Happy Hawkins

by

Robert Alexander Wason

TO

MY OLD PAL

CONTENTS

 I THE DIAMOND DOT II CONVINCING A COOK III UNDER FIRE IV PROFESSIONAL DUTY V JUST MONODY--A MAN VI THE RACE VII MENTAL TREATMENT FOR A BROKEN LEG VIII THE LETTER IX ADRIFT AGAIN X A WINTER AT SLOCUM'S LUCK XI DRESS REFORM AT THE DIAMOND DOT XII THE LASSOO DUEL XIII BUSINESS IS BUSINESS XIV THE CHINESE QUESTION XV THE DIAMOND DOT AGAIN XVI THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF WOMAN XVII IN RETIREMENT XVIII CUPID XIX BARBIE MAKES A DISCOVERY XX RICHARD WHITTINGTON ARRIVES XXI HAPPY MAKES A DISCOVERY XXII A FRIENDLY GAME XXIII CAST STEEL XXIV FEMININE LOGIC XXV THE WAYS OF WOMANKIND XXVI A MODERN KNIGHT-ERRANT XXVII THE CREOLE BELLE XXVIII THE DAY OF THE WEDDING XXIX THE FINAL RECKONING XXX THE AFTERGLOW

CHAPTER ONE

THE DIAMOND DOT

I wasn't really a Westerner an' that's why I'm so different from mostof 'em. Take your regular bonie fide Westerner an' when he dies hedon't turn to dust, he turns to alkali; but when it comes my turn tosettle, I'll jest natchely become the good rich soil o' the Indianacornbelt. 

I was born in Indiana and I never left it till after I was ten yearsold. That's about the time boys generally start out to hunt Injuns; butI kept on goin' till I found mine--but I didn't kill him--nor him meneither, as far as that goes. 

I allus did have the misfortune o' gettin' hungry at the mostinconvenient times, an' after I 'd been gone about two weeks I gotquite powerful hungry, so I natchely got a job waitin' on a lunchcounter back in Omaha. The third day I was there I was all alone in thefront room when in walked an Injun. He was about eight feet high, Ireckon; and the fiercest Injun I ever see. I took one look at him a'then I dropped behind the counter and wiggled back to the kitchen wherethe boss was. I gasped out that the Injuns was upon us an' then I flewfor my firearms. 

When the boss discovered that the Injun and fourteen doughnuts, almostnew, had vanished, he was some put out, and after we had discussed thematter, I acted on his advice and came farther West. That businessexperience lasted me a good long while. I don't like business an' Idon't blame any one who has to follow it for a livin' for wantin' tohave a vacation so he can get out where the air is fit to breathe. 

Just imagine bein' hived up day after day with nothin' to see but wallsan' nothin' to do but customers. You first got to be friendly with yourvisitors to make 'em feel at home, an' then you got to get as much oftheir money as you can in order to keep on bein' friendly with 'em inorder to keep on gettin' as much of their money as you can. 

Now out in the open a feller don't have to be a hypocrite: once Iworked a whole year for a man who hated me so he wouldn't speak to me;but I didn't care, I liked the work and I did it an' he raised my wagestwice an' gave me a pony when I quit. 

He was the sourest tempered man I ever see; but it was good trainin' tolive with him a spell. Lots of men has streaks of bein' unbearable; butthis man was the only one I ever met up with who was solid that way, and didn't have one single streak of bein' likeable. He was the onlyman I ever see who wouldn't talk to me. I was a noticing sort of a kidan' I saw mighty early that what wins the hearts o' ninety-nine men outof a hundred is listenin' to 'em talk. That's why I don't talk muchmyself. But you couldn't listen to old Spike Williams, 'cause the'wasn't no opportunity--he didn't even cuss. 

We was snowed up for two weeks one time an' I took a vow 'at I'd makehim talk. I tried every subject I'd ever heard of; but he didn't evengrunt. Just when things was clearin' off, I sez to him, usin' mybiggest trump: "Spike, " sez I, "do you know what they say about you?"

"No, " sez he, "but you know what I say about them, " an' he went on withhis packin'. 

I thought for a while 'at the year I'd spent with Spike Williams was atotal loss; but jest the contrary. It had kept me studyin' an' schemin'an' analysin' until, after that year had been stored away to season, Idiscovered it was the best year I'd ever put in, an' while I hadn't gotoverly well acquainted with Spike, I had become mighty friendly withmyself and was surprised to find out how much the' was to me. 

Did you ever think of that? You start out an' a feller comes along an'throws an opinion around your off fore foot an' you go down in a heapan' that opinion holds you fast for some time. When you start on againanother feller ropes you with a new opinion, an' the first thing youknow you are all cluttered up an' loaded down with other fellers'opinions, an' the' ain't enough o' your own self left to tell whatyou're like; but after that winter with Spike I was pretty well able tododge an opinion until I had time to learn what it meant. 

But the main good I got out of Spike was learnin' how to take old CastSteel Judson. It was some years after this before I met up with him;but the good effect hadn't worn off and me an' Cast Steel just mergedtogether like butter an' a hot penny. I wasn't much more 'an a kid eventhen, but law! I wish I knew just half as much now as I thought I didthen. My self respect was certainly a bulky article those days an' Iwasn't in the habit of undervaluin' my own judgment--not to any greatextent; but that habit o' study I'd formed with Spike was my balancewheel, an' I generally managed to keep my conceit from shuttin' out theentire landscape. The' wasn't a great deal escaped my eye, 'cause Ibegun to notice purty tol'able young that experience is consid'ablelike a bank account: takes a heap o' sweat to get her started, butshe's comfortable to draw on in a pinch. 

Ol' man Judson was a curious affair, had his own way o' doin' everyblessed thing, an' whenever he hired a man he always went through thesame rigamarole. "Now what I'm contractin' for, " he'd say, "is justonly your time an' whatever part o' your thinkin' apparatus as isneeded in doin' YOUR share o' my business. If I detail you to sit inthe shade an' count clouds, I don't want no argument, I want the cloudscounted. When I don't specially express a hungerin' for any of youradvice, that's the very time when you don't need to give any. Wheneveryou think you have a kick comin'--why think again. Then if you stillsee the kick, make it to the foreman. If that don't work make it to me;but when you make it to me, you want to be mighty sure it will holdwater. Above all things I hate a liar, a coward, an' a sneak. Now getbusy 'cause life is short an' time is fleetin'. "

That was the way he used to talk, an' some used to set him down as atyrant, an' some had him guessed in as a rough old codger with a softheart, --everybody took a guess at him, --but the blood in the turnip wasthat ol' Jabez Judson was purty tol'able sizey when you carne to fencehim in. Everybody called him Cast Steel Judson, an' you might workthrough the langwidge five times without adding much to thedescription. Hard he was an' stern an' no bend to him; but at the sametime you could count on him acting up to his nature. He wa'n't nohypocrite, an' th''s a heap o' comfort jest in that. A feller ain't gotno kick comin' when a rattler lands on him; but if a wood dove was topoison him, he'd have a fair right to be put out. The only child 'atCast Steel had was one daughter; but that don't indicate that paternitywas one long vacation for Jabez. Barbie--her full name was Barbara--wasthe sweetest an' the gamest an' the most surpriseable creature a humanbeing ever met up with, an' ol' Jabez could 'a' got along handier withseven sons than he did with that one girl. Oh, the eyes of her werelike the two stars over old Savage, snappin' an' twinklin' an'sparklin' in the clear winter nights, or soft an' shy an' tender whenthe hazy spring moon cuddles up to them. She wasn't afraid of anything'at walks the face o' the earth, an' Jabez had a hard time gettin' usedto this--'cause he thought she ought to be afraid o' him. 

Still, he fair worshipped her, an' if he'd been given full charge o'the earth for jest one day, an' anything would 'a' pestered the girldurin' that day, why the map-maker would sure have had a job on the dayfollerin'; 'cause from his standpoint, that girl was what the sun shonefor an' the rain rained for an' the blossoms blossomed for. 

We was allus havin' a lot o' Easterners string along during the summer, an' they generally was easy to entice into makin' a little visit withus. Some of 'em would spend their time crackin' stones an' makin' uptales about their bein' speciments o' the Zelooic age or the Palazoricage or some such a fool thing. They was mostly heathens, an' it didn'tdo no good to spring the Bible on 'em--in fact after we got able toread their signs we never contraried 'em at all, but just let 'em heaveout any tale they could think up an' pretend 'at we believed it; an'hanged if I don't begin to suspicion that the' 's a heap o' truth insome o' their nonsense. 

Purty near every one of 'em insisted that at one time all thosemountains, even old Savage, had been under water, an' they'd take usout an' show us the signs; but we couldn't stomach that until we foundout that this was one o' the Injun traditions too, an' then we give in. 

Well, one o' these strays was what they call an astronomer. Hisspeciality was the stars, nothing less; an' he knew 'em by name an'could tell you how far off they are an' what they weigh an' how manymoons they had an'--oh, he knew 'em the same as I know the home herd, an' he didn't only know what they had done--he knew what they wasa-goin' to do, an' when he called the turn on 'em, why they up an' doneit. Comets an' eclipses an' sech like miracles were jest the same tothis feller as winter an' summer was to me, an' we fed him until helike to founder himself, tryin' to hold him through the winter; but atlast he had to go, an' after he'd gone Cast Steel was purtydown-hearted for quite a spell. 

"It ain't fair, Happy, " sez he to me one day after the astronomer hadgone. 

"No, " sez I, "I reckon it will rain before mornin'. "

"I mean it ain't a fair shake, " sez he. "Jupiter has eight of 'em an'we ain't but one an' the' ain't nobody lives there, while--"

"What do you happen to be talkin' of?" sez I. 

"Why moons, " sez he. "It seems too doggone bad for that confoundedplanet to have eight moons an' no one to enjoy 'em while my little girljest dotes on 'em an' we only have one--an' IT don't work more'n halfthe time. "

That was Cast Steel: he didn't look on life or death, or wealth orpoverty, or anything else except in the way it applied to Barbie--butshe was worth it, she was worth it, an' I never blamed him none. 

But you needn't get the idea that Jabez was one o' these fond an'lovin' parents what sez: "My child, right if perfectly convenient, butright or wrong, my child. " Not on your future prospects! Jabez, he sez:"My child, right from the shoes up, if the Rocky Mountains has to beground to powder to make her so. "

I remember the day she was six year old; he hardly ever laid out thedetails for her conduct, he jest sort o' schemed out a general plan andleft her free to adjust herself to it, like a feller does with a dog ora pony he expects to keep a long time an' don't want to turn into amachine. He had told Barbie he didn't want her to ride nothin' 'atwasn't safe. Well, on the mornin' she became a six-year-old he came outo' the side door an' saw her disappearin' in the distance on top a bigpinto 'at he had sent over for Buck Harmon to bust; it havin' alreadypitched Spider Kelley an' dislocated his shoulder. 

"Who roped that pony for her?" yelled Cast Steel. 

"I did, " sez I. "She said 'at this was her birthday an' she was tiredof actin' like a kid an' intended to ride a real ridin' hoss. "

"If a hair of her head is injured, hell won't hide ya!" sez Cast Steel, an' his lip trembled an' his eyes fairly smoked. 

"She's jest as safe as if she was in her bed, " sez I, as gentle as Icould. "I taught her how to ride, an' I ain't ashamed o' the job. Shecan give Spider Kelley cards an' spades an' beat him to it every time. But as far as that goes--"

I didn't get to finish because here she come, tearin' back on thepinto. Her hair was flyin', her eyes was dancin', an' she waslaughin'--laughin' out loud. Light an' easy she pulled the pinto upbeside us an' calls out: "Oh, daddy, this is lovely, this ismag-ni-fi-cent"--the little scamp used to pick up big words from theEasterners, an' when she had one to fit she never wasted time on ameasly little ranch word--"oh, I'm never goin' to ride old Kate again. "

"Git off that pony, " sez Jabez, makin' a reach for the bit; but thepony shied, whirled, an' purty nigh kicked his head off. He stood stillin a daze while Barbie was circling the pony an' gettin' him quietagain. 

"How's she goin' to get off?" asked Jabez, turnin' to me. 

"Simply climb down, " sez I purty short. I had some temper those days, an' I hadn't got over his insinuations, an' I didn't intend to. 

"She'll be killed!" sez Jabez. I never said a word. 

"She'll be killed!" he repeated, an' his voice was filled with anguish. 

"Get down off the pony, Barbie, " sez I, an' she threw her little legover the saddle an' hit the grass like an antelope. The pony neverstirred. Ol' Jabez stood watchin' her with his eyes poppin' out. "Turnthe brute loose!" he shouts. "What for?" sez she. "'Cause I say so!" hefairly roars. 

Well, she walks up, pats the pinto on the nose, an' slips the bridleoff his head. He just stands still an' watches her as mild as a pint o'cream. 

"Rope that pony, " sez Cast Steel to me. 

"Get one o' your own men to rope it, " sez I. 

He looked into my eyes a moment an' then he called to George Hendricksto rope the pinto; but when George hove in sight with his rope thepinto took to his heels an' made for the horizon. "There goes aninety-dollar saddle, " sez Jabez to me, "an' it's all your damnednonsense. "

"It ain't either, " sez Barbie, as fierce as a wounded bear, "it's allyour damned nonsense. Happy has been trainin' that pony nights for mybirthday an'--"

"Barbara!" yells Jabez, "what do you mean by usin' such langwidge? I'llline you out for this. You know mighty well--"

"Now you play accordin' to the rule, " sez Barbie. "You was teachin' meto play seven up last week an' you said that everybody had to play bythe same rule. I reckon that goes in cussin' too. "

Well, they looked into each other's eyes for quite some while, an' thenJabez sez: "Go into the house, Barbara, an' we'll both think it over, an' as soon as we get time we'll settle it. "

"All right, " sez Barbie, an' she turns around an' marches to the house, her little head held like a colonel's. Just before she reached thehouse she turned an' calls: "You'll get the pinto for me, won't you, Happy?" I sort o' half nodded my head, an' she went on into the house. 

"Did you ever see such grit?" sez Cast Steel, "an' her only six. Kidsoughtn't to act so grown up at six, had they, Happy?"

"I reckon 'at kids are pretty much like colts an' puppies an' otheryoung things: give 'em dolls to play with an' they'll play likechildren, but start 'em out on cards an' ponies, an' range 'em off withnothin' but grown folks, an' they're bound to have ways like grownfolks'. "

Jabez fidgeted around a while, an' then he sez, "Are you goin' to tryto catch the pinto?

"I am goin' to catch it, " sez I, rollin' a cigarette. 

He kind o' nervoused around a few minutes longer an' then he sez, "Whatdid you mean a while ago?"

"Jest whatever I said, " sez I. "I don't know what you're a-referrin'to, but if I said it, that's what I meant. "

"When I asked you to rope the pinto you told me to git one o' my ownmen to rope it; what does that mean?"

"It means that when a man tells me that hell can't hide me from hiswrath, I 'm free to consider myself foot loose. A man don't want toslaughter none of his own hands, an' if it should be that any one feelscalled upon to go after my hide, I don't want to feel that the time I'm wastin' in takin' care o' that hide rightfully belongs to anotherman who is payin' for it. Therefore I have quit. I'm goin' to rope thepinto for Barbie, but I wouldn't do it for you, an' when I get backI'll call around for what's comin' to me. "

"Well, go an' be hanged! You always was the most obstinate, high-headed, bull-intellected thin-skin 'at ever drew down top wagesfor punchin' cows. You're nothin' more than a kid, an' yet you swellaround an' expect a man--"

"Well, I don't expect nothin' from you, ceptin' my wages, " sez I. 

"You go to Jericho, will you!" snaps Jabez. "You don't need to thinkthat I'd try to argue any man on earth into workin' for me. I can getan army o' riders as good or better than you--but the gel likes you, Happy, an'--"

"An' that's why I 'm goin' after the pinto, " sez I, an' I flopped ontoa pony an' sailed out to a little glen in the foothills where I knew I'd find him, an' as soon as I had towed him back to the corral I put mysaddle on the old beast I had rode there an' set off. 

Just as I rode around the edge o' the corral, ol' man Judson stoodthere grittin' his teeth. "What are you ridin' that old skin for?" sezhe. 

"'Cause it's the only pony I got, " sez I. 

"You leave it here an' take your pick out o' the five-year-olds, " sezhe. 

"All I want out o' this ranch is what I have earned, " sez I. 

"If you don't get something 'at your pride'll earn some day, I'm thebiggest fool this side o' the big ditch. Here's your pay. You've been afair hand, but don't forget that I never hire a man twice, an' I'vehired you once already. "

"Now look here, Jabez, " sez I, "I ain't so old as I'll get if I live aslong as I may, but I'm old enough to know that it's just as easy, tofind a good boss as it is to find a good man. I've done my work withoutfussin', an' you've seen me in a pinch or two; an' yet this verymornin' you intimated than I 'd risk Barbie on a pony she couldn'tride. The' ain't nothin' I wouldn't do for that child, but you don'tunderstand her, an' if you go on in your high-handed way with her you're in for the sorrow o' your life--mark my words. "

"Here's your money. You ain't got sense enough to know your place an' I'm glad to be shut of you. " Jabez handed me my pay an' stamped over tothe ranch house, while I kept on down the valley trail. 

When I reached the turn I twisted about in my saddle an' looked at thecluster o' buildings. They looked soft an' gray with old Mount Savagestandin' on guard back of 'em, an' the' was a bigger lump under mynecktie than I generally wore. I didn't have mach call to go anywhere, an' I sat there on my old pony, wonderin' whether or not it paid to begame. 

If my mother had been alive, jest at that point would have been wherethe West would have lost the benefit of my personal supervision--butthen if my mother had lived I shouldn't never 'a' left home. I stood astepmother six months out o' respect to my Dad, but I wouldn't 'a'stood that one a year--well, anyway, not unless I'd been chained an'muzzled. 

It's a funny thing to me how a man can drink an' fight an' carry on fora year at a clip an' then all of a sudden feel a hurtin' somewhereinside that nothin' wouldn't help but a little pettin'. He knowsdoggone well 'at there ain't none comin' to him, so he hides it bycuttin' up a little worse than usual but it's there, an' Gee! but itdoes rest heavy when it comes. Why, take me even now when the' wouldn'tnothin' but a grizzly bear have the nerve to coddle me, an' yet weekbefore last I felt so blue an' solitary 'at I couldn't 'a' told to saveme whether I was homesick or whether it was only 'cause the beans was alittle sour. 

I sat there on the old pony a good long time, an' then I heaved a sigh'at made me swell out like an accordion, an' headed back to the valleytrail. When I turned around, there, standin' in the trail before mewith a streak down each cheek, stood Barbie. 

"Ya ain't goin', are ya?" sez she. 

"I got to go, honey, " sez I. 

"Ain't ya never comin' back?" asked she. 

"Oh, I'll come back some day, ridin' a big black hoss with silvertrimmed leather--an' what shall I bring little Barbie?" sez I, tryin'to be gay. 

"Just bring me yourself, Happy, that's all the present I want. I loveyou because you're the handsomest man in the world"--yes, it was me shemeant, only o' course that was some years ago an' the child wasunthinkable young--"an' cause you tell me the nicest stories, an' trainpintos, an'--an' I'm goin' to marry you when I grow up. "

"Marry me, kitten?" sez I, laughin' free an' natural this time. "Why, bless your heart, where did you ever hear o' marriage?"

"My Daddy tells me of my mother, an' what a beautiful lady she was, an'how happy they were together--an' I'm goin' to marry you when you comeback. "

"Well, Barbie, " sez I right soberly, "you be true to me an' I'll betrue to you, an' now we'll kiss to bind the promise. "

So I lifted her to my saddle an' kissed her. "How did you get here, child?" sez I. 

She didn't answer for a minute. "I rode old Kate, " said she at last, "but I didn't want you to know it. She's over behind that rock. Andnow, Happy, don't you dare to forget me. Good-bye. "

I set her down in the road with her eyes misty an' her white teeth setin her lips, an' my own eyes were so hazy like that I couldn't see herwhen I looked back, an' then I rode away down the valley trail. 

CHAPTER TWO

CONVINCING A COOK

I'm as wild as any comet when I first swing out o' my regular orbit, an' I rode on an' on, sometimes puttin' up for the night at a ranchhouse an' sometimes campin' out in the open, where I'd lay till dawngazin' up at the stars an' wonderin' how things were goin', back at theDiamond Dot. I mooned on until at last I wound up in the Pan Handlewithout a red copper, an' my pony sore footed an' lookin' like what acrow gets when the coyotes invite him out to dinner. 

I drew rein one night along side a most allurin' camp fire. I hadnoticed the herd when I came along in, an' they was dandies; big solidfive-year-olds, hog fat, but they wasn't contented--kept fidgetin'around. When I struck the fire, a fair haired young feller was readin'a book, two Greasers an' a half blood Injun was playin' poker with anold bunch o' whiskers 'at wasn't a ridin' man at all while the cook hadturned in without washin' the dishes. 

"If anybody's at home, " sez I, "I'd like to ask permission to set downan' rest. "

"Why, certainly, make yourself at home, " sez the fair hair. The balanceo' the bunch only give me the side eye. 

"Would you need any more help?" I asked, most respectful. 

"No, thank you, " sez the young feller, "I think we'll make it allright. "

"You have a nice bunch here, " sez I, "an' I thought perhaps you mightwant to get 'em to market in good shape. I am referrin' to the cows"--Icontinued, kind o' takin' the cover off my voice. 

"We expect to get them to market in good shape, " sez the fair-hair, uncoilin' his dignity. I rolled a cigarette. 

"What makes you think we won't get them to market in good shape?" sezhe. 

"'Cause your cook's got a sour temper, an' the' ain't no one bossin'the job--'at knows how, " sez I, mild an' open-faced, an' lookin' intothe fire. The fair-hair straightens up with a snort, while thepot-openers begin to cuss sort o' growly. 

"Where are you from an' how long have you been making my business yourown?" asked the fair-hair. 

"Oh, I come from up no'th a ways; but I ain't ever made your businessmine. I never saw your outfit until twenty minutes ago--but I've seenother outfits. "

"Can you handle cattle?" sez he. 

"Yes, " sez I--"and men. "

"Well, I think you can join us, " sez he, kind o' slow. "The cattledon't seem to be as gentle as they did when we started. I think it isbecause we are short handed and have to be a little too rough withthem. " I didn't answer. 

"Well, do you want the job?" sez he. 

"Who's the foreman?" sez I. 

"I am in charge, " he answers stiff like. 

"You're the owner, I know, but who's in charge o' the men?"

"I take full supervision, " sez he. 

"I don't want the job, " sez I. 

"All right, " he snaps, "I don't recall havin' sent for you. "

"No offense, " sez I, "but up my way it's generally polite to inquireabout the appetite. If any one was to ask me, I'd say I was hungry. Ifany one was to urge me, I'd be obliged to meet up with a little food. "I looked him gently in the eyes. He dropped his an' looked put out. 

"Tell you the truth, I'm havin' a dog's time of it with my cook. He'sgone to bed an' I don't think there's a thing to eat. "

"What'll the night riders do?" I asked. 

"Oh, they'll raise Cain as usual, but that's all the good it'll do 'em. "

"That ain't all they'll do, " sez I. "Chances are they'll take it out onthe cattle, an' they may--they may even go so far as to get the cattleto cut up until the day shift has to turn out an' help quiet 'em. "

"Is that the reason?" he asked, his face lightin' up. 

"I don't know for sure, but that's my first guess, " sez I. 

He looked down at his feet an' I looked him over. He was a nicelookin', well built boy, but he was up against it for about the firsttime, an' I saw his finish. "I would take the job o' foreman, " I sez. 

"I hire you--ten a month advance over regular wages, an' you to beginto-morrow. "

"No, " sez I, "me to begin to-night--with supper. "

"All right, " sez he, laughin', "help yourself. "

I walked over to the cook wagon, as I hit the shadow I loosened myguns, an' the very minute they slipped in their holsters mylone-sickness rolled off like a cloud an' the hurtin' melted out o' myinwards. They was somethin' rolled up in a Navajo under the cook wagonan' I sized it up. It appeared to be seven feet long, but I kicked itin the ribs. Things began to happen at once. A huge creature of a manslid out on the opposite side of the cook wagon, an' when he camearound the tail of it he was holdin' a bear gun so it would explodewithout much ceremony. He was usin' some language an' his speed was athing to covet; but I just stood with my back to the fire, waitin'until I could get a chance to introduce myself. He was in the light, an' he was enough to make a man reform. Nigger, Greaser, Injun--oh, hewas the hardest lookin' specimen I had ever seen, an' the think thatoccurred to me was that some time a woman had rocked him to sleepan'--kissed him. That's the queer thing about me. My face don't change, but I never got into a mess in my life without some outlandish, foreignidea poppin' into my head an' tryin' to hog my attention. 

My attention wasn't much required just at that moment anyhow. He heldthe bear gun loose in his hand an' swore on like the roar of a mountaintorrent. Once I glanced over my shoulder an' saw a pained look on thefair-hair's face, while the ante-up bunch was grinning wickedly an'waitin' for my finish. Me lookin' younger an' easier at that time thanI really was, proved a big thing in my favor. Well, as soon as themongrel cook had cussed himself clean an' dry, he yells at me, "Who inthe hell are you an' what in the hell do you want?"

"I'm the new foreman, " sez I in a school-girl voice, "an' I want mysupper. "

He wasn't prepared for it an' dropped his gun to his side while hebegan to narrate false an' profane eulogies about my breedin' an' pasthistory. He took a few steps toward me so as I wouldn't lose none ofhis remarks, an' all of a sudden I swung half around an' kicked him inthe jaw with my heel, which was a trick I had learned from a Frenchsailor. It took me forty-five minutes to come to, after I received myfirst an' only lesson, an' I wasted a full year huntin' for thatsailor. Any time durin' the first six months I'd have ventilated himcompletely, but after that I wanted to thank him, 'cause I had learnedan' tried the trick by that time, an' it was worth all it cost. 

But this cook was no wax figger, an' he only lay quiet a moment beforehe began to roll around an' groan. I picked up a neck yoke what washandy, an' I went for him. I hit him in the butt o' the ear an' on theback o' the neck an' in the center o' the forehead--I tried him out inall the most stylish places, until finally he dozed off. 

"Bring me a lantern--you man with the whiskers, " I called out. 

He riz to his feet like a machine. "It ain't filled, " he said. 

"I don't know much about fillin' LANTERNS, " I remarked to him kindly, "but I have had some experience in fillin' other things. Bring me thelantern, filled an' lighted--and don't keep me waitin'. "

I then noticed two fellers a hoss back. "Do you belong to this outfit?"sez I. 

"Yes, we're the night riders, " answered one o' 'em stickin' up hishands, which plan seemed good to the other one also. 

"What are you doin' here this time o' the evenin'?" I asked 'em. 

"We heard the racket an' we--we thought something was wrong, an' we--wecame in to see--"

"That's all right, " sez I, "I'm the new foreman. You don't need to putyour hands up every time we meet, but I want you to understand rightnow that I don't want those cows pestered any more. This outfit isgoing to run smoother from this on, an' as soon as the cook feelsbetter he is going to cook my supper. I'll see that there is plenty o'coffee for your midnight lunch, an' I want you to enjoy yourselves--butI don't stand for no nonsense. "

I made a motion with my eye an' they rode back to the herd, an' by thattime the lantern had arrived, an' I poked around in the cook'sbelongings an' confiscated two shootin' irons an' a wicked Mexicanknife. Then I threw a bucket o' water in his face an' he came out of it. 

"How do you feel?" I asked him. 

"Oh, hell, " he moaned, an' he meant every word of it, an' more. 

"Now see here, cook, " sez I, in a mild voice, "I hate trouble, an' Idon't intend to be pestered with it. Do you know how to cook?"

"Yes, " he muttered. 

"Speak out free an' easy, " I sez; "no blood at all is better than badblood, an' if you don't feel able to forgive me an' go about your workin a friendly way, why I'll feel compelled to remove you from ourmidst. You're not injured none, only bruised a bit, and I'm famishedfor my supper. I'm always quick tempered when I'm hungry an' I'mgettin' hungrier every minute. Are you ready to begin?"

He slowly got up to his feet an' looked at me. "Come over to the firean' have a good look, " I said, as though we were old friends. 

He followed me over to the fire an' he sure gave me a lookover. "You'rebigger'n I thought you was, an' you've been purty well seasoned. Iain't never yet been licked without a gun an' I didn't think it couldbe did. Will you fight me again--without weapons?" "I'll never fightyou again but once, " sez I, an' my lips were smiling, but all of asudden a hatred of his cruel, evil eyes came over me, an' my lipscurled back over my teeth. "If you had known I was your foreman an' hadmixed with me I'd 'a' killed you a few moments ago. The very next timeyou cross me I'll kill you. I sleep light--when I do sleep. Are yougoin' to cook my supper?"

"Yes, you blasted rattler, " sez he, with a grin, "you're the killin'kind an' you're the killin' age, but I know when the jig's up. I knowyour name all right, but hanged if I can see through your game. I ain'tgoin' to try, either. As long as you choose to play at bein' foreman, I'll play at bein' cook, an' when you start on again, I'm willin' tojoin ya. I'll get your supper in a jiffey, Kid. "

I sauntered over to the fair-hair, tryin' to act as if this was anevery day occurrence. He had never changed his position all through it, although his hands were tremblin'. 

I sat down beside him an' he chuckled softly--I liked that chuckle. Itwas boyish an' friendly, but most of all it showed a good foundation. He was new to the game, but he was the kind that learned. 

"I suppose I'm purt nigh as old as you, " he blurted out. 

"In some things, mebbe--not in the cattle business, " sez I. 

"No, " he grinned, "nor in the man-handlin' business, but I want to tellyou right now that I have enjoyed this evenin's performance, no matterwhat happens from it. I ain't carryin' much cash with me, " he addedafter a moment's thought. 

"I ain't carryin' any, " sez I. 

He looked into my face again an' gave his chuckle. A feller couldn'thelp but echo when that fair-hair chuckled. "I heard the cook say heknew you an' he called you Kid--I suppose you are the Pan Handle Kid?"he asked. 

"I didn't know the' was a Pan Handle Kid, but they're pretty common an'they're all a good bit alike. Forced to begin killin' before they'reable to put the right value on life, an' once they begin, no way tostop. Now I'll tell you confidential that I'm not the Pan Handle, norany other kind of a kid, although I once was the makin' of one. Still, it will make matters easier if this bunch thinks I am, so we'll justlet it go at that. My name is Happy Hawkins; what might I call you?"

"Happy?"--he opens his eyes like saucers an' then he laughs like a boy. "Well, I watched you goin' after the cook with the neck yoke an' Inever in the world would have called you Happy. "

"Well, you'll see me trail in this bunch o' beef cattle, smooth an'contented an' with every man jack rollin' fat an' dimpled to theknuckles. They've had their last fuss. I'll feed 'em an' I'll work 'emfrom now on, an' you won't know 'em when we hit the market. Where youheadin' for, K. C. ?

"Yes. My name is Mister Jamison--James Jamison. "

"This is a warm climate, " sez I. 

"Yes, " he sez sort o' surprised, "it is. "

"It has an awful meltin' effect on names, " I continued. 

He chuckled again. "I'm mighty glad you arrived, Happy, " sez he. "Whatdo you suppose'll happen to my name?"

"Well" I sez, "if you get yours before they learn to like you, it'llprobably be James Jamison on the headboard, but if you make good, it'llbe Jim Jimison on Sundays an' jest plain Jim for every day. " "Thatsuits me, " sez he. "I'm entered for the whole race, an' I'm glad to getoff as soon as possible. "

"Supper's ready, " called the cooks, an' when I gave a whoop an' boltedfor it he giggled like a big fat mammy. I had turned up the side of hisnature 'at would be most useful to our business. I took a sip o' thecoffee while he kept his eyes glued on me. "Come over here, Jim, " Icalled. 

Jim came over lookin' a little anxious. "Taste that stuff, " sez I. 

He tasted it an' his face changed as though he had caught a vision ofthe better world, but I kept my face like the face of an angry bear. "What do you call this stuff?" I asked the cook, an' his face grew darkas a thunder cloud. 

"That's coffee!" he roared. 

"When was the pot cleaned?" I asked, with my brows drawn down to thebridge of my nose. 

"Not more'n ten minutes ago, " he yelled; and I got up an' holding mycup in my hand I danced about twenty different dances, while that cooklike to split his sides laughin'. He was a cook, the' was no gettin'around it, an' Jim, he turned in an' fed his face while first hischeeks would dimple with the gladness o' the moment, an' then his eyeswould sadden as he thought of all the good eatin' he had missed by notknowin' the proper kind o' diplomacy to use in handlin' a cook. An'me!--say, I mowed away until my skin begun to creak under the strainan' I couldn't roll my eyes more'n two degrees. Then I got up an' Ishook hands with the cook. 

"Cook, " I sez, "no matter how devilish wicked you've been in the past, an' no matter how faithful you live up to your inner nature in thefuture, you're sure of a number nine crown an' a spotless robe jest ferthis one meal"; an' the cook, he fairly glistened in the firelight. 

Well, this was about all they was to that expedition. We all got to beso friendly with one another that by the time we had trailed that bunchinto the stock yards, we was like one big family of elder brothers, an'Jim, he teased me into goin' back to the Pan Handle with him. 

Jim was an Englishman--a younger brother. Up to that time I had allussupposed 'at bein' a younger brother was somewhat in the nature of anaccident, an' not a thing to be hurled in a feller's teeth; but over inEngland it's looked upon as a heinius crime, an' the only thing ayounger brother can do to square himself is to get out o' sight. That'show Tim happened to be in the Texas Pan Handle with a tidy littlefortune his aunt had left him, tucked away in a good-sized, well-stocked ranch. 

I took a good deal o' pains with him, 'cause he didn't have nothin' buta book education, an' it wasn't altogether easy to get him to see thetrue value o' things. He used to talk about Eton an' Oxford purtysolemn, until one night he helped me mill the herd durin' a Norther', an' after that he took more kindly to the vital things o' life, but hewas a man, Jim was, an' he kept raisin' my wages right along until Igot that opulent feelin'. I never could stand prosperity those days;just as soon as I had a weight o' money 'at I could notice, I begun togrow restless, an' nothin' 'at Jim could do or say had much effect. 

If things hadn't run in oil, I'd a-stayed right along, I reckon; but itgot so 'at the' wasn't a hitch from week to week, an' I couldn't standit. I never had a better friend in the world'n that cook was after he'dsaved my life. 

Jim had a kid sort o' chorin' around the place an' keepin' us fromgettin' old an' stupid. One nice bright winter's day the kid went outfor a ride; his pony came lopin' in just at sun down in the face of ablizzard, an' I went out to look for the kid. I found him trudgin'toward home an' cussin' his luck somethin' terrible. I put him upbehind me an' by that time the wind was shootin' needles o' sleet intomy face 'till I couldn't see a yard ahead. The kid snuggled up to mean' went to sleep, an' I gave the pony his head an' trusted toluck--no, come to think about it, that night I trusted to somethin'higher than luck, 'cause it was a perfect demon of a night. 

The pony dropped from a lope to a walk an' then he put his nose to theground an' fairly shuffled along. I was wearin' sheepskin with the woolon, but after a time the needles began to creep in an' I grew numb as astone, while my flesh seemed shook loose from my bones, an' it hurt meto breathe. Oh, Lord, but it was cold! If it hadn't 'a' been for thekid I'd have gotten down an' walked alongside the pony, but as it was, he was out o' the wind an' sleepin' peaceful, so I just sat an' took it. 

At last I sort o' drowsed off myself. I didn't sleep, but I wasn'tawake; I seemed to be back at the Diamond Dot an' playin' in a littlesheltered dell with Barbie. She had made up a game called FairyPrincess; sometimes she was the Fairy Princess an' sometimes I was, an'it was a mighty amusin' sort of a game, but different from most o' thegames I was familiar with. 

Well, that night out in the Texas blizzard I was playin' that game withlittle Barbie, an' all of a sudden--smash! Before I knowed what hadhappened we had been run into an' knocked down a ravine an' both thekid an' the pony was lyin' on top o' me. The kid got up an' begun tocuss as usual, but the pony never moved. I'd a heap sight rather hadthe conditions reversed, 'cause the pony was on my right leg an' myright leg was on a sharp stone. 

"Shut up, kid, " sez I, "this ain't no time for such talk. Here, youcurl up alongside the pony an' I'll spread part o' my coat over you. "

That kid was a home-maker all right; nothin' ever surprised him, an'wherever he lit he made himself comfortable. In two minutes he wasasleep, while I began to puzzle it out. We were in a sheltered spot an'the wind swept above us; but it was so dark that you couldn't see teninches. The wind was from the no'th, an' I went over every bit o'landscape in the country until at last I figgered out the' was only oneplace in Texas that filled the bill. A path swung around a crag an'the' was a shelf of stone ten feet below it an' eight feet wide, thenit cut off sheer, fifty feet to the rocky bank of a creek. I reachedout with my hand an' felt the edge of it, an' it give me an awfulchill. I don't like to come quite so close. 

After a time the wind veered around a little more to the east an' thenit sucked up through the cut an' I began to freeze. I didn't care agreat deal 'cause it stopped the horrid hurtin' in my leg; but the deadpony began to cool, an' I knew it was only a question o' minutes. Finally I awoke the kid. "Where is your gun, kid?" I sez. 

"I shot all my catridges tryin' to bring some one out on a pony, " sezthe kid, drowsily, an' then he dozes off again. 

We were only a mile from the ranch house; it was again the wind an' itwasn't much use to waste ammunition, but I finally got out my gun an'begun to shoot at intervals. 

"What the deuce you makin' that racket for?" grunted the kid at thethird shot. I boxed his ears and went on shootin' until at last thecold went through sheepskin an' woolens an' hide an' flesh, an' I grewwarm an' contented; an' the next I knew, the cook was rubbin' my wristsan' pourin' hot coffee into me. I was purty mad at bein' dragged backto earth an' grumbled about it free an' hearty, but the cook keptcroonin' to me the same as if I'd been a baby: "Neveh mind, honey, neveh mind; ol' Monody'll bring ya around all right. Take another sipo' coffee, chile, that's right, that's right. "

It took me quite a spell before I could tell whether I was alive ornot, 'cause while the cook had changed a heap since I'd first met upwith him, I'd never heard any such talk as this; but after a time Icame out of it an' the anguish I underwent gettin' back to life wasn'tnowise worth the experiment. 

It had stopped blowin', but it was colder than ever, an' at last Ibegan to take enough interest in things to want 'em to get settled oneway or another. As soon as I was able to think along a straight line, the cook would give a heave to the pony an' I would give myself a jerk. The lantern shed a splash o' light on the shelf, but the jump-offlooked like the mouth o' the pit, an' I jerked purty tol'able careful. At last I was out, an' if you'll believe it, my leg was only broke intwo places. I thought it was broken clear off. I couldn't get back upthe cliff to the trail any way we could figger, so the cook said Ishould roll up in the Navajos he'd brought an' he'd take the kid an' goback an' bring a couple o' the boys an' pack me in. 

The kid had found the blankets all right an' had rolled himself up, an'we had to shake the stuffin' out of him to rouse him again. Hecomplained most bitter when he found he had to go back to the ranchhouse; but at last they got started an' it wasn't long before they hadme there too, an' next day Phil McLaughlin rode over an' brought out adoctor who lined up my bones as good as new, while Jim told me aboutthe cook. 

Old Monody was like a salamander for heat, an' you couldn't drag himaway from the fire in the winter time; but when I didn't return hebegan to worry: "If the' was a man left in this outfit I reckon he'd goout an' get him, " he'd say scornful. "Riders! you call yourselvesriders? You're loafers an' eaters, that's what you are! I'm a cook, butif nobody else has the nerve to go an' git him, I'll go myself. "

Jim started to go at last, but he wouldn't let him. "You got the grit, Jim, but you ain't got the night sense yet. You stay where you are oryou'd be on our hands too. " Well, he steamed up an' down makin' new hotcoffee an' drinkin' it by the bowl. All of a sudden he give a scream:"Oh, oh! there he goes over the cliff! Get me a pony--get me a pony, while I wrap up some coffee an' pick out some blankets!" Well, the cookwas so blame wild by this time 'at they was glad to get shut of him; sothey rigged him out an' he rode a bee line right to me, an' what ledhim you can figger out for yourselves. He was a queer cook, but afterthat night he was different: he acted as though he had adopted me; hepetted me an' spoiled me an' you can talk all you want to about theflesh-pots of Egypt--why, that cook could fix beans eleven differentways, an' each one better'n the other. 

But while I was lyin' there waitin' for my leg to knit up, I keptthinkin' o' the little lass back at the Diamond Dot, an' when I gotabout again, I knew I was signed for a trip No'th. 

 The cook was mighty good to me while I was backin' it; he used todeal out fussy little fixin's 'at kept the appetite an' the fever bothdown, an' when they wasn't no one around he used to pat out my pillersan' oncet he smoothed back my hair. He cut out his cussin' too, an' heused to line up the kid for it. 

"You're from the South, ain't ya, Happy?" sez he to me one day. 

"Not so you could notice, " sez I. "I reckon this is the southest I evergot before. "

"Hu, " sez the cook, "Texas ain't south. Texas is just the rubbish heapo' this whole country. Where did you hook up to that word 'reckon'?"

"I dunno, " sez I, thinkin' back. "A feller just catches words like themumps, I suppose; but my pap, he used to use it right often. "

"Where did your folks come from?" sez the cook. 

"Oh, they come from Kentucky, an' before that from Virginia an' No'thCarolina, an' before that they came from Scotch Irish an' English, an'go clear back to Adam an' you'll find us Hawkinses was a ramblin' crew, I reckon; but what on earth you drivin' at, Monody, an' where on earthdid your line hail from?"

He sat there a moment with lights an' shades dartin' over his uglyface, which somehow wasn't ugly to me any more, an' at last he said: "Ihave the blood of an Injun chief an' an African king an' a Spanishnobleman in my veins, an'--"

"Lord, man, you ought to let some of it out, " I interrupted. "You'llhave an eruption in your in'ards some day 'at'll blow you into amillion pieces. "

"No, I got 'em all whipped out now, Happy, an' I reckon 'at you did it. You 're the only man I ever met 'at I ain't once felt like killin'. "

"It's pleasant to think o' what a good neighbor you've been all yourlife, cook; but I'm glad you've turned over since I met up with you. Anyhow, you've been a heap o' comfort to me, an' anything I got is onyour list too, don't you never forget it. "

But just the same, as soon as I got up an' around again, I had aterrible tuggin' from the no'th an' I couldn't resist it. I'd be makin'plans for the summer an' then all of a sudden I'd find myself sayin, "What in the world do you reckon 'at that child is doin' now. She'll beeight years old shortly, an' I simply have to see her on her nextbirthday, even if she don't see me. " At last I couldn't stand it nolonger, so I told the boys I had to cut, an' it fell like a stone on alamp chimney; but the cook, he took it harder'n any one else. I likedthe boys an' I liked Jim an' I liked the job; but there was thattuggin' allus at my heart, an' in the end I set a day. Jim, he made meall kinds of offers, 'cause things were gettin' easy with him; but whenI made it clear to him, he saw how it was an' he sez: "I know 'atyou'll come back to me some day, Happy, an' if you'll settle down, youcan be a rich man. I've kept back five hundred dollars for you 'at Ihaven't mentioned in your wages, an' you can take your pick o' thecolts an' just as soon as you've had your little flier I want you back;we all want you back. "

It's a comfortin' feelin' to know 'at you're goin' to be missed; but Icouldn't savvy that cook. He had one big tearin' time of it an' sluicedhimself out with gin an' dug up his old profanity, an' then he simmereddown an' just cooked himself into a new record. Gee! it was hard toseparate from that mess table; but I had set my day an' the' was nogoin' back. 

Jim had a black Arabian stallion an' a couple o' high grade mares an'he was showin' up something fancy in the hoss line. He raised the coltsjust like range ponies, an' while they wasn't quite so tough when itcame to livin' on sage brush an' pleasant memories, they could eat upthe ground like a prairie fire, an' they was gentle. I bought a silvertrimmed bridle an' some Mexican didoes, an' then I said good-bye to allof 'em except the cook--he wasn't there. 

I hunted for him an hour; but he had so many peculiar ways 'at I justlet it go at that an' finally gave him up; so I left him a niftypresent an' pulled out with about a thousand yellow ones in my belt an'the best mount in the West. 

I hadn't gone more than two miles before I turned a corner an' cameface to face with ol' Monody. He was settin' on a big bald-faced roan, an' he had a serious look on his face. "Well, I wondered if you wasgoin' to let me go away without sayin' good-bye, " sez I, tryin' to talklight an' easy. 

"I'd be apt to, " sez he. "Why, I've been peacefuller since you beenhere'n ever I was in my life before, an' it ain't likely I'd let youscoot out an' leave me. I'm goin' along. "

Well, what do you think of that! Me startin' up to where I wasn't sureof a welcome an' takin' such a tow as ol' Monody along with me. Iargued with him for an hour, an' then I got hot an' told him thatmerely savin' my life didn't give him no mortgage on me an' that hecouldn't nowise keep up with me, an' by the time he reached the DiamondDot, the chances were 'at I'd be on my way back to the Lion Head. Hedidn't waste no time in words, just sat sour an' moody, an' every tineI'd stop he'd growl out, "I don't care where you go or how fast you goor nothin' at all about it. I'm goin' along, an' I'll catch up with yousometime. "

I sure gave him a chase; I wanted the black hoss to show up well when Ilanded, but I sent him along pretty steady an' took extra care of him. Ol' Monody had picked out the toughest pony at the Lion Head, an' hehad good hands, but he never sighted me till the night I reached theranch and was busy wipin' Starlight's legs. "I got some news for ya, "sez ol' Monody, gettin' down slow from his leg-weary roan. "I'll tellit to ya while you 're eatin supper, "--an' I was sure glad to seehim--an' glad to eat food again. 

CHAPTER THREE

UNDER FIRE

As soon as I finished takin' care o' Starlight, I give Monody's mount alook-over. The old bald-face was whipcord an' steel; but he lookedpurty near ready to own up. 

"Monody, confound you, " I sez. "What the deuce did you hammer this oldskin over the road like this for?"

"That's my pony, " he growled. 

"Since when?"

"Since I bought him, that's since when. "

"When did you buy him?"

"It ain't none o' your business when I bought him. I bought him themo'nin' you pulled out. "

"What did you pay for him?"

"Are you goin' to talk about that ol' cayuse all night?" he snorts, gettin' wrought up. 

"I'm goin' to talk about him until I find out about him, " sez I, "an'you might as well come out of it an' tell what the' is to tell. "

"I don't have to tell nothin' about him. He neveh belonged to you. Jim, he owed me some money on my wages so I just took the pony for themoney. An' now I hope you're through pesterin' me. "

"How much did he owe ya?" sez I. 

"Now you gone about far enough with this!" yells Monody. "I don't knowhow much he owed me, an' I don't care. I reckon he owed me more'n thepony's worth, 'n if he didn't he can just pertend he raised my wageslast month. "

 "Why didn't you let him raise your wages a little more, an' bringalong a bunch o' five-year-olds too?" sez I, grinning. I was mightyglad to see the old scamp, an' I knew he had drawed the worst end o'the bargain; but I wanted him to understand that it was embarrassin' togo again my wishes without my consent. He had the pot o' coffee justready to set on the rock where we was goin' to eat, an' all of a suddenhe straightened up an' shot a scowl into me. "Look here, Happy. " sezhe, "I don't care a sky blue flap doodle for the whole Jim Jimisonoutfit! I told you I was comin' along, an' I come. I tells you againthat I'm goin' wherever you go; but if you don't shet up about thatroyally sequestered ol' ball faced camel, I'll dash this scaldin' hotcoffee--right on the ground!"

Well, I fell on my knees an' begged him to spare me, an' I kept it upuntil he was gigglin' with laughter--he had a funny way o'laughin'--an' then we sat on the stone an'--well, the' never was ahuman mortal 'at was qualified to carry water for ol' Monody's cookin'. 

"What's your news, Monody?" I sez, after I 'd satisfied myself that Icouldn't swaller another crumb. 

"You're headin' for the Diamond Dot, ain't ya?" sez he. 

"This is a corner o' the Diamond Dot range, " sez I, lollin' back an'puffin' slow an' comfortable at my pipe. 

"The pony corral stands at the mouth of a little canon, don't it?"

"Yes, " sez I. 

"An' the cook house is to the right of it?"

"Yes, " sez I. 

"An' the ranch house is kind o' sprawly with--"

"Look here, Monody, " sez I, interruptin', "this ain't no news. What areyou gettin' at?"

"You got friends there, ain't ya?" sez he. 

"I got one friend anyhow, " sez I, "but as long as you've insisted ontaggin' along after me, you'll see the place an' you'll see my friend;though I somehow doubt if you'll be invited in for a meal. "

"Is your friend a lady?" sez Monody. 

"Oh, no, " sez I, sarcastic, "she 's a two-year-old heifer. I wouldn'tthink o' goin' this distance just to call on a lady. "

"How old is she?" asked Monody. 

"Now you look here, you old pest, " sez I, "if you're just tryin' to geteven with me about the bald-faced roan, why cut it; but if you've gotanything to tell, why tell it, 'cause I'm gettin' sleepy. She'll beeight years old to-morrow. "

Old Monody shook with silent laughter for a moment. "A lady!" sez he. Then he sobered an' sez, "Is it your child?"

I heaved a rock at him which he dodged, an' then I sez, "You wicked ofbeast you, do I look old enough to have an eight-year-old daughter?"

"Sometimes you do an' sometimes you don't. You're one o' these fellers'at ain't got no age o' their own, but just age up accordin' to what'sgoin' on, "--an' ol' Monody stumbled on a bit o' truth when he saidthis, an' it's still true. 

"Well, what are you gettin' at?" sez I. 

"The Diamond Dot is goin' to be raided to-night, " sez he. 

I jumped to my feet. "Who by?" I sez. 

"You're fifteen years older right now than you was two minutes ago, "sez Monody. "I stumbled onto Bill Brophy's gang last night. Bill hasseven o' the lowest grade wolves 'at ever wore man-hide--I--I used toknow Bill down in the Territory, an' Bill he thought I was still on thegrab. He put me on. I'm supposed to be at the pony corral at midnightto turn the ponies loose an' bottle up the house gang in their shack. Brophy's bad medicine; you'd better pass up your eight-year-old ladyfriend an' come on back to the Lion Head with ol' Monody. "

I walked up an' down a time or two, thinkin' it over. "We can rideright into the ravine 'at leads to the pony corral from here, " sez I. "It's a good average four hours' ride. Now I can do it in three onStarlight; the old bald-face couldn't do it at all to-night--"

"Look at him now, " sez Monody. There he was eatin' grass as lively as acricket. "Well, you follow as you can, only you'd better lay low unlessI whistle the Lion Head signal. If I get time to break you gentle tothe home gang, it'll be all right; but you ain't apt to be due for acordial welcome, not when strangers to you are lookin' for hold-ups. "

He had tossed the saddles an' bridles on the hosses by this time, an'we left our outfit lyin' on the rocks. We hit the saddles in the sametick an' settled into a swing. Big an' heavy as ol' Monody was, he wasa light rider, an' the bald-face hung at my cinch for the best part ofan hour an' then we slowly oozed away from him. The stars were all fullpower that night, an' a feller could see most as plain as if the'd beena moon. 

It smelt good to be back at the old place again, an' my blood wasracin' through my veins till I fair tingled. Finally I reached thecanon an' began to ride careful. It was only about eleven; but I didn'twant any o' Brophy's gang to take a pot shot at me. All of a suddensomething moved on a little grassy shelf on the side of the cliff. Starlight shied off to the left an' my gun flew up over my head, readyto drop on whatever it happened to be. My eyes were drillin' into thegloom when a mite of a creature with her hands clasped rose up an'said, "Oh, Happy, Happy! is it really you? an' ridin' on the black hosswith the silver trimmed leather!"

"Barbie, child!" I cried, "what on earth you doin' out here this timeo' night an' all by your lone?"

"I just couldn't sleep, Happy, " she said, comin' to the edge o' theshelf an' sittin' down with her little bare feet swingin' over; "I gotto wonderin' how it would feel just when the birthday was a-comin' on;so I sneaked out here, an' I was just beginnin' to feel it when youhove into sight. I been thinkin' o' you lots lately, Happy. "

"You little minx, you, " sez I, "I doubt if you've thought of me twicesince I been away, while I've been thinkin' of you every minute. Butcome, jump down behind me an' we'll hurry on. I want you to go in an'wake Daddy up an' tell him I've got something mighty important to sayto him, while I scurry over an' wake up the home gang. "

"The home gang ain't here, " sez Barbie. "The ponies vamoosed thisafternoon--they nearly always do the days I turn Mr. H. Hawkins withthem, --that's what I call the pinto. He's an awful scamp; but the bestpony on the place. "

"Then I reckon they'll bring 'em around the twist an' down this canon. Now you get down here an' sneak into the house while I stake outStarlight in the big cathedral--see how well I remember everything. "

I set the child down, rode Starlight into a big open nook with a narrowmouth, an' then hustled into the house. Old Cast Steel was standin' inthe dining room in his stockin'-feet with a gun in each hand an' aquestion in his eyes. "Get ready for a raid, Jabez, " sez I. "Who from?"sez he. 

"From the Brophy gang, " sez I. 

"How do you know?" sez he. "They are due to arrive here at midnight, Jabez, " sez I. "I don't know why; but I think we'd better get ready for'em now an' argue about it to-morrow. "

"I know why, " sez lie. "One of 'em stole one o' my ponies an' startedto run off a bunch o' my own cows with it. I strung him up an' he said'at Bill Brophy'd get even with me for it. That was two months ago, an'the' hasn't been a minute since 'at I was so bad prepared for 'em. Howmany's in the gang?"

"Bill an' seven others. I found out through the meanest lookin' mortalyou ever set eyes on. He's a giant, nearly black, an' the ugliestcritter you ever set eyes on; but he's white inside. He'll be along assoon as he can get here--don't shoot him. "

"I ain't apt to shoot any help this night, " grins Jabez. 

"If it wasn't for the little girl, Happy, I'd be right satisfied tohave it out with Bill; but I hate to think of what may happen to her. How'll we fix for 'em?"

"Get in the dug-out cellar, " sez I, for I'd been plannin' it all along. 

"I reckon they'll burn the house down, " sez Jabez; "but I'd rather theydestroyed the whole blame outfit than to have anything happen to thelittle lass. "

"Where's Melisse?" sez I. "She left, " sez Jabez; an' I hadn't time tolearn particulars. 

By this time we had everything barricaded, an' gettin' Barbie we made arun for the dug-out. It was only two hundred yards; but we hadn't leftthe shadow of the house before a rifle sings out followed by tworevolver shots. The' was a big pile o' winter wood in the L of theranch house, an' without sayin' a word I swung Jabez with little Barbiein his arms back of the wood pile. 

We didn't shoot much, although the gang kept pepperin' at the wood pilepurty frequent from behind the cook house. "They'll fire the housepurty soon, " mutters Jabez, after we'd beat'em off on their secondrush. "We'll have to try for the dug-out sooner or later. "

Just at this minute the six notes o' the Lion Head signal floated in. "There's ol' Monody, " sez I. "I wish Barbie was safe an' we'd show'em amerry time of it. " I answered the call an' the' was silence for a longtime. Presently we heard a rattlin' volley, an' the cook rolled aroundthe corner o' the house an' joined us. 

"The next time they rush, " sez Jabez, "we'll charge out after 'em an'try for the dug-out. They won't monkey much longer. "

They didn't monkey at all. Two of 'em had broke into the house from infront, an' the next we knew a window had been flung open at our backan' we would a-got it right then, but Monody heard 'em, an' as soon asthe window shutter flew back he emptied his gun inside. At the sametime the remainin' six charged in a body, an' for the next few minuteswe was some busy. But we beat'em off, an' as they scurried for shelterto load, we made for the dug-out; me in front, ol' Jabez in the center, an' Monody closin' up the rear. 

Just before we reached it, a revolver cracked in the doorway o' thedug-out, I felt a sting in the left shoulder, spun around and fell, butjumped up just as Jabez changed directions for the cook shack. It wasonly a step from the dug-out an' we rushed in, slammed the door, dropped in the bar, an' turned to face a man with two guns on us. Monody dropped on him, an' I was about to shoot from the hip when ofJabez sez, "By George, Jim, I'd forgot all about you--we can surefix'em now. These is friends, Jim. " Jim was a savage lookin' brute an'I eyed him purty close. "This feller is cookin' while Flapjack is onhis bender, Happy, " sez Jabez. 

The cook shack was built out o' pine logs at the bottom, an' fixed sothe upper sides'd swing out like awnings in hot weather. We felt purtycomfortable. The' was a square window at each end an' one on the sidefacin' the house; the stove was on the other side. We made littleBarbie sit in the corner behind the stove. Jabez took the window facin'the house, me the one facin' the dug-out, an' the sub-cook facin' thecorral. I could shoot cleaner'n Monody, so he stood by to do myloadin', an' we proceeded to waste ammunition. It's enough to make theoldest man the' is reckless, when you think of the weight o' lead goodaimers can throw without spillin' any blood. 

After a bit things grew quiet, an' then we saw a small freight-wagonbackin' down to the door with a lot o' wood across the back of it. Jabez came over to my window an' we shot into an' under the wagon; butit still backed up. The' was a little grade down to the cook shack, an'after they got it started the' wasn't much to do but guide. They hadfixed a stick o' wood pointin' straight back from the rear axle, an'when it hit the door the bar broke an' the door flew off its hinges an'clear across the room. 

But gettin' the wagon away for their rush was a different matter, an'we all shot at one another purty regardless. Once I reached back myhand for a fresh gun an' failed to get any. I turned around, an' therewas Monody holdin' the sub-cook's right wrist with his left hand an'grippin' at his throat with his right. The' was a horrid look on thesub-cook's face, an' just as I turned to interfere, Monody gave awrench which tore out the cook's wind-pipe, gave him a sling whichlanded him under the table, an' handed me a fresh gun. I was somebothered about this; but that wa'n't no time to hold an investigation, so I begun shootin' at flashes again. 

"How's your catridges holdin' out?" sez Jabez. 

"Ain't many left, " sez Monody. 

"I'm about cleaned myself, " sez Jabez. "Where's Jim?"

"I think he's about once through, " sez I, an' we proceeded to shootmore economical. 

Purty soon they quit firin' again an' then the freight wagon started upthe hill. They had put their ropes on the tongue an' were draggin' itout with ponies. We knew what that meant an' took a brace. 

The lull what followed was the hardest part o' the whole business. Ther' wasn't a blasted thing we could do, an' it seemed hours beforethe neat volley came from the corner o' the dug-out. We didn't reply toit, which was most uncommon lucky for us; 'cause first thing we knew, they came rompin' around each corner an' poured in on top of us. Theywas used to fightin' against odds, an' it irritated 'em consid'able totake so long at a job with the odds in their favor. Outside, thestarlight give us a purty fair aim, while they couldn't do more thanguess at us--so we beat 'em off once more. 

"The's only three shots in this gun, " sez Monody, cheerfully, as hehanded my iron back to me. 

"What's that?" sez Jabez. 

"We're about out o' fuel, Jabez, " sez I. 

I heard him grit his teeth in the darkness. "Where is she, Happy?" sezhe. 

"She's still in her corner back of the stove with the shack door infront of her. They won't hurt her, Jabez--no matter what happens, an'the' 's a good fight in us yet. Ol' Monody here don't begin to fighttill the ammunition has give out; so keep your mind easy for the nextrush, " sez I. 

Next moment they surged down on us, shootin' as fast as they could fan. We didn't explode a catridge until they was bunched in the door an'then we emptied out. They cussed an' groaned consid'able; but theysurged on into the cabin, just the same. The smoke was like a cloudinside, an' a newcomer couldn't see an inch; so I backed into my cornerwith my left arm danglin' at my side an' holdin' my gun by the barrel. 

The shootin' stopped in a flash an' the silence hurt a feller's ears. The' was a sloppy, floppin' sound over under the table an' now an'again a low groan. "Fetch the lantern out o' the freight wagon, an'let's chalk up. " said a deep, heavy voice. In about a minute a lightripped its way into darkness an' I never saw a worse sight. Jabez waslyin' face down with a hairy viper on top of him face up. The feller'dbeen pinked in the bridge o' the nose an' it was most horrid ghastly. Two others lay still with their bodies inside the shack an' their legsoutside; while another was lyin' just at my feet. Some one had swattedhim in the temple with a revolver butt; but the sight that just aboutmade me homesick was Jim, the deputy cook. 

Monody hadn't broken the windpipe, an' he wasn't dead yet. It was him'at made the floppin' sound. Oh, it was sickening! Brophy was a finelookin' man--I recognized him from his description right at once--an'he hadn't been even grazed. He looked around cool but quick, an' justabout took it all in, in the snap of a finger. Then he loaded both hisguns before us an' made the feller with the lantern do the same. Afterwhich he looked into Monody's eyes--looked into 'em until Monody's uglyblack face turned ashy; but Brophy hadn't even a scowl, an' when hespoke, his deep voice was steady an' calm. "How did that happen, Monody?" sez he, pointin' to the sub-cook. 

"I--I reckon one o' the boys mistook him in the dark, " sez Monody. 

"I reckon you lie, " sez Brophy. "The' ain't no white man would be beastenough. It's one o' your own heathen tricks. "

I was surprised at the way Brophy talked. I'd allus heard 'at he was arip-snortin' screamer, an' here he was talkin' low an' level like, asif he was conversin' about the weather; but when I looked into Monody'sface an' saw it gray an' quivery, I knew 'at Brophy wasn't no bluffer, whether he yelled or whether he whispered. 

I moved about an inch 'cause my leg was strainin', an' three gunsdropped on me. "Don't try nothin', " sez Brophy. I didn't--I stoodmighty still. 

The man under the table give a gaspy squawk, Brophy dropped on one kneeto look at him, an' I could see him shudder as he looked at the tornthroat. "My God!" he muttered, an' then he started to git up, his voicefairly snarlin' with rage. "Monody, you beast!" he yelled, snap-pin'back the hammer of his gun, "I'll--"

He never finished it. With a queer, guttural cry Monody took a stepforward with his left foot an' kicked him under the chin, lifted himclear from the ground, an' rolled him over, a crumpled an' brokenthing, on top o' the sub-cook The man with the lantern began tofan-shoot into Monody, an' I jumped for him an' hit him in the templewith the butt, o' my gun. He went down with a crash an' the lanternwent out. 

"Monody!" I called. "Monody, are you hurt?" The' wasn't no answer; the'wasn't a sound. I felt like the last man on earth. Then I thought ofthe girl. I waited a moment to quiet my voice, an' then I sez, "Are youall right, little Barbie?" Still the' wasn't no answer, an' I fairlyyelled to her. 

"Yes, I'm all right, Happy, but I want to get out. Are you all right?"Her voice was steady, but it sounded a long ways off. 

"Yes, Honey Bird, I'm all right, " I sez. 

"And is my Daddy all right?" she asked. 

