¿PAGE Z 2, SHERMAN COUNTY JOURNAL, MORO, OREGON.
i& i{ f t y ix it (C m m ty J o u r n a l
FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1 9 «
SCHOOL BILL
Keliy’s Column y f f o Other Days I
Two school- bills came out of
the house taxation committee this
from nacre one*
¿Established Nov. 2, 1888
week th at will be im portant to icy.
When the famed " Chinese
Groas Valley Journal .....
all school men. school teachers.
t O N s Ä T C D 0 ^ . 1^ 1“ 7 IMI and P‘ renU *"d UXP* yerS ° f ‘he woman addressed congress (tho
only woman to do this other than
state.
Wasco Newa-Entarpriae
the queen of Holland), she de
One of them sets up a fund of
Established Nov. 1891
clared th a t it was a m istake to
CONSOLIDATED March 4, 1932 $20 per school census child, of
regard Japan as secondary t o
which there are some 266,000 to
H
err Hitler, and stated thait the
Published Every Friday at
paid to the counties from mon-
_ ___MwOkOreffO* *_________ eys collected from* income taxes Japanese have already captured
in their campaign more raw m a
»i cs It. French
Editor or in case of necessity from prop-
terials with which to keep o n
■ i * I.
i n ,i i ■ ■- " grty taxes
E ru re d as second class m atter at
funJ wiU u k e
plsce fighting than the Germans have.
t li j Rostoffice a t Moro, Oregon
.
,
Madame Chiang Kai-shek received
........ Act Q- Cnngres. of March ° f «>« Mho<>1 iund “ » “ P byu ‘b"
tum ultuous applause when she
j jg79
amended school teachers
b ill
made
this statem ent; it was the
*
passed in November^. It will be
high spot of her address and dem
a perm anent fund. The taxation
onstrated th a t congress enter
committee felt th a t the vote of
tained the same views.
Result
the people for the school bill was
►QE»
of her visit is th a t Edward Stet-
a vote in favor of state partici
IATION
tinius, m anager for lend-lease,
PtJBLISNEL
pation in school finances,
and
has announced th a t China will
these new bills are an attemipt to
OFFICIAL COUNTY PAPER
share with B ritain and Russia the
make this workable in a more ef
guns, tanks, planes, and food from
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
ficient m anner than was provided
Payable in Advance
this country. Up to this time, of
ONE YEAR
.......:...... $1-50 by the school bill.
The second of these new^Jtnlla the billions of dollars sent lend-
lease, China has received
only
gives authority over the taxing
FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1943
$170,000,000.
units of the school districts to a
Sfeteman County Observer
OudoO**s
Au
TAX
M • : <
♦
rural school board of 6 men elected
from five sones in each county
sim ilarly to the directors of the
non-high school board,
This board has -the authority to
supervise the budget« of all school
districts of the county, with pow-
e r to raise or lower. All budgets
are then consolidated into
on*
and the levy is made equally over
the entire county,
Authority over the m anagem ent
of the schools is left entirely in
the hands of the local
school
board. The hiring of teachers,
the hiring of other employees, the
use of the building, the Winning
of the school is all left to the lo
cal board.
These two bills are tied togeth-
er and will be pu t to a vote of
the people at the next election to
see if they really wanted t h e
state to engage in .the job of fi-
nancing schools last November.
If they did so desire these two
bills provide a much more equita-
ble means of so doing than has
been so far devised.
---------- -------
Foresight is a quality th a t en-
ables one to foresee difficulties
and prepare for them. In other
Pe»Pla » ia calle<i hoardin«-
«
•
s____
" T iiS I
à j|
From the Observer, March 7, 1921
It is reported th at a baby boy
arrived la s t week to gladden the
home of S. A. Hall and wife.
Francis Alroy Sayrs
passed
away a t his home in Moro, Ore
gon on February 28, 1924, being
67 years, 6 months and 18 days
©
of age. He and his wife, who was
T.IK 8TG?.V SO r A B : Clay Rforgaa
the form er Emma J. Powell, came
ha» decided la pUy a lose hand against
to Sherman county in 1883.,
I’e i Herendeen, a ranckor bent os ran-
Lovely w eather these day?. -1ns the eattla ooantry Ms own way.
