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Show I - v :' ' THE BINGHAM NEWS, BINGHAM, UTAH Ifcfe -- Big-fowEii Round Up By WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE I Copyright by William Mac Leod Raine . the Hunt cnnie buck to that post many times ns the starting-poin- t for weary, hlgh-hecl- e I tramps through streets within circuit of a mile. He could not have explained why he did sc Per-haps It was because this' was the only spot In the city thut held for him any tangible relationship to Cluy. Some one claimed to have seen hln vanish Into one of these houses. Perhaps he might come back again. It was a very tenuous hope, but it was the only one Johnnie had. He clumped over the pavements till his feet ached In pro-test. His patience was rewarded. On the second dny, while he was goring ly at the post a groom brought two horses to the curb In front of the house opposite. One of the horses had a real cowboy's saddle. Johnnie's eyes gleamed. This' was like a breath of honest-to-Oo- d Arizona. The door opened, and out of It came a man and a slhn young woman. Both of them were dressed for riding, she In the latest togs of the town, he In a well-cu- t sack suit and high tan boots. Johnnie threw up his hat and gave a yell. "Yoa blamed old horn-toa- d I Might V knowed you was all right 1 uuis anu pies. ' in luient tuuie tn handy now, for Clay was no house-keeper." i After the breakfast things were cleared away Johnnie fared forth to a certain house adjoining Riverside drive, where he earned ten dollars a week as outdoors man. His bus'.ness was to do odd jobs about the place. He cut and watered the lawn. He made small repairs. Beatrice had a rose garden, and under her direction he dug, watered and fertilized. Incidentally, the snub-nose- d little puncher with the unfinished features adored his young mistress in the dumb, uncritical fashion a schoolboy does a Ty Cobb or an Eddie Collins. In his heart he had hopes that Clay, would fall in love with and marry her. But her actions worried him. Some-times he wondered If she really under-stood what a catch Clay was. He tried to tell her his notions on the subject the morning Clay praised his flapjacks. ' She was among the rose-bushe-gloved and hatted, clipping American Beauties for the dining room, a dainty but very self-relia- little personality. "Miss Beatrice, I been thlnkhV about you and Cloy," he told her, leaning on his spade, "What have you been thinking about us?" the girl asked, snipping off a big rose. "How you're the best-lookl- couple that a man would see anywheres." Into her clear ' cheeks the color flowed. "If I thought nonsense like that I wouldn't say It," she said quiet-ly. "We're not a couple. He's a man. I'm a woman. I like him and want to stay friends with him If you'll let me." "Sure. I know that, but" Johnnie groped helplessly to try to explain what he had meant "Clay he likes you a heap," he finished inadequately. The eyes of the girl began to dance. There was no use taking offense at this simple soul. "Does net I'm sure I'm gratified," she murmured, busy with her scissors among the roses. "Yep. I never knowed Clay to look at a girl before. He sure thinks a heap of you." She gave a queer little bubbling laugh.- "You're fluttering me." "Honest. I nlnt." Johnnie whispered What wore iiKely tlian that he' ttucl arranged to have her spirited awayt . Lindsay had read that hundreds oi girls disappeared . every year In th city. If they ever came to the surface again It was as aVellers In that un- - ! dcrworld in the current of which thej had been caught. , , He had an engagement thnt after-- ' noon to walk with Bvaf.rlce Whltford. 1 They crossed to Mornlngslde park"? and moved through it to the northern end where the remains of Fort Lalght, built to protect the approach to tin city during the War of 1812, can still be seen and traced. Beatrice had reud the story of the earthworks. In the midst of the tell-ing of it she stopped to turn upon ' him with ' swift accusation, "You'rs not listening." ,! "That's right, I wasn't," he admit-ted. "Have you heard something about ' your cigarette girl?" " Clay was amazed at the occuracj of 'her center shot "Yes." He showed her the' new paper. ' ' She read. The golden head nodded triumphantly. "I told you she coula look out for herself. You see when ' she had lost you she knew enough U advertise." , J V Was there or was