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Show I THE VALLEY of the GIANTS I By PETER B. KYNE H Author of "Cappy Ricks" Hfc Copjrlfht hj Ptttr B. Kjn CHAPTER XV. Continued. B 17 HlilH In the first I've licanl nbnut BSfrntichlsc," Sum Perkins replied ftrlously. "Seems to me you been By secret about tills Jul). How do Hjw this nln't a forgery?" jBll up the mayor nnd nsk hlni," Hft suggested. HJ do Hint," quoth Mr. Perkins Hfcrously. "And In the meantime, Hi do nny more digging or rail-cut- BH Ho hurried away to his auto- HK, leaving n lieutenant In charge B squad. B&o In tlio monntlmo, young man," Bfti Pennington announced, "you BBnrdon me If I take pohsokhIoii of BBcnmotlvo nnd lint cars. I oh- ZHJ you hnvc finished unlondltiK 2H rails." HWl yourself, Colonel," Hryce rc-HSwIth rc-HSwIth an assumption of heart I-Hir I-Hir was far from feellhg. ' Huink J'"" so much, Curdlgnn." the greatest good nature In life, t BSigton cllmUcd Into the enh, 'Bil for the hell-cord, nnd ran): JHJll vigorously. lHi he permitted himself n trl-HBnt trl-HBnt toot of the whistle, nftcr She threw off the nlr nnd gently Hn the throttle, lie was not n lo-Hjvc lo-Hjvc engineer hut he had ridden BBnih of his own locomotive nnd BBiltc confident of his ability In i. BBi n crenk nnd n hump the train Bn, and the Colonel ran It slowly BBtll the locomotive stood on the BB exactly where lluck Ogllvy had BButtlng In his crossing; where- BBthe Colonel locked the brakes, EH his exhaust, nnd blew the boll- J iBf . And when the Inst ounce of f BBhnd escaped, he (lesceniled nnd IBply nrcosted Ilryre Cardlgnn. . B(t engine being my property," he jBKced, "I'll take the short end of J BBk you care to make, young man, H will sit on those tracks until I Bweiniiornry franchise expires. ' BBJyour Jump-crossing now, If you ,. BBki whelp, nnd he d d to you. BBk )ou hlockedl" ,. Hthcr hnnglne this nice gentle-HBs gentle-HBs It on us, old dear." chirped HBgllvy plaintively. "Weill We Br dnnmdest, which nngcls enn't HWinorc. Let us pither up our BBjnd go home, my son, for some- ells me that If I hang nround BBvi bust one of two things this . BBcoundrt-l'ii gray head or one of HTlllcosu veins I Hello I Whom c here?" He turned nnd found himself Shirley Sumner,- Her tender Jw quivering, nnd tho tears shone eyes llko stars. He stureil nt j silence. Bj friend," she murmured trcmu-M trcmu-M "didn't I tell you I would not you to build the N. O. O.?" lAflH'owed "I" bend In rngo nnd ""nt Ills defeat. Iluck Ogllvy Hhn hy tho arm. "Hryce, old Hud" Is ono of those occasions I J0TM Bwv!$mJH t Uncle; Killer Did That, Shir- M ,ey'" gisnence Is golden. Speak not. gJIKir you. Miss Sumner," he luedT'nnd Colonel I'ennlngton," M t)it triumphant rascal Wtyqunlly gracious bow, "we fejwln possession of the field Bpliy. However, If nnybody iWlvo up In a hack nnd lenn irtpisk you, Just tell him Huck HjjSi another trump tucked nwny pBSono." Kfljurned to go, hut with n sud-Sglo sud-Sglo Shirley laid her hand on Kbls loft nrm. "IJrycoI" slio Wfej. fffifSd her hand gently from his g5Jled her to the front of tho "Kilyc, und held her hand up to WpllRbt Her nngere were crlm- gHwjhlood. iinclo's killer did that, Shir-jgjsnld Shir-jgjsnld Ironically. "It's only n yb wound, but that Is no Know allies. Good-nlclit." And ho left her stundlng, pnle of face nnd trembling, In Uio white glnrc of the headlight. He walked to his car and climbed Into It. Ogllvy remnlned merely long enough to give orders to the foremnn to gather up the tools, store them In tho machine-shop of Cardigan's mill, nnd dismiss his gang; then he, too, entered en-tered the automobile, nnd nt n word from Hryce, the enr slid noiselessly nwny Into the darkness. Tho track-cutting track-cutting crew departed n few minutes Inter, and when Shirley found herself nlnno with her uncle, the tumult In her heart gnve way to the tears she could no longer repress. I'ennlngton stood by, wntchlng her curiously, coldly. Presently Shirley mastered her emotion nnd glanced townrd him. "Well, my dear?" he queried. "I I think I had better go home," she said without spirit. "I think so, too," he answered. "Cet Into the mayor's flivver, my dear, und I'll drive you. And perhaps tho least said about this affair the better, Shirley. Shir-ley. There