THE CENTRE Copyright 1928-1984, Harold Titus. i CHAPTER I oY It was Armistice day in Tincup. The time was so far removed from that delirious date In 1018 that in many parts of the country the eleventh of November had come to be regarded as simply another day, but Tincup waa a mill town and the surrounding coun- try was timber land and In such a cominunity almost any anniversary from the Fourth of July on down to the millwright's birthday is seized upon as an excuse to lay off and play. So the camps which turned Nicholas Brandon's standing hardwood and hem- lock into saw logs, and the mills which chewed them into dimension stuff and flooring and shingles were deserted, and the entire population of a big ter ritory which had commenced pouring into town the evening before was joined for the day with the residents of Tincup In competing or watching or cheering or listening. In consequence a mere event such as the arrival of the eastbound passenger train drew no attention whatever and 80 none but the station agent was there togreet the strangerashe dropped down from the rickety red smoking car be- tween his pack-sack, slung from one shoulder, and old Don Stuart, literally dangling from his other arm. The agent, trundling his express truck and fo a hurry to be done with duty and get back to the more exciting affairs which occupled the rest of the town, spoke: “Hul-lo, Don! Back home, Well , . . Glad t see you! “Better git up to the big doln's.” Log rollin's just goin' on. Big time!” As If to vindicate this prideful boast of one of its own, all Tincup and Its company at the moment opened lips and compressed chests to send up a mighty, roaring shout of acclaim, “Come on, Dad,” the sald, looking toward the crowd. says it's a big time. how. Let's eh? younger man “He Big noise, any- investigate.” pair moved off, the younger still half supporting the elder and moderating his gait to a stroll so Stuart's quick and audible breathing should grow no more pronounced, A slender young man was climbing a Jammer in the mill yard. He lifted himself above the heads of the crowd and held up a hand for silence. This, however, was not readily obtained. A drenched and dripping citizen was only Just pulling himself from the chill waters of the pond, a self-conscious grin glued to his lips as the black halr was plastered to his brow hy the soak- ing it had received. On a peeled cedar log in the pond a giant of a man in a gaily checkered shirt, peavey in hands, balanced and surveyed throng, a picture of frank and boastfu! self-satisfaction. The slender man on the jammer con- tinued to wave his hands and finally these jibes and compliments were smothered by other cries for silence. “Give Birney a chanct, now!” a man shouted. “Gents!” the man called Birney cried from his vantage point. “As chairman of the committee, I'm asking for help! This committee's worked hard. We got a long program of sports for today but this log-birling’'s going to flop unless we get more contests! All these folks He Had Watched the Bull's Every Move. ‘ve come to town more to see this match than anything else on the ecard and what "ve we showed ‘em? “Why, nothin'!” he answered his awn question. “We had two prelim. fnaries and s semi-final between the winners of them matches. Then this final which was a Joke. There stands Bull Duval, whose partner in the pre liminaries defaulted and who dumped the winner of the semi-final without half trying. 1 ask you, has he earned twenty-five dollars?” A laugh arose and Duval, on the log, twisted his mustache and leered at the speaker, “Here we raised a twenty-five dollar prize and half you river hogs got cold feet just because Duval sald he was goin’ to roll!” Birney was truly an noyed and took no pains to conceal it. “Ain't any of you lads got the sand te hand in your names and tackle the Bull, Where's your guts? he pleaded, “Ain't there anybody here that needs twenty-five dollars?” Another laugh went ap and when It had subsided a volce said: “Here's one. What'll I do to get 1t?” This was a full, even, good-natured volce, and a quick silence fell upon the crowd, followed by an expectant buzz as the stranger moved forward, his bronzed face uplifted to the man on the jammer, “Atta boy!" Birney cried. “All you got to do, friend, is to put Mr. Bull Duval off that log and stick by rules!” The stranger slipped the pack strap from his shoulder, seated himself