Show UN lusain M N M W CI 4 7 baw sexual HAROLD CHANNING WIRE 0 H C wire some by CHAPTER XV continued 14 louise and breck finished roast beet beef from the can had chocolate bars for dessert then cups ol of coffee codee beyond their shelter the rain tell fell with soft rustling through the pines then drifted on clouds part ed and stars came out breck looked at his watch two dawn would break in another hour he must leave her then and go down to tc the potholes potholed Pot holes when did cook call your camp he asked leading their talk to the nesters desters ne about the middle of 0 the afternoon he and slim were to start but they would be a day on the trail 1 I hope kern peak can head them off now that its over breck continued cook think I 1 had help from the Pot holers he say louise stirred up the fire and hunched herself closer to it breck pushed their plates from the bedroll and sat next to her louise he asked can you tell me what im thinking about now her lips began a smile parted closed then she answered with a slow shake of her head well im thinking ot the I 1 pot holes and of what kept the nesters desters from conling coming into this fire it will be daybreak in another hour and I 1 must go down there youre going back to temple meadow I 1 suppose will you try to get cook on an the line and let him know about this fire tell him ill call later she avoided his request why are you going to the potholes potholed Pot holes im afraid asking my business it yes I 1 meant it that way but im sorry my mistake I 1 somehow thought we had reached a point where we could talk openly breck dropped his hand upon both of hers resting in her lap 1 I was short louise forgive it im going to the potholes potholed Pot holes to prove a suspicion 11 still with her eyes upon the coals she asked you think the nesters desters started this fire im not certain I 1 do know someone 0 ne drove them from helping on it il the TiU Till sons breck nodded louise turned to him 1 I can tell ell you about this fire exactly lightning started it of course lightning always starts them its true this time you seem to know how louise hesitated she released her hands were talking openly no mistakes no misunderstanding is s that right yes well art tillson came to our camp day before yesterday that was before the fire started he stayed all night the night it started and I 1 talked with him now do you see too much breck bit off the words striving to conceal a flare of temper he was jealous foolish yet y helpless aless to stem the burst of feeling the name had aroused what it they start the fire he demanded the Till sons are holding a threat over the nest ers its time for a cleaning and the trail starts down therel louise did not speak he sensed a swift tension of her body though the only visible sign was of her fingers clasped tight about one knee suddenly she lifted her face ace to him gordon breck I 1 know the rules A girl should never plead with a man im not pleading I 1 merely ask promise me you will not go there now she was so close at his side he felt her quick breath and knew she spoke in desperation and yet you ask me to ignore a rangers ranger s duty A note of defiance came into her voice as she replied what is a rangers duty if it to use his cheadl you have nothing on the nest ers you can get nothing that the place to begin think im begging tor for them I 1 guess I 1 am I 1 know some of the families the women and I 1 dont want to see them driven out give me a chance with them wont you A chance for what to talk with weiler sometime ive talked with him already its useless im through with words oh you men are stupid idl she flared stupidly idl AU ali you think of is strapping on a gun and going out to shoot Is there never another way to settle not this breck asserted at least not for me I 1 have more than a rangers duty here how have you did you know the man who had this job before me jimmy cotter yes I 1 knew him well he was killed and youve come to retaliate breck frowned asking who said so go no one said it but youre wearing his luger I 1 knew that meant tome some connection surprised breck said nothing you see louise continued 1 I understand many things in these mountains too many I 1 understand the nesters desters ne position and art till sons and yours in sudden impulse her hand clasped his warm throbbing gordon dont you see cotter lost his life and gained nothing threw it away on a chance its terrible oil all of I 1 it something will happen I 1 know but you you must not be the one to pay heedlessly wont you consider it like that for your own sake swept by the girls fervor breck drew her madly into the circle of his arms and tor for yours he asked holding her close louisel she yielded only for an instant as he kissed her then she held her face away while her eyes searched deep into his 1 I cannot answer you not now but I 1 want your trust promise me that he nodded bending his head until it touched the softness of 0 her hair with the dawn they rode north together and parted on the ridge where brecks trail struck west toward rock house CHAPTER XVI there were others already at his cabin when about midmorning mid morning he came into the meadow bowl he saw smoke rising irom from the chimney and then with glasses made out sierra slim in the doorway presently cook appeared they too stood with glasses at their eyes breck lifted one arm to them and rode on at a lope 1 howdy pardner slim greeted him cooks first question was like fire fighting son breck swung off and shook hands glad to see