Third Instalment
SYNOPSIS: Slim Loyale is
in the clearing a fire glowed and
over it crouched a tall, leathery
faced old rimer.
slim Loyale was. trembling as he
left the prison behind him.
paroled from prison after serving
IS months for a crime he did not
commit. He returns to his Circle
L ranch to find his father dead
and sinister forces at work, try
ing to mawe him violate his pa
role so that he can again be rail
roaded to prison.
The Brockwell’s and their gang
are plotting to gain possession of
Circle L ranch and the property
of Mona Hall, a neighbor and
lifelong friend of Slim Loyale.
* % *
For just a moment a wary film
seemed to shadow Starbuck’s
eyes. Then he gripped himself.
“Well, what’s wrong then?” he
demanded. “Who did that shoot
in’5”
“I did—part of it,” answered
Dakota. “I just nicked Sarg, darn
the luck. He blew a hole in
Spud’s floor.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” snap
ped Starbuck testily. “But how’d
the trouble start Who’s respon
sible for this?”
"He is,” bawled Spud Dillon,
still bubbling with wrath and
pointing at Leo. “He made a dir
ty crack at Slim. He did it just
on purpose I’m bettin’, to try
to get Slim to make a gun-play,
knowin’ that if the kid did, his
parole would be busted sky-high.
But Dakota stepped in an’ wal
loped him one. Then Sarg pilled
his gun first. He’d ’a’ got Dako
to too, if Joe Rooney hadn’t trip
ped him up with a cue. Joe I’m
raisin’ yore wages for that.”
‘Listens good,” growled Star
buck, stepping over to Slim
“Lemme see yore guns, Loyale.”
"Let him have ’em, Slim,” cau
tioned Dakota. “Shore, I’m be
ginnin'' to see through lots of
things.”
“Meanin’ just what, Blue?”
Starbuck whirled and faced Da
kota, his head thrust forward.
“What’s it mean to yuh?” re
torted Dakota easily. “Don’t get
too touchy, Starbuck, or folks
will begin thinkin’ things.”
.Starbuck licked his lips, then
turned to Slim. One after the
other he twitched out Slim’s
guns, punched out the shells and
squinted through the barrels. As
he returned them, he frowned at
Satg Brockwell. “Go easy on
startin’ things, Bilockwell,” he
ordered. “An’ tell that cub of yo
res to button his lip. I won’t
stand for trouble around here—
none whatever.”
Dakota, watching Sarg and
Starbuck carefully, thought he
caught just a glint of under sta
nding pass in the quick glance
they exchanged. Brockwell nod
ded. “Call it our fault this time,”
he growled. “But we ain’t for
gettin’ at no time. An’ that goes
for yuh an’ yuh,” he finished,
indicating both Spud Dillon
and Joe Roor.ey.
“See if we care!” yelped Spud.
“I got somethin’ off my chest
what’s been gaggin’ me for some
time, Brockwell. I shore read
yore walkin’ papers. As for Joe,
well, I alius knew re was a good
man. He shore demonstrated it
today.”
Rooney’s wrinkled face creased
into a grin and he gnawed a
piece off a plug of tobacco. “Me,’
he twanged, “I’ve lived a long
time, and I’ve alius found that
the wolf with the longest howl
packs his tail the lowest. Slim,
how are yuh?” And he stepped
over to deliberately wring Shin’s
hand.
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u lUIIgCl li* UVUWV
the feeling was running in the
Wild Horse just now, Sarg
1> rock well herded Leo through
the door ahead of him. When
they were gone, Jigger Starbuck
hesitated a moment before leav
ing.
“Remember, Blue; the law
V swings just as wide a loop for
y/viih as anybody else.”
’ “Aw, hell!” snorted Dakota.
“Alius prattlin’ about yore gol
hlasted law. Who’s breakin it
anyhow? Just remember yoreself
Starbuck—yuh may be sheriff,
but yuh ain’t Gawd Almighty.
