| Show ra Bv er ALAN LAN LE MAY MAT V V 0 Release I ase z Lusty Just King and Lew Gordon had built up a vast string of ranches King was killed by his powerful and unscrupulous competitor lr Ben lien Thorpe Bill BUI Roper Kings King's adopted son was determined to avenge his death In spite of the opposition opposition tion of his sweetheart Jody Gordon and CHAPTER They buried ed Lew Gordon at Miles Milea City That dot upon the northern prairie marked in effect the farthest farthest farthest far far- north reached by that great and dramatic of power i which had welled up out of Texas p k k carving new trails opening new vast 4 countries driving herds unnumbered unnumbered i f under the name of King Gor King Gort Gori Gor- Gor t f don Jody thought that her father t would have wanted to lie He theres there s' s After that was done with Jody went back to Ogallala All through the spring news kept trickling in A swift swIt bankruptcy i f was sweeping Thorpe's loosely grouped organizations Wiped out of Texas by the so-called so Rustlers' Rustlers War broken in the north by the Great Raid the Raid the shaken power of Ben Thorpe crumbled fast now that Thorpe himself himsel was dead A once unbeatable organization powerful from border to border was going down In such utter debacle as no noman noman noman man could check And as Thorpe's power vanished I Into the in which he had bad died a strange new prestige began to attach itself itsel to the name of the theman theman theman man who had destroyed him Only a little while ago Bill Roper had been an outlaw a hunted man with a aprice aprice aprice price on his head in whose behalf behal few men ever dared speak a good word But now that his enemies were down It seemed that the whole length of the Long Trail held men who professed themselves his lifelong lifelong life life- long friends Like coyotes after a killing like worms after rain Bill Roper partisans were rising up a score here a hundred there where not one friend had been during those smoky hours ours ci cais s' s greatest need ready lr li ady men were less ready to remember remember remember re- re member what weapons he had used In fighting fire Ore with fire than to remember remember remember re re- member simply that be he had won Three governors had issued blanket pardons for what he be might or might not have done He could have had hadr r almost any position he wanted near the top of any anyone one of three or four of the great cattle companies He could have had almost anything he wanted then But Bill BiU Roper where Roper where was be i Nobody seemed to know His IDs own Tex L Tex raiders Tex Long Hat Crick Tom- Tom r now Dave Shannon now swaggering swaggering swagger swagger- ing wherever they pleased amid a curious acclaim did not know And AndI I If Dry Camp Pierce that one most trusted of all Bill Ropers Roper's men knew where his leader was he held his tongue t- t Jody Gordon was making every effort to find out Bill BiU Ropers Roper's where where- shouts f. f The weeks passed and the new grass came on the prairie and stilli still i there was no word Two or three times a week after alter the first spring flowers began to show Jody Gordon rode out to the pile of stone with its wooden cross that marked Dusty Kings King's grave putting there little littler r handfuls of blue Indian hyacinth and white anemone I And then suddenly one day as she sat her horse before Dusty K Kings King's ng's cross she knew that Bill Roper was wasi i alive that he was near that he had come The notch that she had seen Bill Roper cut In the arm of Dusty's cross to mark the death of Cleve Tanner was well weathered by this time but now sharp and freshly cut in the opposite arm of the cross was a second notch that had never been there before A choking lump rose instantaneously instantaneously instantaneously in Jody's throat and she spun t her pony in its tracks as instinctively instinctive- instinctive f ly her eyes swept the plain and the thelow thelow thet t low hills So freshly cut was the r new notch upon the cross that i it i 1 I seemed Bill Roper must still be no nomore more than a few minutes away J In the clear light of the late afternoon afternoon afternoon after after- noon she could make out every detail of the rambling little town of Ogallala Ogallala Ogallala Ogal Ogal- lala but nowhere was there to be seen any horseman She turned her pony and rode home with a strange empty gone feeling because for a moment Bill Roper had seemed so sonea neat nea and now was nowhere in sight When she had unsaddled she went Into the tall white while house by the back backway w wy way y and walked through it slowly pr preoccupied occupied wondering what she s should do Then as she came into the front r rom om her hand jumped to her hert t roat for someone was waiting for hr br there there there-a a woman who stood up at 8 Jody came In For a moment Jody Gordon hardy hard hard- hardly J ly y I recognized Marquita Only a lit- lit Je le time had passed since they had faced laced each other in a remote cabin set in Montana snows yet Marquita looked unmistakably older and the live sultry fire are behind her dark slanting eyes was goneI goneI gone I I lied to you Marquita said at I I taste last Im not sorry for that Id I'd Id lie tic to you again for the same reason rea rea- 1 son or for less reason But this time it didn't do any good So I 1 thought I might as well tell you You lied to me I told lold you I 1 was Bill Ropers Roper's I girl You naturally thought I J was wasat wasat wasat at Walk Lasham's camp because Bill Dill Roper was there Marquita's curiously metallic and voice sounded Bounded t tI I I INSTALLMENT 19 THE TIIE STORY SO FAR her ber father Roper conducted a series of great raids upon Thorpe's Thorpe vast herds first In Texas then In 10 Montana Jody was deeply shaken when Marquita a saloon hostess convincingly explained that Roper loved Marquita and not her Believing that her love was unanswered old without that sultry fire to back it up Well that wasn't so You mean you mean you mean to say say say- Well Marquita said he did not belong to me not even for one minute in all my life lile How do you think