Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-01-18

The boys heart was pounding
Old Tom, starting that sort of trou-
BILE?
".All right, Tiny?" Way-Bill asked.
and when assured that the late un
conscious man was getting to be as
good as new, he turned to John
Guess it's due to you to explain q
little" he said, and John caught
some vague change in the attitude
of the group. The shutting of feet.
the murmurs, the looks spoke of a
growing chagrin and embarrassment
such as had marked Tiny's falterlng
gaze. stranger in this country"
Yes"
"Nlebby you've heard of old Tom
Belknap?"
Il have once"-some of
his wrath surging upward to mlngle
with high curiosity.
We'll. he's evident amin to run
the Richards company, here, off the
earth. He's done a plenty, but the
last thing he thought up was to
bring a hand named Baxter from
Kampfest."
John. frowning, followed the mans
m~atter-of-fact words closely.
This Baxter's a tough customer.
He mixed it with our woods boss
last week. tossed him clear off a ear
nd broke his hip. Tonight he was
advertised to come over here nd
clean out the town single handed
Makes us pretty hot"-voice rising
a trihe-"bein that old Belknap only
wants to close us down SOS he can
buy somethin' for little or nothin'.
We done what, likely, you'd do for
the outfit that hired you, nd you
knew vas fair nd square nd in a
Jackpot. Only ... we done n
error"
A grim little man he was. but
had spoken with a fine spirit of
loyalty. He now added: I'm sorry
Tiny. here. sure ought to be awful
sorry, and | guess everybody else
feels like we do. | hope, chum, the
feelin's amt too hard"
They stilled as a group will when
an answer to an important question
is due.
"Why, no. | see how II
is" John said. but blandly.
Mistaken for his fathers hired
bully And old Tom trying to run
this other company into a cor
ner? Old Tom, mixing 1t as
perhaps, an even older Belknap had
done in the pine days? Was that
a possible explanation why he
young John-had been so carefully
kept away from Kampfest? Were
things transpiring in this country
Of which his father was ashamed?
Like a white-hot thread the
thought scared through his con
seriousness. If a fight was on here,
waged by his father against @ weak.
er competitor. Now, might
that not offer a greater vent, a more
complete relief for his swelling re-
sentiment than bashing strangers
with his fists? Until this moment
his only possible vengeance on his
father had been to run away, but
now
A man came In from outside,
shouldering through the press, beat
ing snow from a Scotch cap with his
mitten.
Here" he said, holding it toward
John. Here's your cap. 80. i
guess | knocked it off and well.
you see how 1t was"
He was flushed anG so evidently
contrite that John smiled, and when
he smiled the tension that had been
on those men relaxed The p%resenta-
tion of the cap was equivalent to
a treaty gift, a token to heal a
breach. a pledge and seal of friend
shipl
Anything we can do for you
now after tryin' our best ticks
to do things to you?" Way-Bill
asked.
why | guess not. Thanks
a lot" He was finding his poise,
stilling the hot curiosity that might
lead him into blunders. making up
his mind to learn the whole story.
but to do it adroitly, at the proper
time. IF somebody'n point out the
hotel, now. :"
Il was past the supper hour in
Shoestring's one public stopping
place, Rex Jasper's Palace hotel.
But Rex was neither lnhospitable
nor unmindful of the dimes. No more
was he an uncommunicative host.
So he himself spread cold but salts
factory viands on one end of a long
table and sat there. elbows on the
oilcloth. while his Slightly marred
but obviously outstanding guest ate.
and resp nded well to the questions
that John Steele Belknap, identity
as yet unknown in %Shoestring, put
to him.
The boy ate slowly, gazed much
of the time on Iasper's face as the
mar talked and talked and talked.
ut Just goes to show" he said
narrowing his watery blue eyes
"what the concentration of great
wealth into fha hands of uncorunn