Show wd 1 I deft LA L A 4 of I 1 k of N FRANK ti spearman CE SYNOPSIS sleepy cat desert town of 0 the bouth south west Is celebrating the fourth of july jane van cambel beautiful daughter of gus van cambel hated owner of gunlock ranch has arrived from rom the east for or the first time she watches the frontier day celebration in company with dr carpy crusty tender hearted friend of 0 the community henry of the circle dot ranch tricked in a fake lake horse race the day before by dave mccrossen foreman at G unlock gunlock plans revenge he ile enters bill denison a handsome young texas wrangler in the rodeo which mccrossen Is favored to win and lays heavy bets on him unknown ji to the crowd denison den ison is a champion horseman mccrossen Crossen Ne and the young stranger tie in the various vents events denison then drops a cigarette carelessly racing down the track full teltha picks up the cigarette the ver adick dict goes to denison when mccrossen refuses to attempt the stunt entreated by the crowd denison agrees to per form another trick jane an cambel ie Is asked for her bracelet and throws it on the track just as denison rides to pick it up a yell from barney reb took stock a mccrossen henchman scares the pony nearly costing the rider his life gun play Is prevented by the in tion of dr carpy back on gun lock ranch after two years in chicago because ot of her fathers illness jan jane gets lost riding in the hills and meets denison now a neighbor who guides her home not knowing her identity h he speaks bitterly of van cambel sh she tells McC mccrossen who brought her home and he denounces denison as a cattle thief later she asks dr carpy why her father Is unpopular and he tells her it Is because ot of van cambels a ruthless and unscrupulous character visiting her father in the hospital jane Is warned to be wary of mccrossen a hon esty sty but her father urges her to be nice to him later Mc prossen tries to woo her but Is sharply rebuffed once again jane loses her way tn in the hills and meets denison CHAPTER IV continued 7 did you like circus work she asked offhand cant say I 1 did I 1 never worked in a circus except that one season it was only because I 1 needed money bad and it was big money to me then the lawyers got it all heres here s the fork for gunlock ranch he pointed they were at the part ing of their ways A saucy impulse seized jane she was given to lin pulses and to doing whatever thing flashed dashed into her head she checked her horse lifted her forearm and un clasped the bracelet since you youve ve been so kind the man had halted his horse nothing at all 1 he protested I 1 d like you she went on paying no n 0 attention to his disclaimer to have a souvenir this bracelet she held it out to him he looked flabbergasted for what he lie stammered his ills embarrassment seemed to corn com muni cate itself to jane she could not I 1 ave told why I 1 in grateful for your putting me on my way today and that other night when I 1 got lost it you re member she went on he swallowed she was secretly de lighted with his confusion well that certainly Is mighty kind he said halt angly but I 1 couldn t accept such a t beautiful thing for doing nothing at all lye I 1 ve got lots of bracelets but sometime I 1 ve got to find some thing 1 I can really do tor for you she laid the bracelet in bis his out stretched hand I 1 certainly thank you a thousand times his ills slow response left no doubt of what he felt her aim now was to escape his protestations he put on his hat she started to go please I 1 he exclaimed raising his hand she stopped her guides brow raffled ruffled a little in perplexity what Is it she asked su perell impatient he took his hat off oft again would it be polite I 1 he ventured to ask your iame same tell me yours again she said bill denison she allowed her horse to turn into the ranch trail denison sat motion less hat in hand but looking directly at her you haven t told me your name yet he remonstrated quietly oh I 1 it its s marie good bye I 1 not till after she had parted from denison and was riding alone with her thoughts did jane begin to feel really frightened this was the man of whom she had heard lurid tales of rustling an enemy of her father fathers s near outlaw generally bill denison she drew a long breath thinking over her encounter with the redoubt able bill what she had said to him and how she I 1 ad said it what he had said to her and how he had said it re calling his general appearance his easy manner in the saddle his peaceable features and at last his brown eyes As she drew near the ranch house she AAs resolutely dismissed him from her mind or thought she did she was as hungry as a bear be arbut but to all questioners she mere merely lyte explained that she had taken a long ride over on the reservation XA who was the man that brought you htone hi me asked mccrossen i why nobody ben I 1 ake said you role back bah with a man mall bo she bad had been discovered no mat ter oh flat tt at maul man she exclaimed tossing her head he ile was vas j some body from the reservation ging to sleepy lat cat in the meantime hei rel effs had not en the constancy cons tincy of her fo to eman admirer mccrossen he ile made continued appeal for ter I 1 er dvor so marked once in a while as to mal e her angry she could hardly get a vay from him but his convers idiots s his suggestions and his persistence got on janes jane a narves whenever mccrossen was to ride oi over er the ranch jane wis tot i ot so riding when he wis is riding to town jane was riding over oer the ranch in fact chiefly hi efly to be rid of him jane spent much time in tl ti e saddle and she developed a particular likan for the hill trail to town ste usually rode that way either coming or go n afe what impressed itself on her was tl ti at riding the hill bill road alone was not quite 0 so o ex citing as the first time she had ridden it with a guide but what had become of her guide she controlled her impatience until she could do so no longer starting one day to town with bull page jane asked discreetly about their neighbor his tl Is man bill denison she had heard so much about him hira that shed she d begun to wonder what he looked like illel 1 wa aly y miss jane answered bull cordin to wl at I 1 hear bill s been down to medicine bend on his law suit but why need a man go down to medicine bend for a lawsuit when there are courts