Yet, somehow, in some unique and extraordinary way that only a "dude"
would think of, he had managed to come out on top.
But the real basis for Canby"s grievance, and one which he would not admit even to himself, was that however Wallie was criticized, Helene Spenceley never failed to find something to say in his defence.
There was not much that Canby could do in the present circ.u.mstances to put difficulties in Wallie"s way, but the next day he found it convenient to turn a trainload of long-horn Texas cattle loose on the adjacent range, and posted warnings to the effect that they were dangerous to pedestrians, and persons going among them on foot did so at their own risk.
CHAPTER XX
WALLIE QUALIFIES AS A FIRST-CLa.s.s HERO
Pinkey took a triangular piece of gla.s.s from between the logs in the bunk-house and regarded himself steadfastly in the bit of broken mirror.
He murmured finally:
"I ain"t no prize baby, but if I jest had a cla.s.sy set of teeth I wouldn"t be bad lookin"."
He replaced the mirror in the crack and sauntered down to the cook-shack where he seated himself on the door-sill. The chef was singing as if he meant it: "Ah, I Have Sighed to Rest Me Deep in the Silent Grave."
Pinkey interrupted:
"How do you git to work to get teeth, Mr. Hicks, if they ain"t no dentist handy?"
Like Mr. Stott, no question could be put to Mr. Hicks for which he could not find an answer. He now replied promptly:
"Well, there"s two ways: you can send to Mungummery-Ward and have a crate sent out on approval, and keep tryin" till you find a set that fits, or you can take the cast off your gooms yourself, send it on and have "em hammer you out some to order."
"Is that so? What kind of stuff do they use to make the cast of your gooms of?"
"Some uses putty, some uses clay, but I believe they generally recommend plaster of Paris. It"s hard, and it"s cheap, and it stays where it"s put."
A thoughtful silence followed; then Pinkey got up and joined Wallie, who was sitting on the top pole of the corral, smoking moodily.
The "dudes" were at target practice with 22"s and six-shooters, having been persuaded finally not to use Mr. Canby"s range as a background.
They now all walked with a swagger and seldom went to their meals without their weapons.
Pinkey blurted out suddenly:
"I wisht I"d died when I was little!"
"What"s the matter?"
"Oh, nothin"."
It was plain that he wished to be interrogated further, but Wallie, who was thinking of Helene Spenceley and her indifference to him, was in no mood to listen to other people"s troubles.
After another period of reflection Pinkey asked abruptly:
"Do you believe in signs?"
To which Wallie replied absently:
"Can"t say I do. Why?"
"If there"s anything in signs I ought to be turrible jealous--the way my eyebrows grow together."
"Aren"t you?" indifferently.
"Me--jealous? n.o.body could make me jealous, especially a worman."
"You"re lucky!" Wallie spoke with unnecessary emphasis. "It"s an uncomfortable sensation."
Pinkey shifted uneasily and picked a bit of bark off the corral pole.
"Don"t it look kinda funny that Miss Eyester would take any in"trist in Old Man Penrose? A girl like her wouldn"t care nothin" about his money, would she?"
Wallie looked dour as he answered:
"You never can tell--maybe." He had been asking himself the same question about Miss Spenceley, whom he had seen rather frequently of late with Canby.
"Guess I"ll quirl me a brownie and git into the feathers," glumly. "I thought I"d go into town in the mornin", I want to do me some buyin"."
Wallie nodded, and Pinkey added as he unhooked his heels:
"You want to ride herd pretty clost on Aunt Lizzie. She"s bound and determined to go outside the fence huntin" moss-agates. The cattle are liable to hook her. Canby throwed them long-horns in there on purpose."
"I"m sure of it," Wallie said, grimly. "Yes, I"ll watch Aunt Lizzie. But she isn"t worse than Appel, who was over there catching gra.s.shoppers because he said they were fatter."
"Dudes is aggravatin"," Pinkey admitted. "But," philosophically, "they"re our meal-tickets, so we got to swaller "em."
As Wallie watched his partner go up the path to the bunk-house he wondered vaguely what purchase he had to make that was so important as to induce him to make a special trip to Prouty. But since Pinkey had not chosen to tell him and Wallie had a talent for minding his own business, he dismissed it; besides, he had more vital things to think about at that moment.
It had hurt him that Helene Spenceley had not been over. Obviously he had taken too much for granted, for he had thought that when she saw he was in earnest once more and in a fair way to make a success of his second venture, things would be different between them. He had imagined she would express her approval in some way, but she seemed to take it all as a matter of course. She was the most difficult woman to impress that he ever had known, but, curiously, the less she was impressed the more eager he was to impress her. Yet her casualness only spurred him to further effort and strengthened his determination to make her realize that there was a great deal in him worth while and that some day he would stand for something in the community.
But somehow he did not seem to make much progress, and now he asked himself grumpily why in the d.i.c.kens he couldn"t have fallen in love with Mattie Gaskett, who followed him like his shadow and had her own income, with wonderful prospects.
He scuffed at the bark on the corral pole with his foot and thought sourly of the rot he had read about love begetting love. He had not noticed it. It more often begot laughter, and his case was an instance of it. Helene Spenceley laughed at him--he was sure of it--and fool that he was--imbecile--it did not seem to make any difference. There was just one girl for him and always would be--he was like that and it was a misfortune.
In time, very likely, he would be a hermit, or a "sour-ball" like Canby; he would sit at dances looking like a bull-elk that"s been whipped out of the herd, and the girls would giggle at him.
Wallie"s mood was undoubtedly pessimistic, and, finally, he trudged up the path to bed, hoping he would awaken in a more cheerful humour--which he did--because he dreamed that with Helene Spenceley beside him he was burning up the road in a machine of a splendour "to put Canby"s eye out."
The next morning Pinkey was gone when they gathered at the breakfast table. Miss Eyester looked downcast because he had failed to tell her of his intention, while Mrs. Stott declared that it was very inconsiderate for him to go without mentioning it, since he had promised to match embroidery cotton for her and she could not go on with her dresser-scarf until she had some apple-green to put the leaves in with.
The morning pa.s.sed without incident, except that Mr. Budlong was astonished when Wallie told him that his new high-power rifle was scattering bullets among Mr. Canby"s herd of cattle more than a mile distant and that it was great good fortune he had not killed any of them. Otherwise Wallie was engaged as usual in answering questions and lengthening and shortening stirrups for ladies the length of whose legs seemed to change from day to day, making such alterations necessary.