The Forrest City times., 1904-03-11
 The Hoodoo of ; the Crossbar 4 :; By IZOLA L. FORESTER 5
k&+f%%ff%+%kh+&%fh&kk&3
 Copyright, lsoS. by Daily Story Pub. Col

rom SuuTlSt lO lDG ATOSSDdT.
 The CrosSSar had been a white ele- phant on the hands of several until Trayers took it in hand He sold off the old herd at a sacrifice, and filled up The ranch with fine new picked stock. His ideas of breeding and grazing were somewhat ahead of Sunrise, and it's enyirons, but he persevered. and pros pered in the face of the Crossbar hoo- doc.
 You may come out fair and square the first year, sonny" old dickson told him the first time he showed up in the social circle on the front stoop of the Rough Diamond" Well get an easy winter anyhow, but wait till an eight day blizzard strikes you in that shack. with hundreds of your finest dropping under the drifts, you'll wish the whole Crossbar in Tunket There ain't a de cent weather shed on the place. and the last two fellows there settled the hoo doc on it for sure. Rocky Davis and his brother Jim. We found Jim froze stiff with the cattle last March. and Rocky's going to the dogs Better look out for Rocky. He isn't very sweet on the Crossbar
 Travers nodded with grin of de- termination. He had bought up the ranch cheap from Rocky Davis. and be- heved modern methods would go far towards chasing the Loodoo The pas iurage was good. He made new fence divisions on his own judgment, against lhe advice of Rocky, and cut down the stock 500 head the first year 10 run no risk of over erowding
 When he went to Kansas City the second year he took along the finest herd Sunrise section had ever seen. and Il brought his own price Rocky heard Of the sale with sullen moroseness, but Hickson and the rest ayerred mildly that the youngster had mighty good stuff in him
 So when along with his business en- terprise. Travers returned with pretty wife, public opinion sided with Hick- son, and admired the hustling qualities Of Travers, without regard for Rocky or his failure
 AS for Betty herself. she was more than pretty There was a poise to her carriage. and a style to her dress that set the pace among the feminine ele- ment of Sunrise
 At first she was said to be "stuck m Bunny Pierce said so when she sug- gested that he lift his hat when he said good d-motning but when she pitched in and made Minnie Hickson's wedding dress by the pattern of her own. and sent her off To Sioux Falls on her we'd dlng trip with Bunny, looking like some cody, the verdict was reversed, and she Was held to be worthy of Travers.
 Y was in February that the big hliz- gard came. After a week of clear skies and wind-swept wastes, the clouds closed iH, and by the first nightfaIl. old ranch CTS were driving in all they could of their herds.
 Iravers watched and waited. hoping the worst was over. IL was well into tae third day when Rocky Davis brought word of over hundred deaths the night before in the northwest division of the ranch. The boys had tried to bunch the cattle, and drive them south, he said. Out the snow was too deep.
 Betty watched h,m as he stood bv the Kitchen stove. one foot on the hearth. She had never liked the boy. Travers had found him one night down in Sun Flse, few months after his marriage. going to the devil as fast as an empty purse would let him. He had heard himself cursed at the bar of the Rough Dlamond, and the novelty of it had ,Ifo that Rocky was the curser.
 With variety of side compliments on the subject delivered in his own De- euliar style Rocky was declaring to the world at large his undyIng hatred of one IraYers, an outsider who had come in. and dared to make money out of the ranch that had been the death of his brother and the ruin of himself
 Whereupon Travers had promptly offered him all the help in his power, and had given him work at the Cross Bar, and tried to brace him up
 You won't be afraid. will you. betty?' Travers asked, anxiously: Tt may be for all night"
 The previous winter he had been out @ith the boys sharing the hardships and danger and enjoying the fight for success, but now the charm of her face and the fear for her safety held him hack
 Rocky can stay and look out for you. he added
 I'm going along with you" said Rocky, earelessly.
 Sonnet hipp m bic tcDo ,noSo Eurn and look him in the eyes. His glance fell, shiftily. before the steady questioning of her own, but Travers did aot notice it, and she hesitated to tell aim of her suspicion.
 I'm not afraid" she told him. "Just 3e careful"
 After the tive had gone, she barred the 2eayy door and stood at the window irving to see in the blackness outside IL WAS several r1i1ac to ,Lo