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Show 3ft OUR STORY CORNER Iff I ceooketrails I STRAIGHT m COPYRIGHT.BY Ca.-y. DTLLiTNGHAjyi COTlF-AJraf H SYNOP8I8. H Part I. I H CHAPTKtl I. Adventurous and reck- 1 Wbs, rather than criminal, and excited by M liquor. Curly Flandrau and his chum, H Mac. both practically mere boys, become M Involved In a horse-stealing adventure. H Disposing of the stolen stock In the town M of Saguache, Ariz., the band separates, 1 Curly and his partner staying In town. M They aro awakened and told a posse Is In town In pursuit of thorn. They elude B (heir pursuers. Overtaken next day, Mao M Is killed by the posso and Curly made H captlvo. after lie has shot one and him- M self been wounded. The man shot Is M Luck Culllson. H CIIAPTEIl Il.-Culllson'a friends, all H cattlemen, determine to lynch Curly as M an example to cattle thieves. With the M rope around his neck he is saved by the H Intervention of Kate Culllnon, Luck's M dauglitor. H CIIAPTIcn III. Ills wound dressed, M and further violence not apprehended, B Curly Is sent for by Culllson. He quos- Uons the boy concerning a notorious out- H law, Soapy Stone, real leader of the rus H tiers who had been Curly's undoing. M Flandrau learns that Soapy Stone Is Cul. H llson's bitter enemy and exerclsco a bnlo- B ful lnnuonco over the ex-shorlft'i eon m Bam. who has quarreled with Ins father M Culllson goes ball for Curly, H CHAPTEIl IV.-Curly rescues Soapy M Stone from a bear trap Into which lie 1ms M stumbled, and discovers that the outlaw M Is young Sam's rival for the hand of Lau H rn. London. She gives Curly a note to M deliver to Bam, and Klandrau and Stone B set out for the latter's ranch. H CHAPTEIl V. There Curly meets his companions of the rustling expedition and delivers Laura's note to Sam. Young Culllson bolleves Stone Is his friend and says ho will stick by him. Flandrau sees H some move Is being planned and becomes M convlncod It is train robbery. Sam loaves H the ranch to go to Saguache. Curly ac M companies him. H CHAPTER VI. Eavesdropping at a H meeting place, Curly hears Stone and his B. lieutenant, Lute Blackwell. arrange to F - "" hold up the train at a crossing -known as B Tin Cup, and after the robbery shoot H young Culllaon and leave his bdfey on the H scene. Stone thus glutting his revenge on H the ex-sheriff through his son's death and H disgrace. Curly is accused by Htone of B being a spy of Luck Culllson's. Tliey are separated, but part with the understand. H tng that their next meeting will mean a M fight to the death. Curly makes a con- M fldant of Dick Moloney, cattleman, and M they Inform Luck Culllson of Stone's ylot H against his son. H Part II. H CHAPTER I. After an all-night sen. M slon at the Roundup club, In which Cullt- M son has lost heavily, there Is an exchange H of sharp words between Luck and a B sheepman, Cass Fendrlck, with whom M s Culllson has a feud. H CHAPTER Il.-Saguache Is electrified M by the news of the holdup of express H messengers, the bandits securing 120,006. M Culllson pays his poker debts, and shortly M afterward Mackenzie and Alex Flandrau. M his closest friends, learn he Is suspected M of the express robbery, his hat having B . been found on tho scene and he being V missing. CHAPTER III. Kate goes to Saguache for a consultation with Mackenzie, Alex Flandrau and Curly. All are convinced of Luck's Innocence. The sheriff reveals that besides the finding of Culllson's hat, and his payment of his debts, Cass Fendrlck Fen-drlck had seen the robber and Is almost certnln It was Luck. Culllson Is about to enter u komestead claim which will practically prac-tically put Fendrlck out of business. CHAPTER IV.-Kate's shrewdness ro-veals ro-veals how Culllson had taken Kendrlck's hat when he left the noundup club, and suspicion points strongly to a frameup on Fendrlck's part and to his being responsible respon-sible for Luck's disappearance. The Bher-irt Bher-irt receives a series of notes turning on the "Jack of Hearts." Curly finds a cl- ar store by that name and secures evl-ence evl-ence that the proprietress, Mrs. Wylle, knows what happened to Luck. CHAPTER V.