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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1916)
THE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRA8KA. i The A Fine Tale of the Open SYNOPSIS. Tfift time of the atorr: about 1875. The place: The Texan coir country. The chief character: Buckley Dunne, a young man who has Inherited a I tut to kill, which tin aupprosRoa. In self-defense he snoots dead , drunken bully and Is forced to flee to the wild cnantry where he Joins Bland's outlaw Sand. Euchre, an amiable rascal, tells Mm about Jennlt, a you tiff girl who had been abducted and sold to Uland for a tnd fate. They determine to rencue tho arlrl and restore her to civilization. Ku chre Is klllod. Buck kills Bland and is dangerously wounded by Mrs, Uland. but scapes with Jennto. Considering all the domestic1 troubles, family scandals and love affairs that turn out badly, one mlqht be cynical Indeed about tho power of woman's af fection and trust to keep a man on tho path of honor In the face of alluring temptation. But there comes Into Buck Duane'o life a feminine Influence so flno -as depicted by the author that the reader of "The Lone Star Ranger" cannot resist the charm of It alt. If you want tho cream of romance and adven- turn, rfnn't miss this Inttf alfmAttf CHAPTER X Continued. Buck and Jenjiie are sitting in the Wilderness cabin discussing their fu ture. "I've been brought up In Testis. I remember what n hnrd lot tho men of Biy family had. But poor as they Were, they had u roof over .their heads, hearth with Arc, a warm bcl Homebody to lore them. And .you, Dunne oh, my Ood ! What must your life bo? You must rldo, and hldo nud watch eternally. She ended with a sob and dropped Iter head on lior knees. Duano was unitized, deeply touched. "My girl, thank you for that thought f me," he said, with a tremor In hla tojee. "You don't know how much that menus to ran." She raised her face, and It was tear sftatned, eloquent, beautiful. "I've heard tell tho best of men Co to tho bad ovt there, You won't, promise mo yow won't I never know any manHike you. I 1- wo way novcr sco eh other again after Jto-day. I'll never forget you. I'll pray for you, and I'll never give up trying to to do something. Don't despair. It's never too late. It wns my hope thai kept mo alive out there, at Bland's beforo you came. I was only it poor weak girl. But It I could hope so can you. Stay away from men. Be a lono wolf. Fight for your life, fltlck out your exile and maybo omo duy " Then she lost tier voice. Duano clasped her luind and with feeling as deep as hers promised to remember her words. la her despair for him sho bad spoken wisdom pointed out tho saly course Dunne's vigilance, "momentarily broken by emotion, had no sooner re asserted Itself ttmn ho discovered tho hoy horse, the one Jennie roilo, had broken his halter and gone off. Tho soft wet earth bad deadened the sound of Ids hoofs. LIU tracks were plain u the mud. Dncue did not want to leavo Jennto lono In tho cnbla so near tho road, So he put her- oa his horso nnd hndo , her follow. Th rain had ceased for tho Unto being, though evidently tho atonn was not yet over. Tho trilcks led up n wash to a wide tint whero wesqulte, prickly penr, nnd thorn-bush grew so thickly that Jennlo could not ride into IL IIo could not expect her to Hcrutnblu quickly through that brake on foot. Therefore ho decided to risk leaving her at the edge of tho thicket ami go tu nlono. As lie went In a sound startled" Ulm. WfttM It tho breaking of a branch Tib Iha stepped on 6t thrust aside? Ho 4icnrJ the Impatient pound of his Uiorso's hoofs. Then all was quiet. Willi liu listened, not wholly sntlsllod, lUo wns novcr satisOed Id regard to fffeiy ; ho know too woll that thoro HevereSu1(l bo snfoty for him In this country. Certnln ho was now that kotao klud of dangor threatened. Suddenly there! came fiu unmistak able thump of horses' hoofs off somo where to tho fore. Then a scroain rent 4he air. It ended abruptly. Dunne leaped forward, tore his way through the thorny brake. lie heard Jennlo (try again an appealing call quickly pushed. It seemed, nioro to his right, find he plunged that way. He hurst Into a glade where a smoldering lire and ground covered with footprints .nd tracks showed thnt campers had lately been. Bushing across this, ho Broke his passage out to tho open put he was too late. Ills horso hail ftfJMupeared. Jennto was