Show IN lit py fly PETER B KYNE HYNE W I 1 14 1 U 4 6 L R V Z esse iss cia TIIE THE STORY THUS FAR FAH mary sutherland Is lured to arizona by the advertisements verti of the wagon wheel dude ranch oper operated led by ma and pa B burdan u r d n she Is met at t the station by len il henley e nley whose father liam ham has purchased th the burda notes from rom the bank and feet feels that the ranch Is now his len takes blar mary y to phoenix enters the rodeo and rides mad hatter to a finish winning three thousand dollars tor for mary from rom lens dad mary blary now buys the equity in wagon wheel and ham learning learn lne she got cot elou enouch money threatens to foreclose mary blary re wres hires ma and pa burdan and takes up on the ranch where she kills the son of 0 sheriff wade while illegally branding braud lne a calf CHAPTER XVI of course the heat is blistering I 1 know because ive inquired but its dry heat so I 1 can stand it I 1 have to remain here and learn leam how to boss the job but ill not be a hermit did I 1 tell you I 1 hold a flying fl Y license no and for goodness sake what has that got to do with it ive had two hundred and fifty hours in the nir air im going to clear a level spot for a landing field and buy a twin engine four place ship so I 1 ill ll 11 not be tied down here I 1 can be in phoenix in an hour los angeles in three hours san francisco in six new york or florida in two days within hatt half an hour the rain was beating in sheets against the windows and mary listened to something she had never heard before the steady slap against the earth ot of water running off her own roof it made her feel eerie and aloof from everything a being detached from her own world it inculcated in her the thrill of adventures yet to come about dark she heard a faint roaring that grew rapidly in intensity so she sent for pedro to ask him what that sound might be it is satan laughing with delight dona maria as he conducts two funerals the santa maria is in freshet for his purpose two funerals pedro lie he related the tale of his adventure at breezy wades wake pedro she declared this is terrible terrible dona maria it is horrible almost I 1 wept because I 1 am such a poor shot however I 1 think perhaps I 1 frightened those other two so much they will never come back but how do you know they were cattle thieves pedro it is enough that they were friends and companions of breezy wade that each carried a flying W iron on his saddle and murder in his heart if one surprised him as you surprised breezy for each carried a high power rifle with telescopic sights and six shooters men rounding up their own cattle do not go armed there is no more wild west except in the movies dona maria then I 1 know of a good gutc pedro the man I 1 killed and the two who escaped pedro went on were ere californians how do you know by their outfits their saddles have one cincha chincha only in the southwest we use two also their riatas giatas were three strand rawhide while we use maguey rope the california vaquero is a dandy and must have some silver on his saddle and bridle if he can afford it these three had it the man I 1 killed wore brass spurs inlaid with silver so I 1 took these for myself also I 1 found on him a letter addressed to a man in earp california and it may be that he was that person one day I 1 shall run over to earp and make inquiry regarding this unfortunate man 1110 do you think they have put the flying W brand on many of my calves left unbranded cd by pa burdan last year not many I 1 think because they have not had much time to work an any Y calves they branded will probably be down along the river and I 1 will engage a rider to go down there with me and round them up while the brand still shows fresh and unhealed these animals I 1 will drive up here and corral in the horse pasture we will slaughter them one by one for ranch use lize so there will be no loss you will soon have a large number of men to feed the rain ceased about daylight t and by mid afternoon the santa maria was again a waste of sand and white granite wash boulders so pedio rode down to the scene of the two killings and discovered that during the night wade and wall had moved on so he rode on down the river until he could emerge on the north bank where the growth was normal and possible to penetrate lie he found the camp of the visitors they had had to abandon most of their food supplies their cooking equipment blankets and pack packsaddles saddles with knacks mantas manias and lash ropes the following day pedro returned to the camp with the pack mules and loaded this I 1 oot loot aboard them for he was a thrifty man and wasted bothin nothing g in the afternoon he drove mrs mr S maxwell back to phoenix remained there over night and returned to the ranch next day while in phoenix however ho he paid a visit to len henley who commenced a cautious pumping of the wagon wheel manager but learned nothing of interest beyond the details of marys adventure with breezy wade and pedros i i own brush with breezes Breez ys friends for mary anticipating pedros visit to don leonardo had asked him not to discuss with the latter her decision to make a reality ot of his half formed dream for improving the wagon wheel pedro assuming she preferred to invite don leonardo out to view the fruits of her money and labor when the job should bp be done and the grass six six inches high promised silence meanwhile mary had checked the balance in her bank accounts in new york and phoenix and arrived at the conclusion she had to have more money in hand to do even some of the things she planned to do also she was at a loss to know which item on her program should be given priority while she was vas puzzling over her predicament sheriff wade drove down to see her the sheriff was looking lookin g more cheerful than when she had seen him last and the reason for it was forthcoming instantly thought id run down an tell you my other two sons has left arizona he announced 1 I suppose pedro told you I 1 had ern em in jail an why mary nodded it seems that all I 1 have done since arriving in arizona is create a disturbance sheriff you create this one I 1 did there the least danger of a lynching lunching lyn ching but I 1 had hamilton henley send in a bunch 0 his riders in a truck to mill around the jail ft but how do you know they were cattle thieves pedro an yell lynch em after I 1 had my boys locked up that threw a chill into em then hamilton henley come in an interviewed em he give em their choice sell their alyin W iron lease an livestock