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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 15, 1913)
ft V .f I ? 4 U8fflK Br 1 VOS HPBrr. . - Illustraiioasy 8YNOP8I3. IIIU Cannon, tlio bonanza king, anil hla daughter, Hone, who liorl passed up Mr. Cornelius Ityan's bull at San Francisco to accompany her father, arrlvo at Antelopo. pomlnlck Hyan calls on his mother to beg n hall Invitation for his wife, and In refused. Tho determined old lady refused to recognlzo lior danghtcr-ln-law. Dom lnlrk hud been trapped Into u marrlago with Hernlco Iverson, n stenographer, Beveral years liln senior Sho squanders his tnonev. they havo frequent quarrels, and lie slips away Cannon and hid daughter nrc imoucI In at Antelope. Domlnlrk Itynn In rescued from storm In uncon scious condition and brought to Antelope, betel. Antelope In cut off by storm, Iloso Cannon muses Domlnlrk hack to life. Two weeks later Hernlco discovers In it paper where husband Is and writes letter trying to smooth over dltlleultles between them. Domlnlck at last Is able, to join fellow snowbound prisoners In hotel par lor He loses temper over talk of Uuford, nn nrtor. After throo weeks, end of Im prisonment Is seen. Telegrams and mall nrrlve Domlnlck nets letter from wife. Telia Hose lio doesn t love wlfo, and never did Stormbound people begin to depart. Hose and Uomlnlrk embrace, fathor sees them and demands an explanation. Hobo's brother Gene Is made, manager of ranch, and Is to got It If he stays sober u year. CHAPTER IX (Continued.) At dinner that evening Gone was very tulkatlvo. He told of his life on tho ranch, of Itc methodical monot ony, of Its seclusion, for ho saw little of hla neighbors and seldom went In to tho town. Iloso listened with eager Interest, und the old man with a Bulky, glowering attention. At Intervals ho Hliot n piercing look at his boy, oylng lilm sldowlBo with a cogitating Intent iicsH of ohsorvnllon. IIIh , remarks were few, hut Gone wan bo loquacious that there was little opportunity for another voice to bo heard. Ho prat tled on llkn n hnppy child, recounting the minutest details of his life after tho fashion of those who llvo much alone. , In the light of tho crystal lnmp that spread a milled shade of yellow silk over tlv. center of the table, ho was aeon to bo quite unllko his fathor or Bister. His Jot-black hair and uniform ly palo skin resembled IiIb mother's, but his face in its full, rounded con tours, slightly turned-up nose, and eyebrows as thick aB strips of fur, had a heaviness hers had lacked. Somo pcoplo thought him good-looking, and thcro was a sort of unusual, Latin plcturesqueness In the combination of his curly black hair, which he wore rising up In a bulwark of waves from his forehead, his white skin, nnd tho small, dark mustache, dollcato aB an eyebrow, that shaded his uppor Up. It was one of his father's grievances ngalnst him that ho would havo made a pretty girl, and that his soft, affec tionate character would havo boon qulto charming In a woman. Now, listening to him, It seemed to the older man aB If It woro Just tho kind of talk one might expect from Gcno. Tho fnthor had difficulty In suppress ing a Bnort of dorlsion when ho heard tho young man recounting to Hobo his troubles with his Chinese cook. Before dinner was ovor Qcno ex cused himself on tho plea that he was going to the theater, "I'm such a hayseed now," ho said as ho roso, "that I don't wont to miss n thing. Haven't seen a play for six months and I'm Just crazy to see any thing, "Monte Chrlsto," "Undo Tom's Cabin," "East Lynn." I'm not par ticular, anythlug'U suit me." "Don't you go over to San Lula?" growled his fathor sulkily, "They have plays thcro sometimes, I sup pose." "Oh, yes, but I'm keeping out of harm's way. Tho boys In Snn Luis don't understand and I'm not going to put myself In tho wiy of temptation. You know, father, 1 want that ranch." Ho turned a laughing glnnco on his father; nnd tho old mnn, with it sheepishly-discomfited expression, grunted an unintelligible reply nnd bent over his plato. Ho did not raise Ills head till Qono had left tho room, when, looking up, ho leaned back In his chair and said with a plaint! vo sigh: "What ft damned fool that boy Is!" Rob wob up In arms at once. "Why, papa, how can you say that! Especially when you seo how Iio'b Im proved. It's wonderful. He's another man. You can toll In a inlnuto ho's not been drinking, ho