New Britain herald., 1921-08-09
"THE DUKE OF
 CHIMNEY BUTTEo ~. 5E. By G. w. OGDEN The Romance of Chivalrous Adventurer in the Lawless West
(Copyright, 1920, A. c. Mcclurg & Co.,
By c. w. OGDEN
Z. in the Lawless West

Dld you ever hear of him killing anybody else?'
 oh' plenty, plenty" said the old man with easy generosity T bet he's kiIeo hun'ed men-maybe mon a hun'ed''
 But you don't know" she said, shlhng at the old mans extravagant recommendation of his hero.
 don know, but bet he is," said ne. Look at 'em!'' he chuckled; look at old Nick Ha'gus and his onery' low-down Injun blood boy!"
 CHAPTER V.
 A Mans Job.
 Vesta rode out to meet them as they were coming back, to make sure of her thanks. She was radiant with gratitude, and at no loss any longer for words to express it.
 Why can't you boys stop here a While and help me out?' she asked, saying at last in a burst of hopeful eagerness what had been in her heart 10 say from the first. She held out her hand to each of them in a pretty way of appeal, turning from one to the other, her gray eyes pleading.
 nate to see herd like that broken up by thieves, and all of your investment wasted,'' said the Duke, thoughtfully, as if considering it deep ly. guess we'll stay and give you a hand" said the Duke.
 She pulled her horse up short, and gave him, not a fgurative hand, but warm, a soft and material one, from which she pulled her ,buckskin glove as if to level all thought or suggestion of barrier between them. She turned and shook hands with Taterleg warming him up so with her glowing eyes that he patted her hand a lit tie before he let it go, in manner truly atriarcha1.
 You're all right, you're all right" he said.
 Once pledged to it, the Duke was anxious to set his hand to the work he saw cut out for him on that big ranch. He led Vesta into discus sion of conditions as they stood be- tween her neighbors and herself.
 Nick Hargus is one of the most persistent offenders, and we might as we'll dispose of him first, since you've met the old wretch and know what he's like on the outside she ex- plained. "Hargus was in the cattle business in hand-to-mouth way l when we came here, and he raised a l bigger noise than anybody else about our fences, claiming we'd cut him off from water, which wasn't true. We didn't cut anybody off from the river. 'Hargus is married to an Indian squaw. little old squat, black-faced thing as mean as snake. Old liar gus usually harbors two or three cat 1 tie thieves, horse thieves or other crooks of that kind, some of them l just out of the pen, some preparing ] their way to it. He does a sort of general rustling business, with this ranch as his main source of sapply. We've had a standing fight on with him ever since we came here, but to- day was tho first time, as I told you, that he ever was caught
 Who comes next?" Lambert in- Quired.
 There's a man they call Walleye Bostian-his regular name is Jesse on the farther end of this place that's | troubled with a case of incurab1e re. sentiment against barbed-wire fence
 He's sheepman, one of the last that would do lawless deed, you'd think from the look of him, but he's near to the roots of his hair. l got a sho1 at him once that he'll remember"
 The Dukes face grew a shade more serious. er e
 T hope we can take that kind o1
 work off your hands in the future Miss Philbrook'' he said, his voice
 slow and grave.
 She lifted her grateful eyes with g
 look of appreciation that seemed tt him overpayment for a service pro posed, rather than done. She wen on, then with a description of her in !. teresting neighbors. "On the north of us Hargus is thu 5 worst, on the south a man named Kerr Ker- is the biggest single l handed cattleman around here. Hi [ one grievance against us is that w , shut creek that he formerly uset along inside our fences that forced
 him to range down to the river fo 3 lwater. As the creek begins and end , on our lands-it empties into tn l river abou- mile above here-it'
 hard for an unbiased mind to gras
 Kerr's poin~ of objection. Have you ever taken a shot a , him ?'' the Duke asked, smiling a lit ] tie dry smile.
 e "No-o," said she reaectively, mot a :. Kerr himse1 Kerr is what is usuall LCIII160 d llldL IS, Il0 5 0 man of education and wears his bear cut like bankers, but his method h of carrying on a feud are extremel }, low. Fighting is beneath his dignity q I guess; he hires it done. I've had n shot at his men more than once, bu n there are one or two in that Ker family I'd like to sling a gun dow on! And his daughter is as bad a e any of them!"
 It was strange to hear that gentle s hammered, refined girl talk of fghtin '' as if it wer, the commonest of every e tday business. There was no note C is boasting, ID color of exaggeration i
 her manner. She was as natural an IT sincere as the calm breeze, coming i e through the open window, and a r, wholesome and pure. oi Lambert's first business on takin