WOLFVILLE NIGHTS
CHAPTER I.
The Dismissal of Silver Phil.
"His name, complete, is 'Silver City Philip.' In them socialobservances of the Southwest wherein haste is a feacher an' brev'ty thebull's eye aimed at, said cognomen gets shortened to 'Silver Phil.'"
The Old Cattleman looked thoughtfully into his glass, as if by thatmethod he collected the scattered elements of a story. There was apause; then he lifted the glass to his lips as one who being now evenlyequipped of information, proposed that it arrive hand in hand with theinspiration which should build a tale from it.
"Shore, this Silver Phil is dead now; an' I never yet crosses up withthe gent who's that sooperfluous as to express regrets. It's Dan Boggswho dismisses Silver Phil; Dan does it in efforts he puts forth tofaithfully represent the right.
"Doc Peets allers allows this Silver Phil is a 'degen'rate;' leastwisethat's the word Peets uses. An' while I freely concedes I ain't nonetoo cl'ar as to jest what a degen'rate is, I stands ready to backPeets' deescription to win. Peets is, bar Colonel William GreeneSterett, the best eddicated sharp in Arizona; also the wariest as toexpressin' views. Tharfore when Peets puts it up, onflinchin', thatthis yere Silver Phil's a degen'rate, you-all can spread your blanketsan' go to sleep on it that a degen'rate he is.
"Silver Phil is a little, dark, ignorant, tousled-ha'red party, nonetoo neat in costume. He's as black an' small an' evil-seemin' as aMexican; still, you sees at a glance he ain't no Greaser neither. An'with all this yere surface wickedness, Silver Phil has a quick,hyster'cal way like a woman or a bird; an' that's ever a grin on hisface. You can smell 'bad' off Silver Phil, like smoke in a house, an'folks who's on the level--an' most folks is--conceives a notion ag'inhim the moment him an' they meets up.
"The first time I observes Silver Phil, he's walkin' down the lickerroom of the Red Light. As he goes by the bar, Black Jack--who'srearrangin' the nosepaint on the shelf so it shows to advantage--getscareless an' drops a bottle.
"'Crash!' it goes onto the floor.
"With the sound, an' the onexpected suddenness of it stampedin' hisnerves, that a-way, Silver Phil leaps into the air like a cat; an' whenhe 'lights, he's frontin' Black Jack an' a gun in each hand.
"'Which I won't be took!' says Silver Phil, all flustered.
"His eyes is gleamin' an' his face is palin' an' his ugly grin getseven uglier than before. But like a flash, he sees thar's nothin' togo in the air about--nothin' that means him; an' he puts up hishardware an' composes himse'f.
"'You-all conducts yourse'f like a sport who has something on hismind,' says Texas Thompson, who's thar present at the time, an' can'trefrain from commentin' on the start that bottle-smashin' gives SilverPhil.
"This Silver Phil makes no response, but sort o' grins plenty ghastly,while his breath comes quick.
"Still, while you-all notes easy that this person's scared, it's plainhe's a killer jest the same. It's frequent that a-way. I'm never muchafraid of one of your cold game gents like Cherokee Hall; you cangamble the limit they'll never put a six-shooter in play till it'sshorely come their turn. But timid, feverish, locoed people, whosejedgment is bad an' who's prone to feel themse'fs in peril; they're thekind who kills. For myse'f I shuns all sech. I won't say themerratic, quick-to-kill sports don't have courage; only it strikesme--an' I've rode up on a heap of 'em--it's more like a fear-bitf'rocity than sand.
