15 Western Short Stories — page 41: what you’re looking at

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

iT WAS A LASS-ROPE ALL RIGHT eyes as cold and unwavering as the bullets in a gun cylinder and made his attitude plain. Maybe it was part- ly his red shirt, Boone reflected. He was likely the only man in the coun- try who wore that color, and it occa- sioned comment. But with the others it was friendly. So he found himself riding along, happy for the change. Maybe that was because he was in love. There was no getting around it, this time he’d fall- en and hard, and it was sure enough worth it. Jean Marie improved on ac- quaintance, which was hard to believe, she was so scrumptious to start w:th. The only fly in his ointment was the wagon boss, and something about him nagged increasingly, though at first Boone didn’t take him seriously. Let the man pester. Seemed like Pres- cott had figured Jean Marie for his girl, but Boone had never been afraid of competition. The way Jean Marie smiled, it didn't look like he'd need be now. Apparently Prescott was of the same nation; 1t made him edgy as a steer in fly time. On the fourth night out, after Boone had tagged along, he came up to the camp fire, and scowled as Annabelle gave Boone a moist good-night kiss. Jean Marie saw the look and moved to avoid trouble. “Bring me that bucket of water, will you, please, Dabney?” she called. “he fea. bueket.” There were two buckets, side by side. One had plain creek water, the other was filled with spring water which was some colder and: fresher to taste. Prescott’s attention was for Jean Marie instead of the bucket. He picked up the wrong one, and so Boone brought the other. Water sloshed and spilled across Prescott’s foot as he set it down, and the wagon boss scowled on him. “Since you’ve cut yourself in to go along with the train, Boone, even without an invite, you might as well pull your part of the load,’ he growled. “That’s a rule—everybody does their share.” “Seems fair enough,’ Boone conced- ed absently. He was studying the buckets of water, in which Jean Marie seemed to have lost interest. “I’m glad you think so. You can 4] take your turn tonight standing watch. You should have been long enough in this country to know its dangers.” “T’ve been studyin’ about those,” Boone nodded, and Prescott eyed him suspiciously, but Boone did not am- plify his remark. There was a time for talk, but till it came a man did better to keep his jaws tight; also to make sure that he knew when to speak up. HE TOOK his turn, out beyond the circled wagons, for the second watch. The moon was a pretty sight. The night air was warm, with a hint of pine fragrance from the hills they were coming close up against. A session on watch ought to be en- joyable, for Boone discredited the dark hints that Dabney Prescott had kept dropping about the risk of In- dians. Dabney himself had scoffed at the notion right up till supper time. And Boone had seen no sign. But it gave time to think matters through. He disliked Prescott, both personally and on general principles, but he couldn’t rightly blame a man for being attracted by Jean Marie. Thinking of her, it wasn’t easy to be fair, and this was a time for being sure. When the arrow came whining out of nowhere, it came close to taking him by surprise. The moon was dip- ping out of sight, leaving a purple dark. He hadn’t heard a suspicious sound, up to the twang of the bow. It Was pure instinct that made him jump, for he’d been in scrimmages with Indians half a dozen times, and aman developed a feeling. Even at that, it was close. He felt the bite of the arrow like a knife alongside his neck. Whoever had loosed that shaft was a marksman, and he'd aimed to bury the point in Boone’s throat. Boone whirled and fired a quick shot. He had to guess, but he had hopes of scoring. In any case, it was time to rouse the camp, even if it did mean scaring folks. If Indians were that close, he’d sure been caught nap- ping. It was disconcerting. There was no flopping in the brush, nor any wild comiicbooeoe S CO