chunk stringlengths 7 45.5k | source stringlengths 15 221 |
|---|---|
Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed. [Illustration: HOLD FAST. "Hold fast, brother, hold fast!" shouted poor Sam in mortal
terror at my danger.] HOLD FAST.New Stories No. 5. BY
A. L. O. E.
T. NELSON AND SONS. LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK. H... | A. L. O. E. - Hold fast |
said I, 'I'll climb up to the top o' the cliff,
and then I'll get help and a rope, and we'll draw you up to safety.'" "So I put down my bag, and I pulled off my jacket, for it was clear
enough that I could not climb with them.I knew well, though I didn't
choose to say it, that it would be hard work to get to the top of... | A. L. O. E. - Hold fast |
Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed. NEW STORIES
The Look of the Thing and Other Stories
BY
A. L. O. E.
NEW YORK:
GENERAL PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL SUNDAY SCHOOL.UNION AND CHURCH BO... | A. L. O. E. - The look of the thing and other stories |
"I do not understand you at all," said Agnes; "is it not a good thing,
mother, to give to the poor, to go to church; and to honour the Holy
Bible? ""A very good thing, my child, if done not to win the praise of men, but
from the motive of love to God." "I do not know what 'motive' means," said Agnes. "It is the spring ... | A. L. O. E. - The look of the thing and other stories |
NEW STORIES
BY
A. L. O. E.
No.2—GOOD-BYE. NEW YORK:
GENERAL PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. UNION AND CHURCH BOOK SOCIETY. 762 BROADWAY. 1865. GOOD-BYE. "GOOD-BYE to you, Mr. Aylmer; I'm sorry that we're not to see you
aga... | A. L. O. E. - The look of the thing and other stories |
"And yet Mary's mind was not easy; she had learned enough of God's
word to know that by selling her oranges and nuts upon the day which
the Lord has set apart for Himself, she was not only sinning herself,
but leading others into sin.When little children thronged round her
basket, eager to buy her fruit, Mary could not... | A. L. O. E. - The look of the thing and other stories |
"NEW STORIES
BY
A. L. O. E.
No. 3—GOOD FOR NOTHING. NEW YORK:
GENERAL PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. UNION AND CHURCH BOOK SOCIETY. 762 BROADWAY. 1865.GOOD FOR NOTHING. "GET away with ye, for an idle good for nothing thief!" e... | A. L. O. E. - The look of the thing and other stories |
But what, my young friends, was the end of all this
washing, and beating, and rending?At length a pure, white, beautiful
sheet of paper lay beneath the manufacturer's hands; into this fair
form had passed the rag which a child had called good for nothing!" "But the sheet was not to lie useless.Not in vain had it been m... | A. L. O. E. - The look of the thing and other stories |
UNION AND CHURCH BOOK SOCIETY. 762 BROADWAY. 1865. HOW LIKE IT IS! "I HOPE, aunt, that you did not mind my knocking up the house at twelve
o'clock last night," said Eddy Burns, as he sat down one Monday morning
to the breakfast which had been kept waiting for him nearly an hour. "I own, my dear boy," replied Mrs. Burns... | A. L. O. E. - The look of the thing and other stories |
Oh, I hate ingratitude of all things.A man may be honest,
pleasant, kind—anything that you like, but once show me that he's
ungrateful, and I would not care ever to set eyes upon him again." "Ingratitude is hateful, Eddy, and yet—"
"Oh, don't you try to defend Arthur Knox! "exclaimed the lad, with
increased impatience... | A. L. O. E. - The look of the thing and other stories |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
ONE MILLION FOUR HUNDRED NINETY TWO THOUSAND
SIX HUNDRED THIRTY THREE MARLON BRANDOS
BY VANCE AANDAHL
She liked the Brando ty... | Aandahl, Vance - 1,492,633 Marlon Brandos |
The figure is a man,
and he too is dressed in blue. Suddenly, just as suddenly as it began,
the fighting ceases. "My God," whispers Chester, his cheeks gone pale, "what am I doing out
here?" "Maybe I got the D.T.s," whispers Bartholomew, "but maybe I don't...."
