Show M U 4 jre MACLEOD ami RAINE ervice THE STORY SO 60 FARI FAR ellen carey the ae postmaster daughter seems inter in I 1 two w a men jeff drand brand a rustler rustier and calhoun 0 u 1 2 terry manager ol of a big R recently e c e antly four our rustlers had bad b been een killed mysteriously terry called jeff V CHAPTER it was a special train consisting of t two wo day coaches and three box cars they were a rough looking lot these texans some were bearded and a good many of the others wore long drooping mustaches seasoned man hunters they were cool tough specimens who had ridden hard and far into the brush after the men on the dodge wanted by the law at jim creek the engineer ran the J train onto a siding sunday brown gassed assed through the cars waking up is ifs men and shouting all out AU all out sleepily the texans came to life they gathered up their baggage and their weapons then filed down the aisle and dropped from the steps of the coach eight or ten men in chaps awaited them there they were cattlemen and foremen of various outfits others would loin join them as the invaders moved deeper into the territory they meant to comb sunday brown was a big broad shouldered man moving on toward fifty he stood six foot in his shoes and weighed two hundred pounds of solid bone gristle and muscle his weather beaten face was hard and yet wary clint ellison and john mcfaddin McFadd ln led the cavalcade they were familiar wit with ll 11 the terrain which was part of the country covered by their spring and fall fail roundups the party followed a winding narrow road through the sage to a ford on n the north fork A coyote ere crept pt its I 1 Is furtive way through the brush on ithe the side of a hill the riders caught I 1 D S glimpse of startled cattle branded iab the reverse B brand reminded of calhoun terry by the brand clint ellison made bitter comment to his companion were risking our lives for that turncoat as much as tor for our own stuff ile he sits tight and says he wont have any part in this but his outfit shares the profits with us ellisonsr Elli sons gray face was set obstinately stina tely the trouble with him Is that he has too many friends among the rustlers he used to be one of iha that t crowd no sir denied mcfaddin McFadd ln promptly he came of good clean stock his father barton terry was a fine citizen cal is all right for that matter plenty of the small cattlemen are square shooters 1 clint they dont like rustlers any gf bore more thanie than we do im disappointed awin ln cal but the way hi he is made he added after a moment by the way who is the bird who bumped off buck hart and his bis friends the no by joe manager took his time to answer you paid your share john and I 1 reckon you have a right to know he said at last the fellows name is jack turley do you know him ive met him all vont I 1 dont want to know him any better im expecting him to meet us somewhere in box canyon before we get to johnsons prong turley has been thick with the rustlers tor for some time he knows where they roost and he is to guide us to them they passed the spot where tetlow has been ambushed and rode up the draw leading to box canyon we separate here he said the wagons cant go up the canyon of course fol follow lowthe the road past renauds Rena homestead it if anybody makes inquiries you are hauling supplies to the becker coal mines dont get excited the tarps carps cover the wagons and nobody will suspect anything unusual well meet tonight at packers fork the rest of us have some cleanup clean up jobs to do today were going up the gulch and when we reach the prong are cutt cutting ng across the hills it if anybody sees us they have to be stopped no matter whether they are honest settlers or thieves thieve s in case ay apy try to run shoot down their horses be careful not to hit them we could easily make a serious mistake by getting the wrong men we are hunting certain individuals known to us it has to be made evident by js is that decent citizens have nothing to tear fear to tg that clear there was a murmur of assent he led the way through the aspen grove and up the steep crooked trall trail beyond it brought them to a long iong spur at the upper end of the gorge ran out from johnsons prong here gaines collins and several other ither stockmen stoc kmen joined the party the leaders consulted together 0 they decided it would be better to wait tor for turley CHAPTER As jeff brand rode back into the hills his mind brooded blooded over the suggestion let fall all by ellen he never had liked turley jeff tried to think back to the times kimes when the killings were done he was sure that turley had not been with him at any of the periods when the assassinations must have taken place little things begun began to fit et together jack owned a 45 70 winchester the weapon used by the he killer hiller that in itself was installment E LEVEN ELEVEN ind and carey to investigate the lie last lait one lee hart brother of one of the victims li is also believed lell eved to have taken a shot st terry jeff shows ellen the note left by the killer and the she thinks it is if jack tur leys writing the big bl ranchers bring in att nothing brand could name a dozen men who had one it only showed he had the weapon handy turley had a habit of occasional absence the boys had joshed him about it hinting at an unknown woman when jeff rode up to the cabin on turleys curleys Tur leys claim he found two other men there with the homesteader one was dave morgan and the other BIU bill herriott Herr lott new nei bill asked after the first greetings jeff dropped the bridle reins to the ground A heap of things he drawled be surprised first oil off the diamond reverse B Is qu quit it tin business sem out lock stock and barrel who to herriott Herr lott inquired to tom dick and harry the big boss is on from boston or some where he was at the box 65 55 with terry and he told the careys carels they was cutting it up into small tracts to be offered for foi sale 1 brand then spilled his next piece of news this guy from boston had a copy of the denver republican with him there was a piece in it about a big bunch of texas warriors all garnished with guns ready to take off op 41 t 0 Y ZO new bill BIH asked af after ter the first greetings to clean out rustlers clint ellison was seen with them jens jeffs eyes had not lifted from turley as he told this bit of news you think they are headin this way morgan asked 1 I know do yore own figurin brands hard shallow