Adventure, August 1917 — page 149: what you’re looking at

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

The Taming of “Bad Jack’’ Creedy freezing at night along their edges, and sourdoughs, wise in the ways of the North, were preparing for the snow, and after staking their claims, immediately turned to the building of comfortable quarters. But many fhere were whose inexperience was blatantly advertised by the slovenly, make- shift shelters they had thrown together in their mad haste to ‘“‘get into the gravel.” Among these inexperienced men moved the three officers, warning, advising, and in many cases even assisting them to prepare for the inevitable. Thus it was that Ser- geant McGovern, accompanied by Rookie Adair paused to speak to four men who were eating supper beside an open fire in the lee of a light shelter-tent. “Hey, you fellers,”’ grinned the sergeant good-naturedly, “do you think this here country is a Summer resort? Here it is way into October and the big snow on you any day, and you layin’ ’round in the shade of a rag ’twouldn’t keep the cold off’n a husky dog. Get busy now and build yourselves somethin’ ‘to live in. There ain’t no one goin’ to steal your claims.” The four men glowered sullenly, and something in the eyes of one who appeared to be the leader, caused the sergeant to scrutinize him closely. Suddenly another, the youngest of the four spoke up. ‘Suppose you mind your own business,”’ he said with an air of vaunting bravado. ‘I guess folks can live like they want to, can’t they? I’ve heard tell of you fellows, over acrost the line. You ain’t sucha much. Leastways you don’t look good to me.’ McGovern regarded the EN IOs man with a tolerant sneer. “Oh, so you’re one of them tin hors from acrost the line, are you?” “Tin horn, eh. You call mea tin horn? Say, I guess you don’t know who I am?”’ McGovern laughed. “No, can’t say as I do,” he admitted. “But you needn’t mind tellin’ me. I ain’t got no time for nonsense.’ “Oh, you ain ’t eh,” retorted the other. “Well Vl just tell you anyway. I’m ‘Bad Jack’ Creedy. That’s who Il am. And I don’t need no nurse to tell me how to go to bed, neither, see?”’ “Yes” answered McGovern, “TI see.”’ And again he glanced sharply at the other man who was scowling his evident disap- proval of Creedy’s outburst. Then without a word the two officers passed on. 147 When they were beyond ear-shot the leader’s scowl changed quickly to a grin. And with a swift wink toward the others, he addressed Bad Jack in a tone of admiration: “That’s the way to hand it to him, kid. These Canucks over here have got it into their heads that their Mounted is all to the good. But over acrost the line we know better. I’ve run up against ’em before. Many a head of stock I’ve run acrost into Montana, right under their nose. An’ I never got caught neither.” The youth swelled visibly under the man’s evident approval. “‘They’ll have to go some to get us,” he said airily. ‘Gee, I’m glad I happened to fall in with you fellows, or I might have been working for wages yet over in the Tet- ling Mines.” *‘Ain’t nothin’ in workin’ for wages,’’ as- sented the man hastily. “This gulch is full of men that has worked for wages. You just wait a couple of days till we can slip around and glom onto a poke or two, and every last man of ’em ’1] cache their wages in the tradin’ company’s safe. Then 4s soon as it snows, we'll pour a little soup in the door and hit for the line. ’Tain’t over twenty or twenty-five mile. Then we can split up and lose ourselves over on the Tanana.”’ “Sure,” assented Bad Jack, ‘‘we’ll show the Mounted up if we can only get to the line.”’ “Get to the line,” growled the other. “How can we help but get to the line. We’ll pull off the job in the snow-storm. And with the snow coverin’ our tracks, we can make twenty-five mile with a twelve-hour start. I got four pair of rackets cached over in the timber.” “T never walked on snow-shoes,” tured Bad Jack, doubtfully. “That don’t make no difference. Same as any other kind of walkin’. Just put ’em on and hike out. Still, if you don’t want to be in on this, you don’t need to. I ain’t strong for no chechako nohow. But I took a chance on you, ’cause I says to myself ‘There’s a kid,’ I says, ‘that’s got somethin’ to him.’ ” ‘Course, I’m in on it,” cried the other, flushing. ‘‘Didn’t I tell you I’d stick.” “That’s all right,” laughed the man. “You got a good head on you kid, and you got the nerve.” ven- CoOmiclsoo © S|