Lawful Improvements
: The Flying U's Last StandFlorence Grace Hallman must not be counted a woman without principle or
kindness of heart or these qualities which make women beloved of men.
She was a pretty nice young woman, unless one roused her antagonism. Had
Andy Green, for instance, accepted in good faith her offer of a position
with the Syndicate, he would have found her generous and humorous and
loyal and kind. He would probably have fallen in love with her before
<
that hardness and that ability for spiteful scheming which came to the
surface and made the whole Happy Family look upon her as an enemy.
Florence Grace Hillman was intensely human, as well as intensely loyal
to her firm. She had liked Andy Green better than anyone--herself
included--realized. It was not altogether her vanity that was hurt when
she discovered how he had worked against her--how little her personality
had counted with him. She felt chagrined and humiliated and as though
nothing save the complete subjugation of Andy Green and the complete
thwarting of his plans could ease her own hurt.
Deep in her heart she hoped that he would eventually want her to forgive
him his treachery. She would give him a good, hard fight--she would
show him that she was mistress of the situation. She would force him to
respect her as a foe; after that--Andy Green was human, certainly. She
trusted to her feminine intuition to say just what should transpire
after the fight; trusted to her feminine charm also to bring her
whatever she might desire.
That was the personal side of the situation. There was also the
professional side, which urged her to do battle for the interests of her
firm. And since both the personal and the professional aspects of the
case pointed to the same general goal, it may be assumed that Florence
Grace was prepared to make a stiff fight.
Then Andy Green proceeded to fall in love with that sharp-tongued
Rosemary Allen; and Rosemary Allen had no better taste than to let
herself be lost and finally found by Andy, and had the nerve to show
very plainly that she not only approved of his love but returned it.
After that, Florence Grace was in a condition to stop at nothing--short
of murder--that would defeat the Happy Family in their latest project.
While all the Bear Paw country was stirred up over the lost child,
Florence Grace Hillman said it was too bad, and had they found him yet?
and went right along planting contestants upon the claims of the Happy
Family. She encouraged the building of claim-shacks and urged firmness
in holding possession of them. She visited the man whom Irish had
knocked down with a bottle of whisky, and she had a long talk with him
and with the doctor who attended him. She saw to it that the contest
notices were served promptly upon the Happy Family, and she hurried in
shipments of stock. Oh, she was very busy indeed, during the week that
was spent in hunting the Kid. When he was found, and the rumor of
an engagement between Rosemary Allen and that treacherous Andy Green
reached her, she was busier still; but since she had changed her methods
and was careful to mask her real purpose behind an air of passive
resentment, her industry became less apparent.
The Happy Family did not pay much attention to Florence Grace Hallman
and her studied opposition. They were pretty busy attending to their own
affairs; Andy Green was not only busy but very much in love, so that
he almost forgot the existence of Florence Grace except on the rare
occasions when he met her riding over the prairie trails.
First of all they rounded up the stock that had been scattered, and
they did not stop when they crossed Antelope Coulee with the settlers'
cattle. They bedded them there until after dark. Then they drove them
on to the valley of Dry Lake, crossed that valley on the train traveled
road and pushed the herd up on Lonesome Prairie and out as far upon the
benchland as they had time to drive them.
They did not make much effort toward keeping it a secret. Indeed Weary
told three or four of the most indignant settlers, next day, where they
would find their cattle. But he added that the feed was pretty good back
there, and advised them to leave the stock out there for the present.
"It isn't going to do you fellows any good to rear up on your hind legs
and make a holler," he said calmly. "We haven't hurt your cattle. We
don't want to have trouble with anybody. But we're pretty sure to have a
fine, large row with our neighbors if they don't keep on their own side
the fence."
That fence was growing to be more than a mere figure of speech The Happy
Family did not love the digging of post-holes and the stretching of
barbed wire; on the contrary they hated it so deeply that you could not
get a civil word out of one of them while the work went on; yet they put
in long hours at the fence-building.
They had to take the work in shifts on account of having their own
cattle to watch day and night. Sometimes it happened that a man tamped
posts or helped stretch wire all day, and then stood guard two or three
hours on the herd at night; which was wearing on the temper. Sometimes,
because they were tired, they quarreled over small things.
