Bv GLUYAS WILLIAMS
tut vnrunnDunnn ifihitf
STRANGE AS IT SEEMS By JOHN HIX
For farther proof address tie author, tncloetn stamped envelop, for reply. R. V. 8. Pat Oft
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' SYNOPSIS: Whtn Kay Cran
don's Lazy Hint ranch houls and
barn burn, Josh Wastinps, ovmtr
of the Flying Six, tries to buy her
ranch and cov-t Kay. But she
hates him and is determined to
keep her ranch. Ted Gaynor, a
puncher he tmpulsloetv hired,
stirs (he outit to cut its own tim
ber and rebuild without pay.
. Hattnps cowhand. Scrap John
. son, molests Kay, but Ted rescues
her and whips Scrap. When Has
tings appears. Scrap takes his
' horse and pun and maJces his Get
away. Hastings pursues and at
the central divide pass finds both
Ted and Scrap wounded ater a
pun duel. He schemes his revenge.
. Chapter 21
A Fight For Life
BENDING down, Josh Hastings
loosened the fingers of the hand
that ittll gripped the gun Kay had
ivxn to Ted. He held It gingerly
with his bandanna, so that no
touch of incriminating fingerprints
could possibly get on it, and slow
ly drew it from the loosened grip.
.Suddenly, and without any
warning, he felt Ted's dark eyes
upon him. Then, as suddenly again,
the lids droDoed. and the body he
waa bending over seemed as inert
ana useless as oeiore.
josh Hastines doubted the evi
dence of his own senses. But with
his heart pounding suffocatingly
in his ears at the memory of that
strangely seeing look from those
dark eyes, ne neia nimseu ngiaiy
rtilL
The weird beauty of the scene
was. entirely lost on him. but some
thing of the eery quality of that
mysterious spot from which waters
eventually flowed to the Atlantic
and the Pacific made his breath
come quicker and raised a momen'
tary panic in him.
He stared at Ted Gaynor's white
face, watching for any further
sign oi Hie, out it lay stui as aeau
in the moonlight
- Hla breath comine more nor
mally again, and cursing himself
for a fool, Hastings lifted up Ted's
gun. Then he walked half way
Back toward Scrap Johnson, took
careful aim and fired.
. The shot reverberated from the
rocky walls of the pass behind
him, intensified by the preceding
silence, so that it sounded like the
blast of a cannon.
Scrap Johnson s body gave a
convulsive jerk, horrible to see. A
dark spot stood out on ms tempie,
and slowly spread like a thirsty
stain.
Ted Gavnor continued to lay
utterly quiet He could not have
been more remote from this scene
of violence had he been as dead
as the man who had Just been mur
dered.
Dropping the gun from which he
had fired the fatal shot Josh Has
tings knelt down and deliberately
crawled back to the spot where
Ted uaynor lay.
Rising to his feet, he looked
back critically over the trail he
had beaten through the grass. He
could see Tea s gun gieamin
where he had let it fall, and a crue.
smile twisted his lips.
He had framed Ted Gaynor,
dead or alive. Whoever discovered
the two bodies would find it im
possible to escape the Implication
of that dropped gun. At one stroke,
he had been able not only to get
complete revenge on Scrap, but to
wipe Ted Gaynor from his path
forever.
No matter what Kay might have
thought of Ted, she was not the
kind to let her thoughts linger over
a proved murderer. From now on,
he felt sure the way with Kay
should be clear sailing.
Walking slowly over to his
horse, Josh Hastings swung into
the saddle, and headed back to
ward the pass.
Burning Thirst And Pain
THE moon hung low in the west
ern sky, and moonlight and
dawn were mingling in a cold gray
light before Ted Gaynor opened
nis eyes again.
For a long interval he lay star
bis? straight ahead, his eyes dark
ened with pain. Gradually the gen
tle trickle of the water penetrated
to his consciousness, and he be
came suddenly aware of his burn-
ing throat, and the fever that
blazed through him.
