The Adair County news., 1922-10-17
The
Strength
|OfthePines!
eaps
! BY Edison Marshall
Author Of
1.-The Voice of the Pack"
Sdn9
Illustrations by Irwin Myers
eE TSower, the Header of the enemy
eszz before me was twenty-one.
illustrations by irwin Myers


etzz before me was twenty-one.
Xou must know, Bruce, that my
aNa father held the land But he was
7E generous that his brothers who
haalped him farm it hardly realized
H3lsE possession was in his name. And
1s<z5ser was a dead shot 1t took a
aang time before they could kill him"
41ae coldnesS that had come over
hear words did net in the least hide her
sis@sth of feeling. She gazed moodily
hHfse tine darkness and spoke almost in
n esE6notone.
But Simon-just a boy then-and
Dave, his brother and the others of
GhNn kept after us like so many
0z1AUes. There was no escape. The
ankS thing we could do was to fight
HaE.&-and that was the way we
1eazned to hate A man can hate,
BeAce, when he is fighting for his
kasz1e- He can learn it very well when
haE sSees his brother fall dead, or his
fs41ssT-Or stray bullet hit his wife.
ArEOmaR can learn it, too, as old Eli
nNEa did, when she finds her sons
b0sEY in the dead leaves There was
ma Saw here to stop it. The little SEM
hazE1ce of law that was in the valleys
bNkEw regarded 1t as blood-feud, and
dlao1t bother itself about it. BESIDES
sfz erst we were too proud to call for
hRAR- And after our numbers were
1esW, the traiH were watched-and
flHEse who tried to go down into the
<skFeys4never got there.
one after another the Rosses were
kli1ssd, and I needn't make it any
WsG,se for you than / can help-by
eAk2azE sof each killing. Enough to say
eazst AT last no one was left except
n EsE old men whose eyes were too
dl1H ito shoot straight, and my own
ffstSer. And u was baby then-just
hlaE1.
fTSfen >0ne night my father-seeing
t1ARk late that was coming down upon
ei1Sa&-took the Nast course to defeat
s1iRaH Matthew Folger-a connection
tEE7 marriage still alive. Simon's
Ssam hadn't attacked him yet. He had
DGs5nare in the land, but instead lived
M thls house I live in now. He had
u 1ssEV seattle and some pasture land
faE7zzer down the Divide There had
hszA MO purpose in killing him. He
uAS8at been worth the extra bullet.
<1Ge night my father left me asleep
a1if sstole through the forests to talk
fsE I6am- They made an agreement. 1
harSe Wteced it out, little at a time.
NY Szfher decided an his land to Fol-
HsE
ECaR understand now. The enemy
Gfzn pretended 1t was a blood-feud
0xflsg-and that IT was fair war to kill
ea1E Rosses. Although my father knew
eheE real aim was to obtain the land,
hAs Ssadnt think they would dare kill
.MA1ehew Folger to get 1t. He knew
faazn me himself would fan, sooner or
ksasEr out ne thought that to kill Fol-
R@-Bould show their cards-and that
SEsuoad NOe too much, even for Simon's
HssEIae- But he didn't know. He
bzzAnS foreseen to what lengths they
SsFH6ad 60"
Rr1ce leaned forward. $50 they
EllEIR-Matthew Folger?' he asked.
se didn't know that his face had
@1ue suddenly stark white, and that
s3r99E1ous glitter had come to his eyes.
EAE=Epoke Nbreathlessly For the name
MATTHEW Folger-called up vague
Enz1auries tnat seemed to reveal great
EEEnkns 10 him. The girl smiled grimly.
Eet me go on. Ny father decided
kE01sEH the land. The deed was to
80 on record so that all the world
~Npazd know that Folger owned it, and
~ E1ss Scfan killed him 1t was plainly
fSsE tine purposes Of greed alone But
H1iHEnE was also secret agreement
<trxwn up in black and white and to
E1a Hept hidden for twenty-one years.
IN Hfis agreement, Folger promised to
EsEurn te me-the only living heir of
sahs Rosses- the lands acquired by the
ai&sed In reality, he was only holding
elise1 in trust for me. and was to re-
&aEz them when was twenty-one
I'm ucase OF my fathers death, Folger
Nms to be my guardian until that time.
Fo4ger knew the risk he ran, but
k1H was a brave man and he did not
szEe- BESIDES. he was my fathers
eaeAd-and friendship goes far in the
znp~untains, And my father was shot
e1gEn before a week was past
The clan had acted quick, you see.
Asn Folger heard Of it, before the
szERn, he came TO my fathers house
FEn1 carried me away. Before another
E1zzht was ,dsne he was killed too.''
The perspIration leaped out on
1raoes forehead The red glow Of
7l1ne nre was in his eyes.
He fell almost where this FIRE is
4tEEE- with thirty-thirty bullet in HI,
1uzfA Which one Of the clan killed
tAzm 1 do not know-but in all prob
e4Aalty # was Simon himseIf-at that
ss'llue ~ofly eighteen years of age. And
fE1zssg<s Iittle something past
NlrE years old wandered ont in the
-sunea1ll sht, to iind his fathers body"
IlIs girl was Speaking slowly now
<EvtdentIy watching the effect of her
s1zcde on her listener. He was bent