| Show S saddled SA orida lam ERNEST HAYCOX WN W N U by affie rele ase ajo THE ST ORT SO PAR clay morgan has de decided c aided to play a lone hand against ben here u deen I 1 a rancher bent on running the cattle co country u his own WRY way the two 1 e n have been enemies for ai years hav having n g fir first st ought fought over clay wife llla lila who died hating him and believing the she should have married wren lleren deen morgan morean li Is a solitary a ry figure devoted t to a his bis nine year old daughter janet although two women catherine grant and ann Me mcgarrah Garrah are in love with him they enow he cannot forget llla lila of 01 his former friends fr lendl only rack hack breathitt h has s not gone over to herena deens deeni side seen cam camping with pete Her borden ders a hustler rustler be to if a fugitive from Heren deens men gard grant catherine brother hesitated at ted about joining deldeen Hel herendeen deen but b became a cam e morgan 1 0 sworn enemy when he discovered that catherine bad been to his bis ranch learning at th the last minute that hat government valley 1 li to te be auctioned at sage city mlle miles away clay rides all night and d arrives to in time to outbid charley hillhouse Heren deens foreman when jae be learns that herendeen has baa sent lent it a party out to fand n d hack breathitt and kill him clay sta arts out to find and him first no he goes to freeport to kern cases store where be thinks ho he will find hack back As af he if talking to case herendeen appears lie he ah shoots 0 out the glass in one of the store windows now continue with the story CHAPTER XI case ben said this Is a crooked d town full ot of bums ican I 1 can make any ny of f lem em run there aint a white man in the place kern case said that windowpane will cost you six bits charge it on the account what ac account oun t my beet beef account said herendeen your friends keep you pretty well su supplied dont they if I 1 had a couple men to block off this damned joint id go through these rattletrap buildings and drag breathitt out by the back of the neck hes here kern case walked around the counter he started to speak but morgan waved him back maybe morgan said to herendeen by god shouted herenden herendeen im going to drive you out ben said morgan 1 I guess id better leave my mark on you as I 1 did once before he was still by the stove glance pinned to the butt of Heren deens gun immediately afterwards her en deens hand came away from it and Heren deens boots seemed to crush into the floor as he jumped i forward bringing up his arms morgan realized he haddis had bis own chance to draw and refused the chance he started to move awa away y from the tove stove as Heren deena deens whole bulk wept swept at him and stopped to smother Heren deens fists as they drove in he knocked the blows aside no more Heren deens onrushing be body dy caught him and drove him against the stove he slid along the edge 0 of f the stove falling backward herendeen hit the stove both of them dropped behind it morgan bringing up his knees and beating the wind out of Heren deens belly herendeen sprawled aside the stove had gone down and the pipe began to tall fail in disjointed sections sifting warm soot on them rolling half around morgan saw herendeen push himself half erect to come at him he doubled his legs and shot them out and caught the big man full in the face with the sharp heels of his boots he rolled again and was up herendeen lifted himself from the floor dashing a hand across his face to scrub the bright quick blood on his cheeks chelf ts morgans sharp heels had chopped the flesh of heren deens lips one raw strip hung down swaying over his mouth the impact momentarily drugged him it took him off his guard morgan moved in he punched a fist into the wide hard pit of heren deens stomach watched heren deens arms fall and hit bit him again in the soft neck flesh Heren deena face showed sudden pallor and he swayed a little windless windle S and shocked morgan drove his bis aimed blows at the huge jaw hooking wit his punches up against the long shelving chin herendeen dropped his bis head and morgan missing his target smashed his knuckles on that rocky hard poll and felt pain knife along his left arm it wasa sudden agony that made him suck in his wind he caught the dulling of Heren deens eyes he be had this man half knocked out and the old violent savage instinct rushed him in until he was at close quarters trying tor for the kill it was a mistake Heren deens great arms caught him in a bears grip and drew him in crushing his ribs morgans arms thus held could reach nothing he pulled himself backward seeking to break the grip but herendeen held on weathering through his punishment tightening his grip until morgan felt his bis skin burn and seem to burst he lay on his side pushing his arms against the floor but finding no strength in them he could move them but he had no feeling in them all ali this room was gray black and herendeen was a blurred shape across the room slowly trudging forward he heard herendeen say something though he make out the words ord herindeen herendeen coming nearer grew taller and broader above him Heren deens foot struck laim him solidly at the base ot of the spine A 4 go A ale morgan drove his aimed blows at the huge law jaw and this brutality was a new stream of pain along his nerves it moved morgan around on the floor loosely as though he were a straw dummy he rolled completely over coming against a cracker barrel morgan got behind the cracker barrel he held to its top rim and pulled himself up as herendeen walked against the cracker barrel herendeen swept one fist out striking air as morgan jerked back herendeen started around the cracker barrel flat footed and patient morgan still on the defensive still weak from his beating kept circling suddenly herendeen stepped back from the barrel took a half dozen sidesteps and seized a chair he whirled it over his head and flung it at morgan morgan dropped behind the cracker barrel and rose again seeing herendeen at once rush forward herendeen seized the cracker barrel with his hands and swept it side aside diving at morgan morgan knew what herendeen meant to do before Heren deens mind had recognized the ax handle and now morgan looking around him saw a rack of new winchesters Win chesters on the wall he seized one by the barrel kicked his way out of the debris of nails and harness and circled herendeen slowly the butt ot of the rifle lifted like a club herendeen