The Killer

I felt no inclination to hurry on the return journey. My intention was to watch the Overland through, to make some small purchases at the Lone Star E

boy before the passengers of the Overland, I found myself chaperoning a visitor

w to get to Hooper'

promptly in hop

im apart he wore a hard-boiled hat, a flaming tie, a checked vest, a coat cut too tight for even his emaciated little figure, and long toothpick shoes of patent leather

ndous importance. At the discovery it was lacking my new friend went into hysterics. He ran a few feet after the disappearing train; he called upon high heaven to destroy utterly the race of negro porters; he threatened terrible

ll party?" asked W

le and it's past feeding time." "Sandy's took away his stick of candy and won't give it back." "The littl

to have it wired for at the next station. On receiving the news that it could not possibly be returned before the following morning, my protégé showed

; but I took my man into one of McGrue's

, pouring him a half tumbler of McGru

mell

observed, mournfully.

w this stuff,"

s head, and poured himself another. In spite of his sc

ctions of an absent coon? And why do you set such store by your travelling bag? And why do you weep in the face of hig

ng his glance here and there about him, twisting his hands, never by any ch

-and there ain't any footlights. All I got to do is to throw open yonder door and withdraw my beneficent protection and you will be set upon by a pack of r

the last se

eathlessly, "then tell me: i

im closely, "not this side

drug store i

drug s

t, knocking over his

bag! How far is it to the next station where they're going to put i

ty miles," I repl

here? What kind of a bum

--" I started to tell him. I never had a chance to finish my sentence. He

e!" he

onsiderable public interest. At the Lone Star Emporium the little freak looked wildly about him until his eyes fell on the bottle shelve

m. "If there's any d

natched up one bottle after the other, read the labels, and thrust

?" he demanded, holding up

ablespoon of that

much are they?" inte

a bottle," says Sol

twenty off a roll of b

a shaky voice, and ran out, with me after him, for

led like one of these moving-pict

e are home ag

glass and filled it hal

!" I yelled at him. "Didn't you hear

shaking so he could hardly connect with his own m

tes," I said. "Where do you

nutes, and held still. He had quit his sh

ded. "Huh? Ain't you never s

k. I told him what I thought of him and his clothes and his conduct at quite some length.

ir on. I ain't such a bad scout; but you gotta get used to me. Give me

. "But what's that to you

is beady rat eyes

ours?" he as

ations of his voice in

think he's trying to

ent, and laid before me a clipping. It was from t

l with you on y

at's he's caved, come off, war's over. Means I'm rich, that I can have my own ponies if I want to, 'stead of touting so

ination-were too much for his ill-balanced control. Every indication of his face and his narrow eyes was for secrecy and craft; yet for the m

rseman, then?

re winning races than any other man on the Pacific Coast. That's how I got onto old H.H. I

rgan stallion now," said I. "I

riding jockey. "Probably old Tim Westmore is ha

with Hooper,

," said the joc

to be rich," said

t me again,

you this: old H.H. is going to give me

tack, affecti

over to Ramon and that will be

that; and he knows it. If he kills me, he

you bother him, he'll just plain have

hen where's old H.H.? And he knows it, damn well. And he's going to be good to Artie and give him what he wants. We'll get alo

id, with just enough

"It ain't blackmail to take away

't belong

alifornia. The cattle. Not a damn thing. That was the agreement with his pa

Why doesn't the pa

s de

heirs

H.H.-and me." He sat back, visibly gloating over me. But his mood was passing. His earlier exhilaration had died, and with it was dying the expansiveness of his con

arkly. His eyes were again shifting here and there; and

his feet, hurled the chair on which he had been sitting crash against the door from which Windy Bill et al had withdrawn hastily, and ended by producing a small wicked-looking automatic-then a new and strange weapon-and rushing out into the main saloon. There he announced that he was know

sed. "Was that the scared little rabbit that wept all them salt tea

handed him

y God!" said Wind