Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 May 1909 — The Round-Up [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Round-Up

A 'Romance oZ Arizona Novelized From Edmund Day's Melodrama

By JOHN MURRAY and MILLS MILLER

SYNOPSIS. Chapter I— Returning with gold from the mines to an Arizona ranch to claim Echo Allen, his promised bride, Dick Lane is attacked by Apaches led by Buck McKee, a renegade. After spending six months in a hospital Lane writes to his friend Jack Payson, owner of the Sweetwater ranch, to tell Echo he is coming home. He tells Payson he has $3,000 to pay a mortgage placed by Jack on his ranch to help him. ll—Colonel Jim Allen, owner of the Bar One ranch, Is father of Echo and father by adoption of Polly Hope, Dick and Bud Lane. Polly and Bud are sweethearts. In Dick's absence Echo falls in love with Jack, realizing that her love for Dick was merely -friendship. Dick is believed to be dead, owing to the return of McKee with a lying story. Bud "chums” with McKee despite the warnings of Slim Hoover, the fat and popular sheriff. Echo and Jack become engaged. 111. Echo declares to Jack after the latter suppresses Dick’s letter, fearing to lose her, that she will be true to her promise to Dick if he returns. Bud quarrels with Jack about Echo, the boy championing his absent brother’s cause. IV—-Aided by Bud, McKee murders Terrill, the station agent, stealing from him $3,000 of county money. McKee suggests to Bud that Dick may still be living. V—-The boys gather at the Allen ranch for the wedding of Echo and Jack. VI and VII —McKee plans to tc throw suspicion of Terrill’s murder on Jack, and he and Bud go to ’.,he Allens’ for the wedding. Mckee raises a disturbance and is put out. VIII— All ready for the wedding. IX— Dick turns up at the Allens’ just as his rweetheart is marrlqd to Jack. Only Allen and Jack see him. Jack Is tempted to shoot his friend, who pays the $3,000 to him and returns to the desert. X—The cowpunchers send for a piano as a surprise tor Echo, now married to Jack. XI Jack keeps his business affairs secret from his wife, not daring to tell her where he got the $3,000 to pay the mortgage. Polly flirts with Slim, although she loves bud The boys give the piano to Echo. Buck McKee comes to Payson’s at the head of his followers, the Lazy K outfit, to accuse Payson of killing Terrill. XII—-Buck accuses Jack, and the young man refuses to clear himself by telling where he got the money. Slim puts McKee and his men off the Payson place. Jack confesses to his wife his deception to her regarding Dick, and, she ’(sends him to the desert to find Dick and bring him back to hear from her own lips that she believed him dead when she promised to marry Jack. Forgetting he is under suspicion of killing Terrill, Jack goes. Echo tries to call him back, but is prevented by Bud. Slim, as sheriff, pursues Jack. XIII-—ln the desert are Dick, sought by Jack, the latter pursued by Slim and a posse, and a band of Apaches hunted by a troop of soldiers. XIV—-Jack finds Dick to send him back to Echo with his own supply of water and food, he himself staying in the desert to expiate his unfaithfulness to his friend. The two are attacked by the Apaches. Dick is killed and Jack is wounded. He is rescued by Slim and the troops. XV—McKee and his men start trouble with the Sweetwater outfit, Peruna, >one of McKee’S men, falsely branding some of the Sweetwater calves and shooting,one of the Sweetwater • boys.

CHAPTER XVI. WHEN Jack closed the door behind him to follow and find Dick Lune and bring him back to the woman who, the restorer believed, loved him, Echo Payson realized the supremacy over her soul—her pure Ideals, her lofty sense of Justice—of Its tenement, the woman's body. The moral side of her desire toward Jack now became fixed in the purpose to lift him up to her own level. Now that he had gone from her on a mission that was fulfilling this very purpose of regeneration, although she had not sent him ujion It for his sake, but her own, Echo knew’ that, after all, she was a woman. She loved Jack Payson with the unreasoning and unrestrained passion that sways even the highest of her sex. She very sensibly took refuge from her perplexing problems by jumping Into the active life of the ranch. Faithfully she tried to perforin all that she thought Jack would have done. Her father and mother wanted her to come back to her old home until he returned. There she would have more company and fewer memories of Jack surrounding her. Each offer, each suggestion, was kindly but firmly put aside. When Jack returned she must be the first to welcome him. Echo and her father, who was looking after his own cattle on the roundup, rode up to the chuck wagon after Parenthesis and Sagebrush crossed the valley to mete out Justice to Peruna and tight out any attempts at a rescue. Dismounting, Echo walked wearily to the fire and sat down on a box. Bravely though she tried to conceal It, the strain was beginning to tell upon her. .The tears would come at times despite her efforts to fight them off. The burden was so heavy for her young shoulders to bear. A note from Slim, written at Fort Grant with a lead pencil on a sheet of manila paper, told her briefly that he

was going into the lava beds with the troops, as the Apaches were out. Dick and Jack, he wrote, were somewhere in the lava beds and he would bring them back with him. She dared not let herself think of the Apaches and the horrors of their cruelties. “Better let me get you somethin’ to eat," said her father, returning from picketing flip horses. Echo smiled wanly at her father’s solicitude. “I am not hungry, dad.” Jim seated himself by the fire. He recognized his helplessness in this trouble. “You been in the saddle since sunup,” he said. “You ain’t had nuthln* to eat since breakfast. I don’t see what keeps you alive.” “Hope, dad'. hope. It is what we womeu-live upon. My heart isn’t here. It's <mt in the desert behind yon mountains—with Jack.”