on a log, unlaced his shoes and unstrapped the bag. While he drew from Its depths a pair of calked river boots and the cluster about him grew thicker a half dozen old wen crowded around Don Stuart, shaking his hand and say ing the usual things that men say to an old friend they have not seen for long, One of these was a short, wiry little man with upturned nose and blue eyes and long lip. “'Nd who's th’ b'y, Donny?" he asked. “Who's th' b'y thut's goin’ to try Misther Brandon's pet bull?” Stuart shook his head. “He's a fine young gentleman, Bird Eye, and that's all I know. Found me at th' Junction broke and want in' to get back home to Tin- cup. Pald my fare , . . and helped me. Fine gentleman!" “He'd better be all o' that!” other commented with an emphatic nod. “'Nd here's hopin’ he's a log rollin’ rascal 'nd that he dumps Mis- the log moved quickly. His left foot raised free, sharp calks in its sole clawed savagely and with a mighty drive of the leg he had the cedar spinning be neath them. Ben Elliott did not offer resistance, He followed the moving footing, walk- ing for the first three or four turns and then, adding his impetus to the birling stick, commenced to trot, with each stride forcing the tempo of the turning. Faster and faster, now. The trotting became a run; the run waxed to a nimble dance. They watched one another. Ben Elliott still grinned. The Bull glared His black brows were drawn together and he ground down op his chew sav- agely, almost hatefully, . .. Up and down, ap anc down; a mad gallop of supple limbs, now, and then— Duval leaped. He leaped high and without warning and, feet spread, drove his calks deep into the log again, hunching his shoulders, thrusting his peavey before him for balance, bend ing forward. The spin of the stick was checked sharply and had his opponent been -aught unprepared, he certainly would have pitched face foremost into the pond. But Elliott was not unprepared. He had watched the “ull's every move. He did not jump when Duval jumped; he walted a split instant, eyes on Duval's feet, and when he saw the toes pointed stiffly downward he rose nimbly Into the air, a galloping break in hls swift run, and came down, poised, spread. legged himself, crying out In an ejacu lation of mock distress as he balanced on the cedar which swayed and heaved beneath them. A great roar went up, cries of en sharply and spat and jerked at the brim of his slouch hat as he shook loose the peavey and commenced again to birl, They ran a moment easily, each walt- Ing for the other to try some fresh trick, The Bull leaped and came down running; he leaped four times In the space of as many quick breaths. And then, as though ready to leap again, Jropped the hook of his peavey into 1e cedar, He wavered when the han- dle, swept upward by the rush and weight of the spinning log, bore against his great palm. His body swung sharply to the left. He cursed as the smooth handle slipped from his clutch and Bird-Eye Blaine danced In a frenzy of delight as the peavey, handle smack- ing the water, disappeared in the pond and the Bull, waving his arms for bal ance, ran the log desperately to hold his place. A great shout went up from the crowd. The odds, then, were no longer equal. Like a fencer with a broken foll, like a boxer with eye like a runner with a strained tendon, so Duval was now, “Polish him off, now!" Bird-Eye screamed, ilke an audacious, saucy boy. “Polish him good, Misther Elliott! He's yawpin' for help ‘nd the' ain't none fer him!" one closed, That was what Tincup belleved. A quick finish seemed certain, with the Bull so handicapped, without his pea- vey for offensive moves or to hold for balance, But what happened stilled the clamor quickly, as though sound were a tan- gible mass and a great blade had sheared it quickly and cleanly, ten Elliott shifted his peavey, He had held It across his body, arms wide The Thrill, That Are EE EE Ea aa a. ee Ee ther Brandon's bull 'nd thin drowns Others came up, greeted Stuart and eyed him with true concern. Any could see that heavy sickness was on him, Jirney was bending over the stran- ger as he drew taut the laces of his river boots “Well, gents, we got one more to try for this prize money. Mister Bull Duval, king of the Mad Woman, will now take on Mister Ben Elliott . Mr. Ben Elliott of— Where'd you say you come from, Elliot?” The stranger, so addressed, was heft- ing a peavey