Show YOU HI I 1 1 ES W 1 I 1 by WILL IR IRWIN WIN copyright by wilt will irwin ifju iga C CHAPTER XI continued 15 ah these proceedings i atre legal e a 1 then meal exclaimed tile tho stranger with what tippen red to be nn nil air of genuino relief in that enve ani c 11 1111 tiers law iest law that to nut hut git it cut lit in shot shorty ty i and the eyelid flickered that will vill bo be nil from you just juit now TIP MH ills arms hos boys bring litin along buck back toward lio lie clearing we r stinted till ted led by the group convoying convoking tile captive tive ile HP lind had tin nn easy athletic walk everything avory tiling about lint lit in fact the nc lie cent tile precise speech the cool formal manner nin tiner suggested suR Rested tile the gentlemen len perhaps almost too much tin the gentleman wo we were eru well out in me clearing bp be fore I 1 looked aln wl so intilli id did till ills ann inn willal I 1 lind ind captured for hold my lily attention out of tin tile woods cinno tile tha cowboy leading lond liiK that little balick horse corpo on oil which tile lio hit and mounted the gagged nud and holl losli block the saddle haq empty I 1 ww saw then thell that hint a n figure lay iny shrunken anti huddled across our path the lending leading group stopped beside it the whole frame of fit UK the gave a jerk and then settled back tin ni by effort of tile tho will into it pose of easy nonchalance I 1 hurried forward charlie meek aleek ile wui from n hole lit in the chest tile side of his fits head wits all wound tito gag still stretched hh 1114 jaws over mer it run ran it bloody foam foi till but his wounded torso heaved and there wits a pleading intelligence in tits hla eves even Il billetter letter pit git that thing out of ills mouth sold said shorty with a touch or of softness taint Tal nt needed no more some one untied tile the gag eye eyes rolled until showed oril only y the whites tile tho muscles of lit his face drow drew its hla jaws moved ns as though tile last in in lint him tile tho talkative was wai for speech then tits hla throat rattled rattle and iles hes gollel said shorty I 1 tool ced up lit at the captive arid and other eyes 05 cs now that the curtain lind had fallen on oil charlies tragedy followed mine ile he ana was n linto but so I 1 mir poso wore were ye yc till nil would ono one of you yon gentlemen mind slipping that ropi rope it little farther up my right arm lie to asked it will hold me ino just is securely and wont cliffe so 90 illuce finnk jou they led him filin on seated jilin him by the clump of trees lint shorty looking town down nt at the body vouchsafed unasked u yord word or of dart D irn thoughtless of me ho said ought to tied lihn him to a tree up tip ly by the hol ses had loony idea of keep ing lihn where wo we could nil all when those rond road agents come out by the cabin the boys there on the aldge showed n little excitement I 1 kuess guess anyhow matt thal thai fool cowboy from the slaughter lious house lost hh bis lend and let go the lie bridle anil and tills shorty dropped tits lila contemptuous pronoun not took lila ills chance ond and dug aug ills heels into hla fits hoss mutt got him liero bere he pointed to charlies breast land vilt somebody tit in the posse got bilm alm ilm here then the hoys boys down below had to shoot hey diey I 1 here comes the killer I 1 over the ridge marched another captive tall rangy bearded vague vaguely I 1 had bad been trying to 0 o ife account count tor for tile the fifth bandit this evidently was wag lie he led toward the clump of trees lio lie passed me lie lind hall n pair of strange str anRe staring lightbrown light brown eyes which reer deemed ried to look through and over tit tins meen members bers of the posse crowding round or following follow liiK like little boys shorty ran iran forward barking nil an order oriler left alone I 1 followed the tall man mail and my captive were facing ench each other and their eyes exes showed no only faint curiosity then they wore were led away tande made to sit down under separate trees shorty till nil executive force again sent one squad cluad up tip for the horses another down for the bod bodies lest A half score of u us temporarily unoccupied withdrew beyond earshot of tile the captives tongues began to lo win wag they questioned tile ine about my illy feat for 1 I who v ho had gone on tills this hunt it suspected person was wag now a hero I 1 had bad taken my with avith my naked hands lia nils I 1 evaded answer then tile thu posse fell ell again into boasting and tem reminiscence inis cence mid and to tile rue its as reporter fur for the courier all their narra tives lives never did journalist hear tiny any story less curiously for my own moment of exultation lit in tragedy wits was j passing hut I 1 heart 4 jund iund absorbed half consciously tile the 1 background to the nights events I 1 have heard it many times since front from better urley have put it together toretha r tit in logical detail and because I 1 have enuch more to tell let me heru here tints with that even before the robbery of the tie cottonwood stage the bank arid and express company had taken berlow thought conce concerning ruing the raids on their treasure shipment ship meni front their own funds for un tin appeal to the county counte