Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1927)
HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, SEPT. 1, 1927. PAGE THREE SW&MP Michael J. Phillips Illustration by Htnry Jajr Lea Copyright Michael V. PhiUijx ' lUleajed thru Pufallshari AutoouUr Ssrvto The Leading Characters. EDISON FORBES, a young resi dent of Scottdule with an inherent raving for liquor is held for the death of a woman who haa been kill ed by a bootlegging truck. Circum stantial evidence points to Forbes and rather than tell the truth of the epi sode, he sands trial, which results in a long prison sentence. He is soon pardoned, however, but back in Scott- dale he and PATSY JANE, his trusting wife agree that public . sentiment against him is too strong so they migrate up north to some land that has been in the family for years. While here they form the acquaintance of ISAIAH SEALMAN, a shifty neigh bor who is anxious to buy their land. Eddie learns that the buck taxes amount to over eight hundred dollars but as he has five months to pay he decides to refuse Sealman's offer of $1200 and try and get final title to his property Sealman's offer having led him to think it very valuable. But things do not go well. -Eddie drinks heavily from some bootlegger's po tions, is forgiven by Patsy, but soon after falls in with the same gang, gets drunk, and wakes up in a freight car in Chicago many miles away. Strick en with remorse he returns to his cabin but finds his wife has left and in her place a ruffian, who orders him out. A fight ensues in which Eddie finally knocks his opponent stone cold. After ejecting the intruder, find ing that he seems to be in league with Sealman, Eddie goes to Long Portage and sees Patsy, who is work ing for Kinnane, a lawyer. She an nounces that she will not join him until he definitely quits drinking. Determining to comply, he finds a job with Davenant, a rancher, and for several weeks abstains from the bottle that cheers. But one Sunday, Eddie walks on the lake trail, and encounters a series of truck smug glers. Among them he recognizes his "friends" who shanghaied him to Chi cago notwithstanding, Forbes hails them in greeting. CHAPTER XV Demon Rum Again Cullcy and Jnke, confused, took' his proffered hand with mumbled greet ings. The third man was introduced as Oscar. "Say," Eddie went on, Mb smile taking a tinge of humorous ruefulness, "there was an awful kick in that last bottle. Do you know where I was when I came out of it with a head like a haystacker?" The driver and Culley exchanged glances. "No, where?" asked the guard. "Coming into Chicago in a freight car." "You don't say," ejaculated the driver. "Surest thing you know. Where'd you leave me?" Again the exchange of puzzled looks. "Long Portage," returned Jake. "Well," went on Eddie, easily. "I don't remember a thing after that third drink, although it Beems to me I had a dream about a boxcar. I must have wandered to the yards and laid down in the car to sleep it off. They didn't see me and locked the door. Boy. That booze had a kick." ' He had convinced them, and there was a decided increase of cordiality in their manner. Oscar and Jake Smil ed sympathetically. "I know," explain ed Jake, "it wasn't very good stuff. We were all sick next day. You can't always be sure of the quality. But we've changed wholesalers since then. We're getting the real Canadian Scotch now." Eddie sat on a log by the roadside and the three returned to their task. They regarded him, evidently, as one of them a man dependent upon liquor who would not dream of be traying the illicit traffic which almost daily crawled across the state like a stain. "Ship's just in, I take it," he said carelessly. "Passed the other four trucks down the road aways." "She got in at dawn," replied Os car. "We work up there all night. Maybe you think it wasn't cold, sleep in' on the deck of that truck with only one blanket." The tire was bolted, and the truck was ready to take up its journey. While the other two clambered to their places, Cullcy went to the box under the seat and drew forth a bot tle of golden brown liquor. "Needn't be afraid of this stuff, kid," he said. "It's the real goods. I think it's the best we've hauled this season. Hey, Jake?" "Uh huh," agreed the driver. "So have a real one on us," con cluded Culley, waving his hand. He knew that he could partake of this liquor. Though they had drugged and shanghaied him before, it was not be cause of personal enmity. They did it for some mysterious reason which he had not been able to solve, and at the