-In the cellar of the cigar ci-gar store Klandrau finds n cipher message mes-sage loft by Culllson. and follows the scent. Luck Is held prisoner by Fendrlck and ninckwolt In a sheep herder's cabin In tho mountains. Fendrlck wants him to sign a relinquishment of his homestead rights, conditional to his release. CHAPTER VI. Uneasy over tho possible pos-sible results of his kldnnplng of the cattleman, cat-tleman, Fendrlck tells Kate Culllson enough of the story to Induce her to accompany ac-company him to tier father. Culllson. fearing for his daughter's safety should bIio bo loft at the mercy of Dlackwoll, signs the relinquishment and accompanies Kate home. CHAPTER VII. Ducky O'Connor, of the Texas Rangers, lifelong friend of Culllson, Cul-llson, takes a hand In the gamo, lie and Curly making a search for tho missing man. O'Connor arrests Fendrlck, charging charg-ing him with tho abduction. Culllson scoks Fendrlck with the object of punishing punish-ing the sheepman personally, but O'Connor O'Con-nor forbids, holding Fendrlck under arrest. Bucky rose. "All right. If you can't help roc, I can't help you. Mr. Culllson, Cul-llson, I reckon I'll run out and have Homo supper. Do you mind staying here with tills man till I get hack?" "No. That's all right, Bucky. Don't hurry. I'll keep him entertained." Perhaps it was not by chance that his eye wandered to a blacksnake whip hanging on the wall. O'Connor sauntered to the door. Tho frightened gazo of the prisoner clung to him ns if for safety. "Major Colonel you ain't a-going," he pleaded. "Only for an hour or two. I'll bo buck. I wouldn't think of saying good-by good-by not till we reach Yuma." With that the door clostfd behind him. Uluckwell cried out, hurriedly, eagerly: "Mlter O'Connor I I I'll tell you everything every lost thing. Mr Culllson he's aiming to kill me soon i as you've gone." "I've goi no time to fool away, ' Blackwell. I'm hungry, if you mean j business get lo It. nut remember that I whntover you say will bo used against you." "I'll tell you any dog-goncd thins i you want to know. You've got me . bent. I'm plumb wore out elck. A ' man can't stnnd everything." ' "Sit down. There's n good dinner ; waiting for you at Cluno's when you ' get through." ' His story was that he had found on j the street a letter that had Inadvcr- j tcntly been dropped. It was to Jordan of the Cattleman's National bank, and It notified him that $20,000 was to be shipped to him by tho W. & S. Express company on the night of tho robbery, niackwcll resolved to hnvo n try for J It. He hung around the office until the i manager and tho guard arrived from the train, mnde his raid upon them, locked tho door, nnd throw away his mask. He dived with the satchel Into ! tho nenrost nlley, and enmo face to face with the stranger whom ho later , learned to bo Fendrlck. ' Fendrlck, who had heard the shout-, Ing of the men locked In tho express office, stopped tho robber, but Mack-1 well broke nway and rnn down the j alley. Tho sheepman followed and cuught him. After another scuttle the I convict again hammered himself free, J but left behind tho hnnd satchel con- j talnlng Ihc spoils. Fendrlck (so he ' later cxplnlned to Blackwell) tied a j cord to the handle of the bng nnd dropped It down the chute of a laun-1 dry In such n way that it could Inter . bo drawn up. Then he hurried back to the express ofllco nnd relenscd the prisoners. After the excitement hnd subsided, he hod returned for the money nnd hid it. Tho orlglnnl robber did not know where. Blnckwell's second meeting with the sheepman had been almost ns startling as the first. Cass had run Into the Jnck of Hearts In tlmo to save the life of his enemy. Tho two men recognized ench other and entered Into a compact to nbduct Culllson, for his share in which tho older man was pnld one thousand dollars. Both men nsked the snmo question ns soon ns ho had finished. "Where Is the money you got from the raid on tho W. & S. office?" "Don't know. I've boon nt Fendrlck ever since to tell mo. lie's got It salted salt-ed somewhere. You're fixing to put mo behind the hnrs, nnd he's the man Hint really stolo it." From this they could not shako him. Fendrlck, riding on Mesn Verde, met young Bob Culllson, nnd before he knew wlint had happened found n gun thrown on him. "Don't you move," the boy wnrned. , "What does this tommyrot menn?" ' tho Hhoepmun demnndod angrily. 