Rex Beach

“ Jean continued, "the Centipede outfit hired a new cook. You know the Centipede Ranch—the one you see over yonder by the foot-hills."
"It wasn't 'soon after,' it was simuletaneous," said Stover, darkly. "We're beginnin' to see plain at last." He went on as if to air the injury that was gnawing him. "One day we hear that this grub-slinger over yonder thinks he can run, which same is as welcome to us as the smell of flowers on a spring breeze, for Humpy Joe had amused us in his idle hours by running jack-rabbits to earth—"
"Not really?" said Miss Blake. ”

“ Oh, I dare say it looks like a joke to you, but it doesn't to me, Larry. If I don't marry that girl, I—I'll go off my balance, that's all, and I'm not going to overlook any advantage whatever. Fresno sings love-songs, and he's got a mint of money. Well, I'm going to work this athletic pose to death. I'm going into training, I'm going to talk, eat, sleep, live athletics for a week, and when I'm unexpectedly crippled on the eve of the race, it is going to break my heart. Understand! I am going to be so desperately disappointed that I'll have to choose between suicide and marriage. ”

“ There was an instant's silence before Stover inquired, with ominous restraint:
"Who's been monkeying with it?"
"It's warm!"
"Oh!" It was a sigh of relief.
"A man can't get in shape taking warm shower-baths. Warm water weakens a person."
"Mebbe you-all will listen to me next time!" again cried Willie, triumphantly. "I said at the start that a bath never helped nobody. When they're hot they saps a man's courage, and when they're cold they—"
"No, no! You don't understand! For an athlete the bath ought to be cold—the colder the better. It's the shock that hardens a fellow." ”

“ When Stover only continued whittling methodically, he burst out: "Stop honing that shin-bone! If you like it you can eat it! I'm going now to swallow a stack of hot cakes with maple syrup!"
"Mr. Speed," Willie impaled him with a steady glare, "you'll eat what we tell you to, and nothin' else! If we say 'grass,' grass it'll be. You're goin' to beat one Skinner if it takes a human life. And if that life happens to be yours, you got nobody but yourself to blame." ”

“ Speed rose with a cry.
"Gee! That looks good!"
But the other, thrusting him aside without removing the neck of the bottle from his lips, gurgled:
"No booze, Wally! You're trainin'!"
"But I'm thirsty!" shouted the athlete, laying hands upon the full bottle, and trying to wrench it free.
"Have a little sense. If you're thirsty, hit the sink." Glass still maintained his hold, mumbling indistinctly: "Water's the worst thing in the world. Wait! I'll get you some."
He stepped into the bunk-room, to return an instant later with a cup half full. "Rinse out your mouth, and don't swallow it all." ”

“ CHAPTER XV In a daze, Speed saw his friend mount the porch painfully; in a daze, he shook his hand. Subconsciously he beheld Lawrence Glass come panting into view, throw up his hands at sight of Covington, and cry out in a strange tongue. When he regained his faculties he broke into the conversation harshly.
"What have you done to yourself?"
"I broke a toe," explained the athlete.
"You broke a toe?"
"He broke a toe!" wailed Glass, faintly.
"If it's nothing but a toe, it won't hurt your running." Speed seized eagerly upon the faintest hope. ”

“ Speed!"
"Good-morning!" chorused Helen and the chaperon.
"Welcome to our city!" Fresno greeted.
Glass tottered to the steps. "Them songs," he puffed, "is bad for a man when he's trainin'; they get him all worked up."
"We had no idea you would be back so soon," apologized Helen.
"Soon!" Speed measured the distance to a wicker chair, gave it up, and sank beside his trainer. "We left yesterday! We've run miles and miles and miles!"
"You can't be in very good shape," volunteered the singer.
"Oh, is that so?" Glass retorted. "I say he's great. He got my goat—and I'm some runner." ”

“ You never was no good nohow." He turned to Helen and handed her a double handful of bank-notes, as Berkeley Fresno buried his hands in his pockets and walked away. "Here's your coin, miss. If ever you get another hunch, let me know. An' here's yours, Mr. Speed; it's a weddin'-present from the Centipede." He fetched a deep sigh. "Thank the Lord we'll git somethin' fit to eat from now on!"
Speed staggered to Skinner, who was still nursing his injury, and held out his hand, whereat the cook winked his left eye gravely.
"The best man won," said Skinner, "and say—there's a parson at Albuquerque." ”