gone, TherU were no riders In sight. There, was no found. There was a heavy trail of feorsea going north. Jennie had been arrtc4 oft probably by outlaws Dumie realised that pursuit was out pt the question that Jennie was lost. CHAPTER XI. A. hundred tulles from tho haunts af.imt fiihilllnr with Duune's deeds, far Up wj.ffe the Nueces ruu a trickling Lone Star Ranger clear stream between yellow cliffs, stood a small deserted shack of cover ed mcRqiilte poles. It had been mado long ngo, but was well preserved. A door faced tho overgrown trail, and another faced down Into a gorgo of dense thickets. On tho bprder fugi tives from law and men who hid In fear of someone thoy lind wronged never lived In hpuaeu with only ono door. It was a wild spot, lonely, not lit for human habitation except for tho outcust On clear dnys and rnre Indeed wero cloudy days with the subsiding of tho wind at sunset a hush seemed to fall around tho little hut Far-distant dim blue mountains stood gold-rlmmed gradually to fade with the shading of light At this quiet hour a man climbed up out of the gorge and sat In the westward door of the hut. This lonely watcher of tho west and listener to tho silenco wns Duane. And this hut was the ono whero, three years before, Jennlo had nursed him back to life. Tho killing of a man named Sellers, and the combination of circumstances that had mado tho tragedy a memor able regret, had marked, if not n change, at least n cessation In Dunne's activities. IIo had trailed Sellers to kill. him for the supposed abducting of Jennie. Vague rumors, a few words hero and there, unnuthcntlcatcd stor ies wero nil that Duane had gathered In years to substantiate his belief that Jennlo died shortly after tho be ginning of her second captivity. Sellers might havp told him. Duano expected, If not to force It from him at the end, to rend It In his eyes. But the bullet went too unerringly; It locked his lips and fixed his eyes. After that meeting Duane lny long at tho ranch-house of n friend, and when ho recovered from tho wound Sellers had given htm ho started with two horses and a puck for tho lonely gorgo on tho Nueces. There he had been hidden for months, n prey to re morse, a dreumer, n victim of phantoms. It took work for him to find sub sistence In that rocky fastness. And work, action, helped to pass the hours. But ho could not work all tho time, oven If ho had found It to do. Then In his Idle moments and at night his task was to live with tho hell In his mind. Tho sunset nnd tho twilight hour mado all tho rest bearable. The little hut on tho rim of tho gorgo seemed to hold Jennie's presence. It was not as If ho felt her spirit If It had been ho would hnvo been suru of her death. Ho hoped Jennlo had not survived her second misfortune; and that intenso hopo hud burned Into belief, If not surety. A strnngo fcaturo of tills memory of Jennlo was tho freshness of It tho failure of years, toll, strife, death- dealing to dim It to deaden tho thought of what might have been. IIo had a marvelous gift of visualization. IIo could shut his eyes nnd see Jennlo before him Just as clearly as If sho had stood there In tho flesh. For 4 Italic For Hours He Did That, Dreaming. hours ht did that, dreaming, dreaming of life he had never tasted and now never would tusto. He thought of her beauty and sweetness, of tho few things which hud coiuo to mean to him that sho must hnvo loved him; and ho trained himself to think of tbeao hi preference to her life at Bland's, tho cscnuo with him. and then her recapture, because such mem ories led to bitter, fruitless puln. Ho hud to fight suffering because It wuu eating out his heart Sitting there, eyes wide open ho dreamed of tho old homestead and hla whlte-hnlrnd mother. Ho saw tho old homo-life, sweetenud and filled by dear now fncea and added Joys, go on be foro hla eyes with him 11 part of It Then In tho luevltnblu reaction, In tl?o rellux of bitter roulUy, ho yvould asFHsr- Mr Country send out n voiceless cry no less poignant because It was silent: "Poor fool I No, I shall never see mother again never go home never hnvc n home. I am Dunne, the Lono Wolf I" A group of specters trooped out of the shadows of dusk and, gathering round him. escorted him to his bed. Every one of his victims, singly nnd collectively, returned to him for ever, It seemed, In cold, passionless, accus ing domination. They did not accuse him of dishonor or cowardice or