Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-09-05

right In MS Cna1r, staring up at refer |
with bloodshot eyes.
Hes lied to you, Il he said ] done
tt" he gasped, .relapsing into the
Hawk. He stabbed him in the back. |
never touched him. / never had a
thing to do with the KILN. I swear
tt"
Peters lips set in thin line.
$50 Hawk Kennedy killed. Ben Cam
eron - he said.
"He did. I swear to God"
"And then you cleared out with all
the water, leaving Hawk to die. That
was murdcr--cold- -blooded murder"
my God, don't, Nichols !" the old
man inoaned. IF you only knew"
well, then-tell me the truth"
Their glances met. Peters was COM
pelling. He had, when he chose, an air
Of command. And there was something
else in Peters look, infexible as II
was, that gave Mcclure courage, an
unalterable honesty which had been so
far tried and not found wanting.
"You know-already," he STAN
mered.
Tell me your story" said Peter
bluntly.
There was a long moment Of hesita-
tion, and then:
yet me drink, Nich0lS. III trust
you. Tye never told It to living
not be as bad as YOU think.
''This--this thing has been hanging
over mo for fifteen years. Nichols-tf-
teen years. Its weighted me down,
made an old man of me before my time.
Maybe II will help me to tell some-
body. It's made me hard--silent, busy
with my own affairs, bitter against
every man who could hold his head up.
l knew 1t was going 10 come some day.
| knew 1t. You can't pull anything
like that and get away with 1t for
/ never had any fun spending it In my
life. I'm n lonely man, Nichols. l
always was. No happiness except when
l came back to my daughters--to Peggy
and my poor Marjorie y"
Mcclure was silent for a moment and
Peter, not taking his gaze from his
face. patiently waited. Mcclure glanced
at him just once and then. went on,
slipping back from time to time into
the speech of bygone day.
II never knew what his first name
was. He was always just Hawk to
us boys on the range. Hawk Ken
nedy was bad lot. I knew It up
there in the San Luis Valley, but l
wasn't no angel from heaven myself
And he had way with him. We
got on all right together. But when
the gold mine up at the Gap petered
out he quit me--got beaten up in a
fight about n woman. l didn't see
him for some years, when he showed
up in Pueblo, where I was workin' in
a smelter. He was all for goin' South
into the copper country. He had some
money-busted faro bank, he said
and talked big about the fortune hi
was goin' to make. All, he could talk
, when he had something on his mint
l had some money saved up. too
/ and so quit my job and went with hin
down to Bisbee. Arz. wish to Goo
I never had. I'd gotten pretty vel
money Fast to the wife and all
q But I wanted to be rich. I was forty
:. five and l had to hurry. But I coulc
: do 1t yet. Maybe this was my chance
q That's the way I thought. That's VIII.
a | happened to listen to Hawk Ken
! nedy and his tales Of the copper coun
t try.;.v .s.
, and set out along the Mexican border
We had q tip that led us out into tn!
desert. 1t was just tip. that's all
l But 1t was worth following up. 1t wa
, about this man Ben Cameron. He,
come into town all alone. get supple
and then go out again next day. II
let slip something over the drink on
r night. That was the tip we were fol
D.. lowin' up. We struck his trail nj
y right-askin' questions of greasers an
5 Indians. We knew he'd found somethin
good or he wouldn't have been so quie
:. about It.
II swear to God I had no idea o
e harmin' him. wanted to find wha
= Ben Cameron had found, stake out neal
him and get what l could. Mayb
Hawk Kennedy had a different ide
e even then. don't know. He neve
said what he was thnkin' about.
eve found Ben Cameron. Perchet
' up in hill of rocks, he was. livin' II
e the hole he'd dug where he'd staket
$ his claim. But we knew he hadn
anyboiy'd find him out there in tha
4 hell hole. It was hell all right. Ever
now, whenever I think of what hel
! must be, think Of what the gulcl
:, y looked Ike. Just rocks and alkal dus
. and heat.
o "It all comes back to me. Ever,
little thing that was said and done
every word. Ben Cameron saw us frs
and when we came up, he was sittin
>, on rock. his rife acrost his knees,
I hairy man, thin, burnt -out. black as
. greaser.
!. "Hawk Kennedy PASSED the time o
r day, but Ben Cameron only cursed n
u him and waved us off Get the hell OIL
= Of here he says-ugly. But we onl,
laughed at him--for didn't we both Sc
:. the kind of an egg Ben Cameron wa
Scttin' on?
. Don't be pokin' jokes at the Gill
:, Desert, my little man. says Hawk. po
= lite as you please. It's hell that's her
!, md here it will remain. And thel
t we said we were short of water-whtcl
- we were not-and had he any to spare
IS Rut he waved us on with his rife. ncvc
II sayin' word. So we moved down tn
= Culch n quarter of mile and went int
It camp. There was ore here. too. bu
. n0thin' Ike what Ben Cameron had.
Hawk was quiet that night--crecp
', in about among the rocks. but h
" didn't say what was on his mind. Il
70 the mcrnin' he started off to talk t
: Ben Cameron an went with him. TIL
" man was still sittin' on his rock, witt
the rifle over his knees-been there al
9 night. I reckon. But he let us come t.
70 haiin' distance.
. "'Nice claim you got there, pard
=, ncr,' says Hawk.
~ els it, says he.
Amt Won afraid of rubhin' som
~ o. that verdigris off onto your pants?
y snys Hawk
!, They're my pants, snys Cameron
And he brings his rife to his hip. W
n 4 III Il l.