The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1921-06-30

Wurneu Dy nervous, muHieu Volces,
he presently halted in the shadow OF
tree. From limb beyond n rope
stretched down TO the neck below the
face that haG been at the window.
II was turned upward now as its
possessor stood braced as best he
could on whisky barrel.
A breath dropped down from the
frost above. The figure on the bar.
rel qulvered.
'I'll be colder than that pretty
soon" was the suggestion 1t conveyed
TO him.
With this he grappled savagely.
while his executloners busted them
selves, dimly outlined just beyond.
To distribute the responsibility
equally they had contrived to knock
away the barrel with long pole. each
mans hand to help drive II.
tAs the pole was lifted from the
ground, the man with the light turned
TO the tree to direct the blow. His
torch fllckered on the leveled steel
that has kept the Canadian frontier.
The mounted police had taken position
by the barrel.
Also, In official, matter-of-fact man
ner and the name Of his sovereign, the
mounted police was asserting claim to
the prisoner. He regretted being com
PEELED to take this seemingly hostile
attitude toward nelghbors and friends;
but. as an officer sworn to uphold the
law that governed all OF them, he
could not permit this Illegal proceed
ing.
As an entirely unexpected develop
meNt of an unnatural and CHASTITY en-
terprise, the mounted police command
ed few moments OF blinking, un-
thinking inactivity from the crowd.
He utilized II In explaining that
the man they intended to hang was
wanted up In Calgary for partlcu-
larly atrocIous crime.
Fearlessly anl fluently he lied to
them, asserting official Jurisdiction on
foreign soil. face to face with men
who could. and probably would. fill
him with lead before he could move
n finger.
But what his nerve and cunning
might have accomplished without hos
tillties was denied demonstration by
the torch sputtering out before any
one responded. In the same instant
the mounted police twisted his knife
through the ropes that held the pris-
oner's feet and hands.
The electric instinct Of self-preser-
vation actuated the hands to release
the neck. and the quick generalship
OF the mounted police swept them
both behind the tree a. a dozen re-
volvers flashed out the suddenly re
stored anger and deadly purpose Of
the mob.
A single bullet answered. sent back
along the trail to discourage pursuit.
M the mounted police dragged after
him n companion who but for him
would have been black in the face
and dead. The training Of the plains
took him straight to his horse.
With his charge clinging blindly to
the saddle, he was leading the way
back along the trail northward when
the first Of the mob reached the hotel.
When the bulk OF the mob came In.
they bore the stiffening frame Of one
whose lungs bled from the bullet the
mounted police loosened along the
trail.
On the barroom table he coughed
out his life, and the admission that
he was the one that should have stood
upon the barrel. His crime was the
, fruit OF whisky-muddled game Of
seven-up for the money the man they
had meant to hang had paid for the
pony.
, Morning found the mounted police
steadily leading his horse toward the
I boundary-line.
, "what made you do itY' demanded
the still uncomprehendlng rider at a
J. spring where they drank. "Did you be
I lieve my storyT
: ut wasn't your story" admitted the
1 mounted police. "It was the girl with
a the blue eyes and the roses. You see.
0 I know all about her."
}. "You know all about herr"
: "Yes. there's another like her over
: In England. was Just on my way
TO see II she wasn't tired OF waiting.
Dcst not W tuih uoout u "heic "ei 10
I going. They might can II desertion.'
e At the spot where the mounted po-
4 lice had looked back on Canada the
b day before. he stopped and made a
;. rope handcuff Of his halter.
A II am an officer OF this country"
I he explained, "and cannot knowingly
I aid you to escape when you're accused
( OF crime. I hope you are innocent,
e and we will do our best to send you
r back to where you can have a fair
z trial."
4 1t was all a part Of the prevailing
fateful mystery to the man In the sat-
J. die. He felt his hands bound again
a without opposition. A little later they
A turned a bluff into rest-camp Of the
: mounted police.