brutal ity or murder; they only accused him of death. It wns ns If they knew more thnn when they were nllvc, had learn ed thnt life wns n divine mysterious gift not to ho taken. They thronged about him with their voiceless clamor ing, drifted around him with their fading eyes. After nearly six months In tho Nueces gorge the loneliness nnd Inac tion of his life drove Duano out upon tho trails seeking nnythlng rather thnn to hide longer alone, a prey to the scourge of his thoughts. The mo ment he rode Into sight of men n rc marlinblo transformation occurred In him. A strange warmth stirred In him a longing to see tho faces of people, to hear their voices a pleasurable emotion find nnd strange. But It vns only n precursor of. his old bitter, sleepless, and eternal vigilance. Mercer was the first village ho rode Into. Ho had many friends there. Mercer claimed to owo Dunne n debt On tho outskirts of tho vlllnge there wns a grave overgrown by brush so thnt the rude-lettered post which mnrked It wua scarcely visible to Dunne us he rode by. IIo had never rend tho inscription. But he thought now of Hardin. For mnny yenrs Hnrd in hnd harassed the stockmen und ranchers In nnd n round Mercer. On un evil day for him ho or his outlaws hnd bentcn nnd robbed u man who onco succored Duano when soro In need. Dunne met Hardin In the llttlo plaza of the village, called him overy nnmo known to border men, taunted him to draw, and killed him In tho act Dunne went to tho house of ono Jones, u Texnn who hud known I1I3 father, nnd there he wns warmly re ceived. The feel of an honest hnnd, the voice of n friend, tho prnttlo of children who wero not afraid of him1 or his gun, good wholesome food, and changa of clothes theso things for the time being mado n changed man of Duane. To be sure, ho did not often speak. The prlco of his head and the weight of his burden made him silent But cngcrly ho drank In nil the news that was told htm. In the years of his absence from homo he had never heard n word nbout his mother or uncle. Thoso who wero his real friends on the border would have been tho hist' to muko Inquiries, to write or recelvo letters thnt might give n clue to Dunne's whereabouts. Duano remained nil duy with this hospitable Jones, nnd ns twilight fell wns loath to go and yielded to n press ing Invitation to remain overnight It wns seldom Indeed thnt punqe sjept unfler a roof. Early In the evening, while Duane sat on tho porch with two awed and hero-worshiping sons of the house, Jones returned from a quick visit down to tho postoillcc. Summar ily ho sent the boys off. He labored under Intenso excitement "Duane, there's rangers In town," he whispered. "It's all over town, too, that you're hero. You rodo In long nfter sunup, Lots of pcoplo saw you. I don't bellovo there's a mnu or boy that 'd squeal on you. But tho women might". They gossip, and theso rangers are handsome fellows devils with tho women." "What company of rangers?" asked Duane, quietly. "Company A, uudor Cnntnln Mac- Nelly, that new ranger. Ho mado n big nnmo In the war. And slnco he's been lu tho range servlco he's dono wonders. He's cleaned ui somo bad places south, and he's working north." "MucNelly. I've henrd of him. De scribe him to me." "Sllght-bullt chun. but wiry nnd tough. Chum face, blnck mustncho nnd hair. Shurp black eyes. He's got a look of authority. MacNclly's u flno man, Dunne. Belongs to a good Southern family. I'd hate to have him look y 1 up." Dunne did not speak. "MacNclly's got nerve, and his rang- ers uro all experienced men. If they And out you'ro hero they'll como after you. MacNclly's no gun-flghtcr, but he wouldn't hcsltuto to do his duty. even If ho faced sure death. Which ho would In this case. Dunne, you mustn't meet Cuptnln MucNelly. Your record Is elenn, if It Is terrible. You nover met a ranger or any offlcer ex cept a rotten sheriff now and then. llko Itod Brown." Still Duano kept silence. Ho wns not thinking of dunger, but of tho fact of how fleeting must bo his stay uuioug friends. "I've ulrcudy flxed up n puck of grub," weut on Jones. "I'll slip out to snddld your horse. You watch here." Ho had scurcely uttered tho lust words when Bort, swift footsteps sounded on the hnrd path. A mun A . 