, and knew that no better
men ever rode the range than Stormy Gorman, Dutch Henry, Yankee
Robinson and Abe Hawk, and their associates--if, indeed, for a man that
never mixed with other men, Hawk could be said to have associates.
But the four named were the men to whom the lesser rustlers of the park
looked; the men whose exploits they imitated, and these were the men on
whose heads a price had, in effect, been set.
Van Horn assembled his men, earlier than Lefever had been informed. An
old trail from Doubleday's ranch to the Falling Wall crosses the road
to the Fort some distance north of Sleepy Cat. The party from the
ranch--Tom Stone with some of the most reckless cowboys and
Doubleday--waited there for the Texans whom Van Horn was bringing from
Pettigrew's. Both parties were at the rendezvous that night by twelve
o'clock, and within thirty minutes were headed north by way of the
Crazy Woman for Falling Wall park.
The night for the raid had been chosen. The sky was overcast, and when
the party left the crossing between twelve and one o'clock their exact
destination was still a secret to the greater number. Small ranchers
along the creek might have wakened at the smart clatter of so many
horses, but men to and from the Fort traveled late at times and made
even more noise. This night there were riders abroad; but there was no
singing.
Dawn was whitening the eastern sky when the raiding party halted near a
clump of trees on the south fork of the Turkey. The valley into which
they had ridden during the night was very broken, but offered good
grazing. Along the tortuous water course, Stormy Gorman, the old
prize-fighter, and Dutch Henry, the ex-soldier, had preempted two of
the very few pieces of land that did not stand directly on edge and
built for themselves cabins. Gorman's cabin lay a mile above the fork
where the raiders had halted; Henry's lay a few miles farther up the
creek.
During the long night ride it had been decided to strike at Gorman's
ranch first; thence to follow the creek trail up to Dutch Henry's,
despatch him in turn, to cross rapidly a narrow rough divide beyond
which they could reach Hawk's cabin on the east fork of the Turkey and
thence sweep into the northwest to clean out the smaller fry--the
"chicken feed" rustlers--as Van Horn called them. But toward morning,
following much ill-natured dispute between Stone and Van Horn, the
tactics were changed. It was decided to go after D
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