Show W WILLIAM I 1 L L I 1 A M MACLEOD R A I 1 N ES E S wilk 0 WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINIE SERVICE R CHATTER CHAPTER VI frank called come in and jeff gray walked into the bedroom what are you doing here frank demanded jumping to his feet like to have a few words with you gray said 1 I wont talk with you about anything frank cried excited something important no the boy exploded important to you 1 I wont have you here chiswick barked at him unless you want trouble get out tm rm going to get out in just a nil minute nute all I 1 want is to tell you something ive heard walking to the table where his gun lay frank shouted at him get out you double crossing polecat swiftly gray whipped out his gun dont make a mistake chiswick he advised quietly so it frank said youve come to kill me does docs yore contract call for me too as well as father you damn fool gray broke out in exasperation ive never saw so crazy a family ive come to tell you something and youre going to listen to me whether you want to or not morg norris and lou howard are fixing to rub you out if it were so would you be here telling me frank asked with a scornful lift of his lip 1 I am here boy forget what T youve got against me I 1 overheard some talk better light 0 out ut of town before they get you are you afraid if they do i lose the reward for me I 1 gray shrugged his shoulders have it yore own way but listen to what ive got to say youre going to be watched they will try to draw you into a fuss at the right time get it under stand I 1 1 I understand you ate supper with my father and tried to gun him from behind afterward frank Fran told him wildly and that you loaded my sister with lies so she took you to one of our line camps to be doctored up weve got yore number fellow you were with the thieves who drove our stuff up box canyon the use of pulling this line of talk when we ve know you are in cahoots with these rustlers here with the very scoundrels you are warning me against gray swept this aside with a gesture of the revolver all right leave it lay at that im a hired killer and a thief say im paying off a grudge I 1 owe lou howard and morg norris that would make me a double crosser put it any way you like but get this through yore noodle if you stick around here another day go home in a wagon covered by a sheet 1 I believe anything in the world you told me frank answered then dont believe it because I 1 tell you use yore head young howard is no account but right now dangerous as a trapped rat you try to pet hes mostly vanity and youve hurt that cruelly hed go the limit to get even norris is one of these snake in the grass killers mean all the way through boy im going to tell you something I 1 cant prove likely you wont believe me morg norris is the man who tried to kill yore father at tail tad holt im sure of that youre one of his outlaw gang but dont mind throwing down on them when it suits you jeered chiswick smart as a whip you are gray drawled never find out whether I 1 am all the kinds of T skunk you claim because inside of 24 hours morg norris will blast you off the map maybe he sent you here to scare me if he did you go back and tell him I 1 dont scare worth a i cent r 1 I give up gray said putting away his hia weapon when a has got all the hell in the neck theres nothing to do about it youre grown stuff if you have any last messages you had better write them out norris will get you sure dont get any other notion you wont be one two three with him v he turned and walked from the room angrily frank watched him go an irritable resentment filled young chiswick he had an uneasy feeling that he had been an un grateful boor this was absurd gray was a villian he had bad come here for some evil purpose of his bis own no point in letting him f ool fool another of the family his father and sister were enough but there was something about the fellow that tie in with the facts he did not look like a sneaking scoundrel lie he was ba hard rd as neilsa tough bad hombre frank did not doubt he was an outlaw but everything about him eyes bearing manner proclaimed him game his reckless strength gave the lie to all they found out about him A pr prank ank decided to take as I 1 few ew chances bances as possible he would sidestep any attempt of norris or lou I 1 howard to get him into a quarrel tonight he would stay in his room it came to him later that perhaps gray had been sent by sherm howard in the hope of driving him out of town there might be something doing they did not want him to know about he would stick around for another day or two at least after supper a mexican came with a message for him lee chiswick the man said was at yell store and wanted to see him at once when did my father reach town F frank rank asked the man shook his head no sabe senor his horses are at the hitchrick hitch rack in front of sanders not alone then senor brand is with him tell him ill be there pronto frank went back to the bedroom for his hat he felt as if a load had been rolled from his chest in spite of what he had told gray he had wanted to light out for the ranch and only his sense of duty was keeping him in town now he could pass his fears to broader shoulders he would not have to play a lone hand any longer A man coming into the house stepped to one side to let frank out the man was jeff gray wait a minute chiswick he said urgently aiming to ambush you frank did not answer nor did he look back he was not going to let this fellow influence him but the heart under his ribs began to pound furiously involuntarily he quickened his pace come back you fool the man ordered posted in the cottonwoods cotton woods over there chiswick did not believe him but a queer chill ran up and down his spine he kept going following an adobe wall parallel to the road the angry bark of a revolver sounded frank whirled dragging out his weapon swiftly he fired at gray he knew the shot had come from the gun of gray from the cottonwoods cotton woods across the road a rifle cracked another boomed