Show SA RID by ERNEST HAYCOX delease s 4 M al THE STORY SO PAR FAR clay morgan has decided to play a lone hand against ben ban herendeen a rancher bent beat on run ning the cattle country his own way the two men have been enemies for or years having first ought fought over clays wife llla lila who died hating him and believing the should have married herendeen morgan Is a solitary toll tary figure devoted to his year old daughter janet janel although two women catherine grant and ana am mcgarrah are in love itar him they nor know he ha cannot target forget lua loa of his former friends only hack breathitt has not gone cone over to heren deens ode aide seen camping with pets pete borders a rustler rustier he Is a fugitive from Heren deens men gurd grant catherines brother hesitated about joining herendeen Beren deen but became morgans awo worn rn enemy when he discovered that cither or ine had bad been to his bis ranch learning at the last minute that government valley ll 11 0 to be auctioned at sage city mile talles away clay rides all night and arrives la in time to outbid charley hillhouse Heren deens foreman when he be learns that her herendeen adein his has sent seit a party out to find rack breathitt and kill him clay starts out to find him first he goes to freeport to kern cases store where ie he thinks he win BIU find hack As he be it Is talking to case herendeen appears he sho shoots is out the alasi in one ol of the store windows now continue with the story CHAPTER XI kern case said that windowpane will cost you six bits charge it on the account what account my beef account said herendeen herent your friends keep you pre pretty t well supplied dont they it if I 1 had a couple men to block off this damned joint id go through these rattletrap buildings and drag breathitt out by the back of the neck hes here kern case walked around the counter he started to speak but morgan waved him back maybe morgan said to herendeen H he was still by the stove glance pinned to the butt of Heren deens gun immediately afterwards her en deens hand came away from it and Heren deens boots seemed to crush into the floor as he jumped forward bringing up his arms morgan realized he had his own chance to draw and refused the chance he started to move away from the stove as Heren deens whole bulk swept at him and stopped to smother Heren deens fists as they drove in he knocked the blows aside n no 0 more Heren deens onrushing bod body Y caught him and drove him against the stove he slid along the edge of the stove falling backward herendeen hit the stove both of them dropped behind it herendeen lifted himself from th the e floor dashing a hand across his face to scrub the bright quick blood on his cheeks morgans sharp heels had chopped the flesh of heren deens lips one raw strip hung down swaying over his mouth the impact momentarily drugged him it took him off his guard morgan moved in morgan drove his aimed blows at the huge jaw hooking his punches up against the long shelving chin herendeen dropped his head and morgan missing his target smashed his knuckles on that rocky hard poll and felt pain knife along his 1 left eft arm it was a sudden agony that made him suck in his wind he caught the dulling of herendeen Heren deens I 1 s eyes he had this man half knocked out and the old violent savage instinct i rushed him in until he was at close quarters trying for the kill ki it was a mistake Heren deens great arms caught him in a bears grip and drew him in in crushing his ribs morgans arms thus held could reach nothing he pulled himself backward back ard seeking to break the grip but herendeen held on weathering through his punishment tightening his grip until morgan felt his skin burn and seem to burst he lay on his side pushing his arms against the floor but finding no strength in them he could move them but he had no feeling in them all this room was gray black and and herendeen was a blurred shape across the room slowly trudging forward he heard herendeen say something though he make out the words herendeen coming nearer grew taller and broader above him Heren deens foot struck him solidly at the base of the spine and this brutality was a new stream of pain along his nerves it moved morgan around on the floor loosely as though gewere he were a straw dummy he rolled completely over coming against a cracker barrel morgan got behind the cracker barrel he held to its ton tod rim and pulled himself up as herendeen walked against the cracker barrel herendeen swept one fist out striking air as morgan jerked back herendeen started around the cracker barrel flat footed and patient mor gan still on the defensive still weak from his beating kept circling suddenly herendeen stepped back from the barrel took a half dozen sidesteps and seized a chair he whirled it over his head and flung it at morgan morgan dropped behind the cracker barrel and rose again seeing herendeen at once rush forward herendeen seized ta the ae cracker barrel with his hands and swept it aside diving at morgan morgan knew what herendeen meant to do before Heren deens deena mind had recognized the ax handle handled and now morgan looking around him saw a rack of new winchesters Win chesters on the wall he seized one by the barrel kicked his way out of the debris of nails and harness and circled herendeen slowly the butt of the rifle lifted like a club herendeen moved slowly forward following morgans circle somewhere as from a great distance morgan heard the rush of horses along the street and a voice calling morgan backed against a hanging harness he put his shoulders to this flimsy support the harness gave way and he sat down still gripping the winchester by the barrel he could not draw wind into his lungs it 4 I 1 ka 11 morgan drove his aimed blows a at t the huge hug e jaw he was starving for air his heart beat against his ribs and his head was light he rolled over sucking wind through his teeth w with ith his face to