Stark Takes A Hand In The Game
: The BarrierThe old man greeted the Lieutenant affably, but as his glance fell
on his daughter he stopped stock-still on the threshold.
"I told you never to wear that dress again," he said, in a dry,
harsh voice.
The girl made no answer, for her heart was breaking, but turned and
went into her room. Burrell had an irresistible desire to tell Gale
that he wanted his daughter for his wife; it would be an
pleasure to startle this iron-gray old man and the shawled and
shambling mummy of red, with the unwinking eyes that always reminded
him of two ox-heart cherries; but he had given Necia his promise. So
he descended to the exchange of ordinary topics, and inquired for
news of the creek.
"Necia's ground is getting better every hour," the trader said.
"Yesterday they found a sixty-dollar pan."
"Have you struck pay on yours?"
"No; Poleon and I seem to hold bad hands. Some of his laymen are
quitting work. They've cross-cut in half a dozen places and can't
find a color."
"But surely they haven't fully prospected his claims yet; there must
be plenty of room for a pay-streak somewhere, mustn't there?"
"It looks like he had drawn three blanks," said Gale, "although we
can't tell for sure. They're breaking most as bad for me, too; but
I've got a new hunch, and I'm running up a dreen to catch bed-rock
along the left rim. I've got twenty men at work, and I'll know
before long. You heard about Runnion, of course?"
"Yes; the usual story--the bad men get the good mines, and the good
ones get the hungry spots. Well, I might have been one of the
unfortunates if I had staked for myself; but I hardly think so, I'm
pretty lucky." He laughingly bade them good-night, content with
himself and at peace with the world.
Gale went to Necia's door and called her, but when she appeared he
was unprepared for the tragic face with which she greeted him.
"Daughter," he said, "don't feel bad over what I said; I didn't mean
to be cross with you, but--I don't like that dress."
"Were you cross with me, daddy?" she said, dully. "I didn't hear.
What did you say?"
He looked at her in amazement. "Necia, little girl, what is the
trouble?"
She was staring past him, and her fingers were fumbling helplessly
with the lace of her gown, but she began to show signs of collapse.
"I sent him away--I--gave him up, when he wanted me--wanted me--Oh,
daddy! he wants to marry me--and I sent him away."
Alluna uttered a short, satisfied exclamation, and, looking at Gale
meaningly, said:
"It is good. It is good. He is a stranger."
But the man disregarded her interruption.
"He asked you to marry him in--in--in spite of who you are and what
I am?"
"Yes; he is ready to give up his ambition, his army, his future, his
family, everything, for me--to sacrifice it all; and so, of course,
I couldn't let him." She spoke simply, as if her father would surely
understand and approve her action, while in her voice was a note of
inevitable resignation. "You see, I never understood what my blood
would mean to him until to-night. I've been selfish and thoughtless,
I guess. I just wanted him, and wanted him to take me; but now that
he is mine, I love him more than I thought. He is so dear to me that
I can't drag him down--I can't--I can't!" She went to the open door
and stood leaning against the casing, facing the cool outer
darkness, her face hidden from them, her form sagging wearily, as if
the struggle had sapped her whole strength.
Alluna crept to the trader and looked up at him eagerly, whispering:
"This will end in a little while, John. She is young. She can go
back to the Mission to-morrow. She will soon forget."
"Forget! Do you think she can forget?"
"Any woman can forget. Only men remember."
"It is the red blood in you--lying. You know you lie."
"It is to save your life," she said.
"I know; but it's no use." To Necia he said; "You needn't worry,
little daughter." But her ears were deaf. "You needn't give him up,
I say--this will end all right."
Seeing that she gave no sign of heeding, he stepped closer, and
swung her about till she faced him.
"Can't you trust me this one time? You always have before, Necia. I
say he'll marry you, and it will all come out right."
She raised her hopeless eyes and strove gamely to meet his, then,
failing, broke away, and turned back to the door. "I knew you
couldn't understand. I--I--oh, God, I love him so!" With a cry like
that of a wounded animal she fled out into the night, where she
could give vent to her anguish unseen; for she had never wept before
her father, but always crept away and hid herself until her grief
was spent. Gale would have started after her, but Alluna dragged him
back fiercely.
"No, no! It means your life, John. Let the secret die, and she will
forget. She is so young. Time will cure her--time cures everything.
Don't tell her--don't tell any one--and, above all, don't tell that
soldier! He would not believe, nor would she. Even I have doubted!"
"You?"
"Yes, John. And if I don't believe, what is a stranger to say? No
man knowing you would believe the tale--without proof. Suppose she
doubted--have you ever thought of that? Would you not rather have
her die still loving you than live and disbelieve?"
"Yes, yes! Of course, I--I've thought of that, but--Woman, you're
worse than a rattlesnake!"
"Even if he knew, he might not marry her. You at least are clean,
and that other man was a devil. A brave man's life is too great a
price to pay for a grief that will die in a year." Alluna was
speaking swiftly in her own language, her body tense, her face
ablaze, and no man seeing her could ever again have called her
people stolid.
"You think time will cure a love like that?" he said.
"Yes, yes!"
"That's all you know about it. Time may act that way perhaps in
cities and such places, but out in the hills it is different. When
you've got the breath of the forest in you, I say it is different.
