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Show - -- lfcL HiH Mflfc. JHflPL fafc. ttSl fcL IfcML. fcL fcL fcft- fc. '. JJ OUR STORY CORNER I CROOKED TRAILS STRAIGHT H 8YNOPSIS. H Part H CHAPTKn I. Adventurous and reck- B Uia, rather thnn criminal, and oxcltcd by H liquor. Curly Fltuulrnu nnd his chum, H Mac. both practically mero boys, becoma 1 Involvrd In a horse-stcallng odvonturs. H Dlsposlns oC the stolen stock In the town H of Saguache, Ariz., the band separates, H Curly and his partner staying In town. H They are uwukenod and told a posse Is H In town In pursuit of them'. Thoy elude H their pursuers. Overtaken next day, Mao Is killed by the posso and Curly made H captive, after ho has shot one and him- H self been wounded. The man shot Is H Luck Culllson. H CHAPTER Il.-Culllson's friends, all H cattlemen, determine to lynch Curly as H an example to cattlo thieves. With the H rope around his neck he Is saved by the M Intervention of Kato Culllson, Luck's M CHAPTER III. Tils wound dressed, f and further violence not apprehended, H Curly Is sent for by Culllson. He ques H Uons the boy concerning a notorious out- H law. Soapy Stone, real leader of the rus- H tiers who had been Curly's undoing. H Klandrau learns that Soapy Stone Is Cul. H llson's bitter enemy and exercises a bale- H ful Influence over the ex-sherlR's son H Bam. who has quarreled with his father. H Culllson goes ball for Curly. M CHAPTEIt IV. Curly rescues Soapy H Stone from a bear trap Into which he has H stumbled, and discovers that the outlaw H is young Sam's rival for tho hand of Luu- H ra London. She gives Curly a note to H deliver to Sam, and Flandrau and Stone H set out for the tatter's ranch. H CHAPTER V.-There Curly meets his H companions of the rustling expedition and M delivers Laura's note to Sam. Young m Culllson believes Stone Is his friend and H says he will stick by htm. Klandrau sees m some move Is being planned nnd becomes m convinced It Is train robbery. Sam leaves H the ranch to go to Saguache. Curly ac- M companies him. H CHAPTER VI. - Eavesdropping at a B meeting place, Curly hears Stone and his m lieutenant. Lute Ulnckwell, arrange to M hold up the truln at a crossing known as m Tin Cup, nnd after the robbery shoot M young Culllson and leave tils body on the M scene, Stone thus glutting his revenge on L. the ex-sherlff through his son's death and disgrace Curly Is accused by Stone of M being a spy of Luck Culllson's. They are m separnted, but part with the understand- m Ing that their next meeting will mean a m light to the death. Curly makes a con- M fldant of Dirk Mntoney, cattleman, and H they Inform Luck Culllson of Stone's plot m sgiilnat his son. H Part H CHAPTER I.-After an all-night ses. M slon nt the Roundup club. In which Cull!- H son has lost heavily, there is an exchange M of sharp words between Luck and a M shfepman, Cass Knndrlok, with whom j Culllson has n feud. H CHAPTER U.-Snguache Is electrified H by the nows of the holdup of express H messengers, the bandits securing 120,000. H Culllson pays his poker debts, nnd shortly M afterward Mackeiulo and Alex Klandrau. M his rloscst friends, loam ho Is suspected H of the express robbery, his hat lmvlng B been found on tho scene and he being KB missing. H CHAPTER Ill.-Kiito goes to Saguache V for a consultation with Mackenzie, Alex Klandrau and Curly. All are convinced of Luck's Innocence. The sheriff reveals that besides tho finding of Culllson's tint, BS and his payment of his debts, Cass Pen- drlck had seen the robber and Is almost certain It was Luck. Culllson Is about to enter a homestend claim which will pruc- M tlcally put Fcm'rlck out of business. H CHAPTER IV. Kate's shrewdness re- venls how Culllson had taken Fendrlck's T hat when he left the Roundup club, and W tiusptclon points strongly to a frameup on ' Fcndrlck's part and to his being respon- nlHe for Luck's disappearance. The slier- Iff receives a eerlen of notes turning on the "Jack of Heurts." Curly finds a cl- gar storo by that name and secures evt- denco that the proprietress, Mrs, Wyllo, 1 knows what happened to Luck. M k CHAPTER V. HBB H A Meesaac in Cipher. H Whlli' Kntc llHtt'iu'd to what Curly H litid to d'll her the ilnrk eyes of the H Klrl were fastened upon the treinltllns H little wonuiii stiitulliiK near the door. H "Do you moan that she Is Kolug to H let my father he killed rather