New shipments of cattle, too, kept coming to Dry Lake. Invariably these
would be driven out towards Antelope Coulee--farther if the drivers
could manage it--and would have to be driven back again with what
patience the Happy Family could muster. No one helped them among the
settlers. There was every attitude among the claim-dwellers, from open
opposition to latent antagonism. None were quite neutral--and yet the
Happy Family did not bother any save these who had filed contests to
their claims, or who took active part in the cattle driving.
The Happy Family were not half as brutal as they might have been. In
spite of their no-trespassing signs they permitted settlers to drive
across their claims with wagons and water-barrels, to haul water from
One Man Creek when the springs and the creek in Antelope Coulee went
dry.
They did not attempt to move the shacks of the later contestants off
their claims. Though they hated the sight of them and of the owners who
bore themselves with such provocative assurance, they grudged the time
the moving would take. Besides that the Honorable Blake had told them
that moving the shacks would accomplish no real, permanent good. Within
thirty days they must appear before the register and receiver and file
answer to the contest, and he assured them that forbearance upon their
part would serve to strengthen their case with the Commissioner.
It goes to prove how deeply in earnest they were, that they immediately
began to practice assiduously the virtues of mildness and forbearance.
They could, he told them, postpone the filing of their answers until
close to the end of the thirty days; which would serve also to delay
the date of actual trial of the contests, and give the Happy Family more
time for their work.
Their plans had enlarged somewhat. They talked now of fencing the whole
tract on all four sides, and of building a dam across the mouth of a
certain coulee in the foothills which drained several miles of rough
country, thereby converting the coulee into a reservoir that would
furnish water for their desert claims. It would take work, of course;
but the Happy Family; were beginning to see prosperity on the trail
ahead and nothing in the shape of hard work could stop them from coming
to hang-grips with fortune.
Chip helped them all he could, but he had the Flying U to look after,
and that without the good team-work of the Happy Family which had kept
things moving along so smoothly. The team-work now was being used in a
different game; a losing game, one would say at first glance.
So far the summer had been favorable to dry-farming. The more
enterprising of the settlers had some grain and planted potatoes upon
freshly broken soil, and these were growing apace. They did not know
about these scorching August winds, that might shrivel crops in a day.
They did not realize that early frosts might kill what the hot winds
spared. They became enthusiastic over dry-farming, and their resentment
toward the Happy family increased as their enthusiasm waxed strong. The
Happy Family complained to one another that you couldn't pry a nester
loose from his claim with a crowbar.
In this manner did civilization march out and take possession of the
high prairies that lay close to the Flying U. They had a Sunday School
organized, with the meetings held in a double shack near the trail to
Dry Lake. The Happy family, riding that way, sometimes heard voices
mingled in the shrill singing of some hymn where, a year before, they
had listened to the hunting song of the coyote.
Eighty acres to the man--with that climate and that soil they never
could make it pay; with that soil especially since it was mostly barren.
The Happy Family knew it, and could find it in their hearts to pity the
men who were putting in dollars and time and hard work there. But for
obvious reasons they did not put their pity into speech.
They fenced their west line in record time. There was only one gate
in the whole length of it, and that was on the trail to Dry Lake. Not
content with trusting to the warning of four strands of barbed wire
stretched so tight that they hummed to the touch, they took turns in
watching it--"riding fence," in range parlance--and in watching the
settlers' cattle.
To H. J. Owens and his fellow contestants they paid not the slightest
attention, because the Honorable Blake had urged them personally to
ignore any and all claimants. To Florence Grace Hallman they gave no
heed, believing that she had done her worst, and that her worst was
after all pretty weak, since the contests she had caused to be filed
could not possibly be approved by the government so long as the Happy
Family continued to abide by every law and by-law and condition and
requirement in their present through-going and exemplary manner.
You should have seen how mild-mannered and how industrious the Happy
Family were, during these three weeks which followed the excitement of
the Kid's adventuring into the wild. You would have been astonished,
and you would have made the mistake of thinking that they had changed
permanently and might be expected now to settle down with wives and
raise families and hay and cattle and potatoes, and grow beards,
perhaps, and become well-to-do ranchers.
The Happy Family were almost convinced that they were actually leaving
excitement behind them for good and all. They might hold back
the encroaching tide of immigration from the rough land along the
river--that sounded like something exciting, to be sure. But they must
hold back the tide with legal proceedings and by pastoral pursuits, and
that promised little in the way of brisk, decisive action and strong
nerves and all these qualities which set the Happy Family somewhat apart
from their fellows.
