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Show yM JACKSON GREGORY W$t r "When I was a very little girl," she told him sweetly, "I used to say that I hated things. Castor oil was one, and there were others. But, dear me, I didn't know what 1 was talking about, For only now, Mr. Cody, I do know now what the word 'hate' means. Need I go further? fur-ther? Of course not. Now, suppose you tell me what, if anything at all, you are driving at? Someone has told you, no doubt,, that Mr. Early Bill Cole willed everything he had to me?" Cole Cody had a way of exhaling cigarette smoke that, she was dead sure, could infuriate anyone on earth. He did some exhaling. Her nails bit into her pink palms. But Spartanlike, she clenched her teeth and waited. Outside, in the patio, Ranee Wal-dron Wal-dron had stopped at the side of a window, listening, one would have judged, so still and attentive had he become, that he was far and away more than merely casually interested. interest-ed. At least so deemed Aunt Jenifer, Jeni-fer, spying on him from a kitchen corner! At last Ann spoke up, and very quietly, considering who it was speaking. "Mr. Early Bill Cole," she said, spacing her words nicely, "was a gentleman and a very fine man. He was a friend of my father's. He knew that he had to die. So he made his will. It's quite too bad, W.N.U. RELEASE He moved away from his vantage point, and a moment later the doorway door-way framed him. He stopped there, studying them. "I don't think I know you very well," said Cody. "Do you happen to be one of my guests?" "We met just now," Ranee reminded re-minded him, cool and insolent, as was his fashion. He pinched his chin, ' looking reflective. "Guests, you said, didn't you? Whose guests, I can't but ask. You mean I'm your guest or you're my guest or Just what did you have in mind?" Cole Cody, drained of his strength as he was, felt a strong urge to batter all the smug insolence off the man's handsome face. As a matter mat-ter of fact he experienced an all but overwhelming desire to spoil Mr. Ranee Waldron's manly profile for all time. "It's like this," said Cole Cody, very slow-spoken. When he spoke that way he was generally saying one thing and thinking far afield; right now he was regarding Ranee Waldron's empurpled nose and dallying dal-lying with the thought of taking even more painstaking care of that nose when opportunity afforded. "You heard part of what was said; I guess out there at the window, you didn't miss a word. So suppose we go on from there. I don't know who you are " "Why not get straightened out at the start?" said Ranee Waldron reasonably. rea-sonably. "Me, I'm Ranee Waldron and just blew in here a few days ago. As far as I know, or anyone else seems to know, I'm next of kin to that rare old bird. Early Bill Cole. I had me a hunch that he kicked off without making any will at all, and in spite of the several mentions of wills that I've heard since, I'm still of that notion. If I happen to be right Well, then, this outfit, lock, stock and barrel, belongs be-longs to me! Got all that, Mr. Cody?" JC GREGORY TME STORY SO FAR: Ann Leo and i coitv bcncllclaiies under two IdcnU-I IdcnU-I .tils' mado by Early Bill Cole, ar-ivrd ar-ivrd in Bald Eafile by stane coach, only ' ,rarn ol Bill Cole's death a tew days tously. AnI1, accompanied by Aunt j nilcr went out to Old Bill's ranch the oUoivine day and was greeted by Ranee Valdron, who, posing as Old Bill's neph-,,, neph-,,, made It evident they were not wel-'nt wel-'nt a' the Ranch. While Ann Lee was making It Just as plain she had no Intention Inten-tion of leaving. Cole Cody arrived. Ann 0d Coie tad a misunderstanding during de journey to Bald Eagle and she was not pleased to see him at the Ranch. In late, lb' ordered him out. Nsw continue with the story. CHAPTER IX "You're not a very good shot, are ,ou?" said Cole Cody, lazy and slow-spoken slow-spoken and impudent. Even his eyebrows eye-brows mocked Ann. "I could shoot your toenails off and never blister your feet," she told him. "Then why only mess me up like this, making it hurt like seven kinds of hell and at the same time do me no more harm than a hot stove lid dropped on your toe?" "It's that darned gun of Calhoun's! Cal-houn's! It does its own shooting when it feels like it You try it sometime, smarty!" "Trying to apologize? Meaning you didn't go to do it?" He was still jeering