The Barnwell people-sentinel. (Barnwell, S.C.) 1925-current, July 14, 1927, Image 7
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CHAPTER I
A FtUI Basakut
14 Another kttjtle drink wont do us
any harm!”
r 9 Tka two young man in the smail
Oar aaug H togatkar, a ready tenor
baritone. They we,-t>
tent of tragedy. He waa trembling
He made throe attempts to start
car before he succeeded. The road
at this print curved rather sharply as
it followed the edge of the bluffs so
plat little waa visible in frot but the
taU trees. ,
They had proceeded but a short
ing. they had i
the “Running a
stumbled to the ground,
booze-truck, and without
keep 'sober. See
iy to their home tcwn.
The hour was 1C «'clock
spring evening. A moon
filtered by thin
fDumined tnb-coad naming
well-lftmbered bluff lands.
Eilow and at the right, the river
shone with a subdued light. It could
ha heard splashing about the rocks
In the rapids.
f The driver oi the title car brought
K to a stop In the road. He had
tkrit hair and eyas and regular fea-
taras. Ha waa considered good
looking, though there was weakness
hi hia eyas and about the loose set of
/j®
“Come Across with that bottle,Fc-
dU,'* ha commanded. He placed his
hand against the side of the other’s |Baw
hand and pushed violently. He was
boiaterious and a title malicious.
“Quit it. you nut!” commanded
Edhon Forbes, knocking the other’s
hand doom sharply. He produced a
flask irom-tlM^4ower, outside pocket
9i his coat It was a litle over half
full. He passed it to the other, who
ctook it eagerly, he removed the cork,
tilted the botle. The liquor gur-
fcM down his throat
Fwbadvjirkad it away. “Hey,
what** the matter with you?” he
half-laaghing, half-vexed.
to-the* sflWie 'bT-ffie accident TA
southbound truck was well on the
wrong side of the road. It was in
coUjiaion with a touring-car which,
in an effort to avoid the trackpad
dropped into a ditch which bisected
the roadway. The ditch was planked
only across the narrow surface of
the built-up highway at this point
The truck had forced the car down
ward and back, so that its rear wheels
wore in the ditch. The truck had
partly telescoped it. The msmive
wheels and forward end rested on
the crushed in bonnet of the car.
AM this Forbes and hn companion
aaw as they stopped their own car
and made a hasty survey. The moon
had temponuiify conquered the
clouds and now shown brightly. They
I saw thsk the driver of the car, a
woman, was dead. She had been
crushed between the back of the car
and the steering-wheel. She still sat
upright, the nose of the truck against
her body. —
The driver of the truck was in his
plaice. His arms were on the steer
ing-wheel. His head rested on his
arms. The truck windshield had
been broken. This was the only dam
age to the heavier vehide. It
loomed, a shapeless bulk, under its
closely fastened tarpaulin. The body
of the truck - was tilted, from
sense enough to lu
what you’ve done?”
He jefied the man roughly about
so that he could see the havoc his
reckless driving had created: The
jfcle car, partly under the tnickj and
voured by the ruthless moheter
astride it: and the body in the tele
scoped seat. “You’ve killed that
woman.”
Forbes looked at the driver savage
ly. Libbey’g eyes opened wide. His
jawe sagged spoilt. His nose, broken
and twisted in some pest brawl,
threw a grotesque shadow across his
face. He backed away from the
sight that Forbes’ hands forced him
to look upon. “Lemme go, Eddie,”
he urged huskily. “Lemme get aiway
from here!” ' ,
Forbes was sinewy and strong. He
was very little <taller than the driver
and much lighter, but he held the
bulbous Libbey easily. “Get away!”
he echloed contemjgousty. “You’ll
get away with about ten years for
manslaughter. They’d ought to hung
you!” - % v- .
CHAPTER 2
The other’s shoulders slumped sul
lenly. >His brief struggle bad reveal
ed, apparently, that escape was impos
sible. He was an employee of a
booze-ring which was smuggling con-
trabrand liquor into the United States
by the shipload, and so was admit
tedly within the shadow of the law.
