OCR Text |
Show -- a at A --1 I CHAPTER IX have a for you. Mr Be!k come-bac- 9 did not go townward vj Belknap . (ha itpaw lla frurnf and followed direction otter . . .. . . last ugmea naoita- was there, drivine" iUC and down, waiting. utewn slowly up and lifted aid GA In," he room mm. ueaiue roaKe to be kttied there beside the hulking John listened attentively while Sheriff told what he had to tell tin't 80 mucn" he sald "but he fitted he was out by their gasoline Cases have with this fellow. than that smaller things on L,M we get the stomach analysis about U fcnow whether he's lyln' , nan's bein' boozed up or not." And what about the old Job?" John finished. ted, when he had Saw Saunders Smooth as silk! tickled pink ! !i afternoon and he's Gorbel has pulled off a lot that jjo g Mw5 and that It ain't any chore Ellen in logs. It's jt ill bow, to keep d as in me snortcaKe iweet ill : i ura the '.a nast oriff Jl neign-torhoo- 1" mases It look worse for me. h 1 starts Ai quick as I land there to pop. When I'm discovered and sent subsides !" bittq the road, trouble erly. "He's smart, Gorbel!" Smart In some ways!" the other "Was over in our town drackled. other night ; tried to see Ellen at tie ler house. She wouldn't have It 'nd d ler housekeeper told how he on the door and begged !" John moved uneasily. "He used to be sweet on her, all rjht, and It looked for a time, before ttr daddy died, like she was goln' to reciprocate, or whatever you call It. . . . Yeah, Bat It's different now. lie's made It mart In some ways! bad for you for a time but, look Johnny, Saunders is for you, all ways ; io are the rest of Ellen s boys. They iont understand It all, no more than 1 for jon and I do, but they'd go to h job, every last one of 'em!" They would !" warmly. "Bless 'em but Miss But all, they would ! She'll be thinking Elchards. . . . just what we've agreed Is the logical that I caused the thing to think; trouble and when she let me go trouble Which are. unit or li on 6 St are Ea ill sue1 en!)! "I ham-Bere- ... with me." went nodded. He turned to stare at "Tough!" John in the darkness. "I get you, soa Women's ways are hard for a man to follow. But I notice we keep tryin and tryin' and sometimes we get The sheriff on 90? se, orj the hang ... of understanding and sympathy and encouragement came with the tone and John left the sheriff with Pints higher than they had been for world A I of 'em !" days. He that was restless after his supper This was Saturday and night town was gathering at the recreation hall for the weekly dance. Be found himself, despite his indifference, strolling up the steps of the recreation hall. He stood looking into the big room through the glass. The music was fair, the place filled with joung and old, revelling in the amusement his father had provided. They bought that they owed Paul Gorbel for such advantages and John went a Mthot Old Tom had done that! Couples swirled past. Girls and tcinen looked at him significantly. He aw one whisper to her partner and the man looked at John and nodded nd chuckled. He was marked. The dance ended. He turned to see girl watching from a seat near the the whole ... ioor. She smiled and he bowed, though je did not er. remember ever having seen She rose quickly, and came towards him, skirts swaying graee-j- y about her thighs. I guess you don't remember me, r. Belknap !" she said. "I'm Marie vamell. I used to be in the Chicago office." "Oh!" he said, taken aback. "I It's one on me! In a place here there are so many Pfla, tlidii'.-h- , you can't blame a poor toy from the woods If he gets can you?" She laughed. "Good line! I didn't expect you to "member me, though!" specimen of a definite city type, J aw: her clothing, her make up, her W manner. And how long have you been here?" ess good-lookin- con-"Sef- l, tasked. "Fourteen Yee ffloe' 1 suPPse?" The orchestra struck up. Well- ,- she said, "I guess I better back to the girls." can't we dance, then?" ?9 "mile flashed. She had achieved. since leaving the university he had Bd little, but from the first few ""Ps he realised that this stenographer an exceptional dancer. Light, supple, graceful, they thread- f IC8S adr0lt C0UpleS lD leticl8Wlrl r 1 and. a little ming to tell "Yes?" vou " do in and out of Chicago, seeing ,0Ur father about building the new plant here. I was to come up here as his secretary. As soon as we could make good with the town, so there wouldn't be any gossip, he said, we'd be married. Well, we made good with the town. He's smart; I've been awful careful. We've got by, but I haven't heard any wedding bells! First It was the excuse of heading off gossip, because he's awful particular about his Then it was something else standing. again. . . . "You see, everything bad been between raul and your father. None of the others