Show a L 1 0 41 1 BE 1 I 1 f HAROLD CHANNIN WIRE GWIRE A 0 y LEW BURNET ll is ban ball boas bass of 1 re U aror X T herd which Is I 1 bolas betas driven from crosia fex a to we ur indian agent eat at Ofa nala nr no yeat year Is 1375 TOM ARNOLD owner bag k been killed la in a stampede itam pede HIS bli will um lames esLow lew best bait ud owner anul the 1 battle are ra laid cheo STEVE md d JOY ore ire to their shams after muy many U I 1 they reich ranch badge city chy when what LAY CLAY NANNING MANNING joyl 1 0 SAM ll Is wound td id la in a joy WI stays to 2014 him while ilia ret amov bonwith on with the herd hard when only so 10 miles ellei from ogallala Of allala the herd it Is topped stopped by federal officer an aa early frost froit ends endi she he quarantine and low lew da the cattle jut just within the coo COB tract date uw lew why steve lad ind clay have been him bims CHAPTER MIX stive steve when joy and clay are married and we get rid of this herd you and ill backtrack the k trouble youre in but youre go going ingon on 11 hi he shook his head no well let clay and joy start the new ranch I 1 consee can see plenty of loopholes in R Ray ay buma burns killing those tour can sw swear earit it against you you now but may be we can make them swallow their tongues ed took f liquor inside si dethe the indian nations I 1 can get witnesses chief spotted horse for one that throws them into the hands of the united stites states marshal right I 1 here heie in in ogallala gives me an aeto ax ito bold over their heads and theres other ways to make a man give up the truth he considered that end and say what he saw well find out who killed rayburn id gamble it you he grinned suddenly you cant hit bit the broad side of a barn when youre sober that night you were krunkl again hii he put his arm across the slanted shoulders and pulled them lap well work it out steve dont let it hound bound you any more he lay la that night nigh tin to his bis bedroll smoking a last cigarette he ride guard n now OM w with withro so many extra hands and there was a mingled bleakness and relief in what he be felt something had fil filled ledin in him that had long bein been empty he was back on his old footing again with f steve and steve stee himself was finishing up this mis trail facin facing ghis his troubles in a way that tom arnold would be proud of it was one thing the old man had wanted most in his life that thai account was settled but his own failure with toms fortune on the hoot hoof was blacks black ile he be blamed tor the quarantine and yet when a man man set out to deliver a 0 herche herd he delivered it come hell or highwater high water it was the pride of being a good trail boss fifteen thousand dollars maybe for the hides and tallow sounded good in talk but it machof much of a payoff pay off for the years that had gone into the herd tit jit ninety thousand and be much for the new ranch re he finished his cigarette and rubbed rubbe dit it out against the ground it seemed strange then that he y feel as low as he might over him the stars had never looked so clear and sharp there was nothing going to spoil his sleep he turned on his side and dropped off soundly and the next thing a mules trace chains were clanking and drag dragging gitig over him and a voice was yelling whoa therel whoa he bolted upright in his blankets ind and saw charley sto storms rm a in the graj graydawn dawm running and yanking the chains over the row of beds T then besaw he saw john Quarter night rise more slowly next to him charley storms came back to yell look you lazy cow cowboy boyst sl looka ue he 66 saw it then all the prairie lying beyond as white a as i quarter nights hair frost the old man turned to him lew he bala said it if that dont make you believe in gad d nothing will they could move now sixty days time or one good frost would kill thi the texas fever the quarantine hold dressed he stepped froot his blankets onto a gatof mat of grass as stiff as nails nags in the dawn the prairie looked like snow to the cooche cook he sald said pull up to the ithe ridge before you stop for break task fasl were going to get a wiggle on our ourselves belv ea with the herd shaped and walking fast in the cold air waiting for the frost to melt before they grazed he be pointed up the ridge at eight no one stopped them thein on along affie the crest he could see the K northern cowmen breaking their deadline dead line camps and ashe as he passed the military street where the yellowlegs were rolling up their tents captain wing rode put out his brown face was polished from an early shave he was looking pleased well texan he be said you played in luck the claimed wed get an early frost this year im going on to the post now but bu t ive detailed some ofay of my men to escort you in the rest iest of the way just in tase case of trouble Tb ats mighty good of you cap he said the cooks tip up there lot in front with beefsteaks beef steaks for breakfast better stop t one last nights camp south of ogallala i a dry one there was no bk water ter herband here and they crossed ie the v river the next day at noon for more than a mile the thirsty I 1 herd spread out in the wide bottom drank and splashed themselves and romped on up the low bluffs beyond they were fatter and better looking than when they had leftare left the little comanche that pak was good lie ha need to argue with the th agent about condition all ali 1114 hi contract stated anyway wa number an and d an average weight of five hundred pounds pound when we beet beef was dressed even a greenhorn could see sea the animals would do that from the flat bat top of a mesa north of the river flanking the herd and shaping it again he be looked back and could see aee the far off arrow h heads ea de of 0 other herds coining coming down the divide the open A must be b among them let them come A yelling commotion turned him ho he was up high enough now to see all the mesa toward its rim ot of hills I 1 hundreds of canvas tepees dotted it AL A swarm ot of mounted bucks had started a race toward him riding cream colored ponies