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EIGHTH INSTALLMENT S^bpsis: Young Ed Maitland and the hardened gambler, Speed Malone, became partners'on the trip north-to-thoughtfully, and then ^with the Yukon gojd fielda in '*97, when word of ^ rich there first came 'down the Pacific cda^iL Maitland,'son of a New England seid^ting family was determined to win back his lost family fortune*. Frenchy, the fisher man who took him and Speed north; Lucky Rose, beautiful young woman who had given Maitland a ring for a keepsake; Fi^lon, trail .boss of the miners, who resented Rose’s atten tions to Maitland; Steiner, the money lender;^ young Pete and his drunken partner. Bill Owens; Brent, old-time prospector; and Garnet, a well-to<-do modem one who hired Maitland and Speed to haul his stuff from the beach ov^r the mountains to the Yukon— these were among the crowd that made up the gold seekers at Liars- ville, a camp in the hills. Speed was made trail boss in Fallon’s place, be cause Speed insisted on closing the trail till it could be repaired—it was almost iml^lssable. But the fickle crowd veered back to Fallon. Speed gleam o.f. humor, he asked a surprising question^ ' “Would it be nil right, po far af my men are concenibd, if fixed the bridge ?” “Py Jingo; Mister,” said the outlaw blankly, “if you mean .what that list ‘K-keep ine^ in s-s-sight,”' said their informant. “B-b-b-b—” Leaving the word suspended, he moved silently away The recovery of the horses was ne-' CMsary,- but Maitland wondered whether it Would be' worth what they might J:)e walking into. It-was the’ sociable hour after dusk when saloon | door swuhg inwards, and they ^follow ed their conductor’s weaving course ens like, you sure take my money. But through the tent lanes without being j we couldn't leave ye do it.J’ "Doesn’t matter,” I>rew replied. “Bridges are in my line.” He ‘dis mounted and gave an order to> his men, who unlimbered some axes and other tools and went down to the bridge. » * * * Speed made his "partner sit ‘down to rest in the shadow of a rock near the creek.*-^ Then he returned to Fallon who isto.od sombrely quiet under Brent’s guard, and told the old trails- man to lower his gun. “You owe me a thousand dollars, Fallon,” he sgjd soberly, when the de posed camp boss was uncovered. Fallon drew out a wallet and count- .i.d M.iO«d twk , .Und .bove the' j PM, to keep the miner, from hreek- .^-shooter,, Brent,” in* throiwh. Pete e^e to offer his Thi, wesdone. “The he p, but Speed ref need It end the „ g ,^i,u„ed. “end afur .aying hi,_^ partner 1>«1 reslfn all claim, to thi job of trail We're talkin' level. I don- off. but he took a po,it«m where hel.j^ jaWle with the ranker.- could fire on the miners when they tried to rush the pass, and so helped Speed. Later Brent, with an old deer gun, added'his help. Just when Speed seemed to be gaining the upper hand, Fallon called his men with, an exultant shout. A cavalcade was coming down tha trail (Now Go On With the Story). “You can call ’em' soldiers,” was Speed’s grim answer. “They’re the crack trailsmen of the cop kingdom and a hard-shootin’ outfit. The simple name they goes by is the Royal nadian No^hwest Mounted Po|ice.” This detachment was the first of the reinforcements sent into the Yukon under order from Major Walsh to po lice the gold rush. They were passing over American ground and their au thority did not begin until they crbss- ed toe Canadian line at the summit of the pass, but its extent was not a ..question in the minds of any of the ‘onlookers. Cheering and jubilant, JPallon’s out fit got ready to para^ through be hind them, never doubting that Speed’s hand had been called. “When I made that bet about the bridge,” muttered Speed, “I plnmb forgot to leave out the Northwest Mounted. Get goin’. Bud. §Ude down the gulch there into the <^eek and beat up it. Maybe you can overtidce Pete Anyways, get out of range.” “You’re madl^l Maitland cried^ re fusing to move. L“You can’t chal lenge their right of way!” “I’d rather be plugged by the rang ers than see that bunch of surething gamblers herd through behind ’em. It means checkin’ in to a man-sise outfit. Will you go?” For an instant Maitland thought^of trying to hold him by force, but some- t thing primal and abmlute in his decis- ion prevented. The police squadron was now within ytb^ of the.tum of the defile into the creek canyon. “I can’t wait to argue with ye, boy,” said the outlaw abruptly. “All I can say is, I’m wishin’ ye a better run of luck than you’ve had. The best won’t be too good.” He wrung' his partner’s hand An a tight