Show aw A A av awo I 1 OUTLAWS ou LA sol 01 EDEN D IN AN bu 9 cy jwj N u attic I 1 ae T EAU affo B KYNE copyright by peter B ryne ryn SYNOPSIS at the th close clo of the mexican war robin kershaw Ker ahw with hit his bride rode rod into northeastern california here he be found an ideal valley tor for cattle raising they christened it eden valley below eden valley to I 1 a less val valuable his tract which kershaws Ker shaws shaves wife name a forlorn valley joel hensley hensler settles settle in the th lower half of the valley there la Is bad blood over fences and water ershaw kill hansley and the blood feud li is on by 1317 1917 ranee rance kershaw Ker thaw his son on owen and daughter lorry are all that remains of one clan nate Tl chenor Is the sole survivor on the hensley tide side he goes to help lorry in her car and finds her father has died of heart disease silas babson banker schemes to control the irrigation and hydroelectric hydro electric possibilities of eden valley nate tells lorry he and owen dorrys brother met in france lust just before owen was killed and nato nate promised that if he be survived owen he would woul d to look ok after lorry as a brother might do babson makes legal application tor for the allocation of flood waters to the forlorn valley n district with money advanced by nate lorry clears up her indebtedness ednes to babson note nate finds he Is falling failing in love lova with lorry babson discovers nate Is behind a rival power project nato nate tells lorry he loves her she admits admile the she iones nate and they become engaged CHAPTER VIII continued to 10 lie ile was ready for me but he pull and when picked himself up owen said right henry this Is the closed season in iden valley a and nd tie he gave henry rook by the great grandfather of nil all the kicks hicks under the coattail coat tail tall and walked away froni from me poor owen so ill make a wholesale job of cleaning out that rats nest to ID the hank bank of valley center it if I 1 can and after ive smashed the bank ill buy the wreck saving sarlo the depositors and have myself elected president youve got to promise something else before ill marry you nate help me with the branding youre a top hand and I 1 can use you but as soon as the br andings finished go away find and complete your business and come back to me as soon as you can 1 I promise but let me give you a small warning dont crowd me with too many demands for promises the only promise ill ever exact from you again nate Tl chenor will be to love honor and cherish me until death do us part and endow you with all my worldly goods including the eden valley water I 1 suppose funny sweetheart I 1 ill race you back to the house for a dollar win that horse youre riding can step slake make it a kiss hiss then well still win so I 1 might as well pay the bet here and now and she ehe did CHAPTER IX joe brainerd editor of the valley center register had been summoned to the bank of valley center babson led him into his private office and then for the last time he disclosed his plan tor for the organization of the forlorn valley irrigation district heres the copy for a full page ad he finished its a call tor for a mass meeting of the citizens to be held nest saturday afternoon in the plaza tor for the purpose ot of discussing the water situation and the appointment of 0 a committee to investigate the possibilities of leading surface irrigation into the valley ill plant the idea good and strong in their minds at that mass meeting but in the meantime you get out a good rousing editorial that will give them something to think about warn em that this mountain valley power company Is about to grab the water for power purposes tell em nate late Tich enors the mountain valley power company give tichenor Tic honor h b 1 la in a quiet way but be orin firm it if we tackle tichenor Tl chenor now the chances are we can euchre his company out of 0 a contract to sell water to forlorn valley get the idea ile he told me his company consider selling us water and why ir if we threaten his source of water supply chances are hell change his mind and do busine business with us and what were after brainerd remembering his recent experience with tichenor chenor Tl needed no urging to enlist in babions Bab sons cause within two hours lie he was back in bal bab tons bons office with a copy of his editorial certainly a rousing editorial babson complimented him but be be a lot more punch to it if you tied into nate Tl tichenor chenor more vigorously orous ly 11 why tichenor chenor Tl done anything out of the way has be iles hes swiped our water he or hes trying to swipe it lies hes perfectly within his rights mr babson how did he know we wanted the water the rights of the people are paramount to those of the individual but whether they are or not it suits me to have you tie into this fellow attack him impute things to him run a history of his family and the kersha hersha chaw ws con continued tInned from week to week I 1 want to incite the community against him this Is a war were about to engage in joe and in war youve youre got to make people hate or they wont fight well well have to fight for tho the eden valley water but we can win although to do so go we may have hav to buy both the circle K and the bar U in order to acquire