Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1918-01-18

there another woman in 1t, John3'
ayes; but not in the way you
mean"
"Corry's a mighty fine little girl,
John" said Starbuck slowly. "Any
one Of a dozen fellows / 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-
jolnder.
mo; but 1t 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 I could
wake up in the middle of the night and
taste 'em. Go In and win. Maybe the
great big stumbllng-block you're wor-
rylng about wouldn't mean anything
at all to an open-mlnded young uni
like Corona most likely 1t wouldn't"
"If she could know the whole truth
and believe it." said Smith muslngly.
"You tell her the truth, and she'll
take care of the believing part Of 1t,
all right. You needn't lose any sleep
about that"
Smith drew a long breath and re-
moved his pipe to say: IL haven't the
nerve, Billy, and that's the plain fact.
1 have already told her a little of 1t.
She knows that L"
Starbuck broke in with a laugh.
Eyes; it's a shouting pity about your
nervei You've been putting up such a
blooming scary fight in this irrigation
business that we all know you haven't
any nerve. If I had your job in that,
I'd be going around here toting two
guns and wondering If 1 couldn't make
room in the holster for another"
Smith shook his head.
81 was safe enough SO long rs Stan
ton thought I 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 1 actually had the audaclty
to play a lone hand; and a bluffing
hand, at that. That makes a differ
ence, of course. Two days after 1 had
climbed into the saddle here, he sent a
couple of his strikers after me. 1 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"
"Guns2" Queried Starbuck.
"Theirs; not mine, because I didn't
have any. I managed to get the shoot
ing-irons 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 hat was ever let loose
in a half-reformed gun country u
grumbled the ex-cowman. 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 a dead lambs tail If they've
made up their minds that you are the
High Line main guy and the only onef'
"Of course" said the wild ass easily
IF they could lay me up for a month
or two"
LAY up, nothingp retorted Star
buck. LAY you down, about six feet
underground, is what 1 meant"
"Pshawl" exclaimed the one whose
} fears ran in q far different channe'
from any that could be dug by mere
corporation violence. "Thls is Amer
lea, in the twentieth century. We dom
kill our business competitors nova
days"
"Don't WEI" snorted Starbuck. "Tha'
(: will be all right, too. Wen suppose
just for the sake OF argument, that m!
respected and respectable daddy-ln
: law, or whatever other sllk-hatted oil,
l m~oney-bags happens to be paylnl
Q Crawford S%tantOn's salary and commits
,, sion, wouldn't send out an order Il
e have you killed of. Maybe Stanton
Q himself, wouldn't stand for 1t If you,
put II that barefaced. But daddy-in
I law, and Stanton, and all the others
: hire blacklegs and sharpers and gun
s men and thugs. And every once in
while somebody takes a wink for a no,
n and bang goes a gun"
"Well, what's the answer" sal
Pete Simms.'
"Tote an arsenal, yourself, and b
{ ready to shoot first and ask question
r afterward. That's the only way 20.
a can live p%eaceably with such men n
= Jake Boogerheld and Lanterby an
Simms."
a Smith got out Of his chair and too
: a turn up and down the length Of tn
o room. When he anne back to stan
a before Starbuck, he said; II did tina
Billy. I've been carrying a gun for
week and more; not for these ditc
s pirates, but for somebody else. TIL
other night, when l was out at Hill
d crest, Corona happened to see 1t. II
not going to tell you what she sale
but when I came back to town the mex
morning. I chucked the gun into a des
e drawer. And ! hope I'm going to b
man enough not to wear 1t again"
u Starbuck dropped the subject al
d ruptly and looked at his watch.
g "Yon liked to have done 1t. pullin
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