Slapjack

“ Rookie refilled his cup with tea and looked straight into his eyes.
“Buck up, Jack,” he said. “Maybe you’ll find friends where you least expect ’em.”
That eight-mile trail was a trail of torture for Bad Jack Creedy. At every step his blistered feet burned as if packed in live coals, and a hundred times he was on the point of quitting, but always the boy urged him on, helping him to his feet when he sprawled awkwardly in the snow, and, with the aid of a light pole, easing him up and down the steep sides of ridges. ”

“ Flapjack had been on the ridge since early light. He was taking samples every few rods, and Min was wrapping them up and marking the ore and the stakes. Beyond a small grove of scrubby trees they came in sight of what Flapjack declared was probably the end of the gold-bearing rock. There was a dip into another arroyo and beyond that a mesquite jungle as far as they could see.
“Well, she’s more’n a ha’f a mile long,” sighed the old prospector. “Ev’ry thing’s got to come to an end in this world they say. We needn’t grow bristles about it—— Great cats! What’s them?” ”

“ And when I get turned loose nobody won’t have anythin’ on me. I’ll make me a new start. A man can’t run straight less’n he starts straight, can he, kid?”
“No,” Rookie answered, meeting his gaze squarely. “He can’t. You said something, then, Jack.”
He held out a small hand and the other gripped it firmly.
“Come on,” said Bad Jack, “let’s roll in, so as we can get an early start. I want to hurry up and get it over with.”
AT DAWSON, the prisoner was hustled into a cell and Rookie Adair sought out the assistant commissioner with whom he was closeted for over an hour. ”

“ You have got to run straight—it’s the only way. Whenever you feel like it, I wish you would come up to the house and talk things over with me, and I think, very probably, that you will find that I am one of your friends.”
Bad Jack tried to stammer his thanks, choked up, and grasped the judge’s hand, and then tightly clutching the paper, he turned toward the boy, who stood trim and neat in his service uniform, and the gray-haired judge and the stern-faced assistant commissioner watched in silence, as Rookie Adair and his prisoner left the room, arm in arm. ”

“ But Denver, alias Shorty, alias Pete, merely laughed.
"Come in nothing, you fool! Joe, you're about half a second from hell, and so's a couple more of you. D'you know who the kid is? Eh? I'll tell you, boys. It's the kid that dropped old Minter. It's the kid that beat foxy Joe Minter to the draw. It's young Hollis. Why, you damned blind men, look at his face! It's the son of Black Jack. It's Black Jack himself come back to us!"
Joe Pollard had let his hand fall away from his gun. He gaped at Terry as though he were seeing a ghost. ”

“ P.C. Roper said nothing, but frowned at Jack with an expression so full of dignity, reprimand, and suspicion that Jack could not help laughing.
"Oh, I say," he said, "don't be cross. Mayn't we go about in a caravan if we want to? No one else has objected."
"No," Horace added, "the King said nothing as we came through London, and the Mayor of Stratford asked us to tea."
Kink laughed at this—much too loudly—and the young policeman realized that he had been foolish. Instead, however, of laughing, too, he became more important and angry, and suddenly he thought of a means of retaliation. ”

“ But wha’ do you know about flippin’ flapjacks?” He removed his hand from the other’s arm. “Nawthin!” said he. “Now I am an exper’; a real exper’! When I want to flip a flapjack I just whirl 186 her up through the chimney and catch her by holdin’ the frying pan out’n the window!”
I found at another point a slender, beardless young chap, with bright black eyes, and hectic cheeks, engaged in sketching one of the miners who posed before him. ”

“ A constable entered with a telegram which he laid upon the Assistant Commissioner’s desk. The officer read it and handed it to the judge.
“Your friends have been arrested,” he said, turning to the prisoner.
“They ain’t my friends,” answered Bad Jack, “I thought they was, but I know different now. I ain’t got no friends. There’s only one reason, Judge, it’s because I ain’t earned none. You see, Judge, I thought it was a fine thing to be known as Bad Jack Creedy. I thought I was gettin’ away with it, until the kid’s pardner, the big feller, called the turn on me. ”

“ Her color was never high. Now it became gray. Only her eyes remained burning, vivid, young, blazing out through the mask of age.
"Remember you said his blood would tell before he was twenty-five; that the blood of Black Jack would come to the surface; that he would have shot a man?"
"Still harping on that, Elizabeth? What if he does?"
"I'd disown him, throw him out penniless on the world, never see him again."
"You're a Spartan," said her brother in awe, as he looked on that thin, stern face. "Terry is your theory. If he disappoints you, he'll be simply a theory gone wrong. ”

