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Show GUNS : iSS I BEGIN HERE TODAY I DAVE BANDERS, range rldr on the I D Bar Lazy R outfit, and his pal. I BOB HART, rescue their employer, I'M KKS N CRAWFORD., from the I hands of a rivaJ lanchninn. I BRADLEY ST EE LM AN. ThiM deed I enshrines Sanders In tho heart of I JOYCE CRAWFORD, the ranch-own- I er's daughter. Dave arrives In Den- I vcr, whsrs he baa traced AD MILLER, a gambler, and his con-H con-H federate, GEORGE DOBDE. who have stolon H Panders' pet pony, Chiqulto. Dave H discovers his horse in a corral. I GO ON WITH Tin: STORY I CHAPTER XII. Dave whistled. The pony pricked H up its cars, looked round and came straight to him. l h young man laid I his face against th- soit, silky nose, ! fondled it, whispered endearments to H I Ins pet. He put the bronco through H i its tricks for the benefit of tho corral H ( "Well, I'll be doggoned." that vouth H l commented. "The little pinto sure in I t a wonder. Acts ilk..- he knows you H mighty well." i "Ought to I trained him. . Had H I him betore Miller got him. " Hj I "Bet you hated to sell him." HJ f "You know it." Dave moved for- t ward to his end, tho intention to got HJ possession of tho horse. Ho spoke in HJ i a voice easy and casual. "Saw Miller HJ 1 whlli ago rhoy're talkin' about J sollin' tho paint boss him and his HJ ', farmer, Dohle. I'm to saddle up and HJ show what Chiqulto can do " HJ ' Dave cinched, swung to ths saddle, HJ and rode to the gate ol the corral. Two HJ men wore coming In and by the sound HJ ol ihclr voices quarreling, Thej HJ ' Ktopped aside to let him pass, one on HJ I each side of tho gate so that it was H 1 ' nccctssary to ride between t . in. HJ ' They recognised the . im. at tho ' same moment Uuve UiU them, un the HJ heels of that recogniUlon ame :;notn- H Hi noble ripped out an oath and a HJ shout of warn n: "It's Sand I1 : A gun flashed as the ponj Jumpt-o e to a gallop Tho silent mgat grew ' noisy with shot-, voices the clatter of H hoofs. Twice Davo incd answers to r the challengos.vhlch leaped out of the darkness at him. He raced acjrosa the 9 bridge spanning the Platte and for a i. moment drew up on the other side lo listen for sounds which might tell 11 whether he would be pursued. One B last solitary revolver shot disturbed 'l the stllln r His flight had no definite objectlvo except tn jun as much distance be- )j tween -tvJmBeli and nver as possible JJ Day broke ov.-r valleys oi swirling ?! mist far below t lie rider. Tho sun rose and dried the moisture Dave looked down on a town scattered up and down a gulch He left Chiquito at a livery barn af-' af-' ter having personally fed and watered J the pinto, and went himselt to a hotel. Three or four men were standmg (hi the steps of the hotel talking with the proprietor, i "That's him," the hotel-keeper said 'l in an excited whisper. 2 A brown-faced m m Without a coat f turned quickly and looked ,nt Sanders. ' Ho wore a belt with cartridges and a I revolver. I What's your name?' lie demanded. I "Sanders Dave Sanders." I "I want yon." I "So. Who are you'''' "Sheriff of the county." 5 "Wnatdjawant me for?" "Murder." Dave gasped. His heart beat fast 1 with a prescience of impending disas ter. "Murder," he repeated dully. "You're charged with the murder of ! George Doblo lat ninht in Denver ' ' The boy stared at hlni with horror- j stricken eyes. "Doble? My God, did ' 1 kill him?" He clutched at a porch 1 post to steady himself. The hills were sliding queorlv up Into tho sky. CHAPTER XIII. All the way back to Donver while the train ran down through the nar-I nar-I row, crooked canon, Dave's mind d,velt In a penumbra of horror It was impossible he could have killed Doble, 'ie kept telling himself. He had fired ' u k into the night wltl OUl aim. He I it id not even tried to hit he men who I ere shooting at him. it mast be some I I i::stly Joke. I it remained with him. in tho back- I i cund of his mind, up to and through I his trial. What shook his nerve wa:-the wa:-the fact that he had taken a life, not tho certainty of the punishment that must follow. It did not tnko tho lawyer whom West Bngiaffed lonjr to decide on fh line the defense must take. "We'll Show that Miller and Doble were I I rooks and thnt they had wronged Sanders That will count a lot whh a Jury," hr told West- 'We'll admit ' the killing and claim self -defense." Tho day before tho trial Davo was sitting in his cell cheerlessly reading a newspaper when visitors were announced an-nounced At sight of Emerson Crawford Craw-ford and Cob Hurt he choked In his throat. Tears brimmed in his eyes. Nobody had been kinder to him tnnn i West hnu