there not a falnl note of malice in the girl's voice 1 Clay did not know. But It would have neither surprised nor displeased him, ne had long since discovered thnt hl imperious little friend was far from an angel. ' At his rooms he found a note await- - big him. "Come tonight after eleven. I ant locked in the west rear room of the ' second story. Climb up over the back, porch. Don't make any noise. The window will be unbolted. A friend Is mailing this. For God's sake, don't full me." . . , - The note was signed "Kitty." Be. low were given the house and street number. Was It genuine? Or did It lead to a trap? He could not tell, It might be a plant or It might be a wall of real distress. There was only one way to find out unless he went to j the police. Thnt way was to g ; through with the adventure. He d( 1 THE MATCH-MAKE- R STN0P8IS.-- A foreword tells this: , Motoring through Arizona, a party of easterners, father and daughter and a male companion, stop to wit-ness a cattle round Op. The girl leaves the car and la attacked by a wild steer. A masterpiece of riding on the part of one of the cowboy saves her life. Then the story begins: Clay Lindsay, range-rid- er on an Arlxona ranch, an-nounces his. Intention to visit the "big town,"-- New York. On the train Lindsay becomes Interested In a young woman, Kitty Mason, on her way to New York to become a motion-pictur- e actress. She is marked as fair prey by a fellow traveler, Jerry Durand, gang politi-cian and lighter. Perceiving , his' Intentions, Lindsay provokes a quarrel and throws Durand from the train. On his first day in New , York Lindsay is with wa- - I ter by a Janitor. That Individual the range-ride- r punishes summarily and leaves tied to a fire hydrant i , A young woman who sees the oc currence Invites Clay Into her, house and hides him from the po- - I lice. Clay's "rescuer" Introduces ' herself as Beatrice Whltford. Llnd- - 1 say meets her father, Colin. Whit- - 1 ford, and Is invited to visit them again. He meets Kitty Mason by ; accident. She has been disappointed f in her stage aspirations, and to 1 support herself Is selling cigarettes I In a cabaret. Clay visits her there. I Kitty Is insulted by a customer. Clay punishes the annoyer. After j a lively mlxup Llndpay escapes. Outside, he is attacked by Jerry J Durand and a companion and S beaten Insensible. Lindsay's ae- - with Beatrice Whltford iquaintance "Who ore you?'! . "Me, I'm Johnnie Green of the ranch. I just drapped In from Arizona and I wantta see the postmas-ter." , "Suppose you tell your troubles to me." . Johnnie changed his weight to the other foot. "No, suh, I allow to see the postmaster himself personal." "He's busy," explained the official. "He can't possibly see anybody with-out knowing his business." "That's all right. I've lost my pal. I wantta see " The superintendent of complaints cut Into his parrot-lik- e repetition. "Yes, you mentioned that But the postmaster doesn't know where he is, does he?" "He might tell me where his mall goes, as the old sayln is." "When did you lose your friend?" "I ain't heard" from him since he come to New York. So beln' as I got a chanct to go from Tucson with a Jackpot trnlnload of cows W Denver, I kinds made up my mind to come on here the rest of the way and look him up. I'm afraid some one's done him dirt." "Do you know where he's staying?" "No, suh, I don't." . The superintendent of complaints tapped with his fingers on the desk. Then he Bmlled. The postmaster was fond of a Joke. Why not let this odd little freak from the West have an in-terview with him? Twenty minutes later Johnnie was telling his story to the postmaster of the city of New York. He had written street, and take this note to Capt. Luke Byrne. He'll see that the matter Is Investigated for you. Do you know the way to police headquarters?" "I reckon I can find It. Is It fur?" The man from Arizona looked down at the high-heele- d boots In which his tortured feet had dumped over the pavements of the metropolis all morn-ing. "I'll send you in a taxi." The post-master was thinking that this babe in the woods of civilization never would be able to find his way alone. As the driver swept the car in and out among the traffic of the narrow streets Johnnie clung to the top of , the door fearfully. Every moment he expected a smash. His heart was la his throat. The hurricane deck of a bronco had no terrors for