“ And Stover and Gallagher faced each other hard before turning.
Jean saw it, and whispered to Chapin: "Oh, Jack dear, I'm terribly frightened!" But Helen Blake, who overheard, left her companions and went straight to Gallagher.
"I should like," she said, "to wager a few dollars on Mr. Speed and the honor of the Flying Heart."
Both Skinner and his foreman stared at her nonplussed.
"You don't look like a bettin' lady," the latter managed to remark, jocularly.
"I'm not, I never made a wager before in all my life; but you see, Mr. Gallagher, I believe in our man." Gallagher lowered his eyes. ”

“ Roberta smiled wanly, amazed at her own self-control, then froze in her tracks as Jean announced:
"Jack will be home to-night, Culver. He'll be delighted to see you!"
J. Wallingford Speed offered a diversion by bursting into a hollow laugh. Now that the world was in league to work his own downfall, it was time someone else had a touch of suffering. To this end he inquired how the toe had come to be broken.
"I broke it in Omaha—automobile accident." Culver was fighting to master himself.
"Omaha! Did you stop in Omaha?" inquired Jean.
"A city of beautiful women," Speed reflected, audibly. ”

“ Fresno nodded. He was looking at four cowboys who were entering the gymnasium, staggering beneath dripping gunny-sacks. Then he turned his gaze searchingly upon the girl.
"Were you looking for Speed?" he asked accusingly. "The idea!"
Miss Blake flushed faintly.
"If you are, he has gone for a run. I dearly love to see him get up early and run, he enjoys it so. To give pleasure to others is one of my constant aims. That is why I learned to sing." ”

“ Still Bill shook his head sadly, and sighed for a third time. "It looked like he was running backward, miss."
"But really he was only beaten a foot. It was a wonderful race. I saw it," said Jean. "It made me think of the races at college."
Miss Blake puckered her brows trying to think.
"Joseph," she said. "No, I don't think I have seen him."
Stover's lips met grimly. "I don't reckon you have, miss. Since that race he has been hard to descry. He passed from view hurriedly, so to speak, headed toward the foot-hills, and leaping from crag to crag like the hardy shamrock of the Swiss Yelps." ”

“ I reckon he'd commit a murder for that phonograph—he's so full of sentiment."
Fresno spoke sympathetically.
"It's a fortunate thing for you fellows that Speed came when he did. I'm anxious for him to beat this cook, and I hate to see him so careless with his training."
"Careless!" cried Helen.
"What's he done?" inquired Stover.
"Nothing, so far. That's the trouble. He's sure he can win, but" —Fresno shook his head, doubtfully—"there's such a thing as overconfidence. No matter how good a man may be, he should take care of himself."
"What's wrong with his trainin'?" demanded Glass. ”

“ Speed, while we honor you a heap for your accomplishments, and while we believe in you as a man and a champeen, we kind of feel that it might make you stretch your legs some if you knew just exactly what this foot-race means to the Flying Heart outfit."
"I assured you that the Centipede cook would be beaten," said the college man, stiffly.
"Isn't Mr. Speed's word sufficient?" ”

“ He crossed quickly to the bunk-house door and looked in. The room was empty. The supper-bell pealed out, and he heard the cow-men answer it. Now was the appointed moment; he might have no other. With cat-like tread he slipped into the sleeping-quarters, returning in a moment with a revolver. He stared thankfully at the weapon—better this than dishonor.
"Why didn't I think of it before? It's perfectly simple. I'll accidentally shoot myself—in the foot."
But even as he gazed at the gun he saw that the muzzle was as large as a gopher-hole. ”

“ Perhaps I'll tell her when Culver comes."
"I adore athletes. I wouldn't give a cent for a man who wasn't athletic."
"Does Mr. Speed go in for that sort of thing?"
"Rather! The day we met at the Yale games he had medals all over him, and that night at the dance he used the most wonderful athletic language—we could scarcely understand him. Mr. Covington must have told you all about him; they are chums, you know."
Miss Chapin furrowed her brows meditatively.
"I have heard Culver speak of him, but never as an athlete. Have you and Mr. Speed settled things between you, Helen? ”

