The brass key chatters on a gouged oak stand, Out past Pecos in the salt-brush land. Fine red silt on the glass pane creeps, While old Dan drinks his chicory and half-way sleeps— Then a sudden tick cuts through the room, Three sharp dashes out of Desert Doom. Dot dot dash, the sounder rings, Shadows jump as the fiddle sings. Wind is howling, the rafters groan, Tapping out panic down the copper line alone. There's dust on the wire, static in the sky, A coded message as the storm blows by. Click-clack tapping out a warning line, Trouble's coming down the border line! (Dust on the wire!) Nine-fifteen by his pocket watch, He snaps his graphite in a greasy notch. Thought he heard a horse, but it's just the gale, Spelling four armed riders off the El Paso trail. Heading straight for the vault at Miller's Bank, Before the sandstorm chokes the water tank. Dot dot dash, the sounder rings, Shadows jump as the fiddle sings. Wind is howling, the rafters groan, Tapping out panic down the copper line alone. There's dust on the wire, static in the sky, A coded message as the storm blows by. Click-clack tapping out a warning line, Trouble's coming down the border line! (Dust on the wire!) He smothers the lantern with a calloused thumb, Hands work the lever till his joints go numb. The iron stove rattles as the winds blow raw, Got to reach the deputy in Pinto Draw! There's dust on the wire, static in the sky, The storm breaks loud as the riders fly! Click-clack tapping out a warning line, We take our stand on the border line! (Dust on the wire!) (Dust on the wire...) Keep tapping out the news...
