HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 1927.
PAGE FIVE
RLACICSHEEP!
JUS Xy Meredith Nicholson
niiutruion by
napiy jay
Jb-9JBL-. 1
COPYRIGHT CHARLES 3CRIBNERS SONS - RELEASED THRU PUBLISHERS AUTOCASTER. SERVICE
INTRODUCTION
Archibald Bennett, wealthy bachelor,
travels constantly in the interest of his
health. He meets Isabel Perry, who rec
ommends a life of crime, adventure, ro
mance and excitement as a cure for his
nerves. Archie roes to Bailey Harbor to ln
vestiErate a summer house for his sister. A
heavy storm forces him to spend the night
there. During the night he is awakened
by footsteps, and in an encounter with the
intruder, who sees Archie's figure reflected
in the mirror and shoots, Archie fires in re
turn, wounding the intruder, who makes his
escape. Archie plans flight to evade pub
licity. He starts cross-country afoot in the
night. At dawn he is stopped on a lonely
country road by "The Governor, master,
mind criminal who mistakes him for a fel
low criminal. Archie, fleeing, is afraid to
tell the truth falls in with "The Govern-
or," is whisked across country in a stolen
car. Sees story in newspaper of killing at
Bailey Harbor and, frightened, he decides
to say nothing but stick with his strange
friend and wait developments. At uorn
ford, N. H Archie oomes upon Isabel Per
ry at the hotel desk but she refuses to rec
ognixe him. The Governor, by a clever
nlan switches stolen money for good money.
Archie used as decoy making love to the
niece of agent sent to meet eccentric uong
don here next day. Archie and the Gov
ernor drive away without creating suspic
ion and speed cross state to deliver the
160,000 to train-robber Leary at Walker's
farm, where Archie gets new insight into
workings of the crime world. At the first
opportunity Wslker's daughter appeals to
Archie to help her elope with a young
farmhand. He decides to assist, cutting
away from the Governor and taking the
couple across state in a wild night ride.
Seeing Sally onto the trani he is reward
ed with a fond farewell kiss and he turns
to And Isabel Perry had witnessed the
whole scene. Now read on :
CHAPTER FOUR
"You were on that train!" he ex
claimed; the most fatuous of ques
tions add the poorest possible open
ing for conversation.
"I thought I had made it sufficient
ly plain at Portsmouth that I resent
your following me! The meeting there
might have been by accident, but see
ing you here I am convinced I am
convinced that you are spying upon
me!"
"But. Miss Perry"
"I should think," she interrupted,
"that knowing or suspecting what I
am trying to do you would show me
some consideration!"
"But I can explain; really I can ex
plain if you will give me a moment!"
"I understand perfectly that but for
me you shouldn't be loitering here!
And you practically acknowledged at
Portsmouth that you were interest
ing yourself in the affairs of the
Congdons! "
"We are playing at cross purposes
quite unnecessarily," protested Ar
chie. "Why not confess just what
your interest is in that family? I
told you quite plainly at Portsmouth
that I hud reason tj believe I had
shot Putney Conge! jn at Bailey Har
bt.l But l.ir tie courage you put in
my liuart I shou tl never havj doi.e
that!"
"If you did tl :it you have ruined
everyihing! A du tardly act for which
I hope you will pay 1!-'? full penalty
of the law! "
. This was wlioliy unreasonable and
quite beside! himself he shook his
linger in her face.
"You seem to forget that you ad
vised me to flout the law; to do just
the things I have been doing, roving
the world, shooting and plundering!"
"Everything has gone wrong," she
said, "and you may have all the sat
isfaction you con get from your in
terference, your intrusion upon af
fairs of the greatest delicacy, in
which my assistance and my honor
are pledged. That car standing yon
der belongs to me and before I leave
I want you to walk away from here
as rapidly as possible and not turn
your head!"
He did not even confirm her state
ment as to the propinquity of the
car, but crossed the platform with the
crestfallen air of a child in dis
grace. - He knew nothing save that he was
enormously tired and he went to the
hotel and crawled wearily into bed.
He was sitting on the edge of the
bed when a gently insinuating knock
caused him to start.
"Come!"
The door opened slowly, wide
enough to permit a man's head to be
thrust in. A face wearing an amused
smile, a familiar face but the last he
expected to see, met his gaze.
"Hist!"
The Governor widened the open
ing in the door and squeezed thru,
"My dear Archie!" he exclaimed as
he locked the door, "how infinitely re
lieved I am! I was afraid some harm
had befallen you, but to find you
here safe and Bound fills my henrt
with gatitude."
He flung down his cap and linen
duster, chose a chair by the window
and seated himself with a little sigh.
"I hope," Archie ventured timidly,
"that you came alone?"
"Oh, yes; I'm alonel Trust me for
that; but my friend Walker was not
easily shaken. And his provocation!