and decked out in gaudy blanket shirts for this special occasion women and children were running afoot behind them the squaws squads dresses flapping in a dangerous way tor for cattle he called across to Quarter night and they ran their horses forward to turn that danger of a stampede the bucks veered off at his waving bavin 9 signal the women stopped he judged there were a thousand indians indiana in this camp riding biding back point again hii he I 1 was thankful he have to see this beet beef issued hunting down wild animals was a dlf different ferent matter but these longhorns had become almost as tame as ai pets he saw the stockade a little later a huge square fenced with poles and w wire ir e on the flat mesa top and soon icon after that an army ambulance came up from the east in the direction of ogallala the town was out of sight below the river bluff an escort of yellow yellowlegs legs trotted beside the slick varnished three seated outfit they wung swung off out of his bis dust until ono one of the troopers came toward him and he recognized captain wing there Ther ewas was another telegram in town for you wing said thought you might want it he nodded turned the gray envelope in his hand and waited till wing rode off he ripped it open etwas it was like her other ten words arriving ogallala on cannon ball bag nine p m august thirty one love he slapped the settling dust from it and read it agate again staring at th the last she might be only filling the th allotted space and yet she never did waster wa her words he felt a quick warm stir run through his blood and tried to hold that feeling down but tonight she would be here this was august thirty first the there re were those afternoon hours to pass the dusty job of parting out the ranch stuff from the herd and after that feeding the beet beef longhorns in a thin me line through the stockade gate he sat his horse on one side counting while the post commandant and the indian agent watched from the other he could see their eyes sweat and knew they lost their count early in the end they took his word long before train time he was pacing the loose cinders of the depot yard at last the train arrived this was the cannon ball bag going through to salt lake city he had bad halted near the station back in its shadow and even when he saw her he move he hardly knew her she was stand ingin tag in a sleepers vestibule behind the conductor everything she had on was new a small hat like twisted ropes of dark velvet wound around her head and a light brown suit buttoned and small at the waist and reaching below her shoe tops it turned her into a woman more than ever he remembered they na had c ome come through kansas city and omaha they had long stops she was looking out aut pa pait t the conductors duc tors shoulder and cled came down like that her bar eyes stare searching blag the he d depot 0 I 1 where a little group croup of men hid had lathered gathered now even theo then he be waited until the conductor handed out iut her bag and the he stood there hold ins ing it herself and be know knew the he was alons alone he had to steel himself walking toward her feeling a to a way that nothing had ever shaken him before she saw law him and all of her face seemed to catch the tt atlon light glowing and warm before a shadow fell ell ho he cow ant speak in that moment until he man aged ill take your bag I 1 here he shifted it into nil his left hand band an and d took her arm there were men watching expect ing something they tee be yond the depot he avoided the to tawni WWI street and walked into the dim I 1 lane one I 1 in I a moment the cannon ball bag a snorted n orv behind them and after thel thai banged past showering tho down sparks parks she put up one hand to cover her new hat then in the sliding light of car windows he saw law her face turned up to him trained strained for a question he had not asked he did when the night was wai silent again wheres Wh eren clay in chicago I 1 suppose she said by this time he went with a trainload of feeders for the stockyards stock yards he has a job 1 I see no low lew no you dont he coming back he felt as ai if something had stabbed dabbed through him pinning him rigid no he shook his head of give me time I 1 thought be married 11 1 1 I 1 know amow 1 I her votes voice came up to him quietly r vwe we forgot one air strong thing about clay me hla pride prid we both did A rail rag fence r ran along the tracks right of way she lean leaned d against it theres so much to tell Is steve all right yes heasil he laid asid im keeping him out of town you I 1 know all about isnow it now she pulled the little hat hal off and held it it looking down at it in her hand you remember there then was an open A rider wounded in the hospital with clay and ed I 1 nursed them all the best ifould I 1 could her voice dropped he H died but id made things thing easy tot toi him and when he found I 1 was wag steves sister he told me steve klu kill sheriff rayburn klayburn that thai man did the doctor wrote a confession for him and witnessed it ive got ethere it here P r y out of the dark the calls calla and sounds of night ufa life rase rose and died away she seemed to listen in the silence again she said laid A girl cant marry a man who wont have her can she that was wa it clay knew what had happened he could have gone on with halt half oi of me and it was nil his pride but more than that I 1 think there were a lot of fine things in clay after all there were 1 he be said 11 1 I know that now she biz bad been looking off past him she brought her eyes up with a smile growing in them and her lips turned soft do you see I 1 hate bay a new suit I 1 bought it in omaha I 1 thought it would be nice to wear before we went on before they went on in those words all of the future opened ahead of him the little trail that was left to wyoming and all of of the years yearn they would have you H wear it hebald he said sald tomorrow and brought her close in his hard arms arm a A wild fit fire a was rising in him burning clean away a loneliness he would never know again THE END |