Illinois Valley News. Thursday. lune 13. 1946
T U R N IN G P O IN T
fey M a ry Im lay Taylor
W N U
T H E StOKV T H IS FA B : Kherwln
t r a t h r d the unroaseMrus Stenhart, and
painfully regained the ledge. He looked
down to gee the tree which had held hi«
cousin ta il Into the stream below. The
sheriff w ailed lor the two men, then put
the handcuffs on Sherwin. Stenhart re
gained consciousness, and supported by
Jim began the descent. " I can t under
stand It ,” Stenhart said: "be was going
to k ill m e .” dim reminded him that kher
wln had saved his life. A sharp report
cam e from the thicket and Stenhart
crum pled. He had been shot. The posse
bred into the hushes and killed the man
who bred. I t was Jordan: Stenhart was
taken to the ranch house and a doctor
summoned. The nurse said he was dying.
CHAPTER X I
Shocked and dism ayed, J im hus
tled his siste r in to the old h a ll Un
consciously he dropped Into the
c h a ir at his desk. “ I wish to heaven
the d octor would get h e re !" he ex
cla im e d roughly.
"H e sta rte d a t once— as soon as
I ’phoned," Jane rep lied absently,
touching the old desk a ffe ctio n a te ly;
she rem em bered S herw in there.
J im . huddled in the c h a ir, r u m i
nated. "J o rd a n m ust have got us
contused in the s to rm —he was a
c ra c k shot. Poor M a x —it was fo r
m e and he got I t ! "
Jane said n o th in g ; her hands
were clasped on the desk. The wind
swept the door open and d ro ve the
ra in across the hall. H e r b ro th e r
rose and forced it shut, b o ltin g it.
Then he tu rn e d on her. a t the
lim it o f his patience
The old m an looked away, sw al
lo w in g hard. He had known Jane
when she was five years o ld ; he
hated to see h e r face now.
"Q u ick, M ac, I'v e only got a little
w h ile —they m ay c a ll me back—they
th in k S te n h a rt's ve ry b a d !”
H er hands, on his a rm , shook, and
he fe lt them . R e lu c ta n tly , he led
the way in to the long low b u ild in g ;
Jane caught a g lim p se o f the vac-
queros a t supper and. w ith them ,
some men who belonged to C u tle r's
posse
B u t Mac got her past them
to a door in the end o f the room
There was a m om e n t o f delay and
then it was opened. M ac had spoken
to C u tle r and the g u a rd came out
and sat down outside the door as
Jane went in alone The little room ,
w ith its one tin y w in d o w -slit, too
sm a ll fo r a m a n 's body to pass
through, was d im w ith the com ing
o f dusk, but she saw the ta ll man
who sat at the little table, a tra y of
untasted food before h im , his head
upon his hands
E xp e ctin g no one
whom he cared to see. he did not
"G ood L o rd , Jane, h a ve n 't you a
h eart? M a x is d yin g - he loves you!
Y o u 're — y o u 're a p e rfe ct stick,
standing there and sta rin g in fro n t
o f y o u !"
She looked up and her w hite face
tw itch e d w ith pain. " I ’ m so rry for
M ax, but I'm th in k in g o f the m an he
sent to—a liv in g d e a th !”
J im b it his lip . "L o o k here, Jane, !
he's a brave m an, I acknowledge
it, but he's been convicted o f a cruel
c rim e ; yo u 've got to let h im d ro p !”
"H e 's not g u ilty ," she said fir m ly ; I
" I ' l l never believe h im g u ilty . No I
g u ilty m un w ould have done that ,
splendid th in g —he saved his ac
c u s e r!”
"F in e , I g ra n t it. N evertheless, i
he goes back to Jail fo r life — you
understand that, Jane? F o r lif e ! "
"N o t if there's any way on e arth
(hat I can save h im !" she crie d
passionately.
" Y o u ! " J im spoke w ith b ro th e rly
scorn.
