Show TE S STORY E R I 1 A L oaf the th e F 11 E 4 BARSO KATE AND VIRGIL D BOYLES onar abt by A L nee 1 arg co IW SYNOPSIS george a poor ranchman higi minded and cultured sear I 1 es for cat e missing from 1 is 19 ranch the lazy S 8 on a wooded spot in tie tl e river rivers a bed tl at would have been an iolani islani had the mis ourt been at high water he d s covers a band of lorse 1 orse thle engaged jn in working over brands on cattle he ile creeps i 1 ear eno gh to note the chan chang ing of the three bars brand on hiie one steer of 0 the J R brand paul I 1 ang ford the rich 0 aner of the tl TI ree bars la Is informed of the operations of the gang of cattle thieves a band of 0 flaws h beaded haded by jesse black who long I 1 ave defied tl e law an I 1 auti anti orl ties tie of kemah county souti dakota langbord lang Tang tord ford is struck with ith tie beauty of mary commonly known as Willis tons little girl louise dale an court stenographer who had followed her lier uncle judge hammond dale from the east to the Dakota hs and alo wl Is living with him at wind city is re requested quested by tl e county attorney richard chard gordon to come to kemah ind md take testimony in the preliminary hearing of jesse black jim munson in waiting at the train tor for louise looks at a herd of cattle being sh ba b bill brown ad a d tl ti ere detects old mag a well known onery steer be longing to h employer empl of the three irs ranch munson and loiuse lo 10 ilse start tor for kemah crowds crowd assemble in just justi e james it mcallister McAll lster s co rt tor for the 40 preliminary preliminary re hearing jesse black springs t tl e first of n any great s es w v ng examination I jake sanderson Sanders nn a member of the cattle eattle gang he lai lat earned that tl ti e s steer t eer mag had bad been ie te covered and thus saw the uselessness of fighting against bel bet g bound over county attorney gordo 1 accompanies 10 I 1 ise au dale dal on her return to wind city IN bile 0 will ston ton st stands and in tl it e bigi t in his door et at night a sl 1 ot Is fired at him the I 1 0 se Is attacked and a battle ensues between VS il liston and I 1 la Is daughter on one s de do and the butla 4 on tl ti e other the i ouse Is set on ore fire As an outlaw raises his rifle to shoot V AI i iston a sl ot from an known knon source pierces hie his arm and I 1 e dilliston rifle Vil tie falls to the ground aid has come to Wll liston b I 1 he be and his daughter are capt rapt red and borne a vay by the outlaws jl I 1 i munson late at night heard beard the s 1 sc tl it e attack on williston s house hurried to the three bars rand and sum ironed langford and hia his bra e men to the rescue it i v as I 1 engford wl 0 fired the shot wl acl saved williston Wll liston s life I 1 engfor I 1 rescues mary from her captor langford takes mary to the I 1 ome of mrs wl WI ite jh her tier arm has been broken by a shot 41 e W ff grow grom a del rious and recel es medical at the party dearci in vain for will ston louse lou se cones comes to nurse mary will ston Is given up for dead but meager evi lence Is obtain obtainable abl 1 a against aln jesse less e black and it is concluded conclude d that tha t tl tie e case cas e must be fought out on the so sole question of mag CHAPTER XI hlll I 1 I 1 continued Conti rued there BBS as a full calender cal euder chalerm thae tha lerm berm and the close ol 01 the first week found the court still wrestling with crimin al cases with that of jesse black yet uncalled gordon reckoned that blacks trial could not possibly be taken up until tuesday or wednes ft day of the following week long be 47 tore fore that the town began filling up 4 for the big rustling case there were other rustling cases on the criminal docket but they paled before this one where the suspected leader of a gang was on trial the interested liete rested and the curious did not mean to miss any part of it they began coming in early in the week they kept coming the remainder of that week and sunday as well even as late as monday delayed range riders came scurrying in leaving the cattle mostly to shift for themselves the melves the velpen aggregation better informed kept to its own side of the river pretty generally until the sunday at least should be past the flats southeast of town became the camping grounds for those unable to find quarters at the hotel and who lived too far out to make the nightly ride home and back in the borni morning ua they were tempted by the unusually m id weather these were mere mostly in deans and halt half breeds but with a good ly y sprinkling of cowboys of the rougher order camp fires spotted the plain burning at night there vi ia is plenty of drift wood to be had tor for the hauling blanketed indians squat ted and smoked around their fires a revival of an older and better day for them sometimes they stalked ma jestic ally through the one street of the town the judicial party was safely housed in the hotel with the best service it was possible for the man management to to give in this busy season of congested patronage it was impossible to ac the crowds even the of flee was jammed with cots at night mary williston had come in from whites to be with louise she was physically strong again but ever st rangel qu et aldays abw ays somber e ed e CHAPTER XIV the game is on contrary to expectation the case of the state of south dakota a against ainest jesse black was called soon after the sitting of the court monday afternoon iso no testimony was introduced how ever until the following day inch by inch step by step gordon fought for a fair jury through that tense at af hernoon merciless in shrewd elaml nation keen to detect hesitancy i re sought to be concealed he cleverly and relentlessly unearthed chair after chair was vacated only to I 1 be vacated again it seemed choie was I 1 not a man in the county who had not heard beard somewhat of this much heralded heral dedI crime if crime it were and he ii ho fad paa arc ara it p 1 t diced partisan hou could it be otherwise where feel ing ran so high where honest men mostly felt resentment against the man who dared to probe the wound without extracting the cause of it and a haried and fear curiously in aled with admiration of the outlaw whose next move after obtaining his freedom might be to cut out of the general herd cows of their own brands where tainted men officers or cowmen awaited developments with mith a consuming interest intel Inte est iest that was not above manipulating the lines of justice for their own selfish ends I 1 let et despite the obstacles in the way gordon was determined to have an un 1 prejudiced jur jury in so far as it lay in human power to seat such a one in the box so he worked and worked hard court adjourned that evening with the j iry try box filled the state s I 1 ti i lends were mere feeling pretty good about it langford made his way into the