1 "It menus that you are coming back wljh mo to the ranch. That's what it means." "What for?" "Never you mind what for." "Oil, go to Mexico," Cass flung back Impatiently. "Think we're In some fool moving-picture play, you blamed young Idlnt? Put up that gun." Shrilly Bob retorted. He was excited ' enough to be dangerous. "Don't you get the wrong idea. I'm going to mnko this stick. You'll turn nnd go back with me to the Circle C. You're wanted for the W. & S. express robbery. rob-bery. Blackwell has confessed." Cass sat Immovable ns tho sphinx. He was thinking that he might as well face tho charge now as any time. Moreover, More-over, he had reasons for wanting to visit the Circle 0. They hnd to do, with a tall, slim girl who never looked ( nt him without scorn In her dark, flash-. Ing eyes. "All right. I'll go back with you, but j not under n gun. I won't stand for any gun-piny capture." "You'll hove to stand for It." Fendrlck's face set. "Will I? It's up to you, then. Let's see you mnke me." Sitting thcro with his gaze steadily on tho boy, Cass hnd Boh at a disadvantage. disad-vantage. If the Micep owner hnd tried to brenk away Into the chaparral, Bob could have blazed away at him, but lie could not shoot n man looking at him with cynlcnl, amused eyes. Ho could understand the point of view of his adversary. If Fendrlck rode Into the Circle C under compulsion of a gun In the hands of n boy he would hover hear the end of the lnugh on him. Bob put up his big blue gun rcluc-tnntly. rcluc-tnntly. Never before hod It been trnlned on a human being, nnd It was a wrench to give up the thought of bringing In tho enemy ns a prisoner But he snw he could not pull it off. They turned toward tho Clrclo C. Kate wus seated on the porch sowing. sow-ing. She rose In surprise when her cousin nnd the sheepman appeared They came with Jingling spurs across the plnzn toward her. "Where's Uncle Luck, sis? I've brought this fellow hack with me. Caught him on tho mesn," explained the boy sulkily. Fendrlck bowed rather cxtrnv.ignnt-ly, cxtrnv.ignnt-ly, "Ht's qualifying for a movlng-plc-turo show nctor, Miss Culllson. I hadn't the heart to disappoint him when he got that cannon trained on me. So hero I nm." Kate looked nt him nnd then let hoi gaze travel to her cousin. Sho somehow some-how gnvo tho effect of Judging him of negligible value. "I think he's In his office, Boh. I'll go see." She went swiftly nnd presently her father canio out. Kate did not return. Luck looked straight at Cass with the uncompromising hostility so characteristic char-acteristic of him. Neither of the men ' spoke. It was Bob who made tho necessary nec-essary explanations. "I've been looking for you," Luck said bluntly, after his nophow had finished. fin-ished. "So I gathered from young Jesse James. Anything particular, or Just a pleasant sonal call?" "You're In bad on this W. &. S. robbery. rob-bery. I reckoned you would be safer In Jail till It's cleared up." "You still sheriff, Mr. Culllson? Somehow I had got n notion that you hnd quit the Job." "I'm an Interested pnrty. We'll take the stage Into town and see what O'Connor soys that is, if you've got time to go." Luck could bo ns formal In his sarcasm as his neighbor. "With such good company on the way I'll have to make time." Tho stage did not usually lenvo till about half past one. Presently Knto announced dinner. A little awkwardly Luck Invited tho sheepman to Join them. Fendrlck declined. His host hung In tho doorway. Seldom Sel-dom at a loss to express himself, he did not quite know how to put Into words what he was thinking. Ills enemy ene-my understood. "Thnt's nil right. You've satisfied tho demands of hospitality. Co cat your dinner. I'll bo right hero on tho porch when you get through." Kate, who wns standing bcsldo her father, spoke quietly. "There's n plnco for you, Mr. Fendrlck. Fend-rlck. Wo should he very pleased to have you Join us. People who happen to be nt the Circle C nt dinner tlmo nre expected to eat here." Fendrlck looked nt the young mistress mis-tress of tho rnnch. He mennt to decline de-cline once more, but unnccountnbly found himself accepting Instead. Something Some-thing In her