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Show i- - - THE BINGHAM NEWS, BINGHAM, UTAH ' f W WM fe'BigWn Round Up I 'j: By William MacLeod Raine j: jl Cpprrfgfit W William MacLeod Ratne ' . It we don't look out. We Just ducked a bad fall. Tkt bulls pretty near bad us that Urn we poked our noae out from the park at Seveaty-eecon- d street." Some one pressed a button and the room leaped to light. Through the open crack of the closed door Clay recognized Gorilla Dave. The second of the gunmen was out of range of his vision. From the sound of creaking furnl-- . ture Clay judged that the unseen man had sat down bavlly. "It waa that blowout queered us. And say how came the bulls so hot on our trail? Who rapped to 'eui?" "Must a been that boob wit the goll He got busy quick. Well, Jerry, won't have to salve the cops this time. We made our getawny all right," said Dave. "Say, where's Joey?" "Fulled a sneak likely. Wha's It matter? Listen 1 What's that?" . Some one was coming up the statra. ' The men in the room moved cautious-ly to the door. The hall light was switched on. "Lo, Jerry," Gorilla Dave called soft-ly. He closed the room door and the sound of the voices was abut off In-stantly. . , .'. The uninvited guest dared not step out of the closet te listen, for at any Instant the men might r. He crouched In his hiding place, the thirty-e-ight In his hand. The minutes dragged Interminably. More than once Gay almost made up Simultaneously the cowpnncher pressed the button beside the door and plunged the room In ' darkness. He side-steppe- d : swiftly and ' without noise. - A flush of lightning split the black-ness. .J' Clay dropped to his knees and crawled away. Another bolt, with tu accompanying roar, flamed out, . - Still the westerner did not fire in an-swer, though he knew just where the target for bis bullet was. A plan had come to him. In the blackness of that room one might empty his revolver . and not scare a hit. To wait wns to take a chance of being potted, but he did not want the death, of eveu such a ruffian as Durand on his soul. The crash of the automatic and the rattle of glass filled the roifffi. Jerry, , " blazing away at some fancied sound, had shattered the window. Fpllowed a long silence. Durand was resolved to wait until his enemy grew restless and betrayed himself, The delay became a test of moral stamina. The contest was not one of grit but of that unflawed nerve which . . ia so much the result of perfect physi-cal fitness. Clay's years of clean life on the desert counted heavily now. He was master of himself, though his mouth was dry as a whisper and there were goose quills on bla flesh. But Durand, used to the fetid, at. mosphere of barrooms and to the soft living of the great city, found hla ; nerve beginning to crack under the strain. What kind of a man was hts enemy to lie there in the black silence - CLAY AND DURAND. BYN0FSI3.-- A foreword tells this: Motoring through Alisons a party of easterners, father and daughter and a male companion, atop to wit-ness cattle, round up. Th girl leaves the car and is attacked by a wild steer. A masterpiece of riding on the part of one of the cowboys saves her lite. Then the story begins: Clay Lindsay, range-ride- r on aa Arizona ranch, an- - Bounces his Intention to vtatt the J "big town," Kew Tort. On the train Clay becomes Interested in "a. young woman, Kitty Mason, on 1 ec.way to New York to become motion-pictur- e actress. She Is marked as fair prey by a fellow traveler. Jerry Durand, gang politi-cian and exr prize fighter, clay provokes a quarrel and throws Du-- ) Tand from the train. On his first day In New York Clay ts splashed with water by a Janitor. That In-dividual the range-ride- r punishes and leaves tied to a fire hydrant A young woman' who sees the oc- - could. When I got back to the walk with the water the man was hoppln back Into the car. It was ajready mov-In- '. He slammed the door shut and it went up the street like greased ltght-nln- "Get the number?" "No, I I plumb forgot to Ipok." Clay slipped a revolver under his belt. He slid Into ft street coat. Then he got police headquarters on the wire and notified the office of what had taken place. It had come on to rain and beneath the street Jlghts the asphalt shone like a river. The storm had driven most people indoors, but as the westerner drew near the drug store Clny saw with relief