Show IV I V A U ELES COWD 4 balan le MAY E HE fhe STORY THUS FAR melody af es and his side rider george fury became lost crossing the plains and ended in Pay payneville neville a cow town on the wagon route to california fury hit the first bar while melody wandered down the street ira a rough looking customer whistled at a girl across the street whom melody had admired at a distance in a flare of temper melody knocked ira down when ira regained his feet melody advised him not to whistle at someone alses girl he fie then entered the store and ordered canned food the store owner refused payment fury was not doing as wen well the men in the bar had started to razz him believing him to be the half wit roscoe CHAPTER ni HI talk talk talk george walled wailed you git that cayuse back Jh here re and smart quick yours aioo too cad ere leavin leav ml lot I 1 why because this dump is full 0 crazy fellers feller sl wheres that arral cr ral old george rasped his mustache trembling he started striding headlong down the street lurching on his high heels melody fen fell in beside him you go in some dump melody enlarged where nobody dont know you and you pike all around with that half rump grin and next maybe you ask some dumb fool question a comanche papoose could of answer for his self like time is she kaow or where am I 1 at and naturally they dont tall fall flat on their face or bothin you otter know that by now george fury gave a low whimper in his throat you got to walk in a new place kind of unsmiling melody said he meant to say that it slipped out on him he reddened a little like me he pushed ahead with it 1 I aint said two words in this dump but already I 1 got a certain standing I 1 george fury slowed up then he said queerly unsmiling unsmiling you said melody jones flinched a little at the sound of that word out loud 1 I can walk in any place he said with mild de defiance flance around a dump like this and clear my own place at the bar until they get to know me he added accidentally before they even know me he corrected him seu self vt come with me george fury tid iid with lethal softness the dialect was gone now he had come to a full stop and now turned melody back with a grip that held like an eagles bite come with me he said again once more george fury was entering the first chance last chance from the way they had now come an act he would have sworn could never happen in this life or the next and this time melody jones was walking in a little in front of him A little smile was on george burys face he no longer cared what happened to himself unsmiling jones he whispered unsmilingly jones walked slowly into the last chance bar his thumbs lay lightly along the upper r ge e of his belt the gunfighters gun fighters 4 jok he had heard more than ever he was trying to look neither to right nor left so that his always restless eyes darted here and there in light quick glancing strokes he moved so stiffly in his utter self consciousness that his heels hardly sounded on the worn boards even in the sudden stillness you could hear his left spur ring faintly though a tiny thin bell suddenly george fury was looking very strange not in any way he had looked before the old weathered face drew taut the crowd in the bar had fallen quiet for melody jones they gave back as he walked making room they made a broad place for him at the bar george fury came to the empty space beside melody but george was not looking at him his shoulder was turned toward melody a little and his eyes were active across all those other fares the bartender was whipping out a special long necked bottle and his hand was unsteady as he poured he said very low your pleasure gents and tossed out a clean glass for george fury no thanks george fury said hardly hearing it himself two or three who had drawn back from the bar eased forward now nov resuming their places melody turned sharply on them showing off for george fury and they fell back again melody swayed over to speak confidentially fidentia lly in george burys ear get that sheep look off your old swizzle will you youre all right slings youre with me see now george fury said come out of here melody jones had never heard him speak so flat and low turn your back if you have to but dont tetch no gun melody looked at george for a little bit then he slowly drank the deep drink the bartender had poured best liquor I 1 ever et he said where you get that 1 I make it the bartender said speaking like a child listen we mean nothing just the boys having a little tun fun with roscoe here like you might yourself sure melody said vaguely you dont donl want nothing he said to george pay and come on george fury said now As melody looked at george burys face he saw a taint faint damp sheen like river bottom dew across burys forehead melody gave in how much house on the house any time the bartender said his words had that strangeness you sometimes hear when a voice does not properly fit the face from which it comes melody looked at him oddly then turned to follow george swaggering slowly his hands in the gun gunfighters fighters hook george fury let melody pass then backed out stiffly his eyes watchful all over the bar you see melody jones said when they were alone on the boardwalk you see he looked sidelong at george fury george was looking at melody with glazed eyes he was shaking with a minute harsh tremor like the shifting of sand we got to get out of here he said hoarsely we fetched up in a asylum what we donel hows that again ive knowel fellers that sprung abrain a brain george fury said but this is the first time I 1 ever see a whole town go high leppin crazy like one man now george melody said uncertainly you know that calet be aint no way for how come is there george tapped Mel odys breastbone with his forefinger loco weed youve see it crazy up a hoss now youve see it crazy up a town melody thought that over but he was looking at george queerly now they eat it he decided not everybody in town maybe it got in the flour maybe it got threshed right in wholesale melody scratched his chin what color huh you figurin on the white loco or the blue loco george angered dont you go sassing me he snapped 1 I dont aim to stand fer it what color what do I 1 keer what color the steam went out of him as quickly as it had risen his voice was almost plaintive it sounded so weary and far away 1 I want my cayuse he said gamme my cayuse with my saddle on him and two rods head go all I 1 ask A whispered warning hissing and frantic burst almost under george burys elbow senor no tu bayas no tu bayas fenorl senor A brown mestizo boy very mexican but very indian too was calling out to melody under his do CHA ficari 01 I 1 he had never seen her before in his life breath from