Show N E hu U n K RON in by FRANK H in copyright prank frank H spearman service L SYNOPSIS sleepy cat desert town of the south west Is celebrating the fourth of july jane van cambel beautiful daughter of gus van cambel hated owner of gunlock ranch has arr arrived led fro from m the east tor for the first time she watches watch es the frontier day celebration in company with dr carpy crusty tender hearted mend friend of the community henry of the circle dot ranch tricked in a fake horse race the day before by dave mccrossen foreman at gunlock plans revenge he enters bill denison a handsome young texas wrangler in the rodeo which mccrossen Is favored to win and lays heavy bets on him unknown to the crowd denison is a champion horseman mccrossen a and nd the young stranger tie in the various events mccrossen picks up a hand kerchief from the ground riding full speed facing backward denison aas lly follows suit denison then drops a cigarette carelessly racing down the track full tilt ha lia picks up tl ti e ciga aciga rette the verdict goes to denison when mccrossen refuses to atten pt the stunt entreated by the crowd D deni eni eon bon agrees to perform another trick jane van cambel Is asked tor for her bracelet and throws it on the track just as denison rides to pick it up a yell from barney Eeb stock a me afe crossen henchman scares the pony nearly costing the rider his life gun play Is prevented by the inter of dr carpy the young stranger returns the bracelet to jane back on gunlock ranch after two years in chicago because of her father fathers s ill ness jane gets lost riding in th the e hills and meets denison now a neighbor who guides her home not knowing her identity he speaks bitterly of van cambel she tell tells mccrossen who brought her home and he denounces denison as a cattle thief CHAPTER ill III continued 5 it nettled her foreman he hes s the worst enemy your father ever had bad in this whole country hes probably stole more inore gunlock cattle than all the rustlers in the bills hills I 1 don t believe it all right don t exclaimed me croesen nettled just ask any of the boys around the ranch jane rode into sleepy cat next morn ing with bull page and when she had dispatched hei business at the bank she walked up street to carpy s hotel she asked for doctor carpy whop whom ebe she remembered from her visit two years before the doctor had a private office entered both from the hotel lob lot by and the street the doctor was somewhat surprised at the sight of this trim erect girl eighteen or nineteen years of age and seemingly a stranger facing him ob she was a newcomer to sleepy cat the doctor did not at once place her but his glance swept eneroth everything ng about her like a flash her cowboy hat C her red open neck blouse with its ts dark flowing tie her sloping feml feminine ne shoulders delicate pleasing bosom and nd elender slender rounded hips I 1 er short brown riding skirt and her soft tight fitting tan boots the rig seemed right tor for her brown hair and blue eyes 4 doctor carpy t her voice was mas clear and her manner wanner possessed caiby nodded despite his years the sight of trim womanhood al wais wals stirred the blunt old surgeon to graciousness the doctor doffed his hat and set his bag down on the desk with an air ot of satisfaction I 1 im in doctor carpy but I 1 in glad to see you don it need me or any other doctor why doctor 1 exclaimed jane de mutely there was a sophistication in the delicate droop of her eyelids as she protested that did not escape the doctor it deceived him only as to her age that s hardly complimentary doctor carpy she ran on have you forgotten frontier day two years ago when we sat here on the porch together and in the rickety grandstand to bee u the riding her eyes were laughing doctor carpy was flustered ahat ft hat Is your name not a very popular one in this coun try I 1 im in jane van cambel lie ile knit his brows why that 8 maybe two years ago and it was a little girl that I 1 talked to here on the porch and took to the races be hanged I 1 two years I 1 and you ve sprung into full bloom full bloom I 1 repeated carpy in undisguised admiration where ve you been ever since in chicago you look exactly the same doctor cant say I 1 feel exactly the same jane he said his eyes still rested on her how long were you out last time only two months or so but I 1 in out now to stay perhaps I 1 heard something lately about some women folks over to gunlock but I 1 didn dian it t hear of you being over there if 1 I had I 1 d have been over there myself so youre you re gus daughter he mused I 1 in his only child doctor never knew he had a child till you came out the first time you threw your bracelet out on the track didn t you i that was partly your fault doctor was it well iou jou got it back I 1 lid but I 1 never learned the name of ohp man that ed it up all I 1 teta aba i jai could find out when I 1 asked was that he was a rustler