The two men Save been enemies lor
Some of our folks are busy plow years,
having Ir s t fought ever Clay’s
ing and others are working g a r w ifi, Lila, who died bating Ma and
hcll?vlng she should have married Her-
dens.
r idee». Morgan Is a solitary ftgure,
<
■ k, •
•
From t! e Observer, March 6, 1914 . •voted to Ms nino-yoar-sld dangbter.
By
The city has a four-horse g rad
ing outfit working on the streets
and nreparing thpm fei summer
use.
Born, to M r.-and Mrs. Dan Mc-
Lachlin jr. on Februarv 28th, an
eight pound boy. Dr. C. L. Poley
attending.
While coming to school a horse
back last Friday Eugene Silver
took a header off his pony when
the anim al slipped on the muddy
road.
EN nest
; »net. Althojgfc two women, catkorine
< r.-n! and Ann M cG arrak, are is love
him. they krow ko cannot forget
• 1». til his former friends, odly Hack
r » :h l:t has not gone over to Here»-
.
-s »!•!.•. G rrd Grant. Catherine's
it
-
hesitated about joining Heren-
<*~c i. tu t became Morgan’ s sworn ene
my .v.-hca he discovered that Catkorine
l ad been to hif ranch.
Learning at
I he I-s t minute that Government Valley
U la be Ructaned at Sage City ltd miles
away. Clay rides an Mght and arrives
in time to outbid Charley Hillkousr.
Herendeen’s foreman. When ho learns
that Lirentleen has sent a party out to
fiiyl Hack Breathitt and kill Mm, a n y
starts <n: to find Mm drat. He goes to
Freeport, to Kero Case's store, whore
be thinks he win dad flack. As he is
talking to Case. Herendeen appears in
(he doorway.
Non continue with the story.
Paym ents to dependents of de
ceased
veterans of this w ar have
The tax program for the state
already
started. These dependents.
is becoming more clear as the
1,153,
have
received $188,874, and
bills roll out from the legislative
this
is
only
the beginning, for the
mill. A fter a two-day battle the
paym
ents
will,
eventually run in From the Observer, March 4, 1964
house has decided th at the reduc-
to the billions of dqllars. Pen
tion in state income taxes is not
A train of 19 cars of wheat,
sions paid for the first world war
to be very large. In fact, a good
shipped by the EOL. Co., WWM.
have reached $4,619,000,000.
part of the house taxation com-
Co. and the W. A Gordon Co.,
CHAPTER X
mittee did not want to give any
left Moro this week for Portland
reduction this year a t all, but to
to supply the demand caused by
WILLIAMS’ COLUMN
On the same day Morgan returned
begin with the elimination of the
the Russo-Jopanese w ar and the from Sage City, Charley Hillhoy«e
C o n tin u e d fro tn P m re O n e
split • bracket next year.
(T h e
Armour speculation in Chicago. had pulled into Three Pines and re
our opinion the small loan, truck W estern dealers
split brocket is the two $ 5 0 0
are
shipping ported his failure to Herendeen.
state civil service, and big fish wheat quite liberally to Chicago, Both of them had been thoroughly
brackets in the first $1000 o f
bills would be defeated. We hit because of the speculation there. certain of success and now Her-
taxable income).
the nail on the head. All four
There are some very good rea-
W heat is advancing, but brearf-1’ eyticiee sat in astonished silence,
m easures ‘‘bit the d u st;” and wc fast food will remain within reach the back of his neck flushing and his
gons for not returning liny money
hazel eyes freezing on Hillhouse.
also predicted th a t the bill for of the common people so long as Charley felt thi« bad luck keenly; it
to the taxpayer out of his 1942
income tax reduction would pass, sawdust is kept out of the clutch was a personal loss to him, so
paymente. F irst is the practical
and
it did—/o r 10 per cent. But es of a tru st. ,
complete was his loyalty to the
uselessness of auditing the thou-
ranch, so partisan a man he was.
