OCR Text |
Show ftROLLIN BROWN tSWi Ueputy sheriff Jim Doane sets out to track down a gang of train robbers In the desert of San Loreto county. When bis horse dies he walks until he col-lapses col-lapses from thirst. Four horsemen led by a girl rescue him. lie awakens In a bed three days later. He meets and talks with the girl leader, Dolores Al-varo, Al-varo, for whom he has a warrant, charging her with catUe rustling. Jim Is charmed by her beauty. He talks with Monte Garcia, and learns how Star La Rue, a crooked gambler, tricked Dolores' father out of bis ranch and later shot him. Jim comes back to the iherlfT'i office and resigns. Sheriff Flick Is astounded and dismayed. "1 never thought I'd see you fail, Doane." CHAPTER V It was seventy-five miles over to Maxmilla City. Doane caught the eleven o'clock local train. At half past two he walked down the hot main street of the little town. The deputy badge of San Loreto county was no longer pinned under tne flap of his shirt pocket, but the single-action single-action revolver he had always used swung low in the familiar holster at his hip. He turned In at the Cowman's Mortgage and Loan bank, on the main street corner. "Star La Rue," he told the cashier, cash-ier, "Is some kind of a bug in this bank. I want to see him." "Mr. La Rue Is vice president of the Cowman's Mortgage and Loan," the cashier informed him, haughtily. haught-ily. "He is a busy man. Mr. La Rue is not here at present." "When'll he be back?" "Perhaps at closing time. It would be better to have an appointment, appoint-ment, if you wish to see him." "I'll wait," said Doane. He waited, lounging in the corridor, cor-ridor, amid suspicious glances. He had verified his own information, that La Rue's one-time Silver Palace Pal-ace had been closed out of business busi-ness for some twelve or eighteen months. La Rue now confined himself him-self to the bank and his ranching interests. Jim Forces La Rue To Sign Over Ranch Twenty minutes later a hard-faced, hard-faced, angular man came In through the swinging doors from the street. The man wore a business suit, his tall, knotty frame tipped off at each end by cowman's garb; respectively, respective-ly, a flat-crowned Stetson and high-heeled high-heeled boots that showed below the trouser cuffs. A conspicuous, large-link large-link gold watch chain hung across the front of his vest and jingled faintly as he walked. The man had a certain heavy dignity about him. He favored Doane with a sharp glance, without recognition. "La Rue!" The man halted, looked again at Doane. "What is it?" he wanted to know, Irritably, "A certain matter of business," explained Doane. "In fact, I intend to purchase Rancho de los Her-manos Her-manos from you this afternoon. But perhaps we'd better talk in private." pri-vate." Without comment Star La Rue led the way through one of the office doors. He entered, closed the door, and turned to face Doane. "You talk big," he said. "My price on Tres Hermanos is $50,000 . . . cashl Did you bring that much money with you?" "No," drawled Doane. "But I brought all it'll take. I drew some of my savings this afternoon. I drew two thousand dollars. That will buy Tres Hermanos." "I have no time for nonsense," said La Rue. He smiled thinly over dirty, yellow teeth. "Come back when you get the other forty-eight thousand." Doane studied La Rue's eyes. "I don't believe you recognize me," he suggested. "I do not!"' snapped La Rue. "And what of it?" "Just this. I was deputy sent down from San Loreto with the coroner, cor-oner, to see the body of one Senor don Pio Miguel Alvaro, shot to death on Rancho Hermanos land lome two years ago. At that time you confessed to killing the supposed horsethief with your own gun, as the coroner will be able to testify. testi-fy. You boasted of it. Now, a few days ago, I unearthed the motive for you to have murdered Alvaro, as well as his identity. I believe that within twenty-four hours I could bring circumstantial witnesses into the affair. The charge would be murder, first degree. Among the witnesses is ,a man you once employed, em-ployed, a man known as Monte Garcia. Gar-cia. Mr. Garcia could explain events transpiring some twenty years ago. at the start of your career, ca-reer, also bearing on the subject. If I can't succeed in putting the murder mur-der of Alvaro on your