persuasion of some unknown ad versary. This was a peace offering of booze, at least reasonably pure They were drinking amends for shab by treatment. Which shabby treat ment they would repent, however, if inducements were offered. He had fooled them and put him self up against one of the gravest crises of his life. Craving for liquor was scratching at every nerve. The kick of the alcohol how he yearned for it. Alcohol was in his hand. He could almost smell its fumes. And he knew that, if the actual odor came to his nostrils, he wns gone, Cold perspiration came out on his forehead. His mouth went dry. Hi teeth were clenched as though the tetanus germ had locked them. Ridges of muscle appeared on cheeks which had grown haggard. The fight was on, and it was going to a finish. The tension eased. "I don't have to settle it right this minute," he told himself speciously. "Let's go and see about that ship." He wore no coat, for the day was bright and warm. He thrust the bot tle inside his flannel shirt where it gurgled against his body with every step. He was marvelously relieved that a reprieve had been granted, even on terms so shabby. The cove was deserted. Far out on the lake he discerned the dumpy outlines of a good sized fishing tug. heading for Canadian waters again. There were few marks of the unload ing. The beach had been raked over. probably, and. there was no one in sight. But a stroll up the Bhore re vealed behind masking undergrowth a log house built partially below the lake level. A channel ran to its strongly-padlocked door. Part of the overhanging bank had been tunneled to receive the rear of the house. "They keep to their skiffs in there," he mused. "I suppose if all the trucks aren't here when they need them, the stuff is locked up until they come." The possibilities of the cove were exhausted and his own problem press ed. The longing for liquor lay in wait so that when mind and body were unoccupied, it seized on them. "While I'm busy it isn't so bad," he thought. "Well, let's try keeping busy." Below the cove the shoreline turn ed abruptly to the east, taking in many square miles. He plunged into this wilderness which was to him virgin. It was pleasant walking. The soil was more than mere sand, and firm underfoot. There was hardwood mong the jackpines and an occasional great white pine tree which had evad ed tho axe and saw. He drove steadily eastward holding the appetite at bay by physical exer tion. Not for a moment did he for get it, like a tiger it lay in wait, ready to spring. The gurgle-gurgle against his side was its hunting-cry. He had started on a faint trail, but this had long since disappeared. The silence was profound, except for the subdued twitter of birds and his own faint footsteps. A crash in the un dergrowth ahead startled him. A magnificent buck crossed a little clearing and zoomed like an airplane over the top of a fallen tree. Two does followed, taking the same prodi gious leap in graceful fashion. There was no breath of air stirring. He wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve. At a rivulet which was one of the headwater streams of Portage creek he stopped to drink deeply. The cold water was grate fully refreshing. He plunged straight bearing a little to the south. Somehow he did not dare sit down to rest. He was afraid of the bottle. If he could only keep going he had a chance to win. A blister formed on his right heel and his shoe rasped painfully at every step. His clothing was quite wet. An unnoted blackberry briar had drawn itself across his face, leaving a red trail that Bmarted and stung. Noon came and passed. He was walking automatically now, obsessed with one idea only to keep going on and on. The earth became soggy. His feet stumbled on slippery, regu larly recurring humps, and he stopped. The underbrush had become very thick and high. He was following a green tunnel through it. The bumps under foot were the remains of a corduroy road, built to facilitate the taking out of logs years ago. He fol lowed the road. Within a little time it ended on the edge of a cedar swamp. A devil s cradle was ahead of him. Dead cedars with white trunks and short, spiky branches lay, stood and leaned in the stagnant water. In places the trunks were five deep in inextricable tangles. Here and there was long and brilliantly-green grass, but he knew there was no solid foot ing where such tufts grew. It was a cunning trap to snare the trusting. A foot upon such a tuft meant in stant descent into sucking black ooze. Crows cawed dismally on some of the trees which still stood upright.' CHAPTER XVI' A Victory. It was impossible to determine the area of the swamp. The stiff and hos tile trunks melted away against a line of blue hills on the horizon. Ndt far ahead, though, there was an oasis, an island which rose a few feet above the black water and was crowded with vigorous trees. It was perhaps an acre in extent. There was a breeze over there, the trees swayed. "This seems to be a sort of well, a symbol," he thought. "It's infern ally hard going. It's dangerous. I don't know how far across. It would be easier to sidestep it, to go around. But it's in my path. It blocks the way I'm going. Why should I let cedar swamp buffalo me? I winder if this booze question wouldn't have been easier if I'd fought it in the past inatead of sidestepping? . Of course there isn't any answer for that. But I know I couldn't think so much of myself hereafter if I ducked this. So here goes." Bofore many yards had been cover ed he regretted his decision to cross the swamp. It seemed useless and foolhardy to battle this grim and treacherous area. The labor was ap' pallingly hard. He crawled on hands and knees along the slanting logs, their spikes bruising him and tearing the skin. Sometimes he slipped on the trunks which had gathered moss that made them as smooth as ice. Then he barely escaped dropping Into wells of black water, paved far below with muck in solution. He knew the mix ture had the clinging power of quick sand. The sun beat down viciously. At last he won the oasis and flung himself down to rest in the shade of a good sized tree. His chest heaved. He closed his eyes and fought the vivid outline of an action which his appetite painted over and over on his brain. In this action he saw himself with drawing the bottle from his shirt, removing the cork and tilting his head so that the fiery liquid might run down his throat. He could sniff the beguiling bequest of the raw li quor and feel the filliped nerves tin gle to the ends of his fingers and toes. The counterfeit sensations caused him fairly to shudder with a longing to make them authentic. He raised himself on his elbow to look out over the waste which inter vened between the island and the fur ther shore. It was not so distant as it had seemed, but it was greater than the first lap. He shook his head. "No booze until that's behind rne. Too dangerous. I need every thing I have to make it." He took up the journey again. Now progress was slower. He was tired. The tangle seemed worse, the water deeper and blacker. Once he slipped and was immersed hip deep in the tepid water. He hastily crawled back to the grudging surface of a slender stick. As he crawled one wide pool on a cedar whose far end was insecurely anchored, so that the trunk rocked with his weight, the bottle slipped from his shirt and plopped into the water. He straddled a log to consider. It was getting late. The shadows were long over this fiends' playground. But he could not leave without the bottle. His nerves were searching with renewed insistence. Appetite beat upon him. shook him, tore him. He had to have that liquor. Yet he knew that the clamor was fictitious, and that there was a deeper reason for repossessing himself of the flask. If he went on without it, he was cra venly avoiding the possible knockout. It would be a drawn battle which he would have to fight again. The whis key might be the bludgeon of defeat, but it might also be the symbol of vic tory. He might lose it, but he could never run away from it. He removed his canvas leggings, his shoes and, socks, as he perched peril ously on the uneasy trunk. He let himself down into the pool. His toes encountered the muck. His arms were extended their full length before his toes encountred the bottle in the sooty depths. It was a task requiring muscular strain and dexterity, to grip the bottle between his feet and bring it snrfaceward. A new difficulty presented itself. He released a hand to reach downward for the bottle. It eluded him, and tank again. As he lunged for it, the other hand slipped and he went under. Back at the surface he shuddered with distaste and clung to the log. The dead water and the treacherous molasses like muck filled him with nausea. Yet they had to be braved. He took a full breath and thrust him self under. His arm encountered the muck and was absorbed in it, yet his lingers felt no bottle. His shoulders, the top of his head were in the ooze, yet the desperate fingers closed only on slime. Closing his eyes he ram med downward until the muck was in his nostrils. It drew him, sucked him insidiously into its grip. Panic that made his eyes pop and his heart race possessed him. But something elemental and fundamental would not permit him to withdraw. Both arms worked in a wide circle. His lungs cried for air. His eardrums cracked. Re was under- -.-. 'I They're On Their Way To Arrive September 5th and they'll be needing TABLETS PENCILS ERASERS PENS and INK .. PASTE and MUSCILAGE that we can supply along with tasty, healthful lunch goods, and the sweets which kiddies crave. Phelps Grocery Company PHONE 53 iwp wu iwa wl win wft ivt mmwmuivt wtw wvemwawt wi Do You Deserve Success? DOES IT SEEK YOU? Success and Happiness don't come to everyone usually just to those who deserve it, who strive to attain it. You anyone can have success, can easily secure the better things of life on an easy plan that is sure to suc ceed. The plan is systematic saving, and it's easily car ried out. Success and Happinss thru savings do not require sacri fices or skimping of present needs. You don't have to give up present comforts. You can have the things you want now and save too. Saving regularly will bring you at once a greater happiness today as well as in the future. If you seek success on this plan, you deserve it. And it will come to you. Let us show you how easy this plan is. Farmers & Stockgrowers National Heppner BcUlk Oregon going all the agonies of drowning. At lastl A fingertip touched it. He worked lower, grasped the bottle firm ly, and splashed frantically upward. The mud clung to him, it was reluc tant to let him go. But a submerged log aided him with a firm footing. He heaved waist high above the surface, now as opaque as a puddle of ink. He breathed deeply and thankfully. While he dangled with one hand he inserted the bottle into one of his shoes, which were tied together and swung across the log. His reserve strength was all but drained before he was on the uneasy log again, hie shoes on his feet, the bottle buttoned within his shirt. Sunset was at hand before he won the shore, to find another corduroy road opening out conveniently in front of him. And he was trembling with weakness. The bottle was at his lips. . . . Patsy Jane's face came up before him, her eyes swimming in tears as she raised them to him in Lawyer Kinnano s office. There was that fond, tremulous smile of her lips. Some how the wonder of her, the priceless boon of her love, came to him as it never had before. She was the most precious thing in the world. He jammed the cork home again, the liquor untasted, and thrust the bottle back into his wet shirt. He strode buoyantly away, laughing with joy and relief. The enemy was de feated. Though not entirely routed. There were other waves of clamor, though their strength was noticeably less. The craving died down as darkness thickened. The liquor became unim portant until he no longer thought of it. It was late when he struck a road leading in the direction of the ranch. It was nearly midnight when he trudged wearily into the log bunk- house which he shared with the other Come to your state University for cultural education and professional training. Opportunity it offered in 22 departments of the College of Literature, Science and the Arte And in the Schoole of Architecture and Allied Arts Business Administration Educa tion Journalism Graduate Study Law Medicine Music Physi cal Education Sociology Social Work Extension Division. College Year Opens September 26, 1927 For information or catalogue write The Refietrar, Untoertito of Oregon, EuQene, Ore. hands. He could hear their snores through the thin board partitions. He lighted his oil lamp, and stood for a time surveying the liquor. With a little shake he addressed it. "Oldtimer, you did your best. But it wasn't good enough. You're licked, and licked for keeps. And if you don't believe it, I'm going to make1 you prisoner, sort of keep you around, to prove it." (Cmu'r.ued Next Week.) calves. Phone, or see J. Heppner. Barratt, 20-tf. FOUND A neck chain of beads, or namented with a shield containing In itials IHS and a crucifix. Owner can get same at this office by paying for this notice. A ranch to rent, 1000 acres; plenty of water. D. E. Gilman, Heppner. Adv. M. For Sale 24 head of Corriedale ' WANTED Housekeeper for family rams; also 5 head of Shorthorn bull of four children. Inquire thia office. A MODERN BARN A good barn designed and equipped in a mod ern way, makes farm profits easier and adds joy to farming. 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