“ Fresno smiled, indulgently this time. "Jean's friend Covington can go the distance in nine and four-fifths seconds. He's a real sprinter. I think this fellow is a joke."
"Indeed he is not! If Mr. Covington can run as fast as that, Mr. Speed can run faster. He told me so."
"Oh!" Fresno looked at her curiously. "The world's record is nine and three-fifths; that's the limit of human endurance."
"I hope he doesn't injure himself," breathed the girl, and the tenor wandered away, disgusted beyond measure. ”

“ Glass held his hungry employer at a distance, striving to make known by a wink the necessity of his act.
"There is absolutely nothing in my cake to injure any one," Helen objected loyally, with lifted chin; whereupon the corpulent trainer turned to her and said:
"Cake would crab any athlete. Cake and gals is the limit."
"Really! I had no idea I was the least bit dangerous." Miss Blake, turning to her host, smiled frigidly. "I'm so sorry I intruded."
"Now don't say that!" Speed strove to detain her. "Please don't be offended—I just have to train!" ”

“ As Speed talked he clad himself in his silken uniform, donned his spiked shoes, and pinned the medals upon his chest.
"How do I look?" he queried.
"Immense! If she likes athletes, it's a walk-away for you."
"Then give me the baby-blue bath robe with the monogram. We'll go out and trot around a little."
But his complacency received a shock as he stepped out upon the veranda. Not only Helen Blake awaited him, but the other girls as well, while out in front were a dozen or more cowboys whom Fresno had rallied. "Goin' to take a little run, eh?" inquired Stover. ”

“ Glass were inside the gymnasium. "What made you say 'yes'?"
"I had to."
"Rot, Larry! You played into Fresno's hands deliberately! Now I've got to spend my evenings in bed while he sits in the hammock and sings Dearie." He shook his head gloomily. "Who knows what may happen?"
"It will do you good to get some sleep, Wally."
"But I don't want to sleep!" cried the exasperated suitor. "I want to make love. Do you think I came all the way from New York to sleep? I can do that at Yale."
"Take it from me, Bo, you've got plenty of time to win that dame.
Eight hours is a workin' day anywhere." ”

“ Speed glowered at his rival. It was Helen who hastened to smooth things.
"It's all my fault. I asked Mr. Fresno to sing something new."
"Bah! That was written by William Cromwell."
"No more of them battle-hymns," Glass ordered. "They don't do Mr.
Speed no good."
"All I want is a drink," panted that youthful athlete, and Helen rose quickly, saying that she would bring ice-water.
But the trainer barked, sharply: "Nix! I've told you that twenty times, Wally. It'll put hob-nails in your liver." ”

“ CHAPTER VIII Lawrence Glass was beginning to like New Mexico. Not only did it afford a tinge of romance, discernable in the deep, haunting eyes of Mariedetta, the maid, but it offered an opportunity for financial advancement—as, for instance, the purchase of Willie's watch. This timepiece cost the trainer twenty-one dollars, and he sold it to Speed for double the amount, believing in the luck of even numbers. ”

“ Chapin, anxiously.
"What made you invite Berkeley Fresno, anyhow?" was the rejoinder. "This is no gilded novelty to him. He is a Western man."
Miss Chapin numbered her reasons sagely. "In the first place— Helen. Then there had to be enough men to go around. Last and best, he is the most adorable man I ever saw at a house-party. He's an angel at breakfast, sings perfectly beautifully—you know he was on the Stanford Glee Club—"
"Humph!" Jack was unimpressed. "If you roped him for Helen Blake to brand, why have you sent for Wally Speed?" ”

“ She'll marry Carara some time—if he doesn't kill her."
"Kill her!" Miss Blake's eyes were round. "He wouldn't do that!"
"Indeed, yes. He is a Mexican, and he has a terrible temper."
Miss Blake sank back into the hammock. "How perfectly dreadful!
And yet—it must be heavenly to love a man who would kill you."
Miss Chapin lost herself in meditation for an instant. "Culver is almost like that when he is angry. Hello, here comes our foreman!"
Stover, a tall, gangling cattle-man with drooping grizzled mustache, came shambling up to the steps. ”

“ Now, get set!" and the speaker pulled trigger, whereupon Speed leaped as if the bullet had been aimed at him.
Instantly a full-lunged roar went up that rolled away to the foot-hills, and the runners sped out of the pandemonium, their legs twinkling against the dust-colored prairie. Down to the turn they raced. Speed was leading. Fright had acted upon him as an electric charge; his terror lent him wings; he was obsessed by a propelling force outside of himself. ”