The National tribune., 1904-08-11
(Leslies Magazine.)

OF It's being Spring and me as frlSky and
foolish as Il two-year-old.
lis wasn't just because the girl was
pretty-lve met up with plenty better
looking ones before and since-but there
was something in her eyes that made my
heart wobble round whole lot when she
looked at me. Blue they were, like that
patch of clear sky over the trees yonder,
about them nights while l was riding herd
with 10000 long horns and my own
thoughts for company; and when a fell
low gets to where thinking of the color
of girls eyes keeps him from being lone
some he's pretty far along toward being
in love with her.
"Old man Taylor, who owned the Bar-O
ranch in the Sweetwater Valley, was her
uncle, and the doctors had sent her out
from somewheres back East to live out
doors for a few months. The day after
the old man brings her out from town with
the blackboard he calls me up to the ranch
house and tells me he wants me to see
that she has a good time and don't get
lost.
You see. the old man had known me
quite while and hadn't ever heard of
my trying to steal anybody's dust. Well.
| sticks out my chest quite lot and puts
on a new pair of chaps and turns nurse
maid real cheerful and contented, and for
four long months there's hardly an hour
Of the day that IN not round somewhereS
handy in case that girl wants me to play
with.
Il picked out the most sober minded COW
pony on the ranch and broke him till a
string, and then learned her to ride, and
after that we was gamboling over the
landscape pretty much all the time.
First off, being new to the game, l
was a little shy on language. but she was
so interested in everything that | got TO
be real eloquent in time. 1t was all new
to her, you see, and different from any
thing she'd ever seen or heard of or
dreamed about, and she just soaked up
new experiences like sponge SOakS up Wa
ter. Even the flowers was different from
what she'd been used to back East, and
every time l found a new one to show
her felt like I'd struck streak of pay
dirt.
Every day she was growing prettier,
and the color coming in to her cheeks
her hands were getting Drowned by the sun
and her eyes growing brighter-and every
day l was getting more in love with her
and more fraid she'd find it out.
''Its curious how being in love affects
some people. l believe I'd have stopped
smoking if that girl had asked me-which
she didn't. She had me halterbroke in
about a week so I'd stand all day without
being hitched, and when she'd smile at me
for the millionth part of a second I'd feel
as tickled as yellow pup when somebody
tosses him bone. was sure foolish
over her-and glad of it.
But trouble was coming my way-fast
and one day along in August l went to
meet it. The old man tells me we've got
to have some supplies, SO l bitches a couple
of cayuses to the blackboard and starts for
town at sunup. It's an all-day drive, and
after l puts up the ponies and has my
supper and orders the store truck l goes
out to mingle in the festivities. Naturally
I'm a whole lot thirsty after riding all
day in the sun, so l let's the Palace
Saloon absorb me and drifts up to the bar,
wondering whether I'll have straight
poison or a few of the new kind of fancy
striped drinks. but just as the barkeeper
pushes bottle of red-eye my way /
catches a glimpse of little blue-eyed girl
on spotted pony riding along the trail
to meet me, and l sticks out my chest and
says, careless like, Gimme a lemonade
with plenty of ice The barkeep looks
at me sort of surprised, but he deals the
hand I've called for and l stands up there
in row all by myself and drinks my
lemonade. Somehow the place seems sort
of quiet and lonesome, though there's a
piano banging away in one corner and
about hundred cow-punchers calling for
drinks IN seven languages, so drifts out
into the street again and stands on the
corner and gaZes at the festive throng,
wondering if I'm sick. I've got money
in my pocket-it's the first time I've heard
chips rattling for three months, and find
out all of sudden I'm not amused lit
too toe good for this worid-you'd better 90 20
to bed,' which | does, after smoking two
bits worth Of three-for-a-quarter cigars.
I'm the morning l turns out good and
early, loads up the blackboard with canned
goods and groceries and lopeS over to the
post office for the mail. The postmaster
hail I he in tha
door and asks if l want company. Says
there's tenderfoot come in on the stage
the day before who's looking for Taylor's
ranch. Of course, l says yes, and pretty
soon they rounds him up and shows him
10 me. He's hardly more than a boy, and
he has on more good clothes than I've
ever seen before all at one time. He looks
like he's a mighty long ways from home,
and the minute l set eyes on him / know
what he's there for as we'll as though I'd
been told.
II reckon maybe I didn't look real joy
started that he don't notice, and pretty
soon we pulls out for the Bar-O.
For the first hour or two l watches the
) road pretty close and don't say much, siz-
ing up my passenger out of the corner of
my eye when he amt noticing. Except
ing boy. and l know he holds all the cards
and will win in a showdown. When /
think of how glad the girl is going to be
when she sees him l feel a whole lot like
dropping him in the sage brush and let
ting him get lost
"Along toward noon we're riding round
a sand hill when the ponies stick up their
ears in a way that means one of two
thing-bear or Indian, and it amt more
than a minute before l see it's Indians.
There's quite bunch of them, maybe 20
or 30, spread out SO we can't get by and
waiting real patient for us to drive up
and say howdy.
They're all young braves, in paint and
feathers, and | know what their game is
the minute l set eyes on them. They has
a playful habit those days of breaking out
of the reservation occasionally and burn
ing few ranch houses and scalping a few
women and children, and then sneaking
back to their tepees after dark and laugh
ing at the soldiers who come up on the
run usually about the time the fires stop
smoking.
Il heads the ponies round so sudden
that the blackboard makes circle on one
wheel, and starts back for town like I'd
forgotten mighty important errand.
What's up? the boy asks, holding onto
the seat with both hands. The noble red
mans up l says, lodging bullet that
sings by my ear like a mosquito. He's
seeing red and thirsty for gore l says,
'and if you want to keep on wearing your
Is IL y