Show arhe 0 axy gif si by francis franc lynde illustrations lons by 0 irwin h win myers artel copyright by cd C d chop maii CHAPTER IX continued 12 landis lowered his pistol but held tt it in readiness why did you stop here he asked the man jerked his head tow toward ard the open cowl of the car where a disconnected ignition wire offered the reason tor for a stop go ahead and fix it said landis curtly then he picked up the dropped rifle by the barrel and struck it against a boulder shattering the stock just to keep you yaps from getting careless with somebody els else e he snapped tossing the two pieces of tho the disabled weapon into the of the flivver now couple up that wire and get out oat of here and do it q 0 kl I 1 while the men were working at the wire he motioned to wally look in the car and see if got any more artillery he be said and he be and markham followed it if up to where the Tennesse eans bad had parked the roadster they waited beside the road until after the car had bad limped on around the next gulch looping then they got into their own car and headed beaded for brewster well markham said after they had left the scene of their late adventure a mile or more to the rear the answer Is that wreck in the gulch what Is left of the wid 60 1 I ie be sure but it was an eight you saw raw that much you markham nodded next the answer to the two men in the flivver have you figured that out no though I 1 more than halt half believe they were lying its lucky for them that I 1 sure gosh said markham with a laugh A little while ago I 1 said something to the effect that you in might ight be lacking a few of the red corpus cles I 1 take it all back every last word of it why have you never shown me tie the fighting side of you before owen you you known know landis smile was a mere tightening of the lips youve louve heard the old saying beware the wrath of a patient roan man you im patient wally too d d patient I 1 guess As I 1 said im fed lp by from F rom this time on by the lord harry I 1 fight for my own hand I 1 ive been robbed and sandbagged sandbagger sand bagged and shot at and the next man that tries it Is going to get the best ive got in the box I 1 gashill Go shill said sald Wally again and this time he did not laugh on the flight down the mountain nothing happened until they were on the stretch approaching the side alde road leading to canaya mine here however there was a near accident As they ran down they saw a heavy truck backing out of the road leading to the mine markham bounded his horn but tile the driver of the truck held on in a way to place the heavy vehicle fairly across the highway it was too late to stop and markham did the only thing there was to do if a collision was to be averted stepped on the gas and with a quick twist of cf the wheel whipped the roadster around the rear of the backing truck with oo no more than inches to spare between a deep roadside roads fidei ditch and the trundling menace no word was spoken until they were speeding over aver tile the mesa road toward the city then markham said we ought ou iii to have shot that truck driver owen it would have been justifiable homicide dont you think oi 1 I dont think I 1 know was the gritting britting grit ting reply that was one of canaya trucks I 1 saw the name qua capal mine on nn it as we came up its running inning rf in my mind that well have to kill a few people out here yet before were through gb wally and by heavens im 11 in telling you right now if they L leep keep on asking for 14 it get it I 1 i CHAPTER X j the louisville three in the evening landis briefly announced his intention of going to call upon betty the stillings live giveaway away over in the western suburb Bu burb said markham better take a taxi or the roadster tor for safe tys sake you yon mean not no BO you could notice it im IDI not dodging anybody or anything tonight If got your war paint on oni have you dont want me along no thanks ill go alone alone lett left to himself markham lighted a cigar mid and picked a quiet corner of the lobby in which to read soon boon lasua landis dis returned return et the frown of hla his departure dee oBaed to lo an aa unwonted scowl no lucky luck said wally noting the scowl no shed gone out somewhere with canby you see the professor no he fie has gone to the fossil fields wherever they are I 1 visited with the Stilli mostly mr stillings tn in his den just friendly gossip not altogether bettys been talking about us and that broke the ice fee the dont quite like the way ashes she 9 letting canby cut ut in thaes the aftermath of hla his sea ap out here last bummer summer I 1 suppose not to BO much that as other things thinks canby Is fixing to pull ot off wui eining aang else and that he la Is using betty ln la some way but how ow could betty figure in any of his schemes god knows but bat its plain stillings believes she ehe does innocently of course he was cautious until he found out where we stand then he intimated that it was up to us to put a spoke in candys wheel good do it well both do dd it As you remarked I 1 have my war paint on now anything happened to stir you up afresh yes yea that shooting this afternoon was wait a planned atempa to kill us As aa I 1 was coming back across town just now I 1 saw a car with running board of camp dunnage going through by the back streets streeta there were two men tn in it and I 1 saw them as an the tha car came under the crossing electric markham slowed down and as ho he did so two men stepped out and signaled him to stop they were the men who were shooting at us they were no tin can tourists they were gunmen hired to follow us they made a roundabout drive some way and have just got back to town all right dope the rest of it out if you can its clear enough my Is here and the men who have it II know we have followed them and that they wont be safe until they get rid of us can you carry it astep farther 1 I think so there are four men tn in it and canby Is the fourth I 1 and the three others are they the men who ran their car off the road and burned it how can that be it if they are what they have appeared to be all along three well known business men of louisville 1 I dont know but never mind that what we wa have to do first Is to cut betty out of it lets get to bed la in accordance with the program which landis with hla his war paint on had mapped out the two of them promptly laid siege to miss alsa betty lawson in a week long contest thus ushered in canby fought stubbornly tor for place and there were numerous collisions which seemed to afford miss betty no little quiet amusement on the seventh day when markham taking his turn had her out in the blue