"Y o u can help too, J im ,” she I
went on, not heeding his d e rision !
lie raised his head and th e ir eyes
" B e la y them , keep h im here—and m et.
give h im u chance to e s c u p e l"
"T o w hat purpose?" J im asked f even look up and the d e sp air in his
her d ry ly . "T o be a fu g itiv e alw ays,
a ttitu d e went to her heart.
She
to hide away somewhere, in South thought o f h im , as she had seen
A m e rica , perhaps, under a false h im , b ra ve and free, going down on
nam e, hunted, advertised for, never that th in rope o ve r the abyss to save
to know a m om ent's peace—a con his enem y! A proud lig h t shone sud
dem ned m u rd e re r!
Hah, I'd ra th denly in her blue eyes, and she came
e r go to Ja il! T he re ’ s no c a p ita l pun close to him .
ishm ent in his state ”
" J o h n !" she said so ftly.
"Y o u 'v e never been in J a il! " Jane
He raised his head and th e ir eyes
reto rte d. "A n d you—you 'phoned m et.
F o r an in s ta n t he seemed
fo r C u tle r, you know you d id ! "
dazed, then he rose to his feet.
"S te n h a rt—"
J im
began,
and
"Y o u 'v e come to m e — a prison-
stopped.
e r? "
"O h, 1 k n o w !” Jane's gesture Was
" I saw you,
she said. ' I in so
eloquent.
J im , rem e m be rin g the m an sus proud o f y o u !"
He d re w a long b reath
"Ja ne ,
pended between the ledge and e te r
n ity , to save his enemy, began to you did it ! I'd vowed to k ill h im —
I'd tra cke d h in t lik e a m u rd e re r— I
w alk up and down the ha ll. Jane
dropped in to his vacant c h a ir and had nothing in m y h e a rt but hale
la id her head on the desk
She I was w a itin g to k ill h im when you
could hear the fu ry of the w ind o u t cam e up there, but when 1 found
you cared, yo u r touch drove out the
side. It grew dusky, too, in the old
h a ll, fo r the day was lassing sw ift- poison— I c o u ld n 't do i t ! "
ly ; to m o rro w —
She looked up p ro u d ly.
“ You
d id n 't know yo u rse lf John, even I
" I 'm s o riy , but I can t do
d id n 't know you. for when 1 saw you
th in g !" said J im hoarsely.
She m ade no rep ly
A shiver run there, w a itin g fo r h im . 1 thought
B ut it was never
th ro u g h he r, to m o rro w he would he yo u 'd k ill h im
re a lly in y o u r heart. John Sherw in.
on his way east' There is so little
m a d a y —and so much. Then, sud fo r y o u 're a b ra ve m an —no b ra ve
denly. she heard Fanny's voice c a ll m an is a m u rd e re r! Y n u 've made
ing to J im
Her b ro th e r answered good."
h u rrie d ly , went into the sickroom
He sm iled b itte rly
"Y o u forget
and the door closed behind him .
whal I a m ! "
F or the firs t tim e Jane was alone
No. I re m e m b e r! Some day it
She straightened h e rse lf in the old w ill come rig h t, the tru th can t be
w orn c h a ir und ha iked about her
alw ays hidden. I 'll believe in you
In Ute daygloont o f the old h all a lw a y s !"
she saw only shadows here and
E m o tio n choked h im . then, in a
tite r«
A clock ticke d loudly o v e r
broken voice
"It means only m is
the desk, and it seemed to rt m ild
e ry fo r you to ra re : I'm as good as
h e r o f the b re v ity of the s pan of
a dead man
Forget me. Jane, be
life . The ra in no longer be
h a p p y !"
such fu ry on the window-pan es. but
N e v e r." she answered Softly.
the w ind shrieked and how led in
the d is ta n t canyons
Sherw in was "A lw a y s I ' l l re m e m b e r u n til we
in the oth er b u ild in g s till Tt ie men meet a g a in !"
