Show 0 OUTLAWS 0 U S olt of EE my Sr lc I 1 E T E pa B FLY N E copyright by peter B myna kyn SYNOPSIS at the tb close of the th mexican war robin kershaw Kers baw with his hi bride rode rod into northeastern california here he b t found an ideal valley for cattle rals raja ing ine they christened it eden valley below edn eden valley alsa Is a less valuable a tract which kershaw kershaws Ker shaWs 9 wita names I 1 forlorn valley joel hensley not settles ties in the lower hlf half ot of the valley th there ere 1 Is I 1 bad blood over fences and water kershaw kills hensley and the blo blood od feud to 1 on by 1917 rance nance kershaw Ker chaw his hi son con owen and daughter lorry lorr y are all that remains remain of one clan nato nate tichenor Tl chenor Is the ole mole survivor on the hensley side he ROCS goes to help lorry an ln her car and finds her father hag ha died of heart disease silas babson banker schemes to control the irrig irrigation a and hydroelectric hydro electric possibilities of eden valley nate and owen dorrys i brother met in france just juat before i owen was killed and nate promised that it he h survived owen he be would look litter after lorry as a brother might do boj doj with money advanced by nate lorry I orry clears cleam up her indebtedness edn ess to babson nate finds he la Is falling in love lov with lorry babson discovers nate Is behind a rival power project prole ct nate fate tells lorry he love loves s her hor borshe she admits she aha loves him and they beco become me engaged babson orders joe brainerd editor of the local paper to all attack ack mate 02 a an enemy of the people this brainerd refuses to do nate comes to Brain brainards erds rescue financially the editor celebrates by punching babions Bab sons head CHAPTER IX continued 12 1 H I 4 now if tills Is done the value of y our ranches will be very much depre ety ft dated because we will be denied the i natural irrigation of a great many thousand acres of rich meadow lands each spring the constitution of the united states guarantees its citizens against seizure and appropriation of their property without due process of r law and adequate compensation hence any state law that contravenes that right Is unconstitutional A when cowhen the federal gover government Dment Is 5 sued patents to homesteaders in eden 1 valley it did not except the water right from the land right to in y ing to ap appropriate our riparian rights or any portion of them theca tor for the benefit I ofa efa distant and andion non rapail an owner the state of california Is assuming a right it does not le legally grilly possess 1 now im not going to start a bit 1 ter lawsuit with the forlorn valley I 1 irrigation district district I 1 shall merely ena i ter a formal protest and when I 1 use the first person singular I 1 mean miss bliss kershaw and the bar 11 II land and cat tle tie company then I 1 shall sit quietly by and watch those idiots bond their lands market the bonds and spend the money to get a diversion dam and dig miles and miles of main canals and laterals literals late rals then lust just as they are about to open their floodgates flood gates I 1 shall upon affidavit that the districts action is about to work great hardship and damage upon me be granted a temporary injunction by the superior court restraining the district from using the water and ordering it to show cause within ten days why such auch temporary injunction should no not t be made permanent nL the case will then be tried on its merits and I 1 shall probably lose in the superior coart court because the judge will refrain from questioning the constitutionality of 0 the state law I 1 shall appeal and I 1 shall win and when I 1 have won the only 1 legal salvation for forlorn valley will be to buy eden valley from us either at private treaty or via the condemns tion sult suit route it it wants our water it must buy our lands and a jury will set the prim price he hath taken down the mighty from their seat seal and hath bath exalted them i of low degree gagan quoted humor bously you appear to be something of a financier just contemplate forlorn valley the money declied from the sale of the bonds all spent on a diversion dam main canal flood floodgates gates lat brals engineering fees salaries and so orth forth suddenly discovering that after all it cannot get the water that its all dressed up with no place to go while they dwell in blissful I 1 ignorance ti of the cataclysm they curse and hate and deride miss bliss kershaw and me for or protecting our vested rights when the blow falls there will he be stark drama and tragedy in that not comedy mr tichenor 1 I dare say well now that I 1 have had my own ideas on the leg legality allty of ray my position confirmed by such em anent water counsel as yourself it 7 would seem that all I 1 can do Is sit calmly by and watch forlorn valley ruin itself cut but surely mr tichenor chenor Tl gagan 1 protested you will take some meas ures to warn these people before they embark on such a ruinous enterprise testa tiding the file fact that it i would bo be very bud bad business tor for me to do that I 1 do lu it it will be a case of loves inbur lost however the people will not believe me they are following a false lendir lender and blindly loyal to him well heres your check i