to him or he leads the mob in st ormin the jail an str ingin ern em up and they accepted that program you bet after I 1 told tob cm m I 1 kill none 0 my friends to save em a lawyer come over to the jail with his stenographer an ax alx up the papers an the deals closed mr henley pay for the cattle until after the roundup round up an his own count lie he accept my boys count so they agreed to that an he give em cm both rive five hundred dollars for present p resent expenses an makes a speech from the second story winder 0 my jail advising ad the mob tn go home on account hes arranged for the boys to sell cut to hlin him an leave arizona forever so when the crowd melts we put the boys in ham lien hen leys car an him an me drop em ot off on an the arizona end 0 the bridge a cross across the rio at blythe a an n they hike across into california so mary said ham henley is a good actor as well as a bad one aint no favor he wont do for a friend he likes an respects but the flying W pedro ortiz informs me is is a small outfit about a township and a half of range and perhaps three hundred head of 0 breeding stock it will only be a nuisance to ham henley lie he likes a larger canvas he alms aims to sell that little spread to some dude if so be he dont don t sell it to me which hell do in in case im licked at the general election this fall an I 1 expect to be because 0 them no account sons ol 01 0 1 mine glinc 1 I imagine im the dude he has in mind mr wade well in ili a pinch ill co operatic cooperate coop ham henley I 1 is the cattle king of arizona but I 1 have an ambition to be the cattle queen id be a cattle queen would I 1 not with ten thousand head you would but not on oil your present range or even with the alyin W added this was her cue to confide in him her plan for the home ranch rach and he agreed that it was a feasible one provided she got welter water in sul suf quantity from the wells she planned to sink and tile the cost of pumping should not be prohibitive e the day after her return to phoe S i nix margaret paid a visit to len henley she found mr henley vastly improved with everything under perfect control except his spirits which were very low lie he brightened perceptibly when margaret entered the room hello watchman he e gree greeted ted her what of the night whose night you would have to get exact w you I 1 merely e employed a figure of speech youre looking well so I 1 ask how you eire are when I 1 saw you last you were headed for the bedside ot of the afflicted miss sutherland how did you leave that extraordinary young person well shell soon finish hating herself because she had to kill a man in self defense what is she doing out there nothing as yet naturally but she plans to polish the place up considerably usual dude program I 1 daresay my father tells me she boug bought I 1 it the burdan cattle from him so I 1 suppose ashes looking forward to the fun of riding with the roundup round up as advertised by pa burdan 1 I daresay she can pay for her fancies 1 I wonder he said with amazing if she ever thinks of the henley boy frequently I 1 imagine but without heartbreak indeed young leiler feller in lad its my opinion that ashes in a fair way of forgetting she ever met you margaret had a feeling that it if don leonardo been lying in the middle of his bed when she said that he would have fallen out so visibly did he start so he murmured 1 I broke my pick did I 1 1 I think so she told me how you gave her the rause an hour after it happened and at that time she seemed inclined to accept the situation philosophically she told me she thought your argument had merit but later I 1 think she commenced to reconsider and con concluded chided that in a very vital matter you had jumped too quickly to a conclusion and quit too readily she complained rather plaintively one day that you had summoned the spirit of tile the hassy ampa for his advice and after he gave it and it appeared to be quite satisfactory you rejected it but surely she take that jest seriously I 1 merely went through that old rigmarole in order to get my foot in the door as it were len you do right by your dude you dazzled her you made her love you and when she started dreaming such stull stuff as the dreams of young girls are made of you awakened her with a vigorous shaking 11 but she telephoned me from the hospital the day she was shot she thought of me then true but as a friend not a sweetheart she wanted me and to get me she had to communicate through you because you spoke spanish ashes had a perfectly horrible experience and ashes taken it bravely that girl just oozes spunk you delivered that silly little message of mine 1 I did the answer please margaret gave it to him verbatim and watched him squirm mentally so she remotely brokenhearted broken hearted he pressed 1 I doubt it but if she Is shell conceal it until ashes permanently cured were you anticipating renewing your sentimental interest in the lady len it require renewal it dead it even slee peth because when that girl hit me she crippled me for life it the most extraordinary situation margaret two people meet and instantly the current of their lives is quickened and diverted into new channels I 1 confess im rather juvenile about her I 1 lie here all day envisioning her as I 1 first arst saw her that sri snappy appy morning sitting on her steamer st camei trunk on the platform at Sug huaro does your original contention that marriage between you two would be a mistake still hold well perhaps I 1 should have taken a chance and made the experiment although it would have been pretty horrible if my original theory proved to be correct after all I 1 dont know and I 1 dont think my father father does either because ever since she busted breezy wade he go into the silence when I 1 mention her name he just shakes his head and murmurs theres a salty one for you so smart ashes spooky fight a and spot him six si bites and three clouts clonts when your father sees the I 1 light 9 lit he never blinks it so you think im washed up margaret mararet 9 aret im certain of it darling well he mourned 1 I was never much af a hand to come crawling so the bet will have to go as it lies when she wrote me thanking me for the flowers I 1 sent her she addressed me as friend len and signed herself sincerely since iely mary sutherland suther land that got me down dohn about march fifteenth he left the hospital and went to live with his father and here one day he was summoned to the telephone hello don leonardo marys golden voice greeted him ilow how are yu y u cowboy TO BE |