Show I 7 lfeANKfi ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANDRE BOWIES cof > YGr BY CHAS SCRIONfRSc50NS SYNOPSIS Murray Sinclair and his gang of wreckers wreck-ers were called out to clear tho rullrontt trucks ut bmoky CreeK McCloud n young road superintendent caught Sin clair and his men In tho net of looting 1 the wrecked train Sinclair pleaded In nocenco declaring It only amounted to a small SIlI11a trent for tho men McCloud discharged the whole on till and ordered the wreckage burned MoCloud became acquainted with Ulukslc Dunning u girl of the west who came to look at the wreck She gave him a message for Sin clair Whispering Gordon Smith told President Uucks of the railroad of Me Clouds bravo light against u gang of crazed miners and that was the reason for the superintendents appointment to Jilfl high olllcc McCloud arranged to board at tho boarding house of Mm Sin flair the exforemans deserted wife DIckMo Dunning was the daughter of the late Hlclnird Dunning who had died of a broken heart shortly after his wifes demise which occurred after ono year of married life Sinclair visited Marion Sin clalrs shop and u light between him and McCloud was narrowly averted Smoky Creek bridge was mysteriously burned McCloud prepared to face the situation Jt President Ducks notified Smith that ho had work ahead McCloud worked for days nnd finally got the division running In fairly good order HP overheard Dick elo criticising his methods to Marion Sinclair A stock train was wrecked by nn open switch Later u passenger train was hold up and the express cur robbed Two men of a posse pursuing the bandits were killed McCloud was notllled that Whispering Smith was to hunt tho desperadoes des-peradoes Hill Dancing a road lineman proposed that Sinclair and his gang be sent to hunt the bandits A stranger apparently ap-parently with authority told him to go ahead Dancing was told the stranger was Whispering Smith Smith approached ap-proached Sinclair Ho tried to buy him off but failed He warned McCloud t 10 this t-his life was In danger MeCloud was car Tied forcibly Into Lance Dunnlngs presence pres-ence Dunning refused the railroad a rightofway he had already signed CorD Cor-D IISlo Interfered to prevent u shooting fTray Dlckslc met McCloud on a lonely trail to warn him his life was In danger On his way home a shot passed through Ills hat Whispering Smith reported that Du Sang one of Sinclairs gang had been assigned to kill McCloud Ho und Smith saw Du Sang Whispering Smith taunt ed Du Sang and told him to get out of Medicine Bend or suffer Du Sang seemed to succumb to the bluff McClouds big construction Job was taken from him because be-cause of an Injunction Issued to Lancet Lance-t bv tho United States court I CHAPTER XVIContlnued The Crawling Stone river Is said to embody historically all of the do celts known to mountain streams Below Be-low tho Box Canyon It plows through a great bed of yielding silt Its own deposit between the two Imposing lines of bluffs that resist Its wanderings wander-Ings from side to side of the wide valley val-ley This fertile soil makes up the rich lands that are the envy of less fortunate regions In the Great BasIn but the Crawling Stone Is not a river to give quiet title to one acre of Its own making The toll of Its centuries spreads beautifully green under tho June skies and the unsuspecting settler set-tler lulled Into security by many years of the rivers repose settles on Its level bench land and lays out his jk long lines of possession but the Sioux will tell you In their own talk that this man Is but a tenant at will that In another time and at another place the stranger will Inherit his fields and that the Crawling Stone always comes tack for Its own The winter had been an unusual one even in a land of winters The seasons sea-sons fall of snow had not been above an average but it had fallen in the spring and had been followed by excessively ex-cessively low temperatures throughout the mountains June came again but a strange Jpne The first rise of the Crawling Rtnnn had not moved nut m n m 0 On u the winter frost and tho stream lay bQund from bank to bank and for hundreds hun-dreds of miles under three feet of Ice When June opened backward and cold there had been no spring Heavy frosts lasting until the middle of the month gave sudden way to summer heat and the Indians on the upper valley reservation began moving back f Into the hills t Then came tho rise