He held her hands in a g rip that
w ere there; she could see J o se and
Fete Rooney rubbbm g dnwi I th e ir alm ost h u rt them , looking down into
horses in the open door of t ie sta- tie r brave eyes
bles. She rose cautiously and lied
"Y o u gave up y o u r chance for
s o ftly down the h a ll, past tenhart'a h im - and he's dyin g . John Jo rd a n 's
closed d o o r; It seemed tt her that shot w ill k ill h im ."
she heard voice« but she d id r.. •
stop to liste n
She opened a lu ll,-
side-door th a t led past The kitch e n
and ran in to the ra in
It was fa llin g
lig h tly now. the g ra y clouds had
broken on the d is ta n t ranges and the
h ig h peaks shone in c le a r w eather
It seemed a lm ost lik e a prom ise,
th is liftin g o f the clouds, and she
ca lle d M ac so ftly
The old m att em erged fro n t his
q u a rte rs w ith a long face
"Y o u
m u s tn 't get wet. Jane, b e tte r run
b a c k ." he warned
Hut she ca u g ht at his sleeve w ith
sh aking hands
Mac. I ve got to
see h im ! "
M acD ow ell hesitated
"H e 's got
g u a rd s alongside o f h im . Jane, It
a in 't no place fo r you—"
She lifte d her blue ey i ste a d ily
to his.
"M a c , I m ust
re h im —
she ch>
the last
time ' '
S E tF A S f
Sherw in was dum b, his head
bowed in u tte r de sp air.
"O h, i f I could o n ly get you o u t!”
she m u rm u re d b ro ke n ly, then w ith
sudden hope. " I ’ ve th o u g h t o f a way
—there used to be a sh u ttere d w in
dow back here— ” she ra n to the
w a ll feeling i t —" it 's here—y o u 're
strong—c o m e !” she whispered.
H is h e a rt leaped.
L ib e r ty !
It
would not g ive her to h im , b u t free,
he m ig h t ca rve out a d e stin y, re
trie v e som ething yet. H is hands ac
tu a lly shook as he fo llo w e d h e r g u id
ance
In the d a rke n in g roo m he
could ju s t see the fastenings, old
and covered w ith dust, h a lf papered
over
I t resisted and he d re w his
table fo rk —they had not allow ed
h im a k n ife —along the crevices,
A t last he released the shutter,
turned it s o ftly and looked out. He
faced an open slope and the lig h t
fro m
a n other w indow
stream ed
across it. S herw in d re w back w ith
a g rim sm ile
"T h e y ’ ve beaten us, J a n e !"
A m an was s ittin g there, w ith his
r ille across his knees. The sheriff,
ha vin g caught a ja il-b re a k e r, was
ta kin g no chances.
Jane was c ry in g b itte r ly now, but
S herw in trie d to c o m fo rt her.
" A t best, I'd ha've been on ly a
hunted fu g itiv e , d e a r g ir l; we m ust
p a rt—”
He could not go on. H er
sobs shook h im w ith an even deep-
er em otion.
There cam e a soft knock at the
door and old M ac's voice, a b it
husky. “ T im e 's up, Jane, an ’ the
doc's here; he says S te n h a rt's d y in '
—they w ant y o u !”
"G od keep y o u ! " S h e rw in said
h o a rse ly; a ll o th e r w ords fa ile d .
The g irl, b lin d w ith te a rs, stum
bled out, old M ac h o ld in g h e r up.
"T h e y ’ re c a llin ’ fo r you, J a n e ," the
old m an explained. " I had to come
a ll fired q u ick. J im ’ s got th ' s h e riff
an' tw o others, tw o th a t com e w ith
th ’ posse. T ere sa 's s a y in ' p ra ye rs
w ith tw o candles in th ' k itc h e n an'
Ah L in g 's outside, c h a tte rin ' some-
th in g a w fu l In C hinee.”
As he spoke he guided the fa lte r-
ing g ir l on to the ve ra n d a and opened
the door. A flood o f lig h t stream ed
out.
J im was s ittin g su p in e ly at
his desk, sagged in his c h a ir
Be
side h im tow ered the b ig sh e riff, and
a deputy was w r itin g som ething on
a paper at the table. Jane, com ing
in, h a lf dazzled and b lin d w ith weep
ing, fe lt F a n n y 's a rm s go around
her.
