Show ROBBERS ROOST ROOS C N s 11 k v jim aiu wall wah young U ag cowpuncher cr fro from wyoming in it tile the early days of the cuttle cattle industry a now field in utah U t ire he meets hank hays hay who admits being a robber and tells wall he Is 1 working for an englishman herrick who has located a big ranch in the mountains n u mins herrick has employed a nom ln email a I 1 army of gun cun fighters and hays and others are plotting to steal their employers employees cattle and money wall saves es hanks life by blurring bluffing a gambler out of shooting with hays and two other rustlers happy jack and lincoln jim wall goes to herricks ra ranch h herrick announces that his sister helen ne e la in coming to the ranch hays u unfolds n his plan tor for wetting getting possess possession ton of herricks head of ave stock he ha anahis lieutenants ride away to drive oft off the first bunch of cattle CHAPTER ill III continued 5 smoky its ita shore a big idee I 1 declared C hays enthusiastically rut but what about heeseman lets clean out his bunch hays shook his head fellers if we pick a fight with that outfit some of us will get killed an others crippled then we pull the deal A better idee Is for one of us ns to kill heeseman eseman 11 reckon it would be bust the outfit you pick on to do thet hank jelt jeff bridges boomed out why smoky of course or brad nope said hays shaking his head with all taets due smoky an brad I 1 choose either jim laiq here e Is the man for thet lob job liebbe we could drive off six or eight thousand head of stock before heeseman ever found out put in smoky the tense sense of figh fightlin tin it out till we hare to the suggestion found instant favor on all sides but we dont want heeseman trall trail in us ex postulated hays you mean after we pull the deal queried brad incredulously shore I 1 mean after wal what in thunder atlon do we care for him when weve got the coin an are op on our way to thet roost were due to find 1 I dont just like the idee fellers replied hays evasively jim wall studying the robber leader closely imagined that hays was not exposing all the details of his plot lets put my idee to a vote said smoky when this suggestion was solemnly complied with making use of the deck of cards it was found that slocum had bad won so far so good said hays as if relieved ved now lets see smoky tomorrow you take your gang including Inc ludIn brad an quit pack a slow slew of grub grib an grain an hide ot below cache what you dont need ill go to grand junction for new hands see but all ill come back with will bo be instructions for you to follow then you can go darivin good an how about the cash wal them buyers wont pay me in advance you can gamble on thet the but pay you just divide elci your outfit an save our share short an sweet I 1 like it more all the time declared smoky well want to know where your camp Is went on hays reckon bockon id better ride out with you tomorrow no you rustle for grand junction well see thet happy an jim know where to find our camp jim thought of something men has it occurred to you that you cant drive cattle up this rend and the ranch shore no need be a seven ty mile drive if we came this way but well drive round hy by liveston LI meston an up the other valley road about 1 the same distance to grand 11 the conference ended iines turned to the open ore fire and socking seeking a sent seat in the shadow by the chimney he pondered it was jims opinion that the chief had vastly more on his big mind than he had divulged lincoln gave him a suspicious store stare the others seemed eminently pleased with tile the outlook though no more was said in jims hearing they joked and smoked jim bade thorn them good night an and went out ills his last glimpse of hays was thought provoking lighting another cigar jim strolled up and down the porch revolving in mind the conference it was a spring night starry with an edge on the mountain air that meant frost in the morning was it possible that this lantern eyed robber had evil intentions toward herricks sister jim scouted the suspicion hang the girl part of it anyhow he muttered hinging flinging his half smoked cigar out into the noisy brook why did a woman halie hae to come along to upset the best laid plans of men the next morning brought somber faces and action five of hays outfit rode away with six of the pack horses and most of the supplies hays watched them until they disappeared among the cedars wal now ill brace the boss he said aid what excuse will vill you give him asked jim Any anything thin would do to tell herrick but heeseman will see through me im a feared 11 very well you tell herrick that your outfit split over me over you doggone dog gone gonel thet aint so poor poor but why both slocum and lincoln are sort of touchy about gun throwing arent they well tell him how queer that by zane E GREY service 7 brand of gunman 1 chow I how he instinctively hates the real gunman and that slocum and lincoln made you c choose between them and me ahue sort of so the idea will get to Hee heesemann semans ears that in a pinch with guns id rather have you babkin me than them exactly not long afterward hays returned to the cabin jubilant never guess jim that eliat englisher laughed like the very devil an he ordered me to ride off after some desperadoes whore not afraid of jim wall hal ha 1 na hal 1 but heeseman wont get a laugh out of it it shoot the lights out of him said nays flays fiercely wal im on off tor for grand happy pack pach me a snack of grub how long hilll III it take you to ride over right eight hours I 1 reckon an ill be back tomorrow night certainly these buyers will know youre selling stolen cattle oh shore after hays had gone jim settled himself to pass the hours away debbe it wont be so tedious observed happy jack dryly weve got three rifles an a sack of shells right handy so let em come jim halt half expected a visit from hertrick but the morning dragged by without any sign of anyone about however six riders appeared coming down the lane along the bench 1 he would put his horse at anything and he had a jarring fall the sight made jim start how often had he be seen the like ilke a compact little company of riders dark garbed riding dark horses it was tremendously suggestive to a man of 0 his experience he reached inside the door and drawing out his rifle advanced to the front of the porch CHAPTER IV when the group of riders reached the point where the lane crossed the brook just out of pistol range they halted and one evidently the leader came on to the bridge ill HI he