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Show . . v lb til he Big-Town Round Up By Willla.m MacLeod Raine 5 Copyright by William MacUod Ralne "S me and ruiinlu' a steam roller over the dear departed." "Whose fault will that be! Don't yuh know better than to start a tight with a rlglment?" demanded the ser-geaut ser-geaut of police severely. 'That wasn't a fight. It was a waltz," The faint, uncoaquered smile of brawn Arizona broke through the blood and bruises of the face. "The fight began when Jerry Durand and hU friend rushed me and It ended when Jerry landed oa me with brass knucks. After that I was a football." ine words came In gasps. Every breath, was drawn in pain. "We'd ought to pinch yuh," the sergeant ser-geant said by way of reprimand. "Think yuh can come to Wew York and pull your small-town stuff on us? We'il show youse. If yuh wasn't al-1 falfa green I'd give yuh a ride." The officer dropped his grumbling complaint com-plaint to a whisper. "Whisht, bye. Take a straight tip from a man that knows. Beat It out of town. Get where the long aria of of a friend of ours can't reach yuh. He's a re-vlngeful re-vlngeful inemy If ever there was wan." "You mean that Durand" ; "I'm not namln' names," the officer Interrupted doggedly. "I'm tellln' yuh somethtn' for your good. Take it or leave It." "Thanks, HI leave it This Is a free country, and no man llvln' can drive me away," answered Clay promptlyi "Ouch I'm sora. Give me a lift. Ber lin le glri fsoro the country, could If , he asked. "I suppose not." Her whole face be . gan to bubble with laughter in the way lie liked so well. "But you'll be a busy knlgtit errant if you undertake to right the wrongs of every girl you meet In New York. Don't you think It possible that you rescued her out of a Job?" The young man nodded his hend ruefully. rue-fully. "That's exactly what I did. ' After all her trouble get tin one I've thrown her out again. I'm a sure-enough sure-enough fathead." ' "You've been down to find out?" she . asked with a sidelong tilt of her quick eyes. "Yes. I went down this mawnlrf with Tim Muldoon. lie's n policeman I met down there. Miss Kitty hasn't been seen since that night. We went out to the Pirate's Den, the 'nrple Pup, Grace Godwin's Garret, and all the places where she used to sell cigarettes. cigar-ettes. None of them have seen anything any-thing of her." "So that really your championship hasn't been so great a help to her after all, has it?" "No," "And I suppose It ruined the business busi-ness of the ma'n Mint owns the Sea Siren." "I don't reckon so. I've settled for the furniture. And Muldoon soys when It gets goln again the Sea Siren " i "H L POPS" SYNOPSIS. -A foreword tells this: , Motoring- through Arizona, a party of easterners, father and daughter and a male companion, stop to wlt-1 wlt-1 nss a cattle round up. The girl leaves the car and Is attacked by a wild steer. A masterpiece of .. rldtoff on the part of one of the cowboys eaves her life. Then the - story begins: Clay Lindsay, range- rider on an Arizona ranch, announces an-nounces his Intention to visit the "big town." New York. On the train Lindsay becomes Interested in a younar woman, Kitty Mason, on her way to New York to become a motion-picture actress. She Is marked as talr prey by a fellow traveler, Jerry Durand, gang politician politi-cian and ex-prlie lighter, perceiving his intentions, Lindsay provokes a quarrel and throws Durand from As she looked at her recovered friend, Kitty gradually realized an outward out-ward transformation in his appearance. appear-ance. He was dressed quietly In clothes of perfect fit made for hlin by Colin Whltford'a tailor. From shoes to hat he was a New Yorker got up regardless of expense. But the warm smile, the strong, tanned face, the grip of the big brown hand that burled her small one all these were from her own West So too had been the nonchalance non-chalance with which he had stepped from the rail of one moving bus to that of the o,ther, Just as though this were his usual method of transfer.' trans-fer.' . - -: - " '-'"., "I've got a Job at last" she explained to him. "I'm working downtown in Greenwich Village, selling cigarettes. I'm Sylvia the Cigarette Girl. At hernia is my land, and all free souls are my brothers. Why should I get wrinkles because Germany suuk the Lusltanla a month or two ago? That's her business, not mine." Clay leaned forward on a