The Rustlers of Pecos County

morning, the young ladies not stirring and no

buildings with their ugly signs, unfinished yet old, the lounging, dust-gray men at

dozing, I had dreamed, lived in a warm, golden place where there were music and flowers and Sally's s

nce down a quiet street pictured it with darkgarbed m

dismounted and threw my bridle. J

on seein' you. I steered him from goin' up to Sam

if he was a safe rancher to

rustler. Frank can't git over them two hunches. When he sees you he's go

own Texan had eyes li

I querie

looked around the room before

ve picked the right men. It was me that sent them letters

rn to draw a

ctively felt had been prey to the power that shadowed Linrock.

ed the lining out. A star-shaped, bright, silver object fla

ut read; United Sta

table with his fist. "Russ, you sure

woods is f

the walk. Presently Steel

"Steele, shake han

ele slowly. "Say, I

wn the Hope So saloon. It was on the square when he

ned against the counter, his gray glance

ation he had not dreamed of. Then, whether from shock

f this secret gang of rustlers h

to the point. His voice, something deep, ea

replie

y know?" wen

s not one honest nati

ave your s

ha

ut you can give me your idea about this crow

ave been here years. Others have drifted in. Some of them work odd times. They rustle a

-some of them are likely to be the rustlers. Bill an' Bo Snecker are in town now. Bil

es to town often. He lives up in the hills. He always has three or four strangers with him. Blome's the fancy g

stler, too, but I reckon he's not the brains

's idea. Probably it coincided wit

men, apparently honest men, seem to be so close-m

tly or otherwise, as hasn't been proved. An' in some cases when they talked-hinted a little-they was fo

wore a dark, s

of the horde of rustlers ranging its vast stretches; but this cold, secret, murderous hold o

eele, and now it could not last. H

when the clatter of hoofs interrup

or back of Hoden's counter. I turned to peep out and was in time t

ever seen Wright come into H

showed astonishment as he saw the Ranger, and then a dark glint fl

d no reply, although he bent a curious and hard scrutiny upon Steele. In fact, Wright evince

ast night," he said finally. "If you come foo

of the Pecos for ten years could not see in St

day there went a cool, unobtrusive manner, a speech brief, almost gentle, certainly courteous. Wright was a hot-headed Louisianian of French extraction; a man evid

s smooth, dark-skinned Southerner. But, of course, an ordi

get near Diane Sampson," Wright sneered. "Mind

ted Steele, a kind of high ring in his voic

instinct of love-of jealousy? Verily, it had pierced into the

His was not a deliberate intention to rouse Steele; the man was simply rancorous. "I'll ca

r, so foreign to it in moments like this; and the cool shade, the steady eye

sin," replied Steele in slow speech, biting. "But let me return your compliment. You'

m-for me-for Hoden-there was the truth i

raw. But how slow! Steele lunged

g table and chairs, to fall hard, in a

aw!" warn

rom your gun!" yell

is hip, his face corded with purple welts, ma

door when Steele shot. Wright'

lly he waved a limp arm, flinging blood over t

ordered Steele; "t

ze it, and he pulled the raving man out of the place. He

mly sheath

opens the ball," h

od on the table-cloths. It was horrible to

st had a few pleasant moments with the man who has

ed his sha

"He was drawin' on you. Shootin' arm

ned to agre

is gang right into our hands. He's just the man I've needed

" exclai

Under such circumstances could I

owin' for whether he's really a rustler or not. It just won't do,

. It works out. When Wright cools down he'll remember, he'll begin to think, he'll realize that I could more easily

und bizness. It's been tolerable healthy these last six months. You can gamble on this. If thet sec

et. Why, Wright won't sleep at night now.

here. See your friend Morton. Tell him this game grows hot. Together

n the open a quarter of a mile, straight from the end of this street.

