Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 3 — page 48: what you’re looking at

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

422 a regular meal. If you ain’t got no previ- ous engagement—”’ Shorty’s pause was eloquent. Ten minutes later, at a table in the eat- ing-house, the stranger was demonstrating that despite their disparity in size his own capacity for food was astonishingly greater than that of his host. In fact, Shorty ate very little. He. manfully attempted to finish his portion, though, and his failure was observed by the other who, after finish- ing, grinned oddly at him. “ Grub played out—eh?” he said. ‘‘ Was you tellin’ me it was yesterday?” : “ My appetite ain’t none reliable, ” lied Shorty, grinning. “It’s happened twice,” said the man. “Once in Canada del Ore—an’ now. There’s been a heap ef prosperity in be- tween. I reckon a man hadn’t ought to kick.” “‘ Dniftin’?”’ questioned Shorty. ‘“ Lookin’ for a job. Breezed into Loma the day before yesterday—from Dry Bot- tom.. Outfits all filled. Headin’ west. A guy was tellin’ me last night that a rancher about ten miles west, is wantin’ a couple of men. “ There’s a gang here would have staked me, if I’d been minded to throw in with them—rustlers, tin-horns. It ain’t in my line. This hombre ’’—he jerked a thumb toward the eating-house proprietor, who was bending over a stove in the rear of the room—*“‘ got mighty chilly when he found out I wasn’t throwin’ in with the gang. I'd been eatin’ up till then.” “Your hoss eatin’?” ‘“‘ Eatin’ his head off. In the livery-stable. I’m owin’ the stable boss five dollars. When I heard of this jeb I offered him my smoke pole for security. He wouldn’t even luvok at it. Figurin’ I’d hoof it out of town or starve to death, I reckon. ‘Then the hoss would be his’n. I was figurin’ to go down an’ bust his head—when I seen your hoss blazin’ toward town. Glad I waited.” Shorty laid a gold piece on the table be- tween them. ‘“I’d go get my hoss an’ hit the breeze to that job,” he suggested. ‘Where did you say it was?”’. ‘“ At the Circle Star,” said the man. He picked up the gold piece. ‘I’m thankin’ ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. you. If you’re hangin’ around here for a spell I’ll be handin’ this back to you.” He got up, started toward the door; re turned and whispered to Shorty: “You ain’t greenhorn,” he said; ‘ an’ you look as though you knowed how to sling them two guns. But I’d step mighty soft. That’s a heap of hoss you’ve got out there, an’ there’s guys in this section that ‘ll want him. They’re a thievin’, sneakin’, murderin’ gang, an’ you’ve got a big back, mister.” After the man’s departure, Shorty walked to the counter and paid the bill. He bought a cigar and stood for seme time reflectively. smoking, thinking of the stranger he had just breakfasted with. The girl had net been lying about her father wanting men. He had entertained a secret hepe that she had said that merely to keep him near her. Somehow, he had wished she had. The fact that the stranger was going there to werk—that her father really wanted men—seemed te remeve seme of the romance from his adventure with her, gave to the incident a matter of fact atmosphere which placed an effectual damp- er on his self-conceit. _“ Shucks!”’ he grinned, puffing slowly at his cigar. “‘ When do you reckon you got to be a lady-killer, Shorty? Them airs you've been takin’ on is quite recent, I’ve heard. You've sort of got all twisted around. She was tellin’ the truth, an’ you thought she was yearnin’ for you. Shucks!” “Was you sayin’ somethin’?” It was the voice of the preprietor—a fat man, who was now standing behind the counter, one elbow upon it, watching anonty with some curiosity. Shorty turned. He grinned widely at the fat man. ‘‘ Was you hearin’ me?” he asked, gently. | “Seems I heard you sayin’ somethin’ about a woman.” “A little woman,” smiled Shorty. “A little woman with a lot of hair an’ plenty of eyes. She’s been pokin’ fun at me, I reckon. She didn’t mean it.” The fat man blankly surveyed Shorty; then scratched his head and sardonically moved his right hand in the vicinity of his ecomiclooolks (CO