ssenger; a few minutes after the puff of white smoke on the crest of the rise had drifted away, a mou

t me on to let you know the Sher

im," sa

pleases you, but, as he had him in the ja

round, and Grant's face grew stern. "He was able to h

e cattle-boys and a storekeeper got hurt during the trouble, and our men are no

y stable and tell your executive I'm going to take our men out of jail, and if it s

bly played out, but I'll st

eastern round; Charley, you'll ride west. Give them the handful of oats at every shant

s more than any man in that region would have ventured to predict. He worked however, until the stars were out that night and commenced again when the red sun crept up above the prairie rim the next day; b

but it is plain that the cattle-men, who bought it up, have left none for us. Now

and I needn't tell you what kind of chance they'll get. We pledged ourselves to see they had fair play when they came in, and there's only one means of getting it. We are goin

Grant, glancing down the row of set fa

quietly. "It may be a long while b

elt that the time to strike in turn had come. They mounted when supper was over and rode in silence past willow bluff and dusky rise across the desolate waste. The badger heard the jingle of their bridles, and now and then a lonely coyote, startled by the soft drumming of the hoofs, rose with bristling fur and howled; but no cow-boy heard their passage, o

weary cattle had passed into the town; and a long row of shadowy frame houses had been left behind before the fears of any citizen were aroused. It was, perhaps, their silent haste that betrayed the horsemen, for they rode in ordered ranks without a word, as men who have grim business in hand, until a

e what you want," he said. "You can't rid

laughter, and somebody ask

he horseman. "Stop right wher

sternly, "or we'll ride

ers were almost upon him, and as he went down the street at a gallop the wooden houses flung back a roar of hoofs. Every doo

darkness as he swung in his saddle at the head of them. He saw one or two mounted men wheel their horses, and more on foot spring clear of the hoofs, and then the fla

re, boys,

e foremost pressed on, until, pulling up, they left a space behind them and commanded the street in front. The rest dismounted, and while one man stood at the heads of every pair of horses, the rest clustered r

rolling up. Get throu

f a minute to send somebody out to talk

ce rose from the building: "Who are

s the answer. "We

somebody, "I'

et behind there was silence until Brecke

g them an opportunity of securing their pris

her man. "It would be 'way better

, and I want to put it through without losing a man.

he building: "You wanted

at a window, and there was

hem. "Nobody's going to hurt him. Can'

would be better, Sheriff; and you have my word that we'll gi

two men with rifles, whose dress proclaimed them stockriders. He could also see the horsemen below, as Grant, who waited until the sight had made its due impression, had intend

," said the Sheriff, with an attempt at jauntine

prisoners,"

Sheriff. "Hadn't you better ride home ag

with his words, and it would have bee

" said Grant quietly. "Now, we have no great use for talking. We want

nt nobo

riminals, or let them go

up by the crowd and swelled into a storm of cries. Some expre

, "if you want your frie

a bang, and the light died out, leavi

"Forward, those who are g

nt a few half-seen objects flung themselves over the balustrade as the men with the axes came up, and ot

pass," s

t, and in the hands of such men it is a very effective implement. The door shook and rattled as the great blades whirled a

re's iron here. Get some of the boys to chop

e shoulder. "No," he said. "We haven't come to wreck the town.

ned breathlessly. "Get ready, boys," he said.

the wedge of tempered steel clove the softer metal. The great door tilted and went down, and Breckenridge sprang past the axe-men t

orridor, but the rest of the building was very silent, and nobody disputed their pas

thing," sai

uldn't do it if I wanted to

ind them. The corridor was filling up, and it dawned upon the

ou stopping for?

r quietly. "I was raised in Kentucky.

can't argue with him. Go ahead with y

s toil; but the grille went down, and

y. "Now, we can't fool time awa

jailer, and the contempt in h

he's sensible. Now, what you have got to do is to

uldn't do it," s

ntil we find them. That, it's quite plain, would let the others go, and you would lose the whole

's sq

e quite enough men of their kind

said the jailer

ons from behind a door, which a few minutes later tottered and fell beneath the ax

idge in the rifles of the men who opened his jail. He'll come back when the troubl

met them as they once more

"The boys are

ves into the saddle. There was a hasty mounting, and when the m

omesteaders out. The S

it was evident that the sympathies of the citizens were

your order and dista

ouses as the little band rode forward. Their silence was impressive, but the leader knew his countrymen, for, while taunts and display would have courted an onset,

aps in the hope of provoking a conflict in which the rest would join, a knot of men pushed out into the street from the verandah of the woode

e and distance

d once more the crowd melted from in front of them. As the last of the band passed

but it wasn't your fault. It's a

th a sinking thud of hoofs melted into the prairie. They had accomplished their purpose, and the c