4 l6 The Wilderness Hunter. 



him loose by the Lazy B ranch, and when I come back to 

 git him there was n't anybody at the ranch and I could n't 

 find him. The sheep-man who lives about two miles west, 

 under Red Clay butte, told me he seen a fellow in a wolf- 

 skin coat, ridin' a pinto bronco, with white eyes, leadin' 

 that pony of mine just two days before ; and I hunted round 

 till I hit his trail and then I followed to where I 'd reckoned 

 he was headin' for the Short Pine Hills. When I got there 

 a rancher told me he had seen the man pass on towards 

 Cedartown, and sure enough when I struck Cedartown I 

 found he lived there in a 'dobe house, just outside the 

 town. There was a boom on the town and it looked 

 pretty slick. There was two hotels and I went into the 

 first, and I says, ' Where 's the justice of the peace ? ' says 

 I to the bartender. 



" ' There ain't no justice of the peace,' says he, ' the 

 justice of the peace got shot.' 



" ' Well, where 's the constable ?' says I. 



< Why, it was him that shot the justice of the peace ! ' 

 says he ; ' he 's skipped the country with a bunch of horses.' 



" ' Well, ain't there no officer of the law left in this 

 town ? ' says I. 



" ' Why, of course,' says he, ' there 's a probate judge ; 

 he is overtendin' bar at the Last Chance Hotel.' 



"So I went over to the Last Chance Hotel and I 

 walked in there. ' Mornin',' says I. 



" ' Mornin',' says he. 



" ' You 're the probate judge ? ' says I. 



" ' That 's what I am,' says he. ' What do you want ?' 

 says he. 



