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Show aaaaaaaaaT ,fc - wTiMmMjr j i CROOKED TRAILS STRAIGHT j Mill & in JVkcZeod IPazne I COPYR1GHT.BY G.W.DlLLfNGHAM COTlFVJ-rTT I 8YN0P8I8. I Part I. I CHAPTEn f. Adventurous and reek !, rather than criminal, and exulted by Iquor Curly Flandrau and hla chum, I Mao both practically mere boys, become a involved In a horae-atealtng adventure. Dlepoaing of the etolen atock In the town I ef Saguache, Aria., the band separatee, J Curly and hla partner aiming In town. I They are awakened and told a poaae la f In town In purault of them. They elude 3 their puratieia. Overtaken next day, Mac j la killed by the poaae and Curly made f captive, after he lias ahot one and hlm- J self been wounded. The man ahot la J Luck Culllaon. CHAPTER Il.-Culllaon'a friends, all 7 cattlemen, determine to lynch Curly aa a an example to cattle thlevee. With the ! rope around hla neck ha la naved by the j Intervention of Kate Culllaon, Luck a 1 daughter. J CHAPTER III. J The Culliaona, and Laura London. I Curly was awakened hy the sound I of the cook heating the call to breuk- j fM on n triangle. Buck was standing 1 beside the bed. "How'ro they coming this glud I moiling, gOse!" he Inquired with u I (Tin. Yi "Fine and dundy," grinned back -, Flundrttu. "How la Culllaon?" I "Uond ns the wheut, doc nays. Might v j lucky for Mr. 0, Flandrau that he Is. Say, I'm to be yore valley and help yen Into them clothes. (Jit u wiggle on you." liuck escorted his prisoner over to the ranch messhouse. The others had '.'i finished breakfast but Muloney was ... Still eating. Ills mouth was full of hot cakes, but be nodded across at 1 Curly In n casual friendly way. 2 "How's the villain In the play this 9 mo'ulng?" he liiciulrrd. i Twenty-one usually looks on the I cheerful side of life. Curly had for- ty goiien for the moment ubout what J had happened to his friend Mac. He . did not remember that he was In the ' shadow of u ienltcntlury sentence. Tin- sun was shining out of a deep blue sky. The vigor of youth flowed V through hla veins. He was hungry and a good breakfast was before him. For the present these were enough. "Me, I'm feeling a heap better than I was lust night," he uduiltted. "Came pretty near losing you out of the cast, didn't we?" "Might n-turned out that way if the stage manager hnd not remembered the right cue in time." The heart of the prisoner went out to this inn n who mi reaching u hand to him In his trouble. He had always known that Maloney was true and steady as a snubbing post, but he had .not looked for any kindness from him. "Kite Just got a telephone message from Saguache," the liar Double M man went on easily. "Your friends that bought the rustled stock didn't get away with the goods. Seems they stumbled Into a bunch of rurules unexpected unex-pected and had to pull their freight sudden." . "Make their gctuwuy?" Curly In- Vj quired ns Indifferently as he could. '$ But In spite of himself a note of cnger- j ness crept Into his voice. For if the V men bud escaped that would be two 'fe less witnesses against him. S "Yep." , "Too bad. If they hadn't I could w have proved by them I was not one of J? the men who sold them the stock," I Flandrau replied. "Like h you couid," Buck snorted, then grinned at his prisoner In u ahnme fnced way: "Tau're a good one, ' son." Jake stuck his head In at the door. "Buck, you're needed to help with them two-year-olds. The old man wanta to have a talk with the rustier. Doc aaya he may. Maloney, will you take him up to the houseT" Maloney had once ridden for the j Circle C and was friendly with all the j men on the place. He nodded. "Sure." A Mexican woman let them Into the chamber where the wounded man lay. I Kate was bending over the bed re-! arranging the pillows, but she looked B) W quickly when the two men entered. V vJefer r-vt" "''"' M1" 'n,le wl"' ""' iove that had been shining down from , them upon her father. Culllson spoke. "Sit down, Dick." And to his prisoner: "You too." Flandrau saw close at hand for the first time the man who had been Arl- ': aona's most famous fighting sheriff. Luck Culllson was well-built and of . ft medium height, of a dark complexion, r clean shin en, wiry and muscular. Already Al-ready past tifty, he looked not a duv moro thun forty. One glance wgl enough to tell Curly the kind