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Show The Settling of the Sage By HAL G. EVARTS Copyright by Hal O. EvirU WNU Morvlcs ' CHAPTER X Continued 21 "Killing twelve Three Bur Lulls on the lnt diiy of August." llurrla stated. "I was out with the ranger," Slade snld. "Hack In the hills. You know that yourself. That charge won't stick." "Then maybe It was the soonnr of May," Harris returned. "I sort of forget." Sliide suddenly grasped the sl'nlfl canoe of this arrest. "How many of you fellows are pus- iiy-footlng round out here?" he Inquired In-quired of Carp. "1 don't mind confessing that several sev-eral of the boys are riding for you," Carp Informed. "Hut while we've cinched Morrow we haven't been able to trace It back to you. I even got put on the black list, thinking you might do business with me direct after that knowing my word wouldn't stand against yours. But not you 1 You've covered your tracks." Carp spoke softly, as If to himself, detailing his failure to gather con- elusive evidence against Slade. "I even run your rebrand on fifty or so Three Oar cows. You knew there wasn't a dollnr chnnged hands when Morrow gave me that paper which licensed me to rustle my own she stock. The Idea In my starting up was to run your rohrand on any number num-ber of Three Onr cows. Later Morrow would buy me out acting for yon; can't be proved. Oh. you're In the clear, nil right." Slade broke In upon the monologue. Tills recitation of his probable Immunity Immu-nity from conviction on every count, far from reassuring him, served to confirm his original suspicion as to the reason for this arrest without witnesses. If the sherllT had wanted lilm he had but to send word for Slade to come In. He threw out one last line and the answer convinced him beyond be-yond all doubt. "Then a lawyer will have me out .In an hour," he predicted. "A lawyer could," Alden said. "If you saw one. Rut we've decided not to let yon have access to legal advice for the first few days." Slade turned on Carpenter. "This sort of thing Is against the law," he said. "You're a United States marshal. How can you go In on a kidnaping deal?" "I'm not In on It," Carp shrugged. "The sheriff asked me to arrest you at the first opportunity. I've turned you over to him. The rest Is his affair. af-fair. Besides, like I was mentioning, they can't prove a thing on you. As soon as they're convinced of that they'll turn you loose." The sheriff nodded gravely. "The very day I'm satisfied Harris can't prove his charges I'll throw open the doors. You'll be a free man that minute." A vision of the near future swept across Slade's mind. If he should be locked up for three months and discharged dis-charged for lack of evidence It would wreck blm as surely as the rumors of the last few months had cut Lang's men off from the rest of the world. Squatters hud filed on every available site throughout his range and now waited to see If the Three Bar would win Its fight If the news should be spread that he was locked up these nesters would rush in. On :.ls release he would find them everywhere. With marshals scattered through the ranks of his own men. Intent on upholding the homestead laws, he would be help less to drive them out If they locked him up at this time he was lost, fie nodded slowly. "Well, 1 guess you've got me," he said. "I don't see that It will amount to much, anyway. ' Sooner or later you'll let me out." He raised his arms high above his head and stretched. Under cover of this casual move he swiftly raised one foot. Slade planted his boot on the edge of the light table and gave a tremendous tremen-dous shove. The far edge caught the sheriff across the legs and overthrew him. The Inntprn prnshod tr, tha and at the same Instant Morrow aimed a sidewise, sweeping kick ai Carpenter's ankles. As the marshal went down his head struck the cornei pos. oi a bunk and he did not rise. With a single sweep Morrow caught the back if his chair and swung It above his head for the spot which Waddles had occupied at the Instant the light went out The weapon splintered In his hands as It found i's mark, and as the big man struck the dirt floor Morrow leaped for the dim Ui;hf which Indicated the open door. A huge paw damped on one anme and a back-handed wrench sent him flying acros the room to the far wall. With a sweep of the other hand Wad dies slummed the door with a bang that jarred the cabin. "We've go: 'em trapped," the big voice exulted. "'We've got 'em sewed In a sack." Harris made one long reach and swung the butt of his gun for Slade's head as the table went down but Slade, with the game motion, vaulted the prostrate sheriff. The force of the blow threw Harris off his balance and as he tripped and reeled to his knees Slade's boot heel scored a glancing blow on his skull and floored hiin. He regained his fi.-et, gripping a fragment of the chair Morrow had smashed over Waddles' head, and struck at a dim form which loomed against the vague light of the window. The shape closed with hlra and he went down In a corner with Slade. Slade struck hlrn twice In the face, writhed away and gained his feet, back-slashing at Harris' head with bis spurs. Harris caught a hand hold In the long fur of the other's chaps, wrapped both arms round Slade above the knees and dragged him back. Hl3 hand found Slade's throat and he squeezed down on It 83 the man raised both knees and thru.st them against his stomach to break the hold. Slade's arm swept a circle on the floor In search of the gun Harris had dropped but he was Jerked a foot from the floor and Harris Jammed his head again and Slade crumpled Into a limp heap. Harris held him there, unwilling unwill-ing to take a chance lest the other might he feigning unconsciousness. Eut Slade was out of the fight The sheriff struggled to his feet as Vaddles tossed Morrow back from the door and slammed It shut He closed kt V-'Hv Dragged From the Saddle by the Jerk of One Mighty Hand. with Morrow but the man eluded him. He dared not shoot with friends and enemies struggling all about the black