“ Let Denver go, and the thought of his father with him. For the influence of Black Jack, he felt, was quicksand pulling him down. The very fact that he was his father's son had made him shoot down one man. Again the shadow of Black Jack had fallen across his path today and tempted him to crime. How real the temptation had been, Terry did not know until he was alone. Half of ten thousand dollars would support him for many a month. One thing was certain. He must let his father remain simply a name. ”

“ Slap-jack, after he had finished his rum-and-water, rejoined his comrades, a more thoughtful man than he had left them. To their jests and inquiries he returned vague and inconclusive answers, causing Bottle-Jack to stare at him in solemn wonder, and affording Smoke-Jack another illustration of his theory as to the wilfulness of feminine steerage in a sea-way. ”

“ I broke a hoop in the bag this afternoon.”
Jack started for the property tent, and he had [186] scarcely reached it when, from the menagerie, there came such a terrifying yell, mingled with a trumpet of rage, that every one who heard it stood still in horror.
“That’s an elephant!” cried Mr. Delafield. “Something’s gone wrong!”
“Ajax! It must be Ajax!” shouted Jack. “Bill told me he was acting queer a while ago!”
“Then he’s killed some one,” exclaimed the property man, as he rushed from his tent. “I know that yell. I heard one like it once before! Ajax has killed a man!” ”

“ As far as we can gather, Slack knew less than a small boy in his first term at school. He was a butcher by trade, and one day at Hounslow Races he had “words” with the champion, who laid about him with a horse-whip. Thereupon Slack challenged Broughton, and the fight took place at the Amphitheatre on April 10th, 1750.
There was nothing elegant about Jack Slack. His attitude was ugly and awkward, he was strong and healthy but quite untrained in our meaning of the word. He only stood 5 feet 81⁄2 inches but weighed close upon 14 stone—nearly as much as his antagonist, who was a taller man. ”

“ Glad of the turn of the conversation from Hortense Lecroix to Black Jack, Stuart amused himself by suggesting:
“You tell Black Jack that M'sieu' Stuart is big medicine man. He will put devils into Black Jack if he doesn't behave himself.” ”

“ Take a son out of the best family in the world and raise him like a thief—he'll be a thief. And the thief's son can be raised to an honest manhood. I know it!"
She was seeing Black Jack, as he had raced down the street with the black hair blowing about his face. Of such stuff, she felt, the knights of another age had been made. Vance was raising a forefinger in an authoritative way he had. ”

“ Well, would you believe it, Rosenblatt escaped and laid a charge against the boy, and would actually have had him sent to jail, but I went to the magistrate and offered to take him and find a home for him outside of the city.' "Good brave little lady! I know you well," cried Jack.
'I thought of you, Jack,' "Bless your kind little heart," said Jack. 'and I knew that if you could get him you would make a man of him.' "Aha! You did!" exclaimed Jack. 'Here he is getting worse and worse every day. He is so quick and so clever, he has never been to school, but he reads and speaks English well. ”

“ While they were speaking the two men dragged Jack into the room and flung him on a rough bed in one corner of the place. Already huddled miserably on the wretched pallet was the figure of Ralph Ingersoll. His face was pale and scared, and he had a bruise on his forehead, received the day before when he had gallantly attempted to fight off the two rascals in the yellow auto.
“It’s Jack Chadwick!” he exclaimed, as the men flung their unconscious burden down; “how did he come here? What dreadful thing have you done?”
“You shut up,” warned Jake Rook savagely; “listen, now, Rad.” ”

“ Struggling to wrench himself free, he rolled over, dragging the panting enemy with him, their movements carrying them nearer and nearer to the camp-fire; and in a sudden flicker of light he recognized the savage features of Black Jack.
In sheer muscular strength he was no match for the Kalmuck dwarf. Under the crushing pressure of Black Jack's fierce grip his hold on the knife was relaxing: the weapon was slipping from him. His hold upon the man's throat weakened; the Kalmuck was digging his nails into his left arm. As the under dog he was not able to cope with the man pressing him down. ”