ay that I was in town, I had Steele in sight al

en congregated was marked by a certain uneasy watchfulness on the

teele on sight. But this sort of thing never happened. It was not so much that these

e. He would have been welcomed at card tables, at the bars, to

of good humor even i

ivided attention of these men from their games and drinks and quarrels e

en in the habit of seeing. The Sneckers had gone or were under cover. Again I

orts and the cowboys who came in to drink and gamble

teele and me. It could not last. The

k from Sanderson, if it did not get held up on the way, and the driver usual

evenings the stage arrived there was always a crowd at his

e, beat the old man and robbed him. He made no complaint; however, when Steele called h

the men and came across them in Lerett

s surrounded by seven or eight men a

want you,

nly to see who h

say!" he repli

no effort at all, sent Bass sliding, chair and all, to crash into th

t you. Get up,

y. A sharp kick put more lif

y a crowd that gathered more and more to it as they went down the street. Steele took his prisoners into Jones' store, had them identified; re

e the coarse jokes cracked at the expense of Bass and Miller and after the rude door had closed upon them similar rem

imes, leaving their erstwhile comrade

s, and with a twinkle in his eye which surprised me as much as his re

ing, the same old crowd, enlarged by other curious men and y

ns. Naturally they had fallen asleep, as all other hard working citizens

uth to see if he could crawl through. The youngster essayed th

crowd evince

ely closed, barred and chained the iron bolted door, and put the key in his pock

infinitely longer than was customary, th

at night. We went around the outskirts of town, carrying two heavy double-barreled shotguns Steele had got

above paying ba

d their last treat at the expense of the jail guard and jailer. These prisoners yelled for drink

ng left, to the despair of th

come. The moon had arisen, and though somewhat hazed by clouds, had lightened the night. We were

soon two dark forms stole round in front. They laid down something that gave forth

he door. Softly they worked at first, but as that door had been put there to s

n all four presented a good target, to fire both barrels. We could easily h

matching craft would be the sure

stence of the prisoners, who wanted to delay proceedings to send one of them

t yielded, with enough noise to have awakened sleepers a block distant, and forth i

ged both barrels, and the reports b

he others leaped out, and all yelled in pain and terror. Then the fallen ones

ir yells, but were moving slowly, hanging on to one another

ate story about how the Ranger had turned the tables on

lling men, could not have educated these crude natives so quickl

ng and wanted to know everything. I had become a news-carrier, and Miss S

ccount I gave of the jail affair amus

ut a rumor that had come to

though not seriously injured, was not able to go

ghed like-well, like a regular hyena. I was dumbfoun

e ripped out: 'Yes, the damn fool got him

make of my dad? Cheerf

I hated the thought of Wright, let alone anything concerning the fatal cert

has a name. Since the evening of the dance I had tried to avoid her. Either she w

hat case, if she ever got into my arms again I

in of resisting Sally, I enjoyed the ride. T

nconscious curiosity in regard to Ste

, but when I did it was to drop a subtle word o

o a generous nature not entirely satisfied with itself. She probably had not abandoned her father's estimate of the Ranger but absolute assurance that this

incident was the part played by Storekeeper Jones, who had informed upon

ot only to a little nerve, but

ccosted him on the street. She seemed a poor,

n fleeced by a crooked game in Jack Martin's saloon. Other wives could make the same c

ey, but would it be possible to close Martin'

ost, and, being told, he assured her that if he found evidence of cheating, n

t in the game. I complied, and, in order not to be overcarefully sized

e game well studied, and a more flagrantly crooked

in a hurry, however, for there was a little frecklefaced cattleman in the game, and he had been losing, too. He had sold a b

hrilled me. He had some kind of effect on the others, especial

ler reverted to his crooked work. I was about to make a disturbance, when the l

an he had been taken for. There might have been

leaping for our tabl

e cattleman, never moving.

