Sir Piegan Passes by W. C. Tuttle

perfectly good arrowheads. His conscience, if properly cut to certain lengths, would have made any number of perfectly good corkscrews. Outside of that, Solomon Kane was normal.

Kane had money -- plenty of it; but when it came to earning money by the sweat of his brow, Solomon Kane never even got moderately moist. No, he was too shrewd to earn anything -- except possibly a few curses, which were exploded behind his broad back.

Kane had come to Micaville several years before this story begins -- came with a working capital of ten dollars and an assaying outfit. Micaville was young. A big strike had been made. Prospectors were thicker than the proverbial flea; and great was the need of an assayer. Solomon Kane came at an opportune time -- for Solomon Kane.

It was no trouble for Solomon Kane to determine how much gold a certain sample of rock contained. Not a bit of trouble. He gazed within the crucible, computed the approximate weight of what was contained therein -- and subtracted enough to show barely a trace in his assay certificate.

Thus discouraged, the prospector lost no time in moving on to other ground. Casual conversation had shown Solomon Kane the exact location of the aforementioned sample. What could be more simple -- except the prospector? Solomon Kane was thereby able to pick his prospects, which had been abandoned by the original locator, and waxed fat from his shrewdness.

He owned an unpretentious assay office on the main street of Micaville; still plying his trade. He had sold most of his properties, at a fair profit, you may be sure; but there still remained one piece of property, which Solomon in all his wisdom had not been able to acquire.

It has been said that every man has his price; but Solomon never looked at a price tag. Whether old Cale Winters wanted a hundred or a half-million, it made no difference to Solomon.

Old Cale Winters had no assays made. In the first place, he did not trust Solomon; in the second place, he knew that the ledge in his short tunnel would not run over three dollars per ton in free milling gold. Old Cale Winters knew this; he also knew, from a chance remark, that Solomon Kane wanted the property.

Bush Cleveland, Solomon's right-hand man, had unconsciously dropped a remark, which caused old Cale Winters to go back to his cabin and talk seriously to his family; which consisted of his wife and daughter. They were just about ready to vacate their two claims and move to some other spot.

Solomon Kane looked with great favor upon Jennie Winters, who, with her blue eyes and black hair, and a figure seldom found in mountain girls, was not at all hard to look upon.

Jennie looked upon Solomon Kane and saw a middle-aged, gross, pig-jowled human being, with colorless eyes, no eyebrows, fingers like cucumbers and feet which turned out at an awkward angle when he walked. Solomon Kane was not good to look upon.

Jennie's indifference toward him seemed to only cause Solomon to double his desire to acquire old Cale's property -- for nothing. Micaville, which was still in a half-civilized state, gave no heed to such esthetic things as love.

Whether Jennie Winters married Solomon Kane or not would make no difference to the mineral output of the district, the price of beans, the opening of a new honkatonk or the secret plans to organize a vigilance committee. Micaville was neutral on anything except sudden wealth or sudden death.

The two claims, which caused Solomon Kane to break the Tenth Commandment, were located about two miles from town. Old Cale Winters and his family lived in a two-room log-cabin on a bit of level benchland, just above a deep cañon. About two hundred yards from this cabin was the mouth of Winters' tunnel. The claims were registered under the name of The Jennie and Joe Mining and Milling Company.

Jennie and Joe were twins at birth; but Joe failed to "make the grade," as they say in Micaville. His only claim to posterity was a name in the family Bible and on a worn location notice.

Jennie and her mother had no faith in the Jennie and Joe, and did not conceal the fact that it was better than an even bet that they would starve to death before Cale Winters ever found anything except indications of mighty hard work.

Cale Winters had felt the same about it, until he knew that Solomon Kane wanted the property. If it was desired of Solomon Kane it must be better than a three-dollar-a-ton proposition.

Bush Cleveland was an emaciated, keen-eyed, slouchy individual, who always rolled a fresh cigaret while his present smoke was still burning. In this way he saved considerable on the price of matches. One light would suffice him for the day.

Bush Cleveland, for all of his physical and mental deficiencies, had a nose for gold. He was a human divining-rod. Solomon Kane kept Bush supplied with liquor, tobacco and three square meals a day. This increased Solomon's overhead expenses greatly. Bush's salary amounted to an extra dollar or two per month -- Solomon using the dollar to get Bush completely inebriated, after which he would get Bush to sign an affidavit that he had received his thirty dollars that month. These monthly debauches were blanks to Bush Cleveland, and he never did know what became of his salary -- nor cared. Solomon Kane was a good man to work for.

Bush knew where the real vein could be found on the Jennie and Joe. He had showed it to Solomon, and together they had tested, estimated and traced it until Solomon Kane dreamed nightly of the wealth, which old Cale Winters was keeping from him.