@@@@@Her fat one-armed husband was one of 457
@@@@@Her fat one-armed husband was
one of themSally replied with details about her little boy that
bored Scarlett sillyShe wondered how soon they'd have supperIt
couldn't be too very long; all the men were farmers and would have to
be up the next morning at dawnThat meant an early end to the
evening's festivitiesShe was right about an early supper; the men
announced that they were ready for it after only one drinkBut she
was wrong about the early close to the partyEveryone was enjoying
it
too much to let it endTony fascinated them with stories of
hisadventures"It was hardly a week before I hooked up with the
Texas
Rangers," he said with a roar of laughter"The state was under
Yankee
military rule, like every place else in the South, but hell- apologies,
ladies-those bluecoats didn't have the first idea what to do about the
Indians
The Rangers had been fighting 'em all along, and the only hope the
ranchers had was that the Rangers would keep on protecting them
So
that's what they didI knew right off that I'd found my kind of
people, and I joined upIt was glorious! No uniforms, no marching on
an empty stomach to where some fool general wants you to go, no
drilling, no sir! You jump on your horse and head out with a bunch of
your fellows and go find the fighting Tony's black eyes sparkled
with excitementThe Fontaines had always
loved
a good fight"What are the Indians like?"
asked one of the Tarleton girls"Do they really torture people?"
"You don't want to hear about that," said Tony, his laughing eyes
suddenly dull"They're smart as paint when it comes
to fightingThe Rangers learned early on that if they were going to
beat the red devils, they'd have to learn their way of doing things
Why, we can track a man or an animal across bare rock or even water,
better than any hound dogAnd live on spit and bleached bones if
that's all there isThere's nothing can beat a Texas Ranger or get
away from him
"Show everybody your six-shooters, Tony," urged A
