The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1941-05-08


Look you here" Dry Camp said.
s'Tve strung with you when !
wouldn't have strung with any other
man, let alone an upstart kid. I'll
say this for you-you've made a
game fight. But kid, take my word
for it-they're too big, and they're
too strong"
"You think so?" Bill Roper said.
81 know SO. l don't know what
you had, made men like Lee Har-
nish and Dave Shannon and Nate
Liggett throw in with you, but they
did-the damnedest wild bunch Tex
as ever seen. Half the renegades OF
the Long Trail, and your part of
King-Gordon, has gone into beating
Cieve Tanner. And where are we
now?"
"Wel?"
'We aren't any place! Kid, tell
you we're beat, and we're long
beat!"
April melted into May, and Roper
had nothing to fight with any more
Those units of his wild bunch that
had not quit lad not been heard
from at all; he knew already that
the ones who had completely failed.
Cleve Tanner prospered, seemingly;
and all was well with Ben Thorpe.
Bill Roper waited at the Pot Hook
now, trying to think of some way
that he had missed. King-Gor-
don denied him, and Lew Gordon
expressedly would advance nothing
more against Dusty Kings share of
the partnership which had been bro
ken by death =.
Dry Camp Pierce still loafed at
the Pot Hook, detected, hopeless. No
one knew what he was waiting for.
Roper never heard from the rest of
them now. In spite of everything
that Maxim could do, the Rangers
were on the loose. The wild bunch
that had threatened to dominate
Texas was broken and split, scat
tered far and wide, every man for
himself. Day and night, saddle
pony waited beside the door of the
bunkhouse in which Roper slept . /.
Now, unexpectedly, came Sho-
shone Wilce.
Nothing could tell more of Roper's
present position than this:-as Sho-
shone Wilce rode up, Bill Roper al
ready had his gun in his hand, and
the other hand upon the bride rein
of his pony.
Shoshone Wilce almost tumbled
into Bill Roper's arms. He grabbed
Bill by both lapels of the black,
town-going coat that Roper always
wore when he was about to travel
long way. Shoshone's bottle-nose
cleaned and quivered, and his eyes
were like shoe buttons.
ssIt's donei He's bust-he's split
hes cracked"
what are you talking about?"
"Cleve Tanner! ! tell you, he's
gone to hell!"
Suddenly Bill Roper turned into
the unaccountable kid that his years
justified. Like man suddenly COM
ing alive, he took Shoshone by the
throat, shook him as if he had
weighed no more than a cat. His
teeth showed bare and set.
He said, "Shoshone-you fool with
me"
Shoshone cried out through the
grip on his throat, II tell you, Cleve
Tanner"
He couldn't say any more.
Bill Roper was cool again, now.
"What makes you think so?"
He failed his delivery at the Red.
Where he was supposed to bring up
fifteen thousand head, little hand
full of punchers showed up with a
few hundred. He can't round his
cattle-if he's got any cattle-and he
can't make delivery at the Red!"
'We didn't believe you," Shoshone
Wilce babbled on. 1--WE all said it
couldn't be done. But by gosh,
we've done it All over Texas, Tan
ner's notes are being called, as the
word spreads. Wells Fargo refuses
to honor his signature for dime.
They say now that Ben Thorpe won't
back Tanner-Thorpe denies him,
and the Tanner holdings are being
closed up and sold out"
"You sure?" Roper asked, looking
up from the ground again.
"Am sure? You think I'd risk
my damn throat coming here to
tell you something like this, if !
didn't know for sure?"
mo-" Roper admitted, ~ guess
not"
It's all over" Shoshone tried to
tell him. Cant you realize it,
man."
NO." Roper said.