Show J f G P g Jl OY ut Y S 1 ax rAU PIAt u saw oJ I BLUIN lODAY Calvin Gray Oray comes to Dallas th the avowed enemy ot or Colonel nancy Henry Nel on banker Gus Briskow who strikes oil oU asks Gray to help hell tho family over the rough spots Auto Allie Briskow the tho daught r falls J In Inlove lone 10 with Gray but he loves loei Dar Bar Barbara bara Parker Bud Dud soi son of at ofGus Gus Gui runs away from school and Gray follows to bring him home Dud In the hands ot of an ad adventuress ess cu resents Interference He Ht and Gray fight until the boy Is struck unconscious The son of ot Duds Buds lady friend Is brought to Buds Bud's ho- ho hoI hotel hotel ho hotel I tel and the girl and Bud nud pirt corn como company pany ny Gray Olay offers to help girl i ow GO O 0 ov sTonY STORY I Dell Bell Dpi Nelson was even een en more dis d- dismayed at the prospect than wan was bl bit bitson t son for upon him hint fell tell the he feces feces- kity of ratting raising the money Hell lIell ol ot ota a note the old fellow grumbled when whon a wet net well putt puts a crimp lii In Inus Inus us A little more moro good luck like thIs and well we'll go so broke I 9 We Ve cant can't afford to let go so or to I Of course not after the stand wee we tal taken n Theres There's talk on the street about the bank now floe and and- andI and andI I d JI gibe Clio e a good deal to know here hereIt It comes from The fhe junior Nel Nd- Nelson son hail had hc ird similar echoes echO s 's but ho held his tongue I I never did lIke your way of or doing business the speaker resumed fretfully e overreached o You It all this and and this Is the result Now Henry Nelson as warrant warranted ed In resenting this accusation for forIt forit forit It had e ever eter er been Bells Bell's wa we to pur pursue sue aua a grasping policy pOlley therefore he cried 11 right pass pans the buck You know vou ou wouldn't listen to anything else I were we're In leep youre you're moro more to blame than I Nothing of the tho con sort orl Old Bell began a profane denial but the lounger man broke In Irritably Ive never won non an un argument argumentI I wIth you so ha ha e 0 It sour our t ur own eay ay Dut i youre you're ratting raising money for forthe the Avenger kenger offsets oud better mite rahe plenty for tor Gray Is going to punch holes as fast as e eer er er he can n Who ho Is this GI Gny he herot rot ot against t you wellIn Wo didn't get along sery cry well In France Humph I suppose that means yoU ou i-ou fought like HIe hell And now tes te's s even even Tt ii r th TIA TH where where amI am I I going coins t to i got get i th this I money I That That I Is it up to you said Henry with a disagreeable grin where where- whereupon whereupon whereupon upon hi his 1111 father stamped Into to his own office In a II fine fury Not long after lifter Ihl this thit father and andton sudden ton on quarreled again for of oC a n such such- sud de den dei a perfect a of oC law law- lawsuits lawsuits law lawsuits suits was released the Uie m origin and purpose of which com corn mystified Old Bell Dell The Nelsons like hike e c cl cr body hOdy had unsuccessfully dabbled Ih lb oil all stock stocke and drilling companies for some sometime time sometime before the boom boom started also during Its early stages and most of those thoM failures had been forgot forgot- forgotten ten They were painfully brought to mind however when wIlen Henry was served nith eith 1 Ith a II dozen or mor citations and when Inquiry elicit elicit- elicited elicited ed the reluctant admission from the banks bank's attorney that a genii Ina toe Ine liability existed existed-a existed a whIch Included the entire debts ot of those defunct stock joint-stock associations tinn in In which i he and s i had i iI I Invested vest U d ThIs This was enough to enrage a saint Henry argued that he had In- In Invariably Invariably In Invariably variably signed those articles of as association with the words In paren paren- theses parentheses No No personal liability an aol 1 he was genuinely amazed to learn that this precaution bad been use use- useless use useless less ies The driller he had sent up to Arkansas In charge of his hit rig one day came Into the of office Cleo In great agitation The mans man's story caused d his employers employer's ers er's face to whiten Salted I I-don't I I dont don't belle 0 It Nelson elson seized his head In lila Ills hands Oh my God he gasped JlII- JlII Mis MIt Misfortunes fortunes ere coming with nith Ith a n s swift swiftness Ift- Ift ness nest incredible Salted I Victim Victim- Victimized Victimized like the greenest tenderfoot A small mall fortune sunk while the whole country was still chuckling Q oser er the Jackson scandal I This ens as a nightmare honey II nry was as glad that his I as In Tulsa In conference Ith some other bankers oer o that Aven en At Avenger en- en enger ger offset money otherwise there was no telling to I what ahat hat e extreme the theold theold old oid mans man's rage would hae ha c car car- carried car carried ried rued him at this final calamity And that whining coughing crook that bogus farmer was nas as in Alzona or or out elsewhere elsewhere out of at reach roach of the law v Does an bod know henry Inquired after aCler he had some l ht his bis equilibrium Nobody but us fello follows a 5 I You arc are takIng a big We risk Sir I rn You You 3 iou OU au t shut down o You to got to k keep ep up the Iho blurt until until-until until I get time to turn You going to bump off oft that land to somebody else hat w hat do ou au think Im I'm going 0 IC todo do Nelson was tea on his feet foot now and and pacing hi his office with jerky strides Well Its Well Its It's worth something something- to turn a trick like III this thiB How much nuch But nut the field man merely smiled anti and shrugged so with a 11 grunt of understanding Henry seated him him- himself himself himself self and wrote roto out B a check to bearer the amount of at which Caused him to grind his te teeth th Now it was