Show I I I Judith of Blue Lake L ke Ranch i iI I t By JACKSON GREGORY I jI j CopyrIght by Son JUDITH TAKES POSSESSION OF BLUE LAKE LIKE RANCH You wildcat he cried And his two Iwo big hands f flew lew out seek seek- sc seeking it ing her shoulders Stand l back called Judith Just Ju t because e you are bigger than Phan PhanI I am an don dont don't t make any mistake Stand back I l tell telly you uI l Bud Lee marveled at the swiftness f with which her hand had gone one into h her r blouse and out aga again t a small small-fX small caliber iber revolver in the St steady y fingers now Ho Ha H f had 11 never hover ver k known ww a man man himself possibly ly excepted quicker qu quicker at the draw I But Bayne from whose makeup cowardice e had bun been 1 o omitted itt d laughed 4 sneeringly lly at h her r and ni- ni did not Mt stand back His Jis two hands out tie Before f ore e him its face jace crimson he came on Fool fF ol cried the girl Fool Fool t. t 4 Still he L Lee e gat gathered Ced himself el to s spring f of l J-l Judith li fire r d. d e and a ld Tr vors' vors right arm fell elk to his side Buie e A I second time andrIl jors left arm hung limp like like the other The t tt i t crimson kits teas gone gon from froin his face face now It waS was d dead a white Little beads o 0 of an I q forn orm orf his brow b iv I L Lee c turned aston astonished hed eyes to fo Judith t I ou know running g tl this tS ou outfit t fit c don don't dont on t you your she s said id j coolly coq Lee lz have ve a team hitched rup u up to carry i rY wherever he I wai was t to 0 gf go l ties tie's es e's not hurt much I 1 just winged him And go tell the cook coole c ab about my breakfast I But B Lee st stood od ari and looked at al her r. r E He had no r remark mark to offer U Jh n. n to go upon her bidding As he went down to the he bunkhouse he said softly under h his s breaths Well lVell Im I'm Im I'm d d d. d. d I 1 most certainly yam am arn I J Meet hero hero heroine and Villain Villain-Bud Villain Bud Bud Lee Judith Sanford and Bayne Bayno Rather ather an energetic and efficient young woman Is Judith Isn't she But lust Just the same she is i what we Americans call a ua nice girl to sa say nothing of being a beauty when dressed up for a ball You see Judith has to ge get busy Part owner of the big ranch she comes to the realization that she is being robbed by her foreman Bayne She suddenly appears at the ranch discharges him and takes the management into her own hands Judith wl wins s the favor of the mens men's leaders by taming an outlaw horse Bud Lee daring foreman of the horse department about whom there Is s a considerable element of mystery is Judiths Judith's principal aid in ferreting out and checkmating the schemes of Finally Lee realizes that he is In love with Judith The girl surprises similar feeling In herself toward him but keeps him at a distance until their mutual trials and dangers force orce a showdown and a declaration of affections Jackson Gregory the author was born in Salinas Cal in 1882 and makes his home at East Auburn in that state He once served as a principal of schools In In California and has worked as a newspaper reporter reporter reporter re- re porter In the larger cities of the United States States' and Canada He writes from an intimate knowledge of the W West st and his books are deservedly popular He Is the author of Under Handicap The Outlaw The Short Cut Wolf Breed The Joyous Trouble Mal Maker er Six Feet Four The Bells Bells of of San Juan Ladyfingers Man to Man D Desert sert Valley The Everlasting Whisper and many short stories and stories for feature fea tune ture photoplays CHAPTER I I. I 1 Bud Lee Wants to Know to Know r Bud Lee horse foreman of the Blue BlueLake BlueLake Lake take ranch sat upon the glite te of th the homp home hoin corral a a cigarette with slow i brown fingers and stared across the brol broken n t fields of ot th the uv upper e valley to the rosy rosy JOSY glow above e the tim pine ridge where the sun was comIng com om- om Ing up His customary gl gravity was wa unusually pronounced If a mans man's got the hunch an egg egg Is bad h he mused Is that a U good and sufficient reason why he should go go poking his fingers Inside the sh shell ll I I. I want to know know knowl I Tommy the youngest wage wage- earner of the o outfit and nd a a profound admirer of all al that taciturnity good humor Immor and and quick capability which went ent Into the tile makeup of ot Bud Lee approached approached approached ap ap- ap- ap from the ranch house on the knoll HI Hl Bud I 1 he called Tre vors ors wants you On the jump Burkitt stopped at the gate looking up at Lee On the Jump said Bald he repeated I For a moment Lee sat still his cigarette his broad black tt hint t far tar back upon his cropped close-cropped hair hurr his eyes serenely contemplative upon the pink of ot the sky above the pines noes Then he slipped sUpped from his place and though each single move- move mont gave an Impression of great It was but a flash of time until he stood beside t I Stick around a wee bit he heReid Reid gently a lean brown hand resting rest rest- fn lug ing lightly on the boys boy's square shoulder houlder A man cant can't see what Is Ison nn on the cards until they're tipped but 1 s 's always a fair gamble that between and dusk