Evening star., 1923-02-18

BILLINGS LISTENED-I
What you goin' to do about it,
Ranger" Tollier Dip inquired.
THAT train robber spoiled me-" the
ranger answered slowly. II feel call
ed TO be interested In his case"
Il wouldn't like to be Dave Ilcomb.
not with that fellow after me-" unused
Tollier Dip, after the ranger had
backed out Of the barroom.
Three weeks later Didsey Dreir
stared at the front page of yester-
days paper from Los Angeles. and
what he saw there caused him to an
nounce to those present:
Gents, you'll sure have to excuse
me abrupt. I'm takin' the stage for
Pasadena in exactly twelve minutes"
On the same day Ranger Billings
sat at the door of his station as the
sun went down and stared away off
toward the sea. The legs Of his chair
dug into the disintegrated granite of
Little Topnot's crest. over 5000 feet
high. and commanded a hundred miles
Of surrounding scenery. Back and a
lllIIc TOTlu Dig lOp
up nearly 5000 feet higher.
Billings had always had a laugh at
life. but the laugh was gone. His
upper lip was broken thatch. 1t
didn't grin when the rest OF his face
did. Also there was q girl in Iowa
waiting to be sent for, but no girl
could live with that sitting opposite
at her table-not on rangers SAL
ary. ...-..., ..
The ranger opened yesterdays pa
per, which his assistant had just
brought up from the post office. After
one long look at the front page he
called:
"Put on what you've. got handy,
Jake. I'm riding down trail before
dark to get stage for Pasadena,
where they need me tomorrow,
whether they know it or not. They
caught Roger Dryden in New York
five days ago. and he arrives in Pas
adena tonight"
X x 4
NEXT morning Billings sat with
~ Deputy Sheriff Drinkwater and
the racaptured bank robber in the
latters cell at the Pasadena jail.
you've changed, Ranger" Roger
Dryden remarked with his tired smile.
That mustache. When / saw you last
you didn't have enough upper lip to
excuse me if the subjects pain
full
you've changed yourself, Mr.. Dry
den," Billings said.
Deputy Drinkwaters mood was
jovial and proprietary as he explain
ed:
Rogers been In the hands Of a
face specialist in New York-been
peeled and reefed tight, SO he looks
like q movie queen, all but them gray
eyes. They're just as cold and dan
gerous as ever. Ranger. The face
scar we've been looking SO hard for
is gone. That face surgeon"
, "That face surgeon will get case
Of poison Ivy one OF these days." Dry
den said without feeling.
Drinkwater left the cell for several
minutes.
I'm curious to know llow they hap
pened to get you in New York;" the
ranger began.
IT was mugged here after the bank
affair-prints sent all over. offering
reward" Dryden said. "In New York
got one Of those ideas of going
straight. A scar on my cheek left me
wide open. A face specialist cleaned
me up. He took $500 cash from me
for his operation, then turned me over
for the $1,000 REWARD
"Staggers a mans faith. in the hu-
man family--a chap like that" said
Ranger Billings.
Dryden glanced at him with a
queer. dry smile, but saw that the
ranger more than half meant what he
said. ...--
What did you come for. Ranger?"
Dryden asked.
II haven't been able TO forget that
holdup gent we met on the Transcon."
There was one good kid Dryden
said sadly. I'D like to have known
him better.
"You mean that masked young per-
son is dead?" .
"I didn't know there was any doubt
about that" Dryden said.
If there was a secret back Of Dry
den's words there was not flick or
culver OF a tissue in his face to be-
tray what he knew.
Billings hated thief, but he hated
the face specialist sort more, right
now. Dryden faced ten years. oblivion
at Barclay. 10 the holdup party
wasn't really dead, and Dryden was
quietly insisting he was, to keep a
pal more safely at large--well. this
was the sort Of thing Ranger Billings
fell for in spite Of his Disagreement
and the secret ache in his heart about
the girl waiting in Iowa.
"s - or course. after he had
taken the pains to free me, couldn't
leave that kid" Dryden was saying. II
saw he was hard hit from that last
shot of yours-hard hit and leaking.
The rest Of his bandit crowd outside
had been driven of by the post Office
clerks and express messengers, but
we found two loose horses. One