Time--why, I've lived fifteen years in the open with a living
memory. Every night I've dreamed it over, every day I've lived it
through; in every camp-fire I see a face, and every wind from the
south brings a voice to me. Every stormy night a girl with eyes like
Necia's calls to me, and I have to follow. Every patch of moonlight
shows her smiling at me, just beyond, just in the shadow's edge.
Love! Time! Why, Alluna, love is the only thing in the world that
never dies, and time only makes it the more enduring."
He took up the white slouch hat he had thrown down when he came in,
and stepped to the door.
"Where are you going?" inquired the squaw, fearfully.
"To the barracks to give myself up!"
She flung herself at him with a great cry, and seized him about the
waist.
"You never loved me, John, but I have been a good woman to you,
although I knew you were always thinking of her--and had no thought
of me. I have loved this girl because you loved her. I have hated
your enemies because you hated them, and now I remember while you
forget."
"Forget! What do you mean?"
"Stark!"
The man paused. "I did almost forget him--and after fifteen years!"
"Let us kill him to-night; then we will go to the soldier together,
side by side--I am your woman. Necia will look after the little
ones."
Gale stared at her, and as he gazed the red pigment underneath her
skin, the straight-hanging, mane-like hair, the gaudy shawl she
never went without, the shapeless, skin-shod feet, the slovenly,
ill-fitting garb of a mis-cast woman vanished, and he saw her as she
was on a day long past, a slim, shy, silent creature, with great,
watchful, trusting eyes and a soul unspoiled. No woman had ever been
so loyal, so uncomplaining. He had robbed her of her people and her
gods. He had shifted hither and yon at the call of his uncertain
fortune, or at a sign of that lurking fear that always dogged him,
and she had never left his side, never questioned, never doubted,
but always served him like a slave, without asking for a part in
that other love, without sharing in the caresses he had consecrated
to a woman she had never seen.
"By Heaven! You're game, Alluna, but there's a limit even to what I
can take from you," he said, at last. "I don't ever seem to have
noticed it before, but there is. No! I've got to do this thing alone
to-night, all of it, for you have no place in it, and I can't let
the little girl go on like this. The sooner that soldier knows the
better." He leaned down and touched her brown mouth with his
grizzled lips. "Thank you, Alluna, for making a man of me when I'd
nearly forgotten. Now you stay here." He knew he could count on her
obedience, and so he left her. When he had gone she drew the shawl
up over her face and crouched in the doorway, straining her eyes
after him through the dark. In time she began to rock and sway, and
then to chant, until the night moaned with the death-song of her
people.
Necia had no idea whither she went; her only thought was to flee
from her kin, who could not understand, to hide under cover in some
solitary place, to let the darkness swallow her up, so that she
might give way to her grief and be just a poor, weak woman. So, with
a dull and aching heart, she wandered, bareheaded, bare-necked,
half-demented, and wholly oblivious to her surroundings, without
sense of her incongruous attire or of the water that squeezed up
through the soggy moss at her tread and soaked her frail slippers.
On she stumbled blindly through the murk like some fair creature of
light cast out and banished.
The night was cloudy and a wind came sighing from the north, tossing
the girl's hair and tugging at the careless folds of her dress, but
she heard nothing save the devil's tattoo that rang in her head, and
felt nothing beyond the pain at throat and breast, which in time
became so bitter that the tears were wrung from her dry eyes, and
she began to weep in a pitiful woman fashion, as if her heart would
burst. The first drops cleared a way for others, and soon she was
sobbing freely, alone and without solace, lost in the night.
She had not succeeded in thoroughly isolating herself, however, for
a man who was steering his course by the sense of feel and the
wind's direction heard her and paused. His steps were muffled in the
soft footing, so that she had no warning of his presence until he
was near enough to distinguish her dimly where she leaned against
the log wall of a half-completed cabin.
To his question, "What's the trouble here?" she made no answer, but
moved away, whereupon he detained her. "There's something wrong. Who
are you, anyhow?"
"It's only Necia, Mr. Stark," said the girl, at which be advanced
and took her by the arm.
"What ails you, child? What in the world are you doing here? Come!
It's only a step to my cabin; you must come in and rest awhile, and
you'll soon be all right. Why, you'll break your neck in this
darkness."
She hung back, but he compelled her to go with him in spite of her
unwillingness.
"Now, now," he admonished, with unusual kindliness for him; "you
know you're my little friend, and I can't let you go on this way;
it's scandalous. I won't stand for it. I like you too much."
In truth he had done things during these last few weeks to make her
think so, having never missed an opportunity to stop and pass a word
with her, at the same time showing her a queer courtesy and
consideration quite foreign to his saturnine habits. She had never
mentioned the fact to her father or the others, for she had
developed a sort of sympathy for the man, and felt that she
understood him better than they did.
He led her inside his cabin, and closed the door in the face of the
night wind before he struck a light.
"I can't stand to see you cry," he repeated, as he adjusted the
wick. "Now, as soon as--" He stopped in astonishment, for he had
turned to behold, instead of the little half-breed girl, this
slender, sorrowful stranger in her amazingly wonderful raiment.