My! but it was a world o' comfort to hear the child's voice again, an'some way I felt unreasonable tickled to think 'at she had asked aboutme first. "Your Daddy ain't here just now, Barbie, " I sez. "You'dbetter just stay where you are until we make sure 'at they're all gone. "

"Well, all right, " she said in the same muffled voice; "but I'd like toget out. "

I hunted through my pockets for a match, but I couldn't find one, an'what I wanted just then was light--Lord, how I did want a light!

And then I heard a tramplin' an' a poundin' as the herd swept down theravine an' into the corral, an' next minute I heard George Hendricksgive the yell he allus give when a job was done, an' I yelledback--yelled till my voice cracked; an' it was the biggest relief Iever had. 

CHAPTER FOUR

PROFESSIONAL DUTY

I kept on yellin' until they got to the cook shack. "What the bloomin'blue blasted blazes is the matter?" sez Spider Kelley. "An' who thefiber fingered flub-dub are ya?"

"Get a light, get a light an' see!" I yells, hatin' to move. 

"It's Happy Hawkins!" yells the whole bunch, an' the tone they used wasall-fired welcome. 

Purty soon they come in with a lantern, an' then they stopped askin'questions. For a moment we all just looked at that floor, an' it wassure a hideous sight. I put my finger on my lips an' pointed to thecorner back of the stove where I'd put the shack door in front o'little Barbie, an' then I motioned for 'em to drag the bodies out. Monody was alive an' he had a satisfied grin on his face when I helpedto carry him out in the air. Jabez never moved, an' the boys lifted himmighty tender--he'd been a good man to work for, spite of his queerways. The two men in the doorway were still gaspin', but the rest ofBrophy's gang had passed on as they had a right to expect, wearin'their boots an' their guns hot in their hands. Brophy himself had hisneck broken, but his face didn't look bad. It was peaceful under thelantern light. 

As soon as they was all lined up on the side porch I took the shackdoor down, but Barbie wasn't there. "Barbie!" I called. "Barbie, child!where are you?"

"Here I am, Happy, " answered a muted voice. "I'm in the oven. Can't Icome out now?" I opened the door to the big oven an' there she was, wrapped in a coat an' all rumpled up as if she'd been sleepin'. "Whoput you in there, child?" I asked. 

"A woman, " she answered. "A woman with a soft, kind voice. She put mein here an' she told me to go to sleep, an' I did sleep most o' thetime. When you'd all shoot together it would wake me up; but then aftera minute I'd doze off again, an' now it's gettin' daylight an' I'meight years old, an' I didn't get to see how it felt comin' on. Where'smy Daddy, an' are all the robbers gone?"

"A woman!" sez I. 

"Yes, an' she had the kindest voice, " sez Barbie. "Ain't she here now?I want to talk to her. I've missed ol' Melisse something fierce--but Inever let on to Daddy. Where is Daddy, Happy?"

"You ask more questions'n an almanac, Barbie, " sez I, tryin' to speakeasy. "I'm goin' to carry you in an' put you to bed, an' you can go ondreamin' about your beautiful lady, an' then in the mornin' I'll tellyou all about what's happened. "

My heart weighed about a ton in my breast as I carried the child intothe house with the gray dawn light drippin' over her an' the still formof her father lyin' around on the side porch. I thought o' the mothershe hadn't never seen, an' I hoped that things was fixed so 'at thatmother could keep on comin' back now an' again to put a dream into herlonely little heart like she'd already done that night; but I carriedher into her little white bedroom hummin' a dance-tune, took off hershoes an' stockin's, covered her up warm, an' told her she could sleeplate, as we wasn't goin' to have an early breakfast. The big lidsclosed down over her bright little eyes, an' purty soon she wasbreathin' soft an' quiet, an' then I left her. I stopped in the doorwayan' looked back, an' my heart ached when I thought of her havin' towake up an' face it all. It ain't just killin' a man that's so bad, it's the awful hole most of 'em makes in some innocent woman's heart. 

When I got back to the side porch my breath liked to 'a' stopped, forthere was Jabez sittin' up an' complainin' most bitter because he hadan achin' in the back of his neck. I stopped in my tracks gappin' athim, an' purty soon he noticed me an' sez, "Well, what are YOU starin'at? Remember 'at I ain't no chicken heart, an' remember 'at what I hateworse'n anything else is a liar. Now where is my child?"

"She's in bed and asleep, an' if you're sure you 're alive you'velifted a ton off my heart. I thought you was dead, " sez I. 

"This whole pack of idiots thinks so yet, " he yells, "an' they won'tlet me get up. I got to see her, Happy, I got to touch her an' makesure for myself that she's all right. "

"Where was you hit, Jabez?" I sez. 

"I was creased--I was creased the same as they crease a mustang" hesez. "I was just touched in the back o' the neck an' it paralyzed me. These blame pin-heads are crazy to strip me an' see if I ain't shot allto pieces, but I won't stand for it. " He tried to get up, but his legswouldn't work, an' he sank back again. 

"You just set an' rest a bit, Jabez, " I sez. "I want to see how oldMonody is. "

The boys hadn't paid much attention to him, thinkin' him one o'Brophy's gang, an' not carin' much whether or not he was comfortable, 'cause he was the most bloodthirsty lookin' of the whole bunch. "Areyou hurt bad, Monody" I said. His face lit up with a smile. "I don'thurt at all, Happy, but I reckon I 'm done for--the' ain't no feelin'in me from the waist down. "

I got three o' the boys to help me, an' we put him on the shack dooran' packed him into the house an' put him into one o' the spare beds. He was shot three times in the left shoulder, an' it wasn't till Inoticed it that I recalled my own fix. Monody's shoulder was allshattered to smash, but still, it wasn't no reason for him to die, so Ibegun to kid him about it. He grinned an' said he didn't intend to dieon purpose, but he reckoned it was his turn, an' he didn't intend toside step. He was most unreasonable an' wouldn't let us bandage him nornothin', said he had a salve 'at beat anything a doctor had, an' we gotit for him out of his coat which was the one wrapped around Barbie. Heexamined my shoulder with his right hand, an' his fingers worked aroundinside my bones clear and true, but some way without hurtin' me much. "It ain't broke, " sez he, "just grooved a bit. You got bones like agrizzly. "

When his salve came he rubbed it on me an' then he rubbed it onhimself, an' then he told us to clear out so he could sleep. We allleft him after a little, an' I sent Spider Kelley after the doctor. The' was only one member of Brophy's gang alive when I got back to theside porch, an' he was sinkin' fast. He had told Jabez 'at thenintended to clean him out completely, an' that Jim, the sub-cook, wasone o' the gang an' had let the ridin' ponies loose so 'at the' was nochoice but to walk after the herd when they stampeded. He said that ifhe hadn't 'a' had that chance he would 'a' put knock-out drops in thecoffee that night, which made all the men madder'n ever. Knock-outdrops ain't no fair way o' fightin'. 

Well, this feller had been with Brophy a long time, an' he gave us apurty complete list of his doin's an' his ways. As a rule a man onlylasted about a year with the gang, an' when it was possible Brophytried to get boys to fill up the vacancies, --boys likin' the game an'not carin' much for the consequences. He tried to tell us where Brophyhad a lot o' gold salted down in Nevada, but it was hard to understandhim, an' before he made it clear he tuckered out. 

We sent out word to the neighbors, an' that evening about forty of 'emrode over to the buryin', and they made a good bit of a fuss over us, 'cause the gang had been worse'n a plague an' a famine. You can judgeo' their nerve when they made war on the Diamond Dot, we havin' one o'the biggest outfits in the territory, an' all patriotic toward the oldman. Jabez give me more credit'n was due me, but he sure tried to dothe fair thing by of Monody too. Monody had saved us all, an' that wasthe simple truth. It seemed odd to think of how that kick I had in thejaw won me a friend in Monody, an' then, when it was passed on, savedthe Diamond Dot. I 'd like to know what it did for the French sailoran' the feller what handed it to him. Funny thing, life. 

We tried to get Monody to take his clothes off an' be comfortable; theboys fairly pestered the life out of him tryin' to do somethin' forhim, but he was obstinate, said 'at his clothes was clean, an' hedidn't intend to take 'em off till they got dirty. They bothered him sothat finally he made me bring him one of his guns, an' he swore he'duse it before they got his clothes off. "I want to be buried in 'em, Happy, " he said to me, most earnest. "If I die with 'em on you won'tlet 'em take 'em off, will ya?" He had a lot o' fever, so I humoredhim; but I wished, myself, he wasn't so set in his ways. His salve wasthe bulliest stuff I ever used on a bullet hole, an' my arm begun tomend right from the start. His shoulder was splintered purty bad, butstill, it didn't seem as if it ought to have bothered his legs none. The next day he was a little wobbly in his head, an' it seemed to resthim to hold my hand. He didn't want no one else in the room, so I justsat an' talked nonsense to him, an' twice Barbie came in to see him. 

In spite of his ugly face the child wasn't a mite afraid of him, an'she would smooth back his black, coarse hair; but she didn't talk tohim much--just looked into his eyes an' smiled. 

"I wish Melisse was here, " she said to me once when Monody was dozin', "she'd cook somethin' nice an' tasty, an' she's such a good nurse. "

"Melisse?" sez Monody comein' to, "who's Melisse?"

"She's my old nurse, " sez Barbie. "I told her a story--just a littleone--an' she wouldn't whip me for it, so Daddy told her to clear outuntil she was willin' to do her duty. He thinks she's gone for good, but I know where she is. "

"Melisse, Melisse, " muttered Monody. "Well, after all, it might be. The' ain't nothin' too strange to happen. "

I see 'at he was a bit out of his head, so I didn't question him none. "Where is she, Barbie?" I asked in a low tone. 

"I don't know just exactly where she is or I'd go bring her back, ofcourse, " she sez; "but I know 'at she's somewhere hereabouts, 'causethe day before my birthday--why, it was only day before yesterday, wasn't it? It seems years ago. Well, day before yesterday I found a bigpan o' cakes in my playhouse, an' no one can't bake 'em but Melisse. "

Monody didn't say anything more until after Barbie'd gone from theroom, and then he made me tell him all I knew of Jabez, which wasmighty little. He lay there a long time without speakin', an' then hesez: "O' course the' may not be anything in it, but if ever you an'this Jabez lock horns, you just ask him about the Creole Belle, an' ifhe's the man I mean--an' he sure favors him--it'll most likely unnervehim. Now I want to sleep. "

Spider Kelley an' the doctor got back about ten that night, an' ol'Monody was in a ragin' fever an' some out of his head, but he kept hisgun handy an' wouldn't stand for any one startin' to undress him. 

"The''s somethin' worse'n that shoulder, " sez the doctor, "thoughthat's bad enough, goodness knows. He's hurt somewhere in the spine, an' I'll have to examine him. Take that fool gun away from him. "

I put my hand on Monody's an' he loosened his hold on the gun an' tookhold of my hand, his face lightin' up contented. Then I handed the gunto one o' the boys an' took tight hold of his right arm while thedoctor started to unbutton his shirt. Ol' Monody's eyes opened with ajerk, an' the fever had left 'em. "Happy, Happy!" he pleaded. "You know'at I'd give my life for ya! You won't let 'em bother me, will ya? I'mdone for, I know it; an' the' ain't nothin' to do. Happy, Happy, let mego in peace, won't ya? Let me die like a man!"

The' wa'n't no fever in his eyes, an' he was sure earnest about it. Iknew 'at if things was changed an' I was in his place he'd give me myway, so I sez to the doctor, "Dock, ol' Monody here is a cure-allhimself; he give me the best salve ever I see for my own shoulder, an'when he sez it's all up with him, he ain't bluffin'. I reckon you'dbetter just let him alone. " I hadn't never seen this doctor before; hewas a youngish buck with sharp features an' an obstinate chin. "No, "sez he, "it wouldn't be professional. I got to make an examination. Nowsome o' you boys hold his feet an' some o' you hold his good handsan'--"

"Some o' you go to hell!" sez I. "If ol' Monody here wants to die withhis clothes on he's sure goin' to do it or else the' 's goin' to beconsid'able more funerals on this place than we've already had. Now yougit!"

The Dock, he was the first to go, an' then the rest o' the boys filedout. 

"You're square, Happy, " sez Monody, after they'd gone. "You're square, an' I knew it the first time I looked into your eyes. If I'd fell inwith square ones at the start it would 'a' been a heap easier--a heapeasier. "

Cast Steel hadn't hardly taken his eyes off Barbie since lie 'd got upan' around again, but right after the Dock had left, in he popped. "What's this I hear, Happy?" he sez, excited. 

"I don't know, Jabez, " I replied. 

"Dock Wilson sez 'at you chased hire out o' the room with a gun an'wouldn't let him examine this man. "

"Well, " sez I, "as far as that goes, this man has a right to judge forhimself. He saved your life an' your outfit an' your daughter, an' Idon't reckon you're goin' to tie him into a knot so as a doctor can gopokin' around in him when he don't want it. "

"You're as obstinate as ever!" shouts Jabez. "He 's probably out of hishead. "

"No, he ain't out of his head, " sez Monody, in a low, soft voice, butwithout openin' his eyes more'n a crack. 

"He ain't out of his head an' he ain't forgot nothin' he ever knew, an'it'll be better all around if he's allowed to go in peace. "

Jabez looked at him in surprise, and Monody scowled up his face till helooked like a wounded Silver Tip, but the' came a queer hunted lookinto Jabez' eyes for a moment, an' then he muttered, "Well, this is afree country an' I reckon lie has the right to decide. He has suresaved us, an' if the' 's anything on earth I can give him, all lie hasto do is to ask for it, an' I hope he pulls through in his own way. "

Jabez fidgeted around a minute or two longer an' then he oozed out o'the room. When he'd gone of Monody chuckled a wicked, contentedchuckle, an' after a bit he sez, "It's him all right, it's him, but henever did me any harm, an' I wouldn't worry the child, not for worlds. She ought to have a woman around her though. You get old Melisse back, Happy, an' remember--if it ever comes to a question of you or him--justcall him George Jordan an' say 'at Jack Whitman wasn't killed "--Monodychuckled again, an' then sobered--"but don't spring it except as a lastresort, 'cause the little girl couldn't help nothin' about the CreoleBelle, an' she ain't no call to be worried by it. Jim Jimison, he'swhite, Happy, but he 'd 'a' been killed that trip if you hadn't takenbolt when you did. He's learned the game purty well now, though, an' Ireckon he'll make good. "

Poor old Monody kept on talkin' disconnected until about midnight, first tellin' some devilish deed he'd seen or took part in, an' thentellin' o' some joke or some act o' kindness. Just at midnight he tookmy hand, an' the' came a look into his eyes like as if he was aboutovercome by some beautiful vision; but in a moment he cohered down an'he gripped my hand till it hurt. "Happy, " he gasped, "I allus loved ya, Happy. You won't let--you won't let 'em--" an' it was all over with ol'Monody. 

I sat by the bed a long time thinkin' it over, an' then I went out intothe settin' room. Jabez an' a couple o' the boys was there an' I told'em it was over. I went out into the night to have a look at the stars. Whenever somethin' has happened in my little wobbly life down here Ilike to get out an' see the same old stars in their same old places, calm an' steady an' true. That was one thing which allus drew me to thechild Barbie, --she was a star-worshiper too, same as me. 

When I got back I see the little doctor explainin' somethin' to Jabez. I thought he had gone long ago, but the hooked-nosed buzzard couldn'tleave without satisfyin' his curiosity. "What do you reckon was thereason your friend wouldn't let himself be examined?" sez he, with aleer. 

"It wasn't nowise my business, " sez I, "so I didn't think about it atall. "

"Well, it was because he wasn't a man at all--he was a woman. "

For a moment I stood an' looked at him, while a lot o' things becameclear as day to me. A woman--ol' Monody was a woman! When I thought ofwhat a girl is, an' what it must have took to make one want to reallybe a man, I felt plumb ashamed o' my sex; but here was another creaturein man's clothes standin' an' grinnin' into my face as though he haddone somethin' smart. 

"How do you know?" I sez soft an' steady. 

"I went in an' examined--it was my professional duty. She had been shotin the abdomen and the bullet had lodged in the spine. She had stuffeda rag into the hole an' all the bleedin' was internal. I found that--"

"Who was with you?" I asked him. 

"Nobody, " he said with pride; "I went in alone an' I found--"

"I'm obliged to ya, Boys, " sez I, "an' I'll be obliged to you stillmore if you'll just stand to one side an' watch me make an examination. I only got one arm, so it's perfectly fair. It seems to be the fashionnow days to examine human beings who wear men's clothes--but who ain'tmen--so I feel it my PROFESSIONAL DUTY to examine this here specimentbefore us. "

The grin kind o' left his face when I started for him. He wasn't nearmy size, but me only havin' one workin' arm made it fair. He looked tothe boys to help him, but they was unusual placid. I reached out an'grabbed him by the collar an' put my knee in his stomach as a brace; hestruck me in the face an' in my wounded shoulder, but in about oneminute I had his clothes off him, an' there he stood the shamedestthing I ever see. "Now you get out o' here an' ride home, " sez I, "an'I believe if I was you I'd pick myself out a new home--one 'at wouldtake about six weeks to ride to. You won't be popular around here fromthis on. "

"Can't I put my clothes on, " he sez. 

"Not these, " sez I. "If you have any more where you've been livin' youcan put them on; but I hope in my heart the sun peels your back beforeyou arrive, an' I hope when you do arrive the' 'll be enough womenawake to give you a raw-hidin' for bein' indecent. Now git. "

He looked into the boys' faces again, but they wasn't friendly--theywasn't even smilin', an' then he went outside, got his pony, an' rodeaway. He rode clear out o' the West I reckon, 'cause while I heard ofthe story purty much everywhere I went after that, I ain't never heardo' the buzzard himself since that day long, long ago. 

It was dawn by the time he'd rode out o' sight with his white skinshinin' on his hunched up form, an' then I went in to set with ol'Monody a while. 

CHAPTER FIVE

JUST MONODY--A MAN

He looked mighty peaceful, did ol' Monody. Curious thing about death, is the way it seems to beautify a person. In life Monody was thehomeliest human I ever see, an' yet the' was something so kindly, an'gentle, an'--an' satisfied in his face there under the lamplight, thatI reached out an' patted his hand, almost envious--even though my fooleyes was a-winkin' mighty fast. 

We all of us would give the first ten years of our life to know whatit's like out yonder; when he was here, ol' Monody would 'a' doneanything he could for me, --well, he lay down his life an' I reckonthat's about skinnin' the deck, --but here I was achin' to know how itwas with him, an' there he was with all his guesses answered, an' himnot able to pass back a single tip to me. 

It wasn't him that I was lookin' down at, it was just the shell of him, scarred and battered and bruised, but all his life--or at least most ofit--he had twisted up his face to make it as ugly as possible, so 'atno one wouldn't take him for a woman. Now it could relax an' give asort of a hint as to what it might have been if he'd had a chance tolive. Oh, it's sure a crime the way we torture some o' the white souls'at drift to this Sorrowful Star, as I once heard a feller call it. 

Injun, Nigger, an' Greaser--why, such a combination as that ain'tentitled to trial in a civilized nation--it's guilty on sight. Any onewould know 'at such a bein' would be cruel an' treacherous an' thievin'an' everything else 'at was bad--but yet the' come a good streak intoMonody some way or other. All in the world I had ever done for him wasto beat him over the head when he acted like a beast, an' then to treathint like a human when he acted like one. The' wasn't nothin'especially kind nor thoughtful in it, just simple justice as you mightsay, an' yet in spite of his treacherous mixture he wasn't askin' nofavors; all he wanted was a square deal, an' when he got it he wassquare clear to the finish. It's a funny thing, life. 

In spite of all he'd done to kill it the' was a mother streak in himwhich made him fair hungry for somethin' to pet an' fondle. He wasallus good to any kind of an animal, an' though I didn't notice it atthe time, he was allus motherin' me; an' look at the way he had soothedlittle Barbie with a touch that night in the cook shack! O' course Iain't questioning the judgment o' the Almighty, but for the life o' methe I can't see why it was necessary to make a woman as big an' as tallas ol' Monody was, an' yet perhaps if I just knew the story from thebeginnin', I 'd see it was a mercy, after all. 

Anyhow, it made it easy enough for him to work out his scheme. 

The' ain't no rules for women anyhow, 'cause their hearts won't neversurrender to their heads; when they do, they ain't all woman. Well, yes, there is one rule 'at 's safe for a man to foller In dealin withwoman, an' that is that when a woman's in love, she 's in love allover. Sometimes a man's in love up to his pocket-book, sometimes up tohis appetite, an' sometimes up to his heart, but he's mighty seldom inlove all over. If nothin' else stays dry he's generally able to takecare of his head, but with a woman everything goes; so I'm purtytol'able sure that away back at the beginnin' it was love 'at drove ol'Monody out of her own sex down into ours. 

When the news spread abroad 'at the man who had killed Bill Brophywithout a weapon had cashed in, the neighbors gathered from ninetymiles around, and we sure gave Monody the rip-snortin'est funeral everseen in those parts. We didn't say nothin' about him not really bein' aman, an' though I reckon 'at every feller there knew of it, the' wasn'ta single one of 'em spoke of it--so we didn't have no trouble at all. 

He lies on a little knoll about a mile to the north of the ranch house. Up back of him ol' Mount Savage stands guard an' fights off theroughest of the storms; while the soft winds from the south stealgently up a little cut in the rocks an' seem to circle about him, whisperin' secrets of countries far away. If the' 's a single bird inWyoming, you can find it hoppin' about his narrow bed or singin' in theoak tree 'at stands above him, spreadin' out its branches like a priestgivin' the blessin'. Winter or summer, Monody's grave is the quietest, peacefullest, purtiest spot 'at lies outdoors, as if the old Earth hadrepented of the way it had treated him, and was tryin' to make it up tohim now. 

Take it in winter when the' 's a clean sheet o' soft, white snow overeverything, an' I like to go out an' stand on another little knollabout a half mile this side. The last speck of light in the valleycomes through a narrow cleft an' falls on Monody's grave. As the sunsinks lower an' lower the crimson glory on the soft fleecy snow seemsto come up out of the grave an' climb the black shadow of the mountain, like--but pshaw, I reckon it'd be a mighty tame sight to ol' Monodyhimself. 

I never speak of him, an' I never think of him, as anything but a man. He lived like a man, God knows he died like a man; and on the littlestone at his head the' ain't nothin' carved except just--Monody, a Man. 

CHAPTER SIX

THE RACE

It was mighty pleasant back at the Diamond Dot after things got settledagain. Barbie had become a curious little trick with a way of doin'strange things in a sober old-fashioned manner like as if she was ahundred years of age, but was tryin' to hide it. 

She was more like Jabez too, which give me a heap of amusement, seein'which one was goin' to win when they straddled a question. Barbiewasn't sassy, not at all; she just didn't seem able to savvy that a fewsmall matters, like age an' parentage an' ownin' the ranch, gave Jabeza sort of a majority vote, as you might say, on all questions. No, Barbie couldn't seem to get callous to this, an' she fought out alldifferences of opinion from the mere facts o' the case, an' I got to doJabez the justice of admittin' that he never retreated behind hisauthority until after he'd been well licked in the open; an' unless itwas a mighty important question he took his lickin' like a man. Barbiewas game about it too, an' when she got the worst of a fair fight shenever put up a howl; but when she had won in the open it used to grindher something fierce to be told point blank that she had to do such an'so, "'Cause she was a girl. "

"If tobacco stunts your growth, how's it come 'at old Tank Williams an'George Hendricks an' Happy an' a lot more o' the boys is all over sixfeet tall, " she sez one day durin' a try-out, "while Flap Jack is thesmallest man on the place an' he don't never use it at all--'cept whenhe cuts his finger. "

"Things don't allus work alike, " sez Jabez, slow an' cautious. "Thetall ones would all 'av' been taller if they hadn't used it, an'Flappy, he wouldn't 'a' been able to see out of his boots if he had. "

"Well, I don't see as it makes much difference, anyhow, " sez she. "Idon't want to be so everlastin' tall, so I reckon I'll just smoke foura day an' that'll--"

"I reckon you won't smoke any a day, " sez Jabez, gettin' riled. "Smokin' cigarettes is a nasty, filthy habit, an'--"

"Then I'll smoke a pipe, " sez Barbie. 

"No you won't smoke a pipe! I don't intend to have a gal child of minesmokin' anything. It's disgustin', an--"

"It ain't as disgustin' as chewin', an' you chew, " sez Barbie. 

"Now you look here!" yells Jabez, hot as a hornet, "I'm a man an' youain't, an' that makes a heap o' difference. I had to give up cussin' onyour account, but I don't intend to go to wearin' dresses complete, just to keep you halfway respectable. "

"Yes, an' I got three cusses comin' to me too, " sez Barbie. "I heardyou over at the hay-barn yesterday. "

"That don't count--the agreement was, 'about the house'; an' besides, you didn't have no call to be there. "

"Yes I did. I couldn't light my cigarette out in the wind so I gotbehind the barn. You are the one 'at didn't have no call to cuss. The'wasn't anything wrong at the hay-barn an' you was all alone. I justknow 'at you went there to cuss 'cause I made you own up at breakfastthat it wasn't no worse for me to fling the oatmeal out the window whenit didn't suit me than it was for you to fling the coffee. "

The old man just stood an' stared at her so I knew 'at the little witchhad rooted out his devisement. "When you are older, Barbara, " ol' CastSteel sez in his coldest tone, "you will understand these things an' beglad of the care I took of you; but now I am compelled to lay down alaw. You are never to smoke again until you're of legal age. "

"What's legal age?" sez she. 

"Twenty-one years, " sez Jabez. 

"That'll be thirteen years, " sez Barbie. "All right; but I'm goin' toroll three cigarettes a day for thirteen years an' the very day I'mtwenty-one I'm goin' to smoke 'em all. "

"You go to your room an' stay there, " sez Jabez, white-hot. 

"I will, " she answers as cool as an icicle, "an' I'm goin' to figure uphow many it will be, so I'll have some sort of fun to look forwardto--when I get of legal age. "

After she'd gone Jabez set down on a stone an' wiped his forehead. "Sheain't a child, Happy. She ain't nothin' like a child, " sez Jabez to me. "Here she is only eight year old an' she's got me out beyond my depthalready. I don't know what I ought to do with her. She went to thespring round-up this year an' slept in a Navajo right outdoors. Shewants to go bear huntin' or anything else 'at's wild an' dis-accordin'to her nature. What on earth am I goin' to do with her?"

"You ought to have children to play with her. She wants to play allright, she tries to play; but the only kind of play she knows isgrown-up play. Get some children an' dolls an' pet kittens an' suchthings for her; that'll give her a chance, " sez I. 

"I tried it, " sez Jabez. "I tried it last summer, but she about killed'em. The only children I could get was two little Injuns, but she aboutruined 'em. The only game she would play was war, an' when theywouldn't stand for her way o' playin' it she got on her pinto--the oneyou broke for her--an' roped 'em both an' like to dragged the hide off'em. I don't know what to do. "

"You ought to send her to school, " sez I. "They'll be white childrenthere an' they won't be slow an' gentle like the little Injuns; they'llbe just as full o' devil as what she is, an' she'll get the sharpcorners wore off her. "

"Hang it I tried that too. I sent her when she was six year old--I'dbeen lookin' forward to it a good long time too, but it didn't do nogood. 

"She put in the first day all right, but things went too slow for herafter that, an' she brought home her books an' made me pester over 'emwith her, an' she went into it like a game, an' now she's gone throughabout four years' work in two. It's a blame shame, 'cause the school isonly ten miles away an' she could go as well as not, but she's soterrible impatient. She reads all kinds o' books already, an' sez she'sgoin' to read 'em all before she quits. She ain't a bit like a childan' I don't think it's natural. I wish she'd pester me for dolls an'pink dresses an' things like that instead of wantin' all kinds offirearms, an' playin' poker with the boys. "

Ol' Cast Steel was all worked up over it, an' I thought a long timebefore I answered him, then I sez, "Jabez, you're hard enough on thechild an' you're strict enough with her, but you ain't strict enoughwith yourself. When it comes to a show down, --when you actually say yesand now, --why, she gives in; but when you argue with her she's just assharp as you are, an' the' 's a heap o' things all children has to do'at I reckon the' ain't no real sense in, so when you try to dig up areason for 'em you give 'em the whip hand. Just like religion: lots ofit is better just stated an' not mussed up tryin' to be explained. Whena parson tries to tell me why God created this universe, it don't soundreasonable; but when I go out an' look at the stars an' the mountainsan' the big sweep o' the plains an' then try to round up all thatastronomer feller said about things, why, I just know 'at nobody butGod could 'a' done it--an' I reckon it's that way with a child. Shetrusts you until you get down to her level an' then she sees that the'ain't much difference between you, an' she naturally expects you toplay the same game by the same rules. You send her to school an' tellher it's for her own good, an' let her'n the teacher fight it out. That's a teacher's business an' they know how. "

Well, they was a heap o' sense in what I said, an' I'd been thinkin'over it a long spell; so when school opened up again in the fall Barbiehad her orders an' the' wasn't much in the way of trouble. 

I didn't have any regular duties at the Diamond Dot--the worst troubleabout the Diamond Dot was that nobody had any regular duties. Jabez wasnotionable to a degree, an' we all just floated along, doin' what wedid do right, but not havin' much of a plan for it. I could havehandled the place with ten less men an' got through on a tighterschedule, but it was a fine place to work at an' we all got what wascomin' to us. Through the winter I used to ride over with Barbie whenthe days was anyways rough, an' it took her a long time to find outthat Starlight really could beat her pinto. I reckon that child was thebest rider 'at ever backed a pony. As you might say she grew up with apony between her knees, an' the way she could play a bit in a hoss'smouth was the finest sight I ever see. I ain't much of a fool when itcomes to pickin' out a ridin' critter, an' the pinto was able--mostuncommon able. 

One Saturday morning she told me that she was tired o' seein' Starlightbeat Hawkins on ten-mile dashes, an' she was goin' to have a real racethat day. She allus called the pinto "Hawkins" after I got back; shehad said it wouldn't be polite to call us both "Happy" an' as long as Ihad owned both names the longest, she was willin' to give me mychoice--an' then she said 'at that wouldn't be quite fair to thepinto--she was mighty rigid on bein' square--so she said 'at we'd haveto draw for 'em. She wrote "Happy" on one piece of paper an' "Hawkins"on the other, put her hat in the pony's mouth, --she had taught him alot o' tricks, --an' I had to turn my back while she dropped in thenames. My luck was good, so I drawed "Happy, " an' the pony was called"Hawkins. " I was feared I might have to go back to John, an' John's asort of a heavy baggage for a careless cuss to be luggin' around. 

It was spring, an' the range was smooth an' tough. All through the snowStarlight's long legs had given him a big advantage, but now her weightmade it a purty good bet either way. "Let 'em go grassin', Barbie, " sezI. "This fine young grass--"

"I knew you were afraid to make a fair test of it, " she sez scornful. 

"I ain't neither afraid, " I sez, "but what's the use of a race just tosatisfy our curiosity?"

"What's the use of curiosity except to satisfy it?" sez Barbie, an' shehad me sure enough. A feller was a fool to argue with that littlewitch. She allus had a come-back, an' the only way to get ahead of herwas either to boss or beg. I hadn't no authority to boss, an' I was tooblame young to beg, so she just about had me roped an' tied. "How farare you goin' to race?" sez I. 

"A hundred miles, " sez she. 

"Pshaw, " sez I, "the country's wider'n that. Why don't you give'em adecent work out. "

"That'll be enough for this time, " sez she, "an' if you hustle you canhave'em ready by five o'clock. "

"Does the boss know?" sez I. 

"He will sometime, " sez she. "Now hustle. "

It was a glorious day, an' I own up I was amused at the prospect. Bothhosses was hard as flint an' nervy. If I'd 'a' stayed at the ranch I'dhave collected up brandin' irons an' other truck for the round-up, an'a hundred miles through spring sweetness was a heap sight more temptin'to me; so I give in an' soon we was under way. "Where is the courselaid out, Barbie?" I sez. "You know I won't see much of you back therein the ruck an' I want to know the path. "

"All you need to do is to foller Hawkins's trail, " sez she, "but incase you can't find it just circle Mount Savage an' that'll be thedistance, so the boys say. "

We started out at a comfortable gait, an' I watched her pretty close. Once I tried her out by sendin' Starlight along for a mile, but shejust kept the pinto pluggin' away, an' I sensed I was up against somehead ridin'. Oh, it was gratifyin' to watch the little rascal ridin'with her brain, like I'd taught her. She didn't throw the reins down onher pony's neck, an' she didn't pull in on the bit; she just played itin his mouth to keep remindin' him that this was his busy day, an' thathe'd better tend to his knittin'. Old Starlight knew every move I made, an' he was resigned to a good long pump of it. 

I nonsensed a while, tryin' to get her to laugh an' cut up, but nother. "Now don't talk unless you have somethin' to say, Happy, " sez she. "I don't want Hawkins to imagine 'at we're out ridin' for an appetite. I want him to believe 'at we're on mighty important business. "

"Oh, he'll sure enough think it, " sez I, "when we swing around MountSavage an' he gets to see home through Starlight's dust. "

"When it comes to that, I'll bet he won't be complainin' o' thedullness of the business he's been on. Now just practice thinkin' awhile. "

We watered about noon at a little snow stream on the opposite side ofold Savage; but we et our vittles on hoss back an' we didn't waste anytime on the waterin'. I figured we'd scaled up about fifty miles, an'the pinto was still tonguin' his bit an' waitin' for somethin'interestin' to turn up. Starlight was gettin' some disgusted with themonotony. 

We rode on for another hour an' then Barbie began to ride a little. Thepinto let out a couple of links as cheerful as a rainbow, an' I rode athis cinch. I knew I could beat her in the brush, an' she was easin' thepinto too much to make it a question of grit unless she began to herdhim mighty shortly. Well she did begin ridin' purty soon, an' brotherHawkins responded like an echo. He was a hog for distance, was thatpinto. He was short on top with plenty of depth to him, and his bellycut up quick, showin' he had lots o' room for his heart an' his lungsan' his forage. Starlight's nostrils worked a shade more than his did, but we were gettin' purty close to the pinto's speed, an' Starlight hada load of it left, and he'd pay out the last ounce of it when I saidthe word. I knew I could beat her this time, but I was feared she mightcall for a repeat the next day--an' I intended to remind Jabez it wasthe Sabbath. 

Starlight was pretty wet with sweat, while the pinto was bone dry whenwe struck Trouble Creek which was boilin' full. In we went, an' thewater hissed and sucked around our waists; but we crossed at about thesame time, an' then it was only ten miles to the ranch house an' Barbieshook her quirt. Away shot the pinto, but Starlight had his fussystreak warm by this time, an' I let him edge ahead as fast as he wantedto. He knew the distance now, an' he knew I wanted to cover it in theleast possible time, an' he knew just how much the' was left in him, soI drew a tight rein, eased it off again, an' we dropped a gap betweenus an' the shorter legs of Barbie's mount. We only gained an inch at atime an' I wasn't sure I'd be the one to do the braggin' even yet, whenall of a sudden we swept around a point of rock an' there was Melissehot-footin' it to the ranch house. She heard us the minute we saw her, an' when we drew up to her she gasped: "Pluto has about killed ol' CastSteel, an' Spider Kelley has gone for the doctor. "

Barbie caught the words, but she never made a reply or asked a singlequestion; she just laid the quirt without a sting over Hawkins'sforeshoulder an' raced on. I stopped long enough to tell Melisse that Iwould send the buckboard after her, an' then I took after Barbie. Itlooked like a race, sure enough. I was worried. Pluto was a high gradestallion Jabez had got after I lined up Starlight alongside the rangeponies, an' he had the meanest temper I ever see put into a hoss. I hadbeen tendin' him 'cause I'd got wise to the ways o' these thin-skinnedfellers down at the Lion Head, but I never quite trusted him, an' Ifeared 'at maybe Barbie's goin' off without notice had riled the oldman an' he had tried to take it out on Pluto. 

We only had five miles to go, an' we sure went it. I beat her to theranch house, but Starlight hadn't got his breath back when she rode in, an' the pinto only took one long breath an' shook his head. I turnedthe hosses over to one o' the boys 'at were hangin' around the doorlookin' troubled, an' hustled inside. Jabez lay on the lounge with aface like soured vinegar. He had a bandage round his head an' anotheraround his arm, while his leg was propped up on pillows. 

"What's the damage, Jabez?" I asked. 

"Where's Barbie?" he demanded, not payin' any heed to my question. Shehad flung herself from the pinto an' came running into the room. "Oh, Daddy, " she said, throwin' her arms around him. 

"Where have you been?" sez he. 

"I been racin' with Happy, " she said. "Are you bad hurt, Daddy?"

"Who beat?" sez he. 

"Happy did, about a hundred yards. "

"It wasn't more'n fifty, " sez I. 

"How far did you race?" asked Jabez, grittin' his teeth. 

"A hundred miles, " sez Barbie. 

"A hundred miles?" sez Jabez, grinnin' painful. "A hundred miles, an'the black hoss beat your pinto carryin' a hundred'n fifty pounds moreweight. Hendricks--tell those blame fools not to kill Pluto. Happy, yougo an' see that they don't even hurt him. It was my fault. Now, Barbie, tell me about the race. "

I went out to the big open stall where Pluto was kept all by himself, but first I sent one o' the boys with the buckboard after Melisse. Ifound Pluto in the middle of his stall with three ropes around his neckan' the boys snubbin' him to posts. They wasn't minded to let him go, even on Hendricks's say-so, but I went into the stall an' told 'em toease off. "He's whipped one man in a fair fight, " sez I, "an' ifanother man don't whip him in a fair fight the' won't be any handlin'of him from this on. Ease off these ropes. "

Well, I whipped that hoss in a fair fight, an' then I went in to seehow Jabez was gettin' along. I said a fair fight an' I meant a fairfight. Yes, the' is a way to fight a hoss fair--that is, as fair as anyfight is. If you look at it one way, the' can't never be a fair fight, 'cause one is bound to have an advantage--skill, luck, experience, orcourage; but what I mean is, that I fought that hoss with nothing butjust my own hands an' I whipped him. 

Why the way I did it was this: as soon as they slacked off the ropes Islipped up beside him an' jerked 'em over his head, an' we two stoodalone in the big box stall with size in his favor an' brains in mine. Ihad some consid'able size in those days, an' he was almost too brainyfor a hoss; but I own up 'at I 'd had the most experience. 

First I stood off an' insulted him: I cussed him an' I called him allmanner of names an' then I laughed at him--you think a hoss, a hosslike Pluto, can't be insulted? Why, pshaw! they're as high feelin' aschildren. He was out o' humor to begin with, an' purty soon his earswent back an' his eyes got red. I've heard tell about an animal notbein' able to look a man in the eyes, an' I never saw the wild animal'at could; but I've seen three man-eatin' stallions in my time 'atcould look clear to your liver, an' a bulldog can do it too. 

First off he tried to bite, but I got him a shoulder-blow right on thenose. It made him wink, an' he reared an' struck at me with his fronthoofs. I ducked to the left an' the minute his hoofs came down Islipped thumb an' forefinger into his nostrils, an' tried to jerk hishead around to the right; but I'd thrown him once before that way an'he was too quick. He threw up his head before I could grip his manewith my left, an' a reachin' kick with his right hind foot tore my vestaway. 

He floundered me around consid'able for a spell, but at last in tryin'to jam me against the wall I got hold of his mane. I braced my feetagainst the wall an' liftin' myself, I got his ear in my mouth an' Ibit it. It was a trick I'd learned from ol' Monody, an' I sure bit hardan' close to the head. For mighty nigh a minute he stood it fightin', an' then he give a groan. He hadn't had a sniff of air through his nosesince I'd grabbed it, an' he wasn't no bulldog, he was a satin-skinnedthoroughbred, an' he couldn't stand the anguish in his ear. 

He groaned an' then he shivered an' then of a sudden I let go his ear, jerked his head around to the right, pulled up his left front foot withmy left hand an' heaved with my shoulder. Down he went an' as he fell Ileaped across him, an' put my weight on his head. Then I took myfingers out of his nose an' patted him. 

I hate to whip a hoss, I hate to break the pride of any livin'creature; but when I start in to do it I don't just pester him. I waituntil I have good reason an' then I convince him--whether he's able tolive through it or not. I stroked old Pluto's ears an' nose, all thetime murmurin' to him, an' durin' the murmurin' I told the boys to fileout. I never shame nobody in front of anybody if the' 's any other wayround. 

Well, Pluto was drippin' with sweat an' havin' his bit ear rubbed wasmighty soothin' to him. We all like a lot of babyin' after we've beenhurt, whether we own up to it or not, an' Pluto wasn't any exception tothe rule. After a while I explained everything to him an' told him thatif he'd just act like a human bein', he'd be treated like a king; butif he wanted to carry on like some savage varmint we'd have to removehis hide an inch at a time; an' when I finally let him up he was mortalshamed of himself. 

It was plumb dark by the time I let him up, an' I watered him an' fedhim an' rubbed him until he began to eat, an' that was the last botherany man ever had with Pluto; but I was the only one he'd mind withoutbein' chainbitted. He counted me his best friend, an' after a while hegot so he'd play with me--nip my ear with his lips an' such things, which I count as bein' a game way of takin' punishment. Still, it ain'tjust gettin' beat, it's havin' it rubbed in that makes a feller bitter. 

I walked around to where Starlight an' Hawkins was enjoyin' theirevenin' meal, an' I was mortal proud of the condition they was in. Ireckon the' wasn't another pair in the territory 'at could 'a' coveredtheir ante that day, an' it was a feather in Uncle Happy's cap allright. 

But all the time I was thinkin' o' these things I was dreadin' havin'it out with Jabez. He was contrairy enough at the best; but all bungedup, I could see my self-control gettin' strained twice a minute. I knewenough about us both to know 'at whenever it came to a show down, itmeant a breakin' of home ties, an' I hated to cut loose from Barbie. After a while, I washed up, fed up, an' went in to have it over with. 

CHAPTER SEVEN

MENTAL TREATMENT FOR A BROKEN LEG

Barbie an' three of the boys were in the room when I went in. Barbiewas tellin' the old man of our ride, an' the three punchers sat withthe rims of their lids between thumb an' finger, lookin' at the flooras solemn as if they was on trial for their life. Barbie had justfinished about our meetin' up with Melisse when I stepped in. 

"Who's boss o' this place?" sez Jabez to me. 

"If the' is any boss, " sez I, "I reckon you're it. "

"Who told you you could be gone all day?" sez he. 

"Nobody told me. Nobody told me what was to be done if I stayed. Nobodyhasn't told me what to do on a ranch for some several years. Why?"

"Looks to me as if you 'd have sense enough not to risk this child'slife with your fool nonsense, " sez he. I looked at him calm an' steady, an' I didn't grin--much. 

He knew all 'at I was thinkin' of, --about my leavin' the last time an'also about my comin' back, --but he also knew 'at I knew he was thinkin'of the same thing, an' that we'd neither of us mention it, an' that itwouldn't ever weigh an ounce in whatever happened to come between us. Ididn't say anything. 

"What makes you humor her in everything for?" sez he. 

"As far as I know, she ain't my child, " sez I. 

He give a start an' it made him groan. "What's the matter with yourleg?" sez I. "It's broke!" he yells. "Do you think I got it stuck up onpillers 'cause my foot's asleep?"

"Is it easy that way?" sez I. 

"No it ain't, " he snaps. 

"Perhaps if you'd get it fixed easy you might be able to talk easy, " Isez. "Do you want me to fix it easy?"

"For heaven's sake, yes, if you know how, " he sez; so I examined it. Itwas a nasty break. It seems 'at Jabez had hunted over the place to findsomething to fuss about as soon as he discovered 'at Barbie an' me hadflown the coop. Luck was in his favor when Slinky Bill left Pluto'sdoor open an' he got out. It took 'em some time to get him back, an'they finally roped him. None o' the boys seemed anxious to go into hisstall an' take the rope off unless he'd let them ride him a while toget the ginger out of him. Jabez took a short club an' went in an' tookoff the rope, an' if the boys hadn't been handy he'd 'a' been took offhimself. As it was the hoss had smashed his leg something fierce. 

"Get a board, " sez I. The three boys left in a body to get the board. Ilined up the bones as well as I could, 'cause the leg was some swelled. Then I bandaged it purty tight, next took an old boot-leg an' bandagedthat in, an' finally split a joint of stovepipe an' packed cotton tofit the leg, tyin' the whole business to the board when it arrived, an'proppin' the board up on pillers with one at each side of the foot. Then I wet the bandage on his head an' arm, puttin' in plenty ofturpentine on the arm to prevent poisonin'. The turpentine made himtwist an' grunt, but when it stopped burnin' his face cleared up. 

"My leg's a heap easier, " he sez. I only nodded. I knew he had a lotmore steam on his mind. Presently he said, "But we might as well settlethings now as any time. Who are you workin' for?"

"I settled that a long time ago, " sez I. "I'm workin' for myself. "

"Then what the deuce do you mean takin' my wages?" sez he. 

"I ain't takin' your wages, I'm takin' my own, " sez I; "but if I wasyou I'd keep calm. You'll raise your fever. "

"It's my fever!" he yells, an' even the three punchers had to grin. 

"Look here, Jabez, " sez I, "the' ain't any sense in your gettin' riled. You ain't dangerous when you rant around, an' I know it; but you'remost uncommon irritatin'. We didn't run any risk in our ride to-day, an' it proved 'at my way o' feedin' is the right way. You don't own apair o' hosses 'at can go out to-morrow an' keep in sight o' Starlightan' the pinto. An' my way o' handlin' Pluto is the right way too, butif you don't like my way o' workin' for myself on your ranch--why, the''s plenty of other ranches. The' ain't no use o' your makin' us bothmiserable, quarrellin' like a pair o' children. "

"That's what I say, " sez Barbie. 

"You wait till you're spoke to, " sez Jabez; but at that moment thebuckboard came in with old Melisse, an' the very first thing she didwas to chase the three punchers out o' the house, fix up a mess of herown to put on Jabez's head an' arm, an' then she picks up Barbie in herarms an' I saw the little chap's lip begin to quiver; I saw Jabez winkhis eyes too fast for comfort; I saw the tears rollin' down the cheeksof old Melisse, an' I went out into the starlight to look up towardMount Savage where Monody was sleepin'. It's a funny thing, life. Aftera while I went back inside an' they were purty cozy again. "You beenaway purt nigh a year, " sez Jabez, "where you been?"

Melisse grinned; she was a Mexican an' had been good lookin' a centuryor so before. She was the silent sort, but she could do a heap sightkeener thinkin' 'an lots of 'em 'at kicks up more dust at it. 

"Part o' the time I been right here at the ranch, " she sez, "but whenthe snow was heavy I stayed in a little cave right up the ravine fromthe pony corral. You don't reckon 'at I'd leave this child just on youraccount, do ya?"

It was some comical to see Jabez's face. "Lord, no!" sez he. "I'm inthe habit o' payin' wages to people 'at work for themselves, an' Idon't reckon I got the authority to make anybody get off my ranch. Ifyou've been foolin' around here, how come the dogs never barked at ya?"

"Dogs ain't apt to forget the hand that feeds 'em. After a dog hasthought well of ya for a while, he don't turn on ya just because you'vebecome out o' favor for a spell; the friendship of a dog works bothways--dogs ain't like human beings, Jabez Judson. "

Melisse had a low, musical voice; but I kind o' felt my hair raisin' inpity for the man on the sofey. It seemed like she had stuck a knifeinto him, an' was twistin' it around slow without losin' her temper. Hesquirmed, he bit his lip, his thumbs kept runnin' over the inside ofhis fingers. It was some time before he spoke, an' then he said, "Howmuch longer you goin' to keep that child awake?"

"She's been asleep in my arms for some time, " sez Melisse, lookin' downat Barbie's face, which was nestled up close to hers. "I reckon I'llput her to bed now. " She got up an' carried Barbie to the door an' thenshe turned an' sez in a low tone: "You're mighty proud o' being calledCast Steel, you love to trample over people; but I want to tell yousomethin' to remember; I sha'n't never be separated from this childagain except by her own will. Next time I can't live around you I'lltake her with me. You've known me a long time"--an' she shut the doorwithout slammin' it. 

"Oh, I don't reckon it's allus some one else's fault, " I sez, after hehad got through cussin' about his luck. 

"Am I a hard man to work for?" sez he. 

"You ain't, " sez I. 

"When am I ever unjust?" sez he. 

"When you go off halfcock, " sez I. 

"What is it allus about?" sez he. 

I thought over everything before I answered. "Why, it's allus about thechild Barbie. "

"I ain't Cast Steel about her; I'm spring steel where she's concerned, an' you fellers ought to know the way spring steel works if any onedoes. "

"That's all right, " sez I, --I was still smartin' a little, --"but thedeuce of the thing is that you go off at halfcock, an' then you allusexpect the other feller to pay the damage. It's goin' hard with yousome day, Jabez, if you don't watch closer. "

"Oh, you can't understand it. If you only knew what lyin' an'disobedience sometimes does, you wouldn't talk so calm about it, neither. The' ain't nothin' I wouldn't do for Barbara--except see herget started wrong. You're different from the rest, some way, an' shethinks more of you than the others. That's one reason why I give you awider circle to range in, an' why I give you foreman's pay for odd-jobwork--"

"Now if you think 'at I don't earn all you're payin' me, " sez I--but hebroke in: "If I didn't think I wouldn't pay it, " sez he. 

"I can go down to the Lion Head any time I want an' get more'n you'repayin' me, " sez I. 

"I can pay you as much as any man in the West, " sez he. 

"You couldn't hire me at all if it wasn't for Barbie, " sez I. 

"An' I wouldn't hire you at all if it wasn't for her, " he snaps. "Youcan do the right thing at the right time better'n any other man I everhad; but you're the contrariest man to work with on the job. You'reallus flyin' up, an' you'd talk back if your throat was cut. "

"I'm free, " sez I, "an' what's more, I know it. The' ain't no law everbeen framed up yet 'at can herd me in with the cows, an' I don't neverintend to act like a cow. I'm man to man wherever I am, an' a lot o'you fellers with big outfits are beginnin' to forget that proposition;but I don't forget it, an'--"

"Well, for heaven's sake, " he yells, "I ain't tryin' to put a bit inyour mouth; though I must confess if I had my way about it, I'd like toput a quart o' bran there sometimes. What I'm tryin' to do is to cometo an understandin' about the child. "

"Hasn't she gone to school every day this term?" sez I. 

"There's another thing, " sez he. "When I told you to give thatschoolmaster a rawhidin', you wouldn't do it. "

"Course I wouldn't do it, " sez I. "He may have been in the right as faras I know, an' anyway, she gave him the worst of it. "

"I don't want her to give 'em the worst of it. I want her to act like agal child. Ridin' her pony into the schoolroom an' ropin' the masterain't no way for a gal child to act. What I want is for the teachers toplay fair. It ain't reasonable to suppose 'at these mountains was everunder water. "

 "You stood for it when the astronomer said so, " sez I; "an' theBible sez so, an'--"

"Well, that's all right when it comes to grown-ups; but the' ain't nouse makin' a child say somethin' it don't nowise believe. The truth ismore important than a lot of water 'at dried up millions of yearsago--if it ever was here. "

"Well, the truth is a heap o' bother to Barbie's teachers at the best, "sez I. "Look at her spellin'--she comes upon a cross-bred word in abook an' the teacher sez it's pronounced one way, an' you another, an'me another, until she thinks we're all liars; and she knows it the nextday when she comes across another word spelled almost alike an'pronounced just the opposite. How you goin' to teach a child to spellan' be honest both?"

"It's a damned outrage!" sez Jabez, his eyes flashin'. "Take 'thought'an' through, ' an' 'though'--why, it's enough to ruin the morals of thebest child the' is. Hang it, I--"

"Well, you had your own way about it, " sez I. "You've had threedifferent teachers here this term. "

"Who built the school?" sez Jabez. "Didn't I build it with my ownmoney, just so I'd have it handy, an' didn't I offer to pay the teacherif they'd put it right here at the ranch?"

"You ain't got money enough to bring the world here to her feet, Jabez, " sez I, "an' it wouldn't be the best thing for her if you could. "

Well, I sat there the whole blessed night, cheerin' him up. Every timehe'd get to thinkin' about his arm or his leg, I'd say somethin' torile him an' take his mind off his afflictions, an' along about dawn hefell asleep. Spider Kelley had found the doctor almost in ourneighborhood, an' he arrived with him by ten in the mornin'. He paid mea high compliment on the leg, an' after he'd rounded up a few splintersit wasn't no trouble at all to set it; but Jabez was in for a good longspell of it, an' the Spring round-up in sight. You might think thatthis would rile him up too; but he took it like a hero, an' I kept himin touch with everything. 

We didn't have a regular foreman at the Diamond Dot. George Hendrickstook charge around the house, an' Omaha was a sort of ridin'over-see-er; but Jabez himself tended to even little details when hefelt like it. When he didn't feel that way, any one else who thought ofit did. After the round-up Flap Jack decided to go on a bender. I triedto talk him out of it, but he insisted, an' finally I sent him intoJabez. 

Flappy came away just tearin' mad. "He's the hardest-hearted old tyrantever breathed, " sez Flappy to me. 

"What now?" sez I. 

"Last time I came back I was a day late, " sez Flappy. "He fair frothedat the mouth at it, an' made me promise to give him a month's noticenext time. How's a man to know a month ahead when he's goin' to be inthe notion for a bender. I'm fair ravin' for it now; but like's notI'll be all out o' the notion in a month. "

"Then you'll be a sight o' money ahead, " sez I. 

"Money? What's money for? Can you buy a thirst like mine with money?Why, I could take this thirst o' mine to a city an' get independentrich, just rentin' it out by the night. I've watched fellers drinkin'when they didn't crave it, an' it hurt 'em somethin' dreadful. If youdon't want it, you can't enjoy it until you're under the influence ofit, an' after you're under the influence of it half the fun o' drinkin'it is gone. "

Flappy had studied this question more'n airy other man I ever see, an'it was edicatin' to hear him lecture on it. 

"The's only one way to get around ol' Cast Steel, " sez I, winkin'; sohe got Barbie to beg for him when she went in that evenin', an' she gotJabez to let him go next day; but after Jabez'd had time to think itover, he sez to me, "Now see what I've done--I've let that childwheedle me into changin' my mind an' lettin' a man break his word. "

"Well, he needed it mighty bad, " sez I. 

"An' another thing; it ain't no fit thing for a gal child to be beggin'for a man to go get drunk, " sez Jabez. "Maybe not, " sez I, "but he sureneeded it. "

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE LETTER

It all came about through me bein' edicated. Most any one can readprint words, if they're of a reasonable size, --the words I mean, --but Icould read handwritin' too. I never was no great mathematician when yougot above fractions, an' I was some particular in what I read; but if I'd been minded that way, I reckon I could have waded through purty muchany kind of a book ever was written. At that time, however, I was stillmiddlin' young in some things, an' I sure was suspicious of any kind ofbook 'at looked like a school book. 

If you'd have school books did up in paper with the right kind ofpictures on the covers you could easy get children to peruse 'em. Didyou ever notice bear cubs gettin' an edication? They ain't beat intoit, they has to be helt back. Same with the Injun kids; they was up onedge to learn until they got to schoolin' 'em, then they fought againit just like the white kids. The reason is that we make children learnthings they ain't curious about. I bet if you was to try an' keep it asecret about George Washington bein' made President because he wouldn'tlie about choppin' down that cherry tree, the kids would stay awakenights to pry into it. Kids is only human, any way you take 'em. 

But this business was sure a fetcher to me, an' Barbie, she juststumbled on it too. One afternoon me an' her went for a little ride upinto the foothills, an' after we'd built our fire, like we allus did, no matter how hot it was, she lay there rollin' cigarettes for me tosmoke, like she allus did--the little scamp used to get on the lee sideo' me so the smoke would blow in her face; but we never mentioned it. 

Well, after a while she begun to talk of romances, an' to ask mequestions about 'em. I told her as many as I could remember, an' theone what suited her best was "Claud, the Boy Hero of Gore Gulch. " Itallus used to fret her to think 'at the' wasn't nothing she could do tomake her a boy, an' she tried to even up by plannin' to herself whatshe'd have done if so be she had been a boy. We talked along about asusual; but I see the' was somethin' on her mind. She wasn't the one toflare up an' shout for information. She allus talked in a circle likean Injun when she really needed news. 

After a while she fished out a funny old letter. It wasn't put into anenvelope, it was just wrapped inside itself an' stuck fast with a gobo' some kind o' wax which had been broke before it was opened. The' hadbeen a name on the outside, but it had been rubbed out. Inside at thebeginning was the name "Rose Cottage, San Francisco, " and a date; butI've forgotten the date. The letter began, "Dearest George. " I readthat much an' then I looked at Barbie. "Where'd you get this?" sez I. 

She reddened a little, an' then she looked me straight in the face, andsez "I found it in the attic. I wanted a new box to put my cigarettesin, an' one day Daddy left the attic door open an' I went in. The' wasjust a dandy chest there an' he had left the key in it. I opened it an'this letter was on top. He goes to the attic alone every now an'again, --mostly at night, --an' he won't never let me go with him. "

"I suppose that was the reason you thought he wanted you to go alone tothe attic, too, " sez I. She flushed again. "If a person don't trust mehe ain't got no call to be surprised when I don't suit him. "

I shook my head. Now in talkin' to her you forgot she was a child, 'cause she didn't talk broken like most of 'em do--nor she didn't thinkbroken neither; but when you looked at her, little and slim an' purtyas a picture, you couldn't help but wonder if she hadn't got her soulchanged off with some one else, like what they say the Chinese believe. She had the same rules that I did for so many things that it floored meto understand how she got 'em that young, me havin' had to figger 'emout with a heap o' sweat. 

"Was the letter to you?" I sez, gettin' around to facts. 

"No, it wasn't; but I read it, an' I wisht I knew what it means. "

"I ain't a-goin' to read it, " sez I. 

"You 're a coward, " sez she. 

"That's nothing, " sez I; "if it wasn't for the cowards the' would be aheap o' vacant land in this country, " sez I. 

"I thought you was my friend, " sez she, takin' back the letter an'holdin' it open in her hand. "If Spider Kelley could read he would readit for me. "

"So would Hawkins, your pinto, " sez I, grinnin'. "What you ought to dois to tell your Dad that you have the letter. If you don't tell him, Ireckon I'll have to. "

At first she was mad as hops, an' then she looked into my eyes an'laughed. "I'll dare you to, " sez she. The' was some woman in her eventhen. 

The' wasn't no way to bluff her, so I said serious, "Well, what do youintend to do about it?"

"I don't know, " said she. "Dad has lost so many other things beside histemper, stumpin' around with that cane, that he thinks he has lost thekey to the chest. He goes around grumblin' an' lookin' for it; but hedon't ask if any one has found it. Why do you suppose that is?"

"It ain't any of my supposin', " sez I. "What are you goin' to do aboutit?"

"As soon as I get through with this letter--an' make up my mind not tohunt through the chest--I'm goin' to slip the key into his pocket--an'then watch his face when he finds it. "

"You oughtn't to treat your own father so, Barbara, " sez I. 

She laughed. "Barbara! that's a good soundin' name on your tongue, Happy, " sez she. Then she sobered. "I don't care nothing for what yousay or what he says; the' 's things I'm goin' to find out; an' I have aright to. I never told him why it was that I whopped those two girlsover at school last winter, an' I never told even you. I whopped 'em'cause they said I never had a mother. Everything has to have a mother, even a snake, an' I had one too. Why don't he tell me about her? Whydoes he allus turn me off when I ask about her? I don't intend to justlet him tell me that she was the most beautiful woman in the world an'too good to stay here, an' such things. I am going to find out who shewas, an' if you wasn't a coward you'd help me. Now. "

It was true what she said, an' I might have known she was studyin'about it. I might, if I'd had the sense of a hoss, have known that thiswas what made her old-like--studyin' about things she never ought tohave been forced to study about. 

"Does that letter tell about her, Barbie?" I asked. 

"That's what I want to know; but you ain't got the sand to read it, an'I can't make it out. Here, read it. "

I took it an' read it. The writin' was fine an' like what was inBarbie's writin' book along the top. It sounded like as if a young girlhad written it partly against her will, although it was purty lovesometoo. It told about how lonely she was, an' that she hadn't never beenable to tell whether it was Jack or him she was most in love with untilJack had asked her, an' then after Jack had deceived her an' he hadbeen so kind, she found out 'at he was the one she had loved the mostall the time. She reminded him 'at she had written to him beforeacceptin' Jack, an' that now if he was still sure he wanted her, shewould accept him; but she could never live near the Creole Belle. Sheclosed with love, an' signed herself Barbara. 

I kept on lookin' at the page a long time after I had read it. Iremembered what Monody had said when I thought he was out of hishead--about George Jordan an' Jack Whitman, an' the Creole Belle. Iknew 'at Barbie was studyin' my face, an' I pertended to spell out thewords a letter at a time until I could get full control o' myself. 

"What kind of a bell is a Creole Bell?" sez I. "She ain't got itspelled right neither. "

"A Creole Belle is a beautiful woman of French an' Spanish blood wholives in New Orleans, " sez Barbie. "What do you make out about it?"

I was thinkin' fast as I could, but I still pertended to read theletter. So Jabez had been in a scrape with some cross-breed woman, an'he an' this Jack Whitman had loved the same girl, an' the' was a badmix-up somewhere. 

"Little girl, " I sez, "the' 's a lot o' wickedness in this world youdon't know about--"

"An' the' a lot o' wickedness I do know about 'at I ain't supposed to, "she snaps in. "Do you reckon I could knock around this ranch the way Ihave an' not know nothin' except about flowers an' moonlight? You cutout the little girl part an' play square. "

"Well, you look here, " I sez. "I don't know what you do know an' Idon't know what you don't know; but I do know 'at lots of the thingsyou think you know ain't so, if you picked it up from the fool storiessome o' these damn cow punchers tell; an' you ought to be ashamed tolisten to 'em. "

"Oh, yes, of course!" she fires up. "I am the one what ought to beashamed of the stories the cow punchers tell! That's the way from oneend to the other; somebody else says somethin' an' I ought to beashamed 'cause I ain't too deaf to hear it. Now the' 's a lot ofquestions I'm goin' to ask you as soon as I get time. I want to knowwhy--"

"No, you don't!" I yells, jumpin' to my feet an' blushin' clear to myears. "I ain't neither one o' your parents an' I ain't your teacher. Ifyou want to know things you ask Melisse. If you don't put a curb onyourself I'm goin' to flop myself on Starlight an' streak for the LionHead this very minute, an' I won't stop before reachin' the Pan Handle. "

She knew enough to stop bettin' up a pair o' tens when she see theother feller wasn't to be bluffed; so she sez, "Well, I'm goin' to findit out some way or other--I'm going to find out everything I want toknow before I'm done. I love my Daddy, but he don't always play fair;an' I'm goin' to find out what I want to find out--whether he wants meto or not. "

I was in a sweat. "Barbie, " I sez at last, "supposin' he is playin'fair? Supposin' he has sacrificed his own happiness to keep sorrow outof your life, an' supposin' you nose around an' discover it--who'd bethe one 'at played un-fair then? You're powerful young yet; you're aheap younger'n you realize, an' you can't know it all in a day. He'lltell you when he can, an' you ought to trust him. He loves you more'nanything else in this wide world. You ought to trust him, Barbie. "

She trembled tryin' to steady herself, an' I looked off into the valleyfor a moment. "I know he loves me, an' I wouldn't hurt him for theworld; but I think I'm old enough to know, an' I'm goin' to ask him. Ifhe won't tell me now he has to set a date to tell me. I ain't goin' tohave no dirty-faced school kids askin' me questions I can't answer. "

"I reckon all you want to know is in that chest in the garret, " sez I;"an' I reckon it's kept for you to read after--well some day; but if Iwas you, I'd put back the letter an' I'd not think about it any more'nI could help. Supposin' your Dad had had to kill a man to save yourmother, an' didn't want you to know 'at he had ever killed a man--"

"Humph!" she snaps in. "Didn't Claud kill fourteen men in Gore Gulch, an' didn't I think it was fine? If he's killed a man I'd be proud ofit. "

"It's different in real life, " sez I. "I like to read about Claudmyself, but I wouldn't want to slaughter men in the quantities he does. "

"You killed a man oncet yourself, " sez she. 

