“Have patience, Wickie.”
“Have —! I’ll go down there and massacree all three of them monstrosities, that’s what I’ll do, by gosh!”
“And lose yore thousand dollars, eh?” Magpie shakes his head. “Wick Smith, you ain’t hardly fit to help us build up Piperock.”
“It’s for the glory of our fair city,” says Buck.
Wick turns around and walks out. He’s kinda all choked up, but I know danged well it ain’t emotion. Me and Dirty feels that the fair city of Piperock ain’t so badly in need of our assistance; so we saddles up our rollin’ stock and goes to Paradise town.
Paradise runs a dead heat with Piperock, as far as city is concerned. When P. T. Barnum said that a fool is born every minute, he might have added that they were all pointed toward Yellowrock County.
We finds several of the above in Mike Pelly’s saloon, and among them is “Chuck” Warner, “Muley” Bowles, “Telescope” Tolliver and Henry Clay Peck. These four disgraces are from the Cross J ranch, but claims Paradise as their native haunt. Also we finds “Liniment” Lucas and “Tombstone” Todd and “Hard-Pan” Hawkins.
Tombstone is so tough that he can wear tight boots on his bunions, and “Hard-Pan” Hawkins keeps books on his crimes. Tombstone draws me aside and gnaws on one end of his mustache, while he cuffs his sombrero plentiful.
“Ike,” says he hoarse-like, “what’s this I’m hearin’ about the hamlet of Piperock? Somebody was a-tellin’ me that they’ve convened up there to respectablize the town somewhat.”
“It’s kinda hard to per-fume the rose,” says I.