The National tribune., 1895-12-26

4 AdSb Il cuOt. AC AS N'ii
! tinued, after dismounting and examining
/ the foot the horse held up for inspection.
Ought L we had We fixed up more'n two
weeks back, OF hoss." He took out his
! knife-a sort of pocket blacksmith and car
penter-shop-deftly removed the rest of the
nails by VIII ich the shoe hung 10 the hoof,
! pat the shoe in his pocket, then stood up
and scratched his head.
This was serious business Here he was
oye, 60 miles away from home lard IN a
hurry TO get there), in a sparsely-sF tiled
portion of the country, and without the
! slightest idea Of where or how he was going
! to find place where he might get that shoe
reset. True, he had no business riding an
! animal that required the services Of a far
! rier but Bill was not a native horse. and,
! having worn shoes when Sam first got him,
! he had been kept shod ever since
1t was 20-odd miles back TO Taboryille
whence Sam had started that morning, and
! he disliked the idea Of returning that dis
! lance Just to have shoe set; SO, after some
! minutes meditation, he decided to 90 ahead
and trust to luck; and after walking about
three miles Ia painful task for a cowboy
/ he met-up with a man travelling in the
| other direction, who. much to his relief, told
! him that there was a crossroads just ahead
III lHe tinDeT. WIFI Il SlOTe anu a
shop situated close by.
Sam thanked him, and passed on, but
presently, much to his surprise tie stranger
turned and galloped back to him. =" /
thought I'd tell ye," he said, "bein' as yo're
a stTangeh th't ye'd best not daily 'raound
that place none-an don't drink nothin'.
Ye see" he went on to explain, tney's ben
fellahs turned up a-missn' th't was heerd Of
last right bout yere. Nothin' want nevah
proved. but it's purity good place f7r T.
fight shy of. reckon"
Good You bet Pm right glad We top
mel sho' am. / don't think Ill daily
none whatevah.n Then Sam and the
friendly stranger parted, and Sam found his
way to the crossroads.
The blacksmith was at work when he
came along, but assured him he would at
tend to Bill ain iiffy." Four or five men
were lcatiug about the place, and they at
once proceeded to take note of, and comment
! upon, Bills good points-a fact that Sam
would have duly appreciated had he been
able to convince himself that their attentions
were altogether disinierested. At is was
! however, he viewed with suspicion all their
/ overtures toward striking up an acquaint-
! ance. and found il fficnlt 20 treat them with
] the civiity that Southwestern courtesy de-
mands-albeit they were, to all appearances,
/ lust as honorable and upright citizens as
! himself in fact, they looked Just like the
! average frnntiersman whose lime, for the
moment, bangs heavily on his hands, and
/ but for the warning of the friendly stranger,
Sam Stires would doubtless have mixed
! free with them. As it was. even, he mad
vertently admitted that he was going TO FL
Rio and was in a hurry 10 get there; but he
sensibly refused all invitations to Ticker
/ mp" on the ground that it didn't agree with
! him.
The blacksmiih's "jiffy" lasted until al
most 6 O'Clock, and whilst he was engaged
on Bil's foot, the loaiers wandered out, one
at a time and disappeared up the hillside,
! presumably in the direction of a house, and
! this reminded Sam that ii was supper-time,
and that he was hungry.
Bout suppeh-;ine, strangeh," said the
I blacksmith, Suddenly, as thongh divining his
( clients thoughts. Hadn't ye bettah come
7 mp an Craze with we-all an let tn job 20
] f7r a bit?"
'Caiu't do il, pardner," Sam replied, some
what hastily, thereby confirming the other
in certain suspicion he held concerning
Sam /. G., that he was Marshars OF Sheriff7s
Deputy -" cause, you see, got Z be a NOV
in right pert, an gitlim' Il Rio 'Bliged T.
Ne, All IN sdile il JeS 20 ONaH III sbOIe
an git a snack vile ye finish tn Job.
There was little, faded, sharp-featured
woman behind the counter in the little store,
and her keen black eyes studied Sam critic
ally as she proceeded TO serve him with the
cheese and crackers he called for. Present
iy a tall, big, square-shouldered fellow came
in and stood by the door, and the woman
went and Joined him. They conversed in
low whispers for about minute, and sam,
dimly suspicious, glanced at them two or
three times The last time he saw that
/ they were looking at HIM. Then the woman,
with a half laugh, shrugged her thin shoul-
ders and said aloud, as the big man turned
! TO 20 out:
"Qaiea saJc? QHicn sa5eP"
The moment the big man was gone, how
! ever, she hastened to the back OF the store
I looked into the bar-room, apparently to
make certain that it was unOccupicd then
came up TO Stires, who was hastily gobbling
! his lunch, and asked in a whisper
stranger, be you dep'tyr"
Me? Nc, o co'se not. Whut"--
GO Sc. > said the woman with an impatient
gesture, l might "a knowed ye wouldn't
gay so, ef ye was. Look yere," she went on,
hastily, coming closer and laying a hand on
his arm. :" Y're in danger, mister. Le' me
tell We, vile pve got tn chanst, th't We
wantuli git out o. this real quick-an' Fay,
don't take tn Rio trail fur. Leave it a mile
ont, an cut cross tods Amiiy Foks--heah
nfe?n
Yes M, shO' do; but whutn---
Don't stop 4 ast no fool questions. That
big fellah's Ned Flynn, an yere's Were e
hangs out lot. They'll git ye, eff ye don't
look out. I'm tellin' We this, cause-'cause
well, Devah min Only git move on"
Sam lost no time in seeing that Bill was
properly fixed" and, getting started, inc
took the strange little woman's advice and
turned toward Amity Forks. thereby pre-
serving, no doubt, whole skin. He asked
himself many times why the woman should
have iaken the trouble 10 warn him, but was
. unable TO find auy reason for it.
As a matter Of fact, the woman herself
i, / could have given no reason beyond thai
essentially y-fminine because"
The face of Ned Flynn haunted Sam
| Why, il is impossible TO say, for Sam Stires
like the rest of his family, was not at all i'm
| aginaiire. There was nothing remarkabl.
about the face of Flynn, the outlaw, except
ing the act that il bel ed the character of it,
> owner, being 2 square, honest face, with two
clear honest rlue eyes, while Fiynn-well
! everybody within "A hundred miles of tn,
line knew what he was. Nevertheless thai
Pitchers Castoria.