fnce told him she would rather have It so. Presently n young mnn came Into tho dining room nnd sat down beside Kate. He looked tho least In tho world surprised sur-prised at sight of the sheepman, i "Mornln', Cass," lie nodded. "Morning, Curly," answered Fendrlck. Fend-rlck. "Didn't know you were riding for the Circle C." "He's my foreman," Luck cxplnlned, Cass observed that he was quite one of the family. Bob admired him openly open-ly nnd without slinme, because ho wns I the best rider in Arizona ; Kate seemed I to be on the best of terms with him nnd Luck trentcd him with the offhand off-hand bluffness he might have used toward to-ward a grown son. The stago brought the two men to town shortly after sundown. Luck called up O'Connor and mnde nn np-I np-I polntment to meet him nfter supper, i "There's a matter that needs explaining, ex-plaining, Cass. According to Blnckwell's Blnck-well's story, you caught him with the goods nt the time of the robbery, and In making his get-awny he left the loot with you. What hnvo you done , with It?" "Blackwell told you that, did he?" "Yes." "Don't doubt your word for ji moment, mo-ment, Ducky, but before I do nnytnlk-Ing nnytnlk-Ing I'd like to hear htm say so. I'll not round on him until I know lie's given himself nwny." The convict wns sent for. Ho substantiated sub-stantiated the ranger reluctantly. lie was h hemmed In thnt he did not know how to play his cards so as to make the most of them. Cnss hoard him out with n lifted upper lip and his most somnolent tiger-cut tiger-cut expression. After Blackwell had finished and been withdrawn from circulation cir-culation he rolled nnd lit u clgnrctte. "By Mr. Blnckwell's sny-so I'm the goat. By the way, bus It ever occurred to you gentlemen thut ono enn't be convicted on the testimony of n single accomplice?" "We've got n little circumstantial evidence to add, Cnss," Bue!iy suggested suggest-ed pleasantly. "Not enough not nearly enough." 'IThat will be for a Jury to decide," Culllson chipped In. Fendrlck shrugged. "I've n notion to let It go to thnt. But whnt's the use? Understand this. I wasn't going to give Blackwell away, hut since he has talked, I may tell wlint I know. It's true enough what lie says. I did relieve him of tho plunder." "Sorry to hear that, Cnss," Bucky commented gravely. "What did you do with It?" The sheep owner flicked his cigarette cigar-ette n&h Into the tray and looked nt the lieutenant out of hnlf-shuttercd, Indo- With n paper knife Bucky ripped the flap and took out a sheet of paper. , "There's something else In there," Fendrlck suggested. Thnt something else proved to he n pleco of pnper folded tightly, which, being opened, disclosed a key. i O'Connor rend aloud the tetter: i "To Nicholas Bolt, Shcrirf, or Bucky i O'Connor, Lieutenant of Hnngcrs: "Ilnvlng como Into possession of a j little vnllsc which Is not mtnc, I nm getting rid of It In the following man- j ncr. I hnvo rented a large safcty-dc-1 posit box nt the Cattleman's National bnnk nnd have put Into It tho valise j with the lock still unbroken. Tho key Is Inclosed herewith. Shaw, the cashier, cash-ier, will tell you that when this box wns rented I gnvo explicit orders It i should bo opened only by the men whoso names arc given In an envelope left with him, not even excepting myself. my-self. The vnllse was deposited at exactly ex-actly 10:30 a. m. the morning nfter tho robbery, as Mr. Shaw will nlso testify. I nm writing this the evening of tho same day. "CASS FENDRICK." "Don't believe a word of It," Culllson exploded, "Seeing is believing," the sheepman murmured. Ho wns enjoying greatly the discomfiture of his foe. "Mnkes a likely fairy talc. Wlint for would you keep the money and not turn It bnck?" "That's an ensy one, Luck. He wnntcd to throw tho burden of the robbery on you," Bucky explntned. "Well, I've got to be shown." In the morning ho was shown. Shaw confirmed exactly what Fendrlck hnd said. He produced n scaled envelope. Within tliis wns a sheet of paper, upon which were written two lines: "Box 21-13 Is to be opened only by Sheriff Bolt or Lieutenant Bucky O'Connor of the Rangers, nnd before witnesses. "CASS FENDRICK." From tho safety-deposit vault Bucky drew a largo package wrapped In yellow yel-low paper. Ho cut tho string, tore nway the covering and disclosed n leather satchel. Perry Hawlcy, the local manager of tho Western & Southern South-ern Express company, fitted to tills n key nnd took out a sealed bundle. Tills he ripped open before them nil. Inside wns found tho sum of twenty thousand dollnrs In crisp new bills. CHAPTER IX. A Cleanup. A slight accident occurred at the Jail, one so unimportant that Scnnlnn the Jailor did not think It worth reporting re-porting to his chief. Blnckwell, while entlng, knocked a glass from the table and broke It on the cement floor of his cell. t...... .!.. 