E-text prepared by Al Haines
THE TEXAN
A Story of the Cattle Country
by
JAMES B. HENDRYX
Author of
"The Gun Brand," "The Promise," etc.
A. L. Burt Company
Publishers New York
Published by arrangement with G. P. Putnam's Sons
Made in the United States of America
Copyright, 1918
By
James B. Hendryx
Fourth Printing
This edition is issued under arrangement with the publishers
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York And London
CONTENTS.
Chapter
A PROLOGUE
I. THE TRAIN STOPS
II. WOLF RIVER
III. PURDY
IV. CINNABAR JOE
V. ON THE FLAT
VI. THE RIM OF THE BENCH
VII. THE ARREST
VIII. ONE WAY OUT
IX. THE PILGRIM
X. THE FLIGHT
XI. A RESCUE
XII. TEX DOES SOME SCOUTING
XIII. A BOTTLE OF "HOOCH"
XIV. ON ANTELOPE BUTTE
XV. THE TEXAN HEARS SOME NEWS
XVI. BACK IN CAMP
XVII. IN THE BAD LANDS
XVIII. "WIN"
XIX. THE END OF THE TRAIL
THE TEXAN
A PROLOGUE
Exactly twenty minutes after young Benton dismounted from his big rangy
black before the door of a low adobe saloon that fronted upon one of the
narrow crooked streets of old Las Vegas, he glanced into the eyes of the
thin-lipped croupier and laughed. "You've got 'em. Seventy-four good
old Texas dollars." He held up a coin between his thumb and forefinger.
"I've got another one left, an' your boss is goin' to get that, too--but
he's goin' to get it in legitimate barter an' trade."
As the cowpuncher stepped to the bar that occupied one side of the room,
a group of Mexicans who had lounged back at his entrance crowded once
more about the wheel and began noisily to place their bets. He watched
them for a moment before turning his attention to the heavy-lidded,
flabby-jowled person who leaned ponderously against the sober side of the
bar.
"Who owns this joint?" he asked truculently, as he eyed with disfavour
the filthy shirt-sleeves rolled back from thick forearms, the sagging
vest, and the collarless shirt-band that buried itself in a fold of the
fat neck.
"I do," was the surly rejoinder. "Got any kick comin'?"
"Nary kick." The cowpuncher tossed his dollar onto the bar. "Give me a
little red licker," he ordered, and grinned at the sullen proprietor as
he filled his glass to the brim.
"An outfit," he confided, with slow insolence, "that'll run an eagle-bird
wheel ain't got no more conscience than a _hombre's_ got brains that'll
buck one. In Texas we'd shoot a man full of little holes that 'ud try
it."
"Why'n you stay in Texas, then?" growled the other.
The cowman drank his liquor and refilled the glass. "Most fat men," he
imparted irrelevantly, "are plumb mindful that they're easy hit, an'
consequent they're cheerful-hearted an' friendly. Likewise, they mind
their own business, which is also why they've be'n let grow to onhuman
proportions. But, not to seem oncivil to a stranger, an' by way of
gettin' acquainted, I'll leak it out that it ain't no fault of Texas that
I come away from there--but owin' only to a honin' of mine to see more of
the world than what Texas affords.
"The way to see a world," I debates, "is like anythin' else--begin at the
bottom an' work up. So I selects seventy-five dollars an' hits fer Las
Vegas."
The fat man pocketed the dollar and replaced it with a greasy fifty-cent
piece, an operation which the Texan watched with interest as he swallowed
his liquor.
"They ain't nothin' like eagle-bird wheels an' snake-liniment at two bits
a throw to help a man start at the bottom," he opined, and reaching for
the half-dollar, tossed it to a forlorn-looking individual who lounged
near the door. "Here, Greaser, lend a hand in helpin' me downward!
Here's four bits. Go lay it on the wheel--an' say: I got a hunch! I
played every number on that wheel except the thirteen--judgin' it to be
onlucky." The forlorn one grinned his understanding, and clutching the
piece of silver, elbowed into the group that crowded the roulette wheel.
The cowpuncher turned once more to the surly proprietor:
"So now you see me, broke an' among evil companions, in this here
God-forsaken, lizard-ridden, Greaser-loving sheep-herdin' land of sorrow.
But, give me another jolt of that there pizen-fermentus an' I'll raise to
heights unknown. A few more shots of that an' they ain't no tellin' what
form of amusement a man's soul might incline to."
"Y'got the price?"
"I ain't got even the makin's--only an ingrowin' cravin' fer spiritual
licker an' a hankerin' to see America first----"
"That hoss," the proprietor jerked a thumb toward the open door beyond
which the big rangy black pawed fretfully at the street. "Mebbe we might
make a trade. I got one good as him 'er better. It's that sor'l
standin' t'other side of yourn."