"By--" He checked himself insensibly, and stood motionless for a
long time, while she wiped her eyes and, woman-like, straightened
out her gown and smoothed her hair with little feminine touches.
"I--I--hope you'll excuse me for acting this way," she smiled at
him, piteously; then, observing his strange features, "Why, what is
the matter, Mr. Stark; are you angry?"
His hawklike face was strained and colorless, his black eyes fierce
and eager, his body bent as if to pounce upon a victim. In truth he
was now the predatory animal.
"No," he replied, as if her question carried no meaning; then,
coming to himself, "No--no! of course not, but--you gave me a start.
You reminded me of some one. How do you come to be dressed like
that? I never knew you had such clothes?"
"Poleon brought them from Dawson; they are the first I ever had."
He shook his head in a slow, puzzled fashion.
"You look just like a white girl--I mean--I don't know what I mean."
This time he roused himself fully, the effort being more like a
shudder.
"So I have always thought," she said, and her eyes filled again.
"Your skin is like milk beneath your tan, and--I don't mean any
disrespect, but--Well, I'm just so damned surprised! Come over here
and sit down while I mix you something to put the heart back into
you."
He shoved forward a big chair with a wolf-skin flung over it, into
which she sank dejectedly, while he stepped to the shelves beside
the Yukon stove and took down a bottle and some glasses. She glanced
about with faint curiosity, but the interior of the cabin showed
nothing out of the ordinary, consisting as it did of one room with a
cot in the corner, upon which were tumbled blankets, and above which
was a row of pegs. Opposite was a sheet-iron box-stove supported
knee-high on a tin-capped framework of wood, and in the centre a
table with oil-cloth cover. Around the walls were some cooking
utensils, a few cases of canned goods, and clothes hanging in a row.
"I'm not fixed up very well yet," he apologized; "I've been too busy
at the saloon to waste time on living quarters. But it's comfortable
enough for an old roadster like me, for I've bruised around the
frontier so long that I've learned there's only three things
necessary to a man's comfort--warm clothes, a full stomach, and a
dry place to sleep. All the rest that goes to make a man content he
has inside him, and I'm not the kind to be satisfied, no matter
where I am or what I have. I never was that kind, so I just don't
make the attempt."
He was talking to give her leeway, and when he had concocted a weak
toddy, insisted that she must drink it, which she did listlessly,
while he rambled on.
"I've noticed a few things in my life, Miss Necia, and one of them
is that it often does a heap of good to let out and talk things
over; not that a fellow gains any real advantage from disseminating
his troubles, but it serves to sort of ease his mind. Folks don't
often come to me for advice or sympathy. I don't have it to give,
but maybe it will help you to tell me what caused this night-
marauding expedition of yours." Seeing that she hesitated, he went
on: "I suppose there's a lot of reasons why you shouldn't confide in
me--I don't like that old man of yours, nor any of your friends; but
maybe that's why I'm interested. If any of them has upset you, I'll
take particular pleasure in helping you get even."
"I don't want to get even, and there is nothing to tell," said
Necia, "except a girl's troubles, and I can't talk about them." She
smiled a painful, crooked smile at him.
"Your old man has been rough to you?"
"No, no! Nothing of that sort."
"Then it's that soldier?" he quizzed, shrewdly. "I knew you cared a
heap for him. Don't he love you?"
"Yes! That's the trouble; and he wants to many me; he swears he will
in spite of everything."
"See here! I don't quite follow. I thought you liked him--he's the
kind most women go daffy over."
"Like him!" The girl trembled with emotion. "Like him! Why--why, I
would do anything to make him happy."
"I guess I must be kind of dull," Stark said, perplexedly.
"Don't you see? I've got to give him up--I'm a squaw."
"Squaw hell! With those shoulders?"
Stark checked himself, for he found he was rejoicing in his enemy's
defeat, and was in danger of betraying himself to the girl. In every
encounter the young man had bested him, and these petty defeats had
crystallized his antipathy to Burrell into a hatred so strong that
he had begun to lie awake nights planning a systematic quarrel. For
he was the kind of man who throve upon contentions: so warped in
soul that when no man offered him offence he brooded over fancied
wrongs and conjured up a cause for enmity, goading himself into that
sour, sullen habit of mind that made him a dread and a menace to all
who lacked his favor. His path was strewn from the border North with
the husks of fierce brawls, and he bore the ineradicable mark of the
killer, carrying always in his brain those scars that hate had
seared. In his eyes forever slumbered a flame waiting to be blown to
life, and when embroiled in feuds or bickerings a custom had grown
upon him to fight these fights in secret many times, until of nights
he would lie in solitary darkness writhing in spirit as he hounded
his man to desperation, or forced him into a corner where he might
slake his thirsty vengeance. After such black, sleepless hours he
dragged himself from his battle-grounds of fancy, worn and weary,
and the daylight discovered him more saturnine and moody, more
menacing than ever.
He had brooded over his quarrel with Gale and the Lieutenant ever
since their first clash, for in this place they furnished the only
objects upon which his mania could work--and it was a mania, the
derangement of a diseased, distorted mind. His regard for Necia was
a careless whim, a rather aimless, satisfying hobby, not at all
serious, entirely extraneous to his every-day life, and interesting
only from its aimlessness, being as near to an unselfish and decent
motive as the man had ever come. But it was not of sufficient
consequence to stand out against or swerve the course of a quarrel;
wherefore, he was gladdened by the news of Burrell's discomfiture.
