Show ta M OKY by LAN LE MAY release installment 4 THE STORY SO FAR dusty king and lew gordon were joint owners of the vast king gordon range which stretched from texas to montana when building up this string of ranches they continually had to fight the unscrupulous den ben thorpe thorpe rivaled king gordon in power and wealth but he had gained his position through wholesale cattle rustling and gunplay king outbid thorpe in an auction of valuable grasslands the same afternoon he was killed bill ball roper kings adopted son found out that he had been shot down by thorpe and two aides against the strong opposition of his partner lew gordon bill decided to start a cattle war in texas against thorpe before leaving bill went to tell his sweetheart pretty jody gordon about his plans CHAPTER V continued bill glanced at jody and her startled face was very lovely highlight high light ed by the little fire he laced his hand together to stop their shaking tonia tonight ht I 1 told you father what im going to do my idea is to give thorpe his own medicine and force it down him until hes finished a wild bunch of our own tougher than lis bis made up of men that hate him to the ground and then V 4 raid and counter raid and what h hes es taken take back until his credit busts and his varmints var mints drop from around him and hes just one man so that another man can walk against him with a six gun and know that when done he hes S finished for sure 11 bill are you crazy you cant you cant his voice was bleak it could hardly be heard he wa was looking at his hands weve talked too ma many ny years of what be done or how until now dustus out there tonight under that stone pile and still nothing to be done I 1 reckon its my turn to ride now but all his outfits his sheriffs hl his s men quit as he breaks im going after cleve tanner first in the big bend and when im through lugh with him thorpe wont be able to throw a feeder herd on the trail then walk lasham in the north where already hurt for lack of the crying wolf until his words were mono toned but jody gordon bred and born to the gaunt texan plains knew what a wild bunch was and what it meant to go against ben thorpe by his own means there seemed to be no breath in dodys voice im supposed to wait around and think well of you while you gang with the wild bunch in a crazy useless feud that you cant win in the uncertain light of the fire bill ropers eyes could not be seen his face was a mask painted by the embers he found nothing that he could say suddenly jody flared up her eyes blazed and her hair streamed back from her face as she sat up as if she rode in the wind you cant you cant I 1 wont let you it fair nor right nor decent its what I 1 have to do jody stopped as if she had been struck when she spoke again her voice was low and even and so stony hard that he would not have recognized it 1 I dont believe you I 1 think tomorrow m orrow be telling me that all this so but if you do mean it if you go on and do as you say then you and I 1 are through and I 1 dont want to see you again or hear your voice we we had everything ery thing and youre throwing it all away 19 the firelight caught the glint of her tears and she turned away head up with a toss of her hair so that its brown mist hid her face from him bill say anything he had turned gray faced and he stared into the coals presently he thought of dry camps story seemed like hed never fall roper got up silently and went out of the house lew gordon was playing solitaire when bill roper got back to the little shack by the loading pens roper took off his hat tossed it aside and sat down we can just as well figure up the terms of the split What did jody say ashes quitting me lew what the devil else can you expect her to do if you go on with this wild stubborn 1 I expect anything else lew gordon looked baffled obviously he had counted on jody to turn back bill roper you ready to draw up the terms hardly seems it can be done in a minute take a few days to im leaving in the morning my terms are few and simple you can work out the details any way that suits yourself lets hear your idea of it 1 I dont figure to take much with me roper said but there are some things clings I 1 need first thing I 1 want seven of our camps in texas lew gordon stared at the table picked up a pencil fidgeted with it which ones 1 I want the pot hook camp and the winter camp of the three bar and the southwest outpost of the old bar circle I 1 want two of the border camps willow crick will do for one and the dry saddle crossing will do for the other I 1 want the new bull wagon camp and the KG K G horse ranch at stillwater the brands are going to be terrible mixed up gordon said 1 im I m only taking such cattle as are running under odd brands all our regular brands stay with you ive placed my camps so that your stock can be worked as before except maybe the pot hook and well come to some special deal gordon threw his pencil down youre not getting anything out of this that anybody can use he declared 1 I think ill know how to use it later on ill send you a list of the northern camps I 1 want amount to about the same as the ones I 1 want in texas it sure sounds to me like youre wanting me to buy you out in cash gordon said and if 4 b the brands are going to be terrible mixed up gordon said in your mind I 1 cant do it bill there just aint the money there wont be any trouble about that in texas I 1 may need up to fifty thousand dollars but I 1 dont have to have it all at once work out easy enough lew even the rough provisional terms