HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance Times, 1935-10-31, Page 6�Il,i'1II:
Fine Serial Fiction in a new form, .. Three "rice S • ort Stories (of four instelmer is
,ich) b e „ ter Is teller, They're Rex Beach et his best,
FINAL INSTALMENT
The nett he knew I3etty Durham
wa:t holding his head in her Tan and
splashing water into his face, It struck
him as queer that the 'lamp should be
burning when only the fraction of an
instant before all had been darkness.
Mechaniaclly Benmade an effort to
rise, but could not manage it.
"Must have hit on my head;" he
xnunibly thickly; and raised groping
lingers, Then he at up. He knew
Trow that he had not fallen into a pit.
"Where are they? What's -happen -
Betty was sobbing wildly; her hair
hung in a cascade about her shoulders;
she was clad only in her nightdress,
:and it was soaked with the water she
,had poured over :lien to revive him.
Beside the open door to the hall lay
the wreck of a chair; two of its legs
were splintered, broken off: Ben real-
ized more clearly now what it was
that had crashed upon his head. With
an effort he scrambled dizzily to his
feet, Water was trickling,into his eyee
and blinding him; he brushed it away, -
then discovered, to his great surprise,
that it .was not water at all, but blood,
his c.wn blood. His head felt twice
its normal size; lois brain did not func-
tion clearly and his limbs refused to
obey him:
Betty's voice carne to him as if from
a long distance; she was telling hire
., ,
suma:eltint;, trytnt, to make him under-
stand
c
stand that they were alone in the
house and that their assailant had flet.!.
When this became plain to Furlong,
he sat down.
It was some time before the girl
succeeded in stanching the flow of
blood from the wound, for she was
scarcely in condition to render help
o anybody. By the time her task
was completed Ben had managed to
get a pretty clear idea of what ,had
happened. She had been awakened by
a sound and had realized that some-
body was in her room; she had utt-
ered a frightened challenge, only to
feel groping hands upon her, to find
herself in the graps of some unseen.
e
i e SSRI$
that it was the sound of his corning
that had interrupted the attack, His
plight had done a good deal to bring
her back to herself, but now she
threatened to again abandon her self-
control.
Furlong. checked this by saying:
"Betty Durham.! You've got nothing
He seized Betty, whirled her around and yelled, "Run! Get back!"
person. She retained no very
clear
re-
collection
of any thing after that; the
rest was hideous nightmare. Not un-
til the miscreant had bolted out of
the house and she had finally :manag-
ed somehow to strike a light was she
made aware of the reason for his
iflight. Then she had stumbled over
Ben and had realized that it was his I
voice she had heard calling to her, t
For ' a anareatt Betty stared at the
speaker with shaking fingers she
plucked at her dress, It was in a thin,
reedy voice that she said:
"It wasn't Maddox,"
"How do you know?"
"Oh, I know! It wasn't Maddox."
"Are you sure?" The girl nodded,
and Ben bowed his throbbing head in
his hands. "I'm glad," he groaned.
"Providence certainly brought me
back, It wouldn't happen that way
once in a thousand times, Whoever
it was, I'll find hire."
Both the man and the girl were in
wretched condition, The rest of -the
night they, sat together, watching the
clock and listening for a possible re-
turn of the marauder, waiting for the
day to break.
It was shortly after they had fin-
ishedbreakfast that Furlong was sur-
prised to, discover signs of activity,
movements, goings-on at. the well
which caused him to' stare fixedly,
then to announce, incredulously:
'"Say! I believe Maddox is fixing to
shoot the well!"
Betty took her place at his side.
"Why—he can't! He dassen't! The
powder men won't be here till to-mor-
row."
o-morrow."
"All the same; he's doing something
queer. See those cans—those shiny
things?"
"You couldn't hire Tiller to touch
nitroglycerine. He's scared of it—"
Ben uttered an oath. "I tell you
he's filling those cartridges. He's
crazy! You've got to stop him!"
Betty turned white; she shook her
head. "I won't go near the place. It's
—it's Aunt Mary's well:"
"Then I'll stop him. Why, it's ten
to one he'll sear the rock, ruin the
whole job and—Damned if` I don't
believe he's trying to do that very
thing!" -
r i
on butyour nightie!
