OCR Text |
Show i - i . a -- 1 i aaanssM nw g. . LaV t" w W tV gH LaDaHsliW J MM J .MM " -fyv M Ra m M. w ' ' y Rr m. A kl. J bbbV IbWIWbbbbTM WMM-xU AsX ftaAT v sM .. flLsJ bbbbb! M bbbbbbbjl sSH LLm' -u LbbV AAitasfl asPi'BBal bbbbbbVLbT qMA'T) "We Cm Make 'Km Put It Through on the Original Charter." ifA LASS OF Mill LUNBERLANDS ft ML E. ALEXANDER POWELL Mm SIbnovelized from the motion ' pig! $m ture serialof the same name pro- br1 ma duced by the signal film corp. fsb) " - - - - SYNOPSIS. Rupert Holmes, a lumberman of the North Woods, disappointed at becoming the father of a daughter Instead of a son, abandons hie wife and child to the log-Jammed log-Jammed river. Thinking them dead, he allies al-lies himself with the lumber trust head, whose daughter he marries. Ilut the deserted de-serted wife and baby are picked up and cared for by one Dave Dawson. Twenty years later Rupert Holmes Is the lumber magnate fighting the Independents around him. His daughter, Helen, unknown to him, has brought herself to his attention by several heroic acts about the camps. She takes up a fight against the trust and leads the independents In their defenses against the great Amalgamated which seeks to absorb their hard-earned properties. prop-erties. In this Helen Is assisted by Tom Dawson, a young engineer, and her foster father, Dave Dawson. FIFTH EPISODE The Independent owners were enormously enor-mously encouraged by their legal victory vic-tory over the Amalgamated. Some of them believed the octopus bad shot Its bolt, but these reckoned without their obstinate host, Rupert Holmes. While compelled to accept the shipments ship-ments of lumber offered by the independents, inde-pendents, Holmes and bis myrmidons succeeded In making things mightily unpleasant for the customer. A policy pol-icy of obstruction was pursued. Where a hundred cars were ordered, only ten would be forthcoming. Where ten cars were asked, one would be furnished. This premeditated delay of shipments brought prompt protests from shippers. ship-pers. Threats of cancellation became frequent. fre-quent. These were met with explanations expla-nations of the causes of delay but the mill men wanted lumber and not explanations. ex-planations. Once more the Independents Independ-ents were confronted with heavy losses through the machinations of the trust. It was In this crisis that Helen Dawson Daw-son came once more to the rescue. She had asked Clancy, the railway agent at Dawsonvllle, for a day's leave of absence ab-sence to make a visit In Big Falls. When she returned that evening she sent for Michael Morrlsey, leading spirit of the independents. "Is there still trouble In securing cars?" Helen asked. "Trouble, no end," answered Morrlsey. Mor-rlsey. "They've got the cars, all right, but we can't get 'em. It's the old game of a crook trying to use tho back door when the front one has been closed by the law. We have half a million dollurs worth of cancellations staring us in the face ut this minute." Helen smiled enigmatically and drummed a pencil between her teeth. "I wus In Big Fulls today," she remarked, re-marked, Irrelevantly, ufter a pause. "I Just happened to drop Into the county clerk's office, und while there I thought I'd like to see a copy of the Amalgnmateds' chnrter. By the way, Mr. Morrlsey, did you ever see that charter?" "No," replied Morrlsey, "they never honored me with a copy." "You ought to see the original," Helen went on. "It's very Interesting. I find Hint it provides for a railway rtartlng at Port Jefferson, running through Big Falls and Dawsonvllle, and ending at Olacier Point They are not operating under that charter, Mr. Morrlsey. Their rallwuy ends at Dawsonvllle." "I knew there was something In the charter about Glacier point, but holy St. Patrick 1" shouted the Irishman, "we can make 'em put It through on the original charter, and we'll all get rich, for the best of the Independent holdings are In that territory. Ay, colleen, col-leen, but ye're a wonder." "But could they not wriggle out of It on the proposition that there Is no traffic at present to Justify thp extension," exten-sion," pursued Helen, doubtfully. "Well," grinned Morrlsey, "there's a settlement at Glacier Just a few families and some Indians but we can throw a couple of hundred men in there, build houses and start a town that will Justify a petition to the leg-slat leg-slat ure. ( BMBBaajasaal 1 "Do you think the plan Is