Show tha M dil X ad ft ta from rom yoe it A 0 n d all luf by HAROLD TITUS IL ign usa harold altum service SYNOPSIS ben elliott from I yonder tonder arrives at the lit little lie lumbering town of tincup accompanied by don stuart old very ik man whom he has befriended lie signalizes his coming by defeating atin 9 bull duval king of the river and town bully in a log loe birling contest Nich nicholaas olaa brandon the towns leading citizen resents stuarts presence lie he tries to force him to leave town and elleott El llott t re resenting sent irig the act knocks him down elliott Is arrested CHAPTER II 11 continued 3 are you guilty or not able repeated and den ben elliott who had stood at ease before him slouch hat in his great brown hands now gave his head a grave twist well it if pitching a man off the sidewalk into the mud Is called assault and battery in tincup then im about a hundred per cent guilty he said A stir in the room followed that and able frowned fl a convincingly judicial frown guilty eh he cleared ills his throat it at leng length th now how about this disruption of the peace ans anyhow bow the sheriff spoke you see able etwas this way sir mr now just a minute art this accused has pleaded guilty as I 1 understand it I 1 dont see any need of anybody else saying anything iles hes thrown himself on the mercy of this court you might say and its regular and proper and according to the spirit of the statute that I 1 question him before passing sentence besides he added with a twinkle at crandon brandon im a little curious 11 the sheriff sniffed and subsided clearly there was little friendship between him and the justice now mr able glanced at the complaint again mr een den elliott El llott how come that you so go about the country tossing reputable citizens into tile the mud why he be was trying to make a friend of mine do something he want to do all I 1 butted in I 1 guess he got hard and so shrug 1 I lost my head for a minute and put him la in his place in the mud you mean yeah in the mud well go on go on go back to the beginning I 1 want to know all about this affair elliott drew a long iong breath 1 I started for tincup several days ngo ago I 1 was a long iong ways oft off over in minnesota this morning I 1 got down to the junction west of here and while I 1 waited tor for my train got talking to this old timer don stuart who was in the station maybe you know him judge other folks here do able blinked twice hard the old fellow Is about all in id say hes got it into his head that hes about to die and probably his guess such a bad one seems this used to be his bis stamping ground that hes been away it a long time and that j ri 1 4 guilty eh hed started back to finish his days here where he be could see some old friends he went broke on the way and was just sitting there this morning waiting for something to happen I 1 happened I 1 any too well heeled myself but I 1 had enough for ills his ticket so I 1 brought him along As luck would have it I 1 got a cliance chance to pick up a few dollars of tincup money as soon as we ue got in and I 1 had to have it with the old timer on my hands while I 1 was busy getting tills this cash this man brandon evidently saw my buddy and started rushing him back to the depot to take the next train back to where he came from I 1 like that so BO well I 1 tried to talk him out of it but mr crandon brandon a great talker all here I 1 am I 1 cuilty as charged ehl eh able abla tumbled with the papers what brought you such a long iong ways into tincup anyhow because id heard tincup was a rough nut to crack A stir in the crowd then a sharp took look from brandon to elliott oh fond of nuts are you able asked and the look in his eyes was much less severe so heard about tincup and started for or it t from a long ways off and now this matter of nuts you like all kinds not all nuts no the steel gray eyes were a bit narrowed now as eill ott tried to plumb the old mans mood well for instance like peanuts no cant stand em not at all almonds then A twinkle was surely coming to life in the courts eyes but seeing it the defendant only frowned cant vote very strong tor for almonds or english walnuts or pecans never did hold them to be what call irresistible either humal hum al how about black walnuts now declared elliott with a nod now youre getting into real classy nuts 11 men ilen in the crowd looked at one un other not knowing what to make of tills oils well it if you like black walnuts would you say they were your favorite the other considered this question with great it if not wholly genuine seriousness ous ness no not exactly id put black walnuts high up in the list all rl right lit your honor but since youre interested about my preferences in nuts id say that the best nut that ever hung outdoors or offered itself for the crac cracking ki ng was a good old hickory nut real tough ones