The Wellston News (Wellston, Okla.), Vol. 27, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, March 1, 1918 Page: 4 of 6
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THE WELLSTON NEWS
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3
NAN of »
MUSIC MOUNTAIN
By Trank tl. Spearmaiv.
Author of AMiisjxniivq Smith.
corJnj&rrr & CHM»LX
cMAiaue.t sntrrHeP's satiS
U-i
m?
CHAPTER XXVII.
-17- . ,
Hope Forlorn.
There were hours In that night that
each had reason long to remember; a
night that seemed to bring them, In
• spite of their devotion, to the end of
their dream. They parted lute, each
trying to soften the blow ns it fell on
the other, each professing u courage
which, in the face of the revelation,
neither could clearly feel.
In the morning Jeffries brought
down to De Spain, who had spent a
sleepless night at the office, a letter
from Nun.
De Spnin opened it with nctite mis-
givings. Hardly able to believe his
eyes, he slowly read:
Dearest—A wild hope ha* come to me.
Perhaps we don’t know the truth of till*
terrible story us It really Is. Suppose we
should he condemning poor Uncle Duke
without having the rout facts? Sassoon
was a wretch, Henry, If ever one lived—
a curse to everyone What purpose he
could serve by repeating this story, which
ho must have kept very neeret till n»w, I
don’t know; hut there was Home reason.
I must know the whole trnth—1 feel thut
X, alone, can get hold of It, and that you
would approve what I am doing If you
were here with mo In this little room,
Where I am writing at daybreak, to show
you my heart.
Dong before you get thin I shall be
■peedlng toward the gap. I am going
to Uncle Duke to get from him the ex-
ist truth. Uncle Duke is breaking—has
broken—and now that the very worst has
come, and we must face It, he will tell
me what I' ask. Whether t can get him
to repeat this to you, to come to yout to
throw himself on your pity, my dearest
one. I don't know. But It Is for this I
am going to try. and for thin I beg of
your love—the love of which I have been
mo proud!—that you will let me stay with
him until'I at least learn everything and
can bring the whole story to you. If I
can bring him. I will.
And I shall be safe with him—perfectly
safe. Gale has been driven away. I’ard-
aloe, I know I can trust, and he will be
under the roof with itie. Please, do not
try to come to me. It might ruin every-
thing. pnly forgive me. and I shall be
back with what 1 hope for, or what I
fear, very, very soon. Not tlU then can
I bear to look Into your eyes. You have
a better right than anyone In the world
to know the whole truth, cost what It
may. Be patient for only a little while
With > NAN.i
It wa* Jeffries who qald, uftervvurd,
he hoped never again to be the bearer
of a letter such as that. Never until
he had read and grasped the contents
of Nan’s note had Jeffries seen the
handle of resource nnd nerve and
sinew, that men called Henry de
Spain, go to pieces. For once, trouble
overbore hliu.
When he was nblie to speak he told
Jeffries everything. “It is tuy fault,”
he said hopelessly. “I wus so crippled,
so stunned, she must have thought—I
see It how—that I was making ready
to ride out by daybreak and shoot
Duke down on sight. It’s the price a
man must pay, Jeffries,-,- fay. tjie abil-
ity to defend himself against this
bunch' of holdup men mid assassins.
Because they can’t get me. I’m it ‘gun-
man’—’’
“No, yop’je not a ‘gunman.’ ”
“A gunman and nothing else. Tlmt'p
whut everybody, friends and enemies,:
reckon* me—i» gunman. You put me
here tp clean out tills.Calulmstis gang,
not because of my good, looks, but'
because I've-been, so far, Of ruction of
it second quickc^ 'bn u tQggcr than
these daubhvd—r—d crooks.”
Jeffrleb, from behind his pipe, re-
garded He Spate's rundown talk calmly.
I “I ''do feel'1 hard over iliy father's
deutli,"-he went dm moodily. “Who
wouldn’t? If God meant me to forget
It, why did he put thiss mark on my
•face, Jeff? I did talk pretty strong to
Nan about It ojf.Music mountain.
“I did feet, for a long time, I’d like
to kill with my own bauds the man
that murdered my father, Jeff. My
mother must have realised .that her
buhe, if n man-child, wus doomed to a
life of bloodshed. I’ve been trying to
think most of the night what she’d
want me to <jo now. I don’t know what
I can do, or ,can't do, when I set eyes
ori the old scoundrel. He’s got to tell
the truth—•that's all I say now. If he
lies, after what he made my mother
suffer, he ought to die like a dog—no
matter who he Is.
