The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1892-09-01
4 " HOLE MAN.

the desert. He will get prodded ev-
erywhere. ii he takes otfense at
rough banter Lord help him when he
gets into mining camp If he wears
his heart upon his sleeve, let him steer
clear of the Mexican towns and their
pretty senoritas. If he would know
any peace, let him keep away from
the cattle range, for the COW boys jests
are as keen and cutting as the spurs
at their heels.
Frank Robbins was beginning to find
out some of these things. But if you
gave him whole decade he would not
find them all out.
What the boy wants is toughening,"
said Mart Selby.
Mart was big and tough, and he saw
no good reasOn why anybody but a
child or a woman should be tender.
Hes a young colt that wants a
Mexican bit showed into his mouth,
and then be ridden through the cac-
tus."
At Lucin's ranch the boys jobed and
irritated Robbins, but it did not seem
to tougher him. They cared nothing
for whisky that didn't scratch as it
went down, and when he put water in
his they called him a perfect lady and
laughed loudly.
stand their joshing," said Mart to
Robbins, "and you1l get along better.
They'll always make it hot for a man
that don't josh back"
"Oh, don't mind it," replied Rob-
bins, badly OVERRIDING his effort to look
uuconcerneu-
1t had been the same everywhere he
had been in the West. He was one of
those men who are never ANYTHING
but tenderfcet. He simply would not
take men rs he found them, though
they were perfectly willing to take
HIM So And the absurd ideas that
had lodgment in his head, Chief
among these were that he must have
friend-a chum-who should be a
man after his own heart. He had been
looking for such man for two years
He picked him ont occasionally. but he
never found him to suit. This one
was not truthful, that one was not
temperate and the other was not nice
in his speech. There was something
lacking in each one
What | want is whole man." he
sighed; Il never could take up with
these half-made fellows. But it is not
50 easy. Even when | find man that
is temperate and intellectual he turns
out to be selfish What would | not
give for whole man for a friend and
companion-a whole man."
He would not take up with Mart
Selby. though Mart saw "thc Young"
sorely needed 4 friend and helper par
ticularly one who would toughen
him. He kept on looking for his
made-to-order man, but he never
seemed to hit upon him. Few such
men as he was looking for are to be
found within a thousand miles of
Lucin's. In fact. at Lucin's you would
be ut a loss to discover single man
who did not like to take observations
of Old Ashby's cloth-and-paper ceiling
through the bottom of whisky glass,
and if YOU heard a voice | will give
you my word of honor that it was no
cherubs.
One day the boys outdid all their
other little meanneSses To Robbins by
getting him hopelesSly drunk. OF
course, it was no killing matter; but
he had never been drunk before, ana he
took it very seriously and resolved to
leave camp next day.
Mart did not like this. His heart
had warmed toward "the young fell
low," and he hated to see him leave
the place. Finally he resolved to go
with him.
They agreed between them that they
would rot 90 on the range again.
They would 90 prospecting for gold.
And thus it was that they came to
make the journey over the desert to-
ward Dead Horse Gulch. Now. as ey-
erybody in that country knows, the
wealth of Dead Horse Gulch is great,
but it is very hard to reach. Miners
who have lived out the awful heat of
the alkali plain that lies all around the
buttes wherein the gulch makes its
cash have come back with full belts.
but none of them have ever gone
second time.
In suggesting this journey. Mart
Selby had double object. First, he
wanted to toughen ~the young fellow"
and next, he wanted TO enrich them