J. Allan Dunn

“ She ain't the sort thet comes back, Strong. I've talked with her once or twice. A fine woman, the right kind. Right back of her man, helpin' an' lovin' him. She didn't go willin' an' she won't stay willin'. But we got to do somethin' about his belongings. Thar ain't no law here to' settle those things unless we go to Santa Fe. We cattlemen have had a meetin' or two to sort of organize into an association fo' mutual protection. If we took charge of his stock an' goods as a body I reckon no one would question our right. ”

“ The stars shine down and are sometimes caught in glittering points upon the stream that comes boiling and roaring out of the resounding cavern and hurls itself darkly under the entrance ledges, but its inky, snaky coils never greet the warm kiss of the sun or the colder caress of the moon. ”

“ Just the same, chargin' a man with runnin' off with yo' wife is a thing a man ain't goin' to always take as a joke. Lobo Smith and his outfit ain't what you'd call easy jesters. If Gardner goes off to Doom Cañon—he can't get in, to begin with—an' making cracks that Lobo stole his wife he'll get into trouble, pronto an' plenty. Also them that goes with him. Gardner's all upset an' he's runnin' off at the head. Most likely it was Apaches. They've been gettin' out of hand of late. ”

“ Twice a day the sun bathes a part of each great wall, that is stained in fantastic hues with mineral solutions, that drips with oozing water and is patterned with lichens and weird fungus growths that look like cabalistic messages inscribed upon the cliffs. ”

“ Doubtless she knew Smith's methods. Probably there would be a couple of that hard-bitten, swaggering gang out side to pick a quarrel with him or even kill him without excuse, save for such as they might make up if they were asked for one.
His two horses were in a corral shed up the street, close to the fonda where he slept and took his meals. To walk there with safety he would have to take the middle of the street or risk a sidewalk. Both were dangerous on a dark night like this, with enemies abroad. ”

“ Twenty to testify Gardner tried to kill him. An' no one to testify to. The law ain't down this fur yet. But it's comin'.' You think Lobo got Gardner's woman an', comin' in to-night was a grand-stand play in case we cattlemen should git sore. Thar's nigh enough of us to make it hot fo' Lobo if we did an' he knows it. I don't know but what I agree with you but you got to have some proof to line any one up—jest as Sprague says—an' Heaven knows I ain't got any use for thet card flipper. He's too slick at his own game. Stands in with Lobo because he wins thet gang's money. ”

“ And, always over the cañon, where surely few living things must stir or live, the buzzards hovered as if in memory of the great feast that was, perhaps, well within the recollection of those same ill-omened birds that, hour by hour, kept vigil, planing against the air currents in unceasing and apparently, profitless patrol. ”

“ I'll have a talk with the others and take up this Gardner's killin' at the same time. Don't know as we kin do anything, under the circumstances, but it won't do no harm fo' folks—includin' Lobo Smith an' his gang—to know we're standin' together. Some day Lobo'll let his rope trail too fur.”
“I've got a hunch thet I'll have a rumpus with him, some day,” said Strong thoughtfully. “I don't take to hatin' a man on first sight as a rule. I aim to be pacific unless I'm fussed with. But thet cuss makes the ha'r lift on the back of my neck. He affects me the same way a rattler does, or a centipede. ”

“ Cattlemen air solid citizens an' they stand fo' law an' order. Lobo Smith knows thet as fast as we do. I don't know what game he makes his money in—contrabandista of some sort, I'll wager—but I'm bettin' it ain't lawful. The funny thing of it is no one ever sees 'em leavin' Doom Cañon or goin' into it, 'cept they're on the way to Laguna or from it. An' the old-timers say only toads an' Gila monsters could live in that, anyway. Damp an' so narrer you can't turn yore hawss most places.
“He shot Gardner to-night after Gardner fired at him——”
“He didn't have to shoot him,” put in Strong. ”

