登陆注册
5421300000027

第27章

"Don't you ADMIRE these cow gents?" snickers one of the girls.

"Play somethin', sister," says I to the one at the pianner.

She just grinned at me.

"Interdooce me," says the drummer in a kind of a way that made them all laugh a heap.

"Give us a tune," I begs, tryin' to be jolly, too.

"She don't know any pieces," says the Jew.

"Don't you?" I asks pretty sharp.

"No," says she.

"Well, I do," says I.

I walked up to her, jerked out my guns, and reached around both sides of her to the pianner. I run the muzzles up and down the keyboard two or three times, and then shot out half a dozen keys.

"That's the piece I know," says I.

But the other girl and the Jew drummer had punched the breeze.

The girl at the pianner just grinned, and pointed to the winder where they was some ragged glass hangin'. She was dead game.

"Say, Susie," says I, "you're all right, but your friends is tur'ble. I may be rough, and I ain't never been curried below the knees, but I'm better to tie to than them sons of guns.""I believe it," says she.

So we had a drink at the bar, and started out to investigate the wonders of Cyanide.

Say, that night was a wonder. Susie faded after about three drinks, but I didn't seem to mind that. I hooked up to another saloon kept by a thin Dutchman. A fat Dutchman is stupid, but a thin one is all right.

In ten minutes I had more friends in Cyanide than they is fiddlers in hell. I begun to conclude Cyanide wasn't so lonesome. About four o'clock in comes a little Irishman about four foot high, with more upper lip than a muley cow,and enough red hair to make an artificial aurorer borealis. He had big red hands with freckles pasted onto them, and stiff red hairs standin' up separate and lonesome like signal stations. Also his legs was bowed.

He gets a drink at the bar, and stands back and yells:

"God bless the Irish and let the Dutch rustle!"Now, this was none of my town, so I just stepped back of the end of the bar quick where I wouldn't stop no lead. The shootin'

didn't begin.

"Probably Dutchy didn't take no note of what the locoed little dogie DID say," thinks I to myself.

The Irishman bellied up to the bar again, and pounded on it with his fist.

"Look here!" he yells. "Listen to what I'm tellin' ye! God bless the Irish and let the Dutch rustle! Do ye hear me?""Sure, I hear ye," says Dutchy, and goes on swabbin' his bar with a towel.

At that my soul just grew sick. I asked the man next to me why Dutchy didn't kill the little fellow.

"Kill him! " says this man. "What for?"

"For insultin' of him, of course."

"Oh, he's drunk," says the man, as if that explained anythin'.

That settled it with me. I left that place, and went home,and it wasn't more than four o'clock, neither. No, I don't call four o'clock late. It may be a little late for night before last, but it's just the shank of the evenin' for to-night.

Well, it took me six weeks and two days to go broke. I didn't know sic em, about minin'; and before long I KNEW that I didn't 'know sic 'em. Most all day I poked around them mountains---not like our'n--too much timber to be comfortable. At night I got to droppin' in at Dutchy's. He had a couple of quiet games goin', and they was one fellow among that lot of grubbin' prairie dogs that had heerd tell that cows had horns. He was the wisest of the bunch on the cattle business. So I stowed away my consolation, and made out to forget comparing Colorado with God's country.

About three times a week this Irishman I told you of--name O'Toole--comes bulgin' in. When he was sober he talked minin'

high, wide, and handsome. When he was drunk he pounded both fists on the bar and yelled for action, tryin' to get Dutchy on the peck.

"God bless the Irish and let the Dutch rustle!" he yells about six times. "Say, do you hear?""Sure," says Dutchy, calm as a milk cow, "sure, I hears ye!"I was plumb sorry for O'Toole. I'd like to have given him a run;but, of course, I couldn't take it up without makin' myself out a friend of this Dutchy party, and I couldn't stand for that. But I did tackle Dutchy about it one night when they wasn't nobody else there.

"Dutchy," says I, "what makes you let that bow-legged cross between a bulldog and a flamin' red sunset tromp on you so? It looks to me like you're plumb spiritless."Dutchy stopped wiping glasses for a minute.

"Just you hold on" says he. "I ain't ready yet. Bimeby I make him sick; also those others who laugh with him."He had a little grey flicker in his eye, and I thinks to myself that maybe they'd get Dutchy on the peck yet.

As I said, I went broke in just six weeks and two days. And Iwas broke a plenty. No hold-outs anywhere. It was a heap long ways to cows; and I'd be teetotally chawed up and spit out if Iwas goin' to join these minin' terrapins defacin' the bosom of nature. It sure looked to me like hard work.

While I was figurin' what next, Dutchy came in. Which I was tur'ble surprised at that, but I said good-mornin' and would he rest his poor feet.

"You like to make some money?" he asks.

"That depends," says I, "on how easy it is.""It is easy," says he. "I want you to buy hosses for me.""Hosses! Sure!" I yells, jumpin' up. "You bet you! Why, hosses is where I live! What hosses do you want?""All hosses," says he, calm as a faro dealer.

"What?" says I. "Elucidate, my bucko. I don't take no such blanket order. Spread your cards.""I mean just that," says he. "I want you to buy all the hosses in this camp, and in the mountains. Every one.""Whew!" I whistles. "That's a large order. But I'm your meat.""Come with me, then," says he. I hadn't but just got up, but Iwent with him to his little old poison factory. Of course, Ihadn't had no breakfast; but he staked me to a Kentucky breakfast. What's a Kentucky breakfast? Why, a Kentucky breakfast is a three-pound steak, a bottle of whisky, and a setter dog. What's the dog for? Why, to eat the steak, of course.

