It was a crude election, if you will. But in those pioneer days men had neither the time nor the inclination for the complicated restrictions which the law of the present day casts around its ballot-boxes. A pencil, a piece of paper, a basket, and a battery of forty-fours to guarantee peace and fairness, were all that was necessary. On this occasion they were amply sufficient. The votes were squarely cast and squarely counted.
At two o’clock the last man dropped his ballot. At six the committee, which had been working steadily throughout the day, had completed its work. The precious slips were carefully locked in the post-office safe—the only one in town. Then the leader of the riders advanced to the porch of the building and quietly announced the results.
Ten minutes later the riders reformed. A few sharp words of command, a rolling beat of hoofs, a cloud of dust gently eddying upward above the road, and the black cavalcade had vanished as unostentatiously as it had come.
Not a shot had been fired during the whole day. But now, as the last of the visitors disappeared, a perfect blast of explosions shattered the quiet. After a momentary pause the black company moved leisurely on, and under every hood there was a broad grin. That was merely Ramapo’s way of celebrating its first proud consciousness of the inauguration of law and order!
A mile from the town the troops halted. The leader rode back toward the center of the column and drew rein.
“Boys,” he said in a quiet voice, which nevertheless came clearly to every man’s ears, “I can’t thank you for the work you’ve done. It’s bigger than words. All I can say just now is: we’ve won! I’ll have to be content with that until the general assembly to-morrow. After we break up I’m going to take a short cut back to Ramapo and see that everything is still all right. I’d like to have about thirty men with me in case anything goes wrong.”
More than that number promptly offered themselves. Then, at a word from the leader, the rest broke ranks and began to disperse, going in all directions. The new party plunged into the woods. In a few seconds the black riders had disappeared as completely as if the earth had opened and swallowed them up.
Two of them, however, were moving along a by-road which led in a roundabout direction back toward the town. Talking over the victory, and trotting leisurely through the soft light of early evening, they had covered nearly two-thirds of the distance, when more than a dozen men suddenly dashed from the trees of each side. In an instant they were surrounded. In the face of such odds their resistance, valiant though it was, lasted but a moment. Both were roughly dragged from their saddles, disarmed, and secured with stout cords. They were then hurried beneath the overhanging branch of a giant oak.
“Boys,” said Wasp Williams, “I reckon it wouldn’t be decent an’ respectful not to call attention to the fact that Providence has obliginly presented us with two o’ these here coyotes, accordin’ to our prayers! So don’t waste no time with them preparations for the ceremony. After we has decorated the scenery with these black beauties from time to time, Ramapo ’ll begin to see as how there’s al’ays two sides to every question. An’ by the way, reckon it would be considerable more satisfyin’ to git a look at these pretties ’fore we elevates ’em.”
He advanced to the nearest prisoner and lifted his hood. The undaunted eyes of Smiley Peterson looked out at him.