Show I 1 SE SERIAL L Is STORY THE LITTLE BROWN JUG I 1 IATI AT 1 KILDARE efty NICHOLSON illustrato S by i R BY Y WALTERS 1 1 LIN by the tt bobb robbs werrill company Com Cow panr pany 21 2 SYNOPSIS thomas ard ardmore r n re and henry maine griswold stumble I 1 upon intrigue when nhen the goer governors nors ot of north ami and south carolina are reported to have hae qu quarreled arIed iloth both are in a turmoil over ever one apple weight ight an outlaw with A ith political influence griswold allies himself il niel with osborn daggi ter of 0 the governor io over vernor nor ot of south carolina while ardmore espouses epou ea the cause 0 ol 01 jerry D daughter of 0 the ih governor ot of north La carolina rolina thee these two ladle ladies are trying to nit till the hoes shoes of heir ta father while the latter are miss ml ing ng unaware of 0 each other a position lon both Gr grisard and ardmore set t out to melee make the other pro prosecute acute ardmore or ahe gan a big bl hunt griswold Orts wold a men c cap ap lure jerry dangerfield dievers 0 the captive and lead leads him to arda ards ley 1 e Y her own prisoner pria oner griswold and barbara explore the scene of the disappearance and meet ardmore Ar ilmore and jerry orl uria wold to hie his jerry reveals the presence pretence ot of Apple weight at t ardsley CHAPTER XV continued there theres a line ot of ahn south carolina 1 militia crawling through the woods toward raccoon creek they insist that ue a practice skirmish and that they ve come over here because the landscape ie Is naturally adapted to their purposes its it s awfully nice of them to like my scenery better send your best beat man out to meet col ter of the north carolina militia and tell him to march nil all bis his troops into the estate by the not coith th gato and to be in a hurry burry tell him tell him gov dangerfield Is anxious to have the staff stair present tn in full uniform tit it a grand ban at ardsley tonight to night ardmore rode off of alone toward raccoon cc on creek to catch a vie view w of the enemy how ilow far would griswold go ardmore could go aa as far aa griswold ret yet he vass s puzzled to know why griswold was in the field at all these relict ions carried him far toward raccoon creek and when he bad hao reached that tha tortu tortuous oud stream he dis mounted and wid tied his horse the more freely to examine the frontier by jumping from boulder to boulder he be croaked the turbulent tide and gained the other side with a sense ot enter ing the country now he muttered 1 I am in south carolina he ile drew out hia his map and hald it against a tree trev the better to study 14 it reassuring himself that bla his own property line embraced several sections of the tho forest on the couth south side of the elate state boundary it if grissy shoots me it will be on my own land be eald said aloud lie cautiously followed the stream until several hundred yards farther on and overhanging the creek ho he came upon the log cabin in which nig DIg paul bad reported the presence of a ghost pauls paul a atory had bad not interested him particularly but now that ho was in the neighborhood he resolved to visit the cabin and learn if it how ghosts amuse themselves by day he lie had bad thrust a revolver into his bin pocket before leaving the house and while he had nc no idea that ghosts may be hot shot he now made sure that the weapon was good AB As eat sat on a log clipping slipping the cylinder through hie his finger fingers he heard beard whis aling tarther farther along the creek followed quickly by the napping snapping ot of twigs am dr dor a heavy tread trend and a moment later a tall elender slender man broke into view the stranger wj w j dressed like a countryman but he was oot dot ot of the ardsley force of workmen kmen tor for these wore a ol 01 tint form orm ills were thrust carelessly into the bide aide pockets of a gray jeans avat aca they were ere thrust in dup eo so that the coat bagged sagged at the pockets ilia ills trousers were ere turned up from a it pair of rough shoe shoes and he wore a gray flannel shirt the collar of which was guiltless of a tie he lie as smooth shaven and carried in bis his mouth A short pipe which he be paused to relight when about a dozen yard from ard more then aa as he held the lighted match above the pipe bowl tor for an in bitant to make sire his bl tobacco was as burning ardmore lumped jumped up end cov arod him with the pistol I 1 I 1 beg your pardon said the master ol 01 ardely Ard sly slay but youre my pris oneri the stranger shook the oame flame abat oit of thi matchstick match betich carefully and threw tt it away before turning toward bis his captor young man be he said with perfect self sel possession dont don t fool too with that gun it might gi off ills drawl was characteristic