Show gEI By EUGENE CUNNINGMAM B EUGENE CUNNINGHAM CUNNINGHAN W Nu R 4 TIlE THE STOUT STORY 80 O PAR WO Forced rW to n tram from th the law to f save lave av Us hla W life who when he be k suspected o of t bem being fe la the tile notorious K t rl s CO C uch Linn Ua Con C Cameron Ca noa r B Is b trying ti prove r T Us his honesty With bla U pal al Cara hiV I Year Vear ar he be h I is working for tor Topeka Tp ha T Ml owner wr 0 of Ur tile Broken Dr k Wheel Wh I ranch raach NevO Net Lowe marshal 0 of t tile the th town toe t wi 0 of f TiTia h I after alfr him kin bat deem J c t y yet know that the be t Twenty Johnson J B 0 of f tl the th Broken Br ke Wheel Is II tile the tk man he be k of o f being belne bl Comanche C ch LInD Liaa Lowe L w i s date ller Janet anet li Je staying with the ar T l n The Theare Dey are deeply attached to her ber h r having haT to l ily their only oBly child a boy Ky whoa when he be h waa w many mallY years yeara before mOD Amon ABB the Ur enemies eB Bt 0 of tile the th Broken Br h Bi Wheel Wh l are ar Dud flu D Paramore Para i- i Megeath and Us hla friend ri Be agog Irby and aB the th very T ry k Latimer LaU r COD Cc Chas bas baa already a y encountered c all an of I them th r aDd as a has bas baa so s 0 tar far rotten gotten the tile be belt bed 0 of I them th Me Mi and Dm Dud Paramore Para r also air hate bate Nev NevO N TU Lowe and are ar trying to f kidnap UJ Jane eL eLCon Con makes makel aki friends with old M Step atop Gay Oal lord rJ a cow eow e w hand banel har b by giving him hi a pint of e whiskey Step St teaches him more r trick tricks 0 of f drawing and J 4 shooting sh Now with the Ur story CHAPTER Con had a chance to look at the th rest of the casa rasa principal when when after supper Mrs Mra Tenison led then them Into the great front room with its it fireplace across an end and vivid Navajo rugs rues everywhere Whet When Mrs went to look at her he patients he be said almost without thinking This just suits me somehow II I II I I feel like well like well It s i like home Then why not make it home Janet Janet asked contemptuously looking straight at him now A little thought and you ought to be able te to vaguely recall this and that ant remember little things in your child childhood childhood childhood hood that all aU fit t In I do Con told her promptly And he be told me that he d been In Inthis h this part of the country He shook his head bead and looked with will ugly twist of the Ule mouth at the ciga cigarette cigarette rette he was rolling You know me for tor what I am and you can warn the not to k believe a word I say you Or-you Or you can warn em again Oh Sent word Ic to Nevil that I Im m here I 1 haven t said a word to them And I haven t sent any message tc to NevIl No matter what you are you you- Outside going slowly toward the bunkhouse he kicked viciously blindly at et pebbles I 11 keep out of her way he be promised himself She will have to be leaving sometime I 11 dodge her until she does goHe goHe go goHe He thought of ol the rustler whom the had buried burled for tor a awhIle a awhile awhile whIle af after r the bunkhouse was dark and quiet But it was as s Mrs Teni Tenison Tenson son had said he decided in a fight fighting Ing rag country you hardened yourself to fight light for your own Perch was snoring evenly So Se was the cook Con took his pistol I from under the mattress and went I noiselessly to the door There was wasI wasa wasa wasa I a pale moon now and in the faint light he saw the horseman going to the corral When he was sure that only one man was there Con crossed the Ule space in m bare feet pistol up The corral gate squeaked He waited until sure tha that t the man was unsaddling then went forward for lor or a clos closer closer closer er look A slouch ng figure came toward him dragging rather than carry ng a saddle Who s if it Con Can challenged turn him softly Take it easy Twenty the m man n answered ThIs is Lanny Topeka se seit it me pack back I got to send him Johnny Dutch tomorrow in 10 my place It I Ig Ig g it t my ankle sprained and skinned up ip enough that it d take a pair ot of chaps haps to piece Nece out my hide But that air ain t what s a got me down boy boydell Hell dell s to pay or going to be Them damn fools tools aim to work Canyon anyon this roundup First thing Con whistled softly Yes sir The Dig BIg Augers been schem ng rag it Y Bar and LA and X and 56 and and PIg PIgpen Pigpen pen en and the rest never beaded headed for 1 Antelope Springs no more n we lone done Skull Spring was the place Well Con said cheerfully I 1 think pink it s about time Come on inide In Inside inside side ide Let s wawa this out some more Your notion is the outfits will vill slam po on nt-on Into the Canyon end and Gloomy and his gang will stay covered and frazzle our side He lie carried the horse wrangler s a saddle addle for him into the bunkhouse and culled called to Ie Perch and the Ule cook Lanny army lighted the wall lamp and went vent over to sprawl on