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Show JT JACKSOH GREGORY jJL63l GREGORY W.N.U. RELEASE -WA THE STORY SO FAR: Arriving simul-aneously simul-aneously at the King Cole Ranch, Ann e and Cole Cody discovered Old Early 3ill Cole had made two Identical wills, ne leaving all his money and the King ?ole Ranch to Ann; and the other giving ! the same money and property to Cole. However, before his death, caused by a ' gun-shot wound from an unknown assail- ! ant. Old Bill had sent them each a key, ! which, to their amazement, they now ; found fitted two different locks on an old, black Iron box. Opening the box they found two envelopes, each containing a five-hundred-dollar biU and a letter directing di-recting payment of the money to Doc Joe and the Judge in settlement of a lost bet. Now continue with the story. f dog, maybe to learn what cabrone it was who had shot Early Bill. "I would kill him like that!" he exclaimed and crushed an acorn with the high heel of his boot. Cody explained to Cal Roundtree all about Porfirio. "He sold his little ranch to come here. I'd like him to stay a while. If I take over, he's on my pay roll. Anyhow he might hole-up here a few days?" Cal shrugged. "Me, not owning the place, I can't hire a man," he said. "Likewise, not owning it, I've got no rights chasing a man off. As far as I go, Porfirio is welcome to stick around until his feet itch to be traveling." Porfirio smiled. "But I do not travel on my feets, Senor!" "It's a darn shame," said Cole Cody, half smiling and half inclined to sigh over the thing, "that the old boy can't be with us, watching all the little merry hell he's kicked up." Cal sat silent a little while, gently gen-tly stirring the dirt with the toe of his boot. Without looking up from this leisurely lei-surely occupation, he said quietly, "Well, me, I don't know nothing about nothing nohow, which is darn good and convincing grammar when a man means he can't figger a thing out far enough to get started even. Now, me, I've got the fool hunch that old Early Bill is watching every ev-ery darn move. Don't know, .like I said. But I figger when a man dies a part of him is dead as a door nail; but that there's another part of him that lingers on, to speak to the point and poetic at the same time. The old coot as much as said when he kicked off that he was going go-ing to get his fun out of things. I wasn't drunk this morning; maybe I was half asleep and didn't know it, but I could have swore old Early CHAPTER XI Cal Houndtree told the story of Early Bill Cole very simply. Cole Cody asked, "When he came to making a will, hen, he knew what he was doing? He wasn't delirious?" "Not Early Bill," vowed Cal Roundtree. "When he stood up, aiming to die on his feet the same way he had lived, his old head was is clear as a bell. You could see it in his eyes. He had a pair of eyes like an eagle's." "Then how in blazes was it that at one and the same time he gave all ( he had to me and gave the jame everything to Ann Lee? I've ieen both wills, man, and that's aow they read!" Cal shook his head. "He was having hav-ing him his fun, I reckon. Old Early Ear-ly Bill, come rain or shine, was always al-ways a great hand for having him bis own fun in his own way." He thought a moment. "Say! It might be that this way he was making Sure that you and Miss Ann would marry each other! Maybe that's the way he wanted it!" "Then you're wrong about him not being crazy," snorted Cole Cody. They sat silent a little while, soaking soak-ing in the sunshine. Presently they fell to talking of this and that as men, strangers to each other and thrown together, will, and so it chanced that the attempted stage robbery of the day before was mentioned. men-tioned. And so Cal Roundtree learned that the attack had been made against Bucktooth Jenkins, and that Jenkins was now lying in bed at Bald Eagle, pretty well shot up. "Did they get the money Buck-tooth Buck-tooth was carrying?" Cal Roundtree asked anxiously. "They didn't get anything, unless one of them got a bullet in him. I couldn't be sure, it was that dark.' We all wondered what Bucktooth was carrying that they wanted." "He was carrying ten thousand dollars in hard and folding money," said Cal. "It was money he had gone to collect for Early Bill, and he was bringing it home. I know because Early Bill showed me the letter Bucktooth had wrote him; the letter said he had collected all right but was staying over a couple of days to visit some relations of his at the old trading post down over by Tilton; said he'd be along on yesterday's stage, bringing the ten thousand bucks with him. But how the devil did anybody else find out about it? Bucktooth ain't a man to gab. Early Bill showed me the letter let-ter because when it come he was near blind with pain, and he just snapped at me like this, 'Oh, hell, it ain't anything if it's from that fool Bucktooth. Just about whether he did as I told him or fell down on it. Here, read it to me, Cal,' and he stuck on to that, same as usual, 'If you can read!' So I read it, and left it lying on his table when he chased me