To The Victors The Spoils
: The Heritage Of The Sioux"Hey, boys!" Luck Lindsay shouted to Applehead and one or two of
the Happy Family who were down at the chuck--wagon engaged in uneasy
discussion as to what Luck would say when he found out about their
intention to leave. "Come on up here--this is going to be a wiping out
of old scores and I want to get it over with!"
"Well, now, I calc'late the fur's about to fly," Applehead made dismal
prophecy, as they
't he's held off this long. Two hours is a dang long time fer Luck to
git in action, now I'm tellin' yuh!" He took off his hat and polished
his shiny pate, as was his habit when perturbed. "I'm shore glad we
had t' wait and set them wagon-tires," he added. "We'd bin started this
mornin' only fer that."
"Aw, we ain't done nothing," Happy Jack protested in premature self
defense. "We ain't left the ranch yet. I guess a feller's got a right to
THINK!"
"He has, if he's got anything to do it with," Pink could not forbear to
remark pointedly.
"Well, if a feller didn't have, he'd have a fat chance borrying from
YOU," Happy Jack retorted.
"Well, by cripes, I ain't perpared to bet very high that there's a
teacupful uh brains in this hull outfit," Big Medicine asserted. "We
might a knowed Luck'd come back loaded fer bear; we WOULD a knowed it if
we had any brains in our heads. I'm plumb sore at myself. By cripes, I
need kickin'!"
"You'll get it, chances are," Pink assured him grimly.
Luck was in the living room, sitting at a table on which were scattered
many papers Scribbled with figures. He had a cigarette in his lips, his
hat on the back of his head and a twinkle in his eyes. He looked up and
grinned as they came reluctantly into the room.
"Time's money from now on, so this is going to be cut short as
possible," he began with his usual dynamic energy showing in his tone
and in the movements of his hands as he gathered up the papers and
evened their edges on the table top. "You fellows know how much you put
into the game when we started out to come here and produce The Phantom
Herd, don't you? If you don't, I've got the figures here. I guess
the returns are all in on that picture--and so far She's brought us
twenty-three thousand and four hundred dollars. She went big, believe
me! I sold thirty states. Well, cost of production is-what we put in the
pool, plus the cost of making the prints I got in Los. We pull out the
profits according to what we put in--sabe? I guess that suits everybody,
doesn't it?"
"Sure," one astonished voice gulped faintly. The others were dumb.
"Well, I've figured it out that way--and to make sure I had it right I
got Billy Wilders, a pal of mine that works in a bank there, to figure
it himself and check up after me. We all put in our services--one man's
work against every other man's work, mine same as any of you. Bill
Holmes, here, didn't have any money up, and he was an apprentice--but
I'm giving him twenty a week besides his board. That suit you, Bill?"
"I guess it's all right," Bill answered in his colorless tone.
Luck, being extremely sensitive to tones, cocked an eye up at Bill
before he deliberately peeled, from the roll he drew from his pocket,
enough twenty dollar notes to equal the number of weeks Bill had worked
for him. "And that's paying you darned good money for apprentice work,"
he informed him drily, a little hurt by Bill's lack of appreciation. For
when you take a man from the streets because he is broke and hungry and
homeless, and feed him and give him work and clothes and three meals a
day and a warm bed to sleep in, if you are a normal human being you are
going to expect a little gratitude from that man; Luck had a flash of
disappointment when he saw how indifferently Bill Holmes took those
twenties and counted them before shoving them into his pocket. His own
voice was more crisply businesslike when he spoke again.
"Annie-Many-Ponies back yet? She's not in on the split either. I'm
paying her ten a week besides her board. That's good money for a squaw."
He counted out the amount in ten dollar bills and snapped a rubber band
around them.
"Now here is the profit, boys, on your winter's work. Applehead comes
in with the use of his ranch and stock and wagons and so on. Here,
pard--how does this look to you?" His own pleasure in what he was doing
warmed from Luck's voice all the chill that Bill Holmes had sent into
it. He smiled his contagious smile and peeled off fifty dollar banknotes
until Applehead's eyes popped.