“I don’t want to hrenk Nan’s heart, j
What can I do? Hanging him here in
Sleepy Cat. If I could do it. wouldn’t
help her feelings u whole lot. If I
could see the follow—” De Spain’s i
hands, spread before him on the table, I
drew up tight. “If I could get my fin- '
gers on his throat, for n minute, and
talk to him. tell hint what I think of
him—I might know what I would want
to do—Nan might be there to see and
Judge between us. I’d be almost will-
ing to leave things to her to settle her-
self. I only want whni's right. But,”
the onth thnt recorded his closing
threat was collected nnd pitiless, “if
any harm comes to that girl, now from
this wild trip hack among those wolves
—God pity the men tlmt put It over. I’ll
wipe out the whole nccursed clan, if I
lntve to swing for it right here in
Sleepy Cat I”
John Lefever, Jeffries, Scott in turn
took him in hand to hold him during
three days, to restrain the fury of his
resentment, and keep him from riding
to the gap In a temper thnt each of
them knew would mean only a tragedy
worse than whnjt had gone before.
Keen three*days of tactful rqpreseuta-
ti ui and pall »ov‘-•***>nultlon from cool-
headed counselors did not accomplish
all they hoped for In De Spain’s attD
tude. His rage subsided, but only to
be followed by a settled gloom that
they knew might burst into uncon-
trollable anger nt any moment.
A report reached McAlpin thnt Gale
Morgan was making ready to return to
Musle mountain with the remnant of
Sandusky's gang, to make n demand
on Duke for certain property and
partnership adjustments. This rumor
he telephoned to Jeffries. Before talk-
ing with De Spain, Jeffries went over
the information with Leftover. The two
agreed It was right, In the circum-
stances, that De Spain should he near-
er than Sleepy Cat to Nun. Moreover,
tlu period of waiting she Imd enjoined
on him wus ulmost complete.
Without giving De Spain the story
fully, the two men tulklng before him
let the discussion drift toward n pro-
posal on his part to go down to Cnlu-
Imsns, whore he could more easily keep
truck of any movement to or from the
gap, und this they approved. De Spain,
already chafing under a hardly en-
dured restraint, lost no time in start-
ing for Culuhusas, directing Lefever to
follow next day.
It added nothing to his ponce of
mind In the morning to learn definitely
from McAlpin that Gale Morgan, with-
in twenty-four hours, had really disap-
peared from Calabasas. No word of
any kind had come from Music moun-
tain for days. No one nt Cnlalmsus
was aware even that Nan hud gone
into the gnp again. Bob Scott was ut
Thief Itlver. Do Spain telephoned to
him to come up on the early stage, nnd
turned his attention toward getting In-
formation from Music mountain with-
out violating Nan’s Injunction not to
frustrate her most delicate effort with
her uncle.
As a possible scout to look into lior
present situation and report on it, Me-,
Alpln could point only to Bull Page.’
Bull was u ready instrument, but Ills
present value as an assistant liud be-
come a matter of doubt, since prac-
tically every limn in the gap had
threatened within the week to blow his
head off—though Bull himself felt no
scruples against making un attempt lo
reach Music mountain and get buck
again. It wus proposed by the canny
McAlpin to send him in wilh a team
and light wagon, ostensibly to bring
out his trunk, which. If it hud not been
fed to the horses, was still in Duke's
barn. As soon ns a rig could be got up
Page started out.
It was late November. A fur, clear
air drew the Aliow-cupped ranges
sharply down to the eye of the desert—
as if tlie speckless sky, lighted by the
radiant sun, were hut n monster glass
rigged to trick the credulous retina. I)e
Spain, In the saddle In front of the
burn, his broad hat brim set on the
impassive level of the western horse-
man, his lips seeming to compress his
thoughts, his lines over his forearm,
and his hands half-slipped into the
pockets of ills snug leather coat,
watched Page with his light wagon and
horses drive away.
Idling around the neighborhood of
the barns in the saddle, De Spain saw
him gradually recede into the long
desert perspective, the perspective
which almost alone enabled the watch-
er to realize as he curtained his eyes
behind their long, steady lashes from
the blazing sun, that it was a good hit
of a way to the foot of the great out-? pulled up.
post of the Superstition range.
