The Skeleton By B Read online

  The Popular, October, 1909

  The Skeleton

  By B. M. Bower

  Pink, the cherubic Little One of the Flying U outfit, accidentally discovers a grim secret and stands by a friend who is in sore straits

  THE herd was grazing quietly all up and down

  Still Pink did nothing.

  the grassy-walled coulee which opens widely

  Big Medicine took a deep breath,

  into the Hagamore Flat, and Big Medicine was

  twitched his shoulders impatiently, and got up.

  due to be relieved, along with Slim, who was

  “Yuh sure caught me at it, didn’t yuh, Little

  not watching the cattle at all, but was sleeping One?” he said, laughing awkwardly. “Yuh

  unashamed in the sun at the head of the wait till you’re growed up and git a skeleton coulee. Him Happy Jack took much pleasure

  that rattles its bones every time you’re off by in rousing. Pink it was who rode slowly down

  yourself! That’s the way to fix ’em, kid—if

  the coulee rim, looking for Big Medicine and

  I’d done that at the start I’d been a heap better half expecting that he, also, had yielded to the off, maybe.” He glanced down at the

  temptation of a hazy, windless day in trampled, ragged squares of cardboard. “Yuh midsummer. Because there was a possible reckon I’ll hear the bones rattling again, Little chance of tormenting the sleeper, with a grass

  One?”

  blade drawn lightly across his nose, perhaps,

  Pink fidgeted in the saddle. “I hope

  Pink went softly.

  yuh won’t,” he said slowly. Then, as the other

  Big Medicine was sitting upon a still seemed waiting, he added impatiently: hummock of grass, his head propped upon one

  “How can I tell? I don’t know who she was, or hand, his elbow on his knee. He did not hear

  how much yuh cared, or——”

  Pink ride up behind him, so that the other was

  “Oh! Yuh seen it was a woman, then;

  very close before he turned. Pink, looking

  that’s what I wondered. Well, Little One, I’ll

  curiously down at him, saw a picture held

  tell yuh something. That there”—he swept his

  loosely in his fingers—a picture which hand downward—“is all I got left uh my wife.

  seemed to be that of a woman. Big Medicine

  It wasn’t much, was it? And, seeing it made

  was staring at it, lost to everything but his

  me act foolish, I reckon I done the wise thing

  thoughts. When he turned, Pink saw with when I tore it up. Men I can handle. But amazement that his cheek bones were wet and

  memories—and women—they sure do play

  that his eyes glistened.

  the very devil with a man. You take my word

  Pink did not know what to do, and so

  for it, Little One, and don’t yuh never let

  did nothing at all—which was, perhaps, the

  neither one get a hand-hold on yuh.” He

  very best he could have done had he chosen

  twitched his shoulders again. “B-r-r! It’s like deliberately. Big Medcine started, glared rotten whisky, Pink. It has a blamed mean resentment, glanced down at the picture, and

  effect, and yuh can’t get the taste outa your

  then deliberately snapped the cardboard in mouth.” He turned abruptly and picked up the two, tore the pieces with a twist of his fingers, hanging bridle reins of his horse.

  and dropped them to the ground. He set his

  Pink dismounted, stood a second

  heel upon them, and glanced defiantly at Pink.

  beside the horse, then went over and kicked

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  loose a clod of earth from the hummock, than was Happy Jack, for instance—or Slim.

  pushed it over the telltale fragments, and Apparently he lived for the purpose of riding looked up at the other, who was watching him.

  bad horses, making pretty shots, drinking what

  “A good scheme with skeletons is to

  whisky came his way, playing games—any

  plant ’em out uh sight,” he explained. “I don’t game—for money, and, most of all, for

  reckon you’d enjoy having one uh the boys

  heralding his exploits with his megaphone

  run across these pieces and try to josh yuh

  voice. It was extremely hard to believe that,

  about your girl, would yuh?”

  with so much turbulence upon the surface of

  Big Medicine laid his hand heavily

  his life, anything could lie hidden beneath;

  upon Pink’s shoulder. “Kid, you’re all right.

  anything so surprising as matrimony.

  I’d ’a’ gone off like a chump and left ’em

  When he rode back to camp at supper

  there—and I’d likely got into a shooting time, and found Big Medicine declaiming scrape with the jasper that found ’em and

  loudly that, with his eyes shut and one hand

  started asking questions. When a man’s got

  tied behind him, he could beat Patsy making

  the blues he ain’t apt to think uh little things peach pie, and that, if it weren’t for the

  like that. I’m sure obliged to yuh, kid. I wish disgrace of the thing, he would sure tie an

  yuh’d do me another good turn. Forget it, will

  apron around him and learn the bunch what

  yuh?”

  real cooking tasted like, Pink found it hard to

  “I’ve got about the poorest memory

  keep from looking several times at the man’s

  yuh ever heard tell of,” Pink assured him, and

  cheeks, in expectation of seeing some sign of

  made his dimples bear witness that he refused

  the tears which had made them wet.

  to consider the incident as other than a trifle.

