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Updated: June 28, 2025
"Ye'll settle down an' go ter farmin', an' the sooner the better 'twill be fer yer hide, mind me!" And the dark, forbidding face of a woman, some years older than the man, appeared from behind the dirty flaps of the wagon-covering. At once the settler cracked his whip and drove on. Poke Stover chuckled to himself. "Thar's married life fer ye, Dan," he remarked. "Do ye wonder I'm a single man?"
The heavy bombardment on the door was beginning to tell, and already there was a long crack in the oaken slab, and the splinters were flying in all directions. "We'll take our stand here!" cried Poke Stover, motioning to a spot facing the door. "Give it to 'em the minit daylight shines through!"
Stover wore a rich black silk dress, with a basque of the same material, both being embroidered with violet-colored wreaths and trimmed with bugles. Mrs. Patterson wore a similar dress and basque, embroidered in white. Both ladies wore lace collars and had natural flowers in their hair. The privileged guests began to arrive at eleven o'clock, the Diplomatic Corps taking precedence.
Stover wished to turn him out to shift for himself, but the boys pleaded for the wounded red man, and in the end he was allowed to remain where he was. The Radburys retired to their sleeping-apartment, while Stover made himself comfortable in front of the big open fireplace. All, however, slept, as the saying goes, "with one eye open." The next week was a busy one.
Then came the cry, "To shelter!" and Milam's men, about a hundred and forty strong, broke into the nearest mansion, which was that of De La Garcia. "Drop!" The cry came from Poke Stover, and he called to Amos Radbury, as he saw a Mexican in the act of picking off the lieutenant from the garden of a residence opposite to that of De La Garcia.
Major Stover had attempted to draw an ugly-looking derringer. The Kid calmly took it away from him and threw it across the room. He shook the land agent until his teeth rattled like dice in a box. "Mrs. Thomas' ranch, sah," he said crisply, "is not in the mahket!" With that he hurled the major back into his chair. There was a crashing, rending sound as Stover's huge body struck it.
The loungers and hangers-on about their doors told the story. Sandwiched between two of the biggest bars, however, was a small shack the only frame building in the place. "Well, this Majah Stover hombre must be in the business," muttered The Kid to himself. His eyes had fallen on the sign over the door: MAJOR STOVER LAND OFFICE Kid Wolf was curious.
"Certainly, I'll go ahead, if ye want me to," answered Poke Stover, in his free and easy manner, and rode on with the other soldier mentioned. As soon as they got into the thickets of the timber, they dismounted, tied their steeds to a tree, and advanced on foot.
"What do you make of this, father?" asked Dan of his parent, when the retreat toward the Brazos was ordered. "I don't know what to make of it," answered Amos Radbury. "I suppose General Houston knows what he is doing." "But see how the settlers are leaving their homes. There is a regular panic among them." "That is true, Dan. I wish I knew how Ralph and Stover are faring at home."
On the seat of the buggy were two women, one plump and round-faced, the other thin and gaunt. Mr. Stover panted behind him. "Say, Mr. Brown," he whispered, as they entered the kitchen; "don't tell my wife nor Sophi about Seth's bein' sick. Better not say a word to them about it." The tone in which this was spoken made the substitute assistant curious. "Why not?" he asked.
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