Show n fir o W r i 1 4 Jvj r f By TANK SPEAPMAN t f t c7 II05TRATIONS BY f1NDllEBOWL15 L N COPYRIGHT BY CHASSGSBNERS cSAVS SYNOPSIS i Murray Sinclair and his gang of wreck rs were called out to clear the railroad IrHcks at Smoky Crock McCloud aden oune roiul superintendent tof lloolitig rlalrandal nun nth ilalr and his men In the net ot looijng the wrecked train Sinclair pleaded hr lioccnce declarIng It only amounted to a umall 8Uma treat for the men Mc loud discharged the whole outfit and ordered the I wreckage burned McCloud recame i licqunlntcd with Dliksle Dunning a girl tf the went who came to look nt the wreck She sao him a message for Sill rlulr Whispering Gordon Bnith told President Ducks of the railroad of Mc Clouds bravo light against a garlg of I razed miners and that was the reason or the superintendents appointment to for I high olllce McCloud arranged toward to-ward at the boarding house o Mrs Sin flair the exforemans deserted wife nickulo Dunning Wild the dauuliter of the Juto Ulclmrd Dunning who hid died of a broken heart shortly after his wiles demise which occurred aftel one year of married life Sinclair visited Marlon Sin Halts shop and a fight between him and McCloud was narrowly averted Smoky Creels bridge was mysteilously burned tvtcCloud prepared to face the situation president Hucks notified Smith that he laud work ahead McCloud worked for lays and finally got thj division running In fairly good order He overheard Dick the criticising his mijthoda to Marlon Sinclair A stock train was wrecked by nn open switch Later a passenger train was held up and the express car robbed Two men of a posse pursuing the bandits were killed McCloud was notified that Whispering Smith was to hunt the desperadoes des-peradoes Bill Dancing a load lineman proposed that Sinclair and his gang bo pent to hunt the bandits A stranger apparently o ap-parently with authority told him to go ahead Dancing was told the stranger was Whispering Smith Smith approached ap-proached Sinclair lie tried to buy him off but failed Ho warned McCloud that Ills life was In danger McCloud was carried car-ried forcibly Into Lance DunnIngs pres rnrp Dunning refused the railroad a rightofway ho had already signed for IPYkHle Interfered to prevent a shooting iiflniy Dlckslo met McCloud on a lonely tail to warn him his life was In danger On his wav home a hot passed through Ills hat Whispering flmlth reported Hint pit Sang ono of Sinclairs Bans had been hfilgned to kill McCloud He and Smith paw Du Sang Whlspetlng Smith taunted taunt-ed Du Sang and told him to get out of Medicine Uend or suffer Du Sang seemed I 1r nilf iimK to thn hltlff MrCloilds bid fonstructlon job was taken from him be rntise of an Injunction Issued to Lance HMmnlns by the United States court A rudden rise of the Crawling Stone river created consternation Dlcksie and Matron Ma-tron appealed to McCloud for help Whls Verlnc Smith Joins the group CHAPTER XVIII Continued Marion put her hand for a moment on his coal sleeve he looked at Dick sic with another laugh and spoke to her because ho dared not look toward Marlon Going back tonight do you say You never are Dlcksie answered quite In earnest Oh but we are We must Why did you come then Its taken half tho night to get hero and will take a night and a halt at least to get back We came to ask Mr McCloud for some giuln sacks you know they have nothing to work with at the irnnch said Marion and ho said we might have some and we are to send for them In the morning I sue But we may as well talk plainly Smith looked at Dlcksie You are ns brave and as game as a girl can be I know or you couldnt i nave dono this Sacks full of sand i with the boys at tho ranch to handle them would do no more good tomorrow tomor-row at tho bend than bladders Tho rhor Is flowing into Squaw lake above there now A hundred men that know the game might check things yet if theyie there by daylight Nobody else and nothing else on Gods earth canThere There was silence before the fire TtfcCloud broke it I can put the 100 i men there at daylight Gordon If Miss Dunning and her cousin want them nid > McClould Marion sprang to her feet Oh will you do that Mr McCloud McClouu looked at Dickslo If they are wanted Dlckslo tried to look at the fire Wo nave hardly deserved help from Mr McCloud at tho ranch she said at last 4astHo Ho put out his hand I must object Tho first wreck I ever had on this division di-vision Miss Dunning rode 20 miles to Dffer help Isnt that true Why I would walk 100 miles to return tho offer to her Perhaps your cousin would object ho suggested turning i to Dlckslo but no I think wo can manage that N6w what are wo going to do You two cant go back tonight to-night that Is certain Ve must Then you will have to go In boats t > ald Whispering Smith But tho