The Texan rested an arm upon the bar and leaned forward confidentially.
"Fatty," he drawled, "you're a liar." The other noted the hand that
rested lightly upon the cowman's hip near the ivory butt of the six-gun
that protruded from its holster, and took no offence. His customer
continued: "They ain't no such horse--an' if they was, _you_ couldn't own
him. They ain't no man ever throw'd a kak on Ace of Spades but me, an'
as fer sellin' him, or tradin' him--I'll shoot him first!"
A sudden commotion at the back of the room caused both men to turn toward
the wheel where a fierce altercation had arisen between the croupier and
the vagabond to whom the Texan had tossed his last coin.
"You'll take that er nothin'! It's more money'n y'ever see before
an'----"
"_Non_! _Non_! De _treize_! De, w'at you call t'irten--she repe't!
A'm git mor' as seex hondre dollaire--" The proprietor lumbered heavily
from behind the bar and Benton noted that the thick fingers closed
tightly about the handle of a bung-starter. The crowd of Mexicans
thinned against the wall as the man with ponderous stealth approached to
a point directly behind the excited vagabond who continued his
protestations with increasing vigour. The next instant the Texan's
six-gun flashed from its holster and as he crossed the room his eye
caught the swift nod of the croupier.
When the proprietor drew back his arm to strike, the thick wrist was
seized from behind and he was spun violently about to glare into the
smiling eyes of the cowpuncher--eyes in which a steely glint flickered
behind the smile, a glint more ominous even than the feel of the muzzle
of the blue-black six-gun that pressed deeply into his flabby paunch just
above the waistband of his trousers.
"Drop that mallet!" The words came softly, but with an ungentle softness
that was accompanied by a boring, twisting motion of the gun muzzle as it
pressed deeper into his midriff. The bung-starter thudded upon the floor.
"Now let's get the straight of this," continued the Texan. "Hey, you
Greaser, if you c'n quit talkin' long enough to say somethin', we'll find
out what's what here. You ort to look both ways when you're in a dump
like this or the coyotes'll find out what you taste like. Come on,
now--give me the facts in the case an' I'll a'joodicate it to suit all
parties that's my way of thinkin'."
"_Oui_! A'm play de four bit on de _treize_, an' _voila_! She ween!
Da's wan gran' honch! A'm play heem wan tam' mor'. De w'eel she spin
'roun', de leetle ball she sing lak de bee an', _Nom de Dieu_! She
repe't! De t'irten ween ag'in. A'm reech--But _non_!" The man pointed
excitedly to the croupier who sneered across the painted board upon which
a couple of gold pieces lay beside a little pile of silver. "A-ha,
_canaille_! Wat you call--son of a dog! T'ief! She say, 'feefty
dollaire'! Dat more as seex hondre dollaire----"
"It's a lie!" cried the croupier fiercely, "the thirteen don't repeat.
The sixteen win--you kin see fer yourself. An' what's more, they can't
no damn Injun come in here an' call me no----"
"Hold on!" The Texan shifted his glance to the croupier without easing
the pressure on the gun. "If the sixteen win, what's the fifty bucks
for? His stake's on the thirteen, ain't it?"
"What business you got, hornin' in on this? It hain't your funeral. You
Texas tin-horns comes over here an' lose----"
"That'll be about all out of you. An' if I was in your boots I wouldn't
go speakin' none frivolous about funerals, neither."
The smile was gone from the steel-grey eyes and the croupier experienced
a sudden chilling in the pit of his stomach.
"Let's get down to cases," the cowpuncher continued. "I kind of got the
Greaser into this here jack-pot an' it's up to me to get him out. He
lays four bits on the thirteen--she pays thirty-five--that's
seventeen-fifty. Eighteen, as she lays. The blame fool leaves it lay
an' she win again--that's thirty-five times eighteen. Good Lord! An'
without no pencil an' paper! We'll cut her up in chunks an' tackle her:
let's see, ten times eighteen is one-eighty, an' three times that
is--three times the hundred is three hundred, and three times the eighty
is two-forty. That's five-forty, an' a half of one-eighty is ninety, an'
five-forty is six-thirty. We'd ort to double it fer interest an'
goodwill, but we'll leave it go at the reglar price. So, just you skin
off six hundred an' thirty bucks, an' eighteen more, an' pass 'em acrost.
An' do it _pronto_ or somethin' might happen to Fatty right where he's
thickest." The cowpuncher emphasized his remarks by boring the muzzle
even deeper into the unctuous periphery of the proprietor. The croupier
shot a questioning glance toward his employer.
