Show L AM macleod vice installment NINETEEN lim 2 80 farl FAR ellen carry carey ipema aern q interested in two men jeff brand rustler stier and calhoun terry ranchman xer four rustlers rusteen had acen mysteriously nu ay killed kil the ibe big ra ran achen cheis much ailred red ac over r tor terry ys protest hired an army of the voice was that of lee hart tie he bowlegged forward and pulled aj up p abruptly as he recognized the two dvo ranchmen ranchman ranch men his gaze slid to yancey accy they could see understanding of the s situation filter into his eyes ile he op opened P ned his mouth to shout and was a fraction of a second too late terry had plunged forward his right lashing at the mans law jaw hart wont went down and terry was on cimins him instantly tan aly his fingers closing on his halry hairy throat to prevent an alarm calhoun dragged the heavy body into the aspens ashens give me your bandanna he pd id to yancey and with it gagged 1 he ie prisoner the rope from the saddle he used to tie the man the ano moon n iame came out tor for a moment then went behind a cloud y yancey was boosted saddle and terry swung up behind him CHAPTER ellen found it impossible to sleep after tossing in bed for or two or three hours she got up dressed and went down into the hotel lobby roan alford passed th through rough it on his way from the bar to the street the gray haired little mans beady eyes fastened on the girl what you doing up this time of 0 night miss ellen he asked 1 I cant rest mr alford im worried about father I 1 want to go back to the ranch where ill ID be nearer him it anything happens alford agreed to ride with her As they rode up through the darkness to the ranch house roan caught at the rein of ellens horse and willed it to a hale halt a walt wait a minute theres someone ne thereon there on the porch already ellens gaze had picked up two horses at the side of the building vague and shadowy in the gloom the object on the porch stir stirred r ed it was a man or was it two men who is it alford called calhoun terry the answer came A pulse began to beat in the girls throat Is that father with you she asked terry rose from where he had been kneeling no your father is all right miss carey this is a wounded man He slipped out of the Wagon wheel gp gap ranch with a message and they wounded him as was trying to get through the es i the T he Wagon Wagn wheel gap she repeated yes ellisonsr Elli sons men are surrounded there they want a telegram sent to the governor has there been a battle not yet the settlers are besieging the invaders who are pretty well forted up im afraid there will be it heavy loss of life it the troops dont stop it where is father he Is with bill herriotts Herr lotts men we offered to mediate but they let us ellen looked down at the man on the poor floor Is he badly hurt she asked shot in the leg could you take him in here until I 1 can arrange to have him m moved oved of course course 1 I hate to trouble you maam ma am 11 yancey said dont worry about that she told him the men carried him upstairs and put him to bed they dressed the wound as best they could after which ellen joined calhoun on the porch ill rope one ol of your horses if you dont mind he message said to her er U cavito have to get this message os of to ae Go governor vornor she nok ok instant alarm yours not joing back to round bound top no ill send end the telegram from jim creek it would probably be held up I 1 I 1 if I 1 tried to get it off from roundtop round top willylu will Wil lyou you send a wire to doctor harris and ask him to come up and look after our patient here yes hell fiell probably be needed at the Wagon wheel gap ranch too on the way the there re he can sto stop phere here ellen walked down with him to the corral roan alford was taking care of the wounded w man and tor for the time she could be spared she moved with a aln alne animal vigor shoulders and hips in a straight line vertically calhoun noted the rayth fiill ic grace of the slender figure he d never ever met another woman woma n like ver er iq sq fine and gallant and animated with life there strummed strummer strum med in his hils blo blondi odi strong desire for her tor for the dark beauty tempers tempered I 1 as a toledo blade for 10 r the sweetness and the courage that she carried like a banner there would be gifts in her eyes eyester ey estor for djoi some e lucky man but they would not be tor for him la larry ry richards and I 1 are buying a slice of the diamond reverse B he told her ive been thinking we might have a place tor for jeff brand whop tie he gets able to work she hashed flashed a aquiak look achim at him surprised do you think that would texas ex peace officers officer to invade the countryside count rylda and klu kin without trial all suspected rustlers ers by mistake terry and his foreman larry are attacked by the invaders vadon In jen jeff thinking 9 them millers comes comei to to help them 1 Is wounded suit jeff she asked hes to SO restless I 1 wonder it if he would be content hell have to settle down sometime wont he calhoun said 1 I dont know hes so wild she went on almost as VL she were talking to herself it would be terrible for or a girl to be married to him with a husband as reckless and unstable as he Is no woman would be able to keep step lie he would bring her great and lasting unhappiness though very likely she would keep loving him till the end calhoun pulled up in his stride 1 I thought you were going to marry him did you think I 1 would marry a rustler she