He sits down on the curb and rubs his head in disbelief. O... | Aandahl, Vance - 1,492,633 Marlon Brandos |
Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction May 1952.Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.Freudian Slip
... | Abel, Franklin - Freudian Slip |
But the motor raced madly, and there was no feeling that it
was taking hold.With screaming engine, Herman drove homeward over a
nonexistent road. Inwardly and silently, he gibbered. Six miles down the mountain, he pulled up beside a white-painted fence
enclosing a neat yard and a fussy little blue-shuttered house.On th... | Abel, Franklin - Freudian Slip |
Below, under the two glowing circles, was
the terrifying gulf that had replaced the Earth; and this time, Herman
was somehow convinced, it was not going to hold him up. "Let go! "he shouted, struggling. "Ouch!" He had struck Four-eyes
squarely on the flat nose, and it felt as if he had slugged an anvil.Paying no attent... | Abel, Franklin - Freudian Slip |
"Let
me see if I can get this clear," he said. "I'm a noumenon, not a
phenomenon.In cruder terms, I exist only in your mind. Is that true?" Secundus beamed. "Correct." "If _you_ got amnesia, I and the rest of the human race would
disappear. "Secundus looked worried, "That is also correct, and if that should
happen, you... | Abel, Franklin - Freudian Slip |
Even so, it was possible to score the results.According to Herman's
interpretation, Primus was a case of arrested infantile sexualism,
with traces of conversion hysteria and a strong Oedipus complex. Herman entered the protocol solemnly in his notes and kept going.Next came free association, and, after that, recounting... | Abel, Franklin - Freudian Slip |
Are you afraid that if this unnamable
Person finds out you've botched your job, He'll wipe you out of
existence and start over with a new bunch? "A cold wind blew down Herman's back. "Not us alone, Dr. Raye," said
Secundus gravely. "If the Inspector discovers this blunder--and the
time is coming soon when He must--no c... | Abel, Franklin - Freudian Slip |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Adam Buchbinder, Mary Meehan and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net
JUNIOR
By ROBERT ABERNATHY
Illustrated by WEISS
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced f... | Abernathy, Robert - Junior |
"I don't suppose he understands
_why_, just yet ... but Instinct urges him infallibly to assemble the
materials for his future homesite. "* * * * *
Junior let the rock fragment fall, and began plucking restlessly at a
coral outcropping. "Dear," said Mater, "don't you think you ought to tell him... | Abernathy, Robert - Junior |
Pater and Mater looked around, and froze.Junior had begun paddling again, but this time in a most peculiar
manner--with a rotary twist and sidewise scoop which looked awkward,
but which he performed so deftly that he must have practiced it.Fixed
upright as he was now on the platform he had built, he looked for all
the ... | Abernathy, Robert - Junior |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
PERIL OF THE BLUE WORLD
By ROBERT ABERNATHY
The First Earth Expedition was the scouting
force of the conquering Martians.But c... | Abernathy, Robert - Peril of the Blue World |
""Perhaps we Martians are destined to free this oppressed race from
ignoble servitude!" exclaimed Zesmo. "If we can just paralyze and
capture the machine--" He began adjusting his ray-gun to low power. * * * * *
The creature may have heard our voices, muffled as they were by the
heavy air.At an... | Abernathy, Robert - Peril of the Blue World |
In fact, this remarkable individual was proud of almost
everything connected with himself.This is one of the characteristics
of a certain class of Earthmen, to which this specimen belonged; we
discovered later that the vast majority of the race is educated to a
becoming humility, while a limited group is allowed to con... | Abernathy, Robert - Peril of the Blue World |
"By telling us of imaginary dangers,
the Earthman intends to frighten us away and preserve his sovereignty
over the planet." "That sounds like a plausible reason," I admitted. "But--if he _is_
telling the truth, we are risking Martian lives every moment we remain
here! We should at least check the facts." "Well...." Th... | Abernathy, Robert - Peril of the Blue World |
Righteous Plague
By Robert Abernathy
Complete Novelet of Uncontrolled Weapons
It was a virus, against which the enemy
could make no defense--but a virus does
not distinguish between friend and foe... | Abernathy, Robert - Righteous plague |
_denn nur im Elend erkennt man
Gottes Hand und Finger, der gute Menschen zum Guten leitet._"
Euge looked out through the rear of the truck, at the gray landscape
rumbling away, and guessed that the journey's end was still fifteen
minutes ahead; unless his knowledge of how the Dictator's mind worked
failed him, the pla... | Abernathy, Robert - Righteous plague |
Without his knowledge no sparrow fell to the ground in his borders, and
in his files all the hairs of his subjects' heads were numbered.The great Dr. Euge was only one among hundreds of millions whose work
and rewards and recreations and very thoughts were arranged for their
