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Show Iffrl&fi&JZ frank h. H B Hrr. SPEARMAN . W tl COPYRIGHT frank H. SPEARMAN W.N.U. SERVICE CHAPTER I TT WAS the Fourth of July, rind sleo',y t-tlmt sunswept little clesert town bor,lorinK on the Very lid I.nn.ls of the arid Southwpst-wns Southwpst-wns (lusty. Dust wns not unusual In Sloppy -"t; to be dusty was Its normal condition; when not dusty, Sleenv t-at was doad. Tut you needn't be scared of this kind of dust," explained Doctor Carpy, who, sitting witn his feet up apainst the porch handrail of his Mcopy Cat hotel, was talking to Jane Van Tamhel. "it's not dirt this dust not like your Chicago dust. It's clean volcanic ash that drifts up from the Spanish Sinks. "But toward sundown when the ash settles over the Superstition Range and the sun shines through It, the nir shows every color of the rainbow. That snow on Music moun-tain" moun-tain" Dr. Carpy pointed "looks pink and red and purple. You'll like It out here." Jane disagreed vigorously. "Oh, no! It's going to be awfully lone some after city life," she declared positively. "You'll never be lonesome In Sleepy Cat unless you're good," observed the doctor cynically. "Otherwise "Oth-erwise you'll find things generally hum In Sleepy Cat." "It certainly Is lively today," conceded con-ceded the dissatisfied city girl. It was. Horsemen, not a few of them cowmen, clattered up and down Front street and River street, chiefly to hear their own noise. And a mob of miners and prospectors from Thief River had come up for the celebration and the horse races. "I'.een out on the Fairgrounds yet?" asked the doctor, continuing his chat with Jane. "Seen any of the races?" "I saw the Indian races this morning morn-ing such yipping and yelling! And those Texans that rode Into town yesterday they yelled louder than the Indians." "That outfit has Just delivered four thousand head of cattle to the Gunlock Agency. They checked them In yesterday. Some old-time Sleepy Catters In that bunch Henry Hen-ry Sawdy and John Lefever made the drive with the outfit all the way up from the Rio Grande. Hello," Hel-lo," exclaimed the doctor lazily, "here comes Sawdy now." A rather tall man, well rounded out, somewhat bow-legged, strongly built and confident, If not aggressive, aggres-sive, In manner, was coming up the wooden steps leading from the sidewalk side-walk to the hotel office. Carpy hailed him. Sawdy poised under an overwhelming sombrero, turned and walked toward the doctor and his guest "Henry I" exclaimed the doctor. "You blamed old longhorn, I never looked to see you back In Sleepy Cat." "Ain't no warrants out agin me, are there?" asked Sawdy In calm, blunt, but spirited fashion. "There must be one or more agin you down along the Rio Grande, Henry," retorted the doctor, "or you wouldn't be so far from the tinkle of the guitar with winter coming on. Meet Miss Van Tam-be Tam-be newcomer since you went south. Mr. Sawdy, Miss Jane." Hat In hand, Sawdy stared: "Miss Van Tambel?" he echoed. "Did I get the name right?" he asked as Jane nodded to his greeting. "You got It right," remarked Carpy Car-py dryly. "Well," returned Sawdy, swallowing, swallow-ing, "If you could get a few more newcomers like this, Doc, you'd have a live town. She's no relation to " "Gus Van Tambel? Yes," nodded Carpy, easily nnticipatlve. "She's his daughter only daughter; only child, In fact." Sawdy swallowed again. "Well, I'll say any man might be proud to claim her. I used to work for your father. Is he alive yet?" "Alive, yes," Interposed Carpy, "but a sick men. Have you had a horse race tills morning, Henry?" asked Carpy In teasing fashion. Sawdy snorted. "Hintln' at that sell yesterday, eh? No horse race at all," he went on augrily. "It was just a plain steal, Doc beggin' pardon, par-don, miss a steal put up by this saloon keeper, ISoland, and a crooked crook-ed cowman, McCrossen, and that Thief River butcher, Clubfoot." Jane started. McCrossen was the Van Tambel foreman at Gun-lock Gun-lock Ranch. "Tell us about that race," Interposed Inter-posed Carpy. "Well," began the cowman reluctantly, reluc-tantly, "night before last we bedded the herd down about three miles below be-low Thief River town. About sundown sun-down Clubfoot rode Into camp on