"So you like him too much to stand in his way," he said,
meditatively. "How does your father look at it?"
"He wants the Lieutenant to marry me. He says he will fix it up all
right; but he doesn't understand. How could he?"
"You are doing just right," concurred the man, hypocritically, "and
you'll live to be glad you stood out." Now that both his enemies
desired this thing, he was set on preventing it, regardless of the
girl. "How did the Lieutenant take it when you refused him?"
"He wouldn't take it at all. He only laughed and declared he would
marry me, anyhow." The very thought thrilled her.
"Does he knew you love him?"
The tender, sobbing laugh she gave was ample answer.
"Well, what's your plan?"
"I--I--I don't know. I am so torn and twisted with it all that I
can't plan, but I have thought I--ought--to go--away."
"Good!" he said, quickly, but his acquiescence, instead of soothing
her, had the contrary effect, and she burst out impulsively:
"Oh--I can't--I can't! I can't go away and never see him! I can't do
it! I want to stay where he is!" She had been holding herself in
stubbornly, but at last gave way with reckless abandon. "Why wasn't
I born white like other girls? I've never felt like an Indian. I've
always dreamed and fancied I was different, and I am, in my soul--I
know I am! The white is so strong in me that it has killed the red,
and I'm one of father's people. I'm not like the other two; they are
brown and silent, and as cold as little toads; but I'm white and
full of life, all over. They never see the men and women that I see
in my dreams. They never have my visions of the beautiful snow-white
mother, with the tender mouth and the sad eyes that always smile at
me."
"You have visions of such things, eh?"
"Yes, but I came a generation late, that's all, and I've got that
other woman's soul. I'm not a half-breed--I'm not me at all. I'm
Merridy--Merridy! That's who I am."
Her face was turned away from him, so that she did not notice the
frightful effect her words had upon Stark.
"Where did you get--that name?" His voice was pitched in a different
key now. Then, after a moment, he added, "From the story I told you
at the mine that night, I suppose?"
"Oh no," she answered. "I've always had it, though they call me
Necia. Merridy was my father's mother. I guess I'm like her in many
ways, for I often imagine she is a part of me, that her spirit is
mine. It's the only way I can account for the sights I see."
"Your father's mother?" he said, mechanically. "That's queer." He
seemed to be trying to shake himself free from something. "It's
heredity, I suppose. You have visions of a white woman, a woman
named Merridy, eh?" Suddenly his manner changed, and he spoke so
roughly that she looked at him in vague alarm.
"How do you know? How do you know she was his mother?"
"He told me so--"
Stark snarled. "He lied!"
"I can show you her wedding-ring--I've always worn it." She fumbled
for the chain about her neck, but it eluded her trembling fingers.
"It has her name in it--'From Dan to Merridy.'"
Stark's hand darted forward and tore the thing from her shoulders,
then he thrust it under the lamp and glared at the inscription,
while his fingers shook so that he could barely distinguish the
words. His eyes were blazing and his face livid.
Necia cried out, but he dropped the ornament and seized her
fiercely, lifting her from the chair to her feet; then, with one
swift, downward clutch, he laid hold of her dress at the left
shoulder and ripped it half to her waist. A hoarse sound came from
his throat, a cry half of amazement, half of triumph.
"Let me go! Let me go!" She struggled to free herself, but he held
her in a viselike grip, while he peered closely at a blemish well
down upon her back. Then he let her slip from his grasp, and, seized
with terror, she staggered away from him. He was leaning heavily
with both hands upon the table, his face working, his head drawn
down between his shoulders, his thin lips grinning, his whole manner
so terrifying that she shrank back till she brought up against the
bark walls. She turned and made for the door, whereupon he
straightened up and said, in a queer, commanding voice:
"Wait--don't go! I--I--you--" He licked his lips as if they were
dust dry, passed an uncertain hand across his beaded brow, and,
raising the water-pail beside the door to his mouth, drank heavily
in great, noisy gulps.
"Let me out of here!" the girl demanded, imperiously.
"Don't be scared," he said, more quietly now. "You must excuse me.
You--you gave me an awful fright. Yes--that was it. Don't worry. I
didn't mean any harm."
"You hurt my shoulder," she said, almost ready to cry. "And you tore
my dress," she added, angrily--"my fine dress. Are you crazy?"
"You see, it's like this, that name of Merridy and that ring--well,
the whole thing was so startling, I--I went off my head. It came
sudden, and I thought--I thought--it don't matter what I thought,
but I'm sorry. I'll apologize--and I'll get you a new dress, a whole
lot of dresses, if you like." This seemed to amuse him, and he began
to laugh silently.
His first impulse had been to tell her everything, but his amazement
had rendered him speechless, and now he was thankful for it.