head. La Rue, I can at least bring the thing . . . and your methods . . . close 'enough home to ruin any confidence the people have in you, and destroy your connection with this bank. I'm offering you two thousand. La Rue, and I don't have to offer that! Take it or leave it. Take it, or the murder mur-der charge." La Rue did not move. The only evidence Doane had that the man even heard him was the mounting color in the other's face and a otiff-Antng otiff-Antng of corded muscles undei his collar. There followed a moment of absolute silence. "This is blackmail," La Rue muttered, mut-tered, finally. "And the other," said Doane, "is murder. Don't forget that." Another moment of silence. La Rue covertly studied his man. He nodded. "Very well. Due to this er special spe-cial circumstance, my price to you is . . . two thousand dollars. What is your name, sir? I've forgotten it, if I ever knew It." "Doane. James L." "God help you if I ever get you under my hand, James L. Doanel" "There'll be this to remember," said Doane, Ignoring the threat. "The deed you're going to give me this afternoon will be recorded In San Loreto as soon as registered mail can carry it. There will also be a will, in case of my death; and need I mention that you will not be its benefactor? Further,, there will be a sealed letter of exactly the accusations I have made this afternoon after-noon against you, to be opened by p isii J Rliil "Come back when you get the other forty-eight thousand." state officials at my death. Do you think you can beat that, Star La Rue? I'm not Senor Alvaro, who read English poorly and understood nothing of the technicalities of the law." La Rue had no answer. "There's just one other point," said Doane. "That is a written statement from you, dropping all charges against Miss Alvaro, the senor's living daughter. This will be by way of a little spice, to sweeten sweet-en our deal! After all, I'm giving you two thousand dollars; you don't deserve a penny of it. Well, I guess that's all. I bid you a very good afternoon, Mr. Star La Rue." That night the new owner of Rancho de los Hermanos sent a special telegram to Sand Wells. It was addressed to Monte Garcia, operator op-erator who would take it from the wire, giving him the owner's authority au-thority to discharge every man then working at Tres Hermanos, if Monte Mon-te would be so kind as to ride out there and do so. Monte obliged at dawn, with a strange underglow in those odd gray-green eyes. But the new owner, arriving in person two days later, did not find Tres Hermanos deserted. Not that he had particularly hoped he would. He didn't care. Four hard-eyed riders rid-ers awaited his coming. The four had taken , his order seriously enough so that none had stirred to the saddle and customary work, but not to the point of departure. For two days they had loafed, talked excitedly, ex-citedly, and brooded over the matter. mat-ter. The foreman, a black-eyed 'breed of thirty-five or so, named Tony Suarez, began to argue with Doane immediately. "Look here! You may be the new boss an' all that, but " "I am the new boss," said Doane. "No maybe's about it." "I said get out! Pack your war-bags. war-bags. And collect your back wages from La Rue. I sent you notice the moment I became owner." The four packed their war-bags. Two men rounded up the horse herd in an adjacent strip of meadow and drove it to the corrals. There was roping and four mounts were drawn aside. At this point Doane, watching, watch-ing, left the shady veranda of the old house for the corral gate. "Before any one of you starts ridin' away," he called, "each man had better make sure he's strad-dlin' strad-dlin' his own private nag. The Tres Hermanos brand belongs to me. I'd look on anything else as a case of horse theft." Doane stood by. the six-gun In the low holster at his hip. Out of the corral cor-ral dust this time came two ponies and a lime old gelding, of vented brands One man. evidently, didn't even own a horse. With the extra saddle and war-bags war-bags packed on one pony, the riders finally mounted double. So they rode out the corral gates and down the road for Sand Wells. Doane waited an hour; then he followed. The property he had purchased comprised close to five thousand acres. The old adobe ranch house, surrounded by great, gnarled yard cottonwoods and a