De Spain's restlessness prevented his
.remaining quietly anywhere for long.
As the morning advanced lie cantered
out on the Music mountain trail, think-
ing of and wishing for a sight of Nan.
The deadly shock of Pardaloe’s story
had been dulled by days and nights of
puiu. His deep-rooted love and his
(loneliness had quieted his impulse for
vengeance and overborne him with a
profound sadness. He realized how
different Ills feelings were now from
what they had been when she knelt be-
fore him In the darkened room and, not
daring to plead for mercy for he* uncle,
hud asked liitu only for the pity for
herself thnt lie had seemed so slow
to give. Something reproached him
now for his coldness at the moment
that he should have thought of her
suffering before his own.
It was while rbling in this way that
his eyes, reading mechanically the
wagon trull he was aimlessly following
—for ..no reusou other than that It
brought him, though forbidden, a little
closer to her—arrested his attention.
He checked his horse. Something, the
trail told him, hud happened. Page
hud stopped his horses. Pago had met
two men on horseback coming from the
gap. After a parley—for the horses
hnd tramped around long enough for
one—the wagon hnd turned completely
from the trail nnd struck across the
desert, north; the two horsemen, or
one with n led horse, had started hack
for the gup.
All of this De Spain gathered wlth-
! start for Sleepy Cat, to avoid trouble
with them. Deeming the second the
more probable conclusion, De Spain,
absorbed In his speculations, continued
toward the gup to see whether he could
not pick up the trail of Page's rig far-
ther on.
Within a mile a further surprise
awaited him. The two horsmen, who
hnd hended for the gap after stopping
Page, hnd left the trail, turned to the
south, down a small druw, which would
screen them from sight, aud set out
across the desert.
No trull and no habitation lay In the
direction they hud taken—und it
seemed clearer to De Spain that the
second horse was a led horse. There
was a story in the Incident, hut his in-
terest lay in following Page’s move-
ments, and he spurred swiftly forward
to see whether his messenger hud re-
sumed the gap trail and gone on with
ills mission. He followed tills quest al-
most to the mountains, without recov-
ering any trace of Page's rig. He
hulled. It was certain now that Page
had not gone into the gnp.
Perplexed and annoyed, De Spnin,
from the high ground on which he sat
Ills horse, enst his eyes far over the
desert. The brilliant sunshine flooded
it as far as the eye could reach. lie
scanned the vast space without detect-
ing a sign of life anywhere, though
none better than he knew that any
abundance of it might be there. But
iiis gaze caught something of interest
on the farthest northern horizon, and
on (his his scrutiny rested u long time.
A soft brown curtuin rose Just above
the earth line against tire blue sky. To-
ward the east it died away and toward
tlie west it was cut off by the Super-
stition peaks.
De Spain, without giving the weather
signs much thought, recognized their
import, but his mind was tilled with
his own anxieties and he rode sniurt-
ly hack toward Culabasqs, because he
was not at euse over the puzzles In the
trail. When lie reached the depression
where tlie horsemen hud, without nny
apparent reason, turned south, he halt-
ed. Should he follow tliem or turn
north to follow I’agels wanderings? If
Page had been scared nwuy from the
gap, for a time, he probably hud no In-
formation that De Spain wanted, and
De Spain knew his cunning nnd per-
sistence well enough to be confident
he would he buck on the gap road, und
within the cover of the mountains, be-
fore a storm should overtake him. On
the north the brown curtain had risen
fast and already enveloped the furthest
peaks of the range. Letting his horse
stretch Its neck, he hesitated n mo-
ment longer trying to decide whether
to follow the men to the south or the
wagon to the north. A womun might
have done better. But no good angel
was there to guide his decision, and in
another moment he was riding rapidly
to the south with the even, brown,
misty cloud behind him rolling higher
Into the northern sky.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
De Spain Rides Alone.
He huu ridden the trail hut n short
llrue when it led him in a wide angle
backward and uround toward Culu-
basus, and he found, presently, that the
men he was riding after were appar-
ently heading for the stage barns. In
the north the rising curtain had dark-
ened. Toward Sleepy Cut the land-
scape was already obliterated. In tlie
south the sun shone, but the nlr hud
grown suddenly cold, and in the sharp
drop De Spain realized what was com-
ing. His first thought wus of the south-
ern singes, which must he warned, and
as he galloped up to big barn, with this
thought in mind he saw, standing in
the doorway, Bull Page.