Creek after creek In the higher mountains moun-tains Icebound for six months burst without warning Into flood Soft winds struck with the sun and stripped tho mountain walls of their snow Rains IT mst In on the desert and far In the high northwest tho Crawling Stone lifting its fourfoot cap of ice llko abed a-bed of feathers began rolling it end over end down the valloy In the Box 40 feet of water struck the canyon walls and Icefloes wore hurled like torpedoes against the granite spurs tho Crawling Stone was starting after Us own When the river rose the earlier talk of Dtmnlngs men had been that the Crawling Stone would put an end to li the railroad pretensions by washing the 250 miles of track back to the Peace river whero It had started This much In tho beginning was easy to predict but the railroad men had turned out in force to fight for tholr holdings and while the ranchers were laughing the river was flowing over the bench lands In the upper valley fP CHAPTER XVII The Crawling Stone Rise So sudden was the onset of tho river r that the trained riders of the big r ranch were taken completely aback and hundreds of head of Dunning cat tie were swept away before they could to removed to points of safety Fresh s alarms cam with every hour of the day and night and the telephones up and down the valley rang incessantly with appeals from neighbor to neighbor neigh-bor Lance Dunning calling out the reserves lot his vocabulary swore tremendously tre-mendously and directed tho operations against tho rlvor Theo seemed In r 4 I I deed to consist mainly of hard riding and hard language on ho part of everybody Murray Sinclair although ho had sold his ranch on tho Crawling Stone and was concentrating his holdings hold-ings on the Frenchman was everywhere every-where In evidence Ho was the first at a point of danger and tho last to rldo away from the slipping acres where the muddy flood undercut but no dpflanco seemed to disturb tho Crawling Stone which kept alarmingly alarming-ly at work Above the alfalfa lands on tho long bench north of tho house tho river In changing Its course many years earlier I earli-er had left a depression known as Mud lake It had become separated from the main channel of the Crawling Stone by a high narrow barrier In the form of a bench deposited by tho receding re-ceding waters of some earlier flood and added to by sandstorms sweeping among the willows that overspread It Without an effective head or definite system of work the efforts of the men at tho Stono ranch were of no more consequence than It they had spent their time In waving blankets at the river Twenty men riding in together to tell Lance Dunning that the river was washing out the tree claims above Mud lake made no perceptible difference differ-ence In tho event Dlcksle though an inexperienced girl saw with helpless clearness the futility of It all Terror seized Dlcksle She telephoned tele-phoned In her distress for Marlon bogging her to come up before they should all be swept away and Marlon turning the shop over to Katie Dancing Dan-cing got Into the ranchwagon that Dlckslo had sent and started for the Crawling Stone At noon Marion arrived The ranch house wasdeserted and the men were all at tho river Puss stuck her head out of tho kitchen window and Dick sic ran out and threw herself Into Marlons arms Late news from the front had been the worst the cutting above Mud lake had weakened the last barrier that held off the river and every available man was fighting the current at that point Marlon heard It nil while eating a luncheon Dlckslo beset with anxiety could not stay In the house The man that had driven Marion over saddled horses in the afternoon and the two women rode up above Mud Jake now become through rainfall and seepage from the river a long shallow lagoon For an hour they watched the shoveling shovel-Ing and carrying of sandbags and rode toward the river to the very edge of the disappearing willows where the bank was melting away before the undercut of the resistless current They rode away with a common feelIng feel-Ing a conviction that the fight was a losing one and that another day would see the ruin complete Dlcksle exclaimed Marlon they were riding tothe house as she spoke = Ill tell you what wo can do She hesitated a moment I will tell you what we can do Are you plucky Dlcksle looked at Marion pathetically pathet-ically If you are plucky enough to do It wo can keep the river off yet I have an idea