The Winslow mail., 1923-08-31
A Romance
By Zane Grey
Copyright by Harper and Brothers

| SnlIteu from tne ANXIOUS group round
Stewart to see that Monty Price had
leaped off the porch. He crouched
down with his hands below his hips,
where the big guns swung From his
distorted lips issued that sound which
was combined roar and below and In
dian war-whoOp, and, more than all, a
horrible warning cry. He was culver
ing, vibrating. His eyes, black and
hot were fastened with most piercing
intentness upon Have and Sneed.
"Git back, Bill, git back !" he roared.
"Git 'em back !"
With one lunge Stillwell showed
Stewart and Nick and the other cow
boys upon the porch. Then he crowded
Madeline and Alfred and Florence to
the wall, tried to force them farther.
His motions were rapid and stern. But
failing to get them through door and
windows, he planted his wide person
| between the women and danger. Made
line grasped his arm, held on, and
peered fearfully from behind his broad
shoulder
"YOu, Have! You, Sneed," called
Monty, in that same wild voice. Don't
| you move finger er an eyelash"
Madeline's faculties nerved to keen,
thrilling divination. She grasped the
relation between Monty's terrible cry
and the strange hNched posture he
had assumed.
"Nels, git in thisr' yelled Monty :;
and all the time he never shifted his
intent gaze as much as hair's-breadth
from Have and his deputy. ''Nels
chase away them two fellers hangin
back there Chase 'em, quick I"
These men, the two deputies who had
remained in the background with the
pack-hOrses, did not wait for Nels.
They spurred their mounts, wheeled,
and galloped away.
"NOw. Nels cut the gurl loose" Or
dered Monty
Nels ran forward, jerked the halter
out Of Sneed's hand, and pulled Bon
ita's horse in close to the porch. AS
he slit the rope which bound her she
fell into his arms.
"Hawe, git DOWN." went on Monty.
"Face front an stiff"
The sheriff swung his leg, and, never
moving his hands, with his face now a
deathly, sickening white, he slid to
the ground
Lime up there beside your guerrilla
pard. There! You two make a d-n
fine pictoOr, d-n fine team of
pizened coyote an a cross between a
wild mule an Greaser. Now listen !"
Monty made long pause, in which
his breathing was plainly audible.
Madeline's eyes were riveted upon
Monty. Her mind, swift as lightning
had gathered the subtleties in action
and word succeeding his domination
Of the men. Violence, terrible violence,
the thing she had felt, the thing she
had feared, the thing she had sought
to eliminate from among her cow
boys, was, after many months, about
to be enacted before her eyes. 1t had
come at last. She had softened Still
well, she had influenced Nels, she had
changed Stewart; but this little black
faced, terrible Monty Price now rose,
as it were, out of his past wild years,
and no power on earth or in heaven
could stay his hand. With eyes slow
ly hazing red, she watched him; she
listened with drumming ears; she
waited, slowly sagging against Still
we'll
Have, If you an your dirty pard
hev loved the sound of human voice,
then listen an listen hard,' said
Monty. Fer I've been goin' contrary
to my ole style jest to hev a talk
with you. You all but got away on
your nerve, didn't you? Cause why?
You roll in here like a mad steer an
flash yer badge an talk mean, then
almost bluff away with it. You heerd
all about Miss Hammond's cowboy
outfit stoppin' drinkin' an cussin' an
packin' guns. They've took on re-
ligion an decent livin', an sure they'll
be easy to hobble an drive to jail
Have listen. There was a good an
noble an be-ootiful woman come out
of the East somewheres, an she
brought a lot Of sunshine an happi-
ness an new idees into the tough lives
of cowboys. l reckon it's beyond YOU
to know what she come to mean to
them. Wal, I'll tell you. They-all went
clean out of their heads. They-alI got
soft an easy an sweet-tempered.
They got so they couldn't kill coy
ote. crippled calf in a mud-hole. |
Even mean ole, wOrn-Out, hobble- |
legged, burned-up cowman like me!
Do you git thet? An you, Mister
Have, you come along, not satisfied |
with ropin an beatin', an Cav knows
what else, of thet friendless little |
Bonita; you come along an face the |
lady we fellers honor an love an rev.
erence, an yOu-yOu- HIS fret"
With whistling breath, foaming at
the mouth, Monty Price crouched
lower, hands at his hips and he edged |
inch by inch farther out from the
porch, closer to Have and Sneed. |