THE
PRODIGAL
JUDGE
(^k\5\UOHAT! KJSSTEI^
Juc/sTQATrofts BY AMELVZU
Corro/Mr >9". The tests Co***rrr
8YNOP8I8.
The scene at the opening of the story is
laid In the library of an old worn-out
southern plantation, known us the "Bar-
ony. The place is to be sold, * and Its
history and that, of the owners, the
Qulntards, is the subject of discussion by
Jonathan Crenshaw, u business man, a
stranger known as Bladen, and Bob
Yancy, a farmer, when Hannibal Wayne
.Hazard, a mysterious child of the . old
southern family, makes his appearance.
Yancy tells how he adopted the boy. Na-
thaniel Ferris buyB the Barony, but the
Qulntards deny any knowledge of the
boy. Yancy to keep Hannibal. CapUiln
Murrell, a friend of the Qulntards, ap-
pears and asks questions about the Bar-
ony. Trouble at Scratch Hill, when Han-
nibal is kidnaped by Dave Blount. Cap-
tain Murreil's agent. Yancy overtakes
Blount, gives him a thrashing and secures
the boy. Yancy appears before Squire
Balaam, and is discharged with costs for
the plaintiff. Betty Malroy, a friend of
the Ferrlses, has an encounter with Cap-
tain Murrell, who forces his attentions on
her, and Is rescued by Bruce Carrington.
Betty sets out for her Tennessee home.
Carrington takes the same stage. Yancy
and Hannibal disappear, with Murrell on
their 4rall. Hannibal arrives at the home
of Judge Slocum Price. The Judge recog-
nises In the boy, the grandson of an old
time friend. Murrell arrives at Judge's
home. Cavendish family on raft rescue
Yancy, who Is apparently dead. Price
breaks Jail. Betty und Carrington arrive
at Belle Plain. Hannibal's rllle discloses
some startling things to the Judge. Han-
nibal and Betty meet again. Murrell ar-
rive in Belle Plain. Is playing for big
stakes. Yancy awakes from long dream-
less sleep on board the raft. Judge Price
makes startling discoveries in looking up
land titles. Charley Norton, a young
planter, who assists the Judge. Is mys-
teriously assaulted. Norton Informs Car-
rington that Betty has promised to marrv
him. Norton Is mysteriously shot. More
light on Murreil's plot. He plans upris-
ing of negroes. Judge Price, with Hanni-
bal, visits Betty, and she keeps the boy
as a companion. In a stroll Betty takes
with Hannibal they meet Bess Hicks,
daughter of the overseer, who warns
Betty of danger and counsels her to
leave Belle Plain at once. Betty, terri-
fied, acts on Bess' advice, and on their
way their carriage it stopped by Slosson,
the tavern keeper, and a confederate, and
Betty and Hannibal are made prisoners.
The pair are taken to Hicks' cabin, in an
almost Inaccessible spot, and there Mur-
rell visits Betty and reveals his part in
the plot and his object. Betty spurns
his proffered love and the Interview is
ended by the arrival of Ware, terrified
at possible outcome of the crime. Judge
Price, hearing of the abduction, plans ac-
tion. The Judge takes charge of tho
situation, and search for the missing ones
Is Instituted. Carrington visits the Judge
and allies are discovered. Judge Price
visits Colonel FentrefJJ, where he meets
Yancy and Cavendish.
CHAPTER XXIV. (Continued).
When they entered the library Fen
trees turned and took stock of his
guests. MahalTy he had seen before;
Yancy and Cavendish were of course
strangers to him, but their appear-
ance explained them; last of all his
glance shifted to the Judge. He had
heard something of those activities by
means of which Slocum l'rlce had
striven to distinguish himself, and he
had a certain curiosity respecting the
man. It was Immediately satisfied.
The Judge bad reached a degree of
ehabblness seldom equaled, and but
for his mellow, effulgent personality
might well have passed for a common
vagabond; and If his dress advertised
the state of his finances, his face ex-
plained his habits. No misconception
was possible about either.
"May I offer you a glass of liquor?"
asked Fentress, breaking the silence.