He tried to pull himself over to
the water, but fell back with a
groan at the intolerable pain in
his chest
A wild look came into his eyes,
and he muttered incoherently.
Slumping down again by the water
that was so near and yet so far, he
seemed on the point of givln-t up.
But with a mighty effort ne roused
himself and rolled over so that he
was able to reach the edge of the
stream.
Sucking in a great gulp of the
life-giving drink, his mind cleared
for a moment He remembered
distinctly where he was and what
had happened in his third encoun
ter with Scrao Johnson, on his wav
over to the Clear Water basin to
collect his family.
Ted had dismounted to get a
drink at the head waters of the
pass. Just as he was in the act o:
quenching his thirst he heard a
rasping challenge behind him.
Whirling about and drawing at
the same time, he had seen Scrap
Johnson standing a short distance
away.
The next instant mere naa oeen
the roar and blaze of two guns.
Scrap Johnson's bullet had reached
its marK nrst, wnue leas wem
wild. From that DOint memory
registered nothing but a blank void
shot through with excruciating
pain and norror-nuea mgnimares.
Doubtless Scrap Johnson had de
cided to ride on, and leave him
bere to die.
All details of the night blurred
Into delirium, as the pain in his
chest swept over him again. But
while the delirium persisted, he
did not completely lose consciousness.
Through the delirium ran a sub
conscious will to live, a determina
tion to pull through for Kay's sake.
She needed him. He mustn't fail
herl
Bv a sieantlc effort and pro
pelled by this insistent inner force,
Ted pulled himself up on his
hands ana Knees ana oegan siowiy
and painfully to drag his aching
body along the rocky edge of the
stream.
Two thoughts rtossessed him
above all others. He mustn't lose
the trail of the water. He must
stay by it so that he could quench
the thirst that burned in him. And
he mustn't let himself relax and
lie down. Once he did that he
would never get up again.
uraduaiiy tne dawn ugntenea
into day. Dull clouds scudded
across the sky and no sun ap
peared to glisten on the headwa
ters of the Bitter Root and Clear
Water rivers. Ted had managed to
drag himself 800 yards or more
through the scrub pines that
dotted the southeastern slope of
the divide.
At the point of exhaustion, but
still animated by that mysterious
will to live that functions without
any conscious control, .he pushed
on to a small clearing that ap
peared unexpectedly through the
trees.
At the far end of it he could see
a tumbled down and apparently
deserted shack. Making for it, in a
blind instinct to reach shelter, Ted
struggled over to this goal, mut
t e r i n g in incoherent delirious
phrases.
Shelter At Last
AS he approached, there was a
slight movement behind the
shuttered window. The next min
ute, a feminine figure appeared in
the broken down doorway.
For a terrified second, the girl
on the threshold and the exhaust
ed and delirious man stared at
each other. The girl clutched the
sagging wooden frame of the door.
Her brown eyes were wide, and
her dark hair seemed in sharp con
trast to her face, which showed up
without an ounce of color in her
startled surprise of the moment
The amazement in her look
gradually changed to concern as
she took in Ted s desperate plight,
and with a cry of pity, she ran
over to him and stooped down to
try to help him.
With a convulsive effort, Ted
struggled to straighten up, but
with a iroan. he sank back un
conscious.
Her first terrified surprise over,
the girl proved herself equal to
the emergency facing her. She
could not have been more than
18. but she had a wiry strength in
her tall slender frame.
Half carrying, half dragging
Ted, she managed to get him to the
door of the shack. The sky had
gradually darkened with heavy
clouds that piled up in the east
ana tnreatenea a sudden down
pour. After one glance at the lowering
sky, the girl darted inside the tiny
enclosure and quickly made up the
cot on which she evidently had
spent the night.
Then, with one last mighty ef
fort she pulled Ted inside and
managed to lift him onto the cot
just as the first heavy drops of the
storm splashed on the roof of the
shack.
Panting from her exertion, she
leaned back a moment against the
wall, and studied the face of the
man she had brought in.
Evidently reassured by what
she saw, she dropped to her knees
with a murmur of pity, and ex
amined his wound. Her flngeri
worked with a gentle expertness.
