Loading...
The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1945-10-18, Page 9the TIMES-ADVOCATE, EXETER, ONTARIO, THURSDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 18*, 1945 tineSTARTING Tins WHEK I f SY BETTY-; BLOCK LI MGER CHAPTER I The little -depot was a yellow patch in a round tan prairie Ralph Jagged found looked Cute .. ........ .....Took town clothes like'’the blue out­ fit she was wearing to make him remember she wasn’t a younger brother. Seeing her now, wouldn’t think she could ranch. “Look, Rusty,” he “you go along back, storm gathering, and horse you’ve got tethered there/’ R-osalynn (Rusty) Rowland look­ ed at her battered car, then up at her brother, “Won’t shy at light­ ning,” she told him, “Nope,” will it pick its way across a you get yourself caught freshet.” Rusty shook her head. Ralph was heading for a with the Nips or the Nazis, worrying himself over her ing back to,the ranch. “And keep away from Decker,” he ordered. “He may be a Gene Autry in looks, but I woudn’t trust him. Deferment”,—he added . with scorn—“him with a bullet wound in his leg. Say, if I’d been on the working end of the rifle, he'd ’ve been wounded where he’s weak, in the head.” Rusty bridled a little, wasn’t so bad. He couldn’t ing handsome. “And keep an eye on continued Ralph. “Don’t let him go [breaking broncos before the boys have had a hand at them. And— oh-oh, here she comes.” He would say that, thought Rusty. Perhaps all of the travelers in the world would say, “Here she comes,” when a train was first sighted. (wnwmiiirmrnTBriMnrwwTiwinnM ioi h mu ,ni mg. the and then him. Rowland looked to peak of Old Nopoco it shrouded in mist, down at the gin beside trick, this kid sister of his, a man manage a grumbled. There’s a that’s no agreed Ralph, “Neither dip if in a Here battle i, and Decker help -be- Manny,” ICT US I i otCAPw' 'A ff?•* Bs® T Presentation for Thames Road Couple Quick Service Expert Workmanship GOODYEAR Materials You will have a feeling of Com­ plete satisfaction when you put the recapping, repair or vulcaniz­ ing of your aging tires into our hands. Our service assures you miles and miles of extra tire life; •i Meant what I said about Deck- Ralph reminded her, “He is land hungry. Marrying you, with me out stopping bullets, would be doubling his holdings.” “Intimating no man would have me for myself?” she flashed, He folded her into his long arms that expressed what he couldn’t say, and then the train slid in, The train diminished in it was a black oblong on enlng tan of the prairie, alone; never had she felt “But this is idiotic,” soned. Alone, with a ranch full of cowhands, with an Uncle Jed, a mother, and a kid brother equal to a dozen?” She dabbed at her eyes and turned. There was no use. kidding herself. She was alone until Ralph returned—if he did. Her father was dead. Jed, her father’s brother, be­ lieved in the old law of the West— a bullet, preferably from the hip. Her mother was of Jittie value in executive matters. ‘'And Manuel, Who took his leads from radio dra­ mas, wab a never-ending source of dismay. “And ; in the meantime,” Rusty ^said, “There's a storm on in the Nopocos.” The car was old, but trustworthy. Rusty, hands on the wheel, let it have its • way. More time tor thought. She’d ride the line on the morrow, take the south line first, the next day the west. It would take her a week to ride the lines of the Rowland Ranch, the Doube R. The Rowland ranch lay on the ■prairie at the foot of the Nopoco lifting size until the dark- She was so alone, she rea- its southern flank mysteries they suin­ to feeders BILL HASKETT Phone IS ONTARIOEXETER Listen: TUESDAY EVENINGS to GOODYEAR’S “Parade of Song” CKNX 920 8 p.m. I WHEN IN TORONTO Malco Y o u r Homo LOCATED An wida 5PADINA AVE. 1 AS Collogo Sir oof i t . RATES . . . Siriglo $1.50-$3.50 Doubio $2.50-$7.00 Write for Folder Wo Advise Early Reservation A WHOLE DAY'S SIGHT-SEEING WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE A, M. POWELL, Pi'osldenf “If you’ve a rope—” began stranger, and as Rusty nodded, “Well, hop to it. A break for me you came along instead of fresh schoolgirl I met near highway turn-off,” Rusty’s mouth opened, closed, and swiftly she spun abput