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a few hours later the ranger woke up. he was a litttle rough around the edges but his eyes were open and he asked for something to drink. the hostler ran to momma amivisca s cafe and told them he was awake. joe sat there and visited with the ranger filling him in on on his problems with dutch. " dutch is bad enough here in arizona, but he had a string of roberys and assualts in other states as well. theres no telling how many more there are out there not reported."blain explained between sips of water from a tin dipper. through the door came a young woman caring a tray. she was black headed and had deep, almost black eyes. full lips that held a perpetual smile.her dress was faded but clean. her hair had a sheen as it spilled down on her shoulders. joe couldnt speak. she took his breath away. she placed the tray on a stool close to the ranger and turned to leave. "who, who are you?" joe stammered. " my name is sophie, ime mommas neice. i help her some times."sophies smille lit up the shadows in the barn. " will i see you again?"joe asked. " as she went out the door she looked back and said " i hope so!" her skirt swished side to side with her walk. " she brought me something to eat but she filled your eyes!" the ranger exclaimed. " i never expected to see some one like that here. took me by surprise." joe almost whispered as he watched sophie walk back across the street. early in the afternoon a cowboy came hikeing into town from the south. his chaps were slung over his shoulder and he strode with a purpose. he stopped and talked to a old man sitting on a porch then came on to the livery. " is there a ranger here?" he asked. blain stood up and braced himself against a stall side" thats me pard what can i do for you?" " i just been robbed before i came into town. took my horse and all my gear. big man had a slight limp. blain turned to joe," well it didnt take him long did it? how far out of town was this pard?" blain asked " close enough i could see the roof tops i guess. lend me a mount ill show ya."the cowboy said. joe and the hostler were saddling horses. joe loaned his grulla to the ranger and he rode sox. the three men rode out of town a few minutes later. at the spot where the robery had taken place the ground was stired pretty bad. it was hard to tell the tracks leaveing the sight. joe told everyone to sit still while he rode a big circle looking for tracks leaveing the site. when he reached the east side there was a manzanita thicket and he had to ride on the west side of it to get past. . out of the corner of his eye he saw the flash of sunlight on a polished steel gun barrel. he didnt show that he saw it and rode back to the other men "lets go cant find anything. lets go now!" joe was firm. the ranger stared at him in disbelief." ok, but whats the rush?" through gritted teeth joe said" ill tell you later now lets go!" when almost back to town they rode up on a small rise and could see back to where they had just come from " ok joe whats the deal?" blain asked. " that dutch man had a gun and was in that thicket. he was getting ready to shoot if we didnt leave."joe was a bit shaken. the cowboy slapped his hip where the pistol should have been " damn" was all he said."i never missed it. he could have killed all three of us!" blain nodded then pointed out across the desert. a lone horse man was rideing at a short lope to the morth east. " whats out there?"joe asked. " town of globe is up that way. the way he is going is rough and slow. if we get moveing we can beat him there." the cowboy announced he wasnt going to globe and turned into the stable. joe and blain continued out of town . just past the edge a wide , cleared trail open to the east. they took it at a long trott.

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as joe was walking back to the stable he could see a lone rider come onto the street from the north. the man rode with his head bowed and his hat drawen down over his eyes. when joe turned into the barn he could see his saddled and packed horses still in stalls munching contentedly. the hostler sat to one side a shot gun across his knees. just as joe was going to speak a form blocked the door and the sunlight. he turned to see a man on a give out bay horse sitting there. after a moment the man slid to the ground. " can you take care of him?" he handed the reins to the hostler the hostler sat there a moment frozen in place" ime a arizona ranger/ i just came straight through from florence. ime afraid i used this good poney a little shamlessly. but dutch is reported in the vicenity."at the name dutch the hostler jumped to his feet and grabbed the reins to the good horse and led him to the back of the barn. the ranger collapsed onto a stool exhausted. joe stepped up. "we heard dutch was comming this way. i was going to leave town today but if he is close, i would rather meet him here in town with all these folks around as to meet him out on the road." ' " THATS GOOD THINKING. THAT DUTCHMAN IS A BAD HOMBRE. THAT DEPUTY HE BEAT UP ESCAPEING DIED.. THATS WHAT HAPPPENS WHEN YOU GIVE SOME ONE LIKE DUTCH A DECENT BREAK. it cost the kid his life. ime assuming your that rodeo hand dutch is chaseing. good horses and a pockeet full of cash. from what i hear he blames you for getting caught in prescott." the ranger shook his head " my name is blain norris. i was in florence gettting ready to testify in a robbery case when i got the word on dutch.. i would advise you to sit tight until we know where that snake is." the ranger was nearly asleep on his feet. joe grabbed him and helped him to a stall with a covering of straw. the ranger slumped to it and was snoreing before his head hit the straw. when the hostler came back joe told him "i guess ime staying here a while. lets un pack and unsaddle my horses. " the hostler nodded. when done joe slipped the man a few extra dollers for his help.then he went back to momma arviso s kitchen and told her about blain.. she said she would have a meal for him when he woke. joe laid cash on the counter and smilled at her. he was almost back to the stable when a older mexican man stopped him. " its told you come from the border and return there to set up a rancho. is that right?"" yes, i was born there, and i want to buy a ranch there. why do you ask?"joe explained. " there is much land here why not stay here and ranch. there is ground along the san pedro you could plant and build a home. we need a young man such as your self. i only ask you consider it. if you wish to look at the ground along the river have momma arviso contact me, ill take you there."the old ranchero explained.. " lets deal with this out law first ill think on it." joe was being polite. but he had his heart set on the border country.. but these people here were polite and seemed to be good rancheros. the old ranchero nodded and stuck out his hand " my name is don pedro amivisca. joe shook the old mans hand and told him his name. they parted company in the street.