own benefit; but at the same time he was som... | Abernathy, Robert - Righteous plague |
* * * * *
Long rows of glass cells where mice lived and died by ones and twos
and threes, were in the contagion laboratory, where by Euge's orders
only he and Novik worked now.Less flamboyantly than the Dictator, Euge
liked to be sure, and he repeated his experiments doggedly until the
statisti... | Abernathy, Robert - Righteous plague |
"4
During the speech to the people, the first rockets had already risen
from their scattered launching sites and were soaring at ten, fifteen,
twenty miles per second over continents and oceans.The enemy was not
unprepared; his immensely complex and expensive systems of warning
and defense, radar-eyed, electric-nerve... | Abernathy, Robert - Righteous plague |
"In any case, it is no longer a question of making
war.The enemy has practically ceased to fight, now it is the plague
that must be conquered--"
"I imagine," said Euge softly, "that your statisticians have told you
that RM4 will be pandemic in this country as soon as, or before, it is
in the enemy's. "The other's mout... | Abernathy, Robert - Righteous plague |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
STRANGE EXODUS
By ROBERT ABERNATHY
Gigantic, mindless, the Monsters had come out of
interstellar space to devour Earth.They ... | Abernathy, Robert - Strange Exodus |
Thus began for him a weird existence--the life of a parasite, of a flea
on a dog.The monster crawled by day and rested by night; strengthened,
the man could have left it then, but somehow night after night he did
not.It wasn't, he argued with himself sometimes in the days when he
lay torpidly drowsing, lulled by the lo... | Abernathy, Robert - Strange Exodus |
* * * * *
The crawling descent through the twisting, Stygian burrow had much
that ought to belong to a journey into Hell.... More than that, no
demonologist's imagination could have conceived without experiencing
the sheer horror of the yielding beslimed walls that seemed every
moment squeezing... | Abernathy, Robert - Strange Exodus |
"* * * * *
Westover flexed his hands involuntarily, like one who has been too
long enforcedly idle.In terse eager sentences he outlined for Sutton
the plan that had burned in him during his bitter wandering over
the face of the ruined land.It would be very easy to accomplish
from an endoparasit... | Abernathy, Robert - Strange Exodus |
THE GIANTS RETURN
By ROBERT ABERNATHY
Earth set itself grimly to meet them with
corrosive fire, determined to blast them
back to the stars.But they erred in thinking
the Old Ones were too big to be clev... | Abernathy, Robert - The Giants Return |
Weeks and
months had passed for the _Quest III_ in interstellar flight while
years and decades had raced by on the home world.Bemusedly Llud got to his feet and stood surveying a cabinet with
built-in voice recorder and pigeonholes for records. There were about
three dozen film spools there--his personal memoirs of the... | Abernathy, Robert - The Giants Return |
He still couldn't say just why he had given the order to
turn back.The stars had claimed his heart--but he was still a part of
Earth, and not even nine hundred years of space and time had been able
to alter that.He wondered if there would still be a quiet stream and a green
shady place beside it where a death-weary man... | Abernathy, Robert - The Giants Return |
He studied the data so far gathered.A few blurred pictures had been
got, which showed cylindrical space ships much like the _Quest III_,
except that they were rocket-propelled and of far lesser size.Their
size was hard to ascertain, because you needed to know their distance
and speed--but detector-beam echoes gave the ... | Abernathy, Robert - The Giants Return |
"The vision connection is ready." Knof Llud switched on the screen at the named wavelength, and a
picture formed there. The face and figure that appeared were ugly,
but undeniably a man's.His features and his light-brown skin showed
the same racial characteristics possessed by those aboard the _Quest
III_, but he had a... | Abernathy, Robert - The Giants Return |
For thousands of years men
watched the stars and wanted them and were kept trying by sight of
them--but you can't see the stars any more. "The face stared at him with great eyes full of unspeakable hate, and
spat a word which had not been in the language when the _Quest III_ was
launched. The screen went suddenly blank... | Abernathy, Robert - The Giants Return |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Barbara Tozier and the Online
This etext was produced from Fantastic Universe, January 1954.Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed._This story contains what is, to us, at any rate, a novel
idea--that when we o... | Abernathy, Robert - The Record of Currupira |
"The human race is a good deal like an
amnesia patient that wakes up at the age of forty and finds himself
with a fairly prosperous business, a wife and children and a mortgage,
but no recollection of his youth or infancy--and nobody around to tell
him how he got where he is. "We invented writing so doggone late in the... | Abernathy, Robert - The Record of Currupira |
After a few days he went to a