Rising to her feet, she took a
basin and filled it with water. Then
she pulled a clean cloth from the
drawer of a rude wash-stand in
one comer, and deftly proceeded
to wash Ted's wound.
The rain, gathering with the.
swift intensity of mountain storms,
beat a wild tattoo on the roof, and
gusts of wind shook the tiny shel
ter to Its foundations. But the girl
was oblivious to the elements out
side as she bent, with absorbed at
tention, to her battle with life and
death.
(Copyist, 11X7. UarU it .Vervoudl
Kay Is disappointed when Ted (alii
to arrive, tomorrow.
m
. .. .t-k.m. hi uALin
tt1Ppi3HT8en'u7m
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V 7 iA
ARMY, Wte WOMAN,
m 2tmv H VfeM (1613-1859)
TffpWBI&THe RfcUK , Of
1HS HIGHEST row in inc
Woman Army Medico.
On July 6, 1813, a smooth-faced,
slim walsted young graduate of Edln
burgh university scrawled the signa
ture. James Barry, M. D' in the
records of the British army medical
tatf and became hospital assistant.
Promoted to assistant surgeon two
years later, Dr. Barry was made a
staff surgeon at the Cape of Good
Hope In 1827, was transferred to
Jamaica, and subsequently saw ser
vice In Antigua, St. Helena, Barba
dos, and Trinidad.
Stationed at Corfu In 1881. the
doctor was made deputy-Inspector
Keneral: on September 25, 1897, was
promoted to the post of inspecior
general of all Canadian military hos
pitals, and a few years later Decame
Inspector-general of all Brltlsnnoa.
Famed Indian Vet
Is Called Beyond
KAMI AH, Idaho, July 29. (API-
Tribesmen prepared today for the
burial of Philip Evans, 93-year old
Nes Perce Indian warrior.
Evans, one of the last of the sur
viving braves from Chief Joseph's
Band on Refunding
Request Studied
SALEM, July 28. (API The sute
bond commission too under advise
ment today a request by officiate ol
the flre-ewept city of Bsndon that
the atate refund It bonds and war.
rant to enable the city to obtain
federal aid In It reconstruction pro-
rram.
Mayor Ed Cspps and city coun
oilmen proposed at a hearing today
that the state refund atBfl,37S In
bonds at 33 cent on the dollar and
H02 6H7 in warrants at 38 cent.
Warrant Interest also would be re
funded at 89 cent.
Kern County Cuts
Scope Of Relief
BAKERS PI ELD. Cel., July M
(API Kern countj supervisors unan
imously adopted a resolution that
vlll be tent to governor of avary
sute In the nstlon and the federal
government giving notice that this
county henceworth will be responsl
bl only for It own Indigents.
Csring for Indigents from other
state la proving so costly that taxes
will become confiscatory, the super
vlsora ld.
Protest Filed On
Union High School
GRANTS PASS. July 29. (API
Fourteen persons from a rave creek
have signed protest to proposals for
consolidating five school district Into
a union high school. County School
Superintendent H. H. Wardrlp said
today. II vaua. sn election will be re
quired. Grave creek, wolf creek, Ue
land, Kara and Placer district are
affected.
The liver-fluke, a small parasite
that kills thousands of Mieep annu
ally, has attacked man In 28 recorded
pltals, the highest post In the medl-1
cat service.
Not until death came In 1889, did
anyone discover the medical officer's
amazing secret. Strange as It seems,
Dr. Barry waa a woman masquerad
ing in men's clothes!
Through her 46 years of army ser
vice, she wore the longest sword
and biggest pair of spurs obtain
able. Her hairless face. In striking
contrsst to her bewhlskered and
mustachioed brother officers, got her
into numerous rows through men
tion of her boyish appearance, but
a fierce tamper and ready sword
kept matters from going too far.
Twice she engaged in duels, one of
the fights ending fatally for an ad
versary. When she died In London, Dr.
