The Van Buren press., 1904-10-01


Bill said the day marshal of Durango
in a persuasive sort of key, resting
his arms on the edge Of the box and
drawing a fine bead with both OF his
guns on McShane's torsO-and before
Aiken had got the words out the
greaser driver. rightly apprehending
that thered be some action in that
neighborhOOd presently, suddenly
dropped backward off his seat and
squatted for protection behind the far
side OF the boX.
"McShane. assuming the obedient
air of the man who knows that he is
bulged. stuck his left arm up. and
made a move as If to point upward
with his right, too. But he didn't
stick the right up. He went instead,
for his righ:,hand gun-and it was
lightning movement, at that. But It
wasn't lightning enough, notwtth-
standing
Nat broke McShane's right shoulder
with a ball before the man from the
Santa Anita country could get his
right-hand gun cleared for action,
Aiken vaulted with one hand over the
side of the box, and in something less
than two seconds he had McShane dis,
armed
Couldn't help it. nohow, Bill
Aiken explained to the wounded man
as he and the greaser loaded him into
the dray to take him for treatment to
the office of the sawbones down the
street an so you don't want t take
it to heart none whatever. I'd ha'
given you a better Chan5t only juSt
nachully don't like t stand { gil
sieved up a hull heap by boys full o
cactus medicine f'r tn wages I'm
agittin', an that's fac.
Three days later Jim Munson, the
foreman of a bunch OF shafts to tho
south Of the camp, got letter from one
! of his eastern wives that touched him on
the raw. jun jumped the reservation
over the receipt Of that letter and Jim
was sure enough bad when he got busy
with the dreanlings of the coils.
Two hours after he'd come in from
! the claims and descended upon the
camp Jim was jumping Oh his hat in the
midd g of the street, with both guns out
| and yelling that the flock Of grizzlies that
| had the gizzard to tackle him would
| have to have their claws ground to a
razor edge with alligator files and that
| even then he would tear their teeth out
OF their jaws with his naked hands,
Then jim constituted himself sort
| OF battery Of light artillery parked az
| the head of the street, for he took up his
| position on a sandmound and swept the
| thoroughfare with both OF his guns every
| time he saw careless or unsuspectins
man emerge from a GROCERY
! Jim had kept the street deserted for
| about half an hour from his cOign OF
/ vantage on the mound, and he was in
| forming the baking breeze that was
| blowing that he, James Munson, esq
was a gray desert wolf that preferred
| to lap strongly impregnated alkali water
to slipping the cool, sweet product OF the
freshest spring when a pair of knobbed
| and freCkled hands holding a couple OF
| blue steel guns and a cowlCky red head
all belonging to a man lyiRG close tC
! the edge Of the roof OF the Morning Star
| honkatonk, were seen by some Of us
/ sitting in the barber shop across the
/ street. Nat had got into the place from
/ the rear and climbed to the reof. We
were waiting for Jim to go away from
| that mound before We yentured into the
street
Mats position, lying fiat there on the
/ roof and overlooking Jim's mound, wa
a pretty good one.
"'Oh JIM Nat called softly down tc
the painting Munson,
Jim looked up with an expression Of
mystifCation in the direction whence
| he had heard the voice, and, shading
| his eyes with his hands he saw Mats
hands and head
Don't wan t shatter you all mp none
| jim remarked Aiken in a kindly tone
| but wha. want { know is air you a.
| Goin' { be good now
'FOr reply Mr.. MunSon announced
that he was double-fanged sand moe,
casin and that the pi2en was bilin' In
him at the same time snatchinR for biz
( weapons.
! Nat let Jim down easy lie Knocked
| him over with flesh wounds In both Of his
thighs, and then he sprang through the
roof sCuttle, raced down the steps, and
when he got to Munson Jim was sitting
in the mound feeling of his wounds, w,tb
his guns lying alongside him,
THE real DuranRoItes were Willing
TO let Nat have II after that, and the
only people he had to trim from that
time were outsiders that drllted into tac
camp Washington Star.