Show WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINES Z hide ube 4 WW WA COPYRIGHT WILLIAM SERVICE MACLEOD RAINE CHAPTER XIV continued 23 why yes was there a rumor I 1 h had ad been sick Jeff drawled have you seen father he hurried ahead of us to help you no but ive heard him listen three times a revolver barked sounds like it was up at the head oti the street somewhere near the golden nugget bob said he had guessed accurately the bf bullets illets from 1 that gun had been fired by norris into the body of sherm 11 howard nivard wed better find your facher first off I 1 gray said he was fighting nw near the ransom house hall half an haur ago we might take a look over th that Atway way my sister is here too I 1 want sure ashes all right she is ive just left her they moved through the cotton woods gray riding behind bob in the shadowy moonlight they caught sight of men approaching gray ih shouted who goes there the voice of chiswick answered that will be near enough if youre adt looking for fro trouble uble were L C bep mep men father bob c cried ed bob anawat land and the others I 1 someone in lees party let out a yell of delight in another moment the two groups had mingled E you have abounded a wounded man maii jeff said looking down at a form stretched on a door you should know it boy a vace voice answered you were there aben I 1 got the pi pill jes jeff gray found himself trembling he swung from back of bob arid and walked forward for an instant he had not been surer sure this was not a voice from the dead Is itsou it you hank he asked 1 I thought sure its me chiswick and his lads got to lo the cabin in time to sacci save me they carried the blacksmith to the house and put him into the room next the one occupied by curly connor ruth showed up white faced who has been hurt she asked hank ransom if you cant sleep you can stay with hank and kinda nurse him chiswick told his daughter cant afford to leave a man were liable to be mighty busy when day breaks and that will be right soon our friends from the W J M and the lazy B ought to be here early well have from twenty to thirty men Is there going to be a fight she asked gray in a low voice he answered gravely up to them you mean a battle not if I 1 can help it it if were strong enough the outlaws will give way but I 1 mean to capture howard norris doke mile high and two or three others they are desperate men I 1 expect them to surrender tamely lamely they may run away then ill have to run after them dont worry he smiled at her warmly this joti job is almost done the headquarters of the outlaws were at the golden nugget the cowboys concentrated in the cottonwood grove across the street from ma Pres nalls nills boardinghouse boarding house since the break of day there had been no firing both sides waited A general battle in the streets would mean the death of a dozen men neither party wanted that gray called chiswick aside im going up with a white flag to the golden nugget any minute something is liable to start we cant have that shoot you down sure the cattleman protested at once 1 I dont think so the officer demurred howard want any massacre he knows that wont buy him anything what you going to tell them im going to tell them the truth that I 1 want howard norris morris and some some of the others the rest arent I 1 in n it when they know that the ones we re dont want will melt away they arent in a sweat to buck the united states government ill go with you id rather you 99 some of the boys will listen to me who pay iny any attention to you five or six of them have worked tor for me this is my bear fight its mine too chiswick insisted were busting up the gang that teat have been rustling my stock jeff gave up with a shrug he knew chiswick could not be talked out of a position he had taken he did not need to mention how great the risk was the cattleman knew that after giving directions to dan brand who was left in command of the cowboy forces the two men walked up the street toward the enemy jeff waved a white handkerchief called from the door of the gambling house to ask them what I 1 they wanted want to see shern sherm howard gray said from doors and windows up and down the street on both sides they could see men peering althem at them mile high carria came into inta the open you cant see sherm hes dead chiswick stared at the lank puncher dead what I 1 said this was stunning news jeff had depended upon howard villain though the man was he was a shrewd and wily schemer who used his brains sherm knew that wholesale killing in the open would be fatal to his cause it would be his bis policy to avoid it and depend upon trickery to escape later it if it was true that he was dead his influence against explosive violence would be lost the marshal felt as does a man who has dinto a den of lions under a safeguard from the trainer to discover too late that the man with the whip is not at hand to defend him in the air there was an electric tension such as that which just precedes a storm both the officer and the cattleman knew that neither of them would walk back down main street again unless they did so as survivors of the gun duel that was imminent gray felt there might be one chance not to escape a fight but to avoid being the victims ot of a massacre that was to tell his story swiftly convincingly