OCR Text |
Show OAe RIDER. OF bar vm PATTERSON WHITE .. L.Sf' (Continued from our Ist Isaue. i H MW beydnd the table KHlx I Craft with eun in each hand Tha IgSmbler'a face, despite the tears that overflowed hi es and ran down ' hl cbeeke-. wa-s falrlv murderous, j "Tip: Where are you? Don't you move. Bill, Craft wan' saying:. the barrels of hi two guns weaving to and fro uncertainly. "Get away tron that door. Bill. Lon t you try and get away. 1 can aee you.'" Billy leaned forward, nicked up a fork Irom his aetout on the table and flung It across the room It fell with a clatter Craft fired at the sound. The next Instant Ltllly kicked him un-der un-der tne chin and flattened him out. "Iut your hands behind you. Tip," he directed. I Tip answered the question by halt-, halt-, Ing his gTnpinK way loward Hie speaker. He stood still. his body I swaying, his musculir llnrcrs loc ked In the palms of his hands, Billy stooped over the &ensele?s Craft and (whipped off his neckerch lef. I Tip hesitated then suddenly he thrust his hands behind hint. Billy (slipped around him, laid his six-shoot -I er on a chair seat and drew the hand I kerchief beneath Tlp'a crossed wrists. I Tne next Instant Tip bud w hirled about, crowded his body against Billy and struck outside with all his might. in an instant Tip was on top and Billy underneath The older man Jamm-d Loth thumbs Into Billys windpipe and ' wrenched himself astride Billy i bodj I The Hirangllng Billy spread wide his lege, hunched lip his knees, planted ' both feet against Tip's ribs and I straightened his legs with a Jerk Tip' hands were torn loose from Blll throat und Tip himself crushed backward back-ward against the wall. Billy scrambled to his feet and without the slightest hesitation clipped Tip o'er the head with the barrel of j his tdx-Miooter. Tip remained where he was. Billy stood over him. pistol j poised, till he made sure he was senseless. sense-less. Then he took paln to make fast I tho trio s respective arms and legs i With Strips torn Horn a nightgown be- i longing to Sam. It was his laudable Intention to pack I tho unconscious Felix Into town and I Jail him for the stage-coach robbery It was a bold plan, but Billy ahva) rather favored the hold idan With ("rati in Jnil and wearing the cloth-inc cloth-inc worn tn the robin r, to which clothing the complaisant Jerry Fern 1 and his passengers would undoubtedly undoubted-ly be prepared to swear, It would o hard Indeed, if Bill could not fasten ( in ionrcr on nun, Liau. It must have been his good angel who caused him to look through tho front window He looked and saw a cloud of horsemen scouring toward the ranch house. He Immediately recognized, to his great disgust, half a dozen of Sam Larder's punchers. He ahandonod the plan of taking Felix Craft to town lie would be hard put to escape himself. Billy topped his mount, struck in the apurs and fled Tho oUicr horso he, perforce left stabdlnr CHAl'TER XII. Nate Samson, weighing sugar for Hnzel Walton, looked at her slaewise Heard the news, Hazel?" Red Hcrritur. the town marshal, slouching against a showcase, covertly cov-ertly watched the girl. "Somebody killed Tip O Gorman in hia own house lat night, ' said Nate. Haze! wondered why Nate's eyes never left her lace. '"Tip O'Gorxnon! Ho was one of L ncle Tom's friends. Who did It?" "They 'found Bill Wlnro' quirt on the Moor Ij's'de the body .ind right inside tho door a snaksi.in hatband the whole town knows oelongs to Bill Hazel s cheeks began to glow. ' That doesn't prove anything," the declared In a level jrplt i Hazel's black eyes were glittering through si It ted eyelids. Keally, Nate Samson should hkve been warned. "You thtnk Bill did It?" asked Hazel Walton. NatS nodded. "So does oerybod else." "At any rate" Nate pursued with relish ' there s a warrant out for Bill." Another warrant'" Hazel's hand moved imperceptibly nearer a cheese-knife cheese-knife that la n the counter. 'Another warrant. That makes three counts he s wanted on atage robhr-ry, ruetling that chestnut horae of Sam larder's and now thl9 murder. mur-der. I always said Bill Wlngo was too good to bo true." HASe Walton made no further remark. re-mark. She reached for the t heese-knifc heese-knifc Nate Samson ducked under ths counter The cheesekpltt whirred within an Inch of his prickling scalp and Stuck quivering in the edge of a ahelf Liar!" announced Hazel In a loud. Unsympathetic tone. "X'm only sorry I haveh't a ti' n with me. Talking like that about u man you're not fit to say hello to. Here. I don't want an.v of this stuff You can keep it " So sayiiiK. she toppled over her whole pile of wrapped purchases and marched out of the store. The marshal mar-shal followed her lo the door ' It s all right. Nate." he said. ' She's gone over to the other store" Arrived home, Hasel unhitched and linlisrnessedj turned the team into the corral and carried her purchases into the kitchen and dumped them on the table She hung up her man's hat and flufied the hair b lb'- aid of a mirror that hung below tho Terry lock hor uncle had brought west with him Sh:.