Show IS ERIDE ERNEST HAYCOX K WN U TUB THE STORY SO 90 F FAR A ri clay morgan has hai de decided idea to play a lone it band a 1 3 4 against ben herendeen a rancher b bent e n t on eu run ran rang the cattle country his own wy way the two men h have av 0 been ene generales rales lor for years year camigi having first ant louglin over cl clay Ys wife lua w who h 0 died hating him and nd believing s ahe 0 should hou la have married U herendeen eren morgn morgan li il st solitary loll tary figure devoted to his ahli nine y yea e a rold daughter janet e t although two women catherine gr grant 9 and ana McG mcgarrah arrab are in love with him they know he cannot forget lna lilt of 01 nil his former friends friend only hack back dreatha t has hai not gone ivr over to heron den deeni side fall gard grant catherines Catherine 1 b brother ahr hesitated about joining herendeen bu but became morgans Morgan 1 sworn enemy then when becaro he dis discovered versa that catherine had been to his ranch hack back breathitt seen een camp camping n with ith feie pete Bor borden aers a rustier li is being watched by Heren deens ran clay has hai learned that government yn at valley a piece of land he be and herendeen both want li Is to be auctioned sk at t sage gage city 1 do m ellei aw away hack back alom meanwhile figh fichti t s w with ith come e 0 of 1 leren keren deeni men lie gets away but be li Is a fugitive ilow now and knows it clay gets to sage C city I 1 ty ju just t in time to hear bear charley hillhouse foreman bid eight thousand now continue with the story CHAPTER VIII hillhouse said again agli in a steady stubborn voice eight thousand the other three men were speculators it was a smell it was written an on their good clothes their white faces and their soft hands one of these said reluctantly eighty two eighty three said hillhouse morgan said ninety three now the speculators looked around and moved together and one of them whispered something and shook his head the land office agent looked hopeful he said ninety threes three s the bid ninety four said charley morgan sald said 1 I ride a hundred and ninety miles to play around with a piker charley eleven thousand eleven Is the bid said the landi office mee agent another bid gentle men the speculators said nothing one of them shook his bis head the land office agent turned to hillhouse Hlll house he said another bid hillhouse put his hands bands in his pockets and slowly brought them out no he answered all ive got to stick to a limit and were past it now sold at eleven thousand morgan stepped toward the table my check all right the land office showed an instant discouragement ot of course not one of the speculators laughed and hillhouse Hlll house made a hall half turn then my bid of ninety three Is good morgan reached into his pocket no he said dryly 1 I just wanted to know ive got the cash hillbo hillhouse se turned from the room without ut further urther talk the speculators slowly followed morgan counted out the money in bills he stood over the desk propping both hands on its edge to hold himself up while the land agent took his name and address and wrote out a receipt get a deed in the next few months morgan said when did you mail out notice of that sale the land gent agent stared at him about six weeks ago morgan folded the receipt between his fingers creasing and re ing it his head bent down he murmured thanks and left the room he pissed passed the speculators in the hall charley hillhouse Hlll house waited for him on the porch charley had bad a cigarette lighted he removed the cigarette choosing hla his words very carefully he had his eyes halt half closed and stared ahead of him into the dust yellow sun brightened street 1 I want to tell you this clay when I 1 work tor for an outfit I 1 stick by that outfit im for foreman emart of three pines and long as I 1 am three pines comes first returning from sage city three 1 days later clay morgan came through a low gap of the burrit burnt hills and found somebody occupying the deserted homestead house bouse on salt meadows it was twenty five miles from this point northwestward to his own ranch and though the shanty was an old one he had bad not known of nesters desters being in it riding into the yard morgan gave his name you must be new here Nob odys tried to make a living on this spot since Yard sley left four years ears ago rj the man was around thirty long and on the lean side with the freckled skin and dry creased ups up and the gray green eyes of a southerner he looked like a worker rather than one of that shiftless rattletrap breed morgan had to 10 often seen camping on the edge of the range he said caid im fox willing been he here four months he was pretty brief with hit his talk a reserved man with the mark of a short temper on him but there was in his bis eyes at the moment something morgan had bad often noticed in other nesters desters ne eyes when they faced cattlemen a half concealed hatred a veiled fear A woman came to the door I 1 I 1 young and till pretty with pure pare black hair she shaded haded dereyes he her reyes eyes at morgan he saw fear definitely on her face it was wai time to eat in fact morgan limel smelled led food in the air but willing know much about A woman came to the door young and still pretty with pure purel black bla half range etiquette he simply stood his ground waiting for morgan to speak or ride on morgan said maybe you could put me up to dinner answer was reluctant sure mr morgan step down morgan helped himself to the boiled potatoes and canned tomatoes and to the meat it was tried fried steak and when he saw it he realized it came from one of his own cows willing ate with his eyes downcast a taciturnity close to sullenness niss covered him the woman touch her food she sat with her arms in her lap a growing strain on her face she was about his own a age ge and he could tell she sha had been through a lot of misery morgan appreciated the meal but he was glad when hat in hand he returned to the yard ile he walked toward his horse both the behind him the shed was only a dozen paces beyond and he had the definite inclination to go over there open the door an dhave a look at the beet beef tor for himself he knew it was there and he want willing to think long seven was run b by y a tool fool too blind to see the signs he rolled up a cigarette trying to figure out