An’ that self-same loop yuh
speak of would fit yore shoulders
as well as mine. C’mon Slim,
Joe Spud; I buyin’ a drink.”
i . , W
I Being left this pointedly out of
the invitation, Jigger Starbuck
cursed softly beneath his breath,
then left the place.
| Ten minutes later, Slim Loy
ale and Dakota Blue rode north
: out of Pinnacle. A survey of the
street showed that Sarg and Leo
Brock well had evidently pulled
out ahead of them. Jigger Star
buck stood in the doorway of
his office, his face expressionless,
his eyes cold.
For several miles Slim and Da
kota rode in silence. Slim was
thoughtful, his eyes steadily upon
the trail ahead. Finally he shifted
in his saddle and looked up.
“Dakota, just what were yuh
drivin’ at with those remarks
yuh made to Starbuck ?” he asked
Dakota grunted. “Just prospec
tin’ some an’ seein’ if I couldn't
turn up a little pay dirt.”
“What kind of pay dirt?”
“What kind d’yuh suppose,
Slim? Look at it this way. Yuh
as’ me know yuh were framed.
Well, somebody did that framin’.
If they did it once they’ll try an’
do it again. It might have been
Starbuck, and it might have been
Brockwell. Then again, it might
have been somebody else,
j “Whoever it was had some rea
son for doin’ it. It might have
been just to find a goat an’ co
ver up his own tracks. Then
again they might have been sche
min' deeper. Whatever the rea
son was, it’ll pay us to find out
as much as we can.
j “One thing shore, yuh gotta
figure on standin’ for a lot of in
sults until that parole of yores
is finished. Didn't yuh take no
tice how quick Starbuck jumped
at the conclusion that yuh were
in trouble, the second he stick
his haid in the Wild Horse? It
looked kinda funny to me.”
“Jigger Starbuck has been
sheriff in these parts a long time
Dakota. An' all in all, he’s been
a pretty fair sheriff.”
“Yeah, he has been. Lately,
though, he seems to be slippin.’
Yuh notice the Pasco stage is
bein’ help up pretty regular. An’
the Dot H Dot is still losin’ cat
tle. I’m plumb convinced that the
Circle L would have been losin’
I'em too only I’ve kept our boys
ridm’ steady an’ keeping’ a close
watch.
! “I didn t tell yuh that the mon
the before last, some sidewinder
took a shot at me one day, while
I was ridin’ along Nigger Ridge
on the way home from our Je
richo Palley range. Well, he did.
An' if I hadn’t happened to lean
forward just then to knock a
hoss-fly off’n my broncho’s neck
I’d ’a’ been a good Injun right
now. I tell yuh, Slim, somethin’s
movin’ around this range that’s
‘got me on’ the lookout plumb
continual.”
| Slim nodded. “That was kinda
barefaced, back in Spud’s place.
Lookin’ back at it now, it shore
had all the earmarks of a frame
! ip. Yuh used yore haid, Dakota.’’
Dakota grunted and rolled a
cigarette. “We’re up against
somethin’ we gotta watch, Slim.
Don’t let anybody devil yuh into
makin’ a play with yore guns,
leastwise not until yore pay is
V’ . .
“It’s tough,” said Slim a little
hoarsely. “I’m tochy as hell now.
jl did a lot of thinkin’ back there
at Jarillo, an’ it didn’t sweeten
me none. My pride is plumb
ragged an’ easy to scratch. But
yuh got the right idee, Dakota.
I’ll remember that.”
A L «« «• 1 4- 4-L 4-.■.i". /4 1
M ill WWWi iutvi l“V- WM V » w
drew rein before the Circle L
tanch house. At sight of it, Slim’s
throat thickened. Home! And
[yet, it was not the home it had
been. For it was empty now—
devoid of that grizzled, kindly,
booming-voice presence that had
been Bart Loyale, glim’s father.
| There ws a group of punchers
[at the corrais, and as Slim dis
mounted, one by one they came
forward to shake Slim’s hand.
,|Their voiced greetings were short
terse, but sincere.
The Circle L employed five
men besides Dakota Blue, the
■foreman. There was Roy O’
Brien, short, barrel-bodied, red
iheaded; a fighting square-shoot
[ing explosive little Irishman,
i Steve Owens and Charley Quinn
[were inseparable pals, fun-loving
[rollicking boys; both game to the
core and very faithful to their
hire.