of the region bis his tone was ras one of amused tol tolerance crance ardmore was short of stature and his hi knickerbockers longings leggings and norfolk jacket were not wholly consonant with the re volver 1 which however he lefeld level d frear steadily at the strangers bead head feu arc are an intruder on my property aftel ld the master of Ard arbster ardeley Ar deley ster and im I 1 rn much mistaken you have en playing ghost in that cabin I 1 ve beard about you lour our gang has been suiting cutting oft my timber about long end and this game ot of playing to scare my men won on t do stealing ng your timber and the stranger was clearly surprised ho lie held his pipe in his band hand with bis his bumb thumb oer mer the bowl bol and seemed to lake take a more serious interest la in his captor and now continued ardmore 1 I m tired of having this end of the country run by the apple eights and their disreputable gang so to im I 1 m going lo 10 lock you up the stranger et ranger turned toward the rabin cabin one corner corne st which waa was plain visible and shrugged bis his shoulders I 1 have nothing to do with the apples eights and I 1 assure you I 1 am not a timber thief then you must bo be the one who has a few steere steers out of my herd it makes no difference just ahat ft bat branch of the business you are engaged in for or TV ere picking up alt all the gang and you ve got to in come along w with ith me the captive showed signs of anger for the first time ills face flushed and he took a step toward ardmore who immediately threw up the ver so that it booted at the man mans a lead head stop right therel weve got old man sd ad youre lost your leader and I 1 tell you the jigs jig a up well we 11 have you all lu in jail before an other 21 1 I hours boars has passed 1 I judge from the tone of our remarks that you are ardmore the own cr er of ardsley am I 1 right you are quite right and you are a member of a disreputable gang of outlaws that haa has been bringing bharne upon tho the elate state of north carolina caroll nn now I 1 want you to march straight ahead of me step lively bowl now I 1 and ard more nourished flourished the pistol menacingly marabl the man hi flung up his head defiantly then moved slowly for ward word we will cross the creek right here bo he ordered its it a pretty jump there from that boulder there that was as bully now right along there over tho the log see the oruill it waa warm arm and the captive was perspiring freely lie moved along docilely and finding that he manifested no inclination to bolt ardmore dropped the revolver to bis his eldo side but with hie his finger on tha the trigger they eoon soon reached a field where some laborers were at work ork and ard more called them to him for instruct long boyr this Is 1 ong of ot the timber thieves put him in that corncrib corn core crib un 0 VC 1 01 0 youre my PrIson prisoners erl til ill I 1 come back for him the nights are marm the sky is perfectly clear and you wilt will kindly ace that tie he doea does not lack tor for food two of the men jumped for or rd and sel seized ed Ard ardas morea prisoner no no BOW w bro broke 1 e forth la in a torrent ot of wrath struggled vigorously A boys that right easy there 1 tow now in be he goes A berks series of corncribs corn cribs fringed the field and into one of these from which half halt the corn had been removed remo fd the prisoner via as thrust sprawling upon the bellos ears and when dpn he rose and flung himself round the door of the corncrib corn crib slammed la in his face he ile bellowed with rage ing that hie his imprisonment wn was a serl oua ous matter and that it seemed likely to be prolonged indefinitely they always told me you were a fool ho he howled but I 1 know that alty anything thing as crazy aa as you are was loose in the world thank you the head of your gang li is much more polite iles sitting on an lie caso case of chateau bizet lu ray my wine cellar playing soli tatie in yol fotr r wino wine cellars cel tel larl bawled the captive in astonishment certainly I 1 was afraid to lock him in a room with b anh ath for fear it might rire rive bin him hydrophobia but he fig a s perfectly content in the wine cellar what are you going to do with him I 1 haven t decided yet just what to do th ich him but tho the scoundrel un i belongs belong in south carolina I 1 and I 1 have every intention of ni biking aking his hi own elate state punish him the prisoner leaned heively against LIs prison door and glared out upon his jailer with a new tow alerce interest 11 1 I tell you I 1 ve nothing to do with the I 1 don 1 want to reveal toveal veal my identity to you you young beg begshi ai but I 1 demand my legal righta rights hy my dear sir air retorted ardmore you have no legal righta for the writ ot of habeas corpus go here