Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1941-08-07
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Dusty King and Lew Gordon had built up
q vast string Of ranches. King was killed
by his powerful and INSCRIPTIONS COMPETE
tor. Ben Thorpe. Bill Roper, Kings adopt.
ed son. was determined to avenge his death
in spite Of the opposition Of his sweetheart,
CHAPTER XIX-Continued
To Roper's right, surprisingly
close, rifle spoke, once only. Roper
could neither see the man who had
fired nor guess his target. He waited
five minutes, gun ready, then stood
up and moved his pony down-slope
into shallow draw in which it was
hidden by the brush. Moving eau
tiously, he proceeded north along
the cut, seeking the position of the
man who had fred.
Through the hillside brush figure
moved, crouching so low that his
dark shape resembled bear. Aft
er a moment Bill Roper was able to
make out that the approaching man
carried light carbine.
The man with the carbine moved
swiftly down the hillside, sliding on
the hard crust of the snow, but sur
prisingly silent in the brush.
The watched man dropped into the
ravine, angling toward the bend
where Roper stood. Bill Roper
pulled himself out of the gully. He
was crouched in dense brush, gun in
hand, as the scout appeared below
him.
Roper stood up. STEADY" he
said.
The man in the draw jumped as
If he had been struck; but as he
raised his hands he Strengthened so
that Roper saw his face.
His captive was Shoshone Wilce.
"By God" said Shoshone, 81 was
never so glad to see anybody in my
Roper's voice bit like frosty ice.
"You know where she is?"
"Yeah," said Shoshone. "Yeah, I
know where she is"
Roper dropped into the gully to
snarl close into Shoshone's face. "1s
she alive? Is she all right?"
'Oh, yeah, sure" Wilce assured
him. 'She's alive, all right. Don't
seem like she's hurt any. L"
Don't seem like?" Roper repeat
ed. Damn your hide, where is
she?"
"Bill, seems like them buzzards
have her down there at that cabin,
and won't leave her loose"
"Who won't?"
"Bill, I don't know Who"
''Well, how the devil did she get
there?"
"Me," Shoshone said. He met Rop-
er's eye bleakly. Obviously, he knew
that he was in trouble here. II
brought her."
''Why in all"
''She would have come anyway,
Bill. She was dead set on locating
you. She didn't have nobody else to
ride with her. I figured you'd soon
er I'd try to bring her direct to
you, so somebody would be with
her, than have her wandering loose
around the country by herself. A
bartender in Miles told me you
were here, and we rode here. And
then-and then
"Well, then-What?"
Gas 1 come into the valley" Sho-
shone said, Seemed to me like
something was wrong. But couldn't
make out what. We come up to the
cabin careful and slow, in the dark.
But they seen us coming and they
laid for US, guess. Before we
knew what had busted, they gunned
her pony down, and they drilled
mine twice so bad that had to turn
him loose. Most likely he's dead
by now. l." Shoshone hesitated.
"And you run out and left her."
Bill filled in for him.
''Bill, I swear, I wouldn't have
done nothing like that, not for no
amount. Thing was, they was all
around me; couldn't see where to
shoot or who they was. figured
first it was your own boys, max
ing a mistake, and after I seen it
wasn't, just figured to keep in a
fighting position, you might say, and
close in first chance. Only"
'Only you never saw any chance"
Roper said with contempt.
"Well, no; there's seven of 'em
down there, Bill, and they keep an
awful steady watch. And I been
scouting 'em steady ever since.
Sometimes I get in long shot at
one or another of 'em. This car
bine don't carry so very good, but
I plugged two of 'em; don't know
how bad"
GLOW do you know she wasn't
shot or hurt when her horse went
down." Roper demanded. "By God,
Shoshone, if you let anything hap
pen to that girl"
''They let her walk outside some
times during the day." Shoshone
said. ''That's how seen she's all
right"
Can you make out who the bunch
down there ISL"
81 figure they're some Thorpe gun
squad, out after your scalp. figure
they was laying to gun you. And
now that they got the girl, figure
that they aim to hold her for bait,
kind Of"