davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22

I
knew II. He was hungry too; but
hunger is an emotion for the beasts
of prey to keep carefully to them
selves 4
The Killer moved quite softly. Que
would have marveled how silently his
great feet fell upon the dry earth, and
with what slight sound his heavy
form moved through the thickets. He
moved slowly. cautiously-all the time
mounting farther up the little hill, that
rose from the banks Of the stream.
He came to an opening In the thicket,
a little brown pathway that vanished
quickly into the shadows Of the scov-
erts
The Killer slipped softly into the
his ambush. Soon, he knew, some Of
the creatures that had bowers in the
heart of the thicket would be coming
along that trail onto the feeding
grounds on the ridge. He had only
| to wait.
| The night wind rising somewhere In
the region Of the snow banks on the
1ltHtSt IDuuldlub, DiCW uOWh iutO ihO
Killers face and brought messages
that no human being may ever receive.
Then his sharp ears heard the sound
Of brush cracked softly as some one
Of the larger forest creatures came
up the trail toward him.
The steps drew nearer and the
Killer recognized them. They were
plainly the soft football of some men,
ber of the deer tribe, yet they were
too pronounced to be the step Of any
OF the lesser deer The bull elk had
left his he'd. The red eyes Of the
grizzly seemed to glow as he waited.
Great though the stag was, only one
little blow OF the massive forearm
would be needed. The huge fangs
would have to close down but once.
The bear did not move single tell.
tale muscle He scarcely breathed.
| The bull was almost within striking
range now. The wicked red eyes
could already discern the dimmest
shadow Of his outline through the
thickets. But all at once he stopped.
head lifting. The Killer knew that the
elk had neither detected his odor nor
heard him, and he had made no move
ments that the sharp eyes could de-
tect. Yet the bull was evidently
alarmed. He stood immobile. one foot
lifted, nostrils open, head raised.
Then, the wind blowing true, the griz-
Fly understood.
A pungent smell reached him from
below-evldently the smell Of living
creature that followed the trail along
the stream that flowed through the
glen. He recognized It in an instant.
He had detected 1t many times, par
ticularly when he went into the
cleared lands to kill cattle. 1t was
man, an odor almost unknown In this
lonely glen. Dave Turner, brother Of
Simon, was walking down the stream
toward Hudson's camp.
To the elk this smell was Fear IT,
self. He knew the ways of men only
too well. Too many times he had
seen members Of his herd fall stricken
at word from the glittering sticks
they carried in their hands. He ut
tered far-ringing snort.
It was q distinctive sound, begin
ming rather high on the scale as q
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22

"What else7 To kill-never to stop
killing-rone after another, until they
are gone } Till Simon Turner and the
whole Turner clan have paid the debts
they owe"
Bruce recoiled as II from blow.
turner? Did you say Turnerf" he
asked hoarsely.
"Yes. That's the clans name ]
thought you knew"
Bruce understood now his unpro-
voked attack on the little boy when
he had been taken from the orphan
age on trial. The boy had been named
Turner, and the name had been enough
to recall great and terrible hatred
that he had learned In earliest baby
hood. The name now recalled 1t again |;
the truth stood clear at last. 1t was
the key to all the mystery Of his life;
1t stirred him more than all of Linda's
words. In an instant all the tragedy
of his babyhood was recalled-the
hushed talk between his parents, the
oaths, the flames in their eyes, and
finally the body he had found lying
so still beneath the pines. 1t was
always the Turner's, the dread name
that had filled his baby days with
horror. He hadn't understood then.
1t had been blind hatred-hatred with
out understanding or self-analysis.
AS she watched, his mountain blood
mounted to the ascendency. A strange
transformation came over him. The
gentleness that he had acquired In his
years OF city life began to fall away
from him. The mountains were claim
ing him again.
His voice was cold and hard when
he spoke.
"Then you and 1 are no relation
whatever
"None."
"But we fight the same fight now"
"Yes. Until we both win-or both
die"
Before he could speak again, a
strange answer came out Of the dark
ness. "Not two Of you," a croaking
old voice told him. It rose, shrill and
cracked, from the shadows beyond
the fire. They turned, and the moon
light showed bent old figure hob
bling toward them.
1t was old Elmira, her cane tapping
along in front of her; and something
that caught the moonlight lay in the
hollow of her left arm. Her eyes still
| glowed under the grizzled brows.
"Not two, but three" she corrected
In the hollow voice Of uncounted
years. In the magic of the moonlight
1t seemed quite fitting to both of them
that she should have come. She was
one Of the triumvirate; they wondered
why they had not missed her before
It was farther than she had walked
In years, but her spirit had kept hel
up.
She put the glittering object that
she carried into Bruce's hands. II
was ri1e-a repeating breech-loadel
of a famous make and a model Of
thirty years before. It was such 9
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22
His Arms Wont About Her, and He
Kissed Her Gently on the Lips.

