Earl Wayland Bowman

“ The call of a night bird shrilled softly from the cottonwood trees along the Cimarron. A hint of a breeze swung idly from the west and rustled the leaves in the tops of the poplars in front of the house. Faintly as a distant echo came the wailing strains of a waltz, drifting out from the lighted windows and the open door of the room where Carolyn June and Ophelia, in a spirit of sport and for revenge, juggled the hearts of men afraid of nothing in all the world but the look in a Woman's eyes. ”

“ Charley took part in the bull-dogging event. He drew a black steer, rangey built, heavy and wicked. When he lunged from his horse on to the horns of the brute it dragged him for a hundred feet before he could check its mad flight. At last he slowly forced its nose in the air and with a quick wrench of the head to one side threw its feet from under it. Man and beast went down in a heap—the neck of the steer across the cowboy's body. A groan went up from the crowd in the grandstand and Carolyn June's cheeks paled with horror—it looked as if one horn of the creature had pierced Charley's breast. ”

“ Ophelia and Carolyn June stepped out on the porch with Old Heck and
Skinny.
The air was oppressively still and hot. The black cloud bank that had hung over the Costejo Mountains earlier in the evening now covered the whole western half of the sky. Night sounds seemed almost stifled by the suffocating heat. From the pasture below the stables the faint call of a kill-deer suddenly shrilled out, followed by intense silence. No lightning flash filled the wall-like blackness slowly creeping over the earth from the west. ”

“ At the interruption, rage tore at the monster serpent coiled and barring the path of th' Ramblin' Kid to Senor Skinny and the snake that held him enthralled on the couch—the ugly wedge-shaped head was drawn back—back—that the fangs might leap with the sureness of death into the flesh of the slim young Americano before it. ”

“ Her breast heaved and fell as if it would burst. Dry-eyed, every nerve tense, she stared at the straining racers. Unconsciously she gripped into hard knots of flesh and bone, both hands, while she bit at her underlip until a red drop of blood started from the gash made in the tender skin by her teeth.
"Drunk!" she thought, "drunk! Beastly drunk—and throwing away the greatest race ever run on a Texas track!"
Old Heck sat impassive as though carved from stone and said nothing.
Ophelia nervously chewed at the finger of her glove while her eyes moistened with sympathy and pity. ”

“ Coming from the Rancho del Snake, where they guarded the cattle, th' Ramblin' Kid warned Senor Skinny:
"It is not necessary always for a man to be th' fool—" th' Ramblin' Kid, sitting on the little roan stallion, told Senor Skinny, "—on this trip—leave th' senoritas alone!"
Senor Skinny laughed.
"If a cowpuncher can’t fall in love once in a while," he answered, lightly, "wat the hell is the use of bein' alive!" ”

“ More than likely they played poker to decide how to divide us up—to see who should love you and which should love me! As if the heart of a woman can be made to run in a groove cut to order by the hand of any masculine—insect!" she finished, thoughtless of the incongruous metaphor.
"Then Skinny and your Uncle Josiah," the widow murmured, "and
Parker—are—are—pretending?"
"No," Carolyn June answered, "they started out 'pretending,' but they've stepped into their own trap! They are painfully serious now—they are 'intending!'"
"What shall we do about it?" Ophelia asked helplessly. ”

“ Old Heck and Ophelia are like a pair of nesting doves and there is a new vigor to the step of the owner of the Quarter Circle KT, a revived interest in affairs generally; years seem to have fallen from his shoulders.
Carolyn June smiles sweetly as ever at Skinny, spends much time riding alone over the valley and hills; in her eyes there has come a more thoughtful—often a wistful—expression. ”

“ From his throat came the hissing, his face was blotched and hideous, his eyes were the eyes of a demon, and the odor from his mouth was the odor of the gila monster—the reptile diablo.
Padre Algonza worked all day and part of the night, but could not save the son of Don Julio.
Again "Senorita Serpente," who had been gone for two days and two nights, appeared, more fascinating than ever, at the ranchito in Socorro—yet, in her eyes at times there was a look that could not be understood. It was a mingling of recklessness, of horror, of dread. ”

“ As Carolyn June and Ophelia went into the kitchen they exchanged a look of understanding. Skinny lagged behind Old Heck. He dreaded the shock of the white shirt on the other cowboys. When he stepped into the room his face flamed scarlet and beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. He expected merciless, sarcastic chiding—thinly veiled but cruel. He was disappointed. The cowboys looked at him for a moment, exchanged winks, then sat silently and solemnly down to the table. The presence of the women had saved, for the time being, the suffering Skinny. ”

“ He was convinced now that Carolyn June was utterly frivolous. She danced and flirted with Bert, Chuck, Charley—and even Pedro—one after the other and occasionally Parker. Poor Skinny alone was neglected. She seemed to have forgotten that he existed save when, from time to time, she suggested that he put this or that record on the graphophone. To each of the cowboys she whispered tender little sentiments, gave soulful looks and insinuating smiles—all but caressed them openly. Ophelia did like things to Old Heck, Parker and Charley. ”