1Betty clungto him. When he pushed
It was some time later.when the
girl emerged from her room, dressed on past her she followed him. Toge-
after a fashion, to find her deliverer ther they hurried across the field and
v, citing in the kitchen with a scowl took the path through the mesquite.
puon his face. As they went the girl continued to im-
( "You got a gun?" he inquired, plore him not to interfere.
Halfway to the drilling camp they
met the engineer hastening towards
the farmhouse, and the latter an-
,
harshly.
"No, Ben, Why?"
"I'm going to kill Maddox." .
Furlong started forrthe door but
ETHIOPIA'S SECOND CITY AWAITING AIR BOMBARDM ENT
Filteringthrr,ugl) the censorship
conies storia;s of l,la rat — the second
city of Ethiopia and a"tt(titnl of Ogaden
ese whie'lr tell of privation, fear 'and
suspicion. V. Drees, Acme photo-
grapher, who escaped from Mara hid-
den in a truck, sent these pictures as
the inhabitants waited in hourly fear
of at bomb attack from the air. ltarar
nounced, breathlessly: Tiller's gone
plumb off his nut! He's goin' to shoot
the well himself:.You better stay
clear."
Furlong dashed pats the speaker
and emerged from the shelter of the
bushes in time to see Maddox ging-
erly swing a long; cylindrical tin ov-
er the well mouth and guide it into
the opening. A new manila rope had
been run through a block on the der-
rick, and with this he lowered the
charge.
Ben yelled at him; he waved his
arms. Maddox glanced over hie
shoulder, then let the line slide
• Smoothly through his hands.
"Take my tip an' don't go too close,
the engineer shouted. "He ain't no
powder man an' that well's niakin'
gas. She blows off every few mixt-
utes."
Betty seconded this waning in
frantic tones of appeal; "Let him go,
Ben. :fie knows what he's cluing,
You've got no right stopping him.
You'll just make trouble--"
"It's none of my business," the lat-
ter agreed, impatiently, "but there's
something crooked--" He ceased
speaking; then he seized Betty and,
whirled. her around with the sharp
command, "Run! Get back!"
They were still perhaps a hundred
yards from the well, but Furlong's
practiced eye had seen something that
suddenly raised' the hair On his head.
That rope from which wets suspended
the heavy charge of liquid death no
longer hung vertically, it no longer
ran over the block and into the cas-
ing; instead it was `falling in loops
about Middo.. It was coming up Ott
of the weld!
Maddox himself was alive to what
'had happened. That which he most
greatly feared bad come upon 1dm,
and he also turned to ,flee, But the
platform was slippery or 'else he trip-
ped over the rope and fell The oth-
ers heard his cry of terror. Hequick-
ly 'regained his feet, but to Furlong
it seemed as if his Movements there,
alter were mea
slow and delib-
erate,
The engineer's apprehensions bad
been well grounded; Once again gas
bad been released fax ,down in the
earth, and now, like breath forced
from the longs of some tortured giant,
it rose, propelling the smoothly fitting
cartridge of nitroglycerine ahead of it
Fos it per is propelled out of a pea.
shooter, It was a pheaotnenott by no
meant; unusual hi a well as unstable
irm its balance of forces as this one.
In fact, tinder like cnnditione hone. but
madman would have dared to risk
;v addox'c maneuver, i
The latter had not put fifty feet be- ,
hind hitn, when ftp opt of the well
month shot the gleaming tin cylinder,
:lireetly above and in its path hung
alae
massive fort -fool steel bit eus-
pencled froxti its Vire cable.
What ,litt;ppened text the observers
were never able to agree upon, batt
tote world dissolved itro art. inferno
still is held by the Ethiopians, with
desultory fighting continuing;"on three
aides, (I) A view of Rarer from with-
in the gates. (2) The market place
in 'E'bu'ar,
of t•anolce and flame and the sudden-
ness of if' rocked tint sky, upheaved
the earth. The two came together
with a cataelysmio roar. Furlong and
Betty Durham were tossed headlong,
flung down like straws. When they
scrambled to their feet, dazed; shaken,
terrified, it was to find themselves cm-
veloped in a mighty cloud of dust.
