Show it A NG N 6 4 G by EUGENE eugan E ca cunningmam CONNING N N I 1 N 6 HAM MAM LIE EUGENE cunningham RELEASE ea DIA biffi TUB THE 90 0 FAR con COB cameron afu ar 1 ashod as ai a robber and murderer when hau he be tide rides alone into the town of tive someone had bid seen icen him on an the ariu with three fugitives lee welsh and the two bidlen Bin len they weft Just casual acquaintance con picked up dp la in afton teras terai but circumstantial evidence li Is against him the no nevil lowe lewe apparently does not know that con li Is the cowboy who saved ahli ule a few days day etore before in wua horse bone when lowe le w a wai wa nearly killed la ilk a quarrel with As ai a a brock r ock dynamite down downa 3 marshal of wild horse bone and a 4 deputy pu y called el mn chacho 11 now alea ai to a suspect con tens ten lowe to wire wild horse hone and have bit old trail boss boil buzz buzi or nil his pal caramba vear identity identify him bla lowe doe daei 0 BO o but neither Upper raan a nor vea tear can n be I 1 located cel ted so go con and another pris prisoner 01 er I 1 jeff 1 ir aumon allmon know air only chance li 1 to escape they have just succeeded la in drop dropping pLug to the ground from a window in the supply room now continue no w th h etory tory CHAPTER VI flat upon their bellies in the ditch the two waited jeff whispered to con that his horse was in the corral behind the jail he had bad heard nevil lowe order it brought there sot sos mine corral gates locked sos so the saddle shed door our in a locked case in lowes office clouds blanketed the sky eky but occasionally casio nally the moon showed for a minute or two in such an interval ot of pale light they saw a dark group hallway halfway between courthouse and cot ton woods coming their way accompanied compa nied by furious snarling the group moved nearer ditch and cot ton woods on the edge ot of the ditch above jeff and con some of the men halted moonlight showed the grim business thirty yards from con and jeff the dim shapes of horses under the giant trees movement of the men beside them two men came at the trot from somewhere behind the building con stiffened automatically V A over one ot of the men panted ewe find them fellows downtown halt over jeff grunted I 1 we seen een enough the pair broke into a run and jeff indicated a door standing open giving upon a dark room he led the way inside and con heard him tumbling then the click that was beginning to be familiar of a lock yielding come ont jeff comm commanded pick your hard hardware warel 1 they moved fast and surely to loop their horses and saddle very quietly they walked the horses away and past the farthest house of civan then at the mile covering hard trot jeff led the themay way into the rough north at dawn jeff looked familiarly around and called it more than wenty twenty miles to civan about awen ty five house ahead a IM ways across that hogback the ille mans all right friend of dud Par amores we can eat there rest too if youre galled an hour later they came to a squat adobe house on a hillside chickens pigs a couple ol of gaunt gauff and savage hounds moved about the yard under a ramada an open sided brush roofed shelter sh eltera 11 good horse dozed in the doorway two fat and solemn youngsters stood with thumbs in mouths black eyes wide A big mexican appeared behind them his right hand con observed was not in view but when jeff gave dud Par amores name he grinned come binl he be said the house Is your house while they ate beet beef and beans served by his smiling wife he talked to jeff con understood most of the words but the pace was too fast tor for him bun jeff translated swiftly dud and his bunch had bad a fight three days ago at the heart ranch posse from To holed ern em up there perez here he was with dud dud killed one of lem em peeler named cree from the slash 0 he 1 1 always passed tor for a friend of duds and quill hogan that rides with dud they sprawled and drowsed while perez rode off to see if anyone sight on their trail con heard the rest of the story of Par amores fight at the heart crees killing had bad apparently shaken the and the Par amores had got away perez came back before noon graining gri ining jIning he had seen a dozen men riding across the flats below the foothills evidently looking for a trail put but they had gone past the little trail that led here con listened to perez giving detailed directions to jeff so when they rode away from the house leaving some of cons silver with the woman and the children he had as good idea as jeff of their trail memory came of the grave concerned face of janet lowe as she tried to lookyat look at him without being observed and the he had ridden into civan so gally gaily sure that he would be a friend of the lowes as soon as he met several times he had noticed her study ot of him as it if wondering how so much viciousness a as h he in the rol role of comanche wa was charged with could be masked marked by the face he wore they rode deeper into the lobos along a narrow valley and made camp at a 8 pring of which perez had told jeff ts s they smoked after fy i A 0 IX aj Z K jeff talked ramblingly of past present mil future eating the food perez had given them jeff talked ramblingly always cheerfully ot of past and present and possible future listening con added touches to the picture already formed of his odd lawless cowboy and wondered they rode out of the valley next morning across a ridge and toward adward another spur of the lobos on a dim cross trail three mexicans traveled with a train of burros lightly burdened they had been to To to sell mesquite roots and were going home still fifteen miles distant con rode on but jeff stayed talking when he came at thi to rejoin con he wash was roaring with amusement carrying his big hat which jingled as he shook it fourteen dollar sl he gasped was they took back when I 1 put old colonel colt to gaping at deml I 1 left lem em a dollar apiece sos they can buy drinks and forget trouble walt wait a minute e 1 1 con cried you mean you r robbed 0 abbed those poor hardworking hard working devils let ern em grub some more mesquite jeff said cheerfully its good healthy work this aint much but evry every dollar of its round and will roll ne mind how you get it it if you get it con looked at the mexicans fifty yards away one sat upon the ground