hill road There is five feet of water across It In half a dozen places I swam my horse through so I ought to know t It Is all backwater of course Miss rJB Dunning explained McCloud Not JI dangerous Y But moist suggested Whispering Smith especially In tho dark McCloud looked at Marlon Then tots be sensible ho said You and Miss Dunning can halo my tent Is this where you stay asked JOlcksIe Four of us sleep In tho cots when wo can and an indefinite number lie on tho ground when it rains Which Is your bed I usually sleep there Ho pointed to tho ono on the right I thought so It has tho blanket folded back so neatly just as if there were sheets under It Ill hot there arent any Do you thltk this Is a summer resort re-sort Knlsoly my assistant sleeps there but of course we aro never both in lied at tile same time hes down J the river tonight Its a sort of continuous i con-tinuous performance you know Mc Cloud looked at Dtcksle Take oft your coat wont you please Whispering Smith was trying to drag a chest from the foot of tho cot and Marlon stood watching What are you trying to do I Get this over to the table for a seat Silly man why dont you move tho table Dlcksle was taking off her coat How Inviting It all Isl she smiled And this Is where you stay When it rains answered McCloud Let me havo your hat too My hair Is a sight I know Wo rode over rocks and up gullies Into the brush And through lakesoh I know I cant conceive how you ever got here at all Your hair is all right This is camp anyway But If you want a glass you can have one Kiilscly Is a groat swell hes Just from school and has no end of things Ill rob his bag Dont disturb Mr Kniselys bag for the world But you are not taking oft your hat You seem to have something on your mind Help mo to get it oft my mind will you please If you will let me Tell mo how to thank you for your generosity I tame all the way over hero tonight to ask you for Just tho help you halo offered and I could not It stuck In my throat But that wasnt what was on my mind Tell mo what you thought when I acted so dreadfully at Marions I didnt deserve anything better after placing myself In such a fool position Why nont you ask mo what I thought the day you acted so beautifully beau-tifully at Crawling Stone ranch I thought that tho finest thing I ever sawYou You were not to blame at Marl ons I seemed to be which Is Just as bad I am going to start the phones going Its up to me to make good you know In about four hours with a lot of men and material Arent you going to take off your hatand your gloves are soaking wet A voice called the superintendents name through the tent door Mr Mc CloudWhat What is It Dill Twentyeight and ninetenths on the gauge sir McCloud looked at his companions I told you so Up threetenths Thank you Bill Ill be with you in a minute Tell Cherry to come and take away tho supper things will you That is about all the water we shall get tonight to-night I think Its all wo want added McCloud glancing at his watch Im going to take a look at the river Wo shall bo quiet now around here until un-til halfpast three and If you Marlon and Miss Dunning will take tho tent you can havo two hours rest before we start Bill Dancing will guard you against Intrusion and If you want Ice water ring twice CHAPTER XIX A Talk with Whispering Smith When Whispering Smith had followed fol-lowed McCloud from the tent Dlckslo turned to Marlon and caught her hand Is this tho terrible man I have heard about she murmured And I thought him ferocious But Is he as pitiless ns they say Marion Marion laugheda troubled little laugh of surprise and sadness Dear he Isnt pitiless at all Ho has Unpleasant un-pleasant things to do and does them Ho Is the man on whom tho railroad I relies to repress tho lawlessness that breaks out in tho mountains at times nnd interferes with tho operating of tho road It frightens people away and prevents others from coming into in-to settle Railroads want law and order Robbery and murders dont snake business for railroads They depend de-pend on settlers for developing a country dont you know otherwise they would have no traffic not to speak of wanting their trains and men let alone When Mr Bucks undertook under-took to open up this country to settlers set-tlers he needed a man of patience and endurance and with courage and skill In dealing with lawless men and no man has ever succeeded so well as this terrible man you have heard about Ho Is terrible my dear to lawless law-less men not to any ono olso Ho Is terrible In resource and in daring but not In anything else I know of and I know him when ho was a boy and wore a pink worsted scarf when ho went skating I should llltq to have seen that scarf said Dlckslo reflectively Sho rose and looked around the tent Inn In-n few minutes she made Marlon lie down