Forbes himself had, only an hour
drivej
gone. “Someone’s comang, 1 ' an
nounced Forbes. ^That’s a car
climbing Waterman’s hill. Move the
flivver to ope side, kid, so they can
drive up/’ He retained his grip on
the driver of the booze-truck.
The dark-eyed youth climbed
his car. There was no passing
left, or easit, side, since the
ditch was* there, and the vehicles in
collision. But on the 'right side
one might with care negotiate The
crest of /the bluff. >
This the young man did, driving
urgently but carefully until he wag
in the highway on the Scottdale
side. There was a level space a
few rods below where he might have
parked. But he did not stop there.
Instead, the engine whirring ur
gently, he wheeled to the left into
a byroad. This connected with the
main highway, a mile to the east
He turned off the light as he fled.
The moon furnished sufficient il
lumination and the way was reason-
Forbes' Up curled at his compan
ion’s cowardice. He made a quick
inhalation, as if to shout, but
thought better of it. After all, the
fellow might as welle go. Thor
would be explanations to make.
The fewer to tell how they came to
be on the river road that night the
better. Scottdale was a small and
Puritanical city that hated* and loath
ed the booze traffic and illegal drink
ing. It visited its displeasure on those
who drank.
His companion was safely away
when the Ught of the ear which
had shone a few moments before
sumjounted the hilL He turned
his head to watch its approach, and
the next instant was on his back in
the deep ditch. Libbey had no re
lish for facing trial for taking a hu
man life. He had struck with sur
prising quickness and force, con
sidering his rolypoly body and his
semi-drunkenness. Fear had so
bered him; that was evident from the
the speed he showed getting sway.
He ran across the road. As
Forbes scrambled up he plunged
recklessly over the side of the steep
bank toward the river. It was a
long and steep descent, but one not
particularly perilous. The surface
was grassy and soft with the melt-
of fists and bullets is all that keeps
them at all faithful.
Savage sdf-comtempt possessed
Forbes. This tragedy had ended
the temporary extylaraifion of the
adnotyli he had co/hsmned. His'
knees trembled; his stomach rose.
Pandering to his cursed appetite
had lighted the powder-train that
ended in this—the snuffing out of
a useful and blameless life.
The car from the south had
( drawn up and stopped, unheeded
by him. He was deep in his own
whirlwind. He drew the bottle from
his pocket and hurled it into the ad
joining field. A shining arc was cre
ated that glittered in the moonbeams
and in the light of the automobile.
A grave, bearded man, dressed in
the garb of a farmer, left the ve
hicle and approached him. ^The new
comer was followed by a younger man,
from his general resemblance to the
other, his son. .“What’s thia?” de
manded the man with the beard. He aJl right. But 1 haven't
**m*m^ m oy*\ at % blood- driver but
phone and head him off before
he jumps a traSm”
The two men considered. The
Kxlder turned to his companion and
said: “Stephen, you go over there
and find what hethrew away.” The
youth climed the rail fence. His ,
search was brief; the bottle was
easily seen against the brown earth
of the field. He handed it accu
singly to his father.
“You’ll have to come with me,”
said the elder, coldly. “I’m Con-
stable of Weston Highlands township.
“Why should I go with you?’*
asked Forbes, in surprise.
“You just threw away a half of a
bottle o’ liquor. You’ve been drinkin’.
And your face is all bloody. I'm/^ \
going to turn you over to the eheriffV
as the driver of the truck.”
“But J told you—’k began Forties, ^
impatiently.
“Yes. And if you find the man
you said has run away, then you’re
seen an y
stained face of Forbes.
“A booze-runer ran into that car
and killed the woman,” was the dull
reply. He was still hearing the cla-
mor only of hoe own mental battle
field. The two men surveyed the
wreck verified his assertion, and came
back to confront him.
‘Where’s the driver?” asked the
spokesman.
Forbes waved hia hand toward
the west, “He ran away just be
fore you came. We better tele-
(CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.)