the narrow slit between the grand eastern and the don go to the corral don look at mel me somebody with rifle hes wait in the hay barn hes for kill you you go therel there george fury turned relaxed and cool he shot an ironic glance of 1 I told you at melody then turned his back casually on the opening from which the brown boy spoke his stiff gnarled fingers were perfectly steady as he began to roll a cigarette who son he said from the side of his mouth what hay barn at the corral came the thin scared whisper from between the buildings don know who you come I 1 show you george burys eyes flicked left and right along the street as he licked shut his cigarette then he unhurriedly faded backwards into the he narrow opening once out of sight of the street he turned and went with the mestizo boy shaking his gun loose in its holster melody jones hesitated fidgeted then followed behind the grand eastern a ragged wreckage of rusty tin cans spoiled the shelving slope to the poi sanberry son berry river biver but beyond looking past the cluttered kitchen gall gallery er y 0 of t the hotel they had a fair view of the public corral its fence made of heavy cracked cottonwood poles stood eight feet tall but through it they could see their ponies and half a dozen more the horses were eating hay off the ground they kept tossing the hay with a throw of their heads to shake the dust out of it and behind the corral stood the barn small and ramshackle of curling boards some buckboards stood half way into its open front and a strew of low grade hay dribbled out of the loft above there whispered the mexican boy up where the hay live this bear near corner where the loose board is is from at they saw it then a small unexplained projection sticking out of an aperture where a loose plank had been swung aside it might have been the head of a snake or a mans thumb but it it was the muzzle of a buffalo gun sighted on the front gate odthe of the corral george sidled past melody and led the way to the street they have much to say to each other for a little while out on the board sidewalk of court street they leaned against the front of the slow moving but edgily edaily alert george slowly lit his cigarette without looking at it his eyes were all up and down the empty sun blazing street melody got out his tobacco sack then stood for some time holding it in his hand finally he put it away again without making a smoke he had forgotten what he started to do you have any trouble with anybody george asked melody the whilst you was down the street well no no melody considered si not what call a bother as bothers go melody this aint no time to be holdin something back well melody admitted 1 I did kind of slap a feller just with my open hand you kind of slapped a feller george repeated his tone slow and thick what did he do he set down you slapped him and he set melody how come you done this thing melody was willing to answer but he know just to larn him I 1 reckon he shrugged it off george fury drew a long iong sigh well try to make it to the foot of the street he told melody ift so be it we git well cut back and circle ard and wade the crick and try at coming onto the corral from behind we got to have them ponies melody some kind of way that saddle alone set me forty seven dul lers all right george slowly careful to give no sign of haste george and melody wheeled back the way they had come and now melody saw the girl again she was coming quickly along the street with a nervous reaching stride and she was walking straight toward melody as straight as a surveyors sight because her eyes were narrowed against the sun he know at first that her attention was fixed upon his face he saw that she was not a dance hall girl nor even a girl of the town for her face was tanned golden by the reflected light of alkali so that her hair looked lighter than her face it seemed to him that she was lovely not pretty maybe but desirable and sweet like bread and molasses or a filly foal suddenly he realized it was time to get out of her way she was walkin walking at him as directly as if he were a door or an in invisible v I 1 sible man melody made a faint uncertain wobble to the left then to the right and stood rooted in the middle of the walk for the girl smiled at him now and still came straight toward him darling she said to melody her voice was clear and strong enough to be heard by some of the shadowy men who were watching now from a dozen doorways Dar darling lingl she put her arms about his neck pulling his head down and kissed him squarely Mel odys hands held her gingerly cupped lightly upon her back and he was upset to find that she was shaking As her arms slackened about his neck he saw that her eyes were grey with blue shadows under them that seem to belong there and she was looking from one of his eyes to the other one with a question approaching panic the one thing he was certain of was that he had never seen her before in his life melody made a taint faint sound like the stutter of a duck she averted her eyes by pressing her cheek against the side of his jaw and spoke to him rapidly her words were breathless but now barely audible dont go to the corral she said dont go any place keep your backs against the wall here never dare come at you from in front over her shoulder melody saw george burys blank misery ill get your ponies and bring them here dont move until I 1 come george studied Mel odys stupefied fied face and conceived that their case was desperate kaow mam george fury said yew jest looky here the girl flashed george fury a smile of dazzling warmth howdy roscoe she said george made a noise like a man kicked in the stomach she disengaged herself from melody gave his arm a little fluttering pat and hurried on past the grand eastern toward the alley to the corral just before she disappeared around the corner of the grand eastern she turned back and tried to convey something to melody silently by an exaggerated lip pantomime but melody catch it george fury had glued himself to the wall of the as he had been told chos thet 1 I swear I 1 never seen her before in all my born days I 1 A roaring flub dub of hoofs sounded in the corral alley A two pony buckboard swung out of the alley into the street nearly turning over as one wheel hooked the high edge of the boardwalk the girl was driving and having plenty of trouble because the horses were half broke and she was trying to drive them with one hand while leading georges and Mel odys ponies with the other they stepped out into the dust and helped her stop the team ride close by my wheel she said as they took their horses from her dont ask any questions believe me please believe me its your one best hopel hope TO BE CONTINUED F 0 I 1 V |