The Raymer enterprise., 1918-02-28
CHAPTER xxvll-continued.

dealer In ranches. "You know the story
alat was going around about his be-
ing an escaped convict, or something
of that sorti 1t gets its local color
this morning. There's n sheriff here
from back East somewhere-came In
on the early train: names Macanley.
and he's got the requisition papers.
But Smiths fooled him good and
plenty"
Again the chorus united in an eager
query.
Howl
"He died last nlght-a little past
midnight. They say they're going to
bury him ont at the damon the job
that he pulled through and stood on
its feet. One Of Williams qnarrymen
drifted In with the story Just Il little
while ago. Tn here to bet you even
money that the whole town goes 10
the funeral
"Great gosh," said the man who
was crunehlng the burnt bacon. "say,
that's tough, Blxby don't care what
he'd run away from back East, he
was a 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 nnarmed to try TO serve the
warrants on 'em and make 'em stop
firing. II was glorious, but 1t wasn't
war"
To this the other mining man added
a hard word. Dead he gritted !,
'and only few hours earlier the girl
had taken snap judgment on him and
married somebody else. That's the
woman Of Ill"
"Oh, hold on, Stryker," the ranch
broker protested. Don't you get too
fierce about that There are two
strings to that bow. and the longest
and sorriest one runs out to Colonel
Baldwln'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 un-
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-
cldent at the dam had been buried.
Those who went out from town came
back rather seandalIzed. There had
been most hard hearted lack OF the
common formallties, they said;
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. II was shamel
With this report passing from lip to
Hip In Brewster another bit of gossip
10 the effect that Starbuck and Still
ings had gone East with the dlsap-
yoInted sheriff. ito clear Smiths men,
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 Ills criticisms of
the High Line people.
"Yesl" he rallied; "a couple of 'em
will 90 on junketlng trip East to
clear his memory after they've let
their 'wops' at the dam bury him like
ii yellow dog! And this Richlauder
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 just
about the time they were planting the
poor devil
Three weeks OF the matchless Au-
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, unmnlested since the night
OF the grand battle ln which Sheriff
Harding had figured as the master of
the hunt, had completed the great
ditch system and was Installing the
machinery In the lately finished power
house.
Over the hills from the northern
mountain boundary of the Timanyoni
wandering prospector had come with
a vague tale Of new strike In Sunrise
Gulch, placer district worked out
and abandoned twenty years earlier In
the height Of the Red Butte excite
ment. Questioned closely. the tale
bringer confessed that he had no proof
positive Of the strike; but In the hills
he had found a wel.worn trail, lately
used, leading to the old camp, and
from one of the deserted cabins In
the gulch he had seen smoke arising
As to the fact Of the trail the wan
dering tale-bearer was not at fault.
On the most perfect of the late-in-
August mornings young woman, clad
In serviceable khaki. and keeping her
cowboy headgear and buff top-boots In
good countenance by riding astride IN
Z mans saddle, was pushing her mount
up the trail toward Sunrise Gulch.
From the top Of q little rise the abaa-
Anned camp came Into view, Its heaps