Show arl T T T fl th I 1 HP M efman Y under r 3 eno JL hadaa vA dAA JL JL A ajla JL JL LAA by HAROLD TITUS copyright US 2923 tw harold titus service is is asnis is is is is is is is is is is is is is a in issitte is is is is is is is is mono is is is is is is is is is isais is is is is is is is is is is is is is CHAPTER X continued 14 mats the difficulty brandon brandona Bran donl you expect to see me this morning hii why y I 1 that la Is I 1 thought ben bea stepped close and dropped his bis voice nearly to a whisper you toil thought I 1 be walking today was that it not walking I 1 dont know what youre talking about the older mans self control was coming back rapidly now that his fright had passed away 1 I just came in to get matters straight between us brandon several serious things have happened to the loot hoot owl but in spite of them the hoot owl Is booming now I 1 presume I 1 can look for or things to happen to me before anything does because im not rash enough to be cocksure that it wont I 1 want you yon to get me straight the last vestige of his smile emile was gone by then ile he stood spread legged hands locked behind his back eyes boring into brandona Bran dons gaze im not interested ln in i but listen 1 listen or ril ill choke you until beg for the opportunity to listen brandon I 1 listen to me this morning and bo be the first and last time 1 I know a great deal I 1 can prove but bet little I 1 know that you started in to run ran me out by sending duval to clean up my camp next you tried to cripple my operation by having a firebug touch off the mill next you or some come of your men stole a piston head out of the express dont go too far young roan man I 1 1 I wont the pits of h I 1 are the inside limits tor for you Bran brandon donl I 1 after that you timed it nicely and blew up my trestle you almost bad us two or three times but you flopped I 1 the hoot owl Is up on its knees will be on its feet in a month if we keep going and be sitting on the world by the time breakup hits us all youve done to the lob job has only helped it IL that I 1 next kert you try to get me thinking probably that if you knock the skipper off the bridge the craft will founder for certain youre wrong there you cant lick my men because too many tor for you you cant stop the hoot owl by getting me out of the picture but it you want to keep on trying its you own funeral ive only one thing to ask of you try to play the white man also brandon and fight your own figh fights 1 his face was dark with rage now and he emphasized his last words by downward thrusts of clenched hands long his thighs brandon smiled lightly youre a queer young man he remarked you dream in broad daylight and with your eyes 0 open ien A peculiarly detailed dream brandon I 1 ive said all I 1 have to say about the job and about myself b but ut there Is mother another matter left to be mentioned while im here I 1 wont even utter her name in your hearing but any man who would pull a trick like you did and involve a girl giri brandon a snakes belly Is sky high compared to you I 1 and that touched the well springs of rage that had been dammed back until the moment you foell the man said heavily the words came like ilke the first break to in a levee slow sluggish words and then like the following toss of foam was the frothing rage in his bu scream cream you floit rh dr drive ire you out of this coun country tryl 1 ill hang bang your operation up tor for the crows to pick I 1 ru ill tring string the bones of this umber timber and your own bones across this coun country tryl 1 he swung hla his arms arma in wide wild gestures ile he stopped sobbing tor for breath and his teeth clicked in an agony of sion dawni dawal not mention nor her well I 1 will ashes she mine you fool tool body and ashes been mine tor for years because she smiled at you because she played with you dont think ashes interested fool boll ashes ile he swayed backward at as elliott lurched toward him but their bodies did not lock white and trembling ben stayed hill own rush no nol I 1 dont want to brawl over her he choked but bill if you mention her name to me again im likely to lose my head and tear your hide off your carcassi carcass carcas sl 1 his rage was so high so holy that the tear fear it inspired carried through Bran brandoni dons frenzy and the man stood silent perhaps in awe ben relaxed now he said quietly ive lust just one thing to ask brandon its this fight your own batt battles leal 1 he turned on his heel and slammed the door behind him CHAPTER XI ben began un blanketing his bis tea team m with the haste of high temper but before be had bad finished able armitage balled him from across the street and came hurrying through the rutted enow the old justice face was marked by an expression of concern and he came close before he spoke 1 I hear red bart delaneyl Dela neya la in town ben bea nodded grimly came to see me yesterday s nol no I 1 yeah took a long louk look at me i over the sights of a rifle real ben I 1 why elliott laughed mirthlessly and told what had happened in the hoot owl chopping the day before so hes gotten down to the hiring of a kli killer lerl 1 able looted looked anxiously into nena bens face son it cant go on timber or no do umber timber success or failure tor for the hoot owl youve got to