Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-01-13
WHEN SHORTY
RAN FOR SHERIFF.
Dogged Heroism of Cowboy and
:::How it Won Him the Elections:


amid the glare and simmer and blaz
ing rocks. Ahead of him stretched tn
San Anita plains, quivering in tn
heat waves. On the very edge of tn
horizon, seemingly at the end of tn
world, rose the Hermosillo mountains
a blur of purple in the distance.
Shorty" sat his pony with the eas'
and grace that come from spending
nine months of every year in the sad
die. One hand rested on his hip; hi
body swayed with the lope of the pony
He wore the fringed chaps" of th'
cowpuncher, and red neckerchief wa:
knotted about his throat.
Come, Pete" he said to the horse
"I reckin' we've got some more travel
in to do today. It's so miles to then
thar hills" He swore lazily, affection
ately, and slapped the pony's fanF
with a firm, gentle hand. You ole
son-of- f-a-gun, I'm expectin' yuh to dis
up the dust gittin to Maricopa. In
runnin' fer sheriff, Pete. What dye
think Of thet? You've got to git into
Maricopa tonight. Me sheriff! Ha
ha, hal"
A quick shadow crossed the riders
trail. Gazing heavenward, he espie6
the form Of buzzard skimming along
on motionless wings. Idly he watched
its course. Its wings quavered, drop
ped a trifle, and finally circled down.
ward more slowly until it settled in an
arroyo some yards to the left.
And then, as quick as the buzzard,
COYOTE leaped across the trail, so close
that the pony threw up it's head.
shorty" saw it stop at the gully
where the buzzard had disappeared and
crouch forward to the edge. Then 1t
whirled in a startled flash of yellow
gray hair and loped silently away
across the desert, until it was lost i'm
perceptibly among the sage-brush.
Say, Pete, I reckon thar must be
somepin' worth lookin' at over in tibet
hollow" said Shorty"
He wheeled about and rode to the
edge of the arroyo. At the bottom
crouched a figure garbed in white-a
figure, to shorty" almost fairy-like
in appearance. It sat up and looked
at him out of frightened eyes.
He leaped from the saddle to the
ground and clambered down into the
ravine. The buzzard arose from an
adjacent rock and scared away on ST.
lent pinions.
The child tried to run in weak, tot
tering way. but fell at the first step.
Shorty" grabbed her up and held her
in, careful arms.
why, you lost maverick, whar did
yuh come from?" he asked, tenderly.
He wiped the dirty face with his
large red handkerchief. The small,
grimy hands were bruised, and "Shor-
ty" knew that the child had been
crawling on the rough sand.
Pears ez though yuh been lost
since yest'day,"," said the son of the
plains. Let's git out of this, eh?"
He scrambled up the arroyo with
the child on one arm and walked to-
ward the pony. His hands were
stretched out for the bride when the
animal reared, snorting loudly.
Pete" said the cowboy, "yuh amt
a-goin' to git skeered at fairy like
this, air yuh?"
He tried to seize the bride. The
horse threw up it's head, trotted back
to the trail, and stopped till the pur-
suing cowpuncher was ten feet away,
then swung about and cantered off to
the eastward. Shorty" swore at him.
II must be locoed, fergittin' to drop
thet bride off yer mule head.
might've expected it of yuh-shyin' at
a lost maverick like this. I'm plumb
ashamed of yuh!"
He regarded the child with curious
eyes. He noticed that the baby lips
were drawn, the temples hot and fever
ish. He took bottle from his pocket,
forced a few drops into the dry mouth
and sat down on the sand, with the
child in his arms.
The air grew perceptibly hotter.
Overhead the sun beat down with all
the MONDAY fury shorty" knew so
well, and the heatwaves shimmered
above the greasewood and stunted sa-
huaros.
Shorty" watched the color come
into the child's face; he had forgotten
the desert.
Say, kid" he said, gently. its
goin' to be mighty hot today. Let's be
hittin' the trail" He stood up. look
ing over the red plain. To the north
there was hill country. Behind him
were the hills he had left in the morn
ing; to the west there was hill country
backed by sandhills; TO the south hills
again-a lofty mountain range. The
whole formed an irregular semicircle
that encompassed broad, arid area
with a ragged horizon. I'm mighty
sorry, little maverick, can't go back;
no, l jes' can't. l got to be at Mari
copa tomorrow. l said I'd come. an
l reckin I amt a-goin' to let Clifford
scare me out
The child looked at him gravely out
of steady, unwinking eyes. Shorty
went forward.
Higher rose the sun. AS the cowboy
plodded on, the ranges of buttes visi-
bly, changed form; the monstrous,
snaky. sea-like growths of the cactus
clutched at his legs; mock lakes spark
led and dissolved in the middle dis
tances; the sun continued to beat hot
and merciess, while the powdered dry
alkali beat hot and mercilessly back.
The child doZed in his arms, waking
up at short intervals with low cries
of fear, then dropping back into uneasy
slumber.
At noon they stopped under the
scant shade of a thorn cactus; then
they plodded on again. The afternoon
sun seemed to grow stronger; the
rocky buttes, having already absorbed
their full capacity of heat, flung the
surplus back in the faces of the wan
in crraat The