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Show fc I Lv,CHT nW.KH.WAHM AN StRV,ce not , ' J"nc' U 0n!..ck- ". v v r, KVnt n the flre form i Ve f0,l1't those In- S 'I?3 al.,my life' ana I don't : i bPnt me. t... . 1 '"S that worries mp fin" h0me W"ile 6-. "-f course, 1 cnn.t np, worry now, wlln th. rancllVreat eneel, s,le returned thoughtfully. Jane, he said Impressively, you needn't worry. I ike to Qa - a Sir, nue you. Whiie I'm ab" o raise an arm, Jane, I'll be out closed hnnly on her shoulders. She shrugged them and edged uneasily away. "Saddles, boys!" shouted McCrossen In his rich hearty voice. "Look alive, there everybody! Come over to where my horse is, Jane. I want you to say good-by to us! Give the boys a word of cheer." "Where are you going?" she asked. "Over the Divide. I want to do some backftrin' north of the pastures. pas-tures. Come along, girl," he Insisted, In-sisted, taking her arm firmly. All at once he caught her in a vise-like grip of his arms ana kissed her twice before she could escape. She slapped him Indignantly Indig-nantly and pushed him violently away. McCrossen laughed. "Slap me again, Jane; that was worth a string of slaps, girl. But why not take a little practice? You'd get to like It, same as I do!" . Toward the night of the second day, the fire crew straggled back to the ranch house, McCrossen at their head. Next morning, the sun rose hot and In an atmosphere without a breath of wind. Faces were brighter. bright-er. But after breakfast, the mail carrier, car-rier, Ignace, from the Reservation, on his way to town, brought disquieting dis-quieting news. A fire had broken out In the timber along the eastern boundary, and every buck had been called out to fight It. McCrossen listened carefully. "Which way was the wind, Ignace, when you left?" "From the east." "Hell's bells," exclaimed McCrossen Mc-Crossen "just where we don't want It." He questioned the carrier closely. The big ranch was now threatened on the southeast, and McCrossen started with the freshest fresh-est of his men for the new danger point. In the afternoon Jane rode into town to order some supplies sent out. While she was in Rubldo's store, a white man from the Reservation Reser-vation came in. The clerk who waited on him asked him about the fires down his way. "Not so good," said the man. "A new one broke out this morning between be-tween the Reservation timber and Bill Denison's ranch. Bill's in getting get-ting men together now." Jane, In another aisle and unobserved, unob-served, walked quietly outdoors and down the street for McAlpin's livery liv-ery barn. "Mose," she said to the hostler on duty, "is Bill Denison in town?" "He is. His horse, Music, is here Bill rode in pretty fast, an' 1 been rubbin' Music down. Bill says" "Mose, I want to see Bill. Go up the street and see if you can find him. Tell him I want to see him and I'll be up at the hotel. Half an hour later Jane, sitting with the door open in Dr. Carpy's office, off the hotel lobby, heard footsteps approaching and, turning, turn-ing, saw Denison. She rose quickly, extended her hand, took his without a greeting, and spoke rapidly and nervously. "I heard you were In town," she said, "and that you were In danger at the ranch I suppose, for that matter, we all are. But they said you were taking out men, and I wanted to see you. Bill, and ask what we could do to help. You ,'t toiro t-hnt amiss. I'm sure." drifting slowly up from the south. It was laden with the pungent smell of brush fire and acrid with the creosote of burned slashings from cut-over lands on the Reservation. j Reaching home, she was not surprised sur-prised to find everything there ah-normally ah-normally quiet. McCrossen, with most of the men, was up in the hills. The sole exception to the general atmospheric gloom was Quong. When Jane dressed at daybreak and looked out, the wind had shifted shift-ed and was blowing fresh from the south. McCrossen and his men were np betimes. He reported to Jane that they had checked the fire up toward the pass. He was In good spirits. Jane went to her breakfast feeling reassured. She was finishing her coffee when Quong stuck his head through the kitchen door into the dining room and said. "Man to see!" Jane walked, to the front door and found a. man on horseback. "What can I do for you?" "I've Just come from Bill Denison's. Deni-son's. He says If you can spare a dozen men quick, he can, maybe, save his ranch buildings." "Tell him I'll do everything I can to get them over right away. What's your name?" "Scott, ma'am." Jane ran over to the corral, where McCrossen was closing the wire gate. "Bill Denison has sent a messenger messen-ger over " "I saw him," Interjected McCrossen McCros-sen curtly. "asking for help," Jane went on rapidly. 