The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1920-01-31

Softly Flandrau put the head back
In tine sand and rose 10 his feet. The
revolver Of the dead puncher was In
his hand. The riders were closing IN
on him. The nearest called to him to
surrender. Almost at the same time
a redhot pain shot through the left
arm Of the trapped rustler. Someone
had nipped him from the rear.
Curly saw red. Surrender moth.
ingl He would 90 down fighting. As
fast as he could blaze he emptied
Macs gun. When the smoke cleared
the man who had ordered him TO give
up was slipping from his horse. Curly
was surprised. but he knew he must
have hit him by chance.
1--WE got him. His guns empty
some one shouted.
Cautiously they closed In. keeping
him covered all the time or a sudden
the plain tilted up 10 meet the sky.
Flandrau felt himself swaying on his
feet. Everything went black. The
boy had fainted.
When he came 10 himself strange
faces were all around him and there
were no bodies 10 go with them. They
seemed to float about In an odd. casual
sort OF way. Then things cleared.
Hes coming to all right" one said.
How Is CullIsonf"
This was said 10 another who had
just come up.
Hard hit. Looks about all In. Got
him In the side"
The rage died out of Curly. In a
flash he saw all that had come OF this
drunken spree: the rustlIng of the
Bar Double nj stock, the discovery,
the death OF his friend and maybe OF
Cullison, the certain punishment that
would follow. He was horse thief
caught almost In the act. Perhaps he
was murderer. too. And the whole
thing had been entirely unpremedi-
tated.
you've played u one OF the
men told the boy.
He was sawed-ofr little FELLOW
known as Dutch. Flandrau had sen
him in the Map OF Texas country a
year or two before. The rest were
strangers to the boy. All Of them
looked at him out OF hard, hostile eyes,
He was scarcely human being TO
them rather wolf TO be stamped out
of existence as soon as II was conven-
lent.
At shift In the group Flafrtirau's
eyes fell on his friend lying in the
sand with face turned whitley to the
sky he never would see again. A lump
came into the boys throat and he had
to work It down before he spoke.
"There's a picture in his pocket. and
some letters, reckon. Send them 10
Miss Myra Anderson, Tombstone, care
of one OF the restaurants. 1 don't
know which one"
'Send nothin'." sneered Dutch. and
coupled IL with remark no decent
man makes Of woman on a guess.
Because of poor Mac lying there
with the little hole In his temple Curly
boiled over. With jerk his right arm
was free. It shot out like pile
driver, all his weight behind the blow.
Dutch went down as II charging bull
had flung him.
Almost simultaneously Curly hit the
sand hard. Before he could sur three
men were stradiied over mis- anatomy.
One OF them ground his head into the
dust.
"You would, eh7 Wen see about
thaf VaEa hrlnu yara rnpau
They tied the hands OF the boy.
hauled him TO his feet, and set him
astride a horse. In the distance
windmill OF the Circle G ranch was
shining In the morning sun. Toward
the group of buildings clustered around
this two OF his captors started with
Flandrau.
AS they rode along a fenced lane
WHICH led 10 the house a girl came fly-
ing down the steps. At sight OF those
coming toward her she called out
quickly:
How Is dad?" The CULVER of fear
broke Ia her voice.
"Don't know yet, Miss Kate" an
swered one OF the men. Hes right
peart, though. Says for TO tell you
not 10 worry. We've got here the
NANCY son OF gun that did H."
Before he had finished she was OF
like an arrow shot from n bow. but
not until her eyes had fallen on the
youth sitting bareheaded and bloody
between the guns Of his guard. Curly
noticed that she nAd given "A shudder,
rs one might az slgnt OF mangled
mad dog WHICH had tus. biz a dear
friend. Long after the pounding OF
her pony's hoofs had died away the
prisoner could see the startled eyes OF
fear and horror thar had rested OF
him.
His guards put Flandrau IN the bunk
house and one OF them sat al the door
with a rifle across his knees. The cook.
the stable boy. and red-headed Bob
nephew OF the owner OF the !
ranch. peered past the vaquero ~ the