The valley of strife

Contents

CHAPTER PAC*

I. Clive Finds a Mystery .... 3

II. Clive Makes a Resolve .... 20

CHAPTER I Clive Finds a Mystery

Clive Morgan stamped out the last remnant of his breakfast fire and turned to the stalwart black horse that grazed near by at the end of a picket rope. His light travelling pack was already rolled and tied in position behind the cantle of his saddle. He threw the ensemble across the black’s sturdy back, talking gently into the animal’s left ear as he drew the cinch tight.

46 We got to he on our way, Thunder, old hoss. We got to find a job if we’re a-goin’ to keep on eatin’. ’Course, yuh old sinner, yuh ain’t got no worries on that score, for all yuh need is some lush grass and yo’re happy; but yore Uncle Dudley, now —well, that’s a heap different, as the feller says.”

He swung lightly into the saddle, touching a match to the end of a brown-paper cigarette and pinching out the blaze with careful fingers before tossing the charred ember aside. Then he urged the horse through the tiny stream he had camped beside the night before, and turned it down the dim trail he had followed for days through the vast¬ ness of the Mogollon range.

An hour later horse and rider skirted one of the countless painted ribs that helped to form the Mogollons and came out on a narrow bench, down which the trail wound precipitously. The man again addressed his mount:

66 It’s a-goin’ to be tough sleddin’, Thunder, old hoss, but I guess we b’en down worse ones than this. Get along, yuh old chromo.”

High overhead hung the perfect blue of the Arizona sky, while on either hand the painted ribs of the range glowed amber and crimson, yellow and brown. In the canyons and gorges the deeper shades of purple and blue-black blended in sublime harmony. Fresh and dry and warm the air carried the pungent scent of wild chokecherries, just coming into bloom; of acrid, gray-blue sage and strong palo verde. Indian paint brushes nodded gay plumes, brightening the scene but lend¬ ing no aroma to the fragrant breeze.

It was a land of sheer delight; Arizona and spring. Nowhere on earth did the combination of time and place hold more charm, more lure, and nowhere was it more prone to awaken the latent urge in the human soul, bidding it be up and doing.

Clive, drawing in great lungfuls of life-giving ozone, sighed contentedly, dismissing worry and giving himself over to delight in the joys of a per¬ fect day. His pony had negotiated the steep descent into the foothills and was now loping smoothly along the crest of a gently sloping ridge, which apparently was leading into a valley.

A few minutes later man and mount left the ridge, crossed a purling stream and came out of the canyons and gulches onto a broad, smooth bench, where no obstacle rose up to obscure the vision. Clive, drinking in the sight thus afforded, swore happily.

Stretching far off on either hand and straight ahead was a valley — literally a paradise. Blan¬ keted with the first verdant coat of lush grass and studded liberally with clumps of cottonwood the valley spread away in three directions.

To the north, towering peaks finally rose up to hem it in. Straight out and across the broad, level acres, more lofty pinnacles of the Mogollons reared their somber crests toward the cerulean blue. To the south the mountains closed in again, but not so abruptly. In that direction a saddle in the range indicated a pass existed, affording comparatively easy ingress and egress for the denizens of the valley. To the west were the main peaks of the Mogollons, from which Clive was even now emerging.

Again he addressed his horse:

46 That shore is a likely lookin’ prospect for us, Thunder. See them cows? See them ranches all scattered up and down the river? Don t that look like home, old timer? I’ll tell a man it does. We got to find a job here, old hoss, and that s all there is to it. Get along now, and mind yore manners when we hit civylization ag’in.”

Thunder moved easily and rapidly down out of the hills, never slackening his pace. The valley, from Clive’s recent vantage point, had seemed extremely near, but he knew this was partly because of the magnifying qualities of the Arizona air. Therefore, he was not surprised when his watch told him a good three hours had elapsed before his horse emerged from the last outjutting point of the foothills and turned out across the valley’s fertile soil.

Then for Clive began a day devoted to that which he hated doing more than anything else in the world

— hunting a job. An hour after entering the valley he rode into a well kept ranchyard and looked around. An air of silence hung over the place and there was distinctly lacking the usual jovial atmos¬ phere of the western cattle ranch. He saw a hatchet-faced man sitting on the corral fence and asked him concerning prospects for a job.