cheer seemed to return to her. Good
by, Bwovaboo. Be careful"
"pll be careful. And this reminds
me of something"
"What?"
"That for all the time I've been
away-and for all the time I'm going
to be away now-I haven't done any
thing more-well, more intimate
than shake your hand"
Her answer was to pout out her lips
In the most natural way In the world.
Bruce was usually deliberate In his
motions; but all at once his delibera-
tion fell away from him. There
seemed to be no interlude Of time be-
tween one position and another. His
arms went about her, and he kissed
her gently on the lips.
But 1t was not at all as they expect
ed. Because Linda had not known
many kisses, this little caress beneath
the pine went very straight home in
deed to them both. They fell apart,
both Of them suddenly sobered. The
girls eyes were tender and lustrous,
but startled too.
"Good-by, Linda" he told her.
"Good-by, Bwovaboo," she answered.
He turned up the trail past the pine.
He did not know that she stood
watching him a long time, her hands
clasped over her breast.
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22

Elmira had gone In and the coast was
clear, 1t wouldn't come to his lips.
1T seems strange" he said, ito
come here only last highland then
to be leaving again."
1t seemed to his astonlshed gaze
that her lips trembled ever so slightly.
1--WE have been waiting for each other
long time. Bwovaboo," she replied.
She spoke rather low, not looking
straight at him. .And hate to have
you 60 away SO SOON
"But I'll be back-in q few days"
"You don't know. No one ever
knows. when they start out In these
mountains. Promise me, Bruce-tc
keep watch every minute. Remember
there's nothing-nothing-that Simor
won't stoop to do. He's like wolf
He has no rules of fighting. He'd JUS
as soon strike from ambush. How d.
know that you'll ever come bacl
| again2"
"But will" He smiled at her, ant
his eyes dropped from hers to her lips
He reached out and took her hand.
"Good-by. Linda" he said, smiling
She smiled In reply, and her ole
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22
CHAPTER XIII

Miles farther thnn Linda's cabin,
clear beyond the end of the trail that
Duncan took, past even the highest
ridge of Trails End and in the region
where the little rivers that run into
the Umpqua have their starting place,
is certain land of Used to Be. 1t
isn't land Of the Present Time at all.
1t is a place that has never grown old.
When a man passes the last outpost
of civilization, and the shadows of the
unbroken woods drop over him, he Is
likely to forget that the year Is nine
teen hundred and twenty, and that
the day before yesterday he had seen
an airplane passing over his house.
The world seems to have kicked Off
its thousand-thousand years as a
warm man Mt night kicks off covers ;
and all things are just as they used
to be. II Is the Young World-a
world Of beasts rather than men, a
world where the hand Of man has not
yet been felt.
On this particular early-September
day, the age-old drama of the wilder
ness was in progress. II was drama
Of untamed passions and bloodshed,
strife and carnage and lust and rap
inc; and II didn't, unfortunately, have
a particularly happy ending. The
players were beasts, not men. The
only human being anywhere In the
near vicinity was the old trapper,
Hudson, following down his trap line
on the creek margin on the way to
his camp. 1t Is true that two other
men, with rather astounding simi-
larity of purpose, were at present COM
Ing down two Of the long trails that
led to the region; but as yet the
drama was hidden from their eyes,
One Of the two was Bruce, coming
from Linda's cabin One was Dave
Turner. approaching from the direc-
tlon Of the Ross estates. Turner was
much the nearer. Curiously. both had
business with the trapper Hudson.
The action Of the play was calm Al
first. Mostly the forest creatures
were still in their afternoon sleep
The does and their little spotted
| fawns were sleeping; the blacktasl
deer had not yet sought the feeding
grounds On the ridges. The cougar
yawned In his lair, the wolf dosed %
~ covert even The poiscn-pecpls w
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22
THE KILLER