sou you don dont t rebern ber him do you of course I 1 do who the I 1 ell said he was a rustler why that s what they told me at the ranch after we got home well you ve got some able boded bod ed liars at gunlock one in particular who s that no need to specify well what s the name of the won darful rider who ed up the brace let and the cigarette it was bill denison jane started imperceptibly ile lies s living here now on his broth ers er s IIII 1111 1 ranch brother brothers s dead well jane what in the world brought you out here III because fathers rather s so ill III doc doe tor for carpy nodded you took care of him doctor and recommended his go lag ing to medicine Aled ielne bend it vv NN as pretty high for him I 1 ere so he telegraphed tor for me to come out to look after the ranch small girl for big job as the in dianh would say jaue jane laughed that s what father said when a hen he saw me you know two jears eari ago was the first time in his life hed he d ever seen me I 1 never knew till tl en the our fa ther had a family I 1 I 1 ather was peculiar you know A little while otter itter I 1 was born he just disappeared it u was as j jears ears before we even enen knew where he was then he be gan sending money back to mother sometimes but he never wrote a line then mother died and I 1 went to live with my aunt lou how old are you jane almost nineteen well well I 1 mused doctor carpy still regard ng his ciller viller benevolently so loure van cambels daughter I 1 guess iou ou take after your mother the doctor spoke evenly but the tion did not pass unnoticed aunt lou says I 1 do she returned with composure so father said too when hen I 1 went ent to see him at the hos pital in medicine bend last month and he told me doctor to come to see you about his bill I 1 couldn coulden t find one from you among the bills at the ranch did you ever send one hell jane I 1 never sent a bill ta to anybody in my life doctor exclaimed his caller star tied both at the expletive and the statement I 1 never heard of a doctor who d do t sent out bills I 1 carpy laughed uproariously why that a nothing but she went on you took care of father quite a while lie ile thinks you re the best doctor he ever bad had the sardonic note in the doctors doctor s slight laugh as he suppressed an es ex cla clar matlon nation did not escape the girl but everyone out here says that or some thing just like it so you must be used to it she added please tell in now doctor what the bill Is I 1 want to pay you the doctor waved waned jane off oft when he sidestepped she kept after him he dodged and she persisted at last she drew f from rom her purse two one hundred dollar bills and laid them on the table in front of him carpy looked at them in astonishment your father barnt chasn t gone out of his mind has he no jane retorted why that s not enough is it she added shame I 1 t know its at least twice tice too much did gus send th s jane had to fib a bit bhe had added a hundred dollars herself to what her father had told her would be about right it if carpy refused to name the bill he told me he wanted you well paid she answered evasively carpy pushed one bill back to jane that s plenty doctor she exclaimed I 1 wibb you d take this other bill he ile shook his head put it back in your purse how are things out at the ranch you kno v how it is when the cat cats s away laugley laudt ed jane you must mean the wildcat r sug ug carpy grinning half amiably everyone doing things his own way she continued ignoring the thrust or not doing them at all mostly that I 1 guess mostly that agreed jane ican I 1 can see I 1 have bae plenty of work ahead and ou going on nineteen and ill bet never ne er did a days work in your life she straightened up I 1 ve worked every day of my life since I 1 left high school at fifteen what for helping support mother carpy flashed with ith anger do you mean to tell me that old curmudgeon father of yours didn dian t support you and your mother jane s eyes fell she crimsoned then collecting herself she said I 1 did not mean to tell you doctor it slipped out we weve ve nearly always had to look out for ourselves but I 1 hate to talk tall about it doctor father says he s sorry when I 1 telegraphed him about mothers death he was all broken up and sent me so much money for the ex benses that I 1 dlan didn t know what to do with it though it was too late to do poor moti mod er any tood I 1 know fa ther s eccentric doctor jane contin aed gravely but that doesn doean t ex plain to me why everybody out here hates him and that s what I 1 lie i e want ant ed to ask somebody like you doctor somebody who would tell me the truth why is father so d Is it be cause he Is so rich dr carpy was taken aback here was an innocent and charming girl bud ding into a lovely womanhood the daughter of an unscrupulous criminal and thoroughly detested cattle king asking him to tell her why her fa ther was so hated along the