Show WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINES awa W COPYRIGHT WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE SERVICE SYNOPSIS ruth ot of LC L C ranch obsessed by fear ear of 0 danger to he her outspoken 1 father lee from a band of lawless rus nis tiers headed by y herm ho howard ward decad decides e s ty to save cave him by eloping w with 1 th yo young u ng L lou 0 u howard she sherm m a son and comes come to the town of tall H holt olt to meet him while in yell sa ng 1 tore store a crook nosed stranger enters t err sizes g up the situation and wh when e n a drunken cowboy jim pender fender rid rides es in n and starts tart shooting protects ruth while hile lou howard hides disgusted Ruthg wl with b lous cow cowardice ardic a ruth calls calla off the elopement end and lends bends the stranger for her father at the gambling house across the street there the stranger ca calling himself jeff gray meets morgan ng a killer curly connor kansas mile high bid hunt and other rustlers and sherm howard lee swIck en era with his foreman dan brand and ells Us sher sherm hot howard ward of his orders to hoot rustlers lers at sight jeff gray returns to ruth I 1 and coldly reassures her of her fathers father safety at supper ruth introduces introduce jeff to her lather father and brand and in bangers Gan gers store later she speaks cordially to curly connor coming out of the store they are greeted by sudden gunplay lee Is wounded and jeff jeb gray appears with a smoking revolver two days later ruth tells her father of her proc projected ted elopement and her bar disillusionment later ruth buth meets jeff gray whom she think tried to 0 o kill her father ruth accidentally wounds jeff she takes him to pat Sor leys camp ruth Is cred credulous ul ous of jeffs jeba story of shooting at the assassin rather than at her father and later pleads with lee to listen to him when lee arrives at pat Sor leys camp he finds only a note to pat from jeff meanwhile jeff rides into tall tail holt and sends word to sherm howard he be wan wants tends to se see a him he shows howard a poster with his picture with the name of clint D doff 0 ke wanted as the leader of a band of 0 outlaws tl ws the rest of the band arrives jeff eff shows bows the outlaws the poster and asks their confidence and tells them ruth shot him they agree to allow him to stay another raid tin on the li C c cattle a atle causes lee to line up his bis men in p pursuit and to send his son frank to town to reconnoiter recon pat finds grays horses marks on the trail with the suspected rustlers CHAPTER V continued 9 i he dant whop me blustered toward you hear me say he jumped me when I 1 looking 1 I heard you curly said with a skeptical grin 1 I never saw the day I 1 comb that birds feathers for him the damaged man bragged he finished his drink and went away to repair his wounds jeff gray watching him caught the look that passed between young howard and morgan norris presently the latter left the bar and sauntered back to the washroom wash bash room after lou gray also drifted in that dirac yown he sat down at a table close to 0 the washroom wall and began to deal out a hand of solitaire intently he listened to catch anything that might be said back of the thin AIL I 1 F alo CHAPTER VI frank called 11 C come ome in and jeff gray walked into the bedroom what are you doing here frank demanded jumping to his bis feet like to have a few words with you gray said 1 I wont talk with you about any frank cried excited something important no the boy exploded important to you 01 1 I won wont t have you here chaft wick barked at him unless you want trouble get out im going to get out in just a minute all ali I 1 want is to tell you something ive iove heard walking to the table where his gun lay frank shouted at him get out you double crossing polecat 11 swiftly gray whipped out his bis gun dont make a mistake chiswick he advised quietly so it it frank said youve come to kill me does yore contract call tor for me too as well weh as father you damn foell gray broke out in exasperation 1 I never saw so crazy a family ive come to tell you something and youre going to listen to me rie whether you want to or not morg norris and lou how ard are fixing to rub you out p apte it if it were so would you be here retelling elling rt ring me frank asked with a scornful lift ot of his bis up lip 1 I am here boy forget what youve got against me I 1 overheard tome some talk better light out of town before they get you are you afraid it if they do lose the reward for me gray shrugged his shoulders have it yore own way but listen to what ive got to say youre going to be watched they will try to draw you into a fuss I 1 at kt the tight right time get it it understand 1 I understand you ate supper with my father and tried to gun him from behind afterward frank told him wildly and that you loaded tny my sister with lies so 0 o she took you to one of our line