  Big Medicine greeted him with a

  Big Medicine hesitated, decided not to

  bellowing laugh, and swept him into a fresh

  speak what was evidently in his mind to say,

  controversy with Cal Emmett over a trivial

  stuck his toe in the stirrup, mounted, and rode matter that had already been worn quite

  slowly away toward camp.

  threadbare, and Pink decided that there was no

  Pink looked after him

  skeleton in Big Medicine’s life; or, if there

  commiseratingly, and was tempted to uncover

  were, it was fast going to pieces, and the

  the fragments and piece them together just to

  incident of the torn picture was not as serious see how she looked. He resisted the impulse,

  as it had seemed to be at the time.

  however, and remounted to turn back a few

  Neither of them would have to stand

  stragglers which were making off across the

  guard that night, and Pink looked forward

  prairie. “No, darn me if I want to dig up other eagerly to a whole night’s sleep. But he found

  men’s troubles,” he said to himself. “She was

  himself wakeful for no reason except his

  homely, chances are, er he’d ’a’ showed me

  vagrant thoughts, though others slept around

  the picture. A man ain’t never much reluctant,

  him. Because his mind clung to the strange

  I’ve noticed, to show up the picture of a good-

  spectacle of Big Medicine shedd
ing tears over

  looking woman that’s married to him.”

  a photograph—Big Medicine, of all men!—it

  He could not so easily forget, however.

  irritated him to hear the man snoring

  He had never suspected Big Medicine, with

  comfortably, louder than any of the others;

  his wide grin and his blatant good nature, of

  there was no mistaking the voice of Big

  ever having rubbed elbows with a trouble Medicine, even when he dreamed. Pink raised which went deeper than anger or revenge. He

  himself to an impatient elbow and listened.

  could not seem to see Big Medicine as a

  “Aw, he ain’t got any feelings about a

  married man; he was not that sort, any more

  blamed thing,” he remonstrated with himself.

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  3

  “I guess he was just loading me.”

  waited until the other had dropped the flap

  He lay down again, and immediately

  behind him, then cautiously dressed himself

  came a vision, startlingly clear and and followed.

  convincing—a vision of Big Medicine’s face,

  When he put a tousled yellow head out

  surprised into revealing the man of him as he

  of the tent, he saw no one at all. He went out, was, with cheek bones wet, and eyes awash

  stood erect by a guy-rope, and listened. Off to with tears. There could be no joke about that!

  one side, beyond the cook tent, he thought he

  Pink thumped his pillow, and tried to think of

  heard some one stumble, and went that way to

  something else.

  look. Fifty yards away, headed straight from

  It seems strange that night happenings

  camp, he saw the man who had left the tent

  nearly always come when a man, however

  two minutes ago—afoot, and seemingly in a

  wakeful he may have been, is just sliding

  hurry.

  away into sleep. Pink was dreaming

  Pink followed him as quietly as he

  irrelevantly of playing a hard-fought game of

  knew how. To that moment his curiosity had

  pool with a drunken Chinaman, when he came

  been absolutely unwarranted, a mere matter of

  back, with a snap, to consciousness. There

  nerves keyed to a pitch above the normal; but

  was the dark, sleep-filled tent, with the heavy now he felt in a measure justified. For to leave breathing of ten or twelve full-blooded men.

  camp afoot at midnight, and in so stealthy a

  Occasionally there was a rasping snort, as

  manner, was, to say the least, unusual and

  some dreamer reached a crisis in his fancied

  deserving investigation. Pink walked a bit

  adventures, but it was nothing of this which

  faster, though he made no more noise than

  held Pink’s breath.

  before.

  Somewhere across the tent was a

  Half a mile went the two, and then he

  stealthy movement—the careful pulling of halted, half ashamed. Before, he had not been body which betrayed brain alert and wakeful.

  quite certain of the man’s identity in that dim Pink lay quite still and watched, though there

  light; but when the fellow stopped beside a

  was no sane reason for so doing. When the

  rock, hesitated, and went down upon one knee

  head and shoulders of a man rose silently

  to hover groping there, Pink knew at once the

  against the dim whiteness of the tent wall,

  man and the meaning.

