TURNING THE TABLES
“Keep away from me, you common cow-hands,” said Sponsilier, as a group
of us waited for him at the foot of the court-house stairs. But Dave’s
gravity soon turned to a smile as he continued: “Did you fellows notice
The Rebel and me sitting inside the rail among all the big augers?
Paul, was it a dream, or did we sleep in a bed last night and have a
sure-enough pillow under our heads? My memory is kind of hazy to-day,
but I remember the drinks and the cigars all right, and saying to some
one that this luck was too good to last. And here we are turned out in
the cold world again, our fun all over, and now must go back to those
measly cattle. But it’s just what I expected.”
The crowd dispersed quietly, though the sheriff took the precaution to
accompany the plaintiffs and Tolleston back to their hotel. The absence
of the two deputies whom we had met the day before was explained by the
testimony of the one-armed cowman. When the two drovers came
downstairs, they were talking very confidentially together, and on my
employer noticing the large number of his men present, he gave orders
for them to meet him at once at the White Elephant saloon. Those who
had horses at hand mounted and dashed down the street, while the rest
of us took it leisurely around to the appointed rendezvous, some three
blocks distant. While on the way, I learned from The Rebel that the
cattle on which the attachment was to be made that afternoon were then
being held well up the North Fork. Sheriff Phillips joined us shortly
after we entered the saloon, and informed my employer and Mr. Reed that
the firm of Field, Radcliff & Co. had declared war. They had even
denounced him and the sheriff’s office as being in collusion against
them, and had dispatched Tolleston with orders to refuse service.
“Let them get on the prod all they want to,” said Don Lovell to Reed
and the sheriff. “I’ve got ninety men here, and you fellows are welcome
to half of them, even if I have to go out and stand a watch on
night-herd myself. Reed, we can’t afford to have our business ruined by
such a set of scoundrels, and we might as well fight it out here and
now. Look at the situation I’m in. A hundred thousand dollars wouldn’t
indemnify me in having my cattle refused as late as the middle of
September at Fort Buford. And believing that I will be turned down,
under my contract, so Sutton says, I must tender my beeves on the
appointed day of delivery, which will absolve my bondsmen and me from
all liability. A man can’t trifle with the government—the cattle must
be there. Now in my case, Jim, what would you do?”
“That’s a hard question, Don. You see we’re strangers up in this
Northwest country. Now, if it was home in Texas, there would be only
one thing to do. Of course I’m no longer handy with a shotgun, but
you’ve got two good arms.”
“Well, gentlemen,” said the sheriff, “you must excuse me for
interrupting, but if my deputies are to take possession of that herd
this afternoon, I must saddle up and go to the front. If Honest John
and associates try to stand up any bluffs on my office, they’ll only
run on the rope once. I’m much obliged to you, Mr. Lovell, for the
assurance of any help I may need, for it’s quite likely that I may have
to call upon you. If a ring of government speculators can come out here
and refuse service, or dictate to my office, then old Keith County is
certainly on the verge of decadence. Now, I’ll be all ready to start
for the North Fork in fifteen minutes, and I’d admire to have you all
go along.”
Lovell and Reed both expressed a willingness to accompany the sheriff.
Phillips thanked them and nodded to the force behind the mahogany, who
dexterously slid the glasses up and down the bar, and politely inquired
of the double row confronting them as to their tastes. As this was the
third round since entering the place, I was anxious to get away, and
summoning Forrest, we started for our horses. We had left them at a
barn on a back street, but before reaching the livery, Quince concluded
that he needed a few more cartridges. I had ordered a hundred the day
before for my own personal use, but they had been sent out with the
supplies and were then in camp. My own belt was filled with ammunition,
but on Forrest buying fifty, I took an equal number, and after starting
out of the store, both turned back and doubled our purchases. On
arriving at the stable, whom should I meet but the Wyoming cowman who
had left us at Grinnell. During the few minutes in which I was
compelled to listen to his troubles, he informed me that on his arrival
at Ogalalla, all the surplus cow-hands had been engaged by a man named
Tolleston for the Yellowstone country. He had sent to his ranch,
however, for an outfit who would arrive that evening, and he expected
to start his herd the next morning. But without wasting any words,
Forrest and I swung into our saddles, waved a farewell to the wayfaring
acquaintance, and rode around to the White Elephant. The sheriff and
quite a cavalcade of our boys had already started, and on reaching the
street which terminated in the only road leading to the North Fork, we
were halted by Flood to await the arrival of the others. Jim Reed and
my employer were still behind, and some little time was lost before
they came up, sufficient to give the sheriff a full half-mile start.
But under the leadership of the two drovers, we shook out our horses,
and the advance cavalcade were soon overtaken.
