Show VI M T By ALAN LE MAY V Release t i M r INSTALLMENT 9 d I 7 THE STORY SO FAR I DU ty King Kine and Lew Gordon Cordon had built P up vast up s sti sl ig g of ranches In is the West i King g was km killed d by his hs powerful and unscrupulous un un- scrupulous competitor Ben Thorpe Bill Roper Per Kings King's adopted son was determined deter deter- mined to aVen avenge e his death In to spite of CHAPTER XII Continued Continued Jody Gordons Gordon's eyes had darkened in in the the dusk dusk making her face seem very pale What do you want me meto meto meto to do Shoshone Wilce shrugged That aint hardly up to me Miss Gordon But Ill I'll tell you this many's the time Ive I've seen your father go stomping stomping stomp stomp- ing down the board walk right here in Ogallala alone and not even armed That wont won't do do Miss Gor Gor- don l If I Was in your place I I wouldn't never let him bim out of the house without his bis is strapped on and the Iron free In its leather And wherever he goes there ought to be three or four good shoot hard ing cowboys with him because if fI f fI I know Ben Thorpe he isn't going into any gunfight alone II Jody peered at him intently What made you bring this word to tome tome tome me Im a Bill Roper man II Shoshone Wilce said God knows Miss Gordon Gordon Gordon Gor Gor- don stringing with Bill Roper has never done anything for me Butwell Butwell Butwell But- But well I just thought Bill Roper would want you to know I kind of got the idea he thinks a heap of you Miss Gordon II And now another pony came slashing slashing slashing slash slash- ing up to the corral One of the loading loading loading load load- ing foremen had come inI inI in InI I got to be getting along Shoshone Shoshone Shoshone Sho Sho- shone Wilce said quickly t She turned away but instantly turned back again and gripped Shoshones Shoshone's Shoshones Shoshone's Shoshones Shoshone's Sho- Sho shone's arm just as he was sliding out of pf sight Stay around she ordered him Stay here until until until- Miss Gordon came the quick whisper Ive got to get on to Miles City I I 1 II I thought so Bill Ropers Roper's somewhere somewhere somewhere some some- where up there isn't he Yes Well Im I'm going to join my father there there- there there- Ill I'll ride with you in the morning Four hundred bundred miles And no coach until until until- Dont worry about that It takes saddle ponies to make time But But Im Im I'm afraid your Paw might think think- think I dont don't know how Bill Roper ever used you Jody said with contempt Shoshone winced I Ill I'll be around He faded into the shadows as Jody walked out of the stable her eyes hard and bright in the dusk CHAPTER PTER XIV Bill Roper sat alone at a s rear table table table ta ta- ta- ta ble in the Palace Bar in Miles City I Ithe the the young turbulent center of a avast avast avast vast raw range the possibilities of which were still unknown For three months Roper had ridden ridden rid rid- den through the bitter Montana win win- ter It had bad been no trouble for him to sweep together a dozen malcontent malcontent malcon malcon- tent cowboys who hated Lasham or Thorpe Thorp or both Already they knew Bill Ropers Roper's name Against their common enemy these youngsters could be led wild reckless and crazy for tor raid and Roper had led them as Texas had taught him bim His new northern wild bunch faced conditions in many ways bitterly ad ad- verse Here in n the north were no ousted cattlemen no established population to which he could look for forI I help The Canadian border was far faraway faraway faraway I away and no market awaited the pushed hard-pushed herds on the other side What Montana had that Texas did not have was a concentration of In Indian Indian indian in- in dian tribes principally Sioux and Cheyenne deprived of their hunting grounds and dependent for food upon beef which the government was pledged to supply It was to this circumstance that tha t Roper had turned The giant befit beef be t. t contracts which the government threw rew upon the market had attracted more than one kind of raft The result was famine famine pitiful relentless Starvation Starvation Starvation tion st stalked ed 1 trough Through the lodges of the Sioux the Cheyenne the Crow Crowan and an with th it Ropers Roper's opportunity Scouring Scoring the country Roper turned t rn d up P four Indian agents who were already badly scared They had overplayed their hands and were now faced with a loss of life among their charges about which they could do noth nothing ng without re re- ealing their own corrupt cy ry Y Th lh Those se men had connived with i io bringing about a condition condi condl- tion ion of tribal starvation they were will willing ng to connive with Bill Roper Roperto to cover up their position in fn any anyway anyway anyway way they could