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Show ItefALAN LE MAY SYNOPSIS Kentucky Jones attends the inquest in-quest into the death of John Mason, banker. Jean, daughter of Campo Ragland, owner of the Bar Hook ranch, where Mason met death, surreptitiously sur-reptitiously passes to Jones the bullet bul-let which had killed Mason, she having hav-ing abstraoted it from the evidence during the Inquest. Kentucky goes to work on the Bar Hook ranch. Tha Mason verdict is accidental death. Bob Elliot, owner of the "88" ranch, adjoining the Bar Hook, drives his cattle on the Bar Hook range. Lee Bishop, Ragland's ranch boss, expostulates, and Bill McCord, Elliot's foreman, insults him. Bishop and Jones are astounded by Rag-land's Rag-land's Indifference to Elliot's action. Jones tells Jean Elliot knows she purloined the bullet at the Inquest, which Jones has got rid of. Her reaction re-action mystifies him. Zack Sanders, cook at the Bar Hook ranch, is found dead, evidently murdered. ' Sheriff Hopper, investigating Sanders' San-ders' death, announces his knowledge knowl-edge that Mason also was murdered. CHAPTER V Continued "Look here, St. Marie If some thing funny has happened around here I want to know wliat It Is. Who did you throw down on when you went out to feed your horse?" "I thought I saw a coyote," said St Marie. "Don't you lie to me! You can'i get away with that stuff here!" "I don't feel so good." Campo Ragland gave It up In disgust, and St. Marie hurriedly took himself out of range, retiring to the bunk house. Campo seemed bewildered. To Kentucky Jones It seemed that the ross purposes which held the boss of the Bar Hook In a state of paral ysis were now almost physically risible, as wind Is visible In prairie hay by Its effect. Here was an owner own-er whose range was being swamped, overwhelmed by the herds of his nemy ; he faced a ruin which could only be averted by an Immediate and determined contest for the ground. Yet something had thrown and hogtied this man some obscure and hidden circumstance which he seemed at a loss to combat Kentucky Ken-tucky no longer could doubt that the circumstance which hogtied Ragland had to do with Jean. "I'll hire a cook when we go In for the Inquest." Ragland spoke tonelessly, like a man seeking to escape from other things. "Jean wants to do the cooking, and I'll let her, I guess ; but you fellers will have to get the fires started in the morning." "I'll take first crack at It," said Lee Bishop. Kentucky Jones saw his chance and Jumped It The ultimate answer an-swer might be deep In twisted trails, but his next step was obvious and Immediate; he had to force the truth out of St Marie. Lee Bish op's removal would make opportu tilty for this, since the other hands - would not be back from Waterman nntll the cars had been loaded in the morning. "Then take the bunk off the kitchen, Lee," he said. "I'll run down and get you your bed." Down In the bunk house, to which Joe St. Marie had retired, no light showed; but from within came the complicated rhythms of a mouth organ played by a master, telling Kentucky that his man was still there, and awake. The mouth organ feH silent, however, as he approached; and Kentucky, stepping step-ping Into the full light of no less than three lamps, saw that blankets screened the windows; and a six-gun had replaced the mouth organ In Joe St Marie's bands. "Oh. It's yon," said St Marie sheepishly, and dropped the six-gun on the bunk beside him. Kentucky cast a glance at the blankets which screened the windows. win-dows. "Look here. If I'm going to sleep In this bunk house I want to know who you thought was going to fire through the window." "I hung those up to keep the cold wind out," said St. Marie. "You don't figure to tell me, hull?" "Nothing to tell." "You look here, Joe 1 If ever n man was scared, you were when you came Into that kitchen tonight. Now I want to know what lifted you out of your boots." St. Marie did not answer; he had retreated Into the solidity possible to his darker forbears. Kentucky, stepping to the edge of the bunk, smoothly lifted the six-gun six-gun from St Marie's side and tossed It Into another bunk. The music stopped short Kentucky said, "Now you talk!" Joe St. Marie slid his high heels under him. hunched