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The Huron Expositor, 1937-01-22, Page 77A1`a_hiYi' 1,1 f., L. QUAL , HAYS 4, MEIR ,,'. ,• 8ucoeeding R. S. Hays Barristers, Solicitors, Conveycyneers. and' Notaries Pnbllo Solicitors for the Dwmigiion Bann. Office In rear of the Dominion Bank, Seaforth. Money bo loan. - JOHN H. BEST Law Office P. J. BOLSBY Assoeiate in Charge Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries, . Etc. Seaforth, Ont. 1 Telephone 75. ELMER• D. BELL,' B.A. Bareister IL Solicitor Office of late F. Holmsted, K.C. (Next A. D. Sutherland) Monday, Thursday and --•-Fridays. Over Keating's Drug Store. 8671:62 VETERINARY • JOHN GRIEVE, V.S. Honor graduate of Ontario Veterin- ary College. All diseases of domestic animals treated, Calls 'promptly at- tended to .and. charges moderate. Vet- erinary Dentistry a specialty. Office and residence on Goderich Street, one . door east of Dr. Jarrott's office, Sea - forth. A. R. CAMPBELL, . V.S. Graduate of Ontario Veterinary. College, University of Toronto. , . All diseases of domestic animals treated by the most modern principles: Charges reesonebl., Day or night calls promptly attended to. Office on Main Street, Hensall, opposite Town Hall, Phone 116. Breeder of Scot- tish Terriers, . Inverness Kennels, Hensall: . MEDICAL DR. GILBERT C. JARROTT Graduate of Faculty. of Medicine, University of Western Ontario. Mem- ber ' ©f : College of Physicians' and Surgeons of Ontario. Office, 43 Gode- rich Street, West. Phone 37. Successor 'to Dr.' Charles Mackay. DR. 4/. C. SPROAT Physician, - Surgeon Phone 90-W. 0 ice John St., . Seaforth. DR. F. J. BURROWS' Office and residence, gtoderioh St., east of the United Churoh, Seafortli. . Phone 46. Coroner for the County of Huron. D,R. HUGH ' H. ROSS • Graduate of University of Toronto. Faculty of Medicine, member of Cole lege of Physicians and Surgeons' of Ontario; pass' .graduate... course in Chicago Clinical School of Chicago ; Royal Opthalmie Hospital, London, England; University . Hospital, Lon- don, England. Office—Back of Do- minion'Bank, Seaforth. Phone No. 5. 3Vight calls answered from residence, Victoria Street, Seaforth, • • DR. E. A. McMASTER 'Graduate. of the University of Toron- • to, Faculty' of Medici.ne • • Members ot. . College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario'; graduate of New York Post Graduate School and Lying-in Hospital, 'New York. of- fice on; High Street, Seaforth. Phone 27. • Office fully equipped for' X-ray diagnosis and ultra short wave elec- tric treatment, Ultra Violet Sun Lamp ,treatments, and Infra Red electric 'treatments. Nurse in, � edance. DR. F. J. R. FORSTER ' Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Graduate in. Medicine, University of Toronto. Late assistant New • York Opthal- mei and Aural Institute, Moorefleld's Eye and Golden Square Throat Hos- pitals, London, Eng. At Commercial 'Hotel; Seaforth, third Wednesday in each month, from 1.30 p.m. t 04.30 p.m. b8 Waterloo Street, South, Strat- ford. - DR. DONALD G. STEER Graduate of Faculty or Medicine, University of Western Ontario. Mem- ber"' of College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Full equip- ment, including an ultra short wave set. Office King • Street, Mensal'," Phone Bewail 56. , -" . _ DENTAL DR. J. A. McTAGGART Graduate Royal College of Dental ' Surgeons, Toronto. Office at Hensall, Ont. Phone 106. AUCTIONEERS HAROLD DALE •' .. • Licensed -Auctioneer Specialist in farm and household ,dates. • Prices reasonable. For dates -•mid i1tdormation;-wrlte- or --phone Har- old Dale, Phone 149, Seaforth, or apply at The Expositor Office. F. W. AHRENS Licensed auctioneer for Perth and Huron Counties. Sales solicited. Terms on application. Farm Stock, Chattels and Real instate Property. R. R. No. 4, Mitchell. Phone 634 r 6• .- --. .