Show 1 F REDL R EDL R A by EUGENE cunningmam cunningham 0 g EUGENE cunningham WN U PL RC LeASE eLEASE THE E STORY BO 60 FAR forced to run mil it rom zu th tb law to save lav his hi life his when he to li suspected impeded ot 0 I 1 being the k notor r IOUs loui co manche LI linn kno con cameron in if trying to prove his bli honesty hon U esty eity with nil his pal caramba VM vear he be I 1 ij working for topeka tenison owner ol of it the 1 e broken wheel ranch nevil lowe low mar marshalll marsha s balof lol the n neighboring town ol of civan le is after hiru him but yet know that the twenty johnson Joh nion ol of the broken wheel li the man he suspects so ol of belai being comanche Coma linn lann awes fitter janet Is if staying with the Ten Tent lioni soni they are at a deeply attached to her having lost loit their only chud child a boy when he was wai kid nailed many years yean before on oil their way on oat I 1 I 1 to the ranch ranch alter after persuading tenyson to 90 give IT them the job con and caramba met monk irby one ol of the crowd and dud dad paramore Par arnore lead leader e r ol of another band ol of outlaws outlaw hate bate both beta nevil lowe and the broken wheel outfit in the light fight which followed their meeting with irby con knocked out irby then he ha and caramba fought off ff more ol of Mege athi men to protect janet lowe con find anik th the graceus Grace yi ys a family of lanest en shot hot and suspects monk irby to peka sends lendi him into town for a doctor with instructions Instruct loni to teu tell the consta constable janton and no one else about his bli sus CB pinions pic ions janton say lay ranch much but clearly implies that he want to have anything to do with it he be refuses to arrest irby or even to tell where he be la Is con decides to took look for or irby himself find and li Is attacked by the latimers who are also enemies of the broken wheel now continue with the story CHAPTER XVI the boys got back to the house in time tor for a late supper and afterward loafing in the bunkhouse perch blew smoke from the side of his battered mouth and squinted at con none of my business of course he h drawled but the doctor told to peka some about you tangling with the latimers from what he be says they was both onto you at once all same hounds on a coon now me 1 I only bucked latimer which was just hes hea hells handful I 1 would say but did he be slip like the doctor thinks or did you really lay him out con looked at hir him n suspiciously bously b but ut there was nothing except friend I 1 ly curiosity in percas face 1 I laid him out cold con told them even evenly ay tonelessly and briefly he be told of drawing against latimer of the fight and its outcome perch and the cook said nothing con took the colt from his holster and slipped it into his waistband as it had bad been la in he demonstrated his draw with mth his gulband moving snaky fast ohl perch said softly nodding now I 1 can see it and see something else 1 I 1 had been listening to gale and topeka and when they figured it out you had a kids luck with slash I 1 reckon jl i took it that way but gale and topeka they never watched you slap leather hull no I 1 thought not but if you dont want folks boo gering dont make a draw where they can see it you like that waistband hideout vet bet tern a shoulder holster my old uncle had a yard of sear scar across his bis chest and belly from a shoulder holster draw that slipped he sort of soured on em and I 1 reckon he scared me of em so ive always packed my gun somewhere else he a texas man the cook asked runs in my mind I 1 seen some fellow scarred au all across Ws his front froat from a gun tha slipped years back that was I 1 worked so many places I 1 disremember a lot but caramba and skeets skeels and johnny dutch came in with the horses from red mesa near noon they g ate with con and perch and afterward rd con drew caramba aside to tell him that he was staying as a sort ot of guard caramba shook his bis head you know that gale gores goree cut back to meet us he told us a UT lil bit about you tangling with some hard case and what was the straight of that con described the fight with lati catl mer in the cantina and caramba wore swore irritably this is a damn whiskers whisker outfit gores goree and topeka they count you nothing but a kid that was wai lucky something happened to slash ox weld and you downed him accidental but gores goree would have took you on this on cow W work ace account aunt youre a roper he cant hel admitting there aint the like of on the place he even figured by the time roundup was over be the top hand band on the place account of him showing you how of course but topeka just I 1 looked at you and put you to wrangling con stared grimly at him with face ce reddening he did did hel he I 1 well 14 1 I can still put a sizable spoke in his busted wheel tm rm going to roll my bed and hit bit lit taylor at los alamos alamo tor for a job caramba watched him over the cigarette he was making 1 11 I it if I 1 was you he advised softly all this tomfoolery tom torn foolery of To made me so hot I 1 was fit to tie but I 1 have been talking a good deal to skeets and johnny dutch con M my y notion is from what wha you told me about paramore Par amora an and what I 1 know about megeath Meg eata leaving that pretty janet lowe here with all the outfit gone is just the same as hammering the old tire and yelling to lem em to come and get idill 1 I dont know con said sulkily wishing that he had bad said less ill 1 I I 1 thought about it yet finel now that we got it all settled y you 0 u and perch can help us a UT 1111 bit along the road la mid afternoon perch and con rode with skeets and caramba for a he be rode a little orward forward lifting his hand few miles perch reined in before dusk and sat comfortably with leg around the saddle horn to make a cigarette and beam paternally upon skeets skeels now son he said genially you sill all will be safe just keep em cm going a the way you seen me do some of them horses I 1 seen come along as colts and branded and rode rod e just follow em and remember be doing what they think id want em to be doing you take care of old folks skeets called as he whirled his horse be seeing youl be seeing youl you caramba echoed grinning at con you take care of yourself boyl boy I 1 he spurred after skeets and from the edge of a ridge Ms his high yeu yell carried to perch and con adluh aillo geee pahl happy jigger perch commented gr grinning inning well once I 1 was wag a young sprout like that fuu full of vinegar interesting to myself and other folks most cowboys dont get old dont live long enough I 1 but the ones that do they ought to took look ahead and figure on owning his own outfit yes sirl sir no use and no sense of ending up like me or old step chos step con asked idly