The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 25, 1904, Page 4

THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. click of five hundred horns, the steers made a direct counter m , sweeping. blind and infuri- ated over the bodies of their less wide-eyed neighbors, their sharp the bo; »f cat cussedn foot, for ver hoofs crunching and grinding everything beneath into an unrecognizable mass. The stampede was no ionger a possibility; but , trained and drilled to every form , kept a level head and he work was now on. Three ‘hours of hard riding followed, arched arid country, honeycombed with gopber holes and other prairie ac- ompl nen before any headway was ma g the cattle and closing the herd down to one Then came e incessant watch, riding he treacherous mass break out in some foot clear throug! front door Word?" he roared. ** ‘Pears to me back one, but just now I yer red-headed missionary’'s been play- t got the conscience to do it. in while you fellows was out ch: E up in the € urnin’ in I d the cook form, while others set to work cutting out and driving the more rebellious steers into a cor- ral This task was not all it ap- peared from for it c le, from one another or rearing th air and ging down a bewlilder- r mass of long sweeping horns, curved like scimi- tars; their sharp suggestive of ripped flanks d deep gore rks. Slowly the herd moved on- ward and the dis- ce was now --half made, when with a swish- chump, the sharp ere speck or was a moonless night and the iey chill heat of th fell over the wide 1d swe a great deal more, « k ;arest thing to sup~ W and thirsty from. d yet it would probably be hours be- s at would begin to 1i to sleep. Separating r kept up while the others : : other boys had dis- o z ir tired legs when same hing the with 8| satisf the while as if th 1its had gon style What's yer nnocent the men b Dave?” chorused ath had fully re- y Pikes devouring scrub rag their inched up in the 1 the corral of prize steers trail of a Commanche as the mustang ece of informa- lenc a dead light they for of about ffty head ren quickly sepa- a position best d in a compact night of watching faded into a pale purple dawn, emerging with a jump from a lilac glow into the 9 ANNOUNCEMENT: For the purpose of encouraging California and Western writers, by offering a consideration for short stories equal to that paid by the ® best magazines, and for the purpose of bringing young and unknown writers to the front, the Sunday Call announces a weekly fiction con- test in which a cash prize of $s50 will be paid each week for the best story submitted. There is no section of America more fertile in ma- terial for fiction or more prolific in Jaem gifted to give spirit to the material at hand than is California and the West. Therefore the Sun- not more than 3500 words is approximately $17 per thousand words, or 1.7 cents per word. The highest price paid by the leading magazines for the work of any but the very best writers is rarely more than two cents a word, more often one cent and a half, and generally one cent. With the majority of magazines the writer, after his story is ac- cepted, is compelled to Wait until the ‘publication of his story before he is paid, a period of seldom less than six months. and usually from nine months to a year. The stories accepted in this contest will be paid for immediately upon publication, and will be published on the first Sunday following the judeing of the week’s manuscripts. time point- inst the sky ang~ on to the red-headed maurauder. then a general outburst of oaths s0 much sal- gnq exclama: of surprise. Pete st ion when he gets stood motionless and whistled -a i dismounting and Jong-drawn, melancholy whistle, > where Manuo was busy ine on down grade, even iis elaborate som- the sandwiches and prospective golden glory of tne morn, and supper fading into a pale, misty along with it, as if slumbering on yet who roped his t. Benjamin William Smith the sand, sprapg : flerce cussed the red-headed bandit, his heat of the alkdli plains. . Mexican cessors and ancestors as far The cattle hdq settled down to a ette as Caip, and then cussed him state of quiet disinterestedness, evinc- Fag. Jopilimage ing no memory of the night’s stam- "tain’t no pede” Breakfast over, the men set to cussin’,” said te, wor k cutting out and branding, scruti- department back ere it nizing a strange brand or staking a ; good; and anyways [ maverick. The work proceeded along banks if that red head blows around Without interruption the sun np by act nt he on’t need Sank down behind the broad mesas, e eattle for a livin'.” and anoth 's work was done. ikes as not he'll have so much lead TWo weeks had passed, nothing,out stem that Dave's pony couldn’t Of the ordinary turning up to break him a rabbit j “ said Char- the monotony of ev y grind. One m, throwing piece of sage- Night about the beginning of the third on the fire. week the boys were seated around the off to feteh chuck wagon campfire swapping yarns and prairie sy Sy e ran 1 s there adventures when the subject drifted Nile cnough of me in two a rat trap.” saild Camden, a man from Graham’s ranch, round and disap- sald that while driving a herd down into the from Ninos to Nogales just about twi- came across a small bunch driven™by three * dr Pete. strange Mexicans and a man with guess It weren't €0 muc bright red hair. s his own canteen talkin’ “They didn't seem particular Wiiliam Smith. anxious about noticed, The second relay of men was kind o' keeping down on the stretched out around the camp- canyon trail, con- fire tired and hungry when the cluded it would ‘wiser lown t chuck wagon rumbled in sight, to mind the track noses ¢ d a roaring cheer went up as d to and move on.” Notic- ging to and the cook 1self stepped out, a ing the look of surprise on the petulant, & glorified s on/the desert sands. faces of the men Camden stopped as it were After a hearty supper the boys short. Pete was the first to e gale to sweep turned in again on the relief speak, a broad grin spreading in a blind, shifts and gradually the long over his sun-browned face. ing a brand, you jes ride w-a-y round, unless there’s six of you in the bunch —and if there is, fill him so full of led that his own mother wouldn't claim him, and perhaps you might give him a load for Dave while you're there.” 