"Take Enright or Peets or Cherokee or Tutt or Jack Moore or Boggs orTexas Thompson; you're plumb safe with sech gents--all or any. An' yetthar ain't the first glimmer of bein' gun-shy about one of 'em; they'reas clean strain as the eternal granite, an' no more likely to hide outfrom danger than a hill. An' while they differs from each other, yetthey're all different from sech folks as Silver Phil. Boggs, goin' towar, is full of good-humoured grandeur, gala and confident, ready tostart or stop like a good hoss. Cherokee Hall is quiet an' wordless;he gets pale, but sharp an' deadly; an' his notion is to fight for afinish. Peets is haughty an' sooperior on the few o'casions when heonbends in battle, an' comports himse'f like a gent who fightsdownhill; the same, ondoubted, bein' doo to them book advantages ofPeets which elevates him an' lifts him above the common herd a wholelot. Enright who's oldest is of course slowest to embark in blood, an'pulls his weepons--when he does pull 'em--with sorrowful resignation.
"'Which I'm shorely saddest when I shoots,' says Enright to me, as hereloads his gun one time.
"These yere humane sentiments, however, don't deter him from shootin'soon an' aimin' low, which latter habits makes Wolfville's honouredchief a highly desp'rate game to get ag'inst.
"Jack Moore, bein' as I explains former, the execyootive of theStranglers, an' responsible for law an' order, has a heap of shootin'shoved onto him from time to time. Jack allers transacts thesefireworks with a ca'm, offishul front, the same bein' devoid, equal, ofanger or regrets. Tutt, partic'lar after he weds Tucson Jennie, an'more partic'lar still when he reaps new honours as the originator ofthat blessed infant Enright Peets Tutt, carries on what shootin' comeshis way in a manner a lot dignified an' lofty; while TexasThompson--who's mebby morbid about his wife down in Laredo demandin'she be divorced that time--although he picks up his hand in a fracas,ready an' irritable an' with no delays, after all is that well-balancedhe's bound to be each time plumb right.
"Which, you observes, son, from these yere settin's forth, that thar'sa mighty sight of difference between gents like them pards of mine an'degen'rates of the tribe of Silver Phil. It's the difference betweenright an' wrong; one works from a impulse of pure jestice, the other ismoved of a sperit of crime; an' thar you be.
"Silver Phil, we learns later--an' it shore jestifies Peets in histheories about him bein' a degen'rate--has been in plenty of blood.But allers like a cat; savage, gore-thirsty, yet shy, prideless, an'ready to fly. It seems he begins to be homicidal in a humble way bydownin' a trooper over near Fort Cummings. That's four years before hevisits us. He's been blazin' away intermittent ever since, and allerscrooel, crafty an' safe. It's got to be a shore thing or Silver Philquits an' goes into the water like a mink.
"This yere ondersized miscreant ain't ha'nted about Wolfville more'nfour days before he shows how onnecessary he is to our success. Whichhe works a ha'r copper on Cherokee Hall. What's a ha'r copper? I'llonfold, short and terse, what Silver Phil does, an' then you saveys.Cherokee's dealin' his game--farobank she is; an' if all them nationalbanks conducts themse'fs as squar' as that enterprise of Cherokee's,the fields of finance would be as safely honest as a church.Cherokee's turnin' his game one evenin'; Faro Nell on the lookout stoolwhere she belongs. Silver Phil drifts up to the lay-out, an' campsover back of the king-end. He gets chips, an' goes to takin' chancesalternate on the king, queen, jack, ten; all side an' side they be.Cherokee bein' squar' himse'f ain't over-prone to expect a devious playin others. He don't notice this Silver Phil none speshul, an' shovesthe kyards.
"Silver Phil wins three or four bets; it's Nell that catches on to hisracket, an' signs up to Cherokee onder the table with her little foot.One glance an' Cherokee is loaded with information. This Silver Phil,it seems, in a sperit of avarice, equips himse'f with a copper--littlewooden checker, is what this copper is--one he's done filched fromCherokee the day prior. He's fastened a long black hoss-ha'r to it,an' he ties the other end of the hoss-ha'r to his belt in front. Thisha'r is long enough as he's planted at the table that a-way, so itreaches nice to them four nearest kyards,--the king, queen, jack, ten.An' said ha'r is plumb invisible except to eyes as sharp as FaroNell's. The deceitful Silver Phil will have a stack on one of 'em,coppered with this yere ha'r copper. He watches the box. As the turnsis made, if the kyards come his way, well an' good. Silver Phil doesnothin' but garners in results. When the kyards start to show ag'inhim, however, that's different. In sech events Silver Phil draws inhis breath, sort o' takin' in on the hoss-ha'r, an' the copper comesoff the bet. When the turn is made, thar's Silver Phil's bet--byvirchoo of sai
d fraud--open an' triumphant an' waitin' to be paid.
