VERNONIA EAGLE. VERNONIA. OREGON
adeptly and within an amazingly Hum.”—peeking nt his hole card.
short time had his tent up, bed •‘Well, I've got Just enough here to
string along.”
made, and firewood chopped.
He came In for ills dollar and
He shared Ills supper with Tip
washed his few dishes in the again called the cards he turned
stream, and lighting a straight and once more that top card kept
WNT! Service.
stemmed pipe, for a time watched sliding back and forth over Its
changing neighbors.
the afterglow fade.
Three cards In each hand were
“You watch camp, Tip," he said
"YOu ran that water to help me, as he rose abruptly. “We’ll go see face up, then. Again Sawyer bet
a stranger?"
ills queen, tossing in a five-dollar
. . . what we can see!”
His laughter rose higher.
He launched his canoe, paddled bill from the little pile of money
“I’d have swum it to help any across and up the murmuring river before him.
body if I'd known Tod West was and landed under the bank where
“Now, 1’11 help build a pot for
the party making trouble?"
yellow lights showed through the you, Sawyer," said West. “Leave
‘Then you must have known him gathering darkness.
it to old Tod 1 There's a five-spot.
far better than most people here
The white front of the town's But don't put too much faith In
do.”
largest store loomed above and he women.”
“Quite a figure, is he?”
stood outside a brief interval, look
lie chuckled, hut there was no
She considered. “A ... a king. ing about. This was the heart of
In this country 1 He owns most of Tod West's dominion. West’s Land mirth !n the sound, Kerry thought.
it. Most of the people in it are de ing by name. It was here that the He Judged that Sawyer had anoth
pendent on him, in one way 'or an man had established himself as a er queen in tlie hole; he was the
aggressor and a bit too aggressive
other. He isn't a man to take king.
for a man with ouly the high card
lightly."
The store was well filled. An showing. No pair was in sight;
“Then I sure am glad it was the Indian was buying grub and stuf
Mud Woman I picked out this sum ting bls purchases into a pack-sack; the queen dominated the board. Be
fore Tod West were exposed an In
mer 1"
a bearded man was trying on shoes. nocuous four nnd five and nine-
The girl eyed him curiously.
In tlie rear, a card game was in spot of three suits.
“You're just going through, then? progress.
Jim Hinkle and another had
Your objective wasn't near here?"
Kerry’s eyes fastened on the back
“I had no objective when I put of the or.e card player whose face, dropped out.
in. Now, I have. . . . I’ve a ques at least in part, was not revealed
“So we spin ’em for the final
tion 1 want answered. When I’ve to him. The man was Tod West. heat," drawled West. “We drop
done that, then perhaps I can go
Several loungers watched the a Jack to you, neighbor, and Saw
on."
game and as Young leaned Idly yer catches himself a six and I
“If you're going to stay on here." against tne counter two of them . . . Take a look I I draw myself
she said, "we’d be glad to put you left and came toward him.
a large ball of fire!"
up. We have accommodations for
The top card had finally dropped.
“Jim shouldn’t bo in there,” one
fishermen, you know. It’s part of muttered.
It was tlie ace of diamonds and
our job. That’s why I’m here, now.
“Hell, no!” his companion agreed. Kerry straightened slowly. West's
Two of our prospects are fishing “You can bet your life if I had a hole card bad been dealt from the
kid in the shape his is. I wouldn’t bottom; for certain, it was another
be stackin’ up what little I had ace!
against a lucky dog like Tod.”
"Now, with this large ace allow
Their talk was broken, then, as in', it puts the bet to me, I take
both greeted another entrant
it . . . Hum. . . . Sawyer, you got
The taller man resumed: “Doc’s a queen showln' ’nd you been proud
out now, ain't he?”
of her. I wonder what else, if any,
The other nodded. “Over at Jim's you’ve got. . . . But this old ace
They sent for Jim but he put 'em of mine . . . Now, it'd be a down
off."
right Insult to bet less 'n ten dol
Young lounged toward the rear lars."
The tourist folded and Sawyer
and took up a position against the
wall, behind and to one side of eyed Tod's hand.
“But me, 1 got only eight bucks
West’s chair.
Five were In the game West left. Tod,” he said.
was dealing and talked as he dis
“All right I For the eight, then.
tributed the cards.
Call I”
"An ace to you, a nine to you.
Sawyer shoved in his money and
a deuce for Jimmy, a jack for turned bls hole card. "Pair!” he
Sawyer and a nine to the dealer said, showing the second queen,
. which lets him out!”
and leaned forward.
"1 warned you,” chuckled West
His voice was good-humored, tol
erant, the sort of voice that wins “I told you to stay out. All along,
the confidence of men. Always, that I had him.” He turned the ace of
had been characteristic. ... He fold clubs.
ed his hand, now, and awaited the
The man rubbed his chin.
