Argosy All-Story Weekly, December 4, 1926 — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

333 fastened a ball and chain to the woman’s leg, and was slowly beating her to death, it was time some one noticed the fact. Silent Jerry was the man. He appeared one evening at the Coahuilla reservation with the suffering eyed, emaciated woman on his back. Without a word he left her there, but observers declared there was blood on his hands, while from Mohave came the news that Stubby Pete had fled through that set- tlement, and over the Tehachipi Pass as if the devil himself were chasing him. After that Silent Jerry worked for six months on the homestead of Widow Car- negie, whose husband was killed in the land- slide at Silver Canon. From there he went eastward on the desert, to where, rumor stated, he had a secret gold pocket. When he reappeared he was heavy with nuggets, and had in tow a dapper Mexican boy, who had fled after betraying old Guadalope Arega’s daughter. The boy was suddenly quite ready to marry little Anna, it developed, and Silent Jerry was the best man. Small wonder that the people of the desert spoke almost worshipingly of Silent Jerry, that he had friends from Mono to El Centro. Yes, almost every one was his friend; yet no one person felt that he really knew the big, silent man. He was admired and loved for what he did. That was a strange thing, too; for it is human nature to hate the man who is always right. But Silent Jerry was modest, unassuming; he took on to himself neither the rdle of a judge, nor that of the savior of mankind. Obvious wrongs he attempted in his silent way to right, but of his accomplishments he never spoke. Nor did he crave sym- pathy or favors. When “Gold Tooth” Nugent tried to knife him in the back one night at Little Lake, and Silent Jerry broke the big gambler in two with his hands, he offered himself for arrest. The formality was unnecessary. The whole tribe of desert dwellers would have risen en masse had Silent Jerry been de- tained a single day. Yes, a tremendous figure Silent Jerry became on the desert, the human epitome of ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. that huge, rugged land. Men’s sorrows he knew, and women’s, for humans are only too anxious to pour into sympathetic ears their tales of trials and disappointments, especially when they know that those tales will never be repeated. Physical suffering he knew, as he wan- dered the desert with his little white-faced burro. Perhaps, too, there were moments of elation. When an eagle slid majestically across the desert sky, perhaps his heart soared, too. : When the desert floor bloomed for a brief moment after a rare spring rain and became a gorgeous carpet of verbenas, as- ters, and lupins, perhaps he loved his cruel mistress the more. Sorrows, suffering, elation, the lone, silent wanderer knew, and undoubtedly moments of quiet happiness. But never did he feel the love of a woman, or touch of a child’s hand. Huge, brown, a mountain of a man, he strode his lonely way through rock and sand and cactus, through ephemeral min- ing towns and horizon-bounded ranchos, over the mountains and down the valleys of life—Silent Jerry, silent since that oath over Joe Budhouser’s grave on Star Mesa, al- ways silent until hell broke loose once more in Quartz City. (a CHAPTER VII. BACK TO QUARTZ CITY. = UNGSTEN at Quartz City!” 5 The message swept out over the desert, leaped the mountain ranges, charged through the civilized valleys be- yond. “ Tungsten! Quartz City!” It seemed that the very air was surcharged with the words. Hot-blooded men heard the news, and dropped whatever tools were in their hands. A new rainbow loomed across the desert sky, a rainbow at whose foot was more than gold. Tungsten, the ore scheelite in veins with quartz, the words spelled fabu- lous wealth. “Get a Tungsten claim, and become rich overnight!” Those were the words, that was the dream, which lured all men who COLMUC DOOKS Tungsten found in’ (C@)