Show ava SADDLE RIDE fall akibo B I 1 IMY va release THE STORY SO FAR FAH clay morgan has de decided e aided to play a lone lona hand band against den herendeen a rancher bent on running the cattle country his bis own way the tw two men have been enemies tor lot years yearn 0 having first fought over clays clay wife lua who died hating urn him and ana believing she ghe should have married herendeen morg morgan an li is a solitary toll tary figure devoted to his nine year old daughter janet al though two women catherine grant and na ann mcgarrah are in love with him they know he h cannot torget forget lua of 01 his former Ir friends linds only hack breathitt had not gone cone over side now hack Is dead shot by Heren deens foreman charley hillhouse Hlll house our gurd a grant catherines brother joined herendeen when n he discovered that cathrine catherine had b been e n to 31 morgans organs ranch but the cold bloodedness blood bloode edness duess of hacks murder has made him break with warned by fox willing a nester to he once befriended clay discovers that herendeen Is stealing his bis cattle he goes to Heren deens ranch for a showdown but herendeen beats him to the draw ile he li Is surrounded by herendeen mien men and there seems seem no way out when uge lige white one ol of heren deens friends rides up like gurd gard grant he Is fed up with Heren deens high handed methods risking his own life tosane clay he persuades him to take a chance on riding out ont ol of heren deens ranch ile he think herendeen will dare to shoot now continue with the story CHAPTER XVI it was still close and risky ps as they both knew morgan swapped d a short shon glance with the smiling white seeing a thorough understanding in the batters lat eyes morgan made the decision for both of them at this moment turning his horse squarely on herendeen the mover movement rient pulled white aroun around dand and thus chils the two of them holding their horses to a walk passed down clown the yard in a silence that hadano had no bottom the river road bent around a point reaching this thid point ready to turn it and shut the three pines ranch house from sight morgan had his backward glance herendeen and his men were gerein in the saddle heading for foi the Hay creek hills they were going after the beef morgan knew lige white came abreast clay im ashamed to say it but ive strung along ben not liking been going on around me I 1 still do not uke like it but I 1 cannot tolerate this kind of a war keep away from him the mans gone crazy A little lat late enow now said morgan theres a fight coming bens made up his mind and so have I 1 stag stay qu cu of it lige and see if you can get edg gurda rd dathe same ligi lige white said with the greatest reluctance 1 I have hated to see this day come A long time coming said morgan and put his horse to the slope lige white watched him climb excitement mirroring brightly in his eyes afterwards he continued along the road bound for gurd grants pete borders who had driven the long seven beef across the hay creek brcek hills to to Heren deens range lay on a peak of the ridge throughout the thel middle of the day besaw he saw morgan arrive at the meadowland meado meadow wand and grinned to himself at what was was no doubt in morgans mind it looked like an open steal on Heren deens part which was the way borders wanted it molook to look later when he saw morgan headed for alone pete borders grew serious and a little restless it was he concluded bad tactics on morgans part and so taking to his horse he went along the Hay creek hills u until he was able to sight the three pines ranch fri from om the heights lie ile made out the crowd in the yard and watched the parley later he saw a new rider come along which was lige white and saw two of them ride away morgan gan had got out of it with a whole skin ekin which relieved borders ie measurably As soon as morgan left lige white he turned his horse to the slope of the Hay creek hills and presently from a high point he saw herendeen leave the tife valley with his crew craw morgan calculated his margin of advantage to be about twenty minutes and entered the timber at a fast clip he caugh tup with his out outfit fita a mile or two beyond the swamp the cattle were single file going very slowly on the crooked trail and stretched out for three or four hundred yards cap vermilye was in in front fronton of them beyond sight fox willing held the rear with harry jump still farther back to cover whatever might come up harry jump was a little edgy with the strain of this thing he showed relief at morgans presence 1 I been on the verge of ridin back after you half an hour behind me were capt to have hake a scrap he hell 11 with item em said harry jump at dofice once lets stop and have it out keep right on going going ro fox cut ahead and ride with cap it if you hear any ruckus back here join us if you meet anything g in front let out a yell and well be right with you fox unable to crowd by the beet beef on so narrow a way cut through the timber and rough slab rock with considerable difficulty harry jump began to grumble at the lagging cat jle crowding them with his po pony ny morgan dropped back to watch the trail Z AM he made out the browd in th elyard and watched the parley they cabb came at last to the stage road and turned into it from the swamp meadow to this point had been more than an hours drive and herendeen was vas long overdue leading morgan to believe that herendeen had circled them the trouble then would c come 0 me when th they ey reached the open country he joined harry jump both of them hazing the stragglers forward until the beef was in a compact bunch vermilye and willing were fifty yards forr for ward now and then a cow wandered toward the lack jack pine forest surrounding thernia them and nd had to be cut back at five they reached the bottom of the stage road left the pines and swung north toward government valley three miles distant herendeen was nowhere to be seen whereupon hrry harry jump came to his suspecting conclusions he dian Livant want to try lt it in tin ber hes baitin abtin forus for us to gt get in ahe middle of the flats M my y idea is that his hes watch in us 0 from the potholed potholes Pot holes right now now Ail A similar milar thought had occurred to vermilye he trotted back to morgan inow now in base case heco he comes mefa a bust in out of the brush clay we better just let this beef go and hit for them agency buildings no said jump at once its our beef by go god d right said morgan vermilye joined