HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, NOV. 24, 1927.
PAGE FIVE
RMCKSHEEP!
& Meredith Nicholson
COPYRIGHT CHARLBS SCRIBKER3 SONS - RELEASED THRU PUBLISHERS AUTOCASTER SEHVIC
Isabel Perry recommend a life of crime,
adventure, romance and excitement u a
cure for Archibald Bennett's nerves. Ar
chie goes to bailey Harbor to investigate a
house for his sister and spends the night
in the empty house. He is awakened by
footsteps during the night ; the intruder
tires at him and misses. Archie fires in
turn. He doesn't know whether he has
killed or only wounded the man. but fear
ing the publicity, plans to make his es-
cape. In his night he meets The uovern-
or" a master mind criminal who mistakes
him for a fellow criminal. Archie, afraid
to tell the truth, falls in with "The Gov
ernor." A aeries of events leads him to
believe he has shot Putney Congdon the
owner of the house. They proceed to New
York, where they are visited by Julia, the
Governor's sister. Archie promises her he
will stick with the Governor through the
strange phase she claims he is passing
through. While strolling in the park, Ar
chie sees Mrs. Congdon with her two chil
dren, and Is witness to the kidnapping of
the little girl, Edith. He learns from the
Uovernor that the father-in-law of Mrs.
Congdon a very wealthy man is engaged
in the circulaiton of counterfeit twenty-
dollar gold pieces. They go to Rochester,
where the Governor receives a letter from
Ruth, the girl he loves, in which she tells
him he may be able to serve her. At a
dance at Ruth's home, Archie meets Isabel I
Now read on: 4
"In spite of my warnings you con
tinue to follow me!" said Isabel when
they were establishd in the supper
room.
"Are we to have another row? I
don't believe I can go through with
it."
"No; for rows haven't got us any
where. And Ruth whispered to me a
moment ago to be very nice to you.
While the gentleman on the other
side of me is occupied we might clear
up matters a little."
"It's not my theory of life to ex
plain things; I tried explaining my
self at Portsmouth and again at Ben
nington but you were singularly un
symapthetic. Please be generous and
tell me why you were skipping all
over New England, drting through
trains and searching hotel registers
and manifesting uneasiness when po
licemen appeared."
"It occurred to me after the Ben
nington interview that I might have
been unjust, but I was in a humor to
suspect everyone. When you said
you'd shot Putney Congdon you
frightened me to death. Of course
you did nothing of the kind!"
"This is wonderful chicken salad,"
he said, hastily. "I beg you to do it
full justice. The people about us
musn't get hte idea that we're dis
cussing homicide. Now, to answer
your question. I had shot Mr. Put
ney Congdon and in edging away from
the scene of my bloodshed I was
guilty of other indiscretions that)
made me chatter like a maniac when
I saw you."
"My own nerves had gone to pieces
or I shouldn't have flared as I did at
Portsmouth and I was even more irre
sponsible when I saw you in that par
lor car at Bennington. And please
don't think that because I am show
ing you so much tolerance I am wholly
satisfied that you were'nt trying to
thwart my own criminal adventures.
When we met at Portsmouth I was
trying to meet poor Mrs. Congdon
somewhere to help kndnap her little
girl!"
"Edith a lovely child," Archie re
marked and picked up the napkin that
had fallen from her knees. He en
joyed her surprise.
"If I hodn't been warned by Ruth
tht you were to be trusted in this
business I should begin screaming.
How did you know that child's name?
What do you know about the Cong
dons?" "Volumes! Let my Imagination
play upon your confession. You were
trying to find Mrs. Congdon and
whisk the child away to your camp,
when 1 ran into you. You had missed
c:' -.ections with the mother and
thought I was trying to embarrass or
frustrate you? I had troubles of my
own and you couldn't have done me a
greater wrong!"
"Mrs. Congdon was in a panic, skip
ping about with the children to avoid
her husband; but it was really her
father-in-law who was pursuing her.
Mrs. Congdon loves her husband and
from what Ruth says he's devoted to
her, but the father-in-law is a ma
licious mischief makerl I came here
to meet Ruth, who is an old friend
of hers, hoping she might be able
to deliver the little girl to me unde
tected. I was to run with Edith as
hard as I could for Heart 0' Dreams,
my girls' camp, you know, up in
Michigan."
"How stupid I am! With a word
you might have made unnecessary
our two altercations! We have but a
moment more, and I shall give you
In tabloid form my adventures to
date."
Of the Governor he spoke guard
edly, finding that Isabel knew noth
ing about him beyond a shadowy im
pression that she had derived from
Ruth that he was a wanderer who
hod charmed her fancy. When he
finished he said:
"We can't stay here any longer, I
suppose; there's a young blado at the
door looking for you now. Is there
any way I can serve you?"