More
-
Joan Disobeys
What he next knew was a fire of agony that wrapped his whole body and consciousness flashed back on him. Strong arms lifted him up, up; above him he sensed the eyes of his torturer, dim in moonlight, and he beat his clubbed left fist into that face.... Joan Reads By Firelight
There is no silence so fearful, so breathless, so searching as the night silence of a wild country buried five feet deep in snow. For thirty miles or so, north, south, east, and west of the small, half-smothered speck of gold in Pierre Landis's ca... Joan Runs Away
It was a January night when Joan, her rough head almost in the ashes, had read "Isabella and the Pot of Basil" by the light of flames. It was in March, a gray, still afternoon, when, looking through Prosper's bookcase, she came upon the tale again... John Craven's Method
Mr. John Craven could not be said to take his school-teaching seriously; and indeed, any one looking at his face would hardly expect him to take anything seriously, and certainly those who in his college days followed and courted and kept pace wit... John Gale's Hour
It was a heathenish time of night to arouse the girl, thought Burrell, as he left the barracks, but he must allay these fears that were besetting him, he must see Necia at once. The low, drifting clouds obscured what star-glow there was in the hea... Johnny Arrives
Meanwhile Hopalong and Red quarrelled petulantly and damned the erring Johnny with enthusiastic abandon, while Dent smiled at them and joked; but his efforts at levity made little impression on the irate pair. Red, true to his word, had turned up at... Johnny Learns Something
For several weeks after Hopalong got back to the ranch, full of interesting stories and minus the grouch, things went on in a way placid enough for the most peacefully inclined individual that ever sat a saddle. And then trouble drifted down from th... Johnson's Old Woman
It was growing dark, and the Sonora trail was becoming more indistinct before me at every step. The difficulty had increased over the grassy slope, where the overflow from some smaller watercourse above had worn a number of diverging gullies so li... Jones On Cougars
The mountain lion, or cougar, of our Rocky Mountain region, is nothing more nor less than the panther. He is a little different in shape, color and size, which vary according to his environment. The panther of the Rockies is usually light, taking th... Jose Sanchez Swears An Oath
On this same evening a scene of no little significance was taking place at Las Palmas. Ed Austin was entertaining callers, and these were none other than Tad Lewis and Adolfo Urbina. The progress of events during the last few days had shaped thi... Juan Valdez Scores
The first thing Bucky did after leaving the two young women was to go down in person with one of the guards to the cell of David Henderson. The occupant of the cell was asleep, but he woke up when the two men entered. "Who is it?" he demanded. ... Judd Morgan Passes
Gimlet Butte devoted the night of the Fourth to a high old time. The roping and the other sports were to be on the morrow, and meanwhile the night hours were filled with exuberance. The cowboy's spree comes only once in several months, but when it d... Judge Ellsworth Exacts A Promise
On his way to the Lewis ranch Dave Law had a struggle with himself. He had earned a reputation as a man of violent temper, and the time was not long past when a fraction of the insult Ed Austin had offered him would have provoked a vigorous count... Judson's Joke
Barton Rufford, ex-distiller of illicit whiskey in the Tennessee mountains, ex-welsher turned informer and betraying his neighbor law-breakers to the United States revenue officers, ex-everything which made his continued stay in the Cumberlands im... June Asks Questions
Houck, an unwelcome guest, stayed at the cabin on Piceance nearly two weeks. His wooing was surely one of the strangest known. He fleered at June, taunted her, rode over the girl's pride and sense of decorum, beat down the defenses she set up, and... June Discovers A New World
Blister had not overstated the case to Bob when he told him that June had been having the time of her life getting well. She had been a lonely little thing, of small importance in a country very busy on its own affairs. The sense of inferiority ha... June Is Glad
June turned away from the crowd surrounding the dead mad dog and walked into the hotel. The eyes of more than one man followed the slim, graceful figure admiringly. Much water had run down the Rio Blanco since the days when she had been the Cinder... June Prays
When June turned away from her husband of an hour she abandoned hope. She had been like a child lost in the forest. A gleam of light from a window had cheered her for a moment, but it had flickered out and left her in the darkness. In one sense... Just One Thing After Another