than tell H what she knows?" Her voice was H .sharply Incredulous, touched with a H horror scarcely realized. M "I I don't know anythlnjc ubout It," j tho harassed woman Iterated. H "Wlin Ch the use of saylni; that when H we know you do? And you'll not Ket H out of It hy sohhlng. You've ,ot to H talk. You've uot to tell you've Just m KOt to," Kato Insisted. H Q'ho little woman shrunk before the H energy of u passion so vital. No M strength was hi her to llk'ht Hut sho H could and did offer tho pasilve resist- H once of ohsttuato Hlleucc. H Curly had drawn from his pocket the M newspnper found In the cellar. Ills M eyes had bearehed for the date lino to ' H Ubo as euniulatlvc evidence, hut they H hod remained fastenel to one story. m Now he spoke Imperatively. H "Come licre, Mlna Kate, I believe j this Is a muHMiKO to us." H "A message?" M "From your futher, perliapn." M "How could It he?" 1 "I found the paper In tho cellar B whore he was. .See how some of these H wo.ds ure scored. Done with a linger H nail, looks like." M This was tho paragraph upon which B his gazu had fastened, and the words H nnd letters were scored sharply us m fthown below, though in tho case of H single letters tho mark ran through m them instead of uudorneuth, oyldeutly that no mlstako might bo made ns to which was meant: J. P. Kelly of the ranger force reports over the telephone that by unexpected Rood luck he has succeeded suc-ceeded in taking prisoner the notorious Jack Foster of ifUrmo-silljt ifUrmo-silljt and the ijlincons noforicty and i now bringing him to Sag;-uache Sag;-uache where he will be lockecl up pending a disposition o( his case. Kelly succeeded in surprising him while hb was eating dinner at a Mexican road-house just this side of the border. "Do you mako it out?" Mnloncy asked, looking over their shoulders. Curly took a pencil nnd an envelope from his pocket. On tho latter he Jotted Jot-ted down somo words and bunded the paper to his friend. This was what Mnloncy rend : .' .' .' .' luck 7.7.7.7.7.' .. prisoner ....Jack.... of He a JiLt8 now Saguache locked up pending a disposition of his case. ....succeeded ....suc-ceeded in surprising him "Read that right ahead." Dick did not quite get the Idea, but Kate, tense with excitement, took tho envelope and rend nloud: "Luck prisoner Jack of Hearts now Saguache locked up pending a disposition of his case succeeded In surprising him." Sho looked up with shining eyes. "lip's allvo somewhere. We'll enve him now." Curly spoke to her In n low voice. "You huvo ft talk with Mrs. Wyllo alone. We'll pull our freights. She'll tell you what she knows." He smiled In bis gentle, winning way. "She's sure had a tough time of It If ever a woman wom-an bad. I reckon a little kindness Is what she needs. Let her see we're her friends nnd will stand by her, that we won't let her come to barm because she tnlks." It was nu hour before Kate Joined them, and her eyes, though they were very bright, told tales of tears that had been shed. "That poor woman 1 She baa told me everything. Father has been down ic thnt cellar for days under n gunrd. They took him way tonight. She doesn't know where. It was she sent the warnings to .Sheriff Holt. Sho wanted him to mid the place, but she tin red not go to him." "Hecnuso of lUuckwcll?" "Yes. He came straight to her as soon as he was freed from the penitentiary. peniten-tiary. He had her completely terrorized, terror-ized, She gave him money, and he eanio for more and more." Curly nodded. He said nothing, but ids strong Jaws clamped. "He was there that day," the girl continued. "Sho plucked up courage to refuse him what little she had left because she needed it for tho rent. He got hold of her arm and twisted It. Father heard her cry and came In. Ulnckwell was behind the door as It opened. He struck with u loaded cano and father fell unconscious. lie rnlecd It to strike again, but she clung to his arm and culled for help. Heforo bo could shako her off another man camo In. He wrenched the club nway." "Fendrlck?" breathed Curly. "She doesn't know. Hut tho first thing he did was to lock the outer door and take the key. They carried father down Into the cellar. Heforc ho came to himself bis hands were tied behind Ids buck." "And then?" "They watched him day and night. Fendrlck himself did not go near the place if It was Fendrlck. Hlackwell swore to kill Mrs. Wylle If