Omaha daily bee., 1907-05-12

soldiers to 81 down and have a bite to eat
with him.
There viii be no time for eating" said
the ofncsr. as We must reach Sidney by
tomorrow morning. In time to catch the
Overland train for Omaha. 50 get to-
gether what things you care TO take along,
and we will be on our way"
Il have nothing that care to take
along" Luke replied. excepting what
rave on" and as that mostly consisted OF
a pair Of Colts pistols and a belt OF
cartridges, the ofleer soon had them in his
custody.
Where are your partners?" querisd the
captain.
Il have no partners" replied Short i've
been running this ranch by myself"
But Luke did have a partner, who was
at that very time IN sidney procuring pro-
visions and more pine Top"
After everything around the ranch resern-
bling whisky had been destroyed by order
OF the officer In command the trip to Sid
ney, about seventy-fve miles away, was
/ taken up. Luke was put astride a govern
| ment horse his feet fastened with a rope
underneath the ANIMALS girth, and told to
ride in the center OF the company Of cav
| alryn.en. sidney was reached in time to
catch the Overland train, and Luke was
hustled aboard with as little ceremony as
possible.
He Made Friends.
| Luke had, by his quiet and dfident man
ner during the short time he had been pris-
oner, succeeded In having the ofiicer regard
him in the light Of a harmless little adven-
turer, who really did not seem capable,
/ even IL so disposed, of committing a crime
| Of any sort; and for this reason did not
have him either hsndcuffed or shackled
after placing him aboard the train for
| Omaha.
Sidney, Neb.. was a very small place in
those days The permanent population in
| all probability did not exceed the thousand
mark. Sidney, following the custom of ali
small hamlets, however. would turn out
| when there was anything unusual going on
| And the sight Of a company OF United
! States soldiers lined up at the railroad sta
ton was enough to arouse its curiosity and
cause its townsfolk to turn out In body
| and investigate the cause. Luke Short 8
partner was among those who came to see
the big show at the depot, and his surprise
can well be imagined when he discovered
that no less a person than his partner was
responsible for the big event. 1t did not
take Luke and his partner long to fix up a
| code of signals by which they could COM
municate with each other Luke could say
a few things in the Indian language that
his partner could understand, and to which
he could make comprehensive reply.
Escapes from the Soldiers.
| SSldoo" and "twenty-three" were terms
| familiar to Short, even In those days But
they were conveyed by the sign language
instead Of being spoken as now.
Luke made his partner understand that
he would soon be back in Sidney, and to
have everything in readiness, so that they
could skip the country with as little delay
as possible, as soon as he showed up. The
charge Of having unlawfully traded whisky
to the Indians did not seem to concern him
in the least. IT can beat that sure" he
said to himself; but supposing that agent
should take a notion to call for a count Of
heads. What then? know that there are
several young bucks, whom caught trying
to steal my pine top who will not be
there to answer roll-call in case one is or
! deTed. l planted those bucks myself and
| outside Of ny partner. no one knows the
exact locat. N Of the cache While have
no notion OF putting In a claim against the
government for the work. 1 must be care
full and avoid having it endeavor to show
These were perhaps tho thoughts he was
conveying by signals to his partner when
no boarded the train at Sidney that was to
take him to Omaha.
To state the story briefly, Luke did not
tarry long with the soldiers after the train
left Sidney. That night found Luke back
in town, and before the following morning
both he and his partner were we'll on their
way to Colorado, driving a big span of
mules hitched to a canvas-covered wagon.
Lively to the End.
| Short participated in many gun plays in
Leadville, Colo, Fort Dodge and Abeline,
Kan. and in the COW towns Of the south
west, finally settling in Fort Worth, where
he achieved popularity by killing a notori-
Gus bad man In self-defense. II took oc-
CASTOR at the opening Of this story" says
Masterson. ito state that when Luke
reached the ASe OF young manhood he was
totally lacking in education. It is now but
proper for me to say that at the time Of
his death, twenty years later, he was an
exceptionally well-read man. He could
write an excellent letter; always used good
English when talking and could quote
Shakespeare, Byron, Goldsmith and Long
| fellow better and more accurately than
most scholars.
ITO the burning of the midnight oil was
due the transformation. 1t transformed
him from a white Indian. when I first
found him, 70 a diffident courteous gentle
man, who was, at the time of his death
about twelve years ago one OF the best
! trpourp ana ronVlar snortinR mon IN this