moved slowly forward following morgans circle somewhere as from a great distance morgan heard the rush of horses along the street and a voice calling morgan backed against a hanging harness he put his shoulders to this flimsy support the harness gave way and he sat down still gripping the winchester by the barrel he could not draw wind into his lungs he was starving for air his heart beat against his ribs and his head was light he rolled over sucking wind through his teeth with his face to the floor and heard a voice at the doorway calling into the blackness chos here it was bones me geens voice kern cases voice was a lower and lower murmur make a step and ill blow your chest out bones yelled into the store ben you there hey benl beni A shot broke along the street again quick and hard and other men ran rapidly across the dust bones mcgeen swung from the door rushing down the porch the shots came in regular method and the three pines men were beginning to answer all the racket boiling up the dead echoes of the town kern case said 1 I hope youve killed the and his easy voice laid terrible words on the past and present of herendeen if you aint im me like to finish the job you au all right clay clay morgan said chos shoot in ia breathitt started it hes up in the hotel what I 1 was going to tell you when herendeen came in morgan pulled himself from the harness and found his legs snarled in it he sank back to the floor and rolled clear and stood up light flashed red before his eyes though there was no light in the room his hl head ached in long solid surges of pain from the base of his skull all around to his nose he tasted his hi own salty sweat his own blood he drew deeper into his lungs tor for wind catching the throb of his ribs his left fist began to send up its steady racket and he knew then he had broken a knuckle he could not move the middle finger kern case said that you Heren deens boots scraped the floor morgan bent down catching Heren deens shadow on all fours ours against the faint light of the doorway he saw herendeen come up and weave toward the door he baid to case no kern case called stop right there ben herendeen moved on toward the door ile he was out of it before case got around the counter he was on the street calling through the spotty racket of the gunfire bones come herel here I 1 kern case swore in the same passionless voice 1 I should of shot the now were in trouble he stepped around the floor he said duck the front windows clattered down before the sudden veering of gunfire slugs struck the tore store shelves A can of wet goods punctured began to spill out its fluid with a gurgling irregularity another slug striking metal went whannel morgan crawled across the floor he flattened battened himself near the doorway catching a slanting view of the street end his horse spooked spooned by the firing aftring had drifted away from the hitching rack into the farther shadows meanwhile he heard herendeen calling from the yellow front saloon get your horses off the street jim one more bullet struck the shelves kern case said so smoothly outraged ill have a little slice ol of this and walked back through the store rolling over to the opposite edge of the doorway near the counter morgan heard kern cases tat fat weight groan up at a back set ot of stairs and across the second floor from his new position morgan saw a three pines hand band lead lour four horses into an alley at the moment there was no firing but watching the yellow front morgan caught a flutter ot of light on its windows and stared steadily lily at it not immediately understanding der standing the source of that flash kern case had reached an upstairs window and now waited for his chance somebody ran along the back ol 01 the store and came through a rear door morgan rolled against the base of the counter listening to those quick steps advance he ha heard pack Breath itts voice murmur you there kern morgan said how you like our little party kid clay the hell bell you doln doin here kern case tame down the stairs with a fat mans slow haste baste he said we got to get out of here clay sure said hack we depart from hence mighty damned hence you all right clay said case that drew Breath itts interest why he be all right 1 I tripped on a rug said morgan he followed case and breathitt through the back quarters the three of them pa paused used by the back door while case scouted the roundabout shadows afterwards they drifted along the building line and paused halfway between the street and the down bearing timber of the hillside light began to brighten at the other end of town smoke smell drifted with the wind morgan saw his horse in the shadows ahead of him and went over tor for it when he came back he heard case say in the same even tone my dad built that store I 1 was born in it and aad all my brothers and sisters but shell be bothin but ashes in two hours from now there aint a single way to stop this whole town from coln up he let out his sigh well it was a good store im goto goin back to get the rocker my mother used light broke the shadows he saw hacks face set in its restless half smile sinde and realized his partner found a malicious satisfaction in this chase that was Breath itts way he had a wild kink in him and he was tough enough to run his luck out to the bitter end hack murmured later maybe morgan said get out of this light it if you bump into trouble kid you know where to come hack raised his head he said abut you came down here to say it he was no longer smiling his face was in the shadows his voice was grave and troubled 1 I guess I 1 have brought a hell bell of a lot of trouble down on my friends ill remember it clay if I 1 dont see you again dooni soon 1 want you to know this was as tar far as he be got he shrugged his bis shoulders aers only adding so long morgan turned up the trall trail winding with the steep grade until he had reached the last high point before going into solid umber timber fro from m this elevation he be looked down on the white red tangle of high leaping flames the roof and sides of the hotel were eaten away and what he saw now was the Inside skeleton of the building penciled darkly against the swirling fire are one wall of the store had caught all the surrounding gulch was day bright and he be made out gale and gales family slowly crossing the head bead of the gulch toward the potholes potholed Pot holes herendeen apparently had gone some of the adjacent trees began to catch fire TO ato BS BE CONTINUED |