camps to be doe stored up weve got yore number Ly fellow you w were ra with the thieves who drove our our tuff stuff up box canyon the use of pulling this line of talk when I 1 know you are in with these rustlers here with the vry you are arc warning me against gray inept this aside with a ture anre odthe ot the revolver all ali right Lavelt Lea veit lay laty at that thac im a hired killer and a thief say im paying oft off a grudge I 1 owe lou howard and morg norris that would make me a double double crosser put it any way you like but get this through yore noodle it if you stick around here another day go home in a wagon covered by a sheet 1 I believe i anything in the world you told me frank answered then dont believe it because I 1 ten tell you use yore head young howard is no account but right now dangerous as a trapped rat you try to pet hes mostly vanity and youve hurt that cruelly hed go the limit to get even norris Is one ot of these snake ln in the grass killers mean all the way through boy im going to tell you something I 1 cant prove likely you wont believe me morg norris is the man who tried to kill yore father at T tail ail holt im most sure ot of that youre one ot of this outlaw gan gang 91 but dont mind throwing down on them when it suits you leered chiswick smart as a whip you are gray drawled never find out whether I 1 am all the kinds ot of skunk you claim because inside ot of 24 hours morg norris will blast you off the map maybe he sent you here to scare me if he did you go back and teu tell him I 1 dont scare worth a cent 1 I give up gray said putting away his weapon when a has got hell bell in the neck theres nothing to do about it youre grown no I 1 really see him hei bes lit the he hay bay stuff it if you have any last messages you had better write them out norris will get you sure dont get any other notion you wont be one two three with him he turned and walked from the room angrily frank watched him go an irritable resentment filled young chiswick he had an uneasy feeling that he had been an ungrateful boor this was absurd gray was a alain villain he had come here for some evil purpose of his bis own no point in letting him tool fool another of the family his father and sister were enough but there was something about the fellow that tie in with the facts he did not look tike ne a sneaking scoundrel he was hard as nalls nails a tough bad hombre frank did not doubt he was an outlaw but everything about him eyes bearing manner proclaimed him game his reckless strength gave the lie he to all they had found out about him prank frank decided to take as few c chances as possible he would sidestep any attempt of norris or lou howard to get him into a quarrel tonight he would stay in his room it came to him later that perhaps gray had been sent by sherm howard in the hope of driving him out of town there might be something doing they did not want wan thim him to know about he would stick around lor for another day or two at least after supper a mexican came with amensa a message 91 e for him lee chiswick the man said was at yell store an and d wanted to see him at once when did my father reach town frank asked the man shook his head no sabe senor his horses are at the hitchrick hitch rack in front of not alone then senor brand Is with him teu tell him IU ill be there pronto frank went back to the bedroom tor for his hat bat he felt as it if a load had bad be been enrolled houed from his chest in spite of what W hat he had told gray he had been worried at the warning he had w wanted anted to light out for the ranch and only his sense of duty was keeping him in town now he be could pass his fears to broader shoulders he would not have bave to play a lone hand any longer A man coming into the house stepped to one side to let prank frank out the man was jeff gray I 1 walt wait a minute Ch chiswick lowick he said aid urgently aiming to ambush you prank frank did not answer nor did he be look back he was wai not going to let this fellow influence him but the heart under his ribs began to pound furiously involuntarily he ha quickened his pace come back you foell the man ordered posted in the cottonwoods cotton woods over there chiswick did not believe him but a queer chill chili ran up and down his spine he kept going fo following Howing an adobe wall parallel to the road the angry bark of a revolver sounded frank whirled dragging out his weapon swiftly he fired at gray he knew the shot had bad come from the gun of gray from the cottonwoods cotton woods across the road a rifle cracked another boomed before the echo of the first at explosion had died frank flung himself at the adobe wall and clambered over it dropping the forty four from his bis hand as he swarmed up the boy hesitated an instant should he be go back for his bis revolver or run the great risk 0 of f being caught defenseless he heard the slap of running feet if he went back over the wall he be would be