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diff --git a/42507-0.txt b/42507-0.txt index cae4e1b..aca2c01 100644 --- a/42507-0.txt +++ b/42507-0.txt @@ -4326,5 +4326,4 @@ Ours had been, indeed, a wonderful experience. THE END. - *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42507 *** diff --git a/42507-0.zip b/42507-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1bc723c..0000000 --- a/42507-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/42507-8.txt b/42507-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 57e0583..0000000 --- a/42507-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4720 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Tenderfoot Bride, by Clarice E. Richards - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A Tenderfoot Bride - Tales from an Old Ranch - -Author: Clarice E. Richards - -Release Date: April 12, 2013 [EBook #42507] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TENDERFOOT BRIDE *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and Sue Clark - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: PIKE'S PEAK FROM THE OLD RANCH] - - - - - A TENDERFOOT BRIDE - - BY - - CLARICE E. RICHARDS - - GARDEN CITY--NEW YORK - DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY - 1927 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY CLARICE E. RICHARDS. ALL - RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES - AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y. - - - - - To the One - whose Companionship, Inspiration and - Encouragement have made - this book possible - My Husband - - - - -CONTENTS - - I. First Impressions - II. A Surprise Party - III. The Root Cellar - IV. The Great Adventure Progresses - V. The Government Contract - VI. A Variety of Runaways - VII. The Measure of a Man - VIII. The Sheep Business - IX. The Unexpected - X. Around the Christmas Fire - XI. Ted - XII. Blizzards - XIII. Echoes of the Past - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - Pike's Peak from the Old Ranch - Roping and Cutting Out Cattle - Roping a Steer to Inspect Brand - Inspecting a Brand - The "Star" is a Frightened, Snorting "Broncho" - Trailed All the Way from New Mexico - Like a Solitary Fence Post - Bucking Horse and Rider - Facing Death Each Time They Ride a New Horse - - - - -A TENDERFOOT BRIDE - - - - -I - -FIRST IMPRESSIONS - - -When our train left Colorado Springs and headed out into those vast -stretches of the prairie, which spread East like a great green ocean -from the foot of Pike's Peak, all the sensations of Christopher -Columbus setting sail for a new world, and a few peculiarly my own, -mingled in my breast. - -As the train pounded along I stole a look at Owen. He was absorbed in -the contemplation of a map of our new holdings. Under that calm -exterior I suspected hidden attributes of the primitive man. Certainly -there was some reason why Western life was to his liking, having had -the chance to choose. - -It was late in the afternoon when we found ourselves on the platform -of the solitary little wayside station. The train went rushing on -through the July sunshine, as if impatient at the stop. Our fellow -passengers had drawn their heads back from the car windows, after -vainly trying to see what apparently sane people could find to stop -for in a place like that. In truth, there was little--a water tank, a -section house, two cottages and one store. - -A combination station-agent and baggage-man stood on the platform. -Near a hitching rack a tall individual was waving his long arms about -like a windmill as he beckoned us to approach. Owen picked up the -bags; I trudged along behind with various coats and packages, stopping -midway between platform and wagon to disengage a large tumbleweed, -which had rolled merrily to my feet and attached itself to my skirt. - -The tall man took a few steps in our direction, still holding the -reins in his hand. With one eye he gave us a greeting, while he kept -the other on the lunging horses. He was hardly a prepossessing person -at first sight, except for his smile. I felt that his keen black eyes -had sized us up in one quick glance. I became blushingly conscious of -being a new bride, and from "the East." - -"How-de-do? Whoa, now, Brownie. Just get in folks,--the old man had to -go to town, so he sent me to meet you, but he'll be back by the time -we get to the ranch." All this in one breath, while he helped Owen -place the bags in the wagon. - -"Don't mind the horses; they're plumb gentle--just a little excited -now over the train, that's all. Whoa now," with decided emphasis. -"Sorry, Mrs. Brook, hope you didn't hurt yourself"--this last as the -horses suddenly backed and knocked my foot off the step. "Oh, no, not -at all," I replied, hastily scrambling into the wagon and thanking -heaven that I had landed on the seat before they gave an unexpected -lurch forward. Owen got in beside the driver; the horses reared and -started off. I gripped the seat and my hat, and fastened my eyes on -the horses' ears. When we had crossed the railroad and the movement -was more steady, I began to "take notice" of things about me, and the -conversation going on in the front seat reached me in fragments. - -The driver said he was called "Tex." He was a true son of Texas, and -it was not difficult to imagine that particles of his native soil -still clung to him. The deep creases in his neck were so filled with -dirt that he looked like a charcoal sketch. As he turned his face, -lined and seamed, I saw that his chin was covered with at least a -week's growth of greyish-black beard. I estimated his age. He might -have been fifty; very quick in speech and action, yet there was a -subdued power about the man. He managed the horses easily, and I -caught in his drawling speech a casual, half-bantering tone. - -"Wonder if them grips is botherin' the Missus. Ridin' all right?" he -asked, turning with solicitude to see the location of the bags. As it -happened, they were all located on top of my feet. It was Owen who -removed them, for Tex's attention was again engaged with Brownie, who -suddenly landed quite outside the road. A cotton-tail had jumped from -behind a rattleweed. - -"Quit that now, Brownie. You never did have no sense." The drawl was -half-sarcastic. "'Pears like you ain't never seen no rabbits before, -'stead a bein' raised with 'em." Brownie gave a little shake of her -pretty head and crowded her long-suffering mate back into the road -again. I was becoming very much interested. This man was a distinctly -new type to me. I did not know then that he was the old-time -cow-puncher, with an ease of manner a Chesterfield might have envied, -and an unfailing, almost deferential, courtesy toward women. - -Never shall I forget that first drive across the prairie,--not a -house, not a tree in sight, except where the cottonwoods traced the -borders of a waterless creek. Gently rolling hills were all about us, -instead of the flat country I had expected to see; hills which failed -to reveal anything when we reached the top, but yet higher hills to -climb. An unexpected vastness seemed to extend to the very boundaries -of the unknown, as we looked about on all sides, only to see the soft -green circle of the hills, on which the bluest of skies gently rested, -sweep about us. I felt the spell of unlimited space, and smiled as I -thought of the tearful farewell of one of my bridesmaids. She had -"hated" to think of my being "cooped up on a ranch." "Cooped up" here, -when for the first time I realized what unhampered freedom might mean -in a country left as God had made it, with so little trace of man's -interference! - -At last we came to a gate made of three strands of barbed wire, -fastened together in the middle and attached to a stick at each end. -It was a real gate when up, but when opened, it was a floppy invention -of the Evil One, designed to tax the patience of a saint. The strands -of wire got mixed and crossed and grew perceptibly shorter, so that it -required superhuman strength and something of a disposition to get the -end of the stick through the loop of wire, which held it in place -again. - -This gate marked the Southern boundary of the ranch, ten miles from -the railroad station. We reached the top of a hill and looked up a -long valley, where the creek wound its way, fringed by great -cottonwood trees, until its source was lost behind three prominent -buttes, purple in the haze of the late afternoon. Beyond the buttes -stood Pike's Peak, snow-capped and alone, guardian of the valley, the -whole length of which it commanded. Through some peculiarity of -position all the other peaks of the Rockies remained invisible, while -this one mountain rose in majestic isolation from the plain. - -Tex stopped the horses for a moment, and without a word pointed with -the whip toward a clump of cottonwoods in the distance. - -"The ranch?" I asked. - -He nodded. - -In the beautiful valley it stood, the white fences, corrals and -outbuildings gleaming in the sun. Nestled among the trees, planted so -densely that only a suggestion of its white walls showed between them, -was the house--our first home! - -As we drove up to the gate, a short man, with a thick beard, bustled -out to meet us. - -"Well, here you are! Got here all right. Sorry I couldn't meet you. -Come right in. You must be tired settin'." And before we quite -realized that we had arrived, we were ushered into the house through -the back door. - -As a matter of fact, there was no front door. Two outside doors opened -into the kitchen, one on either side, and since the kitchen was in -truth the "living-room," what need of a front door? - -A placid-faced, elderly woman greeted us, and after a few moments -conducted us up a crooked stairway to a room under the eaves. - -Owen left hastily "to look around outside," and I followed as quickly -as possible for I knew that if I looked around inside for any length -of time, I should start back to the railroad station on foot. - -Old Mr. and Mrs. Bohm had lived on the place for over thirty years in -this house, which was the evolution of a dug-out, with many subsequent -periods in prospect before it became a possible home. Mrs. Bohm had -recently been having "fainting spells," which frightened her husband -into a plan to dispose of the ranch and live in town. - -It was a wonderful ranch. Acres on acres of richest grass, a wealth of -hay land and natural water holes,--a paradise for stock. To poor -homesick me, this place had no suggestion of paradise. It looked run -down and disorderly; the fences around the house were adorned with -everything from old battered tin buckets and mowing-machine wheels to -the smallest piece of rusty wire. Mrs. Bohm confided to me that "James -liked it that way because everything was so handy." There was no -questioning that, but as a first impression it was hopeless, and my -heart grew heavier and heavier as I thought of the new house in -Wyoming, where we had expected to be, and the Eastern home I had just -left. - -I walked out of sight of the festooned fence and tried to think. Up -the valley the Peak was deep blue against the golden evening sky, and -in the vast, unbroken silence of the prairies I felt the sense of -chaos and confusion give way to peace. The old house, tumble-down -fences, mowing machine wheels and wire took an inconsequent place in -the scale of things compared to Owen's undertaking. He _must_ succeed. -The undesirable could be removed or made over. We were in a new world, -we had a great domain, we faced undreamed of experiences and -possibilities. My spirits rose with a bound, and I resolved from that -moment to consider our life here in the West, in the midst of new -conditions, a great adventure. At that instant the original Bohm -dug-out would have held no terrors for me. - -Perhaps if I had known just how great the adventure was to be, what -varied and nerve-testing experiences the future did hold, I might have -been daunted; but with a farewell look at the Peak and a new sense of -strength and courage, I went to meet Owen. I realized that he knew the -possibilities of the place and that the conditions would all soon be -changed, and I knew, too, that he was distressed at the realization of -how it must all appear to me. He looked troubled, as he came toward -me. - -"Can you stand it for a little while?" he asked. - -"Of course, I can," I replied, cheerfully, blindly taking the first -step toward the great adventure. - -"It's all right, dear; it's going to be wonderful, living here." - -Mr. and Mrs. Bohm, Tex and six bashful cow-punchers were in the -kitchen waiting for us before they sat down to supper. We were -presented to the men, and in acknowledgment of the introduction -received a fleeting glance from six pairs of diffident eyes and a -quick jerk from six slickly brushed heads. - -Mrs. Bohm took her seat at the foot of the long oil-cloth-covered -table, and old Mr. Bohm sat at the head. Fortunate for me that Owen -and I sat side by side. If once during that meal I had caught his eye, -I should have disgraced myself forever. - -Except old Bohm, no one said anything. Indeed, no one had a chance, -for he talked all the time, telling stories, cracking jokes at which -he laughed immoderately, interspersing his conversation with waves of -his fork, with which from time to time he reflectively combed his -beard. I could not take my eyes off him; there was a weird fascination -in following the movements of that fork. It was prescience which led -me to do so, for old Bohm suddenly ceased using it as a toilet article -and jabbed it into a piece of meat, which he held out toward me. - -"Here, Mrs. Brook, have some more beef. I've been talkin' along here -and clean forgot you folks must be hungry." I assured him I couldn't -eat another bite. It was the most truthful statement of my life. - -That night I lay awake for hours, thinking over the day's experiences, -and incidentally trying to find a spot on the mattress where a lump -did not threaten to press a rib out of place. At last I fell asleep, -to be suddenly awakened by the slam of a gate under our window, -followed by an exclamation which floated up out of the grey dawn: "By -hell, but this is a fine day." Then came the squeak of the pump -handle, as old Bohm performed his morning ablutions, more slams of the -gate, and more salutations of the same order in varying phraseology, -but always beginning with "By hell." - -Shades of my ministerial ancestors! Was this the language of the new -country in which we had come to live? Surely the great adventure -promised startling sensations at the outset, to say nothing of a -certain sliding scale of standards. - -Owen stirred and asked sleepily what on earth I was doing up at that -hour of the day. - -"Changing my viewpoint," I replied, looking out toward old Bohm's -shadowy figure on its way toward the corral. "That has to be done -early." - - - - -II - -A SURPRISE PARTY - - -We were living in the land of the unexpected. Six weeks on the ranch -demonstrated that. The possibilities for surprise were inexhaustible, -and the probabilities innumerable and certain, if Owen happened to be -away. - -On one of these occasions the cook eloped with the best rider on the -place, more thrilling and upsetting to my peace of mind than the -cloud-burst and flood that followed soon after. Twenty-two husky and -hungry men wanted three square meals a day, and one inexperienced -bride stood between them and starvation. The situation was mutually -serious. - -In my need came help. Tex, our coachman on that first drive, saved the -day. Shortly after the elopement he came in for supplies for the -cow-camp. I was almost hidden by pans of potatoes, and was paring away -endlessly. He was very quiet when I explained, but after supper he -gathered up the dishes to wash them for me, looking very serious. When -he had finished, he suddenly turned to me: - -"Say, Mrs. Brook, I've just been studyin'. Jack Brent kin cook for the -boys out at camp all right, and if you kin stand it, I kin come in and -cook for you. It sure got my goat to see you rastlin' with them -potatoes and wearin' yourself out cookin' for these here men." - -Good old Tex! That was little short of saintly. Camp cooking where he -was autocrat was far more to his taste. He hated "messin' 'round where -there was women," as he expressed it. Here was sacrifice indeed! Tex -scrubbed his hands until they fairly bled, enveloped himself in a -large checked gingham apron, and proceeded to act as chef until the -eloper had been replaced. - -Something deepened in me. I was seeing a new thing. - -Owen had been gone nearly a week. One morning I happened to be in the -kitchen when Mrs. Bohm entered. Casually she asked Tex whether Ed -More's wife had left him before he went to jail, or after he got out. -Half in joke, I said: - -"Mercy, Mrs. Bohm, is there a man in this country, with the exception -of Tex, who hasn't been in jail or on the way there?" - -I was interrupted by the slamming of a door, and Tex had vanished. -Mrs. Bohm looked embarrassed as she replied: - -"I just hate to tell you, Mrs. Brook, and Tex would feel terrible to -have you know; but you say such queer things sometimes, I'd better -tell you now that Tex"--she paused a moment--"he's only been out of -the 'pen' himself a year." - -"Tex in the penitentiary? What on earth for?" I was almost dazed. - -[Illustration: ROPING AND CUTTING OUT CATTLE] - -"Well, I'll tell you." Mrs. Bohm began the story with apparent -reluctance, but her manner soon betrayed a certain zest. "You see, -about four years ago Tex was workin' for a man up on Crow Creek and -took some cattle on to Omaha to sell for him. When he came back he -never brought a cent of money, and told how he had been held up and -robbed. Everybody believed it at first, then all to onct his -family--they live over West--began to dress to kill, and Tex bought -brass beds for every room in the house; then folks began to suspicion -where he got the money, and he was sent to the Pen for two years." - -Poor old Tex! Who would ever have supposed a secret longing for brass -beds would prove his undoing? I might have guessed horses or cards, -but never brass beds. I almost felt the breath of tragedy. She seemed -sweeping by. - -Mrs. Bohm went on: "Tex's mighty good to his family, though, and it -most killed him when his wife went off with a Mexican sheep-herder -while he was doin' time. She's back home now with the girls, but her -and Tex's separated. Ain't it a fright the way women acts?" - -"It certainly is," I agreed, trying to reconcile my previous idea of -convicts with having one for a cook. It was dreadfully confusing and -disturbing. In spite of what I had just heard, I knew I trusted Tex. -He would never steal from us, I felt sure. And my instinct told me he -would be a true and loyal friend. There was no apparent excuse for -what he had done, but he had paid for his moment of weakness more -fully perhaps than anyone realized. I pondered over it. - -Presently he came in, with a curious, troubled expression on his face. -I gave him the orders, as usual, with no sign of having heard of the -cloud under which he had lived for three miserable years. Our -relations were re-established. I could see his relief. - -We were still taking our meals in the kitchen, although the house was -gradually being remodeled. It was Saturday evening, and we were -expecting Owen home. There was an air of suppressed excitement among -the men. One, and then another, bolted from the table and out of the -door, returning in a shame-faced manner to explain that he "thought he -heered somethin'." Certainly Owen's coming would never produce such a -sensation, unless he was expected to arrive in an airship. I was more -than ever mystified. - -After the meal was over, there was such a general shaving--also in the -kitchen--and such donning of red neckties, that I could not restrain -my curiosity. I called Tex aside and asked him where they were going. -He looked a little sheepish, as he replied: - -"Why, we ain't goin' nowhere." Then in a burst of confidence, "I don't -know as I'd orter tell you, but the fact is, you folks is goin' to be -surprised; all the folks 'round is goin' to have a party here, and -we're expectin' 'em." - -I gasped. A sudden suspicion flashed through my mind. - -"Tex, did you plan this? What on earth shall I do?" - -Tex saw I was really troubled. "Why, Mrs. Brook," he said, "you don't -have to do nothin'. Just turn the house over to 'em, and along about -midnight I'll make some coffee--they'll bring baskets." - -I was relieved to know that they only wanted the house, and would -provide their own refreshments, for it was appalling to be an -impromptu hostess to an entire community and to speculate upon the -possibility of one small cold roast and chocolate cake satisfying a -crowd of young people, after drives of thirty miles or more across the -prairie. - -"Me and the boys"--Tex spoke somewhat apologetically, as he started -toward the door--"we kind a thought maybe you and Mr. Brook would like -to get acquainted, seem's how you're goin' to live here; but I guess -we oughten to have did what we done." - -I felt ashamed of my momentary perturbation, as the force of that last -sentence of Tex's reached me. These men of the plains were as simple -and sensitive as children about many things. They would really grieve -if they felt this affair, planned solely on our account, gave us no -pleasure. I hastened to reassure him. - -"It was mighty nice of you men to think of it," I said, cheerfully. -"We do want to know the people in the country, and we are going to -enjoy every moment. I was 'surprised' before the party began, that's -all." - -Tex went out satisfied, grinning broadly. - -To my good fortune, Owen arrived before the guests came. I told him -what was about to befall us. His expression was dubious. All he said -was "Thunder." - -Owen and one of the men had been driving about the country all the -week, buying horses suitable to turn in on a Government cavalry -contract. The night before they had spent on the floor of a cold -railroad station, wrapped up in their blankets, with a lighted lantern -under the covering at their feet. Their sleep was somewhat broken, -with either cremation or freezing pending that cold September night. -Poor Owen! He was completely worn out. And now he had to go through a -surprise party. - -At eight o'clock, Tex, self-appointed master of ceremonies, ushered in -the first arrivals. They were a tall, lean chap and two very much -be-curled young misses. I made trials without number at conversation, -but they could only be induced to say "Yes" and "No." - -From eight until ten they came,--ranchmen, cow-punchers, -ex-cow-punchers running their own outfits, infant cow-punchers, girls -and women, until kitchen and sitting room were filled to overflowing, -and every chair and bench on the place in use. Among the last to -arrive was a tall, languid Texan, accompanied by two languid, -drab-colored women. They were presented to us as "Robert, Missus Reed -and Maggie." "Maggie," I immediately concluded, was a sister, but not -being quite certain, I sought enlightenment from Mrs. Bohm. - -"She ain't Reed's sister," she informed me in a low tone, "she's his -girl." - -"Oh, works for them, you mean?" I said, somewhat puzzled by the Reed -connections. - -"Works nothin'," Mrs. Bohm replied, scornfully. "She's got the next -place to 'em and goes with 'em everywhere. Ella don't seem to mind. -I'd just call her Maggie' if I was you," and Mrs. Bohm departed to -join a group of women near the door. - -I looked over at the two with a new interest. They were chatting and -laughing together, the "girl" and the wife seemingly on the best of -terms, with no sign of rivalry for the tall Texan's affections. Here -was a situation fraught with latent possibilities that made me -tremble, yet--"Ella don't seem to mind." - -The kitchen had been converted into a ballroom by moving the table up -against the wall and placing three chairs upon it. Unfortunately the -sink and stove were fixtures, but everything else, including the bread -jar, found a temporary resting place in the yard. - -Old Bohm, with his fiddle under his arm, gingerly ascended the table -first. Then another man followed with a similar instrument; and last -came a youth with a mouth harp. No fatality having resulted from the -musicians taking their seats, the dancing began. - -The music, if such a combination of sounds can be dignified by that -name, was such as to defy description. Never in the wildest flights of -fancy could I have conceived of such execution and such sounds. The -two men sawed their violins, and the third was purple in the face from -his efforts on the mouth-harp; all were stamping time with their feet, -and he of the harp was slapping his knee with his unoccupied hand. - -Before every dance a council was held, after which each musician would -play the tune decided upon, as best suited to his taste. Old Bohm -tried to get to the end in the shortest time possible, while the -second fiddler, taking things more seriously, finished four or five -bars behind his companion. The harpist, not playing "second" to -anything or anybody, had his own opinion as to how "A Hot Time in the -Old Town" should go. With these independent views, the result was a -series of the most discordant sounds that ever fell on mortal ears. -However, music mattered little, for all had come to have a good time, -and the "caller-out," with both eyes shut tight and arms folded across -his breast, was making himself heard above all other sounds. - -"Birdie in the center and all hands around!" he commanded. Then -fiddles and mouth harp began a wild jig, couples raced 'round and -'round, while "Birdie," a blond and blushing maiden, stood patiently -in the midst of the whirling circle, until the next order came: - - "Birdie hop out and Crow hop in! - Take holt of paddies and run around agin." - -"Crow" was a broad, heavy-set cow-puncher, wearing chaps, and in the -endeavor to "run around agin," I found my progress somewhat impeded by -his spurs, which caught in my skirt and very nearly upset me. - -All the riders wore their heavy boots and spurs, and it required real -agility to avoid being stepped on or having one's skirt torn to -ribbons. I was devoutly thankful that chiffon and tulle ball gowns -were not worn on ranches. - -There was more to avoid than spurs. We had to dance about the kitchen -and avoid the stove, the sink and the tabled musicians, to say nothing -of the nails in the floor. But after a few hours' practice, I began to -feel qualified to waltz on top of the House of the Seven Gables, and -avoid at least six of them. - -Finally, the caller-out shouted loudly: - - "Allemande, Joe! Right hand to pardner and around you go. - Balance to corners, don't be slack; - Turn right around and take a back track. - When you git home, don't be afraid, - Swing her agin and all promenade." - -My partner obeyed every command with such vigor that when at last he -led me to my seat I was panting and dizzy; nor had I quite recovered -my breath when the music struck up again, and Tex led me forth. - -The exertion of the first quadrille had been too much for his comfort, -so he had dispensed with both collar and coat. His trousers and vest -bore evidence of having seen many a round-up, and his shirt, which had -once been white, was now multi-colored. In the wonderful red ascot tie -which encircled his neck were stuck four scarf-pins, one above the -other. There being nothing to hold the loop of the tie in place, it -gradually worked up the back of his head, until its progress was -stopped by the edge of a small skull-cap, which Tex wore as the -crowning feature of his costume. The cap, tilted slightly to one side, -gave him a rakish appearance, quite in contrast with his air of -importance and responsibility. - -I danced--my head fairly spins when I think _how_ I danced--for, since -the party was given in our honor, dance I must with every man who -asked me. - -Owen, not being a dancing man, made himself agreeable to the -wall-flowers and the children, stealing upstairs about once an hour -for a few moments' nap on the bedroom floor. The beds themselves were -occupied by sleeping infants, whose mothers were going through the -intricate mazes of those dances below. - -At one o'clock Tex began to make the coffee, whereupon the musicians -descended from the table, and the expectant party sat down. But where -were their baskets? My heart sank, as Tex approached holding a very -small one. He informed me in a stage whisper it was all there was! - -The basket contained a cake and one wee chick, evidently fried soon -after leaving the shell. It was the smallest chicken I ever saw. I -hastily produced our cake and roast, and then took one despairing look -around at the forty individuals to be fed. I shall never be able to -explain it, unless Tex had an Aladdin's lamp concealed in his pocket, -for cake, roast and chicken appeared to be inexhaustible, and the -supply more than equaled the demand. - -I was aroused from my contemplation of the miracle by a feminine -voice, the speaker saying half to herself and half to me: - -"It took me most two hours to iron Nell's dress this mornin', but I -sure got a pretty 'do' on it." Following her beaming glance, I found -that it rested on a mass of ruffles, which adorned the dress of -"Birdie" of that first quadrille. Just then the music began again, and -I saw Ed Lay ask her to dance. I trusted, after all that work, the -'do' wouldn't be undone by his spurs; still the effort had not been -wasted, for this was the fifth time he had danced with her. - -No doting mother could have taken more pride in the debut of an only -child, than this work-worn sister whose eyes sparkled as they followed -"Birdie's" whirling figure held firmly by the encircling arm of the -cow-puncher, and she murmured softly with a half sigh, "Ain't it -grand?" To me it was "grand" indeed, that even an embryo romance could -bring a new light to those tired eyes. - -It was six o'clock Sunday morning when one most thoughtful person -suggested that "they'd orter be goin'"; and by seven the last guest -had departed. Then Owen and I, weary and heavy-eyed, donned our wraps, -climbed into the wagon, and started on a sixteen-mile drive to the -railroad to meet his brother, who was coming from California to see -"how we were making it." - -I was almost too tired to speak, but one thought was struggling for -expression, and as we started up the first long hill, I had to say: - -"Anyone who ever spoke of the 'peace and quiet of ranch life' lived in -New York and dreamed about it. In twenty-four hours I have discovered -that we have an ex-convict for a trusted cook, and have received as -guests a man with his wife and resident affinity. We have had a -surprise party and I have danced with all the blemished characters the -country boasts of, until six o'clock in the morning of the Sabbath -day, with never a qualm of conscience. What do you suppose has become -of my moral standards?" - -Owen was amused. He asked me, quizzically, what I thought they would -be by the end of a year. - -"Mercy!" I replied, "at the rate they are being overthrown, there -won't be enough left to consider, unless"--I thought a moment--"unless -I can reconstruct a more enduring set from parts of the old." - - - - -III - -THE ROOT CELLAR - - -"East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." The -phrase kept haunting me all through these first days when everything -was so new and strange. I almost felt as though I had passed into a -new phase of existence. - -Except for Owen, there was no point of contact between the world of -cities and people I had just left and this land of cattle and -cow-punchers, bounded by the sky-rimmed hills. In Owen, however, the -East and the West did meet. He understood and belonged to both and -adapted himself as easily to the one as to the other. Wearing his -derby, he belonged to the life of the East; in his broad-brimmed -Stetson, he was a living part of the West. - -The compelling reality of this new life affected me deeply. -Non-essentials counted for nothing. There were no artificial problems -or values. - -No one in the country cared who you might have been or who you were. -The _Mayflower_ and Plymouth Rock meant nothing here. It would be -thought you were speaking of some garden flowers or some breed of -chickens. - -The one thing of vital importance was what you were--how you adjusted -yourself to meet conditions as you found them, and how nearly you -reached, or how far you fell below their measure of man or woman. - -I felt as though up to this time I had been in life's kindergarten, -but that I had now entered into its school, and I realized that only -as I passed the given tests should I succeed. - -I learned much from the rough, untutored men with whom I was in daily -association. They were men whose rules of conduct were governed by -individual choice, unhampered by conventions. They were so direct and -honest, so unfailingly kind and gentle toward any weaker thing, and so -simple and responsive, that I liked and trusted them from the first. -All but old Bohm, the man from whom we were buying. He was such a -totally different type that he seemed a man apart. The son of a German -father and an Irish mother, he had inherited a nature too complex and -contradictory to be easily fathomed. - -Mrs. Bohm, with her white, calm face and gentle voice, attracted me, -but her husband aroused in both Owen and me an instinctive distrust. -He was good nature personified, a most companionable person, with his -easy, contagious laugh, his amusing stories, quick wit, and breezy air -of good fellowship. He could quote Burns, Scott, and other poets by -the hour, and fiddle away on his violin, until we were nearly moved to -tears. He was almost too good-natured; he didn't quite ring true. I -noticed that while he always referred or spoke to his wife -affectionately, as "my old mammy," her attitude toward him was rather -impersonal. She called him "James" with quiet dignity, but seldom -talked with him, and appeared to take very little interest. - -On the side of a hill, some distance from the house, was an old root -cellar, used, according to Bohm, for storing potatoes, turnips, and -other vegetables for winter. It was most inconveniently located; there -were hillsides much nearer, and considering that the cellar under the -house was always used for such purposes, it seemed strange that -another should be needed so far away. I was possessed with a desire to -explore it. It suggested hidden treasures and Indian relics, which I -was collecting. One day I was poised on the top of the cellar step, -about to descend into its mysterious depths. - -Old Bohm appeared. "Was you lookin' for something'?" he asked, -somewhat out of breath. - -"Oh, no," I replied, going down a few steps. "I was just exploring, -and thought I would investigate this old root cellar." - -"I thought that was what you was goin' to do, and I hurried up to tell -you to be awful careful of rattlesnakes; there's a pile of 'em 'round -these here old cellars." Bohm spoke with apparent solicitude. - -"Heavens! I wouldn't go down there for anything!" I exclaimed,--and I -got out of the cellarway as quickly as possible. - -Old Bohm looked down the steps at the strong, closed door of heavy -boards. - -"Oh, maybe it would be all right. You could listen for 'em and jump, -if you heard 'em rattle," he remarked, casually. - -I shook my head. "Not much; I don't want to hear them rattle," and I -started toward the house. - -Bohm went up toward the wind-mill. As I turned away I caught a curious -expression on his face--a faint gleam of something. - -As I came through the meadow gate, Owen was getting into the buggy. - -"Hello," he called, "I've been looking for you everywhere. I have to -drive over to Three Bar. Do you want to go?" - -I was always ready to go anywhere, so while Owen was driving the -horses about, I ran in to get my hat. - -Not one of our horses was thoroughly broken, so we always had to -follow the same method of procedure before starting anywhere. After -the horses were hitched up, Charley, to whom fell odd jobs of every -sort, stood at their heads until Owen was fairly seated and had the -lines firmly in his hands. Then, after a few ineffectual attempts to -kick or run down Charley before he could get out of the way, off -dashed the horses around and around the open space between the house -and the pond, until a little of the edge had been taken off their -spirits. Then Owen stopped them for one moment, I made a quick jump -into the buggy, and away we went at top speed toward the gate that -Charley had run to open. We usually missed the post by a quarter of an -inch, and at that juncture I invariably shut my eyes and held my -breath. - -The road to Three Bar Ranch led to the North and wound up a very long -hill, then across a rolling mesa. The prairie was covered with short -grama grass, just turning a faint brown, the yellow sunflowers and -great clumps of rattleweed, with its spikes of lovely purple, giving a -touch of color to the scene before us. The Spanish bayonet dotted the -hillsides, and over all hung the summer sky like burnished copper. The -only sound, aside from that of the horses' hoofs and the crunch of the -wheels on the soft prairie road, was the occasional song of the meadow -lark, all the joy of the summer day sounding in its one short -thrilling note. In the gulches, where the grass grew deep and rank, -the wind tossed it softly, and it rippled and sparkled in the shifting -light, as water gleams in the sun. Everything was so still that -animation seemed for the time suspended, as we drove along silenced by -the spell of the prairies. - -Three Bar, one of the oldest ranches in the country, stood against the -side of a hill. It was a long, low structure of logs built in the -prevailing fashion of the early ranch houses, room after room opening -into one another, usually with an outside door to each. - -The ranch was owned by the Mortons, English people, who were among the -earliest settlers in the country. They greeted us most cordially, and -as Owen went out to the corral with Mr. Morton to look at some horses, -Mrs. Morton took me into the house. - -The room we entered had very little furniture, but was redeemed from -bareness by a wonderful old stone fireplace at one end. - -Mrs. Morton was short and heavy set. "Spotless" was the only word her -appearance suggested when I first saw her. Her skin was as fair as a -child's, while her hair was as white as the apron she wore. - -Her flow of conversation was unceasing, and I was reminded of a remark -that Charley made to me when the telephone was first put in over the -fence lines. - -"Old lady Morton talked so fast that she ripped all the barbs off the -wire." Before I had time to reply to one question, she had asked -another, and was off on an entirely different subject. I suppose the -accumulated conversation of months was vented on my innocent head, for -she told me, poor thing, that she hadn't seen another woman since -Christmas. - -"Us"--she never said we--"us never visits the neighbors, but was -coming up to see you, Mrs. Brook, for us heard you and Mr. Brook was -different. Us lives out here on a ranch, but us knows when people are -the right kind." - -I didn't know whether to be considered "different" was desirable, or -not, and I was dying to ask her what constituted "the right kind," but -had no time before she suddenly asked: - -"Have the Bohms gone? Us was waiting till they went." - -I explained that they were still on the ranch, as Mr. Bohm had to -gather and counterbrand all the stock before turning it over to Owen, -and that he had been delayed. - -Mrs. Morton gave a little grunt of contempt. "Old Bohm won't hurry any -while he's getting free board. He may be with you all winter. Us hopes -Mr. Brook won't be imposed on. He's a smart man, old Jim Bohm is, but -he's a bad one." - -"Bad one?" I repeated, inwardly praying that the Bohms would not be -permanent guests. - -"Old Jim Bohm is a bad man," Mrs. Morton said again, rocking violently -back and forth. "I was here when they came. She's all right, but there -is nothing he won't do. Why"--her voice sank to a whisper--"sixteen -men have been traced as far as that ranch and never been heard of -again, and Jim Bohm's been getting richer all along." - -Mrs. Morton scarcely paused for breath, so I couldn't have said -anything. But I was speechless, anyhow. - -"Not one of them, not one," she declared, "was ever heard of again, -and if you were to examine that old root cellar on the hill, you'd -find out what I say is true." - -The incident of the morning flashed across my mind, and I felt as -though a piece of ice were being drawn slowly along my spine. - -"How perfectly horrible!" I managed to gasp, "but it can't be true." - -[Illustration: ROPING A STEER TO INSPECT BRAND] - -"It's true, all right." There was no doubting Mrs. Morton's -conviction. "There's facts there's no getting 'round. Jim Bohm and old -Happy Dick, that used to work for him, came up here over the trail -from Texas with a band of horses that Bohm and another man owned. The -other fellow was with them when they started, but Bohm said he died on -the way, and that's all anyone knows about it, except that old Bohm -kept all the horses." - -"Then a few years later, a young fellow that was consumptive, came out -to work for them. I know he had quite a bit of money, because he -stopped here once to ask John what to do with it. He hadn't been there -very long before he dropped dead, according to Jim Bohm's story. His -folks back East tried to get the money, but Bohm said the fellow owed -it to him, and they couldn't do a thing about it." - -I sat as if petrified, unable to take my eyes from Mrs. Morton's face, -as she went on and on. - -"He was in with all the rustlers in the country," she continued, "and -once when a posse was hunting a man who had stole a lot of horses, -Bohm tried his best to keep them from searching the place, but the -Sheriff told him they would arrest him if he made any more fuss about -it, so he had to keep still. When they came to the haymow, they stuck -a pitchfork right into a man hidden in the hay, and old Bohm swore he -didn't know a thing about his being there. The next us heard, old Bill -Law had dropped dead in the corral. I tell you"--Mrs. Morton leaned -forward and shook her finger in my face--"it's mighty funny, the way -men keeps dropping dead over there; they don't do it anywhere else. -Happy Dick was the last. About a year ago he told Morton he'd stole -two men rich, and now he was going to steal himself rich. But two days -after he was found dead in the willows, and Bohm said that when he -came upon the body, Happy Dick had been dead for hours." - -Mrs. Morton showed signs of running down for a moment, so I hastened -to ask why it was that, though suspicion always pointed toward him, -old Bohm had never been arrested. - -"Jim Bohm's too smooth," Mrs. Morton answered. "If you found him with -a smoking gun in his hand and a man dead on the ground beside him, -he'd lie out of it somehow; probably would swear that as he came up, -he saw the man shoot himself. Oh! he's a slick one. Us always said us -pitied anyone who had business dealings with him, but," she stopped as -she saw Owen and Mr. Morton coming up the walk, "Mr. Brook looks like -a man that can take care of himself. I'd watch out for Bohm, though. -Watch out for him!" - -"Thank you, Mrs. Morton," I said, as Owen came to the door. "I am glad -you told me. Please come to see us," and with conflicting emotions I -prepared to leave Three Bar Ranch. - -I scarcely knew what to think. I was worried, and yet---- - -When I told Owen I expected him to pooh-pooh the story and relieve my -mind, but he did nothing of the sort. With a queer little wrinkle -between his eyes, he listened attentively. - -"Owen, you don't think there is any truth in it, do you?" I asked, -much troubled by his silence. He flicked a fly off Dan's back before -replying: - -"I don't know what to think. The old chap's a rascal, there's no doubt -about that; but I didn't suppose he was a cold-blooded murderer." - -Again I felt the ice go up and down my spine. "Great heavens, Owen, -can't you have someone go through the root cellar, to see if there is -anything out of the way there? And, above all, get the stock gathered -and ship Bohm--I despise him, anyhow!" - -"Don't let it worry you," said Owen; "probably it's all mere talk. -Bohm won't bother us; and in a few weeks the stock will all be turned -over and he'll have no excuse for staying." - -"A few weeks is a long time," I said, gloomily, feeling as if my hold -on life were gradually slipping. "According to Mrs. Morton, everybody -on the place might drop dead in less time than that." - -Owen laughed, but the next moment a shadow crossed his face, and he -said decisively: - -"I'm going to look into that root-cellar business. I want to have the -place thoroughly cleaned out, anyhow." - - * * * * * - -The boys were going in to supper when we drove up. Charley came to -take the horses, and Owen greeted him: - -"Well, how's everything?" - -"Oh, all right," answered Charley indifferently, as he started to -loosen the tugs. "Nothin's happened since you folks went away, only -the old root cellar's caved in." - -Speech was impossible. Owen and I stood as if petrified, looking at -each other. We turned to go up to the house. I felt as though some -wretched fate were making game of us. As we entered the door, Owen -spoke: - -"Esther"--he was very serious--"don't say a word or betray any -interest whatever in this matter. After supper is over, I'll go up to -investigate." - -Talk about the skeleton at a feast! There were sixteen horrid, -grinning things around the table that night, besides a few that Mrs. -Morton had overlooked. - -Mrs. Bohm was whiter than usual and very quiet. Old Bohm was in high -spirits. We were scarcely seated before he declared it "a damn shame" -that the old root cellar had to cave in. - -We showed a little surprise, but affected unconcern. Playing the role -assigned to me, I remarked indifferently that we never used it, -anyhow, and with this Bohm cheerfully agreed. - -Later, when Owen went up to examine the cellar, I noticed, from my -point of observation at the window, that old Bohm was close by his -side. - -Soon after Owen came in looking very grave. - -"Well, it caved in, all right, and it never can be cleaned out. But -there's one thing I am convinced of"--and he looked toward the hill -with a frown--"it didn't cave in of itself." - - - - -IV - -THE GREAT ADVENTURE PROGRESSES - -John, the mail carrier, was our only connecting link with the great -outside world. Three times a week he brought the mail. From the first -sight of a tiny speck on the top of the distant hill, our hearts -thrilled. I watched it grow larger and larger, until the two-wheeled -cart stopped at the garden gate. With hands trembling with impatience, -I unlocked the old, worn bag, which John threw on the floor. - -I was the honorable Postmistress. My desk was covered with Postal -Laws, which I almost learned by heart. I had the New England respect -for the Federal prison, the place of correction for delinquent Postal -employees. - -One rule was absolute. The key of the mail bag had to be securely -attached to the Post Office. My Post Office was a wooden cracker box, -which held the mail for the few outside patrons. - -The inspector of Post Offices arrived unannounced one day. He -frowningly looked over my accounts, while I stood by in perturbation. -Suddenly he caught sight of the key at the end of a long brass chain -"securely attached to the Post Office." He got up to investigate. The -frown disappeared by magic, and a smile played around his stern mouth. -He burst into laughter. I explained I was very careful to comply with -all the regulations. He gave me a humorous glance--and stayed to -dinner. - -The papers on Monday evening brought us exciting news. A train on the -U. P. had been held up at a lonely station, thirty miles from our -ranch. All the Pullman passengers had been robbed and one man shot and -killed. The hold-ups had escaped and were at large in the "country -adjoining." - -"If they are in the country adjoining, they'll come here eventually," -I remarked to Owen. "This ranch is a perfect magnet for all the -questionable characters in the vicinity." - -Owen thanked me for the compliment and went out to the bunk house to -interview Robert Reed, now in charge of the hay gang. - -This Reed was an interesting fellow,--a natural leader of men, and so -efficient that Owen had made him hay foreman. - -When we had driven over to his claim to see him about working for us, -Mrs. Reed came out to the buggy, wiping her hands on her apron. - -"No, Bob ain't home this morning," she responded to Owen's inquiry for -her husband. "I reckon you'll find him over ploughin' for Maggie." A -statement made in the most matter-of-fact manner. - -We drove over to another claim shack a mile or so from the Reeds', -where Bob was indeed ploughing for Maggie. To him, too, it was quite a -matter of course. - -The affinity problem in this country really appeared simple. Mrs. Reed -evidently accepted Maggie as a natural factor in the situation, and -her marital relations were not disturbed in the least, as long as Bob -finished his own ploughing first. That woman was truly oriental in her -cast of mind. - -Maggie Lane's mother and brother lived near at hand, also. One -brother, Tom, was Reed's constant companion. Altogether it was a -perfectly harmonious arrangement. - -The Lane family records were not quite clear. Acquaintance revealed -that. They all seemed to have a penchant for leaving the straight and -narrow path for the broad highway of individual choice. Obviously -Maggie's position did not affect her family, nor her social standing -in the community. - -Whenever I drove about the country without Owen, I took Charley with -me on horseback. Gates were hard to open, and my team of horses was -not thoroughly broken. Besides, there were always the possibilities of -the unexpected on these lonely prairies. I called Charley my Knight of -the Garter. When he knew in advance he was going with me, he went up -to the bunkhouse "to slick up." If it chanced to be summer, he emerged -without a coat, his blue shirt sleeves held up by a pair of beribboned -pink garters, a pair of heavy stamped leather cuffs on his wrists, and -a heavy stamped leather collar holding his neck like a vise. - -I suggested one morning that the collar might be uncomfortably warm. -He met my objection with scorn. - -"Hot, Mrs. Brook? Why, that ain't hot. You see, the leather kinda -ab-sorbs the sweat and makes it nice and cool." - -One day we were out to take the washing to Mrs. Reed. I had asked Bob -to take it Saturday night, when he and Tom Lane had "gone over home" -to finish that ploughing. I supposed he had done so, but when he came -back on Monday, he said he had "plumb forgot it, but would take it -next time." - -We had to pass through Maggie's claim on the way. She was standing at -her door, as we stopped to open the gate. There was no freshly -ploughed ground in sight, and I idly asked if she had finished her -ploughing. - -"No," she replied, "I kinda looked for Bob over Sunday to finish it, -but I reckon he couldn't get off. I wish you'd tell him to stop here -the next time he goes home." - -We drove on, and I wondered what Maggie "reckoned" he couldn't get -away from,--the ranch or his wife. - -I gave Mrs. Reed the clothes and I told her Bob had forgotten to bring -them over with him Saturday. She looked at me curiously. - -"Didn't Bob work Sunday?" - -"No," I replied, "none of the men worked Sunday. Tom and Bob both said -they were going home." - -Mrs. Reed frowned. - -"Oh, I suppose Maggie had somethin' she wanted him to do." - -Charley started to answer, but my look stopped him. - -"I'll have your clothes ready Saturday." Mrs. Reed slammed the gate -and turned toward the house. - -"Gee," said Charley, riding up close beside the buggy, "them two -women'll be fightin' over Bob yet, if he ain't careful. Why, that's -funny"--he looked at me questioningly,--"Bob wasn't to Maggie's, -either, was he?" - -"No," I answered, "I was just wondering about that myself. Perhaps he -went to town, instead." A coyote ran out of a gulch. Charley with a -whoop started in pursuit, and the entire incident passed from my mind. - -We were going in to supper, when three men drove up to the door. -Whenever strangers appeared, I always had a moment of uncertainty as -to whether they were to be sent to the bunkhouse with the men, or -invited to our own table. Instantaneous social classification is -rather difficult when there are no distinguishing external signs. And -it had to be done at the moment. The men asked for Owen. - -We had no idea who they were, so our conversation during supper was -limited to impersonal topics, such as the present, past and future -weather, the condition of the range and stock--nothing calculated to -offend the delicate sensibilities of a Governor, a ranchman or an -ex-convict, inasmuch as our guests might come under any of these -heads. Entertaining on a ranch is democratic in the extreme. - -They went out with Owen after supper. From the window I could see four -dim figures sitting on their heels by the corral gate, talking -earnestly. - -It was late when they drove away. I was putting up the mail, as Owen -entered. His announcement drove all idea of the Postal Laws and -regulations out of my head. - -"Well, they've gone, and have taken Bob and Tom Lane with them." - -"Mercy! what for? Who were they, anyhow?" - -"The Sheriff and two Pinkerton men," he answered, gravely. "They have -arrested Bob and Tom for the hold-up." - -"Owen," I gasped, standing up so suddenly that the U. S. mail flew in -all directions. "You don't believe they were the ones, do you?" - -"Not for a minute," Owen answered, with conviction. "And I told them -so, but it seems the men have bad records and the description fits -them. 'A tall man, with a Southern accent, and a short, slight, -smaller man.' So they arrested them." Owen sat down. "It's absurd. In -the first place, they couldn't have gotten to the railroad in time to -hold up the limited. They didn't leave here until nine o'clock, and in -the next place, they went home." - -"But they didn't." I felt suddenly weak in my knees. "I took the -clothes over to Mrs. Reed, and both she and Maggie were wondering why -they hadn't come." - -Owen looked at me in blank amazement, and then asked why on earth I -hadn't told him. - -"Good heavens, Owen, I haven't seen you a moment alone. And, besides, -I never supposed it made any difference _where_ the men went. -Hereafter if the angel Gabriel comes to work for us, I shall insist -upon knowing where he spends his nights. Really," I began to laugh, -"you know, if we ever leave this ranch, the only place we shall feel -at home is in the penitentiary. None but people with 'records' and -'pasts' will interest us." I was half amused and wholly excited, for -even to have a speaking acquaintance with the leading figures in a -hold-up and murder was something my wildest flight of imagination -could have scarcely pictured a few months before. Owen was really -serious. - -"Well, I must say," he shook his head and looked down at the floor, -"it begins to look as though Bob and Tom might have some trouble -proving they weren't the men. It's serious for them, since they -weren't at home. The description certainly fits them." Owen took up -the paper. "'One man about five feet eight inches high, slender and -light mustache, wearing old clothes and a rusty black slouch hat. The -other man five feet ten inches tall, slender, short, black mustache, -about forty years old, spoke with a Southern accent, wore an old black -suit and an old striped rubber coat.'" - -"Go on," I said, as Owen started to put the paper down; "I want to -hear it." He read on: - -"'The men were supposed to have boarded the train coming from Denver, -at a small station this side of Star. The Pullmans were on the rear. -When the train stopped at the station, the Pullman conductor went out -on the back platform and saw two men crouching in the vestibule. He -told them to get off, but at that moment the train started, and they -rose up, covering him with their revolvers. One got behind him, -holding his gun against him, the other in front. They handed him a -gunny-sack and made him carry it. In this manner they entered the body -of the car. - -"'In the first car they got very little plunder, and pushed on into -the next. As they entered the second sleeper, they met the porter, who -was forced to elevate his hands and precede them. While they were -engaged in robbing the passengers in the second Pullman, the train -conductor entered, and was compelled to elevate his hands, with the -rest. - -"'They paused at one berth and seemed very much incensed that the -woman it contained was so slow in handing over her valuables. They -swore and were very impatient. Suddenly, a man in the next berth -thrust his head out between the curtains. He had a revolver in his -hand and fired, but instantly another shot rang out from the robber in -the rear, and the man sank back in his berth. - -"'After the shooting, the robbers appeared more nervous and hurried. -When they had gone through the car, they took the gunny-sack and -emptied the contents into their pockets. One of the robbers pulled the -bell-rope, but evidently not hard enough, for the train continued on -its way. Swearing, they compelled the porter and two conductors to -stand out on the platform with them, covered by their revolvers, until -the train slowed down at Paxton, when they swung off to the ground and -disappeared into these vast prairie lands, which are so sparsely -settled one can drive for a day without seeing a person. - -"'As soon as the train stopped, the passengers hurried to the berth of -the man who had been shot, but he had been instantly killed. - -"'The Sheriff was notified, and a posse started in pursuit, but the -robbers had vanished.'" Owen put down the paper, and we sat up far -into the night talking it over. - - * * * * * - -Subsequently our ranch, our horses, and Owen's opinions were freely -quoted in the press. Bob and Tom were positively identified by the -three trainmen as the hold-ups. They were retained a week in jail, and -then suddenly released on "insufficient proof." - -Owen did not believe in point of time they could have held up the -train, for he had talked to Bob that Saturday night until after nine -o'clock, but everybody, including Owen, held them capable of it. The -point was simply that they had not happened to be there. - -Later Bob and Tom returned to the ranch, incensed at their arrest and -detention, but no one ever learned where they were that memorable -Saturday night. - -Moreover, the men who held up the train were never found, and again -one of those strange tragedies of the West ended in vagueness. - -I was struck by the repetition of that phenomenon "A crime, a -tragedy." At first indignation and an earnest attempt to find the -offenders and bring them to justice, then delay, and the whole affair -shoved into the background by something newer. - -Life here seemed to flow by like a stream at flood-tide. Who could -stem that current long enough to catch those bits of human frailty -floating on the surface, or follow them down stream to the sea? - - - - -V - -A GOVERNMENT CONTRACT - - -From the first, I had been conscious of a fascination about the West -impossible to describe. Its charm was too enigmatical and elusive for -definition. - -There was a suggestion of the sea in that vast circle and in the long -undulations of the prairie, as though great waves had become -solidified, then clothed in softest green. No sign of restless -movement was apparent in those billows which stretched away from the -mountains into the vague distance. All was still. The towering -mountain itself was the symbol of infinite peace and rest. Yet there, -in the midst of that unbroken serenity, stood a cluster of buildings, -the center of the greatest activity, where life was vital and -thrilling as though a few human beings had been flung through space -and dropped onto those silent plains to work out the age-long fight -for existence. - -Peace and conflict, silence and sound, absence of life and life in its -most complex form; contrasts--everywhere and in everything--it could -be defined, it was in "contrasts" that the fascination of the West was -expressed. - -Ranch life might be difficult; it was never commonplace. The mere -sight of a lone horseman on a distant hill suggested greater -possibilities of excitement than a multitude of people in a city -street. - -Each day brought so many new experiences, some of comedy, some of -tragedy, that I began to look for them. - -After the Government had awarded a contract to furnish "150 horses of -a dark bay color for cavalry use" our life became dramatic, with the -riders cast in the leading roles. - -The stage-setting consisted of a large circular corral, twelve feet -high, built of heavy pitch-pine posts and three-inch planks with a -massive snubbing post set in the center. Since there was "standing -room only," cracks were at a premium. - -_The dramatis personae_ were two tall, slender-waisted cow-punchers -who walked with a slightly rolling gait, due to extremely high-heeled -boots, much too small for them. In their right hands they carried a -coiled rope swinging easily. Their costumes were composed of cloth or -corduroy trousers, dark-colored shirts, nondescript vests of some -sort, dark blue or red handkerchiefs knotted loosely about their -necks, expensively-made boots, the tops of which were covered by the -legs of their "pants"; spurs, of course; high-priced Stetson hats, the -crowns creased to a peak, and frequently encircled by the skin of a -rattle-snake, and exceedingly soft gauntlet-gloves. It was my -observation that the old-time cow-puncher wore gloves at all times. He -did remove them when eating, and, I presume, before going to bed, but -they were always in evidence. - -The "Star" is a frightened, snorting "broncho," or unbroken horse -which for the five or six years of its life had been running loose. -Now it was to be "busted." It is cut out from the bunch and run into -the corral and the gate securely fastened. - -One of the men stands near the post, the other does the roping. Facing -the men, the broncho stands still, his head high, his eyes wild and -full of fear. An abrupt motion by one of the riders starts him on a -frantic run around and around in a circle. A sudden throw of the rope -and both front feet are in the loop. Quick as lightning the man -settles back on it, both front legs are pulled out from under the -horse and he falls on his side; the helper runs to his head, seizes -the muzzle and twists it straight up, thrusts one knee against the -neck and holds the top of the head to the ground. The roper puts two -or three more loops above the front hoofs, passes the rope, now -doubled forming a loop, between the legs, to one of the hind feet, -then pulls on the end that he has all the time held. This action draws -all three feet together. One or two more loops about them, a hitch and -the horse is tied so that it is impossible for him to get up. While -the broncho lies helpless, the saddle and bridle are put on, a large -handkerchief passed under the straps of the bridle over the eyes and -made fast. The rope is taken off. Feeling a measure of freedom, he -staggers to his feet and stands. The cinches are drawn very tight, the -rider mounts, gives a sharp order to "let him go," the man on the -ground pulls the handkerchief from the eyes of the horse, and jumps -aside. - -[Illustration: INSPECTING A BRAND] - -For a moment the broncho stands dazed, then jumps, throws his head -between his front legs almost to the ground, squeals, humps his back -and pitches around and around the corral in a vain attempt to rid -himself of the fearsome thing on his back. The circular corral, -limited in space, gives little opportunity to succeed; the rider has -the advantage. The horse stops pitching and runs frantically about the -corral, at length tiring himself out. Dripping with sweat, trembling -from fear and excitement, he comes to a slow trot. The gate is thrown -open. Making a dash for freedom, he plunges through the outside -corrals, the horseman or "circler" close beside him, trying to keep -between the half-crazed broncho and any object he might run into. The -horse bolts out into the open; his is the advantage now, and he makes -the rider ride. He bucks this way and that, twisting, turning, jumping -and running, the man on his back so racked and shaken it seems -incredible that his body can hold together. They tear out over the -prairie in a wild race, far off over the hills, out of sight now. -After a time they come back on a walk. The broncho has been -busted--the act has ended. - -Should the horse rear and throw himself backward, there is the -greatest danger that the man may be caught under him and killed, it -happens so quickly, but these quiet, diffident chaps are absolutely -fearless, past masters in the art of riding, facing death each time -they ride a new horse, but facing it with the supreme courage of the -commonplace, sitting calmly in the saddle, racked, shaken, jolted -until at times the blood streams from their nose, yet after a short -rest the rider "took up the next one" quite as though nothing at all -had happened. All the horses had to be broken and then made ready for -the inspection of the Government officials, and the boys were working -with them early and late. - -It was an unusual experience to live in daily association with these -men, in whom were combined characteristics of the Knights of the Round -Table and those peculiar to the followers of Jesse James. - -In Douglas, Wyoming, there stands a monument erected by the friends of -a local character who, curiously, bore the same surname as the famous -explorer for whom Pike's Peak was named. Chiseled out of the solid -granite these opposing traits are epitomized in this unique epitaph: - - "Underneath this stone in eternal rest - Sleeps the wildest one of the wayward west; - He was gambler and sport and cowboy, too, - And he led the pace in an outlaw crew; - He was sure on the trigger and staid to the end, - But he was never known to quit on a friend; - In the relations of death all mankind is alike, - But in life there was only one George W. Pike." - -Strange, contrasting personalities--in awe of nobody, quite as ready -to converse familiarly with the President as with Owen, but probably -preferring Owen because they knew he was a fine horseman. - -Persons and things outside their own world held but slight interest -for them. At first I had a hazy idea that I might be the medium -through which a glimpse of the outside world would broaden the narrow -limits of their lives. I planned to get books for them and to arrange -a reading room, but my dream was soon shattered upon discovering that -this broader view possessed no charm. Indeed, when I offered to teach -Joe to read he refused my offer without a moment's hesitation, firmly -announcing "I ain't goin' to learn to read, 'cause then I'd have to!" -"Why, Mrs. Brook," he added, looking with scorn at the book I held in -my hand, "I wouldn't be bothered the way you are for nothin', havin' -to read all them books in there," nodding his head in the direction of -our cherished library. This was certainly a fresh point of view -regarding education. About the same time I found that the Sears and -Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalogue might be fittingly called the -Bible of the plains. Night after night the boys pored over them -absorbed in the illustrations, of hats, gloves, boots and saddles, the -things most dear to their hearts, for on their riding equipment alone -they spent a small fortune. - -Improvident and generous, however great their vices might be, their -lives were free from petty meanness; the prairies had seemed to - - "Give them their own deep breadth of view - The largeness of the cloudless blue." - -The religion of the cow-puncher? My impression was that he had none, -for certainly he subscribed to no conventional creed or dogma. Yet -what was it that gave him a code of honor which made cheating or a lie -an unforgivable offense and a man guilty of either an outcast scorned -by his associates, and what was it that would have made him go without -bread or shelter that a woman or child might not suffer? - -Rough and gentle, brutal and tender, good and bad, not angel at one -time and devil at another, but rather saint and sinner at the same -time. Little of religious influence came into his life, and as for -Bibles--there were none. - -I remember the story of a Bishop who was travelling through the West -and was asked to hold service in one of the larger towns. When he -arrived he found that he had left his own Bible on the train, so he -sent the hotel clerk out to borrow one. After some time the man -returned with a Bible, explaining to the Bishop that it was the only -one in town. "I went everywhere and finally got this one. It's the one -they use at the Court House to swear on!" - -The cow-puncher, however, could swear without any assistance, for -usually "cussin'" formed a very necessary part of his conversation. -But as I sat at my window sewing one summer morning I heard a violent -argument at the corral between Fred and a new "hay-hand" from Kansas. -Fred's voice was decisive. - -"That's all right, but you cut out that cussin' here--the Missus' -window's open, and she'll hear you." And the heart of "the Missus" -warmed to her Knight of the Corral. - -There was another incident, the true significance of which I did not -know until three years after it occurred, when the foreman of the -L---- ranch met Owen in Denver and inquired for me, adding: - -"Well, I'll never forget Mrs. Brook. Do you remember the day we was -shippin' them white faces from the Junction about three years ago, -when you and Mrs. Brook happened to come along and stopped to watch -us? Well, one of the best men I had was brandin' a calf when it kicked -him and he swore at it proper; all of a sudden he looked up and saw -Mrs. Brook and another lady standin' on that high platform by the -yards watchin' us. He was so plumb beat, he threw down his brandin' -iron, took up his hat, walked across the street to a saloon and began -drinkin' and stayed drunk for three days, and there I was, -short-handed, with a train-load of cows and calves to ship." - -Contrast again--chivalry carried to the extent of being drunk for -three days because he had sworn before a woman! - -The horses were all being ridden and trained for the inspection which -was soon to take place. Each man had his own "string," those he had -broken, and every day they were put through their paces. When -inspected, they had to be walked, trotted and run up and down before -the officers, stopped instantly, and the veterinarian was supposed to -put his ear to their chests to see if their breathing was regular and -their hearts sound. Now, Western horses are not accustomed to having -their hearts tested, and I noticed that while the riders did -everything else that was required, they tacitly agreed "to let the vet -do his own listnin'." - -The day that the Army officers were to arrive, as Owen was getting -ready to drive over to the station to meet them, I remarked casually -that I hoped nothing would happen to upset their peace of mind, as it -was very important that the honorable representatives of the -Government be kept in a good humor. - -The house was still in an unsettled condition but for the time being -it had been brought into sufficient order to insure their comfort. The -larder was stocked with the best the markets afforded and the horses -were being "gentled" daily. - -When guests came on the train our dinner might be served at any hour -up to ten o'clock at night for after their arrival at the station -there was the sixteen mile drive to the ranch--and anything might -happen. It was late that particular night when I heard them at the -meadow gate. I couldn't understand why they stopped so long. There -were sounds of confusion and as they entered the house one of the -officers held up a finger dripping with blood, the Colonel's hat was -awry, his clothes covered with mud, and they all appeared agitated and -excited. I could not imagine what had happened. Then they all began to -tell me at once. - -Upon reaching the meadow gate the Lieutenant who acted as bookkeeper -jumped out to open it but failed to return after they had driven -through. Upon investigation they found he had caught his finger -between the wire loop and the post and was held fast. They extricated -him from his dilemma and drove on. It was very dark and upon reaching -the house as the august Colonel descended from the wagon, he tripped -over a pile of stones lying near the gate, fell down and just escaped -breaking his neck. I tried to smile and yet be sympathetic--but I had -a vision of Owen with "one hundred fifty horses of a dark bay color" -on his hands if the good humor of the officers was not restored before -morning. - -They were shown to their rooms and I prayed nothing would happen to -the Veterinarian, who had so far remained intact. - -The Colonel and the Lieutenant had come down stairs. We were all in -the library waiting for the Doctor before going in to dinner, when we -heard a fearful crash. We rushed into the hall to see the poor man -sitting on the steps holding both hands to his head. He was very tall -and, coming down the narrow winding stairs, had struck his head on an -overhanging projection which he had failed to observe. His injury was -more uncomfortable than serious and had quite a cheering effect on his -two companions, who began to chaff him about "taking off an inch or -two" so by the time dinner was over they were all in high spirits. - -The following morning at nine the inspection began. Each horse was -brought out, looked over and measured to see that he came up to the -stipulated number of "hands". If he passed he was immediately ridden. - -Each of the men rode the horses he had broken. First the horse was -walked up and down between the blacksmith-shop and the corral, then -trotted and then run, after which his lungs and breathing were tested -and if satisfactory he was accepted. - -Every time a man got on to ride, I was conscious of a feeling of great -uncertainty. The horses looked quiet enough and were fairly gentle, -but Owen and I knew that the slightest variation in the manner of -mounting or "touching them up" might cause them to go through a few -movements not required by the United States Government. - -As it was, all those we had expected to buck behaved like lambs, while -those which had been considered fairly well broken did everything from -bucking to snorting and blowing foam all over the Veterinarian when he -attempted to examine their teeth and test their lungs. - -For three days the inspection went on, each day more interesting than -the last, until all the horses had been examined and out of the number -the necessary one hundred and fifty accepted and branded U. S. - -As the bunch of horses headed for Denver was being driven off the -ranch, Fred looked after them reflectively-- - -"If them sodjers can ride, it'll be all right," he remarked, "but if -they go to puttin' tenderfeet on them bronchs, they'll land in -Kingdom-come before they ever hit the saddle." - - - - -VI - -A VARIETY OF RUNAWAYS - - -Life in any primitive, sparsely settled country is fraught with -adventure. It is the element which gives zest to everyday affairs and -which lifts existence above the commonplace, but since everything has -its price, the price of untrammelled living must often be paid in -discomfort and inconvenience. - -To us, and to many others, abounding health and freedom were ample -compensations for a few annoying circumstances but with our guests it -was a more serious consideration. After a few experiences we began to -discourage the visits of those unfitted by nature and temperament for -"roughing it". - -We could not control the elements nor untoward events. Fate had such -an invariable custom of upsetting and rearranging all of our most -carefully laid plans that when friends, especially "tenderfeet", -arrived, we had a premonition that before they departed something -would happen. It never failed. - -In the house our guests were exempt from anxiety and discomfort, but -no one cared to stay indoors when a dazzling world of blue, green and -gold lay just outside, and the unexpected was no regarder of persons. -A cloud-burst was just as apt to descend upon the unsuspecting head of -a delicate, carefully nurtured old lady as was an indiscriminating -rattlesnake to frighten some timid soul into hysterics. - -Everyone who came to the ranch wanted to ride, those knowing least -about horses being the most insistent, and not wishing to take any -chances, at first we gave them Billy, gentle, trustworthy Billy, who, -when running loose, could be caught by a man on foot and ridden into -the corral with a handkerchief around his neck instead of a bridle. We -would start out, the tenderfoot joyously "off for a horseback ride," -and the next thing we knew he would be off the horse doubled up under -a fence or lying flat on the prairie, while Billy peacefully nibbled -grass. No one could explain it unless the uninitiated had lost a -stirrup and had unwittingly given the horse a dig in the ribs which -was immediately resented--so even Billy was disqualified. - -The truth was, none of our horses was sufficiently well broken for the -inexperienced horseman to ride or drive. They behaved very decently -until something occurred, which was out of the ordinary, and then the -reaction was most sudden and disastrous. - -With the stock on the ranch we had acquired about four hundred horses, -most of which had never been handled and were running loose on the -range. Before they were of any use or value they had to be broken and -Owen felt that it was one of the most important things to be done. -Consequently, many of the horses were broken to drive in the hay -field, the broncho hitched up with a gentle horse, and put onto the -rake or mowing machine--many were the runaways. - -Charley was leisurely by nature. He never hurried either in speech or -movement. Owen and I were in the office one morning when he strolled -around the house and up to the door. - -"Mis-ter Brook," he drawled, "Ja-ne and Maud are running away with the -mow-ing machine down in the timber--they throw-ed Windy off the seat," -but before he got the last word out, his listener was down the steps, -over the fence and on his way toward the creek where Maud and Jane -were tearing through the timber leaving parts of the mowing machine on -stumps and fallen logs, while Charley looked after him in mild -surprise. The horses were brought to an abrupt stop when one tried to -go on one side of a tree and the other on the opposite side. - -There was a beautiful black horse, "Toledo", that refused to allow -anyone to come near him but Owen or Bill, and there was also a new man -on the ranch who so constantly boasted of his ability to handle -bronchos the boys had dubbed him "Windy". - -Windy concluded one day that he would harness Toledo alone. There were -violent sounds in the stable, snorts, shouts, thumps, and Windy sailed -through the open door and landed on a conveniently placed pile of -manure, frightened to death but unhurt. - -Bill was furious. - -"What'd you do to him, anyhow?" he stormed after roping Toledo who had -broken his halter and was running loose in the corral. - -"I didn't do nothin' to him," protested Windy. "I just crope up and -retched over and tetched him and he begun to snort and cave 'round." - -"Course you didn't do nothin', you couldn't do nothin' if you tried. -You'd better go back to town where you belong, 'stead a stayin' out -here spoilin' good horses." Bill's choler was rising. "You don't know -nothin' neither, you're jest a bone head, your spine's jest growed up -and haired over." And, leading the subdued Toledo, Bill disappeared -into the stable. - -When the team that Owen reserved for his own use had passed the -kicking and lunging stage and I had become sufficiently confident to -look at the landscape instead of watching their ears, he usually -concluded they were "pretty well broken" and that he must try out a -new one. This trying out process went on indefinitely, for Owen's New -England conscience gave him no peace apparently while an unbroken -horse remained in his possession. It was a form of duty. - -When we had guests we used, what my husband was pleased to call, a -gentle team, one that started off decorously with all their feet on -the ground instead of in the air, but one day when we were expecting -some friends from Wyoming he could not resist driving a new pair of -beautiful bay horses when we went to meet them. I remained behind. - -The dinner hour passed and no Owen; additional hours went by and late -at night he came in dusty, dirty and scratched. - -In response to a perfect volley of questions he explained that he was -all right, but the Lawtons had telegraphed they had been detained, and -then he added, as quite an unimportant detail, that "the horses had -run away." He had the expression of a fond and indulgent parent, and -as he did not rise to the defense of his pet team when I called them -"miserable brutes" I knew his pride, at least, had suffered. - -"You see," he resumed, "your new sewing machine and some other freight -was at the station, so when I found the Lawtons were not coming I -thought I'd bring it over. I had the crystal clock, too." Owen looked -so sheepish I had to laugh, although the clock had been a wedding -present which we had sent up to the jeweler to be regulated. - -"Is it smashed?" - -"Oh, no," he reassured me, "but I don't know how well it will run. I -got out to close the gate beyond the railroad when a confounded -freight engine whistled and the horses started. I was holding the -reins in my hand, of course, and tried to climb in the back of the -wagon, but couldn't make it on account of the load. I ran along the -side until the horses went so fast I fell down and when they began to -drag me I let go of the reins. They ran all over that inclosure, the -wagon upset and canned tomatoes, sewing machine and crystal clock were -strewn everywhere. I caught the horses finally, but the wagon was -smashed so I had to walk back to Becker's, get his wagon and pick up -all the freight--that's what delayed me. I'm dreadfully sorry about -the sewing machine and the clock, but I don't believe they are much -hurt." - -He was very contrite, was my husband, but it didn't last long, that -sense of duty was too insistent. A very short time after, he was -alone, driving another team, with a horse he had just bought, tied to -the tug. The new horse, frightened at a dead animal in the lane, -jumped, broke the tug, plunged forward, pulled the neck yoke off, the -buggy tongue stuck into the ground as the horses ran, the buggy heaved -up in the air and pitched Owen out. It landed so close to a fence post -his head was scratched, but he might have been killed. As long as he -had escaped, this runaway had its amusing side, too. He was bringing -home a quantity of china nest-eggs which followed when he was thrown -out, and he said for a minute it fairly snowed nest-eggs; the ground -was white with them. - -Owen and his horses! I never could decide whether it was more -nerve-racking to go with him or stay behind, so I usually took the -chance and went. The experiences we had! I wonder we ever survived -that horse-breaking period, but only once did we face a fate from -which there seemed only one chance in a thousand of escaping with our -lives. - -We were driving a buckskin horse Owen had just bought and a newly -broken mare, a handsome, high spirited creature called Beauty. She -danced and she pranced and forged ahead of the new horse which became -nervous and excited in trying to keep up with her. - -We were going up a long hill. Beauty was pulling and tugging on the -bit when suddenly she gave a toss to her head and to our horror we saw -the bridle fall back around her neck. The bit had broken. Like a flash -she was off, the other horse running with her. Owen spoke to them. He -wound the reins about his arms and pulled on them with all his -strength. - -At the top of the hill there was a fairly level space where Owen tried -to circle them, hoping to tire them out, but he had no control over -Beauty and she wheeled about starting back over the road we had come, -the buggy bouncing and swaying behind. There was a fence corner with -an old post standing about ten feet from it. The horses headed -straight for it. I closed my eyes, expecting that we would be wrecked, -but they turned and raced across a gulch, the buggy lurched, tipped, -struck one side and then the other, but by a miracle did not upset. - -I saw that Owen was trying to head them into a fence and braced myself -for the shock, realizing that he hoped to entangle them in the barbed -wire and so throw them, but just as we reached it Beauty veered to one -side almost overturning the buggy. We were so close the skirt of -Owen's fur coat caught on the barbs and was instantly torn to ribbons -and we heard the vibrating "ping" of the wire along its entire length -as the wheels struck the fence. - -On and on the maddened horses raced, up hills, down long slopes, -through gulches in which it seemed we must be wrecked, until at length -we reached the crest of a hill at the bottom of which, angling with -the fence, ran a deep gulch with high cut banks. We knew that if the -frantic horses reached the edge of that bank at the rate we were going -there was no escape for us and we should plunge over the embankment -with the horses. To jump was impossible. I was in despair, realizing -that Owen, pulling on the horses with all his might, was nearly -exhausted. - -"Owen, isn't there something I can do?" It was the first time a word -had been spoken. - -"Pull on the Buckskin," he answered quickly. - -I leaned forward and seized the rein with both hands as far down as I -could reach and threw myself back with all my weight. The Buckskin was -pulled back on his haunches, Beauty stopped. Owen handed me the reins, -another moment he was at their heads calling to me to jump. In that -instant before jumping I lived an eternity, for if the horses had -started again I should have gone to certain death alone. - -[Illustration: THE "STAR" IS A FRIGHTENED, SNORTING "BRONCHO"] - -I was so weak with fright and sudden relief when I felt the firm earth -under my feet I could scarcely stand but I had to get to the -Buckskin's head and hold on to him, for Owen had his hands full with -Beauty, who began to rear and plunge. It was no time for nerves. The -horses were finally unhitched. Owen led Beauty and I, the Buckskin. -Leaving the buggy on the edge of that yawning gulch, we walked the -five miles back to the ranch. - - - - -VII - -THE MEASURE OF A MAN - - -The Bohms had gone. The last load of furniture, upon which old Bohm -perched like an ill-omened bird, had disappeared through the gate on -the top of the hill. At last, after six months of vexation and -trouble, Owen and I could live our own life and run the ranch without -interference. - -Bohm had tried to wriggle out of every clause in his contract. He had -delayed gathering and turning over the stock by every means and had -invented a thousand excuses for staying on from week to week. It had -made it very difficult and had exasperated Owen. If he hadn't been -wise and patient beyond words, Bohm's bones long before would have -mingled with those of his reputed victims in the old root cellar. I -had a different end planned for him each day, but none seemed really -fitting. Owen had gone on in his own way, however, insisting upon -every part of the contract being fulfilled and reducing Bohm to -impotent rage by his quiet firmness. - -Mrs. Bohm had recovered from her "fainting spells" and her husband was -furious to think he had sold the ranch. In desperation he finally sent -to San Francisco for his brother, who was a lawyer, to see if there -was any possibility of getting out of the contract. The "Judge" was a -nice old chap, who looked like an amiable Mormon with a long beard. He -soon settled the question. - -"Why, Jim, you wanted to sell out, you signed the contract and you -have your money. You'll have to stay with your bargain now, whether -you like it or not." - -We always remembered him kindly for this and for a story he told. We -had been discussing the Chinese as servants and he said: - -"Well, I had one for two years, but I don't want any more. I want to -know what I'm eating and with those heathen you are never sure. - -"It had been raining very hard one day when Wong came to me in the -afternoon and said: - -"'Judge, him laining outside, me gottee no meat for dinner.' - -"I told him that we would do without meat for it was raining too hard -for anyone to go out who didn't have to. Wong looked dejected for he -liked meat. He turned to go out of the room, when his eyes fell on the -cat. His face brightened with a sudden inspiration. - -"'Have meat for dinner! Kill'em cat!' - -"Kill the cat! What on earth do you mean? - -"'Less, kill'em cat,' he repeated in a matter of fact tone, 'him sick -anyhow.'" - -We had asked the Bohms to take their meals with us, but only Mrs. Bohm -came to our table. Bohm preferred to eat with the men. We suspected -that he was trying to cause trouble. Charley unconsciously confirmed -our suspicions. He was always conversational and seized the -opportunity to talk while fixing my window screen. - -"Say, Mrs. Brook, you'd orter seen Bill this mornin'. He was eatin' -flapjacks to beat time and was just reachin' for more, when old Bohm, -with that mean way of his, began slammin' Mr. Brook. He was sayin' you -folks thought you was too good to eat in the kitchen with us common -fellers and had to have a separate dinin' room, when Bill just riz up -out of his chair so sudden it went over backwards, and believe me, his -eyes had sparks in 'em when he came back at the old man. - -"'Tain't that the Brooks think that they're too good, but there's some -folks too stinkin' common for anybody to eat with'--and out of the -door he walked and all the boys fol-lered him, leavin' Bohm alone -there facin' all them flapjacks. I reckon he'd a rather faced them -flapjacks than Bill, though,--Gee, Bill was some hot," and Charley's -blue eyes sparkled at the reminiscence. - -It was exactly as I thought; the boys despised Bohm and were -absolutely loyal to Owen. - -After this episode, Owen had a long talk with Bill and a short, heated -interview with Bohm, which resulted in the old man's reluctant, but -hasty, departure. - -I drew a long breath of relief when I saw the last wagon disappear and -looked up fully expecting to see the dove of peace pluming herself on -our roof-tree. But apparently doves in the cattle country never -alight,--they just pass by. - -Owen had bought several thousand acres of land from the railroad. A -car of barbed wire for the fence, which was to encircle the entire -ranch, was at the station. Our land was now in one solid block with -the exception of a few acres of Government land which could only be -acquired by homestead entry. This limited acreage in the great -checkerboard was all that remained of the "free range." - -At this juncture Owen was served with a notice by the United States -Marshal forbidding him to build the fence. It would enclose Government -land. Every mile of the proposed fence would have been on ground which -he had bought, paid for, and on which he was paying taxes--but -still--he could not fence it. "Government land must remain -uninclosed." It made no difference, apparently, what happened to the -cattleman whose money was tied up in property he could not use. -Government land must remain free and open to the public. But, while -those few acres of free range remained open to the public, thousands -of acres of our unprotected land remained open also. Everyone used it. -The ranchmen for miles around, learning that Owen was forbidden to -fence, gathered all their cattle and threw them onto our land. - -It was a very serious problem. Our range was being destroyed, the -grass was eaten off so closely nothing remained for winter range. Our -full-blooded Hereford breeding stock was of little use to us. All our -money was invested in land and cattle and there was only one thing -left to do,--put riders on our range to drive the other cattle off. - -Upon this solution of the problem the dove of peace promptly departed -and we entered upon a long, hard struggle for the possession and use -of what was our own. Owen was faced, not only with financial failure, -but absolute ruin. The future was far from bright, but when an old -school-mate came with her husband to visit us it seemed positively -brilliant by contrast. - -Alice Joice and I had been devoted friends for years. The summer -before we had spent in Europe, where I had left her, deep in the study -of Art, to which she intended "to devote" her life. - -"It is so commonplace to marry, Esther," these were her parting words; -"any woman can marry--but so few can have a real career." - -Alice's "career" had abruptly ended in "commonplace matrimony," for -she had just married a Mr. Van Winkle from Brooklyn, a man I had never -met. They were touring the West and were most anxious to include our -ranch. I was very eager to see them so I wrote, urging her to come, -but asked her to let us know when to expect them, so there would be no -mistake about our being at the station. - -I was particularly anxious to have them see ranch life at its best for -they were our first guests. The house looked very attractive with all -our own furniture and wedding presents in place, but I thought the -guest room floor might be improved so I painted it Saturday afternoon. -Then everything went wrong: the wind-mill pump failed to work, the -whole pipe had to be pulled out of the well; we were without running -water in the house and couldn't have a fire in the kitchen range, so -rations were extremely light. - -Supper, consisting chiefly of sardines, awaited Owen, who was trying -to get some of the grease off his hands, when a homesteader by the -name of Hamm, his wife, sister and five children drove up. He had come -to see Owen on business and they were invited in to supper. - -The table was lengthened and reset, more sardines were opened and we -were just ready to sit down when my Aunt, who was standing near the -window, exclaimed: - -"Who on earth is that!" - -Who, indeed! Alice Joice and her husband with a team they had hired at -the station. - -Having a strong heart I did not faint, but left Auntie to help the -maid make the necessary additions to the table--and sardines, while -Owen and I hurried out to greet them. - -"Hello, dearie, here we are," Alice called from the wagon as I -approached. "Clarence and I thought it would be such fun to surprise -you. How-do-you-do, Mr. Brook, I want you to meet my husband, Mr. Van -Winkle." Alice jumped off the step and threw herself into my arms. -"Oh, Esther, isn't this fun?" Gay, inconsequent Alice, from her city -home, never considered for a moment that a surprise _could_ be -anything but joyous. - -If I had met him in Egypt, I should have known that her husband's name -was Van Winkle--Clarence Van Winkle, it couldn't have been anything -else. - -He was pale and tall and thin and rigid. The inflexibility of the -combined ancestral spines had united in his back bone. He might break, -he could never bend. My imagination failed when I tried to picture the -meeting between the heir to the Van Winkle name and the Hamms. It was -far worse than anything I could ever have imagined. - -Alice was very sweet; she talked all the time, patted the five little -Hamms and won their mother's heart by asking their names and ages, but -in acknowledging the introduction Clarence only bowed slightly, a -movement which required great effort, then relapsed into silence -immediately, scrutinizing the Hamm family through his glasses as -though they were rare animals in a Zoo. Mrs. Hamm and her sister were -stupefied and did not speak a word, but Mr. Hamm, a truly sociable -person from Oklahoma, continually addressed Clarence as "young -feller," which produced the same effect as a violent chill, and when -he joyously jogged a Van Winkle elbow to emphasize some pleasantry, -Clarence firmly moved his chair out of reach of the defiling touch. - -Alice ate everything and did not stop talking for a moment. Clarence -refused everything but a cracker, which he munched in silence. -Suddenly he turned white and left the table. Owen escorted him -out-of-doors while Alice and I followed. He was faint, just faint, and -collapsed weakly onto a garden seat. Alice said it was the Denver -water, but I suspected unassimilated Hamm. Owen stayed with him and -Alice and I returned to finish supper. The Hamms left soon after and -Clarence gradually revived under the influence of Owen's New England -accent and Scotch whisky. - -All at once I thought of the freshly painted guest-room floor. I -explained the situation to Alice and we went up to see if it was dry. -It was, but the smell of paint was most evident. Alice gave a few -sniffs and said apologetically: - -"I'm dreadfully sorry, Esther, but Clarence couldn't possibly sleep -here. He is so sensitive to odors of any kind." I was reminded of a -faint aroma which had clung to the Hamm garments. "If there is another -room we can occupy, I think it would be better." Alice was accustomed -to hotels. I offered our room; it was reluctantly but finally -accepted, the scion of the Van Winkles must not breathe paint. All the -things from the guest-room were put in our room and ours were moved up -to the guest-room. - -Just before they retired Alice confided to me that Clarence had had -some temperature in Denver and the Doctor thought he might be -threatened with typhoid fever. - -"I really believe, Esther, if Clarence has any temperature in the -morning we had better go back to Denver." - -I reassured her as I bade her good-night and then sought Owen. I was -beginning to have some temperature myself. - -"Owen, if Clarence Van Winkle has a thousandth of a degree of -temperature in the morning don't tell him that he'll be all right; let -him go back to Denver or anywhere else he pleases. Imagine that man -with typhoid, here." - -The next morning Alice appeared at breakfast alone. Clarence had no -temperature, but he felt weak and thought he had better stay in bed. -He continued to feel weak for three days, Alice dancing attendance -white the rest of us tried to get the household and water running -again. - -When Clarence finally emerged from his seclusion, he was in high -spirits, positively buoyant. - -"Well, now I want to see everything, all the cattle, the cow-boys, -branding, dehorning, a round-up and what is it you call it? Oh, yes, -'broncho busting'. We have to go back to Denver tomorrow, you know." -He had to stop for want of breath. - -Alice beamed fondly upon her enthusiastic bridegroom. Mine looked far -from enthusiastic. Owen was a perfect host but he could not give a -demonstration of a year's work in one day. The horse-breaking was over -for the season and the branded and dehorned cattle scattered over -miles of country. This he endeavored to explain to Clarence who made -no attempt to conceal his disappointment nor his petulance. - -"Oh, how unfortunate. I've heard so much of the fascination of ranch -life I thought I'd like to see a little of it. I thought you had -broncho busting or something interesting or entertaining going on -every day." - -Owen bit his lip. He was busy beyond words but he dropped everything -and afternoon we took our guests for a drive over the ranch. The wagon -was new and rattled and, wishing to spare Clarence's delicate -sensibilities, Owen put on some washers. - -We were in the middle of the prairie miles from the house, Clarence -had recovered his good humor since he was "actually seeing something", -as he tactfully expressed it, when one of the wheels began to drag. -The washers proved to be too tight, we had a hot spindle. There was -nothing to do but sit there in the blazing sun while the two men took -off the wheel, removed a washer or two and greased the spindle. - -I wouldn't have missed it, the mere thought of that scene was a joy to -me for months afterwards. Clarence Van Winkle red and perspiring from -the effort of lifting a wheel, wiping his greasy hands on a piece of -dirty waste! Alice's face was a study. I had to keep my eyes fixed on -the landscape after one look over the side of the wagon. I was afraid -I should laugh out loud. - -The day they left Bill drove us all to the station. We just made the -train, which was standing on the track as we arrived. Owen hurried to -check the Van Winkle's baggage. Bill had to stay with the horses. -Alice and I had all the wraps, which left Clarence to carry two dress -suit cases across the tracks. His eyes were fixed on the porter and he -was hurrying toward the Pullman when he stubbed his toe on one rail, -sprawled all the way across the track and hit his neck on the second -rail. The suit cases flew in one direction, his hat in another, his -glasses fell off and his watch dropped out of his pocket. Alice and I -rushed to the rescue, the porter assisted Clarence to his feet and -picked up the suit cases, we gathered up the rest of the articles -while Clarence stood in the middle of the track rubbing his knees, to -the great amusement of the passengers. Alice went up to him when -suddenly he screwed his face up as a child does before it begins to -cry, threw both arms around her neck and buried his face on her -shoulder. The conductor terminated the scene by calling "All aboard". -Clarence limped to the train, rubbing his neck, and the last we saw -was Alice holding all the wraps, the hat, glasses and watch, waving to -us from the vestibule and Clarence comfortably seated in the Pullman -smiling a wan farewell through the window. As the train with its -precious freight was lost to sight around a curve, Owen and I began to -laugh. We laughed until we were so weak we could scarcely get into the -wagon. Bill's face was perfectly serious, but his eyes had a little -twinkle in them as he said with his slow drawl: - -"Lord, Mrs. Brook, I'm glad that young man married that girl. He'd -orter have somebody look after him. A poor little goslin' feller like -that ain't got no business goin' round alone." - -Bill always sized up a situation in the fewest possible words. - -During the drive back to the ranch I thought of Alice and her future -by the side of a man of that type. Our future was uncertain enough, -but if trouble and vicissitudes were our portion, at least I had -someone with whom to share them. - -Tex had been away for several weeks and we were surprised to see him -at the gate as we drove up. He looked very serious as he asked Owen if -he might speak with him and Owen looked more serious when he came out -of the office after their conversation. - -"What is it, Owen? Something is wrong. Please tell me." - -Owen took me by the arm and we walked up and down under the trees. - -"Tex came over to tell me, Esther, that I am to be arrested for -'driving cattle off the range.' Technically, it's a serious charge, -carrying a heavy fine and--" he paused--"imprisonment, but don't -worry, my dear," as he felt me start a little at his last words, "it's -listed on the statute books as a criminal offence, connected with -rustling, but that can't hold in this case. It's a 'frame-up' to give -me trouble, that's all. It might have been serious but Tex heard of it -and came to warn me just in time. There's been a plot to eat me out -and now they want to drive me out. I'm going in to Denver to see my -lawyer tomorrow. I'm more troubled on your account than anything -else." - -"Don't worry about me, Owen, we're going to stay in this country and -fight it out to the end. I'll face anything, as long as you don't -cry," and we went into the house laughing, as we thought of Clarence -Van Winkle. - -The miserable experience which followed was sufficiently serious, even -after the charge had been changed to one of minor character. - -Owen was arrested on our anniversary. I went his bond. There was a -long, expensive law-suit which we lost, the Judge contending that if a -man wished to protect his land he should fence it. It was explained -that the Government had forbidden it, but the Judge said that did not -affect the verdict in this case. Owen paid the damages awarded by the -Court, we gathered together our sixteen cow-puncher witnesses who had -been staying with us at one of the largest hotels in Denver, an event -for the cow-punchers, and returned to the ranch. - -Did Owen weep on my shoulder? He set his lips a little more firmly and -his face had an added sternness as he looked across those miles of -rolling prairie he owned but which now were utterly useless. - -He broke the silence at last. His voice had a different tone. - -"I am going to have the use of my own land. They shan't keep me out of -it any longer. I am going to sell off all the cattle and put in sheep. -Then we'll see! With herders we don't need fences and cattle won't -graze where sheep have ranged." - - * * * * * - -Thus with the first year of our marriage, the first chapter of our -ranch experience ended and a totally different life began. - - - - -VIII - -THE SHEEP BUSINESS - - -With the coming of the sheep everything was changed. It was like -living in a different age, almost as though we had slipped back -hundreds of years into Biblical times and had come into intimate -association with Jacob and Joseph. With the advent of the wool or lamb -buyers there was a sudden transition to the more commercial atmosphere -of the twentieth century, but it was so fleeting our pastoral -existence was scarcely interrupted. - -A few of our old men had gone, Tex among them. He left with regret, -but as he said-- - -"Lord knows I hate to go, Mr. Brook, but cattle's all I know and an -old cow man ain't got no business around sheep; they just naturally -despise each other." And he went up into Montana where the cattle -business still flourished. - -Most of the other men stayed on, however, to ride the fence lines, -look after the horses and do the various things about the ranch, but -the days of branding, dehorning and round-ups were past and the -cow-puncher was replaced by "camp tenders". - -The sheep were trailed all the way from New Mexico. Steve, who spoke -Spanish, was foreman, and with three of the other men on horseback had -come up the trail with the sheep and the soft-voiced Mexican herders. - -Their entire camp equipment was skillfully packed on diminutive -burros. It was somewhat startling to see what appeared to be animated -wood-piles, water-casks, rolls of bedding or dish-pans bobbing about -over the woolly backs of the sheep, until a parting in the band -revealed the legs and lowered head of a sleepy-eyed burro. - -The herders spoke no English and it was so charming to receive a -gleaming smile and low bow while being addressed as "Padron" and -"Señora" that we plunged into the study of their musical language -forthwith. - -Each herder was in charge of a band of from fifteen hundred to -twenty-five hundred sheep. Two herders occupied a camp, but the sheep -were placed in separate corrals and, in order to give the various -bands ample pasturage, the camps were placed miles apart. - -Early in the morning the sheep were driven out, the herders taking -their bands in opposite directions. All day long the flock quietly -grazed over the prairie, the Mexican with his dog at his feet standing -like a sentinel on a hill from which he could overlook his entire band -and ward off any prowling coyote whose approach was heralded by a -sudden scurry among the sheep. - -Eternal vigilance, faithfulness and good judgment were the essential -qualities in a herder, judgment in the handling of the sheep, in the -selection of the best grass and water, the time for taking them out -and bringing them back to the camp. The herders were not supposed to -meet and talk together for while they were engrossed in conversation -or out of sight of the sheep the two bands might become mixed, a very -serious thing when the ewes were accompanied by their lambs, for when -the bands were separated again the lamb might be in one band and its -mother in the other. - -It was a lonely life, but one for which Mexicans are especially -suited. They lack the initiative of the Anglo-Saxons, they are -naturally tranquil, slow of speech and action and content to do -nothing--gentle children from the land of Mañana. - -Scattered over the prairie, the sheep from a distance looked like mere -dots so closely resembling the clumps of weeds, it was necessary to -locate the herder before they could be identified. He looked like a -solitary fence post placed on the top of a hill. - -The Mexicans were most gracious and responsive, so delighted to -receive a visit from the Padron that it was a joy to talk with them. -We were never certain just what we had said, to be sure, but the -effect of our halting, broken sentences of Spanish appeared so -pleasing, we were convinced that if we could only converse fluently -our words would become immortal. Urbanity was most contagious. Owen -and I made deep bows to the herders, we almost bowed to the sheep in -an over-mastering desire to equal the politeness of Ramon, Fidel, -Francisco or Tranquilino. What names! The atmosphere of the ranch -became so poetic and romantic I should not have been surprised to see -Owen adopt long hair and a flowing tie. After a day spent in visiting -the sheep camps I returned in an ecstatic mood. I almost fancied -myself the reincarnated spirit of Bo-Peep or Ramona but alas, my true -identity was always disclosed as soon as I reached the house--I was -only "the Missus". - -Nevertheless the sheep business was fascinating, and best of all -successful. The question of the range was settled. We had the use of -our own land and our rights were respected. The customary feud between -the sheepman and the cattle owners was avoided, since our sheep were -always kept within the limits of the land which we owned. From being -the object of hatred and vilification, Owen became a personage; his -opinion quoted, his method of handling sheep emulated. - -[Illustration: TRAILED ALL THE WAY FROM NEW MEXICO] - -[Illustration: LIKE A SOLITARY FENCE POST] - -There were a few sheep men in the country who had made an indifferent -success. They had scoffed at Owen's practice of selling off all the -lambs in the autumn and maintaining the number of his sheep by -additional purchases but, when they found how small his losses were, -they promptly adopted his plan and even some of the old-time cattle -men put in sheep. - -The loss of the law suit had certainly proved to be the turning point -in the history of the Brook family. Our popularity increased so -rapidly it was amusing. Bill expressed what I felt as I met him riding -through the meadow. - -"Have you been riding the fence lines, Bill?" - -"Yes'm, but it's just takin' exercise for my health. There ain't -nothin' wrong any more. Since you folks got the world by the tail and -a down-hill pull, everybody's huntin' around seein' what they can do -to make it pleasant for you. I notice the Three Circle outfit don't go -round no more leavin' all the gates open and when we get a fence line -staked out, the stakes ain't all pulled up by mornin'." - -"It is peaceful, isn't it?" - -"Peaceful," echoed Bill, with feeling, "I'm so chuck full of peace I -can't hardly hold any more. I'll bet if a feller was to hit me, I'd -only 'baa-a'." - -There was a vast amount of "Baa-ing" going on at the ranch, where Mary -and I were raising a few score orphan lambs on the bottle. There was a -voracious chorus whenever we appeared. They jumped all over us and as -soon as they got hold of the nipple of the bottle they flopped down on -their knees and did not release it until they had gulped down the last -drop of milk, after which they stood up, their little sides sticking -out as though they had been stuffed. As much care had to be exercised -with the bottles, the temperature and quantity of the milk as though -we had been feeding so many babies. - -There was no milk at the outside camps and no one to care for the poor -abandoned lambs whose frivolous young mothers refused to own them, -leaving them to starve. Occasionally an old ewe of truly maternal -instinct could be fooled into adopting one of these little "dogies" or -"bums". The skin of her dead lamb was taken off and slipped over the -orphan, which was joyfully accepted because of its smell! - -When the lambs made their appearance in May, the bands were separated, -we had additional herders and they had to be more watchful for "Spring -lamb" is also very tempting to coyotes. It was easy for a herder to -lose ten or twenty lambs, for the little things congregate behind -rocks or clumps of weeds and go to sleep, are overlooked when the -sheep are driven back to the camp in the evening, and become the -victims of those prairie wolves which continually lurk about. - -Sometimes when we were driving, a tiny white speck would come racing -after the wagon, a lamb, which had been left behind. Lambs are such -senseless little things, when they are frightened they will adopt any -moving object in lieu of a mother. - -We pulled them out of prairie-dog holes into which they had thrust -their heads and become fastened by having the loose earth fall in -about their necks--they were troublesome but so appealing and amusing, -they were a never-ending source of entertainment from the first moment -they appeared, a tiny body supported on long, wabbly legs. - -As they grew stronger "playful as a lamb" acquired a new meaning. They -capered and they bucked, they raced around the corral in the evening -when the ewes were contentedly lying down, they frisked about on the -backs of their patient mothers, they jumped stiff-legged, and in a -wild excess of joy bounded into the air giving a cork-screw twist to -their hindquarters, which produced a most ludicrous effect. - -Old quotations from the Bible came to have added significance; as the -shearer held a poor frightened sheep between his knees and rapidly -clipped off the fleece with his gleaming shears, there was not a sound -if a clumsy movement cut a deep gash in the tender flesh; the "sheep -before her shearer was dumb" indeed. - -I spent days in the shearing sheds watching the proceedings from a -pile of wool sacks or passing out small metal disks in exchange for -the fleeces the shearers turned in. At the end of the day the disks -were counted and each shearer credited with the number of sheep he had -shorn. - -The fleeces were rolled and tied separately, then thrown up to a man -on a platform, who packed them in a long sack which was suspended from -the top of a high frame. As it was filled, it was taken down, sewed up -and rolled into the end of the shed to remain until later in the -season when the wool was sold and hauled to the railroad. - -Life was certainly peaceful compared to what it had been, but there -was little danger of our becoming "on weed", as a certain retired -cattle-man expressed it after a short sojourn in Europe. - -Lambing, shearing and dipping followed in rapid succession. The -herders cooked for themselves and once a week the wagons were piled -with supplies and provisions which were left at each camp. In a huge -store-room were kept quantities of salt-pork, sugar, dried fruits, -coffee, flour and other groceries. Flour was bought by the ton and -everything else in proportion. Making out the orders, having all the -freight hauled the sixteen miles from the railroad, checking it out -and keeping the camps supplied, were only details but it was the -multitude of detail which filled the days and kept us from becoming -"on weed". We issued the supplies to the camp-tenders ourselves, after -one of them had filled all of the Mexicans' cans with gasoline instead -of coal-oil, because "it kind'a had the same smell." - -Unless we chanced to have guests, for weeks at a time the only women I -saw were those in our employ, but I resented having any of my friends -think of my life as "dull" or "lonely". On the contrary it was -fascinating, full of incident, rich in experience which money could -not buy. Living so close to the great heart of nature during those -years on the plains, the vision of life partook of their breadth and a -new sense of values replaced old, artificial standards. To be alone on -the vast prairie was to gain a new conception of infinity -and--eternity. - - * * * * * - -The Mexicans stayed on the ranch about nine months, then returned to -their homes for a short visit. They were the most invariable creatures -I ever knew. When they departed for Taos or Trinidad or Antonito, -perhaps in July, they would announce on what date and by what train -they would return in October. That was the end of it, and upon the -appointed day in October someone would meet the designated train from -which the smiling herder alighted. They never failed and they never -left until another herder was there to take care of the sheep. - -One summer during this vacation period, eight new herders came to -replace eight that were going home. They were a fierce looking lot -from a different section of the country. They had been on the ranch -only a short time when Steve began to have trouble with them. They -were late getting their sheep out in the morning, they drove them too -rapidly and brought them in too early in the evening. In a few weeks -the sheep began to lose flesh and show the effects of bad handling. - -The newcomers disobeyed all orders, unless Steve happened to be on the -spot. He had to watch them constantly. He came up to a camp -unexpectedly one noon and found two of these Mexicans ready to sit -down to a dinner they had just cooked. It was an invariable rule that -the herders should take a lunch with them, for their mid-day meal, and -not return to the camp. They had left their sheep alone, so Steve made -them leave their dinner and go back to their bands, while he stayed to -make sure they did not return. - -It was impossible to discharge them until new herders could be brought -from New Mexico and he and Owen talked over the situation at length -that night. - -Early in the morning Steve went out on another trip of inspection. -About two o'clock he rode into the yard, his face covered with blood -from a deep gash in his head. He fell from his horse into Owen's arms. -We brought him in, washed off the blood, gave him a stimulant and -waited until he was able to tell us what had happened. - -It developed that as he came in sight of the camp he saw four of the -Mexicans outside of the cabin. They stood motionless as he approached, -then began to hurl rocks at him. One hit his horse and he was nearly -thrown but managed to keep his seat. He was struck several times on -the body. Although realizing that the Mexicans intended to kill him, -he jumped off his horse and went toward them. A rock struck his head, -but with undaunted courage he picked up some of the rocks and threw -them back at the herders. They had not expected that turn to the -affair and ran into the cabin. Steve was unarmed and too badly hurt, -single handed, to deal with the Mexicans, so he got on his horse, with -difficulty, and came back to the ranch. - -The next thing I knew, Owen, Bill and Fred, each carrying a gun, got -into the wagon and drove off. - -When anything happened it came with such suddenness there was never -opportunity for questions, besides, my association with men had taught -me the value of silence--in an emergency. - -In a few hours Owen and Fred came back. They had met the eight new -herders walking into the ranch to "quit". They walked back to their -respective camps instead, their pace accelerated by a loaded gun -pointing at their backs. The cabins were searched, several villainous -looking knives confiscated and eight subdued cut-throats returned to -the peaceful occupation of herding sheep, under Bill's watchful eye -and loaded gun. - -Owen said that it wasn't at all necessary for the Mexicans to -understand English since Bill's few remarks were sufficiently lurid to -attract their attention. - -Until other herders could be brought to the ranch, one white man, -always armed, stayed at each camp, constantly on guard lest the -vindictive herders set fire to the camps or kill the sheep. These were -no gentle children from the land of Mañana; we discovered they were -desperate characters from Old Mexico, to whom murder was second -nature. - -Bill's opinion of the sheep business after his brief experience in the -camps could only be published in an expurgated edition. He hated the -Mexicans, he hated the sheep, he hated everything connected with them. -After seeing his charges safely on board a southbound train, he -returned to the ranch with all the joy of an exile. - -"I've been up against tough men, Mrs. Brook, but that bunch is the -worst I ever seen. They're just like a pack of coyotes, grinnin' and -sneakin' up behind you, waitin' 'til they git a chance to finish you. -Between listnin' to the grass grow and pickin' off sheep ticks, I got -plumb locoed settin' there watchin' 'em. I jest had to feel my skin -every once in a while to be sure I wasn't growin' wool." - - - - -IX - -THE UNEXPECTED - - -If there is anything in suggestion, Carlyle was responsible for the -whole affair, otherwise _why_ should we have deferred our drive until -the late afternoon and selected _Sartor Resartus_ of all books to read -aloud after lunch? - -Owen wanted to visit one of the sheep camps to examine the corrals -before having the hay stacked there for winter use and he urged us to -go with him. His invitation was joyfully accepted. For many weeks we -had scarcely left the ranch as Owen's Mother, who was with us, had -been desperately ill. The crisis had passed, however, so we did not -hesitate to go off for a few hours, leaving Madame Brook with her -nurse. My aunt, Owen's sister and her two children were at the ranch -also, and after so many weeks of anxiety we all felt the relaxation -and joyously climbed into the wagon when Owen drove up. - -There were summer and winter camps for the sheep and our objective -point was an old place, acquired with the ranch, which had been -converted into a winter camp. During the summer it was unoccupied. - -We drove along laughing and talking. Owen's nephew carried his gun and -kept a sharp lookout for coyotes. It was a glorious day and we were in -the mood to appreciate all its beauty. - -The meadows, waist deep in native hay, were flecked with the gold of -the prairie sun flowers. The wild roses grew in tangled masses -everywhere, their perfume mingled with the odor of the sage which -yielded up its aromatic sweetness as the wheels crushed the silvery -leaves. The plains were mottled with the shade of fleecy clouds which -floated lazily across the sky, the changing lights flooded the hills -with dazzling sunshine, then veiled them softly with faint cloud -shadows. A delicate haze hung over the more distant hills, and behind -the mountains thunderheads were gathering. - -The road ran directly past the camp and long before we reached it we -could see the old house, forbidding in its isolation, standing on a -high mesa above the creek. It had been built years before by a settler -named La Monte, whose footsteps misfortune had dogged until she -overtook him at last. His wife deserted him and, broken in heart and -fortune, he had left the country. Bohm held a mortgage on the place -and it had passed into his possession. - -An air of abandonment surrounded the camp even in winter when it was -occupied, but during the summer when it was totally deserted the -ghosts of dead happiness stalked unheeded through the silent rooms. -Rank weeds filled the yards, the plaintive notes of the wood-doves in -the cotton-woods by the creek and the weird, haunting howl of the -coyotes were the only sounds to break the silence. - -There was a tale connecting old Bohm with the La Monte tragedy for -which an affair with Mrs. La Monte was responsible. We were some -distance from the house, the rest of the party were intent on watching -a big jack-rabbit which was bounding lightly across the prairie, but I -was thinking of the wretched story which the sight of the old house -always recalled, when the door was slowly opened and a naked man -paused for a moment on the threshold then walked down the steps into -the yard. - -I gave a gasp, my eyes fixed on that advancing figure, the others -looked around but in that instant the man had seen us and dropped down -into the tall weeds, by which he was completely hidden. - -"What's the matter?" Owen asked, surprised by my exclamation. - -"Why, Owen, a man without any clothes on just came out of that door -and is there in the weeds." - -Owen turned toward the yard, there was no one in sight; he looked at -me in amazement. He knew I must be in earnest! I was not given to -"seeing things". - -"Why, that's absurd, how could you imagine anyone being out here in -this deserted place miles and miles from the railroad?" - -We were just opposite the house and as if in response to Owen's -question the head and naked breast of a man rose up from behind the -weeds. His face was crimson and the thick, black disheveled hair gave -him such an aspect of wildness we were appalled. - -Owen stopped the horses, the man rose to his feet, calmly looked at -us, then turned and walked slowly into the house. - -We were speechless. It was like a sudden apparition. - -After a moment Owen passed the lines to me. - -"Here, Esther, hold the horses while I go in and investigate." - -"Be careful," was all I could say. There was a chorus of "Don'ts" from -the back seat as he got out of the wagon. - -I thought of the gun. "Gordon, take your gun and go after your uncle. -I know that man is crazy." - -Gordon jumped out and ran toward the house, but before he reached the -door we heard a loud burst of singing, a curious rendering of -"Ta-rah-rah boom-de-ahy". In a moment Owen and Gordon reappeared. - -"Well, there's no doubt of his being crazy," Owen said, "we'll go to -the Bosman ranch where I can get someone to come back with me. I can -telephone the Sheriff from there, too." Then he told us what had -happened. - -By the time he reached the door the man had put on his outside shirt -and was standing in the middle of the bedroom floor. He glared at Owen -when he entered and made no reply when asked what he was doing there, -then he turned around and walked over to an empty bed frame which -stood against the wall, got behind it and gradually slipped down -underneath. When he was lying flat on his back on the floor, his feet -toward Owen, he began to sing in some broken foreign tongue. - -It was uncanny and as we drove on toward the creek I could only say -"What next?" - -"I don't know what on earth can come next," Owen replied. "This is -positively the most unexpected and unlikely thing that ever happened." - -We had to drive down a hill before we crossed the creek and at last -lost sight of the house, the sound of the wild singing grew more faint -and finally died away. - -There were no bridges in the country and while at this time there was -no flowing water, the sand was wet. We drove down a steep bank into -the bed of the creek and were almost across when without the slightest -warning the bottom seemed to drop out of the earth beneath us and the -wagon sank down. - -"Quicksand!" - -There was just time for that one exclamation in concert. Owen gave the -horses a quick cut with the whip, they sprang forward, caught a -footing on the solid sand and were safe. He gave them another cut, but -pull as they would they could not move the wagon, which had sunk to -the hubs. The double tree broke and the horses were free. Owen and -Gordon jumped out on the tongue, holding onto the horses and drove -them up the bank. There the rest of us sat, feeling the wagon sinking -slowly farther and farther into the deadly, yielding substance. - -The end of the wagon-pole rested on the firm sand, so by climbing over -the dashboard holding on to it with one hand I was able to work my own -way down the wagon tongue until I could grasp an outstretched hand and -jump to safety. The others followed my example. The danger was past, -but we trembled as we looked back. - -It is impossible to distinguish quicksand from ordinary sand by its -appearance, but it will not support the slightest weight. It seems to -melt into nothing and the sensation is all the more terrifying from -its suddenness. The first effect is instantaneous, then the engulfment -becomes more gradual. - -We were safe but afoot. Owen took the horses. - -"Gordon and I will go on to the Bosmans and get another wagon. We -won't be long and you women had better stay here and not walk these -three miles." - -I was just about to say "all right" when I happened to glance behind -me and there on the bank, silhouetted quite sharply against the sky, -stood the figure of a half-clad man. - -He was watching every move we made. I pointed to him. - -"I think you'd better come with us," said Owen after one glance, "he -might decide to investigate," and off we all trudged down the dusty -road. - -Blue black masses of cloud were spreading gradually across the sky and -distant thunder muttered ominously. - - * * * * * - -If a bomb had alighted in the centre of the Bosman ranch, where supper -was in progress, it couldn't have produced a more startling effect -than our arrival on foot and the account of our experience. They urged -us to spend the night, as the storm was rapidly approaching, but we -felt we must go back with Owen. - -Mr. Bosman hitched our team to one of his wagons, while Owen -telephoned to the Sheriff. We took a few pieces of bread and meat for -the poor demented creature at the camp and made another start. Mr. -Bosman and his son accompanied us on horseback. - -We went by a different road to avoid crossing the creek. - -It was dark by the time we reached the La Monte place, everything was -still. The four men, with a lighted lantern, entered the house. A wild -outburst of singing followed, which told us the same scene was being -enacted. The men came out almost immediately, talking earnestly. - -Mr. Bosman, an old-timer, had recognized the man as Jean La Monte, he -had spoken to him, had called him by name, but no sign of -understanding, not one faint glimmer of intelligence had shone from -out those wild eyes. Mr. Bosman was almost overcome. - -"It's just terrible to see him that way, he was such a good man. Poor -old La Monte, trouble has sure driven him crazy. How on earth he ever -got here beats me. There ain't a thing we can do tonight. We couldn't -handle him if he got violent. There never was a stronger man in this -country than Jean La Monte. My God! It's awful!" - -So it was arranged that the Bosmans should go back to their ranch and -send word to the Sheriff to be up there early in the morning and that -Owen should have some of our men guard the place during the night. - -"Poor devil, I don't believe he'll go away. He seemed so suspicious he -wouldn't touch the bread, and I believe he's been here two or three -days. See you in the morning," and the Bosmans disappeared in the -darkness. - -The thought of the tragedy with which we had so suddenly come in -touch, weighed upon us. A living ghost connected us with a past in -which we had no part. - -Long after we had left the old place behind, the mad singing followed -us, except when it was drowned by a sudden crash of thunder. The -jagged flashes of lightning illuminated the heavens for a brief -second, then left the world shrouded in an impenetrable darkness. -Rather than risk going through the creek a second time, we had decided -to cut across country. - -The prairies were broken by deep gullies washed and torn by the fury -of the summer storms. By day, driving was difficult; by night, it was -hazardous in the extreme, and after a blinding flash which fairly tore -the heavens apart, we were forced to stop the horses for fear of -driving into an unseen gulch. The horses, headed toward home and -excited and nervous, were hard to control. We drove along in silence, -our staring eyes trying to pierce the darkness. It was so dangerous -that at last I got out and walked in front of the horses. I could not -see; I could only know from the contour of the ground when we were -near a gulch or by my outstretched hand tell when we were near the -wires of a fence. After a time Gordon took my place, and all the way -one or the other walked before the team. The lightning and thunder -were terrific, but still it did not rain. We were worn out with -fatigue and anxiety when we finally reached the ranch. - -Steve was standing with his saddle horse at the crossing of the creek, -swinging a lighted lantern. When he heard the sound of the wheels he -gave a shout. - -"Mr. Brook!" - -"All right," Owen called back. Steve came towards us. - -"What on earth happened? We've all been plumb worried to death, and -Madame Brook, she's most crazy. I've just sent Fred up to the La Monte -place to look for you." - -"La Monte place!" we exclaimed as several of the boys, attracted by -Steve's shout, came up. "Get on your horse," said Owen, quickly, "and -overtake him; there's a madman up there." - -Steve did not wait for further instructions, but flung himself on his -horse and tore off after Fred. We hurried in to reassure Owen's -mother, who was nearly frantic. Later, as she bade us "Good-night," -she said very seriously: "Owen, as soon as I am able I am going to -Denver. I must be where it is quiet. I simply cannot stand the -excitement here." - -As the rain began to fall in torrents, we heard the men who had been -detailed to guard the La Monte place galloping off. - -An itinerant tailor had pulled into the ranch just before our return, -and was peacefully sleeping in his wagon. He was awakened when the -horses were driven into the corral, and came out to learn the cause of -the commotion. He was so excited when he heard that an insane person -was in the vicinity he asked to sleep at the bunk house with the men. -They tried to laugh him out of his fears, but his fright was so -genuine they told him to "come on." - -The strangeness of the whole affair, the combination of circumstances -and pure nervous and physical exhaustion kept Owen and me awake a long -time. It seemed I had scarcely fallen asleep when I heard someone -knock on the door and say: - -"Mr. Brook, Mr. Brook." - -I recognized Mary's voice, and responded for Owen, who was dead -asleep. - -"Mrs. Brook, the crazy man is down here at the corral; will you ask -Mr. Brook to come out?" - -It didn't take Owen long to dress. It was about five o'clock, and from -the window we could see poor old La Monte, still attired in his shirt, -sitting in the door of the granary playing with a little cotton-wood -switch. - -How he had escaped the men who had surrounded the place, and how he -had found his way to our ranch were questions no one could answer. - -The first intimation of his presence came in the form of a wild yell -from the tailor, who had gotten up early and gone down to the corral -to feed his horses. This brought all the men to the bunk house door as -the terror-stricken little Jew flung himself into their arms. - -"Mein Gott! Dot crazy man iss here." - -"You're the only crazy man on this ranch," said Bill, taking him by -the collar and giving him a shake. "What ails you, anyhow?" - -"Oh, he iss here, he iss here," wailed the tailor. "He ain't got on no -clothes, and we'll all be kilt." The boys left him and went out to -investigate. - -It was true. La Monte was there, and after a futile effort on Bill's -part to get him to talk the boys retired to the bunk house and sent -for Owen. - -"Gee," Bill said later, "that feller was the doggondest lookin' thing -I ever seen, settin' there in what was left of his shirt. His legs was -all tore by the fence wires or brambles, his teeth was chatterin' and -he was just blue with cold. His eyes had a look in 'em that give me -the shivers. I don't wonder he scart that there Jew into a fit. I -wasn't very anxious to come clost to him, neither. I ain't scart of -anything that's human, but he ain't human, goin' 'round folks dressed -like that." Bill was a stickler for convention. - -"That's the first thing a person usually does when he goes crazy, -Bill--takes off all his clothes." - -Bill gave me an incredulous look. - -"Gosh, I hope I'll be killed ridin' or somethin' and not lose my mind -first. It ain't decent." - - * * * * * - -The poor demented creature would not speak nor pay any attention to -the other men, but when he saw Steve he smiled as he asked: - -"You've come to take me away from them, haven't you?" - -"Yes," Steve said. "Will you go with me now?" - -La Monte stood up. - -"Yes, if you won't let them get me; those witches want to drag me back -to hell, but I've fooled them this time. I've almost caught up with -him once or twice and they drag me back." And he walked off quietly by -Steve's side. - -Steve took him to the bunkhouse, gave him some coffee and made him lie -down on his bed. While Steve sat beside him La Monte slept fitfully, -but at the slightest move started and tried to get up. Steve fell in -with all his vagaries; he promised to help him escape the witches and -to help him find the person for whom he seemed to be searching. - -"Where was he last?" Steve asked, hoping to find some clue. - -"Why, on his horse." La Monte sat up and stared wildly into Steve's -eyes. "Don't you know, he's always on a horse, a big black horse. He's -there just ahead of me, he's always just ahead of me," and he jumped -up and started toward the door. - -Steve calmed him again and he fell back on the pillows and lay there -in silence, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. - - * * * * * - -Six crestfallen cow-punchers returned from the La Monte place. No one -knew when the man had left the camp, no one had even caught a glimpse -of him. His clothes they had found in the well. - -The Sheriff and his posse came at last. Steve kept his hand on the arm -of La Monte as they approached the wagon. It was a tense moment; we -were all watching but hidden, fearful lest some trifle would arouse -the demon of violence. The men were all armed. - -La Monte put his foot up on the step of the wagon, then took it off, -shook his head, turned and walked toward the granary. We held our -breath. Steve alone followed him. - -"Come on; you're going with me, aren't you?" - -There was no reply. With his eyes fixed on the ground La Monte ignored -Steve completely. Suddenly he stopped and picked up something, the -little cotton-wood switch to which the leaves still clung. Holding it -tightly, he walked back to the wagon, got in, Steve by his side, and -they drove off. - -They were scarcely out of sight when Charley came dashing up with -sixty dollars in gold which he had found under a pile of mud at the La -Monte place. Owen sent him to overtake the wagon. - -"Is this yours?" Charley asked, as he rode up to them, holding the -money out toward La Monte, who only shook his head and looked off -across the prairie. Charley turned the money over to Steve. - -When they reached the town, La Monte seemed to become confused and -suspicious. He would not speak. He was judged insane and committed to -the asylum. Still in charge of the Sheriff, Steve and two other men, -he was put on the train. - -"Where did you get him?" the conductor asked the Sheriff. - -"Up in the country, at the A L ranch." - -"Oh, yes, I know that place; it used to be the old Bohm----" - -He never finished his sentence, for La Monte, with a cry, sprang to -his feet, looked wildly about, brushed them aside and jumped through -the window. - -The train was stopped, and they ran back to where he had fallen. He -had broken his leg, but in spite of that fought them off with -superhuman strength. With the help of the train crew, he was -overpowered at last, bound and taken back to the train. - -Steve told us later it was the most terrible experience he had ever -been through. - -"I just couldn't stand the look in his eyes when they got him to the -asylum. He didn't say nothin', just kept moanin' all the time. He'd -been there for five years, and no one knew how he got away. I suppose -it would a come anyhow, but it seemed like it was the mention of -Bohm's name that set him off." - - - - -X - -AROUND THE CHRISTMAS FIRE - - -Within a radius of many miles there were only three small children, -and about them our Christmas festivities revolved. They furnished the -excuse for the tree, but no work was too pressing, no snow too deep to -prevent the boys from bringing the Christmas tree and greens from a -small clump of pines which stood on top of a distant hill, like a dark -green island in the midst of the prairie sea. - -Early on Christmas morning Steve started out with gaily bedecked -baskets for the Mexicans, and at the ranch the greatest excitement -prevailed. I dashed frantically between the bunkhouse and our kitchen -to be certain that nothing was forgotten. The big turkeys were stuffed -to the point of bursting, all the "trimmings" were in readiness, and -the last savory mince pies were in the ovens. - -[Illustration: BUCKING HORSE AND RIDER] - -Behind the closed doors of the living room the tall tree, festooned -with ropes of popcorn and garlands of gaudy paper chains, glittered -and glowed with its tinsel ornaments and candles. - -Owen divided his attention between his "Santa Claus" costume and pails -of water, which he placed near the tree in case it should catch fire. - -The boys spent most of the morning "slicking up" and put on their red -neckties, the outward and visible sign of some important event, then -passed the remaining hours sitting around anxiously awaiting the -arrival of the guests of honor and--dinner. - -Sometimes members of the family were with us or some friends were -lured from the city by the promise of a "really, truly Christmas," and -there were always a few lonely bachelors to whom the holidays, -otherwise, would have brought only memories. - -Christmas was our one great annual celebration, a day of cheer and -happiness, in which everyone joyously shared. It was a new experience -in the life of the undomesticated cow-puncher, but he took as much -satisfaction in the fact that "Our tree was a whole lot prettier than -the one I've saw in town" as though he had won a roping contest. - -Each year the children and their parents were invited for Christmas -dinner. They might be delayed en route by deep snowdrifts, out of -which they had to dig themselves, but they always arrived eventually. -We came to have a sincere affection for those children, gentle little -wild flowers of the prairie. - -They were very sweet, perfectly ingenuous, gazing in round-eyed wonder -upon things which to most of us were commonplace. - -I never thought of its being anything new in their brief experience -until at dinner one of the small boys turned to his mother after -tasting a piece of celery and said, "Look, Mamma, 'tain't cabbage and -'tain't onions. What is it?" - -They positively trembled with excitement as they learned to read and -laboriously spelled out the words in the simple books we gave them. -They craved knowledge as a starving man craves bread. - -As Santa Claus, Owen wore a ruddy mask with a long white beard and -bristling eyebrows, a fur cap pulled down over his ears, heavy felt -boots and his long fur overcoat. He looked and acted the part so -perfectly the children for years insisted that "there is a Santa Claus -'cause we've seen him." - -The first Christmas everyone was gathered about the tree waiting for -this mysterious personage to appear when Owen suddenly thought of -bells; he must have sleigh-bells. No self-respecting Santa Claus was -complete without them. I was in despair; there wasn't a sleigh-bell -within a hundred miles, but Owen insisted that he must jingle. At last -after a great deal of argument and searching for something which would -give forth bell-like sounds, he finally pranced out before the -spell-bound audience with my silver table bell sewed to the top of one -of his boots. He had to prance because the bell refused to tinkle -unless it was shaken, and for the ensuing hour he pranced so -vigorously that between the exercise and the fur coat he nearly -perished from heat. - -After dinner we all assembled in the big living-room, where my -disguised husband presented each person with some little gift and -ridiculous toy, accompanied by a still more ridiculous rhyme, over -which the boys roared. They enjoyed the jokes most of all. No one -escaped; Owen and I came in for our share with the rest. Mine usually -bore veiled or open allusion to my particular pet lamb which had -developed strong butting proclivities. He butted friend and foe -indiscriminately, so that even my fond eyes were not blinded to his -faults, and Owen's remarks were most uncomplimentary after he had -acted as a shield for us when "Jackie" had chased my sister and me all -about the yard. - -Later in the afternoon everybody scattered--our house guests amused -themselves as they chose, riding, driving or hunting coyotes, the boys -rode over to the neighboring ranches or went to "town," the store and -saloon at the railroad station sixteen miles away, but I spent an hour -or two playing with the children or reading to them until their father -"brought the team around," their happy mother climbed up on the high -seat of the lumber-wagon and, clinging to dolls, trains and toys, -three blissfully happy but perfectly exhausted little children were -wrapped up in quilts and coats, stowed into the back of the wagon and -started on the twenty-mile drive "back home." - -It had been an eventful day in their short, barren lives, but for us -it was the best part of Christmas, except the evening, when we all -gathered about the big fireplace which drew everyone into its circle -like a magnet. - -There was nothing prosaic about those who grouped themselves around -the great stone fireplaces on the ranches in the old days. Here again -were found those contrasts, so striking and unexpected; university men -who had come West for adventure or investment, men of wealth whose -predisposition to weak lungs had sent them in exile to the wilderness, -modest young Englishmen, those younger sons so often found in the most -out-of-the-way corners of the earth, and who, through the sudden -demise of a near relative, had such a startling way of becoming earls -and lords over night; adventurous Scotchmen, brilliant young Irishmen, -all smoking contentedly there in the firelight and discussing the -"isms" and "ologies" and every other subject under heaven. But most -interesting of all were their own reminiscences. - -We were all sitting around the fire one Christmas night when the -conversation turned on adventure, and everyone promised to tell the -most thrilling experience he had ever had. - -Two of the men were lying on the big bearskin before the fire. One, a -mining engineer, told of having been captured by bandits and held for -a ransom, in some remote corner of Mexico where he had gone to examine -a very famous mine. The other, a surveyor for the Union Pacific -Railroad, had been lost during a storm and, becoming snow-blind, -crawled for five miles on his hands and knees, feeling the trail with -naked, half frozen hands until he reached the creek down which he -waded until he came to the camp. - -In a big chair, the firelight playing over her slender figure, sat -Janet Courtland, an Eastern woman, who as a mere girl had come West -with her young husband and had gone up into Montana where he had -bought a large cattle ranch. - -"Come on, Mrs. Courtland, you're next," the Surveyor said as he -finished his story. - -"Well," Janet began, "Will and I have had so many experiences I -scarcely know which was the most exciting, but I think our encounter -with the Indians was the most thrilling from first to last. - -"Will had to go into Miles City on business and I went with him for -great unrest had been reported among the Indians and he didn't want to -leave me on the ranch alone. We had been in town only a few days when -we heard that they were on the war path and Will felt he must go back -to the ranch. He wanted me to stay in town, but I wouldn't. If he was -going back I was going with him, so we started in the buck-board on -that long eighty-five mile drive. I'll never forget it. The day was -fearfully hot and we were constantly looking out for Indians. We had -gone about half-way, when we came over the top of a hill and saw a -band of Indians just below us. They saw us before we could turn back, -we had to go on, and as we came towards them they formed into two -lines so that we had to drive between them. It was horrible." And -Janet gave a shiver at the recollection. "I'll never forget as long as -I live those frightful, painted faces. Not an Indian moved; we passed -through the line and had gone a short distance beyond, when we heard -the report of a gun. Will clapped his hand to his side and said: 'My -God, I'm shot. Drive as fast as you can'--and he threw the lines to -me. - -"I lashed the horses and we fairly tore. Everything was still, there -was only that one shot, the Indians made no attempt to follow us. We -did not speak. Will was lying back in the buckboard, his hand pressed -to his side. When we had gone out of sight of the Indians I stopped -the horses and asked Will where he was struck. - -"'In the side; I can feel the blood oozing through my fingers,' he -said. He took his hand away and gave an exclamation as he looked at -it. It was wet but not with blood. We could not find the sign of a -wound. We got out to investigate and discovered--that just as we -passed the Indians the cork flew out of a bottle of root beer we had -in the back of the buckboard and struck him in the side. Poor old -Willie, no wonder he thought he was shot," and Janet smiled at her -husband, who laughed with the rest of us. - -"Now, Owen," he said, "I know some of the things you've been through, -so you can't beg off," and Owen began his story. - -"In the spring of '81 I came West to visit my brother, Ed., on his -ranch in Wyoming. I was a tenderfoot, never having been on the plains -before--and yet--I had scarcely arrived when I announced that the one -thing I wanted to do was to kill a buffalo. He told me that if my -heart was set on it I should have the chance, but that it was -dangerous sport even for experienced hunters, as a buffalo frequently -turns and gores the horse before it can get out of the way. - -"The very next day the dead body of a professional hunter was brought -to the ranch. He had wounded a buffalo bull which had turned, caught -with his horn the horse he was riding, thrown him to the ground and -gored the hunter to death. The sight of his mangled body was shocking -and made a terrible impression on my mind, but my purpose was not -changed. - -"My brother assigned Al. Turpin the responsibility of serving as my -guide. He was one of the best riders on the ranch, cool-headed and a -good shot. We took breakfast before daylight in order to get an early -start. After riding a considerable distance three dark objects were -discovered far away on a hill which sloped toward us. A pair of field -glasses confirmed the opinion that they were buffalo lying down. We -rode in their direction and kept out of sight, except as we peered -cautiously over the top of each succeeding ridge until it was possible -to approach no nearer in concealment, when we rode to the top of the -nearest hill and were in full view. The buffalo saw us and quick as -lightning were on their feet running away. We sent our horses at full -speed down the slope, across a level piece of ground and up the hill -after them. We were gaining rapidly. My horse was the faster of the -two and was in the lead. He was one of the best trained cow ponies I -have ever ridden and was my brother's favorite for cutting out cattle. - -"When about thirty yards behind the buffalo, one stopped. The bit I -was using was severe. I pulled and threw my horse back on his -haunches. The buffalo was an immense bull. He appeared to me as big as -a mountain. He turned facing me, his body at an angle, cocked his head -on the side, then threw it toward the ground and, quicker than a -flash, came down the hill like a landslide. - -"My horse struggled against the bit and tried to jump toward the -buffalo and turn him as he would a steer. I tried to swing his head -away and dug my spurs into his sides to make him move, but he did not -understand why he should run from a buffalo. He did respond a little -and turned so that his haunches were toward the great brute coming -down the hill. - -"The head of the buffalo was in striking distance. He looked like a -great devil. His beadlike eyes flashed fire. The next instant I -expected the horse to be pitched down the hill. I could feel myself -thrown into the air and then gored to death when I struck the ground. -I could see the mangled body of the dead hunter. - -"While my six-shooter was a powerful gun, I knew that if I should -shoot the brute in the head, the ball would not go through the mass of -matted hair and the thick skull. Still there was nothing else to do. I -thought my time had come. In order to hit him at all it was necessary -to shoot over my left arm. In my haste I pulled the trigger too soon. -The loud report startled the horse into a run and turned the buffalo. -Its discharge, so near my head, gave me a terrible shock. I thought -the shot had blown away all the right side of my head and I put up my -hand to keep my brains from falling out, but there were neither brains -nor blood on my hand. The bullet had just grazed my head and gone -through the rim of my hat. That brute looked like an infuriated demon. -I couldn't have been more frightened if I had met the devil himself at -the mouth of hell. - -"When it was all over, I was not in a mood for challenging him again, -but as he loped away, Al. ran his horse abreast and from a safe -distance put a shot into his brisket. He fell dead. Believe me, I have -had many close calls, but that was the one time in all my life when I -was really scared." - -"What extraordinary experiences people do have in this country," Will -Mason exclaimed, as he leaned forward to light a fresh cigar. -"Speaking of Ed. reminds me of a strange coincidence which happened -the year after he came West. - -"We had been together the year before in New York, where we had met a -chap named Courtney Drake. He was a Yale man and a member of the -University Club, so we saw quite a good deal of him. He was very -congenial and one of the most lovable fellows I ever knew. He was -married but he seldom spoke of his wife and we never met her. - -"One morning we picked up the paper and were horrified to read that -Mrs. Courtney Drake had shot her maid. There it was in glaring -headlines, the whole wretched affair. The Drakes were one of the -oldest and wealthiest families in New York and it was spicy reading -for the scandal lovers I assure you. - -"It seems that Drake had gotten mixed up with this woman when he first -came out of college and in order to force him to marry her she told -him that she was soon to have a child. He wouldn't believe it, and how -she worked it I don't know. She must have been mighty clever, for she -and her maid got hold of a baby somewhere and she made Courtney -believe it was hers and that he was the father--so he married her. - -"They had only been married a short time when the maid began to demand -large sums of 'hush money' and Mrs. Drake gave her whatever she asked, -for she was in mortal dread of having Drake discover the truth. The -girl found blackmail so profitable she became more and more insistent -in her demands and nearly drove Mrs. Drake wild. At last she could -endure it no longer and in a perfect frenzy, shot and killed the maid -and then the whole thing came out. Mrs. Drake was sent to prison, -where she died later, but Courtney vanished utterly after the -trial--no one knew what became of him. - -"The next fall Ed. and I came West and two years later were up in the -Jackson's Hole country with a party, shooting. Ed. and one of the -guides went out one morning to get some ducks, but in a short time -they came back to camp carrying the dead body of Courtney Drake. They -had come across his body on the shore of a small lake, lying face down -in the mud. There was a single bullet hole in the back of his head. - -"Think of his having been found out there in the wilderness by the -only man in the country who knew who he was! Talk about chance," Will -sighed, "Poor devil, he was living out there under an assumed name. -His family had no idea where he was. Ed. notified them and then took -his body East. - -"Just after his death Drake's partner produced a bill of sale for the -entire ranch and took possession of it. Everyone suspected him of the -murder, but it couldn't be proved. About three years later the man -killed his wife and at the time of his conviction the question of -Drake's murder was brought up and he confessed. Isn't it strange the -way things happen?" Will's question was general. "What on earth do you -suppose sent Ed. Brook into the Jackson's Hole country at that one -time of all others?" - -No one answered. - -"I wonder if all new countries abound in such tragic mysteries?" The -Surveyor looked up at me. - -"What tragic mysteries have you encountered, Mrs. Brook, that makes -you speak so feelingly?" - -Just then the clock struck twelve and I got up. - -"It's too late for more mysteries, it's time to go to bed--and we -don't want tragedies to keep us wide awake on Christmas night." - -"Oh, come on Esther, tell us your most thrilling experience," they -begged. "We won't move a step until you do." - -"Marrying Owen," I replied, looking over at my unsuspecting husband, -"I've never had a chance to get my breath since." - -And amid a shout of laughter the Christmas party broke up. - - - - -XI - -TED - - -Ted landed in our midst with all the attendant violence of a meteor. -He didn't arrive, he landed, bag and baggage, and until his departure -weeks later our tranquil existence was sufficiently hectic to suit -even Bill. - -After numerous letters from his doting aunt, we reluctantly consented -to look after Ted while she was in Europe recuperating from a nervous -break-down. At the end of the first week, we understood why Aunt -Elizabeth found recuperation necessary, and I suggested to Owen, it -might be well to engage our passage on a later steamer, for I had a -premonition that my own nerves might require a rest after two months -of Ted's strenuous companionship. - -He wasn't bad; there was not a bad thing about him. He was just -overflowing with youth and energy, which had been pent up for years, -between boarding school in the winter and Newport in the summer. - -Motherless, fatherless, rich, neglected or over-indulged by a none too -wise aunt, Ted was an appealing young person, a character easily to be -made or marred by circumstances. - -He looked like a member of the celestial choir--blue-eyed, fair-haired -and mild--but he produced the effect of a Kansas cyclone. - -There was nothing he did not see, there was nothing he did not hear -and there was nothing he did not do. Even on eighty thousand acres of -land his activities were somewhat limited. - -He was wildly enthusiastic about the West, fascinated by the men, and -was Bill's shadow, so we promptly turned him over to those "rough -persons" Aunt Elizabeth had especially hoped that he might avoid, to -get it all out of his system. - -"Let him stay at the bunk-house," Owen advised after Ted had besought -me to allow him to stay with the men. "It will do him more good than -anything else in the world, if he has the right stuff in him." - -Ted stood on the porch, uneasily shifting from one foot to the other, -when I came out of the office. - -"All right, Ted, Mr. Brook and I are perfectly willing for you to stay -with the men, if you really want to." - -He hopped up and down and