A Story Is Begun
: The Barrier"It's fonny t'ing how two brown eye
Was changin' everything--
De cloud she's no more on de sky,
An' winter's jus' lak' spring
Dey mak' my pack so very light,
De trail, she's not so long--
I'd walk it forty mile to-night
For hear her sing wan song
But now I'm busy mak' fortune
For marry on dat girl,
An' if she
Bonheur! I'm own de worl'!"
Poleon Doret sang gayly as the trader came towards him through the
open grove of birch, for he was happy this afternoon, and, being
much of a dreamer, this fresh enterprise awoke in him a boyish
pleasure. Then Necia had teased him as he came away, and begged him,
as was always her custom, to take her with him, no matter whence or
whither, so long as there was adventure afoot. Well, it would not be
long now before he could say yes, and he would take her on a journey
far longer than either of them had yet taken--a journey that would
never end. Had not the gods looked with favor, at last, upon his
long novitiate, and been pleased with the faith he had kept? Had not
this discovery of "No Creek" Lee's been providentially arranged for
his own especial benefit? A fool could see that this was a mark of
celestial approbation, and none but a fool would question the wisdom
of the gods. Had he not watched the girl grow from a slip of
thirteen and spoken never a word of his love? Had he not served and
guarded her with all the gentle chivalry of an olden knight? Of
course! And here was his reward, a gift of wealth to crown his
service, all for her. Now that she was a woman, and had seen him
tried, and knew he was a man, he would bring his burden of
prosperity and lay it at her feet, saying:
"Here is another offering, my Necia, and with it go the laughter and
the music and the heart of Poleon Doret."
Sacre! It would not take her long to wake up after that! The world
was very bright indeed this afternoon, and he burst again into song
in company with the voices of the forest people:
"Chante, rossignol, chante!
Toi qui d le coeur gai;
Tu as le coeur a rire
Mai j' l' ai-t-a pleurer,
Il y a longtemps que j' t'aime
Jamais je ne t'oublierai."
[Footnote:
"Sing, little bird, oh, sing away!
You with the voice so light and gay!
Yours is a heart that laughter cheers,
Mine is a hearts that's full of tears.
Long have I loved, I love her yet;
Leave her I can, but not forget."]
"Whew!" said Gale, slipping out of his pack-straps, "the skeeters is
bad."
"You bet your gum boots," said Poleon. "Dey're mos' so t'ick as de
summer dey kill Johnnie Platt on de Porcupine." Both men wore
gauntleted gloves of caribou-skin and head harnesses of mosquito-
netting stretched over globelike frames of thin steel bands, which
they slipped on over their hats after the manner of divers' helmets,
for without protection of some kind the insects would have made
travel impossible once the Yukon breezes were left behind or once
the trail dipped from the high divides where there was no moss.
"Let's see. It was you that found him, wasn't it?" said Gale.
"Sure t'ing! I'm comin' down for grub in my canoe, w'en I see dis
feller on de bank, walkin' lak' he's in beeg horry. 'Ba Gar!' I say,
'dere's man goin' so fast he'll meet hese'f comin' home!' Den he
turn roun' an' go tearin' back, wavin' hees arms lak' he's callin'
me, till he fall down. Wen I paddle close up, I don' know 'im no
more dan stranger, an' me an' Johnnie Platt is trap togeder wan
winter. Wat you t'ink of dat?"
"I saw a fellow killed that way at Holy Cross," interpolated the
trader.
"'Hello,' I say, 'w'at's de matter?' An' den I see somet'ing 'bout
'im dat look familiar. Hees face she's all swell' up an' bleedin'
lak' raw meat." The Frenchman curled his upper lip back from his
teeth and shook his head at the remembrance.
"Jesu, dat's 'orrible sight! Dem fly is drive 'im crazee. Hees nose
an' ears is look lak' holes in beeg red sponge, an' hees eye are
close up tight."
"He died before you got him in, didn't he?"
"Yes. He was good man, too. Some tam' if I ever have bad enemy w'at
I like to see catch hell I'm goin' turn 'im loose 'mong dose
skeeter-bug."
"Holy Mackinaw!" ejaculated Gale. "Who'd ever think of that? Why,
that's worse than dropping water on his skull till he goes crazy,
like them Chinamen do."
The Frenchman nodded. "It's de wors' t'ing I know. Dat's w'y I lak'
to geeve it to my enemy."
"Imagine fightin' the little devils till they stung you crazy and
pizened your eyes shut!"