'If we can get a dozen men over to him quick, he can save his ranch buildings " "A lot of gall, ain't It, Bill Denison Deni-son lookln' to Gunlock for help?" "No matter what differences there have been," Insisted Jane firmly, "In the hills we're all going to stand together to-gether In a time like this. Get the men together, Dave, and get over quick and do what you can." McCrossen, drawing from his pocket a plug of tobacco, bit off a chunk. "I don't approve of that." "It's not a question of your approving, ap-proving, Dave, I want you to go. Right off; now!" McCrossen was in no hurry. "Who's goin' to look after Gunlock if I go over to Bill Denison's?" he asked, regarding Jane sullenly. Jane was nobody's fool on the danger of the situation. "Dave," she exclaimed. Impatiently, Impa-tiently, "you know the worst threat to us, with this wind, Is from the south. If the Denison ranch burns we're In danger ourselves. Will you saddle up quick and get over there with the boys?" she demanded. McCrossen made no move to go. "I'll tell you right now I've had a damned sight more experience In these forest fires than you have. And I say my place's right here!" He spoke loudly and angrily. Jane grew white. "I want you to know I'm boss of this ranch. My father has told you so and this order Is going to be obeyed or I'll know the reason why." McCrossen faced her with as much animosity as he dared show. "Well, If you want to know one reason rea-son why your order won't be obeyed, just look at me I'm a reason. rea-son. I know where my place Is when GunlocU's In danger," he thundered. "Stop your talk !" exclaimed Jane. "Will you do as I tell you or not?' "I will not." "Then you're discharged as foreman fore-man of this ranch. Take your things and get off It by tomorrow morning." "Like hell I will." Half a dozen cowboys had edged up to listen to the controversy. Jane whirled around to them. "Boys," she said, speaking in lower but very determined tones, "take no more orders from David McCrossen. McCros-sen. He's no longer foreman here." Reeling off her words rapidly and firmly, Jane explained the situation to her growing circle of listeners. s Tynopsis P p,. desert town of the ',' , ,, celebrntluR the Fourth r , . Van Tambol. beautiful 4 r is Van Tambel, hated !- Gunlock ranch, has r-Est r-Est for the flrat CS -! -Twitch" the Frontier Day '! nn in company with Dr. lv ' tender-hearted friend cr ''unity Henry Sawdy of t 'I'Td rnch, tricked in a '"S , the day before by v?rosen. foreman at Gun-e:ian. Gun-e:ian. revenge. He enters Bill tlW aP , handsome younpr Texas "": , the rodeo which Mc-r: Mc-r: l, favored to win, and lays ' f t , on him. Unknown to the it;; ' Llson Is a champion horse-2.-' McCrossen and the young . '' 'Srtle In the various events. i: Arois a cigarette carelessly. 1ft : - Cn the track full tilt he , l0 me cigarette. The verdict I. Denison when McCrossen re-u::: re-u::: 1 attempt the stunt Entreat-" Entreat-" h crowd, Denison agrees to pother trick. Jane is i for ner bracelet, and throws It- ', the track. Just as Denison ;':10 pick It P a ve" from Bar-- Bar-- ReMtock, s McCrossen hench-, hench-, scares the pony, nearly costing - .'rfder his life. Gun play Is pre-.M pre-.M by the Intervention of Dr. Back on Gunlock ranch aft-Jl aft-Jl years in Chicago, because of M father's illness, Jane Rets lost ..In the hills and meets Denl-.11 Denl-.11 a neighbor, who guides her 2 " Kot knowing her Identity, he Utterly of Van Tambel. She McCrossen who brought her -and he denounces Denison as ,,,1110 thief. Later she asks Dr. why ner father Is unpopular it) .