The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1917-02-22
CHAPTER XIX.

Strangers rode into Fairdale: and
other ha~rd-looking customers, new to
Duane II not TO Fairdale, helped to
create q charged and waiting atmos-
phere. The saloons did unusual busi-
ness and were never closed. Respect
able citizens Of the town were awak-
ened In the early dawn by rowdies
c~arousing In the streets.
Duane kept pretty close under
cover during the day. He did not
entertain the opinion that the first
time he walked down-street he would
be a target for guns. Things seldom
happened that why; and when they
did happen 30, It was more accident
than design. But at night he vas not
idle. He met Laramie. Morton. Zim.
mer and others OF like character a
secret club had been formed and all
the members were ready for action.
Duane spent hours at night watching
the house where Floyd Lawson stayed
when he was not up at Longstreth's.
At night he was visited. OF at least
the house was, by strange men who
were swift, stealthy, mysterious-all
that kindly disposed friends or neigh
bors would not have been. Duane
had o been able to recognize any Of
these night visitors: and he did not
think the time vas ripe for n bold
holding up Of one of them. Neverthe-
less, he was sure such an event would
diGGnVAF i nu-Gnn ne Cntlnnnn IN thnt
house, to be In touch with crooked
men.
Laramie was right. Not twenty
four hours after his talk with Duane,
In which he advised quick action, he
was found behind the little bar OF his
restaurant with q bullet-hole In his
breast, dead. No one could be found
who had heard n shot. It had been
deliberate murder, for upon the bar
had been left d piece OF paper rudely
scrawled with a pencil: "All friends
of rangers look for the same"
This reused Duane. His first move,
however. was TO bury Laramie. None
Of Laramie's neighbors evinced any In
terest In the dead man or the unfor.
tunate family he had left. Duane saw
that these neighbors were held In
check by fear. Mrs. Laramie was III /;
the shock Of her husbands death was
hard on her: and she had been left
almost destitute with five children.
Duane rented an adobe house OF the
outskirts OF town and moved the
family into II. Then he played the
part Of provider and nurse and
friend.
After several days Duane went
boldly into town and showed that he
mean business. II was his opinion
that there were men In Fairdale
secretly glad OF a rangers presence.
What he intended 10 do was food for
great speculation. A company OF
militia could not have had the effect
upon the wild element OF Fairdale
that Duane's presence had. It got
out that he was a gunman lightning
swift on the draw. II was death to
face him. He had killed thirty men
widest rumor Of oil. II was actually
said of him he had the gun-skill OF
Buck Duane or Poggin.
At first there had not only been
great conjecture among the vicious
element. but also a very decided
checking Of all kinds OF action cal
culated to be conspicuous to a keen
eyed ranger. At the tables. at the
bars and lounging-places Duane heard
the remarks: who's tibet ranger
after7 What II he do fust off7 II
he waitin' fer somebody Who's goin
to drnw on him fust-an' 60 to hell
Jest about how 500 will he be foun,
somewheres full Of leadT
When IL came out somewhere tina
Duane was c%ultivating the homes
stay-at-home citizens to array them II
time against the other element, thel
Fairdale showed its wolf teeth
Several times Duane was shot at Il
the dark and once slightly injured
Rumor had II that Poggin, the CUR
man. was coming to meet him. Blu
the lawless element did not rise u
In q mass to slay Duane OF sigh
II was not no much that the enemie
Of the law awaited his next mov'
hut inst a slowness peculiar to IN
frontier. There was a rude kind Q
good hunsor ven In their ope
hostility.
Besides, one ranger o a compan
of rangers could not nave held tn
undivided attention Of these men froI