He Btepped to the walnut center-table
where there was a decanter and
glasses. By a gesture the Judge de-
clined the Invitation. Whereat the
colonel looked surprised, but not so
•urprised as Mahaffy. There was an-
other silence.
"I don't think we ever met before?"
observed •Fentress. There was some-
thing In the fixed stare Ills visitor wasi
bending upon him that he found dis-
quieting, Just why, he could not have
told.
But that fixed stare of the Judge's
continued. No, the man had not
changed—he had grown older certain-
ly, but age had not come ungraceful-
ly; he became the glossy broadcloth
and spotless linen he wore. Here was
a man who could command the good
things of life, using them with a ra-
tional temperance. The room Itself
was In harmony with his character;
It was plain but rich In Its appoint-
ments, at once his library and his of-
fice, while the well-filled cases ranged
about the walls showed his tastes to
be In the main scholarly and Intel-
lectual.
"How long have you lived here?"
asked the Judge abruptly. Fentress
seemed to hesitate; but the Judge's
glance, compelling and Insistent, de-
manded an answer.
"Ten years."
"You have known many men of all
classes as a lawyer and a planter?"
eald the Judge. Fentress Inclined his
head. The Judge took a step nearer
him. "People have n great trick of
coming and going lu these western
states—all sorts of damned riffraff
drift in and out of these new lands."
A deadly earnestness lifted the Judge's
words above mere rudeness. Fen-
tress, cold and distant, made no reply.
"For the past twenty years I have
been looking for a man by the name
of Oatewood—David Gatewood." Dis-
ciplined as he was, the colonel start-
ed violently. "Ever heard of him,
Fentress?" dstaanded the Judge with
a savage scowl.
"What's all this to me?" The words
came with a gasp from Fentress'
twitching lips. The Judge looked at
him moody and frowning.
"I have reason to think this man
Gatewood came to west Tennessee,"
he said.
"If so, I have never heard of him."
"Perhaps not tindej that name—at
any rate, you are going to hear of him
now. This man Gatewood, who be-
tween ourselves was a damned scoun-
drel"—the colonel winced—"this man
Gatewood had a friend who threw
money and business In his way—a
planter he was, same as Gatewood. A
sort of partnership existed between
the pair. It proved an expensive en-
terprise for Gatewood's friend, since
he came to trust the damned scoun-
drel more and more as time passed—
even large sums of his money were
in Gatewood's hands—" Fentress'
countenance was like stone, as expres-
sionless and as rigid.
By the door stood Mahaffy with
Yancy and Cavendish; they under-
stood that what was obscure and
meaningless to them held a tragic
significance to these two men. The
Judge's heavy face, ordinarily battered
and debauched, but infinitely good-
natured, bore now the markings of
deep passion, and the voice that rum-
bled forth from his capacious chest
came to their ears like distant thun-
der.
"This friend of Gatewood's had a
wife—" The Judge's voice broke, emo-
tion shook him like a leaf; be was
tearing open his wounds. He reached
over and poured himself a drink, suck-
ing It down with greedy lips. "There
was a wife—" he whirled about on his
heel and faced Fentress again. "There
was a wife, Fentress—" he fixed Fen-
tress with his blazing eyes. "A wife
and child. Well, one day Gatewood
and the wife Were missing. Under the
circumstances Gatewood's friend was
well rid of the pair—he should have
been grateful, but he wasn't, for his
wife took his child, a daughter; and
Gatewood a trifle of thirty thousand
dollars his friend had IntruBted to
him!"
There was another silence.
"At a later day I met this man who
had been betrayed by his wife and
robbed by his friend. He had fallen
out of the race—drink had done for
him—there was Just one thing he
seemed to care about, and that was
the fate of his child, but maybe he
was only curious there. He wondered
If she had lived, and married—" Once
more the Judge paused.
"What's all this to me?" asked Fen-
tress.
