The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1920-06-04

out Of the dust five seconds later, he
was the maddest nan In Arizona. Like
a bull he lowered his head and rushed.
Curly side-stepped and dashed out hard
with his left.
1t was q sIedge-hammer bout, with
no rules except 10 hit the other man
often and hard. Curly watched his
chance, lodged a wild swing and
threw himself forward hard with his
shoulder against the chest Of the con
Wet. The maj staggered back, tripped
on the lowest step of the porch and
went down hard. The fall knocked
the breath out Of him.
Had enough" demanded Curly.
For answer Blackwell bit Flandrau's
thumb savagely.
Since you like It so well, have an
other taste" Curly, now thoroughly
angry, sent a shOrt-arm jolt to the
mouth.
The man underneath tried to throw
him off, but Flandrau's fingers found
his hairy throat and frightened.
You're killing me-" the convict
gasped.
Enough"
"Y-yes."
Curly stepped back quickly, ready
either for a knife or a gunplay. Black
well got to his feet and went into the
house, swearing to get even. His face
was livid with fury.
You wouldn't think a little thing
like a whaling given fair and square
would make a man hold a grudge. My
system has absorbed several without
doing II any harm" Sam stopped to
inspect q rapidly d~iscoloring eye.
"Say, Curly, he hung a peach of a
lamp on you"
Soapy made no comment in words,
but he looked at Flandrau with a new
respect. For the first time Il doubt as
to the wisdom Of letting him stay at
the ranch crossed his mind.
His suspicion was justified. Curly
had been living or the edge of q secret
for weeks. Mystery was in the air.
More than once he had turned q cor
ner TO find the other four whispering
over something. Occasionally q man
had ridden into the yard late az night
for a private talk with Stone, and
Curly was morally certain that the
man was the little cowpuncher Dutch
Of the Circle G.
Through 1t all Curly wore a manner
Of open confidence. But all the time
his brain was busy with questions.
What were they up to? What was 1t
they had planned?
Stone and Blackwell rode away n
morning. To Curly the word was
given that they were going to Mesa.
Four days later Soapy returned alone.
Lutte had found a job, he said.
THAT a paper sticking out Of your
pocketY" Flandrau asked.
'Soapy, still astride his horse, tossed
the Saguache Sentinel to him as he
turned toward the stable.
Caught between the folds Of the pa
per was a railroad time table. 1t was
a schedule Of the trains Of the Texas,
Arizona & Pacific for July. Curly
turned the pages idly till a penciled
marking caught his eye. Under Mum
Der As time was scrawled, just below
Saguache, the words Tin Cup, and
opposite them the figures 10 :19. The
express was due to leave Saguache at
9:57 in the evening. From there it
pushed up to the divide and slid down
with air brakes set to Tin Cup three
thousand feet lower. Soapy could not
want to catch the train fifteen miles
the other side Of Saguache. But this
note on the margin showed that he
was interested in the time it reached
the water tank. There must be a rea-
son for 1t.
Flandrau's doubt had been convert
ed into a lively suspicion. Presently
he'took a gun and strolled off to shoot
birds. What he really wanted was to
be alone that he could think the matter
over. Coming home in the dusk, he
saw Stone and young Cullison with
their heads together down by the cor
raj. Curly sat down on a rock and
watched them, himself unobserved.
They appeared to be rehearsing some
\ kind of a scene, Of which Soapy was
stage director.
The nan on the rock smiled grimly.
They're having a quarrel, looks like.
Now the kids telling Soapy to
90 to Guinea, and Soapy's paving
around mad as a bull moose. It's all
a play. They don't mean 1t. But
whyrr
Curly's mind was 50 full Of guesses
| that his poker was not up to par that
night. About daylight he began to see
his way into the maze. His Erst CLEAN
Of light was when q row started be-
tween Soapy and Cullison. Before
anyone could say q word to stop them
they were going through with that
identical corral quarrel.
T1andrau knew now that they had
been preparing II for his benefit.
Cranston clipped In against Sam and.
to keep up appearances, Curly backed
the boy. The quarrel grew furious.
At last Sam drove his fst down on the
table and said he was through with
the outfit and vas going back to
Saguache.
- 49, xsNy-A