The Argosy, January 1906 — page 89: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

JIM DEXTER—CATTLEMAN.* BY WILLIAM WALLACE COOK. Author of “Rogers of Butte,” “The Gold Gleaners,” ete. A story of the plains in which chivalry and trust are pitted agains: trickery and deceit. SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED. JIM DEXTER and his ward, Roy Burnham, are the owners of Clearwater Ranch. While Roy is away in the mountains, a bunch of their cattle is rustled by Kalispel, a rival ranch-owner. Dexter presents a bill. On his way to talk the matter over with Kalispel at Siwash City, Dexter rescues a girl from the attack of a dangerous steer. expecting to find Roy there. Dexter accompanies her to Siwash City to wait until Burnham returns, and as he does not find - Her name is Orah Lee, and he finds that she is on her way to his raneh, Kalispel, goes up to the latter’s ranch, where, at the point of a pistol, he collects his money. He returns to find Roy at the ranch, but has hardly greeted him when the sheriff appears with a warrant for Burnham's arrest. had with him, stolen. Kalispel’s son has been killed, and the money for the pay-roll, which he kalispel suspects Roy, as he and his son had lately quarreled. The sheriff searches the house and finds one of Kalispel’s paybags with money in it. CHAPTER VIL FOILING A MOB. HIS was a propitious moment for McKibben. He did not go to his deputy, but ran to the chamber door, threw it open, and stepped across the threshold. Dexter recovered sufficiently to whirl about and dart after him. . The win- dow of the room was open and Roy Burnham was gone. “ Confound it, Dexter!” shouted Mc- Kibben inafury. “ While you kept me in that other -som the boy got away. But he can’t have gone far, and we'll have him yet. Get the horses, Perry!” he roared, racing back to his deputy. “Our man has skipped out and we’ve got to overhaul him.” “ Just a minute, Mac,” spoke up Dex- ter from the bedroom door. “ This farce has gone far enough. Let me see that warrant of yours.’ Perry had hurried after the horses, and the sheriff had a moment or two to spare while the animals were being brought to the door. Taking the docu- ment in question from his “pocket, he handed it to the cattleman. Dexter unfolded it and looked it over. Then he deliberately tore it into fragments. “What's that for?” demanded Mc- Kibben. “Kalispel swore out his warrant against the wrong man, Mac,” answered Dexter. “Tm the one you are after.” “You!” gasped McKibben, drawing back incredulously. “Yes,” was the cool reply. “ Nate Kalispel made an attack on me last night, in the trail, and I had to kill him in self-defense. I don’t want to make you any trouble, and here are my guns. Put on the irons if you want to.” Jim Dexter stretched out his hands, wrists together. In some men there is a blind, un- reasoning faith which will suffer itself to: be flouted by contradictory facts, trampled on by damning and indisput- able evidence, defied by testimony in no wise to be impeached, and yet will hold as unwaveringly to its object as the com- pass to its pole. Such was Jim Dexter’s faith in Roy Burnham. ; To another man the finding of Kali- spel’s pay-roll money in the violin-case would have been the last link in the cir- cumstantial chain that convicted Roy of *This story began in the December issue of THE ARGOSY, which will be mailed to any, address on receipt of 10 cents. comicbook