judiciously. He turned that good-natured smile on the spokes man and waved one hand in an In- definite but inclusive gesture, “Yonder,” he said and grinned. “Mr. Ben Elliott of Yonder will now roll against Mr. Bull Duval for the grand prize of twenty-five bucks! That rope around the log marks the middle, Lillott. Stay on your own end, don't touch the other man end anything else goes!” As a helper used a pike pole to drag the cedar with Duval upon it close, Elliott stood still and surveyed his ad- versary. His glance held that light of good nature and did not linger long on the Bull's glowering countenance, Rather, it dwelt on his pants and the river boots, shedding water In oily beads. After this, he looked Duval In the eye and grinned broadly. A sound like a wreath which is al- most a laugh ran through the crowd. A likeable grin, that was, good-natured, frank, fearless; men take to a grin of its kidney and on the instant, Ben Elli ott, the stranger, had the crowd with him as against Bull Duval, sald to be king of the river. The cedar came against the boom stick and Elliott took his place on it with a light leap. It was a good log, nearly two feet through at the small end, twenty feet long, with a small taper, dry and peeled; a sprightly log, indeed, for such a contest, a log to try the mettle of any man matched with any sort of contestant. Add to this, Bull Duval, the best river hog in Tincup, who hefted his peavey and glowered at the stranger. “1 give y' two ‘ninutes,” he growled, “Thanks, buddy!” Elliott retorted. “I'd say that's sweet of youl” “Are you two ready?” Birney cried from shore, Both nodded. “Then let her go!® A hush. Balanced on the log, faced in the same direction, double an arm's length from one another, they pulsed And them Duval's right toe lifted, the heel pressing downward; the bucyant couragement for the shouts of admonition for their towns man. The Bull would have no cinch in this contest! stranger, log, cautiously and Duval slowly, and down, swinging his arms “Duck him, Elliott I” he yelled. “Duck th’ big chunk! Sure ‘nd he needs him a bath!" The smooth bole gathered momen- tum swiftly and Elliott began to skip and dance, breaking the steady meas ure of his run. As his weight came and went irregularly upon the cedar it commenced to teeter, causing Du val's feet to splash In ankle-deep wa ter. Again without warning, the Bull leaped. He went higher, this time, but instead of driving his spikes into the far side of the log and stopping its spin as he had done before, he drove them into the near side, increasing rather than checking the momentum. “Got you, big boy!” Elliott cried as he, too, came down running . . . and grinning. That was quick thinking, Instantane. ous action. To leap was simple; but to determine the opponent's move and meet it with complacence and poise was another matter. To have come down to a stance, then, would have flung the challenger to wet defeat. “Ah, th' big chunk av a Bull's goin’ to get thut bath he needs!” Bird-Eye shrilled into the roar. But this was only one man's enthusi- asm, his animosity for Duval finding voice. The outcome was far from a certainty. Tincup knew that; and Ben Elliott knew it as well He-like the town--was waiting for the king of the Mad Woman to draw more items from his bag of tricks before he should as sume the offensive. Without a flicker ot warning Juval dropped the pick of his peavey, twist ing the shaft In his hands, tipping the hook open. The point punked into the water, the hook bit Into the log simul taneously and as the handle swung up ward In a swift arc the man drove his weight on It. His body twisted, he grunted and his face wrenched into a lightning expression of great strain ns the cedar, In a quarter turn, stopped dead. , . . And Ben Elliott, back bowed acutely, peavey high above his head, teetering back to balance on one foot, laughed aloud! ; *Quick work, big boy I” he cried. “Al most got me I But Duval had nowhere near gotten him; he knew it, and Elliott's manne: was infuriating to him. He cursed spread. Now he swung the point an. Ip log drew it back and tossed it Tossed it high and far, sending with it his chance for a quick and certain victory. The slience was that of amazement. This was like letting a man you had cnocked dewn get to his feet and have another chance; this was opportunity handed to truculent Bull Duval on a silver platter. This