Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1917-08-23

long minute or two before he said: as
there another woman in it, John?"
ayes; but not in the way you
mean"
"Corrys mighty fine little girl,
John" said Starbuck slowly. "Any
one of a dozen fellows L could name
would give all their old shoes to swap
chances with you"
"That isn't exactly the kind of ad-
vice I'm needing" was the sober re-
joinder.
"No; but it was the kind you were
wanting, when you tolled me off up
here" laughed the ex-cowpuncher. 81
know the symptoms. Had 'em myself
for about two years so bad that could
wake up in the middle of the night and
taste 'em. Go in and win. Maybe the
great big stumbling-block you're wor-
rying about wouldn't mean anything
at all to an open-minded young woman
like Corona; most likely it wouldn't"
"If she could know the whole truth
and believe it," said Smith musingly.
"You tell her the truth, and she'll
take care of the believing part of it,
all right. You needn't lose any sleep
about that"
Smith drew long breath and re
moved his pipe to say: II haven't the
nerve, Billy, and that's the plain fact.
/ have already told her a little of it.
She knows that +"
Starbucll broke in with a laugh.
ayes; it's n shouting pity about your
nerve! You've been putting up such
blooming scary fight in this irrigation
business that we all know you haven't
any nerve. If had your job in that,
I'd be going around here toting two
guns and wondering if couldn't make
room in the holster for another"
Smith shook his head.
81 was safe enough so long as STAN
ton thought was the resident mana
ger and promoter for a new bunch of
big money in the background. But he
has had me Swallowed and tracked I'M
til now 1 guess he is pretty well con-
WINGED that actually had the audacity
to play a lone hand; and q bluffing
hand, at that. That makes a differ
ence, of course. Two days after had
climbed into the saddle here, he sent a
couple of his strikers after me. don't
know just what their orders were, but
they seemed to want to Highland they
got it. 1t was in Blue Pete's doggery,
up at the camp"
"Guns?" queried Starbuck.
rN1fp T Ins
have any. managed to get the shoot
ing-lrons away from them before we
had mixed very far"
you're just about the biggest, long
cared, stiff-backed, stubborn wild ass
Of the wallows that was ever let loose
in a half-reformed gun country !"
grumbled the eX-cowmln. you're fix
ing to get yourself all killed up, Smith.
Haven't you sense enough to see that
these rustlers will rub you out in two
witches of dead lambs tail If they've
made up their minds that you are the
High Line main guy and the only one?"
"Of course" said the wild ass easily.
"If they could lay me up for month
or two"
"Lay up, nothing" retorted Star
buck. 'Lay you down, about six feet
underground, is what meant"
"Pshaw!" exclaimed the one whose
fears ran in far different channel
from any that could be dug by mere
corporation violence. "This is Amer
lea, in the twentieth century. We don't
kill our business competitors nova
days"
"Don't WEI" snorted Starbuck. "That
will be all right, too. Wen suppose,
just for the sake Of argument, that my
respected and respectable daddy-in-
law, or whatever other silk-hatted old
money-bags happens to be paying
Crawford Stanton's salary and commits.
sion, wouldn't send out an order to
have you killed off. Maybe Stanton
himself, wouldn't stand for 1t If you'd
put it that barefaced. But daddy-ln
law, and Stanton, and all the others
hire blacklegs and sharpers and gun
men and thugs. And every once in q
while somebody takes wink for noe
and bang goes a gum"
"Well, what's the answer" SAID
Pete Slmms.'
"Tote an arsenal, yourself, and bC
ready to shoot first and ask question!
nfterwnrd. That's the only way yor
can live peaceably with such men a!
Jake Boogerfeld and Lanterby anC
Simms"
Smith got out Of his chair and tool
turn up and down the length OF thu
room. When he came back to stanC
before Starbuck, he said: II did that
Billy. I've been carrying n gun for {
week and more; not for these dltcl
pirates, but for somebody else. TIL,
other night, when / was out ut Hill
crest, Corona happened to see 1t. In
not going to tell you " lat she said
but when came back to rOwn the mex
morning, / chucked the gun into Ilesl
} drawer. And / hope Tn going to b
man enough not to wear 1t again."
! Starbuck dropped the subject al
ruptly and looked at his watch.