Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The Man From Yonder Copyright 1928-19S4, Harold Tltui. By HAROLD TITUS vrtru Servic*. ? CHAPTER IX ? Continued ? 1 3 ? He signed his name and snt back, brows drawn and after a time nodded vindictively. ? ?????? Out at the Hoot Owl Ben Elliott went through a week of unbroken dis may. It was a situation such as he had never dreamed of facing. Dawn had heard and Been and . . . believed i She had tied the hall, con vincing him of her belief In Lydla's accusation. Days had passed and he had heard nothing from her. He was Impelled to go to her but, under such circumstances, a young man does not do that. There are sotr?? affairs so embarrassing that words tall flnt. His men knew the story, of course; all the country knew It. But none mentioned It to him, none willingly be trayed to him their knowledge of his humiliation. He waited and suffered and tried to rally his self-possession. He was walking, wondering grimly what Dawn was thinking then, what she was doing ; he was hearing once again the biting voice of Lydla ; hear ing, In memory, the hush fall over that dance hall. He was wholly alone. Far behind him loggers worked In the timber; down yonder the mill sent up Its plume of amoke and he could hear the distant puffing of the exhaust In the stillness. No wind blew; nothing stirred . . that he could see. He could not ob serve that slight, cautious movement to his left, that figure which watched dm some and edged out through young hemlocks to a point from which his view was unobscured but where he still had good cover. The man up there stood still. Slow ly he shook off his mittens and with a bare thumb released the safety on the rifle he carried, settled slowly to one knee, placing it on the tall of the other snow8hoe. His breath was not Just steady as he snuggled his cheek against the rifle butt. No man's would be, shooting from ambush that way. Nor were his hands Just steady. He sighted carefully, trying to still the tremor of his arms. He let hi3 breath slip out slowly, he squeezed. The crack of the rifle echoed and re echoed across the chopping. Ben El liott lay st ill, as lie had pitched on his face. One of his hands was out stretched, the other pinned beneath him. His face, one cheek In the snow, was turned toward the man who had fired but It was far away. For many minutes the mnn In the timber remained kneeling. Elliott did not stir. Then, cautiously, the killer groped for the ejected shell, slipped It Into his pocket, raised to his feet and, hacking cautiously, struck Into the deep timber. CHAPTER X The rifle bullet had passed so close above Ben's head that he had felt Its breath even before he was aware of Us whine. A bullet . . . here . . . for him! A hunter? But what would a hunter be shooting at here? That bullet was designed for him and had missed by Inches. And he was pitching forward, simulating a fall, letting himself go limp. It was ttie only protection he could conjure. He saw nothing, no movement, even ; heard nothing. He was a-tlngle, scalp creeping with an odd sensation as he waited for another bullet from these heights to the eastward. But no other come. Ben lay there until deep dusk had fallen. Then he rose to his hands and knees, watching, listening. After a moment ho stood still. Then, resolutely, he loft the road, wallowed through the deep snow, crossed the railroad track aiid rolled lip the heights. He went on, through the snow to the first fringe of trees. Then he spoke, In a light hall: "HI I" ? and Immediately dropped behind ? stump. After a moment he rose, went for ward again and entered the shadows boldly. No one was there, for certain, but before he had gone mor? than a few spaces he came on that which he ?ought: a snowshoe track, visible In the gloom because of the softness of the snow. Whoever had gone that way bad sunk deeply. He followed this out of the thick timber to a little clearing. The trail wag not visible In the darkness so he fltruck a match and holding It cupped lu one hand, bent low. The flare showed the track of n long, narrow shoe plainly and as he moved the tiny torch along toward Its tip he ntopped all movement. The match burned out. He moved on to the next track and lighted another. lie ex amined several of the Imprints made by the shoo. Then he went as rapidly as possible back down tho slope to the road and started on to camp. After nupper Bon called Bird-Eye ftlnlne to one side. "I'd like to ba>e you harness the ?uppUr team and spend an evening In town," he said. 