ponsible way in which he had
wounded little Bud Proctor, whose life had been saved only by the courage
of Lee Snaith, was the climax of a series of outrages committed by the
man.

That Jim had incidentally saved Kittie McRobert from the outlaw was a
piece of clean luck. Snaith came to him at once and buried the hatchet.
In the war just starting, the cattleman needed men of nerve to lead his
forces. He offered a place to Clanton, who jumped at the chance to get on
the pay-roll of Lee's father.

"Bring yore friend Billie Prince to the store," suggested Snaith. "He's
not workin' for Webb now. I can make a place for him, too."

Billie came, listened to the proposition of the grim old-timer, and
declined quietly.

"Goin' to stick by Webb, are you?" demanded the chief of the opposite
faction.

"Anything wrong with that? I've drawn a pay-check from him for three
seasons."

"Oh, if it's a matter of sentiment."

As a matter of fact, Billie did not intend to go on the trail any more,
though Webb had offered him a place as foreman of one of his herds. He
had discovered in himself unsuspected business capacity and believed he
could do better on his own. Moreover, he was resolved not to let himself
become involved in the lawless warfare that was engulfing the territory.

It must be remembered that Washington County was at this time as large as
the average Atlantic Coast State. It had become a sink for the riff-raff
driven out of Texas by the Rangers, for all that wild and adventurous
element which flocks to a new country before the law has established
itself. The coming of the big cattle herds had brought money into the
country, and in its wake followed the gambler and the outlaw. Gold and
human life were the cheapest commodities at Los Portales. The man who
wore a gun on his hip had to be one hundred per cent efficient to
survive.

Lawlessness was emphasized by the peculiar conditions of the country. The
intense rivalry to secure Government contracts for hay, wood, and
especially cattle, stimulated unwholesome competition. The temptation to
"rustle" stock, to hold up outfits carrying pay to the soldiers, to live
well merely as a gunman for one of the big interests on the river, made
the honest business of every-day life a humdrum affair.

None the less, the real heroes among the pioneers were the quiet citizens
who went about their business and refused to embroil themselves in the
feuds that ran rife. The men who made