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Show INSTALLMENT TEN "drygulched" from the back. A shot was fired at Terry from behind, presumably pre-sumably by Lee Hart, brother of one of the victims. At secret meeting, the big ranchers plan, over Terry's objections, objec-tions, to bring in a. lot of Texas ex- answered. He was a little embarrassed embar-rassed at their directness. "But you don't like the way it is managed." "I don't think you can find in the territory a young man who can handle han-dle stock better than Mr. Terry." "He's dodging," the foreman said to Ellen, a gleam of laughter in his eyes. "But it won't do him any good. Mr. Powers will keep asking ask-ing questions till he finds out what he wants to know." They adjourned to the porch of the house. Carey talked plainly, as soon as he discovered that to do so would not be offensive to this stranger. Powers listened, fired more questions, ques-tions, learned the point of view of the small settler. It was not one with which he agreed, since he had been associated with big business all his life. But he was a man who faced facts. What Carey said confirmed con-firmed the wisdom of the decision he had made, to sell out as soon as it could be done. Ellen sat in silence, taking no part in what was said. Powers turned to her. "What do the women think about this trouble?" he asked. "They think it is terrible," she said. "What else can they think, Mr. Powers, when they see such awful things going on? Some of them are frightened to death for fear their sons or their husbands may never come back to them alive." "Because their men are thieves?" he went on, an edge of irony in his dry voice. "I suppose they are." Ellen carried car-ried on, impulsively. "But what of that? The women aren't to blame. Some of them try to hold back their husbands and their sons, but they can't. If they lose them, it doesn't peace officers to Invade the rusUers' lands and kill them. Terry summons sum-mons John Q. Powers, chief owner of his ranch, and persuades bim to offer the big Diamond Reverse B for sale to small ranchmen by dividing it up. heightened by the rumors to be heard around the railroad yards. The famous Sunday Brown was in charge of them, a man celebrated as a man-hunter in frontier days when the Indian Territory was a sink into which sifted most of the bad men of the Southwest It appeared that Brown had been seen talking with Clinton Ellison, secretary of the Wyoming Wy-oming Stock Association, but Ellison Elli-son in an interview denied any knowledge of the Texans. He had heard a Wild West Show was being organized. As to this, he had no positive information. One of the Texans, who asked not to have his name given, had admitted to the reporter re-porter that they were heading for the cattle country to clean up the rustlers who had been stealing so flagrantly. Carey passed the newspaper to Terry, pointing to the story. Calhoun read it, not a flicker of expression ex-pression on his face. It disturbed him even more than it did Carey, since he knew and the Box 55 man could only guess. VMaybe a reporter's yarn to fill space," he said evenly. Ellen pumped a question at Terry. Ter-ry. "Do you think they are coming to the Buck River country?" "There's something in the story about a Wild West Show," the foreman fore-man evaded. "That doesn't mean anything," Ellen replied impatiently. "That's just something Mr. Ellison told the reporter. If they are coming here, what do they intend to do? One of the Texans said they were going to clean up the rustlers. Did he mean ... kill them all?" "I had a disagreement with Mr. Ellison," replied Terry. "When I told him I was urging Mr. Powers to cut up and sell the ranch. He felt I was deserting the big outfit group. I am no longer in the confidence of the association. Naturally they wouldn't tell me their plans." "But what do you think?" Ellen insisted. "You must have an opinion." opin-ion." "I think that if I were a rustler I would be hitting the trail for parts unknown," Calhoun answered, looking look-ing directly at her. She worried about what she had read in the Republican, even after the foreman and Mr. Powers had left for the ranch. When Jeff Brand dropped into the crossroads stage station she lost no time in telling him the news. He would not believe the Texans were heading for the Buck River country, and if they came the invaders in-vaders would find the district too hot for them. The news about the Diamond Dia-mond Reverse B interested him more. . THE STORY SO FAR Ellen Terry is interested In two men dashing Jeff Brand, a rustler, and Calhoun Terry manager ot a big ranch, against whom Jeff and Jack Turley are most outspoken. out-spoken. Four rustlers had been killed CHAPTER XX Calhoun Terry took no unnecessary unneces-sary