"Oh, don't give me so dang much!" he gulped nervously when Luck had
counted out for him the amount he had jotted down opposite his name.
"That there's moren the hul dang ranch is worth if I was t' deed it over
to yuh, Luck! I ain't goin' to take--"
"You shut up," Luck commanded him affectionately. "That's yours--now,
close your face and let me get this thing wound up. Now--WILL you quit
your arguing, or shall I throw you out the window?"
"Well, now, I calc'late you'd have a right busy time throwin' ME out
the window," Applehead boasted, and backed into a corner to digest this
astonishing turn of events.
One by one, as their names stood upon his list, Luck called the boys
forward and with exaggerated deliberation peeled off fifty-dollar notes
and one-hundred-dollar notes to take their breath and speech from them.
With Billy Wilders, his friend in the bank, to help him, he had boyishly
built that roll for just this heart-warming little ceremony. He might
have written checks to square the account of each, but he wanted to make
their eyes stand out, just as he was doing. He had looked forward to
this half hour more eagerly than any of them guessed; he had, with his
eyes closed, visualized this scene over more than one cigarette, his
memory picturing vividly another scene wherein these same young men
had cheerfully emptied their pockets and planned many small personal
sacrifices that he, Luck Lindsay, might have money enough to come here
to New Mexico and make his one Big Picture. Luck felt that nothing less
than a display of the profits in real money could ever quite balance
that other scene when all the Happy Family had in the world went in the
pot and they mourned because it was so little.
"Aw, I betche Luck robbed a bank er something!" Happy Jack stuttered
with an awkward attempt to conceal his delight when his name was
called, his investment was read and the little sheaf of currency that
represented his profit was laid in his outstretched palm.
"It's me for the movies if this is the way they pan out," Weary declared
gleefully. "Mamma! I didn't know there was so much money in the world!"
"I'll bet he milked Los Angeles dry of paper money," Andy Green asserted
facetiously, thumbing his small fortune gloatingly. "Holding out
anything for yourself, Luck? We don't want to be hogs."
"I'm taking care of my interests--don't you worry about that a minute,"
Luck stated complacently. "I held mine out first. That wipes the
slate--and cleans up the bank-roll. I maintain The Phantom Herd
was so-o-ome picture, boys. They'll be getting it here in 'Querque
soon--we'll all go in and see it."
"Now we're all set for a fresh start. And while you're all here I'll
just put you up to date on what kind of a deal I made with Dewitt. We
come in under the wing of Excelsior, and our brand name will be Flying
U Feature Film--how does that hit you? You boys are all on a straight
board-and-salary basis--thirty dollars a week, and it's up to me to
make you earn it!" He grinned and beckoned to Jean Douglas Avery and her
companions in the next room.
"Mrs. Avery, here, is our leading woman--keeping the name of Jean
Douglas, since she made it valuable in that Lazy A serial she did a
year or so ago. Lite is on the same footing as the rest of you boys.
Her father will be my assistant in choosing locations and so on. Tommy
Johnson, as I said, is another assistant in another capacity, that of
scenic artist and stage carpenter. Pete Lowry, here, is camera man and
Bill Holmes will be his assistant. The rest of you work wherever I need
you--a good deal the way we did last winter. Annie-Many-Ponies stays
with us as character lead and is in general stock. Rosemary--" he
stopped and smiled at her understandingly--"Rosemary draws fifteen a
week--oh, don't get scared! I won't give you any foreground stuff!
just atmosphere when I need it, and general comforter and mascot of the
company!"
Luck may have stretched a point there, but if he did it was merely a
technical one. Rosemary Green was hopelessly camera-shy, but he could
use her in background atmosphere, and when it came to looking after the
physical and mental welfare of the bunch she was worth her weight in any
precious metal you may choose to name.
"You better put me down as camp cook and dishwasher, Luck Lindsay,"
Rosemary protested, blushing.
"No--thank the Lord you won't have to cook for this hungry bunch any
longer. I've got a Mexican hired and headed this way. There'll be no
more of that kind of thing for you, lady--not while you're with us.