tn the Chicago office had anything to do with It This plant Isn't supervised and audited like the Belknap company plants are. I never knew why. "But a year ago Paul came back all In a huff. Your father wasn't just satisfied with the way things were going. T herehngrd A I a sr7. al ti see vou d0D,t bold. I gUess g. "A lot you should know a lot your should know." So? That's Interesting " "It will be. but I can't talk here. And we can't go out together. I've got to see you alone." John was not very good at interpreting women. He was just a trifle wary now, and evidently she underi diner stood. lm 8hootiDS uare. you this much: I'm responsible for getting you out of Shoestring!" I don't quite understand." he said rnW11 ' cautiously. "I wrote a letter to Miss Richards, on dictation. Does that mean " Her eyes, as he studied them, seemed to be honest enough. "Yes," he admitted. "And if I hadn't written that letter I might have gone for a ride or whatever they do up here In the woods! If that Isn't enough, I'll say this: somebody in Kampfest has been seared stiff since you came here. Things that had been going on before have stopped since you came Into the .. Now are you Interpicture. . "Yes! And if He Found You Here With Me He'd He Might Kill Me!" to ask questions He'd commenced about the plant and the bank that were hard for Paul to answer. He came up himself, just as snow came, and there was a lot of tall scratching, Pm here to tell the world! But he never found out anything. "Now Paul commenced to figure that he was about through with your father. He'd gone as far as he could In He getting stock In this company. was going a good deal further In other ways that I'll explain after a while. "All along, I'd had a feeling that he wasn't shooting straight with me. I hadn't been here a month before I was sure of it It seems that he'd been trying to make this Ellen Richards for a "Surprise you?" she laughed as she felt John start violently. "Well, he had! He'd been gone on her since before her father died, but the old man didn't like him and I guess whatever he knew he handed on to this girl, because she didn't fall. "It got under my skin, of course. A girl can't help it If she gets Jealous, Mr. Belknap. Well, as I say, she didn't have time for anything but her job, anyhow, after her father died. You see, the bank here had a lot of their notes and Paul knew all about her affairs. He got his big Idea about that property last fall I remember the day he hit on It. "I'm not dumb! Not exactly! I watched and listened and put two and two together and found out his scheme. He figured that the Richards combad way that he pany was in such a could close it up in a few weeks if he could crowd it a little harder. He wanted to do that but he didn't dare until he heard your father was going He counted the days unto Europe. til he thought he was safe and then "Come In," she said, looking down "Who would come?" he asked, sus- picious now. "Paul Gorbel might come," she said. "Oh! "Yes! And if he found you here he might kill me!" with me he'd "He'd be afraid of jmoMciiiiT. me get away, you, but he'd never let and after I knowing that I know all do why" That's us seen together. he'd more easily- -'! can't take you up to us there" my room. If he trapped "In the habit of coming to your ... room, is he?" "Yes," she said. "I'm not going to on you, Mr. trv to put anything over even If I wanted couldn't, I Belknap. want to." to, and I don't . . ." "That's generous, I'm sure. But sort sounding wild a "I know this is to believe of thing, but I want you s truth ! God is that everything I say Its "It's a long story, Mr. Belknap far a moral, with a the kind of story She I guess. concerned. I'm n3 laughed, a trifle bitterly. to, to "I'm coming clean. I've got things these know I how show you I tell to make you understand why 5n to you. A girl's got to shoot as long as the other party doe, Ive been done my part up here. I begin-5?- " the from deal a dirty coarse, was voice And now her filled with anger. opened up." She laughed, a bit nervously. "I guess you know what happened. Well, he did It, all on his own, and timed It so your father wouldn't get wind of what was going on before he He started gumming up her sailed. railroad ; he brought in this Baxter to a lot of clean up on her men. He did other things that I don't know about he could force her probablv, thinking to the wall, buy at his own price and as sole then he could go over there In this comstock his owner, leaving for the pany In this bank as securitythe deal. to take swing would It loan Get It? He'd be free of your father, then. "Now I happen to know how he out-- as worked It. He let the story father hat your doing-tof a way he's He's this. all for was responsible sare , Gorbel raul vZ lJ i' if