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Show ltW3 Sffg Jm" HAR-OLD CHANNING WIR f WM LEf BURNET has been engaged b JOM ARNOLD, owner of the Cross 1 -j act as trail boss on the drive lror southern Texas to Ogallala In the sprin of 1875. Tom, with his son and danghtei STEVE and JOY, are moving to Wyt mlng. Tom must deliver 3,000 longhorn to the Indian agent by September 1, o lose a profitable contract. Lew has rea son to believe that the Indian Supply C Is trying to delay the Cross T herd and he suspects that Clay, Steve an ED SPLANN are working In leagu rlth the company. Lew heads west an runs Into a furious dust storm tha chokes and blinds men and cattle alik The herd Is near death from thirst whe the storm ends and a. misty rain falli CHAPTER VII Far off, in what he knew now wa south, Lew picked out the first col umn of his scattered herd. Two oth ers were separated from it by per haps three miles. On behind them h found the white tops of the wagons But as he moved his gaze on slowl around the sharp horizon there wa no sign of water nor the doubl butte to set him on his course. Hi moment's gratefulness sank to heavy dread. They had come to far from the last watered camr. The cattle couldn't go on. Anothe day would bring its killing heat, fo clouds that followed a dust storr never held long. He was staring east; he gave hi head a sudden jerk to clear it. H wiped one hand across his swolle eyes. They weren't tricking hirr As if from the grass roots smok twisted upward over there. It ros tand shaped a pillar, broke and ros and broke again. Willy Nickle . . sending up his talk! He spurred his tired horse soutl Halfway toward the scattered co umns he drew his gun again an fired it. He pulled his horse aroun into short fast circles. They heard his shots that tim and saw his signal. Little figures men started out toward him. H rode on and met John Quarternigl first. The old man's beard was mu dy white, his eyes puffed almo: closed. "Boy," he said, "we got hen Wherever that be. There's somi one's camp, though, yonder." "Willy Nickle, I think," Lew sai "I'm going to look. I'll leave you 1 gather up." The creek was still two miles of and before he reached it the smofe ended. Riding into a little gro of trees, he found only the ember no sign of Willy Nickle at first, uj til he saw the forked stick. It ha been thrust into the ground with or prong like a thumb pointing dowi stream. He followed in the stick direction. Sheltered from wind and rain, . snug retreat, Willy Nickle sat, coi tentedly smoking his black clay pipi He threw up his left hand in a silei salute and dropped it. His gent face was brown and smooth from recent shave. Lew grinned and shifted over in' one stirrup, halting. "Well," h said, "we had a wind." Willy nodded. "So you did." "I guess," Lew said, "we clea missed the double butte. Came tc far north maybe. But here's a ri er." "South branch of the Pease," sai Willy. He took the cherry pip stem from his mouth and point with it. "If a man heads out here quarterin' east of north he' hit a creek of the Red. He'll folio that to the Red herself, ten milt above Doan's store. Two days, ma; be, if his men have made it." In three days they were sti crawling through low hills south i the Red. Blindness healed slowly : both animals and men. Three ha ridden In the cook's wagon. Cls and Steve rode with Joy. The both hod bandages smeared wil axle grease over their eyes and si up with her on the seat. He had a queer feeling sometime seeing them in a row like tha When he dropped back along U herd he could see their fun and hes thv" laughing together. They sar a lot. Old songs that he used ' stng with her. It took him back ' Three Little Apaches; only it wi Clay's big shape ther" now inste? of his. But today all of his crew were their saddles, eager to reach tl Red. That meant something, was halfway to Dodge. It was tl Inst of Texas soil. Beyond the Rt River lay the Indian Nations ar the north. Every trail drive mark( It with a celebration of some kind He rode the point with Quarte night and could see old Rebel Joh was feeling what he felt. A ms would never feel this lonesomene: About leaving any place up norti He was sure of that; not a Tex; man. There was Tom Arnold rii ing back behind the horse herd-what herd-what must this crossing the Re River mean to