White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1926-10-29

his coat over buttons as big as silver
dollars. with the voice of Buffalo
Hall ringing protests behind him. 1t
would never do to stay and listen to
that kind of talk.
Cant be damned" muttered Hick-
DRY to himself, and he crossed the
village street with hard, frozen snow
crunching and squeaking under his
shoepacks. Cold enough to freeze
the hinges off barn door. In a little
while the blue shadows would grow
long and by four o'clock in the after
noon it would be dark.
Hickory Pete thought hard as he
marched away from the handful of
houses at the crossroads. Carlow and
Fessette! He knew them both by
reputation, and they were men able
to give an account of themselves in a
fight. JACKIE Prime had to be, and
was, rough-and-tumble scrapper of
the first rank. At the Broken Finger
there would probably be more of the
same breed; and there might be some
of his own friends, men of rough
decency and willing to take his part.
Buffalo Hall, once in, would have
| stood shoulder to shoulder. A man
could not be blamed for refusing to
go to the Broken Finger looking for
trouble.
Grimble struck into the lake road
and heightened his stride. 1t would
be better to come up with them in the
woods, before they got to the lake
shore where the roadhouse was. Per-
haps he could get a chance to talk
with the girl and tell her what kind
Of place and people she had to deal
with. Her look had limited to him
that she already suspected. He would
have to go ahead blindly and trust
to luck. Anything might happen.
Except that he was not going to turn
back. Her eyes had done that to
him. They pulled his feet along the
road. winding among tall hemlocks
and pines. Those devils had her
alone in the woods now. He settled
to his best pace.
When Pete came in sight of them
they were struggling unevenly, as was
made necessary by the nature of the
half-broken road; here place where
one runner track had drifted full of
snow, forcing them to walk in single
| file, and there an exposed stretch
swept clear of loose snow SO that
they could go three breast. At the
moment the bulk of JACKIE Prime was
trudging beside the girl, while the
others walked few PAGES ahead
Grimble broke into trot They
heard him. The girl turned fright
ened eyes and the indented mouth of
Jacko set grimly.
"Hello!". Hickory Pete forced a
grin and swagger. II need a little
something to warm me up inside, and
I thought I'd go over to your place,
! Prime"
The party had halted, and it was
plain that Carlow and Fessette waited
upon the will of JACKIE in this matter.
He seemed to hesitate; it was certain
that Hickory Pete was not welcome.
Come on if you want to-" shrugged
Prime, at length, "but by the way the
boys was hitting it up this morning,
you won't find anything left"
"I'll take a chance" replied Pete
amiably falling into step on the other
side of the girl.
Carlow and Fessette had started on
at the decision of their leader. JACKIE
blazed a look of wrath over the girls
head at the presence Of Pete beside
her, and Pete threw his eyes to the
front, whistling cheerfully. At the
next snowdrift that sprawled across
the road he touched the arm of Della
Marceau with little backward pull.
She half stopped, and Prime was
forced ahead of them before he quite
realized what had happened. Hickory
Pete looked deep into the eyes of the
girl. Her lips parted; he could feel
her arm tremble.
do you want to go there?" he
asked, softly.
| mo! I'm afraid already"
"Hey!" Prime halted and snapped
around, facing them. "You, Grimble
| Lay off that grill"
Hickory Pete grinned carelessly,
but he was on the qui vive, alert to
every glance and movement of the
| three men. Della Marceau gazed at
Prime and went white to the lips at
the menace she saw.
whats the matter?" asked Pete.
Cant talk to herr"
mo-" barked JACKIE. "She's going
over to the hotel to work for me, and
/ told her mother I'd see she lay off
buns. This feller's rummy, Della"
Pete had been thinking fast. and
he had come to decision. He
laughed, staring straight into the pol
ished buttons under the brows Of
Jacko Prime, and spoke with malice
aforethought.
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