Gale fell to considering this, while Poleon filled his pipe, and,
raising his veil, undertook to smoke. The pests proved too numerous,
however, and forced him to give it up.
"Bagosh! Dey're hongry!"
"It will be all right when we get out of the woods," said the elder
man.
"I guess you been purty glad for havin' Necia home again, eh?"
ventured the other after a while, unable to avoid any longer the
subject uppermost in his mind.
"Yes, I'm glad she's through with her schooling."
"She's gettin' purty beeg gal now."
"That's right."
"By-an'-by she's goin' marry on some feller--w'at?"
"I suppose so. She ain't the kind to stay single."
"Ha! Dat's right, too. Mebbe you don' care if she does get marry,
eh?"
"Not if she gets a man that will treat her right."
"Wal! Wal! Dere's no trouble 'bout dat," exclaimed Doret, fervently.
"No man w'at's livin' could treat her bad. She's too good an' too
purty for have bad husban'."
"She is, is she?" Gale turned on him with a strange glare in his
eyes. "Them's the kind that get the he-devils. There's something
about a good girl that attracts a bad man, particularly if she's
pretty; and it goes double, too--the good men get the hellions. A
fellow can't get so tough but what he can catch a good woman, and a
decent man usually draws a critter that looks like a sled and acts
like a timber wolf."
"Necia wouldn't marry on no bad man," said Doret, positively.
"No?" said Gale. "Let me tell you what I saw with my own eyes. I
knew a girl once that was just as good and pure as Necia, and just
as pretty, too--yes, and a thousand times prettier."
"Ho, ho!" laughed Doret, sceptically.
"She was an Eastern girl, and she come West where men were different
to what she'd been used to. Those were early days, and it was a new
country, where a person didn't know much about his neighbor's past
and cared less; and, although there were a heap of girls
thereabouts, they were the kind you'll always find in such
communities, while this one was plumb different. Man! Man! But she
was different. She was a WOMAN! Two fellows fell in love with her.
One of them lived in the same camp as her, and he was a good man,
leastways everybody said he was, but he wasn't wise to all the fancy
tricks that pretty women hanker after; and, it being his first
affair, he was right down buffaloed at the very thought of her, so
he just hung around and slept late so that he might dream about her
and feel like he was her equal or that she loved back at him. You
know! The other fellow came from a neighboring town, and he wasn't
the same kind, for he'd knocked around more, and was a better liar,
but he wasn't right. No, sir! He was sure a wrong guy, as it came
out, but he was handsomer and younger, and the very purity and
innocence of the girl drew him, I reckon, being a change from what
he had ever mixed up with."
"W'y don' dis good man tak' a shot at him?" asked Poleon, hotly.
"First, he didn't realize what was going on, being too tied up with
dreaming, I reckon; and, second, neither man didn't know the other
by sight, living as they did in different parts; third, he was an
ordinary sort of fellow, and hadn't ever had any trouble, man to
man, at that time. Anyhow, the girl up and took the bad one."
"Wat does de good man do, eh?"
"Well, he was all tore up about it, but he went away like a sick
quail hides out."
"Dat's too bad."
"He heard about them now and then, and what he heard tore him up
worse than the other had, for the girl's husband couldn't wear the
harness long, and, having taken away what good there was in her, he
made up in deviltry for the time he had lost. She stood it pretty
well, and never whimpered, even when her eyes were open and she saw
what a prize-package she had drawn. The fact that she was game
enough to stand for him and yet keep herself clean without complaint
made the man worse. He tried to break her spirit in a thousand ways,
tried to make her the same as he was, tried to make her a bad woman,
like the others he had known. It appeared like the one pleasure he
got was to torture her."
"W'y don' she quit 'im?" said Doret. "Dat ain' wrong for quit a man
lak' him."
"She couldn't quit on account of the kid. They had a youngster.
Then, too, she had ideas of her own; so she stood it for three
years, living worse than a dog, till she saw it wasn't any use--till
she saw that he would make a bad woman of her as sure as he would
make one of the kid--till he got rough--"
"No! No! You don' mean dat? No man don' hurt no woman," interjected
Doret.
"By God! That's just what I mean," the trader answered, while his
face had grown so gray as to match his brows. "He beat her."
Poleon broke into French words that accorded well with the trader's
harsh voice.
"The woman sent for the other man after that, for he had been living
lonely, loving her all the time, and you'd better believe he went."
"Ha! Dat's fine! Dat's dam' fine!" said the other. "I'll bet dere's
hell to pay den--w'at?"