Following his discovery of her identity, he had been stricken dumb,
staring at her like one demented; then, as he was about to explain,
his mind suddenly grasped the significance of this revelation and
the advantage it gave him over his enemies; a plan began to unfold,
vague at first, its details not worked out, but a plan whereby he
could by keeping silent use this knowledge to serve his vengeful
ends. In an instant his vision cleared and his brain became active
and alert, like that of a man brought suddenly under the stimulus of
strong liquor. Care must be exercised--she must not learn too much--
for if she suspected the truth she would go to her soldier lover at
once, and no power on earth could hold her back. That would block
the vengeance that he saw shaping in the dank recesses of his
distorted brain.
First, and above all, he must get the girl away from Flambeau.
"I went clear off my head," he heard himself saying, "at that name
of Merridy, that ring, and all. Why--why, I thought you might be the
missing girl I told you of--you remember, that day up on Lee's
Creek--so I had to see; but, dear me, I should have been more
considerate--I should have explained. The trouble is I'm a nervous
man, and I get impulsive streaks on me sometimes that I can't
control. I'm sorry I spoiled your dress, but I'll get you another--
you bet I will."
This explanation of his strange behavior seemed plausible enough to
banish all personal fears from Necia's mind. Indeed, Stark had now
become so gentle and apologetic in his demeanor that her woman's
curiosity overcame her instinct to flee, and she ventured the
question:
"So you really thought I was that other girl?"
"I did for a minute. The mother was a--a--friend of mine, and so--I
lost my head. But I'm all right now, and if you'll overlook my
roughness we'll go back to your troubles."
These last few moments had driven her own worries from her mind, but
he was bent on recalling them, and so continued, cautiously:
"You were saying that you thought you'd go away. I think that's a
good plan, and you'd be wise to do it for more reasons than one. It
will give you time to think it all over and know your own mind--"
"I know my mind now, and yet--I don't want to go away."
"--and it will give Burrell a chance to prove himself. He'll either
show that he has got to have you at any cost, or that you are right
in your decision. If the first should happen, you can come back to
him; if the last--why, it will be better for you, anyhow. As long as
you stay here neither one of you can see clearly."
She was touched by his interest, and realized the force of his
argument, which, strange to say, seemed to second her own thoughts;
yet she hesitated.
"I want to help you--I'm going to help you--because I've got an
interest in you like you were mine." Again he betrayed that strange,
mirthless amusement.
"There is no place for me to go," said Necia, blankly, "except the
Mission, and I have no way of getting there."
"Don't you worry. I'll furnish the means, and you'd better go to-
night"--she flinched--"yes, to-night; there's no use prolonging your
agony. I'll get a boat ready and send a trusty man with you. The
current is swift, and if he rows well you can make it by to-morrow
evening. That's only one night out, and I'll put some blankets
aboard so you can wrap up and have a sleep."
"I feel as if I'd never sleep again," she sighed.
"Now, now, this will come out all right yet. I'd take you down there
myself, but I've got to stay here. I've got work to do. Yes, I've
sure got work of importance ahead of me."
"I must go back and get some clothes," she said, At which he would
have demurred had he not seen that she could not travel in her
present condition.
"Very well. But don't let anybody see you."
"Of course not."
"It's getting late, and your folks will be abed." He looked at his
watch. "Midnight! Be here in an hour, and I'll have the skiff
ready."
The light of sacrifice was in Necia's eyes, and her cheeks were
blanched with the pallor of a great resolution. She did not stop to
reason why or how she had been led to this disposal of her future,
but clutched desperately at Stark's plan of rescue from her
agonizing predicament.
"I'll be here in an hour," she said, simply.
He let her out, closed the door after her, and locked it; then,
drawing a deep breath, he raised his clenched hands above his head,
and gave a great sigh of exultation. Next he took out his six-
shooter and examined it carefully. The shells did not suit him, so
he filled the gun with new ones, loosened the three lower buttons of
his vest, and slid the weapon inside his trousers band; then, facing
the direction of Gale's trading-post, he spoke aloud.
"I was a long time coming, Gaylord, but I'm here, and I've got you
where I've wanted you these fifteen years--yes, and I've got you,
too, Burrell! By God, this is my night!"
His lithe body became panther-like in poise, his bearing that of the
meat-eating animal, and his face set in a fierce, exultant cruelty
as he blew out his light and left the cabin.
