The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, September 29, 1927, Image 8
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PAGE EIGHT
THE CLINTON CHRONICLE. CLINTON, S. C.
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1927
EDAR.
WAMP
Michael J.\ Phillips
Illustration* b_y Henry J»y L««
Copyright ^^lcK»el V. PKillipa
Released thru Fublraher* Autocaster Service
aftei* them before turning back
the house.
wanted them to think I was a
simp and an easy mark till something
A man in the bow of the tug raised his
hand and shouted. She had come in
shore as far as it was safe and, with
the reversal of her engines, the for-
fell-on them,” he mused. “But I guess ward motion ceased. The crew gath
ered at the rail, removing the final
SUMMARY:
Edison Forbes, a young resident of
Seottdale with an inherent craving for
liquor is held for the death of a wo
man who has been killed by a boot
legging truck. Circumstantial evidence
points to Forbes and rather than tell
the truth of the episode, he stands
trial, which results in a long prjson
sentence. He is soon pardoned, how
ever, but back in Scot^gie, he and
Patsy Jane, his trusting wife, agree
that public sentiment against him is
too strong, so they migrate up north
to some land that has been in the fam
ily for years.
he’d win or lose without that.
He bought food and headed south.
It was his intention to drive all night
and as much of the next day as might
be necessary to reach Seottdale. For
the time was getting perilously short.
The first of September was but just
around the corner.
It had begun to rain at noon of the
31st day of August. Autumn comes
early in northern Michigan, and there
was the chill of leafless, desolate land
scapes over which the wind may prow!
untrammeled, in the saturated air.
The top of Eddie’s car was in bad con
dition. The spears of rain found the
began indolently to roll a cigarette.
Eddie’s self control was suddenly
broken. He snatched a shotgun from
its pegs over the door. The barrels
were loaded only with birdshot,~it is
true. But birdshot will serve admir
ably at three feet.
“You hogs!’’ he growled. “You la
zy, filthy crooks! Get out of here—
quick!’’
1 the shock of finding out wasn’t less
unkind tonight than it would have
been later. Now for a bite to eat.
And then it’s a case of back to town
again.”
CHAPTER XXII
At the Office
Eight trucks, bull-nosed and im
mensely powerful, stood humped un
der their tarpaulins like strange pre
historic animals. Their guards and
drivers walked restlessly up and down
or huddled under protecting canvas
aprons. Three skiffs floated by the
dock in the bootleggers’ cove. There
was an attitude of expectancy and
impatient waiting over the score of
men making up the expedition.
It was well past noon of the first
with the troopers. But they knew
nothing of gas, and they feared it with
a panicky fear. Every hand clutched
at the sky, including the pluipp, ta
pering figures of a rotund person with
silky brown bearfi who stood in the
As the skiffs came alon&s!,*foreground. —
Every hand? Not quite. A man on
lashings
side and were made fast, they handed
down the cases.
The small boats came back cau
tiously to the dock, laden to the wa
ter’s edge. The waiting group formed
a chain. The cases were passed from
hand to hand until they were fciled up
the wharf, protected in part by the
trucks above, raised his automatic
with a desperate gesture and fired at
the leader of the troopers. He missed.
But the sergeant who answered it did
not. The man on the dock clasped his
on the nearest truck. In a few mo- arms about his stomach and fell into
men.ts the skiffs were empty, and j the shallow water.
were rowed to the tug again.
Two motor boats shot out from a
notch in the shoreline, just above the
cove. High banks on either side of
the shelter and thick over-hanging
vegetation had effectually concealed
them before. The boats were long,
high in the bow and equipped with
roaring engines that sent them fly
ing through the water at racing speed,
of September. Yesterday’s rain per-'Each was manned by a half dozen
sistfed, although the large drops had ' ycung men, in the forest-green uni
now dissolved into many smaller ones, j form of the Michigan state police!
and a thick white mist threw a blank- Every man was armed, and a machine
While here they form th* acquain- weak places unerringly. Little
tance of Isaiah SeaLman. a shifty streams played upon him and soaked
neighbor who is anxious to buy their through his clothing. His hands were
land. Eddie learns that the back taxes stiff with cold. An endless succession
amount to over eight hundred dollars of chuckho^es developed, through
but as he has five months to pay he
decides to refuse Sealman’s offer of
$1200 and try and get final title to his
property—Sealman’s offer having led
him to think it very valuable. But
things do not go very well. Eddie
drinks heavily from some bootlegger’s
potions, is forgiven by Patsy, but soon
which the car jolted uncomfortably.
