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Show wiQ - - tWmmims m I 4 Bghh&i Qictio SeMal ; ohcw,-wNUS. By HAROLD CHANNING WIRE SYNOPSIS "' 5. tni- Jlm Cotter, foreat ranger, had been imJsterlously killed In the pursuit of hit t tiei Gordon Breck. his best friend. ac - kei over Cotter's Job. hoping to M. enge hi rnurder. "Dad" Cook, forest perlntendent, warns Breck that th "' tillson brothers, mountain moonshiners, r"s ap to give him trouble. Before Sfo" tvlng for his mountain station, Breck r Vi an outfit and decides to attend nubile dance run by the TUlsons t Lone Tree. Breck dances with Louise e 0-mple. pretty "cowgirl" for whom he t ''in t liking. Unknown to Breck, she being courted by Art TUlson. young- of the three TUlson brothers, t- nsered by Breck's attentions to the S- Si he picks a fight which ends in-'--isively when someone sets fire to 01 vS hall Breck and his chief aet out enr the mountain station. Halfway, they ' c met by Sierra Slim, moss-back Ctfiintaineer who is also in the forest "Si Irvice Breck learns from Sierra that : I 'eking down Jim Cotter's murderer -C?iust be done cautiously. Cook. Breck nrt Sierra continue their ascent of the ! contains. They sight the TiUsons re-' re-' u-nine to their hideaway. Next day, ook sends Breck and Sierra In one irectlon to repair the telephone line. tffihile he takes another. Sierra tells -Cireck more about Louise Temple. "That Id's a thoroughbred." he says. He iRV Uo believes that Art TUlson is not es-entially es-entially "bad." but Is the victim of ED ireumstances. Breck Is directed to go to lock House Meadow, his permanent use. On his way. he is the target of a itstol shot from an unseen assaUant. ttenj, the bullet misses, but his frightened P1, ck animals bolt and Breck goes In "fiiursuit. Finding a deserted cabin, he akes shelter from the rain. A moment ater the inree jiiisuh uiumeis arrive ,nd Breck hides in the cabin loft. Breck 'Uq leare the three discuss a plot against '") ,jS ufe. Waiting his chance, Breck sur-ib sur-ib rises the brothers and holds them at be point of his gun. Jud. the oldest irother, offers a bribe if Breck will 'make no trouble." Breck pretends to ike the offer under consideration, lets Wbe men go. Breck's duty Is to take -mnt at the annual cattle drive at lock House Meadow. There he meets rr louise Temple who Is running her own K attle. Trapped in a narrow canyon be-JJUijre be-JJUijre the onrushlng steers. Breck's quick ction saves her from being trampled. N. e takes her to his cabin over Art ,?Ulson's protest. With nightfaU, Louise. Ziw recovered, leaves the cabin and wjnakes her camp in the meadow. Later. inijJireck rides over to see if everything ars all right, finds Art TiUson who tries Jo pick a quarrel. Breck rides on and liscovers a large herd of cattle being un out of the meadow before the count. 1 Forney belong to Jackson, cowman who 11 pepresents all the ranchers in the cat-on cat-on i run- "s ? CHAPTER X Continued a tii . 5 tor lr A low chuckle rumbled from the owman. "By God! That was bet- ir than I thought." He ended sud-llfi sud-llfi snly, squinted hard, then asked, ifou mean you brought 'em back? ook here, Ranger, I've got a thou-1 thou-1 ind head yonder in the meadow. ly permit calls for eight hundred 1 nd fifty. Somebody's figures has ol to be wrong." sf "Not this year," Breck replied. 'J Don't blame me, Jackson, I'm following fol-lowing orders, that's alL But to- iiorrow I'm bound to go by the IZTl ount." "Just how come," Jackson de-fjy de-fjy .landed slowly, "this sudden stick-;3 stick-;3 o' to rule?" 01 "Too many rules being broken in ij3 hese mountains, I suppose," Breck M iffered. "I'm new, but Cook's old fs n the game and he must know what Tj le's about We have to start some- rtiere. As far as we can do it, .ules are going to be enforced to the letter." " Jackson surveyed him specula-j,! specula-j,! lively. "All of 'em?" "Yes." jj "Everywhere?" j "In this forest." "And that takes in the Sulphur :ountry?" "Along with the rest" A "Well," said Jackson flatly, "1 'J don't believe it! You'll count us poor devils on our cattle, but when it 'i comes to law enforcin' In other : parts, that's another thing. They've 'J got the money!" t'A "There's no answer," Breck ad-J ad-J milted,, "except wait and see. You J have my word for it, and if you M don't know me, you do know Cook." : Jackson nodded. "Cook was a S cowman once." He said no more, as ,1 il that statement carried a meaning J ol brotherhood. -J "Then you'D admit he's right in 1 following the limit rule?" Breck J askr-H "No!" Jackson exploded. "Some I Kars there ain't enough feed on I Uiese meadows. Again there's too I much. Take all you can get, while you can get it that's what I say!" 3 "And in a