Show a jM aa B BB B A l KED By EUGENE EUGENEE CUNNINGMAM w a CUNNINGMAM CUAl B Light wa was vaa good food In the Canyon now Yon YonI the cabin Step called Slow softly dowel Ha He moved to look over OTT a big boul bout boulder der After Atter a long time tima of staring he hI walked out and past pait the creat great rock reek Con and Martino followed The atone teme tane house bouse hou a wax waa wa mall man a I single spacious room roam built bunt of na Uv five tone atone ton The Tha gaping Window were dark blurs blur against the tn weathered ered Bred gray cray of the th wall wails R Step Stop shoot shook his head bead Reckon Beckon nobody nobody's using it It I Let Lets Let's catter scatter out some ome Ill I'll go CO left Con Can you you go way right MarUno mIddle for you They moved as ar a directed As Ju he hi walked toward the thet tone stone house hour Con Car listened to the tha faraway rattle of 01 the thi tb firing He Ha came cam up to the th cabin looked at It and turned to pact step and Martino Neither wa was waa I Is sight Ight from where wb ra he be stood tood for Cox hi bad been the l longest est move lie He H could cook not look into the th window openings They were wera small and set at high There Therewa Then wa was a door opening but no door tie He went cautiously up to look it In Inand Inand and listen U ten But ba he saw nothing heard nothing Inside He Ha rt set bli carbine down and fished a match out of his hl hatband to relight his ciga eiga cigarette cigarette rette Then around the corner from the cabin front Dud Paramore topped stepped carelessly humming bumming Con stared stared not moving The told us tU that you re rr not Comanche Linn Dud laid ask abruptly Linn was waa killed after Ola that t Salado business The tip of Duds Dud s 8 tongue came out outto out outto outto to wet his hi Ups lips Con took a step to to- toward toward toward ward Dud and exactly as al if pushed by a pole Dud took a step back back- backward backward ward Another step tep and Dud duplicated ca ted it in reverse reverie The third stet step took them both out into the open clear of ot the Ole cabin There was wal a a heavy report that jerked Con Iron from his grim concentration upon keep keep- keepIng keeping ing leg control of Dud a shot from the cabin wall Dud staggered Then like a s drowsing cat stabbed he whirled to tc face Martino screamed flashed his hands to twin Colts and whipped them out with speed that fairly blurred the tile movement Martino sent another big slug crashing into him but Dud was already alrea y falling twisted ly backward His guns roared al almost almost almost most together and the tha bullets rang on the tha wall Martino stared savage savagely savagely ly down then Olen sighed gustily and put up a hand to rub his cheek We walked right into each nth oth other other er Con Can said slowly Well He shad s a had hadIt hadit It coming tor for a long time We d bet bettel better better tel ter get going I As Aa they got nearer the sound of the firing tIring drew Con Can s brows together together er He began to hurry But with without without without out meeting anyone they came out of the wide Canyon where cattle and horses grazed undisturbed by bythe bythe bythe the battle their brands had brought about into a narrow gorge as deep as the valley it led from Step waved toward the walls wails of the entry can canyon canyon canyon yon But already Con had seen smoke rising from point after pout up there He nodded and they con continued continued continued silently until Step halted them where a long jumble of boul boulders boulders ders dels split spilt the canyon Sitting comfortably behind a pair of at boulders that gave him a rest resting resting lag ing notch for the carbine Con saw that Step put down his battered hat under his stomach before stretching at length Then he looked up at nt the wall and the little carbine flamed Like something jerked a blue and black figure came sideways from high on the left wall began to turn turnover turnover turnover over and over in air all It tell fell with tile the seeming of slowness then tilen van vanIshed vanished fished on a level with Con s eyes Come on he ordered Four down Kind of timid souls looks like Maybe wondering about these doings behind em cm Keep to the Ule walls and watch t They edged along the rugged sides ot of the tile canyon for tor fifty yards I Then en Martino jerked a thumb at th the hud filed dIed man Just ahead Con stared and shook his bis heed bead Now tie that Martino grunted Janton constable Step waved them down behind boulders again Con could