himself ns if e were going to start hit music again ; then the hamonica dropped to the floor as he uncoiled and sprang. Kentucky dropped into a crouch and laced out with a long uppercut-ting uppercut-ting wallop. Two seconds later St Marie was on his back between the stove and the wall, while Kentucky j held him down with a knee on the bronc rider's chest "Now you be good," he said. "By G d, you fool with me, I'll snap you like a whip !" St. Marie made a desperate effort to rise. "Jones, there's somebody coming!" "I don't care If there's a regiment regi-ment coming. You're going to sit quiet and pretty until we talk this over." "Then take my gun ! Take my gun yourself," Joe St Marie urged him. "You want to die?' The honest fear In Joe St Marie was not for Kentucky, he now recognized rec-ognized ; undoubtedly It was for the approach beyond the door. "All right," said Kentucky disgustedly. He left the bronc rider, recovered St Marie's gun, and stuck It negligently negli-gently In his waistband. There was a low tapping at the door. "Come in I" The door opened quickly, but not wide, and Jean Ragland slid In. She shut the door and leaned against It, her hands behind her upon the latch. She wore no coat. "What's the matter here?" she demanded. de-manded. "Joe and I were wrestling," said Kentucky. "What's broke loose. Miss Ragland?" "Nothing's broke loose." Her 1IP11 St Marie Made a Desperate Effort to Rise. blue eyes looked almost black, but the yellow lamp light turned her hair Into a glowing smolder, as If there were fire In It "All right. Joe I can't stay here forever; what happened tonight?" Joe St Marie dropped his eyes and swayed from side to side like a steer baffled by a fence. "Aw, Miss Ragland " "Come out with it now I" Joe St. Marie squirmed. "You wouldn't believe " "Never mind that." "I seen a ghost! Miss Ragland. I swear to heaven, I seen the ghost of John Mason, as plain as I see you stand there now 1" The girl was silent a moment, astounded by St. Marie's Idiotic answer. an-swer. "For heaven's sake, Joe, pull yourself together! If some rider has been Into this layout I want to know " "Miss Ragland," St Marie Insisted, Insist-ed, "I've got good eyes. I don't forget for-get You think I don't remember how Old Ironsides used to set half crooked In the saddle with his shoulders shoul-ders hunched you think I wouldn't know him out of a thousand men " It was Jean Ragland that Kentucky Ken-tucky Jones was watching; and now he saw that comprehension had come to her. "I saw It twice," Joe S?. Marie was rushing on now. "The first time sitting out there on the hump; and again when I went out to feed my horse, farther out, going down the trail. I fired at It and.lt disappeared." dis-appeared." "All right Joe, Was that all you saw?" "Good G d. Miss Ragland, wasn't that enough?'' Jean ltagland drew a deep unsteady un-steady breath. "Yes I espeet It was. You'd better keep this to yourself, Joe. If you know what's cood for you." She added, "Both of you." She sent Kentucky Jones a glance that might have been an appeal ap-peal ; then suddenly turned and let herself out the door. Kentucky Jones hesitated and opened his mouth to ask Joe St Marie a ques tion ; then, changing his mind, he followed her. At the sound of the door Jean turned and waited; he fell In beside be-side her. and walked with her to the house. "Miss Ragland," he said, "who. besides yourself, knows what Joe St Marie saw tonight?" She turned on him quickly. "Listen," she said. '"Listen. I've got to tell you this: When I when I gave you that bullet I swear I didn't know you had been here the day the day Mason was killed. If I'd thought there was the least chance of your getting bogged down in this thing" "Am I bogged down?" "Can't you see what Floyd Hopper Hop-per means to do? Right or wrong he'll -see somebody roped. And that means more than Just the sheriff against the man he picks. All Wolf Bench will rise up to back the sheriffs play, without Justice, without mercy Is It true that he can show you had a reason to kill Mason?" He considered. "Yes," he said. "What can I say?" Her whisper came to him brokenly. "What can I say?" "How did you first know that Mason was murdered?" he asked. She said In a smoother voice, "I can't tell you now." "Did