"Yes, there was a kind of reckoning." The old man lapsed into moody
silence, the younger one waiting eagerly for him to continue, but
there came the sound of voices down the trail, and they looked up.
"Here comes Lee," said Gale.
"Wat happen' den? I'm got great interes' 'bout dis woman," insisted
Poleon.
"It's a long story, and I just told you this much to show what I
said was true about a good girl and a bad man, and to show why I
want Necia to get a good one. The sooner it happens the better it
will suit me."
Neither man had ever spoken thus openly to the other about Necia
before, and although their language was indirect, each knew the
other's thought. But there was no time for further talk now, for the
others were close upon them. As they came into view, Gale exclaimed:
"Well, if he hasn't brought Runnion along!"
"Humph!" grunted Doret. "I don' t'ink much of dat feller. Wat's de
matter wit' 'No Creek,' anyhow?"
The three new arrivals dropped down upon the moss to rest, for the
up-trail was heavy and the air sultry inside the forest. Lee was the
first to speak.
"Did you get away without bein' seen?" he asked.
"Sure," answered Gale. "Poleon has been here two hours."
"That's good; I don't want nobody taggin' along."
"We came right through the town boldly," announced Stark; "but if
they had seen you two they would have suspected something, sure."
Runnion volunteered nothing except oaths at the mosquitoes and at
his pack-straps, which were new and cut him already. As no
explanation of his presence was offered, neither the trader nor
Doret made any comment then, but it came out later, when the old
miner dropped far enough behind the others to render conversation
possible.
"You decided to take in another one, eh?" Gale asked Lee.
"It wasn't exactly my doin's," replied the miner. "Stark asked me to
let Runnion come 'long, bein' as he had grub-staked him, and he
seemed so set on it that I ackeressed. You see, it's the first
chance I ever had to pay him back for a favor he done me in the
Cassiar country. There's plenty of land to go around."
It was Lee's affair, thought the trader, and he might tell whom he
liked, so he said no more, but fell to studying the back of the man
next in front, who happened to be Stark, observing every move and
trick of him, and, during the frequent pauses, making a point of
listening and watching him guardedly.
All through the afternoon the five men wound up the valley,
following one another's footsteps, emerging from sombre thickets of
fir to flounder across wide pastures of "nigger-heads," that wobbled
and wriggled and bowed beneath their feet, until at cost of much
effort and profanity they gained the firmer footing of the forest.
Occasionally they came upon the stream, and found easier going along
its gravel bars, till a bend threw them again into the meadows and
mesas on either hand. Their course led them far up the big valley to
another stream that entered from the right, bearing backward in a
great bow towards the Yukon, and always there were dense clouds of
mosquitoes above their heads. At one point Stark, hot and irritable,
remarked:
"There must be a shorter cut than this, Lee?"
"I reckon there is," the miner replied, "but I've always had a pack
to carry, so I chose the level ground ruther than climb the
divides."
"S'pose dose people at camp hear 'bout dis strike an' beat us in?"
suggested Poleon.
"It wouldn't be easy going for them after they got there," Stark
said, sourly. "I, for one, wouldn't stand for it."
"Nor I," agreed Runnion.
"I don't see how you'd help yourself," the trader remarked. "One
man's got as good a right as another."
"I guess I'd help myself, all right," Stark laughed, significantly,
as did Runnion, who added:
"Lee is entitled to put in anybody he wants on his own discovery,
and if anybody tries to get ahead of us there's liable to be
trouble."
"I reckon if I don't know no short-cut, nobody else does," Lee
remarked, whereupon Doret spoke up reassuringly:
"Dere's no use gettin' scare' lak' dat, biccause nobody knows w'ere
Lee's creek she's locate' but John an' me, an' dere's nobody w'at
knows he mak' de strike but us four."
"That's right," said Gale; "the only other way across is by Black
Bear Creek, and there ain't a half-dozen men ever been up to the
head of that stream, much less over the divide, so I don't allow
there's any use to fret ourselves."
They went on their way, travelling leisurely until late evening,
when they camped at the mouth of the valley up which the miner's
cabin lay. They chose a long gravel bar, that curved like a
scimitar, and made down upon its outer tip where the breeze tended
to thin the plague of insects. They were all old-stagers in the ways
of camplife, so there was no lost motion or bickering as to their
respective duties. Their preparations were simple. First they built
a circle of smudges out of wet driftwood, and inside this Lee
kindled a camp-fire of dry sticks, upon which he cooked, protected
by the smoke of the others, while Gale went back to the edge of the
forest and felled a dozen small firs, the branches of which he
clipped. These Poleon and Runnion bore down to the end of the spit
for bedding, while Stark chopped a pile of dry wood for the night.
