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21 - Hopalong Cassidy's Rustler Round-Up by Clarence Edward Mulford · Hopalong Cassidy's Rustler Round-Up

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  Speaker 1: Please visit LibriVox dot org. Hop along the Cities round
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  Speaker 1: up by Clarence Edward Mulford, chapter number twenty one. The call.
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  Speaker 1: At three o'clock the next morning, a long line of
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  Speaker 1: men slowly filed into the cottonwood grove, being silently swallowed
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  Speaker 1: up by the dark. Dismounting, they left their horses in
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  Speaker 1: the care of three of their number and disappeared into
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  Speaker 1: the brush. Ten minutes later, forty of the force were
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  Speaker 1: distributed along the edge of the grove, fringing on the
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  Speaker 1: bank of the river, and twenty more minutes gave ample
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  Speaker 1: time for a detachment of twenty to cross the stream
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  Speaker 1: and find concealment in the edge of the woods which
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  Speaker 1: ran from the river to where the corral made an
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  Speaker 1: effective barrier on the south. Eight crept down on the
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  Speaker 1: western side of the camp and worked their way close
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  Speaker 1: to mister Trenley's cabin door, and the seven who followed
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  Speaker 1: this detachment continued and took up their positions at the
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  Speaker 1: rear of the corral, where it was hoped some of
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  Speaker 1: the rustlers would endeavor to escape into the woods by
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  Speaker 1: working their way through the cattle in the corral and
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  Speaker 1: then scaling the stockade wall. These seven were from the
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  Speaker 1: three triangle in the double arrow, and they were positive
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  Speaker 1: that any such attempt would not be success. From the
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  Speaker 1: viewpoint of the rustlers, two of those who awaited the
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  Speaker 1: pleasure of mister Treanley crept forward, and a rope swished
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  Speaker 1: through the air and settled over the stump, which lay
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  Speaker 1: most convenient on the other side of the cabin door.
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  Speaker 1: Then the slack moved toward the woods, raised from the
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  Speaker 1: ground as it grew taut, and with the stump for
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  Speaker 1: its axis, swung toward the door, where it rubbed gently
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  Speaker 1: against the rough logs. It was made of braided horse hair,
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  Speaker 1: which was half an inch in diameter and was stretched
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  Speaker 1: eight inches above the ground as it touched the door.
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  Speaker 1: Lanky Smith hopped along, and Red stepped out of the
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  Speaker 1: shelter of the woods and took up their positions behind
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  Speaker 1: the cabin. A lanky behind the northeast corner, where he
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  Speaker 1: would be permitted to swing his right arm. In his
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  Speaker 1: gloved right hand, he held the carefully arranged coils of
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  Speaker 1: a fifty foot lariat, and should the chief of the
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  Speaker 1: rustlers escape tripping, he would have to avoid the cast
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  Speaker 1: of the best roper in the southwest. The two others
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  Speaker 1: took the northwest corner, and one of them leaned slightly
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  Speaker 1: forward and gently twitched the tripping rope. The man at
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  Speaker 1: the other end felt the signal and whispered to a companion,
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  Speaker 1: who quietly disappeared in the direction of the river. And
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  Speaker 1: shortly afterward the mournful cry of a whipper will dirged
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  Speaker 1: out on the early morning air. It had hardly died
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  Speaker 1: away when the quiet was broken by one terrific crash
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  Speaker 1: of rifles, and the two camp guards asleep at the
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  Speaker 1: fire awoke in another world. Mister Trenley, sleeping unusually well
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  Speaker 1: for the unjust leaped from his bed to the middle
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  Speaker 1: of the floor and alighted on his feet and wide awake.
