Show A ERIDE aad RIDE r 4 7 1 3 I by ERNEST HAYCOX eklem WU THE STORY SO FAR cia clay y morgan ft mary man who cannot forget the la alo it who I 1 died hating bating him refuses to play flay hall ball with lien ben Heren herendeen deon a rancher w who bo wants wanti to run ran the cattle country bli a ls own ova way morgan nor a li is big rancher fancher an and d knows he must ir protect him self eu against rustlers rust leri and ne neter but he be does doeing like k here Heren n deens deeni methodi method 01 his old friend only hack breathitt has bai inot abot goal one over to Heren deeni tide side the others like use white charley hill tome h ouse and s n d gurd a u rd grant are supporting berend herendeen e en r more no r e or leu less in iel elf adden de tenie 1 e cord grants granta r sterl C catherine ath rice li Is i in n love with clay she comes come to see ee him and li Is forced to hide when riders rider are heard ap approaching p ranching the first li Is hack back breathitt t out of breath from hard riding now continue nuB with the story CHAPTER V hack breathitt stepped to the porch he salda said FI guess I 1 need a little help on this thie lie he was a thin agitated shape in the shadows he was wearing swearing softly to himself full of anger he listened to the strengthening rush of 0 the yonder horses that will be herendeen and lige white whit e and gurd grant it has come to a hell beu of a pass when a man cant ride these hills as he pleases clay morgan said rough and sudden if stepping on your feet take a shot at them hack let out a heavy irritated sigh not yet clay im tryan bryin to be peaceable they said no more for the three ranchers had reached the yard they were stopped they were keeping to their saddles and letting the silence run they could see hack and morgan on the porch touched b by y the outshining out shining lamp light from the living room of the house the three left their saddles slowly coming m ing into the light morgan hacco had h his is quick sight of their faces of burds worried expression and of lige whites embarrassed dislike at what he was now doing and of ben Heren deens bony flat triumph its what I 1 expected herendeen said youre lucky I 1 knock you out u 0 of f that saddle grumbled hack brea breathitt if you had bothin to worry about why wh yun asked herendeen hack breathitt was a shrewd man and he had no tr trust u st in ben herendeen he said halfway between outrage and amusement i ben I 1 was just abeln careful 1 I just kept remember ln in ouie ollie jacks guril gurd grant said we were coming along the trail down by dell lake and saw you and pete bor tv ders riding together pete hit off one way and you went another all we wanted to know was why you camped with him last night but you made a run of it clay said herendeen you propose to shelter every brush jumper chati comes along hacks a friend of mine stated i morgan organ I 1 and hes on my land ill stand behind him herendeen said to breathitt it if I 1 ever see you around my country hack ill open up on you he on h ils Is heels and left the ch P F in his place by the doorway morg n noticed gurd grant swing from e porch arch end with a strange jerk of is shoulders and cross at to a horse he mounted once I 1 quickly wait tha 1 tor ito lige white and her herendeen andeen Dari da I 1 ess covered this yard but morgan agan s raw w burds white and dagum vague and star staring g face in the heavy shadows am A ent later all three of them trotted fr the yard ard As they left lige we I 1 e sald said something t to 0 grant gurd sant ant never heard it in stepping t to we e end of the te porch he had no noticed I 1 e his sisters horse in the barth farther darkness ark and at that momen moment all his long wonder at her belati relations with I 1 morgan froze into solid cc certainty and left him in that one p passing ass 9 interval no longer morgans morgan s friend hack said well ill drift along put up for the night hack no said hack but I 1 im m obliged tor for the help he looked down at the floor involved in his own uncertain thoughts it is the last time ill run from those fellows clay I 1 wanted no sho shooting shoot otin tn now I 1 dont give a damn watch your step dont let ben push you into the wrong stall hack drew a long breath so tar far he said 1 I aint done a thing to be ashamed of clay I 1 want you to know that well so long he was soon gone galloping southward down the narrow valley morgan waited until the sound of all these travelers faded into the night before going to the living room a catherine came from the hallway toward him clay did tie be see my horse 1 I took it back of the house bouse relief came cam to her though there was a shading of worry that leave burds a little f touchy about me I 1 want she finish that sentence she showed him a stronger coloring and covered it up with a quick question 1 I heard all the talk are you sure youre right day clay he said do what you cnn ann to keep gurd out of it bens going to play heu hell with a lot of people if it comes to a showdown ill have to go against him she murmured 1 I know and the color of her eyes turned darker turned softer she saw the length of his jew jaw and the tension around hit his and the smoky excitement A 5 mrs gale suddenly reached for the smallest child wrapping her apron around himi him rising in his eyes she said in a small hurried voice good night clay and went by him he walked to the porch and waited untie she rode around the house she paused a moment and held out her hand band the pressure of it was strong and the shock was there again tor for him she said it at once cool and near laughter will I 1 see you in town clay theres a dance friday I 1 think ben will be taking me ill be there he said on thursday evening evening just beyond sunset ben herendeen reached the ridge behind the gale homestead and came over it so suddenly that he be caught the gale family eating supper under a lone juniper tree in the yard he might have taken the route straight across Fano lango desert but this would have given gale notice from afar liard connor and bones bone mcgeen both being men who liked this kind of business were with him it amused herendeen to see the complete shock his arrival produced gale rose gaunt and gray headed and old faced in the twilight mrs gale suddenly reached fair or the smallest child wrapping her apron around him there were three other children in the family a girl near twenty and two younger boys all