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£5^*1 ^ J r i 4'v-," -^•*rA,i".x""" vC |3S»f~~' • ' , V" \ P*MvV GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON 1\. t •;. ui i f t J" • v. Copyright by IJodd, M»*<1 * Cornpuf, IBO. ; Chapter xvi--continued^ £* ..A; --11--' *%ou didn't give m« • chance.d--« you," he snarled. "You hit me before • I had a chance to--" „ "I wish t<| Ood I had hit you sooner, and that I had killed you," grated Kenneth. 'Too will wish that with all your •oul before I am through with you," mnarled Barry. "Oh, I'm not afraid of you J I know the whole beastly story •boot your father and that--" "Stop I" cried Kenneth, taking a step forward, his arm drawn back. "Not another word, Lapelle! You've said enough! I know where you got your information--and 1 can tell you, here and now, that the man lied to you. I'm going to give you twenty-four hours to get out of this town for good. '.And If I hear that you have repeated /• word of what you said to her I'll see to It that you are strung up by the neck and your miserable carcass filled with bullets. Oh, you needn't sputter! It will be your word against mine. I guess you know which of us the men of this town will believe. And you needn't expect to be supported by your friend Jasper Suggs or the gentle Mr. Hawk--Aha, that got under your pelt, didn't It? If either of them is still alive at this minute, It's because he surrendered without a fight and not because God took care of him. Tour beautiful game is spoiled, Lapelle-- and you'll be lucky to get off with a whole skin. I'm giving you a chance. Get out. of this town--and stay out I" Barry, recovering qnlckly from the shock, made a fair show of bravado. "What are you talking about? What the devil have I got to do with--" "That's enough! You know what Tm talking about Take my advice. Get out of town before you are a day older. You will save yourself a ride on a rail and a rawhidlng that you'll not forget to your dying day." "I will leave this town when I feel like It, Gwynne," said Lapelle, drawing himself up. "I don't take orders from you. You will hear from me later. You've got the upper hand now--with that nigger of yours standing over there holding an ax In his hands, ready to kill me If I make a move. We'll settle thla In the regular way, . Gwynne--with pistols. You may expect a friend of* mine to call on you shortly." "As yon like," retorted the other, . bowing stiffly. "Yon tnay name the _ time and place." Lapelle bowed and then cast an eye _ jabout In quest of his hat. It was lying In the road some distance away. He .(Strode over and picked it up. Quite featurally, perhaps unconsciously, he resorted to the habit of years; he fcocked It slightly at Just the right jangle over his eye. Then, without a glance behind, he crossed the road fuid plunged Into the thicket Kenneth watched him till he disappeared from view. Suddenly aware Of a pain in his hand, be held it out before him and was astonished to find that the knuckles were already beginning to puff. He winced when he fried to clench his fist A rueful smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. "Mighty slim chance I'll have," he said to himself. "Won't be able to pull a trigger to save my life." It suddenly occurred to him that he ought to intercept Rachel Carter before she reached the house, not only to prepare her for the shock that awaited her but to devise between them , some means of undoing the harm that already had been done. They would have to stand together In. denouncing - Barry, they would have to swear to Viola that the story was false. He realized what this would mean to him: an almost profane espousal of his enemy's cause, Involving not only ' the betrayal of his own conscience, but the deliberate repudiation of the debt he owed his mother and her peo- ~ pie. He would have to go before Viola and proclaim the Innocence of the woman who had robbed and murdered his own mother. The unthinkable, the unbelievable confronted him. A cold sweat broke out all over him •a he stood down by the gate, torn between hatred for one woman and love for another: Rachel and Minda Carter. He could not spare one without sparing the other; lying to one of them meant lying for the other. But there was no alternative. The mem- _ ory of the look in Viola's eyes as she shrank away from Lapelle, the thought of the cruel shock she must bave suffered, the picture of her as •he came down the path to kill no, there could be no alternative! And so, as he leaned rigidly against the