Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1911-02-14

80 pcaccfully employed nt such n tim
md In such place wear the look o
Il hunted dcer1 what meant the ire
NOR In his volccI
Was II possible that ono 80 gent,
should have taken part In this deed
"Prcposiorous suspicion, and yet h
had q guilty look"
Al last, far In the night he heard
the snort Of u horse and the sound Of
voices The law such as It was wa.
creeping up The mountain side In the
person of the sheriff Of Chuuyenet
county aud was about TO relieve the
ranger from his painful responsibility
as guardian Of the dead
Al last he came, this officer Of the
law, attended 1lSc a Cheyenne chief
by dozen lesser warriors Of various
conditions and kinds, but among them
indeed, second only 10 the sheriff
was Hugh Reddcld, the forest super.
visor hot and eager with haste.
As they rode mp TO the fire the onlcer
called out "lIowdy ranger? How
about ~"
Ross stated briefly, succinctly, what
he had discovered, and aa he talked
other riders came up the hill and guth.
cred closely around to listen In word
less silence In guilty silence, tho
ranger could not help believing.
RcdheId spoke. Sheriff Van Horne.
you and ! h0vc been running cattle In
this country for nearly thirty years,
ana we've witnessed all kinds of shoot.
ing and several kinds Of hanging but
when 1t comes to chopping and burn.
Ing men | get OF shall personally
offer reward Of $1,000 for the np.
prehcnslon Of these mscrcants, and |
hope youll make It your solemn duty
to hunt them to earth"
"You won't have fur TO co." remark
ed Ross significantly,
"What do you mean?" asked the
sheriff
81 mean this slaughter, like the 9th
crs that have taken place, was the
work Of Cattlemen who claim this
range. Their names are known to us
all"
A silence followed so deep silence
that the ranger was convinced Of tho
fact that In the circle OF his listeners
stood those who, II they had not
shared In the slaughter, at least knew
the names Of the guilty men
At last the sheriff spoke. this time
with Il sigh 81 hope you're all wrong
Cayanagh I'd hate to think any con
sttuent Of mine had sanctioned this
job. Give mo that lantern, Curtis"
The group Of ranchers dismounted
and followed the sheriff over to the
grewsome spot, but RedAcld stayed
with the ranger
Have you any suspicion, Ross"
"No, hardly suspicion However,
you know as well as | that this was
not a sudden outbreak This deed was
planned II represents the feeling of
many cattlemen In everything but the
extra horror Of It's execution That
was the work Of drunken. infurinted
men But l am more deeply concern.
ed over Miss Wethcrford's distress
Did she reach you by telephone to.
night
"No What's the troubc?"
"ller mother is down again ! 'cle.
phoned her, and she asked me TO come
TO her but ! cannot 20, for | have
case Of smallpox up ON the hill Am.
bro, the Basque herder, IS down with
II, and another hcrder Is up there alone
with him. must 10 back to them
But meanwhile wish you would 60 to
the Fork and see what you can do for
her"
His voice, filed with emotion, touch.
ed Rcideld, and he said, Cant go to
the relief OF tho hcrdcr2"
"No, You must not think OF It, You
are man with family, But II you
cnn 6nd any one who has had the
smallpox send him up. The old hcrdar
who is nursing the patient is not strong
and may drop at any moment Then
It's MP u me"
The men came back to the campfire
Couverspg In low tones, some NJ thew
cursns In tones " awe. one or two
" them were smnll farmers from Deer
Creek, recent romers To the state, or
men with punches Of milk COWS, and
10 them this deed was awcsomc.
The sheriff followed, saying We'll.
there's nothing to do but wait TN
morning The rest Of you men better
go home You can't be of any use
here"
For more Than three hours the sher.
ln and Rcddcld sat with the ranger,
waiting for daylight, and during this
time the name of every man IN the ne.
gion was brought up and discussed
Among others, Ross mentioned the old
man In the ditch
He wouldn't hurt q bumblcbcc." dc.
clored the shcrln "llc's got bunch
Of cattle but he's the mlldest old man
In the state He's the last runcher In
the country TO even stand for such
work What made you mention hm|
"l passed him IA was riding back"
replied C0vonugh, "und he had a scared
look Iu his eyes"
The sheriff gruntcd you imagined