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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1936-06-11, Page 6BAOU SIX L.P. HOLM£S . SECOND INSTALMENT SYNOPSIS . . .Silas Spelle, high­ handed, low-principled cattle baron, is out to smash the local bank and force foreclosure on the small ranch­ ers of the Kanab desert country so that he can seize their range lands. He is opposed by Ed. Starbuck, pres­ ident of the Cattleman's Bank, and by San Juan Delevan, prominent ranch­ er who has been crippled by a fall ■from his horse. Johnny Clehoe and his partner, Tex Whipple, are cow­ punchers looking for work. Art “Four-finger” Spelle, so called before his prison days because the third finger of his right hand was missing, leaned over and lifted the Colt .45 from the holster dangling at his father’s hip. “I’ll keep this ’till yuh get back,” he sneered. “No—I don’t trust yuh. I did once—an’ got twenty years in the pen for it. I’d o’ rotted there for all o’ yuh. Don’t try an’ double-cross me again, or I’ll crawl through hell on my hands an’ knees to get yuh. Don’t forget.” Silas Spelle nodded and left the room. The moment he was gone, ex­ convict No. 8214 crossed to the shelf and took down a nearly full quart bottle of whiskey. Drawing the cork he drank greedily. He sighed deeply as he replaced the bottle. He crossed to his father’s desk and sat down, sweeping papers and tally books as­ ide. Shortly Silas Spelle reappeared, his arms loaded with dishes. Four-finger Spelle ate voraciously, wolfishly—like a starving man would. When he finally ceased the dishes were empty. He lit one of his fath­ er’s black stogies. He leaned back in the chair and put his heel on the desk. “This is somethin’ like,” he grin­ ned mockingly. “Now where yuh go- in’ to bed me down so nobody’ll know I’m here?” “I been usin’ yore room for a store­ room since—since—well, yuh was gone,” replied the father. “Nobody ever goes in there an’ the windows are boarded up. Yore bunk’s still there an’ some blankets. Yuh can hang out there for a while. Mebbe we can make other arrangements lat­ er.” “Don’t go to figgerin’ too deep,” sneered the son. “I’ll make the ar­ rangements. I’m goin to turn in now. I’m tired as hell. But I take this six- gun with me an ’a Winchester be­ sides . Remember what I said about tryin’ to double-cross me.” “I’m not thinking anything of the sort,” was the angry reply. “Mebbe we can get together on somethin’ pretty quick what’ll be a payin’ pro­ position for both of us.” “Bueno. I think yuh’re tellln’ the truth for once in yore life. Me for the blankets.” Later Silas Spelle sat again in his office thinking. But now the baffled, thwarted look about him was gone. He was smiling slightly. The answer to his problem concerning Ed Star­ buck was at hand. Old “San Juan” Jim Delevan sat in his invalid’s chair on the wide ver­ anda of the Box D ranchhouse and stared down the slope to where a herd of Hereford cattle were milling and bellowing about the eight big troughs set out in the rolling meadows be­ yond. the barns and corrals below. The troughs were kept filled with water piped from the reservoir which lay beyond the dam in the ravine which cut in one one edge of the slope a hundred yards above the ranchhouse. Still highed up lay the pine ridged crest of the San Juan Plateau, that great, verdant tableland, which Delevan controlled and which had been the source of Delevena’s nickname. At Dclevan’.s elbow lay a pair of powerful binoculars. For the past three hours he had used the glasses, watching the slow, weary progress of the herd as it had wound up out of the terrible red gulf of the Kanab Desert, which lay beneath the San Juan Plateau on the southwest, spreading out through a shimmering, blasting inferno to where, far on the horizon, reared the volcanic crown of. rthe Vermillion Cliffs, San Juan Delevan had been a big man, but since the accident two months previous the flesh had-wasted from his craggy frame until to look nt him was to liken him to a gaunt, gnarled old oak tree. His face was square hewn, and harsh as granite, his mouth grim—his jaw jutting He stirred restlessly, The ddor of sweat and dust risihg from the cattle came strong to his nostrils. He was hun­ gry io be among them; to hear the creak of tendon and clack of hoof as they moved .about; to note their hard won content about the watering troughs more closely. For San Juan Delevan loved cattle. Sturdy breed that they were, he knew desert travel was hard on the heavy, bulky Here- fords and it did his heart good to see them slaking parched, dust coat­ ed throats at the troughs filled with the sweet, sparkling water of the plateau. But there was a furorw of worry between his keen eyes. He turned to a slender, dark-haired girl sitting beside