Perhaps he would not have been so
et over them. It was impossible to
see farther than a short distance. Bad
Men who live by violence are use-j weather> fog and a high sea had de _
fully educated. They know when an i ayed t he Canadian rum-runner. She
adversary is bluffing and when he is t ' was hours overdue .
dangerous. They have the courage of I . ^ , iL . . ^ ,
their career,, and they will take ruth-!. the ">«" stamped the.r feet and
less steps against the bluffer. But talked msens.bly the atmosphere be-
the, bow to the dangerous man. So ' ame . T. he ''“'* ■>? 't-
the trio rose. Here was danger per- tle - beKan “ d ‘ sso ve - A c » ld w,nd
sonified. A false move would mean cam . e “P and , sw f ‘ awa >' th / rem '
the discharge of the shotgun, and two " a " U - Th ' clouds tu ™ d ... . ^ .
dead men. They had no desire to spec- J?"’' dark t0 a , '* ht * r ? hade - fl >™K " aft . wlUl horrl,,< “ d ama “-
uls.e », to Who mieht he sn.r.H They became fleeo >'! Patches of blue ment. The Jig was up-up most em-
sky appeared. The rain stopped. | phatically. It was every man for him-
“There she is!’’ several voices cried self - Th e trucks furnished them with
gun thrust an ominous snout forward
from the bow.
All hands went up on the tug and
the skiffs. There was no hope. TlJe
tugs were too slow to run away and
her crew could not hope to stand off
this superior armament. The com
pleteness of the surprise made the
thought of organizing resistance out
of the question.
The crowd on shore looked on the
u^te as to who might be spared.
Keeping them covered, Eddie step-
resportsive to the miserable weather 1 ped back until he secured the belts,
had his mission been successful. He He removed the pistols with one hand |
had trampled on his pride and appeal- and threw the belts^to the floor. Back- ( awa y» heading straight inshore, was
ed to every likely person for the loan 1 ing again, he putled open thg_ front a st l ua L brpad-beamed fishing tug.
which he needed. All had refused ■ door. They saw his intention. (She was low in the water; there was a
at once. Only a few hundred yards
him.
after falls in with the same gang, gets j Some would hav
re been willing to | ley, his voice between a w’hine and a
drunk, and wakes up in a freight car advance the money. But they feared snarl, “don’t throw them gats away.”
in Chicago—many miles away. Strick- the bleak disfavor of their neighbors,
en with remorse he returns to his cab- The barrens had been a sounding-
in but finds hte wife has left and in
a means of escape and they turned
frantically to the waiting vehicles.
They faced a skirmish line of for-
s uiLciinun. i - | est green. More troopers had arisen
Aw, say, kid,” remonstrated Cul-; bone in ber teetb an(1 s P ra y dashed J from among the sand dunes. These
over her square bows. were armed with rifles and automat-
A plume of steam arose from the 1 * cs - And each held a dark metal ob-
craft, and a single inquiring note of i j ec ^» about the size and shape of a
His answer was to hurl the pistols, | VI OH., aim a single Iiiifuinug Iiuie Uki* ' — — ——r- ”- — , ohnvpn nnH th f ‘Vi
one by one, out into the darkness, andiher siren rolled over the water. One g 00se ' e £g» ' n bis right hand. The line v, k 18
“Steady!” commanded the leader.
“He’s done. Don’t throw, men.”
Eddie Forbes ran from among the
troopers, throwing aside his gas mask
as he came. “I’ll get him <Jut!” he
cried. For the runner who had fallen
was to valuable to be drowned. It
was Scoots, Libbey, whose mishandling
of a liquor, truck months before had
started all his trouble.
