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Tfo Barnwell Peopl^SmtlneU Barnwell Sr C, Tharaday. December 19, 1935 N Copyright by Bn Amei William*. bq Ben Ames IDilliams WNUtervIo* Jm CHAPTER XI—Contimrtd t —19— Saladlne, watching Bart, saw that under this accusing fusillade, the man’s face congested with a rising fury. This old woman with the tongue of', a termagant lashed him raw. What «he said might or might not be troo; yet true or false, he could not retort with the buffet and the blow her words deserved. He"" must stand helpless while she flayed him; yet his dark Cheek was purple now! “You fetched me some dry groceries from Liberty village last night,” the old woman continued bitterly, “and listened outside the door and heard me telling Jenny to go get me I Illy root from the'brook today. That’s why you went down brook, Bart. You never went to fish at all. I don’t believe yon ever even took your rod. You went to' spy on Jenny! “And on the way back, 1 ’low you climbed up through the woods to see If you could get a sight of Huldy! Like as not you'd peeked at her before that, times when t.he hussy’d be sunning her self like a snake there on 4 the ledge. I wouldn’t wonder If that was why Zeke worked you over, that' time. Like as not he caught you there. Anyway, my guess Is you found her there today, and she tbrmented you the way she al ways did, till you couldn’t stand It. and you grabbed her! And she fit you, and set her finger nails In your cheek; and at that, you went crazy mad, and you hit her so hard yo broke your own hand on her face! That’s what happened! I’m as certain of It as If I’d been there and see!" " The scratches on Bart’a cheek were livid, but his Ups twisted in a derisive grin! Then she turned to Sohler. “There It is, Sheriff,” she exclaimed, In a tone of . finality. "There It is. If you’ve got enough brains to see!” But the big man after a moment wagged his head. “Why, I don’t see as there’s anything only your guess, ma’am,” he t protested. And Bart spoke, through stiff lips, yet easily enough. "It’s all right, Sher iff," he said. “Old women get fool Idees!” And he said, calmly: a It couldn’t be 1 the way shp says.” He appealed to Huldy’s husband. "Will, you. know mighty well that Zeke was always somewhere around Huldy. If this had happened the way Granny says, Zeke he’d have been oh my tall in no time at all. You know that, Will, aa well as me!” Will, thus Interrogated, nodded slow ly. “That’s so, Bart,” he admitted. , But Marm Pierce turned to Bart la- sistently. , “Bart,” she said, "1 dunno as I can prove what you did to Huldy, but I’ll make you admit yo’re a liar! You’ve made up this whole tale, since you killed Huldy. You never went down brook to fish. You never even had your rod with you. You picked It up at your house, on your way to get Will!" Bart chuckled patiently. "Ma’am, I can’t help yo’re thinking anything you’ve got a mind, but yo’re wrong as can be.” She cried triumphantly : "Your rod’s outside; with a worm on the hook, all dried up and shriveled! You didn’t ■Bsb with a dead worm, did you?” Her tone was hot with scorn. “Why sho," he protested, "a worm will dry up mighty fast.” Her eyes narrowed. “You told me you dug bait yest’day?” she challenged. He nodded. “Certain,” he said. “Got your bait can on, ain’t you?” she deuiariwd. He touched his belt, In an assenting gesture. And she took one step toward him. “Hand It here!” she demanded in a rising triumph. “Let me have a Iook at It! If there’s any fresh-dug worms In your bait can, -B^rt, I’ll take back every word I’ve had to say I” - Saladlne, turnllTjf to -h»«k at Bart, found his eyC caught and held by an object on the table between ’ them. That heavy gun which Bart had tatd i #1 # 1> a 1 n ^ «w l-« i 1 uvaiur titr inilip, ii WillIr HfTO. It ftas still there, black and deadly: The lamp was between It and Saladlne; between It and Marm Pierce. But where Bart stood, the butt of the gun was not ten Inches from his hand, ' CHAPTER XII There was something ludicrously In congruous, and by the same token the more horrifying, in the terms of Marm Pierce’s challenge. That the question of whether a man were guilty of murder should hinge on whether there were any fresh-dug worms in hls bait box had something hideous about It; and yet what Marm Pierce said was Ingeniously true. If Bart had In deed gone down Carey’s brook this day to flsh> as be asserted, then he must have been supplied with bait If be bad no worms, then bill statement that be intended to fish was a lie; and hls other words were doubtless lies aa well. If Bart bad no worms In hls bait box, then he lied; and If be lied, then be had kljled Huldy!