A surly negative was the only response his ques¬ tion elicited and he turned down a narrow road leading to what seemed to be the main highway

— a highway that led off toward the saddle in the hills, miles and miles to the south. It was two hours before he reached the next ranch.

Here his reception was even cooler than the one accorded him at the first ranch. It was almost noon and the tantalizing odor of cooking things, wafting from the kitchen, assailed his nostrils, causing his mouth to water and his stomach to gnaw. He had visions of a sumptuous dinner surrounded by a crowd of boisterous buckaroos, but his visions were short-lived.

A gruff-voiced foreman with only one eye and a badly mutilated ear informed him no hands were needed, and intimated that it would be as well if he skedaddled right along. And once again Clive was impressed with the air of unnatural quiet. Back on the highway he meditated sourly.

66 Fine bunch of dodderin’ old dodo birds them fellers is. What in hell’s wrong with everybody? Yuh’d think, by cripes, I was a cow thief, the way they looks at me and insinooates my absence is pre¬ ferred to muh comp’ny. Aw, shucks, Thunder; mebbe they just got indigesting or somethin’. We’ll try the next place.”

He fancied he was about midway of the valley. He was still heading south. He had no way of telling how long it would be until he came across another ranch, but he did know it would be a con¬ siderable time, for before him, as far as his eyes could reach across the rolling valley there were only vistas of undulating green, clumps of cotton¬ wood and grazing herds. Off to his right, a long, snaky line of willows and higher, greener cotton¬ woods told him a river purled along, probably the stream he had visioned earlier in the day from his vantage point on the bench. He found the road was heading toward it.

Hunger was beginning to gnaw keenly at his vitals and for a time he considered the advisability of stopping and cooking something from the dwind¬ ling supplies in his saddle roll. In the end he drew the belt of his chaps tighter, lit another cigarette and urged Thunder on at a faster pace.

After a time he passed what apparently was the last of the line fences and came out on a vast territory of range land, and ideal cattle country. Scattered herds of unattended steers grazed here and save for the gray-blue clumps of sage, scrub cottonwood and an occasional suhuara cactus, the earth was a solid mass of tall, luscious grass. The river drew nearer and Thunder pricked up his ears at the promise of refreshments.

Keen and sharp, like the crack of a bull-whip, the report of a rifle crashed through the stillness of the valley. Clive reined in Thunder and gazed at a tiny wisp of pale smoke that curled upward from some scrub willows, a hundred yards ahead. His impulse was to drop from the black’s back and seek shelter, but when a second report split the silence he decided there was something ahead that was worth investigating.

Touching his stirrups to the horse’s foam-flecked sides he urged it onward. His right hand swung loosely near the bone-handled grip of a .45 which hung at his hip. As he neared the willows his body tensed and his gray eyes became more alert. But nothing untoward happened. With a rush he rounded the willows and paused on the brink of the purling stream, a startled oath on his lips.

In the middle of the river was a buckboard and the waters swirled and foamed in an angry torrent across the bodies of two dead horses that were still fast to the traces. On the seat of the buckboard, her body rigid and her eyes fear-filled, sat a girl.

And such a girl! She was dressed in a flaring tan skirt and white shirtwaist, while from her throat hung a brilliant scarlet muffler. Her head was bare and crowned with a mass of soft brown hair. Her face was pale, but her fear had not driven the vivid scarlet from her lips, nor marred the perfect con¬ tour and form of her beautiful features.

As Clive, staring at her, regained his breath and started to call out, the girl saw him. In a flash her rigid pose vanished and the fear in her eyes was replaced by flaring hate. Her right hand moved upward and forward. Clive saw the gleam of sun¬ light on the nickeled barrel of a pistol and even as she shot he dropped from the saddle and rolled swiftly into the protecting willows.

