“But when we hits the ranch we finds our decree of court obviated, nolle prossed, and remanded for trial.  Mrs. Summers and the kid was gone.  They tell us that an hour after me and Luke had started for San Antone she had a team hitched and lit out for the nearest station with her trunks and the youngster.

“Luke takes out his decree once more and reads off its emoluments.

“‘It ain’t possible, Bud,’ says he, ’for this to be.  It’s contrary to law and order.  It’s wrote as plain as day here—­“Cus-to-dy of the child."’

“‘There is what you might call a human leaning,’ says I, ’toward smashing ’em both—­not to mention the child.’

“‘Judge Simmons,’ goes on Luke, ’is a incorporated officer of the law.  She can’t take the boy away.  He belongs to me by statutes passed and approved by the state of Texas.’

“‘And he’s removed from the jurisdiction of mundane mandamuses,’ says I, ’by the unearthly statutes of female partiality.  Let us praise the Lord and be thankful for whatever small mercies—­’ I begins; but I see Luke don’t listen to me.  Tired as he was, he calls for a fresh horse and starts back again for the station.

“He come back two weeks afterward, not saying much.

“‘We can’t get the trail,’ says he; ’but we’ve done all the telegraphing that the wires’ll stand, and we’ve got these city rangers they call detectives on the lookout.  In the meantime, Bud,’ says he, ’we’ll round up them cows on Brush Creek, and wait for the law to take its course.’”

“And after that we never alluded to allusions, as you might say.

“Skipping over much what happened in the next twelve years, Luke was made sheriff of Mojada County.  He made me his office deputy.  Now, don’t get in your mind no wrong apparitions of a office deputy doing sums in a book or mashing letters in a cider press.  In them days his job was to watch the back windows so nobody didn’t plug the sheriff in the rear while he was adding up mileage at his desk in front.  And in them days I had qualifications for the job.  And there was law and order in Mojada County, and schoolbooks, and all the whiskey you wanted, and the Government built its own battleships instead of collecting nickels from the school children to do it with.  And, as I say, there was law and order instead of enactments and restrictions such as disfigure our umpire state to-day.  We had our office at Bildad, the county seat, from which we emerged forth on necessary occasions to soothe whatever fracases and unrest that might occur in our jurisdiction.

“Skipping over much what happened while me and Luke was sheriff, I want to give you an idea of how the law was respected in them days.  Luke was what you would call one of the most conscious men in the world.  He never knew much book law, but he had the inner emoluments of justice and mercy inculcated into his system.  If a respectable citizen shot a Mexican or held up a train and cleaned out the safe