Show GUNLOCK w RANCH R ANC H on a by FRANK ff SPEARMAN R M A N frink 37 spearman WITO CHAPTER XIV continued 20 the matter stormed denison wild with the delay just a minute muttered parda loe joe forgot something be right back Par daloe spurred back to the jail omee office while ills his companions counted time ile he rejoined them after three minutes flint seemed to denison thirty for gods sakel sake are you ready now denison chopped oft off the words furiously all set bill returned Par daloe peacefully you hustled me so I 1 got cot the he wrong hat boy denison was waspish with impatience man alive what difference does it make what hat you weir wear he demanded testily A whole lot of difference returned Par rard daloe aloe with warmth had on my vew new hat it might git plugged three men rode with denison that night Par rard daloe aloe deb bob scott and frying ran pan the ponies were fresh and the men eager they stopped at gunlock A light was still burning in I 1 the he living room of the ranch house when the men pulled up in the yard denison sprang from the saddle ran to the door find and knocked chos therel there were the low burds from within Is that you jane its she flung the door open bill she cried what are you yon doing here 1 I think im needed here hows henry oh ob hes badly wounded bill how did you know bob scott and john frying pan have strict orders to bring me ranch news of the kind that came today ben rage page rode in to get dr carpy tell me quickly dear what happened this afternoon he urged mccrossen rode out to get some things so be said it was sitting here sewing bill when in walked mccrossen ile he said he wn was calf away for good I 1 said I 1 wished him luck jane hesitated a moment lie he asked me to kiss him goodby good by I 1 said no ile he got angry and swore hed take as many as he wanted I 1 tried to run to the front door ile he caught me and I 1 was lighting fighting him in his big arms when henry walked in at the kitchen door henry told him to let go of me that man acted like a tiger ile he turned on get out oot ot of here 1 he shouted I 1 begged to protect me he drew bis big auni let go that girlia said mccrossen turned on henry his gun gon in his bis hand henry dare fire for tear fear of hitting me mccrossen fired point blank at henry and he fell in a heap 1 I screamed tore myself loose and ran out oot the front door and hid behind a tree mccrossen walked out as 93 cool tg as could be put up op his bis gun mounted and rode away bill im glad youre herel beret I 1 dont feel safe a minu minute tel 1 he comforted her as best be could 1 I must most see how bow bad henry Is hurt then im off with Par daloe and rob bob scott after mccrossen hes running off steers tonight with jane he went to the bed on which had bad been laid looked pleasantly surprised as jane held up the lamp and he be saw denison Den lson well bill he be sald said coolly the old foreman to Is sho shooting shoot otin ln us up op today henry where are you hit in the side bill but it aint ter lous you see mccrossen jane told me henry doret dont waste any ny strength talking when I 1 seen his game to hold bold jane for a shield I 1 made up my mind to drop at bis big first shot you ton did a good lob job now keep quiet quiel he be told of the word he bad from the indians indiana that pt a bunch of two and nd three year olds were to be run off that night that george plenty bear was watching in the hills and that he be denison Den lson and rard Par daloe aloe hoped to pick HP 1111 the trail without much delay over oter the rim of the hills bills a full moon was rising into a cloudless sky shy jane with tightened lips her heart pounding in tier her throat her straining eyes tearless stood in the open doorway watching the ghostly figures of the four horsemen silhouetted against the sky u they made their way up the ridge that led to the hill divide from the moment denison and hla his companions crossed the divide they were riding into enemy country frying pan was asked to strike farther down and across the reservation the rendezvous had bee been fixed at t a point on deep creek with the hills behind them denison Den lson scott and Par daloe made left their way flown down the creek breaks to the bench lands they were aware of a rough cattle trail along the east bank of th the creak ere li but the night as 83 they halted on tb creek bench was wag silent denison conjectured wrongly that the cattle had been driven past this point working carefully downstream through clumps of willows and alders along the benches scott pushed ahead to locate the phantom frying pan the lone indian after a time cane came down from the hills ile he was taciturn nobody go by was all he said denison questioned him closely without shaking his certainty that neither cattle nor horsemen had passed down the east bank the west bank where the pursuers were now halted was impassable for cattle taken another trail bob declared denison to scott theres an overgrown trail through the timber to the south its a long way around and rough and they took it to throw off pursuit but that may beat them yet illow how so got to double back lower downstream to strike deep creek again with the cattle well play it so anyway its into the brush tor for us we cant cross the horses here if im wrong and above us yet its ita safer to stick to this side anyway where can they strike the creek about a mile above the old bridge now how we goin to get to them weve got to cross that bridge scott smiled a sickly smile that bridges been fallan to pieces tor for 10 years said to frying pan feel out the scrub for us lets got gol the riding was rough and the pace through the chaparral grueling the four men reached a point where the creek bottom opened from a canyon out on low rough country and the rising moon shed more light were a mile yet above the bridge said denison Den lson you and john ride up the canyon wall a ways bob and take another look he be suggested the indians came back with dews theres so methin looks like left of a campfire near the bridge push on exclaimed denison Den lson they may have halted there the riding grew worse thickets became almost impassable there never LIN Q it their hands went haltingly up had been a trail down the west bank and the job called for dogged endurance scratched and torn the tour four reached an open breathing space where rock and shale ended the fight through the scrub the moon clearing the mountain peaks revealed at a distance below the abandoned bridge not tar far from it denison could discern embers of the campfire campf lre frying pan bad reported where theres been a fire alre theres been men said denison Den lson they may be there yet but weve got to watch both sides of the creek suppose you yon bob and frying