by B. M. Bower
CHAPTER 8. FLORENCE GRACE HALLMAN SPEAKS PLAINLY
Andy Green rode thoughtfully up the trail from his cabin in One Mancoulee, his hat tilted to the south to shield his face from the climbingsun, his eyes fixed absently upon the yellow soil of the hillside. Andywas facing a problem that concerned the whole Happy Family--and theFlying U as well. He wanted Weary's opinion, and Miguel Rapponi's, andPink's--when it came to that, he wanted the opinion of them all.
Thus far the boys had been wholly occupied with getting their shacksbuilt and in rustling cooking outfits and getting themselves settledupon their claims with an air of convincing permanency. Also they hadwatched with keen interest--which was something more vital than merecuriosity--developments where the homeseekers were concerned, and hadnot given very much thought to their next step, except in a purelygeneral way.
They all recognized the fact that, with all these new settlers buzzingaround hunting claims where there was some promise of making thingsgrow, they would have to sit very tight indeed upon their own land ifthey would avoid trouble with "jumpers." Not all the homeseekers werewomen. There were men, plenty of them; a few of them were wholly lackingin experience it is true, but perhaps the more greedy for land becauseof their ignorance. The old farmers had looked askance at the high, dryprairie land, where even drinking water must be hauled in barrelsfrom some deep-set creek whose shallow gurgling would probably ceasealtogether when the dry season came on the heels of June. The oldfarmers had asked questions that implied doubt. They had wanted to knowabout sub-soil, and average rainfall, and late frosts, and markets. Theprofusely illustrated folders that used blue print for emphasis here andthere, seemed no longer to satisfy them.
The Happy Family did not worry much about the old farmers who knew thegame, but there were town men who had come to see the fulfillment oftheir dreams; who had burned their bridges, some of them, and wouldsuffer much before they would turn back to face the ridicule of theirfriends and the disheartening task of getting; a fresh foothold in thewage-market. These the Happy Family knew for incipient enemies oncethe struggle for existence was fairly begun. And there were thewomen--daring rivals of the men in their fight for independence--whohad dreamed dreams and raised up ideals for which they would fighttenaciously. School-teachers who hated the routine of the schools, andwho wanted freedom; who were willing to work and wait and forego thelittle, cheap luxuries which are so dear to women; who would cheerfullyendure loneliness and spoiled complexions and roughened hands and brokennails, and see the prairie winds and sun wipe the sheen from theirhair; who would wear coarse, heavy-soled shoes and keep all their prettyfinery packed carefully away in their trunks with dainty sachet padsfor month after month, and take all their pleasure in dreaming of thefuture; these would fight also to have and to hold--and they would fightharder than the men, more dangerously than the men, because they wouldfight differently.
The Happy Family, then, having recognized these things and havingmeasured the fighting-element, knew that they were squarely up againsta slow, grim, relentless war if they would save the Flying U. They knewthat it was going to be a pretty stiff proposition, and that they wouldhave to obey strictly the letter and the spirit of the land laws, orthere would be contests and quarrels and trouble without end.
So they hammered and sawed and fitted boards and nailed on tar-paper andswore and jangled and joshed one another and counted nickels--where theyused to disdain counting anything but results--and badgered the life outof Patsy because he kicked at being expected to cook for the bunch justthe same as if he were in the Flying U mess-house. Py cosh, he wouldn'tcook for the whole country just because they were too lazy to cook forthemselves, and py cosh if they wanted him to cook for them they couldpay him sixty dollars a month, as the Old Man did.
The Happy Family were no millionaires, and they made the fact plain toPatsy to the full extent of their vocabularies. But still they beggedbread from him, a loaf at a time, and couldn't see why he objected tomaking pie, if they furnished the stuff. Why, for gosh sake, had theyplanted him in the very middle of their string of claims, then? With adandy spring too, that never went dry except in the driest years, andnot more than seventy-five yards, at the outside, to carry water. Uphill? Well, what of that? Look at Pink--had to haul water half a milefrom One Man Creek, and no trail. Look at Weary--had to pack water twiceas far as Patsy. And hadn't they clubbed together and put up his darnedshack first thing, just so he COULD get busy and cook? What did the olddevil expect, anyway?
