Heart of the Sunset

t was a thoroughbred bay mare he had never seen, and as he scanned her good points he reflected that the time had come when he would have to accustom himself to the si

it argued that some vigor still remained in Texas manhood, and that the country had not been entirely ruined by motors, picture-shows, low shoes, and high collars. Of course the youths of this day w

ed, for Paloma's merriment was contagious. Then as he mounted the step

in the world di

chman's hand. "Hello, Blaze! I been o

o's giving you

with the

t I heard you was filibusteri

a splendid indifference to the artificial fads of dress and manners. It was only since Paloma had attained her womanhood that he had been forced to fight down his deep-seated distrust of neckwear and store clothes and the like; but now that his daughter had definitely asserted her rights, he had acquired numerous unwelcome graces, and no longer ventured among strangers without the stamp of her approval

you'd ought to make a right able thief-catcher, Dave, only for your size-you're too long for a man and you ain't long enough for a sn

ns?" Law inquire

body coun

t m

he Force ain't what it was. Most of the boys nowadays join so they can ride a horse cross-lots, pack a

a. "Dave tells me the whole For

a riot in Dallas. He came to town alone, and when the citizens asked him where his men was

re missing a lot of

nd flat and heavy in it, and I growed curious. When I investigated, what d'you suppose I found? Tombstones! That's right; four marble beauties fresh from the cemetery. Well, it made me right sore, for I'd helped to start Jonesville. I was its city father. I'd made the place fit to live in, and I aimed to keep it safe to die in

't conv

his daddy, so he turned 'em loose. I'm damned if those four Greasers didn't beat me back to Jonesville." Blaze shook his head rumi

ely method of "working up" his evidence. Since he knew that Blaze possessed a thorough knowledge of thi

ift and varied, for him to remain interested in slow agricultural pursuits; therefore, he had speculated heavily in raw lands, and for several years past he had devoted his energies to a gigantic coloni

isco railroad to be extended until it linked his holdings with the main system, after which he had floated a big irrigation company; and now the feat of paying interest on its bonds and selling farms under the ditch to Northern people kept

in his part of the state, and although events in his telling were sometimes colored by his ri

r said, casually, "Tel

wi

uickly. "What d'y

ng. Eve

h between here and Las Palm

ave: "Tad Lewis is a bad neighbor, and always has been. There's a ford on hi

de in its old Spanish form. It's a natural outlet for those brush-country ranchos. But I haven't anything against

tin one of our best pe

t arms are being smuggl

f it's true,

gulars and the River Guards watched Lewis's ranch till

a strong Rebel sympat

I'd grieve some to see you in a wooden kimono. Tad's too well fixed to steal cattle, and if he runs arms it's because of his sympathy for

embargo," Law agreed. "I ran arms

is daughter urged their guest to stay and

ature students who leaped a drug-counter expecting to 'light in the lap of luxury. In the last outfit we sold there wasn't three men that knew which end of a mule to put the collar on. But th

, fa

n, with an unusually capable manner, and an honest, humorous pair of brown eyes. During dinner she did her part with a grace that made

rosperous," he told his host. "An

the pie. I'm interested in the bank, the sugar-mill, the hardware-store, the ice-plant-Say,

no i

spoke proudly, impressively, and then through habit call

came with equal emphasis: "No, you didn't

long without the co-operation of his own household?" he inquired, naively. "Maybe it was next year

, but somewhere in his being there was concealed a tremendous, lop-sided sense of humor which took the form of a bewildering imagery. An attentive audience was enough for him, and, once his fancy was in full swing, there was no limit to his outrageous exaggerations. A light of credulity in a hearer's eye filled him wi

o consider him generally untruthful. But even in this misconception Blaze took a quiet delight, secure in the knowledge that all who knew hi

iving-mules to his buckboard, preparatory to showi

etting migh

e; I never used to be scared of nobody. Well, it's different now. She rides me with a Spanish bit, and my soul ain't my own." With a sudden lightening of his gloom, he added: "Say, you're going to stay

of saloons with well-gnawed hitching-rails, no rioting cowboys. On the contrary, the larger buildings were of artificial stone, the sidewalks of concrete, and the store fronts

ell-nigh perfect, and its destiny roused his maddest enthusiasm. He showed Dave the little red frame railroad station, distinguished in some mysterious way above the hundred thousand other little red frame railroad stations of the identical size and style; he pointed out the Odd Fellow

by friends, for everybody seemed to k

of men, eh?" he inquired,

framework, Blaze. She'

you fatte

grow in. And, Dave, I haven't got an enemy in the place! It wasn't many years ago that certain people allowed I'd never live to raise

been a responsi

fe now as if I

fat in prosecuting their feuds, but this was a subject which

s a sheep." Then to escape further curiosity on that point he sugg

e with a dexterity born of years of devotion to the game. In consequence, Blaze's enjoyment was in

good pool-player in town,

'll make him mayor of the town, for a good pool-shooter is all this metropolis lacks. Why, sometimes I go plumb to San Antone for a game." He whispered in his friend's ear, "Paloma don't let me gamb

ome one volunteered. "His wife is the new dressmaker-and she's go

he gets here. I hope to God he ain't entirely done for." Blaze ran the last three balls from a well-nigh impossible position, then racked up the whole fifteen with t

Blaze cried, with a f

e, and bust 'em, while

of mine handle a cue l

, and pocketed it, following which he ran the remaining fourteen. Blaze watched this procedure near-sightedly, and when t

fill." He finished polishing his spectacles, and readjusted them. "I aim to make you so comfortab

ate, his mouth dropped open and his gaze was no longer hypnotic

such a one had been suddenly reopened; therefore he prepared himself for some kind of an outburst. But Blaze appe

ol oozed away, and with it had gone his accustomed skill. He shot

im two balls and broke the bunch. After that he proved the insincerity of his statement by clearing the clo

nother chill coming on.

ad." Strange favored

ort of

etfully. "But I'll tell you what we'll do-

d'you

s barker. "I pro'nosticate by charms, ceremonies, omens, and moles; by the features of the face, lines of the hand, spots an' blemishes of the skin. I speak the language of flowers. I know one hundred and eighty-seven weather signs, and I interpet dreams. Now, ladies and gents, this is no idle boast. Triflin'

, conjured a deck of cards from somewhere, and

Jones, slippin

of scissors and a sheet of carbon paper, Mr. Strange, with the undivided attention of the audience upon him, began to cut Blaze's silhouette. He was extraordinarily a

thing and plunged