The Argosy, Vol. 82 No. 2 — page 105: what you’re looking at

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

THE OLD WEST days, then we'll agree to disagree right here. Do you get what I mean?” “Shucks!” grunted Pop Handy, “I don’t see why.” “Me, nuther,” added Catamount Cal. “T reckon it’s as easy all o’ the time as jest some 0’ the time. Purvidin’,” he observed warily, “the board and keep and salaries happen along as per schedule.” “Wearing a gingham dress and a sunbon- net all the time certainly has its draw- backs,” remarked Ma Bobbett; “and there are some other customs of nineteen-fifteen that will come hard to give up every minute of the thirty days. Still, as I says to Ezra, we can put up with a lot if we’re paid for it.” “Bueno!” said old Garcia, the senorita’s father, who waited on table with his son Pablo. ‘Me, I be dat Forty-Niner all my life, si, for cuarenta pesos a mont’. Eh, Pablo? Eh, Anita?” “Sure!” agreed Pablo promptly. The senorita nodded. “But not more than one dance a day,” she qualified, languidly. ‘‘To dance more is fatiguing.” Colonel Chet Hungerford looked his dis- may. “To wear that Starbottle make-up all the blessed time is some job,” he said heavily. “Go on!” returned Billy Vince, chuckling as he looked at the large man, “you can shuck it when you hit the hay, colonel.” “I’m game,” the colonel declared, with fine spirit. Perdue, the inoffensive little Bad Man from Bad Ax, looked questioningly at Gol- shaw, the Town Marshal. “Abe,” he faltered, ‘‘can we stage that hold-up every day for thirty days hand-run- ning? It’s an awful job!” “Tt’ll be a sight easier if Castle will cut out the Vigilance Committee,’ answered Golshaw. “Last time we pulled off the hold-up the Committee was too blamed en- ergetic. Look at my eye,” he appealed; “it’s black yet.” “There'll not be much of that,’”’ said Rob- bins. ‘This scheme of mine is going to be different. You'll have a real camp, and you'll live in it as naturally as a lot of ar- gonauts on Poker Flat. Furthermore, I'll not push you clear back into ‘forty-nine.’ I don’t think you know a lot about those times, anyhow. “What I want is an exemplification of the Old West, which was pretty general in the PER CONTRACT. 287 sixties, I’m told, and survived even into the early eighties, but which is now as dead as Cesar everywhere on the Pacific side of the Rockies. I have certain ideas to be worked out, but we’ll get to them later on. You'll have an easy time of it. It’s up to me to make sure you'll play the roles as- signed to you without any backsliding. How about it?” The response was prompt and hearty. Old Jack Lightning-that-Strikes, the Ute Indian, and Ah Sin and Sing Lee, cooks and laundryman, were the last to present them- selves and give the pledge. ‘All right, you’re on,”’ said Robbins. “TI didn’t think there’d be any objections and I’m glad to know I was right. Now I'll tell you part of the scheme. Fifty miles from Rocky Spur, in the heart of the wilderness, is a place called Rattlesnake City. I—” “Busted minin’ camp,” interposed Cata- mount Cal. “Gold petered out there years and years ago. Ain’t anybody lived in Rattlesnake City since nobody knows when.” “Town was deserted,” put in Pop Handy. “Every one moved out, slick and clean, and buildings was left jest as they stood. But it was a right lively place while it lasted.” “You are right about the place,” went on Robbins. “Gold was discovered in Rattle- snake Gulch ’way along back in the dim and misty past. Several adobe buildings were put up, and a number of shake shan- ties. The settlement thrived. Then, almost in one night, the knell sounded and all the inhabitants moved away. They couldn’t take the buildings with them, and the adobes have been there ever since. ‘“‘Ladies and gentlemen, we’re changing the name of Rattlesnake City to Nugget Notch. We’re going over there and put the town on the map oncé more. Amid the lonesome hills, you Forty-Niners are to re- vive the glories of the past! And on this year of nineteen-fifteen we’ll paste a lumi- nous page from the dead and storied Days that Were. Do you get me? Miles away from civilization and progress, we’ll all turn to and make of Nugget Notch a real, live old-time camp.” The proposition was amazing. Castle seemed bewildered. ‘““‘Where’ll you get the crowd to see it?” gasped Colonel Hungerford. ‘“‘Who’ll come, and how’ll they get to the place? Have you pondered on the difficulties of the enter- prise, Mr. Robbins?” Even Go OOOKS AUUG (C@