almost embraced me in his joy. - -"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Brook. You see," he explained, carefully, "I've -seen people like you and Mr. Brook all my life, but I never had the -chance to be with real cow-punchers before." Evidently, from Ted's -point of view, Owen and I were very commonplace individuals compared -to these heroes of the prairie, and I laughed to myself as he bounded -down the steps to break the joyful news to Bill that he was to share -his bed and board. - -The next day we had to go to town to meet some prospective wool -buyers, and, after having his breakfast interrupted five different -times by Ted's dashing in to see if we were ready, Owen was moved to -inquire finally, "What on earth is on the boy's mind now?" - -"His outfit," I answered. "He's been planning it for days; wishes to -select it himself and we are not to see it until we get home." - -That was a wise stipulation of Ted's, for if we had seen it, we should -never have been able to get home. - -He put it on as soon as we reached the ranch, and when he finally -emerged, the flaming sunset paled with chagrin at its futile effort of -years. - -The "outfit" consisted of tan corduroy trousers, chaps of long silky -angora wool, which had been dyed a brilliant orange, a shirt of vivid -green, a bright red silk handkerchief for his neck, an enormous -Stetson hat, high-heeled tan boots, silver studded belt and huge -spurs. - -We gasped when we saw him, but he was so intent on showing himself to -Bill, as to be utterly unconscious of the effect he produced. - -We followed him into the yard where the boys were waiting the call to -supper. Bill looked up from the quirt he was braiding and blinked. - -"Gosh! I thought the sun had set an hour ago," he remarked. - -"No," Ted laughingly responded, giving him a push, "but he's going to -'set' now," and he threw himself down by Bill's side. "I knew you -fellows would guy me, but all the same I think this outfit's great," -and he surveyed himself with infinite pride and satisfaction. - -"It's all right," said Bill, taking in all the details of the -resplendent costume, and looking up at Owen and me with twinkling -eyes, "I like somethin' a little gay myself; but round here where -everything's green, we won't be able to tell you from a bunch of -soap-weed," and Ted good naturedly joined in the laugh at his own -expense. - -"Wouldn't his Aunt Elizabeth die of heart-failure if she could see him -now?" I asked Owen as we went into the house. - -"She certainly would," he answered, "but we'll trust to luck and let -Nature take its course." - -Everything, including Nature, took its course rapidly with Ted, and -for the next few weeks wise prairie dogs, rabbits and rattle-snakes -stayed in their holes. By the end of his stay that energetic young -person had enough rattle-snake skins to provide belts and hat-bands -for all of New York, and scores of live prairie-dogs he had trapped to -be shipped to his aunt's place in Newport. - -I tried to picture the joy of Aunt Elizabeth and her neighbors when -they found informal prairie-dog towns in the midst of their formal -gardens. If life is measured by experiences, a few additional years -were in store for Newport. - -Bill taught Ted to shoot and he spent hours and a fortune shooting at -old tin cans on a post before Bill finally consented to say: - -"I've saw fellers do worse," the sweetest praise that ever fell on -mortal ears, judging by Ted's expression. - -And, then, Owen went to New Mexico to buy some sheep and Bohm came to -sleep on a claim. - -This claim was one over which Owen and Bohm had been having a -controversy for months. It had been included in the sale of the ranch, -and after one of our most important sheep camps had been built upon -it, Owen discovered that Bohm could not give a deed to it, as he had -not made final proof on the land. - -Bohm never ceased to regret having sold the ranch, and had never -forgiven Owen for buying it and making him live up to his contract, so -was only too glad of the opportunity to cause him all the trouble -possible. Time after time he promised to come out and "prove up", but -he never came, so although I was most anxious to have him come, I was -far from pleased to have him about when Owen was away. - -Ted, however, was overjoyed; he seemed to feel that Providence had -arranged Bohm's visit to the ranch for his especial entertainment, and -from the moment the old chap arrived Ted dogged his footsteps. - -At first, old Bohm seemed quite flattered and laughed and joked with -him, praised his shooting, told him stories of the Indian days, -promised to show him the underground passage to an abandoned stage -station, but later he became annoyed, for no clinging burr ever clung -more closely than Ted. He scarcely allowed Bohm to get out of his -sight for one moment. - -How much the boy had heard of old Bohm's history I did not know, but I -concluded a few rumors had reached those ever-attentive ears, for one -day he came in fairly beaming. - -"Gosh! Pudge and Soapy haven't got anything on me, they've only seen -Buffalo Bill in a show, and I'm right in the same house with a man -that's a holy terror!" - -"What do you mean, Ted?" I asked, anxious to find out how much he had -heard. - -"Oh, you know well enough, Mrs. Brook," he laughed, going to the door -as he saw old Bohm on his way to the barn. "You can't fool me. Gee! I -wouldn't have missed him for the world. The fellows'll just be sick -when I tell them." - -"The fellows" were evidently "Pudge" and "Soapy", his two chums at St. -Paul's, "Pudge" because of "his shape," as Ted explained, and "Soapy", -whose parental millions came from the manufacturing of soap. - -The game between the boy and Bohm was amusing. Clever as the old chap -was, he couldn't evade Ted's watchful eye. If Bohm thought him miles -away, he suddenly appeared with such an unconscious air of innocence -he disarmed all suspicion, but he made Bohm uneasy. - -"Quit campin' on the old man's trail, Kid," said Bill one evening at -the corral after Ted had driven Bohm to the bunk-house to escape his -questions. "You're gettin' on his nerves; let him go and sleep on his -claim and get through with it. You and me's got to hunt horses -tomorrow, anyways." - -Ted cheerfully acquiesced, and old Bohm loaded his wagon alone and -drove toward his claim in peace. - -The next morning very early, I heard Bill calling Ted. No Ted -appeared, and I went out to see where he was. - -"Where do you reckon that crazy kid's went now?" demanded Bill, -impatient to start. - -"I'm sure I don't know, Bill, hunting prairie-dogs, probably. Don't -wait for him, if you're ready to go." - -"Huntin' prairie-dogs," echoed Bill. "I'll bet a hat he's huntin' old -Bohm somewheres." He frowned as he cinched up his saddle. "I reckon -I'd better ride over that way and see what he's up to." - -"I wish you would," I said, vaguely uneasy. "I don't want him to -bother Bohm too much." - -"Me neither," said Bill, getting on his horse, "there's his pony's -tracks now," he looked at the ground. "I'll find him and take him -along with me. Don't you worry, he's all right, but he sure is a -corker--that kid," and Bill galloped off. - -I felt confident that he would overtake the lad, so I dismissed them -all from my mind and settled down to an uninterrupted morning, and a -delayed postal report. - -I was busy all day and was just starting out for a little walk before -supper when Bill and Ted rode up. - -Bill and Ted, hatless, clothes torn and covered with dirt and blood, -their faces scratched and bruised, and Ted regarding me triumphantly -from one half-closed eye, the other being swollen shut. - -"What on earth hap--" I tried to ask, my breath fairly taken away. -Bill got off his horse and came up to the gate. - -"We're all right, Mrs. Brook. I'm sorry you seen us 'fore we got fixed -up a little; we just got mixed up some with Bohm--that's all--'taint -nothin' serious. We look a whole lot worse than we feel, don't we -Ted?" - -"You bet we do," mumbled Ted from a cut and bleeding mouth, "but you -ought to see Bohm, he's a sight!" - -Ted got off his horse with difficulty. "Gosh, it was great," he said, -leaning up against the fence for support. - -"Come in and sit down, both of you, Charley will take your horses," -and I led the way into the house followed a little unsteadily by Bill -and Ted, who collapsed on the first chairs they could reach. - -I gave them some wine, washed off their blood-stained faces, and made -protesting Ted go into my room and lie down. He was very pale, and I -saw that he was faint. - -I came back into the kitchen. - -"Now, Bill, tell me about it. What happened and where is Bohm?" - -"On his way back to Denver in the baggage car," announced Bill, -draining the last drop from the glass he still held in his hand. - -I started, "Oh, Bill, you didn't kill him?" - -"No, but I wisht I had," he said calmly. "He'd oughter be dead, the old -skunk, trying to poison all them sheep." - -"Poison the sheep; what sheep?" - -"Your sheep," Bill's brows contracted as he looked at me. "Your -sheep," he repeated, his voice rising as I scarcely seemed able to -grasp his meaning. "All the sheep at Hay Gulch Camp, that's what he -came out here for, and he'd a done it, too, if it hadn't been for that -kid in there." Bill jerked his head in the direction of my room. - -"Ted?" I asked, my emotion stifling my voice. - -"Ted," Bill affirmed, "he caught him at it red-handed, and probably -saved two thousand sheep from bein' dead this minute." - -"How on earth did he find out?" - -Bill straightened up in his chair. - -"Them eyes of his'n don't miss much, I'm here to tell you, and his -everlastin' snoopin' around done some good after all." Bill's eyes -glowed with pride. "Yesterday, before Bohm left, Ted come across him -mixin' a lot of stuff with some grain, and, of course, had to know all -about it. The old man finally told him he was fixin' to poison the -prairie-dogs on his claim, bit he was so peevish about it, Ted said he -didn't believe him, and mistrusted somethin' was wrong. - -"The kid didn't say nothin' to me about it; had some fool notion about -playin' detective, I reckon, at any rate he got up along about four -o'clock and rode out to Bohm's claim to do a little reconorterin'." - -Bill reluctantly put the glass down and tipped back in his chair. "He -hid his horse in the gulch and crope up in the grass like an Injin. -The herder wasn't nowhere in sight and the sheep was still in the -corral, but old Bohm was there all right, fixin' little piles of that -poisoned wheat just where the sheep would come acrost it the first -thing." - -"Oh, Bill, that's the worst thing I ever heard!" I was sick at the -mere thought. - -Bill was too engrossed to pay attention to the interruption. - -"Ted said he was comin' back to tell me, but he got so excited when he -seen what Bohm was up to, he never thought of nothin' but stoppin' -him. The old man was stoopin' over with his back to Ted, and the kid -gave a yell for the herder and ran for Bohm and before he could -straighten up Ted was on top of him." - -Bill scarcely paused for breath--"the old man reached for his gun, but -Ted was too quick for him and knocked it out of his hand, and when I -came up, there they was rollin' all over the prairie, first one on top -and then the other." - -Bill looked toward the door of my room, reflectively--"I kinder felt -there was somethin' wrong when I left here, and believe me, I didn't -spare my cayuse none gettin' there neither, and I didn't get there -none too soon." - -I was incapable of speech. I just stared at Bill. - -"There ain't no doubt about Bohm's bein' ready to kill him; he was on -top then and reachin' for his throat. I didn't stop to ask no -questions. I jest grabbed him, and pulled him off of Ted. He was white -as chalk and ready to eat us both alive, but I hung on to him while -Ted got up cryin', 'Look what he's done, Bill, look what he's done,' -and pointed at somethin' on the ground." - -Bill's eyes were like two live coals. "Bohm was cussin' like a steam -engine 'bout the kid's jumpin' him when he was puttin' out poison for -the prairie-dogs. I just took one look around and seen all them piles -of poison wheat there by the corral when there wasn't a prairie-dog -within two miles. I--well, I aint goin' to tell you what I said, Mrs. -Brook, 'taint fit for you to hear." - -[Illustration: FACING DEATH EACH TIME THEY RIDE A NEW HORSE.] - -Bill looked down and turned the glass on the table around and around. -He looked up again and smiled, but his brows contracted as he went -on--"We had words then, sure enough. All of a sudden Bohm made a lunge -and caught the handkerchief round my neck with one hand and reached -for somethin' with the other, and the first thing I knew he was -slashin' at me with a pocket knife. I guess I saw red then, 'cause I -knocked him down and nearly pounded the life out of him." - -Bill stopped a moment--"His eyes was rollin' back in his head and his -tongue was hangin' out and there was a pool of blood 'round us, three -yards across." Bill's description was so vivid I shut my eyes. "I -reckon I'd killed him if Ted hadn't tromped my legs and kinda brought -me to myself. He'd oughter been killed, but I let him up then and told -Ted to go for my rope. We tied his hands and legs. I guess he had -about all he wanted for he wasn't strugglin' much." Bill smiled -grimly. "We carried him into the cabin, and there was the Mexican -lying in his bunk--doped. We knew who done it all right, and I tell -you we didn't handle Bohm like no suckin' infant when we laid him -down, neither." - -Bill's face was stern and set and I shared his indignation too much to -trust myself to speak. - -"We left him there and went to get the wheat out of the way before we -opened the corral gates for the sheep. Thanks to Ted, Bohm hadn't had -time to put much around. He's a great little kid, that boy." Bill's -voice broke. - -"Bless his heart," I said, my own heart filled with gratitude and -tenderness for the plucky little chap in the other room. Bill's eyes -were moist, but his voice was steady again. - -"Steve and Charley came up just then with the supply wagon, so Steve -set Charley to herd the sheep. We loaded Bohm into the wagon and Steve -took him over to the railroad. He said he'd see he got on the train -all right." Bill grinned, "You're rid of Bohm for good now, Mrs. -Brook, for I kinda think he gathered from what me and Steve said the -ranch wouldn't be no health resort for him if he ever showed his ugly -face round here again." - -"Oh, Bill, I'm so thankful; it makes me sick when I think what might -have happened." - -"Don't thank me, Mrs. Brook, I ain't done nothin'." Bill's face was -red with embarrassment as he stood up. "Ted's the one to thank, he's -some kid, believe me," and Bill's eyes were very tender. - -"Let's go in and see how he's making it." Bill followed me into the -room. - -Ted was sitting up on the couch, regarding his battered visage in my -hand-glass with the greatest interest. I could see at once he was in -no mood for emotion or petting. - -"Hello, I'm all right," he murmured with a one-sided grin. "Say, Bill, -wasn't it great? I wouldn't have missed it for a million dollars." - -He sank back with a sigh of supreme satisfaction. "I just wish I could -remember all the things he called me. I want to spring them on the -fellows when I go back." - -Bill looked at him with genuine concern. "See here, kid," he said -decidedly, "you want to forget all them things as quick as you can. -Don't you go springin' any such language back where you come from. I'm -no innocent babe myself, but I'm here to tell you old Bohm's cussin' -made anything I ever heard sound like a Sunday School piece. You -forget it now, pronto," he commanded as he went out of the door. "It's -a reflection on me and Mrs. Brook." - -After Bill had gone, Ted looked at himself again, then at me. "What do -you suppose Aunt Elizabeth would say if she could see me now?" We both -laughed. - -"I would be a 'disgrace to my family and position' now, sure enough." -He felt his blackened eye tenderly. - -I sat down on the couch beside him. "You will never be more of a -credit to your family than you are at this minute, Ted, nor more of a -man." - -He looked up, for my voice shook a little. He knew what I meant and -his lips twitched as he patted my hand gently, and turned his face -away. - - - - -XII - -BLIZZARDS - - -It was just like Louise Reynolds to arrive on the wings of a blizzard, -wearing a straw hat and spring suit. Louise led the seasons, she never -followed them, and she preceded that particular storm by about two -hours; but she was justified, for it was April and she was on her way -from California. - -In this land of the unexpected even the weather disregarded all -established precedents. A glorious Indian Summer night extended into -January, or a sudden blizzard would swoop down from the North in -October or April and leave us snowed in for days. - -That is exactly what happened upon this occasion and most of Louise's -visit was spent in shovelling snow for the pure joy of the exercise. -That energetic young person had to do something in lieu of tennis or -golf. - -The prairies were covered with a fluffy mantle of purest white, great -drifts filled the gulches and the roads were utterly obliterated. Long -after the storm the men had to go about on horseback for no wagon -could be moved through the deep snow. - -At this juncture Louise announced that she had all of her reservations -through to Baltimore, where she was to officiate as bridesmaid. She -was obliged to go and we had to take her to the railroad. - -We could scarcely go on horseback with baggage, there wasn't a sleigh -in the country, certainly none on the ranch, but if Necessity was the -Mother of Invention, Owen was a near relative. He never failed to find -some way of meeting the most difficult problem. If Louise must go it -devolved upon him to see that she reached the station and so he -produced a sled, a disreputable old affair, used for the exalted -purpose of hauling dead animals to "the dump"--but still it was a sled -and under Owen's direction it was scrubbed and transformed into the -most luxurious equipage by having a packing box nailed on the back -and covered with rugs. Louise and I perched on the box, with heavy -robes tucked in about us, the suit cases were at our feet and Owen sat -on the trunk in front to drive. - -There was only one draw-back, the sled had no tongue to keep it from -running on to the heels of the horses, so Owen cut a hole in the -bottom of the sled through which he stuck a broom-stick. My task was -to work this improvised brake when we went down hill by jabbing the -broom-stick into the snow. It worked beautifully except that the -friction against the hard snow broke pieces of it off and it grew -perceptibly shorter as we advanced. - -In order to avoid some especially deep gulches we left the valley and -followed a high ridge. It was much longer, but we had allowed the -entire day for the trip. There was no danger of becoming lost as long -as we could see, for we knew too well the country and the general -direction to be followed. - -No incident marred the joy of that day. When the horses floundered and -almost disappeared from sight in a snow-filled gulch, leaving the sled -stranded like an Ark on a gleaming Ararat, we had only to dig the -horses out with a shovel which had been taken for the purpose and -after getting them on the level ground, go back and hitch a long rope -to the sled, draw it across the gulch and proceed upon our way. - -The light of the sun upon the snow was so intense it was necessary to -wear colored glasses to avoid snow blindness, and being muffled in -furs, we looked like three bears in goggles. Our wraps kept us -perfectly warm and it was a merry ride. The adventure filled us with -joy as we glided over the trackless world in which we alone moved. - -There was no suggestion of dreariness or desolation in the scene. -Under the magic touch of the sun the world burst forth into a miracle -of glory and beauty which held us spellbound. The sky was cloudless, -not a shadow fell across that dazzling white expanse, which flashed -and sparkled with all the prismatic colors. Far to the west Pike's -Peak stood, a marvel of varying lights and shadows, its head resting -on the soft blue bosom of the sky. Its commanding height had filled -the Indian of the Plains with worshipful awe, it was to him "the Gate -of Heaven, the abiding place of the Great Spirit." According to his -own testimony, the one inevitable duty in the life of the Indian is -the duty of prayer--and how often as he looked upon that distant -mountain must the red hunter have paused in the midst of the vast -prairies, his soul uplifted and an unspoken prayer on his lips! - -The whole aspect of the country was changed, all the familiar -landmarks were gone. Except for the hills, the surface of the prairie -was perfectly level as though the Great Spirit had stretched his hand -forth from that mystic mountain and passing it over the world had left -it smooth and stainless. - -It was a wonderful experience, and when toward evening we reached the -railroad we were thrilled and triumphant over our accomplishment. The -night was spent in the little four-room "hotel," we saw Louise safely -on board the eastbound express the next morning, then returned to the -ranch. - -To be out after a blizzard is one thing, to be out in one is quite -another, and we always grew apprehensive when the sky became suddenly -overcast and the snow began to fall from leaden clouds. What if the -storm should catch the herders and the sheep too far away from the -camp? - -They were all warned to range their sheep to the North if it -threatened to storm, as most of the blizzards came from that direction -and the sheep would go before the wind back to camp and safety. But -they will not face it and, if unmindful of his orders, the herder took -them South and a sudden storm came, he could not turn his sheep back -to the camp; they would drift on and on before the wind, sometimes -plunging over a bank to be buried beneath the drifting snow or piling -up and smothering each other. - -One winter just as Owen and I were starting home from California we -received a telegram from Steve saying that during a blizzard the buck -herd had been lost. Owen had some very important business which -detained him when we reached Denver, so he asked me to go on to the -ranch, have Steve organize the men into searching parties and look -through every gulch in the vicinity for any discolored holes on the -top of the drifts which would be caused by the breath of the sheep if -they were under the snow. For two days the men searched and finally -came to a deep bank of snow on the top of which were found the -discolored holes they sought; they dug down and discovered the bucks. -A few had been smothered, but most of them were taken out alive after -having been buried for ten days! During the storm the herder had left -them and the poor distracted things had drifted over an embankment and -were entombed under the snow. - -When anyone speaks of "good-for-nothing Mexicans" I think of Fidel, a -mere lad, who had taken his sheep South on a clear morning, but was -overtaken by a storm before he could get them back to the corrals. He -and his dog did everything they could do to turn them, but they -drifted farther and farther away. Fidel stayed with them, guiding them -away from the gulches until they reached a railway cut. There Steve -found them twenty-four hours later when we feared that Fidel had -perished with his sheep. Facing death alone in the freezing wind and -blinding, smothering snow, hour after hour he had kept his sheep from -piling up. He not only saved them all, but they were in better -condition than many in the corrals at the camps. Not for a moment had -he left them. His hands and feet were frozen; he barely escaped -freezing to death and on that day we learned the true meaning of -"Fidelity." - - * * * * * - -Then once more Fate took a hand in our affairs and a blizzard changed -the whole course of our lives. - -We owned our land and no one could encroach upon us, but after a few -years we began to notice forlorn little shacks built here and there on -the open range by the poor home-seekers who, attracted by the prospect -of free land, had begun "homesteading." They built flimsy little -houses, scratched up the surface of the prairie for a few inches and -raised pitiful, straggling crops. The settlers were coming in! The -opening wedge of that great onrush had been thrust deep into the heart -of the prairie. In the undisputed possession of our own land we were -not disturbed. While we knew that it meant the occupation of the free -range and the passing of the large ranches, eventually, we scarcely -realized how soon it would come and were not prepared to receive an -offer from an Eastern syndicate to buy the entire ranch--to cut it -into small units to be sold as farms. - -The era of "dry-farming" had just begun, when by scientific methods, -deep ploughing and the conservation of all moisture, dry land might be -successfully cultivated without irrigation. It was a dream of the -future of the prairie region, impossible to visualize, and I laughed -in my ignorance, as Owen read me the letter. - -"How perfectly absurd. Imagine trying to farm out here; the grangers -would starve to death in a year unless they had stock of some sort. -Surely you would never think of selling out?" - -"I don't know, Esther, the homesteaders can't come on to our deeded -land, but they are filing on all the Government land. In a short time -there will be no more free range, and did you ever stop to consider -that our land will soon be so valuable that we can't afford to run -sheep on it?" - -In that last sentence I saw the handwriting on the wall. It was only a -question of time and this phase, too, of our life would pass. - -In the East life seems to be static, but in the West it is in a state -of flux and conditions are constantly changing. - -Perhaps I had inherited the static state of mind for I had taken it -for granted that all the rest of our days were to be spent there on -the ranch under the shadow of the mountain. Suddenly a realization of -the facts swept over me. In a sense we had been pioneers, we had -blazed a trail that others were to follow and like the Indians we, -too, were destined to move on. However, before you are thirty to -regard yourself as a hoary-headed pioneer requires a series of mental -gymnastics and, while my brain was going through a few preparatory -exercises, I did not take the question of selling out very seriously. -After all those years of struggle just as it had been brought to -perfection, after we had put into it the best of our life, youth, -energy and work, a part of our very selves, it did not seem possible -that we could part with the ranch. Owen felt much as I did, but he was -the first to realize that we had come again to the parting of the ways -and that a decision must be made. - -Yet--in the end--it wasn't the financial consideration nor a deep -conviction that the future development of the country would be -retarded if we remained, but an unexpected blizzard which turned the -scale and set us adrift again. - - * * * * * - -The sun rose clear on the 19th of October, but during the morning it -began to grow cloudy. - -Owen and several of the men were at the railroad station where they -were shipping lambs. During the afternoon the wind began to blow, it -grew much colder and snow fell. - -The next morning it was storming very hard and Steve, after arranging -to have hay hauled to the various camps, went out on horseback to see -that all the sheep were kept in the corrals. I was greatly relieved -when Owen got home in the middle of the afternoon. Ten thousand lambs -had been loaded and started on their way in spite of the storm, but -the drive back to the ranch had been very hard, for hour by hour the -storm increased in fury. The ground was covered and even the dull grey -sky was hidden by dense clouds of powdery snow which did not seem to -fall upon the earth but was blown in long horizontal lines across the -prairies by the force of a mighty gale. It filled the gulches and -piled in deep drifts. It was driven against the house with such force -it sifted through the smallest crack. The windows on the North and -West were covered with a solid coating of snow, the wind whistled and -moaned and tore at the shutters as if trying to carry them with it on -a wild race over the plains. It was impossible to see the corrals, -even the garden fence was lost behind the driving, swirling snow. To -open the door was to inhale a freezing gust of snow-laden air, -millions of icy particles blinded the eyes and took away the breath. - -We knew that the sheep were all in the corrals, but we feared that -unless the herders watched them carefully they would pile up as the -snow drifted over the high sides of the inclosure. The rest of the -stock was protected and my heart was filled with thankfulness that -Owen and the men had been able to reach the ranch. They went about the -place like white wraiths doing the necessary things. Above the howling -of the wind not a sound could be heard; a shout was carried miles away -as soon as it left the lips. By five o'clock it was dark. - -About eight o'clock, Mary came in and told Owen that Steve wanted to -see him. When Owen returned, instead of coming into the living-room, -he went to the closet, took down his short, fleece-lined riding coat -and began to put it on. - -"What's the matter, Owen, you are not going out?" - -"I must," he said, quietly, winding a long scarf about his neck, -"Steve says that Dorn went out yesterday afternoon with a load of hay -for the camp on Six Shooter; he should have come back last night or -certainly this morning. He's new and doesn't know the country and he -may be lost. I'm going to see if I can find him." - -My heart stood still; the camp on Six Shooter gulch was fully eight -miles away. Eight miles in that storm! It did not seem possible that a -man could live to go a mile. - -"Oh, Owen, I can't let you go! Don't you suppose he is at the camp?" - -"I don't know, he may be, but I must go and find out. We can't take a -chance on a man's being lost." In the face of that argument there was -nothing to say and nothing to do but accept it. - -"Who is going with you?" - -"No one"--Owen did not look at me as he answered--"I can't ask any of -the men to face this storm." - -I understood; he couldn't require any of his men to risk their lives. -A hand of ice closed about my heart and deadened every sensibility. -Like a machine I went about helping Owen get ready and at last went to -the kitchen to bring him some coffee just before he left. A man was -standing by the door muffled in wraps. I stood still. - -"Why, Bill, where have you been?" - -"I ain't 'been', I'm goin'. I'm goin' with Mr. Brook. A man ain't got -no business out a night like this alone." - -"Bill!" It was all I could say--but he understood. - -When Owen came out he tried to dissuade him, but Bill was determined. - -"I know I don't have to go, Mr. Brook, you never asked me, but I'm a -goin', there ain't nothin' can keep me." - -I had never seen him so serious, all the old half bantering tone was -gone and they went out together, master and man, each risking his life -for the sake of another. - -I tried to watch them but instantly they were lost to my sight as a -vague grey cloud closed about them. - -How the night passed I do not know. I kept the fires up and the coffee -hot and walked miles, back and forth, back and forth. I did not think -of sleeping. It was useless to try to read. I could not see the -words--the printed page was blank and I could only see the figures of -two men on horseback, beaten, buffeted, fighting for their lives -against the cruel snow-laden gale. I saw them separated, perhaps, -trying to get through the gulches on their floundering horses, or -walking to keep from freezing and then perhaps exhausted--lying down -to rest while that last deadly sensation of sleepiness crept over -them. - -Daylight came at last, but still I walked. I pushed my breakfast away -untasted and tried to occupy myself with the duties of the day. I felt -as though I should scream aloud if that howling wind did not cease, -but hour after hour passed and there was no other sound. The men came -and went about their work quietly, speaking but little and then in -subdued tones as in the presence of death; over us all hung the pall -of terrifying uncertainty. - -When occasionally it was possible to catch a glimpse of the corrals or -the blacksmith shop I knew that the wind must be abating and time -after time I knocked the snow from the windows and stood straining my -eyes into that misty, vague out-of-doors. Ten o'clock, eleven o'clock. -Something moved along the edge of the pond, the vague outlines of some -animal, a slight lull in the wind and I could see that it was a -horseman, another followed--I caught up a cape, flung open the door, -dashed out into the storm through drifts, over every detaining -obstacle until I reached the corral and--Owen. - -They were safe, but so weary and worn they could scarcely speak. Their -faces were swollen, having been whipped and lashed by the icy -particles the wind had driven against them like bits of steel from a -mighty blast furnace, their eyebrows and lashes were solid ice, their -lips cracked and bleeding. - -After a night of horror, at three in the morning, they had found Dorn -at the Six Shooter camp comfortably sleeping with the Mexican herder! -When the storm began he made no attempt to come back to the ranch, not -stopping to think that his non-appearance would cause any anxiety, -besides endangering the lives of two men. - -"I was so hot when I seen Dorn nice and warm all cuddled up there with -that Dago I jest drug him out by the collar and shook him. Anybody -that'ud sleep with a Mexican had orter freeze to death. Gosh! Here was -Mr. Brook and me amblin' over this whole blamed country, flounderin' -through snow drifts as high as this house, gettin' our horses down and -most freezin' to death, blintin' a no account thing like that." Bill -was himself again. - -Their knowledge of the country and presence of mind had saved them, -for once when they found that it had grown warmer and apparently the -wind had ceased, they realized that the horses had turned with the -wind so that it was at their backs, they forced the poor things into -the face of the bitter gale again and went on. They passed the camp -without seeing it and had gone beyond when the wind brought them the -smell of the sheep, they turned back and after searching found the -cabin. It was a narrow escape for they were too exhausted to have gone -farther. - -A few days later we learned that old John, who had been our mail -carrier, had perished in the storm. He had gone out to try to find his -cattle and did not return. His wife and little son were alone and when -they were able to get out and look for him, they found him just -outside the garden fence lying frozen and half eaten by the coyotes. - -I thought much during the following days and finally I came to a -conclusion. - -"Owen, if you want to sell out I'm willing--it will have to come some -day, I realize that, and besides--there is too much at stake. I don't -believe I can ever live through another blizzard." - - * * * * * - -In three months all the stock on the ranch was sold, a caretaker was -placed in charge of the home ranch, which we retained, and we moved to -Denver. But instead of selling out to the syndicate, Owen decided to -put our lands on the market himself and they were listed for sale. - -It was the end of the old life; we had made way for the settlers. - - - - -XIII - -ECHOES OF THE PAST - - -The curtain of years had fallen and risen again on the same scene, the -valley which stretched off toward the setting sun and the guardian -mountain which stood unchanged at its head. But this was October, the -royal season of purple and gold and red, when the asters and -sunflowers were blooming their lives away in one lavish outpouring of -beauty and the rose bushes were crimson under the kiss of the frost. A -shimmering mass of gold clothed the great cotton-woods along the -winding course of the creek and hills of russet brown replaced those -of vivid green I had first seen sixteen years before. - -Where the young bride had stood on that July day, amid the strange -surroundings, looking with inexperienced eyes upon a new world, she -stood again, seeing it from the angle of a participant, from the -viewpoint of a woman, fused by the furnace of experience into a part -of that life. - -It was the same scene, but the setting had changed and as a flood of -memories swept over me I felt as though I were a reincarnated spirit, -walking the earth in a third phase of existence, having passed through -the first, a light-hearted girl among family and friends in urban -surroundings, having lived through the second, an atom in the midst of -those vast wind-swept plains amongst elemental conditions, a part in -the great primitive struggle for existence and coming back again to -find the prairies transformed by cultivation into farms, with the -crops covering the hills and bottom lands like a huge patch-work quilt -of green, brown and brilliant yellow, fastened together with black -threads of barbed wire. - -Above on the hill stood a church and a school-house, those certain -indications of community life. Across the meadows great red barns and -towering wind mills overshadowed the less pretentious houses. Bridges -spanned the creek with its shifting, treacherous sand and in place of -the dim winding trails across the prairie, neatly fenced county roads -decorously followed the section lines. - -It was the same--yet everything was changed. This well-ordered farming -community seemed prosaic, it lacked the romance and charm of the old -ranch life and the glorious sense of unlimited freedom. - -The bunkhouse was occupied by the family of a hard-working farmer who -had married the daughter of our caretaker, Parker; tractors, ploughs -and harrows filled the space about the blacksmith shop. I resented -those unfamiliar implements and the prosperous farms. On all sides -there was heard a strange language of silos, separators and "crop -rotation". I had become a part of the old life, but here I felt -restricted and out of place--an alien. - -Inside the house all, too, was changed. The books which Joe had -scorned, the crystal clock and our Lares and Penates were in our -Denver home, but on the ranch I missed them and most of all the old -familiar faces. All had gone. Several of the boys had stayed in the -country, married and taken up farming, raising bounteous crops and -numerous children. Some, individual and picturesque to the end, had -crossed the Great Divide, others had sought new positions in Wyoming, -the last of the frontier states. Bill was there cooking in an oil -camp. We received characteristic, though infrequent, letters from him, -usually in the early summer, labored epistles over which he had "sworn -and sweat," as he expressed it, which began by assuring us that he was -well and hoped that we were the same and ended by an earnest request -to go with us as cook "in case you was thinkin' of goin' campin'." He -went with us when we did go, the same old Bill, unchanged in heart or -humor. - -Old Bohm was dead. The final act of that great tragedy took place in -an isolated mine where he had sunk all his fortune in a golden -prospect. Hoping to regain it, the fortune he held in trust for a -friend had followed, but the game he had played so successfully before -failed when Nemesis took a hand. His friend went to the mine to demand -an accounting and several hours later Bohm's body, broken and -bleeding, was taken from the depths of the mine. According to the -story of his companion, the only witness, he had slipped and fallen to -the bottom of the shaft--and his death, as his life, remained an -enigma. - -But down through the long years the echoes of the past reverberated. -Again and again we heard them, sometimes very faintly, then with -perfect distinctness and on that day of our return after a long -absence we felt again that mysterious suggestion of tragedy and the -echoes were startlingly clear. - -As I came in from my walk just before supper, a strange man rode up -and Mr. Parker asked him to stop. - -He told us his name and during the progress of the meal took little -part in the conversation, but after he had eaten his supper he leaned -back in his chair and in response to Owen's question, said: - -"No, I ain't exactly a stranger round here, but this old kitchen is -about the only thing that ain't changed. I used to know every inch of -ground in this country when I was punchin' cows for the Three Circle -outfit. This was the only ranch within twenty-five miles. I've et here -lots of times." - -"You knew the Bohms then?" I asked, trying as always to find the -answer to the riddle of old Bohm's personality. - -"Sure, I knew the Bohms," the stranger replied, his clear blue eyes -meeting mine frankly. "I knowed everybody there was in the country, -there wasn't many in them days, jest the Bohms, the Mortons, the -Bosmans and the La Montes. They're most all gone now except Bosman. I -heered old La Monte died last winter--but Lord, he's been worse 'en -dead for most twenty years. Did you folks know him?" - -"Scarcely, we only saw him once," and before me rose the picture of -the desolate old place, the slowly opened door and that living ghost -on the threshold. - -The stranger again spoke. - -"You folks bought from Bohm, so you knowed him, didn't you?" - -"Oh, yes, we knew him." Owen answered for my thoughts were far away. - -"Well, sir," said the old cow-puncher, reaching for a toothpick, "Jim -Bohm was a great one, he was the slickest man in this country. He -didn't have nothin' but a little band of horses that he drove up from -Texas when he came, but he kept gettin' richer all the time." I came -back to the present with a start, his words were almost the same Mrs. -Morton had used sixteen years before. - -"Wasn't he honest?" I asked, wondering what the reply would be. - -He did not answer for a moment. - -"Well, I can't say as to that. I jest knowed him from meetin' him on -the round-ups and when I stopped here. I never had no dealin's with -him, but he sure had a reputation for all the meanness there was, and -I guess he deserved it. He was good company though, and Lord, how he -could play the fiddle." He was interrupted by a sudden clatter. Mrs. -Parker had dropped her spoon and was looking at him as if fascinated. -"I liked Mrs. Bohm, but I never had no use for him. I don't know about -the other things, but he sure done Jean La Monte dirt." He rose from -the table and walked toward the door. "Well, I reckon I'd better be -movin' on, I want to get to Bosman's tonight." He looked up the -valley, "I can see Bohm now, ridin' that big black horse of his, -carryin' a little cotton-wood switch for a whip, and laughin' at -everything, he was a queer one, sure enough. Well, so long--thank you -for my supper," and he went out into the evening. - -"Big black horse! He was always on a big black horse!" That pitiful -refrain of Jean La Monte as he had sought the rider of that horse -through all those weary years. Again I saw the men waiting in the -wagon and that poor half-clad figure stooping to pick up a little -cotton-wood switch, and I wondered if across the great divide La Monte -had caught up with Bohm at last. - - * * * * * - -Owen was busy in the office making out contracts for recently -purchased land. Mr. Parker and an agent were entertaining some -land-buyers, scraps of their conversation "bushels to the acre" and -"back in Kansas" reached me from time to time as I walked up and down -under the stars. - -"Where are you, childy?" Dear Mrs. Parker was always concerned when I -was not in sight. "Out there alone?" she asked as she came across the -yard to join me. We sat down on the bunk-house steps, glorying in the -beauty of the night. We were silent for a few moments and then she -spoke. - -"Do you know, Mrs. Brook, him talkin' about Mr. Bohm tonight at supper -has made me think of so many things. I never paid much attention to -all them stories old Mrs. Morton and other folks told, but some mighty -queer things have happened since we've been here." - -"What kind of things?" I asked, wondering if she, too, had breathed -the air of mystery which surrounded the old ranch. - -"Well, I don't know exactly," she hesitated, "you'll think I'm silly, -perhaps, but you know sometimes when I'm down there," she pointed to -the house among the trees, "makin' out my postal reports, sometimes -it's eleven or twelve o'clock before I'm through. It's awful quiet -after everyone's gone to sleep and I've heard all kinds of queer -sounds, maybe they might be rats or the wind, but often and often, -just as plain as I can hear your voice now, I've heard the sound of a -violin like somebody was playin'. It give me an awful start when that -man spoke of Bohm's havin' played the violin." - -"Perhaps somebody is playing," I ventured, with a well remembered -sensation of ice in the region of my spine. "The houses aren't far -away now; you could easily hear someone playing if the wind was in the -right direction." - -Mrs. Parker shook her head. - -"No, that ain't it. There ain't a violin in the country, and, besides, -it's too near; it's like it came from here"--Mrs. Parker looked up at -the bunkhouse door--"and none of Ethel's plays." - -I said nothing. I remembered too well hearing the strains of the -violin as they used to float out through the silent night while old -Bohm played to himself up there in the bunkhouse, hour after hour. I -was troubled as the echoes of the past grew louder. - -"And then," Mrs. Parker resumed, "there was that passage. I told you -about that, didn't I?" - -"No. Passage! What passage?" I turned to her in the moonlight which -showed a puzzled frown between her eyes. - -"Why, the passage old Dad Patten found. I thought I'd told you about -that, but maybe it was the year that you and Mr. Brook was away." She -paused a moment. "The third year after Ethel and John came here, John, -he raised such a big crop of potatoes the cellar was plumb full, so he -had Dad tear out some of the old bins under the bunk house to make -some larger ones. Tom Lane was helpin' him, and, of course, Tom was -drunk. They'd tore out one or two, but when they come to the third, -they found a deep hole behind it about four foot square. They stuck a -spade into it, but it seemed to go back so far Dad he thought he'd -investigate, so he begun to crawl into it to see how far it went. He -was well in when Tom begun to laugh and act like he was goin' to wall -him up, so Dad backed out, for he said that he was afraid Tom was just -drunk enough to do it. Dad said, though, that he went in the whole -length of his body and stretched his arm out as far as he could, but -didn't touch nothin', so he knew it went on further, and he said that -it seemed to lead off in the direction of the old root cellar." - -"Root cellar," I repeated, too perturbed to say anything else. - -"Yes," said Mrs. Parker, "but, you know, Dad, he'd never heard any of -them stories about the root cellar; Dad's too deaf to hear anything, -so he didn't think nothin' about it except that it was some kind of an -old dugout, and they went on and built the new bins, and about two -months after John had got all his potatoes in Dad happened to say -something about it. I was so beat I like to died, and when I told Dad -what folks said about the old root cellar and Bohm, he turned as white -as a sheet. You couldn't get him up to the bunk house now if you was -to drag him." - -"You don't believe----" I began, then stopped as Mrs. Parker rose and -put her hand on my shoulder. - -"Childy, I don't know whether I believe them tales or not. I've -scarcely been off this place since you went away ten years ago and -I've seen and heard some mighty strange things. There's lots of things -in life we can't explain--we just have to accept 'em, and that's the -way I've had to do here. Maybe there's spirits and maybe there ain't, -but there's some facts there's no gettin' 'round"--Mrs. Morton's very -words again--"but Dad's findin' that passage sure made me believe 'em -more than I ever did before, and I do believe that some terrible -things have been done right here on this dear old place, and that -somewhere old Bohm's spirit's mighty restless." - - * * * * * - -Owen and I sat up before the fire talking until late that night, for -one of the buyers wanted the home place. It was hard to give it up, -for we both loved it, but the old life had passed, and we were not a -part of the new. Owen's business kept him almost constantly in Denver, -and we were at the ranch so little it seemed useless to cling to it -longer. The most difficult decision had been made ten years before. -This, in a way, was more simple, yet this was final; it meant the -breaking of the last tie which bound us to those broad acres, and we -were both silent a long time after we had agreed that it was best to -let the old place go. - -Suddenly I thought of my conversation with Mrs. Parker, and told Owen -of the finding of the passage under the bunk house. He sat looking -into the fire, and made no comment until I had finished. - -"It is strange, to say the least. I don't suppose we shall ever know -the real truth about it, but it doesn't make much difference now; and -if old Bohm's spirit is wandering about here it will feel a little out -of place in a cornfield." - -"It certainly will, but, Owen, don't you hope 'it's mighty restless -somewhere'?" - -"Indeed I do," he laughed, and then grew serious again. "It's been -wonderful from first to last, our life here." He sighed a little. -"What experiences we've had!" - -"Yes, it has," I said, getting up and standing by the fireplace, where -Owen joined me. "It hasn't always been easy, but I wouldn't take -anything for the things I've learned. I'm not the 'Tenderfoot' you -brought out sixteen years ago; I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Westerner now. -My whole view of life has changed. It has not only been a wonderful -experience, Owen, but a wonderful privilege--to have lived here." - -Without a word we watched the last log break apart. The glowing sparks -lighted the room for a single instant, then died down, and in the -fading light of the coals we turned away. - -That night I lay awake. Vivified by the thought of the final parting -which was to come, our whole life on the ranch passed in review before -me, the problems and the difficulties, the adjustments, the changed -conditions and that disturbing sense of unsolved mystery. - -I got up and stood by the window looking out upon a world of silver. -Myriads of stars shone faintly in the heavens dimmed by the glory of -the moon, the pale outline of the mountain was just visible, and, as -on that first day when my heart was so heavy, I felt the sense of -confusion give way to peace. - -From the vast spaces, under the guardianship of that commanding -summit, we had gained a new sense of proportion, freedom from -hampering trivialities and a broader vision of life and its -responsibilities. - -Standing there in the moonlight facing the mountain, I saw in it more -than a symbol and source of strength; to me it had become indeed the -abiding place of a God. - -Looking back over the years, all the changes revealed only the -evolution of a wondrous plan. We had launched our frail barque in the -midst of the prairie sea at the ebb of the tide of the wild, lawless -days of the West; with the flow we had been carried through the years -of a well-ordered pastoral existence to the era of agricultural -productivity, and on each succeeding wave we had seen civilization -borne higher and higher toward the ultimate goal set by the Great -Spirit. - -Ours had been, indeed, a wonderful experience. - - THE END. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Tenderfoot Bride, by Clarice E. Richards - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TENDERFOOT BRIDE *** - -***** This file should be named 42507-8.txt or 42507-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/5/0/42507/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and Sue Clark - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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Richards - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A Tenderfoot Bride - Tales from an Old Ranch - -Author: Clarice E. Richards - -Release Date: April 12, 2013 [EBook #42507] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TENDERFOOT BRIDE *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and Sue Clark - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: PIKE'S PEAK FROM THE OLD RANCH] - - - - - A TENDERFOOT BRIDE - - BY - - CLARICE E. RICHARDS - - GARDEN CITY--NEW YORK - DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY - 1927 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY CLARICE E. RICHARDS. ALL - RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES - AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y. - - - - - To the One - whose Companionship, Inspiration and - Encouragement have made - this book possible - My Husband - - - - -CONTENTS - - I. First Impressions - II. A Surprise Party - III. The Root Cellar - IV. The Great Adventure Progresses - V. The Government Contract - VI. A Variety of Runaways - VII. The Measure of a Man - VIII. The Sheep Business - IX. The Unexpected - X. Around the Christmas Fire - XI. Ted - XII. Blizzards - XIII. Echoes of the Past - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - Pike's Peak from the Old Ranch - Roping and Cutting Out Cattle - Roping a Steer to Inspect Brand - Inspecting a Brand - The "Star" is a Frightened, Snorting "Broncho" - Trailed All the Way from New Mexico - Like a Solitary Fence Post - Bucking Horse and Rider - Facing Death Each Time They Ride a New Horse - - - - -A TENDERFOOT BRIDE - - - - -I - -FIRST IMPRESSIONS - - -When our train left Colorado Springs and headed out into those vast -stretches of the prairie, which spread East like a great green ocean -from the foot of Pike's Peak, all the sensations of Christopher -Columbus setting sail for a new world, and a few peculiarly my own, -mingled in my breast. - -As the train pounded along I stole a look at Owen. He was absorbed in -the contemplation of a map of our new holdings. Under that calm -exterior I suspected hidden attributes of the primitive man. Certainly -there was some reason why Western life was to his liking, having had -the chance to choose. - -It was late in the afternoon when we found ourselves on the platform -of the solitary little wayside station. The train went rushing on -through the July sunshine, as if impatient at the stop. Our fellow -passengers had drawn their heads back from the car windows, after -vainly trying to see what apparently sane people could find to stop -for in a place like that. In truth, there was little--a water tank, a -section house, two cottages and one store. - -A combination station-agent and baggage-man stood on the platform. -Near a hitching rack a tall individual was waving his long arms about -like a windmill as he beckoned us to approach. Owen picked up the -bags; I trudged along behind with various coats and packages, stopping -midway between platform and wagon to disengage a large tumbleweed, -which had rolled merrily to my feet and attached itself to my skirt. - -The tall man took a few steps in our direction, still holding the -reins in his hand. With one eye he gave us a greeting, while he kept -the other on the lunging horses. He was hardly a prepossessing person -at first sight, except for his smile. I felt that his keen black eyes -had sized us up in one quick glance. I became blushingly conscious of -being a new bride, and from "the East." - -"How-de-do? Whoa, now, Brownie. Just get in folks,--the old man had to -go to town, so he sent me to meet you, but he'll be back by the time -we get to the ranch." All this in one breath, while he helped Owen -place the bags in the wagon. - -"Don't mind the horses; they're plumb gentle--just a little excited -now over the train, that's all. Whoa now," with decided emphasis. -"Sorry, Mrs. Brook, hope you didn't hurt yourself"--this last as the -horses suddenly backed and knocked my foot off the step. "Oh, no, not -at all," I replied, hastily scrambling into the wagon and thanking -heaven that I had landed on the seat before they gave an unexpected -lurch forward. Owen got in beside the driver; the horses reared and -started off. I gripped the seat and my hat, and fastened my eyes on -the horses' ears. When we had crossed the railroad and the movement -was more steady, I began to "take notice" of things about me, and the -conversation going on in the front seat reached me in fragments. - -The driver said he was called "Tex." He was a true son of Texas, and -it was not difficult to imagine that particles of his native soil -still clung to him. The deep creases in his neck were so filled with -dirt that he looked like a charcoal sketch. As he turned his face, -lined and seamed, I saw that his chin was covered with at least a -week's growth of greyish-black beard. I estimated his age. He might -have been fifty; very quick in speech and action, yet there was a -subdued power about the man. He managed the horses easily, and I -caught in his drawling speech a casual, half-bantering tone. - -"Wonder if them grips is botherin' the Missus. Ridin' all right?" he -asked, turning with solicitude to see the location of the bags. As it -happened, they were all located on top of my feet. It was Owen who -removed them, for Tex's attention was again engaged with Brownie, who -suddenly landed quite outside the road. A cotton-tail had jumped from -behind a rattleweed. - -"Quit that now, Brownie. You never did have no sense." The drawl was -half-sarcastic. "'Pears like you ain't never seen no rabbits before, -'stead a bein' raised with 'em." Brownie gave a little shake of her -pretty head and crowded her long-suffering mate back into the road -again. I was becoming very much interested. This man was a distinctly -new type to me. I did not know then that he was the old-time -cow-puncher, with an ease of manner a Chesterfield might have envied, -and an unfailing, almost deferential, courtesy toward women. - -Never shall I forget that first drive across the prairie,--not a -house, not a tree in sight, except where the cottonwoods traced the -borders of a waterless creek. Gently rolling hills were all about us, -instead of the flat country I had expected to see; hills which failed -to reveal anything when we reached the top, but yet higher hills to -climb. An unexpected vastness seemed to extend to the very boundaries -of the unknown, as we looked about on all sides, only to see the soft -green circle of the hills, on which the bluest of skies gently rested, -sweep about us. I felt the spell of unlimited space, and smiled as I -thought of the tearful farewell of one of my bridesmaids. She had -"hated" to think of my being "cooped up on a ranch." "Cooped up" here, -when for the first time I realized what unhampered freedom might mean -in a country left as God had made it, with so little trace of man's -interference! - -At last we came to a gate made of three strands of barbed wire, -fastened together in the middle and attached to a stick at each end. -It was a real gate when up, but when opened, it was a floppy invention -of the Evil One, designed to tax the patience of a saint. The strands -of wire got mixed and crossed and grew perceptibly shorter, so that it -required superhuman strength and something of a disposition to get the -end of the stick through the loop of wire, which held it in place -again. - -This gate marked the Southern boundary of the ranch, ten miles from -the railroad station. We reached the top of a hill and looked up a -long valley, where the creek wound its way, fringed by great -cottonwood trees, until its source was lost behind three prominent -buttes, purple in the haze of the late afternoon. Beyond the buttes -stood Pike's Peak, snow-capped and alone, guardian of the valley, the -whole length of which it commanded. Through some peculiarity of -position all the other peaks of the Rockies remained invisible, while -this one mountain rose in majestic isolation from the plain. - -Tex stopped the horses for a moment, and without a word pointed with -the whip toward a clump of cottonwoods in the distance. - -"The ranch?" I asked. - -He nodded. - -In the beautiful valley it stood, the white fences, corrals and -outbuildings gleaming in the sun. Nestled among the trees, planted so -densely that only a suggestion of its white walls showed between them, -was the house--our first home! - -As we drove up to the gate, a short man, with a thick beard, bustled -out to meet us. - -"Well, here you are! Got here all right. Sorry I couldn't meet you. -Come right in. You must be tired settin'." And before we quite -realized that we had arrived, we were ushered into the house through -the back door. - -As a matter of fact, there was no front door. Two outside doors opened -into the kitchen, one on either side, and since the kitchen was in -truth the "living-room," what need of a front door? - -A placid-faced, elderly woman greeted us, and after a few moments -conducted us up a crooked stairway to a room under the eaves. - -Owen left hastily "to look around outside," and I followed as quickly -as possible for I knew that if I looked around inside for any length -of time, I should start back to the railroad station on foot. - -Old Mr. and Mrs. Bohm had lived on the place for over thirty years in -this house, which was the evolution of a dug-out, with many subsequent -periods in prospect before it became a possible home. Mrs. Bohm had -recently been having "fainting spells," which frightened her husband -into a plan to dispose of the ranch and live in town. - -It was a wonderful ranch. Acres on acres of richest grass, a wealth of -hay land and natural water holes,--a paradise for stock. To poor -homesick me, this place had no suggestion of paradise. It looked run -down and disorderly; the fences around the house were adorned with -everything from old battered tin buckets and mowing-machine wheels to -the smallest piece of rusty wire. Mrs. Bohm confided to me that "James -liked it that way because everything was so handy." There was no -questioning that, but as a first impression it was hopeless, and my -heart grew heavier and heavier as I thought of the new house in -Wyoming, where we had expected to be, and the Eastern home I had just -left. - -I walked out of sight of the festooned fence and tried to think. Up -the valley the Peak was deep blue against the golden evening sky, and -in the vast, unbroken silence of the prairies I felt the sense of -chaos and confusion give way to peace. The old house, tumble-down -fences, mowing machine wheels and wire took an inconsequent place in -the scale of things compared to Owen's undertaking. He _must_ succeed. -The undesirable could be removed or made over. We were in a new world, -we had a great domain, we faced undreamed of experiences and -possibilities. My spirits rose with a bound, and I resolved from that -moment to consider our life here in the West, in the midst of new -conditions, a great adventure. At that instant the original Bohm -dug-out would have held no terrors for me. - -Perhaps if I had known just how great the adventure was to be, what -varied and nerve-testing experiences the future did hold, I might have -been daunted; but with a farewell look at the Peak and a new sense of -strength and courage, I went to meet Owen. I realized that he knew the -possibilities of the place and that the conditions would all soon be -changed, and I knew, too, that he was distressed at the realization of -how it must all appear to me. He looked troubled, as he came toward -me. - -"Can you stand it for a little while?" he asked. - -"Of course, I can," I replied, cheerfully, blindly taking the first -step toward the great adventure. - -"It's all right, dear; it's going to be wonderful, living here." - -Mr. and Mrs. Bohm, Tex and six bashful cow-punchers were in the -kitchen waiting for us before they sat down to supper. We were -presented to the men, and in acknowledgment of the introduction -received a fleeting glance from six pairs of diffident eyes and a -quick jerk from six slickly brushed heads. - -Mrs. Bohm took her seat at the foot of the long oil-cloth-covered -table, and old Mr. Bohm sat at the head. Fortunate for me that Owen -and I sat side by side. If once during that meal I had caught his eye, -I should have disgraced myself forever. - -Except old Bohm, no one said anything. Indeed, no one had a chance, -for he talked all the time, telling stories, cracking jokes at which -he laughed immoderately, interspersing his conversation with waves of -his fork, with which from time to time he reflectively combed his -beard. I could not take my eyes off him; there was a weird fascination -in following the movements of that fork. It was prescience which led -me to do so, for old Bohm suddenly ceased using it as a toilet article -and jabbed it into a piece of meat, which he held out toward me. - -"Here, Mrs. Brook, have some more beef. I've been talkin' along here -and clean forgot you folks must be hungry." I assured him I couldn't -eat another bite. It was the most truthful statement of my life. - -That night I lay awake for hours, thinking over the day's experiences, -and incidentally trying to find a spot on the mattress where a lump -did not threaten to press a rib out of place. At last I fell asleep, -to be suddenly awakened by the slam of a gate under our window, -followed by an exclamation which floated up out of the grey dawn: "By -hell, but this is a fine day." Then came the squeak of the pump -handle, as old Bohm performed his morning ablutions, more slams of the -gate, and more salutations of the same order in varying phraseology, -but always beginning with "By hell." - -Shades of my ministerial ancestors! Was this the language of the new -country in which we had come to live? Surely the great adventure -promised startling sensations at the outset, to say nothing of a -certain sliding scale of standards. - -Owen stirred and asked sleepily what on earth I was doing up at that -hour of the day. - -"Changing my viewpoint," I replied, looking out toward old Bohm's -shadowy figure on its way toward the corral. "That has to be done -early." - - - - -II - -A SURPRISE PARTY - - -We were living in the land of the unexpected. Six weeks on the ranch -demonstrated that. The possibilities for surprise were inexhaustible, -and the probabilities innumerable and certain, if Owen happened to be -away. - -On one of these occasions the cook eloped with the best rider on the -place, more thrilling and upsetting to my peace of mind than the -cloud-burst and flood that followed soon after. Twenty-two husky and -hungry men wanted three square meals a day, and one inexperienced -bride stood between them and starvation. The situation was mutually -serious. - -In my need came help. Tex, our coachman on that first drive, saved the -day. Shortly after the elopement he came in for supplies for the -cow-camp. I was almost hidden by pans of potatoes, and was paring away -endlessly. He was very quiet when I explained, but after supper he -gathered up the dishes to wash them for me, looking very serious. When -he had finished, he suddenly turned to me: - -"Say, Mrs. Brook, I've just been studyin'. Jack Brent kin cook for the -boys out at camp all right, and if you kin stand it, I kin come in and -cook for you. It sure got my goat to see you rastlin' with them -potatoes and wearin' yourself out cookin' for these here men." - -Good old Tex! That was little short of saintly. Camp cooking where he -was autocrat was far more to his taste. He hated "messin' 'round where -there was women," as he expressed it. Here was sacrifice indeed! Tex -scrubbed his hands until they fairly bled, enveloped himself in a -large checked gingham apron, and proceeded to act as chef until the -eloper had been replaced. - -Something deepened in me. I was seeing a new thing. - -Owen had been gone nearly a week. One morning I happened to be in the -kitchen when Mrs. Bohm entered. Casually she asked Tex whether Ed -More's wife had left him before he went to jail, or after he got out. -Half in joke, I said: - -"Mercy, Mrs. Bohm, is there a man in this country, with the exception -of Tex, who hasn't been in jail or on the way there?" - -I was interrupted by the slamming of a door, and Tex had vanished. -Mrs. Bohm looked embarrassed as she replied: - -"I just hate to tell you, Mrs. Brook, and Tex would feel terrible to -have you know; but you say such queer things sometimes, I'd better -tell you now that Tex"--she paused a moment--"he's only been out of -the 'pen' himself a year." - -"Tex in the penitentiary? What on earth for?" I was almost dazed. - -[Illustration: ROPING AND CUTTING OUT CATTLE] - -"Well, I'll tell you." Mrs. Bohm began the story with apparent -reluctance, but her manner soon betrayed a certain zest. "You see, -about four years ago Tex was workin' for a man up on Crow Creek and -took some cattle on to Omaha to sell for him. When he came back he -never brought a cent of money, and told how he had been held up and -robbed. Everybody believed it at first, then all to onct his -family--they live over West--began to dress to kill, and Tex bought -brass beds for every room in the house; then folks began to suspicion -where he got the money, and he was sent to the Pen for two years." - -Poor old Tex! Who would ever have supposed a secret longing for brass -beds would prove his undoing? I might have guessed horses or cards, -but never brass beds. I almost felt the breath of tragedy. She seemed -sweeping by. - -Mrs. Bohm went on: "Tex's mighty good to his family, though, and it -most killed him when his wife went off with a Mexican sheep-herder -while he was doin' time. She's back home now with the girls, but her -and Tex's separated. Ain't it a fright the way women acts?" - -"It certainly is," I agreed, trying to reconcile my previous idea of -convicts with having one for a cook. It was dreadfully confusing and -disturbing. In spite of what I had just heard, I knew I trusted Tex. -He would never steal from us, I felt sure. And my instinct told me he -would be a true and loyal friend. There was no apparent excuse for -what he had done, but he had paid for his moment of weakness more -fully perhaps than anyone realized. I pondered over it. - -Presently he came in, with a curious, troubled expression on his face. -I gave him the orders, as usual, with no sign of having heard of the -cloud under which he had lived for three miserable years. Our -relations were re-established. I could see his relief. - -We were still taking our meals in the kitchen, although the house was -gradually being remodeled. It was Saturday evening, and we were -expecting Owen home. There was an air of suppressed excitement among -the men. One, and then another, bolted from the table and out of the -door, returning in a shame-faced manner to explain that he "thought he -heered somethin'." Certainly Owen's coming would never produce such a -sensation, unless he was expected to arrive in an airship. I was more -than ever mystified. - -After the meal was over, there was such a general shaving--also in the -kitchen--and such donning of red neckties, that I could not restrain -my curiosity. I called Tex aside and asked him where they were going. -He looked a little sheepish, as he replied: - -"Why, we ain't goin' nowhere." Then in a burst of confidence, "I don't -know as I'd orter tell you, but the fact is, you folks is goin' to be -surprised; all the folks 'round is goin' to have a party here, and -we're expectin' 'em." - -I gasped. A sudden suspicion flashed through my mind. - -"Tex, did you plan this? What on earth shall I do?" - -Tex saw I was really troubled. "Why, Mrs. Brook," he said, "you don't -have to do nothin'. Just turn the house over to 'em, and along about -midnight I'll make some coffee--they'll bring baskets." - -I was relieved to know that they only wanted the house, and would -provide their own refreshments, for it was appalling to be an -impromptu hostess to an entire community and to speculate upon the -possibility of one small cold roast and chocolate cake satisfying a -crowd of young people, after drives of thirty miles or more across the -prairie. - -"Me and the boys"--Tex spoke somewhat apologetically, as he started -toward the door--"we kind a thought maybe you and Mr. Brook would like -to get acquainted, seem's how you're goin' to live here; but I guess -we oughten to have did what we done." - -I felt ashamed of my momentary perturbation, as the force of that last -sentence of Tex's reached me. These men of the plains were as simple -and sensitive as children about many things. They would really grieve -if they felt this affair, planned solely on our account, gave us no -pleasure. I hastened to reassure him. - -"It was mighty nice of you men to think of it," I said, cheerfully. -"We do want to know the people in the country, and we are going to -enjoy every moment. I was 'surprised' before the party began, that's -all." - -Tex went out satisfied, grinning broadly. - -To my good fortune, Owen arrived before the guests came. I told him -what was about to befall us. His expression was dubious. All he said -was "Thunder." - -Owen and one of the men had been driving about the country all the -week, buying horses suitable to turn in on a Government cavalry -contract. The night before they had spent on the floor of a cold -railroad station, wrapped up in their blankets, with a lighted lantern -under the covering at their feet. Their sleep was somewhat broken, -with either cremation or freezing pending that cold September night. -Poor Owen! He was completely worn out. And now he had to go through a -surprise party. - -At eight o'clock, Tex, self-appointed master of ceremonies, ushered in -the first arrivals. They were a tall, lean chap and two very much -be-curled young misses. I made trials without number at conversation, -but they could only be induced to say "Yes" and "No." - -From eight until ten they came,--ranchmen, cow-punchers, -ex-cow-punchers running their own outfits, infant cow-punchers, girls -and women, until kitchen and sitting room were filled to overflowing, -and every chair and bench on the place in use. Among the last to -arrive was a tall, languid Texan, accompanied by two languid, -drab-colored women. They were presented to us as "Robert, Missus Reed -and Maggie." "Maggie," I immediately concluded, was a sister, but not -being quite certain, I sought enlightenment from Mrs. Bohm. - -"She ain't Reed's sister," she informed me in a low tone, "she's his -girl." - -"Oh, works for them, you mean?" I said, somewhat puzzled by the Reed -connections. - -"Works nothin'," Mrs. Bohm replied, scornfully. "She's got the next -place to 'em and goes with 'em everywhere. Ella don't seem to mind. -I'd just call her Maggie' if I was you," and Mrs. Bohm departed to -join a group of women near the door. - -I looked over at the two with a new interest. They were chatting and -laughing together, the "girl" and the wife seemingly on the best of -terms, with no sign of rivalry for the tall Texan's affections. Here -was a situation fraught with latent possibilities that made me -tremble, yet--"Ella don't seem to mind." - -The kitchen had been converted into a ballroom by moving the table up -against the wall and placing three chairs upon it. Unfortunately the -sink and stove were fixtures, but everything else, including the bread -jar, found a temporary resting place in the yard. - -Old Bohm, with his fiddle under his arm, gingerly ascended the table -first. Then another man followed with a similar instrument; and last -came a youth with a mouth harp. No fatality having resulted from the -musicians taking their seats, the dancing began. - -The music, if such a combination of sounds can be dignified by that -name, was such as to defy description. Never in the wildest flights of -fancy could I have conceived of such execution and such sounds. The -two men sawed their violins, and the third was purple in the face from -his efforts on the mouth-harp; all were stamping time with their feet, -and he of the harp was slapping his knee with his unoccupied hand. - -Before every dance a council was held, after which each musician would -play the tune decided upon, as best suited to his taste. Old Bohm -tried to get to the end in the shortest time possible, while the -second fiddler, taking things more seriously, finished four or five -bars behind his companion. The harpist, not playing "second" to -anything or anybody, had his own opinion as to how "A Hot Time in the -Old Town" should go. With these independent views, the result was a -series of the most discordant sounds that ever fell on mortal ears. -However, music mattered little, for all had come to have a good time, -and the "caller-out," with both eyes shut tight and arms folded across -his breast, was making himself heard above all other sounds. - -"Birdie in the center and all hands around!" he commanded. Then -fiddles and mouth harp began a wild jig, couples raced 'round and -'round, while "Birdie," a blond and blushing maiden, stood patiently -in the midst of the whirling circle, until the next order came: - - "Birdie hop out and Crow hop in! - Take holt of paddies and run around agin." - -"Crow" was a broad, heavy-set cow-puncher, wearing chaps, and in the -endeavor to "run around agin," I found my progress somewhat impeded by -his spurs, which caught in my skirt and very nearly upset me. - -All the riders wore their heavy boots and spurs, and it required real -agility to avoid being stepped on or having one's skirt torn to -ribbons. I was devoutly thankful that chiffon and tulle ball gowns -were not worn on ranches. - -There was more to avoid than spurs. We had to dance about the kitchen -and avoid the stove, the sink and the tabled musicians, to say nothing -of the nails in the floor. But after a few hours' practice, I began to -feel qualified to waltz on top of the House of the Seven Gables, and -avoid at least six of them. - -Finally, the caller-out shouted loudly: - - "Allemande, Joe! Right hand to pardner and around you go. - Balance to corners, don't be slack; - Turn right around and take a back track. - When you git home, don't be afraid, - Swing her agin and all promenade." - -My partner obeyed every command with such vigor that when at last he -led me to my seat I was panting and dizzy; nor had I quite recovered -my breath when the music struck up again, and Tex led me forth. - -The exertion of the first quadrille had been too much for his comfort, -so he had dispensed with both collar and coat. His trousers and vest -bore evidence of having seen many a round-up, and his shirt, which had -once been white, was now multi-colored. In the wonderful red ascot tie -which encircled his neck were stuck four scarf-pins, one above the -other. There being nothing to hold the loop of the tie in place, it -gradually worked up the back of his head, until its progress was -stopped by the edge of a small skull-cap, which Tex wore as the -crowning feature of his costume. The cap, tilted slightly to one side, -gave him a rakish appearance, quite in contrast with his air of -importance and responsibility. - -I danced--my head fairly spins when I think _how_ I danced--for, since -the party was given in our honor, dance I must with every man who -asked me. - -Owen, not being a dancing man, made himself agreeable to the -wall-flowers and the children, stealing upstairs about once an hour -for a few moments' nap on the bedroom floor. The beds themselves were -occupied by sleeping infants, whose mothers were going through the -intricate mazes of those dances below. - -At one o'clock Tex began to make the coffee, whereupon the musicians -descended from the table, and the expectant party sat down. But where -were their baskets? My heart sank, as Tex approached holding a very -small one. He informed me in a stage whisper it was all there was! - -The basket contained a cake and one wee chick, evidently fried soon -after leaving the shell. It was the smallest chicken I ever saw. I -hastily produced our cake and roast, and then took one despairing look -around at the forty individuals to be fed. I shall never be able to -explain it, unless Tex had an Aladdin's lamp concealed in his pocket, -for cake, roast and chicken appeared to be inexhaustible, and the -supply more than equaled the demand. - -I was aroused from my contemplation of the miracle by a feminine -voice, the speaker saying half to herself and half to me: - -"It took me most two hours to iron Nell's dress this mornin', but I -sure got a pretty 'do' on it." Following her beaming glance, I found -that it rested on a mass of ruffles, which adorned the dress of -"Birdie" of that first quadrille. Just then the music began again, and -I saw Ed Lay ask her to dance. I trusted, after all that work, the -'do' wouldn't be undone by his spurs; still the effort had not been -wasted, for this was the fifth time he had danced with her. - -No doting mother could have taken more pride in the debut of an only -child, than this work-worn sister whose eyes sparkled as they followed -"Birdie's" whirling figure held firmly by the encircling arm of the -cow-puncher, and she murmured softly with a half sigh, "Ain't it -grand?" To me it was "grand" indeed, that even an embryo romance could -bring a new light to those tired eyes. - -It was six o'clock Sunday morning when one most thoughtful person -suggested that "they'd orter be goin'"; and by seven the last guest -had departed. Then Owen and I, weary and heavy-eyed, donned our wraps, -climbed into the wagon, and started on a sixteen-mile drive to the -railroad to meet his brother, who was coming from California to see -"how we were making it." - -I was almost too tired to speak, but one thought was struggling for -expression, and as we started up the first long hill, I had to say: - -"Anyone who ever spoke of the 'peace and quiet of ranch life' lived in -New York and dreamed about it. In twenty-four hours I have discovered -that we have an ex-convict for a trusted cook, and have received as -guests a man with his wife and resident affinity. We have had a -surprise party and I have danced with all the blemished characters the -country boasts of, until six o'clock in the morning of the Sabbath -day, with never a qualm of conscience. What do you suppose has become -of my moral standards?" - -Owen was amused. He asked me, quizzically, what I thought they would -be by the end of a year. - -"Mercy!" I replied, "at the rate they are being overthrown, there -won't be enough left to consider, unless"--I thought a moment--"unless -I can reconstruct a more enduring set from parts of the old." - - - - -III - -THE ROOT CELLAR - - -"East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." The -phrase kept haunting me all through these first days when everything -was so new and strange. I almost felt as though I had passed into a -new phase of existence. - -Except for Owen, there was no point of contact between the world of -cities and people I had just left and this land of cattle and -cow-punchers, bounded by the sky-rimmed hills. In Owen, however, the -East and the West did meet. He understood and belonged to both and -adapted himself as easily to the one as to the other. Wearing his -derby, he belonged to the life of the East; in his broad-brimmed -Stetson, he was a living part of the West. - -The compelling reality of this new life affected me deeply. -Non-essentials counted for nothing. There were no artificial problems -or values. - -No one in the country cared who you might have been or who you were. -The _Mayflower_ and Plymouth Rock meant nothing here. It would be -thought you were speaking of some garden flowers or some breed of -chickens. - -The one thing of vital importance was what you were--how you adjusted -yourself to meet conditions as you found them, and how nearly you -reached, or how far you fell below their measure of man or woman. - -I felt as though up to this time I had been in life's kindergarten, -but that I had now entered into its school, and I realized that only -as I passed the given tests should I succeed. - -I learned much from the rough, untutored men with whom I was in daily -association. They were men whose rules of conduct were governed by -individual choice, unhampered by conventions. They were so direct and -honest, so unfailingly kind and gentle toward any weaker thing, and so -simple and responsive, that I liked and trusted them from the first. -All but old Bohm, the man from whom we were buying. He was such a -totally different type that he seemed a man apart. The son of a German -father and an Irish mother, he had inherited a nature too complex and -contradictory to be easily fathomed. - -Mrs. Bohm, with her white, calm face and gentle voice, attracted me, -but her husband aroused in both Owen and me an instinctive distrust. -He was good nature personified, a most companionable person, with his -easy, contagious laugh, his amusing stories, quick wit, and breezy air -of good fellowship. He could quote Burns, Scott, and other poets by -the hour, and fiddle away on his violin, until we were nearly moved to -tears. He was almost too good-natured; he didn't quite ring true. I -noticed that while he always referred or spoke to his wife -affectionately, as "my old mammy," her attitude toward him was rather -impersonal. She called him "James" with quiet dignity, but seldom -talked with him, and appeared to take very little interest. - -On the side of a hill, some distance from the house, was an old root -cellar, used, according to Bohm, for storing potatoes, turnips, and -other vegetables for winter. It was most inconveniently located; there -were hillsides much nearer, and considering that the cellar under the -house was always used for such purposes, it seemed strange that -another should be needed so far away. I was possessed with a desire to -explore it. It suggested hidden treasures and Indian relics, which I -was collecting. One day I was poised on the top of the cellar step, -about to descend into its mysterious depths. - -Old Bohm appeared. "Was you lookin' for something'?" he asked, -somewhat out of breath. - -"Oh, no," I replied, going down a few steps. "I was just exploring, -and thought I would investigate this old root cellar." - -"I thought that was what you was goin' to do, and I hurried up to tell -you to be awful careful of rattlesnakes; there's a pile of 'em 'round -these here old cellars." Bohm spoke with apparent solicitude. - -"Heavens! I wouldn't go down there for anything!" I exclaimed,--and I -got out of the cellarway as quickly as possible. - -Old Bohm looked down the steps at the strong, closed door of heavy -boards. - -"Oh, maybe it would be all right. You could listen for 'em and jump, -if you heard 'em rattle," he remarked, casually. - -I shook my head. "Not much; I don't want to hear them rattle," and I -started toward the house. - -Bohm went up toward the wind-mill. As I turned away I caught a curious -expression on his face--a faint gleam of something. - -As I came through the meadow gate, Owen was getting into the buggy. - -"Hello," he called, "I've been looking for you everywhere. I have to -drive over to Three Bar. Do you want to go?" - -I was always ready to go anywhere, so while Owen was driving the -horses about, I ran in to get my hat. - -Not one of our horses was thoroughly broken, so we always had to -follow the same method of procedure before starting anywhere. After -the horses were hitched up, Charley, to whom fell odd jobs of every -sort, stood at their heads until Owen was fairly seated and had the -lines firmly in his hands. Then, after a few ineffectual attempts to -kick or run down Charley before he could get out of the way, off -dashed the horses around and around the open space between the house -and the pond, until a little of the edge had been taken off their -spirits. Then Owen stopped them for one moment, I made a quick jump -into the buggy, and away we went at top speed toward the gate that -Charley had run to open. We usually missed the post by a quarter of an -inch, and at that juncture I invariably shut my eyes and held my -breath. - -The road to Three Bar Ranch led to the North and wound up a very long -hill, then across a rolling mesa. The prairie was covered with short -grama grass, just turning a faint brown, the yellow sunflowers and -great clumps of rattleweed, with its spikes of lovely purple, giving a -touch of color to the scene before us. The Spanish bayonet dotted the -hillsides, and over all hung the summer sky like burnished copper. The -only sound, aside from that of the horses' hoofs and the crunch of the -wheels on the soft prairie road, was the occasional song of the meadow -lark, all the joy of the summer day sounding in its one short -thrilling note. In the gulches, where the grass grew deep and rank, -the wind tossed it softly, and it rippled and sparkled in the shifting -light, as water gleams in the sun. Everything was so still that -animation seemed for the time suspended, as we drove along silenced by -the spell of the prairies. - -Three Bar, one of the oldest ranches in the country, stood against the -side of a hill. It was a long, low structure of logs built in the -prevailing fashion of the early ranch houses, room after room opening -into one another, usually with an outside door to each. - -The ranch was owned by the Mortons, English people, who were among the -earliest settlers in the country. They greeted us most cordially, and -as Owen went out to the corral with Mr. Morton to look at some horses, -Mrs. Morton took me into the house. - -The room we entered had very little furniture, but was redeemed from -bareness by a wonderful old stone fireplace at one end. - -Mrs. Morton was short and heavy set. "Spotless" was the only word her -appearance suggested when I first saw her. Her skin was as fair as a -child's, while her hair was as white as the apron she wore. - -Her flow of conversation was unceasing, and I was reminded of a remark -that Charley made to me when the telephone was first put in over the -fence lines. - -"Old lady Morton talked so fast that she ripped all the barbs off the -wire." Before I had time to reply to one question, she had asked -another, and was off on an entirely different subject. I suppose the -accumulated conversation of months was vented on my innocent head, for -she told me, poor thing, that she hadn't seen another woman since -Christmas. - -"Us"--she never said we--"us never visits the neighbors, but was -coming up to see you, Mrs. Brook, for us heard you and Mr. Brook was -different. Us lives out here on a ranch, but us knows when people are -the right kind." - -I didn't know whether to be considered "different" was desirable, or -not, and I was dying to ask her what constituted "the right kind," but -had no time before she suddenly asked: - -"Have the Bohms gone? Us was waiting till they went." - -I explained that they were still on the ranch, as Mr. Bohm had to -gather and counterbrand all the stock before turning it over to Owen, -and that he had been delayed. - -Mrs. Morton gave a little grunt of contempt. "Old Bohm won't hurry any -while he's getting free board. He may be with you all winter. Us hopes -Mr. Brook won't be imposed on. He's a smart man, old Jim Bohm is, but -he's a bad one." - -"Bad one?" I repeated, inwardly praying that the Bohms would not be -permanent guests. - -"Old Jim Bohm is a bad man," Mrs. Morton said again, rocking violently -back and forth. "I was here when they came. She's all right, but there -is nothing he won't do. Why"--her voice sank to a whisper--"sixteen -men have been traced as far as that ranch and never been heard of -again, and Jim Bohm's been getting richer all along." - -Mrs. Morton scarcely paused for breath, so I couldn't have said -anything. But I was speechless, anyhow. - -"Not one of them, not one," she declared, "was ever heard of again, -and if you were to examine that old root cellar on the hill, you'd -find out what I say is true." - -The incident of the morning flashed across my mind, and I felt as -though a piece of ice were being drawn slowly along my spine. - -"How perfectly horrible!" I managed to gasp, "but it can't be true." - -[Illustration: ROPING A STEER TO INSPECT BRAND] - -"It's true, all right." There was no doubting Mrs. Morton's -conviction. "There's facts there's no getting 'round. Jim Bohm and old -Happy Dick, that used to work for him, came up here over the trail -from Texas with a band of horses that Bohm and another man owned. The -other fellow was with them when they started, but Bohm said he died on -the way, and that's all anyone knows about it, except that old Bohm -kept all the horses." - -"Then a few years later, a young fellow that was consumptive, came out -to work for them. I know he had quite a bit of money, because he -stopped here once to ask John what to do with it. He hadn't been there -very long before he dropped dead, according to Jim Bohm's story. His -folks back East tried to get the money, but Bohm said the fellow owed -it to him, and they couldn't do a thing about it." - -I sat as if petrified, unable to take my eyes from Mrs. Morton's face, -as she went on and on. - -"He was in with all the rustlers in the country," she continued, "and -once when a posse was hunting a man who had stole a lot of horses, -Bohm tried his best to keep them from searching the place, but the -Sheriff told him they would arrest him if he made any more fuss about -it, so he had to keep still. When they came to the haymow, they stuck -a pitchfork right into a man hidden in the hay, and old Bohm swore he -didn't know a thing about his being there. The next us heard, old Bill -Law had dropped dead in the corral. I tell you"--Mrs. Morton leaned -forward and shook her finger in my face--"it's mighty funny, the way -men keeps dropping dead over there; they don't do it anywhere else. -Happy Dick was the last. About a year ago he told Morton he'd stole -two men rich, and now he was going to steal himself rich. But two days -after he was found dead in the willows, and Bohm said that when he -came upon the body, Happy Dick had been dead for hours." - -Mrs. Morton showed signs of running down for a moment, so I hastened -to ask why it was that, though suspicion always pointed toward him, -old Bohm had never been arrested. - -"Jim Bohm's too smooth," Mrs. Morton answered. "If you found him with -a smoking gun in his hand and a man dead on the ground beside him, -he'd lie out of it somehow; probably would swear that as he came up, -he saw the man shoot himself. Oh! he's a slick one. Us always said us -pitied anyone who had business dealings with him, but," she stopped as -she saw Owen and Mr. Morton coming up the walk, "Mr. Brook looks like -a man that can take care of himself. I'd watch out for Bohm, though. -Watch out for him!" - -"Thank you, Mrs. Morton," I said, as Owen came to the door. "I am glad -you told me. Please come to see us," and with conflicting emotions I -prepared to leave Three Bar Ranch. - -I scarcely knew what to think. I was worried, and yet---- - -When I told Owen I expected him to pooh-pooh the story and relieve my -mind, but he did nothing of the sort. With a queer little wrinkle -between his eyes, he listened attentively. - -"Owen, you don't think there is any truth in it, do you?" I asked, -much troubled by his silence. He flicked a fly off Dan's back before -replying: - -"I don't know what to think. The old chap's a rascal, there's no doubt -about that; but I didn't suppose he was a cold-blooded murderer." - -Again I felt the ice go up and down my spine. "Great heavens, Owen, -can't you have someone go through the root cellar, to see if there is -anything out of the way there? And, above all, get the stock gathered -and ship Bohm--I despise him, anyhow!" - -"Don't let it worry you," said Owen; "probably it's all mere talk. -Bohm won't bother us; and in a few weeks the stock will all be turned -over and he'll have no excuse for staying." - -"A few weeks is a long time," I said, gloomily, feeling as if my hold -on life were gradually slipping. "According to Mrs. Morton, everybody -on the place might drop dead in less time than that." - -Owen laughed, but the next moment a shadow crossed his face, and he -said decisively: - -"I'm going to look into that root-cellar business. I want to have the -place thoroughly cleaned out, anyhow." - - * * * * * - -The boys were going in to supper when we drove up. Charley came to -take the horses, and Owen greeted him: - -"Well, how's everything?" - -"Oh, all right," answered Charley indifferently, as he started to -loosen the tugs. "Nothin's happened since you folks went away, only -the old root cellar's caved in." - -Speech was impossible. Owen and I stood as if petrified, looking at -each other. We turned to go up to the house. I felt as though some -wretched fate were making game of us. As we entered the door, Owen -spoke: - -"Esther"--he was very serious--"don't say a word or betray any -interest whatever in this matter. After supper is over, I'll go up to -investigate." - -Talk about the skeleton at a feast! There were sixteen horrid, -grinning things around the table that night, besides a few that Mrs. -Morton had overlooked. - -Mrs. Bohm was whiter than usual and very quiet. Old Bohm was in high -spirits. We were scarcely seated before he declared it "a damn shame" -that the old root cellar had to cave in. - -We showed a little surprise, but affected unconcern. Playing the role -assigned to me, I remarked indifferently that we never used it, -anyhow, and with this Bohm cheerfully agreed. - -Later, when Owen went up to examine the cellar, I noticed, from my -point of observation at the window, that old Bohm was close by his -side. - -Soon after Owen came in looking very grave. - -"Well, it caved in, all right, and it never can be cleaned out. But -there's one thing I am convinced of"--and he looked toward the hill -with a frown--"it didn't cave in of itself." - - - - -IV - -THE GREAT ADVENTURE PROGRESSES - -John, the mail carrier, was our only connecting link with the great -outside world. Three times a week he brought the mail. From the first -sight of a tiny speck on the top of the distant hill, our hearts -thrilled. I watched it grow larger and larger, until the two-wheeled -cart stopped at the garden gate. With hands trembling with impatience, -I unlocked the old, worn bag, which John threw on the floor. - -I was the honorable Postmistress. My desk was covered with Postal -Laws, which I almost learned by heart. I had the New England respect -for the Federal prison, the place of correction for delinquent Postal -employees. - -One rule was absolute. The key of the mail bag had to be securely -attached to the Post Office. My Post Office was a wooden cracker box, -which held the mail for the few outside patrons. - -The inspector of Post Offices arrived unannounced one day. He -frowningly looked over my accounts, while I stood by in perturbation. -Suddenly he caught sight of the key at the end of a long brass chain -"securely attached to the Post Office." He got up to investigate. The -frown disappeared by magic, and a smile played around his stern mouth. -He burst into laughter. I explained I was very careful to comply with -all the regulations. He gave me a humorous glance--and stayed to -dinner. - -The papers on Monday evening brought us exciting news. A train on the -U. P. had been held up at a lonely station, thirty miles from our -ranch. All the Pullman passengers had been robbed and one man shot and -killed. The hold-ups had escaped and were at large in the "country -adjoining." - -"If they are in the country adjoining, they'll come here eventually," -I remarked to Owen. "This ranch is a perfect magnet for all the -questionable characters in the vicinity." - -Owen thanked me for the compliment and went out to the bunk house to -interview Robert Reed, now in charge of the hay gang. - -This Reed was an interesting fellow,--a natural leader of men, and so -efficient that Owen had made him hay foreman. - -When we had driven over to his claim to see him about working for us, -Mrs. Reed came out to the buggy, wiping her hands on her apron. - -"No, Bob ain't home this morning," she responded to Owen's inquiry for -her husband. "I reckon you'll find him over ploughin' for Maggie." A -statement made in the most matter-of-fact manner. - -We drove over to another claim shack a mile or so from the Reeds', -where Bob was indeed ploughing for Maggie. To him, too, it was quite a -matter of course. - -The affinity problem in this country really appeared simple. Mrs. Reed -evidently accepted Maggie as a natural factor in the situation, and -her marital relations were not disturbed in the least, as long as Bob -finished his own ploughing first. That woman was truly oriental in her -cast of mind. - -Maggie Lane's mother and brother lived near at hand, also. One -brother, Tom, was Reed's constant companion. Altogether it was a -perfectly harmonious arrangement. - -The Lane family records were not quite clear. Acquaintance revealed -that. They all seemed to have a penchant for leaving the straight and -narrow path for the broad highway of individual choice. Obviously -Maggie's position did not affect her family, nor her social standing -in the community. - -Whenever I drove about the country without Owen, I took Charley with -me on horseback. Gates were hard to open, and my team of horses was -not thoroughly broken. Besides, there were always the possibilities of -the unexpected on these lonely prairies. I called Charley my Knight of -the Garter. When he knew in advance he was going with me, he went up -to the bunkhouse "to slick up." If it chanced to be summer, he emerged -without a coat, his blue shirt sleeves held up by a pair of beribboned -pink garters, a pair of heavy stamped leather cuffs on his wrists, and -a heavy stamped leather collar holding his neck like a vise. - -I suggested one morning that the collar might be uncomfortably warm. -He met my objection with scorn. - -"Hot, Mrs. Brook? Why, that ain't hot. You see, the leather kinda -ab-sorbs the sweat and makes it nice and cool." - -One day we were out to take the washing to Mrs. Reed. I had asked Bob -to take it Saturday night, when he and Tom Lane had "gone over home" -to finish that ploughing. I supposed he had done so, but when he came -back on Monday, he said he had "plumb forgot it, but would take it -next time." - -We had to pass through Maggie's claim on the way. She was standing at -her door, as we stopped to open the gate. There was no freshly -ploughed ground in sight, and I idly asked if she had finished her -ploughing. - -"No," she replied, "I kinda looked for Bob over Sunday to finish it, -but I reckon he couldn't get off. I wish you'd tell him to stop here -the next time he goes home." - -We drove on, and I wondered what Maggie "reckoned" he couldn't get -away from,--the ranch or his wife. - -I gave Mrs. Reed the clothes and I told her Bob had forgotten to bring -them over with him Saturday. She looked at me curiously. - -"Didn't Bob work Sunday?" - -"No," I replied, "none of the men worked Sunday. Tom and Bob both said -they were going home." - -Mrs. Reed frowned. - -"Oh, I suppose Maggie had somethin' she wanted him to do." - -Charley started to answer, but my look stopped him. - -"I'll have your clothes ready Saturday." Mrs. Reed slammed the gate -and turned toward the house. - -"Gee," said Charley, riding up close beside the buggy, "them two -women'll be fightin' over Bob yet, if he ain't careful. Why, that's -funny"--he looked at me questioningly,--"Bob wasn't to Maggie's, -either, was he?" - -"No," I answered, "I was just wondering about that myself. Perhaps he -went to town, instead." A coyote ran out of a gulch. Charley with a -whoop started in pursuit, and the entire incident passed from my mind. - -We were going in to supper, when three men drove up to the door. -Whenever strangers appeared, I always had a moment of uncertainty as -to whether they were to be sent to the bunkhouse with the men, or -invited to our own table. Instantaneous social classification is -rather difficult when there are no distinguishing external signs. And -it had to be done at the moment. The men asked for Owen. - -We had no idea who they were, so our conversation during supper was -limited to impersonal topics, such as the present, past and future -weather, the condition of the range and stock--nothing calculated to -offend the delicate sensibilities of a Governor, a ranchman or an -ex-convict, inasmuch as our guests might come under any of these -heads. Entertaining on a ranch is democratic in the extreme. - -They went out with Owen after supper. From the window I could see four -dim figures sitting on their heels by the corral gate, talking -earnestly. - -It was late when they drove away. I was putting up the mail, as Owen -entered. His announcement drove all idea of the Postal Laws and -regulations out of my head. - -"Well, they've gone, and have taken Bob and Tom Lane with them." - -"Mercy! what for? Who were they, anyhow?" - -"The Sheriff and two Pinkerton men," he answered, gravely. "They have -arrested Bob and Tom for the hold-up." - -"Owen," I gasped, standing up so suddenly that the U. S. mail flew in -all directions. "You don't believe they were the ones, do you?" - -"Not for a minute," Owen answered, with conviction. "And I told them -so, but it seems the men have bad records and the description fits -them. 'A tall man, with a Southern accent, and a short, slight, -smaller man.' So they arrested them." Owen sat down. "It's absurd. In -the first place, they couldn't have gotten to the railroad in time to -hold up the limited. They didn't leave here until nine o'clock, and in -the next place, they went home." - -"But they didn't." I felt suddenly weak in my knees. "I took the -clothes over to Mrs. Reed, and both she and Maggie were wondering why -they hadn't come." - -Owen looked at me in blank amazement, and then asked why on earth I -hadn't told him. - -"Good heavens, Owen, I haven't seen you a moment alone. And, besides, -I never supposed it made any difference _where_ the men went. -Hereafter if the angel Gabriel comes to work for us, I shall insist -upon knowing where he spends his nights. Really," I began to laugh, -"you know, if we ever leave this ranch, the only place we shall feel -at home is in the penitentiary. None but people with 'records' and -'pasts' will interest us." I was half amused and wholly excited, for -even to have a speaking acquaintance with the leading figures in a -hold-up and murder was something my wildest flight of imagination -could have scarcely pictured a few months before. Owen was really -serious. - -"Well, I must say," he shook his head and looked down at the floor, -"it begins to look as though Bob and Tom might have some trouble -proving they weren't the men. It's serious for them, since they -weren't at home. The description certainly fits them." Owen took up -the paper. "'One man about five feet eight inches high, slender and -light mustache, wearing old clothes and a rusty black slouch hat. The -other man five feet ten inches tall, slender, short, black mustache, -about forty years old, spoke with a Southern accent, wore an old black -suit and an old striped rubber coat.'" - -"Go on," I said, as Owen started to put the paper down; "I want to -hear it." He read on: - -"'The men were supposed to have boarded the train coming from Denver, -at a small station this side of Star. The Pullmans were on the rear. -When the train stopped at the station, the Pullman conductor went out -on the back platform and saw two men crouching in the vestibule. He -told them to get off, but at that moment the train started, and they -rose up, covering him with their revolvers. One got behind him, -holding his gun against him, the other in front. They handed him a -gunny-sack and made him carry it. In this manner they entered the body -of the car. - -"'In the first car they got very little plunder, and pushed on into -the next. As they entered the second sleeper, they met the porter, who -was forced to elevate his hands and precede them. While they were -engaged in robbing the passengers in the second Pullman, the train -conductor entered, and was compelled to elevate his hands, with the -rest. - -"'They paused at one berth and seemed very much incensed that the -woman it contained was so slow in handing over her valuables. They -swore and were very impatient. Suddenly, a man in the next berth -thrust his head out between the curtains. He had a revolver in his -hand and fired, but instantly another shot rang out from the robber in -the rear, and the man sank back in his berth. - -"'After the shooting, the robbers appeared more nervous and hurried. -When they had gone through the car, they took the gunny-sack and -emptied the contents into their pockets. One of the robbers pulled the -bell-rope, but evidently not hard enough, for the train continued on -its way. Swearing, they compelled the porter and two conductors to -stand out on the platform with them, covered by their revolvers, until -the train slowed down at Paxton, when they swung off to the ground and -disappeared into these vast prairie lands, which are so sparsely -settled one can drive for a day without seeing a person. - -"'As soon as the train stopped, the passengers hurried to the berth of -the man who had been shot, but he had been instantly killed. - -"'The Sheriff was notified, and a posse started in pursuit, but the -robbers had vanished.'" Owen put down the paper, and we sat up far -into the night talking it over. - - * * * * * - -Subsequently our ranch, our horses, and Owen's opinions were freely -quoted in the press. Bob and Tom were positively identified by the -three trainmen as the hold-ups. They were retained a week in jail, and -then suddenly released on "insufficient proof." - -Owen did not believe in point of time they could have held up the -train, for he had talked to Bob that Saturday night until after nine -o'clock, but everybody, including Owen, held them capable of it. The -point was simply that they had not happened to be there. - -Later Bob and Tom returned to the ranch, incensed at their arrest and -detention, but no one ever learned where they were that memorable -Saturday night. - -Moreover, the men who held up the train were never found, and again -one of those strange tragedies of the West ended in vagueness. - -I was struck by the repetition of that phenomenon "A crime, a -tragedy." At first indignation and an earnest attempt to find the -offenders and bring them to justice, then delay, and the whole affair -shoved into the background by something newer. - -Life here seemed to flow by like a stream at flood-tide. Who could -stem that current long enough to catch those bits of human frailty -floating on the surface, or follow them down stream to the sea? - - - - -V - -A GOVERNMENT CONTRACT - - -From the first, I had been conscious of a fascination about the West -impossible to describe. Its charm was too enigmatical and elusive for -definition. - -There was a suggestion of the sea in that vast circle and in the long -undulations of the prairie, as though great waves had become -solidified, then clothed in softest green. No sign of restless -movement was apparent in those billows which stretched away from the -mountains into the vague distance. All was still. The towering -mountain itself was the symbol of infinite peace and rest. Yet there, -in the midst of that unbroken serenity, stood a cluster of buildings, -the center of the greatest activity, where life was vital and -thrilling as though a few human beings had been flung through space -and dropped onto those silent plains to work out the age-long fight -for existence. - -Peace and conflict, silence and sound, absence of life and life in its -most complex form; contrasts--everywhere and in everything--it could -be defined, it was in "contrasts" that the fascination of the West was -expressed. - -Ranch life might be difficult; it was never commonplace. The mere -sight of a lone horseman on a distant hill suggested greater -possibilities of excitement than a multitude of people in a city -street. - -Each day brought so many new experiences, some of comedy, some of -tragedy, that I began to look for them. - -After the Government had awarded a contract to furnish "150 horses of -a dark bay color for cavalry use" our life became dramatic, with the -riders cast in the leading roles. - -The stage-setting consisted of a large circular corral, twelve feet -high, built of heavy pitch-pine posts and three-inch planks with a -massive snubbing post set in the center. Since there was "standing -room only," cracks were at a premium. - -_The dramatis personae_ were two tall, slender-waisted cow-punchers -who walked with a slightly rolling gait, due to extremely high-heeled -boots, much too small for them. In their right hands they carried a -coiled rope swinging easily. Their costumes were composed of cloth or -corduroy trousers, dark-colored shirts, nondescript vests of some -sort, dark blue or red handkerchiefs knotted loosely about their -necks, expensively-made boots, the tops of which were covered by the -legs of their "pants"; spurs, of course; high-priced Stetson hats, the -crowns creased to a peak, and frequently encircled by the skin of a -rattle-snake, and exceedingly soft gauntlet-gloves. It was my -observation that the old-time cow-puncher wore gloves at all times. He -did remove them when eating, and, I presume, before going to bed, but -they were always in evidence. - -The "Star" is a frightened, snorting "broncho," or unbroken horse -which for the five or six years of its life had been running loose. -Now it was to be "busted." It is cut out from the bunch and run into -the corral and the gate securely fastened. - -One of the men stands near the post, the other does the roping. Facing -the men, the broncho stands still, his head high, his eyes wild and -full of fear. An abrupt motion by one of the riders starts him on a -frantic run around and around in a circle. A sudden throw of the rope -and both front feet are in the loop. Quick as lightning the man -settles back on it, both front legs are pulled out from under the -horse and he falls on his side; the helper runs to his head, seizes -the muzzle and twists it straight up, thrusts one knee against the -neck and holds the top of the head to the ground. The roper puts two -or three more loops above the front hoofs, passes the rope, now -doubled forming a loop, between the legs, to one of the hind feet, -then pulls on the end that he has all the time held. This action draws -all three feet together. One or two more loops about them, a hitch and -the horse is tied so that it is impossible for him to get up. While -the broncho lies helpless, the saddle and bridle are put on, a large -handkerchief passed under the straps of the bridle over the eyes and -made fast. The rope is taken off. Feeling a measure of freedom, he -staggers to his feet and stands. The cinches are drawn very tight, the -rider mounts, gives a sharp order to "let him go," the man on the -ground pulls the handkerchief from the eyes of the horse, and jumps -aside. - -[Illustration: INSPECTING A BRAND] - -For a moment the broncho stands dazed, then jumps, throws his head -between his front legs almost to the ground, squeals, humps his back -and pitches around and around the corral in a vain attempt to rid -himself of the fearsome thing on his back. The circular corral, -limited in space, gives little opportunity to succeed; the rider has -the advantage. The horse stops pitching and runs frantically about the -corral, at length tiring himself out. Dripping with sweat, trembling -from fear and excitement, he comes to a slow trot. The gate is thrown -open. Making a dash for freedom, he plunges through the outside -corrals, the horseman or "circler" close beside him, trying to keep -between the half-crazed broncho and any object he might run into. The -horse bolts out into the open; his is the advantage now, and he makes -the rider ride. He bucks this way and that, twisting, turning, jumping -and running, the man on his back so racked and shaken it seems -incredible that his body can hold together. They tear out over the -prairie in a wild race, far off over the hills, out of sight now. -After a time they come back on a walk. The broncho has been -busted--the act has ended. - -Should the horse rear and throw himself backward, there is the -greatest danger that the man may be caught under him and killed, it -happens so quickly, but these quiet, diffident chaps are absolutely -fearless, past masters in the art of riding, facing death each time -they ride a new horse, but facing it with the supreme courage of the -commonplace, sitting calmly in the saddle, racked, shaken, jolted -until at times the blood streams from their nose, yet after a short -rest the rider "took up the next one" quite as though nothing at all -had happened. All the horses had to be broken and then made ready for -the inspection of the Government officials, and the boys were working -with them early and late. - -It was an unusual experience to live in daily association with these -men, in whom were combined characteristics of the Knights of the Round -Table and those peculiar to the followers of Jesse James. - -In Douglas, Wyoming, there stands a monument erected by the friends of -a local character who, curiously, bore the same surname as the famous -explorer for whom Pike's Peak was named. Chiseled out of the solid -granite these opposing traits are epitomized in this unique epitaph: - - "Underneath this stone in eternal rest - Sleeps the wildest one of the wayward west; - He was gambler and sport and cowboy, too, - And he led the pace in an outlaw crew; - He was sure on the trigger and staid to the end, - But he was never known to quit on a friend; - In the relations of death all mankind is alike, - But in life there was only one George W. Pike." - -Strange, contrasting personalities--in awe of nobody, quite as ready -to converse familiarly with the President as with Owen, but probably -preferring Owen because they knew he was a fine horseman. - -Persons and things outside their own world held but slight interest -for them. At first I had a hazy idea that I might be the medium -through which a glimpse of the outside world would broaden the narrow -limits of their lives. I planned to get books for them and to arrange -a reading room, but my dream was soon shattered upon discovering that -this broader view possessed no charm. Indeed, when I offered to teach -Joe to read he refused my offer without a moment's hesitation, firmly -announcing "I ain't goin' to learn to read, 'cause then I'd have to!" -"Why, Mrs. Brook," he added, looking with scorn at the book I held in -my hand, "I wouldn't be bothered the way you are for nothin', havin' -to read all them books in there," nodding his head in the direction of -our cherished library. This was certainly a fresh point of view -regarding education. About the same time I found that the Sears and -Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalogue might be fittingly called the -Bible of the plains. Night after night the boys pored over them -absorbed in the illustrations, of hats, gloves, boots and saddles, the -things most dear to their hearts, for on their riding equipment alone -they spent a small fortune. - -Improvident and generous, however great their vices might be, their -lives were free from petty meanness; the prairies had seemed to - - "Give them their own deep breadth of view - The largeness of the cloudless blue." - -The religion of the cow-puncher? My impression was that he had none, -for certainly he subscribed to no conventional creed or dogma. Yet -what was it that gave him a code of honor which made cheating or a lie -an unforgivable offense and a man guilty of either an outcast scorned -by his associates, and what was it that would have made him go without -bread or shelter that a woman or child might not suffer? - -Rough and gentle, brutal and tender, good and bad, not angel at one -time and devil at another, but rather saint and sinner at the same -time. Little of religious influence came into his life, and as for -Bibles--there were none. - -I remember the story of a Bishop who was travelling through the West -and was asked to hold service in one of the larger towns. When he -arrived he found that he had left his own Bible on the train, so he -sent the hotel clerk out to borrow one. After some time the man -returned with a Bible, explaining to the Bishop that it was the only -one in town. "I went everywhere and finally got this one. It's the one -they use at the Court House to swear on!" - -The cow-puncher, however, could swear without any assistance, for -usually "cussin'" formed a very necessary part of his conversation. -But as I sat at my window sewing one summer morning I heard a violent -argument at the corral between Fred and a new "hay-hand" from Kansas. -Fred's voice was decisive. - -"That's all right, but you cut out that cussin' here--the Missus' -window's open, and she'll hear you." And the heart of "the Missus" -warmed to her Knight of the Corral. - -There was another incident, the true significance of which I did not -know until three years after it occurred, when the foreman of the -L---- ranch met Owen in Denver and inquired for me, adding: - -"Well, I'll never forget Mrs. Brook. Do you remember the day we was -shippin' them white faces from the Junction about three years ago, -when you and Mrs. Brook happened to come along and stopped to watch -us? Well, one of the best men I had was brandin' a calf when it kicked -him and he swore at it proper; all of a sudden he looked up and saw -Mrs. Brook and another lady standin' on that high platform by the -yards watchin' us. He was so plumb beat, he threw down his brandin' -iron, took up his hat, walked across the street to a saloon and began -drinkin' and stayed drunk for three days, and there I was, -short-handed, with a train-load of cows and calves to ship." - -Contrast again--chivalry carried to the extent of being drunk for -three days because he had sworn before a woman! - -The horses were all being ridden and trained for the inspection which -was soon to take place. Each man had his own "string," those he had -broken, and every day they were put through their paces. When -inspected, they had to be walked, trotted and run up and down before -the officers, stopped instantly, and the veterinarian was supposed to -put his ear to their chests to see if their breathing was regular and -their hearts sound. Now, Western horses are not accustomed to having -their hearts tested, and I noticed that while the riders did -everything else that was required, they tacitly agreed "to let the vet -do his own listnin'." - -The day that the Army officers were to arrive, as Owen was getting -ready to drive over to the station to meet them, I remarked casually -that I hoped nothing would happen to upset their peace of mind, as it -was very important that the honorable representatives of the -Government be kept in a good humor. - -The house was still in an unsettled condition but for the time being -it had been brought into sufficient order to insure their comfort. The -larder was stocked with the best the markets afforded and the horses -were being "gentled" daily. - -When guests came on the train our dinner might be served at any hour -up to ten o'clock at night for after their arrival at the station -there was the sixteen mile drive to the ranch--and anything might -happen. It was late that particular night when I heard them at the -meadow gate. I couldn't understand why they stopped so long. There -were sounds of confusion and as they entered the house one of the -officers held up a finger dripping with blood, the Colonel's hat was -awry, his clothes covered with mud, and they all appeared agitated and -excited. I could not imagine what had happened. Then they all began to -tell me at once. - -Upon reaching the meadow gate the Lieutenant who acted as bookkeeper -jumped out to open it but failed to return after they had driven -through. Upon investigation they found he had caught his finger -between the wire loop and the post and was held fast. They extricated -him from his dilemma and drove on. It was very dark and upon reaching -the house as the august Colonel descended from the wagon, he tripped -over a pile of stones lying near the gate, fell down and just escaped -breaking his neck. I tried to smile and yet be sympathetic--but I had -a vision of Owen with "one hundred fifty horses of a dark bay color" -on his hands if the good humor of the officers was not restored before -morning. - -They were shown to their rooms and I prayed nothing would happen to -the Veterinarian, who had so far remained intact. - -The Colonel and the Lieutenant had come down stairs. We were all in -the library waiting for the Doctor before going in to dinner, when we -heard a fearful crash. We rushed into the hall to see the poor man -sitting on the steps holding both hands to his head. He was very tall -and, coming down the narrow winding stairs, had struck his head on an -overhanging projection which he had failed to observe. His injury was -more uncomfortable than serious and had quite a cheering effect on his -two companions, who began to chaff him about "taking off an inch or -two" so by the time dinner was over they were all in high spirits. - -The following morning at nine the inspection began. Each horse was -brought out, looked over and measured to see that he came up to the -stipulated number of "hands". If he passed he was immediately ridden. - -Each of the men rode the horses he had broken. First the horse was -walked up and down between the blacksmith-shop and the corral, then -trotted and then run, after which his lungs and breathing were tested -and if satisfactory he was accepted. - -Every time a man got on to ride, I was conscious of a feeling of great -uncertainty. The horses looked quiet enough and were fairly gentle, -but Owen and I knew that the slightest variation in the manner of -mounting or "touching them up" might cause them to go through a few -movements not required by the United States Government. - -As it was, all those we had expected to buck behaved like lambs, while -those which had been considered fairly well broken did everything from -bucking to snorting and blowing foam all over the Veterinarian when he -attempted to examine their teeth and test their lungs. - -For three days the inspection went on, each day more interesting than -the last, until all the horses had been examined and out of the number -the necessary one hundred and fifty accepted and branded U. S. - -As the bunch of horses headed for Denver was being driven off the -ranch, Fred looked after them reflectively-- - -"If them sodjers can ride, it'll be all right," he remarked, "but if -they go to puttin' tenderfeet on them bronchs, they'll land in -Kingdom-come before they ever hit the saddle." - - - - -VI - -A VARIETY OF RUNAWAYS - - -Life in any primitive, sparsely settled country is fraught with -adventure. It is the element which gives zest to everyday affairs and -which lifts existence above the commonplace, but since everything has -its price, the price of untrammelled living must often be paid in -discomfort and inconvenience. - -To us, and to many others, abounding health and freedom were ample -compensations for a few annoying circumstances but with our guests it -was a more serious consideration. After a few experiences we began to -discourage the visits of those unfitted by nature and temperament for -"roughing it". - -We could not control the elements nor untoward events. Fate had such -an invariable custom of upsetting and rearranging all of our most -carefully laid plans that when friends, especially "tenderfeet", -arrived, we had a premonition that before they departed something -would happen. It never failed. - -In the house our guests were exempt from anxiety and discomfort, but -no one cared to stay indoors when a dazzling world of blue, green and -gold lay just outside, and the unexpected was no regarder of persons. -A cloud-burst was just as apt to descend upon the unsuspecting head of -a delicate, carefully nurtured old lady as was an indiscriminating -rattlesnake to frighten some timid soul into hysterics. - -Everyone who came to the ranch wanted to ride, those knowing least -about horses being the most insistent, and not wishing to take any -chances, at first we gave them Billy, gentle, trustworthy Billy, who, -when running loose, could be caught by a man on foot and ridden into -the corral with a handkerchief around his neck instead of a bridle. We -would start out, the tenderfoot joyously "off for a horseback ride," -and the next thing we knew he would be off the horse doubled up under -a fence or lying flat on the prairie, while Billy peacefully nibbled -grass. No one could explain it unless the uninitiated had lost a -stirrup and had unwittingly given the horse a dig in the ribs which -was immediately resented--so even Billy was disqualified. - -The truth was, none of our horses was sufficiently well broken for the -inexperienced horseman to ride or drive. They behaved very decently -until something occurred, which was out of the ordinary, and then the -reaction was most sudden and disastrous. - -With the stock on the ranch we had acquired about four hundred horses, -most of which had never been handled and were running loose on the -range. Before they were of any use or value they had to be broken and -Owen felt that it was one of the most important things to be done. -Consequently, many of the horses were broken to drive in the hay -field, the broncho hitched up with a gentle horse, and put onto the -rake or mowing machine--many were the runaways. - -Charley was leisurely by nature. He never hurried either in speech or -movement. Owen and I were in the office one morning when he strolled -around the house and up to the door. - -"Mis-ter Brook," he drawled, "Ja-ne and Maud are running away with the -mow-ing machine down in the timber--they throw-ed Windy off the seat," -but before he got the last word out, his listener was down the steps, -over the fence and on his way toward the creek where Maud and Jane -were tearing through the timber leaving parts of the mowing machine on -stumps and fallen logs, while Charley looked after him in mild -surprise. The horses were brought to an abrupt stop when one tried to -go on one side of a tree and the other on the opposite side. - -There was a beautiful black horse, "Toledo", that refused to allow -anyone to come near him but Owen or Bill, and there was also a new man -on the ranch who so constantly boasted of his ability to handle -bronchos the boys had dubbed him "Windy". - -Windy concluded one day that he would harness Toledo alone. There were -violent sounds in the stable, snorts, shouts, thumps, and Windy sailed -through the open door and landed on a conveniently placed pile of -manure, frightened to death but unhurt. - -Bill was furious. - -"What'd you do to him, anyhow?" he stormed after roping Toledo who had -broken his halter and was running loose in the corral. - -"I didn't do nothin' to him," protested Windy. "I just crope up and -retched over and tetched him and he begun to snort and cave 'round." - -"Course you didn't do nothin', you couldn't do nothin' if you tried. -You'd better go back to town where you belong, 'stead a stayin' out -here spoilin' good horses." Bill's choler was rising. "You don't know -nothin' neither, you're jest a bone head, your spine's jest growed up -and haired over." And, leading the subdued Toledo, Bill disappeared -into the stable. - -When the team that Owen reserved for his own use had passed the -kicking and lunging stage and I had become sufficiently confident to -look at the landscape instead of watching their ears, he usually -concluded they were "pretty well broken" and that he must try out a -new one. This trying out process went on indefinitely, for Owen's New -England conscience gave him no peace apparently while an unbroken -horse remained in his possession. It was a form of duty. - -When we had guests we used, what my husband was pleased to call, a -gentle team, one that started off decorously with all their feet on -the ground instead of in the air, but one day when we were expecting -some friends from Wyoming he could not resist driving a new pair of -beautiful bay horses when we went to meet them. I remained behind. - -The dinner hour passed and no Owen; additional hours went by and late -at night he came in dusty, dirty and scratched. - -In response to a perfect volley of questions he explained that he was -all right, but the Lawtons had telegraphed they had been detained, and -then he added, as quite an unimportant detail, that "the horses had -run away." He had the expression of a fond and indulgent parent, and -as he did not rise to the defense of his pet team when I called them -"miserable brutes" I knew his pride, at least, had suffered. - -"You see," he resumed, "your new sewing machine and some other freight -was at the station, so when I found the Lawtons were not coming I -thought I'd bring it over. I had the crystal clock, too." Owen looked -so sheepish I had to laugh, although the clock had been a wedding -present which we had sent up to the jeweler to be regulated. - -"Is it smashed?" - -"Oh, no," he reassured me, "but I don't know how well it will run. I -got out to close the gate beyond the railroad when a confounded -freight engine whistled and the horses started. I was holding the -reins in my hand, of course, and tried to climb in the back of the -wagon, but couldn't make it on account of the load. I ran along the -side until the horses went so fast I fell down and when they began to -drag me I let go of the reins. They ran all over that inclosure, the -wagon upset and canned tomatoes, sewing machine and crystal clock were -strewn everywhere. I caught the horses finally, but the wagon was -smashed so I had to walk back to Becker's, get his wagon and pick up -all the freight--that's what delayed me. I'm dreadfully sorry about -the sewing machine and the clock, but I don't believe they are much -hurt." - -He was very contrite, was my husband, but it didn't last long, that -sense of duty was too insistent. A very short time after, he was -alone, driving another team, with a horse he had just bought, tied to -the tug. The new horse, frightened at a dead animal in the lane, -jumped, broke the tug, plunged forward, pulled the neck yoke off, the -buggy tongue stuck into the ground as the horses ran, the buggy heaved -up in the air and pitched Owen out. It landed so close to a fence post -his head was scratched, but he might have been killed. As long as he -had escaped, this runaway had its amusing side, too. He was bringing -home a quantity of china nest-eggs which followed when he was thrown -out, and he said for a minute it fairly snowed nest-eggs; the ground -was white with them. - -Owen and his horses! I never could decide whether it was more -nerve-racking to go with him or stay behind, so I usually took the -chance and went. The experiences we had! I wonder we ever survived -that horse-breaking period, but only once did we face a fate from -which there seemed only one chance in a thousand of escaping with our -lives. - -We were driving a buckskin horse Owen had just bought and a newly -broken mare, a handsome, high spirited creature called Beauty. She -danced and she pranced and forged ahead of the new horse which became -nervous and excited in trying to keep up with her. - -We were going up a long hill. Beauty was pulling and tugging on the -bit when suddenly she gave a toss to her head and to our horror we saw -the bridle fall back around her neck. The bit had broken. Like a flash -she was off, the other horse running with her. Owen spoke to them. He -wound the reins about his arms and pulled on them with all his -strength. - -At the top of the hill there was a fairly level space where Owen tried -to circle them, hoping to tire them out, but he had no control over -Beauty and she wheeled about starting back over the road we had come, -the buggy bouncing and swaying behind. There was a fence corner with -an old post standing about ten feet from it. The horses headed -straight for it. I closed my eyes, expecting that we would be wrecked, -but they turned and raced across a gulch, the buggy lurched, tipped, -struck one side and then the other, but by a miracle did not upset. - -I saw that Owen was trying to head them into a fence and braced myself -for the shock, realizing that he hoped to entangle them in the barbed -wire and so throw them, but just as we reached it Beauty veered to one -side almost overturning the buggy. We were so close the skirt of -Owen's fur coat caught on the barbs and was instantly torn to ribbons -and we heard the vibrating "ping" of the wire along its entire length -as the wheels struck the fence. - -On and on the maddened horses raced, up hills, down long slopes, -through gulches in which it seemed we must be wrecked, until at length -we reached the crest of a hill at the bottom of which, angling with -the fence, ran a deep gulch with high cut banks. We knew that if the -frantic horses reached the edge of that bank at the rate we were going -there was no escape for us and we should plunge over the embankment -with the horses. To jump was impossible. I was in despair, realizing -that Owen, pulling on the horses with all his might, was nearly -exhausted. - -"Owen, isn't there something I can do?" It was the first time a word -had been spoken. - -"Pull on the Buckskin," he answered quickly. - -I leaned forward and seized the rein with both hands as far down as I -could reach and threw myself back with all my weight. The Buckskin was -pulled back on his haunches, Beauty stopped. Owen handed me the reins, -another moment he was at their heads calling to me to jump. In that -instant before jumping I lived an eternity, for if the horses had -started again I should have gone to certain death alone. - -[Illustration: THE "STAR" IS A FRIGHTENED, SNORTING "BRONCHO"] - -I was so weak with fright and sudden relief when I felt the firm earth -under my feet I could scarcely stand but I had to get to the -Buckskin's head and hold on to him, for Owen had his hands full with -Beauty, who began to rear and plunge. It was no time for nerves. The -horses were finally unhitched. Owen led Beauty and I, the Buckskin. -Leaving the buggy on the edge of that yawning gulch, we walked the -five miles back to the ranch. - - - - -VII - -THE MEASURE OF A MAN - - -The Bohms had gone. The last load of furniture, upon which old Bohm -perched like an ill-omened bird, had disappeared through the gate on -the top of the hill. At last, after six months of vexation and -trouble, Owen and I could live our own life and run the ranch without -interference. - -Bohm had tried to wriggle out of every clause in his contract. He had -delayed gathering and turning over the stock by every means and had -invented a thousand excuses for staying on from week to week. It had -made it very difficult and had exasperated Owen. If he hadn't been -wise and patient beyond words, Bohm's bones long before would have -mingled with those of his reputed victims in the old root cellar. I -had a different end planned for him each day, but none seemed really -fitting. Owen had gone on in his own way, however, insisting upon -every part of the contract being fulfilled and reducing Bohm to -impotent rage by his quiet firmness. - -Mrs. Bohm had recovered from her "fainting spells" and her husband was -furious to think he had sold the ranch. In desperation he finally sent -to San Francisco for his brother, who was a lawyer, to see if there -was any possibility of getting out of the contract. The "Judge" was a -nice old chap, who looked like an amiable Mormon with a long beard. He -soon settled the question. - -"Why, Jim, you wanted to sell out, you signed the contract and you -have your money. You'll have to stay with your bargain now, whether -you like it or not." - -We always remembered him kindly for this and for a story he told. We -had been discussing the Chinese as servants and he said: - -"Well, I had one for two years, but I don't want any more. I want to -know what I'm eating and with those heathen you are never sure. - -"It had been raining very hard one day when Wong came to me in the -afternoon and said: - -"'Judge, him laining outside, me gottee no meat for dinner.' - -"I told him that we would do without meat for it was raining too hard -for anyone to go out who didn't have to. Wong looked dejected for he -liked meat. He turned to go out of the room, when his eyes fell on the -cat. His face brightened with a sudden inspiration. - -"'Have meat for dinner! Kill'em cat!' - -"Kill the cat! What on earth do you mean? - -"'Less, kill'em cat,' he repeated in a matter of fact tone, 'him sick -anyhow.'" - -We had asked the Bohms to take their meals with us, but only Mrs. Bohm -came to our table. Bohm preferred to eat with the men. We suspected -that he was trying to cause trouble. Charley unconsciously confirmed -our suspicions. He was always conversational and seized the -opportunity to talk while fixing my window screen. - -"Say, Mrs. Brook, you'd orter seen Bill this mornin'. He was eatin' -flapjacks to beat time and was just reachin' for more, when old Bohm, -with that mean way of his, began slammin' Mr. Brook. He was sayin' you -folks thought you was too good to eat in the kitchen with us common -fellers and had to have a separate dinin' room, when Bill just riz up -out of his chair so sudden it went over backwards, and believe me, his -eyes had sparks in 'em when he came back at the old man. - -"'Tain't that the Brooks think that they're too good, but there's some -folks too stinkin' common for anybody to eat with'--and out of the -door he walked and all the boys fol-lered him, leavin' Bohm alone -there facin' all them flapjacks. I reckon he'd a rather faced them -flapjacks than Bill, though,--Gee, Bill was some hot," and Charley's -blue eyes sparkled at the reminiscence. - -It was exactly as I thought; the boys despised Bohm and were -absolutely loyal to Owen. - -After this episode, Owen had a long talk with Bill and a short, heated -interview with Bohm, which resulted in the old man's reluctant, but -hasty, departure. - -I drew a long breath of relief when I saw the last wagon disappear and -looked up fully expecting to see the dove of peace pluming herself on -our roof-tree. But apparently doves in the cattle country never -alight,--they just pass by. - -Owen had bought several thousand acres of land from the railroad. A -car of barbed wire for the fence, which was to encircle the entire -ranch, was at the station. Our land was now in one solid block with -the exception of a few acres of Government land which could only be -acquired by homestead entry. This limited acreage in the great -checkerboard was all that remained of the "free range." - -At this juncture Owen was served with a notice by the United States -Marshal forbidding him to build the fence. It would enclose Government -land. Every mile of the proposed fence would have been on ground which -he had bought, paid for, and on which he was paying taxes--but -still--he could not fence it. "Government land must remain -uninclosed." It made no difference, apparently, what happened to the -cattleman whose money was tied up in property he could not use. -Government land must remain free and open to the public. But, while -those few acres of free range remained open to the public, thousands -of acres of our unprotected land remained open also. Everyone used it. -The ranchmen for miles around, learning that Owen was forbidden to -fence, gathered all their cattle and threw them onto our land. - -It was a very serious problem. Our range was being destroyed, the -grass was eaten off so closely nothing remained for winter range. Our -full-blooded Hereford breeding stock was of little use to us. All our -money was invested in land and cattle and there was only one thing -left to do,--put riders on our range to drive the other cattle off. - -Upon this solution of the problem the dove of peace promptly departed -and we entered upon a long, hard struggle for the possession and use -of what was our own. Owen was faced, not only with financial failure, -but absolute ruin. The future was far from bright, but when an old -school-mate came with her husband to visit us it seemed positively -brilliant by contrast. - -Alice Joice and I had been devoted friends for years. The summer -before we had spent in Europe, where I had left her, deep in the study -of Art, to which she intended "to devote" her life. - -"It is so commonplace to marry, Esther," these were her parting words; -"any woman can marry--but so few can have a real career." - -Alice's "career" had abruptly ended in "commonplace matrimony," for -she had just married a Mr. Van Winkle from Brooklyn, a man I had never -met. They were touring the West and were most anxious to include our -ranch. I was very eager to see them so I wrote, urging her to come, -but asked her to let us know when to expect them, so there would be no -mistake about our being at the station. - -I was particularly anxious to have them see ranch life at its best for -they were our first guests. The house looked very attractive with all -our own furniture and wedding presents in place, but I thought the -guest room floor might be improved so I painted it Saturday afternoon. -Then everything went wrong: the wind-mill pump failed to work, the -whole pipe had to be pulled out of the well; we were without running -water in the house and couldn't have a fire in the kitchen range, so -rations were extremely light. - -Supper, consisting chiefly of sardines, awaited Owen, who was trying -to get some of the grease off his hands, when a homesteader by the -name of Hamm, his wife, sister and five children drove up. He had come -to see Owen on business and they were invited in to supper. - -The table was lengthened and reset, more sardines were opened and we -were just ready to sit down when my Aunt, who was standing near the -window, exclaimed: - -"Who on earth is that!" - -Who, indeed! Alice Joice and her husband with a team they had hired at -the station. - -Having a strong heart I did not faint, but left Auntie to help the -maid make the necessary additions to the table--and sardines, while -Owen and I hurried out to greet them. - -"Hello, dearie, here we are," Alice called from the wagon as I -approached. "Clarence and I thought it would be such fun to surprise -you. How-do-you-do, Mr. Brook, I want you to meet my husband, Mr. Van -Winkle." Alice jumped off the step and threw herself into my arms. -"Oh, Esther, isn't this fun?" Gay, inconsequent Alice, from her city -home, never considered for a moment that a surprise _could_ be -anything but joyous. - -If I had met him in Egypt, I should have known that her husband's name -was Van Winkle--Clarence Van Winkle, it couldn't have been anything -else. - -He was pale and tall and thin and rigid. The inflexibility of the -combined ancestral spines had united in his back bone. He might break, -he could never bend. My imagination failed when I tried to picture the -meeting between the heir to the Van Winkle name and the Hamms. It was -far worse than anything I could ever have imagined. - -Alice was very sweet; she talked all the time, patted the five little -Hamms and won their mother's heart by asking their names and ages, but -in acknowledging the introduction Clarence only bowed slightly, a -movement which required great effort, then relapsed into silence -immediately, scrutinizing the Hamm family through his glasses as -though they were rare animals in a Zoo. Mrs. Hamm and her sister were -stupefied and did not speak a word, but Mr. Hamm, a truly sociable -person from Oklahoma, continually addressed Clarence as "young -feller," which produced the same effect as a violent chill, and when -he joyously jogged a Van Winkle elbow to emphasize some pleasantry, -Clarence firmly moved his chair out of reach of the defiling touch. - -Alice ate everything and did not stop talking for a moment. Clarence -refused everything but a cracker, which he munched in silence. -Suddenly he turned white and left the table. Owen escorted him -out-of-doors while Alice and I followed. He was faint, just faint, and -collapsed weakly onto a garden seat. Alice said it was the Denver -water, but I suspected unassimilated Hamm. Owen stayed with him and -Alice and I returned to finish supper. The Hamms left soon after and -Clarence gradually revived under the influence of Owen's New England -accent and Scotch whisky. - -All at once I thought of the freshly painted guest-room floor. I -explained the situation to Alice and we went up to see if it was dry. -It was, but the smell of paint was most evident. Alice gave a few -sniffs and said apologetically: - -"I'm dreadfully sorry, Esther, but Clarence couldn't possibly sleep -here. He is so sensitive to odors of any kind." I was reminded of a -faint aroma which had clung to the Hamm garments. "If there is another -room we can occupy, I think it would be better." Alice was accustomed -to hotels. I offered our room; it was reluctantly but finally -accepted, the scion of the Van Winkles must not breathe paint. All the -things from the guest-room were put in our room and ours were moved up -to the guest-room. - -Just before they retired Alice confided to me that Clarence had had -some temperature in Denver and the Doctor thought he might be -threatened with typhoid fever. - -"I really believe, Esther, if Clarence has any temperature in the -morning we had better go back to Denver." - -I reassured her as I bade her good-night and then sought Owen. I was -beginning to have some temperature myself. - -"Owen, if Clarence Van Winkle has a thousandth of a degree of -temperature in the morning don't tell him that he'll be all right; let -him go back to Denver or anywhere else he pleases. Imagine that man -with typhoid, here." - -The next morning Alice appeared at breakfast alone. Clarence had no -temperature, but he felt weak and thought he had better stay in bed. -He continued to feel weak for three days, Alice dancing attendance -white the rest of us tried to get the household and water running -again. - -When Clarence finally emerged from his seclusion, he was in high -spirits, positively buoyant. - -"Well, now I want to see everything, all the cattle, the cow-boys, -branding, dehorning, a round-up and what is it you call it? Oh, yes, -'broncho busting'. We have to go back to Denver tomorrow, you know." -He had to stop for want of breath. - -Alice beamed fondly upon her enthusiastic bridegroom. Mine looked far -from enthusiastic. Owen was a perfect host but he could not give a -demonstration of a year's work in one day. The horse-breaking was over -for the season and the branded and dehorned cattle scattered over -miles of country. This he endeavored to explain to Clarence who made -no attempt to conceal his disappointment nor his petulance. - -"Oh, how unfortunate. I've heard so much of the fascination of ranch -life I thought I'd like to see a little of it. I thought you had -broncho busting or something interesting or entertaining going on -every day." - -Owen bit his lip. He was busy beyond words but he dropped everything -and afternoon we took our guests for a drive over the ranch. The wagon -was new and rattled and, wishing to spare Clarence's delicate -sensibilities, Owen put on some washers. - -We were in the middle of the prairie miles from the house, Clarence -had recovered his good humor since he was "actually seeing something", -as he tactfully expressed it, when one of the wheels began to drag. -The washers proved to be too tight, we had a hot spindle. There was -nothing to do but sit there in the blazing sun while the two men took -off the wheel, removed a washer or two and greased the spindle. - -I wouldn't have missed it, the mere thought of that scene was a joy to -me for months afterwards. Clarence Van Winkle red and perspiring from -the effort of lifting a wheel, wiping his greasy hands on a piece of -dirty waste! Alice's face was a study. I had to keep my eyes fixed on -the landscape after one look over the side of the wagon. I was afraid -I should laugh out loud. - -The day they left Bill drove us all to the station. We just made the -train, which was standing on the track as we arrived. Owen hurried to -check the Van Winkle's baggage. Bill had to stay with the horses. -Alice and I had all the wraps, which left Clarence to carry two dress -suit cases across the tracks. His eyes were fixed on the porter and he -was hurrying toward the Pullman when he stubbed his toe on one rail, -sprawled all the way across the track and hit his neck on the second -rail. The suit cases flew in one direction, his hat in another, his -glasses fell off and his watch dropped out of his pocket. Alice and I -rushed to the rescue, the porter assisted Clarence to his feet and -picked up the suit cases, we gathered up the rest of the articles -while Clarence stood in the middle of the track rubbing his knees, to -the great amusement of the passengers. Alice went up to him when -suddenly he screwed his face up as a child does before it begins to -cry, threw both arms around her neck and buried his face on her -shoulder. The conductor terminated the scene by calling "All aboard". -Clarence limped to the train, rubbing his neck, and the last we saw -was Alice holding all the wraps, the hat, glasses and watch, waving to -us from the vestibule and Clarence comfortably seated in the Pullman -smiling a wan farewell through the window. As the train with its -precious freight was lost to sight around a curve, Owen and I began to -laugh. We laughed until we were so weak we could scarcely get into the -wagon. Bill's face was perfectly serious, but his eyes had a little -twinkle in them as he said with his slow drawl: - -"Lord, Mrs. Brook, I'm glad that young man married that girl. He'd -orter have somebody look after him. A poor little goslin' feller like -that ain't got no business goin' round alone." - -Bill always sized up a situation in the fewest possible words. - -During the drive back to the ranch I thought of Alice and her future -by the side of a man of that type. Our future was uncertain enough, -but if trouble and vicissitudes were our portion, at least I had -someone with whom to share them. - -Tex had been away for several weeks and we were surprised to see him -at the gate as we drove up. He looked very serious as he asked Owen if -he might speak with him and Owen looked more serious when he came out -of the office after their conversation. - -"What is it, Owen? Something is wrong. Please tell me." - -Owen took me by the arm and we walked up and down under the trees. - -"Tex came over to tell me, Esther, that I am to be arrested for -'driving cattle off the range.' Technically, it's a serious charge, -carrying a heavy fine and--" he paused--"imprisonment, but don't -worry, my dear," as he felt me start a little at his last words, "it's -listed on the statute books as a criminal offence, connected with -rustling, but that can't hold in this case. It's a 'frame-up' to give -me trouble, that's all. It might have been serious but Tex heard of it -and came to warn me just in time. There's been a plot to eat me out -and now they want to drive me out. I'm going in to Denver to see my -lawyer tomorrow. I'm more troubled on your account than anything -else." - -"Don't worry about me, Owen, we're going to stay in this country and -fight it out to the end. I'll face anything, as long as you don't -cry," and we went into the house laughing, as we thought of Clarence -Van Winkle. - -The miserable experience which followed was sufficiently serious, even -after the charge had been changed to one of minor character. - -Owen was arrested on our anniversary. I went his bond. There was a -long, expensive law-suit which we lost, the Judge contending that if a -man wished to protect his land he should fence it. It was explained -that the Government had forbidden it, but the Judge said that did not -affect the verdict in this case. Owen paid the damages awarded by the -Court, we gathered together our sixteen cow-puncher witnesses who had -been staying with us at one of the largest hotels in Denver, an event -for the cow-punchers, and returned to the ranch. - -Did Owen weep on my shoulder? He set his lips a little more firmly and -his face had an added sternness as he looked across those miles of -rolling prairie he owned but which now were utterly useless. - -He broke the silence at last. His voice had a different tone. - -"I am going to have the use of my own land. They shan't keep me out of -it any longer. I am going to sell off all the cattle and put in sheep. -Then we'll see! With herders we don't need fences and cattle won't -graze where sheep have ranged." - - * * * * * - -Thus with the first year of our marriage, the first chapter of our -ranch experience ended and a totally different life began. - - - - -VIII - -THE SHEEP BUSINESS - - -With the coming of the sheep everything was changed. It was like -living in a different age, almost as though we had slipped back -hundreds of years into Biblical times and had come into intimate -association with Jacob and Joseph. With the advent of the wool or lamb -buyers there was a sudden transition to the more commercial atmosphere -of the twentieth century, but it was so fleeting our pastoral -existence was scarcely interrupted. - -A few of our old men had gone, Tex among them. He left with regret, -but as he said-- - -"Lord knows I hate to go, Mr. Brook, but cattle's all I know and an -old cow man ain't got no business around sheep; they just naturally -despise each other." And he went up into Montana where the cattle -business still flourished. - -Most of the other men stayed on, however, to ride the fence lines, -look after the horses and do the various things about the ranch, but -the days of branding, dehorning and round-ups were past and the -cow-puncher was replaced by "camp tenders". - -The sheep were trailed all the way from New Mexico. Steve, who spoke -Spanish, was foreman, and with three of the other men on horseback had -come up the trail with the sheep and the soft-voiced Mexican herders. - -Their entire camp equipment was skillfully packed on diminutive -burros. It was somewhat startling to see what appeared to be animated -wood-piles, water-casks, rolls of bedding or dish-pans bobbing about -over the woolly backs of the sheep, until a parting in the band -revealed the legs and lowered head of a sleepy-eyed burro. - -The herders spoke no English and it was so charming to receive a -gleaming smile and low bow while being addressed as "Padron" and -"Senora" that we plunged into the study of their musical language -forthwith. - -Each herder was in charge of a band of from fifteen hundred to -twenty-five hundred sheep. Two herders occupied a camp, but the sheep -were placed in separate corrals and, in order to give the various -bands ample pasturage, the camps were placed miles apart. - -Early in the morning the sheep were driven out, the herders taking -their bands in opposite directions. All day long the flock quietly -grazed over the prairie, the Mexican with his dog at his feet standing -like a sentinel on a hill from which he could overlook his entire band -and ward off any prowling coyote whose approach was heralded by a -sudden scurry among the sheep. - -Eternal vigilance, faithfulness and good judgment were the essential -qualities in a herder, judgment in the handling of the sheep, in the -selection of the best grass and water, the time for taking them out -and bringing them back to the camp. The herders were not supposed to -meet and talk together for while they were engrossed in conversation -or out of sight of the sheep the two bands might become mixed, a very -serious thing when the ewes were accompanied by their lambs, for when -the bands were separated again the