"Shell it out! You fool!" grunted that worthy. "Fore this gun comes out
my back. An', besides, it's cocked!" Without a word the croupier
counted out the money, arranging it in little piles of gold and silver.
As the vagabond swept the coins into his battered Stetson the Texan gave
a final twist to the six-gun. "If I was you, Fatty, I'd rub that there
thirteen number off that wheel an' paint me a tripple-ought or mebbe,
another eagle-bird onto it."
He turned to the man who stood grinning over his hatful of money:
"Come on, Pedro, me an' you're goin' away from here. The licker this
_hombre_ purveys will shore lead to bloodshed an' riotin', besides which
it's onrespectable to gamble anyhow."
Pausing to throw the bridle reins over the horn of his saddle, the Texan
linked his arm through that of his companion and proceeded down the
street with the big black horse following like a dog. After several
minutes of silence he stopped and regarded the other thoughtfully.
"Pedro," he said, "me an' you, fallin' heir to an onexpected legacy this
way, it's fit an' proper we should celebrate accordin' to our lights.
The common an' onchristian way would be to spliflicate around from one
saloon to another 'till we'd took in the whole town an' acquired a couple
of jags an' more or less onfavourable notoriety. Then, in a couple of
days or two, we'd wake up with fur on our tongue an inch long an' our
wealth divided amongst thieves. But, Pedro, such carryin's-on is
ondecent an' improvident. Take them great captains of industry you read
about! D'you reckon every pay-day old Andy Rockyfellow goes a rampin'
down Main Street back there in Noo York, proclaimin' he's a wolf an' it's
his night to howl? Not on your tintype, he don't! If he did he'd never
of rose out of the rank an' file of the labourin' class, an' chances is,
would of got fired out of that fer not showin' up at the corral Monday
mornin'! Y'see I be'n a-readin' up on the lives of these here saints to
kind of get a line on how they done it. Take that whole bunch an' they
wasn't hardly a railroad nor a oil mill nor a steel factory between 'em
when they was born. I got all their numbers. I know jest how they done
it, an' when I get time I'm a-goin' out an' make the Guggenhimers cough
up my share of Mexico an' the Rocky Mountains an' Alaska.
"But to get down to cases, as the preachers says: Old Andy he don't
cantankerate none noticeable. When he feels needful of a jamboree he
goes down to the bank an' fills his pockets an' a couple of valises with
change, an' gum-shoes down to John D. Swab's, an' they hunt up Charley
Carnage an' a couple of senators an' a rack of chips an' they finds 'em a
back room, pulls off their collars an' coats an' goes to it. They ain't
no kitty only to cover the needful expenses of drinks, eats, an'
smokes--an' everything goes, from cold-decks to second-dealin'. Then
when they've derove recreation enough, on goes their collars an' coats,
an' they eat a handful of cloves an' get to work on the public again.
They's a lot of money changes hands in these here sessions but it never
gets out of the gang, an' after you get their brands you c'n generally
always tell who got gouged by noticin' what goes up. If coal oil hists a
couple of cents on the gallon you know Andy carried his valises home
empty an' if railroad rates jumps--the senators got nicked a little, an'
vicy versy. Now you an' me ain't captains of industry, nor nothin' else
but our own soul, as the piece goes, but 'tain't no harm we should try a
law-abidin' recreation, same as these others, an' mebbe after some
practice we'll get to where the Guggenhimers will be figgerin' how to get
the western hemisphere of North America back from us.
"It's like this. Me an' you'll stop in an' get us a couple of drinks.
Then we'll hunt us up a hash-house an' put a big bate of ham an' aigs out
of circulation, an' go get us a couple more drinks, an' heel ourselves
with a deck of cards an' a couple bottles of cactus juice, an' hunt us up
a place where we'll be ondisturbed by the riotorious carryin's-on of the
frivolous-minded, an' we'll have us a two-handed poker game which no
matter who wins we can't lose, like I was tellin' you, 'cause they can't
no outside parties horn in on the profits. But first-off we'll hunt up a
feed barn so Ace of Spades can load up on oats an' hay while we're havin'
our party."
An hour later the Texan deposited a quart bottle, a rack of chips, and a
deck of cards on a little deal table in the dingy back room of a saloon.
"I tell you, Pedro, they's a whole lot of fancy trimmin's this room ain't
got, but it's quiet an' peaceable an' it'll suit our purpose to a gnat's
hind leg." He dropped into a chair and reached for the rack of chips.