“What the hell?” he cried in surprise; then, regaining his poise, he peered cautiously through the slender trunks, his gaze seeking the girl. She was standing, but her revolver was no longer aimed; instead, it hung at her side and she obvi¬ ously was seeking a glimpse of him. He heard her voice:

“ Whoever you are, I beg your pardon. I thought it was you who shot my horses, but I see I was mistaken. Please come out.”

Clive raised his head a trifle.

46 Are yuh dead shore yuh won’t take no more pot shots at me, ma’am?” he called.

46 1 shan’t shoot,” she replied. 44 1 see by your horse that you are not the man I took you for. He was riding a piebald.”

Clive left the willow clump and regained his mount, swinging lightly into the saddle and urging the animal forward into the stream. Beside the buckboard he. drew rein and lifted his broadbrimmed, dimpled sombrero, hanging it across his saddle-horn.

44 Yuh seem to be havin’ a heap of trouble, ma’am,” he observed mildly, eyeing her calmly. 44 Can I help yuh any?”

44 You can help me out of this buckboard and set me on dry land,” she answered, thrusting her gun into a businesslike holster that swung from a belt about her slender waist.

Clive set his hat slantingly on his moist brown locks and maneuvered his horse close to the buckboard. The girl stepped to the top of a wheel and leaned toward him. He reached out and clasped her in one lithe, muscular arm, swinging her against his side. Holding her thus he pointed his pony’s head toward the shore opposite to that he had recently vacated.

He felt the girl’s lithe form pressed against him, felt the cling of her soft, firmly-moulded arms. A wisp of her hair blew across his face and he breathed of some subtle aroma that hinted of the mystery that is woman. His arm held her firmly.

Twenty feet beyond the water’s edge he stopped the black, leaned down and deposited the girl gently on her feet. Then he dropped quickly from the saddle and stood before her, hat in hand.

66 There yuh are, ma’am,” he said easily. 66 I’m oncommon su’prised at findin’ yuh like I did, and I’d plumb admire to be a-hearin’ how yuh come to be in such a dang’ onhandy fix.”

The girl’s face was still pale and he saw that she was trembling. It was the reaction from the strain of her recent adventure working on her, and he suggested that she find a seat on a fallen willow near by; but she shook her head, her eyes darting about her, a worried look in their depths.

She gazed at him searchingly and something she saw in his eyes perhaps made her more at ease. After a moment she said:

66 1 was where you found me because a hidden gunman shot my horse.” She endeavored to make her voice firm. 66 1 did not see his face, but I know he rode a piebald horse. I glimpsed the animal immediately after the second shot, when the man rode upstream under cover of the willows. I think he heard your horse’s hoof-beats and was frightened off. At first I thought you were his confederate; that is why I shot at you.”

66 But what is the idea of anybody shootin’ yore hosses, ma’am?”

It was a natural question under the circum¬ stances, and one that ordinarily would call for an answer. The girl shook her head, a little sadly.

46 1 don’t know you, nor how much I can say to you. I have said things before, to my sorrow. What outfit are you riding for?”

For the first time Clive grinned.

44 Me? I’m a-workin’ for the first hombre that hires me. Just at the present my only occupation is huntin’ a place to sling my turkey and shove muh feet under a chuck table. In short, as yuh prob’ly surmise by now, I ain’t got any more job than a horned-toad’s got whiskers.”

The girl appeared surprised and a little sus¬ picious. Clive found himself wondering if she were about to exhibit the same spirit of sullen unrest he had found elsewhere in this valley; if she, too, were going to turn out to be sour and surly. She looked at him keenly.

44 Then, what on earth are you doing here?”

44 I’m a-doin’ the most natural thing in the world, ma’am — lookin’ for a job, and I’m a-needin’ one mighty bad. I was just a-tellin’ Thunder, that’s my hoss, there, this mornin’ that if I didn’t get a job purty soon I’d have to quit eatin’. ’Course, that didn’t worry Thunder none, ’cause he can most always find some lush grass and when he’s got plenty of that he’s happy. A caballo like Thunder don’t know how gosh dang’ lucky he is.”