111.1 t.l l.,n 1... From the little table In his room he pried loose ono of the corner braces. At night ho scraped nway at this with his bit of glass until the wood began to toko tho shape of a revolver. This ho carefully blacked with the Ink brought him by his guard. To tho end of his wenpon he fitted nn Iron wnsher taken from the bedstead. Then he waited for his opportunity. His chance came through the goodnature good-nature of Scnnlnn. Dlnckwell pro-1 tended to be out of chewing tobacco nnd nsked the guard to buy him some. -About ten o'clock Scnnlnn returned ' nnd brought the tobneco to his prls-1 oner. As he passed the plug through ' the grutlng Blnckwell's fingers closed around his wrist nnd drew the mnn close to tho Iron Inttlce work.- Simultaneously Simul-taneously a cold rim was pressed against the temple of the guard. j "Don't move, or I'll fill you full of holes," the convict warned. Srunhm did not move, not until the , mnn In the cell gave the word. Then be obeyed orders to tho letter. Ills right hand found the bunch of keys fitted the correct one to the door nnd unlocked It according to Instructions. Not until he was relieved of his weapon wea-pon did Blackwell release him. The jailer wns backed into the cell, gagged with n piece of torn bedding and left locked up ns securely as the other had been n few minutes enrller. Tho convict made his way downstairs, down-stairs, opened the outer door with the bunch of keys he hnd tnken from Scnn Inn, locked It behind him nnd slipped Into tho first nlley that offered refuge Two hours later he stole a horse from an Irrigated rniich nenr town. Wlthhi twenty-four hours lie had reached the Soapy Stone horse rnncli and snfety. After tills the plans for the raid on the Texas, Arizona & Pacific flyer moved swiftly to a head. Soapy Stone nnd Snm dropped Into Snguache inconspicuously in-conspicuously one evening. Next day Stone rodo down to Tin Cup to look over the ground. Moloney telephoned their movements to the Circle C nnd to the Hashknlfe. This brought to Sngunche Luck Culllson, Curly Finn-drnu Finn-drnu and Slats Davis. Bucky O'Connor had been cnlled to Douglas on important impor-tant business and could not lend his help. Luck, Curly and Dick Moloney had already ridden over the country surrounding sur-rounding tho scene of 'the projected holdup. They hnd decided that the robbery would probably take place at tho depot, so that tho outlaws could got tho agent to stop the flyer without arousing suspicion. In n pocket of the I hills bock of tho stntlon a camp had been selected, Its site well back from any trail nnd so sltuntcd that from It one could command a view of Tin Cup. The owner of the Clrclo C selected threo of his close-mouthed riders-Sweeney, riders-Sweeney, Jnke nnd Buck wcro the ones ho chose to hold tho enmp with him until after tho robbery. Tho only slgnnl they needed wns the stopping of tho Flyer nt Tin Cup. Then they would ' come pounding down from tho hills In time to en ten the robbers beforo they had got through with their work. Ma-leney Ma-leney or Curly would be on the train to take n hand In the battle. Caught f by surprise, Soapy's gang would surely B be trapped. I So they plnnned It, hut It happened that Soapy Stono hnd made his nr- 1 rnngements differently. ' 1 Luck nnd his riders took their blankets blan-kets and their traps down to Tin Cup according to agreement, while Davis, Moloney nnd Flandrau becamo very friendly with Sam. The boy, younger than any of them, was flattered that threo of the best known riders in tho territory should make so much of hlu, I Young Culllson had stopped drlnT j Ing, but he