search for information. "Excuse me fo,r buttln' in, and me a stranger. But Isn't it yore business when she murders American women and children?" The pasty-faced man looked at him with thinly disguised contempt "You wouldn't understand If I explained." "Mebbeao I wouldn't, but you take a whirl at It and I'll listen high, wide, and handsome." The man in velveteens unexpectedly found himself doing as he was told. There was a suggestion of compulsion about the gray-blue eyes fastened on his, something In the clamp of the eyed, turned to him with relentless malice. The gang leader was taking no part In the tight The crowd parted. Out of the pack a pair of strong arms and lean broad shouiders plowed a way for a somewhat some-what damaged face that still carried a debonair smile. With pantherlsh Utheness the , Arjzouan ducked a swinging blow. A moment, and ne was outside taking the three steps that Jed to the street Into his laboring lungs he drew deliriously de-liriously the, soft breath of the night. It cooled the' fever of his hammered face, was like an icy bath to his hot body. A little dlssy from the blows that had been rained on him, he stood for a moment uncertain which way to go. Then again he became aware of least that's what they call me. I carry a tray of them evenings Into the cafe." "Greenwich Village?" asked Clay. Kitty was not able to explain that the Village Is a state of mind which is the habitat of long-haired men and short-haired women, the brains of whom functioned in a way totally alien to all her methods of thought "Can't you come down tonight to The Purple Pup or The Sea Siren and see for yourself?" she proposed, and gave him directions for finding the classic resorts, re-sorts, j "I'm dressed silly In bare feet and sandals and what they call a smock. You won't mind that, will you?" "You'll look good to me, no matter what you wear, little Miss Colorado," he told her with hla warm, big brother's broth-er's smile. "You're good," the girl said simply. "I knew that on the train even when I when I was mean to you." There tne train, un his nrst day in New 1 York Lindsay Is splashed with wa- ter by t Janitor. That individual v- the range-rider punishes summarily and leaves tied to a fire hydrant A young womaa who sees the oc-, oc-, currence invites Clay Into her house and hides him from the police. po-lice. Clay's "rescuer" Introduces J herself as Beatrice Whltford. Lind say meets her father, Colin Whltford, Whlt-ford, and Is Invited to visit them again. CHAPTER IV Continued. "I'll ce'talnly do that, Miss Whltford." Whlt-ford." "Then we'll look for you Thursday afternoon, say." "I'll be here." "If the police don't get you." "They won't" he promised serenely. "When you're ready, Bee," suggested Bromfleid In a bored voice. She nodded casually and walked out of the' room like a young Diana, tralght as a dart In her trim slender-ness. slender-ness. Clay slipped out of the house by the back way. From the top of a bus Clay Lindsay . looked down a canyon which angled across the great city like a river of light. He had come from one land of gorges to another.- In the walls of this one, thousands and tens of thousands of cliff-dwellers hid themselves during the da like animals of some queer breed and poured out Into the canyon ' at sunset Now the river In Its bed was alive with a throbbing tide. Cross-currents of humanity flowed Into It froin side streets and ebbed out of it Into others. Streams of people were swept down, caught here and there In swirling eddies. ed-dies. Taxrs, private motors, and trolley trol-ley cars struggled In the raceway. All this Clay saw in a flash while his bus crossed Broadway on its way to tlte Avenue. His eyes had become accustomed to this brilliance in the weeks that had passed since his descent upon New York, but familiarity familiar-ity had not yet dulled the wonder strong Jaw that brought Jiim up for a moment against stark reality. "The Intelligentsia-of a country know that there can be no freedom until there Is no law. Every man's duty ts to disregard duty. So, by faring far-ing far on the wings of desire, he helps break down the slavery that binds us. Obey the Cosmic Urge of your soul regardless re-gardless of where It leads you, young man." It was unfortunate for the poet of Bohemia that at this precise moment Kitty Mason, dressed in sandals and a lilac-patterr.ed smock, stood before him with a tray of cigarettes