Show i r rr rI r I t tl L l IN 0 S reo sd M 19 r Sifts j Continued from tram test Jut Sunday On the morning of the third day if Dicksie Dunning who had gone home botne 1 from Medicine Bend and ane who had been bee telephoning Marion and George He hc c Cloud two days for news was trying to get Medicine Bend again on the telephone when Puss PUM Pu came in to say y that a man m n at the kitchen door warned wanted to see nee her bar Who Is fe jt Pus r I 1 doo Miss MIA Dictate deed d d I never neverseen neVErseen neverseen seen him Dicksie walked around on the porch to the kitchen A man sitting on a limp hone horse threw back the brim of his hie hat a as he touched it lifted himself stiffly out of the saddle addle and dropped to the ground gyo Und He laughed at startled expression Dont you know me he asked putting out his hand It was Whispering Smith He HI was a fearful sight Stained from head hud to foot with alkali saddle cramped and bent his face tace scratched and stained he stood with a smiling appeal in his hla bloodshot eyes eYell Dicksie Dick gave a little uncertain cry clasped her hands lands and with a scream threw her arms Impulsively around his neck Oh I did not know you What has happened I am so 80 glad to see you Tell me what has happened Are you hurt He stammered like a schoolboy Nothing has hall happened I real realize realIze realize ize what a tramp I look er or I have come But I was only a mile mUe away and I had heard beard nothing for four fout days from Medicine Bend And how howare howare howare are you Did your ride rid make you ill No By heaven you are le a game same girL That was waa a ride How are they all ali Wheres your cousin In town is he hei hei i 1 thought I might get pt some news new if It t I rode up and oh Miss Mia Dicksie some coffee But Ive got only two min minutes utes for it all only two minutes do you think Puss has any on the stove Dicksie with coaxing and pulling got him into the kitchen and Puss tum tumbled tumbled tumbled bled over herself to set out coffee anti ani rolls He showed himself ravenously hungry and Dd ate with a simple direct directness directs s ness nes that speedily accounted for every everything everything everything thing in sight You have saved aved my life Ufe Now I am going and thank you youa a thousand times There by heaven h aven Ive forgotten He is 18 with me waiting down in the cottonwoods at the fork Could Puss put pat up a lunch I could take to him He had a scrap crap for tor hours But Dicksie your tramp is a hummer Ive tried to ride him down and wear Weal him out and lose 1088 him and by heaven beaven he turns up every time and has been of more use Ulle to me than two men She put her hand band on Whispering Smiths arm I told him if he would stop drinking he could be foreman here next season sea on Puss was putting up the lunch Why need you hurry away persisted Dicksie tIe Ive got a thousand things to say my y He looked at her amiably This is really a case cane of must Then tell me what favor may I do for you She looked appealing ap nI to his tired eyes I 1 want to do something for tor you I must moat Dont deny me Only what shall it b be Something lor for me What can au I say y be kind to Marion MarionI I have to ask that What can I aak ask Stop there is one cue thing Ive got a poor little devil of ot an orphan up in 10 the Deep Creek country Du Sang Sane murdered his father rather You are rich and generous p Dicksie do something for him will you Kennedy or Bob Scott will know all about him Bring Brine him down here will you and see he h go co to the dogs Youre a good girl What this W crying Now you are 18 frightened Things are not so 80 bad Dad as aa that You want to know everything I see Me it in your eyes eye Very Vary VV well lets let trade You tell me everything and Ill Til tell you everything Now then Are you en engaged engaged engaged They were ware standing under the low porch with th the sunshine breaking through the trees She turned away her face and threw all ail allot of her happiness into a laugh I wont tell Oh enough You have told toH declared Whispering Smith I knew why of ot course corae I knew but I wanted to make you own up Well heres heras the way things are Sinclair has hu run usall us Ui usall all over Gods God creation for tor two days to give his bis pals a chance to break into Williams Cache to get the Tower W money they left with For Fora x Ii fact we have ridden completely around Sleepy Cat and been down In Inthe Inthe Inthe the Spanish Sinks since I saw w you He want to leave without the money and know it is in Ken Kennedys Kennedys Kennedys hands hand and cant get into the Cache ache to find And out Now the three tb whoever the other two are and Sin lair are trying to join forces some somewhere somewhere somewhere where up this valley and Kennedy Kenne y Scott and Iare I 1 are after them them and every outlet is watched and it must all be over my dear before nun flun set tonight that fine line I mean to have the than thing thine wound up somehow r Dont ont look worried Do JIO o not let him kW kill you the he cried with a sob sobHe sobHe sobHe He will wUl not DOt kill k l me dont be bea a I I am afraid Remember what your you life is to all of ot 1181 us Then of course e Ive got to thank t of what it is to myself my being the only one Ive got