44 How long have you been here?” she ques¬ tioned.

44 1 pree-sume yuh mean how long since I hit this valley, and it ain’t no trouble to answer that. I blowed out of the Mogollons (he pronounced it

Mokiyones) this mornin’ shortly after sunrise and I be’n here ever since. ’Tain’t be’n much of a visit, though; leastwise, I wouldn’t call it such. First place I hits up for a job, I’m given the high sign to pull muh leather and pull it quick. I reaches another place, Tong about noon, and they was a-cookin’ dinner. Say, them onmannerly cusses didn’t even invite me to chaw. Foreman told me to skedaddle and keep right on skedaddlin’ till I got tired. I was a-hittin’ it down this-a-way to find another ranch when I heard a shot and then another. I come a-runnin’ to find you high and skeered out there in that water.”

The girl was betraying fresh symptoms of nerv¬ ousness. She was plainly anxious about some¬ thing.

“ I hardly know how to take you. You seem to be truthful, yet I have been deceived so many times that I am fearful of trusting any one. However, we must not remain here. That rifleman may return and he may bring help. If he does, we do not want to be found here. Your revolver would be no match for a rifle; besides, I have had enough excitement for one day. Come, we will go.”

66 Whatever yuh say,” replied Clive. 66 But where’ll we go?”

The girl again glanced at him keenly.

66 Will your horse carry double?” she asked quickly.

66 Ma’am, that horse’ll do most anything I tell him, even to tryin’ to stand on his haid. You just climb aboard and I’ll swing up behind yuh, then we’ll be off whichever way yuh want to head.”

Without further ado she swung into the saddle and he vaulted up behind her, swaying gracefully as the black took a restless, tentative step forward. The girl picked up the bridle reins and touched a smooth-heeled boot to Thunder’s ribs. Despite his double load and the fact that he had already travelled far that day, the black sprang forward swiftly and easily and the girl felt a quick glow of interest in the handsome, high-headed animal.

For a half hour they rode in silence through rich and verdant range-land. There were no fences anywhere, as is to be desired in your ideal cattle country, and Clive recognized the fact that they were crossing open range, where the herds of a dozen outfits had been turned out to graze pending the round-up and the sorting of brands. It was any man’s land and no man’s land, all in one. After a while the girl straightened a little in the saddle, then pulled Thunder sharply to the right and they set off along a dimly outlined wagon trail.

Clive ventured a question.

“ I take it yo’re headed for a ranch, ma’am?”

She gave a dispirited nod.

64 We are going to the Swinging J,” she replied. 66 That is, we are going to what is left of it.”

He ventured again.

66 Would they, do you think, now, be a-needin’ of a top hand over that-a-way?”

At this the girl laughed mirthlessly.

“Now I know you are a stranger here,” she said, “ else you would not be asking that question. The Swinging J just now is little more than a name.”

Clive sighed.

“ It shore does seem that I just naturally can’t pick up a job nohow; it shore does beat the band the way a job just keeps one jump ahead of me all the time. It’s gettin’ to be plumb oncanny, by * cripes.”

The girl was instantly sympathetic, turning her head so she could see his face.

“ I am sorry you have no work and if there was any place for you on the Swinging J I would gladly give it to you. But just now the Swinging J ranch consists of some thousands of acres of ground, some steers, myself and one Chinaman. Even the steers and the Chink may be gone before we arrive.” She spoke bitterly and Clive pondered.

66 Yuh shore have got me guessin’, ma’am. Would this Swingin’ J, now, by any chance, be yore n r

She nodded, urging Thunder to a faster pace and swaying gracefully as the black broke into a smooth, uninterrupted lope.

66 ’Tain’t none of my business, like, but I’d plumb admire to be knowin’ if yuh be’n havin’ trouble with yore ranch. Somehow, I gets the im¬ pression all ain’t merry here, so’s to speak.”

^ The girl laughed again, with even less mirth in her tones.

66 Trouble?” she repeated. 44 That is all I have had; all I have known since I came here to live, and it has finally driven me to the point where I am getting out.”

66 Are yuh aimin’ to sell yore holdin’s here, ma’am?”

44 Who would buy? No, I shall not sell. The Swinging J and all its vast acres will revert to what they were before I came to them. For ten years it lay idle and run down, its acres the prey of all the cowmen of this valley. Then I came here and started my own herds and have had a constant fight ever since.”