psychiatrist, who observed the usual symptoms of overwork and worry
and recommended a change of scene--a rest in the country.On the first night at a friend's secluded farm Dalton awoke drenched
in cold sweat.Through the open window from not far away came a
hellish serenade, the noise of fr... | Abernathy, Robert - The Record of Currupira |
Dalton stood up wearily and picked up his suitcase. "I'll check into
the hotel.Suppose we talk this over some more in the morning. Maybe
things'll look different by daylight." But in the morning Thwaite was gone--upriver with a hired boatman,
said the natives. The note he had left said only, _Sorry.But it's no
use talk... | Abernathy, Robert - The Record of Currupira |
With terrible concentration Dalton shifted his fingers and blew
and blew....Piercing and lingering, the tones of the pipes flowed into his veins,
tingling, warring with the numbing poison of the _currupira's_ song.Dalton was no musician but it seemed to him then that an ancestral
instinct was with him, guiding his brea... | Abernathy, Robert - The Record of Currupira |
Produced by Frank van Drogen, Greg Weeks, and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.THE ROTIFERS
BY Robert Abernathy
_Beneath the stagnant water shadowed by water lilies Harry found
the fascinating world of the rotifers—but it was their
world, and they res... | Abernathy, Robert - The Rotifers |
He had worked as
an accountant for so many years that his memory was all for figures now.He bent over once more to immerse his eyes and mind in the green
water-garden on the slide.The little creatures swam to and fro as
before, growing hazy and dwindling or swelling as they swam out of the
narrow focus of the lens; he ... | Abernathy, Robert - The Rotifers |
Mr. Chatham sat down and bent over the microscope.Puzzled and a little
hurt, he twirled the focusing vernier and peered into the eyepiece,
looking down once more into the green water world of the rotifers.――――
There was a swarm of them under the lens, and they swam lazily to and
fro, their cilia beating like miniature... | Abernathy, Robert - The Rotifers |
Then the simple explanation occurred to him, and he switched off the
light with a deep feeling of relief.Harry hadn’t really _known_ that
the water beetle ate rotifers; he had just suspected it. And, with his
boy’s respect for fair play, he had hesitated to admit that he had
executed the beetle merely on suspicion.That... | Abernathy, Robert - The Rotifers |
"They don’t like knowing that they aren’t the only ones on Earth that
can think. I expect people would be the same way." "But they’re such little things, Harry.They can’t hurt us at all." The boy’s eyes opened wide, shadowed with terror and fever. "I told you,
Dad—They’re growing germs, millions and billions of them, _... | Abernathy, Robert - The Rotifers |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
WHEN THE MOUNTAIN SHOOK
By Robert Abernathy
Illustrated by Kelly Freas
[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from IF Wo... | Abernathy, Robert - When the Mountain Shook |
Neena returned his gaze without flinching; then she looked sidelong at
Var, and her lips curled with a proud and tender mockery. "Follow?Why,
I will lead, if his courage should fail him." * * * * *
The old man said, "It is no part of my duty to dissuade you from this
thing. You are free persons... | Abernathy, Robert - When the Mountain Shook |
"Before all," he said finally,
"this is a world where you are free to risk wakening the old tyrants, if
in your own judgment your great need renders the chance worth taking." Neena pressed her face against Var's shoulder, hiding her eyes.In her
mind as it groped for his there was a confusion of horror and pity.Var
look... | Abernathy, Robert - When the Mountain Shook |
"Then, startlingly super-imposed on the cool
progression of logical thought, came a wave of raw emotion, devastating
in its force.It was a lustful image of a world once more obedient,
crawling, laboring to do the Ryzgas' will--_toward the stars, the
stars!_ The icy calculation resumed: "Immobilize these and the ones
in... | Abernathy, Robert - When the Mountain Shook |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
MICRO-MAN
BY WEAVER WRIGHT
[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Fantasy Book Vol.1
number 1 (1947). Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publi... | Ackerman, Forrest J. - Micro-Man |
Of course, "my direction" was very general to him; but he
seemed to be conscious of me.He certainly impressed _me_ as being
awfully different, but what his reactions were, I didn't know. But someone else knew. * * * * *
In a world deep down in Smallness, in an electron of a dead cell of a
piece... | Ackerman, Forrest J. - Micro-Man |
And a shaking little figure cried: "Baviat tertia!...Mortia mea...." as
the Gods struck wrathfully at a small one daring to explore their
domain.For little man Jeko had contrived to see Infinity--and Infinity
was only for the eyes of the Immortals, and those of the Experience who
dwelt there by the Gods' grace.He had i... | Ackerman, Forrest J. - Micro-Man |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
South to Propontis
By HENRY ANDREW ACKERMANN
