Show ia 4 J HAROLD CHANNING CHAN N I 1 N G wa RE 1 W v LIEW LEW BURNET riding back to southern lon thera taxes in 14 meet WILLY NICKLE t in old trapper willy illy tui tells lew law U the lewil that the bink bank at ox row bow hal hai len 0 robbed that t TOM ARNOLD owner it t the cross I 1 plans to move to that STEVE ARNOLD may be involved evolved in the robbery and nd that JOY li is adget married BANNING cross T totem foreman later lew encounters enco unten four our men bien all they off offer at urn the job ai 21 trall trail boss boil when he re ra lose lam they c capture him and kee keep p him prisoner ir laoner at t their heir camp duricr the night reco low lew clay hennings votes voice im through Bli willy nicklo releases release lew and he arrive at the ranch much lust lost as the the cross T herd in if stampeding CHAPTER in III the longhorns were still in a closely packed formation tor matton but bei ginning binning to string out wedge shaped idith with a small bunch ot of leaders at the point coming abreast ot of these be a threw his horse against their hard ribbed bodies firing his gun close to the long gaunt faces they were running like frightened lack rabbits but they edged away from rom his blazing gun that broke their galloping itrice stride for or am 0 merit Slow lythe black wedge began to curie curve until i in time the point was bent in and joining to the base the cattle were still running but in an endless inerny merry g go round now getting Dow nowhere heri their run slackened ened under the p pressure assure ot of men closing in they in made lade at last a solid milling POOL I 1 he turned his horse off to one tide where a little group of riders had bad halted in afi the e fist dust and dark he had recognized no one and bad not been recognized himself then their talk began to reach him someone said saia were lucky all they set get a good tart start I 1 luck either another put in who was was it got up to the point to 0 o last fast that was tom arnolds rough low voice they were aware of his horse then coming out ot of the dark and their 1 I talk broke off he rode in grin V ming ling hello tom he said bald lew arnolds low voice lifted boys its lew burnett Burn etl the group moved and they were suddenly lud iud denly around him their horses crowding his legs and he was shaking hands bands and grinning in the warm warmth ot friendly faces tom arnold and joe wheat and old rebel lohn fohn Quarter night who had taught him all he knew about cattle he was aware afterward of one rider who had remained apart from these others and he be called out hello clay clay meaning manning brought his horse round around how are you lew his ph big ig shape leaned across the saddle horn born with all expression oh on a wide mouth th c closely I 1 ea guarded he was a apih haigh atia square a built man young and lond blond and strikingly good looking one who could be forgiven lew often thought tor for watching his shadow on the ground there ahad been some reason for his bis wait off there in the dark but now BOW casually enough he said guess you got here just in time howd your come down afie valley lew said and added from dripping S spring p r in t today 0 at that he saw the b brief d direct 1 stare clay gave him yet in the faint light he be could re read noab ing more one by one at spaced intervals the guard riders riders had come past and as their dim figures loomed out of the dark tom arnold had kept close watch he swung back bibek now asking suddenly clay wheres steve you were together ill look clay said and started aff ft near him joe wheat straightened lip ip his thin slat frame offering better take someone ill go with au rou but clay refused with a quick impatience mpa tience stay with the guard nothings happened tom you going back to the house bouse well get no anore trouble now theres too man many tf of us someone ought to be with h W toy im going arnold said send steve in when you find end him lew tome some on en with me they loped into the black valley th side ide by side fide but aware of go om V arnolds ads strict silence he be held lown the qu scions that crowded his bis mind with the days dust scrubbed from his bis face ace and his long hair watered i back slick je he went oat oit ait into the hall ind turned to the cross Ts family lining room a owl head jackson the cook carne came into In the dining room from the kitchen carrying a heaped platter ot of lood hewl ile he grinned you Croom maverick its good to tee see that ugly face ace ot of yours aga again iril from the front room joy called I 1 pour a cup of coffee tor for me and came on back tell me about wyoming she laid a lot ot of country he rolled fled what do you want tornow to knowl know W everything what its uke like and what you do there well I 1 I 1 ved lived in a dugout he be raad a fd in the bank of a creek and I 1 ent most mo at of my time fighting rats no she he laughed 1 it I dont rean that arent there some ome moun king oh ture sure mountains hi high ghones some of them with snow all the year la in summer the streams dont go dry there I 1 guess its sort of a pretty place he admitted 1 I liked the pines then its beautiful im going to love it I 1 know I 1 hilll that stopped him he put down his fork joy what do you mean her cheeks were flushed bushed the suppressed excitement had turned her breathless 1 I wanted to be the first to tell you I 1 asked dad to let me you dont know do you no he said 1 I dont know anything it burst from her then wildly im going north were all going were moving up there ther a for good you dont mean with the herd yes I 1 he could only stare at her there had been nothing of 0 this in toms letter either no more than that he was sending his longhorns on a drive north yet it nil his thought of the long trail up which few women had ever gone that held him silent but the three of them clay and joy and himself riding that trail together me his silence brought a little scow scowl across her dark eyes th the matter joy he asked when are you and clay getting married hr her lips parted and closed the high c olor color drained from her cheeks when she he spoke poke her voice was very quiet 17 1 I dont know lew why she paused and looked away from him and then wait for his hi an iwer iwer hes he bien been wanting it before we we started but I 1 cant and perhaps aps im not being fair im just aar afraid a ail I 1 guess afraid of what she brought her eyes back to his hi face