I will GO but you must come along Marion what do you mean Dont you think I would go anywhere to sao the ranch I should like to know where you dare go In this country that I dare not Then rldo with me over to the railroad rail-road camp by the new bridge We will ask Mr McCloud to bring some of his men over Ho can stop tho river ho knows how Dlcksle caught her breath Oh Marion that would do no good even I could do it Why tho railroad has been all swept away In tho lower valley val-ley leyHow 1 How do you know So every ono says Who Is overy ono Cousin Lance Mr Sinclairall the men I hewd that a week ago Dlcksle dont believe It You dont know these railroad men They understand under-stand this kind of thing cattlemen you know dont If you will go with me we can get help I feel Just assure as-sure that those men can control tho river as I do that I am looking at you that ISlf anybody can Tho question Is do you want to make the effort They talked until they left the horses and entered the house When they sat down Dlckslo put her hands to her face Oh I wish you had said nothing about It How can I go to him and ask for help nowafter Cousin Cous-in Lanco has gone Into court about the line and everything And of course my name Is In It all Dlckslo dont raise specters that have nothing to do with the case If wo go to him and ask him for help ho will glvo It to us if he can If ho cant what harm Is done Ho has been up and down tho river for three weeks and ho has an army of men camped over by the bridge I know that because Mr Smith rode in from there a few days ago What Whispering Smith Oh II ho Is there I would not go for worlds Pray why not Why ho Is such an awful manl That Is absurd Dlcksle Dlckslo looked grave Marlon nc man in this part of tho country has a good word to say for Whispering Smith Perhaps you have forgotten Dick sic that you live In a very rough part of the country returned Marlon coolly No man that he has ever hunted down would have anything pleasant to say about him nor would tho friends of such a man bo likely to say a good word of him There are many on tho range Dlcksle that have no respect for life or law or anything else nod they naturally hate n manlike man-like Whispering Smith But Marlon he killed I know He killed a man named Williams n few years ago while you were at schoolone of tho worst men that ever Infested this country Williams Wil-liams CacHe is named after that man be made the most beautiful spot In all those mountains a nest of thieves and murderers But did you know that Williams shot down Gordon Smiths only brother 1 a trainmaster In cold blood In front of the Wickiup at Medicine Medi-cine Bend No you never heard that In this part of tho country did you They had a cowthief for sheriff then and no officer In Medicine Bend would go after tho murderer Ho rode In and out of town as If he owned It and no one dared say a word and mind you Gordon Smiths brother had never seen the man in his life until he walked up and shot him dead Oh this was a peaceful country n few years ago Gordon Smith was rlght of way man In the mountains then Ho burled his brother and asked the officers what they were going to do about get Ing the murderer They laughed at him He made no protest except to ask for a deputy United States marshals commission When he got It he started for Williams Cache after Williams In a hucklioard think of It Dlcksle and didnt they laugh at him I He did not oven know tho trails und Imagine riding 200 miles In a buckboard buck-board to arrest a man in the mountains moun-tains He was gone six weeks and came back with Williams body strapped to the buckboard behind him He never told the story all he said when ho handed in his commission commis-sion and went back to his work was that the man was killed In a fair fight Hate him No wonder they hate him the Williams Cache gang and all their friends on the range Your cousin cous-in thinks It policy to placate that element ele-ment hoping that they wont steal your cattle if you are friendly with them I know nothing about that but I do know something about WhisperIng Whisper-Ing Smith It will be a bad day for Williams Cache when they start him up again But what has that to do with your trouble He will not pat you up if you go to the camp Dlcksle You are Just raising bogies They had moved to the front porch and Marlon was sitting In the rocking chair Dlckslc stood with her back against one of the pllltfrs and looked at her As Marlon