of man this was. The power of him found ex presslon In the gray steel-chilled aM that bored Into the young outlaw. "You have begun eurly, young fellow," fel-low," he said quietly, "But never mind I "You Have Begun Early, Young Fellow," Fel-low," He Said Quietly. that. I don't ask you to convict yourself. your-self. 1 sent for you to tell you I don't blame you fi r this." He touched the wound In his side. "Different with your boys, sir." "So the boys are a little excited, are they?" "They were last night, anyhow," Curly nnswered, with a glimmer of a smile. Culllson looked quickly at Muloney and then at his daughter. "I'll listen to what you've been hiding hid-ing from me," he told them. "Oh, the boys had notions. Mis Kate argued with them and they saw things different," the Bar Double M rider explained. But Culllson would not let it go at that. He made them tell him the whole story. When Curly and Maloney had finished he burled bis daughter's little bund In his big brown fist. Ills eyes were dancing with pride, but he gave her not n word of spoken praise. Kate spoke to Curly. "Father wants me to tell you that we don't blame you for shooting at him. We understand Just how It was. Your friend got ex cited nnd shot as soon us he saw In wns surrounded. We are both very sorry be was killed. Father could not stop the boys In time. Perhaps you re-member re-member that lie tried to get you to surrender." The rustler nodded. "Yes, I bean! him holler to me to put my gun down but the others blazed away at me." "And so you nnttirully defended yourself. Father wants It made cleat that lie feels you I'ould have done notb ing alaa." "Much obliged. I've been sorry evet since I hit him, and not only on my own account." "Then none of us need to hold ban! feelings." The girl looked at her fa ther, who answered her appeal with a grim nod, and then she turned again to the yotlng rustler a little timidly. "1 wonder If you would mind if I asked you a question." "You've earned the right to ask a many ns you like." "It's about We huve been told you know the mun they call Soupy Stone. Is thut true?" Flandrntf s eyes took on a stony look It was as If something had sponged all the boyishness from his face. Still trying try-ing to get him to give away his part ners In the rustling, were they? Well he would show them he could take hit medicine without squealing. "Your boys were asking that question ques-tion about Soapy lust night. They had a rope round my neck at the time Nothing unfriendly In the matter, of course. Just a cusuul Interest In my doings." Culllson was looking at him with the steel eyes that bored Into htm like gimlet. Now he spoke sharply. "I've got an account r nin'ng w'l. Sonpy Stone. Some day I'll se' le M likely. But that ain't the point now. Do you know his friends the bunch he trails with?" Weariness still seemed to crouch In the cool eyes of Flandrau. "And If I say yes, I'll bet your next questlo. will be about the time and the place I last saw them." Kute plckedup nphotograph from the table and handed It to the pflaowf . "We're not Interested In bis friends except one of them. Did you ever see the boy that sat for that picture?" The print was a snapshot of n hoy about nineteen, a bright-faced handsome hand-some fellow, n little sulky around the mouth but with a pair of straight hon-est hon-est eyes. Curly shook his bend slowly. Yet be was vaguely reminded of some one he knew. Ulnnclng up, he found Instantly Instant-ly the clue to what had puzzled him. The young man In the picture was like Knte Culllson, like her father, too, for that matter. "He's your brother." The words were out before Flandrau could stop them. "Yes. You've never met him?" "No." Culllson hud been watching the young man steadily. "Never saw him with Soapy Stone?" "No." "Never heard Stono speak of Sam Culllson?" "No. Sonpy doesn't tnlk much ubout who his friends are." The ex-sherlff nodded. "I've met hlin." Of course he bad met him. Curly knew the story of how In one drive he had made o gather of outlaws that bad brought fame to him. Soapy had broken through the net, but the sheriff had followed him Into the bills alone and run hlin to earth. What passed between the men nobody ever found out. Stone had repeatedly given It out thut he could not be taken alive. But Culllson had brought him down to the valley bound and