Roy Norton

“ Thousands of folks live here!”
“Nine hundred in the camp itself,” corrected Rogers.
“Nine hundred! Lordee! Some city!” exclaimed the prospector.
“But there are probably two thousand men working within a radius of four miles,” added his informant.
“Anyhow,” said Josh, with a long sigh, “she looks like nine hundred thousand to me, and—say, I'm glad I come here. Look how homelike she is! See all them signs down there? Them's saloons, or I cain't read. That's my favorite sort of a town. Churches for them that wants 'em. Schools to bring up real young Americans. Saloons for them that's thirsty. ”

“ Josh explained, “that'll make the camp think it was all a joke. We gets the clean-up through the winder, then we rings the express agent's bell. He lives upstairs. I found out to-day. He comes down, but we ain't there. We're up on the line, watchin' some game, and I makin' noise enough so folks'll think I've been there all the time, loadin' up on sody pop.”
To him the conception seemed one of rare merit, a great intrigue, involving wonderful acumen. He was as proud of it as a man could be who had discovered a way to reach the moon. He chuckled and beat Tom on the back with great glee. ”

“ But Rogers shook his head.
“Hey! Any of you men know where Specimen Jones lives?” he shouted to a group that lounged in front of a general-merchandise store.
“Sure,” responded a man in a blue flannel shirt and wearing a stained white hat at such an angle on the back of his head that it suggested juggling or necromancy to retain it in position. “Straight up to the end of the street, first trail to the left after the last house, only log cabin on the hillside with a corral.” ”

“ Liquor makes men fight. I never had a quarrel with anybody in my life. I don't see the use in fightin', nohow. And I'm honest enough to tell you men that I stand for 'most anything, because I'm afraid to fight. Don't believe in it, I don't. The Good Book says: 'A soft answer turneth away wrath.' Can't go back on that, can you? Well, when you drink nothin' but sody pop—I like rosberry the best—you don't want to fight.”
The proprietor of the Paradise stood in a daze. ”

“ He threatened to break down, and the prospector patted him kindly on the back.
“It's all right, son,” he said. “You did a fool trick; but I'm goin' to get you out of it. I sort of reckon that the Lord Almighty ain't holdin' up a grudge against a man when he just makes a mistake.”
The darkness closed upon them, lighted only by early stars shining through the high spaces and clean air. ”

“ And I sure do hope they've got a gamblin' house or two for them that wants to do a little sportin' with old Miss Chance. If they've got them, too, this place is about as near paradise as a feller could wish for without bein' a hawg.”
“Yes, they've got them also,” enlightened Rogers. “But I don't gamble, and I don't drink. So I don't know much about them.”
“Neither do I! Neither do I!” was the prospector's cheerful response. “But I'm great on seein' every one happy and contented, I am. Now—— Hello! ”

“ A pinwheel at a Fourth of July celebration is as slow as a land crab compared with him, and if there's anything on earth that he's afraid of and doesn't dare tackle, you can win a prize by taking it down to the Mexican border and displaying it to the awe-stricken and subdued citizens thereof! ”

“ There was the proof that Tom had not lied; for some one, in removing the heavy bullion, had been compelled to drag it over the moist earth, thus leaving a distinct trail. Cautiously, burning match after match, the prospector scanned the spots of sparse earth. He gave a little grunt when he picked up a trousers button and slipped it into his pocket. He found a clean, distinct footprint at one place where the moist, sandy loam lent itself to the imprint, and for a long time studied it, using match after match. ”

“ He stopped and stared at Tom and then added, in a gruff rumble scarcely audible a few feet away: “I'm tellin' you this so's you'll quit lookin' like a dog in a pound, or a man that's a-runnin' away from a jail. Ain't you got any nerve? Well, if you have, leave it to your Uncle Josh and stick your chin up. They ain't got you yet, and they ain't a-goin' to.”
It was after the sun had set, and the streets were filled with loungers who discussed the robbery of the Horseshoe clean-up, and the admitted failure of the posse to capture the thief, that Josh beckoned to Rogers and said: “Well, come on. ”

“ Them's directions, pardner!” replied Josh, with an attempt at courtesy, and added, in a lower voice, to Rogers: “See! What did I tell you? Real folks live in this camp. All so kind and friendly and cheerfullike that it just makes a feller feel good to hear 'em talk. Come on, now; let's go up to Specimen's corral and get the packs off these fellers.” ”

“ He can draw and shoot faster and truer than any man I ever knew or heard of. He can fight with both hands, kick with both feet, gouge, and bite. He can turn handsprings and somersaults in a rough-and-tumble and knock a man out every time he revolves. ”

“ He replaced the belt, rearranged his shirt and trousers to suit his taste, and led the way down the main street. He halted with wide eyes in front of a clothing shop and said: “By Jiminy, but them's pretty clothes, ain't they? I u a checked suit like that once, and she was a daisy; but a woman I knew made fun of it, and so I had to give it away. 'Most busted my heart, though. Now, that one with the yellow stripes ought to look good on a young feller like you. Huh? No? You like that plain blue one? Well, every man to his taste. S'pose you go in and get that and kind of fuss yourself up a bit. ”

“ That's a good feller. Put 'em on and—— Say! Better not buy new boots. Keep those. Sabe? You'll find me down the line here somewheres. So long.”
Josh walked happily down the street, staring in at every window and pausing before some of them with approval. He came to a halt in front of a place that bore the legend, “Prospector's Paradise,” said: “Looks first class,” stood on tiptoe in front of the swinging, wicker. doors, and from the six feet three inches thus attained, surveyed the interior.
“By crackey, pardner,” he remarked to the surprised proprietor, “it sure does look like its name.” ”

“ He stood to one side with unaccustomed awkwardness until, with a cheerful nod to him, she accompanied her father down the street, leaving the prospector to. pass more enthusiastic comments on the discovery of another old-time friend.
“This camp,” he declared, “is just like comin' home from somewhere a long way off. I knew a lot of the Tucson boys had drifted up here, because I used to hear about 'em once in a while ”