The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1916-08-24
CHAPTER XIV (Continued).

Long since Duane had fought out 6
battle with himself, won a hard earned
victory. His outer life, the action, was
much the same as it had been: but the
inner life had tremendously changed
lie could never become happy man
he could never shake utterly those
! haunting phantoms that had once been
his despair and madness; but he had
assumed task impossible for any man
| save one like him, he had felt the
| meaning of it grow strangely and Won
derfully. and through that flourished
! up consciousness of how passionately
| he now chung TO this thing which would
| blot out his former infaIny. The iron
| letters no more threatened his hands !;
| the iron door no more haunted his
dreams, He never forgot that he was
! free. Strangely, too, along with this
| feeling OF new manhood there gathered
the force of imperious desire to run
| these chief outlaws to their dooms. He
| never called them outlaws-but rust
| lers, thieves, robbers, murdeTers, GRIM
lnals. He sensed the growth of a re-
lentless driving passion, and sometimes
| he feared that, more than the newly
| acquired zeal and pride in this ranger
service, it was the old, terrible in
herited killing instinct lifting its hydra
head in new sUise. But OF that he
could not be sure. He dreaded the
thought. He could only wait.
Another aspect OF the change in
Duane, neither passionate nor driving,
yet not improbably even more potent
perceptible return of an old love of
nature dead during his outlaw days
For years a horse had been only a
machine of locomotion. to carry him
from place to place, to beat and spur
and goad mercilessly in flight; now
rFNsE III III,
head, was companion, a friend,
brother, loved thing, guarded jeal-
ously, fed and trained and ridden with
an intense appreciation of his great
speed and endurance. For years the
daytime, with it's birth of sunrise on
through long hours to the ruddy close
had been used for sleep or rest in some
rocky hole or willow brake or deserted
hut. had been hated because it aug
mented danger Of pursuit. because it
drove the fugitive to lonely, wretched
hiding; now the dawn was a greeting,
promise Of another day to ride, to
plan, to remember, and sun, wind,
cloud, rain. sky-all were joys to him.
somehow speaking his freedom. For
years the night had been black space,
during which he had to ride unseen
along the endless trails, to peer with
cat eyes through gloom for the moving
shape that ever pursued him; now the
twilight and the dusk and the shadows
of grove and canon darkened into
night with its train of stars and
brought him cain reflection of the
days happenings, of the morrow's pos
sibilities. perhaps sad, brief process
sion of the old phantoms, then sleep
For years canons and valleys and
mountains had been looked at as re-
treats that might be dark and wild
enough to hide even an outlaw; now
1,r q,r y,
desert with something of the eyes of
the boy who had once burned for ad-
venture and life among them.
This night a wonderful aftergloW lin
gered long in the west, and against the
golden red of clear sky the bold black
head of Mount Ord reared itself aloft,
beautiful but aloof, sinister yet calling.
Small wonder that Duane gazed in fas-
cination upon the peak! Somewhere
deep in it's corrugated sides or lost in a
rugged cannon was hidden the secret
stronghold Of the master outlaw Ches-
eldine. All down along the ride from Ell
Paso Duane had heard OF Cheseldine, OF
his band, his fearful deeds, his cunning,
his widely separated raids, OF his fit
ting here and there like q jack Lam
tern; but never a word of his den,
never a word of his appearance.
Next morning Duane did not return
to Ord. He struck off to the north,
riding down rough, slow descending
road that appeared to have been used
occasionally for cattle driving. AS he
had ridden in from the west, his north
ern dire ton led him into totally I'M
familiar country. While he passed on,
however, he exercised such keen OBJ
scryation that in the future he would
know whatever might be Of service to
him If he CHANGED that way again.
The rough, wild, brush covered slope
down from the foothills gradually
leveled out into plain, a magnificent
grazing country, upon which till noon
of that day Duane did not see a herd of
cattle or a ranch. About that time he
made out smoke from the railroad, and
after q couple OF hours riding he en-
tered a town which inquiry discovered
to be Bradford. 1t was the largest town
he had visited since Maria, and he call
culated must have 1000 or 1900 in-3
shnbitants. not including. Mexicans. He
decided this would be good place for;
him to hold up for while, being the
nearest town to Ord, only 40 miles
away. So he hitched his horse in front.
Of a store and leisurely set about
studying Bradford.
1t was after dark, however, that
Duane verified his suspicious concern Y
Ing Bradford. The town was awake
after dark, and there was one long row
of saloons, dance halls, gambling re-
SORTS In full blast. Duane visited them
all, and was surprised to see wildness
and license equal to that Of the old
river camp of BANDS in its palmiest
days. Here it was forced upon him that
the farther west one Travelled along the
river the sparser the respectable set
Elements, the more numerous the hard
characters. and In consequence the
greater the element Of lawless-
ness. Duane returned to his lodging
house with the conviction that Mac
I Nelly's task Of cleaning up the Big
Bend country was stupendous one.
\ Yes.s he reflected, company Of In
trepid and quick shooting rangers
could have soon cleaned UP this Brad
ford.
~ inn keeper had one other guest
That night. a long, black coated and
vide sombrerced Texan who reminded
Duane, Of his grandfather. This man
had penetrating eyes, q courtly man
ner, and az unnistakable leaning to-
ward companionsnip and mint juleps.
q he GENTLEMAN introduced himself as
Colonel Webb. OF ldarfa, and took II
rs q matter OF course that Duane made
no comment about himself
" Sir. - all o1o to me. !" he said
blandly waving HIS hand. have