Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

648 here. The man-.was familiar with details. He told the other the entire story, from the time you took mother and myself to the Circle B, until you killed Bassett. He even told the other man about Bassett lashing me to the white horse, about my buying the gown at Red Mesa, and about those men in Red Mesa mistaking me for one of the dance hall girls. He told the other man about my staying in Wayne’s cabin for sey- eral days. And he didn’t mention that I was unconscious most of the time, and too weak to go away for days afterward!” “Them kind wouldn’t,” said Channing. “Tt must have been Green an’ his deputy that spread the story. I reckon Warren busted the man’s head for him!” ‘“He would have done so if I hadn’t begged him not to. I didn’t want such a story to be repeated, of course. But the man didn’t know me, and I didn’t want the other people on the train to—to—I didn’t want them to know right then—” “T reckon I see,” interrupted Channing. “ They’d have stared at you. You didn’t want that!” But Channing knew that if he had been in Warren’s place one male gossip would have had his lips closed. “ Most folks don’t know anything, any- wav,” he said. ‘“ They don’t know what makes a big thing big or a little thing little, because most folks live their lives without any big thing happenin’ to them. They’ve got no way to compare things, an’ no brain to do any comparin’ with, anyway. Them kind will do the gossipin’. You can’t stop their mouths. A thing that has happened to them is big, an’ a thing that happens to anybody else is little. An’ if what hap- pened to you had happened to a lot of other folks they would never quit talkin’ about it. , “ An? Pye been thinkin’ about what hap- pened to you. Seems to me the white horse that Bassett lashed you to was made just -for that purpose. Another horse would have rolled with you tied to his back; he’d have bumped you into trees an’ brush to try to knock you off his back. Instead of reach- in’? Warren’s cabin without a scratch on you, you’d have been torn to pieces.” He reddened, for he was thinking of that night. The mental picture of Eve’s scant ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. attire, of the white flesh of her body, of her golden brown hair spread like a gossamer veil over her, was as vivid as though he had seen the actual picture only yesterday. And now, when he observed that Eve’s em- barrassment over his words was greater than his own—when he perceived that her cheeks were scarlet and that her eyes were down- cast—he said gently: “For a minute that night I hesitated about touchin’ you, thinkin’ you was an angel.” He paused and smiled, and for the first time in all the years he had known Eve he was aware of a complete absence of em- barrassment in his manner. Eve had been almost nude on the night Bassett had lashed her to the white horse to send her to the cabin of the man he had thought had bought her the flimsy gown he had ripped off and Channing had looked upon her in that condition. And now, gazing straight at him, she saw that there was nothing more in the expression of his eyes than had always been there when she had looked into them. The flush left her face. ‘“* Channing,” she said softly—“ dear old Channing.” ‘““T made a promise that night,” Chan- ning went on. “I reckon it don’t make any difference who I made it to. But I swore that if that white horse carried you without hurtin’ you until I could get you off his back he’d never carry anybody else.”’ “So you bought him from Wayne,” said Eve. ‘Or you wanted to, until Wayne found out why you sought him.” ‘An’ Warren gave him to me.” “And you named him White Cloud. Why?” “Eve, there was a white cloud followed you an’ the horse that night.” His cheeks were flushed again, but he spoke steadily. “So I’ve got White Cloud in the little corral,” he added. ‘‘ The boys know he ain’t to be rode.” ‘And the black outlaw that Bassett in- tended to lash you to?” inquired Eve. -“ Vallon got him back into the box stall that night. He’s still there. I’m goin’ to break him for you.” TI Eomichbooks (S@)