was the sports manship one read about And then came an excited clatter of tongues, rising to an even greater roar. The outsider was through fooling, through with trickery and through with strat. He was going to run the Bull off his feet! Fast and faster spun the log. Spray fromm it drenched the men to thelr knees, rained behind them Into the pond. Elliott still kept his face turned toward his opponent but the Bull, fists clenched, arms widely extended, only watched Elliott from the tail of his eye. The log was hissing In the water. Rigidity ran from the Bull's shoulders down bis back. He was upright, now, where Elliott was poised forward And his scowl was gone. His brows no longer gathered but were upraised: his eyes were wide open in the distress of fatigue and he breathed through his mouth, TO BE CONTINUED. 100,000 Butterflies The most enthusiastic butterfly hunt. er who ever lived, a Swiss named Hans Fruhstorfer, made a wonderful collec tion of 100,000 butterflies, and this has been lent to the Natural History mu- seum In Paris. He began his collec tion in Brazil when he was twenty-two: then took his net to Java, where he spent three years; then he followed his pursuit for two years in the Malay archipelago. He traveled through South America, Japan, China and Siam, darting about with that abstract. ed look of the butterfly-hunter here, | there and everywhere until he had | brought his net over some of the rar | est creations In the world. His 100. 000 specimens have nearly 7.000 va rivties. First to Adopt Christianity The Armenians, not the Romans, were the first people to adopt Chris | tianity as a national religion saya Col: lier's Weekly. The Armenian kin Tirldntes, established the Georgian Are menian (Christian) church ia 301, which was 338 years before Constan tine proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of the Roman empire, Heavier Pruning Necessary | During the Early Winter, Entomologist Says. Assistant Entomologist, Illinois State Natural History Survey. WNU Service, With the codling moth as bad as it is in apple orchards, growers may have | to start pruning their trees heavier this winter in order to do a more thorough job of spraying in the spring. This may mean rewer apples, but it will mean higher quality fruit. As it is, one out of every ten apples grown fn Illinois in 1934 was Infested with codling moth worms, Too many grow- ers still think only of producing the maximum number of bushels rather than harvesting quality fruit. It usually is not necessary, however, to reduce the total crop to get worm-free apples, If the grower can answer all six of the following questions in the af. firmative, he can feel that he is prun- ing heavily enough for effective spray- ing against the codling moth, Has the tree been thinned out enough so that the man on the tower of a gpray can drive the spray material through the tree? Are there enough openings In the tree so that the ground man can get into the center and spray the inside? With large, fairly dense trees, some growers leave three or four such open- ings. After the operator gets to the inside, has the tree been thinned sufficiently go that he can do a thorough job of spraying? Have too many low-hanging branches been left on the tree? Trees twenty- five years old may have a spread of 30 feet. 1f the branches touch the ground or come within a foot of it, the side of the apple facing the trunk will not be hit by the spray, Has the height of the tree been low- ered as much as practicable? The top of the tree is the playground of the codling moth and Infestations are usually worse there. Have all hibernating places sabhout the tree, such as punky, decayed wood, old knot holes, spilt branches and prun- ing been These are favorite “hi of the moth. tubs removed? leouts™ Korean Lespedeza Will Supply Emergency Crop Midwest farmers w gency has Korean lespedeza will fill the bill, Dr. A. J. Department of Agriculture. Doctor Ple. ho need an emer 1935 may find that BAYS Pieters of the United States crop In on winter wheat spring. For a hay pounds to the ters advises seeding or with oats next crop, a seeding gore Is recommended. This authority says the may also be seeded slone on land that Is not weedy, He recommends inoculating the seed where the crop has not been grown before. He reports a good sup piy of seed avaliable. Doctor Pleters says that where Ko rean was grown In 