So many rough and bad
men, inspired by the time and place, essayed to be equal to Benton.
But they lasted a day and were forgotten. The great compliment paid
to Larry King was the change in the attitude of this wild camp. He
had been one among many--a stranger. In time when the dance-halls
grew quiet as he entered and the gambling-hells suspended their
games. His fame increased as from lip to lip his story passed,
always gaining something. Jealousy, hatred, and fear grew with his
fame. It was hinted that he was always seeking some man or men from
California. He had been known to question new arrivals: "Might you-
all happen to be from California? Have you ever heard of an outfit
that made off with a girl out heah in the hills?"
Neale, not altogether in the interest of his search for Allie,
became a friend and companion of Place Hough. Ancliffe sought him,
also, and he was often in the haunts of these men. They did not take
so readily to Larry King. The cowboy had become a sort of nervous
factor in any community; his presence was not conducive to a
comfortable hour. For Larry, though he still drawled his talk and
sauntered around, looked the name the Texan visitors had left him.
His flashing blue eyes, cold and intent and hard in his naming red
face, his blazing red hair, his stalking form, and his gun swinging
low--these characteristics were so striking as to make his presence
always felt.
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