The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-07-18

| dozen men stood near, but none offered
| to interfere. l remembered that / ac-
tually started for the pair, intending in
some vague way to protest, but ere I
reached them the man entered the dance
hall. Five minutes afterward the girl
was paying for his liquor at the bar, and
was congratulating mys.SA, that had
escaped from perpetrating one of the
most foolish acts of my life.
The girl was known as press" a half
caste Mexican creature, who gave Brown
the larger share of her earnings, bore his
blows with meekness and would have
driven stilettO into the man who con-
| Quered him III an encounter. But Hall
was saying:
1--WE learned ut San Angelo yesterday
that Brown was Mt the cattle ranch.
Sergeant Watson got quite thick with
the girl Press, but she knew nothing
about Brown or pretended ignorance.
We intended to reach the ranch at sun
set, but the norther stopped us.
THAT girl Press is devoted to Brown
and would raise money some way to
| bride Mexican to warn him, but money
would not hire Mexican, OF any other
man, to face this norther, so there is no
danger that he will be on guard. He
| cannot escape unless he was caught out
OH the range III the storm and is now at
| some other ranch
There was only a faint glow in the
east when we mounted our horses next
morning. Tho norther had spent its fury,
and the promise of Il pleasant day was
borne on the soft winds of the south.
Only a faint tremor, lingering chill in
! the early air, as if the trees and grass
were shaking off the GOODNESS of the
night. y sharp ride to tho westward,
and just rs the scarlet banners of the
sun was seen i'll the horizon we drew
rein i'll the wood some hundred Yards
from the house where Jack Brown was
supposed to be hiding. The ranchhouse
was 4 wretcled thing constructed of up
right poles. the cracks being filled with
| mud. At the rear Il shed with sloping
roof The house had been built within
4 few feet of the stream where the bank
was some IL feet high. \ door in the
front room opened to the southwark;
one i'll the shed to the north.
Like Indians surrounding the cabin of
the settler. the rangers stationed them
selves III the form of Il horseshoe around
the house. the points or heels of the
shoe resting on the bank of the stream
when the rear door could be commanded
by Il cross fire. l confess | felt. rs I
watched these preparations, very much
as imagine a robbcr must feel while he
reconnoiters dwelling when intent
upon some unlawful undertaking. Ev-
erything was ready. Captain Hall. Lieu
tenant Ward, Caswcll and four rangers
rode to the front of the house and
stopped some hundred feet from the
door. Then, for the first time. we saw
horse tied TO post near the doorway.
Steam WAS rising from its sides; low
dropping head and hollow tanks showed
that the brute had been ridden long and
hard.
Zone of the men has just got home"
whispered Captain Hall as he dis1nount-
ed. Accompanied by three of the ran
gers, while the fourth held the horses. he
walked to the door.
"Hello!" was the response to his knock.
A short parley, demand for adrnittapce
profane reply and then the sharp re-
port OF "A rifle. One of the rangers turned
his back toward the house. took one step
and fell heavily on his face Crash. A
dozen winchesters sent dozen bullets
into the house. Some struck the poles
but few found their way through the
mud Inended cracks. No order TO seel,
shelter of tree was needed now. In
two minutes Lieutenant Ward and CAS-
we'll had added their rifles TO the fire
and after it was all over found that the
magazine of my own winchester was
empty.
The passion of a man hunt conuucrs. as
it always will until in the evolution of
time the INVESTIGATION of battle is out
bred from human nature. don't know
how long we fired or how long the
answering shots came from the shantv.
but suddenly the door was flung inward.
and man stepped boldly ont.
An instant the rifles cooled. I saw
Jack Browns gaudy sombrero. its wide
rim and massive crown glistening with
silver ornaments. Black hair hanging
to the shoulders, the leather "chaps' of
a cowboy, and then--straight outward
shot two arms, cleaning black eyes
sighted two heavy colts, and ut their
report ranger dropped his rifle because
bullet had shattered an arm. Then
volley.
The broad hat slipped downward over
the black eyes, straight up in the air
two pistols sent their harmless lead and
to the ground in heap sank the body.
The rangers on guard at the rear ran
toward the front when their ears told
them the outlaw had braved his fate.
We gathered around the fallen man, all
honoring in our hearts the hopeless dar-
ing of his death, and Captain Hall lifted