with heads in hands the very image of utter despair jeff was serenely dividing the silver he recalled what martino palafox had said of him that it if he were crossed he be was dangerous he thought he had be best t try persuasion first this is certainly going to make you out thi the new jesse james to duds forty five calibre crowd he drawled dudu ask you what y youve auve been doing say why we just stuck up three great big fierce mesquite grubbers grub bers and looky what we got fourteen real dollars I 1 he shook his bis head bead as jeff stared uncertainly kneed pancho over and took the hat pancho jumped into the gallop and the mexicans looked up as he charged down at them no bengo mucho Esp espanol anoll 11 he said smiling at them 1 I dont have much spanish but my friend make joke with this money herel here you take good now the man who was still holding his head hopelessly looked up incredulously then he ran to cons stir rup nip waving his hands and fairly spluttering splutter ing A younger mexican grinned at con ile he s say y got s sick ick wife gt got h hunger un ger very much need hard work money this bad it if other man take one kill him now muy bledl he good friend for you you make help sometime they were still shouting thanks and goodbyes and waving when he and jeff rode over the next ridge con looked expectantly at his companion but jeff seemed to have forgotten the matter but when con began practice of the quick draw he watched critically por for alost jeff said at last sl youre plenty smooth aej and speedy how come you never lapped leather with quirk ellis or them marshals in wild horse scared to con told him sol emaly they might be faster then where would I 1 be no I 1 got the slightest itch to be a gunfighter or collect notches but in a hardcase hard case iou country im going to be able to hold bold my own when I 1 was no more than th knee high to a short winchester I 1 knew where my uncle kept his bis dogleg I 1 used to sneak it out and practice but he caught me when cheni I 1 wai was about seventeen and he sho showed wed me a handful of things ways of cutting splits of seconds off the draw he e been hell bell on wheels before he se settled t aled down they came in early afternoon to a log cabin anthe on the bank of a swift shallow creek where five men played cards at the door A lanky yellow haired cowboy on the log doorstep grinned at them the others turned to look them over con understood that their coming had been expected close squeak you had the lanky cowboy said as to old acquaintances bet you heard hell bell gates a flapping when the strang stranglers lars dragged out that illegitimate fant and the rest and ancl just missed you all it was too close jeff admitted swinging off and when you got clear you knowel there was just one safe place for or you all with the only bunch that johnny laws aint 9 going to bother dud paramore went on he had a high almost singsong drawl and his mechanical grin matched jeff allamons AU All mons so you come hunting bunting me huh you certainly got em eating out of your paw dud jeff told him admiringly 1 I been telling con here about your outfit and how it was the only one to ride the territory irs ry w with ith so I 1 pulled out of fron teras AU all tight right tor for us to come here berei what you mean Is all ah right tor for you all to stay dud corrected him been all right to come you all would be biting daisies balsle down the line right naw now 1 dud gestured toward the other men most of 0 the main bunch big yager that helped me rub rob outtie out the sheriff and clerk at To the huge stolid cowboy indicated grinned and jerked a thumb toward a slender mexican whose short chinned bi nned flat nosed face and beady e eyes y es gave him a reptilian look 1 I reckon it was me and you poured the buckshot to em D dud u d hi he said in slow husky voice but BU t snaky gonzales that run 0 out U t from fram behind the wall after we dropped lem em to see what kind of fees been collecting I 1 still think he held out on us hey snaky G gonzales snarled then something a bout about cons expression seemed to infuriate him he came to his bis feet with a wriggle hand dropping to the pearl hilt of a dagger on his belt mabbe you dont like hah he be cried you look by me and make face nose turn up hah me I 1 dont like your look mabbe I 1 give you something nice knife by your neck hah ali ah cons all righta jeff said hastily with a quick side glance at the grinning dud who was looking from man to man its just a way hes got of looking at everybody he aint turning up his nose at nobody keep out jeff dud drawled every man kills his bis own snakes in the paramore bunch it if con a aint nt main man enough to hold his bis own hell bell with himl him kill him cont jeff snapped no fooling with fists gonzales darted in eat cat quick shifted feet so that hi he swerved right then left stooped with the dagger held against his bis shirt point out con had bad only lifted on his toes he twisted even faster than the knifeman had done to hook book a terrific right to gonzales unprotected jaw just below the ear gonzales feet snapped from the ground he seemed to hang bodily from cons fist tor for the traction fraction of a second then dropped sideways to the pine needles and sprawled motionless ti con took one step forward and stamped upon the thin blade of the dagger dud paramore continued to grin mechanically then big yager slapped his leg reso resoundingly and whooped snaky forgot to ask con could he be please cut his heart cutill cut he cried and duds grin widened slightly gonzales moved jerkily groaning con slid a hand band to his colt and watched coldly the mexican pu pushed shed himself up to sitting position and blinked stupidly around suddenly he scrambled up with loud slap of hand on empty scabbard gonzalezl Gonza lesl con called sharply maral looka cooki it would have been more easy to kill you than to knock you down but I 1 let you live that thal time it if you look at me again and touch knife or gun he half drew the pistol from his holster and dud Para Par amores singsong drawl cut in no masl no morel paramore announced well hit san marcos tonight big ballo baile there lots of liquor lots of pretty gals to dance around paramore bunch owns marcos hes what I 1 said jeff muttered P plain lain hell bell on wheels wheel sl TO BE CONTINUED |