The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1931-06-12

the table; he was playmate and nurse
maid for Gin: he ran errands, swift
and splay-footed Mercury; he was a
born reporter, and, in the course of
his days scurrying about the town on
this errand or that brought into Sabra's
kitchen more items Of news and Cos
sip (Which were later transferred to
the newspaper Office) than whole
staff of trained newspaper men could
have done. He was so little, SO black,
so 1.-THE, so harmless looking, that his
presence was, more often than not,
completely overlooked. The saloon
loungers, cowboys, rangers, and home
steaders in and about the town alter
nately spoiled and plagued him.
Sabra, in time, taught him to read.
write, and figure. He was quick to
learn, Industrious, lovable. He thought
he actually belonged to her. He
cleared the unsightly back yard of its
litter Of tin cans and refuse. To
gether he and Sabra even tried to
plant a little garden in this barren
sanguine clay. More than anything
else, Sabra missed the trees and flow
ers. In the whole town of almost ten
thousand Inhabitants there were two
trees: stunted jack oaks. Sometimes
she dreamed of lilies Of the valley
the translucent, almost liquid green
of their stems and leaves, the per-
fumed purity of their white BELLS
All this, however, came later. These
first few days were filled to over
flowing with the labor Of making the
house habitable and the Office and
plant fit for Yancey's professional pur-
SUITS Already his talents as silver
tongue were being sought in defense
of murderers, horse thieves, land grab
bers, and more civil offenders in all
the surrounding towns and counties.
Even horse thief, that blacklist of
criminals in this country, was said to
have a bare chance for his life If
Yancey Cravat could be induced to
plead for him-and provided always,
Of course, that the posse had not
dealt with the offender first.
Yancey, from the time he rose in
the morning until he went to bed late
at night, was always little over-stim-
ulated by the whisky he drank. This,
together with a natural fearlessness,
an enormous vitality, and devouring
interest in everybody and everything
in this fantastic Oklahoma country.
gained him friends and enemies in al
most equal proportion.
In the ten days following their ar
rival in Usage, his one interest seemed
to be the tracing of the Pegler MUIR
der-for he scoffed at the idea that
his predecessors death was due to
any other cause.
Sabra argued with him, almost
Historically, but in vain. "You didn't
do anything about helping them catch
the Kid, out there on the prairie,
when they were looking for him, and
you knew where he was-or just
about-and he had killed man. too,
and robbed bank, and don't know
what all"
THAT was different. The Kids diff
ferent," Yancey answered. unreason-
ably and infuriatingly.
Different! How different? What's
this Pegler to you. They'll kill you,
too-tneyll shoot you down and then
what shall / do?--Cim-Cim and 1
here, alone-Yancey, darling-I love
you Soft anything should happen to
you" She waxed incoherent.
Listen, honey. Hush your crying
and listen. Try to understand. The
Kids terror. He's a bad one. But
it, isn't his fault. The government at
Washington made him an outlaw. The
Kids father rode the range before
there were fences or railroads in Kan
sas, and when this part of the country
was running wild with longhorn cat
tie that had descended straight from
the animals that the Spaniards had
brought over four centuries ago. The
railroads began coming in. The set
tiers came with it, from the Gulf
coast, up across Texas, through the
Indian territory to the end of steel at
Abilene, Kan. The Kid was brought
up to all that. Freighters, bull
whackers, mule SINNERS, hunters, and
cowboys-that's all he knew. Into
Dodge City, with perhaps nine months
pay jingling in his pocket. I'll bet
neither the Kid nor his father before
him ever saw a nickel or dime. They
wouldn't have bothered with such
chicken feed. Silver dollars were the
smallest coin they knew. They
worked for it, too. I've seen seventy
five thousand cattle at time waiting
shipment to the East, with lads like
the Kid In charge. The Kids grand
father was buffalo hupter. The
range was the only life they wanted.
Along comes the government. What
happens? They take the range away
from the cattle men and cowboys-the
free range that never belonged to them
really, but that they had come to think
of as theirs through right Of use.
Squatters come in, Sooners, too, and
Nesters, and then the whole rush of
the Opening. The range Is cut up into
town sites, and the town into lots, be-
fore their very ewes Why il must