see ee the mouth of the narrow canyon and aneS from the rough mesa on which it opened came heavy ragged fire tIre But It It was overhead that he looked He was too close under the right wan wail wanto to ro see anyone above him biro But he be understood that they were to cross crossfire tIre Ire Step shooting to the right he be heend end and Martino to the left len Just beyond him three men me seemed teemed to be alarmed by the cry cryon Can on began to shoot quickly as Mar Martino MarUno lao tino moved for a new position Step StepI I slapped clapped shots at the other walL waIL A Along Along long ong shrill cry lifted above the roar I ot if the shooting They re 16 down in the canyon 1 Be- Be Behind Be-aind Be rind hind us usi Look out out Apparently not all of the rustler defenders had bad taken to the guard rocks and shelves above the floor I Ducking ucking dodging men began to ap al appear I pear year straight ahead of the three I In n the van he saw law a big dark man man with a hulking double of ot him close cl e behind He leveled bl his carbine arbine at Latimer atimer saw him fall fan wIth with the shot shifted aim to the runner who had bad jumped aside and tIred fired again The first fury of ot the charge slack alack slackened ened ned The be fight tIght became a series of 01 individual battles between Con Con and Step each hugging bugging hi his helter and men of 01 the other side 1 similarly covered The advantage was even ven But there wa was yelling outside where the cowboy line Una was Over the concentration el of bunting targets without exposing himself Con heard beard the Uke yipping g gHe 1 He moved to the side aide and peered around his hia hi boulder looking down the barrel of his hla carbine e A hatchet face was waa exposed exposed twenty feet teet away above a pIstoL Con fired at Gloomy Megeath and the face teca disappeared Up from a rock rock as aa It U stung tunC tt g lumped jumped the laxly lanky haired callow Saint West West to drop again under the thunder of guns Something exploded In to Cons Con's Con a skull Prom From the flat ground behind his bla boulder Con felt himself falling It Its Ifa certainly cold for tor this time Ume of year he be said politely to someone beside him It ft It seems seema to be getting Into my throat too Hard Barel to taUt talk Wonder r what Ill In land on He saw aw Janet come up to the train In Wild Horse Hone and she ahe lo looked Jred at him and touched Nevils Nevil's arm ann That la is a murderer from Tex Texas she Ibe be said ald Be very careful careM ab about ut him utI I She stepped through the train and that seemed strange tranae to Con Ue He wanted to tell ten her bel that be was But was I who wa was waa be He tried to remember remember remember ber but Uncle Hugh Bugh only looked at him with blank face and refused to answer Aunt Hetty shook her bel bead Youre Mr Norris Morris sisters sister's boy boyCon Con She bad had never called Uncle Hugh anything but Mr Norris But some some- somebody somebody body somewhere knew who he lie was waa wasA A tat fat fat cheerful roan men with a round round red face like a balloon wiped his hands bandl on a sack flour-sack apron no apron no his hand band For where his bis left Jett arm era should mould have been was a shining steel book hook Con forgot to ask Ik him about bl his name Something else was much snore more important He stood tood by the corral in the Broken Wheel door door- dooryard dooryard yard door yard and look looked d all around him even squatting to examine the ground close to the butts of ot the log logs I I want Billy Turtle I be he yelled Coni Coni Coal But that was wal just a dream He opened his eyes and found a wall ahead of ot him a cool looking wall wail ot of buff plaster faces came between him and the wall Topeka a s and the doctor a s and Janet s 8 and Mrs Mr Tent Tent- ton Tent son s I They bey all aU seemed happy about something Even Topeka was grin grinning grinning ning ningA A hand touched his bis forehead and he be knew that he be had bad been asleep and someone ha had been humming close by The hand was taken away and be he opened his hll eyes Sonny 1 I Mrs T Tenison Tenison said soft soft- softly softly ly Sonny Sonn are you awake Sort of be answered thickly and fell asleep again When he waked in the room again the band hand was still on his forehead But Janet looked down at him He He smiled when she smiled You you know me she brea breathed thed Trouble has been be he said care care- carefully carefully carefully fully that you didn t know me In 10 spite of all aU my telling telling- Then