The Long Dim TrailHooker, Forrestine C. (Forrestine Cooper)
General
The Long Dim Trail
Hooker, Forrestine C. (Forrestine Cooper)
Arizona -- Fiction; Cowboys -- Fiction; Ranch life -- Fiction; Western stories
"That animal's name is Hot Tamale. The boys wanted to try you out a bit.
I knew you could take care of yourself, so did not say anything. The
joke is on them now; but you have won their respect and will be free
from other pranks."
"I think I'll insist on riding Hot Tamale hereafter," asserted Powell.
"By the way, when Limber spoke to you about that bunch of cattle, I
thought I would like to buy them, provided you, yourself, did not intend
to do so. Of course, I realize that I am a tenderfoot, ignorant of the
first rudiments of the cattle business, but what would you advise about
my locating in this section?"
"It would be a good move," responded Traynor. "Paddy's range lies
between my own and the Hot Springs country across the Galiuros. He has
permanent water, which is a gold mine, especially during a dry season.
The mountains between here and Hot Springs are rich in feed, so Paddy's
cattle work that way." He puffed silently on his cigar for a few
seconds, then turned suddenly to Powell. "Look here, Cuthbert, if you
are really serious about locating in this section, why don't you get in
touch with Doctor King who owns the Hot Springs? The place would
interest you professionally, for the water comes out of solid rock at a
temperature of 140 degrees and is the purest water I have ever tasted.
It is noted in the Territory as a cure for various complaints."
"I would certainly like to see it," answered the doctor
enthusiastically, "if you can arrange it for me."
"King only held Squatter's Right until recently. Under that, the
possessor loses title unless he stays on the ground. It is not under
government survey yet, so could not be patented like surveyed land. I
advised King to patent it under Indian Script and make his title
secure. He has just done this. King has been hoping to erect a
sanitarium at the Springs, but lack of funds, and his flat refusal to
consider anyone as a partner except a resident physician able to finance
the plans, has blocked his scheme."
"It might appeal to him to let me carry out my own idea of establishing
a sanitarium for tubercular children in Arizona. I don't mean wealthy
invalids, attended by a retinue of nurses and other impedimenta, but
poor children who otherwise would have no hope of health. The climate,
altitude and all conditions would be simply ideal. I should like to talk
to him myself."
"Do you know that you are setting forth the very ideas that King
discussed with me the last time I saw him? That was, a place for poor,
tubercular children. He loves every child that he sees. His own boy died
at the age of six. The mother died soon after. King gave me no details,
and I doubt whether anyone else besides myself, knows this much. I fancy
his thought was to make the place a memorial to the boy he lost."
"It would be a splendid idea to carry out with such a man!" exclaimed
Powell, deeply moved. "How soon do you think it could be arranged for me
to meet him?"
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account