for declining an invitation.
A complaint was lodged against him, and the sheriff, not knowing the
man, thoughtlessly sent a Mexican deputy to make the arrest. Even
then, had ordinary courtesy been extended, the unfortunate occurrence
might have been avoided. But an undue officiousness on the part of the
officer angered the old trail boss, who flashed into a rage, defying
the deputy, and an exchange of shots ensued. The Mexican was killed at
the first fire, and my man mounted his horse unmolested, and returned
to the ranch. I was absent at the time, but my wife advised him to go
in and surrender to the proper authorities, and he obeyed her like a
child.

We all looked upon him as one of the family, and I employed the best
of counsel. The circumstances were against him, however, and in
spite of an able defense he received a sentence of ten years. No one
questioned the justice of the verdict, the law must be upheld, and the
poor fellow was taken to the penitentiary to serve out the sentence.
My wife and I concealed the facts from the younger children, who were
constantly inquiring after his return, especially my younger girls,
with whom he was a great favorite. The incident was worse than a
funeral; it would not die out, as never a day passed but inquiry was
made after the missing man; the children dreamed about him, and awoke
from their sleep to ask if he had come and if he had brought them
anything. The matter finally affected my wife's nerves, the older boys
knew the truth, and the younger children were becoming suspicious of
the veracity of their parents. The truth was gradually leaking out,
and after he had served a year in prison, I began a movement with the
view of securing his pardon. My influence in state politics was
always more or less courted, and appealing to my friends, I drew up
a petition, which was signed by every prominent politician in that
section, asking that executive clemency be extended in behalf of my
old foreman. The governor was a good friend of mine, anxious to
render me a service, and through his influence we managed to have the
sentence so reduced that after serving two years the prisoner was
freed and returned to the ranch. He was the same lovable character,
tolerated by my wife and fondled by the children, and he refused to
leave home for over a year. Ever cautious to remove temptation from
him, both my wife and I hoped that the lesson would last him through
life, but in an unguarded hour h