Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1924-12-05


light Of q personal affront
"D-n him." he growled deep in his
throat when Hampton had ridden out
with word to shift one of the herds
into fresh pasture, an act on which
Carson had already decided, "some
day I'll just take him between my
thum' an finger an anni-hilate him."
The greater bulk of the stock had
been steadily shifted higher in the
hills. The hogs grazed on the slopes
at the north Of the Lower End; cat
tie and horses had been pushed east
ward to the little valleys In the noun
tains about the lake. Even the pla-
teau, where the old cabin stood, was
now stocked with Lees prize string
of horses. Then one day Hampton
came galloping through the herds of
shorthorns, seeking Carson.
Crowd them down to the Lower
End again." he shouted above the din.
"Cut out the scrawny ones and haze
the rest into the pens"
Carson's steel-blue eyes snapped,
his teeth showed like a dogs.
"Drunk?" he sneered. Whats eat
ing your"
DO as you're told" retorted Hamp-
ton hOtly. "Those are orders from
headquarters and it's up to you to
obey them. Get me?"
eff ever | do get you, sonny" grunt-
ed Carson, "there won't be enough of
you left for the dawgs to quarrel over.
Orders or no orders, l amt going to do
no such fool thing"
Hampton reined his horse in closer,
staring frowningly at the old cattle
man. The purplish color of rage
mounted in Carson's tanned cheeks.
you'll do what you're told or go
get your time," he announced tersely.
"We've got an order for five hundred
beef COWS and we're selling imme-
diately,"
Carson's jaw dropped.
"What?" he demanded, not quite
believing his ears. Say that again,
will you"
II said 1t once" retorted Hampton.
"Now get busy"
'Who are we selling to? I amt
heard about it,"
can oversight, my dear Mr.. Carson"
laughed Hampton, his own anger risen.
"Quite an oversight that you were not
Rockwell & Haight. Ever heard of
them"
"Who says we're selling?'
II say so. And, If you've got to
have all the news, Miss Sanford says
So"
"She does, does she? Hmm. First
knew Of 1t. What fgger?"
Really, does that concern you? If
the price suits me and Miss Sanford,
who own the stock, does 1t in any way
affect you? I don't want to quarrel
with you, Carson, and do appreciate
that you are good man in your way.
But just because you have worked
here long time, don't make the mis-
take Of thinking that you own the
ranch"
With that he whirled his horse, and
was gone. Carson, with puckered
brows, stared after him.
But orders were orders, and Carson
though the heart was sore, barked out
his commands to his herders to turn
the cattle. back toward the lower
fields. He had been converted to the
new way, he had grown to dream Of
the fat prices his cow brutes would
fetch in the winter market, he knew
that prices now were rock-bottom low,
that Doan, Rockwell & Haight were
close buyers who before now had cut
the throat Of the Blue Lake ranch in
sacrifice sales when Bayne Trevors
ran the outfit.
Were standing to lose thousan's
an thousan's Of dollars" he told him
self in disgust. "All we've spent on
irrigation an fences an silos an
bitches, all gone to heck in a ham
basket. Not counting thousan's Of
more dollars lost in selling at what
we can get this time Of year. 1t
makes me sick, d-n throwin'-up sick"
Riding down a long, winding trail,
out through patch Of chaparral into
q rocky gorge, Hampton turned east
again toward the high plateau. TAX
ing the roundabout way which led
from the far side Of the lake and
along the flank of the mountain to the
table-land, he came to scattering
band Of horses and Tommy Burkitt.
where's LeeW called Hampton.
Burkitt grinned at him by way Of
greeting, and then pointed across the
plateau to ravine leading to a still
higher, smaller, shut-in valley. Hamp-
ton galloped on and a quarter of an
hour later came up with Lee. The
horse foreman was sitting still in his
saddle, his eyes taking stock of fresh
pit of pasture into which he planned
turning his horses a little later. It
was one Of a dozen small meadows on
the mountain creeks where the canyon
walls widened out into an oval.
shaped valley, less than half-mile
long, where there was much rich
grass.
"Hello. Hampton" called Lee pleas.
antly. whats the word?'