Show 0 hiim the co dewor 0 0 0 0 e ity by veter peter KR bayne alwyne e e 0 0 ie 0 copyright copy richt ar kr peter il T virna wn WN u vernois nois CHAPTER ill III continued ne gave up all of one lamb he e generous danl heres leres I a card that says in case of death 0 or r accident please notify my next of kin miss bliss roberta antrim etc well it sort of looks like old toms tom s made a mess of things he was too old to have attempted to do this job himself his eyes probably as good as they used to be and when a fellow takes to bushwhacking wha aking he ought to be reasonably fast and accurate with a rifle when you borrowed my rifle you sort of spilled old toms beans don jaime ills his sheep we still have with us also his foreman and sheep herders gerders don jaime announced thoughtfully 1 I suppose his sheep are now the property of his next of kin and god forbid that I 1 should wage war on a woman ken my friend I 1 think well defer the war of the water holes the sensible een sible thing to do now cow Is to wire miss roberta antrim to get down here on the job and look after the assets of her late uncle tom ashes a lady shell probably listen to reason and well get rid of these stinking sheep without additional bloodshed ruin a lot of the range in the interim of course oh h 1 I let em drink 1 if we shoo them oil off now die and that would be putting a crimp in the ladys bankroll ban kroll whatever else we may be let us ua at least try to b be gentlemen the ranger agreed humorously well now the next business before tile the meeting Is to find old toms horse drape thomas across the saddle take him into los Alg Algodon eg and deliver him to the local undertaker my report of this affair will close the investigation vesti gation and you should get a doctor its ten miles to your ranch and ten miles to los algodones Alg im in command I 1 all aboard for los algodones Alg amigo they had bad proceeded but a short distance along the narrow rutty road to los algodones Alg when they were overtaken by a man driving an old auto mobile that had been converted into a truck Il hearing it rattling along behind them the ranger rode his horse into the middle of 0 the road and held up his hand the vehicle stopped the ranger looked the driver over 1 I know you he announced arent you tom kantrims An trims camp cook seems to me I 1 saw you nt at his camp this roon noon 11 the man glanced from the ranger to kantrims An trims horse with kantrims An trims limp body hail hanging ging across the saddle his dark face paled ns ins lie he saw the dead mans head bundled up in his canvas coat happened he cried that dead mans my boss aint he he used to be he rode out of his camp in a devil of a hurry shortly after I 1 was there you may remember well lvell ills his mission was to circle around senor waylay and murder him ile he tried very hard bard to succeed as you rou may judge by a casual inspect alem of senor but somehow his proposition back fired and now lies bes on his way to the undertaker suppose we dispose kantrims An trims body on your truck ile he keeps shifting in the saddle and making as great n nuisance of himself in lentil rig aa lie he did in life im afraid hell fall off don jaime will ride on the seat beside you and ill bit all on back with the corpse corple an and lead these two horses you got a gun on you yes sir air give it to me you might he be tempted to use it on don jaime hop out now and pay the list last sad tribute of love to your late inte boss 1 I dont think ill go to los al algo 0 after nil all rang ranger or the boys ought to be notified of this killing go I 1 desire it my friend I 1 dont feel fed like having your friend s organize a reprisal raldon raid on the Rancho vallo tittle verde until im there to receive them hobart lashed flashed ills his rangers on the man who without further ado riss assisted Isted him to place an trims body in the box of the car then lifted don bjalme down from ills his horse and deposited him bo bc side the driver after which he seated himself in the rear of the car find and with his long legs hanging out the tailgate held the loading ropes of tile the three horses they proceeded to los algodones Alg where hobart hob turned an trims body over to the coroner an and d made his report to the sheriff having first erst seen don jaime julme in bed at tile the hotel with a doctor in charge of him about an hour later a coroners jury trooped into don jaimes room and listened to his story of the killing the ranger addel ills his te testimony stimon Y and the foreman of the jury looked at his fellow jurors dont seem to be anything mysterious about this case boys he an bounced noun ced all those in favor of rendering a verdict of suicide hold up their right hands all up we the jury find that the docen deceased sed came to pits Ms death at the hand of don jaime miguel rail and thit that the said niguenes acted in self defense find and cannot be charged with any crime birse flan justifiable homicide 1 I thank you se lenores senores seno nores said don balme nl nip tien take the iury down to the hotel bar and set up the drinks go way you chaps im not in sufficient pain to groan but id like to cuss freely for a while the jury retired in an atmosphere of profound geniality and when ken hobart had sufficiently upheld the traditions