and he could feel them trace the crescent mark on his forehead 1 I dont know she said weve waited too long too many things it im just afraid I 1 guess have happened now whether im married or not seem so important any more im sorry joy he reached across the table and took her two folded hands in his big fist pressed them and let them go jn in front r ont of the big rock fireplace tom rom arnold old had bad done more then than wait he could hear the familiar sound of lew Bur burneta nets talk in the dining room a slow and easy sound and something restful and grateful had come over him with this knowledge a that lew burnet was back thinking of steve tom arnold sat wholly still held by a dead heavy feeling compounded of loneliness and a fathers defeat it was his 0 own wn fault he be guessed for he knew himself for what he was strict and unsparing paring with a single minded belief that a man was born into this rich new land to make the best use of his time the talk in the dining dinin groom room ended he heard the chairs scrape ba back ck and thought of another ambition hed had once and watched die then the two figures were pacing toward him joy with her hand in lew Bur burneta nets surra arm looking small and so go much alive beside his straight high shape her cheeks heek were flushed and he be understood what it was in the man that could make him watch her in an amused but intently steady way and the old hope hed had once rose in him again he smiled you get filled up boy 1 I did lew grinned its worth a months riding to get one ot of owl heads joy released his arm and sat down on a halved log with short legs at her fathers knee he ranged himself beside the fireplace ce it its a acl blaze aze warming him and a sense e ot of comfort sweeping over him powerfully this was home bome here in this room was wai the peace of family life for foi more than fort forty y years year with his pipe going he looked down and said laid welt well tom here her I 1 1 am theres there one thing thin id like to know first joy says fay youre moving north I 1 thought it wait wai only a trail herd arnold nodded shei ashes right were leaving here tor for good me head lifted sharply in an old chal langing fling of his gray hair he said ald you look 0 so o confounded lew A man has hai moved before and I 1 dont own the tha cross T any longer the cattle are mine yes yea but not this lie he waved into the room nor the land S sold old out nt NO arnold turned bis big head a little joy id like to talk with lew alone daal she sprang up and threw her arm across bis big shoulders she shook him you cant go on keeping things back from met mel what the use im not a little girl any morel well all right he said bald to her you know most of what happened you might as ai well hear the rest she mat lat down again on the halved log with short legs and watched his face we had a bank robbery a month ago go lew he said at a bad time trail buyers buyer had bad been here making up their herds for the north the money they paid to a dozen ox bow cattlemen was on deposit in my vaults vault it was characteristic of lew but burnet not to tell that he already knew this he waited arnoldi arnold eyes eye centered themselves them selve into the smoldering juniper logo log he said aid quietly 1 I took the blame it its my bank and these cattlemen are my friends got only small out outfit fitle and if they lose their money now ICU break them I 1 know by law I 1 dont have to make it up but im going to ive already turned the ranch in for assets appointed a new president and im out you pay a big price for or your peace of mind tom its all a mans man got worth keeping arnold said he sat mat back in his bis chair im making a new start in the north that the only reason as far as anyone should know why im leaving the little comanche 11 but theres another the gray head nodded steve A man was killed in town the night of the robbery rayburn our sheriff nobody knows who pulled the bank job or killed rayburn but some erne talk about steve has reached my ears I 1 dont believe it if I 1 did id hang his hide on a fencel fence I 1 do khow he was off somewhere all that night he came back late the next day drunk on her low seat joy had made ma de no sound but something brought gewo gaze down to her and he saw the tight lines of fear and horror in her face she looked only at her father and then tom arnolds voice dropped dr all the way to an old man mans deep bitterness ive done all I 1 can to help that boy I 1 still wont admit his wildness has taken him a as far as this talk s says ely a but it brings home to me that hes gone au out t of my hands bands theres only one more thing I 1 can do got get him out 0 of f th this S country away from the mends friends hes made here the trail north is one job he cant shift out of make a man of him or break him im pretty sure it will lew agreed ive seen een it work both ways and then in wyoming arnold aid its steve that can make a new start I 1 hope not me im too old now dad you are arent n t joy murmured what a thing to cayll using a sliver silver ot of wood lew ex elored the hearthstone crack for a c ricket cricket find him and looked up to say there much in your letter tom and I 1 know less since I 1 got here like that stampede tonight ive been wondering what was behind lt it my beef contract arnold said you know happened to the price P rice chorne up north 1 I do six hundred thousand head c came ame up the trail lost last year therell be de a million on the match march this spring too many unless trail troubles thin it out a whole lot a man wont get more than ten tea dollars at the end what does your contract call tor for three thousand head at thirty I 1 deliver the indian beef at ogallala 0 on the first of september its if my own owl stuff im taking tailing on to wyoming ninety thousand dollars lew figured a jack pot tor for youl youre lucky tom but arnold shook his dead 1 I would be it if my contract was direct with the government it the indian supply company got a blanket award tor for the northern reservations reservation this year and I 1 had to take a subcontract delivering to them you can see the joker in that they handle all the money and pay me only when and it if I 1 roach ogallala on september first they signed with me five months month ago now they want to back out A couple ot of their men came down here offering five thousand dollars dollar to cancel my deal jtb TO bill BB CONTINUED |