* * * *
It was within a few minutes of five
o’clock, closing time in the county of
fices, when Eddie mounted the steps
of the new brick building wearliy. A
sense of responsibility had kept him
with the state police until the prison
ers could be lodged in the county jail.
For it had been his telephone call of
the night before which had precipi
tated the most successful liquor raid
in the state’s history.
Fortunately, a troop of the state
police, working on shore with motor
cars and horses, and on the water with
their fast cruisers, had been beating
the north for rum-runners, and were
stationed only a few miles away. Or
ders from Lansing had started them
during the night to the rendezvous he
had selected. The rain had helped
them to establish themselves undetec
ted in position to spring their coup.
Now there was a let-down, a des
pairing sense of loss and failure. He
was conscious that he had eaten only
sketchily for two days, that he was
her place a ruffian, who orders him
out. A fight ensues in which Eddie
finally knocks his opponent stone cold.
After ejecting the intruder and sus
pecting that he seems to J>e in league
with Sealman, Eddie goes to Long
Portage and sees Patsy, who is work
ing for Kinnane, a lawyer. She an
nounces that she will not join him un
till he definitely quits drinking. This
he determines to do. He secures work
on a nearby ranch, run by Davenant,
and after many temptations at last
heats his enemy, John Barleycorn. All
this time he is slowly earning money
but realizes that when the tax is due
he can’t possibly have enough. Seal-
man renews his offer and is again re
fused.
One -dav Nance Encell, his former
board, apparently, and outstanding in- Culley spoke again: “What’s the big I of the men raised a long bamboo pole j w * s a fearsome one. Over each head
cidents of his life there echoed in the idea, anyway? You claim to be a ! in which was a square of white cloth, 1 wa s drawn a dull cloth bag that fit-
town’s ears. All favorable angles had
been eliminated. Seottdale heard only
the most discouraging.
friend—’ _
The bulky guard happened to be
nearest. Eddie thrust the gun against
They knew of his drinking-bouts, his flabby stomach so that the twin
But they didn’t know that he had con- muzzle dented deeply the soft tissue.
and waved it vigorously. It was the tightly around the neck knd ended
“all clear” signal. | in front in a sort of elephant’s trunk.
For .everything was all clear, of,^ wo f 1 ? 31 glass disks were
course. The runners would'be unmo-! turned forwar d bke merciless eyes,
lested up here in this jumping-off* Only one man was not so equipped,
quered liquor. They had heard of his j “Shut up and get out!” he commanded, place in the barrens. The tug drove 1 but his mask rested in his head, ready
sweetheart calls, finds him alone, of-} very hungry. But he felt he could not
fers to pay tile deficit but is rebuffed.
Then Nance kisses him—and is seen
by Patsy who had called to attempt a
enforced trip to Chicago. They rolled | .Culley obeyed, carrying his coat and
under their tongues the delicious mor-jbelt with him. Eddie shepherded them
sel that Patsy had left him. and as- J along the path. He kept his flash-
sured that the separation was final, light spraying on the trio to prevent
His fight to oust the motor-tramp and a surprise attack. The booze-truck,
his thrashing of the other trespasser j headed north, stood by the side of the
were described as drunken quarrel-1 road. They clambered into the seat,
someness. Even his dismissal by * after Oscar had kindled the lights,
Davenant had been distorted into j and thundered away. They hurled
something misterious and criminal. ' back curses and threats from a safe
It was dark when he approached; distance. Eddtr'smiled into the dark
ling Portage. He was shivering vio
lently from cold and rain. He was
on. The canvas which swarthed her ^ or adjustment. He stepped forward
sides to a height of ten feet was be-
wrinkled clothing had been wet by fhe
rain, had dried upon him, and had
been wet again to dry again. He won-
dered rather Stupidly why he" was go-,
ing to the courthouse at all, he had no
money to pay the taxes.