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  Speaker 1: Fearing that a plot was being consummated to deprive him
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  Speaker 1: of his leadership, he grasped the winchester, which leaned at
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  Speaker 1: the head of his bed, and, tearing open the door,
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  Speaker 1: crashed headlong to the earth. As he touched the ground,
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  Speaker 1: two shadows sped out from the shelter of the cabin
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  Speaker 1: wall and pounced upon him. Men who can rope, throw,
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  Speaker 1: and tie a wide stair in thirty seconds flat did
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  Speaker 1: not waste time in trusting operations, and before a minute
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  Speaker 1: had elapsed, he was being carried into the woods, bound
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  Speaker 1: and helpless, lanky sighed, threw the rope over one shoulder
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  Speaker 1: and departed after his friends. When mister Tremley came to
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  Speaker 1: his senses, he found himself bound to a tree in
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  Speaker 1: the grove near the horses. A man sat on a
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  Speaker 1: stump not far from him. Three others were seated around
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  Speaker 1: a small fire some distance to the south, and four others,
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  Speaker 1: one of whom carried a rope, made their way into
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  Speaker 1: the brush. He strained at his bonds, decided that the
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  Speaker 1: effort was useless, and watched the man on the stump,
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  Speaker 1: who struck a match and lit a pipe. The prisoner
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  Speaker 1: watched the light flicker up and go out, and there
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  Speaker 1: was left in his mind a picture that he could
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  Speaker 1: never forget. The face which had been so cruelly, so
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  Speaker 1: grotesquely revealed, was that of Frenchie mc allister, and across
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  Speaker 1: his knees lay a heavy caliber Winchester. A curse escape
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  Speaker 1: from the lips of the outlaw. The man on the
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  Speaker 1: stump spat at a firefly and smiled. From the south
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  Speaker 1: came the crack of rifles incessant and sharp. The report
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  Speaker 1: rolled from one end of the clearing to the other,
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  Speaker 1: and seemed to sweep in waves from the center of
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  Speaker 1: the line to the ends faintly. The infrequent lulls in
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  Speaker 1: the firing came an occasional report from the rear of
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  Speaker 1: the corral, where some desperate wrestler paid for his venture.
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  Speaker 1: Buck went along the line and spoke to the riflemen,
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  Speaker 1: and after some time had passed and the light had
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  Speaker 1: become stronger, he collected the men into groups of five
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  Speaker 1: and six. Taking one group and watching it closely, it
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  Speaker 1: could be seen that there was a world of meaning
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  Speaker 1: in this maneuver. One man started firing at a particular
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  Speaker 1: window in an opposite hut, and then laid aside his
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  Speaker 1: empty gun and waited when the muzzle of the enemy's
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  Speaker 1: gun came into sight, and lowered until it had nearly
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  Speaker 1: gained its sight level. The rifles of the remainder of
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  Speaker 1: the group crashed out in a volley, and usually one
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  Speaker 1: of the bullets at least found its intended billet. This
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  Speaker 1: volley firing became universal among the besiegers. In the effect
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  Speaker 1: was marked two men sprinted from the edge of the
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  Speaker 1: woods near mister Trenley's cabin, and gained the shelter of
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  Speaker 1: the storehouse, which soon broke out in flames. The burning
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  Speaker 1: brands fell over the main collection of huts, where there
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  Speaker 1: was much confusion in swearing. The early hour at which
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  Speaker 1: the attack had been delivered at first led the besieged
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  Speaker 1: to believe that it was an Indian affair, but this
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  Speaker 1: impression was soon corrected by the volley firing, which turned
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  Speaker 1: hope into despair. It was no great matter to fight Indians,
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  Speaker 1: and they had done so many times and found more
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  Speaker 1: or less enjoyment in it. But there was a vast
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  Speaker 1: difference between brave and puncher, and the chances of their
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  Speaker 1: salvation became very small. They surmised that it was the
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  Speaker 1: work of the cowmen on whom they had prayed, and
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  Speaker 1: that vengeful punchers lay hidden behind that death fringe of
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  Speaker 1: green willow and hazel red. Assisted by his inseparable companion,
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  Speaker 1: Hopolong laboriously climbed up among the branches of black wannut
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  Speaker 1: and hooked one leg over a convenient limb. Then he
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  Speaker 1: lowered his rope and drew up the winchester, which his
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  Speaker 1: accommodating friend fastened to it, settling himself in a comfortable
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  Speaker 1: position and sheltering his body somewhat by the tree. He
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  Speaker 1: shaded his eyes by a hand and peered into the
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  Speaker 1: windows of the distant cabins. How is she read? Anxiously,
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  Speaker 1: inquired the man on the ground. Bully wanna come up? Nope,
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  Speaker 1: I'm gonna catch you when you let's go, replied Hoplong,
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  Speaker 1: with a grin which say I ain't goin to, responded
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  Speaker 1: the man in the tree. He swung his rifle out
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  Speaker 1: over a forked limb and let it settle in the crotch.
