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Show \ ' F J _ + THE THEa THEy a IN y , 'f f ' ' i . FORES t \ a l _ _ s sI I 'B B ' ' B , fr-tr fr tr Jfrtr frtri - J Ja Jt i a t l , Illusfrafion s sr , r k \ s t ( y MYERS TRWIN K Kt t W.N WN . U 56ILVIC , ' / - g f a , F/aold F aold / T Tr r ti V p J XIIContinuedJ - i CHAPTER APTER XII-Continued XII Continued XIIContinued13 XII - Continuedst --13-- 13 -13-- - 13soon 13As 13 13jAs - - - jAs As soon as the &ound ound bound sound & of bis bls his Coot foot Coot.pI'S footps footIpps _ .pI'S .pIS pIS . ps ' had h'ld hld hid ' died away a\\ay a ay \ loung Ioung W'lS WlS wgs W'lSIt wgsat wasit ' It at of his cell ccll , across tlie the bull pen pen"id penId "id id " lid sitting on the edge of Holt IIolt Holts\t Holts t slt s st \ \t t lt \ , , ft v . where here the ftoy fjoy noy lay , face f'lce flce ' in hisuck his hisms r : ; ) ms "Buck Buck " 'Bup Bup ' uck . Ck up , son soni 1 ! " he whispered , a 'nil nil ' .tnd tnd . on the lads lad s shoulder 'It It 'It0ks 'It.6ks It.6ks It6ks ' It Ittls -tls tls -0ks 0ks - ; - . like li1.e li1e . a kind of me me&s mes mess & s , but welltar \ well wellar e II ar :11 11 : ' It " ' " ' tar ) up yA fA A ahuddcr shudder tra\ tra traveled traeled trateled \ eled the Ilthe lithe Ilthe.p.me lithe.jime lithejime .p.me p.me pme .jime jime . . beneath Ills hIs touch touchWbat toucli'What toucliWhat ; /Wbat Wbat / , " 'What What ' happened happcned ; : " And whenv whene whenC when -e e C - other made no mo\ mo mo\e mo e moe mote \ e . . "Won Won "Wontft Wontft " t tlu lu , u tell me.Slowly me ? ' ' \.Slowly .Slowly Slowly \ . Slowly Stuart Stu'lrt Stulrt ' rolled over , and ande , e faint taint light IIght from above abo\"c abo "c c ' \ " sho\\ sho shocd showed shovedI showedI \ \ cd I . face tace white and drawnDamned drawn drawnDamned ? Damned It If I know hnow I 1 ! ' he lie rout mut routfed mutfe mutFed fed fe . & . "I I "Id Id " d packed pacl.ed pacled . up this after afteron afteron afterton \on on ton \ . I was on my \ way \ aYe aYeI . . I dIdn't dIdnt didn'tant didn'tnt didntnt ' ant [ nt to leave without some wordir word wordNan ir r . Nan ' I'd Id ' just started to write writelnote writenote writenote lnote | note when in busted BrIdger BrIdgerab.bed Bridgerabbed , -ab.bed ab.bed abbed - . It off of ! the desk and . , . .That's .Thats Thats . , That's Thats That's Thats ' all ; except e\cept e cept ' \ that I lostread lost loct ; 1 " ? head Jlead ! read and tried tned to take 'em em ' alli alli"Then all \ , " < > "Then Then " " hauly haul haulj1 " , /"Then "Then Then / , you were actually j1 y ; , ' ' YeS-bltterlY YeS bltterlY tYes-bitterly tYes bitterly Ses , ; ; " ' ' - bitterly . , ; ; ? Wliv Wllv Vlivi ? ' ' ' No answer Stuart Stu'lrt Stulrt ' con consued sued ned ued to stare at the latticed barsbve barsye bars barsove -bve bve - ove ye him Ium * ' What Wh'lt Whlt ' was the bigHolt big a . [ a . , Holt ? You don t mean . . . , 1.CaD't 1.CaDt 1CaDt . can't cant ' betenselythat be-tensely--'that be tensely 'that that be-tensely- be tensely be , , . " - tensely - - - ' that thIsrp thisrp this thisjrn , jrn rp Bluejay Bluehy told told- told told1'Certalnly