him, but this wild charge through the humming trenches shook his nerve. "I come mighty nigh askln you would you Just as lief drive slower," he said with a grin to the chaulteur as he descended to the safety of uie side-walk. "I ain't awful hardy, an' I sure was plumb scared," A sergeant took Johnnie In tow and delivered him at length to the office waiting-roo- of Captain Anderson, head of the bureau of missing persons. The Runt, surveying the numbers tn the waiting-roo- and those passing in and out, was ready to revise his opin-ion about the possible difficulty pf the job. He Judged thnt half the popula-tion of New York must be missing. After a time the captain's secretary notified Johnny that It was his turn. As soon as he was admitted the puneh- - clued to play a lone hand except roi I such help as Johnnie could give him j Cloy took a downtown car and rode to the cross-stree- t mentioned In the let. , ter for a preliminary tour of InvestU j gatlon. The street designated was one of plain brownstone fronts with. J Iron-grille- d doors. The blank faces , of the houses Invited no confidence. It struck him thnt there was some. thing sinister about the neighborhood, but perhaps the thought was born of the fear. Number. 121 had windows barred with ornamental grilles. This might be to keep burgltirs out. It would serve equally well to keep prig, oners in. The cnttlemnn did not linger In that street lined with houses of sinister faces. He did not rare to call atteo three times to Clay Lindsay and had received no answer. So he had come to look for him. "Is your friend like you?" asked the postmaster. Interested In spite of him-self. "No suh." Johnnie, alias the Runt, begnn to beam. "He's a sure-enoug- h r, Clay Is, every Jump of the road. I'd follow his dust any day of the week. He's the Uvest proposition that ever come out of Graham county. You can ce'talnly gamble on that." The postmaster touched a button. A clerk appeared, received orders, and disappeared. The clerk presently returned with three letters addressed to Clay Lind-say, General Delivery, New York. The postmaster handed them to the little cow puncher. "Evidently he never called for them," he said. Johnnie's chin fell. He looked a pic-ture of helpless woe. "They're the let-ters I set down an' wrote him my own se'l. Something has sure happened to that boy, looks like," lie bemoaned. "Weil try police headquarters. May-be we can get a line on your friend," the postmaster said, reaching for the telephone. "But you roust remember New York is a big place. It's not like your Arizona ranch. The city has nearly elgnt million Innabltants. You'll understand that when one man gets lost it isn't always possible to find him." "Why not? We got some steers down In my country about as many as you got men In this here town of yourn. Tha's what we ride the range for, so's not to lose 'em. We've traced a Bin-a-Bo- x steer clear from Tucson to Den-- I CHAPTER VI Continued. But , though Clarendon Bromfleld I had no doubt of the issue of his suit, I the friendship of Beatrice for this fel- - I low from Arizona stabbed his vanity. I It hurt his class pride and his personal I self-estee- m that she should take plens- - - ure In the man's society. Bee never I had been well-broke- n to harness. He set his thin lips tight and resolved " that he would stand no nonsense of this sort after they were married. If 4 , she wanted to flirt It would have to be I with some one In their own set. Beatrice could not understand her-- 1 self. She knew that she was behav- - I Ing rather Indiscreetly, though she did not fathom the cause of the restless ness that drove her to Clay Lindsay. 'Ihe truth is that she was longing for an escape from the empty life she was ' leading, had been seeking one for years without knowing It. Surely this round of social , frivolities, the chatter of these silly women ana smug tailor-mad- e men, could not be all there was to life. She must have been made for something better than that. And when she was with Clay she knew she had been. He gave her a vision of life through eyes that hnd ,; known open, wide spaces, clean, whole some, and sun-kisse- He stood 'on his own feet and did his own thinking. Simply, with both hands, he took hold of problems and examined them stripped of all trimmings. The man was elemental, but he was keen and broad-gauge- Jt amazed her one'day to lenrn thut he hud reud