The Sunset Trail

t grew to be the popular conclusion that the affair was wholly of the surface. Mr. Allison himself said that he was saved in a manner occult, and not to be understood, and expla

s might have taken on a serio

pirits as maintained by Mr. Allison; he took th

im warnin'. I'm in the Long Branch at the time, an' nacherally, after gettin' Bat's word, I keep protro

ssed a skepticism as to Mr. Allison havin

table-tippin' an' its ghost-dancin'. Cimarron's argument sounds a heap mo

a lesson to me to hide myse'f the next time one of them Las Animas terrors comes bulgin' into camp, ontil Bat'

rron Bill were in talk, "whether Clay was saved by spirits,

Allison. Such a spectacle, while it might not instruct the mean intelligence of the Ground Owl, would have at least advised his caution. He would have gained therefrom some glint of Mr

in the morning, and when, commonly, Mr. Masterson would have been abroad about his duty. But the night before had been a trying one for Mr. Ma

dge, as he said, to "quiet down." In carrying out his plan of quieting down, Mr. McBride espoused

ave during the June rise, was there a sufficient depth of water in the Arkansas to make a ducking-stool effective. Mr. McBride

nes, incurred the contempt of Bridget. The word "lucky" is employed because the contempt induced was beyond power of words to express, and Bridget became so surcharged of views derogatory to Mr. McBride that she burst a blood-vessel and di

ody, the house of Mr. McBride was full. Mr. McBride felt the tribute, and his heart swelled with ex

pet barbarian of Dodge, just as Bridget had been its pet virago. Also, there had existed feud between Bridget and Bobby; they had felt for one another the jealous hate of rivals.

uld say more than he could, his observations had a cutting force beyo

can shoot faster than he can; but thar's more powder behind what Bob

imarron Bill, who as Aunt Nettie Dawson

f the mourning throng, Bobby Gill appeared at the door. Bobby toed in like an Indian or a pigeon, a

eeping and peering, right and left, and craning over intervening shoulders as though to ge

firm, "you an' Bridget never agreed, an'

as though to vindicate the respectfu

ed apology and reproach, "I only je

upon the hands of Mr. Masterson. Mr. McBride said that he'd been insulted; the memory of Bridget he averred had met with disrespect. Thereup

soothingly, "it isn't creditable t

d the cylinder to make sure that all worked smoothly, "I've put up with a heap fro

by," Mr. Masterson insisted.

ver Bridget an' the onmerited contoomely of that old profligate has shore left me as

explained, and gave his word that Bobby Gill should make humble amends. At last,

gulp, "old Bobby's queered them obsequies for me.

He was so worn with his labours that he made no more profound arrangements for slumber than cas

Jack broke in upon him with the rude word tha

urry. "You haven't time to pull on your boots and go down. Your best hold is

o permit Mr. Allison to give the town an unchecked shaking up would mean immortal disgrace.

Masterson, and the "cluck-cluck!" of the buffalo g

of a people who later endowed us with Ade, Tarkington, David Graham Phillips and Ben Hur. The one disgrace traceable to Indiana is that in some unguarded moment she gave birth to the Ground Owl, and sent him forth to vex the finer sentiments of Dod

sked Mr. Wright to employ him as salesman in his store; and Mr. Wright, acting after those reckless business methods that obtain in the West and are a never flagging wellspring of trou

ed the Ground Owl vastly. The latent uncertainties of his surroundings alarmed him. Dodge was a volcano; an eruption might occur at any time! The air to-day was wholesome; to-morrow it might be as full of lead as the Ozarks! In this fashion vibrated the hair-hung fears of the Ground Owl,

ome of the boys'

ent, you know!" returned t

o know what to

round Owl, attent

ver pack

tion, was beyond an etiquette. The West would never sink to such vulgar depths. No one, how

to go hovering about scrimmages in which you've no personal concern. In th

on a pistol. There was a faulty side, however, to the Masterson suggestion. In time, realising an immunity, the Ground Owl grew confident; and the confidence

y will offer outrage when they know there can be no reprisal. Thus they humour themselves with the im

gton Du Pont, and he capitalized the "Pont." The name was thrown

laining a rudeness: "The reason I inquire is that, if you-all con

ered the Ground Owl. "My n

ron Bill, severely, "if yereafter I pref

med one, his horror giving him a des

hen solemnly: "Because the rattlesnakes do

er his advent every ear in Dodge had heard of th

at this hostelry he received his earliest glimpse of M

ver in the Panhandle, and was spurring homeward by way of Dodge. Having put hi

s six-shooters. His entrance into Las Animas' social circles had been managed with ef

m deeformities called a clubfoot, and who's got a gun in each hand. He's jest caught Bill Gatling in the knee, an' is bein' harassed at with six-shooters by Gene Watkins an' Len Woodruff, who's whangin' away at him from Crosby's door. I lands on the sidewalk in time to see him hive Gene with a bul

