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Show 'M- AC EiWUKMMLE M: ' fc f JACKSON GREGORY fl-B GREGORY W.N.U. RELEASE THE STORY SO FAR: Ann Lee and Cole Cody, beneficiaries nnder two wills made by Early Bill Cole of the King Cole Ranch, arrived simultaneously at the Ranch to be greeted by Ranee Waldron. Ranee, posing as Old Bill's nephew and only relative, made it evident they were not welcome at the Ranch. Each was determined to stay, however. Later, during an argument, Ann accidentally shot Cole. It was then they discovered Old Early Bill had made two Identical wills, one leaving all his money and the King Cole Ranch to Ann; and the other giving the same money and property to Cole. However, before his death Old Bill bad sent them each a key to a box. Now continue with the story. CHAPTER X Two old porch-sitters from Bald Eagle came skallyhooting out to the King Cole Ranch. They shared what they agreed to call a hunch. Likewise, both were scorching with curiosity. Having talked spaciously of the two newcomers, a pretty girl by name of Ann Lee and of a lean, long individual name of Cole Cody who had brought the stage in, having hav-ing discussed these two at full length Queerly, they didn't even mention Aunt Jenifer to each other, though both had taken full cognizance of her they were impelled to travel out to the ranch at an unearthly hour, to take stock of conditions there. They arrived early, just In time to see four people gathered about a table with an old black iron box centering their attention. "Aha!" the two old porch-sitters said simultaneously within themselves, them-selves, and came barging in. Ann emitted a small, shrill squeal of delight'. "Doctor Joe! Oh, Doctor Joe, I'm so glad and grateful you came! I'm amongst enemies, cruel, horrid men that would steal a girl's last penny. You come watch, Doctor Joe!" And Cole Cody, seeing the Judge, said a warm, "Howdy, Judge. Come guard my Interests, won't you? They're not only shooting me up, they're trying to steal my mess of pottage. Keep the eye peeled, will you Judge? And I'll buy the drinks." They got the box open. And, all credit to little Ann Lee and some small credit to Cole Cody, they didn't grab. Their eyes, though, did grab. They saw, first of all, two long, sealed envelopes. "Well, Mr. Cody," said Ann, and looked and sounded very brave, "the top envelope is addressed to William Cole Cody. If you care to lift it out, I'll take mine!" Underneath was the one addressed to her. She snatched it, ran her excited eyes over it, flaunted It in his face. Then she tore it open as fast as any envelope was ever opened in all the world, from the time of Rameses, If they had envelopes en-velopes then, to this current Anno Domino year. Her eyes, racing faster fast-er than light travels, that rapid traveler, trav-eler, were shining. A glance told her the tale, the fairy tale, the story that she knew would be there! "To Ann Lee I give and bequeath all my belongings the properties known as the King Cole Ranch " and so forth "Come, hurry, Doctor Joe!" she cried. "You were right! Look!" Cole Cody nailed the Judge with his eye. "Hey, Judge!" he called cheerily. "Step over, will you? We maybe are going to need arbitration, and I pick you for my sponsor! Ten per cent of the net proceeds, if any, goes to you. How about it? Let's both ride lucky!" "What in the world Is this?" exclaimed ex-claimed Ann Lee. She waved a sheet of paper; there was a bank note pinned to it "Listen! It says: 'Little 'Lit-tle Ann Lee, I sort of kind of liked you. You were mighty sweet to me, little Ann; you were like a flower and I bet you make yourself a lot of trouble though, but all live gals do such! Do me a favor, will you? I made a bet with a crazy galoot name of Josephus Daniel Dodge, generally known far and wide, mostly most-ly in low dives and disgraceful places, as Doc Joe. I made the old fool a bet, five hundred dollars that me, I'd outlive him. And here I am as good as dead already! Wouldn't that make you mad, lit ' " She began to cry, dabbing furiously furious-ly at her eyes. But she jerked her head up and let the tears run as they darn well pleased, and kept right straight on reading: "Wouldn't that make you mad, little Ann Lee? Well, it makes me mad, but I lose and I pay. Here's five hundred dollars. Suppose you hand it over to Doc Joe and tell him that anyhow I'll get me my laugh, sitting up on a big white cloud