Show e ACEr HOl LE JACKSON ACKSON GREGORY GREGORY W RELEASE TUE TUB STOUT STORY SO PAR FAR old early bill BIB cole had known lor for six months that h his is days were numbered of late he had bad b been een up and about each morning earlier than usual telling some part of his widespread acres the king cole ranch a last adelos it was still half dark one morning as he was walking through his bis beloved pines when a rifle shot rang dear through the stillness and early bill felt a stab of pain leaning against an old pine he blazed away at a man crashing through the bushes then he laughed for he had shot the mans hat off staggering home early bill sent gaucho ortega one of his blex mexican ican hands tor for doe joel joe and the judge now continue with the story CHAPTER II 11 doc joe and the judge were at the king cole ranch almost as soon as the young mexican they found four of the ranch hands hanging around the house scraping dirt with the toes of their lopsided lop sided boots looking as though they mean to look worried at the sound of speeding hoofs and wheels they jerked up their heads and one man came out of the house a small mahogany brown man who looked as hard as nails and was harder than he looked early bills foreman cal roundtree howdy gents he said and sounded surly as though he resented their coming come on in they went in and found old early bill sitting in his big chair he looked more dead than alive you darned old fool snorted d doc joe he put his bis bag down took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves what did you shoot yourself for howdy judge said the old man by way of most beautifully ignoring doc joe and all his words ive got to get you onto a bed bill said doc joe 1 I cant get at you right this way sitting 0 on a chair the two helped him to stand and with what small aid he could give them got him stretched out on top of th the e table doe doc joes skilful hands whether or not murderous swiftly denuded him from neck to bellyband and removed the makeshift make shift t bandage then for a time the physician and there was not a more skilled within riding range osbald of bald eagle kept his tongue in his mouth and gave himself shrewdly to his work sometime later when early bill cole returned to a misty sort of consciousness ness he made out that he was in his bed undressed bound about with what he judged to be a couple of miles of bandage he had stirred very slightly and on the instant the two old cronies of his popped into his room i well he demanded as sharply as he could manage you sure bled like a stuck dawg doe doc joe told him who shot you bill 1 I know doc the hell of it say if you boys happen to see a feller wearing a light col ored stetson with a hole in it or wearing no hat bat atall a tall or one brand new out of the store but lets take up business before pleasure as the feller says got my comeuppance come for certain this trip huh doc 1 I sort of reckon bill he said pulling at his lower lip that it wont be all fired long now before this is a better cleaner world and me and the judge will be winning a couple of bets haf said early bill then that crooked and somehow endearing old grin of his came back just a ghost of what it used to be but still there like a flicker of winter sunlight i might be you lose out yet you two of creation might be your horses runs away and breaks your damn necks before I 1 check out nobody said anything for a little while early bill was resting doe doc joe stepped out to bring him something to swallow mostly hot whisky sky and the judge appeared to be taking I 1 matters judicially under advisement they lifted early bill a and nd got his drink down him then they had one apiece the draft brought the sick and wounded man a flush of strength III he spoke more clearly squat you boys and listen me ill do the talking they dragged up chairs first doe doc lets know where we stand I 1 need a little time and a mite of im not going to pop off in a hurry like a candle blown out am I 1 I 1 feel pretty good after that drink youre a tough old bird bill 11 said doc joe thoughtfully if you y 0 u been on the skids anyhow this thing have done you in its just hurrying things along some no theres no rush say the word and I 1 can keep boosting you along oh how do I 1 know anyhow shoot the works and take your time fair enough and gracias am amigo said early bill here we go fortunately both doe doc joe and the judge knew pretty well what early bill cole had in mind though the definite thing the old fellow was going to do had yet to be told merely taking into consideration the facts of the case the whole thing should be simple enough since it was merely the malting making of a will but they saw the old familiar gleam in early bills eyes and were dead sure that right up to the last lie he was plotting some sort of devilment he said to them on one occasion im having me a barrelful of fun when im dead they figured that they knew early bill cole pretty well though they had to admit had the pleasure of his friendship for something like twenty or twenty five years only and that much longer ago than that he had had two friends who had meant much very much to him forty years before and more there had rioted through the mountains a small company known far and wide as hells triplets early bill cole busty lee buck cody busty lee and buck cody were haply dead these many years having been swept away together in a night of violence and about all that they had left behind them was their various offspring busty lee had left a daughter with little dower save her loveliness and buck cody had bequeathed to the world a son and not much to go along with him they knew that little ann lee was teaching school somewhere or another and living