lamb might be in one band and its -mother in the other. - -It was a lonely life, but one for which Mexicans are especially -suited. They lack the initiative of the Anglo-Saxons, they are -naturally tranquil, slow of speech and action and content to do -nothing--gentle children from the land of Manana. - -Scattered over the prairie, the sheep from a distance looked like mere -dots so closely resembling the clumps of weeds, it was necessary to -locate the herder before they could be identified. He looked like a -solitary fence post placed on the top of a hill. - -The Mexicans were most gracious and responsive, so delighted to -receive a visit from the Padron that it was a joy to talk with them. -We were never certain just what we had said, to be sure, but the -effect of our halting, broken sentences of Spanish appeared so -pleasing, we were convinced that if we could only converse fluently -our words would become immortal. Urbanity was most contagious. Owen -and I made deep bows to the herders, we almost bowed to the sheep in -an over-mastering desire to equal the politeness of Ramon, Fidel, -Francisco or Tranquilino. What names! The atmosphere of the ranch -became so poetic and romantic I should not have been surprised to see -Owen adopt long hair and a flowing tie. After a day spent in visiting -the sheep camps I returned in an ecstatic mood. I almost fancied -myself the reincarnated spirit of Bo-Peep or Ramona but alas, my true -identity was always disclosed as soon as I reached the house--I was -only "the Missus". - -Nevertheless the sheep business was fascinating, and best of all -successful. The question of the range was settled. We had the use of -our own land and our rights were respected. The customary feud between -the sheepman and the cattle owners was avoided, since our sheep were -always kept within the limits of the land which we owned. From being -the object of hatred and vilification, Owen became a personage; his -opinion quoted, his method of handling sheep emulated. - -[Illustration: TRAILED ALL THE WAY FROM NEW MEXICO] - -[Illustration: LIKE A SOLITARY FENCE POST] - -There were a few sheep men in the country who had made an indifferent -success. They had scoffed at Owen's practice of selling off all the -lambs in the autumn and maintaining the number of his sheep by -additional purchases but, when they found how small his losses were, -they promptly adopted his plan and even some of the old-time cattle -men put in sheep. - -The loss of the law suit had certainly proved to be the turning point -in the history of the Brook family. Our popularity increased so -rapidly it was amusing. Bill expressed what I felt as I met him riding -through the meadow. - -"Have you been riding the fence lines, Bill?" - -"Yes'm, but it's just takin' exercise for my health. There ain't -nothin' wrong any more. Since you folks got the world by the tail and -a down-hill pull, everybody's huntin' around seein' what they can do -to make it pleasant for you. I notice the Three Circle outfit don't go -round no more leavin' all the gates open and when we get a fence line -staked out, the stakes ain't all pulled up by mornin'." - -"It is peaceful, isn't it?" - -"Peaceful," echoed Bill, with feeling, "I'm so chuck full of peace I -can't hardly hold any more. I'll bet if a feller was to hit me, I'd -only 'baa-a'." - -There was a vast amount of "Baa-ing" going on at the ranch, where Mary -and I were raising a few score orphan lambs on the bottle. There was a -voracious chorus whenever we appeared. They jumped all over us and as -soon as they got hold of the nipple of the bottle they flopped down on -their knees and did not release it until they had gulped down the last -drop of milk, after which they stood up, their little sides sticking -out as though they had been stuffed. As much care had to be exercised -with the bottles, the temperature and quantity of the milk as though -we had been feeding so many babies. - -There was no milk at the outside camps and no one to care for the poor -abandoned lambs whose frivolous young mothers refused to own them, -leaving them to starve. Occasionally an old ewe of truly maternal -instinct could be fooled into adopting one of these little "dogies" or -"bums". The skin of her dead lamb was taken off and slipped over the -orphan, which was joyfully accepted because of its smell! - -When the lambs made their appearance in May, the bands were separated, -we had additional herders and they had to be more watchful for "Spring -lamb" is also very tempting to coyotes. It was easy for a herder to -lose ten or twenty lambs, for the little things congregate behind -rocks or clumps of weeds and go to sleep, are overlooked when the -sheep are driven back to the camp in the evening, and become the -victims of those prairie wolves which continually lurk about. - -Sometimes when we were driving, a tiny white speck would come racing -after the wagon, a lamb, which had been left behind. Lambs are such -senseless little things, when they are frightened they will adopt any -moving object in lieu of a mother. - -We pulled them out of prairie-dog holes into which they had thrust -their heads and become fastened by having the loose earth fall in -about their necks--they were troublesome but so appealing and amusing, -they were a never-ending source of entertainment from the first moment -they appeared, a tiny body supported on long, wabbly legs. - -As they grew stronger "playful as a lamb" acquired a new meaning. They -capered and they bucked, they raced around the corral in the evening -when the ewes were contentedly lying down, they frisked about on the -backs of their patient mothers, they jumped stiff-legged, and in a -wild excess of joy bounded into the air giving a cork-screw twist to -their hindquarters, which produced a most ludicrous effect. - -Old quotations from the Bible came to have added significance; as the -shearer held a poor frightened sheep between his knees and rapidly -clipped off the fleece with his gleaming shears, there was not a sound -if a clumsy movement cut a deep gash in the tender flesh; the "sheep -before her shearer was dumb" indeed. - -I spent days in the shearing sheds watching the proceedings from a -pile of wool sacks or passing out small metal disks in exchange for -the fleeces the shearers turned in. At the end of the day the disks -were counted and each shearer credited with the number of sheep he had -shorn. - -The fleeces were rolled and tied separately, then thrown up to a man -on a platform, who packed them in a long sack which was suspended from -the top of a high frame. As it was filled, it was taken down, sewed up -and rolled into the end of the shed to remain until later in the -season when the wool was sold and hauled to the railroad. - -Life was certainly peaceful compared to what it had been, but there -was little danger of our becoming "on weed", as a certain retired -cattle-man expressed it after a short sojourn in Europe. - -Lambing, shearing and dipping followed in rapid succession. The -herders cooked for themselves and once a week the wagons were piled -with supplies and provisions which were left at each camp. In a huge -store-room were kept quantities of salt-pork, sugar, dried fruits, -coffee, flour and other groceries. Flour was bought by the ton and -everything else in proportion. Making out the orders, having all the -freight hauled the sixteen miles from the railroad, checking it out -and keeping the camps supplied, were only details but it was the -multitude of detail which filled the days and kept us from becoming -"on weed". We issued the supplies to the camp-tenders ourselves, after -one of them had filled all of the Mexicans' cans with gasoline instead -of coal-oil, because "it kind'a had the same smell." - -Unless we chanced to have guests, for weeks at a time the only women I -saw were those in our employ, but I resented having any of my friends -think of my life as "dull" or "lonely". On the contrary it was -fascinating, full of incident, rich in experience which money could -not buy. Living so close to the great heart of nature during those -years on the plains, the vision of life partook of their breadth and a -new sense of values replaced old, artificial standards. To be alone on -the vast prairie was to gain a new conception of infinity -and--eternity. - - * * * * * - -The Mexicans stayed on the ranch about nine months, then returned to -their homes for a short visit. They were the most invariable creatures -I ever knew. When they departed for Taos or Trinidad or Antonito, -perhaps in July, they would announce on what date and by what train -they would return in October. That was the end of it, and upon the -appointed day in October someone would meet the designated train from -which the smiling herder alighted. They never failed and they never -left until another herder was there to take care of the sheep. - -One summer during this vacation period, eight new herders came to -replace eight that were going home. They were a fierce looking lot -from a different section of the country. They had been on the ranch -only a short time when Steve began to have trouble with them. They -were late getting their sheep out in the morning, they drove them too -rapidly and brought them in too early in the evening. In a few weeks -the sheep began to lose flesh and show the effects of bad handling. - -The newcomers disobeyed all orders, unless Steve happened to be on the -spot. He had to watch them constantly. He came up to a camp -unexpectedly one noon and found two of these Mexicans ready to sit -down to a dinner they had just cooked. It was an invariable rule that -the herders should take a lunch with them, for their mid-day meal, and -not return to the camp. They had left their sheep alone, so Steve made -them leave their dinner and go back to their bands, while he stayed to -make sure they did not return. - -It was impossible to discharge them until new herders could be brought -from New Mexico and he and Owen talked over the situation at length -that night. - -Early in the morning Steve went out on another trip of inspection. -About two o'clock he rode into the yard, his face covered with blood -from a deep gash in his head. He fell from his horse into Owen's arms. -We brought him in, washed off the blood, gave him a stimulant and -waited until he was able to tell us what had happened. - -It developed that as he came in sight of the camp he saw four of the -Mexicans outside of the cabin. They stood motionless as he approached, -then began to hurl rocks at him. One hit his horse and he was nearly -thrown but managed to keep his seat. He was struck several times on -the body. Although realizing that the Mexicans intended to kill him, -he jumped off his horse and went toward them. A rock struck his head, -but with undaunted courage he picked up some of the rocks and threw -them back at the herders. They had not expected that turn to the -affair and ran into the cabin. Steve was unarmed and too badly hurt, -single handed, to deal with the Mexicans, so he got on his horse, with -difficulty, and came back to the ranch. - -The next thing I knew, Owen, Bill and Fred, each carrying a gun, got -into the wagon and drove off. - -When anything happened it came with such suddenness there was never -opportunity for questions, besides, my association with men had taught -me the value of silence--in an emergency. - -In a few hours Owen and Fred came back. They had met the eight new -herders walking into the ranch to "quit". They walked back to their -respective camps instead, their pace accelerated by a loaded gun -pointing at their backs. The cabins were searched, several villainous -looking knives confiscated and eight subdued cut-throats returned to -the peaceful occupation of herding sheep, under Bill's watchful eye -and loaded gun. - -Owen said that it wasn't at all necessary for the Mexicans to -understand English since Bill's few remarks were sufficiently lurid to -attract their attention. - -Until other herders could be brought to the ranch, one white man, -always armed, stayed at each camp, constantly on guard lest the -vindictive herders set fire to the camps or kill the sheep. These were -no gentle children from the land of Manana; we discovered they were -desperate characters from Old Mexico, to whom murder was second -nature. - -Bill's opinion of the sheep business after his brief experience in the -camps could only be published in an expurgated edition. He hated the -Mexicans, he hated the sheep, he hated everything connected with them. -After seeing his charges safely on board a southbound train, he -returned to the ranch with all the joy of an exile. - -"I've been up against tough men, Mrs. Brook, but that bunch is the -worst I ever seen. They're just like a pack of coyotes, grinnin' and -sneakin' up behind you, waitin' 'til they git a chance to finish you. -Between listnin' to the grass grow and pickin' off sheep ticks, I got -plumb locoed settin' there watchin' 'em. I jest had to feel my skin -every once in a while to be sure I wasn't growin' wool." - - - - -IX - -THE UNEXPECTED - - -If there is anything in suggestion, Carlyle was responsible for the -whole affair, otherwise _why_ should we have deferred our drive until -the late afternoon and selected _Sartor Resartus_ of all books to read -aloud after lunch? - -Owen wanted to visit one of the sheep camps to examine the corrals -before having the hay stacked there for winter use and he urged us to -go with him. His invitation was joyfully accepted. For many weeks we -had scarcely left the ranch as Owen's Mother, who was with us, had -been desperately ill. The crisis had passed, however, so we did not -hesitate to go off for a few hours, leaving Madame Brook with her -nurse. My aunt, Owen's sister and her two children were at the ranch -also, and after so many weeks of anxiety we all felt the relaxation -and joyously climbed into the wagon when Owen drove up. - -There were summer and winter camps for the sheep and our objective -point was an old place, acquired with the ranch, which had been -converted into a winter camp. During the summer it was unoccupied. - -We drove along laughing and talking. Owen's nephew carried his gun and -kept a sharp lookout for coyotes. It was a glorious day and we were in -the mood to appreciate all its beauty. - -The meadows, waist deep in native hay, were flecked with the gold of -the prairie sun flowers. The wild roses grew in tangled masses -everywhere, their perfume mingled with the odor of the sage which -yielded up its aromatic sweetness as the wheels crushed the silvery -leaves. The plains were mottled with the shade of fleecy clouds which -floated lazily across the sky, the changing lights flooded the hills -with dazzling sunshine, then veiled them softly with faint cloud -shadows. A delicate haze hung over the more distant hills, and behind -the mountains thunderheads were gathering. - -The road ran directly past the camp and long before we reached it we -could see the old house, forbidding in its isolation, standing on a -high mesa above the creek. It had been built years before by a settler -named La Monte, whose footsteps misfortune had dogged until she -overtook him at last. His wife deserted him and, broken in heart and -fortune, he had left the country. Bohm held a mortgage on the place -and it had passed into his possession. - -An air of abandonment surrounded the camp even in winter when it was -occupied, but during the summer when it was totally deserted the -ghosts of dead happiness stalked unheeded through the silent rooms. -Rank weeds filled the yards, the plaintive notes of the wood-doves in -the cotton-woods by the creek and the weird, haunting howl of the -coyotes were the only sounds to break the silence. - -There was a tale connecting old Bohm with the La Monte tragedy for -which an affair with Mrs. La Monte was responsible. We were some -distance from the house, the rest of the party were intent on watching -a big jack-rabbit which was bounding lightly across the prairie, but I -was thinking of the wretched story which the sight of the old house -always recalled, when the door was slowly opened and a naked man -paused for a moment on the threshold then walked down the steps into -the yard. - -I gave a gasp, my eyes fixed on that advancing figure, the others -looked around but in that instant the man had seen us and dropped down -into the tall weeds, by which he was completely hidden. - -"What's the matter?" Owen asked, surprised by my exclamation. - -"Why, Owen, a man without any clothes on just came out of that door -and is there in the weeds." - -Owen turned toward the yard, there was no one in sight; he looked at -me in amazement. He knew I must be in earnest! I was not given to -"seeing things". - -"Why, that's absurd, how could you imagine anyone being out here in -this deserted place miles and miles from the railroad?" - -We were just opposite the house and as if in response to Owen's -question the head and naked breast of a man rose up from behind the -weeds. His face was crimson and the thick, black disheveled hair gave -him such an aspect of wildness we were appalled. - -Owen stopped the horses, the man rose to his feet, calmly looked at -us, then turned and walked slowly into the house. - -We were speechless. It was like a sudden apparition. - -After a moment Owen passed the lines to me. - -"Here, Esther, hold the horses while I go in and investigate." - -"Be careful," was all I could say. There was a chorus of "Don'ts" from -the back seat as he got out of the wagon. - -I thought of the gun. "Gordon, take your gun and go after your uncle. -I know that man is crazy." - -Gordon jumped out and ran toward the house, but before he reached the -door we heard a loud burst of singing, a curious rendering of -"Ta-rah-rah boom-de-ahy". In a moment Owen and Gordon reappeared. - -"Well, there's no doubt of his being crazy," Owen said, "we'll go to -the Bosman ranch where I can get someone to come back with me. I can -telephone the Sheriff from there, too." Then he told us what had -happened. - -By the time he reached the door the man had put on his outside shirt -and was standing in the middle of the bedroom floor. He glared at Owen -when he entered and made no reply when asked what he was doing there, -then he turned around and walked over to an empty bed frame which -stood against the wall, got behind it and gradually slipped down -underneath. When he was lying flat on his back on the floor, his feet -toward Owen, he began to sing in some broken foreign tongue. - -It was uncanny and as we drove on toward the creek I could only say -"What next?" - -"I don't know what on earth can come next," Owen replied. "This is -positively the most unexpected and unlikely thing that ever happened." - -We had to drive down a hill before we crossed the creek and at last -lost sight of the house, the sound of the wild singing grew more faint -and finally died away. - -There were no bridges in the country and while at this time there was -no flowing water, the sand was wet. We drove down a steep bank into -the bed of the creek and were almost across when without the slightest -warning the bottom seemed to drop out of the earth beneath us and the -wagon sank down. - -"Quicksand!" - -There was just time for that one exclamation in concert. Owen gave the -horses a quick cut with the whip, they sprang forward, caught a -footing on the solid sand and were safe. He gave them another cut, but -pull as they would they could not move the wagon, which had sunk to -the hubs. The double tree broke and the horses were free. Owen and -Gordon jumped out on the tongue, holding onto the horses and drove -them up the bank. There the rest of us sat, feeling the wagon sinking -slowly farther and farther into the deadly, yielding substance. - -The end of the wagon-pole rested on the firm sand, so by climbing over -the dashboard holding on to it with one hand I was able to work my own -way down the wagon tongue until I could grasp an outstretched hand and -jump to safety. The others followed my example. The danger was past, -but we trembled as we looked back. - -It is impossible to distinguish quicksand from ordinary sand by its -appearance, but it will not support the slightest weight. It seems to -melt into nothing and the sensation is all the more terrifying from -its suddenness. The first effect is instantaneous, then the engulfment -becomes more gradual. - -We were safe but afoot. Owen took the horses. - -"Gordon and I will go on to the Bosmans and get another wagon. We -won't be long and you women had better stay here and not walk these -three miles." - -I was just about to say "all right" when I happened to glance behind -me and there on the bank, silhouetted quite sharply against the sky, -stood the figure of a half-clad man. - -He was watching every move we made. I pointed to him. - -"I think you'd better come with us," said Owen after one glance, "he -might decide to investigate," and off we all trudged down the dusty -road. - -Blue black masses of cloud were spreading gradually across the sky and -distant thunder muttered ominously. - - * * * * * - -If a bomb had alighted in the centre of the Bosman ranch, where supper -was in progress, it couldn't have produced a more startling effect -than our arrival on foot and the account of our experience. They urged -us to spend the night, as the storm was rapidly approaching, but we -felt we must go back with Owen. - -Mr. Bosman hitched our team to one of his wagons, while Owen -telephoned to the Sheriff. We took a few pieces of bread and meat for -the poor demented creature at the camp and made another start. Mr. -Bosman and his son accompanied us on horseback. - -We went by a different road to avoid crossing the creek. - -It was dark by the time we reached the La Monte place, everything was -still. The four men, with a lighted lantern, entered the house. A wild -outburst of singing followed, which told us the same scene was being -enacted. The men came out almost immediately, talking earnestly. - -Mr. Bosman, an old-timer, had recognized the man as Jean La Monte, he -had spoken to him, had called him by name, but no sign of -understanding, not one faint glimmer of intelligence had shone from -out those wild eyes. Mr. Bosman was almost overcome. - -"It's just terrible to see him that way, he was such a good man. Poor -old La Monte, trouble has sure driven him crazy. How on earth he ever -got here beats me. There ain't a thing we can do tonight. We couldn't -handle him if he got violent. There never was a stronger man in this -country than Jean La Monte. My God! It's awful!" - -So it was arranged that the Bosmans should go back to their ranch and -send word to the Sheriff to be up there early in the morning and that -Owen should have some of our men guard the place during the night. - -"Poor devil, I don't believe he'll go away. He seemed so suspicious he -wouldn't touch the bread, and I believe he's been here two or three -days. See you in the morning," and the Bosmans disappeared in the -darkness. - -The thought of the tragedy with which we had so suddenly come in -touch, weighed upon us. A living ghost connected us with a past in -which we had no part. - -Long after we had left the old place behind, the mad singing followed -us, except when it was drowned by a sudden crash of thunder. The -jagged flashes of lightning illuminated the heavens for a brief -second, then left the world shrouded in an impenetrable darkness. -Rather than risk going through the creek a second time, we had decided -to cut across country. - -The prairies were broken by deep gullies washed and torn by the fury -of the summer storms. By day, driving was difficult; by night, it was -hazardous in the extreme, and after a blinding flash which fairly tore -the heavens apart, we were forced to stop the horses for fear of -driving into an unseen gulch. The horses, headed toward home and -excited and nervous, were hard to control. We drove along in silence, -our staring eyes trying to pierce the darkness. It was so dangerous -that at last I got out and walked in front of the horses. I could not -see; I could only know from the contour of the ground when we were -near a gulch or by my outstretched hand tell when we were near the -wires of a fence. After a time Gordon took my place, and all the way -one or the other walked before the team. The lightning and thunder -were terrific, but still it did not rain. We were worn out with -fatigue and anxiety when we finally reached the ranch. - -Steve was standing with his saddle horse at the crossing of the creek, -swinging a lighted lantern. When he heard the sound of the wheels he -gave a shout. - -"Mr. Brook!" - -"All right," Owen called back. Steve came towards us. - -"What on earth happened? We've all been plumb worried to death, and -Madame Brook, she's most crazy. I've just sent Fred up to the La Monte -place to look for you." - -"La Monte place!" we exclaimed as several of the boys, attracted by -Steve's shout, came up. "Get on your horse," said Owen, quickly, "and -overtake him; there's a madman up there." - -Steve did not wait for further instructions, but flung himself on his -horse and tore off after Fred. We hurried in to reassure Owen's -mother, who was nearly frantic. Later, as she bade us "Good-night," -she said very seriously: "Owen, as soon as I am able I am going to -Denver. I must be where it is quiet. I simply cannot stand the -excitement here." - -As the rain began to fall in torrents, we heard the men who had been -detailed to guard the La Monte place galloping off. - -An itinerant tailor had pulled into the ranch just before our return, -and was peacefully sleeping in his wagon. He was awakened when the -horses were driven into the corral, and came out to learn the cause of -the commotion. He was so excited when he heard that an insane person -was in the vicinity he asked to sleep at the bunk house with the men. -They tried to laugh him out of his fears, but his fright was so -genuine they told him to "come on." - -The strangeness of the whole affair, the combination of circumstances -and pure nervous and physical exhaustion kept Owen and me awake a long -time. It seemed I had scarcely fallen asleep when I heard someone -knock on the door and say: - -"Mr. Brook, Mr. Brook." - -I recognized Mary's voice, and responded for Owen, who was dead -asleep. - -"Mrs. Brook, the crazy man is down here at the corral; will you ask -Mr. Brook to come out?" - -It didn't take Owen long to dress. It was about five o'clock, and from -the window we could see poor old La Monte, still attired in his shirt, -sitting in the door of the granary playing with a little cotton-wood -switch. - -How he had escaped the men who had surrounded the place, and how he -had found his way to our ranch were questions no one could answer. - -The first intimation of his presence came in the form of a wild yell -from the tailor, who had gotten up early and gone down to the corral -to feed his horses. This brought all the men to the bunk house door as -the terror-stricken little Jew flung himself into their arms. - -"Mein Gott! Dot crazy man iss here." - -"You're the only crazy man on this ranch," said Bill, taking him by -the collar and giving him a shake. "What ails you, anyhow?" - -"Oh, he iss here, he iss here," wailed the tailor. "He ain't got on no -clothes, and we'll all be kilt." The boys left him and went out to -investigate. - -It was true. La Monte was there, and after a futile effort on Bill's -part to get him to talk the boys retired to the bunk house and sent -for Owen. - -"Gee," Bill said later, "that feller was the doggondest lookin' thing -I ever seen, settin' there in what was left of his shirt. His legs was -all tore by the fence wires or brambles, his teeth was chatterin' and -he was just blue with cold. His eyes had a look in 'em that give me -the shivers. I don't wonder he scart that there Jew into a fit. I -wasn't very anxious to come clost to him, neither. I ain't scart of -anything that's human, but he ain't human, goin' 'round folks dressed -like that." Bill was a stickler for convention. - -"That's the first thing a person usually does when he goes crazy, -Bill--takes off all his clothes." - -Bill gave me an incredulous look. - -"Gosh, I hope I'll be killed ridin' or somethin' and not lose my mind -first. It ain't decent." - - * * * * * - -The poor demented creature would not speak nor pay any attention to -the other men, but when he saw Steve he smiled as he asked: - -"You've come to take me away from them, haven't you?" - -"Yes," Steve said. "Will you go with me now?" - -La Monte stood up. - -"Yes, if you won't let them get me; those witches want to drag me back -to hell, but I've fooled them this time. I've almost caught up with -him once or twice and they drag me back." And he walked off quietly by -Steve's side. - -Steve took him to the bunkhouse, gave him some coffee and made him lie -down on his bed. While Steve sat beside him La Monte slept fitfully, -but at the slightest move started and tried to get up. Steve fell in -with all his vagaries; he promised to help him escape the witches and -to help him find the person for whom he seemed to be searching. - -"Where was he last?" Steve asked, hoping to find some clue. - -"Why, on his horse." La Monte sat up and stared wildly into Steve's -eyes. "Don't you know, he's always on a horse, a big black horse. He's -there just ahead of me, he's always just ahead of me," and he jumped -up and started toward the door. - -Steve calmed him again and he fell back on the pillows and lay there -in silence, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. - - * * * * * - -Six crestfallen cow-punchers returned from the La Monte place. No one -knew when the man had left the camp, no one had even caught a glimpse -of him. His clothes they had found in the well. - -The Sheriff and his posse came at last. Steve kept his hand on the arm -of La Monte as they approached the wagon. It was a tense moment; we -were all watching but hidden, fearful lest some trifle would arouse -the demon of violence. The men were all armed. - -La Monte put his foot up on the step of the wagon, then took it off, -shook his head, turned and walked toward the granary. We held our -breath. Steve alone followed him. - -"Come on; you're going with me, aren't you?" - -There was no reply. With his eyes fixed on the ground La Monte ignored -Steve completely. Suddenly he stopped and picked up something, the -little cotton-wood switch to which the leaves still clung. Holding it -tightly, he walked back to the wagon, got in, Steve by his side, and -they drove off. - -They were scarcely out of sight when Charley came dashing up with -sixty dollars in gold which he had found under a pile of mud at the La -Monte place. Owen sent him to overtake the wagon. - -"Is this yours?" Charley asked, as he rode up to them, holding the -money out toward La Monte, who only shook his head and looked off -across the prairie. Charley turned the money over to Steve. - -When they reached the town, La Monte seemed to become confused and -suspicious. He would not speak. He was judged insane and committed to -the asylum. Still in charge of the Sheriff, Steve and two other men, -he was put on the train. - -"Where did you get him?" the conductor asked the Sheriff. - -"Up in the country, at the A L ranch." - -"Oh, yes, I know that place; it used to be the old Bohm----" - -He never finished his sentence, for La Monte, with a cry, sprang to -his feet, looked wildly about, brushed them aside and jumped through -the window. - -The train was stopped, and they ran back to where he had fallen. He -had broken his leg, but in spite of that fought them off with -superhuman strength. With the help of the train crew, he was -overpowered at last, bound and taken back to the train. - -Steve told us later it was the most terrible experience he had ever -been through. - -"I just couldn't stand the look in his eyes when they got him to the -asylum. He didn't say nothin', just kept moanin' all the time. He'd -been there for five years, and no one knew how he got away. I suppose -it would a come anyhow, but it seemed like it was the mention of -Bohm's name that set him off." - - - - -X - -AROUND THE CHRISTMAS FIRE - - -Within a radius of many miles there were only three small children, -and about them our Christmas festivities revolved. They furnished the -excuse for the tree, but no work was too pressing, no snow too deep to -prevent the boys from bringing the Christmas tree and greens from a -small clump of pines which stood on top of a distant hill, like a dark -green island in the midst of the prairie sea. - -Early on Christmas morning Steve started out with gaily bedecked -baskets for the Mexicans, and at the ranch the greatest excitement -prevailed. I dashed frantically between the bunkhouse and our kitchen -to be certain that nothing was forgotten. The big turkeys were stuffed -to the point of bursting, all the "trimmings" were in readiness, and -the last savory mince pies were in the ovens. - -[Illustration: BUCKING HORSE AND RIDER] - -Behind the closed doors of the living room the tall tree, festooned -with ropes of popcorn and garlands of gaudy paper chains, glittered -and glowed with its tinsel ornaments and candles. - -Owen divided his attention between his "Santa Claus" costume and pails -of water, which he placed near the tree in case it should catch fire. - -The boys spent most of the morning "slicking up" and put on their red -neckties, the outward and visible sign of some important event, then -passed the remaining hours sitting around anxiously awaiting the -arrival of the guests of honor and--dinner. - -Sometimes members of the family were with us or some friends were -lured from the city by the promise of a "really, truly Christmas," and -there were always a few lonely bachelors to whom the holidays, -otherwise, would have brought only memories. - -Christmas was our one great annual celebration, a day of cheer and -happiness, in which everyone joyously shared. It was a new experience -in the life of the undomesticated cow-puncher, but he took as much -satisfaction in the fact that "Our tree was a whole lot prettier than -the one I've saw in town" as though he had won a roping contest. - -Each year the children and their parents were invited for Christmas -dinner. They might be delayed en route by deep snowdrifts, out of -which they had to dig themselves, but they always arrived eventually. -We came to have a sincere affection for those children, gentle little -wild flowers of the prairie. - -They were very sweet, perfectly ingenuous, gazing in round-eyed wonder -upon things which to most of us were commonplace. - -I never thought of its being anything new in their brief experience -until at dinner one of the small boys turned to his mother after -tasting a piece of celery and said, "Look, Mamma, 'tain't cabbage and -'tain't onions. What is it?" - -They positively trembled with excitement as they learned to read and -laboriously spelled out the words in the simple books we gave them. -They craved knowledge as a starving man craves bread. - -As Santa Claus, Owen wore a ruddy mask with a long white beard and -bristling eyebrows, a fur cap pulled down over his ears, heavy felt -boots and his long fur overcoat. He looked and acted the part so -perfectly the children for years insisted that "there is a Santa Claus -'cause we've seen him." - -The first Christmas everyone was gathered about the tree waiting for -this mysterious personage to appear when Owen suddenly thought of -bells; he must have sleigh-bells. No self-respecting Santa Claus was -complete without them. I was in despair; there wasn't a sleigh-bell -within a hundred miles, but Owen insisted that he must jingle. At last -after a great deal of argument and searching for something which would -give forth bell-like sounds, he finally pranced out before the -spell-bound audience with my silver table bell sewed to the top of one -of his boots. He had to prance because the bell refused to tinkle -unless it was shaken, and for the ensuing hour he pranced so -vigorously that between the exercise and the fur coat he nearly -perished from heat. - -After dinner we all assembled in the big living-room, where my -disguised husband presented each person with some little gift and -ridiculous toy, accompanied by a still more ridiculous rhyme, over -which the boys roared. They enjoyed the jokes most of all. No one -escaped; Owen and I came in for our share with the rest. Mine usually -bore veiled or open allusion to my particular pet lamb which had -developed strong butting proclivities. He butted friend and foe -indiscriminately, so that even my fond eyes were not blinded to his -faults, and Owen's remarks were most uncomplimentary after he had -acted as a shield for us when "Jackie" had chased my sister and me all -about the yard. - -Later in the afternoon everybody scattered--our house guests amused -themselves as they chose, riding, driving or hunting coyotes, the boys -rode over to the neighboring ranches or went to "town," the store and -saloon at the railroad station sixteen miles away, but I spent an hour -or two playing with the children or reading to them until their father -"brought the team around," their happy mother climbed up on the high -seat of the lumber-wagon and, clinging to dolls, trains and toys, -three blissfully happy but perfectly exhausted little children were -wrapped up in quilts and coats, stowed into the back of the wagon and -started on the twenty-mile drive "back home." - -It had been an eventful day in their short, barren lives, but for us -it was the best part of Christmas, except the evening, when we all -gathered about the big fireplace which drew everyone into its circle -like a magnet. - -There was nothing prosaic about those who grouped themselves around -the great stone fireplaces on the ranches in the old days. Here again -were found those contrasts, so striking and unexpected; university men -who had come West for adventure or investment, men of wealth whose -predisposition to weak lungs had sent them in exile to the wilderness, -modest young Englishmen, those younger sons so often found in the most -out-of-the-way corners of the earth, and who, through the sudden -demise of a near relative, had such a startling way of becoming earls -and lords over night; adventurous Scotchmen, brilliant young Irishmen, -all smoking contentedly there in the firelight and discussing the -"isms" and "ologies" and every other subject under heaven. But most -interesting of all were their own reminiscences. - -We were all sitting around the fire one Christmas night when the -conversation turned on adventure, and everyone promised to tell the -most thrilling experience he had ever had. - -Two of the men were lying on the big bearskin before the fire. One, a -mining engineer, told of having been captured by bandits and held for -a ransom, in some remote corner of Mexico where he had gone to examine -a very famous mine. The other, a surveyor for the Union Pacific -Railroad, had been lost during a storm and, becoming snow-blind, -crawled for five miles on his hands and knees, feeling the trail with -naked, half frozen hands until he reached the creek down which he -waded until he came to the camp. - -In a big chair, the firelight playing over her slender figure, sat -Janet Courtland, an Eastern woman, who as a mere girl had come West -with her young husband and had gone up into Montana where he had -bought a large cattle ranch. - -"Come on, Mrs. Courtland, you're next," the Surveyor said as he -finished his story. - -"Well," Janet began, "Will and I have had so many experiences I -scarcely know which was the most exciting, but I think our encounter -with the Indians was the most thrilling from first to last. - -"Will had to go into Miles City on business and I went with him for -great unrest had been reported among the Indians and he didn't want to -leave me on the ranch alone. We had been in town only a few days when -we heard that they were on the war path and Will felt he must go back -to the ranch. He wanted me to stay in town, but I wouldn't. If he was -going back I was going with him, so we started in the buck-board on -that long eighty-five mile drive. I'll never forget it. The day was -fearfully hot and we were constantly looking out for Indians. We had -gone about half-way, when we came over the top of a hill and saw a -band of Indians just below us. They saw us before we could turn back, -we had to go on, and as we came towards them they formed into two -lines so that we had to drive between them. It was horrible." And -Janet gave a shiver at the recollection. "I'll never forget as long as -I live those frightful, painted faces. Not an Indian moved; we passed -through the line and had gone a short distance beyond, when we heard -the report of a gun. Will clapped his hand to his side and said: 'My -God, I'm shot. Drive as fast as you can'--and he threw the lines to -me. - -"I lashed the horses and we fairly tore. Everything was still, there -was only that one shot, the Indians made no attempt to follow us. We -did not speak. Will was lying back in the buckboard, his hand pressed -to his side. When we had gone out of sight of the Indians I stopped -the horses and asked Will where he was struck. - -"'In the side; I can feel the blood oozing through my fingers,' he -said. He took his hand away and gave an exclamation as he looked at -it. It was wet but not with blood. We could not find the sign of a -wound. We got out to investigate and discovered--that just as we -passed the Indians the cork flew out of a bottle of root beer we had -in the back of the buckboard and struck him in the side. Poor old -Willie, no wonder he thought he was shot," and Janet smiled at her -husband, who laughed with the rest of us. - -"Now, Owen," he said, "I know some of the things you've been through, -so you can't beg off," and Owen began his story. - -"In the spring of '81 I came West to visit my brother, Ed., on his -ranch in Wyoming. I was a tenderfoot, never having been on the plains -before--and yet--I had scarcely arrived when I announced that the one -thing I wanted to do was to kill a buffalo. He told me that if my -heart was set on it I should have the chance, but that it was -dangerous sport even for experienced hunters, as a buffalo frequently -turns and gores the horse before it can get out of the way. - -"The very next day the dead body of a professional hunter was brought -to the ranch. He had wounded a buffalo bull which had turned, caught -with his horn the horse he was riding, thrown him to the ground and -gored the hunter to death. The sight of his mangled body was shocking -and made a terrible impression on my mind, but my purpose was not -changed. - -"My brother assigned Al. Turpin the responsibility of serving as my -guide. He was one of the best riders on the ranch, cool-headed and a -good shot. We took breakfast before daylight in order to get an early -start. After riding a considerable distance three dark objects were -discovered far away on a hill which sloped toward us. A pair of field -glasses confirmed the opinion that they were buffalo lying down. We -rode in their direction and kept out of sight, except as we peered -cautiously over the top of each succeeding ridge until it was possible -to approach no nearer in concealment, when we rode to the top of the -nearest hill and were in full view. The buffalo saw us and quick as -lightning were on their feet running away. We sent our horses at full -speed down the slope, across a level piece of ground and up the hill -after them. We were gaining rapidly. My horse was the faster of the -two and was in the lead. He was one of the best trained cow ponies I -have ever ridden and was my brother's favorite for cutting out cattle. - -"When about thirty yards behind the buffalo, one stopped. The bit I -was using was severe. I pulled and threw my horse back on his -haunches. The buffalo was an immense bull. He appeared to me as big as -a mountain. He turned facing me, his body at an angle, cocked his head -on the side, then threw it toward the ground and, quicker than a -flash, came down the hill like a landslide. - -"My horse struggled against the bit and tried to jump toward the -buffalo and turn him as he would a steer. I tried to swing his head -away and dug my spurs into his sides to make him move, but he did not -understand why he should run from a buffalo. He did respond a little -and turned so that his haunches were toward the great brute coming -down the hill. - -"The head of the buffalo was in striking distance. He looked like a -great devil. His beadlike eyes flashed fire. The next instant I -expected the horse to be pitched down the hill. I could feel myself -thrown into the air and then gored to death when I struck the ground. -I could see the mangled body of the dead hunter. - -"While my six-shooter was a powerful gun, I knew that if I should -shoot the brute in the head, the ball would not go through the mass of -matted hair and the thick skull. Still there was nothing else to do. I -thought my time had come. In order to hit him at all it was necessary -to shoot over my left arm. In my haste I pulled the trigger too soon. -The loud report startled the horse into a run and turned the buffalo. -Its discharge, so near my head, gave me a terrible shock. I thought -the shot had blown away all the right side of my head and I put up my -hand to keep my brains from falling out, but there were neither brains -nor blood on my hand. The bullet had just grazed my head and gone -through the rim of my hat. That brute looked like an infuriated demon. -I couldn't have been more frightened if I had met the devil himself at -the mouth of hell. - -"When it was all over, I was not in a mood for challenging him again, -but as he loped away, Al. ran his horse abreast and from a safe -distance put a shot into his brisket. He fell dead. Believe me, I have -had many close calls, but that was the one time in all my life when I -was really scared." - -"What extraordinary experiences people do have in this country," Will -Mason exclaimed, as he leaned forward to light a fresh cigar. -"Speaking of Ed. reminds me of a strange coincidence which happened -the year after he came West. - -"We had been together the year before in New York, where we had met a -chap named Courtney Drake. He was a Yale man and a member of the -University Club, so we saw quite a good deal of him. He was very -congenial and one of the most lovable fellows I ever knew. He was -married but he seldom spoke of his wife and we never met her. - -"One morning we picked up the paper and were horrified to read that -Mrs. Courtney Drake had shot her maid. There it was in glaring -headlines, the whole wretched affair. The Drakes were one of the -oldest and wealthiest families in New York and it was spicy reading -for the scandal lovers I assure you. - -"It seems that Drake had gotten mixed up with this woman when he first -came out of college and in order to force him to marry her she told -him that she was soon to have a child. He wouldn't believe it, and how -she worked it I don't know. She must have been mighty clever, for she -and her maid got hold of a baby somewhere and she made Courtney -believe it was hers and that he was the father--so he married her. - -"They had only been married a short time when the maid began to demand -large sums of 'hush money' and Mrs. Drake gave her whatever she asked, -for she was in mortal dread of having Drake discover the truth. The -girl found blackmail so profitable she became more and more insistent -in her demands and nearly drove Mrs. Drake wild. At last she could -endure it no longer and in a perfect frenzy, shot and killed the maid -and then the whole thing came out. Mrs. Drake was sent to prison, -where she died later, but Courtney vanished utterly after the -trial--no one knew what became of him. - -"The next fall Ed. and I came West and two years later were up in the -Jackson's Hole country with a party, shooting. Ed. and one of the -guides went out one morning to get some ducks, but in a short time -they came back to camp carrying the dead body of Courtney Drake. They -had come across his body on the shore of a small lake, lying face down -in the mud. There was a single bullet hole in the back of his head. - -"Think of his having been found out there in the wilderness by the -only man in the country who knew who he was! Talk about chance," Will -sighed, "Poor devil, he was living out there under an assumed name. -His family had no idea where he was. Ed. notified them and then took -his body East. - -"Just after his death Drake's partner produced a bill of sale for the -entire ranch and took possession of it. Everyone suspected him of the -murder, but it couldn't be proved. About three years later the man -killed his wife and at the time of his conviction the question of -Drake's murder was brought up and he confessed. Isn't it strange the -way things happen?" Will's question was general. "What on earth do you -suppose sent Ed. Brook into the Jackson's Hole country at that one -time of all others?" - -No one answered. - -"I wonder if all new countries abound in such tragic mysteries?" The -Surveyor looked up at me. - -"What tragic mysteries have you encountered, Mrs. Brook, that makes -you speak so feelingly?" - -Just then the clock struck twelve and I got up. - -"It's too late for more mysteries, it's time to go to bed--and we -don't want tragedies to keep us wide awake on Christmas night." - -"Oh, come on Esther, tell us your most thrilling experience," they -begged. "We won't move a step until you do." - -"Marrying Owen," I replied, looking over at my unsuspecting husband, -"I've never had a chance to get my breath since." - -And amid a shout of laughter the Christmas party broke up. - - - - -XI - -TED - - -Ted landed in our midst with all the attendant violence of a meteor. -He didn't arrive, he landed, bag and baggage, and until his departure -weeks later our tranquil existence was sufficiently hectic to suit -even Bill. - -After numerous letters from his doting aunt, we reluctantly consented -to look after Ted while she was in Europe recuperating from a nervous -break-down. At the end of the first week, we understood why Aunt -Elizabeth found recuperation necessary, and I suggested to Owen, it -might be well to engage our passage on a later steamer, for I had a -premonition that my own nerves might require a rest after two months -of Ted's strenuous companionship. - -He wasn't bad; there was not a bad thing about him. He was just -overflowing with youth and energy, which had been pent up for years, -between boarding school in the winter and Newport in the summer. - -Motherless, fatherless, rich, neglected or over-indulged by a none too -wise aunt, Ted was an appealing young person, a character easily to be -made or marred by circumstances. - -He looked like a member of the celestial choir--blue-eyed, fair-haired -and mild--but he produced the effect of a Kansas cyclone. - -There was nothing he did not see, there was nothing he did not hear -and there was nothing he did not do. Even on eighty thousand acres of -land his activities were somewhat limited. - -He was wildly enthusiastic about the West, fascinated by the men, and -was Bill's shadow, so we promptly turned him over to those "rough -persons" Aunt Elizabeth had especially hoped that he might avoid, to -get it all out of his system. - -"Let him stay at the bunk-house," Owen advised after Ted had besought -me to allow him to stay with the men. "It will do him more good than -anything else in the world, if he has the right stuff in him." - -Ted stood on the porch, uneasily shifting from one foot to the other, -when I came out of the office. - -"All right, Ted, Mr. Brook and I are perfectly willing for you to stay -with the men, if you really want to." - -He hopped up and down and almost embraced me in his joy. - -"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Brook. You see," he explained, carefully, "I've -seen people like you and Mr. Brook all my life, but I never had the -chance to be with real cow-punchers before." Evidently, from Ted's -point of view, Owen and I were very commonplace individuals compared -to these heroes of the prairie, and I laughed to myself as he bounded -down the steps to break the joyful news to Bill that he was to share -his bed and board. - -The next day we had to go to town to meet some prospective wool -buyers, and, after having his breakfast interrupted five different -times by Ted's dashing in to see if we were ready, Owen was moved to -inquire finally, "What on earth is on the boy's mind now?" - -"His outfit," I answered. "He's been planning it for days; wishes to -select it himself and we are not to see it until we get home." - -That was a wise stipulation of Ted's, for if we had seen it, we should -never have been able to get home. - -He put it on as soon as we reached the ranch, and when he finally -emerged, the flaming sunset paled with chagrin at its futile effort of -years. - -The "outfit" consisted of tan corduroy trousers, chaps of long silky -angora wool, which had been dyed a brilliant orange, a shirt of vivid -green, a bright red silk handkerchief for his neck, an enormous -Stetson hat, high-heeled tan boots, silver studded belt and huge -spurs. - -We gasped when we saw him, but he was so intent on showing himself to -Bill, as to be utterly unconscious of the effect he produced. - -We followed him into the yard where the boys were waiting the call to -supper. Bill looked up from the quirt he was braiding and blinked. - -"Gosh! I thought the sun had set an hour ago," he remarked. - -"No," Ted laughingly responded, giving him a push, "but he's going to -'set' now," and he threw himself down by Bill's side. "I knew you -fellows would guy me, but all the same I think this outfit's great," -and he surveyed himself with infinite pride and satisfaction. - -"It's all right," said Bill, taking in all the details of the -resplendent costume, and looking up at Owen and me with twinkling -eyes, "I like somethin' a little gay myself; but round here where -everything's green, we won't be able to tell you from a bunch of -soap-weed," and Ted good naturedly joined in the laugh at his own -expense. - -"Wouldn't his Aunt Elizabeth die of heart-failure if she could see him -now?" I asked Owen as we went into the house. - -"She certainly would," he answered, "but we'll trust to luck and let -Nature take its course." - -Everything, including Nature, took its course rapidly with Ted, and -for the next few weeks wise prairie dogs, rabbits and rattle-snakes -stayed in their holes. By the end of his stay that energetic young -person had enough rattle-snake skins to provide belts and hat-bands -for all of New York, and scores of live prairie-dogs he had trapped to -be shipped to his aunt's place in Newport. - -I tried to picture the joy of Aunt Elizabeth and her neighbors when -they found informal prairie-dog towns in the midst of their formal -gardens. If life is measured by experiences, a few additional years -were in store for Newport. - -Bill taught Ted to shoot and he spent hours and a fortune shooting at -old tin cans on a post before Bill finally consented to say: - -"I've saw fellers do worse," the sweetest praise that ever fell on -mortal ears, judging by Ted's expression. - -And, then, Owen went to New Mexico to buy some sheep and Bohm came to -sleep on a claim. - -This claim was one over which Owen and Bohm had been having a -controversy for months. It had been included in the sale of the ranch, -and after one of our most important sheep camps had been built upon -it, Owen discovered that Bohm could not give a deed to it, as he had -not made final proof on the land. - -Bohm never ceased to regret having sold the ranch, and had never -forgiven Owen for buying it and making him live up to his contract, so -was only too glad of the opportunity to cause him all the trouble -possible. Time after time he promised to come out and "prove up", but -he never came, so although I was most anxious to have him come, I was -far from pleased to have him about when Owen was away. - -Ted, however, was overjoyed; he seemed to feel that Providence had -arranged Bohm's visit to the ranch for his especial entertainment, and -from the moment the old chap arrived Ted dogged his footsteps. - -At first, old Bohm seemed quite flattered and laughed and joked with -him, praised his shooting, told him stories of the Indian days, -promised to show him the underground passage to an abandoned stage -station, but later he became annoyed, for no clinging burr ever clung -more closely than Ted. He scarcely allowed Bohm to get out of his -sight for one moment. - -How much the boy had heard of old Bohm's history I did not know, but I -concluded a few rumors had reached those ever-attentive ears, for one -day he came in fairly beaming. - -"Gosh! Pudge and Soapy haven't got anything on me, they've only seen -Buffalo Bill in a show, and I'm right in the same house with a man -that's a holy terror!" - -"What do you mean, Ted?" I asked, anxious to find out how much he had -heard. - -"Oh, you know well enough, Mrs. Brook," he laughed, going to the door -as he saw old Bohm on his way to the barn. "You can't fool me. Gee! I -wouldn't have missed him for the world. The fellows'll just be sick -when I tell them." - -"The fellows" were evidently "Pudge" and "Soapy", his two chums at St. -Paul's, "Pudge" because of "his shape," as Ted explained, and "Soapy", -whose parental millions came from the manufacturing of soap. - -The game between the boy and Bohm was amusing. Clever as the old chap -was, he couldn't evade Ted's watchful eye. If Bohm thought him miles -away, he suddenly appeared with such an unconscious air of innocence -he disarmed all suspicion, but he made Bohm uneasy. - -"Quit campin' on the old man's trail, Kid," said Bill one evening at -the corral after Ted had driven Bohm to the bunk-house to escape his -questions. "You're gettin' on his nerves; let him go and sleep on his -claim and get through with it. You and me's got to hunt horses -tomorrow, anyways." - -Ted cheerfully acquiesced, and old Bohm loaded his wagon alone and -drove toward his claim in peace. - -The next morning very early, I heard Bill calling Ted. No Ted -appeared, and I went out to see where he was. - -"Where do you reckon that crazy kid's went now?" demanded Bill, -impatient to start. - -"I'm sure I don't know, Bill, hunting prairie-dogs, probably. Don't -wait for him, if you're ready to go." - -"Huntin' prairie-dogs," echoed Bill. "I'll bet a hat he's huntin' old -Bohm somewheres." He frowned as he cinched up his saddle. "I reckon -I'd better ride over that way and see what he's up to." - -"I wish you would," I said, vaguely uneasy. "I don't want him to -bother Bohm too much." - -"Me neither," said Bill, getting on his horse, "there's his pony's -tracks now," he looked at the ground. "I'll find him and take him -along with me. Don't you worry, he's all right, but he sure is a -corker--that kid," and Bill galloped off. - -I felt confident that he would overtake the lad, so I dismissed them -all from my mind and settled down to an uninterrupted morning, and a -delayed postal report. - -I was busy all day and was just starting out for a little walk before -supper when Bill and Ted rode up. - -Bill and Ted, hatless, clothes torn and covered with dirt and blood, -their faces scratched and bruised, and Ted regarding me triumphantly -from one half-closed eye, the other being swollen shut. - -"What on earth hap--" I tried to ask, my breath fairly taken away. -Bill got off his horse and came up to the gate. - -"We're all right, Mrs. Brook. I'm sorry you seen us 'fore we got fixed -up a little; we just got mixed up some with Bohm--that's all--'taint -nothin' serious. We look a whole lot worse than we feel, don't we -Ted?" - -"You bet we do," mumbled Ted from a cut and bleeding mouth, "but you -ought to see Bohm, he's a sight!" - -Ted got off his horse with difficulty. "Gosh, it was great," he said, -leaning up against the fence for support. - -"Come in and sit down, both of you, Charley will take your horses," -and I led the way into the house followed a little unsteadily by Bill -and Ted, who collapsed on the first chairs they could reach. - -I gave them some wine, washed off their blood-stained faces, and made -protesting Ted go into my room and lie down. He was very pale, and I -saw that he was faint. - -I came back into the kitchen. - -"Now, Bill, tell me about it. What happened and where is Bohm?" - -"On his way back to Denver in the baggage car," announced Bill, -draining the last drop from the glass he still held in his hand. - -I started, "Oh, Bill, you didn't kill him?" - -"No, but I wisht I had," he said calmly. "He'd oughter be dead, the old -skunk, trying to poison all them sheep." - -"Poison the sheep; what sheep?" - -"Your sheep," Bill's brows contracted as he looked at me. "Your -sheep," he repeated, his voice rising as I scarcely seemed able to -grasp his meaning. "All the sheep at Hay Gulch Camp, that's what he -came out here for, and he'd a done it, too, if it hadn't been for that -kid in there." Bill jerked his head in the direction of my room. - -"Ted?" I asked, my emotion stifling my voice. - -"Ted," Bill affirmed, "he caught him at it red-handed, and probably -saved two thousand sheep from bein' dead this minute." - -"How on earth did he find out?" - -Bill straightened up in his chair. - -"Them eyes of his'n don't miss much, I'm here to tell you, and his -everlastin' snoopin' around done some good after all." Bill's eyes -glowed with pride. "Yesterday, before Bohm left, Ted come across him -mixin' a lot of stuff with some grain, and, of course, had to know all -about it. The old man finally told him he was fixin' to poison the -prairie-dogs on his claim, bit he was so peevish about it, Ted said he -didn't believe him, and mistrusted somethin' was wrong. - -"The kid didn't say nothin' to me about it; had some fool notion about -playin' detective, I reckon, at any rate he got up along about four -o'clock and rode out to Bohm's claim to do a little reconorterin'." - -Bill reluctantly put the glass down and tipped back in his chair. "He -hid his horse in the gulch and crope up in the grass like an Injin. -The herder wasn't nowhere in sight and the sheep was still in the -corral, but old Bohm was there all right, fixin' little piles of that -poisoned wheat just where the sheep would come acrost it the first -thing." - -"Oh, Bill, that's the worst thing I ever heard!" I was sick at the -mere thought. - -Bill was too engrossed to pay attention to the interruption. - -"Ted said he was comin' back to tell me, but he got so excited when he -seen what Bohm was up to, he never thought of nothin' but stoppin' -him. The old man was stoopin' over with his back to Ted, and the kid -gave a yell for the herder and ran for Bohm and before he could -straighten up Ted was on top of him." - -Bill scarcely paused for breath--"the old man reached for his gun, but -Ted was too quick for him and knocked it out of his hand, and when I -came up, there they was rollin' all over the prairie, first one on top -and then the other." - -Bill looked toward the door of my room, reflectively--"I kinder felt -there was somethin' wrong when I left here, and believe me, I didn't -spare my cayuse none gettin' there neither, and I didn't get there -none too soon." - -I was incapable of speech. I just stared at Bill. - -"There ain't no doubt about Bohm's bein' ready to kill him; he was on -top then and reachin' for his throat. I didn't stop to ask no -questions. I jest grabbed him, and pulled him off of Ted. He was white -as chalk and ready to eat us both alive, but I hung on to him while -Ted got up cryin', 'Look what he's done, Bill, look what he's done,' -and pointed at somethin' on the ground." - -Bill's eyes were like two live coals. "Bohm was cussin' like a steam -engine 'bout the kid's jumpin' him when he was puttin' out poison for -the prairie-dogs. I just took one look around and seen all them piles -of poison wheat there by the corral when there wasn't a prairie-dog -within two miles. I--well, I aint goin' to tell you what I said, Mrs. -Brook, 'taint fit for you to hear." - -[Illustration: FACING DEATH EACH TIME THEY RIDE A NEW HORSE.] - -Bill looked down and turned the glass on the table around and around. -He looked up again and smiled, but his brows contracted as he went -on--"We had words then, sure enough. All of a sudden Bohm made a lunge -and caught the handkerchief round my neck with one hand and reached -for somethin' with the other, and the first thing I knew he was -slashin' at me with a pocket knife. I guess I saw red then, 'cause I -knocked him down and nearly pounded the life out of him." - -Bill stopped a moment--"His eyes was rollin' back in his head and his -tongue was hangin' out and there was a pool of blood 'round us, three -yards across." Bill's description was so vivid I shut my eyes. "I -reckon I'd killed him if Ted hadn't tromped my legs and kinda brought -me to myself. He'd oughter been killed, but I let him up then and told -Ted to go for my rope. We tied his hands and legs. I guess he had -about all he wanted for he wasn't strugglin' much." Bill smiled -grimly. "We carried him into the cabin, and there was the Mexican -lying in his bunk--doped. We knew who done it all right, and I tell -you we didn't handle Bohm like no suckin' infant when we laid him -down, neither." - -Bill's face was stern and set and I shared his indignation too much to -trust myself to speak. - -"We left him there and went to get the wheat out of the way before we -opened the corral gates for the sheep. Thanks to Ted, Bohm hadn't had -time to put much around. He's a great little kid, that boy." Bill's -voice broke. - -"Bless his heart," I said, my own heart filled with gratitude and -tenderness for the plucky little chap in the other room. Bill's eyes -were moist, but his voice was steady again. - -"Steve and Charley came up just then with the supply wagon, so Steve -set Charley to herd the sheep. We loaded Bohm into the wagon and Steve -took him over to the railroad. He said he'd see he got on the train -all right." Bill grinned, "You're rid of Bohm for good now, Mrs. -Brook, for I kinda think he gathered from what me and Steve said the -ranch wouldn't be no health resort for him if he ever showed his ugly -face round here again." - -"Oh, Bill, I'm so thankful; it makes me sick when I think what might -have happened." - -"Don't thank me, Mrs. Brook, I ain't done nothin'." Bill's face was -red with embarrassment as he stood up. "Ted's the one to thank, he's -some kid, believe me," and Bill's eyes were very tender. - -"Let's go in and see how he's making it." Bill followed me into the -room. - -Ted was sitting up on the couch, regarding his battered visage in my -hand-glass with the greatest interest. I could see at once he was in -no mood for emotion or petting. - -"Hello, I'm all right," he murmured with a one-sided grin. "Say, Bill, -wasn't it great? I wouldn't have missed it for a million dollars." - -He sank back with a sigh of supreme satisfaction. "I just wish I could -remember all the things he called me. I want to spring them on the -fellows when I go back." - -Bill looked at him with genuine concern. "See here, kid," he said -decidedly, "you want to forget all them things as quick as you can. -Don't you go springin' any such language back where you come from. I'm -no innocent babe myself, but I'm here to tell you old Bohm's cussin' -made anything I ever heard sound like a Sunday School piece. You -forget it now, pronto," he commanded as he went out of the door. "It's -a reflection on me and Mrs. Brook." - -After Bill had gone, Ted looked at himself again, then at me. "What do -you suppose Aunt Elizabeth would say if she could see me now?" We both -laughed. - -"I would be a 'disgrace to my family and position' now, sure enough." -He felt his blackened eye tenderly. - -I sat down on the couch beside him. "You will never be more of a -credit to your family than you are at this minute, Ted, nor more of a -man." - -He looked up, for my voice shook a little. He knew what I meant and -his lips twitched as he patted my hand gently, and turned his face -away. - - - - -XII - -BLIZZARDS - - -It was just like Louise Reynolds to arrive on the wings of a blizzard, -wearing a straw hat and spring suit. Louise led the seasons, she never -followed them, and she preceded that particular storm by about two -hours; but she was justified, for it was April and she was on her way -from California. - -In this land of the unexpected even the weather disregarded all -established precedents. A glorious Indian Summer night extended into -January, or a sudden blizzard would swoop down from the North in -October or April and leave us snowed in for days. - -That is exactly what happened upon this occasion and most of Louise's -visit was spent in shovelling snow for the pure joy of the exercise. -That energetic young person had to do something in lieu of tennis or -golf. - -The prairies were covered with a fluffy mantle of purest white, great -drifts filled the gulches and the roads were utterly obliterated. Long -after the storm the men had to go about on horseback for no wagon -could be moved through the deep snow. - -At this juncture Louise announced that she had all of her reservations -through to Baltimore, where she was to officiate as bridesmaid. She -was obliged to go and we had to take her to the railroad. - -We could scarcely go on horseback with baggage, there wasn't a sleigh -in the country, certainly none on the ranch, but if Necessity was the -Mother of Invention, Owen was a near relative. He never failed to find -some way of meeting the most difficult problem. If Louise must go it -devolved upon him to see that she reached the station and so he -produced a sled, a disreputable old affair, used for the exalted -purpose of hauling dead animals to "the dump"--but still it was a sled -and under Owen's direction it was scrubbed and transformed into the -most luxurious equipage by having a packing box nailed on the back -and covered with rugs. Louise and I perched on the box, with heavy -robes tucked in about us, the suit cases were at our feet and Owen sat -on the trunk in front to drive. - -There was only one draw-back, the sled had no tongue to keep it from -running on to the heels of the horses, so Owen cut a hole in the -bottom of the sled through which he stuck a broom-stick. My task was -to work this improvised brake when we went down hill by jabbing the -broom-stick into the snow. It worked beautifully except that the -friction against the hard snow broke pieces of it off and it grew -perceptibly shorter as we advanced. - -In order to avoid some especially deep gulches we left the valley and -followed a high ridge. It was much longer, but we had allowed the -entire day for the trip. There was no danger of becoming lost as long -as we could see, for we knew too well the country and the general -direction to be followed. - -No incident marred the joy of that day. When the horses floundered and -almost disappeared from sight in a snow-filled gulch, leaving the sled -stranded like an Ark on a gleaming Ararat, we had only to dig the -horses out with a shovel which had been taken for the purpose and -after getting them on the level ground, go back and hitch a long rope -to the sled, draw it across the gulch and proceed upon our way. - -The light of the sun upon the snow was so intense it was necessary to -wear colored glasses to avoid snow blindness, and being muffled in -furs, we looked like three bears in goggles. Our wraps kept us -perfectly warm and it was a merry ride. The adventure filled us with -joy as we glided over the trackless world in which we alone moved. - -There was no suggestion of dreariness or desolation in the scene. -Under the magic touch of the sun the world burst forth into a miracle -of glory and beauty which held us spellbound. The sky was cloudless, -not a shadow fell across that dazzling white expanse, which flashed -and sparkled with all the prismatic colors. Far to the west Pike's -Peak stood, a marvel of varying lights and shadows, its head resting -on the soft blue bosom of the sky. Its commanding height had filled -the Indian of the Plains with worshipful awe, it was to him "the Gate -of Heaven, the abiding place of the Great Spirit." According to his -own testimony, the one inevitable duty in the life of the Indian is -the duty of prayer--and how often as he looked upon that distant -mountain must the red hunter have paused in the midst of the vast -prairies, his soul uplifted and an unspoken prayer on his lips! - -The whole aspect of the country was changed, all the familiar -landmarks were gone. Except for the hills, the surface of the prairie -was perfectly level as though the Great Spirit had stretched his hand -forth from that mystic mountain and passing it over the world had left -it smooth and stainless. - -It was a wonderful experience, and when toward evening we reached the -railroad we were thrilled and triumphant over our accomplishment. The -night was spent in the little four-room "hotel," we saw Louise safely -on board the eastbound express the next morning, then returned to the -ranch. - -To be out after a blizzard is one thing, to be out in one is quite -another, and we always grew apprehensive when the sky became suddenly -overcast and the snow began to fall from leaden clouds. What if the -storm should catch the herders and the sheep too far away from the -camp? - -They were all warned to range their sheep to the North if it -threatened to storm, as most of the blizzards came from that direction -and the sheep would go before the wind back to camp and safety. But -they will not face it and, if unmindful of his orders, the herder took -them South and a sudden storm came, he could not turn his sheep back -to the camp; they would drift on and on before the wind, sometimes -plunging over a bank to be buried beneath the drifting snow or piling -up and smothering each other. - -One winter just as Owen and I were starting home from California we -received a telegram from Steve saying that during a blizzard the buck -herd had been lost. Owen had some very important business which -detained him when we reached Denver, so he asked me to go on to the -ranch, have Steve organize the men into searching parties and look -through every gulch in the vicinity for any discolored holes on the -top of the drifts which would be caused by the breath of the sheep if -they were under the snow. For two days the men searched and finally -came to a deep bank of snow on the top of which were found the -discolored holes they sought; they dug down and discovered the bucks. -A few had been smothered, but most of them were taken out alive after -having been buried for ten days! During the storm the herder had left -them and the poor distracted things had drifted over an embankment and -were entombed under the snow. - -When anyone speaks of "good-for-nothing Mexicans" I think of Fidel, a -mere lad, who had taken his sheep South on a clear morning, but was -overtaken by a storm before he could get them back to the corrals. He -and his dog did everything they could do to turn them, but they -drifted farther and farther away. Fidel stayed with them, guiding them -away from the gulches until they reached a railway cut. There Steve -found them twenty-four hours later when we feared that Fidel had -perished with his sheep. Facing death alone in the freezing wind and -blinding, smothering snow, hour after hour he had kept his sheep from -piling up. He not only saved them all, but they were in better -condition than many in the corrals at the camps. Not for a moment had -he left them. His hands and feet were frozen; he barely escaped -freezing to death and on that day we learned the true meaning of -"Fidelity." - - * * * * * - -Then once more Fate took a hand in our affairs and a blizzard changed -the whole course of our lives. - -We owned our land and no one could encroach upon us, but after a few -years we began to notice forlorn little shacks built here and there on -the open range by the poor home-seekers who, attracted by the prospect -of free land, had begun "homesteading." They built flimsy little -houses, scratched up the surface of the prairie for a few inches and -raised pitiful, straggling crops. The settlers were coming in! The -opening wedge of that great onrush had been thrust deep into the heart -of the prairie. In the undisputed possession of our own land we were -not disturbed. While we knew that it meant the occupation of the free -range and the passing of the large ranches, eventually, we scarcely -realized how soon it would come and were not prepared to receive an -offer from an Eastern syndicate to buy the entire ranch--to cut it -into small units to be sold as farms. - -The era of "dry-farming" had just begun, when by scientific methods, -deep ploughing and the conservation of all moisture, dry land might be -successfully cultivated without irrigation. It was a dream of the -future of the prairie region, impossible to visualize, and I laughed -in my ignorance, as Owen read me the letter. - -"How perfectly absurd. Imagine trying to farm out here; the grangers -would starve to death in a year unless they had stock of some sort. -Surely you would never think of selling out?" - -"I don't know, Esther, the homesteaders can't come on to our deeded -land, but they are filing on all the Government land. In a short time -there will be no more free range, and did you ever stop to consider -that our land will soon be so valuable that we can't afford to run -sheep on it?" - -In that last sentence I saw the handwriting on the wall. It was only a -question of time and this phase, too, of our life would pass. - -In the East life seems to be static, but in the West it is in a state -of flux and conditions are constantly changing. - -Perhaps I had inherited the static state of mind for I had taken it -for granted that all the rest of our days were to be spent there on -the ranch under the shadow of the mountain. Suddenly a realization of -the facts swept over me. In a sense we had been pioneers, we had -blazed a trail that others were to follow and like the Indians we, -too, were destined to move on. However, before you are thirty to -regard yourself as a hoary-headed pioneer requires a series of mental -gymnastics and, while my brain was going through a few preparatory -exercises, I did not take the question of selling out very seriously. -After all those years of struggle just as it had been brought to -perfection, after we had put into it the best of our life, youth, -energy and work, a part of our very selves, it did not seem possible -that we could part with the ranch. Owen felt much as I did, but he was -the first to realize that we had come again to the parting of the ways -and that a decision must be made. - -Yet--in the end--it wasn't the financial consideration nor a deep -conviction that the future development of the country would be -retarded if we remained, but an unexpected blizzard which turned the -scale and set us adrift again. - - * * * * * - -The sun rose clear on the 19th of October, but during the morning it -began to grow cloudy. - -Owen and several of the men were at the railroad station where they -were shipping lambs. During the afternoon the wind began to blow, it -grew much colder and snow fell. - -The next morning it was storming very hard and Steve, after arranging -to have hay hauled to the various camps, went out on horseback to see -that all the sheep were kept in the corrals. I was greatly relieved -when Owen got home in the middle of the afternoon. Ten thousand lambs -had been loaded and started on their way in spite of the storm, but -the drive back to the ranch had been very hard, for hour by hour the -storm increased in fury. The ground was covered and even the dull grey -sky was hidden by dense clouds of powdery snow which did not seem to -fall upon the earth but was blown in long horizontal lines across the -prairies by the force of a mighty gale. It filled the gulches and -piled in deep drifts. It was driven against the house with such force -it sifted through the smallest crack. The windows on the North and -West were covered with a solid coating of snow, the wind whistled and -moaned and tore at the shutters as if trying to carry them with it on -a wild race over the plains. It was impossible to see the corrals, -even the garden fence was lost behind the driving, swirling snow. To -open the door was to inhale a freezing gust of snow-laden air, -millions of icy particles blinded the eyes and took away the breath. - -We knew that the sheep were all in the corrals, but we feared that -unless the herders watched them carefully they would pile up as the -snow drifted over the high sides of the inclosure. The rest of the -stock was protected and my heart was filled with thankfulness that -Owen and the men had been able to reach the ranch. They went about the -place like white wraiths doing the necessary things. Above the howling -of the wind not a sound could be heard; a shout was carried miles away -as soon as it left the lips. By five o'clock it was dark. - -About eight o'clock, Mary came in and told Owen that Steve wanted to -see him. When Owen returned, instead of coming into the living-room, -he went to the closet, took down his short, fleece-lined riding coat -and began to put it on. - -"What's the matter, Owen, you are not going out?" - -"I must," he said, quietly, winding a long scarf about his neck, -"Steve says that Dorn went out yesterday afternoon with a load of hay -for the camp on Six Shooter; he should have come back last night or -certainly this morning. He's new and doesn't know the country and he -may be lost. I'm going to see if I can find him." - -My heart stood still; the camp on Six Shooter gulch was fully eight -miles away. Eight miles in that storm! It did not seem possible that a -man could live to go a mile. - -"Oh, Owen, I can't let you go! Don't you suppose he is at the camp?" - -"I don't know, he may be, but I must go and find out. We can't take a -chance on a man's being lost." In the face of that argument there was -nothing to say and nothing to do but accept it. - -"Who is going with you?" - -"No one"--Owen did not look at me as he answered--"I can't ask any of -the men to face this storm." - -I understood; he couldn't require any of his men to risk their lives. -A hand of ice closed about my heart and deadened every sensibility. -Like a machine I went about helping Owen get ready and at last went to -the kitchen to bring him some coffee just before he left. A man was -standing by the door muffled in wraps. I stood still. - -"Why, Bill, where have you been?" - -"I ain't 'been', I'm goin'. I'm goin' with Mr. Brook. A man ain't got -no business out a night like this alone." - -"Bill!" It was all I could say--but he understood. - -When Owen came out he tried to dissuade him, but Bill was determined. - -"I know I don't have to go, Mr. Brook, you never asked me, but I'm a -goin', there ain't nothin' can keep me." - -I had never seen him so serious, all the old half bantering tone was -gone and they went out together, master and man, each risking his life -for the sake of another. - -I tried to watch them but instantly they were lost to my sight as a -vague grey cloud closed about them. - -How the night passed I do not know. I kept the fires up and the coffee -hot and walked miles, back and forth, back and forth. I did not think -of sleeping. It was useless to try to read. I could not see the -words--the printed page was blank and I could only see the figures of -two men on horseback, beaten, buffeted, fighting for their lives -against the cruel snow-laden gale. I saw them separated, perhaps, -trying to get through the gulches on their floundering horses, or -walking to keep from freezing and then perhaps exhausted--lying down -to rest while that last deadly sensation of sleepiness crept over -them. - -Daylight came at last, but still I walked. I pushed my breakfast away -untasted and tried to occupy myself with the duties of the day. I felt -as though I should scream aloud if that howling wind did not cease, -but hour after hour passed and there was no other sound. The men came -and went about their work quietly, speaking but little and then in -subdued tones as in the presence of death; over us all hung the pall -of terrifying uncertainty. - -When occasionally it was possible to catch a glimpse of the corrals or -the blacksmith shop I knew that the wind must be abating and time -after time I knocked the snow from the windows and stood straining my -eyes into that misty, vague out-of-doors. Ten o'clock, eleven o'clock. -Something moved along the edge of the pond, the vague outlines of some -animal, a slight lull in the wind and I could see that it was a -horseman, another followed--I caught up a cape, flung open the door, -dashed out into the storm through drifts, over every detaining -obstacle until I reached the corral and--Owen. - -They were safe, but so weary and worn they could scarcely speak. Their -faces were swollen, having been whipped and lashed by the icy -particles the wind had driven against them like bits of steel from a -mighty blast furnace, their eyebrows and lashes were solid ice, their -lips cracked and bleeding. - -After a night of horror, at three in the morning, they had found Dorn -at the Six Shooter camp comfortably sleeping with the Mexican herder! -When the storm began he made no attempt to come back to the ranch, not -stopping to think that his non-appearance would cause any anxiety, -besides endangering the lives of two men. - -"I was so hot when I seen Dorn nice and warm all cuddled up there with -that Dago I jest drug him out by the collar and shook him. Anybody -that'ud sleep with a Mexican had orter freeze to death. Gosh! Here was -Mr. Brook and me amblin' over this whole blamed country, flounderin' -through snow drifts as high as this house, gettin' our horses down and -most freezin' to death, blintin' a no account thing like that." Bill -was himself again. - -Their knowledge of the country and presence of mind had saved them, -for once when they found that it had grown warmer and apparently the -wind had ceased, they realized that the horses had turned with the -wind so that it was at their backs, they forced the poor things into -the face of the bitter gale again and went on. They passed the camp -without seeing it and had gone beyond when the wind brought them the -smell of the sheep, they turned back and after searching found the -cabin. It was a narrow escape for they were too exhausted to have gone -farther. - -A few days later we learned that old John, who had been our mail -carrier, had perished in the storm. He had gone out to try to find his -cattle and did not return. His wife and little son were alone and when -they were able to get out and look for him, they found him just -outside the garden fence lying frozen and half eaten by the coyotes. - -I thought much during the following days and finally I came to a -conclusion. - -"Owen, if you want to sell out I'm willing--it will have to come some -day, I realize that, and besides--there is too much at stake. I don't -believe I can ever live through another blizzard." - - * * * * * - -In three months all the stock on the ranch was sold, a caretaker was -placed in charge of the home ranch, which we retained, and we moved to -Denver. But instead of selling out to the syndicate, Owen decided to -put our lands on the market himself and they were listed for sale. - -It was the end of the old life; we had made way for the settlers. - - - - -XIII - -ECHOES OF THE PAST - - -The curtain of years had fallen and risen again on the same scene, the -valley which stretched off toward the setting sun and the guardian -mountain which stood unchanged at its head. But this was October, the -royal season of purple and gold and red, when the asters and -sunflowers were blooming their lives away in one lavish outpouring of -beauty and the rose bushes were crimson under the kiss of the frost. A -shimmering mass of gold clothed the great cotton-woods along the -winding course of the creek and hills of russet brown replaced those -of vivid green I had first seen sixteen years before. - -Where the young bride had stood on that July day, amid the strange -surroundings, looking with inexperienced eyes upon a new world, she -stood again, seeing it from the angle of a participant, from the -viewpoint of a woman, fused by the furnace of experience into a part -of that life. - -It was the same scene, but the setting had changed and as a flood of -memories swept over me I felt as though I were a reincarnated spirit, -walking the earth in a third phase of existence, having passed through -the first, a light-hearted girl among family and friends in urban -surroundings, having lived through the second, an atom in the midst of -those vast wind-swept plains amongst elemental conditions, a part in -the great primitive struggle for existence and coming back again to -find the prairies transformed by cultivation into farms, with the -crops covering the hills and bottom lands like a huge patch-work quilt -of green, brown and brilliant yellow, fastened together with black -threads of barbed wire. - -Above on the hill stood a church and a school-house, those certain -indications of community life. Across the meadows great red barns and -towering wind mills overshadowed the less pretentious houses. Bridges -spanned the creek with its shifting, treacherous sand and in place of -the dim winding trails across the prairie, neatly fenced county roads -decorously followed the section lines. - -It was the same--yet everything was changed. This well-ordered farming -community seemed prosaic, it lacked the romance and charm of the old -ranch life and the glorious sense of unlimited freedom. - -The bunkhouse was occupied by the family of a hard-working farmer who -had married the daughter of our caretaker, Parker; tractors, ploughs -and harrows filled the space about the blacksmith shop. I resented -those unfamiliar implements and the prosperous farms. On all sides -there was heard a strange language of silos, separators and "crop -rotation". I had become a part of the old life, but here I felt -restricted and out of place--an alien. - -Inside the house all, too, was changed. The books which Joe had -scorned, the crystal clock and our Lares and Penates were in our -Denver home, but on the ranch I missed them and most of all the old -familiar faces. All had gone. Several of the boys had stayed in the -country, married and taken up farming, raising bounteous crops and -numerous children. Some, individual and picturesque to the end, had -crossed the Great Divide, others had sought new positions in Wyoming, -the last of the frontier states. Bill was there cooking in an oil -camp. We received characteristic, though infrequent, letters from him, -usually in the early summer, labored epistles over which he had "sworn -and sweat," as he expressed it, which began by assuring us that he was -well and hoped that we were the same and ended by an earnest request -to go with us as cook "in case you was thinkin' of goin' campin'." He -went with us when we did go, the same old Bill, unchanged in heart or -humor. - -Old Bohm was dead. The final act of that great tragedy took place in -an isolated mine where he had sunk all his fortune in a golden -prospect. Hoping to regain it, the fortune he held in trust for a -friend had followed, but the game he had played so successfully before -failed when Nemesis took a hand. His friend went to the mine to demand -an accounting and several hours later Bohm's body, broken and -bleeding, was taken from the depths of the mine. According to the -story of his companion, the only witness, he had slipped and fallen to -the bottom of the shaft--and his death, as his life, remained an -enigma. - -But down through the long years the echoes of the past reverberated. -Again and again we heard them, sometimes very faintly, then with -perfect distinctness and on that day of our return after a long -absence we felt again that mysterious suggestion of tragedy and the -echoes were startlingly clear. - -As I came in from my walk just before supper, a strange man rode up -and Mr. Parker asked him to stop. - -He told us his name and during the progress of the meal took little -part in the conversation, but after he had eaten his supper he leaned -back in his chair and in response to Owen's question, said: - -"No, I ain't exactly a stranger round here, but this old kitchen is -about the only thing that ain't changed. I used to know every inch of -ground in this country when I was punchin' cows for the Three Circle -outfit. This was the only ranch within twenty-five miles. I've et here -lots of times." - -"You knew the Bohms then?" I asked, trying as always to find the -answer to the riddle of old Bohm's personality. - -"Sure, I knew the Bohms," the stranger replied, his clear blue eyes -meeting mine frankly. "I knowed everybody there was in the country, -there wasn't many in them days, jest the Bohms, the Mortons, the -Bosmans and the La Montes. They're most all gone now except Bosman. I -heered old La Monte died last winter--but Lord, he's been worse 'en -dead for most twenty years. Did you folks know him?" - -"Scarcely, we only saw him once," and before me rose the picture of -the desolate old place, the slowly opened door and that living ghost -on the threshold. - -The stranger again spoke. - -"You folks bought from Bohm, so you knowed him, didn't you?" - -"Oh, yes, we knew him." Owen answered for my thoughts were far away. - -"Well, sir," said the old cow-puncher, reaching for a toothpick, "Jim -Bohm was a great one, he was the slickest man in this country. He -didn't have nothin' but a little band of horses that he drove up from -Texas when he came, but he kept gettin' richer all the time." I came -back to the present with a start, his words were almost the same Mrs. -Morton had used sixteen years before. - -"Wasn't he honest?" I asked, wondering what the reply would be. - -He did not answer for a moment. - -"Well, I can't say as to that. I jest knowed him from meetin' him on -the round-ups and when I stopped here. I never had no dealin's with -him, but he sure had a reputation for all the meanness there was, and -I guess he deserved it. He was good company though, and Lord, how he -could play the fiddle." He was interrupted by a sudden clatter. Mrs. -Parker had dropped her spoon and was looking at him as if fascinated. -"I liked Mrs. Bohm, but I never had no use for him. I don't know about -the other things, but he sure done Jean La Monte dirt." He rose from -the table and walked toward the door. "Well, I reckon I'd better be -movin' on, I want to get to Bosman's tonight." He looked up the -valley, "I can see Bohm now, ridin' that big black horse of his, -carryin' a little cotton-wood switch for a whip, and laughin' at -everything, he was a queer one, sure enough. Well, so long--thank you -for my supper," and he went out into the evening. - -"Big black horse! He was always on a big black horse!" That pitiful -refrain of Jean La Monte as he had sought the rider of that horse -through all those weary years. Again I saw the men waiting in the -wagon and that poor half-clad figure stooping to pick up a little -cotton-wood switch, and I wondered if across the great divide La Monte -had caught up with Bohm at last. - - * * * * * - -Owen was busy in the office making out contracts for recently -purchased land. Mr. Parker and an agent were entertaining some -land-buyers, scraps of their conversation "bushels to the acre" and -"back in Kansas" reached me from time to time as I walked up and down -under the stars. - -"Where are you, childy?" Dear Mrs. Parker was always concerned when I -was not in sight. "Out there alone?" she asked as she came across the -yard to join me. We sat down on the bunk-house steps, glorying in the -beauty of the night. We were silent for a few moments and then she -spoke. - -"Do you know, Mrs. Brook, him talkin' about Mr. Bohm tonight at supper -has made me think of so many things. I never paid much attention to -all them stories old Mrs. Morton and other folks told, but some mighty -queer things have happened since we've been here." - -"What kind of things?" I asked, wondering if she, too, had breathed -the air of mystery which surrounded the old ranch. - -"Well, I don't know exactly," she hesitated, "you'll think I'm silly, -perhaps, but you know sometimes when I'm down there," she pointed to -the house among the trees, "makin' out my postal reports, sometimes -it's eleven or twelve o'clock before I'm through. It's awful quiet -after everyone's gone to sleep and I've heard all kinds of queer -sounds, maybe they might be rats or the wind, but often and often, -just as plain as I can hear your voice now, I've heard the sound of a -violin like somebody was playin'. It give me an awful start when that -man spoke of Bohm's havin' played the violin." - -"Perhaps somebody is playing," I ventured, with a well remembered -sensation of ice in the region of my spine. "The houses aren't far -away now; you could easily hear someone playing if the wind was in the -right direction." - -Mrs. Parker shook her head. - -"No, that ain't it. There ain't a violin in the country, and, besides, -it's too near; it's like it came from here"--Mrs. Parker looked up at -the bunkhouse door--"and none of Ethel's plays." - -I said nothing. I remembered too well hearing the strains of the -violin as they used to float out through the silent night while old -Bohm played to himself up there in the bunkhouse, hour after hour. I -was troubled as the echoes of the past grew louder. - -"And then," Mrs. Parker resumed, "there was that passage. I told you -about that, didn't I?" - -"No. Passage! What passage?" I turned to her in the moonlight which -showed a puzzled frown between her eyes. - -"Why, the passage old Dad Patten found. I thought I'd told you about -that, but maybe it was the year that you and Mr. Brook was away." She -paused a moment. "The third year after Ethel and John came here, John, -he raised such a big crop of potatoes the cellar was plumb full, so he -had Dad tear out some of the old bins under the bunk house to make -some larger ones. Tom Lane was helpin' him, and, of course, Tom was -drunk. They'd tore out one or two, but when they come to the third, -they found a deep hole behind it about four foot square. They stuck a -spade into it, but it seemed to go back so far Dad he thought he'd -investigate, so he begun to crawl into it to see how far it went. He -was well in when Tom begun to laugh and act like he was goin' to wall -him up, so Dad backed out, for he said that he was afraid Tom was just -drunk enough to do it. Dad said, though, that he went in the whole -length of his body and stretched his arm out as far as he could, but -didn't touch nothin', so he knew it went on further, and he said that -it seemed to lead off in the direction of the old root cellar." - -"Root cellar," I repeated, too perturbed to say anything else. - -"Yes," said Mrs. Parker, "but, you know, Dad, he'd never heard any of -them stories about the root cellar; Dad's too deaf to hear anything, -so he didn't think nothin' about it except that it was some kind of an -old dugout, and they went on and built the new bins, and about two -months after John had got all his potatoes in Dad happened to say -something about it. I was so beat I like to died, and when I told Dad -what folks said about the old root cellar and Bohm, he turned as white -as a sheet. You couldn't get him up to the bunk house now if you was -to drag him." - -"You don't believe----" I began, then stopped as Mrs. Parker rose and -put her hand on my shoulder. - -"Childy, I don't know whether I believe them tales or not. I've -scarcely been off this place since you went away ten years ago and -I've seen and heard some mighty strange things. There's lots of things -in life we can't explain--we just have to accept 'em, and that's the -way I've had to do here. Maybe there's spirits and maybe there ain't, -but there's some facts there's no gettin' 'round"--Mrs. Morton's very -words again--"but Dad's findin' that passage sure made me believe 'em -more than I ever did before, and I do believe that some terrible -things have been done right here on this dear old place, and that -somewhere old Bohm's spirit's mighty restless." - - * * * * * - -Owen and I sat up before the fire talking until late that night, for -one of the buyers wanted the home place. It was hard to give it up, -for we both loved it, but the old life had passed, and we were not a -part of the new. Owen's business kept him almost constantly in Denver, -and we were at the ranch so little it seemed useless to cling to it -longer. The most difficult decision had been made ten years before. -This, in a way, was more simple, yet this was final; it meant the -breaking of the last tie which bound us to those broad acres, and we -were both silent a long time after we had agreed that it was best to -let the old place go. - -Suddenly I thought of my conversation with Mrs. Parker, and told Owen -of the finding of the passage under the bunk house. He sat looking -into the fire, and made no comment until I had finished. - -"It is strange, to say the least. I don't suppose we shall ever know -the real truth about it, but it doesn't make much difference now; and -if old Bohm's spirit is wandering about here it will feel a little out -of place in a cornfield." - -"It certainly will, but, Owen, don't you hope 'it's mighty restless -somewhere'?" - -"Indeed I do," he laughed, and then grew serious again. "It's been -wonderful from first to last, our life here." He sighed a little. -"What experiences we've had!" - -"Yes, it has," I said, getting up and standing by the fireplace, where -Owen joined me. "It hasn't always been easy, but I wouldn't take -anything for the things I've learned. I'm not the 'Tenderfoot' you -brought out sixteen years ago; I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Westerner now. -My whole view of life has changed. It has not only been a wonderful -experience, Owen, but a wonderful privilege--to have lived here." - -Without a word we watched the last log break apart. The glowing sparks -lighted the room for a single instant, then died down, and in the -fading light of the coals we turned away. - -That night I lay awake. Vivified by the thought of the final parting -which was to come, our whole life on the ranch passed in review before -me, the problems and the difficulties, the adjustments, the changed -conditions and that disturbing sense of unsolved mystery. - -I got up and stood by the window looking out upon a world of silver. -Myriads of stars shone faintly in the heavens dimmed by the glory of -the moon, the pale outline of the mountain was just visible, and, as -on that first day when my heart was so heavy, I felt the sense of -confusion give way to peace. - -From the vast spaces, under the guardianship of that commanding -summit, we had gained a new sense of proportion, freedom from -hampering trivialities and a broader vision of life and its -responsibilities. - -Standing there in the moonlight facing the mountain, I saw in it more -than a symbol and source of strength; to me it had become indeed the -abiding place of a God. - -Looking back over the years, all the changes revealed only the -evolution of a wondrous plan. We had launched our frail barque in the -midst of the prairie sea at the ebb of the tide of the wild, lawless -days of the West; with the flow we had been carried through the years -of a well-ordered pastoral existence to the era of agricultural -productivity, and on each succeeding wave we had seen civilization -borne higher and higher toward the ultimate goal set by the Great -Spirit. - -Ours had been, indeed, a wonderful experience. - - THE END. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Tenderfoot Bride, by Clarice E. 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Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/42507.zip b/42507.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e0439db..0000000 --- a/42507.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/42507-0.txt b/old/42507-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f10d6f5..0000000 --- a/old/42507-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4720 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Tenderfoot Bride, by Clarice E. Richards - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A Tenderfoot Bride - Tales from an Old Ranch - -Author: Clarice E. Richards - -Release Date: April 12, 2013 [EBook #42507] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TENDERFOOT BRIDE *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and Sue Clark - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: PIKE’S PEAK FROM THE OLD RANCH] - - - - - A TENDERFOOT BRIDE - - BY - - CLARICE E. RICHARDS - - GARDEN CITY—NEW YORK - DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY - 1927 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY CLARICE E. RICHARDS. ALL - RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES - AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y. - - - - - To the One - whose Companionship, Inspiration and - Encouragement have made - this book possible - My Husband - - - - -CONTENTS - - I. First Impressions - II. A Surprise Party - III. The Root Cellar - IV. The Great Adventure Progresses - V. The Government Contract - VI. A Variety of Runaways - VII. The Measure of a Man - VIII. The Sheep Business - IX. The Unexpected - X. Around the Christmas Fire - XI. Ted - XII. Blizzards - XIII. Echoes of the Past - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - Pike’s Peak from the Old Ranch - Roping and Cutting Out Cattle - Roping a Steer to Inspect Brand - Inspecting a Brand - The “Star†is a Frightened, Snorting “Broncho†- Trailed All the Way from New Mexico - Like a Solitary Fence Post - Bucking Horse and Rider - Facing Death Each Time They Ride a New Horse - - - - -A TENDERFOOT BRIDE - - - - -I - -FIRST IMPRESSIONS - - -When our train left Colorado Springs and headed out into those vast -stretches of the prairie, which spread East like a great green ocean -from the foot of Pike’s Peak, all the sensations of Christopher -Columbus setting sail for a new world, and a few peculiarly my own, -mingled in my breast. - -As the train pounded along I stole a look at Owen. He was absorbed in -the contemplation of a map of our new holdings. Under that calm -exterior I suspected hidden attributes of the primitive man. Certainly -there was some reason why Western life was to his liking, having had -the chance to choose. - -It was late in the afternoon when we found ourselves on the platform -of the solitary little wayside station. The train went rushing on -through the July sunshine, as if impatient at the stop. Our fellow -passengers had drawn their heads back from the car windows, after -vainly trying to see what apparently sane people could find to stop -for in a place like that. In truth, there was little—a water tank, a -section house, two cottages and one store. - -A combination station-agent and baggage-man stood on the platform. -Near a hitching rack a tall individual was waving his long arms about -like a windmill as he beckoned us to approach. Owen picked up the -bags; I trudged along behind with various coats and packages, stopping -midway between platform and wagon to disengage a large tumbleweed, -which had rolled merrily to my feet and attached itself to my skirt. - -The tall man took a few steps in our direction, still holding the -reins in his hand. With one eye he gave us a greeting, while he kept -the other on the lunging horses. He was hardly a prepossessing person -at first sight, except for his smile. I felt that his keen black eyes -had sized us up in one quick glance. I became blushingly conscious of -being a new bride, and from “the East.†- -“How-de-do? Whoa, now, Brownie. Just get in folks,—the old man had to -go to town, so he sent me to meet you, but he’ll be back by the time -we get to the ranch.†All this in one breath, while he helped Owen -place the bags in the wagon. - -“Don’t mind the horses; they’re plumb gentle—just a little excited -now over the train, that’s all. Whoa now,†with decided emphasis. -“Sorry, Mrs. Brook, hope you didn’t hurt yourselfâ€â€”this last as the -horses suddenly backed and knocked my foot off the step. “Oh, no, not -at all,†I replied, hastily scrambling into the wagon and thanking -heaven that I had landed on the seat before they gave an unexpected -lurch forward. Owen got in beside the driver; the horses reared and -started off. I gripped the seat and my hat, and fastened my eyes on -the horses’ ears. When we had crossed the railroad and the movement -was more steady, I began to “take notice†of things about me, and the -conversation going on in the front seat reached me in fragments. - -The driver said he was called “Tex.†He was a true son of Texas, and -it was not difficult to imagine that particles of his native soil -still clung to him. The deep creases in his neck were so filled with -dirt that he looked like a charcoal sketch. As he turned his face, -lined and seamed, I saw that his chin was covered with at least a -week’s growth of greyish-black beard. I estimated his age. He might -have been fifty; very quick in speech and action, yet there was a -subdued power about the man. He managed the horses easily, and I -caught in his drawling speech a casual, half-bantering tone. - -“Wonder if them grips is botherin’ the Missus. Ridin’ all right?†he -asked, turning with solicitude to see the location of the bags. As it -happened, they were all located on top of my feet. It was Owen who -removed them, for Tex’s attention was again engaged with Brownie, who -suddenly landed quite outside the road. A cotton-tail had jumped from -behind a rattleweed. - -“Quit that now, Brownie. You never did have no sense.†The drawl was -half-sarcastic. “’Pears like you ain’t never seen no rabbits before, -’stead a bein’ raised with ’em.†Brownie gave a little shake of her -pretty head and crowded her long-suffering mate back into the road -again. I was becoming very much interested. This man was a distinctly -new type to me. I did not know then that he was the old-time -cow-puncher, with an ease of manner a Chesterfield might have envied, -and an unfailing, almost deferential, courtesy toward women. - -Never shall I forget that first drive across the prairie,—not a -house, not a tree in sight, except where the cottonwoods traced the -borders of a waterless creek. Gently rolling hills were all about us, -instead of the flat country I had expected to see; hills which failed -to reveal anything when we reached the top, but yet higher hills to -climb. An unexpected vastness seemed to extend to the very boundaries -of the unknown, as we looked about on all sides, only to see the soft -green circle of the hills, on which the bluest of skies gently rested, -sweep about us. I felt the spell of unlimited space, and smiled as I -thought of the tearful farewell of one of my bridesmaids. She had -“hated†to think of my being “cooped up on a ranch.†“Cooped up†here, -when for the first time I realized what unhampered freedom might mean -in a country left as God had made it, with so little trace of man’s -interference! - -At last we came to a gate made of three strands of barbed wire, -fastened together in the middle and attached to a stick at each end. -It was a real gate when up, but when opened, it was a floppy invention -of the Evil One, designed to tax the patience of a saint. The strands -of wire got mixed and crossed and grew perceptibly shorter, so that it -required superhuman strength and something of a disposition to get the -end of the stick through the loop of wire, which held it in place -again. - -This gate marked the Southern boundary of the ranch, ten miles from -the railroad station. We reached the top of a hill and looked up a -long valley, where the creek wound its way, fringed by great -cottonwood trees, until its source was lost behind three prominent -buttes, purple in the haze of the late afternoon. Beyond the buttes -stood Pike’s Peak, snow-capped and alone, guardian of the valley, the -whole length of which it commanded. Through some peculiarity of -position all the other peaks of the Rockies remained invisible, while -this one mountain rose in majestic isolation from the plain. - -Tex stopped the horses for a moment, and without a word pointed with -the whip toward a clump of cottonwoods in the distance. - -“The ranch?†I asked. - -He nodded. - -In the beautiful valley it stood, the white fences, corrals and -outbuildings gleaming in the sun. Nestled among the trees, planted so -densely that only a suggestion of its white walls showed between them, -was the house—our first home! - -As we drove up to the gate, a short man, with a thick beard, bustled -out to meet us. - -“Well, here you are! Got here all right. Sorry I couldn’t meet you. -Come right in. You must be tired settin’.†And before we quite -realized that we had arrived, we were ushered into the house through -the back door. - -As a matter of fact, there was no front door. Two outside doors opened -into the kitchen, one on either side, and since the kitchen was in -truth the “living-room,†what need of a front door? - -A placid-faced, elderly woman greeted us, and after a few moments -conducted us up a crooked stairway to a room under the eaves. - -Owen left hastily “to look around outside,†and I followed as quickly -as possible for I knew that if I looked around inside for any length -of time, I should start back to the railroad station on foot. - -Old Mr. and Mrs. Bohm had lived on the place for over thirty years in -this house, which was the evolution of a dug-out, with many subsequent -periods in prospect before it became a possible home. Mrs. Bohm had -recently been having “fainting spells,†which frightened her husband -into a plan to dispose of the ranch and live in town. - -It was a wonderful ranch. Acres on acres of richest grass, a wealth of -hay land and natural water holes,—a paradise for stock. To poor -homesick me, this place had no suggestion of paradise. It looked run -down and disorderly; the fences around the house were adorned with -everything from old battered tin buckets and mowing-machine wheels to -the smallest piece of rusty wire. Mrs. Bohm confided to me that “James -liked it that way because everything was so handy.†There was no -questioning that, but as a first impression it was hopeless, and my -heart grew heavier and heavier as I thought of the new house in -Wyoming, where we had expected to be, and the Eastern home I had just -left. - -I walked out of sight of the festooned fence and tried to think. Up -the valley the Peak was deep blue against the golden evening sky, and -in the vast, unbroken silence of the prairies I felt the sense of -chaos and confusion give way to peace. The old house, tumble-down -fences, mowing machine wheels and wire took an inconsequent place in -the scale of things compared to Owen’s undertaking. He _must_ succeed. -The undesirable could be removed or made over. We were in a new world, -we had a great domain, we faced undreamed of experiences and -possibilities. My spirits rose with a bound, and I resolved from that -moment to consider our life here in the West, in the midst of new -conditions, a great adventure. At that instant the original Bohm -dug-out would have held no terrors for me. - -Perhaps if I had known just how great the adventure was to be, what -varied and nerve-testing experiences the future did hold, I might have -been daunted; but with a farewell look at the Peak and a new sense of -strength and courage, I went to meet Owen. I realized that he knew the -possibilities of the place and that the conditions would all soon be -changed, and I knew, too, that he was distressed at the realization of -how it must all appear to me. He looked troubled, as he came toward -me. - -“Can you stand it for a little while?†he asked. - -“Of course, I can,†I replied, cheerfully, blindly taking the first -step toward the great adventure. - -“It’s all right, dear; it’s going to be wonderful, living here.†- -Mr. and Mrs. Bohm, Tex and six bashful cow-punchers were in the -kitchen waiting for us before they sat down to supper. We were -presented to the men, and in acknowledgment of the introduction -received a fleeting glance from six pairs of diffident eyes and a -quick jerk from six slickly brushed heads. - -Mrs. Bohm took her seat at the foot of the long oil-cloth-covered -table, and old Mr. Bohm sat at the head. Fortunate for me that Owen -and I sat side by side. If once during that meal I had caught his eye, -I should have disgraced myself forever. - -Except old Bohm, no one said anything. Indeed, no one had a chance, -for he talked all the time, telling stories, cracking jokes at which -he laughed immoderately, interspersing his conversation with waves of -his fork, with which from time to time he reflectively combed his -beard. I could not take my eyes off him; there was a weird fascination -in following the movements of that fork. It was prescience which led -me to do so, for old Bohm suddenly ceased using it as a toilet article -and jabbed it into a piece of meat, which he held out toward me. - -“Here, Mrs. Brook, have some more beef. I’ve been talkin’ along here -and clean forgot you folks must be hungry.†I assured him I couldn’t -eat another bite. It was the most truthful statement of my life. - -That night I lay awake for hours, thinking over the day’s experiences, -and incidentally trying to find a spot on the mattress where a lump -did not threaten to press a rib out of place. At last I fell asleep, -to be suddenly awakened by the slam of a gate under our window, -followed by an exclamation which floated up out of the grey dawn: “By -hell, but this is a fine day.†Then came the squeak of the pump -handle, as old Bohm performed his morning ablutions, more slams of the -gate, and more salutations of the same order in varying phraseology, -but always beginning with “By hell.†- -Shades of my ministerial ancestors! Was this the language of the new -country in which we had come to live? Surely the great adventure -promised startling sensations at the outset, to say nothing of a -certain sliding scale of standards. - -Owen stirred and asked sleepily what on earth I was doing up at that -hour of the day. - -“Changing my viewpoint,†I replied, looking out toward old Bohm’s -shadowy figure on its way toward the corral. “That has to be done -early.†- - - - -II - -A SURPRISE PARTY - - -We were living in the land of the unexpected. Six weeks on the ranch -demonstrated that. The possibilities for surprise were inexhaustible, -and the probabilities innumerable and certain, if Owen happened to be -away. - -On one of these occasions the cook eloped with the best rider on the -place, more thrilling and upsetting to my peace of mind than the -cloud-burst and flood that followed soon after. Twenty-two husky and -hungry men wanted three square meals a day, and one inexperienced -bride stood between them and starvation. The situation was mutually -serious. - -In my need came help. Tex, our coachman on that first drive, saved the -day. Shortly after the elopement he came in for supplies for the -cow-camp. I was almost hidden by pans of potatoes, and was paring away -endlessly. He was very quiet when I explained, but after supper he -gathered up the dishes to wash them for me, looking very serious. When -he had finished, he suddenly turned to me: - -“Say, Mrs. Brook, I’ve just been studyin’. Jack Brent kin cook for the -boys out at camp all right, and if you kin stand it, I kin come in and -cook for you. It sure got my goat to see you rastlin’ with them -potatoes and wearin’ yourself out cookin’ for these here men.†- -Good old Tex! That was little short of saintly. Camp cooking where he -was autocrat was far more to his taste. He hated “messin’ ’round where -there was women,†as he expressed it. Here was sacrifice indeed! Tex -scrubbed his hands until they fairly bled, enveloped himself in a -large checked gingham apron, and proceeded to act as chef until the -eloper had been replaced. - -Something deepened in me. I was seeing a new thing. - -Owen had been gone nearly a week. One morning I happened to be in the -kitchen when Mrs. Bohm entered. Casually she asked Tex whether Ed -More’s wife had left him before he went to jail, or after he got out. -Half in joke, I said: - -“Mercy, Mrs. Bohm, is there a man in this country, with the exception -of Tex, who hasn’t been in jail or on the way there?†- -I was interrupted by the slamming of a door, and Tex had vanished. -Mrs. Bohm looked embarrassed as she replied: - -“I just hate to tell you, Mrs. Brook, and Tex would feel terrible to -have you know; but you say such queer things sometimes, I’d better -tell you now that Texâ€â€”she paused a moment—“he’s only been out of -the ‘pen’ himself a year.†- -“Tex in the penitentiary? What on earth for?†I was almost dazed. - -[Illustration: ROPING AND CUTTING OUT CATTLE] - -“Well, I’ll tell you.†Mrs. Bohm began the story with apparent -reluctance, but her manner soon betrayed a certain zest. “You see, -about four years ago Tex was workin’ for a man up on Crow Creek and -took some cattle on to Omaha to sell for him. When he came back he -never brought a cent of money, and told how he had been held up and -robbed. Everybody believed it at first, then all to onct his -family—they live over West—began to dress to kill, and Tex bought -brass beds for every room in the house; then folks began to suspicion -where he got the money, and he was sent to the Pen for two years.†- -Poor old Tex! Who would ever have supposed a secret longing for brass -beds would prove his undoing? I might have guessed horses or cards, -but never brass beds. I almost felt the breath of tragedy. She seemed -sweeping by. - -Mrs. Bohm went on: “Tex’s mighty good to his family, though, and it -most killed him when his wife went off with a Mexican sheep-herder -while he was doin’ time. She’s back home now with the girls, but her -and Tex’s separated. Ain’t it a fright the way women acts?†- -“It certainly is,†I agreed, trying to reconcile my previous idea of -convicts with having one for a cook. It was dreadfully confusing and -disturbing. In spite of what I had just heard, I knew I trusted Tex. -He would never steal from us, I felt sure. And my instinct told me he -would be a true and loyal friend. There was no apparent excuse for -what he had done, but he had paid for his moment of weakness more -fully perhaps than anyone realized. I pondered over it. - -Presently he came in, with a curious, troubled expression on his face. -I gave him the orders, as usual, with no sign of having heard of the -cloud under which he had lived for three miserable years. Our -relations were re-established. I could see his relief. - -We were still taking our meals in the kitchen, although the house was -gradually being remodeled. It was Saturday evening, and we were -expecting Owen home. There was an air of suppressed excitement among -the men. One, and then another, bolted from the table and out of the -door, returning in a shame-faced manner to explain that he “thought he -heered somethin’.†Certainly Owen’s coming would never produce such a -sensation, unless he was expected to arrive in an airship. I was more -than ever mystified. - -After the meal was over, there was such a general shaving—also in the -kitchen—and such donning of red neckties, that I could not restrain -my curiosity. I called Tex aside and asked him where they were going. -He looked a little sheepish, as he replied: - -“Why, we ain’t goin’ nowhere.†Then in a burst of confidence, “I don’t -know as I’d orter tell you, but the fact is, you folks is goin’ to be -surprised; all the folks ’round is goin’ to have a party here, and -we’re expectin’ ’em.†- -I gasped. A sudden suspicion flashed through my mind. - -“Tex, did you plan this? What on earth shall I do?†- -Tex saw I was really troubled. “Why, Mrs. Brook,†he said, “you don’t -have to do nothin’. Just turn the house over to ’em, and along about -midnight I’ll make some coffee—they’ll bring baskets.†- -I was relieved to know that they only wanted the house, and would -provide their own refreshments, for it was appalling to be an -impromptu hostess to an entire community and to speculate upon the -possibility of one small cold roast and chocolate cake satisfying a -crowd of young people, after drives of thirty miles or more across the -prairie. - -“Me and the boysâ€â€”Tex spoke somewhat apologetically, as he started -toward the door—“we kind a thought maybe you and Mr. Brook would like -to get acquainted, seem’s how you’re goin’ to live here; but I guess -we oughten to have did what we done.†- -I felt ashamed of my momentary perturbation, as the force of that last -sentence of Tex’s reached me. These men of the plains were as simple -and sensitive as children about many things. They would really grieve -if they felt this affair, planned solely on our account, gave us no -pleasure. I hastened to reassure him. - -“It was mighty nice of you men to think of it,†I said, cheerfully. -“We do want to know the people in the country, and we are going to -enjoy every moment. I was ‘surprised’ before the party began, that’s -all.†- -Tex went out satisfied, grinning broadly. - -To my good fortune, Owen arrived before the guests came. I told him -what was about to befall us. His expression was dubious. All he said -was “Thunder.†- -Owen and one of the men had been driving about the country all the -week, buying horses suitable to turn in on a Government cavalry -contract. The night before they had spent on the floor of a cold -railroad station, wrapped up in their blankets, with a lighted lantern -under the covering at their feet. Their sleep was somewhat broken, -with either cremation or freezing pending that cold September night. -Poor Owen! He was completely worn out. And now he had to go through a -surprise party. - -At eight o’clock, Tex, self-appointed master of ceremonies, ushered in -the first arrivals. They were a tall, lean chap and two very much -be-curled young misses. I made trials without number at conversation, -but they could only be induced to say “Yes†and “No.†- -From eight until ten they came,—ranchmen, cow-punchers, -ex-cow-punchers running their own outfits, infant cow-punchers, girls -and women, until kitchen and sitting room were filled to overflowing, -and every chair and bench on the place in use. Among the last to -arrive was a tall, languid Texan, accompanied by two languid, -drab-colored women. They were presented to us as “Robert, Missus Reed -and Maggie.†“Maggie,†I immediately concluded, was a sister, but not -being quite certain, I sought enlightenment from Mrs. Bohm. - -“She ain’t Reed’s sister,†she informed me in a low tone, “she’s his -girl.†- -“Oh, works for them, you mean?†I said, somewhat puzzled by the Reed -connections. - -“Works nothin’,†Mrs. Bohm replied, scornfully. “She’s got the next -place to ’em and goes with ’em everywhere. Ella don’t seem to mind. -I’d just call her Maggie’ if I was you,†and Mrs. Bohm departed to -join a group of women near the door. - -I looked over at the two with a new interest. They were chatting and -laughing together, the “girl†and the wife seemingly on the best of -terms, with no sign of rivalry for the tall Texan’s affections. Here -was a situation fraught with latent possibilities that made me -tremble, yet—“Ella don’t seem to mind.†- -The kitchen had been converted into a ballroom by moving the table up -against the wall and placing three chairs upon it. Unfortunately the -sink and stove were fixtures, but everything else, including the bread -jar, found a temporary resting place in the yard. - -Old Bohm, with his fiddle under his arm, gingerly ascended the table -first. Then another man followed with a similar instrument; and last -came a youth with a mouth harp. No fatality having resulted from the -musicians taking their seats, the dancing began. - -The music, if such a combination of sounds can be dignified by that -name, was such as to defy description. Never in the wildest flights of -fancy could I have conceived of such execution and such sounds. The -two men sawed their violins, and the third was purple in the face from -his efforts on the mouth-harp; all were stamping time with their feet, -and he of the harp was slapping his knee with his unoccupied hand. - -Before every dance a council was held, after which each musician would -play the tune decided upon, as best suited to his taste. Old Bohm -tried to get to the end in the shortest time possible, while the -second fiddler, taking things more seriously, finished four or five -bars behind his companion. The harpist, not playing “second†to -anything or anybody, had his own opinion as to how “A Hot Time in the -Old Town†should go. With these independent views, the result was a -series of the most discordant sounds that ever fell on mortal ears. -However, music mattered little, for all had come to have a good time, -and the “caller-out,†with both eyes shut tight and arms folded across -his breast, was making himself heard above all other sounds. - -“Birdie in the center and all hands around!†he commanded. Then -fiddles and mouth harp began a wild jig, couples raced ’round and -’round, while “Birdie,†a blond and blushing maiden, stood patiently -in the midst of the whirling circle, until the next order came: - - “Birdie hop out and Crow hop in! - Take holt of paddies and run around agin.†- -“Crow†was a broad, heavy-set cow-puncher, wearing chaps, and in the -endeavor to “run around agin,†I found my progress somewhat impeded by -his spurs, which caught in my skirt and very nearly upset me. - -All the riders wore their heavy boots and spurs, and it required real -agility to avoid being stepped on or having one’s skirt torn to -ribbons. I was devoutly thankful that chiffon and tulle ball gowns -were not worn on ranches. - -There was more to avoid than spurs. We had to dance about the kitchen -and avoid the stove, the sink and the tabled musicians, to say nothing -of the nails in the floor. But after a few hours’ practice, I began to -feel qualified to waltz on top of the House of the Seven Gables, and -avoid at least six of them. - -Finally, the caller-out shouted loudly: - - “Allemande, Joe! Right hand to pardner and around you go. - Balance to corners, don’t be slack; - Turn right around and take a back track. - When you git home, don’t be afraid, - Swing her agin and all promenade.†- -My partner obeyed every command with such vigor that when at last he -led me to my seat I was panting and dizzy; nor had I quite recovered -my breath when the music struck up again, and Tex led me forth. - -The exertion of the first quadrille had been too much for his comfort, -so he had dispensed with both collar and coat. His trousers and vest -bore evidence of having seen many a round-up, and his shirt, which had -once been white, was now multi-colored. In the wonderful red ascot tie -which encircled his neck were stuck four scarf-pins, one above the -other. There being nothing to hold the loop of the tie in place, it -gradually worked up the back of his head, until its progress was -stopped by the edge of a small skull-cap, which Tex wore as the -crowning feature of his costume. The cap, tilted slightly to one side, -gave him a rakish appearance, quite in contrast with his air of -importance and responsibility. - -I danced—my head fairly spins when I think _how_ I danced—for, since -the party was given in our honor, dance I must with every man who -asked me. - -Owen, not being a dancing man, made himself agreeable to the -wall-flowers and the children, stealing upstairs about once an hour -for a few moments’ nap on the bedroom floor. The beds themselves were -occupied by sleeping infants, whose mothers were going through the -intricate mazes of those dances below. - -At one o’clock Tex began to make the coffee, whereupon the musicians -descended from the table, and the expectant party sat down. But where -were their baskets? My heart sank, as Tex approached holding a very -small one. He informed me in a stage whisper it was all there was! - -The basket contained a cake and one wee chick, evidently fried soon -after leaving the shell. It was the smallest chicken I ever saw. I -hastily produced our cake and roast, and then took one despairing look -around at the forty individuals to be fed. I shall never be able to -explain it, unless Tex had an Aladdin’s lamp concealed in his pocket, -for cake, roast and chicken appeared to be inexhaustible, and the -supply more than equaled the demand. - -I was aroused from my contemplation of the miracle by a feminine -voice, the speaker saying half to herself and half to me: - -“It took me most two hours to iron Nell’s dress this mornin’, but I -sure got a pretty ‘do’ on it.†Following her beaming glance, I found -that it rested on a mass of ruffles, which adorned the dress of -“Birdie†of that first quadrille. Just then the music began again, and -I saw Ed Lay ask her to dance. I trusted, after all that work, the -‘do’ wouldn’t be undone by his spurs; still the effort had not been -wasted, for this was the fifth time he had danced with her. - -No doting mother could have taken more pride in the debut of an only -child, than this work-worn sister whose eyes sparkled as they followed -“Birdie’s†whirling figure held firmly by the encircling arm of the -cow-puncher, and she murmured softly with a half sigh, “Ain’t it -grand?†To me it was “grand†indeed, that even an embryo romance could -bring a new light to those tired eyes. - -It was six o’clock Sunday morning when one most thoughtful person -suggested that “they’d orter be goin’â€; and by seven the last guest -had departed. Then Owen and I, weary and heavy-eyed, donned our wraps, -climbed into the wagon, and started on a sixteen-mile drive to the -railroad to meet his brother, who was coming from California to see -“how we were making it.†- -I was almost too tired to speak, but one thought was struggling for -expression, and as we started up the first long hill, I had to say: - -“Anyone who ever spoke of the ‘peace and quiet of ranch life’ lived in -New York and dreamed about it. In twenty-four hours I have discovered -that we have an ex-convict for a trusted cook, and have received as -guests a man with his wife and resident affinity. We have had a -surprise party and I have danced with all the blemished characters the -country boasts of, until six o’clock in the morning of the Sabbath -day, with never a qualm of conscience. What do you suppose has become -of my moral standards?†- -Owen was amused. He asked me, quizzically, what I thought they would -be by the end of a year. - -“Mercy!†I replied, “at the rate they are being overthrown, there -won’t be enough left to consider, unlessâ€â€”I thought a moment—“unless -I can reconstruct a more enduring set from parts of the old.†- - - - -III - -THE ROOT CELLAR - - -“East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.†The -phrase kept haunting me all through these first days when everything -was so new and strange. I almost felt as though I had passed into a -new phase of existence. - -Except for Owen, there was no point of contact between the world of -cities and people I had just left and this land of cattle and -cow-punchers, bounded by the sky-rimmed hills. In Owen, however, the -East and the West did meet. He understood and belonged to both and -adapted himself as easily to the one as to the other. Wearing his -derby, he belonged to the life of the East; in his broad-brimmed -Stetson, he was a living part of the West. - -The compelling reality of this new life affected me deeply. -Non-essentials counted for nothing. There were no artificial problems -or values. - -No one in the country cared who you might have been or who you were. -The _Mayflower_ and Plymouth Rock meant nothing here. It would be -thought you were speaking of some garden flowers or some breed of -chickens. - -The one thing of vital importance was what you were—how you adjusted -yourself to meet conditions as you found them, and how nearly you -reached, or how far you fell below their measure of man or woman. - -I felt as though up to this time I had been in life’s kindergarten, -but that I had now entered into its school, and I realized that only -as I passed the given tests should I succeed. - -I learned much from the rough, untutored men with whom I was in daily -association. They were men whose rules of conduct were governed by -individual choice, unhampered by conventions. They were so direct and -honest, so unfailingly kind and gentle toward any weaker thing, and so -simple and responsive, that I liked and trusted them from the first. -All but old Bohm, the man from whom we were buying. He was such a -totally different type that he seemed a man apart. The son of a German -father and an Irish mother, he had inherited a nature too complex and -contradictory to be easily fathomed. - -Mrs. Bohm, with her white, calm face and gentle voice, attracted me, -but her husband aroused in both Owen and me an instinctive distrust. -He was good nature personified, a most companionable person, with his -easy, contagious laugh, his amusing stories, quick wit, and breezy air -of good fellowship. He could quote Burns, Scott, and other poets by -the hour, and fiddle away on his violin, until we were nearly moved to -tears. He was almost too good-natured; he didn’t quite ring true. I -noticed that while he always referred or spoke to his wife -affectionately, as “my old mammy,†her attitude toward him was rather -impersonal. She called him “James†with quiet dignity, but seldom -talked with him, and appeared to take very little interest. - -On the side of a hill, some distance from the house, was an old root -cellar, used, according to Bohm, for storing potatoes, turnips, and -other vegetables for winter. It was most inconveniently located; there -were hillsides much nearer, and considering that the cellar under the -house was always used for such purposes, it seemed strange that -another should be needed so far away. I was possessed with a desire to -explore it. It suggested hidden treasures and Indian relics, which I -was collecting. One day I was poised on the top of the cellar step, -about to descend into its mysterious depths. - -Old Bohm appeared. “Was you lookin’ for something’?†he asked, -somewhat out of breath. - -“Oh, no,†I replied, going down a few steps. “I was just exploring, -and thought I would investigate this old root cellar.†- -“I thought that was what you was goin’ to do, and I hurried up to tell -you to be awful careful of rattlesnakes; there’s a pile of ’em ’round -these here old cellars.†Bohm spoke with apparent solicitude. - -“Heavens! I wouldn’t go down there for anything!†I exclaimed,—and I -got out of the cellarway as quickly as possible. - -Old Bohm looked down the steps at the strong, closed door of heavy -boards. - -“Oh, maybe it would be all right. You could listen for ’em and jump, -if you heard ’em rattle,†he remarked, casually. - -I shook my head. “Not much; I don’t want to hear them rattle,†and I -started toward the house. - -Bohm went up toward the wind-mill. As I turned away I caught a curious -expression on his face—a faint gleam of something. - -As I came through the meadow gate, Owen was getting into the buggy. - -“Hello,†he called, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I have to -drive over to Three Bar. Do you want to go?†- -I was always ready to go anywhere, so while Owen was driving the -horses about, I ran in to get my hat. - -Not one of our horses was thoroughly broken, so we always had to -follow the same method of procedure before starting anywhere. After -the horses were hitched up, Charley, to whom fell odd jobs of every -sort, stood at their heads until Owen was fairly seated and had the -lines firmly in his hands. Then, after a few ineffectual attempts to -kick or run down Charley before he could get out of the way, off -dashed the horses around and around the open space between the house -and the pond, until a little of the edge had been taken off their -spirits. Then Owen stopped them for one moment, I made a quick jump -into the buggy, and away we went at top speed toward the gate that -Charley had run to open. We usually missed the post by a quarter of an -inch, and at that juncture I invariably shut my eyes and held my -breath. - -The road to Three Bar Ranch led to the North and wound up a very long -hill, then across a rolling mesa. The prairie was covered with short -grama grass, just turning a faint brown, the yellow sunflowers and -great clumps of rattleweed, with its spikes of lovely purple, giving a -touch of color to the scene before us. The Spanish bayonet dotted the -hillsides, and over all hung the summer sky like burnished copper. The -only sound, aside from that of the horses’ hoofs and the crunch of the -wheels on the soft prairie road, was the occasional song of the meadow -lark, all the joy of the summer day sounding in its one short -thrilling note. In the gulches, where the grass grew deep and rank, -the wind tossed it softly, and it rippled and sparkled in the shifting -light, as water gleams in the sun. Everything was so still that -animation seemed for the time suspended, as we drove along silenced by -the spell of the prairies. - -Three Bar, one of the oldest ranches in the country, stood against the -side of a hill. It was a long, low structure of logs built in the -prevailing fashion of the early ranch houses, room after room opening -into one another, usually with an outside door to each. - -The ranch was owned by the Mortons, English people, who were among the -earliest settlers in the country. They greeted us most cordially, and -as Owen went out to the corral with Mr. Morton to look at some horses, -Mrs. Morton took me into the house. - -The room we entered had very little furniture, but was redeemed from -bareness by a wonderful old stone fireplace at one end. - -Mrs. Morton was short and heavy set. “Spotless†was the only word her -appearance suggested when I first saw her. Her skin was as fair as a -child’s, while her hair was as white as the apron she wore. - -Her flow of conversation was unceasing, and I was reminded of a remark -that Charley made to me when the telephone was first put in over the -fence lines. - -“Old lady Morton talked so fast that she ripped all the barbs off the -wire.†Before I had time to reply to one question, she had asked -another, and was off on an entirely different subject. I suppose the -accumulated conversation of months was vented on my innocent head, for -she told me, poor thing, that she hadn’t seen another woman since -Christmas. - -“Usâ€â€”she never said we—“us never visits the neighbors, but was -coming up to see you, Mrs. Brook, for us heard you and Mr. Brook was -different. Us lives out here on a ranch, but us knows when people are -the right kind.†- -I didn’t know whether to be considered “different†was desirable, or -not, and I was dying to ask her what constituted “the right kind,†but -had no time before she suddenly asked: - -“Have the Bohms gone? Us was waiting till they went.†- -I explained that they were still on the ranch, as Mr. Bohm had to -gather and counterbrand all the stock before turning it over to Owen, -and that he had been delayed. - -Mrs. Morton gave a little grunt of contempt. “Old Bohm won’t hurry any -while he’s getting free board. He may be with you all winter. Us hopes -Mr. Brook won’t be imposed on. He’s a smart man, old Jim Bohm is, but -he’s a bad one.†- -“Bad one?†I repeated, inwardly praying that the Bohms would not be -permanent guests. - -“Old Jim Bohm is a bad man,†Mrs. Morton said again, rocking violently -back and forth. “I was here when they came. She’s all right, but there -is nothing he won’t do. Whyâ€â€”her voice sank to a whisper—“sixteen -men have been traced as far as that ranch and never been heard of -again, and Jim Bohm’s been getting richer all along.†- -Mrs. Morton scarcely paused for breath, so I couldn’t have said -anything. But I was speechless, anyhow. - -“Not one of them, not one,†she declared, “was ever heard of again, -and if you were to examine that old root cellar on the hill, you’d -find out what I say is true.†- -The incident of the morning flashed across my mind, and I felt as -though a piece of ice were being drawn slowly along my spine. - -“How perfectly horrible!†I managed to gasp, “but it can’t be true.†- -[Illustration: ROPING A STEER TO INSPECT BRAND] - -“It’s true, all right.†There was no doubting Mrs. Morton’s -conviction. “There’s facts there’s no getting ’round. Jim Bohm and old -Happy Dick, that used to work for him, came up here over the trail -from Texas with a band of horses that Bohm and another man owned. The -other fellow was with them when they started, but Bohm said he died on -the way, and that’s all anyone knows about it, except that old Bohm -kept all the horses.†- -“Then a few years later, a young fellow that was consumptive, came out -to work for them. I know he had quite a bit of money, because he -stopped here once to ask John what to do with it. He hadn’t been there -very long before he dropped dead, according to Jim Bohm’s story. His -folks back East tried to get the money, but Bohm said the fellow owed -it to him, and they couldn’t do a thing about it.†- -I sat as if petrified, unable to take my eyes from Mrs. Morton’s face, -as she went on and on. - -“He was in with all the rustlers in the country,†she continued, “and -once when a posse was hunting a man who had stole a lot of horses, -Bohm tried his best to keep them from searching the place, but the -Sheriff told him they would arrest him if he made any more fuss about -it, so he had to keep still. When they came to the haymow, they stuck -a pitchfork right into a man hidden in the hay, and old Bohm swore he -didn’t know a thing about his being there. The next us heard, old Bill -Law had dropped dead in the corral. I tell youâ€â€”Mrs. Morton leaned -forward and shook her finger in my face—“it’s mighty funny, the way -men keeps dropping dead over there; they don’t do it anywhere else. -Happy Dick was the last. About a year ago he told Morton he’d stole -two men rich, and now he was going to steal himself rich. But two days -after he was found dead in the willows, and Bohm said that when he -came upon the body, Happy Dick had been dead for hours.†- -Mrs. Morton showed signs of running down for a moment, so I hastened -to ask why it was that, though suspicion always pointed toward him, -old Bohm had never been arrested. - -“Jim Bohm’s too smooth,†Mrs. Morton answered. “If you found him with -a smoking gun in his hand and a man dead on the ground beside him, -he’d lie out of it somehow; probably would swear that as he came up, -he saw the man shoot himself. Oh! he’s a slick one. Us always said us -pitied anyone who had business dealings with him, but,†she stopped as -she saw Owen and Mr. Morton coming up the walk, “Mr. Brook looks like -a man that can take care of himself. I’d watch out for Bohm, though. -Watch out for him!†- -“Thank you, Mrs. Morton,†I said, as Owen came to the door. “I am glad -you told me. Please come to see us,†and with conflicting emotions I -prepared to leave Three Bar Ranch. - -I scarcely knew what to think. I was worried, and yet—— - -When I told Owen I expected him to pooh-pooh the story and relieve my -mind, but he did nothing of the sort. With a queer little wrinkle -between his eyes, he listened attentively. - -“Owen, you don’t think there is any truth in it, do you?†I asked, -much troubled by his silence. He flicked a fly off Dan’s back before -replying: - -“I don’t know what to think. The old chap’s a rascal, there’s no doubt -about that; but I didn’t suppose he was a cold-blooded murderer.†- -Again I felt the ice go up and down my spine. “Great heavens, Owen, -can’t you have someone go through the root cellar, to see if there is -anything out of the way there? And, above all, get the stock gathered -and ship Bohm—I despise him, anyhow!†- -“Don’t let it worry you,†said Owen; “probably it’s all mere talk. -Bohm won’t bother us; and in a few weeks the stock will all be turned -over and he’ll have no excuse for staying.†- -“A few weeks is a long time,†I said, gloomily, feeling as if my hold -on life were gradually slipping. “According to Mrs. Morton, everybody -on the place might drop dead in less time than that.†- -Owen laughed, but the next moment a shadow crossed his face, and he -said decisively: - -“I’m going to look into that root-cellar business. I want to have the -place thoroughly cleaned out, anyhow.†- - * * * * * - -The boys were going in to supper when we drove up. Charley came to -take the horses, and Owen greeted him: - -“Well, how’s everything?†- -“Oh, all right,†answered Charley indifferently, as he started to -loosen the tugs. “Nothin’s happened since you folks went away, only -the old root cellar’s caved in.†- -Speech was impossible. Owen and I stood as if petrified, looking at -each other. We turned to go up to the house. I felt as though some -wretched fate were making game of us. As we entered the door, Owen -spoke: - -“Estherâ€â€”he was very serious—“don’t say a word or betray any -interest whatever in this matter. After supper is over, I’ll go up to -investigate.†- -Talk about the skeleton at a feast! There were sixteen horrid, -grinning things around the table that night, besides a few that Mrs. -Morton had overlooked. - -Mrs. Bohm was whiter than usual and very quiet. Old Bohm was in high -spirits. We were scarcely seated before he declared it “a damn shame†-that the old root cellar had to cave in. - -We showed a little surprise, but affected unconcern. Playing the role -assigned to me, I remarked indifferently that we never used it, -anyhow, and with this Bohm cheerfully agreed. - -Later, when Owen went up to examine the cellar, I noticed, from my -point of observation at the window, that old Bohm was close by his -side. - -Soon after Owen came in looking very grave. - -“Well, it caved in, all right, and it never can be cleaned out. But -there’s one thing I am convinced ofâ€â€”and he looked toward the hill -with a frown—“it didn’t cave in of itself.†- - - - -IV - -THE GREAT ADVENTURE PROGRESSES - -John, the mail carrier, was our only connecting link with the great -outside world. Three times a week he brought the mail. From the first -sight of a tiny speck on the top of the distant hill, our hearts -thrilled. I watched it grow larger and larger, until the two-wheeled -cart stopped at the garden gate. With hands trembling with impatience, -I unlocked the old, worn bag, which John threw on the floor. - -I was the honorable Postmistress. My desk was covered with Postal -Laws, which I almost learned by heart. I had the New England respect -for the Federal prison, the place of correction for delinquent Postal -employees. - -One rule was absolute. The key of the mail bag had to be securely -attached to the Post Office. My Post Office was a wooden cracker box, -which held the mail for the few outside patrons. - -The inspector of Post Offices arrived unannounced one day. He -frowningly looked over my accounts, while I stood by in perturbation. -Suddenly he caught sight of the key at the end of a long brass chain -“securely attached to the Post Office.†He got up to investigate. The -frown disappeared by magic, and a smile played around his stern mouth. -He burst into laughter. I explained I was very careful to comply with -all the regulations. He gave me a humorous glance—and stayed to -dinner. - -The papers on Monday evening brought us exciting news. A train on the -U. P. had been held up at a lonely station, thirty miles from our -ranch. All the Pullman passengers had been robbed and one man shot and -killed. The hold-ups had escaped and were at large in the “country -adjoining.†- -“If they are in the country adjoining, they’ll come here eventually,†-I remarked to Owen. “This ranch is a perfect magnet for all the -questionable characters in the vicinity.†- -Owen thanked me for the compliment and went out to the bunk house to -interview Robert Reed, now in charge of the hay gang. - -This Reed was an interesting fellow,—a natural leader of men, and so -efficient that Owen had made him hay foreman. - -When we had driven over to his claim to see him about working for us, -Mrs. Reed came out to the buggy, wiping her hands on her apron. - -“No, Bob ain’t home this morning,†she responded to Owen’s inquiry for -her husband. “I reckon you’ll find him over ploughin’ for Maggie.†A -statement made in the most matter-of-fact manner. - -We drove over to another claim shack a mile or so from the Reeds’, -where Bob was indeed ploughing for Maggie. To him, too, it was quite a -matter of course. - -The affinity problem in this country really appeared simple. Mrs. Reed -evidently accepted Maggie as a natural factor in the situation, and -her marital relations were not disturbed in the least, as long as Bob -finished his own ploughing first. That woman was truly oriental in her -cast of mind. - -Maggie Lane’s mother and brother lived near at hand, also. One -brother, Tom, was Reed’s constant companion. Altogether it was a -perfectly harmonious arrangement. - -The Lane family records were not quite clear. Acquaintance revealed -that. They all seemed to have a penchant for leaving the straight and -narrow path for the broad highway of individual choice. Obviously -Maggie’s position did not affect her family, nor her social standing -in the community. - -Whenever I drove about the country without Owen, I took Charley with -me on horseback. Gates were hard to open, and my team of horses was -not thoroughly broken. Besides, there were always the possibilities of -the unexpected on these lonely prairies. I called Charley my Knight of -the Garter. When he knew in advance he was going with me, he went up -to the bunkhouse “to slick up.†If it chanced to be summer, he emerged -without a coat, his blue shirt sleeves held up by a pair of beribboned -pink garters, a pair of heavy stamped leather cuffs on his wrists, and -a heavy stamped leather collar holding his neck like a vise. - -I suggested one morning that the collar might be uncomfortably warm. -He met my objection with scorn. - -“Hot, Mrs. Brook? Why, that ain’t hot. You see, the leather kinda -ab-sorbs the sweat and makes it nice and cool.†- -One day we were out to take the washing to Mrs. Reed. I had asked Bob -to take it Saturday night, when he and Tom Lane had “gone over home†-to finish that ploughing. I supposed he had done so, but when he came -back on Monday, he said he had “plumb forgot it, but would take it -next time.†- -We had to pass through Maggie’s claim on the way. She was standing at -her door, as we stopped to open the gate. There was no freshly -ploughed ground in sight, and I idly asked if she had finished her -ploughing. - -“No,†she replied, “I kinda looked for Bob over Sunday to finish it, -but I reckon he couldn’t get off. I wish you’d tell him to stop here -the next time he goes home.†- -We drove on, and I wondered what Maggie “reckoned†he couldn’t get -away from,—the ranch or his wife. - -I gave Mrs. Reed the clothes and I told her Bob had forgotten to bring -them over with him Saturday. She looked at me curiously. - -“Didn’t Bob work Sunday?†- -“No,†I replied, “none of the men worked Sunday. Tom and Bob both said -they were going home.†- -Mrs. Reed frowned. - -“Oh, I suppose Maggie had somethin’ she wanted him to do.†- -Charley started to answer, but my look stopped him. - -“I’ll have your clothes ready Saturday.†Mrs. Reed slammed the gate -and turned toward the house. - -“Gee,†said Charley, riding up close beside the buggy, “them two -women’ll be fightin’ over Bob yet, if he ain’t careful. Why, that’s -funnyâ€â€”he looked at me questioningly,—“Bob wasn’t to Maggie’s, -either, was he?†- -“No,†I answered, “I was just wondering about that myself. Perhaps he -went to town, instead.†A coyote ran out of a gulch. Charley with a -whoop started in pursuit, and the entire incident passed from my mind. - -We were going in to supper, when three men drove up to the door. -Whenever strangers appeared, I always had a moment of uncertainty as -to whether they were to be sent to the bunkhouse with the men, or -invited to our own table. Instantaneous social classification is -rather difficult when there are no distinguishing external signs. And -it had to be done at the moment. The men asked for Owen. - -We had no idea who they were, so our conversation during supper was -limited to impersonal topics, such as the present, past and future -weather, the condition of the range and stock—nothing calculated to -offend the delicate sensibilities of a Governor, a ranchman or an -ex-convict, inasmuch as our guests might come under any of these -heads. Entertaining on a ranch is democratic in the extreme. - -They went out with Owen after supper. From the window I could see four -dim figures sitting on their heels by the corral gate, talking -earnestly. - -It was late when they drove away. I was putting up the mail, as Owen -entered. His announcement drove all idea of the Postal Laws and -regulations out of my head. - -“Well, they’ve gone, and have taken Bob and Tom Lane with them.†- -“Mercy! what for? Who were they, anyhow?†- -“The Sheriff and two Pinkerton men,†he answered, gravely. “They have -arrested Bob and Tom for the hold-up.†- -“Owen,†I gasped, standing up so suddenly that the U. S. mail flew in -all directions. “You don’t believe they were the ones, do you?†- -“Not for a minute,†Owen answered, with conviction. “And I told them -so, but it seems the men have bad records and the description fits -them. ‘A tall man, with a Southern accent, and a short, slight, -smaller man.’ So they arrested them.†Owen sat down. “It’s absurd. In -the first place, they couldn’t have gotten to the railroad in time to -hold up the limited. They didn’t leave here until nine o’clock, and in -the next place, they went home.†- -“But they didn’t.†I felt suddenly weak in my knees. “I took the -clothes over to Mrs. Reed, and both she and Maggie were wondering why -they hadn’t come.†- -Owen looked at me in blank amazement, and then asked why on earth I -hadn’t told him. - -“Good heavens, Owen, I haven’t seen you a moment alone. And, besides, -I never supposed it made any difference _where_ the men went. -Hereafter if the angel Gabriel comes to work for us, I shall insist -upon knowing where he spends his nights. Really,†I began to laugh, -“you know, if we ever leave this ranch, the only place we shall feel -at home is in the penitentiary. None but people with ‘records’ and -‘pasts’ will interest us.†I was half amused and wholly excited, for -even to have a speaking acquaintance with the leading figures in a -hold-up and murder was something my wildest flight of imagination -could have scarcely pictured a few months before. Owen was really -serious. - -“Well, I must say,†he shook his head and looked down at the floor, -“it begins to look as though Bob and Tom might have some trouble -proving they weren’t the men. It’s serious for them, since they -weren’t at home. The description certainly fits them.†Owen took up -the paper. “‘One man about five feet eight inches high, slender and -light mustache, wearing old clothes and a rusty black slouch hat. The -other man five feet ten inches tall, slender, short, black mustache, -about forty years old, spoke with a Southern accent, wore an old black -suit and an old striped rubber coat.’†- -“Go on,†I said, as Owen started to put the paper down; “I want to -hear it.