Adventure, August 3, 1919 — page 29: what you’re looking at

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

» 2 _ Scattered ranches. To this equipage Dolan. 4 , mo ; _ = ; . a i a i vil 2 Se tas The Boss of Mirage Of course Finch had paid Black the money! If Dolan’ were the most vicious old miser in the county and saw a chance to put under obligations a prize gunman, Dolan might have done the same thing, even though the cost broke his heart. bess was beginning to see into things he had never dreamed of before. He had known Finch casually, as he knew many others, but that was all. The wily old boss, however, knew the political line-ups in the county, and he knew of certain things that had happened recently in his vicinity. Certain episodes, for instance, where men with property had vanished. He felt now that Black was implicated in some of them. Also Finch. He put two and two together and made a staggering total, but he was not sure yet. He wished now that he had been less frank in expressing enmity to Finch. He felt that, if apparently neutral, he might have learned more. But the boss had declared war; so he decided to “stand pat.” “T’ve got friends, too,” said the giant quite frankly. ‘I’m a good deal like you. Tf anything happened to some of ’em, I’d besorry. Darnedsorry. MebbeI’d grieve too much and git excited. Then there’d be regrets all around.” Black’s gray eyes showed a flicker, but he arose quite easily and stretched himself. “That’s the way it goes,” he nodded. “Well, I'll be going along. Got to see a friend. So long.” The boss understood, and so did Black. The big man now realized that, if it were just an ordinary squabble about that little Lost Deer Valley, things might have been arranged with honor to both sides— but Black had been elusive. It showed that a deliberate program of some sort was being carried out. Beyond Dolan’s doorway stood eighteen’ horses and mules hitched to a great wagon that drew a trailer almost as large as itself— one of the many counterparts of the “twenty-mule team” now advertised all over the country. Twenty mules were nothing remarkable here. This outfit was one of Dolan’s freight-teams that voyaged across the dusty desert miles to the far- away branch-line railroad, bringing in merchandise. and mails and taking out the assorted products of small mines and a few ~~, "5 7 . dik ; . The. Martin and Bob Arnold can - go with me. > Nine, abe. soon made his way, holding an envelope in his hand. “Do you know Bill Campbell, down at the county-seat?” he asked the driver. The teamster rolled a quid of tobacco in his hair-hidden mouth and said he wasn’t quite sure. “He’s a lawyer,” said the boss. “Gotan office in that shanty across from the court- house. Tall feller. Good-lookin’. Light hair. Give him this. Savvy?” “‘Yeh,”’ responded the teamster, indiffer- ently. “Paste it in your hat!” roared the boss. “That letter goes. See? Don’t forgit it!” In a Jand where every one is a free citizen, mandates do not go. A city delivery-man takes orders. A desert freighter is likely to wave a hand to the team and say, ““Take em.” A freighter is a high professional man with a temperament like a grand-opera prima-donna. He knows his own value. This one looked at the boss speculatively for a moment but decided at length to accede to the request. Thus Caleb Snow, teamster, pushed into the desert with the missive in his hat. He started after noon so as to reach by evening a certain water- hole from which he could best start for the ~ | rest of the journey. Dolan had a regular * schedule for his freight-teams. THE boss met Carlton the next day in the general merchandise store, where Dolan generally put in a few ~~" hours supervising his sallow clerk, a waif he had picked up from nowhere and tried to “4 train into usefulness. The boss stood at i! the hardware counter while Mrs. Carlton inspected some bolts_of cloth at the tiny dry-goods nook. 7) “Fine gal,” opened Dolan to Carlton, pointing with his thumb to the wife. The engineer agreed with a nod, wonder- ing what was coming next. : ‘“How does she like it here?” “Oh, so-so.” “Lonely for her,” admitted the boss. ‘? “How does she like Black?” . “Not much. Why?” | “How long before you can git back tothe — valley?” asked the boss, ignoring the other’s — question. a “About two days. — as Jerry ready to = - AS soon as et — % 7 ~ eh ly oe = Yd " ry. al ) “2 bi ¥ = The sh | a) cbhooks.com