at her. Maybe it was just as well then that Cal had retrieved re-trieved his gun and taken it off with him. "Mr. Cody," said Ann, very prim and very polite, "I am sorry, in a way, that I shot you. You see " "Id a way? That's nice! What way?" snapped young Cody. "There is such a thing as being humane, or anyhow human," said Ann. "You know very well that you are not welcome here. What's the use pretending? You and I don't like each other for my part," she exploded. "I hate the sight of you! Get well as soon as you can and go somewhere else. So, what I mean by being sorry I shot you, it's just that if you weren't all shot up you could be on your way right now." He slid out of his chair, the tight bandage about his midriff irking him, and stood up. "I'm here to stay," he told her flatly. "I didn't come here following follow-ing you, either. If I'd known you were here, maybe I couldn't have come at all. And, not meaning to be tough with you, just the same I can ask you what the devil you are doing here anyhow? At my place." "Your place! Why, you " "We sort of find it natural to call each other 'You' and then gulp and stop, don't we?" he said. "Your place! What on earth are you talking about? Have you gone "That's quite a speech," conceded Cody, nodding approvingly. "Yep, I got it. Only it's my bet you're out on a limb. Here are the three of us, you and Miss Lee and me, all putting in our claims." He made a wry face, then wiped it away with the heel of his hand. "Like so many turkey buzzards sitting on a fence! It makes me sort of sick at my stomach. I got a notion to hightail high-tail out of here and let you folks fight over a dead man's boots!" "Scat!" cried Ann Lee. "You're overdue some other place!" "No. I'm sticking until I get things straight Why old Early Bill Cole should make me his heir, I don't know and can't guess. But he might I have had his reasons. I never knew him, I never even saw him. But one thing sticks out like a sore thumb: His name was Cole, and I'm Cole Codyl How's that happen? Must be that we re related, or something" some-thing" He reached into his pocket, groped a minute and dug up a small, flat key and did little Ann Lee's eyes all but start from their sockets! "There!" said young Cody. "There's the key to the mystery, as the feller says Maybe! Who'll bring me a lock for my key?" Ann Lee had a way, all her own, of getting from the place where she was to the place where she wished to be, that was like nothing else on earth. And with her cherished carpetbag carpet-bag clutched tight. She got it open, she ran a hurrying hand down into it, she plucked out an old, black iron box. An iron box with two locks, as anyone might see. "If your key fits one of these locks This one! Try it!" Cole Cody chose to drive her wild. He tossed his key ceilingward, caught it and played with it, and he laughed at her. "So that's it, is it?" he jeered at her. "A strong box with two locks, and you've got a key for one, and are going clean crazy like Pandora and Blue Beard's wife, trying to burglarize it! And no can do without with-out the other key! Mine! Well." V, a no.roT cnnlrn mnpp rlrnwlinff- crazy? Oh, maybe you always were crazy! Of course, that's it! That explains ex-plains everything!" "Listen, and don't be so smart. You're kind of pretty, and maybe it's gone to your head. Men, I guess, seeing you at a dance, all dolled up, have told you a lot of lies, and you think you're Cleopatra, maybe, or the Queen of Sheba. Whoa! Didn't I say wait a minute? I'm answering questions right now; you say what do I mean by saying this is my place. Well, that's what it is, or anyhow going to be. Me, I'm old Early Bill Cole's heir. This is the King Cole Ranch, and it's mine." "Why, you you " "I've told you I'm getting tired of our calling each other 'You-you's.' Where's your originality?" "You liar! You're worse than v that man Ranee Waldron. He says its his place too and ifs mine! Now. Mr. Cody, will you Will you tuck your shirt tail in, and go climb a tree?" What Mr. Cody did was scratch his head, thick-thatched with abundant abun-dant dark red hair, and hold his peace a moment and do a bit of thinking, staring at her all the while. I He told himself that this was a sort With Ann watching his slightest move, he shot the key home. Mr. Cody, to disappoint you, but Mr. Cole left everything he had to me. Yes, that's what I said. He made