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\ % } OW PUNCHER "THE C CHAPTER 1, v The shadows of the spruce trees fell north-eastward, pointing long, cool fingers across belts of undulat- ing prairie, or leaning lazily against the brown foothills, Like an incan- descent globe the afternoon sun hung in the bow! of a cloudless heaven, filmy with heat, but the hot rays were met by the high altitude of the ranch country, and lost their force like a blow half struck, And among the spruce trees it was cool and green, and clear Llue water rip. pled over beds of shining gravel. The ranch buildings lay a little to the rear, as though the trees stood sentinel between them and the prai- ries, The house was of round straight logs; the shingles of the squat roof were cupped and hlister- ed with the suns of many summers. Refyse loitered about the open door; many empty tins; a leaky barrel, with missing hoops; hoxes, harness, tangled bits of wire. Once there had been a fence; a sort of picket fence of little saplings, but wild bronchos had kicked it to pieces and strange steers had straggled unscarred across its scattered remnants. Forward and to the left, was the corral; mill slabs on end, or fences ot lodge-pole pine; a corner somo- what covered in, offering vague pro- tection from the weather. The upper poles were worn thin with the crib- bing of many horses, The sunlight bathed the scene; By Robt. J. C. Stead was a flash in the sunlight, and to the clatter of the horse's hoofs came the crack-crack of the revolver. Two bottles shivered to fragments, but four remained intact, and the boy rode back, muttering and disap: pointed. He reasoned with his horse as he rode, "'Tain't no use, you ol' Slop- eye; a fellow can't get the bede if he ain't got the fillin'; cooked meals and decent chuck, I could plug 'em six out o' six---you know that, you ol' flgp-ears; don't you argue about it, neither--when I'm right inside my belt 1 smash 'em six out o' six; but I ain't right, an' you know it. You don't know nothin' about it; you never had a father, leastways, you never had to be re- sponsible for one. , ., ., Well, it's comin' to a finish--a damn lame fin- ish, you know that. You know--" But he had reloaded his revolver and set up two more bottles, This time he broke four, and was better pleased with himself. As he rode hack his soliloquy was broken by a strange sound from beyond the belt of trees. The horse pricked up his ears, and the boy turned in the sad- dle to listen. "Jumpin' crickets, what's loose he ejaculated. He knew every sound of the foothill country, but this was strange to him. A kind of snort, a sort of hiss; mechanical in its reg- ularity, startling in its strangeness, it came across the valley with the nursed it in a soft, warm silence. The desertion seemed absolute; the silence was the silence of the un-| spoken places. But suddenly it was) broken by a stamping in the cov- ered part of the corral, and a man's | voice saying: "Hip there; whoa, you cayuse; get under your sad- dle! Sleepin' against a post all day, you Sloppy-eye, Hip, come to it!" Horse and rider dashed into the sunlight. The boy--for he was no more than a hoy--sat the beast as though born to it, his lithe frame taking every motion of his mount as softly as a good hoat rides the sea. His red shirt and thick hairy chaps could not disguise the lean muscu- larity of his figure; the broad felt hat, and the revolver at his belt, gave just the touch of romance. With a yell at his horse he snatched the hat from his head, turning to the sun a smooth, brown face snd a mane of dark hair, and slapped the horse across the flank with his crumpled | headgear. At the signal the ani- mal sprang into the air, then gash ed at a gallop down the roadway, bearing the boy as unconcerned as| a flower on its stem. | Suddenly he brought his horse to| | back unbroken rhythm of a watch-tick. "Well, I guess it won't eat us," he ventured at last. "We'll just run it down and perhaps poke a hole in it. So saying, he cantered along the road which skirted the spruce trees, crossed the little stream, and swung up the hill on the farther side. He was half-way np when a turn in the road brought him into sudden sight of the strange visitor. the first he had seen, but he knew it at once, for the fame of the auto- mobile, then in its single-cylinder stage, had already spread into the farthest ranching country. The horse was less well informed. Wheth- er or not in that moment he recog- nized the great rival of his race must be left to some janalyst of horse character, but he bucked and kicked in rage and terror. But the hoy was conscious not so much of the horse as of two bright eyes turn- ed on him in frank and surprised admiration. "What horsemanship!" she ex- claimed, but the words had scarce left her lips when they were follow- ed by a cry of alarm. For the car had taken a sudden turn from the It was! OSHAWA, ONTARIO, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1922 ' on his feet, , In the saddle he was grace personified. ' For a moment he looked somewhat stupidly upon the wreck. Had it been a horse or a steer he would have known the