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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 1938)
PAGE ETflHT fEDFOTlT) WATL TTtTBTTNT, AfETtFOTCn, OREGON, SUNDAY. AUGUST 7. "1933 LOVE ON THE RANGE .BrKUOIdK. The Story So Far Someone Ij out to bust the fiat er T ranch. Under the name of Abe Streeter, quick-fire "Blur" Ankrom Hikes a Job there to help lovely Lee Trone. Ankrom Im mediately ditliket Halchford, the sheriff, and when Colonel Strutb- . ere and hi daughter Betty arrive for a villi, he recognizee Stmth ert at an impoiter, Kelton Drean. Clmydell, a neighboring rancher, it expected lor a conference at the Tronet. A thot it tree1 at An krom in the dark. Another thot rings out, and a body alle. Chapter 12 The Dude Is Dead "rjOOD LORDJ" choked a voice a girl's voice. "It's Colonel Btru there!" It was; Ankrom had known it instantly. "Hold this lantern, somebody," Ratchford growled, and thrust it into Ankrom's hands. The sheriff then dropped to his knees beside Kelton Drean's form. When Ratch ford got to his feet, his eyes met Ankrom's squareiy. "Prettv auiek." he nM. 'Wre all going to saunter over to the house an' go inside an' stay there until daylight. Meantime, I don't want to catch anyone trampin round over by that bunkhouse, mis strainers dude Is dead. A heavy sigh reached Ankrom' ears. It came from a man beside him. Looking up Ankrom saw that me man was Trone. The ranch ers face looked haggard; his hands were clamped so tightly about his belt that their knuckles siooa out line lumps of chalk. Then Ankrom saw Lpp Tmnm Betty stood beside her. Lee's face he thought- a trifle pale but her eyes were bright with interest a little norror was in them, too. Betty's eyes were like burnt holes In a white counterpane; just now the rouge upon her cheeks gave iicr mce a gnasuy appearance. "Daddy Daddy, it's Daddy!" iucic wcio tears ana iaugmer in her voice, and the laugh ran thin with hysteria. She swayed and Ankrom sprang to catch her; he ecoopea ner up in nis arms and strode angrily toward the house. eenina mm came Ratchford' voice: "Trone, you an' the others ueiier go along, too. I'll be with you in a minute." . Lengthening his step to hold his jeaa, AnKrom gritted fiercely, juu mue 10011 They were close to the ranch house now and light from the un snaaea windows showed Betty' eyes come swiftlv nnpn "rinn1 scold me please. I had to see you I've got to talk with you alone ngnt away " "We'll get no chance nnw " An krom cut in gruffly. "That sheriff's nobody s damn clown. He made sure tnis wasn t no blufT by sendin them others with us. What did you want to taut to me aoout? She got a hand Inside her dress. wnen it came out it held a gun n nnKi-om carried ner Into th house and laid her on a sofa, she neia me gun out to mm anxiously. "Quick take itl You'll have to get uu uj 11 lur me. i ' "Did you shoot Drean?" I had to. He wouldn't have niissea you tne second time." Her eyes grew large again, filled with apprehension. "Quick put it out of sightl The others are comingl" They were. Ankrom heard their steps upon the veranda. Hastily he u ii usi ins weapon a snort-oar relied .32 out of sight beneath mo coat. Ana none too soon. 'In This Room' T EE TRONE came into the room, ' her fflthei anH lh I hind her. Ankrom lifted a hand to push back his hot and found his forehead moist "Gosh," he said. She keeled right over, didn't she?" Lee looked oddly at the girl with the closed eyes who lay so limply on the sofa. "I'll get some water, (he said. "Poor kid," Old Man Trone heaved a sigh. "Pretty tough on jici, uavin ner lamer shot down like that." The two punchers stood behind him, looking on with in terest, hats in hand, mouths open Ankrom saw that Trone's glance, resting upon him, held a gleam of something he could not define. Clearing his throat Trone