Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine, Vol. 107 No. 3 — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

376 They came up the porch into the lignt that fell weakly from the office down the steps. There was a movement of feet be- side the green bench, an exclamation, a swift advance on the part of the big-nosed . man who had afforded amusement for Ta- terleg in the barber’s chair. “You little bench-leggid fist, if you’ve got gall enough to say one word to a man’s face, say it!” he challenged. Alta came after him, quickly, with pa- cific intent. well filled out, like an immature bean pod. Her heavy black~hair was cut in a water- . fall of bangs which came down to her eye- brows, the rest of it done up behind in loops like sausages, and fastened with a large, red ribbon. She had put off her apron, and stood forth in white, her sleeves much shorter than the arms which reached out of them, rings on her fingers which looked as if they would leave their shadows behind. ‘“ Now, Mr. Jedlick, I don’t want you to go raisin’ no fuss around here with the guests,” she said. “* Jedlick!”’ repeated Taterleg, turning to Lambert with a pained, depressed look on his face. ‘It sounds like something you blow in to make a noisé.” The barber’s customer was a taller man standing than he was long lying. There ~ wasn’t much clearance between his head and the ceiling of the porch. He stood before Taterleg glowering, his hat off, his short-cut hair glistening with pomatum, showing his teeth like a vicious horse. “You look like you was cut out with a can-opener,” he sneered. ‘* Maybe I was, and I’ve got rough edges on me,” Taterleg returned, looking up at him with calculative eye. “Now, Mr. Jedlick ”—a hand on his arm, but confident of the force of it, like a lady animal-trainer in a cage of lions— “ you come on over here and set dowh and leave that gentleman alone.” “If anybody but you’d ’a’ said it, Alta, I’d ’a’ told him he was a liar,” Jedlick growled. He moved his foot to go with her, stopped, snarled at Taterleg again. “T used to roll ’em in flour and swaller ’em,”’ said he. “You're a terrible rough feller, ain’t She was a tall girl, not very ARGOSY AND RAILROAD MAN’S MAGAZINE. you?” Taterleg inquired with cutting sar casm. Alta led Jedlick off to his corner; Ta- terleg and Lambert entered the hotel office. “Gee, but this is a windy night!” said the duke, holding his hat on with both hands. “Tl let some of the wind out of him if he monkeys with me!” ‘“‘ Looks to me like I know another feller that an operation wouldn’t hurt,” the duke remarked, turning a sly eye on his friend. The landlord appeared with a lamp to light them to their beds, putting an end to these exchanges of threat and banter. As he was leaving them to their double-bar- reled apartment, Lambert remarked: “That man Jedlick’s an _interesting- lookin’ feller.” “* Ben Jedlick? Yes, Ben’s quite a case.” “What business does he foller?” “Ben? Ben’s cook on Pat Sullivan’s ranch up the river; one of the best camp cooks in the Bad Lands, and I guess the best known, without any doubt.” Taterleg sat down on the side of his bed as if he had been punctured, indeed, lop- ping forward in mock attitude of utter col- lapse as the landlord closed the door. “Cook! That settles it for me; I’ve turned the last flap-jack I'll ever turn for any man but myself.” “How will you manage the oyster par- lor?” “Well, I’ve just about give up that no- tion, duke. I’ve been thinkin’ I’ll stick to the range and go in the sheep business.” “‘T expect it would be a good move, old feller.” “‘ They’re goin’ into it around here, they tell me.”’ “* Alta tells you.” “Oh, you git out! But I’m a cow-man right now, and I’m goin’ to stay one for some little time to come. It don’t take ‘much intelligence in a man to ride fence.” “No; I guess we could both pass on that.” The duke blew the lamp out with his hat. There was silence, all but the scuff- ing sound of disrobing. Taterleg spoke out of bed. | “That girl’s got purty eyes, ain’t she?” ce | NOO Co nny] C)) S Co mM