OCR Text |
Show / ' UteEa , r rw.ur w.ur wur . ' zil , w p v 1 1v b br r , q qt&7C t&7C t7C & ' rf77 rf77FRANK anc r rrf77 FRANK H . SPEARMAN SPEARMANCOPYRIGHT I SPEARMANI COPYRIGHT FRANK H SPEARMAN WNUSERWC W N U SERVICE ' SYNOPSISSleepy SYNOPSIS SYNOPSISSleepy Sleepy Cat Cut Cat , , desert de ert town of the theSouthwest thSouthwest th thSouthwest e < Southwest , li Is colcbratlngr calcbratlng colebrating tho the Fourth Fourt Fourthof Fourtof Fourthof h of July . Jane Jan * Van Tambel T mbcl , beautiful beautifu beautifuldaughter beautifudaughter bexutlfuldauchter l daughter of ot Gua Gus Van Tarabel Tar.1bel Tar1bel Tambel . , , . hated hatedowner hatedowner batedowner owner of ot Gunlocic Gunlock ranch , has h ar- ar arrIved artived ar-riTed ar riTed - r-Ived r Ived tived - from the East for tor the 11rst first firsttime 11rsttime firsttime time She watches wl\tches wl tches \ the Frontier Daycelebration Day Dayeelebratlon D ycelebration eelebratlon celebration In 1n company with Dr Dr.Carpy DrCarpy . Carpy , crusty , tendT-hearted tendT hearted tendGr-hearted tendGr tender-hearted tender - - friend friendIf friendof friendof If of ( the tho community Henry Sawdy of ofthe ofthe ofthe the Circle Dot ranch , , tricked In afake a afake afake fake horse race the day before by byDave byDave byDave Dave lIcCrossen 'McCrossen McCrossen 31cCrossen ' , foreman at t Gun- Gun Gunlock Gunlock Gun-lock Gun lock - lock plans revenge He entera enters BillDenison Bill BillDenison BillDenlson Denison , . a a , handsome younr young Texa Texas Texaswrangler Texawrangler wrangler . , In the rodeo w wljich wt1ch ch McCrossen Mc- Mc McCrossen Mc-Crossen Mc Crossen - Crossen la Is favored to win 'tnd tnd ' 1tnd and lays laysheavy laysheavy layheavy heavy beta bets on him with Harry Bo- Bo BoJand Boland Bo-land Bo land - Jand land saloonkeeper aloonkeeper and crony of McCrossen Me-Cross Me Cross Mc- Mc McCrossen - Crossen n Unknown to the crowd crowd.Denlson crowdDenlson . , Denison li fa Is a & champion horseman horsemanMcCrossen horsemanMcCrosscn horsemanMcCrossen McCrossen McCrosscn and ttr the young stranger strangertie strangertie Btrangertl tie ! In n the various e\ent e ent eents esents e\ e \ ents Denison Denisondrop Denisondrops Denlsondrop drop drops * a cigarette carelessly , , . and It ItIs ItIs Itla Is proposed that he h try to pick It UP UPrIding upriding upriding rIding full fun tilt Racing Ractng donn do , " n the thetrack thetrack th thtrack track , . Denlson Denison picks up the ciga c1gll- c1gll ciga- c1gllrette cigarette cigarette - rette Boland and the Gunlock r\nch r nch ranch rnchfolio ranchfollow r ' \ nchfollowers folio follow , " era ors protest to Bill Pardaloe Pardaloeex-sheriff Pardaloeex sheriff , n-sherltt n sherltt ex-sheriff ex sheriff : - - and one of ot the judges fudges , but butthe butthe butth the Tcrdlct verdict goea goes to Denlson Denison whenMcCrossen when whenMcCrossen whenMcCrossen McCrossen retusei refusM refuses to attempt the theItunt thestunt thettunt Itunt stunt . . Entreated by the crowd , , Den Den- DenIson DenIson Denlson - lson Ison agrees to perform another trickCHAPTER trick trickCHAPTER CHAPTER II-Cont.lnued IICont.lnued II Cont.lnued Contlnued II-Continued Continued II - Continued . IICont.lnued3 IIContinued3 -3- 3 3"hen - - 3When 3 - "hen hen When " hcn the track was cle-ired cle ired cle'1red cle1red cleared ' - and andthe andthe andthe the men were again seated , the port portIy portly portly Iy ly spieler continued cOI1Unued : "To To " show showthere showthere showthere showtherevas there \vas vas ssas \ \ as no trick In the cIgarette cIgaretteride cigaretteride cigaretteride ride , , and to show there's theres ' ' no collu colluElan colluson colluelon Elan son ! . , 111 Ill ask any lady ! In n the audl audi audlence audience audience ence to throw any nny little uttle pe personal personalornament personalornament onnl onnlornament ornament of ot wear wenr out on the track trackThat