February 2, 1972 (12 pages)

Re ee ne got away, he made a straight break for the Ohio House and reached there last night. She sent ina messenger with the agreed word, and Iwill take a couple of deputies and go after him in the morning. I thought you might like to go along just to see the fun. You needn't take a hand unless you want to," : At the appointed time the sheriff, with Wakefield and three deputies, started for the place. It was agreed on the road that he and two of his men should enter by the front / door, ascertain Bell's wherabouts, go to his room and demand his surrender, while Wakefield and.the other man would guard : the rear of the house and cut off escape in that direction. This l . plan was adhered to; the woman pointed out the location, and 3 the -sheriff pounded on the door and demanded admission, No doubt’ Bell realized the trap that had been set for him; instead of opening the door he threw up the window and, a revolver in ‘each hand, sprang out on the roof of the porch. Wakefield, who was posted underneath, recognized him as the man who had escaped him in the canyon, raised his pistol and fired simultaneously with Bell, Wakefield felt the breath knocked out of him and realized that he had been shot, but he recovered in time to see the robber, swaying and staggering, pitch forward and tumble off the roof to the ground. The ball from Wakefield's J revolver had pierced his heart, and his career was ended, By a miracle Wakefield had escaped serious injury. The bullet had sped accurately, but striking the steel buckle of his belt, had been deflected, and piercing his skin, had inflicted a mere surface wound, a scratch that was of no consequence, The details of the pursuit and extermination of the gang was a nine days' wonder -and then forgotten. Bell's paramour, execrated and despised by everybody cognizant of her treachery, sold out the inn, collected her reward, and disappeared from the country. The Greaser who had been left in the canyon was brought to Marysville ‘and recovered from his hurts, was tried, ee a a) . —— DRE EEE ee ee oe ee ) found guilty, and sentenced to a long term in State prison, which he did not serve out, being killed by one of the guards while participating in a convict break for liberty. With Bell's death Wakefield's interest in the matter ended. He resolutely refused to accept a cent of the reward, or claim any portion of the money found in the saddle bags, conveying to the sheriff title to any interest he might have with one ; exception: the horse he had ridden from the canyon, a magnificent thoroughbred that had been in Bell's possession, probably stolen, but whose owner never turned up to claim it. This 2 aS _:.rLClUlU ' animal Wakefield proposed to present to bis friend Mike. é CHAPTER XXIX REUNION OF MR. AND MRS. WAKEFIELD Leaving Marysville when everything was Settled, there being no judicial inquiry made into, the killing of the robbers, Wakefield reclaimed his_own horse that he had left at San Juan previous to his undertaking and turned his face toward The City of Six. He arrived after the New Year and was most heartily welcomed by his partner. The season had been an extraordinarily open one; there had been but a light fall of snow, and communication with the neighboring camps had not been cut off. He found Mike busy and fairly cheerful although a trifle lonesome, The good hearted Irishman missed Rance and his cheery ways. "We cud well afford to maintain one gintleman like him, and a gintleman he was from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet." ite As for Tex, he mourned him as David mourned Jonathan. "There was no foolishness about Tex; as steady as a rock and as reliable. I cud go to bed and slape aisy whin he was in charge, and that's more than I've done since. I had a letter from him, or rather from Mrs, Ruth, which by the way will interest ye. They are down in the San Ramon Valley, where they are bargaining for a small farm of some six thousand acrespart of a Spanish grant, he says. They are stopping at Don Pedraza's casa; he’s the owner. If they make the bargain, it's sixty thousand dollars they will pay for it with the cattle thrown in. It's miles and miles more the Don has, and he's disposing —of this small piece for to have a trifle of spinding money. Your wife is wid them, but mighty anxious about yersilf; it's news she is wanting of ye, which I expect she has by this time, for the papers are full of yer exploits." Wakefield winced a little at this; truth to tell, he was as anxious to hear from her as she from him. He had had plenty of time for a searching analysis of his feelings and found that he could pity and pardon, His heart yearned for his mate and he was willing to pave the way for a reunion, which he did that very night by the dispatch of a long letter, in which he touched lightly on his recent adventures, indulged in no, upgrading, and dwelt particularly on the daughter and her. future: nothing must be allowed to cloud her happiness, not even a suspicion of an estrangement between the parents. With this peace offering made he relieved his mind of the sense of an injustice and opened the door for a better understanding, Mike was not to be denied a full relation of his partner's adventures, which Wakefield rather modestly imparted, smiling at Mike's comment. "It's not brave at all, it's just foolhardy ye were, and there was no call for it hunting down thaves and robbers when it is better ye would be giving a helping hand to yer pard! Av coorse, barring the horse, which is a foine baste and a valuable one, seeing it cost four min's lives for to procure it, I see no merit in what ye've done, depriving the sheriff of all the glory and giving him all the money, It's a gardeen ye want, and I'm thinking I'll appoint mesilf to the place." Wakefield took Mike's chaffing without offense and confessed that_he was tired of adventure and quite willing to substitue himself* in the place of Texand make up for his defection, "Now it's a streak of sinse ye have. The ould mine ain't a-going to last always, and it's the dollars you will be wanting for the grandchildren, Besides, there is Rance, a-travelling, which is expinsive, and he'll be nading some of the dividends, to say nothing of Tex, who when he gets his ranch will be buying blooded bulls and cows to improve his stock. As for mesilf, it's a miner I am and it's a miner-I will be to the end of it, but I'll not go broke unless the bottom drops out of the world Ihave me nest egg put away where it won't rust." (to be continued) » a te —=