A gray clarity of the air told that daylight was near. The skyline retreated, the hills came out of the duskiness like a photograph in the developer tray. Irish dipped down the steep slope into Antelope Coulee, cursing the sprinkle of new shacks tha... Justice In The Saddle
It was an hour after the usual time when we bedded down the cattle. The wagon had overtaken us about sunset, and the cook's fire piloted us into a camp fully two miles to the right of the trail. A change of horses was awaiting us, and after a hasty ... Justice Vs Law
Impatience, intolerable and vicious, gripped Trevison as he rode homeward after his haunting vigil at Manti. The law seemed to him to be like a house with many doors, around and through which one could play hide and seek indefinitely, with no poss... Kangarooed
Lovell and his attorneys joined the cavalcade which returned to the post, while we continued on south, fording the Missouri above Forrest's camp. The two recovered beeves were recognized by their ranch brands as belonging in Bee County, thus identif... Kate Uses Her Quirt
Red-headed Bob Cullison finished making the diamond hitch and proudly called his cousin Kate to inspect the packhorse. "You never saw the hitch thrown better, sis," he bragged, boy-like. "Uncle Luck says I do it well as he can." "It's fine, B... Keep A-comin' Red Haid
When the rangers and the militia stampeded after the Indian scout, Dud Hollister was examining the hoof of his mount. He swung instantly to the saddle and touched his pony with the spur. It shot across the mesa on the outskirts of the troop. Not i... Keith's Masterful Wooing
Keith faced toward home, with Redcloud following at his heels like a pet dog. For some reason, which he did not try to analyze, he was feeling light of heart--as though something very nice had happened to him. It might have been the unexpected cle... Kidnapped
As a lake ripples beneath a summer breeze, so Mesa was stirred from its usual languor by the visit of Simon West. For the little Arizona town was dreaming dreams. Its imagination had been aroused; and it saw itself no longer a sleepy cow camp in t... Kidnapped
Barbara Morgan had yielded to the fever of impatience which had afflicted her during the latter days of Harlan's absence from the Rancho Seco. She had been impatient ever since she had been forced to stay close to the house by Harlan's orders; but... King Hol
There is a very general and very erroneous impression that alcohol builds the mood of a man; as a matter of fact it merely makes his temper of the moment fast--the man who takes his first drink with a smile ends in uproarious laughter, and he who fr... Kitty
It seemed my eyelids had scarcely touched when Jones's exasperating, yet stimulating, yell aroused me. Day was breaking. The moon and stars shone with wan luster. A white, snowy frost silvered the forest. Old Moze had curled close beside me, and now... La Feria
What's this I hear about war?" Dolores inquired of her mistress, a few days after their arrival at La Feria. "They tell me that Mexico is invaded and that the American soldiers have already killed more than a thousand women and children." "Who ... Laska Opens A Door
The first ballots for a United States senator taken by the legislature in joint session failed to disclose the alignment of some of the doubtful members. The Democratic minority of twenty-eight votes were cast for Springer, the senator whose place w... Lassiter
A sharp clip-crop of iron-shod hoofs deadened and died away, and clouds of yellow dust drifted from under the cottonwoods out over the sage. Jane Withersteen gazed down the wide purple slope with dreamy and troubled eyes. A rider ha... Lassiter's Way
Footprints told the story of little Fay's abduction. In anguish Jane Withersteen turned speechlessly to Lassiter, and, confirming her fears, she saw him gray-faced, aged all in a moment, stricken as if by a mortal blow. Then all her... Laughing Bill Hyde
Mr. William Hyde was discharged from Deer Lodge Penitentiary a changed man. That was quite in line with the accepted theory of criminal jurisprudence, the warden's discipline, and the chaplain's prayers. Yes, Mr. Hyde was changed, and the change... Laura London
Kite Bonfils and Maloney took Curly back to Saguache and turned him over to Sheriff Bolt. "How about bail?" Maloney asked. The sheriff smiled. He was a long lean leather-faced man with friendly eyes from which humorous wrinkles radiated. "... Law Invoked And Defied
As soon as the deputies had gone, two of them nursing injured heads, and all exhibiting numerous bruises, Judge Lindman rose and dressed. In the ghostly light preceding the dawn he went to the safe, his fingers trembling so that he made difficult ... Lawful Improvements
