Show my I 1 k kal kirlick 1 AV 5 A kaary ahara axa ahe THE fiort STORY 80 farl ten Teny year tarold kett ken mclaughlin ca can n rids ride any horse hone on hill lt wyoming ranch but he h wants ivanti a colt ol of hai own ail nil father A retired amy army oft officer leer refuse because ken has hai not been promoted at school and has bai shown a DO 0 euse of responsibility hut but kew mother convince on vinces i captain that tho the con colt may be lust just what wha t ken needs ken picks the he earllie earll ig 9 filly of a 1410 loco COll no good mare named rocket A little later rocket li Is sold old but li Is killed before she reaches her hew bew owner M cLau ghUn sells all of rockets Rock etl offspring but bews colt In inspire spite of nil his fathers father displeasure ken wants that hat colt and no other I 1 now continue with the story CHAPTER IX they dined in town with the bart letts and by the time they got back to the ranch a num number berof of visitors were there and from then on the pleasant of sunday afternoon ernola place alive with cars coming and going trays of bottles and glasses being carried in and out a ut and a n d much talk and laughter later in the afternoon mclaughlin stuck a tin can on the tip of one of f the branches of a pine tree on th the e H hill 1 11 opposite and the officers took their revolvers and practiced target shooting standing on the terrace then mrs grubb and mrs gilfillan said they wanted to ride out and see the brood mares so they all crowded into two automobiles and mclaughlin ln led the way when they found the brood mares they stopped some distance off and got out and mclaughlin ln promised that banner would come out cut to meet them and do the honors how do you know he will asked mrs gilfillan he always does the mares stopped grazing and stood alert cur curious I 1 ous and ready to run banner was amongst them his head topped them all and even from a distance the men and women watching could feel the penetration of his eye suddenly the big stallion moved towards tov ards them ears pricked inquiring eyes wide and fearless and began to trot his legs alternating in high free curving steps his mane streaming his tall tail up flying all his nell A roar and cheer burst from the officers as the stallion without breaking brei king his trot increased his pace and came down the wind to them like a bugle call banner halted baited ten yards off ob and stood looking the group over his golden coat blazed iri in the suh shine what an intelligent face exclaimed the colonel mclaughlin ln still t ill in his gray suit and rakish hat went forward to the stud apologizing gravely for not having brought a bucket of oats in the car lying in bed that night ken remembered the way banner had looked banner the sire ofF of licka blicka was the same the same burnished gold the same beauty the same flags flying oh mine my colt my own my very own he wondered hindered when his father ather aou would ad bring her in again he had been wondering that every day when gus put his round pink face a in at the kitchen door and said today boss but his father had planned other work meadows to be taken care of water to be turned out of one ditch and into the other endless hours of work on the three year olds that must be ready to ship in just a few days now A new cattle guard being built at one of the railroad gates but next morning when gus said today boss mclaughlin ln gave the order for the days work and then said and I 1 think and paused ken looked down to hide his excitement cit ement he clenched his fists under the table mclaughlin went on tomorrow well get the yearlings yearnings year lings in again gus and cut out kens filly I 1 want to do that before ross hoss leaves we may n need eed his help tomorrow when ken opened opened his eyes next morning and looked out he saw that the house was wrapped in fog there had been no rain at all since the day a week ago when the wind had torn the sprinkling system to pieces and blown all the tattered clouds away that was the day he had found blicka and it had been terribly hot since then they had hardly been able to stand the sun ou out t on the terrace they had gone swimming imming w in the adol every day on the hills the grass was turn turning I 1 ng to soft tan now there were clouds and they had closed down after a severt seven hot spell there often came a heavy tog fog or hall hail or even snow standing at the window ken could hardly see the pines on the hill opposite he wondered it if his father would go after the yearlings yearnings year lings in such a tog fog as this they be beable able to see them but at breakfast mclaughlin ln said there would be no change of plans it was just a big cloud that had settled down over the ranch it would lift and tall fall perhaps up on saddle back it would be clear they mounted and rode out the fog lay in the folds of the illic hills here and there a bare sum mit was la in sunshine then a little farther on came a smother ot of cottony white that soaked the tour four riders ridera to the skin and hung rows of moonstones moon stones on the whiskers ot at the horses it was hard bard to keep track of each other suddenly ken was lost the others had vanished he reined in shorty and sat listening the clouds and mist rolled around him he felt elt as if 11 he were alone in the world A bluebird color of the deep blue wild delphinium that dots the plains became interested in him and perched c on a bush near by and as he started shorty forward again the bluebird followed along hopping from bush to bush the boy rode slowly not knowing la in which direction to go then hearing shouts h is he touched heels to shorty and cantered and suddenly came out of the tog fog and saw his father and tim and ross there they the arel said mclaughlin pointing down over the curve of the hill they rode forward and ken could see the yearling yearnings year lings s standing bunched at the botto bottom M loo looking king up wondering who was coming cc ming then a huge coll coil of fog swirled over them and they were lost to sight again mclaughlin ln told them to circle around spread out fan tan wise on the far side of the colts and then gently bear down on them so they would 01 A 1 I banner start towards the ranch it if the colts once got running in this fog og he said be no chance of catching them the plan worked well the year tings were not so frisky as usual and allowed themselves to be driven in the right direction it was only w when hen they were on the county road and near the gate where howard was