"Now, boys, let's get organized for action. Weather's perfect--Lowry's
been raving over the light, all the way out from town. I've got a range
picture all blocked out--did it while I was waiting in Los for Jean to
show up. Done anything about roundup yet, Applehead?"--
Poor old Applehead, with his guilty conscience and his soft-hearted
affection for Luck so deeply stirred by the money laid in his
big-knuckled hand, shuffled his feet and cleared his throat and did not
get one intelligible word past his dry tongue.
"If you haven't," Luck hurried on, spurred by his inpatient energy,
"I want to organize and get out right away with a regular roundup
outfitchuck-wagon, remuda and all--see what I mean I While I'm getting
the picture of the stuff I want, we can gather and brand your calves.
That way, all my range scenes will be of the real thing. I may want to
throw the Chavez outfit in with ours, too, so as to get bigger stuff.
I'll try and locate Ramon Chavez and see what I can do. But anyway,
I want the roundup outfit ready to start just as soon as
possible--tomorrow, if we could get it together in time. How about that
cracked tongue on the chuck-wagon? Anybody fixed that?"
"We-ell, I wired it up so'st it's as solid as the rest uh the runnin'
gear," Applehead confessed shamefacedly, rolling his eyes apprehensively
at the flushed faces of his fellow traitors.
"Yuh did? Good! Tires need setting, if I recollect--"
"Er--I had the boys set the tires, 'n'--"
"Fine! I might have known you fellows would put things in shape while
I was gone! How about the horses? I thought I saw a bunch in the big
corral--"
"I rustled enough saddle horses to give us all two apiece," Applehead
admitted, perspiring coldly. "'Tain't much of a string, but--"
"You did? Sounds like you've been reading my mind, Applehead. Now we'll
grubstake the outfit--"
"Er--well, I took the chuck-wagon in yest'day and loaded 'er up with
grub fer two weeks," blurted Applehead heroically. "I was figurin'--"
"Good! Couldn't ask better. Applehead, you sure are there when it comes
to backing a man's play. If I haven't said much about how I stand toward
you fellows it isn't because I don't appreciate every durned one of
you."
The Happy Family squirmed guiltily and made way for Applehead, who was
sidling toward the open door, his face showing alarming symptoms of
apoplexy. Their confusion Luck set down to a becoming modesty. He went
on planning and perfecting details. Standing as he did on the threshold
of a career to which his one big success had opened the door, he was
wholly absorbed in making good.
There was nothing now to balk his progress, he told himself. He had his
company, he had the location for his big range stuff, he had all the
financial backing any reasonable man could want. He had a salary that
in itself gauged the prestige he had gained among producers, and as an
added incentive to do the biggest work of his life he had a contract
giving him a royalty on all prints of his pictures in excess of a fixed
number. Better than all this, he had big ideals and an enthusiasm for
the work that knew no limitations.
Perhaps he was inclined to dream too big; per-haps he assumed too great
an enthusiasm on the part of those who worked with him--I don't know
just where he did place the boundary line. I do know that he never once
suspected the Happy Family of any meditated truancy from the ranch and
his parting instructions to "sit tight." I also know that the Happy
Family was not at all likely to volunteer information of their lapse.
And as for Applehead, the money burned his soul deep with remorse; so
deep that he went around with an abject eagerness to serve Luck that
touched that young man as a rare example of a bone-deep loyalty that
knows no deceit. Which proves once more how fortunate it is that we
cannot always see too deeply into the thoughts and motives of our
friends.