“ The boy is different. He is a fine handsome little fellow, thirteen or fourteen years old, who makes his living selling newspapers and, I am afraid, is learning a great many things that he would be better without.' "Which is true of more than him," growled Jack. 'Of course, he does not like Rosenblatt. A little while ago there was a dance and, as always at the dances, that awful beer! The men got drunk and a good deal of fighting took place. Rosenblatt and a friend of his got abusing the girl. ”

“ Bad Jack laughed.
“So you think you can take me to Dawson, do you?”
Rookie nodded.
“We start at daylight,” he answered. “And if I were you I’d get busy on those muckluks. Because a hundred-mile hike in your stocking feet ain’t going to be any snap.”
“A hundred miles,” cried the other. “I couldn’t walk a hundred miles in a month on snow-shoes. My feet’s all blistered now.” ”

“ It is in Terry's. If you insist, he'll get sore. No, Joe. Let him think he owes you that money. Let him start in working it off for you—honest work. You ain't got any ranch work. Well, set him to cutting down trees, or anything. That'll help to hold him. If he makes some gambling play—and he's got the born gambler in him—you got one last thing that'll be apt to keep him here."
"What's that?"
"Kate."
Pollard stirred in his chair.
"How d'you mean that?" he asked gruffly.
"I mean what I said," retorted Denver. "I watched young Black Jack looking at her. He had his heart in his eyes, the kid did. ”

“ Another laugh, and Jack, now on his feet, turned round with a defiant air, and, half-stunned and bewildered, was climbing up the stairs again, to give his adversary a blow with his fist, when a voice called—
"Stop, lad! don't go and give evil for evil."
Colley from his berth had seen Jack fall, and had heard the mocking laugh.
"Come here, lad. I'm a bit easier now, and I want to talk to you. There, sit down on my locker, and we'll spin a yarn. You've run away, haven't you? I was so mad with pain, or I should have talked to you before. Come, you've run away now?" ”

“ He's seen a good deal of gunplay, and said that Terry's was the coolest he ever watched."
"All right for that part of it," said Joe Pollard. "Suppose he's fast— but can I use him? I like him well enough; I'll give him a good deal; but is he going to mean charity all the time he hangs out with me?"
"Maybe; maybe not," chuckled Denver again. "Use him the way he can be used, and he'll be the best bargain you ever turned. Black Jack started you in business; Black Jack the Second will make you rich if you handle him right—and ruin you if you make a slip." ”

“ That night, Joe said to Jack, "Say, Jack, do you want to see some fun to-morrow?"
"Of course I do," said Jack. "I always want to be around when there's any fun going on."
"Well," said Joe, "there's going to be some fun to-morrow; at least I think there is. Some of the young men have been making fun of Eagle Ribs; they say that there's something he dare not do; to jump from his horse to the back of a bull, and ride it. When they said that, Eagle Ribs said, 'Why do you 81 talk about doing that? You should talk about something that is really dangerous. ”

“ Even the blue jays, who were usually very chary of their praise, had a pleasant word for their friend Sam, who so often brought them food.
“There was a strange boy with him,” cawed an old crow. “Who knows anything about him?”
“He was not a seeing child,” chirped the [54] nuthatch. “He could not see the blue sky, nor the trees, nor any of us. Who can he be?”
“We know all about him,” twittered the sparrows. “It is the blind boy who lives in the engine-house. Fire-Jack saved his life; we see him very often.” ”

“ The fellers, they was all men, were too plumb loco to help, everything they touched spelt trouble. They admired to have flapjacks, same as we et, for supper, an' they watched jest how I made 'em, an' flipped 'em in the frypan. Then they wanted to do the flippin'."
Ned chuckled quietly to himself and went on:
"I hadn't realized afore that a tenderfoot with a pan of hot, smeary flapjacks is as dangerous as he is with a gun. He's liable to cut loose in any direction. He ain't safe nowhere. ”

“ Black Jack's son is around—the man that dropped Sheriff Minter. Then
I'll bring 'em together and give 'em a running start."
"And risk Terry getting his head blown off?"
"If he can't beat Larrimer, he's no use to us; if he kills Larrimer, it's good riddance. The kid is going to get bumped off sometime, anyway. He's bad—all the way through."
Pollard looked with a sort of wonder on his companion.
"You're a nice, kind sort of a gent, ain't you, Denver?"
"I'm a moneymaker," asserted Denver coldly. "And, just now, Terry Hollis is my gold mine. Watch me work him!" ”