that they were noting here provided innumerable complications in the next few hours as they worked it out many a consideration came up that bill roper thought of it was near morning before roper left to seek out dry camp pierce to complete his plans CHAPTER VI bill roper headed south shortly after sunrise today dry camp would be going east by railroad beginning the long roundabout way which would bring him to texas long before biu bill with his camps as a secure base pierce was to begin the missionary work which would lay the foundations for bill ropers wild bunch lew gordon had shaken hands with him gravely at his departure an uncomfortable job for bill which he was glad to get over with but jody gordon he had not seen her again at all he was thinking of her now as she had flared up at him the night before warlike as a little eagle but very lovely still with the fire in her eyes watchful always he knew when two miles off a horseman dropped from a lookout just at the crest of a rise and he knew that the rider had seen him and was moving to intercept his trail he did not have so long to wait as he had thought no more than ten minutes had passed when the unknown rider came dusting around the shoulder of a sand hill and headed toward him at the dead run roper turned his horse broadside to the approach and waited the rider was jody gordon she appeared to have taken to the saddle in a hurry for she wearing chaps or anything else she should have been riding in what distance she had come she had come fast for her donys flanks were heaving you sure punish that horse he said ive got no can call to save him im not going any place there was a little silence awkward for bill roper as she sat and looked at him the lower lids of her eyes wore were violet so that he knew she had not slept but he could not read her faintly smoky eyes she was more pale than he had ever seen her and the passivity of her face made her look like a little girl again sure sorry he said that I 1 get to say goodby good by to you seem like you were any place around for a second or two the familiar twinkle seemed about to come into her eyes did you hunt real hard well maybe I 1 I 1 guess it kind of seemed like wed already said everything there was to be said maybe she said slowly 1 I say everything I 1 ought to have said 1 I want you to know this when you ride out of my life there going to be anything left in it her face had even less color than before what did you say to my father fl what did he tell you I 1 said that I 1 quit you well you dont you know she said crazily 1 I ever do that ke he was silent his eyes on his buckskin gloves as he adjusted his rope the buckle of his rifle boot 1 I dont care anything about king gordon jody said 1 I dont care whether you stay in king gordon or get out or where you go or what you do id go with you if you wanted me to go and if you dont know that you dont know anything at all I 1 jody you mean that in king gordon you were on the way to big things but I 1 dont care anything about that let the breakup break up with my father go through quit king gordon without two bits to your name take the least outpost camp there is under the brand and let him have the rest ill ili go with you and stay with you and ill help you in every way I 1 can to build something of our own he wanted to say something anything but he found he could not speak at all jody said almost hysterically arent you ever going to say anything bill roper mumbled to his saddle horn know you felt that way ever be any call any reason for you to let go all holts like that she was leaning toward him now her voice gentle coaxing very tender our own little old outfit any outfit any place dont you see what a happy place we could make that be A place where we could plant trees near the water and watch them grow into big trees and wed be there together roper shot a quick glance at jody and immediately sent his eyes away again as far as they could reach if he had looked at her again perhaps he would have kicked his pony stirrup to stirrup with hers and picked her out of the saddle and kissed her mouth and kept her close to him then and forever foreve r but he sat motionless on his waiting pony look he said at last look it if you mean that come with me come with me now he could hardly hear her as she said dont you think you ought to tell me where youre going dry camp pierce is on his way by a quicker way than mine is it if he dont fall down therell be the start of a wild bunch waiting for me when I 1 land in the big bend country I 1 figure to take that bunch and build to it and add on after that well you know what comes after that and now youre asking me to swing with that jody ive already told you what ive got to do the silence stretched out u until n til you could have hun hung g a saddle 0 on n it and this time bills eyes were on jody and hers were on the saddle horn slowly she shook her head after a minute he said 1 I guess that settles it it 1 I guess it does her face seemed blind and she was like a ghost of jody gordon suddenly bill roper knew that if he did not take the trail he had chosen now he would never take it at all you sure jody you wont come again she shook her head A long loose end of bills rope was in his hand though he never remembered taking it down hardly knowing what he did he struck the spurs into the buckskin pony the snap of the ropes end knocked a flying gout of fur from the rump of the black pack mule and they were on the trail the long trail the dry trail the trail of a hopeless war TO BE CONTINUED |