tor for legal services to date something tells me I 1 shall be retaining your services nt at a later date returning home borne nate tichenor chenor Tl was r met at the railroad depot in gold run by his bis chauffeur with the car passing ng through valley center en route to eden valley he saw some men skid ding a linotype into a vacant store in the babson block above the door a new sign informed the world that presently the forlorn valley citizen would here go to presa certainly babson was losing no time moving into action nor was joe brainerd its as nate discovered when he paused at the office of 0 the register hoping to glean news of interest that might have hare occurred during his fits four days absence ile he found brainerd writing an editorial cordially welcoming his competitor into the field going to press tomorrow with a two page issue nate he announced practically all of my local advertising has been withdrawn why not run the canceled ads just the same joe if I 1 were you I 1 would decline to let babson see how badly he has hurt me he may think his bis slaves have not obeyed orders and start a fight with them in consequence if anybody cancels his subscription continue sending him the paper as usual ill take care of your deficit elt when im lighting fighting a bitter fight its against my religion to cry out or admit im hurt brainerd grinned for this was the sort ort 11 of fight fig lit lie he loved to wage wa ge it if he could afford it it im running another front page editorial on the water question nate forlorn valley has to have the water and if it cannot get it from the mountain valley power company it must tap the creek up in the dle die im living up to our a gre ement boy and making the flight for my subscribers bers be a traitor not to what lid did your lawyer say nate related in detail his conversation with gagan perhaps brainerd suggested id do well to write a new editorial pointing out to the people the possibility of failure of the plan upon which led by babson they are about to embark what do the poor devils know about it only what babson tells them thea a splendid idea joe the people will then have hare an opportunity to read your editorial and digest it arf 9 rube tenney used the th ramrod before attending the mass meeting consequently they will be more fitio favor j ably inclined toward the proposition I 1 shall have to make them at that meet ing and when the editorial has been written and set up pull it a proof and send it over to babson it may give him food for reflection within two hours brainerd sent his fils devil over to the bank with the proof and a note from brainerd to the he effect that he was running the editorial in his next issue and inviting comment after reading the editorial babson passed it to henry for the batters lat reaction ue he asks for my comment henry well welk ill oblige hlin him and babson wrote in red crayon across the proof when forlorn valley has its ita own reservoir filled you and Tl chenor have my permission to lump jump into it and drown yourselves and greatly oblige yours etc S babson shoot em cn in the toot foot mr urged wittily when the banks messenger took the tb proof and babions Bab sons message back to joe brainerd that astute individual sighed and after the fashion of newspaper men who always save the written expressions of opinion of their enemies locked it up in ills his safe I 1 CHAPTER X darby nute nate Tich enors chauffeur was enjoying to the fullest his masters visit to anden valley distinctly a new york product darby had heard beard there was waa considerable space west of the hudson river but bill lie he luid had riot nol been prepared to admit that abe country was as wide open as lie had found it darby bad enjoyed the branding but most of all he had enjoyed the idleness of his job ob miss bliss kershaw had been very kind to darby too in that she had sent him down an old safe saddle horse to ride also she had sent a horse down for the gloomy but efficient effi clent joseph but unfortunately she sent it a stock saddle with him and us its joseph had never ridden anything but an english 0 saddle his conservatism forbade that he should try anything new lie ile compromised therefore by taking long iong walks after the file fashion of his kind shooting blue jays and hawk anti and fishing lite like darby he rejoiced because his bis master required but little service from him film before leaving for san francisco however the master had given the task of posting no shooting fishing or trespassing Tres passing notices arz from the gate at the entrance to eden valley to the farthest limit of the kershaw ranch this task pleased both servants particularly ticul arly joseph who possessed a truly britannic passion for privacy and the protect protection lon of private shooting and fishing preserves from allen alien Inva invasion sign the notices once up therefore joseph saw hla his duty plainly before him with much misgiving therefore lie fie climbed into the stock saddle on the horse lorry kershaw had sent him slung a 22 calibre rille rifle in a scabbard and set forth to apprehend poachers a poacher being considered by joseph as absolutely sol the lowest form of human life for two days he ambled through the pleasant valley enjoying the solitude the day tichenor chenor Tl came home