she told. They held him theru till tonight. She thlnls they were trying to get father to hlgn some paper.!' "The rolliuiul.shment, of course. That means the other mnn was Fendrlck." Fen-drlck." Kate nodded. "Yes." Curly rose. The muscles stood out In his Jaw hard as steel ropes. "We'll rake tho Itlncons with u fine tooth comb. Don't you worry. I've already al-ready wired for Bucky O'Connor to come nnd help. We'll get your father out of the hands of those hell Ijounds. Won't we, Dick?" The girl's oyes admired him, n lean, hard-bitten Westerner, with oyes as unbllnUluz as an Arlzonu sun and with muscles llko wlro springs. Ills fac still held its boyishness, but It had Inst forever the Irresponsibility of n few months before. She saw In him nn Iron will, shrewdness, courage and resource. Out of ten thousnujl men there were none whose voice drummed on her heartstrings us did (hat of this youth, Two men snt In a log cabin on oiipn-site oiipn-site shies of a chenp table. One of them wus Immersed In n newspaper. His body wna relaxed, bis mind nppnrently at ease. The other watched him malevolently. His lingers caressed the bundle of n revolver that protruded from tho holster at his side. He would have liked nothing bettor than to have drawn It nnd sent a bullet crashing Into the unperturbed brain of bis prisoner. pris-oner. There were reasons of policy, why It were better to curb this fascinating desire, but sometimes tho Impulse to kill surged up almost uncontrollably. On these occasions Luck Culllson wns usually "deviling" him, the only diver-slon diver-slon that had been open to, tho ranchman ranch-man for some days past. From time to time as Luck read he commented genially on tho news. Hlackwell merely scowled. Given his way, Culllson would not bo hero to read the Sentinel. Hut the brains of the conspiracy had ruled otherwise and InsWted, too, upon decent treatment. treat-ment. Willi one ankle securely tied to a leg of the table there was no danger In freeing the hands of the cattleman, hut his hosts saw that never for an Instant In-stant were hands and feet nt liberty together. to-gether. For this man was uot the one with whom to take chances. Culllson rend on : "'Lieutenant O'Connor of the Arizona Ari-zona rangers left town todny for a short trip Into tho hills, where he ex-1 pects to spend a few days bunting.' Hunting whnt, do you reckon? Or; hunting who, I should say. Kver meet Hucky O'Connor, Hlackwell? No, 1 1 reckon not. He's since your time. A , crnckerjack, too I Wonder If Bucky ain't after some friends of mine?" "Shut up," growled the other. "Sure you'll shut up when Bucky lnnds on you," retorted Luck clicerful-ly. clicerful-ly. Then, with a sudden whoop: "Hello, hero's a personal to your ad-1 dress. Listen. 'The friends of L. C. ! servo notice thnt what occurred nt tho Jack of Heurts is known. Any violence hereafter done to htm will bo paid for to tho limit. No guilty man will escape.' es-cape.' So The boys are getting busy. I llgured they would he." The former convict leaned forward angrily. "Lenime see that paper." , His guest handed It over, an Index i finger pointing out tho Item. "Large, as life, Hlackwell. No, sir. You co'- talnly didn't ride herd proper on that opportunity." "Don't bo too sure It's gone, Mr. Sheriff." I "They've got you dead to rights. I Head that personal ngnln. Learn lt by heart. The friends of L. C. give warning.' You better believe they'ro rounding up your outfit. They know I'm alive. They know all about tho. Jack of Hearts. Pretty soon they'll know where you've got mo hidden." "You'd better pray they won't. For If they find the nest It will bo empty.' Look out of that window behind you." . Luck turned. The cabin wns built j on u ledge far up on the mounfnln-1 side. From the back wall sloped for, n hundred feet an almost perpendlc-ular perpendlc-ular slide of rock. "There's a prospect hole down there," Hlackwell explained savagely. "You'd go down the Devil's Slide what's left of you, I mean deep Into! thnt prospect hole. The timberings are rotted nnd the whole top of thej working ready to cave In. When yourj body hits it there will he an avalanche with Mr. Former-Sheriff Culllson nt tho bottom of It. You'll ho hurled without any funeral expenses, and I reckon your friends will never know where to put the headstone." The thing wns devilishly simple urn! feasible. Luck, still looking