Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-26
CHAPTER XII.
The Letters Change Hands Again.

The Letters Change Hands Again.
What seemed at the moment an incom-
prehensible puzzle had, as we afterward
learned. very simple explanation. One
of the G. S. directors, Mr.. Baldwin, who
had come In on Mr.. Camps car. was the
owner of a great cattle ranch near Rock
Butte. When the train had been held at
that station for a few minutes, Camp
went to the conductor, demanded the cause
for the delay, and was shown my tele-
gram. Seeing through the device, the
party had at once gone to this ranch, where
the owner, Baldwin, mounted them, and
it was their dust-cloud we had seen as
they rode up to Ash Forks. To make mat
tiers more serious Baldwin had rounded up
his cowboys and brought them along with
him in order to make any resistance inn
possible.
1 made no objection to the sheriff serving
the paper though it nearly broke my heart
/ to see Madge's face. To cheer her said,
suggestively: They've got me, but they
haven't got the letters, Miss Cullen. And,
remember, It's always darkest before the
dawn, and the stars in their courses are
against Ssera.''
With the sheriff and Mr.. Camp ! then
walked over to the saloon, where Judge
Wilson was waiting to dispose Of my case.
Mr.. Cullen and Albert tried to come too,
but all outsiders were excluded by order of
the court" 1 was told to show cause
why 1 should not forthwith produce the
letters, and answered that l asked an ad
journment of the case SO that 1 might be
heard by counsel. 1t was denied, as was
to have been expected; indeed, why they
took the trouble to go through the forms
was beyond me. l told Wilson l should
not produce the letters, and he asked me if
L knew what that meant. / couldn't help
laughing and retorting:
1T very appropriately means contempt
OF the court your honor"
'Tll give you stiff term, young man."
he said.
1T will take just one day to have fabeas
corpus proceedings in United States court
and one more to get the papers here" /
rejoined pleasantly.
Seeing that 1 understood the moves too
well to be bluffed, the judge, Mr.. Camp and
the lawyer held whispered consultation.
My surprise can be imagined when, at its
conclusion Mr.. Camp said:
Your honor, l charge Richard Gordon
with being concerned in the holding up of
the Missouri Western Overland, No. 8, on
the night of October IA, and ask that he be
taken into custody on that charge"
couldn't make out this new move and
puzzled over 1t, while Judge Wilson ordered
my commitment. But the next step revealed
the object, for the lawyer then asked for
search warrant to look for stolen property.
The Judge was equally obliging, and began
to fill one out on the instant.
This made me feel pretty serious, for the
letters were in my breast pocket, and
swore at my own stupidity in not having
put them In the station safe when l had
first arrived at Ash Forks. There weren't
many moments in which to think while the
judge scrubbed away at the warrant, but in
what time there was l did a lot of head
work without, however, finding more than
one way out of the snarl And when l saw
the judge finish off his signature with
flourish 1 played a pretty desperate card.
You're just too late, gentlemen, sad.
pointing out of the side window of the sa
LOOM There come the cavalry.
The three conspirators jumped to their
feet and bolted for the window; even the
sheriff turned to look. AS he did SO gave
him a shove toward the three which sent
them all sprawling on the floor in a pretty
badly mixed-up condition. 1 made a dash
for the door, and as l went through ii l
grabbed the key and locked them in. When
/ turned to do so l saw the lot struggl ng
up from the floor, and, knowing that it
wouldn't take them many seconds to find
their way out through the window, didn't
waste much time in watching them.
Camp, Baldwin and the judge had left
their horses just outside the saloon, and
there they were still patiently standing
with their brides thrown over their heads,
only western horses will stand. 1t d dnt
take me long to have those brides back In
place, and as tossed each over the peak of
slaps Which started them off at lope
across the railroad tracks. l swung my.
self into the saddle of the third and licked
him with the loose ends of the bride in
4
meant business
Baldwins cowboys had most of them scat
tered to the various saloons of the place, but
two Of them were standing in the doorway
of a store. l acted SO quickly, however, that
they didn't seem to take in what I was
about till 1 was well mounted. Then l
he ard yell, and fearing that they might
shoot-for the cowboy does love to use his
gum turned sharp at the saloon corner
and rode up the side street, just in time
to see Camp climbing through the window.
with Baldwin's head in view behind him.
Before / had ridden hundred feet real
lied that had done-up horse under me,
and, considering that he had covered over
fcrty miles that afternoon in pretty quick
time, 1t was not surprising that there wasn't
very much go left in him. I knew that
Raldwin's cowboys could get new mounts
in plenty without wasting many minutes,
and that then they would overhaul me In
very short order. Clearly there was no use
In my attempting to escape by running
Ard. as wasn't armed, my only hope was
to beat them by some hnesse-
Ash Forks. like all western railroad
towns. II one long line Of buildings running
parallel with the railway tracks Two hun
dred feet, therefore, brought me to the edge
OF the town, and / wheeled my pony and
rode down behind the rear of the buildings.
In turning. I looked back, and saw half a
dozen mounted men already In pursuit, but
lost sight of them the next moment As
soon as l reached street leading back to
the railroad l. turned again, and rode t0-
WdrQ IL, my one tHouSHt DtiHS To ger Ddcks
if possible. to the station, and put the LETT
tiers into the railroad agents safe.
When 1 reached the main street / saw
that my hope was futile, for another batch
of cowboys were coming in full gallop to-
ward me- very thoroughly heading me off
in that direction. To escape them, head
ed up the street away from the station,
with the pack in close pursuit. They yelled
at me to hold up. and l expected every mo-
ment to hear the crack of revolvers, for the
poorest shot among them would have found
no difficulty in dropping my horse at that
distance If they had wanted to stop me. 1t
isn't very nice sensation to keep your
ears pricked up in expectation Of hearing
the shooting begin, and to know that any
moment may be your last. don't suppose
was on the ragged edge more than thirty
seconds, but they were enough to prove to
me that to keep ones back turned to an
eEemy as one runs away takes deal more
pluck than to stand up and face his gun.
Fortunately for me, my pursuers felt SO
sure of my capture that not one OF them
drew n head ON me.