"Are you sure it's nothing to you?"
demanded the Judge hoarsely. "Un-
derstand this, Fentress, Gatewood's
treachery brought ruin to at least two
lives. It caused the woman's father
to hide his face from the world; It
wasn't enough for him that his
friends believed his daughter de'ad; he
knew differently, and the shame or
that knowledge ate into his soul, it
cost the husband his place In the
world, too—In the end It made of him
a vagabond and a penniless wan-
derer."
"This Is nothing to me," said Fen-
tress.
"Walt!" cried the Judge. "About six
years ago the woman was seen at her
father's home In North Carolina. 1
reckon Oatewood had cast her off.
She didn't go btvck empty-handed. She
had run away from her husband with
a child—a girl; after a lapse of twen-
ty years she returned to her lather
with a boy of two or three. There
are two questions that must be an-
swered when 1 find Gatewood: what
became of the woman, and what be-
came of the child; are they living or
dead; did tho daughter grow up and
marry and have a son? When 1 get
my answer It will be time enough to
think of Gatewood's punishment!"
The Judge leaned forward across the
table, bringing his face close to Fen-
tress' face. "Look at me—do you
know me now7"
But Fentress' expression never al-
tered. The Judge fell back a step. ,
"Fentress, I want the boy," he said
quietly.
"What boy?"
"My grandson!"
"You are mad! What do I know
of him—or you?" Fentress was gain-
ing courage from the sound of his
own voice.
"You Know who he Is and where he
Is. Your business relations with this
man Ware have put you on the track
of the (julntard lands In this Btate.
You Intend to use the boy to gather
them In."
"You're mad!" repeated Fentress.
"Unless you bring him to me Inside
of twenty-four hours I'll smash you!"
roared the Judge. "Your name isn't
Fentress, It's Gatewood; you've stolen
the name of Fentress, Just as you
have stolen other things. What's
come of Turbervllle's money? Damn
your soul! I want my grandson! I'll
pull you down and leave you stripped
and bare! I'll tell the world the lalse
trlend you've been—the thief you are!
I'll strip you and turn you out of
these doors as naked as when you en-
tered the world!" The Judge seemed
to tower above Fentress; the man
had shot up out of his deep debase-
ment. "Choose! Choose!" he thun-
dered, his shaggy brows bent In a
menacing frown.
"I know nothing about the boy,"
said Fentress slowly.
"By God, you lie!" stormed the
Judge.
"I know nothing about the boy,"
and Fentress took a step toward the
door.
"Stay where you are!" commanded
the Judge. "If you attempt to leave
this room to call your niggers I'll kill
you on its threshold!"
But Yancy and Cavendish had
that was evident, and Fentress' thin
face cast Itself In haggard lines. He
was feeling the Judge's terrible ca-
pacity, his unexpected ability to deal
with a supreme situation. Even Ma-
haffy gazed at his friend In wonder.
He had only seen him spend himself
on trifles, with no further object than
stepped to the door with an Intention
the next meal or the next drink; he
had believed that as he knew him so
he had always been, lax and loose of
tongue and deed, a noisy tavern hero,
but now he saw that he was filling
what must have been the measure or
his manhood.
WANT ACCESS 10 OIL FIELDS
Surveyors at Work at Texhoma on
T„ K. & O. Line
"I tell you I had no hand In carry-
ing off the boy," said Fentress with
a sardonic smile.
"I look to you to return him. Stir
yourself, Gatewood, or by Ood, I'll
hold so fierce a reckoning with you—"
The sentence remained unfinished,
for Fentress felt his. overwrought
nerves snap, and, giving way to a
sudden blind fury, struck at the Judge.
"We are too old for rough and tum-
ble," said the Judge, who had dis-
played astonishing agility In avoiding
the blow. "Furthermore we were once
gentlemen. At present I am what 1
am, while you are a hound and a
blackguard! We'll settle this as be-
comes our breeding." He poured him-
self n second glass of liquor from
Fentress' decanter. "I wonder If It
is possible to Insult you," and he
tossed glass and contents in Fentress'
face. The colonel's thin features were
convulsed. The Judge watched him
with a scornful curling of the lips. "I
am treating you better than you de-
serve," he taunted.
"Tomorrow morning at sun-up at
Boggs' race-track!" cried Fentress.
