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Show . his pocket, "what's n-raatter 'tween you and John Selwood?"- The shock to Christie was perfectly hidden In her astonishment. She opened her eyes as If Inviting the most rigorous Inspection. "Why, nothing! Why do you nsk that? At least," she went on and then a little hateful telltale color rose, "nothing that I know of why, Hill ?" Pardaloe, having discharged his fowling piece, chewed his fresh morsel mor-sel of tobacco Into place, looking no longer nt Christie but at the floor somewhat to one side of her, his mouth drawn down to n gloomy curve, "lie don't come here no more," he observed ob-served at length. Christie tossed her head. "Well," he's a very busy man, nnj, of course, has lots of friends besides us " Pardnloe groped steadily ahead. "Are you his friend?" he asked with nasal skepticism. She professed astonishment. "Why, ves, I hope so. Bill" Christie raised ' Frank a ' Copyright br Charfei Scribner' Son. WNU Service. Calabasas comes to town for a spree.' Tonight they'll all get in; but they won't many get out. They're going to finish with every blackleg and dive-keeper, dive-keeper, bad man and gambler In this town within the next twenty-four hours that's exactly what's coming." Selwood bent ft piercing look on his informant. "Does that Include me, Doc?" "There's no objection to the way you run your place, John If yours was the only place or the other places were like yours. And you'll have friends among the Vigilantes, anyway. Hut when the thing starts there won't be no fine lines drawn, John : you know that," continued the doctor, trying try-ing to convey his warning Inoffensively, Inoffensive-ly, "and there may be mistakes when t . . sick-tent and taking him such little delicacies as her Ingenuity could supply. sup-ply. She realized how close he Was to Selwood, and whoever was a trusted trust-ed friend of Sehvood's Christie, somehow, some-how, liked. Pardaloe. feeling that help was needed in his efforts to straighten out the differences that kept Selwood and Christie apart, had taken Tracy Into his confidence, and the old man was ready to do what he could to help. On this Saturday afternoon he held Christie' for a little chat, and as soon as he couM Introduced the delicate subject that Pardaloe had already brooched to her. . "Bill Pardaloe," he went on, continuing con-tinuing his remarks, "said you was afraid of Selwood because you thought he was a gambler." Christie's eyes fell she would not comment on it; besides, Tracy himself him-self was a gambler. "Mr. Pardaloe," she said Impatiently, "says a great m.nnv thincs ahout matters that don't "If things should get go'" WH have our hands 1 full looking after company property.?, , "You'll be going with .Paver "I'll be back sometime in the night," returned Selwood, evasively. "You've nothing to fear, McAlpIn. If things start, get .the hostlers together you've got guns and ammunition. McAlpin. as Selwood walked nway, flung one question . after him. ; Just the question Selwood did not want to hear: "Whnt'll yon be doing, John?" Selwood chopped him off. "What-ever's "What-ever's to be done!" he answered, snappishly. , '. McAlpin scratched his head as he studied the retreating footsteps of his taciturn boss; he had ventured one question. But he had forty questions ques-tions that were burning the tip of his tongue. . Who would lead the Vigilantes; how far they Intended to go In their clean-up; when they meant to strike first and where: whether they could CHAPTER X 11 Pardaloe Turns Diplomat. General Roper waited only till he was able to travel to go west with his location engineers. He said very little to Wentworth before he started ; only that when he came back he would have a talk with Selwood. Wentworth himself spent the week between Sleepy Cat and Thief River, disturbed only and surprised by Sel- wood's resignation as superintendent of the freighting line. It required all of Wentworth's and Carpy's powers of persuasion to Induce him to hold on till an acceptable successor could be found. Neither Doctor Carpy. despite his blunt common sense, nor Wentworth. Went-worth. the long-headed master of frontier fron-tier transportation, was capable of analyzing the mystery of the change that had come over Selwood. They wrongly surmised that his sealed moodiness was due to the fresh outbreak out-break of his grievance against his handle Starbuck and Atkins and their friends for whose prowess McAlpin had a sneaking and canny respect; Just where Selwood would come In In the fight ; what measures he would take for his own safety; and lastly, what was to become of the big place on the hill that had cost so much money these queries the Scotsman revolved rapidly In his mind, until Selwood. treading the path lightly her voice "what are you asking all these questions for?" Then a panic seized her. "What do you mean, Bill? Is Selwood hurt?" For an instant the book of her woman's heart lay open before the big fellow her look of sudden, deadly fear. Bill had a pretty good Idea now. lie shook his head to her question. "No. no. Nothing like that at all, Christie. But what's wrong 'tween you and