Show g W WILLIAM I 1 L L I 1 A M MACLEOD R A I 1 N ES soon tte chiw i klalo www 0 WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINS SERVICE CHAPTER XIII lee chiswick looked down at atthe the on the cot buck would have been alive now if I 1 given him the job of guarding that scamp he said sorrowfully held hed been alive if he had obeyed orders dan brand said you got to look at this right lee we told him not to open the door unless he was sure who was there I 1 reckon he was vas roused from sleep and stop to use toe his head ruth stood behind her father her gaze fixed on the still figure of the cowpuncher who did it she asked in a low voice that devil morg norris answered lee his face set and rigid 1 I recognized him when he rode up to the porch to take a crack at me the girl shuddered the thought stabbed her that she was responsible for the death of buck conrad it if she interfered with the aim of jeff gray he be would have put an end to the killer no use trying to follow him in the dark her brother frank fr ank said if we got close hed take to the brusil brush likely head for trail holt to get lou howard home brand guessed il the eyes of ruth grew wide with horror the paralyzing conviction had come to her that jeff gray would not know until too late that the prisoner at the L C had escaped he would carry on under the impression that he had a hostage in the camp of his friends that sherman howard dare not move to his destruction she cried out her fear to her father for a moment he stared star edat at her letting her warning sink into his mind youre right girl he an evered 1 I dont know how he is his hand but weve got to let him know theres nothing to keep sherm from him now lee gave curt orders get the boys together dan see armed frank you and tony run up mounts well take off with what men we have round up the men at the linc camps bob and bring them to tall holt this looks like war and we may need all the help we can get five minutes later ruth walked into her fathers office and found him examining guns and ammunition what are you going to do with me and nelly she asked he looked at her startled atthe at the problem posed by jinks ruth I 1 thought of that cant leave you here alone once was too often and I 1 cant spare any men to guard you were shorthanded short handed now nov only five of us theres only one thing to do with us his daughter said take us to tail holt and leave us atma Pres nalls well be safe there ther eYou you will have us under your eye all the time all right lee lec assented ill take you with me both of you I 1 if I 1 could help it but theres noth nothing ing else to do as aa you ay you and nely nelly fix up your var bags we may be there two tin ee days while were at trail holt stay right in the house every minute understand ruth said she understood they took the road two hours after midnight steadily they rode through a lovely night of stars that softened the harsh and desiccated face of arizona to a strange ghostly loveliness even the aros with their intimation of age old decay were like magnificent candelabra waiting to be lit peace reigned over the land jeff gray was waa a light sleeper Avak awakened ened by the furious barking of the blacksmiths dog almost instantly he was out of the bunk and at the window silhouetted in the moonlight on the brow of the little hill in front of the cabin were a number of men they were moving toward the cabin the marshal counted eight of them he called to his companion compan iou wake up hank and come here ransom struggled to consciousness lord love ye man what an ve doing at the window he asked the dog was still barking savagely at the intrusion of so many night visitors found out where I 1 am and are coming to get me gray replied the blacksmith joined him the scalawags scala wags are scattering to cover more ground he lifted his winchester from the wall any chance for me to slip out of the back door down to the rocks in the creek jeff inquired not a chance ransom said grimly then ill have to surrender only hold me prisoner if sherm howard is running the ow his son is out at the L C ill step out with my hands up walt wait a minute the old indian fighter objected ill go out and make a bargain with them if there so many rd say for us to stand ern cm off but I 1 dont reckon we can do that A gun cracked the dog no longer barked the leathery face of the blacksmith twitched some damned scoundrel has killed laddie he said yes gray was thinking that a man who could shoot down a faithful dog was waa a villain and not to be trusted im going to wave the white flag and make terms hank youre not in this rm im the man they want first thing is to get you out of this he sat down on the bed pulled on his boots and buckled round his waist the gun belt lying on a chair im not in this aint I 1 the blacksmith blazed after killed my laddle laddie the marshal returned to the window the men outside were about sixty yards from the house jeff put a hand on the shoulder of his friend weve got to play our cards the way they are dealt us old timer im going out with my hands up you stay under cover after they have me they wont bother you gray unbolted the door and whipped it open he stepped into the moonlight and lifted a hand palm out there was a yell of rage A gullet knocked a dirt chip from the adobe wall back of the officer another dusted his hat the roar of a rifle deafened him from just back of him ransom had fired lead spattered against the building hank lurched against his shoulder and fell im hit he cried and caught at his right leg jeff snatched the rifle from him crawl back into the house he ordered come on boys weve got him a voice shouted the line of attackers moved forward the marshal fired and missed fired again and hit A running man cried out and stopped abruptly the others faltered their guns barked angrily gray stepped back into the house and slammed the door get any of em his companion asked one the officer was at the window for right now had enough and are hunting cover ive sure got you vou in a fine jam hank you hurt bad my mv lez leg is plugged its not bleeding bad I 1 reckon the bullet missed an artery look after you in a minute jeff said got to fix the fort so we cin can hold it he found an axe and knocked a bunk to pieces ransom told him where to find nails the