one like him? must go hard. He was leaving tl biggest part of his life down her the best part. What was Tom loo ing ahead to in Wyoming? Ni much, so far. if he was countir on Steve. That had been his ho. at the start. Well, what was 1 looking ahead to himself? Notliir that he could see. Not the ranc he'd planned there on the Powd when he had thought he was goir to build it up alone. You didn't pt two bulls in the same pasture. G' y this herd to Ogallala. Beyond that ' he didn't know. 0 His bead bobbed to the slow walk f of his horse. He let it nod, peace- 1 fully drowsy, until Quarternight's s quick voice came across to him. r "There she is!" l" He looked up. The fold between ' the hills had widened. Beyond its mouth lay a five-mile level shelf of t grass. Far-ofl red bluffs marked the d river, high and shining in the sun. He grinned and said, "A man's glad to see that old girl somehow." "Glad when he's across her." "Well, sure," he said, "that's right." Men had reason to want this river behind them. No other, except ex-cept perhaps the Canadian with its s quicksands, farther north, had tak-L tak-L en so many lives. '' In a little while he was pointing out upon the open shelf, as flat as a floor, and he could look far east along its great bend. No other herds y swarmed across its grass. Doan's store and the main trail's crossing were ten miles downstream. s a "We're alone here, John," he said. 0 "That's good." j. Behind them the crack of rope r ends against leather sounded like r pistol shots. Swing men were crowd-n crowd-n ing the longhorns on. But even the cattle had sensed the river and s walked at a faster pace cf their e own accord. n His plan had been to cross at once l. and go into camp on the north side, e There would still be time for an aft- i. ie ITe let the herd spread out to drink. in ernoon's rest and the night's fun. o But riding ahead, he reached the v- lower bluffs of the south shore and looked down upon an angry, churn-Id churn-Id Ing stream. The Red was full from e- bank to bank. There had been heavy ;d rains somewhere west. He swung back and met the point u and told Quarternight, "She's up, w John. Too high to swim. We'll ?s have to hold over." He shook his y head. "I don't like it much. We may get some neighbors we don't want." He waved his swing men '1 up. "No use worrying about that f now. I'll ride down to Doan's after In we water and see what herds are on id the trail." iy Under the added pressure of 'y swing riders he bent the point west th toward a creek. He let the herd a' spread out there to drink and afterward after-ward left them standing drowsily s, under a two-man guard, t. "Lew, is this a holiday?" asked ie Clay, ir "Part." ig "Then I'm riding down to Doan's." to It was an ordinary-enough re- to quest; a man could get a few things is at the store. But that was not the id reason, he felt, with Clay. He shook his head. "None of the crew's go-in go-in ing there. I don't figure it's safe." ie Clay's stare sharpened on him. It "Kind of high-handed, aren't you? ie Maybe you'll find it hard to make id that order stick!" id He didn't answer. But afterward, id standing ankle deep in the water, shaving in front of a mirror propped r. against a willow fork, he went back ln to find Clay's meaning. It wasn't ln clear. If a man deserted against the ss trail boss' order he might as well n quit. Clay wouldn't do that. He ls continued his shave. The scar made . his cheek stiff. He had forgotten about Clay's d threat and he felt good, cleaned and H dressed once more, walking back le into the shady grove of the camp. e Then he saw Ed Splann. . Splann had not been at the river 0t and he had wondered. Only Jim g Hope and Tom Arnold were on le guard with the herd. But he was le here in camp now with his horse !g saddled. His clothes that he had .n worked and slept in for a week 3r hadn't been changed, ig "Thought I'd tell you." he stated in bluntly, "I'm ridin' down to Doan's. et j You won't need me till night" Lew walked past him ana tossea his war bag into the cook's wagon. He turned back and said, "Not thU trip," and started on. Splann's surly growl Jerked him around: "What the hell kind of a boss are you?" He walked up close, his high shape coming above Ed Splann'i broader and more powerful build. He could feel the scar bum hot and red. But