New Mexico -- Fiction; Western stories; Women pioneers -- Fiction
Monty, once he had overcome his shyness, became a source of delight
to Madeline, and, for that matter, to everybody. Monty had suddenly
discovered that he was a success among the ladies. Either he was exalted
to heroic heights by this knowledge or he made it appear so. Dorothy had
been his undoing, and in justice to her Madeline believed her innocent.
Dorothy thought Monty hideous to look at, and, accordingly, if he had
been a hero a hundred times and had saved a hundred poor little babies’
lives, he could not have interested her. Monty followed her around,
reminding her, she told Madeline, of a little adoring dog one moment and
the next of a huge, devouring gorilla.
Nels and Nick stalked at Helen’s heels like grenadiers on duty, and if
she as much as dropped her glove they almost came to blows to see who
should pick it up.
In a way Castleton was the best feature of the camping party. He was
such an absurd-looking little man, and his abilities were at such
tremendous odds with what might have been expected of him from his
looks. He could ride, tramp, climb, shoot. He liked to help around the
camp, and the cowboys could not keep him from it. He had an insatiable
desire to do things that were new to him. The cowboys played innumerable
tricks upon him, not one of which he ever discovered. He was
serious, slow in speech and action, and absolutely imperturbable.
If imperturbability could ever be good humor, then he was always
good-humored. Presently the cowboys began to understand him, and then
to like him. When they liked a man it meant something. Madeline had been
sorry more than once to see how little the cowboys chose to speak to
Boyd Harvey. With Castleton, however, they actually became friends. They
did not know it, and certainly such a thing never occurred to him; all
the same, it was a fact. And it grew solely out of the truth that the
Englishman was manly in the only way cowboys could have interpreted
manliness. When, after innumerable attempts, he succeeded in throwing
the diamond-hitch on a pack-horse the cowboys began to respect him.
Castleton needed only one more accomplishment to claim their hearts, and
he kept trying that—to ride a bucking bronco. One of the cowboys had
a bronco that they called Devil. Every day for a week Devil threw the
Englishman all over the park, ruined his clothes, bruised him, and
finally kicked him. Then the cowboys solicitously tried to make
Castleton give up; and this was remarkable enough, for the spectacle
of an English lord on a bucking bronco was one that any Westerner would
have ridden a thousand miles to see. Whenever Devil threw Castleton the
cowboys went into spasms. But Castleton did not know the meaning of the
word fail, and there came a day when Devil could not throw him. Then it
was a singular sight to see the men line up to shake hands with the
cool Englishman. Even Stewart, who had watched from the background, came
forward with a warm and pleasant smile on his dark face. When Castleton
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account