“Well, Mr. Sheriff,” said old man Don, as he reined in beside Phillips,
“how do you like the looks of this for a posse? I’ll vouch that they’re
all good cow-hands, and if you want to deputize the whole works, why,
just work your rabbit’s foot. You might leave Reed and me out, but I
think there’s some forty odd without us. Jim and I are getting a little
too old, but we’ll hang around and run errands and do the clerking. I’m
perfectly willing to waste a week, and remember that we’ve got the
chuck and nearly a thousand saddle horses right over here on the North
Fork. You can move your office out to one of my wagons if you wish, and
whatever’s mine is yours, just so long as Honest John and his friends
pay the fiddler. If he and his associates are going to make one hundred
thousand dollars on the Buford contract, one thing is certain—I’ll lose
plenty of money on this year’s drive. If he refuses service and you
take possession, your office will be perfectly justified in putting a
good force of men with the herd. And at ten dollars a day for a man and
horse, they’ll soon get sick and Reed will get his pay. If I have to
hold the sack in the end, I don’t want any company.”
The location of the beeves was about twelve miles from town and but a
short distance above the herds of The Rebel and Bob Quirk. It was
nearly four o’clock when we left the hamlet, and by striking a free
gait, we covered the intervening distance in less than an hour and a
half. The mesa between the two rivers was covered with through cattle,
and as we neared the herd in question, we were met by the larger one of
the two chief deputies. The undersheriff was on his way to town, but on
sighting his superior among us, he halted and a conference ensued.
Sponsilier and Priest made a great ado over the big deputy on meeting,
and after a few inquiries were exchanged, the latter turned to Sheriff
Phillips and said:
“Well, we served the papers and I left the other two boys in temporary
possession of the cattle. It’s a badly mixed-up affair. The Texas
foreman is still in charge, and he seems like a reasonable fellow. The
terms of the sale were to be half cash here and the balance at the
point of delivery. But the buyers only paid forty thousand down, and
the trail boss refuses to start until they make good their agreement.
From what I could gather from the foreman, the buyers simply buffaloed
the young fellow out of his beeves, and are now hanging back for more
favorable terms. He accepted service all right and assured me that our
men would be welcome at his wagon until further notice, so I left
matters just as I found them. But as I was on the point of leaving,
that segundo of the buyers arrived and tried to stir up a little
trouble. We all sat down on him rather hard, and as I left he and the
Texas foreman were holding quite a big pow-wow.”
“That’s Tolleston all right,” said old man Don, “and you can depend on
him stirring up a muss if there’s any show. It’s a mystery to me how I
tolerated that fellow as long as I did. If some of you boys will corner
and hold him for me, I’d enjoy reading his title to him in a few plain
words. It’s due him, and I want to pay everything I owe. What’s the
programme, Mr. Sheriff?”
“The only safe thing to do is to get full possession of the cattle,”
replied Phillips. “My deputies are all right, but they don’t thoroughly
understand the situation. Mr. Lovell, if you can lend me ten men, I’ll
take charge of the herd at once and move them back down the river about
seven miles. They’re entirely too near the west line of the county to
suit me, and once they’re in our custody the money will be forthcoming,
or the expenses will mount up rapidly. Let’s ride.”
The under-sheriff turned back with us. A swell of the mesa cut off a
view of the herd, but under the leadership of the deputy we rode to its
summit, and there before and under us were both camp and cattle.
Arriving at the wagon, Phillips very politely informed the Texas
foreman that he would have to take full possession of his beeves for a
few days, or until the present difficulties were adjusted. The trail
boss was a young fellow of possibly thirty, and met the sheriff’s
demand with several questions, but, on being assured that his
employer’s equity in the herd would be fully protected without expense,
he offered no serious objection. It developed that Reed had some slight
acquaintance with the seller of the cattle, and lost no time in
informing the trail boss of the record of the parties with whom his
employer was dealing. The one-armed drover’s language was plain, the
foreman knew Reed by reputation, and when Lovell assured the young man
that he would be welcome at any of his wagons, and would be perfectly
at liberty to see that his herd was properly cared for, he yielded
without a word. My sympathies were with the foreman, for he seemed an
honest fellow, and deliberately to take his herd from him, to my
impulsive reasoning looked like an injustice. But the sheriff and those
two old cowmen were determined, and the young fellow probably acted for
the best in making a graceful surrender.
Meanwhile the two deputies in charge failed to materialize, and on
inquiry they were reported as out at the herd with Tolleston. The
foreman accompanied us to the cattle, and while on the way he informed
the sheriff that he wished to count the beeves over to him and take a
receipt for the same. Phillips hesitated, as he was no cowman, but Reed
spoke up and insisted that it was fair and just, saying: “Of course,
you’ll count the cattle and give him a receipt in numbers, ages, and
brands. It’s not this young man’s fault that his herd must undergo all
this trouble, and when he turns them over to an officer of the law he
ought to have something to show for it. Any of Lovell’s foremen here
will count them to a hair for you, and Don and I will witness the
receipt, which will make it good among cowmen.”
