rted out this morning to round up a bunch of cows,
an' we got jackasses instead. Now lynch him, damn you!"

The nine swept up in skirmish order, guns out and ready for anything in
the nature of trouble that might zephyr up. "What's the matter, Ben?"
asked Tom Murphy ominously. As under-foreman of the ranch he regarded
himself as spokesman. And at that instant catching sight of the rope, he
swore savagely under his breath.

"Nothing, Tom; nothing now," responded Mr. Ferris. "They was going to
hang my friend there, Mr. Hopalong Cassidy, of the Bar-20. He's the
feller that lent me his cayuse to get home on when Molly was sick. I'm
going to take him back to the ranch when he gets sober an' introduce him
to some very good friends of hissn that he ain't never seen. Ain't I,
Cassidy?" he demanded with a laugh.

But Mr. Cassidy made no reply. He was sound asleep, as he had been
since the advent of his very good and capable friend, Mr. Ben Ferris, of
Winchester.

CHAPTER XIII

MR. TOWNSEND, MARSHAL

Mr. Cassidy went to the ranch and lived like a lord until shame drove
him away. He had no business to live on cake and pie and wonderful
dishes that Mrs. Ferris and her sister literally forced on him, and let
Buck's mission wait on his convenience. So he tore himself away and made
up for lost time as he continued his journey on his own horse, for
which Tom Murphy and three men had faced down the scowling population of
Hoyt's Corners. The rest of his journey was without incident until,
on his return home along another route, he rode into Rawhide and heard
about the marshal, Mr. Townsend.

This individual was unanimously regarded as an affliction upon society
and there had been objections to his continued existence, which had
been overruled by the object himself. Then word had gone forth that a
substantial reward and the undying gratitude of a considerable number
of people awaited the man who would rid the community of the pest who
seemed to be ubiquitous. Several had come in response to the call, one
had returned in a wagon, and the others were now looked upon as martyrs,
and as examples of asinine foolhardiness. Then it had been decided to
elect a marshal, or perhaps two or three, to preserve the peace of the
town; but this was a flat failure. In the first place, Mr. Townsend had
dispersed the meeting with no date set for a new one; in the second,
no man wanted the office; and as a finish to the comedy, Mr. Townsend
chee