e. Put up

right! But just a minute. I want this dealer to sit

e round the table sat quiet while the

Steele, bending over

ove his assertion. Steele, however, desired corroboration from

yers admitted his conviction t

say?" demande

r. Ranger," I burst o

seconded the cattleman's angry claim for lost money. The p

rolled in. His appearan

d halted as he saw the cattleman's

Steele. "Take your dealer and dig-unless

nd then the dealer. Some men in the crowd muttered, and that was a sig

center, pulling another gun, and

e said. "Friend," he went on, indicating me with a slight wave of one exte

ble sum toward me, and, pocketing it,

m!" yelled Steele at Marti

x in a corner, he grasped it, and, sweeping it to and fro as if it had been a bugg

ending them splintering among the tumbled chairs. Then

sand other dens of its kind, consisted of a large room with adobe walls, a rude

h article he struck, and he demolishe

t, Martin cursed, and the crowd

oom, Martin needing a plain, stern word to put him out entirely. I went

, nervy Texan I liked. He had Martin well judged, to

these, with the crashing blows of Steele's ax, br

the door told that Steele was attacking the walls of Martin's plac

nd then he smashed out half of the front o

an whose great stature and muscular development expressed a wonderful physical strength and energy. And

lawless Linrock grasp the rea

the ax at M

tly. "Don't start another place in Linro

teele took the money I had appropriated, returned to me what I had lost, did likewise with the cattleman, and the

new that men who slunk from facing him would not

admiration and satisfaction. "So thet's that Texas Ranger,

enjoy the sensation as to gai

of Linrock and almost every female had viewed the wreck of Mar

might not have voiced at a calmer moment. The women, at least, were

do it al

man's come

or Moll

ke bad times

ere glad, and this was in itself a vi

together with the whole brood of idle gaming loungers, and in fact even s

oking. Steele had showed his hand, and, as o

ing except hard and honest work, and it was damnably hateful to the lawless class. Steele's

bles in western Texas had been a farce, an utter failure. If an honest native of a community unde

driven out the criminals. They interpreted the law for themselves, and it was only such an attitude toward law-the ster

honest. To be sure, Steele might be killed at any moment, and that contingency was voiced in the growl

defend, to punish, with such somber menace of death as seemed embodied in his cold attitu

le that seemed to make him

hich, long known to this lawless Pecos gang, but scouted as a vague and distant thing, now became an actu

d Sally, both talking at once, acquainted me with the fact that they had

ey had been hurriedly started toward home by their at

grand!" exc

girls the whole

t as you tell it?" inq

place when he entered. Also I was playing in the crooked game. And I saw him wreck

things," she said softly,

ampson in the background. Before I reached the corrals

u," she said. "He's in a bad te

ment startled me out of any further thought of her. Why did Sampson want to see me? He never noticed me. I dr

been out so far this day. He looked worn. There was a furtive shadow in his eyes.

in's saloon being cleaned out?" he a

y what had happened. He chewed his cigar, then

ndy leans to crooked faro. I've tried to stop

hen and left me with a queer

d the least sympathy. It was probably that Sampson

volved in crime, yet were too manly to s

could tell she had heard; she looked agitate

us. Besides, like everybody here, he's biased. He can't see anything good in Steele

e to Linrock. I heard a good deal about it from my acquaintances, some

nt his time hanging on at the places frequented by younger and better me

rustler, and the men with whom he associated had

d out into a vacant lot and left there. He lay there all that night and all

im home, attended to his wounds, nursed him, and in

e to communicate, but was eager to hear when I had seen Jim Hoden, Morton, Wright

rtune to be in the Hope So when he came i

my friends. I'm leavin' Linrock. An' I'm askin' some of you t

ebbe. There's a hell of a lot a man doesn't know till too late. I'm old now, ready fer the bone pile, an' it doesn't matter. But I've got

me money to git out of Pecos. Mebbe everybody'll think he helped me because he wanted me to squeal. To squeal who's who round thes

But I've been with him, an' I'm old figgerin' men. Jest as sure as God made litt