New Britain herald., 1921-08-11

CT named Kerr is tho worst offender. One night Duke finds the fence cut and a nete fastened to tho wires which reads: why don't you come and get me puke?' He vowed he would.
 He did. He gave chase the next time he saw someone cutting the fence and was astonished to hnd-not . cowboy but Kerr'5 daughter. who turned out to be the girl of tho Pullman. He makes a truce with her winch she breaks by laying a trap for him.
 His foot was in tho stirrup when a quick rush sounded behind him. He saw the man on the ground spring to his feet, and quick on the conscious ness of fact there came a blow that stretched him as stiff as dead man. |. Lambert came to himself with a half-drowned sense of suftocation. Water was falling on his head, pour ing,sover his face. and there was the confused sound of human voices around him. AS he cleared he real ized that somebody was standing over him. pouring water on his head. He struggled to get from under the drowning stream. A man laughed, shook him, cursed him vilely close to his ear.
 Wake up, little teller, somebody's a-cuttin' your fence!' said another, taking hold of him from the other side.
 Don't hurt him, boys" admonished 8 third voice, which he knew for Berry Kerr's, ''this is the young man who come to the Bad Lands with mission. He's going to teach people to take of their hats to barbed-wire fences. I wouldn't have him hurt for a keg of nails.''
 As his senses cleared Lambert rec ognized the men beside him as Nick ] Hargus and the half-Indian Tom. Be- 1 hind him he believed Sim Hargus 1 rode, making 1t family party. In such hands, with such preliminary l usage, it began to look very grave for him.
 l They proceeded at a trot keeping it up for two hours or more. 4 For some time Lambert had noticed a glow as of fire directly ahead of them. It. grew and sank as if being fed irregularly. or as If smoke blew | they rounded the base of hill and came suddenly upon the fire, burning in gulch, as 1t seemed, covering a large area, sending up a vast volume of smoke.
 Lambert had seen smoke in this di- rection many times while riding fence but could not account for 1t then any more than he could now for a little while as he stood facing its origin Then he understood that this was a burning vein of Ignite. such as he had seen traces Of in the gorgeously Icolored soil in other parts of the Bad Lands where the fires had died out land cooled long ago.
 At the foot of the steep bank or which Lambert and his captors stood the crust had cAved giving he fire ai1 to hasten it's ravages. The mass o1
 slowburning fire glowed red and in. tense, covered in places by it's owr ashes. now sending up sudden clouds : of smoke as an indraft of air hv- ened the combustion, now smolderins in sullen dullness, throwing off heal that made the horses draw back. Kerr drew aside on arriving at the fire and sat on his horse looking at it the light on his face. A man whom he rightly decided was Sim Hargus pointed to the glowing pit That's our little private he'll Wha do you think of it, kid?" he said F with his grunung. insulting sheer. ct Its this way, Duke. You're { r stranger here; thes customs of thi' ,, country are not the fashions you'r'
 familiar with. and it's foolish, yer, foolish. and maybe dangerous for vol to try to change things around single.
 handed and alone. We've used yo,
 little rougher than I intended thu
 boys to handle you, but you'll get ove1
 it in little while, and we're goini
 to let you go this time
 "Bu we're going to turn you loos'
 with the warning once more to c1ea
 out of this country in as straight
 line as you can draw, starting righ
 now. and keeping on till you're out 0
 the state. Wen have to start you of
 tied up, too, much as hate to do it
 You'll find some way to get loose il
 q little while, guess. man that
 as resourceful and original as you"
 Whatever wAe passing in Lambert