Peter Whimple had company, Ed
die found. There was the youth he
had beaten up for trespass. He was
ing stripped off. It could be seen that
the deck was piled high with pine
boxes of handy size. They were cases
of Canadian liquor, hundreds of them, ] He drew back his arms slgihtly.
reailing at current quotations at one '*’ s a painful way to die.
toward the huddled, doubtful booze- «tting on a straight-backed pine chair
runners. “Gas-bombs, boys,” he an-!f nd Nance Encell was beside him. A
nounced quietly, holding up his own | been young man in city clothes was
goose-egg. “No false moves,
or—
“And
hundred and twenty-five dollars per
case. The cargo was worth a fortune.
The skiffs put out from the dock,
rowed briskly by two men in each.
The truck crews were made up
mainly of men who had dodged service
in the great war. They had abundant
courage, and would have shot it out
tilted against the wainscoting of the
side wall.
(Continued next week.)
ATTENTION, BOYS!
American Boy $2.00 a year, 2 years
for $3.50.
JAS. W. CALDWELL •
bear the looks which -would be turned
on him in either of the town’s restau
rants. His telegraphic appeal to the
reconciliation with her husband. Pat (governor for funds and the reply were
leaves without listening to his expla- public property by now. There were
nation. Broken-hearted, Eddie tries [ too many lounging in and out of the
harder than ever to earn the money railroad office who could see the mes-
and one morning early while berry
picking, notices fresh tire marks on
his property.
Eddie discovers that two men, one
of them the youth who deserted him
sage on the open file, even were the
agent silent and discreet—which he
was not.
Long Portage knew his attempts to
get money there had failed. It would
-y
the night of the truck accident are read j n his face that his journey to
carting away the soil from a mound, {the south had been a failure, also. So
He stops them, whips the young cow
ard and gets the address on a bag
they have used. At Long Portage he
learns there is only three hundred and
fifty dollars instead of eight hundred
for his first year’s taxes, which would
enable him to pay, but at the bank he
also discovers that a check he gave
he squashed through the mud of the !
uneven main street and left the yellow j
lights in the store building behind.
Somehow, it seemed friendly out in j
the barrens, though the night was,
black. The rain whsipered compan- j
ionably among the ^ackpines. The j
twisting track was firm and free from |
Sealman for five dollars for a pigHms standing water. He saw no person but
been raised to five hundred, complete- a pair of fiery eyes stared upon him
ly wiping him out. Then he tries to from a bend in the road, and as the
see Patsy, but learns that she is not
at home.
CHAPTER XXI
and brought the car to a stop some
distance away. The though of the 1
motor-tramp came to his mind and he
car rushed past, he could see the wild
and shaggy head of a bear, who was
standing on hind legs in a patch of
i blackberries.
I When the last ridge had been sur-
l nwelcome \ isilors | mounted he gave a start of surprise.
Eddie puzzled resentfully as he went A light was shining from the windows
home. As all of Seottdale had. Patsy 0 f his cabin. He shut off the power
was condemning him without a hear
ing, on circumstantial evidence. Well,
it couldn’t be helped. However, the
impudent trespassing on their proper-(went forward cautiously to reconnoi-
ty and the purchase of the tax title ter. He crept stoopingly, keeping out
rather absolved him from obligation of range of the windows until he could
toward the man who had been with peer into one of them from the cor-
him the night of the accident. He’d ner. Two small panes had been brok-
seen; perhaps he might tell Patsy af- en out so that the unbidden guests
ter all. might unloose the sashbolts. After a
He filled. in the suspenseful week single glance he went to the back
in wire about the land. He hurried to door and thrust it open,
the cutting fence-posts and restring- \ The three occupants of the cabin,
ing the mail-box each fdrenoon after Jake, Culley, and Oscar, looked up in
the rural carrier had rattled along the surprise. They were quite at their
trail in his little car. But the gover-1 ease, as much so as in their own
nor did not write. 1 | homes, or a stable. They had eaten a
The eighth day he could stand it no i bountiful meal from his provisions,
longer. When the carrier had failed as the disordered table showed. A
to stop at the box, Eddie drove into, plate had been broken, and the pieces
town and wired Governor Albright.
He spent the afternoon in wandering
about town, returning at half-hourly
intervals to inquire for a message. Fi
nally, at five o’clock, it came:
“Sorry, but governor is in Europe
until Christmas. Duff, secretary.”