procedure, but this experience was new to his life, Be- sides, there were strangers here. He had no fear of strangers when they wore chaps and colored handker- chiefs, but a girl in a brown sweat- er and an oldish man with a white collar were creatures to be approach- ed with caution, The oldish man was lying on the ground, with a leg pinned under the car, and Brown Sweater raised his head against her knee and pressed his cheeks with small white fingers and looked at the hoy with bright grey eyes and said, "Well, aren't you going to do any- thing?" That brought him back. "Sure," he said, springing to her side, "Whada ye' want me to do?" "I am afraid my leg is broken," said the man, speaking calmly not- withstanding his pain. "Can you get the jack out the toollbox and raise the car?" The girl pointed to the hox, and in| a moment he had the jack in his| hand. But it was a new tool to him, | and he fumbled with it stupidly. The handle would not fit, and when it did fit it operated the wrong way. "Oh, let me have it," she cried, impatiently. In a moment she had set it under the frame of the car, and, was plying the handle up and down with rapid strokes. The machine began to groan with the pressure, and the boy looked on, helpless and mortified. He was beginning to] realize that there were more things | in the world than riding a horse and | shooting bottles. He felt a sudden desire to be of great service. And] just now he could be of no service whatever. | But the foot of the jack began to sink in the soft earth, and the girl looked up helplessly, "It won't Jift it," she said. 'What shall we do?" It was his chance. He was eigh- teen, and his wild, open life had given him muscles of steel. "Here," he said, roughly, 'move his leg when I get it clear." He turned his back to the machine and crouched down until he could get his hands under the steel frame. Then he lifted. The car was in a somewhat poised position and he was able to swing it up far enough to release the injur- ed leg. "Very good, my boy," said the man. "That was a wonderful lift. The leg is: broken--compound. Can| you get some way of moving me to shelter? 1 will pay you well." The last words were unfortunate. Hospitality in the ranching country - ------------------ - HH continued, "I fancy we shall find it| "I was forgetting I have to find a plain and unveneered, What a|/bandage for you," she suddenly re- horseman! If 1 could run an auto- membered, 'There's his trunk; it ly is." He winced with pain, but/might produce something but we will mobile like he does a horse we|save it for a last resort. Now I will should not be here, Did you notice explore this main room which I sup- that I didn't release the clutch Just |pose is the kitchen, dining room, lv- ambled into this predicament--em- |ing-room, everything" braced it, I might say." In the south end of the larger "He's strong," she said, "But he's room stood a fireplace, crudely made rude." of slabs of native rock. The fires of "The best fields for muscle are of- Many winters had crumbled the ten poor schools for manners," he|Tock, so that it had fallen in in answered. "But manners are no Places, and was no longer employed substitute for hospitality, and he jo its original purpose. A very seems to have that all right. It Is rusty and greasy stove now occupied something that belongs to the open the space immediately in front of the country, the big, open country. In| fireplace; the stovepipe leading into cities they entertain, but in the/the ample but tottering chimney. ranching country they, why, there {Near the stove was a hench support- isn't any word for it, but you will|in& a tin wash-basin, a wooden pail, neat walk, the wide verandah; the! and certain fragments of soap--evi- dently all the equipment necessary for the simple ablutions of the Elden | household. The remnant of a grain {bag, with many evidences of use and abuse, performed tthe functions of towel, and a broken piece of looking- glass gave the faintest intimation see for yourself." He was soon back with a wagon and a stretcher. He avoided the eyes of his guests, but quickly and gen- tly enough he placed the injured man on the stretcher, "I you'll have to take the feet," he said. The words were for the girl, al- though he did not look at her. * that a strain of fundamental rela- could hustle him myself, but it might| tionship Unks the sexes. By the hurt "im." 4 western wall was a tavie, with num- But the injured man interrupted, |©rous dishes; and to the wall itself "1 beg your pardon," he said, "that had been nailed wooden hoxes----sal- I did not introduce my daughter. I|mon and tomato cases-- now contain- 30 Doctor Hardy --this 18 my daugh-|;,o an assortment of culinary sip- "They don't call me mister," said Pes. A partially used sack of flour, the boy, 'Misters is scarce in these and another of rolled oats, leaned woods, My name is Elden--Dave PAGE SEVEN against the wall, and a trap-door in the floor gave promise of further re- sources beneath. There was a win- dow in the east 'and another in the west, both open and unscreened; myriads of flies gave the only touch of life to the dismal scene. Irene looked it all