Zane Grey

The Lone Star Ranger Zane Grey

A thought kept repeating itself to Duane, and it was that he might have spared himself concernthrough his imagining how awful it would be to kill a man. He had no such feeling now. He had ridthe community of a drunken, bragging, quarrelsome cowboy. When he came to the gate of his home and saw his uncle there with a mettlesome horse, saddled, with canteen, rope, and bags all in place, a subtle shock pervaded his spirit. It had slipped hismind-the consequence of his act. But sight of the horse and the look of his uncle recalled the factthat he must now become a fugitive. An unreasonable anger took hold of him."The d-d fool!" he exclaimed, hotly. "Meeting Bain wasn't much, Uncle Jim. He dusted myboots, that's all. And for that I've got to go on the dodge.""Son, you killed him-then?" asked the uncle, huskily."Yes. I stood over him-watched him die. I did as I would have been done by.""I knew it. Long ago I saw it comin'. But now we can't stop to cry over spilt blood. You've got toleave town an' this part of the country.""Mother!" exclaimed Duane."She's away from home. You can't wait. I'll break it to her-what she always feared."Suddenly Duane sat down and covered his face with his hands."My God! Uncle, what have I done?" His broad shoulders shook."Listen, son, an' remember what I say," replied the elder man, earnestly. "Don't ever forget. You're not to blame. I'm glad to see you take it this way, because maybe you'll never grow hard an'callous. You're not to blame. This is Texas. You're your father's son. These are wild times. The lawas the rangers are laying it down now can't change life all in a minute. Even your mother, who's agood, true woman, has had her share in making you what you are this moment. For she was one ofthe pioneers-the fightin' pioneers of this state. Those years of wild times, before you was born, developed in her instinct to fight, to save her life, her children, an' that instinct has cropped out inyou. It will be many years before it dies out of the boys born in Texas