"Cherokee gets posted quick an with a look. As sharp as winkin'Cherokee has a nine-inch bowie in his hand an' with one slash cuts thehoss-ha'r clost up by Silver Phil's belt.
"'That's a yoonique invention!" observes Cherokee, an' he's sarcasticwhile he menaces with the knife at Silver Phil; 'that contraption isshorely plenty sagacious! But it don't go here. Shove in your chips.'Silver Phil obeys: an' he shows furtive, ugly, an' alarmed, an' all of'em at once. He don't say a word. 'Now pull your freight,' concloodsCherokee. 'If you ever drifts within ten foot of a game of mine ag'inI'll throw this knife plumb through you--through an' through.' An'Cherokee, by way of lustration lets fly the knife across the bar-room.It comes like a flash.
"'Chuck!'
"Thar's a picture paper pasted onto the wooden wall of the Red Light,displayin' the liniaments of some party. That bowie pierces thepicture--a shot in the cross it is--an' all with sech fervour that thep'int of the blade shows a inch an' a half on the other side of thatindividyool board.
"'The next time I throws a knife in your presence,' remarks Cherokee toSilver Phil, an' Cherokee's as cold an' p'isonous as a rattlesnake,'it'll be la'nched at you.'
"Silver Phil don't say nothin' in retort. He's aware by the lib'ralway Cherokee sep'rates himse'f from the bowie that said weepon can'tconstitoote Cherokee's entire armament. An' as Silver Phil don't packthe sperit to face no sech flashlight warrior, he acts on Cherokee'shint to _vamos_, an fades into the street. Shore, Cherokee don't cashthe felon's chips none; he confiscates 'em. Cherokee ain't quite sotenderly romantic as to make good to a detected robber. Moreover, helets this Silver Phil go onharmed when by every roole his skelp isforfeit. It turns out good for the camp, however, as this yereexperience proves so depressin' to Silver Phil he removes his blanketsto Red Dog. Thar among them purblind tarrapins, its inhabitants, it'slikely he gets prosperous an' ondetected action on that little old ha'rcopper of his.
"It's not only my beliefs, but likewise the opinions of sech joodicialsports as Enright, Peets, an' Colonel Sterett, that this maverick,Silver Phil, is all sorts of a crim'nal. An' I wouldn't wonder if he'sa pure rustler that a-way; as ready to stand up a stage as snake a playat farobank. This idee settles down on the Wolfville intell'gence onthe heels of a vicissitoode wherein Dan Boggs performs, an' which getspulled off over in the Bird Cage Op'ry House. Jack Moore ain't tharnone that time. Usual, Jack is a constant deevotee of the dramy.Jack's not only a first-nighter, he comes mighty clost to bein' aevery-nighter. But this partic'lar evenin' when Boggs performs, Jack'srummagin' about some'ers else.
"If Jack's thar, it's even money he'd a-had that second shot instead ofBoggs; in which event, the results might have been something graverthan this yere minoote wound which Boggs confers. I'm confident Jackwould have cut in with the second shot for sech is his offishul system.Jack more'n once proclaims his position.
"'By every roole of law,' says Jack at epocks when he declar's himse'f,'an' on all o'casions, I, as kettle-tender to the Stranglers, isentitled to the first shot. When I uses the term 'o'casion,' I wouldbe onderstood as alloodin' to affairs of a simply social kind, an' notto robberies, hold-ups, hoss-larcenies, an' other an' sim'lartransactions in spec'latif crime when every gent defends his own.Speakin' social, however, I reasserts that by every roole of guidance,I'm entitled to the first shot. Which a doo regyard for these plainrights of mine would go far to freein' Wolfville upper circles of thebullets which occurs from time to time, an' which even the mostonconventional admits is shore a draw-back. All I can add as acloser,' concloods Jack, 'is that I'll make haste to open on any sportwho transgresses these fiats an' goes to shootin' first. Moreover,it's likely that said offender finds that when I'm started once, what Imisses in the orig'nal deal I'll make up in the draw, an' I tharforetrusts that none will prove so sooicidal as to put me to the test.'