Clive reached up a tentative forefinger and scratched his nose.

44 Then yo’re sort of quittin’ under fire, like?” His voice held a subtle barb, and it evidently went home, as he intended it should, for she retorted rather sharply:

44 What do you know about it, Mister Man? You don’t know what I’ve gone through; you don’t know what it is to watch your herds vanish, see your hands turn traitor and leave you, see your lands run over by herds that legally have no right there, and — yes, even be threatened with an invasion of sheep!”

44 Hell!” he ejaculated. Then, 44 1 beg yore par¬ don, ma’am; that sorta slipped out. When yuh said 4 sheep ’ I just naturally had to swear.”

44 Granted,” she answered. 44 Now, we are com¬ ing to the ranch. I have enough supplies, thank heaven, to set us up a hot meal and then you might as well be riding on. Perhaps you can pick up something at Bender’s, about twelve miles south of me. But if you wish, you are welcome at the Swinging J for the time being, even though I have no job to offer you.”

66 Thank yuh, ma’am,” he said gently. “ I shore would like to ketch on down this-a-way. Yuh see I’ve always hankered to punch cows in Arizony. I generally have ranged up ’round Montany, but the winters there sorta got to me and I drifted into Wyomin’. That wasn’t no better and I lit into Texas, where I hooked up with the Rangers for a spell. But I got lonesome for cows and tired of man rustlin’ all the time and wantin’ to git out this-a-way, I chucked the Ranger business and here I am. Begins to look like it’s a-goin’ to be 6 here I go ’ in a minute, though. Don’t seem like there is any jobs over here a-tall.”

A new interest was in the girl’s voice when she spoke again.

“ So you were a Ranger?”

“ Yeh,” he answered carelessly. 66 1 was with them Texas riders ’bout three years. When I got lonesome for the range-land, them hombres all said Arizony Territory was the place to hit out for. That coincided with my own idees, yuh see, and that’s another reason I’m here.”

44 I’m glad you told me that,” she said. 64 1 feel, somehow, that my first judgment of you was cor¬ rect. You are an honest man and not allied with the valley element that is seeking to drive me off my own range.”

He started.

66 I’m beginning to see things better, ma’am. Yo’re in trouble here and yuh thought I was one of that flea-bitten bunch that’s after yuh; now, didn’t yuh? Well, yuh c’n just ree-vise yore opinion.”

64 1 have,” she replied. 66 What is your name?” For the first time she evinced interest in him from a personal standpoint.

64 Clive Morgan,” he answered promptly. 44 In Montany they called me 4 Shoshone ’ ’cause I was homed in the Shoshone country; in Wyomin’ they called me 4 Cactus,’ and in the Rangers they called me 4 Tex.’ Yuh c’n call me whatever yuh please down here, I reckon.”

44 My name is Glade,” said the girl. 44 My par¬ ents, evidently of poetic bent, saw fit to tack onto me the front name of Forest; rather silly, isn’t it?”

Clive considered a moment, a grin on his face.

44 Oh, I don’t know, ma’am; Forest Glade is a right pert name, seems to me. It sounds like things yuh read in books; makes me think of the Montany mountings, all covered with spruce and fir and pine forests. There shore is plenty of forests there, too, I’d tell a man, but I’m not so shore about the glade. What is a glade, anyways?”

Despite the strain she so palpably labored under the girl laughed, a brief, silvery peal.

44 You seem to have a sense of humor and poesy yourself, at any rate,” she said, 44 and that is something that is sorely needed here. I think I am glad I met you, Clive Morgan.”

44 Same to you, ma’am,” responded the gallant Clive.

66 Please stop calling me 6 ma’am,’ ” she com¬ manded, 46 else I shall withdraw my invitation to dine. It sounds to much as though I were a schoolma’am.”