†He read on: - -“‘The men were supposed to have boarded the train coming from Denver, -at a small station this side of Star. The Pullmans were on the rear. -When the train stopped at the station, the Pullman conductor went out -on the back platform and saw two men crouching in the vestibule. He -told them to get off, but at that moment the train started, and they -rose up, covering him with their revolvers. One got behind him, -holding his gun against him, the other in front. They handed him a -gunny-sack and made him carry it. In this manner they entered the body -of the car. - -“‘In the first car they got very little plunder, and pushed on into -the next. As they entered the second sleeper, they met the porter, who -was forced to elevate his hands and precede them. While they were -engaged in robbing the passengers in the second Pullman, the train -conductor entered, and was compelled to elevate his hands, with the -rest. - -“‘They paused at one berth and seemed very much incensed that the -woman it contained was so slow in handing over her valuables. They -swore and were very impatient. Suddenly, a man in the next berth -thrust his head out between the curtains. He had a revolver in his -hand and fired, but instantly another shot rang out from the robber in -the rear, and the man sank back in his berth. - -“‘After the shooting, the robbers appeared more nervous and hurried. -When they had gone through the car, they took the gunny-sack and -emptied the contents into their pockets. One of the robbers pulled the -bell-rope, but evidently not hard enough, for the train continued on -its way. Swearing, they compelled the porter and two conductors to -stand out on the platform with them, covered by their revolvers, until -the train slowed down at Paxton, when they swung off to the ground and -disappeared into these vast prairie lands, which are so sparsely -settled one can drive for a day without seeing a person. - -“‘As soon as the train stopped, the passengers hurried to the berth of -the man who had been shot, but he had been instantly killed. - -“‘The Sheriff was notified, and a posse started in pursuit, but the -robbers had vanished.’†Owen put down the paper, and we sat up far -into the night talking it over. - - * * * * * - -Subsequently our ranch, our horses, and Owen’s opinions were freely -quoted in the press. Bob and Tom were positively identified by the -three trainmen as the hold-ups. They were retained a week in jail, and -then suddenly released on “insufficient proof.†- -Owen did not believe in point of time they could have held up the -train, for he had talked to Bob that Saturday night until after nine -o’clock, but everybody, including Owen, held them capable of it. The -point was simply that they had not happened to be there. - -Later Bob and Tom returned to the ranch, incensed at their arrest and -detention, but no one ever learned where they were that memorable -Saturday night. - -Moreover, the men who held up the train were never found, and again -one of those strange tragedies of the West ended in vagueness. - -I was struck by the repetition of that phenomenon “A crime, a -tragedy.†At first indignation and an earnest attempt to find the -offenders and bring them to justice, then delay, and the whole affair -shoved into the background by something newer. - -Life here seemed to flow by like a stream at flood-tide. Who could -stem that current long enough to catch those bits of human frailty -floating on the surface, or follow them down stream to the sea? - - - - -V - -A GOVERNMENT CONTRACT - - -From the first, I had been conscious of a fascination about the West -impossible to describe. Its charm was too enigmatical and elusive for -definition. - -There was a suggestion of the sea in that vast circle and in the long -undulations of the prairie, as though great waves had become -solidified, then clothed in softest green. No sign of restless -movement was apparent in those billows which stretched away from the -mountains into the vague distance. All was still. The towering -mountain itself was the symbol of infinite peace and rest. Yet there, -in the midst of that unbroken serenity, stood a cluster of buildings, -the center of the greatest activity, where life was vital and -thrilling as though a few human beings had been flung through space -and dropped onto those silent plains to work out the age-long fight -for existence. - -Peace and conflict, silence and sound, absence of life and life in its -most complex form; contrasts—everywhere and in everything—it could -be defined, it was in “contrasts†that the fascination of the West was -expressed. - -Ranch life might be difficult; it was never commonplace. The mere -sight of a lone horseman on a distant hill suggested greater -possibilities of excitement than a multitude of people in a city -street. - -Each day brought so many new experiences, some of comedy, some of -tragedy, that I began to look for them. - -After the Government had awarded a contract to furnish “150 horses of -a dark bay color for cavalry use†our life became dramatic, with the -riders cast in the leading roles. - -The stage-setting consisted of a large circular corral, twelve feet -high, built of heavy pitch-pine posts and three-inch planks with a -massive snubbing post set in the center. Since there was “standing -room only,†cracks were at a premium. - -_The dramatis personae_ were two tall, slender-waisted cow-punchers -who walked with a slightly rolling gait, due to extremely high-heeled -boots, much too small for them. In their right hands they carried a -coiled rope swinging easily. Their costumes were composed of cloth or -corduroy trousers, dark-colored shirts, nondescript vests of some -sort, dark blue or red handkerchiefs knotted loosely about their -necks, expensively-made boots, the tops of which were covered by the -legs of their “pantsâ€; spurs, of course; high-priced Stetson hats, the -crowns creased to a peak, and frequently encircled by the skin of a -rattle-snake, and exceedingly soft gauntlet-gloves. It was my -observation that the old-time cow-puncher wore gloves at all times. He -did remove them when eating, and, I presume, before going to bed, but -they were always in evidence. - -The “Star†is a frightened, snorting “broncho,†or unbroken horse -which for the five or six years of its life had been running loose. -Now it was to be “busted.†It is cut out from the bunch and run into -the corral and the gate securely fastened. - -One of the men stands near the post, the other does the roping. Facing -the men, the broncho stands still, his head high, his eyes wild and -full of fear. An abrupt motion by one of the riders starts him on a -frantic run around and around in a circle. A sudden throw of the rope -and both front feet are in the loop. Quick as lightning the man -settles back on it, both front legs are pulled out from under the -horse and he falls on his side; the helper runs to his head, seizes -the muzzle and twists it straight up, thrusts one knee against the -neck and holds the top of the head to the ground. The roper puts two -or three more loops above the front hoofs, passes the rope, now -doubled forming a loop, between the legs, to one of the hind feet, -then pulls on the end that he has all the time held. This action draws -all three feet together. One or two more loops about them, a hitch and -the horse is tied so that it is impossible for him to get up. While -the broncho lies helpless, the saddle and bridle are put on, a large -handkerchief passed under the straps of the bridle over the eyes and -made fast. The rope is taken off. Feeling a measure of freedom, he -staggers to his feet and stands. The cinches are drawn very tight, the -rider mounts, gives a sharp order to “let him go,†the man on the -ground pulls the handkerchief from the eyes of the horse, and jumps -aside. - -[Illustration: INSPECTING A BRAND] - -For a moment the broncho stands dazed, then jumps, throws his head -between his front legs almost to the ground, squeals, humps his back -and pitches around and around the corral in a vain attempt to rid -himself of the fearsome thing on his back. The circular corral, -limited in space, gives little opportunity to succeed; the rider has -the advantage. The horse stops pitching and runs frantically about the -corral, at length tiring himself out. Dripping with sweat, trembling -from fear and excitement, he comes to a slow trot. The gate is thrown -open. Making a dash for freedom, he plunges through the outside -corrals, the horseman or “circler†close beside him, trying to keep -between the half-crazed broncho and any object he might run into. The -horse bolts out into the open; his is the advantage now, and he makes -the rider ride. He bucks this way and that, twisting, turning, jumping -and running, the man on his back so racked and shaken it seems -incredible that his body can hold together. They tear out over the -prairie in a wild race, far off over the hills, out of sight now. -After a time they come back on a walk. The broncho has been -busted—the act has ended. - -Should the horse rear and throw himself backward, there is the -greatest danger that the man may be caught under him and killed, it -happens so quickly, but these quiet, diffident chaps are absolutely -fearless, past masters in the art of riding, facing death each time -they ride a new horse, but facing it with the supreme courage of the -commonplace, sitting calmly in the saddle, racked, shaken, jolted -until at times the blood streams from their nose, yet after a short -rest the rider “took up the next one†quite as though nothing at all -had happened. All the horses had to be broken and then made ready for -the inspection of the Government officials, and the boys were working -with them early and late. - -It was an unusual experience to live in daily association with these -men, in whom were combined characteristics of the Knights of the Round -Table and those peculiar to the followers of Jesse James. - -In Douglas, Wyoming, there stands a monument erected by the friends of -a local character who, curiously, bore the same surname as the famous -explorer for whom Pike’s Peak was named. Chiseled out of the solid -granite these opposing traits are epitomized in this unique epitaph: - - “Underneath this stone in eternal rest - Sleeps the wildest one of the wayward west; - He was gambler and sport and cowboy, too, - And he led the pace in an outlaw crew; - He was sure on the trigger and staid to the end, - But he was never known to quit on a friend; - In the relations of death all mankind is alike, - But in life there was only one George W. Pike.†- -Strange, contrasting personalities—in awe of nobody, quite as ready -to converse familiarly with the President as with Owen, but probably -preferring Owen because they knew he was a fine horseman. - -Persons and things outside their own world held but slight interest -for them. At first I had a hazy idea that I might be the medium -through which a glimpse of the outside world would broaden the narrow -limits of their lives. I planned to get books for them and to arrange -a reading room, but my dream was soon shattered upon discovering that -this broader view possessed no charm. Indeed, when I offered to teach -Joe to read he refused my offer without a moment’s hesitation, firmly -announcing “I ain’t goin’ to learn to read, ’cause then I’d have to!†-“Why, Mrs. Brook,†he added, looking with scorn at the book I held in -my hand, “I wouldn’t be bothered the way you are for nothin’, havin’ -to read all them books in there,†nodding his head in the direction of -our cherished library. This was certainly a fresh point of view -regarding education. About the same time I found that the Sears and -Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalogue might be fittingly called the -Bible of the plains. Night after night the boys pored over them -absorbed in the illustrations, of hats, gloves, boots and saddles, the -things most dear to their hearts, for on their riding equipment alone -they spent a small fortune. - -Improvident and generous, however great their vices might be, their -lives were free from petty meanness; the prairies had seemed to - - “Give them their own deep breadth of view - The largeness of the cloudless blue.†- -The religion of the cow-puncher? My impression was that he had none, -for certainly he subscribed to no conventional creed or dogma. Yet -what was it that gave him a code of honor which made cheating or a lie -an unforgivable offense and a man guilty of either an outcast scorned -by his associates, and what was it that would have made him go without -bread or shelter that a woman or child might not suffer? - -Rough and gentle, brutal and tender, good and bad, not angel at one -time and devil at another, but rather saint and sinner at the same -time. Little of religious influence came into his life, and as for -Bibles—there were none. - -I remember the story of a Bishop who was travelling through the West -and was asked to hold service in one of the larger towns. When he -arrived he found that he had left his own Bible on the train, so he -sent the hotel clerk out to borrow one. After some time the man -returned with a Bible, explaining to the Bishop that it was the only -one in town. “I went everywhere and finally got this one. It’s the one -they use at the Court House to swear on!†- -The cow-puncher, however, could swear without any assistance, for -usually “cussin’†formed a very necessary part of his conversation. -But as I sat at my window sewing one summer morning I heard a violent -argument at the corral between Fred and a new “hay-hand†from Kansas. -Fred’s voice was decisive. - -“That’s all right, but you cut out that cussin’ here—the Missus’ -window’s open, and she’ll hear you.†And the heart of “the Missus†-warmed to her Knight of the Corral. - -There was another incident, the true significance of which I did not -know until three years after it occurred, when the foreman of the -L—— ranch met Owen in Denver and inquired for me, adding: - -“Well, I’ll never forget Mrs. Brook. Do you remember the day we was -shippin’ them white faces from the Junction about three years ago, -when you and Mrs. Brook happened to come along and stopped to watch -us? Well, one of the best men I had was brandin’ a calf when it kicked -him and he swore at it proper; all of a sudden he looked up and saw -Mrs. Brook and another lady standin’ on that high platform by the -yards watchin’ us. He was so plumb beat, he threw down his brandin’ -iron, took up his hat, walked across the street to a saloon and began -drinkin’ and stayed drunk for three days, and there I was, -short-handed, with a train-load of cows and calves to ship.†- -Contrast again—chivalry carried to the extent of being drunk for -three days because he had sworn before a woman! - -The horses were all being ridden and trained for the inspection which -was soon to take place. Each man had his own “string,†those he had -broken, and every day they were put through their paces. When -inspected, they had to be walked, trotted and run up and down before -the officers, stopped instantly, and the veterinarian was supposed to -put his ear to their chests to see if their breathing was regular and -their hearts sound. Now, Western horses are not accustomed to having -their hearts tested, and I noticed that while the riders did -everything else that was required, they tacitly agreed “to let the vet -do his own listnin’.†- -The day that the Army officers were to arrive, as Owen was getting -ready to drive over to the station to meet them, I remarked casually -that I hoped nothing would happen to upset their peace of mind, as it -was very important that the honorable representatives of the -Government be kept in a good humor. - -The house was still in an unsettled condition but for the time being -it had been brought into sufficient order to insure their comfort. The -larder was stocked with the best the markets afforded and the horses -were being “gentled†daily. - -When guests came on the train our dinner might be served at any hour -up to ten o’clock at night for after their arrival at the station -there was the sixteen mile drive to the ranch—and anything might -happen. It was late that particular night when I heard them at the -meadow gate. I couldn’t understand why they stopped so long. There -were sounds of confusion and as they entered the house one of the -officers held up a finger dripping with blood, the Colonel’s hat was -awry, his clothes covered with mud, and they all appeared agitated and -excited. I could not imagine what had happened. Then they all began to -tell me at once. - -Upon reaching the meadow gate the Lieutenant who acted as bookkeeper -jumped out to open it but failed to return after they had driven -through. Upon investigation they found he had caught his finger -between the wire loop and the post and was held fast. They extricated -him from his dilemma and drove on. It was very dark and upon reaching -the house as the august Colonel descended from the wagon, he tripped -over a pile of stones lying near the gate, fell down and just escaped -breaking his neck. I tried to smile and yet be sympathetic—but I had -a vision of Owen with “one hundred fifty horses of a dark bay color†-on his hands if the good humor of the officers was not restored before -morning. - -They were shown to their rooms and I prayed nothing would happen to -the Veterinarian, who had so far remained intact. - -The Colonel and the Lieutenant had come down stairs. We were all in -the library waiting for the Doctor before going in to dinner, when we -heard a fearful crash. We rushed into the hall to see the poor man -sitting on the steps holding both hands to his head. He was very tall -and, coming down the narrow winding stairs, had struck his head on an -overhanging projection which he had failed to observe. His injury was -more uncomfortable than serious and had quite a cheering effect on his -two companions, who began to chaff him about “taking off an inch or -two†so by the time dinner was over they were all in high spirits. - -The following morning at nine the inspection began. Each horse was -brought out, looked over and measured to see that he came up to the -stipulated number of “handsâ€. If he passed he was immediately ridden. - -Each of the men rode the horses he had broken. First the horse was -walked up and down between the blacksmith-shop and the corral, then -trotted and then run, after which his lungs and breathing were tested -and if satisfactory he was accepted. - -Every time a man got on to ride, I was conscious of a feeling of great -uncertainty. The horses looked quiet enough and were fairly gentle, -but Owen and I knew that the slightest variation in the manner of -mounting or “touching them up†might cause them to go through a few -movements not required by the United States Government. - -As it was, all those we had expected to buck behaved like lambs, while -those which had been considered fairly well broken did everything from -bucking to snorting and blowing foam all over the Veterinarian when he -attempted to examine their teeth and test their lungs. - -For three days the inspection went on, each day more interesting than -the last, until all the horses had been examined and out of the number -the necessary one hundred and fifty accepted and branded U. S. - -As the bunch of horses headed for Denver was being driven off the -ranch, Fred looked after them reflectively— - -“If them sodjers can ride, it’ll be all right,†he remarked, “but if -they go to puttin’ tenderfeet on them bronchs, they’ll land in -Kingdom-come before they ever hit the saddle.†- - - - -VI - -A VARIETY OF RUNAWAYS - - -Life in any primitive, sparsely settled country is fraught with -adventure. It is the element which gives zest to everyday affairs and -which lifts existence above the commonplace, but since everything has -its price, the price of untrammelled living must often be paid in -discomfort and inconvenience. - -To us, and to many others, abounding health and freedom were ample -compensations for a few annoying circumstances but with our guests it -was a more serious consideration. After a few experiences we began to -discourage the visits of those unfitted by nature and temperament for -“roughing itâ€. - -We could not control the elements nor untoward events. Fate had such -an invariable custom of upsetting and rearranging all of our most -carefully laid plans that when friends, especially “tenderfeetâ€, -arrived, we had a premonition that before they departed something -would happen. It never failed. - -In the house our guests were exempt from anxiety and discomfort, but -no one cared to stay indoors when a dazzling world of blue, green and -gold lay just outside, and the unexpected was no regarder of persons. -A cloud-burst was just as apt to descend upon the unsuspecting head of -a delicate, carefully nurtured old lady as was an indiscriminating -rattlesnake to frighten some timid soul into hysterics. - -Everyone who came to the ranch wanted to ride, those knowing least -about horses being the most insistent, and not wishing to take any -chances, at first we gave them Billy, gentle, trustworthy Billy, who, -when running loose, could be caught by a man on foot and ridden into -the corral with a handkerchief around his neck instead of a bridle. We -would start out, the tenderfoot joyously “off for a horseback ride,†-and the next thing we knew he would be off the horse doubled up under -a fence or lying flat on the prairie, while Billy peacefully nibbled -grass. No one could explain it unless the uninitiated had lost a -stirrup and had unwittingly given the horse a dig in the ribs which -was immediately resented—so even Billy was disqualified. - -The truth was, none of our horses was sufficiently well broken for the -inexperienced horseman to ride or drive. They behaved very decently -until something occurred, which was out of the ordinary, and then the -reaction was most sudden and disastrous. - -With the stock on the ranch we had acquired about four hundred horses, -most of which had never been handled and were running loose on the -range. Before they were of any use or value they had to be broken and -Owen felt that it was one of the most important things to be done. -Consequently, many of the horses were broken to drive in the hay -field, the broncho hitched up with a gentle horse, and put onto the -rake or mowing machine—many were the runaways. - -Charley was leisurely by nature. He never hurried either in speech or -movement. Owen and I were in the office one morning when he strolled -around the house and up to the door. - -“Mis-ter Brook,†he drawled, “Ja-ne and Maud are running away with the -mow-ing machine down in the timber—they throw-ed Windy off the seat,†-but before he got the last word out, his listener was down the steps, -over the fence and on his way toward the creek where Maud and Jane -were tearing through the timber leaving parts of the mowing machine on -stumps and fallen logs, while Charley looked after him in mild -surprise. The horses were brought to an abrupt stop when one tried to -go on one side of a tree and the other on the opposite side. - -There was a beautiful black horse, “Toledoâ€, that refused to allow -anyone to come near him but Owen or Bill, and there was also a new man -on the ranch who so constantly boasted of his ability to handle -bronchos the boys had dubbed him “Windyâ€. - -Windy concluded one day that he would harness Toledo alone. There were -violent sounds in the stable, snorts, shouts, thumps, and Windy sailed -through the open door and landed on a conveniently placed pile of -manure, frightened to death but unhurt. - -Bill was furious. - -“What’d you do to him, anyhow?†he stormed after roping Toledo who had -broken his halter and was running loose in the corral. - -“I didn’t do nothin’ to him,†protested Windy. “I just crope up and -retched over and tetched him and he begun to snort and cave ’round.†- -“Course you didn’t do nothin’, you couldn’t do nothin’ if you tried. -You’d better go back to town where you belong, ’stead a stayin’ out -here spoilin’ good horses.†Bill’s choler was rising. “You don’t know -nothin’ neither, you’re jest a bone head, your spine’s jest growed up -and haired over.†And, leading the subdued Toledo, Bill disappeared -into the stable. - -When the team that Owen reserved for his own use had passed the -kicking and lunging stage and I had become sufficiently confident to -look at the landscape instead of watching their ears, he usually -concluded they were “pretty well broken†and that he must try out a -new one. This trying out process went on indefinitely, for Owen’s New -England conscience gave him no peace apparently while an unbroken -horse remained in his possession. It was a form of duty. - -When we had guests we used, what my husband was pleased to call, a -gentle team, one that started off decorously with all their feet on -the ground instead of in the air, but one day when we were expecting -some friends from Wyoming he could not resist driving a new pair of -beautiful bay horses when we went to meet them. I remained behind. - -The dinner hour passed and no Owen; additional hours went by and late -at night he came in dusty, dirty and scratched. - -In response to a perfect volley of questions he explained that he was -all right, but the Lawtons had telegraphed they had been detained, and -then he added, as quite an unimportant detail, that “the horses had -run away.†He had the expression of a fond and indulgent parent, and -as he did not rise to the defense of his pet team when I called them -“miserable brutes†I knew his pride, at least, had suffered. - -“You see,†he resumed, “your new sewing machine and some other freight -was at the station, so when I found the Lawtons were not coming I -thought I’d bring it over. I had the crystal clock, too.†Owen looked -so sheepish I had to laugh, although the clock had been a wedding -present which we had sent up to the jeweler to be regulated. - -“Is it smashed?†- -“Oh, no,†he reassured me, “but I don’t know how well it will run. I -got out to close the gate beyond the railroad when a confounded -freight engine whistled and the horses started. I was holding the -reins in my hand, of course, and tried to climb in the back of the -wagon, but couldn’t make it on account of the load. I ran along the -side until the horses went so fast I fell down and when they began to -drag me I let go of the reins. They ran all over that inclosure, the -wagon upset and canned tomatoes, sewing machine and crystal clock were -strewn everywhere. I caught the horses finally, but the wagon was -smashed so I had to walk back to Becker’s, get his wagon and pick up -all the freight—that’s what delayed me. I’m dreadfully sorry about -the sewing machine and the clock, but I don’t believe they are much -hurt.†- -He was very contrite, was my husband, but it didn’t last long, that -sense of duty was too insistent. A very short time after, he was -alone, driving another team, with a horse he had just bought, tied to -the tug. The new horse, frightened at a dead animal in the lane, -jumped, broke the tug, plunged forward, pulled the neck yoke off, the -buggy tongue stuck into the ground as the horses ran, the buggy heaved -up in the air and pitched Owen out. It landed so close to a fence post -his head was scratched, but he might have been killed. As long as he -had escaped, this runaway had its amusing side, too. He was bringing -home a quantity of china nest-eggs which followed when he was thrown -out, and he said for a minute it fairly snowed nest-eggs; the ground -was white with them. - -Owen and his horses! I never could decide whether it was more -nerve-racking to go with him or stay behind, so I usually took the -chance and went. The experiences we had! I wonder we ever survived -that horse-breaking period, but only once did we face a fate from -which there seemed only one chance in a thousand of escaping with our -lives. - -We were driving a buckskin horse Owen had just bought and a newly -broken mare, a handsome, high spirited creature called Beauty. She -danced and she pranced and forged ahead of the new horse which became -nervous and excited in trying to keep up with her. - -We were going up a long hill. Beauty was pulling and tugging on the -bit when suddenly she gave a toss to her head and to our horror we saw -the bridle fall back around her neck. The bit had broken. Like a flash -she was off, the other horse running with her. Owen spoke to them. He -wound the reins about his arms and pulled on them with all his -strength. - -At the top of the hill there was a fairly level space where Owen tried -to circle them, hoping to tire them out, but he had no control over -Beauty and she wheeled about starting back over the road we had come, -the buggy bouncing and swaying behind. There was a fence corner with -an old post standing about ten feet from it. The horses headed -straight for it. I closed my eyes, expecting that we would be wrecked, -but they turned and raced across a gulch, the buggy lurched, tipped, -struck one side and then the other, but by a miracle did not upset. - -I saw that Owen was trying to head them into a fence and braced myself -for the shock, realizing that he hoped to entangle them in the barbed -wire and so throw them, but just as we reached it Beauty veered to one -side almost overturning the buggy. We were so close the skirt of -Owen’s fur coat caught on the barbs and was instantly torn to ribbons -and we heard the vibrating “ping†of the wire along its entire length -as the wheels struck the fence. - -On and on the maddened horses raced, up hills, down long slopes, -through gulches in which it seemed we must be wrecked, until at length -we reached the crest of a hill at the bottom of which, angling with -the fence, ran a deep gulch with high cut banks. We knew that if the -frantic horses reached the edge of that bank at the rate we were going -there was no escape for us and we should plunge over the embankment -with the horses. To jump was impossible. I was in despair, realizing -that Owen, pulling on the horses with all his might, was nearly -exhausted. - -“Owen, isn’t there something I can do?†It was the first time a word -had been spoken. - -“Pull on the Buckskin,†he answered quickly. - -I leaned forward and seized the rein with both hands as far down as I -could reach and threw myself back with all my weight. The Buckskin was -pulled back on his haunches, Beauty stopped. Owen handed me the reins, -another moment he was at their heads calling to me to jump. In that -instant before jumping I lived an eternity, for if the horses had -started again I should have gone to certain death alone. - -[Illustration: THE “STAR†IS A FRIGHTENED, SNORTING “BRONCHOâ€] - -I was so weak with fright and sudden relief when I felt the firm earth -under my feet I could scarcely stand but I had to get to the -Buckskin’s head and hold on to him, for Owen had his hands full with -Beauty, who began to rear and plunge. It was no time for nerves. The -horses were finally unhitched. Owen led Beauty and I, the Buckskin. -Leaving the buggy on the edge of that yawning gulch, we walked the -five miles back to the ranch. - - - - -VII - -THE MEASURE OF A MAN - - -The Bohms had gone. The last load of furniture, upon which old Bohm -perched like an ill-omened bird, had disappeared through the gate on -the top of the hill. At last, after six months of vexation and -trouble, Owen and I could live our own life and run the ranch without -interference. - -Bohm had tried to wriggle out of every clause in his contract. He had -delayed gathering and turning over the stock by every means and had -invented a thousand excuses for staying on from week to week. It had -made it very difficult and had exasperated Owen. If he hadn’t been -wise and patient beyond words, Bohm’s bones long before would have -mingled with those of his reputed victims in the old root cellar. I -had a different end planned for him each day, but none seemed really -fitting. Owen had gone on in his own way, however, insisting upon -every part of the contract being fulfilled and reducing Bohm to -impotent rage by his quiet firmness. - -Mrs. Bohm had recovered from her “fainting spells†and her husband was -furious to think he had sold the ranch. In desperation he finally sent -to San Francisco for his brother, who was a lawyer, to see if there -was any possibility of getting out of the contract. The “Judge†was a -nice old chap, who looked like an amiable Mormon with a long beard. He -soon settled the question. - -“Why, Jim, you wanted to sell out, you signed the contract and you -have your money. You’ll have to stay with your bargain now, whether -you like it or not.†- -We always remembered him kindly for this and for a story he told. We -had been discussing the Chinese as servants and he said: - -“Well, I had one for two years, but I don’t want any more. I want to -know what I’m eating and with those heathen you are never sure. - -“It had been raining very hard one day when Wong came to me in the -afternoon and said: - -“‘Judge, him laining outside, me gottee no meat for dinner.’ - -“I told him that we would do without meat for it was raining too hard -for anyone to go out who didn’t have to. Wong looked dejected for he -liked meat. He turned to go out of the room, when his eyes fell on the -cat. His face brightened with a sudden inspiration. - -“‘Have meat for dinner! Kill’em cat!’ - -“Kill the cat! What on earth do you mean? - -“‘Less, kill’em cat,’ he repeated in a matter of fact tone, ‘him sick -anyhow.’†- -We had asked the Bohms to take their meals with us, but only Mrs. Bohm -came to our table. Bohm preferred to eat with the men. We suspected -that he was trying to cause trouble. Charley unconsciously confirmed -our suspicions. He was always conversational and seized the -opportunity to talk while fixing my window screen. - -“Say, Mrs. Brook, you’d orter seen Bill this mornin’. He was eatin’ -flapjacks to beat time and was just reachin’ for more, when old Bohm, -with that mean way of his, began slammin’ Mr. Brook. He was sayin’ you -folks thought you was too good to eat in the kitchen with us common -fellers and had to have a separate dinin’ room, when Bill just riz up -out of his chair so sudden it went over backwards, and believe me, his -eyes had sparks in ’em when he came back at the old man. - -“‘Tain’t that the Brooks think that they’re too good, but there’s some -folks too stinkin’ common for anybody to eat with’—and out of the -door he walked and all the boys fol-lered him, leavin’ Bohm alone -there facin’ all them flapjacks. I reckon he’d a rather faced them -flapjacks than Bill, though,—Gee, Bill was some hot,†and Charley’s -blue eyes sparkled at the reminiscence. - -It was exactly as I thought; the boys despised Bohm and were -absolutely loyal to Owen. - -After this episode, Owen had a long talk with Bill and a short, heated -interview with Bohm, which resulted in the old man’s reluctant, but -hasty, departure. - -I drew a long breath of relief when I saw the last wagon disappear and -looked up fully expecting to see the dove of peace pluming herself on -our roof-tree. But apparently doves in the cattle country never -alight,—they just pass by. - -Owen had bought several thousand acres of land from the railroad. A -car of barbed wire for the fence, which was to encircle the entire -ranch, was at the station. Our land was now in one solid block with -the exception of a few acres of Government land which could only be -acquired by homestead entry. This limited acreage in the great -checkerboard was all that remained of the “free range.†- -At this juncture Owen was served with a notice by the United States -Marshal forbidding him to build the fence. It would enclose Government -land. Every mile of the proposed fence would have been on ground which -he had bought, paid for, and on which he was paying taxes—but -still—he could not fence it. “Government land must remain -uninclosed.†It made no difference, apparently, what happened to the -cattleman whose money was tied up in property he could not use. -Government land must remain free and open to the public. But, while -those few acres of free range remained open to the public, thousands -of acres of our unprotected land remained open also. Everyone used it. -The ranchmen for miles around, learning that Owen was forbidden to -fence, gathered all their cattle and threw them onto our land. - -It was a very serious problem. Our range was being destroyed, the -grass was eaten off so closely nothing remained for winter range. Our -full-blooded Hereford breeding stock was of little use to us. All our -money was invested in land and cattle and there was only one thing -left to do,—put riders on our range to drive the other cattle off. - -Upon this solution of the problem the dove of peace promptly departed -and we entered upon a long, hard struggle for the possession and use -of what was our own. Owen was faced, not only with financial failure, -but absolute ruin. The future was far from bright, but when an old -school-mate came with her husband to visit us it seemed positively -brilliant by contrast. - -Alice Joice and I had been devoted friends for years. The summer -before we had spent in Europe, where I had left her, deep in the study -of Art, to which she intended “to devote†her life. - -“It is so commonplace to marry, Esther,†these were her parting words; -“any woman can marry—but so few can have a real career.†- -Alice’s “career†had abruptly ended in “commonplace matrimony,†for -she had just married a Mr. Van Winkle from Brooklyn, a man I had never -met. They were touring the West and were most anxious to include our -ranch. I was very eager to see them so I wrote, urging her to come, -but asked her to let us know when to expect them, so there would be no -mistake about our being at the station. - -I was particularly anxious to have them see ranch life at its best for -they were our first guests. The house looked very attractive with all -our own furniture and wedding presents in place, but I thought the -guest room floor might be improved so I painted it Saturday afternoon. -Then everything went wrong: the wind-mill pump failed to work, the -whole pipe had to be pulled out of the well; we were without running -water in the house and couldn’t have a fire in the kitchen range, so -rations were extremely light. - -Supper, consisting chiefly of sardines, awaited Owen, who was trying -to get some of the grease off his hands, when a homesteader by the -name of Hamm, his wife, sister and five children drove up. He had come -to see Owen on business and they were invited in to supper. - -The table was lengthened and reset, more sardines were opened and we -were just ready to sit down when my Aunt, who was standing near the -window, exclaimed: - -“Who on earth is that!†- -Who, indeed! Alice Joice and her husband with a team they had hired at -the station. - -Having a strong heart I did not faint, but left Auntie to help the -maid make the necessary additions to the table—and sardines, while -Owen and I hurried out to greet them. - -“Hello, dearie, here we are,†Alice called from the wagon as I -approached. “Clarence and I thought it would be such fun to surprise -you. How-do-you-do, Mr. Brook, I want you to meet my husband, Mr. Van -Winkle.†Alice jumped off the step and threw herself into my arms. -“Oh, Esther, isn’t this fun?†Gay, inconsequent Alice, from her city -home, never considered for a moment that a surprise _could_ be -anything but joyous. - -If I had met him in Egypt, I should have known that her husband’s name -was Van Winkle—Clarence Van Winkle, it couldn’t have been anything -else. - -He was pale and tall and thin and rigid. The inflexibility of the -combined ancestral spines had united in his back bone. He might break, -he could never bend. My imagination failed when I tried to picture the -meeting between the heir to the Van Winkle name and the Hamms. It was -far worse than anything I could ever have imagined. - -Alice was very sweet; she talked all the time, patted the five little -Hamms and won their mother’s heart by asking their names and ages, but -in acknowledging the introduction Clarence only bowed slightly, a -movement which required great effort, then relapsed into silence -immediately, scrutinizing the Hamm family through his glasses as -though they were rare animals in a Zoo. Mrs. Hamm and her sister were -stupefied and did not speak a word, but Mr. Hamm, a truly sociable -person from Oklahoma, continually addressed Clarence as “young -feller,†which produced the same effect as a violent chill, and when -he joyously jogged a Van Winkle elbow to emphasize some pleasantry, -Clarence firmly moved his chair out of reach of the defiling touch. - -Alice ate everything and did not stop talking for a moment. Clarence -refused everything but a cracker, which he munched in silence. -Suddenly he turned white and left the table. Owen escorted him -out-of-doors while Alice and I followed. He was faint, just faint, and -collapsed weakly onto a garden seat. Alice said it was the Denver -water, but I suspected unassimilated Hamm. Owen stayed with him and -Alice and I returned to finish supper. The Hamms left soon after and -Clarence gradually revived under the influence of Owen’s New England -accent and Scotch whisky. - -All at once I thought of the freshly painted guest-room floor. I -explained the situation to Alice and we went up to see if it was dry. -It was, but the smell of paint was most evident. Alice gave a few -sniffs and said apologetically: - -“I’m dreadfully sorry, Esther, but Clarence couldn’t possibly sleep -here. He is so sensitive to odors of any kind.†I was reminded of a -faint aroma which had clung to the Hamm garments. “If there is another -room we can occupy, I think it would be better.†Alice was accustomed -to hotels. I offered our room; it was reluctantly but finally -accepted, the scion of the Van Winkles must not breathe paint. All the -things from the guest-room were put in our room and ours were moved up -to the guest-room. - -Just before they retired Alice confided to me that Clarence had had -some temperature in Denver and the Doctor thought he might be -threatened with typhoid fever. - -“I really believe, Esther, if Clarence has any temperature in the -morning we had better go back to Denver.†- -I reassured her as I bade her good-night and then sought Owen. I was -beginning to have some temperature myself. - -“Owen, if Clarence Van Winkle has a thousandth of a degree of -temperature in the morning don’t tell him that he’ll be all right; let -him go back to Denver or anywhere else he pleases. Imagine that man -with typhoid, here.†- -The next morning Alice appeared at breakfast alone. Clarence had no -temperature, but he felt weak and thought he had better stay in bed. -He continued to feel weak for three days, Alice dancing attendance -white the rest of us tried to get the household and water running -again. - -When Clarence finally emerged from his seclusion, he was in high -spirits, positively buoyant. - -“Well, now I want to see everything, all the cattle, the cow-boys, -branding, dehorning, a round-up and what is it you call it? Oh, yes, -‘broncho busting’. We have to go back to Denver tomorrow, you know.†-He had to stop for want of breath. - -Alice beamed fondly upon her enthusiastic bridegroom. Mine looked far -from enthusiastic. Owen was a perfect host but he could not give a -demonstration of a year’s work in one day. The horse-breaking was over -for the season and the branded and dehorned cattle scattered over -miles of country. This he endeavored to explain to Clarence who made -no attempt to conceal his disappointment nor his petulance. - -“Oh, how unfortunate. I’ve heard so much of the fascination of ranch -life I thought I’d like to see a little of it. I thought you had -broncho busting or something interesting or entertaining going on -every day.†- -Owen bit his lip. He was busy beyond words but he dropped everything -and afternoon we took our guests for a drive over the ranch. The wagon -was new and rattled and, wishing to spare Clarence’s delicate -sensibilities, Owen put on some washers. - -We were in the middle of the prairie miles from the house, Clarence -had recovered his good humor since he was “actually seeing somethingâ€, -as he tactfully expressed it, when one of the wheels began to drag. -The washers proved to be too tight, we had a hot spindle. There was -nothing to do but sit there in the blazing sun while the two men took -off the wheel, removed a washer or two and greased the spindle. - -I wouldn’t have missed it, the mere thought of that scene was a joy to -me for months afterwards. Clarence Van Winkle red and perspiring from -the effort of lifting a wheel, wiping his greasy hands on a piece of -dirty waste! Alice’s face was a study. I had to keep my eyes fixed on -the landscape after one look over the side of the wagon. I was afraid -I should laugh out loud. - -The day they left Bill drove us all to the station. We just made the -train, which was standing on the track as we arrived. Owen hurried to -check the Van Winkle’s baggage. Bill had to stay with the horses. -Alice and I had all the wraps, which left Clarence to carry two dress -suit cases across the tracks. His eyes were fixed on the porter and he -was hurrying toward the Pullman when he stubbed his toe on one rail, -sprawled all the way across the track and hit his neck on the second -rail. The suit cases flew in one direction, his hat in another, his -glasses fell off and his watch dropped out of his pocket. Alice and I -rushed to the rescue, the porter assisted Clarence to his feet and -picked up the suit cases, we gathered up the rest of the articles -while Clarence stood in the middle of the track rubbing his knees, to -the great amusement of the passengers. Alice went up to him when -suddenly he screwed his face up as a child does before it begins to -cry, threw both arms around her neck and buried his face on her -shoulder. The conductor terminated the scene by calling “All aboardâ€. -Clarence limped to the train, rubbing his neck, and the last we saw -was Alice holding all the wraps, the hat, glasses and watch, waving to -us from the vestibule and Clarence comfortably seated in the Pullman -smiling a wan farewell through the window. As the train with its -precious freight was lost to sight around a curve, Owen and I began to -laugh. We laughed until we were so weak we could scarcely get into the -wagon. Bill’s face was perfectly serious, but his eyes had a little -twinkle in them as he said with his slow drawl: - -“Lord, Mrs. Brook, I’m glad that young man married that girl. He’d -orter have somebody look after him. A poor little goslin’ feller like -that ain’t got no business goin’ round alone.†- -Bill always sized up a situation in the fewest possible words. - -During the drive back to the ranch I thought of Alice and her future -by the side of a man of that type. Our future was uncertain enough, -but if trouble and vicissitudes were our portion, at least I had -someone with whom to share them. - -Tex had been away for several weeks and we were surprised to see him -at the gate as we drove up. He looked very serious as he asked Owen if -he might speak with him and Owen looked more serious when he came out -of the office after their conversation. - -“What is it, Owen? Something is wrong. Please tell me.†- -Owen took me by the arm and we walked up and down under the trees. - -“Tex came over to tell me, Esther, that I am to be arrested for -‘driving cattle off the range.’ Technically, it’s a serious charge, -carrying a heavy fine and—†he paused—“imprisonment, but don’t -worry, my dear,†as he felt me start a little at his last words, “it’s -listed on the statute books as a criminal offence, connected with -rustling, but that can’t hold in this case. It’s a ‘frame-up’ to give -me trouble, that’s all. It might have been serious but Tex heard of it -and came to warn me just in time. There’s been a plot to eat me out -and now they want to drive me out. I’m going in to Denver to see my -lawyer tomorrow. I’m more troubled on your account than anything -else.†- -“Don’t worry about me, Owen, we’re going to stay in this country and -fight it out to the end. I’ll face anything, as long as you don’t -cry,†and we went into the house laughing, as we thought of Clarence -Van Winkle. - -The miserable experience which followed was sufficiently serious, even -after the charge had been changed to one of minor character. - -Owen was arrested on our anniversary. I went his bond. There was a -long, expensive law-suit which we lost, the Judge contending that if a -man wished to protect his land he should fence it. It was explained -that the Government had forbidden it, but the Judge said that did not -affect the verdict in this case. Owen paid the damages awarded by the -Court, we gathered together our sixteen cow-puncher witnesses who had -been staying with us at one of the largest hotels in Denver, an event -for the cow-punchers, and returned to the ranch. - -Did Owen weep on my shoulder? He set his lips a little more firmly and -his face had an added sternness as he looked across those miles of -rolling prairie he owned but which now were utterly useless. - -He broke the silence at last. His voice had a different tone. - -“I am going to have the use of my own land. They shan’t keep me out of -it any longer. I am going to sell off all the cattle and put in sheep. -Then we’ll see! With herders we don’t need fences and cattle won’t -graze where sheep have ranged.†- - * * * * * - -Thus with the first year of our marriage, the first chapter of our -ranch experience ended and a totally different life began. - - - - -VIII - -THE SHEEP BUSINESS - - -With the coming of the sheep everything was changed. It was like -living in a different age, almost as though we had slipped back -hundreds of years into Biblical times and had come into intimate -association with Jacob and Joseph. With the advent of the wool or lamb -buyers there was a sudden transition to the more commercial atmosphere -of the twentieth century, but it was so fleeting our pastoral -existence was scarcely interrupted. - -A few of our old men had gone, Tex among them. He left with regret, -but as he said— - -“Lord knows I hate to go, Mr. Brook, but cattle’s all I know and an -old cow man ain’t got no business around sheep; they just naturally -despise each other.†And he went up into Montana where the cattle -business still flourished. - -Most of the other men stayed on, however, to ride the fence lines, -look after the horses and do the various things about the ranch, but -the days of branding, dehorning and round-ups were past and the -cow-puncher was replaced by “camp tendersâ€. - -The sheep were trailed all the way from New Mexico. Steve, who spoke -Spanish, was foreman, and with three of the other men on horseback had -come up the trail with the sheep and the soft-voiced Mexican herders. - -Their entire camp equipment was skillfully packed on diminutive -burros. It was somewhat startling to see what appeared to be animated -wood-piles, water-casks, rolls of bedding or dish-pans bobbing about -over the woolly backs of the sheep, until a parting in the band -revealed the legs and lowered head of a sleepy-eyed burro. - -The herders spoke no English and it was so charming to receive a -gleaming smile and low bow while being addressed as “Padron†and -“Señora†that we plunged into the study of their musical language -forthwith. - -Each herder was in charge of a band of from fifteen hundred to -twenty-five hundred sheep. Two herders occupied a camp, but the sheep -were placed in separate corrals and, in order to give the various -bands ample pasturage, the camps were placed miles apart. - -Early in the morning the sheep were driven out, the herders taking -their bands in opposite directions. All day long the flock quietly -grazed over the prairie, the Mexican with his dog at his feet standing -like a sentinel on a hill from which he could overlook his entire band -and ward off any prowling coyote whose approach was heralded by a -sudden scurry among the sheep. - -Eternal vigilance, faithfulness and good judgment were the essential -qualities in a herder, judgment in the handling of the sheep, in the -selection of the best grass and water, the time for taking them out -and bringing them back to the camp. The herders were not supposed to -meet and talk together for while they were engrossed in conversation -or out of sight of the sheep the two bands might become mixed, a very -serious thing when the ewes were accompanied by their lambs, for when -the bands were separated again the lamb might be in one band and its -mother in the other. - -It was a lonely life, but one for which Mexicans are especially -suited. They lack the initiative of the Anglo-Saxons, they are -naturally tranquil, slow of speech and action and content to do -nothing—gentle children from the land of Mañana. - -Scattered over the prairie, the sheep from a distance looked like mere -dots so closely resembling the clumps of weeds, it was necessary to -locate the herder before they could be identified. He looked like a -solitary fence post placed on the top of a hill. - -The Mexicans were most gracious and responsive, so delighted to -receive a visit from the Padron that it was a joy to talk with them. -We were never certain just what we had said, to be sure, but the -effect of our halting, broken sentences of Spanish appeared so -pleasing, we were convinced that if we could only converse fluently -our words would become immortal. Urbanity was most contagious. Owen -and I made deep bows to the herders, we almost bowed to the sheep in -an over-mastering desire to equal the politeness of Ramon, Fidel, -Francisco or Tranquilino. What names! The atmosphere of the ranch -became so poetic and romantic I should not have been surprised to see -Owen adopt long hair and a flowing tie. After a day spent in visiting -the sheep camps I returned in an ecstatic mood. I almost fancied -myself the reincarnated spirit of Bo-Peep or Ramona but alas, my true -identity was always disclosed as soon as I reached the house—I was -only “the Missusâ€. - -Nevertheless the sheep business was fascinating, and best of all -successful. The question of the range was settled. We had the use of -our own land and our rights were respected. The customary feud between -the sheepman and the cattle owners was avoided, since our sheep were -always kept within the limits of the land which we owned. From being -the object of hatred and vilification, Owen became a personage; his -opinion quoted, his method of handling sheep emulated. - -[Illustration: TRAILED ALL THE WAY FROM NEW MEXICO] - -[Illustration: LIKE A SOLITARY FENCE POST] - -There were a few sheep men in the country who had made an indifferent -success. They had scoffed at Owen’s practice of selling off all the -lambs in the autumn and maintaining the number of his sheep by -additional purchases but, when they found how small his losses were, -they promptly adopted his plan and even some of the old-time cattle -men put in sheep. - -The loss of the law suit had certainly proved to be the turning point -in the history of the Brook family. Our popularity increased so -rapidly it was amusing. Bill expressed what I felt as I met him riding -through the meadow. - -“Have you been riding the fence lines, Bill?†- -“Yes’m, but it’s just takin’ exercise for my health. There ain’t -nothin’ wrong any more. Since you folks got the world by the tail and -a down-hill pull, everybody’s huntin’ around seein’ what they can do -to make it pleasant for you. I notice the Three Circle outfit don’t go -round no more leavin’ all the gates open and when we get a fence line -staked out, the stakes ain’t all pulled up by mornin’.†- -“It is peaceful, isn’t it?†- -“Peaceful,†echoed Bill, with feeling, “I’m so chuck full of peace I -can’t hardly hold any more. I’ll bet if a feller was to hit me, I’d -only ‘baa-a’.†- -There was a vast amount of “Baa-ing†going on at the ranch, where Mary -and I were raising a few score orphan lambs on the bottle. There was a -voracious chorus whenever we appeared. They jumped all over us and as -soon as they got hold of the nipple of the bottle they flopped down on -their knees and did not release it until they had gulped down the last -drop of milk, after which they stood up, their little sides sticking -out as though they had been stuffed. As much care had to be exercised -with the bottles, the temperature and quantity of the milk as though -we had been feeding so many babies. - -There was no milk at the outside camps and no one to care for the poor -abandoned lambs whose frivolous young mothers refused to own them, -leaving them to starve. Occasionally an old ewe of truly maternal -instinct could be fooled into adopting one of these little “dogies†or -“bumsâ€. The skin of her dead lamb was taken off and slipped over the -orphan, which was joyfully accepted because of its smell! - -When the lambs made their appearance in May, the bands were separated, -we had additional herders and they had to be more watchful for “Spring -lamb†is also very tempting to coyotes. It was easy for a herder to -lose ten or twenty lambs, for the little things congregate behind -rocks or clumps of weeds and go to sleep, are overlooked when the -sheep are driven back to the camp in the evening, and become the -victims of those prairie wolves which continually lurk about. - -Sometimes when we were driving, a tiny white speck would come racing -after the wagon, a lamb, which had been left behind. Lambs are such -senseless little things, when they are frightened they will adopt any -moving object in lieu of a mother. - -We pulled them out of prairie-dog holes into which they had thrust -their heads and become fastened by having the loose earth fall in -about their necks—they were troublesome but so appealing and amusing, -they were a never-ending source of entertainment from the first moment -they appeared, a tiny body supported on long, wabbly legs. - -As they grew stronger “playful as a lamb†acquired a new meaning. They -capered and they bucked, they raced around the corral in the evening -when the ewes were contentedly lying down, they frisked about on the -backs of their patient mothers, they jumped stiff-legged, and in a -wild excess of joy bounded into the air giving a cork-screw twist to -their hindquarters, which produced a most ludicrous effect. - -Old quotations from the Bible came to have added significance; as the -shearer held a poor frightened sheep between his knees and rapidly -clipped off the fleece with his gleaming shears, there was not a sound -if a clumsy movement cut a deep gash in the tender flesh; the “sheep -before her shearer was dumb†indeed. - -I spent days in the shearing sheds watching the proceedings from a -pile of wool sacks or passing out small metal disks in exchange for -the fleeces the shearers turned in. At the end of the day the disks -were counted and each shearer credited with the number of sheep he had -shorn. - -The fleeces were rolled and tied separately, then thrown up to a man -on a platform, who packed them in a long sack which was suspended from -the top of a high frame. As it was filled, it was taken down, sewed up -and rolled into the end of the shed to remain until later in the -season when the wool was sold and hauled to the railroad. - -Life was certainly peaceful compared to what it had been, but there -was little danger of our becoming “on weedâ€, as a certain retired -cattle-man expressed it after a short sojourn in Europe. - -Lambing, shearing and dipping followed in rapid succession. The -herders cooked for themselves and once a week the wagons were piled -with supplies and provisions which were left at each camp. In a huge -store-room were kept quantities of salt-pork, sugar, dried fruits, -coffee, flour and other groceries. Flour was bought by the ton and -everything else in proportion. Making out the orders, having all the -freight hauled the sixteen miles from the railroad, checking it out -and keeping the camps supplied, were only details but it was the -multitude of detail which filled the days and kept us from becoming -“on weedâ€. We issued the supplies to the camp-tenders ourselves, after -one of them had filled all of the Mexicans’ cans with gasoline instead -of coal-oil, because “it kind’a had the same smell.†- -Unless we chanced to have guests, for weeks at a time the only women I -saw were those in our employ, but I resented having any of my friends -think of my life as “dull†or “lonelyâ€. On the contrary it was -fascinating, full of incident, rich in experience which money could -not buy. Living so close to the great heart of nature during those -years on the plains, the vision of life partook of their breadth and a -new sense of values replaced old, artificial standards. To be alone on -the vast prairie was to gain a new conception of infinity -and—eternity. - - * * * * * - -The Mexicans stayed on the ranch about nine months, then returned to -their homes for a short visit. They were the most invariable creatures -I ever knew. When they departed for Taos or Trinidad or Antonito, -perhaps in July, they would announce on what date and by what train -they would return in October. That was the end of it, and upon the -appointed day in October someone would meet the designated train from -which the smiling herder alighted. They never failed and they never -left until another herder was there to take care of the sheep. - -One summer during this vacation period, eight new herders came to -replace eight that were going home. They were a fierce looking lot -from a different section of the country. They had been on the ranch -only a short time when Steve began to have trouble with them. They -were late getting their sheep out in the morning, they drove them too -rapidly and brought them in too early in the evening. In a few weeks -the sheep began to lose flesh and show the effects of bad handling. - -The newcomers disobeyed all orders, unless Steve happened to be on the -spot. He had to watch them constantly. He came up to a camp -unexpectedly one noon and found two of these Mexicans ready to sit -down to a dinner they had just cooked. It was an invariable rule that -the herders should take a lunch with them, for their mid-day meal, and -not return to the camp. They had left their sheep alone, so Steve made -them leave their dinner and go back to their bands, while he stayed to -make sure they did not return. - -It was impossible to discharge them until new herders could be brought -from New Mexico and he and Owen talked over the situation at length -that night. - -Early in the morning Steve went out on another trip of inspection. -About two o’clock he rode into the yard, his face covered with blood -from a deep gash in his head. He fell from his horse into Owen’s arms. -We brought him in, washed off the blood, gave him a stimulant and -waited until he was able to tell us what had happened. - -It developed that as he came in sight of the camp he saw four of the -Mexicans outside of the cabin. They stood motionless as he approached, -then began to hurl rocks at him. One hit his horse and he was nearly -thrown but managed to keep his seat. He was struck several times on -the body. Although realizing that the Mexicans intended to kill him, -he jumped off his horse and went toward them. A rock struck his head, -but with undaunted courage he picked up some of the rocks and threw -them back at the herders. They had not expected that turn to the -affair and ran into the cabin. Steve was unarmed and too badly hurt, -single handed, to deal with the Mexicans, so he got on his horse, with -difficulty, and came back to the ranch. - -The next thing I knew, Owen, Bill and Fred, each carrying a gun, got -into the wagon and drove off. - -When anything happened it came with such suddenness there was never -opportunity for questions, besides, my association with men had taught -me the value of silence—in an emergency. - -In a few hours Owen and Fred came back. They had met the eight new -herders walking into the ranch to “quitâ€. They walked back to their -respective camps instead, their pace accelerated by a loaded gun -pointing at their backs. The cabins were searched, several villainous -looking knives confiscated and eight subdued cut-throats returned to -the peaceful occupation of herding sheep, under Bill’s watchful eye -and loaded gun. - -Owen said that it wasn’t at all necessary for the Mexicans to -understand English since Bill’s few remarks were sufficiently lurid to -attract their attention. - -Until other herders could be brought to the ranch, one white man, -always armed, stayed at each camp, constantly on guard lest the -vindictive herders set fire to the camps or kill the sheep. These were -no gentle children from the land of Mañana; we discovered they were -desperate characters from Old Mexico, to whom murder was second -nature. - -Bill’s opinion of the sheep business after his brief experience in the -camps could only be published in an expurgated edition. He hated the -Mexicans, he hated the sheep, he hated everything connected with them. -After seeing his charges safely on board a southbound train, he -returned to the ranch with all the joy of an exile. - -“I’ve been up against tough men, Mrs. Brook, but that bunch is the -worst I ever seen. They’re just like a pack of coyotes, grinnin’ and -sneakin’ up behind you, waitin’ ’til they git a chance to finish you. -Between listnin’ to the grass grow and pickin’ off sheep ticks, I got -plumb locoed settin’ there watchin’ ’em. I jest had to feel my skin -every once in a while to be sure I wasn’t growin’ wool.†- - - - -IX - -THE UNEXPECTED - - -If there is anything in suggestion, Carlyle was responsible for the -whole affair, otherwise _why_ should we have deferred our drive until -the late afternoon and selected _Sartor Resartus_ of all books to read -aloud after lunch? - -Owen wanted to visit one of the sheep camps to examine the corrals -before having the hay stacked there for winter use and he urged us to -go with him. His invitation was joyfully accepted. For many weeks we -had scarcely left the ranch as Owen’s Mother, who was with us, had -been desperately ill. The crisis had passed, however, so we did not -hesitate to go off for a few hours, leaving Madame Brook with her -nurse. My aunt, Owen’s sister and her two children were at the ranch -also, and after so many weeks of anxiety we all felt the relaxation -and joyously climbed into the wagon when Owen drove up. - -There were summer and winter camps for the sheep and our objective -point was an old place, acquired with the ranch, which had been -converted into a winter camp. During the summer it was unoccupied. - -We drove along laughing and talking. Owen’s nephew carried his gun and -kept a sharp lookout for coyotes. It was a glorious day and we were in -the mood to appreciate all its beauty. - -The meadows, waist deep in native hay, were flecked with the gold of -the prairie sun flowers. The wild roses grew in tangled masses -everywhere, their perfume mingled with the odor of the sage which -yielded up its aromatic sweetness as the wheels crushed the silvery -leaves. The plains were mottled with the shade of fleecy clouds which -floated lazily across the sky, the changing lights flooded the hills -with dazzling sunshine, then veiled them softly with faint cloud -shadows. A delicate haze hung over the more distant hills, and behind -the mountains thunderheads were gathering. - -The road ran directly past the camp and long before we reached it we -could see the old house, forbidding in its isolation, standing on a -high mesa above the creek. It had been built years before by a settler -named La Monte, whose footsteps misfortune had dogged until she -overtook him at last. His wife deserted him and, broken in heart and -fortune, he had left the country. Bohm held a mortgage on the place -and it had passed into his possession. - -An air of abandonment surrounded the camp even in winter when it was -occupied, but during the summer when it was totally deserted the -ghosts of dead happiness stalked unheeded through the silent rooms. -Rank weeds filled the yards, the plaintive notes of the wood-doves in -the cotton-woods by the creek and the weird, haunting howl of the -coyotes were the only sounds to break the silence. - -There was a tale connecting old Bohm with the La Monte tragedy for -which an affair with Mrs. La Monte was responsible. We were some -distance from the house, the rest of the party were intent on watching -a big jack-rabbit which was bounding lightly across the prairie, but I -was thinking of the wretched story which the sight of the old house -always recalled, when the door was slowly opened and a naked man -paused for a moment on the threshold then walked down the steps into -the yard. - -I gave a gasp, my eyes fixed on that advancing figure, the others -looked around but in that instant the man had seen us and dropped down -into the tall weeds, by which he was completely hidden. - -“What’s the matter?†Owen asked, surprised by my exclamation. - -“Why, Owen, a man without any clothes on just came out of that door -and is there in the weeds.†- -Owen turned toward the yard, there was no one in sight; he looked at -me in amazement. He knew I must be in earnest! I was not given to -“seeing thingsâ€. - -“Why, that’s absurd, how could you imagine anyone being out here in -this deserted place miles and miles from the railroad?†- -We were just opposite the house and as if in response to Owen’s -question the head and naked breast of a man rose up from behind the -weeds. His face was crimson and the thick, black disheveled hair gave -him such an aspect of wildness we were appalled. - -Owen stopped the horses, the man rose to his feet, calmly looked at -us, then turned and walked slowly into the house. - -We were speechless. It was like a sudden apparition. - -After a moment Owen passed the lines to me. - -“Here, Esther, hold the horses while I go in and investigate.†- -“Be careful,†was all I could say. There was a chorus of “Don’ts†from -the back seat as he got out of the wagon. - -I thought of the gun. “Gordon, take your gun and go after your uncle. -I know that man is crazy.†- -Gordon jumped out and ran toward the house, but before he reached the -door we heard a loud burst of singing, a curious rendering of -“Ta-rah-rah boom-de-ahyâ€. In a moment Owen and Gordon reappeared. - -“Well, there’s no doubt of his being crazy,†Owen said, “we’ll go to -the Bosman ranch where I can get someone to come back with me. I can -telephone the Sheriff from there, too.†Then he told us what had -happened. - -By the time he reached the door the man had put on his outside shirt -and was standing in the middle of the bedroom floor. He glared at Owen -when he entered and made no reply when asked what he was doing there, -then he turned around and walked over to an empty bed frame which -stood against the wall, got behind it and gradually slipped down -underneath. When he was lying flat on his back on the floor, his feet -toward Owen, he began to sing in some broken foreign tongue. - -It was uncanny and as we drove on toward the creek I could only say -“What next?†- -“I don’t know what on earth can come next,†Owen replied. “This is -positively the most unexpected and unlikely thing that ever happened.†- -We had to drive down a hill before we crossed the creek and at last -lost sight of the house, the sound of the wild singing grew more faint -and finally died away. - -There were no bridges in the country and while at this time there was -no flowing water, the sand was wet. We drove down a steep bank into -the bed of the creek and were almost across when without the slightest -warning the bottom seemed to drop out of the earth beneath us and the -wagon sank down. - -“Quicksand!†- -There was just time for that one exclamation in concert. Owen gave the -horses a quick cut with the whip, they sprang forward, caught a -footing on the solid sand and were safe. He gave them another cut, but -pull as they would they could not move the wagon, which had sunk to -the hubs. The double tree broke and the horses were free. Owen and -Gordon jumped out on the tongue, holding onto the horses and drove -them up the bank. There the rest of us sat, feeling the wagon sinking -slowly farther and farther into the deadly, yielding substance. - -The end of the wagon-pole rested on the firm sand, so by climbing over -the dashboard holding on to it with one hand I was able to work my own -way down the wagon tongue until I could grasp an outstretched hand and -jump to safety. The others followed my example. The danger was past, -but we trembled as we looked back. - -It is impossible to distinguish quicksand from ordinary sand by its -appearance, but it will not support the slightest weight. It seems to -melt into nothing and the sensation is all the more terrifying from -its suddenness. The first effect is instantaneous, then the engulfment -becomes more gradual. - -We were safe but afoot. Owen took the horses. - -“Gordon and I will go on to the Bosmans and get another wagon. We -won’t be long and you women had better stay here and not walk these -three miles.†- -I was just about to say “all right†when I happened to glance behind -me and there on the bank, silhouetted quite sharply against the sky, -stood the figure of a half-clad man. - -He was watching every move we made. I pointed to him. - -“I think you’d better come with us,†said Owen after one glance, “he -might decide to investigate,†and off we all trudged down the dusty -road. - -Blue black masses of cloud were spreading gradually across the sky and -distant thunder muttered ominously. - - * * * * * - -If a bomb had alighted in the centre of the Bosman ranch, where supper -was in progress, it couldn’t have produced a more startling effect -than our arrival on foot and the account of our experience. They urged -us to spend the night, as the storm was rapidly approaching, but we -felt we must go back with Owen. - -Mr. Bosman hitched our team to one of his wagons, while Owen -telephoned to the Sheriff. We took a few pieces of bread and meat for -the poor demented creature at the camp and made another start. Mr. -Bosman and his son accompanied us on horseback. - -We went by a different road to avoid crossing the creek. - -It was dark by the time we reached the La Monte place, everything was -still. The four men, with a lighted lantern, entered the house. A wild -outburst of singing followed, which told us the same scene was being -enacted. The men came out almost immediately, talking earnestly. - -Mr. Bosman, an old-timer, had recognized the man as Jean La Monte, he -had spoken to him, had called him by name, but no sign of -understanding, not one faint glimmer of intelligence had shone from -out those wild eyes. Mr. Bosman was almost overcome. - -“It’s just terrible to see him that way, he was such a good man. Poor -old La Monte, trouble has sure driven him crazy. How on earth he ever -got here beats me. There ain’t a thing we can do tonight. We couldn’t -handle him if he got violent. There never was a stronger man in this -country than Jean La Monte. My God! It’s awful!†- -So it was arranged that the Bosmans should go back to their ranch and -send word to the Sheriff to be up there early in the morning and that -Owen should have some of our men guard the place during the night. - -“Poor devil, I don’t believe he’ll go away. He seemed so suspicious he -wouldn’t touch the bread, and I believe he’s been here two or three -days. See you in the morning,†and the Bosmans disappeared in the -darkness. - -The thought of the tragedy with which we had so suddenly come in -touch, weighed upon us. A living ghost connected us with a past in -which we had no part. - -Long after we had left the old place behind, the mad singing followed -us, except when it was drowned by a sudden crash of thunder. The -jagged flashes of lightning illuminated the heavens for a brief -second, then left the world shrouded in an impenetrable darkness. -Rather than risk going through the creek a second time, we had decided -to cut across country. - -The prairies were broken by deep gullies washed and torn by the fury -of the summer storms. By day, driving was difficult; by night, it was -hazardous in the extreme, and after a blinding flash which fairly tore -the heavens apart, we were forced to stop the horses for fear of -driving into an unseen gulch. The horses, headed toward home and -excited and nervous, were hard to control. We drove along in silence, -our staring eyes trying to pierce the darkness. It was so dangerous -that at last I got out and walked in front of the horses. I could not -see; I could only know from the contour of the ground when we were -near a gulch or by my outstretched hand tell when we were near the -wires of a fence. After a time Gordon took my place, and all the way -one or the other walked before the team. The lightning and thunder -were terrific, but still it did not rain. We were worn out with -fatigue and anxiety when we finally reached the ranch. - -Steve was standing with his saddle horse at the crossing of the creek, -swinging a lighted lantern. When he heard the sound of the wheels he -gave a shout. - -“Mr. Brook!†- -“All right,†Owen called back. Steve came towards us. - -“What on earth happened? We’ve all been plumb worried to death, and -Madame Brook, she’s most crazy. I’ve just sent Fred up to the La Monte -place to look for you.†- -“La Monte place!†we exclaimed as several of the boys, attracted by -Steve’s shout, came up. “Get on your horse,†said Owen, quickly, “and -overtake him; there’s a madman up there.†- -Steve did not wait for further instructions, but flung himself on his -horse and tore off after Fred. We hurried in to reassure Owen’s -mother, who was nearly frantic. Later, as she bade us “Good-night,†-she said very seriously: “Owen, as soon as I am able I am going to -Denver. I must be where it is quiet. I simply cannot stand the -excitement here.†- -As the rain began to fall in torrents, we heard the men who had been -detailed to guard the La Monte place galloping off. - -An itinerant tailor had pulled into the ranch just before our return, -and was peacefully sleeping in his wagon. He was awakened when the -horses were driven into the corral, and came out to learn the cause of -the commotion. He was so excited when he heard that an insane person -was in the vicinity he asked to sleep at the bunk house with the men. -They tried to laugh him out of his fears, but his fright was so -genuine they told him to “come on.†- -The strangeness of the whole affair, the combination of circumstances -and pure nervous and physical exhaustion kept Owen and me awake a long -time. It seemed I had scarcely fallen asleep when I heard someone -knock on the door and say: - -“Mr. Brook, Mr. Brook.†- -I recognized Mary’s voice, and responded for Owen, who was dead -asleep. - -“Mrs. Brook, the crazy man is down here at the corral; will you ask -Mr. Brook to come out?†- -It didn’t take Owen long to dress. It was about five o’clock, and from -the window we could see poor old La Monte, still attired in his shirt, -sitting in the door of the granary playing with a little cotton-wood -switch. - -How he had escaped the men who had surrounded the place, and how he -had found his way to our ranch were questions no one could answer. - -The first intimation of his presence came in the form of a wild yell -from the tailor, who had gotten up early and gone down to the corral -to feed his horses. This brought all the men to the bunk house door as -the terror-stricken little Jew flung himself into their arms. - -“Mein Gott! Dot crazy man iss here.†- -“You’re the only crazy man on this ranch,†said Bill, taking him by -the collar and giving him a shake. “What ails you, anyhow?†- -“Oh, he iss here, he iss here,†wailed the tailor. “He ain’t got on no -clothes, and we’ll all be kilt.†The boys left him and went out to -investigate. - -It was true. La Monte was there, and after a futile effort on Bill’s -part to get him to talk the boys retired to the bunk house and sent -for Owen. - -“Gee,†Bill said later, “that feller was the doggondest lookin’ thing -I ever seen, settin’ there in what was left of his shirt. His legs was -all tore by the fence wires or brambles, his teeth was chatterin’ and -he was just blue with cold. His eyes had a look in ’em that give me -the shivers. I don’t wonder he scart that there Jew into a fit. I -wasn’t very anxious to come clost to him, neither. I ain’t scart of -anything that’s human, but he ain’t human, goin’ ’round folks dressed -like that.†Bill was a stickler for convention. - -“That’s the first thing a person usually does when he goes crazy, -Bill—takes off all his clothes.†- -Bill gave me an incredulous look. - -“Gosh, I hope I’ll be killed ridin’ or somethin’ and not lose my mind -first. It ain’t decent.†- - * * * * * - -The poor demented creature would not speak nor pay any attention to -the other men, but when he saw Steve he smiled as he asked: - -“You’ve come to take me away from them, haven’t you?†- -“Yes,†Steve said. “Will you go with me now?†- -La Monte stood up. - -“Yes, if you won’t let them get me; those witches want to drag me back -to hell, but I’ve fooled them this time. I’ve almost caught up with -him once or twice and they drag me back.†And he walked off quietly by -Steve’s side. - -Steve took him to the bunkhouse, gave him some coffee and made him lie -down on his bed. While Steve sat beside him La Monte slept fitfully, -but at the slightest move started and tried to get up. Steve fell in -with all his vagaries; he promised to help him escape the witches and -to help him find the person for whom he seemed to be searching. - -“Where was he last?†Steve asked, hoping to find some clue. - -“Why, on his horse.†La Monte sat up and stared wildly into Steve’s -eyes. “Don’t you know, he’s always on a horse, a big black horse. He’s -there just ahead of me, he’s always just ahead of me,†and he jumped -up and started toward the door. - -Steve calmed him again and he fell back on the pillows and lay there -in silence, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. - - * * * * * - -Six crestfallen cow-punchers returned from the La Monte place. No one -knew when the man had left the camp, no one had even caught a glimpse -of him. His clothes they had found in the well. - -The Sheriff and his posse came at last. Steve kept his hand on the arm -of La Monte as they approached the wagon. It was a tense moment; we -were all watching but hidden, fearful lest some trifle would arouse -the demon of violence. The men were all armed. - -La Monte put his foot up on the step of the wagon, then took it off, -shook his head, turned and walked toward the granary. We held our -breath. Steve alone followed him. - -“Come on; you’re going with me, aren’t you?†- -There was no reply. With his eyes fixed on the ground La Monte ignored -Steve completely. Suddenly he stopped and picked up something, the -little cotton-wood switch to which the leaves still clung. Holding it -tightly, he walked back to the wagon, got in, Steve by his side, and -they drove off. - -They were scarcely out of sight when Charley came dashing up with -sixty dollars in gold which he had found under a pile of mud at the La -Monte place. Owen sent him to overtake the wagon. - -“Is this yours?†Charley asked, as he rode up to them, holding the -money out toward La Monte, who only shook his head and looked off -across the prairie. Charley turned the money over to Steve. - -When they reached the town, La Monte seemed to become confused and -suspicious. He would not speak. He was judged insane and committed to -the asylum. Still in charge of the Sheriff, Steve and two other men, -he was put on the train. - -“Where did you get him?†the conductor asked the Sheriff. - -“Up in the country, at the A L ranch.†- -“Oh, yes, I know that place; it used to be the old Bohm——†- -He never finished his sentence, for La Monte, with a cry, sprang to -his feet, looked wildly about, brushed them aside and jumped through -the window. - -The train was stopped, and they ran back to where he had fallen. He -had broken his leg, but in spite of that fought them off with -superhuman strength. With the help of the train crew, he was -overpowered at last, bound and taken back to the train. - -Steve told us later it was the most terrible experience he had ever -been through. - -“I just couldn’t stand the look in his eyes when they got him to the -asylum. He didn’t say nothin’, just kept moanin’ all the time. He’d -been there for five years, and no one knew how he got away. I suppose -it would a come anyhow, but it seemed like it was the mention of -Bohm’s name that set him off.†- - - - -X - -AROUND THE CHRISTMAS FIRE - - -Within a radius of many miles there were only three small children, -and about them our Christmas festivities revolved. They furnished the -excuse for the tree, but no work was too pressing, no snow too deep to -prevent the boys from bringing the Christmas tree and greens from a -small clump of pines which stood on top of a distant hill, like a dark -green island in the midst of the prairie sea. - -Early on Christmas morning Steve started out with gaily bedecked -baskets for the Mexicans, and at the ranch the greatest excitement -prevailed. I dashed frantically between the bunkhouse and our kitchen -to be certain that nothing was forgotten. The big turkeys were stuffed -to the point of bursting, all the “trimmings†were in readiness, and -the last savory mince pies were in the ovens. - -[Illustration: BUCKING HORSE AND RIDER] - -Behind the closed doors of the living room the tall tree, festooned -with ropes of popcorn and garlands of gaudy paper chains, glittered -and glowed with its tinsel ornaments and candles. - -Owen divided his attention between his “Santa Claus†costume and pails -of water, which he placed near the tree in case it should catch fire. - -The boys spent most of the morning “slicking up†and put on their red -neckties, the outward and visible sign of some important event, then -passed the remaining hours sitting around anxiously awaiting the -arrival of the guests of honor and—dinner. - -Sometimes members of the family were with us or some friends were -lured from the city by the promise of a “really, truly Christmas,†and -there were always a few lonely bachelors to whom the holidays, -otherwise, would have brought only memories. - -Christmas was our one great annual celebration, a day of cheer and -happiness, in which everyone joyously shared. It was a new experience -in the life of the undomesticated cow-puncher, but he took as much -satisfaction in the fact that “Our tree was a whole lot prettier than -the one I’ve saw in town†as though he had won a roping contest. - -Each year the children and their parents were invited for Christmas -dinner. They might be delayed en route by deep snowdrifts, out of -which they had to dig themselves, but they always arrived eventually. -We came to have a sincere affection for those children, gentle little -wild flowers of the prairie. - -They were very sweet, perfectly ingenuous, gazing in round-eyed wonder -upon things which to most of us were commonplace. - -I never thought of its being anything new in their brief experience -until at dinner one of the small boys turned to his mother after -tasting a piece of celery and said, “Look, Mamma, ’tain’t cabbage and -’tain’t onions. What is it?†- -They positively trembled with excitement as they learned to read and -laboriously spelled out the words in the simple books we gave them. -They craved knowledge as a starving man craves bread. - -As Santa Claus, Owen wore a ruddy mask with a long white beard and -bristling eyebrows, a fur cap pulled down over his ears, heavy felt -boots and his long fur overcoat. He looked and acted the part so -perfectly the children for years insisted that “there is a Santa Claus -’cause we’ve seen him.†- -The first Christmas everyone was gathered about the tree waiting for -this mysterious personage to appear when Owen suddenly thought of -bells; he must have sleigh-bells. No self-respecting Santa Claus was -complete without them. I was in despair; there wasn’t a sleigh-bell -within a hundred miles, but Owen insisted that he must jingle. At last -after a great deal of argument and searching for something which would -give forth bell-like sounds, he finally pranced out before the -spell-bound audience with my silver table bell sewed to the top of one -of his boots. He had to prance because the bell refused to tinkle -unless it was shaken, and for the ensuing hour he pranced so -vigorously that between the exercise and the fur coat he nearly -perished from heat. - -After dinner we all assembled in the big living-room, where my -disguised husband presented each person with some little gift and -ridiculous toy, accompanied by a still more ridiculous rhyme, over -which the boys roared. They enjoyed the jokes most of all. No one -escaped; Owen and I came in for our share with the rest. Mine usually -bore veiled or open allusion to my particular pet lamb which had -developed strong butting proclivities. He butted friend and foe -indiscriminately, so that even my fond eyes were not blinded to his -faults, and Owen’s remarks were most uncomplimentary after he had -acted as a shield for us when “Jackie†had chased my sister and me all -about the yard. - -Later in the afternoon everybody scattered—our house guests amused -themselves as they chose, riding, driving or hunting coyotes, the boys -rode over to the neighboring ranches or went to “town,†the store and -saloon at the railroad station sixteen miles away, but I spent an hour -or two playing with the children or reading to them until their father -“brought the team around,†their happy mother climbed up on the high -seat of the lumber-wagon and, clinging to dolls, trains and toys, -three blissfully happy but perfectly exhausted little children were -wrapped up in quilts and coats, stowed into the back of the wagon and -started on the twenty-mile drive “back home.†- -It had been an eventful day in their short, barren lives, but for us -it was the best part of Christmas, except the evening, when we all -gathered about the big fireplace which drew everyone into its circle -like a magnet. - -There was nothing prosaic about those who grouped themselves around -the great stone fireplaces on the ranches in the old days. Here again -were found those contrasts, so striking and unexpected; university men -who had come West for adventure or investment, men of wealth whose -predisposition to weak lungs had sent them in exile to the wilderness, -modest young Englishmen, those younger sons so often found in the most -out-of-the-way corners of the earth, and who, through the sudden -demise of a near relative, had such a startling way of becoming earls -and lords over night; adventurous Scotchmen, brilliant young Irishmen, -all smoking contentedly there in the firelight and discussing the -“isms†and “ologies†and every other subject under heaven. But most -interesting of all were their own reminiscences. - -We were all sitting around the fire one Christmas night when the -conversation turned on adventure, and everyone promised to tell the -most thrilling experience he had ever had. - -Two of the men were lying on the big bearskin before the fire. One, a -mining engineer, told of having been captured by bandits and held for -a ransom, in some remote corner of Mexico where he had gone to examine -a very famous mine. The other, a surveyor for the Union Pacific -Railroad, had been lost during a storm and, becoming snow-blind, -crawled for five miles on his hands and knees, feeling the trail with -naked, half frozen hands until he reached the creek down which he -waded until he came to the camp. - -In a big chair, the firelight playing over her slender figure, sat -Janet Courtland, an Eastern woman, who as a mere girl had come West -with her young husband and had gone up into Montana where he had -bought a large cattle ranch. - -“Come on, Mrs. Courtland, you’re next,†the Surveyor said as he -finished his story. - -“Well,†Janet began, “Will and I have had so many experiences I -scarcely know which was the most exciting, but I think our encounter -with the Indians was the most thrilling from first to last. - -“Will had to go into Miles City on business and I went with him for -great unrest had been reported among the Indians and he didn’t want to -leave me on the ranch alone. We had been in town only a few days when -we heard that they were on the war path and Will felt he must go back -to the ranch. He wanted me to stay in town, but I wouldn’t. If he was -going back I was going with him, so we started in the buck-board on -that long eighty-five mile drive. I’ll never forget it. The day was -fearfully hot and we were constantly looking out for Indians. We had -gone about half-way, when we came over the top of a hill and saw a -band of Indians just below us. They saw us before we could turn back, -we had to go on, and as we came towards them they formed into two -lines so that we had to drive between them. It was horrible.†And -Janet gave a shiver at the recollection. “I’ll never forget as long as -I live those frightful, painted faces. Not an Indian moved; we passed -through the line and had gone a short distance beyond, when we heard -the report of a gun. Will clapped his hand to his side and said: ‘My -God, I’m shot. Drive as fast as you can’—and he threw the lines to -me. - -“I lashed the horses and we fairly tore. Everything was still, there -was only that one shot, the Indians made no attempt to follow us. We -did not speak. Will was lying back in the buckboard, his hand pressed -to his side. When we had gone out of sight of the Indians I stopped -the horses and asked Will where he was struck. - -“‘In the side; I can feel the blood oozing through my fingers,’ he -said. He took his hand away and gave an exclamation as he looked at -it. It was wet but not with blood. We could not find the sign of a -wound. We got out to investigate and discovered—that just as we -passed the Indians the cork flew out of a bottle of root beer we had -in the back of the buckboard and struck him in the side. Poor old -Willie, no wonder he thought he was shot,†and Janet smiled at her -husband, who laughed with the rest of us. - -“Now, Owen,†he said, “I know some of the things you’ve been through, -so you can’t beg off,†and Owen began his story. - -“In the spring of ’81 I came West to visit my brother, Ed., on his -ranch in Wyoming. I was a tenderfoot, never having been on the plains -before—and yet—I had scarcely arrived when I announced that the one -thing I wanted to do was to kill a buffalo. He told me that if my -heart was set on it I should have the chance, but that it was -dangerous sport even for experienced hunters, as a buffalo frequently -turns and gores the horse before it can get out of the way. - -“The very next day the dead body of a professional hunter was brought -to the ranch. He had wounded a buffalo bull which had turned, caught -with his horn the horse he was riding, thrown him to the ground and -gored the hunter to death. The sight of his mangled body was shocking -and made a terrible impression on my mind, but my purpose was not -changed. - -“My brother assigned Al. Turpin the responsibility of serving as my -guide. He was one of the best riders on the ranch, cool-headed and a -good shot. We took breakfast before daylight in order to get an early -start. After riding a considerable distance three dark objects were -discovered far away on a hill which sloped toward us. A pair of field -glasses confirmed the opinion that they were buffalo lying down. We -rode in their direction and kept out of sight, except as we peered -cautiously over the top of each succeeding ridge until it was possible -to approach no nearer in concealment, when we rode to the top of the -nearest hill and were in full view. The buffalo saw us and quick as -lightning were on their feet running away. We sent our horses at full -speed down the slope, across a level piece of ground and up the hill -after them. We were gaining rapidly. My horse was the faster of the -two and was in the lead. He was one of the best trained cow ponies I -have ever ridden and was my brother’s favorite for cutting out cattle. - -“When about thirty yards behind the buffalo, one stopped. The bit I -was using was severe. I pulled and threw my horse back on his -haunches. The buffalo was an immense bull. He appeared to me as big as -a mountain. He turned facing me, his body at an angle, cocked his head -on the side, then threw it toward the ground and, quicker than a -flash, came down the hill like a landslide. - -“My horse struggled against the bit and tried to jump toward the -buffalo and turn him as he would a steer. I tried to swing his head -away and dug my spurs into his sides to make him move, but he did not -understand why he should run from a buffalo. He did respond a little -and turned so that his haunches were toward the great brute coming -down the hill. - -“The head of the buffalo was in striking distance. He looked like a -great devil. His beadlike eyes flashed fire. The next instant I -expected the horse to be pitched down the hill. I could feel myself -thrown into the air and then gored to death when I struck the ground. -I could see the mangled body of the dead hunter. - -“While my six-shooter was a powerful gun, I knew that if I should -shoot the brute in the head, the ball would not go through the mass of -matted hair and the thick skull. Still there was nothing else to do. I -thought my time had come. In order to hit him at all it was necessary -to shoot over my left arm. In my haste I pulled the trigger too soon. -The loud report startled the horse into a run and turned the buffalo. -Its discharge, so near my head, gave me a terrible shock. I thought -the shot had blown away all the right side of my head and I put up my -hand to keep my brains from falling out, but there were neither brains -nor blood on my hand. The bullet had just grazed my head and gone -through the rim of my hat. That brute looked like an infuriated demon. -I couldn’t have been more frightened if I had met the devil himself at -the mouth of hell. - -“When it was all over, I was not in a mood for challenging him again, -but as he loped away, Al. ran his horse abreast and from a safe -distance put a shot into his brisket. He fell dead. Believe me, I have -had many close calls, but that was the one time in all my life when I -was really scared.†- -“What extraordinary experiences people do have in this country,†Will -Mason exclaimed, as he leaned forward to light a fresh cigar. -“Speaking of Ed. reminds me of a strange coincidence which happened -the year after he came West. - -“We had been together the year before in New York, where we had met a -chap named Courtney Drake. He was a Yale man and a member of the -University Club, so we saw quite a good deal of him. He was very -congenial and one of the most lovable fellows I ever knew. He was -married but he seldom spoke of his wife and we never met her. - -“One morning we picked up the paper and were horrified to read that -Mrs. Courtney Drake had shot her maid. There it was in glaring -headlines, the whole wretched affair. The Drakes were one of the -oldest and wealthiest families in New York and it was spicy reading -for the scandal lovers I assure you. - -“It seems that Drake had gotten mixed up with this woman when he first -came out of college and in order to force him to marry her she told -him that she was soon to have a child. He wouldn’t believe it, and how -she worked it I don’t know. She must have been mighty clever, for she -and her maid got hold of a baby somewhere and she made Courtney -believe it was hers and that he was the father—so he married her. - -“They had only been married a short time when the maid began to demand -large sums of ‘hush money’ and Mrs. Drake gave her whatever she asked, -for she was in mortal dread of having Drake discover the truth. The -girl found blackmail so profitable she became more and more insistent -in her demands and nearly drove Mrs. Drake wild. At last she could -endure it no longer and in a perfect frenzy, shot and killed the maid -and then the whole thing came out. Mrs. Drake was sent to prison, -where she died later, but Courtney vanished utterly after the -trial—no one knew what became of him. - -“The next fall Ed. and I came West and two years later were up in the -Jackson’s Hole country with a party, shooting. Ed. and one of the -guides went out one morning to get some ducks, but in a short time -they came back to camp carrying the dead body of Courtney Drake. They -had come across his body on the shore of a small lake, lying face down -in the mud. There was a single bullet hole in the back of his head. - -“Think of his having been found out there in the wilderness by the -only man in the country who knew who he was! Talk about chance,†Will -sighed, “Poor devil, he was living out there under an assumed name. -His family had no idea where he was. Ed. notified them and then took -his body East. - -“Just after his death Drake’s partner produced a bill of sale for the -entire ranch and took possession of it. Everyone suspected him of the -murder, but it couldn’t be proved. About three years later the man -killed his wife and at the time of his conviction the question of -Drake’s murder was brought up and he confessed. Isn’t it strange the -way things happen?†Will’s question was general. “What on earth do you -suppose sent Ed. Brook into the Jackson’s Hole country at that one -time of all others?†- -No one answered. - -“I wonder if all new countries abound in such tragic mysteries?†The -Surveyor looked up at me. - -“What tragic mysteries have you encountered, Mrs. Brook, that makes -you speak so feelingly?†- -Just then the clock struck twelve and I got up. - -“It’s too late for more mysteries, it’s time to go to bed—and we -don’t want tragedies to keep us wide awake on Christmas night.†- -“Oh, come on Esther, tell us your most thrilling experience,†they -begged. “We won’t move a step until you do.†- -“Marrying Owen,†I replied, looking over at my unsuspecting husband, -“I’ve never had a chance to get my breath since.†- -And amid a shout of laughter the Christmas party broke up. - - - - -XI - -TED - - -Ted landed in our midst with all the attendant violence of a meteor. -He didn’t arrive, he landed, bag and baggage, and until his departure -weeks later our tranquil existence was sufficiently hectic to suit -even Bill. - -After numerous letters from his doting aunt, we reluctantly consented -to look after Ted while she was in Europe recuperating from a nervous -break-down. At the end of the first week, we understood why Aunt -Elizabeth found recuperation necessary, and I suggested to Owen, it -might be well to engage our passage on a later steamer, for I had a -premonition that my own nerves might require a rest after two months -of Ted’s strenuous companionship. - -He wasn’t bad; there was not a bad thing about him. He was just -overflowing with youth and energy, which had been pent up for years, -between boarding school in the winter and Newport in the summer. - -Motherless, fatherless, rich, neglected or over-indulged by a none too -wise aunt, Ted was an appealing young person, a character easily to be -made or marred by circumstances. - -He looked like a member of the celestial choir—blue-eyed, fair-haired -and mild—but he produced the effect of a Kansas cyclone. - -There was nothing he did not see, there was nothing he did not hear -and there was nothing he did not do. Even on eighty thousand acres of -land his activities were somewhat limited. - -He was wildly enthusiastic about the West, fascinated by the men, and -was Bill’s shadow, so we promptly turned him over to those “rough -persons†Aunt Elizabeth had especially hoped that he might avoid, to -get it all out of his system. - -“Let him stay at the bunk-house,†Owen advised after Ted had besought -me to allow him to stay with the men. “It will do him more good than -anything else in the world, if he has the right stuff in him.†- -Ted stood on the porch, uneasily shifting from one foot to the other, -when I came out of the office. - -“All right, Ted, Mr. Brook and I are perfectly willing for you to stay -with the men, if you really want to.†- -He hopped up and down and almost embraced me in his joy. - -“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Brook. You see,†he explained, carefully, “I’ve -seen people like you and Mr. Brook all my life, but I never had the -chance to be with real cow-punchers before.†Evidently, from Ted’s -point of view, Owen and I were very commonplace individuals compared -to these heroes of the prairie, and I laughed to myself as he bounded -down the steps to break the joyful news to Bill that he was to share -his bed and board. - -The next day we had to go to town to meet some prospective wool -buyers, and, after having his breakfast interrupted five different -times by Ted’s dashing in to see if we were ready, Owen was moved to -inquire finally, “What on earth is on the boy’s mind now?†- -“His outfit,†I answered. “He’s been planning it for days; wishes to -select it himself and we are not to see it until we get home.†- -That was a wise stipulation of Ted’s, for if we had seen it, we should -never have been able to get home. - -He put it on as soon as we reached the ranch, and when he finally -emerged, the flaming sunset paled with chagrin at its futile effort of -years. - -The “outfit†consisted of tan corduroy trousers, chaps of long silky -angora wool, which had been dyed a brilliant orange, a shirt of vivid -green, a bright red silk handkerchief for his neck, an enormous -Stetson hat, high-heeled tan boots, silver studded belt and huge -spurs. - -We gasped when we saw him, but he was so intent on showing himself to -Bill, as to be utterly unconscious of the effect he produced. - -We followed him into the yard where the boys were waiting the call to -supper. Bill looked up from the quirt he was braiding and blinked. - -“Gosh! I thought the sun had set an hour ago,†he remarked. - -“No,†Ted laughingly responded, giving him a push, “but he’s going to -‘set’ now,†and he threw himself down by Bill’s side. “I knew you -fellows would guy me, but all the same I think this outfit’s great,†-and he surveyed himself with infinite pride and satisfaction. - -“It’s all right,†said Bill, taking in all the details of the -resplendent costume, and looking up at Owen and me with twinkling -eyes, “I like somethin’ a little gay myself; but round here where -everything’s green, we won’t be able to tell you from a bunch of -soap-weed,†and Ted good naturedly joined in the laugh at his own -expense. - -“Wouldn’t his Aunt Elizabeth die of heart-failure if she could see him -now?†I asked Owen as we went into the house. - -“She certainly would,†he answered, “but we’ll trust to luck and let -Nature take its course.†- -Everything, including Nature, took its course rapidly with Ted, and -for the next few weeks wise prairie dogs, rabbits and rattle-snakes -stayed in their holes. By the end of his stay that energetic young -person had enough rattle-snake skins to provide belts and hat-bands -for all of New York, and scores of live prairie-dogs he had trapped to -be shipped to his aunt’s place in Newport. - -I tried to picture the joy of Aunt Elizabeth and her neighbors when -they found informal prairie-dog towns in the midst of their formal -gardens. If life is measured by experiences, a few additional years -were in store for Newport. - -Bill taught Ted to shoot and he spent hours and a fortune shooting at -old tin cans on a post before Bill finally consented to say: - -“I’ve saw fellers do worse,†the sweetest praise that ever fell on -mortal ears, judging by Ted’s expression. - -And, then, Owen went to New Mexico to buy some sheep and Bohm came to -sleep on a claim. - -This claim was one over which Owen and Bohm had been having a -controversy for months. It had been included in the sale of the ranch, -and after one of our most important sheep camps had been built upon -it, Owen discovered that Bohm could not give a deed to it, as he had -not made final proof on the land. - -Bohm never ceased to regret having sold the ranch, and had never -forgiven Owen for buying it and making him live up to his contract, so -was only too glad of the opportunity to cause him all the trouble -possible. Time after time he promised to come out and “prove upâ€, but -he never came, so although I was most anxious to have him come, I was -far from pleased to have him about when Owen was away. - -Ted, however, was overjoyed; he seemed to feel that Providence had -arranged Bohm’s visit to the ranch for his especial entertainment, and -from the moment the old chap arrived Ted dogged his footsteps. - -At first, old Bohm seemed quite flattered and laughed and joked with -him, praised his shooting, told him stories of the Indian days, -promised to show him the underground passage to an abandoned stage -station, but later he became annoyed, for no clinging burr ever clung -more closely than Ted. He scarcely allowed Bohm to get out of his -sight for one moment. - -How much the boy had heard of old Bohm’s history I did not know, but I -concluded a few rumors had reached those ever-attentive ears, for one -day he came in fairly beaming. - -“Gosh! Pudge and Soapy haven’t got anything on me, they’ve only seen -Buffalo Bill in a show, and I’m right in the same house with a man -that’s a holy terror!†- -“What do you mean, Ted?†I asked, anxious to find out how much he had -heard. - -“Oh, you know well enough, Mrs. Brook,†he laughed, going to the door -as he saw old Bohm on his way to the barn. “You can’t fool me. Gee! I -wouldn’t have missed him for the world. The fellows’ll just be sick -when I tell them.†- -“The fellows†were evidently “Pudge†and “Soapyâ€, his two chums at St. -Paul’s, “Pudge†because of “his shape,†as Ted explained, and “Soapyâ€, -whose parental millions came from the manufacturing of soap. - -The game between the boy and Bohm was amusing. Clever as the old chap -was, he couldn’t evade Ted’s watchful eye. If Bohm thought him miles -away, he suddenly appeared with such an unconscious air of innocence -he disarmed all suspicion, but he made Bohm uneasy. - -“Quit campin’ on the old man’s trail, Kid,†said Bill one evening at -the corral after Ted had driven Bohm to the bunk-house to escape his -questions. “You’re gettin’ on his nerves; let him go and sleep on his -claim and get through with it. You and me’s got to hunt horses -tomorrow, anyways.†- -Ted cheerfully acquiesced, and old Bohm loaded his wagon alone and -drove toward his claim in peace. - -The next morning very early, I heard Bill calling Ted. No Ted -appeared, and I went out to see where he was. - -“Where do you reckon that crazy kid’s went now?†demanded Bill, -impatient to start. - -“I’m sure I don’t know, Bill, hunting prairie-dogs, probably. Don’t -wait for him, if you’re ready to go.†- -“Huntin’ prairie-dogs,†echoed Bill. “I’ll bet a hat he’s huntin’ old -Bohm somewheres.†He frowned as he cinched up his saddle. “I reckon -I’d better ride over that way and see what he’s up to.†- -“I wish you would,†I said, vaguely uneasy. “I don’t want him to -bother Bohm too much.†- -“Me neither,†said Bill, getting on his horse, “there’s his pony’s -tracks now,†he looked at the ground. “I’ll find him and take him -along with me. Don’t you worry, he’s all right, but he sure is a -corker—that kid,†and Bill galloped off. - -I felt confident that he would overtake the lad, so I dismissed them -all from my mind and settled down to an uninterrupted morning, and a -delayed postal report. - -I was busy all day and was just starting out for a little walk before -supper when Bill and Ted rode up. - -Bill and Ted, hatless, clothes torn and covered with dirt and blood, -their faces scratched and bruised, and Ted regarding me triumphantly -from one half-closed eye, the other being swollen shut. - -“What on earth hap—†I tried to ask, my breath fairly taken away. -Bill got off his horse and came up to the gate. - -“We’re all right, Mrs. Brook. I’m sorry you seen us ’fore we got fixed -up a little; we just got mixed up some with Bohm—that’s all—’taint -nothin’ serious. We look a whole lot worse than we feel, don’t we -Ted?†- -“You bet we do,†mumbled Ted from a cut and bleeding mouth, “but you -ought to see Bohm, he’s a sight!†- -Ted got off his horse with difficulty. “Gosh, it was great,†he said, -leaning up against the fence for support. - -“Come in and sit down, both of you, Charley will take your horses,†-and I led the way into the house followed a little unsteadily by Bill -and Ted, who collapsed on the first chairs they could reach. - -I gave them some wine, washed off their blood-stained faces, and made -protesting Ted go into my room and lie down. He was very pale, and I -saw that he was faint. - -I came back into the kitchen. - -“Now, Bill, tell me about it. What happened and where is Bohm?†- -“On his way back to Denver in the baggage car,†announced Bill, -draining the last drop from the glass he still held in his hand. - -I started, “Oh, Bill, you didn’t kill him?†- -“No, but I wisht I had,†he said calmly. “He’d oughter be dead, the old -skunk, trying to poison all them sheep.†- -“Poison the sheep; what sheep?†- -“Your sheep,†Bill’s brows contracted as he looked at me. “Your -sheep,†he repeated, his voice rising as I scarcely seemed able to -grasp his meaning. “All the sheep at Hay Gulch Camp, that’s what he -came out here for, and he’d a done it, too, if it hadn’t been for that -kid in there.†Bill jerked his head in the direction of my room. - -“Ted?†I asked, my emotion stifling my voice. - -“Ted,†Bill affirmed, “he caught him at it red-handed, and probably -saved two thousand sheep from bein’ dead this minute.†- -“How on earth did he find out?†- -Bill straightened up in his chair. - -“Them eyes of his’n don’t miss much, I’m here to tell you, and his -everlastin’ snoopin’ around done some good after all.†Bill’s eyes -glowed with pride. “Yesterday, before Bohm left, Ted come across him -mixin’ a lot of stuff with some grain, and, of course, had to know all -about it. The old man finally told him he was fixin’ to poison the -prairie-dogs on his claim, bit he was so peevish about it, Ted said he -didn’t believe him, and mistrusted somethin’ was wrong. - -“The kid didn’t say nothin’ to me about it; had some fool notion about -playin’ detective, I reckon, at any rate he got up along about four -o’clock and rode out to Bohm’s claim to do a little reconorterin’.†- -Bill reluctantly put the glass down and tipped back in his chair. “He -hid his horse in the gulch and crope up in the grass like an Injin. -The herder wasn’t nowhere in sight and the sheep was still in the -corral, but old Bohm was there all right, fixin’ little piles of that -poisoned wheat just where the sheep would come acrost it the first -thing.†- -“Oh, Bill, that’s the worst thing I ever heard!†I was sick at the -mere thought. - -Bill was too engrossed to pay attention to the interruption. - -“Ted said he was comin’ back to tell me, but he got so excited when he -seen what Bohm was up to, he never thought of nothin’ but stoppin’ -him. The old man was stoopin’ over with his back to Ted, and the kid -gave a yell for the herder and ran for Bohm and before he could -straighten up Ted was on top of him.†- -Bill scarcely paused for breath—“the old man reached for his gun, but -Ted was too quick for him and knocked it out of his hand, and when I -came up, there they was rollin’ all over the prairie, first one on top -and then the other.†- -Bill looked toward the door of my room, reflectively—“I kinder felt -there was somethin’ wrong when I left here, and believe me, I didn’t -spare my cayuse none gettin’ there neither, and I didn’t get there -none too soon.†- -I was incapable of speech. I just stared at Bill. - -“There ain’t no doubt about Bohm’s bein’ ready to kill him; he was on -top then and reachin’ for his throat. I didn’t stop to ask no -questions. I jest grabbed him, and pulled him off of Ted. He was white -as chalk and ready to eat us both alive, but I hung on to him while -Ted got up cryin’, ‘Look what he’s done, Bill, look what he’s done,’ -and pointed at somethin’ on the ground.†- -Bill’s eyes were like two live coals. “Bohm was cussin’ like a steam -engine ’bout the kid’s jumpin’ him when he was puttin’ out poison for -the prairie-dogs. I just took one look around and seen all them piles -of poison wheat there by the corral when there wasn’t a prairie-dog -within two miles. I—well, I aint goin’ to tell you what I said, Mrs. -Brook, ’taint fit for you to hear.†- -[Illustration: FACING DEATH EACH TIME THEY RIDE A NEW HORSE.] - -Bill looked down and turned the glass on the table around and around. -He looked up again and smiled, but his brows contracted as he went -on—“We had words then, sure enough. All of a sudden Bohm made a lunge -and caught the handkerchief round my neck with one hand and reached -for somethin’ with the other, and the first thing I knew he was -slashin’ at me with a pocket knife. I guess I saw red then, ’cause I -knocked him down and nearly pounded the life out of him.†- -Bill stopped a moment—“His eyes was rollin’ back in his head and his -tongue was hangin’ out and there was a pool of blood ’round us, three -yards across.†Bill’s description was so vivid I shut my eyes. “I -reckon I’d killed him if Ted hadn’t tromped my legs and kinda brought -me to myself. He’d oughter been killed, but I let him up then and told -Ted to go for my rope. We tied his hands and legs. I guess he had -about all he wanted for he wasn’t strugglin’ much.†Bill smiled -grimly. “We carried him into the cabin, and there was the Mexican -lying in his bunk—doped. We knew who done it all right, and I tell -you we didn’t handle Bohm like no suckin’ infant when we laid him -down, neither.†- -Bill’s face was stern and set and I shared his indignation too much to -trust myself to speak. - -“We left him there and went to get the wheat out of the way before we -opened the corral gates for the sheep. Thanks to Ted, Bohm hadn’t had -time to put much around. He’s a great little kid, that boy.†Bill’s -voice broke. - -“Bless his heart,†I said, my own heart filled with gratitude and -tenderness for the plucky little chap in the other room. Bill’s eyes -were moist, but his voice was steady again. - -“Steve and Charley came up just then with the supply wagon, so Steve -set Charley to herd the sheep. We loaded Bohm into the wagon and Steve -took him over to the railroad. He said he’d see he got on the train -all right.†Bill grinned, “You’re rid of Bohm for good now, Mrs. -Brook, for I kinda think he gathered from what me and Steve said the -ranch wouldn’t be no health resort for him if he ever showed his ugly -face round here again.†- -“Oh, Bill, I’m so thankful; it makes me sick when I think what might -have happened.†- -“Don’t thank me, Mrs. Brook, I ain’t done nothin’.†Bill’s face was -red with embarrassment as he stood up. “Ted’s the one to thank, he’s -some kid, believe me,†and Bill’s eyes were very tender. - -“Let’s go in and see how he’s making it.†Bill followed me into the -room. - -Ted was sitting up on the couch, regarding his battered visage in my -hand-glass with the greatest interest. I could see at once he was in -no mood for emotion or petting. - -“Hello, I’m all right,†he murmured with a one-sided grin. “Say, Bill, -wasn’t it great? I wouldn’t have missed it for a million dollars.†- -He sank back with a sigh of supreme satisfaction. “I just wish I could -remember all the things he called me. I want to spring them on the -fellows when I go back.†- -Bill looked at him with genuine concern. “See here, kid,†he said -decidedly, “you want to forget all them things as quick as you can. -Don’t you go springin’ any such language back where you come from. I’m -no innocent babe myself, but I’m here to tell you old Bohm’s cussin’ -made anything I ever heard sound like a Sunday School piece. You -forget it now, pronto,†he commanded as he went out of the door. “It’s -a reflection on me and Mrs. Brook.†- -After Bill had gone, Ted looked at himself again, then at me. “What do -you suppose Aunt Elizabeth would say if she could see me now?†We both -laughed. - -“I would be a ‘disgrace to my family and position’ now, sure enough.†-He felt his blackened eye tenderly. - -I sat down on the couch beside him. “You will never be more of a -credit to your family than you are at this minute, Ted, nor more of a -man.†- -He looked up, for my voice shook a little. He knew what I meant and -his lips twitched as he patted my hand gently, and turned his face -away. - - - - -XII - -BLIZZARDS - - -It was just like Louise Reynolds to arrive on the wings of a blizzard, -wearing a straw hat and spring suit. Louise led the seasons, she never -followed them, and she preceded that particular storm by about two -hours; but she was justified, for it was April and she was on her way -from California. - -In this land of the unexpected even the weather disregarded all -established precedents. A glorious Indian Summer night extended into -January, or a sudden blizzard would swoop down from the North in -October or April and leave us snowed in for days. - -That is exactly what happened upon this occasion and most of Louise’s -visit was spent in shovelling snow for the pure joy of the exercise. -That energetic young person had to do something in lieu of tennis or -golf. - -The prairies were covered with a fluffy mantle of purest white, great -drifts filled the gulches and the roads were utterly obliterated. Long -after the storm the men had to go about on horseback for no wagon -could be moved through the deep snow. - -At this juncture Louise announced that she had all of her reservations -through to Baltimore, where she was to officiate as bridesmaid. She -was obliged to go and we had to take her to the railroad. - -We could scarcely go on horseback with baggage, there wasn’t a sleigh -in the country, certainly none on the ranch, but if Necessity was the -Mother of Invention, Owen was a near relative. He never failed to find -some way of meeting the most difficult problem. If Louise must go it -devolved upon him to see that she reached the station and so he -produced a sled, a disreputable old affair, used for the exalted -purpose of hauling dead animals to “the dumpâ€â€”but still it was a sled -and under Owen’s direction it was scrubbed and transformed into the -most luxurious equipage by having a packing box nailed on the back -and covered with rugs. Louise and I perched on the box, with heavy -robes tucked in about us, the suit cases were at our feet and Owen sat -on the trunk in front to drive. - -There was only one draw-back, the sled had no tongue to keep it from -running on to the heels of the horses, so Owen cut a hole in the -bottom of the sled through which he stuck a broom-stick. My task was -to work this improvised brake when we went down hill by jabbing the -broom-stick into the snow. It worked beautifully except that the -friction against the hard snow broke pieces of it off and it grew -perceptibly shorter as we advanced. - -In order to avoid some especially deep gulches we left the valley and -followed a high ridge. It was much longer, but we had allowed the -entire day for the trip. There was no danger of becoming lost as long -as we could see, for we knew too well the country and the general -direction to be followed. - -No incident marred the joy of that day. When the horses floundered and -almost disappeared from sight in a snow-filled gulch, leaving the sled -stranded like an Ark on a gleaming Ararat, we had only to dig the -horses out with a shovel which had been taken for the purpose and -after getting them on the level ground, go back and hitch a long rope -to the sled, draw it across the gulch and proceed upon our way. - -The light of the sun upon the snow was so intense it was necessary to -wear colored glasses to avoid snow blindness, and being muffled in -furs, we looked like three bears in goggles. Our wraps kept us -perfectly warm and it was a merry ride. The adventure filled us with -joy as we glided over the trackless world in which we alone moved. - -There was no suggestion of dreariness or desolation in the scene. -Under the magic touch of the sun the world burst forth into a miracle -of glory and beauty which held us spellbound. The sky was cloudless, -not a shadow fell across that dazzling white expanse, which flashed -and sparkled with all the prismatic colors. Far to the west Pike’s -Peak stood, a marvel of varying lights and shadows, its head resting -on the soft blue bosom of the sky. Its commanding height had filled -the Indian of the Plains with worshipful awe, it was to him “the Gate -of Heaven, the abiding place of the Great Spirit.†According to his -own testimony, the one inevitable duty in the life of the Indian is -the duty of prayer—and how often as he looked upon that distant -mountain must the red hunter have paused in the midst of the vast -prairies, his soul uplifted and an unspoken prayer on his lips! - -The whole aspect of the country was changed, all the familiar -landmarks were gone. Except for the hills, the surface of the prairie -was perfectly level as though the Great Spirit had stretched his hand -forth from that mystic mountain and passing it over the world had left -it smooth and stainless. - -It was a wonderful experience, and when toward evening we reached the -railroad we were thrilled and triumphant over our accomplishment. The -night was spent in the little four-room “hotel,†we saw Louise safely -on board the eastbound express the next morning, then returned to the -ranch. - -To be out after a blizzard is one thing, to be out in one is quite -another, and we always grew apprehensive when the sky became suddenly -overcast and the snow began to fall from leaden clouds. What if the -storm should catch the herders and the sheep too far away from the -camp? - -They were all warned to range their sheep to the North if it -threatened to storm, as most of the blizzards came from that direction -and the sheep would go before the wind back to camp and safety. But -they will not face it and, if unmindful of his orders, the herder took -them South and a sudden storm came, he could not turn his sheep back -to the camp; they would drift on and on before the wind, sometimes -plunging over a bank to be buried beneath the drifting snow or piling -up and smothering each other. - -One winter just as Owen and I were starting home from California we -received a telegram from Steve saying that during a blizzard the buck -herd had been lost. Owen had some very important business which -detained him when we reached Denver, so he asked me to go on to the -ranch, have Steve organize the men into searching parties and look -through every gulch in the vicinity for any discolored holes on the -top of the drifts which would be caused by the breath of the sheep if -they were under the snow. For two days the men searched and finally -came to a deep bank of snow on the top of which were found the -discolored holes they sought; they dug down and discovered the bucks. -A few had been smothered, but most of them were taken out alive after -having been buried for ten days! During the storm the herder had left -them and the poor distracted things had drifted over an embankment and -were entombed under the snow. - -When anyone speaks of “good-for-nothing Mexicans†I think of Fidel, a -mere lad, who had taken his sheep South on a clear morning, but was -overtaken by a storm before he could get them back to the corrals. He -and his dog did everything they could do to turn them, but they -drifted farther and farther away. Fidel stayed with them, guiding them -away from the gulches until they reached a railway cut. There Steve -found them twenty-four hours later when we feared that Fidel had -perished with his sheep. Facing death alone in the freezing wind and -blinding, smothering snow, hour after hour he had kept his sheep from -piling up. He not only saved them all, but they were in better -condition than many in the corrals at the camps. Not for a moment had -he left them. His hands and feet were frozen; he barely escaped -freezing to death and on that day we learned the true meaning of -“Fidelity.†- - * * * * * - -Then once more Fate took a hand in our affairs and a blizzard changed -the whole course of our lives. - -We owned our land and no one could encroach upon us, but after a few -years we began to notice forlorn little shacks built here and there on -the open range by the poor home-seekers who, attracted by the prospect -of free land, had begun “homesteading.†They built flimsy little -houses, scratched up the surface of the prairie for a few inches and -raised pitiful, straggling crops. The settlers were coming in! The -opening wedge of that great onrush had been thrust deep into the heart -of the prairie. In the undisputed possession of our own land we were -not disturbed. While we knew that it meant the occupation of the free -range and the passing of the large ranches, eventually, we scarcely -realized how soon it would come and were not prepared to receive an -offer from an Eastern syndicate to buy the entire ranch—to cut it -into small units to be sold as farms. - -The era of “dry-farming†had just begun, when by scientific methods, -deep ploughing and the conservation of all moisture, dry land might be -successfully cultivated without irrigation. It was a dream of the -future of the prairie region, impossible to visualize, and I laughed -in my ignorance, as Owen read me the letter. - -“How perfectly absurd. Imagine trying to farm out here; the grangers -would starve to death in a year unless they had stock of some sort. -Surely you would never think of selling out?†- -“I don’t know, Esther, the homesteaders can’t come on to our deeded -land, but they are filing on all the Government land. In a short time -there will be no more free range, and did you ever stop to consider -that our land will soon be so valuable that we can’t afford to run -sheep on it?†- -In that last sentence I saw the handwriting on the wall. It was only a -question of time and this phase, too, of our life would pass. - -In the East life seems to be static, but in the West it is in a state -of flux and conditions are constantly changing. - -Perhaps I had inherited the static state of mind for I had taken it -for granted that all the rest of our days were to be spent there on -the ranch under the shadow of the mountain. Suddenly a realization of -the facts swept over me. In a sense we had been pioneers, we had -blazed a trail that others were to follow and like the Indians we, -too, were destined to move on. However, before you are thirty to -regard yourself as a hoary-headed pioneer requires a series of mental -gymnastics and, while my brain was going through a few preparatory -exercises, I did not take the question of selling out very seriously. -After all those years of struggle just as it had been brought to -perfection, after we had put into it the best of our life, youth, -energy and work, a part of our very selves, it did not seem possible -that we could part with the ranch. Owen felt much as I did, but he was -the first to realize that we had come again to the parting of the ways -and that a decision must be made. - -Yet—in the end—it wasn’t the financial consideration nor a deep -conviction that the future development of the country would be -retarded if we remained, but an unexpected blizzard which turned the -scale and set us adrift again. - - * * * * * - -The sun rose clear on the 19th of October, but during the morning it -began to grow cloudy. - -Owen and several of the men were at the railroad station where they -were shipping lambs. During the afternoon the wind began to blow, it -grew much colder and snow fell. - -The next morning it was storming very hard and Steve, after arranging -to have hay hauled to the various camps, went out on horseback to see -that all the sheep were kept in the corrals. I was greatly relieved -when Owen got home in the middle of the afternoon. Ten thousand lambs -had been loaded and started on their way in spite of the storm, but -the drive back to the ranch had been very hard, for hour by hour the -storm increased in fury. The ground was covered and even the dull grey -sky was hidden by dense clouds of powdery snow which did not seem to -fall upon the earth but was blown in long horizontal lines across the -prairies by the force of a mighty gale. It filled the gulches and -piled in deep drifts. It was driven against the house with such force -it sifted through the smallest crack. The windows on the North and -West were covered with a solid coating of snow, the wind whistled and -moaned and tore at the shutters as if trying to carry them with it on -a wild race over the plains. It was impossible to see the corrals, -even the garden fence was lost behind the driving, swirling snow. To -open the door was to inhale a freezing gust of snow-laden air, -millions of icy particles blinded the eyes and took away the breath. - -We knew that the sheep were all in the corrals, but we feared that -unless the herders watched them carefully they would pile up as the -snow drifted over the high sides of the inclosure. The rest of the -stock was protected and my heart was filled with thankfulness that -Owen and the men had been able to reach the ranch. They went about the -place like white wraiths doing the necessary things. Above the howling -of the wind not a sound could be heard; a shout was carried miles away -as soon as it left the lips. By five o’clock it was dark. - -About eight o’clock, Mary came in and told Owen that Steve wanted to -see him. When Owen returned, instead of coming into the living-room, -he went to the closet, took down his short, fleece-lined riding coat -and began to put it on. - -“What’s the matter, Owen, you are not going out?†- -“I must,†he said, quietly, winding a long scarf about his neck, -“Steve says that Dorn went out yesterday afternoon with a load of hay -for the camp on Six Shooter; he should have come back last night or -certainly this morning. He’s new and doesn’t know the country and he -may be lost. I’m going to see if I can find him.†- -My heart stood still; the camp on Six Shooter gulch was fully eight -miles away. Eight miles in that storm! It did not seem possible that a -man could live to go a mile. - -“Oh, Owen, I can’t let you go! Don’t you suppose he is at the camp?†- -“I don’t know, he may be, but I must go and find out. We can’t take a -chance on a man’s being lost.†In the face of that argument there was -nothing to say and nothing to do but accept it. - -“Who is going with you?†- -“No oneâ€â€”Owen did not look at me as he answered—“I can’t ask any of -the men to face this storm.†- -I understood; he couldn’t require any of his men to risk their lives. -A hand of ice closed about my heart and deadened every sensibility. -Like a machine I went about helping Owen get ready and at last went to -the kitchen to bring him some coffee just before he left. A man was -standing by the door muffled in wraps. I stood still. - -“Why, Bill, where have you been?†- -“I ain’t ‘been’, I’m goin’. I’m goin’ with Mr. Brook. A man ain’t got -no business out a night like this alone.†- -“Bill!†It was all I could say—but he understood. - -When Owen came out he tried to dissuade him, but Bill was determined. - -“I know I don’t have to go, Mr. Brook, you never asked me, but I’m a -goin’, there ain’t nothin’ can keep me.†- -I had never seen him so serious, all the old half bantering tone was -gone and they went out together, master and man, each risking his life -for the sake of another. - -I tried to watch them but instantly they were lost to my sight as a -vague grey cloud closed about them. - -How the night passed I do not know. I kept the fires up and the coffee -hot and walked miles, back and forth, back and forth. I did not think -of sleeping. It was useless to try to read. I could not see the -words—the printed page was blank and I could only see the figures of -two men on horseback, beaten, buffeted, fighting for their lives -against the cruel snow-laden gale. I saw them separated, perhaps, -trying to get through the gulches on their floundering horses, or -walking to keep from freezing and then perhaps exhausted—lying down -to rest while that last deadly sensation of sleepiness crept over -them. - -Daylight came at last, but still I walked. I pushed my breakfast away -untasted and tried to occupy myself with the duties of the day. I felt -as though I should scream aloud if that howling wind did not cease, -but hour after hour passed and there was no other sound. The men came -and went about their work quietly, speaking but little and then in -subdued tones as in the presence of death; over us all hung the pall -of terrifying uncertainty. - -When occasionally it was possible to catch a glimpse of the corrals or -the blacksmith shop I knew that the wind must be abating and time -after time I knocked the snow from the windows and stood straining my -eyes into that misty, vague out-of-doors. Ten o’clock, eleven o’clock. -Something moved along the edge of the pond, the vague outlines of some -animal, a slight lull in the wind and I could see that it was a -horseman, another followed—I caught up a cape, flung open the door, -dashed out into the storm through drifts, over every detaining -obstacle until I reached the corral and—Owen. - -They were safe, but so weary and worn they could scarcely speak. Their -faces were swollen, having been whipped and lashed by the icy -particles the wind had driven against them like bits of steel from a -mighty blast furnace, their eyebrows and lashes were solid ice, their -lips cracked and bleeding. - -After a night of horror, at three in the morning, they had found Dorn -at the Six Shooter camp comfortably sleeping with the Mexican herder! -When the storm began he made no attempt to come back to the ranch, not -stopping to think that his non-appearance would cause any anxiety, -besides endangering the lives of two men. - -“I was so hot when I seen Dorn nice and warm all cuddled up there with -that Dago I jest drug him out by the collar and shook him. Anybody -that’ud sleep with a Mexican had orter freeze to death. Gosh! Here was -Mr. Brook and me amblin’ over this whole blamed country, flounderin’ -through snow drifts as high as this house, gettin’ our horses down and -most freezin’ to death, blintin’ a no account thing like that.†Bill -was himself again. - -Their knowledge of the country and presence of mind had saved them, -for once when they found that it had grown warmer and apparently the -wind had ceased, they realized that the horses had turned with the -wind so that it was at their backs, they forced the poor things into -the face of the bitter gale again and went on. They passed the camp -without seeing it and had gone beyond when the wind brought them the -smell of the sheep, they turned back and after searching found the -cabin. It was a narrow escape for they were too exhausted to have gone -farther. - -A few days later we learned that old John, who had been our mail -carrier, had perished in the storm. He had gone out to try to find his -cattle and did not return. His wife and little son were alone and when -they were able to get out and look for him, they found him just -outside the garden fence lying frozen and half eaten by the coyotes. - -I thought much during the following days and finally I came to a -conclusion. - -“Owen, if you want to sell out I’m willing—it will have to come some -day, I realize that, and besides—there is too much at stake. I don’t -believe I can ever live through another blizzard.†- - * * * * * - -In three months all the stock on the ranch was sold, a caretaker was -placed in charge of the home ranch, which we retained, and we moved to -Denver. But instead of selling out to the syndicate, Owen decided to -put our lands on the market himself and they were listed for sale. - -It was the end of the old life; we had made way for the settlers. - - - - -XIII - -ECHOES OF THE PAST - - -The curtain of years had fallen and risen again on the same scene, the -valley which stretched off toward the setting sun and the guardian -mountain which stood unchanged at its head. But this was October, the -royal season of purple and gold and red, when the asters and -sunflowers were blooming their lives away in one lavish outpouring of -beauty and the rose bushes were crimson under the kiss of the frost. A -shimmering mass of gold clothed the great cotton-woods along the -winding course of the creek and hills of russet brown replaced those -of vivid green I had first seen sixteen years before. - -Where the young bride had stood on that July day, amid the strange -surroundings, looking with inexperienced eyes upon a new world, she -stood again, seeing it from the angle of a participant, from the -viewpoint of a woman, fused by the furnace of experience into a part -of that life. - -It was the same scene, but the setting had changed and as a flood of -memories swept over me I felt as though I were a reincarnated spirit, -walking the earth in a third phase of existence, having passed through -the first, a light-hearted girl among family and friends in urban -surroundings, having lived through the second, an atom in the midst of -those vast wind-swept plains amongst elemental conditions, a part in -the great primitive struggle for existence and coming back again to -find the prairies transformed by cultivation into farms, with the -crops covering the hills and bottom lands like a huge patch-work quilt -of green, brown and brilliant yellow, fastened together with black -threads of barbed wire. - -Above on the hill stood a church and a school-house, those certain -indications of community life. Across the meadows great red barns and -towering wind mills overshadowed the less pretentious houses. Bridges -spanned the creek with its shifting, treacherous sand and in place of -the dim winding trails across the prairie, neatly fenced county roads -decorously followed the section lines. - -It was the same—yet everything was changed. This well-ordered farming -community seemed prosaic, it lacked the romance and charm of the old -ranch life and the glorious sense of unlimited freedom. - -The bunkhouse was occupied by the family of a hard-working farmer who -had married the daughter of our caretaker, Parker; tractors, ploughs -and harrows filled the space about the blacksmith shop. I resented -those unfamiliar implements and the prosperous farms. On all sides -there was heard a strange language of silos, separators and “crop -rotationâ€. I had become a part of the old life, but here I felt -restricted and out of place—an alien. - -Inside the house all, too, was changed. The books which Joe had -scorned, the crystal clock and our Lares and Penates were in our -Denver home, but on the ranch I missed them and most of all the old -familiar faces. All had gone. Several of the boys had stayed in the -country, married and taken up farming, raising bounteous crops and -numerous children. Some, individual and picturesque to the end, had -crossed the Great Divide, others had sought new positions in Wyoming, -the last of the frontier states. Bill was there cooking in an oil -camp. We received characteristic, though infrequent, letters from him, -usually in the early summer, labored epistles over which he had “sworn -and sweat,†as he expressed it, which began by assuring us that he was -well and hoped that we were the same and ended by an earnest request -to go with us as cook “in case you was thinkin’ of goin’ campin’.†He -went with us when we did go, the same old Bill, unchanged in heart or -humor. - -Old Bohm was dead. The final act of that great tragedy took place in -an isolated mine where he had sunk all his fortune in a golden -prospect. Hoping to regain it, the fortune he held in trust for a -friend had followed, but the game he had played so successfully before -failed when Nemesis took a hand. His friend went to the mine to demand -an accounting and several hours later Bohm’s body, broken and -bleeding, was taken from the depths of the mine. According to the -story of his companion, the only witness, he had slipped and fallen to -the bottom of the shaft—and his death, as his life, remained an -enigma. - -But down through the long years the echoes of the past reverberated. -Again and again we heard them, sometimes very faintly, then with -perfect distinctness and on that day of our return after a long -absence we felt again that mysterious suggestion of tragedy and the -echoes were startlingly clear. - -As I came in from my walk just before supper, a strange man rode up -and Mr. Parker asked him to stop. - -He told us his name and during the progress of the meal took little -part in the conversation, but after he had eaten his supper he leaned -back in his chair and in response to Owen’s question, said: - -“No, I ain’t exactly a stranger round here, but this old kitchen is -about the only thing that ain’t changed. I used to know every inch of -ground in this country when I was punchin’ cows for the Three Circle -outfit. This was the only ranch within twenty-five miles. I’ve et here -lots of times.†- -“You knew the Bohms then?†I asked, trying as always to find the -answer to the riddle of old Bohm’s personality. - -“Sure, I knew the Bohms,†the stranger replied, his clear blue eyes -meeting mine frankly. “I knowed everybody there was in the country, -there wasn’t many in them days, jest the Bohms, the Mortons, the -Bosmans and the La Montes. They’re most all gone now except Bosman. I -heered old La Monte died last winter—but Lord, he’s been worse ’en -dead for most twenty years. Did you folks know him?†- -“Scarcely, we only saw him once,†and before me rose the picture of -the desolate old place, the slowly opened door and that living ghost -on the threshold. - -The stranger again spoke. - -“You folks bought from Bohm, so you knowed him, didn’t you?†- -“Oh, yes, we knew him.†Owen answered for my thoughts were far away. - -“Well, sir,†said the old cow-puncher, reaching for a toothpick, “Jim -Bohm was a great one, he was the slickest man in this country. He -didn’t have nothin’ but a little band of horses that he drove up from -Texas when he came, but he kept gettin’ richer all the time.†I came -back to the present with a start, his words were almost the same Mrs. -Morton had used sixteen years before. - -“Wasn’t he honest?†I asked, wondering what the reply would be. - -He did not answer for a moment. - -“Well, I can’t say as to that. I jest knowed him from meetin’ him on -the round-ups and when I stopped here. I never had no dealin’s with -him, but he sure had a reputation for all the meanness there was, and -I guess he deserved it. He was good company though, and Lord, how he -could play the fiddle.†He was interrupted by a sudden clatter. Mrs. -Parker had dropped her spoon and was looking at him as if fascinated. -“I liked Mrs. Bohm, but I never had no use for him. I don’t know about -the other things, but he sure done Jean La Monte dirt.†He rose from -the table and walked toward the door. “Well, I reckon I’d better be -movin’ on, I want to get to Bosman’s tonight.†He looked up the -valley, “I can see Bohm now, ridin’ that big black horse of his, -carryin’ a little cotton-wood switch for a whip, and laughin’ at -everything, he was a queer one, sure enough. Well, so long—thank you -for my supper,†and he went out into the evening. - -“Big black horse! He was always on a big black horse!†That pitiful -refrain of Jean La Monte as he had sought the rider of that horse -through all those weary years. Again I saw the men waiting in the -wagon and that poor half-clad figure stooping to pick up a little -cotton-wood switch, and I wondered if across the great divide La Monte -had caught up with Bohm at last. - - * * * * * - -Owen was busy in the office making out contracts for recently -purchased land. Mr. Parker and an agent were entertaining some -land-buyers, scraps of their conversation “bushels to the acre†and -“back in Kansas†reached me from time to time as I walked up and down -under the stars. - -“Where are you, childy?†Dear Mrs. Parker was always concerned when I -was not in sight. “Out there alone?†she asked as she came across the -yard to join me. We sat down on the bunk-house steps, glorying in the -beauty of the night. We were silent for a few moments and then she -spoke. - -“Do you know, Mrs. Brook, him talkin’ about Mr. Bohm tonight at supper -has made me think of so many things. I never paid much attention to -all them stories old Mrs. Morton and other folks told, but some mighty -queer things have happened since we’ve been here.†- -“What kind of things?†I asked, wondering if she, too, had breathed -the air of mystery which surrounded the old ranch. - -“Well, I don’t know exactly,†she hesitated, “you’ll think I’m silly, -perhaps, but you know sometimes when I’m down there,†she pointed to -the house among the trees, “makin’ out my postal reports, sometimes -it’s eleven or twelve o’clock before I’m through. It’s awful quiet -after everyone’s gone to sleep and I’ve heard all kinds of queer -sounds, maybe they might be rats or the wind, but often and often, -just as plain as I can hear your voice now, I’ve heard the sound of a -violin like somebody was playin’. It give me an awful start when that -man spoke of Bohm’s havin’ played the violin.†- -“Perhaps somebody is playing,†I ventured, with a well remembered -sensation of ice in the region of my spine. “The houses aren’t far -away now; you could easily hear someone playing if the wind was in the -right direction.†- -Mrs. Parker shook her head. - -“No, that ain’t it. There ain’t a violin in the country, and, besides, -it’s too near; it’s like it came from hereâ€â€”Mrs. Parker looked up at -the bunkhouse door—“and none of Ethel’s plays.†- -I said nothing. I remembered too well hearing the strains of the -violin as they used to float out through the silent night while old -Bohm played to himself up there in the bunkhouse, hour after hour. I -was troubled as the echoes of the past grew louder. - -“And then,†Mrs. Parker resumed, “there was that passage. I told you -about that, didn’t I?†- -“No. Passage! What passage?†I turned to her in the moonlight which -showed a puzzled frown between her eyes. - -“Why, the passage old Dad Patten found. I thought I’d told you about -that, but maybe it was the year that you and Mr. Brook was away.†She -paused a moment. “The third year after Ethel and John came here, John, -he raised such a big crop of potatoes the cellar was plumb full, so he -had Dad tear out some of the old bins under the bunk house to make -some larger ones. Tom Lane was helpin’ him, and, of course, Tom was -drunk. They’d tore out one or two, but when they come to the third, -they found a deep hole behind it about four foot square. They stuck a -spade into it, but it seemed to go back so far Dad he thought he’d -investigate, so he begun to crawl into it to see how far it went. He -was well in when Tom begun to laugh and act like he was goin’ to wall -him up, so Dad backed out, for he said that he was afraid Tom was just -drunk enough to do it. Dad said, though, that he went in the whole -length of his body and stretched his arm out as far as he could, but -didn’t touch nothin’, so he knew it went on further, and he said that -it seemed to lead off in the direction of the old root cellar.†- -“Root cellar,†I repeated, too perturbed to say anything else. - -“Yes,†said Mrs. Parker, “but, you know, Dad, he’d never heard any of -them stories about the root cellar; Dad’s too deaf to hear anything, -so he didn’t think nothin’ about it except that it was some kind of an -old dugout, and they went on and built the new bins, and about two -months after John had got all his potatoes in Dad happened to say -something about it. I was so beat I like to died, and when I told Dad -what folks said about the old root cellar and Bohm, he turned as white -as a sheet. You couldn’t get him up to the bunk house now if you was -to drag him.†- -“You don’t believe——†I began, then stopped as Mrs. Parker rose and -put her hand on my shoulder. - -“Childy, I don’t know whether I believe them tales or not. I’ve -scarcely been off this place since you went away ten years ago and -I’ve seen and heard some mighty strange things. There’s lots of things -in life we can’t explain—we just have to accept ’em, and that’s the -way I’ve had to do here. Maybe there’s spirits and maybe there ain’t, -but there’s some facts there’s no gettin’ ’roundâ€â€”Mrs. Morton’s very -words again—“but Dad’s findin’ that passage sure made me believe ’em -more than I ever did before, and I do believe that some terrible -things have been done right here on this dear old place, and that -somewhere old Bohm’s spirit’s mighty restless.†- - * * * * * - -Owen and I sat up before the fire talking until late that night, for -one of the buyers wanted the home place. It was hard to give it up, -for we both loved it, but the old life had passed, and we were not a -part of the new. Owen’s business kept him almost constantly in Denver, -and we were at the ranch so little it seemed useless to cling to it -longer. The most difficult decision had been made ten years before. -This, in a way, was more simple, yet this was final; it meant the -breaking of the last tie which bound us to those broad acres, and we -were both silent a long time after we had agreed that it was best to -let the old place go. - -Suddenly I thought of my conversation with Mrs. Parker, and told Owen -of the finding of the passage under the bunk house. He sat looking -into the fire, and made no comment until I had finished. - -“It is strange, to say the least. I don’t suppose we shall ever know -the real truth about it, but it doesn’t make much difference now; and -if old Bohm’s spirit is wandering about here it will feel a little out -of place in a cornfield.†- -“It certainly will, but, Owen, don’t you hope ‘it’s mighty restless -somewhere’?†- -“Indeed I do,†he laughed, and then grew serious again. “It’s been -wonderful from first to last, our life here.†He sighed a little. -“What experiences we’ve had!†- -“Yes, it has,†I said, getting up and standing by the fireplace, where -Owen joined me. “It hasn’t always been easy, but I wouldn’t take -anything for the things I’ve learned. I’m not the ‘Tenderfoot’ you -brought out sixteen years ago; I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Westerner now. -My whole view of life has changed. It has not only been a wonderful -experience, Owen, but a wonderful privilege—to have lived here.†- -Without a word we watched the last log break apart. The glowing sparks -lighted the room for a single instant, then died down, and in the -fading light of the coals we turned away. - -That night I lay awake. Vivified by the thought of the final parting -which was to come, our whole life on the ranch passed in review before -me, the problems and the difficulties, the adjustments, the changed -conditions and that disturbing sense of unsolved mystery. - -I got up and stood by the window looking out upon a world of silver. -Myriads of stars shone faintly in the heavens dimmed by the glory of -the moon, the pale outline of the mountain was just visible, and, as -on that first day when my heart was so heavy, I felt the sense of -confusion give way to peace. - -From the vast spaces, under the guardianship of that commanding -summit, we had gained a new sense of proportion, freedom from -hampering trivialities and a broader vision of life and its -responsibilities. - -Standing there in the moonlight facing the mountain, I saw in it more -than a symbol and source of strength; to me it had become indeed the -abiding place of a God. - -Looking back over the years, all the changes revealed only the -evolution of a wondrous plan. We had launched our frail barque in the -midst of the prairie sea at the ebb of the tide of the wild, lawless -days of the West; with the flow we had been carried through the years -of a well-ordered pastoral existence to the era of agricultural -productivity, and on each succeeding wave we had seen civilization -borne higher and higher toward the ultimate goal set by the Great -Spirit. - -Ours had been, indeed, a wonderful experience. - - THE END. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Tenderfoot Bride, by Clarice E. 