Ill I'll gather up my of colts and crowd on If It I do you'll want to come along long He Ke smiled at young BurkItts BurkItt's and turned away awny toward to fe rc e ranch house and Ba Bayne ne thus putting an early end to an en enthusiastic en en- acquiescence They ant aint no more men ever paled foaled like him meditated Tommy Ii iii an approval so profound as to be belittle Jit little le less than out and devotion And Indeed one might ride up and down the world many a day and not find a man who was Bud Lees Lee's f superior In hi the things that count As tall as most with sufficient sh shoulders shoulders ul- ul ders lers a slender body narrow hipped 1 1 0 carried parried himself as perhaps his forebear walked In the days when I open onen forests or sheltered caverns housed them with a lithe gracefulness graceful graceful- t I ness ess born of ot the perfect play pIny of superb su- su physical development UN UI r muscles even In the slight movement flowed he had slipped from frore his Ills plate place on the corral gate less like a man than thun like some great splendid oat cat Th hI hIem em of hands face tace throat was was very dark whether by Inheritance or because of ot long exposure to to sun sun and wind It It would have been difficult to to s say say y The eyes were ere dark v very ry keen and yet jet et remIniscently grave Fr From Erom m under their black lac brows blows they load lad the habit of appearing to to be re rp reluctantly withdrawn from sOIne some gre great t distance to come to rest steady teady and arad calm cahu upon the man with whom he to be speaking f The gaunt sure-footed sure form was to Tommys Tommy's eyes Lee had passed be beyond ond th the clump of wild lilacs wh whose se glistening shaped heart leav leaves s the th open court about which the die ranch house was built A strangely elaborate te ranch-house ranch this one set h here re so far apart from the world of r rl rich ch h residences There was a n score of ot rooms In the great grent story one rambling edifice of ot rudely squared timbers set In stone field-stone and cement ement rooms now closed and locked there were gardens flower still cultivated daily dally by Jose the half breed a pretty court with a fountain and many fanny roses out cut upon which a dozen doorways looked wide verandas with glimpses beyond of fireplaces and long on expanses expanses expanses ex ex- of polished floors For until recently this had been not only the tho headquarters ers of Blue Lake ranch hut but the home homo as well of the chief of Its several owners owners Luke Lule Sanford whose own efforts alone had made him at forty five a man to be reckoned with had followed his fancy here extensively extensively exten exten- and e expensively e allowing himself himself him him- self Relf this one luxury of ot his many mans lean hard years Then six months ago justas just as his ambitions were stepping to fresh heights Just as his hands were filling with n newer greater ende endeavor wor there had come the mishap In the mountains and Sanfords Sanford's tragic death Lee passed silently through the courtyard and came to the door at the far end The door stood open within was t tie tue o office ice of Bayne Dane Tre Tre- vors ors general manager Lee entered his hat still far fur back upon his his- head The sound of ot his boots upon the bare floor caused to look up quickly Hello Bello Lee he lie said quietly Walt Wait Walta Waita a n minute will you ti Quite a different type from Lee Bayne nayne was heavy leavy and square and hard His eyes oyes were the glinting gray e eyes es of a man who Is forceful d dynamic the sort of ot man who Is a better captain than lieutenant whose hands are strong to grasp life b by the throat and demand that she stand and deliver Only because of his wide and successful experience of ot his Initiative of his way of quick decisive action mated to a marked executive e ability had Luke Lulee Sanford chosen Bayne as his right hand man In so 1 colossal a venture as the Blue Lake ranch rand Only because of ot tho the same Bame pushing vigorous personality was he Utica this morning general manager with with the tho unlimited authority of ot a dictator over a B petty principality In a B moment T evors lifted his fr frowning eyes from tho the table turning In his chair to confront Lee who stood lounging In leisurely manner against the d iamb deer r That young oung Idiot wants money again ho he growled his voice as sharp and quick as his ey eyes a. a As If It I didn't have havo enough to contend with already i Meaning young Hampton I take iq It said Lee quietly nodded savagely I Telegram Caught It over oyer the line the last thing last night Well We'll have to sell some horses this time I. I Ley CEO L Lees Lee's es e's e eyes 8 narrowed Imperceptibly I I I 1 didn't t plan to to do any selling for or six sir months yet yet he le said not in expostulation ex- ex expostulation ex ex- postulation but merely In fri i explanation I not ready How many year three-year-olds have you IOU got In your string down In Jn the Big meadow asked crisply Counting those thos eleven Red Duke colts colt 1 Counting everything How Bow man many Seventy Seventy The general managers manager's managers pencil wrote upon the pad In front of ot him 73 then swiftly multiplied it by 50 Lee