Show RED R iDy 4 i im By Dy EUGENE E CUNNINGMAM W J TUB TIlE STORY arony so 10 O FABi rani Cu m toa CamelO Ca faa an Loses lIoI a t cowboy w y with ae 0 daU to t s ks sh Is forced fTc a II by cIrcumstances to t tara tura Os oa- oa Ilaw law and aDd a th lb the Para r gang cac bead beaded flea ed ad by bT oa Dad r re n bad hi ha hae com coin e lute late Wa WOd nor Hors rs with th th lb tile M ZI Bar IL Nit sad aDd bad laad Ir in to troubie witS with the th Lb town boss aa la Sloe f ha sue and III hi Us friend blaas by faala a catU ma man a Hy N ra Low Lowe Lew against Bros Dynamite Dews Dowa aaa and 0 EI Oa Ou On the th raU again acala be h b bad h t Le he L W l laB suid ad th the die Rai awers rs Wish Walsh W was MU b 1 Ur lbs Ut aaa and when h a Ca Con W rod to is wises 10 LoWe LW Is Ur the DW aw marsha lie a was ws late lato custody casC c dy t y a as a a mardi r said aDd robbery suspect of 01 bJ fill a claU with lb Ur the s L U baG hi thought th Low Lew Liwe wa was his bis friend but bat tl nt w was against bini and aad Lo Los had bad forgotten about aboul a at the h Uel WU Wi norae florse rs C i p persuaded J Lowe Law Low t to i wire Ire Sass Dan hi Us hla old 14 trait trail bo has b s and eI Veer Tear at ae Wild non hi bal b neither Delther man mD could be h loe l at t that thai he be hadu I a of escaping v s-v other th r way Con Coa brok broke br k jaU Jail with tb Jeff Al Almon AU AD mon mOD and aUd baa has DO w gun ODe with him to Jol J the Pars more N Now w continue with Ur lb ii story CHAPTER VII Nearly a quarter mile from San Sn Marcos Dud called call I a ahalt halt He H sent Gonzales ahead to scout th the village and while they the waned waited he talked to Con about the th Ranier as aa he h had been talking at atthe a athe the cabin Apparently his bl hi inform era rs In knew w all eli about suspicion that Con Cameron and Co- Co Comanche C Co manche Linn Lion were the tha same Got no idee huh about what wha was on them Banters Ranier mind be b is basked asked for tor the th tenth time Can t figure which way they d head after atte they downed Welsh Nary idea Con answered a littIe lit 11 littie Ue tIe wearily To hear em cm talk you d think nobody in the tha Territory tacked stacked up ankle high to a her abort snake They are the hefty busca deros to hear bear em cm tell It it You and ant just Ellis just country boys boys- The last he be put in artfully but bu maliciously Dud s a vanity was plait plain to b be seen and it amused Con to it prod him Gonzales came back at the th gallop gal gallop gallop lop a half hour later No officers were known to be b around San Mar Marcos MarCo Marcos cos Co but Quill Hogan lay in one on of 0 the houses terribly beaten by a a stranger Huh Dud cried incredulously Quill Quili was whipped Who s a this thu done it if Gonzales shrugged and shook his hiu head He lie bad had seen the tha man a bit big swaggerer cock of the walk in the saloon Turk was the name he be went by He lie had been in San SaD Marcos Marco when Quill Hogan rode in Quill had picked a row and Turk had hac drawn ht his gun But instead of kill killing killing ing Quill Turk had merely pistol whipped him up and down the pie pIa rita zita then knocked him senseless Come on I Dud yelled to his fol followers followers lowers He hooked his ie hos-ie hor e into a rocket rocket- rocketIng rocketing ing hug gallop and the others jumped their mounts after him Into San Marcos Marco they charged to slide to adust a adust adust dust wreathed halt before a long iong adobe Dud was out of the saddle before his horse came down upon four feet and darted through the thedoor thedoor thedoor door Big tUg Yager lager lumbered after him with Gonzales catlike at hIs heels Catfish Coyle and Kinky Od Odom Odom Odom om swung down more del and Jeff Jell and arid Con were last So when they stepped into the long dusky rot rex m the others were al ref dy at the barD bar barI D 1 I id Jd st at d bes de a dark beard Id lei m-in m wh ren reus Con of 01 ofa ofa a gor gar Hi lii II f t r th lb s of body and length f I arms The Mexicans drinking drink drinking log ing at It the p ne no counter gave Dud Dudal Si al d this me sue room and ed Id nir nH But D id only pushed a bot bottIe bottie tIe Lie to Turk Within twenty m nutts nutt's the two had lye five drinks Then Dud moved the bottle Dottle hosp tably and when Turk II a eyes went to it Dud s 15 right hand lashed flashed to the white bone handle of Tt Fi rk s Colt He ic whipped it out out stepped quickly back and to sed ed it corn rom right hand to left in legerdemain I II I mam almost too fast for tor the eye ey to rollow Then auth Ith high shrill laugh I I he se stepped in again and replaced itin it itIs in Is Turk s a holster Take Tak your drink he drawled You need You need It Itt He spat deliberately upon Turk I a boots and turned his back Turk airm a aarm arm irm jerked He drew fast and Dud turned