The Untamed | Page 6

at least for a while, an' I was
terrible glad.
"I give the kid a spare room. I sat up late that first night listenin' to the
wild geese honkin' away up in the sky an' wonderin' why I was so
happy. Kate, that night there was tears in my eyes when I thought of
how that kid had been out there on the hills walkin' along so happy an'
independent.
"But the next mornin' he was gone. I sent my cowpunchers out to look
for him.
"'Which way shall we ride?' they asked.
"I don't know why, but I thought of the wild geese that Dan had seemed
to be followin'.
"'Ride north,' I said.
"An' sure enough, they rode north an' found him. After that I didn't
have no trouble with him about runnin' away--at least not durin' the
summer. An' all those months I kept plannin' how I would take care of

this boy who had come wanderin' to me. It seemed like he was sort of a
gift of God to make up for me havin' no son. And everythin' went well
until the next fall, when the geese began to fly south.
"Sure enough, that was when Dan ran away again, and when I sent my
cowpunchers south after him, they found him and brought him back. It
seemed as if they'd brought back half the world to me, when I seen him.
But I saw that I'd have to put a stop to this runnin' away. I tried to talk
to him, but all he'd say was that he'd better be movin' on. I took the law
in my hands an' told him he had to be disciplined. So I started thrashin'
him with a quirt, very light. He took it as if he didn't feel the whip on
his shoulders, an' he smiled. But there came up a yellow light in his
eyes that made me feel as if a man was standin' right behind me with a
bare knife in his hand an' smilin' jest like the kid was doin'. Finally I
simply backed out of the room, an' since that day there ain't been man
or beast ever has put a hand on Whistlin' Dan. To this day I reckon he
ain't quite forgiven me."
"Why!" she cried, "I have never heard him mention it!"
"That's why I know he's not forgotten it. Anyway, Kate, I locked him in
his room, but he wouldn't promise not to run away. Then I got an
inspiration. You was jest a little toddlin' thing then. That day you was
cryin' an awful lot an' I suddenly thought of puttin' you in Dan's room. I
did it. I jest unlocked the door quick and then shoved you in an' locked
it again. First of all you screamed terrible hard. I was afraid maybe
you'd hurt yourself yellin' that way. I was about to take you out again
when all at once I heard Dan start whistlin' and pretty quick your cryin'
stopped. I listened an' wondered. After that I never had to lock Dan in
his room. I was sure he'd stay on account of you. But now, honey, I'm
gettin' to the end of the story, an' I'm goin' to give you the straight idea
the way I see it.
"I've watched Dan like--like a father, almost. I think he loves me, sort
of--but I've never got over being afraid of him. You see I can't forget
how he smiled when I licked him! But listen to me, Kate, that fear has
been with me all the time--an' it's the only time I've ever been afraid of
any man. It isn't like being scared of a man, but of a panther.

"Now we'll jest nacherally add up all the points we've made about
Dan--the queer way I found him without a home an' without wantin'
one--that strength he has that's like the power of a mule compared with
a horse--that funny control he has over wild animals so that they almost
seem to know what he means when he simply looks at them (have you
noticed him with Black Bart and Satan?)--then there's the yellow light
that comes in his eyes when he begins to get real mad--you an' I have
both seen it only once, but we don't want to see it again! More than this
there's the way he handles either a knife or a gun. He hasn't practiced
much with shootin' irons, but I never seen him miss a reasonable
mark--or an unreasonable one either, for that matter. I've spoke to him
about it. He said: 'I dunno how it is. I don't see how a feller can shoot
crooked. It jest seems that when I get out a gun there's a line