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Show i :.U.t ...J COPYRIGHT W.N.U. S r Rwrrr "Nays, your Jig's up. Bhe goes back P "Wait a minute," the robber replied, re-plied, stridently. "Stick or quit, If you want. I retched tills gurl fer ransom. She come wlllin', 'cause if she hadn't I'd killed Ilerrick. He'll pay twenty-live, mebbe fifty thousand thou-sand for her." Jim Interposed again: "ITays, you're n dirty liar. You didn't steal this girl Tor ransom," he called out fiercely. Then, turning to the dejected de-jected figure on the gray horse: "Miss Uerrlck, Is lie tollliij? the truth?" "Yes, he stole me for ransom," she replied, with emotion. "They broke Into my room one through the window, the other at the door. They threatened me with guns. . . . If I screamed they'd kill me. If I didn't come with them they'd kill my brother! ... I agreed." "We tied Ilerrlclt up before we got the gurl," said Hays. "An" after, Ihey disappeared behind n corner of lmnk. Jim sank down In a cold sweat. I'erhaps these men were In-bans In-bans or strm.i.c.-ri fr, llankviile r prospectors, l'.ut he had nut seen any pack animals. After a lung anxious watch he saw the three reappear In the "ash, considerably closer. The ono In the middle rode n gray horse anil otherwise contrasted sharply with the, dark mounts and dark dollies of the oilier two. A second time the trio disappeared. Smoky was peering about In a desultory des-ultory manner, but he was too low down to sight the riders. Jim was now shaking. An awful premonition attacked him. lie had met It and almost overcome It as another un-accountable un-accountable attack of nerves when the foremost horseman emerged from the bank. Ho recognized the stalwart figure, v'he wide, black sombrero, the poise In the saddle. That was Hank Hays. Jim scarcely dared shift his gaze back to the second rider, but he was Irresistibly forced to. A slight figure fig-ure In tan, drooping in the saddle! "So help me!" he whispered, and sank down on tlie stone. That center cen-ter rider was Helen Herrlek. For a moment a hell rioted In Jim Wall's breast. How he cursed himself for a vacillating idiot! Ills Intuition had been right He had seen through this robber leader's behavior be-havior at Star ranch. But like a fool he had not trusted himself. Jim grew cold to his very marrow. Yet his Intelliglence did not wholly succumb to his fury. He strove to think. This hound had gotten Helen, Just how, It was useless to conjecture. But to kill him then, on the spot? That gave Jim Wall pause. Hays' men would roar at this deal. Involving them In the abduction ab-duction of a woman, 6.t5U they would hardly go so far as to resist him. Jim crushed down his deadly Impulse. Im-pulse. He would wait. Well Indeed had It been for Jim to espy this trio long before they reached him. He had time to recover, re-cover, to think what was best. If Hank Hays had come upon Jim suddenly sud-denly It would have been his doom. One of the pack animals neighed shrilly and then all the horses stuck up their ears. "Say, I heerd a hoss-shoe ring on a stone," called Mac, who had ears as keen as a horse. "What's- that?" queried Smoky, sharply. He leaped up. CHAPTER VII uT OOK! Riders comin'l" ex-' ex-' claimed Brad Lincoln. Jim leaped oft the rock, crashing crash-ing down behind the watching men, startling them. "Smoky, It's Hays. I saw him a mile off." "Why didn't you say sometbln', then?" retorted Slocuin gruffly. "I was too flabbergasted," replied Jim, coolly, as he joined them. "It's Hank all right," said Mac. 1 ISW4 I MH mii i mm. In his breast, baffled Jim. He knew tie was glad never to seo Helen Uerrlck Uer-rlck again. About midnight Smoky turned the pack animals up the slope Into the woods, and alter a mile of rou-h going emerged Into an open canyon head. "Hyar we nlr," Bnlj Smoky. Throw things an' git to sleep, m stand first guard." Jim unrolled his bed beside a rock, and pulled off his boots nnd unbuckling his gun belt he crawled under the blanket. Crack of ax nnd Happy Jack's voice pierced his slumber, both rec-orgnized rec-orgnized before he opened his eyes. Jim sat up, stretched, nnd reaching for his boots he gazed around. The men were