The Oakes times., 1916-12-28

"Any business here7" he queried.
,urtly. When he spoke his expression.
less face wns In strungc contrast with
the ring. the quality. the cruelty Of
his voice. This voice betrayed an ali.
scilce Of hlnOr, Of fricndlinesy, Of
heUrt.
"N"Im." replied the strnnger.
"knOw anybody hereabOutsf'
"Nury one"
''.Jest ridin' thrOugh1"
"Yep."
"SiOpin' fer back country. chr
There came a pause. The stranger
appeared to grow little resentful and
drew himself up distlninfully.
"Wnl. cOnsitlcrin' you-nll seem 10
damn friendly an Oncurious down here
In this big Bend country. don't mind
snyin' yes-l nm In on the dodge" he
rcI,lictl. with deliberate sarcasm.
"Trom west Of Ord-out Ell Paso
way. mcbbe?'
"Sure."
"A.huh! Thct so?" Kncll's words
cut the air. stllled the room. "YOu're
from way down the river Thet's what
they shy down there-'on the dodge
Stranger. you're n liar"
With swift clink Of spur and
thump Of boot the crowd split. lenv.
ing knell and the stranger in the
center. The stranger suddenly be-
came bronze The situnt"n seemed
familiar to him. His eyes held q
singular piercing light that danced
like a colnpass.needle.
"Sure lied" he said. $50 ] ain't
takiL offcnse al the way you called
me. I'm lookin' to make friends, not
enemieA You don't strike me - ooe
Of them four.flusl,es. achln' to XIII
somebody. But II you are-go ahead
an open the ball. .. You see. j
never throw gun on them fellers
till they so fer theirs"
knell c0Olly eyed his antagonist,
his strange face not changing in the
least. Yet somehow 1t was evident
In his look that here wns metal which
rnng differently from what he had
expected. Invited to start fight OF
withdraw, us he chose, Knell proved
himself big In the manner character.
istic Of only the genuine gunman.
stranger. pass." he said, and,
turning to the bur. he ordered liquor.
Th' tension relaxed, the silence
brdie. the men filed up the gap the
incident seemed closed. Jim Fletcher
attached him elf to the stranger. nnd
now both respect aud friendliness
tempered his nsperity.
"Wal. fer want Of better handle
I'll Gull you Dodge" he said.
"D0dgcs as good as any. Gents,
line up again-nn' II you can't be
friendly. be careful!"
Such was Buck Duane's debut In
the little outlaw hamlet Of Ord.
Duane had been three months out
OF the Nueces country. At FL PasO
he bought the finest horse he could
find. and. armed and otherwise out.
fitted to suit him. he had taken to
unknown trails. He passed on leisure.
ly. because he wanted to learn
the way Of the country. the work,
habit. gossip. pleasures. and fears
OF the people with whom he
camc In contact. When he heard
FIetchcr's name and faced I'm u he
knew lie had reached the place be
sought.
Duane made himself agreeable, YET
not too much SO. to Fletcher and
several other men disposed to talk
and drink, and eat; and then. after
having II care for his horse. he rode
out of town couple OF miles to O
grove hc had marked, and there. well
hidden lie prepared to spend the
night. This proceeding served {
double purpOs,-he was safer, and
the habit would look well in the eyes
of outlaws. who would he more in
clined to see In him the lone-won
fugitive.
Long since Dunne had fought out
battle with himself. won hard
earned victory. He had assumed 6
task impossible for any man save ont
like him, he had felt the meaning OF
it grow strangely and wonderfully
J and through that nOurished up con
seriousness OF how passiOnntely he nov
clung to this thing which would bio
out his former infnmy. He ncvel
forgot that he was free. Strangely
too. along with this feeling of new
manhood there gathered the force o.
imperious desire to run these chic
outlaws to their dOoms. He ncve
called them outlnws-but rustlcrs
thieves, robbers, murtlerers. criminals
fie sensed the growth of relentless
J driving passion. and sometimes h,
feared that. more than the newl,
acquir0j zeal and pride in this range
ser'-e.. 1t wns the old. terrible in
! herited killing instinct lifting 1t
hydra-head In new guisc.
(To be continued)