De Spain regarded him with aston-
ishment. “IIow did you get here?” was
bis sharp question.
Page grinned. “Got what I was aft-
er, nnd c’m’ back sooncr’n I expected.
Ilalf-way over to the gap, I met Duke
and the young gal on horseback, head-
ed for Calabasas. They pulled up. I
Old Duke looked kind o’
gn'nted, and it seemed like Nan was in
a considerable hurry to get to Sleepy
Oat with him, and ho couldn’t stand
the saddle. Anyway, they was heading
for Calahasas to get a rig from McAl-
pin, I knowed McAlpin would never
give old Duke a rig, not if he was
n-clyln’ in the saddle.”
“They’ve got your rig!” cried Db
St>n i n.
“Tlie gal asked me if I’d mind ac-
commodatin' ’em.” explained Bull dep-
rceatingly, “lo save time.”
“They headed north!” exclaimed De
Spain. Tla> light from the fast-chang-
ing sky fell copper-colored across his
horse and figure, McAlpin, followed by
a hostler, appeared at tlie burn door.
Bull nodded to De Spain. “Said they
wanted to get there quick. She fig’cnl
on savin’ a few miles by strikin' the
hill trail in. So 1 takes their horses
und lets on I was headin’ for the gap.
When they got out of sight, I turned
’round—”
Even as he spoke, the swift-rolling
curtain of mist overhead blotted the
from Its bolster, and hurriedly began
uncinchiog. Hostlers running through
the barn called shrilly back and forth,
and De Spain springing up the stairs
to his room provided wliut he wanted
for his hurried flight. When he dashed
down with couts on his arm the hoofs
of Lady June were clattering down the
long gangway. A stuble-boy slid from
her back on one side ns Bull Page
threw the saddle across her from the
other; hostlers caught at the cinches,
while others hurriedly rubbed the legs
of the quivering mure. De Spain, Ills
hand on McAlpin’s shoulder, was giv-
ing his parting injunctions, and the
barn boss, head cocked down, and eyes
cast furtively on tlie scattering snow-
flukes outside, was listening with an at-
tention that recorded indelibly every
uttered syllable.
Once only, he Interrupted: “Henry,
you’re rldln’ out into this thing alone—
don’t do it.”
“I can’t help it,” snapped De Spain
Impatiently.
“It's a man killer.”
“I can’t help It.”
“Bob Scott, if he w’s here, 'ud never
let you do it. I’ll ride wl’ ye myself,
Ilenry. I worked for your father—”
“You’re too old a man, Jim—”
"Hen rv—’’
“Don’t talk to me! Do as I tell you!”
thundered De Spain.
McAlpin bowed his head.
"Heady!” yelled Page, buckling the
ride holster In place. Still talking, and
with McAlpin glued to his elhmv. Do
Spain vaulted into the saddle, caught
the lines from Bull's hands, anil
steadied the I.:idy as she sidestepped
nervously—McAlpin following close
und dodging the dancing hoofs as he
looked earnestly up to catch the last
word. De Spain touched the horse with
the linos. She leaped through the door-
way and he raised a backward hand
to those behind. Running outside the
door, they yelled a chorus of cries
after the swift-moving horseman, and,
clustered in an excited group, watched
the Lady with a dozen great strides
round the Calabasas trail und disap-
pear with her rider into the whirling
snow.
She fell nt once into an easy reach-
ing step, and De Spain, busy with his
reflections, hardly gave thought to
what she was doing, and little more to
what was going on about him.
No moving figure reflects tlie impas-
sive more than a horseman of the
mountains, on n long rldoi Though
never so swift-borne, the man, looking
neither to the right nor to tlie left,
moving evenly und statuelike against
the sky, a part of the wiry beast under
him, presents the very picture of in-
difference to the world around him.
The great, swift wind spreading over
the desert emptied on it snow-laden
puffs that whirled and wrapped u cloud
of flakes about horse and rider in tlie
symbol of a shroud. Do Spain gave
no heed to these skirmishing eddies,
butshe knew what was behind them,
nnd for the wind, he only wished it
might keep the snow In the air till he
caught sight of Nan.
