Williston graphic., 1917-04-05

make right able thief-catcher, Dave
only for your size-you're too long for
q man and you amt long enough for q
snake. Still. I reckon a thief would
have trouble getting out of your reach,
and once you got close to him How
many men have you killed?"
"Counting Mexicans" Law inquired
with smile.
"Nobody counts them."
"Not many"
"That's good" Blaze nodded and
relit his cigarette, which he had per-
mitted promptly to smolder out. ''The
force amt what 1t was. Most of the
boys nowadays Join so they can ride
a horse cross-lots, pack a pair of
guns, and give rein to the predictions
Of vicious ancestry. They're bad
rams, most of EN-"
"There aren't many" said Paloma.
"Dave tells me the whole force has
been cut down to sixteen"
"That's plenty" her father averred.
TITS like when Cap'n Bin Mcdonald
was sent to stop q riot in Dallas. He
came to town alone, and when the cid.
Gems asked him where his men was,
be said Amt I enough2 There's onl9
one riot Are you workin' up . case
Davef"
"Um.m-yes! People are missing .
lot of stock hereabouts."
TITS these blamed refugees from thu
war! A Mexican has to steal some
thing or he gets run down and pore
II it amt stock, it's something else. y
Dave Laws duties as q Ranger rest
ed lightly upon him; his instructions
We vague, and he had leisurely
method of working up" his evidence.
Since he knew that Blaze possessed Q
thorough knowledge Of this section and
its people, it was partly business which
had brought him to the Jones home
this afternoon.
Strictly speaking, Blaze was not Q
rancher. He had speculated heavily In
raw lands, and for several years past
he had devoted his energies to a RI.
gantic colonization scheme. It was BY
no means a small operation In which
he was engaged. The venture had
taken foresight, courage, Infinite hard
work; Blaze was burdened with re.
sponsibilities that would have broken
down man of weaker fiber.
But his pet relaxation was reminis.
cence. His own experience had been
wide, he knew everybody In his part
of the state, and although events In
his telling were sometimes colOred by
his rich Imagination, the Information
he could give was often of the great.
est value-as Dave Law knew.
After time the latter said, casually,
TELL me something about Tad Lewis"
Blaze looked up quickly. "What do
you want to know?"
"Anything. Everything"
"Tad owns a right nice ranch be-
tween here and Las Palmas," Blaze
said cautiously.
Paloma broke out impatiently. "Why
don't you say what you think?" Then
to Dave: 'Tad Lewis Is q bad neigh
Dor, and always has been. There's
ford on his place, and we think he
knows more about wet cattle than
be cares to tell"
Its a good place to cross stock at
low water" her father agreed, "and
Lewis land runs back from the Rio
0rande in its old Spanish form. It's
q natural outlet for those brush-coun-
Try ranches. But haven't anything
against Tad except a natural dislike.
He stands we'll with some of our best
people, so I'm probably wrong. usu-
ally am"
'You can't call Ed Austin one Of our
best people," sharply objected Paloma.
They claim that arms are being
,muggled across to the rebels, Dave,
and, If it's true, Ed Austin"
'Now, Paloma," her father remon-
trated mildly. '"The regulars and the
~h