"When?" sez I. 

"You killed at least one o' the Brophy gang with the butt of your gun, "sez she. 

"It couldn't be proved, " sez I. 

"It couldn't be denied, " sez she. "If that's all you think it is I'mgoin' to ask him. "

"Supposin' your mother had made him promise not to tell you until youcame of age, --you know what store he sets on keepin' his word, --wouldyou be glad to know 'at you had made him break it? This Barbara mighthave been his sister, an' some one else might have been your mother. "

"Oh, I see it now--my mother was the Creole Belle, the beautiful lady. He allus said she was beautiful, the most beautiful woman in theworld--" She sat there with her eyes flashin', but I didn't want to lether make up things 'at wasn't so an' then be disappointed. "Who do yousuppose George was, an' Jack?" sez I quiet. 

She drew her brows together an' sat diggin' her spur into the dirt. "That's so, too, " she said, thinkin' aloud. "But Barbara certainly didhave something to do with me, an' I wisht I knew! Oh, I wish I couldgrow as big as I feel--I hate this bein' a child. I hate it!"

"Will you put the letter back an' try to forget it?" I said at last. 

"I'll put it back at once, I'll give him the key at once; that is, I'llslip it into his pocket, an' I won't pester him about it--now; but yougot to promise to tell me if you ever find it out. Will ya?"

"Yes, " sez I. "If I ever find it all out I'll tell you, honest acrossmy heart. "

"An' you won't say nothin' about this letter to Daddy, until I letyou?" she said, fixin' her eyes on me. 

"No, I won't say a word about that until you tell me to, " sez I. 

"Now, then, let's play tag goin' back to the house, " she said, with herlip stiff again. Oh, she had a heart in her, that child had. 

"You know the pinto has Starlight beat on turns an' twists, " sez I. 

"Yes, " she sez, "an' on a two-hundred mile race, too. " She played awaythrough the summer an' never spoke a word on the subject again; but shehid it most too careful, and Jabez saw the' was somethin' on her mind. "Have you any idea what the child's thinkin' about?" he asked me oneday when we was figurin' some on the beef round-up. 

I didn't answer straight off, an' he noticed it. "What is she studyin'about?" sez he, mighty shrewd. 

"How can a body tell what that child is studyin' about?" sez I. 

"You're with her most of the time--fact is, about all you do is to playwith her these days. "

"Any time my work here don't suit you, " I began; but he snaps in, "Itain't a question o' work. If you amuse her you're worth more to me'nany other ten men; but I have some rights. I want to know what youthink. "

"Have you asked her?" sez I. 

"I'm askin' you, " sez he. 

"Well, I want you to understand 'at I ain't no spy, " sez I, glad of away out. "I don't know all 'at 's on her mind, an' I don't propose toguess; and if I did know, I wouldn't tell unless she told me to. If youknow any way to make me tell, why go ahead and I'll stand by and watchthe proceedin's. "

Well, he ranted up an' down a while, an' finally he pulls himself downan' sez, "Now look here, Happy, the' 's a difference between a parentan' anybody else. "

"I own too to that, " sez I; "but what have I got to do with it?"

"Well, you can sort of hint around until you find out what's on hermind, an' if it ain't somethin' fit, you can tell her so; because if itcomes to a show down, she thinks I ought to tell her anything she wantsto know. "

"Well, hadn't you?" sez I. 

"Yes, sometime, I suppose--but hang it, it's mighty hard to answer someof her questions, or to give reasons why I can't answer 'em. "

"Have you asked her what's on her mind this time?" sez I. 

He fidgeted around a while, an' then he sez, "Yes, I asked her. "

"What did she say?" sez I. 

"She looked me plumb in the eyes, an' said, 'Do you want me to ask youwhat I want to find out?'"

"What did you say?" sez I. 

"Why, I said, 'Yes, Barbara, if it is something you ought to know. '"

"Well?" I sez, after waitin' a bit. 

"Why, she flared up, " sez Jabez, "an' went on sarcastic about it bein'strange to her why girls was so much different from other folks, an'there bein' so many things 'at they wasn't fit to know; an' finally shesaid to me point blank, 'Do you want me to ask you what I want to know, an' if I do ask you will you answer?'"

"What did you say?" I sez. 

"I didn't know what to say, " sez Jabez. "She looked different from anyway she had ever looked before, and after a minute I sez, 'No, Barbara, I don't think you had better ask me, an' I don't think you had betterthink of it any more. ' Don't you think I did right?"

"No, " sez I, "you did not. You simply side-stepped; you wilted underfire, an' she hates a coward as much as you do. Why didn't you face itright then?"

"Happy, " he sez, an' his voice wrung my heart, "the' 's things she'llhave to know sometime, but she ain't old enough to know 'em yet. " Hestopped, an' his face grew hard as stone when he went on. "But the' 'ssome things that she never can know, an' I don't want her to even learnthat there are such things. That's why you have to find out what's onher mind. "

"Now you know, Jabez, that I have my own ideas on what I have to do;but you tell me what kind o' things there are that she mustn't everlearn, an' maybe I'll see your way of it. "

Jabez looked down at the ground, an' the sweat broke out on hisforehead before he answered me. When he did the' wasn't a trace offriendliness in his tone. "You have done a heap for me, Happy, and ifthere's anything in the money line that you think I owe you, why, nameit an' it's yours; but you can see for yourself that we can't go onthis way. I haven't asked you to do anything unreasonable and you haverefused point blank. I don't intend to explain myself to one of my ownmen, and I don't intend to have an argument with him every time I wantanything done my way. This is my ranch and as long 's my own way suitsme, that's the only man it has to suit. "

"Yes, you own this ranch, " sez I; "but you don't own the earth, so I'llmove on. "

"I haven't fired you, " sez Jabez. "You're welcome to work here as longas you want to; but you'll have to be like the other men from this on. You've been like one of the family so long 'at we don't pull togetherany more, and so if you stay I'll have to send you out with the ridinggangs. "

I looked into his face and laughed, though even then I was sorry forhim. He led a lonely life, an' I knew 'at he'd miss me; but we was bothas we was, so I rolled up my stuff, loaded up Starlight, an' saidgood-bye to little Barbie. That was the hard part of it. She didn't crywhen I told her I was goin'--that would 'a' been too girlish-like forher; she just breathed hard an' jerky for a couple o' minutes while welooked in opposite directions, an' then she said, "How'll you come backnext time, Happy? It's over three years ago since you left that othertime, an' you came back just as you said, ridin' on a black hoss withsilver trimmed leather. How'll you come back next time?"

"I don't know, Barbie, " I said, "but I'll sure come back, true to you. "

"Yes, " she said, "an' I'll sure be true to you, all the time you'reaway and when you come back. "

"Barbie, " I said, "you haven't treated your father right. You've lethim see that you're worryin' about somethin', an' it bothers him. "

"I ain't made out o' wood, " she snaps out fierce. "I try to becontented, but I get tired o' bein' a girl. I've half a mind to go withyou, Happy. "

"Yes, but the other half of your mind is the best half, Barbie, " Isaid. "Now I'm goin' to tell you a secret; your daddy is twice aslonesome as you are, and he's been through a heap of trouble sometime. You miss the mother that you never did see, but he misses the motherthat he knew and loved; and I want you to promise to do all you can tocheer him up and make him happy. "

"I never thought o' that before, " said she, "I'll do the best Ican--but you'll come back to me sometime, won't you, Happy?"

"I sure will, " I said, an' we shook hands on it. Then I decided thatI'd leave Starlight with her. He wasn't as good for knockin' around asa range pony, and I didn't know what I'd be doin', so I took my stuffoff him, picked out a tough little mustang from the home herd, shookhands with her again, an' started. I glanced up toward old Savage, andshe read my thoughts. "I'll take flowers to him now and again, " sezshe, "and I'll go up there and talk to him about you; and Happy, Happy, we'll both be lonesome until you come back!" And so I kissed her on thelips, and rode away the second time. 

CHAPTER NINE

ADRIFT AGAIN

Well, I rode purty tol'able slow. Some way I didn't want to go back tothe Lion Head Ranch. I knew 'at Jim would be glad to see me, but I knewI'd be lonesomer there than among total strangers; so I just floated, punchin' cows most o' the time, but not runnin' very long over the samerange. 

It was just about this period that I begun to lose my serious view o'life and get more man-like. The usual idea is that a boy is a careless, happy, easy-goin' sort of a creature, and a man is a steady, seriousminded, thoughtful kind of an outfit; but just the reverse. A boystarts out believin' most o' what's told him an' thinkin' that it's hisduty to reform the world; an' about the only thing he is careless of ishuman life--his own or any one else's. Fact o' the matter is that ifyou watch him close enough you'll find out that even in his games a boyis about the solemnest thing on earth, an' you have to know the gamepurty thorough to tell when it drifts into a real fight. That's why allwars have been fought by boys. They believe in any cause 'at looks bigenough to lay down their lives for, an' that's their chief ambition. Aman, though; gets to see after a time that the' 's most generallysomebody up behind who's working the wires, an' he gets so 'at he don'twant to lay down ANYBODY's life, except as a last resort. He looksfavorable upon amusement, an' after a while he kind o' sort o' getshardened to the fact that the whole thing's a joke and he'd ratherlaugh than shoot. Why, I'd be more afraid of a boy with a popgun than I'd be of a man with a standin' army. 

So as I said, it was just about this time in my life that I begun tohunt up pleasant places to eat and sleep; an' if I heard of trouble inthe next county I turned out an' went around. I did a little ofeverything; even lugged a chain in a surveyor outfit, but the' wasn'tenough chance in that. I got to have a trace of gamblin' in anything Ido; so the first thing I knew I was down in Nevada lookin' for thetreasure 'at Bill Brophy had buried there. The last of his gang hadtried to describe the place, but his description would have done for'most any place in Nevada--she not bein' what you might callfree-handed in the way of variety. 

Well, I ragged around in the mountains between Nevada and California, lookin' for a flat-shaped rock with a mountain-peak on each side of it, an' a cold wind sweepin' up the canon--I don't know just how the coldwind got included, but the dyin' outlaw dwelt upon that cold windsomething particular. I stayed out puny late in the season, an' if coldwinds was identifyin', Brophy had his treasure buried purty unpartiallyall over the West. 

I reckon I'd have died if I had it fallen in with Slocum. Slocum was aqueer lookin' speciment when you first came upon him. His skin didn'tfit him very well, bein' a trifle too big, an' wrankled an' baggy inconsequence; his eyes was kind of a washy blue, an' they stuck out fromhis face, givin' him the most sorrowful expression I ever see. You justcouldn't be suspicious of a man with such eyes as that; he seemed tohave throwed himself wide open an' invited the whole world to come an'look inside. Why, a perfect stranger would have trusted Slocum with hislast plug of tobacoo, and like as not he'd have gotten part of it back. Well, as I said, I was headin' for warmer weather, but I got overtookan' had about given up all hope when I noticed the smell of smoke inthe air. I was walkin' on foot an' pullin' a burro with a pack behindme, an' after a time I located that smoke comin' right up through thesnow. 

I yelled and shouted around for a while without gettin' any response. Night and the snow was both fallin' fast, an' that smoke was exceedingtemptin'. Finally I took a piece of burlap off the pack, put it overthe hole where the smoke was comin' up through, an' piled snow on topof it. I was curious to see what would happen. I waited--perhaps it wasonly five minutes, but it seemed that many hours--an' then a low, calmvoice, down somewhere beneath me, sez, "Get off that chimney!"

"I will, " sez I, "when you tell me how to get to the fire. "

I waited again, an' then a man with a lantern emerged into the cutabout forty feet below me, an' told me how I could wind around and comedown to him. Well, me an' the burro finally worked it out, an' therewas a man with long whiskers standin' in his shirt-sleeves in front ofa hole in the snow. 

"You like to 'a' smothered me, " he grumbled. "Don't you know better'nto stop up a chimney that's workin'?"

"I wanted the chimney to work double, " sez I, "an' that was the onlyway I could think up to attract your attention. "

"Do you live around here?" sez he. "Not very much, " sez I, "but I 'mminded to try it a while, if there 's room in your burrow for two. "

"Got any tobacco?" sez he. 

"Plenty, " sez I. 

"You're welcome, " sez he. 

We took the burro over to a clump of pine woods an' turned him loose, an' then I crawled in through the tunnel to Slocum's fire. It was in acave which had a natural chimney runnin' up the hill, an' it lookedconsiderable much like Paradise to me. We ate an' smoked together for aweek, an' then one day our fire went out an' a flood of water poureddown through the chimney. We worked like beavers for a while, gettin'our stuff outdoors, an' it was as hot as summer outside. 

"That's the only drawback to this cave, " said Slocum. "It will be allto the good when the winter settles in earnest, but it will be somebother while it's still snowin' an' thawin'. "

I told him that I agreed with him to such an extent that if I couldlocate the burro I'd rather risk gettin' back to humanity than to dyin'there of rheumatiz. I was wringin' wet through. 

"Nobody can't die of rheumatiz around me, " sez Slocum, an' he went toone of his packs an' got out a piece of root. 

"Chew this, " sez he, "an' it will drive the rheumatiz out of yoursystem. "

Anybody would have trusted those eyes, so I chewed the root for about aminute, an' then I chewed snow an' mud an' tobacco an' red pepper foran hour, tryin' to get rid of the taste. Drive the rheumatiz out ofyour system? Why, the blame stuff would drive out your system too ifyou chewed it long enough. It was the tarnationest stuff 'at ever ahuman man met up with. 

"It's most too strong to take pure, " sez Slocum, "but if you grind itan' put a shall pinch in a quart of alcohol it makes a fine remedy. Don't throw the rest o' that root away. There is enough there to do youa lifetime. "

"Yes, " sez I, "there is, an' more. "

A feller once told me that man was a slave to hisenvirament--envirament is anything around you, scenery, books, evilcompanions, an' sech; well, a burro ain't no slave to his envirament'cause he generally eats it. My burro was fat, an' the clump of pinetrees had mostly disappeared. I loaded up my stuff, shook hands withSlocum, and started down the mountain. Just as I got fully startedSlocum sez to me, "I 'm sure sorry to see you go. I don't generally getmuch friendly with folks any more, but I took to you from the first, an' any time I can do you a favor, all you got to do is to wink. "

"What's your general plan of occupation, Slocum?" sez I. 

"All that I ever expect to do for the remainder of my days, " sez he, "is to search for my Rheumatiz Remedy. "

"Well, " sez I, "any time you get to do me a favor in that line, it'llbe when I'm too weak to wink. " So we parted the best o' friends, an' Iwent on to a lumber camp where I put in the winter bossin' a gang. Ididn't know much about lumber, but the men there was just the same asanywhere else, an' we got along fine. 

I was bossin' a little ranch up in Idaho next June when I heard tell ofa big strike in the Esmeralda range--not such a great distance fromwhere I had spent the week with Slocum. The report had it that a fellernamed Slocum had located the big ace of gold mines, an' I was some etup with curiosity to see if it was the same Slocum; but I was needed atthe ranch that winter, an' as I took a likin' for the young feller whowas tryin' to make it go, I stuck to him, an' it wasn't until thefollowin' July that I pulled out an' floated down that way. 

Well, it was the same old Slocum sure enough. He was the most onluckycuss 'at ever breathed, I reckon. Every time he had made up his mind todo something, Fate had stepped up an' voted again it. He had wasted thebest part of his life locatin' gold mines 'at wouldn't hang out, untilat last even he got disgusted an' went to huntin' for his Injun root tocure rheumatiz with. First thing he knew, he had stumbled on a bonanzalode in the Esmeralda range. This here lode was a peach. Ten-foot faceon top, just soggy with gold an' silver, an' copper an' tin enough topay expenses. It just looked as if they's said, "Now then, there'sSlocum; he been hammered so long he's got callous to it. Let's jus' seehow he'd act if we switched his luck on him. " An' they sure done it. 

Slocum, he scratched around until he see that it wasn't no joke, an'then he set bait for a couple o' capitalists. He trapped two beauties, an' they put up the assets an' went in, equal partners. They sunkshafts an' built stamp mills an' smelters an' retorts; oh, they suremade plans to get the metal wholesale. As soon as it began to flow inthey built stores an' shacks an' a big hotel--they wasn't timorousabout puttin' their coin into circulation, you bet your life, an' itlooked as if they was going to flood the market. 

Well, Slocum, he owned a third of everything, mind, an' his expressionflopped square over like a dry moon, an' stayed points up. He forgotall those years 'at he'd been havin' the muddy end of it, an' after atime he got 'em to call the mine "Slocum's Luck. " The' wasn't no callto hurl such an insult as that into the mouth of an honest, hard-workin' mine, an' naturally, as soon as it was done, the mine laiddown in its tracts an' refused to give up another ounce. 

They came to a break in the lode an' couldn't find the beginnin' again. The same twist that had hove one edge out of the ground had unjointedthe other. But they had got out a tidy sum already, an' they knew the'must be a loose end somewhere, so they was anxious to keep their outfitin good order. 

Slocum hadn't swelled clear out of shape with his new fortune, an' whenI made myself known to him he had give me a purty tol'able decent sortof a job, where there was more bossin' an' responsibility than brutelabor; an' I felt kindly toward him. Winter lasted full four months outthere. It was a good ninety miles to the railroad, an' so when themornin's begun to get frosty every one else scooted for humanity, an'I, bein' more or less weak-minded, took the job o' watchman, at forty amonth an' my needin's. I always was a hog for litachure, so I got abushel o' libraries an' started in to play it alone. 

The' wasn't a blessed thing to do, so I read 'em through by New Years, an' got out of tobacco by the first of February. From that on I begunto think in a circle, an' my intellect creaked like a dry axle beforethe bluebirds began to sing. Quiet? I could hear the shadows crawlin'along the side of the house. The snow was seventy-five feet deep in thecanyons, so you might say I was duty bound to stay there. As a generalrule, I don't shirk breakin' a path, but when the snow is more thanfifty feet higher than my head, I'd rather walk fourth or fifth. 

When the outfit came back in the spring I was the entire receptioncommittee; but I bet the' never was one more able to do its part. 

CHAPTER TEN

A WINTER AT SLOCUM'S LUCK

They only brought out about half a gang that summer, an' they kept themprobin' around all over the neighborhood; but though they found enoughstuff to about pay expenses, they couldn't get back on the main track. Both the Eastern capitalists showed up along toward fall to see whatwas doin', an' when it came time to knock off work, they tried to getme to repeat my little performance as watchman. 

I thanked 'em for their trustfulness, but I politely declined thehonor. I told 'em 'at I was purty tol'able quick-witted, an' it didn'ttake me four months to study out what I was goin' to say next. But Icompromised by sayin' that if they would give me two other fellers forcompany I'd stay; otherwise they'd have to rustle up some poor devil'at needed the money. They knew 'at I was reliable, so they agreed; an'I selected out my two companions in affliction. What I mostly wantedwas a heap of variety, an' when the number is limited to two, a fellerhas to be some choicy; but I reckon I got the best the' was. 

There'd been a little light-haired feller there all season, kind o'gettin' familiar with labor, like. He was no account to work, hecouldn't even learn to tie a knot; but he talked kin' o' blotchy, an'it was divertin' to listen to him. One day we was kiddin' him aboutbein' so thumby, an' he sez, "That's right, boys, laugh while you can;but I'll have you all between the covers of a book some day, an' thenit will be my grin. I ain't swore no everlastin' felicity to the holycause o' labor; I'm just gettin' local color now. "

Next day he fell into a barrel of red paint he was swobbin' on thehotel to keep her from warpin', an' every blessed man in camp passedout about six jokes apiece relatin' to local color. He never saddenedup none, though, just smiled sorrowful, as though he pitied us, an'went on tanglin' up everything he touched. 

An' then there was another curious speciment there; a tall thin feller, with one o' them lean, chinny faces. He claimed 'at he had been a showactor, but his lungs had given out--claimed he was a tragudian, butGreat Scott! he couldn't even turn a handspring. 

He said he was recuperatin', an' he sure did hit his liquor purty hard;but I never could make out what he expected to get out of a minin'camp, 'cause he was full as useless as Local Color. About half thefellers you meet strayin' around out here are a bit one-sided, but wedon't care so long as they're peaceable. When you'd guy this one alittle stout, he'd fold his arms, throw back his head, an' say, "Laugh, varlets, laugh! Like the cracklin' o' thorns under a pot, is thelaughter of fools. " This was the brand of langwidge 'at flowed fromthis one, an' he wasn't no ways stingy with it. 

Well, they had kept these two at boys' jobs an' boys' wages, an' when Ioffered 'em the position of deputy watchmen, they fair jumped at it. Said Local Color, "It will be a golden opportunity to perpetuate theseething thoughts which crowd upon my brain. " Said Hamlet, "I thankthee, sir, for this, thy proposition fair. In sooth I'll try thecold-air cure, and in the majesty of prime-evil silence, I shall makethe snow-capped mountains echo to the wonderful rhapsodies ofShakespeare. " Well, the' was a super-abundance of cold air an'prime-evil silence an' snow-capped mountains, an' I didn't care a hangwhat he did to 'em, so long as it kept me from gettin' everlastin' sicko' my own company. 

I never see any company yet 'at wasn't a shade better'n just my own. Iknew I could stand these two innocents for four months, an' if they gotviolent I could rope an' tie 'em. When everybody begun to get ready topull out, I took the twenty-mule team down to town to get our needin's. I took the children along with me, an' I sez to 'em, "Now, boys, nodrinkin' goes up above through the winter. We simply have to go out an'get disgusted with it before we start back. "

Well, we sure had a work-out. On the sixth day Hamlet, he throws hisarm around my neck an' busts out cryin' an' sez, "Happy, it is theinflexible destiny o' the human race to weary of all things mortal, an'I'm dog-tired o' bein' drunk--an' 'sides, I'm busted. "

It turned out that he didn't have any advantage over me an' Locals inthis respect, so we went to the company store an' got three bushels o'nickle libraries, enough grub to do six men six months, enough tobaccoto do twelve men a car, an' a little yeller pup 'at we give six bitsfor. I didn't 'low to run any risks this deal. 

When we got back 'most everybody had pulled out, an' the roads wasbeginnin' to choke up. Slocum an' the two capitalists was there waitin'for us, but when all their stuff was loaded on the wagon the' wasn'troom for the men; so Miller, the youngest capitalist, who was a bit ofa highroller, an' had been shakin' up the coast off an' on, he took offfour trunks, an' sez to me, "Happy, if you run out of clothes, here'sfour trunks-full. " Then they hopped on the wagon an' left us alone inour glory. 

I reckon, take it all in all, that was about the most florid winter Iever put in, an' it purt' nigh spoilt me for hard work. I did thecookin', the innocents did the chores, an' we got along as bully as afat bear for a while, livin' in the hotel. The' was a hundred rooms, but we didn't use 'em all. Locals, he wrote most of the time, when hewasn't lookin' at the ceiling an' tryin' to think. Hammy, he walkedbarefoot in the snow, on' hollered at the snow-capped mountains. I readnickle libraries, an' we didn't care a dang for the Czar of Russia, until along toward Christmas a spark lit in my pile of litachure, an'doggone near burned the hotel down. Then we began to feel snowed-in. Locals had writ himself dry, Hammy was tired of listenin' to himself, besides havin' chilblains up to his knees, an' I was half crazy, 'countof havin' nothing to read. We didn't have a nickle between us, so wecouldn't gamble, an' I resigned my mind that when spring climbed up thetrail the 'd be two corpses an' one maniac in that cussed hotel. 

One day Hammy came stalkin' in to where me an' Locals was playin'guess. Guess ain't never apt to be a popular pastime 'cause it has tobe played without any kind o' cheatin' whatever. The one who is it, guesses what the other one is thinkin' of, an' if he guesses before hefalls asleep, he wins. Well, Hammy, he breaks in on our game just thesame as if we hadn't been doin' anything at all, an' I knew by hisaction that the' was somethin' afoot. Whenever Hammy was ready to speaksomething, he always walked like a hoss 'at was string-haltered in allfour legs. Well, he paraded up to us that day, hip action, knee action, and instep action all workin', stopped in front of us, folded his arms, an' sez, "Good sirs, I have conceived a fitting fete. "

"The only fate I expect is to go mad an' cut my own throat, " sezLocals; but Hammy frowned an' went on in a scoldy, indignant voice. "When Wisdom speaks, Folly replies with jest; yet, having little choiceof company, I needs must make the best of what I have. "

Well, those two had what they called a war of wits until finally Localshit Hammy with a chair, which was the way most o' their discussionsended; but it turned out that what Hammy was tryin' to say was that weshould open the trunks, dress ourselves in the clothes, an' give ashow. He said he knew parts to fit any make-ups we'd find; an' afterLocals found out what it was 'at Hammy had schemed out, he joined inenthusiastic, an' said that if the' had never been a part writ to fit'em yet, he could do it on the spot, an' he wasn't swamped withbusiness right then anyway. "Yes, " I sez, "it's a great idee, an' we'llsure draw a mammoth crowd. We'll charge 'em a library apiece an' getenough litachure to last us a hundred years. "

"At best, sarcasm is out of season; at worst, the season 's out of it, "sez Hammy to me: "and furthermore, good friend, in life, as on thestage, your part must be a role of actions, not of words. " I used tosay over the things 'at this pair made up, until I had 'em by heart, an' since then I've had a lot o' fun springin' 'em on strangers. Theyused to speak to me as though I was a horse, and of me as though I waspart of the furniture. Hammy sez to me one day, "Me good man, you dovery well with your hands, but kindly Nature designed your head merelyfor a hatrack. "

They could say these little things right off the roll, an' it allusmade me feel like a fish out o' water, somehow, but I stored 'em up inmy memory, an' I've got my worth out of 'em all right. 

We did open the trunks a week or so after this--and clothes! Well, say, Miller sure was the dresser. The' was fifteen hats in a little trunkbuilt a-purpose for 'em, an' the' was all kinds of vests an' pants an'neckties 'at a feller could imagine. But best of all was a book 'at wefound at the bottom of one o' the trunks. It was a hard-shelled book, an' I never took much stock in that kind. When it's my turn to read abook, a little old paper-back fits me out all right. I've been fooledon them hard-shells too often; but this here one was a hummer. 

I ain't no tenderfoot when it comes to a book, but this one was surethe corkin'est I ever met up with. I had allus thought 'at "SeventeenBuckets o' Blood; or the Mormon Widder's Revenge" was about the extremelimit in books, but this here one lays over even that. It was called"Monte Cristo, " an' had the darndest set o' Dago names in it ever amortal human bein' laid eyes on. I tried to mine it out by myself atfirst, but pshaw, every cuss in the book had a name like an Injun town, an' the' was about as many characters in the book as the' is on theearth; so I delegated Hammy to read her out loud. This suited Hammy tothe limit, an' he didn't only read her--he acted her. He'd roar an'screech an' whisper an' glare into your eyes so blame natural that afeller never used the back of his chair from start to finish, an' twiceI was on the point of shootin' him, thinkin' it was real. 

If you ain't never read the book it'll pay you to fling up your job an'wrastle through it. It starts out with a nice, decent young fellersailin' home to marry his steady, but all his friends turn in an' stackthe cards on him, an' get him chucked into the rottenest dungeon inFrance. He knowed how they soak it to a feller citizen in that country, an' at first he was all for killin' himself; but after he'd studied itover ten or twelve years, he suddenly heard a queer scratchin' noise. 

In that same prison was another prisoner, an Abbey. An Abbey is a kindof foreman priest. Well, this Abbey wasn't one to throw out a prayeran' then set down to wait for results, not him. He was one o' thesenervous, fretty fellers what like to do their own drivin', an' he makeshim a set o' minin' tools out of a tin saucepan an' a bed-castor, an'runs a level from his own cell into Eddie's--an' that was the queer, scratchin' sound that made Eddie decide not to kill himself. 

By George, if I could find a prison what had an Abbey shut up in it, the' wouldn't be any way in the world to keep me out. This Abbey, hecottoned to Eddie right from the start, an' durin' the next few yearsthey mine around in the prison till she's as holey as a Switzer cheeze;an' durin' their leisure he edicates Eddie till he knows more'n acollege professor. 

Then the Abbey begins to have fits, an' when all the medicine 'at hecould make out of old soot an' sulphur matches an' such stuff is gone, he gives up an' tells Eddie where he has a little holler island, chuckfull o' diamonds an' money an' such like plunder. Then he dies, an'Eddie gets in the sack. They chain a round shot to Eddie's feet an'hurl him off a cliff into the angry sea, an' when it comes to that partyou can't hardly breathe; but Eddie kicks off the chain, rips open thesack, an' when he strikes the water he's a free man. 

He swims along for a couple of days until he overtakes a smuggler, an'he climbs on board an' shows 'ern how to run their business accordin'to Hoyle. He only stays with 'em long enough to learn all theirsecrets, an' then he gives 'em the slip an' goes to his little hollerisland. He pulls off the top, an' it's all so, what the Abbey told him. Then he lifts up his hand an' he sez, sez he, "I'll be avenged!" And hesure done it. 

He didn't believe in none o' your cheap little killin's. He gives 'emall the range they wanted while he was fixin' up the cards; but when hewas ready to call their hands, the' was somethin' doin' every minute, an' don't you never forget it. Oh, he was a deep one. It is creepy tothink of any one like him bein' turned loose on the earth, 'cause afeller might do somethin' 'at didn't suit him, an' the' wasn't no placeyou could hide in afterward. He kept watchin' all the while, an' nobodycouldn't commit a crime nowheres on earth but what he knew of it, an'he'd go an' call the feller over to one side an' say, "Young man, youare doomed to die; but if you'll promise to do anything I want you to, I'll give the Pope, or the Emp'rer of Chinee, or whoever the main stemhappened to be, a scuttle o' diamonds an' get you free--what's theword?"

Well, in a few years the' wasn't half a dozen criminals in the wholeworld who wasn't bound to carry out his orders, an' you can see what anoutfit he had to back him up. Some of 'em he'd make his body-servants;but that wasn't no snap, you can bet, 'cause he was notionable to adegree. He'd make plans for a little party, an' he'd send one man toSiberia for a fish, an' another to Asia for a fowl, an' another toChinee for a bird's nest--to make soup of--an' so on. He never give hisguests nothin' to eat 'at growed in the same country the feast was tobe give in. Then he'd say to his steward, who had the hardest job ofall, "Bill"--Bill wasn't his name, but it'll do--"Bill, where did I seethat six-foot vase, made out of a single ruby?"

An' Bill would turn pale an' say, "It was in the secret vault of theEm'prer of Chince, your Excellency. " Then Monte Cristo, he'd say, "Ah, yes, so it was. 'Tell, go an' get it an' have it here by thetwenty-fifth day of next month. "

Well, Bill, he'd just about flicker out, an' begin to tell how itcouldn't be did; but Xlonte, he'd only look at him cold, an' say, "Never mind the details, Bill--get the vase. If you think you need theBritish Navy, why, buy it, but don't bother me. It seems to me, Bill, 'at you ought to begin gittin' on to my curves purty soon. Good-bye. "

This was the way he carried on. He'd go to a prison an' he'd say, "Young man, you was buried to death when you was a baby, but I figgeredI could use you later on, so I had you transplanted. You come out o'this prison, get an edication, an' on the ninth o' next June you showup at number forty-nine, Rue de Champaign, Paris, at two fifteen P. M. --sharp. Here's a million francs to pay expenses. Don't be atight-wad--the's plenty more. " A franc is worth five dollars, but hedidn't give a durn for 'em. That was HIS style. 

He'd come to town an' buy a tenement house 'at wouldn't rent, becauseit was haunted; an' he'd tear it all down except the rooms 'at had beenmost popular to commit murder in. Then next day he'd run up a swellmansion around these rooms--big an' gorgeous, like the Capitol atCheyenne, with full-grown trees from all over the world, standin' inthe front yard. Then he 'd give a party to all the substantial citizenswho had once used those rooms to commit murders in, an' he'd bring 'emface to face with the ones they thought they had murdered--an' it wascomical to see 'em fallin' around in faints; but Monte, he'd pretend'at he hadn't noticed anything unusual, an' he'd get 'em a glass ofwine an' make 'em face the torture, till it gives a feller a coldsweat, just to read about it. 

You might think that a man runnin' for congress in this country has ahard time sinkin' his reputation; but the way 'at Monte Cristo minedaround in a feller's past was enough to scare a cat out of a cellar. They don't run things over in France like they do here; they makeCounts an' Markusses an' Bankers out of the bad men, an' slap theinnocent ones into dungeons to keep 'em from gettin' spoilt. But thisdidn't suit Monte for a minute; so when he gets the gang all settin' upin front of him like a herd o' tenpins he sez, "Let her go!" an' youought to have seen 'em drop. 

He don't do none o' the dirty work himself--no more prisons for him. Hejust goes around like a Sunday-school director at Christmas time, whilehis enemies turn to an' poison an' stab an' mutilate each other in away to turn a butcher pale; but his favorite plan is to make 'em goinsane an' have their hair turn white in a single night. That got to behis private brand. 

Well, Hammy read the book to us so natural that we all slept in one bedfor company; but it cheered us a heap, an' we begun to feel rich, ourselves, an' talked about millions as easy an' natural as though weeach had little holler islands of our own. Miller was about my size, so'at all his clothes fit me like the skin on a potato. Hammy was aleetle too tall an' thin, and Locals, a foot or so short; but theyfished out a couple of swell outfits too. 

We found a lot of empty check-books, an' used to play draw, settlin' atnight by check. It was purty good fun for a while--until we woke up. Hammy owed me ten million francs an' Locals was into me for fifteen. Ioffered to give 'em a receipt in full if they'd give me their interestin the yeller pup. As long as the pup had three bosses he wouldn't mindno one, an' I wanted to teach him somethin' besides eatin' an' sleepin;but them two cusses wouldn't sell out at the price. When I saw that ahundred an' twenty-five million dollars wouldn't buy two-thirds of aseventy-five cent pup, I understood what the spell-binders mean by adebased currency, an' I felt hurt an' lonesome again. 

One day Hammy stacked himself in front of a window an' began to talkabout the gloomy ghastliness of solitude, until me an' Locals couldn'tstand it no longer, an' we heaved him out into a drift. Under ordinarycircumstances he would have rolled his eyes, pulled his hair, an'ranted around about the base ungratitude of man; but this time helooked up to the sky an' hollered, "Come out here quick! Hurry up! COMEON!"

We went out, an' the' was somethin' a-floatin' away up yonder, lookin'like a flyspeck on a new tablecloth. "What is it?" asked Hammy. "Is ita bird?" asked Locals. Under such conditions I never say nothin' untilI have somethin' to say, so we stood an' gazed. In about ten minutes weall shouted together, "It's a balloon!"

An' by jinks, that's what it was. We hollered an' fired off guns, an'after a while it settled down an' lodged in a tree. The' was only oneman in it, but he was dyked out in Sunday clothes, an' purt' nigh frozeto death. We fed an' warmed him, an' he was about as much surprised atus as we was at him. I was wearin' a Prince Albert coat an' a high plughat, Locals had on a white flannel yachtin' rig, an' Hammy was sportin'a velvet suit with yeller leggin's an' a belt around the waist. Afterwe had fitted him out with a pipe he sez, "Gentlemen, I may possibly beable to repay you at some future time. I am Lord Arthur Cleighton, second son of the Earl o' Clarenden. "

When he registered himself thus, I see Locals an' Hammy open theireyes, an' I knew 'at we had landed somethin' purty stately. 

"I am pleased to meet you, me lord, " sez Hammy, in his most gorgeousmanner. "I am Gene De Arcy. You may have heard of my father, themultimillionaire. "

Locals, he looked at Lord Arthur, an' see that Hammy's bluff had stuck, so he girded up his loins an' sez, "Sir, it gives me great pleasure tomake your acquaintance. My uncle, Silas Martin, the late copper king, has just died, leavin' me as his sole heir; an' I have been seein' abit of my own country, preparatory to a prolonged trip around theworld. "

Lord Arthur, he jumps to his feet an' shakes hands with 'em, tellin''em to just cut out his title, as he was a simple Democrat while in theUnited States. 

I hardly knew what to do. I didn't hold openers, an' yet if I didn'tdraw some cards an' see it out I stood to lose entirely. I had beencorralin' a heap o' city langwidge since I had been cooped up withLocals an' Hammy, but my heart failed me. I knew I was still some shyon society manners; but I also knew 'at the' was a heap o' bluffin'goin' on, so I stuck up my bet an' called. 

"Artie, " I sez, holdin' out my hand, "you 're the first lord my eyeshas ever feasted on; but I like you--you're game. It ain't many 'atwill own up to bein' a Democrat these days, not even in the secrecy ofthe ballot box, but here in Nevada you're safe. Pa has just retiredfrom business, leavin' me this little mine; but it only pays about tenmillion a year now, so I've made up my mind not to bother with it, butto shut it down an' go on a tour of the world with my two friends here. I never cared much for school, so this will be a good way to finish myedication. We was up here last fall seein' that things was closed inproper order, an' waited for the watchman to come up from below, whenwe expected to drive down to our special train an' start for Paris. Butthe snow came unexpected, and the expected watchman failed to come; andhere we are, with no food fit for a human, an' all our servants in thespecial train, ninety miles away. "

When I begun my oration Locals and Hammy leaned forward, holdin' theirbreath; but when they see 'at I wasn't turnin' out no schoolboy articleof a lie, they settled back with a long sigh, an' I could tell by theirfaces 'at they were takin' pride in my work. They was about the bestqualified judges o' that kind o' work I ever met up with, an' I'll own'at I never felt prouder in my life 'an I did when Hammy slapped me onthe back as soon as I finished an' sez to Artie, "Me Lord, this is atypical American. He plans his life on larger things than rules; butyou can depend on him--yea, though the heavens fall, you can depend onJack here. "

I was glad we didn't have any liquor there, or like as not we'd 'a'burned the hotel down just for a lark. We was so full of that doggoneMonte Cristo book that we believed our own lies as easy as Artie did, an' begun to talk to each other like we was society folks at a banquet. 

But Artie was a good, decent sort of a chap, as common as we were, whenwe got to know him. He never kicked none on the grub, an' his appetitewas a thing to make preparations for; but, as Locals said, his highdescent came out the minute he was brought face to face with work--hedidn't recognize it. Now he didn't try to dodge it, nor he didn'tapologize for not doing it; he just didn't seem to know the' was such athing. It never occurred to him that the only way to have clean disheswas to wash dirty ones. Hammy and Locals, those freeborn sons ofIndependence, was glad an' proud to have the chance to wait on him; butI must confess that the day he sat by the fire with a pile of woodwithin reachin' distance, an' let the fire go out, I grew a trifleloquacious about it. 

Hammy overheard me mutterin' to myself in a voice 'at could be heardanywhere in the hotel, an' he drew me to one side an' sez, "Hush, presumptuous peasant; for all you know the blood of Alfred flows withinhis veins. "

"That ain't my fault, " sez I; "but some of it will flow down thismountain side if he don't begin stayin' awake daytimes. "

Still, all in all, he was a likeable young feller an' the' ain't nodoubt but what he saved us from bein' lonesome any more. He said 'atthis balloon had been exhibited in Los Angeles, an' he had got into itjust for fun; but the rope had parted an' he had been fifteen hours onthe way. It was only by luck 'at he had happened to have his overcoatalong. 

He had four or five newspapers, which he had tied around his feet tokeep 'em warm, but nare a library; so after we had lied ourimaginations sore for a week or so, we fell back on draw, settlin' bychecks at night. By a dazzling piece of luck Artie had his money in thesame New York bank 'at Miller had, so he could use our checks, an'things began to brighten. Three of us were playin' for real money, an'the other feller thought he was--it was genuine poker, an' the stiffestgame I ever sat in. 

Time didn't drag none now. Artie knew the game, an' it kept me in asweat to beat him. White chips was a hundred dollars apiece; but we betcolored ones mostly, to keep from litterin' up the table. Spring beganto loosen up about the first of March, an' by that time Artie owed metwo million real dollars. Locals an' Hammy was into me for close to abillion, but I didn't treasure their humble offerings much, 'ceptin' aspipe-lighters. We was keyed up to a high pitch by this time, an' wasbeginnin' to get thin and ringey about the eyes. Artie from losin', mefrom longin' for the time to come when I should start out to be alittle Monte Cristo on my own hook, an' Locals an' Hammy, from pityin'Artie an' envyin' me. 

On the twenty-fifth of March a wagon-load of grub an' four men came outto get things started. I see 'em comin' up the grade, an' I piked downan' told'em 'at I had landed a good thing, an' to just treat me as theboss for a few days an' I'd make it all right with 'em. 

When Artie saw the new men he turned pale about the gills. He owed meclose to three millions, an' blame if I didn't feel a little sorry forhim. Still, I'd played fair all the while, an' I 'lowed 'at the Earl o'Clarenden could stand it, and I needed the money a heap more'n some whomight 'a' won it. 

When old Bill Sykes came in to report to me I was wearin' a plug hat onthe back o' my head an' sportin' a white vest an' a red necktie, so Ilooked enough like the real thing to make it easy for him to act hispart. He came in an' blurted out, right while we was boostin' up ajack-pot. "That'll do, me good man, " sez I, "wait until this hand isplayed. " Bill, he took off his hat an' stood humble until Artie hadscooped in a hundred thousand dollars, an' then I told Bill he mighttalk. 

"The watchman was found froze to death, Mr. Hawkins, " sez Bill to memighty respectful, "an' your train waited until two relief parties hadbeen drove back by storms, an' then it pulled out for 'Frisco. We areall ready to take charge here, an' as soon as you wish you can drivedown in the wagon an' telegraph for the train. "

Bill backed out bowin', an' we made plans to emigrate a little. Ipromised Locals an' Hammy a generous rake-off, an' we fixed to have atol'able fair time as soon as I cashed in. 

Next mornin' I found a letter addressed to Mr. John Hawkins, Esq. Artiewasn't around, but Locals an' Hammy was, so I opened the letter an'read it. This here is the letter. It's one o' my greatest treasures. 

"GENTLEMEN, --You have all treated me fine an' I hate to skin outwithout saying good-bye but I have not the nerve. I have lied to youall the time. I am not a real lord at all. My father was gardener atClarenden Castle an' I was under groom at St. James Court. When theyounger son came to this country, I came with him but left him an'became a waiter in New York City. I went to an excursion to Long Branchan' got to flirting with a widow just for pastime. She dogged my lifeafter that and my wife is something terrible so I took her and came toLos Angeles. We was as happy as any one could be with a wife like mineuntil the widow showed up. Then I stood between two fires and eitherone of them was hell so I got into the balloon and cut the ropeexpecting to drift over into Mexico. You are all rich and will not needthe money but I always play fair and I hate to skin out this way;

 "yours truly "L. A. C. 

"P. S. It was all I could do to keep from helping with the work 'causesome of your cooking was rotten and you did not wash the dishes cleanbut I knew if I worked you would not think me a real lord. I hope someday I may be able to repay you for all your kindness. "

I didn't say a word after I finished readin' the letter. I had fallentoo far to have any breath left for talkin'; but Hammy an' Localsunbosomed their hearts something terrible. 

"A murrian on the filthy swine!" sez Hammy, after he began to quietdown a little. "I would I had his treacherous throat within my grasp, that I might squeeze his inky soul back to the lower depths from whencehe sprung. "

"Hush, you punkin headed peasant, " sez I. "The' 's just as much ofAlfred's blood flowin' through his veins now as the' ever was. "

"'T is not the money I have lost that makes me mad, " sez Locals. "It'sfinding out that a man can become so degenerate that he will imposeupon the very ones who save his life--deceive them, lie to them!"

"Oh, he ain't the only liar 'at was ever in this hotel, " sez I; "an'when it comes to the money YOU'VE lost, that'd be a small matter to getmad over. He risked just as much money as we did, an' if he'd 'a' won, he wouldn't 'a' won a cent more. "

After a while they grew more resigned in their langwidge; but after wehad driven down to town without finding him, Hammy sez, "In sooth 't isbitter truth that all the world's a stage; yet Fate, however cruel, never decreed that I should play the second season, as servile serverto a worn out mine--my health is all right again, an' I'm goin' backwhere a feller gets paid decent wages for makin' a fool of himself. "

Suddenly Locals gave a yell of joy and shouted, "My fortune's made! Ican take this thing and have a runaway boy and a lost orphan and a richuncle and a villanous cousin, and write the novel of the age about it. "

"No, no!" sez Hammy, catchin' the excitement, "tragedy--make it atragedy. It is for the stage! Think of them lost without food and theballoon coming into sight! Think of the scenic effects, the low musicas the orphan kneels in the middle of the stage and prays that theballoon may bring them food; and then have the villanous cousin in theballoon--"

Well, they purt' nigh fought about it, and they were still at it when Ileft them. The tingle of spring in the air made me wild to get back tothe range again. I thought of little Barbie and what a great girl shemust be by this time. I thought of the big-eyed winter calves huggin'up to their mothers and wonderin' what it all meant. I thought of oldMount Savage, and all of a sudden somethin' seemed pullin' at my breastlike a rope, an' I drew down my winter wages, an' set out for theno'th, eager as a hound pup on his first hunt. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DRESS REFORM AT THE DIAMOND DOT

I've heard it called Christian fortitude, an' I've heard it calledInjun stoickcism, an' I've heard it called bulldog grit; but it's ahandy thing to have, no matter what it is. I mean the thing that keepsa feller good company when the' 's a hurtin' in his heart that he neverquite forgets. A little child away from home an' just sick to go back, a man who has to grit his teeth an'--but no, the first expresses thefeelin' better--a child, homesick, but keepin' a stiff upper lip; andit don't make much difference what the age, that's a condition 'atnobody ever outgrows. 

Well, all the years I'd been away the' was a little empty sore spot inmy heart that I couldn't quite forget; but I never aired it none, an' Idon't believe I knew myself how big it was, until I left Slocum's Luckbehind me an' headed for the Diamond Dot. Then I spread a grin on myface that nothin' wouldn't wipe off, an' I stepped so high an' lightthat I was like a nervous man goin' barefoot through a thistle patch. Iwas headed for home; an' even a mule that gets dressed down regularwith the neck-yoke gives a little simmer of joy when he's headed towardhome, while a dog, --well, a dog will just naturally joyful himself allover when the trail doubles back on itself, an' a dog ain't no parlorloafer, neither, if I'm any judge. 

Why, for two years I hadn't polished a saddle, an' I whistled like aboy when I pictured to myself the feel of a hoss under me. The' 'ssomethin' about feelin' a hoss's strength slide into your legs an' upthrough your body that must be a good deal like the sensation a saintenjoys the first fly he takes with his new wings. A little pop-eyeddrug merchant was out here on a tour oncet, an' he asked me the usuallist of blame-fool questions, about what we et an' where we washed an'if it didn't make us ache to sleep on the hard ground, an so on. When Ihad made answers to his queries accordin' to the amount of informationI thought it wise to load him with, he shakes his head solemn like an'sez, "I do not see where you get any compensation for such a life asthis. "

"We don't get any compensation, " sez I, "but look at all the hoss-backridin' we get to make up for it. "

An' there I was with the spring drippin' all about me, the plainsstandin' beckonin' to me on every side, just coaxin' to be rode over, an' me walkin' on foot with flat-heeled boots on!

I had rode out on Sam Cutler's freighter to within' twenty miles o' theranch house, an' I built a little fire an' unrolled my blankets; but Icouldn't sleep. I just lay lookin' up at the stars an' tryin' toimagine what Barbie looked like an' whether Starlight was still at theranch, an' every now an' again I tried to decide as to whether I'd grinor he haughty when I first spied Jabez. I was some anxious to come uponBarbie first. I knew she'd be glad to see me, but I was rather leeryabout Jabez. He would 'a' welcomed a projical son of his own as oftenas occasion offered, but he wasn't just the sort of a man to be apublic welcomer. I couldn't picture him puttin' up a sign sayin', "Projical sons turn to the left. If chicken is proferred to veal, shootin the air twice when you get within a mile of the house. "

But I was too much elated to worry much, an' along about one o'clock Irolled up my blankets, kicked out my fire, an' started to drill. Whenthe sun rose I was in sight of the ranch house, an' the sun seemed tothrow an arm around my shoulder an' go skippin' along by my side--an' Idid skip now an' again. 

When I got about a mile from the house I came upon Jabez, walkin' slowan' lookin' down-hearted. He hadn't changed a mite in the fiveyears--in fact from what I could see he hadn't even changed hisclothes; so for a moment I thought his sour look was the same ill humorI'd left him in; an' then I saw it was more serious, an' my heartstopped with a thump. 

He looked up just then an' we stared at each other without speakin'. "Ain't you dead?" sez he. 

"No I ain't, " sez I. 

"We heard you was, " sez he; "killed in a muss over at Danders. "

"I don't believe it, " sez I, "an' besides, I ain't been in Danders forover seven years. "

"Well, then, what made you stay away so long for?" sez he, sort o'snappy. 

"I don't remember you sheddin' any tears when I left, an' I don'trecall you beggin' me to hurry back, " sez I. I was pleased at the way Iwas bein' received an' I meant to make him show his hand. 

"You know as well as I do that things allus go better on this ranchwhen you're here. "

"Yes, " sez I. 

"An' you know 'at I don't like to beg no man to do anything; but youought to see that I know that you're the usefullest man I ever had, an'you oughtn't to be so fly-uppity, " sez he. 

"Now see here, Jabez, " sez I, "you're one o' the kind o' men who neverown up 'at a man was fit to live until after he's dead. You're likesome o' these Easterners--they get so everlastin' entranced with thebeautiful scenery that they forget to water their ridin' hosses. Idon't ask no special favors, but I ain't so mortal thick-skinnedmyself, an' you ought to learn sometime that there is hosses 'at workbetter when they're not beat up an' yelled at. "

"Are you goin' to stay this time?" sez he. 

"As long as it's agreeable--all around, " sez I. "Is everything goin'smooth?"

The down-hearted look came into his eyes again. "She won't speak tome, " sez he. 

"You don't mean to say 'at you've gone an' got married, " sez I, "orthat you are tryin' to?"

"I ain't such a fool, " he snaps. "It's Barbie, I mean. "

"How long has this been goin' on?" sez I. 

"This is the fourth meal, " sez he; an' he was so solemn about it that Iwas some inclined to snicker, but then it flashed upon me that when Ileft, the child was all het up over the letter she'd found in theattic, and I sobered an' sez, "Is it something 'at's goin' to be hardto smooth over?"

"I don't see how the deuce it's ever goin' to be smoothed over, " sezJabez, desperately. 

"Would you feel like sort o' hintin' what it was about?" sez I. 

"Well, it's about the way she acts, " sez Jabez. "Confound it, Happy, she's the best gal child ever was on this earth, I reckon, but shedon't want to be one, an' she won't act like it, an' she--she won'tdress like it. Every time I argue with her she beats me to it, an' I'mplumb stumped. Yesterday I told her she had to take 'em off an' weardresses, an' she did; but now she won't speak to me. "

"You mean that you said that she was never to argue with you again?"sez I, indignant. 

"No, I mean that I sez she must take those confounded buckskin pantsoff! She's big enough now to begin to train to become a woman--not aman. "

I had to grin a little, but even though it didn't seem as skeptical tome as it did to him, I saw he might be right about it. Still, I wasn'tgoin' to take sides without hearin' all the evidence, so I sez, "Is shehealthy, Jabez?"

"Healthy?" he sez. "Why, that child could winter through withoutshelter an' come out in the spring kickin' up her heels an' snortin'. "

"Well, that much is in her favor, " sez I. "Is she good at her studies?"

"Where you been that you haven't heard about it?" sez he. "Last wintershe out-ciphered an' out-spelt the schoolmarm, an' she fuddled up oneo' these missionary preachers till he didn't know where he was at. Shehas been studyin' about all kinds o' things, an' she cornered him up onthe first chapter o' Genesis. She lined out the school-marm first, an'the schoolmarm came an' told me that she was an infidel--the' ain't nosense in havin' women teach school, Happy. You can't reason with 'eman' you can't fight with 'em an' they just about pester a body todeath. I don't see how Barbie stands it. "

"Well, what did you do about her bein' an infidel?" sez I. 

"I couldn't do anything to the teacher except tell her what I thoughtof her; but next Sunday I had Barbie read to me the first chapter o'Genesis. Did you ever read it, Happy?"

"Yes, " sez I, "I read all of that book an' most of the next one. Me an'another feller had a dispute about the Bible one time, an' he said itwas the best readin' the' was, an' I said it was too dry. He read meabout a feller in it named Samson, who was full o' jokes an' thestrongest man ever was, I reckon, before he let that Philistine womanloco him, an' he read about another feller, just a mite of a boy, whokilled a giant with a slingshot in front of an army which had made funof him an' was all ready to give in to the giant, an' he read me somepoems about mountains; an' I had to give in that the Bible was thegreatest book ever was. That was up at a little ranch in Idaho, an' hewas goin' to read it all to me an' explain what it meant, --he was fulledicated, this feller was, an' had a voice as soft as a far-off bell, an' an eye that seemed to reach right out an' shake hands with ya, --butone day when I was away a posse surprised him, an' though he potted twoof 'em they finally put him out. He left me his Bible with a note in itwhich said that he had killed the man all right an' that he would do itagain under the circumstances; but he couldn't tell a word in his owndefense 'count of mixin' in a woman. We never found out a word aboutit, not even where the posse came from. Well, afterward I tried to readit alone; but I couldn't make any headway. For one thing, the' 's toomany pedigrees to keep track of, an' the names are simply awful. Idon't want to be profane nor nothin', but hanged if I think theChildren of Israel was square enough to deserve all the heavenly favorsthey got; so I finally gave up tryin' to read it. But what about youan' Barbie?"

"Well, " sez he, "I'd read the Bible clean through from cover to coveran' I never saw anything unreasonable in it, so I thought I could setBarbie right without any trouble. She read the first chapter, an' bythat time I was runnin' for cover an' yellin' for help. The' ought tobe something done about that book, it ain't right to try an' raise achild to be honest, an' tell 'em that they must believe the Bible, an'then have 'em find out what the Bible really sez. "

"Well, what about it?" sez I. 

"Well, it sez that the' was light an' darkness an' evenin' an' mornin'on the first day; on the third day the' was all kinds o' grass an'herbs yieldin' seeds, an' fruit trees yieldin' fruit; but the' wasn'tno sun or stars until the fourth day. Now how could you have eveningsan' mornings an' grass an' fruit trees without sunshine? You know thatwouldn't work, an' when she put it up to me I simply threw up my hands, an' sent Spider Kelley with the buckboard to hunt up this missionarypreacher. He was long-haired an' pius, an' when I saw him I felt purtysure he could straighten it out; but he wasn't game. Barbie argued fairan' square, an' he lost his temper an' called her an infidel an' aheretic an' a nagnostic; but she pulled a lot o' books on him, an' hecouldn't understand 'em an' blasphemed 'em something terrible; but hesee he was whipped, an' just simply ran away. I felt mighty bad aboutBarbie bein' an infidel until Friar Tuck came around. You rememberFriar Tuck--the one they call an Episcolopian?" Course I rememberedFriar Tuck. Everybody knew him an' he was about as easy to forget as astiff neck--though for different reasons. Preachers are about asdifferent as other humans to begin with, but the women seem moreunanimously bent on spoilin' 'em; so as a general rule I wade in purtycareful when I 'm startin' an acquaintance with a strange one, but Idid know that this here one was all to the right, an' his time belongedto any one who demanded it. This made him purty wearin' on hosses, an'when one would give out on him he'd just turn it loose an' rope another'thout makin' any preliminary about it; all the explanation a body gotwas just seein' a tired, stray pony eatin' grass. The first time hetried that game they gathered up a posse an' ran him down; but hepulled a Bible on 'em showin' where he got his commission from, threw asermon into 'em 'at converted two an' made one other sign the pledge, an' that put an end to any unsolicited interference in his line o'work. He was a big man with two right hands, an' some one gave him thename of Friar Tuck out of a book, an' he was known by it the wholecountry over. 

I nodded my head: "Did the Friar get fainty about Barbie bein' aheretic?" sez I. 

"No, he didn't, " sez Jabez, "he just laughed when I told him about it, an' he an' Barbie, they wrangled over it for a long time; but he playedfair. When he didn't know the answer he owned up to it, an' then hetold her that the Bible was written by a lot of different men, an' thatthe spirit of it was inspired; but that the' wasn't any words everinvented that could describe creation; because the origin of life was athing 'at man wasn't wise enough to comprehend, an' that all thescientific books ever written couldn't come any nearer to it than thatfirst chapter of Genesis, which had been written ages ago when the oldEarth was still in its childhood. "

"How did Barbie get around this?" sez I. 

"Well, she didn't have much to say; he didn't climb up on a perch an'call her names, he just sat there by her side like they was bothchildren together; an' then he took some of her books an' explainedthings she didn't understand an' pointed out things 'at otherscientists didn't believe in, an' he actually said 'at he believed thatafter they had examined the earth all over, inside an' out with amagnifyin' glass, every last scientist the' was would be willin' toadmit that it must have been created some way or another; and that we'dall be the better for the work these scientists was doin', but that shemustn't confuse the word with the spirit, for it was the spirit whichgiveth life. He's an A I man, Friar Tuck is; but when I offered himtwice as much a year as he's gettin' to stay an' teach her, he justlaughed again, an' said that I wasn't in no position to double the kindo' wages he was workin' for. I was a little put out at this, but Barbiesaid he was talkin' in parables. "

"Was she wearin' the buckskin pants when he was here?" sez I. 

"Yes, she was, an' I didn't much like the way he acted about that. Atfirst he thought she was a boy, an' it made me hot; but he sez to me, 'Didn't God create man first?' I owned up that he did. 'Well, then, 'said he, 'let this child develop the man side of her first, so that shemay have strength an' courage for all her journey. ' Everything that mansez has the ring o' truth in it, an' I didn't have much of a come-back, except to say that she was overdoing it. He called Barbie over to himan' looked into her eyes an' put his big hand on her head an' afterwardhe sez to me, 'You needn't worry; soon enough a soul which is all womanwill stand before you and ask questions which will make you long forthese days back again. Give her all the time she will take. '"

"What else did he say?" sez I. 

"Well, he asked me if I had ever noticed a litter of pups. I said Ihad, and he wanted to know if the' was much difference in the way theyplayed. I owned up that the' wasn't. Then he looked sort o' worried an'asked me if I had ever found any of 'em to get their sex mixed up badenough to have the tangle last through life. I had to admit that Inever had, an' he laughed at me good an' proper--but his laughs neverhurt. I didn't mind about her wearin' the buckskins after that so much. "

"Well, then, what made you rear up about 'em yesterday?" sez I. 

"I hired a new man when she was out ridin', --day before yesterday itwas, --an' when she came in he thought she was a boy an' kind o' gotgay, an' she panned him out; an' he cussed her an' she drew a gun onhim an' made him take it back, an' he might o' taken some spite out onher before he found out she was a girl. She is too sizey now, an'confound it, leggin's an' a short skirt ought to satisfy anyfemale--but now she won't speak to me, an' I can't go back on my order, so I don't see how we're goin' to straighten it out. "

I pertended to be mad. "Jabez, " I sez, "I do wish I could come back tothis ranch just once an' find it runnin' smooth. Here I come all theway from Nevada just to see it once again, an' I find the boss an' hisdaughter ain't on speakin' terms, an' I have to stand palaverin' for asolid hour without anything bein' asked about my appetite, an' me justfinishin' a twenty-mile walk. "

"By George, I'm sorry!" sez Jabez. "But hang it, Happy, you ought tosavvy this place well enough by this time to know 'at no human ever hasto set up an' beg for food. I'm glad to see you 'cause the little girldoes set a heap by you, an' you seem to have a way o' straightenin' outthe kinks. While you're eatin' breakfast see if you can't think up someway to get her to talkin' again. " We started to walk to the house, an'I sez, "just what was your orders about these buckskins?"

"I told her to take 'em off at once an' throw 'em out the window, sezhe. 

"Did she do it?" sez I. 

"She allus obeys orders when she drives me to issue 'em--but I allusget a sting out of it, some way or other. This time I issued the orderat the supper table, an' she went upstairs to her room, stuffed thesuit full o' pillows, stood in the window, an' screamed until me an'the boys ran out to see what was the matter. Then she threw the figgerout an' we thought she had jumped, an' I made a fool o' myself. It'splayin' with fire every time you cross her, but she allus obeys orders. Still, it's tarnation hard to be her father--not that I'd trade the jobfor any other in the country, at that. "

I had to chuckle inward all the way to the house, an' just before wearrived to it I purt' nigh exploded. Here come a figger, heavily veiledan' wearin' a shapeless sort of a dress affair made out of a bedquiltan' draggin' behind on the ground. It walked along slow an' dignified, like some sort of a heathen ghost, an' when it came to a pebble in thepath it would walk around it an' not step over, all the time holdin' ahand lookin' glass to see that her toe didn't show. I just took oneside-eye at Jabez an' his face looked like a storm cloud at a picnic;but when Barbie see who I was she tore off the veil, gathered up herskirts, an' yelled, "Happy! Happy Hawkins, is it really you?"

"I'm ready to take my oath on it, madame, " sez I, not crackin' a smile;"but if I might make so bold, who are you?"

"Oh, Happy, we thought you was dead, " said she, with a little catch inher voice that made me wink a time or two. "Where have you been allthese years, an' why didn't you come back to us?"

She stood lookin' into my eyes, half tender an' half cross, an' Icouldn't help but try her out to see which would win. "I didn't knowfor sure that I'd be welcome, " sez I. 

"Oh. Happy!" she sez; an' she threw her arms around my neck an' kissedme, an' then we went in to breakfast. I answered her questions betweenbites, an' as soon as we'd finished I proposed we'd go for a ride. "Ihaven't crossed a saddle for two years, " sez I. "Is Starlight here yet?"