in sleepy cat I 1 well this Is before the U S land office that s different suddenly bull if who was the man that brought you home asked mccrossen peering down the biall straightened up why there s bill right now on his way to town the critter critters s back where Is he be oh I 1 see the man that just rode around the bend jane did some fast and bold think ng she looked tn in her purse bull I 1 she ex claimed in fancied alarm lye I 1 ve forgot ten to bring grocery list for the kitchen I 1 in afraid you 11 II have to ride back after it she was soon within speaking dis tance of the horseman ahead over taking him she slackened her pace good morning she said stiffly denison looked around checked his horse touched his hat and returned the greeting but he was plainly con fused and jane was correspondingly pleased we meet again she said with a superior air and this time I 1 in not lost I 1 in afraid I 1 am this time he bald slowly how so well it happened I 1 was just think ing about the other times we met and won wondering Ting daring whether id I 1 d ever see you again when you dropped down out of the sky on me just now it took my breath on your way to town so am I 1 do you mind it if I 1 ride along with you I 1 might mind if you didn dian t in fact it if you don it mind a confession I 1 hur ried a little to catch up you were so kind before nothing at all and you gave me such good advice that I 1 haven it been lost since but I 1 do feel safer riding with company so thank you again if you re not terribly tired of being thanked just as much as you like tt if you 11 remember you re thanking me for noth ing I 1 was afraid you d gone back to chicago ass where have you been all this time I 1 certainly have missed you IT if you ride this trail as often as I 1 do I 1 ve been away do down n at medicine bend how low long Is it since that lay oh I 1 haven t an idea it wis an awfully hot day as I 1 remen ber t aan t it I 1 can t remember a tl ti it ii about the if I 1 me insured the time by my feelings it would be about three years ilov perfectly ridiculous pouted jane what I 1 a ana afraid of was as you d gone back to chicago and I 1 d never see you ogain then I 1 figured that if you in went ent back to chicago I 1 id d look there next winter for a circus job and try to get into the same show with you she looked at him frankly amused vow now aan it that nice of you really mr ir denison you mike me perfectly ashamed of myself will iou get mad no v if I 1 confess again no you austri it I 1 just wont have it 1 jt dt I 1 nas v as ud kid ding abo it being a circus rider it was some of air ir crazy cowboy start ed thit th it he ile repressed a smile she he saw it 11 hat am ased you ohp asked aed nothing a at all till oh es it was as you wont won t get w und id oh she ded airily I 1 never get mad N VI ell I 1 knew you were kidding be cause tint time you lode iode up to spring pinch I 1 happened to see we you come lown tl ti e valley it was after I 1 d heard these et st ries about circus riding I 1 to mi self if that young lady ever rode in a a tl ti ey d t ave to tie her en cu jane didot t like it no girl could but it gave her precisely the opening she wanted w now she said with an attempted lai laigh gh it its s my turn aej an 1 I 1 hope you won wont t get mad try me nothing d make me mad then you musto t hate me because I 1 am not someone you might have thought I 1 was I 1 am jane van tarn tam bel bet sly my name Is jane not marle marie I 1 know aou ou and ratter fall er haven t got along they were jogging on side by side then he looked over at her with an expression ethe he had not before seen in a man a eyes I 1 certainly won t ever hate you he be said very slowly I 1 just coulden L CHAPTER V two days passed jane ordered up her pony what a you into town today asked mccrossen sus viciously bull came up ath the pony jane tossed the question I 1 forget some er rands the other day I 1 shan t be gone long who s goin with youl you no one the boys are busy I 1 don need the wagon today she had ridden some two miles to ward town when a turn in the trail brought in sight a man riding out of the woods he ile checked his horse and waited tor for jane his face was ex jane janes s cheeks flushed in spite of ber her self I 1 hope I 1 haven t kept you wait ing long she stammered he smiled and shook his head as if perfectly sat at 1 I came early he confessed but I 1 id d have hung around all night for this and not thought it long are we going up in the hills not today we at least I 1 am go ing into town jane had private feel ings of reserve about riding into the hills with bill denison in the hilla hills we might get lost she suggested naively I 1 might but not in the way you mean I 1 in lost right now I 1 ve been lost for two days something came into my life two dais ago that I 1 hope will keep me dreaming the rest of mv my life don it talk nonsense you don t dare ask what I 1 was dreaming about was it about another dreamer it was I 1 know who then he looked at her with pathetic hope it was wag about mccrossen McC ale added he artlessly ne never er I 1 it was let lets s gallop she exclaimed cut ting him squarely off I 1 feel just like riding fast I 1 can beat yoo you t ti that big pinel when she pulled up after a brisk run her face was flushed ber bet eyes dancing her lips parted in laughter denison was j behind her why you didn dian it race at ill she complained looking around at ulm why didn dian t you try to pass me instead of sticking at my heels all the time it if I 1 passed you how in the corli could I 1 see you I 1 wish it was wag fifty miles more to sleepy cat dont you no IN well ell don dont it you wish it was just a few miles farther no not even two miles no well one mile then well maybe a mile say two what A hat a persistent teasel tease I 1 well two then and no more we could make it two by riding a little farther into the hills you might ride up that ay by yourself I 1 in just a groom I 1 have to follow my mistress oh no I 1 we austn t ride into town together you gallop ahead jane lunched that day at dr car py s hotel hoping she might see carpy himself fortune favored her the doctor was in the office when she came by the way doctor she said I 1 rode into town part of the way this morning with a neighbor of ours who bear a vary favorable deputa tion at G unlock gunlock but his name bill denison r TO BE CONTINUED JOWL JB alk A |