“ H e's dead. Jane; it's o v e r—J im ,
te ll h e r !”
J im . speechless, m ade a sign to
C u tle r
"Y o u do i t ! "
B u t the big s h e riff had lost his
n e rve ; he on ly m ade m otio n s w ith
his lip s lik e chew ing. I t was F anny
who d re w Jane down beside h e r on
a bench by the door.
" H e to ld us before he died. J a n e ,"
she said, "a n d the dep osition was
ta ke n —he confessed to the m u rd e r
o f his uncle. It was done in the g a r
den; the m an who swore th a t M ax
was w ith h im at the tim e was a
p e rju re r, paid by M a x
H is uncle
q u a rre le d w ith h im and to ld him
th a t he was going to change h it
w ill and leave e ve ry cent he had to
S h erw in. M ax broke out, they q u a r
reled v io le n tly , and the old m an
s tru c k h im w ith his cane, as he
would a little boy. In fu ria te d . M ax
I snatched the p ru n in g - k n ife and
stru c k back w ith o u t th in k in g .
He
i k ille d h im ! He ran out and hid, saw
S herw in com e, and the scheme to
I save h im s e lf and get the m oney
He
i leaped Into his crazed b ro in
sw ore to a lie to save h im s e lf: he
fra m e d it a ll up—Sherw in was u tte r
ly in n o c e n t!"
F o r »a m om ent Jane n e ith e r
I m oved nor spoke She hid her face
, in h e r hands
"O h. F unny, th in k of a ll those
y e a r s !" she gasped at last.
F an n y nodded
" I kn o w '
M ax
used to te ll us in his d e lir iu m ;
Teresa heard it. too
I th o ug h t it
was the w o rry o f the t r ia l—d e liriu m ,
fe ve r d re a m s—but
Id Teresa a l
w ays believed i t ! "
J im . who had not spoken at all.
rose suddenly and went out
W ith
h im went the s h e riff and his depu
ties
The tw o g irls were alone
F anny, tr y in g to s till Jane's broken
sobs, p u t her a rm s about her again
"H e 's suffered so m u c h '" Jane
said, "a n d he gave up his chance
to escape today to save M a x ' T h in k
o f it. to save the m an who had
ruine d h im ! "
N ews
R ehin
Medaltion. So Easy to Memorize
b w ife ”
THE
vou'Il be proud of! P a tte rn 753 has Jiree-
tions for squares.
Due to an unusually larg e dem and and
cu rren t conditions, siightlv m ore tim e is
required in filling orders for a few of the
m ost popular pattern num bers.
Send your order to:
B y P aul M allon
R e le a s e d by W e s te rn N e w s p a p e r
I
C O M M U N IS T S LO SE OUT
-AT B A L L O T B O X
W A S H IN G TO N — The Russian
p ro g ra m fo r w o rld p o litic a l action I
is losing, and a change o f fro n t )
m a y eventuate fro m the B r o w d e r ;
ta lk s in the K re m lin .
Severest setback to C o m m u n ist
plans fo r p o stw a r p o litic a l aggres
sion was d efeat of th e ir new c o n s ti-'
tu tio n fo r F rance. M oscovites con-
tro lle d the s p ir it o f the F re n ch go v-;
e m in e n t since th e y defeated De
'Get O’Sullivan SOUS as welt as
G a u lle 's p o lic y o f a strong a rm y , |
and a cq u ire d c o lla b o ra tio n o f the
Heels next time you have your
S ocialists. T h e ir co n s titu tio n pro- j
posed a single ce n ter of gove rn m e nt
shoes repaired.
a u th o rity in the ch a m b e r o f depu
ties w ith a sub se rvie n t president I
and cabinet.
F a c ia lly th is appears lik e u t
m ost d e m o cra cy — som ew hat
without tiring : /
lik e the s u p e rio rity of the B r it
ish p a rlia m e n t you m ig h t say.