�,_ .,e,._ —.,J tU TER (Centit4ued iron last week) ttAnother time be can a bank with a black stuntmen, the finest I ever saw. I have a fine horse •of my own ane it lrapeon+s to be black, but the Captain. isn't worth o�n�e..of Satan's hoofs. And yet for all that I've never found a horse ,that could pan's the Captain or I him. • . •"But -the point of it was that Satan* kept the strength' of anything that'is wild and flee. Yau see? He served Dan, butt he served him for love, you might say. Can you understand thser difference? There is a difference. `. "It took me a year to teach the Cert- ain that it didn't peyote buck even if he threw me off, iiow and then. Now he 'tete me ride mdm, but he's waiting to get me at a ddsadantage and tear me to bids." • "Why do you keep him?" "Because he's the best horse in the mountain's. That's one reason. An- other, is that I.think he's one of Sat-. an'e colts. I got him ,then be was a yearling, and he. was in the mustang band that old' Satan was still leading. Some of the olid blood runs be him. And If he 'had another Dan Barry on. his back—how can I tell'?—he might be every bit as geed as 'his father e'- was! "But to get back to Batey himself, I say 'he used to go around the coun- try on the back of a' horse he didn't need a bride to handle and with a waif trailing :him and doing his er- landss--" •' "How wonderful!" cried the girl ; 'oh, haw wonderful!" "You tlhin:k • so? A little bit ter- rible you would have found it, too, if you had seen them as 1 have seen them. I've watched them play a game, all three of 'them. .Mind you, this was when they thought they were quite unw•atched. . • ' "Satan would trot away to a little distance, Then Black Bart attacked Dan—like a demon, with his .fur brist- ling•and his great teeth slashing the air .a hair's' breadth from Dan's face, who would fend' the brute off with his hands, dancing here and there like the shadow of a leaf in a whirlpool of wind. "And Satan would come to the res- cue with the sun„winking on him, and his mane blowing above his heads ; just' a fraction of a second's pause at the scene of the fight—and then Dan had dived at nim, caught him in some way around the neck, and then twist-. ed on to his back. So off they wtould go, with Blaek Bart after them, sail- ing through' the. air with his teeth aimed at Dan's tbroat imagine catch- ing a hundred-and-trhi.rty-pound wolf Coming at you like an arrow with .his cwn speed plus the speed of a. racing Mee! . But that's what Dan Barry would do, and off they would go, with Satan carrying both of them and thinking 'nothing whatever about it!" "Ab," murmured, the girl, "how beautiful and , how free! ' Such a man could"do no wrong!" "Let me tell you what he did. I've teen saying all . this just to work up to the point. He married beautiful Kate Cumberland, ' He settled down. He forgot his wildness. They bad a youngster. Mind you, 1, say that he forgot his wildness.. Rather I should say that he kept putting the impulses behind him. But finally they broke loose again. Seven men chased him. Seven men killed' the horse he was riding.- it wasn't Satan -and Dan t artedj, to get the seven, one by one. 'TTe forgot Kate. He forgot the yotmg- ster. He went on a blood trail—" "Why not?" cried the girl. "If Pet - ter were killed—" "Put for the sake of a borrowed horse—to kill six men! That was• why Kate left him... She .still loved h'tm;" but she' saw that she,, could not stay 'with him on account of their little girl. '"You'see, Dan was willing to leave, but he couldn't bear to let the little girl stay 'behind him. And that wild- ness was beginning to show in the youngster. It drove her mother fran- tic with fear to see it; and finally, hile she was sitting in their cabin one night, she heard' a whistling out ",n the night and she saw the little I:it'1 get up from the fire and cross the room and stand there with her baby face pressed against the glass and looking'out into the night," ""She wanted' to get to her father?" "God knows! S'he'd '',have walked out into the teeth of wolves when s'he heard that whistle: And when Kate saw that look in the eyes of the•baby she knew—srhe knew- ' • ""Jean Daniels," she answered; "but te'l'l me more about Dan Harty. It seems to mei---I dbn't, know why — it pours me full of wonder, happiness, fear, to rear you speak of him." "WIiat .Daniels.?" Haines., persisted: "Buck Daridels," "What? He wasn't married fifteen years' ago. How could,, he have, ap ,daughter of your age?" ' ' " "Do you' know him?" He disregarded the question. "Tell me about your mother:", "She looked a little like Me. I mean she •had yellow hair and blue eyes," "'And her name—" "I told you before—it was Kate." He had raised him's'elf, tensed with the effort. Now he sank back, supine, with Ms' eyes closed. And: Joan lean- ed anxiously above him. "What's wrong?' Are you worse?" she cried. "Worse every minute," he said "calmly, without opening his eyes. ''''"I'll get 'help*" • "Stay close to me, Joan,' I've only a minute or two left. I knew when I had one look at the place that slug bit me that I was' finished. I've seen too many wounds not to know. Don't go for help. The last thing I can do is to tell you a thing you ought to know." She took his hands. By .the force in her own young arms she seemed strifimg to drive new life into him. "I saw it in your face," he mur- mured, "when the candle began to die —that same wild look I've seen in the face of your father---" "Wild look—in dad's face?" "Nat. Buck Daniels." 'His next words were an obscure muttering. She leaned closer and she heard him saying: "Dan Barry's girl was ,lamed Joan. His wife was• .named'' Kate, and you—'—" He drew a greet breath, and then his. eyes fixed 'blan'kly upon the shat- tered roof of the cabin. ' CHAPTER XVII Hare and Hounds The sheriff's roan was as trim a ,gelding ae ever jogged across' desert sands, and, if it cane to a dash over goad' going he had a turn of speed which would make a rival sick in half a mile of work. So that, during the first ten minutes of his ride, Harry Gloster Watched his iirogress with the utmost satisfaction and heard the' noise.. of the pursuit beat away into the distance. But he presently discovered that the roan was beginning to slacken his -efforts. His gallop was losing its elasticity, and his fore -hoofs struck the earth syith a lifeless beat which mean's a veey great deal to the eider. He recalled "tile sheriff—a lean and sun -withered man who might well be fifty pounds 'lighter than himself. Perhaps it was Ms weight which was, killing' the roan. Perhaps it was the great speed' with which he had cov- ered the first tw-o..miles••out from the town. No doubt both" causes cdmbini ed. . But 'he presently was sure that he had killed the speed of the mout& lie drew to a walk and, dropped out of the 'saddle: The instant he struck the ground he saw how mueh ...worse matters were than he had dreamed. He had to draw the roan along by the reins. Th.e poor animal dragged back on the' bit with dull eyes- and flagging ears, and his hoofs• trailed in the dust; and he got his wind back with amazing slowness. For a blown horse is not like a blown man. ,Many 'a good athlete runs himself to a faint in a ,half -mile mace, lies ten' minutes flat on his back consciously relaxing every ,muscle, and then rises to 'run a mile event and win it. But when 'the ribs of a horse beget to heave in a certain manner,.. his flanks ballooning in and out, and when his bead begins to jerk down at every stride, a rest -of a few minutes dbes him little good. The roan was not yet in this com- pletely run -out condition; he 'had something left, but it tortured Glos- ter to think of squeezing the last df life out of the beast. He continued waleing until a dull and 'muffled pounding was plainly aud- ible behind, him, and he knew that the pursuers; were gaining fast. Thee, he brought tee roan to a trot and went forward' •'at .