from
the
looks
of
things
taxpay
sands of small returns and re-
He rolled a cigarette, laying -his
ers
will
get
more
than
10
per
cent
turning a percentage of them. Of
shoulders against a porch post
NOTICE
TO
CREDITORS
before the senate gets through
the 165,000 income tax payers of
There was no sweetness in "the
mulling the house bill over. We
1941, 140,000 of them paid a n
Notice is heUfcby given th a t C. smeke.
also said the Burke wine bill, which A. Tom has been appointed Ad
’ ’I f we’d kept that damned notice
average of $11.80. This means
passed the senate by a whaje of m inistrator of the E state of down another twenty-four hours—”
th at if 10 per cent of this was
Herendeen said: “ He was at the
u vote, would have tough sledding George W. Ramey, Deceased, and
returned there woud be 140,000
dance
Friday night He couldn’t of
in the house and would probably has qualified as such. All persons
checks for an average of $1.18 to
, seen it. That’ s why H arry Jump
be defeated. The house committee having claims against said E state came to town in such a lather.
send out to taxpayers, It would
brought in a report of Do not are hereby notified and required to What’d he pay?’’
cost about half of the check to
pass by a vote of 4 to 2. but the present the same duly verified to
get it returned.
"Eleven thousand.’’
house upset the committee report said A dm inistrator at Rufus, O re . "W hy didn’t you keep on?” said
’ Eves then it could not be done
by voting 32 to 27 the bill Do gon, within six m onths from the Herendeen, irrita b ly . "W hy didn’t
mifch before the year was well
pass: so it m ight pass, but it will date of the first publication of this you snow him under? My God, Char
alupg, »o th a t the taxpayer would REPRESENTA TIVE’S REPORT
ley, 1 send you two hundred miles
be a hot battle—one or two votes notice. The first publication is for something we had to have, and
be ju st as well off if he waited
s m ". '
' -
-
willl decide the fate of the m eas February 26, 1943.
uaUl 1944 to obtain his tax re-
7Continued*'/rom Page One)
you buckle up.”
ure.
The
railbirdg
had
this
bill
"You set the lim it,” pointed out
C.
A.
Tom,
A
dm
inistrator.
duction.
payers.
i
Hillhouse. " I went to the lim it and
The bill is now in the senate,
Another thing—the legislature picked as a cinch to pass by a J. Tracy Barton, ’
that’s nil 1 could do.”
where something else will be done is spending, often with ample jus- whopping vote, as it did the sen The Dalles, Oregon.
"You should have figured the
ate.
But
such
was
not
the
cas..-
Attorney for Estate.
16-19 lim it didn’t mean a thing against
with it, and no one knows what tifleation, more money th at it ever
Observations from the p r e s s
Morgan.”
th a t will be. It won’t be long, expected to.
box:
Everyone arfkious“ to get
Hillhouse defended himself with
however, before the answer ' is ' The state institutions need moro
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
blunt warmth. " I ’ m no mind read
known.
money—more for food, more for home—Many lawmakers at their
Notice is hereby given t h a t er. I can’ t guess what’ s In your
. The property tax payers have doctoring, more for clothing, more desks each day a fte r adjournm ent,
working
on
their
federal
Income
Mary
Edith Sayrs has been a p head, Ecn. When you lay out some
been given a ten p er cent reduc- for everything. The cost of help
thing for me to do, either give me
tion through the school bill and is more, too. Then the governor tax returns—They m ight not get pointed A dm inistratrix of the E s free rein or else be damned sure
the corporation excise taxes have has asked for a greater fund for home in time; March 15 is dead tate o f Oiper G. Sayrs, Deceased, how you led me to do it.” He threw
been cut, o r will be, by some the pensioners, which means an- line— Senator Lam port of Salem, and has qualified as such. All per the cigarette away. "Well, we’ve
an ex-banker, is said to be Gov sons having claims against said lost it."