blua roadster she said eald what makes you and ana owen freeze up and refuse to talk when I 1 say anything about bert wally what has he done to make you hate him we have never had much to do with him either ot of us markham evaded then bluntly are you going to marry him betty she laughed do you know of any reason why I 1 perhaps not any reason that would appeal to you that Is dodging she retort retorted ed brightly As a friend arlen dont you think you ought to tell me it if there la Is a reason yes and get myself written down in your black book I 1 no thank you my dear AU all right dont then rii ask owen I 1 often wonder if boys boya nice home boys boya like you and owen know how beautifully transparent you are thanks glad you find us so its all right to wear a glass front when one ona has a clear conscience you know but your consciences are not clear what makes you think so perhaps it Is the transparency wo we were speaking of 11 then why wont you tell me why you and owen are out here wally 1 I have told you cant we have a vacation as well as other folks that Is exactly what owen said bald yesterday and it means just as much or as little let me tell you something wally dear I 1 i in this little round world were living in you yon get just as much as you are willing to give and nd no more meaning meaning that tt it you yon and owen i cant trust me I 1 can be clammy too now you have got me ine climbing up ap a tree laughed Mark markham hanL why we both trust your why indeed im sure cure I 1 dont know where are you taking me today out to meet some friends starbuck mck has hag found for us the john smiths 11 distinguished name she giggled but I 1 know who they area are mrs john Is the daughter of col dexter baldwin the wheat king right and the colonels home and the smiths hillcrest Hlll crest Is a show place but I 1 understand they are not at home they are not touring the yellowstone its the smiths were calling upon they are running the big ranch in the colonels absence in due course the blue roadster was parked in the hillcrest Hlll Hil crest lerest garage and in corona smith miss betty speedily found a kindred spirit and when smith came home and added his insistence sla si to coronas urgings that the callers stay to dinner wally rejoiced afresh for betty accepted the invitation vi tation calling the stillings house over the phone to let her city hostess know where she was after she was through telephoning markham called up landis any developments he asked no came cama the answer where are youa you out at hillcrest Hlll crest and we are staying for dinner youre not forgetting that this Is the showdown day tho the twenty eighth no but nobody has turned up yet rm fm watching the register right again ill be with you later call me if anything breaks loose after smith had smoked an cigar with his man guest in the colonels den he said regretfully that hed have to excuse himself that he ha was due to meet the westbound flyer which was bringing some of his bis business associates from the east its perfectly all right markham assured him well have to be going too I 1 promised mrs stilling I 1 keep betty out late when the goodbys goodbyes were said smith went with markham to the garage beat me to town he said pil ill have to stop and fill ti up aad that re minds mands me theres been a good bit of whisky running from the hills north of us lately and today the sheriff gave me a 11 tip it its 1110 likely 1 he and some 0 or of his deputies may be on the road between here and town if youre stopped lust just take it easy harding wont be rough with you much obliged tor for the hint ill be law abiding after they had driven out of the hillcrest Hlll crest grounds markham told betty 0 of f the warning smith had bad given him just so you wont bo seared scared stift it if we should happen to be stopped ho he added 1 I dont scare so easily as all that was the ready answer mr smith say he was going to town too yes but he had to stop and fill up with it was not until the distant lights of brewster came la in sight that their headlamps head lamps showed them an unlighted car half hidden under the roadside roads lda cottonwoods cotton woods markham slowed down and as he did so two men stepped out and signaled him to stop miscalculating calculating Mis his distance slightly he ran a little way past the men and when they came up he was waa ready with an apology before he could make it the door on hla his side was jerked open and he was seized and dragged out of the car one of the pair clamping him in a viselike vise like grip while the other threw a blanket over his big head it was done so fco quickly that he was halt half smothered before he realized that this at all square with what smith had told him of oc the sheriff and hla his methods that he had hadbo to deal not with officers of the law but with the mysterious rious assailants who had bad tried from time totite to time to efface him and landis and then the fight was wag on with his arms fast clamped in the grip of the man behind him markham could not get at the bolstered pistol under hla his coat but hla his legs were free and a swift kick doubled the Manket blanket holder bolder up and made him lose losa his hold long enough to enable markham to shake his head free of the stilling stifling folds instantly he backed the tha clamper violently against the standing car bending him over the fender until he was waa forced to let go to save himself from having his back broken at that markham got his weapon out but now the two were between him and the car and he fire without taking a chance of hitting betty the thugs saw their advantage and flung themselves upon him the shorter of the tha two crouching low to grab at his bis legs while the other darted into a clinch and tried to twist the tha automatic out of hla his grasp there was a whirlwind wrestling match and in the midst of this there came a glare of light and the raucous blast of an auto horn h orn markham saw the headlights of an approaching dar car and saw betty running to meet lt it frantically waving her armsto arms to stop it that ended it As aa the oncoming car came to a brake squealing stand and smith sprang out of if it the two ran for their car gained it flung themselves in and were gone when smith and betty came running up markham Mark hain was beating the dust out of hla his clothes for bettys bettya sake hetreed to laugh the incident off thought you said the sherlf Ts men roughhouse me mr smith he chuckled good lord those fellows were not hardings Hardt men they were lust jus plain holdups holdup st 1 are you hurt no just up a bit thet all scare you halt half to io death bettya TO bill BB |