United States or Cayman Islands ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Yesterday, after he found that Drew had been here and gone he seemed sort of upset; tried to keep it from me, but I'm too much used to judgin' changes of weather to be fooled by any tenderfoot that ever used school English. Then he hinted around about learnin' the way to Eldara, because he knows that town is pretty close to Drew's place, I guess. I told him; sure I did.
"You seem to have come with your mind already made up, Glendin," said the rancher coldly. "Not a bit. But go through the whole town or Eldara and ask the boys what they think of this tenderfoot. They feel so strong that if he was jailed they'd lynch him." Drew raised a clenched fist and then let his arm fall suddenly limp at his side. "Then surely he must not be jailed."
"Damn his soul!" growled the other by way of a prefix to his story. "It ain't any of the three with me. This Bard maybe he tried his hand with you?" Whether it was rage or scorn that made her start and redden he could not tell. "Me?" she repeated. "A tenderfoot get fresh with me? Stranger, you ain't been long in Eldara or you wouldn't pull a bonehead like that." "'Scuse me.
But here a stream of tremendous profanity burst from Nash. It rose, it rushed on, it seemed an exhaustless vocabulary built up by long practice on mustangs and cattle. At length: "Is that damned fool in Eldara?" "D'you know him?" "No. Anyway, go on. What happened?" "I was sayin' that Butch was feelin' pretty sociable. It went all right in the bars. He was in here and didn't do nothin' wrong.
We'll be lookin' for you back in Eldara to-morrow night, Bard." And her eyes fixed with meaning on Nash. "Certainly," answered the other, "my business ought not to take longer than that." "I'll take him by the shortest cut," said Nash, and the two went out to their horses.
His coat was off and his sleeves rolled up to the elbow; he looked more like a man preparing to chop wood than a physician engaging in a struggle with death; but Dr. Young had the fighting strain. Otherwise he would never have persisted in Eldara. Already the subtle atmosphere of sickness had come upon the room.
"She fetched out a steak and served Butch as if he'd been a king and then sat down beside him and started kiddin' him along, with all the gang of us sittin' or standin' around and laughin' fit to bust, but not loud for fear Butch would get annoyed. "Then two things come in together and spoiled the prettiest little party that was ever started in Eldara.
A couple of hours of this and the rivers will be up may take up all day to get back to the ranch if we have to ride up to the ford on the Saverack." "Then we'll swim 'em." The other smiled drily. "Swim the Saverack when she's up? No, lad, we won't do that." "Then I'll have to work it alone, I suppose. You see, I have that date in Eldara for tomorrow night."
Hoss-liftin'? That's another little mark on Bard's score." As if to make up for its silence of the blast when the two reached it late the night before, Eldara was going full that evening. Kilrain went straight for Doc Young, to bring him later to join Nash at the house of Deputy Glendin.
First was that player piano which Sally got shipped in and paid God-knows-how-much for; the second was this greenhorn I was tellin' you about." "Go on," said Nash, the little snarl coming back in his voice. "Tell me how the tenderfoot walked up and kicked Butch out of the place." "Somebody been tellin' you?" "No; I just been readin' the mind of Eldara." "It was a nice play, though.
Word Of The Day