asking for his trade. The naive appeal in her seft eyes had Its weight with the poet. What is the use of living in Bohemia If one cannot be free to follow Impulse? Im-pulse? He slipped an arm about the girl and kissed the crimson Upt upturned up-turned to him. Kitty started back with a little cry of distress. The freedom taken by the near-poet was instantly avenged. A Cosmic Urge beat In the veins of the savage from Arizona. He took the poet's advice and followed his Lawless Law-less Impulse where It led. Across the table a long arm reached. Sinewy fingers closed upon the flowing neckwear neck-wear of the fat-faced orator and dragged him forward, leaving overturned over-turned glasses In the wake of his course. The man In velveteens met the eyes of the energetic manhandler and quailed. Tills brown-faced barbarian looked very much like business. "Don't you touch inei Don't you dare touch me 1" the apostle of anarchy shrilled as the table crashed down. "I'll turn you over to the police 1" Clay Jerked him to his feet 10 rd knuckles pressed cruelly into the tfiifl throat of the Villager. "Git down or. yore ham bones ana beg the lady's pardon. par-don. Tell her you're a yellow pup, but you don't reckon you'll ever pull a bone like that again." The companions of the poet ruied forward to protest at the manhandling of their leader. Those in thd rear Jammed the front ones close to Clay and his captive. The cow puncher Durand. The man was not alone. He had with him a hulking ruffian whose heavy, hunched shoulders told : of strength. There was a hint of the gorilla In the wsy the long arms hung straight from the shoulders as he leaned forward. Both of the men were watching the cow puncher as steadily as alley cats do a house finch. "II ls going to pop In about three seconds," announced day to himself. Silently, w lthout lifting their eyes from their victim for an Instant, the two men moved apart to take him on both sides. He clung to the wall, forcing forc-ing a frontal attack. The laughter had gone out of his eyes now. They had hardened to pinpoints. This time It was no amateur horseplay. He was fighting for his life. No need to tell Clay Lindsay that the New York gangster meant to leave him as good dead. The mn rushed him. He fought back with clean, hard blows. Jerry bored In like a wild bull. Clay c&ught him off his balance, using a short arm Jolt which had back of It all that twenty-three years of clean outdoors Arizona could give. The gangster hit the pavement hard. He got up furious and charged again. The Arlzonan, busy with the other man, tried to sidestep. An uppercut Jarred him to the heel. In that instant of time before his knees began to sag beneath him his brain flashed the news that Durand had struck him on the chin with brass knuckles. He crumpled up and went down, still alive to what was going on, but unable to move In his own defense. W'eaicly he tried to protect his face and sides from the kicks of a heavy boot. Then he floated balloon-like in space and vanished Into unconsciousness. Clay drifted back to a world In which the machinery of his body creaked. He turned his head, and a racking pain shot down his neck. He moved a leg, and every muscle In it ached. From head to foot he was sore. Voices somewhere In space, detached from any personal ownership, floated vaguely to him. Presently these re- geant." . They helped the cow puncher to hla feet. He took a limping step or two. Every move was torture to his outraged out-raged flesh. "Can you get me a taxi? That Is, If you're sure you don't want me In yore calaboose," the range-rider said, leaning against the wall. "We'll let yuh go this time." "Much obliged to Mr. Jerry Durand. Du-rand. Tell him for me that maybe I'll meet up with hhn ngaln some time and hand him my thanks personal for this first-class walloping" From the bruised, bleeding face there beamed again the smile Indomitable, the grin still gay and winning. Physically he had been badly beaten, but in spirit he was still the man on horseback. Presently he eased himself Into a tuxl as comfortably as he could. "Home, James," he said Jauntily. "Where?" asked the driver. "The nearest hospital," explained Clsy. "I'm goln to let the doctors worry over me for a while. Much obliged to both of you gentlemen. 