The Judge bowed with splendid cour-
tesy.
"Nothing could please me half so
well," he declared. He turned to ths
others. "Oentleinen, this Is a private
matter. When > I have met Colonel
Fentress 1 shall make a public an-
nouncement of why. this appeared
necessary to me; until then I trust
this matter will not be given pub-
licity. May I ask your silence?" Ha
bowed again, and abruptly passed
from the room.
His three friends followed In his
stepB, leaving Fentress standing by
the table, the ghost of a smile on his
thin lips.
As If the very place were evil, ths
Judge hurried down the drive toward
the road. At the gate he paused and
turned on his companions, but hli
features wore a look of dignity that
forbada comment or question. He
held out his hand to Yancy.
"Sir," he said, "If I could command
the riches of the Indies, it would tax
my resources to meet the fractional
part of my obligations to you."
"Think of that!" said Yancy, as
much overwhelfcied by the Judge's
manner as by his words.
"His Uncle Bob shall keep his place
in my grandson's life! Weil watch
him grow Into manhood together."
The Judge was visibly affected. A
smile of deep content parted Mr.
Yancy# lips as his muscular lingers
closed about the Judge's hand with
crushing force.
"Whoop!" cried Cavendish, delight
ed at this recognition of Yancy's love
for the boy, and he gleefully smote
the austere MahalTy on the shoulder.
But Mahaffy was dumb In the pres-
ence of the decencies; he quite lacked
an Interpreter. The Judge looked
back at the house.
"Mine!" he muttered. "The clothes
he stands in—the food he eats—
mine! Mine!"
Tulsa, Okla.—For years the Goulds
kave been casting contempaltlve
glances over the Tulsa oil field and
several preliminary surveys of a pro
with the Coffeyville>Fort Smith di-
Jected line connecting that district
vision of the Iron Mountain have been
made. Now it begins to appear as
though the activities of the Tulsa
Sand Springs interurban will give
them the desired connection without
the necessity of building an addition-
al lln«.
The stockholders of the interurban
are contemplating an Immediate ex-
tension to Collinsville and thence on
| to Oologah, Rogers county, which is
[ on the main line of the Iron Mountain
Coffeyville-Fort Smith division. The
I franchise of the interurban contem-
plates its use for steam as w;ell as
I electric purposes and with the line
| extended to Oologah, the connection
j with the Tulsa oil fields will be over
J the most direct passible line and the
| Iron Mountain traffic ambition of
| years will have been realized in the
j most feasible and economical nian-
1 ner.
That the Goulds have been figuring
| for Borne time on entering largely
upon tUt Oklahoma railway field is
I well known among traffic men. At
present they have only 160 miles of
main line trackage in the state and
this is proving such an excellent feed-
er for their St. Louis and Kansas
City connections that they desire
more extensive connections and their
ultimate object is to extend a line
somewhere through the agricultural
district.
6APULPA AGAINST
WEST'S GAS ORDER
He Tossed ths Glass and Contents In Fentresa' Faoa.
CHAPTER XXV.
The Bubble Bursts.
At about the same hour that ths
Judge was hurling threats and Insults
at Colonel Fentress, three men were
waiting ten miles away at the head of
the bayou which served to isolate
Hicks' cabin. Now no one of these
three had ever heard of Judge Slocum
Price; the breath of his fame had
never blown, however gently, In their
direction, yet they were preparing to
thrust opportunity upon him. To this
end they were lounging about the
opening in the woods where the
horses belonging to Ware and Murrell
were tied.
At length the dip of oars became
audible In the silence and one of the
trio stole down the path, a matter of
fifty yards, to a point that overlooked
the bayou. He was gone but a mo-
ment.
"It's Murrell all right!" he said In
an eager whisper. "Him and another
fellow—the Hicks girl Is rowing
them." He glanced from one to thp
other of his companions, who Beemed
to take firmer hold of themselveB un-
der his eye. "It'll be all right," he
protested lightly. "He's as good as
ours. Wait till I give you the wont."
And he led the way into an adjacent
thicket.