•a smart clip, with the gelding beside him. Perhaps be covered a mile in this fag ion, but by drat time the noise from he rear was very distinct and he der not linger any more. • In the mleanwhile, althoug the roan was by no means recoverec from the effects of that heavy weight .in the saddle and the terrific pace of .the ,,first two miles, at, least it was po longer pulling back on the bridle ; and when Gloster, somewhat winded by his efforts on foot, 'climbed into the saddle again, the 'horse went off at a trot. A trot, indeed, was all that could be reasonably managed in the soft silt of the desert. It was muffling the noise of 'those" wee came ,behind. But tram' what he heard, Gloster knew that they ad spread out in a thin, long line and were coming straight down 'h'r rail. They had heard his retreat ov . the harder ground nearer the town; nd now he would be lucky indeed if ' e managed to get out of sight before the light of .the dawnflbegan. An arroyo crossed his way. He drop- ped into int with a Tsig teef relief, and raised the gelding to a gallop aagain. moment later the dry ravine was filled with a clamouring as the whole posse swung in; 'behind, him, •and,+with the good footing beneath them, they gained upon him at an appalling rate. Five minutes would see the finish of that race. No—less time than that. • They were srveeeptng areundi a curve just. behind and In ten seconds they would' have full view of him. Here the voice of Lee Haines fal- tered and died away.' The flame of the candle had leaped high and, pour- ing •up a steady iittle stream of black srnoke, it bad rapidly eaten away the candle. itself until now the fire was guttering, . half inside the holder' and half outside—so that the house was swept, with alternate waves of light and shadow, and the only fixed point of illumination was a' small clecle on the ceiling. It was in one of these' passing sha- dows that Haines saw something le the face of the girl which shook his nerves. Or et least he thought he saw it; but when the flame spouted up again he changed his mind, only to see it once more when' the s'h'adow waved 'across. them again'. "What's the matter-?" -she asked, frightened, "Hold' the candle higher!". he de- .•manded. She obeyed: • "Now, he said, this eyes great and slirPning as he watched' her, ?I was saying that the girl, `when she heard her father's whistling, went to the window and looked out, and then she tried to oli'm�b up on the His voice stopped again, and it tteemed to Joan that he watcbed her with a fascinated •Horror. "Who are you?" he asked, tial E3RA? D' Anil• a view ,by the Blear starlight would, be' almost as good as a view in the day. Certainly they wound p- en with their guns, and his own thigh was weighted by no revolver, to say nothing of a rifle under les leg. He swung out .of the •sa441e, balane- edt He *eight on one stirrup for an instant, and . then dropped to the grounds;'. The tired gelding would have dropped. back to a trot at once. The gentle beast even • tried to halt and return to its late rider; but Glos- ter scooped out a' heedful of pebbles, seat the horse flying en with the force of them, and then threw himself back against the wall of the ravine. He was plainly enough visible. The arroyo, was not wide, and the stars were deadly bright. He could only hope that, by drawing the brim of his sombrero over his face, and flatten- ing 'hims•elf against the wall, he would mot be seen as the front of the passe rolled by. ' They; came nbw, with three or four eager riders rushing in 'the lead and riding all the harder as they heard the beat of hoofs from their -••quarry so short a distance before them. These were so short -.winded sprinters, over- burdened by 'riders of unusual weight. Every one was the favourite mount of the feliow who bestrode it. At least, •so they appeared to Gloster ; and they rode like avenging whirl- windts• - On they pushed, and then raised a yell, for down the canon ahead of them the .noise of the gelding's gal- lop .had fallen away to, a trot. "Scatter, 'boys!" yelled the com- manding voice .of Sheriff Sim Hargess. t He had recovered 4tiiekly from his hurt and joined in this work to re- venge his di,sgrace. "That devil , is slowin' up to fight. Smoot straight whet'' you see him—"' His voice was blotted out by the roar Of hoofs. as the main body of the posse rode past. in, a few more seconds they would find' that he was not with the gelding; then a brief searciu as they scattered in all direc- tions, and finally he must be taken back to prison, trussed up like a calf. There were forty men leethat• group and in "the" rear came two or