The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, August 25, 1921, Image 3
CHAPTER m
Confession.
If the linphlilve, fighting Bill Dale
could hare beard across the Intervening
miles the conversation that took
place th hi* old home the next evening,
lie ereold probably have followed Ben
mttlefordk daughter by the next train
tf he feed hrfd to hold It np at the point
of an honest Mue gun In ordslr te get
aboard It
John K. Date m+V*
Into the library W Mfffer
MAitoef TKA *11?
ov? Jiuc
oh other. The younger woman Was
ill,at ease; she was jlad that the lights
were subdued and soft When the
alienee had become heavy, she straightened
In her chair and blurted oat falterlogly
"IIill asked me to m-marry him, and
I wouldn't do tt I?I thought maybe
I ought to tell you."
The Dales exchanged glances; thee
they looked back at Elizabeth Littleford.
Dale smiled a fatherly smile.
Mrs. Dale's eyes narrowed. The old
Stiffness rose within her and began to
make stubborn war against her mors
recently acquired common sense.
"Have vou ouarwlodt" alio
, "No." "
'Well," old Dale said bluntly, "what's
wrong?"
< "It lent his fault," Ellzatetb told
>.theni. "I'm a savage," she wenf on
desperately?"and he isn't my kind."
I John K. Dale retired very, e#rly that
night. When the sound of his footsteps
had died away, his wife bent toward
Elizabeth and said curiously:
"Why did you call yourself a sayage?"
Elizabeth told of her early life In
the hills, of the feud between her peonVo
Qn/l fho llnrolan<1(? 1 "
r*? miv iuv/iciauuo auu vi uuw oho
had hated the bloodshed. She told ef
die coining or Major Bradley, of her
burning thirst for education, of th? old
trainman who had thrown her a newspaper
each day, and of the coming of
Bill Dale.
MI was lonesome," she continued,
"and nobody ever seemed to understand
'bow I felt That Is, until Bill
Dale came. "After I met him, I couldn't
set anything but him; he seemed to me
like someehlA' Td had and lost . .
"Then," said Mrs. pale, "why did
/wu refuse to marry?"
"Welt?yon ddn't know It all," Ellsabetb
Interrupted her. "There was the
Mllll>* a' that hMlhoii Adam Rail I
want to 'tend the trial because I knew
9SSHA?i * nHO
HROuflHBky!
-in?n," aaid Mr?. Dais, "Why Did
You Refuse to Marry?"
I could clear your son If Mujor Bradley
couldn't. You see, Mrs. Dale, I
happened to know who did kill Adam
Ball, and I meant to tell If It was necessary.
"On the mornln' of the kllUn' Bill
had started up the river by himself. It
was dangerous for hlin to go off like
that, on account o' them Ralls and Torreys.
Hack In the Rig Pine country
there Is a tall, thin man named Sam
Heck. He's a big eater, an awful liar,
and a worshiper of Bill Dale. Sam
heard my father say It was dangerous,
and he whispered: Til Jest sneak
through the laurels and gyard Bill
from nhlnd him.' I heard htm say It,
Mrs. Dale.
"So he went sneakln' along the foot
o' the north end o' David Moreland'i
mountain, with his rifle in his hand, to
guard your Son. BUI didn't know h?
was beln* followed, because fleck la ai
crafty as a cat. I not nervous about
Bill, so I want Into the lanrels and followed
Sam Heck. When I overtook
him, ho was stjndln' behind a clump
o' sheep laurel bad lookln' toward the
river.
"I whispered, Whore's BlflT
"He said, Be still, Babe I' And thee
bo thumbed his ride's hammer bad
without a AfcML
"1 looked "toward the river and sea
Bill Dale a-wp&la'. op the oeaneet
bank, aud I saw BleCk Adam slip'bo
bind a ffoa not br dgray. Bill saa
Adam, and Bb WtAHPiMMBT tree
and then Adam Ball Jumped up' froab
Iwliili." te the knr tie wawi'i
iiupjuurg vjuieue
j^Bltdvaiioiif by
by OoMfc^j^,
bit Be put hl^ gun out by (Tie tree tap
kill Bill as sooQ *s he showed hlmselt
It was one o* his bid tricks."