4t was now Camden who looked surprised. “Why, when did you buck into the redhead when he wasn't want- in' company?” “Can’t say I ever was so impolite, but seein’ he worked on this ranch fog one week, got disgusted with our grub and blew with Dave's boss . pony and three hosses, and bein" real generous to hisself he /came back and swiped 150 prize steers out of the hoss ‘corral. I thinkewe all owes him a grudge on that deal, don’t we, Dave?” “Wouldn't be likely to get polite treatment from my six-shooter, the skunkin’ horsethief,” growled Dave, the memory of the lost cayuse rankling in his bosom. “Or mine either, if T sgen him first,” assented Flanjack Bill. Pete flicked the ashes from his cigar- ette and looked him over in a half-sar- castic, half-amused way. “It’s about time you'd be rollin’ up in yer blankets, Bill, and skitting off to where there ain’t no such thing as redheads or Mexicans,” he said. But Bill did not consider it necessary to fol- low his advice, and the topic held out until the dyving embers of the fire told them all it was time to turn<n for the night, and a general break-up ensued. Two or three months passed, and, “Camden, T'll jes give you a piece owing to the frequent bold raids of the of advice; whenever you meets that redhead, men from several outlying sta- redhead again driving cattle or fix- tions had banded themselves together 2000000552000 00600502060000000000000 ©000000000000000000000000000000000000020000000008 66800 2090008999900 589 Each Week for the Best———— SHORT STORY e € ® Gay Call offers $5o for the best story submitted each week by a West- | : ern writer. Stories of Western life 2nd Western characters will, as a rule, be given the preference, but all strong stories, and especially : strong stories by new writers, ‘'will receive careful consideration. : Each story will be judged strictly upon its literary merit. Type- written copy is the easiest to read and will receive the first consider- : ation from the editor. but do not hesitate to send a story in hand- writing if you cannot afford to have it typewritten. § Fifty dollars in cash for a story of not less than 2500 words and % SUNDAY CALL perado, these proved €6 be a small bunch of cat- tle, approximately twenty or thirty herd, driven by three cowboys. The herd, though small, appeared to be very unruly, and the manner in which the men tried to avoid At lagt sc be dammed!” seemed to break thé spell. little redhead, horsethief and des- who had been hunted for long months, and now—no redhead and no man. Not a word was spoken. ing around, the men looked silent- 1y on the lifeless body before them. ne one sald: Crowd- “Well, T11 nevertheless Drop~ This o for. the purpose of putting a stop to these depredations. It was well known that he was not a man to be easily trapped or foundzmpping. “Shoot 'on sight” were the orders. And lately he had been pretty successful in keeping out of sight. There were a few close calls, but they invariably ended in a clever getaway, aided by the Intricate windings of the canyon. Pete’s out- raged spirit was boiling over with in- dignation at these numerous falilures. Pale dawn or dusky evening found him scouring the country on his sure-footed cayuse, two revolvers stuck in his belt and his ears pricked up like a listening coyote, Late one evening the terrified Manuo came racing into camp on his pony, declaring that he had been chased for three fhiles by this enthu- siagtic head-hunter, who mistook him for the horsethief; that he dared not stop lest his Temains be scattered o’er the plaing toifeed the hungry wolves. Early one morning when the broad plain was yet wrapped in a solemn gloom of, night, four of the men—Pete, Dave, Manuo and Bill—could have been seen driving a small bunch of cattle to a new grazing plat which had been fer- reted out the day before. The boys were partjcularly silent this morning, and even the herd crept along in the pale starlight, a tired and dejected looking bfinch of steers. Even Pete was not as alert as usual this morning, and small wonder he was not attracted by a dark moving mass indistinctly out- lined against the gray-blue sky. But for fully fifteen minutes Dave had watched the slowly moving object, try- ing to make out some definite shape or size before he communicated the fact to Pete. As the mass grew near it plain figures. . In the selection of stories names will not count. The unknown writer will have the same standing as the popular author. An_ author may contest, No story will be considered that is 3500 worfis in length. The length of Stories not accepted will will be published one each wee! v This fiction contest will be continued indefinitely. ‘Write on one side of paper only; last page, and address to the SUND. SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. notice only served to arouse the suspiclons of the watchers. A plan was quickly agreed upon to head off the course of the herd, and, if any resistance were shown by the men, to fire on the leader. Acting upon the decision, Dave, Pete and Bill galloped off to three different points, forming a semi- circle directly in the path of the herd and closing in as they ad- vanced. When the drivers had come within a range of about two hundred feet, Pete was now certain that the red- head was leader, and cocking his revolver he held it down by his side ready for the first move. That the horsethief THE BED AEap LLTCHED Frorr THE SADDLE. 