on ono of the cots Then she walked to tho front of tho tent opened tho imp and looked out Whispering Smith was sitting before be-fore the fire Rain waS falling but TDIcksIo put on her close fittiig black coat raised tho door fiap and walked noiselessly from the tent and up behind be-hind him Alono In the rain she asked Sho had expected to seo him start lat t her voice but ho did not though ho rose and turnod around Not now ho answered as he offered her his box with a smile Are you taking jour hat off for mo in the rain Put it on again I sho insisted in-sisted with a little tone of command and she was conscious of gratification when ho obeyed amiably I wont take your box unless you can find another sho said Oh you halo another I came out to tell you what a dreadful man I thought you were and to apologize Never mind apologizing Lots of people think worso than that of me and dont apologize Im sorry I have no shelter to offer you except to sit I on this sldo and take the rain Why should you take tho rain for mo You are a woman But a stranger to you Only in a way Dtckslo gazed for a moment at the fire You wont think me abrupt will you sho said turning to him but I ns truly as I live I cannot account for Iou I-ou Mr Smith I guess at tho ranch wo dont know what goes on In tho world Everything I see of you contradicts con-tradicts everything I have heard of you You havent seen much of me yet you know and you may havo heard much better accounts of mo than I deserve Still it isnt surprising yoU cant account for mo in fact It would ho surprising If you could Nobody pretends to do that You must not ho shocked If I cant even account for myself Do you know what a derelict Is A ship that has been abandoned but never wholly sinks Please dont mule fun of me How did you happen to come into tho humor That Is a ridiculous accident and It all came about when I lived in I Chicago Do you know anything about the infernal climate there Well in Chicago I used to lose my voice whenever when-ever I caught a cold sometimes for weeks ttgether So they began calling call-ing mo Whispering Smith and Ive never been able to shako tho name Odd Isnt It But I came out to go into the real estate business I was looking for somo goldbearing farmlands farm-lands where I could raise quartz dont you know and such things yes I dont mind telling you this though I wouldnt tell It to everybody Certainly not assented Dlcksie dialing her skirt around to sit in clonr confidence I wanted to get rich quick murmured mur-mured Whispering Smith confidentially confi-dentially Almost criminal wasnt it I wonted to halo evening clothes Yes And for onco in my life two pairs of suspenders modest ambition but a gnawing one Would yon believe It Before I left Bucks office he had hired me for a railroad man When ho asked me what I could do and I admitted a little experience In handling real estate es-tate ho brought his fist down on tho table and swore I should be his right ofway man How about the mining Whispering Smith waved his hand In something of tho proud manner In which Bucks could wave his presidential presi-dential hand My business Bucks said need not interfere with that not In time least he said that I could do all the mining I wanted to and I lrl lli ll i eq r iu l I fI I v c Alone In the Rain mountains I do want to understand I things better Why you aro In real earnest arent you But I am not making fun of you Do you know President Bucks No Too bad I Hes n very handsome old bachelor And ho Is one of thoso men who get all sorts of men to do all sorts of things for them You know building and operating railroads in this part of the country Is no Joke Tho mountains are filled with men that dont caro for God man or tho devil Sometimes they furnish their own ammunition to fight with aud dont bother tho railroad for years at auch times tho railroad leaves them alone For my part I never quarrel with a man that doesnt quarrel with tho road Then comes a time when they got after us shooting our men or robbing our agents or stopping our trains Of course we have to get busy then A few years ago they worried wor-ried Bucks till they nearly turned his hair gray At that unfortunate time I happened Into his office with a letter of introduction from his closest Chicago Chi-cago friend Willis Howard prince of good men tho man that mantle the Palmer house famousyes Now 1 had come out hero Miss Dunning almost said Miss Dlcksie because I hear it so much I bhould be greatly set up to hear you call mo Dlckslo And I havo wondered won-dered a thousand times about your name Dare I ask why do they call you Whispering Smith You dont whisper He laughed with abundance of good I have done all tho mining I wanted w tut here Is the singular thing that appcncd I opened up my olllce und had nothing to do they