Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-05-31
There are outlaws

as this you had. When YOU get among
these men avoid brawls. Don't drink;
don't gamble. i needn't tell you what
to do if it comes to gun play. as likely
1T Will. You can't come home. When
this thing is lived down, if that time
ever comes, I'll get word into the UNI
settled country. It'll reach YOU some
day. That's all. Remember, be a man.
Goodby."
Duane. with blurred sight and con-
tracing throat, gripped his uncle's
hand and bade him a wordless fare
we'll. Then he leaped astride the black
and o out of town.
AS swiftly as was consistent with a
care for his steed. Duane put a distance
of 10 or is miles behind him. With
that he slowed up. and the matter of
riding did not require all his faculties.
He passed several ranches and was
seen by men. This did not suit him.
and he took an old trail across country.
1T was a flat region with a poor growth
or mesquite and prickly pear cactus.
low hills in the distance. He had
hunted often in that section. and knew
where to find grass and water. When
be reached his higher ground he did
not. however, halt at the first favor
able camping spot. but went on and
on:' Once he came out upon the brow OF
a hill and saw q considerable stretch
of country beneath lin. 1t had the
gray sameness characterizing all that
he had traversed. He seemed to want
to see wide spaces-to get a glimpse of
the great wilderness lying somewhere
beyond to the southwest. 1t was sun.
set when he decided to camp at a like
~ spot he came across. He led the
morse to water, and hen began search
ing through the shallow valley for a
suitable place to camp He passed by
old camp sites that he we'll remem-
bered. These, however. did not Strike
his fancy this time, n the signifi-
anc OF the change in him did not oc-
cur at the moment At last he found
a secluded spot, under cover of thick
mesquites and oaks. at a goodly dis
lance from the old trail. He took sad
Ole and pack off the horse. He looked
among his effects for a hobble, and,
1lndlng that his uncle had failed to
put one in, he suddenly remembered
that he seldom used a hobble, and
meyer on his horse. He cut a few feet
OH the end of his lasso and used that.
me morse. unused to uch hampering
OF ms tree movements, had to be driven
out upon the grass.
a made a small fire, prepared
and ate his supper. This done, ending
the work of that day, he sat down and
i ;nte ms pipe; Twilight had waned
pegun to show and brighten. Above
the low continuous hum of insects
DUNDEE the evening carol of robins.
presently the birds ceased their sing
ing, and then the quiet was more no.
When night set in and the
lonely for that Duane had a sense of
relief.
1t awned upon him all at once that
ne was nervous, watchful, sleepless.
Inc fact caused him surprise, and he
began to think back, to take note of
MS late actions and THEW p,D%l1,o~ VI,
Grange one day had wrought amazed
MIN. He who had always been free,
easy, happy. especially when out alone
IN the open. had become in a few short
hours pound, serious, preoccupied. The
silence that had once been sweet now
meant nothing to hin except a medium
whereby he might the better hear the
sounds Of pursuit. The loneliness. the
night, the wild. that had always been
oeaut1fu! to him. now only conveyed a
sense OF safety for the present. He
Iell tired, yet had no inclination to
rest. He intended to be off by dawn.
head1ng toward h southwest. Had
ne a destination? 1t was vague as his
anowledge of that great waste of mes
Grande Somewhere out there was a
refuge. For he was a fugitive from
justice, an outlaw.
This being an outlaw then meant
eternal vigilance. No home, no rest,
no sleep, no content, no life worth the
living! He must be a lone wolf or he
must herd among men obnoxious to
MN. " he worked for an honest living
ne still must hide his identity and take
risks of detection. If he did not work
on some distant outlying ranch, how
was he to live? The idea of stealing
was repugnant to him.. The future
seemed gray and somber enough. And
ne was % a old.
Why had this hard life been imposed
upon him?
a strange iciness that stole along his
VEINS. What was wrong with him? He
stlrred the few sticks of mesquite into
q last Pickering blaze. He was cold,
ana FOR some reason he wanted
dame sight 1a,h III black circle of
closed in around him. Suddenly he
sat bolt upright and then froze
IN that position. He had heard a step.
le was behind him-no-on the other
side. Some one was there. He forced
ms hand down to his gun and the touch
OF cold steel was another icy shock.
inen ne waited. But all was silent
silent as only a wilderness arroyo can
pe. with Its low murmuring Of wind in
the mesquite. Had he heard a step?
He began to breathe again.
But what was the matter with the
light OF his camp fire? 1t had taken on
a strange green luster and seemed to
be waving off into the other shadows.
duane heard no step, saw no move
tnent; nevertheless, there was another
present at that camp fire vigil. a
saw him. He lay there in the middle OF
the green brightness, PROSTATE, mo-
tionless. dying. Cal Balm! His features
were wonderfully distinct, clearer than
any cameo. more sharply outlined than
those of any picture. It was a hard
face s%oftening at the threshold Of eter-