Elizabeth Llttlefdrd raised her head
slowly and went on 111' a voice that was
much shaken:' . ' ' 1
"I liad alwayk talked against klHln',
and yet 1 stood there add begged 9?ja
Beck to flnlsh him. The rest
In no time. Ball was already a-lobkln'
I along his sights.'- Bill Dale was nearly
out In the open. I?1" she (altered, and
then came a rush of words: 'T wouldn't
marry him without' tellln' him, befctfuse
It wouldn't be fair to him; and If I
told him. he?he wouldn't have me. ,
me woman tie marries mustn't be a?
a s-savage." '
She stopped and stared at Mrs. Dale
almost defiantly. Her head was high,
and heV bands were clasped In her lap
so hard that they trembled.
. "1 think yon have made a mountain
out of a molehill, my dear," the older
woman said gently. 'What you did
was right, not wrong; any good woman
would have done just what you did,
Eliza both, 1 am sure."
Elizabeth Llttleford faced Mrs. John
K.. Drlo oquarely. There was a strange
glow lu her eyes.
"But I haven't told you everything,"
the murmured?"1 took Sam Heck's
rifle from blm, and killed Adam Ball
myself."
CHAPTER XVII.
Bill Dale Laugh*.
Bill Dale sat thluklng of what b*
had done there In the Big Pine country*
From the stone-and-clay chimneys
of the cabins of the Llttlefords on
the other side of the river the howling
wind snatched sprays of blue woodsmoke.
The Morelands had gone to
farms lying around Cartersvllle In the
lowland, on each of which a fair-sized
first payment bad been made, the borrowed
capital was to remain borrowed
for another year. The Morelands were
already losing their outlandlshness
and growing Into universal respect
David Mnrelflnd'a dppAm warn at laat
being realized.
Then Dale frowned heavily, if oniy
he could do as much for Babe's people
1 But he couldn't. The men of the
Littlefords still worked the coal mine.
They received almost twice the customary
wuges. but even that wouldn't buy
them farms and educate their children.
Onder his eyes lay two unanswered
letters from his parents. He found
little pleasure In answering their letters,
for be was still somewhat*, bitter
toward tbem?toward his father because
of his father'o ill treatment of'
David Moreland and David Morelnnd's
people; toward his mother because She
had let him go hungry for mother-love
as a baby, as a child, as a boy. and as
a miin ; toward theru both because he
" lmd been reared a do-nothing.
The door opened suddenly, and By
Heel* cauie stamping In with a gust of
cold .air at his back. He carried in
one hknd the mall satchel; In the other
was his ever-present rifle. After throwing
the satchel to the floor at Dale's
feet, he turned to the glowing wood
stove. 2
"I'm dang nigh friz, Bill," he chattered.
"My gosh, I couldn't be no eolder*n
what I era ft I'd ha'' dim' the
nawth pole neck-ed. Say, Bill, wby'n't
ye burn coal 'stld ?' wood? Igod, It's
'' hotter."
"Ooel Is worth money. Wood Isn't."
Dale ran through the mall hastily.
He threw aside a letter from the Alexantler
Crnyfleld Coal corporation, which
took the entire output of the mine at
an extraordinary figure, and picked up
a letter which bore the postmark of bla
home city.
It was from Babe Llttleford. Since
he paid bo little attention to the letter*
of bis parents, they had requested her
to write to him?they wanted him to'
come home for Christmas dinner.
Wouldn't he come?
He arose and paced the office floor
for two or three minutes, then he.sat
down at his desk and dashed off a let*
ter that contained only two sentences.
By Heck sat beside the stove and
nr u toll lila <* rvrl wltK >Ii ah?K^#?iI 1
nuiv UIO gvu mill lAIVUftllU Ul CJJ.
