Show 1 l ta STORY taj landbo of the dy KATE AND VIRGIL by A 0 mcclurg co wl SYNOPSIS george a poor ranchman high minded and cultured searches for cattle missing from his ranch the lazy 8 on a wooded spot in the rivers bed that would have been an island had the missouri been at high water he discovers a band of horse thieves engaged in work ing over brands on cattle he creeps near enough to note the cl angling of the three bars brand on one steer to the J it brand I 1 aul langford the rich owner of the three bars ranch Is sent tor by and Is informed of the operations ot the gang of cattle thieves a band of outlaws laded by jesse black who long have defied the law and authorities of meroah county south dakota with impunity but who heretofore had not dared to molest any of the property of the great three bars ranch ton shows his in opposing a band so powerful in politics and so dread ed by all the community landlord pledges his friendship it he will assist in bringing jesse black and his gang to justice langbord Lang tord Is struck with the beauty of mary commonly known as a little girl CHAPTER III louise it was raining when she left wind city but the rain had soon been dis danced perhaps the judge was right when ho bald it never rained north or west ot wind city but the judge had not wanted her to go neither had the judge s wife full 20 minutes only day before yesterday the judge had delayed his days outing at the mill where tho jim aher doubles right around on its tracks in order to make it perfectly clear to her that it was absolutely outside the bounds of her duty that it was altogether an affair on the side that she could not be expected to go and that the prosecuting attorney up there had merely asked her out of courtesy in deference to her position of course he would be glad enough to get her but let him get some one nearer home or do without it was nt at all necessary tor the court report er to hold herself in readiness to an awer tho call of anything outside her prescribed circuit duties to be sure she would earn a trifle but it was i hard trip a hard country and she had much better postpone her initial journey into the unknown until the regular term of court when he could be with her lie had then thrown his minnow seine over his shoulders taken his minnow pall in one hand and bis reel case and lunch box in the other and walked out to the road wagon awaiting him at the gate and so off to his frolic leaving her to fight it out for herself the judges wife had not been so diplomatic not by any means she had dwelt long and earnestly and no doubt to a large extent truly on the uncivilized condition ot their neigh bora up the line tho roughness of accommodations the boldness and license of the cowboys the daring and insolence of cattle thieves and cunning and dishonesty of the indians and the uncouthness and of the half breeds she had ended by declaring eloquently that louise would die of lonesomeness if by god s good providence she escaped a worse fate at the hands of one or all of the many evils she had enumerated yes it was very evident aunt helen had not wanted her to go but aunt helens real reason had been that she held it so dizzily unconventional for her niece to go to that wild and unholy land alone she did not actually fear for her nieces personal safety and louise more than halt suspected the truth she bad heard all the arguments before they had attle or no terrors for her now they were the ments used by the people back in hei eastern home those dear dear peo pie her people how far away she was when they had schemed and plotted so pathetically to keep her with them the second one to break away from the slow safe and calm traditions ot her kin in the place where generation after of her people had lived and died and now lay waiting the great judgment in the peaceful country burying ground sho had listened to them dutifully halt believing swallowed hard and followed her undo her father a youngest brother to tho land of the Dakota hs isow that same dear undo was a man of power and position in the new land only last november he had been reelected to his third term on the bench of his circuit with a big heart majority in the day 0 bis prosperity he had not forgot ten the little tangle haired girl who had cried so inconsolably when he went away and the unaccountable hor in whose eyes he had tried to laugh away on that never to be forgon ten day when he had wrenched hla heartstrings heart strings from their sate abiding place and gone forth in quest ot the pot of gold at the end f the first of many bradl alon knew no 0 her since his ances tors had felled forests and built homes of havn logs now he had sent for louise ills court reporter had re bently left him for other fields of labor there vas commotion among her people on receipt of the astounding proposition she lived over again tho dak da k days ot the first flitting it might well be her uncle had exah the dangers of life in the new land it was great fun to shock his credulous relatives he had surely written them some enormous tales during hose 15 ears and more tie used to chuckle heartily to himself at reading some of the sympathizing replies but these tales were held in evidence against him now that ho dared to want louise every letter was brought out by louise s deir old grandmother and read to her over again louise did not halt beleve them but they were gospel truth to her grandmother and almost so to her father and mother as w ell she re the old spirit 0 tun ram pant in her favorite uncle and while his vivid pictures took all the color from her sensitive face deep down in her heart she recognized them for what they were worth the letters were a