human
I want to engage two rooms and a bath,
gpt
Goin' to stop over?
human
Yes, my wife and I shall be here over night.
gpt
Married? What d'ye want of two rooms, then? Have 'em if you want 'em. Cost you more--'tain't none of my business. Take them two front ones--head of the stairs. Just give a hand an' we'll git yer trunk up, an' quick as the old woman gits the worsh out you c'n have a tub of water--that'll be four-bits extry, though--an' a dollar if I've got to fill it up twict. As they descended the stairs the man's eyes sought the group down the street:
human
Must be somethin's comin' off down to the Red Front. The boys ain't missed a mail sence the day they strung up Red Kelley, an' that's seven year ago, come August the fourth----
gpt
Fifth,
human
They brung Red in on the fourth, an' some of the boys hadn't got in yet, an' they didn't git in till after dark, so they helt Red over----
gpt
That was the third----
human
Is Mr. W. S. Colston here?
gpt
Colston? You mean Y Bar Colston? Yer right, Slim, it was the fifth, 'cause I got a tooth pulled that same day, bein' as the dentist had rode over from Judith to see the hangin'. Why, no, Y Bar ain't here. He gits his mail an' trades over to Claggett.
human
He was to meet me here today.
gpt
Well, today ain't over yet. If Y Bar said he'd be here, he'll be here. Jest go in an' make yerselves to home. You can't count on that tub for an hour er so yet, so if you want to worsh up, go right on through an' you'll find the worsh dish on the bench beside the pump--an', if the towel's crusty from the boy's worshin' up this noon, tell the old woman I said to hang up a clean one.
human
Hurry, Win! cried the girl as she gave her face a final rub with the clean towel.
gpt
We've got just time enough to get into our riding togs. We both look like awful 'pilgrims' and besides, I want it to be just like it was last year.
human
We were speaking of you today, said the minister's wife
gpt
No need to ask,
human
You see, cried Alice, pointing to the clock,
gpt
she started slightly as a volley of shots sounded down the street.
human
Oh! she cried.
gpt
They're shooting someone!
human
No, he smiled,
gpt
Maybe it's Mr. Colston,
human
Colston, of the Y Bar, smiled Cameron,
gpt
No, except through correspondence. I was to meet him here today on business.
human
I heard in Lewiston, a couple of weeks ago, that the Y Bar might change hands and, frankly I will tell you that I was sorry to hear it.
gpt
Why?
human
Well, Y Bar Colston has been a power in this country, and if the wrong man were to step into his place there might be no end of trouble.
gpt
What kind of trouble?
human
Sheep and cattle. The Y Bar outfit has been a sort of buffer between the two factions. If a rabid cattleman stepped in it would immediately mean war, and if a weakling were to take Colston's place the result would be the same, because the sheep-men would immediately proceed to take advantage of him and encroach on the cattle range, and then the cowboys would take matters into their own hands and we'd have a repetition of the Johnson County War--sheep slaughtered by the thousands upon the range, dead cattle everywhere, herders murdered and their bodies left in the ashes of their burned camp wagons, and cowboys shot from ambush as they rode the range. I tell you, Mr. Endicott, I don't envy the man that succeeds Colston as owner of the Y Bar.
gpt
Thank you for the tip. It may, or may not interest you to know that, if the business can be satisfactorily arranged, I myself, am about to assume that unenviable position.
human
And the best of luck to you, said Cameron, heartily, as he extended his hand.
gpt
What one man has done another can do, but your job will be no sinecure. But, come, we're not going to permit you to return to the hotel for supper, because with cowboys in town the place will in all probability be uncomfortably noisy although I will say for the boys that Mrs. Endicott's presence would be a safeguard against any unseemly talk.