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Show UTDfG 1 EANCH. ' ' ) months ago Hon. Horace Qreen-iae Qreen-iae to America to seek his fort-l: fort-l: has just returned to England t the fortune. Being the younger i peer of limited means, Hon. had been brought np with a 0 the family living, but when, his university career was draw- 1 close, his aunt died and left him n of thousand pounds, ho relin-' relin-' the idea of taking orders, and iaed to go out to the far west in fadventures and wealth, and he l-'d two of his father's servants ' and a gardener to accompany ft'ith nearly $10,000 in his pocket, fit that would last a lifetime 1 it could never be utilized where going two servants and three embarked for the tJnited States, inick passage he arrived in New adhere he met his first disap-r'it, disap-r'it, The very next morning, a Mtes before starting on the jour-itward, jour-itward, his groom notified him r'ir relations of master and serv-1 serv-1 ceased. ' is that?" asked Horace. you see, air,'' said the servant, wan Irishman, "I have an uncle ' ity who is a great politician. I ' see him last night, and he says if ; ''wo he'll make me a p'liceman ;iys. Ha says as a berth on the rce is worth a salary of $100 a ?nd a lot of outside inoney to a Arrivea nere he was left m charge Ot the others while the leader went and explained ex-plained the situation to his master. In a few minutes the young Englishman was summoned to the pre"noe of Mr, Philpott, whom he found lying in bed. After saluting Hofvce with a savags glare, ho said : "Perhaps, young man, yon can explain why you tried to drive off my cattlor Sam "says yon bought 'em from some one." "And so I did," Horace replied, and at once gave a full account of the transaction. transac-tion. "Waal, stranger," said the wounded ranchman, "that beats anything I ver heerdl That man as yon paid that money to ain't got no more to do with them cattle than the emperor of China has. Now, look here, my lad. I'm nigh on to CO years old, and I've been out hsr thirty, and what I don't know about these parts ain't worth knowing. Take my advice. Go home and stay thar. This ain't no country for yon, and ef yon stay you'll only come to grief. A man as will give $5,000 to a stranger for a scrap of paper ain't going to get on hereabouts. here-abouts. You shall sleep here to-night, stranger, and I'll treat you hospitable; but, take my advice, set out for home to-morrow." And when that night Horace lay on the hard bed in the old Texan's houe, the rectory on his father's estate appeared in a more desirable light than it ever had before, and be came to the conclusion that a country parson's life was bnA?r i than a ranchman's. Ho has returned I home without the anticipated fortune and minus his aunt's li gacy. True Flag. been led to expect, but they were not so bad as to cause him to change his mind. The handsome two story dwelling, a photograph of which had been shown to him in London, turned out to be a combination com-bination of stable and cattte shed, with a loft, which had been used by the last owner as his habitation. The soil was fairly fertile and the past-ture past-ture good, but the broad deep river which ! he expected to find flowing in front of i the building was in reality only a gully i a few feet wide, down which water did elowly trickle in the winter, but which ' was perfectly dry. during the summer months. However, he was not discouraged, discour-aged, and having obtained a concession in tho price, he paid the first installment of the purchase money. Then he brought out his three dogs and all his portmanteaus, portman-teaus, and took possession of the loft over thc stable. Two days later he became be-came the possessor of a horse and a mule, paying a price for them that made his neighbors smile when they heard of it. Every man in the locality now cahed and offered to sell to him "cheap" many implomente and animals which they did not need, but without which, they said, he could not possibly get along. One individual, whom he had previously previ-ously met in Austin, camo from a distant dis-tant ranch, and begged him to go and see some cattle he had to sell. Isow cattle cat-tle wore what Howce wanted, and believing be-lieving himself to be a fair judge of them, he mounted his home and roue away with his new acquaintance. After a ride of about twenty miles they reached an inclosed tract of land upon which over a hundred head of stock were grazing, unattended by cowboys home." Horace went to the bank (he had deposited de-posited his money here when last in Austin, there being no such institution as a bank in Helena), drew out the necessary amount, and returning to the hotel paid the purchase money and took a receipt. Then the Texan told him to go and hire two cowboys to help him to drive the cattle home and to bring them out to the ranch, to which he himself would at once ride on and order his lads to get tho animals together, so that no time need be wasted. Horace had no difficulty In finding two mounted men willing to help him drive his purchase to his ranch, and attended at-tended by them he trotted off in hopes of overtaking