a bunk Con made nade himself comfortable on a bench Tench with a cigarette He told Perch erch and the cook what Lanny had sa aid Id Perch swore softly staring The he wr wrangler nodded Con watched him For the first time me in hours he thought of the English penny g ven yen him by Judge WIley as he had seemed to feel its wei ht when looking at little Step But lut Lanny seemed sincerely trou troubled troubled bled led and Con could not think that he wrangler would ha have ve showed so o much concern over possible dam damage damge damage age ge to the thieves Lanny lighted a cigarette and sprawled led flat fiat fla t easing his is ed ankle I think I 11 Il go tell old Step about this his Con grunted He went over to put down his pistol and dra draw w on boots Perch laughed grimly Likely the old hellion U 11 kill you tor or rousting him out You won t tend need end the light to come In by Blow It t out and we well catch up forty winks rinks Con nodded At the door be tie blew I 1 r rIA IA I r 1 I a Coo Con stepped back back to 0 peat paD out the lamp flame Oame then moved to- to toward Ic lOUt ward the line Une of 01 quiet Adobes dobes Con had passed the corner of the tb corral when a soft scuff of feet fee turned him bun lm mechanically His hand hen went toward his bis belt before he remembered re- re remembered re remembered that bis his Colt was on the tb bunk A man came out of shadows the faint light showing him only a aa asa a distorted shape Then he be saw the th outline of the man s hand slightly lifted He stiffened For wha what t looker looked to be an enormously lengthener lengthened fore forefinger nger was a pistol barrel he h knew Hello Con I the man sai said How you been Con tried to place the voice vaguely familiar as 88 it was while he h watch watched d the pistol and wonderer wondered tautly what this meant Long time since we us usan u uan usan an evening away Yes sir You You kind of raised up hell and shoved a I chunk under It It since then I You You- You Martino Palafox the deputy I ICon ICon Con breathed staring Yeh And I 1 m here to see you Reach up your paws boy and see se it If your both ears still hang right You ought to thank el I buen dlos dios boy tha that t I airs ain t like some Territory Terri Territory Territory tory star poles I I 1 would have sho you right out from under your cow cowlick cowlick cowlick lick I The reward Is five hundred dead or alive I And it s a easier to k pack beef than a kicking steer A thousand thanks I But you re barking up the wrong tree amigo Comanche Linn wal we killed outside Salado S lado Lee Welsh told me so after I 1 met the bunch In Fronteras You 11 II make no ve hundred on Con Cameron going by Twenty Johnson on the Wheel Another An Another Another other thing I I 1 m in hell s 15 own hurry tonight Listen now the wagon went to Skull Spring and they art are going to ram into Canyon first crack out of the th box You know they re going to get frazzled fraz frazzled frazzled Yeh So you aim to and anc get frazzled with em Or do you fig figure figure ure maybe to stop its it Stand still Nothing we can do about it boy They 11 run into a lead hailstorm and about half hall the boys won t t never smIle again agam Then they 11 pull oil ofT and Gloomy mild ind Qu rk and Dud and andUle the Ule rest 11 have a hurrah on every outfit this side Ut 11 U t t- Br ivo evo He Be went d CUD Con and searched him deftly Tt TI e lack 1 I ack waistband hideout was sly no mystery to him All I 1 n pack g b s s me mosey mo ley Con told him Ever see seL- seLan an Er glish penny M Martino I ve ye got one Sort bort ort of ed up Some Somebody Somebody Somebody body put W W on t Might catch your eye eye M Pilaf x agreed blandly If it was in somebody else cite s a pock pocket pocket pocket et But he stood frowningly before Con pistol at h s waist w the haul ham hammer hammer mer down Then he shook his head and shrugged Sorry There sits s I 1 ta is of things I lIke about your style and your rec record record record ord in the Terr U ry But it s a yes and no on the icil The no Is it aH a alil aU lil H 1 bit bigger bugger So r Con Can s s hands i c cl ci ng rag his ears moved dashingly d ward in short choPPing blows blow t tl U deputy s a neck Palafox staggered but his bis jerked Con sir ck hard at that arm with his left wl wi w Ie le he be pivoted to drive a terrific sw w raging nging right to the unprotected jaw law Palafox dropped his gun and e a leg buckled won Con smashed him hum t i er cr the heart and sent him hum spra sprawl I ig tg backward Then he stooped to natch patch up the Colt olt and move in Two derringers and d a sheath knife formed the rest ot of the deputy s armament arm ament Sure of ot th s Con stepped back listening t 1 I pant Like voice to hIS hi own Questions lame came Step s 8 drawl Now that you g t I t t i t im what you aim urn to do with hin Palafox sat up as the little man tame came shadow quiet up to Con He hook his head bead as to clear it ft Con Can shrugged grimly Ok K k