back deliberately Con Then instead of the roar he wait wait- waited waited wait wait- ed sd stiffly for there was only a hol hollow low ow click and another as Turk Nt- Nt re- re r cocked cocked the Colt It was Dud s a pis pistol pistol tol ol that bellowed as it snapped from the he holster bolster and flipped up Three bullets la in all Dud drove into the theother theother other her s a body He leaned to knock the he Colt from Turk s hand and slid back aCk h head ad on one side watching Turk leaned heavily upon the bar left eft hand upon the bloody front ofIs of his Is shirt Then he crumpled and hegan egan to sag to the floor Dud Dudla la shrilly That s a what always happens to folks that come a hunting Dud Par Paramore Parmore Paramore amore more Hey Nicolas Nicola I Take care of this his beef We have got some sonic dane dancing lug rig to do us In another house bouse Lh the dance was ins going when the came me in There Then were more women than han men and eight or nine heavily powdered overdressed girls looked at the newcomers and Dud Du yelled shrilly Big B Yager an and ill II a 1 a I I He Is outs outs-Ide in the darkness he will kill you Cat sh and Kinky and ana Jet Jell joined joine the th wolfish chorus They swept down Con trailing upon the th girls Automatically Con selected on one wh seemed a little younger less per perfumed pe perfumed fumed and powdered He put out ou his hll hands hand to her bar and she abe sh smile sidelong up at him Then Gonzalea snarled In hs h's ear and caught the Us girl s n leeve sleeve Es Ea mio mb She is i mine mind You tak take another another- another You are ara hIs bis girl gl Con asked askew in ii halting Spanish holding her wrist I am your yours If U you want and me-and me-an me m you can keep mel mat me I she h said Con whirled her deftly away from fron Gonzales and out among th the era She Sh pressed close dor against him bin binand and looked wisely into his hi face Dance after dance Con kept her herThen herThen barThen Then Gonzales disappeared He sat as atwith with her after the tha eighth or ninth atoll dance beyond the tha bar Jet Jeff and his hit girl joined them for tor a drink drin and cigarette The Th two girl girls chat chattered chie chiefly chiefly y about Gonzales Gonzale fury Then a shabby Mexican appeared at atCon a aCon a aCon Con a side ide l e out of the tha crowd Con Cor Confound Confound found his lace face vaguely familiar and ant tried to place him himI I am your friend fri nd the man whis pored You gave back my roy money Now 1 I pay Gonzales will wID kill youl He is outside In the th darkness He will kill you he hi has hai said to men at atthe at atthe atthe the door So I slipped away to give you this word I U fix him I be bt grunted I I give him all aU th the tx he be car Can pack He shook his head heid at Jeff who wh was getting up from between the th two girl girls Stay out of it he said grimly This is my war He went with Jeff Jet trailing across the end of the big room and to the side door Someone muttered out there there-a a nervous sound Then froze from the right away from the lounging group there was wa the roar of a shot and a blast of ot flame A bullet tWitched Con s 5 hair like a finger Automatically he drew his Colt lust Just as he had done a thousand times In practice pra As it came level point point- pointing pointing ing tag at st the spot where that flame had blossomed he let down the hammer thumbed it back and loosed a sec second second second ond shot Then he twisted twitted inside the room room The music stop topi ed cd The dancers crIed cut ut excitedly The i J someone ts is de veiled yelled that Gonzales iles was dead dedd Con watched carry Gonzales in There was ing mg about the ng rig figure that rein rem him of a dead rattler rattier A hand tugged at athis athis his sleeve He turned to face Jeff Jet and and take lake the tin c ip Jet Jeff held out lie He I 1 fled It and g c down the drink coughed and wiped his eyes eys Thinks Thanks he gas ed t I Well Well-Well Well Well- Well 1 I feel better I Yes Yoi hit him both times time Jet Jeff sold saId admiringly Dud shrugged sh ok his head Nothing to stop our dancing he cried and Con COil could not tell from his high singsong what he h really felt Let s 5 go I Amelia took his arm and looked up at him with a kind of 01 savage adoration He shoo shoot hit his hi head No more tor for tonight t I will sit it II by the bar for tor a time Ume You go with Jeff or another She nodded and left him He Re lo himself a place In Sn a dusky corner and watched almost without seeing while the dance continued as if Goo sales zales had h d not died Then about mid midnight midnight midnight night a boy came yelling for Dud and s-nd the music and stamping stopped short short hort It Is il Nevil Lowe and a 8 posse I Ithe the boy reported shrilly They come quietly Con followed Dud outside The intermittent moonlight