Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 May 1909 — The Round-Up [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Round-Up

A Romance of Arizona Novelized Prom Edmund Day’e 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 Vll—McKee plans to to throw suspicion of Terrill’s murder on Jack, and ho and Bud go to the 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 married 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 for 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. Xll—Buck accuses Jack, and the young man refuses to clear himself by telling where he got the ’hioney. 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—In 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. XlV—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, I'eruna, one of McKee’s men, falsely branding some of the Sweetwater calves and shooting, one of the Sweetwater boys. XVl—Echo regrets her haste in sending away her husband, whom she dearly loves. Buck McKee and his gang gather at the Sweetwater ranch to defend Penina. The latter Insults Echo and is knocked down by McKee as a pretence to virtue. Peruna thereupon determines to "get even” with McKee,

right smart.” Peruna struggled to his feet. Buck commanded: “Down on yer knees.” A glance at Buck showed Peruna how deadly In earnest he was. Reluctantly he sank to his knees. “I didn’t mean what I said. I hope yon will excuse me,” he whined. “That’s enough. Now git up. Pull yer freight,” Buck ordered. “No!” interposed Sagebrush. The cowboys seized Peruna. Buck saw that his bluff at bossing the situation

CHAPTER XVl.—Continued. Sagebrush suggested In addltipu, "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 goln' strong on reg’lar proeeedin’s. I see,” said Buck to Sagebrush. "Ton ain’t sheriff fir this here eounty, are you?” "That’s Jest it. Somebody’s got to act sooner or later, an’ if there ain't no reg’lar law we’ll go back to the ojd times an’ make our own.” The Sweetwater outfit assented unanimously to Sagebrush’s declaration of freedom from outlaw rule In the county. “You're a fine lot to set up as law abidin’ citizens,” sneered Buck. “Workin’ fer a man that had to hop the country to keep clear of the rope,” interjected I’eruna, who, heartened up by the advent of McKee, began pouring oil on a smoldering fire. Sagebrush turned savagely upon him. “That’Jl do fer you.” Echo walked hastily to Sagebrush’s ■ide. She felt her presence might help to avoid the outbreak which she. saw could not long be avoided. «. Peruna had lost control of tongue and discretion by this time. "You’ll never see him back In this section agin. You all know where he la—’cress the line in old Mexico. Why, ■he’s fixin* to make a clean-up now an’ s«U out an* join hlrnl" Sagebrush reached for his gun, but Echo restrained him. "Xou”- he crXL

Buck turned angrily on Peruna. “You keep yer mouth abet!” he shouted. Peruna subsided at his boss* command, mumbling, “There ain’t no female can pull the forelock over my eyes.” “Take care!” warnlngly called Buck. Peruna fired up again regardless of consequences. “Why, I see through her game! She’s glad to get rid of him so’s she can play up to her ranch boss. Handsome Charley there.” Buck had to act Instantly to preserve his supremacy over his men. Before any of the Sweetwater outfit could reach Penina’s side or pull a gun to resent the Insult Buck was on top of him. With a blow full in the mouth he knocked him sprawling. Echo had seized Sagebrush’s hand, preventing him from firing. The other men moved as If to kick Peruna as he lay prostrate.:

“Let him alone. He’s goln’ to ask the lady’s pardon!” snarled Buck, covering him with a gun. “No, I’ll be”— he began. Buck bent over him, speaking in a low tone, tensely and quickly. “Quick! I don’t want to have to kill you. Don’t you see what I’m playin’ fer?” "He ain’t fit to live!” shouted Show Low. Buck turned on the cowboy. It was his fight, and he was going to handle It In his own fashion. “Lemme handle this case,” he Interrupted. “There baln’t no man can travel in my outfit an’ Insult a woman. You ask her pardon— j- .

was called. He turned appealingly to Echo and rapidly fabricated a moving tale about Peruna’s heroic rescue of himself from drowning In the Glia river. “An’ I swore I would do as much fer him some day. Now I perpose that we all give him a kick an’ let him go—let him have two hours’ start, after which the game laws will be out on him.”

Sagebrush cried out against the plan, but Echo was moved by McKee’s appeal for his comrade and, speaking low and beseechingly to Sagebrush, said, “It will save a range war that we can’t afford to have till Jack and Slim get back.” Sagebrush finally assented. “Two hours’ start Well, he’ll have to go some If he gits away. Kick him an’ let him go,” he commanded. Echo turned away.

The cowboys who held Peruna threw him to the ground, and every man of the Allen and Payson ranches gave hhn a vicious kick, Show Low putting in an extra one for his murderedbunkle. List of all, McKee approached the prostrate man and made tfie jnistale which jo cost him his life by booting *Peruna cruelly I Rising from the ground and trembling with anger, Peruna turned on the half breed, saying, “I’ll square this deal, Buck McKee.”

“Losln’ vallyble time, Peruna. ,Glt!” was all that his former boss deigned to answer. Peruna limped over to bls horse, which Parenthesis had been holding in custody, mounted It and rode off at a lope for the river ford. He crossed It In sight of the Sweetwater outfit and disappeared behind the river bank. Here he dismounted and, picking a small branch of cactus, put it under his horse’s tail. The poor beast clapped his tall against it and, with a scream, set off on a wild gallop across the mean. Peruna hobbled up the river a mile or so, half waded, half swam, to the other side and entered an arroyo whose course led back near the camp of the Sweetwater outfit. He had been disarmed by the cow-

boys of hb revolver, but not of his knife. After Peruns had been visited with his punishment Echo retraced her

Bowing to tier, nat m nano, buck made his apologies. “Ma’am, Fm plumb sorry. My mother was a Cherokee squaw, but Tm 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 bad 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)

“I didn’t mean what 1 said.".

“I'll square this deal, Buck McKee."