Ranching For Sylvia Volume-554 - Harold Bindloss (best black authors TXT) 📗

Volume 554 Chapter 26 (The Climax) Pg 192

George Was Tired And Sleepy When He Reached The Settlement Early In The

Morning, And Found Flett At Hardie's House.  It Transpired From Their

Conversation That There Had Been A Disturbance At The Sachem On The

Return Of A Party Which Had Driven Out To The Sale, And One Man, Who

Accused A Companion Of Depriving Him Of A Bargain, Had Attacked And

Badly Injured Him With A Decanter.  Flett, Being Sent For, Had Arrested

The Fellow, And Afterward Called Upon The Clergyman For Information

About His Antecedents And Character.  He Listened With Close Attention

While George Told His Tale; And Then Examined The Knife He Produced.

 

"This Is About The Limit!" He Exclaimed.  "You Wouldn't Have Persuaded

Me That The Thing Was Possible When I Was First Sent Into The District.

It Isn't What One Expects In The Wheat-Belt, And It Certainly Has To Be

Stopped."

 

"Of Course," Said George, With Some Impatience.  "But Wouldn't It Be

Wiser To Consider The Ways And Means?  At Present The Fellows Are No

Doubt Pushing On For The Frontier With Two Valuable Teams And A Wad Of

Stolen Bills."

 

Flett Smiled At Him Indulgently.

 

"This Isn't A Job That Can Be Put Through In A Hurry.  If They're

Heading For The Boundary--And I Guess They Are--They'll Be In Dakota Or

Montana Long Before Any Of The Boys I'll Wire To Could Come Up With

Them.  Our Authority Doesn't Hold On American Soil."

 

"Is That To Be The End Of It?"

 

"Why, No," Flett Answered Dryly.  "As I Guess You Have Heard, They Have

Had Trouble Of This Kind In Alberta For A While; And Most Every Time

The Boys Were Able To Send Back Any American Mavericks And Beef-Cattle

That Were Run Into Canada.  As The Result Of It, Our Chiefs At Regina

Are Pretty Good Friends With The Sheriffs And Deputies On The Other

Side.  They're Generally Willing To Help Us Where They Can."

 

"Then You Shouldn't Have Much Difficulty In Trailing Your Men.  Suppose

A Fellow Turned Up With Four Exceptionally Good Horses And Offered Them

To An American Farmer Or Dealer, Wouldn't It Arouse Suspicion?"

 

"It Might," Said Flett, With A Meaning Smile.  "But The Thing's Not So

Simple As It Looks.  We All Know That Canadian Steers And Horses Have

Been Run Off And Disposed Of Across The Frontier; And Now And Then A

Few From That Side Have Disappeared In Canada.  This Points To There

Being A Way Of Getting Rid Of Them; Some Mean White On A Lonely Holding

Volume 554 Chapter 26 (The Climax) Pg 193

Will Take Them At Half-Value, And Pass Them Along.  What We Have To Do

Is To Send A Man Over Quietly To Investigate, And Get The Sheriffs And

Deputies To Keep Their Eyes Open.  I'm Going To Beg The Regina People

To Let Me Be That Man."

 

"You May As Well Understand That It Isn't The Return Of The Horses

Grant Wants So Much As The Conviction Of The Men Who Waylaid Him."

 

"Then," Said Flett, Pointedly, "He Must Be Mighty Mad."

 

Hardie Joined In George's Laugh; But The Constable Went On:

 

"I Believe We're Going To Get Them; But It Will Take Time--All Summer,

Perhaps.  I've Known Our Boys Lay Hands On A Man They Wanted, Eighteen

Months Afterward."

 

"In One Way, I Don't Think That's Much To Their Credit," The Clergyman

Remarked.

 

Taking Up The Knife George Had Handed Him, Flett Pointed To Some

Initials Scratched On The Bone Haft.

 

"Kind Of Foolish Thing For The Fellow To Put His Name On His Tools; But

I Don't Know Anybody Those Letters Might Stand For.  Now You Describe

Him As Clearly As You Can, While I Put It Down."

 

George Did As He Was Bidden, And Added: "There Were Two More--One Of

Them Looked Like Langside--And I Believe A Fourth Man, Though I May Be

Mistaken In This.  They Were Moving About Pretty Rapidly And The Light

Was Bad."

 

Flett Got Up.

 

"I'll Have Word Sent Along To Regina, And Then Try To Locate Their

Trail Until Instructions Come.  I Want To Get About It Right Away, But

There's This Blamed Fellow Who Knocked Out His Partner At The Sachem,

And It Will Take Me Most Of A Day's Ride Before I Can Hand Him On To

Davies.  It's A Charge That Nobody's Going To Worry About, And It's A

Pity He Couldn't Have Escaped.  Still, That's The Kind Of Thing That

Can't Happen Too Often."

 

He Went Out And George Turned To Hardie.

 

"How Does The Matter Strike You?"

 

"I've An Idea That Flett Was Right In Saying It Was The Limit.  There

Was A Certain Romance About These Disturbances When They Began; They

Were A Novelty In This Part Of Canada.  People Took Them Lightly, Glad

Of Something Amusing Or Exciting To Talk About.  It Was Through Popular

Indifference That The Gang First Gained A Footing, But By Degrees It

Became Evident That They Couldn't Be Dislodged Without A Vigorous

Effort.  People Shrank From Making It; And, With Beamish Backing Them,

The Fellows Got Steadily Bolder And Better Organized.  All The Time,

However, They Were Really At The Mercy Of The General Body Of Orderly

Volume 554 Chapter 26 (The Climax) Pg 194

Citizens.  Now They Have Gone Too Far; This Last Affair Can't Be

Tolerated.  Instead Of Apathy, There'll Be An Outbreak Of Indignation;

And I Expect The People Who Might Have Stopped The Thing At The

Beginning Will Denounce The Police."

