Show ED R 1 naw by EUGENE CUNNINGHA cunningmam 1119 cunningham N U IkEL CASE THE 80 faiet FAB con cameron forced to oln dud dad Para Paral nores band of outlaws oat law to save lave ids hit life li Is again ila oo on th the ide ol 01 f the law wh fyhen e n he be was wai arrested at tiva ilvan as a a inspected pecked murde murderer reland and robber he be had no choice but bat to caps or b be h banged e d a ai C Coin 0 m anthe n t U linn n n tn in vita oft ol 01 the R act e e that thi I 1 h he e 0 onca n c a baa ved e d t the ho life ol 01 the marsha manbas 1 N neall evil lowe lore lowe lone bid bad apparently patently ly forgotten that hat so con broke out at ot of jau jall with jeff allmon and joined paramore out but when w on he be helped janet 1 lowe the in arshall nan ars bali hals if biliter ter escape when dud dad attempted attempted to kidnap her jeff w warn warned ei him that he most ag aiala s in rid ride for or oil his ue he learned that dud dad planned to rob fob the th bank at livan there I 1 Is open op en war between en th them e m and con saw law his big chance to top p paramore in I 1 the ion gun glit at the bank he shot down some lome ol of andi dud companions certain that dud hicale escaped ei con li is alter after him N now ow 00 ti no a with the story CHAPTER X I 1 t three or tour four miles covered at the lope showed con nothing either before or behind then he be topped a slight rise and jerked in short with sight light of a horse standing not fifty yards away and the dark figure of a man lying on the ground close to it he rode scowl slowly y down the slope booking looking past the man for sign of an ambush but there was none the man made a moaning sound but did not move con swung alertly down still till covering the still figure we walked aked in a narrow circle until he be could see the face ace then stooped quickly over jeff allmon jeffs gray shirt was soaked with blood jeff jeffa con called him shak oy fly what happened man you did you get hit at the bank but jeff made no answer until con had got the flask bask of garcias whisky from his bis alforja and forced the pain set teeth apart to let liquor run into his mouth then he gagged and mumbled but opened his eyes D dud u d shot met mel he be muttered hor horse s e went lame wanted mine I 1 kicked and andee he shot me he swallowed more of the whisky and looked intelligently at con even managed ana ge d a twisted grin r this la is ill W he said 1 I rode with wrong crowd whole life reason I 1 rode way I 1 done don e I 1 I 1 liked it better but you pegge pegged d dud plumb right dirty dog 1 he was quiet breathing painfully seeming not to hear bear cons questions then he said whole worlds world s gone axce excepting epting your face its going too P when he was sure that jeff was je dead ad con stood to listen for sound of the posse which he be was sure would quickly ride butof out of civan in this direction but it had not come so eo quickly as he had bad been able to ride he had a little time I 1 por dlos he said triumphantly V you can tell the tha tale blow up the dud paramore yarn tor for the whole territory k from an alforja he be jerked a piece of brown wrapping paper the soft nose of a lead bullet made a pencil of sorts the seat of his saddle a desk the note was brief dud scared of posse shot me tor for my horse his lamed comanche was one stopped us at bank shooting at us note and cartridge he put artfully beneath jeff where the wind could not twitch the paper away then he rode ahead on the road to the lobos tor for a little way when he camped at last he was well to the north that he be was not likely to be tracked rain waked him well before dawn a steady drizzle that promised to last when he sat up with the blanket around him he be looked at the leaden sky and grinned whoever rode yesterdays trail today would have his work for or nothing he got the slicker from aiom behind his bis saddle and put it on smoked a cigarette and tried to answer the question he had asked the night before where to ride presently he turned and faced the rim of the arroyo in which be had sheltered A man flickered like himself sat at comfortably upon a k boulder w with ith carbine on his lap the carbine was pointing steadily at con in a husky voice the man said and they call it a big fierce outlaw shucks Shuck sl con watched stiffly but hi his 3 carbine was two yards away and the slicker covered his bis pistol might as well come on down and have breakfast con lot told d him calmly that Is it if one tortilla tough as ai leather by now and about two square inches of cold beell beeH do ayi ought to down you first then eat but no use rubbing you out till youve saddled up save me ine the trouble he stood pushing back his hat bat and stretching retching tt caramba vearl con yelled caramba slid over the arroyo edge and for a moment they pound ed each other enthusiastically then caramba shook his bis head and shoved con away so that he could look him up and down if you aint the damned estl nicest ul pilgrim ever I 1 showed the difference between a cow and a critter con looked curiously at his bis friend how H ow come you found me its too big an accident to be an accident but still I 1 dont sei see accident your aunts black eats cats long curly tail boyl I 1 got all the pieces but I 1 dont fit lem em together just right howd it happen you A 0 0 v 11 I 1 V 01 0 jig 0 il N 11 0 hii the carbine was pointing steadily at con got to be old cole younger over here not herel here I 1 let me saddle and we well H hit out tor for cover but as he moved quickly surely to break camp he told briefly of his adventures when caramba got his own horse and they rode vaguely south and east he be finished the account well if you never belli caramba cried at the lend end and you can see how this nevil lowe figured me or you wed thought the same in his boots well v so im comanche linni and w when hen im con cameron just a n new w goby go by for or comanche you cantrice can nt tride ride with met mel you have got to ride off before somebody sees us stil my child caramba drawled it aint becoming to you telling wise old folks like me what they cant do hitting me to in the map last night like you done in TP tl van huh con cried you mean that was you I 1 laid out con had not realized how lonely he had bad been until loneliness was over time after time on the long slow ride from rom