pan get over to the east bank how the bridge scott grinned but shook his big head bead theres ten feet of plank ln gone in one place from the floor of the old bridge nobody can cross that thal we could maybe crawl across in the daytime not now weve got to get across somehow insisted denison Den lson bob Is there any place up or down the creek where you and john can get overa over not with horses well we must stop the cattle and who evers with em ill get over somehow after you wheres the planking off the bridge the east end bad no matter dust dast alo along ng two shots from you will bring me over anyway you stop anybody that comes along with the beef well leave the horses here with Par daloe and while youre getting betting over ill try to find out who these fellows are below at the ore fire bill he turned tamed to pard aloe it if I 1 need you ill whistle 0 IC assented the lanky pard aloe sit slipping aping off his horse and taking his rifle denison crept crawled and rolled down the slope towards the dying fire for a little way be could be seen and heard beard then he vanished into the shadows denison Den lson though anxious to get at what lay JOY ahead of him was forced to wor work ir down the slope slowly within a long earshot of the dying fire b he e thought he be heard beard voices since the men w were ere still there renewed caution was called for creeping over a sandy bit of bi bott tt dragging hla his rifle after hi him he could hear the voices quite plainly lie made anae out two voices voice but this tal gave no assurance that one or more men might not be asleep flattening on the sand he listened the ire nod and the men were vere not over fifty feet away denison could hear bear their words they were talking eng lash though one voice was guttural and revealed a mexican As they were obviously waiting for someone who had bad failed to appear cold and too lazy to keep up their fire denison made no bones about intruding on the pair and whoever might be with them the first the two men heard from him was a low but plain command pitch up boys the startled pair jumped to their feet feel up I 1 put em cm up came a sharper order their bands went haltingly up they looked around to see where the voice came from and while they looked they heard beard a short whistle and saw a man emerge from the chaparral not twenty feet away who the hell are you demanded the smaller man of 0 the pair with a bluster ills voice betrayed him to denison Den lson im here same as you tire are to meet some cattle coming down the creek returned denison Den lson im going to help you clubfoot Club toot hands up damn you keep era em where they arel while lie he spoke lie he heard beard Par daloe cluttering through tile thicket mil bill he added as Par Pard daloe iloe appeared bring down the hor horses horres res will these boys are waiting for the cattle same as we ive are explained denison son when Par rard daloe aloe reappeared we dont need four hands on the job take their guns tie era em up till we get straight Par daloe tying tile the mounts stamped forward sun gun in hand lie ile searched the pair while clubfoot protested profanely at the outrage im here to take over cattle that belong to me bought and paid for stormed the butcher before Par daloe had fini finished shod roping the butcher and his helper a shot was heard beard from far across the cree creek jr denison started almost as if the bullet had struck him while he listened with every nerve on edge a complete silence followed it was not a fight was it a signal almost five minutes passed when a second shot rang into the night den lson tried to read the riddle the first shot had come from a revolver the second sharper and less open had come from a title rifle it till all dawned on denison they were signal shots lie ile whirled toward Par daloe nand hand me clubfoots Club toots foots gun bill he said securing the gun he fired it twice in the air some guesswork here clubfoot be remarked emptying and tossing the gun on the ground 1 I dont know whether your answer was to be one or two scarcely were the words out of big mouth when a spatter s t 2 af pf revolver re 1 nug utoca a me e bill bill exclaimed denison Den lson a fight it if these birds make you the tha least trouble shoot lem cm im going over how you coln over called par daloe quickest way I 1 can bill he shouted the bridge lie he was running for his horse youre crazy drop you a hun bun dred feet danl shouted Par daloe watch your prisoners I 1 denison was galloping away Par daloe petrified watched the disappearing horseman nothing but the sharp echo on his ears of flying hoofs convinced him he was not dreaming for he never would have believed sober bill denison would take so slender a chance of getting across the creek alive the clatter of hoots hoofs grew fainter at times ahmes they ceased and the old frontiers mans breath choked him then as if in answer to his straining ears came the hollow bollow sound of hoof hof beats on wood denison bad reached the bridge an instant later there came into Pard rard aloes sight in the distant moonlight the ghostlike figure of a horse flying across the rotten bridge par daloe divined at once that the pony had bad thrown Us ids rider then of a sudden the beast whirled with a spring and as if somehow guided shot ahead again he be was a third of the way over Pard aloes jaws came together squarely and comfortably for he now understood denison was on that horse clinging to its back like a panther but there was still the east end plank gap to cross scott bad said the big one was ten feet but he had bad not seen it for a year it might easily be twelve or fifteen feet suppose it were tw twenty erity with denison more than halfway across the clatter of hoots hoofs grew fainter one two three rifle shots rang out in fairly quick succession the rider ride r was out of sight Par daloe ran to higher ground try as he be would he be could not dot see a thing on the bridge but now and again he could hear bear the faint hoof beats they ceased then there was waa a silence lence tl then a faint distant shout to this day the gap that dellson danison jumped has never been measured the reckless rider had bad been spotted when be was less than halfway across mccrossen riding behind the cattle bad galloped forward when ahead was intercepted and questioned by scott the half breeds gun signals bad been taken by It ebstock as an attack and he be had bad fired back before either side really knew what it was all about they were exchanging shota but the instant mccrossen saw the horse dashing along the rotten bridge his bis sixth sense of danger guessed the rider tor for an enemy and without a moments hesitation he trained a rifle on him film find and fired TO VE CE CONTINUED f f |