of valle verde he returned to his employer well live ive wired my resignation it ought to reach the governor before the office closes and his wire of acceptance cep tance will come to me in your care I 1 am on my way to the ranch ill send the trailer in after our horses in the morning at ranger headquarters that cook of kantrims An trims Is bound to have taken the news out to his people id better be at the ranch in the event of hostilities tili ties don jaime held out a telegram to him please lie file that as you go out ken the doctor has sent to el cl paso for a trained nurse and so soon as she arrives ill go eo out to t the ranch and recuperate adelos ml buen companero 11 a a a a although she had promised crooked bill she would start for los algo dones immediately such was her curiosity to met the adorable don jaime miguel Higue higueres nes roberta antrim awakened the following morning with a changed mind her first rush of enthusiasm engendered by don jaimes telegram and tile the vivid mental picture she had painted of him was fading in its place was growing an apprehension that crooked bill was probably right as usual the estimable don jaime might prove to be a pancho villa sort of person physically despite his undoubted mental attainments and roberta felt she did not care to take such disillusionment until she had to crooked bill knowing his niece far better than she knew herself was quite prepared for this change of mind so he said nothing beyond a mild inquiry as to what reply she had bad sent don jaime miguel HIgue higueres nes to his charming telegram oh I 1 just thanked him and told him I 1 would be happy to have him look after my interests until I 1 could find a man to relieve him nt at which time he would be remunerated for his work I 1 also asked him to send me a detailed account of the manner in which uncle tom met his death and instructed him to have uncle tom burled in the local cemetery and send the bill to me illum hum in I 1 crooked bills grunt was very skeptical did you ask him h I 1 m for any information regarding your uncles toms estate no uncle bill I 1 thought look after those details for me 1 I will honey but I 1 must remind you that I 1 have a few details of my own that require looking after rat im up to my eyebrows eve brows in stocks and it if the market goes against me and I 1 dont like the looks of it im liable to have to go down to texas take hold bold of your uncle toms sheep business and try to ehe out a respectable existence for both of us I 1 suppose give me a job as your manager you bobby robertas eyes eves widened surely uncle bill youre jesting im not neither am I 1 lugubrious my dear it will be time enough for that when I 1 invite my creditors in to gather up tip the hie pieces youre a strange mixture of op timise find and pessimism uncle bill are you really depp deep in the market 1 I have already told you ou im in up tip to my eyebrows you see I 1 bobby when one plays on margin and nd sells short lie he makes a dollar a share every time tile the price drops a point pol nt if lie he buys buis short ile he loses a collir do I 1 lar a share every time the price mounts a point and the brokers khop kee p calling for more margin mar in well I 1 bought ove five thousand at rive five hundred and fifty thousand dollars roberta interrupted Interrupt pc to prove slie she was following crooked bills tale with interest 11 well AVell the doggone dog gone stock tins has gone up to a hundred and ninety A loss of eighty points four hundred thousand dollars dollar sl 1 oil oh uncle lill blell 1 of course theres bound to be a break sometime A miracle Is bound to occur provided I 1 carra the lond indefinitely it if the stock keeps ad avancing van cing ng the fellow who lias has sold five thousand shares short faces the dally job of digging up anywhere from five to twenty thousand dollars additional margin theres such a thing as reaching the point where one has no more mar margin in available and when that point la Is reached ones broker just naturally plays safe and sells one out and one Is busted roberta llo horta came to the old roan man and put her fair arms around his leathery neck im uncle toms heir at least he be wrote me to that effect once when he was very the time he was shot by hla his foreman in a quarrel over participating profits you mean so it t you go bust uncle bill you can have uncle toms sheep A terrible heritage crooked bill replied and shuddered well well hope for the best honey you or your legal representative will have to go to texas soon and do something about those sheep now that your uncle toms dead his herders gerders may steal some of the sheep it if riot not all did he or did he not make a will and it if so who Is the executor 1 I do wish uncle bill that you would go down there and attend to these matters ill give you my power of attorney Wha tIll crooked bill almost yelled with the market sky rocketing and every dollar I 1 have in the world tied up ui in it impossible if glenn hackett loved me half as much as he started to tell me he did held hed go down there for me lie ile has half a dozen very important cases demanding his bis attention here why should he neglect clients g t so if you go bust uncle alir B you can have uncle toms sheep who ft ho pay him huge fees to chase off on your