Young Ole Devil by J.T. Edson Page B

obliged, wondering if he was
winning the General over. There was nothing in his attitude to
supply a clue, although Travis appeared to be softening a little.
‘He could tell there was something wrong, so he made sure they
didn’t hear him until he was ready to let them. When he saw us
dropping our weapons, he guessed what was going on and left his
swords outside so that they would think he was harmless.’ Try as he
might, Hardin could not restrain a faint smile over the thought of
how Stone, having fallen into the little Oriental’s trap, was
disillusioned. ‘Which they did and that evened the odds up
considerably.’
    ‘ There’s others have made the mistake of thinking that
little feller is harmless and come to regret it,’ Bowie confirmed
with a broad grin. ‘You’ve never seen anything like the way he can
fight, Sam. Fact being, those yahoos are lucky they didn’t get hurt
worse than they did.’
    ‘ Is
that all, Captain Hardin?’ Houston inquired, displaying no emotion
at all. His face could have been a figure drawn upon a wooden
fence.
    ‘ Yes,
sir,’ the young man replied, stiffening slightly as he realized
that judgment would soon be upon him, ‘I apologize for the delay in
reporting to you—’
    ‘ Think
nothing of it,’ the General boomed, and he smiled broadly. ‘I
couldn’t have seen you straight away if you had come and it sure as
Sam Hill wasn’t your fault that you got delayed.’ His eyes swung to
the seated colonel and he went on, ‘He could have spent his time in
worse ways, don’t you think, Bill?’
    ‘ Well,
sir,’ Travis answered, his sense of fair play having caused him to
revise his opinion of Hardin so that he eyed the young man with
approbation. ‘I don’t approve officers being involved in brawls
with the enlisted men, but I’m satisfied that it was justified on
this occasion.’
    ‘ Thank
you, sir,’ Hardin ejaculated, showing his delight at having
received what was tantamount to an apology and an
accolade.
    ‘ You
could have explained what started the fight when Colonel Travis
questioned you outside the cantina, or at the barn,’ Houston pointed out ‘It would
have avoided any misunderstanding about your motives.’
    ‘ Yes,
sir,’ Hardin admitted, but tactfully decided against saying that he
doubted whether Travis would have listened to an explanation in
either instance. Instead, he went on, ‘Like I said, the agitator
had established his “right” to freedom of expression. So I figured
that if he heard me explaining things to Colonel Travis after the
fight, he might be able to use it against us. He could have said
that one of your officers had picked on and hurt bad a couple of
fellers rather than let him speak his piece. So I concluded it was
better to keep quiet and explain in private.’
    ‘ Not
every young man would have seen it in that light,’ Houston
praised.
    ‘ I
must admit that I misjudged you, captain,’ Travis declared,
standing up. ‘The circumstances of our meeting led me to assume
that you were a reckless, hotheaded troublemaker and finding you’d
been in a second fight did nothing to change my opinion. I was
wrong and I don’t mind admitting it. You may have taken some
chances, but they were calculated risks and not made
recklessly.’
    ‘ Thank
you, sir,’ Hardin answered and he could not entirely hide his
relief as he saw Houston nodding in agreement. ‘Anyway, we came
through it all right.’
    ‘ Which’s more than can be said for that damned agitator’s
men,’ Bowie remarked, showing his satisfaction over the way in
which his protégé had been exonerated. ‘I don’t reckon he’ll be
able to use any of them for a spell.’
    ‘ He’s
still around, sir,’ Hardin warned. ‘I could go—’
    ‘ You could,’ Bowie grinned. ‘But you’re not going to. Don’t be a hawg, young Ole Devil,
you’ve had your share of the fun. Leave us old timers have some.’
His eyes turned to the general and he went on, ‘If it’s all