"Well I should say he is, and fat an' bossy, " sez she. "The' hasn'tairy another body but me rode him neither. I divide my ridin' betweenhim an' Hawkins, just ridin' a colt now an' again to keep from gettin'careless. " Then she stopped an' looked down at the thing she waswearin' an' said, sadly, "But I reckon my ridin' days are over. "

"Alas, yes, " sez I, usin' Hammy's most solemn voice, "Old Age has sethis seal upon your brow, an' I can see you sitting knitting by the firefor your few remainin' days. "

"Where did you learn to talk that way?" sez she, quick as a wink. So Itold her of my winter at Slocum's Luck, an' she asked me a millionquestions about Hammy an' Locals. When I was through she sat silent fora while an' then she sez, "Happy, I'm goin' to see more o' the worldthan just this ranch some day. "

"Well, the' ain't much of it that's a whole lot better--an' I've seenit about all, " sez I. 

"You seen it about all?" sez she, scornful; "why, you haven't seen theinside of one real house. "

I glanced around, but she snaps in, "This ain't a house, this is justshelter from the elements. I'm goin' to see mansions an' palaces, an'I'm goin' to see 'em from the inside too. "

"Have you ever read Monte Cristo?" sez I. 

"No, " sez she. 

"Then don't you do it, " sez I. "Your head's about as far turned now asyour neck'll stand, an' what you ought to do is to learn how to cookan' sew. "

She looked at me with her eyes snappin', but in a second her face brokeinto a grin. "The' ain't a mite o' use in your tryin' that, " sez she. "You like me just as I am, an' you don't need to feel it's your duty towork in any that teacher stuff. Gee, but I'm glad you came back Itlooks as if me an' Dad is in for a long siege of it this time, an'you'll keep me from gettin' lonesome. "

"Not the right answer, " sez I. "I'm goin' to leave tomorrow. "

Her face grew long in a minute, when she see I meant it. "Happy--youdon't really mean that, do you?"

"Barbie, " I sez, "I had to leave before, or take sides. Well, you an'the boss are warrin' again; I can't fight you, an' I won't side againhim. You don't leave me any choice--I just have to go away again. "

"Oh, I don't want you to go away again, " she sez. "You allus find morein things than the rest of 'em ever do, an' I want you to tell me allabout those two queer men you spent the winter with, an' to teach mejust the way the one you call Hammy used his voice. Happy, you justcan't go away again. "

"I don't want to go away again, " sez I, an' I was down-right in earnestby this time, "but you make me. Barbie, you are hard-hearted. You knowthat your father thinks the world of you--"

"He don't think one speck more of me than I do of him, " she snaps in. 

"Yes, but he's different, " I sez. "He's your father, an' he has toguide and correct you. "

"Well, he don't have to throw in my teeth that I'm a girl every tine Iwant to do anything. "

"I'm disappointed in you, " I sez to her in a hard voice. "I thoughtthat you would be game, but you're not. "

"What ain't I game about?" sez she. 

"You're ashamed of bein' a girl, " sez I. 

"I ain't, " sez she. "I'm glad I'm a girl, an' I want to tell you thatthe' 's been just about as many heroines as heros too. I don't meanjust these patient women who put up with things; I mean heroines inhistory. Look at Joan of Arc!"

"I never heard of her before, " sez I, "but I reckon she must have beenNoah's wife. " She breaks in an' tells me the story of the French farmgirl who got to be the leader of an army and whipped the king ofEngland an' was finally burned; an' then, naturally, became a heroinean' a saint. 

"She didn't wear boys clothes, did she?" I sez, thinkin' I had her. 

"Yes, she did!" sez Barbie. 

"Well, she ought to be ashamed of herself, " I said; but I knew I wasgettin' the worst of it, so I changes the subject. "But speakin' aboutthe Ark, " sez I, "there's another example of your obstinacy. When Iwent away from here you was fussin' with the school-teachers becausethey said this whole earth was once under water, an' now I find youcuttin' around an' linin' out missionary-preachers because you ain'tsuited with the way the Bible was wrote. It looks to me as if you oughtto get old enough sometime to realize 'at you ain't nothin' but achild. Your father is willin' to give you a fair show; he don't ask youto act like a girl, all he wants is for you to look like one. "

"If I have to wear a skirt, you know mighty well I can't ride, " sez she. 

"You don't have to wear a thing like what you have on now, " I sez. "Whydon't you get over your pout an' be sensible. He never asks you tohumble yourself. All you need is to do what he wants, an' he'll drop itat once. "

"Yes, " sez she, "all I need to do is to give up my independence an'he'll think I'm a nice little girl. "

"Why don't you figger out some kind of a dress that would look like agirl's and--and work like a boy's?" sez I. 

She sat thinkin' for a minute an' then sez, "That wouldn't be acomplete surrender, that would only be a compromise; an' I'd be mightyglad to do it if the' was only some way. "

"Where's that picture of the girl who whipped the king?" sez I. 

She ran an' got it, an' it was a dandy lookin' girl all right, --itlooked a little mite like Barbie herself, --but she was wearin' clothes'at most folks would think undesirable; they was made out of iron an'covered with cloth. 

"You don't want to wear any such thing as that, Barbie, " sez I, "itwould be too blame hot, an' that bedquilt thing's bad enough. "

"That's what they used to fight in, " sez she. 

"They must 'a' been blame poor shots, " sez I. "Why, I could shoot 'emthrough those eye-holes as fast as they came up, an' she don't evenwear any head part with hers. " Then an idea struck me: "But why don'tyou make a suit like her outside one?" sez I. "It comes below her kneesan' yet she can ride in it all right. "

Well, we got old Melisse to help us, an' by four o'clock the thing wasdone. We had used up some dark-green flannel that Jabez had bought tohave a dress made of, an' which she had kicked on. She took it up toher room an' I went out to find Jabez. I told him that she was alwayswillin' to give in when any honorable way was pointed out, an' he wasthe tickledest man in the West. He went in to supper four times beforeit was ready, but when it finally was ready Barbie wouldn't come down. 

Melisse went after her an' come back sayin' that Barbie didn't feelhungry an' was goin' to wait until after dark an' then wear it outdoors. 

"What nonsense!" sez Jabez. "Here she's been wearin' regular buckskinpants, an' now she fusses up about what you say is a half dress. You goan' get her. "

I went to the head of the stairs an' called her, an' she finally stuckher head out of her room an' sez, "Happy, I just can't wear this thing. It flaps!"

"Let it flap!" sez I. "You're just like a colt gettin' used to asingle-tree; you won't mind it after the first hour. Let me see how itlooks. "

She opens the door an' stands with a queer new look on her face, an'her cheeks pink as wild roses. I hadn't never seen those cheeks pink upfor anything but fun or anger before, an' it flashed upon me what FriarTuck had told Jabez; an' I was willin' to bet that the time would comewhen he'd have full as much girl on his hands as any one man could wish. 

The waist part of it was loose an' low in the neck an' came to a littlebelow the knees where the leggin's began. The upper part of theleggin's which you couldn't see were loose an' easy. Her little legslooked cute an' shapely, an' her smooth, round throat came up from theopen neck mighty winnin'--the whole thing was just right an' I sez toher, "Why, Barbie, this is the finest rig you ever had on, an' you'reas purty as a picture. "

Well, her face went the color of a sunset an' she slammed the door. "IfI was your Dad, " sez I to myself, "you'd go back to those buckskinsto-morrow. " I waited a moment an' then I began to make fun of her, andafter a while she came out with her teeth set tight together an' wewent down to the dinin' room; but it was the first time I had ever seenher take an awkward step. 

"Now that's what I call a sensible garment, " sez Jabez, heartily, an'then he begun talkin' to me. Jabez had a lot o' wisdom when he kept hishead, an' by the time supper was over Barbie was purty well used to thefeel, an' we all three went for a ride; me ridin' Starlight, Barbie, Hawkins, an' Jabez a strappin' bay, one of Pluto's colts, an' a beauty. Well, I'll never forget that ride: you know how tobacco tastes after aman owns up that he was only jokin' when he swore off; you know howliquor seems to ooz all through you after you've been out in the alkalifor three months--well, that first ride, after bein' out o' commissionfor two years, makes these two sensations something like the affectiona man has for sour-dough bread. Oh, it was glorious! we all felt like aflock o' birds--hosses an' all. In the first place it was spring, an'that was excuse enough if the' hadn't been any other; but two of us hadgone into that day not on speakin' terms, an' now they were closer thanever, an' the third one had brought 'em together. The old sayin' isthat three's a crowd, but it took a crowd to hold all the joyfulnessthat we was luggin' that night, an' it was ten o'clock before we turnedaround on the velvet carpet an' came swingin' back to the house. 

We had to finish with a little race, an' I was rejoiced to see that oldStarlight hadn't become a back number, even though the bay colt didmake it a mighty close finish. 

As soon as we unsaddled, Barbie sort o' whispered to me, "I 'm awfulglad you came back, Happy"; an' then she ran into the house. 

Jabez shook hands an' sez, "It seems to me, Happy, that I've beenwaitin' for you for months. I hope to goodness you don't fly up anymore. "

"I ain't goin' to look for trouble, Jabez, " sez I. "This spot is themost homelike to me of any on earth; but I don't believe I'll turn inyet. I want to stroll around a little. "

I walked off in the quiet to the little mound where Monody lay, an' Isat there a long while, thinkin' o' the last time I'd come back. Thenight was unusual warm, an' I hunted up all the stars that I knew, an'watched 'em as they dropped down one by one behind the mountains. Ithought of all that Friar Tuck had said about the origin of life, an'what a nerve a child like Barbie had to even study on such a subject. Then I dropped back to all the happiness I'd had that day, an' the lastthing I knew I was lookin' into Barbie's eyes an' wonderin' what madeher face so pink. It was the cold, gray dawn-wind that woke me up. 

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE LASSOO DUEL

That was a summer I love to think over; but the' wasn't nothin'happened to tell about. I was a little soft at first, but it didn'ttake me long to get my hand in, an' I roped my half o' the wintercalves. It had been a mild winter an' the' was a big run of 'em, an'Jabez was in a good humor most o' the time. 

The men mostly liked Jabez; but they used to talk a lot about him, ashe was some different from the usual run. He had first come into thatlocality when Barbie was two years old, buyin' the big Sembrick ranchan' stockin' it up to the limit. Ye never said a word about his wife, nor his past; an' Jabez wasn't just the sort of character a man feltlike pryin' private history out of. 

The men laughed a good bit about the time Jabez had had with the SpikeCrick school. He had a fool notion that money was entitled to do allthe talkin', an' that's a hard position to make good in a new country. After his money had built the schoolhouse, they refused to elect himone o' the trustees; said it might lead to one-man control. Still, Jabez wasn't no blind worshiper of the law, an' when he found thatthey'd put a rope on him, he just sidles in an' asserts himself. It waseasy enough to convince a teacher that the trustees was boss; but whenJabez began to get impatient, the school-teacher generally emigrated alittle. Then they put a cinch on him for true. They hired a womanteacher. When it came to bluffin' a woman teacher, Jabez gottongue-handled so bad that once did him for all time to come. 

But the' wasn't any difference of opinion when it came to Barbie. The'wasn't a man on the place who wasn't willin' to stretch a neck for her. She knew 'em all by name an' used to tease 'em an' contrairy 'em; butshe never hid behind bein' the boss's daughter. Any time they scored, she paid, an' that was the thing that made 'em worship her. She hadchanged a lot in the five years I'd been away; not only in size, infact, that was the least noticed in her; but she had more thinkin'spells. 

It used to be that she made up to every one right from the start; butnow she was a little shy at first, especially with Easterners. Easterners generally are about as tantalizin' as it's possible for ahuman to get, but she had never minded 'em much until this summer. Nowshe'd answer the first twenty-five or thirty fool questions politeenough, but after that she got purty frosty an' would ask 'em somequestions herself that would straighten 'em up right short in theirtracks. About every time an Easterner would pull out I noticed thatshe'd put a little wider heal on the bottom of her skirt. 

But she was purty much the same with me, an' after the spring round-upshe used to keep me ridin' with her most o' the time when the' wasn'tanything actually demandin' my attention. It was just about this timethat Jabez hired a new man by the name of Bill Andrews. He was about asnear speak-less as a man ever gets, an' he wasn't much liked by therest of us; but he was a hard worker an' a good, all-around hand, so hegot along all right. 

When the fall round-up came, Barbie surprised every one by sayin' shewasn't goin' to do any of the ridin', but would wait until after we'dgot all the sortin' out an' brandin' done, an' would then come out an'see the whole herd in a bunch. The' wasn't a thing the matter with herhealth an' we all wondered what was her reason; but I had my ownprivate opinion--she was beginnin' to find out she was a girl, an' shewasn't quite used to it. 

We finally rounded up in the big bend of Spike Crick, an' the stuff wasin the suet, every one of 'em. Omaha was supposed to be straw boss; buthe was too easy-goin' an' generally let the men do about as theypleased. Bill Andrews, the new man, had a sneer on his face about halfthe time, an' one mornin' when I came in from night ridin', he sez to abunch o' the boys: "I didn't suppose the parlor boarder ever risked anynight dampness. "

They all grinned, 'cause the' wasn't any jokes barred with us; but Ididn't grin. I walked over to the group an' I sez: "Is the' anybodyelse in this outfit that has any o' that brand o' supposin' about 'im?"

"Aw sit down, Happy, " they sez; an' "What's the matter, Happy; yougettin' tender?" an' such like things; but Bill Andrews continued tosit an' grin, so I sez to him: "As a rule, the last comer in an outfithas sense enough to either use his eyes or ask questions. I admit thatthis is a purty easy-goin' place, --they don't even ask where a mancomes from when they take him on, --but I've been here off an' on forsome time, an' I reckon that the boss is able to figger out whether ornot I've been worth what I cost. "

"Yes, " sez Andrews, slow an' drawly, "the boss--or his daughter. "

Three o' the boys grabbed me, but Andrews never moved; so I let go ofmy gun an' sez, "It seems 'at you're the kind of a hound 'at picks outa safe time to snarl--but the' 'll be other times. "

"Any time you wish, " sez he, "but I didn't mean what you seem to think. I know well enough 'at the' 'll never be nothin' between you an'her--the old man knows it too, an' you ain't kept here for nothin'except to be her play-mate. "

I was so blame mad I couldn't see. I couldn't speak. I was so infernalhet up that I choked an' spluttered; but when I got my hands on histhroat I put my finger-prints on his neck-bone. The boys had a hardtime tearin' us apart, an' a heap harder time startin' Andrews goin'again; but as soon as he was able to talk, I sez to him, "Now we ain'tthrough with this yet. I'm willin' to give you your choice ofsettlements, but you sure have to settle some way. How do you want tosettle?"

He had black blood--an' he was a coward. It's the hardest mix-up a manever has to deal with. He jumped to his feet, his face all twisted upin a wolf-snarl, but he couldn't look me in the eyes, an' he finallytries to smile. Its a weak, sickly affair, but it is a smile all right, an' he sez, "We'll just compete to see which is the best man at around-up, an' we'll settle it that way. The' ain't no use of us makin'fools of ourselves over nothin' at all. I was just jokin' an' I didn'tthink you'd be so blame pernicious about boldin' down an easy snap; soas the' ain't really nothin' between us, we'll settle it that way. "

I had been doin' some quick thinkin' while he was talkin', an' when hefinished, I broke out laughin', "Why, you blame rookie, " sez I, "youdon't really think I was mad, do you? I see 'at you was only jokin'right from the start, but I wanted to do a little play-actin' for theboys here. That'll be the best way of all to settle it--see who's thebest man at a round-up. "

He looked some relieved when he laughed--an' then he rubbed his neck. Iindulged in some hoss-play with Omaha, an' began to eat my breakfast;but all the time I was thinkin'. I was thinkin' several different waystoo: first, was the' some truth in what Bill Andrews had said--was Igettin' to be nothin' but the playmate of a girl? Then I wondered ifJabez had studied over it any--I never had myself before. I knew thathe never cared nothin' about my wages, knowin' that I had saved himmore the night I brought Monody back than he'd ever pay me--but Ididn't want to be pensioned, an' I didn't care to be looked on as theranch watchdog. But the thing that finally came an' refused to leavewas a question--what right did I have to waste the best part of my lifeloafin' around with a child? The' was a lot more o' these pesterin'questions; but they all finally perched on Bill Andrews an' made mewant to blow him up with dynamite. 

That was the swiftest round-up ever the Diamond Dot had. Bill Andrewswas a roper for true, an' I don't believe the' was a man in the West'at could touch me those days. When me an' Barbie would be out ridin' Iwas always practicin' with a rope or a gun, an' I had a dozen foller-upthrows 'at I've never seen beat. I did my work cleaner an' more showy'nhe did, but it couldn't be done much quicker. We finished three daysahead of the schedule an' the boys said it was a tie. I had ropedtwenty-six more calves'n he had, but they wanted to see us contest alittle more, an' they figgered out excuses for him. The' ain't nothin'ever satisfies a civilized human except a finish fight. He don't care ahang for points. 

Well, we did all kinds o' fancy ropin', an' I was a shade the better atall of it; but those confounded cusses kept on claimin' it was a ticuntil I got het up a little, an' sez 'at we'll have a lassoo duel an'that'll settle it, even among blind men. This ain't all amusement, thislassoo-duel on hoss-back, an' I see Andrews look wickedly content. "Nothing barred, " sez he; "we rope hoss or rider, either one. "

"Sure thing, " sez I. I don't know to this day whether or not he reallythought I was green, but anyhow, he thought he had me at this game, an'I saw in a moment 'at he had trained his pony; but he didn't have anyadvantage over me. I was ridin' Hawkins, an' he had been dodgin' ropesall his life an' liked the sport. We fenced for an hour without bein'able to land, an' then he gets his noose over Hawkins' neck. Before hecan draw it tight I rides straight at him; his pony has settled backfor a jerk; I gets my noose over the pony's neck, a loop over Andrew'sright wrist, when he tries to ward it off his own neck, an' thenanother loop over his shoulders, pinnin' the left arm an' the rightwrist to his body. My rope was the shorter now so I sets Hawkins backan' takes a strain. I knew what was goin' to happen when that ropetightened--he would be twisted out of the saddle an' his right armdislocated--an' he knew it too; an' he knew that I was goin' to do it. The boys was as silent as the ace o'clubs. 

His face went pale an' he looked at me with beggin' eyes, but mine washard as stone. I hated him for all the devil-thoughts he had put intomy head, an' I wanted to see him twisted an' torn. Then I just happenedto see two riders comin' in from toward the ranch house. I knew byinstinct it was Jabez an' Barbie, an' just as Andrews started to twistin the saddle I touched Hawkins with the spurs, rode up to him, threwoff the loops, put a smile on my face--an' shook hands with BillAndrews, while all the boys give a cheer. I was pantin' an' tremblin', but I don't think it was noticed, as I kept that smile as easy-goin'an' good-natured as a floatin' cork. 

Well, I kidded with the boys until Jabez got through decidin' on whathe wanted done with the different bunches, an' then when he an' Barbierode back to the house I went along. I made sure to brazen it out asmuch as possible, an' not to give the impression that I was as het upas I had been; but I knew that Bill Andrews was well aware of what hadsaved him. I also knew that he'd hate me to the day of his death--buthe'd fear me to the last minute, an' he'd never start but one morecontest. 

The Diamond Dot didn't seem so homelike after that; it was a heapeasier to get the best of Bill Andrews than it was to get rid of thosequestions; but I tried to act just as much the same as possible, only Idid as much range ridin' as I could make seem natural. I supposed thatBill Andrews would leave, but he didn't; he stayed right along an' heworked hard an' he never kicked. He was allus friendly with me, but hedidn't overdo it, an' things went along smooth as joint oil. 

Barbie had gone through all the stuff they taught at the Spike CrickSchool, an' was studyin' some advance stuff with the teacher who wasambitious to finish her own edication. This was a big surprise to me; Ihad allus supposed that a teacher knew everything, but it seems not. The' 's lots they don't know, an' the front they put up before a pupilis two thirds bluff. A naked body's a disappointin' sight, but I bet anaked soul would make a crow laugh. 

All through that winter I was tryin' to find an excuse to quarrel withJabez, but the' wasn't none. The' wasn't one hitch in the whole outfitexcept that I'd lost my taste for it. I couldn't get it out of my headthat one man had already taken me for a child's playmate, an' while Iknew that this particular man had other views by this time, I didn'tknow how long it would be before some one else would find that sameidea gettin' too big to keep under his breath; so the very second thatspring opened I hunted up Jabez one mornin' after I had given old Plutoa special good rubbin', an' after talkin' a while about nothin' at all, I sez to him, "Jabez, I'm goin' to pull out purty soon. "

"What for?" sez he. 

"The' ain't no chance on this place for a man to get on, " I sez. 

"What do you want to get on for?" Sez he. Well, that was a fetcher. Thegreat trouble in debatin' with a man is, that he never flushes up thekind of an idea 'at your gun is loaded to shoot. "What does any onewant to get on for?" sez I. 

"I don't know, " sez Jabez, kind o' sad like. "It's been so long since Iwanted to get on that I can't remember what fool notion it was thatsicked me at it; but it looks to me as though you was doing purty well, considerin' the way you work. "

There it was again. It was just for all the world as if the watchdoghad gone on a strike for higher wages. "Well, you're right about that, "sez I. "If I owned a place like this, I wouldn't board a man who didn'tdo more than I do. That's one reason why I'm goin' to travel on alittle--I 'm gettin' so rusty that the creakin' o' my joints sets myteeth on edge. "

"Poor old man, " sez Jabez, sarcastic. "I saw you vaultin' over Plutothis mornin'. You'd better be careful, you're liable to snap some o'your brittle bones. I'll have to put you on a pension. "

"Pension bell!" I snaps. "I've been pensioned too long already. The'ain't any chance for a man with get-up, over a low grade coffee-cooleron this place, an' I 'm sick of it. I'm goin' to hunt up a job where itwill pay me to do my best. "

"How much pay do you want, for heaven's sake?" sez he. 

"I don't want any more pay for what I 'm doin', " sez I, "but I do wantmore opportunity. You don't keep any out an' out foreman here an'--"

"An' it wouldn't make any difference if I did, " he snaps in. "It'sallus best to get an imported foreman, an' not have any jealousy; butconfound you, I pay six men on this place foremen's wages--an' you'reone of 'em. "

"Six?" sez I. 

"Yes, I raised Bill Andrews' pay last week. He does more work than anyof you, an' he ain't all the time growlin'. He won't never have anyfriends either, so if I was to choose a foreman he'd be my pick. "

"I was foreman of the Lion Head a good many years ago, " sez I, "an' Ibuilt it up, an' my work was appreciated: but I was a fool kid then. Now I 'm gettin' along in years an' I don't intend to waste any moreo' my life. "

"How old are ya, Happy?" sez he, laughin'. 

"Well, I'll be thirty years old--before so many more years, " sez I, lookin' full as indignant as I felt, I reckon. 

"You're nothin' but a kid in most things, " sez Jabez, an' his voice wasso friendly that I began to cool. Then he said, "Why, I never think ofyou like I do the rest o' the boys, though I rely on you a heap more. You've allus been like one o' the family, like; an' you an' Barbie haveplayed around together until most o' the time I think of ya as aboutthe same age; but if it's anything in the money line, why speak out. Iwas a young feller myself once, an' if you've happened to run up anydebts on some o' your town trips, why I'll pass you over a little extraan' take it out in laughin' at you. "

By George, he made it hard for me. One moment he'd tramp on my corn an'the next he'd scratch me between the shoulders; but the more he saidthe more I see that I did not have any regular place in the team; I wasjust a colt playin; beside, an' it gritten on me something fierce. 

"Jabez, " I sez, "it's hard for me to explain myself. I like this placean' you know it; but if you had a son o' your own, you wouldn't like tosee him settlin' down before he'd struggled up a little. I'm old enoughnow to take a practical view o' life, an' I intend to become a businessman. "

He tried not to grin, I'll say that for him, but he couldn't cut it. "Why, bless your heart, boy, you never will be practical, an' as forbusiness, you have about the same talent for it as a grizzly bear. Youenjoy life as you go along, an' you enjoy it full an' free; a businessman don't enjoy anything but makin' money. You may be rich some day, but it won't be from attendin' to business. Now take a lay-off if youwant to, an' get this nonsense out of your system, then come back here. You know 'at Barbie misses you every minute you're away. "

"All right, " I sez, "I'll try it. I want to leave this place once, thesame as if we was both grownup, not as if we had had a child's quarrel. I'll go an' I'll take my lay-off by bucklin' tight down to business;but if it don't seem to agree with me, why, I'll come back here an'make a report. "

"Now, don't stay away long, cause the little girl is lonesome forcompany, an' as she sez to me the other night, you're better companythan any book, an' you've got more intelligence than a school-teacher. "

"Yes, " I went on, "an' I don't require beatin' as often as a fur rug, an' my hair don't shed off as bad as a dog's, an' if I could justforget that I 'm a human bein' I wouldn't be any more bother than therest o' the furnishings; but that is the one thing that 's on my mindjust now--I 'm a man, an' it's time I began to practice at it. "

Barbie wasn't quite so easy to get away from as Jabez was. She couldn'tbelieve but what we'd been quarrelin'. When you came right down togivin' the actual reason for my departure without mentionin' any o' thetrue cause, it was a rather delicate project for a man who hadn't noexperience in makin' political speeches: an' Barbie gave me a purtycomplete goin' over. 

We talked it out for a week, but my mind was made up to go an' the'wasn't anything that could stop me, unless it was mighty important; an'at last she stopped arguin' an' just began to look sorry. That washardest of all. 

"Happy, " she sez to me one night when we was ridin' back from Look Out, "don't you think I'm old enough now to ask Dad about what that lettermeant?"

I turned an' looked at her; the sun was just about to duck behind theridge, an' her face was in all its brightness. It was a lot differentface from that of the child who had asked the question so long ago. Itwas serious with its question, an' it looked like the face of a woman. This was the first time she had mentioned the subject since I'd beenback, an' I hadn't thought she dwelt on it any more; but I saw now thatit lay close up to her heart, an' was the one thing she never couldride away from. "I'm purt' nigh fifteen, " she went on. "Fifteen is agoodly age, " I sez, but not sarcastic. I was thinkin' of Jabez an'myself that mornin', an' wonderin' if age cut so much figger after all. "Do you an' your dad ever talk about your mother any more?" I asked her. 

"Not much, " she said. "When one wants to know all, and one don't wantto tell any, the' ain't much satisfaction in talkin' about--about evenyour own mother. Don't you still miss your mother?"

"Well, I wouldn't like to tell everybody, " sez I, "but I sure do. Why, if the' was any way on earth that I could go back to her, I'd surego--this very minute. "

"At least you know about her. If I just knew about my mother it mightbe all right. You can't seem to get close to even a mother when youdon't know a single thing about her. If you know people well, you cantell what they'd do under any kind of conditions, an' if you know whatthey have done, an' what they've been through, you know purty well whatthey are; but when you don't know anything at all, it makes it hard, awful hard. "

I didn't have anything to say to her that would help, so I didn't sayanything; an' after we had ridden on a while she said, "Happy, I don'twant you to be a business man. The Easterners that rile me up worsethan any other kind are the business men. They allus calculate how athing could be turned into money. Why, if one of 'em lived out herehe'd put a cash value on of Mount Savage. They allus make me think o'Dombey. "

"What was th' about that buckskin mustang to make you think of abusiness man?" sez I, thinkin' she meant a little ridin' pony she usedto have. 

"I don't mean Dobbins, " sez she, "I mean a character out of a book. Hewas such a good business man that he let most of life slip by him. Idon't want you to do that. " "Well, I'll try not to, " sez I, "an' it maybe that beginnin' late in life like I am, I won't become enough of abusiness man to get that way; but the' is one thing sure--I 'm throughwith my nonsense. I'm not goin' around playin' like a boy any more, I'mgoin' to start in an' stick to business all this summer, an' see whatcomes of it. "

"Where you goin' to start in?" sez she. 

"How do I know?" sez I. "I'm just goin' to knock around till I meet upwith a business openin', an' then I 'm goin' to put my full might intoit till I know the whole game. "

"I don't believe that's the way they do it, " sez she. "These ones thatI've heard braggin' about bein' business men don't look to me as ifthey ever did much knockin' around. They generally have everything allplanned out when they begin, and then follow out the plans. Are yougoin' to start in some town or go into a big city?"

"Well, I can tell you more about it when I get back, " sez I. "I stayedthree days in San Francisco oncet, but I didn't like it--it was toocramped up. I'm thinkin' o' headin' that way though. "

"Well, as soon as you've give business a good fair try-out, you'll comeback here an' tell us about it, won't you?" sez she. The sun haddropped by this time; but I could still make out her face in thetwilight. The eyes were big an' soft an' glisteny, the lips were partedan' were tremblin' a little; it was a brave little face, but it lookedlonesome. Something began to tighten around my heart, an' I didn't wantto go; but I had put my hands to the plow, an' I didn't intend toback-track till I'd turned one full furrow. "Yes, " I sez. "Honorbright, just as soon as I've give it a fair trial I'll come back an'let you know. "

"You'll come before it snows if you can, won't you?" she sez, an' Inodded. 

Well, for my part, I'd rather quarrel when I'm goin' to break any ties. I stayed for five meals after that, but they was uncommon dismal. Weall tried to act as if everything was runnin' to suit us, an' we allmade a successful failure of it. When at last I was ready to leave, Jabez shook my hand and said, "Now this is just a vacation, Happy. Haveyour outing an' then come back an' settle down here. Do you want totake your money with you, or leave it in the bank until you decide toinvest it?"

"What money?" sez I. 

He grinned. "Oh, you'll make a business man all right. Don't youremember givin' me six hundred dollars after you came back from the PanHandle? Well, it's been in the bank ever since, an' it's grew some, Ireckon. "

"Well, let her keep on growin', " sez I. "I'm goin' to learn thebusiness before I invest in it. "

"That's sense, " sez he. "Did you ever have any experience?"

"I was clerk in a restaurant once, " sez I; "but I didn't like it, an' Idon't reckon I'll go into the restaurant business. "

Barbie rode a long way with me, but we didn't talk much. 

I don't suppose the' ever was a time when we both had so much to say;but we couldn't seem to say it, an' when we came to part all she saidwas, "Oh, Happy, I hate to see you go, but I'm sure you'll come back inthe fall. "

"I'll come back as soon as I feel I can, " sez I; "an' now don't worrynone yourself, an' don't fret your Dad--an' don't forget old Happy. " Weshook hands long an' firm, an' her eyes seemed tryin' to hold me untilI couldn't look into 'em--but I didn't kiss her this time. We bothnoticed it, an' we both knew 'at while I was partin' from her she waspartin' from her childhood. Partin' from anything 'at you've been fondof is mighty sad business; and so I rode away again. 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

BUSINESS IS BUSINESS

I felt entirely different this time. I wasn't smartin' under anger an'unjust treatment; I was goin' out of my own accord an' because I hadleft behind me the carelessness of boyhood, hood, an' was ready to plowan' plant an' wait for a crop. No more gaiety, no more frivolity, nomore heedlessness. I was to scheme an' plan for the future an' not beled astray by every enticin' amusement that beckoned to me. 

When I came in sight of Danders the second day, I didn't inquire how mythirst was feelin'--no more thirst emersions for mine. The' ain't anyprofit in that, sez I to myself; what I want to do is to ease this oldskin of a pony along until I can get a piece of money for him; that'sbusiness. 

I wasn't much acquainted over in Danders, an' I thought it would beeasy slidin'; but the first feller I met was a useless sort of a cusswhat had been punchin' cows at the Diamond Dot the time the Prophy Gangtried to clean it out, an' he has to tell 'em who I am, an' they hadall heard about me an' Bill Andrews; so 'at it was purt' nighimpossible for me to hold out. I apologized for not drinkin', an' theylet me off; but the old Diamond Dot hand said he was broke, an' wantedme to shove him a little stake. 

Well, that was sure a bad opening: "Business, " sez I, "don't let go onecent unless it's goin' to grab another an' fetch it back home;" an' Iknew that all I gave this feller would keep in circulation for thebalance of eternity. Then a brilliant thought struck me, an' I told himI'd give him one fourth of all he got for the pony over ten dollars. Helooked at the pony an' sez, "Who gets the ten dollars?"

"I gets the ten dollars, " sez I. "This is business: I own the pony, Ipay you wages to sell him, the more you sell him for the more you get. "

He looks at me a moment an' then he calls a gang around him an' sez to'em: "Here's a rich one, fellers. You see this pony--well, he was tooblame old to herd geese with when I was punchin' cows over at theDiamond Dot, ten year ago, an' now Happy wants me to sell him, megettin' one fourth of all I rake in over ten dollars--an' HIM gettin'the ten dollars. What do ya think o' that for nerve?"

Course they all laughed like a lot o' guinea-hens, but I knew that abusiness man has to overlook the inborn ignorance of his customers, orelse it's twice as hard to land 'em; so I just smiled polite. 

"What is your first offer, men?" sez my salesman. "Who'll give me ahundred dollars for this grand old relic; this veteran of a hundredwars; this venerable and honorable souvynier of bygone ages?" Well, that blame fool went on pilin' it up while the crowd egged him on byofferin' two bits, an' four bits, an' six bits an' a drink; an' so onuntil I was disgusted and turned it off as a joke, tellin' the blastedrascal to take the pony an' try to trade him for a night's lodgin'. 

He takes my saddle an' bridle off an' puts 'em careful in the hotel, an' then he takes the pony across the street an' begins to rub himdown. He rubs him a while an' combs out his stringy mane an' tail withhis fingers. Every now an' again he backs off an' examines that pony asthough he was actually worth stealin'. I couldn't make out what he wasup to, so I stood in front of the hotel watchin' him. Purty soon upcomes a tourist what has been lurkin' around in the distance. 

"What is the' about that pony that everybody takes such an interest inhim for?" sez he, glancin' over to where us fellers was gawkin'. 

"Don't you know?" sez the feller, in surprise. I can't quite recall hisname now, but I think it was Bill. Anyhow, most fellers' names is Bill, so we'll call him Bill. "Don't you know who this pony is?" sez Bill. 

"Why no, " sez the tourist. "I just arrived this mornin', an' I'mwaitin' for my uncle to send in after me. "

"Is that so?" sez Bill. "Well, I'll bet your uncle knows who this ponyis. This pony is Captain. Who is your Uncle?"

"Why, my uncle is Charles W. Hampton, " sez the tourist. 

"You don't say!" sez Bill. "Well, Cholly knows who Captain is allright. "

"Oh, do you know him?" sez the tourist. 

"Why, everybody knows him around here, " sez Bill. 

"That's funny; they told me he lived over a hundred and forty milesfrom here, " sez the tourist. "But what is the' about Captain that makeshim so wonderful? He don't look like much of a pony to me. "

Bill looks at the pony and then he looks at the tourist, then he looksat the pony again an' sez in a low voice: "It ain't on his looks, it'sfor what he's done that makes Captain famous. "

"What's he done?" sez the tourist. 

"Did you ever hear of Custer's massacre?" sez Bill. 

"Of course I have, " sez the tourist, gettin' interested. 

Bill, he walks up an' puts his hand on the pony's neck, an' then heturns an' sez proudly, "This here pony is the last survivin' remnant ofthat historical event. "

"You don't say!" sez the tourist. "What are you goin' to do with him?"

"I don't want to say a word again the flag of my country, " sez Bill, holdin' tip his hand, "but my country ain't got the gratitude it ort tohave when it comes to hosses. I don't blame 'em for condemnin' thecommon run o' hosses an' sellin' 'em to wear out their pore livesin--in toilsome labor, but when it comes to a hoss with a record likeCaptain--well, I kept him as long as I could afford it. Now I'm goin'to give him a good groomin', spend my last penny in givin' him one morefeed, an' then take him out on the broad free prairie of his nativesoil--an' shoot him. Of course I could sell him, but I won't do it. I'drather give him a soldier's death than to have him hammered around inhis old age, after all he's done for his country. "

Well, the tourist, he gets all het up over it, an' then he comes overto where us fellers gathered. We're standin' in solemn awe, an' he seesthe' ain't any of it put on; but he can't tell that it ain't respectfor what the pony has done that makes us so solemn; he can't see 'at we're off erin' up our tribute to Bill. 

"Do any of you gentlemen know anything about that pony?" sez thetourist. 

"Who, Captain!" sez a tall, lanky, sad-lookin' puncher. "Well, it ain'tlikely that you can find a man in the West who wouldn't recognize thatpony by the description. That there pony was in the Custer Massacre. "

"The gentleman what owns him is goin' to shoot him, " sez the tourist. 

"Well, perhaps it's all for the best, " sez the sad one. "I ain't nomillionaire, but I offered him thirty-seven dollars for that pony. Hedoubted that I'd take good care of him, so he wouldn't sell him to me. He said he didn't think I'd abuse the pony when I was sober, but I'llhave to own up that when a friend--when a friend invites me to have adrink, I can't say no--an' I got a darn sight o' friends in thiscountry. "

The' ain't no use in draggin' this out. After that tourist had agreedto treat that pony like the saints of glory, Bill, he finally sold himto him for an even fifty dollars--an' it was me that bought the liquorfor the crowd. 

I'm good-natured enough to suit any one reasonable, but I own up I wassore. Here I'd started out with the best intentions in the world, withmy mind all made up not to be led into temptation or turned from a setpurpose, an' what was the first result? I had simply given my entirestock in trade away to a worthless loafer, an' had seen him sell it forfifty dollars after he had made all manner of fun of me for offerin'one fourth of all he made over ten. Why, the pony was worth sevendollars, an' I could have sold him for that money myself if I hadn'tlet them laugh me into showin' of. Then to top off with, I'd blown inabout a month's wages just to show the gang I was able to take a jokewhen it was measured out to me. 

I was ready right at that minute to own tip that business didn't comenatural to me; but I enjoyed myself plenty enough until along towardmornin', an' then the penjalum begun to swing back. I sat over in thecorner kickin' myself purty freely, when a funny, twisted little mancame over an' sat across from me. He had pink-like cheeks an' shinylittle eyes, an' he was middlin' well crowded with part of the wetgoods I had been payin' for. "It was one o' the smoothest businessdeals I ever saw put through--on a small scale, " sez he. 

"Oh, hang business, " sez I. 

"Well, it's a hangin' matter often enough, " sez he. "Do you know thereason why the' 's so much devilment in this world?"

"It's 'cause the' 's so many people here, " sez I; "that's easy enough. "

"It's 'cause the preachers ain't got the nerve to explain what thecommandments mean, " sez he. 

It was an awful curious little man, an' I kind o' straightened up an'give him a searchin' look: "I've met a heap like you, " sez I. "Somefolks think that preachers is paid to make the world better, but theyain't. They're paid so that when a feller's conscience hurts him he canjust lay all the sins of the whole world on the preachers. "

"They deserve 'em, " sez the little man. "What does it mean to steal?"

"Why, any fool knows what stealin' is, " sez I. "It's takin' somethingthat don't belong to you. "

"How can you tell what does belong to you, " he sez, leanin' forward asif he was makin' a point. 

I looked at him an' saw that he really thought he was talkin' sense, soI sez: "You go talk to some one else. I'm too sleepy an' I'm too blamesore to bother with such nonsense. "

"It ain't nonsense, " sez he. "I'm an edicated man, an' I been studyin'life ever since I been born. My father was a preacher across the water, an' I got arrested for stealin' a bottle of whiskey when I wasn'tnothin' but a boy. The whole family was disgraced on account of me, an'my father told 'em to go ahead an' give it to me hard. Now I stole thatwhiskey on a dare, an' I stole it from a good church member; but allthe rest of my life I been stretchin' that there commandment until Itell you the whole human race is one set o' thieves. "

Well, I was purty sleepy, but the little old man had an eye in him likea headlight, an' he just made you listen to him. "The' ain't no sensein your slingin' mud that way, " sez I. "The' 's lots of men 'atwouldn't steal, if they had a chance. "

"If I ruin my constitution through depravity, is it stealin'?" sez he. 

"No, " sez I, "it's darn foolishness. "

"It is stealin', " sez he, "just as much as if I help to waste naturalproducts what can't be replaced--stealin' from the children of the nextgeneration, an' all the followin' generations. "

"What rights have they got?" I sez, losin' my patience. "They ain'teven born yet. "

"Did you ever see a baby?" sez he. 

"Yes, " I sez, "I bet I've seen a dozen of 'em. "

"Well, " sez he, "was they polite? Did they beg for what they wanted?Did they have any doubt but that they'd be plenty of everything to goaround?"

"Not them what I saw, " sez I. "They'd give one little coo, to see ifany one was handy, an' then they'd holler an' yell an' scold an' fussuntil they got what they wanted. "

"Do you suppose if they didn't have any rights they'd have the nerve tocarry on that way?" sez he. 

"Rights!" sez I. "They didn't have to have rights--they had mothers. "

Well, that set him back a good ways, an' by the time he had thought upsome new stuff I was asleep; but he shook me awake an' sez, "Of coursethe child's mother will do all she can; but supposin' she ain't gotwhat the child wants--how'll she explain it to him?"

"She won't bother explainin' nothin' to a baby, " sez I. "She'll justsend the old man out to get it. "

He looked sort o' disgusted like, as if he wasn't used to arguin' witha man what could handle logic an' make points. "You're just like therest, " sez he. "What I mean is, that every man who has ever been onearth is just sort of an overseer for them what is yet to come. We havethe right to use everything we want in the right way, but we haven'tany right to waste it or destroy it, or hog it up so that all can'tenjoy it. Why, when you start to savin' an' draw in what ought to becirculatin', you steal from them what haven't had the chance 'at you'vehad. It's wicked to be thrifty. "

"Well, you're the craziest one I've seen yet, " sez I, laughin'. "Why, if you had your way you'd utterly ruin business. "

"Business!" he yells, gettin' excited. "Do you know what business is?"

I thought a moment. "I don't know all the' is to know about it, " sez I, "but I expect to give it a fair good work-out before I'm through withit. "

"Business, " he sez, leanin' across the table an' hittin' it with hisfinger-nail, "business is simply havin' the laws fixed so you can stealwithout havin' to pay any fine. What is business? Ain't it figgerin'an' schemin' to get away from a man whatever he happens to have? That'snothin' but stealin'. "

"Confound you, " sez I, "do you mean to say that just because I'm goin'to engage in business I'm a thief?"

He looked at me a moment an' then he shook his head. "No, " he sez, "youwon't never be that kind, you'll be some other kind; but that's aboutall business is--just thievery. Why, I once knew two men 'at was thebest friends 'at ever lived; an' they just ruined their lives 'causethey couldn't resist the temptation of each tryin' to grab all. It wasover the Creole Belle--"

"Yes, but she was a woman!" I yells, jumpin' to my feet, an' leanin'over the table. 

"No, it was a mine, " sez he, sittin' still. 

"A Creole is a cross-breed woman 'at came from New Orleans, " sez I;"an' when they're good lookin' enough, they call 'em belles. "

"Well this here mine 'at I'm goin' to tell you about was called theCreole Belle, " he sez. "For a longtime it didn't pay to amount toanything, an' then it began to pay; an' the two friends got covetous, an' first George had Jack killed an' then he gets killed himself byJack's--"

"No, he wasn't killed, " I snaps in like a blame fool. 

The old man looked at me with his little shiny eyes all scrouged up. "Who wasn't killed?" he sez, slow an' cautious. "Why, George Jordanwasn't killed, " I sez. 

"What would a kid like you know about it" sez he. 

"Well, I do know 'at he wasn't killed, " I sez. "I been workin' for him;he don't live but a short way from here. Tell the the whole story. I'llmake it worth your while. Come on, what'll you have to drink?"

He leaned forward with his hand clutchin' at his side, an' his pinkchecks gray an' twisted. He coughed a dry, short cough, an' groans outbetween his set teeth. "It 's my heart; I got a bum pump. You tellGeorge Jordan that I never breathed a word of it, but that JackWhitman--Oh, my God! Get me a drink of whiskey! Get me a drink ofhell-fire!"

He doubled up, grabbin' an' clawin' at his breast while I jumped to thebar yellin' for whiskey. I grabbed the bottle an' hustled back to him, but he was all crumpled up on the floor. We straightened him out an'rubbed his wrists an' poured whiskey down his throat, an' after a whilehe opened his eyes. The minute his senses got back to him he clutchedat his heart again, rollin' an' writhin', an' makin' noises like awounded beast. "I knew it would end this way, " he gasped. "I'm goin'out now, but listen to what I say"--he helt his breath to keep fromcoughin'--"the' ain't no sin but stealin'. Don't never take nothin'that don't belong to ya. "

All his muscles grew rigid an' twisted, an' then a smile came on hisface an' he sank back. They had the doctor there by that time, but the'wasn't anything to be done, except to give a big heathen name to whathad been the matter with him. There he lay on the bar-room floor; the'was filth an' refuse all around him, but the smile on his face was justplumb satisfied, an' yet it was a knowledgeable smile too. I could 'a'cried when I thought that this man, who could have told little Barbiewhat she wanted to know, had wasted all that time tryin' to convince methat business an' stealin' was all one. What he knew wouldn't do him amite o' good, wherever he was; an' yet the' wasn't any way on earth tobring him back long enough to have him tell it. 

They told me his name was Sandy Fergoson, an' that he was harmlesscrazy. He used to float around doin' odd jobs an' talkin' nonsenseabout stealin'; but nobody knew where he had come from, so I chipped ina little something to help bury him, an' gave up the rest of my moneyfor a ticket to Frisco. 

I didn't enjoy that trip to Frisco; business didn't seem so attractivewhen you once set out to find her, an' then again, I was broke. I don'tmind bein' broke when I 'm on the range 'cause a feller can pick up ajob anywhere; but I wasn't city-wise, an' I didn't know how long itwould take me to track down the kind o' business I wanted to engage in. 

I suppose cities must suit some folks, or they wouldn't keep on livin'in 'em; but cities sure don't suit me. I allus had a kind of an ideafrom what Slocum had told me that I'd enjoy the bankin' business, so Iapplied to the banks first. They're a blame offish set, bankers. Theydidn't laugh at me, --leastwise not until after I'd gone out, --but theydidn't offer much encouragement. I tramped around that city for fourdays, an' by the time I finally got located in business my appetite wastearin' around inside my empty body till I couldn't sleep nights. Oh, it was not joyful! I had taken the position of porter in a mammoth bigdrygoods store, an' I was some glad when noon arrived; but no onecalled me to partake of dinner, so I went up to a young lad, an' sez, "Where do they spread it?"

"Spread what?" sez he. 

"Dinner, " sez I. 

"I bring mine with me, " sez he. 

"Is the grub that rotten?" sez I. 

"What grub?" sez he. "You surely don't think they serve meals here, doyou?"

"Do you mean to tell me that I got to find myself, out of forty amonth?" sez I. 

He started to make up a joke, but I looked too famished to trifle with;so he explained to me that all we got was wages, an' we couldn't evensleep in the store. I was gettin' purty disgusted with business, but hetold me that the man what owned the whole store had started in as aporter; so I went back an' portered harder than ever that afternoon, wonderin' what in thunder kind of a man it was who could save enoughout of a porter's wages to buy a store like that. I was dressed somedifferent from the rest o' the folks around there, so I attracted a lotof attention, an' the' wasn't much I did that wasn't enjoyed by more orless of a crowd. When quittin' time came I hustled up to the fellerwhat had hired me an' told him I'd like to have my day's pay. "We don'tpay until Saturday night, " sez he, hustlin' out o' the store. I stoodon the sidewalk thinkin'; an' what I was thinkin' of, was the nonsense'at Sandy Fergoson had been talkin'. It didn't sound so foolish now. 

The' was a little restaurant across the street, an' the owner of it hadnoticed me washin' the windows--he had seemed to enjoy it too. I wentover an' told him that I would like to board with him if he would makeme rates. He sized me up an' sez he would board me for six dollars aweek. I didn't see how I could save enough to buy a store out of fourdollars a week, an' after I got tired o' seein' the sights I'd have torent a bed somewheres too; but what I needed then was food, so I agreed. 

I sat down an' begun to eat slow, 'cause it's always best to warm upcareful on a long job. I et away peaceful an' contented until I gotgood an' used to it again, an' then I kept the waiters hoppin' purtylively. The proprietor took a deep interest in me, an' dodged around sohe could have an unobstructed view; while the rest of the guests got tonoticin' too, an' when they'd finish they'd just stick around an' keepcases, until after a while things began to jam, an' every time I'dorder in some new food they'd make bets on whether I'd be able tofinish it or not. When I finally quit, the proprietor came up to me ona run an' sez, "Are you sure you have had all you wish?"

"Yes, " I sez, "an' I ain't no fault to find with the cookin' either. "

He eyed me all over, an' then he drew me to one side. "I don't want togo back on my word, " sez he, "an' I don't intend to charge you a centfor this meal; but Great Scott, man, I wouldn't board you for sixdollars a day, let alone six dollars a week. "

I didn't intend to let him know that I was stone broke, 'cause itdidn't seem the thing in a business man; but I did tell him that Ihardly ever et quite so much as I had that night. Still, he wouldn'ttake any chances, so I took my blankets an' went on. I was purty sleepyafter my meal, an' it was just all I could do to stagger up an' downthe hills, before I found a place to flop in. It was under a littletree in a big yard, an' I got out at sun-up 'cause I didn't want anyone to see a business man occupyin' such quarters as that. I didn'tmiss breakfast much that day, an' I went about my work singin' an'whistlin'. Just before noon I found a hundred dollars on the floorclose to the door. 

I asked every one around if they had lost any money, an' most of 'emsaid no, an' them what bad lost any--an' the' was a purty high averagethat mornin'--had all lost the wrong amount, or else it was in adifferent kind of a sack; so I knocked off at noon, went to a newrestaurant, an' et a fair meal, which they charged me one dollar for. Ithought that was goin' a little stout for a porter, but I knew I'd finda place where I could live on my income as soon as I got betteracquainted, an' I was purty light-hearted when I got back that noon. 

"You're nineteen minutes late, " sez the floor boss. 

"Is that so; what's happened?" sez I, pleasantly. 

"You are not supposed to take more than an hour for lunch, " sez he. 

"Well, you can just take the nineteen minutes out of the time I savedup yesterday, " sez I. 

"You must understand right at the start that business depends onmethod, " sez he, sour like. "Mr. Hailsworth wishes to see you at once. "

Hailsworth was the capital letter o' that outfit, an' I was glad o' thechance to see him, 'cause the' was some several changes I wanted tomake in the porterin' department. I follered the floor boss upstairsan' back to a private room, where a little wizen-faced old man sat upan' looked at me over his spectacles. "I understand you found somemoney?" sez he. 

"I did, " sez I. "Do you know who lost it?"

"Well, no, not yet, " sez he; "but of course you understand that anymoney that is found in this building belongs to the firm, unless itsrightful owner claims it. "

"Well that's a new wrinkle" sez I. "Why don't it belong to me?"

"'Cause you have hired your time to me, an' whatever you find here youfind in my time, so it's mine. This is the law, an' I am very busy. Just hand it over at once. "

"That ain't right, " sez I, "an' I don't intend to hand over a nickle ofit. "

"Then we'll have to arrest you, " sez he. I put my hand down to my leg, but both my guns was rolled up in my blankets. "I'm goin' out to see alawyer, " sez I, thinkin' that would be more business-like than to tellhim I 'd blow the top of his head off. The' was lots more things Iwanted to tell him, but it took most o' my strength to manage myself-control; an' I allus like to have good footin' when I make myspring. I didn't feel at home, either, an' that's a heap. It kind o'got on my nerves to see that little shrimp squattin' there behind hisspectacles an' tellin' me what I had to do, the same as if I was ahoss. I turned on my heel and strode out o' that store head up an' Iwas some glad that Hammy had taught me what strodin' was, 'cause therest o' the gang opened up a path you could 'a' drove astreet-sprinkler through. 

I didn't like the looks o' that lawyer, he reminded me of a rat. Idon't care much for the law anyhow. All the law is fit for is to takecare o' the weak an' the ignorant--an' they can't afford it. I'venoticed that much, the little time I've been penned up in cities. Thislawyer o' mine had full command o' the kind o' talk that bottles up aman an' keeps him from expressin' himself. He said I had a good casean' that he would save me my findin's, but that I had to give him halfof it for his services--in advance. If you don't tell a lawyer thetruth he can't fight your case; an' if you do you put yourself in hispower. Course I don't claim to be authority, but I just actually don'tlike the law. 

When I came away from the law office, a nice friendly feller got intoconversation with me, an' after I'd bought him a couple o' drinks, hegrew confidential an' told me his troubles. He was owner of a wholeblock of buildin's an' a lot o' residence houses, but he was stonebroke. He had had a quarrel with the banks, an' couldn't raise a penny, an' he had lost ten thousand dollars the night before, gamblin'. Hesaid it would take forty dollars for him to go to Los Angeles, where hehad friends who would lend him any amount. Otherwise they wouldforeclose the little mortgage he had on the business block. 

He talked along until I couldn't stand it any longer, so I give him theforty on the condition that I was to be his collecting agent at wagesof two hundred a month, as soon as he got back from Los Angeles. 

I went down to the station with him and then I hunted up a place whereI took board and lodging for a week at six dollars in advance. Thisleft me purt' nigh two dollars to go on until the real estate owner gotback. I called around at my lawyer's every day, an' he told me just tolay low an' he'd keep me out o' trouble. Then the sixth day passedwithout the real estate owner I told the lawyer about it an' asked himif he thought anything might have happened. He got awful mad an' saidhe'd ought to be kicked for not chargin' me ninety-five dollars for hisservices in the first place; an' by Jinks that was the truth: thatrascally real-estate owner wasn't nothing but a flim-flammer. 

At first I couldn't believe that the block he had showed me over didn'tbelong to him; but when I did I was ready to wreak vengeance. Thelawyer said that wreakin' vengeance wasn't a thing that paid in citylife, but that if I ever met up with that flim-flammer I could scare alot of money out of him. My lawyer was a purty good sort of a feller, after all, an' he gave me a lot of high-class advice. He told me thatit might be years before my case came up, an' that the' wasn't any useof me waitin' around for it. Then he talked about business, an' he an'Sandy Fergoson had about the same ideas of it, though they useddifferent words. He told me that it was all right for a boy to start inin some old business an' learn the trade, but that the thing for a manto do was to get a start in a smaller town, an' then after he'd learnedthe ropes to come to the big town an' cut things wide open. 

The more I thought over this the better it looked to me; but I hardlyknew where to start in. Then the thought struck me that about the bestbusiness move I could make was to go to Los Angeles an' scare enoughmoney out of the flim-flammer to give me a good start in some littlebusiness of my own. My board bein' out an' my cash bein' likewise, Ihad to travel on foot; but as my back was pointed toward Frisco, Ididn't mind that much. 

I trudged along for several days, an' the' was enough people along theline to welcome me to my meals, so I begun to get more resigned tobein' a human again. The farther I got from Frisco the nearer I got toLos Angeles, an' though I was some anxious to meet up with theflim-flammer, I finally began to doubt if he was worth the bother, an'besides, he might not be there anyway. 

I was beginnin' to get good an' sick of business; an' I was more thanconvinced that gettin' a feller's own consent to engage in it wasn'tthe hardest step he'd ever have to take. Wayside friends was beginnin'to get mighty scarce, an' I was feelin' lonesome above the average onemornin', when I came to a pause in front of one o' these littlesix-acre ranches where they raise lawn grass an' fresh air. It was apurty, restful sort of a place, with a double row of trees leadin' upto the house, an' somethin' seemed to be drawin' me in at the frontgate, although I couldn't smell any food cookin', either. I only waitedabout a minute, an' then I followed the draw. 

I'm a firm believer in Fate. Fate is a funny word: leave the firstletter off, an' it 's the cause; leave the last letter off, an' it'sthe result. Barbie found this out one night when we was discussin'Fate. But I mean the sober side o' Fate, when I say I believe in it. Atrain starts out o' New York city just the same time that a fool cowpuncher ropes a pony so he can ride to town for a big time. The puncherreaches the washed-out railroad bridge five minutes before thetrain--what do you call that?

I was thinkin' o' these things while I was walkin' up the drive-way;an' when I raised up my hand to knock, I felt just as if I'd been sentfor. 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE CHINESE QUESTION

It happened just like I thought it would. I hadn't more than struck thefourth or fifth tap before the door was opened by the finest littlewoman you ever saw. She had a worried lock on her face, but when shesaw me the clouds rolled away an' she smiled clear into my heart. Shewas a real lady--it stuck out all over her, like a keep-off-the-grasssign. 

"Are you the man?" sez she. 

"Well, I'm one of 'em, " sez I. 

"You know I sent clear to San Francisco for a man, " sez she, "an' Isuppose you're the man. "

"To tell you the honest truth, " sez I, "I was so preoccupied in Friscothat I clean forgot to stop around for my mail, but as long as we'reconversin' on this subject, I'll just be bold enough to say 'at I'lltake the job, without askin' what it is. "

"Have you had a wide experience?" sez she. 

"Wide?" sez I. "Wide, only just begins to give you a hint at it. Iain't filled with the lust of vanity, nor I ain't overly much given totootin' my own horn; but in my humble an' modest way I guarantee to beable to do anything on this good, green earth 'at don't require a bookedication. "

"Can I trust you?" sez she, lookin' into my face mighty searchin'. 

"If you sell me anything, " sez I, smilin' as near like a baby as Icould, "you'll have to trust me, 'cause I'm dead broke. " She just stoodan' looked in through my face; an' I tell ya, boys, I was mighty gladthat in all this rip-snortin' world the' wasn't one single woman whocould rise up an' say that I hadn't played fair. She kept on lookin'into me, until I knew she was readin' everything I had ever done orsaid or thought, an' the sweat was tricklin' down my back like meltin'snow. 

"Yes, " she sez finally, "I can trust you. "

"Don't you never doubt it, " sez I. "All you need to do is to issue theorders, an' if I don't carry 'em out, why, just tell the folks not tosend flowers. I ain't long on talk, but I'll agree to carry out anyplan you've got, from ditchin' a limited to shootin' up a MethodistChurch. That's me, " sez I, "an' now let's have the news. "

Talk about bein' surprised! I thought she had a fence war on her handsat the least; but what she wanted me to do was to take care of a gentleold pair o' hosses, milk a cow, tend a garden, cut the grass, an' helparound the house. By the time she finished the program, I felt like afightin' bulldog when a week-old kitten spits at him. Here I was, willin' to leave my hide tacked up on her barn, an' all she wanted wasa kind of lady-gardener. I just sort o' wilted down on the steps, an' Imust 'a' turned pale, 'cause she said to me, "Why, you must be hungry. Haven't you had your breakfast?"

"Oh, yes, " sez I, "day before yesterday. "

Then she begun to rustle about an' fix me up a snack, an' I was glad Ihad followed the finger o' Fate. The bill o' fare seemed altogetheradapted to my disposition. 

While I was fillin' up the chinks an' crevices, she dealt out avarigated assortment of facts. It seemed they lived there on account o'the health o' the baby. Her husband had had to go East, an' would bethere some six weeks longer. When he had left, she had an Irish cook, an' a Chinaman as polite as an insurance agent; but as soon as he wasgone, the Chink began to take liberties, the cook packed up her broguean' headed for an inhabited community, an' then the Chink concludedthat all he saw was his'n. She finally took a brace a' told him to hitthe trail, an' he had gone off, vowin' to come back an' burn down thewhole place. This was her first year there, an' the closest neighborwas seven miles across country, an' not well acquainted. 

She expected her cousin in a week or so, but as it was, she wasbeginnin' to have trouble with her nerves. Then I was glad that I hadmade her my little openin' address, 'cause she had joyfulled up like adesert poney when he smells water. 

Well, I put in a rich an' useful day, as the preacher sez. First, Irode one o' the veterans over to the station about ten miles away, antelegraphed the other man not to bother; then I came back an' wed theonions, washed the dishes, ran the washin' machine--say, I was bein'entertained all right, but every minute I felt like reachin' to see ifmy back hair wasn't comin' down. 

Me an' the cow had the time of our life that night. She had missed acouple o' milkin's, an' didn't seem to care much about resumin'payment; so I finally had to rope an' tie her, an' milk up hill into afruit-jar. Talk about bein' handy? I didn't know but what next day I'dbe doin' some plain sewin', or tuckin' the crust around a vinegar pie. 

That night after supper she put the kid to bed an' then came down, an'we went around nailin' the house up. Finally she showed me where toflop. It was in her husband's cave, I believe she called it--a littleroom full o' books an' pipes an' resty-lookin' furniture. The' was abig leather bunk, an' that was where I was to get mine. Her room was atthe head of the stairs, an' she had a rope goin' over the transom witha bell hangin' to it, close in front of my door. The bell was to be mysignal if she heard the Chink attack before I did. Just before she wentupstairs she reached into the bosom of her dress an' fished out a realrevolver, about the size of a watch-charm. She held it in her hand andlooked into my eyes with her lips tight set. 

"Are the mosquitoes as bad as that?" sez I. 

"I carry this all the time, to defend myself an' child, " sez she, rufflin' up like a hen when you pick up her chicken, an' she was soearnest about it that I nearly choked, swallerin' a grin; 'causehonest, I could 'a' snuffed the thing up my nose. 

I pulled a long face an' sez to her as solemn as a judge, "Is thereenough food and water in the house to stand a siege, in case theChinaman'd pen us up?" Her face grew drawn an' worried until she caughtthe twinkle in my eye, an' then she broke into a simile an' trippedupstairs like a girl. I stood out in the hall a moment lookin' afterher an' I was mighty glad I had come. We was both in need of company;her mind was a heap easier than it had been that mornin', an' I feltbetter than I had for some several days. I couldn't see where SandyFergoson had told me anything that would get me any nearer what Barbiewanted to know; an' yet I couldn't keep my mind off studyin' over it, except when I was busy. It was the same with Bill Andrews, an' I wasglad to have some one new to worry over until I got tuned up again. 

As soon as she shut an' locked her door, I backed into my stall an'looked about. The' was some invitin' lookin' books on the wall, an' Iread over the titles, finally selectin' one called, "The Ten Years'Conflict. " Now, if ever the' was a name framed up to deceive theinnocent, this here was the name. I opened the book with my mouthwaterin', thinkin' I was about to wade through two volumes of gore; butit started out to tell about the Church of Scotland, an' I wasn't ableto keep awake to even the beginnin' of the scrap; so I started toprepare myself for the morrow's duties, as the preacher sez. 

After I had opened my roll an' took out my guns, so I could show 'em toher in the mornin' an' sort o' cheer her up, I shed my boots an'proceeded to occupy my bunk. Say, it was like floppin' down on a tubfulo' suds. Springs! Well, you should have seen Uncle Happy bouncin' upan' down. I reckon I went to sleep in mid-air, 'cause I was too tiredto remember whether I was a husky maid or a tender man. 

When I came to, I thought it must sure be the last day, an' that I hadwaited for the very last call. The dinner-bell was a-knockin' all theechoes in the house loose an' they was fallin' on my ear-drums inbunches. I rushed out into the hall an' grabbed that bell by thetongue, an' give a yell to let her know that I was ready for orders. She opened the door an' came to the head of the stairs, an' sez, "Hush-shh! Don't make any noise. "

"Noise!" sez I. "The' ain't any left. You used up all the raw material. What seems to be wrong?"