a taxlcab draw up outside. Its driver, crouched In his seat behind the waterproof apron as far back as possible from the rain, promptly ac-cepted Lindsay as a fare. "Back in a minute," Clay told him, and nassed Into the ilrncr atnre. V.'AVAVAVWiV.WiWtfVWLl an' I might not," she said cautiously, looking at htm from under a broad hat-bri- "Say, what's the lay-out- ? Are you framin' Jim for up the river?" "I'm tryin' to save Kitty." "Because she's your goll. Where do I come In at? What's there in It for me to go rappln' me friend?" demand-ed Annie sharply. "She's not my girl," explained Clay. Then, with that sure Instinct that sometimes guided him, he added, "The young lady I I'm In love with has just become engaged to another man." Miss MUIlkan looked at him, frank-ly Incredulous. "For the love o' Mike, where's her eyes? Don't she know a real man when she sees one? I'll say she don't." - A flush beat into "Annie's cheeks. She went off swiftly at a tangent. "Wouldn't It give a fellow a jar? This guy Jim Collins slips It to me confiden-tial that he's off the crooked stuff. Vnthln' rinln' a.tall In eftrlllo wnrlf WNW.VASW.VWAVfAV.VS park by .officers and that the downtown exits were being watched. Presently he picked up another tail. He hesitated whether to go to the address Annie had given htm or to join the chase uptown. Reluctantly, he de-cided to visit the bouse. Clay paid bis driver and looked at the house numbers as be moved up the street he wanted. Many of the residences were used to keep lodgers In. Others were employed for less reputable purposes. His overcoat buttoned to his neck, Clay walked without hesitation up the steps of the one numbered 243. He rang the bell and waited, his right hand In the pocket of hla overcoat The door opened cautiously a few inches and a pair, of close-se- t eyes In a wrinkled face glmleted Clay. "Whadya want?" "The old man sent me with a mes-sage," answered the Arlzonan prompt-lv- . "Got everything readv for the ginr "Bay, who the h 4 are youse?" , "One of Sllm's friends. Listen, we got the kid picked ber up at a drug store." "I don' know watcher fairy tale's about." Clay put his foot against the door to prevent It from being closed and drew his hand from the overcoat pock-et. In the hand nestled a blue-nose- d persuader. Unless the eyes peering into the night were bad barometers of their owner's Inner state, he was In a panic of fear. "Love o' Gawd, shoot I" he chattered. "I ain't nobody but the caretaker." He backed slowly away, followed by Lindsay. The barrel of the thirty-eig- ht held his yes fascinated. By the light of his flash Clay discovered the man to be a chalk-face- d little In-consequent. "Say, don't point that at me." the old fellow Implored, "Are you alone?" "You know It." "Is Jerry comln' himself with the others?" "They don't none of them tell me nothln'. I'm nobody. I'm only Joey." "Unload what you know. Quick. He kids me that he's quit gain' out on the spud and porchcllmbin' don't look good to him no more. A four-roo-flat, a little wife, an' the straight r,oad for 'Slim Jim. I fall for It, though I'd orta be hep to men. An' he dates me up" tonight for the chauffeurs' ball." "But you didn't go?" ' "Xo; he sidesteps it this aft with a fairy tale about drivln' a rich old dame out to Yonkers. All the time he was figurln' on plnchln' this goll for Jerry. He's a rotten crook." "What color is 'Slim' Jim's car?" . "A dirty blue. Why?" "That was the car." Annie lifted her hands In a little gesture of despair. "I'm dead sick of this game. What's there in it? I live straight and eat in a beanery. No lobster palaces in mine. Look at me cheap duds. And Tim gives me the over like I was a street cat What sort of a chance did I ever have, with toughs and gunmen for me friends?" "You've got yore chance now, An-nie. Tim will hop off that fence he's on and light a runnln' straight for you if he thinks you've ditched 'Slim' Jim. You don't owe Jerry Durand anything, anyhow. Where would be have Kitty taken? You can give a ff119S." cyrrence. invites uiay into her house and hide him from the po-lice. Clay's "rescuer" Introduces herself as Beatrice Whltford. Lind-say meets her father, Colin Whit-0r- d. He meets Kitty Mason by accident She has been disappointed In her stage aspirations. Clay visits her. Kitty la Insulted by a customer. Clay punishes the Outside, he is attacked by Jerry Durand