told"Certainly - " 1'Certalnly 1Certalnly "Certainly Certainly ' " certainly not " ' " Stuart ee eelmed e ' { 11m limed lmed cd , as ns he turned and drew dren both bothIDdS bothfinds bothiDds IDdS finds across his eyesHell eyes eyesJUellnol eyesInen Inen .11 11 . _ .11n't JUellnol Hell , , no 1 1Vhat \ What \Vhat Vhat this Is all 111 ill ' 'lbout lbout ibout ' about.mn't about.mnt aboutmnt . , Jftn't Jftnt n't nt ' ' tell you I got enough from fromk frome fromdger fromdgers from.ydgcrb fromydgcrb k e . dger dgers : . boasting bO'lstlng bOlstlng ' to see \ whatty're whattyre shat hat Y're Yre ' drn drnin driving In . ; ? at at . . And I " was "as as of off offne oflne [ ) ne e all day ' Thursday .rhursday rhursday . and I vvas was wasving \ vvas"ving a "ving ving " vlng ving and I did dl start a n note ton to towith towith with a couple of ot sentences sentencest , t , maybe roa ma he be , \ will stlll , III maLe ma1.e ma1e make . It look 1001 . a lit littough litplough rtough litrtough tough ] In n the beginning begmnlng But I ILn't In't Int rn't rnt ' kill Cash and I dIdn didnt t bury bury"thing buryything bury"ything buryything Ln't Lnt - ' " -"thing "thing thing ything " at Townllne Tonllne Townline To\\ To \ nllne and I wasn wasp tire 1 t tire ire ' * re Thursday ! Somebody's Somebodys Somcbody's Somcbodys ' tryIng tryingframe tryingitframe , frame me , but It's Its ' . , . . , That's Thats ' a ail atall IJ il , now " Toung young ( oung drew a long and m mystifled mystifledth mi stl11ed'Jath stifled stl11ed stifledB stifledh 'Jath Jath ' th h . . B tDetaU etall ! Maybe But . . , . Goodltd Goodtd Good ltd td , , chum , they've theyve ' got enough enoughjf enoughE rr rrto jf ( to hold you here until unhl we canUp canup can v up their case Why , It's Its ' ' worseng worseLag worse . Ing Lag Lag"I ng than ' I'd Id ' figured It could.He could / ' . ? .He He . . "I I "Ithan . " " He scratched his temple templeIy templely templekly they'veVhere Iy ly . "Damn Damn " ft1Pnll it'ail itail ltall ' * . , , tbe they've- they've theyve they'veVhere they've theyve 've-- 've ve 'veVhere ' - - Vhere were you , for Instance instanceflay , ay Thursday , the day Bluejayirently's Bluejayirentlys Bluejay Bluejayrently's BluejayLrently's rently's rentlys Lrently's Lrentlys ' ready to swear s\\car s car \ be he saw saw'at sawat saw'at sawat /'at 'at at / ' ' at the cabln't cablnt cabin cabin"Ul cabinUl ? ' " I 1 0\ 0 over 0cr oter \ cr hell hells s hilt h\l h l hglf ' \ ! acre acre"Llone acreLlone . , . " " lone1 lone ? ' Uone lone " . { Doing olng oing what7 what what"Walking whatWalking ? " 'I I " ' 'IValking alhlng Valking " , talking alklng alkingl I " " , . . . Why , Stuart StuartIgt , t tyyou you . . , . " He lie shook his bIs bead heat beadeSsly headHe ] essly eSsly ssly . , | Ed d then you got ready re'1dy re1dy reedy ' to pull 'ad ad pull"nd pullnd pull'ad " ' nd write to Nan 1.an 1an Aan ' . tliat that you're youre you'rerisking ; } you'veE youveE ou\ ou oue ouriEUng ' \ e , riskingall risking riEUng all kirnds . kinds 1.lnds 1lnds of discsd discsdidn't disas dlsas discs disasid ; id d ddidn't didn't didnt ' ' It U I ? ' - savagely savagelyI't savagelyIt savagely.t