Show am A ACEt AL iOL E JACKSOM ACKSON GREGORY RELEASE THE STORY SO FAR ann lee and cole cody beneficiaries under two identical wills 1 made by early bill cole arrived in the town of 0 bald eagle Is by stage coach only to learn of 0 bill coles cole death a few days previously ann ABU accompanied by aunt jenifer went out to the ranch the following day and was greeted by rance nance waldron posing as ai old dilli bills nephew afterward rance ilance made it evident they were not welcome at the ranh ranch and while ann lee was wai making it just as a plain she he had bad no intention of fit leaving cal Roun roundtree diree old early dills bills foreman tame came upon the scene shortly they heard someone else arriving ann lee gasped when she saw it was cole cody now continue with the story CHAPTER VIII if ann lee had not been such a precipitate hair trigger sort of creature a lovely little package of all sorts of unmanageable impulses she must have marked in cole co dys startled expression that he was no whit less amazed to see her here than she was to see him but she happened to be a girl who did her major thinking when thinking seemed indicated after the act instead of before well Wel ll said little miss ann lee of all if you think for one single minute mr cody that either my aunt or myself has anything whatever to say to you you are sadly mistaken come auntie lets go in the house its nicer in there good morning mr cody said aunt jenifer smiling lovely morning aint it youre right he told her enthusiastically spastically take this morning just as it is you beat it with a ten foot pole the suns shird shining ng notice and the sky is as blue as anything the way it ought to be the air now its all shot full fuh of sunshine and you can smell the pines and the green grass and you just get a whiff of wood smoke out of the chimneys dropping down lazy like because on a still morning like this with no wind blowing coming aunt jenifer asked a cool distant seeming ann lee whether aunt jenifer exactly tipped lipped mr cody a sly wink or whether perhaps she merely squinted an eye against the sun looking his way is a question not much of a question perhaps yet there is room for argument she said meekly to her niece without in the least looking meek com ing my pet and followed along to the door which ann was holding open justa minute there W cody called after them me too im coming int 1 I dont think you have any business here mr cody ann sold said crisply you ate are not invited and you are not coming in and I 1 never want to see you again dodou do you understand der stand or must I 1 say it again can you get at it through your dour head said a very rude william cole cody that you and 1 I far apart as the poles in everything else agree right fight up to the hilt on one thing that we never want to see each other any more than we to and lets hope that today wipes the slate clean just the same I 1 am coming in and I 1 am going to stay for a spell and like fun you arel ann cried angrily and stepping swiftly backward she slammed the door in his face he set his hand to the latch just in time to hear her drop the oaken bar into place he swore gently under his breath scratched his head jerked his hat forward and strode purposefully along the corridor edging the patio hunting for another door he found it just in time to have it slammed good and hard he hastened his step and heard light steps running so he too ran the next door was already fastened ile he wasted no time at all on it those doors at the hacienda estrada made long and long ago of good honest oak two inches thick asked for a battering ram when hospitality was not at home but spun on his heel and dashed for the kitchen end of the house little ann lee hearing him ran too Is as swift and agile as anyone of the three little pigs who were not wishful for a cau call from the wolf but the long legged cody was ahead of her by several safe yards he burst into the kitchen and halted there briefly triumphant while he could hear the staccato tapping of her racing feet they looked at each other across the room cody shoved his hat back set his hands on his hips lifted his chin at her and gave her a look as good as a slop slap she came to a dead halt you get she cried in an anger that made her beautiful for any man not likewise angry to gaze upon some oth other er time said cody very brittle with her behind ann lee aunt jenifer appeared she laughing she even exactly smiling yet a man some degrees less than blind could have told that she was having the time of her life ann lee close to her wits end remembered the recent visit of the amiable mr calhoun ina in a flash the gift he had ad made her there on the kitchen table in the middle of the room between her detestable mr cody was cals colt what more could any beleaguered beleaguer ed girl ask she fairly leaped upon it she snatched the weapon up and her eyes very bright along its barrel looked at cole cody disquietingly get out she said again 1 I mean it you get out or ill kill you youl I 1 better look out mister said aunt jesifers Jen Jeni ifera fers gentle voice our little vixen can shoot like a sharpshooter h u oter and ashes just in the mood better do the way she says saya and come back some other time cody began to laugh and took a forward step meaning to force the gun down to take it away from her then to have a sensible word with the very obviously sensible miss jenifer edwards ann lee desperate now shrilled another word or two of defiance I 1 tell you in the tha quiet kitchen the explosion as the gun went off was as good as a cannon shot down at the corrals cal roundtree heard it quite as he had said he would A queer rigid look stamped itself on cole codys clodys face he stood his ground a minute staring incredulously he opened his lips to speak then closed them again without a word after all what was there to say the matter required a modicum of thought just to show youl the girl told him mocking him with voice and eyes and her whole attitude next time ill kill youl he thought that over too there wont be any next time he managed at last his eyes fas her they seemed to catch all the light there was in the room to focus it and draw it down to a fine point to drive it back at her in 4 10 get out she said again 1 I mean it you get out or ill kill you a long poison tipped altogether venomous lance you see its like this thi then when hen she began to feel entirely mistress of the situation thinking that he meant to draw back and go his way he leaped forward