"Fido has just been growlin', " sez she, in a low whisper, "an' I hearda noise out in the bushes. "

"What shall I do?" sez I. "Come up there an' toss Fido out into thebushes, so as to kill two birds with one stone?"

"No, " sez she. "If you are willin' to take the risk, I wish that youwould go out the front door an' lock it after you. Then look aroundcareful and see if he is settin' fire to the house. Take my revolveran' Fido, an' do be careful not to get hurt--an' don't kill him unlessyou have to. "

"I won't kill him unless I see him, an' he won't hurt me unless he seesme first, " sez I. "You better keep Fido an' the gun. I don't want to bebothered with a couple o' noncombatants. "

Fido was a little black woolly-faced dog, an' he didn't impress me asbein' no old Injun-fighter. I went out an' chased a cat out o' thebushes; but didn't flush up a single thing wantin' to disturb thepeace, except the goat. He was the most frolicsome goat I ever see, an'he about got my tag before I heard him comin'. I rummaged the placepurty thorough, an' after tellin' her that all was well, I folded mywings an' went to roost on the leather bunk again. 

Twice more that night the clanging bell summoned me to go forth an'chase imaginary Chinamen, an' then my patience begun to get baggy atthe knees. I wanted to be up in time to gather the milk before the heatof the day, an' I was a couple o' nights shy on my sleep already. Thelast time I took Fido along an' dropped him into the feed-bin, where hecould hunt Chinamen to his heart's content 'thout disturbin' my beautysleep. 

Our days flowed along smooth an' peaceful; but most o' the nights I putin huntin' Chinamen. No, I wouldn't have killed one if I could havefound him--well, not all at once. I got so I could churn an' dust an'do fancy cookin', until if they'd been any men in that locality, Ireckon one would have chose me to be his wife--an' then came the cousin. 

 She'd been tellin' me all about him--it's miraculous the way awoman's talk'll flow after it's been dammed up a spell. He was fromVirginie an' was goin' to college to study chemistry, whatever that is;an' he was an athlete an' a quarter-back an' a coxswain--oh, he was thewhole herd, the cousin was. I begun to feel shy whenever I thought ofhim. I feared he might arrive when I was peelin' spuds with my apronon, an' he might choose to kiss me. 

I drove to the station after him; but nobody got off the train except anice lookin' boy with outlandish clothes, an' a couple o' trunks. Afterthe train had pulled out, he sez to me, "Can you tell me the way toMrs. B. A. Cameron's?"

"I can sight you purty close, " sez I. "That's my present headquarters. You--you ain't Ralph Chester Stuart, are ya?"

"You win, " sez he, as though we had made mud-pies together. "Come on, let's load the trunks an' trip toward where ther's a noise like food. I'm troubled with what they call a famine. "

We drove along, an' he was as merry as a bug an' talked a langwidge thelike of nothin' that I had ever met up with before; but I was tryin' tofit his real size with my idea of it. I had been lookin' for asix-footer with bulgy muscles an' a grippy jaw. This pink-cheeked boydidn't look like no athlete to me. He was so cute an' sweet that I feltlike hangin' a string o' coral beads around his neck an' savin' him formy adopted daughter. I had just concluded to hand over the dish-washin'right at the start, when he fished up a pipe out of a case, filled it, an' begun to puff like a grown-up, an' then I savvied that dish-washin'wasn't one of his hobbies. "Any sport here?" sez he. 

"If you're good at dreamin, " sez I, "you can have the time of your lifehuntin' Chinamen. I never see a place yet where the huntin' was soplentiful an' the game so scarce. "

He got interested in a minute an' told me he had a shotgun, a rifle, an' three revolvers. 

"I wish I could write Chinese, " sez I. 

"What for?" sez he. 

"So I could put up a sign warnin' him away, " sez I. "Why, if we'd allthree get a chance at that Chinaman, it'd take me a solid week to cleanhim off the lawn. "

Ches an' me got along fine. He was a game little rooster, an' hiscollege stories used to tickle me half to death. I never would havebelieved that a little feller could 'a' been a college athlete; butChes had got his pictures in the papers, time an' again. At collegethey race in a boat about the size an' shape of a telegraph pole, eightof 'em rowin' an' the coxswain perched tip behind, pickin' out the pathan' tellin' the rowers not to think of their future, but to killtheirselves right then if it will win the race. Ches sez that thecoxswain is the most important man in the boat. He had a good deal thesame views about the quarter-back, in fact he took what they call apurely personal estimate of life. 

He showed me how to play football. It's pleasant pastime, but tooexcitin' for a frail thing like me. He gave me his cap to carry, an'told me to back off about twenty feet, an' try to run over him, orstick my stiff-arm in his face or dodge him--any way at all to get by. I backed off an' then I looked at him. He looked about as hard to getby as a toadstool. 

"Now, Ches, I don't want to have your blood on my head, " I sez, "an ifyou've just been jokin', why say so. " But no, nothin' would do but Imust run him down. I never won much of a reputation for bein' slow, an'I weigh one ninety when I'm ganted down to workin' trim. I took a fullbreath an' sailed into him. I intended to give a jump just before Ireached him an' go clear over his head, but I lacked the time. Just asI took my jump he gave a lunge, wrapped himself about my lowerextremities, an' we sailed up among the tree-tops. All the way up I wastryin' to figure out how it happened; but when we struck the earthagain, I didn't care. I knew it would never happen again. I'd shootfirst. 

We lit on top of my face an' whirled around a few times an' then sorto' crumbled up in a heap, with him still shuttin' off the circulationin my legs. "Down!" sez he, "an' now the ball is dead. "

"I can't answer for the ball, " sez I, "but I'm about as near bein' inthe coffin mood myself as I ever get at this season of the year. Whatgame did you say we was indulgin' in?"

"This is football, " sez he. 

"I'm glad to know it, " sez I, "so that in the future when any oneissues an invitation for me to play football I can make arrangementsfor provin' an alibi. If I HAD to play a game like this I should chooseto be the ball. "

He was full o' little ways like this an' entertained me fine; but itwas mighty hard to wring any useful work out of him. He used to prunethe rose vines, and now and again he'd do a little dustin'; but oncewhen I had to bake sourdough bread, I pointed out that the gardenneeded weedin', an' explained to him just what effect weedin' had ongarden truck. He sez to me, "My motto is, 'Competition results in thesurvival of the fittest. ' I ain't no Socialist. " When I asked him whatthis bunch of words meant, he told me that he didn't know of anyexercise 'at would do me so much good as learnin' to think for myself;an' that's all the satisfaction I could get out of him. He was somelike other edicated persons I've met up with: when you tried to get himto do something useful, he'd fall back on his book knowledge, roll outa string of high steppin' words, an' then look prepossessed. 

He was good about one thing, though: he just about took the night trickoff my hands, so that I begun catchin' up with my sleep again. He usedto load himself down with firearms an' he and Fido would hunt Chinamentwo or three hours every night, but he never had no luck. Several timesthe neighbors rode by an' they told us that the' was a gang breakin'into houses an' stealin', but they couldn't seem to get any track of'em. 

One mornin' I was tryin' to find out what made the sewin' machine dropstitches, when he came runnin' in with his eyes stickin' out like atoad's. 

"He's been sleepin' in the barn, " sez he. 

"Who--the horse?" sez I, thinkin' it was one of his jokes. 

"No, " sez he, "the Chinaman. "

Well, I looked at him, an' he explained how his suspicions had beenaroused, an' that he had made a practice of stirrin' up the straw eachevenin', an' then each mornin' would find the print of a man's body butthat he had put tar on the ladder without gettin' any evidence. 

I pricked up my ears at this, an' turned the machine out on pasture fora while. We went to the barn, an' there, sure enough, was the print ofa man's body. Then we adjourned to the shade to hatch up a sub-tileplot. We smoked an' hatched until it was time for me to go in an' helpwith dinner. We was both thinkin' hard, an' finally I sez, "Now, Ches, the craftiest thing for us to do, is for me to cover up in the straw, an' when he lays down, explode my gun against his ribs. " He hadpestered me a mighty sight, an' I never was partial to 'em nohow. Chesnever made any reply; he was what you call engrossed. All of a suddenhe leaps to his feet an' slaps me on the shoulder. 

"Happy, " sez he, "are ya game?"

I looked at him a while, an' then I sez gently, "Now look here, Mister, I ain't no hero, an' if you happen to have any more college festivitiesto introduce, why I'll own up to a yellow streak a foot wide; but Idon't recollect just what day it was that any livin' man accused me ofbein' down-right pale-blooded. If you got any hair-raisin' projec' inyour head, don't bother to break it gentle. Just tell it right out, an'I'll lean up against this tree, so as not to hurt myself should Ifaint. "

"Well, " sez he, chucklin' like a prairie-dog. "I propose we paint upthe goat with phosphorus, put him in the barn, an' me an' you get up inthe trees to watch. "

"What's the goat done?" sez I. 

"The goat ain't done nothin', " sez he, "but he'll scare the Chink todeath, an' when he comes out we can shoot him in the leg or something. "

"No, " sez I, "it won't work. The Chink knows the goat better'n we do;an' it'll be the goat that'll come out an' get shot in the leg, whilethe Chink'll get away. "

"Oh, rats!" sez Ches. "He won't even know it's a goat. Can't you seethat?"

"Why won't he know it's a goat?" I sez, gettin' impatient. "AChinaman's got just as much sense as a human being, an' you'll find itout sometime too. "

"Yes, but didn't I tell you I was goin' to paint him with phosphorus?"sez Ches, all het up. 

"I don't know what phosphorus is, " sez I, "but you'll have to do amaster job of painting to make that William goat look like apinchin'-bug. Still, this is your projec' an' if you want to play thewheel one whirl, why I'll help stick up the stake. "

I was busy about the house all afternoon, an' Ches kept himself pennedup in his labatory. He had brought out a lot of stuff in cans an'bottles, had turned the woodshed into what he called a labatory, an'spent a good part of his time there, mixin' up peculiar stenches. Theyused to smell something frightful; but they only exploded about halfthe time. No matter what they did do, he always claimed that it wasjust exactly what he intended; but his hands was colored up constantlike a fried egg, an' I never took much joy in loafin' about thewoodshed. 

That night as soon as I had my dishes washed an' the kitchen red up, wecaught the goat an' took him to the barn. He was considerable of agoat, this one was, with horns on him a foot long an' a fright of atemper. He was one o' these fellers what is always out o' humor, onlysometimes farther out than common. Still, me with my rope, an' Cheswith his football habits, was one too many for Mr. Goat; an' we soonhad him up in the haymow. Then I passed up the can o' paint, an' took astroll around to see that no one had been givin' us the look-over. 

The can o' paint did have a pretty fierce smell, but I didn't put muchfaith in it. I'd been in opium joints, an' I knew that a Chinaman wouldFATTEN on a smell 'at would suffocate a goat; an' when it comes tovigorous an' able-bodied odors, a billy-goat ain't no tenderfoothimself. 

After a time Ches came down with a heavenly smile on his face, so Iknew the goat hadn't smothered yet; an' then we went into the house an'handled the lights in just the regular way; but when the time came, instead of goin' to bed, we went out an' cooned up a big tree, about ona level with the mow-window. Ches had nailed up a kind of platform, which was rickety enough to keep a sensible man on the watch; but firstI knew he was wakin' me up. He had his hand over my mouth, an'whispered, "He's in the yard now. "

I ain't one o' them what yawns an' grunts an' stretches; I wake up likean antelope--all in a bunch. 

The' was a little rustlin' back in some bushes over by the fence. Then, after a pause, we heard a queer scratchin' noise. He was climbin' up atree at the back o' the barn so as to get in through a scuttle in theroof. 'T was gettin' interestin', an' I got out my guns an' held 'emready. Ches had a whole arsenal spread out around him, an' I could easysee a week's work ahead of me, a-policin' up the premises. 

The sky was just literally soggy with stars, an' you could see theoutline of things purty plain. It was one o' those nights wheneverything is so still that you hear with the inside of your head, an'any little real noise fair puts a crimp in ya. 

We was leanin' on the rail of Ches's platform, when all of a sudden wehear the greatest jabberin' ever a human man heard. A goat an' aChinaman speaks the same langwidge, an' goodness only knows what BillyBuck was a-tellin' him but the tone was insistent an' the effect wasmost exhilaratin'. I had my ears stretched out to catch everysound--an' sounds wasn't nowise scarce just then. Squeals an' groans, an' wrastlin' an' blows, kept a feller all keyed up, an' we was bitin'our lips to keep from laughin'--an' then it happened!

The door o' that mow flew open as though it was struck by elevenengines, a dark form shot out, followed by two more--an' then thedevil, himself, poked his head out through that haymow window. Talkabout faces--Lord! I attended a ghost dance over in the Sioux countryoncet; but it was a Sunday-school picnic alongside the face that pokedits way out of that door. 

The' was rings of fire around the eyes, nose, an' mouth, the whiskerswas one long waverin', ghastly flame, an' the horns was two others. The' was a blue gritchety sort o' smoke curlin' up around the face, an'my heart laid right down in its tracks an' rolled over on its back. Ionly saw that face a second, but I can shut my eyes an' see it rightnow. Gosh!

I ain't much superstiticus, 'cept when I'm gamblin', but of course Iknow the' 's such things as ghosts an' devils an' sich, an' I don'ttake no liberties with 'em. I screeched out, a "Great Scott! what'sthat?" My hands shut up voluntary, both my guns went off in the air, the rail broke, an' me an' Ches sort o' chuck-lucked to the ground. Wedidn't miss any limbs on the way down, nor the guns didn't neither. Every time they bumped a limb, they went off, an' it sounded likeCuster's last stand. 

We weren't hurt none, an' scrambled to our feet in a second. The' wasan awful squawkin' goin' on under the haymow window, an' that horrible, fire-faced devil seemed to be eatin' the heads off the Chinamen. I gota better view of it this time, an' I see it was one o' the dragons theyworship. It made me feel a little better, 'cause I didn't see why he'dhave any grudge against a Christian. Still, I wasn't takin' no chances, so I grabbed Ches by the arm an' headed for the kitchen--him stickin'his heels in the ground an' callin' me coward. I thought he had losthis mind, so I didn't pay any heed to him. 

We threw ourselves against the kitchen door, an' I hammered on it withmy knuckles, while Ches kicked me on the shins an' tried to get away. Finally Mrs. Cameron raised an upstairs window an' began shootin' withher bean-blower. I've no idy what she was shootin' at; but she hit metwice in the boot-leg, an' blame if it didn't sting like a whip. 

Ches jerked loose while I was rubbin' the sore spot, an' as I glancedup I saw the three dark forms comin' after us followed closer by thedevil-dragon, his face fairly drippin' with liquid fire. The wholebunch of 'em looked outrageous big, an' I felt about as massive an'forceful as an angle-worm; but at that, I managed to open the cellerdoor, an' tried to get Ches to come in too. "Ches, " I whispered, for Ihadn't strength enough to yell, "Ches, come on in an' save yourself;"but he never gave no heed. He just stood crouching over in the shadowwhile they headed for him, devil-dragon an' all. 

I wanted to crawl into the cellar alone, but I lacked just one grain ofhavin' moral courage enough, so I stood still with my knees beatin'together, watchin' 'em come. My heart ached to think that he was out ofhis head an' fairly throwin' himself away, an' then all of a sudden, itflashed upon me that the blame fool was playin' football. On theycharged like a stampeded herd, a-screechin' like a run-away freightwagon with dry axles, while that pink-checked tenderfoot stood in histracks, as calm an' cool as the North Star, until they arrived at theproper distance, an' then he sorted out the big one in the center an'dove for his legs. 

They went up in the air, like a long-horn foolin' with the leg-throwfor the first time, the other two bumped into them, the fire-faceddevil-dragon slipped through, caught me full in the pantry, an' we allavalanched into the celler in one mixed up tangle. I can't describe itto you. I saw a photograph oncet of the bottomless pit at a revivalmeeting, and this lay-out was a card out of the same deck. I ain'tstuck-up nor exclusive; but hang me if I ever want to get into such amixed crowd again. We bit an' kicked an' hammered each other till Ifelt like quartz at a stamp-mill. The only light we had, came from theChinese devil'-an' I 'd a heap sooner had none. 

Finally I got hold of two cues, an' it give me a logical purpose. Isimply took a short hold on those cues an' bumped the heads theybelonged to, together, until that dragon caught sight of me an' hit mea thump in the back that loosened all my teeth. Something began to makean awful bawling sound, an' it scared the life out of me until I seethe Chinese devil go up the stairs leaving a trail of flame behind him;an' then I knew that one of our own Medicines had arrived. 

This was some the worst roar I ever heard. It would start in with a lotof foreign words an' end up with Rah! Rah Rah! The voice soundedsomething like Chess; but when I called him he didn't answer, an' Ifeared it was his spirit. 

The' didn't seem to be any use in bumpin' my two heads together anymore, so purty soon I dropped 'em, an' straightened up. The' wasn't asound, an' it was enough sight scarier than the noise had been. Ilooked around in the dark, an' the' was ghastly waverin' flames allover an' I could see hideous faces grinnin' at me. 

I scuttled out o' that cellar like a homin' rabbit, an' ran around tothe side door. Mrs. Cameron put her head out after a bit, an' when shefound out who I was, she let her lantern down to me on a string, an' Iscrewed up my courage an' went back to the cellar. I listened a moment, an' it was quiet as a grave--it was too much like a grave to suit me. Ineeded the touch of an old friend, so I went back an' hunted up one ofmy guns, loaded it, an' went down into that cellar--an' I never want mynerves stretched no tighter than the' were right at that minute. I seethree Chinamen an' Ches stretched out in a heap, Ches still huggin' thebig one he had picked out first. 

I carried the two of 'em upstairs still locked together, an' laid 'emon the porch. As I did so, Ches opened his eyes an' smiled weakly, ailsez to me most beseechful, "Gi' me the ball, gi' me the ball, an' letHodge an' Roger throw me over the line. It's no use tryin' to buckthrough. " The doggone loon still thought the was playin' football, Idon't reckon a railroad wreck would give one o' them football players asingle new sensation. 

He jumps up after a minute, shakes himself, an' seems as good as new. Iwas for lettin' the Chinks go, an' gettin' indoors; but not for him, sowe ties 'em; but I ain't a mite easy in my mind. I was still lookin'for old Mister Devil-Dragon to come chargin' back with his Fourth o'July face, an' put an' everlastin' crimp in us. His man had a cut inthe back of the head, while my two was merely softened up a little; an'as soon as we got 'em in the kitchen an' threw some water in theirfaces, they revived out of it an' began to jabber enough to give asteam whistle the headache. 

"I'd better go an' let my cousin know we're all right, " sez Ches. 

"Yes, we'll both go, " sez I, quickly. 

"You'd better stay an' keep guard, " sez Ches. 

"The door's locked an' they're tied, " sez I. 

We went together, an' Mrs. Cameron laughed an' wept an' made a greatfuss. When we came back, the Chinks were gone. 

"I told you to stay on guard, " yells Ches. 

"Well, I'm mighty glad I didn't, " sez I. 

"What do you mean?" sez he. 

"Can't you see what happened?" sez I. "Their blamed fire-faced dragoncame back an' took 'em off, an' if I'd been here, like as not, he'dhave taken me too. He'd 'a' taken 'em down cellar; but your GoodMedicine came an' gave a shriek an' scared him away. "

Ches stood an' looked at me. "If you are really crazy, I don't mindyour talkin' this way;" he sez finally, "but if you have a grain ofsense left, tell me what you mean. "

"Do you mean to tell me that you didn't see him?" I sez. "He had hornsan' a long beard, an' was about six feet high an' spouted fire, an'--"

"Do you mean the goat?" he snaps in. 

"Goat!" I sez, gettin' mad. "Now don't get gay. The goat has tried tobutt me fifty times since I been here, an' I guess I know him by sight;but this thing--"

He see I was in earnest, took a match, wet it, an' held it in a darkcorner. "The goat was painted with that, " sez he, an' I saw it all, an'I--well, I just natchly shriveled. I thought it all over. "Well, then, "sez I, "what was the thing that gave the spirit call in the cellar?"

"That was my college yell, " sez Ches, an' he gave it again, an' gee, but it would 'a' made an Injun's mouth water. 

I was beginnin' to see that the' was a heap more in a college edicationthan I'd ever supposed. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE DIAMOND DOT AGAIN

Next day we searched the barn an' found her just soggy with stolenstuff. We started out the news an' most of it was claimed up by theneighbors for a hundred miles around. They heroed me an' Ches rightconsid'able; but we didn't tell 'em about the goat. It might put theChinamen wise, you see. They took up a purse of eighteen hundreddollars for us which had been offered in rewards one place an' another, an' we felt purty tol'able contented. 

But I was beginnin' to get lonesome, the same as I allus do when I'vebeen in one o' these quiet, stagnant places for a spell. I was fond o'Mrs. Cameron an' the baby an' the place an' the cookin', an' I thoughtthe world o' Ches; but the' was a constant tuggin' at my heart to getback to the Diamond Dot, back to the big, free sweep o' plains, back tolittle Barbie. 

I'd been soakin' away all Ches's stories an' ways, an' I knew she 'd befull as interested in 'em as I was. I had had enough o' business too. Icould easy see 'at I wasn't cut out for a business man, but I generallymanaged to round up a little wealth one way or another. I knew allalong that I didn't really have a taste for business; it was just thatfool talk o' Bill Andrews that made me want to cut loose from theDiamond Dot. I'd made up my mind now on that question, an' it wassurprisin' how simple the answer was after I'd finally worked it out. The answer was this: I had as good a right anywhere on earth as any oneelse did. I was some company for Barbie at the Diamond Dot, an' itsuited us both first rate. If it got on Bill Andrews' nerves till hecouldn't keep it under his breath, why I'd have to furnish him with anexcuse for movin'; but as for myself, I'd just stick around untilthings began to creak a little. 

When Mr. Cameron came back, he made a big fuss over me an' Ches--he wasan' A1 sort of a man, Cameron was--an' he wanted me to stay right alongofferin' me big wages, which was a thing that Mrs. Cameron had forgotall about, an' me too; but I didn't feel like stayin'; so I set a datean' then it was settled. Besides, Ches would be goin' back to collegeagain soon. 

Cameron was a real estate broker in the East, but was beginnin' tostudy up on minin' propositions. He knew all about Slocum's Luck, thatis, he knew the' was such a mine, an' that they was still lawin' overit; but when I asked him about ever havin' heard of a mine called theCreole Belle, he shook his head an' said he never had. He hadn't heardof Jack Whitman, nor George Jordan, nor even Sandy Fergoson; so I seethe' wasn't any use in stayin' around there, an' while I hated to partwith 'em, I was glad when the time came for me to say good-bye. 

They wanted to give some kind of a present when I left; but the onlything I'd accept of, was a pair of chickens. I had got used to eatin'eggs whilst I was there, an' I knew 'at Barbie would like 'em; so theyput me up a rooster an' a hen in a basket, an' I rolled up my roll, an'drove off to the depot with Ches. He was mighty sober when we got outof sight of the house, an' after he did get to talkin' it was mostly ofall the good times we had had, an' how he wished I was goin' back withhim, or else he was goin' on with me. I told him all about the DiamondDot, an' how to get to it, an' invited him out for a visit any time hecould get away. I didn't tell him much about Barbie; but I made himpromise that if ever his Cousin found out the facts about the CreoleBelle mine, he'd let me know at once. I couldn't bring myself tobelieve that Sandy Fergoson had been crazy, an' I was beginnin' to cometo the conclusion that the' must have been both a woman an' a minemixed up--an' that's a combination to bowl over the best of us. 

Ches said he was so stuck on the West that he half believed he'd learnto be a minin' engineer an' come out here an' live. He tried to get meto promise to come an' visit him, but I told him that I ranged over thesame territory mostly, an' wouldn't know how to act in the East; butthat if I ever did head in that direction, I'd sure look him 'up. Hebought my ticket while I was gettin' my roll out of the wagon, an' Icouldn't make him take the money for it. 

"This ain't on me, " he sez, "the Camerons's payin' for this; but evenif I was, I reckon I could afford it. You've brought me my luck. "

"How about it bein' your bringin' me mine?" sez I, but he wouldn'tstand for it, so I got on the train with purty close to a thousanddollars in my clothes an' a pair of chickens in my basket. He stood onthe platform until we were out o' sight, an' then I settled back tothink things over. 

People are more different than the other kinds of animals, an' yetthey're a heap alike, too. Now, me an' Ches was about as different asthey ever get, most ways, an' yet we pulled a level double-tree out inthe open. I could see the difference between my kind o' talk an' his;but neither one of 'em was the booky kind that Mr. Cameron talked, an'yet we had all three sat out one night watchin' the stars, an' the'wasn't much difference in what we thought about a lot o' things; but bythe time we reached Oakland, I wasn't takin' such friendly views ofhumanity. 

Now, I don't mind what a feller does as long as it don't interfere withme, an' even then, I can put up with a sight o' bother; but all thepassengers on that train, an' the train crew too, seemed to think thatit just about capped the climax to see a man o' my build totin' along apair o' chickens. The' wasn't anybody on that train who behaved anybetter'n those chickens did, except the first time I tried to water'emout o' the cup; but they nearly pestered me to death tryin' to find outwhat was mysterious about 'em I told 'em the full reasons for my takin''em up to the Diamond Dot; but that didn't suit 'em, they had to havesome outlandish excuse. I stuck to the truth until my good nature beganto blister an' then I fixed up a past history for those chickens thatwasn't nowise common. 

When you just glance at it, a chicken ain't a creature that's apt tohave a adventurous life; but long before we reached Oakland, folks wasgettin' on the train every place we stopped, just to have a look atchickens what had been taught to tell counterfeit money. It was easyenough when I got started. Every one knows that a chicken's eye ismighty detectin'. They stroll along pickin' up bugs 'at you or I can'tsee with a magnascope, an' all 'at would be necessary to make 'emexperts at money, would be to get 'em interested. 

The' 's allus somebody in a crowd who don't swaller bait as easy as therest, an' bye an' bye a feller holds up a silver dollar to the rooster. The rooster was a pretty beast, all red an' blue, an' a good feeler;but he didn't care a hang for money. He turned his head away, an' Isez, "The dollar's good. "

But the feller had to keep on makin' tests, which didn't interest therooster any until finally the rooster begun to get some exasperated. The feller held out a five-dollar bill to the rooster, an' he was tiredo' such nonsense an' took a sudden peck at it an' tore it in two. "It'sbad, " sez I. 

"I knew it was bad, " sez he. "I said when I took it that I bet itwasn't any good; but one o' these smooth Easterners give it to me. IfI'd had a bird like that I wouldn't 'a' got stuck. What'll you take forhim?"

I smiled and sez, "I don't reckon you'd believe what these birds isworth, but I wouldn't want to sell 'em even if I got my price. I wishyou'd give me that counterfeit bill though. The hen ain't fully taughtan' bills like that are scarce. "

He give me the bill, an' offered me all kinds o' prices for thepoultry; but I wanted to take 'em to Barbie, an' I finally stuck 'emunder the seat an' refused to let any one see 'em. That blame fooloffered me seventy-five dollars for that pair o' chickens when he gotoff the train at Oakland, an' I was blame glad I had give up business, 'cause it was sure good business to take a price like that. Thefive-dollar bill was all right an' I spent part of it at therestaurants along the way. 

When I got off the train at Webb Station, who did I see but SpiderKelley an' the home freight-wagon. Well, we was both glad to see eachother, an' he stayed sober just so we could chat together on the homeride. 

"How did you like business?" sez he. "Oh, it pays--in a money way, " sezI, "but it's too monotonous. I don't like it. "

"You ain't been gone long enough to make much money, " sez he. 

"Oh, no, not what you would call money in business, " sez I, "but I'vehandled several pieces o' coin since I been away, an' I'll have ninehundred for ol' Cast Steel to put out on pasture for me. "

"Nine hundred! Well, by gee!" sez Spider. "What kind o' business haveyou been in, Happy?"

"Oh, I tried hosses first, but they wasn't enough change in it, then Iwent to Frisco an' give the dry-goods business a work-out. I tried thereal estate business next; but, Spider, you'll be surprised to learnthat I made more money out o' goats an' chickens than any otherbusiness I got into. "

"Well, that sure is wonderful, " sez Spider. "Are you goin' to stay herea spell, or are you just goin' to try to get Old Cast Steel interestedin poultry? I doubt if he goes into chickens deep, he allus likes toherd on a big scale. "

"I'm goin' to give this here pair to Barbie, " sez I. "If the old manwants me to take on for the fall round-up, why it's likely I'll do it, an' I may even stay through the winter. Money ain't the whole o' life, an' I like this range better'n any I ever rode over. "

"Well, he'll be glad enough to take you on for the round-up, " sezSpider. "Omaha has quit. "

"The deuce he has, " sez I. "What did he quit for?"

"Him an' Bill Andrews had some words, an' I got to own up that Bill wasin the right of it. Cast Steel didn't take any sides, an' Omaha, hefinally pulled out week before last. Bill Andrews is the nearest thingwe got to a foreman now. "

"How's everything goin'?" sez I. 

"Smoother'n oil, " sez he. "I've been around the ranch house ever sinceyou been away, tendin' to Pluto an' breakin' colts. "

"I'm goin' to get out an' walk back, " sez I. 

"What the 'ell for?" sez he. 

"I never struck this place before when it wasn't in a tangle, " sez I, "an' I feel in my bones, it betokens bad luck. "

"Oh, hoofs, " sez he, "you ain't that superstitious are you? Did youleave last time in the same humor as usual?"

Then I felt a shade easier. "No, " sez I, "every other time me an' CastSteel had had a little difference; but this time, I was simply tired o'the place. Well, I'll go on an' chance it; but I'm leery that somethin'will happen. "

We arrived next day in time for supper, an' Barbie an' Jabez was mightyglad to see me. Barbie went wild over the chickens, just as I knew shewould, an' Jabez said that he used to like eggs himself when he was aboy, an' would have got some poultry long ago if he'd only thought ofit. They both of 'em laughed to think that I had at last come back tothe Diamond Dot without findin' any kind of warfare; an' when I told'em that it sort o' worried me, they only laughed the more. 

"How did you like business, Happy?" sez Jabez. 

"I got nine hundred dollars I wish you'd range out with the rest o' myherd, " sez I, "but to tell you the simple truth, I don't like business, not one mite. "

I thought I could stall 'em off without tellin' 'em what kind o'business I'd made my stake in, but they wormed it out o' me before thatfirst meal was over. It was a merry meal, an' lasted about three hours. I enjoyed it, but I made up my mind that if I took on again, I wasgoin' to eat with the rest of the boys. I had allus et with Barbie an'Jabez; but I didn't want to have any o' the outfit get to thinkin' thatI wasn't nothin' but a visitor. When bedtime hove around, Jabez sez, "Well, you'll find your old room ready, Happy. "

"Why, I reckon I'll sleep in the bunk shack from this on, " sez I. 

"I reckon you won't, " sez he. "You're worth more to me as a sort o'reserve than you 'd be as a straight puncher, an' the' ain't no use o'your gettin' so blame finicky all of a sudden. What's got into youlately?"

"Now, you knob' how it is, Jabez, " sez I, "if I cut loose from the resto' the bunch, they're bound to talk about it an'--"

"Let 'em talk, " he snaps in. "Talk ain't expensive; but I don't thinkthey're a jealous lot. They all like you, Happy, an' I got a sort of asuspicion that those who don't won't pester you overly much. I ain'theard the straight of it, but I have heard some talk about himoverestimatin' his ability in the ridin' line. Now cut out thisnonsense an' just begin where you left off. Barbie here'll be mightyglad of some company again. "

It didn't take 'em long to talk me into it--it generally is easy tobreak down a man's will when it ain't braced up by his natural desires;so after I'd balked as long as seemed polite, I settled into the collaragain an' trotted along just in the same old gait. 

It was just as I thought. Barbie was plumb wild to hear all thosecollege stories, an' the queer words that Ches used to talk with. Sheasked me about a thousand questions that I wasn't sure on the answers;but I made out to interest her, an' Jabez' face used to beam when he'dhear her laugh ring out. 

We were sure a happy household; but I noticed mighty soon that Barbiewas more restless than ever; but also had more control over herself. She wasn't so quick about either askin' questions nor givin' answers asshe used to be, an' she noticed things closer--an' this was goin' sometoo; 'cause she allus did inspect everything that came on her range. 

We had a gang o' tourists swoop down on us for a couple o' days, an' ittickled me to see her watch 'em an' draw back in her shell any time shethought they was watchin' her. I knew every line in her face, an'mighty few of her thoughts came as a surprise when she framed 'em intowords. She never said it all now, unless she was het up aboutsomething, an' I like to listen to any one 'at talks like that. Herbest thoughts were never accented, they just came in as packin' like, an' it added to the interest. When a feller hands out a littlecommonplace idy an' then sends along a couple o' verses to tell what itmeans, I get weary; but when I'm able to see into somethin' that laystoo close to his heart to say out, an' too close to forget, why I feelas if I had found a real jewel, an' that was the way with Barbie. Iknew that somethin' was tuggin' at her; but when I found out exactlywhat it was, it came with almost as much of a shock as if I hadn'tknown it was there all the time. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF WOMAN

Barbie had grown some more, even durin' the little time 'at I'd beenaway. She had got used to the new rig she wore an' wasn't a miteawkward, an' her face was firmer an' more self-composed. She waspurtier too, though it don't seem possible. It even seems moreimpossible when I tell ya that she looked more like of Cast Steel thanever. He an' the girl was a heap alike, 'cept that he was big an'raw-boned an' spare-featured; while she was as dainty as an antelope, an' as far as looks went, she was the Queen Bee of Creation, I reckon. 

When it came to ridin' a bucker or shootin' off an eye-winker orexpressin' herself free an' frank, she didn't have to import notestimony to prove 'at she was his daughter either. She had him skinnedon ridin' though; 'cause while he was able to set anything on fourfeet, he allus showed 'at he had begun late in life, an' he sometimesjerked the bit unintentional; while she--well, I reckon she must 'a'been born on hoss-back, an' besides, I had give her all the pointersthe' was. 

One mornin' about ten days after I'd come back, I heard 'em discussin'purty heatedly out back of the corral; an' I just sauntered over toharken to it. It wasn't a case of eavesdroppin', 'cause when them twohad any comments to make they didn't care a blue bean what theprevailin' style in opinions happened to be, they nailed their ownpersonal jedgments on the wall an' then stuck around handy to back 'emup. I was particular anxious to know what they was crossin' words over, 'cause I couldn't get it out o' my head but what my comin' back an'findin' 'em peaceable betokened something. 

Jabez was standin' with his feet wide apart, his hands on his hips, hishat tilted over one ear, his chin stickin' out with the lips pursed up, an' his eyes had a dogged look in 'em. Line by line an' feature byfeature, she shadowed him to the last item; an' neither one of 'em sawa twinkle o' comicalness in it, neither. 

"Do you know who you're talkin' to?" he yells just as I arrived. "I'myour father!"

"What of it?" she snaps back. "It's too late to remedy that--I just gotto make the best of it. But do you know who you're talkin' to? I'm thefuture owner of the Diamond Dot, an' I ain't a-layin' no plans to havethe lala-kadinks from the civilized parts o' this country come out an'round up my langwidge, same as they gather Injun speciments. You may bemy father, but you can just bet your saddle that before I reach the endo' my trail, a stranger won't be able to guess it from our talk. "

Now the old man was mighty savin' with his cuss-words, a' he put out apurty tol'able fair grade o' grammar; but the girl had an eye in herhead and an ear to listen with, an' she had been for a long time takin'notice o' the side winks o' the Easterners. Some Easterners put ontheir manners the same as their complexions, an' the open air is apt toput cracks in 'em. 

The of man looked at her a good long while, but she never blinked awinker; an' he finally turned away an' said in a soft-like voice, "Iknow, child, I ain't been able to fill the part full measure--but itain't 'cause I haven't tried. I reckon you'll have to go, honey; butit'll sure be lonesome while you're away; an' when you do come backyou'll never be my little kid any more. " His voice kept gettin' sadderan' sadder until I about snuffled myself when he continued "I'll rub upmy talk all I can while you're away, an' then if you bring out anyfriends next summer you can tell 'em that I'm the foreman an' that youlet me eat in the house while your father is takin' a trip to Europe. "

The ol' man would have played that part about as natural as a bullbuffalo, but he fooled himself into believin' it, an' his voice waspurty shaky at the end. Barbie's eyes filled up with tears, an' when hestopped an' began to totter feebly toward the house, she ran up an'threw her arms about his neck, an' said. "Dad. I just hate you--youdon't play fair. You start the game under one set o' rules an' thenwhen you get the worst of it you just simply crawfish. When we weresayin' mean things out in the open, I just natchly put it all over you;an' now you flop over on your back an' work that 'coals o' fire' stunt, an' I just hate you. You know in your heart I'd be proud of you in anycompany on earth, but the' is a heap o' difference between you an' me. You have been successful, an' strangers will respect you for it; butit's got to be a show-down with me every time. If I don't learn the newgaits, so a stranger will think I'm city-broke, some fresh tourist isapt to get the idee that I'm as uncivilized as my manners, an' it won'tdo to tramp on my toes--not overly often. But I don't have to leaveyou. I'll just turn in an' do the job right here on the ranch, an'accordin' to the very latest models. You get me a lot o' books an' allthe magazines an' fashion papers, an' hanged if I don't turn out a job'at'll fool the best of 'em. You're a mean old Daddy, you are, for afact; but we snake too dandy a duet for me to go away an' leave you togrind out a solo all alone. But--but I sure wanted to go. "

Well, Jabez grinned all over; but I saw that he wasn't through with itso easy. Barbie wasn't the one to throw her rope before she was allbraced for the jerk, an' the' wouldn't be any kinks in her logic, neither. She had thrown a purty stout string of arguments, an' I wasfull prepared when they told me that he was to have his way about it, an' she was to go to college that very fall. 

She did go in less'n a month to a prep-school clear down East. Aprep-school is a sort of a calf college, you know; an' she had to trainthere a solid year before they had the nerve to turn her loose on afull-grown university. But she had a head on her, Barbie had; an' whenshe got squared away, she made 'em all get down an' scratch. They dosay that she put more life an' vim in that institution than anybodywhat had ever give it a work-out before. 

Ol' Cast Steel went down twice the first winter, an' never let her know'at he was in the neighborhood, for fear it would make her think 'at hewas pinin' for her. He just went down there an' bought some storeclothes an' prowled around waitin' for the chance to see her at adistance--never even lined out the professors to see if they were doin'their duty, nor mixed in the game the slightest bit. Talk about bein'game? I reckon that puts a shadow on anything ever that man had to face. 

She used to come back every summer, bringin' a lot of chums an' allkinds o' pets with her. She was just daffy over any kind of a wildanimal from an Injun papoose to a white mouse; an' when she'd go backin the fall, Jabez had his hands full with parrots an' alligators an'butterfly coons an' sech--to say nothin' of a lot of potted flowerswhat was mighty notionable in their tastes. 

I was so busy tendin' to this branch o' the outfit that about all theridin' I did was for exercise--yes, an' for company, 'cause it allusseemed as if she was along when I'd be out on the range. Then, again, Iallus felt a kind of drawin', myself, to the silent people, who thinkan' wish an' feel, just the same as we do, but aren't able to handleour langwidge. I got so I could purt' nigh tell what an animal had onhis mind, just from tendin' to her speciments. 

She had one speciment which was a possom, an' the blame thing bit meeight times one winter, me tryin' to give it baths--an' then she wroteback home that the doggone critter didn't need'em nohow. She purt'nighgot expended for takin' a rattlesnake back to the university an'keepin' it hid in her room; an' after I'd had a deuce of a timecatchin' 'em, they made her send a bob-cat an' a mountain lion to somekind of a garden--wouldn't let her keep 'em at all. The professorsallus was a sore trial to her, but once she began a thing she allusfought it through, so she put up with 'em the best way she could. 

She used to tell us that bein' housed up like to 'a' drove her crazy atfirst, an' they was so tarnation fussy that she felt like a hobbledpony in a stampede. They wouldn't even let her picket her ponies out inwhat they call the campus, which she said was just drippin' fat withrich grass, an' nary a hoof to graze it. Why, they even had foolnotions about havin' certain hours about goin' to bed, an' even whenyou had to put your lights out. 

One night she got fidgety an' nervous with the lonesomeness of it, an'she got up about one o'clock an' fired her revolvers out thewindow, --just for sport, you know, like a feller sometimes will whenhe's--well, when his soul gets kind o' itchy like, --an' it purt' nighstarted a riot. She said 'at we wouldn't never believe how differentthe people was down there. I reckon a university must be run a good bitlike a penitentiary. But as I said, she wasn't no quitter, an' Ireckon, takin' it all in all, she give 'em back about as good as theysent. 

Course we could see a lot o' change in her when she'd first come back, but it seemed to slide off as the tan came on, an' by the time she leftin the fall again she'd be purty much the same old Barbie. She wentfull five years, countin' the prep-school, an' I don't suppose they wasmuch in the way o' learnin' they didn't filter through her; but itdidn't spoil her, an' the very moment her knees clamped on a pony againyou could see that her blood was as red as ever, even if her face wasroses an' cream. My heart allus beat out of time when I knew she washeadin' back; but the very minute she gave my hand the old-time grip Iknew she was still the old-time girl, an' when she'd turn to the chumsan' say, "Girls, this is Happy, " why, I was big brother to the lot, an'before they went back I'd teach 'em ridin' till they could giggle onhoss-back without fallin' off. They all owned up that she was thetakin'est girl at the university, and while her pals was a mightyattractive lot, they didn't have to use any arguments to convince me itwas the truth. 

She allus left me so much to do when she was away that I never feltlike leavin' through the winter; while durin' vacation time I wouldn'thave gone without bein' drove; but toward the middle of her fourthyear, me an' Bill Andrews had another little run in. 

We was havin' a terrible streak of weather, an' Bill wanted to move aherd over to the southwest corner of the ranch where the' was someextra good bunch grass. It was a wise move all right, an' I said so;but when he wanted me to help trail 'em, I vetoed it. I was watchin' upsome experiments with silkworms an' I didn't want to leave 'em. We wereshort-handed an' Jabez 'lowed 'at I'd better go. Well, we argued backan' forth until he finally said that he could take full care o' thesilkworms, an' intimated that my work with 'em wasn't much but pastime, anyway. 

That settled it with me. I helped drive the herd, an' it was thebitterest weather we'd ever had. The sleet blew in the cow's faces an'it was simply one long fight. Three o' the boys gave up an' pulled backto the ranch house, but not me. I don't believe I slept on that drive, night or day, an' when, the boys finally told Bill Andrews that itcouldn't be done, I told 'em that it could, an' that if any more of'ern dropped out I'd count it a personal insult. We got 'em there allright, an' then I rode back to the ranch house. 

Jabez had let the silkworms die--an' I told him what I thought of him, an' pulled out. It was cold weather an' I was travelin' on foot, but itwasn't cold I was suffer in' from, it was heat. 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

IN RETIREMENT

I plugged along through the cold, gettin' hotter an' hotter all thetime, 'cause I didn't want to go away at all. Barbie'd be home in a fewmonths and I wanted to be there when she came--but I couldn't get overthose silkworms. She was goin' to write somethin' about 'em for somekind of a paper, an' it meant a good deal to her, an' I had kept arecord of all the projec's she'd written me to do with 'em--only tohave Cast Steel an' flint fool Bill Andrews flounder in with that herdo' cows. 

I piked on over to Danders thinkin' I'd get on a train an' gosomewhere; but on my way there I met the foreman o' the E. Z. Outfitridin' into town to see if he couldn't pick up a fence-rider. Then Isee old Mrs. Fate nudgin' me in the ribs with her finger again. We wasall down on fences at the Diamond Dot. Jabez said that as far as he wasconcerned, he preferred to have his fences mounted on hoss-back, 'causethey was easiest moved, an' we didn't have a foot o' wire on the place. I knew that no one would ever think o' me ridin' fence, so I just upan' spoke for the job. The foreman, Hank Midders was his name, didn'tknow me an' he was suspicious of me bein' on foot. "Can you ride?" sezhe. 

"I used to could, " sez I. "How many days' ridin' does it take to goaround?"

"We don't ride that way, " sez he, "we put two men in a camp an' theyride out fifteen miles an' then double back. "

"They waste the return trip, " sez I. 

"We think different, " sez he. "We keep a big run o' cows, an' we wantthe whole fence rode twice a day. We allus have plenty o' good ridin'ponies. "

"Well, they ain't ridin' on my time, " sez I, "so it ain't nothing tome. Do I get the job?"

"Where you been ridin' at?" sez he. 

"At the Lion Head, for Jim Jimison, " sez I. 

"I've seen some o' their stuff, " sez he. "It's a good outfit; but it'sa rather lengthy walk from here. "

"Yes, I stopped off a while in Californie an' Idaho to rest, " sez I. "Do I get the job?"

"We don't find a man's saddle an' bridle for him, " sez he. 

"I got mine cached over at Danders, " sez I, recallin' the ones I hadleft there before I went into business. 

"What's your name?" sez he. 

"I ain't nowise choicy, " sez I, "call me anything you want. "

"I guess you won't do, " sez he, ridin' on into Danders. 

I reached it myself about two hours later, an' went to the hotel. Hankwas settin' by the stove when I came into the bar-room. The' was eightor ten other fellers still restin' from last summer's work, but Ididn't see the old landlord. "Where's Peabody?" sez I. 

"He's dead, " sez a tall, snarley lookin' feller; "what do ya want withhim?"

"I don't want nothin' with him--if he's dead, " sez I. "Who's runnin'this place now?"

"I am, " sez the snarley one. I didn't take to him at all. 

"Would you be so kind enough as to tell me where my saddle an' bridleis?" sez I in my softest voice. "What the 'ell do I know about yoursaddle an' bridle?" sez he. 

"I left 'em here with Peabody, " sez I. 

"How would I know it was yours?" sez he, sneerin'. 

"I'd recognize it, " sez I. "It had H. H. Burned into it. "

"What does H. H. Stand for?" sez he. 

"It stands for Henry Higinson--sometimes, " sez I. Then I turned to thebar mop an' said, "Where's that saddle an' bridle?"

"Why, it's back in--" he began; but Snarley snaps in "You shut up, willya? Even if this puncher did leave an old saddle here years ago, Ibought everything on the place from Peabody, an' the storage on therubbish would amount to more than it's worth. "

"That 's kind o' new doctrine out this way, " sez I; "an' I'm 'bliged torequest you to produce the articles so I can claim 'em up. "

"You go ahead an' make me do it, " sez he, grinnin'. 

"Wouldn't you sooner do it of your own free will?" sez I, like amissionary tryin' to get up enthusiasm over a donation. 

"I'm good an' sick o' your fool nonsense, " sez he, comin' down towardme. I was wearin' a gun on each leg, an' I pulled 'em out an'punctuated both his ears at one time; but I never stopped smilin'. Hegrabbed an ear in each hand an' begun to swear in a foreign langwidge, dancin' around most comical. "Won't you please get my leather for me, "sez I, "or would you sooner have me guess off the center o' those twoshots?"

"Yes, " he roared, usin' a lot o' high-power words 'at ain't needful inrepetin', "take your blame junk an' get out o' here. " I nodded to thebar mop. "Shall I get 'em, Frenchy?" sez he. 

"Yes, for heaven's sake, get 'em, " sez the snarley one, while some o'the boys snickered, but not too noticeable. 

Well, they was my saddle an' bridle all right, an' I thanked the barmop an' flung 'em in a corner. Then I went over an' sat down by HankMidders. "Did you get your fence-rider yet?" sez I. 

"No, I ain't got him yet, but I got two days to look for him in, " hesez. 

Just then who should come in but the same old Diamond Dot hand who hadbeat me out of the pony. "Well, sign my name! If there ain't HappyHawkins!" sez he, rushin' over an' shakin' my hand, "Still in business, Happy?" sez he. 

"Nope, I've retired, " sez I. 

"You'd ought to have stuck around here until that tourist went homefrom his vacation, " sez Bill, --I reckon his name was still Bill, thoughfor the life o' me I can't remember it plain, --"he got the whole townhilarious on account o' the joke we'd played on him. He was game allright, an' he got me a job out to his uncle's, which I've held eversince--off an' on. "

"Happy?" sez Hank Midders, "Happy what?"

"Happy Hawkins, " sez Bill. "Haven't you never heard o' Happy Hawkins?"

"Happy Hawkins is down in the Texas-Pan Handle, " sez I, in amatter-o'-fact voice. "Don't forget that, Bill. "

"Surest thing there is, " sez Bill, winkin'. "I seen him get on thetrain myself. "

"When will supper be ready, Frenchy?" I sez to the snarley one, who hadbeen puttin' some grease on his ears an' wishin' he'd had bettermanners. 

"In about an hour, " sez he, an' I knew the' wouldn't be any moretrouble from him. He was one o' these fellers what can take a lickin'without gettin' all broke up over it, an' he'd be just as gay aboutbluffin' the next stranger as ever, an' he'd be just as dominatin' overthem what he had already bluffed. 

"Well, I'm goin' out for a little stroll, " sez I, "but I'll be back intime for supper, an' I'll likely be hungry. "

I knew they'd all want to ask a few questions, so I went outside an'walked down the street. I couldn't make up my mind what to do, an' Iwanted that fence-ridin' job more than ever. When T turned around tocome back, I see Hank Midders walkin' toward me. "So you're HappyHawkins?" sez he. 

"Well, that's what some folks call me, " sez I. 

"I thought 'at you had finally settled down at the Diamond Dot?" sez he. 

"The' ain't nothin' that I know of that changes any oftener than thestyle in thoughts, " sez I. "Do you think it's goin' to snow?"

He laughed. "You're Happy Hawkins all right, " sez he. "Do you want thatfence-ridin' job?"

"That's what I went to the trouble o' rootin' out that saddle an'bridle for, " sez I, "but I don't care to have it advertised that I'mridin' fence at my time o' life, an' I don't promise to continue at itmore'n a few months. "

"I see, " sez he, "an' it'll be all right. Kid Porter'll be down withthe buckboard day after to-morrow, an' you can go out with him. "

When I went back I see that Bill hadn't spared no details to make meinterestin', an' all the boys was friendly to me--an' called meHiginson. Me an' Frenchy got along all right, an' when I threw mysaddle an' bridle into the back o' the buckboard, an' sez, "Well, good-bye, fellers! I'm on my way to the Pan Handle, " they all callsout, "Goodbye, Happy! If any o' your friends inquire for you we'll tell'em we saw you start; but the next time you come this way, Higinson, don't forget to drop in for a little sport. "

Things generally even up pretty well in this life, an' before we haddriven very far I was able to see where I had got full value out o'that seven-dollar pony 'at Bill had beat me out of. Kid Porterexplained things to me an' I saw it was goin' to be a purty fair sortof a layout. Our shack was closer to Danders than it was toheadquarters, so we got our needin's there. He said that Colonel Scottwas an allright man to work for, but that he'd only seen him once sincehe'd been on the job. 

Ridin' fence is about as excitin' as waitin' for sun-up, an' after acouple of months at it I was feelin' the need of a little change, so Idrove down to Danders the first day of April, an' while I was standin'on the platform watchin' the train pull in an' take water, a cutelittle feller dismounted an' after givin' me a complete look-over, hesez: "Me good man, are you a type of this community?"

I put my hand to my ear as though I had heard a noise close to theground. After a bit I let my gaze rest on him sort o' surprised like, an' then I sez in a soft, oozy voice, like a cow conversin' to herfirst calf, "Be you speakin' to me, little one?" sez I. 

It allus riles me some, to be called "me good man. " It seems to give mea curious, itchy feelin' in the right hand, an' I have had to makeseveral extra peculiar speciments dance a few steps for no otherreason; but this little cuss never batted an eye. He looks me square inthe face, an' sez, "It is perfectly obvious that I could be addressin'nobody else. I am out in the West hunting for a place to study the mostpronounced types of American citizens, an' I am very favorableimpressed with your appearance. "

Did you ever have a stranger brace you like that? I suppose the fatlady an' the livin' skeleton gets used to it, but I allus feel a trifletoo big for my background. I stand six foot two an' dress easy an'comfortable, an' some o' the guys on the trains allus seem to think 'atI'm part of the show, out for an airin'. 

"Well, to tell you the truth, honey, " I sez to the little feller, "Iain't fully maychured yet. We get hair on our faces pretty young outhere, but we don't get our growth till we're twenty-five. I'm water-boyto the E. Z. Outfit. If you want to see somethin' worth lookin' at, youought to come out where the men are. You'll find American citizens outthere, a darn sight harder type to pronounce than what I am. They sentme to town on an errant. "

He examined me, but I never blinked a winker, an' then his face lit up, like as if he'd found a whole plug of tobacco, when he thought his lastchew was gone. Finally he gave a wink an' a chuckle, an' sez, "Here, smoke a cigar on me, an' tell me if I can get board out your way. Ithink you'll make copy. "

He was just what I needed as a time-killer, so I spun him a yarn aboutthe lovely life me an' Kid Porter was livin'. We jerked out his trunkjust before the train left, bought a month's grub, an' came along outto our shack. His name was William Sinclair Hammersly, an' the' neverwas a squarer boy on the face o' the earth, after he'd shed off thosespectator ways. He won my affections, as the storybooks say, before wewas out o' sight o' Danders. 

He said he had relations scattered all over the British Empire, an'owned up that he had just come back from a long visit to England, wherehe had picked up the "good man" habit. I told him that it might suitthat climate all right, but that out our way I couldn't recommend it toa peace-lovin' man for every-day use. He thanked me an' said he wasashamed to know so little about his own country, this bein' the firsttime he had ever been west of Philadelphia. He said that he was mindedto become an author, an' had come out to study the aboriginal types an'get the true local color. Whenever I hear this little bunch o' sounds, I know I got a nibble. Any time a man goes nosin' around after localcolor, you can bet your saddle he's got several zigzags in histhink-organ. 

These fellers is a breed to themselves. I wouldn't exactly call 'emwise--wordy'd come a sight nearer fittin' these local-color fellerswithout wrinklin'. The''s a ringin' in my ears yet from the time that Iwas penned up with Hammy an' Locals, an' this one had a good many o'the same outward an' visible signs, but more o' the inward an'spiritual grace, as Friar Tuck sez. 

Bill slid right into our mode of livin' like a younger brother, but ittook us some consid'able time to savvy his little private oddities. The' was one wide bunk in the shack an' one narrow one. Me an' Billtook the wide one, but it wasn't so eternal wide that a feller couldflop around altogether accordin' to the dictates of his own conscience. When she was carryin' double we had to hold a little consultation ofwar, to see whether we'd turn over or not. 

We used to start out early in the mornin', an' if the' wasn't muchfixin' to be done we got back long before dark. About seven-thirty wasour perchin' time before Bill took a hand, but after that we got soconvivual that sometimes we'd sit up till purt' nigh half-past nine, playin' cut-throat an' swappin' tales. Sleep allus was a kind of anuisance to Bill. Purt' nigh every night when me an' the Kid wouldstretch ourselves out, Bill would speak a piece about "God bless theman what first invented sleep"; but he was only joshin', an' all thetime he was sayin' it he'd be buildin' up the fire an' changin' hisclothes. He had one suit which he never wore for nothin' except just tosleep in. Pajamers, he called 'em, an' they sure was purty. 

Well, he'd put on this suit an' a pair o' red-pointed slippers, lighthis pipe, pick his guitar, an' saw his fiddle till along towardmornin', all the while singin' little batches o' song an' speakin'pieces. Then he'd heave a sigh an' lay down alongside o' me; but inabout fifteen minutes he'd jump out o' bed, sayin', "That's good!That's great! I mustn't lose that!" an' he'd get out a book an' writesomething into it. Sometimes he'd laugh over it an' sometimes he'd cry. 

The Kid'd never had no experiences with geniuses before, an' at firsthe feared that he might get violent durin' the night, so he took hisgun to bed with him, but I knowed the' wasn't a mite o' danger in him. When breakfast was ready we purt' nigh had to get a hoss to pull himout o' bed. 

I was interested in his tales of foreign countries, an' he used to tellme all about the castles he had been to. One day I happened to think ofthe letter what the drug clerk at Slocum's Luck had wrote us, an' Iasked Bill what kind of a lookin' place Clarenden Castle was. "Clarenden Castle?" sez Bill. "Where the deuce did you ever hear ofClarenden Castle?"

"Well, I might have heard of it from the younger son, " sez I. "He cameover to this country, you know. "

"Where is he now?" sez Bill, mighty interested. 

"Minin' law is, that the first feller what stakes out a claim gets it, "sez I. "Now my question staked out the first claim. You answer myquestions an' then we'll be ready for yours. "

"Humph, " sez Bill. 

"Where is St. James Court, Bill?" sez I. 

"Well, I never expected you to know anything about such things!" sezBill. 

"'Tis wonderful how intelligent some trained animals are, ain't it?"sez I, sarcastic. "But you must remember, little one, that I've beenlivin' right in the house with folks a good part of my life. Now ifyou'll just answer my questions the same as if I was human, I'll sit upan' beg, jump over a stick, an' do all my other tricks for you. "

Bill would allus tumble if you hit him hard enough, so after a bit hegrinned an' said, "Well, Clarenden Castle is one o' the seats of theCleighton family--"

"Seat?" sez I. "I allus thought it was a house. "

"You see, over in England they call--" Bill began to explain it to mean' then he saw me grinnin' an' he broke off short. "I know what a seatis, Bill, " sez I. "They have country seats an' town seats; but some o'you fellers pout when you're obliged to live up to the rules, an' Iwanted to see if you was square enough to own up after you'd beenshown--the's lots o' fellers, not as well edicated as you, who can't doit without groanin'. "

Bill studied out this last remark before he answered, an' I was glad tonotice it. Most fellers look for a marked passage, but I like to train'em out to pan everything I say, an' then do their own testin'. Billwas all right. "Now, dear teacher, " sez he, "if we are through withthat lesson, we shall return to the original subject. " We both laughed, lookin' into each other's eyes, an' it did us good. 

"Now this Cleighton family is a great family in England and Scotland, "sez Bill, "The Earl of Clarenden is the head of one branch an' the Dukeof Avondale is the head of another. The sons are called lords, an' theyhave lots of land, but are running shy on money, an' the main stem ofthe family is getting purty well thinned out. "

"About this younger son that came to America, now?" sez I. 

"Well, the present Earl married beneath him--I visited close toClarenden Castle, an' I know all about it, " sez Bill. "He married anAmerican girl with lots of money, Florence Jamison of Philadelphia. "

"Jamison?" sez I. 

"Yes, Jamison, " sez Bill. "I suppose you are well acquainted with thePhiladelphia Jamisons?"

"Well, that name does awaken a purty tol'able fairsized echo, " sez I, "but still, to be perfectly frank with you, me an' the Jamisons ain'ton what you could call intimate terms any more. "

"I'm glad to learn it, " sez Bill. "I'd hate to think that I hadirritated you by implicatin' that it was a come-down for an EnglishEarl to marry into your circle. " Bill most generally squoze all thedampness out of his jokes. "This was his second marriage, " Bill wenton, "an' he had one son by it, named James Arthur Fitzhugh Patrick--"

"That's plenty for me, " sez I, breakin' in. "The first two names isinterestin' to me, but the' ain't no use loadin' down a feller withnames till he has to pay excess baggage on 'em. Now, how did this oneget to be a younger son?"

"Why, the first marriage of the Earl also resulted in a son, " sez Bill. "His first wife was a lady of quality, but she had a weak constitutionan' the son has epolepsy. The younger son was fitted for the army, buthe got into a scrape, was given a lump sum by his father, an' came tothis country, where he disappeared. He also had an inheritance from anaunt, a maiden sister of his mother, who didn't like the first son fora minute. "

"What kind of a scrape did the youngster get into, Bill?" sez I. 

"He was engaged to the daughter of the curat at Avondale Chapel, " sezBill, "an' he bein' the heir presumptive to the title--"

"What is that, Bill?" sez I. 

"The one what gets the title as soon as the one who is holding it, dies, is the heir apparent, an' the one who gets the next chance is theheir presumptive. It's a legal term an'--"

"Never mind explainin' it then, " sez I, "If I was to live as long asMethusleh, all I'd know about law would be that ignorance wasn't noexcuse for it; but what is a curat?"

"A curate is a sort of preacher, " sez Bill. 

"I thought it was some kind of a doctor. But what in thunder did youmean when you said that gettin' engaged to the daughter of one was ascrape?" sez I. 

"Why, it wouldn't do for the heir presumptive to Clarenden, and apossible claimant to Avondale, to get engaged to a person in thatstation of life; he had to make up either to a heap of money or else abig title; he simply had to marry a lady of quality, " sez Bill. 

"So he could contribute his share of epolepsy to the family collection, I suppose, " sez I. 

"Well, James gets an awful callin' down, " sez Bill, "an' he cuts loosefrom the family an' goes to live in London, where he's a leftenant. Richard Cleighton, his cousin, who is the heir presumptive, onceremoved, sneaks down there an' comes back with the report that James ismarried to Alice LeMoyne, a music-hall dancer. "

"Jim swung purty wide in his taste for women, didn't he?" sez I. 

"The upshot of it was, " sez Bill, never heedin' me, "that they settledwith James, an' he lit out--his mother had died several years before. About four years after, this Alice LeMoyne dies, an' on her deathbedshe confesses that she is the wife of Richard Cleighton an' helped toput up the job on James to get him out of the way, as the heir apparentdidn't look like a long-liver, an' she thought she would like to be anErless, with a chance of being a Duchess even. "

"An' you mean to tell me that this low-grade Dick Cleighton puts upthat job on Jim, just so he can beat him to the title?" sez I. 

"Yes, " sez Bill, "you see he was the heir presumptive, only onceremoved. "

"Well, if I'd had the job o' removin', " sez I, "once, would 'a' beenplenty. "

"That put Richard out o' the runnin', " sez Bill, "Lord Wilfred, theapparent, was livin' along all right, an' the old Earl had come to theconclusion that when it came to a presumptive, he'd sooner have Jim; sohe turned the hose on Dick, an' started out to find Jim. Jim wrote 'emfrom New York that he was goin' to South Africa, an' then he wrote 'emfrom Australia that he was goin' to India, an' then he wrote 'em from--"

"Oh, those was only jokes, " sez I. "Jim's all right; but what become ofDick?"

"Nobody knows, " sez Bill, "an' nobody cares. He's got lots betterhealth than Lord Wilfred, but he's got some epolepsy, too, an' he's amean sneak. His mother was insane, but she left him a little bunch ofmoney. "

"She must have had more quality than the average of 'em;" sez I, "buthanged if I wouldn't sooner do without the quality than to have allthat epolepsy thrown in with it. Jim's all right though, I'll say thatfor the breed. "

"Yes, Jim was a fine feller from all accounts, " sez Bill, "but wherethe Jink did you meet up with him?"

