curved around a natural body of water called Amarillo Lake. He called his town Oneida. There had been a protracted dry spell which greatly reduced the water area. Mr. Sanborn made a mistake when he began erecting his buildings, railroad station and stockyards. Everything was going nicely when along came the rains, and they kept coming. Before long the incensed Mr. Sanborn saw his buildings, railroad station and stockyards standing in four feet of water.
Mr. Sanborn was a man who put up with no nonsense. He went away from there, taking his buildings and stockyards with him to higher ground, their present location, where they would be safe from the clutches of pestiferous Amarillo Lake. He left the name “Oneida” behind and changed the name of his town to Amarillo, perhaps as a taunt to the now frustrated lake. Very quickly, Amarillo swallowed up Ragtown and suffered pangs of indigestion thereby.
Mr. Sanborn, amongst many other merits, had that of being an adroit politician. He wanted the county seat of Potter County for his town and proceeded to get it. As it happened, the cowhands of the great XL Ranch constituted the majority of the legal voting strength. Mr. Sanborn offered the cowboys a town lot each if they would vote for his town for county seat.
The cowboys, proud to become land owners, did so, and victory for Mr. Sanborn was easy. Some of the waddies who were the recipients of the real estate were smart enough to hold onto their lots, to lease but never sell. As a reward for their perspicacity, they in later years became wealthy.
So when Walt Slade strolled along Filmore Street that sunny morning, Amarillo was on its way, but with still some distance to go. Cattle had supplanted the buffalo as the horned kings of the prairie, and the great ranchowners were the “feudal lords” of the Panhandle.
Not that their sovereignty was unchallenged. Already the plow was moving westward, bringing with it that abomination of the oldtimers—barbed wire. Both were and would be productive of trouble.
Yes, Amarillo was on its way, but was still as wild a frontier town as one could hope to find. Lines of cow ponies stood tied to the hitch racks of the main streets, and their riders crowded the hotels, saloons, gambling houses, dance halls and restaurants. Teamsters, railroad workers, and gentlemen of doubtful antecedents did their gentle best to keep things lively, and succeeded. Food consisted largely of canned goods, beef, and wild game. A pile of empty and rusting tin cans marked the rear of every eating place as conspicuously as the sign in front. The “sovereign seal” of the Panhandle might well have been crossed skillets with grease dripping.
At the moment, however, Walt Slade was more concerned with Amarillo’s present than Amarillo’s possible future. He knew that the town was the lodestone for the lawless elements of the section, their favorite spot when in search of diversion. Here they came to drink and carouse, and when the redeye began getting in its licks there was always the chance of somebody doing some loose talking.
Such a character as Veck Sosna could hardly operate in the section without attracting the attention of the local chapter of the share-the-wealth brotherhood. He was very likely a prime topic of discussion at owlhoot conversaziones. So Slade hoped that he might catch a word here or there that would provide a lead which would give him a line on his elusive quarry.
With which in mind he dropped into several of the less reputable saloons, toyed with a drink and listened to all that was said within earshot. But as two o’clock drew near he had not so far heard anything he considered of significance. Finally he gave up for the time being and headed for the sheriff’s office with the inquest in mind.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
