THE COWBOY BAR-Z ON A SUNDAY NIGHT A COWBOY RACE THE HABIT A RANGER THE INSULT "THE ROAD TO RUIN" THE OUTLAW THE DESERT WHISKEY BILL,--A FRAGMENT DENVER JIM THE VIGILANTES THE BANDIT'S GRAVE THE OLD MACKENZIE TRAIL THE SHEEP-HERDER A COWBOY AT THE CARNIVAL THE OLD COWMAN THE GILA MONSTER ROUTE THE CALL OF THE PLAINS WHERE THE GRIZZLY DWELLS A COWBOY TOAST RIDIN' UP THE ROCKY TRAIL FROM TOWN THE DISAPPOINTED TENDERFOOT A COWBOY ALONE WITH HIS CONSCIENCE JUST A-RIDIN'! THE END OF THE TRAIL PART I COWBOY YARNS _The centipede runs across my head, The vinegaroon crawls in my bed, Tarantulas jump and scorpions play, The broncs are grazing far away, The rattlesnake gives his warning cry, And the coyotes sing their lullaby, While I sleep soundly beneath the sky._ OUT WHERE THE WEST BEGINS OUT where the handclasp's a little stronger, Out where the smile dwells a little longer, That's where the West begins; Out where the sun is a little brighter, Where the snows that fall are a trifle whiter, Where the bonds of home are a wee bit tighter, That's where the West begins. Out where the skies are a trifle bluer, Out where friendship's a little truer, That's where the West begins; Out where a fresher breeze is blowing, Where there's laughter in every streamlet flowing, Where there's more of reaping and less of sowing, That's where the West begins. Out where the world is in the making, Where fewer hearts in despair are aching, That's where the West begins; Where there's more of singing and less of sighing, Where there's more of giving and less of buying, And a man makes friends without half trying, That's where the West begins. _Arthur Chapman._ THE SHALLOWS OF THE FORD DID you ever wait for daylight when the stars along the river Floated thick and white as snowflakes in the water deep and strange, Till a whisper through the aspens made the current break and shiver As the frosty edge of morning seemed to melt and spread and change? Once I waited, almost wishing that the dawn would never find me; Saw the sun roll up the ranges like the glory of the Lord; Was about to wake my pardner who was sleeping close behind me, When I saw the man we wanted spur his pony to the ford. Saw the ripples of the shallows and the muddy streaks that followed, As the pony stumbled toward me in the narrows of the bend; Saw the face I used to welcome, wild and watchful, lined and hollowed; And God knows I wished to warn him, for I once had called him friend. But an oath had come between us--I was paid by Law and Order; He was outlaw, rustler, killer--so the border whisper ran; Left his word in Caliente that he'd cross the Rio border-- Call me coward? But I hailed him--"Riding close to daylight, Dan!"