The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-03-30
New York SUM

VINO cOngregated habitudlly in old man
Greenhut's saloon. The money that had
been taken away by the visitors had
been replaced by other money won aft
| erward from other visitors by the re-
| doubtable poker players who had es-
tablished the reputation of Arkansas
City and had maintained it so long and
! so stoutly.
The three ribs that Long Mike frac-
tured in the sides of the champion
| fighter of Arkansas had knitted sat
| fsfactorily, and Joe Bassett was once
more able and willing to meet any and
all corners in an encounter of any sort.
To all appearance Arkansas City had
| recovered from the shock of that occa-
| sion and had resumed the normally
placid and peaceful way of living that
was eminently characteristic of the
| little town, and especially of the group
| that was commonly known as old man
/ Greenhut's gang.
/ Yet underneath the unruffled surface
| of the situation there were vague, half
| felt STRINGS of unrest. Coexistent
with the peaceful calm that permeated
the place were unspoken murmurs Of
wrath none the less fervent because it
smoldered.
Old man Greenhut mourned his pc
cuniary loss and the big sheriff brooded
over his shattered prestige. And the
| others in the party, though with less
| individual humiliation, still felt keenly
the injury that had been done to the
| fair fame of their beloved city by the
two swashbucklers who had come from
afar and had done them good.
| There was consequently an undertone
of bitterness in his voice when old man
| Greenhut said one night:
| There is them as claims t things is
| aiiaUS CROWN brighter an hotter They
says tn world is bein' upheaved con-
slant onto the waves o moral reform
an is gettin' TO be altogether more su
perior nor what il is.
| Pears to me like opticians like
them had ought FIR to have more prac-
tical Experience O things that's act'ly
did. If they was to set here peaceful
and cam an see two buccaneers I'm
scrub river landin' up moth come into
the place an bust everything UP into
a onholy spasm O. turmoil mebbe they
wouldn't be so hell roarin' serene.
AN if one on 'em was to start up
with a bungstarter to the help o tn
Lord ag'in the Almighty an was to
have a red-headed. sawed-oh little
/ Irishman catch his heel an send him
galley west an crooked all over the
levee, while he grabbed the bungstart-
er, pears like he'd get some sore, that
optician would. Mebbe he wouldn't
think things was improvin' like he done
been sayin'
''I amt one to set an say as how
en- do things no better'n Providence is
adm of 'em, an If 1t am true
things is gettin' better all the time
| reckon we'll have to let it go at that
an thank the Lord faint no wuss. But
I'm free to say l don't b'lieve it, an If
things was ordered sensible like they'd
oughter be the next flood comes
down tn river d role up stead o down
an drowned out some o them places
like Brownsville, includin' all the Irish
pirates they is there, red-headed an
otherwise"
II reckon I'd vote ag'in that, said
Joe Bassett morosely. IF L was fixin'
| up tn operations O. Providence SOS 10
/ improve on 'em / wouldn't begin by
maxim the river go back'ards.
I'D switch Time round tOther way,
an make old men young. faint likely
t young man if he was startin III
with a bungstarter to see fair play
atween two men when one on EN- was
bein' sauoze helpless by boy constric-
| tum-'tain't likely. 1 say, t a young
man is goin' to be tripped an throwed,
not by no red-headed Irishman, boy S
size. an have his bungstarter tookt
away. Takes a old man to do that
well, / amt no greet hand to butt
/ in. not as a gen1 thing. l amt" said
Jake WfnterbOttom with some heat,
! but that there sure is the most onery,
| low downest thing 1 ever hee'rd you
say. Joe Bassett. The old man done his
best 'Twa'n't his fault if"
N%Oh, you can butt in. all right, when
YOU feel butty." sneered Bassett. Pity
you hadn't butted some when that zap
| FIN brownsville, had me foul"
| Looks to me. joe" said Jim BlaiSdell
| cooIIy and deliberately, like you was
p'pared for to roughhouse tn full passel
o. VT friends 'coun o that there
Brownsville zap gettin' the best o you.
| l reckon Jake d "a butted in, same s
the rest on us would. on'y FIR bein' took
back like we was a-seein' you caught
! foul. like you say"
| That's right" said old man Green
/ hut, sharply IT'D look better, Joe. FIR
| you to go out an lambaste niger, if
/ you feel sore, ruther'n to dislocate all
the peace an harmony { dwells here
continuous long o. you gettin the wust
of a fight FIR oncet in y'r life
well, don't have to be told who to
/ lambaste an who don't" began Bas-
sett. angrily, but the old man inter-
rupted.
zone o. the house rules is f there's
no shOotin' to be did on the premises, -
! he said. AN you all knows 1t as well
as me.
"More'n that. the true innards o that
/ rule is Z there amt no wranglin' nor
| hard feelins to be manifestoed in my
place. This here is the temple o. peace,
an the home o. harmony, an it's goin'
to be that s longs l has my stren'th
an a bungstarter for TO maintain or
| der"
"Oh. I don't know" said Mr.. Owen
/ Pepper, who had come in while the dis
cussion was going on. Il don't know.
/ Pears like I've done saw consid BILE
tumult like on these diggin's moren
| oncet."
Old man Grenhut looked at him
twice and thrice Once he looked at
| his bungstarter and twice he gaZed on
Bassett. At length he spoke:
Joe" he said. with a gasp looks
I like here was your chancet 'thouten you
havin TO go out lookin' f'r no niger.
An at the same time you en- ease my
mind consid' able as to tn uphoIdin' O.
the rules o. harmony an peace"
Bassett said nothing, but before Mr..
Owen Pepper realized what was doing
he had been seized by the back of the
neck, lifted bodily and thrown through
l.as, Do