The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-08-11

the Chink's frijole table. and l was some
sore over the way they'd done. -,
81 reckoned we'd have lot OF q shootln'
time when ! come up with 'em, but, a. w
be n tryin' to tell these fool praisin Druen
birds around here. there an none Q.
that whatever on my part, because IL didn =
come out Hathaway In the slip out o inc
box. =,
al come up with 'em. camped. mt SO clock
in the mornin'. They must ha' been MUM
besides all o. that, they must ha' had a
cheap opinion OF the way Las Vegas people
took things. or they'd never ha' gone 70
camp that-s-way on'y seven or eignt hours
ride away from a stick up Job. an j reckon
them two ombreys was amachoors, any
how.
81 got wind o. their staked oayuses'
hoofs on the sand about half q mile thus
side OF 'em. ] reckon. and when did thet
! jumped on my cayuse, led him TO n httle
cottonwood by the bank Of the crtok, and
then started TO sort o. crawl In the direction
where I'D heard the movin' around o hob
bled horses. l nae to do some crawlin.
for II was beginnin' Z git some light In the
east.
-I got near 'em after about twenty min
then. on what l meant to do. hate this
KILN business. ! sure always did. and i
wa'n' a-goin' q hand II g them two boys
while they slept. for one thing. anyhow.
That's all ! knew as l crept ~ on EN-.
and ponchos in a little clumpy hollow be
tween a pair OF some sizeable sand hill
locks. | got behind one o this on my
hands and knees and peered over the top Of
IL. They were both sound asleep.
.I reckoned ! might jes' as we'll lie there
till they began g stir around. and then.
seein' that both Of 'em had their gun belts
on. I figured ! could do some o. hat stick
up work myself and corral EN- before they
could make their shootin' tools.
But the game didn't break accordin' to
my figurin'. While l was stretched out
behind the sand hill one Of 'em suddenly
sat up. I had a bead on him. but I wanted
to see what he was goin' to do, and i want
in no hurry. Well, he saved ne from a
lot o. this bad conscience business, for I'm
and don't want to.
He sat up. I'm sayin'. and looked some
puzzled about where he was fr q minnit or
so, an then he rolled his head aroun' and
begun to take notice sure enough. He
the daylight comm on. Icould see a sneaky
look in his eyes az he stretched himself
out on one side 30 a. to reach for his gun
belt that was lynn on the sand a little piece
away from him.
both OF the guns out OF it without putin
it on. knew his lay then. He was agoin'
to put II on his podner SOS he could have
the hull stickup bundle.
THAT looked mean TO me. and I sure
traipsin' 'lonRside o. me. Before / had
to poke him, he made a janglin' noise in let
his gun belt slip back to the sane after
he'd got his guns out OF it, and the other
one started up at the sound:
III other N was a quick thinker, for
when he sat up and saw his podner ombrey
sittin' there fumblin' his guns he reached
the quick paw OF a mountain cat over to
where his own gun belt lay alongside of him,
grabbed one OF his guns out OF il and blazed
away at ies' the instant his podner plunked
at him-I never heeard two shots so near
what you call simultan'us.
1T was some fine shootin'. too. fr both
OF EN-. They want sittin' more'n six foot
apart. IL want no clever projeck fr the
one that awoke first and meant T. put il on
was cute BORN. sure enough. fr the boy
that got startled out o. his sleep by the
janglin' o the gun belt buckle against the
cartridges. seein' that he didn't have no
lime at all. but jes' nachully had to blaze
away.
but, however, bout all like that. they
got each other plumb in III middle Of their
forehaids. like you seen w'en i brought them
in. INT neither OF EN- lived O minnit.
Neither Of 'em knew anything bout my
bein' around, and I had nothin' to do with
their cashn'. They were les obligin'
enough to make it easy fr me. that's all, and
all ! had Z do was 4 lash EN- to their cayuses
by their blanket straps and lead 'em in.
That's the way it happened, ombrey,'
Tim wound up in telling me the story. and
il sure makes me some het up around the
neckband. not & say loco. T. hear all o. this
bout a thing hat a ive-year-old
Greaser kid could ha' lone il he'd got tn
kind Of a break in that hunt as I did
That's the way Tim Thomas. the man
who refused a reputation for daring. told it
TO me. and he told il to others in Just the
way. but I'm afraid none OF the others
believed him, and / don't know whether l
believe his way Of telling it yet or not. |
The mel who do things down my way have
got an undeserved reputation for being some |
bragful about their doings. and I'm telling
cn,,n,e or =, o. s,; am n tn shos r ,hs, up Oh q
out one man down there, anyhow. who
didn't hesitate to give himself what was in
all likelihood the worst of it,