their water rights but if we tackle the owners now hold them up tip to obloquy and ridicule and public hate they just cant live in this country understand and be glad to sell and get out brainerd replied clr babson its a job I 1 dont like ilke for tw two 0 reasons one business the other ethical benr bear in mind joe that the continued prosperity of forlorn valley Is a matter of profound interest to you and me im on the horns of a dilemma mr babson it if I 1 attack Tl Tic chenor in the manner you suggest lie he will start an opposition newspaper in this town and ruin me how can he ne ile cant get any local advertising id see to that even if the locel people were fools enough to support their natural enemy by gly giving him advertising but lie he promised me hed do it mr babson A mere bluff 1 I think youve got that man wrong I 1 sized him up as one who will go through I 1 understand none of his people have ever made a promise they keep bad as they were and had as the Ner shaws were both clans had the courage of wounded grizzly bears im afraid of him babson smiled patiently the liens hens leys and the Ner Kersti shaws aws never had their courage tested outside eden valley joe let tichenor chenor Tl come projecting around forlorn valley and hell find a man to call his bluff 1 I tell you mr babson its a job I 1 do not want tichenor chenor Tl will fight back and the only way a man can fight fl lit the only newspaper attacking him Is to start an opposition youve youva got to promise something else before ill marry you nate per and mall mail his copies gratis to his enemies and I 1 tell you further I 1 dislike the fight because its dirty ill fight tichenor chenor Tl all over the lot for the sake of forlorn valley and its crying needs but ill fight him on the issue involved and not his family history 1 I see babson murmured sadly youre an idealist too 1 I hope I 1 lost all my idealism 1 I see well joe I 1 hate to remind you of it but you owe this bank three thousand dollars and the bank holds a chattel mortgage on your plant and you got the building youre housed in paid for yet I 1 hold a deed of trust on that la Is that a threat mr babson suppose we call it a gentle hint joe then lets quit arguing ill not wage a mean dirty personal war against nathan tichenor chenor Tl and that kershaw girl final and I 1 suggest that if and when you get surface irrigation into forlorn valley you go out to the main canal jump in and drown yourself well that flies fixes your clock brainerd babson commenced to rearrange his pens and pencils on their rack and to shuffle the unanswered correspondence on his desk ill just take over the valley center register and put in a man abos loyal joe brainerd stood up he was a small man but like most small men he lacked neither courage nor conceit lie ile struck silently and savagely furious blows left and right to babions Bab sons sneering face as the banker sprawled back of his desk the quondam proprietor of valley centers lone palladium of liberty walked out of the bank and back to his office where he seized a pad of copy paper and wrote with this issue the present editor of the valley vailey center register sings his swan song because he take orders from silas babson and do the batters lat dirty work the bank of valley center which holds a chattel mortgage on the registers plant but not on the editors soul goul will kick ye sole editor and proprietor out into the geometrical center of valley center I 1 boulevard and put in an editor who will lick the hand that feeds him even if he relish the dirty diet the editor desires desire to express his hl gratitude to the citizens 0 of forlorn valley who have so BO loyally supported hlin him and his policies of course we have found it expedient at times to tread on toes but we held mean little grudges and when the fight was over we were always aliling to shake hands and we have not always won hence we hope to be forgiven our trespasses as we forgive those who have hae trespassed against us the editor eventually may be forced to buy himself a tin bill and compete with the birds for a livelihood but never let it be said of him that he existed at the price of an others shame and humiliation in order that ruthless and powerful interests might feed a personal grouch joseph P brainerd sole editor and proprietor pro tern tem valley Vi illey center register when tichenor chenor Tl and lorry kershaw came in tor for luncheon the next noon follo following ing a hard mornings work la in the branding corral editor brainards Brain erds swan song and rousing edl editorial promptly came to their attention indeed there was no escaping either for the editorial in black brevier type filled the first two columns on the front page and in the center of the same page boxed and also in brevier the swan song appeared lorry read the articles first and without comment handed the paper to nate when he had finished reading it he looked up at her whimsical whimsically I 1 how stupid that fellow babson Is he commented iles hes hog wild with power one could cash every bet that when theres something constructive to be done babson will choose the wrong way of doing it hurrah for joe brainerd I 1 it takes a man to accept ruin rather than orders that conflict with his sense of justice I 1 wonder what sort of dirty