'l A 1 .... . . . uiruuu m uio giue. Hie light was dim, yet clear enough to disclose an By ZANE GREY unusually tall figure. When it ap peared nearer ho was seen to ho walk ing with both nrms raised, hands high. He slowed his stride. "Docs Burt Jones live here?" ho asked, In a low, hurried voice. "I reckon. I'm Burt What can I do for you?" replied Jones. The stranger peered, around, stealth- lly came close- U1 with his hands up. "It Is know;i that Buck Duane Is here. Captain MucNelly's camping on tho river just out of town. He sends word to Duane to como out there after durk." The stranger wheeled nnd departed ns swiftly nnd strangely as ho had come. "Bust me 1 Dunne, whntever do you mnko of that?" exclaimed Jones. "A new one on me," replied Duane, thoughtfully. "First fool thing I ever heard of MacNelly doing. Cun't mnke hend nor talis of It. I'd have said off-hand that MacNelly wouldn't double-cross anybody. He struck mo n square man, sand nil through. But hell I ho must nicnn treuchery. I cun't see nnythlng else In that deal." "Mnybo the Captain wants to give mo n fnlr chance to surrender without bloodshed," observed Diwine. "Pretty decent of him, If he mcunt that." "IIo Invites you to come to his enmp nfter dnrk. Something strange about this, Dunne. But MncNelly's a new man out here. IIo docs somo queer things. Perhaps he's getting a swelled head, Well, whatever his Intentions, his presence around Mercer Is enough for us. Duane, you lilt the road uud piy; some miles between you and tho umlnblc Ctiptnln before dnyllght. To morrow I'll gg out there nnd ask hint what In tho devil he meant" "Thnt messenger he sent he was a ranger," said Duane. "Sure he was, nnd n nervy one! It must have taken sand to come bracing you that wny. Dunne, the fellow didn't pnek n gun. I'll swear to that Pretty odd, thls trlck. But you can't trust It Hit the road, Duane." A llttlo Inter n black horse with muffled hoofs, bearing a tall dark rider who peered keenly Into every shadow, trotted down a pasture laue back of Jones' house, turned Into tho road, nnd then, breaking Into swifter gnlt, rapidly left Mercer behind. CHAPTER XII. Next morning Duuue wns oft ngnln, working south. During the next few days' he paid brief visits to several villages thnt lny in his path. And In each some particular friend hud a piece of news to Impart thnt made Duane profoundly thoughtful. A ranger hud mude 11 quiet, unobtrusive call upon these friends and left tills message, "Tell Buck Dunne to rldo Into Cnptuln MucNelly's enmp some time nfter night" Dunne concluded, and his friends all agreed with him, that the new ranger's mnln purpose In the Nueces country wns to capture or kill Buck Dunne, and thnt this mcssugo wns simply an oHglnul and striking ruse, the during of which might nppcal to certain out laws. But It did not nppcal to Duane. His curiosity wns nrouscd ; it did not, how ever, tempt him -to nny foolhardy net. He turned southwest and rode a hun dred miles until he ugaln reached tho sparsely settled country. Here ho heard no more of rangers. He got Into rough country, rode for three days without covering much ground, but believed thnt ho wns get ting on sufer territory. Twice ho cnino to a wldo bottom-land green with wil low nhd cottonwood and thick as chaparral, somewhere through tho mlddlo of which ran a river he de cided must bo the lower Nueces. Ono evening ns he stole out from a covert whero he hnd cumped, ho saw tho lights of a village. Ho tried to pass It on tho left hut ns ho mounted a rldgo he noted thnt tho rond mude a sharp turn, nnd he could not see what was beyond It. Ho slowed up uud wns muklng the turn, which wns down hill between high bnnks of yellow clny, when his mettlesome horso henrd something to frighten him or shied at something nnd bolted. Tho few bounds I16 took beforo Duano's iron arm checked him wero enough to reach tho curve. Ono flashing glnnce showed Dunne the open ouco more, n little valley below with a wldo, shallow, rocky stream, a clump of cottonwoods beyond, a somber group of men facing him, and two dark, limp strangely grotesque figures hanging from branches. The sight wus common enough In southwest Texas, but Duane had never before found himself so unpleasantly close. A hoarse voice pcnled out: "By holll thero's uuother one 1" "Stranger, rldo down an' account fer yourself 1" yelled unothcr, , "Hands-up 1" "Thet's right, Jack; don't take no chances. Plug him 1" Theso remarks were so swiftly ut tered as almost to bo continuous, Dunne was wheeling his homo when a rifle cracked. The bullet struck his left forearm and h thought broko It, for ho dropped tho rolu. Tho