“LORD OF LONELY VALLEY.”

Matamata Record, Volume XX, Issue 2020, 27 March 1939, Page 2

“LORD OF LONELY VALLEY.”

He chuckled! malevolently and from his inner breast pocket drew a small cardboard carton. From his side coat pocket he produced a candle and a sixounce bottle; then he strolled over to the windward side of the stack, lighted the candle, dropped some grease on the bottom of the carton and in its centre, pinched out the. light, stuck his candle in the grease, lucked short wisps of hay around the base of the candle, and poured on this inflammable material the contents of the bottle. Then he relit the candle, gouged out a little orifice in the base of the stack, lucked the carton fn.to it, and piled some hay in front of it. Satisfied that the burning candle would not be seen, he rejoined his men. The moon rose above the mountains to the east and shed its light over Lonely Valley. Tire brilliance increased as the moon mounted into the heavens. Sleeping 1 cattle could be discerned faintly for a distance of three hundred yards. Suddenly the watehers in the little grove heard the distant sound of a heavy blow, followed by a metallic ovashing. Nobody made any comment on this, for all three men knew the sound had been made by Theo - dore’s truck striking a loose plank in a rough bridge over one of the smaller irrigation ditches. The truck, running without heaeilrgfits, had struck the bridge at too high a rate of speed. As If approached, the rattle of its progress became more and more audible. Presently they saw its dark bulk leave the road along the western fringe of the meadow and come straight across the field toward the stack they watched. It pulled up in the lee of the stack, and two men got down off the seat. One walked around the truck and stood at the left front wheel with the truck between him and the group beside the fir tree, while the ether lifted a five-gallon can from the truck and carried it to the fence. He shoved it under the lowest wire and crawled in after it. He was busy at the side of the stack foi about a minute, then Tom Harmon saw him strike a light and stand up. The volley crashed out, but the man at the stack did not fall. Instead, he ran around to the other end of the slack. An instant later a steady spray of fire came from the truck; a stream of bullets whispered over the heads of Harmon and his men, and with one accord they bent low, separated and got behind trees, where they cast themselves flat on the ground. “Machine guns,” Tom Harmon yelled during a momentary pause In the firing. “Those skunks are smarter’n I thought, *: Kept Don’t shoot, or you’ll be a target. He can’t see us.” Evidently the same strategy occurred to the man crouching behind the truck. As his legs were not visible, Harmon concluded he had crawled up on the running board, where he would be protected by the body of the automobile. For the nonce, therefore, the affair was a stalemate. “Are you 0.K., Twins?” Harmon called. “0.K." they replied in unison. "It’ll. be too bad for you', when daylight comes,” taunted the man behind the truck. - “That’s what I’m waitin’ for- —better jihootin’ light,” Harmon shouted back. The tittering laugh of the Sphinx twins was audible. Thus an hour passed. Then, from the truck, the taunting voice reached them. ■

“The stack ain’t goin’ to b w ’** rt**. of your bullets must'have ' •> candle—if that’s what you’re u’ for;”

“You must be kinder cramped over there, mister," Harmon called back cheerfully. “But don't worry. We'll move you right pronto now." As he spoke, a tongue of flame licked up from the windward side of the haystack. When a half-minute had passed it. was roaring up the stack and spreading along the sides and top.. The men in the .clump of firs waited patiently, for they knew the heat of the conflagration would drive the man from the far end of the truck Into the open, and force the man behind the stack to evacuate or roast. The scene was now illuminated brilliantly. The moment for final action had come, and the man behind ~thc anybody prowling around there, shoot cramped position and stood up. Over in the clump of firs he saw about half a man’s body behind a tree and fired at it instantly. A second later the twins fired, and the man’s head and shoulders disappeared behind the truck, but they could see his body outstretched on the ground. They charged toward the truck.