could not keep his nerve from Jumping. His companions J watched him so closely Uiat he was n never out of tho sight of nt least oa A of them. Soapy hod decreed tho boy's B death by treachery, but his friends J were determined to save him uud to j end forever the reign of Stono as a bad man. It wns ono day when the four young cowpunchcrs were sitting together In Curly's room ploying poker that n spo-clal spo-clal delivery letter came to Snm. The ( others, to cover their excitement, started start-ed an argument. Presently Snm spoke, ns Indifferently ns he could. "Got tho offer of a Job down tho line. Think I'll run down tonight as fur ns Cusn Grnndo nnd see whnt's doing." do-ing." This wnn nbout two o'clock In the afternoon. The gamo dragged on for a while, hut nobody took any Interest In It. Sam had to get ready for the work of the night, nnd the rest wero anxious to get out and glvo him a chance. So presently Dick throw down his cards. "I've had enough poker for one session. ses-sion. Me. I'm going to drift out nnd see whnt's movlng'ln town." "Think I'll snooze for a while," Sam said, stretching sleepily. Tho others trooped out and, left him alone. From tho room rented by Davis tho three watched to seo that Sura did not lenvo without being observed. Ho did not appear, and nbout .six o'clock Curly went bnck to his room. "Time to grub," he sang out j "Thnt's right," Snm agreed. I They went to the New Orlenns Hnsh ' I House and presently Duvls und Moloney Mo-loney nlso arrived. The party ordered a good dinner and took plenty of tlmo . to ent It. Sam wns obviously nervous, but eager to cover his uneasiness un-I un-I dcr a show of good spirits. j Curly finished entlng Just ns Snm's I second cup of coffee came. Flandrau, (" who had purposely chosen a 'scat In m i the corner where ho was hemmed In by j the chairs of the others, began to feel In his vest pockets. "Dnrned If I've got u cigar. Sam, you're young and nimble. Go buy mo one at the counter." "Sure." Culllson was nwny on the ' Jilt Z XVll liaun TicttJ un i vsa vv Instant. Curly's hand como out of his pocket . In It was u pnper. Quickly ho shook the contents of the pnper Into the Htenmlng cup of coffee and stirred tho j liquid with a spoon. Sam brought back the cigar and drank his coffee. Without any unnecessary unnec-essary delay they returned to ills rooln. When the party readied the room the boy was getting drowsy. Ho rubbed , his eyes, yawned and slumped down. Ills lids wavered, shut, Jerked open . again, and closed slowly. "Wake mo up, Curly tlmo for I train." And with thnt he was sound asleep. They took off ids boots nnd settled ; ' r "I In His Pocket They Found a Black - Mask. him comfortably. In his pocket they found n black mask big enough to cover his whole face. Tho registered letter could not be found nnd they di-cided di-cided ho must have destroyed It Tho sight of tho mask had giver v-. Curly an Iden. He was about tho sank ' build as Sam. Why not go ln4Rr"' plnce? It would be worth doing Just to cntcii sight of Soapy's fuco when ho took jjio mnsk off after the robbers had been enpturcd. "What's tho use?" Davis protested. "It's on unnecessary risk. They might shoot you In place of Sam." "I'll look out for myself. Don't worry wor-ry about that. Before tho tlmo for getting rid of Snm comes Mr. Soapy nnd his bunch will bo prisoners." They nrgued it out, hut Curly wns set nnd could not be moved, no dressed In young Culllson's clothes and with Moloney took tho express at 0:57. Davis remained to guard Sam. Curly's watcli showed 10:17 when the wheels began to grind from tho setting set-ting of tho air brakes. He wns In the lut sleeper, Dick In the day coach I near tlio front They had agreed thni U Dick was to drop off as 8oou as the a train slowejown enough to ijanko It n safe, whereas Curly would go on and I play Sam's part until the proper time. I The train almost slid to a halt from R tho pressure of tho hard-jammed ij brakes. A volley of shots rang out 5 Curly slipped tho mask over his face a and roso with a revolver In each hand, j I lie had been sitting at tho end of the h car, so that nobody noticed hlra until J tils volco rang out with a crisp order. l "Hands up I Don't anybody raovol" J , An enrthquako shock could