sYNOPSIS.-At the death of his
foster father, Bruce Duncan. In an
eastern city, Receives a mysterious
message, sent by Mrs. Ross. sum-
moning him peremptorily to south
ern Oregon-to meet Linda"
Bruce has vivid but baffiing recol-
lections Of his childhood In an or
phanaye, before his adoption by
Newton Duncan. with the girl Lin
da. At his destination. Trails End.
news that a message has been sent
to Bruce Is received with marked
displeasure by man introduced
to the reader as Simon" Leaving
the train, Bruce Is astonished at
his apparent familiarity with the
surroundings, though to his knowl-
edge he has never been there.
Obedient to the message, Bruce
makes his way to Martins cross
roads store. for direction as to
reaching Mrs. Ross cabin. On the
way, "Simon" sternly warns him
to give up his quest and return
East. Bruce refuses. Mrs Ross.
aged and infirm. welcomes him
with emotion. She hastens him on
Trail" Through country puz-
zlingiy familiar. Bruce journeys.
and finds his childhood playmate.
Linda. The girl tells him OF wrongs
committed by an enemy clan on
her family. the Roses. Lands oc-
cupied by the clan were stolen
from the Rosses, and the family.
with the exception of Aunt Elmira
(Mrs. Ross) and herself. wiped out,
by assassination. Bruces father.
Matthew Folger. was one of the
victims His mother had fed with
Bruce and Linda. The girl. while
small. had been kidnapped from the
orphanage and brought to the
mountains. Linda's father had
decided his lands to Matthew Fol-
ger, but the agreement. which
would confute the enemy's claims
to the property. has been lost.
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22
CHAPTER X

When the second hand Of the watch
in his pocket had made one more cir
cult, both Bruce and Linda found
themselves upon their feet. The ten
sion had broken at last. Her emotion
had been curbed too long. It bn,ke
from her in flood.
She seized his hands, and he started
at their touch. Don't you under
standT she cried. "You--you-you
are Folger's son. You are the boy
that crept out--under this very tree
to find him dead. All my life Elmira
and have prayed for you to come.
And what are you going to dor"
Her face was drawn In the white
tight Of the moon. For an instant he
seemed dazed.
"Dow he repeated. II don't know
what I'm going to dor
"You don'tw she cried, IN infinite
scorn. "Are you Just clayf Aren't
you mani Haven't you got arms to
strike with and eyes to see along a
rife barrel7 Are you coward--and
q weakling; one Of your mothers
olood. to run away7 Haven't you any
thing to avengef I thought you were
= mountain man--that all your years
In cities couldn't take that quality
away from you'll Haven't you any
answer7"
He looked mp, 4 strange Hight grow.
Ing on his faea sYcu mean-kill-
ngr 6,
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22
CHAPTER XII