lire many things thnt you do not understntid nnd which cannot be elucidated by discussion." "I can understntid an uttempt nt ns-Rnsslnntlon, ns-Rnsslnntlon, I'ncle Seth." "That blnckguard Minorca 1 I should hnve known better than to puUjiliii on such n Job. I told him to bluff nnd threaten; Cnrdlgan, I knew, would realize the gnidge the Illuck Minorca bus against him. and for that reason I llgured the greaser wns the only inun who could bluff him. While I gnve hlni orders to shoot, I told him distinctly dis-tinctly not to hit nnybody. flood Lord, Shirley, surely you do not think I would wink nt n murder I" "I do," she miMvered passionately. "With Hryce Cardigan out of tho way you would hnve a clear Held before you " "Oh, my dear, my denrl Surely you do not realize what you nre saying. You nre beside yourself, Shirley. I'lensc pleahe do not wound me so so horribly. I am surrounded by enemies ene-mies the most Implncuble enemies. They force me to tight tho devil with lire nnd here you nre, giving them aid nnd comfort." "I want you to defeat Hryce Cardigan, Cardi-gan, If you enn do It fairly." "At another time nnd In a calmer mood we will discuss that villain," he said authoritatively. "Get Into the car, nnd we will go home. Tnoro Is nothing noth-ing more to he done tonight." "Your sophistry does not niter my opinion," sho replied firmly. "However, "How-ever, ns you say, this Is neither the time nor the place to discuss It." They drove borne In silence. Shirley went nt once to her room. For the Colonel, however, the night's work bad senrcely begun. The'lnstnnt he heard the door to his niece's room shut, he went to the telephone and called up the I.ngunn Grande roundhouse. Sexton, Sex-ton, tils manager, answered. "Hnvn you sent the switch engine to tho woods for Hondenu nnd his men?" "Just left." "Good I Now, then, Sexton, listen to me: As you know, this mid of Cardigan's Cardi-gan's has developed so suddenly I am more or less taken by surprise and hnve had no time to prepare the kind of counter-attack that will be most effective. ef-fective. However, with the crossing blocked, T gain time In which to orgnn-l7.i orgnn-l7.i only there must bo no weak point In the organization. In order to Insure that, I am proceeding to San Francisco Fran-cisco tonight by motor, vln tho coast road. I will arrlvo late tomorrow night, and early Saturday morning I will appear In the United States district dis-trict court with our nttorneys und lllo a complaint nnd petition for an order temporarily restraining the N. C. O. from cutting our tracks. "I will have to make an nflldavlt to support the complaint, so I had better b Johnny-on-the-spot to do It, rather thnn risk the delay of making the nfll-davit nfll-davit tomorrow morning here and forwarding for-warding It by malt to our attorneys. "The Judgo will sign u restraining order, returnable In from ten to thirty days I'll try for thirty, because that will knock out the N. C. O.'s temporary franchise and nfter I hnvo obtained the restraining order, I will have the United States marshal telegrnph It to Ogllvy and Cardlgnnl" "Hullyl" cried Sexton henrtlly. "That will Jlx their elodc." "In tho meantlmo," I'ennlngton continued, con-tinued, "logs will he glutting our landings. land-ings. We need that locomotive for Its legitimate purposes. Take all that dls-nrded dls-nrded machlutjry nnd the old holler .ve removed from the mill Inst full, dump It on the tracks at tho crossing, nnd get tho locomotlvo back on Its run. Understand 7 Tho other side, hnvlng no menns of removing these heavy olc structlons, will bo blocked until I return re-turn ; by thnt time tho matter will be In the district court, Cnrdlgan will bo hung up until his temporary franchise expires nnd tho city council will not renew It. Get mo?" "Yds, sir." "I'll bo back Sunday forenoon. Good-by." Good-by." Ho hung up, went to his chauffeur's nunrters over tho gnrage, and routed tho man out of bed. Then he returned quietly to his room, dreseed and j packed a hag for bis Journey, left n brief note for Shirley notifying her of his departure, and started on his two hundred and fifty-mile trip over the mountnlns to the south. As his car sped through sleeping Seqtioln nnd gained the open country, the Colonel's