pit of the little room. Morrow leaped one way, then the opposite, as the sheriff groped for him. Alden turned toward a rattle at the stove ar he heard Slade's head crunch against the wall under Harris' savage thrust "Down him!" Waddles roared. "Tear him down I Tear blm down I I'm holding the door." From the corner by the stove an Iron pot hurtled across the room for the sound of the voice and crashed against the wall a foot from his bead. A second kettle struck Alden In the chest and he went down. Waddles saw the light vanish from the window, then reappear. Morrow had made a headlong dive through the little opening. open-ing. Waddles swung hack the door and sprang outside as Morrow vaulted to the saddle. The big man lunged and tackled both horse and man as a grizzly griz-zly would seek to batter down his prey. The frightened horse struck at him, numbing one leg with the blow of an Iron-shod forefoot, ' then reared and wheeled away from the thing which sprang at him, but Waddles retained his grip In the animal's mane, his other band clamped on Morrow's ankle. The rider leaned and struck him on the head. The crazed horse shook Waddles oft but as he fell the other man fell with him. dragged from the saddle by he jerk of one mighty hand. They rolled apart and Morrow leaped to his feet but Waddles had wrenched the leg already numbed by the strik ing horse and It buckled under him and let him hack to the ground as he put his weight on It He reached for his gun. A form loomed above him. a heavy rock upraised In both hands. The gun barked just as a downward sweep of the arms started the rock for his head. Morrow pitched down across him ant' Waddles swept him aside with a single thrust. He rose and stirred the limp shape with his toe the sheriff reached bis side. . "Dead bird!" Waddles announcea and turned to limp back to the cabin. A match flared inside as Harris lighted the lantern. Carpenter stirred and sat up. moving one hand along the gash In his scalp. The sheriff stooped and snapped a pair of handcuffs hand-cuffs on Slade's wrists. They splashed water on his face and he opened his eves. He regarded the steel bracelets brace-lets at h:s wrists as he was helped to bis feet and turned to Harris. "Don't forget that I'll kill you for this," he said. It was a simple statement state-ment made without heat or bluster, and aside from this one remark he failed to speak a syllable untlJ the sheriff rode away with him. The sheriff waved the lantern outside out-side the door and before he lowered It two deputies rode up, leading his horse. "We started at that shot," one of them announced In explanation of their prompt arrival. Alden motioned Slade to his horse and helped him up. "Shoot him out of the saddle If he makes a break," he ordered briefly. ".Now you can move against those men I've sworn out couiplants for," Harris said to Alden. "Public sentiment senti-ment has turned aganist them to such an extent that they won't get any help and there won't be any to fill their places, once we've cleaned them up. Deputize the whole Three Bar crew when you're ready to start." The sheriff nodded and led the way with the two deputies riding close behind, be-hind, one riding on either side of Slade. CHAPTER XI The freight wagons rattled away from the Three Bar a' the first light showed In the east and the grind of wheels on gravel died out in the distance dis-tance as Harris and Blllie finished their breakfast. The ''ands bad come In from the round-up the night before, prior to the return of Harris and Waddles from their mysterious two-day trip in response to the sheriff's message, and Evans ,au led them to Brill's for a night of play. They were due back at the ranch in the early forenoon and Harris had allowed the freighters to depart before the others arrived. "What did Alden want?" Billie asked, referring to the trip from which he and Waddles had returned late the night before. "We made a call on Carp,'' he said. "He had some good news we've been waiting for." "Then Carp Is a Three Bar plant," she said. "He's a U. S. plant" Harris corrected. correct-ed. "But he's been working In with us to get something on Slade to gather proof that he's behind these squatter raids of the last few years and the ones they've aimed at us up to date. He couldn't get a shred that would hold in court. But Slade Is almost al-most through. RIs claws are clipped." The girl started to question him as to Carp's activities but after the first sentence she became aware that his attention was riveted on something other than her words. He had thrown up bis head like a startled buck and was peering down the valley. Her range-bred ears caught and correctly cor-rectly Interpreted the sound which had roused him. A distant rumble reached her and the surface of the earth seemed to vibrate faintly beneath be-neath her feet She knew the jar for the pounding of thousands of hoofs, the drone for the far-off bawling of frightened cows. A low black line filled the valley from side to side, rushing straight on up the gently-sloping gently-sloping bottoms for the Three Ba , flat. "They're on us," Harris sail. "I might have known. Get back to the house quick 1" As they ran she noticed that his eyes were not upon the surging mass of cows in thf valle" but were trained on the broken slopes back of the house. "Anyway, they don't want you," he said. "We'll do the best we can. I made that prediction about clipping Slade's claws too soon. What with Slade locked up and Morrow six feet underground. I was overconfident. I might have known It was planned ahead." His face was lined with anxiety, an expression she had never before seen him wear even in the face of emergency. emer-gency. She had no time to question him about the assertions relative to Morrow and Slade. The front rank of the stampede was bearing down on the lower fence The harrier went down ns so much spider web before the drive; posts were broken bro-ken short, wire was snapped and dragged, and three thousand head of cows pounded on across the meadows (TO BE CONTINUED |