Gale noted that the new man swung an axe with the free dexterity of
one to whom its feel was familiar, also that he never made a slip
nor dulled it on the gravel of the bar, displaying an all-round
completeness and a knack of doing things efficiently that won
reluctant approval from the trader despite the unreasoning dislike
he had taken to him.
Lee was ready for them by the time they had finished their tasks,
and, fanned by the breeze that sucked up the stream and lulled by
the waters, they ate their scanty supper. Their one-eyed guide had
lived so long among mosquitoes and had become so inoculated with
their poison that he was in a measure impervious to their sting,
hence the insects gathered on his wrinkled, hair-grown hide only to
give up in melancholy disgust and fly to other and fuller-blooded
feeding-grounds. Camp had been made early, at Gale's suggestion,
instead of pushing on a few miles farther, as Lee had intended; and
now, when the cool evening fell and the draught quickened, it became
possible to lay off gloves and head-gear; so they sat about the
fire, talking, smoking, and rubbing their tired feet.
It is at such hours and in the smoke of such fires that men hark
backward and bring forth the sacred, time-worn memories they have
treasured, to turn them over fondly by the glow of dying embers. It
is at such times that men's garrulity asserts itself, for the
barriers of caution are let down, as are the gates of remembrance,
and it is then that friends and enemies are made, for there are
those who cannot listen and others who cannot understand.
"No Creek" Lee, the one-eyed miner who had made this lucky strike,
told in simple words of his long and solitary quest, when ill-luck
had risen with him at the dawn and misfortune had stalked beside him
as he drifted and drank from camp to camp, while the gloom of a
settled pessimism soured him, and men began to shun him because of
the evil that seemed to follow in his steps.
"I've been rainbow-chasin' forty years," he said, "and never caught
nothin' but cramps and epidemics and inflammations. I'm the only
miner in Alaska that never made a discovery of gold and never had a
creek named after him."
"Is that how you got your name?" asked Runnion.
"It is. I never was no good to myself nor nobody else. I just
occupied space. I've been the vermifuge appendix of the body
politic; yes, worse'n that--I've been an appendix with a seed in it.
I made myself sore, and everybody around me, but I'm at the bat now,
and don't you never let that fact escape you."
"How are you going to spend your money?" inquired Stark.
"I'm goin' to eat it up! I've fed on dried and desiccated and other
disastrous and dissatisfactory diets till I'm all shrivelled up
inside like a dead puff-ball; now it's me for the big feed and the
long drink. I'm goin' to 'Frisco and get full of wasteful and
exorbitant grub, of one kind and another, like tomatters and French
vicious water."
Poleon Doret laughed with the others; he was bubbling with the
spirits of a boy whose life is clean, for whom there are no eyes in
the black dark that lies beyond a camp-fire, and for whom there are
no unforgettable faces in its smoke. When Lee fell silent the trader
and Stark resumed their talk, which was mainly of California, it
seemed to the Frenchman, who also noted that it was his friend who
subtly shaped the topics. In time their stories revived his memory
of the conversation in the birch grove that morning, and when there
occurred a lapse in the talk he said:
"Say, John, w'at happen' to dat gal we was talkin' 'bout dis
mornin'?"
Gale shook his head and turned again to his companion, but the young
man's mind was bent on its quest, and he continued:
"Dat was strange tale, for sure."
"What was it?" questioned Runnion.
"John was tell 'bout a feller he knowed w'at marry a good gal jus'
to mak' her bad lak' hese'f."
"How's that?" inquired Stark, turning curiously upon the old man;
but Gale knocked the ashes from his pipe and replied:
"Oh, it's a long story--happened when I was in Washington State."
Poleon was about to correct him--it was California, he had said--
when Gale arose, remarking sleepily that it was time to turn in if
they wished to get any rest before the mosquitoes got bad again,
then sauntered away from the fire and spread his blanket. The rest
followed and made down their beds; then, drawing on gloves and hat-
nets, and rolling themselves up in their coverings, fell to snoring.
All except the trader, who lay for hours on his back staring up at
the stars, as if trying to solve some riddle that baffled him.
They awoke early, and in half an hour had eaten, remade their packs,
and were ready to resume their march. As they were about to start,
Gale said:
"I reckon we'd better settle right now who has the choice of
locations when we get up yonder. I've been on stampedes where it
saved a heap of hard feeling."
"I'm agreeable," said Stark. "Then there won't be any
misunderstanding."