takes suoli an Interest In everything and It? so full of work nnd plans." "Is ho?" said her fathor dryly. Maybo so, but that don't prevent him from being a damned fool." "You're unjust to deno. Why do -ou think ho's a fool?" "Just because ho hnpponB to be ono. You might ns well ask mo why I think the sun rises In tho cast mid sots in tho wost. That's what It does, and when I say It does, I'm not criticizing or complaining, I'm only stating tho plain facts," Hose made a murmur of protost nnd ho went on. "You're queer cattle, you women. I suppose a feller could llvo In tho world a hundred yours and not under stand you. Thuro's Delia Ryan, for example, tho bralnlost woman I kpow, could give moBt men cards and spades and beat 'cm Jianda down. Last night nt Rocky liar thoy wero telling mo that sho's written to tho oporntor thero and told him she'll get him n posi tion hero In tho Atlantic and 1'aclflc Cnblo Coravapy, In which sho's a largo ENS OflLDBEN G&RALMNE BONNER Author "TiiB rOTO. L I ' ! S - Scp' r .'- CojjyrigU ICCiSjtjyTJicBODBS'MERRILL CO. stockholder, that'll double his salary and glvo hlra a chanco he'd never havo got In this world. Sho wants to pay oft a mortgage on a ranch Perley has In tho Sacramento Valley and she's sent Mrs. Porloy a check for Ave hundred dollars. Sho's offered Wllloughby a ilrst-rato Job on tho Red Calumet group of mines near Sonora In which Con had n controlling Inter est, and sho's written to tho doctor to romo down nnd become one of the house physicians of tho St. Flloraena Hospital, which sho prnctlcnlly runs. She's rendy to do all this because of what they did for Domlnlck, nnd yet she, hla own mother, won't glvo tho hoy a cent nnd keeps him on starva tion wages, Just because sho wants to splto his wife." Ho looked at his daughter ncrosB tho table with nnrrowed eyes. "What have you got to say for yourself after that, young woman?" ho demanded. Rose had ovldcntly nothing to say. Sho raised her eyebrows and shook her hoad by way of reply. Her face, In the flood of lumpllght, looked palo and tired. Sho was evidently dlBtralt nnd deproBsed; a very different-looking Roso from tho girl he hnd taken awny with him four weeks earlier. Ho regarded her for an anxiously-con-templatlvo moment and then said: "What's tho matter? 8oemB to mo you look Bort'or peaked." "I?" sho queried with a surprised start. "Why, I'm quite well." "Well's you wero beforo you went up to tho mines?" A color camo into her cheeks and sho lowered her eyes: "I'm a llttlo tired, I think, and that always makes mo look palo. It was a hard sort of trip, nil those hours In tho sleigh, and that hotel at Rocky Bar was a dreadful place. I couldn't sloop. Thero was a cow somewhere near It sounded ns If It wero In tho next room and tho roosters all bo gan to crow in tho mlddlo of tho night. I'll be all right to-morrow." Her father drew his coffee-cup toward him and dropped In a lump of sugar. No word had passed betweon him nnd his daughter ns to tho scene ho had witnessed two days beforo In tho parlor of Pcrlcy's Hotel. She wbb Ignorant of tho fact that ho had seen It and ho Intended thnt she should re main Ignorant of it. Hut tho next morning ho hnd had an interview with Domlnlck Rynn, In which tho young man, confronted with angry questions and gondod past rcsorvo by ahamo and pain, hnd confessed tho misery of his marriage and tho lovo that In an un guarded moment had slipped boyond his control. Cannon had said llttlo to him. Bo yond tolling him that ho must not seo MIbb Cannon again, his comments on Domlnlck's confessions hnd been brief and non-committal. It wns not Beforo Dinner Wss Over cuted Himself his business to preach to Delia Ry an's boy, and a largo experience of men had given him a practlcully lim itless tolerance of any nnd nil lnpsos of which tho human anlmnl Is capable. Thoy only concornod hltn as they bor on his own affairs. In this particular case they did bear on hla affairs, close ly and Importantly, on tho affair of nil others dearest and nearest to him tho happiness of his daughter. Ho know that In this throo weeks of Im prisonment sho had com to feel for Domlnlck Rynn a sentiment sho had never beforo felt for any man. Ho had seen her In tho young man's arms, and, knowing Roso as he knew her, that was enough. Driving down from Antelope in tho sleigh ho thought about it hard, hard er than ho hud ever before In his llfo thought of any sentimental