gate, sick at heart but clear of head, waiting for Rachel Carter, be came to think that, after all, a.duel with Barry Lapelle might prove to be the easiest and noblest way out of his • difficulties, ' . t. „ : CHAPTER XVI9 . Affair at Hawk's Cabin. * 3?? ' & mm H wanted half an hour of daybreak when a slow-riding, silent group of men came to a halt and dismounted • In the narrow lane some distance from the ramshackle abode of Martin Hawk, squatting unseen among the • trees that lined the steep bank of the Wabash. A three hours' ride through dark, muddy roads lay behind them. There were a dozen men In all--and one woman, at whose side rode the hunter, Stain. They had stopped at the latter's cabin on the way down, and she had conversed apart with him through a window. Then they rode oft, leaving him to follow, There were no lights, and no man •poke above a whisper. The work of tethering the horses progressed swiftly but with infinite caution. Byes „ 4M0S sharp by lung hours of tlnrhns-- ;V V--?y served their owners well In this stealthy enterprise. vt The half-hour passed and the night began to lift Vague unusual objects slowly took shape, like gloomy spectres emerging from impenetrable fastnesses. Blackness gave way to a faint drab pall; then the cold, unearthly gray of the still remote dawn came stealing across the fields. At last it was light enough to see, and the advance upon the cabin began. Silently through the dense, shadowy wood crept the sheriff afcd his men, followed by the tall woman In black and a lank, bearded man whose rifle-stock bore seven tiny but significant notches--sinister epitaphs for as many bygone men. A dog barked--the first alarm. Then another, and still a third Joined in a fierce outcry against the Invaders. Suddenly the door of the hut was thrown open and a half-dressed man stooped In the law aperture, peering out across the dawn-shrouded clearing. The three coon-dogs, slinking out of the shadows, crowded top to the door, their snarling muzzles pointed toward the encircling trees. Two men stepped out of the underbrush and advanced. Even In the dim, uncertain light, Martin Hawk could see that they carried rifles. His eyes were like those of the bird whose name he bore. They swept the clearing in a flash. As if by magic, men appeared to right of him, to left of him. He counted them. Seven--no, there was another--eight. And be knew there were more of them, back of the bouse, cutting off retreat to the river. "Don't move, Martin," called out a voice. * "What do you want?" demanded Hawk, In a sharp, querulous voice. "I am the sheriff. Got a warrant for your arrest. No use makln* a fight for It, Hawk. You are completely surrounded. You can't get away," "I ain't done nothin' to be arrested fer," cried* the man in the doorway. "I'm an honest man--I hain't ever done--" "Well, that's not for me to decide," interrupted the sheriff, now not more than a dozen feet away. "I've got a warrant charging you with sheepstealing and so on, and that's all there is to It I'm not the Judge and Jury. You come along quiet now and no foolishness." "Who says I stole sheep?" "Step outside here and I'll read the affidavit to you. And say, If you dont want your dogs massacreed, you'd better call 'em off." Martin Hawk looked over his shoulder Into the dark Interior of the hut spoke to some one under his breath, and then began cursing his dogs. "I might have knowed you'd git me into trouble, yon lop-eared sheep-killI#' whelps I" he whined. "I'd ought to shot the hull pack of ye when you was pups. Git out'n my sight! There's yer sheepstealers, sheriff--them ornery, whitelivered, blood-suck In'--" "I don't know anything abont that, Martin," snapped the sheriff. "All I know is, you got to cpme along with me--peaceable or otherwise--and I guess If you're half as smart as I think you are, you won't come otherwise. Here! Don't go back In that bouse. Hawk." "Well, I got to tell my daughter--" "We'll tell her. There's another man or two In there. Just tell 'em to step outside--and leave their weapons behind "em." "There ain't a livln' soul In thar, 'cept my daughter--so he'p me God, sheriff," cried Hawk, his teeth beginning to chatter The sheriff was close enough to see the look of terror and desperation In his eyes. s "No use lyln', Hawk. You've got a man named Suggs stayln' with you. He ain't accused of anything, so he needn't be afraid to come ont Same applies to your daughter Moll. But I don't want anybody in there to take a shot at us the minute we turn our backs. Shake 