apostles arroyo to wild horse he had seen caramba tested by every standard the texas cowboy was a man and a brother when they rode on southward the next day caramba looked thoughtfully gravely at con he shook his bis head bead boyl boy you certainly have api upi he drawled this country kind of belongs to you huh you gould could go a long way around the territory I 1 bet you and find friends I 1 reckon were kind ot of sate safe to hit tor for this village ot of huh safe as most places con said shrugging righta now listen to me nobody in the territory knows me or has got a thing against me anywhere I 1 go im looked at as just plain cowboy now if you ride with me and I 1 say youre twenty johnson like you told em on los alamos why chances are dyll claim different if somebody thinks twenty johnson and comanche linncon linn con cameron look alike well plenty men look like plenty other men you think that linn can just disappear and twenty johnson can pop up con de demanded incredulously With Nevil lowe and and janet lowe and some others knowing me 1 surround me a speck if he anyway look at what youre bucking right now every blodys thinking about paramore and you whichever way you was to head bead out likely run into folks looking for or you but if you uck stick right here on los alamos alamo or this busted wheel till the noise dies down they aint going to be looking tor for you here if I 1 thought I 1 could do it con said slowly les tryl we aint likely to lose a thing rnoden wed be losing any howl bowl Wh when enthey they came quietly into the little cowtown of on the bra bravo va late that afternoon con had bad not yet made his de decision alsto it but there was much of sound tense sense he thought to carambas suggestion lug nobody seemed more than casually interested in two more cowboys when they left the horses behind a cantina in and drifted in to the long bar they had a drink and bought one tor for the bartender a squatty nervous nan man with restless eyes then he be bought one for them and asked if they had heard of the try atT ivan bank he began to teu tell of it without waiting for or reply dud lost three that crack the bartender said catfish coyle and a big fellow ellow that went by dandy and jeff allmon that rode for or a white while with quirk ellis bunch up around fronteras dandy seems like got his legs shot out from under him and everybody around elvans Tl Ti vans claiming he downed dandy when he tried to get away catfish he be was just a crazy cowboy that worked all over got shot by bain the deputy at the bank door dud killed poor jeff allmon to take his horse jeff lived long enough to write about it and I 1 tell youl you dud would have trouble a drink of hot water in hell way everybody feels about him ile he was puzzling the rest of that note found on jeff why he wondered aloud should this strange bus cadero comanche linn interfere in duds plan two men down the bar joined the talk they thought that it was jealousy on Co manchet manches part while they talked and con and ca listened as two drifting cowboys should have listened a heavy shouldered dired young towhead with scarred face came in slash the bartender muttered plumb poison I 1 out of fronteras slashes au all swoll up right now account some of them tough busted wheelers is in town and they aint paying him the attention other folks does the bartender went on watching from rom an eye corner huhl that outfit from rom old topeka tenison on down they dont give a hoot about nobody much they ah ahl ah comes gale boreel hes wagon b boss oss on the wheel texas man and watch himl him he sees slash but acts me like he doltl con thought that the tall weathered man of middle age coming into the cantina cant lna would have been one to mark in any cow country company there was nothing unusual about his battered and dusty black stetson his bis old vest hanging his faded overalls and rusty i boots to attract attention but there was something about all of him together that fairly shouted here is a mani man when he came abre a ox weld tie ha stopped to turri his head and stare as if he had never seen him ov on anything me like him in his life he shook his bis head bead and pushed back his hat and rubbed his chin 1 I swear he said generally to the room in soft voice if it aint bust loose in a new place you could almost think it was the noon whistle like they have got in workshops back east only some things kind of fierce and about it too why I 1 bet you id be seared scared half to death if he was to have some more like him with him a hundred maybe slash Ox face was set like a furious mask the long sear scar that gave him his bis nickname showed tallow white but gale gores goree seemed to be done with him he turned toward the bar humming softly something wet and hot he called to the bartender that Is it if you all made up a new lot of that real kentucky today ay you out I 1 you slash began in a stifled voice goree has certainly got the sign on him caramba muttered to con lie he wants to pull but he hes just grabbing air but Ox welds hand was brushing the butt of his bis low swung colt and goree spun at the bar made a long step and seemed to do no more than lean to the towhead his lanky arm S snapped napped out and his bis big hand clamped on Ox welds wrist then he laughed you trifling son of a bogl he ha drawled you aint nothing around grown folks less than nothing I 1 why was straining against that grip perspiration beading his bis face his bis eyes glassy he hardly moved gordes arm then goree dropped his own tree free hand twisted to his own pistol Ox welds gasp was plain throughout that tense quiet room the long smith and wesson came out deftly gores goree shoved violently it aint my tender heart goree drawled account I 1 aint specially tender damn if I 1 know what it i is keeps me from killing you unless dunles it just seems wrong to rub out something your puny size with if a big slug but dont let that tool fool youl you next time you see me coming you cross over to the other side of the road ro a d you heah me goree had his drink and went humming toward the door two men trailed him from the bar with hard darting glances to left and right cori con understood then that goree gore had not been so foolhardy those were wheel cowboys and they were ready tor for trouble apparently evry ery other drinker understood alsol also TO HE BE CONTINUED CONTINI JEW |