Argosy All-Story Weekly, June 27, 1925 — page 135: what you’re looking at

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

HOPALONG CASSEIDY'S PAL. 931 > him from them and put him to watching set of tracks without losin’ ‘em, he used to the passes leading northward from this laugh hisself half to death. He shore knew mountain park. heard from him for several days and, conse- quently, had no knowledge of his present this here wickiup so smart an’ quick, I whereabouts; but. Lanky, knowing his old reckon. What else did he show you? Lear friend pretty well, was about convinced that you to talk th’ sign language?” There was Red was on his way to the ranch, and to a little anxiety in-Lanky’s voice. Big Moose. Lanky had no way of knowing that he was wrong. Mesquite shook his head. “No; th’ Utes didn’t use it enough to “Um,” said Mesquite. ‘Then we bet- know much about it,” he answered. ‘ They ter make good time to Broken Wheel an’ then lather our cayuses for Big Moose. Might ’a’ been better if we’d not turned them other cayuses loose; we could use ’em for changin’ mounts. Still, they would be a Jot of trouble.” He thought for a moment, and continued. “ After we leave Broken Wheel, an’ get about half way to Big Moose, we can circle south an’ make a try at pickin’ up th’ trail of one of them fellers. This rain mebby ain’t reached that far, or got there ahead of ?em. Give me a trail to foller an’ I’m right at home.’ “Tl bet my last shirt on that,” said his companion with a chuckle. Lanky’s ad- miration for his companion’s trailing ability threatened to become boundless. “ Kid, however did you learn so damn much about trailin’?” Mesquite smiled and stretched one leg after the other. ‘“ My father,” he answered. “ He was a great trailer. He should ’a’ been, too, seein’ that he was captured by th’ Utes when he was a little kid, an’ near growed up with ’em. He told me that th’ Comanches were was a mountain tribe, an’ didn’t have much to do with th’ prairie tribes. When they met ‘em it meant a fight; except under th’ walls of Bent’s Fort; an’ when they were there they wouldn’t mix at all with th’ Cheyennes or Arapahoes. When they went down on th’ prairies after buffalo meat they were near scared to death of runnin’ into one of th’ prairie tribes; an’ th’ prairie tmbes, when they went into th’ mountains to get in one of th’ parks, were near scared to death of th’ Utes. Each knowed they were in th’ enemies’ country.” Lanky stifled a sigh of relief at his com- panion’s confessed ignorance of the sign language, and leaned forward to look up at the sky. Dawn was at hand, and the rain seemed to be letting up. He yawned and Stretched in the cramped quarters, and rubbed a leg that was half asleep. ‘*'Y-e-e-a-a-h, u-m-m-m! Won't be long now before we can pull our stakes an’ head over east,” he said. “ My stummick says we got to get us an elk or a deer before many hours go past.” “ Til get one,” replied Mesquite. ‘“ This country is plumb full of their sign. Reckon th’ best Indian trailers in th’ world, except, it won’t do no harm to shoot off a gun, mebby, th’ Apaches; but he said some of th’ mow.” He shifted slightly to ease his legs, Utes was plenty good enough. Th’ best and rubbed his smoke-smarting eyes. trailers of all were some Mexicans that were ‘‘ Hope Red don’t beat us to Big Moose by captured when they were kids an’ were very long,” he added. Had he known the brought up by th’ Comanches or Apaches. facts he would have been content. My dad went on several raidin’ parties as far south as th’ Rio Grande, before he man- aped to escape.” Mesquite smiled gently. 10 Neither had seen nor sign, an’ he had an amazin’ lot of patience.” “Then that’s how you learned to make Rep Connors, wearied of watching a ‘Th’ old man thought a lot of me, an’ pass without results, had spent the rainy put in most of his spare time playin’ with night under a ledge of rock. He was dis- me. We used to go trailin’ around th’ set- gusted and discouraged, nearly out o! food (lement together, me draggin’ along behind and tobacco, and his lively imagination had him, an’ when I got so I could foller one pictured his missing friends a3 being very GOMIGDOOo C SS Co