The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-06
AT THE CLOSE OF DAY.
By H. s. CANFIELD, JR.

I | Copyright 1905. by Daily Story Pub. Co) l The two men stood gazing at the inter
 minable waste of sage, rolling out. dull
 and Iistless beneath the pitiess rays of the
 sun. The heat rose in great visible waves | from the parched earth. land the silence was unbroken, for the dreary chirp of | the locust. coming at intervals from the
 brush road beaten first to rocky hard ness and then pulverized to fine dust,
 wound like a snake until 1t disappeared in | a maze of shimmering heat. | The smaller of the two was holding a horse by the mane. He put his foot in the stirrup. and drew himself stiffly into the saddle. The beast stood with head between 1 knees. stealing rest only as the experienced cow-pony knows how to do The man jerk tween the ears, and turned to his com panion,
 aspect the sheriffs got them extradi- | ton papers by this time" he said. "Yeah." the listless answer. The 1 tall man stood with his hands on his hips.
 his eyes never leaving the spot where the | road joined the horizon He on the pony spat again Red was always kinder speedy in them matters. anyhow" he commented "Yeah." The answer trifle more
 dIsinterested
 | His companion turned his head quickly. "sam!" he spoke fearfully. S i'sam, you ain't losin' yer nerve?" sam glanced up. met the others eyes and held them squarely. If yer jokn. Joe.' he said coldly. tits a poor time fer It.
 ''Mebbe the old woman bein sick has riled ye some. Mebbe yer failin' in love with her agin." Joe guffawed coarsely be- hind a hairy hand
 We've made that same mistake O tryin' | to be funny afore. Joe." replied Sam: his voice was soft and low. An ye know l
 sin't got no use for man what makes | mistakes"
 Joe subsided visibly under the straight gaze and busted himself with the collar of his shirt
 There ain't but one thing for ye to ao, | Joe" Sam continued, "an' that is to ride lstraight inter Pyramid. git that doc and git him back yere in a hurry know ain't bin what ye might call a model hus- | band. an tween rustlin a few cows and | shootin' up a greaser or two. I opine Tse
 caused the gal a heap O worry But, God
 knows, I didn't mean ter do it, an now
 she's took down sick, I'm goin to see her through" | Joe nodded If don't run inter Red
 an his posse. an this blamed cayuse holds | out I ought to be'back yere with that doe
 some time long fore night. If don't
 show up ye put 1t down that Red an that posse O hisn's got me nabbed' Sam still stood with his hands on his | hps never swerving his eyes from the loose
 form in the saddle. tlll pony and rider dis appeared over a distant rise. He was tall. raw-bones and ungainIy From beneath colorless eyebrows drawn in a continual frown a pair of cold grey eyes | looked repellantly out. His face was freck- | led. his skin dry and hard. Wholly and in
 dividually. he was hardly the man to inspire | love in man, woman beast. Two days before the stage had driven into Overton hours late. , Bill. the | driver. perforated by lead in several l vital spots. the express company short some thousands of dollars in gold The sheriff. Red" Tobin. was as quick | in his actions he was on the trigger while no one had asserted that Sam Leggitt appreciabiy slow Each knew the other and worked accordingly. Many | teIegrams passed over the wires that after noon: they were signed "Tobin'' and serv- ed to accelerate matters materially at the | State capitol.
 | That night the rythmic thud of hoof f-beats | muffied by the soft dust sounded upon the
 air, and three shadowy forms fitted across | the State line
 The man standing in the dust Of the road | let his eyes wander over the plain rolling out beneath his gaze. He then made his way slowly up the path (which led to the dillapidated shanty stand ing well back from the roadside. It was all