Show a E SMOKy Y ARs f LEMAY LE MAY V e r f Dusty King and Lew Gordon were Joint ners m-ners of the vast King Gordon range which stretched from Texas to Montana When building up this string of ranches they con continually continually con had to fight the unscrupulous Ben Thorpe Thorpe rivaled King King Gordon Gordon In pow pow- CHAPTER H n HAn IIAn nAn An hour spent in the Wells Fargo office with the deputy commissioner commission commission- er filling out forms signing papers ended as Dusty King and Bill Roper stood with with- Lew Lew Gordon on the board walk It was the first time the three had had a word alone since the Crying Crying Cry Cry- ing Wolf had passed into the hands of King Well said Dusty King we got her Maybe Gordon said this is our chance Maybe now we can get the cow business on a sound basis here in the north and have some order and decent law never get a sound basis' basis until Ben Thorpe is bust Dusty said What law enforcement we got in the West Vest is rotten through and through with office holders that Thorpe owns Some Same day Gordon said slowly Ben uBen Thorpe has got to go Some day Lew weve we've got him beat Kings King's exuberant mood of victory was not to be dampened You want law and order he chortled Well show em law and order That puts me in mind said Gor Gor- don A feller feUer passed me this here hereto to give to you He handed Dusty King a little twisted scrap of paper torn off the corner of something else Dusty untangled it looked atit atit at atit it a moment showed it to the others Five words were penciled on it in sprawling black letters IN GODS GOD'S NAME LOOK OUT this from Lew Gordons Gordon's lips moved almost soundlessly Dry Camp Pierce Roper knew that name without knowing what lengths of outlawry had brought Dry Camp Pierce to where he was today Rewards backed by Ben Thorpe were on Dry Camps Camp's scalp over half the West Vest probably it was as much as his life was worth to show himself in Ogallala Ogallala Ogallala Og- Og allala now This note note note- Dusty King tossed it off with a shrug Oh Oh I I suppose Thorpe is getting drunk some place and spouting spouting spouting spout spout- ing of off about what all hes he's going to todo todo todo do to me when he catches up Dusty's teeth showed in his infectious infectious infectious grin I suppose Dry Camp thought I ought to know about it Hes right Dusty Lew Gordon said We Ve do want to look out all of us all aU the time We Ve always had to look out Dusty scoffed be the more so now There isn't anything in the world Ben Thorpe's people will stop at Dusty Let em come on We want to look out Gordon said again If you feel that way about it said Dusty what was the idea of your working through that law we cant can't wear guns in town Bill Roper said We could have brought it to an open shoot-out shoot five years ago ten ago ten years ago Better if we had Gordon shook his head Nothing Nothing Nothing Noth ing ever gets fixed up with guns Dusty King pulled his hat a little littlemore littlemore littlemore more on one side so that he could wink at Bill Roper unobserved But Buthe Buthe Buthe he said Hes partly right Bill Ben Thorpe isn't just one man any more Walk Valk Lasham Lasham-Cleve Lasham Cleve Tanner Tanner any any anyone anyone one of a dozen others could step into his shoes Its It's a whole rotten organization organization organization or or- has to be busted up Ben Thorpe downed and they'll quit Bill Roper thought Ben Thorpe down and its it's only begun Dusty countered Get it out of your head that you can fix anything up by downing Ben Thorpe Not while this organization stands in onti n piece Might be a good idea fl cJ you to remember that Bill incase in incase incase case anything happens Dusty Bill said if ever they get gel you by God Ill I'll get Ben Thorpe if its it's the last last last- No said Dusty You hear me No If they get me you'll me-you'll you'll remember remember remember ber what I said You remember youre you're fighting a thing and a big bigone bigone bigone one not just one man His face crinkled in that familiar contagious grin Forget it Dry Camps Camp's spooky that's all He hooked an arm through his partners partner's and went swaggering off Ten paces down the walk he stopped turned and came back He leaned close to Roper If It anything anything anything any any- thing should happen kid kid remember ber her what I said CHAPTER III in That Lew Gordon had a daughter was not so surprising as that he had only one Single-minded Single he clung I nil all his life to the memory of the I wife he had