"It's a habit of mine to set facin' the door," he continued, as he
proceeded to remove the disks and arrange them into stacks. "So if you
got any choist just set down acrost the table there an' we'll start the
festivities. I'll bank the game an' we'll take out a fifty-dollar stack
an' play table stakes." He shoved three stacks of chips across the
table. "Just come acrost with fifty bucks so's we c'n keep the bank
straight an' go ahead an' deal. An' while you're a-doin' it, bein' as
you're a pretty good Greaser, I'll just take a drink to you----"
"Greasaire, _non_! Me, A'm hate de damn Greasaire!"
The cowpuncher paused with the bottle half way to his lips and
scrutinized the other: "I thought you was a little off colour an' talked
kind of funny. What be you?"
"Me, A'm Blood breed. Ma fader she French. Ma moder she Blood Injun.
A'm leeve een Montan' som'tam'--som'tam' een Canada. A'm no lak dees
contrie! Too mooch hot. Too mooch Greasaire! Too mooch sheep. A'm lak
I go back hom'. A'm ride for T. U. las' fall an' A'm talk to round-up
cook, Walt Keeng, hees nam', an' he com' from Areezoon'. She no like
Montan'. She say Areezoon' she bettaire--no fence--beeg range--plent'
cattle. You goin' down dere an' git job you see de good contrie. You no
com' back Nort' no more. So A'm goin' down w'en de col' wedder com' an'
A'm git de job wit' ol' man Fisher on, w'at you call Yuma
bench--_Sacré_!" The half-breed paused and wiped his face.
"Didn't you like it down Yuma Way?" Benton smiled.
"Lak it! _Voila_! No wataire! No snow! Too mooch, w'at you call, de
leezard! Een de wintaire, A'm so Godamn hot A'm lak for die. _Non_!
A'm com' way from dere. A'm goin' Nort' an' git me nodder job w'ere A'm
git som' wataire som'tam'. Mebbe so git too mooch col' in wintaire, but,
_voila_! Better A'm lak I freeze l'il bit as burn oop!"
The Texan laughed. "I don't blame you none. I never be'n down to Yuma
but they tell me it's hell on wheels. Go ahead an' deal, Pedro."
"Pedro, _non_! Ma moder she nam' Moon Eye, an' ma fader she Cross-Cut
Lajune. Derefor', A'm Batiste Xavier Jean Jacques de Beaumont Lajune."
The bottle thumped upon the table top.
"What the hell is that, a name or a song?"
"Me, das ma nam'--A'm call Batiste Xavier Jean----"
"Hold on there! If your ma or pa, or whichever one done the namin'
didn't have no expurgated dictionary handy mebbe they ain't to blame--but
from now on, between you an' me, you're Bat. That's name enough, an' the
John Jack Judas Iscariot an' General Jackson part goes in the discards.
An' bein' as this here is only a two-handed game, the discards is
dead---- See?"
At the end of an hour the half-breed watched with a grin as the Texan
raked in a huge pile of chips.
"Dat de las'," he said, "Me, A'm broke."
"Broke!" exclaimed the cowpuncher, "you don't mean you've done lost all
that there six hundred an' forty-eight bucks?" He counted the little
piles of silver and gold, which the half-breed had shoved across the
board in return for stack after stack of chips.
"Six-forty-two," he totalled. "Let's see, supper was a dollar an' four
bits, drinks two dollars, an' two dollars for this bottle of prune-juice
that's about gone already, an'--Hey, Bat, you're four bits shy! Frisk
yourself an' I'll play you a showdown for them four bits." The other
grinned and held a silver half dollar between his finger and thumb.
"_Non_! A'm ke'p dat four bit! Dat lucky four bit. A'm ponch hole in
heem an' car' heem roun' ma neck lak' de medicine bag. A'm gon' back
Nort'--me! A'm got no frien's. You de only friend A'm got. You give me
de las' four bit. You, give me de honch to play de t'irteen. A'm git
reech, an' den you mak' de bank, w'at you call, com' 'crost. Now A'm
goin' back to Montan' an' git me de job. Wat de hell!"
"Where's your outfit?" asked the Texan as he carefully stowed the money
in his pockets.
"Ha! Ma outfeet--A'm sell dat outfeet to git de money to com' back hom'.
A'm play wan leetle gam' coon can an' _voila_! A'm got no money. De
damn Greasaire she ween dat money an' A'm broke. A'm com' som'tam' on de
freight train--som'tam' walk, an' A'm git dees far. Tomor' A'm git de
freight train goin' Nort' an' som'tam' A'm git to Montan'. Eet ees ver'
far, but mebbe-so A'm git dere for fall round-up. An' Ba Goss, A'm
nevaire com' sout' no mor'. Too mooch hot! Too mooch no wataire! Too
mooch, w'at you call, de pizen boog--mebbe-so in de bed--in de pants--in
de boot--you git bite an' den you got to die! Voila! Wat de hell!"