sprinkling of tall, graceful poplars, stood roughly in the center ot the tract. Behind the ranch house a long, flat-bottomed valley opened. Springs flowed from under the valley walls, spread into little cieniga meadows and formed a small creek, which ran through the ranch yards before it sank into the earth. The actual value of Rancho de los Tres Hermanos, In fact, lay in the waterholes, springs, and desert seepages It controlled. These were scattered, between the lines of drift fence, over an area almost ten miles In length and half that in width; or, roughly, better than six times the actual area of its patented lands was controlled by the rancho, useless use-less to any other stock owner. To the north broke the arid miles of true .desert, but in the good years stock could work out a long way to the north and west. Rancho de los Tres Hermanos had been, and could be made again, a big proposition. proposi-tion. The distance to Sand Wells was six or seven miles, angling southwest. south-west. Doane had already traversed this road once, since dawn this morning. His return mission now, however, was not at the little town with its few stores and shacks adjoining ad-joining the railroad yards. He cut past the town, and half a mile beyond be-yond drew rein In the yard of a shaded little clapboard house. The old Mexican woman came to the door, smiling. "Aqui tiene Ud. su casa the house is yours, senor. Pase." "Monte home?" "Si, senor. Si." In a moment the tall, slim Monte, plainly just awakened from his daytime day-time slumbers, came to the door. His poise was none the less languid and cool for bis awakening; he moved easily, smoothly, and he made a Garcia gesture with his supple sup-ple white hands. "A haciendado," he said gaily, smiling at Doane. "A ranchero, my frien', a land-owner I greet you, senor." "A ranchero without a single cowhand working for him," said Doane heavily. "They left promptly prompt-ly this morning. Thanks. I want you to do me another favor, Monte. Deliver another message." "If possible," agreed Monte. "My last had little success. But we shall see." "The cold facts of the case are these," said Doane. "In the past twelve months Miss Alvaro has managed to run away with about a third of the stock La Rue had on the ranch. La Rue's riders had orders or-ders to shoot on sight. Dangerous. Two months ago La Rue secretly dynamited a certain waterhole, in the hope of trapping the girl. He moved men out and started a drive. That failed. At the same time La Rue took his troubles to Sam Flick. This was again dangerous. The Sand Wells train robbery was more dangerous still. . . . Monte, I won't fail. That's the message I want you to give to Miss Alvaro!" New Owner Takes Over At Tres Hermanos Monte pondered the glowing end of his cigarette. "You are riding soon yourself, senor?" "I am." "An" if I should well, happen to see Miss Alvaro somewhere In the meantime, I am going to tell her you do not think you will fail? That is it, eh?" "That I do not fall," corrected Doane. "Jus' so," said Monte, with a bow. "And Monte, I have here a sealed envelope. If anything should happen hap-pen to me at any time, I want you to deliver it to its addressee. Understand?" Un-derstand?" "Si, senor!" "Bien!" said Doane. "Uh there's just one thing more. Can you find me three good men, three cowhands I can trust, to look after the ranch?" "That I can, senor. Three good, loyal ones. They will be in my office, of-fice, tonight." "Good boy, Monte. See you tonight, to-night, then. Nine-thirty." Sharp at nine-thirty that evening, three leathery cowpunchers loitered on the station platform outside Monte Garcla's office, each with his duffle-bag and saddle-gear. Doane crossed the platform, saw through the window that Monte was busy at his key, approached the men. "You are the men for Tres Hermanos?" Her-manos?" "Reckon we are." "Good." replied Doane. "I'm the owner." They shook hands. " 'Spose we go over to the bar, where we can talk things over, and where I can buy a drink for those dry throats of yours. That is, if you feel the throats need a little irrigation." "O. K.," shouted the three, as one. An hour later found them riding for Vres Hermanos, properly irrigated irri-gated and in high spirits. Doane had explained their job; they were to act as watcnmc, look aAer the stock. (TO BE CONTINUED) J |