eight or ten per cent, so there is other two million dollars,
"C harley,” said Herendeen, "the
ernor Snell’s choice for state su Estate are hereby notified and re
an elem ent of equalisation in the
Even a sta te with a moderate
country
ain’t big enough for both
perintendent of banks — M a n y quired to present the same duly
tax reduction program .
surplus cannot keep on spending
Morgan
and
me.”
members of both houses say they verified to said A dm inistratrix at
"So it s tight,” said Hillhouse, and
11«re are u r n . incidental tax money rig h t and left for every-
will not be candidates for re-elec Moro, Oregon, within six month i let the long silence fall while he
cute, a.», for instance, the eboli- thing from added expenaea to new
tion—Too much private busines.i from the date of the first publi soberly considered the answer. He
tion of- the intangiblee tax. the «elarics for state policemen and
which needs their attention is the cation of this notice. ..The first sighed a little and at last shrugged
additional MOO® . exemption for ka®P tl,a t surplus for very long,
reason, say the lawmakers—Cov publication is February 12, 1943. his shoulders. "Been a long time
soldier», th e reduction of the gift Especially if its eitixena are in
coming."
ered the execution of Wm. W al
Mary Edith Sayrs,
tax, and tome other», th a t will »¡«tent th a t the taxes be reduced
Herendeen said: "Stay clear of it.
lace a t the penitentiary last F ri
A dm inistratrix.
Charley, if you feel like th a t”
make the s ta te ’s take from taxes »1 the seme tim e.
day morning—the 11th such as J. Tracy Barton,
Hillhouse shook his head- "N o.”
leas than before unless there is
T a « ’ have bee" reduced. The
signm ent for me—and I
don’t The Dalles, Oregon.
he
mused, "a man can’t be half of
greatly increased tax peyments. property tax payer gets a little
relish the job—The warden reads Attorney for Estate.
14-17 one thing and half of another. He'd
I t Is very likely th a t when the over <"> P«r cent under the school
be a mighty poor man. I ’ U do what
the death w arrant—Wallace de
ways and means committee gets « « . tbe in' ome
P»y«r will
1
got to do. If it means I lift a
manded it—and in 10 minutes it NOTICE TO CREDITORS
its figures added up. which will «♦» «h""1 tbe
and tb <’ « '
gun against Clay Morgan I ’ll do It—
was over.
be soon now, the tax reduction cia« ' U l '»»yer n a a r|y “ m“,:b-
A 1 1 persons having claims and God take pity on me for it.”
He gave Herendeen a searching
program will suffer an Im portant Tben’ t°°- th e inUngiblea tax is
against the Estate of Edwin H. glance. ’ ’But don’t make no mis
• taken off, the g ift taxes are cut
Van Patten, deceased, are hereby takes about Clay. When you call
. , •
,
,
down, the inheritance taxes may
notified to present them, with the his hand you better be ready to go
It looks a« »f the state h a s ,
.. x
x
.
he c u t through a bill th a t is
proper vouchers and duly verified, right on with I t What do I aay to
spent, .n
and
u will
- o , spend,
, ^ n u . enough . ex-
. th
the gei)aU
FOR SALE: A thousand-gallon to the undersigned, the duly ap him when he asks me to move those
tra money »o th at any im portant
.
...
fuel tarfk. Phone Wasco 445. pointed, qualified and acting Ad cows?”
together
tax reduction will be impossible.
"L e t him w orry about that.”
with some other reduction bills
George Drinkard.
p i 6-13 m inistrator of the E state of Ed
A fter all, the conditiom th a t made
Hillhouse didn't like the answer
not only give tax relief—where it
win H. Van Patten, Deceased, with
it poaaible fo r the sta te to get
was on the point of saying as
is hoped it will do the m ost good WANTED—Sixteen horse collars, Will Annexed, at Wasco. Oregon, and
much when Herendeen broke in.
larger tax returns also mode it
20 to 23 inch. Howard Belshee,
—b u t also give increased revenues
within six months from the date "R ight now we’ ve got Hack Breath
necew ary to .pend extra money
in. titution..