'em out. Hawk." < "1 tell ye there ain't noobdy here but me an' Moll--an' she's sick. She can't come out. An'--an* you can't go in> not unless you got a warranteto search my bouse. That's what the law sez. an' you khow It I'll go along with you peaceable, an' stand my trial fer sbeep-stealln' like a man. Lemme get my hat an' coat an' I'll come--* "I guess there's something queer about all this," Interrupted the sheriff. The man beside him had Just whispered something In his ear. "We'll take a look Inside that cabin, law o» no law, Hawk. Move up, boys!" he called out to the scattered men. "Keep your eyes skinned. If you ketch sight of a rifle ball comin' to'ards you, dodge. And you, Martin, step outside here! where you won't be In the way. I'm going In there." Martin Hawk looked wildly about him. On all sides were men with rifles. There was no escape. His craven heart failed him, his knees gave way beneath him and an Instant later he was groveling In Ihe mud at the sheriff's feet. an' no mstake, Pll foller him, to, the end of the world but what I git him." "If It is Simon Braley he wlU make a break for cover. He Is not like that whimpering coward over yonder. And thfe sheriff will make no attempt to bHng him down. There Is no complaint against him. No one knows that he Is Simon Braley." "Well, I'll be on his heels," was the grim promise of Isaac Stain, thinking of the sister who had been slain by Braley's Indians down on the River White. One of the men rushed ont of the cabin. He was vastly excited. ^ ""Don't let go of him," he shouted to the men who were holding Martin. "There's h--1 to pay in there. Where is Mrs. Gwyn?'* "I never done It!" wailed Martin, livid with terror. "I swear to God--" "Shut up!" : :\v "She's over tbere^ Sam--with Ike Stain." Ignoring the question that followed him, the man called Sam hurried up to the couple at the edge of the bush. "Better clear out, Mrs. Gwyn," be said soberly. "I mean, don't stay "I Dont Want Nobody Prayln' Over He.", 1 around. Something In there yon oughtn't to see." "What Is It?" she inquired sharply. "Well, you see--there's a dead man in there--knifed. Blood all over everything and--" "The man called Suggs?" "I reckon so. Leastwise it must' be him. 'Pears to be a stranger to all of us. Deader'n a door nail. He's--" "I'm not chicken-hearted, Mr. Corbln," she announced. "I have seen a good many dead men In my time. The sight of blood does not Effect me. I will go in and see him. Nol Please do not stay me." Despite bis protestations, she strode resolutely across the lot. As she passed Martin Hawk that cowering rascal stared at her, first without comprehension, then with a suddenly awakened, acute understanding. It was she who had brought The authorities down upon him. She had made "affidavy" against him--she had got him Into this horrible mess by swearing that he stole her sheep and calves. True, he had stolen from her there was no doubt about that--but he had covered his tracks perfectly. Any one of a half-dozen men along the river might have stolen her stock; they were stealing right and left. How then did she come to fix upon nlm as the one to accuse? In a flash he leaped tor a startling conclusion. Barry Lapelle! The man who knew all about his thievish transactions and who for months had profited by them. Hides, wool, fresh meats from the secret lairs and slaughter pens back In the trackless wilds, all these had gone down the river on Barry's boats, products of a far-reaching system of outlawry, with Barry and his captains sharing In the proceeds. Now he understood. Lapelle had gone back on him, had betrayed him to his future mother-in-law. The fine gentleman had no further use for him; Mrs. Gwyn had given her consent to "I didn't do it! J didn't do it! swear to God I didn't. It was her. She done it--Moll done it!" be squealed In abject terror. ^ He was grabbed by strong hands and Jerked to his feet. While others held him, the sheriff and several of the men rushed into the .cabin. Off at the edge of the clearing stood Rachel Carter and Isaac Stain, watching the scene at the door. "One look will be enough," the woman had said tersely. "Twenty years will not have changed Simon Braley much. I will knovr him at sight" "You got to be sure, Mrs. Gwyn." muttered the hunrer. "Ef rou sot lb* slightest doubt, say-so." r™ * "I wUl. Isaac." . "Ami ef you say lt'a h|pk, fsr the marriage andw in return for that he had betrayed a loyal friend 1 And now look at the position he was In, all through Barry Lapelle. Sheep