  Pink’s eyes never left the figure. Whoever it

  “It’s his wife he wants back—what

  was, he was feeling his way cautiously into his there is left of her,” he said to himself. “Yuh clothes—and it was not time for guard relief.

  wouldn’t think a man like him—— And I

  Pink lay like a dead man, with eyes wide

  went and kicked dirt on the picture! But then,

  open; and his nerves were in such a state that

  he tore it up himself, and you’d naturally

  he never once wondered at himself for think———” He turned suddenly, and went attaching any importance to a man’s rising in

  thoughtfully back,, to camp, crept quietly into the night.

  his blankets, and tried not to concern himself

  The dimly seen form rose to its knees,

  over the troubles of Big Medicine.

  felt its way carefully over the unconscious

  It was long before Big Medicine

  bodies of Weary, Happy Jack, and Irish, and

  returned and went unobtrusively to bed;

  lifted the tent flap.

  indeed, Pink guessed that it was near daylight.

  Outside was clear starlight; a breeze

  He was sorry for the man, in a vague, futile

  which had the chill of midnight puffed in and

  way, and was prepared to show him more

  brought to Pink’s nostrils the faintly aromatic friendship than had been his habit. For, while

  odor’s of a dewless prairie. He lifted his head, Big Medicine was frankly sincere in his liking

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  for Pink, the regard was not more than half

  them to their destination.

  reciprocated. A man who is close to twenty-

  As they turned into the main street,

  four does not greatly enjoy being called Little and swung short around the corner of the new

  One, and treated as a child.

  restaurant kept by the widow Wilson, the

  But when the camp stirred to life with

  horse of Big Medicine shied and snorted. The

  the coming of the sun, Big Medicine did not

  rider jerked him back, and lurched drunkenly

  seem to be in need of either sympathy or

  in the saddle, and a child gave a squeal of

  friendship. His grin was quite as wide and

  triumphant joy.

  frequent; his eyes protruded with the same

  “Hello, papa! We rode on the train,

  frank assurance; his voice and his laugh and a man gived me ten cents, and we runned dominated the camp just as they had always

  over a cow and broke her all to pieces. And

  done, since his arrival from Coconino County,

  we slept on a shelf away up, and I falled out,

  Arizona.

  and there’s a big little hill on my head. See?

  Pink felt somehow baffled and Right there! And a man——”

  resentful. If the bones of the skeleton rattled at Big Medicine swooped like a great

  all during the weeks that followed, he could

  hawk, and with one arm swept the child up

  detect no sound, however faint. When a man

  into the saddle before him. With consummate

  has a great sorrow hidden deep in his heart,

  skill, he controlled the horse, which was so

  one expects him to show evidence in some

  terrified that it hesitated between bolting,

  form or other. Pink watched him covertly for

  bucking, and standing upon his hind feet, so

  two or three days, made up his mind that Big

  that he stood still, with his legs shaking as

  Medicine was just what he appeared to be—a

  though they would give way beneath him. The

  wide-mouthed, empty-headed josher, who boy squealed again with delight, and hugged could not take anything seriously if he Big Medicine almost to the strangling point.

  would—and forgot the skeleton.

&
nbsp; “Where’s that lump on your head?” the

  They had gathered the first beef herd,

  latter demanded, with his voice so hoarse and

  and had driven it leisurely in to the Dry Lake

  broken that Pink could scarce make out the

  stockyards; had loaded a train on a hot, windy

  words. “Oh, there it is. Honest to grandma, it’s day; and, when the great door of the last car

  a fright. Yuh didn’t cry, I’ll bet a hoss—did

  slid shut upon the tail of the last steer, they got yuh, Old-timer?”

  upon their horses and raced thirstily down the

  “No siree, Bob Jones! Er—the water

  hill to Rusty Brown’s place—all save Big

  kinda runned outa my eyes, but I didn’t cry.

  Medicine, who had trouble With his horse,

  They just leaked a little bit. And the man—his

  and Pink, who waited to make and light a

  face was dirty, papa! It was just black! —he cigarette.

  gived me a shiny button outa his pocket——

  The two rode slowly after the others,

  —”

  enjoying their brief freedom after the long,

  Big Medicine yanked his horse out of a

  dusty drive. There were horses to be shod, the

  half-formed decision to pitch, and hugged the

  mess wagon to be restocked, and the day was

  child close. “Where— where’s—mamma?” he

  old; they would have that night, at the feast, in asked gently.

  town, and perhaps a good share of the day

  The boy wriggled in his arms and

  following. They would quench their thirst as

  pointed toward the hotel. “She’s over there.

  speedily as might be, but they would not set

  She—she’ll spank me good and plenty, I

  their aching muscles to the swing of galloping

  reckon, when I go back. I runned away, ’cause

  when two minutes of walking would bring

  she telled me to set still and not ast so many

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  5

  questi’ns. A boy can’t set still. Make him