savagely't .t t 't ' . I stay here and eat my myout "out out tout my"out mytout " out and know all along that thaii thatB thats youngI B s no use ? That ' I'm Im ' too young youngot youngot I ot of big enough for a girl likeinyhow lIhe like lIhenyhow likenyhow ! nyhow ? And then you- you youcg's ou- ou oung's ou ou"Og's - - "Og's Ogs " ng's ngs cg's cgs ' head was lu In a n wbIrLt whirlt whirl t , t , good Lord,4on Lord4on Lord , , < on , dI didnt n t she shedldn't shedidn't she'didn't shedidnt ' ' dldn't dldnt didn't didnt ' : Ezra Izra . , . . , Wh Whi 1Vh3 , . last lastesday lastesday lasesday ) esday night Ezra Czra : told nu'the nuthe me meI meshe meshe ' I ' she said to him 111m after West Westten We ; t tcen ) 6 cen ten there and you youd d mixed mbed : It It1m ! IIhim t tjt ) jt 1m dm I 1 ! She bhe said to : Ezra Izra tllat that tllatouldn't thatouldn't thaicouldn't thaicouldnt ouldn't ouldnt ' let an any anything thing bappen happen happer11 ' I happenI : ; and nnd she cried because a n aIke nk nY iIlike Y Ike ! k e that had happened just justshe jusishe | -she she - he . , . j just ju t \ when s hen . , . , . Well Wellfa Wellra Wellra fa ra told It to me , just when \ wlieifallen hen henfatten ' 1 1fallen fatten fallen youl"h youlh In 10\ 10 love 10e lose \ e with you I ! " ! b Ii mol"boy's molboys me 1 ! " ' Iboy's Iboys boy's boys ' exclamation eave 6'1e base 6'1\ 6'1 61 ' \ e Kerry Kerryus Kcrr'us Kcrrus ' ' ' us feeling ; ; Holt's Holts liolt's liolts Halt's Halts ' ' look 1001 . , wIde wideI , 1 > Shocked hocke , , furthered his bls conC conii con conh C h ii " me ' " " he be repeated , and andbitterly amB bitterly * ' Young , are you yoi youIs Is old Eyra Ezra l 7rn ern7Y crazy crarye ? . , . e " was "ao ao ; theie thelc there ; ; he came Into Intocc Intoce IntiIce I IntoI cc ce . . " just after she she'd shed ' told me in Fosed f ' losed ] his e 3 es and his body bodyred bodyred ? red a'l al az , . : ; ' iin iinstook tn tn"took "took took stook " me Into the ofUce ofilce awgy awgyhe a W'l Wl ' \ ' he lertd leftd others nfter after West lert left . d mC me ! that her he'1rt he1rt heart ' would woulden woulden en If anythll1 anytliln , ; h3J1pened happened to tonuse tocruse Q nuse cruse . ot of my loyalty 10) 10 ) 'llty llty ' to her , . + ; iI 1 lot lost ! ) my liegd } I ( 'ld ld ' naln again . ; and andher andc c her to let me 10\ 10 10e lose \ e her herhe herhe he toll1 told me that stich such n a nas aae as ae Ymposslhle Impossible ; she dldn didn t tre tre re I put It to her . 'Do Do 'Doe 'DoTO ' o TO e Kerry lounJ'l lounJl Ioung : ' ? I 1 ushel1 asked askedsite 5110 site ' . , . , . , she just nodded noddedat noddedyli yli at . , . , . , th that lt < s all there Is to toc . c . Young " urned nway away . , .ss ss css ( . , Kerry , you're youre ' as ae hUnd blind hUndought blindought ought you ; } ou 'Hre Hre wire ' A11 All nluoJ along alongice g : ce ice I 111M lust 51\V 51 V siw \ you Ilnd and Aan AaniJ4 nn ) ) iJ4 , I'd Id ' been afraid ot of It ita a- a - _ I . , . . , . I d 10\ 10 lot loved 10ed \ ed her a long time , yon you yonsee yousee yousee " see Strength drained from Kerry s sbod sbody sbodi bod body One knee shook spasmod