three strugglers. One, it appeared', had, fal- len behind because something had gone wrong with Ms cinches. At any rate, he was now overtaking the rntge body hand over hand. With a secret pang Gloster saw the wide shoulders of that horse working. With such a m'oun't to carry. him He leaped from his place •with a shout: Th'e racing horse, seeing this sudden apparrition, snorted and, throw- ing back its weight,: tried -to swerve away. That 'was the' moment 'that Gloster chose for leaping- In' -spite of its efforts to stop, theeeere se- was dash- tthg away at a smart perch;- and the 'dou'ble impact of the. speed of the. horse and Gloster's leap was eli'••trans-' fferred to the luckless rider. He was 'smitten from his place as cleanly as any' champion in the olden days picked an enemy out of the saddle in the lists and sent hint crashing to the ground. • • „Down' he went, and into ,hiso�yoplace in the saddle 'slipped. Harry Gloster, with a new,, lease of life if he could take advantage of all the chances., But that would be no easy thing to do. To be sure, the whole posse had whirled past him; to be sure, they were now somewhat tangled in a mass farther ,down the arroyo, while the leaders were yelling that Gloster was not on the sheriff's roan, and' -some of the • mem'bers were • stilt pushing a- head,. not having seen what mappens ed to the rear. ' But those horses were nearly all out of the great school of teem cow ranges. They could turn, ona ten - cent piece, and it was nothing to weave a way through a crowd of horses, compared with working a calf out from the packed herd. In their scrambling start . Harry Gloster gained some thirty or forty lengths. He might have gained even more. But he bad learned one lesson this night, and he was not apt "to kill off his 'mount by too much sprinting in the. beginning of a long run. He 'saw a narrow cattle path going up the side of the arroyo. Up this he weett. The posse stormed' after eller. Tiley. were far too' impatient 'to go' up the path one by one; so they crashed up the steep bank with ply- ing spurs and many oaths. There were three falls and a thousand curs- es, but in a few second all were ov- er the edge and headed into the plain beyond. Nevertheless, they had taken more out of•their horses in that brief group of seconds' than in a utile of hard running. That handioap might bal- ance the weight of Gloster in the sad- dle. So at least. he hoped. And after the next furious half -mile, in which the barely managed to 'hold them even, his hopes increased. Some oeethem were using their guns, pumping shot after shot in his direction. But he did not mind this. There was hardly mere than a thence in a thousand• that a bullet would strike home from a revolver fired at night. from galbop- ing horses. Even in the daylight he had seen many pounds of ammunition wasted in a similar fas'hi'on. Their shooting uould simply make them ride slower. -ger.'lele own ewe, he was.4:ockeying his hese with the utmost oa.re, sway- ing with every stride,. leaning to cut. tTie pressure of life- wffed: » YR -air this would not do. They began to gain again. The firing sto'pp'ed. There was a period of fle'ree end silent rid- ing, .and then 'he .saw teat they were creeping up steatley, on either flank. Desperately he looked about him. Had he a gun he might have driven them back to arm's length and given a c'han'ce for some sort of ma.nmuvring, But now all he could do was to use 1N'tt teeth le here IOW d 1 i1 t0g+ gfilt. of - t"1 -.: 'd • the 44,w�� 0irc?pe.wa'� rage tori*' tion,, Going dews • )}ill, 'bia 'wetOtee wMoibld' Pet 'tell eft much agaixOt t'be l L$ urin'g 'horse that eavriee 1liutr * 11a •,tb,e luollpw there was a Wee gee` of two, Winows, nio diclubt, were most there,, but they Ghuld give sill,,' ter, .and if �1e could; gain, that screen they would hunt ,Trim caubiouslY How could they tell that he had no gun, and even if he 'WO one, that. he wee determined' net ep use- it? ..... He. flattened hi'meelf aiop�g the neck of his atoned droveh m thep a o e s u and felt the gallant m;ns'tang poirrT out the strength of his