- Thus sim ply the Issue phrased Itself In Salar dlne’s mind. / And hls muscles drew taut for ac tion. The silence In this small room might explode Into a storm of j^olence. Bart stood under their doubting eyes, hls fingers within easy reach of the butt of that heavy revolver on the table Just before him. Hls back was to the wall; he could If he chose hold them at hls mercy. Thirty seconds’ sp*n must answer alL Bart did not move till old Marm Pierce repeated. In triumphant Insist ence: “Let’s see, Bart! Let’s see If you’ve got any worms In that can at all!" Then he was suddenly at hls ease; he smiled an;] shook hls head. “Nary a worm. Granny!” he said cheerfully. She nodded In . crisp satisfaction, swung to Sohler. “There, Sheriff!" she cried. Sohler looked uncomfortable. It was In fact an uncomfortable position In which he found himself. Bart was practically confessing to a murder; but Bart had a gun under his hand! The . sheriff stirred uneasily, and he gathered the tails of hls coat over hls knees as though to rise. But Bart said, chuckling: “That don’t prove anything, thought I told you a while ago, when I came to pick Huldy up I took off my belt—with the bait can and my gun—and left It there on the ground. Time I got back to fetch It, the bait can, the cover on it had come open, and the worms had all crawled away.” Marin Pierce whirled on him In baffled fury. “You’d talk yourself out of your own grave, Bart!" she cried. "But you won’t talk yourself out of this. There’s a dead worm dried on your hook on the rod outside -the door! I guess you wa’n’t fishing with that! And It didn’t shrivel up the way it Is Just sence you got ' through fishing, either. It's wet from rain, and slimy; but It’s been dead on that hook for days." » Bart nodded. ‘“Sure It has,” he as sented. “I forgot, when ypu asked me about that a while ago. But Just be- Tore Huldy screeched, I snagged my hook on a log and had to break it off.**Dldn’t have any spare books with me, but I found this one In my overalls pocket. I must have stuck It there some time and forgot It It had thig dead worm on it; but I tied It on my line, and I was Just setting oiit to scrape the dead worm off with my knife when I heard Huldy .yell 1” “That’s a likely tale!” the old wom an exclaimed in a deep scorn. “You mean to tell me you’d put a hook with a worm on It In your pocket?” she demanded. “I guess you’d have to be drunk to do that, Bart” Bart grinned. “Well,” be said, “mat ter of fact, I did have quite an edge on, the last time I went fishing. It was along toward dark, here last Tuesday night Ike Putney come by my place after supper, and we had a few drinks, and we 'lowed to try the trout, and did. But half the time, 1 didn’t know whether I was fishing in the brook or in the. pasture. Ljkely I put the book In that packet then.” And he added persuasively: '“Ike, he’ll tell you the same.” The old woman uttered a sound like a sniff of scorn. ’ “Ike! I’d believe anything of him. If you - told me he carried hls worms In hls mouth, I’d believe It!" Bart’s eyes widened. “By cracky!” he exclaimed. “I mind, now. Ike had hls store clothe|^on, and I lent him my overalls to wear when we went fishing! He put that hook In the pocket of ’em. I’ll bet a nickel!” Marm Pierce looked at the sheriff almost apologetically,' in a curious chagrin. “That might be the truth. Sheriff," she admitted ruefully. “Ike was In here Tuesday afternoon to get me to give him something for an ear ache. I wrapped up a pinch of black pepper In some cotton, and dipped It in sweet oil and put It In hls ear; and I told tyim to go bn home and put • bandage ’round hls begd to keep It warm. But he ’lowed he wished he had a drink, and he set out to go over to Bart’s. I mind he did have on his stbre clothes. Just like Bart says!** “There wag a' reluctant honesty InT her tones; she faced Bart again. “But Just the same,” she insisted, “1 don’t swallow the whole' of your tell!” She stood frowning with the Intensity of her thoughts, searching for some crevice In his armor. “You said a while ago you had stopped fish ing and was on your way home when you heard Huldy yell,” she reminded him, seizing on a new point “But now you claim you’d Just broke a hook off, and tied a new one on. How could you break a book If you wa’n’t fish ing?" He answered, almost mirthfully: “I stopped to try the deep hole there at the foot of the ledge!’