The eighty -foot tower of heavy tim-
bers was gone; in an instant it had
utterly vanished, Where it had been
was a shallow, smoking crater, Slint-
ers of planking, debris of every sort,
were. scattered far and wide; particles
of earth'and gravel were raining from
the heavens with the sound of a heavy
hailstorm; nothing in the neghbor-
hood of the well remained except the
boiler and engine, and the former lay
upon its side. Even the bushes had
been whipped out, uprooted, shaved
off as by a sweeping scythe.
That afternoon Furlong's friend, the
engineer, came over the farmhouse
with a : considerable bundle in his
arms.
"How's Betty?" he inquired.
"She's all 'right, but pretty well
bruised, of course."
"Well, I guess there's nothin' more
us boys can do, so we're goin' in to
town."
"Right: I'll stay here until Mrs.
Durham gets back."
"Here's all of Tiller's. stuff that we
could find. I reckon you better look
after it."
"Anything else besides clothes?"
"Not much, ,A few letters an' things
we found in his bunk. Miz' Durham face had grown black and theatening
can keep 'em in case he's got relatives. his fingers were working as he storm -
There's one suit of clothes that would
fit me. No use to 'throw 'em away.
Say! It's funny how scared he was of
powder. It musts been a hunch."
Shortly after the engineer had left,
Ben came to Betty with a queer light
in his eyes. In his hand he held a
soiled sheet of foolscapcap
paper.
er.
"Feel strong enough to stand ,an-
other explosion?" he inquired with an
effort to suppress his agitation. "Well
—the queerest thing—! This farm
doesn't belong to your aunt Mary, af-
ter all; it belongs to you.!" The girl
gasped; she voiced some breathless
query,, but Ben ran on: "Your uncle
Joe left it to you, just as he promised.
He left everything to you, except a
thousand dollars to her. This is his
will and Maddox had it . I guess it's
a good will, even though your uncle
wrote it himself. Anyhow it's wit-
nessed by two people --Maddox :grid
another, From , the date I figure it
must have ,been sig;'raed jest a day or
so before he was killed," .
'Where did it come from? How did
Maddox--"
"I've figured that out, too. Mr. Dur-
ham must have had it in his pocket
when Maddox found Bial . That would
expl,dn everything _-- how be made
your. aunt do just what hewanted and
why ;she' didn't dale to fire him."
"That's why she said I'd have to
marry 'him! That's why. -.-Oh ,Ben!„
Betty rose suddenly and clutched Fur-
long, '!I. knew she was a mean, selfish
old thing, hut I never thought she was
so=wicked. This- oil is a curse to
poor people. I hate it!"
"Why, Betty," Furlong exclaimed..
"You're the wicked one to quarrel—"
"She's the only kin I've, got left and.
I tried my best to love her. But she
was so greedy for quick money that
nothing mattered. Maddox, too! It
made beasts of thein. I almost wish
we'd never heard of oil." After a'mos
ment the speaker continued, more
quietly: "I lied to you last night. It
was 'Tiller •who came here,"
Furlong's body stiffened; he breath-
ed an oath, then he ,muttered: "I
thought so: Why didn't you tell nie?"
"What's more, she knew he was—
coming! They arranged ;it. She as
good as sent him! That's how he got
the kitchen key." •
This announceinent the man greet-
ed with the howl of an animal He.
began to pace about the room; his
W. A. CRAW FORD, M.D.
Physician and Surgeon
i Located at .the office of the late
l Dr. J. P. Kennedy.
3I Phone 150 Wingham
1
ed:
"Wait! Wait till she gets back
here!"
"You can't lay your hands on a wo-
man—"
"Can't I?" he breathed.
Betty shook her head; a moment,
then en a new expression slowly crept
t
into her eyes; her chin set itself -firm-
ly. "No!"
irm-ly."No!" she declared. "But you can
lay 'em on her trunk and drag it .out
here where I can pack it."