“Well,” he said, “guess I better,
betting. One of the players chanced
a dollar, his companion called, Jim that cleans me out.”
raised five and the man, Sawyer,
“So you’re leavin' us flat, Saw
“You Ran That Water to Help Me, dropped out. The five was called yer!” put in West. "Four banded's
a Stranger?”
by both the others but Jim won not so good. Anybody else want
and gathered in the pot with sig to try his luck just to keep the
the beaver pond up the creek,"— nificant eagerness.
game goln’?"
nodding toward a small tributary
“Good lad, Jimmy!” West rum
“It’s too rich for my blood!” a
which debouched above them. "That bled. “You’ve been Iosin’ lately; youth giggled.
is why I happened to be here.”
always like to see losers catch up 1”
“Anybody else? Last call!”
"Nice of you. But I’ve my tent.
The deal went clear around.
He looked up and around, grin
Shingles and windows bother me." Young noticed that West played
and the grin changed, ran Into
“The latch string will be out shrewdly, with a hard calculation a ning,
stiff sort of grimace as Kerry
though. I . . . Please believe that beneath his easy talk.
Young moved out from his position
I'm truly thankful for all you’ve
The deal had come back to West. against the wall.
done."
The hole cards were going out.
“If the game’s open,” he said,
“All heavy!’ he chuckled. “All "I don't mind trying my luck now
CHAPTER IV
heavy cards in the hole, boys! and again.”
Everybody's going to have luck this
Eyes were on him, not on Tod;
E WENT on, then, pondering hand. . . . Luck of one kind or an
so the group missed one half the
the vagaries of chance which other I”
had guided today’s encounter, after And he dealt himself from the exchange of glances which fol
lowed. Emotion chased emotion
all these years, under such partic bottom!
across the older man's eyes; sur
ular circumstances.
A sharp, chilling thrill ran prise, hatred, chagrin and a malev
So West was respected, was he? Young’s body. He looked at the
A king, the girl bad said. But the other watchers, at the players, olent sort of inspiration.
sort who will press low advantage. studying the face of each. None
“Why, sure." Tod said but could
An hour later he made out build had detected that move.
not keep the grudging quality from
ings below. First was a log struc
“And here we come,” West went his tone.
ture, low - eaved and wide - roofed on. "Here we come, lads! Com
Young moved, then, to the chair
with a screened porch and automo Ing out with a seven and next a just vacated by Sawyer.
biles parked in its clearing. Not ten-spot and a queen for Sawyer.
A change had come over the
a club, not a logging camp. It must . . .” The cards flipped from hts place. The onlookers had ceased
be Nan’s establishment, he decided hand toward their appointed places, their Idle talk; the two fishermen
On below he discerned the turning In the air to fall face up from Nun Downer's eyed Young ap
screened stack of a mill and the ward and Kerry, watching closely praisingly and Tod West, shoving
song of the saw came harshly to saw that he was "second” dealing. the deck to the dealer, lighted a
his ears A railroad trestle spanned The top card of the deck never left cigar with a hand which was not
the river, joining the small group Its place.
Just steady.
of buildings around the mill to an
Kerry played cautiously. His luck
Again Young studied those faces
other, larger settlement, with many about the table. Sycophants, most was not good. Through the first
humble habitations, one pretentious of them; they wore fixed grins as half dozen deals he stayed oily
house of peeled logs, a boxcar de Tod West kept up his talk. Their once after the second card, .firn
pot and several stores.
Interest was on what he said, not Hinkle, at Ills left, lost repeatedly
and. with his losing, his tension in
He went still further down, land on what he did.
"What, Sawyer? A whole buck creased.
ed in a clump of poplars and set
about making camp. He worked on the queen? Let’s see, now . . , •
(TO BE CONTINUED)
FLAME IN THE FOREST h .,.^..,
© By Harold Titus
Illustrations by IRWIN MYERS
SYNOPSIS
Kerry Young, a lad of seven, I b
prepared to flee the burning lumber
camp of his benefactor, Jack Snow,
who took the youngster to live with
him at the death of Kerry’s mother.
Tod West has instructed Kerry to
come with a file containing the camp's
funds should It be endangered.
Flames attack the office, and Kerry,
hugging the precious file, and Tod
race to town. Tod acts queerly. At
the bank the file is found empty and
Kerry is blamed with taking the
wrong one. Snow, his headquarters
and money gone, is ruined, and soon
thereafter dies, leaving Kerry to the
Poor Commissioner. Kerry suspects
Tod and swears to even the score.
In a St. Paul office Kerry, now in
manhood, and an expert woodsman,
learns of the whereabouts of West.
Kerry rescues a lovely girl from a
scoundrel, who proves to be West.
Tod threatens to pauperize the girl,
Nan Downer.
CHAPTER III—Continued
—3—
Frantically, then, the retriever
nosed the packs, shoving his muz
zle deep Into them, and came up
with the track line In his teeth.
Over he went Into the shallow
water and backing, scroochlng
down, waggling his tail, growling,
he dragged the canoe afloat. Then,
in deeper waler, he swam rapidly
up and across the current, head
held sideways by the tug of the line
in his jaws.