chances with the safety of his passenger. He had brought to town with him three Diamond Reverse B riders. One of these he sent to the corral to hitch a horse to the buck-board. buck-board. Another one took care of the horses. The third was a lad named Larry Richards. At a nod from the ranch manager man-ager Larry bowlegged along the plaza past Pegleg Jim's pool room, the Crystal Palace, and the Evans store. Through the swing doors of the Red Triangle saloon he passed, drawing up to the bar. There were half a dozen men in the room. The two upon whom his gaze fastened were Lee Hart and Jack Turley. They were playing a game of seven-up. Hank, the bartender, said, "What'll you have, Larry?" He was surprised to see a Diamond Dia-mond Reverse B man in the Red Triangle, a place largely patronized by those hostile to the ranch. Larry did not want a drink, but he ordered one. He was here only to make sure that nobody made a hole in another pane of glass while the boss and his guest were passing. Hart glanced up and stiffened. "Important customers patronizing you these days, Hank," he said offensively. of-fensively. "Better get out yore best." Young Richards was a cool, daring dar-ing man, with more than a streak of recklessness. He was a close personal per-sonal friend of his boss. "If it isn't Lee Hart," he drawled, enthusiasm in his voice. "How's everything ev-erything with you? Good calf crop this year?" The rustler started to jump to his feet, but thought better of it. 1 He said, "I'm not lookin' for trouble." trou-ble." "That's fine," Larry answered. "Neither am I. You had me scared for a moment, Lee." Hank polished the top of the bar with a toweL "Now, gents," he pleaded. "Let's not have any difficulty." diffi-culty." . "Better tell this young squirt to finish his drink and get out," Turley advised the bartender. "On account of me having the smallpox?" Larry inquired. "Men from your outfit are not welcome at Round Top," Hart growled. Richards recalled his instructions. He was' posted here as a guard, with definite orders not to get into a fight. It would be better for him to sing small, but not small enough to encourage these men to jump him. "I just dropped in for a last-chance last-chance drink on my way out of town," he mentioned in a placatory voice. 'No offense meant, gents. I didn't know there was a deadline on our riders here." "Not exactly a deadline, Larry." Hank polished vigorously. "But you know how things are." "Sure . . . Sure." Larry grinned down into his drink and refrained from further amenities. ameni-ties. The swing doors opened, to let in Slim. "I just dropped in for a last chance drink on my way out of town." make them any happier to know that they brought it on themselves. Some of those who once in a while brand a calf not their own are good men in a way good to their families, fami-lies, kind neighbors, generous to those in need." "Generous with other' people's property," the Philadelphian suggested. sug-gested. "Well, no need threshing that out ... I am going to step out of this feud before we get into it any deeper." "I don't quite see how," said Carey. "You and Miss Ellen will have to transfer your disapproval to some other ranch and some other manager.. man-ager.. We are going to cut up the Diamond Reverse B into small tracts and offer them for sale at attractive at-tractive prices." j Ellen felt a glow of joy beating up into her breast. If the Diamond Reverse Re-verse B was broken up into smaller units, it was because under present conditions so large a ranch could not be made to pay. The No, By Joe and the other big outfits would have to follow the same course. The bitter feeling in the country would automatically disappear. "I'm so glad!" she cried. Her eyes were on Calhoun Terry. She was speaking to him, perhaps asking him to forget the hot anger with which she had turned away from him at their last meeting. He understood her words as an apology. "Dog my cats! Where did you drop from, Slim?" Larry's expression of pleased surprise sur-prise did credit to his ability as an actor, considering the fact that the arrival of the other Diamond Reverse Re-verse B man was according to program. pro-gram. "I been around," Slim said. "On my way back to the range now. How about you keeping me company?" "I reckon I'll have to do that. Never saw it fail. When a fellow gets a bunch of nice friendly guys someone comes along and drags him away. Well, adios, gents! Been nice to meet you." Larry flashed a derisive smile at the seven-up players and turned his back to them. The legs of a chair in the back part of the room scraped against the floor. Somebody was getting to his feet hurriedly. Larry did not look round. His guess was that he had annoyed a seven-up player. He heard Turley's voice order harshly, "Sit