1 1 always did like the Irish. Friend Jerry I Is an exception." ! The officers watched the cab dlsap-peor. dlsap-peor. The sergeant spoke the comment com-ment that was In the mind of them both. "He's the best single-barreled sport that Iver I met In this man's town. Not a whimper out of the guy and hlra mauled to a pulp. Oame as they come. Did youse see that spark o the dlvvle in his eye, and htm not fit to crawl into the cab? S'long, Tim. No report on this rough-house, mind yuh." "Sure, Mike." CHAPTER VI Beatrice Up Stage. If you vision Clay as a man of battles bat-tles and violent death, you don't see him as he saw himself. He was a peaceful citizen from the law-abiding West It was not until he had been flung Into the whirlpool of New York that violent and melodramatic mishaps befell this Innocent This was the version of himself that hn PHtiovoA rn ho tni and th nna he "But You'll Be a Busy Knight Errant If You Undertake to Right tha Wrong, of Every Girl You Meet In New York." will do a big business on account of the fracus. It's Kitty I'm worried about"., . .. .... ..: ..." ".j "I wouldn't worry about her If l"" were you. She'll lurid on Iter feet," the girl said lightly. Her voice had not lost its sweet cadences, but Clay sensed in it something some-thing that was almost a toa;h ef cool contempt He felt vnguelf that h must hove blundered In describing Kitty. Evidently Miss Whltford did not st her quite ns she was. The young woman pressed the starter start-er button. "We must be going home, I have an engagement to go riding with Mr. Bromfltld.,, , , The man beside the girl kept hla smile working and concealed the Httla stab of Jealousy that dirked him. solved themselves Into words and sentences. sen-tences. "We're not to make a pinch, Tim. That's the word he gave me before he left This Is wan av Jerry'a private little wars and he don't want a Judge askln' a lot of unnlcessary questions, y' understand." "Mother av Moses, If this he-man from H I's Hinges hadn't the luck av the Irish, there'd be questions a-plenty asked. He'd be ready for the morgue this bllssed minute.. Jerry's a murderln dlvvle. When I breeae In or it. He had become a fast friend of Miss Whltford. Together they had tramped through Central park and motored up the Hudson In one of her father's cars. Tliey bad explored each other's minds along with the country and each had known tae surprise and delight of discoveries, dis-coveries, of finding In the other a quality of freshness and candor. The bus Jerked down Fifth avenue like a boat In heavy seas, pausing here and there at the curb to take on a passenger. While It was getting under way after one such stop, another downtown bus rolled post. Clay came to a sudden alert attention. atten-tion. Hla ejea focused on a girl sitting sit-ting on a back seat In the pretty childish face he read a wistful help-. help-. , lessnesa, a pathetic hint of misery that s called for sympathy. Arizona takes short cuts to Its ends. Clay rose Instantly, put his foot on the railing, and leaped across to the top of the bus rolling parallel with the one ; ' 1.4 ce. Ik ancthw he J" dropped Into the seat beside the girl. . "Glad to meet yau again, Miss Kitty," he said cheerfully. "How the big town been using you?" "Say, Where Do You Get This Movie Stunt Stuff V came Into her voice a small tremor of apprehension. "I'm afraid of this town. It's so so klnda cruel. I've got no friends here." He offered Instant reassurance with a strong grip of his brown hand. "You've got one, little pardner. I'll promise that one big husky will be on the Job wlien you need him. Don't you worry." She gnve him her shy eyes gratefully. grate-fully. There was a mist of tears In them. "You're good," she said again naively. CHAPTER V Arliona Fellows Its Lawless Impulse. The Sea Siren was already beginning begin-ning to fill up when Clay descended three steps to a cellar and wag warily admitted. A near-Hawaiian orchestra was strumming out a dance tune and a few couples were on the floor. Waitresses, Wait-resses, got up as Lorelels, were mov- Colln Whltford had confided to Lindsay Lind-say that his daughter was practlcaHy engaged to Clarendon Bromfleid and that he did not like the man. The range-rider did not like hltn either, but he tried loyally to kill his distrust of the clubman. If Beatrice loved hint . there must be good In the fellow. Clay meant to be a good loser anyhow. There had been moments when th range-rider'a heart had quickened with a wild, Insurgent hope. One of these bad been on a morning when they were