"This Bird Cage Op'ry House evenin', however, Jack is absent a heap.Dan Boggs is present, an' is leanin' back appreciatin' the show an' theValley Tan plenty impartial. Dan likes both an' is doin' 'em evenjestice. Over opp'site to Dan is a drunken passel of sports from RedDog, said wretched hamlet bein' behind Wolfville in that as in allthings else an' not ownin' no op'ry house.
"As the evenin' proceeds--it's about sixth drink time--a casyooal gungoes off over among the Red Dog outfit, an' the lead tharfrom bores ahole in the wall clost to Dan's y'ear. Nacherally Dan don't like it.The show sort o' comes to a balk, an' takin' advantages of the lull Danarises in a listless way an' addresses the Red Dogs.
"'I merely desires to inquire,' says Dan 'whether that shot isinadvertent; or is it a mark of innocent joobilation an' approval ofthe show; or is it meant personal to me?'
"'You can bet your moccasins!' shouts one of the Red Dog delegation,'thar's no good fellowship with that gun-play. That shot's formal an'serious an' goes as it lays.'
"'My mind bein' now cl'ar on the subject of motive,' says Dan; 'theproper course is plain.'"
With this retort Dan slams away gen'ral--shoots into the flock like--atthe picnickers from Red Dog, an' a party who's plenty drunk an' has hisfeet piled up on a table goes shy his off big toe.
"As I remarks yeretofore it's as well Jack Moore ain't thar. Jackwould have corralled something more momentous than a toe. Which Jackwould have been shootin' in his capac'ty as marshal, an' couldn't ondersech circumstances have stooped to toes. But it's different with Dan.He is present private an' only idlin' 'round; an' he ain't driven totake high ground. More partic'lar since Dan's playin' a return game inthe nacher of reproofs an' merely to resent the onlicensed libertieswhich Red Dog takes with him, Dan, as I says, is free to accept toes ifhe so decides.
"When Dan busts this yere inebriate, the victim lams loose a yellag'inst which a coyote would protest. That sot thinks he's shorekilled. What with the scare an' the pain an' the nosepaint, an'regyardin' of himse'f as right then flutterin' about the rim ofeternity, he gets seized with remorse an' allows he's out to confesshis sins before he quits. As thar's no sky pilot to confide in, thisdrunkard figgers that Peets 'll do, an' with that he onloads on Peetshow, bein' as he is a stage book-keep over in Red Dog, he's in cahootswith a outfit of route agents an' gives 'em the word when it's worthwhile to stand-up the stage. An' among other crim'nal pards of histhis terrified person names that outlaw Silver Phil. Shore, when herounds to an' learns it ain't nothin' but a toe, this party's chagrinedto death.
"This yere confidin' sport's arrested an' taken some'ers--Prescottmebby--to be tried in a shore-enough co't for the robberies; the RedDog Stranglers not bein' game to butt in an' hang him a lot themse'fs.They surrenders him to the marshal who rides over for him; an' theywould have turned out Silver Phil, too, only that small black outcastdon't wait, but goes squanderin' off to onknown climes the moment hehears the news. He's vamoosed Red Dog before this penitent bookkeepceases yelpin' an' sobbin' over his absent toe.
"It ain't no time, however, before we hears further of Silver Phil;that is, by way of roomer. It looks like a couple of big cow outfitssome'ers in the San Simon country--they're the 'Three-D' an' the'K-in-a-box' brands--takes first to stealin' each, other's cattle, an',final, goes to war. Each side retains bands of murderers an' proceedsbuoyantly to lay for one another. Which Silver Phil enlists with the'Three-D' an' sneaks an' prowls an' bushwhacks an' shoots himse'f intomore or less bloody an' ignoble prom'nence. At last the mainwar-chiefs of the Territory declar's themse'fs in on the riot an'chases both sides into the hills; an' among other excellent deeds theymakes captive Silver Phil.