"It's a state secret, " sez I, "or I'd let you in. Jim's doin' fine an'I wouldn't for the world have him dragged down where he'd have to marryup with a lot o' quality. Now while you're givin' your concert, I'mgoin' out an' check up the stars. "

I was purty yell pleased with Bill. I had bothered him all I could inthe tellin' an' yet he had kept his temper an' handed out the facts;an' I wanted to go over 'em forward an' hack till I could get the fullhang of 'em. It was wonderful queer how a ridin' man like me hadbrushed shoulders, as you might say, with the Earl of Clarenden, an' Iwas beginnin' to think that old Mrs. Fate was stirrin' things up ashade extra. As a usual thing I don't go into scandal an' gossip soprodigious; but I was hungry to have another look at Jim, now that Iknew he was the son of an Earl, an' I decided to pull out an' give thePan Handle a look-over as soon as it was handy. I spent about two hoursthat night lookin' at the stars an' wishin' they could tell me allthey'd ever seen. They knew all that Barbie wanted to know, an' Ididn't seem able to git on the track, in spite of me readin' detectivestories every chance I had. 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CUPID

Well, I didn't go down to the Pan Handle after all. I just fatten on anew variety of entertainment an' the sample that Bill was puttin' outamused me to the limit. Me an' Bill drove down to Danders on the firsto' May to get some grub. Most o' this breed has a purty tol'able activethirst, but Bill was unusual harmless when it came to storin' awayliquor. About the only excitement Danders held out to a temperancecrank was goin' down to the depot to watch the train come in. This timethe west-bound had to take a sidin' and wait twenty minutes for thecast bound; an' a feller got his dog out o' the baggage car an' startedto climb the mountains. 

You fellers all know how this air is, but a stranger thinks he can spiton a mountain that's ten miles off. When the whistle blew, he made agood run an' got on all right; but the pup was havin' the time of hislife an' missed his chance of gettin' on the same car that the fellerdid. He was game all right an' give a purty jump onto the frontplatform of the last car, where a big buck nigger was standin' with awhite coat on. He give the pup a kick under the chin an' sent himrollin' over backward. 

"Why, the vile wretch!" yells Bill, at the same time snatchin' my gunout of the holster. I had barely time to bump up his arm, an' even asit was he knocked the paint off right above the coon's head. Billturned on me with his eyes snappin' sparks, an' in a voice as cold asthe click of a Winchester, he sez, "Next time, John Hawkins, I'll thankyou to mind your own business. " An' he held the gun kind o' friendlylike, with the muzzle pointin' at my watch pocket. 

I own up I was jarred; he'd been as gentle as a butterfly up to thatminute, an' here he was lookin' into me with the chilly eyes of akillin' man; but I put a little edge on my own voice an' sez, "Heretofore, I allus counted it my business to look after what my owngun was engaged in doin'. When you're sure that you're all through withit, I'll thank you to return it to where you found it. "

Then I turned on my heel an' strode up toward town; but he grabbed meby the shoulder an' whirled me around. "Here's your gun, Happy. " sezhe. "You know I didn't aim to offend you. It was that confounded Zulu'at riled me up. "

The pup had give up his chase after the train an' was comin' back thetrack to town, lookin' mighty down in the mouth--he had a purtyprominent mouth, too, the pup had. He was a brindle bull; not one o'these that look like an Injun idol, but a nice, clean-built, upstandin'feller with a quiet, business-like air. 

"Purty tough on the pup to be turned out to starve this way, " sez I. 

"Who's goin' to let him starve?" sez Bill. "Come here, old feller. ""Better look out, " sez I, "bulldogs is fierce. "

"So is men, " sez Bill; "an' besides, this ain't no bulldog, this is aLondon brindle bull-terrier, an' a crackerjack. Look at the brasscollar he's wearin'. This is ain't no stray. I'll telegraph ahead an'see if they want him expressed. "

Bill caught the feller at the next station, an' he telegraphed backthat he'd been havin' trouble with the pup all along the line; an' ifwe'd keep him a month, he'd stop an' get him on his way back. He sentus ten dollars to pay expenses. I never believed that they could sendmoney by telegraph before; but I saw the agent give it to Bill, with myown eyes. 

We all went to the hotel for dinner, the pup lookin' miserablesorrowful. Frenchy was goin' to kick the pup out--he was a low-gradeheathen, but he was big an' he didn't mind a little trouble now andagain. 

"If this dog can't eat here, neither can I, " sez Bill, "but as for yourkickin' him out, you 'd better pray for guidance before you tackle thatjob. "

"Do you think I'm afraid o' that cur?" sneers Frenchy. 

"Cur!" yells Bill. "Cur? Why you maul-headed, misshapen blotch on theface o' nature, what do you mean by callin' this dog a cur! I never sawthis dog before to-day; but I'll bet ten to one that I can find out whohis great-great-grandfather's great-great-grandfather was; an' I doubtif you know who your own father happened to be. "

Bill was firin' at random o' course, but it looked as if he had hitsomethin'. Frenchy was fair crazy. He pulled out his gun an' camechargin' down on us. Bill tried to get mine again, but I thought I'dbetter run it myself just then. I covered Frenchy, Frenchy coveredBill, an' the bull pup turned his back on us and looked down toward thedepot, to see if his train was comin' back. 

"Better put up your gun, Frenchy, " I sez, soft as a wood dove, "oryou'll get this office all mussed up. "

Well, he knew me; so we arbitrated a little an' then we all went in an'the pup et his dinner like any other Christian, payin' for it himselfout of his own money. First thing after dinner, Bill went out an'bought a gun of his own, an' I scented trouble. He wasn't old enough toshoot only from principle, not merely for practice. 

The' was another young feller at Frenchy's with a lot o' hot money inhis clothes. He seemed to have a deep-felt prejudice against fire, too, the way he was blowin' it in. When Bill came back, the young fellertried to buy the dog from him. Bill was polite an' refused to sell, givin' as the main reason that the dog didn't fully belong to him yet, but the feller pestered around until finally he offered Bill twohundred dollars for the dog. 

"You ain't no fool when it comes to a dog, " sez Bill, "but I'm givin'you the honest truth. This here pup don't belong to me--though if I canbuy him I sure intend to do it. "

"How far would you go when it came to payin' for him?" sez the man. 

"Well, I'd give two fifty for him just on speculation, " sez Bill. "He'sput together, this pup is; but I didn't suppose 'at you people out herein the cattle country would know enough about the points of a dog, tooffer two hundred for just a fancy one. "

"I don't know nothin' about the points o' that dog, " sez the feller. "Inever even saw a dog like that one before; but when I see a man willin'to go the pace you went for this dog, I'd kind o' sort o' like to ownthe dog. "

Bill got interested in the feller an' began pumpin' him for what hecalled copy. The young feller had punched cattle most of his life, blowin' in his wages at variegated intervals. About a month before hehad slipped over to Laramie an' had gone against Silver Dick's game, winnin' over eleven hundred dollars. He said that Silver Dick was plumbon the square an' that he never intended to work again, just spend downto his last hundred an' then go an' play at Silver Dick's. Bill got apaper an' figured out what he called percents, showin' how an outsiderwas bound to lose to the game in the end; but most o' the fellers therehad been up against Dick's game an' they took sides against Bill, tryin' to prove that they stood a show to win, until finally Bill giveit up an' we started back home. 

When we started home, Bill was still discoursin' about us Westerners. He said that we wasn't nothin' but a lot o' children playin' games an'believin' in fairy tales, that we never provided for the future, thatwe was allus willin' to risk anything we had on some fool thing thatwouldn't benefit us none, an' so on until I got weary of it, an' afterI'd took a shuffle I dealt him out this hand. 

"An' the''s another breed, " sez I, "that ain't nothin' but children an'that's the writers. An idea comes along an' stings 'em like a bee, an'they immejetly begin to swell. They swell an' swell until the wholeearth ain't nothin' but the background for that bee-sting. They howlabout it as if it was the most important thing in creation; but if youcall around next week, you find that swellin' gone down an' they'rehowlin' just as fierce over a new swellin' where a different idea hasstung 'em; ain't it so?"

"Not exactly, " sez Bill; "for we set down our thoughts an' emotionswhile we're smartin' from the sting an' the other fellers can get thesense of 'em an' pass judgment on 'em in cold blood without gettin'stung at all. "

"Well, you landed there, " sez I, "but the' wasn't one o' those fellersthere to-day, who was a quarter whit more childish'n what you was. Talkabout providin' For their future! Why, the way you went on over thisstray pup, purt' nigh put you in the position of a man who didn't haveno future to provide for, an' what in thunder good can this here pupever do you, no matter what happens?"

The pup was sittin' with his head between Bill's knees, an' Bill pulledhis ear a time or two, an' then sez, "I reckon you're right; the wholeearth ain't nothin' but a kindergarten. We all play different games an'when you stop an' look at it they all cost about the same in the endan' they all bring in about the same profit; but I'm glad I'm livin'anyhow; an' I'm glad I've got this dog. I'm special fond o' dogs. "

You couldn't help likin' Bill; he allus played in the open an' when hekept score, he give you all the points you made without fussin' over'em; but I didn't like the look o' that new outfit on his hip. He wastoo impulsive to carry a gun, an' he was too young. Take it when a manhas had some experience in gun-fightin', he gets purty sober over theeffect of it; but a young feller--well, who on earth knows what way ayoung feller is goin' to jump when he gets touched up a little?

"That's a purty likely lookin' gun you got there, Bill, " sez I. "Do yousavvy how to run one?"

He took it out of his pocket an' looked around, but the' wasn't nothin'in sight that needed killin', so he began to pop at an old single-treelyin' about thirty yards away. The ponies were trottin' along purtyjerky, but hanged if he didn't hit it four times out of six. 

"It don't just hang to suit me, " sez Bill, "but I'll learn it after abit. "

I looked at him a moment, but he was merely speakin' his mind, an' Isez: "Bill, where in Goshen did you get to be a killin' man?"

"Me?" sez Bill. "I never shot a man in my life, but I used to knockdown glass balls purty accurate, an' I've hunted big game in Africa an'India. I don't want no trouble, but I'm set in my ways about dogs. It'sa heap o' responsibility to raise a pup; but I'm goin' to give this onea fair show, an' I'm goin' to own him some way or another--I feel it inmy bones that this here dog was sent to me. I had a dog, the livin'picture o' this feller once, an' he traded his life for mine, out therein the Indian Jungle. Now don't ask me any questions about it. "

That night after we'd got the supper things red up, Bill sez; "Now Idon't want no one to punish this dog but me, till he gets hisedication. I don't care a bean for a trick dog; all I expect him tolearn is jest English an' a part o' the sign langwidge, so as he'll bepleasant company an' useful in an emergency. I'll pay for any propertyhe destroys, but please don't punish him. "

The pup was about fifteen months old when he came, an' at first hesorrowed a heap for his old boss; but purty soon he see that Bill knewmore about dogs'n he did himself, so he just transferred his affectionsover to Bill. Bill never raised his voice, he never whipped him noreven threatened him; he just reasoned with him an' explained why it wasnecessary to learn the conventionalities o' polite society. It took hima solid week to learn that pup how to shake hands, an' yet Bill told usconfidential that he was certain that the pup knew it all the while;but at the end of the week the pup gave in, an' from that on he was aseager for knowledge as a new-born baby. 

Cupid was the name of the pup, engraved right on to his brass collar, an' when he set his mind on acquirin' an edication, he made me an' theKid leery 'at he'd beat us at the finish in spite of our start. Hecould walk on his hind legs an' speak an' open an' shut doors an' wipehis feet on the door-mat an' roll over an' pray an'--oh, well he knew'em all an' six more; but Bill said it wasn't learnin' the tricks thatcounted, it was learnin' to think for himself. Bill used to putobstacles in his way, so that the pup would have to cipher a while tofigger out how to work it, an' this was what Bill called stretchin' hisintellect to match his envirament. He was some the solemnest pup I eversee, an' it was kind o' creepy to see him come to the shack, open thedoor, slam it after him, wipe his feet on the burlap, look into Bill'sface, an' give a short bark. This was to ask if Bill had any new jobsfor him. 

I had it all planned out that the pup was to sleep in the wagon shed;but this didn't look good to the pup, nor to Bill, neither. When nightwould come, Cupid would go through his lessons, eat his supper, an'fling himself slaunchways on the wide bunk. He didn't weigh more'nsixty pounds, but they was the solidest sixty ever wrapped up in a doghide. He wouldn't mind no one but Bill, an' it was all I could do toget room enough on the perch to hang on. Then Bill would open up hisvau-dee-ville show, an' when he'd simmer down, the pup would begin tochase jackrabbits, which was the most devilish-lookin' sight I eversee. He'd lay there with his eyelids rolled up, an' his eyes turnedinside out, givin' short barks an' jerkin' his legs. 

"Bill, " I sez one night, "I ain't no chronic coward, but doggone me ifI want to be mistook for a jack-rabbit, an' have this bulldog sock hisivories into me. "

"He ain't no bulldog, " snaps Bill. "It looks to me as if you mightlearn purty soon that he's a brindle bull-terrier!"

"Oh, I know that all right, an' I'm willin' to swear to it, " sez I, "but just now it's his teeth, not his ancestors, that are botherin' me. If I'm to be mistook for a jack-rabbit, I ain't nowise particular justwhich kind of a bulldog is goin' to do the mistakin'. "

Bill, he smiled sadly an' walked over an' stuck his naked finger rightinto the pup's mouth. I looked to see it bit off, but the pup onlyopened his eyes, looked foolish, an' tramped down another acre ofimaginary grass; finally goin' to sleep again an' usin' my feet for apiller. 

Talk about grit! That little cuss was willin' to fight any-thing thatwalked. We took him out to the herd one day, an' after he'd been kickedan' tossed an' trampled, he got on to throwin' a steer by the nose, an'from that on it was his favorite pastime. He played the game soenthusiastic, that I finally sez to Bill, "Bill, you mustn't forgetthat Colonel Scott has other uses for these cattle besides usin' 'emfor dog exercisers. " From that on, Bill made the pup be a little moretemperate in the use o' steers. 

The muscles on that pup got to be like hard rubber, an' you couldn'tpinch him hard enough to make him squeak. He allus took a serious viewo' life except when the' was a chance for a little rough an' tumble;then his face would light up like an angel's. Pullin' on a rope was hisidee o' draw poker, an' he could wear out the whole bunch of us at it. Bill fair idolized him--fact is, we all thought a heap of him; but I'd'a' liked him a mite better if the' 'd been more bunks in the shack. 

If he got cold, he'd scratch your face till you let him under thecovers, an' then when he got too hot, he'd pull the covers off an' roll'em into a nice soft heap, with himself on top. He never overlookedhimself much, the pup didn't. First I knew, I got to missin' a rightsmart o' sleep that really belonged to me; 'cause, while I'm opposed tospeakin' ill o' the absent, I'd just about as soon try to sleep with acolicky hoss as with Bill an' the pup. When the pup wasn't chasin'imaginary jack-rabbits or live fleas, Bill was jumpin' up an' down towrite somethin' new into his book; until Kid Porter swore that if anymore came, he was goin' to leave. 

I like a dog the full limit, but I never hankered to sleep with 'em, not when they have fleas; an' when they don't, they allus put me inmind of a man 'at uses perfumery. I tried to devise a plan for sleepin'on the floor, but I couldn't engineer it through. 

"No, " sez Bill, in a hurt kind of a tone, "I wouldn't inconvenience youfor the world. Me an' Cupid will sleep on the floor. " Well, there Iwas. I'm as tender-hearted as a baby antelope, so I just turned it offas a joke, an' got to sleepin' in the saddle on the return trip. 

Nothin' on earth made Bill so mad as to call the pup a bulldog, thoughif he wasn't one, he sure looked the part. I knowed it wouldn't do totake too many chances, so me an' the Kid used to post the boys, an'when one of 'em would drop in an' say as natural as though he waschattin' about the weather: "That's a mighty fine London, brindle, bull-terrier you-uns have got, " Bill's face would light up as if he wasthe mother of it, an' he would turn in an' preach us a sermon on dogs. That was why you liked Bill; he was just the same all the way throughan' if he was friendly when it paid, you was certain sure he'd be justas friendly when it cost. 

Colonel Scott's niece came out to visit him some time in May, an' weheard of her long before we saw her. 'Bout every one we met hadsomethin' to tell about what a really, truly heart-buster she was. Shelearned to ride, an' one afternoon she an' the Colonel struck ouroutfit just in front of a howlin' storm. 

The' wasn't no show to get back to headquarters that night, so wesmoothed out the wide bunk for the lady, an' us men planned to flop inthe shed. She sure had dandy manners! She pitched in an' helped us getsupper, an' we had about everything to eat that a man could thinkof--side meat an' boiled beans an' ham an' corn-bread an' baked beansan' flapjacks an' fried potatoes an' bean soup, an' coffee so stoutthat you couldn't see the bottom in a teaspoonful of it. We just turnedourselves loose an' gave her a banquet. 

As soon as the dishes was off our hands, we started in to be jovial. Mean' the Kid wasn't just altogether at home, but Bill was right in hiselement. He played, an' him an' her sang, an' they talked, an' it wasthe most festive function I ever see; until the pup came in an' jumpedup on the wide bunk where she was settin'. "Oh, take that horridbull-dog away!" she squealed. 

I dreaded the result; but I sez to myself, "Now surely that doggoneijit won't throw a call-down into the lady. " but he did. "MissJohnston, " sez he, "that ain't no bulldog. That's a high-bred Londonbull-terrier. How would you like to be called a Chinaman? Come here, Cupid. "

It was like throwin' a bucket o' water on a bed o' coals. Bill was likean oyster from that on, an' the girl looked as if she'd been slapped. Iwas mad all the way through. It's all right for a man to be crazy, ifhe'll only keep it private, but the' ain't no sense in tryin' to getthe whole balance o' creation over to his side. 

The Colonel thought it a mighty prime joke to have his niece calleddown over a bull pup, an' he chuckled about it consid'able. Nextmornin' he made Bill promise to come over an' visit him; but the girlsaid HER good-byes to me an' the Kid. From that on, Bill was over toheadquarters half his time, but it didn't do him much good. The girlwouldn't stand for the pup, an' Bill wouldn't go back on him; so itlooked purty much like a deadlock. 

One Sunday about the first of August, we was all sittin' in the shadeof the shack, lookin' down into the valley. The shack backed up againsta massive crag on the edge of a high plateau. The road fromheadquarters came in from the North, wound around a steep butte, thenalong the top o' the cliff to where it slid down into the valley toDanders. 

We heard the thud o' hoofs an' turnin' around, we saw the Colonel'sniece tearin' down the road on a big hoss. It was a plain case ofrunaway, an' I felt something break inside my chest. They were headin'straight for the top o' the cliff, the hoss was goin' too fast to makethe turn, an' we was too far off to beat him to it. 

We simply stood there like a flock o' sheep, without a single thoughtamong us. The' didn't seem to be a thing to do, but just watch 'emplunge two hundred feet into the ravine. I glanced at Bill, but Ihardly knew him. His brows was drawn down like a wildcat's, his jawswas clamped so tight you could hear 'em grit, an' his eyes seemed tosmoke. 

I looked back to the road again, an' there was the pup, standin' downby the road watchin' the hoss runnin' toward him. I touched Bill on theshoulder, an sez, "Can the pup do anything, Bill?" Bill gave a sigh asthough he had just come back from the dead, an' in a voice that waveredan' trembled, but still rang out like a trumpet, he yelled: "Throw him, Cupid, throw him!" Lord, man! I wish you could have seen it. The manebristled up on that dog's back an' his muscles bulged out till helooked like a stone image. We heard him give a low whine, like as if heknowed it was too big a job for a little feller like him. But did hetry to flunk it? Not him. Then I knew 'at he wasn't neither a bulldognor a bull-terrier, but a little sixty-pound hero, willin' to pass outhis life any time 'at Bill would draw a check for it. 

We fair helt our breath as he backed away from the road an' took alittle easy gallop until the hoss was near even with him. Another dogwould have blown his lungs loose, tellin' what he was a-goin' to do;but Cupid never said a word. His lip curled up till you could catch theglisten of those wicked white teeth of his, an' then when the hoss wasright alongside an' it looked as if he had lost his chance, he gave acouple of short jumps an' threw himself for the critter's nose. 

Well, I can't rightly tell you just what did happen then. I saw himmake his spring an' swing around full sweep, hangin' on to the hoss'snose; but from that on the whole earth seemed to be shook loose. Theboss keeled over like he was shot, the girl seemed to turn a somersetin the air, an' light all in a heap, with one arm hangin' over the edgeof the cliff. We heard a shriek, a little smothered yelp, an' then weran down to them. 

Bill looked first toward the girl an' then toward the pup, an' it wastearing his heart apart to tell which one he would go to first. Finallyhe ran to the girl an' carried her back from the cliff. He knelt an'put his ear to her heart, then he took her wrist an' after what seemeda mighty long time, he gave a little sigh, an' sez, "Kid, run for somewater. Run! What do you stand lookin' at me for?"

The Kid, he certainly did run, while Bill stepped over to where Cupidwas layin', still an' quiet, but with a piece o' the hoss's nose stillin his grip. The hoss's right shoulder was broke an' he couldn't getup, but was thrashin' an' strugglin' around. "Get your gun an' put thathoss out of his misery, Happy, " sez Bill, an' the' was somethin' in histone that filled me plumb full o' the spirit of action. 

When I came back, the Kid was pourin' a bucket o' water over the girl, an' Bill, with the tears rollin' down his cheeks, was feelin' over thebody of the little bull-pup. I put the muzzle to within an inch o' thesoft spot in the hoss's forehead, an' fired. The hoss's head sank, an'then I gulped a couple o' times like a flabby galoot, an' sez, "Bill, do you reckon the brindle bull-terrier'll pull through?"

"Get me some o' that water, " sez Bill. When I got it, he showed me aplace where the whole o' the pup's scalp had been kicked loose. Icouldn't see what good water was goin' to do, but Bill wouldn't giveup. "I can't find where the skull is broke, " he sez, "an' maybe thewater'll fetch him around. "

He poured some water over the little feller's face, but it didn't seemto be no use. He just lay still with his head on Bill's knee, an' Iknew it was all up with little Cupid; but just to please Bill, I gavehim a flask, I happened to have, an' sez, "Give the little feller adrink, Bill. He never was used to hittin' it none, an' it'll have apowerful effect on him. " Bill opened the pup's mouth an' poured in atol'able stiff swig, an' by cracky, the pup opened his eyes, an' whenhe saw Bill bendin' down over him, he tried to wag his little tail. 

Well, Bill took that pup up in his arms an' hugged him--an' if the' 'sany one in this crowd that feels like laughin', it'll be healthier for'im to step outside. 

Then Bill picked up the pup, an' motioned for me an' the Kid to totethe lady up to the shack, an' we did it, though it wasn't fittin' workfor a couple o' ridin men. She had fully come to when we reached theshack, an' we laid her on the wide bunk. Bill put the pup on the narrowbunk, washed out the hole in his head, an' tied it up with a cleanhandkerchief. Then he crossed over an' spoke to the girl. I could easytell by his voice that the last time they had parted it had been alittle stormy. 

"Miss Johnston, " he sez in a low tone, "are you sufferin' much?"

She owned up to a perfectly rippin' headache, an' said she was sore allover; but it was her ankle 'at pained her most. Bill started to look atit; but she reddened up an' tried to draw it under her. Bill never paidany attention to her, but sez calmly, "I've had consid'able experience, Miss Johnston. A great deal depends on promptness. Now just let thelimb lay natural till I remove the shoe. "

Me an' the Kid started to break for the foothills, but he set me tomakin' bandages, an' sent the Kid after some more water. We was losin'our age fast, an' Bill's voice sounded like grandpa's. He said it was acorkin' bad sprain, but he tied it up an' wet down the bandages; an'then he sent me to headquarters after the spring-wagon, an' the Kid toDanders for the doctor. 

We both got back before daylight, an' by that time Bill an' the girlhad come to a purty harmonious agreement concernin' the proper standin'of a brindle bull-terrier. When I came in he was holdin' the lady'shand--an' I was the only one what reddened up. 

CHAPTER NINETEEN

BARBIE MAKES A DISCOVERY

Jessamie, that was Miss Johnston's real name, had been ridin' one o'the Colonel's high-breds, an' again orders at that; but the Colonel waspurty comfortable like at the upshot. Bill was fitted out with apedigree an 'a bank account what made him a parlor guest purty mucheverywhere he went, an' on top o' that it tickled the Colonel a heap tohave things ironed out by the bull pup himself. 

I didn't much suppose when I see that sorrowful pup pikin' back thetrack that he was doomed to achieve prominence an' fame, but Fate hadhim entered on her book all right, an' he made so everlastin' good thatit wouldn't have surprised me a mite if they'd have run him forGovernor. 

You just bet your life the other feller never got him again! Why they'd'a' had to bring the whole standin' army to filch that dog away fromBill after the big doin's. Out here in Wyoming it's a test ofclass--owners of one of Cupid's pups are first-class, others belong tothe herd. 

It was two weeks after the accident that us four--countin' KidPorter--was sittin' in exactly the same place back of the shack; onlythis time, Bill was pullin' the pup's ears. Bill hadn't spent overlymuch time with us the last fortnight, an' we were talkin' it all over, when hanged if we didn't hear the thud of hoofs again, an' I reckon weall turned blue. 

Cupid himself appeared a shade disgusted at the prospect of an encore. He had only just shed his bandages, an' the flap on his lid was stilltoo tender to scratch, so that you can't hardly blame him for takin'the narrow view of it. We jumped around the corner of the house, butthe' was two riders this time, an' while they was spinnin' along at apurty merry clip, they had control of the hosses all right. Both of 'emwas girls, an' one of 'em was Jessamie. When I see who the other was, Ifelt as though I was standin' on the outer edge of a fleecy cloud. Itwas Barbie. I ducked back around the corner of the house. 

Bill, he ran down an' helped his lady to alight, while Barbie floppedherself off her mount an' ran up to Cupid. Oh, they know a heap, dogsdo. Cupid took just one look in her eyes, an' when she squatted down onher knees, he tried to get into her lap an' they made a heap o' fussover each other. I could tell by her eyes that Jessamie felt a shadejealous, 'cause Cupid hadn't quite forgiven her for slightin' him atthe first. I was watchin' 'em through a chink in the shack and I wasfeelin' purty glum myself, to think that Barbie would spend all thattime on a dog an' never give one little inquiry about me. 

Well, they examined the spot where Cupid had made his tackle, an' thedent in the earth where the hoss an' Jessamie had lit, an' then theymeandered up to the house to see just how helpless we'd been, asidefrom Cupid. 

"Well, you all had a share in it;" Barbie was sayin' as they neared theshack. "Cupid did the actual work, you trained him for it, and Higinsonhad the kind of a nerve that don't melt under fire. "

"Sure thing, " sez Bill, "I own up that I was plumb petrified, an' Cupidwasn't carin' much one way or the other; but Hank Higinson never losthis self-possession a second, "--this was all bosh, 'cause I was purtynigh stampeded, an' that's the simple truth. 

"Where is he?" sez Barbie. "I want to see him an' then I can tell justabout how much he could do on his own hook. "

I was feelin' a sight better. I saw exactly how it was. Bill an' allthe rest o' the fellers had done exactly what I had hinted at an'hadn't divulged my identity, an' Barbie hadn't the slightest idea thatI was in the state. Those people who know precisely the right time todisobey orders, are a big help to humanity; but they're mighty scarce. 

Bill, he opened the door of the shack, an' sez, "Come on out. Hank, alady wants to be introduced to you. "

I stepped to the door feelin' wonderful bashful, but when Barbie sawme, she went several different colors an' shouts:

"Happy, Happy Hawkins! What on earth do you mean by bein' here?"

Her voice was trembly an' accusin' an' reproachful an' glad an' a lotof other things; an' I found it mighty hard to come back with a joke, quick enough to suit me. I felt sort o' flighty, with her big dark eyeslookin' into me, an' while I was stutterin' she opened up on me an'give me a good old-fashioned scoldin'--an' I felt dandy. Bill, he wastroubled some with startin' eyes. Jessamie was breedy all right, butcompared to Barbie, she looked like a six o' suit alongside the queeno' trumps. 

"Why, " sez Barbie, turnin' to Jessamie, "everything always goes rightwhen Happy's present. I might have known from your description that itwas Happy who saw the only way--"

"Oh, pshaw, now, " sez I, breakin' in, "I didn't do a blasted thing. Cupid here was the master workman on this job, while Bill--"

"That's all true enough, " sez Barbie, "you have the gift of hidin'yourself in your work; but I can see you just the same. "

It was certainly comfortin' to hear the way she went on about it; butit was a little too cold-blooded for my nerves, 'cause I hadn't done athing this time but make one small suggestion; so we finallycompromised by admittin' that now an' again, I was picked out to be thenail on the finger of Fate. Sometimes I rather think that comes purtyclose to hittin' me. 

Jessamie had graduated from the university where Barbie was goin', atthe close of Barbie's first year. They had met, an' remembered eachother; an' as soon as the news of the doin's had reached the DiamondDot, of course Barbie piked over to make a call. The outcome was thatwhen the Colonel sent out a man to take my place, I rode back to theDiamond Dot with Barbie, an' it was mighty good to be there again. 

Jabez give me a good firm hand-shake, an' didn't rub it in about thesilkworms; so that everything just slid along as smooth as joint-oil, an' I had a good opportunity to estimate the benefit of Barbie'sschoolin'. She was a heap more changed than I had supposed at first;the' was a way she had of holdin' her head an' walkin' an' talkin', that showed me quick enough that money spent on her edication wasn'tnowise wasted. 

But she went back to her last year soon after this, intendin' to be thebest maid at Jessamie's weddin'. This weddin' was a curious thing an'opened my eyes purty wide to the ways of women. I'd 'a' been willin' tobet my saddle that the one man she never would marry, was Bill; but sheowned up herself that she had made up her mind to marry him the firstnight they met. She wasn't quite sure of it until him an' her had thefall-out over Cupid, and that settled it. She said a man who had thespunk to stick up for his dog the way Bill did would be a purty handykind to have around the house, an' she was just tryin' him out to seehow far he'd go. She was actually fond of dogs all the time, especiallybulldogs. A girl-baby three years old could have fooled Methusaleh inhis prime, an' that means after he'd had about six hundred years ofexperience. She's a wonderful invention, woman. 

All the while before Barbie left, she was tryin' to plan out what useshe was goin' to put her edication to. Sometimes she was minded to goon the stage, at others lawyerin' looked good to her, but most of thetime she seemed to think that a female doctor would come nearer fittin'her than anything else. 

Me an' Jabez worried about it a heap; but we was wise enough to hideit. We knew that Barbie carted around at all times what they call aspirit of combativity, which fattened on opposition, an' we preferredto let her scrap it out with herself, hopin' that what she finallydecided on would be all for the best. 

Jabez said good-bye at the edge of the ranch, while I drove her over toWebb Station. I kind o' fought shy of Danders 'cause it seemed to methat the' was always some kind of a job waitin' for me there, an'Barbie had left me a heap of work for that winter. "Have you learnedanything yet?" she asked me, after the train had pulled into sight an'we was shakin' hands. 

"Not a thing for certain, " sez I. "I've stumbled onto several rumors, but they always went out. Do you still study over it much, Barbie?"

"Never a day goes by but what I study over it, " sez she. "There isn'tanything I wouldn't give to know about my mother--all about her. "

"Are you sure, Barbie?" said I. 

She thought hard a minute, an' then she threw back her head an' lookedinto my eyes. "Yes, " she said, in a low tone, "I'd giveeverything--even the love and respect I feel for my father. "

I gave a little shiver. "Barbie, " I sez, "I don't think you'll everhave to pay that high a price. I never saw your Dad cruel in coldblood, an' he's purty just. "

"Oh, I would rather die than find out that he'd ever been cruel to mymother; but I do want to know about her; and some day I will. " Shesqueezed my hand hard and her eyes were wet with tears when she steppedon the train; but she tried to smile, she sure did. 

CHAPTER TWENTY

RICHARD WHITTINGTON ARRIVES

Well, that winter rolled by without a break. Me an' Jabez had justabout learned how to take each other, an' we didn't stretch our harnessto the snappin' point. Bill Andrews had finally got tol'able wellacquainted with me also, an' was able to savvy that while peace was myone great desire, the' was some prices that I wouldn't pay for it. 

We was all het up when the graduation day finally came, an' we didn'tdo a lick of work on the ranch; just gathered around the ranchbuildin's, polishin' up her harness an' hosses, an' talkin' about herin hushed voices. She had won honors an' medals an' one thing oranother until I reckon we felt purty much as Mrs. Washington did whenshe was cleanin' house to welcome the father of his country after hehad showed England where to reset the boundery stakes. 

Barbie had wrote us that she was goin' to cut out a string ofinvitations as long as your arm and pike right out for home as soon asshe had finished her part of the program, an' we weren't able to do atap until she arrived. At first I was minded to drive down after her, an' then I decided that it would be better for me to stay at home an'line up the boys in some sort of style to receive her. Spider Kelleywent after her and as soon as they hove in sight I had all the puncherscharge down an' shoot their guns off in the air. They was wearin' theirgaudiest raiment an' shoutin' their heads off, an' she owned up herselfthat it topped anything she ever saw in the East. She stood up in thebuckboard an' took off her hat an' swung it about her head and shouted, "Boys, you're just bully--every one of you!" an' say, the' wasn't apuncher on the Diamond Dot that wouldn't have given up his hide to makeher a pair o' ridin' gloves. Jabez had waited back at the ranch housean' he was tremblin' when we left him to ride down an' meet her. 

Here she was, comin' back for the last time with all the learnin' ofthe earth packed away in her head, an' niched up with more degrees thana thermometer; but it hadn't changed her heart, not one grain; an' whenshe saw the home buildin's with ol' Mount Savage sittin' up on histhrone an' all the little peaks bowin' before him, like pages to aking, she jes' threw out her arms as though she would take in the wholeoutfit in one big hug, an' her eyes filled up with tears as she sez, "Oh, Dad. I love it! I love every inch of it, every line of it, everyshade of it; an' I've hungered an' thirsted for it all these years--an'for you, Dad, for you most of all. "

Well, you should have seen Jabez. Beam? Why, I reckon you could havelit a cigar on his face, an' he fluttered around like a hen with onechicken an' that one a duck. He couldn't quite believe that it was alltrue and that he was actually awake. He had worried so long about hercuttin' into some new game as soon as her schoolin' was done that hehardly dared rejoice for fear it would wake him up; but it didn't takeher long to begin enjoyin' her old freedom again. It took us somelonger to adjust ourselves to her, however. 

Now she hadn't changed such an awful sight, an' yet the' was somethin'about her 'at made you feel like touchin' your hat when she issued anorder. Not that she was uppity nor nothin'; she rambled around playin'with the colts an' the calves, an' rompin' with the dogs, an' fairlystackin' up the whole place in little heaps. An' she rustled up her oldsombrero an' leggin's just as though she had never set a hoof off therange. Still, the' was somethin' about her you couldn't quite put yourfinger on; but which you knew in your heart was there all the time, awaitin' till she made up her mind to call it out; like a handful o'regulars givin' dignity to a scrawny two by twice fort in the Injuncountry. 

We took up our ridin' again, an' just as I was gettin' used to it, along comes a feller lookin' about two thirds starved. His clothes wasragged an' soiled, he had forgot his baggage, he was on foot (an' whenI say on foot, I don't only mean that he was dispensin' with the luxuryof a pony; he was also unemcumbered with soles to his boots), but hehad indoor hands, a back as straight as an Injun's, an' a way offlingin' up his head an' drawin' down his brows when you spoke to himsudden, which proved 'at trampin' was only a sideline with him. He putin an application as cook for the home gang. 

Ol' Cast Steel looked into him: examined his eyes, his hands, an' theway he carried his head. Then he spoke kind o' slow an' drawly. "Cook?"sez he. "We'll, I'd be willin' to bet 'at you've stayed up till threeo'clock a heap more times'n you have ever arose at this wholesome hour. What can you cook?"

Well, the feller he laughed, an' sez, "You win. I own up 'at I ain't nocook, nor I ain't no cow puncher; but my pension has stopped an' myappetite is still runnin'. I never yet recall readin' no notice of anycook what died of starvation. "

Jabez grinned. "I don't ask no man about his past, " sez he. "No manknows nothin' about his future. As for the present, you can help withthe cookin'. Flap Jack is due for his bender, week after next, an' ifyou can learn the trade by that time you'll come in handy. "

'Twas the first time I ever heard of Cast Steel vary his hirin' speech;so I knew 'at he too had the feller spotted for a stray; but he rolledup his sleeves an' started to peel spuds for the evenin' slum. He saidthat his name was Richard Whittington, an' while he didn't talk overlyextensive about himself, he wasn't nowise offish nor snarly. He did hiswork up to the limit too, an' even of Flap Jack didn't complain as muchas he generally did whenever he was furnished with a little extra help. The peculiar thing was the way 'at Barbie treated him. She came down tothe cook shack soon after he landed, with a lot of Jabez' old clothesan' a pair of boots, 'cause anything in distress got to her heart bythe shortest cut. She came lopin' along with about fifteen dogs, whistlin' an' hummin' an' sort o' dancin' up in the air like a youngangel; but the minute she saw him she sobered up, an' after he hadthanked her, which he did in book langwidge, she simply pulled down theblinds an' locked the door. It was mighty curious an' set us all totalkin', 'cause she treated us fellers just as friendly as the rest ofthe stock; but Dick made a bad impression right at the start, an' wekept our eyes on him for the first crooked move. 

He was a restless feller, was Dick, allus askin' questions about breedsan' fencin' an' winter feeds an' marketin'. Said he liked to havesomethin' to study about when his hands was workin'. Barbie left one ofher books out in the wagon-shed one day an' Dick found it. He curledright up on a cushion an' begun to read. That was the very day 'atFlappy was to start off on his periodical, an' he had made all hispreparations so that everything would be in apple-pie order. Whendinner went by an' no deputy showed up he ground out several canticlesof profanity; but when supper time hove in sight and nairy a reportfrom the substitute hash-herder, he fairly stood on tiptoe an' screamedhis woes into what they call the wel-kin; an' you can bet that Flappymade her welk all right. 

He had been training for this jag for full three months, an' the thirsthe had built up was somethin' for the whole ranch to be proud of; an'all the boys was full of sympathy an' interest, an' wanted him to haveevery show in the world. They wanted his mind to be utterly free fromcare, so that he could give his full attention to tackin' up a DiamondDot record that would arouse the envy of the entire West, an' Flappywas in fine shape to do it. 

We all started out to find Dick, whether he was still hidin' around theranch or had started to hike; but it was Barbie herself who found him. She came racin' along with a herd of dogs, friskin' an' rompin' thesame as they was; but when she came onto Dick readin' her book shesimmered down immejet. When he looked up an' saw her he seemed like afeller wakin' up out of a dream. It didn't break on him all at once;but when it did, he looked as guilty as a sheep-herder. He stood up an'bowed an' helt out the book an' stammered, an' all in all, it waspainful to watch 'em. None of us was able to figger out why they actedthis way ever time they happened to meet; but they did. 

Well, after he'd apologized a couple o' chapters she told him 'at shewas nearly through with the book, an' if he'd come up to the houseafter supper she'd be glad to let him take it. After supper up he wentto the house an' sent ol' Mellisse in for it. When he got it he wentback to the cook-shack an' stayed up all night readin' it. One of theboys what got in about two o'clock said 'at he was just about halfthrough with it the second time when he came along. Books is the sameas opium to some folks. After that Barbie used to send him down bookspurty often, an' he used to get a world of comfort out of 'em. 

One afternoon when Dick was cookin' up a stew Jabez came out an' sat ona cracker-box talkin' to him. He allus seemed to have a likin' forDick, an' used to chat with him right consid'able. This afternoon hegot to spreadin' himself about how much money the place handled everyyear an' how much the' was invested in it, an' what a great thing thecattle industry was to the entire country. Jabez had his vanities allright, an' he used to parade 'em occasional an' got a heap o' comfortout of 'em. Dick went along seasonin' an' addin' an' stirrin' an' notseemin' to pay a mite of attention, until finally Jabez got tired ofappreciatin' himself, an' sez, "Well, what do you think of this littleplant anyway?"

"Do you like the scenery around here, or do you have to live here onaccount of your health?" sez Dick, sort of unconcerned like. 

Jabez looked at him about a minute to kind of get the drift of hisremark, an' then he sez, "What do you mean by that?"

"Why, " sez Dick, "you ain't makin' two percent profit, an' I was justwonderin' what you stayed here for--if it wasn't for somethin' elsebeside the filthy looger. "

Jabez, he jumps to his feet an' goes all through it again, tellin' allhe has took in an' all he has paid out; while Dick kept attendin' tohis pots an' pans the same as if he was stone deaf. Jabez rattled on anended up with: "An' this here ranch has the best water an' the bestrange an' the best shelter of any ranch in the state. What do you thinkof that?"

"Why, I think it all the more reason why it should pay a businessprofit, " drawls Dick. "Only last week I heard you complainin' somethin'fierce because you had to put up for a new freight-wagon. The greattrouble with you is that you don't have no system. You need a manager, a man who takes an interest in modern progress, a man who sees that therest o' the men pay a profit. I don't mean a foreman, you got plenty o'them. I mean a business man. You ain't no business man; you don't likeit. "

Well, Jabez was stupefied. He'd never had no wage-earner dump advice onhim before, an' here was a tramp, as you might say, who started in bytelling him that what he really needed was some one to run his businessfor him. He didn't fly up through. He just rose an' gave Dick asearchin' look, an' then he meandered up to the house; an' you couldtell by the very droop of his shoulders that what he was doin' wasthinkin'. 

The upshot of it was that when Flappy was hauled out to the ranch thenext week, an' as soon as he got so he could tell fire from water, Dickfitted up an office in the North wing; an' about fifteen minutesafterward we all felt the difference. From that on everything ran likea round-up. Dick didn't boss none, he just pointed out the best way, an' we did it. All those answers we had told him about calves an'winter hay an' such-like had simply gone in one ear--an' stuck to theinside of his mental gearing. He discovered that Jabez had been stuckfor further orders on most of his supplies, an' had allus managed towin the bottom price whenever it came his turn to make a sale. 

Well, Dick was a perpetual surprise party. You could tell by the colorof his skin that he was an indoor man; but he sat a hoss like a cowpuncher, an' as soon as he got things runnin' to suit him on our placehe got to makin' side trips to the other ranches. He would spend twohours talkin' about the weather; but at the end o' that time, he knewmore about a man's outfit than the owner himself. Then he ordered out alot of stock papers, an' the first thing we knew, we was askin' himquestions about things 'at we'd allus supposed we savvied from tail tomuzzle. He seemed to like me more'n the rest, an' chose me out to behis ridin' pal an' what he called an A. D. Kong, which was simply theFrench for messenger boy; but Dick never unloaded a lot of talk abouthimself. You wouldn't notice it, but he allus managed to have the otherfeller do most o' the talkin'. 

When winter came he took a trainload o' cattle clear to Chicago an'brought back twenty bulls--dandies! Big white-faced fellers withpool-table backs an' stocky legs, an' they sure made the other stufflook like the champion scrubs of creation. No one in our parts had everseen such cattle, an' for the rest of the winter we helt a fair an'booked enough orders for calves to make a man nervous. Jabez had gonealong, an' it must have ganted him consid'able to heave out the wampumfor that bunch; but you should have seen him swell up when folks got totalkin' about 'em. He was game though, an' gave Dick the credit. Hethought Dick was the whole manuver by this time. 

Barbie an' Dick had got over givin' antelope starts every time theymet; but they wasn't what you would call friendly by a long ways. Dickhad worn a rough lookin' beard when he first arrived; but afterward hehad trimmed it to a point, an' it made him look some like a doctor. Hisears were set tight to his head, an' he had a proud nose; but it washis hands an' his eyes that set him apart. His hands were fair size butwhite, an' they stayed white. They had a nervous way of fussin' aroundwith things whenever he got to thinkin'; but after all, the thing thatwas the final call was his eyes. They were bright an' set in underheavy brows; but they never seemed tryin' to bend you, like some eyesdo, they just seemed so completely sure of what they saw, an' theyseemed to have seen so much beforehand, that a feller was tempted tostick to the truth in front of 'em--even when it wasn't altogetherconvenient. Dick was the first cold-blooded man I ever liked, an' hewas sure cold-blooded at this period. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

HAPPY MAKES A DISCOVERY

Now dogs an' Barbie was allus exceedin' intimate. Dogs just doted onher, an she recipercated full measure; but she had one dog what wasonly a dog by what they call an act of courtesy. It must 'a' weighedfully two pounds, an' had bushy hair at that. It had a bark to it likeone o' these intellectual dolls what can say Ma-maa, Ma-maa, but thecritter was as proud o' this bark as though it shook all the buildin'son the place. The blame thing wasn't physically able to inflict muchmore damage than a mosquito, but it was full as bloodthirsty, an' ithad took a keen disregard for Bill Andrews. 

Bill Andrews was still the foreman, an' one day he was on his way tothe office to make a report to Dick when this imitation dog camesailin' around the corner an' took a grab at his leg. He had abrand-new pair of pants on, an' they was outside his boots. You knowhow corduroy tears when the dye has been a bit too progressive. Well, the pup loosened up a piece like a section of pie. Bill Andrews losthis Christian fortitude, give that toy muff a kick that landed himfifteen feet--an' Barbie came around the corner, an' Dick came out ofthe office at the same time. 

The poor little pup was a-layin' on his back yelpin' like a love-sickbob-cat; a white rage came over me an' I pulled out my gun; but beforeI could use it Dick had sailed into him without a word. Bill Andrewswas too flustered to pull his own gun, so he put up his hands, but itdidn't do no good. Dick caught him under the chin, an' the back of hishead struck the ground several moments before his feet arrived. It wasa beautiful blow; I never seen a neater. I don't reckon Barbie ever dideither; 'cause as soon as she had gathered up the pup she walked up toDick an' sez, "I want to thank you for this, an' to say that I am inyour debt to the extent of any favor what's in my power. " Course Dickwas locoed the same as usual. His face looked like the settin' sun, an'he couldn't pump out a word to save him. Them two found it mighty hardto overcome the first prejudice they'd felt again each other. 

Bill Andrews he set up after a bit, with his hands on the ground, bracin' himself while he was tryin' to recall the history of the fewprecedin' moments. Dick looked down at him calmly an' said, "As soon asyou have apologized to Miss Judson you may come into the office and weshall transact our business. " Then he lifted his hat, whirled on hisheel, an 'stalked inside like as if he was a colonel. 

Bill Andrews was purty tol'able low-spirited; but he handed out asaffectin' an excuse as he could dream up, and as soon as Barbie hadspoke her piece he slouched into the office purty consid'able cargoedup with conflictin' emotions. I'd ruther shoot a man an' not kill him, than to be the cause of makin' him look ridiculous before a woman--thatis, a revengeful sneak like what Bill Andrews was. 

As soon as he an' Dick got through with their talk, an' it was a purtytol'able lengthy confab at that, Bill Andrews went to the boss an'tendered in his resignation. Cast Steel accepted it mighty hearty, 'cause Barbie had just been callin' on him; an' that very mornin' Dickmade Pete Hanson foreman. 

Next night the office safe was opened an' fifteen hundred dollars wastook. Every one thought right away of Bill Andrews, an' the ol' mansent us out in pairs to scour the country. The' wasn't much scourin' tobe done, how-ever, 'cause we found Bill Andrews on the next ranch, an'they was ready to swear 'at he hadn't left it all night. The' wasn't noone else that any one felt like suspectin'. Jabez wasn't the man toweep over upsettin' a can o' condensed, an' purty soon the theft wasforgot an' everything was runnin' along as smooth as forty quarts o'joint-oil. 

The ol' man kept dependin' more an' more on Dick, until finally Dickgot to signin' checks, orderin' all the supplies, an' takin' fullcharge; while Jabez spent most of his time taggin' around after Barbie. They was like a couple o' young children; but Barbie wasn't quite sohigh-headed with Dick after the dog affair, an' they got to ridin'together quite a bit themselves. Barbie was just as good friends withme as ever; but I could see--any one could see--that Jabez was willin'to call Dick a son-in-law just the minute that Barbie was. 

By the time he had been there a year Dick was the big head chief, an'the ranch was boomin' along like a river steamboat. He allus got thebest of everything in the way of supplies, an' every laddie-buck in theWest knew of it; so 'at a Diamond Dot puncher didn't throw up his jobjust for exercise. The' was a swarm o' white-faced calves, an' abouthalf of 'em wore other fellers' brands, which was a receipt for a lotof fancy money, so 'at Jabez was as well satisfied as the men; an' evenBarbie had come to own up that Dick was the fittin'est man in thoseparts. I could read every thought in her head, an' it hurt me to thinkthat at last I had dropped back to second fiddle; but I could see thatDick had had chances that I hadn't had, an'--an' I allus aim to playfair, so I took to ridin' alone an' workin' harder than I was used to. 

She could strum a guitar till you'd be willin' to swear it was theheavenly harps of the Celustial Choir; an' she an' Dick used to loafaround in the moonlight makin' melody 'at was worth goin' a good longways to hear. They sure made a tasty couple, an' all the boys used tolike to see 'em together. In fact, the whole Diamond Dot was asmatch-makey as a quiltin' bee. 

One moonlight night I'd been up to ol' Monody's grave, an' I camewalkin' back about half-past nine. It was more'n twelve years since Ol'Monody had passed over, but it didn't seem that long. Just as I turneda corner; I heard a laugh that seemed to float to me from a long waysback in the past. It was Jim Jimison's laugh, an' as I came around thecorner of the house there he stood with his back to me, talkin' toBarbie. "Well, for the Gee Whizz!" I cried. He turned, an' it was Dick. We looked into each other's eyes a moment, an' then I forced a laughan' went on to the stallion stable, where I sat down to puzzle it out. 

It wasn't very long before Dick came to me an' held out his hand. Itook it, an' we gave an old-time grip. "I was wonderin' how long itwould be before you saw through me, " he sez. 

I got the moon in his face an' looked at him a long time. Of course adozen years and the beard made a lot of difference, but not near all. When I'd left him, he was only a boy, a boy all the waythrough, --looks, words, actions; while now he was a man an' a sizey oneat that. It ain't years alone that make any such change. I knew in aminute that Jim had been through something that was mighty near toonarrow to get through. "Well, " sez I, "what's the story?"

"You put me on my feet, Happy, " sez he, "an' after you left I just kepton goin'. I tended to my stuff, an' I improved it an' I took on newranges, an' I made it go, I sure made it go. Then the Exporters CattleCompany got after me. My range was needed to fill a gap between two o'their ranges, an' they tried to make me sell. 

"I didn't want to sell, I was makin' money an' I was layin' it up; andI wasn't ready to stop workin' at my age, so I fought back. I didn'tstand any show. There's a bunch o' these big companies that are all thesame, under different names, an' they fought me on the ground an' onthe railroads, an' at the stock yards; they tried to turn my men againme; they had my stuff run onto their range, an' then tried to preventmy gettin' it back. I didn't mind their open warfare; but theirunderhanded ways drove me wild. One o' their agents used to dog mearound every time I'd go to town. He'd grin an' ask me if I wasn'tready to sell out YET. I finally closed out the cattle, an' started toraise only horses. One night my three thorough-bred stallions had theirthroats cut, an' then next time I went to town he came in when I waseatin' my supper, grinnin' as usual, an' asked me if I thought raisin'hosses would pay. 

"I knew what his game was an' tried my best to hold in, but I couldn'thelp tellin' him that I didn't suppose it would pay quite so well ashirin' out to murder hosses would. This was enough for him; he calledme everything he could lay tongue to, and when I rose to my feet hepulled his gun. The other men in the room were beginnin' to sneer atme, but I knew the consequences, and started to leave. He grabbed me bythe shoulder an' whirled me around. 'Git down on your knees, ' he sez, 'an' 'pologize to me. '

"That was my limit. My cup was nearly full of coffee, an' I dashed thecoffee in his face, hoping to get hold of his gun. But he jumped backan' fired. He missed me, an' I hit him in the center of the foreheadwith the coffee cup. It was big an' heavy, and it--killed him. This wasjust what the bunch wanted; but in spite of their precautions I gotaway, came north, and got into another business; but that didn't suiteither; so here I am, with the worst gang in this country achin' to gettrack o' me. "

"How long ago was this, Jim?" sez I. 

"Call me Dick, " sez he. "It was about four years ago now. I leased myland for more'n enough to pay taxes, but I suppose it will all blow upsometime, an' they'll get me in the end. "

"I don't suppose the' 's any way to go back an' square it, is there?"sez I. 

"Hell, no!" he sez, bitter as death. "They own Texas. "

"Haven't you any friends there who would swear it was self-defense?"sez I. 

"I've got plenty of friends there--that's how I got away; but theydon't dare to fight that cattle crowd in the open, " sez he. 

"Looks purty bad, " sez I. 

"It's rotten bad!" sez he. "But this is business all right. Whenever Ihear any one talk about the morals of business it drives me wild. The'ain't any morals in business. The best it ever is, is straightgamblin'--I say the BEST it ever is, is straight gamblin'"--Jim's voicewas gritty with wrath--"while at the worst, " he went on, "it stoops tomurder, wholesale and retail, it ruins homes, it manufactures thievesan' perjurers an'--"

"You remind me of a feller named Fergoson, " sez I. "He said that at thebest, business was stealin'. "

"I like him, " sez Jim, or I suppose I better say Dick. "I like him. Youcouldn't fool him with a lot o' pleasant names for things. He dealt inthe spirit of a deed. I like him. "

It wasn't much peculiar that I hadn't recognized the boy. As he talked, I could see the caged tiger glarin' out through his eyes, an' I knewthat something wild would happen if the bars ever broke. 

"I'm mighty sorry, Dick, " sez I. 

"Oh, I ain't through with 'em yet. I'm not clear out of the game. Youdon't need to think 'at they've broke me, " sez he. 

"I wasn't thinkin' o' you, " I said in a low tone. 

He drew in his breath, an' the noise he made was half way between a soban' a groan. "My God!" he said between set teeth. "Do you think that Ihaven't carried that cross also? But I've changed a lot in five years, an' they won't think of me at the Diamond Dot. Happy, I've got a schemefor organizin' the cattlemen o' the Northwest to fight that Texas crowdan' whip 'em out o' the business. I know the game from A to Z, an' if Ican just work it through without comin' out in the open I can beat 'em. "

"Mebbe, " sez I, "but it's exposin' her to a mighty big risk. "

"I'll never do that, whatever happens, " sez he. 

"As long as this Texas crime hangs over you, it hangs over her too, "sez I, "an' as soon as your fight gets under way they'll turn yourrecord inside out, an' you know it. "

He gripped his hands together an' punched a hole in the ground with hisheel, an' you could tell by his face that he was mighty sorry hecouldn't have picked out the face he'd have liked to have under hisheel instead of the ground. Finally he put his hand on my shoulder an'sez, "Well, Happy, you allus did have the gift of hittin' the nail onthe head; an' I'll promise that no matter what comes up, I won't doanything to risk the happiness of--of Barbie. You just remember to keepon callin' me Dick, an' I reckon I'll be content to let the revengepart go, an' just settle down with my head under cover. They didn'tremember me in the Chicago stock yards, an' you didn't recognize me; soI suppose it's safe enough, if I just keep quiet. "

We shook hands, an' he went back to the house; but I could easy seethat he was troubled. I stayed out with the stars purty late thatnight. It was clear an' bright an' peaceful when I looked up, but whenI tried to look ahead it seemed misty an' dark an' gloomy, so I lookedstraight up for a long, long time; an' then when they soothed me, asthey allus do, I went to bed an' slept like a log. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

A FRIENDLY GAME

About three days after this, a slick lookin' feller came ridin' inabout sun-down, an' of course they booked him for supper an' bed; astranger didn't want to expose himself to a meal at that outfit, less'nhe was in the mood to eat. He was a fine easy talker, an' he had indoorhands too, an' one o' these smiles what is made to order; what youmight call a candidate's smile--a sort o' lightin' up in honor o' theperson bein' addressed. Barbie had a bit of a headache, 'cause hercinch had broke that mornin' while she was havin' a little argumentwith a bad-actor; an' about eight o'clock she give us the fare-you-wellan' fluttered up to bed. 

So the four of us--me, Dick, the stranger, an' ol' Jabez--sat theresmokin' seegars an' tellin' anecdotes. About nine Piker, which was thename the stranger had handed in, sez, "Do you gentlemen ever indulge ina little friendly game?"

Now Dick had never throwed a card in his life, to my knowin'. The ol'man used to play some, but he was mighty choicy who he played with;while I--well, o' course, I played. Dick didn't say anything at first, but he give the stranger a long an' a curious look, as though he wastryin' to place him. He looked so long that both me an' the ol' mannoticed it. "I don't care to play, " sez Dick, blowin' a ring o' smoketo the ceilin'. 

The ol' man had been trottin' along without a break for a consid'ableof a stretch, an' the proposition looked amply sufficient to him, so hesez pleasantly, "Well, now, boys, it wouldn't be a bad way to spend theevenin'. We could make the stakes small an' we could have a rightsociable time together. "

'Tain't altogether wise to jump hasty at another man's idee of size. Ihad seen the ol' man sit in a game where steers was the ante an'car-loads the limit; but at that time I thought I knew just a littlewee mite more about the game than any other man what played straight, so I sez, "Well, I'll set in a while; but I don't care to lose more'n ahundred dollars"; which was just what I'd saved out for a littlevacation I was ruminatin' about. 

"Oh, we'll only play a quarter ante an' five dollar limit, " sez Jabez. "Come on, boys, clear the table an' let's get started. "

Dick didn't seem to want to play at all, but after the ol' man hadcoaxed him a little he drew up his chair an' we started in. The oldman's deck was purty tol'able careworn an' floppy, an' the strangersez, "I happen to have a couple o' new decks what have never beenopened. We'll open one in honor o' the occasion. "

"This deck is good enough, " sez Dick, an' he spoke purty harsh. As mean' the ol' man looked up, our glances met an' we showed surprise. Dickwasn't a bit like himself; but the stranger didn't take no offense, hejust smiled a bit careless an' put his cards on the stand, sayin, "Well, I'll just leave 'em here handy, an' if we decide to use 'emlater we can open 'em up. For my part, I like a new deck. "

"So do I, " sez the ol' man. "I'm sorry mine are so bum. I meant to sendfor some new ones a long time ago, but I allus forgot it. "

The stranger took out a healthy lookin' stack o' gold, Dick an' Jabezdid the same, an' my little squad o' yella fellers looked purtytol'able squeezy. Dick was tremendous sober; his face was pale, hiseyes were hid away beneath his brows, an' kept dartin' here an' therelike the eyes of a hawk. Now for me, I allus have a curious promonitionwhen anything is goin' to happen, an' I began to have it bad. 

Still the longer we played the easier Dick got in his ways, an' purtysoon he was smilin' as open-faced as a dollar watch. We played alongnice an' gentle; my luck arrived early, an purty soon the yella fellersbegun to percalate in my direction. About half-past ten Piker had todig up some more funds, an' he sez, "It's gettin' kind o' late, boys, let's raise the edge a bit. Hawkins there has had all the luck so far, an' when it changes we ought to have a show to get back our riskin's. "

"All right, " sez Jabez, "we'll double. "

"The stakes suit me all right, " sez Dick. "In fact, I'd ruther split'em. "

I was feelin' purty consid'able opulent myself, so I voted to double. 

"Three to one, " sez Piker, "the stakes are doubled. "

"The original agreement can't be changed durin' a game without theunanimous consent of all the players, " sez Dick, speakin' like a judge;"but as the rest of you wish it, I'll give mine. "

From that on the luck shifted. Two or three times I see a queer looksteal across the ol' man's face; but everything was out in the open, asfar as I could see. I played even Steven; but the wind shifted plumbaway from Jabez, an' he lost steady. Part of the time Dick corraled thepots, an' part of the time me an' Piker provided shelter for 'em: butno matter who won, the ol' man lost. 

Twice he frowned purty serious, an' once I caught him givin' Dick aqueer hurt look. The ol' man hadn't a drop o' welcher blood in hismake-up; but cheatin' was spelled in mighty red letters to 'im. Dickwas smilin' now as sweet as a girl baby, an' makin' funny, joshin'remarks, which was a new turn for him; but at the same time the' wassomethin' in his face that wasn't altogether pleasant. 

When midnight arrived Dick an' Piker was each about two thousand ahead, I was slidin' back to taw, an' the old man was payin' the fiddler. Wehad doubled the edge again at eleven, an' were usin' both the strangedecks, changin' every few deals. Then the luck began to settle to Dick. Two out of three times on his own deals, an' every single time onPiker's deals, the devidends slid into Dick's coffers, while I wasgrowin' resigned to havin' had a good run for my money. Jabez' face wasdrawn an' worried, which was queer, 'cause he was allus a royal loser. 

At last we had built up a four-story jack-pot, an' every feller's facewore the take-off-your-hat-to-me smile. It was Dick's deal an' we allheld three cards except Jabez who had furnished openers. He onlywintered through a pair, but after he looked at his draw he settledback to enjoy himself. I held three kings an' a brace o trays. Itlooked to me as if that jack-pot belonged to Happy Hawkins. Thepeculiar expression had wore off Jabez' face, an' his eyes had a gladglint in 'em. I was only in for my table stakes, so I didn't make muchof a noise, nohow; but the other three kept boostin' her up till itbegun to look like a man's game all right. 

"If you'll excuse the limit, I'd like to show my appreciation of thislittle hand by bettin' a hundred on it, " sez Piker. 

"I'm willin', " sez Jabez, "an' if it goes, why, I'll see yourappreciation an' raise you five hundred. "

"I don't have any more vote, " sez I, "just enjoy yourselves. "

"Oh, no, Happy, " sez Dick, as serious as a hangman; "no matter if weraise the edge every hand, you must vote on it each time. We must beperfectly regular, you know, because this is merely a friendly littlegame to pass away the evening, you remember. I shall make noobjections. "

Jabez had slid deep into his chair, an' now he had a fierce scowl onhis face. "That was MY toe you was a-pressin', " he sez, lookin' Pikerbetween the eyes. 

"I beg your pardon, " sez Piker, laughin' easy; "I thought it wasSilv--I mean Whittington's. I wanted him to keep still until after thishand was out. Then I'll be willin' to quit or go back to the old limit, or keep right along with the lid off. "

I glanced at Dick; an' talk about jerk-lightnin'! Well, I can't see yetwhat kept Piker from gettin' scorched; but Jabez was in a good humoragain from lookin' at his royalty, so he turns to Dick an' sez, "Now, Dick, Piker's company, you know, an' I reckon we'd better humor him. What do you say?"

"Off goes the lid, " sez Dick. 