and a companion and beaten insensible. Clay's ac-quaintance with Beatrice Whltford ripens. Ills' "side partner" on the Arizona ranch, Johnnie Green, comes to the "big town." The two take an apartment together. Word comes that Kitty Mason la In trouble.. Clay goes to the rescue and Is helped by Annie MUIlkan: He comes on a party of "gunmen," obviously waiting for his appear-ance. Clay "gets the drop" on the ttiuga, locks them In a room and escapes.' With a theater party, which includes the Whltfords, Clay meets Kitty Mason, friendless and penntlesf He leaves the party to take the girl to his apartment Be-atrice resents Lindsay's Interest In Kitty. The two men part In anger. Hurt and Indignant Beatrice pract-icable; proposes marriage to an old admirer, C I a r e n,c e Bromfleld, wealthy Their engagement Is announced. Du-rand gang kidnaps Kitty. Clay appeals te Annie MUIlkan, who UUs him where the girl la likely to be found. CHAPTER XII Continued. I -7- - Johnnie's case was not so hopeless as he imagined It e e e e Over their good-nig- smoke Gay gave a warning. "Keep yore eyes open, Johnnie. I was trailed to the house today by one of the fellows with Durand. the night I called on him. It spells trouble. I reckon the 'Parties are. going to leave the reservation again," "Say, Clay, ain't you gettln home-aic- k for the whinln' of a rawhide? Wha's the matter with us hlttln the dust for good old Tucson? I'd sure like to chase cowtalls again." "Ton can go, Johnnie. I'm not ready yet quite.' And when I go it won't be. because of any rattlesnake in the grass." "Wnadyoo mean I can go? If this Jerry Durand's trying to get you I'll be) there foHowln yore dust old scout." ftTlkM,', nM than Ana wbv t ft fitrln The abduction was still being dis-cussed. He pushed home questions as to Identification. One of the men in the drug store had caught a flash of the car number. He. was sure the first four figures were 3967. The fifth he-di-not remember. The car was dark blue and It looked like a taxi This In-formation Clay got the owner of the store to forward to the police. He did not watt to give It personal-ly, but joined Johnnie in the cab. The address he gave to the driver with the waterproof hat pulled down over his head was that of a certain place of amusement known as Heath's Palace of Wonders. A woman he wanted to consult was wont to sit behind a win-dow there at the receipt of customs. Miss Annie MUUkan's pert smile beamed through the window at Clay when he stepped up. "Hello, Mr. she sang out. "How many?" Clay explained that his business was serious. "I've got to see you alone now," he added. "If you gotta you gotta." The girl called an usher, who found a second usher to take her place. Annie walked down the street a few steps beside Clay. "What's the big idea In callin' me from me Job In the rush hours?" she asked. Clay told his story. "Some of Jerry's strong-ar- work," she commented. "Must be. Can you help me?" Annie looked straight at him, a hu-morous little quirk to her mouth. "Say, what're you askln' me to do t'row down my steady?" Annie was pretty, and Inevitably she had lovers. One of these was "Slim" Jim Collins, confidential follower of Jerry Durand. He was a crook, and she knew It. But some quality In him his good looks, perhaps, or his game-nes- a fascinated her in spite of her-self. She avoided him, even while she found herself pleased to go to Coney with an escort so well dressed and so glibly confident. Another of her ad-mirers was a policeman, Tim Muldoon by name, the same one that had res-cued Clay from the savagery of Du-rand outside the Sea Siren. Tim she liked. But for all bis Irish ardor he ana not once give sign or. wnere ne was, In spite of crashing bullets? Was . It possible that be could have killed the fellow at tfie first shot? The com-fort of this thought whispered hope In the ear of the A chair crashed wildly. Durand fired again and yet again, his nerves giving way to a panic that carried him to swift action. He could not have stood another moment without scream- - ' Ing. , .. : There came the faint sound of a band groping- - on the wall, and Imme-diately after a flood of light filled the room. Clay stood by the door. Ills revol-ver covered the crouching gang leader. His eyes were hard and pitiless. "Try another shot" he advised Iron-ically. . Jerry did. A harmless click was all the result he got. He knew now