The Texan laughed and reaching into his pocket drew out two twenty dollar
gold pieces and a ten which thudded upon the table before the astonished
eyes of the half-breed.
"Here, Bat, you're a damn good Injun! You're plumb squanderous with your
money, but you're a good sport. Take that an' buy you a ticket to as far
North as it'll get you. Fifty bucks ort to buy a whole lot of car
ridin'. An' don't you stop to do no gamblin', neither---- Ain't I told
you it's onrespectable an' divertin' to morals? If you don't _sabe_ coon
can no better'n what you do poker, you stand about as much show amongst
these here Greasers as a rabbit in a coyote patch. It was a shame to
take your money this way, but bein' as you're half-white it was up to me
to save you the humiliatin' agony of losin' it to Greasers."
The half-breed pocketed the coins as the other buttoned his shirt and
took another long pull at the bottle.
"Wer' you goin' now?" he asked as the cowpuncher started for the door.
The man paused and regarded him critically. "First off, I'm goin' to get
my horse. An' then me an' you is goin' down to the depot an' you're
a-goin' to buy that there ticket. I'm a-goin' to see that you get it
ironclad an' onredeemable, I ain't got no confidence in no gambler an'
bein' as I've took a sort of likin' to you, I hate to think of you
a-walkin' clean to Montana in them high-heeled boots. After that I'm
a-goin' to start out an' examine this here town of Las Vegas lengthways,
crossways, down through the middle, an' both sides of the crick. An'
when that's off my mind, I'm a-goin' to begin on the rest of the world."
He moved his arm comprehensively and reached for the bottle.
"You wait right here till I get old Ace of Spades," he continued solemnly
when he had rasped the raw liquor from his throat. "If you ain't here
when I come back I'll swallow-fork your ears with this here gat just to
see if my shootin' eye is in practice. The last time I done any fancy
shootin' I was kind of wild--kep' a-hittin' a little to one side an' the
other--not much, only about an inch or so--but it wasn't right good
shootin'."
The half-breed grinned: "A'm stay here till you com' back. A'm fin' dat
you ma frien'. A'm lak' you, _bien_!"
When the Texan returned, fifteen minutes later, the man of many names was
gone. "It's just like I said, you can't trust no gambler," he muttered,
with a doleful nod of the head. "He's pulled out on me, but he better
not infest the usual marts of midnight. 'Cause I'm a-goin' to start out
an' take in everything that's open in this man's town, an' if I find him
I'll just nachelly show him the onprincipledness of lyin' to a friend."
Stepping to the bar he bought a drink and a moment later swung onto the
big rangy black and clattered down the street. At the edge of the town
he turned and started slowly back, dismounting wherever the lights of a
saloon illumined the dingy street, but never once catching a glimpse of
the figure that followed in the thick blackness of the shadows. Before
the saloon of the surly proprietor the cowpuncher brought his big black
to a stand and sat contemplating the sorrel that stood dejectedly with
ears adroop and one hind foot resting lightly upon the toe.
"So that's the cayuse Fatty wanted to trade me for Ace of Spades!" he
snorted. "That dog-legged, pot-gutted, lop-eared patch of red he offers
to trade to _me_ fer _Ace of Spades_! It's a doggone insult! I didn't
know it at the time, havin' only a couple of drinks, an' too sober to
judge a insult when I seen one. But it's different now, I can see it in
the dark. I'm a-goin' in there an'--an' twist his nose off an' feed it
to him. But first I got to find old Bat. He's an Injun, but he's a good
old scout, an' I hate to think of him walkin' all the way to Montana
while some damn Greaser is spendin' my hard earned samolians that I give
him for carfare. It's a long walk to Montana. Plumb through Colorado
an' Wyomin' an'--an' New Jersey, or somewheres. Mebbe he's in there now.
As they say in the Bible, or somewheres, you got to hunt for a thing
where you find it, or something. Hold still, there you black devil you!
What you want to stand there spinnin' 'round like a top for? You be'n
drinkin', you doggone old ringtail! What was I goin' to do, now. Oh,
yes, twist Patty's nose, an' find Bat an' shoot at his ears a while, an'
make him get his ticket to New Jersey an'----
"This is a blame slow old town, she needs wakin' up, anyhow. If I ride
in that door I'll get scraped off like mud off a boot."
He spurred the black and brought him up with a jerk beside the sorrel
which snorted and reared back, snapping the reins with which he had been
tied, and stood with distended nostrils sniffing inquiringly at Ace of
Spades as the cowpuncher swung to the ground.
"Woke up, didn't you, you old stager? Y'ain't so bad lookin' when you're
alive. Patty'll have to get him a new pair of bridle reins. Mebbe the
whole town'll look better if it's woke up some.
