Nogales international., 1931-07-01

Cold Spring and his lowering glance
TO make sure that he had not missed
any of his possessions. 1t was not a
cheerful looking place. The glass from
the one window lay in splintered frag-
ments on the oilcloth table cover, and
few early flies buzzed in and out
through the shattered panes, where
rife bullets had buzzed in yesterday
The log walls were SCARED with the
thin leaden hail that had beaten inter
mittently against the cabin.
The kid swung toward the bunk and
looked at the pillow still nested to the
shape of Babes sleek black head The
muscles tightened along his jaw. Babe
iwculdn't have liked the look in the
kids eyes just then. Crazy as ne hao
been from fever. Babe would have
sensed the deadly quality in the kids
arrested glance, the tiger eye round
and staring.
He got his own pillow and tucked
it savagely under his arm. The nights
when he had laid his head down beside
Babes in contented comradeship fairly
slapped him in the face now with a
bitter contempt for his blind faith.
And when he talks like you're the
one that did the killing-when he talks
like that right before Nellie, and
makes her so crazy mad she starts ir
quirting you over the head and calling
you killer, Just because she's only a
girl and can't shoot you down like d
dog, it's something worse than hate
you feel toward him. Babe had brains
sharper than any old he-wolf. but his
brains sure weren't working last night
when he made that talk up there or
the Bench.
Most men would have shot Babe
right then and there. They wouldn't
have cared a damn about his being
drilled through the middle and plumb
out of his head. But even with the
welts of Nellie Murray's quirt on his
cheek and the lash of her contempt
soaring his heart, the kid couldn't pull
his gun and send bullet into Babe
Garner, wounded and sagging against
the rope that held him tied on his
horse. That would be putting himself
down on level with Babe, killing a
man that hasn't any chance to shoot
back. Had to go on and take Babe tc
the Poole ranch, same as if he were
a friend.
The kid rolled himself a cigarette
lighted it with match held steady ir
his fingers, picked up his rife where il
stood leaning against the cabin beside
the door, slid it into the scabbard or
his saddle. and mounted. Where he
was going, he did not know or care
His hand went up suddenly to q
livid welt across his cheek. He hadn't
earned that cut of Nellie's quirt
His quirt. if you came right dowr
to it. Braided in pride and higt
hopes down on the Brazos 1ast
winter, before Pap and Ben were shot
Never did think that quirt he haC
braided would be laid across his owr
cheek with ali the strength there wa:
in girls arm. Another half incl
and it would have lost him that yellow
tiger eye of his-and that, too, woulc
have been something he hadn't earned
"She nevah will cali me a paie
Eillah no moah," he told himself saw,
agely. "She'll heah things about Tiger
Eye Reeves that will shoah prove Tn
death on killahs. Poole or nestah, it!
all the same to me from now avn
She'll know-and she'll know whyl"
Shed shiver too. He'd have her eat
ing crow before the summer was over
She'd be ready to go down on hel
knees to him. He'd show her h
wasn't called Tiger Eye for nothing
He'd shoah make that name mear
something more than just the color O
his eye. They'd remember that ole