heart thrilled pleasurnbly. He held curds nnd spades, big and little casino, four aces and the Joker; thereforo he knew he could sweep the hoard nt his pleasure. And during his nbsence Shir-ley Shir-ley would have opportunity to cool off, while be would find time to formulnto an argument to lull her suspicions upon his return. CHAPTER XVI. Quite oblivious of her uncle's departure depar-ture for San Krnnclsco, Shirley lny awake throughout tho remainder of the night, turning over nnd over In her mind the various nspects of the Cnrdl-gan-rennlngton Imbroglio. Of one thing sho wns quite certain; peace must he declared at nil hnzariK She realized that she hud permitted matters mat-ters to go too far. A revulsion of feeling feel-ing toward her uncle. Induced hy the memory of Hryce Cardigan's blood on her white linger tips, convinced the girl thnt, nt all hazards to her financial finan-cial future, henceforth she and her uncle must tread separate paths. She had found him out nt Inst, nnd becnuse III her nature there was some of his own llxlty of purpose, the resolution cost her no particular pang. She had been obsessed of n desire, rather unusual In her sex, to see n tight worth while; she had planned to permit It to go to n knockout, to use Hryce Cardigan's language, because she believed Hryce Cnrdlgan would be vanquished and she hnd desired to see him smnshed but not beyond repair, re-pair, for her Joy In the conflict wns to lie In the tnsk of putting the pieces together nfterwnrdl It was rather u relief, therefore, when the lmperturbnble James bunded her nt brenkfnRt the following note: "Shirley Dear: "After leaving you last night, I decided de-cided that In your present frnmc of mind my nbsence for n few days might tend to n cnliner nnd clenrer perception, percep-tion, on your part, of the necessary tactics which In n moment of desperation, despera-tion, I snw fit, with regret, to pursue last night. And In the hope that you will have attnlneil your old attitude townrd me before my return, I am leaving In the motor for Snn Francisco. Fran-cisco. Your tcrrlblo n ecu sat I on has grieved me to such nn extent that I do not feel equal to the task of confronting confront-ing you until, In n more Judicial frame of mind, you can truly absolve me of the ehnrge of wishing to do uwny with young Cardigan. "Your nffectlnnnte "U.NCI.B SFm." Shirley's lip curled. With n rarer, keener Intuition than she had hitherto manifested, she sensed tho hypocrisy between the lines; she was not deceived. de-ceived. "IIo has gone to San Francisco for more nmmuultlnn," she sollloqubcd. "Very well, unkledunkl While you're nwny, I shall mntiufacturo u few bombs myself." After breakfast she left the house and walked to the Intersection of It with Water street. Jules Itoiideau and his crew of lumberjacks were there, and with two policemen guarded the crossing. Shirley looked from the woods bully to tho locomotive nnd back to Hon denu. "Itoiideau," she wild, "Mr. Cardlgnn Is n bud man o fight. You fought him onre. Are you going to do It again?" He nodded. "Hy whose orders?" "Mr. Sexton, she tell me to do It." "Well. Hondenu, some day I'll be boss of Laguna Grande anil there'll be no more fighting," she replied, und passed on down II street to the oflico of the Cnrdlgan Hedwood Lumber company. Molru McTuvlsh looked up ns she entered. "Where Is he, dear?" Shirley asked. "I must see him," "In that olllce, Miss Shirley," Molrn replied, nnd pointed lo the door. Shirley Shir-ley stepped to the door, knocked, und then entered. Hryce Cardlgnn, seated at bis desk, looked up as she came In. His left arm was In u sling, nnd he looked harassed nnd dejected. "Hon't get up, Hryce," sho Mild ns ho attempted to rise. "I know you're quite exhausted. You look It." She sat down. "I'm so sorry," she said softly. Ills dull glance brightened. "It doesn't nmount to'thnt, Shirley." And he snapped his fingers. "It throbs n little nnd U'h stiff nnd sore, so I carry It In the sling. That helps a little. Whnt did you wunt to see mo about?" "I wanted to tell you," said Shirley, "thnt that last night's nfTalr wns not of my tuuklng." IIo smiled compns-slonntoly, compns-slonntoly, "I I couldn't benr to hnve you think I'd hrenk my word nnd tell him." "It never