the target of several gunmen nothing could save him he must keep going in the darkness a building loomed before him it was a large adobe stable and it filled the whole back of the enclosure frank hesitated he dared not let himself be trapped in the stable better go over one of the tide side walls he caught sight of a figure on top of the wall A man was astride ot of it his gun flashed twice then he had bad jumped down into the yard and was running toward frank amazement filled the mind of chiswick the man had not fired at him but at someone out in the road this way into the stable get you out in the open frank followed him into the building why he did so he could not tell tor for thi the man in front of him was jeff gray up the stairs gray ordered stooping to pick something from the ground the two men ran up to the loft gray handed chiswick a crowbar get to work and knock a hole bole through the wall he said were going out that way frank pushed aside the hay and began to drive the crowbar into the crumbly adobe bricks at each thrust of the pointed iron the soft wall disintegrated into sand and straw footsteps sounded below someone shouted up a command come down from there chiswick or well shoot you into a rag doll 11 in a husky voice frank did not recognize gray called down an answer three of us are up here we aim to hold the tort fort dont monkey with us unless a lot of you want to be rubbed out who are you the same man called to them L C men gray replied still in the heavy voice all well armed send down chiswick and well let the rest of you go go chase yo through the brush A bullet crashed up through the floor gray fired one down in the direction from which it had bad come there was a whispered conference below better give up the spokesman advised well sure smoke you out gray played for time the crowbar was tearing into the wall vall will vill you promise not to hurt us it if we do he asked sure what would we want to hurt you tor for we got a warra warrant nt lor for the arrest of chiswick for disturbing in g the peace give us time to talk it over well hurry up and no monkey business that noise up there there was a kish up the stairs in the dat darkness kness the defenders had all the advantage gray pistol wiped the first man and sent him tumbling back ba c k against the others frank drove the point of the crowbar into the midriff of another the attackers ers fell back in disorder hurriedly they scampered out of the barn one of them had to be dragged dragge cL back soon gray said grimly how are you jetting getting along with that exit combres hombres hole with the sleeve of his shirt frank wiped away the perspiration dripping into his eyes it was hot in the bay under the root roof give me ma ten minutes more he be panted you dont get ten minutes gray told him and he handed banded his hi revolver to the younger man give me that crowbar awhile with short swift drives the red haired man slashed at the wall the point of the crowbar went through the hole grew larger why not ten minutes frank asked think rush us again not none they will set fire are to the hay below and burn us out good godl wed better go down bvm and try to hold them back from getting into the barn I 1 1 I say so three tour four would get killed including maybe me well just about make it the creek is below well drop down in the brush and slip away if were lucky and if were botill not frank asked his companion pried out an adobe brick ive been in a lot worse tights than this he said frank had been slammed from the saddle to the ground many times he had been in stampedes and blizzards these seemed to him trifling hazards compared to the danger he be was in now wish it was lighter so you could see better he replied emulating the coolness of the other it will be light elout enough h soon it if I 1 dont miss my guess gray stooped and worked at a loose brick with his bis hands someone ran into the barn from the top of the stairway chiswick fired get him inquired gray no I 1 really see him lies hes lit the hay the flame leaped up through the loose floor it caught the hay in the loft frank tried to stamp out the fire A brick crashed down from the wall into the creek outside the hole is big enough gray cried slide out fellow you first chiswick urged the smoke was pouring up in great waves do as I 1 say the older man ordered frank wriggled through and dropped the heat and smoke were almost unbearable gray worked his legs and body into the open he dropped landed on a stone and rolled over and over into the bed of the dry dreek creek all AH right chiswick asked in a whisper yes gray snapped this way he ran crouching along the bed the brush along the bank protected them from observation leaping flames from the stable drove back the darkness the fugitives were brought up by a barbed wire fence stretching across the creek they crept between the strands they stood in a clump of mesquite on the edge of the creek TO BE CONTINUED |