lost when their first child was born Jody Gordon was twenty now She didn't exactly run rim Lew Gordon nobody nobody no no- body did that But it was fairly apparent apparent apparent ap ap- ap- ap parent that his stubborn bid for supremacy supremacy supremacy su su- in western cattle was intended intended intended in in- tended in her behalf and without her would have been meaningless to him Wm Because Gordon hadn't wanted his girl filtering around through the INSTALLMENT 2 THE STORY SO FAR FAIt er and we wealth but he had gained his position post tion lion through wholesale cattle rustling and gunplay Their opposing Interests came to a showdown sho when the Government announced the auctioning of the Crying Wolf land In Montana Bill Roper Kings King's adopted son e at atthe atthe atthe press of Ben Thorpe's ruffians the auction getting his own boys into fights Jody Gordon was waiting waiting wait wait- ing here for news of what had happened happened happened hap hap- to the Crying Wolf Bill Roper Rop Rop- er vaulted the foolish little littIe picket gate scuffed the mud off his boots on the high front steps and let himself himself himself him him- self in He sent a Comanche war gobble ringing through the house but Jody was already flying into the room Did you get it Did you OU get it All of it Jody flung herself at him and kissed him so sweet so vital so completely feminine that he wanted to keep her close to him But she broke away again as he tried to hold her How much did it cost Seventy cents cents gold Jody's breath caught Can we come out on it Sure we can come out on it Not Nota a cent less would've turned the trick Dusty Dusty- Jody sat on a walnut table that had come all the way from St. St Louis and swung her feet The story seemed to tickle her in more ways th than h one I can just see you all r F Ft t t 1 r f 11 o J vw j v F 1 l i H But she broke away as he tried to hold her she said standing around making an impression on each other He turned from the window and she was laughing at him as he had thought her mouth smothered with her fingers Come here a minute he said going toward her She twisted from the edge of the table as if to put it between them but she was too late His rope hard fingers caught her wrist and held her as easily as if he had dallied I a calf to the horn Listen he begged her Listen Listen Listen Lis ten ten ten- I He caught her up clamped an arm behind her head and kissed her hard Hard and for a long time So long as she was rigid in his arms fighting him he held her but when she stood limp neither yielding nor resisting his arms relaxed relaxed relaxed re re- re- re and Jody tore herself free She lashed out at him like a little mustang striking him across the mouth Her face was white all that quick irrepressible laughter gone as for a moment she looked at him A trickle of blood ran from Bill Ropers Roper's lips and made a crooked mark on his chin Then she turned and fled When she was gone Bill Roper stood still sucking his cut lips After a little while he went to the window window window win win- dow instinctively turning to open space for his answers He could remember Jody Gordon as a little tow-headed tow kid before her hair had darkened into the elusive misty brown that it was now Or as asa asa asa a legged colt-legged girl with scratches on her shins from riding legged bare through the sage Or as a peculiarly peculiar peculiar- ly tempestuous uncertain thing neither neither neither nei nei- ther child nor woman But this latest phase he couldn't understand at all He picked up his hat and for a little little little lit lit- tle while stood turning it in his hands Then he threw it in the corner and w went nt searching through the house Jody was in the tallest of the four foolish towers From here you could see the town and the slim glittering glittering glittering glitter glitter- ing line of the railroad connecting these far plainsmen with a world hungry for beef Jody said of matter Weve got to have more loading pens Bill Bills Bill's face broke into a slow grin Abruptly he laid hard hands on disused disused disused dis dis- used sashes and broke them open had Inspected this territory and found It to contain an almost unbelievable wealth of grass Bidding went high at the auction but King beat out Thorpe to gain control of the land This was was' a heavy blow to Thorpe who needed the pasture for his herds Into their little cubicle flowed the sweet air of the open prairie sweep inspiriting with the fresh smell of the new grass She said Tell me about your new job It isn't new