"I sure can," . Ben agreed. "And
what's more, when you get it packed
I can lug it out to the gate where it
will be nice and handy for her." As
he finished speaking his frown disap-
peared; it was replaced by a grin and
he said: "Say, Betty! What d'you
think? I'm going to marry an heiress,
after all." ` THE END
The young doctor sat down wear-
ily in his easy chair and turned to his
wife affectionately.
"Has my darling been lonely with-
out me?" he asked.
"Oh, no,", she said, "At :least, not
very lonely. I've found something to
do with my time." -
"Oh," he said. "What is it?"
"I'm organizing a class. A lot of
the women in the village have joined
Do You
Ever i
Wander
Whether the"Pain"
Remedy You Use.
is SAFE?
Ask Your Doctor
and Find Out
Don't, Entrust Your
Own or Yottr Family's
Well- Being to Unknown
Preparations
►ipHE person to ask whether the
preparation you or your family
are taking for the relief of headaches.
is SAFE to use regularly is your -
family doctor. Ask him particularly
about "ASPIRIN."
He will tell you that before the'
discovery of "Aspirin" most '.'pain"
remedies were advised against by
physicians as bad for the stomach
and, often, for the heart. Which is.,
food for thought if you seek quick,.
safe relief.
Scientists rate "Aspirin" among
the fastest methods get discovered for
the relief of headaches and the pains
of rheumatism, neuritis and neural-
gia. And the experience of millions
of users has proved it safe for the
average person to use regularly. In,
your own interest remember this.
"Aspirin" Tablets are made in
Canada. "Aspirin" is the registered
trade -mark of the Bayer Company,
Limited. Look for the name Bayer•
in the form of a cross on every tablet.
Demand and Get
"ASPIRIN"
and we're teaching one another to.
cook."
"What do you do with the things.
you cook?"
"We give them to the neighbours."'
"Dear little woman," he said, kiss-
ing her fondly. "Always thinking of,a
your husband's practice!"
MONUMENTS at first cost.
Having our factory equipped with the
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cution of high-class work, we ask yotr
to see the largest display of monu-
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onuments:of any retail factory in Ontario.
All finished by sand blast machines.
We import all our granites from the
Old Country quarries direct, in the.
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seeing us.
E. J. Skelton & Son
at West End Bridge—WALKERTON
Professional Directory
J. W. BUSHFIELD
Barrister, Solicitor, Notary, Etc.
JVhoney to Loan.
Office -- Meyer Block, Wingham
'Successor to Dudley Holmes.
H. W. COLBORNE. M.D.
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON
Medical Representative D. S. C. R.
Phone 54. Wingham
A. R. & F. E. DUVAL
CHIROPRACTORS
CHIROPRACTIC and
ELECTRO THERAPY
North Street — Wingham
Telephone 300.
R. S. HETHERINGTON
BARRISTER and SOLICITOR.
Office -' Morton Block.
Telephone No. 66
Dr. Robt. C. REDMOND
M.R.C.S. (England)
L.R.C.P. (London)
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON
F. A. PARKER.
OSTEOPATH.
All Diseases Treated.
Office adjoining residence next to
Anglican Church on Centre St.
Sunday by appointment,
Osteopathy Electricity
Phone 272. Hours, 9 a.m. to 8 pan.
Business
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THOMAS FELLS
AUCTIONEER
REAL ICSSTATIsa SOLI
ltot=ortglt Itttowlodge +af bra
rwt«
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Successor to R. Vanstone.
Wingham Ontario
DR, W. M. CONNELL
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON..
Phone 19.
winnow
J. ALVIN FOX
Licensed Drugless Practitioner
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Phone 191. Wingham
Directory
Wellington Mutual. Fire
Insurance Co.
Established 1840.
Risks taken on all classes of in
once at reasonable rates.
Head Office, Guelph, Ont.
ABNER COSENS, Agent.
Wingham.
It Will Pay You to Have An
EXPERT AUCTIONEER
to ctattrloct your etnle,.
T, ,I R. BENNETT
At Th e ,Royal Zerviea Station.
1 -LARRY FRY .
Furniture and
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Phones: Day` 111.. Night 108..
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LICENSED AUCTIONEER
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Atone SM.