complica tion. Ho wns onrngpd coldly and grimly enraged that hla girl should havo stumbled Into such a pitfall. Hut It was not his habit to waBto time and forco In tho ludulgcnc of profitless anger. Tho thing had happened. Rose, who had been courted many tlmos and never warmed to moro than pity for hor unsuccessful suitors, hnd suddenly, by n fateful, unpremeditated f;i rl Gene Ex- ehancc, mot hor mate tho mnn sho loved. And tho most mnddonlng part of if wns that ho was tho man of all others hor father would havo chosen for her had such a choice been pos sible. Ho bit on his cigar, turning It over between his teeth, nnd looked side wise at her as sho sat silent In tho sleigh beside him. Sho was unques tionably pale, palo nnd listless, her body wrapped In enveloping furs, sunk In an attltudo of weariness, her eyos full of dejected reverie. Even to his blindly-groping, masculine perceptions hor dlBtralt looks, hor dispirited si lence, told of melancholy preoccupa tion. Sho was not happy his Rose, who, If Bho had wanted It and he could hav bought, begged or stolen It, would huv had tho moon. To-night, In her white dresB, tho mellow radiance of th lamp throw ing out hor figure against the shadowy richness of the dining-room walls, she bore the same appearance of despon dency. Hor luster was dimmed, her delicate skin had lost Its dazzling, sep arated bloom of pink nnd white, hor glnnco was absent and unresponsive Never, slnco the death of her mother, now ten years back, hod ho seen her when It was so obvious that sho har bored an inner, unexpressed senB of trouble. "I guess the city's tho best place for you," he Bald. "Roughing It don't seem to suit you If cowb and chickens keep you awake all night. I've seen tho tlmo when tho hotel at Rocky Uar would have been considered th top notch of luxury. I wish you could boo the places your mother lived In when I first took her up here. You're a spoiled girl, Rose Cannon." "Who spoiled me, I wonder?" sho said, looking at him with a gleam of humor In hor eyes. "W'ro not calling names to-night," he answered, "anyway, not since Gene's gone. AH my deslro to throw things and be ugly vanishes when that boy gets out. So tho noises at Rocky Har kept you awake?" "Ycb, nnd I wnB wakeful, anyway." Sho looked down nt her cup, stir ring her coffee. He thought she ap peared conscious nnd said: "What made you wakeful, guilty conscience?" "Guilty conscience!" sho repeated In a ton thnt was full of Indignant surprise. "Why should I have a guilty conscience?" "Lord knows l Don't lire off these conundrums nt me. I don't know ull your secrets, honey." She did not nnswer. Ho glanced furtively at hor and saw that her face had flushed. Ho took a cigar from tho box the butler had set at his el bow and bit off tho end. "How should I know the secrets of a young lady Ilk you? A long tlmo ago, perhaps, I used to, after your mother died and you wero my little Rosey, fourteen years old. Lord, how cunning you were then! Just begin ning to lengthen out, n little woman and a little girl, both In one. You didn't havo secrets In those days or wakeful nights cither." He applied a match to the end of tho cigar and drew nt It, hts enrs strained for his daughter's reply. She again mad none and ho shot a quick glance nt her. Sho wns Btlll stirring hor coffee, her oycbrowB drawn to gether, her eyes on tho swirl of brown In tho cup. Ho settled himself In his chair, a bulky figure, his clothes ribbed with crenBos, his head low bo tweon his shoulders, and a reek of cigar smoke Issuing from his lips. "How'd you llko It up there, any way?" "Up where?" "Up at Antelope. It was a sort of strange, now experience for you." "Oh, I liked It so much I loved part of It. I likod tho pcoplo much bettor than tho people down horo, MrB. Per ley, nnd Cora, and Perley, and Wll loughby did you over know a nicer man than Wllloughby? and Judge Waahburne. Ho was a real gentle man, not only In his mannerB but down In Itla heart. And even Pcrloy's boy, ho wob so natural and awkward and honost. I felt dlfforent from what I do hero, moro myself, less as If out sldo things were Influencing mo to do things I didn't .always llko to do or mean to do. I felt as If I woro doing Just what I ought to do it's hard to express it aB If I wero being truo." "Oh," Bald hor father with a falling Inflection which lud a sound of Big- nuicnut comprehension. "Do you know what I menn?" alio asked. "I