eh real tough ones yes able wiped his face with a palm and wet his lips the two looked long at one another and that spark passed which will jump from man to man carried sometimes by a deed often by a word frequently by only a glance that message which says as plainly as though inscribed in black characters against white background 1 I like you I 1 am your frie friend noll it went from the old man to the young and back again from young to old nicholas brandon understood and the in his dark eyes played more briskly more ominously and so figure tincup as a sort of hickory nut 1 I had tincup has a reputation all through the lake states wherever you go hear it talked about as a hard bard camp id heard so many times that a good man with ideas of his own with independence and maybe alt with ambition had better keep away from licie hei that I 1 found myself hankering to get a look at the place Vh hats ats your line of work 1 I 1 follow the timber ana anything thin well just what for instance wh what t are s some me of the jobs youve held EIJI tt smiled a bit god G od many I 1 was a chore bo boy y once time I 1 was a road monkey ive teamed and sawed worked as hillwi ight and on rivers once or twice ive run a camp or two cut ut your avocation I 1 take it Is looking for hard nuts brandon spoke now your tour honorl honor 1 ills his voice was well modulated and yet in its quality was something which suggested iron covered with velvet As complaining witness in this case may I 1 suggest that we are be beginning inning to waste time this young man has pleaded guilty of course I 1 do not want to be put in the light of one who attempts to dictate to a court ot of law but I 1 have pressing matters to attend to and it if we can get on outwardly this was vas only a suggestion a plea really though it was one way of demanding of giving an order yes youre a busy man nick able said and nodded id sort of figured being busy here today myself sort of wondered if somebody bring in bull duval on a charge of assault and battery he trimmed my man harrington so badly that hes gone and my operations without it hout a boss today I 1 sort of thought being interested as you are in law and order that duval might be brought in that la is something I 1 know nothing about brandon said severely likely DOL cot you cant be expected to keep as close track ot of the men who work for you as I 1 do of mine that Is it reasonable to think a man of oi your caliber would ue lie spoke and elliott EI llott watching the two could see sec that his words stung brandon the justice straightened in his bis chair however cut but maybe we are delaying t things now mr elliott EI llott dont you think it a little out 0 of tile way to come nto to n R town a total stranger and upset all that towns precedents it if you instead ot of one of mr brandona Uran Bran dons hired men had cleaned up on oil my man harrington ring ton for instance it might not have been such a grave offense Tense ol but liere here you come and pick out tile the one man in tincup who been struck or even threatened in longer than I 1 can recall a man who Is regarded here about like most folks folk regard a baron ot of the middle ages agee and toss him out into the mud why elliott not ever happened before 1 probably it hurt nick much but there are his feelings to consider arent you ashamed of giving people a chance to jeer at mr brandon Er andon elliott looked at brandon then deliberately libera tely carefully inspected him from his glossy black hair to his muddled muddied breeches it a very smart thing to do I 1 guess he admitted its not ely now that ill even get a chance to see how how hard a nut this town really Is and no worse than you deserve able said sharply you know better than to carry on that way elleott El llott ive got gol to give you a fine commensurate with your offense off enso ill fine you a dollar and benenty five cents for costs or send you to jail tor for a day in the rear a sacrilegious titter or two from the sheriff a grunt from nicholas brandon albreath a breath of rf fended bended dignity and a look that scorched but on ben elliotts alliotts Elli otts face only appeared a foolish smile reasonable enough he said but the joker is this I 1 even got the dollar 1 well our jails real comfortable I 1 im in told A day therell let you think over the th advisability of going g around tile the country muddying up the pants of respected citizens elliott El llott though faced even so short a jail sentence with anything but relish 1 I can get the money easy enough he said that Is it if you your honor or somebody casell send a wire for me that might be arranged where to 7 acre ne lie reached for a sheet of paper and pencil lying on the table swiftly he wrote the words cadger badger forest products company beech ridge wisconsin lie he handed banded it to able will you wire them for dollars and sign my