cowed. In due season sea-son the bandits had gone over the road to Yuinn. Soapy and the others had sworn to get their revenge some day. Now they were back In the hills at their old tricks. Was It possible that Culltson's son wns with them, caught in n trap during some drunken frolic Just ns Curly had been? In what wny could Stone pay more fully the debt of hate he owed the former sheriff than by making his son a villain? vil-lain? The little doctor came briskly Into the room. "Ittry body out but the nurse. You've had company enough for one day. Luck," he announced cheerily. Kate followed Maloney and his prisoner pris-oner to the porch. "About the letters of your friend that wns shot," she snld to Curly. "Doctor Brown wus telling me what you said. I'll see they rencb Miss Anderson. An-derson. Do you know In wbut res-tnurant res-tnurant she works?" "No. Mnc didn't tell me." The boy gulped to swallow nn unexpected lump In his thront. "They wus expecting to get married soon." "I I'll write to her," Knte promised, her eyes misty. "I'd be obliged, miss. Muc wns n good boy. Anyone will tell you that. And he was awful fond of her. He talked about her that last night before the enmp fire. Bad companions got him going wrong, but he sure would have settled down Into n good man. That's straight goods, too. You write It strong." "I've changed my mind. I'll not write but go to see her." Curly could only look his thanks Words seemed strangely Inadequate But Kate understood the boy's unspoken un-spoken wish and nodded her head reassuringly re-assuringly as he left the room. Kite Bonflls and Maloney look Curly hack to Sngunche and turned' him over to Sheriff Bolt. "How about ball?" Maloney asked The sheriff smiled. He was a long lean lentherfuccd man with friendly eves from which humorous wrinkles railluted. "Oh, sny two thousand." "You're on." "What !" A cow-puncher with fifty dollars two weeks after pay day was a rarity. No wonder Bolt wus surprised. "It's not my money. Luck Culllson Is going ball for him," Muloney ex-plained. ex-plained. "Luck Culllson I" Maloney's words hnd surprised the exclumntlon from Curly. Why should the owner of the Circle C of nil men go ball for hlin? The sheriff commented dryly on the fact. "I thought this kid was the one thut shot him." "That was Just u happenstance. Curly shot to save his bacon. Luck don't hold any grudge." Bolt belonged to the political party opposed to Culllson. He hud been backed by Cuss Fcndriek, u sheepmun In feud with the cuttle Interests and In pnrtlcular with the Circle C outfit. Hut he could not go back on his word. He and Maloney called together on the district attorney. An hour later Dick returned to the Jail. "It's all right, kid," he told Curly. "You can shake off the dust of Saguache Sa-guache from your hoofs till court moots In September." To Flandrau the news seemed too g I for the truth. Less thun twenty-four twenty-four hours ago he had been waiting for the end of the road with a rope u round his neck. Now he wns free to slip u saddle on his pony Keno und a I lop off ns soon as be pleased. Idle be and Maloney were sitting opposite each other at the New Orleans Hush House waiting for a big sle:il wth onions he usked questions. "I don't savvy Culllson's play. Why-for Why-for Is he digging up two thousand for mo? I low does be know I won't cut my stici; for Mexico? Do you suppose Miss Knte iiiude hlin?" "I reckon majiw si,e Influenced bint Itut why did she? You don't figure thut rtirVr topknot of yowi is disturbing disturb-ing In i rtl -si ii im any. do you?" "Quit your Joshing and teil me why?" "I can't tell you for sure. Hut here's my guess. Don't cost you a cent If yon ain't satisfied with It. First off. there was poor Muc shot by the Circle O boys. Course Mac wu t horse thief, j but then he was it kid, too. That wor- rled the little girl some. She got to thinking about Brother Sam and how j he might be In the MUM ft one of , these days as you are now. He's on her mind n good deal, Sam Is. Same wu with the old man too, I reckon, though be don't sny much. Well, she I decided Soupy Stone hnd led you astray like he's doing with Sum. It got to worrying her for fear her brother broth-er might need a friend some time. So she handed over her worry to the old , man and made hlin dig up for you." "That's about It. Tell me what you ' ! know