out of the window, felt the blood run cold down his spine, for he knew this fellow fel-low would never stick at murder If he felt It would be safe. "So you see I'm right; you'd better pray your friends won't find you. They can't reach here without being hoard. If they get to hunting these bills you sure want to hope they'll stny cold, for Just as soon as they get warm It will be the signal for you to shoot tho chutes," Luck met his triumphant savagery with an Impnshlve face. "Interesting if true. And wiiere will you bo when my friends arrive? I reckon It won't bo a pleasant meeting for Mr. Hlackwell." Hlack-well." "I'll be headed for Mexico. I tell you because you ain't liable to go around spreading the news. There's n horse saddled In tho dip back of the hill crot. Oct It?" From fnr below there came through ' the open window the faint click of a j horse's hoofs ringing against the stones In tho dry bed of it river wash. Swiftly Blnckwell moved to the door, j taking down n rifle from Its rack as lie did so. Culllson rose noiselessly In his chair. If It came to tho worst lie j meant to shout aloud his presence and close with this fellow. Hampered as he was by the table, the man would got him without question. But if he could only sink his lingers Into that hairy throat while there was still life' In him ho could promise that tho Mexican Mex-ican trip would nover take place. Hlackwell, from his place by the j door, could keep an eye both on his prisoner nnd on it paint of the trail fnr below where horsemen must pns , to reach tho cabin. A rider cumo Into sight and entered the mouth of the canyon. He was waving a white handkerchief. The1 man lu tho doorway answered tho olg-aal. I "Not your friend. this time, Mr. I Sheriff," Hlackwell Jeered. "I get a stny of execution, do I?" j The cool drawling voice of the cattleman cattle-man showed nothing of tho tense feel-! feel-! Ing within. ' He resumed his sent nnd (he reading of the newspaper. Presently, to the man that came oxer tho thtcshold ho spoke with a casual nod. "Morning, Cass." ! Fendrlck mumbled n surly nnswer. The manner of Ironical comradeship i his captive chose to employ was moro than nn annoyance. To serve his ends i It was necessary to put the fenr of i death Into this man's heart, which was a thing he bad found Impossible to do. The logic of circumstances wus driving driv-ing the sheepman Into a corner. He had on Impulse made the owner of the "Not Your Friends This Time, Mr! Sheriff." Circle C his prisoner. Seeing him He there unconscious on the lloor of the Jack of Heurts, It had come to him In a flash that ho might hold him and force a relinquishment of tho Del Oro claim. His dlsnppeuronco would explain ex-plain Itself If the rumor spread thnt he was tho W. & S. express robber. Cass had dono It to save himself from the ruin of his business, but already ho had regretted It llfty times. Threats could not move Luck In the least. He was irn hard ns Iron. So tho sheepman found himself between be-tween the upper and the nether millstones. mill-stones. Ho could not drive his prisoner pris-oner to terms and he dared not release him. For If Culllson went nway unpledged un-pledged ho would surely send him to tho penitentiary. Nor could ho hold him n prisoner Indefinitely. He had seen thu "personal" warning In both the morning and the afternoon papers. Ho guessed that the presence of the ranger, Hucky O'Connor, In Saguache was not a chance. The law was closing clos-ing In on him. Somehow Culllson must be made to come through with a relinquishment re-linquishment and a pledge uot to prosecute. Tho only other way out would be to let Hlackwell wreak bis hate on tho former sheriff. From this ho shrank with every Instinct. Fendrlck Fen-drlck was u hard man. He would hnvo fought It out to n finish If necessary. nec-essary. Hut murder was a thing he could not do. "Price of sheep good this week?" Culllson asked amiably. "I didn't como here to discuss the price of sheep with you." Fendrlck spoke harshly. "Are you going to sign this relinquishment?" Luck's face showed n placid surprise. sur-prise. "Why no, Cass. Thought I mentioned thnt before." "You'll better." Tho sheepman's ' harassed face looked ugly enough for anything. "Can't figure It out that way." "You've got to sign It. Hy G , you've no option." "No?" Still with pleasant Incredulity. Incre-dulity. 