The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1916-06-29

| i haven't any idea" replied Duane,
gravely.
"You'll have to pull the wool over
Kate BANDS eyes, an even IL she falls
In love with you, which Is shore likely.
| tibet won't be easy. An she'd kill you
in a minnit. Buck, IL she ever got wise.
You amt mistaken her none, are your
| mot me, Euchre. She's woman. I'd
fear her more than any man."
wal. you'll have to kill Bland an
Chess Alloway an Rugg, an mebbe
some others, before you can ride off
into the hills with tibet girl"
| Why? Can't we plan to be nice to
Mrs. Bland and then at an opportune
time sneak off without any gun-play"
Don't see how on earth" returned
Euchre, earnestly. when BANDS away
he leaves all kinds of spies an scouts
watchin the valley trails. They've all
got rifles. You couldn't get by them.
But when the boss is home there's a
Chess keep their eyes peeled. They both
stay at home pretty much, except when
they're playin' monte or poker over at
| Benscn's. So l say the best bet Is to
pick out good time in the afternoon,
drift over careless like with couple of
| HOSES, choke Mrs. Bland or knock her
on the head, take Jennie with you, an
make rush to get out Of the valley. IL
You had luck you might pull thet stunt
| without THROWN gun. But / reckon
the best figgerin' would include dodgin'
some lead an leavin' at least Bland or
| AllOway dead behind you. I'm nggerin',
Of course, that when they come home
an find out you're visitin' Kate fire.
quently. they'll just naturally look fer
| results. Chess don't like you. for no
reason except you're swift on the draw
--mebbe swifter n him. That's the hell
OF this gun-play business. No one can
ever tell who's the swifter Of two gum
men till they meet. Thet fact holds a
fascination mebbe you'l learn some
day. Bland would treat you civil onless
there was reason not to, an then / don't
believe he'd invite himself to a meetin'
with you. He'd set Chess or Rugg to
put you out of the way. Still BANDS no
coward, an IL you came across him at
q bad moment you'd have to be quicker
n you was with Bosomer."
| "All right. I'll meet what comes" said
Duane, quietly. The great point is to
moment, then rush the trick through"
"Thet's the only chance for success.
An you can't do 1t alone"
TIL have to. wouldn't ask you" to
help me. Leave you behindl"
| wal, I'll take my chances" replied
Euchre, gruffiy. I'm goin' to help Jen-
ME, you can gamble your last peso on
tibet. There's only four men in this camp
who would shoot me-Bland an his
right-hand pards, an tibet rabit-faced
Benson. IL you happened to put out
Bland and Chess, I'd stand good show
with the other two. Anyway, I'm old an
tired-what's the difference IL / do get
plugged? can risk as much as you,
Buck, even II I am afraid of gun-play.
You are correct, Hoses ready, the
right minnit, then the trick Thet much
s settled. Now let's figger all the little
details.
They talked and planned, though in
/ uya ~
Duane who listened and agreed. While
awaiting the return OF Bland and his
lieutenants 1t would be well for Duane
to grow friendly with the other OUT
laws, to sit in few games OF monte, or
show q willingness to spend a little
money. The two schemers were to call
upon Mrs. Bland every day--Euchre to
carry messages Of cheer and warning to
Jennie, Duane to blind the elder woman
at any cost. These preliminaries de-
cided upon, they proceeded to put
them into action.
No hard task was it to win the friend
ship OF the most OF those good-natured
outlaws. They were used to men of a
better order than theirs coming to the
hidden camps and sooner or later sink
ing to their lower level Besides, with
them everything was easy come, easy
carelessly and usually ended so cheaply.
There were men among them, + Hever,
that made Duane feel that terrible in
explicable wrath rise in his breast. He
| could not bear to be near them. He
could not trust himself. He felt that any
instant word, a deed, something
might call too deeply to that instinct he
could no longer control. Jackrabbit
Benson was one of these man. Because
| of him and other outlaws of his ilk,
Duane could scarcely ever forget the
reality Of things. This was a hidden
1A1r Aarn 6Az 90
murderers, wild place stained red by
deeds Of wild men. And because Of that
there was always charged atmos-
phere. The merriest, idlest, most care
less moment might in the flash Of an
eye end in ruthless and tragic action.
In an assemblage Of desperate charac-
tiers II could not be otherwise. The ter
rible thing that Duane sensed was this.
The valley was beautiful, sunny, frag-
rant, place to dream in; the noun
| tain-tops were always blue or gold
trimmed, the yellow river slid slowly and
majestically by, the birds sang in the
cottonwoods, the horses grazed and
pranced, children played and women
longed for love, freedom, happiness; the
outlows rode in and out, free with
money and speech; they lived comfort
ably in their adobe homes, smoked,
talked, laughed, whiled away the idle
hours--and all the time life there was
wrung. and the simplest moment might
be precipitated by that evil into the
most awful of contrasts. Duane felt
rather than saw a dark. brooding
shadow over the valley.
| Then, without any solicitation or en-
couragement from Duane, the Bland
woman fell passionately in love with
him. His conscience was never troubled
about the beginning Of that affair. She
launched herself. 1t took no great pers-
picuity on his part to see that. And the
thing which evidently held her in check
was the newness, the strangeness, and
for the moment the all-satisfying fact
OF his respect for her. Duane exerted
himself to please, to amuse, to interest,
TO fascinate her, and always with de-
ference. That was his strong point, and
1t had made his part easy so far. He
believed he would carry the whole
scheme through without involving HIM
i self any deeper.
He was playing at game Of love
playing with life and death! Sometimes
1 he trembled, not that he feared Bland
or Alloway or any other man, but at
| the deeps Of life he had come to see
\ into He uaa rtiad nt1t NJ his old