flB-n- , ... Kichards commenced he smart was Paul! TIeing ne spread that story "Well!" said John with his heart rapping his ribs. "Well, and It's about as I had It figured out He's played his own game, using my father's cards and my father's name!" "That's It! But that ain't the half of it, John !" Again her hand was on his arm. "The thing that got your father suspicious was how the lumber was grading. It showed up an awful lot of stuff. The more we cut, the worse It seemed to be. Well, If you're Inside. that's easy Every week, car after car of good Number Two Common and better rolls out of Kampfest billed to the North Star Lumber company In St Paul as cull! Yes, sir! You can check on that !" nodding. Her voice was a bit hoarse now. "And that North Star company Is Paul GorbeL I don't know where or how. But he owns It I know that and he doesn't know how I found out. Oh, he'd kill me If he knew tils! But It's true" desperg ately. "Iff true, John . He's your father every day In the week, and when your father tried to check up on It by an Inspection at the other enc', Gorbel fixed tbat, too, some way. I think he switched cars In St Paul on the Inspector. "There's things In the bank, too. How much I don't know. I do know that he's accepting a lot of North Star notes In payment for that good lumber at cull prices. In other words, he's stealing Belknap & Gorbel blind !" She ended, breathing rapidly and John stood there, so close to her, emotions surging In his up heart v He looked down at her face, so close to his. "I'm sorry," he said, and meant that. . . . Poor, kid! he thought A yes; coarse, 'vindictive, cruel, selfish. She wanted him to kiss her now. She was swaying closer to him. He put his hands on her shoulders light-heade- gold-digge- gently. "Thank you, Marie," he said. "Maybe there are things I'll be asking of you later! Just do your Job and wait If I have to see you, I'll write a note and let you plan the meeting. Tm awfully obliged. Good night!" He went then, leaving her In the She watched him go and doorway. finnlly turned Into the house with a sigh. As "Gosh !" she said. "Gosh. hard to make as a million dollars!" But as she climbed the stair her dis- ... a casual sort of emto a hard Joy. She way otiongave lighted her room and took off her coat with quick, angered movements. "You got gay with the wrong party, !" she muttered, you double-crosse- r and her weak, pretty little face was I unlovely to behold. Woman scorned In his room at the boarding house John wrote a letter before he turned In. It was to Bradshaw, brief and to the point And the concluding paragraph read : "And so send the following message to T. A. Wolcott, St Anthony's Trust Co., Minneapolis. He Is an old friend; open his reply and follow any leads he may give you. " 'Please find out at once all you can about investors In and officers of North Star Lumber Co., St. Paul, also advise me of its local standing stop Send reply to Nat Bradshaw, BELKNAP.' " this address-JO- HN appointment Paul Gorbel had not attended the dance. He had had other matters to occupy him. Neither had Baxter been In the recreation hall, though on other Saturday nights he had occupied his place by the fire and made his uncouth observations of women for men. the benefit of boys and In the shadow of stood he Tonight a lumber pile with Gorbel and took his orders, but he took those orders, snapped at horn coldly, with grace. it kills blm!" the man "But rt nlan a y wun i realize ng he teeka employment recoenlie him. The gin nft pany. Lnbeliev Goroe Beknap beln, dropped throws Im out. s'pose muttered. "So much the better!" "Good G d, Gorbel, I don't want to kill any of old Tom Belknap's!" "I'm giving you your orders. If you don't go through with it . . . remem- thr t. months" trip Bbroart. Promlsei of Richards, owner of the company. Knowing the j .uperlntendenL A eer'e ie turned her face towards him, TerJ close. . ",'a glad you came," she said, and W not catch the peculiar quality hw tone. Th Is the first time I've 'ncedV 1 don't mean that Ordinarily I'd ing E"e" " nm the structure John heart, '"."him employment Vurn.n oefhth. W- h- In the sheriff Bradshaw r"" who has your thumbber, prints and your pictures," "That crowds me, GorbeL I I'spoM I'll have It to do. You've got me la a hole." "Good guess. . . . This week, reYou've every chance In the member. world, to get away with It" And so while John Belknap tolled at the hotpond in a fever of suspense and excitement death stalked him, waiting, skulking tn the shadows. But this morning be was on the far side of the pond ; that evening he worked close to another man of the crew. This day, one man alone could not handle the stake trips on the tilted, heavily laden cars; the next the pond was full and no loads had 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 