Show avard 0 i LIT 0 st N wd SYNOPSIS go ahead It morion forton virginian a and n d secret service ninn man receive a letter from tom fair bandit leader urging that some one be sent gent to rescue stella bl morion orton foster slater sli t er from tho the gang bang an enemy in the gang cans prevents fair from helping the girl the letter lette was intended tor for go rather fathe r who Is away from home go ahead decides to KO go him CHAPTER II 11 1 3 robbers roost wass was well concealed as was fully proved by the fact act that for many years none of the ninny many officers of 0 the law who had sought ll if had managed to find it even the complicity of the sheriff strongly suspected and timidly and secretly charged could not otherwise have accounted altogether for its immunity its name dabue was not descriptive the place was not a ro roost r at all in ID the general significance of the term it was a cluster of huts in a narrow sloping valley hemmed round by high cliffs in whose sides other dwellings had been half carved half built by long vanished cliff dwelling indians lowest of all the ridges that encircled the valley its that which ran across its lower end tied and through which the water from the springs had find for many years finally escaped ages before this writer water had not escaped at all but lied had formed a take lake in the closed closed valley or bolsa as such val fT IQ in the southwest but salme t ti ever pressing water had found a agy kt first by mere seepage later by a kt finally by a stream beneath the lutiao ato the outer world where by the way swallowed up in the sands or rated to the clouds when fair cuir and lid ilia early followers had bad chanced upon tile the place they had entered centered it on foot through the narrow tortuous passage cut by the subterranean stream later aney had enlarged this passage sufficiently to allow tile the passage of horses still later they had built a short aqueduct along the side of the valley from tile the springs at a height that emblen them to spill the surplus wrier witter in a vell veil that completely masked I 1 the he mouth of the alt to tile the passage inside the valley commanding the entrance a machine gun had been placed under continuous charge of sentries sent rles and at the head bead of the valley through one of the eaves caves in tile rhe cliff there was nos another exit known only to fair and two or three trusties through which as it a last resort to in time of need the bandits could escape altogether the place besides being well concealed was almost impregnable by aul an tiling thing short of a small army only treachery by one of its inmates seemed likely to put it in real peril and until fair and jim barker fell out there had bad been little longer danger of this but the split between parker barker and fair had changed all this the older outlaws had known stella known to the whole band as nob bob since site she had been a wee child and were very food fond of her all of these stoa stool I 1 by fair in his refusal to turn stella over to barklr barker even as a wife and they were backed up op by the elie small colony of women who had bad slowly accumulated in the valley and who lied had been worried married to the men there by padre antonio who made periodical visits to lilt place for the purpose the padre felt that lie fie could at least regularize find perhaps biltl gate gnap what lie could not prevent but of the younger and more recent additions to tile gang differed from rom the earlier ones to in regard to stella as well as 09 on other subjects aban absolutely ho like as stella looked 11 in tier lier tomary dress known sex pre vented tier her front from being regarded entire ly IY as a 11 hoy boy by the alie more tover over of them had grown dissat alt jw ed will fairs i which had in their opinion grow iti i and they wit nied to statute a younger nun man one attilli lilt nine mole pep and they bal almost unatie morsit decided on on IM bill wade a husky young F scoundrel coundi pl ani oi the purpose so long however as fair yes was sus talked by barker who knew tile feeling outside the li inist anti anil who feared that hiat liny any marked increase in the gangs activities would bring dp tion on oil liis ills whole system the front were helpless unil and could conlie fit do lilt little e more than grumble gruin llo cut but when fair aud and balker split wude an and his frIen friends cli promptly used tile hie fact as n means by which they might gain control wude wade find and tits his friends lid did mt lot seek adherents among fairs friends on the ground that barker ought to ro have stella it if lie wanted tier rier far from it wade conferred with barker secretly and got his fits support by promising to turn over stella is da soon as he was chief then lie he and hla file friends sought recruits by saying blat fair was old and oo no longer capable cap abl of leading and there was a lot of ruth to in this luik look lly fly for stella however jack green who ito lied had always worshiped tile the child with doglike devotie devo tim m overheard the bargaining between barker and wilde wade end and reported it to fair and fair promptly sent seat him east to find the mortons Mor Ator tons A week or ten tea days after green had find gone fair took stella into his confidence bob dear he began ive got something to say to you what would you think if I 1 told you that for years I 1 had been doing you a great wrong and that now you yoc and I 1 oust must both pay tile the penalty stella looked up with a laugh site she thought hint fair was joking id think that hat you were dreaming mildly diddy dear she said you to do me file a wrong chyl you hut but I 1 have done yuu one no a con one iro im not joking dear car again the lie girl laughed though a little uneasily fairs tones sounded ded ominous still she could not take them very seriously confess I 1 then I 1 quick slie site set said ana ill give you sou absolution then alm glimpsing the ex pre r non fairs face her heart sank and slie she kiil rai to him dont mind my nonsense daddy dear she pleaded plead fil with tier her arms about his neck 1 I 1 dont know what youre talking abou but it i do know that you never lid did me any wrong big or little unless you spink me enough when I 1 was small you saved my life when my real father died and youve been more mitre than a father to me ever since you dirling yes fair admitted sadly ive taken care of you Ite cause I 1 loved loed you I 1 you too much to give you up to your own people the people who would have cored cared foi fm you ym ns you ought to have been bean cored cared for and n now ow but stella could not let him blin fleigh wh what on earth artl do you mean daddy slie she cried 1 I mean that when your father was dying I 1 promised to send you back to ills people eople in virginia ond end I 1 meant to kopp keep my word I 1 a bandit ond and a filter then and A bandit and a what I 1 am bob what we all are merah lp scoundrels who BI B I ought to he be hanged twice over daddy what we are boh bob drearily fair repeated lils fits assertion 1 I 1 know you think differently not the least part of the wrong vie dune bone you lias his been to let you grow up differently put nut boue oue pot got to know the giulli now you think we are a sort of ro mantle Fud soldiery diery waging war against tyrannical who have been hounded on hy by rich men whom we are justified in ro bloing in return its till all wrong dear all wrong bronk some of us may have hemi been started on the wrong fanth by some smile sort of oppression ion 1 I was myself but bin most of us jig were wrong from the he first and none of us have any rent real excuse for the crimes we have committed none done of us its none of us TO BE CONTINUED |