- had always liked the Terry clock from the cheerful painted pumpkins and grapes thai graced the patterned top to the peculiar Ihrob-hinic Ihrob-hinic ring It gave on striking the hour, she liked It. And on a day the old clock was destined to repay that liking full measure, pressed down and running over. jO. Hazel "Hello. Sally Jane," she said smilingly smil-ingly as a face appeared at the door Hut your horse In the corral and come on In." ' 1 tied him to the wagon," said Sally Jane "Vou took mad, dear," she continued. "I am." declared Hazed "Listen to what 1 heard In town this morning Nate told me " " there now " she concluded. "What do you think of that for a put-dp Job? Why. It's not even clever." "No." agreed Sally Jane. "Too many articles belonging to Bill. Either the quirt or the hatband, but not both. I d like to know how they got hold of them. Tip bad enemies several. But I'm afraid the jrng won't t:ik that into consideration much. All ' the 1 1 be able, to see la the quirt and I th hathand Confound It. Bill snouldn t ii'iv dis.-i pp iared this way All his friends know he dldn couldn't have either held up the stage or really ruatled Sam Larder a precious prec-ious horeo, which, by the way was found mud o the eara near 8am" I corral cor-ral thla morning. Fact. ud told mo. Hut wnj .nun i tsin sin .tnn lace in" music? He should have known he'd only hurt himself by running off this way. "Bui I rode over here espednli to bring yon baok with me to stay as long as you like." Hazel shook her head. "Can't, Th.- hcescknlfe Whirred wiibin n in. u of His Scalp and Stuck Quivering Quiv-ering in the i l. -d i Shell dear. I'd like nothing getter, but I've Just got to look after the ranch." When Sally Jane was gone, Hazel started a fire in the stove, put on the coffeepot and ground up enough coffee cof-fee for four cupfuls. She liked coffee, cof-fee, did Hazel Walton Bacon and potatoes were sputtering sputter-ing on the stove when the faintest of creaks at tho door made her look up. She did not move. Just stood there staring stupidly at the bareheaded man that blocked the open dooi way. For the bareheaded man was Dan Bllke, his harsh ince rendered even less prepossessing than usual by a week's stubble of beard. A six-shooter was in Dan Slike's hand. ..nd th-barrel th-barrel was pointing at her breast. "Don't go makin' any mdv.e toward that rifle on the hooks hack of you. ' 'aid tun Sllko slipping Into the room and closing the door behind him. "If you do, I'll have to beef you Dish up that grub n-i'rying there on the stove. I'm hungry. Get a move on " A' that she turned In a flash and r iched for tho Winchester. She had it barely off the hooks when Dan Sllke was beside her. With his left hand he seized- the gun barrel and shoved it upwaid. And as he did ro. he mote her across the top of the head With his pistol barrel. A rocketing sheaf of sparks danced I before her eyes and her knees gave way. He dragged the Winchester' from her falling grasp as she fell. Hazel slowly raised her body to n . , sitting position. She clung to a leg of the table for support. She passed I .a hand very tenderly aeror-s the top I of her head Mhc felt a little nau-1 nau-1 seated. ' Dan Sllke, watching her with hard, bright eyes, strode to the stove and poured himself out n cup of coffee. "You'll be all riRht In about 10 : minutes." he .id calmly. "I dldn t I hit you so awful hard." He drank the coffee slowly, with evident enjoyment. He came and stood over her, hands j on hips, and looked down at her grimly. She shrank away, her , i Is ayea fixed upon him in fright and i loathing. , It wsb evident that he found his survey of her satisfactory', for he kicked her in the side Not hard. Simply as an earnest reminder of what lay in store for her ' Get up." , he commanded. I The nausei and most of the dizzy feeling had evaporated. She was per- t.-ctly able to get up, but It was Intolerable In-tolerable that she should do the bld- j dln of her uncle's murderer. Sho continued to lie atlll. "Get up:" ho repented, and kicked hor nK.iln harder. She cm: up, gasping, a hand at her side. She felt as though one of her ribs was broken. She had act the table for herself before he came in. He sat down at her place, hia eyes bright upon her. Fuiiiblingly she filled a plate with bacon and fried potatoes. She brought him another cup of coffee and placed ! the contlensed milk and the sugar j within his reach. (Continued In Our Next issue.) |