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Show shadows under the aya that he re uiembered seeing ther the time tbif had ridden over the Pasa of th Goats. She came close to htm, her hands up against his chest. "You're safe, Sundy. Safe!" . .. , "I was too late," he snld. "Brandon's "Bran-don's men had been ahead of me." "I'm so glad, Snndy. Your hands nre clean of his blood. They are niy hands now, Sandy." He swept her up to him, kissing her mouth and eyes, the eager pressure pres-sure of her lips returning all with full measure. A streak of rose glowed in the east oehlnd the amethyst peaks. Her face reflected it like a mirror. "I don't have to go back East," she said presently. They had left the corral and were under Jhe big cotton-woods cotton-woods by Patrick Casey's grave. "Do ir "I don't reckon you can, even If you wanted to," answered Sandy. "I forgot to tell you, Molly, that you're bu'sted, so far's the mine is concerned. Listen." She laughed when he finished speaking. "Is that all?" She patted the turf on the green mound. . "I'm 6orry. Daddy, for you, it didn't pan out big-ger. big-ger. But I guess what you wanted most was my happiness and I've got that." She turned to Sandy. The big bell of the ranch boomed brasslly. Molly put her hand In Sandy's. "It may be most unromantic, Sandy dear," she said, "but I'm hungry. Let's go In to breakfast." nnimTiiMtHitiuriitiniiiitiHiiriiiiMiiim Rimrock I I Trail By J. Allan Dunn Author of E "A Man to Hit Mate" - Etc E E Illustrations by IRWIN MVERS aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiir. Copyright 1922, by 3. Allan Dunn CHAPTER XXI Continued. 20 The mare took the cold river water about her fetlocks with a little shiver, wading In to the girths, sliding to a deep pool where she had to swim a few strokes before she found gravel under her hoofs and scrambled out. Suddenly, while Sandy hesitated how best to arrange his patrol, a horse came floundering out of the pines less than a quarter of a mile away, a black horse, shining with sweat, tired to Its limit, staggering In its stride, the rider hunched In the saddle more like CHAPTER XXII The Very End. There was a council held later that day, that was almost a council of war. Sandy was In the chair, Mormon and Sam present, Molly the Indignant speaker-in-chlef. Tm very much ashamed of all of you," she said. "An agreement Is an agreement, and we were to share as we arranged. We shook hands upon it. Tve had three times as much as any one of you, as it Is. I haven't spent all of It, Sandy tells me. "I've got to accept Sandy's share of It, I suppose, because it goes with Sandy. As for you, Sam Manning, you'll need your third when you marry mar-ry Kate Nicholson." Soda-Water Sam gasped. "Marry Miss Nicholson?" "Certainly. She expects you to." "She Molly, it ain't no Jokin' matter mat-ter with me. She wouldn't look at a rough-hided cuss like me." "You ask her, Sammy. Mormon, 1 suppose you'll have to hRne fire until you find out about that third wife. I a sack of meal than a man. Before Sandy could turn the mare toward them three riders burst from the trees like bolts from a crossbow, ! spurring their mounts, the two in the lead swinging lariats. They divided, one to either side of the foundering black stallion, one at the rear, gaining, gain-ing, angling In. The ropes slithered out, the loops seemed to hang like suspended rings of wire for a second before they settled down, fair and true, about the neck and shoulders of the blnck's rider. They tightened, the lariats snubbed to the saddle horns, the horses sliding with flattened pasterns. pas-terns. The black lunging on, pitched forward as It was relieved of a sudden sud-den weight and its rider Jerked hideously from the saddle, hands clawing at the ropes that choked his gullet, wrenching, sinking deep, shutting shut-ting off air and light with a horrid taste of blood and the noise of thundering thun-dering waters. The ropers wheeled their mounts and galloped back toward the woods, the limp body of their victim dragging, drag-ging, bouncing over the ground. The third rode to meet Sandy. It was Brandon. He hailed Sandy with sur- A Fifiurt Was Perched Upon the Fence, Waiting. hope the fourth time will be the charm. It will if you marry Miranda Bailey." "You're sure talkln' like a matrimonial matri-monial boorow, Molly," said Mormon "I sure think a sight of Mirandy. She's different from my first three. They all married me, fo' me to look out fo' them. If Mirandy can be per. suaded to take me it's becos she Is wlllln' to look after me. She 'lows I need It," he added, sheepishly. "Then the meeting Is closed," said Molly. "I accept your apologies and you beep your money." Mormon and Sam rose. With a glance at each other that ended In a wink, they left the room Molly turned to Sandy. "You didn't give me back my luck-piece, luck-piece, Sandy." "Wiflt does a mascot want with a luck-piece?" "She would like It made into an engagement en-gagement ring, Snndy." "Why not a weddin ring,' Molly, Molly mine?" THE ENT prise. "How'd you happen here this time of night, Bourke? Not looking for me'" "No. I was looking for the man you've Just caught. I was about a minute too late." ! Brandon glnnced curiously at Sandy, San-dy, caught by the grim note In his voice. But he made no comment. "Sorry If I spoiled your private vendetta, Bourke. You can have him, what's left of him, if you want. We wre going to swing him from a tree with a card on his chest presenting him to Hereford county, with our compliments. As It is, Bourke, I'd be relieved if you'd keep out of this entirely. en-tirely. Even forgetting you'd met us. We're within our rights, but we've done some cleunlng up tonight that we might have to explain If we stayed too long In the state. We got the goods on rilmsoll; one of his men whose girl rilmsoll had stolen helped us to pin them on him. We met him at Hereford. I'm going to send the facts and proofs to your authorities. They may not approve of lynch law these days, but they wouldn't act and we did. I don't fancy they'll bother us any. He wasn't worth the ropes he spoiled. Just as well you kept out of the mix-up." Sandy snld nothing. There was no need to mention Molly's adventure. "Want to be sure It's him" asked Brandon. The body of rilmsoll lay at the foot of a big pine. The loop were still tight shout his neck. One of the roies had been tossed over a bough. The two men had dismounted. Tbey nodded to Sandy as he came np with Brandon. They were horse owners, responsible men, who considered they had administered Justice, who felt no more qualms concerning the dead man than If his body had been the carcass of a slaughtered steer. "Waiting for the rest of the boys to come up," sold Brandon. "We'll hit the trail home tonight. Bourke wants to identify the body, boys." Sandy looked down at the contorted, contort-ed, blackened fnce, and his disappointment disap-pointment at having been forestalled, nedlmented down. The gambler's features fea-tures had not been made placid by death: they still held much of the horror of the last moments of that relentless chase, his horse falling under un-der him, foreknowledge of sudden death and then the whistling ropes, the Jerk Into eternity . . .1 It whs a thing to he forgotten, a nightmare that had nothing to do with the new day ahead. "It's I'llmsoll," said Sandy shortly. "I'm rldln' back to Three .Star. I found nlm hangln' to o tree. Cood night, hombres." He left them standing stand-ing about their quarry and turned the willing- mure toward home. pence settled down on him under the stars that were fading, the moon below the hills when be rode Into the borne corral. A figure hs penhe-l upon the Once, -siting. It Molly, and r,e lenocd down almost Inlo his firms ss he ..prang from the mure. In the p,ny dnwn her fio'e sceimnl drawn ml wenry. There were the blue |