Phone 411, Moro.
ctfn
of
the first publication of this no itt to find. Take out three-four men
for all of the a d m lrn e of a t . «
>taU m ay not
ab|a
and beat up the country around
tice,
to-wit: February 12, 1943.
government.
to take it, and there may not be ORDER NOW for March heavy
Dell Lake.”
T. Lester Johnson,
The welfare program has de- _____ « . u ♦
»
j
i ?
Hillhouse hadn’t heard about that.
.cockerels, April Reds, Hamps.,
a .
a ....
,
/azwx «»«»•y enough to go round. Fun-
A dm inistrator With Will Annexed. He said, "W hut’s he done?” When
manded an addit.onaJ »2,000.000 ny
the letWni that are
and Leghorns.•?. Leghorn cock-
Date of F irst Publication,t Feb Herendeen told him, he considered
for the next year and the liquor ceived by nMinv le ri, lato„ ; k t . “ erels $2.50 per hundred a n y
it over a long interval. Afterwards
ruary 12, 1943.
supply th a t feed. It may not be ters
Ur> asking for
for bigger w
r
o
p
r
i
a
.
appropria-
Thursday. W rite for circular.
Date of Last Publication, March his shoulders rose and fell, expres
adequate fo r the job, whK* m ean, M(ma fo f aom, thine „ d
H a rt’s
Hatchery,
Beaverton.
sively shaking away a good many
5. 1943.
14-17
memories. ” 1 guess the wild bunch
Oregon.
cl4 tf
atP
"
lirf
ta«
«
a"d
w
ill ta
lfp about
>VwYiit »3,000,000
13 OOA iWXI
m
n rp inconle Uxea requ#aU
will
take
more
aye
finally got him. Been teeterin’ on
the edge of crookrdncss a long
f
an
* taxation program is not
opposed—both in the same BUY WrAR BONDS
Moro Lodge No. 113, I. O. O. F.
while. Well, I ’ll find him .”
expected to raise enough to make je tte r
Moro, Oregon
Long as he had known Charley
all of thia possible if serious cuts
Meets 1st and 3rf Hillhouse, it astonished Herendeen
are made in it.
Eureka Ix>dge No 121 A.F. & A.M.
Tuesdays
in th< now that his foreman should so
Meets on the 1st and 3rd Thurs
I.O..O.F. hall Trai calmly accept the cismal chore of
One cannot eat his eake and
sient and visitin< hunting down a man who had been
day evenings of each
have it too, is an old saw we all
brothers are cordi one of his deep friends. L o n ^ lfte r
month. Visi. ing mem-
know. The state cannot sipend its
ally
invited to meet Hillhouse had lined out across the
ibers are cordially in
money and redistribute it to the
vith us.
flats. Herendeen puzzled it around
vited to meet with us.
taxpayers too, and this may as
Charles C. Wilson, N.G.
his head. As for himself, Heren
well be recognized by citizens now
deen had no scruples to explain
Percy Thompson, Sec.
W. F. McLeod. W.M.
as in some fu tu re time.
away. He was a cattleman protect-
0 V. Belknap, Secretary
<
In fact, the possibility of tax
reduction ha« received entirely
I upine Rebekah Lodge No. 116 Bethlehem Chapter No. 78» O.EJSi.
Moro. Oregon
too much publicity for its worth.
Moro. Oregon
Meets 2d A 4th Tues
Those who have built it up as
Meets Every Second and
day of each month.
being entirely feasible have prob
Fourth Thursdays
i n
V isitin g members wel
ably done so without sufficient in
Each Month. Visiting
come.
formation and possibly with some
Members Invited.
Coila Belshee, N.G.
consideration of the political val
Norma Bnlslger W. M.
’•’ «.»rence Johnston, Sos'
ues of the movement 7
M arie Hoalcinson. Sec..
W ant A ds
w
C. A.
Ruggles
INSURANCE
, y
■
HAŸCOX S
ing hi$ range by whatever means
necessary, with an ambition to ex
tend that range by whatever means
necessary. A man in this land had
rights if he was big enough to hold
them; if be wasn’t big enough then
he had no rights. This teas Heren
deen’s philosophy entirely.