bar where gordon was ras standing apart he passed an arm affectionately over his friends shoulder you were inspired dick he said keep on the same as you have begun and we shall have everything our own way but the fire had died down in the 3 0 ing lawyer lawyers a beai bear ing I 1 im in tired paul dead tired he said wearily I 1 wish it were over come to supper then you 11 feel better youre you re tired out it is a noigh strain isn t he said cheer lly fly he was not afraid he ile knew the fire would burn the brighter again when there was need of it in the morning they passed out of the bar toge her at the hotel mary and louise were already seated at the table in the dining room where the little party us caily sat together when it was pos sible to do so judge dale had not yet arrived the landlady was in a worried dispute with red sanderson and a companion the men were evidently evi bently cronies they had their eyes e es on two of the three vacant places at the table but I 1 tell you these places are taken persisted the landlady who served as head wai wal when such services were necessary which was not often her patrons usually took and held possession of things at their own sweet will you bet they are chimed in bed red deliberately pulling out a chair next to lo 10 use iise who shivered la in reco grif tion please she began in a small bolce but got no farther something in his bold admiring stare choked her into silence you re a mighty pretty girl it if you are a round with the three bars he grinned plenty time to change your live just move will you said gordon curtly coming up at that moment z it Is a tough stra n isn sri t itt it with langford and shoving him aside with unceremonious brevity this is my place he sat down quietly you damned upstart blustered sanderson want a little pistol play do oua oil gentlemen gentlemen implored the landlady lm not entering any objection said gordon coolly just shoot why don t you 9 you have the drop on me for a moment it looked as if san derbon derson would take him at his word and meet this taunt with instant death tor for the sender of it so black was his anger cut but encountering langford a level gaze he read something therein shrugged his shoulders replaced his pistol and sauntered off with his corn com panion just as judge dale came upon the scene langford Lang tord glanced quickly across the table at mary her eyes were wide with startled horror she too had seen just above hed red sander sons son s temple and extending from the foie fole head up into the hair was an ugly scar not like that left by a cut but as it if the flesh might hae haie been deep ly bruised by some blunt weapon mary how pale you are cried louise in alarm I 1 ini in haunted oy that man she continued biting her lip to keep from crying out against the terrors of this country hes he s always a showing up in unexpected places I 1 shall die it if I 1 ever meet him alone 1 you need not be afraid said gor don speaking quietly from his place at her side louise flashed him a swift bewildering smile of gratitude under this cover the young ranch man ruari comforted mary whom the others had temporarily forgotten with a lon ion car look from his hand some eyes that was a pledge of tire less ng ilance ance and an watchfulness of future protection of cri IP 1 XV the trial the next morning eve 5 3 available seat was f filed lied early people had blocked the lough plank walks lead ing to the courthouse long before the doors were unlocked the day prom ased to be fine and the many teams coming and going between kemah and the river to pick up the velpen deop pie who had crossed the ice lee on foot flave ave to the little town somewhat of the gala appearance of fair time the stately and blanketed from their temporary camps on the flat were standing around uncommunicative waiting tor for proceedings to begin long before the judicial party had arrived aiom the hotel the cramped room was wa a crowded to its limits there wa was a loud talking laughing and joking acal wits amused themselves and others by throwing quips at different members of the county bar or their brethren from across the river as they walked to they places inside the rail ings with the little mannerisms that were peculiar to each the door in the rear of the bar opened and cadge dale entered A comparative quiet fell upon the peo pie he mounted td his high bench the clerk came in then the court re porter she tossed her note books on the table leisured lei surel pulled of off her gloves and took her place examining the end of her pei pencils fells with a critical ee eye it would mould be a bus day for the gal reporter then langford came shoving his way down the crowded aisle with a sad faced browneyes brown eyed 3 oung woman in his wake who yet held herself erect with a proud little tilt to her chin there was not an empty seat outside the bar louise motioned and he escorted mary to a place within and sat down beside her fhe jurymen were all in their chairs presently came in gordon with his quiet self reliant manner langford had been right the county attorney was not tired to day shortly after gordon came small small the dynamic whose explosives had so often laid waste the weak and abortive independent reasoning pow ers of old necessity and his sort and were the subject of much satire and some admiration when the legal fraternity talked shop As he strode to his place he radiated bombs of just and telling wrath he ile scintillated with aggressiveness with him came jesse black easy and disdainful as of old after them a small man came gliding in with as little commotion as it if he were sliding over the floor of a waxed dancing hall in patent leather pumps he ie was an unassuming little man with quick catlike movements which one lost it if one were not on the alert when he had slipped into a chair next associate small the inflammable small towered above him head and shoulders jh every inch the criminal audibly observed a stranger an englishman over ve to invest in lands tor for stocking a horse ran ranch ch strange how they al ways wear the imprint on their faces no escaping it I 1 fancy that is what the scriptures meant by the mark ol 01 cain the remark was addressed to no in particular but it reached the ears of jim munson who was standing near good lord man he said with a grin that s the plumb smartest crim inal lawyer in the hull county that a a fac lord lord him jesse black his visibilities continued to thus get the better of his gravity at frequent intervals during the day he neier tailed failed to snort aloud in pure delight whenever he thought of it what a tale tor for the boys when be he could get to them these cattle men this time the tenderfoot tender fiot communicated with him self be he had a square chin and a dl ill eye there were possibilities in him their perverted eu sense of the ridiculous Is diabolical TO ell CONTIN continued bED |