* He had palled alt her thrusts so easily that there was a sort of mad ness In (he little old woman now. She was like \ caged animal, coursing to and fro In Its search for some avenue of escape. ?Well, how come you to take so long hunting them feathers I sent you after, before Huldy died, and not finding any,.when the ben pen wgp full of ’em?" she demanded. “Looks to me you was afraid If I had them Pd get Huldy to come to. and she’d tell on youT • “1 was figuring you’d ask. that, oy and by," -he assented frankly. “And I’ll tell you bow It was.” He stood at ease now. M I set out to get you some feathers,” be declared. “I didn’t put any stock In It, with Huldy as good as dead, or mnybe dead a’ready; but long as you wa filed ’em. I started *out to get some. “But when 1 was going through the shed, I happened to look out the win dow on the back side, and I see some thing move, over In the alders. It looked to me like a man. I stayed there watching, but I didn’t see him again; so after a spell, I come back' In the hou ►u»e. “sou ? r “You never said nothing about that before!’ Marm Pierce exclaimed. “Soon as I come in, you Jumped me right out Into the barn again, went with me,” he reminded her, "And when we come back with‘the feathers, Huldy was dead, and Jenny said there was somebody In the Win-side the house, so I knowed It was probably Win that I had see.” The old woman considered this. “Maybe If Win was around here after Huldy died . . .” she began 'thought fully, but tnen she remembered. “But It wa’n’t Win that you see," she pro tested quickly. “He was In Liberty village by then!” “Well, whoever It was,” Bart said In a conciliating tone. They were all silent then a while, considering this suggestion that there had been some man, who was not Win Haven, near the bouse when Huldy died. But In the end Marm Pierce brushed this matter Impatiently aside. “Like as not It was a cow you see;” she decided, returning to the attack. “Or maybe nothing at all I think that’s all a pack of lies. If you ask "Look Out, Qrannyl That Thing Will Qo Off!** me.” And as she spoke she moved uncertainly toward the table. But this uncertainty was. It appeared, pretense; for suddenly her hand licked out like a snake’s tongue, and she caught up the revolver and backed away, holding it in . both hands, her finger on the trigger. She pointed It at Bart, and Bart protested amiably: “Look out. Granny I- That thing will go off!" “It’s likely to,” the old woman as sured him. She appealed to the sheriff. "There he is. Sheriff!” she cried. “You go ahead and put the handcuffs on him! I’ve got his gun.” But Sohler said in a baffled tone: “Why ma’am, It looks to me like Carey here tells a pretty straight story, take it all the way through." Bart chuckled. “Granny, yo’re a wonder,’’ he said A an Ironic mirth. Her bands had -(gagged under the weight of thfrt reviver, until the weapon hung now forgotten by her side. “Never mind about me.” she retorted, her tone abstracted. "Pm trying to see this straight You come on her, r up to the ledge and maybe grabbed her, and she raked your cheek, and that made your mad so you banged her In the face and she went back ward off the ledge!" She shook her head, starlhg at him. She whispered: “Man, I warrant you was scared enough for a minute, then. Bold as you be right now." “Sheriff, what do you aim to do?” she demanded In Irascible shrill tones. “You going to set there all night? This Is your business, not mine. Stir your stumps, man!” Sohler rose and turned to face Bart "Bart,” he said. “I don’t mean to say you had anything to do with this. But what If you and Will was both to come along to town and talk It over with the county attorney therer Hls tone was aa though be urged Bart to humor old Harm Pierce thus far, and Bart answered agreeably enough. “Why, It’s foolishness. Sheriff,” he protested. “But If it’ll favor you, 1*11 go. I*U have to stop by my place and pull down some hay and give the crit ters water. They ain’t been fed to night" “Shore,” the big main hssented. "We caA do that” He looked at Saladlne. “Jim, say you drive me and Bart ’round there first?” he pssposed. “Then we can come back here and pick op Will” Saladlne hesitantly agreed, since there seemed no better course. Huldy Perrin was dead, and doubtless mur dered ; but If Bart were guilty, then he was an Incredibly shrewd and crafty man; and If he lied, then he was In credibly apt at mendacity. ' Marm Pierce herself appeared to be Unsatis fied, as though uneasily conscious that she had failed to prove her case. She stood with her hand at her mouth, her bead bent; and her brow was fur rowed with perplexity. But she said no new word while the sheriff