The others, being likewise old at the game, acquiesced. They knew
that in such cases grave trouble has often occurred when two men
have cast eyes on the same claim, and have felt the miner's
causeless "hunch" that gold lies here or there, or that the ground
one of them covets is wanted by the other.
"I'll hold the straws," said Lee, "and every feller will have an
even break." Turning his back on the others, he cut four splinters
of varying lengths, and, arranging them so that the ends peeped
evenly from his big hand, he held them out.
"The longest one has the first choice, and so on," he said,
presenting them to Gale, who promptly drew the longest of the four.
He turned to Doret, but the Frenchman waved him courteously to
Stark, and, when both he and Runnion had made their choice, Lee
handed him the remaining one, which was next in length to that of
the trader. Stark and Runnion qualified in the order they drew, the
latter cursing his evil luck.
"Never min', ole man," laughed Poleon, "de las' shot she's de sure
wan."
They took up their burdens again, and filed towards the narrow
valley that stretched away into the hazy distances.
More
-
A Night Encounter
Comforted by abundant food, refreshed and stimulated by more than two or three enthusiastic toasts to the health of the major the men so loved, Trooper Kennedy, like a born dragoon and son of the ould sod, bethought him of the gallant bay that had... A Night With The Indians
To shut out from his thoughts the horrid memory of the bloody scalp at Big Buffalo's belt, Ree turned and busied himself with the fire, which had burned quite low, and soon a roaring blaze was leaping skyward, shedding good cheer around. The wo... A Pair Of Blue Eyes
In the estimate of the affable brakeman (a gentleman wearing sky-blue army pantaloons tucked into cowhide boots, half-buttoned vest, flannel shirt open at the throat, and upon his red hair a flaring-brimmed black slouch hat) we were making a fair ... A Party Call
The mistress of the Lazy D, just through with her morning visit to the hospital in the bunkhouse, stopped to read the gaudy poster tacked to the wall. It was embellished with the drawing of a placid rider astride the embodiment of fury incarnate, un... A Photograph
On the third morning Beauchamp Lee returned to Mesa--unshaven, dusty, and fagged with hard riding. He brought with him a handbill which he had picked up in the street. Melissy hung over him and ministered to his needs. While he was eating breakfas... A Practical Man
Bruce's thoughts were a jumble of dynamos and motors, direct and alternating currents, volts and amperes, when James J. Jennings' papier-mache suitcase hit him in the shins in the lobby of a hotel which was headquarters for mining men in the somno... A Prison
Barbara Morgan had not been able to sleep except by fits and starts. A dozen times during the night she had caught herself on the verge of sinking into deep slumber, and each time she had got up and washed her eyes with some water from a pitcher o... A Prisoner
It chanced that as I lay on my side my eye caught a gleam of light through a little ragged hole in the matting of pine branches. Part of the interior of the cabin, the doorway, and some space outside were plainly visible. The thud of horses had give... A Problem Solved
Hopalong worried his way out of the desert on a straight line, thus cutting in half the distance he had traveled when going into it. He camped that night on the sand and early the next morning took up his journey. It was noon when he began to no... A Question Of Stocks
"Some rain, believe me!" It was Dave who uttered the remark, as the touring-car commenced the long and dangerous descent of Sugar Hill. A sheet of water was dashing against the wind-shield, which had been raised as high as possible. "I wish i... A Ranger's Horse
Onward through the dense foliage the two friends wound. Now and then they stopped to listen, but the rain was heavy enough to drown all other noises. Encountering fresh tracks finally, Dave leaned from his saddle and studied them. What he saw caus... A Recruit Joins The Rangers
Harshaw did not, during the first forty-eight hours after leaving Bear Cat, make contact with either the Indians or the militia. He moved warily, throwing out scouts as his party advanced. At night he posted sentries carefully to guard against a s... A Rehearsed Quarrel
Because he could not persuade him to join in their drinking bouts, Stone nicknamed Curly the good bad man. "He's the prize tough in Arizona, only he's promised his ma not to look on the wine when it is red," Blackwell sneered. Flandrau smiled... A Rell Old Cowpuncher
The hills began to look bigger, and kind of chilly and blue in the deep places. The Kid wished that he could find some of the boys. He was beginning to get hungry, and he had long ago begun to get tired. But he was undismayed, even when he heard a c... A Rescue And A Vigilance Committee
At the end of an hour, or so, the lion withdrew and Wade thought he had seen the last of it. He began to pace up and down the fissure once more, for now that his thin shirt was damp with perspiration, set flowing by the nervous strain he had been ... A Responsible Citizen