Sometimes I dont think much of it but when I get a welcome welcom like this It sets m me ins up If I can once get out of ot the accursed ed manslaughter ing business How old art are you Nineteen Well youve got the finest chap in all these the e mountains and George McCloud has hae It the finest With a bubbling laugh she shook her ho r finger at him Now you are caught Say the finest woman in these moun menu mountains If you dare Say the finest wom woman woman woman an anThe The finest woman of 19 in all creat crea clelL creation ion tion t He swung with a laugh into the saddle and waved his bis hat bat She watched him ride down the road and around the hill hili When he be reappeared she was still looking and he was galloping along long the thA lower road A man rode out at the fork to meet him and trotted with him over the bridge Riding leisurely across the creek their broad hats bobbing un unevenly unevenly unevenly evenly in the sunshine they spurred swiftly past the grove of quaking asps and in a moment were lost be beyond md the trees CHAPTER Crawling Stone Wash When Whispering Smith and his com companions companions companions were ware fairly started on the last I day of ot their ride it was vas toward a rift in the Mission range that the trail led them Sinclair air with consummate clev clevern ern had rejoined l his companions but the attempt to get Into the Cache A and his reckless ride into Medicine Bend had reduced their chances cha rel of escape to a single Ie outlet and that they trev th y must find up Crawling Stone vaie val The ne necessity necessity of it was spelled in m every vry m vc e the pursued pura men had lad made for twenty four hours hou They were riding the pick of mountain horseflesh ho esh and covering their tracks track by every device known to t the high country OO try Behind them made prudent by unusual danger rode the best men the mountain division lon could muster for the final effort u w bring brine them to account The fast riding of the early week had given ven way to the pace of caution No trail sign Bien was over overlooked looked no point of concealment direct directly ly approached no hiding place left un searched scorched The tension of a long Io day of this work was wu drawing to a close when the tM sun set and left the big wash in the shadow of the mountains On the high higher er ground to the right Kennedy and Scott were riding where they could com command command command mand the gullies of the precipitous left bank of the river High RIch on the left bank itself worming his hi way like a anAke snake nAke from point to point of or conceal concealment concealment concealment ment through the scanty brush of the crawled commanding com commanding manding the pockets in the right bank Closer to the river on the right and fol lowing the trail itself over oyer shale and rock and between scattered Whispering Smith low on his horses neck rode slowly It was almost too dark to catch the slight discolorations where pebble had hat been disturbed on a flat surface or the calk of a horseshoe had slipped sUpped on the uneven face of a ledge and he had halt halted halted halted ed under an uplift to wait watt for Wick wire on the distant left to advance when half halt a mile below him a horse horseman horseman horseman man crossing the river rode slowly past pasta a gap pp in the rocks rock and disappeared dl be low the next bend He was followed In a mm moment nt by a second cond rider and a third Whispering Smith knew kne he had bad hadnot hadnot not been seen He had bad flushed the game and wheeling his horse rode straight up the river bank to high ground where he could circle widely below them They had slipped sUpped between his line Une and Wick wires wire s and were doubling back fol lowing the dry bed of the stream It was impossible to recall Kennedy and Scott without giving an alarm but by a quick detour he could at least hold the quarry back for twenty minutes with Ah hiS his rifle ne and In ln that time e Ken nedy and Scott could come ome up Less Le than half halt an hour of ot daylight re If It the outlaws outlaw could slip sUp down the wash al and out Into the Crawling Stone t e valley they had every chance of getting away In to the night and if the third man should be Barney Reb tock Whispering Smith knew that Sinclair thought only of ot escape alone ot of L the pur pursuers could W now Intercept them but a second hope remained On the left wu was high enough to command every turn in the bed of the river He might see them and could force torce them to cover with his rifle even at long T range S CastIng up P the chances Whispering Smith riding faster over the uneven ground JOund than Anything anything bul but sheer recklessness would fc have Prompt d hastened across the waste His HIli I fie fl lay In his hand band and he had pushed his horse hone to a run A single fearful ln in int stint crowded now upon On the long IonS strain ot of the week A Savage sanKe fascination burn burned like a i fever In his veins and he meant that they should not t get gt away Taking chances that would have shamed h him In ln cooler moments he forced his horse hone ho at the end of or thelon the long ride to within loo paces of the river threw the lines lIne slipped like a lizard from the saddle and darting with In credible