White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1932-09-22

/
to him. More than once he had seen
cowboys Ego bad" as the phrase of
| the country was. He had known kill.
ers, men of the Gitner type, with cold
cruel eyes that held no mercy and
into which one would look in vain for
any faith or loyalty. But Jasper
was different. He had come Of good
stock, had been given advantages
which he had deliberately thrown
away. His type was that which is
both weak and vicious, which chooses
by some perverted instinct the bad in
stead Of the good. Led astray by greed
and vanity, he could plot some horri-
bly, evil thing and afterward probably
be tortured by the memory of it. 1t
took strength to be bad in the
thoroughgoing fashion Of Gitner. The
devil that lurked in Jaspers heart was
an erratic and impulsive one SILVER
ing cowardly demon afraid of it's
shadow. How could such a man pos
sibly be the son of game grim Matt
Stark, the brother Of so decent boy
as Phil, Of so sweet and gallant a
desert flower as Julia?
The afternoon was half spent before
he reached clump of manzanita ba ok
of the grazing cattle. Here he lay
quietly, waiting until dusk should fall
over the valley and lessen the risk
of being seen when he moved out into
the open pasture.
His mind was not easy. He could
not get Phil out Of his thoughts. Was
the boy still concealed in the pines
safe from observation? He had heard
no Shots but his anxiety was keen. If
it would have done any good he would
have given up his purpose and hur-
ried back to his companion. But to do
so might be increasing the risk, since
he would run a chance of being seen
himself.
"Soon now" he told himself as the
sun dropped back Of the cliff behind
him. "Half an hour an I'll be NOV
ing"
The shadows crept up the face Of
the wall opposite, leaving only the
upper half canvas Of yellows and
Ochres and copper greens. The ribbon
Of sunshine narrowed, at last disap-
peared.
Through the long grass Wilson crept,
pushing his rifle in front of him. The
nearest cattle were grazing head on
toward him, so that he did not get
chance to see the brands WELL All
afternoon they had been out Of sight
behind clump Of alders, making it
impossible for him to use the field
glasses on them.
He circled round to see the brands,
taking wide detour. Presently, with
the glasses, he was able to make out
the markings Of the cattle. He read
the Flying Wy brand and the Circle
Cross. That was all he wanted to
know. Cautiously he began to retreat
toward the cliff.
The sound of galloping horse
stopped him. Someone was swinging
around the cattle to drive them to the
other end of the valley, probably TO
take the stock to water.
Wilson crouched low, but he Bneav
he would be seen. For he was In the
path of the approaching rider. Elis
heart dropped into his stomach.
Not twenty yards from him the
horseman pulled up with a startled
oath. The man was Jasper Stark. Fe
looked down. with fear-tilled eyes, at
his enemy. Mccain was kneeling on
one knee. rifle ready for action.
1t could not have been more than
a fraction of second that Jasper
stared at this unexpected and menac-
ing intruder. Before the other could
speak he gave yell Of terror, swung
his horse in it's tracks, and drove home
the spurs.
Mechanically Wilson raised his
weapon and covered the flying man.
He drew dead bead on him-then
lowered the weapon. Swiftly his
thoughts canvassed the situation. De
liberately he pointed the barrel Of the
rifle into the air and fired four shots.
This done, he ran back quickly to
the cover of the manzanita, passed
rapidly through it, and headed for a
mass of rugged boulders at the upper
end Of the park. Here he could make
stand with some chance of success.
Several times his anxious eyes trav.
eled toward the grove of pines where
Phil was waiting. Already the mist
of darkness was falling like cloak
from the darkenng sky. He could
barely make out the pines and he knew
it would be impossible to detect any
sign Of life among them. Had Phil
reached the entrance to the canyon?
The rustlers would Of course promptly
close it, but If he had moved instantly
at the signal he ought to have got
there first. for they would wait to hear
from Jasper the cause of the shots.
No doubt they would he greatly dis
TURNED at what he had to tell them
They would hurriedly debate the stu
alton. would decide that Mccain could
not be alone, and might perhaps In
their dread be driven to flight.
wilson's fears were all for Phil
H. f,hk