Without loss of time the herd was started east. Tolleston kept well out
of reach of my employer, and besought every one to know what this
movement meant. But when the trail boss and Jim Flood rode out to a
swell of ground ahead, and the point-men began filing the column
through between the two foremen, Archie was sagacious enough to know
that the count meant something serious. In the mean time Bob Quirk had
favored Tolleston with his company, and when the count was nearly half
over, my brother quietly informed him that the sheriff was taking
possession. Once the atmosphere cleared, Archie grew uneasy and
restless, and as the last few hundred beeves were passing the counters,
he suddenly concluded to return to Ogalalla. But my brother urged him
not to think of going until he had met his former employer, assuring
Tolleston that the old man had made inquiry about and was anxious to
meet him. The latter, however, could not remember anything of urgent
importance between them, and pleaded the lateness of the hour and the
necessity of his immediate return to town. The more urgent Bob Quirk
became, the more fidgety grew Archie. The last of the cattle were
passing the count as Tolleston turned away from my brother’s entreaty,
and giving his horse the rowel, started off on a gallop. But there was
a scattering field of horsemen to pass, and before the parting guest
could clear it, a half-dozen ropes circled in the air and deftly
settled over his horse’s neck and himself, one of which pinioned his
arms. The boys were expecting something of this nature, and fully half
the men in Lovell’s employ galloped up and formed a circle around the
captive, now livid with rage. Archie was cursing by both note and
rhyme, and had managed to unearth a knife and was trying to cut the
lassos which fettered himself and horse, when Dorg Seay rode in and
rapped him over the knuckles with a six-shooter, saying, “Don’t do
that, sweetheart; those ropes cost thirty-five cents apiece.”
Fortunately the knife was knocked from Tolleston’s hand and his
six-shooter secured, rendering him powerless to inflict injury to any
one. The cattle count had ended, and escorted by a cordon of mounted
men, both horse and captive were led over to where a contingent had
gathered around to hear the result of the count. I was merely a
delighted spectator, and as the other men turned from the cattle and
met us, Lovell languidly threw one leg over his horse’s neck, and,
suppressing a smile, greeted his old foreman.
“Hello, Archie,” said he; “it’s been some little time since last we
met. I’ve been hearing some bad reports about you, and was anxious to
meet up and talk matters over. Boys, take those ropes off his horse and
give him back his irons; I raised this man and made him the cow-hand he
is, and there’s nothing so serious between us that we should remain
strangers. Now, Archie, I want you to know that you are in the employ
of my enemies, who are as big a set of scoundrels as ever missed a
halter. You and Flood, here, were the only two men in my employ who
knew all the facts in regard to the Buford contract. And just because I
wouldn’t favor you over a blind horse, you must hunt up the very men
who are trying to undermine me on this drive. No wonder they gave you
employment, for you’re a valuable man to them; but it’s at a serious
loss,—the loss of your honor. You can’t go home to Texas and again be
respected among men. This outfit you are with will promise you the
earth, but the moment that they’re through with you, you won’t cut any
more figure than a last year’s bird’s nest. They’ll throw you aside
like an old boot, and you’ll fall so hard that you’ll hear the clock
tick in China. Now, Archie, it hurts me to see a young fellow like you
go wrong, and I’m willing to forgive the past and stretch out a hand to
save you. If you’ll quit those people, you can have Flood’s cattle from
here to the Rosebud Agency, or I’ll buy you a ticket home and you can
help with the fall work at the ranch. You may have a day or two to
think this matter over, and whatever you decide on will be final. You
have shown little gratitude for the opportunities that I’ve given you,
but we’ll break the old slate and start all over with a new one. Now,
that’s all I wanted to say to you, except to do your own thinking. If
you’re going back to town, I’ll ride a short distance with you.”
The two rode away together, but halted within sight for a short
conference, after which Lovell returned. The cattle were being drifted
east by the deputies and several of our boys, the trail boss having
called off his men on an agreement of the count. The herd had tallied
out thirty-six hundred and ten head, but in making out the receipt, the
fact was developed that there were some six hundred beeves not in the
regular road brand. These had been purchased extra from another source,
and had been paid for in full by the buyers, the seller of the main
herd agreeing to deliver them along with his own. This was fortunate,
as it increased the equity of the buyers in the cattle, and more than
established a sufficient interest to satisfy the judgment and all
expenses.
Darkness was approaching, which hastened our actions. Two men from each
outfit present were detailed to hold the cattle that night, and were
sent on ahead to Priest’s camp to secure their suppers and a change of
mounts. The deposed trail boss accepted an invitation to accompany us
and spend the night at one of our wagons, and we rode away to overtake
the drifting herd. The different outfits one by one dropped out and
rode for their camps; but as mine lay east and across the river, the
course of the herd was carrying me home. After passing The Rebel’s
wagon fully a half mile, we rounded in the herd, which soon lay down to
rest on the bedground. In the gathering twilight, the camp-fires of
nearly a dozen trail wagons were gleaming up and down the river, and
while we speculated with Sponsilier’s boys which one was ours, the
guard arrived and took the bedded herd. The two old cowmen and the
trail boss had dropped out opposite my brother’s camp, leaving
something like ten men with the attached beeves; but on being relieved
by the first watch, Flood invited Sheriff Phillips and his deputies
across the river to spend the night with him.
“Like to, mighty well, but can’t do it,” replied Phillips. “The
sheriff’s office is supposed to be in town, and not over on the North
Fork, but I’ll leave two of these deputies with you. Some of you had
better ride in to-morrow, for there may be overtures made looking
towards a settlement; and treat those beeves well, so that there can be
no charge of damage to the cattle. Good-night, everybody.”