Show 0 N efam M N 4 7 kane buo gea serial d by HAROLD CHANNING WIRE 0 H C wire mr service SYNOPSIS jim cotter forest ranger had been fit mysteriously killed in the pursuit of his duties gordon breck his best friend takes over cotters job hoping to avenge his murder dad cook forest superintendent inte in warns breck CHAPTER I 1 continued 2 cork cook nodded tough and when you say tough in this country it carries weight now we dont go much out of our trail to catch a in these mountains because the court usually shoots sh ts him right back on us as cotter said makes a powerless fool out of the ranger the Till sons know that and play on it there are three of them grazing cattle in the summer on sulphur creek while their real business is making rat poison by the carload 1 I dont give a dam about that where we tangle is over forest fires it they want to make private use ot of the north trail in packing their bootleg out they start a fire down south and get every man jack of us fighting it II if it big enough they make it bigger and if it shows signs ot of dying too soon start it up again rp good lord dad breck broke in it if you know all that why are they still in the mountains you know a thing first cook observed sagely then you prove it breck nodded though an impatience was growing within him he knew ew th eranger was right cooks cook s deliberate delibe rats way of doing things had the mark ot of experience but for or himself give him a chance and he would plunge in find the one man and get it over with As if sensing that cook said the job is no weekend week end party if you sign on its for the summer under orders the tillson outfit is at the bottom of our trouble but there are plenty others learn the rest if you go up then its settled breck asked both hands swiftly gripping the table edge e settled cook left his chair and strode heatedly to the door and back again you mean settled that youre going why yest no one else would take the dam station breck sprang up facing him then anen swear me in what ive been waiting to hear bear from a desk drawer the ranger secured a small bronze shield it had a solitary pine tree flanked by the letters US while across the top ran the completed legend forest service cook pinned it on brecks breaks shirt over his heart then he held out one hand shake son this is the way I 1 swear em cm in I 1 never go wrong either bunk in the spare room here tonight tomorrow well drive to the toot loot of north trail at carrol creek and pack tor for an early start next day he stepped back surveying brecks tailored figure have you anything to wear ill buy an outfit all ali right rig yourself up in mountain clothes and order at least a months supply of grub the rest can come up later sorry I 1 cant scout around town with you just one thing dont let that piece of bronze make you feel too important on the other hand dont let it slow you up when the time is proper CHAPTER 11 II there is still a spirit of the old untamed west about lone tree that even electric lights and gasoline filling stations cannot banish the town itself is s but a green patch set in a desart valley below the sierra nevada wall yet it is not a mountain town alone the desert the mines the cattle ranches pour their men upon its streets and life any time after dusk is lived with frontier vigor in the general store where breck ordered his supplies he questioned the man who waited on him Is lone tree usually as alive as this yep first of june was the cryptic answer what has june to do with it new here he grunted new in lone tree yes one of tom cooks men A wave of his hand indicated the forest ervice badge youre right breck replied nettled by this cross ex imitation imi nation well sald said the man squinting again at his scales 1 I guess cook snows his business areck waited tor for more that was all his cheeks felt hot and his law tightened what the devil did the ae fellow mean he turned angrily from rom the grocery counter and found scowling into a long mirror if the mens furnishing department ahat he be saw gave him a queer hock among racks of coarse service ittle ible clothing his tailored figure was crous in contrast his low shoes veto oer like paper against the cow hide boots put out in rows upon a table top then he looked at his face white and soft beneath the brim of his bis panama hat he disliked his own reflection and walked back to the grocer feeling more friendly 1 I see what you mean he laughed but that friendliness was not re turned by the other man it was some time before he asked taking cotters place yes did you know him some too bad he went like that but accidents do happen up there accidental Accident sl too late breck cursed his ready tongue by some indefinable change of expression he knew the storekeeper had baited him and he had given himself away it was a lesson to remember keep what you know to yourself finished with ordering his sup plies he left the store and found that outside the street had become even more crowded he yet learned what it was all about back at headquarters he asked cook Is this circus night the town sure is full the ranger agreed its always like this ze the first two weeks of june cattle season you know rounding up stuff that has wintered on the des desert ert and will shove a big herd into the mountains when we open government grazing on the fifteenth that will be about about your first worry trouble in it considerable some years A man is permitted only a certain number of animals it if the winter has been dry hell crowd his permit in order to get everything he owns up in the high grass country ive been sort of easy with them so far th this I 1 y year ear is different if we want to enforce one rule on the range well have to enforce the whole lot cooks slow smile considered breck yes son therell be trouble in it you will have to take count and settle disputes and which ever way you decide be in bad with someone breck gathered his bundle of work clothes and started to the bunk room but stopped at the door it its all right with you im going to give my badge a rest tonight fair enough said cook say it if you want to mix with the crowd and maybe get acquainted with men have to deal with later why dont you go to the cowboys dance its in the old movie palace west of town be well liquored up by 10 and at their best about midnight will the Till sons be there sure enough they run these shindigs as part of their business costs a man five bucks to get in liquor tree free therell be jud hep and art jud being the oldest and the tallest though they all run close to six feet hep and art are mostly shadows for their brother juds the he be wolf of that pack cook paused glancing at his watch its sort of late to find a ticket usually they want to know who comes in but they been troubled for a long time so you may get by worth trying anyhow CHAPTER UI III breck felt a rise ot of excitement as he pushed through a door doo r and at once became a part of the crowd within the old building the room was long and wide with raftered ceiling A stage that filled one end showed its original use as the town theater breck walked away