frighten ed horse leaped. Another bullet whistled past Duane. Then the bend In tho rond saved him probably from certnln death. Like tho wind his fleet steed went down tho long hill. Dunno wns In no hurry to look bnck. no knew what to expect His chief concern of the moment wns for his Injured arm. Ho found that the bones were still Intact; but the wound, hav ing been mado by a soft bullet, was an exceedingly bud one. Blood poured from It Giving tho horso his head, Dunne wound his scarf tightly round tho holes, nnd with teeth and hand tied It tightly. That done, he looked back over his shoulder. Riders wero making the dyst fly on the hlllsldo road. There were moro coming round tho cut where the road curved. Duane needed only one glnnce to tell him thnt they wero fnst nnd hard-rldlng cowboys In a land where all riders are good. They would not have owned nny but strong, swift horses. Moreover, It wns a district where ranchers hnd suffered beyond nil endurance tho greed nnd brutality of outlaws. Duano hnd simply been so unfortunnto ns to run right Into a lynching party at a time of nil times when any stranger would be In dnngcr nnd nny outlnw put to his limit to escape with his life. Duane did not look back again till he had crossed the ridgy plcco of ground nnd hnd gotten to the level road. He had gained upon his pur suers. When ho ascertained this ho tried to save his horse, to check a little thnt killing gnlt. This horse wns n mngnlilcent animal, big, strong, fast; but his endurance had never been put to a grueling test And that worried Dunno. His life had made It Im possible to keep ono horse very long at n time, and this one wns nn un known qunntlty. Dunne hnd only one plnn the only plnn possible In this cuse nnd thnt wns to make the river-bottoms, where he might elude his pursuers In the willow brakes. Fifteen miles or so would brlug him to the river, nnd this Was not a hopeless distance for any good horso If not too closely pressed. He began to hope and look for a trail or a road turning off to right or left There was none. A rough, mesqulte dotted nnd yuccn-splred country ex tended away on either side. Duane believed thnt he would be compelled to take to this hard going. One thing wns certnln ho had to go round the village. Tho river, however, was on the outskirts of the village; and onco In the willows, he would be safe. Dust-clouds far ahead caused his alarm to grow. He watched with his eyes strained; he hoped to seo a wagon, a few stray cattle. But no, ho soon descried several horsemen. Shots and yells behind him attested to the fact that his pursuers likewise had seen these newcomers on tho scene. More than a mile scpnratejL.these two parties "yet that distance did' notkeep them from soon understanding each other. Duuno wnltcd only to see thlsi new fnctor show signs of sudden, quick nction, and then, with a muttered curse, he spurred his horse off tho road Into, the brush. He chose the right side, because the river lay neurer that way and put his horse to his best efforts, straight ahead. He had to pass thoso men. When this wns seemingly mude Im possible by a deep wash from which he had to tiyn, Duane begun to feel cold nnd sick. Almost ho lost his hear ings, nnd finally would hnve ridden toward his enemies had not good fortune favored him in the matter of un open burned-over stretch of ground. Hero he saw both groups of pur suers, one on each side and almost within gunshot Their sharp yells, as much as his cruel spurs, drove his horso Into that puco which now meant life or dentli for him. And never hnd Dunne bestrode a gamer, swifter, stuncher beast He seemed nbout to accomplish the impossible. In tho drugging sund ho wus fur superior to uny horse In pursuit, nnd on this suudy open stretch he gained enough to spuro a little In tho brush beyond. Heated now und thoroughly terrorized, ho kept the pace through thickets that utmost tore Dunne from his saddle. Some thing weighty and grim eused off Duane. Ho was going to get out In front 1 Tho horso hud speed, fire, stumtnu. A race begnn then, a dusty, crashing drive through gray mesqulte. Duane could scarcely see, he was so blinded by stlngiug branches across his eyes. Tho hollow wind roared In his cars. IIo lost Ids seuso of the nearness of his pursuers. But they must have been close. Did they shoot at him? Ho Imagined ho heard shots. But that might have been tho cracking of dead snags. His left ami hung