Evening star., 1898-05-21

OF this veageful storm could be heard the
thurman of hidden and tranquil waters. In
a lew moments they would be on the open
Ilose. When sloped the common turnpike to
Sawyers,' a mile away. 1t was the Gus
tom OF returning cavalcades to take this
nil at headlong speed, with shouts and
cries that heralded their coming They
withheld the latter that day as Inconslst-
ent with their dignity, but, emerging from
the wood, swept silently like an avalanche
down the slope. They were we'll under
way, looking only to their horses when the
second captive slipped his right arm from
the bonds and succeeded in grasDing the
reins that lay trailing on the horses neck
A sudden vaquero" jerk, which tho we'll
trained animal understood threw him on
his launches with his foralegs firmly plant
ed on the slope. The rest of the cavalcad de
swept on; the man who was leading the
captive's horse by the riata thinking only
or another accident, dropped the line to
save himself from being dragged back
wards from his horse. The captive wheeled
and the next moment was galloping fur
iousy up the slope.
1t was the work of moment trained
horse and an experienced hand. Tne cav
alcade had covered nearly fifty yards before
| they could pull up; the freed captive had
covered half that distance uphill. The road
was so narrow that only two shots could be
fired. and these broke dust two yards ahead
of the fugitive. They had not dared to fire
low-the horse was the more valuable ami
nal. The fugitive knew this in his extrem-
ity also, and would have gladly taken Il
shot in his own leg to spare that of his
horse. Five men were detached to recapture
or Kill him. The latter seemed inevitable
But he had calcula ted his chances; before
they could reload he had reached the woods
again. Winding in and out between the pill
Jared tree trunks, he offered no ma rk They
knew his horse was superior to theirs At
the end of two hours they returned, for he
had disappeared without track or trail The
end was briefly told in the Sierra Record:
Red Pete, the notorious horse thief who
has so long eluded justice, was captured
and hung by the Sawyer's Crossing Wig
ilantes last week His confederate, unfort-
uI'ately, escaped on valuable horse be-
longing 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 valu-
able an animal without detection the
chances are against either of tham turning
up again
Salomy Jane watched the cayalcade until
it had disappeared Then she became aware
that her brief popularity had passed. Mrs
Red Pete. in stormy hySterics had included
her in a sweeping denunciation of the whole
III iverce-possibly for Stimulating an emo
tion in which she herself was deficient The
other women hated hsr for her momentary
exaltation above them; only the children
sun admired her as one who had undoubt-
edly "canoodled'' with a man "a-going to
being hung'-a daring flight beyond their
change with charming unconcern She nut
on her yellow nankeen sunbonnet-a hid
eous AFFAIR that would have ruined any 9th
er woman but which only enhanced the
piquancy of her fresh brunette skin-tted
the strings, letting the blue-black braids es
cape below its frilled curtain behind tumD-
ed on her mustang with casual display of
agile ankles In shapely white stockings
vhistled to the hound and, waving her
hand with $50 long, sonnyr' to tn, lately
Dereft but admiring nephew, fapped and
futtered away In her short brown holland
gown
Her fathers house was four miles dis
tant. Contrasted with the cabin she had
just quilted. IL was a superior dwelling
with long 'lean-to" at the rear. which
brought the caves almost to the ground
ara made 1t look like a low triangle. 1t
Esd long barn and cattle sheds. for Mad
-ison Clay was a great" stock raiser and
the owner OF a quarter section" 1t had a
sitting room and a parlor organ whose
transportation thither had been a marvel
o. packing These things were supposed
TO give Salomy Jane an undue importauce.
put the girls ressrve and inaccessibIIity n
iccal advances were rather the result of a
cool. lazy temperament and the preoccupa-
tion of large. protecting admiration for
her father-for some years widower For
Mr. Madison Clay's life had been threaten
ed IN cne or two feuds-it was said NOT
without cause-and ii is possible that the
pathetic spectacle of her father doing his
visiting with a shotgun may have touched
her closely and somewhat prejudiced her
against the neighboring masculinity The
thought that cattle, horses and Quarter
section would one day be hers did not dis
tCrb her calm. As for Mr.. Clay, he accept
eu her as housewifely. though somewhat
interfering, and, being one OF his own