They bet around awhile longer until nearly all of Dick's money was inthe pot an' Jabez had a neat little pile of checks representin' him. Then Dick bet his balance an' called. We all laid down with a satisfiedgrin. Jabez had queens full on jacks, Piker had three bullets an' ateam o' ten-spots; Dick had a royal straight flush, an' I had a nervouschill. Three aristocratic fulls an' a royal straight! Nobody spoke, an'the money stayed where it was, in the center of the table. Finally theof man sez, makin' an effort to speak cordial, "Well, I've had enoughfor one evenin', I guess I'll quit. "

"Now, boys, " sez Dick, in a low, husky voice, "I don't believe ingamblin'. I only went into this to be sociable, an' I want you all totake your money back. "

We sat an' looked at Dick with our eyes poppin' out, 'cause that wasn'tour way o' playin' the game in that neighborhood. Suddenly the ol' manwhirled an' glared at Piker. "What the hell do you mean by pressin' mytoe?" he growls between his set teeth. "This is the fourth time you'vedone it to-night. "

Piker seemed confused, an' mumbled an' stammered, an' couldn't hardlyspeak at all. "It ain't my custom to play with strangers, " sez Jabez, an' he was fast gettin' into the dangerous stage, "but you are myguest. I won't take my money back, but if Dick is willin', I'll writehim a check for yours an' you can take your condemned filthy gold an'get out o' here. "

"I ain't askin' my money back, " sez Piker. "I'm game, I am; but I can'tsavvy this scheme o' dividin' up after the game. " He paused a second, an' then sez clear an' distinct, "This ain't exactly the way 'at SilverDick used to play the game when he made a business of it. "

Piker leaned back an' stared at Dick in a sneerin' sort of way; whileme an' the ol' man stared at him with our eyes poppin' out. SilverDick, Silver Dick: every one in the West had heard of Silver Dick. Itdidn't seem possible; but as me an' Jabez sat gazin' at him, we knew'at our Dick was Silver Dick the gambler, an' the smoothest article, accordin' to reports, 'at ever threw a card. Dick didn't say a word;just sat there with his face pale as a sheet, an' his glitterin' blackeyes dartin' flame at Piker's nasty grin. 

"I see you don't recognize me with a full beard, " sez Piker; "but downat Laramie they called me Jo Denton. It was my cousin, Big Brown, thatyou shot. "

"Do you happen to know what I shot him for?" Dick's face was as hard asmarble, an' his voice was as cold as ice. 

"I wasn't there at the time, " sez Piker in an irritatin' voice, "but Iknow that it was because he spoke about it bein' a little peculiar thatyou held such wonderful good hands on your own deal. "

Dick didn't make no reply, but he slipped his hand inside his shirt, an' I knew he had his gun there. 

"I say that this was the EXCUSE for your shootin';" Piker went on, benton gettin' all the trouble the' was; "but I allus believed, myself, that it started over the woman you was keepin'. "

Dick's gun flashed in the air; but quick as a wink ol' Cast Steelknocked it up with his right hand, an' struck at Dick with his left. The bullet crashed through the ceiling, an' Dick grabbed Jabez' wristat the same instant. Piker made a quick snap under the table, a gunwent off, an' the bullet tore through the slack o' Dick's vest an'spinged into the wall behind him. 

Then I kicked off my hobbles an' sailed in on my own hook. Dick hadallus been white to me--an' back in the old days he was the squarestfeller on earth--so I felt mightly relieved when I caught Piker in thecenter of the forehead with a full left swing. It was a blow 'at nobodydidn't have no grounds to complain of. The chair flew over backwards, Piker's feet made a lovely circle, an' his head tried to insinuateitself into the mopboard. He remained quiet, an' I started in tosatisfy my curiosity. 

"Stay where you are, " commanded Dick, an' I stuck in my tracks. "No manis allowed to doubt my deal without havin' something to remind him ofit. I ain't a-goin' to kill that snake now; but I do intend to removehis trigger fingers. "

Dick still held Jabez by a peculiar twist in the wrist 'at made the ol'man wince a little; he held his gun ready, an' calmly sized up Piker'shand, which was flattened out again the wall. I stood where I was, an'the room was so quiet it hurt your ears. 

A grin of wolfish joy came into Dick's face as he stood there with hisgun back of his head an' his thumb on the hammer--of course he was asnap-shooter--these nervous fellers allus are. It seemed as if we hadall been in that same position for ages, when suddenly a voice said, "Why, Dad, what's the matter?"

It was Barbie with her hair all rumpled up an' a loose gray wrapper on. Dick dropped his hands to his side an' turned his face away; whileJabez put his arm about her an' told her that we had had a littlemix-up but that it was all over now an' she must go back to bed. Shereared up an' vetoed the motion without parley; but the ol' man finallyconvinced her, an' she agreed to go if we'd promise not to stir up anymore trouble. Me an' Jabez promised quick, but Dick never said a word. She looked him in the face mighty beseechful, but he wouldn't look ather; an' when he finally promised not to START any more fuss his voicewas so low you could hardly hear him. 

She was pale as a ghost, an' Dick's voice made her all the moresuspicious. "I'll not go one step, " she said at last, sinkin' down in achair; but Dick walked over to her an' asked her to step into the nextroom with him a minute. They only talked together a few moments, an'then we heard her give a stifled sob an' go back upstairs. I never seesuch a change as had come over Jabez. His face was drawn an' haggardlike the face of a man lost in the desert without water. 

The time had come at last when another man stood between hisdaughter--his greatest treasure on earth--an' himself. I rememberedwhat Friar Tuck had said about the time comin' when she'd be all girlan' would stand before him with the questions of life in her eyes, an'I pitied him, God knows I pitied him. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CAST STEEL

Jabez had got the rope on himself when Dick came back, an' he spoke tohim in the voice of a father sayin' farewell to the son who had gonewrong once too often. "I don't care nothin' about the money, Dick, " hesaid. "You'd 'a' been welcome to all I had; but I can't forgive youabout my little girl. You made her love you, you schemed to do it, an'you came here with that end in view. I trusted you from the ground up, but I can see a heap o' things now 'at I wouldn't see before. I had aletter written from Bill Andrews tellin' me 'at he had heard you brag'at you intended to get holt o' my money, an' that it would pay me tosearch you instead o' suspectin' him--"

"Where was the letter from?" asked Dick. 

"Laramie, " sez the ol' man. 

"Kind o' curious, " sez Dick, an' his vice was as bitter as the dregs o'sin; "that's where Denton came from too. "

"You deceived me all along, " sez the ol' man, not payin' much heed toDick, but speakin' mostly to himself. "You know 'at what I hate worse'nanything else is deceit--an' here you've been fast an' loose withwomen--" Dick tried to say somethin', but the ol' man stopped him. "That was bad enough, " he went on, "but I'm no fool; I know the world, an' I could forgive you a good deal; but hang it, I never could forgiveyou bein' a professional gambler--a man that lives by deceit an'trickery an' false pretenses. Lookin' back now, it strikes me as bein'mighty curious how you got the best o' Piker's deals too. Was Piker orDenton, or whatever his name is, a gambler too?"

"He was, " answered Dick in a low tone. 

The ol' man squared himself, an' his face was as fierce as the face ofan ol' she bear. "Of all the human snakes I ever heard of, you crawlthe closest to the ground. You come here an' act as square as a man canuntil you have made us all think the world of ya; an' yet in your blackheart you were all the time plottin' to get my money, usin' my littlegirl as a burglar would use a bar to open a safe with. Even then youcouldn't wait in patience; your inborn cussedness forced you to stealan' cheat--and yet, boy, I could almost forgive you for deceivin' me, but I can't never forgive you for deceivin' my little girl. You standthere with a gun in your hand an' I stand here with none; you brag 'atno man can't doubt your dealin' without havin' cause to remember it;but I tell you to your teeth that you're a sneak an' a cheat an' alow-grade coward. "

Dick stood with his head thrown back an' his left hand clenched, whilehis right gripped the butt of his gun so fierce that the knuckles stoodout white as chalk an' the veins was black an' swollen. His bosom washeavin', his teeth showed in a threatenin' white line, an' all thesavage th' was in him was cryin' kill, kill, kill!

He tottered a little when he took a step toward Jabez; but he laid thegun on the table with the butt pointin' towards Jabez, an' then he wentback to the wall an' folded his arms. He stood lookin' at Jabez for amoment, an' then he sez slow an' soft an' creepy: "Every word you havesaid from start to finish is a lie; and you yourself are a liar. "

The ol' man choked. He loosened the collar around his neck, fairlygaspin' for breath; an' then he grabbed up the gun an' held it ready todrop on Dick's heart. A curious expression came over Dick as he lookedinto Jabez' face; a tired, heart-achy smile as though he'd be so gladto be all through with it that he wouldn't care a great deal how it wasdone. Ol' Cast Steel was livin' up to his name if ever a man did. The'wasn't a sign of anger in his face by this time, nothin' but one grimpurpose, an' it was horrid. It looked like a plain case o' suicide onDick's part, an' I was just makin' up my mind whether or not it wouldbe polite to interfere, when the door opened noiselessly an' Barbiestood in the openin'. 

She seemed turned to stone for a second, an' then she gave a spring an'grabbed the ol' man's arm. "Jabez Judson, what are you doin'?" shesaid, an' the' wasn't much blood relation in her tone. 

The ol' man lowered his gun an' sank into a chair, while Barbie stoodwith her hands on her hips an' looked from one to the other of us. Thenit would be the time for our eyes to hit the carpet. "Now I want toknow the meanin' o' this, " sez she, "an' I want the full truth. This isnice doin's over a game o' cards. I wish I had thought to set up a bar, so you'd all felt a little more at home. What's it about?"

We didn't none of us seem to have a great deal to say, but just stoodthere lookin' foolish. Finally Dick came out of it an' sez, "I havebeen accused of cheatin' an' lyin' an' stealin'. The circumstantialevidence is all again me, so I shall have to go away, but you rememberall I told you out in the other room--an' on our rides across theplain, an' on our walks in the moonlight; an' Barbie, girl, don't youbelieve a word of it. 

"Good-bye, Happy--I know you an' you know me. Jabez Judson, I know itain't no use to attempt any explanation; but I give you my word ofhonor--an' I set just as much store by it as any man in all theworld--that I never stacked a deck o' cards in my life, an' I neverheld a single underhanded thought again you; while as for Barbie--well, Barbie knows. Good-bye. "

Dick turned on his heel an' stalked out o' the room, Barbie droppedinto a chair sobbin', an' me an' the old man continued to look like thegenuine guilty parties. Then it occurred to me that mebbe it would bewise to see if Piker was worth botherin' with. First thing I did thoughwas to see where he had helt his gun when he fired beneath the table. The' wasn't no gun on the floor, an' I couldn't nowise savvy it. 

He had one gun in his holster, but he couldn't have pulled it outwithout bein' seen, an' he couldn't have put it back, nohow. I wasplumb mystified, an' had about give it up when I came across it. I ownup it was a clever dodge, but snakish to an extreme. He had fashioned arig just above his knee, an' when he had sat down the gun had beenpointin' at Dick all through the game, an' nothin' but Jabez makin'Dick move had saved him. It was a blood-thirsty scheme, an' I felt likestampin' his face into a jelly. 

His head was still bent over an' he was black in the face; but when Istraightened him out an' soused a lot o' water over him, he came out ofit, an' I fair itched to make him eat his gun--knee-riggin' an' all! Hesat up an' began to tell what a low-down, sneakin' cuss Dick had allusbeen. I let him sing a couple o' verses, an' then I sez: "Now, you lookhere, you slimy spider. Dick's too busy just now to attend to your casean' if you don't swaller them few remarks instant I'll be obliged toprepare you for the coroner myself. I've knowed Dick sometime, an' I'veknowed several other men; an' I know enough to know that such adust-eatin' lizard as you never could know enough to know what such aman as Dick was thinkin' out or plannin' to do. An' furthermore, you'rea liar in your heart, an' still further more, I don't like your face;an' one other furthermore--the longer I look at you the madder I get!My advice to you, an' I give it in the name o' peace an' sobriety, an'because the' 's a lady present, is to start right now to a moresalubrious climate--you an' your knee-gun an' your black lies an' yourmarked decks. Do you hear what I say? Are you goin' to go?"

I was surely losin' my temper; the' was a blood taste in my throat, an'when I asked him the question I kicked him gently in the chest, just tolet him know 'at I was ready for his verdict. 

He was a coward. He just lunched himself away from me on his back an'whined somethin' about only tryin' to show us the truth an' not wantin'any trouble, an' a lot o' such foolishness; but I soon wearied of it, an' grabbed him by the collar an' yanked him to his feet, an' sez, "Nowanswer me one question--who told you that Dick was here?"

"Bill Andrews, " he sez; an' I opened the door an' kicked him throughit: but in a minute back he comes, cringin' like a cur. "Don't send meaway until after I see what direction Silver takes, " he whimpered. "Henever forgives; He'll kill me if he sees me; let me stay until after hestarts. "

I laughed. "Why, you fool you, " I sez, "if he SHOULD happen to ruin youbeyond repair you don't imagine any one would put on mournin' do ya?But if it's goin' to make your mind any easier I stand ready to giveyou a written guarantee 'at he won't use any knee-gun to do it with. Now you get; I'm strainin' myself to keep from spoilin' you on my ownhook. "

I was in an advanced state of bein' exasperated, an' I walked up to himintendin' to brand him a few with the butt of his own gun, when Barbiespoke low an' cold, but in a voice fairly jagged with scorn: "Let thecreature alone; I don't want Dick to soil his boots. " Barbie's voicehad lost its college finish, an' she was in the mood to do a littleshootin' herself just then. 

Dick finished his packin' in short order, an' went out an' saddled hispony an' rode away toward Danders an' Laramie. We all set likecorpse-watchers for half an hour longer, an' then Jabez straightened upan' sez to Piker; "Take your money out o' that pot an' never get caughtin this neighborhood again. Your partner started toward Laramie; whenyou see him tell him I'll send the full amount o' the pot to him assoon as he sends me his address. You can also tell him that I'll killhim if he ever sets foot on this ranch again. "

Barbie was standin' at the window lookin' out into the moonlight whichhad swallered up the best part of her world. When Jabez finishedspeakin' she turned around an' looked at Piker. "I can't figger outjust whose dog-robber yon are, " she sez; "but next time you go gunnin'for Silver Dick--you better take the whole gang with you. "

It fair hurt me to see Barbie's face, so hard it was an' so differentfrom the real Barbie: but it warmed my heart to hear the way she madethat Silver Dick ring out. Oh, she was a thoroughbred every inch ofher, that girl was. Piker didn't say a word; he just picked up his coinan' walked out o' the room, an' I raised up the window an' drew a deepbreath. The blame pole-cat had managed to slip out an' saddle his ponyabout supper time, an' in a second he dashed away toward Webb Station, mighty thankful in his nasty little heart that he wasn't bound forhell, where he rightly belonged. 

"Did you ever know Dick before he came here, Happy?" asked Barbie. 

"I swear to heaven that I never knew that our Dick was Silver Dickuntil this very night, " sez I; "but I'd be willing to stake my life onhis word, an' I'd take it again the word of any other livin' man--barnone. "

"Thank you, Happy. Good-night. " She held her head high as she walkedout o' the room; but I knew that livin' serpents was tearin' at herheart. 

Ol' Cast Steel sat for an hour, his chin on his hands an' his elbows onthe table, lookin' at the pile of money an' checks on the table beforehim. 

"Gold, gold, gold!" he mutters at last; "it builds the churches an' theschoolhouses an' the homes; an' it fills the jails and the insaneasylums an' hell itself. It drives brother to murder brother, an'neither love nor friendship is proof against its curse. It starvesthose who scorn it, while those who pay out their souls for it findthemselves sinking, sinking, sinking in its hideous quicksand until atlast it closes above their mad screams. God! if I only had my life tolive over!"

That was just the way he said it, deep an' hoarse an' coning betweenhis set teeth; an' I felt the hair raisin' on my head. He looked like alost soul, an' the whites of his eyes showed in ghastly rings aroundthe pupils. 

"You take this rubbish, Happy, " sez he, turnin' on me. "You're too muchlike the birds an' the beasts for it to ever injure you. Take it an'spend it--drink it, throw it away, burn it up, destroy it, an' when itis gone come back here an' live in the open again an' you'll never befar from the spirit of God. "

Well, I knew it was ol' Cast Steel who was speakin', but it was mightyhard to believe it. "I don't mean no disrespect to you, Jabez, " I sez, edgin' toward the door, "but I'll see you damned first. " An' I slidoutside an' straddled a pony an' rode till the dawn wind blew all thefever out of me an' let the sunshine in. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

FEMININE LOGIC

Well, the Diamond Dot was sure a dismal dump after that. Every one hadliked Dick; but they didn't know how much until he was snuffed out likethe flame of a candle. The ol' man had me make a stagger at fillin'Dick's shoes; but it wasn't what a truthful man would call a coal-ossalsuccess. Dick had left a lot of directions, tellin' how to judge themarkets an' how to make improvements without feelin' the cost, an' adozen other things that. I had allus supposed was simply a mixture o'luck an' Providence; but it wasn't in my line to figger things out onpaper. Give me the actual cattle an' I could nurse 'em along throughsand-storm an' blizzard, an' round 'em up in the President's back yard;but at that time they didn't signify much to me when they was corraledup on a sheet of paper. When it cane to action I was as prepossessed asa clerk at a pie counter; but I didn't have the slightest symptom ofwhat they call the legal mind. 

The' wouldn't much 'a' come of it; but one day Barbie came out of herdaze an' walked into the office where I was sweatin' over some ofDick's prognostications, stuck a pencil behind her ear, an' waded into'em; an' from that on I took off my hat to a college edication. Dickmay have been on the queer all right, but he was smooth enough to hideit. Anyhow, ol' man Judson's bank account was a heap plumper'n it waswhen Dick had his first whack at it, an' Dick had drawn a mightystately salery himself. But he earned it, for the ranch was in strictlymodern order an' runnin' on a passenger schedule. 

It allus gave me a hurtin' in the chest to see either Barbie or the ol'man himself those days. The' was a set look in Barbie's eyes; cold an'unflinchin' an' defiant. I once saw the same expression in the eyes ofa trapped mountain lion. The ol' man's face was all plowed up too. Hereminded me of an Injun up to Port Bridger. A Shoshone he was from theWind River country, an' he had the look of an eagle; but he got a holtof some alcohol an' upset a kettle o' boilin' grease on himself. Helived for eight days with part of his bones stickin' through, but nevergivin' a groan; an' I ain't got the look of his face out o' my systemyet. Jabez reminded me of it a heap: an' he was just about as noisyover it too. I never supposed that the Diamond Dot could get to lookin'so much like a desert island to me. I got to feelin' like one who hadbeen sent up for life, an' I would sure have made a break for freedomif it hadn't been for the little girl. I couldn't bear to leave her. 

One of the saddest things I ever see in my whole life was thedifference between the way she an' Jabez acted an' the way they usedto. I've heard preachers beseech their victims to live in peace an'harmony together, an' not to quarrel or complain; an' right at the timeit didn't sound so empty an' mockish; but when you come to boil it downthe' ain't nothin' in that theory. Why, I'd seen the ol' man huntBarbie all forenoon just to pick a quarrel with her; an' they wouldfuss an' stew an' revile each other an' keep it up all through dinner;an' then go off in the afternoon an' scrap from wire to wire; but theywas enjoyin' themselves fine, an' addin' to their stock of what iscalled mutual respect. Every time one of 'em would land it would cheerhim up an' put the other one on his mettle; an' they certainly did getmore comfort an' brotherly love out of it than most folks does out of aprayer-meetin'; but after Dick went away the' wasn't no more quarrels. No, they was as differential as a pair of Japanese ambassadors; an' shenever called him Dad again--never once! an' I could see hima-hunngerin' for it with the look in his eyes a young cow has when sheis huntin' for the little wet calf the coyotes has beat her to. It wasallus, "Yes, sir, " or "No, sir, " until I could almost hear the ol'man's heart a-breakin' in his breast. 

She never complained none, Barbie didn't. She plowed through her workas though it was goin' to bring him back to her; an' when she couldn'tthink of anything else to do she would tramp off to the hills or ridelike the wind over the roughest roads she could find. Time an' againshe wouldn't be able to sleep, but would steal out o' the house, an' wecould hear her guitar sobbin' an' wailin of in the night; but if Barbieherself ever shed a tear it never left a mark on her cheek nor put aglaze to her eye. 

The' was one knoll not far from the house which commanded the view along way toward Danders in one direction, an' a long way toward WebbStation in another, an' she spent about ten minutes each evenin' onthis knoll. Oh, it used to hurt, it used to hurt, to see that purtylittle light-hearted creature makin' her fight all alone, an' neverlettin' another livin' bein' come within hailin' distance. At times itwas all I could do to keep from goin' gunnin' for Dick myself. 

Once she sez to me, "Happy, if any mail comes to me I want to get itmyself, an' I want you to see that I do get it. "

"Barbie, " sez I, "as far as my feeble power goes you'll get your mail;an' if it happens to involve any other male--why, from this on, I'munder your orders. " She was grateful all right, an' tried to smile, butit was a purty successful failure. 

Soon the winter settled down an' the snow blotted out the trails, butshe never heard from him. The ol' man had wrote to the postmaster atLaramie, an' he had answered that Dick had allus played fair accordin'to the best o' his belief. He went on to say that Dick was generallycounted about the best citizen they had; but that after he had shut BigBrown he had pulled out an' no one knew where he was. He said 'at Brownhadn't died, which was a cause for sorrow to the whole town. He alsosaid that Denton would be a disgrace to coyote parents. He furthermorewent on to state that Dick still owned quite a little property inLaramie. The old man showed me an' Barbie the letter; but it didn'thelp much. 

When Thanksgivin' hove in sight the ol' man dug up a bottle o' whiskey, an' put on a few ruffles to sort o' stiffen up his back; an' one dayafter dinner he sez to Barbie, "Now you just stay settin'. " She was inthe habit of estimatin' just how little nurishment it would take to runher to the next feed, gettin' it into her in the shortest possibletime, an' then makin' a streak for it. 

"Now, little girl, " sez Jabez, tryin' to look joyous an' free fromcare, "you are leadin' too sober a life. I want to see you happy again. I want to see you laughin' about the house, like you used to. Can't yousort o' liven up a little?"

"I might, " sez she, with the first sneer I ever see her use on the ol'man, "I might, if you'd give me the rest o' the bottle you got your owngaiety out of. "

Cast Steel's face turned as red as a brick, an' his fist doubled up. "That's a sample o' your idee of respect, is it? You're gettin' tooinfernal biggoty. Now you pay attention. I want to have a littlegatherin' here Thanks-givin'. Will you, or will you not, see that thearrangements are attended to?"

"Yes, sir, " sez Barbie, lookin' down at her plate. "How many guestswill the' be?"

"Well, how can I tell?" sez Jabez. "Can you get ready for twenty?"

"Yes, sir, " answers Barbie, never liftin' her eyes. 

"Yes, sir; yes, sir; yes, sir!" yells the of man. "I get everlastin'tired o' your 'yes, sirs. ' Am I or am I not your ol' Dad?"

"If you prefer, I can call you father, " sez she, like she was talkin'to the moon through a telephone. "Dad is not correct English; it is akalowquism. "

This was allus like a pail o' water to the ol' man. Nothin' stung himany worse than to have her peel a couple o' layers off her edicationan' chuck 'em at him. 

"Do you know what is apt to happen if you keep on pesterin' me?" hesez, glarin' at her. "Do you think 'at you're too big to be whipped?"

She raised her eyes an' looked at him then. Poor feller, he could 'a'torn his tongue out by the roots the minute it was guilty o' that foolspeech; but she didn't spare him. She let him have the full effect o'that look, an' he seemed to shrivel up. "I reckon you're big enough towhip me--once, " she said; "but I'm of age, an' I'm mighty sure 'at thatwould be the finishin' touch 'at would break the bonds what seem tohold me to this house. I probably have bad blood o' some kind in me;but I'm not so ill-favored but what I can find a man to go along withme when I do conclude to go. " She looked at me, an' the ol' man lookedat me, an' I felt like a red-hot stove; but I straightened back in mychair, an' I cleared my throat. "I ain't no mind-reader, " sez I, "butI'm bettin' on that same card. "

The ol' man couldn't think up a come-back; so in about a minute hepushed back his chair, upsettin' it an' lettin' it lay where it fell. He went up to his room, slammin' the door after him, an' Barbie got outa pony an' galloped off to the hills. 

But the ol' man hadn't give up his project. He opened it again, an' wasmighty crafty in the way he handled it, until finally he engineered itthrough. The' was purt' nigh forty of 'em who arrived to make merryover Thanksgivin'. Some of 'em came the day before, an' some of 'em twodays before, an' some didn't arrive till the day itself, 'cause theyhad lived such a ways. The' was four women an' three unmarried ladies, countin' Miss Wiggins, the Spike Crick schoolmarm, who was a friendlylittle thing, though a shade too coltish for her years. Most o' the menwas still liable to matrimony. 

Jabez had an idee in his head, an' it didn't take no ferret to nose itout, neither. He was extra cordial to the store-keeper from WebbStation, an' a young Englishman by the name o' Hawthorn, finallysettlin' down to Hawthorn an' playin' him wide open. We had a mightysociable time, an' whenever we wasn't eatin' we played games. Barbiedid just exactly what of Cast Steel played her to do. She was toored-blooded to let an outsider see 'at she'd been bad hurt; so shebrazened up an' laughed an' danced an' sang, an' showed 'em games theyhadn't never dreamt of before. 

Most of 'em went home by Sunday night, but Hawthorn was prevailed uponto stay a week longer. He had a little ranch up in the hills, an'seemed a well-meanin' sort of a feller, but slow. He belonged to theshow-me club, an' had all his facical muscles spiked fast for fearthey'd come loose an' grin before he saw the point himself. 

Barbie see through the ol' man's lead, an' she took her revenge out onHawthorn. She would lean forward an' hold his eye, an' say, in thesweetest voice you ever heard, "Oh. Mr. Hawthorn, I want to tell yousomethin' that happened at school;" an' then she would start in an'tell some long-winded tale 'at didn't have no more point than a mushroom, an' as she told along she would call his attention to certaindetails as though they was goin' to figger in at the wind-up. When shewould reach the end she would break out in a peal o' spontuniouslaughter; while he would look as if he had been lost in the heart of agreat city without his name-plate on. Still, he had a certain breedylook about him, an' before the week was up she grew ashamed of her-selfan' showed him a good time. 

He was one o' these sad ones--sentimental an' romantic, with a bad caseo' chronic lonesomeness; an' one twilight he told her a pathetic littlelove story about a girl back in England what had had sense enough tocut him out of her assets when he had trooped over to this country topunch a fortune out o' beef cattle. This had been about five yearsprevious; but his heart still ached about it--though it hadn't cut hisappetite so you could notice. She treated him mighty gentle after this, an' when he started to ride away Jabez had the look of a man what hadfilled his hand. 

In about a week he came over an' stayed for a couple o' days, an' heshowed up at Christmas too; an' about once a week after that he'd dropin an' stay four or five days. Early in March he paid a visit to hisown ranch to ready things up for spring, an' the day after he was goneJabez sez to Barbie at dinner, "Now, Mr Hawthorn is a gentle man. Heasked me for the honor of winnin' your hand in holy wedlock; an' I havegive my consent. "

Barbie went along eatin' her meal, an' purty soon Jabez sez, "Well, didyou hear what I had to say?"

"Why, certainly I did, " sez Barbie, calmly. 

"What have you got to say about it?" sez he. 

"Oh, nothin' in particular, " sez she. "It was very polite in him toask, an' very kind in you to give your consent; but I can't see as itinterests me much. I can't see that he has any show of winnin' thehand. I promised that once, an' I ain't never got the promise back. "

"Yes, " snaps Jabez, "an' who did you promise it to? To a sneak whodidn't care a pin for you but was only after my money. If he was honestwhy didn't he ask me, the same as Hawthorn did?"

"Of course I can't tell for sure, " sez she, without raisin' her voiceor changin' her expression, "but I thought at the time that it was thehand itself he wanted, an' not merely permission to set an' wish forit. In this life a man generally gets what he asks for. Dick got thehand. "

"Seems to set a heap o' store by it, " sez the ol' man, edgin' up hisvoice cruel an' tantalizin'. "Where's this Dick now; when did you lasthear from this winner of hands?"

It was a fierce stab, an' Barbie went white as a sheet; but she facedhim cool an' steady. "I ain't never heard from him since the day heleft; but I trust him just the same. The hand will be his when hechooses to claim it; or if he never comes back at all--why the handwill still be his. "

Cast Steel got on his hind legs an' struck the table till every dish onit jumped, an' I rose a bit myself; but Barbie only curled her littlered lip. "Curse him, " sez the ol' man, "curse him, wherever he is an'wherever he goes. He has ruined my life an' he has ruined yours; an' ifhe ever steps foot on this ranch again, I'll--"

"Stop!" sez Barbie, springin' to her feet. "You give me more sadnessevery day I live than Dick has altogether; but for pity's sake don'tbind yourself by a threat. Wait till he comes back, an' be free to meethim like a man, not like a thug pledged to murder. "

"What do you know about him?" sez the ol' man, sittin' down. "For allyou know, he may be robbin' trains for a livin'. It would be right inhis line. "

"For all I know, robbin' trains was where you got your start, " sezBarbie; an' the of man's face turned gray an' his eyes stuck out likepicture nails. He wasn't used to gettin' it quite so unpolluted, an' itgave him a nasty jar. 

"How do you know 'at he ain't livin' with the woman he kept over atLaramie?" sez Jabez, tryin' to get the whip hand again. "How do youknow he ain't married?"

"An' how do I know 'at you ever was married--" she stopped short, bitin' her lip an' turnin' red with shame. "I know it's well nighhopeless to plead with a natural bully, " she sez in a new tone; "but Ido wish 'at you'd let me alone. You're destroyin' my respect foreverything. I can't stand this much longer. If I can't live here inpeace I'll have to hunt a new place to live; but as long as I do stayhere you will have to act like a man--even if you can't act like afather. I think that in the future I shall take my meals alone. "

"I do want to act like a father, little girl. That's what I want mostof all. If you would only go back to the old times, if you would onlyget this sneak out of your head"--Jabez had started in gentle an'repentent, but the minute he thought of Dick again he flared out whitewith rage--"an' you might just as well get him out of your head, 'causehe's the same as dead to you. I hate him! I hate every sneak; an' Ihate every lie--spoken or lived, I hate a lie!"

The ol' man leaned forward, shaking with anger, an' Barbie got up likea queen an' walked out o' the room as though she was steppin' on thenecks of the airy-stockracy. She went to the office, an' after a coupleo' minutes I follered her, expectin' to cheer her up a bit; but shewasn't mournin' none; she was workin' like a steam engine, with herface cold an' white except for a little patch o' red in each cheek; an'when she raised her eyes to mine I knew 'at the ol' man had gone a linktoo far. 

After me and Barbie had taken up Dick's work we had divided his wages, an' she had a nice little roll of her own corded away. I didn't ask noquestions, but it was plain as day that she had jerked up her tie-rope;an' the next time Cast Steel used the spurs he was goin' to be dumpedoff an' she was goin' to flit the trail for Never-again. I didn't blameher a mite; an' though I didn't pester her with queries nor smother herwith advice nor sicken her with consolation nor madden her with pity, Idid give her the man-to-man look, an' she knew 'at all she had to dowas to issue orders. 

It was that very afternoon that she started to correctin' my talk an'stimulatin' my ambition, an' tellin' me about it never bein' too lateto mend; an' while I couldn't quite decide just what she was drivin' atI saw that when she found she couldn't trust her cinches any longer wewas both goin' to jump together. About five o'clock she put her hand onmy shoulder an' sez: "We've been mighty good pals, Happy Hawkins; an'while you ain't parlor-broke nor city-wise, any time 'at anybody countson you they don't have to count over. "

She walked softly out o' the office, an' I sat until it was long afterdark. I couldn't believe 'at she was desperate enough to marry me; Icould see the gulf between us plain enough, an' the higher you are theplainer you can see the difference; but I could see that unless Jabezchanged his ways, why, the oldest man the' was couldn't tell how farBarbie would go. I didn't think a bit of myself, I can say that much;all I looked at was what would make her the happiest, an' she waswelcome to take my life any way she wanted. If she chose to drag it outfor fifty years, or if she selected that I cash it in the next hour, myonly regret would be that I hadn't but one life to give her. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

THE WAYS OF WOMANKIND

Things went along purty much the same after that; but I could see 'atthe ol' man sensed a new tone in things, an' he begun to look agey. Hewas still gallin' on Barbie, but I couldn't help but feel mighty sorryfor him. He had paid all them years 'at she was away at school, out o'the joy of his own heart, lookin' for his pay in the time when she'dcome back an' be his chum again, an' here they was with a wall of icebetween 'em an' nairy a lovin' glance to melt it down. 

The' come a warm spell toward the last o' the month; an' one evenin'just as we was finishin' supper we heard a cry o' distress in a man'svoice--an' the cry sounded like "Barbie!" I reckon all our hearts stoodstill, an' I reckon we all thought exactly the same thing. In about aminute the cry came again, an' the ol' man jumped to his feet an'pulled his gun. "If that's Silver Dick, " sez he, "I'll kill him. "

Barbie had also sprung up, an' she looked him square in the eyes. "Ifyou harm a hair of his head I'll--I'll do some shootin' myself. "

She pulled a little gun out of her bosom, an' we all stood quiet for amoment. It was easy to see 'at she wasn't bluffin': but I'm purty surethat Jabez an' I had different idees as to what she meant. Jabezthought she meant him self; but he hadn't got the name o' Cast Steelfor nothin', an' a sort of a grim smile crept onto his face. We stoodstill for a moment, an' then we went out together, an' before long weheard the sound again--a long, waverin', ghostly call in the gatherin'twilight. 

We hurried along, an' purty soon we saw a man lyin' across the trail. The ol' man held his gun in his hand, an' so did Barbie, while I walkeda step behind doin' a heap o' thinkin'. If the ol' man killed Dick, Barbie would shoot herself; if any one stopped the ol' man that onewould take on weight exceedin' fast, unless he crippled the of manfirst. I finally made up my mind that I would try to overpower the ol'man without hurtin' him, an' ol' Cast Steel was built like a grizzly. Ididn't enjoy that walk as much as some I've took. When we got close tothe figger lyin' in the trail we all walked a little crouchy. It lookedquite a little like Dick; but when we saw it wasn't nothin' but thatfool Hawthorn with a busted leg, we three looked like the receptioncommittee of the Foolish Society. 

I hustled back an' got Hanson an' a couple o' the boys and an ol' door, an' we fetched him home an' put him to bed an' sent for the doctor--an'that was the worst luck that ever happened to ol' Dick. You know how awoman is with anything hurt or sick; they're the same the world over. Aright strickly wise married man would have everything broke except hispocket-book, an' then he'd be sure o' lots of pettin'. They allus wantto spoil a feller when he's on the flat of his back. When he's walkin'around on his own feet all he needs to do is to express a desire, an'they vetoe it on general principles, an' after they've talkedthemselves dry they send out an' get the preacher to finish the job;but when that same vile speciment of masculine humanity gets some ofhis runnin' gear damaged, why they bed him on rose leaves, feed him onhoney, an', good or bad, they give him whatever he wants. Thisparticular feller wanted Barbie, an' Barbie was mighty gentle with him. 

Sometimes it seems to me that the only men who can understand a womanare the men who work a lot with the dumb creatures. Take an animal now, wild or tame, an' it hates to confess a weakness; it'll just go on headup an' eyes flashin' till it drops in its tracks--so will a woman. Takethe fiercest female animal the' is, an' it's all mother on the inside. Why, they're everlastin'ly adoptin' somethin' 'at don't rightly belongto 'em. Sometimes they go to work an' adopt a little straggler that ina regular way is their daily food; an' it ain't no step-mother affairneither, it 's the real thing. 

The wild animals are the best to study, 'cause the tame ones have beensome spoiled by associatin' with man. Well, the wild animals spend alltheir spare time dressin' up an' cleanin' their clothes, an' when itain't absolutely necessary they hate to get a toe wet; but when itcomes to love or duty, why fire, water, nor the fear o' man ain't goin'to stop 'em; so again I sez 'at the man what can savvy the wild animalscan get purty nigh within hailin' distance of woman, an' that's gettin'close; but you want to remember this, no animal never tells the truthto an outsider. The principle part o' their life is spent in throwin'folks off their trail, an' they allus make their lairs in the mostsecret places. If a feller ever gets to know 'em even a little he hasto be mighty patient an' mighty careful, an' above all things, hemustn't never get the idee that he knows every last thing about 'emthe' is to know, 'cause no man never knows that. Some men try toestimate a woman by their own earthy way o' doin' things. 'T would bejust as reasonable for a man who was purty wise to the ways of apug-dog to get inflated with the idee that he had a natural talent forhivin' grizzly bears. 

But to get back to my tale: this Englishman had fallen on his feet allright, even if the connection to one of 'em was busted up a bit. I wasaround 'em a good bit, bein' forced to consult with Barbie aboutthings, an' I was able to piece out the method he was usin'. He wasn'tsuch a fool as he looked, by consid'able many rods. He talked a heapabout the sacrifice he had made for the girl back in England, an' howmuch he had loved her an' how much Barbie had comforted him, althougheven yet he could not forget her. Once Barbie asked him what her namewas. For a moment he didn't answer, an' then he sez in a low voice, Alice LeMoyne. I lifted my face quick an' gave him a look, but hewasn't noticin' me. I didn't say anything; but I couldn't helpwonderin' if this Alice LeMoyne had anything to do with the dancer whathad married into the Clarenden family, an' then died. It was an oddname, but still I didn't reckon the' was a patent on it. 

Finally I could tell by their talk that Barbie had told him about Dick, an' then I knew the jig was about up. He allus spoke o' Dick in agentle, soothin' way, makin' every excuse for him; an' this made herthink him a noble-minded feller! an' the most natural outcome was for'm to just bunch their woes an' cling together for comfort. She allusused to sit by his side in the twilight, singin' sorrowful love songsto him, an' once I caught him holdin' her hand. You see she was justnaturally hungry for somethin' to pet an' care for; luck offered aspavined Englishman, an' she was tryin' to make the best of it. 

Jabez savvied this to the queen's taste, an' he got gentle an' lovin'to Barbie, an' did all he could to square himself; so that poor oldDick wasn't much more'n a memory, which is one o' the complicationsabsence is apt to cause after it gets tired o' makin' the heart growfonder. 

But hang it, I didn't like this Englishman more than the law required. The' didn't seem to be much harm to him; but he had washy eyes, an' hewas too blame oily an' gentle. I never heard him swear all through it, an' it ain't natural for a real man to stand on his back for eightweeks without havin' a little molten lava slop over into hisconversation. It was all I could do to keep from stickin' a pin intohim. 

"Barbie, " I sez one day, as innocent as an Injun, "I over-heard ourhonored guest tell you that a girl by the name of Alice LeMoyne put acrack in his heart over the water. "

"Yes, " sez she, with a sigh. 

"It don't seem to be a popular name, " sez I. "I've met lots o' womenwho wasn't called Alice LeMoyne. "

"It is probably French, " sez she. 

"It does sound like a circus, that's a fact, " sez I. "Well, you breakit to him gently that Alice LeMoyne is dead. Don't ask me anyquestions, but do be careful not to shock him, he seems purty highstrung. "

You might as well use sarcasm on a steer as on a woman; Barbie went upto Hawthorn with her eyes full o' pity, while I waited below an' madeup pictures o' the crockadile tears he'd pump up for her. All of asudden she gave a shriek. I hit the stairs, goin' forty miles an hour, an' there was Barbie with her hands clasped, lookin' down at theEnglishman. 

Well, he was enough to make a snake shriek. He was layin' there withhis head jerked back, his eyes wide open an' pointin' inwards, an'lookin' altogether like the ancient corpse of a strangled cat. Hishands was doubled up tight, an' the' was a little froth on his lips. I'd never seen nothing like that before, so I threw some water in hisface. That's about all the rule I know for any one who is missin' cogs, an' I poured enough water on him to please a duck. He didn't respondfor some several minutes, an' when he did come out of it he lookedloose all over. I helped Barbie get some dry stuff under him, an' thenI went down, wonderin' what kind o' dynamite for him they'd been inthat name I'd sent up. 

I tried to convince Barbie that his wires were all mixed up an' hewasn't healthy; but she argued that it showed a loyal nature to be soaffected by mention of his old sweet-heart, an' tried to pump me forwhere I had picked up the name. It looked too much like a chance shotto me; as this guy had only been among us a few years, an' I gatheredfrom Bill Hammersly that the Alice LeMoyne I was springin' hadjourneyed on, some several years earlier. 

But the Englishman continued to repose on his bed o' down, Barbie readto him, cooked little tid-bits for him, an' he opened up his nature an'gave a new shine to his eyes; while Jabez--well, Jabez was buoyant as aballoon, an' sent here an' there for nick-hacks an' jim-cracks an' suchlike luxuries. He got to callin' Hawthorn "Clarence" an' "my boy, " an'kindry epithets, till even a casual stranger would 'a' knowed the' wasa roarin' in the ol' man's head like a chime o' weddin' bells. 

Hawthorn was able to crutch around a bit by the first o' May; it was anearly season, an' the' was a great harvest o' calves at the round-up. Iwas in work up to my eyes, an' sort o' lost track of the doin's exceptwhen Barbie would have the buckboard hooked up an' come out to thebrandin' ground. The weather was glorious, an' you couldn't have blamedan Injun idol for fallin' in love, so I lost heart an' was two-thirdsmad nine-tenths o' the time. 

Jabez had had a hard siege of it an' it showed. His face was lined, hishair was white at the temples, an' the' was a wistful look in his eyeswhich was mighty touchy. Barbie was more chummy with him too, an' theywas edgin' back to ol' times; but I was darn glad to see Hawthornfinally admit that he was sufficiently recovered to drive over an' seewhat had become of his own lay-out. 

The very first meal that we et alone, however, showed that the old sorewasn't plumb healed over yet. Jabez couldn't wait any longer, so hecalled for a show-down as soon as our food began to catch up with ourappetite. "Has Clarence popped the question yet, honey?" sez he. 

"About twice a day on the average, " sez Barbie, chillin' up a trifle;"but I don't think he stands much chance. I like him an' he is kind an'good; but I don't reckon I could ever marry him. "

The ol' man didn't flare up, same as he would have once. He just satstill, lookin' at his plate, an' that was the hardest blow he had everstruck her. She asked me twice that afternoon if I thought he wasfailin'. 

Next day at dinner Jabez finished his rations, an' then leaned back an'looked lovin'ly at Barbie for a minute. "Little girl, " he sez, "I know'at you don't like to hurt me intentional; but you have give me amighty sight of heartaches in my time. I have allus aimed to do whatseemed best for you, an' it has generally been a hard job. I haven'tcomplained much; but I'm gettin' old, child, I'm gettin' old. It's notfor myself, Barbie, it's all for you, for you an' for--for the motheryou never knew; but who made me promise to watch over an' protect ya. Ican't speak of her, Barbie; but when I meet her out yonder I want to beable to tell her that as far as I was able I've done my part. 

"This Dick has been gone a year, an' never a word to ya to let you knoweven whether he's alive or not. This ain't love, honey; he was onlyafter my money. Now Clarence is honest an' open; why can't you take upwith him, so 'at if I'd be called sudden I could go in peace. It wouldmean a lot to me to see you in good hands, honey. I'm afraid 'atDick'll wait until I'm gone, an' then come snoopin' around, like acoyote sneakin' into camp when the hunters are away. Don't answer menow, child; just think it over careful. I've generally let you haveyour own way, but I do wish you'd give in to me this time. "

Was Jabez failin'--was he? Well, not so you could notice it! Course hewasn't quite so physically able as once; but I never saw him put up atoppier mental exhibition than he did right then. Barbie didn't have aword to say that afternoon until about five o'clock. Then she suddenlylooked up from some reports we was goin' over, an' sez, "Happy, if youhad gone away from me like Dick did, what would be the only thing whatwould have kept you from comin' back to me?"

"By God, nothin' but death!" sez I, without stoppin' to think. 

The color rushed to her cheeks as if I had slapped her; an' then itoozed away, leavin' her white as chalk, while I bit my lip an' pinchedmyself somethin' hearty. I had wanted to compliment her I suppose, ifI'd had any motive at all; but what I had done, when you come to lookit square in the teeth, was to ask her to cut an ace out of a deck withnothin' left higher than a six spot. I ain't what you would callinventionative; but I could 'a' done a blame sight better'n that if I'dtaken the time to think, instead o' simply blurtin' out the truth likesome fool amateur. 

"Well, " sez she, finally, "Dick was twice the man you are, so he mustbe--dead. "

We didn't say anything for some time. Vanity ain't like a mill-storeabout my neck; but at the same time, whenever any one plugs me in theface with an aged cabbage, I allus like to make a some littleacknowledgment. Of course I knew that she was handin' me one for myfool break; but she did it in cold blood, an' if it hadn't been for herbein' so stewed up in trouble, I'd have made her furnish somespecifications to back up that remark. Twice is a good many, but I letit go. 

She sat lost in study for a while, an' then said, mostly to herself, "Ireckon I might as well take him"--my heart popped up in my mouth till Iliked to have gagged, but she went on--"he's honest an' kind, an' he'sbeen true a long time to his first love. I hope he'll stay true to herafter we're married; I know I'll stay true to mine"--then I knew shemeant that fool Englishman. "Anyway, father has been good to me, " shecontinued, "an' I don't set enough store by my own life to riskspoilin' his. "

"I suppose that mis-shapen stray from the other side is twice the man Iam, too, " sez I. She put her hand on mine an' sez in a tired voice, "Ah, Happy, you've been my staff so far through the valley, don't youslip out from under me too"; so I swallered hard a couple o' times an'let it go. 

She sat still a long while, lookin' out the window an' up to the ofgray mountains; and as I watched her with her lips tremblin, an' hereyes misty, with courage winnin' a battle over pain, I saw the womanlines of her face steal forth an' bury the last traces o' girlhood. After a time she sez softly, "Poor ol' Dick, I wonder how it happened";but never one tear got by her eyelids--never one single tear. 

From that on it was plain sailin'. Barbie didn't put up any more fightto either of 'em. She told 'em open an' fair that she would never inthe world have consented if she had thought that Dick was still alive;but if they was willin' to take what part of her heart was left whythey was welcome to it. Jabez was pleased at any kind of a compromise'at would give him his own way, an' Clarence, poor dear, wasn't a proudlot. The flesh-pots of Egypt was about all the arguments needed to winhis vote, confound him. I used to give him some sneerin' glances whatwould 'a' put fight into the heart of a ring-dove; but he was resignedan' submissive; so 'at I had to swaller my tongue when I saw himcomin', for fear I might tell him my opinion of him an' then stamp hislife out for not bein' insulted. 

The first of November was selected for the weddin' day; an' Jabez told'em 'at his present would be a trip to Europe an' a half interest inthe ranch. Clarence sort o' perked up his face when Jabez told himabout it; an' I thought he was goin' to suggest that they cut out thetrip to Europe an' take the whole o' the ranch. I had the makin's of agood many cyclones in my system those days. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A MODERN KNIGHT-ERRANT

I was lonesome once. I don't mean simply willin' to sit in a game, orto join a friendly little booze competition, or feelin' a sort ofinward desire to mingle about with some o' the old boys an' see whocould remember the biggest tales--I mean LONESOME, --the realrib-strainin' article when a man sits in a limpy little heap with histongue hangin' out, a-wishin' that a flea-bit coyote would saunteralong, slap him on the back, an' call him friens. 

I was out in No-man's land with just a small bunch o' mangy cows, an'the grass so scarce I purt' nigh had to get 'em shod--they had totravel so far in makin' a meal. It was hot an' it was dusty an' it wasdry--the whole earth seemed to reek. My victuals got moldy an' soft an'sticky, my appetite laid down an' refused to go another peg; 'I wasjust simply dyin' o' thirst, an' every single drop o' water we cameacross had a breath like the dyin' gasp of a coal-oil stove, expirin'for a couple o' fingers o' the stuff they float universities in. 

Now I'd allus supposed that the' wasn't anything left to tell me aboutbein' lonesome; but when it was finally settled that Barbie was towaste herself on that imported imitation of a hand-made mechanical toy, I found out that heretofore I'd been only dealin' in childishdelusions. The whole Diamond Dot seemed to rest right on top o' mysoul: the air didn't smell sweet, I got so I'd lie awake at night, foodgrew so fearless it could look me right in the face without flinchin';but one night I saw Merry England with his arm around Barbie's waist, an' that settled it. By the time I had regained my self-control, I wastwenty miles from the ranch, an' I knew that if I went back it would beto make arrangements for the last sad obsequaries of Clarence theComforter. 

I had about three hundred bucks in my belt, so I wended my way toDanders an' sneaked aboard the East-bound without attractin' the noticeof ol' Mrs. Fate or any o' the rest o' the Danders bunch. I got out atLaramie, an' they all knew Dick an' was proud of him an' eager to learnwhat had become of him. One thing else I found out, an' that was thathe had been keepin' a woman all right, an' that she was livin' thereyet; but never went out without a heavy veil, an' the' wasn't any wayshort o' physical force to get to speak to her. 

I figured out that Dick wouldn't care to go back to Texas, so thechances were that he was either in San Francisco or England. I didn'tknow anything about England, so I went to Frisco. I prowled around fora couple o' days exactly like a story-detective; an' by jinks, I turnedup a clew. That feller, Piker, was the clew, an' when I spied him in alow gamblin' room I made some little stir until I got him alone so Icould talk to him. I hadn't hurt him none; but I had been tol'ablefirm, an' he was minded to speak the truth. He told me that Dick was inthe Texas Penitentiary for life--that he had surrendered himself up, an' that this was what had give him life instead of the rope. 

I knew the gang what had put him there, an' I knew that his chances forgettin' out were about as good as if he was in his grave. I was stumpedan' I knew it; so I sez to Piker: "Piker, you may think that I'm allusas gentle as I've been with you; but if this ain't the truth you'vetold me I'll get your life if I have to track you bare-footed throughhell. "

He swore by everything he could remember that it was the solemn truth, an' then I turned him loose an' I turned myself loose too. The boysdown at Frisco was certainly glad to see me, an' we sure had a royalgood time as long as my money lasted; but when it began to dry up theyseemed to lose interest in me an' had a heap o' private business toattend to. 

One mornin' I noticed that I was dead broke; so I drilled down to thedock an' sat on a post. Pretty soon along comes a little fat man, an'he looks me over from nose to toe. I don't know why it is, but as arule a city man takes as open-hearted an' disembarrassed an interest inme as though I was a prize punkin' or the father of a new breed o' beefcattle. After he had made up his opinion he smiles into my eyes an'sez, "I like your face. "

"You soothe me, " sez I. "I was just thinkin' o' havin' it remodelled;but now I'll leave it just as it is. "

Well, he laughs an' slaps me on the back an' sez, "I like your style. Want to take a ride?"

"What on?" sez I, for he seemed purty blocky an' fat-legged for aridin' man. 

"On that there sailboat, " sez he, pointin' to a thing about the size ofa flat-iron with a knittin'-needle stickin' out of it. I give a littlethink, an' I sez: "To tell you the gospel truth, Bud, I ain't neverbeen on a sailboat in my life; but I'm game to play her one whirl ifyou'll just wait until I get my breakfast. "

"How long will it take?" sez he. "Deuced if I know, " sez I. "I've beenwaitin' hereabout two hours already an' the' ain't none showed up yet. "

"Why don't you go to a restaurant?" sez he. 

"I thank you kindly for the suggestion, " sez I; "but the same brilliantidee occurred to me a little over two hours ago, an' all myfinger-nails is wore to the quick tryin' to scratch up enough change. "

He studied my face a moment, then he chuckled up a laugh, an' scootedover to an eatin'-house, comin' back with a lot o' stuff an' somecoffee. Then we got into the boat an' begun to sail. Oh, it certainlywas grand! By the time I had made it up with my stomach we were out onthe Pacific Ocean, an' I felt like Christopher Columbus. 

Enjoy myself? Well. I guess I did! I felt like a boy with copper-toedboots an' a toy balloon. Then things began to churn up wild an'furious. Fatty said that Pacific meant mild an' peaceful--the darned, sarcastic, little liar! The storm that was presently kazooin' along wasfierce an' horrible, an' that dinky little soap-bubble cut upscand'lous. 

We went jumpin' an' slidin' ahead, tilted away over on one side, butFatty never turned a hair; he said it was nothin' but a capful o' wind, an' he sat in the back end o' the boat with a little stick in his hand, hummin' tunes an' havin' the time of his life; but give me a bunch ofblizzard-scared long-horns for mine. 

I never knowed a boat was so human. This one bucked an' kicked an'reared up an' tried to fall over on its back, the same as a mustang;while I held on with my teeth an' wondered if it was a put-up job. ThenI began to feel as though I had partakin' of a balloon. I gritted myteeth an' swallered hot water constant; but it wasn't no use; purtysoon that beautiful breakfast began to fight its way to liberty. Layerafter layer, up it came; an' all the while mebbe I wasn't feelin' likea tender-foot, with that fat little cuss puffin' his pipe in the backseat, as happy as a toad. 

After a bit he looks at me purty sympathetic like, an' sez, "You seemto have a weak stomach. "

"Weak?" I yells. "Weak! why you doggone son of a pirate, it kicks likea shotgun every time it goes off. Weak!"

We stayed out on our pleasure trip the best part of the day, me layin'with what used to be my head jammed under the front seat, while myliver chased my stomach up an' down my backbone, tryin' to squeeze outa few more crumbs o' that breakfast. You can believe me or not; butwhen noon came that double dyed villain got out the grub an' began toeat--even goin' so far as to ask me to join him. A hog wouldn't 'a'done it. We came back; about five o'clock, an' by the time we reachedthe landin' place I was feelin' fine. An' hungry-- Say!

When we got upon the platform an' started to walk up-town Fatty sez tome, "What are you goin' to do to kill time now?"

"Time?" sez I. "Well, now, I dunno as I feel any inborn hankerin' toslaughter time; but if the game laws ain't in force I wouldn't mindflushin' up a covey of fat young ham sandwidges. "

"You're a funny cuss, " sez he. 

"I am, " sez I; "an' I hope I won't come sudden in front of alookin'-glass. A good hearty laugh just now would be purty apt topuncture my stomach--it's jammed up so tight again my backbone. "

"You don't seem to like this community, " sez he. 

"I don't know, " sez I. "It's been a mighty long time since I tasted it;but I have an idy that I'd enjoy some served hot with a couple o'porterhouse steaks smothered in cornbeef hash an' about three pints o'coffee. "

He chuckled up another laugh, an sez, "If you had a good job here wouldyou be apt to settle?"

"Settle?" sez I. "You needn't worry much about that; I'm no tight-wad. When it comes my turn to settle I generally fish up a handful an' say, 'Here, take it out o' that an' keep the change. '"

He looked at me a minute without speakin', an' then he said, as thoughhe was thinkin' aloud, "You seem to be mighty well set up. "

I was hurt at this. "Your ticket entitles you to one more guess, " sezI. "Any time anybody got set up in my company since I struck town thebartender allus managed to sneak me the checks without gettin' caughtat it. The' must 'a' been a cold snap here, an' all the easy spendersgot froze up. "

"No, I mean you're wonderful well built, " sez he. "Kin you ride a hoss?"

"I can, " sez I, "if he's kind an' gentle, an' I manage to get a goodgrip on the saddle horn, an' he don't start to lopin' or somethin' likethat. "

"Do you know what a knight is?" sez he. 

"Yes, " sez I, "I do when I'm home; but since I've been here I ain'twasted none of 'em in sleep, so I ain't right certain. "

"No, I don't mean that kind, " sez he. "I mean the soldiers of long agowho used to wear steel armor an' fight with spears an' rescue maidensan' so forth. I believe I can get you a job at it for a month or so, atthree dollars a day. "

"Now look here, Bud, " sez I, "them three dollars look mighty enticin'to me, an' I ain't no objection to rescuin' the maidens; but I move wecut out the steel armor an' the spears. If the' 's any great amount o'maidens in need o' rescuin', I could do the job a heap quicker with mysix-shooters. "

"Oh, I don't mean to be a real knight, " sez he. "I want you toadvertise tobacco. "

"Say, " sez I, "perhaps you never noticed it; but after you've beenlivin' on air for some time you get so you can't tell whether it'syourself or the other feller what's crazy. I came down to this townbecause my appetite was clogged up an' wouldn't work; but I'm cured. I'm the most infernally cured individual you ever set eyes on, an' I'mgoin' back where food ain't too blame proud to be seen in company witha poor man. "

Well, I broke through his crust that time, an' we sidled into afeed-joint, where I pried my ribs apart while he un folded his plot. Itseemed the' was a brand of chewin' tobacco what had one o' these hereknights on the tag, an' I was to dress up like the picture an'advertise it. The man who was to do it had sprained his ankle, an'Fatty's brother was huntin' up a new man. Fatty said he'd get me thejob. 

Well, he did, an' next mornin' I started out in a tin suit with a sortof kettle turned upside down an' covered with feathers for a sky-piece. I certainly made an imposin' sight, an' all I had to do was to ridearound an' fling little plugs o' tobacco out o' my saddle-bags. Butthe' was draw-backs. The' generally is. 

Take the real native-son brand of Friscoite, an' he'll tell you 'atFrisco an' Paradise are sunonomous. I used to like to argue 'em outabout it. One day I had a thirty-third degree one pointin' his fingerin my eye an' beatin' his palm with his fist, an' spreadin' himselfsomethin' gorgeous. He never curbed his jubilization nor altered theheavy seriousness of his expression; but in the most matter-of-fact wayin the world he backs over to the door-jamb an' begins to polish it upwith his spinal column. If ya'll notice you'll find most o' the coatsin that locality has curious little streaks up the back--but it ain'tpolite to ask questions about 'em. 

"Look here, Bud, " sez I, interruptin', "I know all about your goldengates an' sea lions an' cosmopopilic civilization; but how about yourfleas?"

"Fleas!" sez he. "Hang the fleas! I'll tell you about them. The devilHe tried an experiment; he wanted a place so fine to live in that manwouldn't have no inducement to try to get to heaven; so he studied allthe cities an' the towns--an' then he made Frisco. The experimentworked to perfection; everybody what lived there was perfectlysatisfied, an' the preachers couldn't make 'em believe 'at any placecould be any better. But the good Lord, he was powerful fond o' theFriscoites, so he finally figgered out the little red flea--an' theneven Frisco had a drawback; not enough to give the town anything of ablack eye; just enough to leave one little talkin'-point in favor ofeverlastin' bliss. "

Well, these here fleas was consid'able of a talkin'-point with me allright when I was takin' the part of a canned knight. They used tocongregate together in the valley between my shoulder-blades, an' I'dget off an' back up again a lamp-post, but it wa'n't no use. I couldn'treach 'em, an' the' ain't no way on earth to scare 'em. Finally I hitupon a plan of wearin' a couple o' feet o' chain down the back o' myneck an' givin' it a jerk now an' again. It was only just moderatelycomfortable; but I had the satisfaction of knowin' that it was more ofa bother to them than it was to me. A suit of armor ain't no tenementhouse, it's only meant for one. But when they got on my face they hadme beat. I'd forget all about bein' sealed up, an' I'd take a smash atone an' bat the kettle over again my forehead until I had both eyebrowsknocked out o' line. 

I carried a spear with a little flag on it, an' rode a hoss built likea barrel. He had been in the brewery business all his life an' lookedthe part. About the only item in the whole parade that put me in mindof myself was my lariat. I smuggled that along for company, an' so I'dhave somethin' to work with, provided anything turned up. 

Fatty had give me a book called "Ivanhoe" the night before I startedout, an' it was full o' pictures about knights knockin' each otherabout with spears; an' I bet a hat it was fun to be a real one an' nothave no tobacco to advertise, but just nothin' to do except jab eachother with spears. I reckon a corkin' good one like Ivanhoe himself orthe Black Knight got more 'an three a day for it too; but the one bestbet is, that the vigilance committee those days didn't take on muchsuperfluous fat. 

I enjoyed myself first rate, an' upset a couple o' delivery wagonsbecause they wouldn't make way for me, roped a runaway steer 'at hadthe whole town scared, an' chased a flat-head clear into the PalaceHotel for throwin' a pear at me. Fatty's brother confided to him that Iwas the best advertisement they'd ever had. 

Still I allus get weary o' doin' the same sort o' thing day after day. That's what gets me about livin' in town; it's so blame monotonous. Outon the range now a feller can allus be expectin' a little excitementeven if he ain't enjoyin' it right at the time; but in town it's justthe same thing over an' over again. It's bad enough at any time; but ifyou want to soak yourself plumb full o' the horrors of a great city youwant to wear a tin suit with an iron kettle strapped on your head thatyou can't take off without help. I got so blame disgusted drinkin'steam beer through a straw that if any one would 'a' dared me I'd 'a'signed the pledge. 

If it hadn't been for the children I'd probably got hysterical an' beenvoted into the uncurable ward; but they thought I was the finest thingout, an' I used to give 'em little plugs o' tobacco for souvynears. Iused to read "Ivanhoe" at night an' tell stories to the kids the nextday. Some o' them thought I was a fairy godmother; an' I generally hadsuch a gang troopin' after me that we looked like an orphan asylum outfor an airin'. I allus did like children. 

Well, one day I was out at the foot o' the hill neighbor-hood on SutterStreet. A lot o' cars was blockaded, an' a herd o' kids stood lookin'on. I stopped an' talked to 'em, an' the' was one little girl, just forall the world like another little girl I used to know, away back yonderin Indiana. She had the same confidin' smile an' the same big, wideopen eyes; an' I felt a sort o' lump in my throat when she looked atme. She had that same queer little look that Barbie'd had when she wasa child too. Her mother was named Maggie, which also happened to be thename o' the little girl I had known clear away back when I'd been aschool-boy. All of a sudden I felt lonesome again; so I give the kidsthe slip an' skirted the car. 

I started to ride up the Hyde Street hill on the other side, an' say, it was a hill! Steep? Well, it was about all Mr. Hoss could do to climbit. While I was wonderin' if I hadn't better let that part o' town gounadvertised I heard a rumble, looked up, an' saw comin' over thesquare o' the next street a big wagon loaded with lumber an' runnin'towards me down the hill. The' wasn't no hosses hitched to it, an' thetongue stuck straight out in front. It was comin' like a steam-engine, an' like a flash I remembered Maggie on the other side o' the car. Thatwagon would 'a' weighed six tons, an' any fool could see what wouldhappen when it struck that street car. 

For a second--for just one second, which seemed to last a thousandyears--I was turned to stone. I could hear the crash; I could hear thescreams; I could feel the horrid scrunch as car, wagon, an' all groundover poor little Maggie; and then everything cleared up, an' I couldthink ninety times a minute. 

I turned my rope loose an' backed ol' Mr. Barrel up on the sidewalk inthe wink of a hair trigger. I looked down at the hoss, an' he wouldhave weighed a full ton himself; but I knew that he wouldn't have senseenough to brace himself when the jerk came. It was comical the waythoughts kept flashin' through my head--everything I had done, an'everything I might have done, an' a heap more beside; but the thingthat worried me most was the thought that a mighty good story was aboutto happen, an' the chances were that I wouldn't be the one to do thetellin' of it afterward. I can talk about it easy now, but I wasn'tBREATHIN' then. 

