Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-12-07

miles out OF town. Knowing that the
road agents were heavily armed each
carried a rifle and two revolvers
While both were sure that the bandits
were we'll ahead Of them, they trav-
eled q course parallel TO the road but
well out Of rifle range TO prevent any
/ possibility of ambush. They were so
/ sure that the holdup men we're headed
/ for Bozeman that they did not even
make an attempt to see II they had
left the main road for any Of the
I numerous side roads which branched
off from It,
"They rode hard until sunset with
out a sign Of their quarry so they
cooked a simple meal over a sheltered
! fire along the banks Of the Missouri
Then, extinguishtng the fire, they
rolled their beds some distance away.
Sight Wagon
Dawn found them in the saddle
again. Shortly after sunrise they left
their horses in a draw and crawled
to the top of a hill to survey the
country. Everything was peaceful. AS
they were about to leave they saw
a light wagon, answering to the de-
scription Of the bandits, enter the
road from a coulee and start eastward.
They returned to their horses and
started a circle which would eventually
bring them ahead Of the wagon.
Hours later, and only a few miles
out of Three Forks they crossed the
road again. There was no sign of the
crooked wagon track but, although
they had not seen the wagon since
early morning, they were certain they
were ahead Of 1t. So they Travelled
slowly, waiting for 1t to catch up.
I'm a few minutes they heard the
wagon behind them. It was a delicate
situation. Outnumbered and with three
desperate men behind them they we're
taking a long chance. Should the ban
dts suspect they were peace officers,
would they open fire?
Passing a small bunch Of cattle,
Steele had an idea. Why not pretend
they were cattle buyers inspecting
stock and ride among the cattle? From
this vantage point they could watch
the road agents and attack If the OPP
portunity offered itself. and at any
rate they would be less likely to create
suspicion.
THE plan was Immediately put into
effect and as the wagon drew abreast
Roberts was busy pointing out fat
stock while Steele made notes on the
back of an envelope. All hardware
had been shifted to the opposite side
where it could not be seen and with
few suspicious glances the road
agents passed on. The situation looked
more hopeless than ever. While one
man drove his partner sat beside him |
with a rifle across his knees and the /
third man sat in the back of the |
wagon, facing the rear, with several
guns in reach. For all practical pur- |
poses the wagon was a moving fort |
and attack under such circumstances I
would have been suicide. So, all the
officers could do was to follow. In
this manner they arrived in Three /
Forks.
Riding slowly down the road into
town they watched the road agents
pull up in front of the general store,
two of them entering the store while /
the third stayed outside to hold the
horses. Now was the chance. Riding up
behind the wagon Steele and Roberts
and tied their horses to
the hitching rack.
Steele ducked under the bar and
stepped up on the sidewalk as if to
enter the store, while Roberts picked
up the hind foot of his horse as if !
to examine the shoe. The man in the
wagon gave them hardly glance and
down the sidewalk, pulled out the gun
he had hidden in his shirt. When
Steele was in front of the man, Rob-
erts dropped the horses foot and or
dered the man to throw up his hands.
Steele spun around, a gun
in his hand and the man was caught
between them He did not resist and
in a few moments he was bound and
gagged and hauled out of sight be-
hind building, with local citizen
for guard.
Nov came the hard part; one down
and two more to go. Had the others
noticed that the third man was miss
ing and were they on their guard?
His gun hidden in his shirt again
Roberts strolled casually into the store
and up to where the two men were
buying groceries. AS he reached the
group he noticed that the back door
swung open slightly as If a breeze
had moved it, and he knew that Steele
was in position and ready. Nodding to
the two customers he asked the store
keeper If he knew who the cattle he
had seen down the road belonged to.
Before the man could answer the back |
door slammed shut with a bang
Instantly the two men wheeled to
face the rear of the room and forget
ting Roberts for the moment. Again
the gun came out of hiding as he
ordered the two to raise their hands /
One was about to wheel on him as
Steele stepped into the room, with |
the shotgun he had taken from the