Show from MA M A V yonder aonder the he man I 1 I 1 irom by HAROLD TITUS service lc copyright harom harold TRUL CHAPTER I 1 it was armistice day in ID tincup the time was so go far removed from that delirious date in 1918 that in many parts of the country the eleventh of november had bad come to be regarded as simply another day but tincup was a mill town and the surrounding coun try was timber land and in such a community almost any anniversary from the fourth of july on down to the millwrights birthday Is seized upon as ag an excuse to lay oft off and play so the camps which turned nicholas brandond Bran doas dons standing hardwood and hem lock into saw logs and the mills which chewed them into dimension stuff and flooring and shingles were deserted and the entire population of a big territory which had commenced pouring into town own the evening before was joined for the day with the residents t of tincup in competing or watching or cheering or listening in consequence a mere event SL such ch as the arrival of the eastbound passenger train drew no attention whatever and so BO none but the station agent was there to greet the strangers str angera she dropped down from the rickety red smoking car between his packsack pack sack slung from one shoulder th and old don stuart literally dangling from his other arm the agent trundling his express truck and in a hurry to be done with di duty aty and get back to the more exciting affairs which occupied the rest of the town spoke nullo nul lo don I 1 back home eh well glad t see you I 1 detter better git up to the big doans log rollins just coln on big time I 1 As it if to vindicate this prideful boast ot of one of its own all tincup and its company at the moment opened lips and compressed chests to send up a mighty roaring shout ot of acclaim come on dad ad the younger man said bald looking toward the die crowd he says its a big time eig big noise anyhow lets investigate slowly then the sharply contrasting pair moved off the younger still half supporting the elder and moderating his galt gall to a stroll so stuarts quick and audible breathing should grow no more bore pronounced A slender young man was climbing a jammer in the mill yard he lifted hemsi af above the heads of the crowd and held up a hand for silence this however was not readily obtained A drenched and dripping citizen was only just pulling himself from the chill waters of the pond a self conscious grin glued to his bis lips as the black hair was plastered to his brow by the soaking it had received on a peeled cedar log in the he pond a giant of a man in a gaily checkered shirt peavey in hla his hands bands balanced and surveyed the throng a picture of frank and boastful self satisfaction the slender man on the jammer continued to waie wave his hands and finally these thesa jibes and compliments were smothered mothered by other cries tor for silence give barney a chance now I 1 a man shouted th gents I 1 the man called birney cried from rom his vantage point As chairman of the committee im asking for help I 1 this committees worked hard we got A long program of sports for today but this log going to flop unless we get more contests contest sl 1 all these folks afla he had watched the bulls every move ve come to town more to see this match than anything else on the card and what ive ve we showed em why he answered his big own question we had two preliminaries and a semi final between the winners of them matches then this final which was a joke there stands bull duval detal whose partner in the preliminaries limin aries defaulted and who dumped the winner of the semi without half bait trying I 1 ask you has baa he earned twenty five dollars dollar A laugh arose and duval on the log twisted his mustache and leered at the sp Epi epenter iler enter here we raised a twenty five dollar prize aud and half you river hogs bogs got cot cold flet et lust just becal because lse duval said he was golly olna to mirney was truls an noyed and took no pains to conceal it aint any of you yoa lads got the sand to tn hand in your names and tackle the bull whores wheres your burshe guts gur she he pleaded aint there anybody here that needs twenty five live dollars another laugh went up tip and when it had subsided a voice said Il heres leres one I 1 do to get it tills this was a full even good natured voice and a quick silence fell upon the crowd followed by an expectant buzz as the stranger moved forward hla his bronzed face uplifted to the man on the jammer atta boy birney cried all you got to do friend Is to put sir bull duval off of that to log and stick by rules 1 the stranger slipped the pack strap from his shoulder seated himself on a tog log unlaced his shoes and the bag while he drew from its depths a pair of calked balked river boots and the cluster about hlin him grew thicker a halt half dobell old wen men crowded around don stuart shaking his hand and say ing the usual things that men say to an old friend they have not seen tor for long one of these was a short wiry little rush man with upturned nose arid and blue eyes and long lip nd chos th by donny 1 he be asked chos th by shuts coln to try SIls Alist ther ber brandona