limp, al most useless; he handled the rein with Ids right; and most of the time he hung low over the pommel. Suddenly he burst out of 11 lino of mesqulte Into tho roud. A long Btretch of lonely roudl How fiercely, with hot, strange Joy, he wheeled his horbc upon It I Then he wus sweeping along, sure now that ho wns out in front. His horse still hud strength und speed, but showed signs of breaking. Pre- 1 sently Dunno looked bnck. Pursuers- -j he could not count how many wero oping along In his renr. Ho paid no moro attention to them, nnd with teeth sat he faced nhend, grlmmor now in h'.s determination to foil them. Sight of tho vlljago ahead surprised Dunne. He reached It sooner thnn ht expected. Then ho mndo a discovery he hnd entered the zono of wlro fences. As ho dnrcd not turn bnck now, ho kept on, intending to rldo through the vlllnge. Looking bnckwnrd, he saw thnt his pursuers wero half a mllo dlstunt, too far to nlarm any villagers In tlmo to Intercept him In his flight As ho rode by tho first houses hh horse broko and began to labor. Dunne did not believe he would lasl long enough to gq through tho Tillage. Saddled horses In front of a store gave Duane an Idea, not by nny means new, und ono ho had carried out suc cessfully before. As he pulled In his heaving mount and leaped off, a couple of ranchers enmo out of tho place, and one of them stepped to a clean-limbed, The Sight Was Common Enough, fiery bay. Ho was about to get into his saddle when he saw Duane, and ' hen he halted, a foot In the stirrup. Duuno strodo forwnrd, grasped tin bridle of this man's horse. "Mine's done but not killed," he panted. "Trade with me." "Wul, stranger, I'm shore always ready to trade," drawled the man. "But ain't you a little swift?" Duane glanced back, up the road. His pursuers were entering tho vlllnge. "I'm Duuue Buck Duunc," he cried, mcnnclngly. "Will you trade7 Hurry I" Tho rancher, turned white, dropped his foot from tho stirrup and fell back. "I reckon I'll trade," ho said. Bounding up, Duane dug spurs Into the bay's flunks. The horse snorted In fright, plunged into a run. He was fresh, swift, half wild. Duane flashed by the remaining houses on the street out into the open. But tho road ended at that village or else led out from some other qunrter, for he had ridden straight Into the fields and from them Into rough desert When he readied the cover of mesqulte once more he looked buck to And six horsemen with in rifle shot of him, and more coming bjhjml them. His" new horse had not had tinio to get warm before Duune reached a high sandy bluff below which lay the willow brakes. As far as he could seo extend ed an immense flat strip or red-tinged willow. How welcome it was to his eye I He felt llko a hunted wolf that, weary and lame, had reached his hole In the rocks. Zigzagging down the soft slope, he put the bay to the dense wall of leaf und oranch. But tho horse balked. There was lltle tlmo to lose. Dis mounting he dragged tho stubborn beast into the thicket This was harder and slower work than Duane cared to risk. If he had not been rush ed he might have had better success. So he had to abandon the horse n circumstance that only such sore straits could have driven him to. Then ho went slipping swiftly through the narrow aisles. Ho had not got under cover any too soon. For he heard his pursuers piling over the bluff, loud-voiced, con fident brutal. They crashed into the willows. "HI, Sid 1 Henh's your boss I" called one, evSdently to the man Dunne hnd forced Into a trade. "Say, If you locoed gents '11 hold up a llttlo I'll tell you Bomcthln'," replied a voice from tho bluff. "Come on, Sid! We've got him corralled," said tho first speaker. "Wul, raebbc, an' if you hev It'a lia ble to bo dnmn hot. Thet feller was Buck Dunne!" Absolute silenco followed that state ment Presently It was broken by a rattling of looso gravel and then low voices. "Ho can't git acrost tho river, I tell you," came to Dunne's ears. "He's corralled In tho brake. I know thot hole." Then Doane, gilding silently and svriftly through the willows, heard no more from his pursuers. He headed" straight for the river. Threading a passage through n vtllow brake was an old tr.rik for him. Many dnys nnd nights had gone to tho ncratrtng of a skill that might hnvo been envied by an Indian, Do you believe that Captain McNelly Is trying to lure Duane to his camn at nloht time In der to shoot him from ambush?
