Arizona republican., 1922-04-26

| he had loved her-once. y, nat q
queer, queer world it was Every
body and everything at cross pur-
poses. Yet there was a reason for
it all Must be. Even reason for
Rafe. She looked up at Rafe. He
was glaring down at her with most
villainous expression on his lean
features.
Say. whatsa use of lyin' to me
You're an odd number, by all ac-
counts, but you amt 50 odd you
could sit here and eat and drink and
carry on with your uncle's murderer.
You can't tell me that"
She was regarding him with curl
Gus eyes. Il thought you always
said Dan SliSe didn't kill my uncle?p
"Well-uh-you see, everybody else
seems to think he did. And--ah--
maybe / was wrong
You had Bill Wingo business right
now. This Tip O'Gorman murder has
queered him for keeps. Sooner or
later he'll hang for it. You'd look
fine wouldn't you. the widow of a.
Don't say it," she cut him short.
Billy Wingo is no murderer. How
ever. you can set you mind at rest.
I'm not likely to marry Billy Wingo,
or anybody else"
His eyes, savage and mean, held
hers steadily. '1 come over here.
tonight to get you. I'm taking you
back with me tonight to my ranch.
You're taking me to your ranch!'
she gasped "Me?"
He nodded. "You, nobody else"
She laughed harshly without a
note of hysteria you're two hun
dred years behind the times. Men
don't carry off their women any
more
Now for the first time she smelt
his breath. 1t was rank with the
raw odor Of whisky. So that was
what had --iven him the wild idea
of carrying her off by force. The
man was drunk. Sober, he was bad
enough. Drunk, he was capable of
anything.
She reached stoveward for the lid
litter Rafe seized her wrist and
jerked her sidewise.
He was striving to kiss her and
she. face crushed against his rough
shirt. fought him like the primeval
female every woman becomes in like
circumstances. Her right hand
clawed upward at his face. Her left
arm. doubled between their two
bodies, she strove to work free so
that she could grab his gun.
Rafe received three distinct claw
ings that considerably altered the
appearance Of one side of his face.
before he was able to confine those
active fingers.
'Here!" he bawled in a fury. 'T'll
fix you!"
He tried to seize her by the throat
and his thumb slipped by mistake
into her mouth She promptly
clamped down hard on the thumb.
With yell, Rafe released his grip
on her body and worked a thumb and
ring finger into her cheeks In a
frantic effort to force open her
locked jaws.
He jumped back against the wall,
dragging her with him. and began to
shake her as long as a dog does a
rat. And then the Old Terry clock did
that for which it surely must have
been originally made. For, as his
shoulders struck the wall his head
knocked away the bracket that held
the clock. Involuntarily he ducked
his head. 1t was the worst thing
he could have done, giving, as 1t did,
the clock an extra foot to fall 1t fell.
One corner struck him fairly on the
temple and knocked him cold as a
wedge.
When Hazers reeling senses had
re-e established their equilibrium, she
found herself on the floor, lying
across the inert legs of Rafe Tucke-
ton. She raised herself on her two
arms and looked at him. He was
breathing very lightly
She dragged herself on hands and