Fifteen Western Tales, January 1953 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

24 FIFTEEN WESTERN TALES these settlers. They-were individuals, every one of them, and yet they could be happy only in a group. They started making laws before they unpacked their wagons, for they were a peaceful people, but if any man broke one of their laws, their justice was wickedly swift. They avoided trouble and violence, but if trouble and violence came to them, they could fight back with the ruthlessness of an Indian. “We'll wait two more days,” Luke Petti- grew said. “If Les Gunther ain’t back by then, I say we go it alone.” ‘We need a leader,” Pers Legal said. “A man can’t jump on his horse and go off in six directions all at once.’ “We've got Chet Wainworth,” another said. “You, Mary, pour Chet Wainworth another cup ‘of coffee.” : “Chet Wainworth is the likely one,” Luke Pettigrew said. Chet drank his coffee and stared at the fire and the warm glow of being wanted as a leader fell across him like a warm shadow and then, was gone. “Maybe if we formed a committee,” Chet”said carefully. “Maybe if we went under a flag of truce and talked with Pete Bryan.” There was a long silence and heen: Luke Pettigrew laughed uproariously and slapped his knee. “Danged if you ain’t got the sense of humor, Chet Wainworth! You’re shot half to hell but you-can still joke!” The rest of the men roared their laughter and it filtered out across the valley, a strange sound mingling finally with the weeping of women whose husbands were dead. So, for two days they waited, their impa- tience growing as they saw their horses and their cattle..strip the little meadow clean and saw. their own food supply dwindle away to nothing. During those two days, Chet heard much of the way Doc Acton and a nameless giant had helped after the battle there in the valley. If it hadn’t been for them, they all agreed, they could have been trapped and wiped out. The giant had packed in additional food and the doctor had taken care of the wounded. “The Doc worked as hard as if he was gonna be paid for it,” one man said. “How a man as fine as him can stomach livin’ in a cow town, is more than I can see.” “The only reason he helped us is because he’s got an eye for business,” Luke Petti- © “He grew said, , always the cynical one. knows if us farmers move in here there’ll be that much more business for him.” Luke laughed shortly. “Farmers have lots of kids.” Chet got up and moved away from the men. Then he saw Lorraine Pettigrew com- ing across toward him. T WAS difficult for him to talk to Lor- raine now, for there seemed to be so lit- tle he could say to her. Every time he tried to talk to her he found himself wanting to explain about Jane Bryan. He wanted des- perately to discuss his feelings with her, the way he knew he could have discussed them with Doc Acton or with Jane herself. But he had no such basis of discussion with Lorraine and he found himself suddenly lonely when he was with her. They walked together silently, arm in arm, | until they were'a good distance from the camp. Lorraine stopped suddenly. She was a pretty girl. A small breeze stirred her chestnut hair. She looked up at him and said quite seriously, “You’ve never kissed me, Chet.” “A man don’t make a promise until he is sure he can keep it,” Chet said. “Kiss me,” she whispered, and she moved close to him and tilted her face toward him and he could feel the warmth of her, the longing. He had dreamed of this girl a hundred nights and he had seen her in the flame of his campfire. The fragrance of her flesh was a memory in his nostrils and sometimes he thought of her with a savage, man hunger. For a swift second, the possibility of fulfill- ment was there in his eyes and she saw it and waited expectantly and then she saw the light die. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips without taking -her in his arms. She closed her eyes tightly and he did not see the two tiny tears that squeezed from between her lids. “Thank you, Chet,’ she said. “It’s not a promise. Don't ever think of it as such.” She turned and ran quickly back to the - wagon and he stood there, tormented in his mind, knowing that in some way he had hurt her, not knowing exactly how. A tremendous tumult rose over by the camp. Chet looked that way and saw a horse running erratically down the slope. A man was clinging to the saddle, swaying to one side and then the other. One foot CoOMmiclhoo CN WU) (CO