Dillon and Hollister were lounging on the bank of Elk Creek through the heat of the day. They had been chasing a jack-rabbit across the mesa for sport. Their broncos were now grazing close at hand. "Ever notice how a jack-rabbit jumps high when ... A Return To Command
With but a single orderly at his back, Mr. Blakely had left Camp Sandy late at night; had reached the agency, twenty miles up stream, two hours before the dawn and found young Bridger waiting for him. They had not even a reliable interpreter now. ... A Ride From Sunrise To Sunset
Next morning, when Madeline was aroused by her brother, it was not yet daybreak; the air chilled her, and in the gray gloom she had to feel around for matches and lamp. Her usual languid manner vanished at a touch of the cold water. Presently, when ... A Ride In The Rain
There are two Colorados within the boundaries of the state of that name, distinct, almost irreconcilable. One is a plain (smooth, dry, monotonous), gently declining to the east, a land of sage-brush, wheat-fields, and alfalfa meadows--a rather com... A Rifle Practice
"Mother, what do you mean? Don't turn so white and do speak! What 'tragedy' could have happened up here in this lovely place?" demanded Leslie, putting his arm around the lady's shoulders and wondering if she had suddenly become ill. She was slend... A Rifled Desk
Events moved swiftly in the week that followed. Particulars of the accident to General Field, however, were slow in reaching Fort Frayne; and, to the feverish unrest and mental trouble of the son, was now added a feverish anxiety on the father's a... A Rumble Of War
The train that carried Corrigan's letter eastward bore, among its few other passengers, a young man with a jaw set like a steel trap, who leaned forward in his seat, gripping the back of the seat in front of him; an eager, smoldering light in his ... A Scandal Scotched
Before the door of the room opened Tolliver heard the high-pitched voice of his daughter. "If you'd only stood up to him, Bob--if you'd shot him or fought him ... lemme go, Jake. You got no right to take me with you. Tell you I'm married.... Ye... A Scouting Trip
"What ails you?" Law inquired as he and Blaze rolled away in the buckboard. "Serves me right for leaving my six-shooter at home," panted the rancher. "Well, I might have known they'd find me some day." "'They'? Who?" "That hombre and his w... A Secret Kept
Because of that singular reply Madeline found faith to go farther with the cowboy. But at the moment she really did not think about what he had said. Any answer to her would have served if it had been kind. His silence had augmented her nervousness,... A Shepherd Of The Desert
It had been Helen Messiter's daily custom either to take a ride on her pony or a spin in her motor car, but since Bannister had been quartered at the Lazy D her time had been so fully occupied that she had given this up for the present. The arrival ... A Shot From The Dark
"I call that a bad job well done," Pink remarked, after a long silence, as he gave over trying to catch a fish in the muddy Milk River. "What?" Rowdy, still prone to day-dreams of matters domestic, came back reluctantly to reality, and inspected h... A Shot From The Rim-rock
Good Indian was going to the stable to feed the horses next morning, when something whined past him and spatted viciously against the side of the chicken-house. Immediately afterward he thought he heard the sharp crack which a rifle makes, but the w... A Slap For The Major
The columns of Colonel Henry and Major Webb, as said "the Chief," had united, and here were two men who could be counted on to push the pursuit "for all they were worth." Hitherto, acting in the open country and free from encumbrance, the Indians ... A Soldier Entangled
December and bitter cold. The river frozen stiff. The prairie sheeted in unbroken snow. Great log fires roaring in every open fireplace. Great throngs of soldiery about the red hot barrack stoves, for all the columns were again in winter columns, ... A Soldier's Honor
Delivery day dawned with a heavy fog hanging over the valley of the Yellowstone. The frosts had ceased, and several showers had fallen during the night, one of which brought our beeves to their feet, but they gave no serious trouble and resumed thei... A Spanish Will
With a singing heart Alaire rode through the night at her husband's side. The strain of the last few hours had been so intense, the relief at her deliverance so keen, that now she felt curiously weak, and she kept close to Dave, comforted by his ... A Spill By The Way
The "line" remained busy for so long that the loungers in the hotel lobby grew amused at Leslie's impatience while the two girls became very anxious. "It was only an hour or so, Mr. Ford said, before Aunt Betty's train would leave and I shall b... A Spunky Li'l' Devil
Houck rode away next morning after breakfast, but not before he had made a promise June construed as a threat. "Be back soon, girl." Her eyes were on the corral, from which her father was driving the dogies. "What's it to me?" she said with s... A Stable On The Flat