T he m a jo r ity of the F re n ch
e le c to ra te
was
not
fooled-
E v e ry tim e the C o m m unists go ’
753
'b e ele cto ra te , it seems, they are
being rejecte d . In the F rench ref-
cre n d u m on the su b je ct last Octo-
A ccessories c r o c h e te d o f
ber, th e ir proposal fo r a weak ex
e c u tiv e was defeated, although they ! 1 * this m edallion are prize w in
succeeded in e le ctin g the la rge st 1 ners. As lo v e ly fo r scarfs and sm all
bloc o f delegates to the convention pieces as fo r a cloth or spread.
In the connivances o f in te rn a tio n a l ,
Crocheted m edallion — auickly m em o
. . . . a n d s o le
conferences and d o m e stic p o litic a l rized—is 5*a inches in string. Handiwork
d ic k e rin g ,
the
M oscovites
have !
won the m ost ground, but at the ,
b a llo t box they have proved weak.
L a b o r Bans C om m unists.
Less conspicuous events than the
F re n ch ele ctio n disclose th e ir forced
re tre a t w ith even g re a te r c la r ity A
Sines
188S
spare th re e p a ra g ra p h s in the Lon- j
don T im e s re c e n tly revealed the de-
c*s*on o f the B ritis h L a b o r p a rty to ,
change its c o n s titu tio n so as to deny 1
m e m b e rs h ip to C o m m u n ists. This
decision
fo llo w s
the
disclosure
m ade in th is co lu m n a few weeks
back, and not y e t g e n e ra lly pub
lished, th a t the le ft w in g unions in
Thrips are ugly looking pests
CIO were ta k in g s im ila r action, in
that thrive by harming crops. If
s im ila r quietude. The con stitutio n
o f several C IO unions is being
your crops are feeding Thrips,
changed to ban C o m m u n ist p a rty
dust or spray them now with
m em bers, and unquestionably labor
Stauffer D D T —the most effec
in the tw o de m o cra cie s is a tte m p t
tive insecticide for Tbrips and
in g to purge its e lf o f the C om m unist
influence.
many other insects. Order from
you CAN WALK
FARTHER
A M E R I C A 'S
N o .l H E E L
SAY GOODBYE TO
"MR. THRIPS'
with STAUFFER DOT
I t was in the lig h t of these
w o rld • changing events th a t
E a rl B ro w d e r flew to Russia on
his unexplained m ission.
The
CP postw ar p o litic a l action in
th is co u n try has been in the
hands of the F oste rite s who op
pose co-operation w ith c a p ita l
ism . B ro w d e r was ousted fro m
p a rty c o n tro l here because he
b rought CP into co-operation fo r
pro d u ctio n d u rin g the w a r. W ill
the M oscovites now o rd e r a pe
rio d of co-operation again?
your dealer.
a p • c i a I m ix t u r e s p r e p a r e d on r e q u e s t
STAUFFER CHEMICAL COMPANY
P a c ific
N O R T H
S up erficial
N o rth w e s t
D iv is io n
O R E G O N
P O R T L A N D ,
Buy S a fe and Sound U. S. Savin gs Bonds
How to Avoid these
I doubt it. Look at the m a tte r the
way Moscow looks a t it, if you
would find the answ er C a p ita lis m
was the firs t enem y chosen by C om
m un ism F ascism becam e a la te r
enem y. F ascism
has now been
e lim in a te d as a w o rld power C om
m un ist aggression ag a in st c a p ita l
ism can stop on ly th ro u g h a genu
ine re o rg a n iza tio n o f its to ta lita ria n
ideals, and th is is h a rd ly to be ex
pected now as the Russian g o ve rn
m ent. flushed w ith v ic to ry and new-
won pow er th ro u g h o u t the w orld,
sees its greatest o p p o rtu n ity fo r
w o rld achievem ent.
BOOBY TRAPS"
Whal you ran’I to t
CAN hart you— joys th«
National Softly Couacif
A b o u t 5,000,000 A m e ri-
cans are in ju re d every
year at hom e-i$,SQ0 fa ta l
ly ! Largest single cause:
ta ilin g . T o a v o id s h in -
catching obstructions and
other lethal ''booby traps,"
c a rry y o u r "E v e re a d y ”
flashlight in dark areas.