stirring, two around the camp fire and others among the horses. "Wnl, long past sunup," said Slo-cum, Slo-cum, as Jim approached the fire. "Who was It bet Brad thet Hank wouldn't show up?" "Nobody," replied Lincoln. "Jim, suppose you take your ride au' sneak down an' knock over a deer," suggested Smoky. Three hundred yards down the slope Jim emerged Into the open. There were no riders on the winding, wind-ing, white trail. Stealthily working back Into the timber he soon espied two deer about sixty paces distant, long ears erect He killed the buck standing. Upon his return to camp Smoky greeted him with a grin. "How far to Red canyon?" asked .Tim. "I don't know. About fifteen miles. Don't you remember thet heavy grove of cedars leadiu' down Into a red hole?" "Reckon I do. If Hays joins us there It'll mean he comes by another an-other trail, doesn't It?" "If! So you figger he might not? Course he'd come around the mountain, moun-tain, or mebbe over another pass, fie shore knows trails thet we don't." "Aw Hank'll show up on time." "Wonder If he stayed back to plug BEVERLY HILLS. Well all I know is just what little I read in the papers. These poor Colleges are hav- lug a time. Y'ou B"-;'"-.w know we got to fX;r, ( look at this Col-f) Col-f) lege "Racket" , ii from these -t 1sSis young folks an-H'-:i''H' e'9 at that Us ,-;5:--VTsC ol(1 folks, W9 -Jfclf SN raise up on what S'j' y frJ. waa' uutiI a fow j-j JTi3f rSS Generations ago. jTJ. and we say, tvr "Whats these young coming too? They dident do like that when I was young." But all a young man or woman has got to do today Is to look over the mess that ua old timers tim-ers have made of everything, and if we are fair with the young "Upstarts" "Up-starts" there is no reason why they should look on us with any great "Huzzas." Tha Present Generation Is the on that "Gummed" up the cards, so when the young start high tailing off on what we call a tangle-ment, tangle-ment, why Its just because they can sea what a mess wa have made of things. In our days the young folks that were fortunate enough to go to College Col-lege had no reason, (so I Imagine, for I never went anywhere but Oxford Ox-ford under the auspices of my good friend Arthur Brisbane), but as I say the College folks of a by gone generation dident have this national havoc to look at like the young ones nowadays do. They looked forward to graduation with a great expectancy, expect-ancy, "With a great Expectancy," say that sounds pretty good, that old Oxford i3 cropping out. Well they looked forward with, (I will repeat that because I think it good) a great expectancy, they felt that they would step out into tha world, and that there was a definite notch awaiting them. It meant something some-thing to be a college graduate. There was jobs, there was positions, and all things being equal, you were given a little edge. That old Lambs Hide you brought home Impressed not only Father and Mother, but It knocked the town haywire, and that was what might be called the "Golden "Gold-en Period" of the young college graduate. He could come home and take a bow, and if ha really wanted It he could take a job, so he had no particular reason to look on life with any great difference than his elders. Of course ha knew that ha knew mora than they did, but that goes and always has with a college degree, but in those days his immediate imme-diate elders had kept things going on a fairly even keel. They dident know that "Mass Production" was simply an invention on which America Amer-ica had no patent, that In time It would defeat its own purpose. But tha young dident know it, and neither did the older. So you might say the collegiate stepped out into a world that was rosy from every angle. Then came the dawn Tha whole world was suddenly slapped in the face with a wet towel, and told to "Wake up, you are sleeping sleep-ing on your back, and you are snoring snor-ing with such satisfaction that you have annoyed the Gods." And since then tha world has just been rolling and tumbling. They cant get back to a natural sleep, and they dont know what to do. Some trying to read, some are counting sheep, and most of em are walking the floor. And thats the generation that