The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1938-11-03

darkness. Rosy pushed Laredo
from him, then moved quickly af-
ter the little foreman. AS Rosy
expected, the insulted outlaw had
drawn his gun and was shooting
In the dark. He showed the door
open and fell forward. A whine
of stubs sang over his head. He
rolled out of range, dragging La
redo, and lunged to his feet.
Across the street fronting
squarely on the alley was the
sheriff's office. Rosy made for it.
He remembered the room con-
tanned a cot and without striking
a match he found it. Laredo was
sleeping peacefully as Rosy laid
him on the cot. He left the build
ing, closing the door carefully be-
hind him.
He drew a deep breath. Things
were shaping up. He knew now
that the understrapper in the sa-
loon had been following him, and
that the fight with Laredo had
merely been a pretense to shoot
y t, out with him, Rosy. The man
Mad wanted to kill him. Why?
Who was Sayres? Laredo had
told so little about him that Rosy
was curious.
He fished around or stub
of pencil in his pocket. tore the
back off a soiled envelope and
wrote: Quinn: If was you, I'd
change my room tonight. Rand." "
Maybe it was unnecessary, but
this understrapper had seen him
talking to Quinn, and Rosy didn't
want the gambler pulled into the
trouble.
He tagged a young Mexican,
gave him a dollar and told him
to deliver the note to Quinn.
Then Rosy ducked back into
livery stable.
The office of the livery was
lighted and Rosy strolled in. An
old man was sitting at a desk,
poaring over a feed catalog. Rosy
sized him up in a glance. The
man had good eyes, kind, home
ly face, and was slow in move
ment as he looked up at Rosy
while still leafng the pages.
"Oh," Rosy said. ''The other
Teller amt here?"
"The night man? Louie? No. l
give him the night off. Anything
I can do for you?"
'eWhere does this Sayres hang
out at?"
N Na'Used to be in them badlands
behind Old Cartridge, but they
tell me he's pulled out Of there.
You got to ride up the valley a
ways, then turn east into them
mountains. They say you can
git across them, but I'm DANCED If
I know how. Sayres does. Least
ways, people think that's where
he hangs out"
"Much obliged, old-timer,"
Rosy said. 81 reckon I'll look
somewhere else"
He swung out the door into the
night. That helped. Could 1t be
Sayres was the man who had
done the dynamiting?
He didn't know, but he was 60
ing to find out. He heard train
whistle far off and headed for the
station.
"You on the morning run out
of here?"
"Sure. Every other morning.
Why"
"Was there a little short jasper
got on here this morning? Dark,
in black clothes. city clothes. Had
black eyes, and pretty mouthy in
his talk"
Hoagy snapped his fingers. Il
remember him. I never did fino
out where he got off. I never
seen him and I didn't get his
ticket"
m .0Then he got OFF," Rosy SAID
Eagerly. "Where?"
Before Walpais, the first toWr
east"
''That's all I want to know.
He logged up the alley, turned
at the bank, walked over to the
Free Throw and got his horse. A:
he swung past the hotel, his bay
was at full gallop.
Rosy reached the ranch we'll al
ter one o'clock. The house wa!
dark, still, and he wondered Il
Hank Lowe had stayed all night.
He let down the corral bars
unhooped his hull and slung i
off his bay, whistling in a minol
kew the while. He heard SHARP
object strike the barn and HI
stopped.
''That cinch buckle" he groan
ed softly. eff I don't find it to
night, I never will"
He slung the saddle over tn
II