BENNINGTON AS A MAN OF BUSINESS
That evening Old Mizzou returned from town with a watery eye and a mind
that ran to horses.
"He is shore a fine cayuse," he asserted with extreme impressiveness.
"He is one of them broncs you jest _loves_. An' he's jes 's cheap! I
likes you a lot, sonny; I deems you as a face-card shore, an' ef any
one ever tries fer to climb yore hump, you jest calls on pore Old
Mizzou an' he mingles in them troubles immediate. You must have that
cayuse an' go scoutin' in th' hills, yo' shore must! Ol' man
Davidson'll do th' work fer ye, but ye shore must scout. 'Taint healthy
not t' git exercise on a cayuse. It shorely ain't! An' you must git t'
know these yar hills, you must. They is beautiful an' picturesque, and
is full of scenery. When you goes back East, you wants to know all
about 'em. I wouldn't hev you go back East without knowin' all about
'em for anythin' in the worl', I likes ye thet much!"
Old Mizzou paused to wipe away a sympathetic tear with a rather
uncertain hand.
"Y' wants to start right off too, thet's th' worst of it, so's t' see
'em all afore you goes, 'cause they is lots of hills and I'm 'feared
you won't stay long, sonny; I am that! I has my ideas these yar claims
is no good, I has fer a fact, and they won't need no one here long, and
then we'll lose ye, sonny, so you mus' shore hev that cayuse."
Old Mizzou rambled on in like fashion most of the evening, to
Bennington's great amusement, and, though next morning he was quite
himself again, he still clung to the idea that Bennington should
examine the pony.
"He is a fine bronc, fer shore," he claimed, "an' you'd better git
arter him afore some one else gits him."
As Bennington had for some time tentatively revolved in his mind the
desirability of something to ride, this struck him as being a good
idea. All Westerners had horses--in the books. So he abandoned
_Aliris: A Romance of all Time_, for the morning, and drove down to
Spanish Gulch with Old Mizzou.
He was mentally braced for devilment, but his arch-enemy, Fay, was not
in sight. To his surprise, he got to the post office quite without
molestation. There he was handed two letters. One was from his parents.
The other, his first business document, proved to be from the mining
capitalist. The latter he found to inclose separate drafts for various
amounts in favour of six men. Bishop wrote that the young man was to
hand these drafts to their owners, and to take receipts for the amounts
of each. He promised a further installment in a few weeks.
Bennington felt very important. He looked the letter all over again,
and examined the envelope idly. The Spanish Gulch postmark bore date of
the day before.
"That's funny," said Bennington to himself. "I wonder why Mizzou didn't
bring it up with him last night?" Then he remembered the old man's
watery eye and laughed. "I guess I know," he thought.
The next thing was to find the men named in the letter. He did not know
them from Adam. Mizzou saw no difficulty, however, when the matter was
laid before him.
"They're in th' Straight Flush!" he asserted positively.
This was astounding. How should Old Mizzou know that?
"I don't exactly know," the old man explained this discrepancy, "but
they generally is!"
"Don't they ever work?"
"Work's purty slack," crawfished Davidson. "But I tells you I don't
_know_. We has to find out," and he shuffled away toward the saloon.
Anybody but Bennington would have suspected something. There was the
delayed letter, the supernatural knowledge of Old Mizzou, the absence
of Fay. Even the Easterner might have been puzzled to account for the
crowded condition of the Straight Flush at ten in the morning, if his
attention had not been quite fully occupied in posing before himself as
the man of business.
When Mizzou and his companion entered the room, the hum of talk died,
and every one turned expectantly in the direction of the newcomers.
"Gents," said Old Mizzou, "this is Mr. de Laney, th' new sup'rintendent
of th' Holy Smoke. Mr. de Laney, gents!"
There was a nodding of heads.
Every one looked eagerly expectant. The man behind the bar turned back
his cuffs. De Laney, feeling himself the centre of observation, grew
nervous. He drew from his pocket Bishop's letter, and read out the five
names. "I'd like to see those men," he said.
The men designated came forward. After a moment's conversation, the six
adjourned to the hotel, where paper and ink could be procured.
After their exit a silence fell, and the miners looked at each other
with ludicrous faces.
"An' he never asked us to take a drink!" exclaimed one sorrowfully.
"That settles it. It may not be fer th' good of th' camp, Jim Fay, but
I reckons it ain't much fer th' harm of it. I goes you."
"Me to," "and me," "and me," shouted other voices.
Fay leaped on the bar and spread his arms abroad.
"Speech! Speech!" they cried.
"Gentlemen of the great and glorious West!" he began. "It rejoices me
to observe this spirit animating your bosoms. Trampling down the finer
feelings that you all possess to such an unlimited degree, putting
aside all thought of merely material prosperity, you are now prepared,
at whatever cost, to ally yourselves with that higher poetic justice
which is above barter, above mere expediency, above even the ordinary
this-for-that fairness which often passes as justice among the effete
and unenlightened savages of the East. Gentlemen of the great and
glorious West, I congratulate you!"
The miners stood close around the bar. Every man's face bore a broad
grin. At this point they interrupted with howls and cat-calls of
applause. "Ain't he a _peach_!" said one to another, and composed
himself again to listen. At the conclusion of a long harangue they
yelled enthusiastically, and immediately began the more informal
discussion of what was evidently a popular proposition. When the five
who had been paid off returned, everybody had a drink, while the
newcomers were made acquainted with the subject. Old Mizzou, who had
listened silently but with a twinkle in his eye, went to hunt up
Bennington.
They examined the horse together. The owner named thirty dollars as his
price. Old Mizzou said this was cheap. It was not. Bennington agreed to
take the animal on trial for a day or two, so they hitched a lariat
around its neck and led it over to the wagon. After despatching a few
errands they returned to camp. Bennington got out his ledger and
journal and made entries importantly. Old Mizzou disappeared in the
direction of the corral, where he was joined presently by the man
Arthur.