The even reach of the horse brought
him to the point \vlu*re Nan had
changed to the stage wagon. Without
a break in her long stride, Lady Juue
took the hint of her swerving rider,
put her nose into the wind, and headed
north. De Spain, alive to the difficul-
ties of Ins venture, set his iiat lower
and bent forward to follow the wagon
along the sand. With the first of the
white flurries passed, lie found himself
in a snowless pocket, as it were, of the
advancing storm. lie hoped for noth-
ing from the prospect ahead; bat ev-
ery moment of respite from the blind-
ing whirl was a gain, und with lii.s eyes
close on the trail that had carried Nan
into danger, he urged tlie Lady on.
When tlie snow again closed down
about him he calculated from the
roughness of the country that he
should he within n mile of the road
that Nan was trying to reach, from the
gap to Sleepy Cat. But the broken
ground straight ahead would prevent
her from driving directly to it. He
knew she must hold to the rigid, and
her curving track, now becoming diffi-
cult to trail, confirmed his conclusion.
A fresh drive of the wind buffeted
him as he turned directly north. Only
at Intervals could lie see any trace of
the wagon wheels. The driving snow
compelled him more than once to dis-
mount and search for the trail. Each
time he lost it tlie effort to regain it
was more prolonged. At times lie was
compelled to ride the desert in wide
circles to find the tracks, and lliis cost
time when minutes might mean life.
But as long as lie could he clung to
the struggle to track her exactly. He
sYiw almost where the storm had struck
tlie two wayfarers. Neither, lie knew,
was insensible to its dangers. Wliat
amazed him was that a man like Duke
Morgan should lie out in it. lie found
a spot where they.had hailed and, with
a start that checked the beating of his
heart, his eyes fell on her footprint
not yet obliterated, beside the wagon
track.
The sight of it was un electric shock.
| Throwing himself from his horse, he
knelt over it in the storm, oblivious for
fallen snow from the face of the earth
as the sea-gale, flattening the face of
the waters, rips the foam from the
fruntic waves to drive It in wild, scud-
ding fragments ucross them.
De Spain, urging his horse forward,
unbuckled his rifle holster, threw away
the scabbard, and holding the weapon
up in one hand, fired shot after shot
ut measured Intervals to attract the
attention of the two he sought. He ex-
hausted his rifle ammunition without
eliciting any answer. The wind drove
with a roar against which even a rifle
report could hardly carry, and tlie
snow swept down the sinks In a mad
blast. Flakes torn by the fury of the
gale were stiffened by the bitter wind
into powdered ice that stung horse and
rider. Casting away the useless car-
bine, nnd pressing his horse to the
limit of her strength und endurance,
tlie unyielding pursuer rode in great,
colling circles Into the storm, to cut
in, if possible, ahead of its victims,
firing shot upon shot from his revolver, ‘
nnd putting Ids car intently ugninst 1
the wind for tlie faint hojie of un un- J
swer.
Suddenly the Lady stumbled and, »s
lie cruelly reined her, slid helpless and j
scrambling along the face of a flat j
rock. De Spain, leaping from her ;
back, steadied her trembling und
looked underfoot. The mure had j
struck the rock of the upper lava bed. j
Drawing his revolver, he fired signal |
shots from where he stood. It could j
not lie far, he knew, from the junction '
of the two great desert trulls—the
Calnbnsus road nnd the gap road. He |
felt sure Nan could not have got much I
north of this, for he had ridden In des-
peration to get nbreast of or beyond
her. and If she were south, where, he
asked, in the name of God, could she
be?
lie climbed again into the saddle—
the cold was gripping Ills limbs—und.
watching tlie rocky landmarks narrow-
ly, tried to circle the dead waste of
tlie half-hurled flow. With chilled,
awkward fingers he filled the revolver
again unii rode on, discharging it every
minute, and listening—hoping ngalnst
hope for an answer. It was when he
had almost completed, as well as he
could compute, the wide circuit he had
set out on, thut a faint shot answered
his continuing signuls.
With the sound of that shot and
those that followed it his courage all
came back. But he had yet to trace
through the confusion of the wind nnd
the blinding snow the direction of the
answering reports.
