$
1
Red Saunders
BaHni
By
HENRY WALLACE PHILLIPS
COPYRIGHT. 1902. DY McCLURE.
..irey . cried
Imtul. "Ho you
Miss Mr.UU', an
weigh as tuueli
iti
Hint. WIIIJ"
"1 do," returned Red, wIMi much sat
isfaction. "And I licit Isn't over (wo
pounds' of it fnl :il thai."
"What a grout man you have grown
up to be, Will:" I
lied ton!; hi .i deep draft (f tobacco'
nnd Pent the vapor clear uciws the
little room.
"On the liny Scales, yi!," he answer
ed. with a sort of jo. In;; earnestness,
"hut otherwise I d m't know."
The return to lliy old home, had
touched the big man deeply, and as ho
leaned l.i.ck in his chair there was u
shade of melancholy on his face that
became It well.
Miss Mai lie took In the mass of him
stretched out at his ease, his legs
crossed, and the patrician cut of his
face, to which the upturned niuslnoho
gave a cavalier touch. They were frond
stocl;, the Saunders, and the breed
had not declined in tho only two ox
taut. "He's my own ouin," she whisper-
on to hcrscll ! i
! i i'
sf.
oty
the
kitchen. "And "it-h a splendid looking
man:" She felt a pride of possession
she had never known before. Nobody
In Fitirllcld or i-i.ii;y had sin It it
cousin a- Hint. Aid .Mi. s Mimic went
on joyfully ri ii! :i" an Inherited In
stinct to mill I -t- to the wants of
some man. i-'i- . u! I t. herself there
was i:e:ue sat! .'nellon In cooking fori
rouiebody el-o. jpu ul.u k-u-day. Miss
Matlie'si ideas ( the wants of some
body else had suffered a rstlrficld
change. Nothing wn? done in a largo
scale In Fab-Hold. Hut she sal the lit
tle cake.- -lucky that she had made
them yetordny-and tho fried mush
and the small pitcher of milk and the
cold ham and tho cold biscuit on the
table with a pride In the appearanvo
of the fet.
"Supper's ready. Will," she said.
Red responded Instanter. He took a
luok at the I ton id and understood. He
ate the little i skos ai.d biscuit and
said they were the diirned best he
ever tasted. He also t m'u some pot
cheese under a tnlsiippoheiwlou. hwiiI
lowed It and t-rld to himself that he
had been through wot things than
that. TIk-ii. when his r.ppetlty had
Just bigtu to :eelop, the inioad" on
the prox isions warned him that it was
time to stop. Mianwhlle they had
ranged the Held- of old times at ran
dom, and :is Rd took in Miss Mattle,
pink with excitement and sparkling as
to eyes, he thought, "R'.nst the supper!
It's a smut re me.il .1 -t to look at her.
If she nil. 'I pri't'y good people. I mis- J
my guess." I
It was a nieiiy imal. Ho had such!
a way of tolling things! Miss Mattle1
hadn't lau-'hed so much for years, and i
she felt iliiit then' w- no one that
' she had known long and -o well as.
Cousin WId. There xxa only one jar-1
ring noie I!ed spoke of the lgoroiis
celebration th.i' hud been followed by
the finding of .; :. It was certainly,
well told, but Ml-s Mattle asked in!
soft honor x ''en he had llulshed, i
"Yo-i didn". . i!ii.-Icated-WillV"
"I ild IV" sad he. lost in memory ami '.
not noticing t'e tone. "Well. I put
my hand doui the throat of that,
man's town snul untied her inside out!)
It was like ;s if 'hilstinas ami Fourih
of July
had
luippeued on the same i
day."
"Oh, Wll
:-I .1 Mi?- Mattle. "I
enn't think of y.:i like that-rolling In
the giiiti i:'' Iter voice -hook and
broke oil. Her knowledge of the ef
fect of siiinul.ir.i-; was limit) d to Fair
lield's one drunkard old Tommy Me
Kce, a dlsrcpiP.ihlo old Irl-hmiui but
di'uukciiuosK w.i'. the worst lce In her
world.
"Rolling in th- gutter!" cried Red In
astonishment. -Why, girl, what for,
would I roll In the gutter? Whin's thoj
fun In that? .Minhiy Christmas: II
wanted to walk on the telegraph wires.!
There wasu't anything In that town
high enough f r me. What put gut-'
tors litio your h-'iid'r j
"1 I supposed people did that when
they wi'!) -like tint."
"I wouldn't vaste my money on;
whisky If that's all the Inspiration I j
got out or It," implied Red. .
"Well. )f cotr-e I don't know about
those things, ln.r 1 wish you'd promise!
mo one thing." J
"Done!" cried Red. "Whut is It?" t
"1 wish you'd promise mo not to
touch whisky turn hi."
'Thew! That's n pretty big order!"
lie stopped and thought a minute. "If
you'll mnke that 'never touch it when
It ain't needed leaving when U'h
needed lo what' my Idea of the Bqunru
thing on a promise, I'll go you, Mattle.
There's my hand."
"Oh, I shouldn't havo snid anything
at all, Will. I havo no right, hut It
ficemed such a pity Bueh a splendid
man-1 mean-T think You mustn't
PIIILLIP3 L COMPANY
rtiiiw .- .i v'.n'ujf. win,' summer-,
ed Ml-s Mattle. tdioctett at uer own
dining.
"Here'." he cried. "I'm no little hid'
When I prombe I mean It! As for
your not having any right, ain't we all
there NV You've got to be mother and
sister iiidI iiunt and everything to me.
1 ain't us young ns I have been, Mattle,
anil I miss -he-ways terrible at times.