swiftness from rock to rock gained the waters edge From up the long shadows of nf ti tin the wash there came the wall wail ot of an n ow owl From It he knew that had seen them and was warning him but he had anticipated the warning and stood below where the hunted men must ride He strained his eyes over ov r the waste of rock above For hou hour SL of daylight W ht he would WOUW have sold W In m that moment ten years of ot his life What could he do if they should be able to secrete themselves until dark between him and Gliding under cov er of huge rods up the dry watercourse he rea reached hed a spot wh where re the floods flood had e scooped a long hollow curve out of soft ledge in the bank leaving a stretch a of smooth sand on the bed of at the stream At the upper point great bowl den ders pushed out of the river He could not Inspect the curve from the spot he had gained without reckless s exposure but he must force torce the little daYlight left to him Climbing completely over the lower point he advanced cautiously from behind and a sheltering spur stepped out T upon an overhanging table of rock and looked across the river bottom Three men had halted on the sand with In the curve Two lay on era their rifles under the upper point pacer from Whispering Smith The third man Sea grut grue less leM than fifty yards ard away had got off his horse hone and was waa laying down his rifle when the screeched again and he looked back ck They had chosen for their halt a spot o easily defended and needed only Harkness to make them safe satt when Smith steppes out Into plain sight threw forward his hand They h heard his sharp call to pitch nitch and the toe i up men under the point Jumped had not yet taken h his hand from his rifle He tire threw It to his shoulder A As two fingers of the right closely ha hand together fn can n r as SS be struck twice in the Sim palm ot of the left two rifle shots cracked across the wash ss they Two as might bullets have pa passel sed so close One In out cut flight the dusty hair from Smiths temple sad and slit the brim of his hIa hat above ear the other Sea ue under the left eye plowed through the roof of his mouth and coding out below hIs ear splintered the rock at Ills his back The shock alone would have stag a bullock but laughing came f ard IT pumping H his gun Sin n clair J at l yards ards cut instantly into the tube fight and the ball from his rifle cr creased the toe alkali that crusted Smiths unshaven cheek As Aa he fired he hp sprang to cover corer For and an l Smith there was no cover for one or both it was death In the open and with his Title tine at his cheek k walked straight into It Taking for tor a moment the fire of the three guns Runs Whispering Smith stood a 8 perfect target outlined ou against the sky They whipped the dust from his coat tore the sleeve from his wrist and ripped the blouse collar from his neck but butic he ic felt no bullet shock He saw before him only the buckle of grues belt forty fort v paces paNs away and sent bullet after bullet bull t at the gleam of brass between the sights Both men were using high pressure pressure guns and the deadly shocks of the slugs made twitch and stagger ta ger The man was is dying d mg as m nl walked Smiths hand was racing with U H lever ler and had a cartridge jammed the steel would have snapped like a match It was beyond human endurance to support the leaden le den death The little square quare of brass between the sights wa wavered wavered Wavered vered stumbled doubled on his knees and staggering plunged loose loosely loosely ly forward on the sand Whispering Smith threw his fire toward tho the bowlder behind which Sinclair and Barney Reb stock had disappeared Suddenly he realized that the bullets from the point were not coming his way He lie was aware of or a second rifle duel above the bend worm vonn I y 1 1 I I I r I Ir ID Is r D s Stumbled to the Sand Sanding Sanding Sanding ing his way down the stream had un uncovered uncovered uncovered covered Sinclair and young from behind A yell between the shots rang across the wash and the cringing figure of a man ran out toward Whis Whispering WhISpering Whispering Smith with his hands high in inthe inthe inthe the air and pitched headlong on the ground It was the Barney driven out by fire The shooting Mooting ceased cea Silence fell upon the gloom of the dusk Then came a calling between Smith and and a signaling of pistol pl tol shots for their companions Kennedy and Bob Scott dashed down toward the river bed on ont t horses lay on his face Young sat with his hands around his knees on the sand Above him at some distance anc and Smith stood before a man who leaned against the sharp cheek of the bowlder at the point In his hands his rifle was held across his lap just as he had hac dropped on his hl knee to fire He had never nearer moved after alter he was waa struck His H I head drooping a little rested against the rock and his hat lay on the sand his heavy hea Y beard had sunk into his chest chestand chestand chestand and he kneeled In the shadow asleep Scott and Kennedy knew him In the mountains there was no double for Mur Murray Murray Murray ray Sinclair When he jumped behind the point to pick Whispering Smith off the ledge h he had laid himself directly under Wick wires fire across the wash The |