--ho the devil air you?--he demanded, convulsively picking up a beer mug like he aimed to throw it at me.
--ike Bearfield of Wolf Mountain,--I says, and he says:--h!--and after a minute he puts the beer mug down and stood there studying a while.
Then he says:--hy, Bearfield, they warn't no use in you threatenin'tme. I bet you think I-- in love with Hannah Sprague! Well, I ain't. I-- a friend of her old man, that-- all. I been keepin'this gold over to my shack, guardin'tit for him, so Mustang Stirling-- outlaws wouldn't git it, and the old man is so grateful he wants me to marry the gal. But I don't keer nothin'tabout her.
--o tell you the truth, if it warn't that I like the old man, I-- throw up the job, it's so dangerous. Mustang Stirling has got spies in the camp, and they dogs me night and day. I thought you was one of--m when I seen yore arful face--ell, I-- glad the old man't goin'tto send it out on the stage tomorrer. It-- been an arful strain on me and my partner, which is over at the shack now. Somebody-- got to stay there on guard all the time, or them cussed outlaws would come right in and tear the shack apart and find where I got it hid. Tonight--l be the wust. They--l make a desprut effort to git it before mornin't----ou mean old man Sprague wants you to marry Hannah because yo--e guardin'this gold?--I ast, and he says yes, but the responsibility was aging him prematurely. I says:--ooky here! Lemme take this job off--yore hands! Lemme guard the gold tonight! I hates to see a promisin'tyoung man like you wore down to a nubbin by care and worry.----hate to do that,--he demurred, but I said:--ome on, be a good feller! I--l do as much for you, some time.-- He thought it over a while, shaking his head, whilst I was on needles and pins, and then he stuck out his hand and said:----l do it! Shake! But don't tell nobody. I wouldn't do it for nobody but you--hat-- that noise?-- Because we heard a lot of men running up the street and yelling:--it yore guns ready, boys! We--e right on his trail!-- Somebody hollered--ho?--And somebody else yelled:--ones! The hounds picked up his foot-tracks whilst we was tryin'tto git--m after the mule--! He musta jumped offa the mule and doubled back afoot! We--e trailed him right down Main Street!-- Then somebody else whooped:--hey--e goin'tinto the Belle of New York! We got him cornered! Don't let him git away!--
The next minute here come them three fool bloodhounds b--lin'tin at the front door and grabbed me by the hind laig again. It was most ann'ting. I dunno when I was ever so sick of a pack of hounds in my life. But I controlled my temper and merely jerked--m loose from my laig and throwed--m out the winder, and they run off. Then a crowd of faces jammed in the door and looked at me wildly and said:--ou again!-- I recognized Black-Beard and Squint-Eye and Shorty and Warts and the rest of the men which was in the posse chasing Mister Jones, and I said fretfully:--ol-dern it, whyn't you all lemme alone?-- But they ignored my remark, and Squint-Eye said:--thought we told you not to stop in Blue Lizard!-- Before I could think of anything insulting enough to say in response, Warts give a yelp and p--nted at my laigs.
--ook there!--he howled.--e-- got on Jones-- boots! I was on the stage coach when Jones tried to hold it up, and he had on a mask, but I remember them boots! Don't you remember--this hill-billy didn't have on no boots when we seen him before! He traded boots with Jones to fool the dawgs! No wonder they wouldn't foller the mule! He-- a derned outlaw! He knowed what Jones-- name was! He-- one of Stirling-- spies! Git him!-- I started to tell Blaze to tell--m I was all right, but at this moment Shorty was so overcome by excitement that he throwed a cuspidor at me. I ducked and it hit Blaze betwixt the eyes and he curled up under the table with a holler gasp.
--ow look what you done!--I says wrathfully, but all Shorty says is to holler:--rab him, boys! Here-- where we starts cleaning up this camp right now! Let the hangin't commence!-- If he hadn't made that last remark, I probably wouldn't of broke his arm when he tried to stab me with his bowie, but I-- kind of sensitive about being hung. I would of avoided vi--ence if I could of, but sech remarks convinced me that them idjits was liable to do me bodily harm, especially when some of--m grabbed me around the laigs and five or six more tried to twist my arms around behind my back. So I give a heave and slung them loose from me which was hanging onto my arms, and then I ast the others ca--ly and with dignity to let go of me before I injured--m fatally, but they replied profanely that I was a dadgasted outlaw and they was going to hang me if it was the last thing any of--m done. They also tried to rassle me off my feet and Black-Beard hit me over the head with a beer bottle.
This made me mad, so I walked over to the bar with nine or ten of--m hanging onto me and bracing their feet in a futile effort to stop me, and I stooped and tore up a ten-foot section of brass rail, and at the first swipe I laid out Black-Beard and Squint-Eye and Warts, and at the second I laid out four more gents which was perfect strangers to me, and when I heaved her up for the third swipe they warn't nobody in the saloon but me and them on the floor. It is remarkable the number of men you can fotch at one lick with a ten-foot section of brass railing. The way the survivors stampeded out the front door yelling blue murder you-- of thought it was the first time anybody had ever used a brass rail on--m.
Blaze was beginning to come to, so I hauled him out from under the table, and lugged him out onto the street with me. Some fellers on the other side of the street immejitly started shooting at me, so I drawed my pistols and shot back at--m, and they broke and run every which a way. So I got Blaze onto my back and started up the street with him, and after I-- went a few hundred yards he could walk hisself, though he weaved considerable, and he taken the lead and led me to his cabin which was back of some stores and clost to the bank of the creek. They warn't nobody in sight but a loafer setting under a tree on the bank fishing, with his slouch hat pulled down to shade his eyes. The door was shet, so Blaze hollered, still kind of dizzy:--t-- me, Branner; open up!-- So another young feller opened the door and looked out cautious with a double-barreled shotgun, and Blaze says to me:--ait here whilst I go in and git the gold.-- So I did and after a while he come out lugging a good-sized buckskin poke which I jedged from the weight they must be several thousand dollars worth of nuggets in there.
----l never forget this,--I said warmly.--ou go tell Hannah I cain't come to see her tonight because I-- guardin'ther old man't gold. I--l see her tomorrer after the stage coach has left with it.------l tell her, pal,--says he with emotion, shaking my hand, so I headed for my cabin, feeling I had easily won the first battle in the campaign for Hannah Sprague-- hand. Imagine that pore sap Blaze throwing away a chance like that! I felt plumb sorry for him for being so addle-headed.
The sun was down by the time I got back to my cabin, and oncet I thought somebody was follering me, and I looked around, but it warn't nobody but the feller I-- seen fishing, trudging along about a hundred yards behind me with his pole onto his shoulder.
Well, when I arriv--at my cabin, I seen a furtive figger duck out the back way. It looked like old Polk, so I called to him, but he scooted off amongst the trees. I decided I must of been mistook, because likely old Polk was still off somewheres sulking on account of gitting shot in the britches. He was a onreasonable old cuss.
I went in and throwed the buckskin poke on the table and lit a candle, and jest then I heard a noise at the winder and wheeled quick jest in time to see somebody jerk his face away from the winder. I run to the door, and seen somebody sprinting off through the trees, and was jest fixing to take a shot at him when I recognized that old slouch hat. I wondered what that fool fisherman had follered me and looked in at my winder for, and I wondered why he run off so fast, but I-- already found out that Blue Lizard was full of idjits, so I give the matter no more thought. I ain't one of these here fellers which wastes their time trying to figger out why things is like they is, and why people does things like they does. I got better employment for my spare time, sech as sleeping.