Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1928-08-09
THE STORY

CHAPTER v.-selwood makes Chris.
ee,s acquaintancs and warns Fyler that
Atkins is crook The storeksspsr re-
tries to ingratiate himself with Chris.
tie; The girls mind Is poisoned against
CHAPTER VI.-Fyler Is beaten and
robbed. Christie, seeking Doctor Carpy,
Atkins has thrown her father out OF
his store, claiming to own II. Tyler
is not badly hurt. Her father has lost
Ssmsy, ss. ss,n sns isa ss to sii
gamblers. selwood advertises for In
formation of an old missionary padre.
whose picture he displays: With Par
woods employ, the latter makes prep
arations to dislodge Atkins from ~
ler's store.
WOO. Of threats made by Starbuok,
him. sslwood RACES. with his two
companions, Selwood drives Atkins and
Haynes, from Fyler's store.
CHAPTER vI11-starbuck tells
her questioning him he admits It, but
declares he is Square" while StarbueA
and his crowd are thieves. The girl ID
not satisfied with his explanation.
CHAPTER K-7Following. a poker
game with General Roper Selwood dAs-
closes the fact that the old soldier Il
Roper, then fort commandant, before
Selwood's birth, sent his SON, Lieut..
Harry Roper, Selwood's father, to death
at the hands of Indians. and refused
place, dtsowning his boys children.
Continued from last weekly
Selwood paused. Gentlemen" he
said. wiping his forehead, this cham
payne is for everybody. I drink 1t be-
cause 1t steadies me. I can't drink
whisky. It's funny, but whisky makes
me want to kill somebody.
$50 my father didn't come back.
Smallpox broke out again that fall at
the fort. My mothers father took It
and died in a week. My mother was
left alone. She was thousand miles
from any woman she felt she could
turn to. Don't be afraid Of the cham
payne, gentlemen; tell you, It will
steady you"
They watched the gambler pour and
drink glass after glass of the heaiy
French wine-but seemingly without
effect on the iron restraint under
which he held himself.
my mothers condition." he re-
sumed, forced her to go to my grand
father. She told her story. He asked
for her proofs-buzzards were pick
ing them In the Crawling Stone wash.
HE told my mother his son had
never married her! He did, so help
me God! The post surgeon was moro
merciful. He defied the old man, took
care Of my little mother at the hospi-
tai; and Of all the damnable things
that could happen to a woman in that
distress, my poor mother gave birth
to twins-a boy and a girl. am that
boy.
"Bven that didn't soften the old
wretch's heart. He was only broken
over the death Of his handsome son.
My mother had no place In his grief
Her very presence at the fort seemed
to irritate him. Before the snow was
OF the ground he arranged to send
her back to St. Joe with her two
babies. She was put in charge Of two
drunken troopers to be taken down
the river to a landing where q steam
boat, caught on the river the fall be-
fore, was going to st. Louis when the
ice went out.
"The surgeon wrapped my mother
and the babies up in furs and made
her as comfortable as possible-old
Roper came to the hospital then and
offered her money-she refused to
touch 1t. A snowstorm set In after We
got started. By noon 1t was bliz-
zard. The troopers lost their way and
drove backward and forward all day.
BY nightfall they had found the trail,
but they were drunk. When they
struck timber along the breaks above
the river, wolves got their wind and