practicable?" practi-cable?" "Anyhow," answered Morrlsey, enthusiastically, en-thusiastically, "I'm for trying It" "We'll have a meeting here, then," said Helen. "I know a young lawyer In Big Falls, a Mr. Clay, whom I will ask to come up. We must be sure of our ground." Thnt meeting became memorable In the annals of Dawsonvllle. There were nine persons present, there having been invited, besides Clay, the lawyer, five of the foremost independent owners. own-ers. Helen's plan was adopted with a whoop. . The hundred or more settlers living In the country adjacent to Glacier were amazed when a few mornings after the Dawson conclave, a party of surveyors appeared and proceeded to lay out the atreet plan for a fair-sized town. These men had hardly finished their work when two hundred lumber-Jacks lumber-Jacks swarmed In from the railhead above Dawson and began cutting Umber Um-ber within shooting distance of the village of Glacier. Rows of log houses sprang np as though at the touch of a magician's wand. Stores, a boarding house and town hall were among the most pretentious pre-tentious structures. All were built entirely of logs. When the news of what the Independents Inde-pendents were doing reached Rupert Holmes, he did not grasp the significance signifi-cance of it at once. The next Jolt for the Amalgamated crowd was administered on the following follow-ing Monday evening, when Councilman shouts burst Into the office of "Big Bill" Behrens in Big Falls, and swore like a Cossack with wet feet "What's tho riot?" demanded Behrens. Beh-rens. , "Riot?" jrelled Shouts; "that Independent Inde-pendent gaug with the lumberlands Joan of Arc huve Just sewed you sleepy suckers up In your own blankets. blan-kets. That's what the riot Is." "Come across," snarled Behrens, "let's hear the sad news." "They shoved a motion In the city council tonight compelling the Amalgamated Amal-gamated to build through to Glacier uccordlng to Its cburter provisions, it's tabled until the next meeting, but It'll go through then as sure as a gun unless we uiauage to block It" Behrens was vastly excited by this Information, but he did not show It "Suppose anybody down at Glacier knows you're lu our employ?" he demanded. de-manded. "No," retorted the visitor ; "it would be poor business for me," "Just u gleam of Intelligence," grunted Behrens. "All right, keep It dark, but get back there and keep us tsisted up to the minute. Who's behind be-hind this new move?" "Well, there's Morrlsey and that bunch, but of course the Dawson girl's behind 'em. She's the bruins of that combination and now she's got a lawyer law-yer numed Clay on her staff. That fellow's fel-low's some shrewd, too." "Well, Jump out," ordered Behrens. "Use the code over our wires. . , . Ha ! I thought so." As simiii , started for the night train Behrens, whose last remurk had te.n occusloned by thu ringing of his telephone, tele-phone, leuued over and placed the receiver re-ceiver to his ear. "Who Is It?" he Inquired. "Holmes, Seuttle," wus the sharp retort. re-tort. "Just got some information from Duwsonvllle. What's the matter with you, Behrens asleep at tho switeh?" "Oh, It's that Morrlsey crowd, trying try-ing to put something over," snarled the ugenL "Cun't sleep with 'em, you know. Just got to meet 'em a little better than half way that's all." "How does the council stand?" "They're a pretty hidebound lot" "Any of 'em take coin?" "Might. We can try It out." "Try It outt Why, wuke up, Behrens Beh-rens Uils thing's got to be choked right where It Is. I'm told of two we I can get sure, it's up to you to gel I three more In dnulle-ulck time. Don't innke any mistake now. Be sure oi your ground and then pay 'em enough to buy a house and lot. I'm sen. lint Cnrruthers down on the mall train. Consult with hi in ntul then get action. Well, human nature Is the same the world over. It wasn't hard tor Behrens Beh-rens to buy three of those halfhreed councllmen. Then Behrens made n mistake. He tnrkled "Tlnk" McDonald and 0uf Christiansen, nhout as hard fisted nnd at the same time thoroughly honest n pair of tlmbermen as ever rode a raft. "Ye cannn bribe me, ye dlel," roared "Tlnk," aa he swung a conthook within an Inch of Behrens' enr. "Oot wl' ye noo Ah'm n mon o' small patience." "You gat tn honl fern har." drawled Christiansen, as he stared at Behren's live twenty-dollar bills. "Ay ban on de vater vagon." Morrlsey and Clay, with Helen Dawson Daw-son helping