thst the cowman had tempted him to waste his lsst shots at a bit of furniture flung across the room. "You'll tell me what you did with Kitty Mason," sold Clny In his low, persuasive voice, just as though there had been no Intermission of flying bal-lets since be had mentioned the girl before. "You can't kill me, when I haven't a loaded gun,? Durand answered be-tween dry Hps. The other man nodded an admission of that point. "That's an advantage you've got of me. You could kMl me if I didn't have a gun, because you're a yellow wolf. But I can't kill you. That's right. But I can beat h U out , of you, and I'm aure goln' to do It." "Talk's cheap, when you've got a loaded six-gu- n In your fist" JwreM Jerry. With a flirt of his hand Clay tossed the revolver to the top of a book-cas- e, out of easy reach of a man standing on the floor. He ripped open the but-tons of bla overcoat and slipped out of it then moved forward with elastic step. "It's you or me now, Jerry Du-rand." The prize-fight- er gave a snort of de-risive triumph. "Tou d n fool I 111 eat yon allva." "Mebbeso. I reckon my system can assimilate any whalln' you're liable to band me. Go to It" "Love o' Gawd, 8hoot!" He Chattered. "I Ain't Nobody but the Caretaker." his mind to steal out to learn what the men were doing. ' But his judg-ment told him he must avoid a brush with so many If possible. The door opened again. "Now beat It and do as I say If you know what's good for you," a bullying voice was ordering. The owner of the voice came In and slammed the door behind him.. He sat down at the desk, his back to the closet. Through the chink Day saw that the man was Jerry Durand. From bis vest pocket he took a fat black cigar, struck a match and lit It. He slumped down In tbe swivel chair. It took no seer to divine that hla mind was busy working out a prob-lem. Clay stepped softly from his place of Tefuge, but not so noiselessly that tbe gangman did not detect his pres-ence. Jerry swung round In ihe chair and leaped op with catlike activity. Uam afAAl tsvtfrttAllfr mAVlnff VUfcfeMjl Aft I'm In a hurry.'' The man began a rambling, whin-ing tale. . The Arlzonan learned that a room had been prepared on the second floor for a woman. Slim had made the ar-rangements. Joe had heard Durand's name mentioned, but knew nothing of the plans. "I'll look the house over. Move along In front of me and don't make any mistakes. This six-gu-n Is liable to permeate yore anatomy with lead." The cattleman .examined the first floor with an especial view to the ex-It-s. He might have to leave In a hur-ry. If so, he wanted to know where be waa going. The plan of the sec-ond story was another point be feat-ured as he passed swiftly from room to room. From the laundry In the basement he had brought up a coll of clothes tine. With this he tied Joe hand and foot After gagging htm, he left the man locked In a small rear room and took the kev with him. n She had made her decision before she spoke. "Gimme paper and a pen-cil." ' ' : On Clay's notebook she scrawled hur-riedly an address. "Jlm'd croak me if he knew I'd given this," she said, looking straight at the cattleman. "He'll never know and I'll never forget It, Annie." Clay left her and turned to the driver. From the slip of paper in his hand he read aloud an address. As Clay slammed the door shut and the car moved forward be had an Im-pression of something gone wrong, of a cog In his plans slipped somewhere. For Annie, standing in the rain un-der a sputtering misty street light showed a face stricken with fear. Her dilated eyes were fixed on the driver of the taxlcab. CHAPTER XII. Durand had the heavy shoulders and welling muscles that come from years of training for the ring. Like most pugilists out of active eerrlce he bad taken on flesh. But the extra weight was not fat, for Jerry kept always In good condition. He held his leader ship partly at least because of bis physical prowess. Ne tough In Kew York would willingly have met him In a rough-and-tumb- fight The younger man was more slightly built He waa a Hermes rather than a Hercules. His muscles flowed. They did not bulge. But when he moved It was with the tltheness of a panther. The long lines of shoulder add tola Vui iba tovf cf .race The clear eyes in the brown face told of a soul Indomitable In a perfectly synchronized body. Durand lashed out with a swinging left all the weight of