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Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/42507-0.zip b/old/42507-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1bc723c..0000000 --- a/old/42507-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/42507-8.txt b/old/42507-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 57e0583..0000000 --- a/old/42507-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4720 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Tenderfoot Bride, by Clarice E. Richards - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A Tenderfoot Bride - Tales from an Old Ranch - -Author: Clarice E. Richards - -Release Date: April 12, 2013 [EBook #42507] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TENDERFOOT BRIDE *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and Sue Clark - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: PIKE'S PEAK FROM THE OLD RANCH] - - - - - A TENDERFOOT BRIDE - - BY - - CLARICE E. RICHARDS - - GARDEN CITY--NEW YORK - DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY - 1927 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY CLARICE E. RICHARDS. ALL - RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES - AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y. - - - - - To the One - whose Companionship, Inspiration and - Encouragement have made - this book possible - My Husband - - - - -CONTENTS - - I. First Impressions - II. A Surprise Party - III. The Root Cellar - IV. The Great Adventure Progresses - V. The Government Contract - VI. A Variety of Runaways - VII. The Measure of a Man - VIII. The Sheep Business - IX. The Unexpected - X. Around the Christmas Fire - XI. Ted - XII. Blizzards - XIII. Echoes of the Past - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - Pike's Peak from the Old Ranch - Roping and Cutting Out Cattle - Roping a Steer to Inspect Brand - Inspecting a Brand - The "Star" is a Frightened, Snorting "Broncho" - Trailed All the Way from New Mexico - Like a Solitary Fence Post - Bucking Horse and Rider - Facing Death Each Time They Ride a New Horse - - - - -A TENDERFOOT BRIDE - - - - -I - -FIRST IMPRESSIONS - - -When our train left Colorado Springs and headed out into those vast -stretches of the prairie, which spread East like a great green ocean -from the foot of Pike's Peak, all the sensations of Christopher -Columbus setting sail for a new world, and a few peculiarly my own, -mingled in my breast. - -As the train pounded along I stole a look at Owen. He was absorbed in -the contemplation of a map of our new holdings. Under that calm -exterior I suspected hidden attributes of the primitive man. Certainly -there was some reason why Western life was to his liking, having had -the chance to choose. - -It was late in the afternoon when we found ourselves on the platform -of the solitary little wayside station. The train went rushing on -through the July sunshine, as if impatient at the stop. Our fellow -passengers had drawn their heads back from the car windows, after -vainly trying to see what apparently sane people could find to stop -for in a place like that. In truth, there was little--a water tank, a -section house, two cottages and one store. - -A combination station-agent and baggage-man stood on the platform. -Near a hitching rack a tall individual was waving his long arms about -like a windmill as he beckoned us to approach. Owen picked up the -bags; I trudged along behind with various coats and packages, stopping -midway between platform and wagon to disengage a large tumbleweed, -which had rolled merrily to my feet and attached itself to my skirt. - -The tall man took a few steps in our direction, still holding the -reins in his hand. With one eye he gave us a greeting, while he kept -the other on the lunging horses. He was hardly a prepossessing person -at first sight, except for his smile. I felt that his keen black eyes -had sized us up in one quick glance. I became blushingly conscious of -being a new bride, and from "the East." - -"How-de-do? Whoa, now, Brownie. Just get in folks,--the old man had to -go to town, so he sent me to meet you, but he'll be back by the time -we get to the ranch." All this in one breath, while he helped Owen -place the bags in the wagon. - -"Don't mind the horses; they're plumb gentle--just a little excited -now over the train, that's all. Whoa now," with decided emphasis. -"Sorry, Mrs. Brook, hope you didn't hurt yourself"--this last as the -horses suddenly backed and knocked my foot off the step. "Oh, no, not -at all," I replied, hastily scrambling into the wagon and thanking -heaven that I had landed on the seat before they gave an unexpected -lurch forward. Owen got in beside the driver; the horses reared and -started off. I gripped the seat and my hat, and fastened my eyes on -the horses' ears. When we had crossed the railroad and the movement -was more steady, I began to "take notice" of things about me, and the -conversation going on in the front seat reached me in fragments. - -The driver said he was called "Tex." He was a true son of Texas, and -it was not difficult to imagine that particles of his native soil -still clung to him. The deep creases in his neck were so filled with -dirt that he looked like a charcoal sketch. As he turned his face, -lined and seamed, I saw that his chin was covered with at least a -week's growth of greyish-black beard. I estimated his age. He might -have been fifty; very quick in speech and action, yet there was a -subdued power about the man. He managed the horses easily, and I -caught in his drawling speech a casual, half-bantering tone. - -"Wonder if them grips is botherin' the Missus. Ridin' all right?" he -asked, turning with solicitude to see the location of the bags. As it -happened, they were all located on top of my feet. It was Owen who -removed them, for Tex's attention was again engaged with Brownie, who -suddenly landed quite outside the road. A cotton-tail had jumped from -behind a rattleweed. - -"Quit that now, Brownie. You never did have no sense." The drawl was -half-sarcastic. "'Pears like you ain't never seen no rabbits before, -'stead a bein' raised with 'em." Brownie gave a little shake of her -pretty head and crowded her long-suffering mate back into the road -again. I was becoming very much interested. This man was a distinctly -new type to me. I did not know then that he was the old-time -cow-puncher, with an ease of manner a Chesterfield might have envied, -and an unfailing, almost deferential, courtesy toward women. - -Never shall I forget that first drive across the prairie,--not a -house, not a tree in sight, except where the cottonwoods traced the -borders of a waterless creek. Gently rolling hills were all about us, -instead of the flat country I had expected to see; hills which failed -to reveal anything when we reached the top, but yet higher hills to -climb. An unexpected vastness seemed to extend to the very boundaries -of the unknown, as we looked about on all sides, only to see the soft -green circle of the hills, on which the bluest of skies gently rested, -sweep about us. I felt the spell of unlimited space, and smiled as I -thought of the tearful farewell of one of my bridesmaids. She had -"hated" to think of my being "cooped up on a ranch." "Cooped up" here, -when for the first time I realized what unhampered freedom might mean -in a country left as God had made it, with so little trace of man's -interference! - -At last we came to a gate made of three strands of barbed wire, -fastened together in the middle and attached to a stick at each end. -It was a real gate when up, but when opened, it was a floppy invention -of the Evil One, designed to tax the patience of a saint. The strands -of wire got mixed and crossed and grew perceptibly shorter, so that it -required superhuman strength and something of a disposition to get the -end of the stick through the loop of wire, which held it in place -again. - -This gate marked the Southern boundary of the ranch, ten miles from -the railroad station. We reached the top of a hill and looked up a -long valley, where the creek wound its way, fringed by great -cottonwood trees, until its source was lost behind three prominent -buttes, purple in the haze of the late afternoon. Beyond the buttes -stood Pike's Peak, snow-capped and alone, guardian of the valley, the -whole length of which it commanded. Through some peculiarity of -position all the other peaks of the Rockies remained invisible, while -this one mountain rose in majestic isolation from the plain. - -Tex stopped the horses for a moment, and without a word pointed with -the whip toward a clump of cottonwoods in the distance. - -"The ranch?" I asked. - -He nodded. - -In the beautiful valley it stood, the white fences, corrals and -outbuildings gleaming in the sun. Nestled among the trees, planted so -densely that only a suggestion of its white walls showed between them, -was the house--our first home! - -As we drove up to the gate, a short man, with a thick beard, bustled -out to meet us. - -"Well, here you are! Got here all right. Sorry I couldn't meet you. -Come right in. You must be tired settin'." And before we quite -realized that we had arrived, we were ushered into the house through -the back door. - -As a matter of fact, there was no front door. Two outside doors opened -into the kitchen, one on either side, and since the kitchen was in -truth the "living-room," what need of a front door? - -A placid-faced, elderly woman greeted us, and after a few moments -conducted us up a crooked stairway to a room under the eaves. - -Owen left hastily "to look around outside," and I followed as quickly -as possible for I knew that if I looked around inside for any length -of time, I should start back to the railroad station on foot. - -Old Mr. and Mrs. Bohm had lived on the place for over thirty years in -this house, which was the evolution of a dug-out, with many subsequent -periods in prospect before it became a possible home. Mrs. Bohm had -recently been having "fainting spells," which frightened her husband -into a plan to dispose of the ranch and live in town. - -It was a wonderful ranch. Acres on acres of richest grass, a wealth of -hay land and natural water holes,--a paradise for stock. To poor -homesick me, this place had no suggestion of paradise. It looked run -down and disorderly; the fences around the house were adorned with -everything from old battered tin buckets and mowing-machine wheels to -the smallest piece of rusty wire. Mrs. Bohm confided to me that "James -liked it that way because everything was so handy." There was no -questioning that, but as a first impression it was hopeless, and my -heart grew heavier and heavier as I thought of the new house in -Wyoming, where we had expected to be, and the Eastern home I had just -left. - -I walked out of sight of the festooned fence and tried to think. Up -the valley the Peak was deep blue against the golden evening sky, and -in the vast, unbroken silence of the prairies I felt the sense of -chaos and confusion give way to peace. The old house, tumble-down -fences, mowing machine wheels and wire took an inconsequent place in -the scale of things compared to Owen's undertaking. He _must_ succeed. -The undesirable could be removed or made over. We were in a new world, -we had a great domain, we faced undreamed of experiences and -possibilities. My spirits rose with a bound, and I resolved from that -moment to consider our life here in the West, in the midst of new -conditions, a great adventure. At that instant the original Bohm -dug-out would have held no terrors for me. - -Perhaps if I had known just how great the adventure was to be, what -varied and nerve-testing experiences the future did hold, I might have -been daunted; but with a farewell look at the Peak and a new sense of -strength and courage, I went to meet Owen. I realized that he knew the -possibilities of the place and that the conditions would all soon be -changed, and I knew, too, that he was distressed at the realization of -how it must all appear to me. He looked troubled, as he came toward -me. - -"Can you stand it for a little while?" he asked. - -"Of course, I can," I replied, cheerfully, blindly taking the first -step toward the great adventure. - -"It's all right, dear; it's going to be wonderful, living here." - -Mr. and Mrs. Bohm, Tex and six bashful cow-punchers were in the -kitchen waiting for us before they sat down to supper. We were -presented to the men, and in acknowledgment of the introduction -received a fleeting glance from six pairs of diffident eyes and a -quick jerk from six slickly brushed heads. - -Mrs. Bohm took her seat at the foot of the long oil-cloth-covered -table, and old Mr. Bohm sat at the head. Fortunate for me that Owen -and I sat side by side. If once during that meal I had caught his eye, -I should have disgraced myself forever. - -Except old Bohm, no one said anything. Indeed, no one had a chance, -for he talked all the time, telling stories, cracking jokes at which -he laughed immoderately, interspersing his conversation with waves of -his fork, with which from time to time he reflectively combed his -beard. I could not take my eyes off him; there was a weird fascination -in following the movements of that fork. It was prescience which led -me to do so, for old Bohm suddenly ceased using it as a toilet article -and jabbed it into a piece of meat, which he held out toward me. - -"Here, Mrs. Brook, have some more beef. I've been talkin' along here -and clean forgot you folks must be hungry." I assured him I couldn't -eat another bite. It was the most truthful statement of my life. - -That night I lay awake for hours, thinking over the day's experiences, -and incidentally trying to find a spot on the mattress where a lump -did not threaten to press a rib out of place. At last I fell asleep, -to be suddenly awakened by the slam of a gate under our window, -followed by an exclamation which floated up out of the grey dawn: "By -hell, but this is a fine day." Then came the squeak of the pump -handle, as old Bohm performed his morning ablutions, more slams of the -gate, and more salutations of the same order in varying phraseology, -but always beginning with "By hell." - -Shades of my ministerial ancestors! Was this the language of the new -country in which we had come to live? Surely the great adventure -promised startling sensations at the outset, to say nothing of a -certain sliding scale of standards. - -Owen stirred and asked sleepily what on earth I was doing up at that -hour of the day. - -"Changing my viewpoint," I replied, looking out toward old Bohm's -shadowy figure on its way toward the corral. "That has to be done -early." - - - - -II - -A SURPRISE PARTY - - -We were living in the land of the unexpected. Six weeks on the ranch -demonstrated that. The possibilities for surprise were inexhaustible, -and the probabilities innumerable and certain, if Owen happened to be -away. - -On one of these occasions the cook eloped with the best rider on the -place, more thrilling and upsetting to my peace of mind than the -cloud-burst and flood that followed soon after. Twenty-two husky and -hungry men wanted three square meals a day, and one inexperienced -bride stood between them and starvation. The situation was mutually -serious. - -In my need came help. Tex, our coachman on that first drive, saved the -day. Shortly after the elopement he came in for supplies for the -cow-camp. I was almost hidden by pans of potatoes, and was paring away -endlessly. He was very quiet when I explained, but after supper he -gathered up the dishes to wash them for me, looking very serious. When -he had finished, he suddenly turned to me: - -"Say, Mrs. Brook, I've just been studyin'. Jack Brent kin cook for the -boys out at camp all right, and if you kin stand it, I kin come in and -cook for you. It sure got my goat to see you rastlin' with them -potatoes and wearin' yourself out cookin' for these here men." - -Good old Tex! That was little short of saintly. Camp cooking where he -was autocrat was far more to his taste. He hated "messin' 'round where -there was women," as he expressed it. Here was sacrifice indeed! Tex -scrubbed his hands until they fairly bled, enveloped himself in a -large checked gingham apron, and proceeded to act as chef until the -eloper had been replaced. - -Something deepened in me. I was seeing a new thing. - -Owen had been gone nearly a week. One morning I happened to be in the -kitchen when Mrs. Bohm entered. Casually she asked Tex whether Ed -More's wife had left him before he went to jail, or after he got out. -Half in joke, I said: - -"Mercy, Mrs. Bohm, is there a man in this country, with the exception -of Tex, who hasn't been in jail or on the way there?" - -I was interrupted by the slamming of a door, and Tex had vanished. -Mrs. Bohm looked embarrassed as she replied: - -"I just hate to tell you, Mrs. Brook, and Tex would feel terrible to -have you know; but you say such queer things sometimes, I'd better -tell you now that Tex"--she paused a moment--"he's only been out of -the 'pen' himself a year." - -"Tex in the penitentiary? What on earth for?" I was almost dazed. - -[Illustration: ROPING AND CUTTING OUT CATTLE] - -"Well, I'll tell you." Mrs. Bohm began the story with apparent -reluctance, but her manner soon betrayed a certain zest. "You see, -about four years ago Tex was workin' for a man up on Crow Creek and -took some cattle on to Omaha to sell for him. When he came back he -never brought a cent of money, and told how he had been held up and -robbed. Everybody believed it at first, then all to onct his -family--they live over West--began to dress to kill, and Tex bought -brass beds for every room in the house; then folks began to suspicion -where he got the money, and he was sent to the Pen for two years." - -Poor old Tex! Who would ever have supposed a secret longing for brass -beds would prove his undoing? I might have guessed horses or cards, -but never brass beds. I almost felt the breath of tragedy. She seemed -sweeping by. - -Mrs. Bohm went on: "Tex's mighty good to his family, though, and it -most killed him when his wife went off with a Mexican sheep-herder -while he was doin' time. She's back home now with the girls, but her -and Tex's separated. Ain't it a fright the way women acts?" - -"It certainly is," I agreed, trying to reconcile my previous idea of -convicts with having one for a cook. It was dreadfully confusing and -disturbing. In spite of what I had just heard, I knew I trusted Tex. -He would never steal from us, I felt sure. And my instinct told me he -would be a true and loyal friend. There was no apparent excuse for -what he had done, but he had paid for his moment of weakness more -fully perhaps than anyone realized. I pondered over it. - -Presently he came in, with a curious, troubled expression on his face. -I gave him the orders, as usual, with no sign of having heard of the -cloud under which he had lived for three miserable years. Our -relations were re-established. I could see his relief. - -We were still taking our meals in the kitchen, although the house was -gradually being remodeled. It was Saturday evening, and we were -expecting Owen home. There was an air of suppressed excitement among -the men. One, and then another, bolted from the table and out of the -door, returning in a shame-faced manner to explain that he "thought he -heered somethin'." Certainly Owen's coming would never produce such a -sensation, unless he was expected to arrive in an airship. I was more -than ever mystified. - -After the meal was over, there was such a general shaving--also in the -kitchen--and such donning of red neckties, that I could not restrain -my curiosity. I called Tex aside and asked him where they were going. -He looked a little sheepish, as he replied: - -"Why, we ain't goin' nowhere." Then in a burst of confidence, "I don't -know as I'd orter tell you, but the fact is, you folks is goin' to be -surprised; all the folks 'round is goin' to have a party here, and -we're expectin' 'em." - -I gasped. A sudden suspicion flashed through my mind. - -"Tex, did you plan this? What on earth shall I do?" - -Tex saw I was really troubled. "Why, Mrs. Brook," he said, "you don't -have to do nothin'. Just turn the house over to 'em, and along about -midnight I'll make some coffee--they'll bring baskets." - -I was relieved to know that they only wanted the house, and would -provide their own refreshments, for it was appalling to be an -impromptu hostess to an entire community and to speculate upon the -possibility of one small cold roast and chocolate cake satisfying a -crowd of young people, after drives of thirty miles or more across the -prairie. - -"Me and the boys"--Tex spoke somewhat apologetically, as he started -toward the door--"we kind a thought maybe you and Mr. Brook would like -to get acquainted, seem's how you're goin' to live here; but I guess -we oughten to have did what we done." - -I felt ashamed of my momentary perturbation, as the force of that last -sentence of Tex's reached me. These men of the plains were as simple -and sensitive as children about many things. They would really grieve -if they felt this affair, planned solely on our account, gave us no -pleasure. I hastened to reassure him. - -"It was mighty nice of you men to think of it," I said, cheerfully. -"We do want to know the people in the country, and we are going to -enjoy every moment. I was 'surprised' before the party began, that's -all." - -Tex went out satisfied, grinning broadly. - -To my good fortune, Owen arrived before the guests came. I told him -what was about to befall us. His expression was dubious. All he said -was "Thunder." - -Owen and one of the men had been driving about the country all the -week, buying horses suitable to turn in on a Government cavalry -contract. The night before they had spent on the floor of a cold -railroad station, wrapped up in their blankets, with a lighted lantern -under the covering at their feet. Their sleep was somewhat broken, -with either cremation or freezing pending that cold September night. -Poor Owen! He was completely worn out. And now he had to go through a -surprise party. - -At eight o'clock, Tex, self-appointed master of ceremonies, ushered in -the first arrivals. They were a tall, lean chap and two very much -be-curled young misses. I made trials without number at conversation, -but they could only be induced to say "Yes" and "No." - -From eight until ten they came,--ranchmen, cow-punchers, -ex-cow-punchers running their own outfits, infant cow-punchers, girls -and women, until kitchen and sitting room were filled to overflowing, -and every chair and bench on the place in use. Among the last to -arrive was a tall, languid Texan, accompanied by two languid, -drab-colored women. They were presented to us as "Robert, Missus Reed -and Maggie." "Maggie," I immediately concluded, was a sister, but not -being quite certain, I sought enlightenment from Mrs. Bohm. - -"She ain't Reed's sister," she informed me in a low tone, "she's his -girl." - -"Oh, works for them, you mean?" I said, somewhat puzzled by the Reed -connections. - -"Works nothin'," Mrs. Bohm replied, scornfully. "She's got the next -place to 'em and goes with 'em everywhere. Ella don't seem to mind. -I'd just call her Maggie' if I was you," and Mrs. Bohm departed to -join a group of women near the door. - -I looked over at the two with a new interest. They were chatting and -laughing together, the "girl" and the wife seemingly on the best of -terms, with no sign of rivalry for the tall Texan's affections. Here -was a situation fraught with latent possibilities that made me -tremble, yet--"Ella don't seem to mind." - -The kitchen had been converted into a ballroom by moving the table up -against the wall and placing three chairs upon it. Unfortunately the -sink and stove were fixtures, but everything else, including the bread -jar, found a temporary resting place in the yard. - -Old Bohm, with his fiddle under his arm, gingerly ascended the table -first. Then another man followed with a similar instrument; and last -came a youth with a mouth harp. No fatality having resulted from the -musicians taking their seats, the dancing began. - -The music, if such a combination of sounds can be dignified by that -name, was such as to defy description. Never in the wildest flights of -fancy could I have conceived of such execution and such sounds. The -two men sawed their violins, and the third was purple in the face from -his efforts on the mouth-harp; all were stamping time with their feet, -and he of the harp was slapping his knee with his unoccupied hand. - -Before every dance a council was held, after which each musician would -play the tune decided upon, as best suited to his taste. Old Bohm -tried to get to the end in the shortest time possible, while the -second fiddler, taking things more seriously, finished four or five -bars behind his companion. The harpist, not playing "second" to -anything or anybody, had his own opinion as to how "A Hot Time in the -Old Town" should go. With these independent views, the result was a -series of the most discordant sounds that ever fell on mortal ears. -However, music mattered little, for all had come to have a good time, -and the "caller-out," with both eyes shut tight and arms folded across -his breast, was making himself heard above all other sounds. - -"Birdie in the center and all hands around!" he commanded. Then -fiddles and mouth harp began a wild jig, couples raced 'round and -'round, while "Birdie," a blond and blushing maiden, stood patiently -in the midst of the whirling circle, until the next order came: - - "Birdie hop out and Crow hop in! - Take holt of paddies and run around agin." - -"Crow" was a broad, heavy-set cow-puncher, wearing chaps, and in the -endeavor to "run around agin," I found my progress somewhat impeded by -his spurs, which caught in my skirt and very nearly upset me. - -All the riders wore their heavy boots and spurs, and it required real -agility to avoid being stepped on or having one's skirt torn to -ribbons. I was devoutly thankful that chiffon and tulle ball gowns -were not worn on ranches. - -There was more to avoid than spurs. We had to dance about the kitchen -and avoid the stove, the sink and the tabled musicians, to say nothing -of the nails in the floor. But after a few hours' practice, I began to -feel qualified to waltz on top of the House of the Seven Gables, and -avoid at least six of them. - -Finally, the caller-out shouted loudly: - - "Allemande, Joe! Right hand to pardner and around you go. - Balance to corners, don't be slack; - Turn right around and take a back track. - When you git home, don't be afraid, - Swing her agin and all promenade." - -My partner obeyed every command with such vigor that when at last he -led me to my seat I was panting and dizzy; nor had I quite recovered -my breath when the music struck up again, and Tex led me forth. - -The exertion of the first quadrille had been too much for his comfort, -so he had dispensed with both collar and coat. His trousers and vest -bore evidence of having seen many a round-up, and his shirt, which had -once been white, was now multi-colored. In the wonderful red ascot tie -which encircled his neck were stuck four scarf-pins, one above the -other. There being nothing to hold the loop of the tie in place, it -gradually worked up the back of his head, until its progress was -stopped by the edge of a small skull-cap, which Tex wore as the -crowning feature of his costume. The cap, tilted slightly to one side, -gave him a rakish appearance, quite in contrast with his air of -importance and responsibility. - -I danced--my head fairly spins when I think _how_ I danced--for, since -the party was given in our honor, dance I must with every man who -asked me. - -Owen, not being a dancing man, made himself agreeable to the -wall-flowers and the children, stealing upstairs about once an hour -for a few moments' nap on the bedroom floor. The beds themselves were -occupied by sleeping infants, whose mothers were going through the -intricate mazes of those dances below. - -At one o'clock Tex began to make the coffee, whereupon the musicians -descended from the table, and the expectant party sat down. But where -were their baskets? My heart sank, as Tex approached holding a very -small one. He informed me in a stage whisper it was all there was! - -The basket contained a cake and one wee chick, evidently fried soon -after leaving the shell. It was the smallest chicken I ever saw. I -hastily produced our cake and roast, and then took one despairing look -around at the forty individuals to be fed. I shall never be able to -explain it, unless Tex had an Aladdin's lamp concealed in his pocket, -for cake, roast and chicken appeared to be inexhaustible, and the -supply more than equaled the demand. - -I was aroused from my contemplation of the miracle by a feminine -voice, the speaker saying half to herself and half to me: - -"It took me most two hours to iron Nell's dress this mornin', but I -sure got a pretty 'do' on it." Following her beaming glance, I found -that it rested on a mass of ruffles, which adorned the dress of -"Birdie" of that first quadrille. Just then the music began again, and -I saw Ed Lay ask her to dance. I trusted, after all that work, the -'do' wouldn't be undone by his spurs; still the effort had not been -wasted, for this was the fifth time he had danced with her. - -No doting mother could have taken more pride in the debut of an only -child, than this work-worn sister whose eyes sparkled as they followed -"Birdie's" whirling figure held firmly by the encircling arm of the -cow-puncher, and she murmured softly with a half sigh, "Ain't it -grand?" To me it was "grand" indeed, that even an embryo romance could -bring a new light to those tired eyes. - -It was six o'clock Sunday morning when one most thoughtful person -suggested that "they'd orter be goin'"; and by seven the last guest -had departed. Then Owen and I, weary and heavy-eyed, donned our wraps, -climbed into the wagon, and started on a sixteen-mile drive to the -railroad to meet his brother, who was coming from California to see -"how we were making it." - -I was almost too tired to speak, but one thought was struggling for -expression, and as we started up the first long hill, I had to say: - -"Anyone who ever spoke of the 'peace and quiet of ranch life' lived in -New York and dreamed about it. In twenty-four hours I have discovered -that we have an ex-convict for a trusted cook, and have received as -guests a man with his wife and resident affinity. We have had a -surprise party and I have danced with all the blemished characters the -country boasts of, until six o'clock in the morning of the Sabbath -day, with never a qualm of conscience. What do you suppose has become -of my moral standards?" - -Owen was amused. He asked me, quizzically, what I thought they would -be by the end of a year. - -"Mercy!" I replied, "at the rate they are being overthrown, there -won't be enough left to consider, unless"--I thought a moment--"unless -I can reconstruct a more enduring set from parts of the old." - - - - -III - -THE ROOT CELLAR - - -"East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." The -phrase kept haunting me all through these first days when everything -was so new and strange. I almost felt as though I had passed into a -new phase of existence. - -Except for Owen, there was no point of contact between the world of -cities and people I had just left and this land of cattle and -cow-punchers, bounded by the sky-rimmed hills. In Owen, however, the -East and the West did meet. He understood and belonged to both and -adapted himself as easily to the one as to the other. Wearing his -derby, he belonged to the life of the East; in his broad-brimmed -Stetson, he was a living part of the West. - -The compelling reality of this new life affected me deeply. -Non-essentials counted for nothing. There were no artificial problems -or values. - -No one in the country cared who you might have been or who you were. -The _Mayflower_ and Plymouth Rock meant nothing here. It would be -thought you were speaking of some garden flowers or some breed of -chickens. - -The one thing of vital importance was what you were--how you adjusted -yourself to meet conditions as you found them, and how nearly you -reached, or how far you fell below their measure of man or woman. - -I felt as though up to this time I had been in life's kindergarten, -but that I had now entered into its school, and I realized that only -as I passed the given tests should I succeed. - -I learned much from the rough, untutored men with whom I was in daily -association. They were men whose rules of conduct were governed by -individual choice, unhampered by conventions. They were so direct and -honest, so unfailingly kind and gentle toward any weaker thing, and so -simple and responsive, that I liked and trusted them from the first. -All but old Bohm, the man from whom we were buying. He was such a -totally different type that he seemed a man apart. The son of a German -father and an Irish mother, he had inherited a nature too complex and -contradictory to be easily fathomed. - -Mrs. Bohm, with her white, calm face and gentle voice, attracted me, -but her husband aroused in both Owen and me an instinctive distrust. -He was good nature personified, a most companionable person, with his -easy, contagious laugh, his amusing stories, quick wit, and breezy air -of good fellowship. He could quote Burns, Scott, and other poets by -the hour, and fiddle away on his violin, until we were nearly moved to -tears. He was almost too good-natured; he didn't quite ring true. I -noticed that while he always referred or spoke to his wife -affectionately, as "my old mammy," her attitude toward him was rather -impersonal. She called him "James" with quiet dignity, but seldom -talked with him, and appeared to take very little interest. - -On the side of a hill, some distance from the house, was an old root -cellar, used, according to Bohm, for storing potatoes, turnips, and -other vegetables for winter. It was most inconveniently located; there -were hillsides much nearer, and considering that the cellar under the -house was always used for such purposes, it seemed strange that -another should be needed so far away. I was possessed with a desire to -explore it. It suggested hidden treasures and Indian relics, which I -was collecting. One day I was poised on the top of the cellar step, -about to descend into its mysterious depths. - -Old Bohm appeared. "Was you lookin' for something'?" he asked, -somewhat out of breath. - -"Oh, no," I replied, going down a few steps. "I was just exploring, -and thought I would investigate this old root cellar." - -"I thought that was what you was goin' to do, and I hurried up to tell -you to be awful careful of rattlesnakes; there's a pile of 'em 'round -these here old cellars." Bohm spoke with apparent solicitude. - -"Heavens! I wouldn't go down there for anything!" I exclaimed,--and I -got out of the cellarway as quickly as possible. - -Old Bohm looked down the steps at the strong, closed door of heavy -boards. - -"Oh, maybe it would be all right. You could listen for 'em and jump, -if you heard 'em rattle," he remarked, casually. - -I shook my head. "Not much; I don't want to hear them rattle," and I -started toward the house. - -Bohm went up toward the wind-mill. As I turned away I caught a curious -expression on his face--a faint gleam of something. - -As I came through the meadow gate, Owen was getting into the buggy. - -"Hello," he called, "I've been looking for you everywhere. I have to -drive over to Three Bar. Do you want to go?" - -I was always ready to go anywhere, so while Owen was driving the -horses about, I ran in to get my hat. - -Not one of our horses was thoroughly broken, so we always had to -follow the same method of procedure before starting anywhere. After -the horses were hitched up, Charley, to whom fell odd jobs of every -sort, stood at their heads until Owen was fairly seated and had the -lines firmly in his hands. Then, after a few ineffectual attempts to -kick or run down Charley before he could get out of the way, off -dashed the horses around and around the open space between the house -and the pond, until a little of the edge had been taken off their -spirits. Then Owen stopped them for one moment, I made a quick jump -into the buggy, and away we went at top speed toward the gate that -Charley had run to open. We usually missed the post by a quarter of an -inch, and at that juncture I invariably shut my eyes and held my -breath. - -The road to Three Bar Ranch led to the North and wound up a very long -hill, then across a rolling mesa. The prairie was covered with short -grama grass, just turning a faint brown, the yellow sunflowers and -great clumps of rattleweed, with its spikes of lovely purple, giving a -touch of color to the scene before us. The Spanish bayonet dotted the -hillsides, and over all hung the summer sky like burnished copper. The -only sound, aside from that of the horses' hoofs and the crunch of the -wheels on the soft prairie road, was the occasional song of the meadow -lark, all the joy of the summer day sounding in its one short -thrilling note. In the gulches, where the grass grew deep and rank, -the wind tossed it softly, and it rippled and sparkled in the shifting -light, as water gleams in the sun. Everything was so still that -animation seemed for the time suspended, as we drove along silenced by -the spell of the prairies. - -Three Bar, one of the oldest ranches in the country, stood against the -side of a hill. It was a long, low structure of logs built in the -prevailing fashion of the early ranch houses, room after room opening -into one another, usually with an outside door to each. - -The ranch was owned by the Mortons, English people, who were among the -earliest settlers in the country. They greeted us most cordially, and -as Owen went out to the corral with Mr. Morton to look at some horses, -Mrs. Morton took me into the house. - -The room we entered had very little furniture, but was redeemed from -bareness by a wonderful old stone fireplace at one end. - -Mrs. Morton was short and heavy set. "Spotless" was the only word her -appearance suggested when I first saw her. Her skin was as fair as a -child's, while her hair was as white as the apron she wore. - -Her flow of conversation was unceasing, and I was reminded of a remark -that Charley made to me when the telephone was first put in over the -fence lines. - -"Old lady Morton talked so fast that she ripped all the barbs off the -wire." Before I had time to reply to one question, she had asked -another, and was off on an entirely different subject. I suppose the -accumulated conversation of months was vented on my innocent head, for -she told me, poor thing, that she hadn't seen another woman since -Christmas. - -"Us"--she never said we--"us never visits the neighbors, but was -coming up to see you, Mrs. Brook, for us heard you and Mr. Brook was -different. Us lives out here on a ranch, but us knows when people are -the right kind." - -I didn't know whether to be considered "different" was desirable, or -not, and I was dying to ask her what constituted "the right kind," but -had no time before she suddenly asked: - -"Have the Bohms gone? Us was waiting till they went." - -I explained that they were still on the ranch, as Mr. Bohm had to -gather and counterbrand all the stock before turning it over to Owen, -and that he had been delayed. - -Mrs. Morton gave a little grunt of contempt. "Old Bohm won't hurry any -while he's getting free board. He may be with you all winter. Us hopes -Mr. Brook won't be imposed on. He's a smart man, old Jim Bohm is, but -he's a bad one." - -"Bad one?" I repeated, inwardly praying that the Bohms would not be -permanent guests. - -"Old Jim Bohm is a bad man," Mrs. Morton said again, rocking violently -back and forth. "I was here when they came. She's all right, but there -is nothing he won't do. Why"--her voice sank to a whisper--"sixteen -men have been traced as far as that ranch and never been heard of -again, and Jim Bohm's been getting richer all along." - -Mrs. Morton scarcely paused for breath, so I couldn't have said -anything. But I was speechless, anyhow. - -"Not one of them, not one," she declared, "was ever heard of again, -and if you were to examine that old root cellar on the hill, you'd -find out what I say is true." - -The incident of the morning flashed across my mind, and I felt as -though a piece of ice were being drawn slowly along my spine. - -"How perfectly horrible!" I managed to gasp, "but it can't be true." - -[Illustration: ROPING A STEER TO INSPECT BRAND] - -"It's true, all right." There was no doubting Mrs. Morton's -conviction. "There's facts there's no getting 'round. Jim Bohm and old -Happy Dick, that used to work for him, came up here over the trail -from Texas with a band of horses that Bohm and another man owned. The -other fellow was with them when they started, but Bohm said he died on -the way, and that's all anyone knows about it, except that old Bohm -kept all the horses." - -"Then a few years later, a young fellow that was consumptive, came out -to work for them. I know he had quite a bit of money, because he -stopped here once to ask John what to do with it. He hadn't been there -very long before he dropped dead, according to Jim Bohm's story. His -folks back East tried to get the money, but Bohm said the fellow owed -it to him, and they couldn't do a thing about it." - -I sat as if petrified, unable to take my eyes from Mrs. Morton's face, -as she went on and on. - -"He was in with all the rustlers in the country," she continued, "and -once when a posse was hunting a man who had stole a lot of horses, -Bohm tried his best to keep them from searching the place, but the -Sheriff told him they would arrest him if he made any more fuss about -it, so he had to keep still. When they came to the haymow, they stuck -a pitchfork right into a man hidden in the hay, and old Bohm swore he -didn't know a thing about his being there. The next us heard, old Bill -Law had dropped dead in the corral. I tell you"--Mrs. Morton leaned -forward and shook her finger in my face--"it's mighty funny, the way -men keeps dropping dead over there; they don't do it anywhere else. -Happy Dick was the last. About a year ago he told Morton he'd stole -two men rich, and now he was going to steal himself rich. But two days -after he was found dead in the willows, and Bohm said that when he -came upon the body, Happy Dick had been dead for hours." - -Mrs. Morton showed signs of running down for a moment, so I hastened -to ask why it was that, though suspicion always pointed toward him, -old Bohm had never been arrested. - -"Jim Bohm's too smooth," Mrs. Morton answered. "If you found him with -a smoking gun in his hand and a man dead on the ground beside him, -he'd lie out of it somehow; probably would swear that as he came up, -he saw the man shoot himself. Oh! he's a slick one. Us always said us -pitied anyone who had business dealings with him, but," she stopped as -she saw Owen and Mr. Morton coming up the walk, "Mr. Brook looks like -a man that can take care of himself. I'd watch out for Bohm, though. -Watch out for him!" - -"Thank you, Mrs. Morton," I said, as Owen came to the door. "I am glad -you told me. Please come to see us," and with conflicting emotions I -prepared to leave Three Bar Ranch. - -I scarcely knew what to think. I was worried, and yet---- - -When I told Owen I expected him to pooh-pooh the story and relieve my -mind, but he did nothing of the sort. With a queer little wrinkle -between his eyes, he listened attentively. - -"Owen, you don't think there is any truth in it, do you?" I asked, -much troubled by his silence. He flicked a fly off Dan's back before -replying: - -"I don't know what to think. The old chap's a rascal, there's no doubt -about that; but I didn't suppose he was a cold-blooded murderer." - -Again I felt the ice go up and down my spine. "Great heavens, Owen, -can't you have someone go through the root cellar, to see if there is -anything out of the way there? And, above all, get the stock gathered -and ship Bohm--I despise him, anyhow!" - -"Don't let it worry you," said Owen; "probably it's all mere talk. -Bohm won't bother us; and in a few weeks the stock will all be turned -over and he'll have no excuse for staying." - -"A few weeks is a long time," I said, gloomily, feeling as if my hold -on life were gradually slipping. "According to Mrs. Morton, everybody -on the place might drop dead in less time than that." - -Owen laughed, but the next moment a shadow crossed his face, and he -said decisively: - -"I'm going to look into that root-cellar business. I want to have the -place thoroughly cleaned out, anyhow." - - * * * * * - -The boys were going in to supper when we drove up. Charley came to -take the horses, and Owen greeted him: - -"Well, how's everything?" - -"Oh, all right," answered Charley indifferently, as he started to -loosen the tugs. "Nothin's happened since you folks went away, only -the old root cellar's caved in." - -Speech was impossible. Owen and I stood as if petrified, looking at -each other. We turned to go up to the house. I felt as though some -wretched fate were making game of us. As we entered the door, Owen -spoke: - -"Esther"--he was very serious--"don't say a word or betray any -interest whatever in this matter. After supper is over, I'll go up to -investigate." - -Talk about the skeleton at a feast! There were sixteen horrid, -grinning things around the table that night, besides a few that Mrs. -Morton had overlooked. - -Mrs. Bohm was whiter than usual and very quiet. Old Bohm was in high -spirits. We were scarcely seated before he declared it "a damn shame" -that the old root cellar had to cave in. - -We showed a little surprise, but affected unconcern. Playing the role -assigned to me, I remarked indifferently that we never used it, -anyhow, and with this Bohm cheerfully agreed. - -Later, when Owen went up to examine the cellar, I noticed, from my -point of observation at the window, that old Bohm was close by his -side. - -Soon after Owen came in looking very grave. - -"Well, it caved in, all right, and it never can be cleaned out. But -there's one thing I am convinced of"--and he looked toward the hill -with a frown--"it didn't cave in of itself." - - - - -IV - -THE GREAT ADVENTURE PROGRESSES - -John, the mail carrier, was our only connecting link with the great -outside world. Three times a week he brought the mail. From the first -sight of a tiny speck on the top of the distant hill, our hearts -thrilled. I watched it grow larger and larger, until the two-wheeled -cart stopped at the garden gate. With hands trembling with impatience, -I unlocked the old, worn bag, which John threw on the floor. - -I was the honorable Postmistress. My desk was covered with Postal -Laws, which I almost learned by heart. I had the New England respect -for the Federal prison, the place of correction for delinquent Postal -employees. - -One rule was absolute. The key of the mail bag had to be securely -attached to the Post Office. My Post Office was a wooden cracker box, -which held the mail for the few outside patrons. - -The inspector of Post Offices arrived unannounced one day. He -frowningly looked over my accounts, while I stood by in perturbation. -Suddenly he caught sight of the key at the end of a long brass chain -"securely attached to the Post Office." He got up to investigate. The -frown disappeared by magic, and a smile played around his stern mouth. -He burst into laughter. I explained I was very careful to comply with -all the regulations. He gave me a humorous glance--and stayed to -dinner. - -The papers on Monday evening brought us exciting news. A train on the -U. P. had been held up at a lonely station, thirty miles from our -ranch. All the Pullman passengers had been robbed and one man shot and -killed. The hold-ups had escaped and were at large in the "country -adjoining." - -"If they are in the country adjoining, they'll come here eventually," -I remarked to Owen. "This ranch is a perfect magnet for all the -questionable characters in the vicinity." - -Owen thanked me for the compliment and went out to the bunk house to -interview Robert Reed, now in charge of the hay gang. - -This Reed was an interesting fellow,--a natural leader of men, and so -efficient that Owen had made him hay foreman. - -When we had driven over to his claim to see him about working for us, -Mrs. Reed came out to the buggy, wiping her hands on her apron. - -"No, Bob ain't home this morning," she responded to Owen's inquiry for -her husband. "I reckon you'll find him over ploughin' for Maggie." A -statement made in the most matter-of-fact manner. - -We drove over to another claim shack a mile or so from the Reeds', -where Bob was indeed ploughing for Maggie. To him, too, it was quite a -matter of course. - -The affinity problem in this country really appeared simple. Mrs. Reed -evidently accepted Maggie as a natural factor in the situation, and -her marital relations were not disturbed in the least, as long as Bob -finished his own ploughing first. That woman was truly oriental in her -cast of mind. - -Maggie Lane's mother and brother lived near at hand, also. One -brother, Tom, was Reed's constant companion. Altogether it was a -perfectly harmonious arrangement. - -The Lane family records were not quite clear. Acquaintance revealed -that. They all seemed to have a penchant for leaving the straight and -narrow path for the broad highway of individual choice. Obviously -Maggie's position did not affect her family, nor her social standing -in the community. - -Whenever I drove about the country without Owen, I took Charley with -me on horseback. Gates were hard to open, and my team of horses was -not thoroughly broken. Besides, there were always the possibilities of -the unexpected on these lonely prairies. I called Charley my Knight of -the Garter. When he knew in advance he was going with me, he went up -to the bunkhouse "to slick up." If it chanced to be summer, he emerged -without a coat, his blue shirt sleeves held up by a pair of beribboned -pink garters, a pair of heavy stamped leather cuffs on his wrists, and -a heavy stamped leather collar holding his neck like a vise. - -I suggested one morning that the collar might be uncomfortably warm. -He met my objection with scorn. - -"Hot, Mrs. Brook? Why, that ain't hot. You see, the leather kinda -ab-sorbs the sweat and makes it nice and cool." - -One day we were out to take the washing to Mrs. Reed. I had asked Bob -to take it Saturday night, when he and Tom Lane had "gone over home" -to finish that ploughing. I supposed he had done so, but when he came -back on Monday, he said he had "plumb forgot it, but would take it -next time." - -We had to pass through Maggie's claim on the way. She was standing at -her door, as we stopped to open the gate. There was no freshly -ploughed ground in sight, and I idly asked if she had finished her -ploughing. - -"No," she replied, "I kinda looked for Bob over Sunday to finish it, -but I reckon he couldn't get off. I wish you'd tell him to stop here -the next time he goes home." - -We drove on, and I wondered what Maggie "reckoned" he couldn't get -away from,--the ranch or his wife. - -I gave Mrs. Reed the clothes and I told her Bob had forgotten to bring -them over with him Saturday. She looked at me curiously. - -"Didn't Bob work Sunday?" - -"No," I replied, "none of the men worked Sunday. Tom and Bob both said -they were going home." - -Mrs. Reed frowned. - -"Oh, I suppose Maggie had somethin' she wanted him to do." - -Charley started to answer, but my look stopped him. - -"I'll have your clothes ready Saturday." Mrs. Reed slammed the gate -and turned toward the house. - -"Gee," said Charley, riding up close beside the buggy, "them two -women'll be fightin' over Bob yet, if he ain't careful. Why, that's -funny"--he looked at me questioningly,--"Bob wasn't to Maggie's, -either, was he?" - -"No," I answered, "I was just wondering about that myself. Perhaps he -went to town, instead." A coyote ran out of a gulch. Charley with a -whoop started in pursuit, and the entire incident passed from my mind. - -We were going in to supper, when three men drove up to the door. -Whenever strangers appeared, I always had a moment of uncertainty as -to whether they were to be sent to the bunkhouse with the men, or -invited to our own table. Instantaneous social classification is -rather difficult when there are no distinguishing external signs. And -it had to be done at the moment. The men asked for Owen. - -We had no idea who they were, so our conversation during supper was -limited to impersonal topics, such as the present, past and future -weather, the condition of the range and stock--nothing calculated to -offend the delicate sensibilities of a Governor, a ranchman or an -ex-convict, inasmuch as our guests might come under any of these -heads. Entertaining on a ranch is democratic in the extreme. - -They went out with Owen after supper. From the window I could see four -dim figures sitting on their heels by the corral gate, talking -earnestly. - -It was late when they drove away. I was putting up the mail, as Owen -entered. His announcement drove all idea of the Postal Laws and -regulations out of my head. - -"Well, they've gone, and have taken Bob and Tom Lane with them." - -"Mercy! what for? Who were they, anyhow?" - -"The Sheriff and two Pinkerton men," he answered, gravely. "They have -arrested Bob and Tom for the hold-up." - -"Owen," I gasped, standing up so suddenly that the U. S. mail flew in -all directions. "You don't believe they were the ones, do you?" - -"Not for a minute," Owen answered, with conviction. "And I told them -so, but it seems the men have bad records and the description fits -them. 'A tall man, with a Southern accent, and a short, slight, -smaller man.' So they arrested them." Owen sat down. "It's absurd. In -the first place, they couldn't have gotten to the railroad in time to -hold up the limited. They didn't leave here until nine o'clock, and in -the next place, they went home." - -"But they didn't." I felt suddenly weak in my knees. "I took the -clothes over to Mrs. Reed, and both she and Maggie were wondering why -they hadn't come." - -Owen looked at me in blank amazement, and then asked why on earth I -hadn't told him. - -"Good heavens, Owen, I haven't seen you a moment alone. And, besides, -I never supposed it made any difference _where_ the men went. -Hereafter if the angel Gabriel comes to work for us, I shall insist -upon knowing where he spends his nights. Really," I began to laugh, -"you know, if we ever leave this ranch, the only place we shall feel -at home is in the penitentiary. None but people with 'records' and -'pasts' will interest us." I was half amused and wholly excited, for -even to have a speaking acquaintance with the leading figures in a -hold-up and murder was something my wildest flight of imagination -could have scarcely pictured a few months before. Owen was really -serious. - -"Well, I must say," he shook his head and looked down at the floor, -"it begins to look as though Bob and Tom might have some trouble -proving they weren't the men. It's serious for them, since they -weren't at home. The description certainly fits them." Owen took up -the paper. "'One man about five feet eight inches high, slender and -light mustache, wearing old clothes and a rusty black slouch hat. The -other man five feet ten inches tall, slender, short, black mustache, -about forty years old, spoke with a Southern accent, wore an old black -suit and an old striped rubber coat.'" - -"Go on," I said, as Owen started to put the paper down; "I want to -hear it." He read on: - -"'The men were supposed to have boarded the train coming from Denver, -at a small station this side of Star. The Pullmans were on the rear. -When the train stopped at the station, the Pullman conductor went out -on the back platform and saw two men crouching in the vestibule. He -told them to get off, but at that moment the train started, and they -rose up, covering him with their revolvers. One got behind him, -holding his gun against him, the other in front. They handed him a -gunny-sack and made him carry it. In this manner they entered the body -of the car. - -"'In the first car they got very little plunder, and pushed on into -the next. As they entered the second sleeper, they met the porter, who -was forced to elevate his hands and precede them. While they were -engaged in robbing the passengers in the second Pullman, the train -conductor entered, and was compelled to elevate his hands, with the -rest. - -"'They paused at one berth and seemed very much incensed that the -woman it contained was so slow in handing over her valuables. They -swore and were very impatient. Suddenly, a man in the next berth -thrust his head out between the curtains. He had a revolver in his -hand and fired, but instantly another shot rang out from the robber in -the rear, and the man sank back in his berth. - -"'After the shooting, the robbers appeared more nervous and hurried. -When they had gone through the car, they took the gunny-sack and -emptied the contents into their pockets. One of the robbers pulled the -bell-rope, but evidently not hard enough, for the train continued on -its way. Swearing, they compelled the porter and two conductors to -stand out on the platform with them, covered by their revolvers, until -the train slowed down at Paxton, when they swung off to the ground and -disappeared into these vast prairie lands, which are so sparsely -settled one can drive for a day without seeing a person. - -"'As soon as the train stopped, the passengers hurried to the berth of -the man who had been shot, but he had been instantly killed. - -"'The Sheriff was notified, and a posse started in pursuit, but the -robbers had vanished.'" Owen put down the paper, and we sat up far -into the night talking it over. - - * * * * * - -Subsequently our ranch, our horses, and Owen's opinions were freely -quoted in the press. Bob and Tom were positively identified by the -three trainmen as the hold-ups. They were retained a week in jail, and -then suddenly released on "insufficient proof." - -Owen did not believe in point of time they could have held up the -train, for he had talked to Bob that Saturday night until after nine -o'clock, but everybody, including Owen, held them capable of it. The -point was simply that they had not happened to be there. - -Later Bob and Tom returned to the ranch, incensed at their arrest and -detention, but no one ever learned where they were that memorable -Saturday night. - -Moreover, the men who held up the train were never found, and again -one of those strange tragedies of the West ended in vagueness. - -I was struck by the repetition of that phenomenon "A crime, a -tragedy." At first indignation and an earnest attempt to find the -offenders and bring them to justice, then delay, and the whole affair -shoved into the background by something newer. - -Life here seemed to flow by like a stream at flood-tide. Who could -stem that current long enough to catch those bits of human frailty -floating on the surface, or follow them down stream to the sea? - - - - -V - -A GOVERNMENT CONTRACT - - -From the first, I had been conscious of a fascination about the West -impossible to describe. Its charm was too enigmatical and elusive for -definition. - -There was a suggestion of the sea in that vast circle and in the long -undulations of the prairie, as though great waves had become -solidified, then clothed in softest green. No sign of restless -movement was apparent in those billows which stretched away from the -mountains into the vague distance. All was still. The towering -mountain itself was the symbol of infinite peace and rest. Yet there, -in the midst of that unbroken serenity, stood a cluster of buildings, -the center of the greatest activity, where life was vital and -thrilling as though a few human beings had been flung through space -and dropped onto those silent plains to work out the age-long fight -for existence. - -Peace and conflict, silence and sound, absence of life and life in its -most complex form; contrasts--everywhere and in everything--it could -be defined, it was in "contrasts" that the fascination of the West was -expressed. - -Ranch life might be difficult; it was never commonplace. The mere -sight of a lone horseman on a distant hill suggested greater -possibilities of excitement than a multitude of people in a city -street. - -Each day brought so many new experiences, some of comedy, some of -tragedy, that I began to look for them. - -After the Government had awarded a contract to furnish "150 horses of -a dark bay color for cavalry use" our life became dramatic, with the -riders cast in the leading roles. - -The stage-setting consisted of a large circular corral, twelve feet -high, built of heavy pitch-pine posts and three-inch planks with a -massive snubbing post set in the center. Since there was "standing -room only," cracks were at a premium. - -_The dramatis personae_ were two tall, slender-waisted cow-punchers -who walked with a slightly rolling gait, due to extremely high-heeled -boots, much too small for them. In their right hands they carried a -coiled rope swinging easily. Their costumes were composed of cloth or -corduroy trousers, dark-colored shirts, nondescript vests of some -sort, dark blue or red handkerchiefs knotted loosely about their -necks, expensively-made boots, the tops of which were covered by the -legs of their "pants"; spurs, of course; high-priced Stetson hats, the -crowns creased to a peak, and frequently encircled by the skin of a -rattle-snake, and exceedingly soft gauntlet-gloves. It was my -observation that the old-time cow-puncher wore gloves at all times. He -did remove them when eating, and, I presume, before going to bed, but -they were always in evidence. - -The "Star" is a frightened, snorting "broncho," or unbroken horse -which for the five or six years of its life had been running loose. -Now it was to be "busted." It is cut out from the bunch and run into -the corral and the gate securely fastened. - -One of the men stands near the post, the other does the roping. Facing -the men, the broncho stands still, his head high, his eyes wild and -full of fear. An abrupt motion by one of the riders starts him on a -frantic run around and around in a circle. A sudden throw of the rope -and both front feet are in the loop. Quick as lightning the man -settles back on it, both front legs are pulled out from under the -horse and he falls on his side; the helper runs to his head, seizes -the muzzle and twists it straight up, thrusts one knee against the -neck and holds the top of the head to the ground. The roper puts two -or three more loops above the front hoofs, passes the rope, now -doubled forming a loop, between the legs, to one of the hind feet, -then pulls on the end that he has all the time held. This action draws -all three feet together. One or two more loops about them, a hitch and -the horse is tied so that it is impossible for him to get up. While -the broncho lies helpless, the saddle and bridle are put on, a large -handkerchief passed under the straps of the bridle over the eyes and -made fast. The rope is taken off. Feeling a measure of freedom, he -staggers to his feet and stands. The cinches are drawn very tight, the -rider mounts, gives a sharp order to "let him go," the man on the -ground pulls the handkerchief from the eyes of the horse, and jumps -aside. - -[Illustration: INSPECTING A BRAND] - -For a moment the broncho stands dazed, then jumps, throws his head -between his front legs almost to the ground, squeals, humps his back -and pitches around and around the corral in a vain attempt to rid -himself of the fearsome thing on his back. The circular corral, -limited in space, gives little opportunity to succeed; the rider has -the advantage. The horse stops pitching and runs frantically about the -corral, at length tiring himself out. Dripping with sweat, trembling -from fear and excitement, he comes to a slow trot. The gate is thrown -open. Making a dash for freedom, he plunges through the outside -corrals, the horseman or "circler" close beside him, trying to keep -between the half-crazed broncho and any object he might run into. The -horse bolts out into the open; his is the advantage now, and he makes -the rider ride. He bucks this way and that, twisting, turning, jumping -and running, the man on his back so racked and shaken it seems -incredible that his body can hold together. They tear out over the -prairie in a wild race, far off over the hills, out of sight now. -After a time they come back on a walk. The broncho has been -busted--the act has ended. - -Should the horse rear and throw himself backward, there is the -greatest danger that the man may be caught under him and killed, it -happens so quickly, but these quiet, diffident chaps are absolutely -fearless, past masters in the art of riding, facing death each time -they ride a new horse, but facing it with the supreme courage of the -commonplace, sitting calmly in the saddle, racked, shaken, jolted -until at times the blood streams from their nose, yet after a short -rest the rider "took up the next one" quite as though nothing at all -had happened. All the horses had to be broken and then made ready for -the inspection of the Government officials, and the boys were working -with them early and late. - -It was an unusual experience to live in daily association with these -men, in whom were combined characteristics of the Knights of the Round -Table and those peculiar to the followers of Jesse James. - -In Douglas, Wyoming, there stands a monument erected by the friends of -a local character who, curiously, bore the same surname as the famous -explorer for whom Pike's Peak was named. Chiseled out of the solid -granite these opposing traits are epitomized in this unique epitaph: - - "Underneath this stone in eternal rest - Sleeps the wildest one of the wayward west; - He was gambler and sport and cowboy, too, - And he led the pace in an outlaw crew; - He was sure on the trigger and staid to the end, - But he was never known to quit on a friend; - In the relations of death all mankind is alike, - But in life there was only one George W. Pike." - -Strange, contrasting personalities--in awe of nobody, quite as ready -to converse familiarly with the President as with Owen, but probably -preferring Owen because they knew he was a fine horseman. - -Persons and things outside their own world held but slight interest -for them. At first I had a hazy idea that I might be the medium -through which a glimpse of the outside world would broaden the narrow -limits of their lives. I planned to get books for them and to arrange -a reading room, but my dream was soon shattered upon discovering that -this broader view possessed no charm. Indeed, when I offered to teach -Joe to read he refused my offer without a moment's hesitation, firmly -announcing "I ain't goin' to learn to read, 'cause then I'd have to!" -"Why, Mrs. Brook," he added, looking with scorn at the book I held in -my hand, "I wouldn't be bothered the way you are for nothin', havin' -to read all them books in there," nodding his head in the direction of -our cherished library. This was certainly a fresh point of view -regarding education. About the same time I found that the Sears and -Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalogue might be fittingly called the -Bible of the plains. Night after night the boys pored over them -absorbed in the illustrations, of hats, gloves, boots and saddles, the -things most dear to their hearts, for on their riding equipment alone -they spent a small fortune. - -Improvident and generous, however great their vices might be, their -lives were free from petty meanness; the prairies had seemed to - - "Give them their own deep breadth of view - The largeness of the cloudless blue." - -The religion of the cow-puncher? My impression was that he had none, -for certainly he subscribed to no conventional creed or dogma. Yet -what was it that gave him a code of honor which made cheating or a lie -an unforgivable offense and a man guilty of either an outcast scorned -by his associates, and what was it that would have made him go without -bread or shelter that a woman or child might not suffer? - -Rough and gentle, brutal and tender, good and bad, not angel at one -time and devil at another, but rather saint and sinner at the same -time. Little of religious influence came into his life, and as for -Bibles--there were none. - -I remember the story of a Bishop who was travelling through the West -and was asked to hold service in one of the larger towns. When he -arrived he found that he had left his own Bible on the train, so he -sent the hotel clerk out to borrow one. After some time the man -returned with a Bible, explaining to the Bishop that it was the only -one in town. "I went everywhere and finally got this one. It's the one -they use at the Court House to swear on!" - -The cow-puncher, however, could swear without any assistance, for -usually "cussin'" formed a very necessary part of his conversation. -But as I sat at my window sewing one summer morning I heard a violent -argument at the corral between Fred and a new "hay-hand" from Kansas. -Fred's voice was decisive. - -"That's all right, but you cut out that cussin' here--the Missus' -window's open, and she'll hear you." And the heart of "the Missus" -warmed to her Knight of the Corral. - -There was another incident, the true significance of which I did not -know until three years after it occurred, when the foreman of the -L---- ranch met Owen in Denver and inquired for me, adding: - -"Well, I'll never forget Mrs. Brook. Do you remember the day we was -shippin' them white faces from the Junction about three years ago, -when you and Mrs. Brook happened to come along and stopped to watch -us? Well, one of the best men I had was brandin' a calf when it kicked -him and he swore at it proper; all of a sudden he looked up and saw -Mrs. Brook and another lady standin' on that high platform by the -yards watchin' us. He was so plumb beat, he threw down his brandin' -iron, took up his hat, walked across the street to a saloon and began -drinkin' and stayed drunk for three days, and there I was, -short-handed, with a train-load of cows and calves to ship." - -Contrast again--chivalry carried to the extent of being drunk for -three days because he had sworn before a woman! - -The horses were all being ridden and trained for the inspection which -was soon to take place. Each man had his own "string," those he had -broken, and every day they were put through their paces. When -inspected, they had to be walked, trotted and run up and down before -the officers, stopped instantly, and the veterinarian was supposed to -put his ear to their chests to see if their breathing was regular and -their hearts sound. Now, Western horses are not accustomed to having -their hearts tested, and I noticed that while the riders did -everything else that was required, they tacitly agreed "to let the vet -do his own listnin'." - -The day that the Army officers were to arrive, as Owen was getting -ready to drive over to the station to meet them, I remarked casually -that I hoped nothing would happen to upset their peace of mind, as it -was very important that the honorable representatives of the -Government be kept in a good humor. - -The house was still in an unsettled condition but for the time being -it had been brought into sufficient order to insure their comfort. The -larder was stocked with the best the markets afforded and the horses -were being "gentled" daily. - -When guests came on the train our dinner might be served at any hour -up to ten o'clock at night for after their arrival at the station -there was the sixteen mile drive to the ranch--and anything might -happen. It was late that particular night when I heard them at the -meadow gate. I couldn't understand why they stopped so long. There -were sounds of confusion and as they entered the house one of the -officers held up a finger dripping with blood, the Colonel's hat was -awry, his clothes covered with mud, and they all appeared agitated and -excited. I could not imagine what had happened. Then they all began to -tell me at once. - -Upon reaching the meadow gate the Lieutenant who acted as bookkeeper -jumped out to open it but failed to return after they had driven -through. Upon investigation they found he had caught his finger -between the wire loop and the post and was held fast. They extricated -him from his dilemma and drove on. It was very dark and upon reaching -the house as the august Colonel descended from the wagon, he tripped -over a pile of stones lying near the gate, fell down and just escaped -breaking his neck. I tried to smile and yet be sympathetic--but I had -a vision of Owen with "one hundred fifty horses of a dark bay color" -on his hands if the good humor of the officers was not restored before -morning. - -They were shown to their rooms and I prayed nothing would happen to -the Veterinarian, who had so far remained intact. - -The Colonel and the Lieutenant had come down stairs. We were all in -the library waiting for the Doctor before going in to dinner, when we -heard a fearful crash. We rushed into the hall to see the poor man -sitting on the steps holding both hands to his head. He was very tall -and, coming down the narrow winding stairs, had struck his head on an -overhanging projection which he had failed to observe. His injury was -more uncomfortable than serious and had quite a cheering effect on his -two companions, who began to chaff him about "taking off an inch or -two" so by the time dinner was over they were all in high spirits. - -The following morning at nine the inspection began. Each horse was -brought out, looked over and measured to see that he came up to the -stipulated number of "hands". If he passed he was immediately ridden. - -Each of the men rode the horses he had broken. First the horse was -walked up and down between the blacksmith-shop and the corral, then -trotted and then run, after which his lungs and breathing were tested -and if satisfactory he was accepted. - -Every time a man got on to ride, I was conscious of a feeling of great -uncertainty. The horses looked quiet enough and were fairly gentle, -but Owen and I knew that the slightest variation in the manner of -mounting or "touching them up" might cause them to go through a few -movements not required by the United States Government. - -As it was, all those we had expected to buck behaved like lambs, while -those which had been considered fairly well broken did everything from -bucking to snorting and blowing foam all over the Veterinarian when he -attempted to examine their teeth and test their lungs. - -For three days the inspection went on, each day more interesting than -the last, until all the horses had been examined and out of the number -the necessary one hundred and fifty accepted and branded U. S. - -As the bunch of horses headed for Denver was being driven off the -ranch, Fred looked after them reflectively-- - -"If them sodjers can ride, it'll be all right," he remarked, "but if -they go to puttin' tenderfeet on them bronchs, they'll land in -Kingdom-come before they ever hit the saddle." - - - - -VI - -A VARIETY OF RUNAWAYS - - -Life in any primitive, sparsely settled country is fraught with -adventure. It is the element which gives zest to everyday affairs and -which lifts existence above the commonplace, but since everything has -its price, the price of untrammelled living must often be paid in -discomfort and inconvenience. - -To us, and to many others, abounding health and freedom were ample -compensations for a few annoying circumstances but with our guests it -was a more serious consideration. After a few experiences we began to -discourage the visits of those unfitted by nature and temperament for -"roughing it". - -We could not control the elements nor untoward events. Fate had such -an invariable custom of upsetting and rearranging all of our most -carefully laid plans that when friends, especially "tenderfeet", -arrived, we had a premonition that before they departed something -would happen. It never failed. - -In the house our guests were exempt from anxiety and discomfort, but -no one cared to stay indoors when a dazzling world of blue, green and -gold lay just outside, and the unexpected was no regarder of persons. -A cloud-burst was just as apt to descend upon the unsuspecting head of -a delicate, carefully nurtured old lady as was an indiscriminating -rattlesnake to frighten some timid soul into hysterics. - -Everyone who came to the ranch wanted to ride, those knowing least -about horses being the most insistent, and not wishing to take any -chances, at first we gave them Billy, gentle, trustworthy Billy, who, -when running loose, could be caught by a man on foot and ridden into -the corral with a handkerchief around his neck instead of a bridle. We -would start out, the tenderfoot joyously "off for a horseback ride," -and the next thing we knew he would be off the horse doubled up under -a fence or lying flat on the prairie, while Billy peacefully nibbled -grass. No one could explain it unless the uninitiated had lost a -stirrup and had unwittingly given the horse a dig in the ribs which -was immediately resented--so even Billy was disqualified. - -The truth was, none of our horses was sufficiently well broken for the -inexperienced horseman to ride or drive. They behaved very decently -until something occurred, which was out of the ordinary, and then the -reaction was most sudden and disastrous. - -With the stock on the ranch we had acquired about four hundred horses, -most of which had never been handled and were running loose on the -range. Before they were of any use or value they had to be broken and -Owen felt that it was one of the most important things to be done. -Consequently, many of the horses were broken to drive in the hay -field, the broncho hitched up with a gentle horse, and put onto the -rake or mowing machine--many were the runaways. - -Charley was leisurely by nature. He never hurried either in speech or -movement. Owen and I were in the office one morning when he strolled -around the house and up to the door. - -"Mis-ter Brook," he drawled, "Ja-ne and Maud are running away with the -mow-ing machine down in the timber--they throw-ed Windy off the seat," -but before he got the last word out, his listener was down the steps, -over the fence and on his way toward the creek where Maud and Jane -were tearing through the timber leaving parts of the mowing machine on -stumps and fallen logs, while Charley looked after him in mild -surprise. The horses were brought to an abrupt stop when one tried to -go on one side of a tree and the other on the opposite side. - -There was a beautiful black horse, "Toledo", that refused to allow -anyone to come near him but Owen or Bill, and there was also a new man -on the ranch who so constantly boasted of his ability to handle -bronchos the boys had dubbed him "Windy". - -Windy concluded one day that he would harness Toledo alone. There were -violent sounds in the stable, snorts, shouts, thumps, and Windy sailed -through the open door and landed on a conveniently placed pile of -manure, frightened to death but unhurt. - -Bill was furious. - -"What'd you do to him, anyhow?" he stormed after roping Toledo who had -broken his halter and was running loose in the corral. - -"I didn't do nothin' to him," protested Windy. "I just crope up and -retched over and tetched him and he begun to snort and cave 'round." - -"Course you didn't do nothin', you couldn't do nothin' if you tried. -You'd better go back to town where you belong, 'stead a stayin' out -here spoilin' good horses." Bill's choler was rising. "You don't know -nothin' neither, you're jest a bone head, your spine's jest growed up -and haired over." And, leading the subdued Toledo, Bill disappeared -into the stable. - -When the team that Owen reserved for his own use had passed the -kicking and lunging stage and I had become sufficiently confident to -look at the landscape instead of watching their ears, he usually -concluded they were "pretty well broken" and that he must try out a -new one. This trying out process went on indefinitely, for Owen's New -England conscience gave him no peace apparently while an unbroken -horse remained in his possession. It was a form of duty. - -When we had guests we used, what my husband was pleased to call, a -gentle team, one that started off decorously with all their feet on -the ground instead of in the air, but one day when we were expecting -some friends from Wyoming he could not resist driving a new pair of -beautiful bay horses when we went to meet them. I remained behind. - -The dinner hour passed and no Owen; additional hours went by and late -at night he came in dusty, dirty and scratched. - -In response to a perfect volley of questions he explained that he was -all right, but the Lawtons had telegraphed they had been detained, and -then he added, as quite an unimportant detail, that "the horses had -run away." He had the expression of a fond and indulgent parent, and -as he did not rise to the defense of his pet team when I called them -"miserable brutes" I knew his pride, at least, had suffered. - -"You see," he resumed, "your new sewing machine and some other freight -was at the station, so when I found the Lawtons were not coming I -thought I'd bring it over. I had the crystal clock, too." Owen looked -so sheepish I had to laugh, although the clock had been a wedding -present which we had sent up to the jeweler to be regulated. - -"Is it smashed?" - -"Oh, no," he reassured me, "but I don't know how well it will run. I -got out to close the gate beyond the railroad when a confounded -freight engine whistled and the horses started. I was holding the -reins in my hand, of course, and tried to climb in the back of the -wagon, but couldn't make it on account of the load. I ran along the -side until the horses went so fast I fell down and when they began to -drag me I let go of the reins. They ran all over that inclosure, the -wagon upset and canned tomatoes, sewing machine and crystal clock were -strewn everywhere. I caught the horses finally, but the wagon was -smashed so I had to walk back to Becker's, get his wagon and pick up -all the freight--that's what delayed me. I'm dreadfully sorry about -the sewing machine and the clock, but I don't believe they are much -hurt." - -He was very contrite, was my husband, but it didn't last long, that -sense of duty was too insistent. A very short time after, he was -alone, driving another team, with a horse he had just bought, tied to -the tug. The new horse, frightened at a dead animal in the lane, -jumped, broke the tug, plunged forward, pulled the neck yoke off, the -buggy tongue stuck into the ground as the horses ran, the buggy heaved -up in the air and pitched Owen out. It landed so close to a fence post -his head was scratched, but he might have been killed. As long as he -had escaped, this runaway had its amusing side, too. He was bringing -home a quantity of china nest-eggs which followed when he was thrown -out, and he said for a minute it fairly snowed nest-eggs; the ground -was white with them. - -Owen and his horses! I never could decide whether it was more -nerve-racking to go with him or stay behind, so I usually took the -chance and went. The experiences we had! I wonder we ever survived -that horse-breaking period, but only once did we face a fate from -which there seemed only one chance in a thousand of escaping with our -lives. - -We were driving a buckskin horse Owen had just bought and a newly -broken mare, a handsome, high spirited creature called Beauty. She -danced and she pranced and forged ahead of the new horse which became -nervous and excited in trying to keep up with her. - -We were going up a long hill. Beauty was pulling and tugging on the -bit when suddenly she gave a toss to her head and to our horror we saw -the bridle fall back around her neck. The bit had broken. Like a flash -she was off, the other horse running with her. Owen spoke to them. He -wound the reins about his arms and pulled on them with all his -strength. - -At the top of the hill there was a fairly level space where Owen tried -to circle them, hoping to tire them out, but he had no control over -Beauty and she wheeled about starting back over the road we had come, -the buggy bouncing and swaying behind. There was a fence corner with -an old post standing about ten feet from it. The horses headed -straight for it. I closed my eyes, expecting that we would be wrecked, -but they turned and raced across a gulch, the buggy lurched, tipped, -struck one side and then the other, but by a miracle did not upset. - -I saw that Owen was trying to head them into a fence and braced myself -for the shock, realizing that he hoped to entangle them in the barbed -wire and so throw them, but just as we reached it Beauty veered to one -side almost overturning the buggy. We were so close the skirt of -Owen's fur coat caught on the barbs and was instantly torn to ribbons -and we heard the vibrating "ping" of the wire along its entire length -as the wheels struck the fence. - -On and on the maddened horses raced, up hills, down long slopes, -through gulches in which it seemed we must be wrecked, until at length -we reached the crest of a hill at the bottom of which, angling with -the fence, ran a deep gulch with high cut banks. We knew that if the -frantic horses reached the edge of that bank at the rate we were going -there was no escape for us and we should plunge over the embankment -with the horses. To jump was impossible. I was in despair, realizing -that Owen, pulling on the horses with all his might, was nearly -exhausted. - -"Owen, isn't there something I can do?" It was the first time a word -had been spoken. - -"Pull on the Buckskin," he answered quickly. - -I leaned forward and seized the rein with both hands as far down as I -could reach and threw myself back with all my weight. The Buckskin was -pulled back on his haunches, Beauty stopped. Owen handed me the reins, -another moment he was at their heads calling to me to jump. In that -instant before jumping I lived an eternity, for if the horses had -started again I should have gone to certain death alone. - -[Illustration: THE "STAR" IS A FRIGHTENED, SNORTING "BRONCHO"] - -I was so weak with fright and sudden relief when I felt the firm earth -under my feet I could scarcely stand but I had to get to the -Buckskin's head and hold on to him, for Owen had his hands full with -Beauty, who began to rear and plunge. It was no time for nerves. The -horses were finally unhitched. Owen led Beauty and I, the Buckskin. -Leaving the buggy on the edge of that yawning gulch, we walked the -five miles back to the ranch. - - - - -VII - -THE MEASURE OF A MAN - - -The Bohms had gone. The last load of furniture, upon which old Bohm -perched like an ill-omened bird, had disappeared through the gate on -the top of the hill. At last, after six months of vexation and -trouble, Owen and I could live our own life and run the ranch without -interference. - -Bohm had tried to wriggle out of every clause in his contract. He had -delayed gathering and turning over the stock by every means and had -invented a thousand excuses for staying on from week to week. It had -made it very difficult and had exasperated Owen. If he hadn't been -wise and patient beyond words, Bohm's bones long before would have -mingled with those of his reputed victims in the old root cellar. I -had a different end planned for him each day, but none seemed really -fitting. Owen had gone on in his own way, however, insisting upon -every part of the contract being fulfilled and reducing Bohm to -impotent rage by his quiet firmness. - -Mrs. Bohm had recovered from her "fainting spells" and her husband was -furious to think he had sold the ranch. In desperation he finally sent -to San Francisco for his brother, who was a lawyer, to see if there -was any possibility of getting out of the contract. The "Judge" was a -nice old chap, who looked like an amiable Mormon with a long beard. He -soon settled the question. - -"Why, Jim, you wanted to sell out, you signed the contract and you -have your money. You'll have to stay with your bargain now, whether -you like it or not." - -We always remembered him kindly for this and for a story he told. We -had been discussing the Chinese as servants and he said: - -"Well, I had one for two years, but I don't want any more. I want to -know what I'm eating and with those heathen you are never sure. - -"It had been raining very hard one day when Wong came to me in the -afternoon and said: - -"'Judge, him laining outside, me gottee no meat for dinner.' - -"I told him that we would do without meat for it was raining too hard -for anyone to go out who didn't have to. Wong looked dejected for he -liked meat. He turned to go out of the room, when his eyes fell on the -cat. His face brightened with a sudden inspiration. - -"'Have meat for dinner! Kill'em cat!' - -"Kill the cat! What on earth do you mean? - -"'Less, kill'em cat,' he repeated in a matter of fact tone, 'him sick -anyhow.'" - -We had asked the Bohms to take their meals with us, but only Mrs. Bohm -came to our table. Bohm preferred to eat with the men. We suspected -that he was trying to cause trouble. Charley unconsciously confirmed -our suspicions. He was always conversational and seized the -opportunity to talk while fixing my window screen. - -"Say, Mrs. Brook, you'd orter seen Bill this mornin'. He was eatin' -flapjacks to beat time and was just reachin' for more, when old Bohm, -with that mean way of his, began slammin' Mr. Brook. He was sayin' you -folks thought you was too good to eat in the kitchen with us common -fellers and had to have a separate dinin' room, when Bill just riz up -out of his chair so sudden it went over backwards, and believe me, his -eyes had sparks in 'em when he came back at the old man. - -"'Tain't that the Brooks think that they're too good, but there's some -folks too stinkin' common for anybody to eat with'--and out of the -door he walked and all the boys fol-lered him, leavin' Bohm alone -there facin' all them flapjacks. I reckon he'd a rather faced them -flapjacks than Bill, though,--Gee, Bill was some hot," and Charley's -blue eyes sparkled at the reminiscence. - -It was exactly as I thought; the boys despised Bohm and were -absolutely loyal to Owen. - -After this episode, Owen had a long talk with Bill and a short, heated -interview with Bohm, which resulted in the old man's reluctant, but -hasty, departure. - -I drew a long breath of relief when I saw the last wagon disappear and -looked up fully expecting to see the dove of peace pluming herself on -our roof-tree. But apparently doves in the cattle country never -alight,--they just pass by. - -Owen had bought several thousand acres of land from the railroad. A -car of barbed wire for the fence, which was to encircle the entire -ranch, was at the station. Our land was now in one solid block with -the exception of a few acres of Government land which could only be -acquired by homestead entry. This limited acreage in the great -checkerboard was all that remained of the "free range." - -At this juncture Owen was served with a notice by the United States -Marshal forbidding him to build the fence. It would enclose Government -land. Every mile of the proposed fence would have been on ground which -he had bought, paid for, and on which he was paying taxes--but -still--he could not fence it. "Government land must remain -uninclosed." It made no difference, apparently, what happened to the -cattleman whose money was tied up in property he could not use. -Government land must remain free and open to the public. But, while -those few acres of free range remained open to the public, thousands -of acres of our unprotected land remained open also. Everyone used it. -The ranchmen for miles around, learning that Owen was forbidden to -fence, gathered all their cattle and threw them onto our land. - -It was a very serious problem. Our range was being destroyed, the -grass was eaten off so closely nothing remained for winter range. Our -full-blooded Hereford breeding stock was of little use to us. All our -money was invested in land and cattle and there was only one thing -left to do,--put riders on our range to drive the other cattle off. - -Upon this solution of the problem the dove of peace promptly departed -and we entered upon a long, hard struggle for the possession and use -of what was our own. Owen was faced, not only with financial failure, -but absolute ruin. The future was far from bright, but when an old -school-mate came with her husband to visit us it seemed positively -brilliant by contrast. - -Alice Joice and I had been devoted friends for years. The summer -before we had spent in Europe, where I had left her, deep in the study -of Art, to which she intended "to devote" her life. - -"It is so commonplace to marry, Esther," these were her parting words; -"any woman can marry--but so few can have a real career." - -Alice's "career" had abruptly ended in "commonplace matrimony," for -she had just married a Mr. Van Winkle from Brooklyn, a man I had never -met. They were touring the West and were most anxious to include our -ranch. I was very eager to see them so I wrote, urging her to come, -but asked her to let us know when to expect them, so there would be no -mistake about our being at the station. - -I was particularly anxious to have them see ranch life at its best for -they were our first guests. The house looked very attractive with all -our own furniture and wedding presents in place, but I thought the -guest room floor might be improved so I painted it Saturday afternoon. -Then everything went wrong: the wind-mill pump failed to work, the -whole pipe had to be pulled out of the well; we were without running -water in the house and couldn't have a fire in the kitchen range, so -rations were extremely light. - -Supper, consisting chiefly of sardines, awaited Owen, who was trying -to get some of the grease off his hands, when a homesteader by the -name of Hamm, his wife, sister and five children drove up. He had come -to see Owen on business and they were invited in to supper. - -The table was lengthened and reset, more sardines were opened and we -were just ready to sit down when my Aunt, who was standing near the -window, exclaimed: - -"Who on earth is that!" - -Who, indeed! Alice Joice and her husband with a team they had hired at -the station. - -Having a strong heart I did not faint, but left Auntie to help the -maid make the necessary additions to the table--and sardines, while -Owen and I hurried out to greet them. - -"Hello, dearie, here we are," Alice called from the wagon as I -approached. "Clarence and I thought it would be such fun to surprise -you. How-do-you-do, Mr. Brook, I want you to meet my husband, Mr. Van -Winkle." Alice jumped off the step and threw herself into my arms. -"Oh, Esther, isn't this fun?" Gay, inconsequent Alice, from her city -home, never considered for a moment that a surprise _could_ be -anything but joyous. - -If I had met him in Egypt, I should have known that her husband's name -was Van Winkle--Clarence Van Winkle, it couldn't have been anything -else. - -He was pale and tall and thin and rigid. The inflexibility of the -combined ancestral spines had united in his back bone. He might break, -he could never bend. My imagination failed when I tried to picture the -meeting between the heir to the Van Winkle name and the Hamms. It was -far worse than anything I could ever have imagined. - -Alice was very sweet; she talked all the time, patted the five little -Hamms and won their mother's heart by asking their names and ages, but -in acknowledging the introduction Clarence only bowed slightly, a -movement which required great effort, then relapsed into silence -immediately, scrutinizing the Hamm family through his glasses as -though they were rare animals in a Zoo. Mrs. Hamm and her sister were -stupefied and did not speak a word, but Mr. Hamm, a truly sociable -person from Oklahoma, continually addressed Clarence as "young -feller," which produced the same effect as a violent chill, and when -he joyously jogged a Van Winkle elbow to emphasize some pleasantry, -Clarence firmly moved his chair out of reach of the defiling touch. - -Alice ate everything and did not stop talking for a moment. Clarence -refused everything but a cracker, which he munched in silence. -Suddenly he turned white and left the table. Owen escorted him -out-of-doors while Alice and I followed. He was faint, just faint, and -collapsed weakly onto a garden seat. Alice said it was the Denver -water, but I suspected unassimilated Hamm. Owen stayed with him and -Alice and I returned to finish supper. The Hamms left soon after and -Clarence gradually revived under the influence of Owen's New England -accent and Scotch whisky. - -All at once I thought of the freshly painted guest-room floor. I -explained the situation to Alice and we went up to see if it was dry. -It was, but the smell of paint was most evident. Alice gave a few -sniffs and said apologetically: - -"I'm dreadfully sorry, Esther, but Clarence couldn't possibly sleep -here. He is so sensitive to odors of any kind." I was reminded of a -faint aroma which had clung to the Hamm garments. "If there is another -room we can occupy, I think it would be better." Alice was accustomed -to hotels. I offered our room; it was reluctantly but finally -accepted, the scion of the Van Winkles must not breathe paint. All the -things from the guest-room were put in our room and ours were moved up -to the guest-room. - -Just before they retired Alice confided to me that Clarence had had -some temperature in Denver and the Doctor thought he might be -threatened with typhoid fever. - -"I really believe, Esther, if Clarence has any temperature in the -morning we had better go back to Denver." - -I reassured her as I bade her good-night and then sought Owen. I was -beginning to have some temperature myself. - -"Owen, if Clarence Van Winkle has a thousandth of a degree of -temperature in the morning don't tell him that he'll be all right; let -him go back to Denver or anywhere else he pleases. Imagine that man -with typhoid, here." - -The next morning Alice appeared at breakfast alone. Clarence had no -temperature, but he felt weak and thought he had better stay in bed. -He continued to feel weak for three days, Alice dancing attendance -white the rest of us tried to get the household and water running -again. - -When Clarence finally emerged from his seclusion, he was in high -spirits, positively buoyant. - -"Well, now I want to see everything, all the cattle, the cow-boys, -branding, dehorning, a round-up and what is it you call it? Oh, yes, -'broncho busting'. We have to go back to Denver tomorrow, you know." -He had to stop for want of breath. - -Alice beamed fondly upon her enthusiastic bridegroom. Mine looked far -from enthusiastic. Owen was a perfect host but he could not give a -demonstration of a year's work in one day. The horse-breaking was over -for the season and the branded and dehorned cattle scattered over -miles of country. This he endeavored to explain to Clarence who made -no attempt to conceal his disappointment nor his petulance. - -"Oh, how unfortunate. I've heard so much of the fascination of ranch -life I thought I'd like to see a little of it. I thought you had -broncho busting or something interesting or entertaining going on -every day." - -Owen bit his lip. He was busy beyond words but he dropped everything -and afternoon we took our guests for a drive over the ranch. The wagon -was new and rattled and, wishing to spare Clarence's delicate -sensibilities, Owen put on some washers. - -We were in the middle of the prairie miles from the house, Clarence -had recovered his good humor since he was "actually seeing something", -as he tactfully expressed it, when one of the wheels began to drag. -The washers proved to be too tight, we had a hot spindle. There was -nothing to do but sit there in the blazing sun while the two men took -off the wheel, removed a washer or two and greased the spindle. - -I wouldn't have missed it, the mere thought of that scene was a joy to -me for months afterwards. Clarence Van Winkle red and perspiring from -the effort of lifting a wheel, wiping his greasy hands on a piece of -dirty waste! Alice's face was a study. I had to keep my eyes fixed on -the landscape after one look over the side of the wagon. I was afraid -I should laugh out loud. - -The day they left Bill drove us all to the station. We just made the -train, which was standing on the track as we arrived. Owen hurried to -check the Van Winkle's baggage. Bill had to stay with the horses. -Alice and I had all the wraps, which left Clarence to carry two dress -suit cases across the tracks. His eyes were fixed on the porter and he -was hurrying toward the Pullman when he stubbed his toe on one rail, -sprawled all the way across the track and hit his neck on the second -rail. The suit cases flew in one direction, his hat in another, his -glasses fell off and his watch dropped out of his pocket. Alice and I -rushed to the rescue, the porter assisted Clarence to his feet and -picked up the suit cases, we gathered up the rest of the articles -while Clarence stood in the middle of the track rubbing his knees, to -the great amusement of the passengers. Alice went up to him when -suddenly he screwed his face up as a child does before it begins to -cry, threw both arms around her neck and buried his face on her -shoulder. The conductor terminated the scene by calling "All aboard". -Clarence limped to the train, rubbing his neck, and the last we saw -was Alice holding all the wraps, the hat, glasses and watch, waving to -us from the vestibule and Clarence comfortably seated in the Pullman -smiling a wan farewell through the window. As the train with its -precious freight was lost to sight around a curve, Owen and I began to -laugh. We laughed until we were so weak we could scarcely get into the -wagon. Bill's face was perfectly serious, but his eyes had a little -twinkle in them as he said with his slow drawl: - -"Lord, Mrs. Brook, I'm glad that young man married that girl. He'd -orter have somebody look after him. A poor little goslin' feller like -that ain't got no business goin' round alone." - -Bill always sized up a situation in the fewest possible words. - -During the drive back to the ranch I thought of Alice and her future -by the side of a man of that type. Our future was uncertain enough, -but if trouble and vicissitudes were our portion, at least I had -someone with whom to share them. - -Tex had been away for several weeks and we were surprised to see him -at the gate as we drove up. He looked very serious as he asked Owen if -he might speak with him and Owen looked more serious when he came out -of the office after their conversation. - -"What is it, Owen? Something is wrong. Please tell me." - -Owen took me by the arm and we walked up and down under the trees. - -"Tex came over to tell me, Esther, that I am to be arrested for -'driving cattle off the range.' Technically, it's a serious charge, -carrying a heavy fine and--" he paused--"imprisonment, but don't -worry, my dear," as he felt me start a little at his last words, "it's -listed on the statute books as a criminal offence, connected with -rustling, but that can't hold in this case. It's a 'frame-up' to give -me trouble, that's all. It might have been serious but Tex heard of it -and came to warn me just in time. There's been a plot to eat me out -and now they want to drive me out. I'm going in to Denver to see my -lawyer tomorrow. I'm more troubled on your account than anything -else." - -"Don't worry about me, Owen, we're going to stay in this country and -fight it out to the end. I'll face anything, as long as you don't -cry," and we went into the house laughing, as we thought of Clarence -Van Winkle. - -The miserable experience which followed was sufficiently serious, even -after the charge had been changed to one of minor character. - -Owen was arrested on our anniversary. I went his bond. There was a -long, expensive law-suit which we lost, the Judge contending that if a -man wished to protect his land he should fence it. It was explained -that the Government had forbidden it, but the Judge said that did not -affect the verdict in this case. Owen paid the damages awarded by the -Court, we gathered together our sixteen cow-puncher witnesses who had -been staying with us at one of the largest hotels in Denver, an event -for the cow-punchers, and returned to the ranch. - -Did Owen weep on my shoulder? He set his lips a little more firmly and -his face had an added sternness as he looked across those miles of -rolling prairie he owned but which now were utterly useless. - -He broke the silence at last. His voice had a different tone. - -"I am going to have the use of my own land. They shan't keep me out of -it any longer. I am going to sell off all the cattle and put in sheep. -Then we'll see! With herders we don't need fences and cattle won't -graze where sheep have ranged." - - * * * * * - -Thus with the first year of our marriage, the first chapter of our -ranch experience ended and a totally different life began. - - - - -VIII - -THE SHEEP BUSINESS - - -With the coming of the sheep everything was changed. It was like -living in a different age, almost as though we had slipped back -hundreds of years into Biblical times and had come into intimate -association with Jacob and Joseph. With the advent of the wool or lamb -buyers there was a sudden transition to the more commercial atmosphere -of the twentieth century, but it was so fleeting our pastoral -existence was scarcely interrupted. - -A few of our old men had gone, Tex among them. He left with regret, -but as he said-- - -"Lord knows I hate to go, Mr. Brook, but cattle's all I know and an -old cow man ain't got no business around sheep; they just naturally -despise each other." And he went up into Montana where the cattle -business still flourished. - -Most of the other men stayed on, however, to ride the fence lines, -look after the horses and do the various things about the ranch, but -the days of branding, dehorning and round-ups were past and the -cow-puncher was replaced by "camp tenders". - -The sheep were trailed all the way from New Mexico. Steve, who spoke -Spanish, was foreman, and with three of the other men on horseback had -come up the trail with the sheep and the soft-voiced Mexican herders. - -Their entire camp equipment was skillfully packed on diminutive -burros. It was somewhat startling to see what appeared to be animated -wood-piles, water-casks, rolls of bedding or dish-pans bobbing about -over the woolly backs of the sheep, until a parting in the band -revealed the legs and lowered head of a sleepy-eyed burro. - -The herders spoke no English and it was so charming to receive a -gleaming smile and low bow while being addressed as "Padron" and -"Señora" that we plunged into the study of their musical language -forthwith. - -Each herder was in charge of a band of from fifteen hundred to -twenty-five hundred sheep. Two herders occupied a camp, but the sheep -were placed in separate corrals and, in order to give the various -bands ample pasturage, the camps were placed miles apart. - -Early in the morning the sheep were driven out, the herders taking -their bands in opposite directions. All day long the flock quietly -grazed over the prairie, the Mexican with his dog at his feet standing -like a sentinel on a hill from which he could overlook his entire band -and ward off any prowling coyote whose approach was heralded by a -sudden scurry among the sheep. - -Eternal vigilance, faithfulness and good judgment were the essential -qualities in a herder, judgment in the handling of the sheep, in the -selection of the best grass and water, the time for taking them out -and bringing them back to the camp. The herders were not supposed to -meet and talk together for while they were engrossed in conversation -or out of sight of the sheep the two bands might become mixed, a very -serious thing when the ewes were accompanied by their lambs, for when -the bands were separated again the lamb might be in one band and its -mother in the other. - -It was a lonely life, but one for which Mexicans are especially -suited. They lack the initiative of the Anglo-Saxons, they are -naturally tranquil, slow of speech and action and content to do -nothing--gentle children from the land of Mañana. - -Scattered over the prairie, the sheep from a distance looked like mere -dots so closely resembling the clumps of weeds, it was necessary to -locate the herder before they could be identified. He looked like a -solitary fence post placed on the top of a hill. - -The Mexicans were most gracious and responsive, so delighted to -receive a visit from the Padron that it was a joy to talk with them. -We were never certain just what we had said, to be sure, but the -effect of our halting, broken sentences of Spanish appeared so -pleasing, we were convinced that if we could only converse fluently -our words would become immortal. Urbanity was most contagious. Owen -and I made deep bows to the herders, we almost bowed to the sheep in -an over-mastering desire to equal the politeness of Ramon, Fidel, -Francisco or Tranquilino. What names! The atmosphere of the ranch -became so poetic and romantic I should not have been surprised to see -Owen adopt long hair and a flowing tie. After a day spent in visiting -the sheep camps I returned in an ecstatic mood. I almost fancied -myself the reincarnated spirit of Bo-Peep or Ramona but alas, my true -identity was always disclosed as soon as I reached the house--I was -only "the Missus". - -Nevertheless the sheep business was fascinating, and best of all -successful. The question of the range was settled. We had the use of -our own land and our rights were respected. The customary feud between -the sheepman and the cattle owners was avoided, since our sheep were -always kept within the limits of the land which we owned. From being -the object of hatred and vilification, Owen became a personage; his -opinion quoted, his method of handling sheep emulated. - -[Illustration: TRAILED ALL THE WAY FROM NEW MEXICO] - -[Illustration: LIKE A SOLITARY FENCE POST] - -There were a few sheep men in the country who had made an indifferent -success. They had scoffed at Owen's practice of selling off all the -lambs in the autumn and maintaining the number of his sheep by -additional purchases but, when they found how small his losses were, -they promptly adopted his plan and even some of the old-time cattle -men put in sheep. - -The loss of the law suit had certainly proved to be the turning point -in the history of the Brook family. Our popularity increased so -rapidly it was amusing. Bill expressed what I felt as I met him riding -through the meadow. - -"Have you been riding the fence lines, Bill?" - -"Yes'm, but it's just takin' exercise for my health. There ain't -nothin' wrong any more. Since you folks got the world by the tail and -a down-hill pull, everybody's huntin' around seein' what they can do -to make it pleasant for you. I notice the Three Circle outfit don't go -round no more leavin' all the gates open and when we get a fence line -staked out, the stakes ain't all pulled up by mornin'." - -"It is peaceful, isn't it?" - -"Peaceful," echoed Bill, with feeling, "I'm so chuck full of peace I -can't hardly hold any more. I'll bet if a feller was to hit me, I'd -only 'baa-a'." - -There was a vast amount of "Baa-ing" going on at the ranch, where Mary -and I were raising a few score orphan lambs on the bottle. There was a -voracious chorus whenever we appeared. They jumped all over us and as -soon as they got hold of the nipple of the bottle they flopped down on -their knees and did not release it until they had gulped down the last -drop of milk, after which they stood up, their little sides sticking -out as though they had been stuffed. As much care had to be exercised -with the bottles, the temperature and quantity of the milk as though -we had been feeding so many babies. - -There was no milk at the outside camps and no one to care for the poor -abandoned lambs whose frivolous young mothers refused to own them, -leaving them to starve. Occasionally an old ewe of truly maternal -instinct could be fooled into adopting one of these little "dogies" or -"bums". The skin of her dead lamb was taken off and slipped over the -orphan, which was joyfully accepted because of its smell! - -When the lambs made their appearance in May, the bands were separated, -we had additional herders and they had to be more watchful for "Spring -lamb" is also very tempting to coyotes. It was easy for a herder to -lose ten or twenty lambs, for the little things congregate behind -rocks or clumps of weeds and go to sleep, are overlooked when the -sheep are driven back to the camp in the evening, and become the -victims of those prairie wolves which continually lurk about. - -Sometimes when we were driving, a tiny white speck would come racing -after the wagon, a lamb, which had been left behind. Lambs are such -senseless little things, when they are frightened they will adopt any -moving object in lieu of a mother. - -We pulled them out of prairie-dog holes into which they had thrust -their heads and become fastened by having the loose earth fall in -about their necks--they were troublesome but so appealing and amusing, -they were a never-ending source of entertainment from the first moment -they appeared, a tiny body supported on long, wabbly legs. - -As they grew stronger "playful as a lamb" acquired a new meaning. They -capered and they bucked, they raced around the corral in the evening -when the ewes were contentedly lying down, they frisked about on the -backs of their patient mothers, they jumped stiff-legged, and in a -wild excess of joy bounded into the air giving a cork-screw twist to -their hindquarters, which produced a most ludicrous effect. - -Old quotations from the Bible came to have added significance; as the -shearer held a poor frightened sheep between his knees and rapidly -clipped off the fleece with his gleaming shears, there was not a sound -if a clumsy movement cut a deep gash in the tender flesh; the "sheep -before her shearer was dumb" indeed. - -I spent days in the shearing sheds watching the proceedings from a -pile of wool sacks or passing out small metal disks in exchange for -the fleeces the shearers turned in. At the end of the day the disks -were counted and each shearer credited with the number of sheep he had -shorn. - -The fleeces were rolled and tied separately, then thrown up to a man -on a platform, who packed them in a long sack which was suspended from -the top of a high frame. As it was filled, it was taken down, sewed up -and rolled into the end of the shed to remain until later in the -season when the wool was sold and hauled to the railroad. - -Life was certainly peaceful compared to what it had been, but there -was little danger of our becoming "on weed", as a certain retired -cattle-man expressed it after a short sojourn in Europe. - -Lambing, shearing and dipping followed in rapid succession. The -herders cooked for themselves and once a week the wagons were piled -with supplies and provisions which were left at each camp. In a huge -store-room were kept quantities of salt-pork, sugar, dried fruits, -coffee, flour and other groceries. Flour was bought by the ton and -everything else in proportion. Making out the orders, having all the -freight hauled the sixteen miles from the railroad, checking it out -and keeping the camps supplied, were only details but it was the -multitude of detail which filled the days and kept us from becoming -"on weed". We issued the supplies to the camp-tenders ourselves, after -one of them had filled all of the Mexicans' cans with gasoline instead -of coal-oil, because "it kind'a had the same smell." - -Unless we chanced to have guests, for weeks at a time the only women I -saw were those in our employ, but I resented having any of my friends -think of my life as "dull" or "lonely". On the contrary it was -fascinating, full of incident, rich in experience which money could -not buy. Living so close to the great heart of nature during those -years on the plains, the vision of life partook of their breadth and a -new sense of values replaced old, artificial standards. To be alone on -the vast prairie was to gain a new conception of infinity -and--eternity. - - * * * * * - -The Mexicans stayed on the ranch about nine months, then returned to -their homes for a short visit. They were the most invariable creatures -I ever knew. When they departed for Taos or Trinidad or Antonito, -perhaps in July, they would announce on what date and by what train -they would return in October. That was the end of it, and upon the -appointed day in October someone would meet the designated train from -which the smiling herder alighted. They never failed and they never -left until another herder was there to take care of the sheep. - -One summer during this vacation period, eight new herders came to -replace eight that were going home. They were a fierce looking lot -from a different section of the country. They had been on the ranch -only a short time when Steve began to have trouble with them. They -were late getting their sheep out in the morning, they drove them too -rapidly and brought them in too early in the evening. In a few weeks -the sheep began to lose flesh and show the effects of bad handling. - -The newcomers disobeyed all orders, unless Steve happened to be on the -spot. He had to watch them constantly. He came up to a camp -unexpectedly one noon and found two of these Mexicans ready to sit -down to a dinner they had just cooked. It was an invariable rule that -the herders should take a lunch with them, for their mid-day meal, and -not return to the camp. They had left their sheep alone, so Steve made -them leave their dinner and go back to their bands, while he stayed to -make sure they did not return. - -It was impossible to discharge them until new herders could be brought -from New Mexico and he and Owen talked over the situation at length -that night. - -Early in the morning Steve went out on another trip of inspection. -About two o'clock he rode into the yard, his face covered with blood -from a deep gash in his head. He fell from his horse into Owen's arms. -We brought him in, washed off the blood, gave him a stimulant and -waited until he was able to tell us what had happened. - -It developed that as he came in sight of the camp he saw four of the -Mexicans outside of the cabin. They stood motionless as he approached, -then began to hurl rocks at him. One hit his horse and he was nearly -thrown but managed to keep his seat. He was struck several times on -the body. Although realizing that the Mexicans intended to kill him, -he jumped off his horse and went toward them. A rock struck his head, -but with undaunted courage he picked up some of the rocks and threw -them back at the herders. They had not expected that turn to the -affair and ran into the cabin. Steve was unarmed and too badly hurt, -single handed, to deal with the Mexicans, so he got on his horse, with -difficulty, and came back to the ranch. - -The next thing I knew, Owen, Bill and Fred, each carrying a gun, got -into the wagon and drove off. - -When anything happened it came with such suddenness there was never -opportunity for questions, besides, my association with men had taught -me the value of silence--in an emergency. - -In a few hours Owen and Fred came back. They had met the eight new -herders walking into the ranch to "quit". They walked back to their -respective camps instead, their pace accelerated by a loaded gun -pointing at their backs. The cabins were searched, several villainous -looking knives confiscated and eight subdued cut-throats returned to -the peaceful occupation of herding sheep, under Bill's watchful eye -and loaded gun. - -Owen said that it wasn't at all necessary for the Mexicans to -understand English since Bill's few remarks were sufficiently lurid to -attract their attention. - -Until other herders could be brought to the ranch, one white man, -always armed, stayed at each camp, constantly on guard lest the -vindictive herders set fire to the camps or kill the sheep. These were -no gentle children from the land of Mañana; we discovered they were -desperate characters from Old Mexico, to whom murder was second -nature. - -Bill's opinion of the sheep business after his brief experience in the -camps could only be published in an expurgated edition. He hated the -Mexicans, he hated the sheep, he hated everything connected with them. -After seeing his charges safely on board a southbound train, he -returned to the ranch with all the joy of an exile. - -"I've been up against tough men, Mrs. Brook, but that bunch is the -worst I ever seen. They're just like a pack of coyotes, grinnin' and -sneakin' up behind you, waitin' 'til they git a chance to finish you. -Between listnin' to the grass grow and pickin' off sheep ticks, I got -plumb locoed settin' there watchin' 'em. I jest had to feel my skin -every once in a while to be sure I wasn't growin' wool." - - - - -IX - -THE UNEXPECTED - - -If there is anything in suggestion, Carlyle was responsible for the -whole affair, otherwise _why_ should we have deferred our drive until -the late afternoon and selected _Sartor Resartus_ of all books to read -aloud after lunch? - -Owen wanted to visit one of the sheep camps to examine the corrals -before having the hay stacked there for winter use and he urged us to -go with him. His invitation was joyfully accepted. For many weeks we -had scarcely left the ranch as Owen's Mother, who was with us, had -been desperately ill. The crisis had passed, however, so we did not -hesitate to go off for a few hours, leaving Madame Brook with her -nurse. My aunt, Owen's sister and her two children were at the ranch -also, and after so many weeks of anxiety we all felt the relaxation -and joyously climbed into the wagon when Owen drove up. - -There were summer and winter camps for the sheep and our objective -point was an old place, acquired with the ranch, which had been -converted into a winter camp. During the summer it was unoccupied. - -We drove along laughing and talking. Owen's nephew carried his gun and -kept a sharp lookout for coyotes. It was a glorious day and we were in -the mood to appreciate all its beauty. - -The meadows, waist deep in native hay, were flecked with the gold of -the prairie sun flowers. The wild roses grew in tangled masses -everywhere, their perfume mingled with the odor of the sage which -yielded up its aromatic sweetness as the wheels crushed the silvery -leaves. The plains were mottled with the shade of fleecy clouds which -floated lazily across the sky, the changing lights flooded the hills -with dazzling sunshine, then veiled them softly with faint cloud -shadows. A delicate haze hung over the more distant hills, and behind -the mountains thunderheads were gathering. - -The road ran directly past the camp and long before we reached it we -could see the old house, forbidding in its isolation, standing on a -high mesa above the creek. It had been built years before by a settler -named La Monte, whose footsteps misfortune had dogged until she -overtook him at last. His wife deserted him and, broken in heart and -fortune, he had left the country. Bohm held a mortgage on the place -and it had passed into his possession. - -An air of abandonment surrounded the camp even in winter when it was -occupied, but during the summer when it was totally deserted the -ghosts of dead happiness stalked unheeded through the silent rooms. -Rank weeds filled the yards, the plaintive notes of the wood-doves in -the cotton-woods by the creek and the weird, haunting howl of the -coyotes were the only sounds to break the silence. - -There was a tale connecting old Bohm with the La Monte tragedy for -which an affair with Mrs. La Monte was responsible. We were some -distance from the house, the rest of the party were intent on watching -a big jack-rabbit which was bounding lightly across the prairie, but I -was thinking of the wretched story which the sight of the old house -always recalled, when the door was slowly opened and a naked man -paused for a moment on the threshold then walked down the steps into -the yard. - -I gave a gasp, my eyes fixed on that advancing figure, the others -looked around but in that instant the man had seen us and dropped down -into the tall weeds, by which he was completely hidden. - -"What's the matter?" Owen asked, surprised by my exclamation. - -"Why, Owen, a man without any clothes on just came out of that door -and is there in the weeds." - -Owen turned toward the yard, there was no one in sight; he looked at -me in amazement. He knew I must be in earnest! I was not given to -"seeing things". - -"Why, that's absurd, how could you imagine anyone being out here in -this deserted place miles and miles from the railroad?" - -We were just opposite the house and as if in response to Owen's -question the head and naked breast of a man rose up from behind the -weeds. His face was crimson and the thick, black disheveled hair gave -him such an aspect of wildness we were appalled. - -Owen stopped the horses, the man rose to his feet, calmly looked at -us, then turned and walked slowly into the house. - -We were speechless. It was like a sudden apparition. - -After a moment Owen passed the lines to me. - -"Here, Esther, hold the horses while I go in and investigate." - -"Be careful," was all I could say. There was a chorus of "Don'ts" from -the back seat as he got out of the wagon. - -I thought of the gun. "Gordon, take your gun and go after your uncle. -I know that man is crazy." - -Gordon jumped out and ran toward the house, but before he reached the -door we heard a loud burst of singing, a curious rendering of -"Ta-rah-rah boom-de-ahy". In a moment Owen and Gordon reappeared. - -"Well, there's no doubt of his being crazy," Owen said, "we'll go to -the Bosman ranch where I can get someone to come back with me. I can -telephone the Sheriff from there, too." Then he told us what had -happened. - -By the time he reached the door the man had put on his outside shirt -and was standing in the middle of the bedroom floor. He glared at Owen -when he entered and made no reply when asked what he was doing there, -then he turned around and walked over to an empty bed frame which -stood against the wall, got behind it and gradually slipped down -underneath. When he was lying flat on his back on the floor, his feet -toward Owen, he began to sing in some broken foreign tongue. - -It was uncanny and as we drove on toward the creek I could only say -"What next?" - -"I don't know what on earth can come next," Owen replied. "This is -positively the most unexpected and unlikely thing that ever happened." - -We had to drive down a hill before we crossed the creek and at last -lost sight of the house, the sound of the wild singing grew more faint -and finally died away. - -There were no bridges in the country and while at this time there was -no flowing water, the sand was wet. We drove down a steep bank into -the bed of the creek and were almost across when without the slightest -warning the bottom seemed to drop out of the earth beneath us and the -wagon sank down. - -"Quicksand!" - -There was just time for that one exclamation in concert. Owen gave the -horses a quick cut with the whip, they sprang forward, caught a -footing on the solid sand and were safe. He gave them another cut, but -pull as they would they could not move the wagon, which had sunk to -the hubs. The double tree broke and the horses were free. Owen and -Gordon jumped out on the tongue, holding onto the horses and drove -them up the bank. There the rest of us sat, feeling the wagon sinking -slowly farther and farther into the deadly, yielding substance. - -The end of the wagon-pole rested on the firm sand, so by climbing over -the dashboard holding on to it with one hand I was able to work my own -way down the wagon tongue until I could grasp an outstretched hand and -jump to safety. The others followed my example. The danger was past, -but we trembled as we looked back. - -It is impossible to distinguish quicksand from ordinary sand by its -appearance, but it will not support the slightest weight. It seems to -melt into nothing and the sensation is all the more terrifying from -its suddenness. The first effect is instantaneous, then the engulfment -becomes more gradual. - -We were safe but afoot. Owen took the horses. - -"Gordon and I will go on to the Bosmans and get another wagon. We -won't be long and you women had better stay here and not walk these -three miles." - -I was just about to say "all right" when I happened to glance behind -me and there on the bank, silhouetted quite sharply against the sky, -stood the figure of a half-clad man. - -He was watching every move we made. I pointed to him. - -"I think you'd better come with us," said Owen after one glance, "he -might decide to investigate," and off we all trudged down the dusty -road. - -Blue black masses of cloud were spreading gradually across the sky and -distant thunder muttered ominously. - - * * * * * - -If a bomb had alighted in the centre of the Bosman ranch, where supper -was in progress, it couldn't have produced a more startling effect -than our arrival on foot and the account of our experience. They urged -us to spend the night, as the storm was rapidly approaching, but we -felt we must go back with Owen. - -Mr. Bosman hitched our team to one of his wagons, while Owen -telephoned to the Sheriff. We took a few pieces of bread and meat for -the poor demented creature at the camp and made another start. Mr. -Bosman and his son accompanied us on horseback. - -We went by a different road to avoid crossing the creek. - -It was dark by the time we reached the La Monte place, everything was -still. The four men, with a lighted lantern, entered the house. A wild -outburst of singing followed, which told us the same scene was being -enacted. The men came out almost immediately, talking earnestly. - -Mr. Bosman, an old-timer, had recognized the man as Jean La Monte, he -had spoken to him, had called him by name, but no sign of -understanding, not one faint glimmer of intelligence had shone from -out those wild eyes. Mr. Bosman was almost overcome. - -"It's just terrible to see him that way, he was such a good man. Poor -old La Monte, trouble has sure driven him crazy. How on earth he ever -got here beats me. There ain't a thing we can do tonight. We couldn't -handle him if he got violent. There never was a stronger man in this -country than Jean La Monte. My God! It's awful!" - -So it was arranged that the Bosmans should go back to their ranch and -send word to the Sheriff to be up there early in the morning and that -Owen should have some of our men guard the place during the night. - -"Poor devil, I don't believe he'll go away. He seemed so suspicious he -wouldn't touch the bread, and I believe he's been here two or three -days. See you in the morning," and the Bosmans disappeared in the -darkness. - -The thought of the tragedy with which we had so suddenly come in -touch, weighed upon us. A living ghost connected us with a past in -which we had no part. - -Long after we had left the old place behind, the mad singing followed -us, except when it was drowned by a sudden crash of thunder. The -jagged flashes of lightning illuminated the heavens for a brief -second, then left the world shrouded in an impenetrable darkness. -Rather than risk going through the creek a second time, we had decided -to cut across country. - -The prairies were broken by deep gullies washed and torn by the fury -of the summer storms. By day, driving was difficult; by night, it was -hazardous in the extreme, and after a blinding flash which fairly tore -the heavens apart, we were forced to stop the horses for fear of -driving into an unseen gulch. The horses, headed toward home and -excited and nervous, were hard to control. We drove along in silence, -our staring eyes trying to pierce the darkness. It was so dangerous -that at last I got out and walked in front of the horses. I could not -see; I could only know from the contour of the ground when we were -near a gulch or by my outstretched hand tell when we were near the -wires of a fence. After a time Gordon took my place, and all the way -one or the other walked before the team. The lightning and thunder -were terrific, but still it did not rain. We were worn out with -fatigue and anxiety when we finally reached the ranch. - -Steve was standing with his saddle horse at the crossing of the creek, -swinging a lighted lantern. When he heard the sound of the wheels he -gave a shout. - -"Mr. Brook!" - -"All right," Owen called back. Steve came towards us. - -"What on earth happened? We've all been plumb worried to death, and -Madame Brook, she's most crazy. I've just sent Fred up to the La Monte -place to look for you." - -"La Monte place!" we exclaimed as several of the boys, attracted by -Steve's shout, came up. "Get on your horse," said Owen, quickly, "and -overtake him; there's a madman up there." - -Steve did not wait for further instructions, but flung himself on his -horse and tore off after Fred. We hurried in to reassure Owen's -mother, who was nearly frantic. Later, as she bade us "Good-night," -she said very seriously: "Owen, as soon as I am able I am going to -Denver. I must be where it is quiet. I simply cannot stand the -excitement here." - -As the rain began to fall in torrents, we heard the men who had been -detailed to guard the La Monte place galloping off. - -An itinerant tailor had pulled into the ranch just before our return, -and was peacefully sleeping in his wagon. He was awakened when the -horses were driven into the corral, and came out to learn the cause of -the commotion. He was so excited when he heard that an insane person -was in the vicinity he asked to sleep at the bunk house with the men. -They tried to laugh him out of his fears, but his fright was so -genuine they told him to "come on." - -The strangeness of the whole affair, the combination of circumstances -and pure nervous and physical exhaustion kept Owen and me awake a long -time. It seemed I had scarcely fallen asleep when I heard someone -knock on the door and say: - -"Mr. Brook, Mr. Brook." - -I recognized Mary's voice, and responded for Owen, who was dead -asleep. - -"Mrs. Brook, the crazy man is down here at the corral; will you ask -Mr. Brook to come out?" - -It didn't take Owen long to dress. It was about five o'clock, and from -the window we could see poor old La Monte, still attired in his shirt, -sitting in the door of the granary playing with a little cotton-wood -switch. - -How he had escaped the men who had surrounded the place, and how he -had found his way to our ranch were questions no one could answer. - -The first intimation of his presence came in the form of a wild yell -from the tailor, who had gotten up early and gone down to the corral -to feed his horses. This brought all the men to the bunk house door as -the terror-stricken little Jew flung himself into their arms. - -"Mein Gott! Dot crazy man iss here." - -"You're the only crazy man on this ranch," said Bill, taking him by -the collar and giving him a shake. "What ails you, anyhow?" - -"Oh, he iss here, he iss here," wailed the tailor. "He ain't got on no -clothes, and we'll all be kilt." The boys left him and went out to -investigate. - -It was true. La Monte was there, and after a futile effort on Bill's -part to get him to talk the boys retired to the bunk house and sent -for Owen. - -"Gee," Bill said later, "that feller was the doggondest lookin' thing -I ever seen, settin' there in what was left of his shirt. His legs was -all tore by the fence wires or brambles, his teeth was chatterin' and -he was just blue with cold. His eyes had a look in 'em that give me -the shivers. I don't wonder he scart that there Jew into a fit. I -wasn't very anxious to come clost to him, neither. I ain't scart of -anything that's human, but he ain't human, goin' 'round folks dressed -like that." Bill was a stickler for convention. - -"That's the first thing a person usually does when he goes crazy, -Bill--takes off all his clothes." - -Bill gave me an incredulous look. - -"Gosh, I hope I'll be killed ridin' or somethin' and not lose my mind -first. It ain't decent." - - * * * * * - -The poor demented creature would not speak nor pay any attention to -the other men, but when he saw Steve he smiled as he asked: - -"You've come to take me away from them, haven't you?" - -"Yes," Steve said. "Will you go with me now?" - -La Monte stood up. - -"Yes, if you won't let them get me; those witches want to drag me back -to hell, but I've fooled them this time. I've almost caught up with -him once or twice and they drag me back." And he walked off quietly by -Steve's side. - -Steve took him to the bunkhouse, gave him some coffee and made him lie -down on his bed. While Steve sat beside him La Monte slept fitfully, -but at the slightest move started and tried to get up. Steve fell in -with all his vagaries; he promised to help him escape the witches and -to help him find the person for whom he seemed to be searching. - -"Where was he last?" Steve asked, hoping to find some clue. - -"Why, on his horse." La Monte sat up and stared wildly into Steve's -eyes. "Don't you know, he's always on a horse, a big black horse. He's -there just ahead of me, he's always just ahead of me," and he jumped -up and started toward the door. - -Steve calmed him again and he fell back on the pillows and lay there -in silence, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. - - * * * * * - -Six crestfallen cow-punchers returned from the La Monte place. No one -knew when the man had left the camp, no one had even caught a glimpse -of him. His clothes they had found in the well. - -The Sheriff and his posse came at last. Steve kept his hand on the arm -of La Monte as they approached the wagon. It was a tense moment; we -were all watching but hidden, fearful lest some trifle would arouse -the demon of violence. The men were all armed. - -La Monte put his foot up on the step of the wagon, then took it off, -shook his head, turned and walked toward the granary. We held our -breath. Steve alone followed him. - -"Come on; you're going with me, aren't you?" - -There was no reply. With his eyes fixed on the ground La Monte ignored -Steve completely. Suddenly he stopped and picked up something, the -little cotton-wood switch to which the leaves still clung. Holding it -tightly, he walked back to the wagon, got in, Steve by his side, and -they drove off. - -They were scarcely out of sight when Charley came dashing up with -sixty dollars in gold which he had found under a pile of mud at the La -Monte place. Owen sent him to overtake the wagon. - -"Is this yours?" Charley asked, as he rode up to them, holding the -money out toward La Monte, who only shook his head and looked off -across the prairie. Charley turned the money over to Steve. - -When they reached the town, La Monte seemed to become confused and -suspicious. He would not speak. He was judged insane and committed to -the asylum. Still in charge of the Sheriff, Steve and two other men, -he was put on the train. - -"Where did you get him?" the conductor asked the Sheriff. - -"Up in the country, at the A L ranch." - -"Oh, yes, I know that place; it used to be the old Bohm----" - -He never finished his sentence, for La Monte, with a cry, sprang to -his feet, looked wildly about, brushed them aside and jumped through -the window. - -The train was stopped, and they ran back to where he had fallen. He -had broken his leg, but in spite of that fought them off with -superhuman strength. With the help of the train crew, he was -overpowered at last, bound and taken back to the train. - -Steve told us later it was the most terrible experience he had ever -been through. - -"I just couldn't stand the look in his eyes when they got him to the -asylum. He didn't say nothin', just kept moanin' all the time. He'd -been there for five years, and no one knew how he got away. I suppose -it would a come anyhow, but it seemed like it was the mention of -Bohm's name that set him off." - - - - -X - -AROUND THE CHRISTMAS FIRE - - -Within a radius of many miles there were only three small children, -and about them our Christmas festivities revolved. They furnished the -excuse for the tree, but no work was too pressing, no snow too deep to -prevent the boys from bringing the Christmas tree and greens from a -small clump of pines which stood on top of a distant hill, like a dark -green island in the midst of the prairie sea. - -Early on Christmas morning Steve started out with gaily bedecked -baskets for the Mexicans, and at the ranch the greatest excitement -prevailed. I dashed frantically between the bunkhouse and our kitchen -to be certain that nothing was forgotten. The big turkeys were stuffed -to the point of bursting, all the "trimmings" were in readiness, and -the last savory mince pies were in the ovens. - -[Illustration: BUCKING HORSE AND RIDER] - -Behind the closed doors of the living room the tall tree, festooned -with ropes of popcorn and garlands of gaudy paper chains, glittered -and glowed with its tinsel ornaments and candles. - -Owen divided his attention between his "Santa Claus" costume and pails -of water, which he placed near the tree in case it should catch fire. - -The boys spent most of the morning "slicking up" and put on their red -neckties, the outward and visible sign of some important event, then -passed the remaining hours sitting around anxiously awaiting the -arrival of the guests of honor and--dinner. - -Sometimes members of the family were with us or some friends were -lured from the city by the promise of a "really, truly Christmas," and -there were always a few lonely bachelors to whom the holidays, -otherwise, would have brought only memories. - -Christmas was our one great annual celebration, a day of cheer and -happiness, in which everyone joyously shared. It was a new experience -in the life of the undomesticated cow-puncher, but he took as much -satisfaction in the fact that "Our tree was a whole lot prettier than -the one I've saw in town" as though he had won a roping contest. - -Each year the children and their parents were invited for Christmas -dinner. They might be delayed en route by deep snowdrifts, out of -which they had to dig themselves, but they always arrived eventually. -We came to have a sincere affection for those children, gentle little -wild flowers of the prairie. - -They were very sweet, perfectly ingenuous, gazing in round-eyed wonder -upon things which to most of us were commonplace. - -I never thought of its being anything new in their brief experience -until at dinner one of the small boys turned to his mother after -tasting a piece of celery and said, "Look, Mamma, 'tain't cabbage and -'tain't onions. What is it?" - -They positively trembled with excitement as they learned to read and -laboriously spelled out the words in the simple books we gave them. -They craved knowledge as a starving man craves bread. - -As Santa Claus, Owen wore a ruddy mask with a long white beard and -bristling eyebrows, a fur cap pulled down over his ears, heavy felt -boots and his long fur overcoat. He looked and acted the part so -perfectly the children for years insisted that "there is a Santa Claus -'cause we've seen him." - -The first Christmas everyone was gathered about the tree waiting for -this mysterious personage to appear when Owen suddenly thought of -bells; he must have sleigh-bells. No self-respecting Santa Claus was -complete without them. I was in despair; there wasn't a sleigh-bell -within a hundred miles, but Owen insisted that he must jingle. At last -after a great deal of argument and searching for something which would -give forth bell-like sounds, he finally pranced out before the -spell-bound audience with my silver table bell sewed to the top of one -of his boots. He had to prance because the bell refused to tinkle -unless it was shaken, and for the ensuing hour he pranced so -vigorously that between the exercise and the fur coat he nearly -perished from heat. - -After dinner we all assembled in the big living-room, where my -disguised husband presented each person with some little gift and -ridiculous toy, accompanied by a still more ridiculous rhyme, over -which the boys roared. They enjoyed the jokes most of all. No one -escaped; Owen and I came in for our share with the rest. Mine usually -bore veiled or open allusion to my particular pet lamb which had -developed strong butting proclivities. He butted friend and foe -indiscriminately, so that even my fond eyes were not blinded to his -faults, and Owen's remarks were most uncomplimentary after he had -acted as a shield for us when "Jackie" had chased my sister and me all -about the yard. - -Later in the afternoon everybody scattered--our house guests amused -themselves as they chose, riding, driving or hunting coyotes, the boys -rode over to the neighboring ranches or went to "town," the store and -saloon at the railroad station sixteen miles away, but I spent an hour -or two playing with the children or reading to them until their father -"brought the team around," their happy mother climbed up on the high -seat of the lumber-wagon and, clinging to dolls, trains and toys, -three blissfully happy but perfectly exhausted little children were -wrapped up in quilts and coats, stowed into the back of the wagon and -started on the twenty-mile drive "back home." - -It had been an eventful day in their short, barren lives, but for us -it was the best part of Christmas, except the evening, when we all -gathered about the big fireplace which drew everyone into its circle -like a magnet. - -There was nothing prosaic about those who grouped themselves around -the great stone fireplaces on the ranches in the old days. Here again -were found those contrasts, so striking and unexpected; university men -who had come West for adventure or investment, men of wealth whose -predisposition to weak lungs had sent them in exile to the wilderness, -modest young Englishmen, those younger sons so often found in the most -out-of-the-way corners of the earth, and who, through the sudden -demise of a near relative, had such a startling way of becoming earls -and lords over night; adventurous Scotchmen, brilliant young Irishmen, -all smoking contentedly there in the firelight and discussing the -"isms" and "ologies" and every other subject under heaven. But most -interesting of all were their own reminiscences. - -We were all sitting around the fire one Christmas night when the -conversation turned on adventure, and everyone promised to tell the -most thrilling experience he had ever had. - -Two of the men were lying on the big bearskin before the fire. One, a -mining engineer, told of having been captured by bandits and held for -a ransom, in some remote corner of Mexico where he had gone to examine -a very famous mine. The other, a surveyor for the Union Pacific -Railroad, had been lost during a storm and, becoming snow-blind, -crawled for five miles on his hands and knees, feeling the trail with -naked, half frozen hands until he reached the creek down which he -waded until he came to the camp. - -In a big chair, the firelight playing over her slender figure, sat -Janet Courtland, an Eastern woman, who as a mere girl had come West -with her young husband and had gone up into Montana where he had -bought a large cattle ranch. - -"Come on, Mrs. Courtland, you're next," the Surveyor said as he -finished his story. - -"Well," Janet began, "Will and I have had so many experiences I -scarcely know which was the most exciting, but I think our encounter -with the Indians was the most thrilling from first to last. - -"Will had to go into Miles City on business and I went with him for -great unrest had been reported among the Indians and he didn't want to -leave me on the ranch alone. We had been in town only a few days when -we heard that they were on the war path and Will felt he must go back -to the ranch. He wanted me to stay in town, but I wouldn't. If he was -going back I was going with him, so we started in the buck-board on -that long eighty-five mile drive. I'll never forget it. The day was -fearfully hot and we were constantly looking out for Indians. We had -gone about half-way, when we came over the top of a hill and saw a -band of Indians just below us. They saw us before we could turn back, -we had to go on, and as we came towards them they formed into two -lines so that we had to drive between them. It was horrible." And -Janet gave a shiver at the recollection. "I'll never forget as long as -I live those frightful, painted faces. Not an Indian moved; we passed -through the line and had gone a short distance beyond, when we heard -the report of a gun. Will clapped his hand to his side and said: 'My -God, I'm shot. Drive as fast as you can'--and he threw the lines to -me. - -"I lashed the horses and we fairly tore. Everything was still, there -was only that one shot, the Indians made no attempt to follow us. We -did not speak. Will was lying back in the buckboard, his hand pressed -to his side. When we had gone out of sight of the Indians I stopped -the horses and asked Will where he was struck. - -"'In the side; I can feel the blood oozing through my fingers,' he -said. He took his hand away and gave an exclamation as he looked at -it. It was wet but not with blood. We could not find the sign of a -wound. We got out to investigate and discovered--that just as we -passed the Indians the cork flew out of a bottle of root beer we had -in the back of the buckboard and struck him in the side. Poor old -Willie, no wonder he thought he was shot," and Janet smiled at her -husband, who laughed with the rest of us. - -"Now, Owen," he said, "I know some of the things you've been through, -so you can't beg off," and Owen began his story. - -"In the spring of '81 I came West to visit my brother, Ed., on his -ranch in Wyoming. I was a tenderfoot, never having been on the plains -before--and yet--I had scarcely arrived when I announced that the one -thing I wanted to do was to kill a buffalo. He told me that if my -heart was set on it I should have the chance, but that it was -dangerous sport even for experienced hunters, as a buffalo frequently -turns and gores the horse before it can get out of the way. - -"The very next day the dead body of a professional hunter was brought -to the ranch. He had wounded a buffalo bull which had turned, caught -with his horn the horse he was riding, thrown him to the ground and -gored the hunter to death. The sight of his mangled body was shocking -and made a terrible impression on my mind, but my purpose was not -changed. - -"My brother assigned Al. Turpin the responsibility of serving as my -guide. He was one of the best riders on the ranch, cool-headed and a -good shot. We took breakfast before daylight in order to get an early -start. After riding a considerable distance three dark objects were -discovered far away on a hill which sloped toward us. A pair of field -glasses confirmed the opinion that they were buffalo lying down. We -rode in their direction and kept out of sight, except as we peered -cautiously over the top of each succeeding ridge until it was possible -to approach no nearer in concealment, when we rode to the top of the -nearest hill and were in full view. The buffalo saw us and quick as -lightning were on their feet running away. We sent our horses at full -speed down the slope, across a level piece of ground and up the hill -after them. We were gaining rapidly. My horse was the faster of the -two and was in the lead. He was one of the best trained cow ponies I -have ever ridden and was my brother's favorite for cutting out cattle. - -"When about thirty yards behind the buffalo, one stopped. The bit I -was using was severe. I pulled and threw my horse back on his -haunches. The buffalo was an immense bull. He appeared to me as big as -a mountain. He turned facing me, his body at an angle, cocked his head -on the side, then threw it toward the ground and, quicker than a -flash, came down the hill like a landslide. - -"My horse struggled against the bit and tried to jump toward the -buffalo and turn him as he would a steer. I tried to swing his head -away and dug my spurs into his sides to make him move, but he did not -understand why he should run from a buffalo. He did respond a little -and turned so that his haunches were toward the great brute coming -down the hill. - -"The head of the buffalo was in striking distance. He looked like a -great devil. His beadlike eyes flashed fire. The next instant I -expected the horse to be pitched down the hill. I could feel myself -thrown into the air and then gored to death when I struck the ground. -I could see the mangled body of the dead hunter. - -"While my six-shooter was a powerful gun, I knew that if I should -shoot the brute in the head, the ball would not go through the mass of -matted hair and the thick skull. Still there was nothing else to do. I -thought my time had come. In order to hit him at all it was necessary -to shoot over my left arm. In my haste I pulled the trigger too soon. -The loud report startled the horse into a run and turned the buffalo. -Its discharge, so near my head, gave me a terrible shock. I thought -the shot had blown away all the right side of my head and I put up my -hand to keep my brains from falling out, but there were neither brains -nor blood on my hand. The bullet had just grazed my head and gone -through the rim of my hat. That brute looked like an infuriated demon. -I couldn't have been more frightened if I had met the devil himself at -the mouth of hell. - -"When it was all over, I was not in a mood for challenging him again, -but as he loped away, Al. ran his horse abreast and from a safe -distance put a shot into his brisket. He fell dead. Believe me, I have -had many close calls, but that was the one time in all my life when I -was really scared." - -"What extraordinary experiences people do have in this country," Will -Mason exclaimed, as he leaned forward to light a fresh cigar. -"Speaking of Ed. reminds me of a strange coincidence which happened -the year after he came West. - -"We had been together the year before in New York, where we had met a -chap named Courtney Drake. He was a Yale man and a member of the -University Club, so we saw quite a good deal of him. He was very -congenial and one of the most lovable fellows I ever knew. He was -married but he seldom spoke of his wife and we never met her. - -"One morning we picked up the paper and were horrified to read that -Mrs. Courtney Drake had shot her maid. There it was in glaring -headlines, the whole wretched affair. The Drakes were one of the -oldest and wealthiest families in New York and it was spicy reading -for the scandal lovers I assure you. - -"It seems that Drake had gotten mixed up with this woman when he first -came out of college and in order to force him to marry her she told -him that she was soon to have a child. He wouldn't believe it, and how -she worked it I don't know. She must have been mighty clever, for she -and her maid got hold of a baby somewhere and she made Courtney -believe it was hers and that he was the father--so he married her. - -"They had only been married a short time when the maid began to demand -large sums of 'hush money' and Mrs. Drake gave her whatever she asked, -for she was in mortal dread of having Drake discover the truth. The -girl found blackmail so profitable she became more and more insistent -in her demands and nearly drove Mrs. Drake wild. At last she could -endure it no longer and in a perfect frenzy, shot and killed the maid -and then the whole thing came out. Mrs. Drake was sent to prison, -where she died later, but Courtney vanished utterly after the -trial--no one knew what became of him. - -"The next fall Ed. and I came West and two years later were up in the -Jackson's Hole country with a party, shooting. Ed. and one of the -guides went out one morning to get some ducks, but in a short time -they came back to camp carrying the dead body of Courtney Drake. They -had come across his body on the shore of a small lake, lying face down -in the mud. There was a single bullet hole in the back of his head. - -"Think of his having been found out there in the wilderness by the -only man in the country who knew who he was! Talk about chance," Will -sighed, "Poor devil, he was living out there under an assumed name. -His family had no idea where he was. Ed. notified them and then took -his body East. - -"Just after his death Drake's partner produced a bill of sale for the -entire ranch and took possession of it. Everyone suspected him of the -murder, but it couldn't be proved. About three years later the man -killed his wife and at the time of his conviction the question of -Drake's murder was brought up and he confessed. Isn't it strange the -way things happen?" Will's question was general. "What on earth do you -suppose sent Ed. Brook into the Jackson's Hole country at that one -time of all others?" - -No one answered. - -"I wonder if all new countries abound in such tragic mysteries?" The -Surveyor looked up at me. - -"What tragic mysteries have you encountered, Mrs. Brook, that makes -you speak so feelingly?" - -Just then the clock struck twelve and I got up. - -"It's too late for more mysteries, it's time to go to bed--and we -don't want tragedies to keep us wide awake on Christmas night." - -"Oh, come on Esther, tell us your most thrilling experience," they -begged. "We won't move a step until you do." - -"Marrying Owen," I replied, looking over at my unsuspecting husband, -"I've never had a chance to get my breath since." - -And amid a shout of laughter the Christmas party broke up. - - - - -XI - -TED - - -Ted landed in our midst with all the attendant violence of a meteor. -He didn't arrive, he landed, bag and baggage, and until his departure -weeks later our tranquil existence was sufficiently hectic to suit -even Bill. - -After numerous letters from his doting aunt, we reluctantly consented -to look after Ted while she was in Europe recuperating from a nervous -break-down. At the end of the first week, we understood why Aunt -Elizabeth found recuperation necessary, and I suggested to Owen, it -might be well to engage our passage on a later steamer, for I had a -premonition that my own nerves might require a rest after two months -of Ted's strenuous companionship. - -He wasn't bad; there was not a bad thing about him. He was just -overflowing with youth and energy, which had been pent up for years, -between boarding school in the winter and Newport in the summer. - -Motherless, fatherless, rich, neglected or over-indulged by a none too -wise aunt, Ted was an appealing young person, a character easily to be -made or marred by circumstances. - -He looked like a member of the celestial choir--blue-eyed, fair-haired -and mild--but he produced the effect of a Kansas cyclone. - -There was nothing he did not see, there was nothing he did not hear -and there was nothing he did not do. Even on eighty thousand acres of -land his activities were somewhat limited. - -He was wildly enthusiastic about the West, fascinated by the men, and -was Bill's shadow, so we promptly turned him over to those "rough -persons" Aunt Elizabeth had especially hoped that he might avoid, to -get it all out of his system. - -"Let him stay at the bunk-house," Owen advised after Ted had besought -me to allow him to stay with the men. "It will do him more good than -anything else in the world, if he has the right stuff in him." - -Ted stood on the porch, uneasily shifting from one foot to the other, -when I came out of the office. - -"All right, Ted, Mr. Brook and I are perfectly willing for you to stay -with the men, if you really want to." - -He hopped up and down and almost embraced me in his joy. - -"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Brook. You see," he explained, carefully, "I've -seen people like you and Mr. Brook all my life, but I never had the -chance to be with real cow-punchers before." Evidently, from Ted's -point of view, Owen and I were very commonplace individuals compared -to these heroes of the prairie, and I laughed to myself as he bounded -down the steps to break the joyful news to Bill that he was to share -his bed and board. - -The next day we had to go to town to meet some prospective wool -buyers, and, after having his breakfast interrupted five different -times by Ted's dashing in to see if we were ready, Owen was moved to -inquire finally, "What on earth is on the boy's mind now?" - -"His outfit," I answered. "He's been planning it for days; wishes to -select it himself and we are not to see it until we get home." - -That was a wise stipulation of Ted's, for if we had seen it, we should -never have been able to get home. - -He put it on as soon as we reached the ranch, and when he finally -emerged, the flaming sunset paled with chagrin at its futile effort of -years. - -The "outfit" consisted of tan corduroy trousers, chaps of long silky -angora wool, which had been dyed a brilliant orange, a shirt of vivid -green, a bright red silk handkerchief for his neck, an enormous -Stetson hat, high-heeled tan boots, silver studded belt and huge -spurs. - -We gasped when we saw him, but he was so intent on showing himself to -Bill, as to be utterly unconscious of the effect he produced. - -We followed him into the yard where the boys were waiting the call to -supper. Bill looked up from the quirt he was braiding and blinked. - -"Gosh! I thought the sun had set an hour ago," he remarked. - -"No," Ted laughingly responded, giving him a push, "but he's going to -'set' now," and he threw himself down by Bill's side. "I knew you -fellows would guy me, but all the same I think this outfit's great," -and he surveyed himself with infinite pride and satisfaction. - -"It's all right," said Bill, taking in all the details of the -resplendent costume, and looking up at Owen and me with twinkling -eyes, "I like somethin' a little gay myself; but round here where -everything's green, we won't be able to tell you from a bunch of -soap-weed," and Ted good naturedly joined in the laugh at his own -expense. - -"Wouldn't his Aunt Elizabeth die of heart-failure if she could see him -now?" I asked Owen as we went into the house. - -"She certainly would," he answered, "but we'll trust to luck and let -Nature take its course." - -Everything, including Nature, took its course rapidly with Ted, and -for the next few weeks wise prairie dogs, rabbits and rattle-snakes -stayed in their holes. By the end of his stay that energetic young -person had enough rattle-snake skins to provide belts and hat-bands -for all of New York, and scores of live prairie-dogs he had trapped to -be shipped to his aunt's place in Newport. - -I tried to picture the joy of Aunt Elizabeth and her neighbors when -they found informal prairie-dog towns in the midst of their formal -gardens. If life is measured by experiences, a few additional years -were in store for Newport. - -Bill taught Ted to shoot and he spent hours and a fortune shooting at -old tin cans on a post before Bill finally consented to say: - -"I've saw fellers do worse," the sweetest praise that ever fell on -mortal ears, judging by Ted's expression. - -And, then, Owen went to New Mexico to buy some sheep and Bohm came to -sleep on a claim. - -This claim was one over which Owen and Bohm had been having a -controversy for months. It had been included in the sale of the ranch, -and after one of our most important sheep camps had been built upon -it, Owen discovered that Bohm could not give a deed to it, as he had -not made final proof on the land. - -Bohm never ceased to regret having sold the ranch, and had never -forgiven Owen for buying it and making him live up to his contract, so -was only too glad of the opportunity to cause him all the trouble -possible. Time after time he promised to come out and "prove up", but -he never came, so although I was most anxious to have him come, I was -far from pleased to have him about when Owen was away. - -Ted, however, was overjoyed; he seemed to feel that Providence had -arranged Bohm's visit to the ranch for his especial entertainment, and -from the moment the old chap arrived Ted dogged his footsteps. - -At first, old Bohm seemed quite flattered and laughed and joked with -him, praised his shooting, told him stories of the Indian days, -promised to show him the underground passage to an abandoned stage -station, but later he became annoyed, for no clinging burr ever clung -more closely than Ted. He scarcely allowed Bohm to get out of his -sight for one moment. - -How much the boy had heard of old Bohm's history I did not know, but I -concluded a few rumors had reached those ever-attentive ears, for one -day he came in fairly beaming. - -"Gosh! Pudge and Soapy haven't got anything on me, they've only seen -Buffalo Bill in a show, and I'm right in the same house with a man -that's a holy terror!" - -"What do you mean, Ted?" I asked, anxious to find out how much he had -heard. - -"Oh, you know well enough, Mrs. Brook," he laughed, going