trackThat trackThat That young lady next to Dr . Car Carpyhe Carpyhe Carpy " ' " ' ' Isn ! smallbracelet small smallbracelet smallbracelet py-he py he - he po'nted ponted po'nted- po'nted ponted po'ntedIsn po'ntedsn - sn t that a bracelet I 1 see on her left arm 7 ? Just Justthe Justthe Justthe the thIng thin ? Lady Lad } , If it you'd youd ' ' lend us usthat usthat nsthat that bracelet for tor a minute , , we wellBiwv II ll IIsho llshow sho show " , 3011 you ou some ridin rIdln " " ' Sawdy w wis W'lS WlS ' is addressing Jane , ' Oh . , I w " won't wont "on't ont on't ont ' do it Itl I ! " exclaImed exclaImedJane exclaimedlane exclaimedJane exclaimedJaneSah Jane lane JaneSa laneSawdy Sa Sa\\h Sa h Sawdy " \ \ d ( , looked pilned p\lned p lned p'ilned ' \ ' , but kept hept hiseye his hiseye hiseye ! eye fixed fi"led filed " ; : on the bracelet . . ' Goahead Goiliead Go Goahead ahead , , girl , . throw It out I ! " suggest suggestedCarp3 suggested edCarp3 ed Carpi Carp , . "Neer Neer "Ne Ne " ' er ' The ponmight ponv pon\ pon pony \ ' might step onit onIt on | It I l ' protested JaneVe"led JaneVexed Jane \ Vexed Ve"led Veled " ; : , , but unwilling unwmlng to Ignore the thegro thegro thepro gro gro'Ing ving \'Ing 'Ing Ing \ ' clamor of the spectators spectatorsJane , , Jane rose roce ; reluctantly , , passed the theslender thellender 3lender slender ' gold bind b'1nd b1nd ' o\er o er 0er oser 0\ 0 \ er her wrist , and nd , pausing pausln for an.awkv\ard an.awkvard an.awkv anawkv ard an.awl"ard an.awlard anawlard an.awkWard anawkWard . . " \ fem femInlne femnine fernInlne Inlne nine ! throfiunt throw thro\ thro ' \ ' , flung fiunt ! ; It out ungraciousy ungracioust.y un ungracious raclous raclousy y t.y ty ! . y on the track The cro cro\\ cro crod crowd " \ \ d applaud applaudtd applauded ed Jane blushedThe blushedThe blushed blushedThe The bracelet fell fen close to thegrandstand the thegrandst'lnd thegrandstand grandst'lnd grandstlnd grandstand ' side of at the track Sawdy Sawdyiliought Sawdythought Sawdythought iliought thought too close , . but the wrangler wranglerriding , ridIng o\er o er oser \ , , nodded that he could couldmake couldfciake 1ake make It ItThe ItThe itThe The wrangler wheeled his horse horseand , , and cantered down the trach track trackWheeling trachWheeling trackWheeling Wheeling again , , he patted his pony's ponys pony'sneck pony'sneck pony'sneck ponysneck ' neck and headed up toward the therrandstand thegrandstand thegrandstand rrandstand grandstand Again the ponv pony took tookhe tookthe tookthe he the ! quirt , , leaped ahead ahend , , and . , with withthe withthe withthe , the onlookers mostly standing to see seeand seeand seeand and holding their breath , , the wrangler wrang wrangler wrangler ler dashed for the bracelet . Once more he s\Vun s Vun swung \ over to the theright theright theright right of hia his saddle till tIU he could traIl traIlbig trailhis trailhis big his hand easily along In the dust ot of otthe ofthe ofthe the track With eyes straining and andevery andevery andevery every nerve taut , , the wrangler wranglerlighting , sighting Lighting the shining object , struck strucktor struckfor struckfor tor for It . At the same Instant , out of ofperfect ofperfect ofperfect perfect silence a sudden Budden vicious vlclous yell yellrang yellrang yellrang rang from trom somewhere about the thegrandstand thegrandstand thegrandstand grandstand The pony , , starUed startled startledeprang , sprang throwinghis straight sidewlse sIde\vlse sIde vlse sidewise \ , throwing his rider head first Into the dustand dust , . and dragIng nd bolted across the lhe track , , drag drag- dragging dragging - ging Ing the wrangler , , c&ught cught CEught caught & : by one onetoot onefoot onefoot toot foot In the stirrup stirrupA A murmur rose , breaking Intocries Into intocries cries rles of anger and shameThe shameThe shame shameThe The pony headed for tor the Inside Insideguard insideguard Insideguard guard rail