'JPhd little barn bos* cocked an In quisitive eye. ? "Just In. town, Mlstfier Elliott! Or , ?oirt<*|kftln\ipeclal r , "Something special. . . , But no one else Is to know. What I want to find out la this: Who Is wearing a pair of Canadian snowshoes with the web bing In the toe of one torn so It makes a hole about this shape." Quickly he sketched a rough ontllne on a leaf of his notebook. Bird-Eye scanned It and nodded. "Take It easy. Maybe you won't find out tonight. Hut make a start, any how. If you should have any luck, stop In at the siding on your way back. I'll ride that far with you." It was after midnight when Ben El liott roused from his sleepless bed to hear Bird-Eye speaking to his team outside. He crawled out of his blan kets and opened the ofllce door to let the other In, but before he asked any questions lighted a lamp. "Well, how about It 7"* ? as he re placed the chimney. Bird-eye looked at him narrowly. "I found th' shoes," lie said with an emphatic nod. " 'Nd 1 found out who's they be!" "Good I" The barn boss blinked. "I dunno 'bout that. It ain't so good, I'd say. They're the property." he said with profound emphasis, "av wan Red Bart Delaney, a celebrated killer from somewheres In Canady I" From the second small bedroom sep arated from the ofllce by a hoard par tition, a bed croaked sharply. Elliott did not hear It. "So that's It !" he said softly. " Y Is ! That's ut! Th' prlsence ar a rattlesnake lolke Red Bart In th' com munity don't forecast nawthlng but th' hottest kind av trouble 1 Ye've heard av him, ain't It?" "Yes, I have. He was mixed up in that sprucc war on the Zhlng-Wauk. A hired killer." "Killer Is rolghcl 'Nd what may he be a-dolng in these parts?" Elliott did not reply to that question. "What el.se did you (lnd out?" he asked. "Well, he brought his stlnkln' prls ence Into Tlncup Wednesday nolght on Its own two stlnkln' feet ! He's fa vorln' Joe Plette's hotel. Te' snow shoes was In th' ofllce 'nd It come up so's I didn't have to seem curious to folnd out whose they was. He's here lookln' fer cedar, he says. But It gives a body a lot av bother wonderln' what his rale reason molght be. Lyln' 's as natural as breathln' to th' lolkes." "1 can tell you," Ben said. "He's gun ning for me, Bird-Eye." "Saints! ... 1 thought ut, I did 1 Ah, ine b'y ? " "Yes, he started today. 1 was shot at with a rltle two miles up the road Just at sundown. The man who shot at me wore a snowshoe with the web broken. He wouldn't be lending his siiowshoes." Bird-Eye stood motionless and silent for a moment before he spoke. "Thin th' sooner we give him both barrels av somethln', th' safer ye'll be, can't help but think Bird-Eye's advice is good. Swear out a warrant for him the first thing. This Is a time for cau tion. It'll do you no good to take risks." "I'll not walk Into any traps, but If Brandon thinks he can make me hunt my hole ? " "Oh, Brandon !" The cry wns bitter and Martin threw his arms wide la a gesture of helplessness.. "You've got to watch him as you've never watched a man In your life. Why, son, you don't know, you don't dream, of the ends he'll go tot" "But 1 thought you didn't know him," Ben said, puzzled. "I thought you said you were a stranger to this country." "Xes. But stories travel. And isn't your experience today enough to con vince anyone of the man's ruthless ness?" | "Oh, sure," Ben agreed, but still won dering at Martin's mood. It was not Just easy to believe that a steady-go ing, mature man should be so moved by mere tales. "You're right He'll Btop at noth ing, not even murder. And I agree with you that he's got to be watched. But If I ran into my burrow or didn't try to get at the bottom of this thing, he'd gain part of what he's after, you see. No, that can't be done." lio rose und began to pace the floor. "And It's not only the Hoot Owl, now, that's at stake. He's mixed up In more