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Show i, ,1 By J. ALLAN DUNN an' sling anythtn' they minded to "8UN-UP TERMORRERi" Author o A Man , HU Matc tc. . " Jo tfuj Powdehl-' ' STNOPSIS.-To the Three-Bar ranch, Arizona, owned Jointly by Bandy Bourke, "Mormon" Peter and "Soda-Water Sam" Manning, b a One collie makes Ita way. Bourke ' and Earn mount and let the dog " lead them. The two nnd a dying h man, Patrick Costr, pinned under o: an overturned wagon. Kneellnr ri beside the wagon Is his young . dauchter, Molly, fifteen. They ex- 81 trlcate tho old prospector, who dies repeating- "Molly-mines!" "I'll n look out (or that, pardner," says .1 Sandy. It Is agreed that Molly , stays as mascot of the ranch, ah 11 and the "Three Musketeers" be- cl coming partnera In the mines. tl Jim Pllmsoll gambler, visiting the ranch. Insults Molly. Ho claims he . grubstaked Casey, which made him 11 tho old man's partner. Mormon P drives him oft. Starting; with a n cold eagle, Molly's luck piece, . Bandy, with Sam, pliys faro at Pllmsoll's place, winning 119,(00. It Is arranged that Molly shall go Si East to be "eddlcated." A neigh-bor, neigh-bor, Miranda Bailey, wurnr the .1 ranchers thnt Jim Pllmsoll, as ' Patrick Casey's "partner," claims ' guardianship of Molly, and the au- T thorltlrs stand In with him. Bandy j( determines to take the girl to New pj Mexico, to an old friend, Barbara Bedding, for advice. The three men, with the girl, set out Pursued Pur-sued by the sheriff and Pllmsoll, B the ranchers separate. Mormon and ,. Sam returning, and Bandy and 1 Molly going on. The two are P caught In a pass by a cloudburst, C during which Bandy saves Molly's life. Sandy returns, announcing . that Molly has been sent Kast to school. A party of riders headed ra by a man named Brandon visits the tl t Three-Bar, announcing their sua- z( plcloni of Jim Pllmsoll'a conduct .1. of his horse ranch. Gold Is struck " at Dynamite, where Molly's claim " Is located. Pllmsoll claims the hi Casey mine. Bandy and his two r( friends, with Miranda Bailey, pro-ceed pro-ceed to Dynamite. They find Pllm- , soli conducting a gambling place. 1 Bandy rescues a young assayer. In Clay Westlake, from a bully. West-lake West-lake says Indications are that the , strike will pan out well. Pllmsoll ' has Jumped Molly's claims. I I Cl I til CHAPTER XII Continued. Ju 10 01 Sandy, with Mormon and Snm, stood tli Just nbovo tho group on tho narrow w bench thnt furnished tho floor for tho si tent. Sandy's hands rested lightly on tl his hips, his thumbs hooked in his Is belt, fingers grazing tho butts of his pins. Thero was n smllo on his Hps cl but none In his eyes. Ills tono and c manner were easy, rt "Saw his Ptencll on tho tent," ho . said. "J. I n a diamond. Samo n' brand bo uses fo' his hnwsses. Or, 01 mebbo you found It." H Ills drawling volco held n taunt thnt f brought angry flushes of color to tho faces of the men opposing him, yet nl they mado no definite movement S( toward attack. There woro soven against threo but, when tho odds nro "j sp big nnd tho minority faces them pl with n rendlncss and nn assurance that shows in their eyes, on their lips, vl- J" bratcs from their compacted alliance, tho mcasuro Is one of will, rather than C( physical nnd merely numorlcal su- w perlorlty, and the balance beam n quivers undecidedly. c One of tho crowd blustered. "I'm lc giving you men two minutes to clear out of here," ho said. "No two-gunned B cowpuncher can throw any bluff round K' hero, If that's what you'ro trying to a So." Sandy laughed Joyously. The smllo J was In his eyes now. "If I flggor a man's throwln' a tt bluff," ho said, "I usually flggor to call j, him, hot to chew about It. Now, I'm tilkln. These claims are duly registered regis-tered In the namo of Patrick Casey, kls heirs on' assign. Here's tho pa-I pa-I jsers. Tho assessment work Is all done. Put's daughter owns 'cm now. We're reprosentln' her. An.' I'm seryln' you notice to quit We'll tako the samo two minutes you was talkln' of. Then stnht yoro ll'l demonstration, gents, provldln' I don't beat you to It" He started to roll a clgaretto with hands I Bklllful nnd steady. Back of him Sam ( and Mormon stood ltko dogs on point, jl watchful, uumovlng, but Instinct with I suppressed motion. 