To the South lay Propontis, capital of
Mars.But between it and the homesic... | Ackermann, Henry Andrew - South to Propontis |
He pulled out his sleeping bag and dropped it on the bare
sand. Don smiled grimly.That was no way to live on the desert, he
knew. The boy burrowed down until he struck the red layer of sand that
retained the day's heat. There he spread his sleeping-bag and crawled
carefully in after taking off his heavy sand-shoes.With... | Ackermann, Henry Andrew - South to Propontis |
He stared about blankly. "It's like a city of the dead," he
whispered hoarsely. "You're right," Don told him. "It is a city of the dead. An ancient,
long deserted city of the Martians, the ancestors of the degenerates
who hold us captive.This band uses it as their base from which they
launch raiding parties." Don had n... | Ackermann, Henry Andrew - South to Propontis |
The boy
jumped as a Martian touched his arm.The gangling travesty on humanity
pointed grimly at a device that alone of the machinery seemed to have
been dusted off and wiped with oil. It was a small motor. The motionless belts and brushes seemed oddly
familiar to the boy. Then he had it!He had seen pictures of just
suc... | Ackermann, Henry Andrew - South to Propontis |
A TEXAS MATCHMAKER
by ANDY ADAMS
Author of ‘The Log of a Cowboy’
ILLUSTRATED BY E. BOYD SMITH
1904
TO
FRANK H. EARNEST
MOUNTED INSPECTOR U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE
LAREDO, TEXAS
Contents
CHAPTER I. LANCE LOVELACE
CHAPTER II.SHEPHERD’S FERRY
CHAPTER III. LAS PALOMAS
CHAPTER IV. CHRISTMAS
CHAPTER V... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
With my advent at Las Palomas, there were
less than half a dozen books on the ranch, among them a copy of Bret
Harte’s poems and a large Bible.“That book alone,” said he to several of us one chilly evening, as we
sat around the open fireplace, “is the greatest treatise on humanity
ever written.Go with me to-day to any ... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
But I made the ride in
safety before sunset, paying the taxes, amounting to over a thousand
dollars.During all our acquaintance, extending over a period of twenty years,
Lance Lovelace was a constant revelation to me, for he was original in
all things. Knowing no precedent, he recognized none which had not the
approval... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
But I was familiar with the simple dance
music of the country, and played everything that was called for.My
talent was quite a revelation to the boys of our ranch, and especially
to the owner and mistress of Las Palomas.The latter had me play
several old Colorado River favorites of hers, and I noticed that when
she had... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
I’ve been at his house often.He was a good man,
but Secession caught him and he never came back.So, Quirk, you see, a
son-in-law will be a handy man in the family, and with the start you
made last night I hope for good results.” The other boys seemed to
enjoy my embarrassment, but I said nothing in reply, being a new m... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
But there is little
recreation on a cow hunt, and we were soon under full headway again.By
the time we had worked down the Frio, opposite headquarters, we had too
large a herd to carry conveniently, and I was sent in home with them,
never rejoining the outfit until they reached Shepherd’s Ferry.This
was a disappointmen... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
“Oh, yes, son,” languidly replied Uncle
Lance. “I’m some strong on the cherish myself, but not when it
interferes with my plans.It strikes me that less than a month ago I
heard you condemning to perdition certain customs of your people. Now,
don’t get on too high a horse—just leave it to Tom and me.We may stay
a week, ... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
The cattle were
compelled to water from the Nueces, so that their range was never over
five or six miles from the river.There was no occasion even to take
out the wagon, though we made a one-night camp at the mouth of the
Ganso, and another about midway between the home ranch and Shepherd’s
Ferry, pack mules serving in... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
Texas hospitality of an early day is too well known to need comment; I
was at once introduced to the McLeod household.It was rather a
pretentious ranch, somewhat dilapidated in appearance—appearances are
as deceitful on a cattle ranch as in the cut of a man’s coat.Tony
Hunter, a son-in-law of the widow, was foreman on ... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
But we dinna see him ony mair.He aye keeps awa’ frae here,
and camps wi’ his wagons when he’s ower on the San Miguel to gather
cattle.He was no content merely wi’ what kye drifted doon on the
Nueces, but warked a big outfit the year around, e’en comin’ ower on
the Frio an’ San Miguel maverick huntin’.That’s why he bran... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
When I crawled out there was that d——d cat
rubbing himself against my boot leg.I stood breathless for a minute,
thinking what next to do, and the cat remarked: ‘Wasn’t that a peach of
a race we just had!’