"It's a great error they don't string this Silver Phil instanter. Butno; after the procrastinatin' fashion of real law, they permits thevillain--who's no more use on the surface of Arizona that a-way thanone of them hydrophoby polecats whose bite is death--to get a law sharpto plead an' call for a show-down before a jedge an' jury. It takesdays to try Silver Phil, an' marshals an' sheriff gents is two weekssquanderin' about gettin' witness
es; an' all to as much trouble an'loss of time an' dinero as would suffice to round-up the cattle ofCochise county. Enright an' the Stranglers would have turned thetrick in twenty minutes an' never left the New York Store ontil withSilver Phil an' a lariat they reepairs to the windmill to put thefinishin' touches on their lucoobrations.
"Still, dooms slow an' shiftless as they shore be, at the wind-upSilver Phil's found guilty, an' is put in nom'nation by the presidin'alcade to be hanged; the time bein' set in a crazy-hoss fashion for amonth away. As Silver Phil--which he's that bad an' hard he comesmighty clost to bein; game--is leavin' the co't-room with the marshalwho's ridin' herd on him, he says:
"'I ain't payin' much attention at the time,'--Silver Phil's talkin' tothat marshal gent,--'bein' I'm thinkin' of something else, but do Ionderstand that old grey sport on the bench to say you-all is to hangme next month?'
"'That's whatever!' assents this marshal gent, 'an' you can gamble abloo stack that hangin' you is a bet we ain't none likely to overlook.Which we're out to put our whole grateful souls into the dooty.'
"'Now I thinks of it,' observes Silver Phil, 'I'm some averse to bein'hanged. I reckons, speakin' free an' free as between fellow sports,that in order for that execootion to be a blindin' success I'll have tobe thar personal?'
"'It's one of the mighty few o'casions,' responds the marshal, 'whenyour absence would shorely dash an' damp the gen'ral joy. As you says,you'll have to be thar a heap personal when said hangin' occurs.'
"'I'm mighty sorry,' says Silver Phil, 'that you-all lays out your gamein a fashion that so much depends on me. The more so, since the longerI considers this racket, the less likely it is I'll be thar. It'salmost a cinch, with the plans I has, that I'll shore be some'ers else.'
"They corrals Silver Phil in the one big upper room of a two-story'doby, an' counts off a couple of dep'ty marshals to gyard him. Thesegyards, comin' squar' down to cases, ain't no improvement, moral, onSilver Phil himse'f; an' since they're twice his age--Silver Phil notbein' more'n twenty--it's safe as a play to say that both of 'emoughter have been hanged a heap before ever Silver Phil is born. Thesetwo hold-ups, however, turns dep'ty marshals in their old age, an' isput in to stand watch an' watch an' see that Silver Phil don't workloose from his hobbles an' go pirootin' off ag'in into parts onknown.Silver Phil is loaded with fetters,--handcuffs an' laig-locks both--an'these hold-up sentries is armed to the limit.
"It's the idee of Doc Peets later, when he hears the details, that ifthe gyards that time treats Silver Phil with kindness, the little felonmost likely would have remained to be hanged. But they don't: theyabooses Silver Phil; cussin' him out an' herdin' him about like he'scattle. They're a evil-tempered couple, them dep'ties, an' they don'tgive Silver Phil no sort o' peace.
"'As I su'gests yeretofore,' says Doc Peets, when he considers thecase, 'this Silver Phil is a degen'rate. He's like a anamile. Hedon't entertain no reg'lar scheme to work free when he waxes sardonicwith the marshal; that's only a bluff. Later, when them gyards takesto maltreatin' him an' battin' him about, it wakes up the venom in him,an' his cunnin' gets aroused along with his appetite for revenge.'