finished Dlckslc turned and with her hand on her forehead fore-head looked in wretchedness of mind out on the valley As far In many directions di-rections as the eye could reach the waters spread yellow In the flood of sunshine across the lowlands There was a moment of silence Dlcksle turned her back on the alarming sight i Marion I cant do it Oh yes you can if you want to Dicksto Dicksle looked at her with tearless eyes It Is only a question of being plucky enough insisted Marlon Pluck has nothing to do with Ill exclaimed Dlcksle In fiery tones I should like to know why you are always al-ways talking about my not having courage This Isnt a question of courage cour-age How can I go to a man that I talked to as I talked to him In your house and ask for iolp How can I I go to him after my cousin has threatened threat-ened to kill him and gone Info court to prevent his coming on our land I Shouldnt I look beautiful asking help I from him Marlon rocked with perfect composure com-posure No dear you would not look beautiful asking help but you would look sensible ItIs so easy to be beautiful and so hard to be sensible sen-sible You are Just as horrid us you can be Marlon Sinclair I know that too dear All I wanted to say Is that you would look very sensible Just now In asking help from Mr McCloud I dont carcI wont do It I will never do It not If every foot of tho ranch tumbles Into the river I hope It will Nobody euros anything about me I havo no friends but thieves and outlaws Dlcksle Marlon rose That Is what you bald I did not I am your friend How daro you cal mo names demanded Marlon taking the petulant girl In her arms Dont you think I care any thing about you There are people In this country that you havo never seen who know you and lovo you almost al-most as much as I do Dont lot any silly pride prevent your being sensible dear Dlckslo burst Into tears MarIon Mar-Ion drew her over to tho settee and she had her cry out When It was over boy changed tho subject Dlckslo went to her room It was a long tlmo before sIte came down again but Marl I I on rocked In patience she was resolved re-solved to let Dlcknlo fight it out herself her-self When Dlckslo came down Marlon stood at the foot ot tho stairs The young mistress pf Crawling Stono I ranch descended stop by stop very slowly Marion she said simply I will go with you CHAPTER XVIII At the Dike Marlon caught her closely to her heart I know you would go if I got you angry dear But you arc so slow to anger Mr McCloud Is Just the same way Mr Smith says when he does get angry ho can do anything Ho Is very llko you In so many ways Dlckslo was wiping her eyes Is he Marlon Well what shall I wear Just your ridingclothes dear and a smile Ho wont know what you have on It isyou ho will want to sec But Ive been thinking of something else What will your Cousin Lance say Suppose he should object Object I should like to see him object after losing tho fight himself 3 scured tho face of tho moon but tho I distant thunder had ceased and at midnight tho valley near tho bridge lay In a stillness broken only I by tho hoarse calls of tho patrols and faroff megaphones From tho bridge camp which lay on high ground near tho grade the distant lamps of tho track walkers could bo seen moving dimly Before the campfire In front of Mc Clouds tent n group of moil smoking and talking sat or lay sprawled on tarpaulins drying themselves lifter the long day Among them wore the weatherbeaten remnants of tho old guard of tho mountain workers men who hail fought tho Spider Water with Glover 11111 Dancing huge lumbering lum-bering awkward as a bear und as shifty was talking because with no apparent effort ho could talk all night and was a valuable man at keeping I the camp awake Bill Dancing talked i and after Sinclairs name had been dropped from tho roll ate und drank more than any two men on tho division di-vision A little apart McCloud lay on a leather caboose cushion trying to get a nap Tho man sent to tho bridge hud turned back and behind his lantern Dancing heard tho tread of horses Ho stood at one sldo of the campfire while the visitors rodo up they were women Dancing stood dumb ns they advanced into tho firelight Tho ono ahead spoke Mr Dancing dont you know mo As sho stopped her horse the light of the fire struck her faco Why Mis Sinclair Yes and Miss Dunning Is with me returned Marlon Bill staggered This Is an awful place to got to we have been nearly drowned and wo want