can make a sort of guess at It." Ho puffed his cigar for a moment, then took It from his mouth, eyed tho lit end, nnd said "How'd you llko Domlnlck Rynn? You haven't Bald anything about him." Hor voice, In answering, sounded low nnd careful. Sho spoko slowly, as If considering her words: "I thought ho was very nice, and good-looking, too. Ho's not n bit llko Cornelia Rynn, or his mother, either. Cornelia hns such red hnlr." "No, looks like tho old man. Good deal llko him In chnrncter, too. Con Rynn wns tho best feller In tho world, hut not hnrd enough, not enough grit. His wife had It though, hnd enough for both. If It hadn't been for her, Con would never havo amounted to anything too soft nnd good-natured, and tho boy's llko him." "How?" Sho raised her head and looked directly at him, hor lips Blight ly parted, "Soft, too, Just tho same wny, soft hearted. An ensy mnrk for nny ono .with a hard-luck story and not too many scruplos. Why did ho marry thnt woman? 1 don't know anything about It, but I'd llko to bet sho saw tho stuff he was made of mid cried and teased and nagged till sho got him to do It." "I don't see that ho could have don Miythlng else." "That's a woman's a young girl's vlow. That's tho view Domlnlck him self probably took. It's the sort of Idea you might expect him to have, something ornamental nnd Impracti cal, that's all right to keep in tho cup board and take out and dust, but that don't do for cvory-day ubo. That sort of thing is nil very well for a girl, but it doesn't do for a man. It's not for this world and our times. Maybo it was nil right when n feller went round In armor, fighting for unknown damsels, but It won't go In California today. Tho womnn was a working woman, sho wasn't any green girl. She earned her living In an ofllco full of men, and I guess there wasn't much she didn't know. She saw through Domlnlck nnd gathered hlra in. It's all very well to b chlvnl rouB, but you don't want to bo a con founded fool." "Are you a 'confounded fool when you'ro doing what you think right?" "It doponds on what you think right, honey. If It's going to brenk up your life, cut you off from your kind, make an outcast of you from your own folks, and a poverty-stricken outcast nt that, you'ro a confounded fool to think It's right. You oughtn't to let yourself think so. That kind of a moral nttltudo Is a luxury. Women enn cutlvato It because they don't havo to get out In tho world and fight. They keep Indoors and get taken care of, and tho queer Ideas they have don't hurt anybody. Dut men " He stopped, realizing that perhaps he was talking too frankly. He had long known that Roso harbored these Utopian theories on duty and honor, which he thought very nice and pretty for her nnd which went gracefully with her chnractcr as a sheltered, cherlshod, and unworldly maiden. It was his desire to see what effect tho conversation was having on her that made him deal so unceremoniously with Ideals of conduct which wero all very well for Bill Cannon's daughter but wero ruinous for Domlnlck Ryan. "If you llvo In ho world you've got to cut your cloth by Its measur.e," ho continued. "Look at that poor devil, tied to n woman that8 not going to let him go If she can help It, that he doesn't care for " "How do you know ho doesn't caro for her?" The Interruption camo in a tone of startled surprise and Roso stared at him, her eyes wide with It. For a moment tho old man wns at a loss. Ho would havo told any Ho rather than have let her gueBB his knowlodgo of tho situation nnd tho In formation given him by Domlnlck. Ho realized that his zeal had made him Imprudently garrulous, and, gazing at her with a slightly stupid expres sion, said In a low tone of self-Justification: "Well, that's my Idea. I guessed it. I've heard ono thing and another hero and thoro and I've come to tho con clusion that there's no love lost be tween them. It's tho natural outcome of tho situation, anyway.1' "Yes, perhaps," sho murmured. Sho placed her elbow on the table and pressed tho tips of her flngerB against tor cheek. Her hand and arm, re vealed by her loose laco sleeve, looked as If cut out of Ivory. "And then," went on her fathor re morselessly, "tho results of being a confounded fool don't Btop right there. That's on of tho worst things of al lowing yourself th luxury of foolish ness. Thoy go on roll right along llko a wheel started on a down-hill grade. Somo day that boy'll