Bran dons pet bull stuart shook his head hes a one fine young gentleman bird eye and all I 1 know found roe me at th junction broke and 11 to get back home to tincup paid my fare and helped me fine gentle gentleman mant I 1 lies better be all 0 the other commented with an emphatic nod nd heres hopla hes he a log rollin rascal nd ind that he dumps als ther brandona Bran dons bull nd thin drowns him so I 1 do dol I 1 others came up op greeted stuart and eyed him with true concern any could see gee that heavy sickness was on him birney was bending over the stranger as he drew taut the laces of his river riter boots well gents we got one more to try tor for this prize money li mister llster bull duval king of the mad lad woman will now bake take on mister allster ren elliott mr ben elliott of you say you come from elliott El llott the stranger so BO addi addressed essed was heft ing a p peavey eavey judiciously ue he turned that good natured smile on the spokesman and waved one hand in an indefinite but inclusive gesture yonder he said and grinned mr ben elliott of yonder will now roll against mr air bull duval for the grand prize ot of twenty five bucks 1 that rope around the log marks the middle elliott El llott stay on your own end dont touch the other man and anything else goes As a helper used a pike pole to drag the cedar with duval upon it close elliott stood still and surveyed his ad ver sary his glance held that light of good nature and did riot not linger long on the bulls glo glowering erl ng countenance rather it dwelt on ills his pants and the river boots shedding water waiter in oily beads alter after this he looked duval in the eye and grinned broadly A sound like a reate chich is almost a laugh ran through the crowd A likeable grin that was good natured rd frank fearless men take to a grin of its kidney and ja in the instant hen ben ott the stranger lad the crowd with him as against bull duval said to be log moved quickly his ella left foot raised free sharp callis in its sole clawed savagely and with a mighty drive of the leg he had the cedar spinning beneath diem ben elliott eiliott did not offer resistance he followed the moving tooting walking tor for the first ahree or four our turns and then adding his impetus to the birling stick commenced to trot with each stride forcing the tempo ot of the turning faster and taster faster now the trotting became a run the run waxed to a nimble dance they watched one another ben elliott eiliott still grinned the bull eldred his black brows were drawn together and he ground down on his chew sav abely almost hatefully up cp and down up ano down a mad gallop of supple limbs now and then duval duva leaped he leaped high and without warning and feet spread drove his calks balks deep into the log again hunching bunching hun ching his shoulders thrust thrusting irig his peavey before him for or balance bend ing forward the spin of the stick was checked sharply and had bad his opponent been aught unprepared tie he certainly would have pitched face ace foremost into the pond but elliott eiliott was not unprepared ile he had watched the lulls every move he did not jump when duval duva lumped jumped he be waited a split instant eyes on dugals feet and when he saw the toes pointed stiffly downward he be rose nimbly into the air a galloping break in his bis swift run and came town down poised spread legged himself crying out in an lotion lation ot of mock distress as he balanced on the cedar which swayed and heaved beneath them A great roar went up op cries ot of en coura gement for the stranger some shouts ot of admonition for their towns man the bull would have hare no cinch to in this cont contest estl 1 now it was elliott who started the log cautiously and slowly watching duval on the shore birdeye bird eye eya pranced up and down swinging his bis arms duck him elliott I 1 he be yelled duck th big chunk I 1 sure nd ad he be needs him a bath bachl I 1 the smooth bole gathered momentum swiftly and elliott began to skip and dance breaking the steady meas ure ot of his run As his weight came and went irregularly upon the cedar it commenced to teeter causing du vals teet feet to splash in ankle deep weter water again without warn warning fig the bull leaped he went higher this time but instead of driving his bis spikes into the far side of the log and stopping its spin as he be had bad done before be drove then them into the near side increasing rather than checking the momentum got you big boy I 1 elliott cried as he be too came donn running and grinning that was quick thinking instantaneous action to leap was simple but to determine the opponents move arid and meet it with complacence and poise was another matter to have hare come down to a stance then would have hung flung the challenger to wet defeat ali ah th tb big chunk av a bulls coln to get bath he be needs birdeye bird eye shrilled into the roar hut but this was only one mans enthusiasm his animosity for duval finding voice vice the outcome was far from a certainty tincup knew that and ben EI elleott billott llott knew it as well he like ilke the town was waiting for the king ot of the I 1 nod mad woman to draw