riding la the park, knee to kaee, In the dawn of a new clean world. It had come to him with a sudden clamor of . the blood that In the eternal rlghtness of things such mornings ought to be theirs till the youth in them was quenched In sober age. He had looked Into the eyes of this slim young Diana, 1 and he had throbbed to the certainty that she too In that moment of tangled glances knew a sweet confusion confu-sion of the blood. In her cheeks there had beeu a ukk ilame oi uj iug cut nr. Their talk had fallen from them, and they had ridden In a shy, exquisite silence si-lence from which she had escaped by mittlnir hir hitrpa tn a mil tor. tried to Interpret to Bee Whltford when he emerged from the hospital after af-ter two days of seclusion and presented pre-sented himself before her. " It was characteristic of Beatrice that when she looked at his battered face she asked no questions and made no exclamations. After the first startled glance one might have thought from her expression that he habitually wore one black eye, one swollen hp, one cauliflower ear, and a strip of gauze across his cheek. The dark-lashed eyea lifted from him to take on a business-like directness. She rang for the man. "Have the runabout brought round at once, Stevens. I'll drive myself," she gave orders. With the light ease that looked silken silk-en strong she swept the car Into the para. Neither she nor Clay talked. Both of them knew that an explanation explana-tion of his appearance was due her and In the meantime neither cared to fence with small talk. She drew up to look at some pond lilies, and they talked about them for a moment, after which her direct eyes questioned him frankly. ? irk " Wrrlw't gently but strongly pushed tnem beck. "Don't get on the prod," he advised tn his genial drawl. "The poet he's got an Important engagement right ow." A kind of scuffle developed. Tfce proprietor pro-prietor increased It by his hysterical efforts to prevent any trouble. Men joined themselves to the noisy group of which Clay was the smiling center. The excitement Increased. Distant corners of the room became the refuge of the women. Some one struck at the cow puncher over the heads of thone about him. Tlte mass of closely packed human beings showed a convulsive activity. ac-tivity. It became suddenly the most popular Indoor sport at the Sea Siren to slay this barbarian from the desert who hod Interfered with the amusements amuse-ments of Bohemia. But Clay took a lot of slaying. In the rough-and-tumble life of the out? door West he had learned how to look out for his own hand. The copper hair of his strong lean head rose above the tangle of the melee like the bro-mldlc bro-mldlc Helmet of Navarre. A reckless light of mtrtli bubbled In his daredevil dare-devil eyes. The very number of the opponents who Interfered with each other trying to get at him was a guarantee guar-antee of safety. The blows showered at him lacked steam and were badly timed as to distance. The pack rolled across the room, tipped over a table, and deluged an artist and his affinity with hot chocolate choco-late before they could escape from the avalanche. Chairs went over like ninepins. Stands collapsed. Men grunted grunt-ed and shouted advice. Girls screamed. The Sea Siren w as being wrecked by a cyclone from the bad lands. , Arms threshed wildly to and fro. The local point of their destination was the figure ot the center of the disturbance. Most of the blows found other marks. Four or five men could have demolished demol-ished (May. Fifteen or twenty found It a tough Job because they Interfered with each other at every turn. They were packed too close for hard hitting. Clay wds not fighting but wrestling. He used his arms to push with rather than to strike blows that counted. The Ar1nan could not afterward "ememlter at exactly what stage of the Voceetilngs the face of Jerry Durand Impinged Itself on his consciousness. Once, when the swirl of the crowd flung him close to tne dour, he caught a gtlmpse of It, tlght'llpped and wolf lug about among the guests delivering orders for refreshments. The westerner sat down in a corner and looked about him. The walls were decorated with crude purple crayons of underfed sirens. A statue of a nude woman distressed day. He did not mind the mbwing clothes, bue she waa so dreadfully emaciated that he thought It wise for her to cling to the yellow-and-red draped barber