But Hillhouse had In his long cool
head a strange standard of right
and wrong; and a zeal as passionate
as that of a fanatic. This kind of
man could do terrible things and
feel terrible emotions. He was,
Herendeen thought, like a fellow
packing a stick of dynamite in his
pockafK-uncomfortable at times to
have Tround.-
This was the extent of Heren
deen’s thoughts on the matter. Turn
ing to his horse, he lined out through
the Haycreek Hills, reaching Crow
foot at suppertime. He stopped here
for his meal and later made a little
talk on the porch with Gurd and
Catherine.
"Charley pulled out this afternoon
to round up a few men and scout
the west side of the Moguls. We’re
after B re a th itt I ’ve got Bones Mc-
Geen up on the high tra il, near
Ketchell’s.”
'
~
Gurd said, "Believe I 'll go sit in
with Charley. Where you going?”
"Toward Freeport.”
Gurd said: "B etter be careful.
That’ s a tough d is tric t.”
Herendeen let out a huge laugh
as he went to his horse. "G urd,"
he said, " I never saw the man I
was afraid of or the piece of brush
I couldn’t ride through.” Late fa ll’s
tw ilight began to deepen around the
yard; it turned the porch ,gray.
From his horse Herendeen watched
Catherine, who had said nothing at
all. These shadows quenched the
shining of her copper-red hair. But
she was strong and shapely, the
soundness of her upper body hav
ing its effect on him. Her face
was a pale oval against the dark
background; her eyes were very
black. When she stirred, arms slow
ly rising behind her head and chang
ing the shape of her silhouette. Her
endeen had his moment's intense
desire to get down from the horse.
Had Gurd not been there he would
have done so. He only said, "See
you later,” and fell Into the Free
port road, never forgetting how she
had looked.
As soon as he had gone Cather
ine said to her brother: "You don’t
mean, that, Gurd. Stay out of it.
Hack has done nothing to us.”
Gurd walked down the steps.
"N ever mind. We’ ve gol to stick
together ”
She said: "Do you realize it is
Clay's friend you’re trying to k ill? ”
"Then he had better pick better
friends.”
"Y ou’ve changed,"
she said.
"W hat> happened?”
He came back up the steps and
stopped before her. "Sure. I ’ve
changed ” His voice was monoto
nous and odd. "M organ had his
chance to stick with us and didn’ t
do it. Then let him go to the devil.
He’s not my friend now.”
"Listen,” she said, "you’d better
understand me. There w ill never be
a rider of the Crowfoot outfit sent
after Hack, or used to run errands
for Herendeen.”
He said, "Who's running this out
fit? "
"You are, as long as you stick to
business. What’s the m atter with
you lately?”
He seized her arm then, his face
drawing near enough for her to see
distrust on it.
“Next time you go over to
Morgan’s don't bother to come
back»”
She pulled free of his arm and
h it him across the face with her
hand. She said, "Y ou're a small
little boy, Gurd. Why don’t you
try to be a m an’’ "
He shouted, "W e'll see!” and
jumped off the porch. A moment
later he raced out of the yard,
bound over the Haycreek H ills to
ward the west flank of the Moguls.
The clay dust of the road was a
ghostly glowing«ribbon unrolling be
tween the shadowy tim ber banks,
and as Herendeen traveled he made
a perfect target for the rustlers and
the fugitives and dispossessed nest-
ers who made camp in the lost hide
outs of this section. They hated all
cattlemen. He knew this perfectly
well and watched the black margins
of the road with a sharper attention
than usual, but it neveii occurred to
him to turn back. In this man was
a belief, strong as a shield of steel,
that no bullet would ever reach
him . Thia belief completely gov
erned Ben Herendeen’s life.
The road, rising from the tim
ber, reathed a small burn on which
the black and gray snags of once
living timber showed a stripped
gaunt pattern against the swelling
moon glow. Entering this barren
spot Ben Herendeen caught the
smell of dust, and at once squared
his heavy body on the saddle, mean
while dropping a hand to the butt
of his gun. Over by the far m ar
gin of the burn he saw a horseman
drift into the pearly, diffused light
and hall by the road. Herendeen
let his* horse singlefoot forward
and so came upon the waiting
X
a£
■J
—10—
••Next time yoa go over to Mor-
gan’s, don’t bother to come back.”
shape. Then he slowed down.
