The Van Buren press., 1896-02-08
arranged. That evening the colonel

were none so confident of the future
of Lariat, so jovial, and withal so lavish
with his money, as he. incidentally,
it may be said that the bar Of the Ala
gazan did a big business, and that the
landed rroprietors of Lariat, Hank Me
Dougall especially, awakened to the
fact that they had good thing.
The next morning the colonel, note
book in hand, and accompanied by the
leading citizens of the town, inspected
property available for the uses of the
Black Butte Cattle company. In the
afternoon-for the agents time was
limited-the purchasing began. The
courteous old gentleman who had en-
tertained them so Hospitality the night
before did not haggle over prices. lie
paid cash for his new acquisitions in
crisp, new $500 notes-a proceeding
which, to make change, unfortunately,
drained the town in short time of all
its smaller denominations.
BY evening the English syndicate
had acquired a choice tract of land
lying on both sides Of the railroad, in
the heart of Lariat, for which it had
paid out some $4,000. MeDougall,
editor and town marshal, had made
some thousands by the deal, and had
he been ready speaker would prob
ably have said: "These Englishmen are
the biggest suckers I ever saw" But,
as it was. he contented himself with the
simnle words. "Reats a1lI"
1t wanted but few minutes of train
time, next day, when the colonel, car
rying his compact little yalise, his face
beaming with happy good nature, saun-
tered leisurely down to where the big
engine was putting and blowing, pre-
paratory to its long trip down the road.
81 must leave just at this time" he
said ito transact some very important
business in Cheyenne. But I'll be back
in a week or ten days, and begin work
Immediately" And he treated the lit
tie crowd about the train to cigars.
The whistle footed a warning note,
the bell rang and the colonel cordially
shook hands all around. Stepping on
the rear platform of the train, he
turned about once more and waved his
good-byes to persons in the distance.
Just at the moment that the wheels
began to turn, Hank McDougall, lis
marsbal's star cleaning on his vest
he wore no coat-came running down
Wyoming avenue from the post Office,
a yellow paper in his hand which he
waved dramatically over his head.
"Stop that train!" yelled the town
marshal. Bat the conductor and en-
gineer did not hear, and the train
moved on.
Jump, you scoundrel, jumpl" again
yelled Hank, at the same time drawing
his gun. The colonel's only answer
was q polite wave of the hand. Then
Hank took snapshot at the fast de
parting train, and-would you believe
it?-&at little old man whipped out
two pistols from somewhere, quick as
a wink, and for a few moments the
way the bullets whistled about the
heads of the crowd along the track
was something wonderful. And as the
train grew smaller and smaller in its
straightaway course over the prairie
the last act of the lone passenger on
the rear platform was to wave a white
handkerchief towards the little city OF
Lariat and disappear within the car.
The town marshal replaced his gun
in his hip-poelzet and turned sadly
away. Deaf to repeated inquiries as tc
the meaning of it all, he disappeared
within the editorial sanctum; for in the
midst of all excitement he still remem'
bered that, ex-officio, he was an editor
and-he was both thrifty and a eau
tious man.
An hour later another edition of the
Exponent appeared, double-leaded, as
if in mourning, and the copies sold fo1
a dollar apiece. The editorial was briei
and to the point:
"From a telegram received only toe
late by our town marshal, because OF
the necessity of forwarding it by mai
from Crouch's, it appears that our late
distinguished visitor, Stemble, was
none other than the well-known des
perado and confidence man Ike Rogers
lately y fugitive from the Black Hills
1t is painful to be forced to state thai
the greenbacks which Rogers so gen
erously distributed while in Lariat are
clever counterfeits, in exchange fol
which he carried away thousands o.
dollars of our citizens earnings.
"The editor of the Exponent bids
farewell TO his many friends, and an
nounees his intention of palling W
stakes and moving Immediately TO Tho
Big Horn country."-Lippincott's Mag
| mine.