buttoned bis overcoat, and Bart put hls slicker on. Only then she exclaimed: “Sheriff, there ain’t'a mite of sense taking Will to Bast Harbor I” The sheriff hesitated; but Jenny came to her grandmother’s side, touched the old woman’s arm. “It’s all right. Granny," she said gently. “If there’s any way he can help. Will he’d want to go.” But Saladlne suggested: “Sheriff, taking Will along Is going to leave these two women alone here.” Sohler scratched hls head. “That’s so,”,he agreed; and he said reluctant ly: “Well, Will, maybe you’d best stay here tonight I’ll be out again In the morning.” » ^Whatever you say, Sheriff,” Will assented. ' —l Bart said In dry 111 humor: “Looks like the pack of you was bound .to lay this on me. Why sh’d I go, any more than Will? Huldy blamed It bn him.. Sheriff, you can’t get around her own say-so, It looks to me.” The sheriff was uncomfortable; but after a moment Bart In - a returning good humpr yielded the point “r<!an stand It. though," he said. “And Will had ought te stay here with'them, at that Zeke’s around here somewhere. No telling wjiat he might try to do; but Will can handle him.” So It was decided. It did not occur to Saladlne^ till somewhat later that a remembered fear of Zeke on hls own account might have prompted Bart to this easy—and surprising—surrender. Yet Bart, as the event proved, might have been Jusllfled In welcoming for a while the protecting custody of the law. . Bart and the sheriff stepped outside;' and Saladlne, after a word 4>f fare well, followed them to hls car. They had taken the rear seat. He cranked the engine, and climbed In affd turned on the headlights. The kitchen door jvas open yonder, and Will and Jenny stood in silhouette against the light, their shoulders touching. Salffdlne backed the car, preparing to turn; but in that last moment, old Marm Pierce came bursting through the door, brushing Will and Jenny out. of her way k bolding up both hands, calling something. Saladlne waited, and she ran across the yard and drew close beside the car and shouted over the engine’s roar: "Sheriff! I’ve got a-hold of the an swer to It now I” Her tone was ringing; her counte nance triumphant “Listen here!” she cried. "If Bart bad left hls gun belt with the bait can and the gun, there on the ground in all that rain while he fetched Huldy over here, the belt’d be soaked through and wet as a string; and there’d be rust on that gun! But there ain’t a speck of rust, and hls belt la dry aa a bone 1” Saladlne had not noticed whether Bart’s gun were rusted or not; yet he perceived the Justice of this argument, and^ turned to hear what the sheriff would say. But Bart laughed, and be protested l <*IX- “Maybe that belt looked dry to you, Granny, but It’s wet enough! I can feel It right through my bvetalls. And the holster kep’ the gun dry.” He told Sohler: “I’ll show you, when we get over to my place, Sheriff. You can see for yourself!” Sohler accepted this. “All right, ma’am," be shouted to" the old woman, over the engine’s roar, ’Til.»look at IL surer (TO BE CONTINUED) Raising the Hat Raising the hat In deference to a lady Is still a mark of a gentleman. If she. stops to speak with him. he will remove hls bat for the conversation, and car£y It In hls hand unless, be cause of his age or of, Inclement weather, she requests him to replace It If so, he will again jnalse hls hat when she leaves. The fact that some young men In college Ignore the cour tesy does not affect gentlemanly be havior. The origin of the courtesy Is speculative. One version is that It arose In the days of chivalry when, Ja deference. to hls superiors and to ladles, a knight removed hls .headgear. —Literary Digest Clever Reynard The name Reynard came from a Ger man book of animal stories published hundreds of years ago. In that book the fox was called Regin-hart, mean ing “strong la counsel," because of the clever way In which he mastered the other animals. Ever since the book came to this country we have spoken of Reynard the fox—Reynard being our form of the German Regln-hart—Pear son’s Weekly. by WILLIAM BRUCKART NATIONAL PRESS BIDS. WASHINGTON. O.C. Washington.