5 "Tho girl may bo his heir," sold the J man who had spoken, "but Pllmsoll Is I assignee. Pllmsoll staked him an . these claims aro half his." 1 ' "So J. P. was blrln' you to do his f dirty work," said Sandy, his volco cold with contempt "lou go back to him, "1 the wholo lousy pack of you, an tell I hlra from mo ho's a ycllow-eplned liar, i Olt I Tako yoro stuff with you or send j bock fo' It Now, git off this property." jj If a man can make movements with his hands so swiftly that thoy aro covered cov-ered In less than n tenth of a second, I j ordinary human sight cannot register j them. Ho has achieved the magician's alognn the quickness of tho hand de- T Mlvcs the eye. It takes natural aptitude apti-tude nnd long practice, whether ono Is h Juggling glided balls or blucd-stccl ro- w volvers. Snndy could, with a circling a movement of his wrists, draw his guna n from their holsters nnd bring them to w bear directly upon the target to which g U eyes shifted. Glance, twist of wrist, arrest of motion, pressure of h Inger, all co-ordinated. Ono moment e; Us firm's w -e empty, bis glanco care- 01 jsly contemptuous, tho veriest move- a mrnc of a spllt-seud stop-watch nnd m I Jfco gun In his right hand jut fire, tho un In his left swung In nn arc thnt ni Si, 'menaced the flvo card players. tc r Ttu other two were struggling bo- st I .eath tho crumpled folds of a col- fo m jlepsed tent, wriggling frantically ko pi tUUai 8lmUl8t0 aTCS ' d CepnllliU 122; by J.Allan Dana r " " r crawling beneath painted canvas. I 'The words camo cold nnd even andy had shattered tho pegs that I backed by a grim earnestness that Ira eld up tho upper corners of tho tent n the slope, had cut the cords of tho ematnlng guys on thnt side and the tructuro had swayed and collapsed. Sam and Mormon had lined up now 'lth Snndy. There was no mistaking jelr Intention to use their guns. But 10 exhibition had been qulto sufll-lent. sufll-lent. With ono accord tho men raised iclr hands shoulder high nnd began shuflle down tho hill, regardless of iclr equipment which, having been aid for by Pllmsoll, they regarded ob f much less valuo than tho necessity )r departure. "Scattered Hko a bunch of coyotes," old Sam. "Sure did," agreed Snndy. "Minute icy stahtcd talkln', 'stead of shootln', knew they was ready to stampede, hcy'll beat It to Pllmsoll an' we'll seo ;st how much sand he's got In his raw." "Think Pllm'll show?" asked Snm. "dot to or quit," sold Sandy. "That unch of Jumpers ho got together ;IU tho beans unless he makes somo lay. Let's tako n pnscar an' look at asey's workings." Patrick Casey had run In a tunnel ora the fnce of his discovery. Its louth had been closed by timbers flt-ng flt-ng closely Into the frame of the liorl-ntnl liorl-ntnl shaft, forming, not so much a Dor, ns a barricade, that had been rmly spiked to heavy timbers. This 3d been recently dismantled and then tplnccd, as recent marks on tho withered lumber showed. Sandy oked at these places closely, frown-ig frown-ig as ho gave his verdict "Somo ono monkcyln' with this In-do In-do of tho last month," he announced. ,lko ns not It was that bunch of East-ncrs. East-ncrs. They'd flgger tho camp was jnndoncd an' consider themselves i8tlflcd ns philanthropists Into bu'stln' ion anything that looked good Hko lis tunnel. Yes, sir," Snndy went on, nrmlng to his own theory, "It w'udn't lrprlsu mo If this wnrn't the mlno icy snmpled which Pllmsoll finds out the real stuff an' clamps on." "Well," said Mormon, "we'll hnvo a innco to ask him In a mlnuto. He's mln' up with thnt crowd of his ingln erlong an' their ha'r Hftln'." The threo partners met the Jumpers, 3w headed by Pllmsoll, on tho border r the claims. Tho gambler's faco was vld. "JTou four-flushers get off this 'ound," lie blustered. "You'ro claim-ig claim-ig to represent Molly Cnsey's rights fter you'vo kidnaped tho girl and ;nt her out of tho state. It won't get 111 anywhere or anything. I've got a ilf Interest n theso claims and I've lenty of witnesses to prove It" "I don't believe yoro witnesses nro alt as vallyble as they might hnvo sen before politics shifted In Herefo'd lunty," said Sandy. "You ain't got a rltten contract an' It w'udn't do you mlto of good If you hnd, fur as I'm incerncd. Uccauso I'vo been duly an' gaily app'lnted guardecn to Casey's nughter Molly nn' I'm hero to rcpro-:nt rcpro-:nt her Interests, llkewlso mine. I'vo Dt my guardianship papers right with ie." "A h I of a lot of good they'll do ou In this enrap," sneered Pllmsoll. Rcprcscntln' her Interests. I'll say