Thursday, February 29,
6F MSTHMY %
CHAPTER IX
Synopsis
Lee Hollister, returning un
expectedly from a trip abroad
to the Circle V ranch, his home
from childhood, is troubled by
signs of neglect. Joey, an old
prospector friend of Matt Blair,
Lee's foster father and owner
of the ranch, tells Lee that
Matt has killed himself, prob
ably discouraged by hard times.
The ranch is going to ruin and
Virginia, Matt's daughter, is
visiting her aunt and uncle, in
d New York. Her uncle wants her
•io sell the place to Milton
Bradish, old associate of Matt's.
Lee persuades Virginia to re
turn to the ranch. Mrs. Arch
er follows her, accompanied by
Stanley, son of Milton Bradish.
Stanley thinks he may be able
to discredit Lee in Virginia's
| eyes, and encourages Josefa
Ramirez in her liking for Lee.
One evening Josefa forces Lee
to watch her dance, and throws
herself into his arms Just as
Virginia rides past with Stan
ley.
At the corral she turned to find
Stanley at her heels. "The bunk
house is empty," he told her. "I
saw a couple of men riding- out
like blazes as I came out. Some
rhing's up."
"Hurry!" she said urgently.
"Which way did the bays go?"
He indicated It briefly, and
hurried. Virginia barely waited
for him to mount, and was off.
Less than half a mile away they
BRW a red glow.
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j. Black Lightning tossed another
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it was, just ahead of her. Leap
ing, licking tongues of flame,
throbbing through a murk of
smoke —dark patches—red patch
es—grotesque figures that moved
in a pulsating glow, with arms
like flails Stanley somewhere
behind her—where was Lee?
Her eyes raked the slope anx
iously.
"Stanley, hurry!" she called
back. No answer came. She flung
herself off as near to the fire line
as she dared.
Higher up on the slope men
were working like methodical de
mons, with swaying bodies and
threshing arms, beating out
flames with brooms of hastily cut
scrub, stamping with their feet.
One of them was taller than the
others. She could see his strong,
fast movements through the
smoke. She began to tug at a
tough little scrub that might an
swer to beat with, but could not
get it loose. Somebody must help
those toiling men. Where was
Stanley?
A crescendo of hoofbeats
brought two more Circle V men
tearing along from one direction,
and from another two glaring
eyes appeared, bobbing and shift
ing. That was an automobile
racing toward them with all the
speed it had, lurching insanely
over hummock and hollow. It
drew up with a gasping rattle,
only a battered Ford, but piled to
the running boards with men.
They swarmed out with a clatter
of axes and picks and spades,
tools for fire breaks, and raced
uphill. She heard Lee's shout.
"Take it easy, Joey, here comes
the relief crew. Go keep an eye
on the horses, will you?"
Joey came stumbling down the
slope with uncertain legs.
"Why Honey, you here?"
"Oh, Joey, can they stop it?
How did it happen?"
"Them boys? Shore they can
stop it. Why, Lee fit it all alone
for two hours, before me an'
Curly an' Darrell got here."
"But how did it happen?" she
persisted. "Does Lee know?"
Joey shook a dubious head.
"Kinda looks like it was set, Hon
ey. I got an idee he suspicions
more'n he lets on, but they ain't
no proof."
Minutes dragged by as they
watched anxiously. Virginia be
gan hunting for a weapon of her
own.
"Wait, Honey!"
Joey grasped her arm, pulling
her back. Ravels of smoke trail
ed chokingly against her face,
wavered, thinned and came on
again.
"Oh, Joey, it's wind!"
A triumphant yell came from
the fire line beyond, and her own
voice joined excitedly in Joey's
thin cheer. The wind had turn
ed. Men straightened tired bodies
and mopped sweat-streaked faces,
grinning in sudden cheerfulness.
They moved here and there,
stamping out danger spots. Pres
ently the volunteers returned and
piled themselves and their im
plements into the elastic Ford,
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shy of thanks and declining Vir
ginia's invitation for everyone to
breakfast at the Circle V.
It was only part of a day's
work.
Dawn streaks were showing,
faint pastel shades, deepening
into opalescent light, and Lee was
coming toward her. A streaked
and ragged tramp of a man, but
somehow marked with authority,
and carrying heroism and dis
grace with equal lightness. •
"No cause for alarm now," he
said cheerfully. "How did you
find out about it? Smell smoke,
or did somebody arouse the
house?"
"I smelled smoke. And then
Stanley . . ."
She hesitated, pulled between
anger and uhcertainty. Where
was Stanley, and why had he
lagged behind when every man
was needed? She saw the ironic
glint in Lee's eyes.
"Right here," drawled a care
less voice.
Stanley was poming up back of
her, sauntering along with his
usual sang froid. His ordinarily
careful toilet was somewhat rum
pled, his silk shirt was open at
the throat and was streaked and
smudged, and another black
streak ran across his chin.
"Oh Stanley! Where were
you?" There was sharp relief in
her voice.
"Over there." He indicated
the direction with a careless
movement of the head. "The
horse bolted, or I'd have been
here sooner than I was."
He smiled with engaging
frankness .and held up both
hands, grimy with unaccustomed
toil. Virginia, laughing, looked
from Stanley's grimed palms to
Lee's. The laugh broke off sud
denly with a sharp intake of
breath.
"Oh, Lee, you are hurt! You're
burned!"
Angry red streaks burned dully
on the hands Lee had not troub
led to exhibit. She held one,
delicately, for fear her touch
would hurt him, and anxiously
examined the burns.
"Oh, just a scorch or two.
Nothing to worry about."
