Satanta come up to the door and nickered, and I give him some oats, and then I built a fire in the fireplace and cooked some bacon and made some coffee, and I-- jest got through eating and cleaned up the pot and skillet when somebody hailed me outside.
I quick blowed out the candle and stepped to the door with a gun in each hand. I could see a tall figger standing in the starlight, so I ast who the devil he was and what he wanted.
-- friend of Old Man Sprague--,--says he.--uddleston is the name, my enormous young friend, Carius Z. Huddleston. Mister Sprague sent me over to help you guard his gold tonight.-- That didn't set well with me, because it looked like Old Man Sprague didn't think I was capable of taking care of it by myself, and I said so right out.
--ot at all,--says Mister Huddleston.--e-- so grateful to you for assumin'tthe responsibility that he said he couldn't endure it if you come to any harm on account of it, so he sent me to help you.--
Well, that was all right. It looked like Old Man Sprague had took a fancy to me already, even before he's saw me, and I felt that I was nigh as good as married to Hannah already. So I told Mr. Huddleston to come in, and I lit the candle and shet the door. He was a tall man with the biggest black mustache I ever seen, and he had on a frock tail coat and a broad-brim hat. I seen two ivory-handled six-shooters under his coattails. His eyes kind of bulged in the candlelight when he seen the big poke on the table and he ast me was that the gold and I said yes. So he hauled out a bottle of whiskey and said:--ell, my gigantic young friend, le-- drink to Old Man Sprague-- gold, may it arrive at its proper destination.-- So we had a drink and I sot down on the bench and he sot on a rawhide bottomed chair, and he got to telling me stories, and he knowed more things about more people than I ever seen. He told me about a feller named Paul Revere which thrived during the Revolution when we licked the Britishers, and I got all het up hearing about him. He said the Britishers was going to sneak out of a town named Boston which I jedge must of been a right sizable cowtown or mining camp or something, and was going to fall on the people unawares and confiscate their stills and weppins and steers and things, but one of Paul-- friends signaled him what was going on by swinging a lantern, and Paul forked his cayuse and fogged it down the trail to warn the folks.
When he was telling about Paul-- friend signaling him Mister Huddleston got so excited he grabbed the candle and went over to the west winder and waved the candle back and forth three times to show me how it was done. It was a grand story, Wash, and I got goose bumps on me jest listening to it.
Well, it was gitting late by now, and Mister Huddleston ast me if I warn't sleepy. I said no, and he said:--o ahead and lay down and sleep. I--l stand guard the rest of the night.----hucks,--I said.--ain't sleepy. You git some rest.----e--l throw dice to see who sleeps first,--says he, hauling out a pair, but I says:--o, sir! It-- my job. I-- settin'tup with the gold. You go on and lay down on that bunk over there if you wanta.-- Well, for a minute Mister Huddleston got a most pecooliar expression onto his face, or it might of been the way the candlelight shined on it, because for a minute he looked jest like I--e seen men look who was ready to pull out their pistol on me. Then he says:--ll right. I believe I will take a snooze. You might as well kill the rest of that whisky. I got all I want.--
So he went over to the bunk which was in a corner where the light didn't shine into very good, and he sot down on it to take off his boots. But he's no sooner sot than he give a arful yell and bounded convulsively out into the middle of the room, clutching at his rear, and I seen a b--r trap hanging onto the seat of his britches! I instantly knowed old Polk had sot it in the bunk for me, the revengeful old polecat.
From the way Mr. Huddleston was hollering I knowed it warn't only pants which was nipped betwixt the jaws; they was quite a chunk of Mister Huddleston betwixt--m too. He went prancing around the cabin like one of them whirling derfishes and his langwidge was plumb terrible.
--it it off, blast you!--he howled, but he was circling the room at sech speed I couldn't ketch him, so I grabbed the chain which dangled from the trap and give a heave and tore it loose from him by main strength. The seat of his pants and several freckles come with it, and the howls he's let out previous warn't a circumstance to the one which he emitted now, also bounding about seven foot in the air besides.
--ou----screamed he, and I likewise give a beller of amazement because his mustash had come off and revealed a familiar face!
--itherington T. Jones!--I roared, dumfounded.--hat the devil you doin'there in disguise?----ow!--says he, pulling a gun.--ands up, curse you, or--
I knocked the gun out of his hand before he could pull the trigger, and I was so overcome with resentment that I taken him by the neck and shaken him till his spurs flew off.
--s this any way to treat a man as risked his repertation to rescue you from bloodhounds?--I inquired with passion.--here-- my mule, you ornery polecat?-- I had forgot about his other gun, but he hadn't. But I was shaking him so energetic that somehow he missed me even when he had the muzzle almost agen my belly. The bullet tore the hide over my ribs and the powder burnt me so severe that I lost my temper.
--o you tries to murder me after obtainin'tmy mule under false pretenses!--I bellered, taking the gun away from him and impulsively slinging him acrost the cabin.--ou ain't no friend of Old Man Sprague--.-- At this moment he got hold of a butcher knife I used to slice bacon with and come at me, yelling:--lim! Mike! Arizona! Jackson! Where-- hell air you?-- I taken the blade in my arm-muscles and then grabbed him and we was rassling all over the place when six men come storming through the door with guns in their hands. One of them yelled:--thought you said you-- wait till he was asleep or drunk before you signaled us!----e wouldn't go to sleep!--howled Mister Jones, spitting out a piece of my ear he's bit off.--ammit, do somethin't Don't you see he's klllin'tme?-- But we was so tangled up they couldn't shoot me without hitting him, so they clubbed their pistols and come for me, so I swung Mister Jones off his feet and throwed him at--m. They was all in a bunch and he hit--m broadside and knocked--m all over and they crashed into the table and upsot it and the candle went out. The next minute they was a arful commotion going on as they started fighting each other in the dark, each one thinking it was me he had holt of.
I was feeling for--m when the back door busted open and I had a brief glimpse of a tall figger darting out, and it was carrying something on its shoulder. Then I remembered that the poke had been on that table. Mister Jones had got holt of the gold and was skedaddling with it!
I run out of the back door after him jest as a mob of men come whooping and yelling up to the front door with torches and guns and ropes. I heard one of--m yelclass="underline" --omebody-- fightin'tin there! Listen at--m!-- Somebody else yelled:--aybe the whole gang-- in there with the hill-billy! Git--m!--So they went smashing into the cabin jest as I run in amongst the trees after Mister Jones.
And there I was stumped. I couldn't see where he went and it was too dark to find his trail. Then all to oncet I heard Satanta squeal and a man yelled for help, and they come a crash like a man makes when a hoss bucks him off into a blackjack thicket. I run in the direction of the noise and by the starlight I seen Satanta grazing and a pair of human laigs sticking out of the bresh. Mister Jones had tried to git away on Satanta.