to seo Mr McCloud McCloud roused by Marlons voice came forward You were asleep said she as he greeted her I am so S I IiIii I p I IIII I But How Did You Ever Get Here Marlon laughed Well do you think you can find the way down there for us I can find any way anywhere within 100 miles of hereOn here-On the 20th of Juno McCloud did have something of an army of men In the Crawling Stone valley Of these 250 were In the vicinity of the bridge the abutments and piers of which were being put in Just oelow tho Dunning Dun-ning ranch Near at hand Bill Dancing Dan-cing with a big gang had been for some time watching the Ice and dynamiting dyna-miting tho jams McCloud brought in more men as the river continued to rise Tho danger line on the gauges was at length submerged and for tinco days tho mainline construction camps I had been robbed of men to guard the soft grades above and bo loiv the bridge The new track up and down the valley had become a highway of escape from the flood and the track patrols were met at every curve by cattle horses deer wolves and coyotes fleeing from the waste of waters Through tho Dunning ranch the Crawling Stone river makes a far bend across the valley to tho north and cast The extraordinary volume of water now pouring through tho Box canyon exposed 10000 acres of the ranch to tho caprice of the river and If at tho point ot Its tremendous sweep to tho north it should cut back Into its old channel the change would wipe the entire body of ranch alfalfa lands off tho face of tho valley With the heat of tho lengthening Juno days a vast steam rose from the chill waters of the river marking in ominous windIngs wind-Ings the channel ot tho main stream through a yellow sea which Ignoring the usual landmarks of trees und dunes flanked tho current broadly on either sldo Late In tine afternoon of the day that Dlckslo with Marion sought McCloud a storm drifted downtime down-time Topah lopah hills and heavy showers broke across tho valley At nightfall tho rain hud passed and the mist lifted from the river Above tho bluffs rolling patches of cloud ob sorry wo have disturbed you She looked careworn and a little forlorn yet but a little considering the struggle strug-gle she and Dlckslo had made to reach the camp Light blazed from the campfire whero Dlckslo stood talking with Dancing Dan-cing about horses They are In desperate straits up at the ranch Marlon went on when Mc Cloud had assured her of her welcome I dont see how they can save It Tho river Is starting to flow Into tho old channel and theres a big pond right In the alfalfa fields It will play the dcuco with things If It gets through there mused Mc Cloud I wonder how tho river Is Ive been asleep 0 Bill ho called I to Dancing what water have you I got Twentyeight six just now sir Shes arising very slow Mr McCloud So I am responsible for this invasion In-vasion continued Marian calmly 1vo been up with Dlcksle at the ranch she sent for me Just think of Itno woman but old Puss within ten miles of the poor child And they have been trying everywhere to got bags and you have all the bags and the men have been buzzing around over there for a week like bumblebees bumble-bees nnd doing Just about as much good She and I talked It all over this afternoon and I told her I was corning corn-ing over hero to see you and we started out togetherand morclful goodness such a tlmo as wo have had But you started out together whero did you leave her There she stands tho other sldo of the fire 0 Dlckslo Why did you not tell me she was here exclaimed McCloud Dlckslo camo Into the light as ho hastened over If she was uncertain In manner ho was not Ho met hor laughing just enough to relieve the tension of which both for an Instant wore conscious Sho gave him her hand when ho put his out though he felt that It trembled a little Such a rldo as you havo had Why did you not send Inch word I would ham come to you ho axel aimed throwing reproach Into tho words 11 Dlckslc raised her eyes I wanted to ask you whether you would sell ua sonic grain sacks Mr McCloud to use at tho river It you could spare themSacks1 Sacks Why of course all you want But how did you over get heron hero-n all this water and two lono i women I You have been In danger tonight to-night Indeed you havo dont toll mol And you are both wot know It Your feet must be wet Como to the fire O Bill ho called to Dancing whata the matter with your wood Lot us have a fire wont ouone worthwhile worth-while