Well--you see that the Happy Family had been fully occupied in theweek since the arrival of the homeseekers' excursion. They could not beexpected to give very much thought to their next steps. But there wasAndy, who had only to move into the cabin in One Man coulee, with aspring handy, and a stable for his horse, and a corral and everything.Andy had not been harassed with the house-building and settling, exceptas he assisted the others. As fast as the shacks were up, the HappyFamily had taken possession, so that now Andy was alone, stuck downthere in the coulee out of sight of everybody. Pink had once named OneMan coulee as the lonesomest hole in all that country, and he had notbeen far wrong. But at any rate the lonesomeness had served one goodpurpose, for it had started Andy to thinking out the details of their socalled land-pool. Now the thinking had borne fruit to the extent that hefelt an urgent need of the Happy Family in council upon the subject.
As he topped at last the final rise which put him on a level with thegreat undulating bench-land gashed here and there with coulees andnarrow gulches that gave no evidence of their existence until one rodequite close, he lifted his head and gazed about him half regretfully,half proudly. He hated to see that wide upland dotted here and therewith new, raw buildings, which proclaimed themselves claim-shacks as fara one could see them. Andy hated the sight of claim-shacks with a hatredborn of long range experience and the vital interests of the cattleman.A claim-shack stuck out on the prairie meant a barbed wire fencesomewhere in the immediate vicinity; and that meant a hindrance to theeasy handling of herds. A claim-shack meant a nester, and a nester was anuisance, with his plowed fields and his few head of cattle that mustbe painstakingly weeded out of a herd to prevent a howl going up to highheaven. Therefore, Andy Green instinctively hated the sight of a shackon the prairie. On the other hand, those shacks belonged to the HappyFamily--and that pleased him. From where he sat on his horse he couldcount five in sight, and there were more hidden by ridges and tuckedaway in hollows.
But there were others going up--shacks whose owners he did not know.He scowled when he saw, on distant hilltops, the yellow skeletonsthat would presently be fattened with boards and paper and made thedwelling-place of interlopers. To be sure, they had as much right totake government land as had he or any of his friends--but Andy, being anormally selfish person, did not think so.
From one partially built shack three quarters of a mile away on a baldridge which the Happy Family had passed up because of its barrenness andthe barrenness of the coulee on the other side, and because no one waswilling to waste even a desert right on that particular eighty-acres,a team and light buggy came swiftly toward him. Andy, trained to quickthinking, was puzzled at the direction the driver was taking. Thateighty acres joined his own west line, and unless the driver was lostor on the way to One Man coulee, there was no reason whatever for comingthis way.
He watched and saw that the team was comin' straight toward him overthe uneven prairie sod, and at a pace that threatened damage to thebuggy-springs. Instinctively Andy braced himself in the saddle. At ahalf mile he knew the team, and it did not require much shrewdness toguess at the errand. He twitched the reins, turned his spurred heelsagainst his horse and went loping over the grassland to meet the personwho drove in such haste; and the probability that he was meeting troublehalfway only sent him the more eagerly forward.
Trouble met him with hard, brown eyes and corn yellow hair blown inloose strands across cheeks roughened by the spring winds and sun-glareof Montana. Trouble pulled up and twisted sidewise in th
e seat andkicked the heads off some wild larkspurs with her whip while her tongueflayed the soul of Andy Green with sarcasm.
"Well, I have found out just how you helped me colonize this tract, Mr.Green," she began with a hard inflection under the smoothness of hervoice. "I must compliment you upon your promptness and thoroughness inthe matter; for an amateur you have made a remarkable showing--in--intreachery and deceit. I really did not suppose you had it in you."
"Remember, I told you I might buy in if it looked good to me," Andyreminded her in the mildest tone of which he was capable--and he couldbe as mild as new milk when he chose.
Florence Grace Hallman looked at him with a lift of her full upper lipat the left side. "It does look good, then? You told Mr. Graham and thatMr. Wirt a different story, Mr. Green. You told them this land won'traise white beans, and you were at some pains, I believe, to explain whyit would not. You convinced them, by some means or other, that the wholetract is practically worthless for agricultural purposes. Both Mr.Wirt and Mr. Graham had some capital to invest here, and now they areleaving, and they have persuaded several others to leave with them. Doesit really look good to you--this land proposition?"
"Not your proposition--no, it don't." Andy faced her with a Keen levelglance as hard as her own. One could get the truth straight from theshoulder if one pushed Andy Green into a corner. "You know and I knowthat you're trying to cold-deck this bunch. The land won't raise whitebeans or anything else without water, and you know it. You can plantfolks on the land and collect your money and tell 'em goodbye and go toit--and that settles your part of it. But how about the poor devils thatput in their time and money?"
Florence Grace Hallman spread her hands in a limited gesture because ofthe reins, and smiled unpleasantly. "And yet, you nearly broke your neckfiling on the land yourself and getting a lot of your friends to file,"she retorted. "What was your object, Mr. Green--since the land isworthless?"
