rs of privation and hardship, in their new home, had been met
and overcome, and now he could see a ray of hope for the better. The
little prosperity which was beginning to dawn upon himself and family
met with a sudden shock, in the form of an old judgment, which he
always contended his attorneys had paid. In some manner this judgment
was revived, transferred to the jurisdiction of his district, and an
execution issued against his property. Sheriff Ninde of this county
was not as wise as he should have been. When the execution was placed
in his hands, he began to look about for property to satisfy the
judgment. The exemption laws allowed only a certain number of gentle
horses, and as any class of range horses had a cash value then, this
brand of horses was levied on to satisfy the judgment.

The range on which these horses were running was at this time an open
one, and the sheriff either relied on his reputation as a bad man, or
probably did not know any better. The question of possession did not
bother him. Still this stock was as liable to range in one county as
another. There is one thing quite evident: the sheriff had overlooked
the nature of this man Gray, for he was no weakling, inclined to sit
down and cry. It was thought that legal advice caused him to take the
step he did, and it may be admitted, with no degree of shame, that
advice was often given on lines of justice if not of law, in the Lone
Star State. There was a time when the decisions of Judge Lynch in that
State had the hearty approval of good men. Anyhow, Gray got a few
of his friends together, gathered his horses without attracting
attention, and within a day's drive crossed into the Indian Territory,
where he could defy all the sheriffs in Texas.

When this cold fact first dawned on Sheriff Ninde, he could hardly
control himself. With this brand of horses five or six days ahead
of him he became worried. The effrontery of any man to deny his
authority--the authority of a duly elected sheriff--was a reflection
on his record. His bondsmen began to inquire into the situation;
in case the property could not be recovered, were they liable as
bondsmen? Things looked bad for the sheriff.

The local papers in supporting his candidacy for this office had often
spoken of him and his chief deputy as human bloodhounds,--a terror
to evil doers. Their election, they maintained, meant a strict
enforcement of the laws, and assured the community that a better era
w