"Ruth has explained all that to Mr.
Saulsbury by now. She felt sure that
he would help; and, believe me, I
have confidence in you."
Archie and the Governor wolked
back to the hotel in the best of hu
mor. As they crossed the lobby the
Governor suddenly slapped his pock
ets and walked up to the cigar stand.
A tall man in a gray traveling cap
was talking earnestly to the clerk,
meanwhile spinning a twenty-dollar
gold piece on the show case. The
Governor purchased some cigarettes
and while waiting for change nodded
to the stranger who absently re
sponded and began tapping the coin
with the handle of a penknife,
"Not many of those things in cir
culation nowadays," the Governor re
marked, thrusting the cigarettes into
hie pocket. The stranger carelessly
inspected the two gentlemen in eve
ning clothes and handed the coin to
the Governor.
"What d'ye think of that?" he
a&ked.
The Governor turned the g-ld diik
to the light and then flung it iharply
on the wooden end of the counter,
where it rang musically. He handed
is back with a smile.
"The real thing, all right! Wish
I had a couple of million just like it."
"It's a good thing you haven't!" the
man remarked with a grin.
"It doesn't seem possible we can
lose!" he said when they reached their
rooms. "There will be cross-currents
yet; but a strong tide has set in,
bearing us on."
"That chap was Dobbs, a Govern
ment specialist in counterfeiters, and
that twenty-dollar piece had almost
the true ring, but not quite. The man
who turned it out showed me the
difference only yesterday. Perky?
Certainly! He said Eliphalet Cong
don had taken a bagful to pass on
the unwary. The old boy had changed
a lot of them in New England and the
Government is not ignoring the mat
ter." "You don't think old man Congdon
has been here lately?" asked Archie.
"Only a day or two ago! I picked
that up while I was buying my mag
aiine. Congdon bought some stogies
at the cigar stand and changed that
twenty. We're all loaded for Elipha
let,,Archie. After you told me your
kidnaping story, I telegraphed to
Perky for all the possible places
where the old man might be. Perky
has ranged the country with him and
from his data we can keep tab on the
old boy. Dobbs knows nothing of the
kidnaping; it's the gold piece that
interests him. I overheard enough
to know we're on the right track.
Eliphalet Congdon owns a farm in
Ohio. Perky spent a month there
boring out gold pieces. What we've
got to do, Archie, is to find the Cong
don child and turn her over to your
Isabel and my Ruth. A very pretty
job, demanding our best attention!"
'But we're not leaving here un
til"
"You were about to say that we
can't shake the dust of Rochester
from our sandals before we've made
our party calU. Alas, no! We shall
not communicate with our ladies
again. First we must justify their
confidence in Us and find the Congdon
child. It's still the open road for us,
Archie. Good-night and pleasant
dreams!"
The new car which the Governor
purchased proved to be a racer and
he drove it with the speed of a king's
messenger bearing fateful tidings.
We ride for our ladies! Let the
constables go hang!"
At Buffalo the Govenor made earn
est efforts to rent a yacht, without
confiding to Archie just what use he
expected to make of it. No yachts
being in the morket, the Governor set
about hiring a tug, and did in fact
lease one for a month from a dredging
company, paying cash and the wages
of the crew in advance, and reserving
on option to buy. The Arthur B.
Grover was to be sent to Cleveland
and held there for orders. He might
want to negotiate the lakes as far as
Duluth, he told the president of the
company, who was surprised and cha
grined when the singular Mr. Sauls
bury readily accepted a figure that
was intended to be prohibitive.
'We must be ready for anything,"
he remarked to Archie. "The signs
point to a disturbance of great wa
ters, and there's nothing like being
prepared."
At Cleveland Archies last doubt
as to his mentor's connection with"
the underworld of which he talked
so entertainingly was removed.
Reaching the city at' midnight the
car was left at a garage downtown,
their trunks expressed to Chicago
and they arrived by a devious course
at an ill-smelling boarding house.
Here, the Governor informed him,
only the aristocracy of the preying
professions were received.
Next morning Archie was dragged
from the hardest bed he had ever
slept in.
'No more scented soap! ' cried the
Governor. "Here's where we pet
down to brass tucks and let our whis
kers flourish!"
Ho threw a rough suit of clothes
on a chair and bade Archie got into
it as quickly as possible,
"We shall leave this thriving city
as farm hands eager to step softly
upon the yieldnig clod. We go by
trolley a little way, and if you hove
never surveyed the verduous Ohio
Valley from a careening trolly car
you have a joy coming to you. But
don't assume that we shall ride ail
the way; It's afoot for us, Archie!
We shall be tramps seeking honest
labor but awfully choosey about the
jobs we take!"
The first night they slept in a barn.
without leave, begged a breakfast and
walked until Archie cried for mercy.