occurred to mo thnt you bad dealt mo u hnnd from tho bottom of tho dock, Shirley. I'lenso don't worry nbout It. Your undo has hnd two prlvnto detectives watching Ogllvy nntfmt." "Oh I" she breathed, much relieved. A ghost of tho old bantering smile lighted her winsome features. "Well, then," she challenged, "1 suppose you don't hate me." t "On the contrary, I love you." he nn-swered. nn-swered. "However, since you must have known this for some time past, I suppose it Is superfluous to mention It. Moreover, I haven't the right yet." She had east her eyes down modestly. mod-estly. She raised them now nnd looked lit him searchlngly. "I suppose you'll acknowledge yourself whipped nt last, Hryce?" she ventured. "Would it please jou to have mo surrender?" He wns very serious. "Ind 1 It would, Hryce. I'm tired of lighting. I wunt pence. I'm I'm afraid to let this matter go any further. fur-ther. I'm truly ufrald." "I think I want pence, too," he answered. an-swered. "I'd he Kbit! to quit with honor. And I'll do It, too, If you enn Induce jour uncle to give me the kind of logging contract I wunt with his roiul." "I couldn't do that. Hryce. He bus you whipped and he Is not merciful to the fallen. You'll have to sur- w?. pi! V "I Suppose You'll Acknowledge Your-elf Your-elf Whipped at Lt, Dryce7" render unconditionally." Again sho luld her little hand timidly on his wounded forennn. "Please glvo up, I Hryce for my snke." "I suppose I'll have to," he murmured mur-mured siiiily. "I dare say you're right, though one should never admit defeat until he Is counted out. I suppose," he continued bitterly, "your undo Is In high feather this morning." "I don't know, Hryce. He left In his motor for Snn Francisco about ono o'clock this morning." For an Instant Hryce Cardigan stared ut her; then u slow, mocking little smile crept nround the corners of his mouth, nnd his eyes lighted with mirth. "Glorious news, my dear Shirley, perfectly glorious I So the old fox has gone to San Francisco, eh? Left In u hurry and via the overland route I Couldn't wult for the regular passenger-steamer tomorrow, eh? Great Jumping Jehushaphatl' He must have had Important business to attend to." And Hryce commenced to chuckle, "Oh, tho poor old Colonel," he con-tinned con-tinned presently, "the dear old pirate What u horrible right swing he's running run-ning Into! And you wunt mo to acknowledge ac-knowledge defeat I My dear girl, In tlm language of tho classic, there Is nothing doing. I shall put In my crossing Sunday morning, und If you don't believe It, drop nround und see me In action." "You mustn't try," protested Shirley. "Hoiwlenu Is there with his crew and he lias orders to stop jou. H(-sldes, H(-sldes, you enn't expect help from the police. Uncle Seth litis miide n deal with the mayor. I came prepared to suggest a compromise, Ilrjco." she declared, de-clared, hut ho Interrupted her with a wave of his hand. "Thnt for the police and that venal .Mayor I'oundstonel" Hryce retorted, with another snap of his lingers. "I'll rid the city of them at the full election." elec-tion." "You can't afford ti compromise. You've been telling me I shall never build the N. C (). because you will not permit me to. You're powerless, I tell you. I shall build It." "You shan't!" she llrcd back at him, nnd n spot of unger glowed in ouch cheek. "You're tho most stubborn nnd belligerent man I hnvo ever known. Sometimes I almost bato you," "Come nround nt ton tomorrow morning nnd wntch mo put In the crossing watch ma give Hondenu nnd his gnng the run." He renched over suddenly, lifted her hnnd, and kissed It. "How I love you, denr littlo nntug-onlstl" nntug-onlstl" he murmured. "If you loved me, you wouldn't on-poso on-poso mo," sho protested softly. "I teU ' . , . t . yon stain, Hryce, you mnko It very hard for mo to be friendly with you." "I don't want to bo friendly with you. You're driving mo crazy, Shirley. Shir-ley. I'lenso run along home, or wherever wher-ever you're bound. I'vo tried to understand under-stand your peculiar code, but you're too deep for mo; so let mo go my wny to tho devil. George Sea Otter Is outside out-side nsleep In the tonncnu of the car. Tell him to drive you wherever you're going. I suppose you'ro nfoot today, for I noticed tho