of Sam." "Sam Is nil right, but he has got off wrong foot first. He and the old man got to kind of disagreeing, for the kid was a wild colt. Come by It honestly from the old man, too. Well, they had a row one time when Sum got Into trouble. Luck told him he never wanted want-ed to see him again. Sam lit out, and next folks knew he was trailing with Soup.v's gang." "Looks like some one ought to be able to pry him loose from thut bunch," j Curly mused aloud. Muloney grinned across at him. "You try It, son. You've always led a ! good pious life. He sure would listen to you." He had snld It as a Jest, but Curly I did not laugh. Why not? Why I shouldn't he hunt up Sam and let him know how his folks were worrying about him? He wns footloose till September Sep-tember und out of a Job. For he could ! not go buck to the Map of Texas with j his hat In bis hand and u repentant whine on ills lips. Why not hike Into the hills und round up the boy 7 "Damn If I don't take a crack at It." The man on the other side of the table stared at him. "Meaning that, are you?" "Yep." "Might be some lively If Soupy gets wise to your intentions," he said In a casual sort of way. "I don't aim to declare them out loud." That, was all they snld nbout It at that time. The rest of the evening wus dtvotod to pleasure. Since their way was one for several miles Maloney and Curly took the road together -next morning ut daybreak. Their ponies ambled along side by side at the easy gait characteristic of the Southwest. Your plainsman Is a taciturn Individ Indi-vid mil. These two rode for un hour without exchanging a syllable. At Willow Wasli their ways diverged. di-verged. They parted with the cusuul "So-long; see you luter." Curly wns , striking for the headwaters of Dead Cow creek, where Soapy Stone hud h horse ranch. About two o'clock ho reached n little lit-tle park In the hills. In the middle of which, by n dry creek, lay u ranch. The young man at first thought the plueo wns deserted for the day, but when he called a girl appeared at the door. She was a young person of soft curves und engaging dimples. Beneath Be-neath the brown cheeks of Arizona wns n pink thut came and went very attractively. Curly took off his dusty gray lint. "I'll Bet I'm Too Late to Draw Any Dinner." "Buenos tardes, senorlta I I'll bet I'm too lute to draw any dinner." "Buenos, senor," she answered promptly. "I'll bet you'd lose your money. You can wash over there by the pump. There'B a towel on the fence." She disappeared Into the house and Curly took care of his horse, washed, and suuntered back to the porch. He could smell potatoes frying and could hear the sizzling of ham and eggs. While he ate, the girl flitted la and out, soft-footed and graceful, replenishing replen-ishing his plate from time to time. Presently he discovered that her father fa-ther was awuy hunting struys on Sunk creek, thut the nearest neighbor wns seven miles distant and that Stones runeh wns ten miles further up Dead Cow. "Ever meet a lad culled Sum Culllson?" Cul-llson?" the guest asked carelessly. Curly wus hardly prepared to see the color whip Into her cheeks or to meet the quick stabbing look she fastened fast-ened on hlin. "You're looking for him, are you?" she said. "Do you know hlin?" He shook his bend. She looked at him very steadily before she spoke ugaln. "You haven't met him yet, but you want to. Is that it?" "That's It." ""Will you huve another eggf" Flandrau laughed. "No, thank. S'njlng up at Kiones, Is he?" "Mow should I know who's staying , at Stone's?" It wns quite plain he did not In tend to tell anything thai would hurt i mi Culllaon, "Are you expcetlm; to stop In the toils long or just visiting?" "Yes." curly nnswered, with his uiosl Innocent blank look. "Yi s w hleh?" "Why, whichever you like, IIIN London. What's worthing you? If you'll iisk me plain out I'll know hov, io ansa er you." "So von know my name?" "Anything strange ubout that? The Itar W Is the London brand. I saw roar nlvtt in the conn with their ih hks still sore. Naturally I assume lie young lady I meet here Is Miss I.miiiii London." "Wnal do on want with Sinn Oil Itsunl Arc you friendly to him? Or aren't you?" "Ladles first. Are yotj friendly to hlin? Or aren't you?" Curly smiled gu.ly across the table nt ber. A faint echo of bis pleasantry began to dimple the corners of her