chos running yore show jeff asked out of the golden nugget walked morgan norris morris im running it fellow he said if you want to know I 1 bumped oft off howard because he was a double crossing son of a gun gray spoke his voice strong and clear for all to hear ive nothing to say to you norris except that im going to drag you to prison where you will be hanged for yore crimes but ill talk to some of the men youre leading astray I 1 represent the united states government were going to clean up this county tail holt going to be the home of a nest of rustlers killers and holdup men any longer im serving notice the worst of you are going to be rubbed out the others had better get good right damn now im going to get my men by noon well have fifty cowboys with us take my advice and leave this murderer and his crowd it if you dont get in as bad as they are norris moved forward his figure weaving as the crouched body ot of a tiger does his thin cruel mouth was set in a straight line so you aim to drag me to the gallows do you he snarled his white teeth showing me morg norris why you never saw the day fellow I 1 bust you wide open mile high walked into the street to join norris in a doorway to the left appeared clint poke doke a revolver in his bis hand cutup put up that gunt ordered chiswick sharply norris hand band swept up from his thigh a colts forty four in it there was a streak ot of light a roar five guns blazed everybody vanished from sight except the combatants lanes of fire crossed through smoke mens bodies loomed shifting to and fro padding here and there like those of animals the crash of revolvers the cursing of men the sudden scream cofone hit all filled the air with dreadful tur nult A rift in the smoke showed jeff a man on his knees snarling oaths still firing at him the man was norris from the officers gun flame darted he felt a stab of pain and gave it no attention norris was sini sinking ing lower his head touched the dust the weapon dropped from his hand chiswick was still on his feet so were both the other outlaws smoke shouts oaths hideous faces faced morning out of the fog jeff met mile high and felt th the crash of a iun gun barrel on his hat he closed with the tall puncher and clung fast to him swaying with dizziness and hanging to the pistol arm that waved wildly trying to get a shot into grays body another face came out odthe mist an aim swept N baj N r Z L X w he closed with the tall puncher up and down mile highs grip relaxed he staggered against a wall and slid down the noise of the guns had died down men came out from open doors cautiously no weapons in their hands only three of the outlaws had taken part norris lay still in the dust mile high was unconscious pistol whipped clint doke had vanished all right with you jeff asked his companion fine and you grays head was getting clearer he stepped across to norris and examined him the killer was dead where is doke de the marshal asked harshly speaking to all within hearing he ran into someone said jeff said to the cattleman hang on to mile high and walked into yell store doke was trying frantically to unbar the back door he turned crouched and panic stricken to meet the man advancing on him keep back he yelled and fired A moment later he dropped a bullet hole in his forehead the marshal steadied himself against the counter then turned and walked slowly back to 10 the street he looked round on those in sight any more inore of you boti cantio want to bust us wide open he asked grimly nobody accepted the invitation all men knew that law had arrived at tail holt to stay jeff gave curt orders every man of you shuck his guns ill put one of my boys in store to check them when you turn them over there will be no more helling belling around inside of two three hours ill let you know who I 1 want the rest of you will be tree free to go he put handcuffs on mile high already the cowboys were arriving on the run chiswick held up a restraining hand hold your horses boys he said everything Is fine and dandy A few of the dime novel bad boys got all het hel up and we had to knock their ears down the rest of the lads have decided to be good jeff took over the golden nugget and the other saloons none of the tail holt gang made any open opposition before the hour was up a dozen of the rustlers and outlaws were riding into the brush it was time to be seeking other pastures ruth met metJe Jeff fI at the front door of Pres nalls and drew him into the sitt sitting irig room 6 1 are you all right you and father both she asked anxiously all right he answered cheerfully and our job is done the boys will eat out of our hands now frank told me she cried softly it was a crazy thing you and father did you promised it so I 1 did we have gone it if we had known sherm howard was dead but it turned out fine r yes yes she went on with a little flare of possessive feminine ferocity but I 1 wont have you doing things like that now never again he promised prom isei 40 7 smiling into her troubled eyes ive been talking with yore father im going to quit the service arid and go into cattle thank god you wont be afraid to marry me then win will you courage was in her eyes like a banner for better or worse he was to be her man as long as life lasted she came to him with a little gesture of surrender that won his heart THE END |