watching that ken whose eyes had been scanning the bunch as they appeared and disappeared in the tog fog realized that blicka was missing mclaughlin ln noticed it at the same moment and as ken rode toward his father mclaughlin ln turned to him and said ashes not in the bunch they sat in silence a few moments while mclaughlin planned the next s tep step the yearnings bearlin year lings gs dispirited by the fog nibbled languidly at the grass by the roadside mccaugh ito looked at the saddle back and ken looked too the passionate desire in his heart reaching out to pierce the tog fog and the hillside and see where F licka had hidden herself away well well drive the yearlings yearnings year lings back up said rob finally no c hance chance of finding her alone it if they happen to pass anywhere near her ashes likely to join them they drove the yearlings yearnings year lings back once over the first hill the colts got running and soon were out ot of sight the tog fog closed down again so s 0 that ken pulled up unable to see W where here he was going unable to see his father or ross or tim he sat listening astonished that the sound of cl their hoots hoofs had been wiped out a ut so completely again he seemed alone in the world the tog fog lifted in front ot of him and showed him that he stood at the brink ot of a sharp drop almost a precipice though not very deep it led down into a semicircular semi circular pocket on the hillside which was fed by a spring there was a clump of young cottonwoods cotton woods and a great bank of 0 clover dotted with small yellow blossoms in the midst of the clover stood blicka quietly feasting she had seen him before he saw her and was watching vat ching him her head up clover sticking out ot of both sides of her mouth her jaws going busily at sight of her ken was incapable le of either cither thought or action suddenly from behind him in the tosi fog he ha heard beard his fathe fathers rs low voice doritt dont move howd she he get la in there said bald tim she scrambled down this be bank and she could scramble up again if we here I 1 think weve got her said mclaughlin ln other side of that pocket the ground drops twenty feet sheer said tim she carst cant go down there blicka had stopped chewing there were still stalks of clover sticking out between her jaws but her head was up and her ears pricked listening and there was a tautness and tension in her whole body ken found himself trembling too hoare you going to catch her dad he asked in a low voice 1 I kin snag her from here said ross and in the same breath answered ross boss can rope hir her might as well rope tier her here as in the corral well spread out in a semicircle semi circle above this bank she cant get up past us and she cant get down they took their positions and ross lifted his bis rope off the horn of his saddle ahead of them tar far down below the pocket the yearlings yearnings year lings were running A whinny or two drifted up and the sound of their hoofs muffled by the fog blicka heard them too suddenly she was aware of danger she leaped out of the clover to the edge of the precipice which fell away down the mountainside toward where the yearnings bearlin year lings g were running but it was too ste steep e p and too high she come came straight up on her hind legs with a neigh of terror and whirled back toward the bank down which she had slid to reach the pocket but on the crest of it looming uncannily in the fog were four black figures she screamed and ran around the base of the bank K ken en heard ross rope sing it snaked out just as blicka dove into the bank of clover stumbling she went down and for a moment was lost to view goldart Gol darn said ross hauling in his rope while blicka fl floundered 0 up and again circled her small prison hurling herself at every point only to realize that there was no way out she stood over the precipice poised in despair and frantic longing there drifted up the sound of the colts running below blicka trembled and strained stia ined over the brink a perfect target for ross and he be whirled his lariat again it made a vicious whine flicks went down like a diver I 1 the he ground with her legs folded under her then rolled and bounced the rest of the way it ws exactly like the bronco that had climbed over the side of the truck and rolled down the forty foot bank and in silence the four watchers sat in their saddles walting waiting to see what would happen when she hit bottom ken already thinking of the winchester and the way the crack of it had echoed back from the hills bills blicka lit it seemed on tour four steel springs that tossed her up and sent her flying down the mountainside perfection of speed and power an and d action A hot sweat bathed ken from head to foot and he began to laugh half choking the wind roared down and swept up the tog fog and it went bounding away over the hills leaving trailing streamers of white in the gullies and coverlets of cotton around the bushes way below they could see blicka galloping toward the year lings in a moment she joined them and then there was just a many colored blur of moving shapes shape s with a fierce sun blazing down striking sparks of light off their glossy coats get goings shouted mccaugh Mc Laugh lin get around behind them on the run now and its cleared keep them running and we may get them all in together before they stop tim you take the short way back to the gate gale and help howard turn them and get them through tim shot oft off toward the county road and the other three riders galloped oil down and around the mountain until they were at the back of the band of yearlings yearnings year lings shouting and yelling and spurring their mounts they kept the colts running circling them around toward the ranch until they had them on the county road way ra y ahead ken could see tim and howard at the gate cate blocking the road the year yearnings yearlings lings were bearing I 1 g down on them now mccaugh am slowed up and began to call whoa whoa 11 and the pace decreased often enough the year lings aings had swept down that road and through the gate and down to the corrals it was as the pathway to oats and hay and shelter from winter storms would they take it now nov blicka was with them right in the middle if they went would she go too it was all over almost before ken could draw a breath the yearlings yearnings year lings turned at the gate swept through went down to the corrals on a dead run and through the gates that gus had opened blicka was caught again TO BE CONTIN CONTINUED VEED |