Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1916-08-24
CHAPTER XIV (Continuedl.

he could never shake utterly tn0Sc
haunting phantoms that had once been
his despair and madness; but he had
assumed a task impossible for any man
a " one like him. he had felt the
meaning of it grow strangely and Won
derfully, and through that flourished
up consciousness of how ~passionately
he now chung to this thing which would
blot out his former infamy. The iron
letters no more threatened his hands;
the iron door no more haunted his
dreams. He never forgot that he was
free. Strangely, too, along with this
feeling of new manhood there gathered
the force of imperious desire to run
these chief outlaws to their dooms. He
never called them outlaws-but rust
lers, thieves, robbers, murderers, GRIM
mails. He sensed the growth Of a re-
lentless driving passion, and sometimes
he feared that, more han the newly
acquired zeal and pride in this ranger
service, it was the old, terrible in
herited killing instinct lifting it's hydra
could not be sure. He dreaded the
thought. He could only wait.
Another aspect of the change in
Duane, neither passionate nor driving,
yet not ~tmprobably even more potent
Of new Significance to life, was the i'm
~perceptible return of an Old love of
nature dead during his outlaw days.
For years q horse had been only a
machine Of locomotion. to carry him
from place to place. to beat and spun
and goad mercilessly in flight; now
this giant black, with his splendid
head. was q companion, a friend, a
brother. ! loved thing, guarded jeal-
ously, fed and air md ridden with
an intense appreciation of his great
speed and endurance. For years the
daytime, with itg birth Of sunrise on
through long hours to the ruddy close
had been used for sleep or rest in some
rocky hole or willow brake or deserted
hut, had been hated because it aug
mented danger of pursuit, because 1t
drove the fugitive to lonely. wretched
hiding; now the dawn was a greeting,
a promise of another day to ride, to
plan, to remember, and sun, wind,
cloud, rain, sky-all were joys to him,
somehow speaking his freedom. For
years the night had been a black spaN,
during which he had to ride unseen
along the endless trails, to peer with
cat eyes through gloom for he moving
shape that ever pursued him; now the
twilight and the dusk INC the shadows
of grove and canon darkened into
night with it's train of stars, and
brought him calm reflection of the
days happenings, Of the morrow's pos
sibilities, perhaps a sad, brief process
sion Of the old phantoms, then sleep.
| For years canons and valleys and
mountains had been looked at as re-
treats that might be dark and wild
enough to hide even an outlaw; now
he saw these features Of the great
desert with something of the eyes of
the boy who had once burned for ad-
venture and life among them.
This night a wonderful afterglow lin
gered long in the west. and against the
golden red Of clear Sky the bold, lack
head of Mount Ord reared itself aloft,
beautiful but aloof, sinister yet calling.
Small wonder that Duane gazed in fas-
cination upon the peak! Somewhere
deep in it's corrugated sides or lost in a
rugged cannon was hidden the secret
stronghold of the master outlaw Ches-
eldine. All down along the ride from Eel
Paso Duane had heard of Cheseldine, of
his band, his fearful deeds. his cunning,
his widely separated raids, OF ms INT
ting here and there like q Jack-o'-lan
tern; but never a word Of his den
never a word of his appearance.
Next morning Duane did not return
to Ord. He struck off to the north,
riding down a rough, slow descending
road that appeared to nave been used
occasionally for cattle driving. AS he
had ridden in from the west, his north
ern dircation led him into totally I'M
familiar country. While he passed on
however, he exercised such keen OBJ
servation that In the future he would
know whatever might be Of service tC
him If he CHANGED that way again.
The rough, wild, brush covered slope
down from the foothills gradually
leveled out into plain, a magnificent
grazing country, upon which till noon
T Of that day Duane did not see a herd OF
cattle or a ranch. About that time he
made out smoke from the railroad, an6
after a couple Of hours riding he en-
tered a town which inquiry discovered
to be Bradford. 1t was the largest towr
he had visited since Maria, and he a
culated must lave 1000 or 1900 in
habitants, not including Mcxicans. He
decided this would be q good place fol
him to hold up for a while, being the
nearest town to Ord, only 40 miles
away. So he hitched his horse in front
OF q store and leisurely set abou
studying Bradford.
1t was after dark, however. tina
Duane verified his suspicious concern.
ing Bradford. The town was awake
after dark, n there was one long row
i OF aio0Tis, dance halls s:::::s .!::S ne
sorts in full blast. Duane visited them
all, and was surprised to see wildness
and license equa! to that Of the ole
river camp of BANDS in it's pallnies,
days. Here it was forced upon him tina,
the farther west one travelled along the
river h sparser the respectable set
Elements, the more numerous the hare
characters, and In consequences the
greater the element Of lawless.
ness. Duane returned to niS lodging
house with the conviction hat Mac.
Nelly's task Of cleaning up the Bis
Bend country was a ~stupendous one
Yet. he reflected. a company Of in.
could have soon cleaned up this Brad
ford. @
The i%nnlkepper had one other CUES
that night, a long, black coated ant