before the echo of the first explosion had died frank flung himself at the adobe wall and clambered over it dropping the forty four from his hand as he swarmed up the boy hesitated an instant should he go back for his revolver or run the great risk of being caught defenseless he heard the slap of running feet if he went back over the wall I 1 he ie would be the target of severa several 1 gunmen nothing could save hi him m he must keep going in the darkness a building loomed before him it was a large adobe stable and it filled the whole back of the enclosure frank hesitated he dared not let himself be trapped in the stable better go over one of the side walls he caught sight of a figure on top of the wall A man was astride of it his gun flashed twice then he had jumped down into the yard and was running toward frank amazement filled the mind of chiswick the man had not fired at him but at someone out in the road this way into the stable get you out in the open frank followed him into the building why he did so he could not tell for the man in front of him was jeff gray up the stairs gray ordered stooping to pick something from the ground the two men ran up to the loft gray handed chiswick a crowbar get to work and knock a hole through the wall he said were going out that way frank pushed aside the hay and began to drive the crowbar into the crumbly adobe bricks at each thrust of the pointed iron the soft wall disintegrated into sand and straw I 1 footsteps sounded below some one shouted up a command j come down from there chis i wick or well shoot you into a rag doll in a husky voice frank did not recognize gray called down an answer three of us are arc up here we aim to hold the fort dont monkey with us unless a lot of you want to be rubbed out who are you the same man called to them L C men gray replied still in the heavy voice all well armed send down chiswick and well let the rest of you go go chase yo through the brush A bullet crashed up through the floor gray fired one down in the direction from which it had come there was a whispered conference below better give up the spokesman advised well sure smoke you out gray played for time the crowbar was tearing into the wall will you promise not to hurt us if we do he asked sure what would we want to hurt you for we got a warrant for the arrest of chiswick for disturbing the peace give us time to talk it over well hurry up and no monkey business that noise up there there was a rush up the stairs tn in the darkness the defenders had all the advantage gray pistol wiped the first man and sent him tumbling back against the others frank drove the point of the crowbar into the midriff of another the attackers fell back in disorder hurriedly they scampered out of the barn one of them had to be dragged back soon gray said grimly how are you getting along with that exit combres hombres hole with the sleeve of his shirt frank wiped away the perspiration dripping into his eyes it was hot in the hay under the roof give me ten minutes more he panted you dont get ten minutes gray told him and he handed his revolver to the younger man give me that crowbar for awhile with short swift drives the red haired man slashed at the wall the point of the crowbar went through the hole grew larger why not ten minutes frank asked think rush us again not none they will set fire to the hay below and burn bum us out good god wed better go down and try to hold them back from getting into the barn 1 I say so three four would get killed including maybe me well just about make it the creek is below well drop down in the brush and slip away if were luc lucky asid and if were not frank asked his companion pried out an adobe brick ive been in a lot worse tights than he said frank had been slammed from the saddle to the ground many times lie he had been in stampedes and blizzards these seemed to him trifling hazards compared to the danger he was in now wish it was lighter so you could see better he replied emulating the coolness of the other it will be light enough soon if I 1 dont miss my guess gray stooped and worked at a loose brick with his hands someone ran into the barn from the top of the stairway Chis chiswick fired get him inquired gray no I 1 really see him hes lit the hay the flame leaped up through the loose floor it caught the hay in the loft frank tried to stamp out the fire A brick crashed down from the wall into the creek outside the hole is big enough gray cried slide out fellow you first chiswick urged the smoke was pouring up in great waves do as I 1 say the older man ordered frank wriggled through and dropped the heat and smoke were almost unbearable gray worked his legs and body into the open he dropped landed on a stone and rolled over and over into the bed of the dry creek all right chiswick asked in a whisper yes gray snapped this way he ran crouching along the bed the brush along the bank protected protected them from observation leaping names flames from the stable drove back the darkness the fugitives were brought up by a barbed wire fence stretching across the creek they crept between the strands they stood in a clump of mesquite on the edge of the creek gray said ready to leave town yet or am I 1 still too big a liar to believe 1 I dont know what you are frank answered been for you they would have got me but you fired the first shot at me you were walking right into their ambush I 1 fired to stop you lucky for you it started them up before you were close enough to hit in the darkness frank was still suspicious and ashamed of it you disguised your voice when you talked with them in the barn so I 1 did im staying here would you want me to yell out my name to them you saved my life no two ways about that at the risk of yore own 11 oh hell gray said youre such a fool someone has to look after you where is yore horse at the alamo corral then get down there and saddle hit the trail for the L C quick as you can the younger man agreed im much obliged he added gruffly 1 I wont forget it to be continued |