of them remained still and tor for a moment he could see something pretty close to terror in the eyes of gales wife in a way it pleased him to find them still on the ranch he proposed to make an example of the family and this made it easy 1 I gave you time pointed out herendeen time for what asked gale to kick a man around like a dog I 1 aint hurting you this aint near your range it should be mr whites say and he aint complained he speak of his legal right to be here on tree government land for he knew how hopeless it was in front of a cattleman in cattle country enough said herendeen all you nesters desters are alike I 1 give you twenty minutes to clear your junk out of the shack mrs gale at once turned and ran tor for the house calling over her shoulders gale help me daisy come help me gale move he had his head down and he stared at the ground bard caught by indecision and futility the girl herendeen abse observed arved w was as pretty he stared at her out ot of 0 interested yes eyes and was irritated DW the judgment he discovered on he her face ape e women were carrying their po possessions sessions out of the house their kitchen I 1 hen implements their clothes th their ir few sticks of furniture her enteen en een said almost laughing old m dpn n if you expect to save your it out of the aagon agon you better get tied gale stirred himself he walked cross across the yard with his knees nev ter r quite straightening he called to the oldest boy give me a hand sonny and both of them seized the tongue of the wagon and backed it from the shed afterwards gale went into the corr allor alfor his horses herendeen watched the family move around the yard he looked at his watch and was a little disappoint ed that it was so easy he salak said twenty minutes set em afire bones mcgeen rode to the shed liard connor got down and went into the house herendeen heard him tramping around the place the stove crashed down and in a little while smoke began to puff through the door connor came back mcgeen mo had piled some sage wood against the corner of the shed and now this fire began to burn gale stopped harnessing the horses he put his back against the wagon watching the fire catch hold one side of the shed turned into a yellow sheet of flame the doorway of the shanty showed a solid rou roll of smoke and fire iside and there was no way now tor for the gales to save anything herendeen said to his bis men 1 I guess all but he be looked at the girl speculating on her xe he said rm im not as bad as figure you went want a job iti one way of keeping TOUT family alive anyhow gale left the horses and walked to herendeen he said mr herrendeen my iny daughter would drop dead before the she took anything from you and if she did take anything id kill her I 1 guess youve done us all the hurt you can go on and leave us alone someday maybe I 1 can pay you back hold on there said herendeen he got off his horse and walked up to gale catching the front of gales shirt to in his hh fingers he shook gale a lt little t le but there any resistance ta n ce in the older man at all his bis body swayed to the pressure of Heren deens arm mrs gales eyes showed a sudden terror one of the boys beys reached down to seize A 9 rock he would have thrown it at herendeen if the girl caught his arm herendeen said you had better keep your damned mouth shut hitch up that team and get out of the country I 1 dont want to see you on this range again he released gale and returned to his horse connor and mcgeen joined him the three of them circling the snapping twisted rush of fire flames broke through the shan tys root roof and the sky above this area began to glow looking back as a matter of caution herendeen saw the family still standing by the juniper tree the girl had taken the youngest child in her arms gale had moved over to his wife his arm was around her she had thrown her apron across her face and was crying late friday afternoon just as clay morgan was ready to leave the ranch for war pass vance ketchell came into ua the long seven yard and dropped off a tired horse vance was a steady going young man who once had been a puncher tor for heren deens three pines and now owned a few cows of his own up on the 3 slope lope of the cache mountains he say anything for a moment but morgan saw that he was under considerable strain and waited for vance to make his talk vance fashioned a cigarette lighted it and stood with his feet apart staring across the narrow valley flats he said pretty country but really t see it when he pushed his hat back a mop of hair black as crow dropped down on his forehead clay he said at last you hear bear about the gales yes I 1 saw them over in freeport yes berday pretty tough pretty tough he smoked on and morgan knew he had not yet come to his point something on the summit of the mogul hills seemed to interest vance ket chell as he added casually 41 1 4 I 1 like the family I 1 like the girl sure said morgan and under st stood part of vances vance s trouble then clay if that can happen to a nester it can happen to me im 11 m pretty small potatoes and it looks like some something things s afoot to push u us s out he stared at morgan then sa said ld in an idle voice I 1 heard the big outfits held a the other day t present said clay lie he knew what lay in ketchelos Ketch ells m mind ind ketchell was a cow hand at heart but he had his own interests to worry about now and the affair at the gale homestead hit bit pretty close ketchell was figuring out the politics of the country wondering where his morgans weight would be ketchell was too old a hand to redirect fe ask j the direct question but nevertheless lie he kept circling ar around aund hunting an answer hawer ketchell said 1 I 1 dont don t think it was right of heren herendeen au cant can t blame abig a big outfit tor for wat batchin watch chin ln its own fences but I 1 aint so ignal ignol ignorant nt as I 1 used us ed to be small folks have haie got rights clay theres a hell of a lot of them in this world and they got rights if I 1 were gale said morgan id cut the price of that home stead out of Heren deens hide he be saw relief change Ket ketchelos Ketch chelis eUs face completely vance tossed away the cigarette he be was grin ning beneath the shadow of his hat brim yeah he said welt well see lee you in church he was on the horse and soon away and somewhere in his bis mind was a decision formed it is that little space of time TO BE CONTINUED |