Re ee ne got away, he made a straight break for the Ohio House and reached there last night. She sent ina messenger with the agreed word, and Iwill take a couple of deputies and go after him in the morning. I thought you might like to go along just to see the fun. You needn't take a hand unless you want to," : At the appointed time the sheriff, with Wakefield and three deputies, started for the place. It was agreed on the road that he and two of his men should enter by the front / door, ascertain Bell's wherabouts, go to his room and demand his surrender, while Wakefield and.the other man would guard : the rear of the house and cut off escape in that direction. This l . plan was adhered to; the woman pointed out the location, and 3 the -sheriff pounded on the door and demanded admission, No doubt’ Bell realized the trap that had been set for him; instead of opening the door he threw up the window and, a revolver in ‘each hand, sprang out on the roof of the porch. Wakefield, who was posted underneath, recognized him as the man who had escaped him in the canyon, raised his pistol and fired simultaneously with Bell, Wakefield felt the breath knocked out of him and realized that he had been shot, but he recovered in time to see the robber, swaying and staggering, pitch forward and tumble off the roof to the ground. The ball from Wakefield's J revolver had pierced his heart, and his career was ended, By a miracle Wakefield had escaped serious injury. The bullet had sped accurately, but striking the steel buckle of his belt, had been deflected, and piercing his skin, had inflicted a mere surface wound, a scratch that was of no consequence, The details of the pursuit and extermination of the gang was a nine days' wonder -and then forgotten. Bell's paramour, execrated and despised by everybody cognizant of her treachery, sold out the inn, collected her reward, and disappeared from the country. The Greaser who had been left in the canyon was brought to Marysville ‘and recovered from his hurts, was tried, ee a a) . —— DRE EEE ee ee oe ee ) found guilty, and sentenced to a long term in State prison, which he did not serve out, being killed by one of the guards while participating in a convict break for liberty. With Bell's death Wakefield's interest in the matter ended. He resolutely refused to accept a cent of the reward, or claim any portion of the money found in the saddle bags, conveying to the sheriff title to any interest he might have with one ; exception: the horse he had ridden from the canyon, a magnificent thoroughbred that had been in Bell's possession, probably stolen, but whose owner never turned up to claim it. This 2 aS _:.rLClUlU ' animal Wakefield proposed to present to bis friend Mike. é CHAPTER XXIX REUNION OF MR. AND MRS. WAKEFIELD Leaving Marysville when everything was Settled, there being no judicial inquiry made into, the killing of the robbers, Wakefield reclaimed his_own horse that he had left at San Juan previous to his undertaking and turned his face toward The City of Six. He arrived after the New Year and was most heartily welcomed by his partner. The season had been an extraordinarily open one; there had been but a light fall of snow, and communication with the neighboring camps had not been cut off. He found Mike busy and fairly cheerful although a trifle lonesome, The good hearted Irishman missed Rance and his cheery

ways. "We cud well afford to maintain one gintleman like him, and a gintleman he was from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet." ite As for Tex, he mourned him as David mourned Jonathan. "There was no foolishness about Tex; as steady as a rock and as reliable. I cud go to bed and slape aisy whin he was in charge, and that's more than I've done since. I had a letter from him, or rather from Mrs, Ruth, which by the way will interest ye. They are down in the San Ramon Valley, where they are bargaining for a small farm of some six thousand acrespart of a Spanish grant, he says. They are stopping at Don Pedraza's casa; he’s the owner. If they make the bargain, it's sixty thousand dollars they will pay for it with the cattle thrown in. It's miles and miles more the Don has, and he's disposing —of this small piece for to have a trifle of spinding money. Your wife is wid them, but mighty anxious about yersilf; it's news she is wanting of ye, which I expect she has by this time, for the papers are full of yer exploits." Wakefield winced a little at this; truth to tell, he was as anxious to hear from her as she from him. He had had plenty of time for a searching analysis of his feelings and found that he could pity and pardon, His heart yearned for his mate and he was willing to pave the way for a reunion, which he did that very night by the dispatch of a long letter, in which he touched lightly on his recent adventures, indulged in no, upgrading, and dwelt particularly on the daughter and her. future: nothing must be allowed to cloud her happiness, not even a suspicion of an estrangement between the parents. With this peace offering made he relieved his mind of the sense of an injustice and opened the door for a better understanding, Mike was not to be denied a full relation of his partner's adventures, which Wakefield rather modestly imparted, smiling at Mike's comment. "It's not brave at all, it's just foolhardy ye were, and there was no call for it hunting down thaves and robbers when it is better ye would be giving a helping hand to yer pard! Av coorse, barring the horse, which is a foine baste and a valuable one, seeing it cost four min's lives for to procure it, I see no merit in what ye've done, depriving the sheriff of all the glory and giving him all the money, It's a gardeen ye want, and I'm thinking I'll appoint mesilf to the place." Wakefield took Mike's chaffing without offense and confessed that_he was tired of adventure and quite willing to substitue himself* in the place of Texand make up for his defection, "Now it's a streak of sinse ye have. The ould mine ain't a-going to last always, and it's the dollars you will be wanting for the grandchildren, Besides, there is Rance, a-travelling, which is expinsive, and he'll be nading some of the dividends, to say nothing of Tex, who when he gets his ranch will be buying blooded bulls and cows to improve his stock. As for mesilf, it's a miner I am and it's a miner-I will be to the end of it, but I'll not go broke unless the bottom drops out of the world Ihave me nest egg put away where it won't rust." (to be continued) » a te —=