heart in the anal effort. Down the hill they laced, drawing sway from, the clustered men of the posse at every jump; A billet sung at hie ear, followed', by the, crack of the report. And then, the trees were before him with the rush of 'the hard riders just behind. They passed the screen of the first trees. The others entered with a roar. He kicked his feet out of both stir- rups, thalte.d the horse on braced and eliding hoofs, true cow pony fashion, did then swung himself up on to an overhanging branch. A touch of the rowel as he pulled himself up sent the horse on at a' fresh gallop,,• and, lying one the limb, he saw the others rush past him, He waited until the last had gone by. Then he dropped to the ground and started back, doubling on his tracks anti running as be -had "never run before. If he could gain the top of the rising ground before they found the• riderless horse and 'came 'back'.'to look for him, 1'e might be able to geta ,ufficient •distance and disappear in the night, but he was scarcely out of the willows when be heard the' yell which announced that hissecond menet of that night -had been found.. On . to ran. The ground had ap- peared firm enough when his mustang was racing down the incline, and the elope slight enough. But now his .boots were slipping in sand, and the :lope' was like a mountain -side roll- ing up against the stars. A short, quick step, driving down on a flat foot, was what he must use. - So the toiled with all his might, grinding his teeth at the constant slipping. He reached the crest, His body would show there against the skyline as if he -were a house. So he dropeed{'fat and looked back in time to see the p.os's'e came boiling out from the trees. They scattere.d here and there, rode toward him, then turned and rode back again. Plainly they did not know what to do; and then he heard the voice of the sheriff as .plainly as if the latter had been at his elbow. ' "Scatter ddw-n the trees. Five of you—you five there!—ride down a mile, :hen cut through the trees and start working down toward me. Five More .ride up a mile and do the same thing. Half a dozen, more go through to the opposite side and watch, scat- tered out. The rest of us will •stay here. •Take your rifles, boys. If you do any talking, make it short. If you start sneoting when' you see him, you won't get hanged for it: New got" They were' off with yells, and Har- •ry Gloster, lying flat on the sand and gasping in his breath, shuddered with thankfulness. Had he indeed. tried to hide in the willows, they would Have closed 'in on him and crushed -out his life. Half an hour would have -ended him. He waited to see no more, but crawled a hundred yard's on his hands and knees until he was over the ridge and until the voices from the 'hollow came small and. faint -to him: Then he arose to his feet and•struck away across the sand at a dog -trot. He had learned that trick of running from the Indians, who will keep• up their., dog -trot under a furnace of a sun and cover a hundred miles . in twenty -fou:, ,hours, running down horse and man. TO be sure, he could not, match the Indians, but at least he could run astonishingly well for- a man of his bulk. ' For' a full five miles 'he did not slacken;' then, as the wind freshened to the north and west, coming full is his face,�rhe dropped to a walk, but eclat steadily on. He .could only pray the wind might rise to a gale and wash sand across his: snail, --bats he crossed firm ground in spots here and there, and those spots, he well knew, woulii. be found, and in every one his footprints would be like, ar- rows pointing out the direction of his flight to the sheriff. And the picture of Sim Hargess came before him again. sun -withered., wrinkled, and light of limb, as'though 1'e h'ad been fashioned. on purpose to live in a Iand of little rain. He was made for the country just as the beasts and birdswere made for it. To attempt to escape from him would be like attempting to 'escape from Nemesis. A shadow formed ;;•against the sky, to his right, fie dropped to !tie knees that he might view it more clearly