Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1916-11-22


position he practiced throwing his
gun -practiced it till he was hot and
tired and his arm ached and his hand
burned. That practice he determined
to keep up every day. 1t. was one
thing at least, that would help pass
the weary hours.
Later he went outdoors to the cooler
shade of the cottonwoods. From this
point he could see good deal of the
valley. Under different circumstances
Duane felt that he would have en-
joyed such a beautiful spot. He saw
a good many AfeNicans,s who, of course,
were hand and glove with Bland.
Also he saw enormous fat-boats, crude
of structure, moored along the banks
of the river. The Rio Grande rolled
away between high bluffs. A cable,
sagging deep in the middle, was
stretched over the wide yellow stream,
and an old scow, evidently used as a
ferry, lay anchored on the far shore.
The valley was an ideal retreat for
an outlaw band operating ON big
scale. Pursuit scarcely need be feared
over the broken trails of the Rim
Rock. And the open end of the valley
could be defended against almost any
number Of men coming down the
river.
Duane must have iGled considerable
time up on the hill, for when he re-
turned to the shack Euchre was
busily engaged around the campfire.
"Wal, glad to see you amt so pale
about the gills as you was,' he said,
by the way of greeting. "Pitch in an
we'll soon have grub ready. There's
shore one eonsolin' fact round this
here camp"
>.sWhat's that?" asked Duane.
''Plenty of good juicy beef to eat.
An it doesn't cost a short Bit
ssBut it costs hard rides and trouble,
bad conscience and life, too, doesn't
it?''
81 amt shore about the bad con-
science. Mine never bothered me none.
An as for life, why, thet's cheap in
Texas"
''Who is Bland?'' asked Duane,
quickly changing the subject. "What
do YOU know about him ~
"We don't know who he is or where
he halls FROM replied Euchre. .'Thet's
always been somethin' to interest the
gang. He must have been young
man when he struck Texas. Now he's
middle-aged. remember how years
ago he was soft-spoken an not rough
in talk or act like he is now. Bland
amt likely his right name He knows
a lot. He can doctor you, an he's
shore a KNOWN teller with tools.
He's the kind thet rules men. Outlaws
are always ridin' in here to join his
gang. an if it hadn't been fer the
gamblin' an gnn-play he'd have
thousand men around him."
Elbow many in his gang now?"
II reckon there's short of a hundred
now. The number varies. Then Bland
has several small camps up an down
the river. Also he has men back on
the gatherings"
..How does he control such big
force?" asked Duane. ESPECIALLY
when his bands composed of bad men.
Luke Stevens said he had no use for
Bland. And heard once somewhere
that Bland was a devil"
"Thet's it. He is a devil He's as
hard as flint, violent in temper. never
made any friends except his right
hand men, Dave Rugg an Chess Allo-
way. Bland I'll shoot at wink. He's
killed a lot of fellers. an some fer
nothin', The reason tibet outlaws
gather round him an stick is because
he's a safe refuge, an then he's well
heeled. Bland is rich. They say he
has a hundred thousand pesos hid
somewhere, an lots of gold But he's
free with money. He CANDLES when
he's not off with a shipment of cattle.
He throws money around. An the
fact is there's always plenty of money
where he is. Thet's what holds the
gang. Dirty, bloody money !"
"It's wonder he hasn't been killed.
All these years on the border!'' ex-
claimed Duane.
"Wal," replied Euchre, dryly, "he's
been quicker on the draw than the
other fellers who hankered to kill him.