yelled reining his horse ill III yourself shouted back jim the man who of course jim took to be heeseman walked his horse half the intervening distance and stopped again at this juncture nappy happy jack emerged from the cabin and carelessly propped a rifle against the wall chos callin call ln he boomed 1 I dont know replied jim im rill bill an I 1 come to talk called the visitor friendly talk queried jim wal if it aint be to blame come right over jim leaned his rifle against the rail and stood aside Ife heeseman eseman did not look up as he mounted the steps lie he took off an old sombrero to disclose the tanned clear skinned face of lof a man under forty with narrow blue eyes reddened by wind and dust it was a more open visage than jim had bad expected to see certainly heeseman was a more prepossessing man at first sight than nays hays it if I 1 set down he asked make yourself at home replied jim air you wall yes my name and tills this Is happy jack another of hays outfit heeseman nodded to jack who replied with a civil howdy II and went back into the cabin then Ife eseman leaned against the wall and treated jim to a frank shrewd gaze youre hays right hand man just late from last Is correct anyhow do you know him queried in lower voice perhaps not so BO well as you replied jim who suddenly reminded himself that he knew hays flays but slightly im coln to tell you 11 I leeseman only waste your breath declared jim impatiently wal I 1 dont waste much of thet drawled the other but it if you new to utah id save myself this trouble an youre coln to believe what I 1 tell you i i bif T owhy will 1 1 rj because Iti It true i no argument could gainsay that moreover the man had truth in his blue slits silts of eyes and in his voice did hays tell you I 1 was a rust rustler lerl 1 I think he mentioned it did he toll tell you we was bards once thet he double crossed me no 0 we wal ill 1 11 let it go at thet returned heeseman Uee senian coolly much obliged tor for lettin me come up an it you get curious just ride over to see me ile he rose stretched his long length find and walked olt oft the porch to mount his horse leaving jim about as surprised as he had ever been happy jack came out in time to see him join his comrades and ride back with them toward the corrals short visit glad it was he want darn it if I 1 savvy altogether you hear any of our talk no I 1 reckoned the less I 1 heard the better then hank hanh razz me but I 1 had bad a hunch of what he was up to jim did not press the question ne ile carried his rifle back into the cabin rather ashamed of his and feeling already curious enough to call on heeseman they had bad supper after which jack smoked and talked while jim listened evidently happy jack had taken a liking to him jim went to bed early not because he was sleepy but to keep from calling on that fellow heeseman Hee how many nights jim wall had lain down under the dark trees to wakefulness to the thronging thoughts that must mock the rest of any man who has strayed from the straight and narrow path I 1 it tormented him at certain times but that never kept the old concentrated pondering over tomorrow from gaining control of his consciousness there had been no hesitation about hank hays declaring himself in regard to heeseman callous contemptuous hays had indicated the desirability sir of riding the range of hc se man but heeseman had been subtle unquestionably his motive had bad been to undermine hays in jims regard and a few questions and an assertion or two had had bad their effect jim made the reservation that he had not accepted cep ted hays flays on anything but face value still the robber had gradually built up a character of intent force cunning and strength these had crashed though there was no good reason for that jim had not accepted hays word for anything hys hays waa wa not a square part partner nerl this stuck in jims craw why this seemed true puzzled jim heeseman beseman had simply verified a forming but still disputed suspicion in jims mind that hank hays had evil designs upon herricks sister heeseman and hays had probably known for weeks that this english girl was expected to arrive suppose lie he had I 1 what business was that of jims none except that he now formed one of hays band and as such had a right to question activities rustling hustling cattle at least in a moderate way was almost a legitimate business ranchers sluice since the early days of the cattle drives from texas had accepted their common losses it had been only big steals that roused them to ire and action to make outlaws out of rustlers nevertheless th eless it was extremely doubtful out here in the wilds of utah that even a wholesale steal would be agitating to abduct a girl however might throw western interest upon the perpetrators hays flays object assuredly was to collect ransom still that had not been heesemann Hee semans intimation nor had it been jims original suspicion he gave it up in disgust time would tell but he did not feel further inclined to call upon Ife eseman ile he would stick to hays awaiting developments the ensuing day passed uneventfully no one of smokes outfit showed up nor did hays return jim waited for herrick to give him orders which were acre not forthcoming the rancher was chasing jackrabbits Jack rabbits and coyotes with the hounds next morning jim made it a point to ride over to the barns the rancher came down in a queer costume the red coat took jims eye A motley pack of hounds and sheep dogs was new to jim as he had bad not seen or heard any dogs about the ranch jim was invited to ride along with herrick and the several cowboys they went by Hee heesemann semans camp which was vacant jim was to learn that the rancher had put the heeseman outfit to work on the cutting and peeling of 0 logs log up on the slope preparatory to the erection of a new barn jack rabbits were as thick as bees the cowboys led the dogs which soon jooa became unmanageable and bolted then the race was on where the tb ground was level and unobstructed by brush or cut up by washes herrick did fairly well as to horsemanship but in rough going he could not keep to the english saddle lie he would put his hh horse at anything and he had bad a jar ring fall notwithstanding this herrick fin asbed out tile the hunt lie he wa was 3 funny and queer but he be was game and jin liked him on the way back jim amused the englishman by shooting jack rabbits with his revolver afif H managed to kill three out of live tt t herricks infinite astonishment and ad mir mi ration atlon TO BE BB CONTINUED |