 

George Nodded.

 

"That's My Idea.  What's Our Part?"

 

"I Think It's To Assist In The Reaction.  Your Story's A Striking One.

We Had Better Get It Into A Newspaper As Soon As Possible.  I Suppose

It Would Be Correct To Say That Grant Was Cruelly Beaten?"

 

"His Face Is Blue From Jaw To Temple.  They Knocked Him Nearly

Senseless With The Butt Of A Whip, While He Was Lying, Helpless, On The

Ground."

 

"And Your Horse Was Badly Wounded?"

 

"I Wish It Weren't True; There's A Gash About Eight Inches Long.  If It

Will Assist The Cause, You Can Say The Stab Was Meant For Me."

 

"Well," Said Hardie, "I Think It Will Make A Moving Tale.  I'm Afraid,

However, I'll Have To Lay Some Stress Upon The Single-Handed Rescue."

 

George Looked Dubious.

 

"I'd Rather You Left That Out."

 

"We Must Impress The Matter On People's Thoughts, Make It Command

Attention; A Little Diplomacy Is Allowable Now And Then," Said Hardie,

Smiling.  "Since You Don't Mind Getting Yourself Into Trouble, I Don't

See Why You Should Object To Being Held Up To Admiration, And It's In

An Excellent Cause.  Now, However, I'll Order Breakfast For You, And

Then You Had Better Get Some Sleep."

 

During The Afternoon, George Set Off For Home, And He Was Plowing For

The Summer Fallow A Week Later When Flora Grant Rode Up To Him.

 

"I Suppose You Have Got Your Mail And Have Seen What The _Sentinel_

Says About You?" She Asked Mischievously.

 

George Looked Uncomfortable, But He Laughed.

 

"Yes," He Confessed.  "It Seemed To Afford Edgar Some Amusement."

 

"Who's Responsible For That Flattering Column?  It Doesn't Read Like

The Work Of The Regular Staff."

 

"I'm Afraid That I Am, To Some Extent, Though Hardie's The Actual

Culprit.  The Fact Is, He Thought The Course Was Necessary."

 

"Well, I Suspected Something Of The Kind; So Did My Father.  It Was A

Wise Move, And I Think It Will Have Its Effect."

Volume 554 Chapter 26 (The Climax) Pg 195

 

George Made No Comment And She Sat Silent A Moment Or Two While He

Watched Her With Appreciation.  She Was Well-Mounted On A Beautiful,

Carefully-Groomed Horse; The Simple Skirt And Bodice Of Pale Gray

Emphasized The Pure Tinting Of Her Face And Hands And The Warm Glow Of

Her Hair, In Which The Fierce Sunshine Forced Up Strong Coppery Gleams.

Her Lips Formed A Patch Of Crimson, There Was A Red Band On Her Wide

Stetson Hat, And Her Eyes Shone A Deep Blue As She Looked Down At

George, Who Stood In The Sandy Furrow Leaning Against The Heavy Plow.

He Was Dressed In Old Overalls That Had Faded With Dust And Sun To The

Indefinite Color Of The Soil, But They Displayed The Fine Lines Of A

Firmly Knit And Muscular Figure.  His Face Was Deeply Bronzed, But A

Glow Of Sanguine Red Shone Through Its Duskier Coloring.  Behind Them

Both Ran A Broad Sweep Of Stubble, Steeped In Strong Ochre, Relieved By

Brighter Lemon Hues Where The Light Blazed On It.

 

"Though I Couldn't Resist The Temptation To Tease You, I Quite Agree

With The _Sentinel_," She Resumed.  "It Really Was A Very Gallant

Rescue, And I Suppose You Know I Recognize My Debt To You.  I Was A

Little Too Startled To Speak About It When You Brought My Father Home,

And You Went Away So Fast."

 

"The Fellows Were Afraid Of Being Identified; They Bolted As Soon As

They Saw Me."

 

"One Didn't," Flora Pointed Out.  "A Knife-Thrust, Like The One You

Avoided, Or A Pistol-Shot Would Have Obviated Any Risk They Ran.  But

Of Course You Hate To Be Thanked."

 

"No," George Replied Impulsively; "Not By You."

 

"I Wonder," She Said With An Amused Air, "Why You Should Make An

Exception Of Me?"

 

"I Suppose It Lessens My Sense Of Obligation.  I Feel I've Done Some

Little Thing To Pay You Back."

 

"I'm Not Sure That Was Very Happily Expressed.  Is It Painful To Feel

That You Owe Anything To Your Neighbors?"

 

George Flushed.

 

"That Wasn't What I Meant.  Do You Think It's Quite Fair To Lay Traps

For Me, When You Can Count On My Falling Into Them?"  He Turned And

Pointed To The Great Stretch Of Grain That Clothed The Soil With Vivid

Green.  "Look At Your Work.  Last Fall, All That Plowing Was Strewn

With A Wrecked And Mangled Crop; Now It's Sown With Wheat That Will

Stand The Drought.  I Was Feeling Nearly Desperate, Wondering How I Was

To Master The Sandy Waste, When