William James and understood his philosophy much better than she did. There was in her mind no Intention c vcr&uu .113 ..11117 v,i.,vui. ing for any preliminaries. "Say, captain, I want you to find my friend Clay Lindsay. He " "Just a moment," interrupted the captain. "Who are you? Don't think I got your name." - Johnnie remembered the note of In-troduction and his name at the same time. He gave both to the big man who spent his busy days and often part of the nights looking for the lost, strayed, and stolen among New York's millions. ' The captain's eyes swept over the note. "Sit down, Mr. Green, and let's" get at your trouble. , Tills note says that you're looking for a man named Clay Lindsay who came to New York several months ago. Have you or hajL anybody else heard from him in that time?" "We got a letter rVit after he got here. He ain't writ since." "Perhaps he's ifead. We'd better look up the morgue records." "Morgue I" Tbe Runt grew excited Instantly. "That place where you keep folks that get drowned or bumped oft) Say, captain, I'm here to tell you Clay was the llvest man In Arizona, which is the same as sayln' anywherea. Cowpunchers don't take naturally to morgues. No, sir, Cloy ain't In no morgue. Like as not he's helpefi fill this yere morgue - If any crook tried their rough stuff oh him. Don't get me wrong, Cap. Clay Is the squanst he-ma- n ever God made. AH I'm in' Is" The captain Interrupted. He ns1;ed sharp, Incisive questions and got busy. Presently he reached for n 'plume, got in touch with a sergeant at the police desk In the upper corridor, and sent a secret across the rose bushes. "Say, If you work It right I believe you can get hlra." The girl sparkled. Here was a new slant on matrimonial desirability. Clearly the view of the little cow-punch- er was that Clay had only to crook his fingers to summon any girl In the world that he desired. ' "What would you advise m$ to do?" she dimpled. "Shol I dunno." He shyly un-burdened himself of the warning he had been leading tip to. "But I'd tie a can to that dude fellow that hnngs around the Bromfleld guy, O course I know he ain't one, two, three with you while Clay's on earth, but I don't reckon I'd take any chances, as the old sayln' is. Better get sTiet of the dude." Miss Whltford bit her lip to keep from exploding in a sudden gale of mirth. But the sight of her d chaperon set her off into penis of laughter in spite of herself. Ev-ery time she looked at Johnnie she went off into'renewed chirrups. He was so homely and so deadly earnest. The little waif was Staring at her In perplexed surprise, mouth open and chin fallen. He could see no occasion for gayety at his suggestion. There was nothing subtle about the Runt. In his social code wealth did not fig-ure. A bronco buster was free to offer advice to the daughter of a millionaire about her matrimonial prospects if It seemed best. "Clay ain't one o' the common run of cowpunchers, ma'nm. You vbet you, by Jollies, he ain't. Clay he owns a half-Intere- In the O "Hi Yi Yil Doggone Yore Old Hide, If It Ain't You Big as Coffee, Clay!" Might 'a' knowed you wouldn't bite oft more'n you could chew I Oh, you Arizona !" Clay gave one surprised look and met him In the middle of the street. The little cowpuncher did a war dunce of Joy while he clung to his friend's hand. Tears brimmed into bis faded eyes. "Hi yi yl 1 Doggone yore old hide, If It ain't you big os coffee, Clay. Thinks I to myse'f, who Is that pilgrim? And, by gum, it's old h Jes' his heels. Where you been at, you old skeezlcks?" "How are you, Johnnie? And what are you doln here?" "You didn't answer my letters, so I come to see If you was all right." "You old scalawag. You came to paint the town red." Johnnie, highly delighted at this charge, protested. "Honest I didn't, Clay. I wasn't feelln so tur'ble peart. Seemed like the boys picked on hie after you left. So I Jes' up and come." If Clay was not delighted to have his little Fldus Achates on his hnnds he gave no sign of It, He led hi in across the rond and Introduced hlra to Miss Whltford. Clay blessed her for her kindness to this squnt, snub-nose- d adherent of his whose lonely henrt hnd driven him two thousand miles to find his friend. lp ' .irlill whatever of letting nerself do any-thing so foolish as to marry htm. But there were moments when the thought of It had a dreadful fusclnntlon for lier. She did not Invite