to race up the mound and teeter down the other side. She the creature stay in Big Rope, crowbar and a chain, culled from the emergency box of the ana Rusty made her laborious way back to the stranger. “Tie the rope around the off wheel hub,” she ordered, “hook the Chain to your put this crowbar side of the front when I honk.” * * that the then should let .Sandy. length of over-ready car chest, rear bumper, under the axle and then river heave range, and spreading into the of the sharp rise where mered stock not sent on for fattening. Rusty's thoughts were ed as a cloud of dust appeared in her rear-view mirror. “No one but Ladue Decker rides like that,” she thought as the cloud grew larger. “Whew.” she murmured as the speeding car approached and whiz­ zed past her. “It wasn’t Ladue. He’d have recognized Old Faithful. Must be someone trying to beat the freshets.” The car saw a sign dred feet,” She crossed that and continued on for a stretch of five miles to where a second sign warned of an­ other “dip.” Here a wider channel was running with muddy water, a thin sheet of it. Anxiously she looked south to the mountain range. As yet the sky aboye was clear. Only the faintest haze, seemed filming the blueness of its arc. “Oh well,” she thought, and con­ sidered the cartons filling the ton­ neau and luggage carrier. Such a storm as this would not keep the dips impassable for more than ‘twelve hours. She could live for a week from the canned goods she was carrying. Ahead of her, the road swerved sharply. Rhe rounded the curve to find her passage blocked by a car. Scanning the broad expanse of sand, was a slender figure in high boots, breeches and a stockman’s hat. “Hello,” she called. He came toward her swiftly, and she had an impression of impa­ tience, of nervous energy under leash. His hat was swept from his head as he approached, and wanted to laugh. The man and lock of red loping hair- over brow were at such variance. “Am I on the right road, if is a road, to the Four D Ranch?” he asked. “This is a road,” laughed Rusty, “and the right one for Decker’s.” A few miles later the haze thickened anti the Nopocos were hidden from view by storm clouds. “Here’s where I change into something seaworthy.” She climbed into the tonneau of the car. There she changed her clothes, donning boots, breeches, flannel shirt, a high-crowned hat. Swiftly now she sent the old car hurtlirfg along. If she could cross the Big Sandy, she could make a run for home. There was no sign of the other cai' on the long- flat stretch ahead. The land broke away abruptly, going down in terraces, grooved by other rains, until it came to the big dip. The *Big Bandy was filling rapidly, its three-quarter of a mile stretch a seething, mass of muddy water and debris. But where was the stranger? He couldn’t have crossed, She’d go back to the top rise and look downstream. That mound of earth the road crews had thrown up blocked her vision. The old car groaned its protest as she started to back. Then, Rusty heard a voice. “Hello up there. Give me a hand, will you?” Having braked Old Faithful, Rusty was out of the car and speed­ ing downhill. She rounded the mound and came upon a sight which brought a burst of laughter to her lips. < “Well?” demanded the weird fig­ ure below. Gone was the meticulous appear­ ance Of the stranger. Thigh deep in muddy water, the only mark of identification Rusty had was the lock of hair now hanging limp across his muddy brftw, A second glance, this time at the dar, told what had happened. Its driver htid driven into the Big Sandy at full speed, and there the car had skidded, slithering around the mound to come to a lop-sided rest. interrupt- proceeded until Rusty ahead. “Dip, three hun- read the sign. she that his this * Rus'ty handed the stranger cup of coffee bound by a strip of flannel to protect his fingers. One deep draught and he smiled at her. “If you’ve never been wet and chilled, you don’t know how good these clothes feel and this coffee tastes. Do you always travel prepared for hard-headed wayfar­ ers?” “We’re not that altruistic,” she replied, “but we do travel prepared to take care of ourselves, Oh-oh, here she comes. You grab the beans and I’ll take the coffee , . . Get into my car.” A vivid shaft of lightning struck so close to the car the vehicle shud- pered from the vibration of thun­ der that clapped instantaneously, “Didn’t have our number on it,” remarked the stranger. “By the way, my name is Herb." “Mine’s Rosalyn,” she obliged, “but they call me Rusty for obvi­ ous reasons.” For a little while the storm made conversation impossible. Rusty, through the gloom, watched the Big Sandy spread in white-frothed waves which lapped ever higher. Calmly she watched and consid­ ered. They’d have to spend the night here, of course. There was an old 'horse blanket in the tool box. She could use that, would keep “Herb” comparatively comfortable. She thought nothing of spending the dark® hours with a stranger. She thought nothing of it until- Herb spoke. •‘You’d have given shelter to any stranger you met out here?” The suddenly round eyes which met his answered him. “What else could one do?” “But, supose I — suppose he —■ well, suppose the person wasn’t ’al­ together—” “We don’t have that kind out here,” she interposed confidently. The stranger’s feet swung to the doubtful firmness of the tonneau ■bed filled with potatoes. “My dear young lady, the chival­ rous West is gone—(hasn’t anyone told you that? Have you’no idea of the infiltration of thugs and gang­ sters and—and—” “I suppose some have slipped in,” she agreed. “But goodness, with the nearest town eighty miles away, )the nearest city one hundred and fifty—” “You’ve driven those miles today, haven’t you? Well, then, couldn’t they?” “They’d have to have a bettei* stand-in with the ration board than J have,” sighed Rusty. “From now on it's horseflesh and saddle bags.” “They,” he snapped, “wouldn’t depend upon rationed gasoline. Have you evei’ heard of black mar­ keting?” * “But why would gangsters waste even black-market gasoline to drive out into this country where they have nothing to gain?” she asked reasonably. He either had no answer to that one, or he was weighing it care­ fully. When she looked back, he seemed to be dozing. Warmed, made secure, he was like all men —he dozed off, letting answers to pertinent questions hang in the air. The storm seemed a thing of the past. The steady thrum of rain on the car roof had softened until only a few drops were striking. And the clouds were breaking to let the low- hung stars of the -prairie shine through. |A! deep furrow dented Rusty’s brow. It would be cold tonight. She should be at the ranch to prod the hands into an extra round -of the young and the weaklings. Sudden Changes like this could erase the profit from a ranch in one night. “I’d better take a look at the ignition on my car,” came from the tonneau. Rusty was instantly alert. “I'll hold a flash for you,” she said. They went to the coupe, where Herb worked long and thoughtfully over the engine, Rusty swinging her bull flash to his command. “Mind stepping in and trying the starter?” he asked. She Sat in the deep, soft seat. Her eyes Widened as she saw soft, doeskin gloves, man's size, lying ■on the seat. How why, she wonder­ ed, plunging the toe of her hoot to the starter, would such a he-man as this, wear gloves? The registration card was tied to the wheel rod in such a way she could see no more than the name Herbert. Should she make some ex­ cuse and lean forward, slip around to where the dial light would enable her to read everything? “All right”*—he’d closed the hood down-—"a little drying, and She’ll be as good as now.” (TO« BE CONTIHUEB) a tin Tlie poncho On Thursday evening of week friends mid neighbours gath­ ered- at the hall in Farquhar to spend, a social evening and during the luncheon period, Mil and Mrs. Leeland Webber were presented with a Sift df money. The presenta­ tion was ma,de by Wilfred Hunkin and Jack Stewart read the follow­ ing address; Dear Friends:—It is indeed a pleasure for we, your friends, to be given the opportunity of gather­ ing here tonight for a few hours society with you. We meet here to­ night with a two-fold purpose in mind. First, we would like, one and all, to join together in wishing you, Lee, a most cordial welcome* home. To us here, who, for the past six years have lived in comparative safety, it is hard to understand