Show 41 RED R NG N G by EUGENE cunningham L 0 EUGENE cunningmam CUNNING KAM THE STORY so 30 FARI forced to go run from ram the law to save his bli ute life w when h en b he a li Is inspected usper ed of being the he no notor torl loui co M e nc be linn con cameron Car neron to li trying to prove his bli honesty ho T esty with his pal I 1 caramba ve vear a r be li Is working for or topeka Te benlon tilson owner ol of the or broken 0 ken wheel ranch nevil lowe marshal ot of the neigh boring town ol of civan Is lifter after him but d yet know that hat the twenty john son on of the he broken wheel li it the man he asp inspect acts of belne being comanche linn lowes lowel lister r janet au li Is gayln with I 1 tb the teal sons loas they T hey a are a dee deeply p ay attached to her having I 1 lost th their 1 only child chil 1 a boy when he be was wai many years year before on their way out to the ranch after persuading bealson to give them the job con and Car caramba ambe met monk irby one of the megeath Meff eath crowd megeath and dud bud para paramore lare leader of another band of outlaws hate both nevil lowe and the broken wheel outfit in the fight which followed low e d their meeting with irby con knocked out irby then he be and ca fought off more of Mege athi men to protect janet lowe when mrs mn teal on bent lent con to find out how the nesten ra the graceus Grace ys were coming along C con 0 I 1 found mr gracey dead and mrs mn ale und G gracey ian and d the boy serious seriously khurt hurt topeka sent lent con into town for or a doctor with instructions to tell the constable janton and no one else about his suspicions that it was monk irby who shot the graceus Grace ys now continue with the story CHAPTER XV the constable was in a poker game in a corner of the big canina t the p place ace was almost deserted two or three such games as that ot of the constable looked to be of 0 the all night variety C con 0 n went back to straddle a chair 0 opposite PP osite janton and when a hand we was finished the lanky constable loo looked ked curiously at him dt dont tell me you already quit th the busted wheel no not yet I 1 was sent in to bring ahe the do doctor t tor and nd to put a murder case in lap yours maybe the th the e sheriffs bailiwick ta janton anton said id hell on murders murder s nevil L lowe we Is always always getting killed in the territory one ol of the players it dr drawled but go ahead who was he not only got murdered in a pr pretty e tty slinking bushwhacking way but his bis wife and little boy got shot Gra ceyl janton said quickly almost mechanically ohl you already knew about it did you 1 uh uh just knowel damn well it was bound to come well nothing I 1 can do could you be talked into arresting graceus Grace ys murderer it if you found him right in town where is he here in town he was heading this way the last time I 1 saw him but I 1 see gee it done I 1 swear to a thing best not to talk much it if you c cant an t swear to things that cowboy next next to janton advised him sagely whose wh 9 se deal the players laughed con shook his bis head sighed and got lazily to his bis feet 1 I believe ill get a drink and call it a day he ate breakfast in Car carmelitas Carmell tas among other early risers cowboys and freighters and prospectors and those men of who had stores or other businesses to open janton came in alone when he saw con at a vacant table he slouched over to sit down and grin 1 I dont want you should think I 1 dont give a hoot about murders he said genially just because 1 I never got worked up about gracey Us been around here a long time naturally we know things you dont now gracey he was always just begging tor for a killing he drank coffee noisily squinting shaking his head bead you know nothing perso nall but some folks n might say you coming in with this tale about monk irby murdering gracey was all part cart of a scheme to put monk out of the way because monk and slash w was a a awful good friends and monks a dangerous oil s man any way you take him no no youre wrong about that con disagreed placidly im not a bit more afraid of monk than I 1 am of of you janton and you need your t two wo barrels of buck to maker make me nervous well ive got to take the doctor out and report to topeka tenison about what you said and did I 1 ilk tf the constable moved uneasily but r said aid nothing con paid tor for his breakfast and went out he walked slowly toward the doctors house puzzling cantons Jan tons manner he met the doctor hurrying along the street with his bag be an hour or two before im ready the gray attle man panted been up since tour four 1 11 1 I think con told himself with I sa tome me pleasure that now ive got time to look around for mr M irby and if 11 he should want to remember me goodness forbid that I 1 put anything at all in his bis wayll but nowhere in could he find monk irby he asked no questions merely looked in the big cantina he be found that nervous bartender who had served him and caramba Ca iamba con went tar far down the bar and stood by himself when the bartender brought him bottle and glass he stopped and looked at the labeled array of liquor T q I 1 blackboard blackbeard staggered and con rushed in in the back bar as tt if discussing it you and that redhead partner sure played hell in high Z with them lady wranglers of gloomis Gloo mys he said in a low voice they bulged into town i a licking lickl ng their sores like a bunch of scalded hounds bounds nobody was killed but some was shot awful bad they say gloomis Gloo mys promised to wipe out your mark but from what monk irby spewed skewed out he aint going to wait tor for Gloo gloomy 1 con asked the bartender where gloomy and monk were theres a lil bitsy pl placita azita just two three mex houses bouses on the road to hellico canyon the bunch stops there lots of times I 1 think where they went yesterday watch your step young tello fell owl wt he went up the bar to serve customers and con lifted his glass and set it down empty then a rasping voice sounded almost in his ear aint you tor for that damn busted wheel con turned very carefully when lie he saw the face thrust out toward his he made a disgusted grimace and drew back it was a big man indian dark with shiny stubble of beard from eyes to collarbone one inky eye was permanently by an old weal that slanted across eyebrow