reproved gently do you mean that youre not in love with him he asked looking directly at her she laughed a little tremulously where did you get that ridiculous notion he stared at her a heat beating bealing through his body then youre not in love with him or with any other man she said in a low voice we arent talking about any other man are we some hint ot of her deep emotion reached clr him A swift hope blazed up in him he had thought never to tell her what was in his heart but now he flung away restraint he said 1 I be the man but his voice asked for a denial when she did not reply he pressed home his question euen ellen looked up her face ace a soft and shining answer riding through the night to td send the message to the governor calhoun was filled with a sense ot of the nearness s of the girl whose warm body he bad held in his bis arms the lift of th the hour was still on him with the extravagance of a lover he was sure that no man since adam had ever had a sweetheart comparable to his he loved every everything thi ng about her the parted lips and shining eyes the flowing grace of movement the turn of the lovely head his ecstasy amazed him he had counted himself a hard man cynical not given to sentiment yet a girl with a windblown wind blown skirt had crossed his path and changed the world for him he thought with a r smile mile of the verse of the hymn he had once quoted to her though every prospect pleases and only man is vile he was ready to revise his opinion about that too jeff brand dave M morgan organ sheriff hart tough hard men all of the them in but with a light shining in their hearts that separated them a million miles from v vileness CHAPTER that the soldiers reached wagon wheel gap ranch hanch just in time to save the invaders Is written in the history of Catt leland ellison and his men surrendered to the commanding 9 officer of the troops stationed tion d at fort garfield to sheriff hart and to the best of 0 the attacking settlers the sound of the bugle sent out by ay the approaching troops had been almost as welcome as to the beleaguer ed party collins strutted out of the ranch house undaunted by the yells and A rescue party takes take jeff to town for or medical treatment and terry and tarry larry are arrested by pe sheriff for or safekeeping kepl ng jeff pacifies mob inch cal tree free do decint ant know ellen loves him not jeff but he be la in soon loon to loarn curses flung at him and his asso dates clates he stood on the porch and waited for a chance to speak and when the angry shouts died down flung back defiance at the enemy to call me a murderer make me one he said no more disturbed than if he had been sitting with cronies at the cheyenne club were honest men fighting for our rights some of us have been here since the indian days every cattleman among us has helped build up this thid territory and has been a good citizen I 1 can call out the names of a dozen thieves I 1 see mong among you scoundrels who came her here without a cent and have obtained herds at our expense every hoot hoof of them stolen from some of us he waited till the roar of rage had spent itself then went on hardily id do ao lust just what I 1 have done again the time has come when either honest men or the thieves have to get out and by godl god I 1 stand tor for hanging every rustler I 1 can find until the law will punish them by putting them behind bars we are not fighting small settlers but thieves it if I 1 have to go to prison for what I 1 have done ra ill still say I 1 did right in trying to rid this country of outlaws neither collins nor any of the other invaders went to the penitentiary their trials were postponed tor for many months witnesses vanished the intensity of 0 the feeling against the cattlemen declined moreover the cost of the trials was so great that there was likelihood of county bankruptcy in the end the indictments were dismissed but it was plain that the big ranches were doomed one after another they followed the example of the diamond reverse B and went out of business with the iacre increase a a in hi the num number berof of small cattlemen the chances tor for undetected rustling grew fewer most of the thieves were known and one by one they bitted to montana or idaho or mexico jeff brand joined a cattle outfit in the argentine at long intervals his friends heard of him he came cam back to the states to enlist for th the spanish amerlan american war A bullet took him in the throat as he be was going up san juan hul hill in the reorganization of the cattle country after the breakup break up of the big ranches calhoun terry took an important part he was recognized as i a strong man and as the years passed his influence became more than local there came a time when he had to go to washington to represent his people he was never quite happy there tor for he was no politician and he was glad when his hia term of office expired so was ellen it seemed to her that a city was no place to bring up a large larg family of boys and girls and sh she gave a deep sigh of relief when they were all home again in the west she loved her father was an old man by that time and she knew it made him happier to be near them in private sometimes her husband tells ellen that r she he is still lovelier than the slim dark eyed daughters who trouble the hearts of the young men of the neighborhood she smiles wisely and is content for she knows that both calhoun and she have had a happy life in spite of the occasional storms that have beat up to trouble them THE END |