ou are, an' your own along with im." A laugh from his followers eartcned him. "If the camp ever ho Quickness of the Hand Deceives the Eye. enrs the yarn of your running off -1th tho girl and now, with her tucked way, coming back to clean up, I'vo a otlon they'd show you four-flushers 'hero you'vo sat In to tho wrong arae. Why . . ." Something In Sandy's faco stopped 1m. It becamo suddenly devoid of all rpresslon, becamo n thing of stono ut of which blnted two gray eyes and volco Issued from Hps that barely loved. "I'vo got n notion, too, Pllmsoll. A atlon thnt It 'ud be a good day's work shoot you fo' a foul-mouthed, lyln', culm' crook I You've called mo a i'-fiusher twice, an' tho ou'y way to ovo a fo'-fluslier Is to call fo' a show-urn. show-urn. I'm doln' It" printed Itself on tho lesser manhood of tho Jumpers as a linger leaves 1U print In clay. They shifted back little from Pllmsoll, circling out at they might have moved from n mar marked by ppstllcnco. Ho stood trying to outfaco Sandy, to keep his eyes steady. "You pack yore gun under yoro coat flap," said Sandy. "I don't know how quick you can draw but I aim to And out" He handed ono of his own guns tc Mormon, announcing his action lcsl Pllmsoll might mlstako It "Now, then," he went on, "I once told you I looked to you to stop any gossip about Molty Casey. Same time Hutch Parsons on' Sim Halm got huht, You don't seem ablo to sabo plain talk an' I'm tired of talkln' to you, Jim Pllmsoll. Me, I'm go In' to roll mo a cigarette. Any time you want to you can draw. I'm glvln' you the aldgo on me. If you don't take that aldgc, Jim Pllmsoll, I'm glvln' you till sun-up ter morrer mornln' to git plumb out ol enmp. An' to keep drlftln'." Deliberately Sandy took tobaccc sack and papers from the pocket ol his shirt, his fingers functioning automatically, auto-matically, precisely, his eyes nevet shifting from Pllmsoll's face, measuring measur-ing by feel tho amount of tobacco shaken Into the little trough of brown paper. The group gazed at him fascinated, Pllmsoll's faco beaded with tiny drops of sweat, his hands moved slowly upward up-ward toward his coat lapels, touched them as Sandy twisted the end of the cigarette, stayed there, shaking slightly slight-ly with what might havo been eager ncss or paralysis. For tho look In the steel-gray eyes of Sandy Bourke, hall mocking, all confident, spurred the doubts that surged through the gambler's gam-bler's chance-cnlculntlng mind, while ho knew that every atom of hesitation lessened his chances. His own hands were closo to his chest His right had but n few Inches to dart, to drag tho automatic from Its smooth holster. Sandy's hands were high above his belt, rolling the cigarette. ciga-rette. They had four times as far tc go. nowover, Pllmsoll knew thnt If anything went wrong with his performance, perform-ance, if he failed to kill outright, thai nothing would go wrong with Sandy't shooting. But if bo did not take Ms chanco and, falling It, did not leave camp. . , , "Glmmo a match, Sam." Sandy's volco came to Pllmsoll across a gull that could never bo bridged. He watched the flame, pale In the sunshine, sun-shine, watched It lift to the cigarette nnd then n puff of smoke camo Into his fnce as Snndy flung away the burn) stick and turned on his heel. Murdet stirred dully In Pllmsoll's brain at the sneers he surmised rather than read on tho faces of his followers. Ills do feat was also theirs. But tho moment had gone. He knew ho lacked the nerve. Sandy knew It and hnd turned his back on him. nis prestlgo was gone. His boor companions would talk nbout It. Mormon Mor-mon gave Sandy bnck his second gun nnd Snndy slid It Into the holster. He exhnlcd tho last puff of his cigarette before he spoke again to Pllmsoll. "Sun-up, tcr-morrer. You can send fo' yore stuff hero any tlmo you'vo mind to. Fo' a gamblln' man, Pllmsoll, you'ro a d d pore Judge of a hand." Pllmsoll strode off down the hill nlono. Tho men who had come with him hesitated and then crossed the gulch. Thoy had severed connections with tho J. P. brnnd for the time, at least The three partners walked back toward the tunnel. "We got to stay on the claims," said Sam. "If they happened to think ol It they might heave a stick of dynamite dyna-mite In our midst afteh It's good nn' dahk. A flyln' chunk of dynamite Is a nasty thing to dodge, nt that." "I don't think It likely, Sam. Camp knows, or