South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-05-01

der the sheds many horses were
champing at their oats and corn.
Many wagons and buck boards stood
about with their teams harness
thrown Carelessly upon the shafts
and doubletrees. Curly recognized
the place as a wagonyard such as is
provided by merchants for their out
of-town friends and customers. No
one was in sight. No doubt the
drivers of these wagons were scatter
ed about the town seeing the ele-
phont and hearing the owl" In
their haste to become patrons of the
I towns dispensaries of mirth and
good cheer the last ones TO depart
must have left the great wooden
gate swinging open.
Curly had satisfied tho hunger of
an anaconda and the thirst of a
/ camel, so he was neither in the
mood nor the condition of an explor-
\ cr. He zigzagged his way TO the first
wagon that his eyesight distinguished
/ lin the semi-darkness under the shed.
! 1t was a twO-horSe wagon with a top
/ of white canvas. The wagon was
/ half filled with loose pile of wool
sacks two or three great bundles of
/ blankets, and a number of bales.
/ bundles and boxes. a reasoning eye
would have estimated the load at
once as ranch supplies. bound on the
morrow for some outlying hacienda.
But 10 the drowsy intelligence or
/ Curly they represented only warmth
and softness and protection against
the cold humidity of the light. After
| several un,ucky efforts, at last he
/ conquered gravity so far as to climb
over wheei and pitch forward upon
the best and warmest ted he had
fallen upon in many a day. Then
he became instinCtively e burrowing
animal. and dug his way like a prai-
I Tie- dog down among the sacks and
/ blankets, hiding himself from the
cold air as snug and safe as a bear
i'm his den. For three nights sleep
had visited Curly only in broken
and shivering doses. SO now! when
! Morpheus condescended 20 pay him a
call Curly got such a strangle hold
ON the mythologiCai old gentleman
that il was a wonder that anyone
else in the whole world got a wink
OF sleep that night
Six cowpunchens OF the CibOlo
ranch were waiting around the door
of the ranch store. Their ponies
cropped grass near by. tied in the
Texas fashiou-which is not tieG n
ALL Their bride reins had been
dropped 10 the earth. which is a
more effectual way Of securing them
tsuch is the power of habit and inn
agination) than you could devise out
of half-inch rope and a live-oak
tree.
These guardians of the cow
lounged about each with brown
cigaret paper in his hand. and gently
but increasingly cursed Sam Reveli,
the stOre-keeper. Sam stood in the
door. swapping the red elastic bands
on his pink madras shirtsleeves and
looking down affectionately at the
only pair OF tan shoes within a 40
mile radius His offence had been
serious, and he was divided between
humble apology and admiration for
the beauty OF his raiment. He had
allowed the ranch stock OF ''smok-
ing 20 become exhausted.
Il thought sure there was an
other case of il under the counter,
boys" he explained. But IL hap
pened 10 be catterdges"
You've sure got a case OF hap
pendecicitis," said Poky Rodgers,
fence rider Of the Largo Verde po-
trero. Somebody ought 10 happen
to give you a knock on the head
with the butt end OF a quirt I've
lrode in nine miles for some tobacco;
and 10 don't appear natural and
seemly that YOU ought 20 be allow
ed 20 live"
| The boys was smokin' cut plus