Square Deal Sanderson by Charles Alden Seltzer
page 21 of 284 (07%)
page 21 of 284 (07%)
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as fast and as accurately as the next man--or a little faster and more
accurately; to be alert and self-contained, to talk as little as possible; to listen well, and to deal fairly with his fellow-men. That philosophy had served Sanderson well. It had made him feared and respected throughout Arizona; it had earned him the sobriquet "Square"--a title which he valued. Sanderson could not have told, however, just what motive had impelled him to decide to go to the Double A. No doubt the Drifter's story regarding the trouble that was soon to assail Mary Bransford had had its effect, but he preferred to think he had merely grown tired of life at the Pig-Pen--Burrough's ranch--and that the Drifter's story, coming at the instant when the yearning for a change had seized upon him, had decided him. He had persisted in that thought until after the finding of the letters in William Bransford's pockets; and then, staring down at the man's face, he had realized that he had been deluding himself, and, that he was journeying northeastward merely because he was curious to see the girl whom the Drifter had so vividly described. Away back in his mind, too, there might have been a chivalrous desire to help her in the fight that was to come with Alva Dale. He had felt his blood surge hotly at the prospect of a fight, with Mary Bransford as the storm center; a passion to defend her had got into his soul; and a hatred for Alva Dale had gripped him. Whatever the motive, he had come, and since he had looked down into William Bransford's face, he had become conscious of a mighty |
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