didnt seem to want any right of way Just then I kept getting my check every month and wasnt doing a hands turn but riding rid-ing over the country and shooting jackrabbits But Lord I love this country Did you know I used to boa bo-a cowboy In tho mountains years ago Indeed I did I know It almost as well as you do I mined more or less In tho meantime Occasionally I would go to Bucks you say you dont know himtoo badalld tell him candidly candid-ly I wasnt doing a thing to earn my salary At such times ho would only nsk me how I liked the Job and Whispering Smiths heavy eyebrows rose In mild surprise at tho recollection recollec-tion Ono day when I was talking with him ho handed mo a telegram from tho desert saying that a night Operator at a lonely station had been shot and a switch misplaced and a train nearly wrecked Ho asked me what I thought of it I discovered that tho poor fellow had shot himself and In tho end we had to put him in tho insane asylum to save him from tho penitentiary but that was where my trouble began It ended In my having to organize the special service on tho whole road to look latter a thousand and ono things that nobody olso had well lotus lot-us say time or inclination to look after aft-er Fraud and theft and violence and all that sort of disagreeable thing i I Then one day tho cat crawled out of the bag What do you think That inun who lu now president of this road had somuwhoro seen a highlycolored story about mo In u magazine a ten oent magazine you know He had I spotted mo tho first time I walked Into I his office and told me a long time afterward it was just like seeing a man walk out of n book and that ho had hard work to keep from falling on my neck Ho know what ho wanted me for it was just this thing I left Chicago to got away from It und this is tho result It Is not all that kind of thing oh no When they want to cross a reservation I have u winter in Washington with our attorneys and dine with old friends in the White House mend time next winter I may boon bo-on snowshoes chasing a band of I rustlers I swore long ago I would do I no more of Itthat I couldnt nnd wouldnt But It Is Bucks I cant go back on him Ho Is amiable and I am soft Ho says ho Is going to have a crown and harp for mo somo day but I fancy that Is I havo an Intimation Intima-tion that there will bo a redhot protest pro-test at tho bar of heaven ho lowered his tone from a certain unmentionable unmention-able quarter when I undertake to put tho vestments on By tho way I hear you are Interested in chickens Oh yes Ive heard a lot about you Bob Johnson over at Orovlllo has some pretty bantams I want to tell you about Whether ho talked railroad or chickens chick-ens it was all one Dlckslo sat spellbound spell-bound and when ho announced It was halfpast three oclock nnd time to rouse Marlon she was amazed Dawn showed in tho cast The men eating breakfast In tents wero to bo sent on a worktrain up u plc o of Y track that led as near as they could ho taken to where they wore needed The train had pulled out when Dick sic Mat Ion McCloud and Whispering Smith took horses to get across to the hills and through to tile ranch house CHAPTER XX At the River They found the ranchhpuso as Marion Mari-on and Dlcksio had left It deserted Puss told them every ono was at tho river McCloud did not approve Dick slos plan of going down to see her cousin first Why not lot mo rid l i down and manage It without bringing you into It at all ho suggested It I can be done And after further discussion dis-cussion It was so arranged McCloud and Smith had b N joined by Dancing on horseback they made their way around Squuw lake and across tho fields Tho fog was rolling up from tho willows at tho bend Men were chopping in the brush and McCloud and his companion com-panion soon met Lance Dunning riding rid-ing up the narrow strip of sand that held tho river off tho ranch McCloud greeted Dunning regardless regard-less of his amazement as If he had parted from him tho day before How are you making It over hero ho asked We are In pretty good shape at tho moment down below and I thought 1 would ride over to see If wo could do anything for you This is what you call pretty fair water for this part of the valley isnt It Lance swallowed his astonishment This Isnt water McCloud this Is hell He took off his hat and wiped his forehead Well I call this white anyway anti no mistake I do Indeed sir This is Whispering Smith isnt It Glad to see you at Crawling Stone sir Which served not only to surprise but to please Whispering Smith Some of my men were free con tinued McCloud I switched somo mattresses and sacks around the Yt thinking they might come In play hero for you at tho bend They are at your service If you think you need them Need them I lance swore fiercely I and from the