The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-03-24
JIM the CONQUEROR

Now, If you should get killed In the
fracas, your executor would be the
one to protest against his trespassing
In the future. Who might your ex-
ecutor beT
"The Federal Trust company of El
| Paso"
| tom Antrim owes them a lot of
money. In dry year they might not
be too anxious to discover that An.
trim was invading your range-that
is, not until they had gotten their
money out of the old hog. Now }
like you, Jimmy. and don't want TO
see you get killed. Besides, If you
kick up row and don't get yourself
| killed, you make work for me and
my men. Myself, I'm a man of peace
Consequently it occurred to me"
"You want me to give him another
| chance-to appear weak and vacillat-
| ing by talking to that Antrim again?"
| Don Jaime charged instantly.
"Thank God, my blood is the cool
| blood of an Anglo-Saxon ancestry. If
had your hot corpuscles. Friend
| Jimmy, | never would have risen to
be a captain in the Texas rangers I'd
| have been killed as a private. Now.
| you listen to me, because / have no
| interest at all in Antrim. have,
| however, a sympathetic interest In
you and your broad acres. You plan
to go over yonder and start something.
All wrong, old son. all wrong. You
take a rangers advice and let the
other fellow draw first. Then beat him
| to the draw"
"You are always my good friend"
nlurmured Don Jaime gratefully.
'Now, listen, Jimmy" Ken Ho-
bart continued. Tomorrow | shall
make it my business to drop in to that
sheep camp for luncheon. little
later you will ride up. alone and un-
| armed, I'll report to Antrim that
| you're bent on an argument. but not
| in the smoke; and he'll go out to talk
| to you, because | shall advise 1t
| strongly. When he does you give him
| final warning in language most be-
coming to a hidalgo of your proud
ancestry. He'll think you're weak
and afraid and of course he'll disre-
| gard the warning.
"Well. having warned him, you ride
back home, gather your gang together
| and take possession of the water
holes where Antrim must, of necessity,
| water his. sheep tonight. Don't let
| him water them. He'll fight for the
| water. rather than back-track with
his flock over ground that's been
eaten over, only to find your men
| guarding the water-holes In that d.
| rection, too. A sheep can't stand such
hardship, and three days without wa
ter will see his sheep dying by the
| thousand.
| "You understand me, Jimmy? You
provoke the fight but he shoots first.
Then you clean up and clean up good.
because that's the only way you're
| ever going to have peace. Antrim's
| fate will be a lesson to any other
/ grass thief with designs on your range
and l don't think any jury in this
| country will convict you of murder,
/ because Antrim and his men will
have been clearly outside the law,
you have record for patient forbear-
| ance in the past, and l will be your
witness TO prove that you rode up to
Antrim's camp unarmed and talked to
him like q gentleman-sabe listed,
amigo milo? captain of rangers
Anyhow, 1t just isn't possible to con-
vict a Higuenes in his county. You
have never killed anybody or invaded
another's rights-and that old buzz
gard, Antrim. has never done any
thing else but"
You are always" Don Jaime
Miguel Higuenes reiterated, my very
| good friend. And you are as wise as
treeful of owls. You plot with all
| the consummate craft of my own
| people"
"Where the devil do you suppose
got my education, ii not along the Rio
| Grande?" Ken Hobart retorted. He
Lit cigar and looked oul over the
pleasant garden. Gosh, you've got
a nice place here. Jimmy. wish I'd
been as discriminating in the selec-
ton of my ancestors as you were"
Don Jaime laughed lightly. "Only
little while ago was rejecting that
have not had opportunity to prac-
tice the discrimination evinced by my
ancestors in the picking of wives,
Friend Hobart" he replied. IF you
would be lord of a rancho marry a
lady who has one and doesn't know
what to do with it. Fortunately.
possess thees-I mean this-rancho
so do not need the lady
"If you did. Jimmy, where the devil
would you find herr"
"You have the delightful habit of
placing your finger on the weak spot
my friend. Where. indeed. would
find suitable wife? am too busy
with thees-l mean this-ranch. and
when. once or twice year | wander
TO the fieshpots 1t is TO be filed with
amazement and fear of what would
happen TO me If marry modern
girl"
You have all of Castilian's hor
ror of a woman who believes she car
take as good care of herself as any
man can. suppose you want Cir
who will consent to dwell behind bars
take no exercise and stand for a fat
old duenna tagging around behind
her, not to see that she avoids ro
nance but to make certain she doesn't
act natural and seek It."
..You are wrong. my friend. ! an
quite modern but bit old-fashioned
too. have been In love many times
but only in love with love. must