pole that rose from the pedestal. On the base was the legend, "The Weeping Lady." After he had tasted the Sea Siren fare the man from Arlr.ona suspected sus-pected that both her grief and her anaemia arose from the fact tnat she had been fed on It. A man In artist's velveteens, minus a haircut, with a large, fat, pasty face, sat at an adjoining table and discoursed dis-coursed to his friends. Presently, during dur-ing a a Intermission of the jiiuhIc, he rose and took the rest of those present Into his confidence. "Bourgeois to the core," he announced, an-nounced, speaking of the United States. "What are the Idols we woi ship? Law, the chain which binds ao enslaved people, thrift bom f childish fear; love of country, which Is another name for crass provincialism. I I am a Cosmopolite, not aa American. B- The girl looked at hlra with a little gasp of surprise. "Mr. Lindsay 1" Sud-?' Sud-?' ' den tears filmed her eyes. She forgot . that she had left hltn with the promise never again to upeak to him. She was lu.a far cvuutry, and he was a friend " - .. from homei The conductor bustled down the! aisle. "Kr. where do you get this movie-stuff? You can't Jump from the top of ie bus to another. That ain't the system of transfers we use In this U.v.:i. You might V got killed." "Oh, well, let's not worry about that now." "I'd oufc-ht to have yon pulled. Three years I've been on this run . and" "Nice run. Wages good?" "Don't get gay, young fellow. I can tell you one thing. You've got to pay unotlier fun'." Clay, paid It The conductor retired to his post. "What about thnt movfe Job? Is It panmV out pay. gold?" Lindsay asked Kitty. I$!t by bit hw story came out. It was a common enough one. She bad 1 een film flammed out, of her money by the al'il scbooi of movj picture ectors, nriil tlie sharpers bat .raped with It. . ..'"''. But in the sober sense of sanity Clay knew that this wonderful thing was not going to-happen to him. He was not going to be given her happiness to hold In the hollow of his hand. Bee Whltford was a modern young woman, practleal-mlnded, with a proper sense of the values that the world esteems. Clarendon Bromfleid was a catch even In New York. He was rich, of a good family, assured social posltlnn, good-looking, good-looking, and manifestly in love with her. Like gravitates to like the hind over. Bromfleid, too, had no doubt that Bee meant to marry him. He was In love with her as far os be could bo with anybody except himself. H wanted her the youth, the buoyant life, the gay, plad comradeship of her and he had always been lucky In getting whiit he desired. Imnt was the use of having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. "Yep. I never knowed Clay to look at a girl before. He sure thinks a heap of you." !'. (TO BE CON'TINUKD.) He painted with a light brush the picture of his adventure Into Bohemia. The details he filled In whimsically, In the picturesque phraseology of the West Up stage on his canvas was the figure of the poet in velveteens. That Son of the Stars he did full Justice. Jerry Durand and Kitty Mason were accessories sketched casually. "I gather that Mr. Lindsay of Arizona Ari-zona was among those present," Beatrice Be-atrice said, smiling. "I was gtvln' the dance," he agreed, and his gay eyes met hers. Since she was a woman, one phase of his story needed expansion for Miss Whltford. She made her comment carelessly while she adjusted the mileage mile-age on the speedometer. "Queer you happened to meet someone some-one you knew down there. You said you knew the girl, didn't you?" "We were on the same train out of Denver. I got acquainted with her." Miss Whltford asked n more questions. ques-tions. But Clay could not quite let the matter stand so. He wanted her to Justify him In her mind for what he had done. Before he knew It he had told her tho Story of Kitty Mason and Durand. "I couldn't W elm hypnotize that The Men Rushed Him. He Fought Back With Clean, Hard Blows. I find him cronliln this lad proper and he acts like a crazy man when I stand him ond Gorilla Dave off till yuh come n-runnln'. At that they may have given the bye more than he can carry. Maybe It'll be roses and a nice black carriage for him yet." Ctay opened his eyes, flexed his arm rauBCle i and groaned. He caressed tender his aching ribs. "Svim wreck," be gasped weakly. "They d.dn't do a thing to me outside out-side of bestlu' me up and stompln on |
