Scott Burton on the Range

by Edward G. Cheyney

The supervisor went to make his preparations for the trip and Scott hurried out to the stable to see Jed. As Mr. Ramsey had said, he seemed to have forgotten all about it and was all ready to start out again. Scott rubbed him down thoroughly and rode out to meet the supervisor. Jed was a little stiff at first but soon limbered up and insisted on leading the procession.

The mighty flood which had roared so furiously in the cañon up on the mountain had not reached the town at all. It had overflowed the river channel for a short distance but had already receded within its banks. The first ranch above the town had not been touched; the next two or three had been flooded but the water had not gotten into the houses and no damage had been done. In the case of the last two up near the mouth of the cañon it was a different story. Everything movable had been washed away and Bronson’s house had been carried from the foundation and was lying on its side far out in the meadow. But no lives had been lost and all the stock had been saved. The settlers considered themselves lucky to have escaped as they did and were very grateful to Scott for the ample warning he had given them.

As they proceeded up the valley the ravages of the flood became more evident. There was a considerable volume of water still coming down the stream bed but the flood was over. It was not till they reached the turn in the valley below the lookout station that the full fury of the rushing water was apparent. The violence of the torrent had carried the water high up on the slope toward the lookout tower and had gouged an enormous pit out of the side of the mountain.

From there on the whole cañon was a total wreck. Not only were all traces of the trail wiped out but the gorge was swept clean. Trees had been torn up by the roots and carried away. What little soil there had been between the rocks was gone and the horses scrambled over slippery beds of smooth, bare rock. An eighth of a mile below the dam they found great chunks of the mason work which had been carried there on the crest of the flood. They began to worry about the safety of the cabin.

The meadow looked more familiar than anything else they had seen. The deep sod alone of all the vegetation in the path of the water had held its own. It was scattered with great chunks of mason work and bowlders and the grass was badly clawed by the wash of the water but it was green and triumphant.

As they rounded the shoulder of rock which hid the view of the dam they heaved a sigh of relief. The west end of the dam, with the little cabin almost on the jagged end of it, was safe. The central portion of the dam was gone completely. Only the encircling crags and mountain peaks looked serenely down on the wreck unchanged. They might wear away eventually but they could withstand many a worse storm than that without showing it.

They hurried to the cabin in search of Dawson. The silence of the place seemed ominous. They found Dawson but he was unconscious and delirious. The suffering and exposure of the day before, the fright of Jed’s visit to the cabin and the terrible strain of lying helpless on the very verge of that crumbling dam had been too much for him. In addition to all that the doctor found that he had received a severe blow on the back of the head when he fell. The doctor decided that it would be better to keep him there at the cabin than to try to take him down that slippery trail on a litter and volunteered to stay there and nurse him. It looked as though it would be a close pinch even at that.

Scott explained the situation which had led up to the breaking of the dam and they started back for Benny’s. They spread out across the cañon as far as the water had reached and searched every rock and cranny. It was over a quarter of a mile below the dam that they found what they were looking for. High up on the side of the cañon, at the highest point reached by the water, they found the bodies of Dugan and Jed Clark almost locked in each other’s arms. It looked as though they had discovered the horrible mistake they had made and were trying to make up for it. The men made litters to carry the bodies down to Benny’s where they planned to spend the night. Scott and Mr. Ramsey rode on back to town.

Mr. Ramsey was worried. He wanted to have the investigation and clean out the remnants of the whole ring. This could not be done very well till Dawson was able to be present. It would not be fair to him to have the trial without giving him a chance to defend himself. Moreover, the evidence against him was almost wholly circumstantial and the supervisor doubted very much whether they would be able to convict him on it if he wanted to put up a fight. Knowing Dawson as well as he did he had no doubt about his putting up a fight as long as there was a ghost of a show to win. He had covered up his tracks so carefully that it looked like a very hard thing to prove anything on him. Scott still thought that he could put up a strong case but he did not have any absolute proof.

So the two rode along together in comparative silence, each one worrying over the same problem in his own way. When they rode out of the cañon into the main valley they discovered quite a crowd around the Bronson home. The ranchers from all along the valley had assembled there to try to help Mr. Bronson put his house back on the foundation. These stout-hearted fellows were not in the least discouraged by the catastrophe which had overtaken them. Bronson had suffered more than the others and for that reason they had chosen to help him first. The others had already moved their families back into their homes and the wives were busy cleaning up for a fresh start.