down, Lee, you damn fool!" Blandly he said to his friend, "Yeah, I reckon we better be hit-tin' hit-tin' the trail, Slim." "It's the beginning of the break-up of the big ranches," he told her excitingly. ex-citingly. "I'll say for Terry that he is smart. The Diamond Reverse B will get out in time and save its hide. Some of the others are so stubborn that they won't." "Yes, they are stubborn," she agreed. "I'm glad Mr. Terry has broken with them. I never did believe be-lieve he had anything to do with the killings." Brand slanted a quick look at her. "Did he ever give you any hint who he thought the drygulcher was?" "No. I'm sure he doesn't know, and if he did he wouldn't tell me. We're not friendly." He frowned down at the ground, drawing a line in the sand with his boot. "I've spent a lot of time milling mill-ing that over, girl," he said. "It's someone who knows our habits mighty well. He must have known Buck was going to be where he was the morning he shot him. The same goes for Tetlow and Yeager. Not many men would know that. I've been over the list of men in my mind forty times, but none of them seem'to fit. Some of them are guys I would trust with my life. I have a specimen of his writing in my pocket now." "Let me see it," she suggested. "I've seen the writing of lots of people. When they send mail out, you know." He showed her the slip. Ellen read, "This is what happens to rustlers." rus-tlers." "Yes. I've seen the writing. At least I think so." She looked up at him, the light in her eys quick. "I'm not sure, but " Silently, his gaze on her, Brand waited. "Did you ever suspect that man Turley?" she asked. "Yes, and knew it couldn't be Jack. He's too bitter against the big ranches." She added: "I believe this is his writing. I'm not sure, but it looks like it." He put the slip in his pocket, his eyes diamond-hard and bright. "You won't get into trouble with him," Ellen said, repenting of what she had said. He changed the subject. "About those warriors in Denver. I don't believe they are looking for us." "I asked Mr. Terry what he thought," she said. "He looked straight at me, Jeff, and said that if he were a rustler he would light out and keep going." "He'd like to throw a scare into some of us he thinks are his enemies," ene-mies," Jeff replied derisively. "I don't scare that easy." f "I'm telling you this so that you will let others know about it," Ellen El-len told him. "Some of them may feel different from you about leaving." leav-ing." Ellen did not know whether she had been wise to warn him. It might only make more trouble. She wished too she had not mentioned Turley. (TO BE CONTIM ED) The cowboys sauntered out of the Red Triangle, mounted the two horses at the hitch-rack, and cantered can-tered up the street. They caught up with the buckboard before it had reached the cattle chutes by the railroad tracks. From the driver's driv-er's seat Terry slanted an inquiring glance at Larry. "Everything all right?" he asked. "Fine as silk." "Do you always take a cavalcade caval-cade of armed riders with you to town?" Powers wanted to know. "Never before this trip," the foreman fore-man answered, with a dry smile. "This is an escort of honor for a distinguished guest." "To make sure he reaches the ranch safely?" "Well, yes. I didn't want him to get a rustler's welcome." The party ate lunch at the Box 55 restaurant. Terry introduced Powers to Lane Carey and his daughter. "They don't approve of me or of the ranch," he explained to the Easterner. "But since you are only the owner and not responsible for the way it is run, perhaps you will escape criticism." Powers had come West to find out all he could about local conditions. "Why don't you approve of the Diamond Dia-mond Reverse B, Mr. Carey?" he asked bluntly. "I think it is one of the finest ranches in the West," the cattleman CHAPTER XXI As Terry and Powers were leaving. leav-ing. Lane Carey noticed a newspaper newspa-per sticking out of the Easterner's pocket. "Is that a Denver paper, Mr. Powers?" he asked. "The Denver Republican. Like to have a look at it?" "At the cattle quotations, if you don't mind. I'm shipping next week." Carey took the paper, hut he never nev-er got from it the information he was seeking. A front-page story caught and held his eye. The headline head-line was: RUSTLERS WAR IN WYOMING The story said that forty Texans had just reached the city and expected ex-pected to leave within a day or two for some unknown point in the northwest. north-west. The Texans, the story stated, were rough - looking customers armed with revolvers and .45-70 Winchester rifles. Most of them had been sheriffs or deputy United States marshals in Texas or Oklahoma. None of them knew exactly where they were going, and there was an air of mystery about their arrival. |