you would like that In my place But But at at the Lasham camp you said saidI saidI said said- I know I did I would have got him if I could In any way I could I even came here because I knew he was coming comins here But now I can just as well tell you its it's hopeless and Im I'm through After all I dont don't need to run after any man not any more You mean mean youre youre you're willing to let him go even go-even even iLet if if- if Let him go I never had him An odd edge of contempt came into Marquita's voice but whether for Jody or herself hersel was not plain Cant you get that through your head She turned toward the door Jody Gordon supposed that she ought to thank Marquita for having come here for having made the confession confession confession con con- which she had made but she was confused and the words would not come Instead she said Do you know where he is Is he hewell hewell hewell well Is he safe and all right Marquita's smile Was Vas mocking You want me to find him and send him to you I think Jody said hell come Okay Marquita said and she pulled open the door I want to tell you something Jody said I want to tell you I appreciate ap ap- ap your your letting me know know- know know-It Marquita flashed a queer hard smile there was bitterness In it more bitterness in hi her smile than in her words Keep your thanks to yourself Then she was gone After a moment Jody heard the hoofs hoots of a team and the wheels of the carriage in which Marquita had come come and and gone slicing gone slicing the deep mud Yet Bill Roper did not come When two days had passed a panic panic pan pan- panis ic is caught Jody Gordon and she began began began be be- gan to haunt the vicinity of Dusty Kings King's cross She believed that Roper Rop Rop- er would not leave the Ogallala country without visiting once more the grave of Dus Dusty King King J fk jk ik But it was the evening of of the fourth day before Roper came CHAPTER Sitting her quiet pony beside Dusty Kings King's pile of stone Jody Gordon saw Roper riding toward her when he was still a long way off oft Roper was not alone Beside him rode a little figure in disreputable disreputable disreputable table clothes which Jody recognized as that of Dry Camp Pierce Somehow Somehow Some Some- how Dry Camp had managed to rejoin rejoin rejoin re re- re- re join his chief when the others could not It was typical of Dry Camp that he was tiding beside Bill Roper now would always be typical so long as both of them should live The two riders hesitated at the five hundred yards Roper said something to Dry Camp Pierce and after a moment or two Dry Camp turned his horse and went back Bill Roper came on alone Perhaps he feared this meeting more than anything he had ridden into yet yet but but she knew he would not turn I It seemed to Jody Gordon that Jody left the man she loved Lew Gordon Gor Gar Gordon don finally realized that Roper was right In fighting Thorpe and Lasham and went gunning for them Roper met him shortly before the two gunmen ap ap- ap- ap This was the moment Roper had been lighting fighting for during the smoky years tine time lagged forever as Billy Ropers Roper's pony slowly approached It seemed to her that that slow approach was characteristic of all that had happened happened hap hap- to them them delay delay and delay while wars were fought and raids struck in all through those smoky years in which they had been apart And yet at last when he stopped his horse beside her and they looked at each other there was something between them still as I If the smoky years themselves had built a wall Bill Roper said Hello Jody Youre You're looking mighty well Jody said Im all right There was a pause curiously awkward awkward awkward awk awk- ward In the pause Jody's horse struck at the cinch with a hind foot tormented by an earl early fly You didn't come to see me J Jody ody said Well Bill Roper said slowly slowly slowly-III I didn't know If you'd oud want me to haltof half halt Dont you know that youre you're of King-Gordon King And Im I'm the other half halt Jody people Jody people like you and me cant can't go by things like that things that things like legacies and wills Jody's voice was very quiet yet It must have seemed to Bill Roper that she cried out Youre going to leave me to carry carryall all this just by myself Lew Gordon left a sound organization organization Bill Roper said his voice dead You have many men and good men too The works will roll I think with Thorpe gone Once more the long strangely poignant silence And to Jody it seemed a terrible thing that what they both wanted was the same thing and that yet the smoky years somehow managed to stand be be- between tween tween Jody Gordon turned away from Bill Roper and faced Dusty Kings King's cross limbed clean-limbed and slender and there was something In her face that was enduring It was the face of a woman who turned to the future without trace of doubt or fear and she was the loveliest thing that Bill Roper would ever see Jody Bill Roper said uncertainly uncertain uncertain- ly I want to tell you something Other men will have to fight other wars but my part of all that Is fin tin Im I'm not sorry my gun is I hung up u I hope its it's hung hung for up-for- ever Once I thought that when Thorpe was smashed my work would be through through but but now I see its it's only begun I think were we're going to build something pretty fine If it you'll stay by me Jody smiled a little Without taking taking taking tak tak- ing her eyes from the cross she reached her hand toward him and took his All the anger and the hate bate has gone out of me Roper said and if you can only some day understand understand understand under under- stand that my riding with the wild bunch was was was-was was what I had to do doHe doHe do- do He fumbled for words and stopped Give me your knife Jody said My My my what She turned and herself bersel drew his bis skinning knife from the sheath at athis athis athis his belt Then she stepped to the ground In justice Jody said in justice justice jus jus- tice and in memory of courage With her own hands she cut the third notch upon the cross deep and clean THE END |