been, but these were home 1 folks. He cripped their hands hut found himself unable to say anything In an- i ti their reelings. Ho was afraid I lo trust Mis voice, and he was ashamed . of bin emotion. "The boys are for you strong. Dave. Steve says he wouldn't worry iwne If 'you'd K'l Miller, too, ' Hob breezed on. "Tha'a no way to talk, son," re-1 re-1 proved Crawford. "But don't you gel ' downhearted, Dave. We re allow in' to I stand by you to a finish. It ain't as if you'd got a good man. Dohlo was a mean-hearted scoumlrol if I ever met ; up with one. He's no loss to society . e r Koln' lo fhiiv. the Uiry thai, too.' I They did. By the time Crawford. Hart, and a .pair of victims who had been trapped b) the sharpers had testified tes-tified ab iut Miller and Doble, these I worthies had no shred of reputation left with the jury. It was Shown that they had robbed the defendant of tho ,iors in- had train d :nd that h hart gone to a lawyer und lound no legal i redress within h.s means i-ui Dave us unable to prove self--dci nse. .un.er aiuck dogKcdly to his I ctory. The cowpunoher had fired the first shot He had continued to firo, , thougii he must have seen Doble sink I to the ground immediately. Moreover tVlr loo inniI tl,u .lnr.tr.r- . K.... ...1 ' that the fatal shot had taken effect ! ut close range. The Juiy u..nd him guilty of murder I in the s onvl degree. The Judge Ben- , tenced him to ten years In ihe penitentiary. peniten-tiary. When Cob Hart came to say good- I bye before Dive was removed to Can-i Can-i on City tho young range-ilder almost ! broke do .s n "We re unna stay with this. Dave. I ' You know Crawford. He goes through I when he starts. Soon aB thero's a chant e we'll hit tin- governor for a pardon. It's a damn shame, old pal. , Tha's . hat It is " Dave nodded A lump In his throat ' "WH ATD.I AWANT ME FOR?" "MURDER." Interfered with speech I "The ol' man lent me money to buy Chiqulto. and I'm gonna keep tho pinto till you get out." continued Bob ! i "une tiling more. Miller's on the way 1-ack to Alaiapi. If he don't get a term ) i for hoss stealing,' I'm a liar." I CHAPTER XIV The warden handed him a ticket , back to Denver, und with it a stereo typed little i-ciuri of platitudes. Sanders walked slowly out of the of- ftce and through the door in the wall hat led back to life. Ire was free. Tomorrow To-morrow was his. ah the tomom Ot all the years of his life were waiting wait-ing for him. But tho fact stirred in I him no emotion. As he stood In the ' dry Colorado sunshine his heart was1 quite dead. From one job to another Dave drift- I i'd. His stubborn pride due in part to d natl e honesty that w ould not let j nlm live nn ler lalse pretenses, in p:irt to a bitterness that had become dog-!.- I defiance, kept him out of good places n.j tot him to do heavy, unskilled labor that brought the poorest poor-est pay. id tie saved enough money bought hlnis-.lf good, cheap clothc.i. and found energy to att.-nd nlgnt chon where he studied stationary' and mc- li.cnlcal engineering. One day he smiled grimly and be-Kan be-Kan to pack When he left, the ex-pressman ex-pressman took his trunk to the station. Tho ticket which Sanders bought showed Malapl as his destination. In the early morning Dave turned to rest his cramped limbs. He was In ,a day coach, and his sleep through the nik-ht had been brokun. At the junction he took th stage for Malapl. Already he could see that he was goliiK Into a new world, one altogether alto-gether different from that he had last seen h"n. These men worn not cattlemen. cattle-men. They talked the vocabulary of oil. Tiny had Uu shrewd, keen look Of the driller nnd the wildcatter At Malapl Qave descended from the stage Into a town he hardly know. Everywhere Ev-erywhere oil domlnaated the place A branch lino of a transcontinental railroad was moving across thr desert to tap the new oil field. Houses rose overnight. Mule teams jingled in and out freighting supplier to Malapl and from there to the fields. Up the street a team of half-broken broncos cmo on the gallop. From tho buckboard stepped lightly a ! straight-backed, well-niu.,'cl"d young fellow. "Davo' Where In Mexico you bn. old alkali0 Wc been lonkin for you n er hei ' "in Denver, Bob." I Sanders spoke quietly. Ria r :-1 went straight into those of Bob Hart to see whut was written ther. He l found only a glad and Joyous welcome. I neither embarrassment nor any sign of shame. j "But why didn't you write and let US know?' Bob grew mildly profane in his warmth. "Wo didn't know trhen the governor was gOin' to act. Or WS 1 'a' been rtght at tho gate, mo or Em Crawford " (Continued In Our Next Issue) |