Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-15

a lag that bespoke an inhibition slightly
greater than that induced by the bull
let that had shattered his hip many
years previous
against the front door; then slowly his
head came down until his face was hid
Gen. He shivered family and sigh,
half pain, half despair, escaped him.
His daughter watched him with some
thing of the alert, professional concern
of a trained nurse. Only, in Lorry Ker-
shaw's eyes, profound affection and
pity showed.
She knew her father suffered from
angina pretoria, and two doctors had
told her a long time ago that she must
be prepared to lose him suddenly. They
had warned her against exhibiting the
slightest concern during one OF his at
tacks, since that would merely add TO
the grief and worry of her father and
perhaps hasten the end.
So the girl waited until he raised MS
face and smiled at her trihe sheep
ishly. That was real twister," he
gasped. Il figured I was goner for
sure. I don't think I could stand an
other like that one, Lorry.'
Nonsense" Lorry twigged his great
nose.
You amt sympathetic" he protested,
with show of irritation. But the girl
comradely badinage helped materially
to allay his excitement and the result
ant furious pounding of his heart.
Too bad about you, isn't it?" she
jeered. You know very we'll the doc
tors orders are to avoid excitement and
to cultivate a placid outlook upon life at
its worst. Nevertheless, the instant you
receive bad news you self1shly hoard it.
Don't you know that bad news split be-
tween us doesn't occupy nearly so much
valuable space in that Stif1ed breast of
yours? You climb into this car. Rance
kershaw. and cease your nonsense"
Rance Kershaw grinned at his daugh-
ter lovingly. He relished being bullied
by her, tor he was fully aware of her
reason for bullying him: aware that
under her calm, debonair exterior there
were tears and terror
He climbed laboriously into his seat
beside her
They drove in silence for about 2
miles. Then her father said: You
were right. darling. l found a real jolt
waiting for me in the post office. The
Valley Center Bank has bought our
mortgage from the Savings Bank of San
Francisco, an Babson's called it. Got
to pay up in five days or the bankll
enter suit to foreclose."
Yes, that was quite a shock" Lorry
agreed, but it might be worse. We
have a year in which to redeem the
ranch. and in that time we may be able
to refund our mortgage.
We'll be counted out 80 days after
the suit is filed. Nate Tichenor will
close in on us and take the cattle as
soon as he hears BabSon has filed suit.
And after that it wouldn't be worth
while tryin' to refund the ranch mort
gage. A cattle ranch without cattle on
II Is a liability
oAt a lan faI - I1A
girl protested. I'VE have 1000 head of
feeders that aren't mortgaged to Nate
Tichenor and we can get $40 a head
for them. If We sell them now we can
escape with $4,000. but if we hold them
to put more fat on them Babson or
Nate Tichenor will attack them to help
cover a deficiency judgment. Forty
thousand dollars can be made to earn
S per cent net. That's two thousand q
year. And I have high school teach
ers certificate secured in the University
of California. I can earn 81 300 a year
teaching school-and on the thirty-eight
hundred year you and I can live the
life of Reilly. Not q worry in life
old-timer"
You can live the life Of Reilly on It,
honey. but 1 shah not. It will kill me
to give up Eden Valley-an' you know
why"
1T would have been a blessing II our
family had never seen Eden Valley"
the girl cried passionately. Its been
paid for in blood and tears and heart
break and social oStracism, and all we
have TO show for the years is a private
cemetery filled with KershaW women
who died neart-broken and Kershaw
men who passed away with their boots
on. And at last the Hensleys have tri-
umphed over us"
They got two more i'll their cemetery
than We have, Lorry"
But they haven't any debtS-and
after fighting so years to own all Of
Eden Valley they'll win at last Nate
I1chenor must have money enough to
buy In our ranch at the sheriff's sale.
Well, he's earned his victory. If any
body Is to get our part of Eden Valley,
hope it Will be Nate Tichenor. I won
DER what sort of man Nate Tichenor
has turned out to be?"
Il dunno, Lorry. 1 wouldn't attempt
to figger even half-breed Hensley. His
father, folks do say, was a right peace
able, fair man, an when he married
Angie Hensley he wrote me, inclosin'
his photograph, an advisin' me that
marryin' into the Hensley family didn't
mean he'd married into the Hensley-
kershaW feud. He suggested that If an
when we met could pass him the time
o day without gettin a bullet in an
sWer. l took him at his word-an' he
kept 1t. But his son was raised Hens
ley. He went armed after his fifteenth
birthday. I f1ggered him an your
brother Owen would shoot it out some
day, which was why never sent Owen
to the high school at Valley Center.
The principal discovered Nate Tichenor
wore AS in shoulder holster, an
ordered him to leave it home thereafter.
but young Tichenor wouldn't do it, so
they hove him out o. high school. An
they do say he was the smartest boy in
the country"
Hes been gone from Eden Valley
since the war" Lorry unused. Nine
years OF life outside may have civilized
him. / hope SO. You've got to admit,
dad, he hasn't been an importunate
creditor"
He don't have to be. The longer he
holds off the more interestll accumu-
late an the more cattle he'll have to
levy on for his deficiency judgment.
He's smart. He don't f1gger to do no
halfway job Dustin us"
We'll. whatever happens to us it will
be worth while" the girl finally sug-
gested, provided it ends this senseless,
bloody feud"
The feud ended" Ranceford Ker-
shaw replied, when your brother was
killed in France. The last Hensley I
tangled with put me out of the runnin'.
A man so crippled he can't walk q mile
or set horse has got to wait for his
enemies to come to him.
The car had climbed low ridge and
debouched into Eden Valley; presently
the road turned at right angles straight
up the floor of the valley. Three miles
of this and they were passing cluster
of buildings set among some scattered
bull pines in the meadow about quar-
ter of a mile to the left of the road. A
lateral road led from gate on the main
highway down to these buildings, which
constituted the headquarters Of the
Hensley ranch. Since 1920 when Angie