not hnvo 1 aBuucd tho passengers more. The f 4PGr was washed completely from tho I I faces of most of them. I w "Reach for the roof. Come, punch ! a hole In the sky I" To do It thorough-' H ly, Curly flung a couple of shots I through tho celling. That was enough. ; 1 Hands went up without any argument, J most of them quivering as from an I Arkansas chill. Presently Cranston herded tho passengers pas-sengers In from tho forward coaches. With them were most of the train ' crew. "We'ro cutting off the express car and going forward to 'Dobo Wells with it There we can blow open tho safe uninterrupted," Bad Bill explained. "You herd on the passengers hero from tho outside till you hear two shots, then hump yourself forward and hop on the express car." Fine! Curly was to stand out there In the moonlight and let anybody In tho car that had the ncrvo pepper away nt him. If they did not attend to the Job of riddling him, his false friends would do It whllo ho was run-nlng run-nlng forward to got aboard. Nothing could have been simpler- If ho had not happened to have had Inside Information Informa-tion of their Intent. He had to think quickly, for the plans of him and his friends had been ' deranged. They had reckoned on the ex-' press car being rifled on tho spot. This would have given Culllson time to reach the scene of action. Now they 1 would be too late. Unless Curly could , ' stop It, the holdup would go through j according to tho program of Soapy 3 and not of his enemies. I The decision of Flandrau was In-1 8tantaneoii8. He slid down bcsldo the track Into the long grass. Whipping ip one of his guns, he flred. As If In answer to the flrst shot his revolver tracked twice. Simultaneously, ho let out a cry of pain, wriggled back for a dozen yards through tho grass, and ' crossed the track In tho darkness. As he crouched down close to the wheels of the sleeper some one came running hack on the other side. "What's up, Sam? You hit?" he could hear Blackwell whisper. No answer came. The paroled con- ivlct was standing close to the car for fear of being hit himself and he dared not move. "Sam," he called again; then, "He rsure got his." That was all Curly wanted to know, r Softly ho padded forward, keeping ns I low as he could till he reached the mpty sleepers. A brakeman was Just f uncoupling the express car when Curly dived underneath and nestled close to the trucks. From where he lay he could almost j havo reached out and touched Soap I standing by the car. j "What about the kid?" Stono asked Blackwell as the lntter came up. "They got him. Didn't you hear him yelp?" "Yes, but did they put him out of business? See his body?" Blackwell had no Intention of golnp back Into the fire zone and making I sure. For his part ho was satisfied. So he lied. "Yep. Blew the top of his head off. I "Good," Sonpy nodded. "That's n I receipt in full for Mr. Luck Culllson." Before many minutes tho cnglno be-J be-J pan to slow down. The wheels had J hnrdly stopped moving when Curly crept out, plowed through the sand, up the nibble of a little hill, and Into n draw where a bunch of scrub oaks offered of-fered cover. A voice from In front called to him. Just then tho moon appeared from behind be-hind drifting clouds. "Oil, It's you, Sam. Everything all right?" "Right as the wheat. We're blow- Ing open tho safe now," Flandrau nn-t nn-t swerod. I 'Moving closer, lie saw that his ques- tioncr was the man In charge of the I horses. Though he know tho voice, he 1 could not put n name to Its owner. k' But this was not tho point that flrst I occupied his mind. There were only four horses for five riders. Curly knew Snow that he had not been mistaken. Soapy had expected one of his allies I to stay on tho field of battle, had pre- j pared for It from tho beginning. Tho I knowledge of this froze nny remorse ' the young vaqucro might have felt I He pushed his revolver against the teeth of tho horse wrangler. tfl "Don't move, you bandy-legged I maverick, or I'll fill your hide full of holes. And If you want to keep on j living padlock that mouth of yours." JUn spite of his surprise tho man j "flpfght the point at once, no turned over his weapons without a word. I Curly unwound a rope from one of the saddles and dropped