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Show AI2 ! ! Ta ! ! I'JI IJI ' 4 ay ERNEST HAYCOX Rgjese Rgjesem Rgjeselr m lr 'V V ' ' " . - SO 50 FAR Clay Moran MoranPgerendreapaaraacher Mor . an anIIS ! sTORr S1ORT I\IS I IS IISded fi fiS1ORT \ a * lone b l " nd 'l l ' aga * el.n eln ! nst " phY .dedtopliy dedtopliy . ded ' " to arunt aruntthe )11 11 ) Pgerendreapaaraacher doodrOD ' : " . a r rincbcr Dcbrr bent Onarunt on rDn rDnJIll rr rrV JIll JIllJ J ! , uttlC Itle country I t is 0 o D n way Tbe The Themee . , : Ibe the breD bee " enen les I for Se See ears earsff . have ave V ff e { mee " " ' .first first . ? [ ousnt fougbt ( overI overCh over Ch vi i ) } 5 S SSe a Ife " - ; nlf 2t nlfd " "h.ded h.ded hded " arsted . d dhave ed bat hat batnt ng nim bim bin ' and bcl bel cvlni evlng eying evlngjI eyingg g jI . , abo " married Mere lIere here deen deep deepyr deenr.rrat : , Iid Id A bave have hive III IIII Iidfigure yr ' " yraI sol lary Ogure figure dt\oted dt oted devoted \ totorso to . torso "f f " aI aIIid ' . I near Sou a old daugbter daughter Janet AI AIiii AI1'h iii 1'h 1h ' fl fWo ' : : . womcn women CaU cati erlne erine Grant and andt . .JI JI . .JIGarrab . arc are In love ! < " v " \ . ta tb th thk(1 lllm blm him blmjI himinner jI ( k(1knowrhe ' knowrhe c che Garrab r.rrat rrrat "he he " t he cannot tortet lorget forget Lilahim Llla Lila Of 0"S 0S i iiII1 iII1 k(1 k1 " ; , Mend friend friends . only onlyllack lack hack ! Breatht Breatb Breath It ft ftW fttot i iiii iii ) f ft inner to Herendceu lIerendteu licrendecu s 5 sidee side over OHr oscr W rfione IODe gone t 11 tot ' Bord"5 Bord5 Bordcrs Borders a rus rusbe " ' )11 11 ) "mplni mplni " pingwith wltb with ltl > Pele Pete I > ele " ! .ampjDg ampjDg " ping " ' e " e ' . " Hcrenucen lIerendcen nerendeen 5 a ai ; from Is a anit fug t i tie r ' " e , ' ' be Catherine Catberine s s 5 brother brotherskid brother'a.i.tout brotherai.tout brotheraitout . i a aGord ' cura GDrd Gord Grant nine nlng ntag Herendeen lIerendecn Berendeen but butBred bu.Morons buMorons skid . . d about . jo to be h . when wben : . Morgan 5 SKorn sorn " , enemy beento to toarssrb . ' . . .rtd rtd Bred J that tbat Catherine Catberine had bad been becn to t < , . ' . " Will Willill willg willt w " cb , ciai cla3 Cia ) Is 1 I > . w"ncd wncd warned " "y y by " Fl"t Flt FoX " arssrb r tbat that tbatIf thaturtae that ill ' once beir befr heir ended endcd he bc If g ( t nMtcr nester D sUr < his catUe uttle cattle Meantat Mean tbatI I . stealinB steabng stealing , is " urtae .DC DC . d seoveredIiIrl scoveredydel scovcrcl seovered scovered ( place ' " " ls Is each cl . sid s 'I I ' 1 d < ' "T T ng " I . Hac H IiIrl tat " " Ollhouse Uilhouse IIbouse Herendeen lIerendeen lierendeens s s foretU foreide tore fore torerdts tU tUr ydel 1 < ? Potholes potboles liter arter il ilparty h m IT . , ' r ide idePotholes rdts . des parly party into the includlne Including GurdGran GurdGranndey Gurd ilt Grant Grant.I GrantI t Hack Dack flack Sickened Sicken ' " . * by 0 U ecoId ecoIdiIIOdcss e cole cold coldedoess colencss . , , ! Ulls JUs tills ndey rl'7 rl7 ' of Rvck lI incts ck s n nurder urder Gnrc Gurd Gurd11DI Gurduta Gnrcit edoess