At the end of the fourth day as they
kicked their heels against the pier
of a bridge that spanned the San
dusky, watching the stars slip into
their places in the soft, tender sky
the Governor's quick ear detected
the step of a pedestrian approaching
from the west.
"Unless we've missed a turn some
where, that's Perky. A punctual
chap; this is the exact time and place
for our meeting, and he should bear
tidings of Interest in our affairs."
The man who was dressed like a
farm laborer, responded carelessly to
the Governor's greeting, and swung
himself to a seat beside him on the
abutment.
"What news of the lunib in the pas
ture?" the Governor inquired.
"The little lumb Is not liHpjjy. The
father is cxpocted tonight. I've got
orders to iliop wood while he's cn the
reservation."
"The son is not wise to the metal
trick and you drop into the back
ground?" "The t-ue word has been spoken,
brother."
"The son has been long on the
read. What caused him to linger?"
"A broken arm, so the old man has
it; and repairs have been made m a
hospital at Portland by the eastern
sea."
"Is there work in the fields for
willing hands? Shall we find wel
come as laborers keen for the har
vest?" asked the Governor.
"The slave driver weeps for lack
of help and the pay is high. You
will be welcome. When the sun makes
its shortest shadow tomorrow you
will sign papers for the voyage."
"Do I understand," Archie asked at
length, "that tomorrow we're going
to find jobs on Eliphalet's plantation
and kidnap his granddaughter?"
"Much as I hate to anticipate, Ar
chie, it's not only little Edith we're
going to kidnap! We're going to
steal the old man, too!"
CHAPTER VII ,
"I never saw a tramp yet that was
worth his breakfast," snarled Grubbs,
the foreman of Eliphalet Gongdon's
farm. "There's some old hats in the
barn; shed-them pies y' got on yer
heads and try t' look like honest men
anyhow."
After supper Perky strolled away
in one direction; the Governor in an
other, and Archie, left to his own de
vices, fumed at this desertion.
An hour later, wandering idly about
the premises, he stumbled into the
Governor.
"Mooning? Perky anl I have been
smoking our pipes off yonder in the
woods. He says old Eliphalet is more
and more delighted with his work.
The more he's delighted the better
the sport for us."
"I don't see where the sport comes
in!" said Arcnie testily, tie resent
ed his exclusion from the conference
with Perky and said so.
'My dear boy, suspense is good
for the soul; I'm merely cultivating
n you the joy of surprise. The dis
cipline of waiting will sharpen your
wits, which is important, as I mean
to honor you with considerable re
sponsibility and leave you here when
I depart, which will- be tonight as
dewy eve spreads her sparkling
robe "
"Leave me here! My God, man, I'm
not going to be stranded in this wil
derness!" '
'Patience, little brother, and not
quite so vociferous! This much I
will impart; tomorrow morning Per
ky will whisper to Eliphalet that the
Government is wise to the gold piece
trick and that they are watched. Per
ky will throw a scare into him, then
he'll advise him to beat it, and the
old chap will throw his arms around
Perky's neck and beg for protection.
And Perky, with a reputation for
never deserting a pal, will seiie him
firmly by the hand and away they'll
go. Next, I take the little girl into
my care and start for the camp. You,
Archie, will remain here to watch Mr.
Putney Congdon. The part I'm as
signing you flatters your intelligence.
You are to watch Putney Congdon
and follow him when he leaves."
'Cut that rubbish and listen to
me," said Archie, his voice quavering
with anger; "you think I'm going to
follow him? What if he stays all
summer! "
'He won't," the Governor an
swered. "He's going to follow that
child of his if it leads him to king
dom come! If you went to see your
Isabel again, follow Putney Congdon.
You will of courss be a model of dis
cretion, but "
'Do you mean to say you'll tell him
where you're taking his child?"
'I shall not of course spoil the joy
of kidnaping by taking Putney into
V confidence, but after the child 8
well out of the way I shall send him
a wire telling him where his daughter
may be found a gentle hint, but suf
ficient to tease his curiosity."
'You'll wire him where you re
headed for when you haven't told
me!"
'I'll just whisper the address in
your ear and you'll do well to remem
ber it. Heart o' Dreams Camp, Hud-
dleston, Michigan; post-office, Calder-
ville. Good-bye and God bless your'
But the Governor's blessing failed
to dispel the gloom thafrsettled upon
Archie as he crept through the shed
where the laborers were housed and
found his cot.
The morning opened auspiciously
with a raking from Grubbs, who, find
ing that the Governor had decamped,
most ungenerously held Archie re
sponsible for his departure.
"Look here," he asked suddenly,
d'ye know anything about horses?"
"Oh, I've always been around
horses," said Archie. "Guess I can
hnndle 'em all right."