the floor and heard a vo voice ice at the doorway calling into the blackness chos here it was bones me mc geens voice kern cases voice was a lower and lower murmur make a step and ill blow your chest out 11 bones yelled into the store stor ben you there hey beni ben A shot broke along the street again quick and hard and other men ran rapidly across the dust bones mcgeen swung from the door rushing down the porch the shots came in regular me method thod and the three pines men were beginning to answer all the racket boiling up the dead echoes of the town kern case said 1 I hope youve killed the and his easy voice laid terrible words on the past and present of herendeen if you aint im like to finish the job you all right clay clay morgan said chos shoot in breathitt started it hes up in the hotel what I 1 was going to tell you when herendeen came in morgan pull pulled ed himself from the harness and found his legs snarled in it he sank back to the floor and rolled clear and stood up light flashed red before his eyes though there was no light in the room his head ached in long solid surges of pain from the base of his skull all around to his nose he tasted his oain own salty sweat his own blood ile he drew deeper into his lungs for wind catching the throb of his ribs his H is left fist began to send up it its s steady racket and he knew then he had broken a knuckle he could not move the middle finger kern case said that you Heren deena deens boots scraped the floor morgan bent down catching Heren deens shadow on au all fours against the faint light of the doorway he saw herendeen come up and weave toward the door he said to case no kern case called stop tight right there ben herendeen moved on toward the door he was out of it before case got around the counter he was on the street calling through the spotty racket of the gunfire Bones come herel kern case swore in the same passionless voice 1 I should of shot the now were in trouble he stepped around the floor he said duck the front windows clattered down before the sudden veering of gunfire slugs struck the store shelves A can of wet goods punctured began to spill out its fluid with a gurgling irregularity another slug striking metal went morgan crawled across the floor ile ha flattened himself near the doorway catching a slanting view of the street end his horse spooked spooned by the firing had drifted away from the hitching rack into the farther shadows meanwhile he heard herendeen calling from the yellow front saloon get your horses off the street jim one more bullet struck the shelves kern cate case said so smoothly outraged ill have a little slice of this and walked back through the store rolling over to the opposite edge of the doorway near the counter morgan heard kern cases fat weight groan up at a back set of stairs and across the second floor from his new position morgan saw a three pines hand lead four horses nto into an alley at the moment there was no firing but watching the yellow front morgan caught a flutter of light on its windows and stared steadily at it not immediately understanding der the source of that flash kern case had reached an upstairs window and now waited for his chance somebody ran along the back of the store and came through a rear door morgan rolled against the base of the counter listening to those quick steps advance he heard hack Breath itts voice murmur you there kern morgan said how you like our little party kid clay the hell you doin here kern case came down the stairs with a fat mans slow haste he said we got to get out of here clay sure said hack we depart from hence mighty damned hence you all right clay said case that drew Breath itts interest why he be all right 1 I tripped on a rug said morgan he followed case and breathitt through the back quarters the three of them paused by the back door while case scouted the roundabout shadows afterwards th they ey drifted along the building line arid and paused halfway between the street and the down bearing timber of the hillside light began to brighten at the other end of town smoke smell drifted with the wind morgan saw his horse in the shadows ahead of him and went over for it when ile he came back he heard case say in the same even tone my dad built that store I 1 was born in it and all my brothers and sisters but shell be bothin but ashes in two hours from now there a aint t a single way to stop this whole town from goin up t he let out his sigh well it was a good store im goin back to get the rocker my mother used light broke the shadows he saw hacks face set in its restless half smile and realized his partner part ner found a malicious satisfaction in this chase that was Breath itts way he had a wild kink in him and he was tough enough to run his luck out ut to the bitter end hack murmured od later maybe morgan said get out of this light if you bump into trouble kid you know where to come hack raised his head he said that s you came down do wn here to say it he was no longer smiling his face was in the shadows his voice vo i ce was grave and troubled 1 I guess I 1 have brought a hell of a lot of trouble down on my friends ill remember it clay it if I 1 dont see you again soon I 1 want to know you this was as far as he got he shrugged his shoulders liae only adding so long morgan turned up the trail winding with the steep grade until he had reached the last high point before going into solid timber from this elevation he looked down on the white red tangle of high leaping flames the roof and sides of th the e hotel were eaten away and what wha t he saw now was the inside skeleton of the building penciled darkly against the swirling fire one wall ot of the store had caught AU all tile the surrounding gulch was day bright and he made out gale and gales family slowly crossing the head of the gulch toward the potholes potholed Pot holes herendeen apparently had gone some of the adjacent trees began to catch fire TO BE CONTINUED |