spasmodIC'llly spasmodicilly spasmodIcally IC'llly ICllly icilly ' . His throat s\\ s swelled selled \ elled and a achill achill aclilll chill like IIke that th1t In Induced uce by fog en ens env s \ eloped him'loumean him him'lou 'loumean loumean ' 'lou lou ' lou mean . , . , . , shesddI she slle said s'lld slld ' I . , . . . .Holt Holt . lloH Holt , , and you re telling teIIlng me thIs thisi 1 ! ' ' The other turned away aw'lY awlY awgy ' sullenlv sullenly sullenlvas sullenlyas sullenlyas as If In collapse coll'lpse colllpse ' He lie leaned on one oneI oneelbow oneelbow oneelbow I elbow , looking 100l.lng 100llng . away from his fel fellow felhow fellow low how prisoner'ail prisoner I prisonerI 'ail ail ' All right , , " he muttered "hen hen when "henYoung whenYoung " whenYoung Young moved moed moted mo\ mo \ ed toward him impetuously Impetu impetuously ! ously , . 'It It 'Its Its ' s all right I " was as jealous jealousof of y sou on ou at first first , , , but . . , . It's Its ' got gotto gotto gotto to be all aIt right rlgbt 1 ! You're Youre ' her hInd kind hIndI kindI kindI I , . . . , I m 0\ 0 os over 0er \ er . , . . everything , now nowI nowI nowI I . . . . Id I d just like llhe to be alone fora fOf for fOfa fora a minute , . please " That Is how It happened that thatYoung thatYoung thatYoung Young stood alone atone at a . rear win window windote window dow dote of the jail j'lll jlll ' , banging hanging weakly we1hly on onthe onthe onthe the bars , head pressed against thecold the thecold thecold cold steel , eycse eyese closed , with a asweet asweet asweet sweet agony surging surgmg through and andthrough andthrough andthrough through his Ills veins . , , . . , So his heal heait heart t } had lad found a homeunoccupied home . . unoccupied unoccuplpd ' ' So this was W'lS WlS wis ' the theway theway way ' \ ay love lo\"e lo "e e ' \ " had come to him ' So SoNan SoNan SoNan Nan Downer had h'ld hld hid ' been so sure of It Itthat Itthat itthat that she slle would tell another , . . , . , . Little things that had been becn cald said caldbetween saidbetween : < ; aldbetween between them ; looks 100hs Nan N'ln Nln Nn ' Imd had Imdgiven hadgiven hadgiven given him , gestures . , . , Allthese Allthese All these details detmls now . , In memory , re returnpd returned returnpd turnpd turned with their full significance sIg'Dlfic'1.nce sIgDlfic1.nce sIgDlfic1nce sIg'Dlfic'1.nceShe significanceShe significanceShe ' ' . She did not lo\e lo e 10e lose 10\ 10 \ e Holt IIolt bit Stuart . . . Sheloved She Sheloved Sheloved loved him , Kerry Young ' And she shewas shewas shewas was out there , now , dlstresced distressed distressedawaiting ; , , a\\alting a alting awaiting \ him . , , and nnd here he was wasjailed wasjailed wasjailed jailed , helpless to help her , wIth wIthTod withTod withTod Tod West In the saddle And It if 1 1r /r r / 1 1I 1tr I tr tri i , I1 l lt lli t li t tG G t tt t I Ic ItF c tF I iD . Y c I Ic c c . .s s . .sr .se .s"Somebody's \ r e < / / / , . , "Somebody's Somebodys " ' Trying to Frame Me MeBut , , But It's Its ' . . . , That's Thats ' a Detail , Now " West est could keep him out of the theway theway way \ ay and nnd hot hotheaded