"My object don't matter to anyone but myself." Andy busied himself withhis smoking material and did not look at her.
"Oh, but it Does! It matters to me, Mr. Green, and to my company, and toour clients."
"I'll have to buy me a new dictionary," Andy observed casually, reachingbehind him to scratch a match on the skirt of his saddle. "The one I'vegot don't say anything about 'client' and 'victim' meaning the samething. It's getting all outa date."
"I brought enough clients"--she emphasized the word--"to settle everyeighty acres of land in that whole tract. The policy of the company waseminently fair. We guaranteed to furnish a claim of eighty, acres toevery person who joined our homeseekers' Club, and free pasturage to allthe stock they wanted to bring. Failing to do that, we pledged ourselvesto refund the fee and pay all return expenses. We could have locatedevery member of this lot, and more--only for YOU."
"Say, it'd be just as easy to swear as to say 'you' in that tone uhvoice," Andy pointed out placidly.
"You managed to gobble up just exactly four thousand acres of thistract--and you were careful to get all the water and all the best land.That means you have knocked us out of fifty settlements--"
"Fifty wads of coin to hand back to fifty come-ons, and fifty returntickets for fifty fellows glad to get back--tough luck, ain't it?" Andysmiled sympathetically. "You oughta be glad I saved your conscience thatmuch of a load, anyway."
Florence Grace Hallman bit her lip to control her rage. "Smart talkisn't going to help you, Mr. Green. You've simply placed yourself ina position you can't' hold. You've put it up to us to fight--and we'regoing to do it. I'm playing fair with you. I'll tell you this much: I'veinvestigated you and your friends pretty thoroughly, and it's easy toguess what your object is. We rather expected the Flying U to fight thiscolonization scheme, so we are neither surprised nor unprepared. Mr.Green, for your own interest and that of your employer, let me adviseyou to abandon your claims now, before we begin action in the matter.It will be simpler, and far, far cheaper. We have our clients to lookafter, and we have the law all on our side. These are bona fide settlerswe are bringing in; men and women whose sole object is to make homes forthemselves. The land laws are pretty strict, Mr. Green. If we set thewheels in motion they will break the Flying U."
Andy grinned while he inspected his cigarette. "Funny--I heard a manbrag once about how he'd break the Flying U, with sheep," he drawled."He didn't connect, though; the Flying U broke him." He smoked until hesaw an angry retort parting the red lips of the lady, and then continuedcalmly:
"The Flying U has got nothing to do with this case. As a matter of fact,old man Whitmore is pretty sore at us fellows right now, because we quithim and turned nesters right under his nose. Miss Hallman, you'll haveone sweet time proving that we ain't bona fide settlers. We're justcrazy to make homes for ourselves. We think it's time we settleddown--and we're settling here because we're used to this country. We'rereal sorry you didn't find it necessary to pay your folks for the fun ofpointing out the land to us and steering us to the land office--but wecan't help that. We needed the money to buy plows." He looked at herfull with his honest, gray eyes that could so deceive his fellow men--tosay nothing of women. "And that reminds me, I've got to go and borrow agarden rake. I'm planting a patch of onions," he explained engagingly."Say, this farming is a great game, isn't it? Well, good day, MissHallman. Glad I happened to meet you."
"You won't be when I get through with you!" predicted the lady with herfirm chin thrust a little forward. "You think you've got everything yourown way, don't you? Well, you've just simply put yourself in a positionwhere we can get at you. You deceived me from the very start--and nowyou shall pay the penalty. I've got our clients to protect--and besidesthat I shall dearly love to get even. Oh, you'll squeal for mercy,believe me!" She touched up the horses with her whip and went bumpingaway over the tough sod.
"Wow!" ejaculated Andy, looking after her with laughter in his eyes."She's sure one mad lady, all right. But shucks!" He turned and gallopedoff toward the farthest claim, which was Happy Jack's and the last oneto be furnished with a lawful habitation.
He was lucky. The Happy Family were foregathered there, wrangling withHappy Jack over some trifling thing. He joined zealously in the argumentand helped them thrash Happy Jack in the word-war, before he came at hiserrand.
"Say, boys, we'll have to get busy now," he told them seriously at last."Florence Grace is onto us bigger'n a wolf--and if I'm any judge, thatlady's going to be some fighter. We've either got to plow up a bunch ofground and plant some darn thing, or else get stock on and pasture it.They ain't going to over look any bets from now on. I met her back hereon the bench. She was so mad she talked too much and I got next to theirscheme--seems like we've knocked the Syndicate outa quite a bunch ofmoney, all right. They want this land, and they think they're going toget it.