the new college graduate must step out in. No job awaits him, no bows await him. He looks out over the wreck of which he had no making, and says, "So this is the old folks way. Yeah?" So ha starts looking for the keyhole in the dark, too, and with his young enthusiasm he thinks he can Sud It before you can. (Forgetting that you have a little advantage over him by knowing where it used to be). His youth will make him take a chance quicker , than we will. He ; -.i---'1 starts fumbling '''Jf-fs everybodys door ' A df j , ( y to see If the key ' ( (I v L-r"" will fit. You hoi- J--' ler at him, "Dont "WS go there, thats not it," and he i, hollers back, - -ICTX ' "Well you dont v. know where It s V is, and so I am bv.'N. fjA going to try em ;. y all." So Its not a bright future that wa ask them to enter into. They feel that they ara the ones to right It. Wa feel that wa ara tha ones that lost It, and that we ara the ones that will find it Its just a difference of ' opinion, Its not a difference of na-I na-I ture. They ara absolutely the same ! as vre are. Its viewpoint, human na-1 na-1 tura dont enter into it, its outlook : its viewpoint. We look at it from the : old days, they look at It from the I new. We ara looking In different di- rection3. We cant help but look back, they cant help but look forward. But we ara both standing on tha same I ground, and their feet is there as firmly as ours. I I ilAPTER VI Continued , not through hero," replied !!hT. ,,l;y, why don't you ask Hays :Ms mysterious deal is?" quer-31, quer-31, i.ircasticnlly. ,k what's got Into you?" i smoky. ,ty, the boss Is up a tree," jla caustically. "He means Uerrlck nil right Hut that's jMlnd. It's the girl I" & gold headed gurl we seen rSvIn' hyar?" 3, Merrick's sister." ;! Haw I So thet's what's tou, Hank?" s had reached his limit, and !j, but for Smoky's mirth, have started hostilities. lie .. fd, but there was a deadly '' :n the eyes he had fixed on y got between them. "See Hank. So that's the deal? An' .!; fer pore Jim hyar jest be-' be-' he's onto you? . . . Wal, If ; so keen as thet to draw on dy. why, make It me. I start-i start-i I dragged Jim Into it An' ! ;oin' to let you take It out 3." a Hank Hays came back to f. r's right Smoky, you're " he declared hoarsely. "I'm aJed. . . . An' I've lost my ad over Herrick's sister." 'i ere. Spoke up like a man." do-; do-; Smoky, heartily relieved. didn't you come thet clean Neither Jim nor me nor - ' us blame you fer admirin' ::rL And if you'd gone crazy. :ra;jed her away Into the with us, we'd ault you ,k i bent to pick up the roll of J to, men. I've got to do t :sll thlukln'," he said, and left .re they were half finished t rieir supper Hays entered. ;'re shakin' the dust of Star tonight," he said, deliberate-j deliberate-j 'aek up an' leave at once. I'll iter. If I don't meet you at :n s camp I'll meet you shore g( iay In thet cedar grove above , -ii of Red canyon." ;ne asked any more questions ie any comments. Whatever Sought about Hays' peculiar ( leading his band they kept ra aselves. Jim Wall was not J relieved, still he concluded r 3aj3 must abandon any plot a r- ght have concocted toward jej.i's sister. At eny rate what- In Hays' mind Jim could ;tq:rther risk alienating him or i:l Jim would have to ride nitith them. If he stayed be-trljj be-trljj gpy upon Hays or frustrate lai'tempt he might make to call gbiie Herricks, he would have Hays. 1 was mantling the valley Jim went out Under the , le shadows were dark. From 'Iter of the pines he lookeri l Jijs, expecting to find hin: J-vi ; guard. But the robber was j " the porch. He was stalk ' nd fro along the brook, an ' no more watching for Heese n was Jim. His bent form de, his turning at the ent : lat, his hands folded behim 4 all attested to the mooi !ht sloomy, abstracted, passion man. -fupon Jim repaired to his rolled his bed and made f : bis other belongings.. Thei r-ed his effects down to tht All was cheery bustle there 'i were glad to get away fron abhnch. They talked of th( roost Hays had always i them, of Idle days to eai ,n nk and gamble, of the Ions. In hiding. you all ready?" querlec 'Ppearlng In the doorway. an' bustin' to go." second thought I'd like