telling Then he remembered the Canyon What happened happened-at happened at the light fight he he demanded Did Did- Did Thanks to you and Step and Mar Martino Martino tino Palafox Canyon is just justa a place now You came so close to getting through it all without a scratch I Then at the last you were hit three times tunes almost at once Mar Martino Martino tino says On the head In the armand arm armand armand and the leg But you t bother about it The doctor says says- says I Step and Martino all right Mr Tenison and Caramba Step has two more scars and Martino one But they tiley were just ju flesh wounds Your Your-Mr Your Mr Tenison and aDd Caramba weren't hit bit S SomO Boro mO of 01 atthe I the cowboys were killed mode more were butt He us lay looking at t her thinking We W know about Comanche Lina now she ahe said bat Both Renters were ward killed la JQ the Jh fight Nevil had bad a telegram from tram the be Salado oft officers They bad had found Linn LIDD burled buried q on o a ranch where the Rawer Umer gang often otten hid bieL Nothing that tha youve you've done is Ia the Territory will ever be thought t of as anything but good y That's Mat So So a U I X w want wat t to aUCk on D the Wheel and anel learn leam the tha bust busi business ne nets ness looking looking- to the day 47 when when en tiD have bare a ranch of sty pay own own- own A uA ranch of at your our owl she aha lb ta a- a Do you Cu remember own own- owning ow owing ing lag a turtle turtle-a turtle a desert tortoise that la I l never didt That la is unless you count dr dream am turtles Three e times Umea a a year nl all aU my life ute Ive I've had bad bada hada hada a nightmare about hunting bunting a turtle tunis named Billy But nut I never eve find and himI I 1 tall fall over a cliff eM and hurt myself myself- Break your fOur arm armi Lie In fa the r at royo ar-royo royo lOyo tor for how hours before youre you're oure found by your closest friend and childish idol 1401 CoD Con the one armed c cook of the tb Wheel she abe finished for him In a rush That Billy Turtle wa was your prize possession He Be was waa always alway straying so 10 o old Con branded biro 1 WT You'd go o hunting bunting him bun l calling land and and ceiling calling for tor Con eon who wa was waa tbs th one ODe you turned tuned to for tor help to la aU all your tt affairs What are you Ou talking about How do you know about my dream dreamt And more than t I t ever dr dreamed you ever wonder about this broken bone In to your left arm that Didn't-that that uncle ever tell tel you about It ft IU Happened when I 1 was a baby In Horsehide tt It U happened l within a Quarter Quarter- mlle mile of this house And your fOur scarred carreri uncle was Emory who stole tole yowl foUl But ho be must have bad had some lome good goodIn In him be he made a fine man of you He He- You You you mean that Ware Im Im I'm Nobody else e The evidence JUI just rolled to In In all aD at once oncel The cook re- re remembered re remembered the name of 01 a man scarred just a as you laid said your un cle was waa scarred Emory scarred Emory The doc doe doctor tor saw your broken arm and re- re remembered re remembered the break In to Ware Teni Teni- Teni Tenison Tenison son Ion I a ben Then all aU through your de- de delirium de delirium lam in-lam you called caned for tor Billy Turtle and the Con Con the things that everybody who knew you at four tour remembered about you Your well mother mother well you'll see ee her het Your father r is fa going around one walking smile mile I 1 am thinking be he said very van slowly lowly looking away from her U If III I hadn't somehow headed beaded for this country like a homing pigeon you ou would have bave inherited this place I- I II I II I lave have to think about that that Janet It would have bave come to you because of the way they feel toward you you- you you-It you Come Come to me Do you think for forone forone one minute that I- I IDon I Don t bite met mel What I am think thinkIng thinking tog Ing Is- Is is He managed to get a weak hand up and find ber hers and hold It It even dra draw w upon it enough to bring her bel down closer doser 11 It there might not be a way tha that t you wouldn t lose Jose all the Wheel Try and think I I You re ro an educated girL Can Cap t you figure some lome way that 11 ll let us both have a share of 01 the place If U you re 18 thinking what I m think thinking I lag I certainly can cani I And she carried the Ole arm up about her neck and put her ber face against his hisA A fine tIne tassel end to this lariat lariat he whispered Fine THE END |