“That’s a smart dog,” the girl said.
"Smart,” echoed Young, and
looked down at her. Her face was
averted and a flush stained her
cheeks.
“Whatever a girl says to a stran
ger who has helped her out of a
situation that’s at once uncomfor
table and, perhaps, dangerous . . .
whatever is to be said, I should say
to you.” She was fighting desper
ately for self-control. “I . . I’m
very grateful. Is there more to be
•aid?”
"That wasn’t necessary, ’ he re
plied. “Not even that. . . It was
quite a privilege to throw Tod West
Into the river.”
He reached out to take the line
from Tip. “Good dog,” he mut
tered. “Go ashore and shake.”
The girl bad turned toward him.
“You know Tod West?”
“A long time ago I thought I
did. And for a good many years
I’ve wondered how well anyone in
that country knew him. But just
on suspicion, it was good to upset
him. I believe,” he added, “that
he ruined the best friend I shall
ever have.”
"So I’m not the first! After all
that he’s seemed to be with us, he
has a past, has he? . . . And a fu
ture too, perhaps,”—bitterly.
“I took it, from his parting shot,
that he had some deviltry afoot.”
“Deviltry 1”—In an angered whis
per.
"Was It just because I happened
along and took a band that he’s
going to make you a pauper?"
She shook her head. "No. That
was settled before you came. It
was after I wouldn’t . . . wouldn't
barter myself to save my property
that he seemed to lose his head;
that he became quite something
else from what we've always
thought him to be.”
The boat grated on sand and
Kerry sat down looking hard at
her.
“I have a particular and peculiar
Interest in this bird. A man doesn't
change, you know; If he's a ras
cal today, he was yesterday; If he
la today, he will be tomorrow.”
“Do you mind telling a stranger
what this West’s game is? I don't
want to pry, but—”
“You’re not prying. It is little
enough for me to tell you. I'm in
your debt, you know . . Yours and
Tod West's!”
She stretched one pac-clad foot
so the warm sun could dry It better
and appeared to ponder on where
to begin.
"It's better to give you the whole
picture, 1 suppose. I’m Nan Dow
ner. I came Into this country four
years ago with my father. Maybe
you've heard of him? Cash Dow
ner? No?” She sighed.
“Well, we bought on contract
West's mill below here and the big
tract of mixed timber to the north
of the river. My father had a new
idea in the utilization of forest re
sources. He had felt for a long
time that the things we'd consld1
ered by product of such properties
were, perhaps, almost as big money
makers as the timber itself, han
dled rightly. I mean, recreational
fucllltes.
“This is probably the best big
tract of the northern hardwoods
that is left. There’s fish and game
in abundance. My father laid a
very careful plan to Interest a
group of wealthy men In buying lo
cations up here for their hunting
and fishing clubs. They were to
own their various parcels but were
to give up the privilege of selec
tively logging on their descriptions
over a long period.
“But to show these prospects
what would be left after we’d done
this selective cutting necessitated
considerable of an operation with
higher costs, in the beginning, and
a reduced income. In other words
our project was a slow starter and
we didn't have sufficient capital to
be very safe.
“We kept the mill running,
though, did our cutting in several
types of stands and last year were
Just getting ready to show some
prospects what we had to offer.
“My father had sunk all the cash
he had in the down payment. It
was hard work getting the annual
payments together but he had man
aged it. I.ast November another
payment was due and we were go
ing to be able to meet It. Then,
one November night, my father was
killed and the money he was bring
ing out to pay to Tod West was
stolen.”
“Murdered, you mean?”
"Murdered," she said lowly and
paused. “That, of course, put the
undertaking In a bad w*ay. Just
now It's very difficult to refinance
a timber operation of any sort;
also It’s hard to find men with
money to spend on their expensive
toys, which Is what these camps
will amount to, if and when the
plan develops. Tod West seemed
very sympathetic, though, and told
me to take my time and that he
wouldn’t see me lose.
"But this summer he commenced
to hint and then to ask and then to
crowd. He has other timber. He
has had to stop a big pulp opera
tion below because of the market.
He needs money. I am doing my
best to interest prospects and get
the cash together to pay him but
so far I haven't had much luck. . . .
“And then today he followed me
up here and said . . . said that if
I would marry him he would for
get that—”
She bit her lip and stopped.
Young drew a hand slowly along
one thigh. It was a gesture al
most of satisfaction and be nodded
slowly.
"That checks with the guess I've
had ... as to the sort of bird he
really is.
“When you wouldn't agree to
that?"
The girl gave a shuddering shrug.
"You saw a part of It He
seemed to go insane and then I
realized that all along, for months,
perhaps for years, he's been . . .
well, thinking things about me.
"Where were you, anyhow, that
you saw?”
“Up above. At the head of the
rapid. I was just going to—”
"But you didn't carry? Why,”—
startled—“you mean you ran Dead
Bear?"
"If that's what you call the rapid
I did.” He laughed at the aston
Ishment in her eyes.
H