Barry's true sex waa discovered by
a nurse. An official autopsy By the
British war office made the astound
ing mssquerade a matter of record.
Spineless Cactus.
Among aU Luther Burbank'a- con
tributions to the world of botany,
bis spineless cactus, is generally con
sidered the most valuable. It has
enabled the raising of great herds
of cattle on desert lands otherwise
worthless, by supplying an excellent
food for them In arid lands where
other suitable vegetation cannot be
raised. Before the development ox
the spineless cactus, the water sup
ply stored up in the leaf-like stems
of the cactus was useless. The spines
killed any cattle that grazed on the
plant.
THE ftm WKrttV MOFEfDUV WHILE TfS ONW
6D0T) PtfCHER WEhff lNfO HIS HOUSE "To ARK&HSE
POSTPONING 001N6 SOME CHORES HE WAS SUPPOSED
tO HAVE DONE VEStERpAV) BOf AS fl ME PASSEP AND HIS
DOCR "DIP NCtf REOPEN, TEAR. BECAME CERIfclNtV THAT
surtAS S0MEH1N6 HAD 60NE WR0N6 UlllW HIS ARRANGEMENTS
UlU-Llftfe (Copyright, 1837, by The Ball Byndlcste, lac.) ;
S 'MATTER POP
Rn O M PA. YNE
courageous bsnd of 1877, died at his
home early yesterdsy.
4
Cow Responsible
For Death Puzzle
GRANTS PASS, July 29 (AP) The
mysterious "human bones" reported
In the ashes of a Curry county wilder
ness cabin have been Identified, state
police were Informed tdday.
Investigation showed a cow died
In the cabin and that a rancher pre
ferred to cremate the carcass rather
than drag it out the door any bury
it.
1
Closing time for Too Late to Clas
sify Ads Is 1:30 p. m.
Lt, 1937, by ra, 9ra
TAILSPIN TOMMY Skeeter "Takes a Hand"
By HAL FOR&BSX
Beside the plame,
BOUMD HAMD AMD
FOOT j SKEETER
HEARS THE GUN
FIRE IM THE SPY
HEADQUARTERS;
AMD REASOhS
THAT TOfiMV IS IM
TROUBLE. HE WORKS
FURIOUSLY AT THE
LIGHT CORDS THAT
BIND HIM AND
SOON HIS LABORS
ARE REWARDED. . .
267!.
BEN WEBSTER'S CAREER Oat and Mouse
By EDWIN ALOKB
f HEH HEM H6H WELL, I SURE f BUT I KMOW AVi' THIS MEQ.B. "1 'MOOU THEBi'O 6t MO A f 0X Mfc WlOOIKiS STORE,' )
I Pin ONE OVER OV4 AAY TWO I o THE 6ABV THAT'LL TUR.VJ wFT" HARcA M HAMlW AWT OV I &W OONT SAV WHO rS
WEPHEVJ5 THEY OOVi'T KVIOVV r THE TEACH.- rfhSi I CAT-AM'-MOUSE FUM FEil) V , CALL1W7 J
I WOW WHETHER. THEY'RE COAAIN' y ' V T A 6TAMER.- 5 V '
THE NEBBS Oh, Happy Day
By SOt HESS
MORE OO ACCOUMT-1 Ato (SS AfflH ll'M JUST V,M& BECAUSE five. prvE.
WOOLDWT DO TV415 IP jf&m, A .roD OP Wl DOLLARS EVEXjJ
1 vjasut no uovt j M f nfP'y Vtuat5 rigv-ct y
V viirrvi ViOn r - ' TIT V. EC 1 J kX JS s .
AIOD TO PROXH. MV IjCKC V CM, CAJOTT MAKEUP
SOU AlsJD VM &OIMQ TO VM HAVlNJGj SO MUCH
WISJ UJV-TV DOMT VOU
TELL ME NOU'LL MARR.V
MEv. AJOO ILL WOOCK. THIS
oUV OLTTTAv
,PUM BSMS COURTEO BV
FELLERS-
GET CAMOYEVEM
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7-23