wusi was wot cornu ae than ilian useless they had bad hired mike lite hie bartender arid and two other detectives who never then or thereafter showed their lianda hand or revealed moir tap criminals and extortionists of our camp till all roughly infer interlocked locked one group knew tile gos goa I 1 alp alp of tk Qt liers Mare moreover over they had jf im m ira grown cureless careless with immunity every een alight like the bartender plucked genis front from drunken lips suspicion fastened on oil the lie lc tuen men who borkel 1 f lint I 1 1 ing 1 19 clarill above lorty forty atod one or nr them and all followed follon cd the futile fuell chases rf or It urshal meg rath after tho the intent stage ro ilbery abill tin tho holdup hold up nil of tin it I 1 it jackson Jacks pay roll nal ill notes willi alli lily ills follow who mil watched tile calalin had learn kaied bolix olles code of ils by b gunshot Kuns bot tito llie place of Milr lit in tills criminal of loag I 1 ia e callied it matter of doubt doii lit tile lie detectives and their rate ruthd him for what lie was an tin nn lilt it liik back number l the alv of nil lilt mi era from cottons cottrll Cot toll roil camp lind had jinvit ged lind had plucked rom of information from the alp gossip of tile silver dollar aliv 1 I lie killer that lint of tile kinn who li lind all wanted to torture tile stonewall stoia all paymaster lind had kromi grown flanger dulled ou OUR R on any ng lil lub jot lio lie wits IMIS likely to to shoot prematurely recklessly alio tho llio rest irest of the bandits had quarreled with bilm ill what pressure they could put upon 11 wild like lialis it knowledge or of his lil crI nIPS 1 I know not at tiny rate into they sub decd him to their policy the lie next iut billip tani they went edit out they would leave behind to aliard the cabin and watch tile approaches on oil tile night of action a band of ight men inon picked front the vigilance committee for foi nerve antl still bild lild ili lit in tile hushes bushes above the claim after supper they saw four odthe of lio Ini nates st henrt art through tile lie moonlight to jhb lib little livorse corral on oil tile hillside above A cai cabillo illo still burnel neil in tile cabin by which they know chilt were cie going ns its expected two expert plainsman plainsmen plains men stalked tile claici this it cents to III luo yet wits ns tile the most valorous ll olous deed of that night luck inick orad served them tile killer wont went out presently for it pull pall of water wh alien en lit he returned ills his right hand occupied they up belil behind tid film poked two all into his rib i slaving stiffs satis led fled themselves that hint lie would not iut talk tile squad bound loui il will und gagged find disposing themselves iti ill the cabin or lit in tile woodpile wit illel d for dawn whon tile the bink bank robbers it lining re 10 olad the double signal for till nil safe should return to tile cabin the ali IKI lentes latie 4 intended to let them epter to got get tile 1101 11 01 gilld to casturo thern them alive ily by prearrangement Cli chaille arlie tipple wits waa not arrested with lah tile the anat hill murcus wonted to see what lie would to do As marcus expected lio lie turned fumed on nil tile marshal announced lils ills own on asked to lend the posse letting him iro the signal thereby nutting lit in our hands tile last piece or of con evidence was nn nil afterthought it final filial i detail arranged between beaw een N larcus I 1 r and shorty short before we started so fur far tho lob binm lind had gone through with machine like smoothness not a break or slip I 1 marvel yet that lit in possession of the town and arresting aric sting so many dangerous danger oui characters tin the vigilantes never acer had to flie alre tt a shot before charlie meek was killed the horses had come up from tile the hollow men tall borne tile three corpses all by of good marl is manship had mercifully died in their tracks they rolled Ch charlies arlios body over roughly ro composed it laid out the others beside it the first was waa that nuin man with it short black heard beard whom I 1 had seen giving orders 0 to o my illy captive in ili the illick jack the night before last night every tinte my illy igind formed fertile that phrase I 1 bad it kind of vague wonder to think that years year ages age find not passed since tile the SL setting of yesterdays sun pun lip ile had hd boon beell struck squarely lit in the forehead fure licad by tw two 0 heavy bullets nt at once und most horribly shorty was bellowing orders cit those bodies onto horses I 1 tle tie up tho prisoner mount leml em I 1 you matt rustle rustic buck brick to camp anti tell mr ienir ily dy were conijn ride I 1 dont anybody else no go this job aint over glad for anything lint would bre break ik my illy tumbling fluttering thoughts I 1 hurried to tit horse CHAPT CHAPTER I 1 ER XII 11 the suit suii had fully risen over the pyrites wits was dancin even on oil tile westward slopes when front from it grove of dwarf pine our shoddily solemn procession emerged into the straggling litter of cabilis bordering cottonwood Cotto wood horsemen were swinging now round the line of shacks which marked the rear approaches of it main street behind them ran pedestrians one dilall had