THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE GOOSE 



53' 



reader ever think how much one's honesty, 

 respectability, honor and law-abiding habits 

 are the direct result of being constantly 

 under the watchful surveillance of one's 

 family, neighbors and the public? I will- 

 ingly confess that even the freedom which 

 the wilderness offers from the restraints of 

 the laws of custom and enacted laws ma- 

 terially affects my own conduct. By what 

 right did I now dog the steps of the fair 

 young mountain lass? The wonderful 

 marksmanship of this phenomenal girl made 

 it very evident that she did not desire my 

 company, but it was also equally evident 

 that she could not be classed as an " unpro- 

 tected female. - 



A short distance to my left was a huge 

 black obsidian cliff, the glassy walls of which 

 rose in a precipice to a considerable height ; 

 on account of its peculiar formation this 

 glistening crag had several times attracted 

 my attention, and on another occasion I 

 would have been curious enough to have 

 given it a closer inspection. Once as I 

 turned my head in that direction I thought I 

 heard a laugh, and later concluded that it 

 was only imagination on my part ; but now, 

 as I again faced the cliff, I unmistakably 

 heard a derisive shout and was considerably 

 relieved to see silhouetted against the sky 

 the girlish figure of the witch-bear. Then I 

 heard a shout behind me, and, looking back, 

 was astonished to see Big Pete on the other 

 side of the chasm and apparently unable to 

 recross that dark fissure in the mountain 

 side. Hastening to the brink of the canyon 

 I was dumfounded to find the lariat missing. 

 "She tuk 'em both," exclaimed Big Pete, 

 sheepishly, "and," he added, "I hain't been 

 fitting no new spigot in the cider bar'l, 

 either. Say, Le-Loo, she is too many for 

 Pete Darlinkel — guess I must be getting 

 sort of wind-shook, or maybe this is all a 

 pipe dream and will be all right when I 

 wake up agin." 



"It is not a pipe dream, Pete, unless we 

 are both dreaming the same dream together, 

 but to me things look very real; my feet are 

 too sore from clambering over the hog-back 

 after that red-collared bighorn, that Mary's 

 Lamb, for it to be a dream," I answered. 

 "Besides," I continued, "I never remember 

 being so ravenously hungry in a dream. 

 But, for the land's sake, man ! how did that 



girl manage to throw you over the chasm 

 and by what magic art did you both make 

 yourselves invisible so suddenly?" 



"Dog goned, if I thought of it afore, but 

 't must 'ave seemed queer to you, and no 

 mistake; thought I'd jined the bunch and 

 wuz one of 'em, didn't ye?" And Pete 

 chuckled to himself. "But," he continued, 

 "it's simple 'nough to understand. It wuz 

 like this: When I clum to the top of tha' 

 rock it wuz jist in time to see the gal scrooch 

 down an' run along the edge of the cliff like 

 a deer with a wolf at its heels, and I tuk 

 after her; 'bout tha' time you scrambled up 

 top o' the rock, makin' as much noise as a 

 bunier bull. You'd made up your mind it 

 wuz a straightaway run, an' you never onct 

 looked anywhar but in front of you. The 

 gal swung herself over the crack an' by the 

 time I'd got well started agin she wuz at 

 t'other crossin' with the Bo-Peep crook in 

 her hand, clawin' the t'other rope over to 

 her. When I turned back agin she wuz 

 back ahead of me and had both ropes. 

 Slick and sa'tin, she beats me ! Say, Le-Loo, 

 tha' hain't an Injun buck on the Divide that 

 I can't run down as easy as a timber- wolf 

 can run down a yearling; but the way tha' 

 gal lifts up her fut is a caution to the nation. 

 She played with me; tha's what she did, and 

 then while you wuz off moonin' somewhar, 

 she tucks the ropes around her purty waist 

 and skulks off like a coyote. I hollered to 

 you, but you wuz a wool-gatherin', an' so I 

 jist sot down an' waited for ye to get 

 through with your smoke. I'm outgener- 

 aled by a gal, that's what I am! an' you 

 want me to believe that she is nothing but a 

 common oronery woman like I see at the 

 settlement? Waugh!" 



We had seen no game since we had lost 

 the bighorn; the sun ball hung low in the 

 heavens and it appeared to me that there 

 was every prospect of a supperless night; 

 but Big Pete had evidently no such idea, and 

 he " 'lowed" that he would "mosey 'round 

 a bit an' kill some small varmints for grub." 



There seemed to be plenty of mountain 

 lion signs, and I was surprised that they 

 should frequent such high altitudes, but 

 Pete told me that they were up here after 

 marmots, and were all sleek and fat on that 

 diet, and I would not have been surprised if 

 my wild comrade proposed to feast on one 