By d delivering livering beef to the reservations reservations reservations reserva reserva- under these highly irregular conditions Ropers Roper's wild bunch could little tittle more than make expenses But the advantage was this this this-a a beef herd delivered to an Indian tribe disappeared disappeared p eared over night leaving little trace A thousand hands bands skinned out the beef destroying the portions of the hides conta containing ning the brands Constantly changing horses perpetuallY perpetually per per- in the saddle Ropers Roper's s saddie saddle sad sad- d- d dle die hawks swung across Montana They first struck at Muddy Bend picking nicking up four tour hundred head of steers in the breaks of ot the Yellow stone Three days' days hard driving de de- livered these to a village of Assini Assini- olne oin Only four days later they I opposition by his sweetheart Jody Gordon Gor Gor- Gordon don and her father Ropers Roper's successful raids against Thorpe's Texas holdings wiped him out of the state stater When Roper visited Jody one night she almost contemptuously contemptuously con con- called caked him a cattle thief were on the flats of the Little Thunder Thunder Thun der far away Here struggling through a soft blinding snow they ran off oft five hundred head and a few days later three hundred more They in company with a herd of lifted steers somewhere between Three Sleep and the Little Powder and New Years Year's found them sifting the pick of Lasham's cattle out of his Lost Soldier range By the end of January they had moved three thousand head the head the very cream of the wintering stock Repeatedly they had driven cattle incredible distances in impossible time Yet he be knew his work had only begun All their hard riding would fail of effect unless he could strike such a smashing blow as would cause a split between Lasham and Ben Bea Thorpe And Roper had a plan rash plan rash in scope and method but savage in effect effect effect ef ef- i if 11 it could be fulfilled Already he had enough riders in sight to strike this last desperate blow But the men available to his purpose were wild eyed fighting kids who could not be driven and could scarcely be led Roper could not captain his campaign alone So now he fretted in Miles City seeking three or four outlaw leaders who would make his preparations com com- Still Stin studying everyone who came into the bar Roper broke open a z w i l 4 r t G They first struck at Muddy Bend deck of cards and laid out a hand of solitaire Now one of the dance hall girls came to his table slipping uninvited into a chair This was a girl whose attention bothered and embarrassed Roper every time he came here Her name was Marquita He didn't know what attracted her herto herto herto to him bim he didn't know what attracted attract attract- ed any particular woman to any particular man It may be that his very disinterest was what caught her attention first and later gave him the desirability of the able She spoke to him now in a quiet lifeless voice Why dont don't you like me I like you ou all alI right he said No you dont You dont don't even see me at all He noticed now that she looked different tonight and after a moment moment moment mo mo- ment he be recognized that this was because there was no paint on her face That would be because he disliked disliked disliked dis dis- liked paint though paint though he had no idea how she had found that out Her washed face was a perfectly symmetrical symmetrical symmetrical sym sym- metrical oval set with black eyes a little slanted and her black hair parted in the middle was drawn b back severely in the fashion of the mestizo girls of the Tex Texas border She leaned toward him now and spoke rapidly her voice low and compelling Listen LIsten I I hate Walk Lasham too Listen she insisted You have to listen to me Walk L Lasham's in town He came in this afternoon So So Roper thought the time had come to move on again with his work undone He didn't like it it much Well WelI thanks he said Im glad to know He knows youre you're here here and and what youre you're here for I suppose he does Roper said Youre waiting here for Lasham Lash Lasham am she accused him You know hell he'll come here Youre You're going to try shooting it out out out- Roper shrugged and was silent Bill its it's hopeless Walk Lasham is the fastest gunfighter in the north II 1 f and gunman His HI determination unchanged unchanged un unchanged changed he be now turned his hU attention toward Thorpe's Thorpe ranches In Montana Jody was secretly visited by Shoshone e elk Wilce one of Ropers Roper's men who warned that her fathers father's life Ute was In danger Roper shrugged ag again Wa Walk lk wants no fight with me Youre going to force the fight figh t yourself That's what youve you've bee been waiting here bere for ever since yo