him, “Honey, make a count ‘of those cattle,’ ’he asked, “Don’t look to me like they’s six hundred haid there.” Ronella Delevan, “Ronny” for short, laid down a bit of lacy em­ broidery and directed her calm, clear eyes at the cattle. Brown eyes those were, fringed wiht long curling lash­ es, Bellow .them was a straight, tip- titled nose, bewitchingly freckled Her mouth was made for laughter but in repose there was a hint of brooding tenderness about it. Her chin was rounded but firm. She wore a cool, dainty, but serviceable ging­ ham dress. There were no frills about Ronny Delevan. She didn’t need them. After a moment she looked at her A pale moon lighted their trail. father gravely. “No dad, there isn’t. I doubt if there is more than five hundred.” “Humph,” grunted Delevan gruffly. “That means Wade had trouble cross­ ing the desert. Rustlers again, I’ll wager. Why in hell don’t the man report? What’s he waiting or?” As though in answer a thin man with a dark saturnine face left the group of punchers and climbed slow­ ly up the slope towards the ranch­ house. His face was inscrutable, his black eyes opaque, as he faced Dele­ van. “Lost near a hundred haid, boss,” he stated flatly. “Rustlers rushed the cattle night ’fore last where they was bedded down at Skeleton Springs. The whole herd got on the run but we managed to turn ’em. But come daylight I made a count an’ found around ninety-five haid missin’. I left Fair and Donnelly at the Springs. They’re tryin to trail the rustlers.” Anger gleamed in Delevan’s eyes. “What in hell’s the matter, Wade?” he rumbled. “I thought yuh were a cattleman. Cain’t yuh an’ four punch­ ers drive six hundred haid of cottie without lettin’ rustlers clean up on yuh? By God, I ain’t made of gold. I cain’t stand to lose cattle like I been doin’.” “Yuh got no kick cornin’,” retort­ ed the foreman, blood flaming in his face. "Yuh was headin' the gang yer- self when they put over the big steal two months ago.” “True,” snapped Delevan darkly. “But they was somethin’ about the big steal I ain't fellin' everybodj' just yet. I’m waitin ’an' listenin’ an’ watchin’ till the right time comes to talk. What I know’d surprise yuh.” “Don’t know nothin’ about that,” replied Wade sullenly. “We did the best we could with this herd. Damn lucky I say we didn’t lose the whole smear.’* “It wouldn't have suprised me/’ re­ marked Delevan sarcastically. Wade stiffened and looked at his employer, with hard eyes. “See here, Delevan,” he snarled, “If yuh don’t like the way I’m roddifi yore spread, jest say so, I ain’t anchored to this outfit/* “Wade,” said Delevan steadily, “I think that’s a damn good idea. D’yuh slippers slapping at his heels. Short-. want yore time tonight or in the mornin’?" “Seein’ yuh put it thataway, I’il take it tonight. I’ll come for it right after supper,” “I’ll be waitin’,” rumbled Delevan. An hour later Montana Wade, fol­ lowed by two other punchers, came clanking onto the veranda. Delevan was seated there, a check book across his knees. “Casnow an’ Durbin are quittin’ with me,” announced Wade harshly. “Seein’ they were with me on the drive they figger yore talk again me hits them too.” “Suits me,” rumbled Delevan. “The Box D won’t miss any of yuh. I. hir­ ed two good men today.” Delevan scrawled three checks and handed them to the scowling punch­ ers, who left immediately and sjiortly after rode away on the Carillion trail. Delevan watched them out of sight, his brow furrowed, his eyes thought­ ful. “Things kinda dovetail,” he mut­ tered. “Bet I’m figgerin ’right. Hi— Chang!” he bellowed. “Come here.” There was a patter of feet from within the ranchhouse and a wrinkled, aged little Chinaman, emerged. “Drift down to the bunkhouse an’ tell Whipple I want to see him.” The Chinaman shuffled off, his ly after Tex Whipple climbed the slope and took a chair beside Dele­ van. “Whipple,” said Delevan, “Yuh look like a pretty wise ole fox to me. I got somethin’ I want yuh to do. I lost damn near a hundred haid of that herd that came in across the des­ ert today. I got my own suspicions as to what happened. But I ain’t say­ in’ a word yet. I want yuh an’ that kid pardner of yores to fork a pair of broncs an’ amble out to Skeleton Springs. I want yuh to read sign on what happened there. If I tell yuh what I think happened it might in­ fluence yore line o’ reasonin’, so I won’t say a word. Yuh better leave right away because come mornin’ the wind’ll fill in the tracks most likely an’ cover everythin’ up. Skeleton Springs lies about sixteen miles due west. Keep that north point of Ver­ million Cliffs dead between yore bronc’s ears an’ yuh can’t miss it.” Tex nodded, rolling a cigarette. “Don’t get anxious boss, if’n we don’t show up fdr a couple, three days. If we hit somethin* phoney