and at a better angle,- and it appear- ed to him that there was a sharpness of outline' which could only come from a house. He turned straight to- ward it,' and in a few minutes he was sure. A little later and he saw the whole cluster of the ranch buildings. It grew in distinctness, and now he put on his' best speed. For, as he glanc- ed' behind him, he saw that a light was winking on the desert, then oth- er lights, like ay swarm of distant fire- flies, on a giant size,. He 'understood what 'they meant, They had been using their pocket electric torohes to find his trail, and, having found it. they were doubtless tracking him across the desert' -almost as fast as their horses could gallop. If the wise old sheriff Could do all this by night, bow long would Glos- ter have lasted by' the day? He thought of this es 'he ran, and it gave him a great burst of speed, for he carrTd Tiis " irTk as TigTl'tj'y n5 any-_ track athlete. ` 1 g wB_ it i 4 _._. w" t, t me tl a' I •h• e e'a1C b• fTi. tepee.' y d e.}i� s and s'hfd; of the tench the lights had '• dleappc•:•,,;d behind him. They had made re their minds' that he was breaking, for the sheds, and, for that matter, he slid not need the light to tall him of the rate of their approach, fot now in the starlight , he could make out the indistinct forms of the horsemen, a great. blot ,of ehad•ow coming rapidly over ,the seeds. 1'. ,#qui l�itltr:tf�lyr44. t 37. r, ing 'iteeke t+ F ht 41f heefs *TA!, gr^ llear a vwo the sheriff R, MI" ' • He ers�wde'd' hoit+sa illi and in a momeatt bas 'tine bridle,,on' •it:1ew he 'tet' barns to the cart'a , They, #1*r,)t their work cut out for them !PH*. 1 'tlie'r4 to catch fresh meante to €4 w; ei r} while those metateg hm1 ' a: thoi,dand-aere fields 'to raw yelied,•,.anel the horses 'poured' tirraui h' the .gap, and away into freedom, 't37uort. ing and tossing 'their heels in thea ,a'!r. . Other shouts came from ?kis' posse as they understood the''meaning ef- t e tumult from the corral. He saw a scattered line of horsemen spurring as ' r, as they could to surround:him' and t _ • he gave his pony. the reins, It was all over in -two minutes. The fagged mounts of the pease dropped almost lestantly,,'behind him; their,• guns• began to pep at random — sure sign that they were beaten on this stage of the hunt, at the least. CHAPTER XVIII _ Half Queen and Half Child It' did not matter that they were long overdue at home, Peter was sent slowly home that night. For, naw and again, Joan was 'bl'inded to the way, recalling how Hairy Gloster had come thundering out of the jail with the splinters of the broken door showering 'about him, and how he had beaten the three men to the earth and' thrown' one of them into the face of 'the -crowd which was attack- ing. Whenever she thought of these things, she could not help • twisting suppositions back and forth in her mind, striving to understand how he could have been so near to mortal danger and, yet could have escaped without a serious injury. It was al- most as it the sheriff' and his men had loaded their weapons with -blank cartridges. But if they had, Lee Haines ..would still •be living - Dan Barry, Black Bart, Satan, Joe Cumtrerland—there was hardly an end to the procession of figures; which had `been crowded into ber mind by the talk with Haines. The tears came when she ' recalled how calmly and hopelessly he had met his end, and haw smoothly he had persuaded her that it was only a . trifling wound. Now, when they found him, the would be. thrown into a nameless grave. When .she came, in sight , of the house her fear of Buck Daniels • was gone for ever. She' rode with rctck- les* noise past the house, and Buck himself came running out. She did' 'nee-- heedTis challenging.shout, but went blithely on to the corral, where she unsaddled Peter and breught to' him en ample 'feed of grain. It was not until she had finished all these ' a907,inlr ' 1 a9elvE:61,,y, -TAKEW410 , Alf DiROT tk; MOM PCO t;! things that she went back to the ranch -house. Buck Daniele walked in front, 0,:a up and down, up and down, wih a gltow of light from ,his