mnyor riding to his olllce In your sedan this morning." She tried to look outraged, but for the life of her she could not tnke offense of-fense nt his bluntness; neither did she resent n look which sho detected In his eyei, even though It told her Iw was laughing nt her. "Oh, very well," she replied with what dignity sho could muster. "Hnc It your own way. I've tried to warn you. Thank you for your offer of the car. I shall be glad to use It. Uncle Seth sold my enr to Mnyor Hound- stone last night. Mrs. l admired It so!" "All I Then It was that rnscnlly I'ouiidstone who told your uncle nbout the temporary franchise, thus arousing his suspicions to such an extent thnt when lie heard his locomotive rum- nnng into town, he smelled a rat nnd hurried down to the crossing?" "Possibly. The Poundstones dined nt our house Inst night." "Pretty hnrd on you, I should say nut then I suppose you have to piny the gnmo with Uncle Seth. Well, good morning, Shirley. Sorry to hurry you nwny, but you must remember we're on n strictly business basis yet ; nnd you mustn't wnste my time." "You'ro horrid, Hryce Cardlgnn." "You're adorable. Good morning." "You'll bo sorry for this," b!i warned hlni. "Good morning." She passed out Into the general ofllcej visited vis-ited with Molrn nbout live minutes, nnd drove nwny In the Nnpler. Hryce watched her through tho window. She knew he wits wntchlng her, but never theless she could not forhenr turning round to verify her suspicions. When she did, be waved his sound nrm nt her, nnd she Hushed with vexntton. "God bless her I" ho murmured, "She's been my nlly nil along, nnd 1 never suspected It I I wonder whnt her game can be." He snt muslti for a long time. "Yes," he concluded presently, "old Poundstono hns double-crossed us nnd Pennington made It worth hlf while. And the Colonel sold the mnyor his nleco's nutomoblle. lt worth twenty-llvo hundred dollars, at lenst, nnd since old Poundstonc't tl nun ccs will not permit such nn extravagance, ex-travagance, I'm wondering how Pen nlngtnn expects him to pay for It. 1 smell a rat ns big ns n kangaroo. In this case two nnd two don't mnko four. They mnke six I Guess I'll build a flrt under old I'ouiidstone." He took dpwn tho telephono receiver re-ceiver und called up the mnyor "Hryce Cnnllgnu speaking, Mr. Pound stone," he greeted tho chief executive of Sequoia, "Oh, hello, Hryce, my boy," Pound-stone Pound-stone boomed nffnhly. "How's tricks?'' "So-so I f lieur you've bought thnl sedan from Col. Pennington's niece Wish I'd knpwp It wns for snle. I'd have outbid you. Wnnt to make a profit on your bargain?" "No, not this morning, Hryce, I think we'll keep It. Mrs. P hns beer wnntlilg n closed enr for a long time nnd when the Colonel offered mo thli one at n bargain, I snnppcd It up." "And you don't enro to get rid of It nt n profit?" Hryce repented. "No, si reel" "Oh, you're tnlstnken, Mr. Mnyor I think you do. I would suggest thnl you tako thnt enr back to Penning ton's garage and lenvo It there. Thnl would be the most profltnblo tiling you could do." "Whnt whnt whnt In blun blnzci uro you driving at?" the mnyor sputtered. "I wouldn't enre to discuss It ovei tho telephone. I take It, however, thai n hint to the wise Is sufllclent; and 1 wnrn you, mayor, that If you keer that enr It will bring you bad luck Today Is Friday, nnd Fridny Is an unlucky un-lucky day. I'd get rid of that sednn before noon If I were you," There wns a long, fateful silence Then In n singular small, qunvcrlui; voice: "You think It best. Cnrdlgnn?" "I do. Iteturii It to No. 38 Hedwood boulevard, and no questions will be nsked, Oood-by I" When Shirley reached homo at noon, she found her cor parked In front of the pnrto ciHiiere; and n brief note, left with the butler. Informed her that after thinking the matter over, Mrs, Poundstono had decided tho Pound-stone Pound-stone family could not nfTord such nn extravagance, anil accordingly tho cat was returned with many thanks for the opportunity to purchase it nt such n ridiculously low figure. Shirley smiled, nnd put the car up In the garage. When she returned to the hotiHo her maid Thclma Informed her that Mr. Hryce Cnrdlgan hnd been calling her on the telephone. So she called Hryce up nt once. (TO IIB CONTINUBD.) |