a loop round tho neck of ills prisoner. Tho two men mounted and rode out of tho draw, the 9 outlaw leading the other two horses. m As soon as they reached tho bluff M above Flandrau outlined the next step m In the program. M "We'll stay hero In tho torullta and M see whnt happens, my friend. Unless M you'vo n fancy to get lead poisoning keep still."' m "Who in Mexico are you?" the cap- fl tured man asked. m "It's your showdown. Skin off that mask." The man hesitated. His own re- volver moved a few bacbea toward bis head. Hastily ho toot off the mask. The moon shone on tho face of the man called Dutch. Flandrau laughed. Last time they had met Curly had a rope around his neck. Now the situation situa-tion was reversed. An pxplitslnn liolmv told them that j the robbers bad blown open tho safe. I'resentjy Soapy's voice came falutly to them. I "Bring up tho horses." Ho called again, and a third time. The dwarfed figures of tho outlaws stood out clear In the moonlight. Ono of them ran up the track toward the 1 draw. He disappeared Into tho scrub j oaks, from whenco his alarmed volco came In a minute. j ' "Dutch I Oh, Dutch l" Tho revolver rim pressdd a Utile harder against the brldgo of the hors4 I wrnngler's nose. I "Ho ain't here," Blackwell c'.ld bark to his accomplices, j That brought Stone on the run. I "You condemned Idiot, ho mupt be I there. Ain't he bad two hours to get , here since he left Tin Cup?" i They shouted themselves hoarse. j They wandered up and down In n vain j search. All the time Curly and his i prisoner sat In the brush and scarcely 1 batted an eye At last Soapy gave up the hunt. Tho j engine and the express car were sent back to Join the rest of the train nnd ' as soon as they were out of sight the robbers set out across country toward 1 tho Flatlron ranch. I Curly guessed their Intentions. They , would rustic horses there and head for I tho border. It was the only chance still left them. After they had gone Curly and his prisoner returned to tho road and set 1 out toward Tin Cup. About n mllo and n half up the lino they met Culll son and his riders on the way down. Maloney was with them. He had been picked up at tho station. Dick gave a shout of Joy when he heard Flandrau's voice. 1 "Oh, you Curly! I've been scared , stiff for fear they'd got you." I Luck caught the boy's hand and t wrung it hard. 1 They held a conference while the I Circle 0 riders handcuffed Dutch nnd I tied hlra to n horse. Soon the posse , was off again, having left the prisoner , in charge of one of the men. They" I swung round In n wide half circle, not wishing to startlo their game until the ! proper time. I When they reached the edge of the ( mes.a that looked down on the Flatlron the moon was out and tho valley was swimming in light They followed the dip of b road that led down to the corral. Passing the fenced lane load-j load-j lng to the stable, they tied their ponies i Inside nnd took the places assigned to them by Culllson. They had not long to wait. In less I than half an hour three shadowy fig- Three Shadowy Figures Slipped Around the Edge of the Corral. , urcs slipped round tho edge of tho cor-I cor-I nil and up tho lane. Each of them carried a rifle In addition to his hip guns. 1 They slid Into the open end of the I stnble. Culllson's voice rang out coldly. "Drop your guns 1" I A startled oath, a shot, and before I ' one could have lifted n hand thnt silent , moonlit valley of peace had become n battlefield. 1 The outlaws fell back from the I stable, weapons smoking furiously. I Blackwell broko Into a run, never look-I look-I lng behind him, but Soapy and Bad Bill gave back foot by foot fighting every step of the wny. Dick and Curly rose from behind the rocks where they had been placed and closed tho trap on Blackwell. The pnroled convict let out one yell. "1 give up. Goddlemlghty, don't shoot I" (This thrilling story will bo con eluded in the next issue of The Record. Rec-ord. A good serial story, selected from tho works of tho best contemporary contem-porary authors, will henceforth bo a regular feature of The Record, and will nlono bo worth tho subscription 'price of tho paper. See that your I subscription is kept paid in advance, 1 and do not miss a single number.) 1 |