you know that Zack Sanders San-ders was dead?" "No! I didn't know I I never guessed " "Then" "Don't! Don't ask me any more. I can't I can't " "Child, he said gently, "you don't need to tell me anything you don't fee! like telling me, now or any oth er time. If there's anything I can do to make things go any easier for you, I want to do It And I don't blame you for wishing I was out of this. But" "No," she said In a small voice, "no, I want you to stay here." He said to himself, "Good Lord, she means to use me yet!" Aloud he said, "Then that's all right" She spoke with difficulty. "This this is the meanest thing I ever did In my life." "What Is It?" She did not answer him; but Instead In-stead she unexpectedly crooked an elbow around his neck, pulled down his head, and kissed his mouth. When she was gone he stood for a moment or two In the snow, considering. con-sidering. Far off somewhere a timber tim-ber wolf howled, the first he had heard in half a dozen years. CHAPTER VI U AD It stood alone, the shooting of Zack Sanders, a crippled ranch cook, might have passed with little notice. But the obvious and at the same time extremely elusive connection between the killing of Sanders and the death of John Mason Ma-son stirred new war talk throughout through-out the length of the rlmrock. Even while It was generally supposed sup-posed that Mason had died by the accidental discharge of his own gun, the temper of the rlmrock cattlemen had been stormy and insecure. in-secure. Now suddenly they were asked to accept the news that Mason's Ma-son's death had been no accident; that the redoubtable Old Ironsides had been murdered by parties unknown. un-known. Twenty-four hours after Lee Bishop discovered the body of Zack Sanders under the snow, the whole rlmrock knew both the discovery and Its meaning. Fully as many people swarmed Into Waterman for the Inquest upon the shooting of Zack Sanders as had gathered for the Mason Inquest But this time the people showed a different mood. The death of Mason had left the cattle people Irritable, but dazed and uncertain. The proof of murder mur-der turned them ugly. And there had sprung np among the cattlemen an even more uncertain uncer-tain situation. The circumstances of Mason's murder had already made the Bar Hook the focal point of the general disaster. The Incredibly In-credibly prompt and bold decision of Bob Elliot's threatened SS now promised to make the Bar Hook the focal point of the sequel. Whatever What-ever could be said against Bob Elliot, El-liot, he was proving now that he could make a decision that popped like a blacksnake whip. The 8S's first drive of cattle was already spread all over the middle of the Bar Hook range, cutting heavily Into the feed that the Bar Hook Herefords would need long before the spring. Yet, now, of all times In his career, ca-reer, Campo Ragland chose this to go Into what appeared to be a black and hopeless funk. The day after the Inquest Kentucky Ken-tucky Jones got back from the morning's work before the rest He found Jean In the kitchen. Her eye quickened Instantly as Kentucky Junes came In. "Are the others back?" "Not yet." "Come here." she commanded. "I have to talk to you." "Just a second." He went to the phone and belled the gunsmith at Waterman. Old Mark Ferris, Wolf Bench gunsmith for more than twenty years, knew most of the guns In the Waterman rlmrock; and Kentucky Ken-tucky had talked to him the day before In an effort to trace the ownership own-ership of the gun found In Zack Sanders' hand. It had seemed to him odd that Zack, who owned no gun belt, should have neon carrying carry-ing a g'jn; and he had heon Jed to wonder If Zack could have been forewarned, and had perhaps bor rowed the weapon. If this were true, he wanted to know whose gun Zack had borrowed. Therefore ho had set Ferris searching through his records for the serial number of the questioned gun, in the hope that the old gunsmith could recall to whom the gun had been sold. Presently Mark Ferris' voice came over the wire, querulous and faint "I can't find any record of tha' gun," he said. "I don't believe I ever sold that gun, Kentuck." "You must have sold It," Ken tucky Insisted. "Look here, Ferris this is no joke! - Look again, will you?" "All right." Kentucky