The man said: "Ben?”
Herendeen hauled in. "Nothing
wrong w ith your eyes, Pete.”
Pete Borders chuckled
"How
could a man miss? You throw a
shape big as the side of a barn."
Herendeen said: "Late for you.
Or maybe a little early."
Pete Borders said in his easy,
amused way: "Just enjoyin’ a pret
ty night.”
” 1 want to talk to you.”
"F ire away. I guess we have
done some ta lk in ’ before.”
HerendeeTi said: " I wouldn’t trust
you out of sight, Pete, and if I
ever caught you with one of my
cows I ’d hang you higher than a
k it e ’*
"A in ’t ever caught me, Ben."
. “ Remember what I'd do if I did,"
retorted Herend?en. "Do your steal
in’ in other places and we’ ll get
along. I propose to run every hay
wire rid e r out of this country in
short order but if you stay clear of
me nothin’s going to trouble you at
all. - I can use a fellow like you
once in a while.” He thought about
it, letting the silence s?ttle gently
between them. Then h? said: "Go
up to Government Valley and work
over Morgan’s stuff. He’ s too short-
handed to watch that end of his
range.”
"Beh,” said Borders indulgently. •
“ you sure make me ashamed fjjr
bein’ a piker. You’ re a bigger crook
than I ever thought of bein’.”
“ You grind your coffee in one
m ill and I ’ll grind mine in another.”
said Herendeen, taking no offense.
“ I can make it Hbrd for you, or I
can let you alone. Just work along
like I said.”
"Sure,” said Borders. "B u t keep
your riders away from that district
at night so I won’t be bumpin’ into
-’ em. I got to cross your range."
Morgan stood with his back to the
stove, gently rubbing his hands
along the seat of his pant;. Kern
Case, grave and unmoved, m ur
mured: "E venin’, Ben.”
For the moment nothing else was
said.
Herendeen
ignored Case,
studying Morgan with his round ha
zel eyes half-shut. He filled the door
way with his heavy legs and high,
huge shoulders.
Morgan brought his hands for
ward, reaching for his tobacco to
make up a cigarette. This was the
length of the silence. When he
struck a match and cupped it to his
face he stared over the rim of his
fingers, reading Herendeen with a
steady interest. The man had swung
into the room quickly, as though to
surprise somebody; and he stood
now with his thoughts pretty much
on his face, his glance rummaging
all the dark {corners of the room.
Morgan though*- he knew the an
swer to th a t Herendeen had expect
ed to find Breathitt here.
Heiendeen abruptly crossed the
room, his weight squealing against
the worn floorboards, and walked to
a rear door. He turned the door’s
knob gently, he kicked the door
open.
Kern Case’s voice echoed his dis
like. "Get Out of there, Ben. That’ s
my room.”
Herendeen was in it, moving
around slowly; he came out again.
Somewhere above them a board
snapped, throwing Herendeen’s head
Instantly upward. Herendeen stared
at the ceiling and back at Morgan.
» jf you’re here, he’s here.’ ’
Herendeen stared at Morgan, his
lips pressed together. He was faint
ly »miling, hard and certain and
slowly keyed-up by his temper.
"H e’s here,” he grunted. He walked
on to the front door. He put his
back to Morgan, watching the street.
Morgan said: "Keep your eyes
open, Ben.”
Herendeen didn’ t turn. He said:
•*I see nothin’ to be afraid of. Clay.
As far as you’ re concerned, I never
did.” He stepped to the porch and
wheeled around, looking upward at
the second-story windows of the'
store. He held the hard-crcased
smile on his lips; he teetered on the
balls of his feet and drew his gun.
He fired at the window, breaking
the glass, and walked into the door
way again, swinging around to
watch the street
(TO BE CONTINUED)