The L'Anse sentinel., 1917-11-24
CHAPTER xxvII-continued.

dealer In ranches. "You know the story
that was going around about his be
ing an escaped convict, or something
Of that sort? 1t gets its local color
this morning. There's a sheriff here
from back East somewhere-came In
an the early train; names Macauley
and he's got the requisition papers
But Smiths fooled him good and
plenty"
Again the chorus united In an eager
query.
"How?"
'He died last night--a little past
midnight. They say they're going to
bury him out at the damon the Job
that he pulled through and stood on
its feet. One Of Williams Quarrymen
drifted In with the story just little
while ago. I'm here to bet you even
money that the whole town goes to
the funeral"
"Great gosh" said the man who
was crunchlng the burnt bacon. "Say,
that's tough, Bixby! don't care what
he'd run away from back East; he
was man, right. Harding has been
telling everybody how Smith wouldn't
let the posse open fire on that gang
Of hold-ups last Friday night; how he
chased across on the dam stagings
alone and unarmed to try to serve the
warrants on 'em and make 'em stop
firing. 1t was glorious but 1t wasn't
war"
To this the other mining man added
n hard word. "Dead," he gritted ;
"and only a few hours earlier the girl
had taken snap judgment on him and
married somebody else! That's the
woman of it,"
N"Oh, hold on, Stryker," the ranch
broker protested. Don't you get too
xierce about that. There are two
strings to that bow, and the longest
and sorriest one runs out to Colonel
Baldwin's place on Little creek, I'm
thinking. The Richlander business
was only an incident. Stanton told
me that much"
As the event proved, the seller of
ranch lands would have lost his bet on
the funeral attendance. For some I'M
known reason the notice Of Smiths
death did not appear in the afternoon
papers. and only few people went out
In autos to see the coffin lowered by
Williams workmen into grave on
the mesa behind the construction
camp; grave among others where
the victims of an early industrial ac-
I,,N hftr pd
Those who went out from town came
back rather scandalized. There had
been q most hard-hearted lack OF the
common formallties, they said; a
cheap coffin, no minister, no mourners,
not even the poor fellows business
associates in the company he had
fought so hard to save from defeat and
extinction. 1t was shame!
With this report passing from lip to
lip In Brewster, another bit of gossip
TO the effect that Starbuck and Still
ings had gone East with the disap-
pointed sheriff, ito clear Smiths mem
ory," as the street-talk had 1t, called
forth no little comment. In the Hophra
House cafe on the evening Of the
funeral, day Stryker, the mining spec
ulator, was loud in his criticisms OF
the High Line people.
"Yesw he rallied; "a couple Of 'em
will 20 on junketing trip East to
'clear his memory after they've lei
their 'wops' at the dam bury him like
a yellow dog! And this Richlander
woman; they say she'd known him
ever since he and she were school
kids together; she went down and
took the train with her father jus'
about the time they were planting the
poor devil"
Three weeks Of the matchless An
gust weather had slipped by without
incident other than the Indictment BY
the grand jury of Crawford Stanton
Barney MGraw, and a number OF 9th
ers on charge Of conspiracy; and
Williams, unmolested since the nigh
of the grand battle In which Sherin
Harding had figured as the master Of
the hunt, had completed the grea
ditch system and was installing the
machinery in the lately finished power
house.
Over the hills from the northern
mountain boundary Of the Timanyon
q wandering prospector had come will
vague tale of a new strike In Sunris'
Gulch, q placer district worked ou
and abandoned twenty years earlier II
the height of the Red Butte excite
ment. Questioned closely, the tale
bringer confessed that he had no proc
positive of the strike; but In the hill
he had found a well-worn trail, latel!
used, leading to the old camp, ant
from one Of the deserted cabiAs II
the gulch he had seen smoke arising
As to the fact of the trail the wan
iering tale-bearer was not at fault
On the most perfect Of the late-in
August mornings young woman, cla'
In serviceable khaki, and keeping he
cowboy headgear and bun top-boots IL
good countennnce by riding astrfde II
mans saddle, was pushing her noun
mp the trail toward Sunrise Gulch
From the top Of a little rise the aban
doned camp cane into view, Its heap