Show ME ra N AC ew TH THE E JACKSOM ACKSON GREGORY V GREGORY KRU RELEASE THE STORY SO PAR old dill bill cole having been fatally shot by an unknown assailant made two identical wills will leaving his da money and the king cole ranch to ann lee and cole cody children of his two old cronies busty lee and buck cody ranee ilance waldron who claimed relationship lation ship put to in an appearance at the ranch just before old lillet death meanwhile both ann let lee accompanied by her aunt jenifer and cole cody were on their beir way to the ranch by stage coach during the jou journey riney the stage was held up tip by bandits long peters the driver and a passenger andy jenkins were shot but jenkins saved the money he was wa carrying in B carpet bag now continue with the story CHAPTER V and so at least in so far as mr william cole cody and miss aar leo lee were concerned all was ved and the night was failed with beauty there was little talk between them at first just a few words referring to what had just happened then silence the high seat of a lurching mountain stage is is at no time the ideal spot for any steady flow of conversation further just now cole cody driving a team new to him the horses still of a mood to jam their necks deep into their collars and take the bits in their teeth and run away had his work cut out for him then too he had to keep his eyes focused watchfully on a road none too good full of bends and kinks and spotted with chuck holes and crossed by ridges and hollows a tricky road by daylight to a man familiar with it far worse than that by nightlight night light to a stranger he had buckled the stage drivers leather belt about him for anchorage the girl kept a hand locked on the iron guard rail at the back of the seat but whereas he had to watch the road she was free to watch him out of the corners of her eyes there were times when there was a little approving half smile on her lips at times with the swaying of the stagecoach her sleeve brushed his she was warmly aware of the slight contact she approved of this and the way he walked and talked and bore himself unconsciously she drew a long quivering sigh and it was just at that moment as the stage having rocked through a bit of starlit clearing was about to plunge into another of the dark forested canyons that cole cody put aon on his brakes and pulled his horses down and said hastily his voice sounded curt to her look herel here I 1 youve got to get down and ride in sidel ohl oh she said she whipped back from him as far away as the seat allowed she was having such L wonderful ridel the wind in her face her hat blown back and the wind in her hair her lips partly opened to let the cool fresh air stream across across them living only in the moment looking less at the dark world about her than at the glitter of the heavens above so she said ohl an oh like an icicle he was still slowing his team down not looking at her but straight ahead I 1 and tell bert nevers I 1 want him up here with me you can help your aunt with the two wounded men what a crude sort of beast he really was she colonger no longer felt the cool air against her face her cheeks were burning hot she bit her lip before she spoke then her voice sounded gay and it also sounded quite determined but I 1 prefer to ride outside it was stuffy in there and I 1 like the wind in my face I 1 was miles away thinking he had the horses at a restless standstill now and turned briefly toward her iye been si fool he muttered 1 I thinking ive heard that all men are fools she said brightly are you going to drive on I 1 am not getting dawni 1 I tell you I 1 thinking Ill he was urgent and sounded harsh his eyes had only flicked at tier her then turned ahead again to the road e entering the deeper dark in the canyon just because those two highwaymen rode off necessarily mean that gone for good they may waylay us again you be up herel let bert nevers come up if theres any trouble he can use long peters carbine 1 I wont do it I 1 am going to stay here whether you like it or dont like it mr cody I 1 am staying herel do nothing of the kind look here miss lee 1 I wont look and I 1 wont go down I 1 ill make you get dowal ill drag y you 0 u 0 off ff the seat and throw you in sidel s i d e I 1 she laughed at him treating him to her scorn at its best you just try iti he put one hand on her shoulder the other busied with the reins and miss ann lee slapped his face good and hard and his temper blew off tile the lid lord lardy this girl was the most unreasonable little chit of a thing that was ever born to drive a man niad anad he yielded to the urge within him and caught her hard and fast in the circle of his free arm and drew her astonished body close to in him and kissed her on the mouth good and hard A kiss every bit as emphatic as a slap she gasped and jerked away and scrubbed her mouth with her hand and then with all her might she slapped him again I 1 the blow jarred him after it was over he could feel the shape of her hand fingers and all etched in fire along his check and jaw jav for an instant he sat rigid then again he dragged her to him and again he kissed her and it was a long kiss h his is lips crushing hers before he would lether let her go 1 I do that for any fun I 1 get out of it he told her in a cold fury its just the best way I 1 know to slap you back you little wildcat and making sure that she saw he scrubbed his lips savagely with the back of his hand and she slapped himl and as he was reaching out for her she let the carbine slide off her lap and scrambled out of the seat and halt half leaped half fell over the wheel to the ground aunt jesifers Jeni fers voice called up wrong why are we stopping he took a long breath to steady himself then answered 1 I just saw a wildcat oh never mindl well be going right on I 1 want bert nevers up here with me miss lee wl will al 11 ride inside after this bert nevers came as desired retrieved the fallen gun climbed up beside the driver all this about wild cats he demanded cody threw off the brake and started A scream stopped him it was aunt jenifer mr cody what on earth ann even in yet all right A aunt jenny said anns voice if it really was I 1 s ills his slim brown hand ran like the flick of a striking anale to his side anns 1 I could walk wa from here thank you for waiting mr cody 1 I hesitated because I 1 thought I 1 just saw a skunk then she got into the stage and from that spot on into bald eagle the stage horses probably made the best time they had ever made in their lives the two old arh