More
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The Underground Stream
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Joan waited for Holliwell and, waiting, began inevitably to regain her strength. One evening as Wen Ho was spreading the table, Prosper looked up from his writing to see a tall, gaunt girl clinging to the door-jamb. She was dressed in the heavy cl... The Wife Of Chino
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Wounded though he was, Houck managed to make a good deal of trouble for the punchers before they pinned him down and took the forty-five from him. His great strength was still at command, and he had the advantage that neither of his rescuers wante... Through Two Snows
"Dear Friend [thus in the spring the Virginian wrote me], Yours received. It must be a poor thing to be sick. That time I was shot at Canada de Oro would have made me sick if it had been a littel lower or if I was much of a drinking man. You will ... Thunder River
FOR an instant Hare's brain reeled, and Mescal's broken murmurings were meaningless Then his faculties grew steady and acute; he held the girl as if he intended never to let her go. Mescal clung to him with a wildness that gave him anxiety for her... Thwarted
Instantly a sense of elation, tingling as an electric shock, surged over Stratton, and his grip on the Colt tightened. At last he was face to face with something definite and concrete, and in a moment all the little doubts and nagging nervous qual... To Better Acquaintance
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While she breakfasted unsatisfactorily upon soda crackers and a bottle of olives which happened to have been left over from a previous luncheon, Jean meditated deeply upon the proper beginning of a book. The memory of last night came to her vividly,... To Fit Her Finger
It was two rings that the Virginian wrote for when next I heard from him. After my dark sight of what the Cattle Land could be, I soon had journeyed home by way of Washakie and Rawlins. Steve and Shorty did not leave my memory, nor will they ev... To The Victors The Spoils
"Hey, boys!" Luck Lindsay shouted to Applehead and one or two of the Happy Family who were down at the chuck--wagon engaged in uneasy discussion as to what Luck would say when he found out about their intention to leave. "Come on up here--this is go... Todos Santos
It was evident that the two strangers represented some exalted military and ecclesiastical authority. This was shown in their dress--a long-forgotten, half mediaeval costume, that to the imaginative spectator was perfectly in keeping with their my... Todos Santos Solves The Mystery
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Morning dawned on a scene of pastoral grandeur. The valley of the North Platte was dotted with cattle from hill and plain. The river, well confined within its low banks, divided an unsurveyed domain of green-swarded meadows like a boundary line betw... Tom Connor's Scare
When Long John Butterfield (it was Yetmore himself who told us all this long afterwards) when Long John, returning from his day's prospecting up among the foot-hills of Mount Lincoln, had related to his employer the result of his labors, two concl... Tom's Second Window
Mrs. Appleby never did quite understand how her barrel of oil had been recovered for her. All she knew for certain was that her good friend, Mr. Connor, had somehow procured it from Yetmore, and that Yetmore was, as Mr. Connor said, "agreeable." ... Tommy And Thomas
IT was while Harry Lossing was at the High School that Mrs. Carriswood first saw Tommy Fitzmaurice. He was not much to see, a long lad of sixteen who had outgrown his jackets and was not yet grown to his ears. At this period Mrs. Fitzmaurice was h... Too Late For Love
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Bruce paused in the blithesome task of packing six by eights to look at the machinery which lay like a pile of junk on the river bank. Each time he passed he looked at it and always he felt the same hot impatience and burning sense of irritation. ... Trails End
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When Wade first opened his eyes, after he had been stricken senseless, he was first conscious of his throbbing head, and on seeking the reason of the pain, was amazed to find his fingers stained with the blood which matted his hair. With an exclam... Trapped!
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When Mr. Travennes looked over the corral fence he was much chagrined to see a man and a Colt both paying strict attention to his nose. "Mornin', Duke," said the man with the gun. "Lose anything?" Mr. Travennes looked back at his friends and... Treachery
Overjoyed at the prospect of a peaceful solution of the problem which confronted him, Wade walked rapidly toward the hotel, happy, too, in the thought of meeting Helen Rexhill. Whether he loved her with the single-hearted devotion which a man sh... Treed By Wolves
The disappearance of Tom Fish caused both boys considerable uneasiness. They at first thought that he might return during the evening, though the fact that the fire had gone out, indicated that he had left the cabin early in the day. As they crept... Trials Of The Convalescent
