Evening star., 1932-06-19

RIGHT OF WAY. BY Harold Bindloss, author
of The Border Trail" etc. New York:
Frederick A. Stokes Co.
COMETHING like bread and meat, food
- staples, have the novels of Harold Bndoss
become to the fiction taste OF his hosts of
readers. Up one of our streets here at the
Capital. a printer carries on his shop window
the legend We Never Dsappoint" Harold
Bindloss, in equal right might adopt this par
ticular insignia Of faithfulness An institution,
annual if not seasonal in output. has Mr.. Bind
loss become with 26 novels to his account And
this last one IS clearly of the home clan. An
outdoors matter. rugged performance, call
ing for an undiminishsd man-stuf from start
to finish. Even the heroine, the one that lasts,
has to prove her own man-stuf And she does.
The Bindloss novels march with the times.
A late engaged in the keenest of modern
hazards, that of chasing group of rum-run-
nerS. This one Is engaged in securing the
right of way for industrial project of modern
scope and importance. Against it are set up
the innumerable obstacles, legal and personal,
which nowadays Otter are played cleverly in
competitive commercial transactions. Ted
Prescott hero of The Border Trail" having
proved himself there, steps forward as chief
character in this new enterprise. sharp wit,
straight courage, dogged determination, the
ready turn to defeat one possibly even reader,
good looks an outstanding manlineSs-these the
wherewithal of Ted Prescott, hero of two Bind
loss tales, for success in his undertakings,
those of both hand and heart. For, to be
sure here is a girl. just there was in the
other story, and is in every bit of fiction. else
it might just possibly not be the clear fiction
that it is designed to be. But. cynicism apart
and with no place here, Right of Way
is so typically of the Bindloss order as to merit
by the mellowing power of development, the
title of ''one of the best of the Bindloss tribe
of tales, if not the very best one.
Finely rugged, an aired and sunlit adventure.
holding, without intent, I'm sure, the moral
that fair dealing is the best kind of dealing,
or, to be tiresomely exact, that honesty is the
best policy
THE UNCERTAIN TRAVELLER BY John
FISHER. New York: William Morrow &
A BOY on his way Such the adventure set
" down here in the spirit of youth, restless
and uncertain An English boy at school and
in love The two occupations or states appear
to run together. Under the spell, Frank Bent
ley went to Italy, the girls home. There, the
story grows by way of revolution and the
activities of Garabaldi, which the young fell
low missed by an untoward accident to himself
Back to England, but not for long. America
and the California gold rush next claim the
ardors of the traveller. But not until New
York had stalled upon this eXacting wanderer
Once in the gold rush, however, events varied
and swift and colorful kept the youth in a
whirlwind of excitement from which he
emerged long enough to fall in love again.
The story then settles to a fair tranquility as
the pair, diverted northward. take up with the
pioneer life of Oregon, building home and
learning the ways of frontier existence.
Good entertainment here. Youth and its
natural ardors provide its moving force. An