over, then lean- ed against the window-sill and laugh- ed. Her father had brought her west for holidays, with the promise of changed surroundings and new ex- periences, but he had promised her no such delight as this. With the Elden kitchen still photographed in her mind she called up the picture of her own city home; the green lawn, faultlessly trimmed by a time-serv- ing gardener; the floral borders, the hedges; the two stately trees; the dim, mysterious hall: the rooms, heavily shaded to save the rich car- pets; the order, the precision, the fixedness, the this-sits-here and that- stands-therenass--the flatness and emptiness and formality of it all, and she turned again to the Elden kitchen and laughed--a soft, rip- pling, irrepressible laugh, as irre- pressible as the laughter of mountain stream amid the ever- greens, Then she thought of her mother; prim, sedate, convention- al, correct--" Always he correct, my dear; there is a right way and a wrong way, and a well-bred person always chooses the right""--and her eyes sohered a trifile, then flashed Elden," He was for dropping it at that, hut the girl came up with extended hand. He took it shyly, but it made him curiously bold, "I'm glad to meet] you, Mr, Elden," she said, "I'm glad to meet you, too," he answered. 'Misses is scarcer than misters in this neck o' the woods." Carefully they lifted the injured man into the wagon, and Dave drove | to the ranch building with an un-| wonted caution that must have caus-| ELECTRIC CLEANER Cleans By Ai. Hlone! ed strange misgivings in the hearts | of his team. | "It ain't much of a place," he said, | as they pulled up at the door. "I guess you can see that for yourself," | he added, with a grin. "You see,! there's just Dad and me, and he's soused most o' the time, and I handle a lasso better"n a scrnbbin' hrush." He was already losing his shyness. | "Now, you take the feet agaln.| Steady, don't hreak any more hones. Look out for that barrel hoop. This way, now." | He led into the old ranch house, | kicking the door wider open with | his hecl as he passed. A musty] smell fell on the senses of the girl as she entered, and she was cnn- scious of the buzzing of innumerable flies. A partition from east to west divided the house, and another parti- tion from north to south divided the | northern half. In the northeast room they set the stretcher on the floor. "Now," said the boy, "I'm goin' | Therearetwokindsof dirt that spoil yourrugs The picture shows the two kinds of dirt in your rugs, " A little floats--that is surface litter, the | QR ---- in brighter merriment as they pic- tured her mother amid these sur- roundings, "She would be so shocked, #0 dreadfully shocked," she rippled to herself. "I am quite sure she would never approve of father breaking his leg with such consc- quences. It wasn't the correct thing--very commonplace, I should say---and think of Irene! Why, the child--she's but a child, Andrew, a very beautiful child, but with just a little weakness for the--ah--un- conventional--she must he restrain- ed--she needs her mother's guidance to protect her from the suggestion of maybe--shall 1 say? vulgarity. That's a very dreadful word. Think of all the vulgar people there are in the world. . . . And here is dear lit- tle Irene right in the midst of it, and --horrors--revelling in jt." TO BE CONTINUED TWO OF A KIND Meaford Mirror: Merchants who buy their printing out of town are in a class with mail order customers of the big Toronto stores, whether they like it or not. Plumbing, Heating and Repairs Boiler Room Repairs a Specialty J. S. DICK At Purdy Co.'s Premises 82 Simcoe St, 8, ESTIMATES GIVEN Phone 942 Res, 360) TRAINING is of lifelong value to any boy or girl. Shaw Schools in Toronto hold the premier position. Thirty years record. Over 25,000 students (snd their parents) testify to the careful individual instructon given. ELEVEN Schools in the best sec- tions of the city. Start at any time Handbook sent to anyone on request, P. Mcintosh, Chief Principal Much more sinks -- that is embedded dirt, unsanitary, germ-breeding, the worst kind of dirt. It is deep in your rugs. : a aids . . F J / 7 4 The Royal Electric Cleaner is speciall pe ins FETE Bom ree] a stop, swung about, and rode for the doctor. It's torty miles to town, and it'll likely be mornin' be-} fore I'm back, but I'll sure burn the trail. Yow'll have to make the best] of it,"" he continued impersonally ad dressing the much spotted window. ""There's grub in the house, and you won't starve, that is, if you can cook." | at a gentle canter. A few yards road and plunged into a growth of from the house he again spurred him|YOuUng poplars that fringed the hill- to a gallop, and, leaning far down | Side. The oldish man at the wheel by the animals' side, deftly picked 8aVve it a violent wrench, but left his a bottle from among the grass. Then | Motor in gear, and the car half slid, he circled about, repeating this ope-| half ploughed its way into semi-ver- ration as often as his eye fell on a tical position among the young trees. two occupants were thrown is not bought and sold, "You can't pay me nothing," he said, rudely. "But