The vidette. (Iuka, Tishomingo County, Miss.) 1912-1967, 1920-06-10


tract for ten years"
"Nothing doing. young man. Re
member. you are not In a position 20
ask favors."
"Then suppose well have to go
down tlghting7"
Il Dc nor anticipate much of a
fight"
"And TIL begin by running your
woods boss out OF the country"
"Ah-h"
You know why. OF course-those
burl panels in your dining room. Ron.
deau felled o tree In our Valley of the
Giants to get that burl for you. Colonel
Pennington"
Pennington flushed. 81 defy you TO
prove that" he almost shouted.
VERY well. I'll make Rondeau con
fess; perhaps he'll even tell me who
sent him after the burl. Upon my
word, think you inspired that
dastardly raid. AT any rate. know
Rondeau is guilty. and you, as his
employer and the beneficiary OF his
crime must acceptthe odlum."
The Colonei's face went white. IL
do not admit anything except that you
appear TO have lost your head, young
man. However. for the sake OF argu.
ment: granting that Rondeau felled
that tree. he did II under the appre-
hension that your Valley OF the Giants
Is a part of my Squaw creek timber
adjoining"
81 do not believe that. There was
malice In the act--brutality. even; for
my mothers grave identified the land
as ours. and Rondeau felled the tree
on her tombstone"
IF that is 50. and Rondeau felled
that tree--1 do not believe he did
am sincerely sorry. Cardigan. Name
your price and l will pay you for the
tree"
"You can't pay for that tree" Bryce
burst forth. mo pitiful human being
can pay in dollars and cents for the
wantoa destruction Of Gods handi-
work. You wanted that burl. and
when my father was blind and could
no longer make his Sunday pilgrimage
up to that grove. your woods-boss
went up and stole that which you
knew you could not buy"
"That will be about all from you,
young man. Get out Of my office.
And, by the way, forget that you have
met my niece"
IT'S your office-so I'll get out. AS
for your second command"--he snapped
his fingers in Penningtons face
''fooeyr'
When Bryce had gone. the Colonel
hurriedly called his logging-camp on
the telephone and asked for Jules
Rondeau, only to be informed by the
timekeeper who answered the tele-
phone. that Rondeau was up In the
green timber with the choppers and
could not be gotten to the telephone
in less than two hours.
sDo not send for him. then" PEN
nington commanded. "I'm coming up
on the eleven-fifteen train and viii
talk to him when he comes In for his
lunch"
At eleven O'Clock, and just as the
Colonel was leaving to hoard the
eleven-fifteen ogging-train bound
empty for the woods. Shirley Sumner
made her appearance In his office.
Uncle Seth" she complained. I'm
lonesome. The bookkeeper tells me
you're going up TO the logging-camp.
May go with your"
by NIL means. Usually ride In
the cab with the engineer and fireman:
but II you're coming. I'll have them
hook on the cabO0se. Step lively. my
dear, or they'll he holding the train
for us and upsetting our schedule"
BY virtue OF their logging-contrac
with Pennington, the Cardigans and
their employees were transported free
over Pennlngton's logging railroad |;
hence, when Bryce Cardigan resolved
to walt upon Jules Rondean in the mat
ter of that murdered Giant. II was
Characteristic of him to choose the
shortest and most direct route to his
quarry, and as the long string of empty
logglng-trucks came crawling OFF the
Laguna Grande Lumber company's log.
dump he swung over the side. quite
ignorant of the fact that Shirley and
her precious relative were riding in
the little caboose In the rear.
| At twelve-ten the train slid In on
the log landing.
where's Rondeaur' Bryce asked.
The engineer pointed to a huge.
swarthy man approaching across the
. clearing III which the camp was sit
uated That's him." he replied.
And without further ado. Bryce strobe
to meet his man.
"Are you Jules Rondeau7' he de
manded as he came up to the woods
boss. The latter nodded. I'm Bryce
Cardigan" his interrogation announced,
'and I'm here to thrash You for chop
ping that big redwood tree over In
that little valley where my mother is
buried"
"0hr' Rondeau smiled. "Wiz
an arxa Affofa..rr AnA 4.