to the door -as he saw old Bohm on his way to the barn. "You can't fool me. Gee! I -wouldn't have missed him for the world. The fellows'll just be sick -when I tell them." - -"The fellows" were evidently "Pudge" and "Soapy", his two chums at St. -Paul's, "Pudge" because of "his shape," as Ted explained, and "Soapy", -whose parental millions came from the manufacturing of soap. - -The game between the boy and Bohm was amusing. Clever as the old chap -was, he couldn't evade Ted's watchful eye. If Bohm thought him miles -away, he suddenly appeared with such an unconscious air of innocence -he disarmed all suspicion, but he made Bohm uneasy. - -"Quit campin' on the old man's trail, Kid," said Bill one evening at -the corral after Ted had driven Bohm to the bunk-house to escape his -questions. "You're gettin' on his nerves; let him go and sleep on his -claim and get through with it. You and me's got to hunt horses -tomorrow, anyways." - -Ted cheerfully acquiesced, and old Bohm loaded his wagon alone and -drove toward his claim in peace. - -The next morning very early, I heard Bill calling Ted. No Ted -appeared, and I went out to see where he was. - -"Where do you reckon that crazy kid's went now?" demanded Bill, -impatient to start. - -"I'm sure I don't know, Bill, hunting prairie-dogs, probably. Don't -wait for him, if you're ready to go." - -"Huntin' prairie-dogs," echoed Bill. "I'll bet a hat he's huntin' old -Bohm somewheres." He frowned as he cinched up his saddle. "I reckon -I'd better ride over that way and see what he's up to." - -"I wish you would," I said, vaguely uneasy. "I don't want him to -bother Bohm too much." - -"Me neither," said Bill, getting on his horse, "there's his pony's -tracks now," he looked at the ground. "I'll find him and take him -along with me. Don't you worry, he's all right, but he sure is a -corker--that kid," and Bill galloped off. - -I felt confident that he would overtake the lad, so I dismissed them -all from my mind and settled down to an uninterrupted morning, and a -delayed postal report. - -I was busy all day and was just starting out for a little walk before -supper when Bill and Ted rode up. - -Bill and Ted, hatless, clothes torn and covered with dirt and blood, -their faces scratched and bruised, and Ted regarding me triumphantly -from one half-closed eye, the other being swollen shut. - -"What on earth hap--" I tried to ask, my breath fairly taken away. -Bill got off his horse and came up to the gate. - -"We're all right, Mrs. Brook. I'm sorry you seen us 'fore we got fixed -up a little; we just got mixed up some with Bohm--that's all--'taint -nothin' serious. We look a whole lot worse than we feel, don't we -Ted?" - -"You bet we do," mumbled Ted from a cut and bleeding mouth, "but you -ought to see Bohm, he's a sight!" - -Ted got off his horse with difficulty. "Gosh, it was great," he said, -leaning up against the fence for support. - -"Come in and sit down, both of you, Charley will take your horses," -and I led the way into the house followed a little unsteadily by Bill -and Ted, who collapsed on the first chairs they could reach. - -I gave them some wine, washed off their blood-stained faces, and made -protesting Ted go into my room and lie down. He was very pale, and I -saw that he was faint. - -I came back into the kitchen. - -"Now, Bill, tell me about it. What happened and where is Bohm?" - -"On his way back to Denver in the baggage car," announced Bill, -draining the last drop from the glass he still held in his hand. - -I started, "Oh, Bill, you didn't kill him?" - -"No, but I wisht I had," he said calmly. "He'd oughter be dead, the old -skunk, trying to poison all them sheep." - -"Poison the sheep; what sheep?" - -"Your sheep," Bill's brows contracted as he looked at me. "Your -sheep," he repeated, his voice rising as I scarcely seemed able to -grasp his meaning. "All the sheep at Hay Gulch Camp, that's what he -came out here for, and he'd a done it, too, if it hadn't been for that -kid in there." Bill jerked his head in the direction of my room. - -"Ted?" I asked, my emotion stifling my voice. - -"Ted," Bill affirmed, "he caught him at it red-handed, and probably -saved two thousand sheep from bein' dead this minute." - -"How on earth did he find out?" - -Bill straightened up in his chair. - -"Them eyes of his'n don't miss much, I'm here to tell you, and his -everlastin' snoopin' around done some good after all." Bill's eyes -glowed with pride. "Yesterday, before Bohm left, Ted come across him -mixin' a lot of stuff with some grain, and, of course, had to know all -about it. The old man finally told him he was fixin' to poison the -prairie-dogs on his claim, bit he was so peevish about it, Ted said he -didn't believe him, and mistrusted somethin' was wrong. - -"The kid didn't say nothin' to me about it; had some fool notion about -playin' detective, I reckon, at any rate he got up along about four -o'clock and rode out to Bohm's claim to do a little reconorterin'." - -Bill reluctantly put the glass down and tipped back in his chair. "He -hid his horse in the gulch and crope up in the grass like an Injin. -The herder wasn't nowhere in sight and the sheep was still in the -corral, but old Bohm was there all right, fixin' little piles of that -poisoned wheat just where the sheep would come acrost it the first -thing." - -"Oh, Bill, that's the worst thing I ever heard!" I was sick at the -mere thought. - -Bill was too engrossed to pay attention to the interruption. - -"Ted said he was comin' back to tell me, but he got so excited when he -seen what Bohm was up to, he never thought of nothin' but stoppin' -him. The old man was stoopin' over with his back to Ted, and the kid -gave a yell for the herder and ran for Bohm and before he could -straighten up Ted was on top of him." - -Bill scarcely paused for breath--"the old man reached for his gun, but -Ted was too quick for him and knocked it out of his hand, and when I -came up, there they was rollin' all over the prairie, first one on top -and then the other." - -Bill looked toward the door of my room, reflectively--"I kinder felt -there was somethin' wrong when I left here, and believe me, I didn't -spare my cayuse none gettin' there neither, and I didn't get there -none too soon." - -I was incapable of speech. I just stared at Bill. - -"There ain't no doubt about Bohm's bein' ready to kill him; he was on -top then and reachin' for his throat. I didn't stop to ask no -questions. I jest grabbed him, and pulled him off of Ted. He was white -as chalk and ready to eat us both alive, but I hung on to him while -Ted got up cryin', 'Look what he's done, Bill, look what he's done,' -and pointed at somethin' on the ground." - -Bill's eyes were like two live coals. "Bohm was cussin' like a steam -engine 'bout the kid's jumpin' him when he was puttin' out poison for -the prairie-dogs. I just took one look around and seen all them piles -of poison wheat there by the corral when there wasn't a prairie-dog -within two miles. I--well, I aint goin' to tell you what I said, Mrs. -Brook, 'taint fit for you to hear." - -[Illustration: FACING DEATH EACH TIME THEY RIDE A NEW HORSE.] - -Bill looked down and turned the glass on the table around and around. -He looked up again and smiled, but his brows contracted as he went -on--"We had words then, sure enough. All of a sudden Bohm made a lunge -and caught the handkerchief round my neck with one hand and reached -for somethin' with the other, and the first thing I knew he was -slashin' at me with a pocket knife. I guess I saw red then, 'cause I -knocked him down and nearly pounded the life out of him." - -Bill stopped a moment--"His eyes was rollin' back in his head and his -tongue was hangin' out and there was a pool of blood 'round us, three -yards across." Bill's description was so vivid I shut my eyes. "I -reckon I'd killed him if Ted hadn't tromped my legs and kinda brought -me to myself. He'd oughter been killed, but I let him up then and told -Ted to go for my rope. We tied his hands and legs. I guess he had -about all he wanted for he wasn't strugglin' much." Bill smiled -grimly. "We carried him into the cabin, and there was the Mexican -lying in his bunk--doped. We knew who done it all right, and I tell -you we didn't handle Bohm like no suckin' infant when we laid him -down, neither." - -Bill's face was stern and set and I shared his indignation too much to -trust myself to speak. - -"We left him there and went to get the wheat out of the way before we -opened the corral gates for the sheep. Thanks to Ted, Bohm hadn't had -time to put much around. He's a great little kid, that boy." Bill's -voice broke. - -"Bless his heart," I said, my own heart filled with gratitude and -tenderness for the plucky little chap in the other room. Bill's eyes -were moist, but his voice was steady again. - -"Steve and Charley came up just then with the supply wagon, so Steve -set Charley to herd the sheep. We loaded Bohm into the wagon and Steve -took him over to the railroad. He said he'd see he got on the train -all right." Bill grinned, "You're rid of Bohm for good now, Mrs. -Brook, for I kinda think he gathered from what me and Steve said the -ranch wouldn't be no health resort for him if he ever showed his ugly -face round here again." - -"Oh, Bill, I'm so thankful; it makes me sick when I think what might -have happened." - -"Don't thank me, Mrs. Brook, I ain't done nothin'." Bill's face was -red with embarrassment as he stood up. "Ted's the one to thank, he's -some kid, believe me," and Bill's eyes were very tender. - -"Let's go in and see how he's making it." Bill followed me into the -room. - -Ted was sitting up on the couch, regarding his battered visage in my -hand-glass with the greatest interest. I could see at once he was in -no mood for emotion or petting. - -"Hello, I'm all right," he murmured with a one-sided grin. "Say, Bill, -wasn't it great? I wouldn't have missed it for a million dollars." - -He sank back with a sigh of supreme satisfaction. "I just wish I could -remember all the things he called me. I want to spring them on the -fellows when I go back." - -Bill looked at him with genuine concern. "See here, kid," he said -decidedly, "you want to forget all them things as quick as you can. -Don't you go springin' any such language back where you come from. I'm -no innocent babe myself, but I'm here to tell you old Bohm's cussin' -made anything I ever heard sound like a Sunday School piece. You -forget it now, pronto," he commanded as he went out of the door. "It's -a reflection on me and Mrs. Brook." - -After Bill had gone, Ted looked at himself again, then at me. "What do -you suppose Aunt Elizabeth would say if she could see me now?" We both -laughed. - -"I would be a 'disgrace to my family and position' now, sure enough." -He felt his blackened eye tenderly. - -I sat down on the couch beside him. "You will never be more of a -credit to your family than you are at this minute, Ted, nor more of a -man." - -He looked up, for my voice shook a little. He knew what I meant and -his lips twitched as he patted my hand gently, and turned his face -away. - - - - -XII - -BLIZZARDS - - -It was just like Louise Reynolds to arrive on the wings of a blizzard, -wearing a straw hat and spring suit. Louise led the seasons, she never -followed them, and she preceded that particular storm by about two -hours; but she was justified, for it was April and she was on her way -from California. - -In this land of the unexpected even the weather disregarded all -established precedents. A glorious Indian Summer night extended into -January, or a sudden blizzard would swoop down from the North in -October or April and leave us snowed in for days. - -That is exactly what happened upon this occasion and most of Louise's -visit was spent in shovelling snow for the pure joy of the exercise. -That energetic young person had to do something in lieu of tennis or -golf. - -The prairies were covered with a fluffy mantle of purest white, great -drifts filled the gulches and the roads were utterly obliterated. Long -after the storm the men had to go about on horseback for no wagon -could be moved through the deep snow. - -At this juncture Louise announced that she had all of her reservations -through to Baltimore, where she was to officiate as bridesmaid. She -was obliged to go and we had to take her to the railroad. - -We could scarcely go on horseback with baggage, there wasn't a sleigh -in the country, certainly none on the ranch, but if Necessity was the -Mother of Invention, Owen was a near relative. He never failed to find -some way of meeting the most difficult problem. If Louise must go it -devolved upon him to see that she reached the station and so he -produced a sled, a disreputable old affair, used for the exalted -purpose of hauling dead animals to "the dump"--but still it was a sled -and under Owen's direction it was scrubbed and transformed into the -most luxurious equipage by having a packing box nailed on the back -and covered with rugs. Louise and I perched on the box, with heavy -robes tucked in about us, the suit cases were at our feet and Owen sat -on the trunk in front to drive. - -There was only one draw-back, the sled had no tongue to keep it from -running on to the heels of the horses, so Owen cut a hole in the -bottom of the sled through which he stuck a broom-stick. My task was -to work this improvised brake when we went down hill by jabbing the -broom-stick into the snow. It worked beautifully except that the -friction against the hard snow broke pieces of it off and it grew -perceptibly shorter as we advanced. - -In order to avoid some especially deep gulches we left the valley and -followed a high ridge. It was much longer, but we had allowed the -entire day for the trip. There was no danger of becoming lost as long -as we could see, for we knew too well the country and the general -direction to be followed. - -No incident marred the joy of that day. When the horses floundered and -almost disappeared from sight in a snow-filled gulch, leaving the sled -stranded like an Ark on a gleaming Ararat, we had only to dig the -horses out with a shovel which had been taken for the purpose and -after getting them on the level ground, go back and hitch a long rope -to the sled, draw it across the gulch and proceed upon our way. - -The light of the sun upon the snow was so intense it was necessary to -wear colored glasses to avoid snow blindness, and being muffled in -furs, we looked like three bears in goggles. Our wraps kept us -perfectly warm and it was a merry ride. The adventure filled us with -joy as we glided over the trackless world in which we alone moved. - -There was no suggestion of dreariness or desolation in the scene. -Under the magic touch of the sun the world burst forth into a miracle -of glory and beauty which held us spellbound. The sky was cloudless, -not a shadow fell across that dazzling white expanse, which flashed -and sparkled with all the prismatic colors. Far to the west Pike's -Peak stood, a marvel of varying lights and shadows, its head resting -on the soft blue bosom of the sky. Its commanding height had filled -the Indian of the Plains with worshipful awe, it was to him "the Gate -of Heaven, the abiding place of the Great Spirit." According to his -own testimony, the one inevitable duty in the life of the Indian is -the duty of prayer--and how often as he looked upon that distant -mountain must the red hunter have paused in the midst of the vast -prairies, his soul uplifted and an unspoken prayer on his lips! - -The whole aspect of the country was changed, all the familiar -landmarks were gone. Except for the hills, the surface of the prairie -was perfectly level as though the Great Spirit had stretched his hand -forth from that mystic mountain and passing it over the world had left -it smooth and stainless. - -It was a wonderful experience, and when toward evening we reached the -railroad we were thrilled and triumphant over our accomplishment. The -night was spent in the little four-room "hotel," we saw Louise safely -on board the eastbound express the next morning, then returned to the -ranch. - -To be out after a blizzard is one thing, to be out in one is quite -another, and we always grew apprehensive when the sky became suddenly -overcast and the snow began to fall from leaden clouds. What if the -storm should catch the herders and the sheep too far away from the -camp? - -They were all warned to range their sheep to the North if it -threatened to storm, as most of the blizzards came from that direction -and the sheep would go before the wind back to camp and safety. But -they will not face it and, if unmindful of his orders, the herder took -them South and a sudden storm came, he could not turn his sheep back -to the camp; they would drift on and on before the wind, sometimes -plunging over a bank to be buried beneath the drifting snow or piling -up and smothering each other. - -One winter just as Owen and I were starting home from California we -received a telegram from Steve saying that during a blizzard the buck -herd had been lost. Owen had some very important business which -detained him when we reached Denver, so he asked me to go on to the -ranch, have Steve organize the men into searching parties and look -through every gulch in the vicinity for any discolored holes on the -top of the drifts which would be caused by the breath of the sheep if -they were under the snow. For two days the men searched and finally -came to a deep bank of snow on the top of which were found the -discolored holes they sought; they dug down and discovered the bucks. -A few had been smothered, but most of them were taken out alive after -having been buried for ten days! During the storm the herder had left -them and the poor distracted things had drifted over an embankment and -were entombed under the snow. - -When anyone speaks of "good-for-nothing Mexicans" I think of Fidel, a -mere lad, who had taken his sheep South on a clear morning, but was -overtaken by a storm before he could get them back to the corrals. He -and his dog did everything they could do to turn them, but they -drifted farther and farther away. Fidel stayed with them, guiding them -away from the gulches until they reached a railway cut. There Steve -found them twenty-four hours later when we feared that Fidel had -perished with his sheep. Facing death alone in the freezing wind and -blinding, smothering snow, hour after hour he had kept his sheep from -piling up. He not only saved them all, but they were in better -condition than many in the corrals at the camps. Not for a moment had -he left them. His hands and feet were frozen; he barely escaped -freezing to death and on that day we learned the true meaning of -"Fidelity." - - * * * * * - -Then once more Fate took a hand in our affairs and a blizzard changed -the whole course of our lives. - -We owned our land and no one could encroach upon us, but after a few -years we began to notice forlorn little shacks built here and there on -the open range by the poor home-seekers who, attracted by the prospect -of free land, had begun "homesteading." They built flimsy little -houses, scratched up the surface of the prairie for a few inches and -raised pitiful, straggling crops. The settlers were coming in! The -opening wedge of that great onrush had been thrust deep into the heart -of the prairie. In the undisputed possession of our own land we were -not disturbed. While we knew that it meant the occupation of the free -range and the passing of the large ranches, eventually, we scarcely -realized how soon it would come and were not prepared to receive an -offer from an Eastern syndicate to buy the entire ranch--to cut it -into small units to be sold as farms. - -The era of "dry-farming" had just begun, when by scientific methods, -deep ploughing and the conservation of all moisture, dry land might be -successfully cultivated without irrigation. It was a dream of the -future of the prairie region, impossible to visualize, and I laughed -in my ignorance, as Owen read me the letter. - -"How perfectly absurd. Imagine trying to farm out here; the grangers -would starve to death in a year unless they had stock of some sort. -Surely you would never think of selling out?" - -"I don't know, Esther, the homesteaders can't come on to our deeded -land, but they are filing on all the Government land. In a short time -there will be no more free range, and did you ever stop to consider -that our land will soon be so valuable that we can't afford to run -sheep on it?" - -In that last sentence I saw the handwriting on the wall. It was only a -question of time and this phase, too, of our life would pass. - -In the East life seems to be static, but in the West it is in a state -of flux and conditions are constantly changing. - -Perhaps I had inherited the static state of mind for I had taken it -for granted that all the rest of our days were to be spent there on -the ranch under the shadow of the mountain. Suddenly a realization of -the facts swept over me. In a sense we had been pioneers, we had -blazed a trail that others were to follow and like the Indians we, -too, were destined to move on. However, before you are thirty to -regard yourself as a hoary-headed pioneer requires a series of mental -gymnastics and, while my brain was going through a few preparatory -exercises, I did not take the question of selling out very seriously. -After all those years of struggle just as it had been brought to -perfection, after we had put into it the best of our life, youth, -energy and work, a part of our very selves, it did not seem possible -that we could part with the ranch. Owen felt much as I did, but he was -the first to realize that we had come again to the parting of the ways -and that a decision must be made. - -Yet--in the end--it wasn't the financial consideration nor a deep -conviction that the future development of the country would be -retarded if we remained, but an unexpected blizzard which turned the -scale and set us adrift again. - - * * * * * - -The sun rose clear on the 19th of October, but during the morning it -began to grow cloudy. - -Owen and several of the men were at the railroad station where they -were shipping lambs. During the afternoon the wind began to blow, it -grew much colder and snow fell. - -The next morning it was storming very hard and Steve, after arranging -to have hay hauled to the various camps, went out on horseback to see -that all the sheep were kept in the corrals. I was greatly relieved -when Owen got home in the middle of the afternoon. Ten thousand lambs -had been loaded and started on their way in spite of the storm, but -the drive back to the ranch had been very hard, for hour by hour the -storm increased in fury. The ground was covered and even the dull grey -sky was hidden by dense clouds of powdery snow which did not seem to -fall upon the earth but was blown in long horizontal lines across the -prairies by the force of a mighty gale. It filled the gulches and -piled in deep drifts. It was driven against the house with such force -it sifted through the smallest crack. The windows on the North and -West were covered with a solid coating of snow, the wind whistled and -moaned and tore at the shutters as if trying to carry them with it on -a wild race over the plains. It was impossible to see the corrals, -even the garden fence was lost behind the driving, swirling snow. To -open the door was to inhale a freezing gust of snow-laden air, -millions of icy particles blinded the eyes and took away the breath. - -We knew that the sheep were all in the corrals, but we feared that -unless the herders watched them carefully they would pile up as the -snow drifted over the high sides of the inclosure. The rest of the -stock was protected and my heart was filled with thankfulness that -Owen and the men had been able to reach the ranch. They went about the -place like white wraiths doing the necessary things. Above the howling -of the wind not a sound could be heard; a shout was carried miles away -as soon as it left the lips. By five o'clock it was dark. - -About eight o'clock, Mary came in and told Owen that Steve wanted to -see him. When Owen returned, instead of coming into the living-room, -he went to the closet, took down his short, fleece-lined riding coat -and began to put it on. - -"What's the matter, Owen, you are not going out?" - -"I must," he said, quietly, winding a long scarf about his neck, -"Steve says that Dorn went out yesterday afternoon with a load of hay -for the camp on Six Shooter; he should have come back last night or -certainly this morning. He's new and doesn't know the country and he -may be lost. I'm going to see if I can find him." - -My heart stood still; the camp on Six Shooter gulch was fully eight -miles away. Eight miles in that storm! It did not seem possible that a -man could live to go a mile. - -"Oh, Owen, I can't let you go! Don't you suppose he is at the camp?" - -"I don't know, he may be, but I must go and find out. We can't take a -chance on a man's being lost." In the face of that argument there was -nothing to say and nothing to do but accept it. - -"Who is going with you?" - -"No one"--Owen did not look at me as he answered--"I can't ask any of -the men to face this storm." - -I understood; he couldn't require any of his men to risk their lives. -A hand of ice closed about my heart and deadened every sensibility. -Like a machine I went about helping Owen get ready and at last went to -the kitchen to bring him some coffee just before he left. A man was -standing by the door muffled in wraps. I stood still. - -"Why, Bill, where have you been?" - -"I ain't 'been', I'm goin'. I'm goin' with Mr. Brook. A man ain't got -no business out a night like this alone." - -"Bill!" It was all I could say--but he understood. - -When Owen came out he tried to dissuade him, but Bill was determined. - -"I know I don't have to go, Mr. Brook, you never asked me, but I'm a -goin', there ain't nothin' can keep me." - -I had never seen him so serious, all the old half bantering tone was -gone and they went out together, master and man, each risking his life -for the sake of another. - -I tried to watch them but instantly they were lost to my sight as a -vague grey cloud closed about them. - -How the night passed I do not know. I kept the fires up and the coffee -hot and walked miles, back and forth, back and forth. I did not think -of sleeping. It was useless to try to read. I could not see the -words--the printed page was blank and I could only see the figures of -two men on horseback, beaten, buffeted, fighting for their lives -against the cruel snow-laden gale. I saw them separated, perhaps, -trying to get through the gulches on their floundering horses, or -walking to keep from freezing and then perhaps exhausted--lying down -to rest while that last deadly sensation of sleepiness crept over -them. - -Daylight came at last, but still I walked. I pushed my breakfast away -untasted and tried to occupy myself with the duties of the day. I felt -as though I should scream aloud if that howling wind did not cease, -but hour after hour passed and there was no other sound. The men came -and went about their work quietly, speaking but little and then in -subdued tones as in the presence of death; over us all hung the pall -of terrifying uncertainty. - -When occasionally it was possible to catch a glimpse of the corrals or -the blacksmith shop I knew that the wind must be abating and time -after time I knocked the snow from the windows and stood straining my -eyes into that misty, vague out-of-doors. Ten o'clock, eleven o'clock. -Something moved along the edge of the pond, the vague outlines of some -animal, a slight lull in the wind and I could see that it was a -horseman, another followed--I caught up a cape, flung open the door, -dashed out into the storm through drifts, over every detaining -obstacle until I reached the corral and--Owen. - -They were safe, but so weary and worn they could scarcely speak. Their -faces were swollen, having been whipped and lashed by the icy -particles the wind had driven against them like bits of steel from a -mighty blast furnace, their eyebrows and lashes were solid ice, their -lips cracked and bleeding. - -After a night of horror, at three in the morning, they had found Dorn -at the Six Shooter camp comfortably sleeping with the Mexican herder! -When the storm began he made no attempt to come back to the ranch, not -stopping to think that his non-appearance would cause any anxiety, -besides endangering the lives of two men. - -"I was so hot when I seen Dorn nice and warm all cuddled up there with -that Dago I jest drug him out by the collar and shook him. Anybody -that'ud sleep with a Mexican had orter freeze to death. Gosh! Here was -Mr. Brook and me amblin' over this whole blamed country, flounderin' -through snow drifts as high as this house, gettin' our horses down and -most freezin' to death, blintin' a no account thing like that." Bill -was himself again. - -Their knowledge of the country and presence of mind had saved them, -for once when they found that it had grown warmer and apparently the -wind had ceased, they realized that the horses had turned with the -wind so that it was at their backs, they forced the poor things into -the face of the bitter gale again and went on. They passed the camp -without seeing it and had gone beyond when the wind brought them the -smell of the sheep, they turned back and after searching found the -cabin. It was a narrow escape for they were too exhausted to have gone -farther. - -A few days later we learned that old John, who had been our mail -carrier, had perished in the storm. He had gone out to try to find his -cattle and did not return. His wife and little son were alone and when -they were able to get out and look for him, they found him just -outside the garden fence lying frozen and half eaten by the coyotes. - -I thought much during the following days and finally I came to a -conclusion. - -"Owen, if you want to sell out I'm willing--it will have to come some -day, I realize that, and besides--there is too much at stake. I don't -believe I can ever live through another blizzard." - - * * * * * - -In three months all the stock on the ranch was sold, a caretaker was -placed in charge of the home ranch, which we retained, and we moved to -Denver. But instead of selling out to the syndicate, Owen decided to -put our lands on the market himself and they were listed for sale. - -It was the end of the old life; we had made way for the settlers. - - - - -XIII - -ECHOES OF THE PAST - - -The curtain of years had fallen and risen again on the same scene, the -valley which stretched off toward the setting sun and the guardian -mountain which stood unchanged at its head. But this was October, the -royal season of purple and gold and red, when the asters and -sunflowers were blooming their lives away in one lavish outpouring of -beauty and the rose bushes were crimson under the kiss of the frost. A -shimmering mass of gold clothed the great cotton-woods along the -winding course of the creek and hills of russet brown replaced those -of vivid green I had first seen sixteen years before. - -Where the young bride had stood on that July day, amid the strange -surroundings, looking with inexperienced eyes upon a new world, she -stood again, seeing it from the angle of a participant, from the -viewpoint of a woman, fused by the furnace of experience into a part -of that life. - -It was the same scene, but the setting had changed and as a flood of -memories swept over me I felt as though I were a reincarnated spirit, -walking the earth in a third phase of existence, having passed through -the first, a light-hearted girl among family and friends in urban -surroundings, having lived through the second, an atom in the midst of -those vast wind-swept plains amongst elemental conditions, a part in -the great primitive struggle for existence and coming back again to -find the prairies transformed by cultivation into farms, with the -crops covering the hills and bottom lands like a huge patch-work quilt -of green, brown and brilliant yellow, fastened together with black -threads of barbed wire. - -Above on the hill stood a church and a school-house, those certain -indications of community life. Across the meadows great red barns and -towering wind mills overshadowed the less pretentious houses. Bridges -spanned the creek with its shifting, treacherous sand and in place of -the dim winding trails across the prairie, neatly fenced county roads -decorously followed the section lines. - -It was the same--yet everything was changed. This well-ordered farming -community seemed prosaic, it lacked the romance and charm of the old -ranch life and the glorious sense of unlimited freedom. - -The bunkhouse was occupied by the family of a hard-working farmer who -had married the daughter of our caretaker, Parker; tractors, ploughs -and harrows filled the space about the blacksmith shop. I resented -those unfamiliar implements and the prosperous farms. On all sides -there was heard a strange language of silos, separators and "crop -rotation". I had become a part of the old life, but here I felt -restricted and out of place--an alien. - -Inside the house all, too, was changed. The books which Joe had -scorned, the crystal clock and our Lares and Penates were in our -Denver home, but on the ranch I missed them and most of all the old -familiar faces. All had gone. Several of the boys had stayed in the -country, married and taken up farming, raising bounteous crops and -numerous children. Some, individual and picturesque to the end, had -crossed the Great Divide, others had sought new positions in Wyoming, -the last of the frontier states. Bill was there cooking in an oil -camp. We received characteristic, though infrequent, letters from him, -usually in the early summer, labored epistles over which he had "sworn -and sweat," as he expressed it, which began by assuring us that he was -well and hoped that we were the same and ended by an earnest request -to go with us as cook "in case you was thinkin' of goin' campin'." He -went with us when we did go, the same old Bill, unchanged in heart or -humor. - -Old Bohm was dead. The final act of that great tragedy took place in -an isolated mine where he had sunk all his fortune in a golden -prospect. Hoping to regain it, the fortune he held in trust for a -friend had followed, but the game he had played so successfully before -failed when Nemesis took a hand. His friend went to the mine to demand -an accounting and several hours later Bohm's body, broken and -bleeding, was taken from the depths of the mine. According to the -story of his companion, the only witness, he had slipped and fallen to -the bottom of the shaft--and his death, as his life, remained an -enigma. - -But down through the long years the echoes of the past reverberated. -Again and again we heard them, sometimes very faintly, then with -perfect distinctness and on that day of our return after a long -absence we felt again that mysterious suggestion of tragedy and the -echoes were startlingly clear. - -As I came in from my walk just before supper, a strange man rode up -and Mr. Parker asked him to stop. - -He told us his name and during the progress of the meal took little -part in the conversation, but after he had eaten his supper he leaned -back in his chair and in response to Owen's question, said: - -"No, I ain't exactly a stranger round here, but this old kitchen is -about the only thing that ain't changed. I used to know every inch of -ground in this country when I was punchin' cows for the Three Circle -outfit. This was the only ranch within twenty-five miles. I've et here -lots of times." - -"You knew the Bohms then?" I asked, trying as always to find the -answer to the riddle of old Bohm's personality. - -"Sure, I knew the Bohms," the stranger replied, his clear blue eyes -meeting mine frankly. "I knowed everybody there was in the country, -there wasn't many in them days, jest the Bohms, the Mortons, the -Bosmans and the La Montes. They're most all gone now except Bosman. I -heered old La Monte died last winter--but Lord, he's been worse 'en -dead for most twenty years. Did you folks know him?" - -"Scarcely, we only saw him once," and before me rose the picture of -the desolate old place, the slowly opened door and that living ghost -on the threshold. - -The stranger again spoke. - -"You folks bought from Bohm, so you knowed him, didn't you?" - -"Oh, yes, we knew him." Owen answered for my thoughts were far away. - -"Well, sir," said the old cow-puncher, reaching for a toothpick, "Jim -Bohm was a great one, he was the slickest man in this country. He -didn't have nothin' but a little band of horses that he drove up from -Texas when he came, but he kept gettin' richer all the time." I came -back to the present with a start, his words were almost the same Mrs. -Morton had used sixteen years before. - -"Wasn't he honest?" I asked, wondering what the reply would be. - -He did not answer for a moment. - -"Well, I can't say as to that. I jest knowed him from meetin' him on -the round-ups and when I stopped here. I never had no dealin's with -him, but he sure had a reputation for all the meanness there was, and -I guess he deserved it. He was good company though, and Lord, how he -could play the fiddle." He was interrupted by a sudden clatter. Mrs. -Parker had dropped her spoon and was looking at him as if fascinated. -"I liked Mrs. Bohm, but I never had no use for him. I don't know about -the other things, but he sure done Jean La Monte dirt." He rose from -the table and walked toward the door. "Well, I reckon I'd better be -movin' on, I want to get to Bosman's tonight." He looked up the -valley, "I can see Bohm now, ridin' that big black horse of his, -carryin' a little cotton-wood switch for a whip, and laughin' at -everything, he was a queer one, sure enough. Well, so long--thank you -for my supper," and he went out into the evening. - -"Big black horse! He was always on a big black horse!" That pitiful -refrain of Jean La Monte as he had sought the rider of that horse -through all those weary years. Again I saw the men waiting in the -wagon and that poor half-clad figure stooping to pick up a little -cotton-wood switch, and I wondered if across the great divide La Monte -had caught up with Bohm at last. - - * * * * * - -Owen was busy in the office making out contracts for recently -purchased land. Mr. Parker and an agent were entertaining some -land-buyers, scraps of their conversation "bushels to the acre" and -"back in Kansas" reached me from time to time as I walked up and down -under the stars. - -"Where are you, childy?" Dear Mrs. Parker was always concerned when I -was not in sight. "Out there alone?" she asked as she came across the -yard to join me. We sat down on the bunk-house steps, glorying in the -beauty of the night. We were silent for a few moments and then she -spoke. - -"Do you know, Mrs. Brook, him talkin' about Mr. Bohm tonight at supper -has made me think of so many things. I never paid much attention to -all them stories old Mrs. Morton and other folks told, but some mighty -queer things have happened since we've been here." - -"What kind of things?" I asked, wondering if she, too, had breathed -the air of mystery which surrounded the old ranch. - -"Well, I don't know exactly," she hesitated, "you'll think I'm silly, -perhaps, but you know sometimes when I'm down there," she pointed to -the house among the trees, "makin' out my postal reports, sometimes -it's eleven or twelve o'clock before I'm through. It's awful quiet -after everyone's gone to sleep and I've heard all kinds of queer -sounds, maybe they might be rats or the wind, but often and often, -just as plain as I can hear your voice now, I've heard the sound of a -violin like somebody was playin'. It give me an awful start when that -man spoke of Bohm's havin' played the violin." - -"Perhaps somebody is playing," I ventured, with a well remembered -sensation of ice in the region of my spine. "The houses aren't far -away now; you could easily hear someone playing if the wind was in the -right direction." - -Mrs. Parker shook her head. - -"No, that ain't it. There ain't a violin in the country, and, besides, -it's too near; it's like it came from here"--Mrs. Parker looked up at -the bunkhouse door--"and none of Ethel's plays." - -I said nothing. I remembered too well hearing the strains of the -violin as they used to float out through the silent night while old -Bohm played to himself up there in the bunkhouse, hour after hour. I -was troubled as the echoes of the past grew louder. - -"And then," Mrs. Parker resumed, "there was that passage. I told you -about that, didn't I?" - -"No. Passage! What passage?" I turned to her in the moonlight which -showed a puzzled frown between her eyes. - -"Why, the passage old Dad Patten found. I thought I'd told you about -that, but maybe it was the year that you and Mr. Brook was away." She -paused a moment. "The third year after Ethel and John came here, John, -he raised such a big crop of potatoes the cellar was plumb full, so he -had Dad tear out some of the old bins under the bunk house to make -some larger ones. Tom Lane was helpin' him, and, of course, Tom was -drunk. They'd tore out one or two, but when they come to the third, -they found a deep hole behind it about four foot square. They stuck a -spade into it, but it seemed to go back so far Dad he thought he'd -investigate, so he begun to crawl into it to see how far it went. He -was well in when Tom begun to laugh and act like he was goin' to wall -him up, so Dad backed out, for he said that he was afraid Tom was just -drunk enough to do it. Dad said, though, that he went in the whole -length of his body and stretched his arm out as far as he could, but -didn't touch nothin', so he knew it went on further, and he said that -it seemed to lead off in the direction of the old root cellar." - -"Root cellar," I repeated, too perturbed to say anything else. - -"Yes," said Mrs. Parker, "but, you know, Dad, he'd never heard any of -them stories about the root cellar; Dad's too deaf to hear anything, -so he didn't think nothin' about it except that it was some kind of an -old dugout, and they went on and built the new bins, and about two -months after John had got all his potatoes in Dad happened to say -something about it. I was so beat I like to died, and when I told Dad -what folks said about the old root cellar and Bohm, he turned as white -as a sheet. You couldn't get him up to the bunk house now if you was -to drag him." - -"You don't believe----" I began, then stopped as Mrs. Parker rose and -put her hand on my shoulder. - -"Childy, I don't know whether I believe them tales or not. I've -scarcely been off this place since you went away ten years ago and -I've seen and heard some mighty strange things. There's lots of things -in life we can't explain--we just have to accept 'em, and that's the -way I've had to do here. Maybe there's spirits and maybe there ain't, -but there's some facts there's no gettin' 'round"--Mrs. Morton's very -words again--"but Dad's findin' that passage sure made me believe 'em -more than I ever did before, and I do believe that some terrible -things have been done right here on this dear old place, and that -somewhere old Bohm's spirit's mighty restless." - - * * * * * - -Owen and I sat up before the fire talking until late that night, for -one of the buyers wanted the home place. It was hard to give it up, -for we both loved it, but the old life had passed, and we were not a -part of the new. Owen's business kept him almost constantly in Denver, -and we were at the ranch so little it seemed useless to cling to it -longer. The most difficult decision had been made ten years before. -This, in a way, was more simple, yet this was final; it meant the -breaking of the last tie which bound us to those broad acres, and we -were both silent a long time after we had agreed that it was best to -let the old place go. - -Suddenly I thought of my conversation with Mrs. Parker, and told Owen -of the finding of the passage under the bunk house. He sat looking -into the fire, and made no comment until I had finished. - -"It is strange, to say the least. I don't suppose we shall ever know -the real truth about it, but it doesn't make much difference now; and -if old Bohm's spirit is wandering about here it will feel a little out -of place in a cornfield." - -"It certainly will, but, Owen, don't you hope 'it's mighty restless -somewhere'?" - -"Indeed I do," he laughed, and then grew serious again. "It's been -wonderful from first to last, our life here." He sighed a little. -"What experiences we've had!" - -"Yes, it has," I said, getting up and standing by the fireplace, where -Owen joined me. "It hasn't always been easy, but I wouldn't take -anything for the things I've learned. I'm not the 'Tenderfoot' you -brought out sixteen years ago; I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Westerner now. -My whole view of life has changed. It has not only been a wonderful -experience, Owen, but a wonderful privilege--to have lived here." - -Without a word we watched the last log break apart. The glowing sparks -lighted the room for a single instant, then died down, and in the -fading light of the coals we turned away. - -That night I lay awake. Vivified by the thought of the final parting -which was to come, our whole life on the ranch passed in review before -me, the problems and the difficulties, the adjustments, the changed -conditions and that disturbing sense of unsolved mystery. - -I got up and stood by the window looking out upon a world of silver. -Myriads of stars shone faintly in the heavens dimmed by the glory of -the moon, the pale outline of the mountain was just visible, and, as -on that first day when my heart was so heavy, I felt the sense of -confusion give way to peace. - -From the vast spaces, under the guardianship of that commanding -summit, we had gained a new sense of proportion, freedom from -hampering trivialities and a broader vision of life and its -responsibilities. - -Standing there in the moonlight facing the mountain, I saw in it more -than a symbol and source of strength; to me it had become indeed the -abiding place of a God. - -Looking back over the years, all the changes revealed only the -evolution of a wondrous plan. We had launched our frail barque in the -midst of the prairie sea at the ebb of the tide of the wild, lawless -days of the West; with the flow we had been carried through the years -of a well-ordered pastoral existence to the era of agricultural -productivity, and on each succeeding wave we had seen civilization -borne higher and higher toward the ultimate goal set by the Great -Spirit. - -Ours had been, indeed, a wonderful experience. - - THE END. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Tenderfoot Bride, by Clarice E. 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Richards - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A Tenderfoot Bride - Tales from an Old Ranch - -Author: Clarice E. Richards - -Release Date: April 12, 2013 [EBook #42507] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TENDERFOOT BRIDE *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and Sue Clark - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class='image-center'> - <img src='images/cover.jpg' class='img-limits' alt=''/> -</div> - -<hr class='pb'/> - -<div class='image-center'> - <a href='images/img-001.jpg'><img src='images/img-001.jpg' id='i001' class='img-limits' alt=''/></a> - <div class='caption'> - <p>PIKE’S PEAK FROM THE OLD RANCH</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='pb'/> - -<div class='center pad2'> -<span style='font-size:1.4em;'>A TENDERFOOT BRIDE</span><br/> -<br/> -BY<br/> -<br/> -<span style='font-size:1.2em;'>CLARICE E. RICHARDS</span><br/> -<br/> -GARDEN CITY—NEW YORK<br/> -DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY<br/> -1927<br/> -</div> - -<hr class='pb'/> - -<div class='center pad2'> -COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY CLARICE E. RICHARDS. ALL<br/> -RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES<br/> -AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.<br/> -</div> - -<hr class='pb'/> - -<div class='center pad2'> -To the One<br/> -whose Companionship, Inspiration and<br/> -Encouragement have made<br/> -this book possible<br/> -My Husband<br/> -</div> - -<hr class='pb'/> - -<p class='center'>CONTENTS</p> - -<div class='literal-container'> - <div class='literal'> - <a href='#ch01'>I. First Impressions</a><br/> - <a href='#ch02'>II. A Surprise Party</a><br/> - <a href='#ch03'>III. The Root Cellar</a><br/> - <a href='#ch04'>IV. The Great Adventure Progresses</a><br/> - <a href='#ch05'>V. The Government Contract</a><br/> - <a href='#ch06'>VI. A Variety of Runaways</a><br/> - <a href='#ch07'>VII. The Measure of a Man</a><br/> - <a href='#ch08'>VIII. The Sheep Business</a><br/> - <a href='#ch09'>IX. The Unexpected</a><br/> - <a href='#ch10'>X. Around the Christmas Fire</a><br/> - <a href='#ch11'>XI. Ted</a><br/> - <a href='#ch12'>XII. Blizzards</a><br/> - <a href='#ch13'>XIII. Echoes of the Past</a><br/> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='pb'/> - -<p class='center'>ILLUSTRATIONS</p> - -<div class='literal-container'> - <div class='literal'> -<a href='#i001'>Pike’s Peak from the Old Ranch</a><br/> -<a href='#i002'>Roping and Cutting Out Cattle</a><br/> -<a href='#i003'>Roping a Steer to Inspect Brand</a><br/> -<a href='#i004'>Inspecting a Brand</a><br/> -<a href='#i005'>The “Star†is a Frightened, Snorting “Bronchoâ€</a><br/> -<a href='#i006'>Trailed All the Way from New Mexico</a><br/> -<a href='#i007'>Like a Solitary Fence Post</a><br/> -<a href='#i008'>Bucking Horse and Rider</a><br/> -<a href='#i009'>Facing Death Each Time They Ride a New Horse</a><br/> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='pb'/> - -<h1 class='title'>A TENDERFOOT BRIDE</h1> - -<h2 id='ch01'>I—FIRST IMPRESSIONS</h2> - -<p>When our train left Colorado Springs and headed out into those vast -stretches of the prairie, which spread East like a great green ocean -from the foot of Pike’s Peak, all the sensations of Christopher -Columbus setting sail for a new world, and a few peculiarly my own, -mingled in my breast.</p> - -<p>As the train pounded along I stole a look at Owen. He was absorbed in -the contemplation of a map of our new holdings. Under that calm -exterior I suspected hidden attributes of the primitive man. Certainly -there was some reason why Western life was to his liking, having had -the chance to choose.</p> - -<p>It was late in the afternoon when we found ourselves on the platform -of the solitary little wayside station. The train went rushing on -through the July sunshine, as if impatient at the stop. Our fellow -passengers had drawn their heads back from the car windows, after -vainly trying to see what apparently sane people could find to stop -for in a place like that. In truth, there was little—a water tank, a -section house, two cottages and one store.</p> - -<p>A combination station-agent and baggage-man stood on the platform. -Near a hitching rack a tall individual was waving his long arms about -like a windmill as he beckoned us to approach. Owen picked up the -bags; I trudged along behind with various coats and packages, stopping -midway between platform and wagon to disengage a large tumbleweed, -which had rolled merrily to my feet and attached itself to my skirt.</p> - -<p>The tall man took a few steps in our direction, still holding the -reins in his hand. With one eye he gave us a greeting, while he kept -the other on the lunging horses. He was hardly a prepossessing person -at first sight, except for his smile. I felt that his keen black eyes -had sized us up in one quick glance. I became blushingly conscious of -being a new bride, and from “the East.â€</p> - -<p>“How-de-do? Whoa, now, Brownie. Just get in folks,—the old man had to -go to town, so he sent me to meet you, but he’ll be back by the time -we get to the ranch.†All this in one breath, while he helped Owen -place the bags in the wagon.</p> - -<p>“Don’t mind the horses; they’re plumb gentle—just a little excited -now over the train, that’s all. Whoa now,†with decided emphasis. -“Sorry, Mrs. Brook, hope you didn’t hurt yourselfâ€â€”this last as the -horses suddenly backed and knocked my foot off the step. “Oh, no, not -at all,†I replied, hastily scrambling into the wagon and thanking -heaven that I had landed on the seat before they gave an unexpected -lurch forward. Owen got in beside the driver; the horses reared and -started off. I gripped the seat and my hat, and fastened my eyes on -the horses’ ears. When we had crossed the railroad and the movement -was more steady, I began to “take notice†of things about me, and the -conversation going on in the front seat reached me in fragments.</p> - -<p>The driver said he was called “Tex.†He was a true son of Texas, and -it was not difficult to imagine that particles of his native soil -still clung to him. The deep creases in his neck were so filled with -dirt that he looked like a charcoal sketch. As he turned his face, -lined and seamed, I saw that his chin was covered with at least a -week’s growth of greyish-black beard. I estimated his age. He might -have been fifty; very quick in speech and action, yet there was a -subdued power about the man. He managed the horses easily, and I -caught in his drawling speech a casual, half-bantering tone.</p> - -<p>“Wonder if them grips is botherin’ the Missus. Ridin’ all right?†he -asked, turning with solicitude to see the location of the bags. As it -happened, they were all located on top of my feet. It was Owen who -removed them, for Tex’s attention was again engaged with Brownie, who -suddenly landed quite outside the road. A cotton-tail had jumped from -behind a rattleweed.</p> - -<p>“Quit that now, Brownie. You never did have no sense.†The drawl was -half-sarcastic. “’Pears like you ain’t never seen no rabbits before, -’stead a bein’ raised with ’em.†Brownie gave a little shake of her -pretty head and crowded her long-suffering mate back into the road -again. I was becoming very much interested. This man was a distinctly -new type to me. I did not know then that he was the old-time -cow-puncher, with an ease of manner a Chesterfield might have envied, -and an unfailing, almost deferential, courtesy toward women.</p> - -<p>Never shall I forget that first drive across the prairie,—not a -house, not a tree in sight, except where the cottonwoods traced the -borders of a waterless creek. Gently rolling hills were all about us, -instead of the flat country I had expected to see; hills which failed -to reveal anything when we reached the top, but yet higher hills to -climb. An unexpected vastness seemed to extend to the very boundaries -of the unknown, as we looked about on all sides, only to see the soft -green circle of the hills, on which the bluest of skies gently rested, -sweep about us. I felt the spell of unlimited space, and smiled as I -thought of the tearful farewell of one of my bridesmaids. She had -“hated†to think of my being “cooped up on a ranch.†“Cooped up†here, -when for the first time I realized what unhampered freedom might mean -in a country left as God had made it, with so little trace of man’s -interference!</p> - -<p>At last we came to a gate made of three strands of barbed wire, -fastened together in the middle and attached to a stick at each end. -It was a real gate when up, but when opened, it was a floppy invention -of the Evil One, designed to tax the patience of a saint. The strands -of wire got mixed and crossed and grew perceptibly shorter, so that it -required superhuman strength and something of a disposition to get the -end of the stick through the loop of wire, which held it in place -again.</p> - -<p>This gate marked the Southern boundary of the ranch, ten miles from -the railroad station. We reached the top of a hill and looked up a -long valley, where the creek wound its way, fringed by great -cottonwood trees, until its source was lost behind three prominent -buttes, purple in the haze of the late afternoon. Beyond the buttes -stood Pike’s Peak, snow-capped and alone, guardian of the valley, the -whole length of which it commanded. Through some peculiarity of -position all the other peaks of the Rockies remained invisible, while -this one mountain rose in majestic isolation from the plain.</p> - -<p>Tex stopped the horses for a moment, and without a word pointed with -the whip toward a clump of cottonwoods in the distance.</p> - -<p>“The ranch?†I asked.</p> - -<p>He nodded.</p> - -<p>In the beautiful valley it stood, the white fences, corrals and -outbuildings gleaming in the sun. Nestled among the trees, planted so -densely that only a suggestion of its white walls showed between them, -was the house—our first home!</p> - -<p>As we drove up to the gate, a short man, with a thick beard, bustled -out to meet us.</p> - -<p>“Well, here you are! Got here all right. Sorry I couldn’t meet you. -Come right in. You must be tired settin’.†And before we quite -realized that we had arrived, we were ushered into the house through -the back door.</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, there was no front door. Two outside doors opened -into the kitchen, one on either side, and since the kitchen was in -truth the “living-room,†what need of a front door?</p> - -<p>A placid-faced, elderly woman greeted us, and after a few moments -conducted us up a crooked stairway to a room under the eaves.</p> - -<p>Owen left hastily “to look around outside,†and I followed as quickly -as possible for I knew that if I looked around inside for any length -of time, I should start back to the railroad station on foot.</p> - -<p>Old Mr. and Mrs. Bohm had lived on the place for over thirty years in -this house, which was the evolution of a dug-out, with many subsequent -periods in prospect before it became a possible home. Mrs. Bohm had -recently been having “fainting spells,†which frightened her husband -into a plan to dispose of the ranch and live in town.</p> - -<p>It was a wonderful ranch. Acres on acres of richest grass, a wealth of -hay land and natural water holes,—a paradise for stock. To poor -homesick me, this place had no suggestion of paradise. It looked run -down and disorderly; the fences around the house were adorned with -everything from old battered tin buckets and mowing-machine wheels to -the smallest piece of rusty wire. Mrs. Bohm confided to me that “James -liked it that way because everything was so handy.†There was no -questioning that, but as a first impression it was hopeless, and my -heart grew heavier and heavier as I thought of the new house in -Wyoming, where we had expected to be, and the Eastern home I had just -left.</p> - -<p>I walked out of sight of the festooned fence and tried to think. Up -the valley the Peak was deep blue against the golden evening sky, and -in the vast, unbroken silence of the prairies I felt the sense of -chaos and confusion give way to peace. The old house, tumble-down -fences, mowing machine wheels and wire took an inconsequent place in -the scale of things compared to Owen’s undertaking. He <i>must</i> succeed. -The undesirable could be removed or made over. We were in a new world, -we had a great domain, we faced undreamed of experiences and -possibilities. My spirits rose with a bound, and I resolved from that -moment to consider our life here in the West, in the midst of new -conditions, a great adventure. At that instant the original Bohm -dug-out would have held no terrors for me.</p> - -<p>Perhaps if I had known just how great the adventure was to be, what -varied and nerve-testing experiences the future did hold, I might have -been daunted; but with a farewell look at the Peak and a new sense of -strength and courage, I went to meet Owen. I realized that he knew the -possibilities of the place and that the conditions would all soon be -changed, and I knew, too, that he was distressed at the realization of -how it must all appear to me. He looked troubled, as he came toward -me.</p> - -<p>“Can you stand it for a little while?†he asked.</p> - -<p>“Of course, I can,†I replied, cheerfully, blindly taking the first -step toward the great adventure.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right, dear; it’s going to be wonderful, living here.â€</p> - -<p>Mr. and Mrs. Bohm, Tex and six bashful cow-punchers were in the -kitchen waiting for us before they sat down to supper. We were -presented to the men, and in acknowledgment of the introduction -received a fleeting glance from six pairs of diffident eyes and a -quick jerk from six slickly brushed heads.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bohm took her seat at the foot of the long oil-cloth-covered -table, and old Mr. Bohm sat at the head. Fortunate for me that Owen -and I sat side by side. If once during that meal I had caught his eye, -I should have disgraced myself forever.</p> - -<p>Except old Bohm, no one said anything. Indeed, no one had a chance, -for he talked all the time, telling stories, cracking jokes at which -he laughed immoderately, interspersing his conversation with waves of -his fork, with which from time to time he reflectively combed his -beard. I could not take my eyes off him; there was a weird fascination -in following the movements of that fork. It was prescience which led -me to do so, for old Bohm suddenly ceased using it as a toilet article -and jabbed it into a piece of meat, which he held out toward me.</p> - -<p>“Here, Mrs. Brook, have some more beef. I’ve been talkin’ along here -and clean forgot you folks must be hungry.†I assured him I couldn’t -eat another bite. It was the most truthful statement of my life.</p> - -<p>That night I lay awake for hours, thinking over the day’s experiences, -and incidentally trying to find a spot on the mattress where a lump -did not threaten to press a rib out of place. At last I fell asleep, -to be suddenly awakened by the slam of a gate under our window, -followed by an exclamation which floated up out of the grey dawn: “By -hell, but this is a fine day.†Then came the squeak of the pump -handle, as old Bohm performed his morning ablutions, more slams of the -gate, and more salutations of the same order in varying phraseology, -but always beginning with “By hell.â€</p> - -<p>Shades of my ministerial ancestors! Was this the language of the new -country in which we had come to live? Surely the great adventure -promised startling sensations at the outset, to say nothing of a -certain sliding scale of standards.</p> - -<p>Owen stirred and asked sleepily what on earth I was doing up at that -hour of the day.</p> - -<p>“Changing my viewpoint,†I replied, looking out toward old Bohm’s -shadowy figure on its way toward the corral. “That has to be done -early.â€</p> - -<h2 id='ch02'>II—A SURPRISE PARTY</h2> - -<p>We were living in the land of the unexpected. Six weeks on the ranch -demonstrated that. The possibilities for surprise were inexhaustible, -and the probabilities innumerable and certain, if Owen happened to be -away.</p> - -<p>On one of these occasions the cook eloped with the best rider on the -place, more thrilling and upsetting to my peace of mind than the -cloud-burst and flood that followed soon after. Twenty-two husky and -hungry men wanted three square meals a day, and one inexperienced -bride stood between them and starvation. The situation was mutually -serious.</p> - -<p>In my need came help. Tex, our coachman on that first drive, saved the -day. Shortly after the elopement he came in for supplies for the -cow-camp. I was almost hidden by pans of potatoes, and was paring away -endlessly. He was very quiet when I explained, but after supper he -gathered up the dishes to wash them for me, looking very serious. When -he had finished, he suddenly turned to me:</p> - -<p>“Say, Mrs. Brook, I’ve just been studyin’. Jack Brent kin cook for the -boys out at camp all right, and if you kin stand it, I kin come in and -cook for you. It sure got my goat to see you rastlin’ with them -potatoes and wearin’ yourself out cookin’ for these here men.â€</p> - -<p>Good old Tex! That was little short of saintly. Camp cooking where he -was autocrat was far more to his taste. He hated “messin’ ’round where -there was women,†as he expressed it. Here was sacrifice indeed! Tex -scrubbed his hands until they fairly bled, enveloped himself in a -large checked gingham apron, and proceeded to act as chef until the -eloper had been replaced.</p> - -<p>Something deepened in me. I was seeing a new thing.</p> - -<p>Owen had been gone nearly a week. One morning I happened to be in the -kitchen when Mrs. Bohm entered. Casually she asked Tex whether Ed -More’s wife had left him before he went to jail, or after he got out. -Half in joke, I said:</p> - -<p>“Mercy, Mrs. Bohm, is there a man in this country, with the exception -of Tex, who hasn’t been in jail or on the way there?â€</p> - -<p>I was interrupted by the slamming of a door, and Tex had vanished. -Mrs. Bohm looked embarrassed as she replied:</p> - -<p>“I just hate to tell you, Mrs. Brook, and Tex would feel terrible to -have you know; but you say such queer things sometimes, I’d better -tell you now that Texâ€â€”she paused a moment—“he’s only been out of -the ‘pen’ himself a year.â€</p> - -<p>“Tex in the penitentiary? What on earth for?†I was almost dazed.</p> - -<div class='image-center'> - <a href='images/img-002.jpg'><img src='images/img-002.jpg' id='i002' class='img-limits' alt=''/></a> - <div class='caption'> - <p>ROPING AND CUTTING OUT CATTLE</p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>“Well, I’ll tell you.†Mrs. Bohm began the story with apparent -reluctance, but her manner soon betrayed a certain zest. “You see, -about four years ago Tex was workin’ for a man up on Crow Creek and -took some cattle on to Omaha to sell for him. When he came back he -never brought a cent of money, and told how he had been held up and -robbed. Everybody believed it at first, then all to onct his -family—they live over West—began to dress to kill, and Tex bought -brass beds for every room in the house; then folks began to suspicion -where he got the money, and he was sent to the Pen for two years.â€</p> - -<p>Poor old Tex! Who would ever have supposed a secret longing for brass -beds would prove his undoing? I might have guessed horses or cards, -but never brass beds. I almost felt the breath of tragedy. She seemed -sweeping by.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bohm went on: “Tex’s mighty good to his family, though, and it -most killed him when his wife went off with a Mexican sheep-herder -while he was doin’ time. She’s back home now with the girls, but her -and Tex’s separated. Ain’t it a fright the way women acts?â€</p> - -<p>“It certainly is,†I agreed, trying to reconcile my previous idea of -convicts with having one for a cook. It was dreadfully confusing and -disturbing. In spite of what I had just heard, I knew I trusted Tex. -He would never steal from us, I felt sure. And my instinct told me he -would be a true and loyal friend. There was no apparent excuse for -what he had done, but he had paid for his moment of weakness more -fully perhaps than anyone realized. I pondered over it.</p> - -<p>Presently he came in, with a curious, troubled expression on his face. -I gave him the orders, as usual, with no sign of having heard of the -cloud under which he had lived for three miserable years. Our -relations were re-established. I could see his relief.</p> - -<p>We were still taking our meals in the kitchen, although the house was -gradually being remodeled. It was Saturday evening, and we were -expecting Owen home. There was an air of suppressed excitement among -the men. One, and then another, bolted from the table and out of the -door, returning in a shame-faced manner to explain that he “thought he -heered somethin’.†Certainly Owen’s coming would never produce such a -sensation, unless he was expected to arrive in an airship. I was more -than ever mystified.</p> - -<p>After the meal was over, there was such a general shaving—also in the -kitchen—and such donning of red neckties, that I could not restrain -my curiosity. I called Tex aside and asked him where they were going. -He looked a little sheepish, as he replied:</p> - -<p>“Why, we ain’t goin’ nowhere.†Then in a burst of confidence, “I don’t -know as I’d orter tell you, but the fact is, you folks is goin’ to be -surprised; all the folks ’round is goin’ to have a party here, and -we’re expectin’ ’em.â€</p> - -<p>I gasped. A sudden suspicion flashed through my mind.</p> - -<p>“Tex, did you plan this? What on earth shall I do?â€</p> - -<p>Tex saw I was really troubled. “Why, Mrs. Brook,†he said, “you don’t -have to do nothin’. Just turn the house over to ’em, and along about -midnight I’ll make some coffee—they’ll bring baskets.â€</p> - -<p>I was relieved to know that they only wanted the house, and would -provide their own refreshments, for it was appalling to be an -impromptu hostess to an entire community and to speculate upon the -possibility of one small cold roast and chocolate cake satisfying a -crowd of young people, after drives of thirty miles or more across the -prairie.</p> - -<p>“Me and the boysâ€â€”Tex spoke somewhat apologetically, as he started -toward the door—“we kind a thought maybe you and Mr. Brook would like -to get acquainted, seem’s how you’re goin’ to live here; but I guess -we oughten to have did what we done.â€</p> - -<p>I felt ashamed of my momentary perturbation, as the force of that last -sentence of Tex’s reached me. These men of the plains were as simple -and sensitive as children about many things. They would really grieve -if they felt this affair, planned solely on our account, gave us no -pleasure. I hastened to reassure him.</p> - -<p>“It was mighty nice of you men to think of it,†I said, cheerfully. -“We do want to know the people in the country, and we are going to -enjoy every moment. I was ‘surprised’ before the party began, that’s -all.â€</p> - -<p>Tex went out satisfied, grinning broadly.</p> - -<p>To my good fortune, Owen arrived before the guests came. I told him -what was about to befall us. His expression was dubious. All he said -was “Thunder.â€</p> - -<p>Owen and one of the men had been driving about the country all the -week, buying horses suitable to turn in on a Government cavalry -contract. The night before they had spent on the floor of a cold -railroad station, wrapped up in their blankets, with a lighted lantern -under the covering at their feet. Their sleep was somewhat broken, -with either cremation or freezing pending that cold September night. -Poor Owen! He was completely worn out. And now he had to go through a -surprise party.</p> - -<p>At eight o’clock, Tex, self-appointed master of ceremonies, ushered in -the first arrivals. They were a tall, lean chap and two very much -be-curled young misses. I made trials without number at conversation, -but they could only be induced to say “Yes†and “No.â€</p> - -<p>From eight until ten they came,—ranchmen, cow-punchers, -ex-cow-punchers running their own outfits, infant cow-punchers, girls -and women, until kitchen and sitting room were filled to overflowing, -and every chair and bench on the place in use. Among the last to -arrive was a tall, languid Texan, accompanied by two languid, -drab-colored women. They were presented to us as “Robert, Missus Reed -and Maggie.†“Maggie,†I immediately concluded, was a sister, but not -being quite certain, I sought enlightenment from Mrs. Bohm.</p> - -<p>“She ain’t Reed’s sister,†she informed me in a low tone, “she’s his -girl.â€</p> - -<p>“Oh, works for them, you mean?†I said, somewhat puzzled by the Reed -connections.</p> - -<p>“Works nothin’,†Mrs. Bohm replied, scornfully. “She’s got the next -place to ’em and goes with ’em everywhere. Ella don’t seem to mind. -I’d just call her Maggie’ if I was you,†and Mrs. Bohm departed to -join a group of women near the door.</p> - -<p>I looked over at the two with a new interest. They were chatting and -laughing together, the “girl†and the wife seemingly on the best of -terms, with no sign of rivalry for the tall Texan’s affections. Here -was a situation fraught with latent possibilities that made me -tremble, yet—“Ella don’t seem to mind.â€</p> - -<p>The kitchen had been converted into a ballroom by moving the table up -against the wall and placing three chairs upon it. Unfortunately the -sink and stove were fixtures, but everything else, including the bread -jar, found a temporary resting place in the yard.</p> - -<p>Old Bohm, with his fiddle under his arm, gingerly ascended the table -first. Then another man followed with a similar instrument; and last -came a youth with a mouth harp. No fatality having resulted from the -musicians taking their seats, the dancing began.</p> - -<p>The music, if such a combination of sounds can be dignified by that -name, was such as to defy description. Never in the wildest flights of -fancy could I have conceived of such execution and such sounds. The -two men sawed their violins, and the third was purple in the face from -his efforts on the mouth-harp; all were stamping time with their feet, -and he of the harp was slapping his knee with his unoccupied hand.</p> - -<p>Before every dance a council was held, after which each musician would -play the tune decided upon, as best suited to his taste. Old Bohm -tried to get to the end in the shortest time possible, while the -second fiddler, taking things more seriously, finished four or five -bars behind his companion. The harpist, not playing “second†to -anything or anybody, had his own opinion as to how “A Hot Time in the -Old Town†should go. With these independent views, the result was a -series of the most discordant sounds that ever fell on mortal ears. -However, music mattered little, for all had come to have a good time, -and the “caller-out,†with both eyes shut tight and arms folded across -his breast, was making himself heard above all other sounds.</p> - -<p>“Birdie in the center and all hands around!†he commanded. Then -fiddles and mouth harp began a wild jig, couples raced ’round and -’round, while “Birdie,†a blond and blushing maiden, stood patiently -in the midst of the whirling circle, until the next order came:</p> - -<div class='poetry-container'> -<div class='poetry'> -<div class='stanza'> -<div class='verse'>“Birdie hop out and Crow hop in!</div> -<div class='verse'>Take holt of paddies and run around agin.â€</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Crow†was a broad, heavy-set cow-puncher, wearing chaps, and in the -endeavor to “run around agin,†I found my progress somewhat impeded by -his spurs, which caught in my skirt and very nearly upset me.</p> - -<p>All the riders wore their heavy boots and spurs, and it required real -agility to avoid being stepped on or having one’s skirt torn to -ribbons. I was devoutly thankful that chiffon and tulle ball gowns -were not worn on ranches.</p> - -<p>There was more to avoid than spurs. We had to dance about the kitchen -and avoid the stove, the sink and the tabled musicians, to say nothing -of the nails in the floor. But after a few hours’ practice, I began to -feel qualified to waltz on top of the House of the Seven Gables, and -avoid at least six of them.</p> - -<p>Finally, the caller-out shouted loudly:</p> - -<div class='poetry-container'> -<div class='poetry'> -<div class='stanza'> -<div class='verse'>“Allemande, Joe! Right hand to pardner and around you go.</div> -<div class='verse'>Balance to corners, don’t be slack;</div> -<div class='verse'>Turn right around and take a back track.</div> -<div class='verse'>When you git home, don’t be afraid,</div> -<div class='verse'>Swing her agin and all promenade.â€</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>My partner obeyed every command with such vigor that when at last he -led me to my seat I was panting and dizzy; nor had I quite recovered -my breath when the music struck up again, and Tex led me forth.</p> - -<p>The exertion of the first quadrille had been too much for his comfort, -so he had dispensed with both collar and coat. His trousers and vest -bore evidence of having seen many a round-up, and his shirt, which had -once been white, was now multi-colored. In the wonderful red ascot tie -which encircled his neck were stuck four scarf-pins, one above the -other. There being nothing to hold the loop of the tie in place, it -gradually worked up the back of his head, until its progress was -stopped by the edge of a small skull-cap, which Tex wore as the -crowning feature of his costume. The cap, tilted slightly to one side, -gave him a rakish appearance, quite in contrast with his air of -importance and responsibility.</p> - -<p>I danced—my head fairly spins when I think <i>how</i> I danced—for, since -the party was given in our honor, dance I must with every man who -asked me.</p> - -<p>Owen, not being a dancing man, made himself agreeable to the -wall-flowers and the children, stealing upstairs about once an hour -for a few moments’ nap on the bedroom floor. The beds themselves were -occupied by sleeping infants, whose mothers were going through the -intricate mazes of those dances below.</p> - -<p>At one o’clock Tex began to make the coffee, whereupon the musicians -descended from the table, and the expectant party sat down. But where -were their baskets? My heart sank, as Tex approached holding a very -small one. He informed me in a stage whisper it was all there was!</p> - -<p>The basket contained a cake and one wee chick, evidently fried soon -after leaving the shell. It was the smallest chicken I ever saw. I -hastily produced our cake and roast, and then took one despairing look -around at the forty individuals to be fed. I shall never be able to -explain it, unless Tex had an Aladdin’s lamp concealed in his pocket, -for cake, roast and chicken appeared to be inexhaustible, and the -supply more than equaled the demand.</p> - -<p>I was aroused from my contemplation of the miracle by a feminine -voice, the speaker saying half to herself and half to me:</p> - -<p>“It took me most two hours to iron Nell’s dress this mornin’, but I -sure got a pretty ‘do’ on it.†Following her beaming glance, I found -that it rested on a mass of ruffles, which adorned the dress of -“Birdie†of that first quadrille. Just then the music began again, and -I saw Ed Lay ask her to dance. I trusted, after all that work, the -‘do’ wouldn’t be undone by his spurs; still the effort had not been -wasted, for this was the fifth time he had danced with her.</p> - -<p>No doting mother could have taken more pride in the debut of an only -child, than this work-worn sister whose eyes sparkled as they followed -“Birdie’s†whirling figure held firmly by the encircling arm of the -cow-puncher, and she murmured softly with a half sigh, “Ain’t it -grand?†To me it was “grand†indeed, that even an embryo romance could -bring a new light to those tired eyes.</p> - -<p>It was six o’clock Sunday morning when one most thoughtful person -suggested that “they’d orter be goin’â€; and by seven the last guest -had departed. Then Owen and I, weary and heavy-eyed, donned our wraps, -climbed into the wagon, and started on a sixteen-mile drive to the -railroad to meet his brother, who was coming from California to see -“how we were making it.â€</p> - -<p>I was almost too tired to speak, but one thought was struggling for -expression, and as we started up the first long hill, I had to say:</p> - -<p>“Anyone who ever spoke of the ‘peace and quiet of ranch life’ lived in -New York and dreamed about it. In twenty-four hours I have discovered -that we have an ex-convict for a trusted cook, and have received as -guests a man with his wife and resident affinity. We have had a -surprise party and I have danced with all the blemished characters the -country boasts of, until six o’clock in the morning of the Sabbath -day, with never a qualm of conscience. What do you suppose has become -of my moral standards?â€</p> - -<p>Owen was amused. He asked me, quizzically, what I thought they would -be by the end of a year.</p> - -<p>“Mercy!†I replied, “at the rate they are being overthrown, there -won’t be enough left to consider, unlessâ€â€”I thought a moment—“unless -I can reconstruct a more enduring set from parts of the old.â€</p> - -<h2 id='ch03'>III—THE ROOT CELLAR</h2> - -<p>“East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.†The -phrase kept haunting me all through these first days when everything -was so new and strange. I almost felt as though I had passed into a -new phase of existence.</p> - -<p>Except for Owen, there was no point of contact between the world of -cities and people I had just left and this land of cattle and -cow-punchers, bounded by the sky-rimmed hills. In Owen, however, the -East and the West did meet. He understood and belonged to both and -adapted himself as easily to the one as to the other. Wearing his -derby, he belonged to the life of the East; in his broad-brimmed -Stetson, he was a living part of the West.</p> - -<p>The compelling reality of this new life affected me deeply. -Non-essentials counted for nothing. There were no artificial problems -or values.</p> - -<p>No one in the country cared who you might have been or who you were. -The <i>Mayflower</i> and Plymouth Rock meant nothing here. It would be -thought you were speaking of some garden flowers or some breed of -chickens.</p> - -<p>The one thing of vital importance was what you were—how you adjusted -yourself to meet conditions as you found them, and how nearly you -reached, or how far you fell below their measure of man or woman.</p> - -<p>I felt as though up to this time I had been in life’s kindergarten, -but that I had now entered into its school, and I realized that only -as I passed the given tests should I succeed.</p> - -<p>I learned much from the rough, untutored men with whom I was in daily -association. They were men whose rules of conduct were governed by -individual choice, unhampered by conventions. They were so direct and -honest, so unfailingly kind and gentle toward any weaker thing, and so -simple and responsive, that I liked and trusted them from the first. -All but old Bohm, the man from whom we were buying. He was such a -totally different type that he seemed a man apart. The son of a German -father and an Irish mother, he had inherited a nature too complex and -contradictory to be easily fathomed.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bohm, with her white, calm face and gentle voice, attracted me, -but her husband aroused in both Owen and me an instinctive distrust. -He was good nature personified, a most companionable person, with his -easy, contagious laugh, his amusing stories, quick wit, and breezy air -of good fellowship. He could quote Burns, Scott, and other poets by -the hour, and fiddle away on his violin, until we were nearly moved to -tears. He was almost too good-natured; he didn’t quite ring true. I -noticed that while he always referred or spoke to his wife -affectionately, as “my old mammy,†her attitude toward him was rather -impersonal. She called him “James†with quiet dignity, but seldom -talked with him, and appeared to take very little interest.</p> - -<p>On the side of a hill, some distance from the house, was an old root -cellar, used, according to Bohm, for storing potatoes, turnips, and -other vegetables for winter. It was most inconveniently located; there -were hillsides much nearer, and considering that the cellar under the -house was always used for such purposes, it seemed strange that -another should be needed so far away. I was possessed with a desire to -explore it. It suggested hidden treasures and Indian relics, which I -was collecting. One day I was poised on the top of the cellar step, -about to descend into its mysterious depths.</p> - -<p>Old Bohm appeared. “Was you lookin’ for something’?†he asked, -somewhat out of breath.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,†I replied, going down a few steps. “I was just exploring, -and thought I would investigate this old root cellar.â€</p> - -<p>“I thought that was what you was goin’ to do, and I hurried up to tell -you to be awful careful of rattlesnakes; there’s a pile of ’em ’round -these here old cellars.†Bohm spoke with apparent solicitude.</p> - -<p>“Heavens! I wouldn’t go down there for anything!†I exclaimed,—and I -got out of the cellarway as quickly as possible.</p> - -<p>Old Bohm looked down the steps at the strong, closed door of heavy -boards.</p> - -<p>“Oh, maybe it would be all right. You could listen for ’em and jump, -if you heard ’em rattle,†he remarked, casually.</p> - -<p>I shook my head. “Not much; I don’t want to hear them rattle,†and I -started toward the house.</p> - -<p>Bohm went up toward the wind-mill. As I turned away I caught a curious -expression on his face—a faint gleam of something.</p> - -<p>As I came through the meadow gate, Owen was getting into the buggy.</p> - -<p>“Hello,†he called, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I have to -drive over to Three Bar. Do you want to go?â€</p> - -<p>I was always ready to go anywhere, so while Owen was driving the -horses about, I ran in to get my hat.</p> - -<p>Not one of our horses was thoroughly broken, so we always had to -follow the same method of procedure before starting anywhere. After -the horses were hitched up, Charley, to whom fell odd jobs of every -sort, stood at their heads until Owen was fairly seated and had the -lines firmly in his hands. Then, after a few ineffectual attempts to -kick or run down Charley before he could get out of the way, off -dashed the horses around and around the open space between the house -and the pond, until a little of the edge had been taken off their -spirits. Then Owen stopped them for one moment, I made a quick jump -into the buggy, and away we went at top speed toward the gate that -Charley had run to open. We usually missed the post by a quarter of an -inch, and at that juncture I invariably shut my eyes and held my -breath.</p> - -<p>The road to Three Bar Ranch led to the North and wound up a very long -hill, then across a rolling mesa. The prairie was covered with short -grama grass, just turning a faint brown, the yellow sunflowers and -great clumps of rattleweed, with its spikes of lovely purple, giving a -touch of color to the scene before us. The Spanish bayonet dotted the -hillsides, and over all hung the summer sky like burnished copper. The -only sound, aside from that of the horses’ hoofs and the crunch of the -wheels on the soft prairie road, was the occasional song of the meadow -lark, all the joy of the summer day sounding in its one short -thrilling note. In the gulches, where the grass grew deep and rank, -the wind tossed it softly, and it rippled and sparkled in the shifting -light, as water gleams in the sun. Everything was so still that -animation seemed for the time suspended, as we drove along silenced by -the spell of the prairies.</p> - -<p>Three Bar, one of the oldest ranches in the country, stood against the -side of a hill. It was a long, low structure of logs built in the -prevailing fashion of the early ranch houses, room after room opening -into one another, usually with an outside door to each.</p> - -<p>The ranch was owned by the Mortons, English people, who were among the -earliest settlers in the country. They greeted us most cordially, and -as Owen went out to the corral with Mr. Morton to look at some horses, -Mrs. Morton took me into the house.</p> - -<p>The room we entered had very little furniture, but was redeemed from -bareness by a wonderful old stone fireplace at one end.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Morton was short and heavy set. “Spotless†was the only word her -appearance suggested when I first saw her. Her skin was as fair as a -child’s, while her hair was as white as the apron she wore.</p> - -<p>Her flow of conversation was unceasing, and I was reminded of a remark -that Charley made to me when the telephone was first put in over the -fence lines.</p> - -<p>“Old lady Morton talked so fast that she ripped all the barbs off the -wire.†Before I had time to reply to one question, she had asked -another, and was off on an entirely different subject. I suppose the -accumulated conversation of months was vented on my innocent head, for -she told me, poor thing, that she hadn’t seen another woman since -Christmas.</p> - -<p>“Usâ€â€”she never said we—“us never visits the neighbors, but was -coming up to see you, Mrs. Brook, for us heard you and Mr. Brook was -different. Us lives out here on a ranch, but us knows when people are -the right kind.â€</p> - -<p>I didn’t know whether to be considered “different†was desirable, or -not, and I was dying to ask her what constituted “the right kind,†but -had no time before she suddenly asked:</p> - -<p>“Have the Bohms gone? Us was waiting till they went.â€</p> - -<p>I explained that they were still on the ranch, as Mr. Bohm had to -gather and counterbrand all the stock before turning it over to Owen, -and that he had been delayed.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Morton gave a little grunt of contempt. “Old Bohm won’t hurry any -while he’s getting free board. He may be with you all winter. Us hopes -Mr. Brook won’t be imposed on. He’s a smart man, old Jim Bohm is, but -he’s a bad one.â€</p> - -<p>“Bad one?†I repeated, inwardly praying that the Bohms would not be -permanent guests.</p> - -<p>“Old Jim Bohm is a bad man,†Mrs. Morton said again, rocking violently -back and forth. “I was here when they came. She’s all right, but there -is nothing he won’t do. Whyâ€â€”her voice sank to a whisper—“sixteen -men have been traced as far as that ranch and never been heard of -again, and Jim Bohm’s been getting richer all along.â€</p> - -<p>Mrs. Morton scarcely paused for breath, so I couldn’t have said -anything. But I was speechless, anyhow.</p> - -<p>“Not one of them, not one,†she declared, “was ever heard of again, -and if you were to examine that old root cellar on the hill, you’d -find out what I say is true.â€</p> - -<p>The incident of the morning flashed across my mind, and I felt as -though a piece of ice were being drawn slowly along my spine.</p> - -<p>“How perfectly horrible!†I managed to gasp, “but it can’t be true.â€</p> - -<div class='image-center'> - <a href='images/img-003.jpg'><img src='images/img-003.jpg' id='i003' class='img-limits' alt=''/></a> - <div class='caption'> - <p>ROPING A STEER TO INSPECT BRAND</p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>“It’s true, all right.†There was no doubting Mrs. Morton’s -conviction. “There’s facts there’s no getting ’round. Jim Bohm and old -Happy Dick, that used to work for him, came up here over the trail -from Texas with a band of horses that Bohm and another man owned. The -other fellow was with them when they started, but Bohm said he died on -the way, and that’s all anyone knows about it, except that old Bohm -kept all the horses.â€</p> - -<p>“Then a few years later, a young fellow that was consumptive, came out -to work for them. I know he had quite a bit of money, because he -stopped here once to ask John what to do with it. He hadn’t been there -very long before he dropped dead, according to Jim Bohm’s story. His -folks back East tried to get the money, but Bohm said the fellow owed -it to him, and they couldn’t do a thing about it.â€</p> - -<p>I sat as if petrified, unable to take my eyes from Mrs. Morton’s face, -as she went on and on.</p> - -<p>“He was in with all the rustlers in the country,†she continued, “and -once when a posse was hunting a man who had stole a lot of horses, -Bohm tried his best to keep them from searching the place, but the -Sheriff told him they would arrest him if he made any more fuss about -it, so he had to keep still. When they came to the haymow, they stuck -a pitchfork right into a man hidden in the hay, and old Bohm swore he -didn’t know a thing about his being there. The next us heard, old Bill -Law had dropped dead in the corral. I tell youâ€â€”Mrs. Morton leaned -forward and shook her finger in my face—“it’s mighty funny, the way -men keeps dropping dead over there; they don’t do it anywhere else. -Happy Dick was the last. About a year ago he told Morton he’d stole -two men rich, and now he was going to steal himself rich. But two days -after he was found dead in the willows, and Bohm said that when he -came upon the body, Happy Dick had been dead for hours.â€</p> - -<p>Mrs. Morton showed signs of running down for a moment, so I hastened -to ask why it was that, though suspicion always pointed toward him, -old Bohm had never been arrested.</p> - -<p>“Jim Bohm’s too smooth,†Mrs. Morton answered. “If you found him with -a smoking gun in his hand and a man dead on the ground beside him, -he’d lie out of it somehow; probably would swear that as he came up, -he saw the man shoot himself. Oh! he’s a slick one. Us always said us -pitied anyone who had business dealings with him, but,†she stopped as -she saw Owen and Mr. Morton coming up the walk, “Mr. Brook looks like -a man that can take care of himself. I’d watch out for Bohm, though. -Watch out for him!â€</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Mrs. Morton,†I said, as Owen came to the door. “I am glad -you told me. Please come to see us,†and with conflicting emotions I -prepared to leave Three Bar Ranch.</p> - -<p>I scarcely knew what to think. I was worried, and yet——</p> - -<p>When I told Owen I expected him to pooh-pooh the story and relieve my -mind, but he did nothing of the sort. With a queer little wrinkle -between his eyes, he listened attentively.</p> - -<p>“Owen, you don’t think there is any truth in it, do you?†I asked, -much troubled by his silence. He flicked a fly off Dan’s back before -replying:</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what to think. The old chap’s a rascal, there’s no doubt -about that; but I didn’t suppose he was a cold-blooded murderer.â€</p> - -<p>Again I felt the ice go up and down my spine. “Great heavens, Owen, -can’t you have someone go through the root cellar, to see if there is -anything out of the way there? And, above all, get the stock gathered -and ship Bohm—I despise him, anyhow!â€</p> - -<p>“Don’t let it worry you,†said Owen; “probably it’s all mere talk. -Bohm won’t bother us; and in a few weeks the stock will all be turned -over and he’ll have no excuse for staying.â€</p> - -<p>“A few weeks is a long time,†I said, gloomily, feeling as if my hold -on life were gradually slipping. “According to Mrs. Morton, everybody -on the place might drop dead in less time than that.â€</p> - -<p>Owen laughed, but the next moment a shadow crossed his face, and he -said decisively:</p> - -<p>“I’m going to look into that root-cellar business. I want to have the -place thoroughly cleaned out, anyhow.â€</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>The boys were going in to supper when we drove up. Charley came to -take the horses, and Owen greeted him:</p> - -<p>“Well, how’s everything?â€</p> - -<p>“Oh, all right,†answered Charley indifferently, as he started to -loosen the tugs. “Nothin’s happened since you folks went away, only -the old root cellar’s caved in.â€</p> - -<p>Speech was impossible. Owen and I stood as if petrified, looking at -each other. We turned to go up to the house. I felt as though some -wretched fate were making game of us. As we entered the door, Owen -spoke:</p> - -<p>“Estherâ€â€”he was very serious—“don’t say a word or betray any -interest whatever in this matter. After supper is over, I’ll go up to -investigate.â€</p> - -<p>Talk about the skeleton at a feast! There were sixteen horrid, -grinning things around the table that night, besides a few that Mrs. -Morton had overlooked.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bohm was whiter than usual and very quiet. Old Bohm was in high -spirits. We were scarcely seated before he declared it “a damn shame†-that the old root cellar had to cave in.</p> - -<p>We showed a little surprise, but affected unconcern. Playing the role -assigned to me, I remarked indifferently that we never used it, -anyhow, and with this Bohm cheerfully agreed.</p> - -<p>Later, when Owen went up to examine the cellar, I noticed, from my -point of observation at the window, that old Bohm was close by his -side.</p> - -<p>Soon after Owen came in looking very grave.</p> - -<p>“Well, it caved in, all right, and it never can be cleaned out. But -there’s one thing I am convinced ofâ€â€”and he looked toward the hill -with a frown—“it didn’t cave in of itself.â€</p> - -<h2 id='ch04'>IV—THE GREAT ADVENTURE PROGRESSES</h2> - -<p>John, the mail carrier, was our only connecting link with the great -outside world. Three times a week he brought the mail. From the first -sight of a tiny speck on the top of the distant hill, our hearts -thrilled. I watched it grow larger and larger, until the two-wheeled -cart stopped at the garden gate. With hands trembling with impatience, -I unlocked the old, worn bag, which John threw on the floor.</p> - -<p>I was the honorable Postmistress. My desk was covered with Postal -Laws, which I almost learned by heart. I had the New England respect -for the Federal prison, the place of correction for delinquent Postal -employees.</p> - -<p>One rule was absolute. The key of the mail bag had to be securely -attached to the Post Office. My Post Office was a wooden cracker box, -which held the mail for the few outside patrons.</p> - -<p>The inspector of Post Offices arrived unannounced one day. He -frowningly looked over my accounts, while I stood by in perturbation. -Suddenly he caught sight of the key at the end of a long brass chain -“securely attached to the Post Office.†He got up to investigate. The -frown disappeared by magic, and a smile played around his stern mouth. -He burst into laughter. I explained I was very careful to comply with -all the regulations. He gave me a humorous glance—and stayed to -dinner.</p> - -<p>The papers on Monday evening brought us exciting news. A train on the -U. P. had been held up at a lonely station, thirty miles from our -ranch. All the Pullman passengers had been robbed and one man shot and -killed. The hold-ups had escaped and were at large in the “country -adjoining.â€</p> - -<p>“If they are in the country adjoining, they’ll come here eventually,†-I remarked to Owen. “This ranch is a perfect magnet for all the -questionable characters in the vicinity.â€</p> - -<p>Owen thanked me for the compliment and went out to the bunk house to -interview Robert Reed, now in charge of the hay gang.</p> - -<p>This Reed was an interesting fellow,—a natural leader of men, and so -efficient that Owen had made him hay foreman.</p> - -<p>When we had driven over to his claim to see him about working for us, -Mrs. Reed came out to the buggy, wiping her hands on her apron.</p> - -<p>“No, Bob ain’t home this morning,†she responded to Owen’s inquiry for -her husband. “I reckon you’ll find him over ploughin’ for Maggie.†A -statement made in the most matter-of-fact manner.</p> - -<p>We drove over to another claim shack a mile or so from the Reeds’, -where Bob was indeed ploughing for Maggie. To him, too, it was quite a -matter of course.</p> - -<p>The affinity problem in this country really appeared simple. Mrs. Reed -evidently accepted Maggie as a natural factor in the situation, and -her marital relations were not disturbed in the least, as long as Bob -finished his own ploughing first. That woman was truly oriental in her -cast of mind.</p> - -<p>Maggie Lane’s mother and brother lived near at hand, also. One -brother, Tom, was Reed’s constant companion. Altogether it was a -perfectly harmonious arrangement.</p> - -<p>The Lane family records were not quite clear. Acquaintance revealed -that. They all seemed to have a penchant for leaving the straight and -narrow path for the broad highway of individual choice. Obviously -Maggie’s position did not affect her family, nor her social standing -in the community.</p> - -<p>Whenever I drove about the country without Owen, I took Charley with -me on horseback. Gates were hard to open, and my team of horses was -not thoroughly broken. Besides, there were always the possibilities of -the unexpected on these lonely prairies. I called Charley my Knight of -the Garter. When he knew in advance he was going with me, he went up -to the bunkhouse “to slick up.†If it chanced to be summer, he emerged -without a coat, his blue shirt sleeves held up by a pair of beribboned -pink garters, a pair of heavy stamped leather cuffs on his wrists, and -a heavy stamped leather collar holding his neck like a vise.</p> - -<p>I suggested one morning that the collar might be uncomfortably warm. -He met my objection with scorn.</p> - -<p>“Hot, Mrs. Brook? Why, that ain’t hot. You see, the leather kinda -ab-sorbs the sweat and makes it nice and cool.â€</p> - -<p>One day we were out to take the washing to Mrs. Reed. I had asked Bob -to take it Saturday night, when he and Tom Lane had “gone over home†-to finish that ploughing. I supposed he had done so, but when he came -back on Monday, he said he had “plumb forgot it, but would take it -next time.â€</p> - -<p>We had to pass through Maggie’s claim on the way. She was standing at -her door, as we stopped to open the gate. There was no freshly -ploughed ground in sight, and I idly asked if she had finished her -ploughing.</p> - -<p>“No,†she replied, “I kinda looked for Bob over Sunday to finish it, -but I reckon he couldn’t get off. I wish you’d tell him to stop here -the next time he goes home.â€</p> - -<p>We drove on, and I wondered what Maggie “reckoned†he couldn’t get -away from,—the ranch or his wife.</p> - -<p>I gave Mrs. Reed the clothes and I told her Bob had forgotten to bring -them over with him Saturday. She looked at me curiously.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t Bob work Sunday?â€</p> - -<p>“No,†I replied, “none of the men worked Sunday. Tom and Bob both said -they were going home.â€</p> - -<p>Mrs. Reed frowned.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I suppose Maggie had somethin’ she wanted him to do.â€</p> - -<p>Charley started to answer, but my look stopped him.</p> - -<p>“I’ll have your clothes ready Saturday.†Mrs. Reed slammed the gate -and turned toward the house.</p> - -<p>“Gee,†said Charley, riding up close beside the buggy, “them two -women’ll be fightin’ over Bob yet, if he ain’t careful. Why, that’s -funnyâ€â€”he looked at me questioningly,—“Bob wasn’t to Maggie’s, -either, was he?â€</p> - -<p>“No,†I answered, “I was just wondering about that myself. Perhaps he -went to town, instead.†A coyote ran out of a gulch. Charley with a -whoop started in pursuit, and the entire incident passed from my mind.</p> - -<p>We were going in to supper, when three men drove up to the door. -Whenever strangers appeared, I always had a moment of uncertainty as -to whether they were to be sent to the bunkhouse with the men, or -invited to our own table. Instantaneous social classification is -rather difficult when there are no distinguishing external signs. And -it had to be done at the moment. The men asked for Owen.</p> - -<p>We had no idea who they were, so our conversation during supper was -limited to impersonal topics, such as the present, past and future -weather, the condition of the range and stock—nothing calculated to -offend the delicate sensibilities of a Governor, a ranchman or an -ex-convict, inasmuch as our guests might come under any of these -heads. Entertaining on a ranch is democratic in the extreme.</p> - -<p>They went out with Owen after supper. From the window I could see four -dim figures sitting on their heels by the corral gate, talking -earnestly.</p> - -<p>It was late when they drove away. I was putting up the mail, as Owen -entered. His announcement drove all idea of the Postal Laws and -regulations out of my head.</p> - -<p>“Well, they’ve gone, and have taken Bob and Tom Lane with them.â€</p> - -<p>“Mercy! what for? Who were they, anyhow?â€</p> - -<p>“The Sheriff and two Pinkerton men,†he answered, gravely. “They have -arrested Bob and Tom for the hold-up.â€</p> - -<p>“Owen,†I gasped, standing up so suddenly that the U. S. mail flew in -all directions. “You don’t believe they were the ones, do you?â€</p> - -<p>“Not for a minute,†Owen answered, with conviction. “And I told them -so, but it seems the men have bad records and the description fits -them. ‘A tall man, with a Southern accent, and a short, slight, -smaller man.’ So they arrested them.†Owen sat down. “It’s absurd. In -the first place, they couldn’t have gotten to the railroad in time to -hold up the limited. They didn’t leave here until nine o’clock, and in -the next place, they went home.â€</p> - -<p>“But they didn’t.†I felt suddenly weak in my knees. “I took the -clothes over to Mrs. Reed, and both she and Maggie were wondering why -they hadn’t come.â€</p> - -<p>Owen looked at me in blank amazement, and then asked why on earth I -hadn’t told him.</p> - -<p>“Good heavens, Owen, I haven’t seen you a moment alone. And, besides, -I never supposed it made any difference <i>where</i> the men went. -Hereafter if the angel Gabriel comes to work for us, I shall insist -upon knowing where he spends his nights. Really,†I began to laugh, -“you know, if we ever leave this ranch, the only place we shall feel -at home is in the penitentiary. None but people with ‘records’ and -‘pasts’ will interest us.†I was half amused and wholly excited, for -even to have a speaking acquaintance with the leading figures in a -hold-up and murder was something my wildest flight of imagination -could have scarcely pictured a few months before. Owen was really -serious.</p> - -<p>“Well, I must say,†he shook his head and looked down at the floor, -“it begins to look as though Bob and Tom might have some trouble -proving they weren’t the men. It’s serious for them, since they -weren’t at home. The description certainly fits them.†Owen took up -the paper. “‘One man about five feet eight inches high, slender and -light mustache, wearing old clothes and a rusty black slouch hat. The -other man five feet ten inches tall, slender, short, black mustache, -about forty years old, spoke with a Southern accent, wore an old black -suit and an old striped rubber coat.’â€</p> - -<p>“Go on,†I said, as Owen started to put the paper down; “I want to -hear it.†He read on:</p> - -<p>“‘The men were supposed to have boarded the train coming from Denver, -at a small station this side of Star. The Pullmans were on the rear. -When the train stopped at the station, the Pullman conductor went out -on the back platform and saw two men crouching in the vestibule. He -told them to get off, but at that moment the train started, and they -rose up, covering him with their revolvers. One got behind him, -holding his gun against him, the other in front. They handed him a -gunny-sack and made him carry it. In this manner they entered the body -of the car.</p> - -<p>“‘In the first car they got very little plunder, and pushed on into -the next. As they entered the second sleeper, they met the porter, who -was forced to elevate his hands and precede them. While they were -engaged in robbing the passengers in the second Pullman, the train -conductor entered, and was compelled to elevate his hands, with the -rest.</p> - -<p>“‘They paused at one berth and seemed very much incensed that the -woman it contained was so slow in handing over her valuables. They -swore and were very impatient. Suddenly, a man in the next berth -thrust his head out between the curtains. He had a revolver in his -hand and fired, but instantly another shot rang out from the robber in -the rear, and the man sank back in his berth.</p> - -<p>“‘After the shooting, the robbers appeared more nervous and hurried. -When they had gone through the car, they took the gunny-sack and -emptied the contents into their pockets. One of the robbers pulled the -bell-rope, but evidently not hard enough, for the train continued on -its way. Swearing, they compelled the porter and two conductors to -stand out on the platform with them, covered by their revolvers, until -the train slowed down at Paxton, when they swung off to the ground and -disappeared into these vast prairie lands, which are so sparsely -settled one can drive for a day without seeing a person.</p> - -<p>“‘As soon as the train stopped, the passengers hurried to the berth of -the man who had been shot, but he had been instantly killed.</p> - -<p>“‘The Sheriff was notified, and a posse started in pursuit, but the -robbers had vanished.’†Owen put down the paper, and we sat up far -into the night talking it over.</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>Subsequently our ranch, our horses, and Owen’s opinions were freely -quoted in the press. Bob and Tom were positively identified by the -three trainmen as the hold-ups. They were retained a week in jail, and -then suddenly released on “insufficient proof.â€</p> - -<p>Owen did not believe in point of time they could have held up the -train, for he had talked to Bob that Saturday night until after nine -o’clock, but everybody, including Owen, held them capable of it. The -point was simply that they had not happened to be there.</p> - -<p>Later Bob and Tom returned to the ranch, incensed at their arrest and -detention, but no one ever learned where they were that memorable -Saturday night.</p> - -<p>Moreover, the men who held up the train were never found, and again -one of those strange tragedies of the West ended in vagueness.</p> - -<p>I was struck by the repetition of that phenomenon “A crime, a -tragedy.†At first indignation and an earnest attempt to find the -offenders and bring them to justice, then delay, and the whole affair -shoved into the background by something newer.</p> - -<p>Life here seemed to flow by like a stream at flood-tide. Who could -stem that current long enough to catch those bits of human frailty -floating on the surface, or follow them down stream to the sea?</p> - -<h2 id='ch05'>V—A GOVERNMENT CONTRACT</h2> - -<p>From the first, I had been conscious of a fascination about the West -impossible to describe. Its charm was too enigmatical and elusive for -definition.</p> - -<p>There was a suggestion of the sea in that vast circle and in the long -undulations of the prairie, as though great waves had become -solidified, then clothed in softest green. No sign of restless -movement was apparent in those billows which stretched away from the -mountains into the vague distance. All was still. The towering -mountain itself was the symbol of infinite peace and rest. Yet there, -in the midst of that unbroken serenity, stood a cluster of buildings, -the center of the greatest activity, where life was vital and -thrilling as though a few human beings had been flung through space -and dropped onto those silent plains to work out the age-long fight -for existence.</p> - -<p>Peace and conflict, silence and sound, absence of life and life in its -most complex form; contrasts—everywhere and in everything—it could -be defined, it was in “contrasts†that the fascination of the West was -expressed.</p> - -<p>Ranch life might be difficult; it was never commonplace. The mere -sight of a lone horseman on a distant hill suggested greater -possibilities of excitement than a multitude of people in a city -street.</p> - -<p>Each day brought so many new experiences, some of comedy, some of -tragedy, that I began to look for them.</p> - -<p>After the Government had awarded a contract to furnish “150 horses of -a dark bay color for cavalry use†our life became dramatic, with the -riders cast in the leading roles.</p> - -<p>The stage-setting consisted of a large circular corral, twelve feet -high, built of heavy pitch-pine posts and three-inch planks with a -massive snubbing post set in the center. Since there was “standing -room only,†cracks were at a premium.</p> - -<p><i>The dramatis personae</i> were two tall, slender-waisted cow-punchers -who walked with a slightly rolling gait, due to extremely high-heeled -boots, much too small for them. In their right hands they carried a -coiled rope swinging easily. Their costumes were composed of cloth or -corduroy trousers, dark-colored shirts, nondescript vests of some -sort, dark blue or red handkerchiefs knotted loosely about their -necks, expensively-made boots, the tops of which were covered by the -legs of their “pantsâ€; spurs, of course; high-priced Stetson hats, the -crowns creased to a peak, and frequently encircled by the skin of a -rattle-snake, and exceedingly soft gauntlet-gloves. It was my -observation that the old-time cow-puncher wore gloves at all times. He -did remove them when eating, and, I presume, before going to bed, but -they were always in evidence.</p> - -<p>The “Star†is a frightened, snorting “broncho,†or unbroken horse -which for the five or six years of its life had been running loose. -Now it was to be “busted.†It is cut out from the bunch and run into -the corral and the gate securely fastened.</p> - -<p>One of the men stands near the post, the other does the roping. Facing -the men, the broncho stands still, his head high, his eyes wild and -full of fear. An abrupt motion by one of the riders starts him on a -frantic run around and around in a circle. A sudden throw of the rope -and both front feet are in the loop. Quick as lightning the man -settles back on it, both front legs are pulled out from under the -horse and he falls on his side; the helper runs to his head, seizes -the muzzle and twists it straight up, thrusts one knee against the -neck and holds the top of the head to the ground. The roper puts two -or three more loops above the front hoofs, passes the rope, now -doubled forming a loop, between the legs, to one of the hind feet, -then pulls on the end that he has all the time held. This action draws -all three feet together. One or two more loops about them, a hitch and -the horse is tied so that it is impossible for him to get up. While -the broncho lies helpless, the saddle and bridle are put on, a large -handkerchief passed under the straps of the bridle over the eyes and -made fast. The rope is taken off. Feeling a measure of freedom, he -staggers to his feet and stands. The cinches are drawn very tight, the -rider mounts, gives a sharp order to “let him go,†the man on the -ground pulls the handkerchief from the eyes of the horse, and jumps -aside.</p> - -<div class='image-center'> - <a href='images/img-004.jpg'><img src='images/img-004.jpg' id='i004' class='img-limits' alt=''/></a> - <div class='caption'> - <p>INSPECTING A BRAND</p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>For a moment the broncho stands dazed, then jumps, throws his head -between his front legs almost to the ground, squeals, humps his back -and pitches around and around the corral in a vain attempt to rid -himself of the fearsome thing on his back. The circular corral, -limited in space, gives little opportunity to succeed; the rider has -the advantage. The horse stops pitching and runs frantically about the -corral, at length tiring himself out. Dripping with sweat, trembling -from fear and excitement, he comes to a slow trot. The gate is thrown -open. Making a dash for freedom, he plunges through the outside -corrals, the horseman or “circler†close beside him, trying to keep -between the half-crazed broncho and any object he might run into. The -horse bolts out into the open; his is the advantage now, and he makes -the rider ride. He bucks this way and that, twisting, turning, jumping -and running, the man on his back so racked and shaken it seems -incredible that his body can hold together. They tear out over the -prairie in a wild race, far off over the hills, out of sight now. -After a time they come back on a walk. The broncho has been -busted—the act has ended.</p> - -<p>Should the horse rear and throw himself backward, there is the -greatest danger that the man may be caught under him and killed, it -happens so quickly, but these quiet, diffident chaps are absolutely -fearless, past masters in the art of riding, facing death each time -they ride a new horse, but facing it with the supreme courage of the -commonplace, sitting calmly in the saddle, racked, shaken, jolted -until at times the blood streams from their nose, yet after a short -rest the rider “took up the next one†quite as though nothing at all -had happened. All the horses had to be broken and then made ready for -the inspection of the Government officials, and the boys were working -with them early and late.</p> - -<p>It was an unusual experience to live in daily association with these -men, in whom were combined characteristics of the Knights of the Round -Table and those peculiar to the followers of Jesse James.</p> - -<p>In Douglas, Wyoming, there stands a monument erected by the friends of -a local character who, curiously, bore the same surname as the famous -explorer for whom Pike’s Peak was named. Chiseled out of the solid -granite these opposing traits are epitomized in this unique epitaph:</p> - -<div class='poetry-container'> -<div class='poetry'> -<div class='stanza'> -<div class='verse'>“Underneath this stone in eternal rest</div> -<div class='verse'>Sleeps the wildest one of the wayward west;</div> -<div class='verse'>He was gambler and sport and cowboy, too,</div> -<div class='verse'>And he led the pace in an outlaw crew;</div> -<div class='verse'>He was sure on the trigger and staid to the end,</div> -<div class='verse'>But he was never known to quit on a friend;</div> -<div class='verse'>In the relations of death all mankind is alike,</div> -<div class='verse'>But in life there was only one George W. Pike.â€</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Strange, contrasting personalities—in awe of nobody, quite as ready -to converse familiarly with the President as with Owen, but probably -preferring Owen because they knew he was a fine horseman.</p> - -<p>Persons and things outside their own world held but slight interest -for them. At first I had a hazy idea that I might be the medium -through which a glimpse of the outside world would broaden the narrow -limits of their lives. I planned to get books for them and to arrange -a reading room, but my dream was soon shattered upon discovering that -this broader view possessed no charm. Indeed, when I offered to teach -Joe to read he refused my offer without a moment’s hesitation, firmly -announcing “I ain’t goin’ to learn to read, ’cause then I’d have to!†-“Why, Mrs. Brook,†he added, looking with scorn at the book I held in -my hand, “I wouldn’t be bothered the way you are for nothin’, havin’ -to read all them books in there,†nodding his head in the direction of -our cherished library. This was certainly a fresh point of view -regarding education. About the same time I found that the Sears and -Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalogue might be fittingly called the -Bible of the plains. Night after night the boys pored over them -absorbed in the illustrations, of hats, gloves, boots and saddles, the -things most dear to their hearts, for on their riding equipment alone -they spent a small fortune.</p> - -<p>Improvident and generous, however great their vices might be, their -lives were free from petty meanness; the prairies had seemed to</p> - -<div class='poetry-container'> -<div class='poetry'> -<div class='stanza'> -<div class='verse'>“Give them their own deep breadth of view</div> -<div class='verse'>The largeness of the cloudless blue.â€</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The religion of the cow-puncher? My impression was that he had none, -for certainly he subscribed to no conventional creed or dogma. Yet -what was it that gave him a code of honor which made cheating or a lie -an unforgivable offense and a man guilty of either an outcast scorned -by his associates, and what was it that would have made him go without -bread or shelter that a woman or child might not suffer?</p> - -<p>Rough and gentle, brutal and tender, good and bad, not angel at one -time and devil at another, but rather saint and sinner at the same -time. Little of religious influence came into his life, and as for -Bibles—there were none.</p> - -<p>I remember the story of a Bishop who was travelling through the West -and was asked to hold service in one of the larger towns. When he -arrived he found that he had left his own Bible on the train, so he -sent the hotel clerk out to borrow one. After some time the man -returned with a Bible, explaining to the Bishop that it was the only -one in town. “I went everywhere and finally got this one. It’s the one -they use at the Court House to swear on!â€</p> - -<p>The cow-puncher, however, could swear without any assistance, for -usually “cussin’†formed a very necessary part of his conversation. -But as I sat at my window sewing one summer morning I heard a violent -argument at the corral between Fred and a new “hay-hand†from Kansas. -Fred’s voice was decisive.</p> - -<p>“That’s all right, but you cut out that cussin’ here—the Missus’ -window’s open, and she’ll hear you.†And the heart of “the Missus†-warmed to her Knight of the Corral.</p> - -<p>There was another incident, the true significance of which I did not -know until three years after it occurred, when the foreman of the -L—— ranch met Owen in Denver and inquired for me, adding:</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll never forget Mrs. Brook. Do you remember the day we was -shippin’ them white faces from the Junction about three years ago, -when you and Mrs. Brook happened to come along and stopped to watch -us? Well, one of the best men I had was brandin’ a calf when it kicked -him and he swore at it proper; all of a sudden he looked up and saw -Mrs. Brook and another lady standin’ on that high platform by the -yards watchin’ us. He was so plumb beat, he threw down his brandin’ -iron, took up his hat, walked across the street to a saloon and began -drinkin’ and stayed drunk for three days, and there I was, -short-handed, with a train-load of cows and calves to ship.â€</p> - -<p>Contrast again—chivalry carried to the extent of being drunk for -three days because he had sworn before a woman!</p> - -<p>The horses were all being ridden and trained for the inspection which -was soon to take place. Each man had his own “string,†those he had -broken, and every day they were put through their paces. When -inspected, they had to be walked, trotted and run up and down before -the officers, stopped instantly, and the veterinarian was supposed to -put his ear to their chests to see if their breathing was regular and -their hearts sound. Now, Western horses are not accustomed to having -their hearts tested, and I noticed that while the riders did -everything else that was required, they tacitly agreed “to let the vet -do his own listnin’.â€</p> - -<p>The day that the Army officers were to arrive, as Owen was getting -ready to drive over to the station to meet them, I remarked casually -that I hoped nothing would happen to upset their peace of mind, as it -was very important that the honorable representatives of the -Government be kept in a good humor.</p> - -<p>The house was still in an unsettled condition but for the time being -it had been brought into sufficient order to insure their comfort. The -larder was stocked with the best the markets afforded and the horses -were being “gentled†daily.</p> - -<p>When guests came on the train our dinner might be served at any hour -up to ten o’clock at night for after their arrival at the station -there was the sixteen mile drive to the ranch—and anything might -happen. It was late that particular night when I heard them at the -meadow gate. I couldn’t understand why they stopped so long. There -were sounds of confusion and as they entered the house one of the -officers held up a finger dripping with blood, the Colonel’s hat was -awry, his clothes covered with mud, and they all appeared agitated and -excited. I could not imagine what had happened. Then they all began to -tell me at once.</p> - -<p>Upon reaching the meadow gate the Lieutenant who acted as bookkeeper -jumped out to open it but failed to return after they had driven -through. Upon investigation they found he had caught his finger -between the wire loop and the post and was held fast. They extricated -him from his dilemma and drove on. It was very dark and upon reaching -the house as the august Colonel descended from the wagon, he tripped -over a pile of stones lying near the gate, fell down and just escaped -breaking his neck. I tried to smile and yet be sympathetic—but I had -a vision of Owen with “one hundred fifty horses of a dark bay color†-on his hands if the good humor of the officers was not restored before -morning.</p> - -<p>They were shown to their rooms and I prayed nothing would happen to -the Veterinarian, who had so far remained intact.</p> - -<p>The Colonel and the Lieutenant had come down stairs. We were all in -the library waiting for the Doctor before going in to dinner, when we -heard a fearful crash. We rushed into the hall to see the poor man -sitting on the steps holding both hands to his head. He was very tall -and, coming down the narrow winding stairs, had struck his head on an -overhanging projection which he had failed to observe. His injury was -more uncomfortable than serious and had quite a cheering effect on his -two companions, who began to chaff him about “taking off an inch or -two†so by the time dinner was over they were all in high spirits.</p> - -<p>The following morning at nine the inspection began. Each horse was -brought out, looked over and measured to see that he came up to the -stipulated number of “handsâ€. If he passed he was immediately ridden.</p> - -<p>Each of the men rode the horses he had broken. First the horse was -walked up and down between the blacksmith-shop and the corral, then -trotted and then run, after which his lungs and breathing were tested -and if satisfactory he was accepted.</p> - -<p>Every time a man got on to ride, I was conscious of a feeling of great -uncertainty. The horses looked quiet enough and were fairly gentle, -but Owen and I knew that the slightest variation in the manner of -mounting or “touching them up†might cause them to go through a few -movements not required by the United States Government.</p> - -<p>As it was, all those we had expected to buck behaved like lambs, while -those which had been considered fairly well broken did everything from -bucking to snorting and blowing foam all over the Veterinarian when he -attempted to examine their teeth and test their lungs.</p> - -<p>For three days the inspection went on, each day more interesting than -the last, until all the horses had been examined and out of the number -the necessary one hundred and fifty accepted and branded U. S.</p> - -<p>As the bunch of horses headed for Denver was being driven off the -ranch, Fred looked after them reflectively—</p> - -<p>“If them sodjers can ride, it’ll be all right,†he remarked, “but if -they go to puttin’ tenderfeet on them bronchs, they’ll land in -Kingdom-come before they ever hit the saddle.â€</p> - -<h2 id='ch06'>VI—A VARIETY OF RUNAWAYS</h2> - -<p>Life in any primitive, sparsely settled country is fraught with -adventure. It is the element which gives zest to everyday affairs and -which lifts existence above the commonplace, but since everything has -its price, the price of untrammelled living must often be paid in -discomfort and inconvenience.</p> - -<p>To us, and to many others, abounding health and freedom were ample -compensations for a few annoying circumstances but with our guests it -was a more serious consideration. After a few experiences we began to -discourage the visits of those unfitted by nature and temperament for -“roughing itâ€.</p> - -<p>We could not control the elements nor untoward events. Fate had such -an invariable custom of upsetting and rearranging all of our most -carefully laid plans that when friends, especially “tenderfeetâ€, -arrived, we had a premonition that before they departed something -would happen. It never failed.</p> - -<p>In the house our guests were exempt from anxiety and discomfort, but -no one cared to stay indoors when a dazzling world of blue, green and -gold lay just outside, and the unexpected was no regarder of persons. -A cloud-burst was just as apt to descend upon the unsuspecting head of -a delicate, carefully nurtured old lady as was an indiscriminating -rattlesnake to frighten some timid soul into hysterics.</p> - -<p>Everyone who came to the ranch wanted to ride, those knowing least -about horses being the most insistent, and not wishing to take any -chances, at first we gave them Billy, gentle, trustworthy Billy, who, -when running loose, could be caught by a man on foot and ridden into -the corral with a handkerchief around his neck instead of a bridle. We -would start out, the tenderfoot joyously “off for a horseback ride,†-and the next thing we knew he would be off the horse doubled up under -a fence or lying flat on the prairie, while Billy peacefully nibbled -grass. No one could explain it unless the uninitiated had lost a -stirrup and had unwittingly given the horse a dig in the ribs which -was immediately resented—so even Billy was disqualified.</p> - -<p>The truth was, none of our horses was sufficiently well broken for the -inexperienced horseman to ride or drive. They behaved very decently -until something occurred, which was out of the ordinary, and then the -reaction was most sudden and disastrous.</p> - -<p>With the stock on the ranch we had acquired about four hundred horses, -most of which had never been handled and were running loose on the -range. Before they were of any use or value they had to be broken and -Owen felt that it was one of the most important things to be done. -Consequently, many of the horses were broken to drive in the hay -field, the broncho hitched up with a gentle horse, and put onto the -rake or mowing machine—many were the runaways.</p> - -<p>Charley was leisurely by nature. He never hurried either in speech or -movement. Owen and I were in the office one morning when he strolled -around the house and up to the door.</p> - -<p>“Mis-ter Brook,†he drawled, “Ja-ne and Maud are running away with the -mow-ing machine down in the timber—they throw-ed Windy off the seat,†-but before he got the last word out, his listener was down the steps, -over the fence and on his way toward the creek where Maud and Jane -were tearing through the timber leaving parts of the mowing machine on -stumps and fallen logs, while Charley looked after him in mild -surprise. The horses were brought to an abrupt stop when one tried to -go on one side of a tree and the other on the opposite side.</p> - -<p>There was a beautiful black horse, “Toledoâ€, that refused to allow -anyone to come near him but Owen or Bill, and there was also a new man -on the ranch who so constantly boasted of his ability to handle -bronchos the boys had dubbed him “Windyâ€.</p> - -<p>Windy concluded one day that he would harness Toledo alone. There were -violent sounds in the stable, snorts, shouts, thumps, and Windy sailed -through the open door and landed on a conveniently placed pile of -manure, frightened to death but unhurt.</p> - -<p>Bill was furious.</p> - -<p>“What’d you do to him, anyhow?†he stormed after roping Toledo who had -broken his halter and was running loose in the corral.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t do nothin’ to him,†protested Windy. “I just crope up and -retched over and tetched him and he begun to snort and cave ’round.â€</p> - -<p>“Course you didn’t do nothin’, you couldn’t do nothin’ if you tried. -You’d better go back to town where you belong, ’stead a stayin’ out -here spoilin’ good horses.†Bill’s choler was rising. “You don’t know -nothin’ neither, you’re jest a bone head, your spine’s jest growed up -and haired over.†And, leading the subdued Toledo, Bill disappeared -into the stable.</p> - -<p>When the team that Owen reserved for his own use had passed the -kicking and lunging stage and I had become sufficiently confident to -look at the landscape instead of watching their ears, he usually -concluded they were “pretty well broken†and that he must try out a -new one. This trying out process went on indefinitely, for Owen’s New -England conscience gave him no peace apparently while an unbroken -horse remained in his possession. It was a form of duty.</p> - -<p>When we had guests we used, what my husband was pleased to call, a -gentle team, one that started off decorously with all their feet on -the ground instead of in the air, but one day when we were expecting -some friends from Wyoming he could not resist driving a new pair of -beautiful bay horses when we went to meet them. I remained behind.</p> - -<p>The dinner hour passed and no Owen; additional hours went by and late -at night he came in dusty, dirty and scratched.</p> - -<p>In response to a perfect volley of questions he explained that he was -all right, but the Lawtons had telegraphed they had been detained, and -then he added, as quite an unimportant detail, that “the horses had -run away.†He had the expression of a fond and indulgent parent, and -as he did not rise to the defense of his pet team when I called them -“miserable brutes†I knew his pride, at least, had suffered.</p> - -<p>“You see,†he resumed, “your new sewing machine and some other freight -was at the station, so when I found the Lawtons were not coming I -thought I’d bring it over. I had the crystal clock, too.†Owen looked -so sheepish I had to laugh, although the clock had been a wedding -present which we had sent up to the jeweler to be regulated.</p> - -<p>“Is it smashed?â€</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,†he reassured me, “but I don’t know how well it will run. I -got out to close the gate beyond the railroad when a confounded -freight engine whistled and the horses started. I was holding the -reins in my hand, of course, and tried to climb in the back of the -wagon, but couldn’t make it on account of the load. I ran along the -side until the horses went so fast I fell down and when they began to -drag me I let go of the reins. They ran all over that inclosure, the -wagon upset and canned tomatoes, sewing machine and crystal clock were -strewn everywhere. I caught the horses finally, but the wagon was -smashed so I had to walk back to Becker’s, get his wagon and pick up -all the freight—that’s what delayed me. I’m dreadfully sorry about -the sewing machine and the clock, but I don’t believe they are much -hurt.â€</p> - -<p>He was very contrite, was my husband, but it didn’t last long, that -sense of duty was too insistent. A very short time after, he was -alone, driving another team, with a horse he had just bought, tied to -the tug. The new horse, frightened at a dead animal in the lane, -jumped, broke the tug, plunged forward, pulled the neck yoke off, the -buggy tongue stuck into the ground as the horses ran, the buggy heaved -up in the air and pitched Owen out. It landed so close to a fence post -his head was scratched, but he might have been killed. As long as he -had escaped, this runaway had its amusing side, too. He was bringing -home a quantity of china nest-eggs which followed when he was thrown -out, and he said for a minute it fairly snowed nest-eggs; the ground -was white with them.</p> - -<p>Owen and his horses! I never could decide whether it was more -nerve-racking to go with him or stay behind, so I usually took the -chance and went. The experiences we had! I wonder we ever survived -that horse-breaking period, but only once did we face a fate from -which there seemed only one chance in a thousand of escaping with our -lives.</p> - -<p>We were driving a buckskin horse Owen had just bought and a newly -broken mare, a handsome, high spirited creature called Beauty. She -danced and she pranced and forged ahead of the new horse which became -nervous and excited in trying to keep up with her.</p> - -<p>We were going up a long hill. Beauty was pulling and tugging on the -bit when suddenly she gave a toss to her head and to our horror we saw -the bridle fall back around her neck. The bit had broken. Like a flash -she was off, the other horse running with her. Owen spoke to them. He -wound the reins about his arms and pulled on them with all his -strength.</p> - -<p>At the top of the hill there was a fairly level space where Owen tried -to circle them, hoping to tire them out, but he had no control over -Beauty and she wheeled about starting back over the road we had come, -the buggy bouncing and swaying behind. There was a fence corner with -an old post standing about ten feet from it. The horses headed -straight for it. I closed my eyes, expecting that we would be wrecked, -but they turned and raced across a gulch, the buggy lurched, tipped, -struck one side and then the other, but by a miracle did not upset.</p> - -<p>I saw that Owen was trying to head them into a fence and braced myself -for the shock, realizing that he hoped to entangle them in the barbed -wire and so throw them, but just as we reached it Beauty veered to one -side almost overturning the buggy. We were so close the skirt of -Owen’s fur coat caught on the barbs and was instantly torn to ribbons -and we heard the vibrating “ping†of the wire along its entire length -as the wheels struck the fence.</p> - -<p>On and on the maddened horses raced, up hills, down long slopes, -through gulches in which it seemed we must be wrecked, until at length -we reached the crest of a hill at the bottom of which, angling with -the fence, ran a deep gulch with high cut banks. We knew that if the -frantic horses reached the edge of that bank at the rate we were going -there was no escape for us and we should plunge over the embankment -with the horses. To jump was impossible. I was in despair, realizing -that Owen, pulling on the horses with all his might, was nearly -exhausted.</p> - -<p>“Owen, isn’t there something I can do?†It was the first time a word -had been spoken.</p> - -<p>“Pull on the Buckskin,†he answered quickly.</p> - -<p>I leaned forward and seized the rein with both hands as far down as I -could reach and threw myself back with all my weight. The Buckskin was -pulled back on his haunches, Beauty stopped. Owen handed me the reins, -another moment he was at their heads calling to me to jump. In that -instant before jumping I lived an eternity, for if the horses had -started again I should have gone to certain death alone.</p> - -<div class='image-center'> - <a href='images/img-005.jpg'><img src='images/img-005.jpg' id='i005' class='img-limits' alt=''/></a> - <div class='caption'> - <p>THE “STAR†IS A FRIGHTENED, SNORTING “BRONCHOâ€</p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>I was so weak with fright and sudden relief when I felt the firm earth -under my feet I could scarcely stand but I had to get to the -Buckskin’s head and hold on to him, for Owen had his hands full with -Beauty, who began to rear and plunge. It was no time for nerves. The -horses were finally unhitched. Owen led Beauty and I, the Buckskin. -Leaving the buggy on the edge of that yawning gulch, we walked the -five miles back to the ranch.</p> - -<h2 id='ch07'>VII—THE MEASURE OF A MAN</h2> - -<p>The Bohms had gone. The last load of furniture, upon which old Bohm -perched like an ill-omened bird, had disappeared through the gate on -the top of the hill. At last, after six months of vexation and -trouble, Owen and I could live our own life and run the ranch without -interference.</p> - -<p>Bohm had tried to wriggle out of every clause in his contract. He had -delayed gathering and turning over the stock by every means and had -invented a thousand excuses for staying on from week to week. It had -made it very difficult and had exasperated Owen. If he hadn’t been -wise and patient beyond words, Bohm’s bones long before would have -mingled with those of his reputed victims in the old root cellar. I -had a different end planned for him each day, but none seemed really -fitting. Owen had gone on in his own way, however, insisting upon -every part of the contract being fulfilled and reducing Bohm to -impotent rage by his quiet firmness.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bohm had recovered from her “fainting spells†and her husband was -furious to think he had sold the ranch. In desperation he finally sent -to San Francisco for his brother, who was a lawyer, to see if there -was any possibility of getting out of the contract. The “Judge†was a -nice old chap, who looked like an amiable Mormon with a long beard. He -soon settled the question.</p> - -<p>“Why, Jim, you wanted to sell out, you signed the contract and you -have your money. You’ll have to stay with your bargain now, whether -you like it or not.â€</p> - -<p>We always remembered him kindly for this and for a story he told. We -had been discussing the Chinese as servants and he said:</p> - -<p>“Well, I had one for two years, but I don’t want any more. I want to -know what I’m eating and with those heathen you are never sure.</p> - -<p>“It had been raining very hard one day when Wong came to me in the -afternoon and said:</p> - -<p>“‘Judge, him laining outside, me gottee no meat for dinner.’</p> - -<p>“I told him that we would do without meat for it was raining too hard -for anyone to go out who didn’t have to. Wong looked dejected for he -liked meat. He turned to go out of the room, when his eyes fell on the -cat. His face brightened with a sudden inspiration.</p> - -<p>“‘Have meat for dinner! Kill’em cat!’</p> - -<p>“Kill the cat! What on earth do you mean?</p> - -<p>“‘Less, kill’em cat,’ he repeated in a matter of fact tone, ‘him sick -anyhow.’â€</p> - -<p>We had asked the Bohms to take their meals with us, but only Mrs. Bohm -came to our table. Bohm preferred to eat with the men. We suspected -that he was trying to cause trouble. Charley unconsciously confirmed -our suspicions. He was always conversational and seized the -opportunity to talk while fixing my window screen.</p> - -<p>“Say, Mrs. Brook, you’d orter seen Bill this mornin’. He was eatin’ -flapjacks to beat time and was just reachin’ for more, when old Bohm, -with that mean way of his, began slammin’ Mr. Brook. He was sayin’ you -folks thought you was too good to eat in the kitchen with us common -fellers and had to have a separate dinin’ room, when Bill just riz up -out of his chair so sudden it went over backwards, and believe me, his -eyes had sparks in ’em when he came back at the old man.</p> - -<p>“‘Tain’t that the Brooks think that they’re too good, but there’s some -folks too stinkin’ common for anybody to eat with’—and out of the -door he walked and all the boys fol-lered him, leavin’ Bohm alone -there facin’ all them flapjacks. I reckon he’d a rather faced them -flapjacks than Bill, though,—Gee, Bill was some hot,†and Charley’s -blue eyes sparkled at the reminiscence.</p> - -<p>It was exactly as I thought; the boys despised Bohm and were -absolutely loyal to Owen.</p> - -<p>After this episode, Owen had a long talk with Bill and a short, heated -interview with Bohm, which resulted in the old man’s reluctant, but -hasty, departure.</p> - -<p>I drew a long breath of relief when I saw the last wagon disappear and -looked up fully expecting to see the dove of peace pluming herself on -our roof-tree. But apparently doves in the cattle country never -alight,—they just pass by.</p> - -<p>Owen had bought several thousand acres of land from the railroad. A -car of barbed wire for the fence, which was to encircle the entire -ranch, was at the station. Our land was now in one solid block with -the exception of a few acres of Government land which could only be -acquired by homestead entry. This limited acreage in the great -checkerboard was all that remained of the “free range.â€</p> - -<p>At this juncture Owen was served with a notice by the United States -Marshal forbidding him to build the fence. It would enclose Government -land. Every mile of the proposed fence would have been on ground which -he had bought, paid for, and on which he was paying taxes—but -still—he could not fence it. “Government land must remain -uninclosed.†It made no difference, apparently, what happened to the -cattleman whose money was tied up in property he could not use. -Government land must remain free and open to the public. But, while -those few acres of free range remained open to the public, thousands -of acres of our unprotected land remained open also. Everyone used it. -The ranchmen for miles around, learning that Owen was forbidden to -fence, gathered all their cattle and threw them onto our land.</p> - -<p>It was a very serious problem. Our range was being destroyed, the -grass was eaten off so closely nothing remained for winter range. Our -full-blooded Hereford breeding stock was of little use to us. All our -money was invested in land and cattle and there was only one thing -left to do,—put riders on our range to drive the other cattle off.</p> - -<p>Upon this solution of the problem the dove of peace promptly departed -and we entered upon a long, hard struggle for the possession and use -of what was our own. Owen was faced, not only with financial failure, -but absolute ruin. The future was far from bright, but when an old -school-mate came with her husband to visit us it seemed positively -brilliant by contrast.</p> - -<p>Alice Joice and I had been devoted friends for years. The summer -before we had spent in Europe, where I had left her, deep in the study -of Art, to which she intended “to devote†her life.</p> - -<p>“It is so commonplace to marry, Esther,†these were her parting words; -“any woman can marry—but so few can have a real career.â€</p> - -<p>Alice’s “career†had abruptly ended in “commonplace matrimony,†for -she had just married a Mr. Van Winkle from Brooklyn, a man I had never -met. They were touring the West and were most anxious to include our -ranch. I was very eager to see them so I wrote, urging her to come, -but asked her to let us know when to expect them, so there would be no -mistake about our being at the station.</p> - -<p>I was particularly anxious to have them see ranch life at its best for -they were our first guests. The house looked very attractive with all -our own furniture and wedding presents in place, but I thought the -guest room floor might be improved so I painted it Saturday afternoon. -Then everything went wrong: the wind-mill pump failed to work, the -whole pipe had to be pulled out of the well; we were without running -water in the house and couldn’t have a fire in the kitchen range, so -rations were extremely light.</p> - -<p>Supper, consisting chiefly of sardines, awaited Owen, who was trying -to get some of the grease off his hands, when a homesteader by the -name of Hamm, his wife, sister and five children drove up. He had come -to see Owen on business and they were invited in to supper.</p> - -<p>The table was lengthened and reset, more sardines were opened and we -were just ready to sit down when my Aunt, who was standing near the -window, exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Who on earth is that!â€</p> - -<p>Who, indeed! Alice Joice and her husband with a team they had hired at -the station.</p> - -<p>Having a strong heart I did not faint, but left Auntie to help the -maid make the necessary additions to the table—and sardines, while -Owen and I hurried out to greet them.</p> - -<p>“Hello, dearie, here we are,†Alice called from the wagon as I -approached. “Clarence and I thought it would be such fun to surprise -you. How-do-you-do, Mr. Brook, I want you to meet my husband, Mr. Van -Winkle.†Alice jumped off the step and threw herself into my arms. -“Oh, Esther, isn’t this fun?†Gay, inconsequent Alice, from her city -home, never considered for a moment that a surprise <i>could</i> be -anything but joyous.</p> - -<p>If I had met him in Egypt, I should have known that her husband’s name -was Van Winkle—Clarence Van Winkle, it couldn’t have been anything -else.</p> - -<p>He was pale and tall and thin and rigid. The inflexibility of the -combined ancestral spines had united in his back bone. He might break, -he could never bend. My imagination failed when I tried to picture the -meeting between the heir to the Van Winkle name and the Hamms. It was -far worse than anything I could ever have imagined.</p> - -<p>Alice was very sweet; she talked all the time, patted the five little -Hamms and won their mother’s heart by asking their names and ages, but -in acknowledging the introduction Clarence only bowed slightly, a -movement which required great effort, then relapsed into silence -immediately, scrutinizing the Hamm family through his glasses as -though they were rare animals in a Zoo. Mrs. Hamm and her sister were -stupefied and did not speak a word, but Mr. Hamm, a truly sociable -person from Oklahoma, continually addressed Clarence as “young -feller,†which produced the same effect as a violent chill, and when -he joyously jogged a Van Winkle elbow to emphasize some pleasantry, -Clarence firmly moved his chair out of reach of the defiling touch.</p> - -<p>Alice ate everything and did not stop talking for a moment. Clarence -refused everything but a cracker, which he munched in silence. -Suddenly he turned white and left the table. Owen escorted him -out-of-doors while Alice and I followed. He was faint, just faint, and -collapsed weakly onto a garden seat. Alice said it was the Denver -water, but I suspected unassimilated Hamm. Owen stayed with him and -Alice and I returned to finish supper. The Hamms left soon after and -Clarence gradually revived under the influence of Owen’s New England -accent and Scotch whisky.</p> - -<p>All at once I thought of the freshly painted guest-room floor. I -explained the situation to Alice and we went up to see if it was dry. -It was, but the smell of paint was most evident. Alice gave a few -sniffs and said apologetically:</p> - -<p>“I’m dreadfully sorry, Esther, but Clarence couldn’t possibly sleep -here. He is so sensitive to odors of any kind.†I was reminded of a -faint aroma which had clung to the Hamm garments. “If there is another -room we can occupy, I think it would be better.†Alice was accustomed -to hotels. I offered our room; it was reluctantly but finally -accepted, the scion of the Van Winkles must not breathe paint. All the -things from the guest-room were put in our room and ours were moved up -to the guest-room.</p> - -<p>Just before they retired Alice confided to me that Clarence had had -some temperature in Denver and the Doctor thought he might be -threatened with typhoid fever.</p> - -<p>“I really believe, Esther, if Clarence has any temperature in the -morning we had better go back to Denver.â€</p> - -<p>I reassured her as I bade her good-night and then sought Owen. I was -beginning to have some temperature myself.</p> - -<p>“Owen, if Clarence Van Winkle has a thousandth of a degree of -temperature in the morning don’t tell him that he’ll be all right; let -him go back to Denver or anywhere else he pleases. Imagine that man -with typhoid, here.â€</p> - -<p>The next morning Alice appeared at breakfast alone. Clarence had no -temperature, but he felt weak and thought he had better stay in bed. -He continued to feel weak for three days, Alice dancing attendance -white the rest of us tried to get the household and water running -again.</p> - -<p>When Clarence finally emerged from his seclusion, he was in high -spirits, positively buoyant.</p> - -<p>“Well, now I want to see everything, all the cattle, the cow-boys, -branding, dehorning, a round-up and what is it you call it? Oh, yes, -‘broncho busting’. We have to go back to Denver tomorrow, you know.†-He had to stop for want of breath.</p> - -<p>Alice beamed fondly upon her enthusiastic bridegroom. Mine looked far -from enthusiastic. Owen was a perfect host but he could not give a -demonstration of a year’s work in one day. The horse-breaking was over -for the season and the branded and dehorned cattle scattered over -miles of country. This he endeavored to explain to Clarence who made -no attempt to conceal his disappointment nor his petulance.</p> - -<p>“Oh, how unfortunate. I’ve heard so much of the fascination of ranch -life I thought I’d like to see a little of it. I thought you had -broncho busting or something interesting or entertaining going on -every day.â€</p> - -<p>Owen bit his lip. He was busy beyond words but he dropped everything -and afternoon we took our guests for a drive over the ranch. The wagon -was new and rattled and, wishing to spare Clarence’s delicate -sensibilities, Owen put on some washers.</p> - -<p>We were in the middle of the prairie miles from the house, Clarence -had recovered his good humor since he was “actually seeing somethingâ€, -as he tactfully expressed it, when one of the wheels began to drag. -The washers proved to be too tight, we had a hot spindle. There was -nothing to do but sit there in the blazing sun while the two men took -off the wheel, removed a washer or two and greased the spindle.</p> - -<p>I wouldn’t have missed it, the mere thought of that scene was a joy to -me for months afterwards. Clarence Van Winkle red and perspiring from -the effort of lifting a wheel, wiping his greasy hands on a piece of -dirty waste! Alice’s face was a study. I had to keep my eyes fixed on -the landscape after one look over the side of the wagon. I was afraid -I should laugh out loud.</p> - -<p>The day they left Bill drove us all to the station. We just made the -train, which was standing on the track as we arrived. Owen hurried to -check the Van Winkle’s baggage. Bill had to stay with the horses. -Alice and I had all the wraps, which left Clarence to carry two dress -suit cases across the tracks. His eyes were fixed on the porter and he -was hurrying toward the Pullman when he stubbed his toe on one rail, -sprawled all the way across the track and hit his neck on the second -rail. The suit cases flew in one direction, his hat in another, his -glasses fell off and his watch dropped out of his pocket. Alice and I -rushed to the rescue, the porter assisted Clarence to his feet and -picked up the suit cases, we gathered up the rest of the articles -while Clarence stood in the middle of the track rubbing his knees, to -the great amusement of the passengers. Alice went up to him when -suddenly he screwed his face up as a child does before it begins to -cry, threw both arms around her neck and buried his face on her -shoulder. The conductor terminated the scene by calling “All aboardâ€. -Clarence limped to the train, rubbing his neck, and the last we saw -was Alice holding all the wraps, the hat, glasses and watch, waving to -us from the vestibule and Clarence comfortably seated in the Pullman -smiling a wan farewell through the window. As the train with its -precious freight was lost to sight around a curve, Owen and I began to -laugh. We laughed until we were so weak we could scarcely get into the -wagon. Bill’s face was perfectly serious, but his eyes had a little -twinkle in them as he said with his slow drawl:</p> - -<p>“Lord, Mrs. Brook, I’m glad that young man married that girl. He’d -orter have somebody look after him. A poor little goslin’ feller like -that ain’t got no business goin’ round alone.â€</p> - -<p>Bill always sized up a situation in the fewest possible words.</p> - -<p>During the drive back to the ranch I thought of Alice and her future -by the side of a man of that type. Our future was uncertain enough, -but if trouble and vicissitudes were our portion, at least I had -someone with whom to share them.</p> - -<p>Tex had been away for several weeks and we were surprised to see him -at the gate as we drove up. He looked very serious as he asked Owen if -he might speak with him and Owen looked more serious when he came out -of the office after their conversation.</p> - -<p>“What is it, Owen? Something is wrong. Please tell me.â€</p> - -<p>Owen took me by the arm and we walked up and down under the trees.</p> - -<p>“Tex came over to tell me, Esther, that I am to be arrested for -‘driving cattle off the range.’ Technically, it’s a serious charge, -carrying a heavy fine and—†he paused—“imprisonment, but don’t -worry, my dear,†as he felt me start a little at his last words, “it’s -listed on the statute books as a criminal offence, connected with -rustling, but that can’t hold in this case. It’s a ‘frame-up’ to give -me trouble, that’s all. It might have been serious but Tex heard of it -and came to warn me just in time. There’s been a plot to eat me out -and now they want to drive me out. I’m going in to Denver to see my -lawyer tomorrow. I’m more troubled on your account than anything -else.â€</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry about me, Owen, we’re going to stay in this country and -fight it out to the end. I’ll face anything, as long as you don’t -cry,†and we went into the house laughing, as we thought of Clarence -Van Winkle.</p> - -<p>The miserable experience which followed was sufficiently serious, even -after the charge had been changed to one of minor character.</p> - -<p>Owen was arrested on our anniversary. I went his bond. There was a -long, expensive law-suit which we lost, the Judge contending that if a -man wished to protect his land he should fence it. It was explained -that the Government had forbidden it, but the Judge said that did not -affect the verdict in this case. Owen paid the damages awarded by the -Court, we gathered together our sixteen cow-puncher witnesses who had -been staying with us at one of the largest hotels in Denver, an event -for the cow-punchers, and returned to the ranch.</p> - -<p>Did Owen weep on my shoulder? He set his lips a little more firmly and -his face had an added sternness as he looked across those miles of -rolling prairie he owned but which now were utterly useless.</p> - -<p>He broke the silence at last. His voice had a different tone.</p> - -<p>“I am going to have the use of my own land. They shan’t keep me out of -it any longer. I am going to sell off all the cattle and put in sheep. -Then we’ll see! With herders we don’t need fences and cattle won’t -graze where sheep have ranged.â€</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>Thus with the first year of our marriage, the first chapter of our -ranch experience ended and a totally different life began.</p> - -<h2 id='ch08'>VIII—THE SHEEP BUSINESS</h2> - -<p>With the coming of the sheep everything was changed. It was like -living in a different age, almost as though we had slipped back -hundreds of years into Biblical times and had come into intimate -association with Jacob and Joseph. With the advent of the wool or lamb -buyers there was a sudden transition to the more commercial atmosphere -of the twentieth century, but it was so fleeting our pastoral -existence was scarcely interrupted.</p> - -<p>A few of our old men had gone, Tex among them. He left with regret, -but as he said—</p> - -<p>“Lord knows I hate to go, Mr. Brook, but cattle’s all I know and an -old cow man ain’t got no business around sheep; they just naturally -despise each other.†And he went up into Montana where the cattle -business still flourished.</p> - -<p>Most of the other men stayed on, however, to ride the fence lines, -look after the horses and do the various things about the ranch, but -the days of branding, dehorning and round-ups were past and the -cow-puncher was replaced by “camp tendersâ€.</p> - -<p>The sheep were trailed all the way from New Mexico. Steve, who spoke -Spanish, was foreman, and with three of the other men on horseback had -come up the trail with the sheep and the soft-voiced Mexican herders.</p> - -<p>Their entire camp equipment was skillfully packed on diminutive -burros. It was somewhat startling to see what appeared to be animated -wood-piles, water-casks, rolls of bedding or dish-pans bobbing about -over the woolly backs of the sheep, until a parting in the band -revealed the legs and lowered head of a sleepy-eyed burro.</p> - -<p>The herders spoke no English and it was so charming to receive a -gleaming smile and low bow while being addressed as “Padron†and -“Señora†that we plunged into the study of their musical language -forthwith.</p> - -<p>Each herder was in charge of a band of from fifteen hundred to -twenty-five hundred sheep. Two herders occupied a camp, but the sheep -were placed in separate corrals and, in order to give the various -bands ample pasturage, the camps were placed miles apart.</p> - -<p>Early in the morning the sheep were driven out, the herders taking -their bands in opposite directions. All day long the flock quietly -grazed over the prairie, the Mexican with his dog at his feet standing -like a sentinel on a hill from which he could overlook his entire band -and ward off any prowling coyote whose approach was heralded by a -sudden scurry among the sheep.