Show 4 LR 4 77 K H SPEARMAN conright ConRI GHr FRANK WN U SERVICE CHAPTER IS iff continued jane rode into sleepy cat next morning with bull page and when she rhe had bad dispatched her business at the bank she walked up street to carlys hotel she asked for dr carpy whom the she remembered from her visit two years cars before the doctor was somewhat surprised at the sight of this trim erect girl eighteen or nineteen I 1 years of age and seemingly a zhe she was a newcomer to sleepy cat the doctor did not at once place lier her but his glance swept everything about her like a flash her cowboy hat her red open neck blouse with its dark flowing tie delicate pleasing bosom and slender rounded hips her short brown iding ding skirt and her soft tight fitting tan boots the rig seemed right for her brown hair and blue eyes dr carpy her voice was dear clear and her manner possessed the doctor doffed coffed his hat and set let his bag down on the desk with an air of satisfaction ulm im dr carpy but im glad to see you dont need me oran or any other doctor why doctor exclaimed jane demurely lemu rely there was a sophistication in the delicate droop of her eyelids eyell ds as she protested that did not escape the doctor hardly compliment complimentary ry dr carpy tahe he ran on have you forgotten I frontier day two years ago when we sat here in the rickety grand to see the riding her mer her eyes were laughl laughing ng dr carpy was flustered what is your name not a very popular one in this country im jane van cambel he knit his brows why maybe two years ago and it was a little girl that I 1 talked to here on the porch and took to the races til be hanged two years and youve sprung into full bloom full bloom repeated carpy in undisguised grui sed admiration wherever reve you been ever since in chicago you look exactly the same doctor cant cadt say I 1 feel exactly the same jane he be said his eyes still rested on her how long were you out last time only two months or so but tm tin out now to stay perhaps 1 I heard something lately about some women folks over to gunlock but I 1 hear of you being over there if I 1 had rd id have been over there myself so youre gus daughter he mused never knew he had a child till you came out the first time you threw your bracelet out on the track you that was partly your fault doctor was it well you got it back 1 I did but I 1 never learned the name of the man that picked it up all I 1 could find out when I 1 asked was as that he was a rustler you dont remember him do you of course courna I 1 do who the hell said he was a rustler why what they told me mt at the ranch after we got home well youve got some able bodied liars at gunlock one in particular chos that no need to specify well the name of the wonderful vond erful rider who picked up the bracelet and the cigarette it was bill denison jane started imperceptibly ires hes living here now on his brothers hill ranch brothers dead I 1 well jane what in the world brought you out here why because fathers so ill I 1 dr carpy nodded you took care of him doctor and recommended his going to medicine bend 2 it was pretty high for him here so he telegraphed for I 1 me to come out to look after the ranch j small girl tor for big job as the indians would say jane laughed what wha t F father said when he saw me you know two years ago was the first firs t time in his life hed ever seen me how old are you jane almost nineteen well well mused dr carpy still regarding his caller benevolently I 1 so youre van cambels Tam bels daughter I 1 guess you on take after your mother aunt lue says I 1 do she returned with composure so father said too when I 1 went to see him at the hospital in medicine bend last month and he told me doctor to come and see about his bill I 1 find one from you among the bills at the ranch did you ever send one hell jane I 1 never sent a bill to anybody in my life doctor exclaimed his caller startled both at the expletive and the statement 1 I never heard of a doctor who send out bills I 1 cary laughed uproariously why nothing but she went on you took care of father quite awhile he thinks youre the best doctor he ever had the sardonic note in the doctors slight laugh as he suppressed an in exclamation did not escape the girl but everyone out here says that or something just like it so you must be used to it she added please tell me now doctor what the bill is I 1 want to pay you off the doctor waved jane off when he sidestepped she kept after him he dodged and she persisted at last she drew from her purse two one hundred dollar bills and laid them on the table in front of him carpy looked at them in astonishment your father gone out of his mind has he not enough tri ough is it she added shamefacedly 1 I know its at least twice too much did gus send this jane had to fib a bit she had ad added a hundred dollars herself to what her father had told her would be about right if carpy refused to name the bill he told behe me he wanted you well paid she answered evasively carpy pushed one bill back to jane plenty doctor she exclaimed 1 I wish take this other bill he shook his head put it back in your purse how are things out at the ranch you know how it is when the cats away laughed jane you must mean the wild cat r at suggested carpy grinning half amiably everyone doing things his own the thrust or not doing them at all mostly that I 1 guess mostly that agreed jane 1 I can see I 1 have plenty of work ahead and you going on enAnd ill bet never did a days work in your life she straightened up ive worked every day of my life efe sin since ce I 1 left high school at fifteen what for helping support mother carpy flashed with anger boj do doj you mean to tell me that old curmudgeon father of yours support you and your mother janes eyes fell she crimsoned crim crimson od then collecting let herself elf she said 1 I 1 did no not t mean to tell you doctor it slipped out weve nearly always had to look out for ourselves but I 1 hats hate to walkabout talk about it Doctor father says lic hes s sorry when I 1 te telegraphed I 1 egra phed him about mothers