nnd build another In front ot my tent I cant believe you havo ridden here all the way from the ranch two of you able exclaimed McCloud hastening boxes up to tho fire for seats Marion laughed Dlckslo can go anywhere I couldnt havo ridden from the hOuse to tho barns alono Then tell mo how you could do It demanded McCloud devouring Dlcksla with his eyes Dlckslu looked at the fire I know all tho roads pretty well Wo did get lost once she confessed In a low voice but we got out again The roads are all under water though What time Is It please McCloud looked at his watch Two minutes past 12 Dlckslo started Past 121 Oh this Is dreadful Wo must start right hack Marlon I had no Idea we had been live hours coming five miles McCloud looked at hor as If still unable to comprehend what she had accomplished In crossing the flooded bottoms Her eyes fell back to tho lire What a blaze she mumured as tho driftwood snapped and roared Its line for tonight Isnt It I know you both must have been In tho water he Insisted leaning forward for-ward in front of Dlckslo to feel Marl ons skirt Im not wet declared Marlon drawing back Nonsense you arc wet as a ratl Tell me ho asked looking nt Dlcksle about your trouble up at tho bend I know something about It Aro the mom thero tonight Given up have they Too bad I Do open your jackets and try to dry yourselves both of you and Ill take a look at the river Suppose only say supposeyou first take a look at me The volco came from behind tho group at tho lire and the three turned together By heaven Gordon Smith ox claimed McCloud Where did you come from Whispering Smith stood In the gloom In patience Where do I look as If I had como from Why dont you ask I mo whether Im wet And wont you Introduce mebut this Is Miss Dick sle Dunning I am sure Marlon with laughter hastened tho Introduction And you arc wet of course said McCloud feeling Smiths shoulder No only soaked I have fallen Into the river two or three times 0111 tho last tlmo a big rhinoceros of yours down tho grade a section foreman named Klein was obliging enough to pull me out Oh no I was not looking look-ing for you he ran on answering McClouds question not when ho pulled me out I was Just looking for a farm or a ladder or something Klein for a man named Small Is the biggest Dutchman I over saw Tell mo Klein I asked after he had quit dragging me outhos a Hanoverian where did you get your pull Amh how about your height Did your grandfather servo as a grenadier under old Frederick William and was he kid naped Bill dont feed my horso for a while And Klein tried to light a cigar I had just taken from my pocket and given himfancy the Germans are a remarkable people and sat down to tell me his history when somo friend down the line began bawling through a megaphone and all that poor Klein had time to say was that he had had no supper nor dinner nor yet breakfast and would be obliged for some by tho boat he forwarded me In And In closing Whispering Smith looked cheerfully around at Marlon at McCloud and last and longest of all at DIcKsIa Dunning Did you como from across tho river asked Dlcksle adjusting her wet skirt meekly over her knees You are soaking wet observed Whispering Smith Across the river riv-er ho echoed Well hardly my dear Miss Dunning Every bridge Is out down the valley except tho railroad rail-road bridge and there are a few thing I dont tackle one Is tho Crawling Stone on a tear No this was across a little break In this man McClouds track I camo to be frank from tho Dunning ranch to look up two women who rode away from there at seven r6 oclock tonight and I want to say y that they gave me the rldo of my lifo and Whispering Smith looked all around tho circle and back again and smiled Y Dlcksle spoke In amazement How did you know we rodo away You were not nt tho ranch when wo left Oh dont ask him cried Marlon gar Ho knows everything explained r McCloud Whispering Smith turned to Dlckslo ti I was Interested In knowing that thoy got safely to tholr destination whatever what-ever It might be which was none ot my business I happened to see a man that had noel them start that was nIl You dont understand Well it you want it in plain English I made It my business to see a man who made It his business to see thorn Its all very tdvnple but these people lute to inako a mystery of It Good women hue saucer than riches and more to be prized than fine goldIn my Judgment Judg-ment so I rodo after thorn > TO BE CONTINUED |