"This Silver Phil, who's lean an' slim like I explains at the jump, hashands no bigger than a cat's paws. It ain't no time when he discoversthat by cuttin' himse'f a bit on the irons, he can shuck the handcuffswhenever he's disposed. Even then, he don't outline no campaign forliberty; jest sort o' roominates an' waits.
"It's one partic'lar mornin', some two weeks after Silver Phil'ssentenced that a-way. The marshal gent himse'f ain't about, bein' onsome dooty over to Tucson. Silver Phil is upsta'rs on the top floor ofthe 'doby with his gyards. Which he's hotter than a wildcat; thegyards an' him has been havin' a cussin' match, an' as Silver Philoutplays 'em talkin', one of 'em's done whacked him over the skelp withhis gun. The blood's tricklin' down Silver Phil's fore'erd as he sitsglowerin'.
"One of the gyards is loadin' a ten-gauge Greener--a whole mouthful ofbuckshot in each shell. He's grinnin' at Silver Phil as he shoves theshells in the gun an' slams her shet.
"'Which I'm loadin' that weepon for you,' says the gyard, contemplatin'Silver Phil derisive.
"'You be, be you!' replies Silver Phil, his eyes burnin' with rage.'Which you better look out a whole lot; you-all may get it yourse'f.'
"The gyard laughs ugly an' exasperatin' an' puts the ten-gauge in alocker along with two or three Winchesters. Then he turns the key onthe firearms an' goes caperin' off to his feed.
"The other gyard, his _compadre_, is settin' on a stool lookin' out awindow. Mebby he's considerin' of his sins. It would be more in hishand at this time if he thinks of Silver Phil.
"Silver Phil, who's full of wrath at the taunts of the departed gyard,slips his hands free of the irons. Most of the hide on his wristscomes with 'em, but Silver Phil don't care. The gyard's back is to himas that gent sits gazin' out an' off along the dusty trail where itwinds gray an' hot toward Tucson. Silver Phil organises, stealthy an'cat-cautious; he's out for the gyard's gun as it hangs from his belt,the butt all temptin' an' su'gestive.
"As Silver Phil makes his first move the laig-locks clanks. It ain'tlouder than the jingle of a brace of copper _centouse_ knockin'together. It's enough, however; it strikes on the y'ear of thatthoughtful gyard like the roar of a '44. He emerges from his reveriewith a start; the play comes cl'ar as noonday to him in a moment.
"The gyard leaps, without even lookin' 'round, to free himse'f from theclutch of Silver Phil. Which he's the splinter of a second too late.Silver Phil makes a spring like a mountain lion, laig-locks an' all,an' grabs the gun. As the gyard goes clatterin' down sta'rs. SilverPhil pumps two loads into him an' curls him up at the foot. ThenSilver Phil hurls the six-shooter at him with a volley of mal'dictions.
"Without pausin' a moment, Silver Phil grabs the stool an' smashes toflinders the locker that holds the 10-gauge Greener. He ain't forgotnone; an' he's fair locoed to get that partic'lar weepon for the othergyard. He rips it from the rack an' shows at the window as his preycomes runnin' to the rescoo of his pard:
"'Oh, you! Virg Sanders!' yells Silver Phil.
"The second gyard looks up; an' as he does, Silver Phil gives him bothbar'ls. Forty-two buckshot; an' that gyard's so clost he stops 'emall! As he lays dead, Silver Phil breaks the Greener in two, an'throws, one after the other, stock an' bar'l at him.
"'Which I'll show you-all what happens when folks loads a gun for me!'says Silver Phil.
