by Rex Beach
CHAPTER VII. The Open Door
The proprietor of the Nugget and Rope, a German named Baum, not beingtroubled with police rules, kept the door wide open for the purposeof inviting trade, a proceeding not to the liking of his patrons forobvious reasons. Probably not one man in ten was fortunate enough tohave no one "looking for him," and the lighted interior assured goodhunting to any one in the dark street. He was continually opening thedoor, which every newcomer promptly and forcibly slammed shut. When hesaw men walk across the room for the express purpose of slamming it hebegan to cherish the idea that there was a conspiracy on foot to angerhim and thus force him to bring about his own death.
After the door had been slammed three times in one evening by one man,the last slam being so forcible as to shake two bottles from the shelfand to crack the door itself, he became positive that his suspicionswere correct, and so was very careful to smile and take it as a joke.Finally, wearied by his vain efforts to keep it open and fearing for thedoor, he hit upon a scheme, the brilliancy of which inflated his chestand gave him the appearance of a prize-winning bantam. When his patronsstrolled in that night there was no door to slam, as it lay behind thebar.
When Buck and Red entered, closely followed by Hopalong, they elbowedtheir way to the rear of the room, where they could see before beingseen. As yet they had said nothing to Hopalong about Pie's warning andwere debating in their minds whether they should do so or not, whenHopalong interrupted their thoughts by laughing. They looked up and henodded toward the front, where they saw that anxious eyes from all partsof the room were focused on the open door. Then they noticed that it hadbeen removed.
The air of semi-hostile, semi-anxious inquiry of the patrons and thesmile of satisfaction covering the face of Baum appealed to them as themost ludicrous sight their eyes had seen for months, and they leanedback and roared with laughter, thus calling forth sundry looks ofdisapproval from the innocent causes of their merriment. But they weretoo well known in Albuquerque to allow the disapproval to approach aserious end, and finally, as the humorous side of the situation dawnedon the crowd, they joined in the laugh and all went merrily.
At the psychologic moment some one shouted for a dance and thesuggestion met with uproarious approval. At that moment Harris, thesheriff, came in and volunteered to supply the necessary music if thecrowd would pay the fine against a straying fiddler he had corraled theday before. A hat was quickly passed and a sum was realized which wouldpay several fines to come and Harris departed for the music.
A chair was placed on the bar for the musician and, to the tune of "OldDan Tucker" and an assortment of similar airs, the board floor shookand trembled. It was a comical sight and Hopalong, the only wallflowerbesides Baum and the sheriff, laughed until he became weak. Cow punchersplay as they work, hard and earnestly, and there was plenty of action.Sombreros flapped like huge wings and the baggy chaps looked like small,distorted balloons.
The Virginia reel was a marvel of supple, exaggerated grace and thequadrille looked like a free-for-all for unbroken colts. The honorof prompter was conferred upon the sheriff, and he gravely called thechanges as they were usually called in that section of the country:
"Oh, th' ladies trail in An' th' gents trail out, An' all stampede down th' middle. If yu ain't got th' tin Yu can dance an' shout, But yu must keep up with th' fiddle."
As the dance waxed faster and the dancers grew hotter Hopalong,feeling lonesome because he wouldn't face ridicule, even if it was notexpressed, went over and stood by the sheriff. He and Harris were goodfriends, for he had received the wound that crippled him in saving thesheriff from assassination. Harris killed the man who had fired thatshot, and from this episode on the burning desert grew a friendship thatwas as strong as their own natures.
Harris was very well liked by the majority and feared by the rest, forhe was a square man and the best sheriff the county had ever known.Quiet and unassuming, small of stature and with a kind word for everyone, he was a universal favorite among the better class of citizens.Quick as a flash and unerring in his shooting, he was a nightmare to the"bad men." No profane word had ever been known to leave his lips, andhe was the possessor of a widespread reputation for generosity. Hisface was naturally frank and open; but when his eyes narrowed withdetermination it became blank and cold. When he saw his young friendsidle over to him he smiled and nodded a hearty welcome.