name send the message collect 11 a lit big outfit the judge said you figure do as you ask well they aliey never have turned me down for anything ive asked of course theres always the first limp if do that until that gets back sheriff I 1 suppose its me for the brig Is that right judge able was studying the address and when he looked up and grunted an affirmative firma tive reply his gaze was far away par far far away I 1 for a considerable interval after his court room had emptied able armitage sat it motionless in his chair ills his eye still held that faraway far away look staring into space and now and again he picked up the scrap of paper bearing g the address young elliott had written and scanned it closely dy by crac kyl 1 he said an hour after being left alone by syjing I 1 it might be you know it may be possibly perhaps might be thereupon he be rose went to a wall telephone and put in a call for nathan bridger general manager of the badger forest products company of beach ridge wisconsin after this be stood for a time in the tha front window peering out into the street A man came along the sidewalk a man of about ables years bearing a limp and rusty bag which stamped him as a physician ile he waved a hand haild to able and then as on sudden impulse changed his course and approached pro ached the entry mg big day able as the justice opened the he door yeah eig big old dons back so I 1 heard bad shape too 1 I heard that real bad emory 19 emory sweet nodded gravely Ille hearts arts like a sponge he cant last long nick was all tor for sending him back to hemlock but I 1 told him it would be murder to move him now low oh nick showed up did he 11 came right from here said hed been providing for don for cheso last years and wanted him with somebody or other in hemlock see he get hold bold of hooch again was quite provoked when I 1 opposed moving him nicholas like the notion of dons being to in this vicinity its about abour as popular with him as smallpox smal IP ox when id prevailed on him to let don alone I 1 told him the truth that he cant last more than a few weeks and nick looked like a man who well like one chos heard good news able nodded safer tor for brandon to have him in his grave but when old don goes seems like the last chanco chance of ever clearing the tiling thing ups gone too looks that way unless hell talk before he dies even so it amount to muel much iles hes an old bum he be was a known drunkard at the time it happened so long ago find and with the courts controlled by who they are all ali but yours and mine without any jurisdiction la in sure enough trouble the doctor started out but halted in the doorway ilear hear Harring tons gone yes the cull bull ran him out of town brandon dont be simple emory who else he certainly cant forget the hoot owl can he what are you going to do now able the other shook his head gravely 1 1 I wish I 1 could jive give you an answer or myself an answer all forenoon ive had a feeling in that palm extending his bis creased right hand as it if the end of a rope wre were slipping through it tough muttered the doctor as he be went out an hour later able armitage left his office ne ile moved with great alacrity for one of his years and stopped only once and that was to draw birdeye bird eye blaine from the throng of onlookers that lined the sidewalk got your car in town birdeye bird eye he be asli asked ed have will it still run as though insulted say able car may not be so foty focy lookin as some but ashes got a heart av gold nol nd P all right run her around by the jail will you might need you again humm hum huni m he says youre no good I 1 might not best to be prepared though birdeye bird eye nodded assent and the old justice went on ben elliott El llott solitary prisoner in the county jail lay on the least objectionable of the bunks he found there smoking and staring at the dingy ceiling his hands were clasped beneath his head bead and his feet were crossed an attitude of relaxation surely but his one foot twisted on its ankle around and around most restlessly A man of action this not accustomed to idleness or restraint ile he raised his head sharply when a key grated in the big steel door leading to the cell block and stopped puffing on his pipe when the opening barrier revealed able armitage hello judge 1 elliott cried and grinned able wasted no time ive just been talking with bridger baldger bridgers Brid gerl ue lie here oh no I 1 called him on long iong distance able smiled as the other gave a puzzled frown bridger and I 1 are old friends we fought spain together and malaria when we had bad spain whipped hipped I 1 think a lot of bridger baldger ive a great respect for him and hla his opinions sove L everybody has hum num humm m ne he says youre no good elliott started aba a at why funny do you mean he stake me to the money I 1 asked tor for TO BE CONTINUED |