short time have the fountains bare," Breck added, ringing up a lesson he had learned Irom Dad Cook. u"What of it?" Jackson retorted. Ain't no money in the cattle business busi-ness anvwayl" "These mountains aren't only for ttle," Breck argued. "If you clean the grass, what have the tourists tour-ists got?" "To hell with them dudes!" Breck laughed through the smoke M his pipe. -This forest is reserved ' everybody, Jackson." for a time they smoked together, so you're enforcin' the permit f tomorrow?" Jackson asked, "e nodded. )eJneuC0Wman shrBged a pair of n shoulders. "Maybe you know Ihi! " elected ranSe boss for th Smer- and so I speak for all thL0" T You've started some" witt delivered this statement tact. anEer' wholIy matter-of- "Yerrk answered the same way. through!"11 WC're g0ing 10 see " CHAPTER XI "If. man makei trouble this year, his permit won't be granted for next That'i your order." "All right, Cook." Breck cut off hli connection and closed the telephone tele-phone box. He had called headquarters headquar-ters to learn his exact authority for this day's work. Cook's answer was plain enough. Turning from the instrument, he looked off across the meadow. Dawn had scarcely broken through the night, with only a faint gray over the eastern summit, yet breakfast smoke drifted up from the camps, and wranglers were loping out to gather in the horses. Soon came a thunder of running hoofs as the animals raced down from the slopes and were made unwilling un-willing prisoners In the corral Other men approached afoot, roped their mounts, saddled and trotted away. Sticks beating against tin pans echoed from camp to camp, and then the welcome call: "Come and get it!" Breck hurried through his own meal, feeling a keen excitement and eager to begin. By the time he had "Not on your credit." caught up Kit from the pasture, the cattlemen were already at their job of cutting out. The groups grew steadily. Men shouted. Cattle bellowed; the brown mass began to mill, sending up a pall of dust that hung in a breathless breath-less sky. Sunrise struck it and for one moment turned the cloud to gold. Breck rode to where a short runway run-way of logs broke the drift fence, tied Kit, and mounted the top bar. Here he would make his count as the bunches passed. His glance went over the riders, picking out young TUlson astride his chestnut, Jackson, Jack-son, the range boss, sitting his horse on a knoll and keeping an eye on the work, and then the one he was really looking for. She was in the middle of the drive, cutting out with the best of the punchers, rope swinging, falling deftly, only the smallness of her figure marking her apart from the men. With increased wonder Breck watched the movement of her blue horse; sudden lunges ahead, a wheel to the right, back again, following every sharp turn of a cow that refused re-fused to leave the herd. Through it all she sat in effortless ease. It was more than an hour before any of the bunches showed signs of being completed. Then Jackson rode to the fence. "Well, Ranger," he said, "guess I'm set" "All right Breck answered. "Let's go." He sprang down, pushed back a pole that had blocked the runway, and Jackson came through. Together they climbed to the top log and sat side by side. Breck took out a notebook, reading Jackson's brand and number. 850. From his pocket he drew a short pine stick and mechanical counter. Jackson waved to his punchers and the first lot of animals moved to the fence. They bunched at the runway, heads down, holding back. A cowhand cow-hand rode in, lashing the first ahead, and with the leader started, the rest followed through the narrow space between the logs. Breck counted rapidly, reached ten, passed the stick to Jackson. At the same time he pressed the mechanical trigger. In time he looked at his recording instrument. Eighty showed there, meaning eight hundred, for he had pushed it only once every ten animals. ani-mals. Eighty-five came. He held it out to Jackson. The old man's face tightened. Eighty-six; then eighty-seven. eighty-seven. Twenty over the limit Breck leaped down and dragged the pole across the runway. Slowly Jackson descended beside him. "There ain't any use talkin', I suppose?" Deep concern in the man's face moved Breck. "I'm sorry as the devil," he answered. "But I've got to do it You know what's happened hap-pened here on this range; you know we've got to enforce every rule or quit the job." Jackson looked beyond the drift fence to where a hundred steers still remained on the wrong side. The work of cutting out had stopped and other men were riding in. They halted off some distance, faces set, eyes fixed gloweringly. But none spoke, for Jackson was the appointed appoint-ed range boss, and all outfits