More
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Scot Versus Saxon
Three women were seated at the moment on the front veranda of the major's quarters--Mrs. Plume, Miss Janet Wren, the captain's sister, and little Mrs. Bridger. The first named had been intently watching the officers as, after the dismissal of thei... Searching For The Landslide Mine
Lost underground! It was a terrible condition of affairs to contemplate, and for an instant Dave's heart almost stopped beating and something like a chill swept down his backbone. What if they should be unable to find their way out of the rocky... Self-defence
When Bruce came out of the canyon, where he had a wider view of the sky, he saw that wicked-looking clouds were piling thick upon one another in the northeast, and he wondered whether the month was the first of November or late October, as Slim in... Set Afoot
The tracks of the six horses led down into a rock-bottomed arroyo so deep in most places that all view of the surrounding mesa was shut off completely, save where the ragged tops of a distant line of hills pushed up into the dazzling blue of the sky... Seven For One
Dangerous men were no novelty for Gregg. He had lived with them, worked with them, as hard-fisted himself as any, and as ready for trouble, but the man of the mountain-desert has a peculiar dread for the practiced, known gun-fighter. In the days of ... Shacks Live Stock And Pilgrims Promptly And Painfully Removed
"I'm looking rather seedy now, while holding down my claim, And my grub it isn't always served the best, And the mice play shyly round me as I lay me down to rest In my little old sod shanty on my claim. Oh, the ... Shadows
A desire to ride once more in the peaceful sunshine of the land she loved was one of the first indications that Barbara was recovering from the shock occasioned by her father's death. For two or three days she had not stirred from her room, except... Shadows On The Mist
The decision which Cavanagh made between love and duty distinguished the officer from the man, the soldier from the civilian. He did not hesitate to act, and yet he suffered a mental conflict as he rode back toward the scene of that inhuman sacrif... Shadows On The Sage-slope
In the cloudy, threatening, waning summer days shadows lengthened down the sage-slope, and Jane Withersteen likened them to the shadows gathering and closing in around her life. Mrs. Larkin died, and little Fay was left an orphan with ... Sharon's Choice
Under Providence, a man may achieve the making of many things--ships, books, fortunes, himself even, quite often enough to encourage others; but let him beware of creating a town. Towns mostly happen. No real-estate operator decided that Rome shou... Sheep
Slim rising first from dinner on the next day but one opened the door of the mess-house, and stood there idly picking his teeth before he went about his work. After a minute of listening to the boys "joshing" old Patsy about some gooseberry pies he ... Sheriff Hardenberg Intervenes
During that brief lull Buck found time to wonder why no one had sense enough to use a gun to bring them down. But almost as swiftly the answer came to him; they dared not risk the sound of a shot bringing interference from without. He flashed a gl... Shorty Dreams
I. "Funny you don't gamble none," Shorty said to Smoke one night in the Elkhorn. "Ain't it in your blood?" "It is," Smoke answered. "But the statistics are in my head. I like an even break for my money." All about them, in the huge ... Shot To The Core With Sunlight
The storm had blown itself out before morning. A white world sparkled with flashes of sunlight when Moya opened the door of the cabin and gazed out. Looking down into the peaceful valley below, it was hard to believe that death had called to them ... Silver Spruce And Aspens
The rest of that night seemed to Venters only a few moments of starlight, a dark overcasting of sky, an hour or so of gray gloom, and then the lighting of dawn. When he had bestirred himself, feeding the hungry dogs and breaking his... Silvermane
LITTLE dew fell on the night of July first; the dawn brightened without mists; a hot sun rose; the short summer of the plateau had begun. As Hare rose, refreshed and happy from his breakfast, his whistle was cut short by the Indian. "Ugh!" ex... Singing Cliffs
Old Tom had rolled two hundred yards down the canyon, leaving a red trail and bits of fur behind him. When I had clambered down to the steep slide where he had lodged, Sounder and Jude had just decided he was no longer worth biting, and were wagging... Single-handed
Noting the concerted movement toward him, Harlan grinned at Barbara, gently disengaged himself from her grasp, and urged her toward the door of the sheriff's office. She made no objection, for she felt that further trouble impended, and she knew s... Sir Redmond Gets His Answer
"Before long, dear, we shall get on the great ship, and ride across the large, large ocean, and be at home. You will be delighted to see Peggy, and Rupert, and the dogs, won't you, dear?" Miss Hayes, her cheeks actually getting some color into the... Sir Redmond Waits His Answer
Beatrice felt distinctly out of sorts the next day, and chose an hour for her ride when she felt reasonably secure from unwelcome company. But when she went out into the sunshine there was Sir Redmond waiting with Rex and his big gray. Beatrice wa... Sister And Brother
Then Madeline returned to the little parlor with the brother whom she had hardly recognized. "Majesty!" he exclaimed. "To think of your being here!" The warmth stole back along her veins. She remembered how that pet name had sounded from the li... Slim's Sister
Bruce Burt! the murderer! Of all things in the world that he should be "The Man from the Bitter Roots"--dining at the Strathmore--the guest of Winfield Harrah! Weren't people punished for murder in the West? Sprudell had intimated that he would ha... Snake Gulch
Not far from the scene of our adventure with the White Streak as we facetious and appreciatively named the mustang, deep, flat cave indented the canyon wall. By reason of its sandy floor and close proximity to Frank's trickling spring, we decided to... Solitude And Storm
In his hidden valley Venters awakened from sleep, and his ears rang with innumerable melodies from full-throated mockingbirds, and his eyes opened wide upon the glorious golden shaft of sunlight shining through the great stone bridge. The ... Some Hopes
On the third day after the Happy Family decided that there should be some word from Chicago; and, since that day was Sunday, they rode in a body to Dry Lake after it. They had not discussed the impending tragedy very much, but they were an exceeding... Some Indian Lore
Buddy knew Indians as he knew cattle, horses, rattlesnakes and storms--by having them mixed in with his everyday life. He couldn't tell you where or when he had learned that Indians are tricky. Perhaps his first ideas on that subject were gleaned fr... Somebody Shot Saunders
The hot days dropped, one by one, into the past like fiery beads upon a velvety black cord. Miss Georgie told them silently in the meager little office, and sighed as they slipped from under her white, nervous fingers. One--nothing happened that cou... Someone Fears
A note from a pretty woman always is a potential thing, no matter in what humor it may have been received. The mere possession titillates; and although the contents may be most exemplary to the eye, the mind is apt to go hay-making between the lin... Something About Heredity
It had required but one generation to ripen the fruits of "Old Ed" Austin's lawlessness, and upon his son heredity had played one of her grimmest pranks. The father had had faults, but they were those of his virtues; he had been a strong man, at l... Spirit Rapping?
