pushed a rock over on us. Besides, Canby hasn't my black box." "D n!" gritted Markham Impa tlently; and then, "Owen, this thine Is getting too many twists and tangles I can't In It altogether too many. understand how Canby got behind us." Landis shook his head. "Let's wait a bit and see if another rar doesn't turn up," he suggested. "There must be another one, you know." They waited for half an hour or more and nothing turned up. "It's no use," Markham said at last "We may as well drive on and get something to eat." They had eaten dinner in the dining room without seeing anybody they recognized, and were making Inquiries at the desk for the Canby-Lawsoparty. "Nobody of either name th!s evening," said the clerk, "but that doesn't necessarily Bpell anything. If they are merely motoring through, they may have taken dinner tickets at the cashier's window; in which case we'd have no record." "I see," said Markham. Then he took from bis pocketbook the slip upon which, in the St Joseph hotel, he had copied the names of the three Louisville men, and banded it to the clerk. "Any of these gentlemen here?" "Why, yes ; all three of them. They came in this afternoon. There they are now " pointing across the lobby. "Thanks," said Markham, .and the two crossed to the neighborhood of the three, Markham saying, "They don't know us, so we can take a good look at them, for whatever that may amount to," and accordingly they took a couple of chairs a short distance from the three where they could sit and smoke and observe. For a time the espial went foi nothing. One of the trio was reading a It Was AH Over In a Moment great stones set up by the road buildn ers to guard the side of the highway. All at once one of the huge guard rocks heaved Itself from Its place to come tumbling over and down the declivity, timed as If by some calculating agency to reach the lower tangent coincldentally with the racing roadster. Fortunately, Markham was one of those drivers whose reactions in an emergency are so Instantaneous as to seem purely automatic. He did the only thing there was to do released the brakes and Jammed the foot throttle open to Its limit It was all over In a moment. With only a fraction of a second to spare at the point of intersection, but that fraction on the side of safety, the flying car shot fairly under the hurtling menace and went racing on to the next doubling curve. It was not until the car shot out upon the valley level that Landis relaxed, drawing a long breath and saying, "I'm bunding It to you, Wally. You've a lot better nerve than I have. I should have tried to stop If I'd been at the wheel. How do you suppose It happened?" "One guess Is as go I as another. Mine Is that whoever was driving that Btopped car had cramped his front wheel against the rock for safety. Natural thing to do on such a stiff grade." Silence for a speeding mile, and then Landis fairly shouted. "Say, Wally! We've been asleep at the switch both of us! Think back a minute; didn't, you notice that the rock didn't make any noise coming down?" "What's that?" snapped Markham, braking the ear to an abrupt stop. Then, "I knew there was something queer about the thing, but I was too busy Just then to llgure out what it was. Hut you've put your linger on It. That tumbling rock ought to have made racket enough to wake the dead and there wasn't a sound!" "Well, you know there is only one way to account for that, don't you?" "You bet your life I do! That stopped car had your Infernal machine In It that's what. We're In luck at last." And he began to back the car for a turn. "Hold on," Landis broke In. "What are you going to do?" "Go back up the hill and have It out with that bunch, whoever they are!" "Listen to reason a minute, Wally." Landis said quietly. "If they are the men we've been trying for three days to run down, how much chance would we have In a road scrap with a carload of yeggs most likely armed to the teeth? resides, we haven't lost 'em. They can't go on to wherever they're going without passing us, and when they come along we can swing In and sit on their tall, can't we?" "Unip ! You're too d d sensible for any use!" Markham grunted. "It gets me on the raw. I'm not used to being stood up as a mark for a bunch of murderers to throw stones at Just before the thing came off I was asking you If the car wasn't a Nordyke. Was It? Or was It the Fleetwtng?" "I couldn't say. All I noticed was that It was a closed cor." "No matter; we'll find out In a few minutes what It was or Is." They were entering Copah. Markham steered lnt the shadows and turned off the car lights. They had not long to wait before the headlights of a following car appeared on the rearward road. "Spot it as It passes!" Markham rapped out; and so they did. both of them. What they saw was a mere thickening of the mysteries. For the passing car, slowing to town speed as It entered the town street, was no other than Canby's limousine, with Canity himself at the wheel. "If I wasn't reasonably certain that we're both fairly sane and In our right minds" Markham began. Then, "You saw them, didn't you?" "I saw Canby. yes." "Hut he wasn't alone." "No; there were two people In the back Beat." "Exactly. Betty and her father, of down-mountai- newspaper, and the others, the tall man and the sandy-haireone the one who had bought the new Fleet-win- g in Chiiiicothe were smoking. There was nothing suspicious In the appearance or actions of any of them. "Well?" said Landis, "Where do we go from here?" "I'm waiting for Canby to show up," d was the reply, "I'd like to find out how he is linked up with these people." "In that case won't It be better If we don't let him see us first?" "You're right; we'll take the mezzanine. We can look on as well from d low-tone- there." They had scarcely settled themselves when a surprised voice behind them , Daddy and I? Oh. no; we Just rested until dinner time. But when did you two leave Carthage?" M.rkham named the date, and she 6ald, "Why. we mast have bwn right olonj the road together! Or no; yon said you came by