John?" Pardaloe was treading on thin Ice for a mule boss; and among the dangers dan-gers he had not counted on was the reaction In a woman's feelings after she has betrayed her secret. With a flush of anger Christie suddenly sud-denly chilled. "I'm sure I've no idea what you're talking about. Bill. And It's very silly to keep on talking nbout It." So saying. Christie became very busy with her dry-goods and, left Pardaloe Par-daloe looking after her retreating heels and studying the floor with even more than his habitual concentration. But he. wa not easily discouraged.' the torch gets going. My advice Is for you to pull out till this thing blows over, and come back when you feel like It." Selwood rose as to end the talk. Carpy had seen him angry more than once, but never had he seen the mild-mannered mild-mannered gambler enraged. In language lan-guage so violent that he would have been ashamed of It In cooler moments, he expressed his opinion of all Vigilantes Vigi-lantes In general and Sleepy Cat Vigilantes, Vigi-lantes, in particular. Carpy tried to interrupt, tried to listen, tried to calm him down all was useless. "Dash It, John," he exclaimed at length, testy himself, "If I'm nothing else, I'm your doctor hold on!" "I expect to hold on," retorted Selwood Sel-wood rudely. "Tell your Vigilantes they'll find me on the hill. And tell 'em to come 'fixed,' for some of 'em will stay there with me." "But here's another thing I want you ' to think of, John," resumed Carpy,-who was pertinacious. "What about Dave Tracy In all this? You'll I concern him or anybody else, for that matter. How Is your back today, Mr. Tracy?" Tracy was not so easily thrown off. He said what he wanted to say. "I don't cull Selwood a gambler and I've been trying long enough to make him one. lie ain't built for the business. busi-ness. The Ice Is too thin around his heart. Any old woman can come alon to him with a tale of woe and he'll upset the whole durn town over It. He's fill In In for me, at my place up on. the hill," explained Tracy defensively, defen-sively, "that's about all." Selwood, knowing nothing of the well-meant If misdirected activities of his two crude but stanch defenders, started for the horse barn, after Carpy's talk, and for Tracy's tent, reflecting re-flecting that with Tracy himself he should have a delicate Job on his hands; to Induce the old man to move nt all would be a triumph. He stopped at ' the warehouse first to tell the wagon boss, briefly, what he had henrrl nnrt what tn flrv "Tf there's grandfather;' had they been as close . to Selwood as Bill Pardaloe was. and as good an observer, they would have known that' less than n hundred pounds of Sleepy Cat femininity had wrecked his good nature, bis optimism, opti-mism, and his peace of mind. " " When they saw him finish. With 11-hntions 11-hntions of wine, the recital of his fp.tailly wrongs, they did not realize that he would likewise have been glad to drown all recollection . of the last ! scene he ever expected to have with ' ' Christie Fyler. Bill Pardaloe, watching watch-ing Selwood unobserved, knew better than to nsk questions, Juit he himself had n soft spot In his heart for '. Christie, and though his duties no longer took him to the store, where ' Fyler's business was dwindling, Bill made It a point to drop around nt times and see what he could see and hear what he could hear. He always lounged into the store In the same manner with the fingers of one long, ungainly hand resting on the heft of his bowie knife, stuck at Having thought seriously over the situation sit-uation and braced himself slightly for a second attempt, Pardaloe returned to the store an hour later to straighten straight-en "the . girl's"- for so he called Christie troubles out. "Christie," he Insisted gravely, "It ain't no use our beatin around the bush. There's trouble 'tween you and John " She protested, denied, in' lerrupted it was all one. Pardaloe probed until poor Christie took refuge in. a woman's last weapon tears. Thi i argument threatened to reduce Pardaloe Par-daloe to the same state, but it cleared the atmosphere, and Christie, touched by his honest, interest, told him the story of the scene between Starbuck and ..Selwood' and herself that event-;.ful event-;.ful morning In the store. "It wouldn't have been so bad." trembled Christie., grieved and resentful,' "if'he had een tried to-explain or excuse It. He said himself," she -murmured ' in final reproach re-proach of Selwood and . his pleader, "he was just a common gambler.". . This seemed to. give. Pardaloe a favorable fav-orable opening. "Dash it," lie thundered, thun-dered, not loud, but deep in his reverberations, rever-berations, "he ain't' no common gambler. gam-bler. There's no man on the Overland Trail dast set up against' him in ' a game of poker all night-Hf, he. wants to play. I tell y' I know I've, tried it. And why he can't talk -up to you. Christie, is because, dash it, he's in nave your ugnt you u damage some Vigilantes; maybe some of 'em your own friends; maybe get damaged yourself. Even supposing you make your getaway, what nbout Dave? He's helpless. How should you -feel, John, if Dave .was dragged out and strung up with that river bunch? Don't you owe it to Dave to get him out of. the way before this thing begins?" The suggestion came like a blow to Selwood. It struck home. Selwood had forgotten his wounded partner. Ills mind worked fast. He looked at Carpy but not with less determination. determina-tion. "You're right." he said tersely.. "I'll get Dave Into the clear. But I'll be back on the hill by the time your friends get started." 