River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1923-09-20

Donald. For the time it had been as
n the rest of the world had been
fenced off from them and their own
intimate affairs.
He compressed his knees and the
mare answered in lope that
stretched into a gallop, fast and fast
err as she reached the levels and sped
toward Elk river. Sandy was not go
ing TO waste time looking for ford.
The mare could swim. He scanned
the mountain toward the peaks, passed
over the dark impenetrable pines,
surveyed the stretch of gently rising
ground between the Elk and the trees
and shifted his guns in their scab-
bards. His rifle he had left with
Sam. Either Plimsoll had not passed
the peaks, was IN the woods, or he
had come and gone. Something told
Sandy this last had not occurred.
Travel beyond the peaks must have
been hard and slow and roundabout
for Plimsoll while he had tangented
fast for the cutoff.
The mare took the cold river water
about her fetlocks with little SILVER,
wading in to the girths, sliding to a
deep pool where she had to swim
few strokes before she found gravel
under her hoofs and scrambled out.
Suddenly, while Sandy hesitated how
best to arrange his patrol, a horse
came fioundering out of the pines less
than a quarter of a mile away, black
horse, shining with sweat, tired to its
limit, staggering in its stride, the
rider hunched in the saddle more like
a sack of meal than man.
Before Sandy could turn the mare
toward them three riders burst from
the trees like bolts from crossbow,
squirting their mounts, the two in the
lead swinging lariats. They divided,
one TO either side of the laundering
black stallion. one at the rear, gain
ing, angling in. The ropes slithered
out, the loops seemed to hang like
suspended rings of wire for second
before they settled down, fair and
true, about the neck and shoulders of
the blacks rider. They frightened, the
lariats snlsbbed to the saddle horns.
the Horses sliding with flattened pas
terms. The black lunging on, pitched
forward as it was relieved of a sud
den weight and it's rider jerked
hideously from the saddle, hands
clawing at the ropes that chOked his
gullet, wrenching, sinking deep, shut
ting off air and light with q horrid
taste of blood and the noise of thun-
dering waters.
The ropers wheeled their mounts
and galloped back toward the woods,
the limp body of their victim drag
ging, bouncing over the ground. The
third rode to meet Sandy. 1t was
Brandon. He hailed Sandy with sur
prise.
How'd you happen here this time
Of night, Bourke? Not looking for
me?"
mo. I was looking for the man
you've just caught. I was above a
minute too late"
Brandon glanced curiously at San
dy, caught by the grim note in his
VOICE. buI he Io NUiliiiiCht.
"Sorry if I spoiled your private
vendetta, Bourke. You can have him.
what's left of him, if you want. We
were going to swing him from tree
with q card on his chest presenting
him to Hereford county, with our
compliments As 1t is, Bourke, I'd be
relieved if you'd keep out of this en-
tirely Even forgetting you'd met u.s.
We're within our rights, but we've
done some cleaning up tonight that
we might have to explain il we stayed
too long in the state. We got the
goods on Plimsoll; one of his men
whose girl Plimsoll had stolen helped
us to pin them on him. We met him
at Hereford. I'm going to send the
facts and proofs to your authorities
They may not approve of lynch law
these days, but they wouldn't act
and we did. / don't fancy they'll
bother us any. He wasn't worth the
ropes he spoiled. Just as well you
kept out of the mix-up."