Florence Grace Hallman must not be counted a woman without principle or kindness of heart or these qualities which make women beloved of men. She was a pretty nice young woman, unless one roused her antagonism. Had Andy Green, for instance, accepted... Le Roi Est Mort Vive Le Roi
When the news reached O'Halloran that Megales had scored on the opposition by arresting Bucky O'Connor, the Irishman swore fluently at himself for his oversight in forgetting the Northern Chihuahua. So far as the success of the insurgents went, the ... Lee Virginia Wages War
IN truth, Lize had risen that morning intending "to whirl in and clean up the house," being suddenly conscious to some degree of the dirt and disorder around her, but she found herself physically unequal to the task. Her brain seemed misted, and h... Left-handed
Harlan's statement to Haydon, to the effect that he had visited the camps of Kelso, Rance, Larkin, and other outlaws had been strictly accurate. At one time or another each of those outlaw leaders had sent for Harlan, to endeavor to prevail upon h... Liberated
The revolution was, indeed, ended. The unexpected arrival of a relieving garrison in the bay of Todos Santos had completed what the dissensions in the insurgents' councils had begun; the discontents, led by Brace and Winslow, had united with the G... Life Adjusts Itself Again To Some Things
The next day was a day of dust hanging always over the grade because of much hurried riding up and down; a day of many strange faces whose eyes peered curiously at the place where Baumberger fell, and at the cold ashes of Stanley's campfire, and at ... Linked
"So you came at last?" Barbara had some difficulty in keeping resentment prominent in her voice as she faced John Haydon, for other emotions were clamoring within her--joy because Haydon had come, even though tardily; self-reproach because she ... Lite Comes Out Of The Background
For hours Jean had sat staring out at the drear stretches of desert dripping under the dismal rain that streaked the car windows. The clouds hung leaden and gray close over the earth; the smoke from the engine trailed a funereal plume across the gr... Lite's Pupil Demonstrates
Jean awoke to hear the businesslike buzzing of an automobile coming up from the gate. Evidently they were going to make pictures there at the house, which did not suit her plans at all. She intended to spend the early morning writing the first few... Little Black Shack's All Burnt Up
It is a penitentiary offense for anyone to set fire to prairie grass or timber; and if you know the havoc which one blazing match may work upon dry grassland when the wind is blowing free, you will not wonder at the penalty for lighting that match w... Little Lost
Little Lost--somehow the name appealed to Bud, whose instinct for harmony extended to words and phrases and, for that matter, to everything in the world that was beautiful. From the time when he first heard Little Lost mentioned, he had felt a vague... Long John Butterfield
"Boys," said my father next morning, "I've been thinking over this discovery of ours. It won't do to wait till you've finished the ice-cutting to notify Tom Connor. He has been a good friend to us, and I feel that we owe him some return for enabli... Longorio Makes Bold
Upon her arrival at La Feria Alaire discovered that the Federal depredations had been even greater than she had feared. Not only had the soldiers taken a great many head of cattle, but they had practically cleared the ranch of horses, leaving scar... Loose Threads
Curly was right when he said that those who knew about Sam's share in the planning of the Tin Cup hold-up would keep their mouths closed. All of the men implicated in the robbery were dead except Dutch. Cullison used his influence to get the man a... Lord Farquhar Gives Moya A Hint
Verinder's man, Biggs, who had been a fascinated spectator of the Wild West sports at Gunnison, was describing them to Fisher, maid to Lady Farquhar and general buttoner-up-the-back to the entire feminine contingent of the party. "What do you m... Lost Child
"Djuh find 'im?" The Old Man had limped down to the big gate and stood there bare headed under the stars, waiting, hoping--fearing to hear the answer. "Hasn't he showed up yet?" Chip and the Little Doctor rode out of the gloom and stopped before ... Lost In A Blizzard
"Rowdy" Vaughan--he had been christened Rowland by his mother, and rechristened Rowdy by his cowboy friends, who are prone to treat with much irreverence the names bestowed by mothers--was not happy. He stood in the stirrups and shook off the thick ... Lost In The Clouds
The fact that he had lost his little all in the core-boring venture did not trouble Tom Connor in the least; the money was gone, and as worrying about it would not bring it back, Tom decided not to worry. The same thing had happened to him many a ... Lost In The Forest