a will to that effect and and I've got that will! Now Will you get well and go!" He moved over to the table, feeling feel-ing a trifle unsteady and blurry in the head, and sat on the table's edge, one foot swinging. "We'll soon find out about all this," he said. "I've got a key a key old Early Bill sent me" "A key! You've got a key! Wh what sort of key?" "A key that's made to unlock something," he snorted at her. "What do you suppose, asking what sort of key? Now, when I find what it's to unlock There's an old devil in town they call the Judge He's crazy as a bed-bug, no question. But he knows a lot of things. Between Be-tween him and another crazy old coot name of Doc Joe" "Doc Joe isn't a crazy old coot! He's a dear! But-but wnere aia you say you got your key?" "Forget that I've told you as much as I have! Are you and I old friends who tell each other all our heart's secrets? Are we" "Shut up! You talk so darned much and say so little-you make me mad! Tell me about your key. Did Early Bill You say that he sent it to you?" "Well what if he did? Maybe you've got the lock it fits! Let's laugh!" "Maybe I have! And if you've got the other key, I'll show you! I'll show you who owns the King Cole Ranch and all that goes with it! Where's your precious key. Mr. Cole Cody?" "Where's your lock for it to fit?" he shot back at her. and grinned his most malicious grin. Suddenly they were aware of Aunt Jenifer in the doorway, clearing her throat to a warning "Ahem!" Her eves drifted sidewise toward the window, and managed to jerk their attention in that direction, where-uoon where-uoon Ranee Waldron made the best of the situation, tapping on the pane, calling to them, What's going on in there? I thought you two, after the lady had popped a bullet into the gent, would have had enough of each other. Mind U I drop in and join in the pow-wow?" ly, "there's no hurry, is there? How about waiting until tomorrow? Maybe May-be it might be best to wait until my wound heals over! That's an idea!" And he tossed his key again, caught it and shoved it back into his pocket. And he could have sworn that he heard Aunt Jenifer giggle! Ann Lee opened her hand and showed him a key very much like his own. She tossed it up, just as he had done, and caught it; she held it between her thumb and finger and sneered at him. And how little Ann Lee, when she put her mind to it, could sneer! Ann set the box down hastily, and shot her key into the proper lock. When the mechanism gave its satisfied satis-fied responsive click, she looked up at him triumphantly. Little Ann Lee could crowd a lot of things into one swift glance: I've done it. Mister! How about you? Just four-flushing? Cole Cody wondered, himself. Well, here was the time to find out about things. With Ann watching his slightest move, as though she suspected him of being able to accomplish ac-complish any weird sort of sleight-of-hand, not trusting him; with both the lively Aunt Jenifer and the sardonic sar-donic Ranee Waldron pressing close, he shot the key home. It fitted the lock. (TO be coat.vled; o! funny lay-out, his running into this obnoxious girl so consistently tor one thing, her making a claim like that for another, the letter from old Early Bill Cole for the first of all in a chain of events that No obain at at, just a crazy quilt of a thing! Pondering, he did tuck his shirt tail in. Also he produced the makings mak-ings of a cigarette and very slowly, Ws mind on other matters, he build-i build-i his cigarette. And in due course, hghted it. He inhaled deeply; he Mnt a stream of bluish smoke ceilingward. ceil-ingward. "It's still reasonably early in the Borning," he said after he had driv-M driv-M her frantic with his leisureliness. "You've got lots of time to comb your hair and wash your face Go look in a looking glass, and you'll do both! and get into Bald Eagle before noon. If the stage doesn't go "here you want it to go today, it'll he pretty sure to go tomorrow. So you've got time to listen while I tell you something. Mr. Early Bill Cole, rest his wild soul, Early Bill being dead now, made up his mind he wanted the right sort of man to take care of the things he had to leave behind him on taking the long, one-way trip. He nominated me for job. He even took time to write out a will. He left every damn toing he had to William Cole Cody. And that's me. Do you begin to get geneial idea?" i |