Adventure, February 20, 1922 — page 165: what you’re looking at

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

= the then,” she added, “there’ S always trouble on the range.” “But they’re not. quarreling; just talk- ing,” the girl objected. “Child,” said the older woman, “don’t I know? More than once I’ve stood here and seen them shoot each other down. Men and boys that Iknew. Maybe they’d have been in here, laughing and joking, and then them that hated each other would meet and out would come the guns. ~“Tt’s a wild, hard country and wild, hard men, but it isn’t so bad as it used to be, thank God, what with the young people growing up and knowing each other so well. “But it’s all right now,” she added, as Crawford turned away, and she went to ‘the door. “Frank,” she said, ‘“‘aren’t you ashamed to try to start a fight right in front of my window, and me entertaining a young lady that isn’t used to such things?” _ Gorham took off his hat with a sweeping flourish and bowed low. “You are entirely. mistaken, Mrs. Mor- gan,” he explained. “I was only trying to make a little bet with a gentleman, and Buck will back up what I say, won’t you, Buck?” _ But Buck remained non-committal. ““Mrs. Morgan,”’ Gorham went on, “‘when people get old, like you and me, they have to have a little excitement once in a while, just so they’ll remember that they’re alive.” But Mrs. Morgan turned from him in scorn. “Buck,” she said, reprobate go his disgraceful ways and come on in, there’s some one here I want you to see.’ And so Buck Ewing met his pretty girl. When he saw the timid little lady who rose to meet him, and the face that had been before his eyes for days, he forgot all about how.afraid he was of girls, and only wanted | to take her up in his arms and comfort her. And it is quite likely that she read the ught in his eyes and that it didn’t frighten her, for the world didn’t seem half so lonely a place. And so they laughed and talked, and Mrs. Morgan went away and they never noticed. And when Buck had gone and Kate was getting ready to go home Mrs. Morgan laughed and kissed her. “Child,” she said, ‘‘you’ve worked a miracle, and he’s a good boy and a brave one. Frank Gorham is as proud of him as The Closed Trail “leave that drunken 163 if he was his own son, and Frank knows men—none better.” III t A IT WAS the custom on the Verde, during the slack time between ship- ping the beef and drifting the cat-° tle to the Winter range, to hold a big cele- . bration at Box Alder, a sort of frontier, Harvest Home. And in spite of the threat of ruin which hung over all, this year was to be no excep- tion. In fact, it was to be bigger than ever, a defiant fling at fate. For the lawyers had given their opinion that Newton’s position was unassailable, ex- cept that long and costly litigation might open a way across the railroad grant. But this would come too late. | For as the cowmen of the upper Verde had broken the Englishmen by holding ‘the Summer range, so would Newton now break them by holding the grass which the cattle must have for Winter feed, on Newton’s terms, or starve. So at every ranch, large or small, prepa- rations were being made; for the rivalry, es- pecially between the large ranches, was in- tense as to which had the worst bucking ~ horses, the best riders, ropers, or experts with rifle or six-shooter. To have a horse which the men of no other outfit could ride was equal in point of honor to having a rider that could stay on top of, without pulling leather, the top bucker of the range. The outlaw horses, which had waxed fat. during a year of freedom on the range, were brought in and grain fed, exercised, hard- ened and trained, and their particular brand of devilment developed, with as much care — as if they were boxers training for‘a cham- pionship fight. A bronc may have a natural talent for pitching, but judicious encouragement will so bring it out that the animal becomes an animated cyclone when in action, and cer- tainly gets as much fun out of a contestas does the rider, and very often a whole lot more. * Now, Buck Ewing was by far the best _ rider of the Square and Compass, but on this occasion he took no part, which re- sulted in the outfit getting badly licked. For their hated rivals, the boys who rode horses with the Boot on the left shoulder, put one over on them with disastrous a ie comicbooks- cor pe rs e " ~ « ; : SOU SOS it ae 4 Y Le cay oe f ines