bis body behind the blow. Clay stepped back, shot a hard straight right to the cheek and ducked the counter. Jerry rushed him, flailing at his foe blow on blow. Intend-ing to wear him out by sheer bard hammering. He butted, with his head and knee, used every foul trick he had learned In his rotten trade of prize-fighting. Active as a wild cat, the Arlzonan side-steppe- scored a left on the eye, ducked again and fought back the furious attack. The gangman came out of the rally winded, perplexed and disturbed. His cheek was bleeding, one eye was In distress, and be had hardly touched his nglle opponent. "Had enough? I'll ask you ence more where Kitty Mason Is." (TO BM CONTINUED.) a cat Mebbe the fellow means to etrlke at me through you or Kitty. I've a mind to put you both on a train for the ranch." "Ton can put the HT girl on a train. Ton can't put me on none less'n you go too," answered hlr shadow, stoutly. "Then see you don't get drawn Into any quarrels while you and Kitty are away from the house. Stick to the lighted streets. I think I'll speak to her about not lettln' any strange man talk to her. I think ahe had better not go out unless one of us Is with her." "Suits me. And don't you take any cbances, old-time- r. That goes double. I'm the cautious guy In this outfit, not you." Within twenty-fou- r hours Clay heard some one pounding wildly on the outer door of the apartment and the voice ' of the cautious guy Imploring haste. "Lemme In, Clay. Hurry 1 Hurry I" he shouted. Lindsay was at the door In four strides, but he did not need to see the stricken woe of his friend's face to guess what hod occurred. For Johnnie and Kitty had stnrted together to see a picture play two hours earlier. "They done took Kitty In an auto," be gasped. "Right before my eyes. Claimed a lady had fainted." "Who took her?" "I dunno." Some men. Turned the trick slick, aie never Hftin' a hand. Atnt i a heluva man?" "Hold yore hawsses, son. Don't get excited. Begin at the beginnln and tell me all about it," Clay told him, quietly. "We was comln' home an' 1 took Kitty Into that Bed Star drug store for to get her some Ice cream. Well, right after that I hcerd a man suy how the lady had fainted" "What lady?" "Tbe lady In the machine." "Were you In the drug store?" "No. We'd 1s' come out when this ri automobile drew up an a man umped out hollerlh' the lady had JVntrd rind would I bring s glass o' in!ir from the dms store. 'Course I p. I it ,'!i! ip on me and Kilty she moved vy ri, ;,.r tf, the to lie'p If She Two Men In a Locked Ream. Some sixth sense of safety one that cornea to many men who live In the outdoors on the untamed frontier warned Clay that all was not well. Tbe machine had swung to tbe right and was facing from the wind Instead of Into It Clay was not very well acquainted with New York, but he did know this was not the direction In which he wanted to go. Lindsay opened the door and swung out on the running board. "We're go-I- n' wrong. Stop the carl" he ordered. The man at the wheel did not turn. He speeded up. HU fare ft isted ro tin" In reirorv st ranees. A moment, and the chauf-feur threw on the brake sharply. Hie reason was a good one. The blue nose of a revolver was Jammed hard against his ribs. He had looked round once to find out what It wus prodding him. That was enough to convince hlra he had better stop. Under the brake the back wheels skidded and brought up against the curb. Clay, hanging on by one hsnd, was flung hnrd to the sidewalk. The cab teetered, regained its equilibri-um, gathered Impetus with a snort, and leaped forward ngnln. As the cattleman clambered to his feet he caught one full view of the chauffeur's triumphant, vindictive face. He had seen it before, at a reception especially arranged for him by Jer-r- y Durand one memorable night. It belonged to the more talkative of the two gunmen he had surprised at the pretended poker game. He knew, too, without being told that this man and "Slim" Jim Collins were one and the same. The memory of Annie's strick-en fuce carried this conviction home to him. ' The rnln pelted down as he moved toward the brighter lighted street that Intersected the one where he had been dropped. The lights of a saloon caught his eye at the corner. He went In, got police headquarters on the wire, and learned that a car answering the description of the one used by his ab-ductor had been beaded