Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-06-07
go over, Jest you remember the 1 was
appreciatin' of you Kindness"
Then he closed his eyes and seemed

Then he closed his eyes and seemed
to sleep.
Duane could not find water for the
horses, but there was an abundance Of
dew wet grass upon which he hobbled
them. After that was lone he pre-
pared himself a much needed meal.
The sun was getting warm when he
lay down to sleep, and when he awoke
it was sinking in the west. Stevens
was still alive, for he breathed heavily.
The horses were in sight. All was
quiet except the hum of insects in the
brush. Duane listened awhile, then
rose and went for h horses.
When he returned with them ne
found Stevens awake, bright eyed,
cheerful as usual, and apparently
Wal, Buck. I'm still with you an
good fer another nights ride" he SAID.
pull on tibet bottle. Help me, will you .
There! tibet was bully. l amt swal-
lowin' my blood this evenin'. Mebbc
I've bled all there was in me-"
While Duane got a hurried meal for
himself. packed up the little outfit and
saddled the horses. Stevens kept on
talking. He seemed to be i'm a hurry
to tell Duane all about the country.
Another night ride would put them
beyond fear of pursuit, within striking
distance of the Rio Grande and the
hiding places of the outlaws.
Wv Z ~ VII lIIle IOF mourning the
horses Stevens said, Reckon you can
pull on my boots once ore. In spite
of the laugh accompanying the words
Duane detected Il subtle change i'm he
outlaws spirit.
On this night travel was facilitated
by the fact that the trail was broad
enough for two horses abreast, enab-
ling Duane to ride while upholding
Stevens in the saddle.
The difficulty most persistent was in
keeping the horses in a walk. They
We're used to a trot, n that iii of
gait would not do for Stevens. The
red died out of the west; a pale after
glow prevailed for a while; darkness
set in: then the broad expanse of blue
darkened n the stars frightened.
After a while Stevens ceased talking
and dropped in his saddle Duane kept
the horses going, however, and the
slow hours wore away. Duane thought
the quiet night would v break to
dawn, that there was no end to the
melancholy, brooding plain. But at
length a grayness blotted out the stars
and mantled the level of mesquite and
cactus.
Dawn caught the fugitives at a green
camping site on the bank of a rocky
little stream. Stevens fell a dead
weight into Duane's arms. and one look
at the haggard face showed Duane that
the outlaw had taken his last ride. He
Nii0" ~, too. 1eC tnat cneerIulneSS
prevailed.
Buck, my feet are orful tired pack
in them heavy boots" he said, and
seemed immensely relieved when
Duane had removed them.
This matter Of the outlaws boots
was strange. Duane thought. He made
Stevens as comfortable as possible,
then attended to his own needs. And
the outlaw took up the thread of his
conversation where he had left off the
night before.
This trail splits up a ways from
mere an every branch of it leads to a
hole where you'll find men-a few.
mebbe. like .yourself-some like me
an gangs of no good boss thieves,
rustlers, an such. It's easy Twin.
Buck. 1 reckon. though. that you'll not
flnd it easy. You'll never mix in.
You'll be a lone wolf. I seen that
the loneliness, an if he's quick on the
draw, mebbe lone wolfin' it is the best.
l don't know. But these fellers
in here will be suspicious of a man who
goes it alone. If they get a chance
they'll kill YOU"
t;m Stevens Ms asked ask for water several
want the whisky. His voice grew per-
ceptibly weaker.
B quiet" said Duane. Talking
uses up your strength"
"Aw, I'll talk till-I'm DONE" he re-
piled, doggedly. See here, pard, you
it'll be useful. From this camp wen
meet men right along. An
none of them will be honest men. All
the same, some are better'n others.
I've lived along the river fer ~ years.
There's three big gangs Of outlaws.
fer he's half the time. livin' among re-
spectacle folks. King is a pretty good
Teller. It'll do to tie up with him am
his gang. Now, there's Cheseldine,
who hangs u in the Rim Rock way
up the river. He's an outlaw chief. l
never seen him. though l stayed once
right in his camp. Late years les got
rich ar keeps back pretty we'll hid.
But Bland-l knowed Bland fer years.
haven't any use fer him. Bland
mas the biggest gang. You amt likely
to miss strikin' his place some time or
other. He's got a regular town, l
might say. Shore there's some gamb-
lin an gun fightin' goin' on at Bland's
camp all the time. Bland has killed
some 20 men, an thet's not countin'
greasers."
Here Stevens took another drink and
then rested for a while.
YOU amt likely to get on with
Bland" he resumed, presently. you're
too strappin' big an good lookin' to
please the chief. Fer he's got women
IN ms camp. Ihen he'd be Jealous OF
your possibilities with a gun. Shore l
reckon he'd be careful, though. BANDS
no fool, an he loves his hide. 1 reckon
any Of the other gangs would be better
fer you when you amt goin' it alone"
Apparently that exhausted the fund
OF information and advice Stevens had
been eager to impart. He lapsed INTO
silence and lay with closed eyes. Mean
while h sun rose warm; the breeze
waved h mosquitoes: the birds came
down to splash in the shallow stream:
Duane dozed in a comfortable seat. BY