"Y-e-e-e-e-o-w! Cowboys a-comin'!"
A citizen or two paused on the street corner, a few Mexicans grinned as
they drew back to allow the Gringo free access to the saloon, and a
swarthy figure slipped unobserved across the street and blended into the
shadow of the adobe wall.
"O-o-o-o-o-h, the yaller r-o-s-e of Texas!" sang the cowpuncher, with
joyous vehemence. As he stepped into the room, his eyes swept the faces
of the gamblers and again he burst into vociferous song:
"O-o-o-o-o-h, w-h-e-r-e is my wanderin' b-o-y tonight?"
"Hey, you! Whad'ye think this is, a camp meetin'?"
The Texan faced the speaker. "Well, if it ain't my old college chum!
Fatty, I stopped in a purpose to see you. An' besides which, by the
unalien rights of the Constitution an' By-laws of this here United States
of Texas, a man's got a right to sing whatever song suits him
irregardless of sex or opportunity." The other glared malevolently as
the cowpuncher approached the bar with a grin. "Don't bite yourself an'
die of hydrophobia before your eggication is complete, which it ain't
till you've learnt never to insult no Texas man by offerin' to trade no
rat-tailed, ewe-necked old buzzard fodder fer a top Texas horse.
"Drop that mallet! An' don't go reachin-' around in under that bar,
'cause if you find what you're huntin' fer you're a-goin' to see fer
yourself if every cloud's got a silver linin'. 'Tend to business now,
an' set out a bottle of your famous ol' Las Vegas stummick shellac an'
while I'm imbibin' of its umbilical ambrosier, I'll jest onscrew your
nose an' feed it to the cat."
Sweat stood out upon the forehead of the heavy-paunched proprietor as
with a flabby-faced grin he set out the bottle. But the Texan caught the
snake-like flash of the eyes with which the man signalled to the croupier
across the room. Gun in hand, he whirled:
"No, you don't, Toney!" An ugly blue-black automatic dropped to the
floor and the croupier's hands flew ceilingward.
"I never seen such an outfit to be always a-reachin'," grinned the
cowpuncher. "Well, if there ain't the ol' eagle-bird wheel! Give her a
spin, Toney! They say you can't hit an eagle on the fly with a six-gun,
but I'm willin' to try! Spin her good, 'cause I don't want no onfair
advantage of that there noble bird. Stand back, Greasers, so you don't
get nicked!"
As the croupier spun the wheel, three shots rang in an almost continuous
explosion and the gamblers fell over each other in an effort to dodge the
flying splinters that filled the powder-fogged air.
"Little black bull slid down the mountain,
L-o-n-g t-i-m-e ago!"
roared the Texan as he threw open the cylinder of his gun.
"H-e-e-e-e scraped his horn on a hickory saplin',
L-o-n-g t-i-m-e ago----"
There was a sudden commotion behind him, a swift rush of feet, a muffled
thud, and a gasping, agonized grunt. The next instant the huge acetelyne
lamp that lighted the room fell to the floor with a crash and the place
was plunged in darkness.
"Queek, m's'u, dees way!" a hand grasped his wrist and the cowpuncher
felt himself drawn swiftly toward the door. From all sides sounded the
scuffling of straining men who breathed heavily as they fought in the
blackness.
A thin red flame cut the air and a shot rang sharp. Someone screamed and
a string of Spanish curses blended into the hubbub of turmoil.
"De hosses, queek, m's'u!"
The cool air of the street fanned the Texan's face as he leaped across
the sidewalk, and vaulted into the saddle. The next moment the big black
was pounding the roadway neck and neck with another, smaller horse upon
which the half-breed swayed in the saddle with the ease and grace of the
loose-rein rider born.
It was broad daylight when the cowpuncher opened his eyes in an arroyo
deep among the hills far, far from Las Vegas. He rubbed his forehead
tenderly, and crawling to a spring a few feet distant, buried his face in
the tiny pool and drank deeply of the refreshing liquid. Very
deliberately he dried his face on a blue handkerchief, and fumbled in his
pockets for papers and tobacco. As he blew the grey smoke from his
nostrils he watched the half-breed who sat nearby industriously splicing
a pair of broken bridle reins.
"Did you get that ticket, Bat?" he asked, with a hand pressed tightly
against his aching forehead.
The other grinned. "Me, A'm no wan' no ticket. A'm lak A'm stay wit'
you, an' mebbe-so we git de job togedder."
The cowpuncher smoked for a time in silence.
"What was the rookus last night?" he asked, indifferently. Then,
suddenly, his eye fell upon the sorrel that snipped grass at the end of a
lariat rope near the picketed black, and he leaped to his feet. "Where'd
you get that horse?" he exclaimed sharply. "It's Fatty's! There's the
reins he busted when he snorted loose!"