from sau san francisco darby seized upon his absence to go fishing while joseph saddled his horse and set forth again on ills his delightful journeying ills his heart still beating hl high b with the hope of finding find ing a poacher and late in the afternoon as the shadows were gro growing VV long in eden valley and joseph was reminded thit that he must r return home soon and prepare dinner for his master who had informed him he would dine at home borne that night he be discovered a poacher pacher lie ile had ridden into a thick grove of yellow pines when happening to glance up the side of the ridge that separated eden valley from forlorn valley i he saw a man descending through the and laurel through his masters binoculars the excellent joseph made appraisal an and d discovered the man carried a rifle the man could really have found more open going yet he be preferred to stick to the tall brush nor did he advance confidently as an honest man should arriving at last at aluie the foot of the ridge the fe fellow foa found d himself a hiding place in a clump of laurel about 30 feet above the road and joseph both saw and heard him break oh off some branches as if to clear hla his view at f the road then he sat down something devilish queer about this fellow what joseph decided ue he got oft his bis horse cautiously and slipped from tree to tree until tie lie was within 40 yards of the man when he sat down behind a clump of manzanita to await developments through his bis binoculars he could now make out the maos mans form he saw that the fellows rifle rested in a crotch in a laurel bush lies iles walten waiting tor for somebody joseph concluded by jove a batty bally assassin what the blighter will bear close watching tor for a bit I 1 fancy suddenly up the valley joseph baug caught ht a faint rumbling ue UC knew that would be his masters aut automobile amobile crossing a loosely planked blanked little bridge across one of the small lateral streams that flowed bowed down the hillside to eden valley creek instantly there was a slight movement in the laurel busha little later nate TIch enors car hove into jew joseph saw the hiding mans hand band come up and grasp the rifle saw his bis head bead come down to cud ud dle die the stock so joseph horribly excited but with his duty clear before him sighted on the mans head and pulled away lie ile was rewarded by hearing a grunt brunt then the bushes bushea parted the man leaped down into the road and scuttled across it for the file haven baen of the clump of sugar pines in which joseph was as hidden As he passed the bush behind which joseph knelt concealed the valet leaped up followed and banged the fellow heartily over the head with his rifle barrel then tie he helped himself to the strangers rifle and stepped out into the road its quite all right sir mr tichenor chenor Tl he shouted joseph speaking sir the blighter was out to scupper you I 1 fancy but ive ered him do di come and have a look at the rascal sir nate drove up alighted and followed joseph into the pine grove where he rolled the unconscious man over and looked at him pitt river charley he announced iles hes a halfbreed half bait breed indian and years ago tie he used to be a professional killer I 1 thought the fool had retired but somebody must have made it worth his hl while to get back into harness are you quite certain he was gunning tor for me joseph absolutely sir ive been watching him for an hour sir ills gun was at his shoulder and he be was sighting on you sir when I 1 fired at his head sir youre a rotten shot sho at that range joseph youve put a 23 22 calibre bullet through his bleeps biceps however it sufficed to spoil his plan and stampeded him so he ran tor for these trees tie lie helped himself to the canteen on josephs saddle and dashed some water over pitt river charleys dusky face then he emptied the fellows pockets and found two hundred and fifty dollars in crisp new bills tichenor grinned at his servant it seems im worth five hundred dollars dead to somebody joseph its the custom to pay half down and tho the remainder upon pon completion of the job and whoever hired this fellow Is a tool fool because pitt river charley would have worked for a lot less money good G d sir cried the horrified joseph Jos epli well you got a killing on your honest british soul joseph and im obliged to you tor for saving my life joseph was horribly embarrassed when tichenor slapped hla his back several times and assured him he was a brick and a stout fellow and that he be tichenor or craved a glimpse of the man who could thereafter pry joseph loose from his bis service ill guard this fellow he continued while you take the car drive up to the kershaw ranch ati and ld without letting miss kershaw know anything about this affair find rube tenney her superintendent and tell him I 1 want to see him immediately hes to come back in the car with you and bring his sorter like the old days a agan in aint it son mr tenney declared as he gazed upon pitt river charley now recovered consciousness and sitting with his bis back against the bole of a tree his bis dark evil face absolutely expressionless onless ue ile turned to the valet you drive down the road a bit hombre and wait there fifteen minutes then come back with the car me an mr TIch enors coln |