The Benson signal. [volume] (Benson, Cochise County, Ariz.) 1915-1921, 1918-10-19
CHAPTER lV--Continued


"Roarin' Bill's goin' to get himself
killed one uh these days."
Hazel started, but it was only Jim
Briggs In the doorway beside oher.
II guess you amt much used to see
In that sort Of exhibition where you
come from, Miss Weir" Briggs wife
put in over his shoulder. "My land,
It's disgustin'-men fightin' In the
street where everybody can see 'em.
Thank goodness, 1t don't happen very
often. Specially when Bill Wagstaff
amt around. You amt shocked, are
you. honey?"
"Why. didn't have time to be
shocked" Hazel laughed. ut was
done so quickly"
IF them fellers would leave Bill
alone" Briggs remarked, "there
wouldn't be no fight. But he goes off
like hair-trigger gun, and he'd scrap
dozen quick as one. I'm lookin' to
see his finish one uh these days."
what a name!" Hazel observed
first used. "Is that Roaring Bill over
there?"
That's hlm-Roarin' Bill Wagstaff,"
Briggs answered. "If he takes few
drinks, you'll find out tonight how he
goF the name. Sings-just like bull
moose-hear him all over town. Prob
ably whip two or three men before
mornn'."
His spouse calling him at that mo-
ment, Briggs detailed no more infor-
nation about Roaring Bill. And Hazel
sat looking across the way with con-
siderable interest at the specimen Of
a type which hitherto she had encoun-
tered In the pages Of fction-a fight
ing man, what the West called bad
actor" She had. however, no wish
for closer study of that particular
type. The men Of her world had been
altogether different, and the few from
tier specimens she had met at the
Briggs dinner table had not i'm
pressed her with anything except their
shyness and manifest awkwardness in
her presence. The West itself ap-
bealed to her, its bigness, its nearness
to the absolutely primeval, but not the
people she had so far met. And so
she looked at Roaring Bill Wagstaff,
over the way, with a quite impersonal
interest.
He came into Briggs place for sup
per. Mrs. Briggs was her own wait
ress. Briggs himself sat beside Hazel.
She heard him grunt, and saw a mild
look of surprise fit over his counte-
nance when Roaring Bill walked in
md coolly took seat. But not until
Hazel glanced at the newcomer did she
recognize him aS the man who had
fought in the street. He was looking
straight at heE when she did glance
frank admiration in his clear gray
eyes made Hazel drop hers quickly to
her plate. Since Mr.. Andrew Bush,
she was beginning to hate men who
looked at her that way. And she could
not help seeing that many did SO look.
The next Saturday Hazel went for
a tramp in the afternoon. The few
walks she had taken had dulled sill
sense of uneaSinesS in venturing into
the Unfolding forest. She felt that those
khadowy woods were less sinister than
snan. And since she had always kept
her sense Of direction and come
straight to the Meadows whenever she
went abroad, she had no fear or
thought Of losing her way.
TO reach her objective point, she
crossed long stretch Of rolling land,
well timbered, dense In parts with
thickets of berry bushes. Midway in
this she came upon little brook, purr-
ing q monotone as it crawled over
yebbled reaches and bathed the tangled
roots Of trees along its brink. By this
she sat a while. Then she idled along,
coming after considerable difficulty to
abruptly rising ground. She could not
see the town, but she could mark the
low hills behind it. At any rate, she
knew where it lay, and the way back.
So she thought. But the short after
noon fed, and, warned by the low dip
OF the sun, she left her nook on the
hillside to make her way home.
Though it was near SHUTDOWN, she felt
40 particular concern. The long
northern twilight gave her ample time
10 cover the distance.
But once down on the rolling land,
among the close-ranked trees, she be-
gan to experience difficulty that had
act hithexAO troubled her. With the