stealing was nothing to what he might have to face. Even though Moll had done the killing, he would have a devil of a time convincing a Jury of the fact. More than likely, Moll would np and deny that she had anything to do with It--and then what? It would be like tbe ornery slut to lie out of it and let 'em hang her own father, just to pay him back for tbe lickin's he had given her. All this raced throogh the faststeadying brain of Martin Hawk as he watched his accuser pass him by without a look and stop Irresolutely on his threshold to stare aghast as what lay 'beyond. It became a conviction, rather than a conjecture. Barry had set the dogs upon him! Snake! Well, Just let him get loose from these plagued hounds for half an hour or so and, by glory, they'd' have something to hang him for or his name wasn't Martin Hawk. Isaac Stain did not move from the spot where she had left him, over at the edge of the clearing. His rifle was ready, his keen eyes alert Rachel Carter entered the hut. Many minutes passed. Then she came to the door and beckoned to him. "It is Simon Braley," she said quietly. "He 16 dead. The girl killed him, Isaac. Will you ride over to my farm and have Allen come over here with' a wagon? They're going to take the body up to town--and the girl, too." Stain stood his rifle against the wall of the hut. "I guess I won't need this," was all he said as he turned and strode away. Q The man called Jasper Suggs lay in front of the tumble-down fireplace, his long body twisted grotesquely by the final spasm of pain that carried him off. The lower part of his body was covered by a filthy strip of rag carpet which some one had hastily thrown over him as Rachel Carter was on the point of entering the house. His coarse Unsey shirt was soaked with blood, now dry and almost black. The harsh light from the open door struck full upon bis bearded face and Its staring eyes. ' In a corner, at the foot of a straw pallet, ordinarily screened from the rest of the cabin by a couple of suspended quilts, stood Moll Hawk, leaning against tbe wall, her dark sullen eyes following the men as they moved about tbe room. The quilts, ruthlessly torn from their fastenings on the pole, lay scattered and trampled on the floor, sinister evidence of the struggle that had taken place berween woman and beast At the other end of tbe room were two similar pallets, unscreened, and beside one of these lay Jasper Suggs' rawhide boots. From her place In the shadows Moll Hawk watched the other woman stoop over and gaze Intently at the face of the slain man. She was a tall, welldeveloped girl of twenty or thereabouts, Her long, straight hair, the color of the raven's wing, swung loose about her shoulders, an occasional strand trailing across her face, giving her a singularly witchlike appearance. Her body from the waist up was stripped almost bare; there were several long streaks of blood across her breast, where the fingers of a gory hand had slid In relaxing their grip on her shoulder. With one hand she clutched what was left of a tattered garment, vainly seeking to hide her naked breasts. TM stout, coarse dress had been almost torn from her body. Mrs. Gwyn left the but, but soon returned. After a few earnest Words with the sheriff, she came slowly over to the girl. Moll shrank back against the wall, a strange glitter leaping Into her sullen, lifeless eyes. . "I don't want nobody prayln' over me," she said, huskily. "I jest want to be let alone." "I am not going to pray over you, my girl. 1 want you to come out In the back yard with me, where I can wash the blood off of you and put something around you." "What's the use'n that? They're goln* to take me to jail, aln't they?" "Have you. another frock to put on, Moll?" The girt looked down at her torn, disordered dress, a sneering smile on her lips. "This Is all I got--an* now look at It I ain't had a new dress In God knows 4X4>X*X*X4X4>X*X*X4Xa>X<'X^X<S>X4>X<MC$X4X4X4X4'X«>X<>X<'X*X4>X<>X4 TAKES FIVE MEN TO HOLD BIRD Penguin of the South Polar Regions Wfj$hs Seyenty Pounda.aQd JJfs ' Strength. , -v.; .'