out to bring him a drink." "You left it on the table, huh? He probably left it on the table. What do you know about this Ranee Waldron hombre anyhow?" "Nothing. Except I don't like the way he wears his face." "He could have found the letter and acted on it. "About it being Waldron, I bet it was! He's been in and out of Bald Eagle a time or two, and from what I hear he ain't got a two-bit piece to his name. And I wouldn't put him above hog-stealing. But where he'd find a side-kick in a game like this, him being a Johnny-come-lately hereabouts, I wouldn't know." "Just who is Bucktooth Jenkins, anyhow? How. come that Early Bil sent him on an errand such ,'iS that?" "Bucktooth has been old Rill's handy-man for years. He lived in that little shack over yonder." Cal pointed to one of the several small adobes half hidden by the low drooping droop-ing branches of a live oak. "He's a good man and game, and always carried out orders the way he got 'em. Later I'll be riding into town to see how he's making out. If he gets well he ought to be back here, no matter who owns the place." "I'd sort of like to look the ranch over, to see what it's like," said Cody wistfully. "But I suppose, the shape I'm in, a horse would shake me plumb to pieces." "I'll hitch up the buckboard, if you say the word, Cody. A buckboard can go most any place, you know." It was while they were giving the matter thrught that a man came riding to them from the country road, igroring the ranch house and striking straight for the two on the log. First Cole Cody recognized the palomino, then the rider, and waved. Here came little Porfirio Lopez whom he had left last night in town. Porfirio's white teeth gleamed in a wide grin as he pulled his horse up in front of them. "Light down, Porfirio," invited Cody, "and make yourself at home." Porfirio swung down lightly, was introduced to Cal Roundtree who shook hands without getting up to do so, an unnecessary effort anyhow, seated himself beside his amigo Cole Cody, and the three chatted. Porfirio Por-firio had come, it appeared, for more than one reason: He wanted to visit the grave of the poor old Senor Beel Cole; he meant to pick some wild flowers by the creek and place them there with his own two hands. Also, h had thought that he might find his amigo Cole Cody here. Third, his heavy black brows drawn down like the shadow of a thundercloud, thunder-cloud, he wanted to poke his nose into things here, to find out things for himself, to be like a hunting i to his corner of the house; he had no way of telling that she had been shocked by the deadly pallor of his face, its haggard, drawn look and by her stabbing realization that it had been her hand to make him like this. If he should die The afternoon passed lingeringly. There was so much to think about, so little to do about any part of it. For the most part. Cole Cody lay in his room, fatigued and weakened by his jaunt in the buckboard; Ranee Waldron kept to his rooms, seldom emerging and always, as Aunt Jenifer Jeni-fer took pains to note, leaving a locked door behind him. Aunt Jenifer Jeni-fer herself did a bit of snooping all over the place but mostly in the neighborhood of Waldron's quarters. As for Ann Lee, she sat in the patio dreaming dreams of the future, thinking of the immediate past, musing mus-ing about her benefactor, Early Bill. Not long after the lamps were lit all gathered around the dining table ta-ble when Aunt Jenifer rang the hand bell for supper. Again the meal was excellent and attacked as at dinner; again conversation died aborning. In fact, had it not been for Aunt Jenifer's few cheery remarks, re-marks, there would probably not have been so much as a "Please pass the potatoes," remark. At the end of this feast of silence and flow of distrust, Cole Cody again said some sort of polite thanks and went to his room. After Cody's departure, depar-ture, Ranee Waldron sat a little while over his coffee, smoking a cigarette, cig-arette, and made some small endeavor en-deavor to be agreeable. Aunt Jenifer Jeni-fer did not like the man, and made him the curtest replies before she got up to clear the dishes away; Ann Lee seemed absent minded; she said, "What did you say?" twice to remarks of his; he was not long in saying his own good night and going to his room. Ann Lee patted a yawn; they had been up early, it had been quite a day and she was sleepy already. al-ready. "Go to bed, Kitten," said Aunt Jenifer. "I'll do the dishes and follow fol-low along in two shakes." Ann carried her lamp through quiet empty rooms where shadows seemed to come out of corners and from under tables and chairs, and sctirry away like frightened things. In her room it was very still, and the starshine came in through the iron grilles of her open windows. She drew the shades down, undressed un-dressed and slipped into her nightgown night-gown and into her big bed almost with one gesture and passed gently from daydream to the land of night's dreams. And Aunt Jenifer, as wide awake as any cat at any mouse hole, sat for a long while on the green bench, and her head was tipped at an angle