think of yourself 14 1 im doing that ive been to see brandon and tried to drive him into the open all I 1 ask of him that he be lights fights fair and it if he wont what then ill have to smoke him out I 1 able clicked his tongue denny benny your way of doing things scares mel me I 1 why this cant go on it I 1 its your own affair for sure when he tried to shoot you down but maybe perhaps possibly im going to beg you to be careful so long as de laneys landys in the country youve got to keep low get back to camp stay there let us pick some man I 1 can trust to follow bart and brandon night and day so not be caught no ben shook his head resolutely ill go on nn about roy my business as I 1 should ive never run yet and dont like to start any fast foot work now but its your life at stake ben I 1 dont be silly what recklessness Is downright silly not like you why not taking precautions in this thing Is like with a high tension wire no good able I 1 hold up my head if I 1 hid out after the play ive made so alle able was forced to give up after a time and shuffled up the street drawing off his mitten again and rubbing his face briskly with his palm lie ile had bad only reached his office and was unlocking the door when aunt era em walking grimly as if with a definite purpose approached good morning he began forget the palaver able armitage I 1 the woman said sharply youre in trouble so are we all maybe why I 1 cane came to see you Is it true what they say that this red bart delaney has showed up here in Thi tincup cupl As true as disease or death or anything else unpleasant pleasant nn what id heard I 1 do I 1 have to guess why hes come able untied his scarf and shook his head sadly no eva em your tour first guess will be right and he be took a shot at benny yesterday I 1 and missed id judge from the look of him just now but it if hes bes still here therell be a next time and he be wont miss then did you do your duty and send the boy to some safe place able sighed and told her of his bis talk with ben so you make him listen to reason Is she muttered well it if you can cant I 1 cant and us falling theres only one other who would have a ghost of a show dawn she nodded dawn could but she wont she wont go to him now she even listen to me talk calk about him ashes in such a state ashes up to the ears in love with ben el llott ilott or ive got three legal arid and then to have that scandalous woman do what she did and upset it all I 1 she sat down heavily in a chair and drew a great breath 1 I doat have to ask you yon or any other man mail about ben elliott elleott El llott abbel I 1 know the clean and decent folks when I 1 see eal cm id bet my reputation as a christian woman on that boyl boy I 1 that piece of play acting at the dance was some of nick brandona Bran dons work you can bet your last red cent I 1 I 1 had to give him a piece of my mind just for relief the other day and goodness me what a look he give me mel I 1 why able that mans worse than ever I 1 thought though tl my oh he gave me a look that like to froze the blood right in my veins after all the years of palaver and soft ive listened to from well what im gettin at la is this the boys boy in danger of abeln murdered every minute of day and night unless he takes your advice theres no one left to try to talk him into being careful but bur dawn and how am I 1 going to get her to see gee her duty when she go goebl into a caryln fit every time his names mentioned yes sir every time she bears hla his name she yet see that the affair was a put up job then see she cant see anything able Armi tagel put yourself in her place suppose you were a young girl chos had bad the things to bear that she has all her life and suppose you fell in love tor for the first time and suppose that young man was accused of such nastiness right in public with everybody listening and gawping gasping gaw ping would you stop to figure that the reason he seemed guilty was natural that the thing was so tar far fetched from the truth and such a shock that he was all ed I 1 should say you would 1 do just what ashes doln make yourself all sick with chills and fever by crying she twitched at the skirts of her cloak irritably and glared at the old justice as though he were a sworn enemy instead of a friend what alls ails her Is shock she aint got over the shock yet and every time his bis name or anything else about him Is mentioned it sets her off again shell get over it give her time but then shell be so humiliated to think she use her reason that she wont be herself for another spell and she should be herself now I 1 there aint any time to lose she should patch up her misunderstanding with him right today right this hour and use her influence to persuade him to keep low but how its to be done rd id like to know for lords sake able aint you got a single suggestion the justice had been stuffing light wood into his bis stove during this now he touched a match to the tinder opened the drafts and stood with hands bands behind him rusty overcoat unbuttoned and drooping deep in thought its difficult to get anyone in her state to use reason maybe the shock of knowing that bens life Is in ID danger would be a counter irritant to this other shock maybe not if the affair of last week could be cleared up if dawn could he be shown that this