"Nacherally, this artillery practice turns out the entire plaza. Thefolks is standin' about the 'doby which confines Silver Phil, wonderin'whatever that enthoosiast's goin' to do next. No, they don't comeafter him, an' I'll tell you why. Shore, thar's twenty gents lookin'on, any one of whom, so far as personal apprehensions is involved,would trail Silver Phil single-handed into a wolf's den. Which he'dfeel plumb confident he gets away with Silver Phil an' the wolvesthrown in to even up the odds. Still, no one stretches forth tocapture Silver Phil on this yere voylent o'casion. An' these is thereasons. Thar's no reg'lar offishul present whose dooty it is to ropeup this Silver Phil. If sech had chanced to be thar, you can put downa stack he'd come a-runnin', an' him or Silver Phil would have caughtup with the two gyards on their journey into the beyond. But when itgets down to private people volunteerin' for dooty as marshals, folksin the Southwest goes some slothful to work. Thar's the friends of theaccoosed--an' as a roole he ain't none friendless--who would mightylikely resent sech zeal. Also, in the case of Silver Phil, hiscaptivity grows out of a cattle war. One third the public so far as itstands about the 'doby where Silver Phil is hived that time is'Three-D' adherents, mebby another third is 'K-in-a-box' folks, whilethe last third is mighty likely nootral. Whichever way it breaks,however, thar's a tacit stand-off, an' never a sport of 'em lifts afinger or voice to head off Silver Phil.
"'Which she's the inalien'ble right of Americans onder theconstitootion to escape with every chance they gets,' says one.
"'That's whatever!' coincides his pard; 'an' moreover this ain't ourround-up nohow.'
"It's in that fashion these private citizens adjusts their dooty to thestate while pausin' to look on, in a sperit of cur'osity while SilverPhil makes his next play.
"They don't wait long. Silver Phil comes out on the roof of a stoop infront. He's got a Winchester by now, an' promptly throws the muzzletharof on a leadin' citizen. Silver Phil allows he'll plug thisdignitary if they don't send up a sport with a file to cut loose thelaig-locks. Tharupon the pop'lace, full of a warm interest by thistime, does better. They gropes about in the war-bags of the VirgSanders sharp who stops the buckshot an' gets his keys; a moment after,Silver Phil is free.
"Still, this ontirin' hold-up goes on menacin' the leadin' citizen asformer. Which now Silver Phil demands a bronco, bridled an' saddled.He gives the public ten minutes; if the bronco is absent at the end often minutes Silver Phil allows he'll introdooce about a pound of leadinto where that village father does his cogitating. The bronco appearswith six minutes to spar'. As it arrives, the vivacious Silver Philjumps off the roof of the stoop--the same bein' low--an' is in thesaddle an' out o' sight while as practised a hand as Huggins is pourin'out a drink. Where the trail bends 'round a mesa Silver Phil pulls up.
"'Whoop! whoop! whoopee! for Silver Phil,' he shouts.
"Then he waves the Winchester, an' as he spurs 'round the corner of thehill it's the last that spellbound outfit ever sees of Silver Phil.
"Nacherally now," remarked my old friend, as he refreshed himself witha mouthful of scotch, "you-all is waitin' an' tryin' to guess whereverdoes Dan Boggs get in on this yere deal. An' it won't take no time topost you; the same bein' a comfort.
"Not one word do we-all wolves of Wolfville hear of the divertin'adventures of Silver Phil--shootin' up his gyards an' fetchin' himse'ffree--ontil days after. No one in camp has got Silver Phil on his mindat all; at least if he has he deems him safe an' shore in hock,a-waitin' to be stretched. Considerin' what follows, I neverexperiences trouble in adoptin' Doc Peets' argyments that the eepisodeswherein this onhappy Silver Phil figgers sort o' aggravates hisintellects ontil he's locoed.
"'Bein' this Silver Phil's a degen'rate,' declar's Peets, explanatory,'he's easy an' soon to loco. His mind as well as his moral nacher isonbalanced congenital. Any triflin' jolt, much less than what thatSilver Phil runs up on, an' his fretful wits is shore to leave thesaddle.
"Now that Silver Phil's free, but loonatic like Peets says, an' doublyvicious by them tantalisin' gyards, it looks like he thinks of nothin'but wreckin' reprisals on all who's crossed his trail. An' so withvengeance eatin' at his crim'nal heart he p'ints that bronco's muzzlestraight as a bird flies for Wolfville. Whoever do you-all reckon nowhe wants? Cherokee Hall? Son, you've followed off the wrong waggontrack. Silver Phil--imagine the turpitoode of sech a ornerywretch!--is out for the lovely skelp of Faro Nell who detects him inhis ha'r-copper frauds that time.
