Show aik ACE AC EtiOlE ACKSON GREGORY OLE I 1 GREGORY W THE SO 80 fabi ARI arriving straut king ly it at the king cole ranch ann lee and coll cole cody d discovered sc old early bill cole had bad made two identical wilts one leaving all his bis money anil and the ranch hanch to anns ann st and d the other giving the same lame money and property to cole R ranee ance wal dron esta bUshed at the ranch alace old bills death and pong as ai hl ahli nephew questioned the sanity of old BUI BIU and the legality of the two blui it was wai nearly noon when they returned to ranch head darers that evening they an all retired early that li Is all axce except pt aunt Je jenifer alfer who tole out under a large oak tree and watch watched d unset banco waldron help a strange lurching man 0 out ut 0 ot 1 I th the a house home now continue condou e with the story CHAPTER XII aunt Jen jenifer lifer went straight to cole codys clodys outside door and he hammered at it hard with her knuckles he was asleep but came awake instantly st and called out chos there wanted chos its me jenifer edwards dress quick and come out here bring your gun too well he demanded when he stepped out close to aunt joni jeni fers shadowy form 1 I dont know she said calmly if eagerly 1 I dont trust that ranee rance waldron hes got a mean eye all day long he be has kept his door locked and all day ive known that he had bad somebody hes been hiding ive been watching figuring with all this secrecy hed be anxious to get et his bis friend out of the house when he be was sure everybody was to in bed just now li he ae and another man ian sneaked out and went to their horses that were saddled and hidden in a willow thicket what about it demanded cody about as amiable as most men rudely awakened from a deep sleep all tor for the take sake of a mere trifle what affair Is it of mine or ot of yours either part ot of it Is this ranee rance waldron has had this man hid in the house behind a locked door all day a mystery young man and 1 I dont like mysteries then its shady their sneaking out of the house this time of night speaking to in whispers and someone shot early bill a few days ago and in case there was no will ranee rance waldron would have inherited ranch cash and everything another thing the stage was held up yesterday by someone who knew that bucktooth jenkins wes was bringing ten thousand dollars in cash to early bill cole and you fired a few shots at the robbers and thought you hit one of them and the man with waldron limped so bad that he could hardly walk Is that an earful or just childs chatter which way did they ride asked cody grown brisk now straight north along the creek on this side better get to bed aunt jenifer its dawning on me that youre a pretty wonderful woman but you cant keep going day and night you bet ill go to my room BIU bill cole cody end and lock my door darn it im scared and you corrie conle back as soo soon as you can ill hear you and ill creep out into the living room to make sure it is you now poke along r he hurried down to the ranch buildings for a word with cal roundtree and a horse cal wakened and apprised of the situation was out of the door still buttoning his overalls and drawing his belt about his lean middle cole cody was ahead of him at the stable they saddled swiftly and took the trail aunt jenifer had bad specified north along the creek if they want to hide they can make themselves hard bard to find in this country said cal roundtree 1 I know the most likely place to look tor for them since they must have thought that no one had bad seen their getaway and so BO no one would be following them so 0 o soon likely get under a roof tonight anyhow and maybe poke on tomorrow night 11 As A they rode cole cody told cal in detail aunt Jeni jenifer fers information her suspicions and surmises cal led the way and the darkness did not matter to him moreover bis big horse soon discovered where he be was going and thereafter needed no DO touch on the reins they kept close to the creek for a mile and though they rode swiftly they heard no sound of hoot hoof beats ahead then cal wung swung to the right where a small brook came tumbling down and presently present li they passed into the mouth auth of a steep whiled walled ravine it was about a halt half hour after entering the ravine that cal called softly over his houlder weve run lem em down pardner theres there a log cabin up there at the hied head of the canyon where an old prospector used to hang out nobody been to in it for three tour four year but theres chereb a light there now they rode slowly lowly keeping their horses in the deep grass at the sides of the traill trail to EO that all hoof beats were muffled thus they drew within a hundred yards of the log cabin there cal roundtree Bound Hound tree gave a signal to stop and both dismounted they led their horses a score of pa paces ce into the thick umber fringing the creek and removed their spurs spun to hang them on their saddle horns then walking to in silence lifting their booted feet us as does a cat inget grass they drew near the cabin A voice not rance bance Wal drons was speaking and it was rough and querulous and come cams near being threatening and so there you let me rot all day damn you I 1 might of died I 1 might die yet tor for au all the doctoring im getting by god ranee rance ive got a notion and a good notion better keep your mouth shut tom old man before you talk yourself into more trouble than you can ever crawl out ou ot there spoke ranee rance waldron and his voice was arrogant contemptuous revealing a man very sure of 0 himself get it into your head ranee rance that things have changed plenty you had me down clown good and plenty you you could have waggled your finger and sent me to the pen you he laughed not any more eidl ive thought it over from all angles ranee rance you wont do any squealing on me because at the end youve let your toot foot slip be squealing on yourself the same as 88 on me what ive did you paid me for or the other job with me getting shot up you and nae me did together and I 1 can prove idill there was a breathless stillness there in the cabin then ranee rance waldron spoke again and there was a marked change in his tone all the challenge and threat all the and contempt had gone out ot of it you are right tom we have gone into this thing together and we had better see it through I 1 I 1 he saw ranee rance waldron clearly in the candle light er and ill even grant you that I 1 no longer have any hold on you if you are big enough tool fool for or it you can leave me flat bat and go your own way for the rest ot of your life knowing that