a good-lookin' bay mare. I didn't see him, I was on guard. He said he he was on his way up to Sleepy Cat. John Lefever, our foreman, invited him to take supper and bunk for the night. "He said he was a prospector go-in' go-in' out on the Gunlock range. He started talkln' horses and said he wanted to sell his pony claimed he had the fastest mare along the Sinks. He blowed about that pony until John got touchy about his own little chestnut gelding, and John Ennlly promised him a race when we got to Sleepy Cat. Nobody In our bunch not bavin' seen the fellow's fel-low's horse run, John waited till everybody got to sleep and takes Clubfoot's mare off her picket rope for a tryout. Shucks ! She had no speed at all. "Next day they arranged the race, and we boys put up our dough every dollar In the outfit. What do you think of us for suckers? When the race started, that cussed prospector pros-pector beggin' your pardon, mlss run in a ringer on us another bay mare, looked exactly like the one he rode Into camp. That mare run like a streak covered five hundred yards before John's gelding got his feet picked up. Then we got the story. "Clubfoot turned out to be a sideswipe side-swipe for this saloon keeper Boland here." "Henry, I thought you and John were too wise to get stung like that. How you going to get even? Smashing Smash-ing glassware won't do It." "I don't know, Doe, I don't know." "Henry," observed Carpy, "what you mean Is you know but you won't telL" "The races ain't all over yet. Then there's the ropin' and throw-In'" throw-In'" Carpy nodded. 'nd the trick riding. All I'll say is " Sawdy hesitated. "Say all you want to before this young lady. She won't spill. I'll guarantee her," said Carpy. "Well, If that's so, miss and you certainly look up to the brag I'll say McCrossen, that new foreman fore-man of yours, was In on that skin-nin' skin-nin' we took at least, we think so. That's nothin' In the world against you." Jane spoke frankly: "Oh, I'm glad, Mr. Sawdy, you don't bring me Into It, for I really don't know any more about It than a babe unborn." "I hear McCrossen Is quite a rider," rid-er," observed Sawdy tentatively. "That's what everybody says," returned re-turned Jane. "He certainly is wonderful won-derful In the saddle." Sawdy nodded wisely, as If merely mere-ly to say, "It Is well." "Sawdy," demanded Carpy, "what you got up your sleeve?" "Nothin' nt all, Doc not a tiling In the world." "You can't fool me, you old desert rat," persisted Carpy. "Well, Doc, since you're so smart, will you back what I've got up my sleeve for fifty dollars? Will you do it. Doc? I've just come from Jake Spotts' place. He lent me fifty" Carpy reached Into his trousers pocket and drew out a roll of bills. "Go along, you critter 1" he exclaimed ex-claimed Indignantly. "I might have known your long-winded story would cost me money. But I didn't look for it to be fifty dollars." "Make It a hundred, Doc," ventured ven-tured Sawdy In his rich, persuasive voice. "Not on your life, Henry. You'll lose this, anyway." "We get paid tomorrow cough up for me." "Go hang! I haven't got It to spare. Want to. do some betting myself." Jane held out her purse. "Why, here, Mr. Sawdy. There's over fifty In this that I'm sure I don't need. Take It." Sawdy stared dumbfounded. "I couldn't do that, young miss. I couldn't." Jane, still smiling, had opened her purse, taken from it five gold eagles, and held them out. "If you refuse to let me accommodate you, it won't be much of a compliment to me," she protested. "I know blamed well I ought not to do It," muttered the big fellow. "Doc what shall I do?" "Take It I" said Carpy gruffly. "You'll lose it then you' can work It out for Jane on the ranch this WwmQ? "I Suppose You've Been Cleaned by This Sleepy Cat Bunch." summer she's running things out there while her father's sick." Sawdy reluctantly let the trim young lady drop the gold pieces into his horny hand she laughing, "But If you go to work at Gun-lock," Gun-lock," remarked the doctor, "make no mistake. Keep off the grass. Don't aspire to the hand of this young princess. I've got a bid in there myself." "Why, doctor!" exclaimed Jane, all rosy in protest and rising to go. "Just the same, girl, any man that bids for you has got to face a major