2 would not give up without a fight he was certain, but he would give him a square deal and let the first gun play open from the enemy. The other two boys had now closed in on the op- posite flank and it was evident that the game was near finish point. Quick as a flash he saw the lead pony brace his hoofs in the sand, and a bullet sang through the air. As it whizzed by, grazing the crown of his hat, he took and sent the compliment home with in+ terest. Dave and Bill now plunged headlong into the sport. The cattle were rear- ing and ballowing; some, hit by stray bullets and frightened by the unex- pected attack, were scattering in all directions. From almest the first shot the two Mexicans were seen making a hasty retreat to the rear, leaving their red-headed leader alone in the midst of the fire. Suddenly Pete’s blood froze in his veins, for with the wail of a woman in agony the redhead pitched head- foremost from the saddle. Dave’s stolen bronco, freed from his burden, dashéd frantically onward, dragging the body along over the rocky plain, the silver- studded sombrero rolling in the dust and with it a wig of red hair. The fight was over. Dave, Bill and Pete, partially recovered, spur- red their quivering ponies to the side of the corpse. Lying in a lit- tle pool of bicod, which was slowly trickling from a wound directly over the heart, a mass of jet black hair loosened from its bond and covering her face and shoulders with its heavy folds, was the poor As one of the obiects of the Sunday Call is to develop a new corps of Western writers no stories under noms de plume will be considered. If a story earns publication it will be well worth the writer’s name. Vi submit as many manuscripts as he desires, but no one writer will be permitted to win more than three prizes during the vii Always inclose return postage. No manuscripts will be returned unless accompanied by return postage. wvitl ! less than 2500 nor more than the story must be marked in v klje returned at once. Those selected " put name and address legibly AY EDITOR OF THE CAL?: ping to his knees, Pete tore the rough flannel shirt from the bosomi to see if the action of the heart had entirely ceased. A cold chill was creeping over the body, and he knew that'lite was extinct. As he was about to withdraw the glint of something metallic arrested his at- tention, and, following Dave’s sug- gestion, he drew out from an in- side pocket a small leather case the size of an ordinary envelope, cap- ped with silver. For a few conds he stoed, turn- ing it over In his hands. “Perhaps these is her identification = pape: likes as not,” he said, handing it Over to Dave. Kind o look through, and maybe it says where she is from and where she wants to Dave took the envelope, and after carefully utinizing the contents found nothing he con ered of im- portance but a small slip of note paper, yellow and soiled from much readin, This. h read aloud, the boys crowding around to find some clew to the life of the dead bandit It ran as follows: “Mrs. G. S. Stillwell—Dear Marien At first you will be hurt and grieyed when you read this -letter, hut affer due consideration I know that your broad m see the w om of my act. We 3 bsolutely suited for one another, so different in our hopes and aspirations that further l(r.-a would be an impossibility. Here in New York I feel that I may live again and wake out of its lethargy my fac- ulties and powers of mind. If you pursue the same course and learn to forget your ardent love for me, my dear little girl, you will find in it all the happiness you could desire. Yours sincerely, « “GEORGE S. STILLWELL."” ¢ A low murmur of scorn and a few round oaths came from the boys as the letter- ended. A livid hue had spread over Pete's weather.beaten face as Dave handed the parcel back, and even when the boys lifted the body on & pony to carry it to its resting place he did not move. Long he remained standing, his hands on his hips, his face set in a stern hard frown, looke ing down on the ground. How long he did not know, but he was brought out of his lethargy by a light tap on his shoulder, and looking up he saw Manuo holding his peny. “Senor, come down to camp?™ He said ves, and Peter; without an- swering, jumped his pony and fole lowed. A decided flatness of tone seemed to hang around the campfire that night, hcvering over the tiny flame as it flicked up and was lost in the ashes. In straight vernacular the boys wers “stumped.” “There isn’t anything to say worth saying but cuss words,” drawled Dave. ““And the boys have split them all up the back trying to rip them off at once.” The cow-puncher blood was up, they had branded the wrong steer and the “running irons” burned in their hands. But on no pair of shoulders did the fgnominy of the deed seem to fall so heavily as on Pete’s. Range justice and a deep veneration for woman bound into a solid eode of “puncher” law, led by an impetuous nature, might cause a good deal of thought in some States, but an Ari- zona cowboy thinks on the first count and draws on the halt, Scorning obstacles of time or place, the sense of a square deal springs high. This same un- broken quiet con- tinued in the camp for several days, un- til one morning they woke up suddenly. Pete was leaving the reénch. Arguments, persuasions and en- treaties were of no avall. He was off for the East, it was rumored, with two revolvers in his belt on a dead hunt for for a George S. Still- well. “Luck with yer, Pete," were the last words he heard as a cloud of dust bscured thema from Lis- sight, for they knew that “puncher justice” was afoot. 4 ’ 19191