Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1921-01-13
Juan; rnem InJuns Will need us fore
long. Come on. stranger"

lowed. Neither man so much a.
glanced back toward Shelby. seeming
ly Indifferent as to what he chose t,
do. Yet he knew the customs of tn,
West and that if he failed them nov
no future falsehood would ever regain
their confidence. He swung into tn
saddle and rode silently forward be
hind Juan. The cattle were still out O
sight ahead, but they could hear tn,
calls of the drivers. Shelby presse,
his bronco, up closer tt the Mexican
who had lit a cigarette.
us it far, Juan?' he asked.
"Nom de Dios! l heard you moi
To the Hole you mean? Not far, bu
rough. senor; vet there is no othe
way to get cattle in" I
'The man with you; who is he?"
Juan emitted a cloud Of blue smok
in the air. smiling pleasantly.
"Senor Laud."
"T4aud" in %undisguised astonish,
ment. What Laud? Not Indian
Joe'?"
Isl, senior; they call heem that
confidently. "He vera bad man. You
know heem, what?'
Shelby gripped himself tightly.
I've heard of him, that's all. He's
a Sioux squawman, but I never knew
what he looked like before"
His pony, no longer urged, fell back
trailing at the rear of the others
Juan rode on, unconscious and indif
ferent, blowing spirals Of smoke into
the air, and humming the strain OF
some Spanish melody, but Shelby was
staring beyond him at the red-beardet
white man slouched down in his sad
Gle. So that fellow was Indian joe
Laud! AS never before he realized
to the full the danger into which he
advanced.
Indian Joe" Laud! When hadn'
he heard Of him? For years certainly
e since he had been in this north
country, yet in appearance the fellow
was not at all what he previously
a imagined that desperate to be
Laud was gross, bearded, dirty, coarse
featured; to all appearances a mere
barroom tough, yet no man on thu
frontier had a worse record or wal
more dreaded and despised. Why wa.
ne mere stealing cattle on the yer,
verge of Indian war? True, he wa.
not a Sioux in blood, yet it was wei
known that he had been adopted int
the tribe and never failed to have +;
nand IN their deviltry. Army officers
claimed he possessed more influence
owe them for evil than any chief, ant
shelDy had heard him mentioned will
Sitting Bull as leaders in the ghost
If true, then he must know
now far to venture, and just when t,
draW aside so as to save himself, Tha
must be ito him wal near only a,
opportunity to plumber. The final re
suit was clearly Indian defeat; h
would keep out, but in the meanwhile
profit all he could.
The trail led downward at a rathe
steep grade, in spite of continual curv
Ing. The sure-footed horses move
faster than the cattle, and before TIL
outfit reached the level of the vale.
the three riders had closed in on tn
Indian drivers. Shelby knew them a
once as young Sioux warriors, and wa
again able to distinguish plainly tn
brand on the flank of the steers bring
ing up the e "a of the herd. The,
were unquestionably his. own stock
and, in spite of his rage, he could no
be entirely Indifferent to the grim hu
NOR of the situation-he was bein;
guided into Wolves hole by the yer,
men who had robbed him.
Yet his thoughts did not dwell upol
this so much just then. as on the ma
chance he had assumed in this adven
ture. What could he accomplish? Wha
hope was there that he would eve
emerge again alive? He was goin;
forward blindly, led by fate, with no
even a plan of guidance. He mus
work alone, in the midst Of enemies
desperate men to whom human lf
was valueless, and where any incaU
tious Word OF act would instantly eS
pose him to discovery. In spite o
the fact that he was believed deaG
Macklin would recognize him at
glance, and the very claim that he wa
Il friend of Hanley's exposed him t
discovery. In some way he must avoi
them both, and yet no plan p~resente'
itself to promise escape. He coul
only drift h%elplessly, becoming NOR
respondent of success with every ste
of advance.
1t was already dusk when they at
tanned the level of the valley, and tn
ovepshadowing bluffs rose high OF
either hand, leaving them ploddin'
through the gloom. Yet even here the,
had not attained the full depression
of the Hole. which required anothe
sharp descent along the border of thu
stream, where a ledge of rock had evi
IDENTIFY been blasted out. This passage
abruptly ended in a wide, stone cause
way. turning sharply to the left, ant
running beneath a waterfall, where tn,
broad stream leaped yer a ledge o.
high rock. 1t was a task to get thu
cattle through, yet once started, they
plunged forward, following each othel
4 w. ~ - e.-.l- 1871 49,