He understood, he believed. How any
woman on earth could turn down a
man like Rill Dale was-utterly beyond
him. By Heck was a great deal like a
1 good-natured dog. . . .
If Bill would only laugh, It would be
* good for him. It had been so long alnca
be had heard BUI laugh. By Heck de*
elded that he would make BUI Dale
laugh.
"Old boyr
"Welir
"Do ye want me to tell ye a funny
1 tale?" drawled Hedk. He barely heard
the answer:
"I guess I don't mind, By."
1 Heck's sympathy made him gulp.
1 But he swallowed the lump that came
> op In his throat and began bravely:
1 "One time the' whs a felfer named
- Smith. Odd name. BUI
fly' Smith, they culled htm, 'cause It
wi? raid 'at he could easy shoot a
* hosnfly often a floss's ear and never
* break hide on the animtle. He was a
hellion, too. One time Hoesfly, he was
a-tryln' to git app'lnted the chairman
i o' some sort o* politics dole's, and on
t that same day he was a-drtnktn* sort
o' toTable heavy. They agreed to
t make him the temp'rary chairman, hut
I Hoesfly, he didn't want that So he
hops right up la the middle o' the meetr
In*, and he hellers ont and aays:
, " 'Feller SKI sens,' he ssya, '1 want
I to be the permanent chairman I 1 ain't
r a-gotn* te act In the cnp-adty of a
w darned temp'rary chairman; 1 abeo.
rt?n-iutely ain't T
"lot
M^ete^from
on? ba^of
v
- v>
^Ur'
iT r
^ GENUINE
BullDurham
Sjg. TOBACCO
(fzr^.,^g'
back anA aaya amart-Uke: -S?t Uowd
.thar, H*A*r,' aaya Eb?'yaa're drank.
Hiui you uont Know the difference atween
temp'rary and penh&nentr
"Well, they knowed Eb had It acomln'
to him right then, and they listened
fo* it. Hossfly, he addresses the
whole meetln', and this here Is what
'Hossfly says: |
" 'Feller citizens,' says he, 'Eb
Wright thar Hows I don't know the difference
atween temp'rary and permanent.
I'll prove to you that I do know
the difference. Eb Wright says I'm I
drunk. .1 am. That's temp'rary. Eb
Wright Is a ppke-nosed Idjlt That's
permanent 1'"
Heck finished with a lazy laugh:
"Haw. haw, bawl Hee-haw, hee-hawI"
"That story," Dale said wearily,
"has been told on dozens of politicians.
It has become a part of the history sf
hub sinie."
"Well, my gosh I" moaned By Beck.
He thought deeply for a moment, decided
that Bill Dale wouldn't laugh at
the story of Tom Jones' pig?which
had drank all of a gallon-pall of buttermilk
and then gone to sleep In the
aelf-same pall?and went en:
"Here's one, by Jake, 'at ain't been
told on dozens o' politics men. And
every word of It Is the solemn, dyln'
death-bed truth, too.
"One time 1 was out In the mountains
a-hunttn\ a-goln' along slow and
a-lookln' fo' a squirrel, when all of a
suddent I heura a skeery noise right
ahead o' me In the laurels?Z-m-h i
Z-z-z-z-zt ' Jest like that. I stops. I
-atops de-e-ad still. I looks keen. Thar
was a den o' rattlers, and the very
least one was as big around as my left
hind lalgl Then I hears a tumble
growl right ahlnd o' me. I looks keen.
Thar stands a big old she-bear with
her teeth a-showln't and two crosaeyed
cubs I Thep I bears a whine at
my left. 1 looks keen. Thar stands a
she-panther as big as a toesa, with her
eyes Jest a-blazln'I Then I hears a
splttln' sound out to my right I looks
keen. Thar was seven full-grown wildcats,
and all of 'em had been bit. by a
maddawgl Some fix to be InT Yeuh;
some flxl
"Well, 1 thinks to myself. Ef I
shoots the rattlers, I thlhks to myself,
the bear and the panther and the wlldcatavtl
git me. And ef I shoots the
bear, the ^ pantjier and tfce wildcats
and the rattlers'fl git me. And ef I
shoots the panther, the wildcats and
the rattlers and the bear^l git me.