ncss " , iIIOdcss wltb IIcrendeen ea eaI eagoneo "ow ow , " CIa I ) uta utar utaea 11DI it pDO goneo nne br flica " to s Goiernn Go\Crnn Go Crnn Goemn " r \ " - - - - entaUeY - ent \ Galley aUey to In an anneple InKM that some1 somex some Wllnis U flog s story slory neple fatc Fo Fox " W ng ' " x II It , tealog ( , loal leilne Df his bls cattleSex cattle with wltb the storyCHWTCR story storyCHIPTER [ ccntinae eODtlDoe tonbnae Sex m " , - CHIPTER cnMeR CHWTCR cn \MeR MeR \ "V V VV VV'eachmg " V VIldching Government GOHrnment Valleyorgan Valleyorgan Valley Valleyotpn Ildching Reachll1g 'eachmg eachmg ' otpn organ located the trail of o ( the rus rus1d rusd rusigi quarter m Ie Ic trom Crom from thed the theliitencybuldings 1d ! d cattle caltle tattle g a The beef had hadxo hadan d liitencybuldings agency bu ] Idmgs dugs mlled lied together and drivenVhaard driver drIven drIvenuthurd driveriithnard en < xo m iithnard uthurd Vhaard to tovard yard the Potholes'SkJp PotholesSkip Potholes rustlin rustlm for Cor a a.cute ajiute Stop 'SkJp SkJp Skip ' thP the lh > idea of suggested Jump Figure Figurehat Figureat .Dute Dute .cute cute . . hat at somebody d d it to hamstr ng ngcmake ngoil-make ngoil make , OIl-make OIl make cmake - _ a poor man out of youI youD youa you I D ] a lurry burry burryYou burryyou lurryyou Hcrendeen Herendeen Herendeenat Herendeenn ' you re hiking hlkmg ttikmg about i vII n sa d Morgan Morgani MorganAs As suchWell suchWell such suchfftll fftll Well well we 11 find out sad sa dIor d \\Ior Ior Mor Mors \ Mora 13 s and nd led the group forward Corward on onelra onttra onstril onstrilIter elra ttra I IBev Iter bev ' ! rode along the Hat flat country countryth countrylb th lb the Haycrcek Haycreek H Us lis to the rightd right rl . : d the Potholes a matter of four fourfive fourgee fourEve five gee m les m in the south The tra 1 1Ire 1I the Ire beet beef made aJgghng a \ wiggling \\Jgghng Jgghng \ 1 I ne m in mJOIIt inat IEteat JOIIt at of them po nted for the Pot Potbts Potks PotAs PotAslloran bts . ks ! btsIlorgan ksMorgan lloran Ilorgan Morgan ; sa d It If they re drIvmg driving drivingj drivingt .e e . t beet beef into mto that sect on it won tfar t tre t re < to far awayB awayAl away awayK.X Al B\ B \ . Bhalf K.X KX . , halt half a mile farther on Morasaw Mor MorIuaw Moriasaw ( Iuaw asaw : that the beef v \ asn t mtend intend mtendII intendfor intendidler II ! for the Potholes The trail cut cuthe cuii ) the he r ght , , , go ng into mto the flank of ofte ofe olx te e Eaycreek Haycreek H 1I lL ! ! . > and aim ng to tonrd toird tonrd nrd ird a a low pass More and moresled more moreoazIed more'oried moreoried oazIed ' sled Morgan Collo\\ Collo followed Colloed \ ed They had hadbJ hadm hadka bJ ! m ; m in cnt cnl ent rely open country now nowoJ nowthey now.iThtyTose nowiThtyTose oJ . 