Again the half-breed grinned. "A'm bor' dat hoss for com' 'long wit'
you. Dat Fatty, she damn bad man. She try for keel you w'en you tak' de
shot at de wheel. A'm com' 'long dat time an' A'm keek heem in de guts
an' he roll 'roun' on de floor, an' A'm t'row de bottle of wheesky an'
smash de beeg lamp an' we com' 'long out of dere." The cowpuncher tossed
his cigarette away and spat upon the ground.
"How'd you happen to come in there so handy just at the right time?" he
asked with a sidewise glance at the half-breed.
"Oh, A'm fol' you long tam'. A'm t'ink mebbe-so you git l'il too mooch
hooch an' som'one try for do you oop. A'm p'ek in de door an' seen Fatty
gon' shoot you. Dat mak' me mad lak hell, an' A'm run oop an' keek heem
so hard I kin on hees belly. You ma frien'. A'm no lak I seen you git
keel."
The Texan nodded. "I see. You're a damn good Injun, Bat, an' I ain't
got no kick comin' onto the way you took charge of proceedin's. But you
sure raised hell when you stole that horse. They's prob'ly about
thirty-seven men an' a sheriff a-combin' these here hills fer us at this
partic'lar minute an' when they catch us----"
The half-breed laughed. "Dem no ketch. We com' feefty mile. Dat leetle
hoss she damn good hoss. We got de two bes' hoss. We ke'p goin' dey no
ketch. 'Spose dey do ketch. Me, A'm tell 'em A'm steal dat hoss an' you
not know nuthin' 'bout dat."
There was a twinkle in the Texan's eye as he yawned and stretched
prodigiously. "An' I'll tell 'em you're the damnedest liar in the state
of Texas an' North America throw'd in. Come on, now, you throw the
shells on them horses an' we'll be scratchin' gravel. Fifty miles ain't
no hell of a ways--my throat's beginnin' to feel kind of draw'd already."
"W'er' we goin'?" asked the half-breed as they swung into the saddles.
"Bat," said the other, solemnly, "me an' you is goin' fast, an' we're
goin' a long time. You mentioned somethin' about Montana bein'
considerable of a cow country. Well, me an' you is a-goin' North--as far
North as cattle is--an' we're right now on our way!"
CHAPTER I
THE TRAIN STOPS
"I don't see why they had to build their old railroad down in the
bottom of this river bed." With deft fingers Alice Marcum caught back
a wind-tossed whisp of hair. "It's like travelling through a trough."
"Line of the least resistance," answered her companion as he rested an
arm upon the polished brass guard rail of the observation car. "This
river bed, running east and west, saved them millions in bridges."
The girl's eyes sought the sky-line of the bench that rose on both
sides of the mile-wide valley through which the track of the great
transcontinental railroad wound like a yellow serpent.
"It's level up there. Why couldn't they have built it along the edge?"
The man smiled: "And bridged all those ravines!" he pointed to gaps and
notches in the level sky-line where the mouths of creek beds and
coulees flashed glimpses of far mountains. "Each one of those ravines
would have meant a trestle and trestles run into big money."
"And so they built the railroad down here in this ditch where people
have to sit and swelter and look at their old shiny rails and scraggly
green bushes and dirt walls, while up there only a half a mile away the
great rolling plains stretch away to the mountains that seem so near
you could walk to them in an hour."
"But, my dear girl, it would not be practical. Railroads are built
primarily with an eye to dividends and--" The girl interrupted him
with a gesture of impatience.
"I hate things that are practical--hate even the word. There is
nothing in all the world so deadly as practicability. It is ruthless
and ugly. It disregards art and beauty and all the higher things that
make life worth living. It is a monster whose god is dollars--and who
serves that god well. What does any tourist know of the real West--the
West that lies beyond those level rims of dirt? How much do you or I
know of it? The West to us is a thin row of scrub bushes along a
narrow, shallow river, with a few little white-painted towns sprinkled
along, that for all we can see might be in Illinois or Ohio. I've been
away a whole winter and for all the West I've seen I might as well have
stayed in Brooklyn."
"But certainly you enjoyed California!"
"California! Yes, as California. But California isn't the _West_!
California is New York with a few orange groves thrown in. It is a
tourist's paradise. A combination of New York and Palm Beach. The
real West lies east of the Rockies, the uncommercialized,
unexploited--I suppose you would add, the unpractical West. A New
Yorker gets as good an idea of the West when he travels by train to
California as a Californian would get of New York were he to arrive by
way of the tube and spend the winter in the Fritz-Waldmore."
"I rather liked California, what little I saw of it. A business trip
does not afford an ideal opportunity for sight seeing."