of the track fence . . But while the panicky panlchy spectators spectatorsstared spectatorsstared spectatorsetared stared , . , speechless , the wrangler , , dragged wranglerdragged along at breakneck breahneck speed speedshook , shook loose his bls foot toot and , , rolJlng rolling rolJlngwIth rollingwith rollingwith wIth the momentum over and o\er o er oser oeron oseron o\eron o eron \ on the track , sprang to his feet , . , cov cov- coy- coy covered covered coyered - ered ponycleared with dust The bolting bolUng pony ponycleared ponycleared cleared the fence and dashed acrossthe acrossthe across the field The angry wrangler steadied himself him himsel himself sel self ! after a step or two t'vo tvo ' , , his eyes eyesroving eyesroving eyesroving roving over the faces taces before betore hIm himstrhing , strhlng etrising to catch his breath . . With Withbls Withhis Withhis bls his quirt fitlll sun still hanging from trom his hiswrist hiswrist hiawrist wrist , , his hair rumpled and hisbronzed his hisbronzed hisbronzed bronzed features dust smeared , , his hisshirt hisshirt hisshirt shirt torn half halt of off [ his back , and andbreathIng andbreathing andbreathing breathIng hard and fast , , be he stood stoodeyeing stoodeyeing stoodeyeing eyeing the crowd and raised histoice his hisvoice toice olce In a loud clear drawl : "If If "It It " the calf that Just bellowed for formlJk formilk tormilk mlJk milk kn't knt bn't bnt Isn't Isnt [ ' too much of a coward towalk to towalk towalk walk down here , I'll Ill rn ' agree to bottle-feed bottle feed bottle- bottle bottleteed bottlefeed - - teed feed him with a quirt . . " applaudInglaughs Ihere 'lhere lhere 'ihere ' were a few applaudIng applaudinglaughs laughs , , many murmurs , , and nnd a gen general . I eral feeling of uneasiness uneaSlDess among amongthe amongthe amongthe the spectators . Suddenly from the midst of a riot riotof riotof riotof of men talking at the end of ot the thegrandstand thegrandstand thecrandstand grandstand near Jane came Ii a clashof clash clashof clashof of angry voices The next Instant abald abald a abald bald headed man with keen grayeyes gray grayeyes grayeyes eyes and a dyed mustache muetache , scattering scatter scatter- scatterini scattering - ing ini : onlookera onlookers d.lhtnnd rightand risbt d.lht dlht right . ; and nnd lett left , , , pushed , ! , hisay his \\ay ay wny \ ay out of ot the gathering crowd crowdand crowdand crowdand and , , stretching out his arm , . , yelled yelledat yelledat at the tliree three Circle Dot cowmen cowmenstandIng cowmenstanding cowmenstanding standIng on the track beside the thecontrite thecontrite thecontrite contrite pony " "Look Look " a here , Texas I ! I"idled Iidled " yelled eBed the bald head , . heckoning beckoning heckoning"Come beckoning"Come tieckoning"Come tieckoningCome "Come Come " here , you ! I You too , , Lefever LefeveriQuick I ! IQuick Quick I ! " "It's Its " ' Jake Spotfcs Spotts , " slid s'1ld s1ld s ' ild the excited ex excited excited cited Sa Sa\\dy Sa dy Sassdy " \ \ dy . 'Come Come ' on , boys I ! I"With IWith " WIth Lefever Lefe\"er Lefe "er er \ " , and followed fonowed by the thewrangler thewrangler thewrangler wrangler , Sawdy hurried to the theIrate theirate theIrate Irate barber's barbers ' sIde"There side"Theres side side"There "Theres Theres "There There " s the skunk shunk that yelled yelled"cried yelledcried , " cried Spotts , almost beside himself himselfas as he pushed the wrangler forward forwardand , and pointed , "That That " yelIotaced yellow yelIo\\ yelIo \ taced faced tacedsJ.unk facedskunk facedskunk sJ.unk sJunk skunk . right there , Barney Darney Reb-stockl Reb stockl Reb- Reb Rebstock Rebstock - - stock I 1 " ' You're Youre ' ' a n liar Uar , " shouted the man manaccused manaccused manaccused accused , a slender , shrill voiced voicedsharp , sharp faced ranch hand "I I " never neverdid neverdid neverdid did It " A long haired , mild voiced IndIan IndIanstandIng