1
C o-operation.
B u t there is a n o th e r stron g e r
reason fo r dopbt D e m o c ra tic c a p i
ta lis m is s tru g g lin g .o its feet, fo l
lo w in g war. I f the C o m m unists co
operate and we get pro d u ctio n , we
m ay g row strong ag a in T he re fore
the B ro w d e r m ission is lik e ly to suc
ceed o n ly if the K re m lin becomes
convinced c a p ita lis m w ill fa ll any- j
way. and a p e riod o f false appease- ■
m ent is ju s tifie d as a te m p o ra ry )
s tra te g ic re tre a t The decision could j
fa v o r CP face liftin g , and superfl-1
c ia l co-operation, but could h a r d ly ,
run in to genuine depths.
In these fu n d a m e n ta l c u r
ren ts. some are saying the
u ltim a te c o n flic t w ill be be
tween S ocialism and C om m u
nism Rut S ocia lism is a word
w h ich has lost m ore of its o rig
in a l d e fin itio n than C om m unism .
F a n n y touched her softly on the
The S a tis were S ocialists, so
shoulder "L o o k up. J a n e !”
w ere the F ascists. So is Russia.
T h r g ir l lifte d her head The door
The nam e of that C o m m u n ist na
stood open and on the threshold,
tio n is The U nion o f Soviet So
e re ct and ra d ia n t, stood Sherwin.
c ia lis t Republics. B ritis h Social
(T H E END»
is m . on the o th er hand, c lin g s to
la w . Ihe p a rlia m e n ta ry system
and D e m o c ra tic fo rm s .
E vent» th e re fo re are shaping the i
w o rld
c o n flic t in to a clash ol j
S t.itis m , D ic ta to rs h ip . C om m unism
on the one hand versus Dem ocracy
C a p ita lis m . S o cia lism on the other
L E F T ANO R IG H T
W IN G R l l l l t Al S
One d is tin c tio n m ay be noted be
tween C o m m u n is t s trik e s and regu
. l a r union s trik e s The C o m m u n ist;
s trik e g e n era lly seeks p o litic a l ben
efits (Crusades fo r p o litic a l issues
3T c a p ita lis t sabotage», w h ile the
union s trik e s are p r im a r ily con
cerned w ith wages and w o rk in g con
d itio n s. and a d esire to im p ro ve
them I f wages are not the reason
fo r a s trik e lock fo r CP somewhere
in
the
backg ro u n d
The s w ift
GIFTED AUTHORS
changes in C P line can be read io
the D a ily W o rker
ROMANCE
FICTION
MYSTERY
SELECT FICTION BY
NEEDLECRAFT PATTERNS
Be sure a ll obstacles are
cleared away. Linoleum
o r carpeting should be
tacked down firm ly . In attic
o r basement, pack a ll loose
objects in noninflam m able
boxes stored against the
n a ils. D o n 't rely on your
know ledge o f where obsta
cles are located — the next
person may not have that
know ledge. M oreover —
2
K n o w in a d u n te where
your fuse box. m ain
w ater and gas valve«, e tc ,
are lo c a te d ; have a c le a r
path to them. A rm ed w ith
your "Eveready" flashlight,
you can approach w ith o u t
fu m b lin g in an emergency.
Be sure loose wires are o u t
o f your way.
3
Keep your "Eveready" flashlight
always in the same convenient
place — so you w o n 't be tempted to
do w ith o u t it because it can't be lo
cated Keep it fille d w ith "Eveready"
b a tte rie s -th e y re again available at
your dealer's. "Eveready" batteries
are the la rg n t-ttllin g flashlight bat
teries in a ll the w o rld !
4
NATIONAL CA8BON COMPANY. INC.
}0 Fast «Jod Street. New York 1 7 .N .Y
IXTRA COST
EVEREADY
'« • A O l
•«.•Ursa : «Je o u t
K'araaa,
M4At»M
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