FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   >>  
e. As I ran rapidly towards them, a few called out, "Look out--he's in there!" while others made way to let me pass. With the impression of fire or robbery in my mind, I entered precipitately, only to find Yuba Bill calmly leaning back in an arm-chair with his feet on the back of another, a glass of whiskey from my demijohn in one hand and a huge cigar in his mouth. Across his lap lay a stumpy shotgun which I at once recognized as "the Left Bower," whose usual place was at his feet on the box during his journeys. He looked cool and collected, although there were one or two splashes of printer's ink on his shirt and trousers, and from the appearance of my lavatory and towel he had evidently been removing similar stains from his hands. Putting his gun aside and grasping my hand warmly without rising, he began with even more than his usual lazy imperturbability: "Well, how's Gilead lookin' to-day?" It struck me as looking rather disturbed, but, as I was still too bewildered to reply, he continued lazily: "Ez you didn't hunt me up, I allowed you might hev got kinder petrified and dried up down yer, and I reckoned to run down and rattle round a bit and make things lively for ye. I've jist cleared out a newspaper office over thar. They call it the 'Guardi-an,' though it didn't seem to offer much pertection to them fellers ez was in it. In fact, it wasn't ez much a fight ez it orter hev been. It was rather monotonous for me." "But what's the row, Bill? What has happened?" I asked excitedly. "Nothin' to speak of, I tell ye," replied Yuba Bill reflectively. "I jest meandered into that shop over there, and I sez, 'I want ter see the man ez runs this yer mill o' literatoor an' progress.' Thar waz two infants sittin' on high chairs havin' some innocent little game o' pickin' pieces o' lead outer pill-boxes like, and as soon ez they seed me one of 'em crawled under his desk and the other scooted outer the back door. Bimeby the door opens again, and a fluffy coyote-lookin' feller comes in and allows that HE is responsible for that yer paper. When I saw the kind of animal he was, and that he hadn't any weppings, I jist laid the Left Bower down on the floor. Then I sez, 'You allowed in your paper that I oughter hev a little sevility knocked inter me, and I'm here to hev it done. You ken begin it now.' With that I reached for him, and we waltzed oncet or twicet around the room, and then I put him up on the mante
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   >>  



Top keywords:
lookin
 

allowed

 

chairs

 
literatoor
 

sittin

 

progress

 

infants

 

monotonous

 

pertection

 

fellers


replied

 
reflectively
 

meandered

 
Nothin
 
happened
 

excitedly

 

oughter

 

sevility

 

knocked

 

animal


weppings

 

twicet

 

waltzed

 

reached

 

crawled

 
innocent
 

pickin

 

pieces

 

feller

 

responsible


coyote

 

fluffy

 
scooted
 

Bimeby

 

journeys

 

looked

 

shotgun

 

stumpy

 

recognized

 

collected


lavatory
 
appearance
 

evidently

 

trousers

 

splashes

 
printer
 

robbery

 
entered
 
precipitately
 

impression