1 He rose, very angry, to go; then be turned suddenly m the doctir. "There's one thing I'll ask of you. Doc; while I'm getting Dave away, I want you to promise me to see that no harm comes to Christie Fylcr " "John. I'll see to that If It's the last thing on earth I see to." "I don't care much about her father he's no protection to her; but lie's her father, and no harm must come to him In this mix-up. either." "You've got my word, John." Selwood was not a man to let his anger override Ills common sense for long. Most of all, the helpless condi- going to be trouble here I don't want to get caught with a warehouse full of goods unprotected," he said to Le-fever. Le-fever. "Get hold of every teamster we've got In town and hold every man here to protect company property. Work fast." "I'll have 'em all ) rounded up In half an hour by the watch," returned Lefever. "What are you going to do. yourself, John?" It was the second time Selwood had been asked the question. He did not know; but he flung some kind of an answer lo the wagon boss, and crossed the street to the barn. McAlpin, In the front gangway, was washing a harness. Selwood's orders were brief. "Get up a team of saddle horses, ,llm. nitch 'em to the light democrat wagon the one that's covered. Muzzle Chloe carefully and put her under the seat. And give me the best team In the barn that's saddle broke" "Nance and Jim," Interposed McAlpin, Mc-Alpin, "and they're crazy to go." "Saddle my horse," added Selwood, "and put a couple of good saddles Into the wagon, fill the bed pretty - well with hay, and throw a couple of clean army blankets over It. Put In two canteens and enough food for four of us, two days." Pardaloe walked up from the stalls. "Get bold of Bob Ms hip, and with his arms free for action. Invariably, too. with his head poked Inquiringly forward which set his long nose well ahead of his centre of gravity, with the corners of bis mouth pulled down to suit his pessimistic pessi-mistic mood, and with his small, piercing pierc-ing eyes wide open with suspicious gloom. Such a man would hardly be expected expect-ed to make much of a hit with Christie Fyler. Yet Bill Pardnloe came to stand higher In her favor than any frontiersman in Sleepy Cat. Honesty underlay his crudoness. bis great strength inspired respect, and Christie, with a woman's Instinct budded on a girl's heart, liked him. . A . fortnight... had gone by since Christie dismissed Selwood, when Pardaloe, Par-daloe, puzzled by the gambler's behavior beha-vior and looking for some explanation, dropped In on' Christie. She. was In the middle of the store with a feather duster in her hand' when he arrested her attention. He did not know why her greeting was so "very cordial that morning; but next to seeing the man she wanted to see and "did not want to see. she was delighted: to welcome. Bill to see him was closest to seeing Selwood. anyway., . She laughed heartily at the .condition .condi-tion of( his boots. "Bill," she exclaimed, ex-claimed, "if you don't take some time He Sat Down on a Camp Stool Beside His Friend. and with the briskness of unreckon-ing unreckon-ing manhood, turned the first corner and disappeared from "view. But fate, greatest of all gamblers, quite understood under-stood how to upset a poise Indifferent to the threats of men; just as Selwood Sel-wood turned the corner it presented to him, almost threw into his arms-rounding arms-rounding the corner from the other way and walking as briskly as he was Christie Fyler She started visibly as he did Invisibly. In-visibly. Then in the suddenness of the encounter Selwood never quick toad-just toad-just himself to meeting the. woman tion or i racy, uue a reieimess euro on a willful horse, forced him to con-" con-" sider what must be done to save him from the mob fury. None knew better bet-ter than Selwood what would be let loose when the fight started. He knew the men on both sides of the town and knew that once under way there would be no quarter for anybody that behind the masks there would be more than one personal score to even up, regardless of right or Justice; that there would be. In that mob, personal malice set on personal vengeance, and that Carpy's warning could not be disregarded. dis-regarded. Christie had been In the habit for some time of visiting Tracy In the Scott, Bill, saui selwood to the mule boss. "I want to use him right nway. He'll drive." explained Selwood to McAlpin. Mc-Alpin. "And as soon ns you find Scott," added Selwood to I'ardaloe, "report to me at Tracy's tent. But don't talk before Dave work quick, will you, Bill?" . Pardaloe hobbled briskly out after Scott, and Selwood , spoke again' to McAlpin. "I suppose you've heard this talk that's