showed two men supporting a thIrd helping him onto a horse This Con on learned by the talk was the battered bat battered ered Quill Hogan Dud yelled for forthe forlie the lie others Come on you nit v ts tat til First thing you mu know tha that t shooting posse U H be making red out of 01 you all all Catfish Coyle reappeared and mounted But Dig Big Yager and lUnk were missing Hightail Dud commanded shrilly Hear them horses horse That a Cavil Nevil Lowe Low and bis his damn posse poale I n t wait watt for or em Tb They 7 11 Ii justet just justet et us UI all aU killed Come Coci on Coni Coat J left Jeff urged him hia We W cant can't buck that many I Con Coa whirled Pancho with a furl fur furlou ous oun snarl caarl snatching at his bis carbin car car- carbine i cs-i bine Re He H booked hooked th lb the sorrel Into lato gallop and went racing to a house hous on o othe the edge edg of San Marcos In to the th pale pal moonlight he be k rw saw a dark mass massof mae of horsemen n not fifty yards yarda away Get back be b yelled yelle at them their sliding sUding the th Winchester out Wv lot got ot you surrounded 1 I Back you olt- olt nit wits As Al ho he a began to t shot shoot holding bolding low loi at the tb horses bores leg legs Jeffs Jeff's J voice vote lit lilted ed ad in a bellow picking up the tb phrase Con CoD had used The Th mass mans of rider seemed fairly to blow apart as aa the th carbine rattled But a bors horse hore went was down down and aad another Scattered shots hot came cam from the th aides aide of at the Us road Corn Come on Jeff called to him BIg and Kinky s a gonel good He H spun Pancho and together they thundered away with other othe horses horse pounding ahead of them OUI Ou of San Sax Marcos Marco they galloped with will lead whining waspishly about then them but not too close clo e They Tary Big Yager Yaler and Kinky Odom adorn passed them with an encouraging yell But Buta Bu Bua Buta a mil mile of alternate darkness and ant moonlight had bad been covered betor Con saw Dud Quill Hogan and Cat Cat- fish Cat CatfIsh fIsh nh Ined Je Jef and Con overtook them Dud Due and Catfish seemed to have bave better horses than any of the th others in others In Including eluding Hogan Or Con thought perhaps the beaten man Irish was not In ii condition to get the th most moat out of o ohis his mount He Lie lagged farther be be- behind behind behind hind and made some som Indistinct an answer answer answer when Dud yelled at him to Is keep up The four tour spurred away awa from him then became thre three when Catfish s 5 horse slowed As a trio they slackened pace to a walk in the foothills of ot the Lobos and listened and let iet the blown animals get gel breath Well sirl sir air Dud drawled cheerfully cheerful ly Nevil Lowe he will wm b be a disappointed dIe appointed young sheriff alacritY tonight Who was that shooting after alter we left town town- Big and Kinky Like hell Jeff answered before Con could speak That was Con Con stopping the posse Listen I Con grunted suddenly They re not so far behind right Jl w What do we do Why I reckon the smart thing Is Ia Isto Iato isto to s 5 t right here and see about thur thu g gs Dud answered They sat at minute after minute smoking listening to th the flat of shots shot I 1 the sound died and only the small night noises noise of the hills could be heard Dud grunted and moved his hia horse Con checked him with a word Walt Somebody s coming It might be our bunch Just one horse Jeff announced It was Catfish and he h was panting as If he not the horse had bad been running when he came cam up to them Dud called a sharp Question Rubbed out Whole bunch I C Catfish Ct t fish answered That damn Nevil Lowe Knocked Quill out of the th hull right right at my elbow Swear I heard tour four slugs hit Quill s back Then Thea it was Big Me M and Kinky kept ahead awhile awhile Lowe stopped again Opened up Got Kinky through the head bead We U II make that son ion pay for it it boy boyt I Dud aa him fiercely Don t you never think we won I tI make Nevil Lowe Low remember tonight Come on now I No use crying shout about It It- They rode In silence by twisting Ira tra is to the cabin Nobody was in talking mood when they reached the place They rolled rotted into their blan blankets blankets but Catfish took hi his to the point used assail as at lookout lockout He said that lie he was not sleepy he would stand guard They were up tip early with the grim events of the night very heavy upon them all Dud alone was cheer or ui-or or pretended to be lie He looked at them and swore that they were the sourest set of cowboys he be had ever put eyes upon From some iding place he produced a jug of 01 whisky and arid uncorked it it The liquor brought no lightening 01 ii Con s I disgust with this company Instead he h thought of the th tune une which had put him bere here p M if 11 itIn in n a trap I ITO TO MS BK J I |