1be they ) ' rose w th the slope of the theis theLblhej 1s is they came to to- toa - . a gradually thick thickug thicksig thickoi ug sig stand of pinesAt pmesAt pines pmes pinesAt At th ili s i point pomt the Ha Has Hay creek ereek H lls Us llsIoacbed Usshed UsMchtd Ioacbed shed one edge of the Potholes PotholesIBJ Potholes.cd Potholesd .cd cd . d the Ihe land here began to show the theil'ecls the'tcts the1'ects the1ects il'ecls ilecls ' ' 'tcts tcts ' of the geolog c e upheaval The TheInn Theit Thetail Inn Innas it \\as as r \ * as narrow and circuitous clrcwtous and andIrked andxted andi Irked xted ktd upward to the summit of the thegcreek thelacrek gcreek ? creek ( H Hlls 11s lls by la labored bored turns turnsthrouglI turnsrough turnstameli througlI : rough th ths s extremely rough and andImly andaely ancBtly Imly aely terrain the unknown rustler rustlerud rustleiad rustlerd ud d put the beet beef single file Ham Harry Harryl.unp Harrymp l.unp lunp . BIP mp sa d Hell v"e ve we " e must be righ right rightlop ) 011 top lop ol of it nov no v He couldn t make makemJCII makeich makeBJch mJCII ich of a dr dre v \ \e e \ e through here in m a ao agut's EtSafl o ghrs gut's guts ' t tme me Clay Cla } let me getead get getliead geiltaii liead : ead and scout the landAlmost land landAlmost . Almost AImost at the top ans vered verec r { n nBreaking Breaking Breakmg out of the summ t tin t m mIs be tar ! mbe tintar he sa v a meado v ly.ng lyng ly . ng steeplym steeply 111 m " Bit the descend ng h Us lIs lls de in an vh ch chBtrendeen chBtreiicens Btrendeen ere'deen eredeen ' s cattle grazed and hisoat his oat 1i1I t cattle caltle There was no doubt of ofat ofd of11 d at th s s s short distance he was wasab was4beloread was"ttii wasttii 4beloread ab " e to read his Ius brand brandMorgan brandMorgan brandUMan Morgan ( tild said finally fmalIy Well let sgtt s sget sSt get gtt at It it , , , ai ar as d rode out of the tim timher 1r her " Helarked He \ worked \larked larked through the stock stockUt stocksill stock.rill stockrill . sill Ut Fox Willing WIll1ng whle wh Ie Jump and Verrnlye yelrnlye andVerrnlye andyelrnlye ' ye took look stations near the theI thes theIhees theMl Ihees lyend lyed s Alter After Morgan and Verm lye lyecollected lyecollected I d collected aU all the Long Seven Sevenmals Sevenorals SevenMitials backto mals orals and had drh drhcn driven en ther then , back back"f backf " 10 to the fOI toiest forest est trail the other twoera twoors two ' era ors t tripM trIpe " came up ready tor Cor for tre trip M e Morgan mean meanh \h h vh \ Ie le had done doneth donet donee e th nk ngs ng s - fm I'm Im ngI'm ' 'a a ' go gong ( o ng dove do vn to see Herenen Hereneta Hcren Heren eta en _ i etaRght en'R Aon'ce Aonce Rght 'R R ' gbl w ' wth th " ' you sail sal i rlarry darry Barry darry.unp Barryump . .unp unp ump at once onceOne onceOct _ pretclear One Oct s enough to lay th s . cut c.ut pret clear ( " Then he added dr II dryly ) ly I I,1 I1 Lunderand underseid , I can lay it out so he Lunder L under underv and ! seid seidis is- is . " . - . ' the'Mow theMow theeadow theallow ' me openly crossed erossed the eadow allow thioughtttlnMng thloughtluruung through1lwimng ' and rode do vnslcpe vnslope thlough through lasthe lastthe tluruung 1lwimng t I mber tuber to come at last \he he the \ " e rim rlDl ot of valley"MS valleywas Herende n s valley -"MS "MS MS - 11 " was about five miles irom from the Ihe tbre.mlcsw tbremlcsw * lidow tidow Ihelidow thetidow " < > " and st sill 11 II another thre . . . m les acs acsof