Important matters than Just prop erty. He caught me foul where It hurt . . . hurt I" Martin, following him with his eyes, winced. "He's used a woman to come between me and the finest girl that ever walked the earth !" Martin looked away as Ben confronted him, almost as one will avert his face from a painful sight "Lastly he brings a hired killer to polish me off. Darned if I know what to expect next But one thing he can bank on: I won't run. I'll drive him Into the open if I can by hook or crook, but I won't run 1" "No, I know you won't But I wish . . . Oh, how I wish you'd counsel witn some one else, with Able or anyone. You're young, you're In danger. . . . And this matter you Just mentioned : Can't you think of Dnwn a little? If you love her cau't you see that she has a right to believe that you will protect yourself?" The man's voice had fallen to a broken whlBper. He held out both hands In appeal and tearB sprang Into his eyes. This man, this mature, quiet gentleman, this stranger to the coun try, begging him with tears In eyes and voice to consider Dawn McManus struck Ben dumbfounded. "Oh, It's only that you've shown yourself to be so decent," Martin sild after a moment, emotions under better control. "I hate to see you putting yourself In danger." "1 won't stick my head Into any noose," Ben replied. "I-ord, it's late. SYNOPSIS Ben Elliott ? from "Yonder" ? arrives at the lumbering town of Ttncup, with Don Stuart, old, very sick man, whom he has befriended. He defeats Bull Duval, "king of the river," and town bully, In a log-btrllng contest. Nicholas Brandon, the town's leading citizen, resents Stuart's presence, trying to force him to leave town and Elliott, resenting the act, knocks hlm.down. Elliott Is arrested and finds a friend In Judge Able Arrnltage. The Judge hires him to run the on# lum ber camp, the Hoot Owl, that Brandon has not beon able to grab. This belongs to Dawn McManus, whose father has disappeared with a murder cKkrge hang ing over his head. Brandon sends Duval to beat up Ben, and Ben worsts him In a flst fight and throws him out of camp. Don Stuart dies, leaving a letter for Elliott "to be used when the going becomes too tough." Ben refuse's to open the letter, believing he can win the fight by his own efforts. Fire breaks out In the mill. Ben, leading the victorious fight against the flames, discovers the fire was started with gasoline. Elliott gets an offer of spot cash for logs, that will pro vide money to tide him over. But a definite time limit is set. Ben meets Dawn McManus and discovers she Is not a child, as he had supposed, but a beautiful young woman. The rallrond bridge ov*r which the Hoot Owl lumber must pass, and at once, to meet the time limit Imposed In the contract, Is blown up. By superhuman efforts Ben builds a now bridge overnight and himself drives tho train over the rickety structure to Tlncup, making the delivery with only a few minutes to spare. Brandon compels a woman (known only as "Lydla") who Is In his power, to accuse Elliott of misconduct with a girl. At a dance to which Elliott escorts Dawn McManus, Dydla makes public her charges against him. Overwhelmed, Elliott can only make a feeble denial. Dawn, apparently believ ing him guilty, leaves the dance without waiting for him. Mlsther lOlllott I llo's r harrd chunk, him. It's Nlrk Brandon's work, who's tried everything else 'nd who'll not ra fuse to try murder to got ye down, Henny h'y I" "Likely you'ro right, " Hen Raid and rtihhed hla chin with n knuckle, "Hut we'd hnve to prove that, first. There's nothing to worry ahout, now we know the man's here to get me. Likely ho thought ho got me. Still there, was ho? Urn. . . . Well, that's something to think over, Bird-Bye. ,i better hit for camp, now, and get sorno sleep. I may call you In the forenoon." Hlrd- Wye sniffed and twisted his head gravoly and after a'ddlng Imprecations on Nicholas Brandon and warning Hen to stay close to the ofllce, departed. He could he heard unhlankctlng his team and climbing Into the sleigh ; and when the frosty runners screamed In departuro sounds came from that sec ond bedroom behind the partition, the door opened and John Martin stood looking out His dark eyes