harry jump hoh bolh of urging the cattle along at a quicker gait morgan closely watched the back trail not quite able to understand Heren deens continued delay the suspense worked on his nerves once thinking he saw movement at the edge of the potholed potholes Pot Poth holes olei he turned and made a stand sear searching chink the black margin of that country quite carefully he had been mistaken staken however and presently turned to catch up with the beef near six with the sun down beyond the cache mountains they threw the beet beef on their own grass gras near the shattered dobe buildings of the old agency morgan said sald hold this jag in a bunch were not through yet I 1 want he herendeen to see what we took fox if I 1 were you I 1 think thinkie kId id p pull u 11 freight thanks for comin along willing said idly might as well stick around cap vermilye always aiwas a forehanded man got a few sage stems and a ale piece ft of old board from the nearest building tomake to make up i a fire he had a frying filing pan i f and coffeepot in his saddle roll and some bacon and a can of beans he boiled up the coffee fried the bacon and heated the beans in the frying pans grease having no no other utensils they took turns atthe at the frying pan using their poc pocket ket knives and drank the coffee istra straight from at seven with shadows sweeping across moguls Mogu ls plateau a single horseman appeared appear edon on the high edge of mogul mountain and quartered down this was in the west from which morgan expected no trouble harry jump walked deliberately to his horse and pulled out his winchester morgan sald said hold on harry rider and horse plodded unhurriedly through the blue swirl of doii a long stooped shape on a rawboned animal ata at a distance he e waved his arm overhead and a W lit tle tie later morgan recognized the nester gale gale came up but did not dismount until morgan gave him the proper invitation when the invitation camelie came he dropped to the ground with an old mans stiffness he poised both his hands over the muzzle of his ancient gun and looked out from beneath his twisted awn ing shaped eyebrows theres some coffee left in the pot said morgan just I 1 deed need gale answered he slouched over the fire and tipped the pot against hl his S mouth drinking with an acute thirst coffee ran down the seams of his jaws he said ah in great relish and sponge sponged the liquid from the tips of his mustache with sidewise motions of his tongue morgan said dont mean to be unfriendly b but ut maybe you ought to move on gale smile he was past th the point of offending finding amusement in the world but in his eyes was a light uke like the last g glow ow og of coals of a dying fire dont you worry about me mr morgan I 1 if I 1 know J wanted to do I 1 be here morgan shrugged his shoulders deis your syo funeral fit it may be agreed gale composedly but it if so it will be a double one at my age im too old to worry about dain for it is pretty close to me at any event and I 1 guess im poor enough not enot touret to fret i about losin anything he rummaged his pockets producing pipe and tobacco morgan watched him fill the pipe and light it and settle on his heels this was late september and sud d denly slightly beyond seven the blue running shadows turned to guam gunmetal gun metal etal gray and afterwards to full night the haze of autumn lay over the land through this filtered a strong moonlight creating the effect of woolly clouds banked against the earth morgan led his horse to the remnant wall of the nearest dobe dobb building and walked walk edon on until he stood alore alone facing the open south fox willing was inthe in the saddle birc circling ing t the held bunch of beeves the job was done don and as far as ai the cattle were concerned there gasn wasn t any need of staying here yet morgan knew that this waiting was necessary n herendeen was somewhere in the yonder night the big man roan had avoided a meeting in the timber he had delayed this pursuit but he was out there indge and he would comae nothing changed much morgan realized herendeen had faced him forten years never giving ground never able to ito forget it was something that would not dim or die it was a force that drove herendeen thinking about morgan admitted the sawo sam force drove drova ever the outward reasons whatever the open quarrels and excuses there vasa was a I 1 deeper reason still the nn na tive five chemical rhe mical animosities of two men bo born M to be opposite in all things bo bom m to collide and to destroy etwas it was past explanation stationed like this apart from th the group and facing southward he heard herendeen at last approach hidden by the pulsing fog off there a steady rhythm rose of horses movi moving ngat at ablow a slow run and presently slowing to a walk shadows appeared in the fog and shapeless outlines fox willing came came in from the herd dismounting and putting his horse near the dobe wall he walked over to morgan vermilye and jump had and had taken position not far from the wall gale was out of sight Heren deens party showed as a wide scatter of shadows on the desert they were halted two hundred feet away herendeen said morgan Mor garf im coming in to cut that bunch of stock and look it over for my brand 11 morgan Morg ansa said id none of your cows in it ben ill see for myself to those shadows were too vague to be counted but morgan knew herendeen had atleas at least t eight men around him and he also knew Heren deens intention which was to build up a fight on any grounds he said charley hillhouse there no im coming in morgan said nothing here for you ben stay back Heren deens voice boomed out you know the rules of the country fits my privilege to cut any mans man I 1 range for my stock I 1 claim theres there s three pines cows in that bu bunch bubich fich if there are said morgan coolly ill send them back tomorrow 1 I want lem em now youre in a hurry all of a sudden pointed out morgan ironically 1 I sent word to you some time ago to clean your stuff out of this valley and you seem to figure it worth your time so you can wait another day you wont cut this bunch tonight or any time get off my grass you goin golna against the rules you been making the rules a long time ben now ili IJ make em herendeen said ive listened to you y 0 u long enough well W 01 settle this now n ow morgans reply was soft and flat in the night let ler er flicker ben when you move in we start shoot in 1 he hear heard dHere herendeen ridden say come on crip boys 4 apt TO BE continued CONTINUED |