taking half the room in one pan therme bound and slapped her gun down just as it roared for the second time his grasp wrapped about her wrist tensing unmercifully twisting her arm so that she screamed out in pain and the gun dropped to the floor he let her go stooped and caught the weapon up and hurled it far out through the open door behind him then he set both his hard hands on her shoulders jerking her toward him shaking her back and forth so that her hair tumbled down and whipped across her reddening cheeks you little tiger cupl he called her I 1 there was a convenient chair he dropped down into it and pull edher d her down across his knees he yanked up her flounces and lifted his hand highl high I 1 she kicked wildly her legs threshing like some fantastic sort of windmill as on fire with this indignity she bit and scratched and screamed at him his hand I 1 lifted high came down with a smack which made even a paralyzed paralyze d aunt jenifer shudder that hand of bf his rose andrell and fell to such effect that in a couple of minutes little miss ann lee received all the thorough spank i ings she had missed and needed these many years it was upon such an ar resting arresting scene that cal roundtree coming at a dead run burst buist gun in inland hand cole cody hand lifted gazed at him frowningly little liking the interruption just now when things were quite at their best to make matters even less to his taste there was another man looking in over cal Round trees shoulder young cody brought his hand flown down for the final smack hey youl you roared cal what in the promptly cole cody gave over what was occue occupying Y ing him and stood up letting ann lee slide off his knees and sprawl on the floor he stepped toward the newcomers newcomers why darn youl cal roundtree stormed at him again cole cody emulated ft a springing cat and his fist came uy up in a long swing taking cal roundtree neatly and forcefully upon the tha point of the chin and such was the effect of the blow that cal was lifted from his feet and flung backward landing in the yard from which he had just come flat on his back and still a stormy cole cody stormed I 1 along giving next his full attention asking no questions to cals companion ranco rance waldron ranee rance too went foghis for his gun and sm small allgood good tt it did him for in his case as in cals codys clodys hand seemed to be quicker than the eye at any rate the same fist looking now to ann anil lee like a rock bound to the end of a war club accomplished for ranee rance waldron what it had already done for cal roundtree with but a slight variation ria tion the bronze knuckles landed with a sound compounded of thud ding and squishing effects upon rances nose and blood spouted and ranee rance tottered backward tripped over cals earthbound earth bound body and went down ignominiously but chays gun was IT 14 his hand its blunt ugly nose turned cals way better drop it feller said cole cody sounding listless and not greatly concerned he sat do w p ns as though making himself thoroughly a ai home might blister your fingers look here you said calhound tree his hand hanging down the muzzle muzzle of his gun brushing his boot top seems as though he stopped short biting his words off clean he saw that the man lounging iri in the kitchen chair had turned white under his heavy tari tali and he saw something else he saw a tiny red pool on the i floor dose close to one of the chair legs rand and noticed the spaced drops falling down into it cal said im putting jicy any tun feun away stranger all right and ana holstered lt it with cod cody watching him narrowly nair then he stepped up close to cody and stood looking down at him hurt bad he asked no said cody cal stooped down and took his gun away from him ann lee her eyes enormous hot spots of red on her burri burning ing cheeks was on her feet again and staring at the man who had just used her so and she too at last saw the whiteness through his bronze and the slowly dripping blood into the tiny glistening pool 1 I 1 shot him and I 1 am glad W she exulted aunt jenifer came to cal round trees side bending over the man in the chair mildren children be allowed to play with shooting g irons said aunt jenifer mildly always getting hurt if you ou boys mr roundtree will get mr bill cole cody to a bed and if 11 bring me some boiled water and a clean sheet or pillow cope case well try to me mend nd heup I 1 dont think mr who demanded cal roundtree you say he is he calls himself cody william cole cody and roundtree ran his fingers through his hair then along the rim of an aching jaw he frowned down at 1 young cody you cole cody he demanded cole cody a trifle dizzy and sickish demanded might I 1 ask if its any business of yours im not asking your pedigree am I 1 suppose ou 0 if leave me alone youre a nice kid like a hornet cal snorted but I 1 got to know unless youre ashamed of yourself and I 1 reckon you ought to be on gen oral eral principles you teu tell me whether youre william cole cody or not I 1 cody regarded him speculatively not a bad sort it struck him this nosy individual Fu further ither he was in inno no mood for a lotof of empty jabber nor had he any reason to deny himself so me im cole cody william cole cody just cody for short now what want lantto to do anything about it cal roundtree stood rubbing hla hia bruised jaw yes I 1 do he said having duly duli meditated two things I 1 want to get your shirt oft off see how bad youre hurt and mend you up again ona thing the other is I 1 want to make you welcome to the king cole ranch old early bill told me to watch out for boti to treat you like horne home folks taits two things maybe later on we can make it threet thre ei when youre all vell well again jd id like powerful well to talie ta keyou you butic out I 1 be hind the barnlund barn and be beat at you youl clean to deatel he stuck his hand out shake cody he said old bid early bill says so youre welcome like the old spanish used to say the place is yours cody looked up at dimand him and a slow smile twitched it at his lips and warmed his eyes and his ha hand nd wint went out to find and clasp cal Rod trpe t and ann lee stared at them with all her might light ry As indeed 1 did ad ranee waldron so cal I 1 got young cody as aa far along amongas as a chair in the living room the th e same sime old i chair in which early bill had hadiat tat just before he lunged hinged up to die standing up cupl band yanked it up his shirt tall and BO ethl wound TO ITO BE |