Bruce and Linda had a long talk
while the sun climbed up over the
great ridges to the east and old FL
mira cooked their breakfast There
was no passion in their words this
morning. They had got down to a
basis Of cold planning.
Let me refresh my memory about
few of those little things you told
me-" Bruce requested. "First-on
what date does the twenty-year Pc
riod-of the Turner's possession Of the
land-expire?"
"On the thirtieth Of October, of this
year."
"Not very long, Is it7 Now you un-
derstand that on that date they will
have had twenty years of undisputed
possession of the land; they will have
paid taxes on It that long; and unless
their title is proven false between now
and that date, we can't ever drive
them out"
That's just right" O
"And the fall term Of court doesn't
begin until the fifth Of the following
month";"
"Yes, we're beaten. That's all there
is to 1t. Simon told me so the last
time he talked to me-"
'It would be to his interest to have
you think so. But Linda-we mustn't
give up yet. We must try as long as
one day remains. 1t seems to me that
the first thing to do Is to find the trap
per, Hudson-the one witness that is
still alive. He might be able to
, prove to the court that as my ia
ther never owned the land in reality.
he couldn't possibly have decided 1t
to the Turner'S. Do you know where
this Hudson is?"
'T asked old Elmira last night. She
thinks she knows. A man told her he
had his trap line on the upper Ump-
| qua, and his main headquarters-you
know that trappers have a string of
camps-was at the mouth Of Little
river, that flows into the Umpqua.
But 1t Is long way from here"
Bruce was still a moment. "How
farf" he asked.
"Two full days tramp at the least
| barring out accidents. But IL you
think 1t is best-yOu can start out to
day.
Bruce was a man who made deci.
sions quickly. "Then I'll start-right
away. Can you tell me how to find
the trail7"
'T can only tell you to go straight
north"
'Then the thing to do is to get ready
at once. And then try to bring Hud
son back with me--down the valley
After we get there we can see what
can be DONE"
Linda smiled rather sadly. "Pm no'
very hopeful. But it's our last chance
--and we might as well make try
There Is no hope that the secre
agreement will show up in these few
weeks thar remain Wen get you
things together at once"
They brealxfasted, and after tn,
simple meal was finished, Bruc,
packed for the journey. The tw,
women walked with him, out unde
the pine.
Bruce shook old Elmira's scrawn.
hand; then she turned back at onc'
into the house. The man felt singu
larry grateful He began to credi
the old woman with a'great deal o
Intuition. or else memories from he
own girlhood Of long and long ago. III
/ did want word alone with thi
strange girl Of the pinaA But VIE
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22

|
knew Just when they were going to
run across him. He was apt suddenly
to loom up, like gray cliff, at any
turn in the trail, and his disposition
grew querulous with age. In fact, in
stead Of fleeing as most wild creatures
have learned to do, he was rather
likely to make sudden and unexpected
charges.
He was killed at last; and SEEM
ingly the southern oregon grizzlies
were wiped out. But 1t is rather easy
to believe that in some of his wander
ings he encountered--lost and far in
the deepest heart OF the land called
Trails End-a female OF his own
breed. There must have been cubs
, who, in their turn, mated and fought
and died. and perhaps two generations
after them. And out Of the last brood
had emerged single great male, a
worthy descendant Of his famous an
cestor. This was the Killer. who in
a few months since he had left his
| fastnesses, was beginning to- ruin the
cattle business in Trails End.
| Al he came growling from his bed
this September evening he was not q
creature to speak Of lightly. He was
| down on all fours. his vast, head was
! lowered. his huge fangs slenmed u
| the dark red mouth. The eyes were
| small, and curious little red lights
| clowed IN each Of them. The Killer
L $3.50 -~1 ~ A1X~as <>~~ 49,
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22

loud whistle and descending into O
deep bass bawl. And the Killer knew
perfectly what that sound meant. II
was a simple way of saying that the
elk would progress no farther down
that trail. The bear leaped in wild
fury.
The bull seemed to leap straight up.
His muscles had been set at his first
alarm from Turner's smell on the
wind, and they drove forth the pow
erful limbs as II by powder explo-
sion. He was full in the air when the
forepaws battered down where he had
been. Then he darted away into the
coverts.
The grizzly knew better than to try
to overtnke him. Almost rabid with
wrath he turned back to his ambush.
The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-22

