He seemed to have grown suddenly taller; he gazed, brutally
disdainful, into every face. His voice rang through the room. Once
when he jabbed out harpoon-fashion with his fork to pinion a biscuit
the weapon nearly impaled the hand of the Easterner which had been
stretched quietly out for the same biscuit.
After supper, as the men filed toward the other room, the Swede
smote Scully ruthlessly on the shoulder. "Well, old boy, that was a
good square meal." Johnnie looked hopefully at his father; he knew
that shoulder was tender from an old fall; and indeed it appeared
for a moment as if Scully was going to flame out over the matter,
but in the end he smiled a sickly smile and remained silent. The
others understood from his manner that he was admitting his
responsibility for the Swede's new viewpoint.
Johnnie, however, addressed his parent in an aside. "Why don't you
license somebody to kick you downstairs?" Scully scowled darkly by way
of reply.
When they were gathered about the stove, the Swede insisted on
another game of High-Five. Scully gently deprecated the plan at first,
but the Swede turned a wolfish glare upon him. The old man subsided,
and the Swede canvassed the others. In his tone there was always a
great threat. The cowboy and the Easterner both remarked indifferently
that they would play. Scully said that he would presently have to go
to meet the 6.
Pages:
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32