with nice pink trimmings and playing Home Sweet Home' on my harp, while I peek down pretty soon and spy on him sizzling down in hell! Thanks, little Ann and you keep your hair on, and maybe you'll ride lucky! Yours, Bill Cole." "I'm damned," said Cole Cody oftly. He held up a similar sheet of paper, pa-per, bank note attached. He read, "Hi, Bill Cole Cody! Sorry I missed you; couldn't wait, having other places to go. Now look here, kid, I sort of liked you; anyhow had fun together. So you remember re-member old times and do me a kindness, same as I'd do you at a pinch. I mads a bet with a dirty dog, name of Arthur Henry Pope, I commonly known in and about Bald Kagle as the Judge, five hundred bucks that I'd outlive him. I just simply got tired waiting for the old fool to die, so, dammit, kid, I lose and here's the five hundred, and you hand it to the Judge for me, and tell him it was fun dying, just that that way I could make sure him and me would never, never-no-more meet up again for he's hell-hound along of Doc Joe, and me I'm always al-ways for the High Places! Yeee! On handing it to him look out he don't claw your hand off, the money-grabbing money-grabbing old coyote. And tell him I hope him and Doc Joe, barging into town to get drunk together, both chokes to death. Luck, kid. Yours, Bill Cole." And Bill Cole Cody, no sissy like Ann Lee, didn't weep. He blew his nose and glared stormily. "I I don't understand," gasped Ann. "I never in all my life once even laid eyes on Mr. Mr. Early Bill!" "Me, too," said Cole Cody. "He says here It's a funny thing. I never knew Bill Cole, never saw him!" The Judge and Doc Joe looked at each other. "Don't you kids be fooling yourselves," your-selves," Doc Joe said crustily. "I don't mean any disrespect to the dead or do I? Come to think about it, I never could see why a dead dog was any nicer than a live one. Well, be that as it may, and no dis- "I'm just hoping that some day I'll find out who did that for old Bill." respect meant, old Early Bill Cole was a jackass if ever there was one, a no'count rambling wreck of wickedness wick-edness and sin; the same dirty dog he names this here gent, Mr. Arthur Ar-thur Henry Pope. Just the same he warn't no liar. If he says to Miss Ann she was sweet to him, then she was sweet to him, and somewhere he knowed her. If he says to this young Cody that they had fun together, to-gether, well they did. Am I right. Judge?" "Right as rain, Doc," said the Judge. "Hell taking old Early Bill to the contrary notwithstanding, you're right." "What's all this about wills?" said Ranee Waldron, as sharp as a new tack. "You shut up!" cried Ann Lee. "You and your wills! We're talking about " She spun on her heel like a small whirlwind. "Doc Joe! Here's your five hundred dollars! Gollyl Here here's your five hundred dollars, dol-lars, Doc Joe!" "Thanking you kindly. Miss," said Doc Joe, and took his rightful winnings. win-nings. "Well," said Cole Cody, "here's yours. Judge. Like Early Bill says, I'm hoping you and Doc Joe choke to death." The Judge cleared his throat, accepted ac-cepted the bank note, cleared his throat again. Beyond that, being both lawyer and banker, he would not go. "But, like I was saying," Cole Cody went on, "having done with wishing, here is the tall, straight and shining fact of the matter. I've i got in my hand a legal-looking paper. pa-per. It calls itself a will, last will and testament. It gives and be- ; qucaths and etcetera, all his be- : longings and properties and accessorieswith acces-sorieswith some to wits and some more etceteras the King Cole Ranch thrown in to a certain gent 1 name of William Cole Cody, which i is me! And could you tell me, Judge, ' without straining yourself whose 1 time is it right now to laugh? To 1 laugh, my good friend and counsellor, counsel-lor, like a whole pack of hyenas? 