"Not Two, but Three" She Corrected,
In the Hollow Voice Of uneounted
Years.
rifle as lives in legend, with sights as
fine as razor edge and an accuracy
as great as light itself. Loving hands
had polished 1t and kept 1t in perfect
condition.
Matthew Folger's rifle" the old
woman explained, "for Matthew Fol-
gers son
And that As how Bruce Folger re-
turned to the land of his birth--as
most men do, unless death cheats
them flrst--and how he made a pact
to pay old debts Of death.
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-12-09
LEGAL NOTICES.

served and that the sheriff of Escam-
bia County has returned the same I'M
served, specifying as the cause of his
inability to serve the same that the
officers and agents OF the defendant
are unknown, and it now appearing
to the Court from the said return and
other satisfactory proof that service
of subpoena or summons in chancery
on the defendant can not be had. and
all things having been done and es-
tablished to make proper this order;
therefore,
1T IS ORDERED. ADJUDGED AND
DECREED that Pensacola Railroad
Company, a Florida corporation, the
defendant in the above styled cause
(Which cause, its nature. the court in
which it is instituted and the parties
therato are as above showm be and
it is hereby required to appear to this
action on the rule day in January,
1928 and defend the same.
1t is further ordered that the Clerk
of this Court shall cause this order to
be published once a week for the
period of four consecutive weeks prior
to the rule day in January, 1928, in
The Pensacola Journal, newspaper
published in Escambia County, Flor
ida, and that such publication shall
be full and sufficient notification to
the said Pensacola Railroad Company
of the above styled suit and the insti-
tuition thereof.
Done and ordered at chambers at
DeFuniak Springs, Florida on this the
9th day of November. 1922.
A. G. CAMPBELL, Judge
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-12-09
New Orleans Cotton

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. s.-The
more important price movements in
cotton today were due to statistics
and they gave the market a very
steady undertone, but without, how
ever, arousing any very great buying
power. Ginning returns to the first
of December Of 9,13S,144 bales just
about met expectations on the long
side; mill takings for the week of
$4,000 bales, against $4,000, this
week last year, were altogether larg-
er than expected and sent the market
to its highest levels, 24.57 cents
pound for January and to net gains
on the list of Is to % points. Small
recessions occurred in the late ses-
sion, under realizing on the long side,
and the market closed at net gains of
IL to Is points, with the January pos
ition at PAT.
Better cables than due helped to
cause a higher opening. During the
first call. the ginning figures were
received from the census bureau but
their effect was almost completely
offset by the efforts of traders on
the long side to take profits on the
hard spot they felt would be created.
First gains amounted to one to IA
points, near months being much
stronger than the distant. Following
the call, offerings increased to such
an extent that the market was forced
to declines under yesterdays close
of IS to 20 points, January dropping
to 24.16.
For a while the market remained
depressed and trading became light
but the weekly statistics caused a new
period of activity and strength which
lasted until longs went to realizing
a gain in too large a way. The market
seemed to be steaedier in the after
noon by the decrease of 20,689 bales
for the week in the visible supply of
American cotton, the first decrease
since the crop movement became
heavy.
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-12-09
NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that under
and in pursuance of a decree of fore
closure rendered by the Honorable {.
M. Jones. Judge of the Court of Record
of Escambia County, Florida. on the
Sth day of December 1922, in GER
tain cause pending in said court.
wherein Mcmillan Mill Company, a
corporation was. complainant; and j.
W. Kelly, Fannie Kelly, j. H. Nor
gan. and Mrs. ]. Fl. Morgan were re
spondents. l, the undersigned Special
Master. will sell at public cutlery for
cash to the highest and best bidder
therefor. before the County Court
House door of Escambia County, Flor
ida, on Monday, the first day of Jan
uary, 1928, between the hours of II
o'clock in the forenoon and ? o'clock
in the afternoon, the following de-
scribed real property. situate. living.
and being in Escambia County. Flor
ida. towit: The northwest quarter
(nw44) OF the northeast quarter
The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-12-09
ABRUPT CHANGE
F, FOR BETTER IN
! STOCK MARKET
Speculation for Declines Are
I Forced to Abandon Efforts
On Short Side.

