Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1920-01-30

II revolver of the dead puncher was
his hand. The riders we're closing Il
h on him. The nearest called to him e
4 surrender Almost at the same tim'
/ a red-hot pain shot through the lei
z arm of the trapped rustier. Someone
had npped him from the rear.
Curly saw red. Surrender moth
. ing He would 90 down fighting. A
fast as he could blaze he emptiec
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.
I'VE got him. His guns empty
some one shouted.
Cautiously they closed in. keeping
him covered all the time. OF sudden
the plain tilted up to meet the sky.
Flandrau felt himself swaying on his
feet. Everything went black. The
boy had tainted
When he came TO himself strange
faces were all around him and there
were no bodies to 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.
"Ilow is Cullson?"
This was said to another who had
just come up.
lizard hit. Looks about all in. Got
him in the side"
The rage died out of Curly. In a
fash 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 a horse thief
caught almost in the act. Perhaps he
was a murderer, too. And the whole
thing had been entirely unpremedi-
tated.
you've played h" one of the
men told the boy.
He was a sawed-off little fellow
known as Dutch Flandrau had seen
him in the Map of Texas country
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 a human being to
them; rather a wolf to be stamped out
of existence as soon as it was conven-
lent.
At shift in the group Flahdrau'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 I
to work it down before he spoke.
There's picture in his pocket, and
some letters, l reckon. Send them to
Miss Myra Anderson, Tombstone, care
of one of the restaurants. l don't I
know which one"
"Send nothin'," sneered Dutch, and |
coupled it with a remark no decent |
man makes of woman on guess.
Because of poor Mac lying there |
with the little hole in his temple Curly |
boiled over. With jerk his right arm
was free. 1t shot out like a pile
driver, all his weight behind the blow.
Dutch went down as if a charging bull
had flung him.
Almost simultaneously Curly hit the |
sand hard Before he could stir three |
men were straddled over his anatomy. |
One of them ground his head into the
dust.
you would, Ell? Well see about
that. Jake. bring yore rope"
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
ing down the steps. At sight of those
coming toward her she called out
quickly:
How is dad?' The culver of fear
broke in her voice.
Don't know yet, Miss Kate" an
swered one of the men. He's right
peart. though Says for to tell you
not to worry. We've got here the
NANCY son Of a gun that did it."
Before he had finished she was off
like an arrow shot from 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 had given a shudder,
as one might at sight of mangled
mad dog which had just bit 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 that had rested on
him.
His guards put Flandrau in the bunk
house and one of them sat at the door
with rifle across his knees. The cook,
the stable boy, and red-headed Bob
Cullison, nephew of the owner of the
ranch, peered past the vaquero at the
captive with the same awe they would
have yielded TO Gagged panther.
-. .