held on Hen Nlllott, anxious and troubled. "I couldn't help .hearing," he said simply, "Do you mind?" "Of course not, John. I<ooks like lively tlmeal"? with a grin. "It's none of my affair, IClllott, but I'm an older man than Jrou. I've seen trouble . . . a-plenty." Ill* voice dropped significantly, as though old wound* were being opened. "I've heard of Delanoy. Kvery man In the timber ha* heard of the Zhlng-Wauk war. I We'll need clear heads to moot this I situation. Hotter get Into the old blan ' kets." Hut he did not sleep at once. He lay nwnko n long time, thinking of Red Hart Delaney and Brandon and won dering how ho could prove their rela tionship. . . . And speculating on Mar tin's outbursts, the man's keen hatred of Brandon, whom he probably had never seen, his Intense Interest In Dawn MoManus . . . Something strange and unnatural was there, Elliott told himself. Still, he added, you could stake your last hope on a mnn like John Martin. Early the i.ext forenoon the mer chants and traders and loafers In the business places on Tlncup's main thor oughfare saw something to nip their attention. Hen Elliott fame driving Into town at a spanking trot, his team of alort drivers coated with frost. This wax nothing unusual. Hut when he brought them to n crunching halt before the bank building, over which Nicholas Hrhndon worked and lived, Jumped out, threw blankets over their hacks and tied them to a post, a few necks wore craned. Throughout the evening before Hran don had gorged himself on a sense of relief. At eight ho had passed Harf' Delaney on the street. None had bt*?n,j about to notice that although Brandoi*, appeared only to oveftake and pass the man that, In reality they spoke briefly and cautiously. "Well?" "In his tracks. . . . Two mile above th' mill." "Was he alone?" "Sure. . . They'll find him stiff. . . . When do we settle?" "As soon as the bank opens tomor row." Inside, the man seethed with ft sav age exultation. He crossed the street, drunk with the feeling of relief, mount ed to his office and drank to his own success. . . . And drank again. Fop hours he snt at his desk, whisky bottle at his elbow and when he went down the hallway to his bedroom at the rear he carried the bottle with him. His first move for the day, once In his office, was to draw the cork of a fresh flask and drink deeply. A grow "Good Morning," He Said In a Hoarse Gasp. lng warmth ran through him. That was better. It v?fis not comfortable to wake up, thinking of a man lying life less on the snow ... at your or ders. Soon, now, word would be coming into town from lloot Uwl. tragic,, final word. He must be In shape to meet the news dispassionately. ? No one would know his part in the killing; none would guess. Still, It would not be easy to have people saying that Ben Elliott was dead. . . . Elliott Is dead; Elliott Is dead. . . . The words spun about in his mind, a savage chant, and Brandon wanted to be glad but could not. Elliott was gone, though. The Hoot Owl was at his mercy, and Dawn . . . Dawn! And then he turned to the opening door. Ills Jaw sagged, a light retching sound came from his throat as breath drained out Ben Elliott was standing there and smiling good-na ruredly at him. But dead men do not stand up. . . . Not men left dead on the snow. . . . Men whose life you have had taken do not smile Men stiff on the snow cannot smile. . . . Thl? combination of truths coupled In Bran don's swirling mind and struck him cold. This could be no man, then; this was an apparition, this was ? And then whatever It was spoke. "Good morning, Brandon!" Elliott spoke naturally and easily, and closed the door behind him. Dead men do not speak ; ghosts do not open and close doors ? they pass through them. And Nicholas Brandon, gathering hi* faculties, lurched to his feet, panting and clenching the edge of the desk. "Good morning," he said In a hoars* gasp. "Good. ..." The government of Jaipur pays out good money every day to keep croco diles alive. It has often been said that Jaipur Is the most "different" city of India. Certainly It Is the only one In that country to be built on a stralght Une principle and the only one to have each and every one of Its building* colored