must go by his word. Breck knew what might be done. He was alone against the lot They could easily stampede the whole drive past him and scatter them over the range. He saw sudden gestures among a few of the men, watched them draw together in heated talk, and knew they were arguing of that way. Yet if Jackson Jack-son had the same thought, he gave it little consideration, for next year would be another story. Grazing would be closed. Presently he mounted his horse and without a word rode over to the group. Breck saw him shake his head. In a moment the crowd I separated; one coming alone to the runway. He tied his horse and climbed to the top log. "I'm next." The count went on. Most of the brands were within their limit only the larger ones running over. Those animals Breck turned back were pushed off to one side, where the herd began to take size. In a lull between counts Louise Temple rode her horse to the fence, halted and surveyed him intently. From his position his eyes were level with hers, meeting them across the top of a handkerchief. "Do you know what you're doing?" do-ing?" she asked. Breck, glad to see her, had smiled, but now turned serious. "If you mean my job," he answered, "yes, I know exactly what I'm doing." do-ing." She jerked down the handkerchief impatiently. Breck saw the desperation despera-tion in her face. "I don't mean your job," she said. "You've got your rules and you've probably studied them. I mean do you know what you're doing to these men? They can't turn their cattle back!" "Then why did they bring them here?" Breck asked. "They all had warning." He had seen a form letter let-ter that Cook had sent out in the spring. It had said with emphasis: I "The permit rule will bt enforced this year." "Why did they do it?" he persisted. per-sisted. v : The girl shrugged, meeting hli eyes with a flash of defiance. "Everybody "Ev-erybody gets by the Forest Servicer Serv-icer She did not mean to Insult It was simply a statement of fact Inwardly Breck gasped. There was something of her defiance de-fiance in his own voice when he answered. an-swered. "Sort of a game up here, is it? Putting things over on the new ranger!" "Don't be foolish." "I'm not; I'm dead serious. You must have received one of Cook's letters. Do you expect me to sit here and do nothing? A fine egg I'd bel" . For one long moment Louise searched him, and he believed she saw his point. But when It cams her turn to go through the count, she sent Palo, the Indian boy, to sit beside him on the top log. In the end he refused eighty of her steers and they were added to the growing grow-ing band. By noon he had counted thousands. thou-sands. Bunches that had been passed were vanishing up the canyons can-yons toward their various ranges. Only a few more outfits remained behind the Rock House fence, and of these the greatest number wore the Tillson brand. They came up for count almost at the end of things. It was Jud who climbed up to check with him. Neither Nei-ther spoke as the stream flowed by. Breck wondered if there would be some extras In this lot, and doubted doubt-ed it That didn't seem the Tillson way. Too small a matter for them. His eyes burned, he was dizzy from looking down upon that seemingly endless movement Yet the end came. One thousand. He glanced at his notebook, found the brand, checked the number. Then he faced Jud. "What's this? Your permit calls for fifteen hundred." "I know it. We figured that many but didn't bring 'em." Breck waved toward the bend of outcasts, suddenly relieved. "Then you'll have to let that lot go in your range." "Sure," said Jud. "Sure they can if they want to." He climbed from the fence and strolled over to his horse. Breck saw Jackson not far off and beckoned to him. "I've got range for your leftovers," he stated, when the man came. "Tillson is short" For a brief interval the old man studied him with squinting eyes. "Thanks. Might as well feed 'em to the coyotes in the first place!" He rode off to a group of his men. "Well?" Breck turned. Jud Tillson stared up at him, half smiling. "Do they want to come?" '' "Seems not" Jud came up and seated himself on the top bar, saying quietly, "I've got some cash in my pocket. Ranger. Rang-er. Two thousand." He paused. Breck shook his head. "You had my answer the other night." "What I was saying," Jud continued, contin-ued, "I've got two thousand dollars that ain't working." He raised one arm, waving to Jackson. "Come over here." The cowman rode up. "What is it?" "I been estimating that hangover bunch," said Jud. "About two hundred. hun-dred. Are they for sale?" Gray eyes looked out evenly. "Not on your credit." "I'm talking cash." "How much?" "Any part or all for ten dollars a head." (TO BE CONTINUED) |