on to stay with me. How abou or-timer?" Is 1 rlShV replied Sparrow few more minutes all tin I I -Sving were mounted, tin 'nimals, with packs gra.i i the darkness, straggling ui 1. ' at your camp till sunup.' T8, conclusively. "An" If I'n ; re I'll meet you about nooi " heed of Red canyon." i ''it more words or ad: 4 off behind the pat-: I nd the five riders followed 1 'trss the brook all horse 'Ask trot Jim Wall looke jThen he saw a bright llgb rich. That was from Hei ""se. An unfamiliar sensa p 1 weight of cold leai THE STORY FPvOM THE BEGINNING Jim Wall, young cowpuncher from Wyoming, seeks a new field In Utah. Ha meets Hank Haya, who admits being a robber, and tella Wall ; he is working for an Englishman, Herrlek, who haB located a big ranch. Hays and others are plotting to steal their employer's cattle and money. Wall saves Hank's life by bluffing a gambler. With Hays, Happy Jack and Lincoln, Wall arrives at Herrick's ranch. Hays unfolds his plan for getting possession of Herrick's 12,000 head of live stock. He and his lieutenants ride away to drive off the first bunch of cattle. Jim remains behind to shoot It out, If necessary, with Heeseman, Hays' rival among the cattle rustlers. Heeseman tells Wall Hays was once his (Heeseman's) partner and double-crossed him. Herrlek delegates Jim to go to Grand Junction to I meet Helen, Herrick's sister. Jim gets Barnes, a young cowboy, to tell her that he (Jim) Is a desperado of the worst type. Barnes does so, but the girl treats the Information lightly. On his arrival at the ranch, with Helen, ' Jim Is confronted by Hays, who betrays unusual interest in the coming of ' Miss Herrlek. Jim goes riding with the Herricks and greatly Impresses Helen with his revolver shooting. Jim Wall finds himself falling In love with Helen. He coaches her In riding western style, and finally kisses her. She dismisses him, but relents and asks him not to leave the ranch. Hays' ' men return from the drive. The leader has sold the cattle and brought back I the money. Most of the Riders Inclined to the Opinion That It Was Just Haze. we made him promise to pay handsome. hand-some. An " "That's enough," snapped Jim. "Give me a man or two. We'll take her back and get the money." "Hold on. Thet was somethln' I had In mind," drawled Hays. "But It didu't work. I had to kill Progar. An " "Who's Progar?" "Wal, he's Heeseman's right-hand man. Now It happens thet foxy Heeseman wa3 plannln' the same trick I pulled. Progar an' another feller ketched us takln the gurl out. The other feller got away." "Thet's wuss than ever 1" screamed Smoky. "Heeseman will find out." "Huh. I should smile In pertlcu-Iar pertlcu-Iar thet he will. We seen his outfit out-fit on your trail I" "Shet up! Hosses comln' 1" The ensuing rush was quelled by Smoky's ringing order. "Hold on I It's Jeff!" An opening In the grove 3howed Bridges plunging upon them. "Heeseman's outfit trailln' us," he announced. "Back about five miles when I left my post" "Fellers, grab your rifles an' take to cover," yelled Smoky. Hays made a dive for his horse and, mounting, leaned over to take up a rope halter round the neck of the horse Miss nerrlck was riding. "You lied to me," she cried, angrily. an-grily. "You assured me that If I'd come without resistance you'd soon arrange for my freedom. Here we are miles from Star ranch." Hays paid not the slightest attention atten-tion to her, but started off, leading her horse. "Jim Wall, are you going to permit per-mit this outrage?" "I'm powerless, Miss Herrlek," he replied, hurriedly. "If Heeseman catches us you'll be worse off." The leader headed down the slope, dragging Miss Herrick's horse. Jim could hear the girl's protestations. The other riders made haste to line the pack horses;. Smoky brought up the rear. Jim kept unobtrusively working ahead until there were only three pack horses In front of him, nnd he could see Hays and the girl at intervals. in-tervals. Hays yelled back for his riders to hurry. He pointed to the left wall as If any moment their pursuers might appear there. The next sign from Smoky was a ride shot Jim espied something flash along the rim, high up and far back, out of range, If It were a pursuer. "Rustle !" shrilled Smoky. "I seen riders.. They ducked back. They'll aim to head us off." Hays bawled back an order and pointed aloft. Suddenly riders popped In view back on the point of an intersecting canyon. Hays and Latimer opened fire with their revolvers. The riders began to return the fire with rifles. Jim saw Latimer knocked off his horse, apparently not badly Injured. He raced ahead after Hays, who rode fast, dragging the girl's horse, and at the same time shooting at the riders until he passed around a corner of tlie canyon. Latimer soon disappeared after him. Then the riders above turned their attention to the rest of Hays' outfit. Jim had a quarter of a mile to ride to pass the corner ahead to safety. The pack horses were scattered, scat-tered, tearing up the canyon. Jim gained on them. Then ha ogan to shoot. ' TO BE CXIN-T'NIIEO. Heeseman? He hates thet rustler." In less than an hour the riders were on the move down the moun-1 moun-1 tain. Packing on the deer Jim had 1 slain occasioned a little delay for 1 all, because Smoky kept them close 5 tofrether. At the edge of the timber - belt he halted them again while he 1 peeped out to reconnoiter. Then he called: "Come hyar, a couple ol vou long-sighted fellers." ' They all rode out to Join him 1 where he sat his horse, pointing tc I a faint blue on the purple valley - floor. "Is thet dust?" Most of the riders inclined to the ' opinion that It was just haze. 1 "Ten miles or more back and hard ' to make out," spoke up Jim. "II 1 this was my range I'd say it wasn I haze or smoke." i "Wish I had Hank's glasses. Mj 1 ;Jyes are no good any more fer long 5 hots. Wal, let's mosey." I When they reached another turr I "row which It was possible to look back for five miles or more Smokj I halted while the others caught up. "Jeff, you hang right hyar," he .aid, "an' keep your eyes peeled or the back trail. I ain't so shore thel t -ray patch back -on the valley wai mze. It sort of moved to me. An . .here wasn't a lick of wind. Wal rom round this corner you can easj , -ee the cedar grove where we I ,ang up fer the boss. An' If yoi ketch sight of any more'n a couplt -iders on the back stretch you com. .;;jfD. hl bent for election. Don I tav long after noon." 'jln tied his horse In the , cedar, nnd climbed a Jumble o. so he could command a be -iow. Almost at once he s ighte rs coming down a wash about e away, and he had opened h ,outh to shout the good tldlnB. .hcn something ed nhJ'okP( He rubbed his eyes and looke n Three riders! Assumln; S'two o them were Hay, am L "timer. who could the third be 1 "Shore, I see him now. Thet's i Hank." "Jim, what flabbergasted you?" I demanded Smoky. "Three riders I" flashed Jim. "Wal. ... So I see. What you make of thet?" ejaculated Slocum. i The three emerged clearly from s behind the cedars. A blank silence ' ensued. Jim at last got the tigerish nerves under control. Ills thoughts , were whirling. "Humph. Little rider In between," ' commented Lincoln. "That's Sparrowhawk behind." . "Who's the third party?" "Somebody with a mask on I" I "An' a long slicker." "Fellers," rasped Slocum, "thet's t a woman with a veil!" Jim thought the moment had come. "Men, Hank has double-; double-; crossed us. He's stolen Derrick's sister!" i Hank Hays led his two followers : to within a few feet of the cluster r of riders. Jim's lightning-swift glance took the three In, their dust-. dust-. caked horses, and flashed back to fasten upon Miss Ilerrick. Her fea-t fea-t tures were not visible through the j veil. The linen coat showed the wear and tear of contact with brush. She had on riding boots and over- r alls. 1 j "Wal, you're all here but Jeff," be-, be-, gan Hays. i '-.folT'll be comln by now," replied , I Smoky. "W'har you aimin' fer?" I 'T, rakes of the Lirty Devil." "I take it you've fetched Herrick's r sister." t "You're a bright boy. r "Hank Hays, after nil you 1 ! double-crossed us," roared Smoky, j "You're a liar. You're a cheat You j think you can drag us In on a deal 3 like this. I thought you acted pow-i pow-i erful queer. So it was this gurl you 1. tricked us fer? . . . Ton I" , Jim Wall strode forward nnd 1 aside, his swift action menacingly ? j significant |