—Since It Is only a few weeks until congress comes back to Washington for the Big Problem* second session of the Ahead Seventy-fourth con gress, some- of the problems which Persldent Roosevelt must face, have begun to take recogniz able shape. There are any number of them, some great, some small, but that one which stands out at this writing Involves the alignment shown between President Roosevelt and business In terests. It Is a very Interesting situation. Some weeks ago, the President prom ised business a “breathlng^spell.” No one knew at that 'time how long this “breathing spell” was to last nor did anyone know exactly What It meant beyond the President’s verbal state ment that hls New Deal program was virtually completed Insofar as legisla tion was concerned. Through a com bination of circumstances, the Presi dent’s promise of a “breathing spell” for business has not only failed to placate business but at the same time has led to a determination on the part of business to ‘go to bat with the New Deal. All of the Information I have been able to gather Indicates a distinct stiffening of resistance to the New Deal by all types of business Interests, either corporate of indi vidual. i. - ; There can be no doubt that a large segment of business Is emphatic In its demand that New Deal spending be reduced. That section of the country’s .economic life Is determined to force New Deal plans foi r spending back within the boundaries of what busi ness Interests hold to be reasonable. Haring that determination,,opponents of New Deal spending hare at once something' Into which 'they can sink their teeth, namely, the annual gov ernment budget. Ip the nature of things; It and the President’s annual message op the state of the Union go to congress In Its first week of life. That means the country will hear at the very outset of the session some thing of Mr. Roosevelt’s plans for fur ther cash outlays. The budget cannot be balanced In the next year. Consequently, the gov ernment debt, now above $.'K).000,0(X),- 000;, will be further'Increased. It means, moreover, that befor<|Wtig there will ha>e to be additional taxes. These increases In the tax levies probably will not come before the forthcoming session of congress but they cannot be much longer delayed because retire ment of the gigantic debt is pressing «ven now. The business viewpoint, of course, naturally Is concerned most of all with potential tax Increases. Business realizes that once the relief expendi tures are cut down, common sense will demand revision of the tax structure In order that the vast amount of gov ernment bonds, notes -and blfTs , out standing shall be liquidated In an or derly basis. So, In concentrating at this time on government spending, op ponents of the New Deal actually are looking'Into the future and planning a» far as they can to hold down the tax load they know they must cayry, sooner or later. It ris quite'obvious that there will be no change jn the way of Increased levies of taxes at the 10:16 session of congress because, after all, political parties do not raise tax rates In an election year. But this government Is due to continue as a government for this nation and the retirement of the $30,000,000,000 debt cannot be dodged. From the White House and from Warm Springs, Ga., where the President lately took hls annual Turn* to Thanksgiving rest. Economy there came announce ments, both direct and Inspired, that the President was turn ing to economy In the government out* lay. The Information, of an official character. Indicated a desire on the part of the President to cut the ordi nary expenditures of the government by $500,0^0,000 for the fiscal year be ginning July.!, 1030. The budget that wttt jro to co of January will cover the so-called ordinary expenses. On the surface It appears that this budget will aggre gate about .$4,000.000,000—Just about the same as the budget for ordinary expenses of the government In the current 12-month period. But there has been no Indication yet what the total of the extraordinary expenditures of the government will be. We have, as you know, really two budgets. The ordinary budget is like the budget that [has been used since the passage of the ^udget and ac counting Act In 1922. It covers the running expenses of all of the estab lished governmental agencies, provides for all field work and carries appropri ations for payment of interest on the government debt and a bite or two for retirement of outstanding bonds. The extraordinary expenditures under Pres ident Roosevelt’s practices have been handled separately, being passed by congress In the form of a resolution for recovery and relief or some other such language making a lump appro priation. * <• It will be a flutter then to which at- tentioa should be paid when the reg ular budget goes to congress and the President In hls annual message gives some Idea of- what he proposes to spend for relief agid recovery later on. The two must be taken together. Fur ther, I believe If past