train, didn't you?" "1 said, "part of the way. We got tired of the train, so bought a car, and we came on In that." "But where are you jtoing?" "Ask Owen; I'm merely his chauf- feur." Thus dragged In, as best he could. played up "I don't know- - any more than the cat, Betty. We've just trundled along from one place to another, never knowing where the next stop would be." "It must be simply spiffy to drift about that way, with no responsibili- ties." "It Is," Landis agreed. "I'm er having the time of my life." "Yet you don't look It," asserted the frank one, fixing him with an eye. "You look haggard and worried. You ought to stop over In the Tlmanyoni and go fossil bunting with daddy." Markham had been keeping an eye on the group of three below, and now he stood up and turned to face the balustrade. For Canby had joined the three, and was giving one of them a folded paper. excused himself Markham and caught a descending elevator, and when Canby and the three moved away toward a side exit he was able to follow without being seen. The chase was a short one, ending at the hotel garage, which the four men entered together. Markham, slipping In upon the heels of the four, was able to conceal himself. In a few minutes a handsome Fleet-win- g Eight came rolling velvet-foote- d to pause with Its front wheels on the threshold of the entrance. As the car came to a stand Canby got out "As I've told you, you'll have to use your head," he was saying to the man at the wheel of the Eight "The sketch-malayout I gave you Is the best I could do. Your route book will show you where to turn off." "No chance for a break on the date, ve of All Things! Out Here?" said, "Well out here?" You Two of all things! "Betty!" Landis exclaimed, to his feet. You two spring-tn- g Markham laughed and said, "Sure; and why not?" "But you never said a word to me, either of you, before we left Carthage! How did you come by train?" "I'art of the way," Markham qualified. "But again I ask, why not? Why shouldn't we take a few days oft and " "I know; but it'a perfectly wonderful that we should meet here this way." Markham drew up a chair for her. "Sit down and we'll unravel It Owen was needing a rest and a change of scene, so I took him by the neck and ran off with him. Where is your father? And how do you come to be breaking your Journey in Copah?" "Daddy is around, somewhere; and we're not breaking ovr Journey. We're leaving presently going on to see the Red desert by moonlight" "Oh; so you're driving?" "Yes; with Bert In his stuffy luxury car. At the last minute after we'd all bought our train tickets Bert was going along, you know he snld he'd like to drive, if we would. So we took our tickets back and came in the car." "Had a good trip this far?" "Glorious." "When did you reach Copnh?" "Oh, quite a little while ago; about rive o'clock. I think It was. Anyhow, daddy and I bad time to bathe and change and get to the solarium In time to see the sunset over the Red desert It was simply gorgeous!" "But you took a drive after that, didn't you?" Landis put In. And Directory The merchant who advfertises is offering the readers of thes news paper a service that has no obligation attached to it. They give free the news of the products that can be had in your home town. IN THIS PAPER YOUR SHOPPING GUIDE MAKE THE ADVERTISEMENTS 11 A TTWPIITG TTTRFIQ TTRITQ ASSOCIATED GASOLINE & OILS --- S o I? d i r r i iviJ TfAcj j tu n. o ouiv - UTAH TREMONTON LEA DUNN. Prop. i1isjsaaaa jvxanriA"ri-t- " Utah Oil Station NO. 267 GOOD NEWS After July 1st we can reline your brakes with Raybestos Brake Lining The Best In Optometric Service In Northern Utah The Best That Money Can Buy Diderickstn & Goldsberry Kennett H. Malan LAWYER OFFICES Rocky Mountain Packing Corporation Over Bank, Tremonton 1208 1st NafI Bank, Ogden PHONE 133 - - TREMONTON p is there?" came In low tones from the interior of the car. "1 don't make breaks," was the brittle retort. "You've got a monopoly In that field. Among you, you've balled things up beautifully!" "The h 1 you say!" growled the How voice In the Interior darkness. could we know ?" "It was your business to know ! You had the whole thing in your hands three days ago ; all you had to do was to sit down and wait until the flurry was over. And all you did was to yell for help! But that's a hack number. Let it go and get out of here. And don't fall down on this business tonight. I'll meet you as arranged. Get a move!" The big car rolled out across the sidewalk; and Canby walked quickly around to the side entrance of the hotel. Markham followed, but not directly. Beyond the hotel counter he found a hardware merchant just closing for the night, and persuaded the man to go back and sell him a couple Then he of serviceable automatics. returned to the hotel lobby, where he found Landis waiting for him. "What did you find out?" Landis demanded. "Enough to warrant us In getting quick action. Where is Betty?" "She said It was leaving time for her and her father and went to get ready. Canby went up In an ele- vator." "Pid he see you?" "No; I kept out of his sight. But no doubt he knows we are here." 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Landis waited, and he was still waiting when the roadster bumped over the final railroad crossing in the Red Buttle Western yards and shot out upon the broad, silent expanse of the Red desert "Everything To Build Anything" Phone 11 OF UTAH" "UTAH FAVORITE" All Poultry Mashes TREMONTON-GARLANMILLING CO. D I. U' TO BE CONTINUED Plan to Register at the v University of Utah Utah's highest standard educational institution. Freshmen must report September 21, and must attend September 22 to 24. All other students must register September 26. Regular class work gins September 27. ware. Your Dollar Has Purchasing Power HERE! be- Send for catalogue UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Salt Lake City for those wet, winter days that are coming. Everything in building materials and hard- - Farmers' Cash Union "Your Good Will Our Best Asset" Phone 35 Tremonton, Utah i |