death he was all broken up arid and sent me so much money for the ey expenses that I 1 know what to do with it though it was too late to do poor mother any good I 1 know fathers eccentric doctor jane continued gravely but that explain to me why everybody out here hates him and what ivle canted to ask somebody like you doctor somebody who would tell me the truth why is father so disliked Is it because he is so rich dr carpy was taken aback here was an innocent and charming girl budding into a lovely womanhood the daughter of an unscrupulous crim criminal inal and thoroughly detested cattle kin king asking him to tell her why her father was so hated along the ahe spanish sinks well jane he said at length slowly mazy maxy a rich man is hated without vit hout good reason but if he thought he could get off with such a general observation he was mistaken jane pursued him was that the case with father she asked bluntly other rich men are hated continued carpy unmoved not because rich but because of the way they got rich the force of his words was not lost on his listener and if a man does get rich here or anywhere else they dont lose any time hatching up lies about lim him do they she said indignantly rather father warned me when I 1 saw him at the hospital that id hear stories about him but there are two sides to stories 1 I probably ought to say jane that I 1 myself get on well with your father so my verdict might not be a fair one another man might give a more favorable opinion what other man doctor she asked cooly why offhand I 1 say right now jane doctor said van cambels Tam bels daughter rising suddenly he thought her still angry but she really may I 1 come again just to talk with you perhaps get a little advice come without excuse at all to see you why of course you may jane why no not come any time all times my latchstrings latch strings always out for you declared carpy swayed by an admiration he could not resist and you wont harbor any feelings against me just because you dont like my father how could I 1 doctor carpy almost grasped with surprise at her poise jane he said taking her hand just feel rin im your friend I 1 mean it sick or well ril ill be with you I 1 dont care a damn who your father is or was is that plain girl tm rm awfully grateful doctor she sad collectedly if I 1 get into a tight place or into troubles ill know where ill have a friend to turn to dont be afraid exclaimed carpy emphatically find y 0 U 11 make plenty of friends out here just as soon as you get acquainted quain ted dont be afraid he repeated jane was at the door she turned and doctor she said with seeming innocence try to think of of the name of the man who will give that more favorable opinion while bull waited for his mistress during her talk with carpy he dropped into jake spotts barber shop for a shave spotts who was bald as a billiard ball expressed surprise when bull gave his order whiskers off he exclaimed take em cm off repeated bull doggedly dog edly I 1 must be goin to get married well not exactly explained bull we got wimmon folks out i to gunlock now n the he boys are sprucing up what folks follst aint you heard got a girl there laughter daughter of old gus la Is that damned old critter down at the medicine bend hospital yet demanded spotts but ills his expletives were much more ferocious A heavy bass voice was heard from the second chair where oscar was shaving a man slow take jake protested the man in the chair go slow dont get to cussin out old van cambel all right panama all right returned spotts resignedly 1 I plum forgot you were there that man gravely continued the man addressed as Ta panama nama and referring to van cambel will keep more sleepy cat folks out of heaven than the devil himself hows that asked spotts lathering bull after he had rid him of the whiskers why Bc Be causes everybody cusses him so terrible whenever his name comes up 1 I guess right agreed spotts anyway theres more damned goin on in this town careful jake careful admonished panama all right panama grumbled the notoriously profane barber then under his breath its got so a man cant say a damned word any more the girl like bull he asked well responded the gunlock hearty ashes comin around eighteen or twenty lively as a cricket and straight as a ramrod Is she anything any thin like old van cambel Ta mbel not a bit ashes as nice and tidy a miss as want to set eyes on jake then theres one grand big mistake declared spotts definitively that damned old critter be the father of a girl giri like that tut tut jake interposed panama rising solemnly from the chair arid and reaching for nig his collar and tie you promised to give up swearing well hell I 1 cant quit au all at once can I 1 demanded spotts testily aint I 1 doin better every day got to watch you though I 1 guess observed panama shrewdly bull caught sight of the man out of the comer of his eye he was almost gigantic in proportions tall stout erect with leonine features shaggy brows and a heavy mop of coarse straight black hair worn long and cut flatly across the back of his neck who is that man asked bull as panama left the shop why you ought to know that man bull hes an old time sleepy cat gambler and confidence man up to every game they ever played from here to frisco his name they used to call him big bill hayes 1 I heard that name guess y you ou did guess every blodys heard it but he made a trip to panama when the french outfit was things there he cleaned up on the frenchmen and they run him out of town he says he got the dysentery down there anyway he got away before they strung him up for a cardsharp now everybody calls him panama he doin here now why the damned critter got religion somehow and hes the kindest best preacher that ever talked in sleepy cat hes doin a world of good oscar spoke up panamas pajamas Pa breaking jake of swearing bull bull got a job aint he snickered bull just the same hes cooled me down a lot you know that oscar declared spotts otto he belied yelled to the porter in the back room what the hells a matter with the hot water this mornin to be continued |