The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-04-24
CHAPTER v

xhF1 - " ~ ~ @sst - 80
Seat through the heavy any OF my
.ent. forming q mist Oh the inside. The
continuous crash III the falling water
would have drowned the report OF a
mortar.
III trained and raiDed and kept on rain.
ing. III stle brooks formed Oh the plain,
then came together and made larger
ones that finally tnmbled oyer the edge
of the elf IN q series Of cascades
When an hour later the foreman ana
Spider returned 10 the camp, there
were no signs ~ u LET mp One by one
our disbeartened cowboys struggled IA
and repaired to my tent, whore the
nearest approach 10 shelter was 10 De
found, None Of them seemed T%gPtienlarF
by surprised when told Of The |disnppepf
anee Of our cattle They bad expected
II al along, they said
II don't never remember seem rain
Las 80 long az this nroup here, f9td
Lee as he tried yaiDly to light y damn
match on the sole NJ bis soaked boot ~
order TO ignite the wet tobacco With
which he bad filed bis pipe Then
IGiIilH llAFf " AhAb lui Fi1iiV 3bli3si ~
an then come over a purpose ter staAl
pede the herd Course we can DO moth,
I'm till ii let's up. M then ven baye ter
do some buntip, | reckon This raipH
have washed ont all the tracks,
"We'lI fin the tracks again without
much trouble, replied The forempn
"Tber amt 30 doubt but what we got
ter do suntbin, though Question ~
Wbat2'
"Looks 10 ple AZ though we were IN
something " u sernpe, observed, Wy,
Ing bard not to speak despondeptly
"None 30 bad AZ what II might be,
replied the foreman pbilosopbieally
I'VE got ter make a plan limits pll =
We held Il diseopsolnte council with
the water drumming over III on the
strained canvas 40 TINT we bad 10 raise
our voices IN order % make tbom heArd
Tho plan, when finally decided upon
was q very simple one That tho thieves
had made d clean sweep WINS evident
for mons Of The men who Ind como In
bad found any cattle, They hnd all boon
driven away Now, 10 cover 80 much
ground In 10 short u time argued TINT
onr enemies bad q foreo mpch larger
thnn onrs--opo That wo could hardly
hope, upnided, to defeat,
Therefore N was decided TINT 40 soon
~ stopped mining Some of the men
would scatter over the desert 10 find, "
possible, some trace Of tho missing pat
lilo, while we would send n messenger
w some ranches TINT lay on the other
side Of tho river some 30 miles below
nv, with instructions 10 bring bDek nh
the men TINT oonld bo mustered Gnt
tlemen are usually raady TO help oaeh
other In cases ~ this kind, for no one
Knows when bis own tnrn To require
help may come IN this instance, too,
the community of enttlo thieves hnd
long been \ menace 10 Tho mon Oh whom
wn called All ~ them probably bad
suffered from this or another rpid
The rain eansel ~ suddenly ~ | be'
gan, The eIouas parted and Werp blown
IN dark ahreds neross Tho sky Tho pools
That lay IN shallow loprnsaiona VI Tho
plain were Hike beds of aoals ~ tho leypl
rays Of tho setting SIM Redeemed thom
Az we hDd PINNED, tho foreman anft
five mon IN different directions Win
orders 10 annrnh for trnenA pf tho miss
ing herd, 10 let IN know nj omen II my
were found, and 10 report by midnight
IN any nAsn Delighted nj the prospect
~ action, ihe mon iroopal plt " my
tant Splnn ~ them spread thnlr blnu
knta ont W dry Others oitnrel nnellpas
help 10 tho mon who Wprp preparing ~
rot ont The Feat, Spider among thNnp1
lnnHged ahunt Tho cook WnRnn and
''joahpd' tho Hnllqi Girl 10 uAq their
own phrase, %lnHnllHe 10 could mol start
bis hrA, For some minatea Tho fprpmnn
stood ~ The door Of my tant mbhing
hla chin I%hongbtfplly Then hQ palIed
w Spider
nLook here, yop kld,' 4ald BIO
nNnH hpNrd what Wp sHid 'hnHt aandln
down ile river Der Rpt more men, We'll
want y0n & rHnadl0 npA fresh pony m
be Teady ter slnFt IN llyp minutes llMr4
The boss, here hnll write A notp fer
ypl ter FAkp apt \ wIBgl9 on, now
The lanBh lint Spider hrnnBht with
him fqded from bib fapn This WINS
hnslnesH, Ana WiFApQt \ word ha nnalnd
HHf Hiiff3 hHHR
n Epekon hale AhoAE lho ha8' one nor
son continued tha Iprnnan, lnrnlpg
~ me 'fllp'n do Whnl no gats ont lpy
do pYefy Fina Ihan II mint NkpIy
thar'h my dnnger down TIM why, mn
ynn aAnI fHll NhatH lnrn III hero ltl
Apen VIZ kla aIlFnR mlaqhlAf fnf AWhila
Nlnlp W. InlnlNlh NnH ApqAk ng
ING lolp I lnNf All N M Account haQk
pna hAA Written lha nnFp, Suddenly
ppeAlga aWnFn flAf, lhp, lAnRhter md
lAlk NJ ,lbe men IND hnahnd A aeaQNd
M1aF aplahg nlH ,faaH WORKING with
EnHpl. agHnpa nv, lha lpnt eAnaht Hp 4
1'alap raaFpl VIM foreman, liftiug
lhla nAp tlAF plaAaa lha lpnt door
YhrgnHh tha, appnlpA ennld MN IhaI
hplapF, nAn nlallaa IN nna hnaa and