-Vie tells her It Is because of Van :-bel's ruthless and unscrupulous Vracter. Later McCrossen tries to j Jane, but is sharply rebuffed. a again she loses her way In , kills and meets Denison. On Im-i Im-i if she gives him her bracelet for i J : -'iing her home. Their Interest In j j i other growing, she reveals her ,lily to him. Jane is distressed learn from Carpy that her father :l nronred Denison. The Texan , :l worked at Gunlock as foreman , ) been promised a share In the ' -St!. When he quit. Van Tambel 'hegel In reprisal Denison has :;fn running cattle off Gunlock piA Shamed and humiliated, Jane !; Denison, but longs to see :a. Then they meet by accident. ,a :t? CHAPTER V Continued f Tor ever coming to this country all, if you must know," she de- 0 .;:ed In ansry desperation. :.: "But, Jane, that doesn't sound - 'arable," protested her com-;:iion. com-;:iion. "t '1 can't help that," she said petu-1; petu-1; jily. "I wish I'd never seen this airy. And I'm going to leave It, -frery first minute I get a chance. jj't see me any more. I don't ; ;it to see anybody till I can leave :' -tet as you say, Jane. But If I . a't see you any more, please re-ilaaber re-ilaaber that wherever you are, 1 ; "it yon." 'aie got home thinking of how 1 -retchedly she had handled the sit-', sit-', with Denison. " "proved to be her foreman, Mc-.; Mc-.; en, who had been cut up In a j SWing quarrel. :f toe kept Dr. Carpy for supper, ; 5i that evening she held him so , J! as she could. She felt down the depths. Wen he started for town, Jane out In tho mnmit),t ,it inside? That's where l want you to set brown. By the way. your friend Bill Denison was in to see me the other day. He's been up north with the fire lighters 'way up on the Crazy Woman at Jim Laramie's ranch. Look here, girl," he contln-nod, contln-nod, "what are you doing tomorrow? tomor-row? We are going to have a moose dinner. Ever eat moose? Come In and try It." Jane hesitated, "Oh, I don't know " "Come along. There'll be nobody else there, If that's what you're afraid of?" Sleepy Cat looked deserted when Jane rode In next day. She asked McAlpin at the barn where all the men were. "Up north, fire fighting." "Is It as bad as that?" "I never saw It so bad In the twenty years I've lived here and at Cnlnbasas! They brought In a wag-onload wag-onload yesterday of the worst burnt men I ever seen In my life. The hospital's pretty near full. Doc Carpy was there all night" Jane was for going home. She walked up to the hotel and talked with Puss, the housekeeper. "Don't you go," counseled Puss. "If the doctor's expecting to see you, he'll be all upset If you don't stay." "But wllh all these men In the hospital? I'd rather wait till he has a free day," suggested Jane. The housekeeper laughed. "If you wait for a free day for the doctor, you'll wait till Judgment day. And he might he busier then than he Is now. There's a preacher In town this week, baptizing folks down In the river. 'Cording to what he says, there'll be a lot more Sleepy Cat fire fighters needing help Judgment day than Is needin' it now. , Come in here and take oft your things." When Jane sat down with the doctor doc-tor In his private dining room for the moose dinner, he made light of the fire situation as well as of his labors. "All In the day's work. Puss Is an alarmist. She's always telling me I'm working too hard." Jane repeated the anecdote of the preacher and Puss' application of It to the doctor himself on Judgment day. Carpy laughed "That's Panama she's talking about. Puss is powerful power-ful afraid of him . . . Who Is he? Why, a pretty good fellow used to be an auctioneer and all-round gambler gam-bler got converted preaches up and down the line from Medicine Bend to Sleepy Cat. But he volunteered volun-teered for fire fighting. He's one of the men got burnt yesterday, and he's up with the rest of 'em at the hospital. The ex-sheriff, Bill Pardaloe, rode out to Gunlock two days later and conscripted the men to fight fire coming down the Crazy Woman and threatening Sleepy Cat The quiet of that day and the next was like a calm before a storm. After supper Jane ordered her pony saddled and rode clear up to the summit of Gunlock Knob, where she could see the northern country for many miles. When she reached the top she wai sorrv she had attempted the "Now I have discharged McCrossen," McCros-sen," she said In conclusion, "and I want all of you boys who are loyal to me to ride with me over to the !3re line on the Denison ranch and see what we can do