“I made one or two vicious kicks at him and he again vanished.Well,
fellows, in that dream I walked around that ol... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
There was a doctor in the town who’d been on the
frontier all of his life, and was used to such calls.Well, before dark
that evening we drove into the ranch. “They had got the lad into the ranch, had checked the flow of blood and
eased the pain by standing on a chair and pouring water on the wound
from a height.But Bil... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
You may have a drink too many,
or lack one of having enough.It’s hard to make a close calculation on
you.’
“‘Then I’m all ready,’ said he, ‘for I’ve just the right gauge of
steam.’ He led the way as we entered. It was getting dark and the shop
was empty of customers.Where he ever got the manners, heaven only
knows. On... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
The floor is
earthen, while the roof is thatched with the wild grass which grows
rank in the overflow portions of the river valley.It forms a
serviceable shelter for a warm country, the peculiar roofing equally
defying rain and the sun’s heat.Under the leadership of the mistress
of the ranch, assisted by the Mexican wo... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
He and Uncle Lance being
acquainted, the old ranchero’s matchmaking instincts had, during the
day’s travel, again forged to the front.By roundabout inquiries he had
elicited the information that Mrs. McLeod had, immediately after the
holidays, taken Esther to San Antonio and placed her in school.By
innocent artful sugg... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
Marry an old clock peddler?—not if he had a million! The idea! If they come down here and I catch you smiling on old Camp,
I’ll set the hounds on you.What you want to do is to set your cap for
Nancrede. Of course, you’re ten years the elder, but that needn’t cut
any figure. So just burn a few smiles on the red-headed t... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
There were enough young
mares to form twelve bands of about twenty-five head each.In selecting
these we were governed by standard colors, bays, browns, grays, blacks,
and sorrels forming separate _manadas,_ while all mongrel colors went
into two bands by themselves.In the latter class there was a tendency
for the color... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
Well, now, son, we’ll give them a run for their money or break a
tug in the effort.Tom, just you play to my lead to-day and we’ll see
who holds the high cards or knows best how to play them.If I can cut
him off, that’ll be your chance to sail in and do a little
close-herding yourself.”
We loitered along the river bank... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
On my return, while we were adjusting the garlands
about the necks of our mounts, I again urged her for an answer, but in
vain.We stood for a moment between the two horses, and as I lowered my
hand on my knee to afford her a stepping-stone in mounting, I thought
she did not offer to mount with the same alacrity as she ... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
Several urged me to play the violin; but I was too busy
looking after my own fences, and declined the invitation.Casting about
for the Vaux girls, I found the eldest, with whom I had a slight
acquaintance, being monopolized by Theodore Quayle and John Cotton,
friendly rivals and favorites of the young lady.On my implor... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
Now, if they don’t treat you right at home, come back and
live with us. I’ll adopt you as my daughter.And tell your pa that the
first general rain that falls, I’m coming over with my hounds for a cat
hunt with him. Good-by, sweetheart.”