work babson wanted him to do 1 I dont know I 1 cant even suspect but im willing to agree with brainerd on suspicion that the work was dirty he commenced to chuckle with a certain joyous malevolence well sweetheart in line with my policy of becoming the big man of this district and also in line with my promise to tease the animal I 1 believe its up to me to save the sole editor and proprietor pro tern of the valley center register about two that afternoon nate walked in on joe brainerd and solemnly proffered that suffering individual his hand where can vie ve talk privately he asked brainerd indicated his den tichenor sat in at the desk where he oiled filled in a check to joseph P brainerd and signed it you sou fill in the figures he ha said and my bank will pay the check brainerd stared at him what do I 1 have to do for this just continue to fight for the best interests of forlorn valley walt wait a minute tichenor chenor Tl who told you that you were the man I 1 was ordered to attack why nobody told me I 1 even suspect it I 1 decided to get behind you merely after my own heart sit down brainerd commanded and he related to tichenor chenor Tl every detail of his conversation with babson 1 I could stand up under that insects tea sings brainerd tichenor chenor Tl told him when the tale was done but I 1 like ilke to see miss kershaw put to that extremity well you can give me your note it if you care to or you may consider this advance as a donation to the cause of good men and true but I 1 have a request to make of you the valley center register Is the mouthpiece and the champion of forlorn valley and I 1 desire that it continue to be just that thal the war for the water Is on and its going to be some war I 1 ask you therefore to print the news from the front honestly and impartially it may be that from time to time miss kershaw ani I 1 and the mountain valley power company which la is me will have hav something to say to your subscribers ill expect you to print it and I 1 dont care two hoots hoot in a hollow how you yoo ridicule or condemn it in your edl editorial column your privilege there must be something wrong with your head brainerd protested but whatever nha the trouble Is I 1 like it however before I 1 fill in this check ch eckand and take ray my gratitude tor for granted it la Is my duty to inform you that from this day forward the valley center register Is going to operate in red ink I 1 mean that I 1 can never hope to repay this loan from the profits of a losing enterprise just make certain you can draw a living out of it and it if you cant see me inc 1 I owe the bank three thousand and theres a deed of trust on this building for fifteen hundred id like to pay that all up and have a balance for operating capital but theres one more point youve overlooked when I 1 bank this check in carsons Cab Bab sons bank bank everybody will know youre back of me and it will be said that you control me editorially well that will be fine it will automatically prevent you from showing me any editorial preferment you be mighty careful somebody kill KID you oft off la in the shank of 0 your callow youth my friend youre a temptation with you out of the way there be any water war because the kershaw girl put up a winning fight do you realize that have that much enterprise babson might instigate it joe brainerd was very earnest now that mans mads private fortune and the future of hla his bank hinges on the future ot of forlorn valley and I 1 dont think he would give an icicle in iceland for a human life if it stood between him and his desires the battle for water in this state Is as old as the state and it Is unending there Is more druma drama and more tragedy in it than most people realize enough men have died with their boots on beside a stream to fill my obituary column for the next ten years needs must when the devil drives nate tichenor chenor Tl and the devil Is up on the front seat driving through forlorn valley and silas babson was the first man to recognize him now hell point him out to the others and the job of him will commence at the mass meeting in the plaza next neat saturday afternoon 1 I shall atteno attend that mass meeting and I 1 shall address it provided youre permitted babson will call it to order and address it first and when he finishes you it have a hostile audience on your hands listen to me im going to make them a proposition got to listen to ive about made up my mind not to install the power station but build my dam good and high and store water for sale to forlorn valley im not going to stand selfishly by and see those old settlers leaving their abandoned farms but im going to smash that bloodsucker blood sucker babson by smashing his bank how by starting a new bank here in return for the life gIvIng water I 1 shall have to sell them the people will have hav v L to do business at my bank ill re rent t money at ss six per cent ill take up every loan they have with the bank of valley center and when they switch their deposits to my bank babson will be left with insufficient capital to meet the withdrawals how about the minority stockholders rather decent substantial citizens when the smoke clears away ill settle with them privately so not lose a dollar you may not be able to secure a state charter tor for your bank then ill |