And ef 1 shoots the wildcats, the rat*
tiers and the bear and the pauther'll
git me- And ef 1 don't shoot none of
'em, they'll all git me 1 Some ongodly
fix wasn't it, BUI? Now, how do ye
reckon I got out of It?"
Bill Bale only jwnlled. "1 can't Imagine,
By," he said.
"I caln't imagine, neither," grinned
Heck. "But anyhow, I'm alive today.
Well, now that ye're In a good humor
one time more, I'll tell ye some news.
I bated to ruffle ^e up like a yaller
goose a-ttyin' back'ards whilst ye was
So cussed, danged blue. BUI, old boy,
It ain't but five days ontel Christmas.
A lot o' them Nawth Ca'llner Turners
from Turner's Laurel Is a-visltln' their
kinfolk8, the Balls, and they'll every
dadslatted one of 'em git drunk en
otKUA l??k^l.? il-i- ?
"M? iw ii?uuuu ng&vr iu unnsruiAii
and?they'll shore think o' Black
Adam. The Morelands ain't with ye
no more, BUI, rlckollect; only the Lit*
tlefords la here now."
Bill Dale rose and stood there star*
Ing at By Heck with eyes so bright
that they sparkled.
"If they came down on as looking for
trouble, I'd be a sort of clan chief,
wouldn't I?" he asked. Without waiting
for an answer: "I wouldn't mind
? >1 * - '
u?i. j auuw, i vis K<n a lener nere.
By, that I want you ta put aboard the
next southbound train that passes the
Halfway switch. You've got about an
hour; can you make It?"
"Ef the world was made in six days,
by Ood, It shorely looks like By Heck
could make six miles in a hour, deo't
It?"
-The tall hillman left the Moreland
Ooalfcompany's office with the letter In
one hand, bis rifle In the other, and
tears of Joy In his eyes.
For Bill Dale had laughed, actually
laughed.
By B*?h gut the let^r oa the train.
The train cafrled It t? Bill Dale's home
city,* and the postman carried It to the
stately mansion of Old Coal Kins John
K. Dale, and black Isham, the servant,
carried It to Miss Elizabeth Llttleford.
Miss Elizabeth Llttleford was sitting
alone on an Iron settee among bushes
of Iliac and cape Jessamine: the weath*
er had made another of Ita remarkably
sudden changes, and the day was sun#
ny and pleasant. She was about ts
tear open the envelope when the tall,
straight figure of Jimmy Fayne appeared
before her. He had on tiding
clothes, and there was a rawhide quirt
In his hand.
"You scared me, Jimmy I" laughed
?s?vs Elizabeth, a trifle nervously. "1
didn't know you were anywhere
around lH
"Beg pardon," Jkpmy smiled, "lfay
I alt down beside yea*"
"Yed."
He sat down beside her and began
thoughtfully te flick the toe of one of
his shining boots with the tip of his
quirt She knew what be bad come to
aay, before he said it:
auMftt>w lnftktfi* DlMtflBfily |bu
her|*yw-Hwoo't 70a marry me and
make me happy forever afterwardd"
She tamed the letter over In her lap
to order- that Payne might not aee. accidentally
Of otherwise, the address.
"Jimmy," she Anally said,. "I'd like
to have a little more time to think
about It. Things like tWa mightn't to
be decided In a hurry."
"You'va already hart months' <vr
were they years?or ages? Why ?'.o !
you keep putting me off like this. M
abethl" v
"As 1 told you, Jimmy, 1 don't--"
He Interrupted almost. sharply: "I
know TTM1 don't Inva ma Rn*
learn to?after you're seen bow much
1 shell adore you."
