Show The Settling of the Sage By Hal g. g Evarts CopyrIght by Hal HalO 0 Evarts Evarta Service tT T HAS GONE BEFORE the Warren ranch the thee J e Bar on the fringe ot of the I country a stranger apt ap- ap t for as a rider WI- WI Ann Warren known to all as Is the owner ot of the tho ranch The girls girl's father Cal Warren had J. been the original flat nal owner The The question whether er the territory is Ie to remain cow country or be opened to settlement is Ie a troublesome one The newcomer Is put to work Cattle rustlers have been troubling the ranch owners the Three Bar with a girl Joss boss having havIng hav- hav Ing suffered more than others The new hand gives his name as asCal asCal Cal Harris By his announcement announcement announce announce- ment In ea favor vor of squatters squa Hers he Incurs the enmity ot of n a rider l known as Morrow CHAPTER Continued II-Continued 3 3 Not so very verb If hard you can read the dark man n contradicted The newcomers newcomer's gaze returned down the valley and settled on Morrows Morrow's Morrows Morrow's Mor- Mor rows row's face Do you run a ot of your own own- sos so's you'd stand to lose a dollar If every ery toot foot ot of range was fenced 1 be inquired What are you tr trying to get nt at now Morrow demanded now much Ive I've already got HarrIs said A mans man's Interest lays Jays on the sIde where hIs bis finances are most concerned What do you mean by that Morrow Mor- Mor v ro row Insisted Youre good at predicting maybe be youre you're all aK expert at guessing too Harris returned And suddenly Evans laughed ns as If something had bad just occurred oc occurred to film Morrow glanced at him without turning his bead then fell spent his expressIon unchanged A chunky youngster stood In thedoor the thedoor door and bent an approving gaze on the big pinto as he swung out across the pasture lot The boys boy's face was small and quIzzical a shaggy mop of tawney hair hangIng so low upon his forehead that his mild lId blue e eyes es peered forth from under the fringe ot of It and gave him the air of a surprIsed terrier which effect had gained him the thc title of Bangs I 1 bet the little paint horse could make n a man swing and rattle to set setup setup up In his middle once he started to act up he be sal sai Calico Canco would t know how to start Harris said A horse Inside his Is what his breaker makes hIm I never favored the Idea of at breaking a horse to fight you every rIme you climb him My horses ar are gentle gentle broke nut But you have to be able to top oft off just any auy kind of a horse borse Bangs angs objected That dont don't hIlder a man from gen tang tUng his own string Harris reo re- turned Bangs angs turned his surprised eyes on Harris and regarded hIm Intently as asIf asif If strIving to fathom a viewpoint that was entIrely new to him Why It dont don't for a fact he said nt at last Only I juSt never happened to think of It like that before Morrow laughed and the buy boy flushed at the disagreeable ring of It Marrows Morrows Mar Mor rows row's face wore none of the active malignancy that stamps the features ot of those uncontrolled desperadoes I who kill lell In a fa flak of passion rather It seemed that the urge to kill was always s 's with him had been born with Trim him his face drawn and ened from the Inner effort to render this his tendencies submissive to his 1113 brain not through desire for regeneration fur for he had none but asa os as a 8 mere matter of expediency You listen to what the squatter titan tells you you Morrow sold suld to Bangs l hell put right give you a ourse In how everything ought to be dune flone Ue He rose and went outside A raucous bellow sounded from the cookhouse and every man within ear hot t-hot rose and ond moved toward the sum tt to feed It Evans E said and Lets go gl eat up j left tile the bunk house with Barris Did you gather all the information you was prospecting fur for he asked Harris nodded I 1 sorted out one mans man's rl aver er he said Nd N. gl you'd only whispered d to tome tome me lj old you right ofT off l Evans sa J Its astonishing how easy It If Its I s 8 kt J ck them It if you try lit i f through Ugh the meal t the e gigantic c k hovered near Billie Warren as site she sat near one end ot of th the long table rable It was evident to Harris that t e the bIg mon man was was' self appointed guardian guar guar- dlan dian and ond counsellor ot of the Three Bar boss bOBS He showed the same fussy solicitude for her welfare that n a hen would show for her helpless c leks icks uPraise Praise the grub and have bave n a friend at court Harris murmured In Evans ear Billie Warren had bod nearly completed her meal before the men came In She left the table and ond went to her own room When Harris rose to go he be slapped the big man on the back lOrd Id work for half pay where you get et grub like this he said what Id I'd cn call a real teed feed Waddles beamed and followed him to the door Its a tact fact that I 1 can set out the b bat bait you ever a lip over ot of ex Youre a man t stes and and Ir its it's areal eal pleas pleasure to have you about about Billie Warren opened the door and ond motioned to Harris DorrIs He went Into the 4 hl front room that for both hoth living room and sleeping quarters In blankets partitioned ofT off one earl for the girls girl's sleeping room You Yon Karl had something to ro ell me ch clip observed erl after afler he had remained d silent sl si- lent for the of II a minute In the chair site had Indicated gazing Into the fire And II have ha tu to start It n a lIttle tilt ferent frost the way I first on he said Have UIl any of the fire boys boy I mentioned my IllY name to you lu I She shook her fiend hend and waited tot fm him to go 0 on You wont won't care much to hear it he announced Id thought some of 01 spending two Iwo years here tinder some f I IJ J Waddles Wagged a Negative Head other but name perhaps Its It's better belter betterto to come out In the open open-don't you think The girl had straightened In het bel chair and was leaning toward her face white and her gray eyes boring straight Into the mans She knew now who he was the man she had bad more reason to despise than nil others on earth combined Of the 8 Harris family she knew nothing nt at nil all except that her bel fathers father's lifelong regret had been the fact that the partnership between between be- be tween himself and his Itis oldest friend William Harris had never