said, Did I understand you to tell the sheriff someone took a shot at you Streeter?" "Someor.e shot a cigarette out of my mouth, yeah." "Pretty good shooting for night work, don't vou think?" "Depends. I was lightm' the cig arette. I'd say I made a pretty fair tars?t-" 'Do you think the same man fired both shots the one at you and the one that downed the col onel?" "Kind of hard to say," Ankrom evaded, and felt relieved when the sheriff came striding into the room. Le came, too, bringing a towel and water. She passed An krom without a look and. bendinR above the sofa, began bathing Betty's forehead. "She looks aw fully white," Lee said. Ratchford flung the girls a dis interested glance, cleared his threat and looked at Trone. "Sit down, boys," he growled, the words smacking mors of a com mand than of an Invitation. "We'll be here quite some spell' an' I reckon we might as well be com fortable. Be at least four hdurs till daylight an' I make it nearer Ave." For a moment it seemed to An krom that Trone was about to ex plode. Veins swelled in his neck and forehead before he eot him. self in hand. Then he said vibrant ly: "its been a long time since a Ratchford cave an order on the Rafter T. 'Stead o' making your authority felt you'be be doing more good if you went after that killerP "My ol man didn't brine me up to trail skunks in the dark," natcniora j lazy drawl cnucKed back. His eyes were on the old man. "nesides, i ain't at all sure it'll be waslin' time if wa sit around nere lor a spell. ' Lee Trone looked up from the sora. "wnat do you mean?" 'To my notion the killer of that Sitruthers dude is in this room," he said, and his lips tightened up formidably. A startled light flashed Into Trone's eyes that made Ankrom wonder. He saw the rancher's body brace Itself as for a blow. Trone's voice was a bit unsteady, hie cheeks looked a little gray. "In this room," he said mechanically. "In thlM rnnm?" STRANGE AS IT SEEMS By JOHN HIX For further proof address the author, Inclosing a stamped envelope tor reply. Reg. V. 8. Pat Off. In this room7' "Yeah " the sheriff's drooped; "right nowl" lips Antagonism TN the silence following Ratch- ford's portentous words some one's breath came raspingly. To Ankrom the temperature seemed to have dropped visibly in the last half second. This cold silence cocked his muscles, set his teeth on edge. The air seemed to be tightening up, strangling these people who stood about like so many carven statues. Armn th stillness stolo the low, vibrant pur ring or an automooile motor. Louder and louder it crew, then suddenly ceased in the varrf mil. side to the squeal of brakes. Gra vel cruncnea, Doot-neels thudded across the veranda and a man stepped through the open door. It was Claydell, and his smiling lips grew stiff as his eyes took in the scene before him. His cI.mr- darted to the sheriff. "What's wrong, Ratchford?" There was antagonism in th sheriff's eyes. "The Struthers dude got in tne way of a blue whistler," no saia soiuy. layaeu, let s sea your gun. A nusn snapped into the bronze of Claydell's cheeks. "Ratchford," ne said, you have a nasty mind one of the nastiest it has ever been mv misfortune to enrnnntor Just what's the reason for that de mand? A man s been murdered hpr an- i m in tne process of checking -C .mi.uium b wuiug wciQ lliea- surcd. ' Murder is a naslv ihino Claydell, an' it won't surprise me I it takes a nasty mind to solve i. ieia see that gun. "Why, you damned fool I wasn t even here. Can vou Drove It? Ankrom saw that Clavdell's Una wi-ie buuui 10 tra me a snaro retort, then abruDtlv clamnpH uuwn iignu - inis man, Ankrom thought, "is more daneeroua than Ratchford. He's a gent that knows wnen to talk an when to keen hi mouth shut." He looked at the rancner more carefully. He looked at Trone, too. and for