The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-22


could reload he had reached the wood:
again; winding in and out between tbs
pillared tree trunks, he offered nj
mark. They knew his horse was super
Tor to their own; at the end of two
hours they returned, for he hal disap-
peared without track or trail. The enc
} was briefly told in the Sierra Record
5 Red Pete, the notorious horse thief
who has so long eluded justice. was
captured and hung by the SawyerS
Crossing vigilantes last week; his con-
) federate. unfortunately, escaped on q
valuable horse belonging to Judge
Boompointer The Judge had refused
$1,000 for the horse only a week before.
As the thief, who is still at large, would
, find it difficult to dispose of so valuable
an animal without detection, the
chances are against either of them
turning up again.
Salomy Jane watched the cavalcade
until ii had disappeared. Then she be-
came aware that her brief popularity
had passed. Mrs. Red Pete, in stormy
mysteries, had included her in sweep
ing denunciation of the whole universe
possibly for Stimulating an emotion in
which she herself was deficient The
other women hated her for her momen-
tary exaltation above them; only the
children still admired her as one who
had undoubtedly "canoodled" with a
man "a-going to be hanged"-a daring
flight beyond their widest ambition.
Salomy Jane accepted the change with
charming unconcern. She put on her
yellow nankeen sunbonnet-a hideous
affair that would have ruined any other
woman, but which only enhanced the
piquancy of her fresh brunette skin
tied the strings. letting the blue-black
braids escape below its frilled curtain
| behind, jumped on her mustang with
casual display of agile ankles in shape
~ white stockings, whistled to the
hound, and, waving her hand with a
so long, sonny to the lately bereft
but admiring nephew. tapped and fiut-
tered away in her short brown Holland
gown.
Her fathers house was four miles
distant. Contrasted with the cabin she
had just quilted, it was a superior
dwelling, with a long 'lean-to' at the
rear. which brought the caves almost
to the ground and made it look like q
low triangle. 1t had a long barn and
cattlesheds, for Madison Clay was a
great stock raiser and the owner of
quarter section II had a sitting
room and parlor organ, whose trans
portation thither had been a marvel of
packing" These things were supposed
to give Salomy Jane an undue impor-
lance, but the girls reserve and mac
feasibility to local advances were rather
the result of a cool, lazy Temperance
and the preoccupation of a large. pro-
tecting admiration for her father-for
some years widower. For Mr.. Madison
Clay's life had been threatened N one
or two feuds-it was said, not without
cause-and it is possible that the pa
thetic spectacle of her father doing his
visiting with a shotgun may have
touched her closely and somewhat pref
q n NJ 10 1aIe hDrs inc
masculinity. The thought that cattle,
horses and quarter section" would one
day be hers did not disturb her calm.
AS for Mr.. Clay, he accepted her as
hous wifely. though somewhat inter
fering" and, being one of his own
womankind," therefore not without
some degree of merit.
''Wot's this yer I'm hearin' OF your
doin's over at Red Pete's? Honeyfog-
lin with a horse thief, eh?" said Mr..
Clay two days later at breakfast.
Il reckon you heard about the
straight thing, then" said Salomy Jane
unconcernedly, without looking around. |
What do you kalkilate Rube will say
to it? What are you goin' to tell him."
said Mr.. Clay sarcastically.
"Rube," or Reuben Waters, was
swain supposed to be favored particu-
larly by Mr.. Clay. Salomy Jane looked
up.
I'll tell him that when he's on his
way to be hung I'll kiss him-not till !
then" said the young lady, brightly.
This delightful witticism suited the
paternal humor, and Mr.. Clay smiled, !
but, nevertheless, he frowned a moment
afterward.
But this yer boss thief got away ar
ter all, and that's a boss of a different |
color" he said grimly.
Salomy Jane put down her knife and |
fork. This was certainly new and diff |
ferent phase of the situation. She had |
never thought of it before, and, strange
ly enough, for the first time she be- !
came interested in the man. Got |
away she repeated. Did they let |
him OFF,"
Not much" said her father briefly |
Slipped his cords, and going down the |
grade, pulled UP short, just like a va
quer again lassoed bull, almost drag |
gin the man leading him off his boss,
and they skyutted up the grade. For
that matter, on that boss O. Judge |
Bcompointer's he mout have dragged
the whole posse of EN- down on their
knees eff he liked! Starved 'em right,
too. Instead of stringing him up afore
the dore, or shootin him on sight, they
must allow to take him down afore the
hull committee for an example. 'Ex-
ample be bowed Theirs example
enough when some stranger comes I'M
beknoWnst slap onter a man hanged to
a tree and plugged full of holes. That's
an example. and he knows what il
means. Wot more do ye want? But
then, those vigilanteS is allus clingin'
and hangin' onter some mere scrap o.
the law they're pretendin to despise.
1t makes me sick Why, when Jake
Myers shot your old Aunt Viney's sec
ond husband, and 1 IaiG IN walt Tor Jake
afterward, IN. the Buternut hollow, dId
tie him to his boss and fetch him
down to your Aunt Viney's cabin tor
an example before L plugged him?'
MOI lin deep disgust) MOI Why, I
just meandered through the wood, care
less like, till he comes out, and l Just
rode up to him, and L said"
But Salomy Jane had heard her
fathers story before. Even ones dear
est relatives. are apt to become tire
some in narration. L know, dad she
interrupted, but this yer ma-.-this
boss thief-did he get clean away with
out gettin' hurt at all?"
He did; and unless he's fool enough
to sell the boss, he kin keep away, too.
So ye see, We can't ladle out that pu-D
stun about a 'dyin stranger TO RUDE.
He woa't swaller it."
All the same, da,'' returned the girl
cheerfully, II reckon to say it--and say
more; I'll tell him that eff he mana-es
to get away, too, I'll marry him-there!
But ye don't ketch RUDE takin' any
such risks in gettin' ketched, or in get
tin away arter,"
Madison Clay smiled grimiy, pushed
back his chair, rose, dropped perfume
tory kiss on his daughters hair, and.
taking his shotgun from the corner. de-
parted on a peaceful Samaritan mission
to a COW who had dropped calf in the
far pasture. Inclined, as he was, to
Reuben's wooing from his eligibility as
to property, he was conscious that he
was sadly deficient in certain Qualities