He summoned a smile to his face
and drove to the garage. “They say
a man may be down, but he’s never
out,” he thought. “Well, here’s where
I test the theory.” To the garage at
tendant he said briefly: “Fill her up.”
Hehad resolved to attempt borrow
ing the money at Seottdale. He could
have appealed to Nance Encell, but
that was impossible. Patsy Jane
would have to know where the money
came from. She/ would never accept
her home at Ntfhce’s hands. Further
more; to borrow from Nance would
confirm every mean suspicion. No;
carelessly kicked aside. Now Culley
was chewing tobacco, as the brown
splotches after he had spat on the
floor showed. The others were smok
ing. There was a Blazing fire in the
fireplace. And a tall black bottle part
ly full, stood in the center of the
table.
They had removed their outer cloth
ing. Caps and mackinaws were thrown
on one of the bunks. Across them lay
three belts to which were attached
holsters, each containing a large cal
ibre automatic.
“Hello, kid!” greeted Culley, jov
ially. “Didn’t find you home, so we
come in.”
“So I see,” returned Eddie.
“This rain’ll hold up the ship may
be till noon tomorrow,’^ volunteered 1 •.
Oscar, “so we thought we’d eat under j
cover. Good grub you got here.” H6T
9
An Open Letter to the Editor
From the President of General Motors
T .AST SPRING I wrote you that my belief
in the country newspaper had led us in General
Motors to decide to advertise our products
together in the small-city press of the country.
The returns from the series cf the messages
recently published have justified that faith;
and we shall continue to advertise in your
community through your 1 newspaper this fall.
It occurs to me, however, that some of your
readers may be asking: “What is General
Motors?” and “Why is General Motors?”
These are fair questions and I should like to
answer them as frankly as I can.
General Motors was organized some years
ago on the theory that a group of large com
panies, working together, could render a better
service than they could separately. In this we
simply applied to industry a principle that is
as old as civilization as regards the human
family and human progress.
Original members of the GeneraT Motors
family were Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oak
land and Oldsmobile, together with the Delco-
Light Company and other well-known com
panies manufacturing automotive equipment.
By joining together their resources, we were
able to establish great Research Laboratories,
a 1245-acre Proving Ground and the GMAC
Plan of credit purchase; to effect vast econ
omies in purchase and manufacture and
distribution; to assure and maintain the quality
of every product in the General Motors family.
Has the General Motors family principle
proved itself in practice?
The best answer, I think, is to compare the
Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile and
Oakland of today with the models of five or
ten years ago.
Then add Pontiac, a General Motors crea
tion. Add LaSalle, another General Motors
creation. And then consider how General
Motors has developed these cars into a com
plete line, within which any family may find
a suitable quality car at the price it plans to
pay: “A Car for Every Purse and Purpose.”
Another example is Frigidaire, the electric
refrigerator. General Motors had the resources
to spend millions to develop a satisfactory
refrigerator, and then to apply to its manu
facture the same processes which have in
creased the utility and lowered the cost of the
automobile, . -
We believe that this record justifies General
Motors as an economic institution. Its prod
ucts are quality*products, first of all. Their
prices represent the economies of united effort
passed on to the purchaser. In the last year one
in each three automobiles chosen by the public
has been a General Motors car. The service of
Delco-Light electric plants has extended to
more than a quarter million homes, while
Frigidaire has become the world’s largest sell
ing convenience of its kind.
> We believe also that/the values now offered
in the current General Motors products
(which are listed below) prove anew that
“many minds are better than one’* and that a
family of companies, working together, can
produce results which are decidedly in the
public interest and of increasing benefit to the
individual family.
Very truly yours,
Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., President
General Motors Corporation
Detroit, September 23, 1927
GENERAL MOTORS
CHEVROLET
PONTIAC* OLDSMOBILE OAKLAND BUICK* LASALLE* CADILLAC
' > • -
FRIG ID AI RE—The Electric Refrigerator
GMAC Plan ~ f Time Payments
DELCO-LIGHT—Elec trie Plant,
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