Wm. McNAB
rax, HEALTH AND ACCIDENT
INSURANCE COMPANIES.
Parma! attention given all burtnaa
offlea in Harrison Block, Main Bt
& C
cm
j/roraarS'*?
I n
Ho raised the bottle and looked at it
femarously, trying to determine the
•xaet quantity' against the moon.
“Come home <to your drunken old
fntlMr!” was his tfddrasa to the bot
tle. He too tilted it
The liquor was Canadian whiskey,
tat n reproach to the name when
oooapared to that imported before
the paesage of the Eighteenth Amend
‘nwttk For this had been manufac-
« * » • «
tured for an illicit, eager, not too di*-
'Omninating trade. It had passed
through several hands before import
ation. Each middleman had done
aotnerthdng to cheapen and degrade
•, It before passing it on..
^ The stuff was strong wWj the
strength of vitriol and it lapped at
the throat and stomath-linti'ng like
Xqttid fins. The young men gasped
sad coughed, the barbaric stuff
brought welter to their eyes, and all
tag choked them. There was an in
stant and savage kick to it.
“little close harmony now, old
the ckrk youth,
Forbes on the shoulder,
ig into a favorite of the
quartets:
“Farwwel, ftuwwell, tny own true
sobered by the spectacle! He stood
by and wrung his hands ineffectively.
Forbes climbed into the seat of the
truck and raised the driver’s head.
The man opened his eyes. It was
apparent that he was partially dazed
we
th the shrouding canvas, and sell
ham a bottle from its contents.
“What’ll
ipflored the
earing from the upset to his nerves;
“try to get her out?”
“We can’t until help comes,”
but few prejecti nr ^' r ‘ 5
do, .> Eddie?” im
dark-haired youth, shiv
The moon had temporarily conquered the clouds and now shone brightly.
They saw that the driver of the car, a woman, was dead.
a >
farewell—”
nteatn of mortal
then a crash and
H cut across the song
illy. *
queried the tenor,
ahead,”
“Ufc’a r>.”
by the por-
by the shock. But there was raw
liquor on his breath. “Wha’s the
matter?” he mumbled, stupidly.
“I thought so!” snarled Forbes.
Ha (turned to his companion. “It’s
Scoots Libbey. I bought our booze
from him at Burley.” Retaining his
grip on the man’s collar he becked
off the sea/t, dragging the bulky,
feebly resistant libbey with him.'
“You fool!” he baid fiercely, when
returned Forbes. The river road
was little used, except by the few
farmers living along it. That is the
reason the booze truck, making the
long run to Detroit, had chosen the
byway. These arjuiems avoided
chance encounters whenever possi
ble. “The coroner must see this
jam before we move anything.”
A light flashed through the tops
of the trees above them and was
rocks.
The river at this point was not
formidable^ The broken white
water of the rapids was swift but no*
very deep. « Even as he stood on the
brink and peered after the hurtling
figure, Forbes visualized the man’s
destination—across the river to the
railroad only two miles beyond
where from one of the small towns
nearby, he could catch a train that
would land 'him in Detroit or Chi-
cagoi
He decided that it was not worth
while to chase the fugitive. • The
telephone would be faster and surer
than his own. legs. A message 4a^ *
Lancaster and Loomis would re
sult inevitably in Libbey’s being
picked up. .*
He turned back to the wreck.
He tried to wipe the blood from his
face. "But his nose was bleeding co
piously from the chauffeurV blow
and he succeeded only in smearing it
about considerably. He felt a sense
of responsibility for the accident. It
was evident that the driver had de
cided to 'become hig own customer.
But thia waa only after Forbes had
persuaded him to break into the case
of whiskey at Burley.
A restraint bad been removed
when the guard had N habitually
traveled with the truck. Barney
Oik had been taken ill and compiled
to go to bed at Burley. This left
Scoots Libbey in sole charge of the
cargo. And moral laws have little
force with the drivers of booze track?
By the very nature of their calling
they are not of high calibre. Fear
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in The People-Sentinel