They said that you'd be the new boss of the Crying Wolf if we got it Jody said For more years than he could remember remember remember re re- re- re member he had been working toward toward to to- toward ward this opportunity the opportunity the chance to take two years or three with such-and-such such cattle on such-and- such such land and show that he could pay payout out on market deliveries in pounds of beef But now now now-a a million million million mil mil- lion horns and hoofs didn't seem to mean so much Something was here something here something that wasn't any place else not else not on the long trail not in the wild terminal terminal terminal nal towns He knew now he had to tell her that and he dreaded it because because because be be- cause she probably would think it was funny He wouldn't look at ather ather ather her as he spoke because he didn't want to see her laughing at himI himI himI him I dont don't know as Im I'm so much in interested interested interested in- in as I was he said Why Billy not Billy not interested in the Crying Cring Wolf Wolf nearly nearly five hundred square miles of feeder land What's come over you I guess maybe Im I'm tired of riding riding riding rid rid- ing alone Bill said Alone With all the outfit you'll have have I I wouldn't call it alone I would Grass country is lonely country he said now as lonely as the dry plains You get to wondering wondering wondering won won- dering what the everlasting cattle cattIe add up to in the course of a life Then some night you know you dont don't care what they add up to and you think Damn fat beef Why U Billy why Billy why Billy Billy Billy- None of it means a damn without without without with with- out youre you're there he told her Working cattle doesn't mean anything anything anything any any- thing because you'll always have all the cattle you need anyway and no long trail means anything without without without with with- out youre you're at the end of it Im I'm sick of long trails drive-trails empty of you youat youat youat at the end There was a long motionless si silence silence silence si- si lence he kept his eyes on the far sand hills as presently she leaned forward to look up into his face You really mean it dont don't you J Jody ody said Jody's words came very faint and anda a little breathless Why U didn't you say so before He looked at her then and she wasn't laughing In her eyes was a anew anew anew new grave light such as he had never seen a warm light a beloved light better than sunset to a weary rider day-rider who has worked leather since before dawn Timorously but very willingly she came into his arms and he held her as if she were not only a very precious but a very fragile thing For a little while it seemed that one trail a trail longer than the Long Trail itself had come cometo cometo cometo to its end Cant believe he said at last his lips in her hair youre sure- sure enough mine All yours yours all all all They had one hour there in the prairie lookout tower discovering each other getting acquainted as asfor if for the first time The sun went down in a gorgeous welter of color Jody shivered a little I wish Dad and Dusty would come Especially Especially Especially Espe Espe- Dusty Why He has so many enemies Some of them are dangerous as diamond- diamond backs It worries me when hes he's due and doesn't get back take care of himself Bill BilI Roper chuckled and held her closer One half hour more Up from the town came a crazily ridden horse splashing mud eaves- eaves high under the urge of spur and quirt Hell lame his pony i it if he goes down in that slick Bill commented Now what do you suppose suppose- The rider tried to pull up in front of the house and the frantic pony swerved and slid mouth wide open to the sky Its shoulder crashed the fence taking down a dozen feet of pickets The rider tumbled off ran up the steps to hammer on the door Roper went clattering down the stairs pulled open the door Now listen you you you- Bill Dusty Bill Dusty Mr King King King-he- he Bill Roper froze and there was a Ii along along long moment of paralyzed silence Spit it out man mon I Roper shouted a at t him hes he's Bill he's hes daid Who Who who Dusty Kings King's daid I Bill the they gunned him they gunned h him lIl down Who did known Mr Gordons Gordon's there he he It Bill Roper walked out past use tin c cowboy stiffly slimy like a man gUIlt gone blind Without knowing what ne clIO dio he walk walked d down to th the gale gate am ant stood gripping the pickets ts with In Iii- two hands TO HE TIC CONTINI 11 IJ |