The One-Way Trail: A story of the cattle country Read online

  Produced by Roger Frank and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

  Transcriber's Note: As originally printed, there are two cattle brandsrepresented by pictographs. A pictograph of two stars side by side isrepresented in this text by "[double star]" and a pictograph of adiamond is represented by "[diamond]."

  "There's a great big God--just such a God as you and Ihave knelt to when we were bits of kiddies."]

  THE ONE-WAY TRAIL

  A Story of the Cattle Country

  By Ridgwell Cullum

  Author of "The Watchers of the Plains," "The Sheriff of Dyke Hole,""The Trail of the Axe," etc.

  "... And the One-Way Trail is just the trail of Life. It's chock full ofpitfalls and stumbling blocks that make us cuss like mad. But it's goodfor us to walk over it. There are no turnings or bye-paths, and noturning back. And maybe when we get to the end something will have beenachieved in His scheme of things that our silly brains can't grasp...."

  PHILADELPHIA

  GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY

  PUBLISHERS

  Copyright, 1911, by George W. Jacobs and Company

  CONTENTS

  I. A GENTLEMAN RANKER 7 II. A SHOOTING MATCH 18 III. IN BARNRIFF 28 IV. JIM PROPOSES 36 V. TO THE RED, DANCING DEVIL 53 VI. EVE AND WILL 71 VII. THE CHICKEN-KILLING 78 VIII. THE "BOYS" OF THE VILLAGE 86 IX. A WOMAN'S CARE 101 X. AN EVIL NIGHT 113 XI. A WEDDING-DAY IN BARNRIFF 119 XII. THE QUEST OF PETER BLUNT 135 XIII. AFTER ONE YEAR 146 XIV. THE BREAKING POINT 153 XV. A "PARTY CALL" 161 XVI. DEVIL DRIVEN 173 XVII. THE WORKING OF THE PUBLIC MIND 187 XVIII. A WOMAN'S INSTINCT 195 XIX. BRANDED 206 XX. APPROACHING THE TRIBUNAL 221 XXI. INSPIRATION 226 XXII. THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE 238 XXIII. TERROR 252 XXIV. FOR A WOMAN 265 XXV. THE TRAIL OF THE RUSTLERS 275 XXVI. ON THE LITTLE BLUFF RIVER 286 XXVII. ANNIE 303 XXVIII. WILL 312 XXIX. JIM 324 XXX. WILL HENDERSON REACHES THE END 333 XXXI. THE DISCOMFITURE OF SMALLBONES 345 XXXII. THE TRIUMPH OF SMALLBONES 355 XXXIII. AFTER THE VERDICT 364 XXXIV. THE TRUTH 369 XXXV. IN THE SHADOW OF THE GALLOWS TREE 383 XXXVI. THE PASSING OF ELIA 393 XXXVII. GOLD 401 XXXVIII. ON, OVER THE ONE-WAY TRAIL 406