</p> - -<p>Eternal vigilance, faithfulness and good judgment were the essential -qualities in a herder, judgment in the handling of the sheep, in the -selection of the best grass and water, the time for taking them out -and bringing them back to the camp. The herders were not supposed to -meet and talk together for while they were engrossed in conversation -or out of sight of the sheep the two bands might become mixed, a very -serious thing when the ewes were accompanied by their lambs, for when -the bands were separated again the lamb might be in one band and its -mother in the other.</p> - -<p>It was a lonely life, but one for which Mexicans are especially -suited. They lack the initiative of the Anglo-Saxons, they are -naturally tranquil, slow of speech and action and content to do -nothing—gentle children from the land of Mañana.</p> - -<p>Scattered over the prairie, the sheep from a distance looked like mere -dots so closely resembling the clumps of weeds, it was necessary to -locate the herder before they could be identified. He looked like a -solitary fence post placed on the top of a hill.</p> - -<p>The Mexicans were most gracious and responsive, so delighted to -receive a visit from the Padron that it was a joy to talk with them. -We were never certain just what we had said, to be sure, but the -effect of our halting, broken sentences of Spanish appeared so -pleasing, we were convinced that if we could only converse fluently -our words would become immortal. Urbanity was most contagious. Owen -and I made deep bows to the herders, we almost bowed to the sheep in -an over-mastering desire to equal the politeness of Ramon, Fidel, -Francisco or Tranquilino. What names! The atmosphere of the ranch -became so poetic and romantic I should not have been surprised to see -Owen adopt long hair and a flowing tie. After a day spent in visiting -the sheep camps I returned in an ecstatic mood. I almost fancied -myself the reincarnated spirit of Bo-Peep or Ramona but alas, my true -identity was always disclosed as soon as I reached the house—I was -only “the Missusâ€.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless the sheep business was fascinating, and best of all -successful. The question of the range was settled. We had the use of -our own land and our rights were respected. The customary feud between -the sheepman and the cattle owners was avoided, since our sheep were -always kept within the limits of the land which we owned. From being -the object of hatred and vilification, Owen became a personage; his -opinion quoted, his method of handling sheep emulated.</p> - -<div class='image-center'> - <a href='images/img-006.jpg'><img src='images/img-006.jpg' id='i006' class='img-limits' alt=''/></a> - <div class='caption'> - <p>TRAILED ALL THE WAY FROM NEW MEXICO</p> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='image-center'> - <a href='images/img-007.jpg'><img src='images/img-007.jpg' id='i007' class='img-limits' alt=''/></a> - <div class='caption'> - <p>LIKE A SOLITARY FENCE POST</p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>There were a few sheep men in the country who had made an indifferent -success. They had scoffed at Owen’s practice of selling off all the -lambs in the autumn and maintaining the number of his sheep by -additional purchases but, when they found how small his losses were, -they promptly adopted his plan and even some of the old-time cattle -men put in sheep.</p> - -<p>The loss of the law suit had certainly proved to be the turning point -in the history of the Brook family. Our popularity increased so -rapidly it was amusing. Bill expressed what I felt as I met him riding -through the meadow.</p> - -<p>“Have you been riding the fence lines, Bill?â€</p> - -<p>“Yes’m, but it’s just takin’ exercise for my health. There ain’t -nothin’ wrong any more. Since you folks got the world by the tail and -a down-hill pull, everybody’s huntin’ around seein’ what they can do -to make it pleasant for you. I notice the Three Circle outfit don’t go -round no more leavin’ all the gates open and when we get a fence line -staked out, the stakes ain’t all pulled up by mornin’.â€</p> - -<p>“It is peaceful, isn’t it?â€</p> - -<p>“Peaceful,†echoed Bill, with feeling, “I’m so chuck full of peace I -can’t hardly hold any more. I’ll bet if a feller was to hit me, I’d -only ‘baa-a’.â€</p> - -<p>There was a vast amount of “Baa-ing†going on at the ranch, where Mary -and I were raising a few score orphan lambs on the bottle. There was a -voracious chorus whenever we appeared. They jumped all over us and as -soon as they got hold of the nipple of the bottle they flopped down on -their knees and did not release it until they had gulped down the last -drop of milk, after which they stood up, their little sides sticking -out as though they had been stuffed. As much care had to be exercised -with the bottles, the temperature and quantity of the milk as though -we had been feeding so many babies.</p> - -<p>There was no milk at the outside camps and no one to care for the poor -abandoned lambs whose frivolous young mothers refused to own them, -leaving them to starve. Occasionally an old ewe of truly maternal -instinct could be fooled into adopting one of these little “dogies†or -“bumsâ€. The skin of her dead lamb was taken off and slipped over the -orphan, which was joyfully accepted because of its smell!</p> - -<p>When the lambs made their appearance in May, the bands were separated, -we had additional herders and they had to be more watchful for “Spring -lamb†is also very tempting to coyotes. It was easy for a herder to -lose ten or twenty lambs, for the little things congregate behind -rocks or clumps of weeds and go to sleep, are overlooked when the -sheep are driven back to the camp in the evening, and become the -victims of those prairie wolves which continually lurk about.</p> - -<p>Sometimes when we were driving, a tiny white speck would come racing -after the wagon, a lamb, which had been left behind. Lambs are such -senseless little things, when they are frightened they will adopt any -moving object in lieu of a mother.</p> - -<p>We pulled them out of prairie-dog holes into which they had thrust -their heads and become fastened by having the loose earth fall in -about their necks—they were troublesome but so appealing and amusing, -they were a never-ending source of entertainment from the first moment -they appeared, a tiny body supported on long, wabbly legs.</p> - -<p>As they grew stronger “playful as a lamb†acquired a new meaning. They -capered and they bucked, they raced around the corral in the evening -when the ewes were contentedly lying down, they frisked about on the -backs of their patient mothers, they jumped stiff-legged, and in a -wild excess of joy bounded into the air giving a cork-screw twist to -their hindquarters, which produced a most ludicrous effect.</p> - -<p>Old quotations from the Bible came to have added significance; as the -shearer held a poor frightened sheep between his knees and rapidly -clipped off the fleece with his gleaming shears, there was not a sound -if a clumsy movement cut a deep gash in the tender flesh; the “sheep -before her shearer was dumb†indeed.</p> - -<p>I spent days in the shearing sheds watching the proceedings from a -pile of wool sacks or passing out small metal disks in exchange for -the fleeces the shearers turned in. At the end of the day the disks -were counted and each shearer credited with the number of sheep he had -shorn.</p> - -<p>The fleeces were rolled and tied separately, then thrown up to a man -on a platform, who packed them in a long sack which was suspended from -the top of a high frame. As it was filled, it was taken down, sewed up -and rolled into the end of the shed to remain until later in the -season when the wool was sold and hauled to the railroad.</p> - -<p>Life was certainly peaceful compared to what it had been, but there -was little danger of our becoming “on weedâ€, as a certain retired -cattle-man expressed it after a short sojourn in Europe.</p> - -<p>Lambing, shearing and dipping followed in rapid succession. The -herders cooked for themselves and once a week the wagons were piled -with supplies and provisions which were left at each camp. In a huge -store-room were kept quantities of salt-pork, sugar, dried fruits, -coffee, flour and other groceries. Flour was bought by the ton and -everything else in proportion. Making out the orders, having all the -freight hauled the sixteen miles from the railroad, checking it out -and keeping the camps supplied, were only details but it was the -multitude of detail which filled the days and kept us from becoming -“on weedâ€. We issued the supplies to the camp-tenders ourselves, after -one of them had filled all of the Mexicans’ cans with gasoline instead -of coal-oil, because “it kind’a had the same smell.â€</p> - -<p>Unless we chanced to have guests, for weeks at a time the only women I -saw were those in our employ, but I resented having any of my friends -think of my life as “dull†or “lonelyâ€. On the contrary it was -fascinating, full of incident, rich in experience which money could -not buy. Living so close to the great heart of nature during those -years on the plains, the vision of life partook of their breadth and a -new sense of values replaced old, artificial standards. To be alone on -the vast prairie was to gain a new conception of infinity -and—eternity.</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>The Mexicans stayed on the ranch about nine months, then returned to -their homes for a short visit. They were the most invariable creatures -I ever knew. When they departed for Taos or Trinidad or Antonito, -perhaps in July, they would announce on what date and by what train -they would return in October. That was the end of it, and upon the -appointed day in October someone would meet the designated train from -which the smiling herder alighted. They never failed and they never -left until another herder was there to take care of the sheep.</p> - -<p>One summer during this vacation period, eight new herders came to -replace eight that were going home. They were a fierce looking lot -from a different section of the country. They had been on the ranch -only a short time when Steve began to have trouble with them. They -were late getting their sheep out in the morning, they drove them too -rapidly and brought them in too early in the evening. In a few weeks -the sheep began to lose flesh and show the effects of bad handling.</p> - -<p>The newcomers disobeyed all orders, unless Steve happened to be on the -spot. He had to watch them constantly. He came up to a camp -unexpectedly one noon and found two of these Mexicans ready to sit -down to a dinner they had just cooked. It was an invariable rule that -the herders should take a lunch with them, for their mid-day meal, and -not return to the camp. They had left their sheep alone, so Steve made -them leave their dinner and go back to their bands, while he stayed to -make sure they did not return.</p> - -<p>It was impossible to discharge them until new herders could be brought -from New Mexico and he and Owen talked over the situation at length -that night.</p> - -<p>Early in the morning Steve went out on another trip of inspection. -About two o’clock he rode into the yard, his face covered with blood -from a deep gash in his head. He fell from his horse into Owen’s arms. -We brought him in, washed off the blood, gave him a stimulant and -waited until he was able to tell us what had happened.</p> - -<p>It developed that as he came in sight of the camp he saw four of the -Mexicans outside of the cabin. They stood motionless as he approached, -then began to hurl rocks at him. One hit his horse and he was nearly -thrown but managed to keep his seat. He was struck several times on -the body. Although realizing that the Mexicans intended to kill him, -he jumped off his horse and went toward them. A rock struck his head, -but with undaunted courage he picked up some of the rocks and threw -them back at the herders. They had not expected that turn to the -affair and ran into the cabin. Steve was unarmed and too badly hurt, -single handed, to deal with the Mexicans, so he got on his horse, with -difficulty, and came back to the ranch.</p> - -<p>The next thing I knew, Owen, Bill and Fred, each carrying a gun, got -into the wagon and drove off.</p> - -<p>When anything happened it came with such suddenness there was never -opportunity for questions, besides, my association with men had taught -me the value of silence—in an emergency.</p> - -<p>In a few hours Owen and Fred came back. They had met the eight new -herders walking into the ranch to “quitâ€. They walked back to their -respective camps instead, their pace accelerated by a loaded gun -pointing at their backs. The cabins were searched, several villainous -looking knives confiscated and eight subdued cut-throats returned to -the peaceful occupation of herding sheep, under Bill’s watchful eye -and loaded gun.</p> - -<p>Owen said that it wasn’t at all necessary for the Mexicans to -understand English since Bill’s few remarks were sufficiently lurid to -attract their attention.</p> - -<p>Until other herders could be brought to the ranch, one white man, -always armed, stayed at each camp, constantly on guard lest the -vindictive herders set fire to the camps or kill the sheep. These were -no gentle children from the land of Mañana; we discovered they were -desperate characters from Old Mexico, to whom murder was second -nature.</p> - -<p>Bill’s opinion of the sheep business after his brief experience in the -camps could only be published in an expurgated edition. He hated the -Mexicans, he hated the sheep, he hated everything connected with them. -After seeing his charges safely on board a southbound train, he -returned to the ranch with all the joy of an exile.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been up against tough men, Mrs. Brook, but that bunch is the -worst I ever seen. They’re just like a pack of coyotes, grinnin’ and -sneakin’ up behind you, waitin’ ’til they git a chance to finish you. -Between listnin’ to the grass grow and pickin’ off sheep ticks, I got -plumb locoed settin’ there watchin’ ’em. I jest had to feel my skin -every once in a while to be sure I wasn’t growin’ wool.â€</p> - -<h2 id='ch09'>IX—THE UNEXPECTED</h2> - -<p>If there is anything in suggestion, Carlyle was responsible for the -whole affair, otherwise <i>why</i> should we have deferred our drive until -the late afternoon and selected <i>Sartor Resartus</i> of all books to read -aloud after lunch?</p> - -<p>Owen wanted to visit one of the sheep camps to examine the corrals -before having the hay stacked there for winter use and he urged us to -go with him. His invitation was joyfully accepted. For many weeks we -had scarcely left the ranch as Owen’s Mother, who was with us, had -been desperately ill. The crisis had passed, however, so we did not -hesitate to go off for a few hours, leaving Madame Brook with her -nurse. My aunt, Owen’s sister and her two children were at the ranch -also, and after so many weeks of anxiety we all felt the relaxation -and joyously climbed into the wagon when Owen drove up.</p> - -<p>There were summer and winter camps for the sheep and our objective -point was an old place, acquired with the ranch, which had been -converted into a winter camp. During the summer it was unoccupied.</p> - -<p>We drove along laughing and talking. Owen’s nephew carried his gun and -kept a sharp lookout for coyotes. It was a glorious day and we were in -the mood to appreciate all its beauty.</p> - -<p>The meadows, waist deep in native hay, were flecked with the gold of -the prairie sun flowers. The wild roses grew in tangled masses -everywhere, their perfume mingled with the odor of the sage which -yielded up its aromatic sweetness as the wheels crushed the silvery -leaves. The plains were mottled with the shade of fleecy clouds which -floated lazily across the sky, the changing lights flooded the hills -with dazzling sunshine, then veiled them softly with faint cloud -shadows. A delicate haze hung over the more distant hills, and behind -the mountains thunderheads were gathering.</p> - -<p>The road ran directly past the camp and long before we reached it we -could see the old house, forbidding in its isolation, standing on a -high mesa above the creek. It had been built years before by a settler -named La Monte, whose footsteps misfortune had dogged until she -overtook him at last. His wife deserted him and, broken in heart and -fortune, he had left the country. Bohm held a mortgage on the place -and it had passed into his possession.</p> - -<p>An air of abandonment surrounded the camp even in winter when it was -occupied, but during the summer when it was totally deserted the -ghosts of dead happiness stalked unheeded through the silent rooms. -Rank weeds filled the yards, the plaintive notes of the wood-doves in -the cotton-woods by the creek and the weird, haunting howl of the -coyotes were the only sounds to break the silence.</p> - -<p>There was a tale connecting old Bohm with the La Monte tragedy for -which an affair with Mrs. La Monte was responsible. We were some -distance from the house, the rest of the party were intent on watching -a big jack-rabbit which was bounding lightly across the prairie, but I -was thinking of the wretched story which the sight of the old house -always recalled, when the door was slowly opened and a naked man -paused for a moment on the threshold then walked down the steps into -the yard.</p> - -<p>I gave a gasp, my eyes fixed on that advancing figure, the others -looked around but in that instant the man had seen us and dropped down -into the tall weeds, by which he was completely hidden.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter?†Owen asked, surprised by my exclamation.</p> - -<p>“Why, Owen, a man without any clothes on just came out of that door -and is there in the weeds.â€</p> - -<p>Owen turned toward the yard, there was no one in sight; he looked at -me in amazement. He knew I must be in earnest! I was not given to -“seeing thingsâ€.</p> - -<p>“Why, that’s absurd, how could you imagine anyone being out here in -this deserted place miles and miles from the railroad?â€</p> - -<p>We were just opposite the house and as if in response to Owen’s -question the head and naked breast of a man rose up from behind the -weeds. His face was crimson and the thick, black disheveled hair gave -him such an aspect of wildness we were appalled.</p> - -<p>Owen stopped the horses, the man rose to his feet, calmly looked at -us, then turned and walked slowly into the house.</p> - -<p>We were speechless. It was like a sudden apparition.</p> - -<p>After a moment Owen passed the lines to me.</p> - -<p>“Here, Esther, hold the horses while I go in and investigate.â€</p> - -<p>“Be careful,†was all I could say. There was a chorus of “Don’ts†from -the back seat as he got out of the wagon.</p> - -<p>I thought of the gun. “Gordon, take your gun and go after your uncle. -I know that man is crazy.â€</p> - -<p>Gordon jumped out and ran toward the house, but before he reached the -door we heard a loud burst of singing, a curious rendering of -“Ta-rah-rah boom-de-ahyâ€. In a moment Owen and Gordon reappeared.</p> - -<p>“Well, there’s no doubt of his being crazy,†Owen said, “we’ll go to -the Bosman ranch where I can get someone to come back with me. I can -telephone the Sheriff from there, too.†Then he told us what had -happened.</p> - -<p>By the time he reached the door the man had put on his outside shirt -and was standing in the middle of the bedroom floor. He glared at Owen -when he entered and made no reply when asked what he was doing there, -then he turned around and walked over to an empty bed frame which -stood against the wall, got behind it and gradually slipped down -underneath. When he was lying flat on his back on the floor, his feet -toward Owen, he began to sing in some broken foreign tongue.</p> - -<p>It was uncanny and as we drove on toward the creek I could only say -“What next?â€</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what on earth can come next,†Owen replied. “This is -positively the most unexpected and unlikely thing that ever happened.â€</p> - -<p>We had to drive down a hill before we crossed the creek and at last -lost sight of the house, the sound of the wild singing grew more faint -and finally died away.</p> - -<p>There were no bridges in the country and while at this time there was -no flowing water, the sand was wet. We drove down a steep bank into -the bed of the creek and were almost across when without the slightest -warning the bottom seemed to drop out of the earth beneath us and the -wagon sank down.</p> - -<p>“Quicksand!â€</p> - -<p>There was just time for that one exclamation in concert. Owen gave the -horses a quick cut with the whip, they sprang forward, caught a -footing on the solid sand and were safe. He gave them another cut, but -pull as they would they could not move the wagon, which had sunk to -the hubs. The double tree broke and the horses were free. Owen and -Gordon jumped out on the tongue, holding onto the horses and drove -them up the bank. There the rest of us sat, feeling the wagon sinking -slowly farther and farther into the deadly, yielding substance.</p> - -<p>The end of the wagon-pole rested on the firm sand, so by climbing over -the dashboard holding on to it with one hand I was able to work my own -way down the wagon tongue until I could grasp an outstretched hand and -jump to safety. The others followed my example. The danger was past, -but we trembled as we looked back.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to distinguish quicksand from ordinary sand by its -appearance, but it will not support the slightest weight. It seems to -melt into nothing and the sensation is all the more terrifying from -its suddenness. The first effect is instantaneous, then the engulfment -becomes more gradual.</p> - -<p>We were safe but afoot. Owen took the horses.</p> - -<p>“Gordon and I will go on to the Bosmans and get another wagon. We -won’t be long and you women had better stay here and not walk these -three miles.â€</p> - -<p>I was just about to say “all right†when I happened to glance behind -me and there on the bank, silhouetted quite sharply against the sky, -stood the figure of a half-clad man.</p> - -<p>He was watching every move we made. I pointed to him.</p> - -<p>“I think you’d better come with us,†said Owen after one glance, “he -might decide to investigate,†and off we all trudged down the dusty -road.</p> - -<p>Blue black masses of cloud were spreading gradually across the sky and -distant thunder muttered ominously.</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>If a bomb had alighted in the centre of the Bosman ranch, where supper -was in progress, it couldn’t have produced a more startling effect -than our arrival on foot and the account of our experience. They urged -us to spend the night, as the storm was rapidly approaching, but we -felt we must go back with Owen.</p> - -<p>Mr. Bosman hitched our team to one of his wagons, while Owen -telephoned to the Sheriff. We took a few pieces of bread and meat for -the poor demented creature at the camp and made another start. Mr. -Bosman and his son accompanied us on horseback.</p> - -<p>We went by a different road to avoid crossing the creek.</p> - -<p>It was dark by the time we reached the La Monte place, everything was -still. The four men, with a lighted lantern, entered the house. A wild -outburst of singing followed, which told us the same scene was being -enacted. The men came out almost immediately, talking earnestly.</p> - -<p>Mr. Bosman, an old-timer, had recognized the man as Jean La Monte, he -had spoken to him, had called him by name, but no sign of -understanding, not one faint glimmer of intelligence had shone from -out those wild eyes. Mr. Bosman was almost overcome.</p> - -<p>“It’s just terrible to see him that way, he was such a good man. Poor -old La Monte, trouble has sure driven him crazy. How on earth he ever -got here beats me. There ain’t a thing we can do tonight. We couldn’t -handle him if he got violent. There never was a stronger man in this -country than Jean La Monte. My God! It’s awful!â€</p> - -<p>So it was arranged that the Bosmans should go back to their ranch and -send word to the Sheriff to be up there early in the morning and that -Owen should have some of our men guard the place during the night.</p> - -<p>“Poor devil, I don’t believe he’ll go away. He seemed so suspicious he -wouldn’t touch the bread, and I believe he’s been here two or three -days. See you in the morning,†and the Bosmans disappeared in the -darkness.</p> - -<p>The thought of the tragedy with which we had so suddenly come in -touch, weighed upon us. A living ghost connected us with a past in -which we had no part.</p> - -<p>Long after we had left the old place behind, the mad singing followed -us, except when it was drowned by a sudden crash of thunder. The -jagged flashes of lightning illuminated the heavens for a brief -second, then left the world shrouded in an impenetrable darkness. -Rather than risk going through the creek a second time, we had decided -to cut across country.</p> - -<p>The prairies were broken by deep gullies washed and torn by the fury -of the summer storms. By day, driving was difficult; by night, it was -hazardous in the extreme, and after a blinding flash which fairly tore -the heavens apart, we were forced to stop the horses for fear of -driving into an unseen gulch. The horses, headed toward home and -excited and nervous, were hard to control. We drove along in silence, -our staring eyes trying to pierce the darkness. It was so dangerous -that at last I got out and walked in front of the horses. I could not -see; I could only know from the contour of the ground when we were -near a gulch or by my outstretched hand tell when we were near the -wires of a fence. After a time Gordon took my place, and all the way -one or the other walked before the team. The lightning and thunder -were terrific, but still it did not rain. We were worn out with -fatigue and anxiety when we finally reached the ranch.</p> - -<p>Steve was standing with his saddle horse at the crossing of the creek, -swinging a lighted lantern. When he heard the sound of the wheels he -gave a shout.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Brook!â€</p> - -<p>“All right,†Owen called back. Steve came towards us.</p> - -<p>“What on earth happened? We’ve all been plumb worried to death, and -Madame Brook, she’s most crazy. I’ve just sent Fred up to the La Monte -place to look for you.â€</p> - -<p>“La Monte place!†we exclaimed as several of the boys, attracted by -Steve’s shout, came up. “Get on your horse,†said Owen, quickly, “and -overtake him; there’s a madman up there.â€</p> - -<p>Steve did not wait for further instructions, but flung himself on his -horse and tore off after Fred. We hurried in to reassure Owen’s -mother, who was nearly frantic. Later, as she bade us “Good-night,†-she said very seriously: “Owen, as soon as I am able I am going to -Denver. I must be where it is quiet. I simply cannot stand the -excitement here.â€</p> - -<p>As the rain began to fall in torrents, we heard the men who had been -detailed to guard the La Monte place galloping off.</p> - -<p>An itinerant tailor had pulled into the ranch just before our return, -and was peacefully sleeping in his wagon. He was awakened when the -horses were driven into the corral, and came out to learn the cause of -the commotion. He was so excited when he heard that an insane person -was in the vicinity he asked to sleep at the bunk house with the men. -They tried to laugh him out of his fears, but his fright was so -genuine they told him to “come on.â€</p> - -<p>The strangeness of the whole affair, the combination of circumstances -and pure nervous and physical exhaustion kept Owen and me awake a long -time. It seemed I had scarcely fallen asleep when I heard someone -knock on the door and say:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Brook, Mr. Brook.â€</p> - -<p>I recognized Mary’s voice, and responded for Owen, who was dead -asleep.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Brook, the crazy man is down here at the corral; will you ask -Mr. Brook to come out?â€</p> - -<p>It didn’t take Owen long to dress. It was about five o’clock, and from -the window we could see poor old La Monte, still attired in his shirt, -sitting in the door of the granary playing with a little cotton-wood -switch.</p> - -<p>How he had escaped the men who had surrounded the place, and how he -had found his way to our ranch were questions no one could answer.</p> - -<p>The first intimation of his presence came in the form of a wild yell -from the tailor, who had gotten up early and gone down to the corral -to feed his horses. This brought all the men to the bunk house door as -the terror-stricken little Jew flung himself into their arms.</p> - -<p>“Mein Gott! Dot crazy man iss here.â€</p> - -<p>“You’re the only crazy man on this ranch,†said Bill, taking him by -the collar and giving him a shake. “What ails you, anyhow?â€</p> - -<p>“Oh, he iss here, he iss here,†wailed the tailor. “He ain’t got on no -clothes, and we’ll all be kilt.†The boys left him and went out to -investigate.</p> - -<p>It was true. La Monte was there, and after a futile effort on Bill’s -part to get him to talk the boys retired to the bunk house and sent -for Owen.</p> - -<p>“Gee,†Bill said later, “that feller was the doggondest lookin’ thing -I ever seen, settin’ there in what was left of his shirt. His legs was -all tore by the fence wires or brambles, his teeth was chatterin’ and -he was just blue with cold. His eyes had a look in ’em that give me -the shivers. I don’t wonder he scart that there Jew into a fit. I -wasn’t very anxious to come clost to him, neither. I ain’t scart of -anything that’s human, but he ain’t human, goin’ ’round folks dressed -like that.†Bill was a stickler for convention.</p> - -<p>“That’s the first thing a person usually does when he goes crazy, -Bill—takes off all his clothes.â€</p> - -<p>Bill gave me an incredulous look.</p> - -<p>“Gosh, I hope I’ll be killed ridin’ or somethin’ and not lose my mind -first. It ain’t decent.â€</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>The poor demented creature would not speak nor pay any attention to -the other men, but when he saw Steve he smiled as he asked:</p> - -<p>“You’ve come to take me away from them, haven’t you?â€</p> - -<p>“Yes,†Steve said. “Will you go with me now?â€</p> - -<p>La Monte stood up.</p> - -<p>“Yes, if you won’t let them get me; those witches want to drag me back -to hell, but I’ve fooled them this time. I’ve almost caught up with -him once or twice and they drag me back.†And he walked off quietly by -Steve’s side.</p> - -<p>Steve took him to the bunkhouse, gave him some coffee and made him lie -down on his bed. While Steve sat beside him La Monte slept fitfully, -but at the slightest move started and tried to get up. Steve fell in -with all his vagaries; he promised to help him escape the witches and -to help him find the person for whom he seemed to be searching.</p> - -<p>“Where was he last?†Steve asked, hoping to find some clue.</p> - -<p>“Why, on his horse.†La Monte sat up and stared wildly into Steve’s -eyes. “Don’t you know, he’s always on a horse, a big black horse. He’s -there just ahead of me, he’s always just ahead of me,†and he jumped -up and started toward the door.</p> - -<p>Steve calmed him again and he fell back on the pillows and lay there -in silence, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>Six crestfallen cow-punchers returned from the La Monte place. No one -knew when the man had left the camp, no one had even caught a glimpse -of him. His clothes they had found in the well.</p> - -<p>The Sheriff and his posse came at last. Steve kept his hand on the arm -of La Monte as they approached the wagon. It was a tense moment; we -were all watching but hidden, fearful lest some trifle would arouse -the demon of violence. The men were all armed.</p> - -<p>La Monte put his foot up on the step of the wagon, then took it off, -shook his head, turned and walked toward the granary. We held our -breath. Steve alone followed him.</p> - -<p>“Come on; you’re going with me, aren’t you?â€</p> - -<p>There was no reply. With his eyes fixed on the ground La Monte ignored -Steve completely. Suddenly he stopped and picked up something, the -little cotton-wood switch to which the leaves still clung. Holding it -tightly, he walked back to the wagon, got in, Steve by his side, and -they drove off.</p> - -<p>They were scarcely out of sight when Charley came dashing up with -sixty dollars in gold which he had found under a pile of mud at the La -Monte place. Owen sent him to overtake the wagon.</p> - -<p>“Is this yours?†Charley asked, as he rode up to them, holding the -money out toward La Monte, who only shook his head and looked off -across the prairie. Charley turned the money over to Steve.</p> - -<p>When they reached the town, La Monte seemed to become confused and -suspicious. He would not speak. He was judged insane and committed to -the asylum. Still in charge of the Sheriff, Steve and two other men, -he was put on the train.</p> - -<p>“Where did you get him?†the conductor asked the Sheriff.</p> - -<p>“Up in the country, at the A L ranch.â€</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I know that place; it used to be the old Bohm——â€</p> - -<p>He never finished his sentence, for La Monte, with a cry, sprang to -his feet, looked wildly about, brushed them aside and jumped through -the window.</p> - -<p>The train was stopped, and they ran back to where he had fallen. He -had broken his leg, but in spite of that fought them off with -superhuman strength. With the help of the train crew, he was -overpowered at last, bound and taken back to the train.</p> - -<p>Steve told us later it was the most terrible experience he had ever -been through.</p> - -<p>“I just couldn’t stand the look in his eyes when they got him to the -asylum. He didn’t say nothin’, just kept moanin’ all the time. He’d -been there for five years, and no one knew how he got away. I suppose -it would a come anyhow, but it seemed like it was the mention of -Bohm’s name that set him off.â€</p> - -<h2 id='ch10'>X—AROUND THE CHRISTMAS FIRE</h2> - -<p>Within a radius of many miles there were only three small children, -and about them our Christmas festivities revolved. They furnished the -excuse for the tree, but no work was too pressing, no snow too deep to -prevent the boys from bringing the Christmas tree and greens from a -small clump of pines which stood on top of a distant hill, like a dark -green island in the midst of the prairie sea.</p> - -<p>Early on Christmas morning Steve started out with gaily bedecked -baskets for the Mexicans, and at the ranch the greatest excitement -prevailed. I dashed frantically between the bunkhouse and our kitchen -to be certain that nothing was forgotten. The big turkeys were stuffed -to the point of bursting, all the “trimmings†were in readiness, and -the last savory mince pies were in the ovens.</p> - -<div class='image-center'> - <a href='images/img-008.jpg'><img src='images/img-008.jpg' id='i008' class='img-limits' alt=''/></a> - <div class='caption'> - <p>BUCKING HORSE AND RIDER</p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Behind the closed doors of the living room the tall tree, festooned -with ropes of popcorn and garlands of gaudy paper chains, glittered -and glowed with its tinsel ornaments and candles.</p> - -<p>Owen divided his attention between his “Santa Claus†costume and pails -of water, which he placed near the tree in case it should catch fire.</p> - -<p>The boys spent most of the morning “slicking up†and put on their red -neckties, the outward and visible sign of some important event, then -passed the remaining hours sitting around anxiously awaiting the -arrival of the guests of honor and—dinner.</p> - -<p>Sometimes members of the family were with us or some friends were -lured from the city by the promise of a “really, truly Christmas,†and -there were always a few lonely bachelors to whom the holidays, -otherwise, would have brought only memories.</p> - -<p>Christmas was our one great annual celebration, a day of cheer and -happiness, in which everyone joyously shared. It was a new experience -in the life of the undomesticated cow-puncher, but he took as much -satisfaction in the fact that “Our tree was a whole lot prettier than -the one I’ve saw in town†as though he had won a roping contest.</p> - -<p>Each year the children and their parents were invited for Christmas -dinner. They might be delayed en route by deep snowdrifts, out of -which they had to dig themselves, but they always arrived eventually. -We came to have a sincere affection for those children, gentle little -wild flowers of the prairie.</p> - -<p>They were very sweet, perfectly ingenuous, gazing in round-eyed wonder -upon things which to most of us were commonplace.</p> - -<p>I never thought of its being anything new in their brief experience -until at dinner one of the small boys turned to his mother after -tasting a piece of celery and said, “Look, Mamma, ’tain’t cabbage and -’tain’t onions. What is it?â€</p> - -<p>They positively trembled with excitement as they learned to read and -laboriously spelled out the words in the simple books we gave them. -They craved knowledge as a starving man craves bread.</p> - -<p>As Santa Claus, Owen wore a ruddy mask with a long white beard and -bristling eyebrows, a fur cap pulled down over his ears, heavy felt -boots and his long fur overcoat. He looked and acted the part so -perfectly the children for years insisted that “there is a Santa Claus -’cause we’ve seen him.â€</p> - -<p>The first Christmas everyone was gathered about the tree waiting for -this mysterious personage to appear when Owen suddenly thought of -bells; he must have sleigh-bells. No self-respecting Santa Claus was -complete without them. I was in despair; there wasn’t a sleigh-bell -within a hundred miles, but Owen insisted that he must jingle. At last -after a great deal of argument and searching for something which would -give forth bell-like sounds, he finally pranced out before the -spell-bound audience with my silver table bell sewed to the top of one -of his boots. He had to prance because the bell refused to tinkle -unless it was shaken, and for the ensuing hour he pranced so -vigorously that between the exercise and the fur coat he nearly -perished from heat.</p> - -<p>After dinner we all assembled in the big living-room, where my -disguised husband presented each person with some little gift and -ridiculous toy, accompanied by a still more ridiculous rhyme, over -which the boys roared. They enjoyed the jokes most of all. No one -escaped; Owen and I came in for our share with the rest. Mine usually -bore veiled or open allusion to my particular pet lamb which had -developed strong butting proclivities. He butted friend and foe -indiscriminately, so that even my fond eyes were not blinded to his -faults, and Owen’s remarks were most uncomplimentary after he had -acted as a shield for us when “Jackie†had chased my sister and me all -about the yard.</p> - -<p>Later in the afternoon everybody scattered—our house guests amused -themselves as they chose, riding, driving or hunting coyotes, the boys -rode over to the neighboring ranches or went to “town,†the store and -saloon at the railroad station sixteen miles away, but I spent an hour -or two playing with the children or reading to them until their father -“brought the team around,†their happy mother climbed up on the high -seat of the lumber-wagon and, clinging to dolls, trains and toys, -three blissfully happy but perfectly exhausted little children were -wrapped up in quilts and coats, stowed into the back of the wagon and -started on the twenty-mile drive “back home.â€</p> - -<p>It had been an eventful day in their short, barren lives, but for us -it was the best part of Christmas, except the evening, when we all -gathered about the big fireplace which drew everyone into its circle -like a magnet.</p> - -<p>There was nothing prosaic about those who grouped themselves around -the great stone fireplaces on the ranches in the old days. Here again -were found those contrasts, so striking and unexpected; university men -who had come West for adventure or investment, men of wealth whose -predisposition to weak lungs had sent them in exile to the wilderness, -modest young Englishmen, those younger sons so often found in the most -out-of-the-way corners of the earth, and who, through the sudden -demise of a near relative, had such a startling way of becoming earls -and lords over night; adventurous Scotchmen, brilliant young Irishmen, -all smoking contentedly there in the firelight and discussing the -“isms†and “ologies†and every other subject under heaven. But most -interesting of all were their own reminiscences.</p> - -<p>We were all sitting around the fire one Christmas night when the -conversation turned on adventure, and everyone promised to tell the -most thrilling experience he had ever had.</p> - -<p>Two of the men were lying on the big bearskin before the fire. One, a -mining engineer, told of having been captured by bandits and held for -a ransom, in some remote corner of Mexico where he had gone to examine -a very famous mine. The other, a surveyor for the Union Pacific -Railroad, had been lost during a storm and, becoming snow-blind, -crawled for five miles on his hands and knees, feeling the trail with -naked, half frozen hands until he reached the creek down which he -waded until he came to the camp.</p> - -<p>In a big chair, the firelight playing over her slender figure, sat -Janet Courtland, an Eastern woman, who as a mere girl had come West -with her young husband and had gone up into Montana where he had -bought a large cattle ranch.</p> - -<p>“Come on, Mrs. Courtland, you’re next,†the Surveyor said as he -finished his story.</p> - -<p>“Well,†Janet began, “Will and I have had so many experiences I -scarcely know which was the most exciting, but I think our encounter -with the Indians was the most thrilling from first to last.</p> - -<p>“Will had to go into Miles City on business and I went with him for -great unrest had been reported among the Indians and he didn’t want to -leave me on the ranch alone. We had been in town only a few days when -we heard that they were on the war path and Will felt he must go back -to the ranch. He wanted me to stay in town, but I wouldn’t. If he was -going back I was going with him, so we started in the buck-board on -that long eighty-five mile drive. I’ll never forget it. The day was -fearfully hot and we were constantly looking out for Indians. We had -gone about half-way, when we came over the top of a hill and saw a -band of Indians just below us. They saw us before we could turn back, -we had to go on, and as we came towards them they formed into two -lines so that we had to drive between them. It was horrible.†And -Janet gave a shiver at the recollection. “I’ll never forget as long as -I live those frightful, painted faces. Not an Indian moved; we passed -through the line and had gone a short distance beyond, when we heard -the report of a gun. Will clapped his hand to his side and said: ‘My -God, I’m shot. Drive as fast as you can’—and he threw the lines to -me.</p> - -<p>“I lashed the horses and we fairly tore. Everything was still, there -was only that one shot, the Indians made no attempt to follow us. We -did not speak. Will was lying back in the buckboard, his hand pressed -to his side. When we had gone out of sight of the Indians I stopped -the horses and asked Will where he was struck.</p> - -<p>“‘In the side; I can feel the blood oozing through my fingers,’ he -said. He took his hand away and gave an exclamation as he looked at -it. It was wet but not with blood. We could not find the sign of a -wound. We got out to investigate and discovered—that just as we -passed the Indians the cork flew out of a bottle of root beer we had -in the back of the buckboard and struck him in the side. Poor old -Willie, no wonder he thought he was shot,†and Janet smiled at her -husband, who laughed with the rest of us.</p> - -<p>“Now, Owen,†he said, “I know some of the things you’ve been through, -so you can’t beg off,†and Owen began his story.</p> - -<p>“In the spring of ’81 I came West to visit my brother, Ed., on his -ranch in Wyoming. I was a tenderfoot, never having been on the plains -before—and yet—I had scarcely arrived when I announced that the one -thing I wanted to do was to kill a buffalo. He told me that if my -heart was set on it I should have the chance, but that it was -dangerous sport even for experienced hunters, as a buffalo frequently -turns and gores the horse before it can get out of the way.</p> - -<p>“The very next day the dead body of a professional hunter was brought -to the ranch. He had wounded a buffalo bull which had turned, caught -with his horn the horse he was riding, thrown him to the ground and -gored the hunter to death. The sight of his mangled body was shocking -and made a terrible impression on my mind, but my purpose was not -changed.</p> - -<p>“My brother assigned Al. Turpin the responsibility of serving as my -guide. He was one of the best riders on the ranch, cool-headed and a -good shot. We took breakfast before daylight in order to get an early -start. After riding a considerable distance three dark objects were -discovered far away on a hill which sloped toward us. A pair of field -glasses confirmed the opinion that they were buffalo lying down. We -rode in their direction and kept out of sight, except as we peered -cautiously over the top of each succeeding ridge until it was possible -to approach no nearer in concealment, when we rode to the top of the -nearest hill and were in full view. The buffalo saw us and quick as -lightning were on their feet running away. We sent our horses at full -speed down the slope, across a level piece of ground and up the hill -after them. We were gaining rapidly. My horse was the faster of the -two and was in the lead. He was one of the best trained cow ponies I -have ever ridden and was my brother’s favorite for cutting out cattle.</p> - -<p>“When about thirty yards behind the buffalo, one stopped. The bit I -was using was severe. I pulled and threw my horse back on his -haunches. The buffalo was an immense bull. He appeared to me as big as -a mountain. He turned facing me, his body at an angle, cocked his head -on the side, then threw it toward the ground and, quicker than a -flash, came down the hill like a landslide.</p> - -<p>“My horse struggled against the bit and tried to jump toward the -buffalo and turn him as he would a steer. I tried to swing his head -away and dug my spurs into his sides to make him move, but he did not -understand why he should run from a buffalo. He did respond a little -and turned so that his haunches were toward the great brute coming -down the hill.</p> - -<p>“The head of the buffalo was in striking distance. He looked like a -great devil. His beadlike eyes flashed fire. The next instant I -expected the horse to be pitched down the hill. I could feel myself -thrown into the air and then gored to death when I struck the ground. -I could see the mangled body of the dead hunter.</p> - -<p>“While my six-shooter was a powerful gun, I knew that if I should -shoot the brute in the head, the ball would not go through the mass of -matted hair and the thick skull. Still there was nothing else to do. I -thought my time had come. In order to hit him at all it was necessary -to shoot over my left arm. In my haste I pulled the trigger too soon. -The loud report startled the horse into a run and turned the buffalo. -Its discharge, so near my head, gave me a terrible shock. I thought -the shot had blown away all the right side of my head and I put up my -hand to keep my brains from falling out, but there were neither brains -nor blood on my hand. The bullet had just grazed my head and gone -through the rim of my hat. That brute looked like an infuriated demon. -I couldn’t have been more frightened if I had met the devil himself at -the mouth of hell.</p> - -<p>“When it was all over, I was not in a mood for challenging him again, -but as he loped away, Al. ran his horse abreast and from a safe -distance put a shot into his brisket. He fell dead. Believe me, I have -had many close calls, but that was the one time in all my life when I -was really scared.â€</p> - -<p>“What extraordinary experiences people do have in this country,†Will -Mason exclaimed, as he leaned forward to light a fresh cigar. -“Speaking of Ed. reminds me of a strange coincidence which happened -the year after he came West.</p> - -<p>“We had been together the year before in New York, where we had met a -chap named Courtney Drake. He was a Yale man and a member of the -University Club, so we saw quite a good deal of him. He was very -congenial and one of the most lovable fellows I ever knew. He was -married but he seldom spoke of his wife and we never met her.</p> - -<p>“One morning we picked up the paper and were horrified to read that -Mrs. Courtney Drake had shot her maid. There it was in glaring -headlines, the whole wretched affair. The Drakes were one of the -oldest and wealthiest families in New York and it was spicy reading -for the scandal lovers I assure you.</p> - -<p>“It seems that Drake had gotten mixed up with this woman when he first -came out of college and in order to force him to marry her she told -him that she was soon to have a child. He wouldn’t believe it, and how -she worked it I don’t know. She must have been mighty clever, for she -and her maid got hold of a baby somewhere and she made Courtney -believe it was hers and that he was the father—so he married her.</p> - -<p>“They had only been married a short time when the maid began to demand -large sums of ‘hush money’ and Mrs. Drake gave her whatever she asked, -for she was in mortal dread of having Drake discover the truth. The -girl found blackmail so profitable she became more and more insistent -in her demands and nearly drove Mrs. Drake wild. At last she could -endure it no longer and in a perfect frenzy, shot and killed the maid -and then the whole thing came out. Mrs. Drake was sent to prison, -where she died later, but Courtney vanished utterly after the -trial—no one knew what became of him.</p> - -<p>“The next fall Ed. and I came West and two years later were up in the -Jackson’s Hole country with a party, shooting. Ed. and one of the -guides went out one morning to get some ducks, but in a short time -they came back to camp carrying the dead body of Courtney Drake. They -had come across his body on the shore of a small lake, lying face down -in the mud. There was a single bullet hole in the back of his head.</p> - -<p>“Think of his having been found out there in the wilderness by the -only man in the country who knew who he was! Talk about chance,†Will -sighed, “Poor devil, he was living out there under an assumed name. -His family had no idea where he was. Ed. notified them and then took -his body East.</p> - -<p>“Just after his death Drake’s partner produced a bill of sale for the -entire ranch and took possession of it. Everyone suspected him of the -murder, but it couldn’t be proved. About three years later the man -killed his wife and at the time of his conviction the question of -Drake’s murder was brought up and he confessed. Isn’t it strange the -way things happen?†Will’s question was general. “What on earth do you -suppose sent Ed. Brook into the Jackson’s Hole country at that one -time of all others?â€</p> - -<p>No one answered.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if all new countries abound in such tragic mysteries?†The -Surveyor looked up at me.</p> - -<p>“What tragic mysteries have you encountered, Mrs. Brook, that makes -you speak so feelingly?â€</p> - -<p>Just then the clock struck twelve and I got up.</p> - -<p>“It’s too late for more mysteries, it’s time to go to bed—and we -don’t want tragedies to keep us wide awake on Christmas night.â€</p> - -<p>“Oh, come on Esther, tell us your most thrilling experience,†they -begged. “We won’t move a step until you do.â€</p> - -<p>“Marrying Owen,†I replied, looking over at my unsuspecting husband, -“I’ve never had a chance to get my breath since.â€</p> - -<p>And amid a shout of laughter the Christmas party broke up.</p> - -<h2 id='ch11'>XI—TED</h2> - -<p>Ted landed in our midst with all the attendant violence of a meteor. -He didn’t arrive, he landed, bag and baggage, and until his departure -weeks later our tranquil existence was sufficiently hectic to suit -even Bill.</p> - -<p>After numerous letters from his doting aunt, we reluctantly consented -to look after Ted while she was in Europe recuperating from a nervous -break-down. At the end of the first week, we understood why Aunt -Elizabeth found recuperation necessary, and I suggested to Owen, it -might be well to engage our passage on a later steamer, for I had a -premonition that my own nerves might require a rest after two months -of Ted’s strenuous companionship.</p> - -<p>He wasn’t bad; there was not a bad thing about him. He was just -overflowing with youth and energy, which had been pent up for years, -between boarding school in the winter and Newport in the summer.</p> - -<p>Motherless, fatherless, rich, neglected or over-indulged by a none too -wise aunt, Ted was an appealing young person, a character easily to be -made or marred by circumstances.</p> - -<p>He looked like a member of the celestial choir—blue-eyed, fair-haired -and mild—but he produced the effect of a Kansas cyclone.</p> - -<p>There was nothing he did not see, there was nothing he did not hear -and there was nothing he did not do. Even on eighty thousand acres of -land his activities were somewhat limited.</p> - -<p>He was wildly enthusiastic about the West, fascinated by the men, and -was Bill’s shadow, so we promptly turned him over to those “rough -persons†Aunt Elizabeth had especially hoped that he might avoid, to -get it all out of his system.</p> - -<p>“Let him stay at the bunk-house,†Owen advised after Ted had besought -me to allow him to stay with the men. “It will do him more good than -anything else in the world, if he has the right stuff in him.â€</p> - -<p>Ted stood on the porch, uneasily shifting from one foot to the other, -when I came out of the office.</p> - -<p>“All right, Ted, Mr. Brook and I are perfectly willing for you to stay -with the men, if you really want to.â€</p> - -<p>He hopped up and down and almost embraced me in his joy.</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Brook. You see,†he explained, carefully, “I’ve -seen people like you and Mr. Brook all my life, but I never had the -chance to be with real cow-punchers before.†Evidently, from Ted’s -point of view, Owen and I were very commonplace individuals compared -to these heroes of the prairie, and I laughed to myself as he bounded -down the steps to break the joyful news to Bill that he was to share -his bed and board.</p> - -<p>The next day we had to go to town to meet some prospective wool -buyers, and, after having his breakfast interrupted five different -times by Ted’s dashing in to see if we were ready, Owen was moved to -inquire finally, “What on earth is on the boy’s mind now?â€</p> - -<p>“His outfit,†I answered. “He’s been planning it for days; wishes to -select it himself and we are not to see it until we get home.â€</p> - -<p>That was a wise stipulation of Ted’s, for if we had seen it, we should -never have been able to get home.</p> - -<p>He put it on as soon as we reached the ranch, and when he finally -emerged, the flaming sunset paled with chagrin at its futile effort of -years.</p> - -<p>The “outfit†consisted of tan corduroy trousers, chaps of long silky -angora wool, which had been dyed a brilliant orange, a shirt of vivid -green, a bright red silk handkerchief for his neck, an enormous -Stetson hat, high-heeled tan boots, silver studded belt and huge -spurs.</p> - -<p>We gasped when we saw him, but he was so intent on showing himself to -Bill, as to be utterly unconscious of the effect he produced.</p> - -<p>We followed him into the yard where the boys were waiting the call to -supper. Bill looked up from the quirt he was braiding and blinked.</p> - -<p>“Gosh! I thought the sun had set an hour ago,†he remarked.</p> - -<p>“No,†Ted laughingly responded, giving him a push, “but he’s going to -‘set’ now,†and he threw himself down by Bill’s side. “I knew you -fellows would guy me, but all the same I think this outfit’s great,†-and he surveyed himself with infinite pride and satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right,†said Bill, taking in all the details of the -resplendent costume, and looking up at Owen and me with twinkling -eyes, “I like somethin’ a little gay myself; but round here where -everything’s green, we won’t be able to tell you from a bunch of -soap-weed,†and Ted good naturedly joined in the laugh at his own -expense.</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t his Aunt Elizabeth die of heart-failure if she could see him -now?†I asked Owen as we went into the house.</p> - -<p>“She certainly would,†he answered, “but we’ll trust to luck and let -Nature take its course.â€</p> - -<p>Everything, including Nature, took its course rapidly with Ted, and -for the next few weeks wise prairie dogs, rabbits and rattle-snakes -stayed in their holes. By the end of his stay that energetic young -person had enough rattle-snake skins to provide belts and hat-bands -for all of New York, and scores of live prairie-dogs he had trapped to -be shipped to his aunt’s place in Newport.</p> - -<p>I tried to picture the joy of Aunt Elizabeth and her neighbors when -they found informal prairie-dog towns in the midst of their formal -gardens. If life is measured by experiences, a few additional years -were in store for Newport.</p> - -<p>Bill taught Ted to shoot and he spent hours and a fortune shooting at -old tin cans on a post before Bill finally consented to say:</p> - -<p>“I’ve saw fellers do worse,†the sweetest praise that ever fell on -mortal ears, judging by Ted’s expression.</p> - -<p>And, then, Owen went to New Mexico to buy some sheep and Bohm came to -sleep on a claim.</p> - -<p>This claim was one over which Owen and Bohm had been having a -controversy for months. It had been included in the sale of the ranch, -and after one of our most important sheep camps had been built upon -it, Owen discovered that Bohm could not give a deed to it, as he had -not made final proof on the land.</p> - -<p>Bohm never ceased to regret having sold the ranch, and had never -forgiven Owen for buying it and making him live up to his contract, so -was only too glad of the opportunity to cause him all the trouble -possible. Time after time he promised to come out and “prove upâ€, but -he never came, so although I was most anxious to have him come, I was -far from pleased to have him about when Owen was away.</p> - -<p>Ted, however, was overjoyed; he seemed to feel that Providence had -arranged Bohm’s visit to the ranch for his especial entertainment, and -from the moment the old chap arrived Ted dogged his footsteps.</p> - -<p>At first, old Bohm seemed quite flattered and laughed and joked with -him, praised his shooting, told him stories of the Indian days, -promised to show him the underground passage to an abandoned stage -station, but later he became annoyed, for no clinging burr ever clung -more closely than Ted. He scarcely allowed Bohm to get out of his -sight for one moment.</p> - -<p>How much the boy had heard of old Bohm’s history I did not know, but I -concluded a few rumors had reached those ever-attentive ears, for one -day he came in fairly beaming.</p> - -<p>“Gosh! Pudge and Soapy haven’t got anything on me, they’ve only seen -Buffalo Bill in a show, and I’m right in the same house with a man -that’s a holy terror!â€</p> - -<p>“What do you mean, Ted?†I asked, anxious to find out how much he had -heard.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you know well enough, Mrs. Brook,†he laughed, going to the door -as he saw old Bohm on his way to the barn. “You can’t fool me. Gee! I -wouldn’t have missed him for the world. The fellows’ll just be sick -when I tell them.â€</p> - -<p>“The fellows†were evidently “Pudge†and “Soapyâ€, his two chums at St. -Paul’s, “Pudge†because of “his shape,†as Ted explained, and “Soapyâ€, -whose parental millions came from the manufacturing of soap.</p> - -<p>The game between the boy and Bohm was amusing. Clever as the old chap -was, he couldn’t evade Ted’s watchful eye. If Bohm thought him miles -away, he suddenly appeared with such an unconscious air of innocence -he disarmed all suspicion, but he made Bohm uneasy.</p> - -<p>“Quit campin’ on the old man’s trail, Kid,†said Bill one evening at -the corral after Ted had driven Bohm to the bunk-house to escape his -questions. “You’re gettin’ on his nerves; let him go and sleep on his -claim and get through with it. You and me’s got to hunt horses -tomorrow, anyways.â€</p> - -<p>Ted cheerfully acquiesced, and old Bohm loaded his wagon alone and -drove toward his claim in peace.</p> - -<p>The next morning very early, I heard Bill calling Ted. No Ted -appeared, and I went out to see where he was.</p> - -<p>“Where do you reckon that crazy kid’s went now?†demanded Bill, -impatient to start.</p> - -<p>“I’m sure I don’t know, Bill, hunting prairie-dogs, probably. Don’t -wait for him, if you’re ready to go.â€</p> - -<p>“Huntin’ prairie-dogs,†echoed Bill. “I’ll bet a hat he’s huntin’ old -Bohm somewheres.†He frowned as he cinched up his saddle. “I reckon -I’d better ride over that way and see what he’s up to.â€</p> - -<p>“I wish you would,†I said, vaguely uneasy. “I don’t want him to -bother Bohm too much.â€</p> - -<p>“Me neither,†said Bill, getting on his horse, “there’s his pony’s -tracks now,†he looked at the ground. “I’ll find him and take him -along with me. Don’t you worry, he’s all right, but he sure is a -corker—that kid,†and Bill galloped off.</p> - -<p>I felt confident that he would overtake the lad, so I dismissed them -all from my mind and settled down to an uninterrupted morning, and a -delayed postal report.</p> - -<p>I was busy all day and was just starting out for a little walk before -supper when Bill and Ted rode up.</p> - -<p>Bill and Ted, hatless, clothes torn and covered with dirt and blood, -their faces scratched and bruised, and Ted regarding me triumphantly -from one half-closed eye, the other being swollen shut.</p> - -<p>“What on earth hap—†I tried to ask, my breath fairly taken away. -Bill got off his horse and came up to the gate.</p> - -<p>“We’re all right, Mrs. Brook. I’m sorry you seen us ’fore we got fixed -up a little; we just got mixed up some with Bohm—that’s all—’taint -nothin’ serious. We look a whole lot worse than we feel, don’t we -Ted?â€</p> - -<p>“You bet we do,†mumbled Ted from a cut and bleeding mouth, “but you -ought to see Bohm, he’s a sight!â€</p> - -<p>Ted got off his horse with difficulty. “Gosh, it was great,†he said, -leaning up against the fence for support.</p> - -<p>“Come in and sit down, both of you, Charley will take your horses,†-and I led the way into the house followed a little unsteadily by Bill -and Ted, who collapsed on the first chairs they could reach.</p> - -<p>I gave them some wine, washed off their blood-stained faces, and made -protesting Ted go into my room and lie down. He was very pale, and I -saw that he was faint.</p> - -<p>I came back into the kitchen.</p> - -<p>“Now, Bill, tell me about it. What happened and where is Bohm?â€</p> - -<p>“On his way back to Denver in the baggage car,†announced Bill, -draining the last drop from the glass he still held in his hand.</p> - -<p>I started, “Oh, Bill, you didn’t kill him?â€</p> - -<p>“No, but I wisht I had,†he said calmly. “He’d oughter be dead, the old -skunk, trying to poison all them sheep.â€</p> - -<p>“Poison the sheep; what sheep?â€</p> - -<p>“Your sheep,†Bill’s brows contracted as he looked at me. “Your -sheep,†he repeated, his voice rising as I scarcely seemed able to -grasp his meaning. “All the sheep at Hay Gulch Camp, that’s what he -came out here for, and he’d a done it, too, if it hadn’t been for that -kid in there.†Bill jerked his head in the direction of my room.</p> - -<p>“Ted?†I asked, my emotion stifling my voice.</p> - -<p>“Ted,†Bill affirmed, “he caught him at it red-handed, and probably -saved two thousand sheep from bein’ dead this minute.â€</p> - -<p>“How on earth did he find out?â€</p> - -<p>Bill straightened up in his chair.</p> - -<p>“Them eyes of his’n don’t miss much, I’m here to tell you, and his -everlastin’ snoopin’ around done some good after all.†Bill’s eyes -glowed with pride. “Yesterday, before Bohm left, Ted come across him -mixin’ a lot of stuff with some grain, and, of course, had to know all -about it. The old man finally told him he was fixin’ to poison the -prairie-dogs on his claim, bit he was so peevish about it, Ted said he -didn’t believe him, and mistrusted somethin’ was wrong.</p> - -<p>“The kid didn’t say nothin’ to me about it; had some fool notion about -playin’ detective, I reckon, at any rate he got up along about four -o’clock and rode out to Bohm’s claim to do a little reconorterin’.â€</p> - -<p>Bill reluctantly put the glass down and tipped back in his chair. “He -hid his horse in the gulch and crope up in the grass like an Injin. -The herder wasn’t nowhere in sight and the sheep was still in the -corral, but old Bohm was there all right, fixin’ little piles of that -poisoned wheat just where the sheep would come acrost it the first -thing.â€</p> - -<p>“Oh, Bill, that’s the worst thing I ever heard!†I was sick at the -mere thought.</p> - -<p>Bill was too engrossed to pay attention to the interruption.</p> - -<p>“Ted said he was comin’ back to tell me, but he got so excited when he -seen what Bohm was up to, he never thought of nothin’ but stoppin’ -him. The old man was stoopin’ over with his back to Ted, and the kid -gave a yell for the herder and ran for Bohm and before he could -straighten up Ted was on top of him.â€</p> - -<p>Bill scarcely paused for breath—“the old man reached for his gun, but -Ted was too quick for him and knocked it out of his hand, and when I -came up, there they was rollin’ all over the prairie, first one on top -and then the other.â€</p> - -<p>Bill looked toward the door of my room, reflectively—“I kinder felt -there was somethin’ wrong when I left here, and believe me, I didn’t -spare my cayuse none gettin’ there neither, and I didn’t get there -none too soon.â€</p> - -<p>I was incapable of speech. I just stared at Bill.</p> - -<p>“There ain’t no doubt about Bohm’s bein’ ready to kill him; he was on -top then and reachin’ for his throat. I didn’t stop to ask no -questions. I jest grabbed him, and pulled him off of Ted. He was white -as chalk and ready to eat us both alive, but I hung on to him while -Ted got up cryin’, ‘Look what he’s done, Bill, look what he’s done,’ -and pointed at somethin’ on the ground.â€</p> - -<p>Bill’s eyes were like two live coals. “Bohm was cussin’ like a steam -engine ’bout the kid’s jumpin’ him when he was puttin’ out poison for -the prairie-dogs. I just took one look around and seen all them piles -of poison wheat there by the corral when there wasn’t a prairie-dog -within two miles. I—well, I aint goin’ to tell you what I said, Mrs. -Brook, ’taint fit for you to hear.â€</p> - -<div class='image-center'> - <a href='images/img-009.jpg'><img src='images/img-009.jpg' id='i009' class='img-limits' alt=''/></a> - <div class='caption'> - <p>FACING DEATH EACH TIME THEY RIDE A NEW HORSE.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Bill looked down and turned the glass on the table around and around. -He looked up again and smiled, but his brows contracted as he went -on—“We had words then, sure enough. All of a sudden Bohm made a lunge -and caught the handkerchief round my neck with one hand and reached -for somethin’ with the other, and the first thing I knew he was -slashin’ at me with a pocket knife. I guess I saw red then, ’cause I -knocked him down and nearly pounded the life out of him.â€</p> - -<p>Bill stopped a moment—“His eyes was rollin’ back in his head and his -tongue was hangin’ out and there was a pool of blood ’round us, three -yards across.†Bill’s description was so vivid I shut my eyes. “I -reckon I’d killed him if Ted hadn’t tromped my legs and kinda brought -me to myself. He’d oughter been killed, but I let him up then and told -Ted to go for my rope. We tied his hands and legs. I guess he had -about all he wanted for he wasn’t strugglin’ much.†Bill smiled -grimly. “We carried him into the cabin, and there was the Mexican -lying in his bunk—doped. We knew who done it all right, and I tell -you we didn’t handle Bohm like no suckin’ infant when we laid him -down, neither.â€</p> - -<p>Bill’s face was stern and set and I shared his indignation too much to -trust myself to speak.</p> - -<p>“We left him there and went to get the wheat out of the way before we -opened the corral gates for the sheep. Thanks to Ted, Bohm hadn’t had -time to put much around. He’s a great little kid, that boy.†Bill’s -voice broke.</p> - -<p>“Bless his heart,†I said, my own heart filled with gratitude and -tenderness for the plucky little chap in the other room. Bill’s eyes -were moist, but his voice was steady again.</p> - -<p>“Steve and Charley came up just then with the supply wagon, so Steve -set Charley to herd the sheep. We loaded Bohm into the wagon and Steve -took him over to the railroad. He said he’d see he got on the train -all right.†Bill grinned, “You’re rid of Bohm for good now, Mrs. -Brook, for I kinda think he gathered from what me and Steve said the -ranch wouldn’t be no health resort for him if he ever showed his ugly -face round here again.â€</p> - -<p>“Oh, Bill, I’m so thankful; it makes me sick when I think what might -have happened.â€</p> - -<p>“Don’t thank me, Mrs. Brook, I ain’t done nothin’.†Bill’s face was -red with embarrassment as he stood up. “Ted’s the one to thank, he’s -some kid, believe me,†and Bill’s eyes were very tender.</p> - -<p>“Let’s go in and see how he’s making it.†Bill followed me into the -room.</p> - -<p>Ted was sitting up on the couch, regarding his battered visage in my -hand-glass with the greatest interest. I could see at once he was in -no mood for emotion or petting.</p> - -<p>“Hello, I’m all right,†he murmured with a one-sided grin. “Say, Bill, -wasn’t it great? I wouldn’t have missed it for a million dollars.â€</p> - -<p>He sank back with a sigh of supreme satisfaction. “I just wish I could -remember all the things he called me. I want to spring them on the -fellows when I go back.â€</p> - -<p>Bill looked at him with genuine concern. “See here, kid,†he said -decidedly, “you want to forget all them things as quick as you can. -Don’t you go springin’ any such language back where you come from. I’m -no innocent babe myself, but I’m here to tell you old Bohm’s cussin’ -made anything I ever heard sound like a Sunday School piece. You -forget it now, pronto,†he commanded as he went out of the door. “It’s -a reflection on me and Mrs. Brook.â€</p> - -<p>After Bill had gone, Ted looked at himself again, then at me. “What do -you suppose Aunt Elizabeth would say if she could see me now?†We both -laughed.</p> - -<p>“I would be a ‘disgrace to my family and position’ now, sure enough.†-He felt his blackened eye tenderly.</p> - -<p>I sat down on the couch beside him. “You will never be more of a -credit to your family than you are at this minute, Ted, nor more of a -man.â€</p> - -<p>He looked up, for my voice shook a little. He knew what I meant and -his lips twitched as he patted my hand gently, and turned his face -away.</p> - -<h2 id='ch12'>XII—BLIZZARDS</h2> - -<p>It was just like Louise Reynolds to arrive on the wings of a blizzard, -wearing a straw hat and spring suit. Louise led the seasons, she never -followed them, and she preceded that particular storm by about two -hours; but she was justified, for it was April and she was on her way -from California.</p> - -<p>In this land of the unexpected even the weather disregarded all -established precedents. A glorious Indian Summer night extended into -January, or a sudden blizzard would swoop down from the North in -October or April and leave us snowed in for days.</p> - -<p>That is exactly what happened upon this occasion and most of Louise’s -visit was spent in shovelling snow for the pure joy of the exercise. -That energetic young person had to do something in lieu of tennis or -golf.</p> - -<p>The prairies were covered with a fluffy mantle of purest white, great -drifts filled the gulches and the roads were utterly obliterated. Long -after the storm the men had to go about on horseback for no wagon -could be moved through the deep snow.</p> - -<p>At this juncture Louise announced that she had all of her reservations -through to Baltimore, where she was to officiate as bridesmaid. She -was obliged to go and we had to take her to the railroad.</p> - -<p>We could scarcely go on horseback with baggage, there wasn’t a sleigh -in the country, certainly none on the ranch, but if Necessity was the -Mother of Invention, Owen was a near relative. He never failed to find -some way of meeting the most difficult problem. If Louise must go it -devolved upon him to see that she reached the station and so he -produced a sled, a disreputable old affair, used for the exalted -purpose of hauling dead animals to “the dumpâ€â€”but still it was a sled -and under Owen’s direction it was scrubbed and transformed into the -most luxurious equipage by having a packing box nailed on the back -and covered with rugs. Louise and I perched on the box, with heavy -robes tucked in about us, the suit cases were at our feet and Owen sat -on the trunk in front to drive.</p> - -<p>There was only one draw-back, the sled had no tongue to keep it from -running on to the heels of the horses, so Owen cut a hole in the -bottom of the sled through which he stuck a broom-stick. My task was -to work this improvised brake when we went down hill by jabbing the -broom-stick into the snow. It worked beautifully except that the -friction against the hard snow broke pieces of it off and it grew -perceptibly shorter as we advanced.</p> - -<p>In order to avoid some especially deep gulches we left the valley and -followed a high ridge. It was much longer, but we had allowed the -entire day for the trip. There was no danger of becoming lost as long -as we could see, for we knew too well the country and the general -direction to be followed.</p> - -<p>No incident marred the joy of that day. When the horses floundered and -almost disappeared from sight in a snow-filled gulch, leaving the sled -stranded like an Ark on a gleaming Ararat, we had only to dig the -horses out with a shovel which had been taken for the purpose and -after getting them on the level ground, go back and hitch a long rope -to the sled, draw it across the gulch and proceed upon our way.</p> - -<p>The light of the sun upon the snow was so intense it was necessary to -wear colored glasses to avoid snow blindness, and being muffled in -furs, we looked like three bears in goggles. Our wraps kept us -perfectly warm and it was a merry ride. The adventure filled us with -joy as we glided over the trackless world in which we alone moved.</p> - -<p>There was no suggestion of dreariness or desolation in the scene. -Under the magic touch of the sun the world burst forth into a miracle -of glory and beauty which held us spellbound. The sky was cloudless, -not a shadow fell across that dazzling white expanse, which flashed -and sparkled with all the prismatic colors. Far to the west Pike’s -Peak stood, a marvel of varying lights and shadows, its head resting -on the soft blue bosom of the sky. Its commanding height had filled -the Indian of the Plains with worshipful awe, it was to him “the Gate -of Heaven, the abiding place of the Great Spirit.†According to his -own testimony, the one inevitable duty in the life of the Indian is -the duty of prayer—and how often as he looked upon that distant -mountain must the red hunter have paused in the midst of the vast -prairies, his soul uplifted and an unspoken prayer on his lips!</p> - -<p>The whole aspect of the country was changed, all the familiar -landmarks were gone. Except for the hills, the surface of the prairie -was perfectly level as though the Great Spirit had stretched his hand -forth from that mystic mountain and passing it over the world had left -it smooth and stainless.</p> - -<p>It was a wonderful experience, and when toward evening we reached the -railroad we were thrilled and triumphant over our accomplishment. The -night was spent in the little four-room “hotel,†we saw Louise safely -on board the eastbound express the next morning, then returned to the -ranch.</p> - -<p>To be out after a blizzard is one thing, to be out in one is quite -another, and we always grew apprehensive when the sky became suddenly -overcast and the snow began to fall from leaden clouds. What if the -storm should catch the herders and the sheep too far away from the -camp?</p> - -<p>They were all warned to range their sheep to the North if it -threatened to storm, as most of the blizzards came from that direction -and the sheep would go before the wind back to camp and safety. But -they will not face it and, if unmindful of his orders, the herder took -them South and a sudden storm came, he could not turn his sheep back -to the camp; they would drift on and on before the wind, sometimes -plunging over a bank to be buried beneath the drifting snow or piling -up and smothering each other.</p> - -<p>One winter just as Owen and I were starting home from California we -received a telegram from Steve saying that during a blizzard the buck -herd had been lost. Owen had some very important business which -detained him when we reached Denver, so he asked me to go on to the -ranch, have Steve organize the men into searching parties and look -through every gulch in the vicinity for any discolored holes on the -top of the drifts which would be caused by the breath of the sheep if -they were under the snow. For two days the men searched and finally -came to a deep bank of snow on the top of which were found the -discolored holes they sought; they dug down and discovered the bucks. -A few had been smothered, but most of them were taken out alive after -having been buried for ten days! During the storm the herder had left -them and the poor distracted things had drifted over an embankment and -were entombed under the snow.</p> - -<p>When anyone speaks of “good-for-nothing Mexicans†I think of Fidel, a -mere lad, who had taken his sheep South on a clear morning, but was -overtaken by a storm before he could get them back to the corrals. He -and his dog did everything they could do to turn them, but they -drifted farther and farther away. Fidel stayed with them, guiding them -away from the gulches until they reached a railway cut. There Steve -found them twenty-four hours later when we feared that Fidel had -perished with his sheep. Facing death alone in the freezing wind and -blinding, smothering snow, hour after hour he had kept his sheep from -piling up. He not only saved them all, but they were in better -condition than many in the corrals at the camps. Not for a moment had -he left them. His hands and feet were frozen; he barely escaped -freezing to death and on that day we learned the true meaning of -“Fidelity.â€</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>Then once more Fate took a hand in our affairs and a blizzard changed -the whole course of our lives.</p> - -<p>We owned our land and no one could encroach upon us, but after a few -years we began to notice forlorn little shacks built here and there on -the open range by the poor home-seekers who, attracted by the prospect -of free land, had begun “homesteading.†They built flimsy little -houses, scratched up the surface of the prairie for a few inches and -raised pitiful, straggling crops. The settlers were coming in! The -opening wedge of that great onrush had been thrust deep into the heart -of the prairie. In the undisputed possession of our own land we were -not disturbed. While we knew that it meant the occupation of the free -range and the passing of the large ranches, eventually, we scarcely -realized how soon it would come and were not prepared to receive an -offer from an Eastern syndicate to buy the entire ranch—to cut it -into small units to be sold as farms.</p> - -<p>The era of “dry-farming†had just begun, when by scientific methods, -deep ploughing and the conservation of all moisture, dry land might be -successfully cultivated without irrigation. It was a dream of the -future of the prairie region, impossible to visualize, and I laughed -in my ignorance, as Owen read me the letter.</p> - -<p>“How perfectly absurd. Imagine trying to farm out here; the grangers -would starve to death in a year unless they had stock of some sort. -Surely you would never think of selling out?â€</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, Esther, the homesteaders can’t come on to our deeded -land, but they are filing on all the Government land. In a short time -there will be no more free range, and did you ever stop to consider -that our land will soon be so valuable that we can’t afford to run -sheep on it?â€</p> - -<p>In that last sentence I saw the handwriting on the wall. It was only a -question of time and this phase, too, of our life would pass.</p> - -<p>In the East life seems to be static, but in the West it is in a state -of flux and conditions are constantly changing.</p> - -<p>Perhaps I had inherited the static state of mind for I had taken it -for granted that all the rest of our days were to be spent there on -the ranch under the shadow of the mountain. Suddenly a realization of -the facts swept over me. In a sense we had been pioneers, we had -blazed a trail that others were to follow and like the Indians we, -too, were destined to move on. However, before you are thirty to -regard yourself as a hoary-headed pioneer requires a series of mental -gymnastics and, while my brain was going through a few preparatory -exercises, I did not take the question of selling out very seriously. -After all those years of struggle just as it had been brought to -perfection, after we had put into it the best of our life, youth, -energy and work, a part of our very selves, it did not seem possible -that we could part with the ranch. Owen felt much as I did, but he was -the first to realize that we had come again to the parting of the ways -and that a decision must be made.</p> - -<p>Yet—in the end—it wasn’t the financial consideration nor a deep -conviction that the future development of the country would be -retarded if we remained, but an unexpected blizzard which turned the -scale and set us adrift again.</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>The sun rose clear on the 19th of October, but during the morning it -began to grow cloudy.</p> - -<p>Owen and several of the men were at the railroad station where they -were shipping lambs. During the afternoon the wind began to blow, it -grew much colder and snow fell.</p> - -<p>The next morning it was storming very hard and Steve, after arranging -to have hay hauled to the various camps, went out on horseback to see -that all the sheep were kept in the corrals. I was greatly relieved -when Owen got home in the middle of the afternoon. Ten thousand lambs -had been loaded and started on their way in spite of the storm, but -the drive back to the ranch had been very hard, for hour by hour the -storm increased in fury. The ground was covered and even the dull grey -sky was hidden by dense clouds of powdery snow which did not seem to -fall upon the earth but was blown in long horizontal lines across the -prairies by the force of a mighty gale. It filled the gulches and -piled in deep drifts. It was driven against the house with such force -it sifted through the smallest crack. The windows on the North and -West were covered with a solid coating of snow, the wind whistled and -moaned and tore at the shutters as if trying to carry them with it on -a wild race over the plains. It was impossible to see the corrals, -even the garden fence was lost behind the driving, swirling snow. To -open the door was to inhale a freezing gust of snow-laden air, -millions of icy particles blinded the eyes and took away the breath.</p> - -<p>We knew that the sheep were all in the corrals, but we feared that -unless the herders watched them carefully they would pile up as the -snow drifted over the high sides of the inclosure. The rest of the -stock was protected and my heart was filled with thankfulness that -Owen and the men had been able to reach the ranch. They went about the -place like white wraiths doing the necessary things. Above the howling -of the wind not a sound could be heard; a shout was carried miles away -as soon as it left the lips. By five o’clock it was dark.</p> - -<p>About eight o’clock, Mary came in and told Owen that Steve wanted to -see him. When Owen returned, instead of coming into the living-room, -he went to the closet, took down his short, fleece-lined riding coat -and began to put it on.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter, Owen, you are not going out?â€</p> - -<p>“I must,†he said, quietly, winding a long scarf about his neck, -“Steve says that Dorn went out yesterday afternoon with a load of hay -for the camp on Six Shooter; he should have come back last night or -certainly this morning. He’s new and doesn’t know the country and he -may be lost. I’m going to see if I can find him.â€</p> - -<p>My heart stood still; the camp on Six Shooter gulch was fully eight -miles away. Eight miles in that storm! It did not seem possible that a -man could live to go a mile.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Owen, I can’t let you go! Don’t you suppose he is at the camp?â€</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, he may be, but I must go and find out. We can’t take a -chance on a man’s being lost.†In the face of that argument there was -nothing to say and nothing to do but accept it.</p> - -<p>“Who is going with you?â€</p> - -<p>“No oneâ€â€”Owen did not look at me as he answered—“I can’t ask any of -the men to face this storm.â€</p> - -<p>I understood; he couldn’t require any of his men to risk their lives. -A hand of ice closed about my heart and deadened every sensibility. -Like a machine I went about helping Owen get ready and at last went to -the kitchen to bring him some coffee just before he left. A man was -standing by the door muffled in wraps. I stood still.</p> - -<p>“Why, Bill, where have you been?â€</p> - -<p>“I ain’t ‘been’, I’m goin’. I’m goin’ with Mr. Brook. A man ain’t got -no business out a night like this alone.â€</p> - -<p>“Bill!†It was all I could say—but he understood.</p> - -<p>When Owen came out he tried to dissuade him, but Bill was determined.</p> - -<p>“I know I don’t have to go, Mr. Brook, you never asked me, but I’m a -goin’, there ain’t nothin’ can keep me.â€</p> - -<p>I had never seen him so serious, all the old half bantering tone was -gone and they went out together, master and man, each risking his life -for the sake of another.</p> - -<p>I tried to watch them but instantly they were lost to my sight as a -vague grey cloud closed about them.</p> - -<p>How the night passed I do not know. I kept the fires up and the coffee -hot and walked miles, back and forth, back and forth. I did not think -of sleeping. It was useless to try to read. I could not see the -words—the printed page was blank and I could only see the figures of -two men on horseback, beaten, buffeted, fighting for their lives -against the cruel snow-laden gale. I saw them separated, perhaps, -trying to get through the gulches on their floundering horses, or -walking to keep from freezing and then perhaps exhausted—lying down -to rest while that last deadly sensation of sleepiness crept over -them.</p> - -<p>Daylight came at last, but still I walked. I pushed my breakfast away -untasted and tried to occupy myself with the duties of the day. I felt -as though I should scream aloud if that howling wind did not cease, -but hour after hour passed and there was no other sound. The men came -and went about their work quietly, speaking but little and then in -subdued tones as in the presence of death; over us all hung the pall -of terrifying uncertainty.</p> - -<p>When occasionally it was possible to catch a glimpse of the corrals or -the blacksmith shop I knew that the wind must be abating and time -after time I knocked the snow from the windows and stood straining my -eyes into that misty, vague out-of-doors. Ten o’clock, eleven o’clock. -Something moved along the edge of the pond, the vague outlines of some -animal, a slight lull in the wind and I could see that it was a -horseman, another followed—I caught up a cape, flung open the door, -dashed out into the storm through drifts, over every detaining -obstacle until I reached the corral and—Owen.</p> - -<p>They were safe, but so weary and worn they could scarcely speak. Their -faces were swollen, having been whipped and lashed by the icy -particles the wind had driven against them like bits of steel from a -mighty blast furnace, their eyebrows and lashes were solid ice, their -lips cracked and bleeding.</p> - -<p>After a night of horror, at three in the morning, they had found Dorn -at the Six Shooter camp comfortably sleeping with the Mexican herder! -When the storm began he made no attempt to come back to the ranch, not -stopping to think that his non-appearance would cause any anxiety, -besides endangering the lives of two men.</p> - -<p>“I was so hot when I seen Dorn nice and warm all cuddled up there with -that Dago I jest drug him out by the collar and shook him. Anybody -that’ud sleep with a Mexican had orter freeze to death. Gosh! Here was -Mr. Brook and me amblin’ over this whole blamed country, flounderin’ -through snow drifts as high as this house, gettin’ our horses down and -most freezin’ to death, blintin’ a no account thing like that.†Bill -was himself again.</p> - -<p>Their knowledge of the country and presence of mind had saved them, -for once when they found that it had grown warmer and apparently the -wind had ceased, they realized that the horses had turned with the -wind so that it was at their backs, they forced the poor things into -the face of the bitter gale again and went on. They passed the camp -without seeing it and had gone beyond when the wind brought them the -smell of the sheep, they turned back and after searching found the -cabin. It was a narrow escape for they were too exhausted to have gone -farther.</p> - -<p>A few days later we learned that old John, who had been our mail -carrier, had perished in the storm. He had gone out to try to find his -cattle and did not return. His wife and little son were alone and when -they were able to get out and look for him, they found him just -outside the garden fence lying frozen and half eaten by the coyotes.</p> - -<p>I thought much during the following days and finally I came to a -conclusion.</p> - -<p>“Owen, if you want to sell out I’m willing—it will have to come some -day, I realize that, and besides—there is too much at stake. I don’t -believe I can ever live through another blizzard.â€</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>In three months all the stock on the ranch was sold, a caretaker was -placed in charge of the home ranch, which we retained, and we moved to -Denver. But instead of selling out to the syndicate, Owen decided to -put our lands on the market himself and they were listed for sale.</p> - -<p>It was the end of the old life; we had made way for the settlers.</p> - -<h2 id='ch13'>XIII—ECHOES OF THE PAST</h2> - -<p>The curtain of years had fallen and risen again on the same scene, the -valley which stretched off toward the setting sun and the guardian -mountain which stood unchanged at its head. But this was October, the -royal season of purple and gold and red, when the asters and -sunflowers were blooming their lives away in one lavish outpouring of -beauty and the rose bushes were crimson under the kiss of the frost. A -shimmering mass of gold clothed the great cotton-woods along the -winding course of the creek and hills of russet brown replaced those -of vivid green I had first seen sixteen years before.</p> - -<p>Where the young bride had stood on that July day, amid the strange -surroundings, looking with inexperienced eyes upon a new world, she -stood again, seeing it from the angle of a participant, from the -viewpoint of a woman, fused by the furnace of experience into a part -of that life.</p> - -<p>It was the same scene, but the setting had changed and as a flood of -memories swept over me I felt as though I were a reincarnated spirit, -walking the earth in a third phase of existence, having passed through -the first, a light-hearted girl among family and friends in urban -surroundings, having lived through the second, an atom in the midst of -those vast wind-swept plains amongst elemental conditions, a part in -the great primitive struggle for existence and coming back again to -find the prairies transformed by cultivation into farms, with the -crops covering the hills and bottom lands like a huge patch-work quilt -of green, brown and brilliant yellow, fastened together with black -threads of barbed wire.</p> - -<p>Above on the hill stood a church and a school-house, those certain -indications of community life. Across the meadows great red barns and -towering wind mills overshadowed the less pretentious houses. Bridges -spanned the creek with its shifting, treacherous sand and in place of -the dim winding trails across the prairie, neatly fenced county roads -decorously followed the section lines.</p> - -<p>It was the same—yet everything was changed. This well-ordered farming -community seemed prosaic, it lacked the romance and charm of the old -ranch life and the glorious sense of unlimited freedom.</p> - -<p>The bunkhouse was occupied by the family of a hard-working farmer who -had married the daughter of our caretaker, Parker; tractors, ploughs -and harrows filled the space about the blacksmith shop. I resented -those unfamiliar implements and the prosperous farms. On all sides -there was heard a strange language of silos, separators and “crop -rotationâ€. I had become a part of the old life, but here I felt -restricted and out of place—an alien.</p> - -<p>Inside the house all, too, was changed. The books which Joe had -scorned, the crystal clock and our Lares and Penates were in our -Denver home, but on the ranch I missed them and most of all the old -familiar faces. All had gone. Several of the boys had stayed in the -country, married and taken up farming, raising bounteous crops and -numerous children. Some, individual and picturesque to the end, had -crossed the Great Divide, others had sought new positions in Wyoming, -the last of the frontier states. Bill was there cooking in an oil -camp. We received characteristic, though infrequent, letters from him, -usually in the early summer, labored epistles over which he had “sworn -and sweat,†as he expressed it, which began by assuring us that he was -well and hoped that we were the same and ended by an earnest request -to go with us as cook “in case you was thinkin’ of goin’ campin’.†He -went with us when we did go, the same old Bill, unchanged in heart or -humor.</p> - -<p>Old Bohm was dead. The final act of that great tragedy took place in -an isolated mine where he had sunk all his fortune in a golden -prospect. Hoping to regain it, the fortune he held in trust for a -friend had followed, but the game he had played so successfully before -failed when Nemesis took a hand. His friend went to the mine to demand -an accounting and several hours later Bohm’s body, broken and -bleeding, was taken from the depths of the mine. According to the -story of his companion, the only witness, he had slipped and fallen to -the bottom of the shaft—and his death, as his life, remained an -enigma.</p> - -<p>But down through the long years the echoes of the past reverberated. -Again and again we heard them, sometimes very faintly, then with -perfect distinctness and on that day of our return after a long -absence we felt again that mysterious suggestion of tragedy and the -echoes were startlingly clear.</p> - -<p>As I came in from my walk just before supper, a strange man rode up -and Mr. Parker asked him to stop.</p> - -<p>He told us his name and during the progress of the meal took little -part in the conversation, but after he had eaten his supper he leaned -back in his chair and in response to Owen’s question, said:</p> - -<p>“No, I ain’t exactly a stranger round here, but this old kitchen is -about the only thing that ain’t changed. I used to know every inch of -ground in this country when I was punchin’ cows for the Three Circle -outfit. This was the only ranch within twenty-five miles. I’ve et here -lots of times.â€</p> - -<p>“You knew the Bohms then?†I asked, trying as always to find the -answer to the riddle of old Bohm’s personality.</p> - -<p>“Sure, I knew the Bohms,†the stranger replied, his clear blue eyes -meeting mine frankly. “I knowed everybody there was in the country, -there wasn’t many in them days, jest the Bohms, the Mortons, the -Bosmans and the La Montes. They’re most all gone now except Bosman. I -heered old La Monte died last winter—but Lord, he’s been worse ’en -dead for most twenty years. Did you folks know him?â€</p> - -<p>“Scarcely, we only saw him once,†and before me rose the picture of -the desolate old place, the slowly opened door and that living ghost -on the threshold.</p> - -<p>The stranger again spoke.</p> - -<p>“You folks bought from Bohm, so you knowed him, didn’t you?â€</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, we knew him.†Owen answered for my thoughts were far away.</p> - -<p>“Well, sir,†said the old cow-puncher, reaching for a toothpick, “Jim -Bohm was a great one, he was the slickest man in this country. He -didn’t have nothin’ but a little band of horses that he drove up from -Texas when he came, but he kept gettin’ richer all the time.†I came -back to the present with a start, his words were almost the same Mrs. -Morton had used sixteen years before.</p> - -<p>“Wasn’t he honest?†I asked, wondering what the reply would be.</p> - -<p>He did not answer for a moment.</p> - -<p>“Well, I can’t say as to that. I jest knowed him from meetin’ him on -the round-ups and when I stopped here. I never had no dealin’s with -him, but he sure had a reputation for all the meanness there was, and -I guess he deserved it. He was good company though, and Lord, how he -could play the fiddle.†He was interrupted by a sudden clatter. Mrs. -Parker had dropped her spoon and was looking at him as if fascinated. -“I liked Mrs. Bohm, but I never had no use for him. I don’t know about -the other things, but he sure done Jean La Monte dirt.†He rose from -the table and walked toward the door. “Well, I reckon I’d better be -movin’ on, I want to get to Bosman’s tonight.†He looked up the -valley, “I can see Bohm now, ridin’ that big black horse of his, -carryin’ a little cotton-wood switch for a whip, and laughin’ at -everything, he was a queer one, sure enough. Well, so long—thank you -for my supper,†and he went out into the evening.</p> - -<p>“Big black horse! He was always on a big black horse!†That pitiful -refrain of Jean La Monte as he had sought the rider of that horse -through all those weary years. Again I saw the men waiting in the -wagon and that poor half-clad figure stooping to pick up a little -cotton-wood switch, and I wondered if across the great divide La Monte -had caught up with Bohm at last.</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>Owen was busy in the office making out contracts for recently -purchased land. Mr. Parker and an agent were entertaining some -land-buyers, scraps of their conversation “bushels to the acre†and -“back in Kansas†reached me from time to time as I walked up and down -under the stars.</p> - -<p>“Where are you, childy?†Dear Mrs. Parker was always concerned when I -was not in sight. “Out there alone?†she asked as she came across the -yard to join me. We sat down on the bunk-house steps, glorying in the -beauty of the night. We were silent for a few moments and then she -spoke.</p> - -<p>“Do you know, Mrs. Brook, him talkin’ about Mr. Bohm tonight at supper -has made me think of so many things. I never paid much attention to -all them stories old Mrs. Morton and other folks told, but some mighty -queer things have happened since we’ve been here.â€</p> - -<p>“What kind of things?†I asked, wondering if she, too, had breathed -the air of mystery which surrounded the old ranch.</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t know exactly,†she hesitated, “you’ll think I’m silly, -perhaps, but you know sometimes when I’m down there,†she pointed to -the house among the trees, “makin’ out my postal reports, sometimes -it’s eleven or twelve o’clock before I’m through. It’s awful quiet -after everyone’s gone to sleep and I’ve heard all kinds of queer -sounds, maybe they might be rats or the wind, but often and often, -just as plain as I can hear your voice now, I’ve heard the sound of a -violin like somebody was playin’. It give me an awful start when that -man spoke of Bohm’s havin’ played the violin.â€</p> - -<p>“Perhaps somebody is playing,†I ventured, with a well remembered -sensation of ice in the region of my spine. “The houses aren’t far -away now; you could easily hear someone playing if the wind was in the -right direction.â€</p> - -<p>Mrs. Parker shook her head.</p> - -<p>“No, that ain’t it. There ain’t a violin in the country, and, besides, -it’s too near; it’s like it came from hereâ€â€”Mrs. Parker looked up at -the bunkhouse door—“and none of Ethel’s plays.â€</p> - -<p>I said nothing. I remembered too well hearing the strains of the -violin as they used to float out through the silent night while old -Bohm played to himself up there in the bunkhouse, hour after hour. I -was troubled as the echoes of the past grew louder.</p> - -<p>“And then,†Mrs. Parker resumed, “there was that passage. I told you -about that, didn’t I?â€</p> - -<p>“No. Passage! What passage?†I turned to her in the moonlight which -showed a puzzled frown between her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Why, the passage old Dad Patten found. I thought I’d told you about -that, but maybe it was the year that you and Mr. Brook was away.†She -paused a moment. “The third year after Ethel and John came here, John, -he raised such a big crop of potatoes the cellar was plumb full, so he -had Dad tear out some of the old bins under the bunk house to make -some larger ones. Tom Lane was helpin’ him, and, of course, Tom was -drunk. They’d tore out one or two, but when they come to the third, -they found a deep hole behind it about four foot square. They stuck a -spade into it, but it seemed to go back so far Dad he thought he’d -investigate, so he begun to crawl into it to see how far it went. He -was well in when Tom begun to laugh and act like he was goin’ to wall -him up, so Dad backed out, for he said that he was afraid Tom was just -drunk enough to do it. Dad said, though, that he went in the whole -length of his body and stretched his arm out as far as he could, but -didn’t touch nothin’, so he knew it went on further, and he said that -it seemed to lead off in the direction of the old root cellar.â€</p> - -<p>“Root cellar,†I repeated, too perturbed to say anything else.</p> - -<p>“Yes,†said Mrs. Parker, “but, you know, Dad, he’d never heard any of -them stories about the root cellar; Dad’s too deaf to hear anything, -so he didn’t think nothin’ about it except that it was some kind of an -old dugout, and they went on and built the new bins, and about two -months after John had got all his potatoes in Dad happened to say -something about it. I was so beat I like to died, and when I told Dad -what folks said about the old root cellar and Bohm, he turned as white -as a sheet. You couldn’t get him up to the bunk house now if you was -to drag him.â€</p> - -<p>“You don’t believe——†I began, then stopped as Mrs. Parker rose and -put her hand on my shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Childy, I don’t know whether I believe them tales or not. I’ve -scarcely been off this place since you went away ten years ago and -I’ve seen and heard some mighty strange things. There’s lots of things -in life we can’t explain—we just have to accept ’em, and that’s the -way I’ve had to do here. Maybe there’s spirits and maybe there ain’t, -but there’s some facts there’s no gettin’ ’roundâ€â€”Mrs. Morton’s very -words again—“but Dad’s findin’ that passage sure made me believe ’em -more than I ever did before, and I do believe that some terrible -things have been done right here on this dear old place, and that -somewhere old Bohm’s spirit’s mighty restless.â€</p> - -<hr class='tb'/> - -<p>Owen and I sat up before the fire talking until late that night, for -one of the buyers wanted the home place. It was hard to give it up, -for we both loved it, but the old life had passed, and we were not a -part of the new. Owen’s business kept him almost constantly in Denver, -and we were at the ranch so little it seemed useless to cling to it -longer. The most difficult decision had been made ten years before. -This, in a way, was more simple, yet this was final; it meant the -breaking of the last tie which bound us to those broad acres, and we -were both silent a long time after we had agreed that it was best to -let the old place go.</p> - -<p>Suddenly I thought of my conversation with Mrs. Parker, and told Owen -of the finding of the passage under the bunk house. He sat looking -into the fire, and made no comment until I had finished.</p> - -<p>“It is strange, to say the least. I don’t suppose we shall ever know -the real truth about it, but it doesn’t make much difference now; and -if old Bohm’s spirit is wandering about here it will feel a little out -of place in a cornfield.â€</p> - -<p>“It certainly will, but, Owen, don’t you hope ‘it’s mighty restless -somewhere’?â€</p> - -<p>“Indeed I do,†he laughed, and then grew serious again. “It’s been -wonderful from first to last, our life here.†He sighed a little. -“What experiences we’ve had!â€</p> - -<p>“Yes, it has,†I said, getting up and standing by the fireplace, where -Owen joined me. “It hasn’t always been easy, but I wouldn’t take -anything for the things I’ve learned. I’m not the ‘Tenderfoot’ you -brought out sixteen years ago; I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Westerner now. -My whole view of life has changed. It has not only been a wonderful -experience, Owen, but a wonderful privilege—to have lived here.â€</p> - -<p>Without a word we watched the last log break apart. The glowing sparks -lighted the room for a single instant, then died down, and in the -fading light of the coals we turned away.</p> - -<p>That night I lay awake. Vivified by the thought of the final parting -which was to come, our whole life on the ranch passed in review before -me, the problems and the difficulties, the adjustments, the changed -conditions and that disturbing sense of unsolved mystery.</p> - -<p>I got up and stood by the window looking out upon a world of silver. -Myriads of stars shone faintly in the heavens dimmed by the glory of -the moon, the pale outline of the mountain was just visible, and, as -on that first day when my heart was so heavy, I felt the sense of -confusion give way to peace.</p> - -<p>From the vast spaces, under the guardianship of that commanding -summit, we had gained a new sense of proportion, freedom from -hampering trivialities and a broader vision of life and its -responsibilities.</p> - -<p>Standing there in the moonlight facing the mountain, I saw in it more -than a symbol and source of strength; to me it had become indeed the -abiding place of a God.</p> - -<p>Looking back over the years, all the changes revealed only the -evolution of a wondrous plan. We had launched our frail barque in the -midst of the prairie sea at the ebb of the tide of the wild, lawless -days of the West; with the flow we had been carried through the years -of a well-ordered pastoral existence to the era of agricultural -productivity, and on each succeeding wave we had seen civilization -borne higher and higher toward the ultimate goal set by the Great -Spirit.</p> - -<p>Ours had been, indeed, a wonderful experience.</p> - -<p class='center mtb0'>THE END.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Tenderfoot Bride, by Clarice E. 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Richards - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A Tenderfoot Bride - Tales from an Old Ranch - -Author: Clarice E. Richards - -Release Date: April 12, 2013 [EBook #42507] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TENDERFOOT BRIDE *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and Sue Clark - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: PIKE'S PEAK FROM THE OLD RANCH] - - - - - A TENDERFOOT BRIDE - - BY - - CLARICE E. RICHARDS - - GARDEN CITY--NEW YORK - DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY - 1927 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY CLARICE E. RICHARDS. ALL - RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES - AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y. - - - - - To the One - whose Companionship, Inspiration and - Encouragement have made - this book possible - My Husband - - - - -CONTENTS - - I. First Impressions - II. A Surprise Party - III. The Root Cellar - IV. The Great Adventure Progresses - V. The Government Contract - VI. A Variety of Runaways - VII. The Measure of a Man - VIII. The Sheep Business - IX. The Unexpected - X. Around the Christmas Fire - XI. Ted - XII. Blizzards - XIII. Echoes of the Past - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - Pike's Peak from the Old Ranch - Roping and Cutting Out Cattle - Roping a Steer to Inspect Brand - Inspecting a Brand - The "Star" is a Frightened, Snorting "Broncho" - Trailed All the Way from New Mexico - Like a Solitary Fence Post - Bucking Horse and Rider - Facing Death Each Time They Ride a New Horse - - - - -A TENDERFOOT BRIDE - - - - -I - -FIRST IMPRESSIONS - - -When our train left Colorado Springs and headed out into those vast -stretches of the prairie, which spread East like a great green ocean -from the foot of Pike's Peak, all the sensations of Christopher -Columbus setting sail for a new world, and a few peculiarly my own, -mingled in my breast. - -As the train pounded along I stole a look at Owen. He was absorbed in -the contemplation of a map of our new holdings. Under that calm -exterior I suspected hidden attributes of the primitive man. Certainly -there was some reason why Western life was to his liking, having had -the chance to choose. - -It was late in the afternoon when we found ourselves on the platform -of the solitary little wayside station. The train went rushing on -through the July sunshine, as if impatient at the stop. Our fellow -passengers had drawn their heads back from the car windows, after -vainly trying to see what apparently sane people could find to stop -for in a place like that. In truth, there was little--a water tank, a -section house, two cottages and one store. - -A combination station-agent and baggage-man stood on the platform. -Near a hitching rack a tall individual was waving his long arms about -like a windmill as he beckoned us to approach. Owen picked up the -bags; I trudged along behind with various coats and packages, stopping -midway between platform and wagon to disengage a large tumbleweed, -which had rolled merrily to my feet and attached itself to my skirt. - -The tall man took a few steps in our direction, still holding the -reins in his hand. With one eye he gave us a greeting, while he kept -the other on the lunging horses. He was hardly a prepossessing person -at first sight, except for his smile. I felt that his keen black eyes -had sized us up in one quick glance. I became blushingly conscious of -being a new bride, and from "the East." - -"How-de-do? Whoa, now, Brownie. Just get in folks,--the old man had to -go to town, so he sent me to meet you, but he'll be back by the time -we get to the ranch." All this in one breath, while he helped Owen -place the bags in the wagon. - -"Don't mind the horses; they're plumb gentle--just a little excited -now over the train, that's all. Whoa now," with decided emphasis. -"Sorry, Mrs. Brook, hope you didn't hurt yourself"--this last as the -horses suddenly backed and knocked my foot off the step. "Oh, no, not -at all," I replied, hastily scrambling into the wagon and thanking -heaven that I had landed on the seat before they gave an unexpected -lurch forward. Owen got in beside the driver; the horses reared and -started off. I gripped the seat and my hat, and fastened my eyes on -the horses' ears. When we had crossed the railroad and the movement -was more steady, I began to "take notice" of things about me, and the -conversation going on in the front seat reached me in fragments. - -The driver said he was called "Tex." He was a true son of Texas, and -it was not difficult to imagine that particles of his native soil -still clung to him. The deep creases in his neck were so filled with -dirt that he looked like a charcoal sketch. As he turned his face, -lined and seamed, I saw that his chin was covered with at least a -week's growth of greyish-black beard. I estimated his age. He might -have been fifty; very quick in speech and action, yet there was a -subdued power about the man. He managed the horses easily, and I -caught in his drawling speech a casual, half-bantering tone. - -"Wonder if them grips is botherin' the Missus. Ridin' all right?" he -asked, turning with solicitude to see the location of the bags. As it -happened, they were all located on top of my feet. It was Owen who -removed them, for Tex's attention was again engaged with Brownie, who -suddenly landed quite outside the road. A cotton-tail had jumped from -behind a rattleweed. - -"Quit that now, Brownie. You never did have no sense." The drawl was -half-sarcastic. "'Pears like you ain't never seen no rabbits before, -'stead a bein' raised with 'em." Brownie gave a little shake of her -pretty head and crowded her long-suffering mate back into the road -again. I was becoming very much interested. This man was a distinctly -new type to me. I did not know then that he was the old-time -cow-puncher, with an ease of manner a Chesterfield might have envied, -and an unfailing, almost deferential, courtesy toward women. - -Never shall I forget that first drive across the prairie,--not a -house, not a tree in sight, except where the cottonwoods traced the -borders of a waterless creek. Gently rolling hills were all about us, -instead of the flat country I had expected to see; hills which failed -to reveal anything when we reached the top, but yet higher hills to -climb. An unexpected vastness seemed to extend to the very boundaries -of the unknown, as we looked about on all sides, only to see the soft -green circle of the hills, on which the bluest of skies gently rested, -sweep about us. I felt the spell of unlimited space, and smiled as I -thought of the tearful farewell of one of my bridesmaids. She had -"hated" to think of my being "cooped up on a ranch." "Cooped up" here, -when for the first time I realized what unhampered freedom might mean -in a country left as God had made it, with so little trace of man's -interference! - -At last we came to a gate made of three strands of barbed wire, -fastened together in the middle and attached to a stick at each end. -It was a real gate when up, but when opened, it was a floppy invention -of the Evil One, designed to tax the patience of a saint. The strands -of wire got mixed and crossed and grew perceptibly shorter, so that it -required superhuman strength and something of a disposition to get the -end of the stick through the loop of wire, which held it in place -again. - -This gate marked the Southern boundary of the ranch, ten miles from -the railroad station. We reached the top of a hill and looked up a -long valley, where the creek wound its way, fringed by great -cottonwood trees, until its source was lost behind three prominent -buttes, purple in the haze of the late afternoon. Beyond the buttes -stood Pike's Peak, snow-capped and alone, guardian of the valley, the -whole length of which it commanded. Through some peculiarity of -position all the other peaks of the Rockies remained invisible, while -this one mountain rose in majestic isolation from the plain. - -Tex stopped the horses for a moment, and without a word pointed with -the whip toward a clump of cottonwoods in the distance. - -"The ranch?" I asked. - -He nodded. - -In the beautiful valley it stood, the white fences, corrals and -outbuildings gleaming in the sun. Nestled among the trees, planted so -densely that only a suggestion of its white walls showed between them, -was the house--our first home! - -As we drove up to the gate, a short man, with a thick beard, bustled -out to meet us. - -"Well, here you are! Got here all right. Sorry I couldn't meet you. -Come right in. You must be tired settin'." And before we quite -realized that we had arrived, we were ushered into the house through -the back door. - -As a matter of fact, there was no front door. Two outside doors opened -into the kitchen, one on either side, and since the kitchen was in -truth the "living-room," what need of a front door? - -A placid-faced, elderly woman greeted us, and after a few moments -conducted us up a crooked stairway to a room under the eaves. - -Owen left hastily "to look around outside," and I followed as quickly -as possible for I knew that if I looked around inside for any length -of time, I should start back to the railroad station on foot. - -Old Mr. and Mrs. Bohm had lived on the place for over thirty years in -this house, which was the evolution of a dug-out, with many subsequent -periods in prospect before it became a possible home. Mrs. Bohm had -recently been having "fainting spells," which frightened her husband -into a plan to dispose of the ranch and live in town. - -It was a wonderful ranch. Acres on acres of richest grass, a wealth of -hay land and natural water holes,--a paradise for stock. To poor -homesick me, this place had no suggestion of paradise. It looked run -down and disorderly; the fences around the house were adorned with -everything from old battered tin buckets and mowing-machine wheels to -the smallest piece of rusty wire. Mrs. Bohm confided to me that "James -liked it that way because everything was so handy." There was no -questioning that, but as a first impression it was hopeless, and my -heart grew heavier and heavier as I thought of the new house in -Wyoming, where we had expected to be, and the Eastern home I had just -left. - -I walked out of sight of the festooned fence and tried to think. Up -the valley the Peak was deep blue against the golden evening sky, and -in the vast, unbroken silence of the prairies I felt the sense of -chaos and confusion give way to peace. The old house, tumble-down -fences, mowing machine wheels and wire took an inconsequent place in -the scale of things compared to Owen's undertaking. He _must_ succeed. -The undesirable could be removed or made over. We were in a new world, -we had a great domain, we faced undreamed of experiences and -possibilities. My spirits rose with a bound, and I resolved from that -moment to consider our life here in the West, in the midst of new -conditions, a great adventure. At that instant the original Bohm -dug-out would have held no terrors for me. - -Perhaps if I had known just how great the adventure was to be, what -varied and nerve-testing experiences the future did hold, I might have -been daunted; but with a farewell look at the Peak and a new sense of -strength and courage, I went to meet Owen. I realized that he knew the -possibilities of the place and that the conditions would all soon be -changed, and I knew, too, that he was distressed at the realization of -how it must all appear to me. He looked troubled, as he came toward -me. - -"Can you stand it for a little while?" he asked. - -"Of course, I can," I replied, cheerfully, blindly taking the first -step toward the great adventure. - -"It's all right, dear; it's going to be wonderful, living here." - -Mr. and Mrs. Bohm, Tex and six bashful cow-punchers were in the -kitchen waiting for us before they sat down to supper. We were -presented to the men, and in acknowledgment of the introduction -received a fleeting glance from six pairs of diffident eyes and a -quick jerk from six slickly brushed heads. - -Mrs. Bohm took her seat at the foot of the long oil-cloth-covered -table, and old Mr. Bohm sat at the head. Fortunate for me that Owen -and I sat side by side. If once during that meal I had caught his eye, -I should have disgraced myself forever. - -Except old Bohm, no one said anything. Indeed, no one had a chance, -for he talked all the time, telling stories, cracking jokes at which -he laughed immoderately, interspersing his conversation with waves of -his fork, with which from time to time he reflectively combed his -beard. I could not take my eyes off him; there was a weird fascination -in following the movements of that fork. It was prescience which led -me to do so, for old Bohm suddenly ceased using it as a toilet article -and jabbed it into a piece of meat, which he held out toward me. - -"Here, Mrs. Brook, have some more beef. I've been talkin' along here -and clean forgot you folks must be hungry." I assured him I couldn't -eat another bite. It was the most truthful statement of my life. - -That night I lay awake for hours, thinking over the day's experiences, -and incidentally trying to find a spot on the mattress where a lump -did not threaten to press a rib out of place. At last I fell asleep, -to be suddenly awakened by the slam of a gate under our window, -followed by an exclamation which floated up out of the grey dawn: "By -hell, but this is a fine day." Then came the squeak of the pump -handle, as old Bohm performed his morning ablutions, more slams of the -gate, and more salutations of the same order in varying phraseology, -but always beginning with "By hell." - -Shades of my ministerial ancestors! Was this the language of the new -country in which we had come to live? Surely the great adventure -promised startling sensations at the outset, to say nothing of a -certain sliding scale of standards. - -Owen stirred and asked sleepily what on earth I was doing up at that -hour of the day. - -"Changing my viewpoint," I replied, looking out toward old Bohm's -shadowy figure on its way toward the corral. "That has to be done -early." - - - - -II - -A SURPRISE PARTY - - -We were living in the land of the unexpected. Six weeks on the ranch -demonstrated that. The possibilities for surprise were inexhaustible, -and the probabilities innumerable and certain, if Owen happened to be -away. - -On one of these occasions the cook eloped with the best rider on the -place, more thrilling and upsetting to my peace of mind than the -cloud-burst and flood that followed soon after. Twenty-two husky and -hungry men wanted three square meals a day, and one inexperienced -bride stood between them and starvation. The situation was mutually -serious. - -In my need came help. Tex, our coachman on that first drive, saved the -day. Shortly after the elopement he came in for supplies for the -cow-camp. I was almost hidden by pans of potatoes, and was paring away -endlessly. He was very quiet when I explained, but after supper he -gathered up the dishes to wash them for me, looking very serious. When -he had finished, he suddenly turned to me: - -"Say, Mrs. Brook, I've just been studyin'. Jack Brent kin cook for the -boys out at camp all right, and if you kin stand it, I kin come in and -cook for you. It sure got my goat to see you rastlin' with them -potatoes and wearin' yourself out cookin' for these here men." - -Good old Tex! That was little short of saintly. Camp cooking where he -was autocrat was far more to his taste. He hated "messin' 'round where -there was women," as he expressed it. Here was sacrifice indeed! Tex -scrubbed his hands until they fairly bled, enveloped himself in a -large checked gingham apron, and proceeded to act as chef until the -eloper had been replaced. - -Something deepened in me. I was seeing a new thing. - -Owen had been gone nearly a week. One morning I happened to be in the -kitchen when Mrs. Bohm entered. Casually she asked Tex whether Ed -More's wife had left him before he went to jail, or after he got out. -Half in joke, I said: - -"Mercy, Mrs. Bohm, is there a man in this country, with the exception -of Tex, who hasn't been in jail or on the way there?" - -I was interrupted by the slamming of a door, and Tex had vanished. -Mrs. Bohm looked embarrassed as she replied: - -"I just hate to tell you, Mrs. Brook, and Tex would feel terrible to -have you know; but you say such queer things sometimes, I'd better -tell you now that Tex"--she paused a moment--"he's only been out of -the 'pen' himself a year." - -"Tex in the penitentiary? What on earth for?" I was almost dazed. - -[Illustration: ROPING AND CUTTING OUT CATTLE] - -"Well, I'll tell you." Mrs. Bohm began the story with apparent -reluctance, but her manner soon betrayed a certain zest. "You see, -about four years ago Tex was workin' for a man up on Crow Creek and -took some cattle on to Omaha to sell for him. When he came back he -never brought a cent of money, and told how he had been held up and -robbed. Everybody believed it at first, then all to onct his -family--they live over West--began to dress to kill, and Tex bought -brass beds for every room in the house; then folks began to suspicion -where he got the money, and he was sent to the Pen for two years." - -Poor old Tex! Who would ever have supposed a secret longing for brass -beds would prove his undoing? I might have guessed horses or cards, -but never brass beds. I almost felt the breath of tragedy. She seemed -sweeping by. - -Mrs. Bohm went on: "Tex's mighty good to his family, though, and it -most killed him when his wife went off with a Mexican sheep-herder -while he was doin' time. She's back home now with the girls, but her -and Tex's separated. Ain't it a fright the way women acts?" - -"It certainly is," I agreed, trying to reconcile my previous idea of -convicts with having one for a cook. It was dreadfully confusing and -disturbing. In spite of what I had just heard, I knew I trusted Tex. -He would never steal from us, I felt sure. And my instinct told me he -would be a true and loyal friend. There was no apparent excuse for -what he had done, but he had paid for his moment of weakness more -fully perhaps than anyone realized. I pondered over it. - -Presently he came in, with a curious, troubled expression on his face. -I gave him the orders, as usual, with no sign of having heard of the -cloud under which he had lived for three miserable years. Our -relations were re-established. I could see his relief. - -We were still taking our meals in the kitchen, although the house was -gradually being remodeled. It was Saturday evening, and we were -expecting Owen home. There was an air of suppressed excitement among -the men. One, and then another, bolted from the table and out of the -door, returning in a shame-faced manner to explain that he "thought he -heered somethin'." Certainly Owen's coming would never produce such a -sensation, unless he was expected to arrive in an airship. I was more -than ever mystified. - -After the meal was over, there was such a general shaving--also in the -kitchen--and such donning of red neckties, that I could not restrain -my curiosity. I called Tex aside and asked him where they were going. -He looked a little sheepish, as he replied: - -"Why, we ain't goin' nowhere." Then in a burst of confidence, "I don't -know as I'd orter tell you, but the fact is, you folks is goin' to be -surprised; all the folks 'round is goin' to have a party here, and -we're expectin' 'em." - -I gasped. A sudden suspicion flashed through my mind. - -"Tex, did you plan this? What on earth shall I do?" - -Tex saw I was really troubled. "Why, Mrs. Brook," he said, "you don't -have to do nothin'. Just turn the house over to 'em, and along about -midnight I'll make some coffee--they'll bring baskets." - -I was relieved to know that they only wanted the house, and would -provide their own refreshments, for it was appalling to be an -impromptu hostess to an entire community and to speculate upon the -possibility of one small cold roast and chocolate cake satisfying a -crowd of young people, after drives of thirty miles or more across the -prairie. - -"Me and the boys"--Tex spoke somewhat apologetically, as he started -toward the door--"we kind a thought maybe you and Mr. Brook would like -to get acquainted, seem's how you're goin' to live here; but I guess -we oughten to have did what we done." - -I felt ashamed of my momentary perturbation, as the force of that last -sentence of Tex's reached me. These men of the plains were as simple -and sensitive as children about many things. They would really grieve -if they felt this affair, planned solely on our account, gave us no -pleasure. I hastened to reassure him. - -"It was mighty nice of you men to think of it," I said, cheerfully. -"We do want to know the people in the country, and we are going to -enjoy every moment. I was 'surprised' before the party began, that's -all." - -Tex went out satisfied, grinning broadly. - -To my good fortune, Owen arrived before the guests came. I told him -what was about to befall us. His expression was dubious. All he said -was "Thunder." - -Owen and one of the men had been driving about the country all the -week, buying horses suitable to turn in on a Government cavalry -contract. The night before they had spent on the floor of a cold -railroad station, wrapped up in their blankets, with a lighted lantern -under the covering at their feet. Their sleep was somewhat broken, -with either cremation or freezing pending that cold September night. -Poor Owen! He was completely worn out. And now he had to go through a -surprise party. - -At eight o'clock, Tex, self-appointed master of ceremonies, ushered in -the first arrivals. They were a tall, lean chap and two very much -be-curled young misses. I made trials without number at conversation, -but they could only be induced to say "Yes" and "No." - -From eight until ten they came,--ranchmen, cow-punchers, -ex-cow-punchers running their own outfits, infant cow-punchers, girls -and women, until kitchen and sitting room were filled to overflowing, -and every chair and bench on the place in use. Among the last to -arrive was a tall, languid Texan, accompanied by two languid, -drab-colored women. They were presented to us as "Robert, Missus Reed -and Maggie." "Maggie," I immediately concluded, was a sister, but not -being quite certain, I sought enlightenment from Mrs. Bohm. - -"She ain't Reed's sister," she informed me in a low tone, "she's his -girl." - -"Oh, works for them, you mean?" I said, somewhat puzzled by the Reed -connections. - -"Works nothin'," Mrs. Bohm replied, scornfully. "She's got the next -place to 'em and goes with 'em everywhere. Ella don't seem to mind. -I'd just call her Maggie' if I was you," and Mrs. Bohm departed to -join a group of women near the door. - -I looked over at the two with a new interest. They were chatting and -laughing together, the "girl" and the wife seemingly on the best of -terms, with no sign of rivalry for the tall Texan's affections. Here -was a situation fraught with latent possibilities that made me -tremble, yet--"Ella don't seem to mind." - -The kitchen had been converted into a ballroom by moving the table up -against the wall and placing three chairs upon it. Unfortunately the -sink and stove were fixtures, but everything else, including the bread -jar, found a temporary resting place in the yard. - -Old Bohm, with his fiddle under his arm, gingerly ascended the table -first. Then another man followed with a similar instrument; and last -came a youth with a mouth harp. No fatality having resulted from the -musicians taking their seats, the dancing began. - -The music, if such a combination of sounds can be dignified by that -name, was such as to defy description. Never in the wildest flights of -fancy could I have conceived of such execution and such sounds. The -two men sawed their violins, and the third was purple in the face from -his efforts on the mouth-harp; all were stamping time with their feet, -and he of the harp was slapping his knee with his unoccupied hand. - -Before every dance a council was held, after which each musician would -play the tune decided upon, as best suited to his taste. Old Bohm -tried to get to the end in the shortest time possible, while the -second fiddler, taking things more seriously, finished four or five -bars behind his companion. The harpist, not playing "second" to -anything or anybody, had his own opinion as to how "A Hot Time in the -Old Town" should go. With these independent views, the result was a -series of the most discordant sounds that ever fell on mortal ears. -However, music mattered little, for all had come to have a good time, -and the "caller-out," with both eyes shut tight and arms folded across -his breast, was making himself heard above all other sounds. - -"Birdie in the center and all hands around!" he commanded. Then -fiddles and mouth harp began a wild jig, couples raced 'round and -'round, while "Birdie," a blond and blushing maiden, stood patiently -in the midst of the whirling circle, until the next order came: - - "Birdie hop out and Crow hop in! - Take holt of paddies and run around agin." - -"Crow" was a broad, heavy-set cow-puncher, wearing chaps, and in the -endeavor to "run around agin," I found my progress somewhat impeded by -his spurs, which caught in my skirt and very nearly upset me. - -All the riders wore their heavy boots and spurs, and it required real -agility to avoid being stepped on or having one's skirt torn to -ribbons. I was devoutly thankful that chiffon and tulle ball gowns -were not worn on ranches. - -There was more to avoid than spurs. We had to dance about the kitchen -and avoid the stove, the sink and the tabled musicians, to say nothing -of the nails in the floor. But after a few hours' practice, I began to -feel qualified to waltz on top of the House of the Seven Gables, and -avoid at least six of them. - -Finally, the caller-out shouted loudly: - - "Allemande, Joe! Right hand to pardner and around you go. - Balance to corners, don't be slack; - Turn right around and take a back track. - When you git home, don't be afraid, - Swing her agin and all promenade." - -My partner obeyed every command with such vigor that when at last he -led me to my seat I was panting and dizzy; nor had I quite recovered -my breath when the music struck up again, and Tex led me forth. - -The exertion of the first quadrille had been too much for his comfort, -so he had dispensed with both collar and coat. His trousers and vest -bore evidence of having seen many a round-up, and his shirt, which had -once been white, was now multi-colored. In the wonderful red ascot tie -which encircled his neck were stuck four scarf-pins, one above the -other. There being nothing to hold the loop of the tie in place, it -gradually worked up the back of his head, until its progress was -stopped by the edge of a small skull-cap, which Tex wore as the -crowning feature of his costume. The cap, tilted slightly to one side, -gave him a rakish appearance, quite in contrast with his air of -importance and responsibility. - -I danced--my head fairly spins when I think _how_ I danced--for, since -the party was given in our honor, dance I must with every man who -asked me. - -Owen, not being a dancing man, made himself agreeable to the -wall-flowers and the children, stealing upstairs about once an hour -for a few moments' nap on the bedroom floor. The beds themselves were -occupied by sleeping infants, whose mothers were going through the -intricate mazes of those dances below. - -At one o'clock Tex began to make the coffee, whereupon the musicians -descended from the table, and the expectant party sat down. But where -were their baskets? My heart sank, as Tex approached holding a very -small one. He informed me in a stage whisper it was all there was! - -The basket contained a cake and one wee chick, evidently fried soon -after leaving the shell. It was the smallest chicken I ever saw. I -hastily produced our cake and roast, and then took one despairing look -around at the forty individuals to be fed. I shall never be able to -explain it, unless Tex had an Aladdin's lamp concealed in his pocket, -for cake, roast and chicken appeared to be inexhaustible, and the -supply more than equaled the demand. - -I was aroused from my contemplation of the miracle by a feminine -voice, the speaker saying half to herself and half to me: - -"It took me most two hours to iron Nell's dress this mornin', but I -sure got a pretty 'do' on it." Following her beaming glance, I found -that it rested on a mass of ruffles, which adorned the dress of -"Birdie" of that first quadrille. Just then the music began again, and -I saw Ed Lay ask her to dance. I trusted, after all that work, the -'do' wouldn't be undone by his spurs; still the effort had not been -wasted, for this was the fifth time he had danced with her. - -No doting mother could have taken more pride in the debut of an only -child, than this work-worn sister whose eyes sparkled as they followed -"Birdie's" whirling figure held firmly by the encircling arm of the -cow-puncher, and she murmured softly with a half sigh, "Ain't it -grand?" To me it was "grand" indeed, that even an embryo romance could -bring a new light to those tired eyes. - -It was six o'clock Sunday morning when one most thoughtful person -suggested that "they'd orter be goin'"; and by seven the last guest -had departed. Then Owen and I, weary and heavy-eyed, donned our wraps, -climbed into the wagon, and started on a sixteen-mile drive to the -railroad to meet his brother, who was coming from California to see -"how we were making it." - -I was almost too tired to speak, but one thought was struggling for -expression, and as we started up the first long hill, I had to say: - -"Anyone who ever spoke of the 'peace and quiet of ranch life' lived in -New York and dreamed about it. In twenty-four hours I have discovered -that we have an ex-convict for a trusted cook, and have received as -guests a man with his wife and resident affinity. We have had a -surprise party and I have danced with all the blemished characters the -country boasts of, until six o'clock in the morning of the Sabbath -day, with never a qualm of conscience. What do you suppose has become -of my moral standards?" - -Owen was amused. He asked me, quizzically, what I thought they would -be by the end of a year. - -"Mercy!" I replied, "at the rate they are being overthrown, there -won't be enough left to consider, unless"--I thought a moment--"unless -I can reconstruct a more enduring set from parts of the old." - - - - -III - -THE ROOT CELLAR - - -"East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." The -phrase kept haunting me all through these first days when everything -was so new and strange. I almost felt as though I had passed into a -new phase of existence. - -Except for Owen, there was no point of contact between the world of -cities and people I had just left and this land of cattle and -cow-punchers, bounded by the sky-rimmed hills. In Owen, however, the -East and the West did meet. He understood and belonged to both and -adapted himself as easily to the one as to the other. Wearing his -derby, he belonged to the life of the East; in his broad-brimmed -Stetson, he was a living part of the West. - -The compelling reality of this new life affected me deeply. -Non-essentials counted for nothing. There were no artificial problems -or values. - -No one in the country cared who you might have been or who you were. -The _Mayflower_ and Plymouth Rock meant nothing here. It would be -thought you were speaking of some garden flowers or some breed of -chickens. - -The one thing of vital importance was what you were--how you adjusted -yourself to meet conditions as you found them, and how nearly you -reached, or how far you fell below their measure of man or woman. - -I felt as though up to this time I had been in life's kindergarten, -but that I had now entered into its school, and I realized that only -as I passed the given tests should I succeed. - -I learned much from the rough, untutored men with whom I was in daily -association. They were men whose rules of conduct were governed by -individual choice, unhampered by conventions. They were so direct and -honest, so unfailingly kind and gentle toward any weaker thing, and so -simple and responsive, that I liked and trusted them from the first. -All but old Bohm, the man from whom we were buying. He was such a -totally different type that he seemed a man apart. The son of a German -father and an Irish mother, he had inherited a nature too complex and -contradictory to be easily fathomed. - -Mrs. Bohm, with her white, calm face and gentle voice, attracted me, -but her husband aroused in both Owen and me an instinctive distrust. -He was good nature personified, a most companionable person, with his -easy, contagious laugh, his amusing stories, quick wit, and breezy air -of good fellowship. He could quote Burns, Scott, and other poets by -the hour, and fiddle away on his violin, until we were nearly moved to -tears. He was almost too good-natured; he didn't quite ring true. I -noticed that while he always referred or spoke to his wife -affectionately, as "my old mammy," her attitude toward him was rather -impersonal. She called him "James" with quiet dignity, but seldom -talked with him, and appeared to take very little interest. - -On the side of a hill, some distance from the house, was an old root -cellar, used, according to Bohm, for storing potatoes, turnips, and -other vegetables for winter. It was most inconveniently located; there -were hillsides much nearer, and considering that the cellar under the -house was always used for such purposes, it seemed strange that -another should be needed so far away. I was possessed with a desire to -explore it. It suggested hidden treasures and Indian relics, which I -was collecting. One day I was poised on the top of the cellar step, -about to descend into its mysterious depths. - -Old Bohm appeared. "Was you lookin' for something'?" he asked, -somewhat out of breath. - -"Oh, no," I replied, going down a few steps. "I was just exploring, -and thought I would investigate this old root cellar." - -"I thought that was what you was goin' to do, and I hurried up to tell -you to be awful careful of rattlesnakes; there's a pile of 'em 'round -these here old cellars." Bohm spoke with apparent solicitude. - -"Heavens! I wouldn't go down there for anything!" I exclaimed,--and I -got out of the cellarway as quickly as possible. - -Old Bohm looked down the steps at the strong, closed door of heavy -boards. - -"Oh, maybe it would be all right. You could listen for 'em and jump, -if you heard 'em rattle," he remarked, casually. - -I shook my head. "Not much; I don't want to hear them rattle," and I -started toward the house. - -Bohm went up toward the wind-mill. As I turned away I caught a curious -expression on his face--a faint gleam of something. - -As I came through the meadow gate, Owen was getting into the buggy. - -"Hello," he called, "I've been looking for you everywhere. I have to -drive over to Three Bar. Do you want to go?" - -I was always ready to go anywhere, so while Owen was driving the -horses about, I ran in to get my hat. - -Not one of our horses was thoroughly broken, so we always had to -follow the same method of procedure before starting anywhere. After -the horses were hitched up, Charley, to whom fell odd jobs of every -sort, stood at their heads until Owen was fairly seated and had the -lines firmly in his hands. Then, after a few ineffectual attempts to -kick or run down Charley before he could get out of the way, off -dashed the horses around and around the open space between the house -and the pond, until a little of the edge had been taken off their -spirits. Then Owen stopped them for one moment, I made a quick jump -into the buggy, and away we went at top speed toward the gate that -Charley had run to open. We usually missed the post by a quarter of an -inch, and at that juncture I invariably shut my eyes and held my -breath. - -The road to Three Bar Ranch led to the North and wound up a very long -hill, then across a rolling mesa. The prairie was covered with short -grama grass, just turning a faint brown, the yellow sunflowers and -great clumps of rattleweed, with its spikes of lovely purple, giving a -touch of color to the scene before us. The Spanish bayonet dotted the -hillsides, and over all hung the summer sky like burnished copper. The -only sound, aside from that of the horses' hoofs and the crunch of the -wheels on the soft prairie road, was the occasional song of the meadow -lark, all the joy of the summer day sounding in its one short -thrilling note. In the gulches, where the grass grew deep and rank, -the wind tossed it softly, and it rippled and sparkled in the shifting -light, as water gleams in the sun. Everything was so still that -animation seemed for the time suspended, as we drove along silenced by -the spell of the prairies. - -Three Bar, one of the oldest ranches in the country, stood against the -side of a hill. It was a long, low structure of logs built in the -prevailing fashion of the early ranch houses, room after room opening -into one another, usually with an outside door to each. - -The ranch was owned by the Mortons, English people, who were among the -earliest settlers in the country. They greeted us most cordially, and -as Owen went out to the corral with Mr. Morton to look at some horses, -Mrs. Morton took me into the house. - -The room we entered had very little furniture, but was redeemed from -bareness by a wonderful old stone fireplace at one end. - -Mrs. Morton was short and heavy set. "Spotless" was the only word her -appearance suggested when I first saw her. Her skin was as fair as a -child's, while her hair was as white as the apron she wore. - -Her flow of conversation was unceasing, and I was reminded of a remark -that Charley made to me when the telephone was first put in over the -fence lines. - -"Old lady Morton talked so fast that she ripped all the barbs off the -wire." Before I had time to reply to one question, she had asked -another, and was off on an entirely different subject. I suppose the -accumulated conversation of months was vented on my innocent head, for -she told me, poor thing, that she hadn't seen another woman since -Christmas. - -"Us"--she never said we--"us never visits the neighbors, but was -coming up to see you, Mrs. Brook, for us heard you and Mr. Brook was -different. Us lives out here on a ranch, but us knows when people are -the right kind." - -I didn't know whether to be considered "different" was desirable, or -not, and I was dying to ask her what constituted "the right kind," but -had no time before she suddenly asked: - -"Have the Bohms gone? Us was waiting till they went." - -I explained that they were still on the ranch, as Mr. Bohm had to -gather and counterbrand all the stock before turning it over to Owen, -and that he had been delayed. - -Mrs. Morton gave a little grunt of contempt. "Old Bohm won't hurry any -while he's getting free board. He may be with you all winter. Us hopes -Mr. Brook won't be imposed on. He's a smart man, old Jim Bohm is, but -he's a bad one." - -"Bad one?" I repeated, inwardly praying that the Bohms would not be -permanent guests. - -"Old Jim Bohm is a bad man," Mrs. Morton said again, rocking violently -back and forth. "I was here when they came. She's all right, but there -is nothing he won't do. Why"--her voice sank to a whisper--"sixteen -men have been traced as far as that ranch and never been heard of -again, and Jim Bohm's been getting richer all along." - -Mrs. Morton scarcely paused for breath, so I couldn't have said -anything. But I was speechless, anyhow. - -"Not one of them, not one," she declared, "was ever heard of again, -and if you were to examine that old root cellar on the hill, you'd -find out what I say is true." - -The incident of the morning flashed across my mind, and I felt as -though a piece of ice were being drawn slowly along my spine. - -"How perfectly horrible!" I managed to gasp, "but it can't be true." - -[Illustration: ROPING A STEER TO INSPECT BRAND] - -"It's true, all right." There was no doubting Mrs. Morton's -conviction. "There's facts there's no getting 'round. Jim Bohm and old -Happy Dick, that used to work for him, came up here over the trail -from Texas with a band of horses that Bohm and another man owned. The -other fellow was with them when they started, but Bohm said he died on -the way, and that's all anyone knows about it, except that old Bohm -kept all the horses." - -"Then a few years later, a young fellow that was consumptive, came out -to work for them. I know he had quite a bit of money, because he -stopped here once to ask John what to do with it. He hadn't been there -very long before he dropped dead, according to Jim Bohm's story. His -folks back East tried to get the money, but Bohm said the fellow owed -it to him, and they couldn't do a thing about it." - -I sat as if petrified, unable to take my eyes from Mrs. Morton's face, -as she went on and on. - -"He was in with all the rustlers in the country," she continued, "and -once when a posse was hunting a man who had stole a lot of horses, -Bohm tried his best to keep them from searching the place, but the -Sheriff told him they would arrest him if he made any more fuss about -it, so he had to keep still. When they came to the haymow, they stuck -a pitchfork right into a man hidden in the hay, and old Bohm swore he -didn't know a thing about his being there. The next us heard, old Bill -Law had dropped dead in the corral. I tell you"--Mrs. Morton leaned -forward and shook her finger in my face--"it's mighty funny, the way -men keeps dropping dead over there; they don't do it anywhere else. -Happy Dick was the last. About a year ago he told Morton he'd stole -two men rich, and now he was going to steal himself rich. But two days -after he was found dead in the willows, and Bohm said that when he -came upon the body, Happy Dick had been dead for hours." - -Mrs. Morton showed signs of running down for a moment, so I hastened -to ask why it was that, though suspicion always pointed toward him, -old Bohm had never been arrested. - -"Jim Bohm's too smooth," Mrs. Morton answered. "If you found him with -a smoking gun in his hand and a man dead on the ground beside him, -he'd lie out of it somehow; probably would swear that as he came up, -he saw the man shoot himself. Oh! he's a slick one. Us always said us -pitied anyone who had business dealings with him, but," she stopped as -she saw Owen and Mr. Morton coming up the walk, "Mr. Brook looks like -a man that can take care of himself. I'd watch out for Bohm, though. -Watch out for him!" - -"Thank you, Mrs. Morton," I said, as Owen came to the door. "I am glad -you told me. Please come to see us," and with conflicting emotions I -prepared to leave Three Bar Ranch. - -I scarcely knew what to think. I was worried, and yet---- - -When I told Owen I expected him to pooh-pooh the story and relieve my -mind, but he did nothing of the sort. With a queer little wrinkle -between his eyes, he listened attentively. - -"Owen, you don't think there is any truth in it, do you?" I asked, -much troubled by his silence. He flicked a fly off Dan's back before -replying: - -"I don't know what to think. The old chap's a rascal, there's no doubt -about that; but I didn't suppose he was a cold-blooded murderer." - -Again I felt the ice go up and down my spine. "Great heavens, Owen, -can't you have someone go through the root cellar, to see if there is -anything out of the way there? And, above all, get the stock gathered -and ship Bohm--I despise him, anyhow!" - -"Don't let it worry you," said Owen; "probably it's all mere talk. -Bohm won't bother us; and in a few weeks the stock will all be turned -over and he'll have no excuse for staying." - -"A few weeks is a long time," I said, gloomily, feeling as if my hold -on life were gradually slipping. "According to Mrs. Morton, everybody -on the place might drop dead in less time than that." - -Owen laughed, but the next moment a shadow crossed his face, and he -said decisively: - -"I'm going to look into that root-cellar business. I want to have the -place thoroughly cleaned out, anyhow." - - * * * * * - -The boys were going in to supper when we drove up. Charley came to -take the horses, and Owen greeted him: - -"Well, how's everything?" - -"Oh, all right," answered Charley indifferently, as he started to -loosen the tugs. "Nothin's happened since you folks went away, only -the old root cellar's caved in." - -Speech was impossible. Owen and I stood as if petrified, looking at -each other. We turned to go up to the house. I felt as though some -wretched fate were making game of us. As we entered the door, Owen -spoke: - -"Esther"--he was very serious--"don't say a word or betray any -interest whatever in this matter. After supper is over, I'll go up to -investigate." - -Talk about the skeleton at a feast! There were sixteen horrid, -grinning things around the table that night, besides a few that Mrs. -Morton had overlooked. - -Mrs. Bohm was whiter than usual and very quiet. Old Bohm was in high -spirits. We were scarcely seated before he declared it "a damn shame" -that the old root cellar had to cave in. - -We showed a little surprise, but affected unconcern. Playing the role -assigned to me, I remarked indifferently that we never used it, -anyhow, and with this Bohm cheerfully agreed. - -Later, when Owen went up to examine the cellar, I noticed, from my -point of observation at the window, that old Bohm was close by his -side. - -Soon after Owen came in looking very grave. - -"Well, it caved in, all right, and it never can be cleaned out. But -there's one thing I am convinced of"--and he looked toward the hill -with a frown--"it didn't cave in of itself." - - - - -IV - -THE GREAT ADVENTURE PROGRESSES - -John, the mail carrier, was our only connecting link with the great -outside world. Three times a week he brought the mail. From the first -sight of a tiny speck on the top of the distant hill, our hearts -thrilled. I watched it grow larger and larger, until the two-wheeled -cart stopped at the garden gate. With hands trembling with impatience, -I unlocked the old, worn bag, which John threw on the floor. - -I was the honorable Postmistress. My desk was covered with Postal -Laws, which I almost learned by heart. I had the New England respect -for the Federal prison, the place of correction for delinquent Postal -employees. - -One rule was absolute. The key of the mail bag had to be securely -attached to the Post Office. My Post Office was a wooden cracker box, -which held the mail for the few outside patrons. - -The inspector of Post Offices arrived unannounced one day. He -frowningly looked over my accounts, while I stood by in perturbation. -Suddenly he caught sight of the key at the end of a long brass chain -"securely attached to the Post Office." He got up to investigate. The -frown disappeared by magic, and a smile played around his stern mouth. -He burst into laughter. I explained I was very careful to comply with -all the regulations. He gave me a humorous glance--and stayed to -dinner. - -The papers on Monday evening brought us exciting news. A train on the -U. P. had been held up at a lonely station, thirty miles from our -ranch. All the Pullman passengers had been robbed and one man shot and -killed. The hold-ups had escaped and were at large in the "country -adjoining." - -"If they are in the country adjoining, they'll come here eventually," -I remarked to Owen. "This ranch is a perfect magnet for all the -questionable characters in the vicinity." - -Owen thanked me for the compliment and went out to the bunk house to -interview Robert Reed, now in charge of the hay gang. - -This Reed was an interesting fellow,--a natural leader of men, and so -efficient that Owen had made him hay foreman. - -When we had driven over to his claim to see him about working for us, -Mrs. Reed came out to the buggy, wiping her hands on her apron. - -"No, Bob ain't home this morning," she responded to Owen's inquiry for -her husband. "I reckon you'll find him over ploughin' for Maggie." A -statement made in the most matter-of-fact manner. - -We drove over to another claim shack a mile or so from the Reeds', -where Bob was indeed ploughing for Maggie. To him, too, it was quite a -matter of course. - -The affinity problem in this country really appeared simple. Mrs. Reed -evidently accepted Maggie as a natural factor in the situation, and -her marital relations were not disturbed in the least, as long as Bob -finished his own ploughing first. That woman was truly oriental in her -cast of mind. - -Maggie Lane's mother and brother lived near at hand, also. One -brother, Tom, was Reed's constant companion. Altogether it was a -perfectly harmonious arrangement. - -The Lane family records were not quite clear. Acquaintance revealed -that. They all seemed to have a penchant for leaving the straight and -narrow path for the broad highway of individual choice. Obviously -Maggie's position did not affect her family, nor her social standing -in the community. - -Whenever I drove about the country without Owen, I took Charley with -me on horseback. Gates were hard to open, and my team of horses was -not thoroughly broken. Besides, there were always the possibilities of -the unexpected on these lonely prairies. I called Charley my Knight of -the Garter. When he knew in advance he was going with me, he went up -to the bunkhouse "to slick up." If it chanced to be summer, he emerged -without a coat, his blue shirt sleeves held up by a pair of beribboned -pink garters, a pair of heavy stamped leather cuffs on his wrists, and -a heavy stamped leather collar holding his neck like a vise. - -I suggested one morning that the collar might be uncomfortably warm. -He met my objection with scorn. - -"Hot, Mrs. Brook? Why, that ain't hot. You see, the leather kinda -ab-sorbs the sweat and makes it nice and cool." - -One day we were out to take the washing to Mrs. Reed. I had asked Bob -to take it Saturday night, when he and Tom Lane had "gone over home" -to finish that ploughing. I supposed he had done so, but when he came -back on Monday, he said he had "plumb forgot it, but would take it -next time." - -We had to pass through Maggie's claim on the way. She was standing at -her door, as we stopped to open the gate. There was no freshly -ploughed ground in sight, and I idly asked if she had finished her -ploughing. - -"No," she replied, "I kinda looked for Bob over Sunday to finish it, -but I reckon he couldn't get off. I wish you'd tell him to stop here -the next time he goes home." - -We drove on, and I wondered what Maggie "reckoned" he couldn't get -away from,--the ranch or his wife. - -I gave Mrs. Reed the clothes and I told her Bob had forgotten to bring -them over with him Saturday. She looked at me curiously. - -"Didn't Bob work Sunday?" - -"No," I replied, "none of the men worked Sunday. Tom and Bob both said -they were going home." - -Mrs. Reed frowned. - -"Oh, I suppose Maggie had somethin' she wanted him to do." - -Charley started to answer, but my look stopped him. - -"I'll have your clothes ready Saturday." Mrs. Reed slammed the gate -and turned toward the house. - -"Gee," said Charley, riding up close beside the buggy, "them two -women'll be fightin' over Bob yet, if he ain't careful. Why, that's -funny"--he looked at me questioningly,--"Bob wasn't to Maggie's, -either, was he?" - -"No," I answered, "I was just wondering about that myself. Perhaps he -went to town, instead." A coyote ran out of a gulch. Charley with a -whoop started in pursuit, and the entire incident passed from my mind. - -We were going in to supper, when three men drove up to the door. -Whenever strangers appeared, I always had a moment of uncertainty as -to whether they were to be sent to the bunkhouse with the men, or -invited to our own table. Instantaneous social classification is -rather difficult when there are no distinguishing external signs. And -it had to be done at the moment. The men asked for Owen. - -We had no idea who they were, so our conversation during supper was -limited to impersonal topics, such as the present, past and future -weather, the condition of the range and stock--nothing calculated to -offend the delicate sensibilities of a Governor, a ranchman or an -ex-convict, inasmuch as our guests might come under any of these -heads. Entertaining on a ranch is democratic in the extreme. - -They went out with Owen after supper. From the window I could see four -dim figures sitting on their heels by the corral gate, talking -earnestly. - -It was late when they drove away. I was putting up the mail, as Owen -entered. His announcement drove all idea of the Postal Laws and -regulations out of my head. - -"Well, they've gone, and have taken Bob and Tom Lane with them." - -"Mercy! what for? Who were they, anyhow?" - -"The Sheriff and two Pinkerton men," he answered, gravely. "They have -arrested Bob and Tom for the hold-up." - -"Owen," I gasped, standing up so suddenly that the U. S. mail flew in -all directions. "You don't believe they were the ones, do you?" - -"Not for a minute," Owen answered, with conviction. "And I told them -so, but it seems the men have bad records and the description fits -them. 