mauve or pink. The Crocodile tank Is one of tho sights of Ka.lputann, and though It Is difficult to ascertain from what far distant religious or mythological rite these beasts obtained their privilege, It Is a fact that they are provided with three square meals a day and are tended by a keeper. Whenever this wlr.ardllko old man ap pears at the water-edge with their foods the big beasts, no matter how soundly they appear to sleep In the mud, Immediately swim towards him. JunfUi In Oautemnla's Jungles are grot esquely marked monoliths, ruins of magnificent cities and. colossal temple topped pyramids tyhlch bear rtitnefcrt to the existent* Wf an fndlan civilization ! centuries before the <'hr!stlnn era. To i! little irtodntrtl* village aVirt Ih the dt| market nlaeea.arte- tlironira o? .Indian. 4a ott laughed bitterly. 'O MB CONTINUBI). Crocodiles of Stat* "DUST STORMS"' NO NEW THING Records of Depopulation of Whole Regions. No one who has not been In one of the dust storms which have swept the western plains for more than a year can appreciate their devasta tion and the apprehensions of the people In the region extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Slave lake. Science knows full well the po tentialities of this terrible phenome non. It has Innumerable records of other soil transformations brought about by the wind. Much of the rich er soil over vast areas In the United States was carried there by dust storms. An analysis of dust falling In Missouri a year ago revealed the characteristics of soil In the Da kotaB. All soils are easily Identified by their mineral content. The Da kotas had been exposed to drouth for a number of years. The soil was deprived of its protective vegetation. Thus, when the wind blew, the soil was carried away to 'be deposited In other states. To most of us who live where moisture is sufficient for human needs, it is difficult to realize that the dust storms have been raging al winter. Neither snow nor rain has been sufficient to keep the dust down even In mountainous states like Col orado. Heavy rains have Hooded the lower Mississippi valley, but the shortage of moisture has gone right on in the plains. Whether In Texas or Saskatchewan, the wind has only to rise and the dust is blown. If any thing, the dust storms have been worse than ever In the last two months. They have actually burled fences, piled dust high around houses and barns, covered up crops. They are destructive alike to man and beast. No form of life can withstand them day after (Jay very long. Needless to say, the dust phenome non has greatly altered the food sit uation In the United States. It af fects meats and grains. It Is In part responsible for the Increased cost of living. The AAA plan to limit the production of spring wheat has been abandoned. How can there be too nmch wheat when the wheat states are the chief victims of the dust? The drouth reduced corn last year to a minimum. If it persists this year, there will be no reserves of corn left. From surplus induced by excess production in our own and other countries, we are in danger of passing to scarcity due to drouth and dust. Records of drouth are readily traced In the rings of trees. There are records of other drouths in the plains as bad as or worse than the present drouth. This is not, how ever, an assurance to science that we may now be witnessing the be ginnings of one of those deserts in which nature delights. It was when the Southwest became a desert that the Indlnns moved Into Mexico. Life follows the moisture-bearing air cur rents. When they passed from the region south of the Mediterranean to the region north of the Mediter ranean, life followed them. The Asi atics have long been accustomed to packing up and following the moir ture-bearlng winds. Science would not care to assert Its entire apprehensions of the dust storms In the western plains. They may be the consequences of Just an other drouth. Or they mav he the beginning of the end for all that region where the buffalo grazed. Sci ence knows what has happened. What Is to happen Is on the knees of the gods.? St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Hard for Japanese to Master Own Language The