grip. Then as remonstran<ie froze on Maitland’s- lips, he leaped over the rock corral and slid down into the trail, with both guns drawn, the red bandage gone from his head. The poli^ captain halted his troop within a few yards of this surprising challenger, while the crowd banked up curiously ii>ehind. “Gent*,” said Speed politely, “the trail’s barred.” A pair of level eyes covered him in a cool, impersonal ^tudy. “Barred till when?” There was the naerest hint of irony in the velvet easualness of the officer’s tone. “Until I’m drowned where I stand, or a pack of quitters standin’.back of ■*ye does some chores on it.” Inspector Drew owed his command after we cross the summit. ButWhere we stand there ain't a law bets^n you arid me and the sky. Weren’t even know that it’s Alaskap^ound. You’ve got a bad arm, so Wi discard my best gun, and we’ll^..*^tle the feud right here.” “We’ll settle it when I’ve got both ihands limber,” said Fallon, grrimly, as the train, now in movement again, wound slowly by. , Brent back-trailed toward Liars- ville with the partners. Maitland felt weak from reaction to the scenes of blood which the other two had accept ed so- lightly. He was troubled in an other way about Garnet’s hauling job. This anxiety was relieved, however, in an unimagined wky. "SVhen they reached the cacl^, they tound that Garnet was gone. A note attached to one of the packs advised them that he had left Alaska, deferriimr his trip to Dawson trill the following spring, when — he had learned — steamers would be punning up the Yukon. The note, dated two days before, assigned them his outfit and the horses, free of all claims. It was windy dusk when they em erged from the river canyon and look particularly observed. He crossed the stjeet at the other end, near the beach, stopping before a structure that had no sign. The stVanger entered the place and came out a minute later. “G-go in and be having a^-d-drink,” be said, as he paused for a moment beside them, speaking in as rapid an undertone as his tongue would allow. “The party you!rc-lookin’ for is liable to b-b-b—” And he drifted silently into the dark. Speed frowned after him; then step ped up to the pool of light under the .swing doors and pushed them brusque ly open. He nodded to Maitland and they went in. Speed bought drinks at the bar. “This don’t look like a horse thief’s hangout,” belaid, absently noting the card the^aler was tijrnihg. Gamb ling 3?w(s the only vulnerable point his had ever observed in his ar- or of vigilance. When some minutes passed without | a sign of the man with "the dicer, he pour^ another drink and lifted his change off the bar. “This is interest in’,” he said, “but it-*in*t catchin’ us ''If no horses.” / Wlfli the glass lifted halfway, how ever, a sound from outside checked his arm. Through the blended rumble of the camp and the beach surf, float ed some chords of a dMp-toned guitar. 'The swing doors opened, and Rose glided within-them. She stood fraihed for a moment between the door beams with a charming, light-dazzled effect. When she saw the men at the bar, she stopped with a look of que'stion and smiled slowly. Maitland caught his" Breath. Neither he nor Speed who regarded her with a brooding stare, had guessed how beautiful she was, or how her gypsy grace could be heightened by light and color. She was immaculate---which some belles of the mining camp were not. She drew up before the outlaw with a whimsical look. Her voice was a rich overtone to the dreaming strings. “I hea^d'')^ou were looking for hovii- A tent city had taken shap* in^ their brief absence—a mushroom town of illuminated mushrooms, glowing in the mist and lit by kerosene flares that sputtered garishly in the wind. Throngh misted darkness, the camp light* defined a twisted main street whose course had been determined by the accidental camp sites of the first comers. Avoiding this, the two partners de toured around, to the quieter section where they had left the .unmoved part of Garnet’s outfit. The spot was hard to locate in the maze of tents, and when they did find it, there was no sign either of the cache or the horses. “I’ll skin the thievin’ pol^at who done this,” Speed announced in a voice that carried over a wide area. Though the neighboring tents seem ed empty a man appeared noiselessly in answer to his challenge, from ortb of the canvas lanes. He wore a dark suit of eccentric but studied fashion, with the collar of the jacket upturned, soft-sloed shining shoes, and a black dicer hat. “D-did you 1—1-lose somethin’?” he inqui|pd. “A team of horses and a pacl^',” said^^ Speed. “Don’t nervous. I ain’t Specially suspectin’ you.” “Well,” said the other, “I seen a p-pair of horses like th—like thaf^es- terday. A guy was 1-leadin’ ’em.” “Know the man?” _ , “I know where h-h-he hangs out But I wouldn’t want to be seen st-st- st—to be seen steerin’ ye.” This helped allay the remaining doubts in Speed’s mind. “How care less would you get fqr fifty dollars?” he asked. WILL BE PUBLISHED THURSDAY, MAY 2ND es.’ “We was goin’ to pay yoor come- on,” 5^pbed said. “We’d just as leave ed 4*wn on an aatonishiM apparitina pag you jUikf i( nqt of. his hide.” of canvas above the Skagway beach. She smiled a little at ihe inflection his anger had tjetrayed him Jnto “Ijefty isn’t much of a corae-on doesn’t know what it’s all about ■into. n.\^ t. Dhbr r* .s Please take notice that Monday, April 15th, will be the last day for payment of state and comity taxes without an increase in pmialty to 7 per cent and cost. D. R. SIMPSON — Gounty Treasurer that I asked him to watch and let me know when you came into c^mp. The' horses and outfit were, rescued from a thief who was trying to sell them for his passage out. I held them so you^%ouldn’t shoot up the camp and get shot, looking fqr themt And be cause I wanted to be sure of meeting you in a qui^ place. That makes ev erything clear, doesn’t it?” “It would be simpler for you, may be, if Fallon was as dead as Owens?” She ^id not answer the reference to Owens. “I’d a lot rather it was Fallon than either of you,” she said. “We have that much in common.” Speed .shook his head at her grave ly: “I begin to feel sorry for this man, Fallon. And him figurin’ all the time you’re his friend.” “Ho doesn’t,” she returned, in a voice that was both sombre and tense. “He’s no fool. He jiist doesn’t believe I’d play against him. The why of that doesn’t matter. But I’ve no rea son to be his friend. Less than ever A deeper shadow crossed now her face, and she added, with a vi brant fall in her tone. “It would have been simpler, as you say, if ** you’d killed him.” The restivity of the outlaw slipped its rein: “Whatever Fallon may be, we don’t need, a woman’s help to fight him. Do we go hunt those horses, or will you say where they are and what weiowe you for your trouble? Come on. Bud.” ~ ^ “They’re, out in back,” Rose inter vened, “through that door. You might live to think better d7~me if you listen what I tell you now. When you leave camp, go through the tent lanes the way you came. Don’t follow the street, and specially keep clearv of Hie Pack Train saloon. You’re on the watch for Fallon, but sometimes the danger you’re not looking for "is the worst.. .. My guesses have a way of coming true.” Speed moved toward the door at the rear of the tent. He pulled it op en, revealing a clear space of gravel between it and the next enclosure. The light fell on the pintos, held by the man with the black dicer. “Get out pf my range,” Speed growled, “before I push you ever.” And waiting till the man had vanish ed, he pulled the team into motion. Continued next week. STOCKHOLDERS NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the an nual meeting of the stockholders of the Joanna Mercantile Company, Gold- ville, S. C.^ will be held at,the office bf th<9 company on Tuesday, May 7th, 1936, at 11 a. m., for the transaction of such boiiness as may come before the meeting for jconsidwation. 25-4tc 6. G. DI^iARO,_President. - '\ ~ -r s .., This edition will be the production of the high school student body and ,wiU contain much valuable information pertaining: to the school and its varied activities. It will be the first paper of its kind ever published in Clinton. Advertising Space Being Reserved Now I Because of the community-wide interest the edition will arouse, ad vertising space will be of tremendous value to all merchants and firms who are included in it. YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD BE REPRESENTED IN THIS EDITION The “The Paper Ev^lx^y Reads” ‘ TERRAPLANE Proves amazing economy— in nation-wide test fFAaf 22.9 miles to the gallon of gai—in a hill-sized, 88- horsepower sedan 1 That^ the average mileage, ahown''by aoores of reports from leading cities, of stock Terraplsnes in nation-wide economy tests held just last month. And some of these cars went over 25 miles per gallon! In every^v driving of course, you cion’t expect the kind* of fieB mileage you can get under test conditions—outeven in city traffic Terraplane is also the outstanding economy car^ Thousands of twom statements from actual owners prove it. 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