"Now my idea is this: We've got to have stock, or we can't graze theland. And if we take Flying U cattle and throw 'em on here, they'llcontest us for taking fake claims, for the outfit. So what's the matterwith us buying a bunch from the Old Man?"
"I'm broke," began Pink promptly, but Andy stopped him.
"Listen here. We buy a bunch of stock and give him mortgages for themoney, with the cattle for security. We graze 'em till the mortgage runsout--till we prove up, that means--and then we don't spot up, andthe Old Man takes the stock back, see? We're grazing our own stock,according to law--but the outfit--"
"Where do we git off at?" demanded Happy Jack suspiciously. "We got tolive--and it takes money to buy grub, these days."
"Well, we'll make out all right. We can have so many head of cattlenamed for the mortgage; there'll be increase, and we should get that. Bythe time we all prove up we'll have a little bunch of stock of our own'd' uh see? And we'll have the range--what there is left. These squattersain't going to last over winter, if you ask me. And it'll be a long,cold day when another bunch of greenhorns bites on any colony scheme."
"How do you know the Old Man'll do that, though?" Weary wanted to know."He's pretty mad. I rode over to
the ranch last week to see Chip, andthe Old Man wouldn't have anything to say to me."
"Well, what's the matter with all of us going? He can't pass up thewhole bunch. We can put it up to him just the way it is, and he'll seewhere it's going to be to his interest to let us have the cattle. Why,darn it, he can't help seeing now why we quit!" Pink looked ready tostart then, while his enthusiasm was fresh.
"Neither can Florence Grace help seeing why we did it," Andysupplemented dryly. "She can think what she darn pleases--all we got todo is deliver the goods right up to the handle, on these claims and notlet her prove anything on us."
"It'll take a lot uh fencing," Happy Jack croaked pessimistically. "Weain't got the money to buy wire and posts, ner the time to build thefence."
"What's the matter with rang-herding 'em?" Andy seemed to have thoughtit all out, and to have an answer for every objection. "We can taketurns at that--and we must all be careful and don't let 'em graze on ourneighbors!"
Whereat the Happy Family grinned understandingly.
"Maybe the Old Man'll let us have three or four hundred head uh cows onshares," Cal hazarded optimistically.
"Can't take 'em that way," said the Native Son languidly. "It wouldn'tbe safe. Andy's right; the way to do is buy the cattle outright, andgive a mortgage on the bunch. And I think we better split the bunch,and let every fellow buy a few head. We can graze 'em together--the lawcan't stop us from doing that."
"Sounds good--if the Old Man will come to the centre," said Wearydubiously. The chill atmosphere of Flying U coulee, with strangers inthe bunk-house and with the Old Man scowling at his paper on the porch,had left its effect upon Weary, sunny-souled as he was.
"Oh, he'll come through," cried Cal, moving toward his horse, "gee whiz,he's got to! Come on--let's go and get it done with. As it stands now,we ain't got a thing to do but set around and look wise--unless we gospoiling good grass with plows. First thing we know our neighbors willbe saying we ain't improving our claims!"
"You improve yours every time you git off it!" stated Happy Jackspitefully because of past wrongs. "You could improve mine a whole lotthat way, too," he added when he heard the laugh of approval from theothers.
They rung all the changes possible upon that witticism while theymounted and rode away, every man of them secretly glad of some excusefor making overtures to the Old Man. Spite of the excitement of gettingon to their claims, and of watching strangers driving here and there inhaste, and hauling loads of lumber toilfully over the untracked grassand building chickencoop dwellings as nearly alike as the buttons ona new shirt--spite of all that they had felt keenly their exile fromFlying U ranch. They had stayed away, for two reasons: one was a latentstubbornness which made them resent the Old Man's resentment; the otherwas a matter of policy, as preached by Andy Green and the Native Son. Itwould not do, said these two cautious ones, to be running to the FlyingU outfit all the time.
So the Happy Family had steered clear since that afternoon when they hadsimulated treachery to the outfit. And fate played them a scurvy trickin spite of their caution, for just as they rode down the Hog's Back andacross the ford, Florence Grace Hallman rode away from the White Houseand met them fairly at the stable.
Florence Grace smiled a peculiar smile as she went past them. A smilethat promised she would not forget; a smile that told them how sureshe felt of having caught them fairly. With the smile went a chilly,supercilious bow that was worse than a direct cut, and which the HappyFamily returned doubtfully, not at all sure of the rules governingwarfare with a woman.