"You like Newport and Palm Beach, too."
The man ignored the interruption.
"But, at least, this trip has combined a good bit of business with a
very big bit of pleasure. It is two years since I have seen you
and----"
"And so you're going to tell me for the twenty-sixth time in three days
that you still love me, and that you want me to marry you, and I'll
have to say 'no' again, and explain that I'm not ready to marry
anybody." She regarded him with an air of mock solemnity. "But really
Mr. Winthrop Adams Endicott I think you _have_ improved since you
struck out for yourself into the wilds of--where was it, Ohio, or some
place."
"Cincinnati," answered the man a trifle stiffly. The girl shuddered.
"I had to change cars there once." Again she eyed him critically.
"Yes, two years have made a really noticeable improvement. Do the
Cincinnati newspapers always remember to use your whole name or do they
dare to refer to Winthrop A. Endicott. If I were a reporter I really
believe I'd try it once. If you keep on improving, some day somebody
is going to call you Win."
The man flushed: "Are you never serious?" he asked.
"Never more so than this minute."
"You say you are not ready to many. You expect to marry, then,
sometime?"
"I don't _expect_ to. I'm _going_ to."
"Will you marry me when you are ready?"
The girl laughed. "Yes, if I can't find the man I want, I think I
shall. But he must be somewhere," she continued, after a pause during
which her eyes centred upon the point where the two gleaming rails
vanished into the distance. "He must be impractical, and human,
and--and _elemental_. I'd rather be smashed to pieces in the Grand
Canyon, than live for ever on the Erie Canal!"
"Aren't you rather unconventional in your tastes----?"
"If I'm not, I'm a total failure! I hate conventionality! And lines
of least resistance! And practical things! It is the _men_ who are
the real sticklers for convention. The same kind of men that follow
the lines of least resistance and build their railroads along
them--because it is practical!
"I don't see why you want to marry me!" she burst out resentfully.
"I'm not conventional, nor practical. And I'm not a line of least
resistance!"
"But I love you. I have always loved you, and----"
The girl interrupted him with a quick little laugh, which held no trace
of resentment. "Yes, yes, I know. I believe you do. And I'm glad
because really, Winthrop, you're a dear. There are lots of things
about you I admire. Your teeth, and eyes, and the way you wear your
clothes. If you weren't so terribly conventional, so cut and dried,
and matter of fact, and _safe_, I might fall really and truly in love
with you. But--Oh, I don't know! Here I am, twenty-three. And I
suppose I'm a little fool and have never grown up. I like to read
stories about knights errant, and burglars, and fair ladies, and
pirates, and mysterious dark oriental-looking men. And I like to go to
places where everybody don't go--only Dad won't let me and---- Why
just think!" she exclaimed in sudden wrath, "I've been in California
for three months and I've ridden over the same trails everybody else
has ridden over, and motored over the same roads and climbed the same
mountains, and bathed at the same beach, and I've met everybody I ever
knew in New York, just as I would have met them in Newport or Palm
Beach or in Paris or Venice or Naples for that matter!"
"But why go off the beaten track where everything is arranged for your
convenience? These people are experienced travellers. They know that
by keeping to the conventional routes-----"
"Winthrop Adams Endicott, if you say that word again I'll shriek! Or
I'll go in from this platform and not speak to you again--ever! You
know very well that there isn't a traveller among them. They're just
tourists--professional goers. They do the same things, and say the
same things, and if they could think, they'd think the same things
every place they go. And I don't want things arranged for my
convenience--so there!"
Winthrop Adams Endicott lighted a cigarette, brushed some white dust
from his sleeve, and smiled.
"If I were a man and loved a girl so very, very much I wouldn't just
sit around and grin. I'd do something!"
"But, my dear Alice, what would you have me do? I'm not a knight
errant, nor a burglar, nor a pirate, nor a dark mysterious
oriental--I'm just a plain ordinary business man and----"
"Well, I'd do something--even if it was something awful like getting
drunk or shooting somebody. Why, if you even had a past you wouldn't
be so hopeless. I could love a man with a past. It would show at
least, that he hadn't followed the line of the least resistance. The
world is full of canals--but there are only a few canyons. Look! I
believe we're stopping! Oh, I hope it's a hold-up! What will you do
if it is?" The train slowed to a standstill and Winthrop Adams
Endicott leaned out and gazed along the line of the coaches.
"There is a little town here. Seems to be some commotion up
ahead--quite a crowd. If I can get this blamed gate open we can go up
and see what the trouble is."
"And if you can't get it open you can climb over and lift me down. I'm
just dying to know what's the matter. And if you dare to say it
wouldn't be conventional I'll--I'll jump!"