Monterey High School - El Susurro Yearbook (Monterey, CA)

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EL SUSURRO trouble, urged Bill, as he looked disapprovingly after the two easy-going cowboys. V A feeling of pity must have entered the hearts of the other boys, for by the time Bob and Boots had seated themselves comfortably on the porch and had told Mr. Gupton of 'nother tom fool notion of Fiill's, the boys were on their horses and had started down the road, following the tracks of Bones. My God, Bill, you were right. 'Tis gun play, said Shorty in a scared and trembling voice. ln his eyes was a look of horror and surprise. The faces of all the other boys expressed the same thing. llut poor Bill was the most surprised of all. He had not dreamed of anything so terrible as this. For 'the boys were in sight of what had frightened Bones. It's lllaine a-standing, said Dog'y, and ain't it jackson on the ground P Yap, it's Jackson. cried all the boys at once. But that figure did not move. In a moment all stood with bared heads, and in that moment those men became unfit for jury duty. Each had an opinion. Blaine Stanley. the Northerner, stood with a six-shooter in his hand. At his feet lay old jackson, dead. On Stanley's face was a look of surprise and fright, while the drunken face of jackson was set in a mask of fear. In an hour all Dailey County knew of the murder. The only words that could be drawn from lllaine were: The snake! the snake! The opinions of the boys were expressed by Dell. Wall, old jackson was a drunk, but he wa'n't no snake, as l'llaine's a-trying to make him out as. When this opinion was expressed, Bill Swanson murmured under his breath: Wal, we'll see if snake scare and a snake ain't the same thing. llut great as was the mystery of lllaine's silence, a greater mystery devel- oped in the disappearance of -lackson's right boot the night before he was buried. The day of the trial was hot and sultry, 'the kind that burns the grass and dries the sand. ln the improvised court room sat and stood the entire popula- tion of the county. At the end of the building, which served for church. school and court room, sat the judge, jury, and prisoner. - The boys one by one had given their evidence. Blaine was as silent as when they had found him. lf questioned as to his guilt, he would only answer: The snake! the snake! lt appeared that in a few seconds the judge would pronounce lllaine's sentence. lt was as quiet as a graveyard within the court room. :X step was heard on the threshold. and within the open doorway stood the only missing person, llill Swanson. with a hat box in his hand, labeled blames lilkard, Klen's liur- nishings. Texeco. New Mexico. llc pushed his way through the crowd up to the two by four that separated the court from the audience. Ile took off his hat and mopped his forehead with a white silk handkerchief. then said in his big. friendly voice: Honorable Judge. 21 '

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EL SUSURRO Bill Swanson, Cowboy Detective liy Hlil.l2N Pixnxs Better get them hoss thieves in a hurry, Iiill, and collect that reward your- self. This speech came from a tall, lanky cowboy who had draped himself ungracefully over a cracker barrel. Q Say, if I was you, Bill, I'd try that Swampee Coulee. They might be thar, said Shorty Evans. , Yes, Bill, try the Swampee Coulee. It's nice and green there, added Dog'y Feldson, sarcastically. For the last week poor Bill had had no peace. The boys of the Mule Shoe Ranch enjoyed poking fun at him because he was so good natured about it. llill had been the subject for many a joke. For he was cowboy detective and ranger, and his adventures in running down cattle and horse rustlers were the boys' chief amusement. At present it was directed at Bill's last well-meaning attempt at finding the horse thieves who he knew had stolen the. old man Nl ath- ews' team of grays. For the grays had been found by Dog'y in the Swampee Coulee, where they had sought the tender blades of grass at the expense of llill's peace of mind. But Bill was not interested in their banter. His eyes were on the road. A riderless horse did not suggest horse thieves to him, but it did remind him of dead men, and guns. Say, boys, look at that horse. And itis old Jacksons at that. Hill was out in the road by this time. The boys had left their favor- ite positions on the porch of the Mule Shoe General Store, and were as inter- ested as Bill over the frightened animal. He caught it by the bridle. Yap, that's old jackson's hoss, said llob Carson. 'Tain't come far, replied jim Hays, the cool and calculating one. Yep, but he's come fast, put in Del. Where'd the critter come from P asked Shorty. Come from towar'ds town, answered Bill. He was all excitement now. Let's follow the tracks and find out what scairt this here cayuse. Qld jackson said nothin' lessin gun fire ever'd make this stack of bones desart him, ex- claimed Bill as he quieted the frightened Bones. O Bill! old Jackson's on another rampage like's not and kicked his horse, jokingly returned Hays. Nope, boys, thar ain't no ranger strong 'nough on this here range to kick this hoss and make him trimble like this. I tell you, boys, thar's been gun play of some sort,'l replied Bill. You ainit going to get me chasing over no muskeet fer no gun play. said Carson, as he and Boots johnson strolled back to their places on the porch. lVell, boys, let's ramble. It cant be far. and old jackson may be in 20