bottom of his heart Ho was glad to get help from any quarter quar-ter and made no bones about It Moreover More-over McCloud lessened tho embarrassment embarrass-ment by explaining that ho had a personal per-sonal interest In holding the channel where it ran lest a change above might threaten tho approaches already built to the bridge and Whispering Smith who would halo been on terms with tho catfish if ho had been flung Into tho middle of the Crawling Stone contributed at once like a reenforced spring to the case of the situation Lance again took off his hut and wiped tho sweat of anxiety from his dripping forehead Whatever differences differ-ences of opinion I may havo with your company I halo no lack of esteem personally McCloud for you I sir by heaven How many men did you bring And whatever wheols you Crawling Stone ranchers may halo in your heads on the subject of irrigation returned re-turned McCloud evenly I have no lack of esteem personally Mr Dunning Dun-ning for you I brought 100 Do you want to tako charge hero Im frank sir you understand this game and I dont Suppose we look tho situation over meantime all our supplies have to be brought across from tho Y What should you think Mn Dunning ot put 0 Ii Ing all tho teams you can at that end of tho work Every man that can be spared from tho river shall go at It Como over hero and look at our work nnd judge for yourself They rode to where tho forces assembled as-sembled by Lance were throwing up embankments and rlprapplng Thoro was hurried running to nnd fro a violent vio-lent dragging nbput of willows and a good deal of shouting Dunning with somo excitement watched McCloudo face to note the effect of tho activity on him but Me Clouds expression naturally reserved I rotlectcd nothing of his views on the subject Dunning waved his hand at tho lively scene Theyve boon at it nil night How many would you toko away sir You might lake them nil away as far as the river is concerned said McCloud after a moment What Hell AIIQ They are not doing anything are they but running around In a clrcloT And those fellows over there might as well be making mud pies as riprap plug at that point What wo need there Is n mattress and sandbags and plenty of thorn Bill directed McCloud in tin oven tone of business as he turned to Dancing see how I 1 r I s t i 1 I a y g i w QuM i Dlcksie Ordered Horses Saddled and Rode to the River quick you can got your gangs over hero with what Backs they can carry nnd walk fast If you will put your men on horses Mr Dunning they can I 101p like everything That bank wont last a great while tho way tho river Is getting under It now Dancing Dan-cing wheeled like an elephant on his y bronco and clattered away through the mud Lnnco Dunning recovering from his surprise started hIs men back for tho wagons and McCloud dismounting dismount-ing walked with him to tho waters edge to plan tho fight for what was loft of tho strip In front of tho alfalfa fields When Whispering Smith got back to tho house he was In good humor He joined Dlckslo and Marlon in tl t dining room where they were drinking drink-ing coffee Afterward Dlcksie ordered horses saddled and tho three rode tn the river Up and down the bank an far as they could see in tho misty rain men were moving slowly about more men It seemed to Dlcksie than she had over seen together In her life The confusion and tho noise hud disappeared No one appeared to hurry but every one had something to do and from the gangs who with sledges were sinking deadmen among tho trees to hold tho cables of the matttess that was about to ho sunk and the Japs who were diligently diligent-ly preparing to float and load it to tho men that were filling und wheelIng ° wheel-Ing the sandbags no ono appeared ox cited McCloud joined the visitors for a few moments and then went back to where Dancing and his men on lifelines life-lines were guiding tho mattress to its resting place In spite of the gloom of the rain which Whispering Smith said was breaking Dlcksle rode back to tho house in much better spirits with her two guests and when they came from luncheon the sun as Smith had predicted was shining Oh come out cried Dlcksle at tho door Marion had a letter to write and went upstairs but Whispering Smith followed Dlckslo Does everything every-thing you say come true she demanded de-manded as she stood In tho sunshine Sho was demure with lightheartedness lighthearted-ness and ho looked at her approvingly I ly I I hope nothing I may say ever will come true unless It makes you happy ho answered lightly It would be a shame if it did anything else She pointed two accusing fingers at him Do you know what you promised prom-ised last night You have forgotten already You said you would tell ma why my leghorns are eating their feathers off TO BB CONTINUED |