Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.) -- Fiction; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Outlaws -- Fiction; Western stories
That is, he had put his foot across the threshold when he was caught
roughly by the shoulder and dragged to one side. He found himself
looking up into the face of a strapping fellow who served Milligan as
bouncer. Milligan had an eye for color. Andy Lewis was tolerably well
known as a fighting man of parts, who not only wore two guns but could
use them both at once, which is much more difficult than is generally
understood. But far more than for his fighting parts Milligan hired his
bouncer for the sake of his face. It was a countenance made to
discourage trouble makers. A mule had kicked Lewis in the chin, and a
great white welt deformed his lower lip. Scars of smallpox added to his
decorative effect, and he had those extremely bushy brows which for some
reason are generally considered to denote ferocity. Now, Donnegan was
not above middle height at best, and in his present shrinking attitude
he found himself looking up a full head into the formidable face of the
bouncer.
"And what are you doing in here?" asked the genial Andy. "Don't you know
this joint is for white folks?"
"I ain't colored," murmured Donnegan.
"You took considerable yaller to me," declared Lewis. He straightway
chuckled, and his own keen appreciation of his wit softened his
expression. "What you want?"
Donnegan shivered under his rags.
"I want to see Jack Landis," he said.
It had a wonderful effect upon the doorkeeper. Donnegan found that the
very name of Landis was a charm of power in The Corner.
"You want to see him?" he queried in amazement. "You?"
He looked Donnegan over again, and then grinned broadly, as if in
anticipation. "Well, go ahead. There he sits--no, he's dancing."
The music was in full swing; it was chiefly brass; but now and then, in
softer moments, one could hear a violin squeaking uncertainly. At least
it went along with a marked, regular rhythm, and the dancers swirled
industriously around the floor. A very gay crowd; color was apparently
appreciated in The Corner. And Donnegan, standing modestly out of sight
behind a pillar until the dance ended, noted twenty phases of life in
twenty faces. And Donnegan saw the flushes of liquor, and heard the loud
voices of happy fellows who had made their "strikes"; but in all that
brilliant crew he had no trouble in picking out Jack Landis and Nelly
Lebrun.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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