Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: THIS SLENDER GIRL DUMFOUNDED THEM _Frontispiece Page 41_] CROOKED TRAILS AND STRAIGHT BY WILLIAM MacLEOD RAINE AUTHOR OF BRAND BLOTTERS, BUCKY O'CONNOR, MAVERICKS, WYOMING, RIDGWAY OF MONTANA, A TEXAS RANGER, etc. ILLUSTRATIONS BY D. C. HUTCHISON GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS--NEW YORK Made in the United States of America Copyright, 1913, by G. W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY Crooked Trails and Straight CONTENTS PART I CURLY CHAPTER PAGE I. Following a Crooked Trail 9 II. Camping with Old Man Trouble 23 III. At the End of the Road 33 IV. The Cullisons 49 V. Laura London 60 VI. A Bear Trap 74 VII. Bad Medicine 84 VIII. A Rehearsed Quarrel 94 IX. Eavesdropping 110 X. "Stick to Your Saddle" 131 PART II LUCK I. At the Round Up Club 143 II. Luck Meets an Old Acquaintance 151 III. An Initialed Hat 157 IV. Kate Uses Her Quirt 169 V. "Ain't She the Gamest Little Thoroughbred?" 178 VI. Two Hats On A Rack 194 VII. Anonymous Letters 200 VIII. A Message in Cipher 213 IX. "The Friends of L. C. Serve Notice" 220 X. Cass Fendrick Makes a Call 233 XI. A Compromise 245 XII. An Arrest 254 XIII. A Conversation 265 XIV. A Touch of the Third Degree 270 XV. Bob Takes a Hand 282 XVI. A Clean Up 294 XVII. The Prodigal Son 312 XVIII. Cutting Trail 316 XIX. A Good Samaritan 323 XX. Loose Threads 337 CROOKED TRAILS AND STRAIGHT PART I CURLY CHAPTER I FOLLOWING A CROOKED TRAIL Across Dry Valley a dust cloud had been moving for hours. It rolled into Saguache at the brisk heels of a bunch of horses just about the time the town was settling itself to supper. At the intersection of Main and La Junta streets the cloud was churned to a greater volume and density. From out of the heart of it cantered a rider, who swung his pony as on a half dollar, and deflected the remuda toward Chunn's corral.