some way of telling willing this without hurting the comans womans wo mans feelings there was a lot in her and she was pretty badly troubled at this minute willing was like most nesters desters ne cattlemen had pushed them around until they figured it any crime to steal beet beef when they could he lighted his cigarette and stepped into the saddle there was immediate relief on the nesters desters ne face and the womans comans shoulders relaxed they had braced themselves tor for the worst morgan removed his hat smiling at the woman 1 I wish both of you good luck need it then with the reins half lifted he added it occurs to me that you may get pinched tor for grub this winter it if you do ill be glad to see that you get a quarter ot of beef occasionally sio nally when you see any stray cattle of mine up here this winter in the snow snowdrifts drifts just drive them back well consider it a fair exchange for or the meat but and now he looked at the blink blank gray green eyes of the mark man lancome corne come to me when you want it I 1 do not like to think of beef being butchered and wasted on the desert the tension left shoulders the womans comans lips softened and her eyes grew warm after that he crossed the yard and came down at last to the lower edge edeli of government valley far up the flats he saw the remnant barracks of the old fort and tor for a moment he paused to have a look at this land which now belonged to him he slanted across the valley and rode up the narrow length of his older range reaching horne home in the middle of the afternoon As soon as he bid left the saddle old mose gave hirn him the latest news hack breathitt had been pulled into a light fight at war pass killing liard connor now hack was hiding in the hills with sheriff on his bis trail im going to town decided mogan at once and ought to be back around eight old mose said the way things are now I 1 skylark on the trail after dark morgan caught up a fresh horse and headed beaded tor for war pass reaching there slightly before six his first errand was to go into the post office and pay his respects to fred rich fred he said that notice of sale was posted a little late 1 I took it out myself the same day it came they mailed it from sage city last month stated morgan fred richs face showed a whiteness suddenly around the base of his nose 1 I guess it got held up somewhere be murmured but he met morgans glance only tor for a moment soon looking down he had bad been caught in a lie and knew it 1 I guess it did said morgan dryly and left the post office he heard R rich ich call outs out clay I 1 want no trouble with you but he turn tum hating to see any mans face show that dead cheap guilt gat the bank was closed and so he climbed the hill bill to leave the unused part of his money with harley stewart and went at once to ann McGar ann and janet were eating supper he sat with them listening to janeas cool voice recite the little things that had bad happened to her watching the way ann McGar faint smile came and went away janet left the room ann mcgarrah sat back in her chair her arms were round and firm on the table she had a way of looking at him straight and intent with a shadow across her eyes her lips were red and pleasant they had a gentle strength what Is on your mind clay odds and ends I 1 guess did you have luck 1 I bought the piece how did you know I 1 was on that business it was all over town halt half an hour after you left lie he said ill be back tor for janet in a minute and walked to the store porch he stood here briefly watching the street until he discovered jesse rusey kusey paused in the shadows at the corner of the hotel an obscure shape patiently waiting he crossed to rusey observing the marshals short solid shape swing around to him voice was inflexibly courteous giving morgan his due nothing more and nothing less evenin Eve clay morgan said who started the hall ball friday night jesse the marshals head tipped S secret care flowed from him his voice when he spoke was unsentimental and without favor they was Jig jiggerian jigger gerin ln around from point to point breathitt and connor and bones mcgeen breathitt met connor once down by old to town bui but neither of them was ready connor floated up the street past the dance hall mcgeen dropped back into the crack by the bank hack showed around the corner of the dance hall and met connor he paused weighing his words with an extreme thoughtfulness it was a case of love at first sight only breathitt got in the first kiss bones was bastin his shots all the time just st inkin up the wind hack got out of town two jumps ahead of his awn own funeral tell hack if you see hiril him ill throw him in the cooler if hi he does that again theres a rule against up this town t tell it to mcgeen said morgan hes been told retorted rusey id tell it to anybody even to the almighty A long halloo shrilled through the shadows and a cloud of children raced down the street ann me garrah waited on the porch slim against the store lights janet out of breath and softly giggling trotted toward her morgan turned toward these two he said again time to go and watched ann McGar face show a darkening at his tone janeas hand came obediently to him and they strolled up the street at gen arys he saddled janeas horse and boosted her up and rode from war pass the night was soft and luminous and fragrant earths warmth rose around them but the wind drifting from the south brought in sharp cool eddies of coming winter the two of them rode in silence across the rutted desert and took to the steep road up mogul morgan said you did fine janet I 1 guess I 1 was pretty proud sitting there and listening dont ever be afraid of anything ahead of you never borrow trouble walk right up to it listen to the crickets been singing like that a thousand years and be doing dohig it for another thousand nothing changes honey remember that when you feel like running away nothing changes and nothing ever really dies sometimes when he talked to her like this he be felt the absorbing attention she paid him sometimes her mind was away on its own dreams locking him out as lila had bad locked him out she spoke suddenly and seriously as though she heard him will you ever marry again daddy now why should you think of that she said in her small still voice 1 I just wondered maybe I 1 could like another mother TO BE CONTINUED |