he'1ded he1ded headed ' , , Impulsive Impulsh lmpulsise e Holt HoltStuart HoltStuart HoltStuart : Stuart out of the way W'lY WlY tviy ' . , . , . , He Be straightened Nan Downer Downertonloht , , tonlht tonight . ; and tomorrow and untillie until untilhe untilhe he " was "as as at liberty , was vIrtually virtuallyat at West s mercy . , Old Ezra Czr'l Czrl : ' was her heronly heronly heronly only counsel , her only protector . . . An ague shook shoo1 . himTod himTod him Tod West WestIth , , \ with \\Ith Ith his swollen faceYoung face 'lce lce faceYoung ! ' . . . Young stood bach back from the tbe wIndOw windote win dow dote , then . , one eye halt half closed A Ahornet Ahornet A . hornet sting , had not somebodysaId somebodysaid somebody said , somewhere , . some time ? The Thecasual Thecasual Thecasual ; I TheI casual word , making no Impresslorat impressionat impression Impres Ion IonI > I at the time , . came back bach now , loom loomlag 100m loomIng ling 100mling I ImportanceI lag Into t1 tiemendous emenJous tremendous Importance . , . . , Hornet ? Or a bee bl'e ble ' ? And honey ? ' ' He lle cocked his head he'ld held heed ' to listen listenNo listenNo listenNo No sound came from Stuart He Hewet Hewet Hwet ( wet Ills his dry lips Ilps to speak and andcheched andchecked anc checked cheched himself . , . , . From beyond be ond the circle of llghithrown light lightthrown lightthrown t thrown by the Incandescent Inc\ndescent Inc ndescent incgndescent ' \ abov above abovethe abovethe < the jail's jails ' side door . , he saw move movement movemeat movemcnt ment meat . . A Aagiic \agiic agiic Lague \ , ague , tawny blotch rno mov movlag roovIng Ing lag toward him , and then a light . , , light l1ht : ; snuffling cnuffIlng : , . ' . , It was 'IS IS ' Tip , tall tail threshing com corn comIng cornlag cornIng Ing lag ' faster 1'ltcr 1ltcr filter ' ' ) now , . comln coming toward towardthe towardthe the sheriff's sheriffs ' ' car standing there therewhere therewhere ; whore where it had been left ; lIuttln putting hl'3 hl3 his hl'3paws hispaws hipaws ' 9 paws on tlie the running board . , snIlTlnj sniffing snimng snimnggt ' ? ' at 1t gt the front spat SP'lt SPlt ' cu&hlon cuhlon cUbhlon cushion & t'lrIng- t'lrIng tlrIng ctgring ctgringshout starin t'lrIng'lbout ' - ; ? about 'lbout lbout shout ' and nnd panting p'1ntlog p1ntlog ' from Crom his Ion Ionrun . ? , , run lip lipl I ! " he be called lowly Jowly , . 'Olt Olt ' Oh ] , , Tip Tips ' " ? ' The 'fhe fhe dog whirled Young 13pokc spoke 13pokcthe spokethe spok ; the n1m name nime . again nsr'lln nsrlln ' The retrieve retrIccr retrieter retrieterthreshed retrIc\ retrIc \ cr crthreohed threshed threohed ; his tail t'1.l1 t1.l1 t1l1 tell ' . and , runnln running to tothe tothe o tlio the w \ ill 111 all placed p1'lccd p1lccd ' his front teet feet teetnglnst feetngglnst against ng\lnst ng lnst ngglnst ' \ It , stretching to his full fullhel fullheight hel belpht height ht ' , Drop boy I l ' ' hispered "hL'3pered hL3pered whispered w " ' Kerr Kerry Kerrycautinnsly ) , c3utlfl\rt c3utlfl rt cautiously cautinnsly ) \ ; ) . "Drop Drop " 1 ! Good dog 1 ! ' ' Hastily lI'lstlly lIlstlly Iiastlly ' he ran r1n rin along- |