spanish sinks well jane he said at length slow ly inina a rich man Is hated without good reason put if he thought he could get off with such a general observation be he I 1 was as mastal en ell jane pursued him was atiat ti at the cise with NN ith father she asked bluntly other rich men are hated con minued carpy unmoved not because they re rich but because of the way they got rich the force of his words was not lost on his listener and if a man does get rich here or anyei ere else they don t lose any time hatching up I 1 es about him do they she said indignantly father warned me when I 1 saw him at the hospital that id heir stories about him but there are al alvais aa s t vo sides to stories sl SI e apol e with a fire tl at s en even en her I 1 stener who v w a seasoned to surprises there s a chip of the old block he slid sald to himself tie he re fretted ie le had insinuated so much but while he tried to soften the im pact of his words he would not en retreat I 1 probably ought to say jane that I 1 ma myself self didn t get on u well ell with your father so my verdict might not be a fair one another man might give ghe a more favorable opinion A what other man doctor she ed so coolly tl ti at she upset tl e doc doe tor again why offhand I 1 couldn coulden t s say siy iy now jane doctor s gild ild van s daugh ter rising suddenly he thought her still angry but ale really mav I 1 come again just to talk with you perhaps get a little advice come without excuse at all to see ou just plain come she asked stiffly but am in pul why of course you may jane why not come any time all times my latchstrings always out for you de dared carpy swayed by an admira tion he could not resist and you wont won t harbor any feelings against me just because you don t like my father how could I 1 doctor carpy almost gasped with surprise at her poise jane he said taking her hand just feel I 1 m your friend I 1 mean mein me in it S ck cl or well ill be with you I 1 dont don t care a damn who bour our father is or was is that plain girl I 1 im m awfully grateful doctor she said collectedly if I 1 get into a tight place or into trouble III know where ill have a friend to turn to don t be afraid exclaimed carpy emphatically you 11 find you 11 male mal e plenty of friends out here just as soon as you get acquainted dun it be afraid I 1 he repeated jane was at the door she turned and doctor she said sald with seeman seeming innocence try to think of the n inie name of bof the man who will give tl at more fa a opinion while bull waited for his mistress during her talk with carpy he dropped into jake spotts barber shop for a shave spotts who was bald as a billiard ball expressed surprise when ball bull gave his order wa askers off 7 he ex claimed tike em off repeated bull dog gedly must be goin to get married ive well not exactly explained bull we got folks out to gunlock now n the boys are sprucing up what folks folls ain aint t you heard got a girl there daughter of old gus Is that dammed damned old critter down at the madelne med cine bend hospital yet de banded spotts but his expletives were much more ferucio is A heavy bass i v 0 ce was heard from the second chair where oscar was shaving a man slow jake protested the man in the chair go slow don t get to cussin out old van cambel all right I 1 anan a all right returned spotts resignedly I 1 plum for got you were there that man gravely continued the man addressed as I 1 anama nama and re ferring to van cambel will keep more sleepy cat folks out of hiven hp iven than the devil ul himself how s that asked spotts laby because aei body asses losses him so terrible whenever his name comes up I 1 guess right agreed spotts angway there theres s more damned bias blas coln on in this town careful jake careful admonished I 1 anama all right panama grumbled the notoriously profane barber then un der his breath so pamma could not hear bear its it s got so a man cant can t say a damned word any more what s the girl like bull he asked well responded respond pd the gunlock hearty she s comin around eighteen or awen ty lively as a cricket and straight as a ramrod Is she anything ill e old van laam bal bit bil she ashes s as nice and tidy a miss as you d want to set eyes on then there s one grand b g mistake declared spotts defini lively that damned old critter couldn t be the father of a girl like that tut tut jake interposed I 1 anama rising solemnly from the chair and reaching for his collar and tie you promised to give up swearing searing NN V ell hell I 1 cant can t quit all at once can I 1 demanded spotts testily ain t I 1 doln better every day got to watch you though I 1 guess observed panama illy bull caught sight of the man out ot of the corner of his eye he was almost gigantic in proportions tall stout erect with leonine features shaggy brows and a heavy mop of coarse straight black hair worn long and cut flatly across the back of his neck TO BE CONTINUED |