1834 a good volunteer stand is probable, and he says that small grain may be disked in the and crop grain hay and one of lespedeza raised on the same land. or of 25 crop lespedeza old lespedeza of Cut Boar's Tusks The large, sharp teeth which are found in pigs at birth are temporary tusks. So far as has been discovered, they are of no value whatever to the pig. except as a means of defense, and for that purpose they are not needed on the farm. Tusks are a nuisance, in that with them the pigs often hurt each other and very frequently lacer- ate the udder of the sow. For that reason, experienced hog men com- monly cut these teeth close to the gums, with nippers which are made for that purpose. In removing the teeth, one should be careful not to injure the gums, since an open wound furnishes an ideal place for disease infection to take place. The proper time to remove these tusks is when the pigs are only a few days old Cer tainly, they should never be left on a boar that Is intended for breeding purposes —Wallaces' Farmer, Tanning Cow Hides Many farmers will butcher a beet or two this winter and be confronted with the prospect of practically giving away the hide. Rather than sell cow or calf hides for a meager price, notes a writer in the Missouri Farmer, they should be used on the farm. It is not necessary to tan a hide to make It into a suitable rug, or a mat for the floor of one's automobile. Try salting down a hide, rolling It up with the sait ingide for a time, or until the hide has taken enough salt to “keep” it, then roll it out and clean it and tack up to dry. When dried," cut it into a square shape for a rug, or in suitable shapes for other purposes such as a floor mat | for the car. Calf hides make splendid rugs for bathroom, ete. Rugs cured up in this way will be stiff, but they Drouth-Resistant Plants After searching the deserts and foot | hills of Russian Turkestan and most of sion, H. L. Westover and C. R. Enlow, turned after seven months with nearly 1.800 seedlings. Among them Is a desert grass which, uprooted by the wind, grabs hold again when it lands, gated only from root-cuttings.—Literary Digest. Popular Favor By GRANDMOTHER CLARK The tulip adapts itself so well to applique and quilting designs that it is made use of quite frequently. This combination, showing the en- tire potted plant, gained popularity immediately after it was released, Tulips in bloom always form a beau- tiful color scheme, and this tulip pot is also brilliant in prints and greem applique, These stamped blocks are 18 Inches, and twelve are required for a quilt about 76 by 97 Inches, if you use a nine inch border and four inch strips between blocks, Strips border widths ean be changed to make a qulit any size. Send 15c to our qulit department for one of these stamped blocks, No. 60-F, and the stamped applique pleces ready to be cut out. Work this up and see what a beautiful quilt can be made of this design. A set of six blocks will be sent for Thc, postpald. ADDRESS, HOME CRAFT CO, DEPT. D., Nineteenth and St. Louis Avenue, St. Louis, Inclose a stamped addressed en- velope for reply when writing for any information. and Swamp Reclaimed A few years ago 2 region in Italy known as Littoria was an uninhablt ed swampland. The government has since laimed it b- marshes and fx with €0.000 families red draining the ay ty in modern fa rm as receive i ecently as Delayed Schooling Among pupils night school persons is at Topeka classes for a £Ixty year and write, cently time, WATCH YOUR KIDNEYS! Be Sure They Properly Cleanse the Blood OUR kidneys are constantly fil tering impurities from the blood stream. But kidneys get function. ally disturbed-—lag in their work— fail to remove the poisonous body wastes. Then you may suffer nagging backache, attacks of dizziness, burning, scanty or too frequent urination, getting up at night, swollen feet and ankles, rheumatic pains; feel “all worn out” Don’t delay! For the quicker you get rid of these poisons, the becter your chances of good health, Use Doan's Pills. Doan's are for the kidneys only. They tend to pro mote normal functioning of the kidneys; should help them pass off the irritating poisons. Doan's are recommended by users the country over, Get them from any druggist. DOAN'S PILLS Baby Cross and Fretful With Eczema Relieved by Cuticura Efi X j : Br Hin feast
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers