The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1941-09-04
CHAPTER XVIII

Clint Ellison read the note a Sec
ond time.
I hope you are satisfied ESQ
the note said). Well, you can't
drag me into trouble with you.
am sticking by what told you
the other day. Count me out of
the whole business. I'm through
before you start on any plans
you have.
The name signed at the bottom
was Calhoun Terry.
Ellison helped himself to drink,
paced the floor, and returned to his
desk. He picked up pen and wrote.
The burden of his message was told
in two lines.
Since 7 am going down to Jim
Creek station tomorrow I will
drop in at the ranch and have a
talk with you.
He sealed the note and took it out
to Slim, who was waiting at the
Duflkf1OuSG iUT oil diiSWSI.
After the cowboy had ridden away
he went back into his Office and
walked the floor again. Irritably he
admitted to himself that he had
made a mistake. His gunman had
moved too fast for him. Before he
could get to the fellow and call him
off he had destroyed Black Yeager.
Ellison cared nothing about that,
except for its repercussions. The
rustlers had retaliated by shooting
Jim McFaddin. If Terry walked out
on the invasion that would be an
other blow.
But with or without Terry he
meant to carry on.
When he dropped in to see Terry
he defended what he had done, on
the ground that it was a necessity.
He made the further point that in
wiping out the thieves the big
ranches would be doing a service to
the territory.
Terry shook his head. "I've been
thinking this over, and l have
changed my mind about some
things :"
"Wait a minute" Ellison inter-
rupted. "You think I haven't played
fair with you. I want to say that l
couldn't have prevented the killing
of Black Yeager. 1t happened on
your way home, right after our
talk"
ST understand that" the manager
of the Diamond Reverse B agreed
stiff1y. "We'n leave Yeager out of
this. Point is, I don't enjoy being
shot at myself. If Yeager had fired
a hairs breadth straighter I would
be where Jim McFaddin is now.
To think that you can ambush rus
tiers wholesale without having them
play the same game is criminally
foolish. There is no stopping that
kind of business. 1t is like those
Kentucky feuds. They go on for
ever"
$50 will this thieving, if we don't
do something about it," the Bartlett
manager said curtly.
"I'n do what I can about il"
Terry answered. "If we catch a
man stealing our stuff, or if we find
it in his possession, I'll hang him
to a tree That's as far as I'll go.
I won't join in an organized drive
to wipe out suspicious characters. "
"Then the Diamond Reverse B
outfit is through, unless it changes
its manager"
"It's through, whether it does or
not. There's no other answer, Eli
son. The day of the big ranch is
past. Settlers have homesteaded
along the creeks and on choice bits
of range. More are coming in ev-
cry year. We can't buck the law.
Some of the large outfits are fenc-
ing land that isn't owned by them.
They can't get away with it. They
are licked before they start. Like it
or not, the cattle empires are going
to vanish. I've tried not to believe
this, but it stands out as plain as
Old Badly there"
$50 you're quitting" Ellison said,
scorn in his voice.
81 have advised my people to sell
at a profit while there is still time"
"Sell to whom?"
"To settlers. My idea is to break
up the ranch into twenty or more
small ones. 1t can be divided so
that the land will sell like hot
cakpc -