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But if he was discomfited, the group at the next table below, where Doctor Carpy presided, flanked by Lefever, Sawdy, Kitchen and McAlpin, was correspondingly elated at the spectacle of the Falling Wall and the Crazy Woman sitting in harmony. Despite the unpleasant stories Kate had heard about him she found nothing to complain of in Laramie's manners.
No man from the Falling Wall country was Stone's superior in the craft of hiding; but none was Laramie's equal in the art of surprise; and Laramie meant, for once, to make an antagonist formidable from cover, show in the open.
Their rifles being thus rendered useless, they were unable to procure food by hunting and had to depend upon roots and wild fruits for subsistence. After suffering extremely from hunger, they arrived at Laramie's Fork, a small tributary of the north branch of the Nebraska, about sixty miles above the cliffs just mentioned.
Not a half a dozen times in all their long acquaintance had Hawk shortened Laramie's name in speaking to him; and then only when he spoke as he rarely did from a depth always hidden from the men among whom his wasted life had been spent. Roused by something in the utterance of his guest, Laramie looked up. If the sight was a shock, the mountain man gave no outward sign of it.
The words carried the irritable nasal tone familiar to Stone's acquaintances. Laramie's eyes merely brightened a little with the effort to reply: "Tom," he declared, with just enough of hesitation to play the game, "that's the first thing my wife said yes'day morning." Stone stared: "When," he demanded, "did you get married?" "Put up your gun. I'll tell you about it."
Rebuffed on this subject, all knowledge being disclaimed, Tenison was called on for the story of events since the two had been away, and of these Laramie's escape from the canyon came first. Tenison reported further, in confidence, Laramie's success with Kate. Had the news provided every man in the Falling Wall with a brand-new wife, it could not have been more to the humor of Sawdy and Lefever.
Laramie had changed in an instant from a man that had not tasted liquor to a man half tipsy. It was a feint, but a feint made with an accurate understanding of a dangerous enemy. There was not a chance of escape. Laramie's left arm was resting on the bar. Under the overhang, Stone, as he faced Laramie, now pressed the gun with his right arm, into Laramie's stomach.
The townspeople that made money out of the trade of the big ranches always stood up for the cattlemen, but they were put most unpleasantly on the defensive by the incident. Even had Stone's attempt on Laramie's life succeeded it would have been easier, for the partisans, to handle than the failure it proved.
An alarm Crow Indians Their appearance Mode of approach Their vengeful errand Their curiosity Hostility between the Crows and Blackfeet Loving conduct of the Crows Laramie's Fork First navigation of the Nebraska Great elevation of the country Rarity of the atmosphere Its effect on the wood-work of wagons Black Hills Their wild and broken scenery Indian dogs Crow trophies Sterile and dreary country Banks of the Sweet Water Buffalo hunting Adventure of Tom Cain the Irish cook
But to run a gauntlet of a dozen feet against Laramie's rifle fire was a feat none had stomach for, nor were they ready at a hundred yards to pit revolvers against it. One of them might get him but they knew it would be after some of the others had practically ceased to be interested in the result. The minds of the Texas men were perfectly clear; their hands shot up like rockets.
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