"Which the first intimations we has of Silver Phil after that escape,is one evenin' about fifth drink time--or as you-all says 'fouro'clock.' The sun's still hot an' high over in the west. Thar's nogame goin'; but bein' it's as convenient thar as elsewhere an' somecooler, Cherokee's settin' back of his layout with Faro Nell as usualon her lookout perch. Dan Boggs is across the street in the dancehalldoor, an' his pet best bronco is waitin' saddled in front. Hot an'drowsy; the street save for these is deserted.
"It all takes place in a moment. Thar's a clattering rush; an' then,pony a-muck with sweat an' alkali dust, Silver Phil shows in theportals of the Red Light. Thar's a flash an' a spit of white smoke ashe fires his six-shooter straight at Faro Nell.
"Silver Phil is quick, but Cherokee is quicker. Cherokee sweeps FaroNell from her stool with one motion of his arm an' the bullet that'ssearchin' for her lifts Cherokee's ha'r a trifle where he 'most getshis head in its way.
"Ondoubted, this Silver Phil allows he c'llects on Faro Nell asplanned. He don't shoot twice, an' he don't tarry none, but wheels hiswearied pony, gives a yell, an' goes surgin' off.
"But Silver Phil's got down to the turn of that evil deal of hisexistence. He ain't two hundred yards when Dan Boggs is in the saddlean' ridin' hard. Dan's bronco runs three foot for every one of thepony of Silver Phil's; which that beaten an' broken cayouse is eightymiles from his last mouthful of grass.
"As Dan begins to crowd him, Silver Phil turns in the saddle an'shoots. The lead goes 'way off yonder--wild. Dan, grim an' silent,rides on without returnin' the fire.
"'Which I wouldn't dishonour them guns of mine,' says Dan, explainin'later the pheenomenon of him not shootin' none, 'which I wouldn'tdishonour them guns by usin' 'em on varmints like this yere SilverPhil.'
"As Silver Phil reorganises for a second shot his bronco stumbles.Silver Phil pitches from the saddle an' strikes the grass to one side.As he half rises, Dan lowers on him like the swoop of a hawk. It's asthough Dan's goin' to snatch a handkerchief from the ground.
"As Dan flashes by, he swings low from the saddle an' his right handtakes a troo full grip on that outlaw's shoulder. Dan has the thewsan' muscles of a cinnamon b'ar, an' Silver Phil is only a scrap of aman. As Dan straightens up in the stirrups, he heaves this Silver Philon high to the length of his long arm; an' then he dashes him ag'instthe flint-hard earth; which the manoover--we-all witnesses it frommebby a quarter of a mile--which the manoover that a-way is shoreremorseless! This Silver Phil is nothin' but shattered bones an'bleedin' pulp. He strikes the plains like he's crime from the cloudsan' is dead without a quiver.
"'Bury him? No!' says Old Man Enright to Dave Tutt who asks thequestion. 'Let him find his bed where he falls.
"While Enright speaks, an' as Dan rides up to us at the Red Light, aprompt raven drops down over where this Silver Phil is layin'. Thenanother raven an' another--black an' wide of wing--comes floatin' down.A coyote yells--first with the short, sharp yelp, an' then with thatmultiplied patter of laughter like forty wolves at once. That daylighthowl of the coyote alters tells of a death. Shore raven an' wolf isgatherin'. As Enright says: 'This yere Silver Phil ain't likely to belonesome none to-night.'
"'Did you kill him, Dan?' asks Faro Nell.
"'Why, no, Nellie,' replies Dan, as he steps outen the stirrups an'beams on Faro Nell. She's still a bit onstrung, bein' only a littlegirl when all is said. 'Why, no, Nellie; I don't kill him speecific asWolfville onderstands the word; but I dismisses him so effectual thekyard shore falls the same for Silver Phil.'"