lydia woman was only carrying out a plan but I 1 wonder aunt em stiffened in her chair she looked hard at able and her eyes narrowed a trifle you see he resumed it if the girl gari i hold on able Armi tagel she ebe cut in holding up a hand in warning hold on now I 1 ive got to think got of to think I 1 tell you youl I 1 and I 1 cant think while you carry on your gabble 1 you leave me alone now keep your tongue still they say a womans comans tongue Is hung in the middle and loose at both ends bu but it yum yom As she pressed one hand over her eyes tier her words dwindled to unintelligible ive got it I 1 she cried excitedly after a moment ive got it now I 1 you stay right here abbel you stay until I 1 came back it if it works it works if it don dont be time to talk some morel she moved resolutely to the door left the office and strode down the street people of tincup watched her pass people she had bad known for years spoke to her and drew no response not even so much as a glance or a nod on past the bank the post office the pool room on beyond all the stores on down wa to the depot there on the platform she stood a iong ion interval staring across the tracks to that short row of house bouse on section thirty seven the station agent came out of the office and looked at em in surprise hello I 1 he be cried what brings you down here before homer she cut in grimly in which one of them nasty places does this lydia woman live why why why now dow should I 1 know he be evaded as a red flush crept up from his collar in the one at this end I 1 think im not sure of course I 1 think she does though she but he no longer had a listener resolutely slowly with something like defiant majesty the woman crossed the tracks with never another word to her informant and never a look to right or left her head was up her mouth set and her long nose wrinkled as if at a SYNOPSIS ben elliott from rom render arrives at the lumbering town of 0 tincup with don stuart old very tick sick man whom he has baa befriended nicholas Nl chola brandon the towns leading citizen resents resent stuarts stuarta presence trying to force him to leave and elliott El llott resenting the act knocks him down judge able armitage hires hire him to run the one lumber the HO hoot owl camp at that brandon has ha not been able to a grab rab this be belong longiO to dawn Me manue whose father has ha disappeared with a inu murder ader charge hanging over his bis head brandon sends ends duval to beat ben and ben throws throw him out of 0 camp don stuart dies leaving a letter for up elliott to be used when the going becomes too tough dan ben refuses to open the letter believing he can win the fight by his hi own efforts effort fire breaks out in the milk mill don ben when the names flames are subdued discovers discover it was started with gasoline elliott gets eret an offer tor for log that will provide money to tilde tide him over but a definite time ls I 1 set ben discovers dawn mcmanus lit in not bel a child as he had supposed but a beautiful young woman the railroad bridge over which the hoot eloot owl lumber must pass pas to I 1 blown up by superhuman efforts dan ben builds a new bridge and himself blase if drives the train over the rickety structure to tincup making the delivery very with only a 16 few minutes to spare brandon compels as ILI clydla Ly lyd dla a who to Is in hi his power to accuse elliott of misconduct a woman with known A at t a dance to wh which ich elleott escorts escort dawn lydia makes public her a virl girl ove overwhelmed rw h 4 ime d E allott c can an not only y make a feeble dental denial dawn apparently charges charge log ing him guilty leave eaves the dance without waiting for or him wh while ile in the bellev woods wood elliott Is I 1 fired on and drops drop seemingly dead but his hi fall has ha been a ruse to fricke his bis enemy believe him dead the would be killer I 1 to proved to be red bart delaney pe laney notorious desperado disgusting odor A woman up by the stores shaded her eyes and peered at the moving figure and stared and stopped aunt era em coburn headed for or thirty seven 1 why it bel he but aunt em mounted the steps she rapped at length and vigorously on the scarred panel of the door she went within leaving a dozen long distance watchers to wonder it was long before she emerged and then ah then tincup had a sight to see a subject for speculation for by aunt ems side moved the woman lydia collar of her fur coat high about her face as it if to hide the traces of tears which hastily applied powder could not eradicate tears from those hard eyes nothing less I 1 for women know women and before aunt era em had bad talked to this outcast five minutes she had discovered the weakness jn her shame the clean spot left in her heart and how emma coburn could talk I 1 she talked that clean spot to a growing glowing glorious thing she talked lydia out ot of her henhouse house across the tracks talked her into that slow unashamed almost flagrant march up the main street talked her out of all but bur one look of misgiving at the windows of nicholas brandona Bran dons offices and around the corner and in beneath the hemlocks which whispered above the snug slang white house they entered where dawn had hidden since the womans comans words sent her flying from the |