He made a move as though to take
her into bis arms, and' ahe shrank
from him; he had done that same
thing, and she bad done that same
thing, dozens of times before. ...
With unseeing eyes HllsaMtb- watched
L Mrs. DaJe step from her motor at the
1 porte-cochere and go Into the house.
Jimmy Payne, too, saw Mrs. Dale.
I but he was wholly unaffected by the
sight of her; Mrs.Dale,'somehow, did
not object to his seeing th# girl quite
as much as she had once.'objected.
"Jimmy," aftgg ft law nee had
pasmC tmvrtm iMk .y fc afraid 1
ain't the right MpO Tor IQU. . . .
If yon knew, for Stfft Itof I Once took
a rifle (in and |ftN g Qjhn With It,
wogjd y?Ai?woall you stln -want me 7"
mryne laughed as though at'a good
Joke. 1 .
"You, kill a man? Why, I couldn't
believe It But If you had killed a man,'
or a dozen men, It?It could hardly
make any difference to me. "If you did
do It, you did It because there was
nothing else to do; I'm sure of that.
We won't mention It again. If you're
willing. I neither crlticlze'ffpr attempt
to understand your hill co^fts. Marry
me, won't you, Elizabeth?**
"If I did," asket^ Ben LlttlefonTs
aaugnter, "would yoo belp tuy people
back In the hills?"
"Educate 'em? Yes! Every blessed
one of 'em."
"Freely?"
"Yeal"
Once more Elizabeth LIttleford tried
to decide. Fayne's eyes grew more and
more hopeful as he watched ber Hps.
He became Impatient.
"Tell me," be begged.
The girl took up the letter she had
Just received from Bill Dale..
"As soon as I read this," she murmured,
"I'l tell you, Jimmy. If you
don't mind, please look the other way
for a minute."
- '?
wi? ivio vu vue enu 01 in? envelope,
drew out the single sheet and unfolded
It. Her eyes narrowed; her face
flushed, and then became just a little
pale. Her underllp quivered ?as she
folded the sheet and put It back into
the envelope,
"I can't marry you, Jimmy," she told
him.
Without another word she arose and
left hira. She hastened to the house,
hastened upstairs, and went to her
room.
Hfllf An hnni- 1 olor Um
y ? ? >??v* MAO* i/aic IUUUU
her lying face downward on her bed,
and beside her lay a crumpled sheet
of paper. Mrs. Dale picked up the
sheet, straightened it out, and read
this. In the bold handwriting ef her
son:
"Believe'me, I am very appreciative
of your Invitation. But I am having
Christmas with your mother, here in
my own country."
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Last Fight.
It was early in the morn lag, and
Blli Dale had Just sent for Ben Littleford.
The Mllman hurried to the of
Montr haok without question
if HUNT'S GUARANTBKD
SKIN DtSBASU RHMKDIKS 5M
(Hunt's Salve and Soap),fail in f IfT "pj'f
the treatment ofltch, Kftema.^fjTr JI
Rlngworm,Tetterorotheritch- f U / / I
ing akin diseases. Try thie * ? ?
treatment at our risk.
D. H. LANEY, Dmggiet
.
R. L. McMANUS
Dentist
Cheraw, S. C.
Beginning June 1st, 1921, I will
practice at Chesterfield Mondays and
on Wednesday eveninga; at Pageland
Tuesday, at Mt. Croghan, Wednesday
morning of each week. At Cheraw
Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
I Tired ?
tfj "I was weak and run-down," WA
M relates Mrs. Eula Burnett, of 4
A Dalton, Qa. "I was thin and
9| just felt tired, all the time. B
B I dldnt rest welL I wasn't U
fA erer hunary. 1 knew, by w
M this, I nesded a tonic, and A
^ as there la none better than? El
tnannmS
a uftnvuif
H The Weman's Tonic I
B . t I began using Cartful," vfi
3 eontiouee Mrs. domett m
R "After my drat bottle, 1 slept U
WA better and ate better. I took N
? four bottles. Now I'm well, m
Steel Just On* eat and sleep, R
my skin Is clear and I hare m
gained and sore feel that 0
Oardol Is the best tonle erer U
? male." JS
WA Thousands of other women H
I here fou^t Oardul Just as
Burn* did. It eho** fl
' S uw B
iBSB
"ii 'ip i hi g=aa?gg'i ii
! flee, for ho beUeewt he knew what
wu in the air. Ho hod already foot
to frork at tho mine, and hla thick
beard, bis face and his hands were
black with thS dost of coal.