and cheek cheekbone bode and notched the high nose bridge thick loose mouth shone bluish red against the black of his bis straggling mustache he wore no shell belt but high on his hip under an old coat was a stubby colt ills his hand was on it cons gun was in hi his waistband under linder his shirt he flashed his hand up and inside his shirt rt and out again the big man was jerking put out his pistol but con thought triumphantly that he had beaten him then from behind him a hand knocked down his colt struck his arm again and the gun roared as it tell fell he took a heavy blow in the back that drove him forward Instinct ly he be clawed at the tall mans thick wrist caught it and twisted savagely with all the strength of powerful shoulders and anc wiry arms con fell into him and clung lifting his feet off the floor and kicking viciously backward he felt a heel strike something soft and heard a groan then his toes touched the floor again and he be kicked the big man on his shin the grip on his arm relaxed slightly and he be snatched free to rise on tiptoe and swing a long right to the cheek blackboard blackbeard staggered and con rushed in he slid back as th the a big figure crumpled began to turn to get at the second man and felt the impact of an almost knockout blow on his bis jaw he sure does set up nights to hate a busted wheeler latimer does one of the voices said mar vexingly velin gly but if it been tor for that nephew of his helping him theres one wheeler would have killed him first crack out of th the e box he beat latimer to it only that tha boy knocked his arm down latimer had his hand on the cutter tool con sat up so abruptly that men bent over him jerked back out of the way automatically he put his hand band inside his shirt and groped for or his colt hands helped him he peered around and the bartender pushed over his pistol he spun the cylinder to see that the loads were intact let down the hammer upon an empty chamber and shoved the gun into his waistband he stood sulkily for a moment but the doctor took him by the arm and moved him toward the door riding beside the doctors buggy going out of con asked about the latimers and was told that they had bad been in the country less than a year latimer had a small outfit between the broken wheel and hel ugo canyon ahl con said softly between the wheel and the canyon what topeka though tl the first time he found latimer wandering around the wheel side of the line he called it a natural accident but the second time it happened he and the boys with him escorted latimer across the line and invited him to stay there lati mer has hammered every broken wheel cowboy he could find since then youre the seventh or eighth why maybe ill be the last one then IS if that nephew of his hit me irom from behind today the latimers would have been holding ill lea ies not guns the doctor looked very tolerantly at him and shook his bis gray head they talked little alter after that con was becoming more and more conscious of his soreness he was glad to swing down in the broken wheel yard and take the doctors buggy in charge dinner had been eaten but con got a handout from the cook who asked no questions about his battered face then perth perch looked into the kitch kitchen en of the bunkhouse and with sight ol of con whooped shrilly and whirled about calel he yelled oh calel twenty johnson just come in packing the latimer trademark you tell this pilgrim what he might r un run into around gorec appeared behind him but before he could speak topeka teni son looked over percas shoulder he shook his head slightly fr frowning own con continued to eat placidly but he was beginning to feel irritation A corner of mouth lifted and he turned to gor goree ee we wont wait tor for the hors horses es from red mesa he said 1 I wont hold the wagon I 1 mean you take the boys that are ready and pull out when johnny dutch and skeets and caramba come in from the mesa with the horses the rest of 0 the boys can get fixed up now you got your reps picked A all 11 right t tenison answered go rees nod well meet the other wagons at antelope springs and scatter our reps you stay here on the place twenty you too perch huh con grunted putting down his coffee you dont want me on roundup I 1 certainly would like to got plenty got to stick here tenison told him curtly turning away to be let left t here as a sort of chore boy was bad enough but to be left because tenison weighed him against other men and classed him as a weakling by wheel standards was tar far worse he went toward the corrals eyes moodily upon the ground then from the house mrs tenison called him im glad youre going to stay with us she said smiling at hi him m 1 I asked for you but it see seem in that I 1 was going to get you gale thinks a lot of your roping but youre staying and that pleases me son for with all the trouble weve been having you know of course that megeath intended to carry oft off janet the other night im glad youre going to be around son ill play bulldog con assured her evenly hows the hospital by the way that boy all right im going to keep him in bed tor for aw a while bile yet he developed more fever the only way we could talk hi him m into lying quiet was to tell him you d ordered it he minds what I 1 say because he thinks im your mother mrs tenison said with a soft strange little laugh and he looked at janet and called her mis twenty and said all right if you had told us to tell him to be quiet he would 1 im certainly getting fixed up with a family bowl now con cried and felt that hi he was flushing bushing and wondered why he should be ashes a fine girl janet mrs tenison sighed as if speaking aloud her mother was the best friend i I 1 had and janet was born right here ashes a pretty girl and a one fine girl any way you think of her yes con admitted she certainly deemi seems to be that I 1 never saw a girl to touch her and her brother he stopped short wondering how much he be was supposed to know about the territory mrs tenison only nodded nevil is a fine boy much of a man I 1 could wish that he sheriff con thought that he had talked as much as was safe so he agreed that a tood good mafi man had been needed and 11 thought that he was wanted at the corrals where goree and others were goree put him to work helping to load the wagon with supplies and equipment TO BE CONTINUED |