the hardships endured by you boys, who strove so valiantly to keep our Canada the country she is today. We realize, none the less the great sacrifices you were called upon to make and we are happy to be a part of the group to shake your hand and say, “Welcome home, Lee.” We are heartily glad, to have you back with us again.” As foi' the second purpose of our gather­ ing, we would like to show you in a material way, the esteem in which you both are held in our commun­ ity and as you begin anew your life together we want you to know that you have our very best wishes for a most happy and prosperous, long life together. And so, on be­ half of all gathered here tonight, we ajpk you to accept this gift heartiest felicitations from friends, ’Dee thanked them kindly their gift and best wishes dancing was enjoyed by al). with your for and PENTECOSTAL WARS. The October meeting was on October 3-1th with a good attend' ance. The meeting opened by sing­ ing, “Sweet Peace of God's Love,” and “Saved to the Uttermost,” after which Mrs. R. McDonald led in prayer, Roll call was answered by a verse of scripture on “Consecra­ tion/’ The minutes of the last meet,, ing were read and adopted. It was decided that all clothing foj' the Relief be Jeff at places as stated in letter received, A letter from head office was read, along with a list o‘f articles of clothing and linens, etc., which are needed to outfit Rev. and Mrs, D. 0. Salton and children, of Bothwell, who are going to the British West Indies as missionaries. It was decided that we would, quilt two quilts and send a cash dona­ tion of $10,1)0, Mrs, Otto Cestnick, of Toronto, then favored with two beautiful piano solos, “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” and “In th® Sweet Bye and Bye,” Mrs> T. Jolly then gave a very instructive talk on the three -missionary journeys of St. Paul illustrated with a map. held Sign Your Name To Victory I Restoring to our returned men I ansi women a full and happy civilian • life is our first obligation. Help I rehabilitation by buying Victory Bonds. She gave the history of Paul from hie childhood until doath. Her talk was interspersed with scripture readings, One very impressive thought at the close was how easy it could have been for Paul to have gone East instead of West and how we could have been left in heathen darkness instead the East and how thank God for his prayer was then which hymn, sung and Mrs. E. Millar closed with prayer. of the people of much we have to life and ministry, engaged in after ‘AH for Jesus,” was Highland Cedar FENCE POSTS LARGE W Sound, Straight and. Peeled AT DOT-W- PRICES also Lumber and Shingles We Deliver Phone 12 Granton A Help to Those Who Are Past Middle Age When men and women get past middle age their energy and activity, in many instances^ begin to de­ cline, and their general vitality is on the wane. Little ailments and sicknesses seem harder te shake off than formerly, and, here and there, evidences of a breakdown begin to appear.Now is the time those wishing to help maintain their health and vigour Bhould take a course of Milburn’s Health and Nerve Pills.. ' They help tone up and invigorate the patient by their tonic action on the system.Price 50c a box, 65 pills, at all drug counters. Look for our trade mark a “Red Heart” on the package. The T. Milburn Co., Limited, Toronto. Ont. I .A . l||| ■.■;■■■.' V J next 12 months whole year to pay for them. I could buy6more Victory Bonds So many times you hear people say "I wish Well, it has been annpunced that there will be only one Victory Loan in the People who buy Bonds now will have a TWICE AS MMIY BONDS Bear this in mind when the Victory Loan salesman calls on you. The same rate of savings as in previous loans will pay for twice as many bonds over the 12-month period. So, buy double this time, ■ ■ Farmers can buy Victory Bonds through any bank * payments. . on convenient deferred Victory Loan the letter at have Copies.) salesmen have copies of . the right, (Banks also When you sign this letter... and pay 5 % of the cost of the bonds ... the bank buys the bonds for you. You have 12 months to pay for the bonds and the interest the bond earns pays the interest on the bank loan.