I can bring a light wagon, if you can ride in that, and put you up at the ranch. The old man's soused," he added, as an afterthought, "but it's better than designed to get this embedded dirt wit powerful suction scientifically applied. A VISIT HERE WILL PROVE A TREAT) bottle, until he had half a dozen; |The then down the road again, careful-| ly setting a bottle on each post of | the fence that skirted it to the right. | from their seat; the girl fell clear, but her father was less fortunate. In an instant the boy had flung Again he came back to the house, himself from his horse, dropping the but, when he turned, his eye was on the row of posts, and his right hand lay on the grip of his revolver. Again his sharp yell broke the si- lence and the horse dashed forward as though shot from 2 gun. Down the road they went until within a rod of the first bottle; then there reins to the ground, and the animal, although snorting and shivering, had no thought of disgracing his training by breaking his parole. With quick, ungainly strides the boy brought himself to the upturned ma- he chine. It was curious that should appear to such disadvantage sleepin' out. I won't be long." He was back at his horse, and in a moment they heard the clatter of hoofs galloping down the hillside, The girl sat on the ground and rested her father's head in her lap. Tears made her bright eyes brighter still. "Don't cry, Reenie,"" he said gen- tly. "We are véry lucky to be so close to help. Of course, I'll be laid up for a while, but it will give you (This was evidently for Irene. There | was a note in it that suggested the! girl might have her limitations.) | "Dig in to anythin' in sight. And 1| hope your father's leg won't burt very much. wards why the hope concerning her| father should have been expressed to her. Did he already feel--what was | it? --bhetter acquainted with her? "Oh, I'll stand it," said Dr. Har- a chance to see ranch life as it real- NAVY CUT PLAYER'S CIGARETTES < or ? (© dy, with some cheerfulness. "We medical men become accustomed tol suffering--in other people. You| _ Made |are very kind. My daughter may Yo: in Canada It iseasy to get the surface litter. But the Royal gets ALL the dirt. Let our Royal Man clean a rug for you free, and show you how the Royals rons wondered after powerful suction gets the unsanitary embedded dirt, Just call us up. THE ELECTRIC SHOP main in this room I suppose? There! is no one else?" "No one but the old man," he answered. "He's asleep in the mext iroom, safe till mornin'. Ill be back | by that time. That's my bed," in-, |dicating a corner. "Make your- selves at home." He lunged through |the door and they heard his spurs clanking across the hard earth. The girl's first thought was to as- sure as much comfort for her fath- er as the circumstances would per- mit. She removed his boot and stocking, and, under his direction, slit the leg of his trousers above the injury. It was bleeding a little. In the large room of the house she! found a pail with water, and she| {bathed the wound, wiping it with | her handkerchief, and mingling a| {Loar or two with the warm blood | that dripped from it. | 2--Long Life 3-- Freedom from Repairs Exide equipped. Three Things You Want The three things that count in a battery, the Exide gives in maximum measure. These are: 1--Plenty of Power--and then some A real battery means so much to you that you should ask, in buying a new car, if it is | If you have any trouble in finding an Exide when you need to replace your present battery, 'nst write ue or our nearest district distributor. "You're good stuff," her father said, pressing the fingers of her un- occupied hand. Now if you could! find a clean cloth to bandage it--" { She looked about the place, some- what hopelessly. Her expedition to the main part of the house, when battery --wheather jour preseat rebuilt with genuine Exide parts. 41 you don't feel warranted in buying a new Exide Battery at this time, ask our nearest Service Station --before jou consider gelling a substitute make of battery Go lo an Oficial Exide Service Station for Winter Storage--it mill pay rou. cannot be 'she had found the water pail, had not reassured her as to the house- keeping of the Eldens. Her father read her perplexity. | "It seems as thopgh you would be in charge here for a while, Reenie," he said, "so you will save time by getting acquainted at once with your equipment. Look the house over |and see what you have to work with." | "Well, I can commence here," she answered. "This is Dave's room. I I should say Mr. Elden's, was it he said about "mis- i it would be splendid if it were cleaned up." she comtinued, |with kindling enthusiasm. ""These {bare logs, bare floors, bare rafters-- | we've got back to essentials, avy- | way. And that's his bed." She sur- {veyed a framework of spruce poles, on which lay an old straw mattress and some very grey blankets. "1 | goes to bed," she said drolly, as! (though that could be the only ox-| planation of sleep amid such sur-| THE LONG-LIFE BA ¢AIDE BATIERIES OF CANADA, LIMITED 153 Daleria Street, TORONTO pay. 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