there were times like this when he let his voice come out of him in a slow drawl. "My friend," he said, "I'll tell you what kind of a boss I am. No man in my outfit fools me any. You don't." He let it hang there, watching Splann weigh it behind his pale eyes. They narrowed coolly. "You think you know something. What?" "You've got no warning coming," he said, his voice still held to that quiet way, "but I'll warn you this much. I'd as leave have a rattlesnake rattle-snake in my bed as a spy and traitor in this camp. You don't need to ride to Doan's; I'll see your friends for you. Is that clear?" A wicked brightness leaped into Splann's eyes. "You talk tough. You got anything to back it up? Show or lay down, Burnet. I've called your hand!" He didn't underestimate this man. There was the experienced gun fighter's fight-er's arrogance about him. He. let his muscles go slack and ready and felt only that cool alertness as he said, "Any time." He could almost see the huge right shoulder begin its lift that would bring the gun up out of its holster. His own fingers curved when Splann's eyes went past his and swung back. A subtle change came over him. He leaned forward a little, confiding, "Burnet, you stay clear. You've got a lot to learn, some things you don't want to know. And you've got a lot to lose." His eyes moved again. Footsteps crackled ln the dry leaves, and then Joy called gayly, "Lew! Come and look!" She passed beyond them looking pleased, with something bundled in her arms. She was barelegged and her long hair, washed and dried, was soft around her head. Splann's eyes followed her through the trees. Then they came back with a knowing shrewdness. "You take my advice and you'll get your pay. One thing about you ain't hard to read." He wheeled and led his horse toward the picketed mounts. Joy was up on her bed in the wagon, wag-on, sitting crosslegged with both hands covering her lap. "Lew . . . eggs!" She lifted her hands. "Turkey "Tur-key eggs. I found a nest!" He leaned in to her and turned them with mock gravity. "Real eggs. Think of that." But it was her scrubbed fragrance he was aware of, her soft hair and skin that was warm and glowing. It put a tight quietness in him that was not mockery. Then she laid both of her hands on his. The laughter was gone from her eyes. She looked up soberly. "Lew, I've been sorry about something. Dreadfully sorry. I mean back there when Steve went blind. I wasn't hating you. It was only that everything every-thing seemed so wrong. I understand under-stand what you're going through these days. I shouldn't make it any harder." He pulled his hand frem under hers. "I've never asked for pity, Joy, not from anyone. Let me pity myself if I want to. We all do that sometimes. But I don't want it from outside." "This isn't pity! Don't you understand?" under-stand?" Something turned her lips soft and gentle, parting them with a slow and even breath. Her dark eyes searched his face. "We've meant so much to each other. Nothing must end it. I want you to know that." She stirred him with an irritable violence. "That's past, Joy. We aren't children any more. You've grown up and what I have is not a brother's feeling." "I know it" Her voice was hushed. "Look here!" He put his hands roughly on her arms and pressed them against her sides. He hurt her and wanted to hurt. "You've got one man. What do you think? You can still offer some little part of you to another?" "No. It's only " She faltered. His grip tightened. "Joy, this ia nothing you can play with. You'd better not try!" Her breath was quick. He could feel the tremble of her body beneath be-neath his hard hands. He let her go and stepped back. "Anything you want from Doan's store?" She didn't answer but only shook her head, staring at him. He wheeled from her, shaken by the violence vi-olence of the feeling she had aroused. In five miles he reached the bend of the river shelf and saw an unexpected un-expected sight beyond. Far on east of the bend a dozen trail herds flood-bound flood-bound south of the Red made dark blots against the grass. That was the crowd he had missed by taking an unknown route. He could not judge the number from this distance, dis-tance, anywhere up to forty thousand, thou-sand, a bare fraction of the long-horns long-horns pouring north. ITO BE CONTINUED! |