ne been brought to pass And this regret had In the end led him to try and cement that arrangement In the second gen geu Five years ealS before his trait trail had crossed that of the elder Harris Harrl for the first filSt time since he had taken taBen over o the Three Bar ar brand and when n his will had been read she had known that on the occasion of that visit his old friend had played ed upon this s tw s-tw to trick him Into making It On all sides of her she had evidence e that men were wolves wol who preyed upon the Interests ot of others and there was not u a doubt that the fn fa titer ther of the man before her had pre preyed ed upon her Interests through the seMi senti went of her parent no other pOSSiblE theory could account for the strange disposal of his property the will dated and signed tit the exact time ot of his visit to the The tenseness of her pose lose was re replaced pia placed red by lethargic indifference and she relaxed Into her chair Ive known all the time you would come she said Its too bud bad Billie he said Its to J tough h having hu we me wished on to you ou this wa way Dont play that game with me she Oared flared Ot Of course you youve ills proved pro every ery drop of human decency In advance It sure loons up like that on thE thE- surf surface ce he admitted ruefully ur u url l 1 didn't have a hand In cInching you this way way You Yuu could have proved Clint b gln staying ln u a away I wrote you u yal at atago ago that Id I'd donate you a half eat t ill in the Three Bar at al the expiration or of the time Lime It if you'd only keep ofT off th the place But BUI at the last you couldn't resist having it If nil all Ten ren more days dus and you'd oud have ha been too Inte The m man n nodded slowly Too lae he agreed and sat look Cog Ing Into the Ore fire Sue had been almost a shin to to lief het father had ridden the with blur II ed the Three Bar during durIn his sickness and such was her hur 10 loyalty 11 It to his memory flint not n trace of her bitterness s had been directed toward her parent He had loved the Three Bar and had always s 's believed cd that old Bill Harris BurrIs Its founder had loved lo It If too Ills Is will had stipulated that halt half haltof of his property properly should JO go to the younger fiarris un under er the condition that the twin should male make his home on th the Three c Bar for two hm out of the first three years after her fathers father's de cease The whole of It was to go to him In case se sire she failed ll to make tier her own home hO at tire the Three Bar during durIn her coheirs coheir's stay or In the event ent of her I to another before the ex et of 01 three years f ars Ot Of course m Im tl tied d here for two years she said Or left penniless sR f you cnn can lunke It unpleasant enough h ii 10 drive we which away wont won't be flit you yuu win I wouldn't count too strong on that tie he counseled mildly Then why did yoU come she In In- of It was yours by merely keeping away wa Maybe II he m Im sort sorl or of tied lied up up myself myself- In n ways you ou dont don't suspect he be ot of Very ery likely she returned sounds plausible You might offer olTer to marry tile me sire she suggested when hp he failed to answer You could gain aln full possession at once that way Ue tie removed his gaze from the fire and looked long rt he her U t will come to that that lie he said I Ill put n a weapon In your hands she retorted Whenever It does corny come I Ito to that Ill I'll II len leave the so ranch nos no I you know the one sure way to win I II I hope bope It wont won't pan out like that he saId Ill be more disappointed than 1 can say Site She rose and stood waiting for aim to go Good night Billie he said lJ I expect mayhe things will break all allright all allright right for us Site She did not answer as he went out Waddles hailed him In friendly fashion fash- fash Ion as he passed through the cook cook- house honse then wiped hIs hands Dna nail stepped Into Billie quarters Wad Wad- dies was a fixture lit at the Three Bar he had ridden for her father until antic he had Ills his legs smashed up by a horse and had thereafter reigned os as ct ok Re He was adviser nd and self self- appointed guardian ot of the gIrl His rus mind was still pleasantly concerned with the strangers stranger's warm praise of his culinary efforts That new man now Billie mille he re- re marked Hes away oft ahead of at the average run You mark me hell b be top hand with this outfit In no time at nil all Then he observed the girls girl's expressIon What Is It Pet Pet he In In- you Do you know who he is she asked Waddles wagged a negative head Hes Calvin Harris she states Instead of the blank dismay which she had expected to see depleted depicted on face at this announcement it seemed to her ber that the big man was pleased The T h-T Il b I he said Souse kuse me Billie So this here bere Is Call Well well now what do you ou think ot of that 1 I think that I dont don't want to stay here alone with him him while youre you're out after the horses borses she returned Wrong Idea Iden I the big man promptly prompt prompt- ly contradicted Youve got to stick It out for two years girl The best tiling thing yogi ou can do Is to get acquainted rind and figure out how to get along the best you the can pair of you Old Cal Warren hud had some definite notion when he framed this play piny so Its It's likely this young Cal Is on your our side too too But Dut even en more likely not not she stated Then 1 Why then ill IU have to kill him film put n a stop to It the big man mun un an But Its It's nowa s 's probable that It will come to that Lets Let's use logIc Ue he spoke well of my cook cooking lug which proves him a man of some saute ds No way to get around that Now r a 8 man with his judgment wouldn't suspect for one ln living second secund that he could play It low down on you with me roosting close cloge at hand Putting Putting Put Put- ting two plain facts together it II works works' out right natural anti amI simple that hes he's beson on tire the square As easy eusy as that he he finished triumphantly So dont donl you fret And In case lie he acts up Ill I'll clamp down on him real sudden he added h by way of If further reassurance Ills great paw opened and shut to to ute ate his as he moved mo to toward toward ward tIle the and the Three Bur Bar girl Irl knew v that when spoke of clamping down It was no mere figure of speech TO BE CONTINUED |