The days at the ranch passed in irritating idleness for those who had obstructed the flight of hostile lead, and worse than any of the patients was Hopalong, who fretted and fumed at his helplessness, which retarded his recovery. But at last the ... Truth Crushed To Earth Etc
Andy, only half awake, tried to obey both instinct and habit and reach up to pull his hat down over his eyes, so that the sun could not shine upon his lids so hotly; when he discovered that he could do no more than wiggle his fingers, he came back w... Tucumcari's Hand
Jack Hardy was annoyed. He had planned carefully, expecting to have no difficulty in wiping out the hated McCays and those who sympathized with them. His plans had only partially succeeded. The elder McCay was dead, but Tip and some of the othe... Turning The Tables
"Keep away from me, you common cow-hands," said Sponsilier, as a group of us waited for him at the foot of the court-house stairs. But Dave's gravity soon turned to a smile as he continued: "Did you fellows notice The Rebel and me sitting inside the... Twenty Minutes For Refreshments
Upon turning over again my diary of that excursion to the Pacific, I find that I set out from Atlantic waters on the 30th day of a backward and forlorn April, which had come and done nothing towards making its share of spring, but had gone, missin... Two Ambushes
The clock at the new Verinder Building showed ten minutes past eleven as Jack Kilmeny took the Utah Junction road out of Goldbanks with his loaded ore wagon. It was a night of scudding clouds, through which gleamed occasionally a fugitive moon. Th... Two Cases Of Discipline
The Fourth of July celebration at Gimlet Butte had been a thing of the past for four days and the Lazy D had fallen back into the routine of ranch life. The riders were discussing supper and the continued absence of Reddy when that young man drew ba... Two Hats On A Rack
One casual remark of Mackenzie had given Kate a clew. Even before she had explained it, Curly caught the point and began to dig for the truth. For though he was almost a boy, the others leaned on him with the expectation that in the absence of Mal... Two Hearts That Beat As One
"Which I puts it up as how you ain't never heard about that time that Hardenberg and Strokher--the Englisher--had a friendly go with bare knuckles--ten rounds it was--all along o' a feemale woman?" It is a small world and I had just found out th... Two In A Bucket
Jack heard the story of his rescue from India. He surprised her alone in the breakfast room by hobbling in one morning after the rest had gone. She popped a question directly at him. "Did the doctor say you could get up?" "Didn't ask him," he... Two Letters Go East
After Agatha retired that night Rosalind sat for a long time writing at a little desk in the private car. She was tingling with excitement over a discovery she had made, and was yearning for a confidante. Since it had not been her habit to confide... Two Make A Quarrel
At nine o'clock Bud went home. He was feeling very well satisfied with himself for some reason which he did not try to analyze, but which was undoubtedly his sense of having saved Bill from throwing away six hundred dollars on a bum car; and the weight... Two Men And A Woman
"Mr. Ridgway, ma'am." The young woman who was giving the last touches to the very effective picture framed in her long looking-glass nodded almost imperceptibly. She had come to the parting of the ways, and she knew it, with a shrewd suspicion ... Two Of A Kind
Patsy, staunch old partisan that he was, placed before them much food which he had tried his best to keep hot without burning everything to a crisp, and while they ate with ravenous haste he told, with German epithets and a trembling lower jaw, of h... Two On The Veranda
REDFIELD met his young guest in dinner-coat, looking extremely urban, and presented his "friend and neighbor, Mr. Enderby." Enderby turned out to be the owner of the voice with the English accent which Lee Virginia had heard in the hall, but he ... Two Open Graves
It was some time before the overturned stagecoach could be righted. It took longer to provide a team for it. When the bodies of the unfortunate white men had been loaded into the vehicle and the ponies lined out it was late in the afternoon. Ki... Two Pictures In The Fire
The period which followed had a quality of breathless, almost unearthly happiness. They were young, savage, simple, and their love, unanalyzed, was as joyous as the loves of animals: joyous with that clear gravity characteristic of the boy and gir... Two Trails Converge
Mrs. Archer sat alone in the ranch-house living-room, doing absolutely nothing. As a matter of fact, she had little use for those minor solaces of knitting or crocheting which soothe the waking hours of so many elderly women. More than once, indee... Unbridled
In waking and sleeping hours Madeline Hammond could not release herself from the thralling memory of that tragedy. She was haunted by Monty Price's terrible smile. Only in action of some kind could she escape; and to that end she worked, she walked ... Uncle Bill Finds News In The Try-bune
When anybody remained in Ore City through the winter it was a tacit confession that he had not money enough to get away; and this winter the unfortunates were somewhat more numerous than usual. Those who remained complained that they saw the sun s...