Stoney Sheaed was a middle
aged puncher, silent, still-featur
ed, gTuff and unsmiling who had
probably been closer to old Bart
I ovale than any of the other pun
chers. The fifth of the group was
Oscar Olson a big, lumbering
Swede with a shock of unruly
tow hair. Oscar was the cook,
and a better one never stirred a
pot of beans.
Beyond a quiet, “hajlo boys,”
Slim said nothing, and the pun
chers were wordless in their sti
fled emotions. Slim went directly
to the ranch house alone.
Dakota Blue turned to the rest.
“Pretty badly cut up. Slim is,”
he said gruffly. “He’s home now,
an’ Bart ain’t here to meet him.
Don’t speak of the Ole Man to
him unless Slim brings up the
proposition first.”
Roy O’Brien’s eyes were all
squinted up. “The pore laddy,”
he muttered. “Shore an’ me heart
aches fer him. He’s a fine lad,
Slim is, and he’ll be after carry
in’ on man-size.”
Dakota nodded. “Sarg an' Leo
Brockwell tried to stir up trou
ble in town just now. They know
damn well the kid is on parole,
an’ they ain’t gonna overlook a
chance to get him to make a
break that’ll bust it. So, any time
for the next year an’ a half, if
yo’re with Slim an’ yuh run into
somethin’ where there’s fightin’
to be done. I want yuh to shove j
Slim aside an' take over the quar
rel yoreselves. Savvy?”
Roy flexed his big shoulders.
‘An’ won’t we thocgh!” he bark
ed. “Shore an’ does either of
them Brockwell’s try an’ start
somethin’ when I’m around an’
I’ll shove me fist clear down
their gullets!”
Steve Owens laughed. “I guess
Roy’s statement goes for all of
ns, Dakota .What happened af
ter the trouble started in town?”.
Dakota outlined the events sin- -
ce he and Slim had struck Pin-(
nacle. When he finished, Stoneyl
Sheard nodded. “Alius did have
my doubts about Jigger Star
Luck,” he drawled. ‘ Too self-cen-|
ered, duty-struck an’ cold-bloo
ded to my way of thinkin’J
Time’s cornin’ on this range whenj
hell is gonna pop. I’ve told yuh'
somethin’.” '
“Let ’er pop,” said Charley!
Quinn. “I an’ Steve can do a lit
tle poppin’ ourselves when nec
essary.”
Roy snorted. “Cheeky young
cubs, yuh are. Should a spavined
jack-rabbit kick yuh in the pants,
yuh’d come runnin’ home here
to Roy for help.”
“That so?” yelped Charley.
“C’mon, Steve; let’s get him, the
red-haided, stuck-up ape.”
Instantly there was a tangle of
arms and legs and the three pun
chers were on the ground, maul
ing and tugging and laughing.
'I’ll show yuh,” grunted Roy.
‘Gang up on ole Roy, will yuh?
I’ll knock a lick o’ sense into
yuh.”
Sure enough in about a min
ute Roy was on top of both of
them. He cuffed their hair over
their eyes and spanked them re
soundingly with open palm, when
tv-er a tight-stretched area of
blue pean overalls showed.
“Enough,” yelled Steve. “Ow!
I’m plumb blistered. Won’t be
able to sit down for a week. Le
mme up, yuh wild buckaroo. Dog
gone yuh, yuh got a hand like a
fence board. Oscar help! Pull
him off.”
Oscar grinned, grabbed Roy by
the shirt collar and the slack of
the pants and lifted him clear,
much as an ordinary person lifts
a kitten. “Now yuh bane nice
boys or I lick all of yuh,” he
boomed.
Roy squinted up at the cook,
his blue eyes twinklink. “ ’Tis a
whale of a man yuh are, Oscar,
he approved. “Should we com
bine Ireland an’ Sweden we’d be
after lickin’ the world.”
Oscar grinned wider than ever.
“We bane make a dent in some
body. Now I go to work. Dinner
bane ready in half an hour.”
Dakota had watched the maul
ing match with a contented grin.