Meantime Ware and Murrell had
landed and were coming along the
path, the outlaw a step or two In ad-
vance of his friend. They reached the
horses and were untying them when
the thicket suddenly disgorged the
three men; each held a cocked pistol;
two of these pistols covered Murrell
and the third was leveled at Ware.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Resolutions Adopted at Massmeeting;
Other Cities Join
Sapulpa, Okla.—Strong resolutions
against the interference of Attorney
General West In the plan here of
providing gas to manufacturing
plants, were adopted at a massmeet-
ing of 500 Sapulpa citizens Saturday.
The attorney general was wired a
copy of the resolutions. It is said
here that commercial organizations
at Tulsa, Muskogee and Bartlesville
also are protesting.
The attorney general holds that
gas in the Oklahoma fields should be
used for domestic purposes exclusive-
ly in order that the supply would not
be exhausted.
Recently Sapulpa announced that
the city would supply gas to manu-
facturing plantB at a special rate from
trie fields owned by the city, which
have a flow of more than 100,000,000
cubic feet. The rate would just cover
the cost of piping six miles. The
move was expected to secure many
new industries for Sapulpa.
Following are the resolutions adopt-
ed :
"Whereas, the attorney general of
Oklahoma is advocating the use of
natural gas exclusively for domestic
use and recommending that manufac-
turers be denied its use and, whereas,
General West has called a confer-
ence with representatives of big pipe
line companies at Topeka July 30 with
the view to carry out his wishes; be
it resolved, That the citizens of Sa-
pulpa and Creek county hereby pro-
test against such interference by the
state with respect to our resolution.
We now own and control more than
one hundred million cubic feet of gas
per day ready for delivery at about
the coat of piping six miles, with
thousands of acreB undeveloped, esti-
mated at hundreds of millions addi-
tjpnal. It is the unanimous sense of
this meeting that a copy of these res-
olutions be mailed to the attorney
general."
KILLS TWO AND SHOOTS SELF
Jealousy Is Cause of Double Tragedy
and Suicide at McCurtain
McCurtain, Okla.—Three persons
dead, by the same hand, and one dy«
ing, due to the jealousy of Robert
Farmer, a coal miner, is .the result,
and Farmer's "life is included in the
list of those snuffed out. Because of
Jealousy he shot and killed his wife,
her brother, David Storey, and fatally
wounded Storey's wife. He then
turned the gun on himself and died
about two hours later.
Farmer and his wife, after living
here together for several years, sep-
arated a few months ago and the wife
went to the home of her brother to
live. Farmer for some time showed
great jealousy of the movements of
the woman and the attention of
other men, and Monday he went to
the Storey home and opened a fus-
sllade of bullets without warning.
The first shot pierced Mrs. Farmer
in the right side and she died without
a move or even a groan. The second
found its way to the right side of
Mrs. Storey, who succeeded in run-
nln'g out of tho room and the third
struck Storey in the heart as he was
attempting to get out of range of the
pistol.
Farmer then turned the gun on
himself firing three shots, all of them
piercing tho left side, just above the
heart. Physicians were called imme-
diately, but they could do nothing
for Farmer and he died two hours
later. Every attention is being given
to Mrs. Storey in an effort to save
her life but the physicians have little
hope.
While the life of Farmer hung by a
thread, groups of citizens discussing
the affair indicated that there would
he strong feeling against him should
he recover. Both families were well
known in this town and country.
STOCKMAN KILLED
Officers Assert Conspiracy to Secure
His Life Insurance
Castle, Okla.—Shot down and then
beaten to death with the butt end of
the gun was the fate of M. C. Shlpp,
prominent rancher and stockman of
Okfuskee county Montfay. A shotgun
was used.
The Miles brothers, step-sons of
Shlpp, White,, a son-in-law, and the
wife of the murdered man have been
placed under arrest and are held
without bond in the county jail at
Okemah, accused jointly of the crime.
According to the story told the of-
ficers by Mrs. White, whose husband
is one of the persons under arrest for
the crime, the four now held had been
planning for some time to kill Shlpp
In order to get possession of $2,000
life insurance recently taken out.