It was a delightful ride across to the Frio.Mounted on two splendid
horses, we put... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
The next morning
our party included the three daughters of our host.Don Pierre led the
way on a roan stallion, and after two hours’ riding we crossed the San
Miguel to the north of his ranch.A few miles beyond we entered some
chalky hills, interspersed with white chaparral thickets which were
just bursting into bloom, ... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
The night was an ideal one.Crossing the Frio, we followed the divide some distance, keeping in the
open, and an hour before midnight forded the Nueces at Shepherd’s. A
flood of recollections crossed my mind, as our steaming horses bent
their heads to drink at the ferry.Less than a year before, in this
very grove, I had... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
No one even gave me a
friendly nod, while several avoided my glances.Supposing that some
rumor of our elopement might be abroad, I hurriedly finished my meal
and started for the Martins’. On reaching the door, I was met by its
mistress, who, I had need to remind myself, was the sister of my
betrothed.To my friendly sal... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
I had sat down on
the edge of the bed, and was rolling a cigarette as the crowd filed
into the _jacal_.A fortunate flush of anger came over me which served
to steady my voice; but I met their staring, after all, much as if I
had been a culprit and they a vigilance committee. “Well, young fellow, explain your presence h... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
From the ranch books, we knew there were fully two thousand
beeves over five years old in our brand.These cattle had never known
an hour’s restraint since the day they were branded, and caution and
cool judgment would be required in handling them.Since the contract
only required twelve hundred, we expected to make an e... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
The first night at the ranch, Miss Jean and I talked until nearly
midnight.There had been so many happenings during my absence that it
required a whole evening to tell them all.From the naming of Anita’s
baby to the rivalry between John and Theodore for the favor of Frances
Vaux, all the latest social news of the count... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
When I bade her good-by, tears
stood in her eyes, though she tried to hide them.I’d have gambled my
life on her that morning. “Well, we had a nice trip, good outfit and strong cattle. Uncle Jess
mounted us ten horses to the man, every one fourteen hands or better,
for we were contracted for delivery in Nebraska.It was ... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
But the only inequality in that couple as they rode away from
the ground was an erroneous idea in her and her folks’ minds.And that
difference was in the fact that her old dad had more land than he could
pay taxes on.Well, Curly not only saw her home, but stayed for
tea—that’s the name the girls have for supper over on... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
In making the changes,
all I asked was a good grip on the mane, and I found my seat as the
horse shot away.The horses had broken into an easy sweat before the
race began, and having stripped to the lowest possible ounce of
clothing, I felt that I was getting out of them every fraction of speed
they possessed.The ninth ... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
On his first trial over the course, he stripped four
rings, but on neither subsequent effort did he equal his first attempt.Imitating the former contestant, the red-headed fellow broke his lance
and congratulated the winner. The tourney was over. Esther and I urged Miss Frances to ride over with
us and congratulate Qua... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
With the breaking of day the revelers dispersed.Quite a large
contingent from those present rode several miles up the river with our
party.The _remuda_ had been sent home the evening before with the
returning vaqueros, while the impatience of the ambulance mules
frequently carried them in advance of the cavalcade.The m... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
On
reaching the edge of the thicket, Uncle Lance called for volunteers to
beat the brush and rout out the bull.As this must be done on foot,
responses were not numerous.But our employer relieved the
embarrassment by assigning vaqueros to the duty, also directing Enrique
to take one point of the thicket and me the other... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
We have baled all the stray hides separate, so they can
be looked over.But it’s nearly noon, and you’d better all ride up to
the ranch for dinner—they feed better up there than we do in camp.”
Rather than make a three-mile ride to the house, the visitors took
dinner with the wagon, and about one o’clock Deweese and a ... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
Well, I should remark!Five
thousand deposited with Smith & Redman, and I was particular to have it
inserted in the contract between us that every saddle horse, mare,
mule, gelding, and filly was to be in the straight ‘horse hoof’ brand.There is a possibility that when Tuttle sees them again at Fort Worth,
they won’t lo... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
From
timber along the river we cut the necessary temporary curbing, and put
it in place as the wells were sunk.On the third day both wells became
so wet as to impede our work, and on our foreman riding by, he ordered
them curbed to the bottom and a tripod set up over them on which to rig
a rope and pulley.The next morn... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
They were principally old cows and will not be
missed.The calf crop this fall will be short, but taking it up one
side and down the other, we got off lucky.”
The third day after the rain began the sun rose bright and clear.Not a
hoof of cattle or horses was in sight, and though it was midsummer, the
freshness of earth... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
The father
of the swain conducted a small country store at the Mission, and
besides had landed and cattle interests.He was a younger brother of
Don Alejandro, who was the owner of a large land grant, had cattle in
abundance, and was a representative man among the Spanish element. No
better credentials could have been a... | Adams, Andy - A Texas Matchmaker |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.