hare you seem rather intelligent for a barn burner and timber thief now what is your name the prisoner ioner gazed down upon the imperturbable egure of his captor through the slate slats of the corncrib corn crib ard more returned hia his gaie gaze with ith his most bland and child like air aiau many people had been driven to the point ut of madness oy ny apparent dull delneo tho the prisoner pris realized hat he ciot launch a thunderbolt if be would disturb a adf selon so completed comp letea tranquillity as sweet as the fading afternoon 0 mr str ardmore I 1 dislike to do o it but your conduct makes it rec essary tor for mo me to disclose my identity and the mane mans manner showed real embarrassment I 1 knew it I 1 knew it nodded ard more folding bla his arms across lite 1 chest cheat youre cither either the king of slam or the prince of 0 As cither either I 1 salute youl you no nal roared the capt captive lve beating impotently against the door of 0 the eugo with hia his lianda hands no not I 1 m the governor of south Caro carolina linal thie this statement failed however ho weer to produce tho the slightest effect on mr ir ardmore Ardia ore who only smiled slightly a smile leas less incredulous th thin t n disdainful oh pshaw that thata a nothing he be replied I 1 m the governor ot of north carolina carlina and mounting his horse he be gravely lifted bla his hat to the prisoner and galloped pal loped away alile mr ardmore Ar dinoro waa aram securing hie his prisoner in the corn crib it may he be interesting to return tor for a moment to the haunted log cabin on raccoon creek the interior of which waa was roughly but comfortably furnished above were two small elee plug rooms and beside the tho bed in each stood a suitcase suit case and a band bond satchel in each room hung on convenient books hooks a it long black frock coat a pair of trou brou sera of light cloth and a black felt fult hat coat trousers and hat bat were exactly alike tn in the room low eat sat a man in hia his shirt sleeps slee vs a ble his feet leet un on a cheap dal daal table blowing rings from a cigal lie ile presented a picture of the greatest case ease and contentment as a bo occasion ally stroked hia big short brown bron beard or threw throw up hia his arms and clasped hia his bands hands about hia his bead head or caught lazily at tho the smoke rings on the table lay an array of playing card cards and poker chips its it too good to last forever the tile lone tone occupant reflected aloud stifling eti fling ng it yawn and tie lie reached out with careless indifference toward a bun die of newspapers news papera tied together with a piece of twine and drew one out and spread it across aills 1 kneas lie yawned again as though the thought of a world whose affairs were stamped in printer a ink bored him im densely mens men cly sely and then the bold headlines that shouted at him across half halt a quarter of the sheet caused him to gasp and hie his tet struck the bare floor of the cabin resoundingly lie now bent over the paper with tho the greatest eager nies muttering as he read and some of hia his muttering rings were it trust be confer conferred sed cd not with out profane embellishment TWO GOVERNORS MISSING scandal affecting two state execl lives tives Is the case re ile 1 rumors Humors of fatal duel on state line une ho ito read tend breathlessly the startling story that followed the headlines then rose and glanced anxiously at his j watch am I 1 drunk or mad I 1 must find osborne and get ort of this lie ile leaped to the be open door and gazed into the forest from 4 little platform that commanded all sides of the cabin and there to his utter amazement he saw men in khaki they were unmistakably soldiers of some dort sort for nn an officer wai giving sharp commands coro mande and the lino line opened out like a fan tan along tho the creek the observer of this maneuver bopp d hie tie head with his handkerchief as he watched the alert more increments mento of the figures in khaki he ile waa was so that he failed to hear bear stealthy sapps nt at the rear ot of the platform but he was now rudely aroused by two uniformed youngsters with 8 C N 0 on their caps who prang sprang upon him and boro bore him with a crash to the puncheon floor door youre our gruoner prU prita oner nerl shouted one of them rising when ho be found that the prisoner yielded without resist ance once what forr fort blurted the captive bitting sitting un and rind rubbing his elbow for I 1 king ang bill Apple weight alias allas poteat t get up now and come ith us to headquarters or my instructions Instruct lona are to break your head N ho in tho the devil are you ydun mantej the prisoner ioner well if it ite its anything to you were the south carolina militia so better get up and climb TO BB dr CONTINUED |