“ Letting alone what we might do to them, Smith is smart enough to figger thet, if he killed you in my company, he'd be gittin' in deeper than he cares to right off the reel. This pais is gettin' settled, slow but sure. The cattlemen air comin' in. Cattle air cheap. Alfalfy grows fine where thar's water. Leave yore young stock on the range till they're close to sellin' age, bring in 'em fo' solid feed an' then drive to Santa Fe an' ship. Won't be long befo' the railroad'll be down here to join up Santa Fe an' El Paso, thet's a cinch. ”

“ My name's Bramley. No brands registered yet in this neck of the woods but I call my outfit Bar B an' I'm brandin' thet way. I've taken up a section an' thar's fair feed on it, an' water. All the open range in the world next door. Hands are scarce down here. If you want to take up the section next to mine we could make some dicker, I reckon. I'm doin' well but I'm short on help. Them I do get extry, don't stay. This is a restless pais, close to the border. Folks hate to work steady. Better come along fo' the night anyway, an' talk it over.”
“It sounds good to me,” said Strong. ”

“ Doom Cañon, and its mesa formed part of the Organ Mountains in the Three Corners where Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico meet. It was a land of mirage and cactus, of yucca, greasewood and sage, of the puma, coyote, wolf and bear, of the tarantula, the Gila monster and the rattlesnake, the buzzard and the crow. ”

“ He spoke up, facing Smith, whose lambent gaze had returned to him. Strong's thumbs were hooked lightly in his belt now, they had never strayed far from his gun butts. He heard the friendly whisper of the rancher but paid no attention to its warning to “stay out of this deal.”
“The man's dead,” he said. “Thet eases his worry but it don't help his wife none. Gardner was aimin' to git some men to try an' foller her up, an I was helpin' him. ”

“ Damn them! Damn them, I say.”
Two of the younger girls broke into sobs, and a young man pushed his way into the front of the listeners, his eyes shining like points of steel, his tanned features set grimly. ”

“ There's lots of things blamed to the Apaches thet he knows somethin' about, to my mind. Lots of things happened thet folks figger he did, mebbe, but he's a good spender with his gang an' thet's what counts between the Pecos an' the Rio Grande these days. The border's a reg'lar magnet fo' every one who thinks he wants to be a bad man or who's done somethin' thet makes the line handy fo' him to be close to.”
Strong liked Bramley—liked the way he talked. Bramley had restrained him from acting rashly in the cantina, but it was Bramley who had stood beside him when the rest edged away. ”

“ Men wore guns, not for ornament but for use. The only ones who did not were the bartenders who were considered as neutral necessities under any and all conditions—these and Laguna's one undertaker, whose dead were furnished him. ”

“ First place this Strong's hands is plumb close an' handy to his guns. Closer than Smith could git with strokin' his beard. If his whiskers was two inches longer Strong would be mighty weak right this minute. Main thing is Smith was out to gamble. Killin' Gardner was forced on him an' it sp'iled his luck. You can't play across spilled blood an' expect to win when you've done the spillin' Any one'll tell you thet. ”

“ Then, for the first time, some of those in the room recognized him as Gardner, a cowman lately settled in the Three Corners, famous in a degree because of the good-looking wife he had brought with him. Women who were both good looking and good were rarities. ”

“ Feed 'em free fo' mo' devilment. Anyway, I'm goin' to take a chance on goin' inter Texas an' buyin' up a couple of hundred head. We'll have to cut 'em out ourselves an' hire a few Mexicans to bring 'em up with us. I've got a man I kin leave to run Bar B with the Mexican hands I have to git along with an', even if the agency deal fails through, we kin use the stock. It'll be a gamble an', if you've got any spare dinero an' want to git in on it, I'm agreeable. If we sell to the reservation that'll mo'n treble yore capital an' give you a good show. ”

“ They got to account to her fo' ev'ry time they take a drink of mescal or throw a pair of dice. We ain't so worse off, pardner. We'll make out. Couple of jacks now, mebbe, but we'll pair up as cattle kings by the time they run trains into Laguna.”
Five days later Bramley rode into town for supplies, giving Strong a chance to run the ranch. He came back early, bringing Strong's other horse, his face grave.
“They found Gardner's wife, Sam,” he said. It was “Sam” and “Hen” between them now. “She's goin' to be buried beside him. The cattlemen air goin' to attend in a body to-morrow. ”