Heavy.
"Speaking of the holy bonds of mat-
rimony."
"Speak on. I am prepared to hear
the worst."
"Our friend Muffkins Bays there nra
times when they seem to bim like log
chains."
Hold Oil Men at Bay
Sapulpa, Oklt.—John Napier, who
Qlaims tfo be a direct descendant of
the great mathematician, is holding a
lot of oil men at bay in the hills ten
miles southwest of here with a long
range rifle. He has lived in the rock
ribbed hills of Indian territory for
many years and claims to have a legal
right to the land upon which he set-
tled before the government allotted
thfc land to the Indians.
His little farm is in the center of a
new oil and gas field and oil men have
tried to either buy or lease his right
to possession without avail.
John Napier is a native of Ken-
tucky and claims to have killed nine-
teen men by authority of the govern-
or. His story of the Hatfield-McCoy
feud bears earmarks of truth. Napier
has told a correspondent that he
would never allow any man to enter
hiB premises except over hfs dead
body, and if any attempt to set up an
oil derrick was made he would kill
every man connected with it. His rifle
is always carried and during Bis sleep-
ing hours his wife stands guard.
Cornerstone Laid
Ardmore, Okla.—The cornerstone
Of the new Ardmore high school build-
ing was laid here Saturday under the
auspices of the Mason lodge. Grand
Master A. E. Eddleman, of Marietta,
was master of ceremonies.
• Two Derailments
Tulsa, Okla.—Two derailments on
the Frisco at Chelsea and Rice, put the
passenger schedule out of business for
a day. Five cars were derailed at
Rice, and the engine and five cars
went off at Chelsea. No one was hurt.
Tax Suits Cut Funds Down
Muskogee, Okla.—The governor the
state board of equalization nor any-
body else can raise the assessed value
and force the owners to pay taxes on
Buch valuations, is the verdicts of the
courts and one of the reasons why the
state board of equalization this year
accepted the assessment on the tax
duplicate returned by the Muskogee
county assessment officers this year.
Last year after the county had been
assessed the state board of equali-
zation arbitrarily raissd all valuations
50 per cent. Big property owners re-
fused to pay, on the ground of con-
fiscation, and brought suit to restrain
the contention. Scores of bucIi suits
have been brought and more are be-
ing preared. This year when the
tax duplicate wasi made up the county
commissioners ordered the assess-
ment made at what they considered a
fair valuation, and served notice on
the governor and the state board of
equalization that any attempt to raise
that assessment would be resisted to
the highest court in the land. The
bluff worked and the state board let
the assessment stand.
The result of the court decisions
that taxes cannot be collected on over
valuations, however, will cause an
embarrassing situation in Bcores of
counties. Estimates of expenses
were made on such valuations and
the tax levy made accordingly. Now
that the big property owners Juiive
won their Buits which will relieve
them from paying large sums in taxes
the counties will be short the funds
which the levies were expected to
raise, and most of these counties have
already spent the money that they ex-
pected to collect.
To Can Cold Air For South
Muskogee, Okla.—Arch Sheets, a
Muskogee man who has been sum-
mering in the mountains of Colorado
Is perfecting a scheme for the con-
densing and bottling of mountain air
from the snow-clad peaks and selling
it to people of the south who desire
mountain air served at home.
Sheets is working on a condenser
with which he proposes to fill five
gallon bottles or cans of the thermos
order with the air gathered from
among the clouds. When released it
Is claimed that this condensed air
from a five-gallon bottle will reduce
the temperature of a small cottage to
45 degrees for a period of 24 hours.
Sheets believes he has cornered mil-
lions by his invention.
Comanche Plans for Big Carnival.
Comanche, Okla. — Comanche's
three day carnival will be held here
August 15, 16 and 17, the chief at-
traction being the aviation flights of
Robert G. Fowler, known for his
cross country flights from the Pa-
cific to tho Atlantic coast. In the
past he has carried many women pas-
sengers and probably will take up
one or more during his flights here.
Baseball games between Texas-Ok-
lahoma league teams and harness
races are other attractions offe