O my boy, his provocation to justi
fiable homicide and all that soit of
thing!"
"Well, I only did what I thought
was right," Archie declared dogged
ly. "I wasn't weighing the conse
quences." "Splendid, my doar Archie, to see
how beautifully you rose to the si.ua
tion a situation that spoke power
fully to vour generous heart! If
there has been any error it is mine.
I should have known from the way
vou Dlaved up to the Seebrook girl
that you were far too susceptible to
be trusted with women. The error is
mine; not yours, Archie; I don't
blame you a particle. Sally Is a win
some lass; she has a way with her,
that girl!"
"If you don't mind," said Archie
with dignity, "we'll stop talking non
sense. What happened?"
"Just a little curious, are you, as
to what followed your amazing breach
of hospitality? Ran away with a
pretty girl, assisted In marrying her
to an undesirable son-in-law, and now
you want to know how the old folks
take it! Oh, Archie, for sheer in
nocence you are a wonder!"
"Walker had no right to force a
girl like Sally to marry an old cur
mudgeon she hated. I never hesitat
ed as to the course I should take after
she told me her story. The marriage
was in proper form and I haven't a
single regret!
"What you did, Archie," the Gov
ernor resumed paternally, "was to
marry Sally, the incomparable, Sally
the divine, to Pete Barney, the dm
mond thief."
"You mean you mean 1 married
the girl to a crook?" gasped Archie.
"One of the smoothest in the game!
And Sally knew he was a crook! I
suppose it was the diamonds that
fetched her. If youd looked at his
hands you would have noticed that
he hadn't the paws of an honest
Green Mountain farmer. Pick-pocket
originally and marvelously deft; but
precious stones are his ture metier.
The trifling little neckless he had on
his person when he Btruck Walker's
is worth a cool hundred thousand.
He'll have to break it up and sell 'em
in the usual way and it will take
time."
Archie sank upon the bed; he had
done a horrible thing, hardly second
to murder, and his penitence weighed
heavily upon him.
It doesn t seem possible that the
girl would have deceived me!"
'We never know when they are de
ceiving us, Archie! Sally hated the
farm and was crazy to escape. She
lifted a couple of hundred dollars the
old man kept under a plank in the
parlor floor an emergency fund in
case he ever had to run for it. A
nasty trick, I call It; most unfilial on,
Sally's part. The Walkers are crush
ed by her conduct. And I had vouch
ed for you at the Walker's. It's al
most as bad as though had betrayed
them myself. You will not, of course,
make the serious error of knocking
at the Walker door again! That
would be rubbing it in."
'I don t want you to think me un
grateful," Archie stammered. "The
girl made a fool of me; I see it all
owl"
"She made a fool of you, but you
in turn made a fool of me! And
while I'm not caviling, you will par
don me, son, if I suggest that here
after you play square with me. I
don't mean to :urb your personal en
terprise, or set any limit on your lit
tle affairs of the heart. But let's have
no more foolishness."
"I haven't a thing to say for my
self!" blurted Archie, who was at the
point of tears. "I was weak, miser
ably weak. I had no idea that any one
could lie as that girl did. And it's
not fair for me to stay on with you.
I can't ask you to trust me again.
We'd better part' company right
here!"
"How completely you misjudge me,
Archie! There's a charm in you be
gotten of your very innocence and
helplessness, and I should be very
unhappy if we parted now. We've
shared some danger together and in
sopite of your weaknesses I'm fond of
you. And if I left you to your own
devices something quite disastrous
might happen to you."
The Governor was unconcernedly
sketching one of his diagrams with
which he seemed to visualize his
plans. Archie was startled now to
hear his companion muttering to him-
selm:
"Aries, the Lamb, the Fishes! For
a time I stumbled and walked in
darkness but the leading light is
clearer now. The moving finger
writes wntesl"
Archie had caught one day a
glimpse of several of the zodiacal
signs drawn on the margin of a news
paper where the Governor had ne
glected to erase them; but he was
astounded to find that he was in the
company of a man who took counsel
of the stars.
" 'Ne sous une mauvaise etoilel'
You catch the Bense admirably. When
you see me scribbling I am calculat
ing the potency of the dark fate that
overhangs me and trying to eitimate
when if ever the cloud will pass.
Don t trouble your head with those
fancies; leave them to me. Hope is
buoyed in me by the fact that never
yet have my figures erred."
"To return to practical affairs, we
shall abandon Collins' machine and
I'll wire him where to pick it up.
Then we'll entrain at our leisure."
"If you don't mind my asking, I'd
like to know where we're bound for?"
"New York, my dear boy; but you
needn't be alarmed. It will be hot
there and we'll only pause for a day
or so. We both need to freshen up
our wardrobe a bit."
Archie shook his head stubbornly.
"I haven't told you this, but I'm
supposed to be in the Canadian Rock
ies. It would be a risky business for
me to show up in town!"
"You're a frightful egotist, Archie!
This is a large world and man's mem
ory is Hhort. If you see ny old friends
I beg of you do not attempt to dodge
them; shake one and all heartily by
the hand. We'll pretend that our black
wool is as white as the drifted snow,
and no one will run after us shouting,
Blucksheep, blacksheepl ' "
At the station gates a man in gray
livery stepped up and touched his
cap to the Governor,
"Ah, Tom; glad to see you again!"
"Thank you, sir; is this all the
luggage?"
"That's all, Tom. Drive directly
tome, please.
"We may wander to our hearts1
content, Archie, but there's no place
like home, particularly when it's lit
tle old New York," remurked the Gov
ernor, sinking back contentedly,
The car crossed to the Avenue and
bore north. .
The Governor had not warned him
to avoid marking the route, which
was as familiar to Archie as the palm
of his hand, but somewhere in the
Seventies he did for a moment lose
track of the streetB, and the car,
twinging east, stopped midway of a
block of handsome residences. There
vaa still the chance that this was all
by-play, a trick for concealing their
arrival in town; but the footman was
already ringing the bell of a house
whose facade was the most distin
guished in sight The door was opened
by a manservant, whose face express
ed pleasure as the Governor passed
him with all the airs of incontestable
proprietorship,
"I think we may as well go at once
to our rooms," he said. "You under
stand. Baring, that we dine at seven
tl.irty places for three?"
"Very good, sir;' I received your
telegram."
On the third floor, Archie surveyed
approvingly a lounging room, half
library tnd half office.
He tottered toward a stand on
which decanters, syphons, and a sil
ver bowl of ice had been placed. He
'ielped hims-'lf generously to Scotch;
the Governor contented himself with
a glass of mineral water he never
took i,nythiiig else, he explained.
'Odd jut rve never used the stuff
at all. 31ess you, no fanatical no
tions, -ny dear Archie' he closed
the- d or and turned on the fan "you
are n y guest, in every sense my guest.
It n ay have occurred to you thot I
maj be an interloper here, but such
s rot the ease. I own this hous ana
the ground it stands on and every
thing in it You are, of course, not a
priioner; not in any Bense, and there's
a telephone in your room by wnicn
you can talk to all the world quite
freely, no restrictions whatsoever.
"My name is not baulsDury, oi
courses, but something quite differ
ent The servants in this house do
not know my true name. They might.
of courses, work it out, for I pay
taxes here, snd my family history is
spread in the public records, but the
neoDle you tee about here are trained
to curb their curiosity; I trust them
as I trust you. They are all from
under the crust, the man who met
us at the station si a daring house
breaker; the chauffeur is a second
story man; the butler is a hotel thief.
Down to the scullery maid, who was a
clever shoplifter, all the servants are
crooks I:ve picked up and installed
here until they can do what Leary s
loine. invest their ill-gotten gains in
some legitimate business-. Baring
has enough rewards hanging over him
to make anyone rich who can tele
phone his whereabouts to police head
quarters in any town in America. As
all branches of the profession are
represented here my retainers repay
my hospitality by keeping me in
touch with their comrades every
where."
"I suppose, I suppose," Archie tim
dly ventured, "you've told them
about me?"
'Not a wold! You will act ex
actly as though you were a visitor
in the house of an old friend. And
now I must go through this nail
I've got a chap who collects my stuff
from some of the unofficial post-offices
up-state.' The first room to the
right yours.
"You've got to admit the service
n this house is excellent. If you
don't mind we'll dress for dinner,"
remarked the Governor lounging in
the doorway. "I forgot to say that
there's a lady dining with us "
"A lady!" demanded Archie with a
frown.
The Governor crossed the room,
stared at the floor for a moment, and
then said from the door:
'The lady, my dear boy, in my sis
ter.
"Julia is usually very prompt but
she is motoring from Southhampton
and we musl allow her the usual mar
gin," the Governor remarked when
they met in the drawing-room.
The clock had struck the three-
quarters when they heard the annun
ciator tinkle followed by the opening
of the front door. The Governor left
the room with a bound and Archie
heard distinctly his hearty greetings
and a woman's subdued replies.
'I'm sorry to be late, but we had
to change a tire. No, I'll leave my
wraps here."
'Won't you be more comfortable
v ithout your hat?"
"No, I'll keep it; thankj!"
The door framed for a moment a
young woman who in her instant's
pause on the threshold seemed like
a portrait figure suddenly come to
life. She was taller thin the Gov
ernor and carried Sierself with a sug
gestion of his authoritative bearing.
Her faci was a feminized version of
the Governor's, exquisitely modeled
and illuminated by dark eyes that
swept Archie with a hasty inquiry
from under the brim of a black pic
ture hat.
"Julia, this is my friend, Mr. Com
ly." Her "very glad, I'm sure," was ut
tered with reservations, but she
smiled, a quick sad little smile.
The Governor had introduced her
-is Julia, carelessly, as though of
course Archie knew the rest of it.
Hie Governor asked perfunctorily
ubout her drive into twn, and wheth
er it had not been hot in the coun
try. Dinner was announced imme
diately and they sat down at a round
tble whose centerpiece of sweet
peas brought a coolness into the
room.
It seemed to Archie as he met a
puzzled look in Julia's eyes from
time to time that she was trying to
account for him, and her manner he
thought slowly changed. Her first
defensive hostility yielded to some
thing much mora amiable. It was as
though she had reached s decision not
wholly unflattering and might be a
little sorry for her earlier attitude.
"Julia, if you brought those docu
ment? with you I'll take them up to
ipy room and look them over. It's
c-nly a matter of my signature, isn't
it? I'll be down at once."
"Very well; you will tind them in
my bag in the hall. I mu t start home
very soon, you know."
"I harl hoped you wou'd spend the
night here," said the Governor; "but
if you won't I'm grateful even for
this little glimpse."
The Governor left the room and re
appeared with a small sutchel, took
cut several bundles of legal papers
and glanced at their superscriptions.
In a moment they heurd his quick
step on the stair.
"It is no doubt clear to you," Julia
remarked, "that my brother prefers
not to be alone with me."
"I rather surmised that," Archie re
plied with an ease he did not feel.
He turned to drop his cigarette into
the brass receiver at his elbow to
avoid contact with her gaze, which
was bent upon him disconcertingly.
"We have but a moment, and we
must have a care not to seem confi
dential. He didn't close his door, I
think."
The , draperies at the end of the
room swayed a little and Archie
walked back and glanced into the din-ing-rcora.
He nodded reassuringly
and she indicated a seat a little near
er than the one he had left.
"PleaBe don't be alarmed, but it's
a singular fact that I know you; we
met once, passingly, at a tea in Cam
bridge; it's a good while ago and we
exchanged only a word, so don't try to
remember. I much prefer that you
shouldn't." Archij didn't remember;
he had attended many teas at Cam
bridge during commencement festiv
ities and had always hated them. "It
was not until we were at the table
that I placed you tonight. I'm re
lieved, infinitely relieved, to know
that you are with my brother. How
it came about is none of my affair.
But you are a gentleman; in the
strange phase through which" her
lips formed to speak a name but she
caught herself up sharply "through
which he is passing I'm gratified that
he has your companionship. Once
something very cruel happened to
him; something that greatly embit
tered him, a very cruel, hard thing,
indeed; and after the first shock of
it " She turned her head slightly
and her lips quivered.
"That is all," she said, and faced
him again with her beautiful repose
accentuated, her perfect self-control
that touched him with an infinite
pity.
Continued next week.
STRAYED OR STOLEN.
Small brown mare and colt Mare
has hind foot damaged, slightly lame;
invisible brand HI' on neck. Reward
for information. B. F. SWAGGART.
Seed Rye for Sale At Farmers El
evator Co. warehouse. Mike Kenny.
Enter This Contest
How many words can you make from the
letters contained in the words
"Christmas Photos"
as spelled here. The rules are simple:
1. Open to everyone.
2. All words must be written distinctly on ruled paper,
in alphabetical order and numbered.
3. Words must be found in Standard English Diction
ary. FIRST PRIZE 1 dozen $8.00 photos will be gvien
to the one sending the largest number of words.
SECOND PRIZE 1 dozen $3.00 post cards will be
given the one sending second largest numbe rof words.
THIRD PRIZE 1 Colored Calendar will be given to
the one sending the third largest number of words.
In case of a tie the winner will be chosen by lot.
Answers must be received at Studio or by mail at
time post office closes, November 25:
Announcement of winners will be published in Hepp
ner Gazette Times December 1st.
Bogg's Photo-Art
McMurdoBldg. StlldlO Main Street
Heppner, Oregon
F. W. Turner & Co.
LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKERS
ALFALFA AND GRAIN FARMS
Good Listings In Both Morrow and
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CITY PROPERTY for RENT or SALE
You Needn't
Worry
We recently were reminded that there
was a time during the winter season that
sauerkraut, many gallons of which were
put up in the fall, was about the only thing
in the line of "green stuff" that graced the
family table. "Green stuff " needed for
balanced rations, remedy for scurvy, the
dreaded disease of Alaskan gold rush days
may now be had in cans, just as health
building and fresh and just as good. So, as
the season for fresh vegetables shortens,
you needn't worry; we have a bountiful sup
ply ready at all times for the asking, and it
costs no more.
Phelps Grocery Company
PHONF 53
Chesterfield smokers
dorft change with
the traffic signals
. . but watch how other smokers are changing to Chesterfield!