such thoughts to remain with her. For she meant to accept Clarendon Bromfleld In her own good time and jnake her social position In New York absolutely secure. She had been In the fringes too long not to appreciate a chance to get Into the social Holy of Holies. ' A bow-legge- d little man tn a cheap, wrinkled suit with a silk kerchief knotted loosely round hit neck stopped la xtont of d winuOvf Ai&-r- a wus selling stamps. "I wantta see the postmaster." "Corrld'y'rlght. Takel'vatorthlr'door-left,- " she said, Just as though It were two words. At that the freckled-fac- e little fellow opened wkler his sklm-mll- k eyes and his weak mouth. "Come sguln, luu'ani, please." "Corrld'y'rlght. Takel'vatorthir'door-- . left," she repented. "Next." The Inquirer knew us much as he did before, hut he lucked the tournge to ask for n English translation. He shuffled ny from the window and wandered helplessly, swept up by the tide of hurrying people thnt flowed continuously Into the building and ebbed out of It. From this he was tossed Into tiuckwuter thut brought lilni to nnoHier window. "I wnntts sw the postmaster of this Imrtr," he Hiti'iuneed again with u plultitive wh lie. "What nlf itf asked the man bnck i,f the "Important business, hiiiIko. Where's lie nt ?" The mnn dtrected lilm to a door upon which wus printed the legend, "Super-intendent of i Vioplnlnts." "WeM, sir! TVlNt can 1 do for you?" the nii-- behind the Idg desk snapped. "I wantta see the postmaster." "What about ?' "I got Importuht business with him." an attendant with Johnnie to the po-ller department. The Irish sympathies of the ser-geant were aroused by the naive hon-esty of the Utile man. He sent for another sergeant, had card records brought, consulted a couple of patrol-men, and then turned to Johnnie. , "We've met your friend all right," he said with a grin, "ne's wan heluva lad. Fits the description to a T. There can't be but one like him here." Andhe went on to tell the story of the adventure of the Janitor and the hose. The washed-ou-t eyes of the punch-er lit up. "That's him. Thnt's sure him. Tell me where he's at?" "We don't know. We can show you the place where he tied the janitor, but thnt's the best we can do." The capiin hesitated. "If you find hlin, gtv him a straight tip from me Tell him to buy a ticket for Arizona and tnk the train for home. This town Is rw healthy place for hlra. Your friend has made an enemy a powerful one. He'll understand if you tell bun." "Who Is this here enemy?" "Nevr mind. He hit up too fust a pace." "You can't tell me a thing against Clay not a thing," protested Johnnie hotly, "ileil sure do to take along. Cluy will. There cun't any guy knock him to nie, if he does wear a uniform." "I'm not suylng a tiling against hlin," replied the officer Impatiently. "I'm giving him a friendly Up to heat It, If you see hlin. Nw I'm going to send you uptown with n plain-clothe- s num. Ileil show you where your friend mniie his New York debut. That's all wi' can do for you." An hour' Inter the little cowpuncher was gazing wistfully nt the hitching pout. Ills face was twisted pathet-ically to a question mark. It wns as though he thought he could conjure from the post the secret of tiuy's dis-appearance, Where had he gone from here? And where was he now? In the conse of the next two days iter nana went out msiantiy. a snine softened her eyes and dimpled her' cheeks. "I'm very glnd to meet any friend of Mr. Lindsay. Father and I will want to hear all about Arizona after you two have hod your visit out. Weil postpone the ride till this afternoon. That will be better, I think." Clay agreed. With a cool little nod thnt Included them both, she turned and ran lightly up the steps Into the house. "Some sure-enoug- h queen," mur-mured Johnnie in naive admlinticn, staring after her with open mouth. Clay smiled. He had an opinion of his Owii on thut pefct. CHAPTER VII Johnnie Green Match-Make- r. Johnnie Green gave an upword jerk to the frying-pa- n and caught the flap-Jnc- k as It descended. ' "Fust and Inst call for breakfast In the dinlng-cyar-. Come and get It, he snng out to Clay. Thot young mnn emerged from his bedroom glowing. He wns one or two shades of tan lighter than when he had reached the city, but the paint of Arlzonu's untempered sun still distin-guished hlin from the native-born- , If there are any such among the Inhab-itants of upper New York, "You're