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Show mott now that Fletcher Carey was there to protect her. "What happened?" hap-pened?" "Your horse shied at a skunk and threw you. Pesky things, skunks." "I can agree with that," said Norma Nor-ma meaningly, and Immediately hoped he wouldn't get her point "There was something overhead." "An owl," said Fletcher Carey. He came and sat down beside her. Your horse went back to the ranch. We'll have to ride double." "I'd rather walk," Norma said coldly. Fletcher Carey shrugged. "Suit yourself." He stood up and moved off in the darkness. "Douse the fire before leaving," he called. Norma got to her feet in a hurry. "Oh! Wait! Mr. Carey!" She started running, frantically, and almost al-most collided with Fletcher Carey coming back. "Whoa!" he grinned. "You'd better not start by running. It's a long ways." "I I guess I'll ride, if you don't mind." She looked up at him, meekly, meek-ly, almost cringing, fear of the dark in her eyes. The grin vanished from Fletcher Carey's lips. ( "Sure," he said. "Wait here." He went away again. Norma watched the spot where he disappeared disap-peared until he came into the light, leading his black. "Up you go," he said cupping his hands. ' When he went to douse the fire, she had an impulsive desire to strike the black smartly and race off, leaving him there. But she didn't. She waited, and Fletcher swung up behind be-hind her, grinning once more, and they started ahead. He guided the black, with his arms about her waist, which made her resentful at first, and later sent a little tingle of pleasure coursing through her veins. Suddenly she was regretful regret-ful for everything; she wanted to be friends, wanted to know the man better. She wanted to tell him so, but her pride suppressed sup-pressed the longing. Lost and Found By VIC YARDMAN Associated Newspapers WNU Service THE first thing that made Norma angry was her inability inabil-ity to find the right trail leading lead-ing back to the ranch. Secondly, Sec-ondly, the handsome, bronzed cowboy cow-boy who was descending the slope, ostensibly to rescue her, was Fletcher Carey. She hated Fletcher Carey because he was so good-natured good-natured and popular and likeable, yet so wholly indifferent, because she was so free and easy with all the other cowboys on the ranch. She was, he thought, not decent. She wondered how Fletcher Carey would have acted if he but knew her apparent free and easy attitude toward the other cowboys was merely mere-ly a means of taunt, an assertion of independence and lack of interest at what Fletcher Carey thought of her. Thirdly, Norma was angry because be-cause of her present helplessness; because it was fast growing dark and she was afraid and she'd have ' to depend upon Fletcher Carey to bring her safely back to the ranch. This third reason for her anger fairly fair-ly made her boil inside. It was going go-ing to be difficult, having to depend on a man she hated. Fletcher Carey came loping along the trail, sitting on his horse in that casual western fashion that is the very personification of grace, and grinned at her. Actually grinned. Norma's face flamed. "Hello," he said innocently, bringing bring-ing his black horse to a halt. "Lost?" Norma glared at him icily. "No," she said, her words dripping with sarcasm. "I have a date with And so they rode along in silence. Norma leaned against him, feeling safe and protected and curiously happy. His voice, coming out of the blackness, startled her. Fletcher Carey said: "I guess I've treated you pretty mean. I'm sorry. We don't ordinarily ordi-narily treat our guests like this. But with you it was different." "Different?" she asked, her heart beginning to pound. "I fell in love with you a month ago." His voice was apologetic. "Sorry. Didn't mean to. Just one of those things. Figured you had no use for me, so I steered clear. Kinda got under my skin, the way you played around with the hands." He paused. "Fact is, I been following follow-ing you all afternoon. Hoped you'd get lost so's I could have this chance. Sorry now, though." Norma felt the tenseness of his body. His tone ! was casual, but she knew it had tafcte an effort to speak at all. And it wasn't because she was a guest either. The Double 6 had a waiting list. It was it must she laughed, a little silvery sil-very laugh contented, happy. "Fact is, cowboy," she said, trying to sound as casual as he, "I knew you were following me, and got lost on purpose." The black stopped, then went ahead again. Its reins hung loose, but the lights of the ranch house showed ahead and the animal was hungry. yf'tS I'll ride, if you don't - milid.'' &h looked up at him. the big bad wolf. He's due any moment." Fletcher Carey arched his brows in the faintest of surprise gestures. "Oh," he said. "Well, well. Forgive For-give my curiosity." He made a clucking sound with his tongue and the black moved ahead. Norma waited, without looking around. She felt sure he'd come back. He'd never dare to leave her alone out here. Why, even a stupid cowboy like Fletcher Carey must have known she was kidding. Perhaps the idiot had misinterpreted her wisecrack. Perhaps he thought by "big bad wolf" she'd meant one of the ranch cowboys. Impulsively Norma turned and rode down the trail in the direction taken by Fletcher Carey. She rode slowly at first, half expecting to meet him coming back. But she didn't, and it was growing dark, rapidly. rap-idly. Somewhere up on the slope of the mountain a bobcat howled, and a little shiver ran down her spine. She touched spurs to her horse's flank, and the animal leaped ahead. And all the while Norma was fairly boiling inside. Of all the rude, ignorant, ig-norant, conceited men she'd had the ill fortune to meet, Fletcher Carey sure took the prize. She'd see that he lost his job for this. Then, bitterly, she remembered that he owned a half interest in the Double 6, and it would be rather difficult getting him fired. Something stirred in the bushes beside the trail. Her horse shied, nearly upsetting her, and went racing rac-ing down the trail. Norma's heart began to thump. They entered a grove of evergreens, which shut out the last remaining vestige of daylight. day-light. Ahead there was nothing but black stillness. Suddenly the horse stopped short, and Norma went sliding up around its neck. She pushed herself back and clucked frantically, digging in her spurs. Something swept past her head. She sensed, rather than felt its presence, and her breath caught. In the next instant her horse was rearing on its hind legs, striking out in the dark. The air was suddenly filled with a strange, unpleasant odor. She went hurtling into space, struck with a sickening thud then a gray curtain of nothingness closed about her ... When Norma opened her eyes she was lying on a bed of fir boughs. There was a fire a few feet away, over which a man was stooped, laying lay-ing sticks on crosswise. She sat up with a start, remembering. The man turned and grinned. "Hello," he said. "Remember me?" "I remember everything but you," said Norma, self-possessed once |