'Well, go to the barn and clean up
the pony, and clap on a boy's saddle
you'll lind there; and there's a sor
rel mare in the last stall on the left
yu can take. The old man's grand
daughter wants to ride. I gotta
waste a horse right now so a grown
mun can play with a kidl Guess all
them Congdon's got something wrong
with 'em! The old man's skipped
this morning without snyin' whether
he'd ever be back again not only
that, but he's took a scrub I was
usin' a handy man on the place.
Archie set ofr stolidly for the barn.
His appointment as groom for the
daughter of Putney Congdon was only
another ironic turn of fate. The child
enmo running into the barn lot fol
lowed by the woman who had been
a party to her abduction, and danced
joyfully toward tho pony. The wo
man, after watching for a moment or
two, was satisfied that the groom was
a master horseman and sat down on
the grass by the gate to read.
Archie, in his anxiety to save the
child from mishap, had given little
attention to the traffic on the road
until he awoke to the fact that the
same touring car had passed twice
within a short period and it flashed
upon him in a moment that this was
either the Governor's New York
chauffeur or some one who bore a
striking resemblance to him. The
woman's attention was wholly relax
ed and she scarcely glanced up as he
passed her. There could be no bet
ter opportunity for the seizure, as
the laborers were widely distributed
over the farm.
The gray-clad chauffeur passed
again this time in a more powerful
car. He made no sign but Archie
caught a glimpse of the Governor
busily talking with a strange man.
Convinced now that the Governor's
plans were culminating and that the
car was muking their circuits of the
farm to enable the occupants to get
their bearings, Archie awaited anx
iously the next appearance of the ma
chine. When at the end of a quarter
of an hour it shot into view Archie
was at the farthest point from the
gate indicated by the woman as the
range of Edith's exercise. ,
"That girth needs pulling up a lit
tle; let's dismount here," said Archie,
drawing up under a tree at the road
side. The woman was deeply preoc
cupied with her book and apparently
oblivious to the traffic on the road.
Archie pretended to be having trou
ble with the saddle as he filled in the
time necessary for the car to reach
them. It passed the gate more rapid
ly than on previous occasions, but
slowed down at once and a familiar
voice said:
"Edith Miss Edith Congdon." said
the Governor, smiling. "Yiur mother
wants you very, very much and I've
come to take you to her. If you'll
jump into the car you will see her
very soon. We must be in a hurry or
that woman will catch you. You
needn't have a fear in the world.
Will you trust me?"
The child hesitated a moment
then glancing at the apprndpM
woman with a look of fear jumped
numbly into the machine,
nimbly into the machine.
Continued next wee:.
Such Service
"Are you through with the finger
bowl, sir?"
"Through? I haven't even started.
I m waiting for some soap."
Only a Companion
"Why did your pop say I reminded
him of a telescope?"
"Because you're so easy to see
through and you magnify everything
so."
The Dumb Bell
Pause and pray for William Peck,
He thought bis girl would pay the
check.
Observing Youngster
"I'll give you fifty cents if you'll
wash your face," said the college pro
fessor to his small son.
"Keep it and get a haircut," was
the young hopeful's reply.
Such a Gal Such a Gal
One: How is her line?
Two: Judging from the crowd fol
lowing her, it must be a tow line.
Hey, Fellers A New One
Edith "Arthur says I am a riddle
to him."
Mary "Yes, and he wants to give
you up."
Fair Enough
Teacher: What holds the moon in
place day after day and year after
year?
Carpenter's Son: The moonbeams.
Weaving Ladies, I will weave your
rags into beautiful rugs and carpets.
They will make nice Christmas pres
ents for your friends. Price reason
able. Phone 14F4, or write Mrs. Mar
garet Rippee. 33-6
Don't Delay
Before long it will be too late to have
those Christmas Photos taken. "Pic
tures live forever," and your friends
would rather have them than anything
else.
Bogg's Photo-Art
McMurdoBldg. StUCHO Main Street
Heppner, Oregon
F. W. Turner & Co.
LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKERS
ALFALFA AND. GRAIN FARMS
Good Listings in Both Morrow and
Grant Counties.
CITY PROPERTY for RENT or SALE
tUTOCSTTiJ
For the Feast
The one day in all the year when the fam
ily dinner dominates the festivities and
mother will have nothing but the best foods
in the land for her table. Already we have
anticipated those wants and needs and here
you will find an array of foodstuffs that will
tempt every palate. Bring the market bas
ket here and stock up for that Thanksgiving
dinner. Prices are no higher for the best.
Phelps Grocery Company
PHONE 53
Lesterfield smokers
don't change mth
the calendar
, , but ivatch how other smokers are changing to Chesterfield!
5k IORTOE BEST
: fflbpK OF GOOD REASONS
S3
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