The Man from Bar 20: A Story of the Cow CountryMulford, Clarence Edward
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The Man from Bar 20: A Story of the Cow Country
Mulford, Clarence Edward
Cassidy, Hopalong (Fictitious character) -- Fiction; Western stories
The pole swayed as a rope shot over it and grew taut, and then a faded
shirt, heavy with water, came into view and sagged the rope.
Holbrook grinned and picked up his rifle. "Gettin' th' wash out early.
An' he must have plenty of water, to waste it like that."
He raised the sight a little and tried again. "Can't tell where they're
goin'," he grumbled, and tried the third time. The edge of the shirt
flopped inward as the garment momentarily assumed the general shape of
a funnel.
"He ain't th' only ki-yote that can shoot," chuckled the marksman.
"Fleming couldn't 'a' done any better'n that. Bet he's mad. Serves him
right for havin' two. He ain't no better than me, an' I only got one,
since Ackerman took my other one. Cuss it!" he swore, blinking rapidly
and spitting as a sharp _spat!_ sent sand into his face.
He shifted, wiped his lips, and peered out at a spot on the other butte
where a cloud of smoke spread out along the ground. Then he poked his
sombrero over the breastwork and wriggled it on a stick, but waited in
vain for the expected shot.
"He ain't bitin' today; an' he's savin' his cartridges. Well, _I_ got
plenty; so here goes for that shirt again."
Again the inoffensive garment flopped; and then a singing bullet passed
squarely through Holbrook's expensive sombrero.
"You stay down from up there!" grunted Holbrook at the hat. "Plumb
center! I got a lot of respect for that hombre. He got th' best of
th' swap, too. I spoiled a worn-out shirt, an' he ventilated a twenty
dollar Stetson. He owes me a couple more shots!"
The next shot missed, but the second turned the shirt into another
funnel.
"Hey!" shouted an angry voice. "What you think yo're doin'?"
Holbrook's grin turned into a burst of laughter as the pole swiftly
descended, and he again poked up his hat, hoping for a miss and another
wasted cartridge; but, failing to draw a shot, he gave it up and
crawled back to a safer and more comfortable place where he lay down to
get some sleep.
Johnny, full of wrath, worked along the edge of the butte in a vain
endeavor to catch sight of his enemy, and he took plenty of time in his
efforts to be cautious. Any man who could hit a shirt plumb center and
nearly every time, at that distance, shooting across a deceptive canyon
and against the sky, was no one to get careless with. After waiting a
while without hearing any more from his humorous enemy, he looked down
each trail and then went to the other end of the butte.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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