porch sitters in front of the bald eagle hotel smoked and sat in a companionably gloomy silence they once mention early bill cole but like the irish mans parrot who talk they did a lot of thinking they had known for a long while that early bill had seen his la last st roundup had watched his last spring come in and bloom out into young golden summer and yet now that he was gone they missed him as reither neither of them had ever realized they could miss an old reprobate like bill cole it was early dark a couple of hours after sunset and fitful musac blared and died in the saloons accordion and music box and somewhere the scraping of an inaccurate languid fiddle men went up and down stopping fig in small knots now and then for an exchange of old news everything was quiet yet mildly e expectant for it was stage day and time now any minute for long peters to swing his jacl racing ng team into main street and pull up in front of the hotel in a great billowing volume of dust the stage came lurching and rocking around the bend the four horses at the run and pulled up at its usual place that was because bert nevers had instructed the stranger driver men caught the horses by the bits cole cody tossed his reins far out to right and left docketed sock eted his whip and got down lie he ra ran n briskly up the steps and confronted the judge and doc joe there are a couple of men in the stage dhove been hurt he said crisply cherell Wh reU erell I 1 find a doctor who are you wheres long pe fe demanded the judge long peters isone bisone of the men that got hurt both of them want a doctor right away doe doc joe stood up get the men inside he said ill go ahead and have a room ready ile he went into the hotel the judge threw away up hi cigar and reached to his pock bad hurt he asked and stood up not peters the other man andy jenkins is the other im afraid hes in pretty bad shape his eyes had followed the departing doc joe ile he the doctor the judge nodded and went down the steps to watch proceedings ard and to direct already the stage doors were open folks were getting down ile he saw a couple of females pay them any attention ile he watched long peters descend under his own power men standing close lifted little andy jenkins out at first they and the judge too thought him dead already ile he was carried into the hotel long peters following men were asking rapid firs fire questions just what had happened where when the two women looking a bit bewildered as so many earnest eager men milled about them clung to each other and looked for escape upon bert nevers known to many here fell the duty of giving a running account of the holdup and aunt jenifer and ann broke brok G free one of the men though still held here to listen to bert nevers followed the two with their appraising eyes cole cody standing on the steps leading to the raised platform before dorethe the hotel looked down over the throng a moment he himself was accosted and asked to tell about everything ery thing curtly he jerked his head toward bert nevers nevera he knows all about it li listen to him he said and moved away cody look back to see aunt aun t jenifer and ann lee make their way into the hotel lobby ann looking with quick interest in all directions saw his back in the swing of bf his stride and in the set of his shoulders and even in the way he wore his hia hat she read something of the mans mood he was still furious he was impatient to be done with the stage and all it contained all that it suggested to him she had the swift impression that he was headed straight for the first saloon and meant to wash a lot of things out ol of his merri memory ory with good strong liquor she was in this quite right young mr william cole cody felt fell not only desolate and down in the mouth but mean and ugly he made something of entering the lost las chance saloon lie he struck the swing door with his shoulder as a man through his veins with belligerence li gerence might smite an enemy the half door flung violently back struck a man about to depart and all but swept him off hig feet this man inan glared and showed his teeth those teeth of his were as white as snow as glistening glist ehing as a hounds teeth and about as sharp he tasa was a small aged mexican in dian porferio 0 lopez by name a stranger here in bald eagle and tonij tonight ht in no mood ata t all to be knocked around his slim brown hand ran like the flick of a striking snake to his side bide just under his ornamental jacket it would have been with him just then a supreme joy and a perfectly superb relief to slit gullet from aroi ear to ear ind and then he fie saw who it wasl was I 1 don Co ditol he cried lie Hs dropped all thoughts of his anito and caught both clodys codys hands bands in fri she he w warm latin way Gra gracias clas a dios diesl I 1 look fenorl me all over I 1 I 1 was cheadl I 1 ask for to thiel and bowl L I 1 kees your hands fiands the t wol all of which meant thank godl god when I 1 was wis ready to die here you y ou are arel I 1 youl you are drunk porfirio Por firlo said don codino codito go to bed Por porfillo firlo laughed like a co coyote rote ile he pulled his hair looked tit at his hands saw that he had caught some few hatsh harsh black strands between his lean fingers and tossed thera them up waid boracho bogacho Bo racho senor that laughter of his showed those teeth of his to all advantage and still in his laughter tic r there was the snarl of a coyote the threat and surrender of a wounded wolf he said quite simply this is one other time senor don co dito you save my life we are going to drink one with the other you will honor me in this little thing this thing that is so big don co dito porfirio began frank and unhidden in all he did to cry pretty sibon boon t he confessed 1 I am going 90 ing to cry like one babee tile the fines man in this worl the fines man I 1 am a tellin you is sick he is pretty sick only Por porfirio firlo s add ld seek he is 18 coln to diet aie I 1 jump on top my bes horse an I 1 ride n I 1 ride an I 1 ride senor you believe me more than one hundred more than one hundred and und twenty five more than one hundred and fifty feeley fe efty elty miles I 1 ridel an so here I 1 am an he is already dead 11 he 0 put his head down oi the bar and let his tears run at f large im sorry porferio he said in voice as gentle asals as his heavy hand porfirio jerked up his head tossed back his black reafie mane 0 of if hair getting it cleared away fro atom rn his burning black eyes and began to 10 alph tro TO BE |