moot tho right woman tho on ho really wants, the ono that belongs to him. Ho'll bo able to stand It all right till then. And then ho'll realize Just what he's done and what he'B up against, and things may happen." Tho smoko wreaths were thick in front of his face, and peering through them he saw tho young girl move her fingers from hor cheek to her fore head, whore sho gently rubbed them up and down. "Isn't that nbout tho alzo of it?" he queried, when alio did not answer. "Yes, maybo," she said In n voice that sounded mufllcd. "It'll bo n pretty tough proposition nnd It's bound to happen. A decent feller llko that Is just the man to fall In lovo. And he'd bo good to a wom an, he'd mako her happy. Ho's a good husband lost for some nl.co girl." Robo's flngors ceased moving across her forehead. Hor hand rested thoro, shading her oyes. For a moment tho old man hla vision precipitated Into the half-understood wretchedness of Domlnlck Rynn's position forgot her, and he said In a hushed voico of feel ing: "By God, I'm sorry for tho poot boy!" His daughter' rose suddenly with a rustling of crushed silks. Tho sound brought him back In an Instant and ho loaned over tho arm of hts chair, hla cigar In his left hand, his right wav ing the smoke wrenths from before hla face. Rose's hand, pressing hor crumpled napkin on tho table, ahono pink In the lnmpllght, hor shoulder gleamed white through Its Inco cover ing, but her faco wns averted. "Going up now?" ho asked, leaning still farther over tho chair-arm to see her boyond tho lamp's wide shade. Sho appeared not to hear and moved toward tho door. "Going to bed already, Rosey?" ho asked In n louder key. "Yofl, I'm thed," hor voice camo a llttlo hoarso and sho did not look at him. At tho doorway sho stopped, her hand on tho edge of the portiere, and without turning, cleared her throat and said: "Tho cow and tho chickens wero too much for mo. I'm too sleepy to talk any moro. Good night, papa." "Good night, Rosoy," he answered. I Tho portlero fell softly behind her, ( and her footfall vus lost In tho thick ness of tho carpets. Though ho hart not soon her fnce, her fathor had an alarwlnc and almoBt terrifying Idea, that his dnrllng had left tho table In tears. Ho sat on for some time, stonily mo tionless, Bavo for tho movement of his lips as ho puffed out clouds of smoko. Tho soft-footed servants, coming to clear the table, fled before his growled command to "got out nnd let mo alone." As ho smoked ho looked straight before him with fixed, unwinking eyes, his faco set In furrows of thought. At long in tervals ho Btlrred In bis chair, pon doroualy, llko nn inert, heavy animal, nnd now nnd then ho omitted n ahort sound, llko n grunted comment on some thought, which, by Its biting suddenness, seemed to force an ejac ulation out of him. CHAPTER X. Domlnlck Comes Home. Three days after tho return of th Cannons, Domlnlck Ryan also camo homo. Ho had answered Berny'a let ter the day tho Cannons left, a few hourB nftcr that Interview with th Bonanza King, in which, driven to bay by the old man's questions, ho had torn the veil from his married life. After that there was a period of several hours when ho sat In his room thinking over what had happened. It seemed to him that he had played a dastardly part. Ho saw himself a creature of monumental, gross selfish ness, who had cajoled a young girl, In a moment of softness and senti ment, into an action which had don nothing but dlstresa and humiliate her. He, who Bhould have been tho strong one, had been weak. It was ho who should havo Been how thlnga were going; he, tho married man, who hnd allowed hlmsolf to feel and to yield to a lovo that ought to have been hidden forever In his own heart. He felt tHat it would be a sort of expiation to go back to his wife. That was whero he belonged. RoBe must never again cross his path, havo a place In his thoughts, or float, a soft beguiling Image, In his memory. He had a wife. No matter what Berny was, sho was the woman he had mar ried. Sho had not deceived him. It was ho' who had don her a wrong, and he owed her a reparation. In his raw state, hla nerves still thrilling with tho memory of that mo ment's embrace, he saw Berny from her own point of view. He lost tho memory of tho complacent mistress in the picture of th unloved wlfo, on whose side there was much to bo said. Morbidness colored his vision nnd ex aggerated his sense of culpability. If