'A tall man, with a Southern accent, and a short, slight, -smaller man.' So they arrested them." Owen sat down. "It's absurd. In -the first place, they couldn't have gotten to the railroad in time to -hold up the limited. They didn't leave here until nine o'clock, and in -the next place, they went home." - -"But they didn't." I felt suddenly weak in my knees. "I took the -clothes over to Mrs. Reed, and both she and Maggie were wondering why -they hadn't come." - -Owen looked at me in blank amazement, and then asked why on earth I -hadn't told him. - -"Good heavens, Owen, I haven't seen you a moment alone. And, besides, -I never supposed it made any difference _where_ the men went. -Hereafter if the angel Gabriel comes to work for us, I shall insist -upon knowing where he spends his nights. Really," I began to laugh, -"you know, if we ever leave this ranch, the only place we shall feel -at home is in the penitentiary. None but people with 'records' and -'pasts' will interest us." I was half amused and wholly excited, for -even to have a speaking acquaintance with the leading figures in a -hold-up and murder was something my wildest flight of imagination -could have scarcely pictured a few months before. Owen was really -serious. - -"Well, I must say," he shook his head and looked down at the floor, -"it begins to look as though Bob and Tom might have some trouble -proving they weren't the men. It's serious for them, since they -weren't at home. The description certainly fits them." Owen took up -the paper. "'One man about five feet eight inches high, slender and -light mustache, wearing old clothes and a rusty black slouch hat. The -other man five feet ten inches tall, slender, short, black mustache, -about forty years old, spoke with a Southern accent, wore an old black -suit and an old striped rubber coat.'" - -"Go on," I said, as Owen started to put the paper down; "I want to -hear it." He read on: - -"'The men were supposed to have boarded the train coming from Denver, -at a small station this side of Star. The Pullmans were on the rear. -When the train stopped at the station, the Pullman conductor went out -on the back platform and saw two men crouching in the vestibule. He -told them to get off, but at that moment the train started, and they -rose up, covering him with their revolvers. One got behind him, -holding his gun against him, the other in front. They handed him a -gunny-sack and made him carry it. In this manner they entered the body -of the car. - -"'In the first car they got very little plunder, and pushed on into -the next. As they entered the second sleeper, they met the porter, who -was forced to elevate his hands and precede them. While they were -engaged in robbing the passengers in the second Pullman, the train -conductor entered, and was compelled to elevate his hands, with the -rest. - -"'They paused at one berth and seemed very much incensed that the -woman it contained was so slow in handing over her valuables. They -swore and were very impatient. Suddenly, a man in the next berth -thrust his head out between the curtains. He had a revolver in his -hand and fired, but instantly another shot rang out from the robber in -the rear, and the man sank back in his berth. - -"'After the shooting, the robbers appeared more nervous and hurried. -When they had gone through the car, they took the gunny-sack and -emptied the contents into their pockets. One of the robbers pulled the -bell-rope, but evidently not hard enough, for the train continued on -its way. Swearing, they compelled the porter and two conductors to -stand out on the platform with them, covered by their revolvers, until -the train slowed down at Paxton, when they swung off to the ground and -disappeared into these vast prairie lands, which are so sparsely -settled one can drive for a day without seeing a person. - -"'As soon as the train stopped, the passengers hurried to the berth of -the man who had been shot, but he had been instantly killed. - -"'The Sheriff was notified, and a posse started in pursuit, but the -robbers had vanished.'" Owen put down the paper, and we sat up far -into the night talking it over. - - * * * * * - -Subsequently our ranch, our horses, and Owen's opinions were freely -quoted in the press. Bob and Tom were positively identified by the -three trainmen as the hold-ups. They were retained a week in jail, and -then suddenly released on "insufficient proof." - -Owen did not believe in point of time they could have held up the -train, for he had talked to Bob that Saturday night until after nine -o'clock, but everybody, including Owen, held them capable of it. The -point was simply that they had not happened to be there. - -Later Bob and Tom returned to the ranch, incensed at their arrest and -detention, but no one ever learned where they were that memorable -Saturday night. - -Moreover, the men who held up the train were never found, and again -one of those strange tragedies of the West ended in vagueness. - -I was struck by the repetition of that phenomenon "A crime, a -tragedy." At first indignation and an earnest attempt to find the -offenders and bring them to justice, then delay, and the whole affair -shoved into the background by something newer. - -Life here seemed to flow by like a stream at flood-tide. Who could -stem that current long enough to catch those bits of human frailty -floating on the surface, or follow them down stream to the sea? - - - - -V - -A GOVERNMENT CONTRACT - - -From the first, I had been conscious of a fascination about the West -impossible to describe. Its charm was too enigmatical and elusive for -definition. - -There was a suggestion of the sea in that vast circle and in the long -undulations of the prairie, as though great waves had become -solidified, then clothed in softest green. No sign of restless -movement was apparent in those billows which stretched away from the -mountains into the vague distance. All was still. The towering -mountain itself was the symbol of infinite peace and rest. Yet there, -in the midst of that unbroken serenity, stood a cluster of buildings, -the center of the greatest activity, where life was vital and -thrilling as though a few human beings had been flung through space -and dropped onto those silent plains to work out the age-long fight -for existence. - -Peace and conflict, silence and sound, absence of life and life in its -most complex form; contrasts--everywhere and in everything--it could -be defined, it was in "contrasts" that the fascination of the West was -expressed. - -Ranch life might be difficult; it was never commonplace. The mere -sight of a lone horseman on a distant hill suggested greater -possibilities of excitement than a multitude of people in a city -street. - -Each day brought so many new experiences, some of comedy, some of -tragedy, that I began to look for them. - -After the Government had awarded a contract to furnish "150 horses of -a dark bay color for cavalry use" our life became dramatic, with the -riders cast in the leading roles. - -The stage-setting consisted of a large circular corral, twelve feet -high, built of heavy pitch-pine posts and three-inch planks with a -massive snubbing post set in the center. Since there was "standing -room only," cracks were at a premium. - -_The dramatis personae_ were two tall, slender-waisted cow-punchers -who walked with a slightly rolling gait, due to extremely high-heeled -boots, much too small for them. In their right hands they carried a -coiled rope swinging easily. Their costumes were composed of cloth or -corduroy trousers, dark-colored shirts, nondescript vests of some -sort, dark blue or red handkerchiefs knotted loosely about their -necks, expensively-made boots, the tops of which were covered by the -legs of their "pants"; spurs, of course; high-priced Stetson hats, the -crowns creased to a peak, and frequently encircled by the skin of a -rattle-snake, and exceedingly soft gauntlet-gloves. It was my -observation that the old-time cow-puncher wore gloves at all times. He -did remove them when eating, and, I presume, before going to bed, but -they were always in evidence. - -The "Star" is a frightened, snorting "broncho," or unbroken horse -which for the five or six years of its life had been running loose. -Now it was to be "busted." It is cut out from the bunch and run into -the corral and the gate securely fastened. - -One of the men stands near the post, the other does the roping. Facing -the men, the broncho stands still, his head high, his eyes wild and -full of fear. An abrupt motion by one of the riders starts him on a -frantic run around and around in a circle. A sudden throw of the rope -and both front feet are in the loop. Quick as lightning the man -settles back on it, both front legs are pulled out from under the -horse and he falls on his side; the helper runs to his head, seizes -the muzzle and twists it straight up, thrusts one knee against the -neck and holds the top of the head to the ground. The roper puts two -or three more loops above the front hoofs, passes the rope, now -doubled forming a loop, between the legs, to one of the hind feet, -then pulls on the end that he has all the time held. This action draws -all three feet together. One or two more loops about them, a hitch and -the horse is tied so that it is impossible for him to get up. While -the broncho lies helpless, the saddle and bridle are put on, a large -handkerchief passed under the straps of the bridle over the eyes and -made fast. The rope is taken off. Feeling a measure of freedom, he -staggers to his feet and stands. The cinches are drawn very tight, the -rider mounts, gives a sharp order to "let him go," the man on the -ground pulls the handkerchief from the eyes of the horse, and jumps -aside. - -[Illustration: INSPECTING A BRAND] - -For a moment the broncho stands dazed, then jumps, throws his head -between his front legs almost to the ground, squeals, humps his back -and pitches around and around the corral in a vain attempt to rid -himself of the fearsome thing on his back. The circular corral, -limited in space, gives little opportunity to succeed; the rider has -the advantage. The horse stops pitching and runs frantically about the -corral, at length tiring himself out. Dripping with sweat, trembling -from fear and excitement, he comes to a slow trot. The gate is thrown -open. Making a dash for freedom, he plunges through the outside -corrals, the horseman or "circler" close beside him, trying to keep -between the half-crazed broncho and any object he might run into. The -horse bolts out into the open; his is the advantage now, and he makes -the rider ride. He bucks this way and that, twisting, turning, jumping -and running, the man on his back so racked and shaken it seems -incredible that his body can hold together. They tear out over the -prairie in a wild race, far off over the hills, out of sight now. -After a time they come back on a walk. The broncho has been -busted--the act has ended. - -Should the horse rear and throw himself backward, there is the -greatest danger that the man may be caught under him and killed, it -happens so quickly, but these quiet, diffident chaps are absolutely -fearless, past masters in the art of riding, facing death each time -they ride a new horse, but facing it with the supreme courage of the -commonplace, sitting calmly in the saddle, racked, shaken, jolted -until at times the blood streams from their nose, yet after a short -rest the rider "took up the next one" quite as though nothing at all -had happened. All the horses had to be broken and then made ready for -the inspection of the Government officials, and the boys were working -with them early and late. - -It was an unusual experience to live in daily association with these -men, in whom were combined characteristics of the Knights of the Round -Table and those peculiar to the followers of Jesse James. - -In Douglas, Wyoming, there stands a monument erected by the friends of -a local character who, curiously, bore the same surname as the famous -explorer for whom Pike's Peak was named. Chiseled out of the solid -granite these opposing traits are epitomized in this unique epitaph: - - "Underneath this stone in eternal rest - Sleeps the wildest one of the wayward west; - He was gambler and sport and cowboy, too, - And he led the pace in an outlaw crew; - He was sure on the trigger and staid to the end, - But he was never known to quit on a friend; - In the relations of death all mankind is alike, - But in life there was only one George W. Pike." - -Strange, contrasting personalities--in awe of nobody, quite as ready -to converse familiarly with the President as with Owen, but probably -preferring Owen because they knew he was a fine horseman. - -Persons and things outside their own world held but slight interest -for them. At first I had a hazy idea that I might be the medium -through which a glimpse of the outside world would broaden the narrow -limits of their lives. I planned to get books for them and to arrange -a reading room, but my dream was soon shattered upon discovering that -this broader view possessed no charm. Indeed, when I offered to teach -Joe to read he refused my offer without a moment's hesitation, firmly -announcing "I ain't goin' to learn to read, 'cause then I'd have to!" -"Why, Mrs. Brook," he added, looking with scorn at the book I held in -my hand, "I wouldn't be bothered the way you are for nothin', havin' -to read all them books in there," nodding his head in the direction of -our cherished library. This was certainly a fresh point of view -regarding education. About the same time I found that the Sears and -Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalogue might be fittingly called the -Bible of the plains. Night after night the boys pored over them -absorbed in the illustrations, of hats, gloves, boots and saddles, the -things most dear to their hearts, for on their riding equipment alone -they spent a small fortune. - -Improvident and generous, however great their vices might be, their -lives were free from petty meanness; the prairies had seemed to - - "Give them their own deep breadth of view - The largeness of the cloudless blue." - -The religion of the cow-puncher? My impression was that he had none, -for certainly he subscribed to no conventional creed or dogma. Yet -what was it that gave him a code of honor which made cheating or a lie -an unforgivable offense and a man guilty of either an outcast scorned -by his associates, and what was it that would have made him go without -bread or shelter that a woman or child might not suffer? - -Rough and gentle, brutal and tender, good and bad, not angel at one -time and devil at another, but rather saint and sinner at the same -time. Little of religious influence came into his life, and as for -Bibles--there were none. - -I remember the story of a Bishop who was travelling through the West -and was asked to hold service in one of the larger towns. When he -arrived he found that he had left his own Bible on the train, so he -sent the hotel clerk out to borrow one. After some time the man -returned with a Bible, explaining to the Bishop that it was the only -one in town. "I went everywhere and finally got this one. It's the one -they use at the Court House to swear on!" - -The cow-puncher, however, could swear without any assistance, for -usually "cussin'" formed a very necessary part of his conversation. -But as I sat at my window sewing one summer morning I heard a violent -argument at the corral between Fred and a new "hay-hand" from Kansas. -Fred's voice was decisive. - -"That's all right, but you cut out that cussin' here--the Missus' -window's open, and she'll hear you." And the heart of "the Missus" -warmed to her Knight of the Corral. - -There was another incident, the true significance of which I did not -know until three years after it occurred, when the foreman of the -L---- ranch met Owen in Denver and inquired for me, adding: - -"Well, I'll never forget Mrs. Brook. Do you remember the day we was -shippin' them white faces from the Junction about three years ago, -when you and Mrs. Brook happened to come along and stopped to watch -us? Well, one of the best men I had was brandin' a calf when it kicked -him and he swore at it proper; all of a sudden he looked up and saw -Mrs. Brook and another lady standin' on that high platform by the -yards watchin' us. He was so plumb beat, he threw down his brandin' -iron, took up his hat, walked across the street to a saloon and began -drinkin' and stayed drunk for three days, and there I was, -short-handed, with a train-load of cows and calves to ship." - -Contrast again--chivalry carried to the extent of being drunk for -three days because he had sworn before a woman! - -The horses were all being ridden and trained for the inspection which -was soon to take place. Each man had his own "string," those he had -broken, and every day they were put through their paces. When -inspected, they had to be walked, trotted and run up and down before -the officers, stopped instantly, and the veterinarian was supposed to -put his ear to their chests to see if their breathing was regular and -their hearts sound. Now, Western horses are not accustomed to having -their hearts tested, and I noticed that while the riders did -everything else that was required, they tacitly agreed "to let the vet -do his own listnin'." - -The day that the Army officers were to arrive, as Owen was getting -ready to drive over to the station to meet them, I remarked casually -that I hoped nothing would happen to upset their peace of mind, as it -was very important that the honorable representatives of the -Government be kept in a good humor. - -The house was still in an unsettled condition but for the time being -it had been brought into sufficient order to insure their comfort. The -larder was stocked with the best the markets afforded and the horses -were being "gentled" daily. - -When guests came on the train our dinner might be served at any hour -up to ten o'clock at night for after their arrival at the station -there was the sixteen mile drive to the ranch--and anything might -happen. It was late that particular night when I heard them at the -meadow gate. I couldn't understand why they stopped so long. There -were sounds of confusion and as they entered the house one of the -officers held up a finger dripping with blood, the Colonel's hat was -awry, his clothes covered with mud, and they all appeared agitated and -excited. I could not imagine what had happened. Then they all began to -tell me at once. - -Upon reaching the meadow gate the Lieutenant who acted as bookkeeper -jumped out to open it but failed to return after they had driven -through. Upon investigation they found he had caught his finger -between the wire loop and the post and was held fast. They extricated -him from his dilemma and drove on. It was very dark and upon reaching -the house as the august Colonel descended from the wagon, he tripped -over a pile of stones lying near the gate, fell down and just escaped -breaking his neck. I tried to smile and yet be sympathetic--but I had -a vision of Owen with "one hundred fifty horses of a dark bay color" -on his hands if the good humor of the officers was not restored before -morning. - -They were shown to their rooms and I prayed nothing would happen to -the Veterinarian, who had so far remained intact. - -The Colonel and the Lieutenant had come down stairs. We were all in -the library waiting for the Doctor before going in to dinner, when we -heard a fearful crash. We rushed into the hall to see the poor man -sitting on the steps holding both hands to his head. He was very tall -and, coming down the narrow winding stairs, had struck his head on an -overhanging projection which he had failed to observe. His injury was -more uncomfortable than serious and had quite a cheering effect on his -two companions, who began to chaff him about "taking off an inch or -two" so by the time dinner was over they were all in high spirits. - -The following morning at nine the inspection began. Each horse was -brought out, looked over and measured to see that he came up to the -stipulated number of "hands". If he passed he was immediately ridden. - -Each of the men rode the horses he had broken. First the horse was -walked up and down between the blacksmith-shop and the corral, then -trotted and then run, after which his lungs and breathing were tested -and if satisfactory he was accepted. - -Every time a man got on to ride, I was conscious of a feeling of great -uncertainty. The horses looked quiet enough and were fairly gentle, -but Owen and I knew that the slightest variation in the manner of -mounting or "touching them up" might cause them to go through a few -movements not required by the United States Government. - -As it was, all those we had expected to buck behaved like lambs, while -those which had been considered fairly well broken did everything from -bucking to snorting and blowing foam all over the Veterinarian when he -attempted to examine their teeth and test their lungs. - -For three days the inspection went on, each day more interesting than -the last, until all the horses had been examined and out of the number -the necessary one hundred and fifty accepted and branded U. S. - -As the bunch of horses headed for Denver was being driven off the -ranch, Fred looked after them reflectively-- - -"If them sodjers can ride, it'll be all right," he remarked, "but if -they go to puttin' tenderfeet on them bronchs, they'll land in -Kingdom-come before they ever hit the saddle." - - - - -VI - -A VARIETY OF RUNAWAYS - - -Life in any primitive, sparsely settled country is fraught with -adventure. It is the element which gives zest to everyday affairs and -which lifts existence above the commonplace, but since everything has -its price, the price of untrammelled living must often be paid in -discomfort and inconvenience. - -To us, and to many others, abounding health and freedom were ample -compensations for a few annoying circumstances but with our guests it -was a more serious consideration. After a few experiences we began to -discourage the visits of those unfitted by nature and temperament for -"roughing it". - -We could not control the elements nor untoward events. Fate had such -an invariable custom of upsetting and rearranging all of our most -carefully laid plans that when friends, especially "tenderfeet", -arrived, we had a premonition that before they departed something -would happen. It never failed. - -In the house our guests were exempt from anxiety and discomfort, but -no one cared to stay indoors when a dazzling world of blue, green and -gold lay just outside, and the unexpected was no regarder of persons. -A cloud-burst was just as apt to descend upon the unsuspecting head of -a delicate, carefully nurtured old lady as was an indiscriminating -rattlesnake to frighten some timid soul into hysterics. - -Everyone who came to the ranch wanted to ride, those knowing least -about horses being the most insistent, and not wishing to take any -chances, at first we gave them Billy, gentle, trustworthy Billy, who, -when running loose, could be caught by a man on foot and ridden into -the corral with a handkerchief around his neck instead of a bridle. We -would start out, the tenderfoot joyously "off for a horseback ride," -and the next thing we knew he would be off the horse doubled up under -a fence or lying flat on the prairie, while Billy peacefully nibbled -grass. No one could explain it unless the uninitiated had lost a -stirrup and had unwittingly given the horse a dig in the ribs which -was immediately resented--so even Billy was disqualified. - -The truth was, none of our horses was sufficiently well broken for the -inexperienced horseman to ride or drive. They behaved very decently -until something occurred, which was out of the ordinary, and then the -reaction was most sudden and disastrous. - -With the stock on the ranch we had acquired about four hundred horses, -most of which had never been handled and were running loose on the -range. Before they were of any use or value they had to be broken and -Owen felt that it was one of the most important things to be done. -Consequently, many of the horses were broken to drive in the hay -field, the broncho hitched up with a gentle horse, and put onto the -rake or mowing machine--many were the runaways. - -Charley was leisurely by nature. He never hurried either in speech or -movement. Owen and I were in the office one morning when he strolled -around the house and up to the door. - -"Mis-ter Brook," he drawled, "Ja-ne and Maud are running away with the -mow-ing machine down in the timber--they throw-ed Windy off the seat," -but before he got the last word out, his listener was down the steps, -over the fence and on his way toward the creek where Maud and Jane -were tearing through the timber leaving parts of the mowing machine on -stumps and fallen logs, while Charley looked after him in mild -surprise. The horses were brought to an abrupt stop when one tried to -go on one side of a tree and the other on the opposite side. - -There was a beautiful black horse, "Toledo", that refused to allow -anyone to come near him but Owen or Bill, and there was also a new man -on the ranch who so constantly boasted of his ability to handle -bronchos the boys had dubbed him "Windy". - -Windy concluded one day that he would harness Toledo alone. There were -violent sounds in the stable, snorts, shouts, thumps, and Windy sailed -through the open door and landed on a conveniently placed pile of -manure, frightened to death but unhurt. - -Bill was furious. - -"What'd you do to him, anyhow?" he stormed after roping Toledo who had -broken his halter and was running loose in the corral. - -"I didn't do nothin' to him," protested Windy. "I just crope up and -retched over and tetched him and he begun to snort and cave 'round." - -"Course you didn't do nothin', you couldn't do nothin' if you tried. -You'd better go back to town where you belong, 'stead a stayin' out -here spoilin' good horses." Bill's choler was rising. "You don't know -nothin' neither, you're jest a bone head, your spine's jest growed up -and haired over." And, leading the subdued Toledo, Bill disappeared -into the stable. - -When the team that Owen reserved for his own use had passed the -kicking and lunging stage and I had become sufficiently confident to -look at the landscape instead of watching their ears, he usually -concluded they were "pretty well broken" and that he must try out a -new one. This trying out process went on indefinitely, for Owen's New -England conscience gave him no peace apparently while an unbroken -horse remained in his possession. It was a form of duty. - -When we had guests we used, what my husband was pleased to call, a -gentle team, one that started off decorously with all their feet on -the ground instead of in the air, but one day when we were expecting -some friends from Wyoming he could not resist driving a new pair of -beautiful bay horses when we went to meet them. I remained behind. - -The dinner hour passed and no Owen; additional hours went by and late -at night he came in dusty, dirty and scratched. - -In response to a perfect volley of questions he explained that he was -all right, but the Lawtons had telegraphed they had been detained, and -then he added, as quite an unimportant detail, that "the horses had -run away." He had the expression of a fond and indulgent parent, and -as he did not rise to the defense of his pet team when I called them -"miserable brutes" I knew his pride, at least, had suffered. - -"You see," he resumed, "your new sewing machine and some other freight -was at the station, so when I found the Lawtons were not coming I -thought I'd bring it over. I had the crystal clock, too." Owen looked -so sheepish I had to laugh, although the clock had been a wedding -present which we had sent up to the jeweler to be regulated. - -"Is it smashed?" - -"Oh, no," he reassured me, "but I don't know how well it will run. I -got out to close the gate beyond the railroad when a confounded -freight engine whistled and the horses started. I was holding the -reins in my hand, of course, and tried to climb in the back of the -wagon, but couldn't make it on account of the load. I ran along the -side until the horses went so fast I fell down and when they began to -drag me I let go of the reins. They ran all over that inclosure, the -wagon upset and canned tomatoes, sewing machine and crystal clock were -strewn everywhere. I caught the horses finally, but the wagon was -smashed so I had to walk back to Becker's, get his wagon and pick up -all the freight--that's what delayed me. I'm dreadfully sorry about -the sewing machine and the clock, but I don't believe they are much -hurt." - -He was very contrite, was my husband, but it didn't last long, that -sense of duty was too insistent. A very short time after, he was -alone, driving another team, with a horse he had just bought, tied to -the tug. The new horse, frightened at a dead animal in the lane, -jumped, broke the tug, plunged forward, pulled the neck yoke off, the -buggy tongue stuck into the ground as the horses ran, the buggy heaved -up in the air and pitched Owen out. It landed so close to a fence post -his head was scratched, but he might have been killed. As long as he -had escaped, this runaway had its amusing side, too. He was bringing -home a quantity of china nest-eggs which followed when he was thrown -out, and he said for a minute it fairly snowed nest-eggs; the ground -was white with them. - -Owen and his horses! I never could decide whether it was more -nerve-racking to go with him or stay behind, so I usually took the -chance and went. The experiences we had! I wonder we ever survived -that horse-breaking period, but only once did we face a fate from -which there seemed only one chance in a thousand of escaping with our -lives. - -We were driving a buckskin horse Owen had just bought and a newly -broken mare, a handsome, high spirited creature called Beauty. She -danced and she pranced and forged ahead of the new horse which became -nervous and excited in trying to keep up with her. - -We were going up a long hill. Beauty was pulling and tugging on the -bit when suddenly she gave a toss to her head and to our horror we saw -the bridle fall back around her neck. The bit had broken. Like a flash -she was off, the other horse running with her. Owen spoke to them. He -wound the reins about his arms and pulled on them with all his -strength. - -At the top of the hill there was a fairly level space where Owen tried -to circle them, hoping to tire them out, but he had no control over -Beauty and she wheeled about starting back over the road we had come, -the buggy bouncing and swaying behind. There was a fence corner with -an old post standing about ten feet from it. The horses headed -straight for it. I closed my eyes, expecting that we would be wrecked, -but they turned and raced across a gulch, the buggy lurched, tipped, -struck one side and then the other, but by a miracle did not upset. - -I saw that Owen was trying to head them into a fence and braced myself -for the shock, realizing that he hoped to entangle them in the barbed -wire and so throw them, but just as we reached it Beauty veered to one -side almost overturning the buggy. We were so close the skirt of -Owen's fur coat caught on the barbs and was instantly torn to ribbons -and we heard the vibrating "ping" of the wire along its entire length -as the wheels struck the fence. - -On and on the maddened horses raced, up hills, down long slopes, -through gulches in which it seemed we must be wrecked, until at length -we reached the crest of a hill at the bottom of which, angling with -the fence, ran a deep gulch with high cut banks. We knew that if the -frantic horses reached the edge of that bank at the rate we were going -there was no escape for us and we should plunge over the embankment -with the horses. To jump was impossible. I was in despair, realizing -that Owen, pulling on the horses with all his might, was nearly -exhausted. - -"Owen, isn't there something I can do?" It was the first time a word -had been spoken. - -"Pull on the Buckskin," he answered quickly. - -I leaned forward and seized the rein with both hands as far down as I -could reach and threw myself back with all my weight. The Buckskin was -pulled back on his haunches, Beauty stopped. Owen handed me the reins, -another moment he was at their heads calling to me to jump. In that -instant before jumping I lived an eternity, for if the horses had -started again I should have gone to certain death alone. - -[Illustration: THE "STAR" IS A FRIGHTENED, SNORTING "BRONCHO"] - -I was so weak with fright and sudden relief when I felt the firm earth -under my feet I could scarcely stand but I had to get to the -Buckskin's head and hold on to him, for Owen had his hands full with -Beauty, who began to rear and plunge. It was no time for nerves. The -horses were finally unhitched. Owen led Beauty and I, the Buckskin. -Leaving the buggy on the edge of that yawning gulch, we walked the -five miles back to the ranch. - - - - -VII - -THE MEASURE OF A MAN - - -The Bohms had gone. The last load of furniture, upon which old Bohm -perched like an ill-omened bird, had disappeared through the gate on -the top of the hill. At last, after six months of vexation and -trouble, Owen and I could live our own life and run the ranch without -interference. - -Bohm had tried to wriggle out of every clause in his contract. He had -delayed gathering and turning over the stock by every means and had -invented a thousand excuses for staying on from week to week. It had -made it very difficult and had exasperated Owen. If he hadn't been -wise and patient beyond words, Bohm's bones long before would have -mingled with those of his reputed victims in the old root cellar. I -had a different end planned for him each day, but none seemed really -fitting. Owen had gone on in his own way, however, insisting upon -every part of the contract being fulfilled and reducing Bohm to -impotent rage by his quiet firmness. - -Mrs. Bohm had recovered from her "fainting spells" and her husband was -furious to think he had sold the ranch. In desperation he finally sent -to San Francisco for his brother, who was a lawyer, to see if there -was any possibility of getting out of the contract. The "Judge" was a -nice old chap, who looked like an amiable Mormon with a long beard. He -soon settled the question. - -"Why, Jim, you wanted to sell out, you signed the contract and you -have your money. You'll have to stay with your bargain now, whether -you like it or not." - -We always remembered him kindly for this and for a story he told. We -had been discussing the Chinese as servants and he said: - -"Well, I had one for two years, but I don't want any more. I want to -know what I'm eating and with those heathen you are never sure. - -"It had been raining very hard one day when Wong came to me in the -afternoon and said: - -"'Judge, him laining outside, me gottee no meat for dinner.' - -"I told him that we would do without meat for it was raining too hard -for anyone to go out who didn't have to. Wong looked dejected for he -liked meat. He turned to go out of the room, when his eyes fell on the -cat. His face brightened with a sudden inspiration. - -"'Have meat for dinner! Kill'em cat!' - -"Kill the cat! What on earth do you mean? - -"'Less, kill'em cat,' he repeated in a matter of fact tone, 'him sick -anyhow.'" - -We had asked the Bohms to take their meals with us, but only Mrs. Bohm -came to our table. Bohm preferred to eat with the men. We suspected -that he was trying to cause trouble. Charley unconsciously confirmed -our suspicions. He was always conversational and seized the -opportunity to talk while fixing my window screen. - -"Say, Mrs. Brook, you'd orter seen Bill this mornin'. He was eatin' -flapjacks to beat time and was just reachin' for more, when old Bohm, -with that mean way of his, began slammin' Mr. Brook. He was sayin' you -folks thought you was too good to eat in the kitchen with us common -fellers and had to have a separate dinin' room, when Bill just riz up -out of his chair so sudden it went over backwards, and believe me, his -eyes had sparks in 'em when he came back at the old man. - -"'Tain't that the Brooks think that they're too good, but there's some -folks too stinkin' common for anybody to eat with'--and out of the -door he walked and all the boys fol-lered him, leavin' Bohm alone -there facin' all them flapjacks. I reckon he'd a rather faced them -flapjacks than Bill, though,--Gee, Bill was some hot," and Charley's -blue eyes sparkled at the reminiscence. - -It was exactly as I thought; the boys despised Bohm and were -absolutely loyal to Owen. - -After this episode, Owen had a long talk with Bill and a short, heated -interview with Bohm, which resulted in the old man's reluctant, but -hasty, departure. - -I drew a long breath of relief when I saw the last wagon disappear and -looked up fully expecting to see the dove of peace pluming herself on -our roof-tree. But apparently doves in the cattle country never -alight,--they just pass by. - -Owen had bought several thousand acres of land from the railroad. A -car of barbed wire for the fence, which was to encircle the entire -ranch, was at the station. Our land was now in one solid block with -the exception of a few acres of Government land which could only be -acquired by homestead entry. This limited acreage in the great -checkerboard was all that remained of the "free range." - -At this juncture Owen was served with a notice by the United States -Marshal forbidding him to build the fence. It would enclose Government -land. Every mile of the proposed fence would have been on ground which -he had bought, paid for, and on which he was paying taxes--but -still--he could not fence it. "Government land must remain -uninclosed." It made no difference, apparently, what happened to the -cattleman whose money was tied up in property he could not use. -Government land must remain free and open to the public. But, while -those few acres of free range remained open to the public, thousands -of acres of our unprotected land remained open also. Everyone used it. -The ranchmen for miles around, learning that Owen was forbidden to -fence, gathered all their cattle and threw them onto our land. - -It was a very serious problem. Our range was being destroyed, the -grass was eaten off so closely nothing remained for winter range. Our -full-blooded Hereford breeding stock was of little use to us. All our -money was invested in land and cattle and there was only one thing -left to do,--put riders on our range to drive the other cattle off. - -Upon this solution of the problem the dove of peace promptly departed -and we entered upon a long, hard struggle for the possession and use -of what was our own. Owen was faced, not only with financial failure, -but absolute ruin. The future was far from bright, but when an old -school-mate came with her husband to visit us it seemed positively -brilliant by contrast. - -Alice Joice and I had been devoted friends for years. The summer -before we had spent in Europe, where I had left her, deep in the study -of Art, to which she intended "to devote" her life. - -"It is so commonplace to marry, Esther," these were her parting words; -"any woman can marry--but so few can have a real career." - -Alice's "career" had abruptly ended in "commonplace matrimony," for -she had just married a Mr. Van Winkle from Brooklyn, a man I had never -met. They were touring the West and were most anxious to include our -ranch. I was very eager to see them so I wrote, urging her to come, -but asked her to let us know when to expect them, so there would be no -mistake about our being at the station. - -I was particularly anxious to have them see ranch life at its best for -they were our first guests. The house looked very attractive with all -our own furniture and wedding presents in place, but I thought the -guest room floor might be improved so I painted it Saturday afternoon. -Then everything went wrong: the wind-mill pump failed to work, the -whole pipe had to be pulled out of the well; we were without running -water in the house and couldn't have a fire in the kitchen range, so -rations were extremely light. - -Supper, consisting chiefly of sardines, awaited Owen, who was trying -to get some of the grease off his hands, when a homesteader by the -name of Hamm, his wife, sister and five children drove up. He had come -to see Owen on business and they were invited in to supper. - -The table was lengthened and reset, more sardines were opened and we -were just ready to sit down when my Aunt, who was standing near the -window, exclaimed: - -"Who on earth is that!" - -Who, indeed! Alice Joice and her husband with a team they had hired at -the station. - -Having a strong heart I did not faint, but left Auntie to help the -maid make the necessary additions to the table--and sardines, while -Owen and I hurried out to greet them. - -"Hello, dearie, here we are," Alice called from the wagon as I -approached. "Clarence and I thought it would be such fun to surprise -you. How-do-you-do, Mr. Brook, I want you to meet my husband, Mr. Van -Winkle." Alice jumped off the step and threw herself into my arms. -"Oh, Esther, isn't this fun?" Gay, inconsequent Alice, from her city -home, never considered for a moment that a surprise _could_ be -anything but joyous. - -If I had met him in Egypt, I should have known that her husband's name -was Van Winkle--Clarence Van Winkle, it couldn't have been anything -else. - -He was pale and tall and thin and rigid. The inflexibility of the -combined ancestral spines had united in his back bone. He might break, -he could never bend. My imagination failed when I tried to picture the -meeting between the heir to the Van Winkle name and the Hamms. It was -far worse than anything I could ever have imagined. - -Alice was very sweet; she talked all the time, patted the five little -Hamms and won their mother's heart by asking their names and ages, but -in acknowledging the introduction Clarence only bowed slightly, a -movement which required great effort, then relapsed into silence -immediately, scrutinizing the Hamm family through his glasses as -though they were rare animals in a Zoo. Mrs. Hamm and her sister were -stupefied and did not speak a word, but Mr. Hamm, a truly sociable -person from Oklahoma, continually addressed Clarence as "young -feller," which produced the same effect as a violent chill, and when -he joyously jogged a Van Winkle elbow to emphasize some pleasantry, -Clarence firmly moved his chair out of reach of the defiling touch. - -Alice ate everything and did not stop talking for a moment. Clarence -refused everything but a cracker, which he munched in silence. -Suddenly he turned white and left the table. Owen escorted him -out-of-doors while Alice and I followed. He was faint, just faint, and -collapsed weakly onto a garden seat. Alice said it was the Denver -water, but I suspected unassimilated Hamm. Owen stayed with him and -Alice and I returned to finish supper. The Hamms left soon after and -Clarence gradually revived under the influence of Owen's New England -accent and Scotch whisky. - -All at once I thought of the freshly painted guest-room floor. I -explained the situation to Alice and we went up to see if it was dry. -It was, but the smell of paint was most evident. Alice gave a few -sniffs and said apologetically: - -"I'm dreadfully sorry, Esther, but Clarence couldn't possibly sleep -here. He is so sensitive to odors of any kind." I was reminded of a -faint aroma which had clung to the Hamm garments. "If there is another -room we can occupy, I think it would be better." Alice was accustomed -to hotels. I offered our room; it was reluctantly but finally -accepted, the scion of the Van Winkles must not breathe paint. All the -things from the guest-room were put in our room and ours were moved up -to the guest-room. - -Just before they retired Alice confided to me that Clarence had had -some temperature in Denver and the Doctor thought he might be -threatened with typhoid fever. - -"I really believe, Esther, if Clarence has any temperature in the -morning we had better go back to Denver." - -I reassured her as I bade her good-night and then sought Owen. I was -beginning to have some temperature myself. - -"Owen, if Clarence Van Winkle has a thousandth of a degree of -temperature in the morning don't tell him that he'll be all right; let -him go back to Denver or anywhere else he pleases. Imagine that man -with typhoid, here." - -The next morning Alice appeared at breakfast alone. Clarence had no -temperature, but he felt weak and thought he had better stay in bed. -He continued to feel weak for three days, Alice dancing attendance -white the rest of us tried to get the household and water running -again. - -When Clarence finally emerged from his seclusion, he was in high -spirits, positively buoyant. - -"Well, now I want to see everything, all the cattle, the cow-boys, -branding, dehorning, a round-up and what is it you call it? Oh, yes, -'broncho busting'. We have to go back to Denver tomorrow, you know." -He had to stop for want of breath. - -Alice beamed fondly upon her enthusiastic bridegroom. Mine looked far -from enthusiastic. Owen was a perfect host but he could not give a -demonstration of a year's work in one day. The horse-breaking was over -for the season and the branded and dehorned cattle scattered over -miles of country. This he endeavored to explain to Clarence who made -no attempt to conceal his disappointment nor his petulance. - -"Oh, how unfortunate. I've heard so much of the fascination of ranch -life I thought I'd like to see a little of it. I thought you had -broncho busting or something interesting or entertaining going on -every day." - -Owen bit his lip. He was busy beyond words but he dropped everything -and afternoon we took our guests for a drive over the ranch. The wagon -was new and rattled and, wishing to spare Clarence's delicate -sensibilities, Owen put on some washers. - -We were in the middle of the prairie miles from the house, Clarence -had recovered his good humor since he was "actually seeing something", -as he tactfully expressed it, when one of the wheels began to drag. -The washers proved to be too tight, we had a hot spindle. There was -nothing to do but sit there in the blazing sun while the two men took -off the wheel, removed a washer or two and greased the spindle. - -I wouldn't have missed it, the mere thought of that scene was a joy to -me for months afterwards. Clarence Van Winkle red and perspiring from -the effort of lifting a wheel, wiping his greasy hands on a piece of -dirty waste! Alice's face was a study. I had to keep my eyes fixed on -the landscape after one look over the side of the wagon. I was afraid -I should laugh out loud. - -The day they left Bill drove us all to the station. We just made the -train, which was standing on the track as we arrived. Owen hurried to -check the Van Winkle's baggage. Bill had to stay with the horses. -Alice and I had all the wraps, which left Clarence to carry two dress -suit cases across the tracks. His eyes were fixed on the porter and he -was hurrying toward the Pullman when he stubbed his toe on one rail, -sprawled all the way across the track and hit his neck on the second -rail. The suit cases flew in one direction, his hat in another, his -glasses fell off and his watch dropped out of his pocket. Alice and I -rushed to the rescue, the porter assisted Clarence to his feet and -picked up the suit cases, we gathered up the rest of the articles -while Clarence stood in the middle of the track rubbing his knees, to -the great amusement of the passengers. Alice went up to him when -suddenly he screwed his face up as a child does before it begins to -cry, threw both arms around her neck and buried his face on her -shoulder. The conductor terminated the scene by calling "All aboard". -Clarence limped to the train, rubbing his neck, and the last we saw -was Alice holding all the wraps, the hat, glasses and watch, waving to -us from the vestibule and Clarence comfortably seated in the Pullman -smiling a wan farewell through the window. As the train with its -precious freight was lost to sight around a curve, Owen and I began to -laugh. We laughed until we were so weak we could scarcely get into the -wagon. Bill's face was perfectly serious, but his eyes had a little -twinkle in them as he said with his slow drawl: - -"Lord, Mrs. Brook, I'm glad that young man married that girl. He'd -orter have somebody look after him. A poor little goslin' feller like -that ain't got no business goin' round alone." - -Bill always sized up a situation in the fewest possible words. - -During the drive back to the ranch I thought of Alice and her future -by the side of a man of that type. Our future was uncertain enough, -but if trouble and vicissitudes were our portion, at least I had -someone with whom to share them. - -Tex had been away for several weeks and we were surprised to see him -at the gate as we drove up. He looked very serious as he asked Owen if -he might speak with him and Owen looked more serious when he came out -of the office after their conversation. - -"What is it, Owen? Something is wrong. Please tell me." - -Owen took me by the arm and we walked up and down under the trees. - -"Tex came over to tell me, Esther, that I am to be arrested for -'driving cattle off the range.' Technically, it's a serious charge, -carrying a heavy fine and--" he paused--"imprisonment, but don't -worry, my dear," as he felt me start a little at his last words, "it's -listed on the statute books as a criminal offence, connected with -rustling, but that can't hold in this case. It's a 'frame-up' to give -me trouble, that's all. It might have been serious but Tex heard of it -and came to warn me just in time. There's been a plot to eat me out -and now they want to drive me out. I'm going in to Denver to see my -lawyer tomorrow. I'm more troubled on your account than anything -else." - -"Don't worry about me, Owen, we're going to stay in this country and -fight it out to the end. I'll face anything, as long as you don't -cry," and we went into the house laughing, as we thought of Clarence -Van Winkle. - -The miserable experience which followed was sufficiently serious, even -after the charge had been changed to one of minor character. - -Owen was arrested on our anniversary. I went his bond. There was a -long, expensive law-suit which we lost, the Judge contending that if a -man wished to protect his land he should fence it. It was explained -that the Government had forbidden it, but the Judge said that did not -affect the verdict in this case. Owen paid the damages awarded by the -Court, we gathered together our sixteen cow-puncher witnesses who had -been staying with us at one of the largest hotels in Denver, an event -for the cow-punchers, and returned to the ranch. - -Did Owen weep on my shoulder? He set his lips a little more firmly and -his face had an added sternness as he looked across those miles of -rolling prairie he owned but which now were utterly useless. - -He broke the silence at last. His voice had a different tone. - -"I am going to have the use of my own land. They shan't keep me out of -it any longer. I am going to sell off all the cattle and put in sheep. -Then we'll see! With herders we don't need fences and cattle won't -graze where sheep have ranged." - - * * * * * - -Thus with the first year of our marriage, the first chapter of our -ranch experience ended and a totally different life began. - - - - -VIII - -THE SHEEP BUSINESS - - -With the coming of the sheep everything was changed. It was like -living in a different age, almost as though we had slipped back -hundreds of years into Biblical times and had come into intimate -association with Jacob and Joseph. With the advent of the wool or lamb -buyers there was a sudden transition to the more commercial atmosphere -of the twentieth century, but it was so fleeting our pastoral -existence was scarcely interrupted. - -A few of our old men had gone, Tex among them. He left with regret, -but as he said-- - -"Lord knows I hate to go, Mr. Brook, but cattle's all I know and an -old cow man ain't got no business around sheep; they just naturally -despise each other." And he went up into Montana where the cattle -business still flourished. - -Most of the other men stayed on, however, to ride the fence lines, -look after the horses and do the various things about the ranch, but -the days of branding, dehorning and round-ups were past and the -cow-puncher was replaced by "camp tenders". - -The sheep were trailed all the way from New Mexico. Steve, who spoke -Spanish, was foreman, and with three of the other men on horseback had -come up the trail with the sheep and the soft-voiced Mexican herders. - -Their entire camp equipment was skillfully packed on diminutive -burros. It was somewhat startling to see what appeared to be animated -wood-piles, water-casks, rolls of bedding or dish-pans bobbing about -over the woolly backs of the sheep, until a parting in the band -revealed the legs and lowered head of a sleepy-eyed burro. - -The herders spoke no English and it was so charming to receive a -gleaming smile and low bow while being addressed as "Padron" and -"Senora" that we plunged into the study of their musical language -forthwith. - -Each herder was in charge of a band of from fifteen hundred to -twenty-five hundred sheep. Two herders occupied a camp, but the sheep -were placed in separate corrals and, in order to give the various -bands ample pasturage, the camps were placed miles apart. - -Early in the morning the sheep were driven out, the herders taking -their bands in opposite directions. All day long the flock quietly -grazed over the prairie, the Mexican with his dog at his feet standing -like a sentinel on a hill from which he could overlook his entire band -and ward off any prowling coyote whose approach was heralded by a -sudden scurry among the sheep. - -Eternal vigilance, faithfulness and good judgment were the essential -qualities in a herder, judgment in the handling of the sheep, in the -selection of the best grass and water, the time for taking them out -and bringing them back to the camp. The herders were not supposed to -meet and talk together for while they were engrossed in conversation -or out of sight of the sheep the two bands might become mixed, a very -serious thing when the ewes were accompanied by their lambs, for when -the bands were separated again the lamb might be in one band and its -mother in the other. - -It was a lonely life, but one for which Mexicans are especially -suited. They lack the initiative of the Anglo-Saxons, they are -naturally tranquil, slow of speech and action and content to do -nothing--gentle children from the land of Manana. - -Scattered over the prairie, the sheep from a distance looked like mere -dots so closely resembling the clumps of weeds, it was necessary to -locate the herder before they could be identified. He looked like a -solitary fence post placed on the top of a hill. - -The Mexicans were most gracious and responsive, so delighted to -receive a visit from the Padron that it was a joy to talk with them. -We were never certain just what we had said, to be sure, but the -effect of our halting, broken sentences of Spanish appeared so -pleasing, we were convinced that if we could only converse fluently -our words would become immortal. Urbanity was most contagious. Owen -and I made deep bows to the herders, we almost bowed to the sheep in -an over-mastering desire to equal the politeness of Ramon, Fidel, -Francisco or Tranquilino. What names! The atmosphere of the ranch -became so poetic and romantic I should not have been surprised to see -Owen adopt long hair and a flowing tie. After a day spent in visiting -the sheep camps I returned in an ecstatic mood. I almost fancied -myself the reincarnated spirit of Bo-Peep or Ramona but alas, my true -identity was always disclosed as soon as I reached the house--I was -only "the Missus". - -Nevertheless the sheep business was fascinating, and best of all -successful. The question of the range was settled. We had the use of -our own land and our rights were respected. The customary feud between -the sheepman and the cattle owners was avoided, since our sheep were -always kept within the limits of the land which we owned. From being -the object of hatred and vilification, Owen became a personage; his -opinion quoted, his method of handling sheep emulated. - -[Illustration: TRAILED ALL THE WAY FROM NEW MEXICO] - -[Illustration: LIKE A SOLITARY FENCE POST] - -There were a few sheep men in the country who had made an indifferent -success. They had scoffed at Owen's practice of selling off all the -lambs in the autumn and maintaining the number of his sheep by -additional purchases but, when they found how small his losses were, -they promptly adopted his plan and even some of the old-time cattle -men put in sheep. - -The loss of the law suit had certainly proved to be the turning point -in the history of the Brook family. Our popularity increased so -rapidly it was amusing. Bill expressed what I felt as I met him riding -through the meadow. - -"Have you been riding the fence lines, Bill?" - -"Yes'm, but it's just takin' exercise for my health. There ain't -nothin' wrong any more. Since you folks got the world by the tail and -a down-hill pull, everybody's huntin' around seein' what they can do -to make it pleasant for you. I notice the Three Circle outfit don't go -round no more leavin' all the gates open and when we get a fence line -staked out, the stakes ain't all pulled up by mornin'." - -"It is peaceful, isn't it?" - -"Peaceful," echoed Bill, with feeling, "I'm so chuck full of peace I -can't hardly hold any more. I'll bet if a feller was to hit me, I'd -only 'baa-a'." - -There was a vast amount of "Baa-ing" going on at the ranch, where Mary -and I were raising a few score orphan lambs on the bottle. There was a -voracious chorus whenever we appeared. They jumped all over us and as -soon as they got hold of the nipple of the bottle they flopped down on -their knees and did not release it until they had gulped down the last -drop of milk, after which they stood up, their little sides sticking -out as though they had been stuffed. As much care had to be exercised -with the bottles, the temperature and quantity of the milk as though -we had been feeding so many babies. - -There was no milk at the outside camps and no one to care for the poor -abandoned lambs whose frivolous young mothers refused to own them, -leaving them to starve. Occasionally an old ewe of truly maternal -instinct could be fooled into adopting one of these little "dogies" or -"bums". The skin of her dead lamb was taken off and slipped over the -orphan, which was joyfully accepted because of its smell! - -When the lambs made their appearance in May, the bands were separated, -we had additional herders and they had to be more watchful for "Spring -lamb" is also very tempting to coyotes. It was easy for a herder to -lose ten or twenty lambs, for the little things congregate behind -rocks or clumps of weeds and go to sleep, are overlooked when the -sheep are driven back to the camp in the evening, and become the -victims of those prairie wolves which continually lurk about. - -Sometimes when we were driving, a tiny white speck would come racing -after the wagon, a lamb, which had been left behind. Lambs are such -senseless little things, when they are frightened they will adopt any -moving object in lieu of a mother. - -We pulled them out of prairie-dog holes into which they had thrust -their heads and become fastened by having the loose earth fall in -about their necks--they were troublesome but so appealing and amusing, -they were a never-ending source of entertainment from the first moment -they appeared, a tiny body supported on long, wabbly legs. - -As they grew stronger "playful as a lamb" acquired a new meaning. They -capered and they bucked, they raced around the corral in the evening -when the ewes were contentedly lying down, they frisked about on the -backs of their patient mothers, they jumped stiff-legged, and in a -wild excess of joy bounded into the air giving a cork-screw twist to -their hindquarters, which produced a most ludicrous effect. - -Old quotations from the Bible came to have added significance; as the -shearer held a poor frightened sheep between his knees and rapidly -clipped off the fleece with his gleaming shears, there was not a sound -if a clumsy movement cut a deep gash in the tender flesh; the "sheep -before her shearer was dumb" indeed. - -I spent days in the shearing sheds watching the proceedings from a -pile of wool sacks or passing out small metal disks in exchange for -the fleeces the shearers turned in. At the end of the day the disks -were counted and each shearer credited with the number of sheep he had -shorn. - -The fleeces were rolled and tied separately, then thrown up to a man -on a platform, who packed them in a long sack which was suspended from -the top of a high frame. As it was filled, it was taken down, sewed up -and rolled into the end of the shed to remain until later in the -season when the wool was sold and hauled to the railroad. - -Life was certainly peaceful compared to what it had been, but there -was little danger of our becoming "on weed", as a certain retired -cattle-man expressed it after a short sojourn in Europe. - -Lambing, shearing and dipping followed in rapid succession. The -herders cooked for themselves and once a week the wagons were piled -with supplies and provisions which were left at each camp. In a huge -store-room were kept quantities of salt-pork, sugar, dried fruits, -coffee, flour and other groceries. Flour was bought by the ton and -everything else in proportion. Making out the orders, having all the -freight hauled the sixteen miles from the railroad, checking it out -and keeping the camps supplied, were only details but it was the -multitude of detail which filled the days and kept us from becoming -"on weed". We issued the supplies to the camp-tenders ourselves, after -one of them had filled all of the Mexicans' cans with gasoline instead -of coal-oil, because "it kind'a had the same smell." - -Unless we chanced to have guests, for weeks at a time the only women I -saw were those in our employ, but I resented having any of my friends -think of my life as "dull" or "lonely". On the contrary it was -fascinating, full of incident, rich in experience which money could -not buy. Living so close to the great heart of nature during those -years on the plains, the vision of life partook of their breadth and a -new sense of values replaced old, artificial standards. To be alone on -the vast prairie was to gain a new conception of infinity -and--eternity. - - * * * * * - -The Mexicans stayed on the ranch about nine months, then returned to -their homes for a short visit. They were the most invariable creatures -I ever knew. When they departed for Taos or Trinidad or Antonito, -perhaps in July, they would announce on what date and by what train -they would return in October. That was the end of it, and upon the -appointed day in October someone would meet the designated train from -which the smiling herder alighted. They never failed and they never -left until another herder was there to take care of the sheep. - -One summer during this vacation period, eight new herders came to -replace eight that were going home. They were a fierce looking lot -from a different section of the country. They had been on the ranch -only a short time when Steve began to have trouble with them. They -were late getting their sheep out in the morning, they drove them too -rapidly and brought them in too early in the evening. In a few weeks -the sheep began to lose flesh and show the effects of bad handling. - -The newcomers disobeyed all orders, unless Steve happened to be on the -spot. He had to watch them constantly. He came up to a camp -unexpectedly one noon and found two of these Mexicans ready to sit -down to a dinner they had just cooked. It was an invariable rule that -the herders should take a lunch with them, for their mid-day meal, and -not return to the camp. They had left their sheep alone, so Steve made -them leave their dinner and go back to their bands, while he stayed to -make sure they did not return. - -It was impossible to discharge them until new herders could be brought -from New Mexico and he and Owen talked over the situation at length -that night. - -Early in the morning Steve went out on another trip of inspection. -About two o'clock he rode into the yard, his face covered with blood -from a deep gash in his head. He fell from his horse into Owen's arms. -We brought him in, washed off the blood, gave him a stimulant and -waited until he was able to tell us what had happened. - -It developed that as he came in sight of the camp he saw four of the -Mexicans outside of the cabin. They stood motionless as he approached, -then began to hurl rocks at him. One hit his horse and he was nearly -thrown but managed to keep his seat. He was struck several times on -the body. Although realizing that the Mexicans intended to kill him, -he jumped off his horse and went toward them. A rock struck his head, -but with undaunted courage he picked up some of the rocks and threw -them back at the herders. They had not expected that turn to the -affair and ran into the cabin. Steve was unarmed and too badly hurt, -single handed, to deal with the Mexicans, so he got on his horse, with -difficulty, and came back to the ranch. - -The next thing I knew, Owen, Bill and Fred, each carrying a gun, got -into the wagon and drove off. - -When anything happened it came with such suddenness there was never -opportunity for questions, besides, my association with men had taught -me the value of silence--in an emergency. - -In a few hours Owen and Fred came back. They had met the eight new -herders walking into the ranch to "quit". They walked back to their -respective camps instead, their pace accelerated by a loaded gun -pointing at their backs. The cabins were searched, several villainous -looking knives confiscated and eight subdued cut-throats returned to -the peaceful occupation of herding sheep, under Bill's watchful eye -and loaded gun. - -Owen said that it wasn't at all necessary for the Mexicans to -understand English since Bill's few remarks were sufficiently lurid to -attract their attention. - -Until other herders could be brought to the ranch, one white man, -always armed, stayed at each camp, constantly on guard lest the -vindictive herders set fire to the camps or kill the sheep. These were -no gentle children from the land of Manana; we discovered they were -desperate characters from Old Mexico, to whom murder was second -nature. - -Bill's opinion of the sheep business after his brief experience in the -camps could only be published in an expurgated edition. He hated the -Mexicans, he hated the sheep, he hated everything connected with them. -After seeing his charges safely on board a southbound train, he -returned to the ranch with all the joy of an exile. - -"I've been up against tough men, Mrs. Brook, but that bunch is the -worst I ever seen. They're just like a pack of coyotes, grinnin' and -sneakin' up behind you, waitin' 'til they git a chance to finish you. -Between listnin' to the grass grow and pickin' off sheep ticks, I got -plumb locoed settin' there watchin' 'em. I jest had to feel my skin -every once in a while to be sure I wasn't growin' wool." - - - - -IX - -THE UNEXPECTED - - -If there is anything in suggestion, Carlyle was responsible for the -whole affair, otherwise _why_ should we have deferred our drive until -the late afternoon and selected _Sartor Resartus_ of all books to read -aloud after lunch? - -Owen wanted to visit one of the sheep camps to examine the corrals -before having the hay stacked there for winter use and he urged us to -go with him. His invitation was joyfully accepted. For many weeks we -had scarcely left the ranch as Owen's Mother, who was with us, had -been desperately ill. The crisis had passed, however, so we did not -hesitate to go off for a few hours, leaving Madame Brook with her -nurse. My aunt, Owen's sister and her two children were at the ranch -also, and after so many weeks of anxiety we all felt the relaxation -and joyously climbed into the wagon when Owen drove up. - -There were summer and winter camps for the sheep and our objective -point was an old place, acquired with the ranch, which had been -converted into a winter camp. During the summer it was unoccupied. - -We drove along laughing and talking. Owen's nephew carried his gun and -kept a sharp lookout for coyotes. It was a glorious day and we were in -the mood to appreciate all its beauty. - -The meadows, waist deep in native hay, were flecked with the gold of -the prairie sun flowers. The wild roses grew in tangled masses -everywhere, their perfume mingled with the odor of the sage which -yielded up its aromatic sweetness as the wheels crushed the silvery -leaves. The plains were mottled with the shade of fleecy clouds which -floated lazily across the sky, the changing lights flooded the hills -with dazzling sunshine, then veiled them softly with faint cloud -shadows. A delicate haze hung over the more distant hills, and behind -the mountains thunderheads were gathering. - -The road ran directly past the camp and long before we reached it we -could see the old house, forbidding in its isolation, standing on a -high mesa above the creek. It had been built years before by a settler -named La Monte, whose footsteps misfortune had dogged until she -overtook him at last. His wife deserted him and, broken in heart and -fortune, he had left the country. Bohm held a mortgage on the place -and it had passed into his possession. - -An air of abandonment surrounded the camp even in winter when it was -occupied, but during the summer when it was totally deserted the -ghosts of dead happiness stalked unheeded through the silent rooms. -Rank weeds filled the yards, the plaintive notes of the wood-doves in -the cotton-woods by the creek and the weird, haunting howl of the -coyotes were the only sounds to break the silence. - -There was a tale connecting old Bohm with the La Monte tragedy for -which an affair with Mrs. La Monte was responsible. We were some -distance from the house, the rest of the party were intent on watching -a big jack-rabbit which was bounding lightly across the prairie, but I -was thinking of the wretched story which the sight of the old house -always recalled, when the door was slowly opened and a naked man -paused for a moment on the threshold then walked down the steps into -the yard. - -I gave a gasp, my eyes fixed on that advancing figure, the others -looked around but in that instant the man had seen us and dropped down -into the tall weeds, by which he was completely hidden. - -"What's the matter?" Owen asked, surprised by my exclamation. - -"Why, Owen, a man without any clothes on just came out of that door -and is there in the weeds." - -Owen turned toward the yard, there was no one in sight; he looked at -me in amazement. He knew I must be in earnest! I was not given to -"seeing things". - -"Why, that's absurd, how could you imagine anyone being out here in -this deserted place miles and miles from the railroad?" - -We were just opposite the house and as if in response to Owen's -question the head and naked breast of a man rose up from behind the -weeds. His face was crimson and the thick, black disheveled hair gave -him such an aspect of wildness we were appalled. - -Owen stopped the horses, the man rose to his feet, calmly looked at -us, then turned and walked slowly into the house. - -We were speechless. It was like a sudden apparition. - -After a moment Owen passed the lines to me. - -"Here, Esther, hold the horses while I go in and investigate." - -"Be careful," was all I could say. There was a chorus of "Don'ts" from -the back seat as he got out of the wagon. - -I thought of the gun. "Gordon, take your gun and go after your uncle. -I know that man is crazy." - -Gordon jumped out and ran toward the house, but before he reached the -door we heard a loud burst of singing, a curious rendering of -"Ta-rah-rah boom-de-ahy". In a moment Owen and Gordon reappeared. - -"Well, there's no doubt of his being crazy," Owen said, "we'll go to -the Bosman ranch where I can get someone to come back with me. I can -telephone the Sheriff from there, too." Then he told us what had -happened. - -By the time he reached the door the man had put on his outside shirt -and was standing in the middle of the bedroom floor. He glared at Owen -when he entered and made no reply when asked what he was doing there, -then he turned around and walked over to an empty bed frame which -stood against the wall, got behind it and gradually slipped down -underneath. When he was lying flat on his back on the floor, his feet -toward Owen, he began to sing in some broken foreign tongue. - -It was uncanny and as we drove on toward the creek I could only say -"What next?" - -"I don't know what on earth can come next," Owen replied. "This is -positively the most unexpected and unlikely thing that ever happened." - -We had to drive down a hill before we crossed the creek and at last -lost sight of the house, the sound of the wild singing grew more faint -and finally died away. - -There were no bridges in the country and while at this time there was -no flowing water, the sand was wet. We drove down a steep bank into -the bed of the creek and were almost across when without the slightest -warning the bottom seemed to drop out of the earth beneath us and the -wagon sank down. - -"Quicksand!" - -There was just time for that one exclamation in concert. Owen gave the -horses a quick cut with the whip, they sprang forward, caught a -footing on the solid sand and were safe. He gave them another cut, but -pull as they would they could not move the wagon, which had sunk to -the hubs. The double tree broke and the horses were free. Owen and -Gordon jumped out on the tongue, holding onto the horses and drove -them up the bank. There the rest of us sat, feeling the wagon sinking -slowly farther and farther into the deadly, yielding substance. - -The end of the wagon-pole rested on the firm sand, so by climbing over -the dashboard holding on to it with one hand I was able to work my own -way down the wagon tongue until I could grasp an outstretched hand and -jump to safety. The others followed my example. The danger was past, -but we trembled as we looked back. - -It is impossible to distinguish quicksand from ordinary sand by its -appearance, but it will not support the slightest weight. It seems to -melt into nothing and the sensation is all the more terrifying from -its suddenness. The first effect is instantaneous, then the engulfment -becomes more gradual. - -We were safe but afoot. Owen took the horses. - -"Gordon and I will go on to the Bosmans and get another wagon. We -won't be long and you women had better stay here and not walk these -three miles." - -I was just about to say "all right" when I happened to glance behind -me and there on the bank, silhouetted quite sharply against the sky, -stood the figure of a half-clad man. - -He was watching every move we made. I pointed to him. - -"I think you'd better come with us," said Owen after one glance, "he -might decide to investigate," and off we all trudged down the dusty -road. - -Blue black masses of cloud were spreading gradually across the sky and -distant thunder muttered ominously. - - * * * * * - -If a bomb had alighted in the centre of the Bosman ranch, where supper -was in progress, it couldn't have produced a more startling effect -than our arrival on foot and the account of our experience. They urged -us to spend the night, as the storm was rapidly approaching, but we -felt we must go back with Owen. - -Mr. Bosman hitched our team to one of his wagons, while Owen -telephoned to the Sheriff. We took a few pieces of bread and meat for -the poor demented creature at the camp and made another start. Mr. -Bosman and his son accompanied us on horseback. - -We went by a different road to avoid crossing the creek. - -It was dark by the time we reached the La Monte place, everything was -still. The four men, with a lighted lantern, entered the house. A wild -outburst of singing followed, which told us the same scene was being -enacted. The men came out almost immediately, talking earnestly. - -Mr. Bosman, an old-timer, had recognized the man as Jean La Monte, he -had spoken to him, had called him by name, but no sign of -understanding, not one faint glimmer of intelligence had shone from -out those wild eyes. Mr. Bosman was almost overcome. - -"It's just terrible to see him that way, he was such a good man. Poor -old La Monte, trouble has sure driven him crazy. How on earth he ever -got here beats me. There ain't a thing we can do tonight. We couldn't -handle him if he got violent. There never was a stronger man in this -country than Jean La Monte. My God! It's awful!" - -So it was arranged that the Bosmans should go back to their ranch and -send word to the Sheriff to be up there early in the morning and that -Owen should have some of our men guard the place during the night. - -"Poor devil, I don't believe he'll go away. He seemed so suspicious he -wouldn't touch the bread, and I believe he's been here two or three -days. See you in the morning," and the Bosmans disappeared in the -darkness. - -The thought of the tragedy with which we had so suddenly come in -touch, weighed upon us. A living ghost connected us with a past in -which we had no part. - -Long after we had left the old place behind, the mad singing followed -us, except when it was drowned by a sudden crash of thunder. The -jagged flashes of lightning illuminated the heavens for a brief -second, then left the world shrouded in an impenetrable darkness. -Rather than risk going through the creek a second time, we had decided -to cut across country. - -The prairies were broken by deep gullies washed and torn by the fury -of the summer storms. By day, driving was difficult; by night, it was -hazardous in the extreme, and after a blinding flash which fairly tore -the heavens apart, we were forced to stop the horses for fear of -driving into an unseen gulch. The horses, headed toward home and -excited and nervous, were hard to control. We drove along in silence, -our staring eyes trying to pierce the darkness. It was so dangerous -that at last I got out and walked in front of the horses. I could not -see; I could only know from the contour of the ground when we were -near a gulch or by my outstretched hand tell when we were near the -wires of a fence. After a time Gordon took my place, and all the way -one or the other walked before the team. The lightning and thunder -were terrific, but still it did not rain. We were worn out with -fatigue and anxiety when we finally reached the ranch. - -Steve was standing with his saddle horse at the crossing of the creek, -swinging a lighted lantern. When he heard the sound of the wheels he -gave a shout. - -"Mr. Brook!" - -"All right," Owen called back. Steve came towards us. - -"What on earth happened? We've all been plumb worried to death, and -Madame Brook, she's most crazy. I've just sent Fred up to the La Monte -place to look for you." - -"La Monte place!" we exclaimed as several of the boys, attracted by -Steve's shout, came up. "Get on your horse," said Owen, quickly, "and -overtake him; there's a madman up there." - -Steve did not wait for further instructions, but flung himself on his -horse and tore off after Fred. We hurried in to reassure Owen's -mother, who was nearly frantic. Later, as she bade us "Good-night," -she said very seriously: "Owen, as soon as I am able I am going to -Denver. I must be where it is quiet. I simply cannot stand the -excitement here." - -As the rain began to fall in torrents, we heard the men who had been -detailed to guard the La Monte place galloping off. - -An itinerant tailor had pulled into the ranch just before our return, -and was peacefully sleeping in his wagon. He was awakened when the -horses were driven into the corral, and came out to learn the cause of -the commotion. He was so excited when he heard that an insane person -was in the vicinity he asked to sleep at the bunk house with the men. -They tried to laugh him out of his fears, but his fright was so -genuine they told him to "come on." - -The strangeness of the whole affair, the combination of circumstances -and pure nervous and physical exhaustion kept Owen and me awake a long -time. It seemed I had scarcely fallen asleep when I heard someone -knock on the door and say: - -"Mr. Brook, Mr. Brook." - -I recognized Mary's voice, and responded for Owen, who was dead -asleep. - -"Mrs. Brook, the crazy man is down here at the corral; will you ask -Mr. Brook to come out?" - -It didn't take Owen long to dress. It was about five o'clock, and from -the window we could see poor old La Monte, still attired in his shirt, -sitting in the door of the granary playing with a little cotton-wood -switch. - -How he had escaped the men who had surrounded the place, and how he -had found his way to our ranch were questions no one could answer. - -The first intimation of his presence came in the form of a wild yell -from the tailor, who had gotten up early and gone down to the corral -to feed his horses. This brought all the men to the bunk house door as -the terror-stricken little Jew flung himself into their arms. - -"Mein Gott! Dot crazy man iss here." - -"You're the only crazy man on this ranch," said Bill, taking him by -the collar and giving him a shake. "What ails you, anyhow?" - -"Oh, he iss here, he iss here," wailed the tailor. "He ain't got on no -clothes, and we'll all be kilt." The boys left him and went out to -investigate. - -It was true. La Monte was there, and after a futile effort on Bill's -part to get him to talk the boys retired to the bunk house and sent -for Owen. - -"Gee," Bill said later, "that feller was the doggondest lookin' thing -I ever seen, settin' there in what was left of his shirt. His legs was -all tore by the fence wires or brambles, his teeth was chatterin' and -he was just blue with cold. His eyes had a look in 'em that give me -the shivers. I don't wonder he scart that there Jew into a fit. I -wasn't very anxious to come clost to him, neither. I ain't scart of -anything that's human, but he ain't human, goin' 'round folks dressed -like that." Bill was a stickler for convention. - -"That's the first thing a person usually does when he goes crazy, -Bill--takes off all his clothes." - -Bill gave me an incredulous look. - -"Gosh, I hope I'll be killed ridin' or somethin' and not lose my mind -first. It ain't decent." - - * * * * * - -The poor demented creature would not speak nor pay any attention to -the other men, but when he saw Steve he smiled as he asked: - -"You've come to take me away from them, haven't you?" - -"Yes," Steve said. "Will you go with me now?" - -La Monte stood up. - -"Yes, if you won't let them get me; those witches want to drag me back -to hell, but I've fooled them this time. I've almost caught up with -him once or twice and they drag me back." And he walked off quietly by -Steve's side. - -Steve took him to the bunkhouse, gave him some coffee and made him lie -down on his bed. While Steve sat beside him La Monte slept fitfully, -but at the slightest move started and tried to get up. Steve fell in -with all his vagaries; he promised to help him escape the witches and -to help him find the person for whom he seemed to be searching. - -"Where was he last?" Steve asked, hoping to find some clue. - -"Why, on his horse." La Monte sat up and stared wildly into Steve's -eyes. "Don't you know, he's always on a horse, a big black horse. He's -there just ahead of me, he's always just ahead of me," and he jumped -up and started toward the door. - -Steve calmed him again and he fell back on the pillows and lay there -in silence, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. - - * * * * * - -Six crestfallen cow-punchers returned from the La Monte place. No one -knew when the man had left the camp, no one had even caught a glimpse -of him. His clothes they had found in the well. - -The Sheriff and his posse came at last. Steve kept his hand on the arm -of La Monte as they approached the wagon. It was a tense moment; we -were all watching but hidden, fearful lest some trifle would arouse -the demon of violence. The men were all armed. - -La Monte put his foot up on the step of the wagon, then took it off, -shook his head, turned and walked toward the granary. We held our -breath. Steve alone followed him. - -"Come on; you're going with me, aren't you?" - -There was no reply. With his eyes fixed on the ground La Monte ignored -Steve completely. Suddenly he stopped and picked up something, the -little cotton-wood switch to which the leaves still clung. Holding it -tightly, he walked back to the wagon, got in, Steve by his side, and -they drove off. - -They were scarcely out of sight when Charley came dashing up with -sixty dollars in gold which he had found under a pile of mud at the La -Monte place. Owen sent him to overtake the wagon. - -"Is this yours?" Charley asked, as he rode up to them, holding the -money out toward La Monte, who only shook his head and looked off -across the prairie. Charley turned the money over to Steve. - -When they reached the town, La Monte seemed to become confused and -suspicious. He would not speak. He was judged insane and committed to -the asylum. Still in charge of the Sheriff, Steve and two other men, -he was put on the train. - -"Where did you get him?" the conductor asked the Sheriff. - -"Up in the country, at the A L ranch." - -"Oh, yes, I know that place; it used to be the old Bohm----" - -He never finished his sentence, for La Monte, with a cry, sprang to -his feet, looked wildly about, brushed them aside and jumped through -the window. - -The train was stopped, and they ran back to where he had fallen. He -had broken his leg, but in spite of that fought them off with -superhuman strength. With the help of the train crew, he was -overpowered at last, bound and taken back to the train. - -Steve told us later it was the most terrible experience he had ever -been through. - -"I just couldn't stand the look in his eyes when they got him to the -asylum. He didn't say nothin', just kept moanin' all the time. He'd -been there for five years, and no one knew how he got away. I suppose -it would a come anyhow, but it seemed like it was the mention of -Bohm's name that set him off." - - - - -X - -AROUND THE CHRISTMAS FIRE - - -Within a radius of many miles there were only three small children, -and about them our Christmas festivities revolved. They furnished the -excuse for the tree, but no work was too pressing, no snow too deep to -prevent the boys from bringing the Christmas tree and greens from a -small clump of pines which stood on top of a distant hill, like a dark -green island in the midst of the prairie sea. - -Early on Christmas morning Steve started out with gaily bedecked -baskets for the Mexicans, and at the ranch the greatest excitement -prevailed. I dashed frantically between the bunkhouse and our kitchen -to be certain that nothing was forgotten. The big turkeys were stuffed -to the point of bursting, all the "trimmings" were in readiness, and -the last savory mince pies were in the ovens. - -[Illustration: BUCKING HORSE AND RIDER] - -Behind the closed doors of the living room the tall tree, festooned -with ropes of popcorn and garlands of gaudy paper chains, glittered -and glowed with its tinsel ornaments and candles. - -Owen divided his attention between his "Santa Claus" costume and pails -of water, which he placed near the tree in case it should catch fire. - -The boys spent most of the morning "slicking up" and put on their red -neckties, the outward and visible sign of some important event, then -passed the remaining hours sitting around anxiously awaiting the -arrival of the guests of honor and--dinner. - -Sometimes members of the family were with us or some friends were -lured from the city by the promise of a "really, truly Christmas," and -there were always a few lonely bachelors to whom the holidays, -otherwise, would have brought only memories. - -Christmas was our one great annual celebration, a day of cheer and -happiness, in which everyone joyously shared. It was a new experience -in the life of the undomesticated cow-puncher, but he took as much -satisfaction in the fact that "Our tree was a whole lot prettier than -the one I've saw in town" as though he had won a roping contest. - -Each year the children and their parents were invited for Christmas -dinner. They might be delayed en route by deep snowdrifts, out of -which they had to dig themselves, but they always arrived eventually. -We came to have a sincere affection for those children, gentle little -wild flowers of the prairie. - -They were very sweet, perfectly ingenuous, gazing in round-eyed wonder -upon things which to most of us were commonplace. - -I never thought of its being anything new in their brief experience -until at dinner one of the small boys turned to his mother after -tasting a piece of celery and said, "Look, Mamma, 'tain't cabbage and -'tain't onions. What is it?" - -They positively trembled with excitement as they learned to read and -laboriously spelled out the words in the simple books we gave them. -They craved knowledge as a starving man craves bread. - -As Santa Claus, Owen wore a ruddy mask with a long white beard and -bristling eyebrows, a fur cap pulled down over his ears, heavy felt -boots and his long fur overcoat. He looked and acted the part so -perfectly the children for years insisted that "there is a Santa Claus -'cause we've seen him." - -The first Christmas everyone was gathered about the tree waiting for -this mysterious personage to appear when Owen suddenly thought of -bells; he must have sleigh-bells. No self-respecting Santa Claus was -complete without them. I was in despair; there wasn't a sleigh-bell -within a hundred miles, but Owen insisted that he must jingle. At last -after a great deal of argument and searching for something which would -give forth bell-like sounds, he finally pranced out before the -spell-bound audience with my silver table bell sewed to the top of one -of his boots. He had to prance because the bell refused to tinkle -unless it was shaken, and for the ensuing hour he pranced so -vigorously that between the exercise and the fur coat he nearly -perished from heat. - -After dinner we all assembled in the big living-room, where my -disguised husband presented each person with some little gift and -ridiculous toy, accompanied by a still more ridiculous rhyme, over -which the boys roared. They enjoyed the jokes most of all. No one -escaped; Owen and I came in for our share with the rest. Mine usually -bore veiled or open allusion to my particular pet lamb which had -developed strong butting proclivities. He butted friend and foe -indiscriminately, so that even my fond eyes were not blinded to his -faults, and Owen's remarks were most uncomplimentary after he had -acted as a shield for us when "Jackie" had chased my sister and me all -about the yard. - -Later in the afternoon everybody scattered--our house guests amused -themselves as they chose, riding, driving or hunting coyotes, the boys -rode over to the neighboring ranches or went to "town," the store and -saloon at the railroad station sixteen miles away, but I spent an hour -or two playing with the children or reading to them until their father -"brought the team around," their happy mother climbed up on the high -seat of the lumber-wagon and, clinging to dolls, trains and toys, -three blissfully happy but perfectly exhausted little children were -wrapped up in quilts and coats, stowed into the back of the wagon and -started on the twenty-mile drive "back home." - -It had been an eventful day in their short, barren lives, but for us -it was the best part of Christmas, except the evening, when we all -gathered about the big fireplace which drew everyone into its circle -like a magnet. - -There was nothing prosaic about those who grouped themselves around -the great stone fireplaces on the ranches in the old days. Here again -were found those contrasts, so striking and unexpected; university men -who had come West for adventure or investment, men of wealth whose -predisposition to weak lungs had sent them in exile to the wilderness, -modest young Englishmen, those younger sons so often found in the most -out-of-the-way corners of the earth, and who, through the sudden -demise of a near relative, had such a startling way of becoming earls -and lords over night; adventurous Scotchmen, brilliant young Irishmen, -all smoking contentedly there in the firelight and discussing the -"isms" and "ologies" and every other subject under heaven. But most -interesting of all were their own reminiscences. - -We were all sitting around the fire one Christmas night when the -conversation turned on adventure, and everyone promised to tell the -most thrilling experience he had ever had. - -Two of the men were lying on the big bearskin before the fire. One, a -mining engineer, told of having been captured by bandits and held for -a ransom, in some remote corner of Mexico where he had gone to examine -a very famous mine. The other, a surveyor for the Union Pacific -Railroad, had been lost during a storm and, becoming snow-blind, -crawled for five miles on his hands and knees, feeling the trail with -naked, half frozen hands until he reached the creek down which he -waded until he came to the camp. - -In a big chair, the firelight playing over her slender figure, sat -Janet Courtland, an Eastern woman, who as a mere girl had come West -with her young husband and had gone up into Montana where he had -bought a large cattle ranch. - -"Come on, Mrs. Courtland, you're next," the Surveyor said as he -finished his story. - -"Well," Janet began, "Will and I have had so many experiences I -scarcely know which was the most exciting, but I think our encounter -with the Indians was the most thrilling from first to last. - -"Will had to go into Miles City on business and I went with him for -great unrest had been reported among the Indians and he didn't want to -leave me on the ranch alone. We had been in town only a few days when -we heard that they were on the war path and Will felt he must go back -to the ranch. He wanted me to stay in town, but I wouldn't. If he was -going back I was going with him, so we started in the buck-board on -that long eighty-five mile drive. I'll never forget it. The day was -fearfully hot and we were constantly looking out for Indians. We had -gone about half-way, when we came over the top of a hill and saw a -band of Indians just below us. They saw us before we could turn back, -we had to go on, and as we came towards them they formed into two -lines so that we had to drive between them. It was horrible." And -Janet gave a shiver at the recollection. "I'll never forget as long as -I live those frightful, painted faces. Not an Indian moved; we passed -through the line and had gone a short distance beyond, when we heard -the report of a gun. Will clapped his hand to his side and said: 'My -God, I'm shot. Drive as fast as you can'--and he threw the lines to -me. - -"I lashed the horses and we fairly tore. Everything was still, there -was only that one shot, the Indians made no attempt to follow us. We -did not speak. Will was lying back in the buckboard, his hand pressed -to his side. When we had gone out of sight of the Indians I stopped -the horses and asked Will where he was struck. - -"'In the side; I can feel the blood oozing through my fingers,' he -said. He took his hand away and gave an exclamation as he looked at -it. It was wet but not with blood. We could not find the sign of a -wound. We got out to investigate and discovered--that just as we -passed the Indians the cork flew out of a bottle of root beer we had -in the back of the buckboard and struck him in the side. Poor old -Willie, no wonder he thought he was shot," and Janet smiled at her -husband, who laughed with the rest of us. - -"Now, Owen," he said, "I know some of the things you've been through, -so you can't beg off," and Owen began his story. - -"In the spring of '81 I came West to visit my brother, Ed., on his -ranch in Wyoming. I was a tenderfoot, never having been on the plains -before--and yet--I had scarcely arrived when I announced that the one -thing I wanted to do was to kill a buffalo. He told me that if my -heart was set on it I should have the chance, but that it was -dangerous sport even for experienced hunters, as a buffalo frequently -turns and gores the horse before it can get out of the way. - -"The very next day the dead body of a professional hunter was brought -to the ranch. He had wounded a buffalo bull which had turned, caught -with his horn the horse he was riding, thrown him to the ground and -gored the hunter to death. The sight of his mangled body was shocking -and made a terrible impression on my mind, but my purpose was not -changed. - -"My brother assigned Al. Turpin the responsibility of serving as my -guide. He was one of the best riders on the ranch, cool-headed and a -good shot. We took breakfast before daylight in order to get an early -start. After riding a considerable distance three dark objects were -discovered far away on a hill which sloped toward us. A pair of field -glasses confirmed the opinion that they were buffalo lying down. We -rode in their direction and kept out of sight, except as we peered -cautiously over the top of each succeeding ridge until it was possible -to approach no nearer in concealment, when we rode to the top of the -nearest hill and were in full view. The buffalo saw us and quick as -lightning were on their feet running away. We sent our horses at full -speed down the slope, across a level piece of ground and up the hill -after them. We were gaining rapidly. My horse was the faster of the -two and was in the lead. He was one of the best trained cow ponies I -have ever ridden and was my brother's favorite for cutting out cattle. - -"When about thirty yards behind the buffalo, one stopped. The bit I -was using was severe. I pulled and threw my horse back on his -haunches. The buffalo was an immense bull. He appeared to me as big as -a mountain. He turned facing me, his body at an angle, cocked his head -on the side, then threw it toward the ground and, quicker than a -flash, came down the hill like a landslide. - -"My horse struggled against the bit and tried to jump toward the -buffalo and turn him as he would a steer. I tried to swing his head -away and dug my spurs into his sides to make him move, but he did not -understand why he should run from a buffalo. He did respond a little -and turned so that his haunches were toward the great brute coming -down the hill. - -"The head of the buffalo was in striking distance. He looked like a -great devil. His beadlike eyes flashed fire. The next instant I -expected the horse to be pitched down the hill. I could feel myself -thrown into the air and then gored to death when I struck the ground. -I could see the mangled body of the dead hunter. - -"While my six-shooter was a powerful gun, I knew that if I should -shoot the brute in the head, the ball would not go through the mass of -matted hair and the thick skull. Still there was nothing else to do. I -thought my time had come. In order to hit him at all it was necessary -to shoot over my left arm. In my haste I pulled the trigger too soon. -The loud report startled the horse into a run and turned the buffalo. -Its discharge, so near my head, gave me a terrible shock. I thought -the shot had blown away all the right side of my head and I put up my -hand to keep my brains from falling out, but there were neither brains -nor blood on my hand. The bullet had just grazed my head and gone -through the rim of my hat. That brute looked like an infuriated demon. -I couldn't have been more frightened if I had met the devil himself at -the mouth of hell. - -"When it was all over, I was not in a mood for challenging him again, -but as he loped away, Al. ran his horse abreast and from a safe -distance put a shot into his brisket. He fell dead. Believe me, I have -had many close calls, but that was the one time in all my life when I -was really scared." - -"What extraordinary experiences people do have in this country," Will -Mason exclaimed, as he leaned forward to light a fresh cigar. -"Speaking of Ed. reminds me of a strange coincidence which happened -the year after he came West. - -"We had been together the year before in New York, where we had met a -chap named Courtney Drake. He was a Yale man and a member of the -University Club, so we saw quite a good deal of him. He was very -congenial and one of the most lovable fellows I ever knew. He was -married but he seldom spoke of his wife and we never met her. - -"One morning we picked up the paper and were horrified to read that -Mrs. Courtney Drake had shot her maid. There it was in glaring -headlines, the whole wretched affair. The Drakes were one of the -oldest and wealthiest families in New York and it was spicy reading -for the scandal lovers I assure you. - -"It seems that Drake had gotten mixed up with this woman when he first -came out of college and in order to force him to marry her she told -him that she was soon to have a child. He wouldn't believe it, and how -she worked it I don't know. She must have been mighty clever, for she -and her maid got hold of a baby somewhere and she made Courtney -believe it was hers and that he was the father--so he married her. - -"They had only been married a short time when the maid began to demand -large sums of 'hush money' and Mrs. Drake gave her whatever she asked, -for she was in mortal dread of having Drake discover the truth. The -girl found blackmail so profitable she became more and more insistent -in her demands and nearly drove Mrs. Drake wild. At last she could -endure it no longer and in a perfect frenzy, shot and killed the maid -and then the whole thing came out. Mrs. Drake was sent to prison, -where she died later, but Courtney vanished utterly after the -trial--no one knew what became of him. - -"The next fall Ed. and I came West and two years later were up in the -Jackson's Hole country with a party, shooting. Ed. and one of the -guides went out one morning to get some ducks, but in a short time -they came back to camp carrying the dead body of Courtney Drake. They -had come across his body on the shore of a small lake, lying face down -in the mud. There was a single bullet hole in the back of his head. - -"Think of his having been found out there in the wilderness by the -only man in the country who knew who he was! Talk about chance," Will -sighed, "Poor devil, he was living out there under an assumed name. -His family had no idea where he was. Ed. notified them and then took -his body East. - -"Just after his death Drake's partner produced a bill of sale for the -entire ranch and took possession of it. Everyone suspected him of the -murder, but it couldn't be proved. About three years later the man -killed his wife and at the time of his conviction the question of -Drake's murder was brought up and he confessed. Isn't it strange the -way things happen?" Will's question was general. "What on earth do you -suppose sent Ed. Brook into the Jackson's Hole country at that one -time of all others?" - -No one answered. - -"I wonder if all new countries abound in such tragic mysteries?" The -Surveyor looked up at me. - -"What tragic mysteries have you encountered, Mrs. Brook, that makes -you speak so feelingly?" - -Just then the clock struck twelve and I got up. - -"It's too late for more mysteries, it's time to go to bed--and we -don't want tragedies to keep us wide awake on Christmas night." - -"Oh, come on Esther, tell us your most thrilling experience," they -begged. "We won't move a step until you do." - -"Marrying Owen," I replied, looking over at my unsuspecting husband, -"I've never had a chance to get my breath since." - -And amid a shout of laughter the Christmas party broke up. - - - - -XI - -TED - - -Ted landed in our midst with all the attendant violence of a meteor. -He didn't arrive, he landed, bag and baggage, and until his departure -weeks later our tranquil existence was sufficiently hectic to suit -even Bill. - -After numerous letters from his doting aunt, we reluctantly consented -to look after Ted while she was in Europe recuperating from a nervous -break-down. At the end of the first week, we understood why Aunt -Elizabeth found recuperation necessary, and I suggested to Owen, it -might be well to engage our passage on a later steamer, for I had a -premonition that my own nerves might require a rest after two months -of Ted's strenuous companionship. - -He wasn't bad; there was not a bad thing about him. He was just -overflowing with youth and energy, which had been pent up for years, -between boarding school in the winter and Newport in the summer. - -Motherless, fatherless, rich, neglected or over-indulged by a none too -wise aunt, Ted was an appealing young person, a character easily to be -made or marred by circumstances. - -He looked like a member of the celestial choir--blue-eyed, fair-haired -and mild--but he produced the effect of a Kansas cyclone. - -There was nothing he did not see, there was nothing he did not hear -and there was nothing he did not do. Even on eighty thousand acres of -land his activities were somewhat limited. - -He was wildly enthusiastic about the West, fascinated by the men, and -was Bill's shadow, so we promptly turned him over to those "rough -persons" Aunt Elizabeth had especially hoped that he might avoid, to -get it all out of his system. - -"Let him stay at the bunk-house," Owen advised after Ted had besought -me to allow him to stay with the men. "It will do him more good than -anything else in the world, if he has the right stuff in him." - -Ted stood on the porch, uneasily shifting from one foot to the other, -when I came out of the office. - -"All right, Ted, Mr. Brook and I are perfectly willing for you to stay -with the men, if you really want to." - -He hopped up and down and almost embraced me in his joy. - -"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Brook. You see," he explained, carefully, "I've -seen people like you and Mr. Brook all my life, but I never had the -chance to be with real cow-punchers before." Evidently, from Ted's -point of view, Owen and I were very commonplace individuals compared -to these heroes of the prairie, and I laughed to myself as he bounded -down the steps to break the joyful news to Bill that he was to share -his bed and board. - -The next day we had to go to town to meet some prospective wool -buyers, and, after having his breakfast interrupted five different -times by Ted's dashing in to see if we were ready, Owen was moved to -inquire finally, "What on earth is on the boy's mind now?" - -"His outfit," I answered. "He's been planning it for days; wishes to -select it himself and we are not to see it until we get home." - -That was a wise stipulation of Ted's, for if we had seen it, we should -never have been able to get home. - -He put it on as soon as we reached the ranch, and when he finally -emerged, the flaming sunset paled with chagrin at its futile effort of -years. - -The "outfit" consisted of tan corduroy trousers, chaps of long silky -angora wool, which had been dyed a brilliant orange, a shirt of vivid -green, a bright red silk handkerchief for his neck, an enormous -Stetson hat, high-heeled tan boots, silver studded belt and huge -spurs. - -We gasped when we saw him, but he was so intent on showing himself to -Bill, as to be utterly unconscious of the effect he produced. - -We followed him into the yard where the boys were waiting the call to -supper. Bill looked up from the quirt he was braiding and blinked. - -"Gosh! I thought the sun had set an hour ago," he remarked. - -"No," Ted laughingly responded, giving him a push, "but he's going to -'set' now," and he threw himself down by Bill's side. "I knew you -fellows would guy me, but all the same I think this outfit's great," -and he surveyed himself with infinite pride and satisfaction. - -"It's all right," said Bill, taking in all the details of the -resplendent costume, and looking up at Owen and me with twinkling -eyes, "I like somethin' a little gay myself; but round here where -everything's green, we won't be able to tell you from a bunch of -soap-weed," and Ted good naturedly joined in the laugh at his own -expense. - -"Wouldn't his Aunt Elizabeth die of heart-failure if she could see him -now?" I asked Owen as we went into the house. - -"She certainly would," he answered, "but we'll trust to luck and let -Nature take its course." - -Everything, including Nature, took its course rapidly with Ted, and -for the next few weeks wise prairie dogs, rabbits and rattle-snakes -stayed in their holes. By the end of his stay that energetic young -person had enough rattle-snake skins to provide belts and hat-bands -for all of New York, and scores of live prairie-dogs he had trapped to -be shipped to his aunt's place in Newport. - -I tried to picture the joy of Aunt Elizabeth and her neighbors when -they found informal prairie-dog towns in the midst of their formal -gardens. If life is measured by experiences, a few additional years -were in store for Newport. - -Bill taught Ted to shoot and he spent hours and a fortune shooting at -old tin cans on a post before Bill finally consented to say: - -"I've saw fellers do worse," the sweetest praise that ever fell on -mortal ears, judging by Ted's expression. - -And, then, Owen went to New Mexico to buy some sheep and Bohm came to -sleep on a claim. - -This claim was one over which Owen and Bohm had been having a -controversy for months. It had been included in the sale of the ranch, -and after one of our most important sheep camps had been built upon -it, Owen discovered that Bohm could not give a deed to it, as he had -not made final proof on the land. - -Bohm never ceased to regret having sold the ranch, and had never -forgiven Owen for buying it and making him live up to his contract, so -was only too glad of the opportunity to cause him all the trouble -possible. Time after time he promised to come out and "prove up", but -he never came, so although I was most anxious to have him come, I was -far from pleased to have him about when Owen was away. - -Ted, however, was overjoyed; he seemed to feel that Providence had -arranged Bohm's visit to the ranch for his especial entertainment, and -from the moment the old chap arrived Ted dogged his footsteps. - -At first, old Bohm seemed quite flattered and laughed and joked with -him, praised his shooting, told him stories of the Indian days, -promised to show him the underground passage to an abandoned stage -station, but later he became annoyed, for no clinging burr ever clung -more closely than Ted. He scarcely allowed Bohm to get out of his -sight for one moment. - -How much the boy had heard of old Bohm's history I did not know, but I -concluded a few rumors had reached those ever-attentive ears, for one -day he came in fairly beaming. - -"Gosh! Pudge and Soapy haven't got anything on me, they've only seen -Buffalo Bill in a show, and I'm right in the same house with a man -that's a holy terror!" - -"What do you mean, Ted?" I asked, anxious to find out how much he had -heard. - -"Oh, you know well enough, Mrs. Brook," he laughed, going to the door -as he saw old Bohm on his way to the barn. "You can't fool me. Gee! I -wouldn't have missed him for the world. The fellows'll just be sick -when I tell them." - -"The fellows" were evidently "Pudge" and "Soapy", his two chums at St. -Paul's, "Pudge" because of "his shape," as Ted explained, and "Soapy", -whose parental millions came from the manufacturing of soap. - -The game between the boy and Bohm was amusing. Clever as the old chap -was, he couldn't evade Ted's watchful eye. If Bohm thought him miles -away, he suddenly appeared with such an unconscious air of innocence -he disarmed all suspicion, but he made Bohm uneasy. - -"Quit campin' on the old man's trail, Kid," said Bill one evening at -the corral after Ted had driven Bohm to the bunk-house to escape his -questions. "You're gettin' on his nerves; let him go and sleep on his -claim and get through with it. You and me's got to hunt horses -tomorrow, anyways." - -Ted cheerfully acquiesced, and old Bohm loaded his wagon alone and -drove toward his claim in peace. - -The next morning very early, I heard Bill calling Ted. No Ted -appeared, and I went out to see where he was. - -"Where do you reckon that crazy kid's went now?" demanded Bill, -impatient to start. - -"I'm sure I don't know, Bill, hunting prairie-dogs, probably. Don't -wait for him, if you're ready to go." - -"Huntin' prairie-dogs," echoed Bill. "I'll bet a hat he's huntin' old -Bohm somewheres." He frowned as he cinched up his saddle. "I reckon -I'd better ride over that way and see what he's up to." - -"I wish you would," I said, vaguely uneasy. "I don't want him to -bother Bohm too much." - -"Me neither," said Bill, getting on his horse, "there's his pony's -tracks now," he looked at the ground. "I'll find him and take him -along with me. Don't you worry, he's all right, but he sure is a -corker--that kid," and Bill galloped off. - -I felt confident that he would overtake the lad, so I dismissed them -all from my mind and settled down to an uninterrupted morning, and a -delayed postal report. - -I was busy all day and was just starting out for a little walk before -supper when Bill and Ted rode up. - -Bill and Ted, hatless, clothes torn and covered with dirt and blood, -their faces scratched and bruised, and Ted regarding me triumphantly -from one half-closed eye, the other being swollen shut. - -"What on earth hap--" I tried to ask, my breath fairly taken away. -Bill got off his horse and came up to the gate. - -"We're all right, Mrs. Brook. I'm sorry you seen us 'fore we got fixed -up a little; we just got mixed up some with Bohm--that's all--'taint -nothin' serious. We look a whole lot worse than we feel, don't we -Ted?" - -"You bet we do," mumbled Ted from a cut and bleeding mouth, "but you -ought to see Bohm, he's a sight!" - -Ted got off his horse with difficulty. "Gosh, it was great," he said, -leaning up against the fence for support. - -"Come in and sit down, both of you, Charley will take your horses," -and I led the way into the house followed a little unsteadily by Bill -and Ted, who collapsed on the first chairs they could reach. - -I gave them some wine, washed off their blood-stained faces, and made -protesting Ted go into my room and lie down. He was very pale, and I -saw that he was faint. - -I came back into the kitchen. - -"Now, Bill, tell me about it. What happened and where is Bohm?" - -"On his way back to Denver in the baggage car," announced Bill, -draining the last drop from the glass he still held in his hand. - -I started, "Oh, Bill, you didn't kill him?" - -"No, but I wisht I had," he said calmly. "He'd oughter be dead, the old -skunk, trying to poison all them sheep." - -"Poison the sheep; what sheep?" - -"Your sheep," Bill's brows contracted as he looked at me. "Your -sheep," he repeated, his voice rising as I scarcely seemed able to -grasp his meaning. "All the sheep at Hay Gulch Camp, that's what he -came out here for, and he'd a done it, too, if it hadn't been for that -kid in there." Bill jerked his head in the direction of my room. - -"Ted?" I asked, my emotion stifling my voice. - -"Ted," Bill affirmed, "he caught him at it red-handed, and probably -saved two thousand sheep from bein' dead this minute." - -"How on earth did he find out?" - -Bill straightened up in his chair. - -"Them eyes of his'n don't miss much, I'm here to tell you, and his -everlastin' snoopin' around done some good after all." Bill's eyes -glowed with pride. "Yesterday, before Bohm left, Ted come across him -mixin' a lot of stuff with some grain, and, of course, had to know all -about it. The old man finally told him he was fixin' to poison the -prairie-dogs on his claim, bit he was so peevish about it, Ted said he -didn't believe him, and mistrusted somethin' was wrong. - -"The kid didn't say nothin' to me about it; had some fool notion about -playin' detective, I reckon, at any rate he got up along about four -o'clock and rode out to Bohm's claim to do a little reconorterin'." - -Bill reluctantly put the glass down and tipped back in his chair. "He -hid his horse in the gulch and crope up in the grass like an Injin. -The herder wasn't nowhere in sight and the sheep was still in the -corral, but old Bohm was there all right, fixin' little piles of that -poisoned wheat just where the sheep would come acrost it the first -thing." - -"Oh, Bill, that's the worst thing I ever heard!" I was sick at the -mere thought. - -Bill was too engrossed to pay attention to the interruption. - -"Ted said he was comin' back to tell me, but he got so excited when he -seen what Bohm was up to, he never thought of nothin' but stoppin' -him. The old man was stoopin' over with his back to Ted, and the kid -gave a yell for the herder and ran for Bohm and before he could -straighten up Ted was on top of him." - -Bill scarcely paused for breath--"the old man reached for his gun, but -Ted was too quick for him and knocked it out of his hand, and when I -came up, there they was rollin' all over the prairie, first one on top -and then the other." - -Bill looked toward the door of my room, reflectively--"I kinder felt -there was somethin' wrong when I left here, and believe me, I didn't -spare my cayuse none gettin' there neither, and I didn't get there -none too soon." - -I was incapable of speech. I just stared at Bill. - -"There ain't no doubt about Bohm's bein' ready to kill him; he was on -top then and reachin' for his throat. I didn't stop to ask no -questions. I jest grabbed him, and pulled him off of Ted. He was white -as chalk and ready to eat us both alive, but I hung on to him while -Ted got up cryin', 'Look what he's done, Bill, look what he's done,' -and pointed at somethin' on the ground." - -Bill's eyes were like two live coals. "Bohm was cussin' like a steam -engine 'bout the kid's jumpin' him when he was puttin' out poison for -the prairie-dogs. I just took one look around and seen all them piles -of poison wheat there by the corral when there wasn't a prairie-dog -within two miles. I--well, I aint goin' to tell you what I said, Mrs. -Brook, 'taint fit for you to hear." - -[Illustration: FACING DEATH EACH TIME THEY RIDE A NEW HORSE.] - -Bill looked down and turned the glass on the table around and around. -He looked up again and smiled, but his brows contracted as he went -on--"We had words then, sure enough. All of a sudden Bohm made a lunge -and caught the handkerchief round my neck with one hand and reached -for somethin' with the other, and the first thing I knew he was -slashin' at me with a pocket knife. I guess I saw red then, 'cause I -knocked him down and nearly pounded the life out of him." - -Bill stopped a moment--"His eyes was rollin' back in his head and his -tongue was hangin' out and there was a pool of blood 'round us, three -yards across." Bill's description was so vivid I shut my eyes. "I -reckon I'd killed him if Ted hadn't tromped my legs and kinda brought -me to myself. He'd oughter been killed, but I let him up then and told -Ted to go for my rope. We tied his hands and legs. I guess he had -about all he wanted for he wasn't strugglin' much." Bill smiled -grimly. "We carried him into the cabin, and there was the Mexican -lying in his bunk--doped. We knew who done it all right, and I tell -you we didn't handle Bohm like no suckin' infant when we laid him -down, neither." - -Bill's face was stern and set and I shared his indignation too much to -trust myself to speak. - -"We left him there and went to get the wheat out of the way before we -opened the corral gates for the sheep. Thanks to Ted, Bohm hadn't had -time to put much around. He's a great little kid, that boy." Bill's -voice broke. - -"Bless his heart," I said, my own heart filled with gratitude and -tenderness for the plucky little chap in the other room. Bill's eyes -were moist, but his voice was steady again. - -"Steve and Charley came up just then with the supply wagon, so Steve -set Charley to herd the sheep. We loaded Bohm into the wagon and Steve -took him over to the railroad. He said he'd see he got on the train -all right." Bill grinned, "You're rid of Bohm for good now, Mrs. -Brook, for I kinda think he gathered from what me and Steve said the -ranch wouldn't be no health resort for him if he ever showed his ugly -face round here again." - -"Oh, Bill, I'm so thankful; it makes me sick when I think what might -have happened." - -"Don't thank me, Mrs. Brook, I ain't done nothin'." Bill's face was -red with embarrassment as he stood up. "Ted's the one to thank, he's -some kid, believe me," and Bill's eyes were very tender. - -"Let's go in and see how he's making it." Bill followed me into the -room. - -Ted was sitting up on the couch, regarding his battered visage in my -hand-glass with the greatest interest. I could see at once he was in -no mood for emotion or petting. - -"Hello, I'm all right," he murmured with a one-sided grin. "Say, Bill, -wasn't it great? I wouldn't have missed it for a million dollars." - -He sank back with a sigh of supreme satisfaction. "I just wish I could -remember all the things he called me. I want to spring them on the -fellows when I go back." - -Bill looked at him with genuine concern. "See here, kid," he said -decidedly, "you want to forget all them things as quick as you can. -Don't you go springin' any such language back where you come from. I'm -no innocent babe myself, but I'm here to tell you old Bohm's cussin' -made anything I ever heard sound like a Sunday School piece. You -forget it now, pronto," he commanded as he went out of the door. "It's -a reflection on me and Mrs. Brook." - -After Bill had gone, Ted looked at himself again, then at me. "What do -you suppose Aunt Elizabeth would say if she could see me now?" We both -laughed. - -"I would be a 'disgrace to my family and position' now, sure enough." -He felt his blackened eye tenderly. - -I sat down on the couch beside him. "You will never be more of a -credit to your family than you are at this minute, Ted, nor more of a -man." - -He looked up, for my voice shook a little. He knew what I meant and -his lips twitched as he patted my hand gently, and turned his face -away. - - - - -XII - -BLIZZARDS - - -It was just like Louise Reynolds to arrive on the wings of a blizzard, -wearing a straw hat and spring suit. Louise led the seasons, she never -followed them, and she preceded that particular storm by about two -hours; but she was justified, for it was April and she was on her way -from California. - -In this land of the unexpected even the weather disregarded all -established precedents. A glorious Indian Summer night extended into -January, or a sudden blizzard would swoop down from the North in -October or April and leave us snowed in for days. - -That is exactly what happened upon this occasion and most of Louise's -visit was spent in shovelling snow for the pure joy of the exercise. -That energetic young person had to do something in lieu of tennis or -golf. - -The prairies were covered with a fluffy mantle of purest white, great -drifts filled the gulches and the roads were utterly obliterated. Long -after the storm the men had to go about on horseback for no wagon -could be moved through the deep snow. - -At this juncture Louise announced that she had all of her reservations -through to Baltimore, where she was to officiate as bridesmaid. She -was obliged to go and we had to take her to the railroad. - -We could scarcely go on horseback with baggage, there wasn't a sleigh -in the country, certainly none on the ranch, but if Necessity was the -Mother of Invention, Owen was a near relative. He never failed to find -some way of meeting the most difficult problem. If Louise must go it -devolved upon him to see that she reached the station and so he -produced a sled, a disreputable old affair, used for the exalted -purpose of hauling dead animals to "the dump"--but still it was a sled -and under Owen's direction it was scrubbed and transformed into the -most luxurious equipage by having a packing box nailed on the back -and covered with rugs. Louise and I perched on the box, with heavy -robes tucked in about us, the suit cases were at our feet and Owen sat -on the trunk in front to drive. - -There was only one draw-back, the sled had no tongue to keep it from -running on to the heels of the horses, so Owen cut a hole in the -bottom of the sled through which he stuck a broom-stick. My task was -to work this improvised brake when we went down hill by jabbing the -broom-stick into the snow. It worked beautifully except that the -friction against the hard snow broke pieces of it off and it grew -perceptibly shorter as we advanced. - -In order to avoid some especially deep gulches we left the valley and -followed a high ridge. It was much longer, but we had allowed the -entire day for the trip. There was no danger of becoming lost as long -as we could see, for we knew too well the country and the general -direction to be followed. - -No incident marred the joy of that day. When the horses floundered and -almost disappeared from sight in a snow-filled gulch, leaving the sled -stranded like an Ark on a gleaming Ararat, we had only to dig the -horses out with a shovel which had been taken for the purpose and -after getting them on the level ground, go back and hitch a long rope -to the sled, draw it across the gulch and proceed upon our way. - -The light of the sun upon the snow was so intense it was necessary to -wear colored glasses to avoid snow blindness, and being muffled in -furs, we looked like three bears in goggles. Our wraps kept us -perfectly warm and it was a merry ride. The adventure filled us with -joy as we glided over the trackless world in which we alone moved. - -There was no suggestion of dreariness or desolation in the scene. -Under the magic touch of the sun the world burst forth into a miracle -of glory and beauty which held us spellbound. The sky was cloudless, -not a shadow fell across that dazzling white expanse, which flashed -and sparkled with all the prismatic colors. Far to the west Pike's -Peak stood, a marvel of varying lights and shadows, its head resting -on the soft blue bosom of the sky. Its commanding height had filled -the Indian of the Plains with worshipful awe, it was to him "the Gate -of Heaven, the abiding place of the Great Spirit." According to his -own testimony, the one inevitable duty in the life of the Indian is -the duty of prayer--and how often as he looked upon that distant -mountain must the red hunter have paused in the midst of the vast -prairies, his soul uplifted and an unspoken prayer on his lips! - -The whole aspect of the country was changed, all the familiar -landmarks were gone. Except for the hills, the surface of the prairie -was perfectly level as though the Great Spirit had stretched his hand -forth from that mystic mountain and passing it over the world had left -it smooth and stainless. - -It was a wonderful experience, and when toward evening we reached the -railroad we were thrilled and triumphant over our accomplishment. The -night was spent in the little four-room "hotel," we saw Louise safely -on board the eastbound express the next morning, then returned to the -ranch. - -To be out after a blizzard is one thing, to be out in one is quite -another, and we always grew apprehensive when the sky became suddenly -overcast and the snow began to fall from leaden clouds. What if the -storm should catch the herders and the sheep too far away from the -camp? - -They were all warned to range their sheep to the North if it -threatened to storm, as most of the blizzards came from that direction -and the sheep would go before the wind back to camp and safety. But -they will not face it and, if unmindful of his orders, the herder took -them South and a sudden storm came, he could not turn his sheep back -to the camp; they would drift on and on before the wind, sometimes -plunging over a bank to be buried beneath the drifting snow or piling -up and smothering each other. - -One winter just as Owen and I were starting home from California we -received a telegram from Steve saying that during a blizzard the buck -herd had been lost. Owen had some very important business which -detained him when we reached Denver, so he asked me to go on to the -ranch, have Steve organize the men into searching parties and look -through every gulch in the vicinity for any discolored holes on the -top of the drifts which would be caused by the breath of the sheep if -they were under the snow. For two days the men searched and finally -came to a deep bank of snow on the top of which were found the -discolored holes they sought; they dug down and discovered the bucks. -A few had been smothered, but most of them were taken out alive after -having been buried for ten days! During the storm the herder had left -them and the poor distracted things had drifted over an embankment and -were entombed under the snow. - -When anyone speaks of "good-for-nothing Mexicans" I think of Fidel, a -mere lad, who had taken his sheep South on a clear morning, but was -overtaken by a storm before he could get them back to the corrals. He -and his dog did everything they could do to turn them, but they -drifted farther and farther away. Fidel stayed with them, guiding them -away from the gulches until they reached a railway cut. There Steve -found them twenty-four hours later when we feared that Fidel had -perished with his sheep. Facing death alone in the freezing wind and -blinding, smothering snow, hour after hour he had kept his sheep from -piling up. He not only saved them all, but they were in better -condition than many in the corrals at the camps. Not for a moment had -he left them. His hands and feet were frozen; he barely escaped -freezing to death and on that day we learned the true meaning of -"Fidelity." - - * * * * * - -Then once more Fate took a hand in our affairs and a blizzard changed -the whole course of our lives. - -We owned our land and no one could encroach upon us, but after a few -years we began to notice forlorn little shacks built here and there on -the open range by the poor home-seekers who, attracted by the prospect -of free land, had begun "homesteading." They built flimsy little -houses, scratched up the surface of the prairie for a few inches and -raised pitiful, straggling crops. The settlers were coming in! The -opening wedge of that great onrush had been thrust deep into the heart -of the prairie. In the undisputed possession of our own land we were -not disturbed. While we knew that it meant the occupation of the free -range and the passing of the large ranches, eventually, we scarcely -realized how soon it would come and were not prepared to receive an -offer from an Eastern syndicate to buy the entire ranch--to cut it -into small units to be sold as farms. - -The era of "dry-farming" had just begun, when by scientific methods, -deep ploughing and the conservation of all moisture, dry land might be -successfully cultivated without irrigation. It was a dream of the -future of the prairie region, impossible to visualize, and I laughed -in my ignorance, as Owen read me the letter. - -"How perfectly absurd. Imagine trying to farm out here; the grangers -would starve to death in a year unless they had stock of some sort. -Surely you would never think of selling out?" - -"I don't know, Esther, the homesteaders can't come on to our deeded -land, but they are filing on all the Government land. In a short time -there will be no more free range, and did you ever stop to consider -that our land will soon be so valuable that we can't afford to run -sheep on it?" - -In that last sentence I saw the handwriting on the wall. It was only a -question of time and this phase, too, of our life would pass. - -In the East life seems to be static, but in the West it is in a state -of flux and conditions are constantly changing. - -Perhaps I had inherited the static state of mind for I had taken it -for granted that all the rest of our days were to be spent there on -the ranch under the shadow of the mountain. Suddenly a realization of -the facts swept over me. In a sense we had been pioneers, we had -blazed a trail that others were to follow and like the Indians we, -too, were destined to move on. However, before you are thirty to -regard yourself as a hoary-headed pioneer requires a series of mental -gymnastics and, while my brain was going through a few preparatory -exercises, I did not take the question of selling out very seriously. -After all those years of struggle just as it had been brought to -perfection, after we had put into it the best of our life, youth, -energy and work, a part of our very selves, it did not seem possible -that we could part with the ranch. Owen felt much as I did, but he was -the first to realize that we had come again to the parting of the ways -and that a decision must be made. - -Yet--in the end--it wasn't the financial consideration nor a deep -conviction that the future development of the country would be -retarded if we remained, but an unexpected blizzard which turned the -scale and set us adrift again. - - * * * * * - -The sun rose clear on the 19th of October, but during the morning it -began to grow cloudy. - -Owen and several of the men were at the railroad station where they -were shipping lambs. During the afternoon the wind began to blow, it -grew much colder and snow fell. - -The next morning it was storming very hard and Steve, after arranging -to have hay hauled to the various camps, went out on horseback to see -that all the sheep were kept in the corrals. I was greatly relieved -when Owen got home in the middle of the afternoon. Ten thousand lambs -had been loaded and started on their way in spite of the storm, but -the drive back to the ranch had been very hard, for hour by hour the -storm increased in fury. The ground was covered and even the dull grey -sky was hidden by dense clouds of powdery snow which did not seem to -fall upon the earth but was blown in long horizontal lines across the -prairies by the force of a mighty gale. It filled the gulches and -piled in deep drifts. It was driven against the house with such force -it sifted through the smallest crack. The windows on the North and -West were covered with a solid coating of snow, the wind whistled and -moaned and tore at the shutters as if trying to carry them with it on -a wild race over the plains. It was impossible to see the corrals, -even the garden fence was lost behind the driving, swirling snow. To -open the door was to inhale a freezing gust of snow-laden air, -millions of icy particles blinded the eyes and took away the breath. - -We knew that the sheep were all in the corrals, but we feared that -unless the herders watched them carefully they would pile up as the -snow drifted over the high sides of the inclosure. The rest of the -stock was protected and my heart was filled with thankfulness that -Owen and the men had been able to reach the ranch. They went about the -place like white wraiths doing the necessary things. Above the howling -of the wind not a sound could be heard; a shout was carried miles away -as soon as it left the lips. By five o'clock it was dark. - -About eight o'clock, Mary came in and told Owen that Steve wanted to -see him. When Owen returned, instead of coming into the living-room, -he went to the closet, took down his short, fleece-lined riding coat -and began to put it on. - -"What's the matter, Owen, you are not going out?" - -"I must," he said, quietly, winding a long scarf about his neck, -"Steve says that Dorn went out yesterday afternoon with a load of hay -for the camp on Six Shooter; he should have come back last night or -certainly this morning. He's new and doesn't know the country and he -may be lost. I'm going to see if I can find him." - -My heart stood still; the camp on Six Shooter gulch was fully eight -miles away. Eight miles in that storm! It did not seem possible that a -man could live to go a mile. - -"Oh, Owen, I can't let you go! Don't you suppose he is at the camp?" - -"I don't know, he may be, but I must go and find out. We can't take a -chance on a man's being lost." In the face of that argument there was -nothing to say and nothing to do but accept it. - -"Who is going with you?" - -"No one"--Owen did not look at me as he answered--"I can't ask any of -the men to face this storm." - -I understood; he couldn't require any of his men to risk their lives. -A hand of ice closed about my heart and deadened every sensibility. -Like a machine I went about helping Owen get ready and at last went to -the kitchen to bring him some coffee just before he left. A man was -standing by the door muffled in wraps. I stood still. - -"Why, Bill, where have you been?" - -"I ain't 'been', I'm goin'. I'm goin' with Mr. Brook. A man ain't got -no business out a night like this alone." - -"Bill!" It was all I could say--but he understood. - -When Owen came out he tried to dissuade him, but Bill was determined. - -"I know I don't have to go, Mr. Brook, you never asked me, but I'm a -goin', there ain't nothin' can keep me." - -I had never seen him so serious, all the old half bantering tone was -gone and they went out together, master and man, each risking his life -for the sake of another. - -I tried to watch them but instantly they were lost to my sight as a -vague grey cloud closed about them. - -How the night passed I do not know. I kept the fires up and the coffee -hot and walked miles, back and forth, back and forth. I did not think -of sleeping. It was useless to try to read. I could not see the -words--the printed page was blank and I could only see the figures of -two men on horseback, beaten, buffeted, fighting for their lives -against the cruel snow-laden gale. I saw them separated, perhaps, -trying to get through the gulches on their floundering horses, or -walking to keep from freezing and then perhaps exhausted--lying down -to rest while that last deadly sensation of sleepiness crept over -them. - -Daylight came at last, but still I walked. I pushed my breakfast away -untasted and tried to occupy myself with the duties of the day. I felt -as though I should scream aloud if that howling wind did not cease, -but hour after hour passed and there was no other sound. The men came -and went about their work quietly, speaking but little and then in -subdued tones as in the presence of death; over us all hung the pall -of terrifying uncertainty. - -When occasionally it was possible to catch a glimpse of the corrals or -the blacksmith shop I knew that the wind must be abating and time -after time I knocked the snow from the windows and stood straining my -eyes into that misty, vague out-of-doors. Ten o'clock, eleven o'clock. -Something moved along the edge of the pond, the vague outlines of some -animal, a slight lull in the wind and I could see that it was a -horseman, another followed--I caught up a cape, flung open the door, -dashed out into the storm through drifts, over every detaining -obstacle until I reached the corral and--Owen. - -They were safe, but so weary and worn they could scarcely speak. Their -faces were swollen, having been whipped and lashed by the icy -particles the wind had driven against them like bits of steel from a -mighty blast furnace, their eyebrows and lashes were solid ice, their -lips cracked and bleeding. - -After a night of horror, at three in the morning, they had found Dorn -at the Six Shooter camp comfortably sleeping with the Mexican herder! -When the storm began he made no attempt to come back to the ranch, not -stopping to think that his non-appearance would cause any anxiety, -besides endangering the lives of two men. - -"I was so hot when I seen Dorn nice and warm all cuddled up there with -that Dago I jest drug him out by the collar and shook him. Anybody -that'ud sleep with a Mexican had orter freeze to death. Gosh! Here was -Mr. Brook and me amblin' over this whole blamed country, flounderin' -through snow drifts as high as this house, gettin' our horses down and -most freezin' to death, blintin' a no account thing like that." Bill -was himself again. - -Their knowledge of the country and presence of mind had saved them, -for once when they found that it had grown warmer and apparently the -wind had ceased, they realized that the horses had turned with the -wind so that it was at their backs, they forced the poor things into -the face of the bitter gale again and went on. They passed the camp -without seeing it and had gone beyond when the wind brought them the -smell of the sheep, they turned back and after searching found the -cabin. It was a narrow escape for they were too exhausted to have gone -farther. - -A few days later we learned that old John, who had been our mail -carrier, had perished in the storm. He had gone out to try to find his -cattle and did not return. His wife and little son were alone and when -they were able to get out and look for him, they found him just -outside the garden fence lying frozen and half eaten by the coyotes. - -I thought much during the following days and finally I came to a -conclusion. - -"Owen, if you want to sell out I'm willing--it will have to come some -day, I realize that, and besides--there is too much at stake. I don't -believe I can ever live through another blizzard." - - * * * * * - -In three months all the stock on the ranch was sold, a caretaker was -placed in charge of the home ranch, which we retained, and we moved to -Denver. But instead of selling out to the syndicate, Owen decided to -put our lands on the market himself and they were listed for sale. - -It was the end of the old life; we had made way for the settlers. - - - - -XIII - -ECHOES OF THE PAST - - -The curtain of years had fallen and risen again on the same scene, the -valley which stretched off toward the setting sun and the guardian -mountain which stood unchanged at its head. But this was October, the -royal season of purple and gold and red, when the asters and -sunflowers were blooming their lives away in one lavish outpouring of -beauty and the rose bushes were crimson under the kiss of the frost. A -shimmering mass of gold clothed the great cotton-woods along the -winding course of the creek and hills of russet brown replaced those -of vivid green I had first seen sixteen years before. - -Where the young bride had stood on that July day, amid the strange -surroundings, looking with inexperienced eyes upon a new world, she -stood again, seeing it from the angle of a participant, from the -viewpoint of a woman, fused by the furnace of experience into a part -of that life. - -It was the same scene, but the setting had changed and as a flood of -memories swept over me I felt as though I were a reincarnated spirit, -walking the earth in a third phase of existence, having passed through -the first, a light-hearted girl among family and friends in urban -surroundings, having lived through the second, an atom in the midst of -those vast wind-swept plains amongst elemental conditions, a part in -the great primitive struggle for existence and coming back again to -find the prairies transformed by cultivation into farms, with the -crops covering the hills and bottom lands like a huge patch-work quilt -of green, brown and brilliant yellow, fastened together with black -threads of barbed wire. - -Above on the hill stood a church and a school-house, those certain -indications of community life. Across the meadows great red barns and -towering wind mills overshadowed the less pretentious houses. Bridges -spanned the creek with its shifting, treacherous sand and in place of -the dim winding trails across the prairie, neatly fenced county roads -decorously followed the section lines. - -It was the same--yet everything was changed. This well-ordered farming -community seemed prosaic, it lacked the romance and charm of the old -ranch life and the glorious sense of unlimited freedom. - -The bunkhouse was occupied by the family of a hard-working farmer who -had married the daughter of our caretaker, Parker; tractors, ploughs -and harrows filled the space about the blacksmith shop. I resented -those unfamiliar implements and the prosperous farms. On all sides -there was heard a strange language of silos, separators and "crop -rotation". I had become a part of the old life, but here I felt -restricted and out of place--an alien. - -Inside the house all, too, was changed. The books which Joe had -scorned, the crystal clock and our Lares and Penates were in our -Denver home, but on the ranch I missed them and most of all the old -familiar faces. All had gone. Several of the boys had stayed in the -country, married and taken up farming, raising bounteous crops and -numerous children. Some, individual and picturesque to the end, had -crossed the Great Divide, others had sought new positions in Wyoming, -the last of the frontier states. Bill was there cooking in an oil -camp. We received characteristic, though infrequent, letters from him, -usually in the early summer, labored epistles over which he had "sworn -and sweat," as he expressed it, which began by assuring us that he was -well and hoped that we were the same and ended by an earnest request -to go with us as cook "in case you was thinkin' of goin' campin'." He -went with us when we did go, the same old Bill, unchanged in heart or -humor. - -Old Bohm was dead. The final act of that great tragedy took place in -an isolated mine where he had sunk all his fortune in a golden -prospect. Hoping to regain it, the fortune he held in trust for a -friend had followed, but the game he had played so successfully before -failed when Nemesis took a hand. His friend went to the mine to demand -an accounting and several hours later Bohm's body, broken and -bleeding, was taken from the depths of the mine. According to the -story of his companion, the only witness, he had slipped and fallen to -the bottom of the shaft--and his death, as his life, remained an -enigma. - -But down through the long years the echoes of the past reverberated. -Again and again we heard them, sometimes very faintly, then with -perfect distinctness and on that day of our return after a long -absence we felt again that mysterious suggestion of tragedy and the -echoes were startlingly clear. - -As I came in from my walk just before supper, a strange man rode up -and Mr. Parker asked him to stop. - -He told us his name and during the progress of the meal took little -part in the conversation, but after he had eaten his supper he leaned -back in his chair and in response to Owen's question, said: - -"No, I ain't exactly a stranger round here, but this old kitchen is -about the only thing that ain't changed. I used to know every inch of -ground in this country when I was punchin' cows for the Three Circle -outfit. This was the only ranch within twenty-five miles. I've et here -lots of times." - -"You knew the Bohms then?" I asked, trying as always to find the -answer to the riddle of old Bohm's personality. - -"Sure, I knew the Bohms," the stranger replied, his clear blue eyes -meeting mine frankly. "I knowed everybody there was in the country, -there wasn't many in them days, jest the Bohms, the Mortons, the -Bosmans and the La Montes. They're most all gone now except Bosman. I -heered old La Monte died last winter--but Lord, he's been worse 'en -dead for most twenty years. Did you folks know him?" - -"Scarcely, we only saw him once," and before me rose the picture of -the desolate old place, the slowly opened door and that living ghost -on the threshold. - -The stranger again spoke. - -"You folks bought from Bohm, so you knowed him, didn't you?" - -"Oh, yes, we knew him." Owen answered for my thoughts were far away. - -"Well, sir," said the old cow-puncher, reaching for a toothpick, "Jim -Bohm was a great one, he was the slickest man in this country. He -didn't have nothin' but a little band of horses that he drove up from -Texas when he came, but he kept gettin' richer all the time." I came -back to the present with a start, his words were almost the same Mrs. -Morton had used sixteen years before. - -"Wasn't he honest?" I asked, wondering what the reply would be. - -He did not answer for a moment. - -"Well, I can't say as to that. I jest knowed him from meetin' him on -the round-ups and when I stopped here. I never had no dealin's with -him, but he sure had a reputation for all the meanness there was, and -I guess he deserved it. He was good company though, and Lord, how he -could play the fiddle." He was interrupted by a sudden clatter. Mrs. -Parker had dropped her spoon and was looking at him as if fascinated. -"I liked Mrs. Bohm, but I never had no use for him. I don't know about -the other things, but he sure done Jean La Monte dirt." He rose from -the table and walked toward the door. "Well, I reckon I'd better be -movin' on, I want to get to Bosman's tonight." He looked up the -valley, "I can see Bohm now, ridin' that big black horse of his, -carryin' a little cotton-wood switch for a whip, and laughin' at -everything, he was a queer one, sure enough. Well, so long--thank you -for my supper," and he went out into the evening. - -"Big black horse! He was always on a big black horse!" That pitiful -refrain of Jean La Monte as he had sought the rider of that horse -through all those weary years. Again I saw the men waiting in the -wagon and that poor half-clad figure stooping to pick up a little -cotton-wood switch, and I wondered if across the great divide La Monte -had caught up with Bohm at last. - - * * * * * - -Owen was busy in the office making out contracts for recently -purchased land. Mr. Parker and an agent were entertaining some -land-buyers, scraps of their conversation "bushels to the acre" and -"back in Kansas" reached me from time to time as I walked up and down -under the stars. - -"Where are you, childy?" Dear Mrs. Parker was always concerned when I -was not in sight. "Out there alone?" she asked as she came across the -yard to join me. We sat down on the bunk-house steps, glorying in the -beauty of the night. We were silent for a few moments and then she -spoke. - -"Do you know, Mrs. Brook, him talkin' about Mr. Bohm tonight at supper -has made me think of so many things. I never paid much attention to -all them stories old Mrs. Morton and other folks told, but some mighty -queer things have happened since we've been here." - -"What kind of things?" I asked, wondering if she, too, had breathed -the air of mystery which surrounded the old ranch. - -"Well, I don't know exactly," she hesitated, "you'll think I'm silly, -perhaps, but you know sometimes when I'm down there," she pointed to -the house among the trees, "makin' out my postal reports, sometimes -it's eleven or twelve o'clock before I'm through. It's awful quiet -after everyone's gone to sleep and I've heard all kinds of queer -sounds, maybe they might be rats or the wind, but often and often, -just as plain as I can hear your voice now, I've heard the sound of a -violin like somebody was playin'. It give me an awful start when that -man spoke of Bohm's havin' played the violin." - -"Perhaps somebody is playing," I ventured, with a well remembered -sensation of ice in the region of my spine. "The houses aren't far -away now; you could easily hear someone playing if the wind was in the -right direction." - -Mrs. Parker shook her head. - -"No, that ain't it. There ain't a violin in the country, and, besides, -it's too near; it's like it came from here"--Mrs. Parker looked up at -the bunkhouse door--"and none of Ethel's plays." - -I said nothing. I remembered too well hearing the strains of the -violin as they used to float out through the silent night while old -Bohm played to himself up there in the bunkhouse, hour after hour. I -was troubled as the echoes of the past grew louder. - -"And then," Mrs. Parker resumed, "there was that passage. I told you -about that, didn't I?" - -"No. Passage! What passage?" I turned to her in the moonlight which -showed a puzzled frown between her eyes. - -"Why, the passage old Dad Patten found. I thought I'd told you about -that, but maybe it was the year that you and Mr. Brook was away." She -paused a moment. "The third year after Ethel and John came here, John, -he raised such a big crop of potatoes the cellar was plumb full, so he -had Dad tear out some of the old bins under the bunk house to make -some larger ones. Tom Lane was helpin' him, and, of course, Tom was -drunk. They'd tore out one or two, but when they come to the third, -they found a deep hole behind it about four foot square. They stuck a -spade into it, but it seemed to go back so far Dad he thought he'd -investigate, so he begun to crawl into it to see how far it went. He -was well in when Tom begun to laugh and act like he was goin' to wall -him up, so Dad backed out, for he said that he was afraid Tom was just -drunk enough to do it. Dad said, though, that he went in the whole -length of his body and stretched his arm out as far as he could, but -didn't touch nothin', so he knew it went on further, and he said that -it seemed to lead off in the direction of the old root cellar." - -"Root cellar," I repeated, too perturbed to say anything else. - -"Yes," said Mrs. Parker, "but, you know, Dad, he'd never heard any of -them stories about the root cellar; Dad's too deaf to hear anything, -so he didn't think nothin' about it except that it was some kind of an -old dugout, and they went on and built the new bins, and about two -months after John had got all his potatoes in Dad happened to say -something about it. I was so beat I like to died, and when I told Dad -what folks said about the old root cellar and Bohm, he turned as white -as a sheet. You couldn't get him up to the bunk house now if you was -to drag him." - -"You don't believe----" I began, then stopped as Mrs. Parker rose and -put her hand on my shoulder. - -"Childy, I don't know whether I believe them tales or not. I've -scarcely been off this place since you went away ten years ago and -I've seen and heard some mighty strange things. There's lots of things -in life we can't explain--we just have to accept 'em, and that's the -way I've had to do here. Maybe there's spirits and maybe there ain't, -but there's some facts there's no gettin' 'round"--Mrs. Morton's very -words again--"but Dad's findin' that passage sure made me believe 'em -more than I ever did before, and I do believe that some terrible -things have been done right here on this dear old place, and that -somewhere old Bohm's spirit's mighty restless." - - * * * * * - -Owen and I sat up before the fire talking until late that night, for -one of the buyers wanted the home place. It was hard to give it up, -for we both loved it, but the old life had passed, and we were not a -part of the new. Owen's business kept him almost constantly in Denver, -and we were at the ranch so little it seemed useless to cling to it -longer. The most difficult decision had been made ten years before. -This, in a way, was more simple, yet this was final; it meant the -breaking of the last tie which bound us to those broad acres, and we -were both silent a long time after we had agreed that it was best to -let the old place go. - -Suddenly I thought of my conversation with Mrs. Parker, and told Owen -of the finding of the passage under the bunk house. He sat looking -into the fire, and made no comment until I had finished. - -"It is strange, to say the least. I don't suppose we shall ever know -the real truth about it, but it doesn't make much difference now; and -if old Bohm's spirit is wandering about here it will feel a little out -of place in a cornfield." - -"It certainly will, but, Owen, don't you hope 'it's mighty restless -somewhere'?" - -"Indeed I do," he laughed, and then grew serious again. "It's been -wonderful from first to last, our life here." He sighed a little. -"What experiences we've had!" - -"Yes, it has," I said, getting up and standing by the fireplace, where -Owen joined me. "It hasn't always been easy, but I wouldn't take -anything for the things I've learned. I'm not the 'Tenderfoot' you -brought out sixteen years ago; I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Westerner now. -My whole view of life has changed. It has not only been a wonderful -experience, Owen, but a wonderful privilege--to have lived here." - -Without a word we watched the last log break apart. The glowing sparks -lighted the room for a single instant, then died down, and in the -fading light of the coals we turned away. - -That night I lay awake. Vivified by the thought of the final parting -which was to come, our whole life on the ranch passed in review before -me, the problems and the difficulties, the adjustments, the changed -conditions and that disturbing sense of unsolved mystery. - -I got up and stood by the window looking out upon a world of silver. -Myriads of stars shone faintly in the heavens dimmed by the glory of -the moon, the pale outline of the mountain was just visible, and, as -on that first day when my heart was so heavy, I felt the sense of -confusion give way to peace. - -From the vast spaces, under the guardianship of that commanding -summit, we had gained a new sense of proportion, freedom from -hampering trivialities and a broader vision of life and its -responsibilities. - -Standing there in the moonlight facing the mountain, I saw in it more -than a symbol and source of strength; to me it had become indeed the -abiding place of a God. - -Looking back over the years, all the changes revealed only the -evolution of a wondrous plan. We had launched our frail barque in the -midst of the prairie sea at the ebb of the tide of the wild, lawless -days of the West; with the flow we had been carried through the years -of a well-ordered pastoral existence to the era of agricultural -productivity, and on each succeeding wave we had seen civilization -borne higher and higher toward the ultimate goal set by the Great -Spirit. - -Ours had been, indeed, a wonderful experience. - - THE END. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Tenderfoot Bride, by Clarice E. 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