'JTJiInk I'm going to let you get nwoy from here now? You'll sign and you'll promise to tell nothing you know against us." Luck's answer came easily and lightly. light-ly. "My friend, we've already discussed dis-cussed that point." "You won't chnngo your mind?" "Your urguments don't Justify It, Cnss." The sheepman looked at htm with n sinister significance. "Good enough. I'll bring you one that will Justify It muy ponto." CHAPTER VI. Cass Fendrlck Makes a Call. Kate was In her roso garden superintending super-intending the stable boy as ho loosened loos-ened tho dirt around tho roots of some of the bushes, She had returned to the Circle C for a duy or two to glvo some directions In tho absence of her father. Buck and tho other riders came to her for orders and took them without contempt. She knew the cattlo cat-tlo business, and they knew she knew it. To n man they were proud of her, of her spirit, her energy, nud her good looks. Tho rider who cantered up to tho fenco, seeing her lu her well-hung corduroy skirt, her close-fitting blouse, and tho btoiul-rlmmed straw hat that shielded her dark head from tho sun, appreciated tho lltness of her stir-' stir-' roundlngs. She, too, wns a flower of tho desert, delicately fashioned, yet vital with the bloom of health. At the clatter of hoofs she looked up from the bush she was trimming and ut onco rose to her feet. Beneath their long lashes her eyes grew dnrk and hard. Fur the mnn who had drawn to n halt wns Cass Fendrlck. From the pocket of his shirt be drew n ciumplcd piece of stained linen. "I've brought back your handkerchief, handker-chief, .Miss Culllson." "What have you done with my father?" fa-ther?" He nodded toward the Mexican boy nnd Kate dismissed the lad. When he had gone she usked her question ngniii In exactly the .same words. , He swung from thu horse and threw the rein to the ground. Then, sauntering saun-tering to the gate, he let himself in. "You've- surely got a nice posy garden gar-den here. Didn't know there was ono like It In all sunbaked Arizona." She stood rigid. Her uufnlterlng eyes, sloe-black lu tho palo face, never lifted from him. "1 want you to tell-me what you have done with my father." He laughed a little and looked at her with oyes that narrowed llko those of n cut basking lu the sun. Ho had something the look of the turgor members of tho cat family tho soft long tread, the compact rippling muscles mus-cles of a tame panther, nud with these the threat that always lies behind lta sleepy wariness. "You're a young lady of one Idea. No use arguing with you, I reckon." "Not the leust use. I've tulked with Mrs. Wylle." He raised his eyebrows. "Do I know the Indy?" "Sho will know you. That Is moro to the point." "Did she say she knew me?" ho purred. "She will suy It In court If it ever comes to that." "Just what will sho say, If you please?" Kate told htm In four sentences with a stinging directness that was the outstanding out-standing note of her, that aud a flue self-forgetful courage. "Is that all? Comes to this then, thnt she says I heard her scream, ran in, nnd saved your father's life. Is that n penitentiary offense?" "You helped tho villain take his body Into tho cellar. You plotted with him to hold father a prisoner there." "Snys that, does she that she overheard over-heard us plotting?" "Of course sho did not overhear what you said. You took good care of that. Hut she knew you were conspiring." conspir-ing." "Just naturally knew It without overhearing," he derided. "And of course If I wna In a plot I must have been Johnny-on-the-spot a good deal of the time. Hung round there a-plenty, I expect?" Ho had -touched on the weak spot of Mrs. Wyllo's testimony. The man who had saved Culllson's life, after a long talk with Blnckwell, had gone out of the Jack of Hearts nnd had not returned re-turned so far ns sho knew. For her former husband had sent her on un errand Just before tho prisoner wns tnken away and she did not know who had helped him. Kate wus silent. "How would this do for nn explanation explana-tion ?" he suggested lazily. "We'll say Just for tho sake of argument that Mrs. Wylle's story is true, that I did save your father's life. We'll put It that I did help carry him downstairs where It was cooler and that I did have a long tnlk with the fellow Hlackwell. Hlack-well. What would 1 be talking to him about, If I wasn't reading the riot act to him? And after