aint you seen him around the place he keeps to himself a lot got him a lil IN adobe alongside some of the mex help putters around hes crippled in one leg account of some horse rolling on him one time step mostly giffords Gaff his ga goby go by I 1 be surprised if old step one time rode more high lines than he ie rode range but old as he be is I 1 say it loudl loud I 1 they ate the steak and eggs and tried fried apple pies for or supper and played a few hands of mild stud poker oker afterward the next morn ing ng the doctor went back to con harnessed the doctors heavy black horse to his bis buggy and asked about mrs gracey and the boy the kids all right keep him in bed tor for a day or two and hell be pawing the air to get out but his mother mothe rits its a matter of her constitution if she should hap pento take a turn for or the worse mrs tenison will send one ona of you in for me ill come as soon as I 1 can when the doctors buggy had disappeared perch suggested that con hideto ride to white rock pa pasture sture for or a routine look at the horses there con saddled the black he had ridden once before As he be shoved his carbine into the scabbard janet spoke behind him it if catch me that sorrel she said ill side you ive just got to get out of the house for a the horses went nose to nose across the yard and con opened a gate in the wire fence let janet pass and closed it behind them then they fox trotted out over rolling range with the hills tar far ahead of them C con on looked stonily before him Wl hnatt lats to be done about hunting down graceus Grace ys murderer do you know 0 w janet asked him suddenly U unless mess word was sent to your brother and he doe does som something ethling not a shingi from what that amazing little boy said you have lave an idea about the murderers who they are monk irby friend of slash ox welds but nothing will be done from gracey arid and constable janton were on the cuts hes glad that somebody did what he have the nerve to do he told me so 1 I never have thanked you tor for what yo you U did the other night she told him abruptly so that he twisted his hi head to state stare you know how much 1 I thank you tor for that other time at our house tor for saving me from dud that was the bravest nevil said the same 1 I never thought about it as being brave it just seemed like one of those things cause a lot of trouble b but u t need to be done that must be one of the manadas canadas ahead the b bay ay stallion or and his harem were crossing a flat bat below them he saw the riders and threw up his head bead defiantly are those the cowboys from rom the me line camp campsie she asked dont think to so con replied staring at the tight little knot of men coming over a rise toward the mares 1 I wish I 1 had a pair ot of glasses lasses he rode a little forward and lifted his bis hand band they saw him but came on one man got a carbine out the others made significant motions toward their belts get back over the ridgel I 1 he snapped at her 1 I think iv ive e got the best of this get bacal fast he was hardly conscious of the sorrels thundering hoots hoofs behind him im the rifleman was bringing his saddle gun to bear and the other i men brand bran brandishes brandished dished I 1 shed p pistols is con squeezed trigger and saw the bullet kick up dust beyond the horses a hundred yards away then he corrected his aim and fired three fast fas t shots at the man with the rifle with the shots the ether aher riders fired quickly at him and ducked to dart to the side so that ten yards yard 8 separated each from his neighbor their lead tell fell short the rifleman had not loosed his slug he dropped the carbine and swayed holding his bis body with both bands as it if cold or suffering a stomach ache but he stayed with the horse and it slowed to a trot thena then i a walk con fired grimly at the others in turn but they jerked on the reins and went farther right and left the rifleman was now clinging to his saddle horn all fight seemed gone from him he got the horse turned and spurred him to a run then the horse of the man nearest him came down with suddenness that catapulted his bis rider straight ahead the cowboy seemed to twist purposefully in air and struck the ground on his bis feet he ran two long paces forward before he be stumbled con was reloading as fast as his hi fingers could jerk shells from his belt and ram them into the loading gate he took three long shots at the departing men and saw dust jump from one jumper then the three of them disappeared and he looked at the man on the ground forty yards away he was sitting now shaking his bis head violently dear mel me con said aloud first they wanted to play then they wanted to go home so they picked up their marbles and went away from here Change ablest people P le blackleg Blac klet klel lets go down and look at this one the cowboy a slender dark va youngster ung ster had a nose bleed but his bis head seemed to have cleared over the sleeve he held to his nose his bis narrow eyes regarded con steadily you dan damn ln foell he cried the idee changing wha nging away at us cant nobody ride across this range of yours without you got to shoot off that winchester at lem em two yards bom him con halted baited the black horse and studied him chunk me that pretty big pistol youre wearing he ordered 1 I just shoved some more persuaders into this calmly the cowboy took out his pistol and tossed it from him cons face hardened thought it was easy picking did you when the wagon rolled off all you had to flo ao was stroll dowland down and pick out what you wanted huh weve been waiting tor for you it if more than four our ot of you had come two of us been here he looked briefly at the colt on the ground then let his carbine rest across the saddle while he fished tobacco and papers from his pocket do no what youre driving at the cowboy drawled me and my friends was heading for or the bug on stick astick a west of here cigarette ile he caught the sack and pipers papers and rolled a cigarette while con watched him then hi he got up stiffly put his hand down in a natural ma motion as for or a match and it vanished behind him to twitch back with a colt apparently drawn from the rear 0 of his waistband con had not picked up his carbine but he had not let the hammer down either now he pulled trigger without raising it he missed but the bullet went so near to the cowboy that he flinched and his own slug buzzed waspishly past cons head then coo con fired with lifted carbine flicked down the lever and fired again both shots were hits both struck over the heart the hideout dropped from the cobb cowboys fingers he turned completely around and lifted one toot as if to walk off but it seemed tie no more than reflex movement he sagged rather mathei than tell fell to the grass TO BK BE CONTINUED |