eyes still held fast to turley what would you say jack turley was disturbed by the steadiness of that regard why I 1 know jeff chances are theres nothing to it it sound reasonable but maybe im wrong your idea 1 I made up my mind tor for sure thought id wait till I 1 heard from you from me turleys curleys Tur leys startled face showed more than astonishment why how bow would I 1 know 1 I expect you know a lot we dont jack jeff answered his voice ominously gentle he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to berrlott Herr lott take a look at that bill and pass it on to dave it was found pinned on black yeagers Ye agers coat the gent who killed him left a sample of his handwriting I 1 dont reckon you recognize it herriott Herr lott frowned down at the paper shook his head bead and passed it to morgan morgan said cant prove a thing by me and passed the slip to turley As turley looked at it a pallor spread over hs swarthy face 1 I dont know who wrote it he mumbled and looked at brand despair in his eyes 1 I do jeffs voice rang out crisp and hard weve found the killer boys hes standing there with the paper in his hand that be left on yeagers Ye agers coat i no nol its not true turley gulped down his terror to fight back watching the trapped mans fear filled face morgan realized that jeff had aund found the guilty man better talk turley he advised ominously talk fast if you dont want us to believe jeff while he is talking you and bill search the cabin dave you might find money A lot of it hes been playing poor lets get wise about that from a chalk dry throat turley offered an explanation my folks sent rne me some money boys the two 0 men walked into the cabin and began rummaging among its contents in a straw tick they found a rip through which their exploring hands brought a canvas sack in the sack were four our packages of greenbacks green backs a lot of texas ox ex peace officers to round up rustlers and nil kill them terry objects lie ile gets the owner ot of his bli ranch to offer its id sale ale in small parcels parcel to small ranchers ran cheri la in his opinion we day ol of the absentee owner li Is past pait must be nearly two thousand dollars here herriott Herr lott said five hundred apiece jeffs voice was cold as a mountain astrea stream m fresh from a glacier they pay fine dont they turley youve got it wrong jeff the killer croaked hoarsely 1 I do that to boys I 1 had bunked with dont you know I 1 come clean morgan snarled who hired you nobody that money came from my folks like I 1 said boys I 1 been your friend you his voice died away iri in a quaver youre bucked out jeff said evenly youre going on a long jong journey starting right damn now the man looked round from one to another his glance slid back to jeff thing to do is talk this over turley began and stuck there was no mercy in these implacable eyes you give buck or black 0 or r the other boys a show tor for their white alleys jeff told him you dont deserve one either but im giving you one bill and dave jk will keep p out of this till im through it will U be one of us at a time dont keep me waiting you the guns came out together the roar of them was almost simultaneous ous but not quite jeff was the quicker by a fraction of a second turley spun round from the shock odthe of the bullet clutched at his heart and pitched forward full length after a silence morgan set said ll 11 that tha t w will in be all for mr turley wh what at wa will 11 we do with this blood money asked herriot jim tetlow left a wife and three children brand said take it up fisher creek to her bill when you head tor for home part of it is the price of her husbands death the other boys married it will come in handy to teed feed the kids jeff thrust the revolver back int into 0 its holster 1 I noticed some flying V C horses down the trail a way as I 1 came up well rope one tie the body on it and send it home with this carrion on its back finel fine morgan ripped out a malevolent oath telling them their killer has come back to report bill herriott Herr lott left lef t tor for fisher creek on ibis his errand to mrs tetlow the other two rounded up the bunch of flying V C horses roped one and brought it ba back ck to the cabin they found a cross buck pack saddle in the barn and cinched cincher it to the animal the body was made secure to the cross buck by a lash rope interlaced ter laced about the load jeff threw the diamond hitch expertly so as to absorb any slackness that might arise meanwhile morgan penciled a note they had to drive the packhorse many miles to be sure it would reach its destination on sage hen flats they met a cowboy hested in the saddle his weight on one foot and on the thigh of the other leg where you headin tor for he asked just mave around jeff told him know anything new not a thing little while ago I 1 saw john mcfaddin they crossed the tableland into a hilly country where they gradually wound down toward johnsons prong when at last they came suddenly on three horsemen at the toot foot of the draw brand nott noticed ced instantly that they were strangers swiftly he said to his companion dont start anything the strangers were watching them their horses motionless some freight tor ford mcfaddin and colllns collins jeff called seen sm cm after a pause one of the men said yes fine turn it over to them be seeing you later jeff wheeled and led the way round the bend then went to a canter someone shouted to them to stop but they kept going they heard the pounding of hoofs behind them just before they disappeared over another hill a rider showed at the head ot of the draw he shouted again then fired too hurriedly for accuracy this way morgan called to his companion and slid into a hollow bw tween two rises the country was a huddle of hills and inside of a few minutes their pursuers had completely lost them who were those fellows morgan asked mighty quick to burn powder ill say that yes with few questions asked must be warriors of some ot of the big outfits yes but not cowboys brands rands 3 eyes were shining with excitement part of this army the republics republican was tellin about morgan pulled up his bis mount heill it might be that away wed better find and out tor for sure and if its so get word to the boys just what im thinking dave lets scout around and find out how big a bunch ot of them there are they talked it over together then made a wide circle to strike john soni sons prong from the 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