When the first landmark, the lone clump of cottonwoods, came at length in sight, dark and blurred in the gentle rain, standing out perhaps a mile beyond the distant buildings, my whole weary body hailed the approach of repose. Saving the noon hour... A Stop By Wire
Three days later the infantry guard of the garrison were in sole charge. Wren and Sanders, with nearly fifty troopers apiece, had taken the field in compliance with telegraphic orders from Prescott. The general had established field headquarters t... A Story Is Begun
"It's fonny t'ing how two brown eye Was changin' everything-- De cloud she's no more on de sky, An' winter's jus' lak' spring Dey mak' my pack so very light, De trail, she's not so long-- I'd walk it forty... A Strange Coming
With one orderly and a pair of Apache Yuma scouts, Neil Blakely had set forth in hopes of making his way to Snow Lake, far up in the range to the east. The orderly was all very well,--like most of his fellows, game, true, and tried,--but few were ... A Stranger Going
At the first faint flush of dawn the little train of pack mules, with the rations for the beleaguered command at Sunset Pass, was started on its stony path. Once out of the valley of the Beaver it must clamber over range after range and stumble th... A Stricken Sentry
Sentry duty at Camp Sandy along in '75 had not been allowed to bear too heavily on its little garrison. There was nothing worth stealing about the place, said Plume, and no pawn-shop handy. Of course there were government horses and mules, food an... A Tangled Skein
When Burrell entered he wasted no time in greetings. "I know why you sent for me, Poleon. I've heard the news, and I would have been up anyhow to congratulate her very soon. I call it pretty fine." "Yes, dere's been beeg strike all right, an'... A Telegram And A Girl
Banker Braman went to bed on the cot in the back room shortly after Corrigan departed from Manti. He stretched himself out with a sigh, oppressed with the conviction that he had done a bad day's work in antagonizing Trevison. The Diamond K owner w... A Thankless Task
Modoc waited, as if for an answer, and when it did not come, his face took on an expression of anger, in which cunning seemed to be mingled. "What's yore message?" he rasped. It took Kid Wolf several seconds to recover his composure. Was the w... A Tilt With Sir Redmond
Beatrice, standing on the top of a steep, grassy slope, was engaged in the conventional pastime of enjoying the view. It was a fine view, but it was not half as good to look upon as was Beatrice herself, in her fresh white waist and brown skirt, w... A Touch Of The Third Degree
Cullison was not the man to acknowledge himself beaten so long as there was a stone unturned. In the matter of the Del Oro homestead claim he moved at once. All of the county commissioners were personal friends of his, and he went to them with a p... A Trap For Job Haskers
"What do you think of it, Dave?" "I think Job Haskers is up to some game, Roger." "Selling worthless stocks?" "Yes, or else stocks that are next door to worthless." "I wonder who the old gentleman can be? He looks as if he might have mon... A Treasure Of The Galleon
Her father's house was nearly a mile from the sea, but the breath of it was always strong at the windows and doors in the early morning, and when there were heavy "southwesters" blowing in the winter, the wind brought the sharp sting of sand to he... A Trip To Bald Eagle Rock
Molly gave one glance and screamed. Then flung herself to her knees and buried her face in Helena's lap, who pityingly drew her light skirt over the child's head. Nobody else moved nor spoke. All felt their last hour had come. "An Indian raid!"... A Vanished Heroine
Within forty-eight hours of the coming of Trooper Kennedy with his "rush" despatches to Fort Frayne, the actors in our little drama had become widely separated. Webb and his sturdy squadron, including Ray and such of his troop as still had mounts ... A Villon Of The Desert
When Alice Mackenzie looked back in after years upon the incidents connected with that ride to the Rocking Chair, it was always with a kind of glorified pride in her villain-hero. He had his moments, had this twentieth-century Villon, when he repres... A Walk In The Park
June was the first to speak. "So you're here. You didn't get away." "I'm here," Houck growled. "No chance for a getaway. I ran out the back door of the bank an' ducked into the hotel. This was the first door I come to, an' I headed in." She w... A War Of Wits
"Kidnaped? Gordon Wade?" At Dorothy's announcement, Mrs. Purnell sank, with a gasp, into her rocking-chair, astonished beyond expression. She listened, with anxiety scarce less than her daughter's, to the girl's account of the event as she had ... A Warning
Joyce, a lover of luxury, usually had a roll and coffee in bed as a substitute for breakfast. Sometimes she varied this by appearing late at the table and putting the attendants to unnecessary trouble. This she always paid for with murmurs of apol... A Warning And A Surprise
