Page:Frederick Faust--Free Range Lanning.djvu/202

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198
FREE RANGE LANNING

Out of his own pocket he made a contribution so that young Lasker could return to the victims the money he had stolen. The Lasker family had tried to hush up the tale, but it had leaked out and gone the rounds, and it made a famous yarn.

All these and other things would make volumes and volumes if they were narrated in full. Particularly, there was the story of "Sandy" Macintosh. He came from the far south with a repute as a man hunter that chilled the blood even of the lawful. His list of victims was as long as a man's arm, and Sandy determined to finish the job which was apparently too big for even the capable hands and the fast horse of Hal Dozier. Hal took a vacation and left an empty stage for the celebrated Sandy. And Sandy Macintosh established relays of horses and ran the bay mare in a circle, but after thirty-six hours of furious riding the outlaw broke out of the circle and cantered away, and Sandy rode back, leaving three dead horses behind him. Then, frantic with shame, he issued a challenge to Andrew Lanning, and Andrew Lanning came out of the hills and met Sandy and beat him to the draw and shot him twice through the right shoulder. This story of Sandy Macintosh became an epic; men were never tired of retelling it. Go out into the mountain desert to-day, and in any of a hundred villages broach the name of Lanning, and nine chances out of ten some man will say: "I suppose you know how Sandy Macintosh came up to get Andy?" In such a case it is always wise to pretend ignorance and listen, for the tale is sure to be interesting—and new.

But all other details fell into insignificance compared with the general theme, which was the mighty duel between Andrew and Hal Dozier—the unescapable man hunter and the trap-wise outlaw. Hal did not lose any