The evening world., 1916-09-09

wbiit HARDING 49, couniInF ~,
msn ana Hplsslntlnf Iis lisuts asntf.
sn suiomuAils rolled silently down
'he mesa road from ne north and
cane % q sN ID auoug The hursss
The shsriff dTss fsln BESIDE tie cat
ana spoks 10 ms - the twa oora.
Tan,s ~ tho douiis scat. saying
We'll NJ. Smith. we're ell here"
'how man, 2 Sss the curt aues-
tfon,
'r~sn,y-
"tsod Iisrs IL your suthor,y"-
handing the l"ri Iapers Ca the Off.
Ger "hstlfe 40 80 ih you ought 90
Know the facts A few hours aFo a
man named hoBraR, calling hiu,smf
a deputy United states marshal aud
olsimins 60 be acting under insiruc.
tons from judge Jorfinga opurt
IN He'd butte. took fuas.ss.on 81 our
dam n camp On tho oven chance
that he Isn't what he claims 20 he,
We ara roing 10 arrest him and every
man IN his crowd Ar you Eama flr
~"
TN game 90 serve any papers that
JudEu Wafn.r's got the nerve 10 is
SUE" was the big mans reply.
That tho talk; that's what I
hoped 10 hear you say Wa may
have the law on our slide, and va mny
not; but We certainly have tho
equities. Was stanton a~rrest.i7"
Ito ~ was. Strothers found him
In Tao hophra House bar. and tho
line OF talk ho turned loose would
have set n wet blanket afire. lust
tho same, he had 10 80 along with
Jimmie And got himself locked up. Z"
That In the first step. now n you 70
ready. we'll take tho next"
Harding rode forward TO marshal
his troop, and when tho advance be-
gan Starbuck ahut off his car Tampa
n held his p'oce a. the rear OF the
struggling column. juggling throttle
n spark until tho car Kept even
pace with the horses and tho low
humming OF tho motor was indis-
tinguishable above the mufflod drum
ming OF hoof- beats.
When. over the low hill just ahead,
where h pole-bracketod lights Al tho
dam were starring themselves against
the sky. the group OF horsemen halted
at tho head OF the railroad trestle
which marked the location of tho
north side unloading station.
From the halt at the trestle head,
Harding sent two OF his mon forward
TO spy out tho ground. Returning
speedily. these two men reported that
there were no guards on the north
bank of the river, and that the stag
ings, which still remained In place on
the down stream face OF the dam, were
also unguarded. Thereupon Harding
made his dispositions. Half of the
posse was to go w the northern bank,
dismountod, and rush the camp by way
OF the staeings. The remaining half,
also on foot, was to cross at once on
the railroad t~restle. and to make its
approach by way OF the wagon road
skirting h mesa foot. At an agreed
upon signal the two attachments were
to close in upon the company buildings
In the construction camp, trusting to
the surprise and the attack from op-
posite directions 10 overcome any dis
parity in numbers.
A. Smiths ursings. starbuck went
with the party which crossed by
way OF the railroad trestle, Smith
himself accompanying the sherift's
detachment. With the horses left be-
hind under guard at the trcstle head
the up-river approach was made by
both parties simultaneously, though
IN the darkness, and with the breadth
OF tho river intervening. neither could
see the movements Of the other.
Smith Kept his place beside Harding,
and to tho sheriff's query he an
SEVERED that he was unarmed.
You've got a nerve" was all the
comment Harding made. and al that
they topped the slight elevation and
camo among the stone debris in the
~north-side quarries.
From the quarry cutting the view
struck out by the camp mastheads
was unobstructed. The dam and the
u~ncompleted power-house. still fg-
urins to the eye as skeleton masses
OF form timbering, lay Just below
them. and on the hither side the
flooding torrent Numbered through
the spillway gates, which had been
opened TO their fullest capacity. Be-
tween the quarry and the northern
dam-head ran the smooth concret ed
channel of the main ditch canal,
with the water In the reservoir lake
still tapping several feet below the
level OF Its entrance TO give assur-
ance that, until the spill ways should
be closed, tho charter-saving stream
would never pour through the canal.
On the opposite side OF the river
the dam-head and the camp street
were deserted, but there were lights
In the commissary. In the office
shack. and In Blue Pete Simm's can
teen doggery. From tina latter quar-
ter sounds OF reyelry rose above the
spillway thunderinGs. and now and
AGAIN a drunken figure lurched
through the open door to make ito
way uncertainty toward the rank OF
bunk-houscs
Harding was staring into tho far
Their ndmbus OF the electric rays. try
ing TO pick up some sign Of the other
half of his posse, when Smith made a
suggestion.
Both Of your narties will have the
workmen's bunk houses in range. MI.
Harding, and we mustn't forget that
Col. Baldwin and Willisms are pris-
oners in the timekeepcr's shack. IL
the guns have TO be used"--
The interruption was tho whining
song OF Il jacketed bullet passing
overhead, followed by the crack OF n
rife. Down, boys!" said tho sheriff
softly, setting the example by sliding
into the ready-made trench afforded
by the dry ditch Of the outlet canal,
and as he said 1t a sharp fusillade
broke out. with fire spurtings from
the commissary building and others
from the mesa beyond TO show that
tho surprise was baked in both d.
roctions.
"They must have had scouts out"
was Smiths word to tho sheriff. who
was cautiously accommodating the
newly developed situation from tho
shelter OF the canal trench. "They
are evidently ready for us, and that
knocks your plan in the head. Your
men can't cross these stagings under