lesof "t t of " toe the Three P nes houses VWi OjIPlrg housesOjIPlrg housesPing Ping down the shoulder of the " Morgan theMorgan " "organ organ reached the road run runM runMd bes ben runbes runben Md de . cache Caehe Ri\ Ri Rher Rier River \ er and set M lOulh\\ard lOulh ard aauthward setlOulhard setaauthward \ at d I a < brisk cl1p clip P ioon soon ioont soonIIIg soonmg IIIg mg InlPrate int"rate l t th the ranch From the infr InlPr int"r intr " ate d ofon stance he sa saw w a pa r ol of ol'McGeenhad on the porth porch and so lebody nebody nebodytthi ! atled heatled tthi rk1ng : d the thethe the In the corrals When he heyard yard both theeh theth men cn on the eh th had gone Ins de and aother- aother another- another , - ' aotherMCGeenhad anotherMcGeenhad 'McGeen-had 'McGeen McGeen had MCGeen-had - come out I4cG outI4cG outMcGeen I4cGn McGeen n S face showed shadcd shaded Its shad cd ed edsurpr aUrpr surpr se and Its alert hostlh hosllli hostlhBut hosllliBut But he kept h s mouth shut un tin lItorgan Morgan unlItorgan tinMorgan " "Ean Ean " Spoke ( pokel pokeluf5 11 " SpokeBea toe Ben Bea uf5 S a ln in there teU tell te " him to toi e out , 'lie lie OUt'Reshere ' ' 'Reshere Reshere a 116 here " all " "ght ght right " Mcand McI i . ? krunted runted Mc I and truntedMcTEltn BenJllen BenI rai8ed raised hls his vOice v0 ' " Ben- Ben Beneh - I Jllen Ben BenA A & Benman lIIan man Yallied valiced ' 11 eh bouse house forward through througb " " "gr gr " ' heavy eavy and del berate tri ere : ' " J I yardJ yardI beratewere were . , voices volprc In in the i , rear . . ? . - yard . . - - - . talking " 6 and afterwards ceasj ceas C g ceasg 10 b talk . . MftrfflM 1 11J -1--J 1 J .L L Morgan looked - - - - j es thees at the standing by the front yard rf rfr r- r rt - t / / I f fI fr ' p pd d I I r- r - : L\ L L1 LI \ \ 1 I/\/ I IIiA / \ / I/iA I iA IiAi / i- i i1s - : -1s- 1s - 1sHe - He list 1 im once knuckles slashing BicGeen s cheek and d dn do t recognize reeogmze them he was wasth wasth wasth th nk i a g about th s when Herendeen Herendeencame Herendeencame Herendeencame came to the porehBen porchBen porch poreh porchBen Ben Morgan Mor&an Moran & said at once I Ifollo Ifollowed Ifollowed follo\\ follo folloed followed \ ed a pretty broad trail o 0 t t of ofGovernment ofGovernment olGovernment Government Valley th s afternoon afternoon.tthen afternoontthen . . Sihen \ \ hen I got to the end of oC it at there was vvas wasa vvasa wasa a Jag lag , ) ag of Long Seven cows feed Ceed ng ngIn ngin ngin In one of oC your meado vs They didn dtdn t tmake tmake tmake make the walk witho wltho t I 1 elpHerendeen elpHerendeen elp elpHerendeen Herendeen s round fresh searred scarred searredCace scarredface scarredface Cace face showedhat showed \ what \\hat hat \ seemed to Mor Morgan Morgan Morgan gan something sometlung close to surprise 1 I e ethrew ethrew ethrew threw \ McGecn I\IcGecn I IcGecn McGeen a qu ck lool 1001 but Mc McGcen McGeen MeGcen Gcen Geen shook his head Herendcen Herendeen Herendcenlooked Herendeenlooked Herendeenlooked looked back to \ Morgan I\Iorgan I Iorgan MorganI IIorganI I I know nothing nothmg of ItMa itMaybe it itMaibe Maibe Maybe Ma be you d