“There, there; don’t take on so, honey.” Kneeling beside her father, she laid her head on his lap, as she did In Childhood when overwhelmed with the little troubles of the hour. Looking into his eyes; she sighed: “Oh, dad, it’s all so tangled, I haven’t known a i>eaceful moment since he went away. I've sent him away into God knows what unfriendly lands, perhaps never to return, never to know how much I loved him.”

Putting her head as if she were a tired child, lie said: "It’ll all come out right in, the end. You can’t never tell from the Sody card what’s In hock at the bottom of the deck.” 1 Further confidences between father and daugh »r Were interrupted by the boys of the round-up dashing up to the wagon, with Peruna fn the midst of the group. Peruna had been disarmed. Dragging the prisoner from his broncho, they led him before Allen, who had risen from his seat. “What’s all this, boys?” asked th® ranchman.

Sagebrush, as foreman, explained, “This here’s Peruna of the Laxy K outfit.” Allen looked at the prisoner, who maintained a sullen silence. “What’s he been doin’?” “Mostly everything, but Fresno caught him red handed brandin’one of our yearliu's,” cried Sagebrush. “It’s a lie!” broke In Peruna, glancing doggedly from one to another of his guards. He knew death was the penalty of the crime of which he stood accused. lie felt that a stout denial would gain him time and that Buck and his outfit might come up and save him.

“Polite your conversation in the presence of a lady!” cried Parenthesis, nodding toward Echo. “That cillf was follerln’ my cow,” answered Peruna sullenly. “It was follerln’ one of our long horned Texas cows with the Sweetwater brand spread all over her!” shouted Show r Low, moving menacingly toward the cowering Peruna.

“Fresno he calls him," continued Sagebrush. taking up the story, “an’ this here bad man turns loose his battery an’ wings Fresno some bad. Then little Billie Nicker comes along, an’ Peruna plugs him solid.’’ Poor Billie had been Show’ Low’s bunkle on many, a long drive. That veteran now paid this last tribute to his friend. “Billie, who ain’t never done no harm to no one.”

“He reached fer his gun”— began Peruna. Sagebrush would not let him finish his lame defense. “You shet up!” he cried. “We don’t want your kind on this range, an’ the quicker that’s published the quicker we’ll get shet of you. We’re goin’ to take the law in our own hands now. Come on, boys!” Two of the boys seized Peruna, dragging him toward his horse. Echo halted them, hpwever, with the query, “What are you going to do with this man?"

“Take him down to the creek an’ hang him to that big cottonwood!” cried Show Low savagely. Before Echo could answer Peruna demanded a hearing. “HoP on a minute. I got somethin’ to say about that!”

“Out with it,” growled Sagebrush. “Las’ time there was an affair at that cottonwood the rope broke, an’ the boss thief dropped Into the creek, swum acrost an’ got away.” Sagebrush glared grimly at Peruna. “Well, we'll see that the rope don’t break with you.” In all seriousness Peruna replied: “I hope so. I can’t swim.” Polly, glancing down the valley, saw Buck McKee, with a half dozen of his outfit, riding furiously to the rescue of Peninn. “Look out, boys; here comes Buck McKee now!” she shouted. Unconsciously the men laid their hands on their guns and assumed offensive attitudes. Allen cried sharply: “Keep your hands off your guns, boys. One bad break means the starting of a lot of trouble,” Buck and his band threw themselves off their horses, ranging themselves opposite Sagebrush and the Sweetwater boys. Swaggering up to Sagebrush, the half breed Insolently demanded, the boss uv this here Payson

outfit?” “I reckon you are talkin’ to him now,” coolly replied the foreman. "You’ve got one uv my boys over here,’’ bellowed Buck, adding with the Implied threat, “an’ we’ve come fer him.” Sagebrush was not bluffed by Buck’s insolence or his swaggering manners. "I reckon you can’t have him—not just yet.” “What’s he been doin’?” demanded Buck. “He killed Billie Nicker—that’s one thing.” “Self defense,” loftily replied Buck. “He wuz ’tendin’ to his own business when yer two men come up an’ begin pickin’ on him.” Bursting with anger, Parenthesis strode up to Buck and shouted, “He

was brandin’ one of our yearlin’s; that’s w hat his business was.” Sagebrush suggested in addition, “Perhaps you mean that brandin’ other folks’ cattle is the reg’lar business of the Lazy K outfit.” “Anything with hide an’ no mark is Lazy K to you all,” growled Show Low. “You're goin’ strong on reg’lar proceedln’s, I see,” said Buck to Sageboys of his revolver, but not of his knife. After Peruna had been visited with his punishment Echo retraced her steps. Bowing to her, hat in hand, Buck made his apologies. “Ma’am, I’m plumb sorry. My mother was a Cherokee squaw, but I’m white in some spots. If you’ll let yer ranch boss come along with us we’ll settle this brandin’ business right now.” Sagebrush did not care to accept the offer, but Echo ordered him to go with

the Lazy K outfit. Seeing it was useless to argue with her, he said, “Come on, boys.” Ere they had ridden out of sight Echo sank exhausted on the seat by the fire. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Polly played the role of comforter. “Don’t mind ’em,” she said. “Better come to the ranch with me. You’re all tuckered out. You’ve been runnln’ this ranch fer a month like a man.” “I’ll take your advice, Polly, and ride home. Tell dad I want him, will you?”

(To be Continued)

“Who's the boss uv this here Payson outfit ?"

“I'll square this deal, Buck McKce.”