.I.;' • . .v; ' ' ' The largest, as well as the ratest, Of the penguins, those queer birds of tbe South Polar regions, was first seen by Captain Cook, the noted navigator. These strange creatures sometimes weigh as much as seventy-five or eighty pounds, and the muscles covering their breast contribute more than one-third of their entire weight. A very large specimen was captured and taken on board ship In an expedition to the Antarctic. Standing erect in the sheen of its plumage. It seemed clothed with gold and purple, and white and black. Presently It gave an exhibition of Its extraordinary strength. One blow of tts flipper-like fore limb sent an Impertinent dog howling off to nurse his head. Five men were required to secure the penguin, and they succeeded only with great difficulty, one holding to each leg, one to each flipper and one grasping the neck. After being strongly bound, the muscular bird succeeded In breaking loose. AaottMr indication ef the Immense strength of the fore limbs, or flippers, of the penguin is the fact that with their aid the birds are able to leap perpendicularly ont of the water to a height of three feet or more, landing upright on a cake of Ice. They approach close to the edge of the Ice before making the leap, and jump directly upward.--Boys' Life Magazine. New Diving Apparatus. A new type of diving apparatus consists of a water-tight chamber mounted on endless belts slmllur to a caterpillar tractor. This Is lowered overboard. The crew of the diver consists of two men, A power cable furnishes light and power and enables the machine to move atonal on the flopr of the sea. Pasteur Aided Wine Makers.' To grow their grapes so that poisonous fermentations qouid not develop, was taught tbe wine makers of Trace by Pasteur. One-half the accidents In factories In New York, with a loss of $50,000 a day to Industries, are due to 1gnqfane# ot the English '"r'r how long. Pap ain't much on dressln' me up. Mr. Lapelle he promised me a new dress, but--say, who air you?" "I am klrs. Gwyn, Moll." "I might ha' knowed It You're her mah, huh? Well, I guess you'd better go on away an' let me alone. I ain't axln' no favors oflTn--" "I am not trying to do you a favor. I am only trying to make you a little more presentable. You are going up to town, Moll." "Yes, I guess,that's so. Can't they hang me here aii' have It over?" A look of terror gleamed In her eyes, but there was no flinching of the body, no tremor In ber voice. The sheriff came over. "Better let Mrs. Gwyn fix you up a little, Moll. She's a good, kind lady and she'll--" "I don't want to go to town," whimpered the girl, covering her face with her hands. "I don't want to be hung. I Jest had to do it I Jest had to. There ^vus no other way--'cept to--'cept to-- an' I Jest couldnt do that Now I wish i had--oh, Lordy, how I wish I had! That wuz bad enough, but hangin's wuss. He wuz goln' away in a day or two, anyhow, so--" ^ "You're not going to be*hung, Moll," broke in the sheriff. "Don't you worry about tbat We don't hang women for killing men like that feller Over there. Like as not you'll be set free In no time at all. All you've got to do Is to tell the truth about how it happened and that'll be all thert Is io It." You're lyfn* to me. Jest to git, me to go along quiet," she quavered, but there was a new light in her eyes. • "I'm not lying. You will have to stand trial, of course--you understand that don't you?--but there Isn't a Jury on earth that would hang yon. We don't do that kind of thing to women. Now you go along with Mrs. Gwyn and do what she says--and you can tell me all about this after a while." 'Til wash, but I hain't got ho more clothes," muttered the girl. "We will manage somehow," said Mrs. Gwyn. "One of the men will give you a coat--or you may have my cape to wear, Moll." Moll looked at her in surprise. Again she said the unexpected thing. "Why, ever'body says you air a mighty onfeelln' woman. Mis' Gwyn. I can't believe you'd let me take your cape." 'You will see, my girl. Come! Show me where to find water and a comb and--" Walt a minute," said Moll abruptly. "Somehow I ain't as skeert as I wus. You're shore they won't hang me? 'Ca'se I'd hate to be bung--I'd hate to dle that-away, mister." "They won't hang you, Moll--take my word for it" "Well, then," said she, bringing forward the hand she had been holding behind her back all the time; "here's the knife I done It with. It's hls'n. He was braggin' last night about how many gullets he had slit wltb It--I mean men's gullets. I wus Jest sort o' hangin' onto It In case I--but I don't believe I ever could a* done It Tbln't 'ca'se I'm afeared to die but they say a person that takes his own life is shore to go to h--1--'ca'se» he don't git no chance fer to repent Take it, mister." She handed the big sheath-knife to the sheriff. Then she followea Rachel Carter out of the hut apparently unconscious of the curious eyes that followed her. She passed close by tbe corpse. She