The Press., 1911-06-14
A RED
 HEIFER
It Was the Cause of an Absurd
 Mistake
By Clarissa Mackie
Copyright by American Press Asso-
 citation, 1911.

ed Gabriel, referring to the solitary red spot in the landscape
 "!As we'll as three other brands" add
 ed Jim Lewis.
 "Then why does the Widow Clancy
 lay claim to the critter?" demanded Jim Lewis scornfully.
 'She says it's a stray" explained Harry Barry. "Seems her foreman told her that critter that had as many aa four different brands could rightly be claimed by anybody that found it."
 ''Who's the foreman?' asked Gabriel incredulously.
 "Peter Henny."
 'I'm wondering how he managed to fasten his thieving claws on the wid- der's money bags"
 ''She come out pore in health with a snug little sum that had been left to her by Clancy, who was In the building line somewheres east. I don't think she's Hunger exactly, but Mrs. Clin- tock said she'd wore herself out over taking care of Clancy, who fell from the ninth story of a building he was putting up and lived ten weeks after ward! You can imagine what a tough specimen Clancy must have been, and you might know 'twould wear the bux- omest kind of a woman to skin and bones to take care of him." The Crane puffed solemnly at his cigarette after this long explanation.
 How'd you come to know so much about the Widow Clancy" demanded Harry Barry suspiciously.
 q talked with Mrs. Clintock about her. Seems Mrs. Boss she'd been over to call on the widder," said the Crane lnnocently.
 Anybody seen the widow yetY' in- Quired Jim.
 There was silence for several sec onds, and all eyes turned toward the Crane, who was staring out across the range.
 'For the Lords sake," he broke out irrelevantly, ''the confounded critters making of for Satan's gulch! Whoo- peep
 His horse swung around to quick touch, and before the others could draw breath he was dashing after the red spot, which was gradually becom- ing smaller In another instant they were all after him.
 The red heifer switched her tail saucily and capered joyously ahead of the pursuing cattlemen.
 Crane" panted Jim Lewis in that gentleman's ear when he had come abreast of him, you're running the red heifer of the widder's ranger
 'I'm not. The critters running away, and I'm trying to catch her be- fore she breaks her neck in the gulch," :" Crane tossed back over his shoulder.
 The red heifer gamboled in the van, occasionally pausing to below back an impudent defiance to her pursuers Ga br1el explained in breathless shouts the different brands borne by the heifer as If all the Lone Bull men were not ac- Quainted with the itinerant creatures marks of identity.
 The red heifer had been the pet amusement of all the cattlemen in Pu- lardo county for six months past. Lately her sudden appearance among a herd was the signal for a stampede for the branding iron that would mark her for the time being as the posses sion of the ranch whose latest brand she bore. As these brands merely singed the thick hair on her body, they were Obliterated as rapidly as her coat Where she came from no body could positively say, but 1t was believed that she was a wild COW which had joined some herd on the ranges unknown to the tenders.
 Ever since the Three Star ranch, which adjoined the Lone Bull on the west, had been purchased by the wid- ow of one. Daniel Clancy, late of New York city, the red heifer had appar- ently staked a claim on the widows property, for it mingled with her herds and seemed content to remain among the rather scrubby lot of cattle which Peter Henny had picked out for the 
 The Lone Bull people had known very little about the Widow Clancy ex- cept that occasionally they had de- Scribed lone female figure galloping along the distant ridges on buckskiT pony. Mrs. Clintock had told them that the widow was like all widows fair. fat. forty and fascinating. "AIso red hair," the boss wife had added with twinkle in her eye.
 s'.Not for mine!' Harry Barry had ejaculated. and the others had echoed his sentiment. As by one accord they all avoided the Three Star property and the well defined trail which had once marked the neighbOrliness be- tween the ranches was now hidden with several months growth of rank Rrass.
 Now the spirit of mischief had sud- denly possessed the solemn Crane, and he had deliberately led the pursuit aft er the red heifer that had been peace fully grazing on the widows range for several weeks.
 The spirited horses took fences whenever there were any, and it was not loug before the red heifer grew to largOF proportions in their sight un- n at last Cranes lariat went singing | through the air and rippled into circles l hat strengthened into one that was | taut around the red heifer's neck. l Crane had accomplished his task so | Jkillfully that there was but the mer- st shock when the lariat frightened.
 The req heifer plunged at the other md of the rope and beloved angrily. The men laughed and drew together | round the beast.
 ''I reckon you're going to turn her pose in the widder's corral" suggested i'm Lewis.
 The captor smiled sardonically. ''The ed heifer goes to the branding iron to- Iight," he said emphatically. q ain't ad my hands on her for three months. { the Wilder Clancy has the con- clence to claim this critter with five %r SkO nwoNR& ~vvRAvv rh0so