His reassuring smile gave no
hint that the burns were sting
ing viciously at that very mo
ment. There seemed nothing
more to be said. She looked at
Lee; at Joey, having a little
smothered tantrum of his own.
"You've been splendid—all 'of
you." This time her quick glance
included Stanley.
She mounted quickly, with a
last glance at the wide, blaken
ed area still hot underfoot and
giving off sullen curls of smoke,
and at the two men looking after
her.
Joey waited only until they
were out of hearing.
"Did ye hear that?" he explod
ed irately. "Of all the doggone
impidence! Whyn't you say some
thin', Lee Hollister, 'stead of
standin' there trompin' on my
foot till ye dang' near mashed
it?"
Joey's voice rose to an indig
nant wail. "He came sneakin'
through them junipers back there
when the fire was 'most over and
began pat-pattin' it, nice and
delicate, with a scrub Curly'd
throwed away. 'Way out on the
edge where the smoke pretty
I near hid him, t.akin' doggone gooa
care of hisself an' rubbin' the
smears on his dood shirt when he
thought nobody was lookin'."
Lee was looking after two dis
appearing figures.
"Joey," he said irrelevantly,
"there were tears in her eyes."
* • •
Stanley Bradish might be a
useless young idler, but he had
plenty of natural shrewdness.
Several things had aroused his
curiosity since he had come here,
and chief among them were the
activities of Lawler and Slanty
Gano.
More than once he had seen a
significant glance pass between
Virginia's foreman and the ill- 1
favored individual who made a
slouching pretense of running the
Rancho Coballos for its non-res
ident owner.
A few days after the fire, he'
rode from blazing sunshine into
the dim seclusion of a little can- I
yon with a breath of relief. There |
was a little rocky pool about i
halfway down, fed by a silver I
thread of waterfall, and here
Slanty Gano was just rising from
a copious drink.
"How d'you do? Pretty hot out
there."
Stanley joined the hulking fig
ure at the pool and dismounted,
cupping both palms under the
silver thread and drinking from
them.
"I passed your friend Hollister
about a mile back," Stanley vol
unteered carelessly. "He rides
around a good deal, doesn't he?
I should think he'd be settling
down to a job."
"He's too busy mindin' other
people's business," Slanty sneer
ed. Then he grinned knowingly.
"Some folks reckon Lee's hangin'
around to settle himself for life
at the Circle V. Pretty soft job,
hey?" The grin was an offensive
leer. .
"He may be disappointed,"
Stanley said curtly. "He's work
ing against Miss Blair's interests
to promote his own, and it's time
somebody took him in hand. He's
giving my father a lot of trouble,
too."
"Trouble's his middle name,"
said Slanty sourly. "He eats it."
"Then why not feed him more
of it?" Stanley suggested. "My
father and I will do a lot more
for the men who stand by us
than he ever will."
The cards were on the table
now. The two men eyed each
other steadily.
"If Hollister gets what he
wants, he is going to give you a
bad time," Stanley taunted soft
ly. "He doesn't like you, Gano."
"Well, why don't you? If you
tell it to the right man, it might
be worth while." >
Very deliberately, under Slan
ty's watching eyes, Stanley drew
a wallet from his pocket. '
Inspiration had come to Stan
ley. He had sought a meeting to
enlist Slanty Gano's aid in a
careful plan to have Lee Hollis
ter and Josefa Ramirez disappear
from this part of the country on
the same night.
Now the elaborate and perilous
plan was thrown aside. Slanty
knew something. Stanley's fin
gers went to the wallet and drew
out a thousand dollar bill.
Slanty's eyes glistened greedi
ly.
Stanley watched him narrowly.
Slanty was moistening avid lips
with the tip of his tongue. Cov
etous fingers stole toward the bill.
Slanty leaned forward and whis
pered, a sly grin showing his dis
colored teeth.
\•• * -
Stanley did not return directly
to the Circle V. Instead he took
the trail to that small huddle of
adobe buildings, the Ramirez
ranchito.
When he arrived there was no
sign of life about the house.
There was movement, quickly
stilled, on the slope back of him,
but Stanley did not see it. Thpre
was other movement much near
er, and a flash of color as Josefa
sat up behind the rock where she
had been curled like a kitten.
"Oh hello, beautiful!" He
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wheeled and caught sight of her.
"Siding out on me, were you?"
Josefa shrugged a disdainful
shoulder. "I been here,' she said
coldly.
His hand slipped inside his
coat and came out with a velvet
case. Josefa's eyes flashed and
then glistened.
She had meant to be very
angry with Stanley. But the case
was beautiful, so richly blue.
On a bed of gleaming luxury a
gorgeous bracelet lay, shining
with pale gold, glittering with
brilliants.
"Don't I rate a kiss for that?"
"Mebbe so," Josefa sighed hap
pily. "I put it on first."
She reached eagerly for beauty,
and suddenly froze. »
"What's the matter?"
Stanley got no further. Josefa's
glance had darted beyond him,
her eyes dilating. He heard a
quick gasp as she tore herself
away from him; she started run
ning like a fleet little animal. Be
fore he could even whirl to face
danger, the crack of a rifle and a
stinging shock came -almost si
multaneously.
Stanley, green-eyed with fear,
clapped a hand to his shoulder
and flung himself behind a juni
per thicket. Crouching low in its
shelter he jerked his head from
side to side, peering to see from
what point the attack had come,
but there was no further sound
save those hostile reverberations
just dying away.
Waiting cracked his nerves. He
dodged out and flung himself on
his horse with a groaning curse
for the twinge it gave him, and
a moment later flying hoofs were
carrying him away.
(Continued Next Week)
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