looked down at the ghastly face and twisted body without the slightest trace of emotion--neither dread nor repugnance nor Interest beyond a curious narrowing of the eyes as if one searching for some sign of trickery on the part of a wily adversary. On the way out she stopped to pick up a wretched, almost toothless comb and some dlshrags. • "1 guess we better go down to the river," she said as they stepped out Into the. open. " 'Taln't very fer, Mrs. Gwyn, an' the water's cleaner. Hain't no danger of me tryln' to git away," she went on, with a feeble grin as her eyes swept the little clearing, revealing armed men In all directions. Her gaze rested for a moment on Martin Hawk, who was staring at her from bis seat on a stump bard by. "There's my pap over yonder," she said, with a scowl. "He's the one that ort to be strung up fer all this. He didn't do It, but he's to blame, Just the same. They ain't got him 'rested fer doin' It, have they? 'Ca'se he didn't He'll tell you he's as Innocent as a unborn child--he alius does--an' he Is as fer as the klllln' goes. But ef he'd done what wuz right hit never would 'a' happened. Thet's whut I got ag'lnst him." Rachel Carter was looking at the strange creature with an interest pot far removed from pity. Despite the sullen, hang-dog expression she was a rather handsome girl; wild, untutored, almost untamed she was, and yet not without a certain diffidence tbat bespoke better qualities than appeared on the surface. She was tall and strongly built, with the long, swinging stride of the unhampered woodswoman. Her young shoulders and back were bent with the toll and drudgery of the life she led. Her eyes, in which lurked a never-absent gleam of pain, were dark, smoldering, deep set and so restless that one could not think of them as ever being closed in sleep. ^ The girl led the way down a narrow path to a little sand-bar.. "I go In swlmmln' here every day, 'cept when It's froze over," she volunteered dully. "Hain't you skeert at the sight o' blood, ma'am? Some people air. We wuz flggertn' on whutber we'd dig a grave fer him or- Jest pull out yonder into the current an' drop him over. Pap said we bad to git rid of him fore anybody come around. 'Nen the dogs begin to bark an' he thought mebby It wus Mr. Lapelle. so he--say, you mustn't get Mr. Lapelle mixed up In this. He--" •'I know all about Mr. Lapelle, Moll," Interrupted the older woman. The girl gave her a sharp, almost hostile look. "Then you hain't goln' to let him have your girl, air your* Mrs. Gwyn shook ber head. "No, Moll--I am not" she said. "You set here on this log," ordered the girl as they came down to the wa •ter's edge. Til do my own washln'. I'm kind o' 'shamed to bave anyone m am If a*k*d as thU' There |i|i much left of my dress, is they? We fit fer I don't know how long, like a couple o' dogs. You c*n see the black an' blue places on my arms out here in the daylight an' I guess his finger, marks must be on my neck, where he wuz chokln' me. I wuz tryln' to wras-^ r sle around till I could git nigh to the' table, where his knife wuz stlckin'. My eyes wuz poppln' right out'n my head when I--" "For heaven's sake, girl!" cried Rachel Carter. "Don't I Don't tell me any morel I can't bear to hear you talk about ft" Moll stared at her for a moment as If bewildered, and then suddenly turned away, her chin quivering with mortification. She had been reprl-> fnanded! For several mlnuttr Rachel stood; in silence, watching her as she washed the blood, from her naked breast and shoulders. Presently the girl turned toward her, as if for inspection. Tm sorry, ma'am. If I talked too much," she mumbled awkwardly. Td ort to have knowed better. Is--Is It all off?" "I think so," said Rachel, pulling herself together with an effort Let me--" "Nd, ril finish it,"* said the glr! stubbornly. sije dried her brown, muscular anna, rubbed her body vigorously with one of the rags and then began to comb out her long, tangled hair not gently but with a sort of relentless energy. Swiftly, deftly she plaited It into two long braids, which she left hanging downr In front of her, shoulders, squaw fashion. 1How long had you known this man. Suggs, Moll?" suddenly Inquired the other woman. 'Off an' on ever sence I kin remember," replied the girl. "Pap knowed. him down South. We hain't seed much him fer quite a spell. Four--five year, I guess mebby. Ha come here last week one day." The eyes of the two women met Moll broke the short silence that en-t sued. She glanced over her shoulder. The nearest mah was well out of earshot. Still she lowered her voice. 