A glance showed their work in that quarter had been completed, so they circled the blazing stack. Far out in the field they saw the other man running. They emptied their magazines at him, and he fell; whereupon they risked a scorching to run the truckout into the field to save it from being burned. Then they went back

By PETER B. KYNE.

to their old havera in the fir grove. “Got’em?” Tom Harmon demanded. “You bet!'”' i “Welli, anyhow—it was a—small slack. I’m tunneled. Put me—in the truck —an r carry me up to—the Big House —after you’ve called at — Theodore’s cabin.” ' INSTALMENT 25. A quarter of an hour later Theodore and his squaw, lying bound and gagged on the floor of their cabin, heard somebody walk in. Then that somebody struck a match and lighted the kerosene Lamp on the kitchen table, glanced around! him —and grunted after the fashion of one who has discovered no raore- than he has expected to discover. He removed the gags from the mouth of Theodore and his squaw and untwisted from their wrists, knees, and ankles the pieces of copper telegraph wire with which they had been trussed up. Having completed' his office, he went outside without once having spoken, and climbed up on the driver’s seat of Theodore’s truck.

Theodore and his squaw stiffly followed him out. Well up in the bed of the truck and under the driver’s seat they saw Tom Harmon lying on a bed of hay. In the rear of the truck body two other men lay, sprawled on each other, but there was no hay under them. The other twin rode his horse, leading the other two.

Theodore leaned In ana touched Tom Harmon on the brow, whereupon that individual opened his eyes and said cheerfully: “Hello, Theodore. Next time you —have visitors —don’t answer the knock—at the front door. Get your gun—sneak out the back door —and surprise ’em." The white blood in Theodore made him articulate. “Tom, Tom,” he pleaded, “what happened?" “They tunneled me.” “But we got the skunks right here,” the twin who was riding announced, and they drove away. As the night passed, Janet laid aside her book and surrendered her mind to contemplation of her private affairs.

Until Lanier had so suddenly dismissed her, she had thought vaguely of telling him that she was now the

owner of that quarter section of worthless land that for more than forty years had been as a pistol at the Lanier heads. Because of her sympathy for him she had considered assuring him of safety in that quarter. She was glad now that she had not done so, for it would have constituted a deplorable weakness, a ruling of herself, by. her emotions rather than hyl hefhead: -Five hhiadfeid thousand dollars Tom Harmon thought she could get from Milo Landrum for her land if and when he was satisfied that Raynor Lanier was helpless, headed for bankruptcy. Of course, this was merely Tom Harmon’s opinion, yet Janet'knew it had merit. She strove to convince herself that she felt for Raynor Lanier a just resentment due to his shabby treatment of her. She found herself making a sorry failure of her attempt to dislike him, or even feel a fair element of anhoyapee toward him. What ever had caused him to wish to dispense with her services immediately was his own business. After all,-she was a trained nurse, and trained nurses come and go. The ancient clock over the mantel struck eleven. How long she had sat there pondering all this! And then the knocker oh the front door struck loudly—once, twice, thrice—and Raynor Lanier called from his room:

“Janet! Janet! Come here —quickly]" She ran down the hall to his room.

“My pistol is in the lower drawer of the bureau,” he said eagerly. “Get

' ■ ; ‘ i :; • .r ... «'. s ■ S£ for me—and leave the do®' open. Somebody is at the front door, ffemember, somebody called to- se*®’ my fatfter—by God, if they’ve ‘called! Co pee me, let them in! Lift me up* ib bed. Straight up, please ... It’slate —and nobody comes visiting fit Lonely Valley after dark.” She got out pistol and belt. .Ie threw open the cylinder and spun u. snapped it closed again. “Now open the door and let them in,” he commanded. ‘‘Don’t be frightened. They won’t harm you. I’m the prize they’re after —but they’ve got t : o ffglil"forit.” Janet was trembling violently as siie threw open the door. On the porch without, stood' the Sphinx twins, ef.ch with an arm hooked under the arm of Tom Harmon, whose body hang limp in their grasp, Ms feet buchling cddly under him. They half-dragged. Half-carried him’ hr, and’ a tiny trickle of blood made a trail behind him across the floor. Janet stepped' to the entrance to the hall and called to Raynor I ;nler: ‘‘lt’s all right, Ray. If., jnly Tom liarmon.”