Connecticut western news., 1920-03-11

for his room key. Somehow he had vanished. and none could tell how or where.
 To Bolt his disappearance was as good as a confession of guilt. He searched Luck's room at the hotel. Among other things, he found an old envelope with interesting data pen ciled on it.
 Before nightfall the word was whis- pered all over Saguache that Luck CullisOn. pioneer cattleman and for mer sheriff, was suspected of the w. & S. express robbery and had fled to save himself from arrest. At first men marveled that one so well known and so popular, one who had been so prom nent in affairs. could be suspected of such a crime, but as they listened to the evidence and saw it fall like blocks of a building into place, the conviction grew that he was the masked bandit wanted by the sheriff.
 Red-headed Bob Cullison finished making the diamond hitch and proudly called his cousin Kate to inspect the packhorse.
 You never saw the hitch thrown better. sis." he bragged. boylike. "Uncle Luck says l do it well as he can.'
 Its fine, Bob." his cousin agreed, with the proper enthusiasm in her dark eyes. "You'll have to teach me how to do 1t one of these days" She wasTin a khaki riding skirt. and she pulled herself to the saddle of her own horse. From this position she gave him final instructions before leav- ing.
 It had been on Wednesday morning that Luck Cullison disappeared from the face of the earth. Before twenty four hours the gossip was being whis- pered in the most distant canons of Papago county. The riders of the Circle c knew 1t, but none of them had yet told either Bob or Kate. Now 1t was Friday morning and Kate was beginning to wonder why her father did not call her up. Could 1t be that Soapy Stone was pulling off his train robbery at Tin Cup and her father so busy that he could not take time to ride to a telephone station? She did not like to leave the ranch just now, even for a few hours, but other business called her away. Sweeney was holding down the fort at the Del Gro against Hendricks sheepherders, and his weekly supply of provisions had to be taken to him. Since she wanted to see with her own eyes how things were getting along at the canon, she was taking the supplies in person. She rode from sunlight into shadow and from shadow to sunlight again, winding along the hill trail that took her toward the Del Orc. After hours ! of travel she came to the saddle from which one looked down to the gap in the canon walls that had been the com .ncn watering place of all mems cat tie, but now was homesteaded by her father. She could see the hut, the fence line running parallel to the stream on the other side, some Erazing cattle, Sweeney's horse in the corral.
 The piteous bleating of a lamb float ed to her. Kate dismOunted and made her way toward the sound. A pathetic little huddle of frightened life tried to struggle free at her approach. The slim leg of the lamb had become wedged at the intersection of several rocks in such a way that it could not he withdrawn.
 Kate pulled the boulder away, and released the prisoner. She took the soft, woolly creature in her arms, and examined the wounded limb, all torn aud raw from its efforts to escape. A wound, she recalled, ought to be aShed with cold water and bound. ..~turning to her horse, she put the lit E,p animal in front of the saddle and ,,mtinued on the trail that led down to |, river.
 Sweeney came out from the cabin ..rd hailed her. He was a squat, wealth ."beaten man, who had ridden for her ,afher ever since she could remember.
 What in Mexico you got there?" he asked in surprise.
 She explained the circumstances un- Ser which she had found the lamb.
 And what you aiming to do with |. 7"
 Pm going to tie up its leg and take Ii across the river. Some of the c. r. "rtIers are sure to find it before I" Int"
 E'ho! What are. you fooling with t:,>~ Fendrick's sheep for?" ke :r.iHbled.
 ''.t isn't a sheep, but a lamb. And i'H not going to see it suffer, no mat l". who owns it. I'll just ride across "m., leave it outside the fence" she =. <.
 "'einme go. l know the river bet tc..
 H,eeney did not wait for her assent, hui SWung to the saddle. She handed hi'n the lamb, and he forded the Ht!t,:m.
 :. pCueV saw some one diSaDDear