Adventure, December 1914 — page 100: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

98 a pair of saddle-bowed legs lugged some rolling straggler through the open door and up to the bar. Among these came Immediate Lee; but he came quietly, for neither the spread of his saddle nor his mode of drinking had yet sprung the straightness of his legs or deadened the lightness of his step when dismounted. A bottle and a glass were placed before him, unbidden; regularity in his selection made special orders unnecessary. At one of the near-by small tables the broad back of Kentuck Hurley was turned toward the bar, and opposite him sat Beulah—the slender, dark-haired Beulah— who, among the feminine court at King’s, wore her skirts the lowest at the bottom, possibly as an atonement to delicacy for the unrestraint expressed in her bodice. Hurley was making rough work of his drinking; his hairy fist clutched the bottle ponderously and poured vaguely; his low- ered head protruded stiffly from his shoulders, and his eyes focused heavily. He was no longer interesting, and the dark- haired Beulah patted frequent yawns be- tween her red lips and fell to dreamily sur- veying and stroking the engaging curves of her soft white arms. Aware of his slipping grip, Kentuck Hurley spoke up harshly: ‘“What’s matter? Drink!” And she drank; but as her lips parted over the glass, her eyes glanced above him and directly into those of Immediate Lee who was leaning at ease with his back to the bar, holding his drink before him. The fine blond head of the man lifted with a smile; the girl’s smile sparkled in response; their two glasses rose in salute and they drank to mutual admiration. Passing a coin to the bar without turning, Immediate Lee strode in a slow circle among the tables and came up to the woman from the side facing Hurley. She waited for him with averted eyes; but when he took one of her hands in his and looped it with- in his arm she rose and stood beside him. There was something barbarically fine in the pose of the two tall, lithe, virile figures which was not altogether lost upon the coarser animal who sat beneath them. With suspended resentment he studied the look of quiet domination in the face of the free intruder and the open elation ex- pressed by the woman in her pride as being Adventure the selection of this capable, masterly man. But they both were smiling at him, and many faces at neighboring tables were smiling. He was being made small and cheap, sprawled there over the reek of spilled whisky. Beulah stooped, gathered the silken skirts at her feet and tugged at the flannel sleeve beneath her hand. Immediate Lee, still looking at the seated figure, raised his brows in added amusement and chuckled softly. Then turning abruptly, he guided his partner toward the crowded passage- way, the white shoulders of the girl gleam- ing in contrast to his somber back. KENTUCK’S chair scraped harsh- ly and a glass fell with a tink- ling crash upon the floor. As he heeled: Immediate Lee hurled Beulah from him, and, as if trap-doors had opened beneath them, men and women in line with the two men disappeared in a space. Hurley’s gun was out, gripped in the hand hanging at his side; his fingers were white about the stock of it. But he cursed him- self for failing to level it as he drew. The other stood with thumb in belt, still smiling, watching the savage mortification raging in the swollen red face. With any other man it was as good as having the drop; with Immediate Lee it was but a shade bet- ter than an even break. The room had knotted into intense si- lence. The strain of every listening, watch- ing faculty was centered upon the hands of the two men. Hurley’s mind was busy with quick calculations of distance, time and placement. His grip slackened a trifle and suddenly the gun felt strangely heavy. He reminded himself that the eyes would tell things before the hand could lift. When the eyes said, ‘Coming!’ Immediate Lee would go to work. Ah— well—the dame wasn’t worth it! Slowly, cautiously the lowered muzzle sought the empty holster and was shoved home with a swaggering lurch. “Well, take her!” And Hurley spat mantfully. | “IT did. I thought you noticed it,” said Immediate Lee, and he grinned and chuck- led again, but not mockingly. One could imagine him laughing in the same way had the girl been taken from him. A voice in the crowd drawled an insulting MICLOOOK C@©