Farquhar and Captain Kilmeny left next day for another short hunting trip. The captain had offered to give it up, but Moya had urged upon him that it would not be fair to disappoint his companion. He had gone reluctantly, because he saw that his f... Sport O' Kings
Sunday happened to be fair, with not too strong a wind blowing. Before noon Little Lost ranch was a busy place, and just before dinner it became busier. Horse-racing seemed to be as popular a sport in the valley as dancing. Indeed, men came riding i... Spring
A man under thirty needs neighbors and to stop up the current of his life with a long silence is like obstructing a river--eventually the water either sweeps away the dam or rises over it, and the stronger the dam the more destructive is that final ... Sprudell Goes East
With an air of being late for many important engagements, T. Victor Sprudell bustled into the Hotel Strathmore in the Eastern city that had been Slim's home and inscribed his artistic signature upon the register; and as a consequence Peters, city ... Squaw-talk-far-off Heap Smart
Good Indian spoke briefly with the good-looking young squaw, who had a shy glance for him when he came up; afterward he took hold of his hat by the brim, and ducked through the low opening of a wikiup which she smilingly pointed out to him. "Howd... Squire Latimer Takes A Hand
"You're to make ready for a trip to town, senorita." "When?" "At once," Rosario answered. "By orders of Senor MacQueen." "Then he is back?" the girl flashed. "Just back." "Tell him I want to see him--immediately." "I am to take you ... Star Shine
It was six weeks later, with My Lady all recovered and I long since healed, and Fort Bridger pleasant in our memories, when we two rode into Benton once more, by horse from the nearest stage point. And here we sat our saddles, silent, wondering; f... Stark Takes A Hand In The Game
The old man greeted the Lieutenant affably, but as his glance fell on his daughter he stopped stock-still on the threshold. "I told you never to wear that dress again," he said, in a dry, harsh voice. The girl made no answer, for her heart wa... Starlight Ranch
We were crouching round the bivouac fire, for the night was chill, and we were yet high up along the summit of the great range. We had been scouting through the mountains for ten days, steadily working southward, and, though far from our own stati... Steve Treats
It was for several minutes, I suppose, that I stood drawing these silent morals. No man occupied himself with me. Quiet voices, and games of chance, and glasses lifted to drink, continued to be the peaceful order of the night. And into my thoughts... Stick To Your Saddle
The old Arizona fashion of settling a difference of opinion with the six-gun had long fallen into disuse, but Saguache was still close enough to the stark primeval emotions to wait with a keen interest for the crack of the revolver that would put ... Stone Walls Do Not A Prison Make
The two young Spanish aristocrats rode in advance of the convoy on the return trip, while O'Halloran and Bucky brought up the rear. The roads were too rough to permit of rapid travel, but the teams were pushed as fast as it could safely be done in t... Storm Signals
Though Lidgerwood had been up for the better part of two nights, and the day intervening, it was apparent to at least one member of the head-quarters force that he did not go to bed immediately after the arrival of the service-car from the west; t... Storm-bound
Wayland was awakened by the mellow voice of his chief calling: "All out! All out! Daylight down the creek!" Breathing a prayer of thankfulness, the boy sat up and looked about him. "The long night is over at last, and I am alive!" he said, and con... Straight Talk
Ten years of lonesomeness, of separation from all the things he held dear, with nothing for his soul to feed upon except the bitterness he got from a contemplation of the past; with nothing but his pride and his determination to keep him from beco... Stranded On The Prairie
"By George, look behind us! I fancy we are going to have a storm." Four heads turned as if governed by one brain; four pairs of eyes, of varied color and character, swept the wind-blown wilderness of tender green, and gazed questioningly at the hi... Success And Failure
At last the marvel in the north dimmed, the obscure gray shade lifted, the hope in the south brightened, and the mercury climbed reluctantly, with a tyrant's hate to relinquish power. Spring weather at twenty-five below zero! On April 12th a small... Superstition Trail
We did not make thirty-five miles that day, nor yet twenty-five, for he had let me sleep. We made an early camp and tried some unsuccessful fishing, over which he was cheerful, promising trout to-morrow when we should be higher among the mountains... Superstitions And Certainties
The sensation caused by Ricardo Guzman's disappearance was as nothing to that which followed the recovery of his body. By the next afternoon it was known from Mexico to the Canadian border that the old ranchman had been shot by Mexican soldiers in... Surprise Valley
Back in that strange canyon, which Venters had found indeed a valley of surprises, the wounded girl's whispered appeal, almost a prayer, not to take her back to the rustlers crowned the events of the last few days with a confounding climax... Surprises
At the prison door, Kid Wolf was met by a squad of ten soldiers. It was the firing squad. The Texan fell in step with them and was marched around the building to the bullet-scarred wall. Kid Wolf faced the rising sun. Was he now seeing it for th... Suspense