going around?" "Vigilantes?" "They've been talking a good while," continued Selwood, purposely Ignoring particulars, "but Dave must be taken where he'll be safe." "He must. John." whose more glance could upset him stiffly, almost ostentatiously, stepped aside, touched his hat, and hurried on a little faster. But after that, with his heart beating harder, he began to think and to surmise and to question himself and, of course, to regret. Their eyes,, In this sudden and unexpected unex-pected way, had met. It was only an Instant, but the picture came back to him now of a sad expression In Christie's eyes sad, at least, until she woke up and realized that she had' run Into Selwood, and then her eyes had quickly dropped; she had passed on. It was his fault, he told himself. He had not even hesitated he might have given her time to speak. He cursed his stiffness and contemptible pride for not having given her even an opportunity at such a time a time pregnant with threatening possibilities possi-bilities for them both as well as for Sleepy Cat. He longed for n chance to, meet her over again ; still, his vanity van-ity would not allow him to turn back. So while Christie was reproaching herself for not making the quick advance ad-vance she wanted to make and now felt it had been her place to make when she saw the' only man's face In the world that meant anything to her both, unhappy, passed on, little reckoning reck-oning of when and where they should meet again. Selwood quite knew that his mission mis-sion to Tracy would call for tact. Ho sat down on a camp stool beside his friend, and after a few conventional i passes opened the one subject of his visit with an abrupt question. "Dave how ' much do you figure you've got Ic our Sleepy Cat place? Whatever It is," be continued, as Tracy disclaimed any equitable interest in the hall that Selwood had paid for, "I'll trade you my Interest in the Thief Rlvt-r mine for your Interest up at Sleepy Cat" Tracy was taken aback. "What you tryln' to do?" he asked presently "Bob mo or rob yourself? The mlneV worth half a dozen of our Sleepy Ca outfit." "Then." said Senvood definite! "the hall's mine and the mine's j-our Is It a go?" "Why, If you want It that way y- it is." . ' TO liE CONTUiaBoj love wiih you that's why. I tell y I'm a married man. Christie, 'n' I understand un-derstand such things." She refused to hear another word, and Pardaloe went away not. exactly knowing whether he had helped his favorite young man in Sleepy Cat or hurt him by extolling his technical skill. Selwood slept later than usual that day. After his solitary meal In the dining-room, he went down to the barn, where Carpy found him later and took him to the doctor's office In the hoi el. There he sat for some time with Selwood" In serious confab. "I'll agree. John," he -said, countering a contemptuous remark of Selwood's. "there's been a good deal of loose Vigilante talk here,' different times. But this time It Isn't going to -stop with talk. This town's got the worst reputation In the mountains." "Whom are they going to clean it up with?" demanded Selwood eon-temptously. eon-temptously. "These old Indian traders Iloubldoux, Van Tambel, Otto Klck-busch Klck-busch and the real estate boomers? I want to tell you It's a man's Job to clean out Starbuck and Atkins' crowd." "Well" Carpy hesitated and summoned sum-moned a twinkling . smile "they thought maybe . you might take a small personal interest In the enterprise enter-prise " "I shan't," declared Selwood without with-out hesitation, "and you can tell 'em so. I'm getting to be a pretty fair hand at minding my, own business." "The drift now," continued Carpy, "Is that If the town ain't cleaned up, the railroad will go clean around It and leave us out In the cold. The real estate men here say their business Is ruined It's got so bad folks Is afraid to buy property. Then there's the merchants John Cole says If this keeps up they might as well shut up shop and ship their goods to Bear Dance or Medicine Bend." "Well," exclaimed Selwood wlth an Impatient expletive, "let 'em clean the town up. Clean It up I've no objection." objec-tion." "I can't say all's In my mind. John, without betraying confidences. But things Is set. This Is Saturday night, and on Saturday night, you know, every cattle-thief and horse-thief from "Did You Ever Black Those Boots?" off and block those boots I won't . fcpeulc to you again. Honestly. Bill," t-Jie asked In pleading tones, "did you er black those boots?" I'ardaloe grinned; every time Christie said "Bill" he melted like a roll of butter. "Christie, when I was la the army I had f black my boots every day. I swore If I ever got out I'd never black a pair of boots aguin in my life 'n', by cracky. P kep' my word, too." "But, Bill, wouldn't you break your word Just once for me?" Pardaloe looked at his dust-covered footings, shifted his cud. and 'countered 'coun-tered craftily. "What difference would It make to you?" "Why" Christie, nonplussed for an instant, . looked up Innocently "It would cheer me up ' so. Bill I'm blue!" And Christie laughed. "Say, Christie," asked Paroatoe. t&ing a piece of plug tobacco rrona |