window he boarded up leaving an inch or two for a loophole both doors he barricaded barricades barrica ded as best he could meanwhile ransom crawled across the floor and with a hatchet cut a spy hole in the adobe wall he made it large enough for shoot binm in purposes id like first rate to get that bull rattler morg norris ransom said ivo ive a notion if we picked aff that slit eved cabron and mayhe maybe one or two more the rest of the lads would drag it gray was of another opinion by this time the whole village would know what was going on and the attackers would be recruited if necessary by others reinforcements were likely to come in from the h hills ul s lra having ving g gone one so far sherra H howard 0 w d wo would u 1 d feel that safety lay in finishing the job but the marshal did not say bay what ho he thought 1 I certainly picked me a top hand for a partner this trip he said lightly beginning to close in on us ua I 1 better discourage that he took aim at a dodging figure and fired get him asked ransom i scraping the dirt out of the hole he had dug no some of them are arc moving up the hill bill going to take us in the rear I 1 reckon the rifle of the blacksmith boomed hank gave a yell one of em cm wont take us its in front or rear hes down A bullet tore through the window and the plank with which jeff had shuttered it it broke a glass in the cupboard the defenders could hear others showering dirt from the adobe wall ransom dragged his wounded leg across the room to his loophole in the rew rear where did those fellows fellow s go he asked after a time no sign of them back here funny they headed toward the rimrock four or five of them must be figuring to work back of us dont you reckon love of moses the old soldier cried going to crash boulders down on us the marshal knew at once that ransom hansom was right the cabin lay in the path of an old slide at the edge of the rimrock a undred hundred feet above them lay hundreds of loose boulders large and small A half ton of rock hurtling down that precipitous slope would crash through the soft adobe wall as if it were paper ive got to stop that hank the younger man said the firing down here is a bluff to keep our minds busy they wont charge the cabin till those above have smashed it im going to stop their game if you dont mind sticking it out here alone pick you off before you have gone a dozen yards boy the blacksmith told him maybe not the moon is under a cloud now for one thing they wont be expecting me up there they must have someone watching the back door not near enough to see in this darkness see sec you later old tim er cr jeff tore down the planking with which he had reinforced the back door ransom said sure and did not believe that either of them would be alive an hour from then bolt the door after me I 1 may come back on the jump be ready to let me in pronto the mar opened the door and slipped out clouds were scudding studding scud ding lacrosse the sky jeffa lay behind a woodpile eves and ears cars alert someone lomeo n e m must have been sent to makes make sure ur the trained men did dd not escape by the back door man was probably crouched back of a rock some df distance cc air from taic the cv cabin iii ate he might or might not have seen the door open since the sky was now overcast gray wished he knew whether he had been observed if he moved from the shelter of the woodpile he was likely to find out he crept up the hill taking advantage of every rock and bit of cactus that would give him cover from the front of the house came the occasional rack of fun this was good news since it told him the attackers were not rushing the house yet but were waiting for the rock rolling brigade to drive out the doomed men he was close to the top when a sound brought him to rigid stillness A man was standing on the crest just above him he was striking a match to light a cigarette for a moment the flare of light showed jeff a face he did not recognize yet one that seemed oddly familiar in an instant the man would look down and see him the me marshal marhal B did not wait for discovery gamme a hand pardner he drawled the match went out who in hades are you a heavy voice rasped bud taylor jeff said evenly sherm sent me with a message the man above lent a hand to pull the climber over the edge looking at the iron gray hair the scarred cheek the shifty eyes jeff remembered where he had seen that face before it had been in a sheriffs office in texas on a photograph beneath which had been written the caption clint doke wanted for the robbery of the texas and southern flyer A fraction of a second lat later erthe the light of recognition began to dawn on the hairy face of the outlaw he had seen this man once in san antonio had hod had him pointed out as the famous man hunter jefferson gray doke opened his mouth to let out a cry already grays fist was traveling in a powerful short arm jolt toward the drooping chin the cry materialized as a strangled groan and the outlaw pitched down as if he had been hit bit with the back of an axe jeff did not dare leave him to recover in a minute or two he pistol whipped the falen man across the temple his gun he kept for immediate use someone called come here clin jeff stepped behind a boulder he could see three men grouped together against the skyline with D dokea oke s gun he fired three times rapidly above their heads one of the men gave a yell of consternation he started to run another fired in the direction of the marshal jeff pumped lead at h him im lets aci out mile high the th third rd man shouted shrilly were being bushwhacked it might be true mile high did not wait to find out in another moment it might be too late to escape he flung one last defiant shot and followed his into the darkness jeff started to descend the rimrock it was time for him to get back to ransom As soon as morg norris learned of the biasco above he would rush the cabin at the foot of the rimrock jeff broke into a jog trot reckless of being seen by the watcher at the back abruptly he stopped four or five figures came into the open as if from the creek bed and ran to ward the cabin he hc heard shout ing but could not make out the words there was waa the crack of a gun the figures vanished into the house from inside it came the crash of revolvers to be continued |