hardest Job of the Japanese student Is to learn his own language. Added to Its own difficulties are the difficulties of Chinese; for modern .Tapnuese contains a sprinkling of mor^ than .r>0,00O Chinese characters. The primary student tolls over his own language seven hours a week in class, seven hours r week at home, n total of fourteen hour? a week for six yenrs. At the end of that time he has mastered only about TUXM) of the Chinese Ideographs (each having five or nix different meanings). He can road a newspaper. Rut be Is still baffled by n magazine or book, un less written In the most colloquial speech. Kven university students have a very uncertain knowledge of the lit erary language. It Is supposed to be used In the composition of letters, ar ticles, books. A young friend of mine In Toklo Imperial university, principal Institution of learning In Japan, confesses that bis uncle rare ly hears from him ? because any le^ ter to blin must be written In the old literary form, and Its composition la a long urul fatiguing task. Fvcp the greatest scholars cannot write without a good dictionary at, hand. Educated men tlnd It easier to read Japanse classics In an Eng lish translation than In the original.? ? Wlllnrd Prince, in Asia Magazine. Fop th* Shallow Mind Egotism Is one of the roads to hap piness. ? Exchange. Regular Elimination The proper use of Thedford'? Black-Draught, (for constipation) tends to leave the bowels acting regularly. It is a fine, reliable long established family laxative. "I have used Thedford's Black Draught fully thirty years," writes Mrs. J. E. McDuff, of Elgin, Texas. "I had trouble from constipation is why I first began the use of it, and as it gave perfect satisfaction I do not see any reason to change." Another good thing about Black Draught that helps to make it so popular ? it is NOT expensive. THEDFORD'S BLACK-DRAUGHT WATCH YOUR KIDNEYS! Be Sure They Properly; Cleanse the Blood YOUR kidneys aro constantly fil tering impurities from tho blood stream. But kklneyB got function* ally disturbed ? lag In their work?* fall to remove the poisonous bod>; wastes. Then you may suffer nagging backache, attacks of dizziness, burning, scanty or too frequeni urination, getting up at night, swollen feet and ankles, rheumatlq pains; feel "all worn out." Don't delay! For the quicker you get rid of theso poisons, the better your chances of good health. Uso Doan'a PiTla. Doan'a are for the kidneys only. They tend to pro mote normal functioning of th? kidneys; should help them pass off tho irritating poisons. Doan'a are recommended by users the country over. Get them from any druggist. DOAN'S PILLS NEUTRALIZE Mouth Acids ? by chewing one or more Milne&ia Wafers Ttfi,,"! WAFERS* ()l '/ MIIK CH MAGNESIA WAFF. RS Unsightly Complexions muddy-looking, blotchy and rod ? relieved and improved with safe, medicated Resinol. BLACKMAN STOCK and POULTRY Mmdiclnea are Rellabht ? Black man's Medicated Lick A-Brik ? Blackmail's Stock Powder ? Blackman't Cow Tonic ? Blackman's Char- Med- Sal ( for Homa) ? Blackman's Poultry Tablets ? Blackman's Poultry Powder Highest Quality ? Lowest Price Satisfaction Guaranteed or your money back. BUY FROM YOUR DEALER BLACKMAN STOCK MEDICINE CO; Chattanooga, Tenn. A TONIC and BUILDER Mr J. W. Ruck of 191.1 Ellis St., Augusta, Ga.. saidj Dr. Pierce a Golden Medical Discovery is a wonderful tonic. I have relied upon it at different times when ( lacked strength and my ap petite and digestion wera poor. Always after taking tha Discovery' I would be In ,, (food health acoin." New ?Ue, tablet! 50 r.ts., liquid $1.00. Lara* ?l*e, tab*, or liquid. All druggists. Writ* Dr. Pierre a Clinic. IlufTalo, N. Y.. foe free medical advice. BE A NURSE GIRLS. WQMF.N wishing to miter trnfn* lr>K to become nurses send self addressed stamped envelope tor details. SOUTHERN BUREAU, Box 222, Atlanta, Qa. Modern Rptence lias l)i>Tnl?pml is pnrms nent relief for fjl nirl rills (bloodlnir ruins), trnnoh month ?n<1 pyorrhea. Write today for Information of our inonoy-hsrk frnaranteo treatment. Tb? Parthy Co , P. O. M< * ROM, Mil vrmikee.WU. THE REGULAR PRICE Of CALUMET BAKING POWDER IS NOW ONLY 25 Pa p oundJ AND THE N?W CAN IS SO EASY TO OPEN i