pipe now and • again showing the storm in his. face. She called to him, received nio .an= ewer, and .went into the kitchen. Mate was 'bead at work getting her supper when ,the door banged heavily, seed- ing a•- Tong series ' of murmure end. squeaks' like, strange . echoes througjtg. the 'house.. Buck stood before hes;, -. with war In his face. • 0 "Well," he said, "what have you got to say for yourself?" She smiled across .the stove' at ,him. "I said 'Hello' when I came in from,. the --corral." "Hell!" said . Buck Daniels, and clamped his teeth, -•together to . keep .back worse words that, this: .I1 was apparent that her smile had done more harm to his peace of mind than her words, although they ,had been airily independent enough. ' ' "What have you been doing?" "Finding out the price of Peter." "What do you mean by that?" "I mean five hundred dollars. That's what he's worth." "You've sold him?" "Yes." ' "Without asking me?" "I 'bought him back again."- -... t "Joan; what the devil le in 'off?" She shrugged her shoulders and went on with her work. Fried pota- tods and a great ,slice of ham' and a mighty• cup of coffee and hot milk - would not be too much' for her. "You been -riding to, a- fall, Joan, and now deg -gone me if the time ain't come.;when you gat to hear some talk that ain't going to be like any other .talk you. ever beard! In the first • place what T went---" "Hush!" 'whispered Joan. She raised 'her hand, and into the silence which she "had interposed floated the shrill crying of the • wild geese .as some thick wedge • of them fled up the northern;sky. It was mar- vellous music to Joan.... It obimed nd echoed in her very heart of hea (Continued Next Week) ' Eh eSNAPS410T GUIL WHAT PRICE LENS? 'l E , You don't need an expensive LIKE owning a high-powered de luxe automobile, there is pleas- ure in owning a de luxe camera with an ultra -fast lens. Whatever one's skill as a photographer, one points with pride to the f.2 or the f.3.5 on the diaphragm scale and properly boasts of the camera's great capa- bility and of the variety of pictures which it can take. No question but that these expen- sive cameras with lenses allowing a maximum aperture of f.2, f.3.5 or f.4.5 have range and versatility that greatly 'tweeze' opportunities in picture -taking and are a source of much satisfaction. And there is no doubt teat in the hands of an ad- vanced,enthusiast seeking technical perfection they are a superi•6r tool. But if.you are unable to boast of oyvnine such a fine camera, don't get an ieferiority complex. Yoh ern boast, and justifiably so, of the, fine pictures. you can get with the ordi- nary camera at f.6.3, or even with a simple meniscus lens box camera with but one stop at around fel. Yau may regret that you are not able to take actton shots at night of a *theater performance or in a night club or stop a diving beauty in mid- air. But do not forget that many are camera for a picture like this. •the prize-winning photographs that have been made with ordinary cam- eras, box cameras not excepted. You must concede tbate favorable light conditions are required for your picture -taking, but. remember that, favorable light conditions are not uncommon phenomena. And dull, , cloudy days, the diminished light;ot early morning and later afterr.gon and deep shade are not., in these days . of fast film, by any meats unfayor- .. able light conditions for an..f,6.3 lens. Beautiful photographs are. taken with no lens -at all --with a pin -tote , camera. Again the owner of a camera with an f.2 lens more frequently uses apertures equivalent,•to,those in ordinary cameras bega.'tse, foe • °' most of his, picture -taking, he does not need the t,2 aperture. As with a. hist -powered auton1obile,,,l;e,has-the. speed when needed. . Remember that very poor 'tiictni ee . . can be taken with costly camet'aa and very fine pictures 4;ith inenfpen- sive Cameras. If you know what' your camera will do and how to nee it, • whatever the speed of the Jetts may. , be, you will always have plenty Of '• good pictures to boast about. 118 JOHN VAN GU LD>rcli: w. .,f