he had said lie wus sorry why shouldn't I hit the road out of there? There's no lovo lost between me and Luck Culllson. I wasn't under any obligations to wrnp him up In cotton cot-ton and bring htm buck this side up with care to his anxious friends. If he chose later to take a hike out of town on p.d.q. hurry up business I uln't to blame. And I reckon you'll find n Jury will agree with me." Sho brushed his explanutlon Hide with n woman's superb Indifference to logic. "You can talk of course. I don't enre. It Is all lies lies. You have kidnaped father and nro holding him somewhere. Don't you dnro to hurt him. If you should Oh, If you should you will wish you hail nover been born." Tho fierceness of her passion bent upon him llko sudden summer hall. lie forgot for tho moment that he w,ns a man with tho tolls of the law closing upon him, forgot Unit his success suc-cess and even his liberty were at stake. He saw only n girl with tho hunger of lovo In her wistful oyes, and know that it lay lu his power to bring bnck the laughter and the light Into them. "Suppose l can't fight fulr any longer. long-er. Suppose I've let myself get trapped and It Isn't up to mo but to somebody else. Up to your father, say?" "My father?" "Yes. How could I turn him looso when tho first thing ho did would ho to swear out n warrant for my nrrest?" "Hut ho wouldn't not If you free him." Ho laughed harshly. "I thought you knew him. He's hard as nails." He laughed again, bitterly. "Not that It mntters. Of courso I was Just putting n case. Nothing to It renlly." Ho was hedging because he thought ho had gono too far, but she appeared not to notice It. Her eyes had the faraway far-away look of one who communes with herself. "If I could ouly see him and have a talk with htm. I think I could get him to do ns I ask. He nearly always does." Her gaze went swiftly back to him. "Let me tnlk with him. There's n reason why ho ought to bo free now, ono thnt would appeal to him." This wns what he had come for, but now that sho had mot him half way he hesitated. If she should uot Bticceed he would bo worse off than before. Ho could neither hold her a prisoner nor free her to lend the pack of tho law to his hiding place. On the other hand If Culllson thought they Intended to keep her prisoner ho would huve to compromise. He dared not lcavo her In tho bunds of Lute Hlackwell. Fen- I drlck decided to take a chance. At the worst he conld turn them both free aud leave for Sonorn. "All rlghL I'll take you to him. 1 But you'll have to do as I say." "Yes." sho agreed. "You've got to persuade Luck to como through with nn ngrccment to j let go of that Del Oro homestead and to promise not to prosccuto us. Ho fJf I won't do It to snvo his own life. He's s got to think you como (haro ns my prisoner. See? He's got to wrestle with tho notion that you're lu tho i 0 "All rtl&ht; I'll Take You to Him." power of tho damnedest villain that ever went unhung. I mean Blackwell. Let him chew on that proposition a while nnd see what he makes of It." She nodded, white to the lips. "Lot us go at once, plense." She called across to the corral: "Manuel, saddlo the pinto for me. Hurry I" They rodo together through tho wind-swept sunlit land. From tlino to time his lazy glance embraced her, a supple, graceful creature, ut perfect ease In the saddle. What was It about her fcnt drew the eye so Irresistibly? Prettier girls he had often seen. Her features were Irrwjular, mouth and nose too large, face a-little thin. Her contour lacked the softness, the allure that In some women wns an unconscious uncon-scious Invitation to cuddle. Tough us whlpooM aht mtffht be, but In her there flowed i life vital and strong; dwelt a spirit brave and unconquer-uble. unconquer-uble. She seemed to him ns little subtle ns any womnn be had ever met. This directness came no doubt from living so fnr from feminine Influences. But he had a feeling thnt If n mnn once wakened her love, the Instinct of sex would spring full-grown Into being. (This thrilling' story will bo continued con-tinued in the next issue of Tho Record. Rec-ord. A good serial story, selected from tho works of tho best contemporary contem-porary authors, will henceforth bo a regular featuro of Tho Record, and will alone bo worth tho subscription price of tho paper. Seo that your subscription is kept paid in advance, and do not miss a singlo number.) |