hung up and went tn sit opposite Jean at the table where she was at work. "I suppose by this time," she be gan, "you have no end of theories about what happened here." "I used to know an old lion hunt er, name of Old Man Coffee." Ken tucky told her. "Whenever a kill Ing or something had everybody else balled up. they used to send for Old Man Coffee. He didn't always un ravel the trail; but he seemed to see through a lot of things that fooled other folks. And once I asked him how he did It "He said he made things easy for himself by never having a theory he just kept hunting up facts, and when he had enough to give him the answer, there wasn't any theory about It he knew. Me, I think Old Man Coffee's way was a good way." She stopped work and studied him. "I can't make you out," she said at last. "You mean you have no idea of your own who killed Ma son or Zack Sanders or why?" "Child," he said, "how long Is It going to be before you tell somebody some-body anybody what you know?" She looked at him suddenly as she answered ; and he knew that she lied to him, bravely, and with open eyes. "I haven't the least Idea what you mean," she said. "All right But I ought to tell you this if I stay here much longer, long-er, I'll know who killed Mason and why." "You you're sure of that?" "The facts I have are very few," he said. "I don't know where they lead. But already I know they lead a clear straight trail. The facts are too distinct and clear to be pointing more than one way. Those two men killed at the same time, but by two different calibers of guns; this house being searched; the fact that the two were killed at almost the same time, bnt were found lying nearly sixty yards apart each thing stands out sharp as the slot of a deer In the snow. When those facts are finally fitted together togeth-er nobody will ever be able to blur them so that there's any doubt" "If you're going to turn yourself Into a spy " Jean began hotly. She stopped, checked by the steadiness of his regard. Kentucky Jones said gently, "Who are you shielding, Jean?" . She straightened and stood looking look-ing out through the clear space In the middle of the frosted pane. Her face was passive, but her head was up with a fine proud carriage, and her hair was smoky flame. "I'm glad It's over with," she said at last. "Sooner or later you were bound to ask that, of course." "Of course," he repeated. He could not see that there was any sign of faltering In this girl. It was as If she could expect her whole world to come down around her In a rattling avalanche If ever she lost her grip. She drew a deep unsteady breath. "I I was trying to talk to you about something else." "I'm sorry, Jean." She looked at him (hard. "It's nearly noon," she said. "In a few minutes the riders will be coming In. Tell me this, Kentucky: If you were boss of the Bar Hook, could you save the brand?" "I only know one way. It's a way that most men would hesitate to take." "And what Is that?" "To feed Elliot his own medUlne. It would mean more riders; all of them tough, trouble-hunting men. It would be their Job to run those 88 brand cattle back where they came from; and run them again next week, and the week after, and every time they come run them till their bones rattle, and half of them are muzzle-down In the snow. But If a man thinks he might be squeamish squeam-ish about seeing empty saddles come In then he might better hesitate hesi-tate some, before he takes that way." "Would you?" she asked him. "Would you hesitate?" "If It was my brand no." "Listen." She loaned toward him, her hands on the table. "My father fa-ther Isn't going to fight." "Jean," said Kentucky, "Is It you that's keeping him from making his fight?" She hesitated, as if she truly did not know hpw to answer. "Yes," she said uncertainly at last Then after a moment she changed it. "No." she said. "I kept Campo out of a fight once; maybe It was a fight that he should have made. But It's out of my hands now, Ken-tuck." Ken-tuck." "You pure don't give me rnnch to go on." Kentucky said. "But I'll say this: If ever he's going to make his fight, now Is the time; every day that he puts It off makes II harder In every way. If he tuts It off long enough Llliott will fcave every chance to win " (TO Dr. COTlXVED) j |