she had an ugly temper, had it not been excited, fed and aggravated by tho treatment sho had received from his family? If they had maintained "How'd You Llko Domlnlck fl(k-r7ll P111" V - kAvirt -i Ryan7 You Him." a different attitude toward her, tho poor girl might have been quit a ploasant, easy-going person. In all other wayB she hnd been a good wife. Sine their marriage, no other man had over won a glance from hor She had often enough assured Domlnlck of that fact, and he, for his part, knew It to bo true. She had struggled to keep n lomfortnblo homo on their small income. It she waB not congen ial to him if hor companionship was growing tfally moro disagreeable waa It all her fault? Ho had known her well beforo he married her, bIx months of tho closest Intimacy had mado him acquainted with every foible of her character. It was no story of a youth beguiled and deceived by n mature woman In tho unequal duel of a drawing-room courtship. Her letter Intensified hlo condition of self-accusatlou, chafed and Irritated his soreness of shnmo till it boenmo id weight of guilt. It also stirred nfrosh tho pity, which wns tho strongest fool ing ho hnd for her. It wbb the ten derest, tho most womanly letter, Bor ny had ever written him. A noto of real appeal sounded through It. Sh had humiliated herself, asked his par don, besought of hliri to return. Aa ho thought of It, tho vision of her alono in tho flat, bereft of friends, dully devoid of any occupation, scorn- S ful of her old companions, fawnlngly desirous of making now ones who re fused to know her, smote him with an almost sickening senso of Its pltl fulness. Ho felt sorry for her not alono because of her position, but be cause of what sho was, what her own disposition had made her. Sho would never change, her limitations wero fixed. Sho would go on longing for tho same flesh-pots to tho end, believ ing that .they represented tho highest and best. Borny had realized that her letter was a skillful and moving production, but sho did not know that it was to gain a hundredfold in persuasive power by falling on a guilty con science. It put an end to Domlnlck's revolt, It quenched tho last sparks of the mutinous rago which had takon him to Antelopo. That same after noon In hla frigid bedroom at the ho tel, he anBwered It. Hla reply waB ahort, only a few lines. In theao h atated that ho would bo brick on the following Saturday, tho tendornesa of hla injured foot making an earlier move Impossible. The letter reached Berny Friday and throw her Into a stato of fobrile excitement. Her deadly dread of Dom lnlck's returning to his family hnd never qulto died out. It kopt recur ring, sweoplng In upon her In moods of depression, rind mnking her feel chilled and frightened. Now ah knew ho was coming back to her, evidently not lovingly disposed tho letter was too terse and cold for that but, at any rate, ho was coming homo. Once there, she would set all her wits to work, use very art of which sho was mistress, to make him forget tho quarrel and enter In upon a new ora of sweet reasonableness and mutual consideration. Sho set about this by cleaning the house and buying new curtalnB for the sitting-room. Such purifications and garnishments would havo agreeably impressed her on a homo-coming and Bho thought they would Domlnlck. In the past year she had become much more extravagant than sho had been formerly, a characteristic which had arisen in her from a stato of rasped Irritation against tho restricted means to which Mrs. Ryan's rancor con demned her. Sho was quite heavily In debt to various tradespeople; and Lavin Haven't Said Anything About to dressmakers and milliners she owed sums that would havo astounded her husband had ho known of them. This did not prevent hor from still furthor celebrating his return by or dering a now dress in which to greet him and a now hat to wear tho first tlmo thoy went out together. How sho waa to pay for theso adornmorito, sho did not know nor care. The occa sion was bo Important that It excused any extravagance, and Berny, In whoso pinched, dry nature love of dress was a predominant passion, was glad to have a reason for adding new glories to her wardrobe. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Pop- Rich. Sometimes poverty consists in Just feeding tho poor. HMf tho millionaires in the country don't know how much tbey aro worth. Atfiintlc Constitution. I k 1 sJ .gjjOc.