the COM
II. Ne" .aJa,,,s ,,SarlLa+ underwent
HI pIeA - ,.I,ancn for the better this
Z, -. -, suc..nlators for the
49, ,,.."n "o,,nelloJ 70 abandon
2seI1 o,ro,.ts nm ne sbor, side be-
n -. ~ ,roi,. IA iIure. TO bring out
49,, 1o,,os -,.oluIna of stock. Rails
80 ,.,,I,,.r,lJ. target 10 early
II s,'.s,.,,,e ,.,, induetr;uIs offered bet
! " ..Dai,,,,,'... and If was the strong
.,,,,,t,e in such cad
-. ' 80 l,.il,.ir l'oiicd States Steel
IA oa-,r,,n ,,,.,i ,tl.G...,a}or that turned
49,, ,,,,,,..,,,i ,....i1 after noon.
! IL ~ ',,,,' r.-o,cry. in railroad
/ NS -, ,,.,., sl;.,rI.,fnd nv publication
IT, prosfd,~f r.arding's message to
I -. .,.,,,,,'...,,a, raiIroad mergers
kAos,d ~ mailing of nuu;pmcnt, and
r.ecopor,cpdjr,, abolition Of the rail
49, ,al,,,... I,.',~I ana iIia substitution
80 . Linn 6irie.on of The interstate
K r. o,.,, co,,,.,,ie9in, with mower to
10 - i.s 5.,.isione canadian Paci-
IA e. sIui,ai, ,,,rtraI pore Naruuette
' -, paa,5jr,o v.,i.i, bod boon weak in
t. oo,.r,. dloI.ngs closed at slight
(, - I.nro,.,,I i..I,.s or tho ST
'FtpauI and HnoI; island systems regis
lj tod moi mss Of more than point
N, aacL p,,.1,t hoo viooss Of rail shares
II - 49,, .,t,,.iI,,I+<,I - "tava+ioo saIl-
IL, ,ar,I ,,nI,o(Iinq or nooIs which
b ,i,ad he.',,,,, ljsroI,r,ood Inv the lack
t-aS ruh1tc. u.rtt,,fn.tion.
et,,doLaI.c,. continued IN reflect the
-, ~, l,,,,i,,,, ,,ro,,t or ti,at com
,a,,. ami .,,r,,lati,.t apn,ovaI Of the
IL Siraotor,' ir,rHiinn 70 continue the
3-S1o diyilc,d r,t. an tho new STOCK. to-
49, ,I,r,ra n,ica nf 1a2I. reore-
senti,g d. rrt coin If Is. Other
er ,,otore i,.,,yn,.,J IN s,,nuatbv. Chard-
a. cIi,,,,i,a r,fnt ,nd Hudson.
M NToon p,rIt,,d Pierce Arrow and
4. WIN, .,,.arIopd r,.,rtion.IIy Access
sorles ol.o did hatter Fisher Eodv
I. ,,I,,ovot,,. az ,,oint.
- 60 7..,..,. ,..l.., ~, hand ,o,in and
n ,.l,,s' 80 -, o., nai,+e v,e,,l rar,ord-
"a IN tbat ,,rr,,n nv american Beet.
"a Ay,nricor Snrg, C,nba cane common
4, - .,.Sr,,,..,, s,,,,tr portn pjcar and
:, c., 60 P'' NationnI TeSd as
NJ tsbJIsbnd - nav, to., a. ia ii IN re-
Al vivaI Of reDorts Of stock dividend.
(, Strength ~ ,rnI,acco Products raflact-
al renorte- sbou,inp . Igrpa increa So
y IN oie,aratta. ei,ivr,nnts during the first
Il. a,.,,H, ,,,,n.hs,,s tl,o ,,oa,
= paid,,,ir,' ,,,..,., ,,,aho5 ~, IS. roi,ts