from the door and stood against the wall watching he had come with certain preconceived ideas as to what he would find at a cowboy dance his knowledge ed ge having been gained from moving picture sets he was surprised now pretty girls were plentiful breck had not intended to dance now he was not so sure of IL it suntanned sun tanned faces slipped past him cheeks flushed eyes bright red mouths turned laughingly up to their partners one girl in particular drew his survey soon after he entered she danced close by and met his gaze with a pair of strangely arresting brown eyes she did not smile yet he saw a shadowlike shadow like movement cross her lips he knew she appraised him thoroughly he believed she was amused As she danced on in her cowboys arms his eyes followed she was small email with dark curly hair just above the fellows shoulder and bad that tree free mannered out of door look as much as any of the men about her evidently she was accustomed to wearing a mans shirt for the rounded neck of the dress she had on now showed a narrow sunburned V over the whiteness of her throat not exactly pretty breck decided as in dancing she again turned toward him her face in repose looked a little tired though when she smiled at something her partner whispered the expression vanished in a swift parting of her lips and an upward tilt ot of her head at that moment brocks brecks decision not to dance left him and he only waited until he could meet this girl he leaned against the wall with the stream of people flowing by there was a punch bowl on a stand at the end of the room opposite the stage here girls stopped often but he noticed that the men shunned it and went alone through a smaller doorway the room was soon heavy with dust and cigarette smoke and the thick odor of whiskey not good whiskey either from the clamor ol of voices an occasional cas ional distinct sentence drifted across to him hi there cowboy what you all doin the answer was lost but men burst into laughter and girls looked away came snatches of business dry summer you bet two thousand head my permit calls tor for and then something that brought breck up with a start hello jud till he turned toward the sound ot of the gre greeting eting the speaker had danced on but three men stood between himself and the door their eyes leveled in his direction they were tall men lean bodied all bearing the same characteristic ot of thin sharp faces dad cook had said he would not recognize the tillson brothers that was true he would never have picked these three from the many that crowded the dance hall tor for several others talking loudly and swaggering with guns hung from their belts made a better show of being hard the Till sons were dressed unobtrusively tru each in a gray stetson flannel shirt unadorned by handkerchief dark trousers and cowboy boots with stitching on the black leather two shifted their eyes when he turned to survey them one held his gaze stood motionless tor for a second then strode casually across the intervening space his step was slow deliberate like the calculated tread of a tawny mountain lion he came within a pace and halted breck returned his stare looking into steel blue eyes that narrowed slightly opened narrowed again instinctively breck knew he was up against a man ot of no mean intellect a man ot of parts who understood the world and especially the path he be intended to cut through it it he spoke and the somber expression of his face shifted only in a further squint of his eyes im jud tillson he said glad to know you breck answered though his right hand remained at his side this was no regular introduction thought you did know mel tillson snapped so breck had told the gatekeeper he frowned and surveyed the man thoughtfully 1 I did know a tillson be said at last but youre not the one my mistake what are you doing here tinson tillson demanded its a dance it you bring a woman As he searched for a reply breck was conscious of the small dark haired girl moving slowly past him and of her eyes intent his way Is it against the rules to come alone he countered tillson hooked his thumbs into his belt his voice came slow and much too even are you sure you arent making more than one mistake tonight it maybe a mistake for you to to be in here at all no breck assured him not the slightest ile he said no more tillson turned on his heel and walked away breck was still aware that from the dancing throng two brown eyes sought his face he met them the music ended then at once began a new number impulsively he stepped out to the girl may I 1 have this dont say its it is taken she declared look ing up at him with a quick smile but you may have it A tall figure moved toward them from some distance down the room the girl clutched brecks arm lets dancel he swept her into the crowd and looked back only aft er they had taken several steps the man was standing where they had been he was one ol of the tiu till sons art the youngest delther Nei trier breck nor the girl spoke while they danced halfway around the room he studied the soft little head why had she lett left that fellow ile he wanted to ask but waited feeling he would learn in time presently in the slow movement of a waltz she looked looke dup up smiling quizzically well are the rubes as tunny funny as you thought be I 1 hope we disappointed anted youl little shadows of amusement flit ted around the corners of her mouth her eyes were bright with laughter yet there was something else in them a something that perhaps had drawn him to her from the first she did not look happy it madej him wonder where did she come from did she belong here but B ut then he thought certainly she did rubes he puzzled what do you mean and why should I 1 be disappointed you expect a cowboy dance to be crude of course this is your first experience well all rights right he be admitted this is my first cowboy dance and I 1 came out of curiosity she looked up her eyes were not brown as they had seemed from a distance they held a warm tinge a almost IM ost gold at least youre honest about it she said and really I 1 was curious about you too are we as good a show as you hoped goodness wont you have a story to ten tell when you get back to los angeles or san francisco or wherever you come from framl I 1 but im here to stay breck laughed making this decision suddenly As for the dance it is about what I 1 expected except for one thing what the tightening of his arm was not altogether voluntary the girl had taunted him and he knew it he was a little angered yet he had the sudden desire to hug her though his arm drew her to him only the slightest bit the result was volcanic she halted in the middle of a dance step flung down his hand and faced him with eyes flashing dont you try that on me you city danl until that instant breck had not thought anyone on the floor was paying attention to himself and the girl now all at once he was confronted by a dozen sullen faces the music went on dancing in other parts of the room continued but in this corner men left their girls and crowded up in a close ring what is it it louy someone asked TO BE CONTINUED |