Show r lucky ft I 1 q puch eloian 8 T ONE jj 41 the stage tor foi bensons Ben Den sona sons gulch was ready to leave tucson gilbert brad ly hurried up tho the dusty street and climbed aboard just as the driver whipped the horses and the tha coach lurched forward tor ward once settled comfortably in his seat he casually took invent inventory ory of his fellow passengers besides him self the coach contained two people a girl and a mon man the girls eyes reflected the color of the violets which trimmed her bonnet tier her dress drees was of gray linen beneath the brim of the bon net several curls ot of auburn hali hair escaped to flutter in tho the draft from the partly open window the first thing gil noticed about tho the man was wag his hi agate hard yellow eyes they were set close together under thick black eyebrows tho the man was heavily built with huge shoulders and hands lie ile wore twin gun belts crossed at his waist and the black handles of his six guns protruded from open holsters since were all going to Den bensons sons gulch wed just as well vell make ourselves acquainted ho he said flick ing his yellow eyes over oil and then resting them on tho the girl im mort criss cass mayor ot of bensons gulch the girls palo pale face turned even whiter tier airs quivered ever so slightly as she ld kad d with loathing straight into the tha yellow eyes im virginia holmes holme my broth er cr wrote me about you shortly before ho he died tho the two had forgotten gils presence 1 I 1 was mighty sorry maam when your brother met ills his untimely end said cass sorry the girl hashed flashed 11 hajwas aam waa fighting you and your corrupt friends with his newspaper he ha more than hinted that it if an accident befell him you would bo be behind it I 1 the slightest lightest doubt that YZ you killed my brother tho the yellow eyes narrowed grimly driml Y some ot of those words are mighty harsh maam 1 I shall print prini some just as harsh said virginia you soe see you stop his paper asim I 1 am going to bensons gulch to publish it virginia holmes settled back into her sent seat turning her body to io face the window f gilbert bradly had been about to introduce himself but he saw that t neither of his companions was wai inter asted gil would have been the first to admit that ho he an imbres ini pres asive figure ito ho was slight barely five and a halt half feet tall hla his gray eyes wera mild and hta his clothes marked him as a newcomer to the desert couiI country try the trio rodo lode in silence to don ben f sons gulch arrival ot of the stage was evidently an event in the town ill the ie group oot ot men gathered for tho the occasion reminded gil of a similar hand band which assembled each evening to watch the train go through the ohio village where he had spent his youth A nearby aado beckoned and gil went in to have a cup of coffee before going to a hotel botel the tha waiter had barely slid his brimming cup down the counter when one ona of the onlookers from the stage depot took the next stool lie too ordered cot cof fee and took a deep drink before turning to gil I 1 seen you some place before lie he asked you look teal real familiar to a MO me 1 I dont recall meeting you answered gil im new to this see gee tion of the country its a good country but I 1 cant say too much for this town dont discourage me like that when ive only been in town ten minutes smiled gil wrong with the town the other grunted youve met cass casa was proud of his record as aa a gunman and a fighter lie he often boasted that whoever could lick linn him either on the draw or with fists could be the next mayor mort cass stay in a town where ho he had been whipped two men he had bested at gunplay were asleep on boot 11 hill ill at tho the edge of town the on only ay man who had ever fought him barehanded might as well have joined them ills his brok broken C n b bones 0 nes had not mend mended C d properly after the beating he had bad received and his six foot body was shrunken and misshapen virginia and gil were making their way across the street one day to dine at the western hotel casp casa swaggered out and moved toward them well lf if it aint the pretty schoolmarm turned editor and her pasty faced don john anger seethed through gil but he quite help being amused at the flagrant mispronunciation ile he I 1 I 1 6 X sorry the girl flashed william was fighting you and your corrupt friends with his newspaper our mayor it if you dont already know soon fand out dy by tho the time gil had been in town two weeks he had made friends with virginia holmes and incurred tho the enmity of mort cass for or that reason cass had learned that oil gil was in arizona because ot of his health and le he never failed to make a remark about hungers lun gers when he was waa certain to bo be overheard by the smaller man gil found that not many of tho the townspeople liked cass but one and all they feared and obeyed him it was common gossip in bensons Ben song gulch that cass had either fired the tha I 1 shot that killed allied william holmes or ordered it fired tho the body of tho the young editor had been found in his shop one ona morning A group of alij wild cowboys from a cass controlled ranch hod had been drinking the night before and done a lot of wild shooting in the tha towns main street one ona of file bullets ti illets had broken the glass window of the newspaper office and lodged in tho the owner the coroner had given a verdict of accidental death As cass was all powerful in gulch no one openly questa questioned 0 ne d the verdict could smell liquor on cass breath the man had been drinking he heavily lly but was far from drunk he pushed between GU gil and virginia run along tenderfoot he said ill take virginia to dinner and see sea it if I 1 cant change changa her opinion of me a bit lie he started to take the girls arm she drew back and slapped him full across the face ile he started menacingly toward her ill learn you to slap mort cass he said gil tapped him on tho the right shoulder As cass turned gil drove a i hard left into his face the crowd which was beginning to gather gave a startled gasp cass charged at gil and for a moment it looked as it if ho he would pummel him into the tha ground gils rapid foot work saved him ills his weaving body made a poor target for the larger mans bear like blows cass casa soon realized that this fight was not going to result in hi the easy victory he ha had expected he stepped back and warily eyed his adversary then again he charged at gil who eluded him wild cheers tang rang from the crowd later when oil gil stood with widespread legs over the sprawled figure of mort cass oh what a lucky punch someone roared as aa bystanders rushed to congratulate gil lucky p punch nothing cried a deep voice gil turned to face the man who had drunk coffee with him soon after his arrival to in bensons gulch 1 I remember you now he said taking gils hand in a firm grasp 1 I saw you fight once in chicago recall the night you knocked cocked out in the third round youre youra bradly once holder of the worlds lightweight boxing crown |