ng from rom Step Stepto to o the prisoner So this boy is C Manche i Linn rah huh S Step p drawled Well that Ices does kind klOd of rip the cover off ofT some things Listen Con drawled In his turn wearily I m tired of saying that Im I'm m not Comanche Linn who was a dirty little murdering maniac over overn In n Texas He used to rid ride with and the Rapiers Kaniers He Ite ii got killed riding with em 1 I met the three at Fronteras Frontera and came on a with em em So all aU the country ha ba called me Comanche Linn Every Ever time I 1 ve ye had lots Iota of 01 luck doing doin something that I Con Cameron wanted to do or had to do because It was the right thing the Territory has bas said uld He He did it 1 of easy easy-c easy course because because he be s I that and nd killer Comanche Linn LInn I n damn tired of It IL Gonzales Gonzale was th the first man I ever and killed killed and that was we simon pure accident He lowered at both of them Nel Nei Neither ther Cher said anything I 1 do think I m a damn sight eight bet bet- better better better ter man than this Comanche watt wasl he burst out From what I heard he be was like the and Du Dud Paramore Kill you any old way Now Martino I I You rammed your you nose Into me at the wrong time I a going to tie you up long enough to 0 keep you from under my feet Step StepI I want to talk to you straight and ant hard bard Topeka and Gale Gale- Gale I was listening I been doing some thinking too Ins I m In a bog Topeka s a going to get rubber rubbed out if he be rams Into with will Gloomy's bunch shooting down Antl And Ant l 1 I cant can t have that thaL They ain sin t got gota go goa gota a chance except I help If U you aDd an me and Martino take card cards carda In this It'll be Gloomy's bunch that aint got a B chance e Step said presently A right riCh Martino I You feel feet like being a good gooc boy and believing that this kid kit never was Comanche Linn except by mistake and In the Territory You believe him I believe him I never could quite put It straight In my head heed the way he looks and anc acts and the Ule tales about Comanche Linn Dueno There s 15 a trail we found forty some year back down into the valley s back door We can make snake it down with alii a 11 B 1 luck luckNow luckNow luckNow Now I t and Martino back his hard hardware hardware hardware ware store Let s a get our horses You better take a Wheel caballo Martino in place of your tired one Twenty Con Con amble to the bunk bunkhouse bunkhouse bunkhouse house and roust out them Sunday punchers We want shells Your gun s a 44 like ours Martino Pistol is But I 1 pack a 90 45 45 rifle rille no carbine to Come on then Ulen We 11 If saddle up while Con hunts 44 sCon aCon s a sCon Con dodged with his arms full U rough the door and trotted toward the corral When almost there he hest hest heft st I i short hort For a slim figure inS In Ins ins s me sort t t f t dark robe came from ti e shadows toward him C n she the gasped You They You They they they m t I 1 v ye heard Nevil say tl ti a at I nobody can get Into Canyon against the fire tire of a hand handful tul ful of men You 11 Il all be killed without a chance We ve ye g B tar t a r r lIOn tiun Can t tell you what whit it Il is II But may I-may just tip things ver to the th wagons side Were We re the ones to do the tipping U if Uit it can be done N w we re in a rush She said something under her breath but he hurried past and went wenton wenton wenton on to where Step and Martino wait wait- waited waited waited ed w th I I ar cho rho and two other horses horse saddled Buen Duen Janet t called shaki shakily shakily ly Iy as they rode ff fT Hasta Basta la vista Con Con Step led U tie e way out across the east tar rat ge at the hard trot a jolt jolting mg log gait that did not encourage talk They rode steadily until daylight then halted hailed briefly to eat some of the steak and biscuits tl ti a at I Step had foraged smoke and relax The going was rougher roughen and the clImbing steady in afternoon The sun was warm but as it slid west west- westward westward westward ward U 11 tie e a air grew Brew chill under the trees They made a fireless camp and finished the food Step had them in the tile saddle before dawn But they rode only a few ml miles lea then un on unsaddled unsaddled saddled riddled and h the horses Step Step nent went yent off ofT In the gray light and was gone for a half hour When he came sack back heas he was as like an ther man The faded ailed eyes shone like narrow bits bite of glass and his t-ls teeth showed anar ing log ly Iy Grab your ropes Glad y you u got that hat long lone rawhide Martino Mine Min s a another like it it Come on Can t thear tear thear hear ear fro from down here but when youit you hit it the rim up yonder only yonder only place you you can hit you it-you it you can make out cut the lie shooting Begun while I 1 was listening Wagons must ve ye rolled up sad and opened the ball TO 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