ma-jor operation at my hands. Will you be back for dinner?" he asked of Jane as she made ready to leave. "We're having watermelon today." "I'm not going to miss that. But I must go over to Rubido's to order some supplies. By the way, I forgot for-got to ask: What shall I do with that medicine you gave me last time?" "Throw It out the window and ride horseback. You're coming along wonderful for six weeks out here." "Hold on, miss, Just a minute, please," begged Sawdy as the party broke up. "You'll be at the Fairgrounds Fair-grounds tliis afternoon for the races?" "Of course I'll be there," responded respond-ed Jane pertly. "You've done me a kind, good turn. I want to do you a good one. This goes for this old medicine man, too." Sawdy nodded toward the doctor. "What Is It?" asked Jane coolly. Sawdy was solemn. "You won't neither of you spill It? All right. Don't bet no money on the trick ridin' this afternoon." By two o'clock that day the Fairgrounds Fair-grounds were sizzling hot and tremendously tre-mendously crowded. Frontier Day celebration was combined with the national holiday and the county fair of a county bigger than most eastern states. A gathering of horsemen, cowmen, mining men, railroad men, gamblers, prospectors, desert rats, and frontier adventurers adventur-ers milled about the rickety little grandstand. On an occasion such as this, when a local celebration combined with the arrival of a goodly outfit of cowmen, cow-men, there was reason to look forward for-ward to a lively round-up by proprietors propri-etors of thirst parlors, gamblers, clothiers, merchants, and barbers. On this particular Fourth of July there was every reason but one for such a hope the cow outfit had been thoroughly skinned by the advance ad-vance guard of Sleepy Cat sharpers in the person of Harry Boland and Clubfoot and Company. In consequence the Circle Dot boys, as Sawdy's outfit was known, made no especial contribution to the Fairgrounds festivities; they were present "but not betting. Sawdy, long-faced and solemn, neglected to pull at his sweeping mustachios a sure sign of mental depression. John Lefever, rotund and naturally, jolly, Circle Dot foreman, fore-man, only whistled softly. The noon train from Medicine Bend brought a few more visitors to the Fairgrounds. These made just about a load for Jim McAlpin's bus. To one Medicine Bend man, Jim paid particular deference, calling him frequently by his first name. The moment McAlpin's favored passenger had paid his fare, tipped the Scotch liveryman generously, and walked toward the grandstand, McAlpin confided to those about him that this was the celebrated Harry Tenison, big-time gambler from Medicine Bend, who talked of opening a place in Sleepy Cat Sawdy and Lefever were in moody confab behind the grandstand when the dapper Tenison approached, picking his steps with disgust through the dust. Sawdy's eyes lighted on the new arrival first. He gave a great start. "Harry!" he cried. "For the love o' women I Of all men you're sent this minute from heaven." "How much is this goin' to cost, Henry?" asked Tenison, pausing to dust his shoes with an immaculate silk handkerchief. Lefever, too, beamed on Tenison. "Harry !" he shouted. "For the love o' Mike, how come?" "Two of you," commented Tenison Teni-son calmly. "The clouds are gath-erin'. gath-erin'. I suppose you've been cleaned by this Sleepy Cat bunch and want me for a pay-off." "Harry," murmured Sawdy, lower-voiced lower-voiced and very sober. "I'll admit I couldn't have said it better myself. Come this way. Talk low." The three found a quiet spot back of the grandstand. The story of the cowmen was soon told. It went into sympathetic and unhesitating ears. As with all gamblers who play big, Tenison's mind was soon. made up. "I don't bank much on sure things; but you two seem to know what you're talkin' about. How much do you boys want?" "A thousand, Harry." Tenison thought a minute. "Is Jake Spotts in town?" "Here on the grounds, if he's not up at the saloon." "Hunt him up. He'll have a few hundred. I've got a few in my pocket. pock-et. Where's the boy that pulls this stuff for you?" "Come over to the horses and meet Bill Denlson. We're keeping him dark. They think he's a hostler." hos-tler." (TO DE CONTINUED) |