1 Mine? You're sure shouting! Haw!" Ranee Waldron was as interested as any. More interested than the i others, from the look of him. He said, speaking smoothly, "I might help you folks out, maybe. may-be. My uncle Mr. William Cole, 1 you know was pretty old. What's the word for it? Senile? It's my thought that he was dying and was out of his head what you call non compos mentis in plain English he was as crazy as a bed-bug when he wrote those wall-eyed wills. He told me Hell's bells, he told me fifty times that all he had was going to be mine! Now here's Miss Lee and here's Mr. Cody, both of them saying they've got a will, giving them the whole shooting works! That sounds kind of funny, don't it? It might pay to see how these wills were dated, and how they were witnessed wit-nessed and all that. Whether, maybe, may-be, they were made while the old man was dying, and was so clean off his nut that both wills are worth about " He did a nice job of snapping his fingers. Cole Cody laughed. Ann Lee smiled; it was a tight little, slight little, bright little smile that spelled Triumph. When no one else seemed to have anything to say, Aunt Jenifer spoke up brightly. "Have . all you gentlemen had breakfast?" she asked. "Wills and things, you know, can wait longer than appetites." Before departing with Doc Joe, the Judge had cleared his throat a couple of times and had gone so far as to say, "Speaking of evictions, seems to me as though Cal Roundtree might just possibly be within his rights to throw out the whole kit and caboodle ca-boodle of you. But as to any of the rest of you evicting anyone else well, I reckon it would have to be like the Irishman playing the fiddle, by main strength and awkwardness. Better sit in at a poker game and play for it." And in haste the Judge caught up with Doc Joe, and a cloud of dust showed the way the two had taken each with an honestly earned five hundred dollars in his jeans. Old Early Bill's house was big enough to accommodate a score of people; consequently its present inhabitants, in-habitants, little Ann Lee and Aunt Jenifer, Cole Cody and Ranee Waldron Wal-dron could all dwell under the one roof without running into each other all the time. 'Thus for a time the big house was divided against itself, and all was outwardly peaceful in an atmosphere reeking with watchfulness and suspicion. sus-picion. Ranee Waldron was locked up in his own quarters, ostensibly concerning himself with various papers pa-pers and accounts he had found here. Ann devoted hours to investigating investi-gating the house. As for young Cole Cody, he left the house as soon as he had stowed his few belongings in his room, and went down to the outbuildings along the creek, by the barn, seeking Cal Roundtree. He was sitting on a log that had been hauled up to the woodpile, smoking contemplatively, with his wreck of a black Stetson pulled down over his eyes. His head came up with a snap as he heard footsteps. foot-steps. "Mind if I perch alongside you?" demanded Cody. "I've just had a long walk and am sort of leg-weary." leg-weary." "Squat," said Cal Roundtree. Cody lowered himself to the log and reached for his own papers and muslin bag of fine-flaked tobacco, Roundtree eyeing him narrowly all the while. "What's on your mind, Cody?" he asked bluntly. "Plenty," Cole Cody told him, and licked his cigarette and lighted it. "I think I own this outfit now; I'm not sure of anything. That girl up at the house " "She's the prettiest specimen of the girl species I ever clapped eyes on, and in my time I've seen some of 'em cute enough to take prizes. And she's got as much spunk as anybody needs, with maybe a mite extra thrown in." "She's not bad looking, that's a fact," agreed Cody without enthusiasm. enthusi-asm. "As for spunk, she's got as much temper as you'd find in two wild cats with their tails tied together. to-gether. What I was going to say, here's a funny mix-up: I think I own the place and she thinks she owns it. On top of all that, there's that Ranee Waldron fellow who puts in his claim." "You see," Cole Cody continued, "I never knew Early Bill Cole. Or if I did know him, as Doc Joe and the Judge seem to be sure of, then I didn't know I knew him. Maybe that's hard to get, but that's the only way I can put it" "He was a queer old rooster," said Cal Roundtree. "I guess I knew him about as well as anybody ever did; I worked for him for sixteen years, and out on the range we slept together more than once, and we et together and got mad at one another. He was, to my notion, the finest man that ever walked in a pair of boots or forked a horse or got drunk or played cards or gave his money with both hands to folks that was in want, and he didn't ask any questions about their pedigree. i'ep, I knew old Early Bill as well as anybody on earth." "Somebody shot him?" "Yes. I'm just hoping with all Tiy hope-machinery that some day '11 find out who did that for old Bill." "Tell me about it; all that you inow." (TO BE COWIMED) |