you dont have to be afraid of me any longer because as you say I 1 am as deep in this last affair as you are its your turn to speak up stick along w with ith me and take orders from me and make yourself a big stake if I 1 get away w with ith this job as im sure I 1 will with you or without you or tuck your tall tail between your legs and run out on me m that sort of talk straight from the shoulder evidently threw tom gough on his balance im with you ranee rance he said and all the belligerent menace had melted out ot of his bis tone now what you hole bole up here for a few days and give that wound a chance to heal meantime ill plan ill learn a few things im not sure of yet ill drop in on you late tomorrow night that fair enough said tom gough cal roundtree bad shoved cody out of his bis way and was peering in through throng h the open slit between the two logs he saw ranee rance waldron clearly in the candlelight saw him go to the door and pass through and close the door behind him and clearly he be saw tom gough a man of low squat stature wito with a thick thatch of black hair and a weeks black bristly growth of whiskers with a brutish flat face end and a pair of brilliant close set black eyes and he be took particular stock of tom coughs hat it was brand new old clothes ragged boots and a brand new hat bat ranee rance waldron went on his way to till his horse tethered near by then d down own trail returning along the way he be had bad come that man in there that tom gough said cal is i the man that thai shot old early bill he was made mad to do it by ranee rance waldron something im pretty certain of and the two ot of them are the stage robbers something else lse ic bet my boots on you sound like you knew whai wha youre talking about said cody 1 I gather the same idea to es you do dc about the holdup hold up but how come you cinch the shooting of early bill on tom gough you dont see gee a man wearing a new hat every day cody early bill before he checked in his chips told doc joe and the judge how he had changed away at the hombre that potted him how chehad he had shot the tellers fellers hat oh off he said watch out tor for a man with a hat with a hole in IL it or a man without any hat at all or a man with a brand new hat now climb on your pony and lets letb travel and at the ranch house while cal roundtree and cole cody were giving their attention to waldron and tom gough aunt jenifer was busying herself in her own fashion she scurried posthaste post haste to her own room closed the door and was going to lock it when she discovered there was no key hey in the lock she hurried to anns room adjoining the door was closed but unlocked no key there either but she thought that waldron mans door la is locked hes got a key there ought to be others somewhere so carrying her lamp she went prowling through the house key hunting she looked at all locks on en passant she opened all drawers in tables and dressers she ran her fingers along cupboard shelves she came to a closed closet and opened it to peer inside and of all places found a key in the lock within the closet she tried it in her own lock it fitted and she shot the bolt home she locked herself in and went t to 0 anns door the farther ons one opening upon the corridor it fitted there too another hafl it seemed as though all the locks in the house were the same and right then the inspiration and the temptation assailed her to try her key on still another door if it worked on these locks why riot not on ranee rance Wal drons she scurried to that door through which weldron waldron had passed so many times always locking it behind him and the key fitted the lock and 4 the door she was thrilled with a sense of adventure and was also just a mite tightened frightened she entered a bedroom that wa was in considerable disorder sh she glanced at the bed itself with its covers dragging on the floor then around the room until her eyes came to a full stop at a table on which there were some papers and a couple of penciled account books sh she e flipped over pages cattle bought and sold numbers in the various herds cost and sales prices that sort of thing for the most part among the scattered papers was a new letter signed by andy jenkins it said deer bill I 1 done my job all right better than you speck what I 1 mean Is if I 1 got the whole ten thousand end and am bringing it with me only I 1 am staying a day with my relations and will ketch the stage next day yours truly andy jenkins so it aunt jenifer mumbled to her herself se if that waldron devil found this letter and got busy him and the man hes been hiding in here all day no wonder he wanted to get rid of us she crumpled the telltale tell tale letter in her hand band and hurried into the other room and tried the door leading to the outside again the key fitted she closed the door again and began taking stock of this second rooms contents there was a sp splotch lotch on the floor a rug had evidently been drawn to cover it then its edge turned over by a careless foot as the two men departed and that spot looked to aunt jenifer like a blood smear so she leaped to i the same conclusion that had of itself to cody and on the next step she was already decided she would unlock the outside door again leave it unlocked but closed make her retreat through Wal drons room slip out of bis his door that led into the corridor lock that door and carry her ber key oft off with her then when he came home and found his outer door unlocked he would have something to think about when he missed the jenkins letter which he be had bad been too gre greata atis fool to destroy or hide hed have still more matter tor for thought but there be the vaguest hint hibit to make him think that this had been an inside job and even though tor for one reason or another he did get the idea that aunt jenifer had bad had something to do with it it he really be convinced and held hed be mighty careful about speaking of 0 it to her for fear of tipping his hand and watch her play innocent tomorrows tomor rowl now she he wanted to hurry faster than ever tor for she kept telling herself that she was wai in a den of murderers yet she kept telling herself also that now was her one and only chance to make a thorough search la in these two rooms room well she bad done all sh she could now and had bad better scamper for tier own quarters quarter so she did as she had planned unlocked the outer door removed the key and turned to retrace he hei steps through rance bance Wal waldron drons door and then she stiffened and almost cropped her lamp distinctly she ward avard rapidly oncoming footsteps outside TO BE CONTINUED |