more items from his bag of tricks before be should assume the offensive without a flicker ot of warning luval dropped the pick ot of his peavey twisting the shaft in his hands flipping the hook open the point bunked bunked into the water the hook bit into the log simultaneously and as the handle swung upward in a swift are arc the man drove his weight on it his body twisted he grunted and his face wrenched into a lightning expression of great strain as the cedar in a quarter turn stopped dead and ben elliott El llott back bowed acutely peavey high above tits his head teetering back to balance on one foots foot laughed aloud I 1 quick work big boyl he cried almost got mel rut but duval had nowhere near gotten him he knew M it and Ell lotts manner was waa infuriating to him ile he cursed sharply and spat and jerked at the brim of his slouch hat bat as he shook loose the peavey and commenced again to birl they ran a moment easily each waiting for the other to try some rosh fresh trick the bull leaped and came down running he leaped tour four times in the space of as many quick breaths breatha and then as though ready to leap again dropped the hook of hla his peavey into 8 9 a N 0 a a the thrill the action the adventure 0 a that are part of an outdoor story a ea IN a a au a you will find them all in this gripping tale aa 19 of the north woods M a isa so harold titus has no peer in the field that he has chosen to male make his own the a antrican am acan woods he has won a large following with his code of the north an E zero and other novels as well as with many stories in the leading magazines 21 a ca of the country in THE MAN p i ii i EP 13 read kead this opening installment va ma a FROM YONDER he i has written a fast f CO cla jg and follow the story through ti moving tale that ranks among his best to its satisfactory conc conclusion lusio 00 a king of the river the cedar came against agal ast the doom boom stick and ii kellott took tooh his bis place on it with a light leap it was a good log nearly two feet beet through at the small end twenty feet long with a small email taper dry and peeled a sprightly log indeed for or such a cori contest test a log to try the mettle of any man matched with any sort of contestant add to this bull duval the best river hog in tincup who hefted his peavey and glowered at the stranger 1 I give y two minutes he growled thanks bud buddy dyll 1 elliott retorted id say sweet of yon youl I 1 are you two ready airney cried from shore both nodded then let tier her go I 1 A hush balanced on the log ing faced in the same direction double an arms length from one another they poised and then dugals right toe lifted the heel pressing downward the buoyant the cedar lie ile wavered when the handle swept upward by the rush and weight of the spinning log bore against his great palm ills body swung sharply to the left he cursed as the smooth handle slipped from his clutch and bird eye blarrie danced ID 11 a frenzy of delight as the peavey handle smack ing the water disappeared in the pond and the bull waving hla his arms tor for hal bat once ran the log desperately to hold his place A great shout went up from the crowd the odds then were no longer longel equal anu las like a fencer with a broken toll like a boxer with one eye closed like a runner with a strained tendon so go duval was now polish roll sh him off bowl bird eyt screamed like an audacious saucy boy polish him good Ills ther elliott I 1 bes he tor for help nd the aint none fer himl T that hat was what tincup believed A quick finish seemed certain with the tha bull so handicapped without his peavey tor for offensive moves or to hold tor for balance but u what hat happened stilled the clamor quickly as thou though it sound were a tangible mass and a great blade had sheared it quickly and cleanly ben elliott shifted hla his peavey ile he had bad held it across his bis body arms wide spread now mow he be swung the point upward and outward and as he ran the spinning log drew it back and tossed it toward shore tossed it high and far sending with it his chance tor for a quick and certain victory the silence was that of amazement this was like letting a man you had bad knocked down get to his feet and have another chance this was opportunity handed to truculent bull duval on a silver platter this was the sportsmanship one read about and then came an excited clatter ot of tongues rising to an even greater roar the outsider was through tooling fooling through with trickery and through with strategy lie ile was going to run the bull off his bis feet fast and faster aster spun the lo 10 log spray from it drenched the men to their knees rained behind them into the tb pond elliott still kept his face turned toward his bis opponent but the bull fists clenched arms widely extended only watched elliott from the tall of hla his eye the log was hissing in the water rigidity ran front from the bulls shoulders down his back ile he was upright now where elliott was poised forward and his scowl was gone ills hla brows no longer gathered but were upraised his eyes were wide open in the distress of fatigue and he be breathed through III his mouth TO BS BEI CONTINUED |