"Sit down, Ben," said the general
manager. "We're going to bold a
council of war."
Llttleford took a chair and crossed
his legs.
"Is It the Ball outfit?" he drawled.
"Yes," answered the younger man,
and, forthwith he told the other of the
news that By Heck had brought Mm
a few days before; he had not given
, the! matter reollv wHrnio
tioni until that morning. "Now," he
finished, "i want to know whether you
think there's any danger?"
LJttleford tugged at his blackened
beard and frowned.
"Bill," he said soberly, "do you
rickollect what John Moreland told
you oncet about them Balls? He told
ye ''at you wasn't safe, and 'at he
wakn't safe, ontel they was dead and
burled, didn't he? I believe he did.
By Heck says the's a whole big passel
o' thein Nawth Oa'llner Turners; he's
shore them and the Balls'U outnumber
us more'n two to one. Yes, the's
danger, Bill, and 'specially to you.
They think It was you killed Adam,
and they don't think the law handed
'em a square deal at the trial."
Then listen to this plan," said
Dale.
Til keep By Heck up the river
watching for them. He will have
three sticks of dynamite tied together
and capped and fitted with a fuse. II
i he sees them coming this way In anything
like a force, he will fire off the
dynamite as a signal to us. Our men
will gather here In the upstairs of this
building, and bar the doora?"
"Oh, Bill," moaned the old fighter,
"you shorely don't think we'd ever lei
'em git to- the doors 1"
"I hope they don't, certainly,"
smiled Dale. "Where are your rifles,
Bill?"
"At the mine," said Llttleford. "Yt
see, Bill, we've been a-lookln' fo
trouble."
Dale went on: "At By Heck's slg
nal, I'll get on my horse and ride tt
theiidowlaiids for the Morelands. I car
get them a lot quicker than I can gel
competent help from the law. Whal
do you think of It?"
"It's a good plan, 1 reckon,'
growled Ben Llttleford, "only 1 don'i
cotton very easy to the Idee o' ui
a-mnnin' rrom tne mine to this her<
bulldln*. I never did like to run fron
any man wo'th a durn, BUI."
"But that wouldn't be cowardly,'
Dale pretested. "It would be purelj
a strategic move, and It would sav.
' lives for us. For, when the Balls ant
: their kinsmen come, you'll have to de
| liver me Into their hands or you'l!
i have to fight like the very that'i
I sure; and, according to By Heck's tig
1 ures, they outnumber you mora thai
two to one.**
"All right," Llttleford replied, wltl
a shrug of his huge shoulders. "What
ever you say, that same we'll do."
So By Heck was sent for, and short
ly afterward he sneaked Into the lau
rels and went off toward the settle
ment of the Balls. In the ssook of hli
arm he carried his rifle, and to aide hli
shirt he carried three pieces of dyna
mite aU ready for the match?and h<
chose every step with great care foi
fear of Jarring the explosive too much
He had not been gone an hour whei
Bill Dale httrd a dull, smothered roai
from somosfeere to the northward
Dale sprang up from his desk, ran t<
his ready and waiting horse, mountei
and rode like s streak toward th<
lowland.
Dale arrived at John Moreland's blj
white farmhouse a littie before th<
Tl - ... _
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Chesterfield, S. C.