Even grave-faced Stoney Sheard
had a glimmer of amusement in
his eyes. There was nothing
wrong with the morale of the
Circle L Ranch. It was a happy j
family if there ever was one and
Slim Loyale was assured of plen
ty of backing in his forthcoming
battle for exoneration and res
pect.
Slim spent that first afternoon
alone. He never left the house,
in fact. He drifted from one
room to another, and in every one
there were memories that dug
and hurt. The house was vacant,
yet somehow it was peopled—fil
By Frazer G. Poole
ON WINGS OF SONG
Part III
It is evening. From the cool
depths of the tamarack swamp
comes the pungent, resinous odor
•f balsam. The stillness is brok
en only by the occasional song of
a cricket. Then, like the open
ing words of an evening prayer,
there steals from the depths a
flute-like melody. Now rising
to a crescendo, now falling, ev
ery sequence ascends higher than
the last “until the singer reaches
almost impossible vocal heights.”
Then he drops his tone, only to
follow it again with the same
performance. No two strains,
however, are exactly alike. Fin
ally the song fades away like
the tinkle of a silver bell, and
the Hermit Thursh is still.
Both the Hermit and the
Mocker are gifted songsters, but
their songs are different- The
thrush’s voice has a mellow flute
like quality that is without equal
--tkX-LCpi pci Maps 111 Ills gmcu
-elative the Wood Thursh. The
words of the great naturalist
John Burroughs express, more
beautifully than any others, the
wonderful spirit of the Hermit’s
voice, when he writes: “Mount
ing toward the upland again. I
pause reverently as the hush and
stillness of twilight comes upon
the woods. It is the sweetest
ripest hour of the day. And as the
hermit’s evening hymn goes up
from the deep solitude below me,
I experience the serene exhalta
ion of sentiment of which
nusic, literature and reli
gion are but the faint types
and symbols.” The Hermit, too,
is at his best during the breeding
season. But even into August his
voice can be heard issuing from
he northern swamps.
Song, as we have noted above
s normally the expression of the
nale at the season of mating.
But it must not be thought of as
olely connected with sex and
ed with the shadowy presence
of Bart Loyale.
(Continued Next Issue)
Helen Keller Visits Japan
ePJL^jHH
NEW YORK Miss Helen Keller
sails on April 1 for Japan where
she will begin a series of lectures
in Japan. Korea and Manchukuo
on behalf of the blind and handi
capped of the Orient
season. In some instances the fe
male also sings and often birds
have a second song period which
last weH through the summer
months. Nor, in having noted
three of the most gifted singers,
have we mentioned all of those
which might claim our attention.
In the South the joyous warb
ling of the Carolina Wren al
ways adds to the pleasure of a
tramp afield. Since it can be
heard during almost every month j
of the year it does much to make
any winter day just a little!
brighter. In the North the dainty1
songs of the warblers are among
the most beautiful expression of
bird voice that I know.
To be continued
l
DENIES 'HE’S TO
BUY ROADS
Palm Beach, Fla.—A. P. Gian-'
nini, San Francisco banker, denied
any knowledge of published reports
that he was negotiating to purchase
control of the $3,000,000,000 Van
Sweringen railroad interests.
- I
ROGERS MEMORIAL WEEK j
Austin, Texas.—Gov. James V.;
Allred proclaimed the week begin-;
ning April 30 as Will Rogers Mem- j
orial week and invited the mootion
picture nidustrv, founder of the;
institution, in supporting a memo
rial hospital at Saranac, N. Y.
SHORTS WA-VE ON HIGH j
London.—A pair of shorts, dang- j
ling from a flagstaff on the Minis
try of Health, astonished staid
government workers in Whitehall.
, Hobtejn-Guernsey Cow Prcaenta Rare Twins < \
I •'••rTnu-i-mn .r—....
' ' - - : ' »<>•! •v «
j ■ -■■•/■■■ v *« * . • ~«fSSr§
SEATTLE. Wash. . . . Twins in the bovine world are almost as rare as
quadruplets or quintuplet humac babies. “Lady.” a Holstein-Guernsey
cow, gave birth to twins here a week ago. They have been named
“Jack and Jill.” '
At the end of several feet of rope, tion banner.
the undergarment waved from a -
pole erected recently for a corona- READ THE ADS
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