For a moment I was dazed. And then came panic. I ran up this ridge and that one, I rushed to and fro over ground which looked, whatever way I turned, exactly the same. And I kept saying, "I'm lost! I'm lost!" Not until I dropped exhausted against a ... Love
During all these waiting days Venters, with the exception of the afternoon when he had built the gate in the gorge, had scarcely gone out of sight of camp and never out of hearing. His desire to explore Surprise Valley was keen, and on the... Love Words For Annie
In Tijeras Arroyo the moon made black shadows where stood the tiny knolls here and there, marking frequently the windings of dry washes where bushes grew in ragged patches and where tall weeds of mid-May tangled in the wind. The roundup tents of the... Lovin Child Strikes It Rich
It was only the next day that Bud was the means of helping Lovin Child find a fortune for himself; which eased Bud's mind considerably, and balanced better his half of the responsibility. Cutting out the dramatic frills, then, this is what happened to ... Lovin Child Wriggles In
On the fourth day Bud's conscience pricked him into making a sort of apology to Cash, under the guise of speaking to Lovin Child, for still keeping the baby in camp. "I've got a blame good notion to pack you to town to-day, Boy, and try and find out... Luck Meets An Old Acquaintance
Cullison and his friends proceeded down Papago street to the old plaza where their hotel was located. Their transit was an interrupted one, for these four cattlemen were among the best known in the Southwest. All along the route they scattered nod... Luck's Play
A young man who had just landed in New York from one of the big, adventurous transatlantic liners hailed a taxicab and was quickly drawn away into the glitter and gayety of a bright winter morning. He sat forward eagerly, looking at everything wit... Luis Longorio
"You probably know why I wished to see you," Alaire began. Longorio shook his head in vague denial. "It is regarding my ranch, La Feria." Seeing that the name conveyed nothing, she explained, "I am told that your army confiscated my cattle." ... Luis Rojas Talks
Three days of hiding by day in sequestered little groves or deep, hidden canons, with only Luis Rojas to bear her company--Luis Rojas whom she did not trust and therefore watched always from under her long straight lashes, with oblique glances when ... Lynch Scores
How long she stood there staring fearfully at the empty window of the shed, Mary Thorne had no idea. She seemed frozen and incapable of movement. But at last, with a shiver, she came to herself, and bending out, drew in the heavy wooden, shutters ... M'cay's Recruit
The Texan, after circling the town of Midway, rode in again. It was not his way to leave a job unfinished, with only a threat behind. The cigarette-paper note had aroused his curiosity to a fever heat. He read it by the light of the moon. It con... Man-hunting
As Vic Gregg left the house, the new moon peered at him over a black mountain-top, a sickle of white with a half imaginary line rounding the rest of the circle, and to the shaken mind of Vic it seemed as if a ghostly spectator had come out to watch ... Many Barren Months And Miles
"Well, here come them darn burros, Cash. Cora's colt ain't with 'em though. Poor little devils—say, Cash, they look like hard sleddin', and that's a fact. I'll tell the world they've got about as much pep as a flat tire." "Maybe we better grain 'e... Marie Takes A Desperate Chance
Domestic wrecks may be a subject taboo in polite conversation, but Joe De Barr was not excessively polite, and he had, moreover, a very likely hope that Marie would yet choose to regard him with more favor than she had shown in the past. He did not cha... Marie's Side Of It
We all realize keenly, one time or another, the abject poverty of language. To attempt putting some emotions into words is like trying to play Ave Maria on a toy piano. There are heights and depths utterly beyond the limitation of instrument and speech... Marshaling The Forces
Both herds had watered in the Smoky during the afternoon. The stranger's cattle were not compelled to go down to the crossing, but found an easy passage several miles above the regular ford. After leaving the river, both herds were grazed out during... Meade Burrell Finds A Path In The Moonlight
"No Creek" Lee had come into his own at last, and was a hero, for the story of his long ill-luck was common gossip now, and men praised him for his courage. He had never been praised for anything before and was uncertain just how to take it. "S... Melissy Entertains
The notes of Schumann's "Trauemerei" died away. Melissy glanced over her music, and presently ran lightly into Chopin's "Valse Au Petit Chien." She was, after all, only a girl; and there were moments when she forgot to remember that she was wedded...