practices are re peated, there will be White House re quests for ’supplementary, appropria tions for the ordinary expenditures as well so that the total may not be dis closed for several months after con gress meets. • 9. .Under conditions that always have prevailed, the political party In power* has always avoided Difficult tearing down bureauc- Ta*k,, racy In Washington In an election year. The civil lists of the government Include most of the local politicians on whom the party In power must depend In Its campaign for re-election. To remove many of them means naturally the loss of power In the local communities and no political party can hope to win by tearing down Its campaign machinery -In that mknner. Thus, Mr. Roosevelt's task appears difficult. He will be seeking economy In government outlays In an effort to satisfy and reassure business which is calling for economy. At the same time he Is under the necessity of holding hls political machine intact as the vehicle upon which he will seek ts ride to re-election. Besides, this circumstance, there Is the snarling and gnashing of business Interests at the heels of the New Deal because business leaders contend the government is trying to run everything. Although the NRA Is dead, there re main such things as the social security act which carries a tax on business pay rolls; the Guffey coal control law with Its taxing powers, and the steady encroachment of government In busi ness as Is exemplified by the Tennes see Valley electric power project. It Is no secret, that business Interests do not like any^of these things and buslfiess has its heavy guns loaded to wreck the man who, by Introducing the New Deal, must take responsibility for the government policies to which busi ness objects. • • • Senator William E. Borah of Idaho hls been much in the news lately. He Is indulging In ’ a Borah * sport, or a game, he Activity takes up once each four years. The date of this activity always colncjdes each time with the maneuverlng^that pre cedes the selection of the Republican Presidential nominee. Congress being In recess, very few seniors or Representatives are in Washington. When they are scat tered to their homes, most of them rate very little publicity outside of their own bailiwicks. So, whether Senator Borah Is In Washington or at hls home in Idaho, he commands atten tion and hits the front page whenever he chooses to speak. The current circumstances Involving Senator Borah, therefore, are no dif ferent than those which surrounded him In previous periods when political discussions ran to Presidential nom inees and party platformsv-except. that Senator Borah this time has com manded a little more attention and has been on the front pages with hls state ments to a greater extent than in pre vious years. This results from the situation in which the Republican party, being the minority party now, finds Itself. The woods are full of potential Re publican Presidential nominees. Fa vorite sons are everywhere. In the midst of all of this stands the figure, somewhat bulky, of Senator Borah. He has given every Indication In the last several months: first, that he Is not a candidate for the nomina tion; second, that he Is a candidate for the nomination, and third, that he T has not made up his mind.. He has tlone all of" these things well and no one knows whether he Is a candidate or whether he is, not a candidate or whether he has not made up hls mind. Having made quite clear that I am not. Informed as plans, I can fairly relate some of the things that have happened heretofore. I can recall for example that many times the Borah maneuvers have had as their objective the establishment of a political circumstance for the senator that hae enabled him to exert unusual Influence on the Republican national convention when it came time to write a party platform and select the party standard bearer. I believe it Is fair to state that.Senator Borah Is a master tactician in this regard. I know that some of the old-line party wheelhorses fear him and hls tactics Immeasurably. I have seen evidences of that fear during the last several months smdvl^ have no doubt that there will be more of It displayed in 4he months to come. Astute political observers amnnd Washington contend that the senator’s outward flirtation with the question of a Presidential candidacy Is nothing more nor less than a repetition of what he has done before. They argue that Senator Borah wants to dominate the convention of the Republicans and he Is laying the ground work te that end right now. • WMtani N*wap*p*r Uaioo.