44 Whatever yuh say ma’— I mean, miss,” said Clive, flustered briefly.

CHAPTER II Clive Makes a Resolve

After a time Clive, looking over the girl’s shoul¬ der, saw a huge grove of cottonwoods, in which rested a rambling building of dirty white, having every appearance of being rundown and neglected. To the rear of this structure and just outside the cottonwoods was a large barn. Near this was a corral, but it held pitifully few horses. Around to one side and in the shade of the huge trees, was a long, narrow building with many windows. Clive knew this was the bunkhouse. For the rest, he saw the usual outbuildings to be found on any western cattle ranch, a wagon sitting idly before the barn, a rickety buggy and many rusted agri¬ cultural implements.

As they rode into the cottonwoods he realized how badly neglected the place was. The paint on the buildings was faded and worn, while fences needed repairs. The corral sagged in a dozen places and the plows, mowing machine and what tools were visible were grimy and in a sore state of dis-repair. The barn doors hung on hinges that were loose and the bunkhouse windows were shat¬ tered in a dozen places. Weeds and grass grew high and rank in the yard and even the small picket fence that enclosed the grounds about the house was tumbled and broken.

In the yard Clive slid from the horse and helped the girl to alight.

“ Turn the horse into the corral, Mr. Morgan. You will find feed there, and water. Come to the house immediately and we shall have something to eat.”

He watched her as she walked through the open picket gate, crossed the broad veranda that sur¬ rounded the house on three sides, and vanished in a doorway. Then he led Thunder to the corral, pulled off saddle, blanket and bridle and turned the animal inside, carefully closing the rickety gate. Two minutes later he was crossing the broad ver¬ anda and entering the house.

If the outside of the structure showed evidence of neglect, the interior did not. It was scrupulously clean and tastefully appointed. Forest greeted him in the large living room, indicating a chair.

66 Sit down, please, and rest. Charley Long, my cook, is still on the job. He will have a meal ready for us in a few minutes.”

Clive dropped into a chair, letting his hat fall to the floor. The girl chose another chair near by and sat facing him. He felt a tug at his heart strings as he noted the look of utter sadness in her counte¬ nance, the total lack of spirit he found there. He found her, however, distinctly fair to look upon. From her heavy, dark brown hair to her trim, small feet, she was all feminine. Her eyes were a shade between brown and black and her face was finely formed and of regular features. She was just under medium height, slim-waisted and lithe. He wondered, seeing that she was so beauti¬ ful even in her despondent mood, what she would be like were happy smiles to chase each other across her face.

For her part, Forest found Clive to be a man among men. His tall, muscular body was barrel¬ chested, slim-waisted and lithe; his face, not exactly handsome, nevertheless was clean-cut and strong, and his steady gray eyes seemed to send out something that inspired confidence and trust. He wore a black shirt, black, high crowned sombrero, neatly dimpled; Angora chaps and the usual high-heeled, be-spurred boots of the cow country. A black silk kerchief was knotted about his throat. As she watched, he unbuckled his six-gun and dropped it beside his hat on the floor.

“ Yuh shore I ain’t a-troublin’ yuh none about this eatin’ here?” he asked.

66 On the contrary, I am glad to have you,” she answered. “ Besides, I haven’t thanked you for coming to my aid out there on Cougar Creek. I probably would have had to wade ashore and walk all the way here if you had not so provi¬ dentially happened along.”

“ That brings back what yuh was a-sayin’ when we arrived here,” Clive said. 66 I’d plumb admire to know more about it. ’Course, I ain’t a-wantin’ to pry into yore affairs any, but I’m just a curious cuss on account of my nature, I reckon.”

66 It is natural that you are curious, under the circumstances. However, it is quite a story and I doubt if it would interest you. Besides, I am leav¬ ing the ranch and shall thus end my troubles.”

He considered a moment before answering, then said:

66 Are yuh really leavin’ this place, Miss Glade, or are yuh bein’ drove off?”

There was a defiant light in her eyes and a bitter¬ ness in her voice when she answered.

66 From your way of looking at things, I am being driven away. Not that it concerns you, but in answer to your question.”

66 1 knowed I was a-hornin’ into somethin’ that was none of my business,” he countered contritely, 66 but it was ’cause I hated to see yuh bein’ chased off yore own ranch like yuh was some danged c’yote or wolf that I spoke. Why don’t yuh stay and fight ’em, Miss?”