Trail and Camp- Fire 



he would help to get them to market, and this 

 proposition Murphy accepted. Shortly after 

 this they fell in with Cherry, who was return- 

 ing from a hunting trip, and Spalding made 

 the same proposition to him, which was also 

 accepted. The very next night a band of 

 horse thieves, or sheriff's deputies — they never 

 knew which — stampeded their outfit, and made 

 off south. They succeeded in recovering the 

 greater part of the stock ; but, fearing further 

 depredations, and being near Cherry's ranch, 

 decided to winter the stock there. 



During the winter a trapper from the north, 

 who stopped over at the ranch for the night, 

 told Cherry that the horses had been stolen, 

 and that Spalding was the man who had done 

 it. Cherry questioned Spalding on the sub- 

 ject, and, much to his and Murphy's surprise, 

 learned that the charge was true. Cherry was 

 for washing his hands of the whole outfit, but 

 Murphy decided to see it out, and, chiefly on 

 his account, our old guide concluded not to 

 interfere, but to allow 'the stock to winter on 

 the ranch and let matters take their course. 

 The winter was almost gone before anything 

 further was heard of the stock ; but the latter 

 part of March word came to Cherry that a 



74 