Hither and tliither'he rode, this way-
and that, testing out the location of
the slowly repeated shots, and signal-
ing at intervals in return. Slowly and
doggedly he kept on, shooting, listen-
ing, wheeling and advancing until, us ,
lie raised his revolver to fire it again, 1
a cry close ut hand came out of the
storm. It was a woman’s voice borne |
on the wind. Riding swiftly to the
left, a horse’s outline reveuled Itself
at moments in the driving snow ahead.
De Spain cried out, and from behind
ihe furious curtain heard his name,
loudly called. He pushed his stum- ;
liling horse on. The dim outline of a
second horse, the background of a wag- j
on, a storm-beaten man—all this
passed his eyes unheeded. They were
bent on a girlish figure running toward
him as he slid stiffly from the saddle. |
The next instant Nan wus in his urms.
GERMANS RE-OPEN
WAR J RUSSIA
DESPITE TROTSKY’S DECLA-
RATION OF NO HOS-
TILITIES
GENERAL ANARCHY PREVAILS
Huns Apparently On the Verge of
Opening Their Long-Advertised
Offensive In France and
Belgium.
sun out of the sky.
I>o Spain sprang from his saddle ! an Instant of everything but that this
with n ringing order to McAlpin. “Get tracery meant her presence, where lie
up a fresh saddle-horse!” now bent, hardly half an hour before.
“A horse 1” cried tlie startled ham He swung, after a moment’s keen scru-
boss, whirling on the hostler. "The tiny, Into his saddle, with fresh re-
strongest legs in the stable, and don’t I solve. Pressed by the rising fury of
the wind, file wayfarers hnd become
lose a second! Lady Jane; up with
her!” lie yelled, bellowing ids orders
inlo the echoing barn with his hands to
Ills mouth. “Up with her for Mr. de
Spain in a second! Marmon! Becker!
Litnzon 1 What In h-1 are you all do-
ing?” he roared, rushing back with n
fusillade of oaths. “Look alive, every--
body 1"
“Coming!” yelled one voice niter nn-
other from the depths of the distant
stalls.
De Spain ran Into the office. I*age
from this point, De Spain saw too
plainly, hardly more than fugitives.
Good ground to tlie left, where their
hope of safety lay, hud been over-
looked. Theii trucks wandered on the
open desert like those who, losing cour-
age, lose their course in the confusion
ami fear of the Impending peril.
And with this Increasing uncertainty
In their direction vanish'd De Spain’s
last hopes of trucking them. The wind
swept the desert now as a hurricane
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Truth.
With the desperation of a joy born
of despair she laid her burning cheek
hysterically against his cheek. She
rained kisses on his ice-crusted brows
and snow-beaten eyes, ller arms held
him rigidly. He could not move nor
speak till she would let him. Trans-
formed, this mountain girl who gave
herself so shyly, forgot everything. Her
words crowded on his ears. She re-
pealed his name in uu ecstasy of wel-
come, drew down his lips, luughed, re-
joiced, knew no shamefacedness und
no restraint—she was one freed from
the stroke of a descending knife. A
moment before she hud faced death
alone; it was still death she L.ced—
she realized this—but it was death, at
least, together, aud her joy nnd tears
rose from her heart in one stream.
De Spnin comforted her, quieted her,
cut away one of tlie coats from his
horse, slipped it over her shoulders, in-
cased her in tlie heavy fur, aud turned
his eyes to Duke.
The old man’s set, square face sur-
rendered nothing of implucability to
the dangers confronting him. De
Spain looked for none of that. He had
known the Morgan record too long, aud
faced the Morgan men too often, to
fancy they would flinch at the drum-
bent of death.
The two men. In the deadly, driving
snow, eyed each other. Out of the old
man’s deep-set eyes burned the resist-
ance of a hundred storms faced before.
But he wus caught now like a wolf in
a trap, and lie knew he hud little to
hope for, little to fear. As De Spain
regarded him, something like pity may
have mixed with his hatred. The old
outlaw was thinly clad. His open
throat was beaten with snow, and,
standing beside tlie wagon, he held tlie
team reins in a bare hand. De Spain
cut the other coat from his saddle and
held it out. Duke pretended not to
see, and, when not louger equal to
keeping up the pretense, shook his
head.
’Take It," said De Spain curtly.
“No."
“Take it. I sny. You nnd I will settle
our affairs when wo get Nnn out of
this,” he Insisted.