On came the wagon, an' it looked as though nothin' under heaven couldstop it. A strange feelin' o' weakness swept over me for a minute, and--and--darned if I didn't pray, right then. The pressure lifted likea fog, an' I sat there as cool an' still as though I was Ivanhoe, darin' the whole blame outfit to come at me in a bunch; an' I was somepleased to notice that a little group had gathered to see the outcome. My knees dug into the hoss's ribs as I circled the rope around my head, an' then at just the right instant I gave the foreleg throw. Well, itlanded--everything landed. As soon as the noose caught the tip o' thetongue I yanked back on the brewer until he must 'a' thought his lowerjaw had dissolved partnership. 

The' never was any neater work--never. The noose tightened well out onthe tongue, an' when the strain came the wagon turned in toward thesidewalk, runnin' in a big circle on the outside wheels. The jerk hadlifted ol' Uncle Brewer, who didn't have gumption enough to squat, plumb out in the middle o' the street, an' just as the wagon climbedthe curb an' dove into the basement office of a Jew doctor the ropetightened up with me an' the brewer square behind. It didn't last long;the' was only one cinch to the saddle, an' the first jerk had purtywell discouraged that; the brewer had grew suspicious an' all four ofhis feet was dug into the cobble stones; the wagon was lopin' alongabout ninety miles a second, an' when the tug came me an' the saddlean' the tinware an' about four thousand plugs o' tobacco made ahalf-circle in the air an' plunged through the first story winder ontothe dinin'-table--an' the family was at dinner. 

Nobody was hurt; but I wish you could have seen the eyes o' thatfamily--an' their hands--yes, an' their tonsils too. They didn't seemfully prepared. After a time the doctor got his heart to pumpin' again, an' he roars out, "Vat are you doin'--vat are you doin'?"

"I'm advertisin' tobacco, " sez I, tryin' to cut the kettle off my headwith a fruit-knife. 

Then he did the wind-mill act with his hands an' rolled up his eyes an'sez, "Vell, mine Cott, man, dis iss no vay to atfertice dobaggo!"

"Mebbe not, ol' sport, " sez I, thinkin' o' the way that wagon had doveinto his office, an' takin' a general survey o' the dinner table; "butif you're game at all you got to own up it makes a strong impression. "

He was a comical little cuss, an' it amused me a heap to see howexcited he was. He splutered an' fizzed away like a leaky sodyfountain, while the rest o' the tribe kept up a most infernal squawkin'. 

By the time I had the tobacco an' the balance o' the trimmin's pickedup an' got back to the street again I found the rest o' the populationgathered together to see who was holdin' the celebration; an' from thaton my stay in the city was a nightmare. The passengers in the car gaveme gold watches an' champagne suppers, the Jew doctor wore himself to abone tryin' to find out whether it was me, the lumber company, or thetobacco firm which had to pay the piper; while the newspaper reporterspumped me as dry as the desert. The tobacco company kept me on doublepay, because when it came to what they call a publicity agent I hadplayed every winnin' number open an' coppered all the ones that lost. 

That car had been loaded with a group o' the real, genuinegold-sweaters, an' they entered into a fierce competition to see whichcould load me down with the finest watch an' load me up with the finestchampagne. They got me to make 'em after-dinner speeches an' do fancystunts with my raw-hide--ropin' wine bottles off the waiters' trays an'such--until we got as friendly as a herd of tramps. They even got meinto a long-tailed coat an' a bullfrog vest; but I didn't take kindlyto that, 'count o' there not bein' any handy place to tote a gun exceptthe tail pocket, which I never could have got at in case the troublewas to slop over. 

I kept lookin' for little Maggie, an' one day I found her. I bought hera couple o' pounds o' candy an' a lot o' new dresses; an' I took herout to her home in a carriage. Well, this home o' hers was a thing towring the heart of an ossi-fied toad. It was up near the Barbery coast, where they kill folks for exercise. She an' her mother was livin' intwo miserable rooms, her mother doin' washin' an' Maggie runnin'errands; but they was as near respectable as half-fed people ever wasin the world, an' it made 'em hustle to even keep half fed, too, 'causethey was in competition with the Chinks, who don't have to eat atall--that is, not regular food. 

An' would you believe it, her mother was the little Maggie I used toknow away back yonder in the kid days when all the world was just likea big, bulgey Christmas-stocking. She had married a good man, an' hadcome out to the coast with him on account of his health, an' he hadflickered out without leavin' her much but a stack o' doctor's billsan' little Maggie. She had struggled along ever since, an' it made myheart ache like a tooth to see the sweetness an' the beauty o' thelittle girl I used to know come to the eyes o' this poor tired womanan' smile--smile the same old smile like what she used to when I'dgiven her an apple, or when she'd written me a little note an' sneakedit across the aisle. 

Well, I didn't stay long. I had a special swell function to attend thatnight, but next mornin', when the Turkish-bath man was willin' to riskthe peace o' that locality by turnin' me loose, I gathered up a peck orso o' watches an' cashed 'em in. I reckon I got beat some; but anyhow, I drew down somethin' over sixteen hundred in yeller money; an' I tookthem two Maggies down to the train an' shipped 'em back where thelittle one would have a chance to grow up like a flower, with plenty o'green grass an' sunshine about her, an' the mother could put on a cleandress afternoons an' visit 'round a little with the friends o' long ago. 

After they was gone everything seemed mighty gloomy an' damp an'lonesome, an' I entered into the social festivities most enthusiastic. The' was somethin' about both these two Maggies that kept bringin'Barbie before me, an' what I felt most like doin' was to bolster up myforgetfulness. It wasn't very long, however, before I noticed that myquiet an' simple life hadn't in nowise fitted me for refined society, an' I made my plans to bid it a fond farewell. I'm just as cordial afriend as whiskey ever had; but my con science rebels at floodin' myvital organs with seventeen different colored wines at one meal. I'vebeen infested with pink elephants an' green dragons an' I never complained none; but hang me if I can get any comfort out of a stripedyellow spider ten feet high on horrid hairy legs. 

I was sittin' in the Palace lobby one mornin' wonderin' if I'd bump myhead should I happen to sneeze, when in come one o' my pals. His facelit up when he see me an' he came over holdin' out his hand. I held outmy own hearty enough; but I sez in a warnin' voice, "Now, before youask me the customary question I want to inform you that I positivelydon't want a drink, neither now nor this evenin', nor never again. "

"Pshaw, " sez he, "I'm goin' to pull out for home to day, an' I don'twant to go without a farewell libation to the good times we've beenhavin'. "

"I'm goin' to pull out, myself, " sez I, "but I went on my farewelllibation last night. Where might your home be?"

"Texas, " sez he. I straightened up. 

"Know the governor?" sez I. 

"Some, " sez he, his eyes twinklin'; "he was my sister's youngestbrother. "

"Your sister's youngest brother?" sez I, an' then I tumbled. "Say, " Iyelled, jumpin' to my feet, "you don't mean that you're it yourself?"

"That's the history, " sez he; "but if it's just the same to you, I'drather you didn't work up much of a story about the way I've handledthis town since you saved that car. "

"Do you really think 'at I saved your life?" sez I. 

"Why, " sez he, "if that wagon had ever hit the car the' wouldn't 'a'been anything left but my teeth to identify me by, an' I ain't neverhad one filled yet. "

Well, I took one drink with him an' I told him the straight o' thatcattle ring an' how Jim Jimison had surrendered on account o' the bestlittle girl that walked, an' that he was the all around squarest boythe' was. I didn't cork up any natural eloquence I happened to have, an' I was some sorry 'at ol' Hammy couldn't have heard that plea. Itwas dramatic, an' I'll bet money on it. The outcome was, that he sworehe'd have Jim out o' the pen as soon as he could get back an' do thesignin'. He was a big man with steel gray eyes, an' by jing I felt goodover it; but I stuck to the one drink proposition. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

THE CREOLE BELLE

Well, now, mebbe I didn't feel fine! I'd have a real man for Barbie tomarry purty soon, an' it was a good job o' work to send that washy-eyedEnglishman back to his one-hoss ranch to learn hove to act grown-up. Iwas all squared around now. Up to that mornin' I couldn't tell where onthe face I did want to head for; but now I knew. I wanted to bee-linestraight for the Diamond Dot an' light the joy-lamps in Barbie's eyesagain. When I had given my life to her the' wasn't no strings to thegift. I hadn't said that my happiness was to be considered at all, northe happiness of any one else on the whole earth except just her own, an' I was wild to be back. 

I was makin' up my mind to sneak away without seein' any o' the gladband--those Frisco fellers are terrors when they take a fancy to ya--Imean the thoroughbreds, the toppy lad with rolls 'at a ten-year-old boycouldn't up-end without strainin' himself. I hated to do it; but I'monly human, an' when I'm in earnest about bein' delivered from evil Iallus get up early in the dawn an' get a good start while temptation isstill enjoyin' its beauty sleep. 

I had just got my will power properly stiffened up, when lo an' behold, I was slapped on the back an' a merry voice exclaimed, "Happy Hawkins, by the Chinese Devil!"

I glanced up into a bearded face with two twinklin' eyes an' an outdoorlook about it. I recognized the eyes all right, but I knew I hadn'tnever seen 'em in that sort o' trimmin' before; so I sez in a dignifiedmanner, "I'm exceeding glad to see ya, but who the 'll are ya?"

"Ches!" sez he. "Ralph Chester Stuart--Great Scott, have you lost yourmemory?"

Well, by the Jinks, but I was glad to see the boy, an' we hid away in aprivate room with two pure an' proper lemonades before us. He was agenuine minin' engineer, an' had been havin' lots of queer experiences. He wanted me to sign up with him, promisin' me that we'd have change ofbill twice a week; but I finally prevailed upon him that I had agedconsiderable since our didoes with the goat, an' all of a sudden he upsan' sez, "By the way, old hat, I've got you news!"

"Yes?" sez I. "Where'd you get it?"

"Why, about the Creole Belle, " sez he. 

"Creole Belle!" sez I. "Well, tell it, tell it. Why don't you tell it?"

"Oh, fudge, " sez he; "it's been long enough on the way, an' I reckonit'll keep a minute longer. The Creole Belle was a gold-mine namedafter a woman. "

"Good or bad?" sez I. 

"Good, " sez he. "Paid two hundred dollars to the ton in spots. "

"I meant the woman, confound ya, " sez I. 

"Well, it seems that she was a purty square sort of a woman, " sez Ches, "but I didn't suppose 'at you'd care much about her. The mine--" Igroaned. "Well, you fool me, " sez Ches, seein' I was in earnest. "The'was a purty florid romance mixed up in it too; but I didn't suppose youwas interested in such things, an' I didn't pay much heed to that partof it. "

"That's allus the way when a boy does anything, " sez I, withpeevishness. "Now you set there an' think up all you can about thedeal--everything. "

"Well, " sez Ches, slowly, "it seems that a couple o' young Easternerscame out to find their fortune. They was the true Damon an' Pythiasbrand o' partners, an' stood back to back durin' a protracted spell o'good, stiff, copper-bottomed misfortune. They finally located a minethat looked good-natured an' generous; but it was a fooler. One day itcoaxed 'em an' next it give 'em the laugh. Finally they each got downin turn with mountain-fever an' a beautiful young girl nursed 'em. Shewas there with her father, who was workin' a claim near by. He was anodd sort of chap to be minin'--though come to think of, that's notpossible, seein' that all kinds o' men--"

"Ches, " I breaks in, "will you kindly get on with that tale, or must Ishake it out o' you?"

He seemed mightily surprised, but he went on: "Well, the girl was abeauty, an' she had a gigantic maid--"

"Monody!" I shouted. 

"Keeno!" shouts back Ches, some exasperated. 

"Now that wasn't slang nor sarcasm what I was usin', " sez I, smoothin'it over. "That gigantic maid you mentioned is part o' the tale that youdon't know yet. "

"Well, naturally, while they was bein' nursed they both fell in lovewith her--"

"With Monody?" I yells. 

"No, you ijot, with the girl!" Ches was gettin' flustered. "She was acorkin' handsome girl, an' they all called her the Creole Belle. To bestrictly honest though, they didn't really fall in love with her. Theyboth loved the same girl back in Philadelphia, an' they just took tothe Creole Belle as a sort of a substitute. Now the ol' man an' the bigmaid watched over the girl careful, an' the' wasn't no harm come of it;an' when the mine finally got to handin' out the gilt without jokin'about it, the two pals got to goin' off alone an' thinkin' o' the girlback East. They had four or five miners workin' for 'em by this time, an' they was gettin' the dust in quantities. Finally they got togetherabout it. It seems that they had an agreement that neither one wouldpropose to the girl without the other's consent, but they had each beenmakin' gentle-love in their letters to her, while she didn't seem toknow which she liked best. "

"Where'd you learn all this?" sez I. 

"Oh, I've been askin' all the of miners I've met, " sez Ches, "an' atlast I found one who knew the whole of it. All of 'em knew something;things ain't done secret in a minin' camp, an' all the boys gotinterested. Well, they finally agreed to play five hands o' draw forthe first chance to propose. If the lucky one got the girl he was topay the loser half the profits. If he lost an' the second feller gotthe girl on his proposal, he was to get mine an' girl both. They wasstill fond o' the Creole Belle an' she was fond o' them--from allaccounts they was men above the average, all right. Well, they playedthe five hands an' it was even bones at the fourth show. Then Jordanmade a crooked move o' some kind, an' Whitman called for a new deal. Itwas the first suspicion that had ever raised its head between 'em, an'they looked into each other's eyes a long time; then Jordan dealt againan' Whitman won. 

"He wrote to the girl, an' after a time she answered, sayin' yes. Jordan an' Whitman wasn't such good pals as before; but when the girlwas due to arrive they started down in the stage to meet her, bothtogether. Just as they was goin' by the of man's claim--Ol' Pizarro, orsome such a name as that he had--the stage lost a front wheel an'Whitman got a broken leg. They took him into the ol' man's cabin, senta man on hoss-back after the doctor, an' Whitman insisted that Jordanride on down to meet the girl. They'd had a hard time gettin' the girlto consent to come at all; but she was an orphan with only a faithfulservant for a family, an' she had finally give in, seein' as Jordanwould be there as her best friend; an' now Whitman forced Jordan to godown an' meet her. " I remembered the letter 'at little Barbie had mademe read, an' I was able to guess the rest. 

"Well, Jordan met the girl, an' the servant who had tagged along, --thename of the servant was Melisse, if you want all the details. "

"I knew it, " sez I; "go on. "

"He brought the girl back to where the Creole Belle was tendin' toWhitman in a mighty gentle an' tender way. The girl didn't seem to caremuch for Whitman when she saw him, an' that very day they had it out. She didn't make no fuss, she was a game one all right; just said thatit was a mistake all 'round an' left on the next stage, goin' to Frisco. 

"Whitman was laid up six weeks, an' by the time he was out Jordan toldhim that he was ready to propose to the girl on his own hook. Whitmanagreed, Jordan made his play, got a favorable answer, an' Whitman madeover a full deed to the Creole Belle. Just at this time ol' Pizzarocashed in, an' the first thing Whitman knew he was married to theCreole Belle, had sold his wife's mine an' started to leave thecountry. Down at the station he hears a chance word that gives him atip, an' he leaves his wife there an' goes back to the mine. He accusesJordan of havin' told the eastern girl that he was already married tothe Creole Belle when she came out to marry him herself. Jordan deniesit, but they fight, an' it's sure a bad fight. Jordan gets threebullets in his body an' only laughs about it; but he shoots Whitmantwice, so that fever sets in, an' it was reported that he died. Anyhow, he's taken down to the train an' put on board, out of his head; an' wasnever heard of again. 

"Jordan hid his wounds purty well, bein' a man o' wonderful grit; butjust when he was gettin' around again one o' the boys what Whitman haddone a good turn to picks a quarrel with Jordan, an' Jordan still bein'stiff from the wounds he was hidin', gets the worst of it, is hammeredup with a pick-handle an' left for dead. He don't die, however, heworks the Creole Belle mine till he's taken out about a million, an'then she closes up an' he gets out o' the country for keeps. That's allthe' is to that tale. Now you tell me what part of it you're interestedin. "

"Was that all you heard about the gigantic maid?" sez I. 

"You certainly have a healthy appetite for gossip, " sez Chez, laughin'. "But I did hear more about the maid: she came back to that part a fewmonths later to square things up with her lover. He didn't appearwillin' to square, an' they found him in his cabin one mornin' with histhroat tore out by the roots, an' they found her clothes on the bank o'Devil Crick; so that ends her story. She must 'a' been some devilherself. "

"No, " sez I to chez, "the worst any one can call her is a man; an' itwasn't altogether her fault that you can call her that, I'll stake mysoul on it. "

Ches was ravenous to learn why it was that I wanted all that oldscandal dished up; but I was too busy to tell him right then, an' hewas goin' to leave in an hour to overlook some new findin's out inNevada. We promised to write to each other, an' I told him thatprobably I'd be willin' to take a job with him in a month or so; an'then he skinned out to make ready, an' I got busy on my letter. Lettersnever was one o' my chief delights; but I wrote to Jim, tellin' himenough o' the details to throw a bluff into Jabez; but not enough toput Jim wise to the tale. Just gave him the right names an' the name o'the mine an' told him to bluff that he knew it all; but not to speaktoo free; an' that would suit all around an' put Jabez into a nervouscondition. I sent this letter to the governor, tellin' him to give itto Jim personal, an' to hustle things for a quick finish. 

I posted my letter an' started up to the desk to pay my bill, when Ihad another turn. I stood still with a shock, pinchin' myself to see ifI was in my right mind or only sufferin' from an extra foolin'hang-over. A jaunty young chap with out-standin' clothes, an' a brindlebull-terrier was registerin' their names, an' if I was in my right mindI knew them folks for true. I was feelin' exuberant to a dangerouslimit, an' I sneaks up an' unsnaps the bull-terrier from the leash whatthe porter was holdin'. Well, it was Cupid all right, an' he was bugsto see me. He started jumpin' up on my shoulders an' makin' queersounds, an' I pertends 'at I'm scared to death an' duck an' dodgearound that office until I have all the inmates standin' on thefurniture an' yellin' police. 

Bill runs around after us tellin' me not to be frightened, an' givin'Cupid a tongue-handlin' that would 'a' stung a deaf alligator. When Ican't hold in any longer I rolls over on a dievan--that's what theycall a hotel sofy--an' get Cupid in my arms an' make a sound as if hewas stranglin' me. Bill gets Cupid by the collar an' jerks him off, an'then I stands up an' sez in a hurt an' dignified voice, "It seemsdarned funny to me that I can't welcome an old friend without youinterferin'. "

He give me one look--I was festooned a little out o' the ordinary--an'then he begins. First he'd sing a chant about how tickled he was tomeet up with me, an' then he'd sermonize most doleful about howuntasteful it was to commit such a havoc as that in a hotel lobby, especially with a dog what had been trained to have quiet an' refinedmanners. I finally refused to hold my safety valve down any longer; an'I grabbed him under the arms an' waltzed him over the marble, whileCupid frolicked around us an' Bill kicked me on the shins. I had hadtoo many things happen to me in a small space o' time to be altogethersane, an' it took a good many kicks on the shins to get me down to apractical basis again. Bill was plumb disgusted; but Jessamie, who hadseen the last part of it, had to join in with the rest o' the crowd an'have a laugh. 

Bill refused to eat unless we could have a private dinin' room. Not onCupid's account neither; he'd got civilized enough to stand for Cupidbein' treated like a dog by this time; but it was me he was scared of, an' I sensed it, an' refused to feed with him at all unless it would bein the main mess hall, an' Jessamie voted with me; so Bill had to givein. 

He didn't want to make the contrast too strong, so he slid into a darksuit instead of the real caper, while I wiggled into my champagne apronan' marched in like I was a foreign delegate. Well, you should haveseen Bill--his mouth took on the triangle droop, an' his lamps wasstretched to match. I was entirely at home, et with the right forks, joshed the waiters, an' when my friends began to drop over an' pass theseason's greetings, an' I presented 'em to Bill an' Jessamie, an' Billsaw that they was nothin' at all but cream, I bet you a tip that he wasthe worst locoed man in topsy-turvy Frisco. 

We had a hard time throwin' the gang off the trail; but I finally sent'em over to the Pampered Pug restaurant, while I took Bill an' Jessamieto a quiet little spot to hold our own reunion. They had just come froma trip around the world--they was still on their honeymoon, in fact;an' I had to listen to a heap o' Sunday-school story adventures 'atthey'd been havin'. 

After a while, though, I nudged Bill hack to the Clarenden familytrail, an' he said 'at they had stopped for over a month with hisfriends in England, an' was posted up to the minute. 

"Well, " sez I, as though I was inquirin' after an old pal, "how's theEarl?"

"They're plumb out o' earls in that family, " sez Bill. "The old one'sdead an' they've hunted high an' low for the strays an' can't even findRichard. "

"They won't need him, " sez I. "The younger son is still in good order, an' when the proper time comes I'll spring him on 'em; but I doubt ifhe takes the job after all. "

"Confound you, Happy, " sez Bill, "I never can tell whether you'rejokin' or not on this subject. Deuced if I ever could see where yourtrail could have junctioned onto the Clarenden family. "

"Son, " sez I, "I'm a store-house o' knowledge, an' I'm about to openthe flood-gates an' pour it forth. How many Alice LeMoynes did you everhappen to hear of?"

"Only but the one, " sez Bill. "It was a fake name probably, an' one wasall they ever struck off that die. What about her?"

"Oh, nothin' much, " sez I, "only a stray Englishman happened to pullthat name on us a while back, an' I wondered where he came intopossession of it. "

"You got somethin' up your sleeve, " sez Bill, who was a mite tooobservin' at times; "what is it you want to know?"

"Nothin' at all, " sez I; "I know all I want to now. "

"What kind of lookin' feller was it?" sez Bill. 

"Purty harmless, " sez I; "watery blue eyes, fair size, purty goodlookin', nice manners, book-talker, owns a little ranch; oh, he won'tset no important rivers on fire. "

Bill studied awhile. "How old was he?" sez he. 

"Why, he's about my age, in years, " sez I. 

"It might be Richard--if Lord James is still alive, Richard is the heirapparent, " sez Bill. "How long have you known o' this feller?"

"Oh, this ain't Richard, " sez I. "He ain't got epolepsy nor insanity;he's just stingy an' stupid. "

"How do you know he ain't got epolepsy?" sez Bill. 

"'Cause he don't bark like a dog nor froth at the mouth, nor he ain'tafraid o' water, " sez I. 

"You're thinkin' o' hydrophobia, " sez Bill. "Epolepsy is sort o' fits. "

"Well, by gum, he did have one fit!" sez I. 

"What kind?" sez Bill. 

"Why, I worked a trick on him, an' he stiffened out an' his eyes gotset, an' he was the sickenest lookin' human I ever met up with, " sez I. 

"That's it!" sez Bill, "an' you say he knew about Alice LeMoyne?"

"That's what give him the fit, " sez I. 

"I bet it's Richard, " sez Bill. "This will make a story for me, an' youcan work things for the reward. Where is he?"

"Say, you come along with me to the Diamond Dot, " sez I. "Things aregoin' to happen promiscuous up there after a bit, an' you don't want tomiss it. Never mind about the reward. I'm goin' to handle this affairjust as if the' wasn't such a thing on earth as the Clarenden family. "

"You make me tired, " sez Bill; it allus was spurs to him to cut him outof a secret. "You try to pertend 'at you're nothin' short of a worldpower; but I bet you're just flim-flammin'. "

"Nothin' 'at Happy Hawkins'd do would surprise me, " sez Jessamie. "Nowthat I've seen him in a dress suit, hob-nobbin' with the bun-tong, I'mprepared for anything. " She was a good feller all right. 

Well, we chatted along a while, an' they told me that they wanted tosee Frisco an' the Yosemite Valley, an' then would head for ColonelScott's, where it'd be handy to drop over to the Diamond Dot at anytime. 

"Well, " sez I, "I'll write you some letters of introduction to a few o'my friends here, an' mebbe after you've seen Frisco, all you'll wantwill be rest--just plain, simple rest; less'n your ruggeder built thanme. "

So sure enough I wrote 'em a parcel o' letters, pickin' out about themost persistent spenders the town could show, an' it made me laugh whenI pictured Bill tryin' to lug home the list o' stuff they'd load him upwith. I packed up for the early, train, an' then as it wasn't worthwhile to waste the handful o' minutes left o' that night, I got backinto my workin' togs an' went out for one last Turkish bath. I'm mightypartial to Turkish baths, an' I wanted to let 'em know that I wasperfectly sober at least one night o' my visit. 

It was gray dawn when I came out o' the buildin', an' even in Friscothat's a shivery period. In spite of me holdin' all the good cards inthe deck, an' knowin' just about how I was goin' to play 'em, I waslonely an' down-hearted there in the dawning. All I wanted was Barbie'shappiness, an' I was goin' to give it to her full measure an' nairy awhimper: but if it could just have been my home-comin' instead of whatI was goin' to do, that would light up her world for her, I reckon Icould have FLOWN all the way back to the Diamond Dot. 

I turned a corner an' came face to face on Piker. He was lookin'downcast an' harried, an' I bought him a drink. He had told me whereJim was, an' I didn't try to forget it. I sat down an' talked to him antried to soften his crust an' get him to agree to make a new try-out o'life. 

He finally got purty mellow an' told me some o' the steps down which hehad stumbled, an' how slippery the'd been when he'd tried to climbback. I confided to him a lot o' my own mishaps, an' he got purty nearup to the mourner's bench, when all of a sudden he gets bitter. "You'rejust like all the rest, " sez he, "you make all kinds of allowance for agood lookin', proud sort, like Silver Dick; but a feller like me--youallus give the verdict again a feller like me, an' you know it. "

"Dick ain't been no saint, I know, " sez I; "but at least he was out inthe open, while I can't quite get over that knee-gun you wore. "

"Out in the open, was he?" sez Piker, with a leer. "Didn't he get toyour ranch an' try to land the daughter o' the boss--an' him a marriedman all the time!"

I reached across the table an' got him by the collar, jerked him to me, an' flopped him face up across the table. "You lie, " sez I. He shookhis head, an' I felt a cold streak hit my heart. 

I loosened up on him an' let him set up, an' he said 'at Silver Dickwas married to the woman at Laramie, an' he knew it. I tried to bluffhim out of it, but he stuck to it, finally sayin' that I had him, an'could finish him if I wanted to; but that it was the God's truth, an'he'd stick to it. 

As I looked into his eyes I knew beyond a doubt that he was dealin'straight; an' as my plans toppled over an' came tumblin' about me, Ifelt like walkin' down to the dock an' endin' it all. Put this passedin a flash; it wasn't my turn yet to think of myself. There was littleBarbie with the two serpents creepin' toward her, an' my place was ather side till the fight was fairly won. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

THE DAY OF THE WEDDING

I had struck the Diamond Dot in a tol'able wide variety o' moods; but Inever felt like I did the mornin' I came back to ditch Barbie'sweddin'. I knew 'at the chances were 'at I'd break her heart; but I hadonly one course open, an' I didn't intend to waver. I had gone onthrough to Laramie, an' had found 'at Silver Dick's wife was stillthere, livin' her locked-in life. Then I came on back through Dandersto Webb Station where I hired a feller to drive me to within a mile o'the ranch house. All he knew was that the weddin' was to come off inthree weeks. 

Jabez an' Barbie was both glad to see me; but I didn't make muchexplanation for leavin' without notice, an' I didn't tell all about mytrip. Just told 'em about my experience as a knight an' on the boat an'such. Barbie was purty thin an' a little under color; but her grit wasstill keyed up to full tone. I had a good long talk with her that veryafternoon, tellin' her that I had found out a lot o' stuff about theremnant she was thinkin' o' marryin', an' tried to get her to test himout an' find out where he'd come from an' what he was; but she seemednumb, an' told me that she would not think it friendly if I saidanything evil against the man she had to marry. I couldn't understandher, she didn't seem like the same old Barbie; but the more I hintedthe more froze-up she got, so I dropped it. 

Then I told her that I had found out that Dick was even worse'n thisone; an' she opened up on me an' we had a purty square-off talkin'match. She wouldn't listen to me, an' she wouldn't pay any heed to mysuggestions; an' I was consid'able out of patience. I was afraid if Iturned her again Dick she might marry this Hawthorn thing, an' if Iturned her again him too soon she might run off with Dick on therebound; so I was purty much hobbled, an' made a botch of it. Finallyshe turned on me. "We've been good pals, Happy, " sez she, "an' we'll begood pals again some day; but you're not playin' square now--I can tellby your actions. I almost believe 'at what you're tryin' to do is to--"she stopped with her face red as fire. 

"Well, say it, " sez I. 

"Is to marry me yourself, " she blurted out. 

I didn't say anything for a long time. I made every allowance for her, an' I knew 'at some one had threw it in her face, 'cause this wasn'tone of her own brand o' thoughts; but I'm not all horn an' bone, an'when I saw that she intended to go her own gait I made up my mind thatshe'd know at the end of the course that she might have saved herselfseveral hard bumps. 

"Barbie. " I sez, an' at my voice she turned her face an' looked alittle frightened, "I ain't denyin' that I'd rather marry you than besure of gettin' into Heaven; but I want you to remember one thing, an'that is that if I ever do marry you it will be because you ask me toyourself. "

We rode side by side back to the ranch house, an' her head wasn't heldan inch higher than mine nor her lips shut a grain tighter. I waswillin' to be used for a bumper; but I couldn't stand everything evenwhen I knew 'at she'd been hounded beyond endurance. From that onBarbie was some cool to me; but I wasn't there for a vacation, I had aduty to perform. Poor little Barbie, she didn't act much like a brideelect. Jabez wanted a weddin' that would be the talk for years; butBarbie said no, that she felt more like a widder than a maid, an' shedidn't take much stock in turnin' a second weddin' into a circus. Ididn't say nothin'. The ol' man didn't contrary her much them days, sohe dropped the subject; but he sent all the way to Frisco for a storefull o' fixin's an' a couple o' women to engineer the construction of'em. 

A full week passed without me hearin' from Dick, an' then I telegraphedto the Governor. I waited at Webb Station till I got the answer. Hesaid 'at he had give Dick my letter an' that he had left two daysbefore. That kept me on edge 'cause I wanted to see him when he firstarrived; so I kept a couple o' the boys watchin' each road; but dayafter day dragged around until I got desperate. For all I knew SilverDick had enough black blood in him to take advantage of me an' just flyhis kite. He might have got news from England too, an' all in all I wasagitated. 

Two days before the ceremony was scheduled I gave him up an' made a runto Laramie. I wasn't sure just what I would do, but I was minded to getall the evidence I could. I tried to get speech with Dick's wife, butshe wouldn't pay any heed to my knocks, an' finally the lights in thehouse went out. I scented trouble; so when a couple o' men pounced ontothe place where I'd just stood they found me immejetly behind 'em, an'I rapped 'em on the heads before they could express a sound. I heard anoise at the keyhole an' I whispered in, "If you want to save the lifeo' Silver Dick, open the door. "

I waited a minute an' then the door opened an inch, but a chain kept itfrom goin' any wider. A woman's coarse voice sez, "What do ya want?" Icouldn't believe that this was the woman, so I sez, "I want to speak tothe other woman, an' it's got to be done quick. "

Presently a soft, gentle voice sez, "What is it?"

"Silver Dick is in the Texas penitentiary, sentenced to be hanged for amurder committed there in April four years ago. He'll be hanged a weekfrom to-morrow night if some one don't make a plea for him. It takes awoman to do such a job as this--are you game?"

"Why, he couldn't have done it, " sez she. "He was here all that spring. "

"Are you willin' to swear to it?" sez I. 

"Oh, I don't want to appear in public--but of course I will, if the'ain't no other way. "

"You won't have to if you'll come with me to-night. The Governor ofTexas is up here on a huntin' trip; he'll be at a party to-morrownight; all you'll need to do is to wait in a room where I'll hide youuntil he gets into a meller mood--I know him well--an' then I'll bringhim to you an' you make a plea for him. You can be his wife or hismother or daughter--or anything you wish. "

"I'll go, " sez she, in a quiet tone, an' I breathed free; an' as soonas she opened the door I dragged the two men inside. They wereGreasers, the same as the old woman what had first talked to me; an' Iturned 'em over to her a' took the woman with the soft voice down tothe train by a back street. She still wore a heavy veil, an' I neverlooked at her--not right straight--but I could see that she walked withher feet an' held her head on the top of her neck; so I was purtycertain that if Dick did return an' try to finish the weddin' as thestar performer she'd give us an interestin' exhibition. 

Spider Kelley was at the station when I got off the train. I turned thewoman over to him, tellin' him to bring her out so as to arrive theevenin' of the weddin', not to talk to her, an' not to let Dick see hershould he chance to come back that way; but to smuggle her into theoffice as soon as preparations for the ceremony got started. I stillhalf looked for Dick, but I thought I had things blocked out, no matterwhat turned up, an' I flopped on my hoss an' rode him at about his best. 

Everything around the house was whirlin' with preparation; but Barbiewas about the palest lookin' bride 'at ever got ready to toe thescratch, I reckon. The Hawthorn critter had stayed over at his ownranch for the last week, an' Barbie wouldn't 'a' had no search-warrantswore out if he had sent over word that it looked so good to him thathe had decided to continue to remain there for a million years. 

The guests had arrived plenty early, an' whenever Barbie would stumbleon to a bunch of 'em she would head up an' get right rompy again. Wehad about a ton o' stuff cooked, 'cause we was tol'able thoroughlyexperienced on the neighbors. Folks out our way ain't nowise uppityabout such matters. All you need to do is to hint that a littlecelebration is goin' to be pulled off an' you can count on theirpresence; an' if so be 'at you've forgot anybody's invite, why like asnot they'll hear about it anyway an' be on hand in plenty o' time. Theweddin' was scheduled for Wednesday evenin' at eight thirty; but bySunday the house was full an' the grounds looked like an Injuncamp-meetin'. 

Jabez, intended to give Barbie the full penalty; none o' your squiresfor him, nothin' but Friar Tuck, who was one o' these here Episcolopianpreachers what sport a full regalia an' a book o' tactics calculated tomeet any complication a human bein' is apt to veer into. Some saythey're just Roman Catholics, gone Republican, an' some say thatthey're the ones who started the first strike--I don't know much aboutit myself. 

He hadn't arrived by seven o'clock, but we didn't worry none; he mighthave had to come fifty miles, an' he never had any time to waste. 

We'd had a sort o' light supper at four o'clock, an' it was intended tohave the weddin' feast after the performance was finished. It was justeight o'clock when Friar Tuck swung off his pony an' as many of thecrowd as could gathered in the big dinin' room an' waited for the wordsto be said. Spidier Kelley came an' told me that he had locked thewoman in the office, an' that she was behavin' herself reasonable, so Iknew 'at the finish wasn't far off. The tables an' chairs had beentaken out, the intention bein' to dance in the store-room after theceremony, an' while the dancin' was goin' on to set the banquet in thedinin' room. Oh, it was all planned out like a theater show: Jabez hada full orchestra too, three fiddlers, a guitarist, an' a fifer; an'they began to play solemn music, like they allus do at a wedding. It'sa toss-up which is the most touchin', a weddin' or a funeral, --afeller's takin' a mighty long shot at either one. 

The whole crowd was on edge, but myself was strained to the breakin'point. Just as the old clock struck the half hour the orchestra pealedforth a march, an' they all came struttin' in, slow an' stately an'top-heavy, accordin' to the city way. Jabez was in a brand-new suit o'black store clothes, an' had a mighty proud look on his face; he waswearin' gloves too. Barbie was a-leanin' on his arm, an' she waswearin' a dress 'at would 'a' made some o' the queens crane their necksa bit, I reckon. Hawthorn had his nerve with him, an' wore a low-neckedvest an' a droop-tailed coat. I had my own rig like this hid away inthe stallion stable; so it didn't jar me none; but some o' the boys hada hard time chokin' back their grins. It was the first weddin' I hadever seen where the groom hadn't wore a silk handkerchief around hisneck. 

They all met in front o' Friar Tuck, who was standin' under a tisshapaper bell with about four miles o' ribbon tied to it. I couldn't seeBarbie's face on account o' the veil she was wearin'; but she held herhead high, an' I knew she was ready to take all the jumps withoutbalkin'. The Friar had one o' these voices 'at never seem to say anidle word, an' the room got as still as though it was a trial for life;which ain't so mighty far off the mark, that bein' the usual sentence, an' out our way we don't count it game to get pardoned out for a newtrial. 

I was on pins an' needles durin' the openin', but Friar Tuck boomedalong until he arrived at the part where it sez "If any man knows justcause why this here couple should not be joined together in holywedlock let him make his kick right now, or forever after hold hispeace. " The room was as still as the grave, an' I had just taken a fullbreath, so that I could make a clean throw, when a deep voice at theback of the room sez: "I think that I know a cause. I don't believe thegirl is doin' this of her own free will. "

We all whirled around, an' there stood Silver Dick. Dusty he was an'travel-stained; but as he loomed up, straight an' tall, he certainlydid look like a man. His beard was gone, his face was pale with a sortof unnatural whiteness, an' he was ganted down in weight a little; butall the same he put up a great front as he stood with his hands on hiships, his head thrown back, an' a grim smile on his face. Quick as aflash the ol' man, who had half expected this, pulls a gun out of hispocket an' drops it on Dick, while the crowd politely splits apart togive 'em a fair show. Barbie had settled back, an' I caught her in myarms an' held her a moment; but all the time my eyes were on Dick asthough I'd been charmed. 

Never in my life have I seen such a figger of a man as him, as he stoodthere alone an' unfriended. His hat was tilted back a bit, an' hisshort wavey hair rippled across his forehead, his mustache had beenshaved off and his lips somehow reminded me of the muzzle of a gun, they was that firm; while his eyes--man, he had the greatest eyes inthe world. Blue steel they was, but never for a moment free from somehidden fire. When he smiled they danced; when he frowned they blazed;but to-night the' was a new darin' in 'em, --a confidence, a purpose, an' a strength that defied Death himself. 

He had changed a heap since we'd seen him last. His face was as smoothas a woman's, his hands were white, an' his clothes looked like pictureclothes out of a book. He didn't speak for some time, an' then he said:"Is your gun broke, Mr. Judson, or do you think it would be only thesquare thing to talk things over first? I think I can interest you. Iam not armed; perhaps you would be more comfortable if you lowered yourgun until you were ready to shoot. "

The' was a sting in his slow, sarcastic tone, an' a scowl came overJabez' face; but he lowered his gun just the same. I didn't want tosoften any toward Dick so I had to keep grittin' my teeth as I watchedhim, 'cause bluffin' a man like Cast Steel, armed an' ready, was astirrin' sight, an' Dick looked as if he had the backin' of an army. 

"Mr. Judson, " sez Dick, "when I left here your daughter was promised tomarry me, an' I promised to write as often as possible; but after Istarted in to clean up my record I was denied the privilege of writin'. I am here now, with my record clean; the' ain't no spot on this earthwhere I don't feel free to go--an' now I claim her hand. "

"Claim her hand, do ya?" sez Jabez, with a wicked leer. "Well, youallus was better at claimin' than at gettin'. I don't want to sadden mydaughter's weddin' night, but if you ain't minded to go your waypeaceable I'll have to spoil ya. "

"Barbie, " sez Dick, an' his voice was meller as a flute, "don't ya loveme no more?"

She raised her head an' looked at him, but she couldn't speak, so sheonly nodded her head. 

"Will ya marry me?" sez Dick, an' we all waited a long time for theanswer. 

Once or twice she tried it, before her voice finally got back to her, "Dick, " she sez, "I waited for ya a long time, an' I never heard fromyou; so I thought 'at you had either forgot me or else you were--wereno longer living; an'--oh, Dick, you have no idee how hard it has beenfor me. You can't imagine how often I refused, nor what a lonely life Iwas forced to live; but I've never ceased to love you, an' I allus told'em so. Now I am half married to another man; an' I don't see what wecan do. "

"Well, I see what we can do!" blurts out Jabez, raisin' his gun again. "We can go right on with this ceremony. You have give your word, an'the word of a Judson is bindin'. As for you, you sneakin' card-sharp, I'll give you just ten to state your intentions. "

Jabez started to count slow an' steady with his left forefinger, whilehe held his gun above his right shoulder ready for the drop. His facewas white an' his eyes blazed like live coals. The' was no time towaste now; Dick had a card up his sleeve, an' this was his chance totake the trick, or he'd spoil my own game. The room was so still ithurt you to breathe. Somebody sneezed, an' it sounded like a boilerexplosion. 

"Judson, " sez Dick, an' he was smilin' now; but it was the chillin'smile I had first seen durin' the card game. It wasn't a pleasantsmile. "Judson, I did not cheat durin' that game, an' I never didcheat, although gamblin was my business. You have become a fanatic onthe subject o' truth, an' I propose to tell you some. You are a bully;you have bullied this girl in order to make her consent; and you are acoward, a miserable coward. Any man afraid of his own past is a coward;and your past stands back of you like a ghost, doggin' your stepsawake, an' hauntin' your dreams 'sleep. You preach the truth; but yourentire life is one black--"

"Stop!" yells Jabez, holdin' his hand over his heart, but gettin' thedrop on Dick, although his face looked like the face of a man longdead. "Say another word an' a bullet will drive it back through yourteeth. "

"All right, " sez Dick, still smilin' his cruel, hard smile; "but youhave only counted up to five, an' you gave me ten. You're surely honestenough to stick to your own agreement. Begin to count now, while Istart the tale about Jack Whitman an' the Creole Belle--"

When Dick mentioned the name o' Jack Whitman both o' Jabez' arms fellto his side; an' when Dick spoke o' the Creole Belle his legs shuttogether like a pocket knife; an' he crumpled down on a little paddedbench they had fixed up to kneel on. His face was gray, an' his eyeshad a scum over 'em, while his mouth hung open like the mouth of a mandyin' of old age. Barbie gave a low, waverin' call: "Oh, what have youdone, oh, Dick! Daddy, Daddy; what's the matter Dad?"

She jumped to his side, an' after tearin' off her veil she knelt at hisfeet; but he drew his hands feebly away, an' refused to touch her;while a look of sorrow--sorrow an' pain an' shame, swept across his oldgray face, an' his lips trembled so 'at he couldn't talk. 

I glanced at Silver Dick; he stood there with his lips set tight, hiseyes cold an' hard, an' I knew 'at he was ready to make his kill, costwhat it would. 

"Oh, Daddy, " pleaded Barbie, "don't look this way. Tell me what it isall about. Don't turn away from me, Dad; I don't care what it is, orwhether it is true or false--I am ready to forgive you, an' to loveyou. Look at me. Daddy. I care more for you than for any one else inthe whole world. 

"Yes, " she sez, standin' up an' flashin' a look into Dick's eyes asfierce as they had ever shot themselves. "Yes, an' if you think to winme by strikin' down my old Dad, why--we have both been mistaken, an' Idespise you!"

Silver looked as though she had struck him in the face with a whip; thehot blood swept up to his hair, an' then left him ghastly white again;while she put her hand on the ol' man's shoulder an' looked like aneagle protectin' her brood. I looked around for Hawthorn, who hadbecome entirely forgotten. Gee! how I envied him his chance just then;but there he stood, lookin' like a white rabbit bein' tried for murder. The girl looked at him too, gave him one long scornful look; then shelooked back at Silver, standin' all alone like the statue of a king;an' then she looked up at me. "Happy, " she sez, "you never failed meyet. Clear this room--clear it of every one but just ourselves. "

"Clear the room, " I yells. "Come, friends, this is the time to steplively. You can go into the store-room an' dance if you want to, butthe weddin' has been postponed. "

They filed out in good order, all except Dick, Friar Tuck, an'Hawthorn. Hawthorn stood leanin' again the wall, lookin' at Dick asthough he was seein' a ghost. I tapped him on the shoulder. "Git!" Isez, "your number didn't win nothin'. " He gives a start, then down onthe floor he flops with his eyes turned in an' his mouth frothin' alittle. Friar Tuck straightened him out an' began to rub his hands; an'I turned to Dick. 

"Now, it's your turn to go, " I sez. "I'd advise you to go clear toEngland, where you'll find good news. "

He came toward me as if he didn't see me, an' when he reached me hesaid: "You better go along too, Happy. I want to talk to them alone. "

"Jim, " I said, usin' the old name, "I don't want to do you harm. Thisgame is up; you'd better go along peaceable. "

He looked at me a moment in surprise, an' then his face got haughty, an' he put out his hand to push me aside. I took him by the arm an'swung him over against the wall. At first he couldn't seem tounderstand that I was in ear-nest, an' then his hand shot to hip an'breast; but he had spoke the truth, he wasn't armed. I had him covered, an' he sneered into my face without speakin'. I walled over an'examined him, but he didn't have even a knife. I didn't have the heartto drive him forth like a dog, so I sez, too low for the rest to hear:"Jim, I know the double life you've been leadin'; but you can't breakBarbie's heart. You're a married man, an' I know it. "

"You lie, " he sez, clear an' cold. It was just the word I needed. 

I crossed the room an' laid my gun on a chair, an' then I turned tohim. "We're equal now, " sez I. "The winner gets the gun. "

He wasn't as strong as I was, quite; an' he was some out o' condition;but he had had trainin' more than me, an' for a few minutes he stood meoff; an' then as he struck at me I grabbed his wrist, his left wrist, with my right hand, shot it in close to his body, an' clamped it behindhis back; while I got his throat with my left. Slowly I brought him tohis knees, my fingers all the time workin' deeper into his throat, while his right kept jabbin' me till it made me grunt. No one tried tointerfere at first; but then he got too weak to strike. Barbie saidsharply, "Happy Hawkins, stop that at once!"

"I'll stop as soon as he promisses to go without further trouble, " sezI. 

She got up an' came across the room to us like a flash, an' seized thewrist that held Jim's throat. "Let him alone, Happy, " she said fiercely. 

I gave him a little push that sent him to the floor, an' then I pickedup my gun. Jim rose to his feet; but the starch was purty well takenout of him, an' of course this touched her heart, she bein' a woman. "Are you hurt, Dick?" she sez sympathetic. "Yes, I'm hurt, " he snapsback, glarin' at me; "not at what he's done, but at his lies. "

"It's no lie, " sez I. 

"What was it?" asked Barbie--of Jim. He didn't answer for a minute, an'when he did his voice shook; but he looked into her eyes as heanswered: "He said I was married. "

Barbie drew away with a sharp gasp an' looked at him in horror; thenshe looked at me with her face all drawn up with anguish. "I tried toprepare you for this three weeks ago, Barbie, " I sez, "an' you--youknow what you threw in my face. "

"Oh, Happy, Happy, " she whispered, "it's not true, it's not true--sayit's not true!"

"It is true, Barbie, " sez I, an' she gave a scream. 

"It is not true, " sez Dick, an' she glanced from one to the other. 

"I can prove it at once, " sez I; "she's here to-night. "

"Who?" asked Dick with a start. 

"The wife you left in Laramie, " sez I. 

"Good God, you haven't brought her here, have you!" shouted Dick, an'Barbie a queer, heart-broken little laugh. "It's true, it's true, " shesez. "You have convicted yourself, and it's true. Happy, "--she went onspeakin' to me, --"of all the men I have ever known you are the only onethat has been always true to me. You said that you would never marry meunless I asked you to--prove to me that this man is already married, an' I'll marry you. I'll get down on my knees an' beg you to marry me. The world seems full of wolves an' I want a man I can trust. "

She was wild, an' the look in her eyes frightened me; but she came overan' put her hand on my arm, an' said: "Prove it, prove it, an' then letus go away together!"

"She's out in the office, " sez I. "Shall I bring her in here?"

"No, " sez Dick. "Happy, for heaven's sake don't do anything hasty. "

"Bring her in, bring her in at once!" sez Barbie. "This is mywedding-day, an' my father wanted it to be the talk of the whole state. Bring her in!"

Just as I reached the door it opened, an' the strange woman came inwith old Melisse, who was makin' queer throaty noises like a dog. Herveil was raised, an' I stepped back in surprise. She was an elderlywoman with gray hair, white at the temples, an' dark eyes that restedfor a moment on Dick, for a longer second on Barbie, an' then stoppedwhen they met the starin' eyes of of Cast Steel, who had staggered tohis feet. 

He stood there with his hands clutchin' the side of his head, an' hislips movin' rapidly, but not a sound comin' through 'em, an' then hisknees gave way beneath him, an' Friar Tuck eased him back to the littlepadded bench. The hands of the strange woman were clasped on herbreast; but even when the rest of us started for Jabez she didn't move. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

THE FINAL RECKONING

It hurts me inside to see anything plumb beaten. I've hunted a lot, an'I'm as keen on the trail as a terrier dog an' durin the fight I don'thave no disturbin shudders; but after I've won an' I see the light ofjoy an' hope an' freedom fadin' out of eyes that have been so brightan' fearless, the' 's allus somethin' 'at swells inside o' my breastan' makes me half sorry 'at all fights can't end in a draw. The' 's onekind of nature which I never yet was able to figger out, an' that's thenature that can rub it in on a fallen foe. 

Poor old Jabez, I'd judged him an' I'd judges him harsh; but when I sawhim go to pieces there on the padded bench I just seemed to go topieces with him. When I saw the strength leave him like the steam froman engine as the flood reaches its fire-box; when I saw the hands thatthought they was strong enough to shape the future danglin' between hiscrooked knees, an' the eyes that had never before asked mercy lookin'up glazed an' pitiful, why, it felt to me as if I was just tryin' tosend the strength out of my own body into his. Poor ol' Jabez, he wascast steel to the finish, no spring, just simply rigid an' stiff, tillat last he broke. 

But runnin' the universe is no job for a human; every man would chooseto look his best when he's to meet the one woman; but if Jabez hadstill been standin' like a rock an' lookin' out at the world througheagle-eyes the woman at the door wouldn't never have spoke to him. Whenshe saw him tired an' broken an' heart-sick of life itself, the motherin her finally tore out all the wrongs o' the past, an' she crossed theroom an' took one of his hands an' said, "George, you mustn't give up, you mustn't give up now. "

Barbie was holdin' his other hand, an' the ol' man looked first fromone to the other while big tears gathered in his open eyes an' rolledslowly down his cheeks. I tell you it was a touchy sight, an' I wassweatin' like a fish when ol' Friar Tuck tip-toed over an' put one handon my shoulder an' the other on Jim's, an' said: "They'll get alongbetter without us, boys. Let's just step outside till they call us. "

Oh, I tell you that Friar Tuck was a sky-pilot for true! We sneakedstealthily to the door, passin' ol' Melisse on the way. She was huddledup on the floor prayin' in Spanish, an' Friar Tuck rested his hand onher head a second, an' then we went out into the night air--I can tastemy first breath of it yet. 

He went over to see how the crowd was doin' in the storeroom, sayin'that he thought he'd get some eatin'-things under way to sort of easethe strain--he knew a human all right, the Friar did. Jim an' I walkedout together under the stars, an' I told him my side of it; an' he toldme that he had met Jack Whitman when he was runnin' a gamblin' placeclose to the New Mexico line. Whitman ran it on the square an' he hadsaved Jim a lot o' money one night, an' then afterwards Jim had helpedto stand off a hold-up gang, an' a strong feelin' had grew up between'em. Whitman had told part of the story, but made out that Barbie'smother was his own sister. When she had left Jabez an' the child--Idon't know, myself, just why she left him. It started when she foundout how he had lied to Whitman an' mighty near killed him; but just allthat happened, before she burned out her brand and skipped, I don'tknow to this day, but they was both purty high-headed an' nervy intheir youth, an' I've often suspected that Jabez' conscience didn't getto workin' smooth until after he was left alone with the child on hishands. It sometimes happens that way. 

Well, anyhow, when she had left him she had gone to the southern partof California, where she'd got a job teachin' school. Whitman hadlocated her, an' when her health gave out he had sent her money withoutlettin' her know where it came from. Whitman had follered minin' tillhis wife died, an' then he got to speculatin' in stocks, finallygettin' cleaned out full an' proper, an' then he started to gamblin' inearnest. It was from him that Jim had picked up most of his idees aboutbusiness an' gamblin'. When Whitman himself had died he had turnedBarbie's mother over to Jim. 

She was livin' on a ranch in northern Colorado at this time, on accountof her health. When Jim got cleaned out by the cattle crowd, an' openedhis joint in Laramie, he brought her over to keep house an' be companyfor him. He pertended to be the son of a wild uncle she'd had, an' hefixed up a believable tale to go with it. All the while he'd been atthe Diamond Dot he had supposed that she was Whitman's sister--she wentby her maiden name of Miss Garrison, an' she had never told him herfull story, simply hintin' enough at times to let him know that she hadgone through the mill. 

He had never pieced things together until I had sent him my letter, an'then he guessed how it was, an' puttin' what I told him onto what shean' Whitman had told him, he saw it all. He didn't know what had madeher leave Judson, or rather Jordan; but he said he was positive it washis fault, as she was some the finest woman he had ever met, exceptin'of course her own daughter. 

We talked it all over there in the starlight, until ol' Melisse camean' called us in. I didn't want to go; I was tryin' to cut myself outof the game entirely an' forget that I even existed; for the' was a cryin my heart that wouldn't hush, an' I wanted to be alone; but when Jiminsisted I braced up an' went in. 

Ol' Jabez looked a heap better, but still shaky; his wife had a tenderhalf sad smile on her face, while Barbie was radiant with the joy shehad waited for so long; she had kept her father, she had found hermother, an' she was about to meet--her lover. I saw the Sioux Injunsdoin' the dance once, where they tie thongs through their breastmuscles an' circle around a pole. Every now an' again they'd fling backtheir full weight on the thongs, an' their faces would light withsavage joy. That was the kind of joy I felt when I saw Barbie's face. 

Her mother smiled into Jim's eyes when he came in, an' Jabez stood upan' held out his hand. "Do you want to marry her?" he said. 

"That's the only wish I have, " sez Jim. 

"Then she's yours, an' I thank God she's got a true man, " sez Jabez, puttin' Barbie's hand into Jim's. I turned my face away. 

The first thing I knew I felt a hand on my shoulder an' another handtaken' hold of mine. I turned an' looked down into Barbie's face, but Icouldn't bear the light in her eyes. I turned my face away again--an'my lips were tremblin', the blasted traitors. 

But she turned me around until my eyes looked down into hers, an' theywere swimmin' in tears. Her little soft hand clasped my big rough one, tight an' warm, an' her voice was husky as she whispered, "You--youwon't care much, will you, Happy?"

"No, Barbie, " I sez between my set teeth, "not much"; an' by God, Ismiled. 

"An', Happy, " she went on, "my home will allus be your home, an'anything that is mine is yours; but my heart ain't mine, ol' pal; an'so--an' so we can't help it. "

"No, " I sez, an' I was back in the saddle again this time. "No, littlegel, we can't help it; but we can allus make the best of it; so I votethat we don't disappoint the crowd; but go on an' have a weddin'. "

She backed away from me a little, while her face took the color of arose, an' her eyes went to the floor; an' then I turned to Jabez an'said: "Jabez, I've took a mighty sight off you in my time without everputtin' up one little squeal; but if you send this gang away to-nightwithout a weddin', why, I quit you for good. "

The' was all so wrought up that I was about the steadiest in the room;an' in about two minutes I had 'em lined up, an' the crowd back inplace an' Friar Tuck in full regimentals under the tissha paper bell. 

Before we could begin, however. Jabez mounted on a chair an' said in anew, soft voice: "Friends, in all my life I never told but one blacklie. I may have spoken falsely through ignorance, or to spare sorrow tomy child; but I never fought through the temptation but once, an' gotwhipped by it. I told one black lie, an' it was the blackest one evertold, I reckon. It brought me my money an' my wife; an' my load ofshame an' sin an' contempt--it lost me the best friend I ever had, an'it led to my losin' my wife for most o' my journey. All my life I'vetried to live down that lie an' to fill every man I met with areverence for the truth, an' that's what makes me so blame ashamed ofthe way I've treated Dick. I ought to have seen quicker'n anybody elsethe kind of a fight he was a-makin', an' pitched in an' helped himinstead of findin' him guilty, on the first suspicion, an' tryin' tomake his life as sour as mine has been. But"--here Jabez put his armabout Barbie's shoulder, an' looked down on her a moment--"it was allon account o' this little girl. "

Then we all gave a cheer an' Friar Tuck tied the knot, after whichevery one opened the sluice-gates o' their hearts an' let thesociability gush forth in a torrent. I stuck around until the dancin'began, an' then I flopped myself on a hoss an' rode, an' rode, an'rode. The air was cool an' crisp as it swept over my face; but it was along time before it took the fever out of my blood. Finally I circledback to of Monody's grave an' got off an' sat there till the sun cameup, fresh an' strong. Ol' Monody had taken the burden 'at had beenhanded to him, an' had borne it along to a mighty fire finish; an' itmade me ashamed of myself, so I got to my feet, gave myself a shake, an' rode back to the ranch house. 

CHAPTER THIRTY

THE AFTERGLOW

I didn't look for anybody to be about that early after the night thatoutfit had put in; but just before I reached the corral I saw Barbiean' Jim ridin' slowly toward the stable. They was ridin' close togetheran' lookin' into each other's eyes, an' I'm glad to say that even thatsoon I felt nothin' but joy in the sight. A little farther on I spiedJabez an' his wife standin' on a knoll, lookin' at the sunshine, an'before I reached the house I saw two others swingin' up the trail on alope. In a minute I made out Bill Hammersly an' Jessamie. For just onesecond I did feel a little bit out o' the world; but by the time theyrode up I was able to welcome 'em with a joke. 

"We lost our way, " sez Bill. "Is it too late?"

"It's never too late, " sez I. "But I'm right down sorry that you didn'tarrive last evenin'. We had about as stirrin' a weddin' here as everyou see. "

"Who was it that Barbie married?" asked Jessamie. 

Just then Jim an' Barbie came around the corner o' the house, an' Isez: "Mr. An' Mrs. Bill Hammersly, allow me to make you introduced tothe Earl o' Clarenden an' his bride. "

They was totally devoid of remarks for some time. Jim was the first tospeak, an' he seemed a trifle put out. "What do you mean by suchnonsense, Happy?" sez he. Then they all looked at him on account of himusin' the tone he had. I turned to Barbie an' sez easily: "I wastellin' Bill down at Frisco about a month ago that I rather doubted ifJim here would take the job; but if so be that he wants it, it's openfor him. If not, that Hawthorn thing has the next chance. "

I stepped back a few paces after this an' let 'em talk it out. Jim wasthe most flabbergasted of any, Barbie looked a little bit frightened;but Jessamie sez: "If Happy Hawkins sez 'at you're the Earl ofClarenden, why you might as well give up. He has inside information onevery given subject, an' things don't never happen until he's had hisfinger in it somewhere. " Jessamie allus was a good feller. 

An' that's the way it turned out. Jim an' Barbie went back to Clarendenon their honeymoon, an' Barbie's taken the lead over there the same asshe'd do anywhere. I stayed right at the Diamond Dot 'cause Jabezdidn't seem able to get along without me; an' I hit work harder thanever. Now I oversee the Diamond Dot, Jim's place down in the PanHandle, which is full stocked an' runnin' easy with the ex-governor'sbackin', an' also the ol' Colonel Scott ranch which Bill and Jessamiefell heir to. 

Jim an' Barbie an' the children come back every summer; Bill an'Jessamie an' their outfit hop in on me most any time, Ches an' hisbunch drop in for a week or so now an' again, an' if I ever do getlonesome I just sneak my full-dress uniform out o' the hay an' go downto Frisco for a little easin' off o' the guy-ropes. Oh, I haven't hadto petition to congress to have my name changed; I'm Happy. I'm happierthan any human ever had a right to be, an' life never drags none--atleast not in the daytimes. The' 's dozens o' boys named after me, an'only the recordin' angel knows how many dogs an' ponies. Take it as abig gatherin', an' if any one yells, "Happy, you rascal, get out o'here, " Why the' 's a general stampede. 

Barbie's allus extra kind to me, as if she still felt that the' wassomethin' left for me to forgive her; but my goodness, the' ain't athing. It wasn't her fault--she couldn't never have loved me--not inthe only way I wanted her to. And it ain't my fault--I couldn't helpbut love her, an' the' was only one way that I could love her, an' thatwas world without end. I'm not sorry I loved her; why, the' ain'tnothin' in life I'd take for this love of mine--and it is mine. The'ain't nothin' can ever take it away from me, the' ain't nothin' canever put a limit to it; an' though it has burned in my heart like fire, I reckon the worst it has ever done was to burn up the natural-bornevil I started out with. I ain't mean-hearted nor jealous--I can't evenunderstand it. 

I can easy see how a feller would kill a man for ill-treatin' the womanhe loved; but I can't see how he could marry a girl who didn't love himwith all her heart. An' Jim, he's been square. They're happy, an' Istand afar off watchin' 'em; an' some way when I'm out in thestarlight--when it seems that I ain't lyin' on the earth at all, butfloatin' slow an' easy like an eagle restin' on his wings--I seem toshare in their love, an' I don't seem to grow old. 

I don't reckon I ever will grow old, 'cause love is--love is--some wayMY love is like the starlight itself; an' the starlight don't scorchan' weaken an' pester like the sun; it soothes an' softens an' lifts aman up where it's calm an' steady and--and pure. 

The longer I live the fonder I grow o' the stars. It don't take as muchsleep for me now as it used to, an' I never was dopey; so the' 'smighty few nights 'at I don't have a little visit with 'em. I know now'at they keep whirlin' an' circlin' away up there; but they neverdeceive a body. You can allus keep track of 'm, an' when the seasonschange an' you can't see 'em for a while, you know 'at they're tendin'to their duties just the same; an' somehow it kind o' holds a man tothe trail when the trail is gettin' rougher than he thinks he can stand. 

I've got a heap o' friends, men an' women of all kinds; an' when theycome to me ragin' an' bitter, I just take 'em out an' show 'em thestars; tell 'em the ones who are about to go on a long journey, but whowill come back again when they're due, an' not a minute late. The' 'ssomething about the stars 'at allus seems to take the wickedness out ofa human. I've had 'em come to me--men an' women both--with murder intheir hearts; but after we've visited a while with the stars theyeither sigh or sob--but they allus go away clean an' rested. 

It's a funny notion; but sometimes I feet like as if I'd like to be astar myself; away up above the worry an' selfishness of the world, an'helpin' to bring peace an content to those who look up to me. It's afunny notion--especially for a feller what's follered the trail I have. 

Me an' the preachers lock horns purty often; but they're all right, most of 'em, when you treat 'em like humans an' make 'em play fair. Oneof 'em happened out here on a visit, to sort o' rest up, an' he calledme some kind of a Persian name an' read me a little book called TheOther Wise Man. I reckon I know that book, all except the big names, byheart; an' if one of my stars would ever cut out o' the herd an' gooff, slow an' stately on a new trail, why I'd foller that star--Godknows I'd foller; an'--I wouldn't let on to no one else exceptyou--but, way down, deep in my heart, I'm hopin' that sometime I'll getthe chance.