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^ i, ' ii " ' ? -
i'- 1
' middle of the day, and halloed lustily | ?<
at the gate. John Moraland and bis tl
two sons hurried out In response to n
I the call. Dale waved aside all greet* d<
Ings and Inquiries after his health,
I and told that which he had come to :
| tell. The elder Moreland turned quick* . **i
ly to his two stalwart sons? | |?
"Guns and bosses, hoys I It'll be ot
our last tight, and le's b? at it and T
I make it a good fight." i si
l.ess than five minutes later the
three erstwhile mountaineers rode out
at the barnyard gate with full belts of i c
I I
i ' "Quni and Hosses, Boys!"
cartridges around their waists and
with repeating rifles across the pom- 1
, mels of their saddles, and joined .
, Dale. The four hastened to the homes ,
; of the other Morelunds; and not long
t afterward the old cl" i, In full .
I strength, rode toward the big, dimt
blue hills with BUI Dale acting as Its (
t leader. It was to be the clan's last ,
, fight, and a fight for a good cause,
s and every man of It was eager for
, the fray. ...
| B1U Dale bore himself proudly, and 1
he rode like a man born to the sadj
die. He found a queer Joy?a Joy '
j that brightened his steel-grey eyes
, and flushed his sunburned cheeks, a
. Joy that he didn't even attempt to
I understand?in the thought: (
, "For this one day I am a clan chief *,
. I am leading my own people against
i a foe. In my cv/^ country""
| And bo overwhelmingly did the Idea
i take hold of him that he wished, even
thpn. fnr fha wnooio. ? ?--?
_? w.v tv|fvuivi uuu nnuiitu
him at his office back In the heart of
- the mountains. Once his conscience
- asked him a question?and he an
awered It with another question. Was
l he doing that which was right? Might
i not the Llttlefords all be killed by
- those drunken cutthroats while he
? was waiting for the arrival of a coinr
pany of militia from a city miles dis?
tant?
i Anyway, tne militia would fight. Ills
r clan wottfd do no more than that. Lie
. satisfied Ms conscience quickly.
> When they had reached the lower
1 end of the cleared valley, there came
a to them the sounds of slow firing, the
firing of sniper*. Each man kicked 1
f fits horse's flunks And rnd? t'natnr
3 When they came in sight of the he- I
. sieged building, they saw puffs of powder-smoke
rising lastly from the upper
windows and from the mountain side
above and to the right. Again they
kicked the flanks of their horses and
rode faster.
At John Moreland's old cabin they
dismounted hastily and' turned their
horses Into the drab meadow. NVIth
Dale still leading, they hurried on foot
to the river's nearest bank and went
rapidly, under cover of the thickly- j
standing sycamores, to a point within I
seventy jjirus or rne omce and ?uj>- '
THIS COUPON/
ADMITS
TO THE STRAND TH
r\/rM
Q V CLIN
Cut out this coupon, rake up t
to the show. In this way you can s<
cost you 50 cents.
Notice?One person alone not
must be man and lady. Clip this ci
I
Wamble Hill National I
Is authorized to take and file
Land Bank of Columbia.
Rate of interest 6 per cent. Loans
The Federal Land Bank will loa
_ per cent, on insurable improverm
tiling your application with Wa
Association is the first step take
Federal Land Bank of Columbii
? The bank will complete all loam
make the money available.
~ The bank desires to meet the net
n application will insure you to gei
a The Wamble Hill National Farr
* business in the entire county, an
b. services if loan is made, other wi;
i- cost. Bring your land deed for in
a tion. *
u
la
B. J. Douglass
>r
Wamble Hill N
. Office in Rear of Bank o
"
v?. Ik . fr
Ilea building. Than thajr mada a dash
cross the opan space, and Ban Uteford,
with one arm bound up In a
Ml-stalnad blua bandana, opened the
oor for them.
"Who else Is hurtr* panted Dale.
"Little Tom," answered Llttleford,
ind Saul. Little Tom, he got a built
onder the shoulder. Saul, ha got
ne In might' nigh the same place,
hey've riddled the Whole t'other
de o' the house to splinters. They're
-callln' fa' you."