Dave Law slept for twenty hours, and even when he awoke it was not to a clear appreciation of his surroundings. At first he was relieved to find that the splitting pain in his head was gone, but imagined himself to be still in the maddening local ... A Wild Cat
The Lazy-Y ranch-house, a one-storied building of logs, was built about three sides of a paved court. In the middle of this court stood a well with a high rustic top, and about this well on a certain brilliant July night, a tall man was strolling ... A Woman Rides In Vain
Out of Rosalind Benham's resentment against Trevison for the Hester Harvey incident grew a sudden dull apathy--which presently threatened to become an aversion--for the West. Its crudeness, the uncouthness of its people; the emptiness, the monoton... A Woman's Plot
Woman's intuition often far outstrips the slower mental process of the other sex. The mother who has to see a beloved daughter's silent suffering, well knowing another girl to be, however indirectly, the cause of it, sees all manner of other iniqu... A Yellow Dog
I never knew why in the Western States of America a yellow dog should be proverbially considered the acme of canine degradation and incompetency, nor why the possession of one should seriously affect the social standing of its possessor. But the f... Absent From Duty
For a moment the major stood in silence; then, briefly saying, "Call Captain Ray," turned again to the dimly lighted hallway of his commodious quarters, (the women thought it such a shame there should be no "lady of the house" for the largest and ... Adore Has Only One D
After all, adventures are to the adventurous. In this prosaic twentieth century the Land of Romance still beckons to eager eyes and gallant hearts. The rutted money-grabber may deny till he is a nerve-racked counting-machine, but youth, even to the ... Adventure Comes Smiling
Luck, in the course of his enthusiastic picture making, reached the point where he must find a bank that was willing to be robbed--in broad daylight and for screen purposes only. If you know anything at all about our financial storehouses, you know ... Aftermath
Joan waited for Prosper on the appointed afternoon. There was a fire on her hearth and a March snow-squall tapped against the window panes. The crackle of the logs inside and that eerie, light sound outside were so associated with Prosper that, ev... Again A Hidden Enemy
The boys were early astir the following morning. As soon as they were up Capt. Pipe's wife placed a dish of boiled corn, like hominy, before them, and this was their breakfast. A little later, telling Capt. Pipe of the great amount of work they ha... Against The Bars
Jasper Morena had stood for an hour in a drafty passage of that dirty labyrinth known vaguely to the public as "behind the scenes," listening to the wearisome complaints of a long-nosed young actor. It was the sixth of such conversations that he h... Agood Fellow's Wife
I LIFE in the small towns of the older West moves slowly-almost as slowly as in the seaport villages or little towns of the East. Towns like Tyre and Bluff Siding have grown during the last twenty years, but very slowly, by almost imperceptible d... Ain't She The Gamest Little Thoroughbred?
Kate galloped into the ranch plaza around which the buildings were set, slipped from her pony, and ran at once to the telephone. Bob was on a side porch mending a bridle. "Have you heard anything from dad?" she cried through the open door. "N... Aline Makes A Discovery
Aline pulled her horse to a walk. "You know Mr. Ridgway pretty well, don't you?" Miss Balfour gently flicked her divided skirt with a riding-whip, considering whether she might be said to know him well. "Yes, I think I do," she ventured. "Mrs.... Aline Turns A Corner
Aline might have been completely prostrated by the news of her husband's sudden end, coming as it did as the culmination of a week of strain and horror. That she did not succumb was due, perhaps, to Ridgway's care for her. When Harley's massive gray... All Heroes But One
As we rode up the slope of Buckskin, the sunrise glinted red-gold through the aisles of frosted pines, giving us a hunter's glad greeting. With all due respect to, and appreciation of, the breaks of the Siwash, we unanimously decided that if couga... All In The Day's Work
The next morning the herds moved out like brigades of an army on dress-parade. Our front covered some six or seven miles, the Buford cattle in the lead, while those intended for Indian delivery naturally fell into position on flank and rear. My beev... All This War-talk About Injuns
Over his second cup of coffee the pale eyes of Big Medicine goggled thoughtfully at the forbidding wall of lava rock that stretched before them as far as he could see to left or right. There were places here and there where he believed that a man co... Along The Mountain Trail
The boys had expected some such answer as this, so they were not greatly surprised. They were introduced to the storekeeper by Tom Dillon, who then asked if Abe Blower had been alone. "No, he had two others with him--strangers to me," answered D...