Into Central Gay knew that he was In a precari-ous situation. If Durand returned with Kitty and captured him here he was lost The man would make no more mistakes. Certainly he would leave no evidence against hlra except that of bis own tools. The Intruder would probably not be killed openly. He would either almply disappear or he would be murdered with witnesses framed to show self-defens- The cattleman was as much outside the law as the criminals were, ne bad no legal business In this house. But one thing was fixed in bis mind. He would be no inactive victim. If they pot b'ro at aM It would be only after a fighting finish. To Clay, standing at the head of the stairs, came a sound that stiffened him to a tense wariness. A key was being turned in tbe lock of the street door below. He moved back Into the deeper shadows as the door swung open. Two men entered. One of them cursed softly as he stumbled against a chair in the dark hall. "Where's that rat Joe?" he demand-ed In a subdued voice. Then came a click of the lock. The sound of the street rain ceased. Clay knew that the door had been closed and that he was shut In with two desperate Criminals. What have they done with Kitty? Why was she not with them? He asked himself that question even as he slipped back Into a room that opened to the loft. He groped his way through the dark-nes-for he dared not flash his light to guide him. Ills fingers found the edge of a desk. Hound that he cir-cled toward a closet he remembered having noted. Ills arm brushed the closet door. Next moment he was In-side and had closed It softly behind him. And none too soon. For Into the room cave the gunmen almost on his heels, "Jerry'll raise h I," a heavy voice was saying as they entered the room. "And Unit ain't ail. We'll land lo stir the balls of his feet, bla deep-se- t eyes narrowed to shining slits. It was In bla thought to burl himself head-long on the man holding steadily the menacing revolver. "Don't you I I've got the dead wood on you," said the Arlzonan, a trench-ant saltness In his speech. "I'll shoot you down sure as h l's hot." Durand's face wore an ugly look of impotent malice, but hla throat waa dry as a lime kiln. He could not es-timate the danger that confronted him nor what lay back of the man's pres-ence, t "What you doin' here f he demanded. "Maklu my party call," retorted Clay easily. Jerry cursed him with a low, savage stream of profanity. The gangman enraged was not a alght pleasing to see. "I reckon heaven, h I, and high wajer couldn't keep you from cussln' now. Relieve yore mind proper, Mr. Dursnd. Then we'll talk business," murmured Clay in the low, easy drawl that never suggested weakness. The flow of lan-guage dried up. , He fell silent and stood swallowing his furious rage. It had come home to him that this narrow- -flanked young fellow with the close-grljipe- d Jaw and the cool, steady eyes was entirely unmoved by his throats. "Quite through effervescing?" asked Cloy contemptuously. The gang lender made no answer, ne chose to nurse his venom silently. "Where's Kitty Mason?" Still no answer. "I nsked you what you've done with Kitty Mason?" "That's my business." "Ry G d, you'll tell, or I II tear It out of you I" Clny hacked to the door, found the key, transferred It to the inner side of the lock, turned It, and put it In bis pocket. The cornered gangman took a chance. He ducked for the shelter of the desk, tore open a drawer and snatched out aa automatic. "in "What's the Big Idea In Calling M From Ms Job in the Rush Hours?" was wary. He had never asked her to mnrry him. She thought she knew the reason. He did not want for a wife a woman who had been "Slim" Jim's girl. Clay hail come to Annie MUIlkan now because of what she had told him about "Slim" Jim. This man was one of Duraml's stand-bys- . If there was any underground work to he done It was odds-o- n chance that he would be In charge of It. "I'm asklu' you to stand by a poor elrl that's In trouble," he said In an-swer to her question. "You woutdnt let Durand spoil her life If you could St"Well. what's my cue? Where do this rescue thebeautiful I come In on berolne act?" "When did you ace 'Slim' J-- last? "I might V seen him this afternoon Cheerful Thought "The Yanks are coming." hummed the dentist ns lie prepared for an ex-traction. Ort opus. Any candidate who fa knifed at the noils I ai't lo f1 somewhat cut U. |