them sierras face was as long and melancholy as ever after the first welcome he said nothing cook was genial and helped throw off the pack though he did not mention more of the job until they had turned out the animals then walking from the corrals he said hot one tor for a time it kept me busy breck agreed we were on our way but called kern peak and found you had it under control theres some mail tor for you in my bag why we S wung swung around here pack train came up from lone tree yesterday and goes down tomorrow if you have anything to send out breck nodded he written a letter in six weeks nesters desters Ne help you no they had rea reached clied the cabin door cook halted one hand on the knob what the devil did they refuse their excuse was that they had no tools 1 I know it said cook scowling scowl mg and a damn shamel theres nothing at the potholes potholed Pot holes were short but they never held out on that account ilow how do you fi figure gureV Till sons of course art was in the pothole country two days ago giving them orders then you found out that it was a man made fire cook asked gravely it if it was well have to ride it breck asserted im sure it was from lightning arts business was more to keep them from giving us help ile he kept back the source of his information that would involve too much explaining riding alone after leaving louise he had thought of what she had told him he began to see the heart of her with its deep compassion for all mountain people taking their burdens upon herself trying to solve troubles here without more bloodshed to him that way was impossible but he saw the fineness of 0 her attempt and could yield to it until his plan opened upon entering the room cook drew a packet ot of letters from his saddle bag breck carried them to his bunk and stretched himself full length muscles were beginning to stiffen breck unwrapped his letters seeing at once the postmarks were from one to three weeks old his correspondence was not large as his plan 0 of coming to the mountains was known only to a few persons here was business mostly though one envelope among the lot had never seen an office desk it had cream paper inside and even through the accumulated smell of leather and mules gave off a certain fragrance breck had reason to recall that mr 0 I 1 4 its N with the dawn they rode north together fragrance yet now here in the odor ot of pines he was not sure that he liked it his name was written with a swift impulsive dash while the flap bore only irene sutherland he tore it open at once and as he read irene came to him vividly tall and slender and undeniably beautiful black hair drawn to make three cornered her high forehead and accentuate her languorous dark eyes it was a strange beauty perplexing all out ot of accepted standards the note began with gossip ignoring the fact that they had agreed not to write she filled a page and said nothing but then on the second came to her real purpose the senator was home now grumling grumping grum ping for or a vacation no place to go nothing new driving the family frantic like a big grizzly do you have grizzlies grizzlier grizz lies how splendid you must look in uniform like the rangers at arrowhead breck looked down at his blackened work clothes and grinned and then the truth the high sierras I 1 how marvelous tor for the senators vacation and with a ranger friend to show them about go gordon you cant refuse be a dearl he stuffed the letter into his shirt pocket irene had turned to him again tor for amusement she would do that where any other girl would have suffered the limits of ennui first somehow it seemed natural in her up said slim pouring a cup of coffee breck left his bunk and joined the two men around a big black pot on the table so the desters nesters threw you down did they sierra began at once and art tillson was riding their country before the fire aint hard to read that sign A pack of bug juice was about due to go out of these hills tillson wanted to keep us too busy to notice it this was a lightning fire breck argued no one set it to help the Till sons sierra shrugged hand of god on their side then 1 I think sum slim has the straight of it cook put in this particular fire may have just happened but the tillson crowd are due to make a shipment t and might have used it been in here long enough to have made up quite a batch maybe so breck agreed alid when they do start out P we close in theres a new judge down on the valley hell back u us s with convictions it if we send any man before him ive only waited for jud to make his first play and that certainly wont be long now breck stirred his coffee and stared into the cup while old thoughts swept him at cooks words we close in what about the nesters desters ne he asked presently do we include them in the cleanup clean up he was thinking ot of louise and her anxiety for the families there the potholes potholed Pot holes are a different proposition cook said 1 I dont look for any trouble from them if we take care of the Till sons like this tool business art may have scared them off but if had tools you could have forced them to work lack of equipment was our fault not theirs breck shot a glance at the gray haired man across from him bitterness had come into the rangers voice when he talked of tools tool dad breck asked just why arent there any in the pothole box now you done stirred something sierra cut in you been to college maybe you can figure it out go ahead dad and tell him about th the seventy eight bucks TO BE CONTINUED |