Impossible to dis- dis dispose dispose dis dispose pose of a II large holding like that Arkansas tract at a moments moment's no- no notice no notice tice tico In order to e e eade ade suspicion It was as necessary to go about l it hence the finan finan- financier financier cier cler moved d with as much circum circum- circumspection circumspection as possible Ills His careful plan exploded bo e eer er when be hemet met Calvin Gra a day or so BO later Gray had made It an In practice to speak affably t to his enemy In passing mainly because It so angered the latter Jatter atter this time he insisted upon stopping So your luck has bas changed tt t It If That Avenger Avenger well ot mine has put a good value on your property I congratulate you ou Colonel I dont don't believe In luck Nelson mumbled And the tho A A enger isn't enough of at a to brag about So So You dont don't believe in luck It sema s ems to bo be our lot Invariably to differ doesn't It No Now Not my I dear Colonel Im I'm not ashamed 0 o I confess that I 1 am deeply superstitious I and that I 1 believe implicItly In signs end and prodigies You see I I was ens as born under a happy star at my hath Ity the front of ot hea beaten hea en as full of fiery shapes as It were Comfortable feeling I assure ure ou fake that Incident at Ne New to 11 tot not long ago doesn't that pro proto ny my contention I What Incident Oray Grays Gray's brows brow lIfted whimsically Of Of course courle How HoW- shOuld you know There Thero was vu a clumsy at- at attempt attempt at attempt tempt to do go me bodily harm to- to to- to to assassInate me Funny Isn't l ii So 50 Ill III considered and so impracticable But about this Avenger malter If you find It Inconvenient to offset mY wall w ll as aa feat fn t aa as I X put them down perhaps you'd consider sell sell- sellIng sell sell-ln Ing- Ing Inconvenient T Nelson felt the tho blood rush ruah to his face at t this In- In Insufferable in insufferable sufferable Insult mault but he calmed himself with the th thought that his opponent was deliberately goading him Jilter After all It served him right for permitting the fellow to top stop him Inconvenient Hal Me He turned away carelessly No offense ottense my ray dear Colonel I II thought after aeter your Arkansas tI- tI tIa tl I a anco co you might Wish Wish- wish What Arkansas fiasco Nelson wheeled and in spite of at himself his voice cracked Ahi Ah Another secret eh oh Gray I winked nothing elaborately elaborately nothing could h have ave been n mince more deliberately otten- otten I sive than that t ci counterfeit of of a friendly understanding understanding- Very well wellI I shan Ihan shant t say a word ord Without another word nord ord the bank bank- banker banker er cc passed on but he went blindly for far his mind was esa In black chaos No chance now for secrecy he heway WILS was In to fo for tor a bit of hell He mange to kill the story In inthe Inthe the tho local papers but It appeared In the Dallas journals which I ens ILS even worse and for tor the first tImo In his life Ufe he found himself an object of ridicule Nelson senior returned from Tulsa mad bull-mad and he ho came camo with with- without without out the moody monty he be had expected to vi that hat lint on In in mil his office In mil S I that morning after he sent for tor his hisson hisson son eon none nona of o the tho banks bank's ever knew but they could S gurs for the rumblings of the old man m-an mans s rage penetrated even the paneled an paneled an-paneled paneled wall walls CHAPTER A Great t G ay had once told Birbara Par Par- Parker Parker Par Par-ker ker that there eat wa wano U no one aile quite like him him-a him remark more egotistical egotistiCal egotistical cal In the sound Bound than in meaning Unusual In many ways toys he probablY was was but like most moat men the dis- dis discovery dis dis covery that his proudest virtues ere linked with tices Ices of at which he was ashamed struck him as extra extra- extraordinary extraordinary extraordinary ordinary As it If nature erl not forever aiming at a balance In spite of the fact tact that ho he was impulsive headstrong S swift stift In Inmost inmost Inmost most things this thil girl possessed the unique faculty of o r rendering him acutely self conscious and It anno cd him tho more therefore to find how timorous he Ito could be beIn bein boIn In putting her feelings to the test There I was as more than one el ecu by tIns time Avenger A Number Tao To and Three and Pour Four were ere going do don n and offsetting the first enger A were three of ot Nelsons Nelson's rigs Bob studied tho thio situation briefly then with eith a dubious shako of her head she announced You are taking a big risk Mr Gray Oray You 10 1 mean these new holes boles may como come dry Of course but I 1 be- be believe behove be believe lieve hove in crowding my luck I dont don't know any other way to work You hate hale been lucky liat haven't 3 ou She stared at ht him with eith Ith a detached Impersonal Interest Everything Is la coming 3 lour our way lay even down In the Ranger district district- Oh I have my mr share of trou- trou troubles troubles trou troubles bles I lost a crooked hole halo re- re re recently had haci had to skid the derrick and start over Then a n pair of chain chain- tongs tongs was dropped Into another hole hole- Somebody must have hate It In for ou When Gray nodded Bob nab s face lit up with surprise Really Do you suspect someone In par par- particular par particular I 1 know l You have hate always impressed me mo J i as ft a-ft i a mia mA of I fate baa ha you yota as a an Instrument ln tru-ment tru ment which to do big bl things That's why Im I'm atway L bit over over- overawed overawed overawed awed by you Ov wed T Gray laughed Why Wh 1 I feel foel the same m with you ou tt ft bow little I am TO hoW bow little It all alt except aa sa a a means I aI moans means to an end if If- you onlY knew what It Is i that th t I 1 want so 0 much more than oil or money or C Continued l In |