When A Man's A Man by Harold Bell Wright
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page 5 of 339 (01%)
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From the fact that he was walking in that land where the distances are
such that men most commonly ride, and from the many marks that environment and training leave upon us all, it was evident that the pedestrian was a stranger. He was a man in the prime of young manhood--tall and exceedingly well proportioned--and as he went forward along the dusty road he bore himself with the unconscious air of one more accustomed to crowded streets than to that rude and unpaved highway. His clothing bore the unmistakable stamp of a tailor of rank. His person was groomed with that nicety of detail that is permitted only to those who possess both means and leisure, as well as taste. It was evident, too, from his movement and bearing, that he had not sought the mile-high atmosphere of Prescott with the hope that it holds out to those in need of health. But, still, there was a something about him that suggested a lack of the manly vigor and strength that should have been his. A student of men would have said that Nature made this man to be in physical strength and spiritual prowess, a comrade and leader of men--a man's man--a man among men. The same student, looking more closely, might have added that in some way--through some cruel trick of fortune--this man had been cheated of his birthright. The day was still young when the stranger gained the top of the first hill where the road turns to make its steep and winding way down through scattered pines and scrub oak to the Burnt Ranch. Behind him the little city--so picturesque in its mountain basin, with the wild, unfenced land coming down to its very dooryards--was slowly awakening after the last mad night of its celebration. The tents of the tawdry shows that had tempted the crowds with vulgar indecencies, and |
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