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

struck from no place, scattering the
herd, and blazing down on Harnish's
riders almost before they could take
to the saddle. There had been
sharp running fight as Harnish and
his half-dozen boys took to the brush
and the hills. dissatisfied with sei-
zure of the herd, the unknown band
had spent three days trying to hunt
down Harnish's riders.
Lee Harnish himself, wounded in
the first skirmish, had had a hard
time getting clear; it was not known
whether or not all of his riders
were elsewhere accounted for.
After an elapse Of several weeks,
an Indian-faced vaquero came hunt
ing Bill Roper; he carried a writ
ten message from Lee Harnish:
"This thing is finished up. Don't
let anybody tell you it was Cleve
Tanners men busted into us. What
hes done, this Tanner has put some
punches of Mex renegades UP to
landing on us, they work with the
Yakis, and his Indian scouts have
spotted where we make our cross
ings. Seems like there's anyway
dozen bands of them haven't got any,
thing else to do but lay watching
those crossings, and wait us cut.
about half of them is carrying
new American guns and plenty am
munition. They got our hide nailed
to the fence all right and we are
through"
1t was a long time before Roper
saw Lee Harnish again. He did not
accept Harnish's statements off
hand; but when he had conferred
with Dave Shannon, and others of
the border men in whom he be-
heved, he was forced to accede that
the border-running phase of the at
tack on Tanner was done.
AS February drew to a close, the
big herds we're once more being
thrown together for the trail. From
the eleven rehabilitated outfits in
which Roper was now silent part
ner, a little trickle of trail cattle
began to move toward the gather
ing grounds on the Red. The in
come from these sales helped lit
tie; but the proceeds were principal
ly absorbed by debts incurred in
behalf of the individual ranches. The
improvement in his situation which
Roper had hoped for did not come.
1t was deep into March when Tex
Long quit.
Look" Tex Long said, ''look."
He did not talk easily; whatever
he said was matter-of-fact, even
now. II got to pull out of this
game"
Bill Roper looked at him, without
expression. "All right. How much
you figure owe your"
Tex smiled. Nothing"
A very rare flush of anger came
into Bill Roper's face. TEX, what's
the matter with your"
Tex Long made a quick, futile
gesture with his hands. "We used
to be able to jump down on them.
We can't do that now. The Bert
Johnson place is studded with RI
fles until a man can't take step.
Every place you'll find out it's the
same. There isn't going to be any
thing more we can do. We went
good for a while. But they got or
ganized, now. We're through"
Tex Long was only one of Bill
Roper's picked gunfghters, but he
was one of the best. AS March
drew on, Roper lost four more.
Into the Big Bend, into the valley
of the Nueces, Cleve Tanner had
flooded such a power of gunfighters
as Bill Roper would not have be-
leved. He had supposed that he
could outplace and outsmart Tan
ner's warrior outfits. But now his
raiding forces met everywhere a
stubborn resistance.
Roper had discounted the quit of
Tex Long; but now other news was
coming in. The Graham outfit-the
first of all those that the Roper men
had taken-was again in the hands
of Cleve Tanner; and Nate Liggett,
assigned to protect Graham, had
headed for the tall without even
report. Hat Crick Tommy was three
weeks missing. The Davis outfit,
left under his protection, had gone
the way of all loose outfits, and Tan
ner's cowboys rode the range.
Dry Camp Pierce was almost the
last to come in-cf those who came
in at all.
Pierce rode into the Pot Hook
Camp early in April. He was the
same, small wiry man he always
had been-his eyes watery, his jaws
poorly shaven.
"Bill, I can't carry these camps
no more. God knows we strung
with you while we could. We've ct
beef, beef, beef without salt or -four,
we've ct bobcat meat. But Bill,
there's no lead in our guns, and
there's no patches in our pants,
and it's time got to let the boys
60. to make out any way they can."
Bill Roper looked older than Dusty
King had ever looked; his face was
like granite, with hard lines cut into
it by the weather.
"Okay,' he said. ''I understand
how you feel, Dry Camp"
Dry Camps anger was gone as
quickly as it had come. BILL" he
said pleadingly, Its only-it's on
ly-"
Its only that you've had a lot of
men out working for u.s." Bill Roper
said more reasonably.
Near fifty men," Dry Camp said.