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Show Page 38 The salesman had encountered Mrs. Thompson fleeing to Maybell with the game wardens. Learning of the danger Beth might be placing herself in, Walt took off, unarmed, in pursuit of his love. By the time he got to the Thompson Ranch Walt's horse was worn out. Nearby he saw the extra saddle horses Ann and Beth had been watching. He threw his saddle on one called Bill Snort. His choice likely saved his life. Bill Snort was an outlaw, a bucker no cowboy could ride. He was kept with the other horses because he calmed them and was easy to handle-unless someone tried to mount him. As Walt landed in the saddle Bill Snort cut loose-and so did the Indians who, at that moment, arrived at the ranch. Walt wasn't a great rider, but with bullets slamming into his saddle and ripping through the cloth of his jacket, he had to stick to the bucking Bill Snort, who luckily for Walt, kept him from being a good target. When Walt finally caught up with Ann and Beth, he sprang from the saddle and he and Beth fell into each others' arms, "absolutely forgetting anything but themselves," according to Ann. While they stayed in a clinch muttering what, to Ann, sounded like "sticky nonsense," she walked over to Bill Snort. Just as she reached him, he dropped dead. The one time he had allowed himself to be ridden, he had run his heart out. Sadly Ann removed his saddle and hung it on a cedar. |