with her aunt jenifer E n 11 you sure bled like a stuck dawg doe doc told him her aunt living with her rather and that young cody was trying to make a mining engineer out of himself all this they knew because old bill had told them and that with the first creeping of the shadow over him some months ago he had piled into the stage and had been away for a couple of weeks and had come back with that devil saint santa claus gleam in his eye eve 1 I looked em both over he announced triumphantly and they know me from adams off ox either because I 1 happen to speak up aces bastys and bucks pups and me im going to have me some fun with them after youre dead they grunted at him yep and now he was getting ready for his fun in a minute judge youre going to make me a couple of wills hold on there bill just because there are two legatees lega tees you dont need two wills he looked at early bill narrowly maybe the old devil was too far gone already to know enough to make any sort of will then in that case everything lock stock and barrel would go to ranee rance waldron as nearest of kin the only kin so far as early bill knew though luckily distant chos doing this early bill grunted im leaving everything I 1 got to young cody and the lee girl hes an upstanding young he wildcat and ashes the cutest trick and the nicest and well the sweetest you ever laid eyes on so they get the works the whole of the ranch and the whole of the cash the moneys in your bank judge if you stole it yet anyhow a couple of hundred thousand dollars about two five now I 1 reckon in case the interest et up all the principal or you been losing heavy at drawl the judge eyeing him thought he knows what hes talking about now went on early bill ive got a job for each one of you horn toads and im paying each one of you a dollar a day and found high wages for you two judge you go in there and hunker down at the table and write me those two wills make em just the same giving granting and disposing and so forth all I 1 got in one will give everything to her in the other give everything ery thing to him and you date em both the same as of today you dac doc you move that old trunk of mine mine to one side and yank up a couple of loose boards and hand me what you find lets go wages start when you start getting busy doc joe shoved aside a battered battered old leather trunk scrabbled in the corner got a couple of loose boards up and after some further scrabbling came up red faced with a small iron lockbox lock box in his dusty hands the box was eighteen inches long about six inches in the other dimensions and was provided with two locks each set about six inches from the end 1 I think it was that box of mine put the whole idea into my head early bill said having two locks like notice look at em good doc what about abou tem em demanded doc joe just two locks by the way said early bill when you boys go out send cal roundtree to me tell him to bring gaucho ive got me a great hu hinchl achl its my ace in the hole youre crazy like a hoot owl snorted the judge doc just asked you a question this about two locks look at em good 1 1 I am looking different that what you mean takes two different keys to open em said a triumphant bill cole to two old porch sitters in front of the bald eagle hotel came a young man on horseback the two watching everything that went on smoking their after supper st ogies took stock of him when he first rode into town down at the far end of the street he rode straight to the hotel dismounted and approached he was young and lean and brown and tall in the saddle he had been loosely graceful one felt that for all that seeming carelessness in his way of riding that if his horse had of a sudden sought to leap out from under him he would still have been sitting there in the saddle confident and vaguely arrogant here where men dressed as they pleased this young man struck a note from flashy high heeled boots to the silk bandana bright red around his brown throat and on up to his forty dollar hat he displayed a touch of elegance A handsome young dark devil too when they saw his face howdy gents he greeted them and sat on the porch holding his horses reins he removed his hat and ran his fingers through his h hair air that was inclined toward length rich darkness and curliness civilly they returned his greeting howdy they said im a stranger here he told them you look like you belonged here maybe you can tell me the way to bill coles ranch they directed him telling him i it t was a couple of hours ride indicating the short cuts to take on horseback he said thanks rolled a cigarette smoked half of it tossed the butt into the dust and stood up only said doc joe 1 I dont know as wide open for com piny right now bill coles sick sick say wrong nothing bad is it he aint feeling any too good said doc joe the young man eyed him in a penetrating et sort of way 14 you might be the doctor he judged and doe doc joe nodded well all the more reason I 1 should ride along you see im his nephew my names ranee rance waldron waldron tarried a moment as though thinking some word might be added when none was forth forthcoming com ing he swung up into the saddle again lifting easily and somehow graceful gracefully a man full of strength and youth and vitality and rode away they watched him out of sight haf said the judge then he had a hat mused doc joe yep any hole in it though ranee rance waldron huh brooded blooded doe doc joe do you know judge that old fool bill cole has sometimes struck me as a pretty fair judge of folks this young waldron I 1 dont cotton to him much I 1 dont like the cut of his eye me neither agreed the judge 1 I noticed we were both sorry he have a hole in his hat le lets ts go get a drink TO BE CONTINUED |