Rocky Mountain Sam — page 40: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 31 ‘“Poor Charlie!” she murmured. ‘‘T'o think of his com- ing away out here on a mere pleasure trip, or for my sake, which is all the same thing, and now to be exposed to such danger. -Dear me, the firing is going on again.” ‘“‘I go see what matter be for Prairie Blossom,” said Fay- away, who had listened to the conversation, so far as herself - ~ was concerned, with an amused smile, and now ran out of — the door into the corral. “No,” she retorted, quickly returning, ‘‘Injun make much talkee, but no fightee, not now; very soon.” ‘Well, we might as well be out of reach of the bullets as much as possible,” said Miss Yearning, closing and_ bolting the door. | } “Hor my part,” said Mollie, ‘‘I shall run up in the loft and look over the wall. Come, Fayaway.” | “And, for my part, I shall remain just here,” said Miss Yearning, sinking into a seat and pressing her hand to her heart; for the worthy spinster experienced more trepidation than she was willing to betray in the presence of her lively niece. _ Inthe meantime, Rocky Mountain Sam and Big Horn had joined the group of defenders—some thirty or forty in all—on the outside of the walls. - How did the row start, kernel?” asked Big Horn. ‘‘Why, they’*ve had it in for me, I don’t doubt, fora month or more. The whole Blackfeet nation appears to be on the war-path,” said Colonel Chapman, with a round oath. ‘This morning a party of rascals came here and wanted me to give them a dozen fat steers for as many broken-down, spavined, ram-shackled ponies that weren’t worth anything but to feed to the crows. Of course, I told *em I'd see ’em in first. 'Then they wanted to trade for whisky, which they know well enough the Government does not permit me to sell them; and, on failing in this, one of *em picked up a row and drew his scalping knife on one of my teamsters, when I at once shot him through the head. ‘That is the origin of the whole difficulty, though, of course they had it all cut and dried for me beforehand, and if it hadn’t been that, it would have been something else. No sooner had the row commenced than the red vermin began to swarm In from all quarters. They haven’t done much mischief yet; most of the shots you have heard have been fired into the air; you and Sam here have spilt pretty much all the blood comicboo (aco)