we’ll foller it through ’till we get the whole lay­ out figgered. Mebbe yore Chink could get a Jeetle grub together for us while we’re throwin’ our hulls on the broncs.” “Shore. I’ll get him busy.” It lacked an hour of midnight when Tex and Johnny rode up to Skeleton Springs. For the last five or six miles a pale moon had eased their trail somewhat. A mammoth hush lay ov­ er the Kanab Desert, a stillness so potent and impressive that Johnny was moved to remark about it. He and Tex dismounted and were squat­ ting on their heels smoking, watching their broncos sip gingerly at the brackish pools which seeped from be­ neath a tongue of ragged sandstone. “Gosh, it’s owly out here,” he mum­ bled, looking about at the ghostly out­ lines of cactus and thorn brush,; “A good night for hoot-nannies an’ speer- its to be aflittin’.” “Reckon from what ole San Juan told me they’s wuss things than that boldin’ out in these parts,” answered Tex. “Yeah? Suppose yuh open up an’ fell me what the idee of this HI* jaunt is all about, I likes to know what I’m tidin’ into.” WINGHAM ADVANCE-TIMES ...there is only one Blue Sunoco and it, too, stands alone By concentrating on only one motor fuel, economies are effected in refineries, warehouses, delivery trucks and gas pumps. That is why we are able to give you High-Test, Knock­ less Power and Long Mileage ... at REGULAR GAS PRICE. NO SECOND GRADE . . . NO THIRD GRADE Business and Professional DirectoryTex related Delevan’s instructions and added a bit of his own deduc­ tions. “Looks to me like Delevan ain’t no­ where near satisfied with the yarn Wade told him about how they lost ; those cattle. He done canned Wade , over it. He’s figgerin’ we’ll find somethin’ kinda phoney if we look out right smart.” When the horses had finished drinking they unsaddled and staked the animals out. Then they lay down on the warm sands and dozed through the slow hours to the first break of dawn. A merger breakfast was cook- over the acrid flames of a handful of greasewood twigs, then the saddles were slung and the horses were giv­ en a final drink. (Continued Next Week) Spend your Vacation in Western j Canada! New Low Summer Fares Enj'oy a DIFFERENT vacation £his ' year. Spend you summer holidays in | Western Canada. Take advantage of the new, REDUCED round-trip sum­ mer fares to visit the Prairie Provinc­ es, Canadian Rockies and the Pacific Coast . . all outdoor sports. PRAIRIEPROVINCES On sale: JUNE 15 - AUGUST 15 RETURN LIMIT: Sept. 30 ONE-WAY Fare for ROUND TRIP Good in coaches only SLEEPING CAR PRIVILEGES Passage tickets also cm sale good in: TOURIST SLEEPERS - at l-l|10 fares, plus berth charge; STANDARD SLEEPERS - at 1-1)3 fares, plus seat or New Low berth charge. (Above reductions are approximate and based on normal first class one­ way fare) CANADIAN ROCKIES NEW FARES surprisingly low—only slightly higher than, to Prairie Prov­ inces. PACIFIC COAST LdW-Cost summer fares, good in coaches, tofirist arid Standard sleep­ ers, iri effect to VANCOUVER, VIC­ TORIA and other points. STOP-OVERSTsIuthorized by .. * tariffs. Full information from any agent. Canadian Pacific Wellington Mutual Fire Insurance Co. Established 1840. Risks taken on all classes of insur­ ance at reasonable rates. Head Office, Guelph, Ont ABNER COSENS, Agent. Wingham. DR. R. L. STEWART. PHYSICIAN Telephone 29. Dr. Robt. C. REDMOND M.R.C.S. (England) L.R.C.P. (London) PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON DR. W. M. CONNELL PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON Phone 19. W. A. CRAWFORD, M*D. Physician and Surgeon Located at the office of the late Dr. J» F* Kennedy. Phone 150 Wingham Dr. W. A. McKibbon, B.A. PHYSICIAN And SURGEON Located at the Office, of the Late ? Dr. H. W. Colborne. Office Phone 54. Nights 107 J. W. BUSHFIELD Barrister, Solicitor, Notary, Etc. Money to Loan. Office — Meyer Block, Wingham Successor to Dudley Holmes. J. H. CRAWFORD Barrister, Solicitor, Notary, Etc. Successor to R. Vanstone. Wingham Ontario R. S. HETHERINGTON BARRISTER and SOLICITOR Office <— Morton Block. Telephone No. 66 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 p.m. Thursday, June 11th, 1936 HARRY FRY Licensed Embalmer and £ Ftmeral Director Furniture and Funeral Service Ambulance Service. Phones: Day 117. Night 109. THOMAS FELLS AUCTIONEER REAL ESTATE SOLD A Thorough knowledge of Farm Stock. Phone 231, Wingham. ' It Will Pay You to Have An EXPERT AUCTIONEER to conduct your sale. • See T. R. BENNETT At The Royal Service Station. Phone 174W. J. ALVIN FOX Licensed DrugleSs Practitioner CHIROPRACTIC - DRUGLESS THERAPY - RADIONIC EQUIPMENT Hours by Appointment. Phone 191. Wingham A. R. & F. E. DUVAL CHIROPRACTORS CHIROPRACTIC and ELECTRO THERAPY blorth Street — Wingham Telephone 300.