prowl-e- r could come through the lumber yard then, and stand well screened to watch. He could stoop and look beneath the car and see the pond-meworking. He could slip forward silently In the snow, squatting on the dark side of the trucks , . . waiting, watching. Arcoss the pond was Ole, tooling a log slowly towards the slide where other workers were busy. And now around the end of the pond came John Belknap, walking swiftly, pike-poover bis shoulder. He was abreast the car now, and .'he prowler, hands on the trips, bent low to look ' beneath, saw his legs. A hiss of breath, a jerk vith great hands and logs were careening down upon that man beneath them I On the first stir, John looked sharply. He had a glimpse of a smooth beech log bursting from the chains that had held It, hurtling at him through the air, outrider of a score of others, rolling, bouncing, leaping towards him I No place to go, there! Eight feet ahead would put him In the clear; eight feet backward, and he would be safe. But eight feet are . . . two strides. It takes a man time to get under way. One other place, then; the pondl Eyes open, hands extended, he cut the water. His hip brushed one log and as he went under swimming mightily, he felt the first of the down-rollin- g deck touch his leg. Touch It I That was all. He had found an open ing. He had missed catastrophe by inches. . . . And he was under the logs, swimming, groping for a way out Oie had seen. With a cry he saw John disappear. With a shrill yelp he leaped to a maple, danced along a hemlock, skipped over a trio of small birches. Close together the logs lay In the pond ; scarcely room for a man to slip between them anywhere there I He gauged the distance. He swung He brought his weight his pike-polto bear on a log, and shoved It with all his strength, crowd-lu- g it away with the pole, shoving the one on which he stood In the opposite direction with his feet Above him a bright electric light glowed from its pole. The opening I know ... n ... le hlgh-rldln- g low-grad- e to this installment mt.t 1 attackers mmue Mr. Belknap! I was only a me while !" She fumbled for a handkerchief and blew her nose with vigor. double-crossin- Mb Dj ANGELO PATRI 3 REWARDS I pretty cute, I'll say. But you, Mr. Belknap, sort of upset his buggy! "He found out who this John Steele was and you'd ought to ve heard him rave! He dictated that letter and I had to write It to Ellen Richards. When you showed up here and went to work It knocked him for a loop! He was scared stiff. He laid off the Richards Jb and started In, tryin' to make her again" darkly. "The dirty double-cmsse- r ... the street, and closed the door, shutting them Into the little cubicle. "All right, now" speaking in a normal tone. "Old lady Vogle this Is her house is deaf as a post. She sleeps like a log, too. If anybody comes up the walk here, you go straight through the kitchen and out the back door!" when WMlCwrta ... ested?" "Very much!" The music stopped. They both applauded vigorously. When the encore started she put her cheek close to his. "I'll leave after the next dance. I'm here with other girls from the office. I live In the third house after you turn right at the post office. You walk past a half hour after I leave and I'll be waiting in the storm-housWhen I see you, and If the street's empty, 111 open the door for you." After a moment he said: "Fair enough !" He didn't like this matter of clandestine meetings, of skulking to a rendezvous with a girl of this type. But she knew something that solved one problem, evidently. What he had to learn must be learned. He waited through lagging minutes, heedless of the music and laughter and talk about him, sitting against the wall, heart thumping. He went out and strolled down the street, swung rapidly along the sidewalk with Its high piles of snow on either side, scanning the house fronts. The third was painted white; It set back thirty feet from the street A3 he came abreast of it the door of the storm-houswhich, during the winter, protected the tiny front porch from weather, opened inward. He saw her standing there and she beckoned. unpleasant, Don't misjudge me, don't do that! 83 low-grad- e ... 25 CHILDREN1 Romance of the North Woods By HAROLD TITUS H3t Copjrlfht. ire 1 mformlnir her of 'Bteele's" Identity, ano The Excited Swede Tried to Drag Him Out water was sable velvet, stippled with eddies. . . . Hi!" be yelled. "HI, John!" An arm A bulging, a swirling. shot through ; a face showed, and John Belknap, grasping a log, was choking and gagging for breath! The excited Swede tried to drag ... him out. "All right Let me breathe!" be gasped, and Ole stood up as. others came running. Anybody hurt? What happened? Who was it? . . . Chattering then, as John, still panting, shaking with cold, dragged himself out "All right!" he gasped, and then, to Ole, "Much obliged. . . . Seemed to an hour looking for . , swim a hole!" "Py gosh, Yohn, you come by a fire now !" said Ole as, water streamlet from bis wooien clothing, John made his way to shore across the Jog (TO BI CONTIMUXO.X ... 