strange medley ot grasshoppers blizzards and indians dut a ten dol lar per diem was a great temptation over a five dollar per diem and times were pretty hard on the old farm more than all the inexplicable something that bad led her uncle to throw tradition to the four winds of heaven was calling her persistently and would not be denied the dear hero of her childhood was much changed to be sure his big joints bad taken on more flesh and he had gained in dignity of de what he had lost in ease of movement ills once merry eyo had grown keen with the years of just judging the lips that had laughed so much in the old days were set in lines of sternness judge II ammond dale was a man who would live up to louise the tenets of his high calling without fear or favor through good and evil report yet through all his gravity of demeanor and tho pride of his in louise instinctively felt his kindliness and loved him for it the loneliness tell away from her and a measure of content had come in its place until the letter had come from the states attorney up in kemah county my dear miss dale the eighteenth ot august Is the dato beet tor tho ary hearing ot jeise ciack hlll you come and take the testimony I 1 am very that the testimony be taken by a competent reporter and shall ba grate ful to you it you decide to come the judie will tell you about our poor let me recommend to your consideration some rood arlenda of mine the father and daugh tor they live three miles northwest of kamah the judge will remember wll allun george Wl lUston of the lazy S they are cultured people though their way of living la necessarily primitive I 1 am sure yon will ilka it better there than at our shabby little hotel which la a rendezvous for a pretty rough class of men especially at court time if you decide to come mary WI Illston will meet you at velpen please let me know your deolson very sincerely so here she was going into the in dlan country at last A big state south dakota and the phases of its civilization manifold having come so far to refuse to go on seemed like turning back with her hand already on the plow so with a stout heart she had wired richard gordon that she would go but it wag pretty hard now to be sure and pretty dreary coming into velpen knowing that abo would see no one she knew in all the wide wide world the thought choked her and the impish demon loneliness he of the smirk and horns and devils eyes loomed leeringly before her again blindly she picked up her urn brella suit caso and rain coat Homesick 7 asked the kindly brake man with a consolatory grin as he came to assist her with her bag gase sho bit her lip in mortification to think she had carried her feelings so palpably on her sleeve dut she nod ded honestly mabe it wont be so bad sym the brakemen bra kemin ills rough heart had gone out to the slim fair creathie crea tuie with tho vague brou trou ble in her dieb chante you said louise grate fully there was a moment a bewilderment on the station platform there was no one who seemed to be mary no one who might ba looking for her it was evening too the lone isome evening to those away from i home when thoughts stab and memo i rles sap the courage some one push I 1 ed her rudely aside she was in the wiy ot the trucks Chuc tell none 0 your sasa my lad cheres my alst heft it if you don t put no stock in its looks git out 0 this I 1 say the voice giai big and convincing the man gasn wasn t so big but some wiy w iy he looked convincing too the truck man stepped aside but with plucky temerity answered back get out yourself think you own the whole cattle country jest cause you herd a few ornery pink eyed slab sided critters tor your salt well the railroad aln t the rane ie me tell sou that jest you run your own agirs will oua chanky glad to and as my at fairs Is at present a lady thank iou to just trundle this here railroad offspring to the back 0 this here lady the back I 1 eai back aint front Is ita aan t where I 1 was better and et ou aint sat why I 1 belong to the three bars ever hear 0 the three barsa et im out jest leave word with tho boss will youa hell see I 1 git the word yes sir ou ol 01 hoss ahlet I 1 belong to the three bars 1 the encounter was not without in spectators louise s brake man was grinning broadly at the als of his fellow employed louise herself had forgotten her predicament in the sudden whirlwind of which she was the innocent storm center the cowboy with the temper having completely routed the enemy to the immense satisfaction of the ers though why no one knew exact ly nor what the merits of the case turned abruptly to louise are you hera he asked with a perceptible cep tible cooling of his assertive bra vado I 1 don t know said louise smiling fearlessly at her champion though inwardly quaking at the intuition that bad flashed upon her that this strange uncouth man had come to take the place of mary the boldness and 11 cense of the cowboys her aunt had argued there could be no doubt of the boldness would the rest of tho statement hold good I 1 think maybe t am though I 1 am louise dale the new court reporter I 1 expected miss mary to meet me then you are her said the man with renewed cheerfulness seizing her suit case and striding oft como along W e II 11 alt some supper acore we start you re dead tired moren likely it 11 be moonlight so t won t matter et we are late a home court reporter be doggoned muttered the brakeman the new girl from down east A pore little white lamb among a pack 0 wolves and coyotes and homesick a ready no wonder be taken you back to morrow im young lady he know the little white lamb who had come to help paul langbord Lang tord and dick gordon in their big fight TO BE CONTINUED |