the wind whispering through the greasewood and rustling the cottonwood leaves, I kept a careful watch but sa w nobody until Mulvaney himself stepped into sight.
"Had any trouble?" I asked him.
"Trouble? None here," he replied. "Some men came by , but the sound of my Spencer drove them away again." H e walked to the door. "There's grub on the table. How was it i n Silver Reef?"
"A man killed."
"Be careful, lad. There's too many dying.-
When I had explained, he nodded. "Do they know it wa s you?"
"I doubt it." It felt good to be back on my own plac e again, seeing the white-faced cattle browsing in the pastur e below, seeing the water flowing to irrigate the small garde n we'd started.
"You're tired." Mulvaney studied me. "But you look fit.
You've thrown a challenge in the teeth of Park. You'll b e backing it up?"
"Backing it up?" My eyes must have told what was i n me. "That's one man I want, Mulvaney! He had me dow n and beat me, and I'll not live free until I whip him or h e whips me fair!"
"He's a power of man, lad. I've seen him lift a barrel o f whiskey at arm's length overhead. It will be a job to whi p him."
"Ever box any, Mulvaney? You told me you'd wrestle d Cornish style."
"What Irishman hasn't boxed a bit? Is it a sparrin' mat e you're wantin'? Sure an' it would be good to get the leathe r on my maulies again."
For a week we were at it. Every night we boxed, lightl y at first, then faster. He was a brawny man, a fierce slugge r and a powerful man in the clinches. On the seventh day w e did a full thirty minutes without a break. And in the succeeding days my strength returned and my speed grew greater.
The rough and tumble part of it I loved. Nor was I worrie d about Morgan knowing more tricks than I--the waterfront s are the place to learn the dirty side of fighting. I would us e everything I'd learned there, if Morgan didn't fight fair.
It was after our tenth session with the gloves tha t Mulvaney stripped them off and shook his head admiringly.
"Faith, lad, you've a power of muscle behind that wallop o f yours! That last one came from nowhere and I felt it clean t o my toes! Never did I believe a man lived that could hit lik e that!"
"Thanks," I said. "I'm ridin' to town tomorrow."
"To fight him?"
"No, to see the girl, Olga Maclaren, to buy supplies, an d perhaps to ride him a little. I want him furious before w e fight. I want him mad, mad and wild."
He nodded wisely at me. "It'll help, for no man can figh t unless he keeps his head. But be careful, lad. Remembe r they are gunnin' for you, an' there's nothin' that would bette r please them than to see you dead on the ground."
When the buckskin was watered I returned him to th e hitch rail and walked into the saloon. Hattan's Point kne w that Lyell was dead, but they had no idea who had done it.
Key Chapin was the first man I met, and I looked at him , wondering on which side he stood.
He looked at me curiously and motioned toward th e chair across the table from him. Dropping into it, I began t o build a smoke. "Well, Sabre, you're making quite a name fo r yourself.
I shrugged. "That's not important. All I want is a ranch."
"All?"
"And a girl."
"One may be as hard to get as the other."
"Maybe. Anyway, I've made a start on the ranch. In fact , I have the ranch and intend to keep it."
"Heard about Lyell?"
"Killed, wasn't he? Somewhere west of here?"
"At Silver Reef. It's a peaceful, quiet town in spite o f being a boomtown. And they have a sheriff over there wh o believes in keeping it peaceful. They tell me he is workin g hard to find out who killed Lyell."
"It might be anybody. There was a rumor that he wa s one of the men in the raid on the Ball ranch."
"And which you promised to bury on the spot."
What this was building to I did not know, but I wa s anxious to find out just where Chapin stood. He would be a good friend to have, and a bad enemy, for his paper had a good deal of influence around town.
"You told me when I first
"Had any trouble?" I asked him.
"Trouble? None here," he replied. "Some men came by , but the sound of my Spencer drove them away again." H e walked to the door. "There's grub on the table. How was it i n Silver Reef?"
"A man killed."
"Be careful, lad. There's too many dying.-
When I had explained, he nodded. "Do they know it wa s you?"
"I doubt it." It felt good to be back on my own plac e again, seeing the white-faced cattle browsing in the pastur e below, seeing the water flowing to irrigate the small garde n we'd started.
"You're tired." Mulvaney studied me. "But you look fit.
You've thrown a challenge in the teeth of Park. You'll b e backing it up?"
"Backing it up?" My eyes must have told what was i n me. "That's one man I want, Mulvaney! He had me dow n and beat me, and I'll not live free until I whip him or h e whips me fair!"
"He's a power of man, lad. I've seen him lift a barrel o f whiskey at arm's length overhead. It will be a job to whi p him."
"Ever box any, Mulvaney? You told me you'd wrestle d Cornish style."
"What Irishman hasn't boxed a bit? Is it a sparrin' mat e you're wantin'? Sure an' it would be good to get the leathe r on my maulies again."
For a week we were at it. Every night we boxed, lightl y at first, then faster. He was a brawny man, a fierce slugge r and a powerful man in the clinches. On the seventh day w e did a full thirty minutes without a break. And in the succeeding days my strength returned and my speed grew greater.
The rough and tumble part of it I loved. Nor was I worrie d about Morgan knowing more tricks than I--the waterfront s are the place to learn the dirty side of fighting. I would us e everything I'd learned there, if Morgan didn't fight fair.
It was after our tenth session with the gloves tha t Mulvaney stripped them off and shook his head admiringly.
"Faith, lad, you've a power of muscle behind that wallop o f yours! That last one came from nowhere and I felt it clean t o my toes! Never did I believe a man lived that could hit lik e that!"
"Thanks," I said. "I'm ridin' to town tomorrow."
"To fight him?"
"No, to see the girl, Olga Maclaren, to buy supplies, an d perhaps to ride him a little. I want him furious before w e fight. I want him mad, mad and wild."
He nodded wisely at me. "It'll help, for no man can figh t unless he keeps his head. But be careful, lad. Remembe r they are gunnin' for you, an' there's nothin' that would bette r please them than to see you dead on the ground."
When the buckskin was watered I returned him to th e hitch rail and walked into the saloon. Hattan's Point kne w that Lyell was dead, but they had no idea who had done it.
Key Chapin was the first man I met, and I looked at him , wondering on which side he stood.
He looked at me curiously and motioned toward th e chair across the table from him. Dropping into it, I began t o build a smoke. "Well, Sabre, you're making quite a name fo r yourself.
I shrugged. "That's not important. All I want is a ranch."
"All?"
"And a girl."
"One may be as hard to get as the other."
"Maybe. Anyway, I've made a start on the ranch. In fact , I have the ranch and intend to keep it."
"Heard about Lyell?"
"Killed, wasn't he? Somewhere west of here?"
"At Silver Reef. It's a peaceful, quiet town in spite o f being a boomtown. And they have a sheriff over there wh o believes in keeping it peaceful. They tell me he is workin g hard to find out who killed Lyell."
"It might be anybody. There was a rumor that he wa s one of the men in the raid on the Ball ranch."
"And which you promised to bury on the spot."
What this was building to I did not know, but I wa s anxious to find out just where Chapin stood. He would be a good friend to have, and a bad enemy, for his paper had a good deal of influence around town.
"You told me when I first
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