you u came to Miles City Any moment momen t Lasham may walk in that door door door- Marquita sat staring at him hopelessly hopelessly hopelessly hope hope- lessly in her eyes a fixity of devotion devotion devo dev tion which his taciturnity seemed to increase Against his bis will he was becoming something that was ha happening happening hap hap- pening to Marquita He remained silent and in a littie little little lit lit- tle tie while she went away An hour passed while Roper drinking slowly played his solitaire and watched the door Then suddenly Marquita wa was s back She came behind his chair to speak close to his ear in ha a panicky whisper Hes coming Hes He's coming coming com corn ing lag along the walk walk walk- All right Walk has two of his men wi with th him she said rapidly You Yo haven't a chance not a ghost of a au chance I cant can't bear to see yo you u killed I know you dont don't care anything anything anything any any- thing about me I If you did Id I'd g go 0 anywhere in the world with you But now you have to come out o of here quick by quick by the back way I Ido Ill I'll il do anything anything- Roper turned his head to look u up into her ber face very close to his There was more to this girl than there was to the rest of her ber kind Even now he was unable to I nize nue that Marquita was capable ofa of ofa a sincerity of purpose and a passionate passionate passionate pas pas- preoccupation in her ber purpose purpose purpose pur pur- pose not to be expected here I wouldn't step aside two feet teet hei he i told her to pass Walk or any man I tell you Walk wont won't fight I Suddenly she whimpered Bill Roper saw that three men had come into the front of the Palace Bar The first of the three a dark lean man with wide bowed shoulders was Walk Lasham Marquita caught Bills Bill's head in her arms forced up his chin and kissed him He was surprised a at t the unexpected unexpected unexpected softness of her lips hot against his mouth Then abruptly Marquita stooped and as she sprang away from him he felt the weight of his ease She flung over I her shoulder Its for your own sake Her face was white fright fright- ened He half hall started up in instant anger but the girl was running down the room He saw her put something under the bar and he knew it was his gun Roper rang his whiskey glass upon the table trying to catch a bartenders bartender's bartenders bartender's bartenders bartender's bar bar- tenders tender's eye If Lasham Lash had not seen what the girl had done one of them could bring him his bis gun before before before be be- fore it was too late But the bar was thronged the bartenders were working working working work work- ing fast in the thick of the evening rush The flies bar-flies had made room for forWalk forWalk forWalk Walk Lasham at the end of the bar and Lasham and his two cowboys had their heads together now con con- suIting One of the cowboys a man with a ascar ascar ascar scar across his face tace that distorted his mouth in the manner of a harelip harelip hare harelip lip went quickly behind the bar hunted beneath it and returned to Walk Roper saw Lasham's long face set He said to himself himsel Walk knows Walk Lasham was fiddling with his empty glass on the bar and the scar-mouthed scar man was watching Roper covertly with one eye from under the brim of his hat Lasham reached for a bottle filled tilled his glass tossed it off ofT Then he turned squarely square square- ly toward Roper and came walking back through the big room Roper played his cards his hands visible upon the table It seemed to take Lash Lasham a long time to walk the length of the room Roper glanced at the lookout chair where a salaried gun fighter usually sat It was empty now Walk Lasham was standing in front of him So you he said are arc the tough gunman that killed Cleve Tanner Bill BiU Roper raised his eyes to Walk Lasham's face And you he said are one of the dirty cowards that murdered Dusty King A hush had fallen rallen upon the room unbroken by the clink of a glass orthe or orthe orthe the rattle of a chip Lasham and Roper looked at each other through through a moment of silence He dropped his eyes to Ropers Roper's hands and his own right hand started started started start start- ed a tentative movement toward the butt of his gun His spread fingers shook D a little as his hand crept down But he was grinning now sure of his ground Looks a little different to ti you now huh A coyote always looks like a coyote coyote coyote coy coy- ote to me The smile dropped from Lasham's face Im going to give you every chance he said His voice swung In even rhythms low and sing song Im going to count five Draw and fire any time you want to on five Im I'm going to kill you where you ou sit I dont don't think you are arc One two two two- Lash Lasham said fro TO BE CONTINUED |