belter better get acquamt acquaint acquamted acquainted acquainted ed w th sour ; our ere cre v \ suggested Mor Morgan Morgun Morgan MorganI gan gun ganI gunI I U 11 II go up in m a day or so and see seeabout seeabout seeabout about it at It If you you\e you e youve \ e got any beef beefthere beefthere beefthere there I U 11 send it at back . . . I saved you the r de The beef beeC s son son son on theay the \ way \\ay ay home nov novHerendeen no vHerendeen v vHerendeen Herendeen sa d It Ii 11 there s any anycuttmg anycutting anycutting cuttmg cutting to be done on my range I II ll IIdo lldo Udo do it Bones take a cro vd up thereand there thereand thereand and stop that We U 11 see what \ whats hat s go gomg gomg going mg onBones onBones on onBones Bones started around the corner of ofthe ofthe ofthe the house at once to be halted by byMorgan byMorgan byMorgan Morgan s do vn slapp ng answerHold answerHold answer answerHold Hold on I m go ng to recite chap chapter chapter chapter ter and . verse erse to you boys The beef beefgoes beefgoes beetgoes goes home and if you figure to stop stopIt stopat stopit It at you better figure to stop the boys boysw w \ th lb ItIf itH it itIf If H necessary we U 11 do that too toosa toosad toosa sa sad do d > Herendeen Bones just lust brmg bring brmgthe bringthe bringthe the crowd around here a mlDute minute mlDuteHe minuteHe minuteHe He came on to the edge of the porch porchhis porchhis porchhis i his th ck legs spread ng and takmg taking takmgroot takingroot takmgroot root Bones moved only as far as asthe asthe asthe the house s corner he raised his hisarm hisarm hisarm arm and moved back to vard yard the theporch theporch theI porch Watching Watehmg the corner Morgan Morgansaw Morgansaw Morgansaw saw Chill Chili Purdy and J m Burden BurdenI Burdenand Burdenand Burdenand I and Slim Sllm John sho v up These were wereold wereold wereold old Three Pmes Pines men But there therewere therewere therewere were four Cour other men beh nd these thesethree thesethree thesethree three unfam l 1 I ar to him They Theystopped Theystopped Theystopped stopped by the corner McGeen McGeenthrow McGeenthrow McGeenthrow throw ng a look at them said n a avoice avoice voice \ Olce that grated the words togeth together er Don t be bashful in front Cront of the thegreat thegreat thegreat great Clay Morgan It seemed to tobe tobe tobe be a s gnal goal Two of the strangers strangersboth strangersboth strangersboth both dark men w \ th the same sharp long slanted noses on the corner eorner and moved on unt tint l 1 I Mar Mor Margan Morgan Morgan gan no v watch ng Herendeen lostthem lost lostthem lostthem them out of the corner of h s e eyes eyesthey evesthey es esrhey rhey they vere some vhere at h s left leftrear leftrear leftrear rear thro vmg ving a glance that th&t tht & vay yay he hesa hesa hesa sa v them half fifty feet Ceet behind behmd h mHerendeen mHerendeen m mHerendeen Herendeen sa d Take a good goodlook goodlook goodlook look before you fin sh your vour our speechClay speechClay speech speechClay Clay ClayI I see noth ng new ans vered veredMorgan veredMorgan veredMorgan Morgan You al vays 1 I l-ed l ed Ired ked ' - a b g gcro gcro gcro |