Putnam patriot., 1911-03-31
CHAPTER VI


 scape which went by as if dismissed by the chariot wheels of some con temptuous magician. Red6eld's eyes were mostly on the road dn the man ner of the careful auto driverl. but when be did look up II WAS to admire tbe color and poise of his seat mate. who made the landscape of small ne count
 She kept the conversation to the de sired point Mir Cayanagh's work interests ne very much. It seems very important. and 1t must be new. for never heard of forest ranger when | was q child d"
 The forester is new, at least in America" he answered. My dear young lady. you are returned just in the most momentous period in the history of the west. The old dominion-the cattle range-i is passing. The suprem- acy of the cowboy is ended. The COW boss is raising oats The cowboy is pitching alfalfa and swearing horribly as he blsters his hands. Some of the rangers at the moment are men of western training. like Ross. but whose allegiance K now 10 Uncle Sam. With others that transfer of allegiance is not quite complete; hence the insOlence of men like Gregg. who think they can brbc or iutimidate these forest guards and SD obtain fayors The newer men are college bred. real foresterS. But you can't know what il all means till you see Ross or some other ranger on his own heath We'll make up little party some day and drop down upon him and have him show us about It's lonely life and so the ranger keeps open house Would you like 10 go?"
 "Oh. yes. indeed Pm eager to get into the mountains. Every night as see the sun 20 down over them won der what the world is like up there"
 Then he began very delicately to in quire about her eastern experience. There was not much to tell In love ly old town not far from Philadelphia, where her aunt lived. she had spent ten years of happy exile. Il was hor- ribly lonely and homesick at first" she said Mother wrote only short let ters. and my father never wrote at all. I didn't know he was dead then. He bad man, was he?"
 No responded Redfield without hesitation. He was very like the rest of us. only little more reckless and little more partisan. that's all. He was dashing horseman and a dead shot. and so naturally leader of these daredevils He was popular with both sides of tue controversy up to the very moment when he went south to lead the invaders against the rustlers
 w hat was it all about? never un- derstood it. What were they fighting about ?'
 Tn sense it was all very simple. You see. Uncle Sam in his careless. do nothing way has always left his range to the man who got there first That was the cattleman. At first there was grass enough for us all, but as we built sheds and corrals about water ing places we came to claim rights on the range. We usually secured by fraud homesteads fin the sections con tainng water and SO gun in hand. stood of the man who came after. Gradually. after much shooting and lawing we parceled out the range and settled down. covering practically the whole state Our adjustments were not perfect but our system was work ing smoothly for us who controlled the range, We had convinced ourselves and pretty nearly everybody else that the state was only iii for cattle graz ing and that we were the most com potent Srazers; furthermore. we were in possession. and no man could come in without our consent.
 However. a very curious law of our own making was our undoing Of course the hester or 'punkin roller as We eoutempueusly called the small farmer began sitting in here and there in spite of our guns. but he was only d mosquito bite in comparison with the trouble which our cowpunchers stirred up. Perhaps you remember enough about the business to know that an unbranded yearling calf without Its mother is called maverick" Yes; remember that. It belongs 70 the man who finds him and brands him"
 "Precisely. Now. that law worked very nicely so long as the poor COW boy was willing to catch and brand him for his employer, but it proved q | joker when ne woke mp and said to his fellows. Why brand these may | erickS at S5 per head for this or that outfit when the law says they belong 10 the man who finds themG"
 Lee Virginia looked up brightly. That seems right to me-
 Eager to Please.
 One of the smaller hotels In Market street serves meals very cheaply. They have table d'hote there for 30 cents. and. as might be imagined. the viands are not the best The proprietor is a jolly good fellow and is noted humor, isL This keeps him from being an, moved by the frequent kicks made to him by his touchy patrons, The other day most fastidious gentleman com, plained
 What do you call that?s he asked of the hotel man.
 Butter. sir, What else?" retorted the honiface
 Why. I'd sooner eat axle grease than that butter" snapped the patron.