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  Speaker 1: Then he slew his head around until he gained the
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  Speaker 1: bead he wished. Five minutes passed before he caught sight
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  Speaker 1: of his man, and then he fired, jerking out the
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  Speaker 1: empty shell. He smiled and called to his friend one
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  Speaker 1: hop Along grinned and went off to tell Buck to
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  Speaker 1: put all the men in trees. Night came on, and
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  Speaker 1: still the firing continued. Then and the explosion shook the woods.
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  Speaker 1: The storehouse had blown up, and a sky full of
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  Speaker 1: burning timber fell on the cabins, and soon three were
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  Speaker 1: half consumed, their occupants dropping as they gained the open air.
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  Speaker 1: One hundred paces makes fine pot shooting, as Deacon Rankin discovered,
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  Speaker 1: when evacuation was the choice necessary to avoid cremation, he
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  Speaker 1: never moved after he touched the ground and read called
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  Speaker 1: out too, not knowing that his companion had departed. The
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  Speaker 1: morning of the next day found a wearied and hopeless garrison,
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  Speaker 1: and shortly before noon a soiled white shirt was flung
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  Speaker 1: from a window in the nearest cabin. Buck ran along
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  Speaker 1: the line and ordered the firing to cease, and caused
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  Speaker 1: to be raised an answering flag of truce. A full
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  Speaker 1: minute passed, and then the door slowly opened and a
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  Speaker 1: leg protruded more slowly, followed by the rest of the
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  Speaker 1: man and Cheyenne Charley strode out to the bank of
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  Speaker 1: the river and sat down. His example was followed by
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  Speaker 1: several others, and then an unexpected event occurred. Those in
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  Speaker 1: the cabins who preferred to die fighting, angered at this desertion,
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  Speaker 1: opened fire on their former comrades, who barely escaped by
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  Speaker 1: rolling down the slightly inclined bank into the river. Red
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  Speaker 1: fired again and laughed to himself. Then the fugitives swam
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  Speaker 1: down under the river and landed under the guns of
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  Speaker 1: the last squad. They were taken to the rear, and,
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  Speaker 1: after being bound, were placed under a guard. There were
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  Speaker 1: seven in the party, and they looked worn out. When
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  Speaker 1: the huts were burning, the fiercest the uproar in the
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  Speaker 1: coral arose to such a pitch as to drawn out
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  Speaker 1: all other sounds. There were left within its walls a
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  Speaker 1: few hundred cattle whose brands had not yet been blotted out,
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  Speaker 1: and these, mattened to a frenzy by the shooting in
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  Speaker 1: The flames tore from one end of the enclosure to
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  Speaker 1: the other, crashing against the alternate walls with a noise
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  Speaker 1: which could be heard far out on the plain. Scores
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  Speaker 1: were trampled to death on each charge, and finally the
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  Speaker 1: uproar subsided in sheer want of cattle, left with enough
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  Speaker 1: energy to continue. When the corral was investigated the next day,
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  Speaker 1: there were found that the bodies of four rustlers, but
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  Speaker 1: recognition was impossible. Several of the defenders were housed in
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  Speaker 1: cabins having windows in the rear walls, which the occupants
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  Speaker 1: considered fortunate. This opinion was revised, however, after several had
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  Speaker 1: endeavored to escape by these openings. The first thing that
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  Speaker 1: occurred when a man put his head out was the
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  Speaker 1: hum of a bullet, and in two cases the experimenters
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  Speaker 1: lost all need of escape. The volley firing had the
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  Speaker 1: desired effect, and at dusk there remained only one cabin
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  Speaker 1: from which came opposition. Such a fire was concentrated on
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  Speaker 1: it that before an hour had passed, the door fell
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  Speaker 1: in and the firing ceased. There was a rush from
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  Speaker 1: the side, and the barred horseshoe men who swarmed through
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  Speaker 1: the cabins emerged without firing a shot. The organization that
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  Speaker 1: had stirred up the Pecos Valley ranches had ceased to exist.
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  Speaker 1: End of twenty one, the call