the first time realized that Lee'a father hH been drinking. There was that bleary look about the eyes, and the hand that Trone had Dronned against the wall was shaking. Ankrom glanced toward the sofa and saw that Betty was sitting up; that Lee was eyeing the sher iff with hostility. He looked again at Ratchford: Ratchford's eves were on Claydell. "Can you Drove vou wann't here?" I'm not SO sure that 1 pin " Clavdell finally aid. "I vp nppn driving for several hours. I've been to El Paso since I saw you this afternoon " Ratchford cut In, "Can you prove that? Who riirl vmi tall. with?" "None of your damned busi ness. Clavdell tossed the wnrH out coldly. "I'll take that gun then, mister. You can have it back when I get the murderer." Claydell reached Inside his coat and took from some place a .38 Police Positive. He held it out toward Ratchford. Ratchford grinned with mockery. "You can put it on the floor, brother. I wasn't born yesterday." If Claydell felt resentful he hid 1 well. Ankrom watched him bend forward and lay the gun before the sheriff's booted feet Ratchford shoved the weapon under the ta ble with the toe nf hi hnnt "I'll look it over later." he said. "So Struthers has been killed and you don't know who killed him, eh?" Claydell spoke. "When you came in I had jusi finished saying that it was my no tion that Struthers' killer was In this room. I still think so. Your comin ain't changed my mind a bit. tCetvrttti. !.. ,V,, C. JViW The net tlshteni around Ankrom. tomorrow. (wbuft&uneco) K&ScMpHnbTRuc COLOR. tj v rsnuvc fO tUROPt prToMcTloN Of $U6hR FROM IS fWiNCS Wftf 1H& ttAWtt of WfcR BfiTvOSEM I 1HW CaWm bND HGLfcND Trie franca fcoVcoTreo tN&uol cm -suGftR fcHPtuRNet? torn VROPUCTIOHOfPKl (0K-I3) m MOST DEADLY RRTrlteHhKB trie wesfiiRM vmow-dPM (Crotalws JtroX) ftfCM P CIRCUS WftfiON THEfle VfflO,4?rXtPVMfOrVfM4 v N. Y. DepiHij BoXim commmoaer, SL WtlNS&EP 30,000 $0UT4 1 w 75,000 rounds of I deWH6INt2ilM6eee II liaodjxi I Lady Gets Knockout Shock On Opening Stolen Package TACOMA, Aug. 6 -p Thli la the one-iyllable itory of a wry special oat named Alice. Alice It red long and happy life with ft racoma mistress, and when she died she was mourned because of nelKhboit.ood objection, the Ia4j had no place nir her home to bur Alice. So she put Alice In a shoe box and tied a olue ribbon around tt. ecause Alice vu a special cat. Then the lady put the box In her an torn i bile and started across town to a place suitable for the o-irial of very nice kitty. On the way. she stopped hfr au tomobile near a department sore snd ' did some shopping. 1 The box with Alice In it as ,n Hie I back seat 0 the automoDUs when ' the lady started shopping. When she returned, Alice and her box were mlAAing, The bereaved lady grieved. To sev ersl bystanders In turn, he inqutr ed: "Has anybody aren my shoe Oct wan a blue ribbon on it?" Nobody had. The box was stolen. Just then, out of the department store a clerk ruhed. "Call the ambulance." he called, "somebody Just fainted In the ladles rest room." The bereaved lady went In. A p lloe officer went In. There on the floor was a shoe box with t Hue rib bon near It. There on H e flo r was Alice. There on the lloi. fainted dead away, a young woman who cor-1 Escaped Snakes Second largest rattlesnake In North America and most deadly In point of number of fatalities resulting from lte bite Is the Western Dia mond-back, known to scientists as Crotalus atrox atrox. The deadly reptile, which grows to a length of six or seven feet, wilt weigh more than IS pounds, Is common to Texas and northern Mexico, being essentially a "south erly" rattler. Yet, strange as It seems, a colony of Western Diamond-backs was dis covered to have made Its home far 1 north In the state of Wisconsin, a location widely separated from Its natural habitat. By