Indianstanding Indianstanding standIng near him spoke spohe up : "Yes Yes "Yesyou Yesyou " , you did I stood right behind you " Jane was sitting so close to the theaHerC'ltion thealtercation thealtercitlon aHerC'ltion aHerCltion altercation ' she could have touched touchedthe touchedthe touchedthe the nearest man She rose In alarm alarmDr alarmDr alarmDr Dr Carpy pushed her to his other otherside otherside otherside side She heird he'1rd he1rd besrd ' Sawdv Sawdy thunder , , ' No Nomore Nomore Nomore more Ivin hln ' ' , Barney I t ! There's Theres ' two twowitnesses twowitnesses twowitnesses witnesses " I That was almost all she could re re- remember re- re remember remember - - member . , There were a 8 few more moresharp moresharp moresharp sharp words Then the dusty wrnng wrang wrnngler wrangler wrangler ler , shortening his quirt . , sprang at atRebstock atRebstock atRebstock Rebstock , knocked I.necked Inecked . off his hat with withone withone withone one hand and with the other otherbroufht otherbrought otherbrought broufht brought : the heivv he\vv he vv he ' \ ivv handle down on onRehstock's onRehstock's onRehstock's onRehstocks Rehstock's Rehstocks ' forehe'ldThere foreheadThere foreheid forehe'ld foreheld forehead foreheidThere ' There was Instant uproar upro'1r upro1r upro'ir uproir ' ' Mc McCro ? MeCro ! c cCrossen Cro Crossen < ? sen spring spr\ng spr ng sprang ' \ forward to defendRebstock defend defendRcbctocl defendRebstock Rcbctocl Rebstock ; " He v w . was as too late . . HIs HIshand Hishand Hl3hand hand slipped sJlpped to his gun holster holsterCarpy holsterCarpy holsterCarpy Carpy , ' * Jumping jumpln up stood almost almostover almostover almostover over the brawlers "Hold Hold " on . , there t ! IHold Hold on en " ' " he thundered 'The The ' The first firstm'1n firstman firstmm m'1n m1n man ' that draws a pun gun lm here , , ' I'll Ill ' run runout runout ranout out of Sleepv Sleepy Cntt Cat ' , " . Dr Cirpv C'lrpv Clrpv C'irpv ' ' was the only onlv man In InSleepy inSleeps InSleepy Sleepy Sleeps C Cit C'1t C1t Citho ' it \\ho ho "ho Who " \ \ could have done It ItBut itBut ItBut But his word was the last word In InSleepy inSleepy InSleepy Sleepy Cit C'lt Clt C'it ' ' No one cared to tace face tacehIs facehis facehis hIs wrath He turned to Jane 'Don'tbe Dontbe ' Don't Dont Don'tbe Don'tbe ' be frI frightened htened girl It's Its ' all over . , " Cheers greeted reeted the wiangier wi angler as ashe ashe ashe he walked walJ.ed walJed . back bad . . with his cronies cronlec ; to towhere towhere towhere where the contilte conhlte pony ctood stood ; ; tood on onthe onthe onthe the trick tr'lck trlck ' Although AJthou h his attire wasIn was wasIn wasin In much disarny dlsarr'1Y dlsarr1Y disarr'iy disarriy ' ' , his manner put puthIs puthis puthis hIs heirers he'1rers he1rers hearers ' perfectly at ease "I I "Ihnow "Iknow "Iknow Iknow " hnow know , " , " he said to those v.ho vho who " . ho liad had re- re returned re- re returned re returned - - turned to the grandstand randstand , , and pat pattln patting patting tln ting his mount , "that that " this generally generally"ell generallysell generallywell "ell ell sell " behaved little Jlttle Texas Te"las Telas " ; : pony Is as asmuch asmuch asmuch much aslnmed ash\rned ash rned ash'imed ashimed ' \ ' of his conduct as I Iam Iam Iam am , and I know he woul would like Uke to toapologIze toapologize toapologize apologIze apologizet t ' " He had the crowd with him While Whilethey Whilethey Whilethey they cheered , the wrangler wrnngler remount remounted remounted remounted ed , , cantered leisurely lelsurelv up the track trackand trackand trackand and do dova down " , n and brought the gelding geldingto to a halt In front of Dr Carpy and andJane andJane Jane Van Tambel Patting the pony ponyaffectionately ponyaffectionately ponyaffectionately affectionately on the neck nech with his hisleft hisleft hisleft left hand , and speaking softly , thewrangler the thewrangler |