"They'll get all they want of ?m
ale growled.
H?i turned and ran un the r mirh
talrway, and Ben Littleton! and the
lorelands followed close upon his
eels. At the front and aide windows,
ehrlnd anything they had been able
o find that would stop a ballet, knelt
<lttlefords with rifles In their hauds,
atlently watching for a human target
o uppear on the mountainside above,
laul and Little Tom lay In a corner,
there they were fairly safe from
hance bullets. Hayes had bound up
heir wounds as well as be could with
he material at hand. They were
oth white and helpless and suffering,
ut still fall of the old Ltttleford
Ighting spirit.
Dale seized his Winchester and
ielt of cartridges from the hands of
he man who had brought them to
dm, and turned to the others. A bulet
crashed through the wall and
itruck the floor at his foot; be paid
to attention to It.
"Listen to me, boys." Dale was
tuckllng his cartridge-belt with rapid,
ifnnHo ?
uii^ci o. n uui wuere uiey are
tiding, the Balls and Turners can
tardly see the lower story of this
tullding. We'll go downstairs, open
he front door, and run to the edge
>f the laurels at the foot of the oaounaln.
Then we'll turn to the right,
nake a wide detour, and get above
he Ball outfit; we'll be fighting downilll
Instead of uphill. Get tne? Axe
rou all ready?"
To a man, they were ready.
They reached the thick underrroartK
n?lfKAu*
VU KUUVUl UC1IIK BCT7U UJ U1C BU?my.
While the Balls and Turners
Ired more or less aimlessly at the
julldlng, drank white whisky and
called drunkenly for the surrender to
them of Bill Dale, Bill Dale and his
men were making their way steadily
in a wide half-circle up the side of
David Moreland's mountain.
Half an hour after they had left the
office building, Dale had stationed his
men, deployed as a line of skirmishers,
behind sheltering trees some two hundred
feet above the Balls and their
kinsmen.
John Moreland, Ben Llttleford and
BUI Qale were not far apart. "It's a
shame to do It," aald Dale. "I swear,
we can't shoot men in the back like
this 1"
John Moreland, twiuted his mouth
Into a queer smile of contempt, and
so did Ben Llttleford. They knew,
far better than their leader, the ways
of that people without a principle. The
Balls and Turners wouldn't hesitate
to shoot them In the back I
"Well," John Moreland replied, end
It was almost a sneer, "ye might go
down thar and give 'em some candy,
and kiss 'em, and ax 'em won't they
please surrender 1"
Dale leaned around his tree, a great
gnarled chestnut, and called boldly:
"You've got a chance to surrender
now?and you'd certainly better take
It quick!"
One of those below yelled surprlsedly:
"Who're yob?" Then they all
whipped to the other side of their
sheltering timber.
The answer came at once: "I'm BUI
Dale, and I'm peeved 1 You're at the
mercy of the finest hili ciau that ever
looked along rifle barrels; will you
surrender, or fight It out?"
"You said It?we'll fight It out!"
cried a burly cousin of Black Adam
Ball, deceased.
"You're on 1" ornu'loH Will nolo
flipping his rifle out beside the tree.
**Glve 'eiu h?1, boys!"
He was unused to this sort of thing,
and he was incautious. He showed a
(Continued on Last Page)
666 cures Biliousness. 40
\ND 10 CENTS
5 TWO
EATRE SATURDAY
ING
en cents; pot your lady and come
ie a show for 10 cents that would
admitted on this proposition. It
oupon and bring with you.
Farm Loan Association
applications with the Federal
made on improved farm lands,
in 50 per cent, on land and 20
mts.
mble Hill National Farm Loan
n to secure a loan through the
is
as fast as it can sell bonds to
ids of the farmer, and an early
t your loan quicker.
n Association is entitled to do
id it charges 1 per cent for its
se all is refunded except actual
spection when making applicai,
Sec. Treas.
. P. L. A.
f Chesterfield Building ,