one sure-enoug- h cook," Ik drnwled to his satellite. t"I!est flap-Jac-ever made In this town." The Itunt beamed nil over. If he had really been n puppy he would have wnpgeil his tall. Since he couldn't do that he took It out In grinning. Any word of praise from Cluy made the world n sunshiny one for him. The twe men were baching It. They had n little apartment in the Bronx and Johnnie looked after It for his friend. One of Johnnie's vices ac-cording to the standard of the boys wns that be was as neat as an old maid. He liked to hang around a mess-wago- and cook dough- - course It ain't what he's got, but what he Is that counts. He's the best darned pilgrim ever I did see." . "He's all right, Johnnie," the girl admitted with an odd smile, "Do you want me to tell him that I'll be glad to drop our family friends to meet his approval? I don't suppose he asked you to speak to me about it, did he?" The little range-ride- r missed the Irony of this. "No, ma'am, I Jest but-ted in. Mebbe I hadn' ought to of spoke." "You needn't feel bad, Johnnie. There.'s no harm done If you don't say anything about It to Mr. Lindsay. But I don't think you were Intended for a ma'ch-wak- er That takes quite a little finesse, doesn't It?" The word "finesse" was not In John-nie's dictionary, but he acquiesced In her verdict. "I reckon, ma'am, you're right." Clay was waiting for lunch at a rot-Isser- le on Sixth avenue, aud in order to lose no time of which he had more Just now than he knew what to do with was meanwhile rending a news-paper propped against a water-bottle- , From the personal column there popped out at him three lines that caught his attention : . ' "If this meets the eye of C. L. of ' Arizona please write me, Box M-2- The Herald. Am in trouble. Kitty M." He read it again. There could he no doubt In the world. It was ad-dressed to hlin, and from Kitty. He remembered that on the bus he hud cusually mentioned to her thnt he usually read the Herald. After lie bad eaten, Clay walked down Broadway and left a note at the office "f the Herald for Kitty. The thought of her was In his mind nil day. lie hnd worried a good deal over her disappearance. It wns not ulone tits t he felt responsible f?r the loss of her place us cigarette girl. One disturbing phase of the situation was thut Jerry Durand must huve seen her. Was There or Was There Not a Faint Note of Malice in the Girl's Voice? tion to his presence by staying, too tlong. Besides, he had some arrange-ments to make for the night at his rooms. These were simple and few. He oiled and loaded his revolver careful-ly, leaving the hammer on the one cSiaa.be left csipty tz. prc ra; dents, after the custom of all careful gunmen. He changed into the wrinkled suit he hud worn when he ren died the city, and substituted for his shoes a pair of felt-sole- d gymnasium ones. The bowiegged little i ; puncher watched his friend, Just ss a faithful dog does his master. He asked no questions. In good, time he knew he would be told nil It was necessary for him to know. As they rode from the Bronx, Clay outlined the situation and told his plans so far as he had any. . "So I'm goln to tuke a whirl at It, Johnnie. Mebbe they're lyhi' low up In that house to get 'me. Mebbe tin note's the real thing. You can seiireh jne which It Is. The only way to find out Is to go through with the thing. Yore Job Is to stick around In front of the hacienda and wait for nie. If I don't show up Inside of thirty min-utes, get the police busy right away lireukin' Into the place. Io you ge; me, Johnnie?" "Lemine go with you Into the hone, Cluy," the little man pleaded. "Say, why don't you go Into the movies and b n of these here screen, ideal?" (TO UK CONTINUED.) "Go to Police Headqusrters, Center Street, and Take This Note to Capt. Luke Byrne." ver, done It more'n onct or twice too. I notice you got a big bunch of man-punche- In uniform here. Ain't It their business to rustle up strays?" "The police," said the postmaster, amused. "That Is part of Uielr busi-ness. Weil pass the buck to them, anyhow." After some delay and repeated of who h was, the post-master got at the other end of the wire his friend the commissioner. Their conversation was brief. When the post-master bung up he rung for n stenog-rapher and dictated a letter of Intro-duction. This be handed to Johnnie, with explicit Instructions. '"iio to police headquarters, Center |