The help which Lee Haines wanted, it turned out, was guidance across a difficult stretch of country which he and Buck Daniels wanted to prospect, and while he talked Barry listened uneasily. It was constitutionally impossible for him to say no when ... Suspense
Sandy again. Four of the days stipulated by Lieutenant Blakely had run their course. The fifth was ushered in, and from the moment he rode away from the bivouac at the tanks no word had come from the Bugologist, no further trace of Angela. In all ... Taken Into The Mountains
We climbed to another level bench where we branched off the trail. The forest still kept its open, park-like character. Under the great pines the ground was bare and brown with a thick covering of pine-needles, but in the glades were green grass and... Tangled Threads
Relieved though Helen was to some extent, by her father's assurances and by the explanation which he had given, she was far from being in a tranquil frame of mind. She knew that whatever might be the outcome of the graver charge against Gordon,... Taxation Without Representation
"Hands up!" There was a ring of crisp menace in the sinister voice that was a spur to obedience. The unanimous show of hands voted "Aye" with a hasty precision that no amount of drill could have compassed. It was a situation that might have mad... Tennessee's Partner
I do not think that we ever knew his real name. Our ignorance of it certainly never gave us any social inconvenience, for at Sandy Bar in 1854 most men were christened anew. Sometimes these appellatives were derived from some distinctiveness of dr... Tex Ewalt Hunts Trouble
Not more than a few weeks after the Bar-20 drive outfit returned to the ranch a solitary horseman pushed on towards the trail they had followed, bound for Buckskin and the Bar-20 range. His name was Tex Ewalt and he cordially hated all of the Bar-20... Tex Lynch
Supper, which was served in the ranch-house kitchen by Pedro, the Mexican cook, was not enlivened by much conversation. The food was plentiful and of good quality, and the punchers addressed themselves to its consumption with the single-hearted pu... Thanksgiving At Frayne
Thanksgiving Day at Frayne! Much of the garrison was still afield, bringing back to their lines and, let us hope, to their senses, the remnant of Stabber's band, chased far into the Sweetwater Hills before they would stop, while Henry's column kep... The Accomplishment
The next morning Buck Johnson took a trip down into the "pasture" of five hundred wire-fenced acres. "He means business," he confided to Jed Parker, on his return. "That cavallo of his is a heap sight better than the Shorty horse we let him take... The Acid Test
Mrs. Johnny Sommers managed to preserve her dignity while she escorted the visitor into the front room, and even while she asked him to sit down and wait, but once she had closed the door behind her she cast dignity far away and did two steps at a t... The Acid Test
Jack Kilmeny opened his eyes to find himself in darkness utter and complete except for a pinpoint of light gleaming from far above. His head was whirling and throbbing painfully. Something warm and moist dropped into his eyes, and when he put his ... The Advent Of Mcallister
The blazing sun shone pitilessly on an arid plain which was spotted with dust-gray clumps of mesquite and thorny chaparral. Basking in the burning sand and alkali lay several Gila monsters, which raised their heads and hissed with wide-open jaws ... The Agreement
Jed Parker straightened his back, rolled up the bandana handkerchief, and thrust it into his pocket, hit flat with his hand the touselled mass of his hair, and thrust the long hunting knife into its sheath. "You're the man I want," said he. Ins... The Ambush
Alaire Austin slept badly. The day's hardships had left their traces. The toxins of fatigue not only poisoned her muscles with aches and pains, but drugged her brain and rendered the night a long succession of tortures during which she experienced... The Amiable Angler
Baumberger--Johannes was the name he answered to when any of his family called, though to the rest of the world he was simply Baumberger--was what he himself called a true sport. Women, he maintained, were very much like trout; and so, when this par... The Antidote
Three days it stormed with never a break, stormed so that the men dreaded the carrying of water from the spring that became ice-rimmed but never froze over; that clogged with sodden masses of snow half melted and sent faint wisps of steam up into the c... The Argument
Up the street two hundred yards from the Houston House Skinny and Pete lay hidden behind a bowlder. Three hundred yards on the other side of the hotel Johnny and Billy were stretched out in an arroyo. Buck was lying down now, and Hopalong, from hi... The Arizona Desert
One afternoon, far out on the sun-baked waste of sage, we made camp near a clump of withered pinyon trees. The cold desert wind came down upon us with the sudden darkness. Even the Mormons, who were finding the trail for us across the drifting sands... The Arrival
The Overland drew into Willets, coated from engine to observation with white dust. A porter, in strange contrast of neatness, flung open the vestibule, dropped his little carpeted step, and turned to assist someone. A few idle passengers gazed ou... The Ashes
Rosalind Benham got up with the dawn and looked out of a window toward Manti. She had not slept. She stood at the window for some time and then returned to the bed and sat on its edge, staring thoughtfully downward. She could not get Trevison out ... The Asper
Ninety miles of ground, at least, had been covered by the black stallion, since he left Rickett that morning, yet when he galloped across the plain in full sight of Wilsonville there were plenty of witnesses who vowed that Satan ran like a colt frol...