Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-01-03

SlOWeQ so mucn appreciation OF the COW
boys humor that Jim warmed to him.
He paused before the door of the Gala
bose, and addressed the deputy: Listen
Bud. you can see for yourself that this
nut is harmless. He's an old man-could
be your grandfather almost-and. what's
more, he's so trembly from booze that
he's a pretty sick specimen"
We'll. what about it?" The deputy re-
garded Jim with a snarl. and frightened
his grip on the tramp.
why, it's like this" continued jim
There's no sense in lockin' up his poor
bum in the ~calaboose. It's built like O
bake oven. with hat tin roof and them
little windows. It's a terrible place to
be locked up in
You ought to know" grinned Hark-
ness.
Don't / know it, The time l was
locked up just for slicin' q g~reaser! That
~calaboose would bake a pan of biscuit
fright now, it's that hot. II you chuck
this poor devil inside. him so old and
shaky, he'll be lead afore shutdown"
What in blazes do l care!' retorted
Hardness. II done told him to leave
town"
Il was amin to go. mister,'' inter
rurpted the prisoner. only l didn't want
to hit the trail while the sun was high
His jocular mood was over. The heat
A Vic DSlt Wall Vi llt lOlh'
up was almost blistering. Inside 1t would
be even worse.
Get in there, your growled Hardness
unlocking the door. The old man seemed
TO shrivel up.
Say, wait a minute. Bud argued Jim
standing in the doorway. CANT you
let him go? You and me is friends, AIM
we?"
"Nothin' doingl"
lin, dOva ~, hic napEa+ onl rrpj,toox
a roll of dirty bills. Whats his fine
goin' to be?" he demanded.
Bud eyed the roll, ~doubtfully. About
twenty bucks" he said. But this ole
soak can't pay no fine. He'll nave tC
board ii u in jail
"All right, Bud. I'll pay his fine righ'
now. You turn over to the county a.
much OF this twenty as you can spare
if any. This is between you and me, Bud
And if that bald headed old j. P. shoulc
ever ask me, I'll say it wasn't more thar
three dollars and six bits"
Bud accepted the yellowbacks, LOCKED
the Jail door, and strobe away, Will,
Jim took his rescued stray by the arm.
You and me is going to the hote
and get some grub" he announced
What's your name, stranger"
Smiley replied the derelict. Smile,
O'Grady! Among friends I'm just called
0AAAtANl 0SAA w
II.
Back at the Grand Palace hotel. jim
watched his friend put away a goot
meal OF steak, fried potatoes, coffee, ant
dried peach pie. Smiley ate like a fam
ished man, and soaked up the gravy from
his plate with a piece Of bread. Hi
hands trembled n%ervously.
AfterWard he tilted back his chair
smoking a cOrncOb pipe, and grinne(
happily as he talked about the old days
when hell was poppin' on the border.
Jim listened with a good natured, in
credulous grin. Smiley was an old blow
hard. Jim knew it, and Smiley knew h
knew it, but it was entertaining to hea
the old rascal ramble ON.
But at one point Jim interrupted him
Smiley" he said, you are the brassies
liar l ever seen. o talk about being
sharpshooter. Why, look at your shak,
hands! You couldn't hit the side Of
barn.
"Mebbe l can shoot ~straighter n yo,
think, my son All l need is a quart 0
whisky to steady my nerves, and then
could shoot the hind leg off a fly. Listen
| was exhibition sharpshooter in a circu
once. l learned Annie Oakley how Il
split bullets on a knife blade"
rs that so? Why, l bet you neve
owned a gun, you Did fourflusher!'
Il can call your bluff this time" an
swered Smiley, with a triumphant leer
and from under his o~veralls he produced
the butt of an ancient As, its handl
scored with notches.
II keep it outa sight" he explained
or some OF these petty larceny deputie
would steal it off me while I'm sleeping,
Jim laughed. Il reckon you know tn
breed. Here, oldtimer-here's a couple o
iron men to see you on your way. S
long!'
The cowboy strod off, having som
business to look after for his boss, 10
Devine of the J-Bar-S ranch.
That night he sat in a poker game
and it was late before he started for tn
ranch. AT a turn of the mountain trai
some miles from town his pony SHE'D ant
almost made him lose a stirrup.
Jim rode nearer to a dark object unde
a mesquite that had startled his horse
1t was a man lying in a stupor, the odo
OF whisky filling the air for yards aroun
Smiley! The poor old bun didn'
waste any time investing that two dol
lars!' thought jim, and, putting spur
to his mount, he trotted toward tn
ranch. The trail was through a rugged
country leading over Geronimo pass t.
the rich grazing land in The San Pabl.
valley.
Riding through the night, Jim sang
low pitched, melancholy cowboy song
with countless verses. One might hav
thought he was suffering from blightet
love to hear his lugubrious chant, but
as a matter OF fact, he was never hap
pier. Things were going right with him
Devine, his employer, was showing hin
so many favors that it looked like
ranch foreman's job for Jim when ther,
was a vacancy.
And. there was Rose. The pretty daugh
ter Of the old man, for six months nov
IN an eastern finishing school,. Rose hat
written him no less than two letter
since she had gone east-though on,
was only a picture card. Yes, Jim was
happy man, yet his singing was as mourn
ful as the howl OF a coyote.
Arrived at the ranch house long afte
midnight, Jim looked through the I'm
curtained windows of the office, wher,
the "old man" had his roll top desk ant
his bed. The office was occupied by thre,
men-Joe Devine, sitting back in his raw
hide chair and smoking a pipe; Harris
the foreman, leaning against the wall
and a stranger, who was sitting at tn,
bare deal table beside a whisky bottle.