his new friend. But he arrived at the field where the cattle were grazing without doing so, and furthermore fur-thermore on his arrival could perceive nosimofthe Texan. He waited a few minutes, then said to one of the cowboys: cow-boys: "It's odd that Mr. Philpott isn t here. How can we got them out? "Can't do it," was the laconic reply. "Rope's too plentiful hereabouts to be driving awav cattle without the owners consent. I know old Philpott; he am t to be trifled with. Wht.t you got to show von bought 'em?" Ho-ace held out his receipt and each of the cowboys looked at it. "Tiat's right enough." said one of them "ho'll be here soon, I guess." But they waited half an hour and he did not come, so Horace, thoroughly angry aud impatient, siuwthed the lock on tiv) Kite and rode into the inclosure, followed by his two attendants. He had, he said, paid for the stock, and he wa going to take them. Then the three cantered off in different differ-ent directions to bring the animal, together. to-gether. But while they were so employed em-ployed the report of a rifle caused them to K-.n the country, and they perceived three men galloping toward them. "Them's Philpott's boys," said one of Horace's new employes: "we'll wait I0And 'they sat still upon their horses until the tbrw men, each holding a revolver re-volver in his right hand, rode up and 1 8ked in no very polite lmguage what I thev were doing with tho cattle. ! "I'm going to take them to my ranch. ! said Greenfield. -I've bought and paid "i tell yon, stranger," saiu m reining in bis horse and looking over the fence, "thar be the finest beaste m this state, and they're to be soldas cheap as dirt-thirty dollars per head all TonCe could see at a glance that there was no deception here; they were really fine animals, and in fairly good condition. . , "How many are there? he ased. "One hundred and fifty," replied the ranchman. "In six 0i with the pasture you've got, th y " Eve put on three hundred pounds of flLh apiece, and you. know what money '"P as ain t too partickler." I'jfl. Horace was oompelled to go r, ay without the groom, although t about f 150 to fit him out and passage. He had already been ctiation for a small ranch near Tex., and it was thither that he On arriving at Austin he ,Jat there was no train for twenty-C1rs, twenty-C1rs, and accordingly he put up Shooter's hoteL Here came in ; for the first timo with a "genuine who greeted him according to the stereotyped formula: "Morning, r- Hain't seen you hereabout Glad to get 'quainted wi' you. wtile? Whafs your biz? Come ;" something." 'J OreenCeid ine a number of try during the day, and being ' insnspecting young fellow, he opened his heart to them and 151 of his prospects, his hopes and ttions. They treated him kindly, nviting him to drink, but gen-"aving gen-"aving hun to settle the bilL " horning his remaining servant id begged to be released from his stating that a nursery garden in nhad been offered to him, and f he had saved sufficient money 19 him to invest in it, he thought chances would be better in aa Jent vocation than in service. you prepared to reimburse me Pense3 in bringing you here;" 'it afford that, sir," was the re- ' well," said Greenfield: "I can't 1 you going. The onlyCreatures h 'aitliful to me are my dogs. It - -bout $300 to equip and bring '' men out, and you desert me at opportunity. You can go." ?d by his three dogs the young atinced on his journey to Helena, next day went to view the ranch contemplated purchasing. that means. . , . .- j The two men tied their horses to tne rJ climted over it and walked amor,? he anS It wr.s much the best herd Horace had vxn in Texas, and as it annearetl to him that in a few months he ; couTd make a handsome profit out of the tensaction he announced his intention lexanTshalring "hanls energetically wt -!nn Greenfield; "and now well Jit jSoTmanddrinlc to your success. suc-cess. I do the treating. Thev rode into Austin, and gomg to the hotel at which Horace had stopped 1 few days before drank to the youn Fne-lSs success in two quart-of . 8 7 for which the generous -in bank I think yon said. Horace nodded. continue,l: "?Sl8e4n:ve T over you "miZ S ?mThundred and SffSSS cattle for them. "Guess von ain'i bought these animals, ani-mals, stranger," was tho reply. "Th-y belong to our old man, andwhva he hears you ve bin tryin'to drive em cE he'll be hi favor of ehowing you how we treat cattle thiav out hre. Bat you don't look like a thief, now. "He ain't no thief," said anotner; "he 8 "Did thTeattle belong to Ez-kiel rh;lpottr asked Horace. "They did and they do," was the re- Pl"I have hi receipt to the purchase ' money " continued Greenfield, offering eteerowboysreadit Then the one who appeared to be the leader said. 'Htramrer, vou'il Lave to come and see thTohfrnan. Hi. names Ezekiel PhU-Port,bnt PhU-Port,bnt be never tigned that cmpt. for a bullet happened into his elbow two wLu axu. and he's bin in bed ever He couldn't hold a pen to save hjWtib va?Tie feelings of unftaainess, the Km Honx-e allowed himself tobecoa-rthereeidenceof tobecoa-rthereeidenceof Ezekiel Phd-portThich Phd-portThich was about three miles away. |