will know, what's been hnp-penln'. hnp-penln'. If dynamite was thrown they'd snbo who did It an' I don't believe tho crowd 'ud stand for It I w'udn't wonder won-der If Jim Pllmsoll forgets to send fo' that tent an' stuff of his. Hope ho does." "What do wo want with it?" demanded de-manded Mormon. "Nothln. with tho stuff. We'll set It out beyond the lines como dusk. But tho tent'll come In hnndy. Wo didn't bring onb erlong." "You don't nlm fo' us to sleep In It, do you?" nsked Mormon. "Don't believe we'd rest well If we tackled It. But it mightn't Iw n bad schemo If wo give tho gcn'rnl Ideo that wo aro slcepln' In It I put a lantern In the car when wo stahted. Fetch thai erlong too, will you, Mormon?" It wns late afternoon before Mormon Mor-mon reappeared, bearing a camp outfit, out-fit, part of which was carried by Westt lake. Sandy nnd Snm had repltched tho tent on fairly level ground of tho valley bottom. Mormon's eyebrows went up nt tho location with which Sandy nnd Snm, seated cross-legged on tho ground, ono smoking, the other draining low harmonies through his mouth organ, appeared perfoctly satisfied. satis-fied. "Why on tho flat?" asked Mormon. "Thcre'a a heap of cover round here where they might snake up afteh dahk "wai, arawiea Manor, nicking nsh from his cigarette, "It's hnndy watch, fo' ono thing, an' yore rl : nbout that coveh, Mormon. Thi , why we choso It" Mormon sat down his load and t I off his hat to scratch his head 1 1 plexcdly. Then bis face lightened 1 be looked up-hill. 1 "lou flgger on sottln the lantern 1 here afteh dahk," he said. "An' wal : In the fun from the tunnel." 1 "Pritty close. Mormon. Como Ins you an' Westlnko, an' I'll show ; . suthln'." r They followed htm Into tho tent 1 I camo out again laughing. CHAPTER XIII A Rope Breaks, i The lantern, turned down, dimly lumlned the tent and revealed tho i urea of threo men seated about so , sort of rough table. The flap : drawn and fastened. Occasional! 1 "You Flooer on Settln' tho Lant 1 In Here Afteh Dahk," He 8ald. . figure moved slightly. No passer , would have guessed that the th partners were ensconced In the bli . mouth of the tunnel, ramparted by 1 t dump heap, watching for devel , merits they were fnlrly sure wo , stnrt with darkness. Every 111 , while Sandy twitched a lino that v attached to a clumsy but effect , rocker he had contrived beneath c of the dummies they had built fr , tho stuff that Pllmsoll had not , claimed. , "Don't want to work tho blnn , thing too much," he said. "Might bi It It's on'y tho one flgger but 111 I denied If It don't look nntcherul." , After which they all relapsed li I silence, restrained from smoking . fear of a telltale spark or casual f t grnnco carried by tho wind. It wai dark night, tho hillsides stood bin I ngainst n blue-black sky in which stars glittered Hko metnl points I , fulled to shed much light. Later, mi . Inter, toward morning, n moon wo , rise. , Thoy settled down to their wat , The Great Bear constellation dlpj down, scooping Into tho darkness I yond the opposing hill. 1 "Pritty close to midnight," said S , at last "Wbst'o the , . ." Sandy's grip on his arm cheel I him, all senses centering Into llstenl 1 Tho threo stared blankly Into 1 1 night, while their hands sought j 1 butts and loosened the weapons : their holsters. Out of the blnckn : came little foreign sounds that tl Interpreted according to their pow I The tiny clink of metal, the faint tt ; of horses' hoofs, an exclamntlon tl . hnd barely been above the speakc breath floated up to them through 1 1 stillness. The glow of tho lnnti showed through the tent wall. 1 They crouched, listening to tho s padded sounds thnt told of the 1 proach of man and horse. Tli , censed. Still they could seo nothl . Then thero came a sharp shrill wills' ' answered from the levels. Follov 1 Instantly the thud of galloping pon going ut top speed, parallel, ono . tween the wntchcrs nnd tho tent they saw the swift shadow shade 1 ; glow for an Instant, the other betwi tho tent nnd tho creek. Thero wni shnrp swishing as of something wl ping brush. "l'l-yl-ylppy I" .The cries rang 1 exultnnt ns tho horses dashed by 1 , tunnel. The light In tho tent waver I went out. Thero was a shout of s prlso nnd dismay, a twang Hko 1 snnpplng of n mighty bow-string 1 then camo the whoops of the trio fr the Threo Star as they realized wl , the attempt had been nnd how It I , failed. h |