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late in the afternoon joe and blaine rode into globe on sweated and drawen horses . the two horses had a strong step and marched right along down the main street. joe looked over to blain with a unasked question. " first thing we do is check in with the local law.. but keep a eye peeled for that bird or at least the horse he stole from that cowpuncher" blain explained. as they rode on up the street joe had his eyes searching every nook and cranny. " maybe we beat him here? or he went some place else." joe spoke in a low tone. " maybe, but i doubt it. he hasnt eaten in a few days, and he probably thinks he ran away from us. so he will be feeling brave." blain was looking for the jail as he rode along. the street narrowed then took a slight turn around some boulders to big to move. just past the boulders they saw a dodge truck with high side boards and saddles strapped to them. joe whistled" i know those guys. go ahead ill run them down they are good friends." blain looked over to him" you see dutch dont tackle him yourself. come find me." joe nodded and turned over to the dodge truck he tied his horse to the side board on the driver side and looked up and down the street. he spied a sighn out over the side walk advertiseing beer.he went that way. as he stepped inside the bar room he needed a moment to adjust his vision it was darker than usual. a bar maid with a trail was serving beer to some cowboys at a table when he walked over to the table jerry looked up and his eyes grew wide and a smile crossed his face. "look what we got here boys! my gosh what you doing here" " joe slapped jerry on his shoulder and then leaned over and grasped eds hand. the third cowboy at the table was looking to ed then back to jerry." this is our brother louis mcfarland. louis this joe brown. we told you about him"ed explained. louis extended a calloused hand and shook joes. " we thought you were headed home down on the border. what you doing here?" jerry asked. " looking for your ole buddy dutch. he was headed this way earlier today."joe then explained the whole deal with dutch escapeing and running loose. ed and jerry became serious and quiet. they listened close. " i got to go catch up with the ranger ime with. but if you see dutch come get us." joe turned and walked out of the bar. sox was still tied where he left him but there was a couple of cowboys standing there looking at him. joe stepped up on the good sorrell and looked down at the cowboys" wheres the jail?" " straight ahead about two blocks." one of them answered joe reined his horse about and headed up the street. as he drew near the jail he saw his grulla standing tied outside the front door. he tied sox next to him and went in. blain was seated at a desk talking to a middle aged man with a star pinned on his shirt. he had a cigar protruding from the corner of his mouth. blain introduced joe then asked the sherriff where they could stable their horses and get a bed and meal.. the man stood up and said" come with me, ill show you both within easy walking distance." as they stepped out the door the saw dutch untying the reins to joes horses. blain yelled at him to stop and put up his hands. instead he spun to run but he turned right into the face of the mcfarland brothers.he bulled into them knocking them over as he broke to run down the street. next to joe was a gun explodeing, he ducked as the sound was right next to his ear. dutch spun, pulled his pistol and fired at the three men on the side walk. the sherriff grunted and fell. blains pistol barked and dutch staggered a few steps but continued to run.everyone turned their attention to the sherrif.. he was bleeding heavily from the right side of his chest. blain put a rag over it andleaned on the wound trying to stop the bleeding. jerry ran for a doctor .

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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.