We come to an agreement. I was to get two-fifty a head commission. So I started out. There wasn't many hosses in that country, and what there was the owners hadn't much use for unless it was to work a whim. I picked up about a hundred head quick enough, and reported to Dutchy.

同类推荐
  • Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom

    Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Hunting Sketches

    Hunting Sketches

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 锦带书

    锦带书

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 移使鄂州,次岘阳馆

    移使鄂州,次岘阳馆

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • EGYPT

    EGYPT

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 穿越到玄幻世界

    穿越到玄幻世界

    武者为尊,实力至上?这是一个波澜壮阔的世界,而来自地球的林白注定将在这个世界留下自己浓墨重彩的一笔...炼丹?不要问我为什么炼出来的都是极品神丹。炼器?好吧,我也不想练那么多神器的。你问我这个奇形怪状的大铁块是什么?额...它叫做汽车,速度也就比你们的那些飞行法器快了个几倍,还有这个长方块,这叫手机,比什么千里传音方便多了,而且丝毫不费真气……
  • 救了豆腐救错郎

    救了豆腐救错郎

    【穿越】他本是地府的帅气霸道又无赖的狼王,好心救你,你却吞了姑娘一颗心!一次穿越转生的报复,他是不争气的公子,她是威风卖豆腐的厉害丫头:我说你,我们成亲仅是一纸契约,扑你老爹怀里撒娇去。
  • 一品仵作妃

    一品仵作妃

    从现代法医穿成古代仵作,她是判冤屈、辩真相的东苑朝第一位女仵作,从继任皇子到阶下之囚,他是论逍遥,戏人间的风流倜傥的清闲王爷她历经人生百态,剖死尸、受凌辱,让死人开口说话保其性命,他游历人间各处,避手足、戏仵作,与皇兄反目只为取她信任,她这辈子剖过无数死尸,却想……剖一剖这嘴皮利索处处戏她的风流王爷,剖一剖那万人之上的冷脸帝君真假之心,剖一剖那猜不透的环环相扣狼子野心,可她怎么都剖不透的是自己的此生真情……
  • 我不是打酱油的

    我不是打酱油的

    美女如云?不,逢场作戏而已拯救苍生?不,我就是路过的侠骨柔情?不,还是浪里来浪里去吧一个游戏,改变一段人生。千万别跟我凶,“旺财,咬他!”
  • 碧落繁华永不负

    碧落繁华永不负

    一朝重生,她成为了被囚禁的沈府七小姐,准确的说,她只是一个普通人,她的父母救了沈府老爷,将她和一位女仆留在了沈府,然后离开,她也成为了沈府七小姐,从一岁起,便被沈府老爷囚禁于黎塔之中,她名义上的姐姐,四处败坏她的名声,让世人皆以为她是那样的人,唯独他不信,他说,沈府七小姐从不出世,又怎会如世人所说的那般不堪?一日,他说,碧落繁华,我只认你一人,只爱你一人,她笑着说,记住你说的话,
  • 无限恐怖之补全计划

    无限恐怖之补全计划

    那些畏惧恐怖的,必然逃不过死亡的宿命。那些逃避未来的,也终将面对命运的嘲弄。那看不到曙光的,也不能将希望握在掌中。于是一个局外人,被迫的卷入了这空间里。在阴谋与算计中,他只能走出不同的道路。……有个书友群可以进来玩玩:727402481。另,虽然状态是完本,但依然在绝赞更新中。
  • 西路上

    西路上

    温亚军,现为北京武警总部某文学杂志主编。著有长篇小说伪生活等六部,小说集硬雪、驮水的日子等七部。获第三届鲁迅文学奖,第十一届庄重文文学奖,《小说选刊》《中国作家》和《上海文学》等刊物奖,入选中国小说学会排行榜。中国作家协会会员。
  • THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES

    THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 穿成端妃这杯具

    穿成端妃这杯具

    方皇后:端妃那个小贱人,居然又是一脸疲惫的样子来请安,她这是想向我示威吗?王宁嫔:端妃当这后宫之中只有她受宠吗,哼,做什么成天被陛下疼爱的样子!曹洛莹:冤枉啊,你们每天晚上瞪大眼睛一宿一宿的不睡觉试试,王宁嫔我也是在救你的命好吗!简而言之,就是一个穿越女凭借自己的王八之气刷嘉靖boss宠爱结果把自己给坑惨了的故事。【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 媒介舆论学:通向和谐社会的舆论传播研究

    媒介舆论学:通向和谐社会的舆论传播研究

    以宏大构架、多维视野和立体思维,全面勾勒中国和谐社会视野下舆论传播的特点、模式、影响、作用,对舆论传播学发生、发展的演进过程、特点进行全方位、多层面的系统描述、客观介绍和深刻分析,探讨当下舆论传播所面临的新机遇与新挑战,以及舆论传播成功引导的方法、手段、机制等,提出了一系列新颖、精的见解和观点。全书结构完整,论证严密,语言简洁,涉及广阔的国际国内背景,具有很强的学术价值和现意义。适读对象:宣传教育工作者、媒体从业人员、新闻传播专业师生、学术研究者。