recognized recognised charlie sleek meek wits was shaking ills hla list nt lit tile tha lead dead bandits lie he would know better presently before and behind riders rider or the posse were slipping bits of news from tile corners of their to friends frIend 4 lit in our fringe of camp fol lowers my illy own name I 1 i men were ivere pointing tile me out majid and never even went to lit lils gun il heard my captive ahead rode with tits hla back straight tits lita blead till up if f lie he would woul only sag or diuri its his spirit defied mine 0 this was as maln N I 1 n I 1 it street how flow the vigilance committee lind had grown I 1 A vordon ii ion of it in mod gutirr s ati etched tied on N both t it sid sides of the A ilni n looked from it cabin door 1 misfit it hand to it 11 little forehead tux licad noad hershf liers her sIf lf I 1 must not tool took nt lit me lie eods again I 1 might nee neelin lin matter it if I 1 did k e eo c 7 men crow crowding fling about tile me It ill it lion on my lily nerve mint us repenting its great gnat buy boyi 11 1 etick roa rea tile me that he kiwayo IMI suld I 1 ought to lune have hew 11 in i ilir ili game jim ficia tho Hit ill list st I 1 I 1 others 1 touch of their lounds halida were loathsome giuld they onor ON or lt let UK ille alone all ali now nov the had gone M one into conference fi fluit asies ici or of on oil their inadi horn ille he won wont t take ike long ions I 1 heard froidl shorty mayor brown wits ua to 0 lie ile judge well clotile on I 1 lets get it over with V milieus cus then alien its ills sharp strained turned turne d my illy wity and lie seemed pt again aware of me lite MOM lions to the proceedings bovi ho anti and that inquiry jerked tile me out of tho hie little linc into gilb llio light ll 11 lit I 1 would mould not 1 I not attend that trial bechill because bec lill of what lit I 1 knew and would not tell ailt Ill because that flint softening pie ture tin c rose roe again the bi lilau it e e yes 0 of f C constance on daane guilty slie site might bu M 1 I V my captive rods rode with his dack back straight his head up if he would only sag or droop his spirit defied millo guilty of course slip slie wits was nevertheless I 1 could coulta not face tier her reproach and marcus marcu 4 poo peering ring into my face clist ilava lie no giles so something of tills f for or tits his express expression lon softened foft ened und and all righta lie he said then ns though fl for nic me a logical way out lie he added spose you sou stay ll 11 here re on oil guard 11 others were listening now nov and for their benefit lie went bieni on with n jocularity I 1 knew to be assumed you brought him lit in and you ou keep jilin him uey ey mcneill Mc Nelll Koft lest youre to stay etere acio lit an guard mr mi Gli glisoni sons in ili corn COM mavd ahe the door had opened again the killer emerge between two to guarda lit lila hands hov now unbound there was ns it welt above ills his wrist where acre the ropo rope lind find cut but lie straight some one had given tile me the key ke some colne one lind had bonim commanded kincl e I 1 that I 1 was to to open tile the door dior only on signed order older or personal demand of the central committee down tile the street walked the captive and his guards tile beelek P swarin swann lout the courthouse becal tle active moved shifted heretofore it had been silent or near ly so ho merely nit iely witt with subdued coil no now w I 1 iti ts members broke into speech even into vociferation A large squad fr of gli alls had detached h itself marellen man marel lied led cwi away it disappeared dl sappo md into that alley which led to the tit pioneer annl corral ten roll minutes later it emerged augmented between 11 tile ranks I 1 discerned tile hie tull tall fort foi m of chris Mc mcgrath Urath framed by no an lilt 1111 ranked milked crowd ali ah abere were the prisoners of the alie Ilo pioneer corral cornil they who mho were we 10 held for depoi deportation truon alipio here was colliver collier there wits red noll vit the squad aligned itself and its captives before tile log lissay collico ln aldr tile the courthouse from the peak of its it gable kirillo extended it new t li alier it 11 imd had not been there before A horse was vai being led into the lie crowd a buy bay hoche the guarill vere nvere benting nien men iway away froni from him pud nd the babble find stopped tile only 0 lily sound bound was tile the shuttle shuffle or thump of f foot feet on tit alie board sidewalks men illen had conic come through yli the courthouse amor or above aboe them emerged a fiorin bare headed blindfolded hatless they vv 0 re lifting jilin on oil to the horse aliey they were leading tile tho horse toward the boam beant tito killers licad was vas wagging ns as though lio lie wits ns talking there seemed no benefit of if clergy and marcus luid had summoned a clergy etian for foe the gambler who lost lit hla 9 nerve I 1 know knew then that tits speech wits was but blasphemy that tile killer on whose departing soul lay illy the blood of twenty men was lying as lie he had lived there was a man mail on the benni benm tying a rope same one standing on oil it e hair had dropped tile tho tool loop over oer tile killers neck ills ilia head wagged wits wai still the horse torso gave a violent |