that indicates the head's owner is listening intently for the slightest sound. Thus an hour passed; and the night was still. At even the slightest sound, she started; when she heard the faint creak of a board within the house, she clutched the edges of her bench with both hands, ready to spring up. But she knew the way of old houses; how in the night for no reason on earth that -she knew, the ancient floorboards would creak like that; sometimes she had treated herself to the thrill of thinking. "There goes a ghost!" Now she just sat back and continued to wait. Long ago little Ann Lee was fast asleep, or she would have been out here seeking her. Aunt Jenifer stole out of her secret place and crept like an agile small shadow out to one of the big live oaks not more than 50 yards from Ranee Waldron's outer door. Under the thick branched tree, heavy with young foliage, it was black dark; here she established herself, seated on the ground, leaning back against the gnarled trunk. At last even Aunt Jenifer began tc yawn and her eyelids to grow so heavy that it required pounds of effort and the final exercise of her will power to get them lifted. But when at last she heard the sound she had wailed for so long, her eyes flew wide open of their own accord and she was as wide awake as. a child early on Christmas Eve. The creaking this time was no ghostly creaking; it told of a door being slowly opened on rusty hinges. It was the door from one of Ranee Waldron's rooms. And the steps she heard were no ghostly tread; two men, with the door softly closed and locked after them, were coming out, and one of the men walked scuf-flingly scuf-flingly as though he dragged an injured leg after him. She hid as best she could behind the dark old oak tree, peering out to see what she could see. The night was clear and there was light enough for her to be sure of two things: One of the men was a stranger stran-ger to her, and he was hurt or sick. The other man was helping him along, and was Ranee Waldron. Wal-dron. She sniffed. "As though he could fool me, with someone hid in his part of the house. Well, I know now it's a man and not some fool girl he's hiding out." She strove with all her ears to hear what was said between them, but they spoke a few words only, those in lowered voices. She saw them move, one man lurching and the other supporting him, toward the group of ranch buildings at the foot of the slope, and furtively she fol-lowed fol-lowed them. She saw that Waldron Wal-dron had a couple of horses hid in a willow thicket just across the creek; she watched him help his companion up into the saddle; she saw them ride away, heading north, and hastening, then she turned and ran back to the house. (TO BE CONTINUED) "Run, if that's what you got in your hearts." Bill was somewhere real close by, and was chuckling to himself the way he always did. You can have a smelly rose in a room; you can take the rose out and go chuck it in the river; you can go back to the room and run square into the smell of the rjsa you've chucked away." A broad if somewhat shamefaced grin widened wid-ened his mobile mouth. "Maybe someday I'll grow up to be an orator! ora-tor! Just the same, boys," and he was altogether sober again, "I believe be-lieve what I just said. Now shall we creep into the shade some place? It's getting hotter'n the seven sev-en hinges of the bad place out here. And likewise, your horse and Porfirio's Por-firio's will want water and hay." "It's not a day for sitting still," said Cody, and stood up. "That's a great idea of yours, Cal, about the buckboard." "Suits me," said Cal. "Here we go." He roped two lively young bays in the corral, harness-broke, and after aft-er a minor tussle with them got them harnessed and hitched to the buck-board buck-board while Cody held the reins. Cal took the reins into his own hands as he climbed up over the wheel, said to his team a quiet, "Run, blast you, if that's what you've got in your hearts," and swung them into toe sketch of a road leading down into the valley. Porfirio Lopez, not to be left alone with his thoughts and problems, rode alongside. It was a glorious morning such as early summer, still brushing fingers fin-gers with springtime, brings to this land of gentle hills and small valleys val-leys under the steep and rugged barrier bar-rier of the blue mountains, and the breeze blowing in their faces was sweet with toe resinous incense of pines, the spicy whiff of sage, the "green smell" of rich young grass and wild flowers and the many green things growing. It was nearly noon when they returned re-turned to ranch headquarters. Cole Cody left Porfirio and Cal Round-tree Round-tree taking care of the horses, and made his way slowly up to the house. He was tired from the trip which no doctor would have consented consent-ed to. and his present yearning was for a quiet room with a bed in it. Passing a window he got a glimpse of little Ann Lee; their eyes met fleetingly and he marked in passing that her eyes looked bigger than ever and that her face was very serious. se-rious. He lifted his hat and went on |