checking over past records, it was found that In 1920 several snakes of this species had escaped from a - traveling circus near Pltts vllle In Wood County, Wis. These, according to T. B. Pope, curator of reptiles of the Milwaukee public museum, made their home in a ridge of limestone hills in the west ern part of that state. Strange The Sugar War as It seems, the conflict Syndics 1m. raging between Prance and England In the early nineteenth century gave Franc an Industry she might not otherwise have had. At the -uggestion of Napoleon, a boycott was placed on cane sugar, then raised primarily in the British owned -.iciles. Scientists were sent to Silesia to learn how to make sugar from beets Instead. Although Napoleon's military for tunes ended hopelessly, he had es tablished a nsw Industry p-::uc-tl-n of beet sugar in which Prance was destined to lead th9 world. talnly had really not intended steal a box with a dead cat In it. Glad Show Lures Unexpected Crowd GRANTS PASS. Aug. 6. (,V) Police help was called for here today to clear the streets surrounding the third annual Grants Pass gladiolus show as an unexpectedly largo crowd Jammed in front of the exhibit build ing. One girl fainted. Ten thousand spikes of blooms dec orated building, houses and offices while the best of the flowers cf south ern Oregon were being Judged by Ralph J. Pommert, Pacific, Wash.. Leonard C. Larson, Portland, and L. E. Weeks, Salem. . The exhibit closes tomorrow night. Maytag Workets Return in Force NEWTON, la., Aug. 6 (AP) -George Umbreit. vice-president of the Maytag Washing Machine com pany, said 1400 men, almost a full force, reported for work at the fac tory today for the first full day of operations under martial law. Umbreit Miri th idnn man in cluded more than 100 foremen. The ! By GLUYAS WILLIAMS TUP HADI n AT ITC WfiDCT inc. TTUIVL.1S n i iiij tt vnj i AFTER VOL) HAVE WrfU SREftf lM6EK)l3ltV CRAMMEP ALL THE BP65 AND DUFFLE iKfO THE BRS6A6F. CWPARftfEN'U VOUR WIFE ASK5 WOULD VOU MIND LOOKlKS IN HER SUITCASE OR ELSE THE BLACK BAfe AND SEE )F HER SLOPES ARE "THESE, BECAUSE IF-THEV AREN'T SHE MOST HAVE LEFffHEM IH 1ta HOUSE WILU&tfS Copyright, 1938, by The BaD'ByndlcaU, Inc.) S MATTER POf men entered the plant under the watchful eyes of 60 national guards men. Among those returning to work. Umbreit said, was Wllbert Allison, president of the CIO union which yesterday advised its striking members to return to work. Use Mail Tribune want Ads. TAILSPIN TOMMY Betty Figures It Out I Bv 0 H By HAL FORREST! TThe aip. race officials DISQUALIFIED IOMMyS SHIP, AFTER SNOOT HAD REPORTEO THAT THB PLANE HAD CRASHED, AND TOMMY, HAVING FAILED TO NOTIFY THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMEBCE OF THE MINOR REPAIRS TO THE CRAFT, AUIDMATICWY LOST HIS CERTIFICATE, eur JUST A3 TOMMY HAD ABANDONED HOPE OF Entering the Air race colonel mall appeared and tolo The officials, much to tommys surprise, that he had signed a new certificate on the mercury BEN WEBSTER'S CAREER Farewell ' Z II : . (.73 y : r-, JtVl I '-.aW. n-b -y COLL,WHATAMVtLOU3 'H-H-H-MPhI VOUNs' '-,r . VF&tW. LM By EDWIN ALQF 6EE, I HATE TO LEAVE BEN AND OLD BRIAR! THEY'RE BOTH SWELL BUT WHEN A GUVS OUT HE'S OUT, AN' V pTHATS ME1 y r ra r ir? w...i ..... .....n- i : sun, nEve -umt ,HKtt krv yf ST II S'POSE THAT Y0UN6 f I'LL SUPPOSE 1 POOR RUSTX MEANTIME, WAS NOW FAR BEYONDl Wf miLco flLKCAU7-An ihis eur rcLLcK WAS ANYTHIN6 ABOUT THE OIPPEM PLACE. AND PmmkWf ROADS STRAI6HT AS AN I A f I A-SPOOFIN1 VA? I WILFRED OIPPEM! I i W tTElMtemr! WMMi Slb &Z7 -- V7N -WV i J r ' 7 AMD SEe Not baB TUSM,MGhT y r?V U T V 1 A sY S smttt. WWAT i whatdo" promt IslJ-,?!! P. THE NEBBS Out of the Mouths of Babei STEVE wxjovjs the widovv7 uas TV.O CWILCQESJ ANJO MERE WE MAVEM1M WER MIS SRET .Ct CMIL.DQENJ By SOL BESS I PA7NZ