business after the way nay youve treated him besides he ha have ve the hardihood to send you a bill for half what the trip would actually cost him 1 I 1 have so many lovely things planned uncle bill to go down to texas now would quite ruin my summer she protested not to go will probably ruin the same summer tor for jaime miguel Higue higueres nes bobby probably too it will ft not lies hes accustomed cus Icus tomed to texas summers I 1 take it but not to playing nursemaid to the lord knows not how many sheep for a person he even know after one look at you lie he might derive considerable pleasure from h his Is ki kindly ll 11 adly act but in the absence of any int interest e rest on your part lie he may be tempted to dotty deny your sheep the mothers care all all shoop sheep require hut but I 1 do not know that I 1 am heir to those sheep cant you wait until a will ft Is unearthed or the absence of one definitely established glenn brought up tint that point yesterday it if there Is no will ft I 1 shall of course as uncle toms next of kin petition for foi to letters tiers of administration hut but until I 1 have a letter from senor it see seams mg to me I 1 can do nothing but mirk mark time very well ft ell then mark time what flint im doing and its driving me crazy it wa was a weak before the expected letter arrived from jaime miguel Higue higueres nes having perused it roberta handed it to crooked hill bill Ita valle verde las cruces co texas june ts 28 1925 dear miss antrim supplementing my telegram of a week ago I 1 regret to report that on the dinst your uncle thomas antrim as the aftermath of a dispute that ahn I 1 arose due to your jour uncles alleged trespass with ft his sheep on lands ands not owned by him engaged in a duel with rifles rides ills antagonist one jim bilg gins emerged the victor in this sa ann guimary affray from testimony it appears much as I 1 regret to say so that mr antrim was very much the aggressor in fact was fias wounded three times time by your relative before he found himself in position to return the fire the coroners jury returned a verdict of justifiable homicide in accordance with your telegraphic instructions I 1 have seen to it that your uncle received christian burial in odd fellows cemetery your uncle was well known to me we had a community of interest in many things so when at his untimely passing noone no one came forward to perform the last sad rites I 1 took it upon myself to notify you it has been a pleasure to me to have served you being at this time confined to my home with a slight indisposition I 1 directed my general manager to call upon your uncles foreman in charge of some sheep on the range and inform him that it was your wish as the probable heir to your uncles estate that he continue to carry on with the sheep until the arrival of you or your representative here the foreman a man named bill dingle mentioned having a contract with your uncle to participate to a certain extent in the batters lat sheep business and stated that he was not taking orders from anybody my manager thereupon showed him your telegram to me conveying your request that I 1 act as your representative temporarily this written display of authority had little or no effect on bill dingle while jim higgins Is recovering from his wounds bill dingle continues to trespass on the formers lands suspecting Suspect lne that your uncle might have made a will I 1 suggested to the public administrator that he look into the matter three days ago I 1 received a letter from this official informing me that the federal trust company of el paso had forwarded a will to be filed for probate at los algodones Alg from this will it appears that you are the sole heir and with the federal trust company whose executorship however may c ease cease at your option but only after the trust company shall have been paid certain loans made your uncle in his lifetime I 1 have no information as to the amount 0 of f these loans if any you will doubtless have to employ a local attorney it if desired I 1 shall be happy to recommend one who has served the Higue higueres niguenes nes family ably and faithfully for forty years don pru dencho alviso of los algodones Alg 1 I regret to state that I 1 have very little confidence in the integrity of your foreman bill dingle and suggest that you take steps to count the sheep immediately the count will have to be made by one backed by undoubted legal right to do so upon the request of the local attorney for the estate the court will appoint a man to do this for you I 1 advise very prompt action it if I 1 can serve you further please do not hesitate to command your obedient servant JAIME MIGUEL well roberta queried as crooked bill folded the letter and laid it on the library table so your uncle tom tried to run a blazer on an irishman eh one jim junr higgins must be black irish so tom foolishly mistook him for a mexican ile he rubbed his ingenious head bead dont like the idea of that el paso hank bank being with you honey wed better ascertain how much money the estate owes the bank pay them off and get rid of them I 1 imagine it a great deal no sane bank would loan tom antrim very ru much c it if course this dingle bell bill dingle roberta corrected senor trust him senor Is evidently in the cattle business it if |