mouth. Both of them relaxed to peals of laughter, and neither of them quite knew the cause of their hilarity. "Oh, jmi!" she reproved when she had sufficiently recovered. "So j ou thought I vas a detective or a deputy sheriff. That's certainly funny." "For all I know yet you may be one." "I never did see anyone with n disposition dis-position so dark-complected as yours. If you won't put them suspicions to sleep I'll have to table my canN." I From his pocket he drew n copy of the Saguache Sentinel and showed her a marked story. "Maybe: thut win ex- pluln wbut I'm doing up ou Dead Cow." Tills Is what Laura London rend : "From Mesa conies the news of another an-other case of bold und flagrant rustling. On Friday night a bunch of horses belonging to the Bar Double M were founded up and driven across the mountains to this city. The stolen unliuals were sold here this morning, after which the buyers set out nt once for the border ami the thieves made themselves scarce. it Is claimed that the rustlers were members mem-bers of the notorious Soapy Stone out-lit. out-lit. Two of the four were Identified, It la alleged, as William Cranston, generally gen-erally known us 'Bud BUI,' and a young vaquero called 'Curly' Flandrau. "In case the guilty parties are apprehended ap-prehended the Sentinel hopes an example ex-ample will be made of them that will deter others of like stump from a practice that has of late been far too common. Lawlessness seems to come In cycles. Just now the southern tier of counties appears to be suffering from such a sporadic attack. Let all good men combine to stump It out. The time has passed when Arizona must stand us a synonym for anarchy." anar-chy." She looked up nt the young man breathlessly, her pretty lips parted, her dilated eyes taking him In solemnly. solemn-ly. A question trembled on "her lips. "Are you this man mentioned here? What's bis name 'Curly' Flandrau?" "Yes." "And you're a rustler? Why do men do such things?" letting the bands that held the paper drop Into her lap helplessly. "You don't look bad. Anyone Any-one would think " Her sentence tailed out and died away. She was still looking at Curly, but be could see that her mind had fiown to some o eg else. 1 1 would have bet a month's pay that she was thinking of number lad who was wild but did not look had. Flatidruu rose and walked round the tuble to her. "Much obliged, Miss Luiiru. I'll shake bunds on that with yon. You've guessed It. Course, mu being so 'notorious' I bate to admit It, but 1 ain't bad any more than he Is." She guve ti I in u gOldl shy look. "You mean this 'Had Bill?'" "You know who I mean, all right. His name Is Sam Culllson. And you needn't to tell me where he is. I'll find hlin.'' "I know you don't menu any harm to him." But she said It us If she were pleading with him. "C'rect. I don't. Cun you tell me how to get to Soupy Stone's rnncb from here. Miss London 1" She laughed. Her doubts were vanishing van-ishing like mist before the sunshine. "Cood guess. At leust be was there the lust I heard." "And I expect your Information Is pretty recent." Thut drew another little luugh, accompanied ac-companied by a blush. "Don't you think I have told you enough for one day, Mr. Maudruu?" "That 'Mr.' sounds ton solemn. My friends cull me 'Curly,' " be let her know. She remembered that he was a stranger and a rustler and she drew up stiffly. This pleasant you.ig fellow wus too fumlllur. "If you take this trull to the scrub pines ubove, then keep due north for about four miles, you'll strike the creek again. .lust follow the trull iiiong it to the borne ranch," With that she turned on her heel und walked into the kitchen. Curly hud not meant to be "fresh." He was ulwuys ready for foolery with the girls, but he was noi the sort to gO too far. Now be blamed himself for baring moved too fust. He had offended of-fended her sense of what wue the proper thing. There wus nothing for it but to sad die and take the roud. This thrilling' story will be eon-, tinued in the next issue of The Kec-ord. Kec-ord. A good serial story, selected fioin the works of the liest conteni porary authors, will henceforth be a regular feature of The Record, und will alone be worth tha subscription price of the paper. See that your subscription is kept paid in advance, '-1-- and do not raiai a single number.) ip$ |