1 Isnt a THIS a Rita. I see very good report. have a poor; mark In' spelling and another la arithmetic and grammar isnt very good. I dont believe yon are studying. Now I'll teU yon what I'll do. If yon study hard this month and get a good mark In everything. 111 give you that set of dishes yon want" The nice blue onea In Daly's window J Oh, good for me. Ill get a hundred tn everything, ton see." "Well, we will be satlafled with leu than tbat Too do your best and yoo wlU get the dishes," For a few days Rita works hard and (be marks rise. Then she yawna a lit tie and says aha is tired studying. She wants to go out to play. Gneaa shell rest now. She will do the words in the morning. "Don't forget that yon want thosa dishes." "No. I'm remembering. Ill study by and by." Less and less enthusiasm for study, more weariness, more need for play, more forgetting until finally her mother loses all patience and says, "Sit right down and study. Now, no mora of this. 1 am not going to let yon wast an.-- more time. How do yoa thik. you are going to get the dishes unless you work?" "I don't care. If I don't get them all right for yoa I do work. I study' bard as anything and the teacher gives me the hardest questions and makes me miss on purpose." Rita weeps at ber own grief. The reward, In store,! has failed to pull her along the bard road of duty. Rewards held In store for future payment rarely work. Bribing a child to work falls oftener than It succeeds It Is right to reward an effort Rewards encourage children to push on when enthusiasms have died down. They stimulate the child to fresh hope and they renew his energy. But the reward must be Immediate. It must follow the good deed promptly. Children live In the present moment' Tbelr failures and hopea and struggles are all of the moment' To maka a reward effective It must follow the performance Immediately and be ai surprise. When a child finds himself rewarded; for something he has dona he is delighted beyond words. The feeling la not all caused by the thought of bla ery personal gain. With It and strongly, la mingled a deep appreciation of your appreciation of bis work1 and effort. Nothing so pleases us as to find that somebody was rooting, hard for us all the time we struggled to win success. Don't promise rewards for work far in the future. Make them Immediate,1 yog PLEASE THE BABY been canning all MOTHER had and ber feet were tired carrying her about She sat la a rocker on the porch watching Edna May doing her home work tn the short time' before dinner. The baby had fallen asleep on the couch In the sitting room. Now he wakened and cried. "Go In, Edna May, and see what yoa can do to please him. I'm so tired I can't move another step." Edna May cheerfully went to the rescue. In a short time she came back,1 "He wants my red cap, mother." "All right Give It to him. Anything to please him." Mother rested for a while and rose to prepare for dinner. Crossing the sitting room something caught her eye. The baby sat In the midst of a miscellaneous heap like a pirate among his treasure. "Give me," he commanded, end at once Edna May gave him. "For pity's sake, Edna May, what la the matter with you? Here I am tired to death, I ask yoa to help with the baby for a few minutes and you completely upset the house. Pick' every bit of that stuff up." Edna May, quite crestfallen, began gathering up the loot Each time she latd bold of an article the baby screamed and fought to keep It Mother came swiftly, smacked both chll-- 1 dren and planted them firmly, one In his crib and the other on a chair. "Stay there and keep quiet If you can't do anything else," Both children were crying earnestly when father walked up the path. It was all very naturaL Mother was tired beyond words. Edna May was willing but unknowing. The baby bad the cbance of bis life and he took it The only v.ay out that I can see la to have a couple of things handy for such an occasion. A ball tied to the baby's chair, a favorite Teddy sitting In a little chair, will serve the purpose.' Then when baby Is to be diverted for a few minutes the means are at band. Crying It out Is not so easy when! one's nerves are raw but it la better than having a scene, Isn t ltt It la cheaper In nervous energy In the long ran. It won't do to teach the baby that he Is to be pleased no matter whnt comes or goes. Sometimes ha can't be pleased and the sooner ha learns It the better. It does cost a few bowls but most of us can stand that I BU Syndicate. Wint Sarvtf |