?' he asks, domineerin

m simply comin' over in a sperit o

in the minds of the ignorant few. But never mind,' he concloods; 'we're all cap'ble of mistakes. My name's Clay Allison, an' these folks'll know me

mas. The crippled foot and the consequent limp were lost sight of when he was in the saddle. When

urt, and urged that convention of justice, then sitting, to adjourn. Mr. Allison made the point that a too persistent holding of court militated against a popular repose. Inasmuch as he accompanied his opinions with the crutch-Winchester aforesaid,

he drifted into the infinite, had emptied the right barrel of a Greener 10-gauge into Mr. Allison's brother, John. A shotgun has two barrels, and the jury convoked in the premis

ade the bodily reversal of Las Animas a sacred duty to be performed twice a year; but since he invariably pitched upon Christmas and the Fourth of July for these pageantries, the public, so far from finding invidious fault, was inclined to join with him. In short, so much were Mr. Allison and La

its high repute as "a camp that was never treed," had been even heard to prophesy that Mr. Allison would one day devote a leisure hour to subjecting Dodge to those processes o

s wont to respond, "that if Clay ever sha

ice, would say nothing. He held it unbecoming his official character to resent

o settle what Dodge'll do with Clay, when Clay begins to do things to Dodge. He'll have to op

Animas tarrapins without gettin' called, that he can go dictatin' terms to Dodge, is eediotic. He'd b

ls wherewith his hips were decked, beneath the tails of a clerical black coat. Inasmuch as he had left the crutch-Winchester with his sombrero at the hat-rack, even an alarmist like the Ground Owl could discover nothing appalling in his exterior. The halting gait and t

the lawful breakfast of the caravansary. Las Animas being devoid of doughnuts, Mr. Allison had never met one. Moved by the doughnut example of the Ground Owl, he tasted that delicacy. The doughnut as an edible proved kindly to the palate of Mr. Allison

. "Fried holes! Say! you limp in your talk like you do in your walk!

d of Mr. Allison, the chilling muzzle not a foot from his scared face. The Ground Owl's veins ran ice; he choked and

Ground Owl recalled the

he squeaked.

t, and slaughter the gunless Ground Owl where he sat. But his instincts and his educat

bull-snake! Dodge'll ha

lfa hay in Mr. Trask's corral, and it would have been necessary to set fire to the hay to find him. Mr. Allison sa

bard, six-shooters at his belt-came whooping and spurring, the sublimation of warlike defiance, into the town's main thoroughfare. He had saddled that bronco within twenty feet of the Ground Owl, shivering beneat

p in front of Mr. Webster's Alamo Saloon. Sitting in the saddle, he fiercely demanded the Gro

It would have broken his boy's heart had Mr. Allison flung forth his challenge in the open causeway

falo gun broke charmingly upon his ear. "Send daylight plumb through him! Don'

his self-love by a general defiance of Dodge. He would ride and shout and shoot and disport

boys with the Autumn herds came in, never a mirror in town would survive; the very air would sing and buzz with contemptuous bullets. Mr. Masterson, from his wi

e still in his belt; his Winchester was still in its scabbard beneath his leg. These innocuous conditions constrained Mr. Masterso

e-Mr. Allison would presently inflict upon Dodge. This being all, however, Mr. Masterson could do no more than wait-being at pains, meanwhile, to see the oratorical Mr. Allison through both s

as next the thought of Mr. Masterson to

n in on Clay. Tell 'em I've got him covered and to keep a

nder the right shoulder of Mr. Allison wherein to plant the bullet. "It's where

ed them. Mingling scorn with reproach, and casting defiance over all, he spake in unmeasured terms of Do

hings Dodgeian would soar. Thereupon, hope would relight its taper in the eye of Mr. Masterson; he would again cover Mr. Allison with his buffalo gun. Mr. Allison's energy would again dwindle, and the light of hope again sink low in the Masterson eye. The buf

erated, his glance rove

dered Mr. Masterson disgustedly. "W

. Allison turned in his saddle, and asked in ton

'! He won't let no cheap store clerk put

pacific manner got down from the saddle, and li

and repaired to the Alamo with the thought of investigating the phenomenon. In the Alam

r. Allison, peevishly. "Which I want

rson-outwardly careless, inwardly as

ound on his lame foot. "Wherever have you been for

I've been seesawing on you with a

in that saddle I could feel I was covered every moment. It was the sperits tellin' me! They kept warnin' me that if I batted an eye

tory of Mr. Allison's ill usage. And at that, his anger rested

Owl type. That disgusting Ground Owl might have been the means of killing a dozen men. Here he turns in an' stirs Clay

etween Mr. Masterson and Mr. Allison, which he saw and did not understand. Drawing aside, he stood moo

aftily-being diplomatic and hav

y. The other brightened. "No, not that!" continued Mr. Masterson, interce

ded Cimarron, gre

not to do too little, be equally careful not to do too much. This is the proposition: You are to go romancing 'round u

went forth upon his mission, he tossed this assurance over his shoulder: "You gents'll hear a dog howl p

ll gettin' action both ways from the jack. You split out Cimarron from Clay here; an' at the same time arrang

lfa of Mr. Trask! Neither did any dog howl that day. But Dodge was victorious without. It was rid of th

to which Mr. Allison's escape had plunged him, "which it goes to show that every cloud has a silver linin'. Clay save