them every minute of the day, soon learned of the defection of the councllmen and set .about to rem. edy the situation. Shouts being recognized as the ring, leader of the renegades, Morrisey ad dressed him. "I'm not going to threaten you feb lows," said the Irishman, "but I figure that after thinking things over you'll probably decide to stick with tha bunch. The people round here don't propose to lose their Jobs because of any crooked councllmen betraying them Into the hands of the Amnlgn-inutcil. Amnlgn-inutcil. Get that through your heads, men." The night of the council meeting there was an enormous bonfire burning outside the town hall in the middle of the main street A big mob of lumbermen lum-bermen hud congregated about the fire and a huge pot waa bubbling In the middle of it "What's this, a barbecue?" demand-ed demand-ed Shouts. "Depends," was the laconic reply. "Plenty of soup here for any good use," and he stirred the tar with a long pole. "Shouts 1" gasped St. Cyr, the half-breed half-breed who had first taken Amalgamated Amalgamat-ed money. "Here your d n money no tar feathers this Injun got too d n much sense." Shouts was desperate. The other three purchased votes were no good to him. Besides, St. Cyr had threatened threat-ened to spring the whole bribery story on the council floor for the purpose of clearing his own skirts. There was nothing for It, Shouts decided, but to resign before they could suspend him under charges. "Mr. Mayor," shouted the Amalgamated Amalga-mated agent as soon as the meeting had been called to order, "I resign my position in the council." "Accepted," roared the president; get out." Then something happened that was unexpected. St Cyr and the others who had taken bribes also resigned. There was no quorum. For a moment Behrens sat stunned in the rear of the courtroom. Then realizing what had happened and that the body could not proceed to business without a quorum present he decided to claim credit with Holmes for a remarkably re-markably astute piece of plotting. "Good work," was Holmes' laconic telegram In reply to one sent by Behr-ens. Behr-ens. The meeting adjourned and an order or-der for an election of councllmen was Immediately posted. At once the money of the Amalgamated was put In. to circulation where It would do the most good. Meetings were held, some of which were addressed by the Amalgamated Amal-gamated supporters and fur larger ones addressed by Helen Dawson, Morrlsey Mor-rlsey und the Independent leaders. And the night of the election Helen made a final speech that set the town ullume. As she progressed the young girl, clad In her white Bweuter and spotlighted spot-lighted by the glHre from a huge tire of logs, so excited the gathering of rough men that they waved their hats und couts In a frenzy of excitement. As she leaped lightly to the ground, a brawny uxmuu sang out, "Now boys, nil together! Three cheers for Miss Helen, the lumbermen's friend I" und the answering rour showed how powerfully power-fully she hud swuyed her heurers. "She's spilled the beans, damn her," Behrens whispered to Cnrruthers. "There's nothing to It now. We'd better bet-ter be cleurtng out of here or they may make It hot for us after what she said about that old fool, Thornus." Behrens wus quite right In his estimate esti-mate of the situation. It was all over but the shouting, or rather, the voting, for, when the polls closed It was found that the Independent ticket hud beep elected by un overwhelming majority The passuge of the resolution was now a foregone conclusion,. When the new council met the following evening the town hail was packed to suffocation, while those who could not find room within crowded the doors und windows. win-dows. Upon the motion of MacDonald the resolution culling upon the legislature legisla-ture to demand the Immediate completion comple-tion of the rallwuy to Glacier Point wus passed with a whoop. "I wish to make another motion, Mr. Chairman," said MacDonald, when the excitement had subsided. "I move that. In recognition of Miss Helen Dawson's services In awakening the self-respect of this community, the name of this town b changed from Glacier Point to Helens boro." "Ay bun second that motion," shouted shout-ed Christiansen. "You have heard the motion, gentlemen," gentle-men," said the mayor. "Those In favos will say 'aye.' " And councllmen and towuspeoplat ullke thundered their approval. (TO Btt CONTINUED.) I |