'He claims he use ter know you a long time ago," she said. "Yes?" 'Mebby you'd recollect him ef I tele you his right name." His name was Simon Braley," saMr Rachel Carter calmly. Moll's eyes narrowed. Then what he sez wuz true?" 'I don't know what he said to you. Moll."' v He sex you run ott with some other woman's husband," replied Moll bluntly. "Did he tell this to anyone except you and your father?" "He didn't tell no cne but me. Her as 1 know. He didn't tell pap." 'When did he tell you?" 'Las' night," said Moll,, suddenly dropping her eyes. "He wus drinkln', an' I thought mebby he wuz lyln'." 'You are. sure he did not tell your father?"1 'I'm purty shore he dldnV 'Why did he tell you?" *""" The girl raised her eyes. Ther# #ii| a deeper look of pain In them now. Td ruther not tell," she muttered. "Yx)u need not be afraid." "Well, he wuz arguln' with me. He •aid there wuzn't any good women In the world. 'Why,' sez he, 'I seen a woman this very day that everybody thinks Is as good as the angels up In heaven, but when I tell you whut I know about her you'll--*" » 'You need not go on," Interrupted' Rachel Carter, drawing her brows together. "Would you believe me If I told you tbe man lied, Moll Hawk?" 'Yes, ma'am--I would," said the girl promptly. "Fer as that goes, I tole him he lied." Rachel started to say something, then closed her lips tightly .tad fell Heed Nature's Warning Before : It Is Too Late In the Side, Back aiid Kidneys Show That Some* v thing Is Wrong With Your System -- Nervousness, \b°** of Appetite and Sleeplessness Artf Ad- <vance Warnings That if • Heeded Will Save Serious Trouble Later On. 1% • V i <V n "t fe:'h .7 \& %r ' ~ t -PS* T If-.. TANLAC HAS HELPER .THOUSANDS REGAIN : V NORMAL HEALTH Over 100,000 Persons Have Testified That TANLAC Has Corrected Stomach ^ IfrouWe, Indigestion, t foheumatism, Nervousness - 'fluid Kindred Ailments^--- ' rp--It Builds Up the System and Starts Rich Red Blood : Coursing Through Your Veins. All Good Dritg* gists Sell TANLAC. Ye, therefore, who love mercy, teach your sons to love it, too.--Cowper. CMS Off-No Paih! PREEZOHJJ 0 l56esn't hurt one bit! Drop a litfla "Freezone" on an aching corn, instantly that corn stops hurting, then short* ly you lift It right ofT with fingers.. . , Your druggist sells a tiny bottle pit "Freezone" for a few cents, sufficients* remove every hard corn, soft corn, or corn between the toes, and the foot calluses, without soreness or Irritation. A' set of <!ominoes t-an l»e combined In 284,528,211,840 different ways. J WOMEN! DYE FADED , THINGS NEW Dye or tint Any Worn, Shabby Gar> -tment or Drapery. |Cach 15-cent package of "Dlamao^l Dyes" contains directions so simple that any woman can dye or tint any old, worn, faded thing new, even If she has, never dyed before. Choose any color at drug store.--Advertise* ment. Readv-inadt* advice seldom= f=its=. £*%. ;.:r ^efiuuie "l*m Sorry, Ma'am, If I Talked Tee Mirth." to staring out over the river. The girl eyed her for a moment and then went on: > "You needn't be skeert of me ever tellln' anybody whut he said to me. Hit wouldn't be right to spread a lie like thet. Mis' Gwyn. You--" "i think they are waiting for us, Moll," Interrupted Rachel, suddenly holding out her hand to the girU "Thank you. Come, give me your hand. We will go back to them, baad In hand, my girl." Moll stared at her In Acer astonishment. "You--you don't want to hold my hand In yours, do yeu?" she murmured slowly. Incredulously. "I do. You will find me a good friend--and you will need good friends, Moll." Dumbly tbe girl held out her hand. It was clasped firmly by Rachel Carter. They were half-way up the bank when Moll held back and tried to withdraw her hand. ' • MI--I can't let you--why, ma'am, that's the hand I--I held the knife In," she cried, agitatedly. * Rachel gripped the band more Annljr. "I know It Is, Moll," the -- *4 calmly* SPIRIN Say "Bayer Aspirin:" INSIST I Unless you see the "Bayer Cross" on tablets yon. are not getting the genuin#^ Bayer Aspirin proved safe b|. millions and prescribed by phy| sicians for 24 years. t: Accept only J Bayer packagj|~ which contains proven direction* Bandy "Bayer" boxes of 12 tablet^ Also bottles of 24 and 100--Druggists- Sspliia la th® trade mark of Barer Mails' fartw* Of Mooo«oatlc«cl<le»ter of Sillf'l"- 'ass'ls* iVaseune *assgsSS packatf- 11 " ---- HK. RETAtLJUt--Tour alow book accounia CM ta ooMMMd aaai 17. and 11c (or vim Obi* CoU«c*ar* Box Ml. huarlUi. OM*