Where the Long Grass Blows (1976) Read Free Page B

them, he's a dangerous man. He's the one you've got to watch in this deal, not Pogue or Reynolds."
    Bill Canavan leaned back in his chair. "Those eggs sure tasted good. First I've had in six, maybe seven months. You know how it is in cattle country, all beef and beans."
    "That's why I've got them chickens," Scott said.
    "I told myself someday I'd have chickens and all the eggs I wanted, and I surely have them now."
    Scott took up the pot and refilled their cups.
    "There's something to think on, son. Most folks set their sights too high. They demand too much of life.
    How many meals can you eat? How many horses can you ride? How many roofs do you have to sleep under? Let me tell you, son, the happy man is the man who is content with just what he needs ... just so he has it regular.
    "Now you take me. I've got this store. I do a fair business. I live in the back of it and I've got a couple of acres of vegetables growing out back. I got me more than a hundred hens, layin' eggs like crazy.
    "Down at the edge of town I've got me a friendly Mexican who raises some pigs for me.
    He tends them, he keeps half, I get half.
    "I eat when I feel like it, I do a little business, I set on the porch in the shade time to time, or maybe take a walk down the street and talk with my friends.
    I no longer have to look over my shoulder for fear some lawman is coming up on me, or maybe some member of my own gang is planning to shoot me to have my share.
    "What more do I want? Or need? I ain't eatin' the dust of a trail herd. I ain't rollin' out in the midst of the night to ride around any pesky longhorns, and I don't have to keep an eye out for the law.
    "When I want side-meat, I have it. When I want eggs, I eat all I want. I go to sleep at night and I rest easy, and boy, you can do it, too. Take my advice and forget all these wild ideas. You don't stand a chance."
    Canavan sipped his coffee. "You may be right, and I probably am a fool for not listening, but this is something I have to do. The trouble is ... there's a hitch. I need some money. I need a war chest."
    Scott put down his cup with a bang. "Well, I'll be damned! You come into this country all primed for trouble, all alone, but with no money! I'll say this for you! You've got nerve. I only hope you've got the gun savvy and the brains you'll need to back it up."
    The blue eyes squinted from the leathery face, and he smiled. He was beginning to like Bill Canavan.
    The nerve of the man appealed to him, and the project was one requiring imagination as well as daring.
    "How much do you want?"
    "A hundred dollars,"
    "That all? You won't get far in this country on that."
    "All I need is eating money, but along with it I want some advice."
    He took a thin leather wallet from inside his coat, and from it he took a beautifully tanned piece of buckskin.
    Moving the dishes aside, he spread it out on the table. It was a map.
    Scott glanced at the map, then leaned forward, suddenly intent. It was drawn to scale and in amazing detail, showing every ranch, line-camp and waterhole.
    Each stand of trees, each canyon or arroyo was clearly marked along with straight-line distances from one point to another, heights of land and depths of canyons. He could find nothing that was missed.
    When Scott sat back in his chair, his expression was mingled respect and worry. "Son, where did you get that map?"
    "Made it. Drew it myself. For three years I've talked to every cowhand or sheepherder who ever worked this country. Each one added something, and each one checked what the others had given me. You know how western men are, and most of them can describe a piece of country so you can find your way through it even if you've never been there yourself.
    "As a matter of fact, I've had this country in mind for some time. When I was a youngster I knew an old buffalo hunter who trapped in these hills before he turned to killing buffalo for a living. I learned a lot from him. Then the last two or three years I've been