"De Spnin!’’ Duke’s voice, ns was
its wont, cracked like n pistol. “I enn
sny nil I’ve got to suy to you right
here.”
"No."
“Yes," cried tho old man.
CTO mm CONTINUED,)
London.—Notwithstanding the fact
that the bolsheviki government has
announced its readiness, although pro-
teutlngly, to sign a peace compact,
Teutonic troops are advancing east-
ward into Russia over a 400-mile
front from Riga in the north to Lutsk,
a scant fifty miles from the east Ga-
lician border, on the south, apparent-
ly. Thus far the operation lias met
with no opposition. The northern
reaches of the Dvina river have been
crossed by the enemy; the important
railroad town of Dvinsk, whence roads
run northeastward to l’etrograd and
eastward to Smolensk, has been cap-
tured, and Lusk, one of the famous
fortresses of the Volhynian triangle
and forming the gateway eastward to
Kiev, has been entered without the
Russians attempting to stay .the foe..
Russia Helpless.
The official announcement of the
capitulation was signed by Nikolai
Lenlne and Leon Trotzky on behalf of
the people's commissaries of Russia,
it protests against Germany’s attack-
ing a country which has declared war
at an end and which is demobilizing
Its armies on all fronts, but under the
circumstances, it says the govern-
ment regards itself as forced formally
to declare itself unwilling “to sign a
peace upon the conditions which had
been dictated by the delegates of the
quadruple alliances at Brest.-Lisovsk.”
Apparently all is still chaos in Rus-
sia with civil war in progress at va-
rious points and the food situation
daily growing worse. So sordid has
become the latter factor, that Trotzky
has been appointed food controller
and given unlimited powers. Already
he has ordered the arrest of speculat-
ars in foodstuffs.
Behind the entente allies’ lines in
France and Belgium the military
leaders are expecting the Germans to
launch their much talked-of offensive,
but there still is no outward sign of
its approach. Artillery duels and
raiding operations and intensive aerial
activity continue to feature the fight-
ing all along the front. Three suc-
cessful raids against the Germans
have been carried out by the British
In Flanders and near Lens and Arras
in northern France. In Flanders the
raid, which was carried out south of
the Houtholst wood, resulted jn the
British penetrating German positions
on a wide front, and infliction of num-
erous casualties and the taking of
prisoners.
Sixteen German airplanes were ac-
counted for last Sunday in aerial fight-
ing by British army airmen, and in
addition German towns and military
positions behind the battle front were
heavily bombed. British naval air-
men also paid a visit to the German
naval and air bases at Zeebrugge,
which were effectively bombed, and
drove down three German machines
that attempted to give battle.
VERNON CASTLE IS KILLED
Famous Dar.cer Dies While Training.
Army Aviators.
fort vvortn.—capt. vernon castio
of the British Royal Flying Corps was
killed in his airplane fifteen miles
west of Fort Worth.
Castle was the forty-third air cas-
ualty at Fort Worth since British and
American flying schools were estab-
lished here last fall. The large num-
ber of casualties at these fields is said
to be due to the extraordinary amount
of flying done, as compared with other
aviation schools.
Castle has made over 150 flights
over the German linos and the hero
! of many exploits in the war zone,
j His work had been chiefly on the
| Flanders front and covered a period
■ of nine months. He came to Fort
Worth last October along with Lord
Wellesley. He was 31 years old. His
home was in New York City.
Second Draft In Midsummer.
Washington.—While the house was
discussing the alien slacker bill, Rep-
resentative Dent of Alabama, chair
man of the military committee, said
that the second draft will not he
called for some time and consequently
there is no hurry for action in regard
to alien slackers. Representative
l Flood of Virginia told the house there
would be no second draft before noxt
May or June.
Germans Repeating London Air Raids
London.—German airplanes raided
London again. Several bombs were
dropped in the London district. .Only
one of the six planes that attempted
to attack London succeeded In peach-
ing the capital This raider dropped
one nomb in the soutnwost district
which caused four casualties. An
aerial raid on Dover was repelled by
British pilots who engaged the Ger-
mans over the Kent coast. One largtf
raider is reported to have crasnoa
Into the sea.
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The Wellston News (Wellston, Okla.), Vol. 27, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, March 1, 1918, newspaper, March 1, 1918; Wellston, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc406737/m1/4/: accessed April 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.