Lec saw tho the result set down with the dollar sign in front of ot it He He said nothing What would you say to fifty dollars a head for th them m asked Trey rs whirling again In his sw swivel ve chair Three thousand th usand six fifty for the bunch Id say the same answered Lee deliberately that Id I'd say to a man that offered me two bits for tor Daylight or Ladybird I Just naturally wouldn't say nothing at all alL smiled cynically What are the s three seventy colts worth then Right nIght now when Im I'm Just lust ready rendy to break em In said Bud Lee thoughtfully thoughtfully thought thought- fully the worst o of off that string Is I worth fifty dollars Id I'd say twenty of tI the e herd ought to bring fifty dol dot dollars dollars lars tars a head twenty more ought t to tor toa 1 r a r 1 e i I f s I a ai i What Would You Say to Fifty Dollars a Head bring sixty ten are worth seventy- seventy five ten are worth an even hundred seven of the Red Reel Duke Dulce- stock are aregood aregood aregood good for tor a hundred and ond a quarter the theother theother theother other four Red Dukes and the three Robert the Devils are worth a hundred hundred hundred hun hun- dred and fifty a head The Thc whole bunch hunch an nn easy seven fifty-seven hundred little iron men He lie stared hard at a n mo mo- ment And then partially voicing the thought thought with which he lie had grappled upon the corral conal gate he added meditatively meditatively medi medi- Theres something al almighty almighty al- al mighty peculiar about an outfit that will listen to a man offer fifty buckson bucks bucl buckson s son i on a string like that His ills eyes ees cool and stead steady met In a long look which was little short of ot a challenge Just how far tar does that go Lee asked the manager curtly As far as you ou like replied the horse foreman coolly Are you jou ou going to sell tJ those ose year three for tor thirty thirty- six hundred Yes answered bluntly I Iam Iam Iam am What are you going to do about It 1 Ask for my time I guess and although his vol voice e was gentle and even cven pleasant his eyes were hardIll hardIll hard Ill take my own O l little string and move e on Curse It 1 cried heatedly What difference does It t make to you What business Is It of ot yours jours ours how I Isell Isell Isell sell You draw down your our monthly pay dont don't you Qu I I raised you jou ou oua a notch last month without your asking for tor It t didn't I n so agreed the foreman equably Its UIt's a cinch none of ot the theOS theO'S boys OS O'S have any kick coming at the wages For a moment sat frowning frowning frown frown- ing up at Lees Lee's Inscrutable face tace Then he lie laughed shortly Look here Bud ho lie said good an obvious obvious ob ob- ob Ious seriousness of ot purpose under the light tone I want to talk with you yon before you do anything rash Sit do down n. n But Lee Leo remained standing merely saying Shoot I 1 wonder explained If the boys understand Just the size of the tho Job Ive I've got In my hands Y You t know that the ranch Is a a million million- dollar outfit yo you know that you can ride fifteen miles without getting off ot the range home you rou know klow that we weare weare are doing a dozen different kinds of formIng farming a and iI stock stock- stock But u-t u yo you dont don't know just how short the money is I Theres There's that young oung Idiot now Hampton He holds a third Interest and Ive I've got to consider what he says ays even If U he is a a weak minded weak minded Inbred pup pup that that cant can't do anything but spend an Inheritance like the born f fool ol he heis is Is His share is mortgaged Ive I've tried frIed to pay the Ule mortgage off Ive I've g got t to keep the Interest up Interest alone amounts to three thousand dollars a year Think of ot that I Then hen the theres there's es e's Luke Sanford de dead d and his third one Interest left to another young fool tool a girl l Ev Every ry two weeks she she's s writing for a report eternally butting in making suggestions hampering me until I Im I'm sick sick of ot the Job That be Lukes Luke's girl Jud Judith th Two of ot th the three Yes Yes owners owners' kids writing me at every turn And the third owner Timothy Gray the only sensible one of ot the lot has Just up lp and sold out his share and I suppose sup sup- pose pos Ill I'll I l be hearing next that some superannuated female In an old ladys lady's I home has Inherited a t fortune and bought him out And now you the best man Ive I've got throw me down I 1 II I dont don't see said Lee Iee slowly after a brief pause Just what good it does does' to sell a good string of horses like they were sheep Half of ot that herd Is real horse flesh I tell you ou Well Weil snapped ors Tre suppose you are right Ice Ive got to raise three thousand dollars In a hurry Where will I get It 1 Who is offering fifty dollars a head for those horses asked Lee abruptly It might be the Big Western Lumber company Yes Uh huh Well you ye-i oh can kill the rats in 3 your ur own o barn Ill Ill I'll go look for a n joh job somewhere else Bayne Payne his lips tightly compressed com corn pressed his eyes eye steady a faint angry fiu flush h In leis his his cheeks checked wll what t words were flowing to his his' tongue and mid looked keenly at his foreman |