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EL SUSURRO gentlemen of the jury. and folks, I come before you this afternoon to give my evidence. I hain't been called for, but I've come just the same for a reason I mean to make plain to you all. I may say some things that will offend you all, but I've come to say 'em, and I'll say 'em. It's 'bout this incident of a week ago. I was the one what got the boys to sarch for jackson. I was there when young Stanley here was found, with the gun in his hand. I also helped to clap Blaine into jail. So I guess that I'm 'bout as well informed as you all is. It 'pears to me like we hain't treated Blaine here right. The cards are agin him. You all hold four aces and a king. I ain't seen none o' us a loaning him a Fifty fer a lawyer from town, nor a-telegraphing his dad in Chicago. I ain't seen none o' us even a-giving him a pleasant smile. All we can do is to make calculations as to the best rope to use and the nearest tree. VVe ain't a-remembering jackson for what he was, a good-fer-nothin' drunk. VVhy I-Blaine Stanley wouldn't hurt a hair on old jackson's head. I-Ie ain't bred that away. He's a college boy and no rough cowpuncher, as we all is. We have all known lllaine fer three years. ever since he come out to this range. Vlfe larnt him how to throw a steer and ride a hoss. But we are ready to ferget this because it looks mighty like he killed old jackson. Did we 'vestigate much? No! we never noticed the lost shoe on Bones' lift hind foot. nor the tracks where jackson had got off the hoss and led him through the muskeet on a short-cut. W e never noticed where Blaine had knelt down and looked old jackson over, even unbuttoning his shirt. VVe never gave no 'tention to them things. A gun and a dead man spells murder, and the gun 1 ' - I in the hands of a man makes him the murderer. hut ta1n't so, Joys. Then llill unloosened the string from the box and drew from its mysterious depths a huge rattler. I-Ionorable judge, gentlemen of the jury, continued Bill as he gingerly held up the snake's head, I discovered this snake. near where we found jackson, after we had put Blaine in jail. He had of course bitten himself because he had bitten somebody. This made me remember the look on both men's faces. Here is the mark of his fangs in his side, and the markiof them in the heel of jackson's boot. And Bill pulled out jackson's missing boot. Old jackson got in the way of the bullet that lllaine had directed towards this here reptile. W'ith his six-shooter he had slipped up onto jackson and the snake, 'in the hopes of breaking the charm it had over jackson. But he was too late. jackson had been too drunk to hear the warning rattle and he didn't know there was any snakes this side of Kingdom Come, until he felt its fangs in his heel. lllaine's eyes were on the snake, but jackson's were, too. .-Xs I said, jackson got in the way of the bullet and of course nothing can resist a six-shooter. While the jury is in session, I am going to be the first to shake hands with Blaine Stanley. ' But he had to make a rush for the honor. The boys were all there, too. Illaine. when he' saw the dead snake. smiled. IeIe's come to, said Del. 22