to save his buildings. Those of you who will go, line up here with me." One of the boys, Bull Page, stepped promptly to Jane's side. Before he reached it, four more were on their way. Barney Ueb-stock Ueb-stock and a crony stood still. It meant that they sided with the foreman. "Now, Bull," she added snapplly, "hunt up as many of the other boys as you can find and let's get going." Within a few minutes, with the ponies dancing and the men shouting, shout-ing, a party of ten headed south for' the Denison ranch. Not until they reached the last crest of the hills separating the two ranches and Jane looked over on the lowlands of the smaller ranch, did she catch her breath in sudden fear. In the distance she saw a formidable wall of white smoke billowing into the sky. (TO BE COMTIM'EDJ talking and clinging to his ' When he mounted, she still questions to keep him talkiDg "f fcpt his hand In hers. he said, "there's some-J5 some-J5 tuning your mind, not your i ','' Do yu want to tell me, girl?" W tonight, doctor." lme, maybe come to me ;ie same as If I were your fa- 8Be.r tace fell against hla hand. ."Kit on It the warmth of her 4, m, 'Mustn't worry, my child. 11 the load, whatever It Is, gets eaTr-you know where to bring Ye ,lilH wheeling away. V prom,sed Dr. Carpy to t JWy day, and whle attendlng ( , 7ae(l man he kept close tab tail' She avolued the main and kept to the hills near the Carpy brought little the 6py Cat- but he sPke . orest 8res north of town. , nope we shan't be bothered .!j sali Jane. fte tiv!anser bere un,ess they cross l"onth Yu haven,,: mucb tim-h tim-h , ' e east ranch. There's none ve I !' 0ver on tne ranBe. But lirt , gJ a lot scattered around io,n he hl"s. If It should get tiers , the reservation timber, IT be heU to pay." tutor,, 1IcCrossen coming on, l aed Jane. 'WeetlnnV" few days now-"! now-"! Jon? v dlsaPFearIng. How fsitj la, ou're the one I'm inter- Ct0Dlng orders llke a lamb, h sitting yn see how br0WD IeS' outsl(Je- But what about climb. The spectacle was awe-inspiring, but terrifying. Far beyond the hills and all along the northern horizon she saw patches of dull, silent red, slowly rising and falling, at moments Increasing, In-creasing, and again subsiding. She fell asleep early, but after midnight she woke. The sky was fairly clear, and she could hear the wind singing In the pines about the ranch house. She was roused from her thoughts by the approach ng clatter of galloping noofs Raising herself to support her head on her elbow, she listened. The clatter came nearer, the galloping faster. In a moment she heard a man pull his horse sharply up and spr.ng from the saddle under her w ndow. "Miss Jane I" he called. "Wake up, P' She' knew the voice. "I'm awake. Bull. What IS It?" KMnr1 "The boys are rldln' In behind me." "All of them?" "Everybody. They'll be bere Inside In-side twenty minutes." "What time Is It, Bull? "From the moon, about two o'clock The boys'l. want elM-to elM-to eat. They're ridin' right out again. I'll call Quong. t What's the matter, V- are they riding out again for? "The tire has crossed the river. CHAPTER VI t-itttt PGE the messenger of Jane to make ready a "How could I take anything amiss from you?" "In a common danger," she said, flushing In some confusion and interrupting in-terrupting him to hide It. "What can we do at the ranch to help make you safe? Is there anything, any-thing, Bill? Anything to help?" Both were conscious of slight strain. Denison shuffled awkwardly awkward-ly "Why, Miss Jane" "Since when Miss Jane?" she asked with asperity. "I didn't know" he began. "Neither did I know. Bill. Now answer my question. If you re In danger, tell me what I can do. "Have the boys keep a close eye on the two-Reservation fires, ir either of 'em get around Gunlock Knob, It'll be kind of bad for botb "wlut. Bill, how am I to know when or whether they do get around the Knob? now am I going to know whether you yourself need help?" She was beginning to real-tol real-tol that It was impossible to get anything but evasive generalities ;lf him "Tell me this: If you nrUpVm us. will you send Se? word over to you at the ranch bSUhe cS' "not escape the signlfl- of his tone In uttering her name! But' she kept her balance aeCyourp-k,n.:Ishall be waiting for the word when it comes." jane rode |