Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-12
TAKEN By STRATEGY

sWamps by tnhemmtng posses ana thus
captured or riddled. at least ten are taken
by strategy observed q man from New
Mexico in speaking OF the recent rounding
up OF train robber In the cochise coun-
try.
And the pattest strategical Job that !
know anything about was when Mort Lou
don. keeper at the San Quentin prison in
California, corralled Jim crandall. a pros
pector. who escaped from the Folsom PEN
itentiary. in the same state. in 1891. after
binding one keeper and killing another.
Loudon played a. lone hand at that Job,
turning trick that fifty men with guns
could probably never have gotten away
with.
'.I.oudon was young fellow of thirty
quiet to the point of tacfturnity. He had
no record as a bad man hunter, and he
was the last man who would ever have
oeen sent out from San Quentin to under
take job requiring nerve strategy and
quick shooting in pinch.
While Loudon was On a visit to the
keepers at Folsom the tip reached the Fol-
som pen that Jim Crandall was down at
Aloaave, In Kern county. Cal. surrounded
Dy friends, and waiting for chance to
make break down the line for the Santa
Anita mountains. Loudon begged for and
was given the chance to go after Gran
dali
Three mornings later, when the Santa
Fe overland from San Francisco pulled
alongside the Mojave station, the conductor
and brakeman jumped OF the train. ran
Iorward TO the blind baggage, and. with a
great show of rage grabbed and threw of
hobo who was riding on the blind bag
gage platform. The bum-who was Loudon
seemed to be very much intoxicated, and
ne made no resistance.
The two dozen and odd lounxers around
the Mojave station looked on at the ditch
Ing OF the hobo with amused interest They
were all friends Of Crandall and they were
q hA Skn t.. ~
might attempt to leave the train. Mojave
was then place not much visited by
strangers but Crandalrs friends were there
70 see to It that nobody should stop on
there until they were enabled to hike Gran
dali down the line to the Santa Anitas.
But they didn't mind the bum.
when the train pulled out the station
crowd disappeared, and Loudon in his
shady side of the station to sleep off on
the boards his cleverly simulated drunk.
He was in the same settlement with Gran
dali. any way. as he was able to Judge
or men at the station, and he had the sat
isfaction of knowing that he'd never been
allowed to drop OF at Mojave had he not
framed up that blind baggage-riding hobo
dodge.
"Loudon was still pretending to snors
drunkenly, stretched out close to the
shaded wall Of the station, when some
body came along and handed him a few
AdI0 hiChS. 1t WIS the manager OF the
eating house who did the kicking
We'll. you're ditched plumb. Jack said
the eating house manager when Loudon sat
up and rubbed his eyes. and there amt
out OF here without the coin to carry you
to Barstow or to Los Angeles, any how.
You got to hustle your way out. Want a
sweep-out's job for s. a week for your eats
and bOoZer
"Loudon didn't grab at the offer with
enough eagerness to give himself away in
his hobo's guise, but he accepted the Job
after a moments consideration. The Of
fer was. in truth. a godsend for him, for
while lying In the shadow of the wall he
had been trying to figure out how he was
going to loaf around the camp long enough
to accomplish his purpose or at least make
4 2 Try at accomplishing 1t without gener-
ating suspicion. The sweep-outs job at
the-eating house would let him out as to
that.
+ "Loudon chored around the eating house
FOR three days before he got a view of
CraRdan. On the third night of his en-
ployment he pretended to be very drunk
at the wind-up of his days work and stag
gered over from the eating house to the
main and only street of Mo1aye made IN
mostly of groggeries.
'Loudon simulated a humorous jag and
the gang in the gin mills proceeded to have
fun with him. Although he seemed to be
barely able to stand up, they danced him
with bullets planted within an inch or so
Of his toes. and he went down the line of
the booze plants and honkatonks letting
them go as far as they liked with him.
He was staked to the rum wherever he
went for his jigging.
Seated in the back room of the very last
saloon on the line-the saloon shack was
on the edge of the rocky desert-Loudon
ran into Crandall. He recognized him in
stantly from pictures and photographs OF
the desperate that had been given to him
before he started out on his perilous mis-
sion Crandall, Loudop could see. was
1ttYSfn -, -
1.-TWO nights afterward, and at a later
hour. Loudon, again assuming his fntox-
icated antics, once more went down the
line OF the groggeries. letting the rough
gang have fun with him. They danced him
some more with bullets, soused him in a
horse trough, made a pass ball of him and
booted him around generally
Close on to midnight I4oudon pulled I'D
at the GIN mill where Crandall was lying
low. He reeled into the plant and found
nobody there but the barkeep and Gram
dali, who was yawning in the back room
and playing solitaire. A big stud poker
line, and all hands in the settlement were
watching 1t. which accounted for the de-
serted look of the booze wickeup where
Crandall was hanging out
'Loudon attempted to touch the harkaen
for drink and the barkeep roughly threw
him out. The imitation bum reeIed away
for distance and then slid back In the
darkness, coneeafing himself behind the
Presently the barkeep and Crandau
emerged together from the saloon. The
barkeep had turned the lights out and
locked the door after him as he came out.
He stood in the starlight, talking with the
desperate for a moment, and then with a
'S'long, and saying that he was going to
take peek at the big stud game, went
down the street.
"Crandan leaned against the front of
the groggery. whistling plaintively as the
barkeeps footsteps died away down the
line. He had room above the saloon.
and IL had been necessary for him to come
out of the saloon to reach his room by
going up stairway on the outside of the
shack
-"Crandall ceased his whistling. gave a
final stretch and yawn, and passed
around the saloon shack to gain the out
side stairway to his room. Loudon was at
the foot of the stairway
THE stars are big down that way, and
throw lot Of light. CrandaI was within
a stride of the stairway when he saw the
CLEAN of Loudons two gun barrels
Put EN- up, finland quick said
Loudon quietly.
.'Crandan put his hands up with the
instant instinct of a man whose life had
been warfare since his boyhood
' Don't bother talking, Crandall' said
Loudon. Just walk on ahead Of me. Yon-
der, to the water tank. Keep your hands
up. and don't make any moves. or I'll sure