Vow, put out otir llu liken good pn ni
ne", ami hcr goes for no more rhlne
enboos for Chanta Seechee Red time
I quit drinking, anyhow," he slipped
a ring off his little linger. "Here, hold
out your hand," said he. "I'll put this
on for luck and the sake of the promise-
by the same token, I've got a
nooe on you now, and you're my prop
erty." This of course was only Cousin
Will's joking, luit Miss Mattle noticed
with a sudden hot Hush that he had
chosen the engagement linger In all
Ignorance, she fell sure. The last
thlug she could do would be to call
his attention to the fact or run the
risk of hurling his feelings by trans
ferring the i lug: besides, it was :i pret
ty ring, a rough ruby in a plain gold
biiud-aud "ked very well where It
was.
Then they settled down for what
Red called a good medicine talk. Mi-s
Mattle found her-olf boldly speaking
of little fam-ics fi-.)i notions that had
remained i.i the inner shrine of lur
soul for yeai-i. shrinking from the matter-of-fact
eye of Fall-Held; yet this
big. ferocious looking Cousin Will
seoiurd to t'.nd lliein both sane and in
teresting, and iis her self respect went
up in the arithmetical her admiration
for Cousin Will went up In the geo
metrical ratio. He frankly admitted
weaknesses and fears that the mules
of Fairfield would have rejected
scornfully.
Miss Mattle spoke of Bleeping up
stairs, because Bho could not rid
herself of the fear of somebody com
ing In.
"I know .lust how you feel about
that," said Red. "My hair used to bo
on Its feet most of the time when wo
were In the hay eamp at the lake beds.
'(lee whlzl'Tho rattlers! We put hair
ropes around but them rattlers liked
to squirm over hair ropes for exercise.
One morning I woke up nnd there was
a crawler on my chest. 'For nod's
sake, Polo!' snys I to Antelope Rote,
who was rolled up next me. 'come tako
my friend away" and 1 didn't holler
very loud neither. Pete was chain
lightning In pants, and he grabs Mr.
Rattler by the tall and snaps his neck,
but I felt luiesome In my Inside till
dinner tin:". Yon but! I know ju-t
how you feel exactly. I didn't haws a
man's sized night's rest while we w
in that part of the country."
It struck .Mi-s Mattle that the iao
were hardly parallel. "A rattlesnake
on your chest. Willi" she cried, with
her hands Uspcd in terror.
"oh, It w.isn'i as bad as It sounds,
lie was ns',i op. cilled up there to got
warm shnrpMi nights on the prairie
In Angus! but i! nil It, Mattle," wrin
kling up his nose in disgust, "I hntc
the sight of the brutes'."
"Rut yon wouldn't be afraid of n
man. Willi'
"Well, no" admitted he. "I've nev
er been troubled much that way. You
see, everybody has a different fear to
throw a crimp in them. Mine's rattle
snakes and these 111 lie bugs with forty
million pairs of legs. i pass right out
when I see one of I hem things. They
give me it feeling as if my slummlck
had melted."
"Weren't the Indians terrible out
there, too';" asked Mls Mattie. "I'm
sure they mu-t have been."
"Oli, they ain't bad people If you
use 'em right," said Red. "Not that I
like 'em any better on the ground
than hi It," he added hastily, fearful
of betraying the sentiment of his
country, "but I never had but one real
argument man to mail. Black Wolf
and I come together over a matter of
who owned my eayuse, and from
words we hacked oft' and got to shoot
ing. He raked me from knee to hip, ns
I was kueeliug down, doing the best
I could by him ami wasting ammuni
tion because I was In a hurry. Still, I
did bust his ankle. In the middle of
the fuss a stray shot hit the onyuse in
the head, and ho croaked without a
remark, so there wo were, a pair of
fools miles from home with nothing
left to quarrel about! You could havo
fried an egg on n rock that day, and it
always initUes yon thirsty to get shot
anyways serious, thinking of which I
hollered peace lo old lllnck Wolf and
told him I'd pull straws with him to
boo who took my canteen down to the
creek and got somo fresh "ator. He
was agreeable and wo hunched up to
each other. It ain't lo my credit to
but It, bnl i fns worst) hurt thau tha.t
mjr.p, so I worked mm. Me got the
short straw, nnd had to crawl a mile
through cnctUH. while I sat comforta
ble on tho onUFo of the disagreement
and yelled to hlni that he looked like
a badger and other things that an In
jun wouldn't feel was n compliment."
Red lenned back nnd roared. "I can
mso him now putting his hands down
so careful nnd turning back every
once In awhile to cubb me. Turned out
thnt It wna his cnyuse too. Keller that
sold It to me hud stole it from him. I
oughtn't to laugh over It, but I can't
help but snicker when I think how I
did that Injuu."
Cynerully speaking, Miss Mattle had
a lively souse of humor, but the Joke
of this was lost on her. Her educa
tion had been thnt getting shoi w.ih
far from funny.
"Why. I should have thought you
would have died. Willi"
"What! For n little crack In the
IcgV" cried Red, with some impatience.
"You people must quit easy In this
country. Die nothln'. One of our
boys came along and took us to camp,
and we was up and doing again In tin
time. 'Course, Rlack Wolf has a game
leg lor good, but the worst that's
stuck to me is a yank or two of rheu
matism In the rainy season. I paid
Wolf for his
shamefaced ly.
eayuse." he finished
"I had the laugh on
him anyhow."
Miss Mnttle told him she thought
thnt wus noble of him, which tribute
Red took as medicine and skirted the
subject with speed to practical affairs.
He asked Miss Mattle how much mon
ey she hail nnd how she managed to
make out. Now, it was one of the
canons of good inanner.s In rairlleM
not to speak of material iu:itter. per
haps because there was so iitile ma
terial mutter In the commuuiiy, but
Miss Mattle, doomed to a th .t iiud
Irksome petty economies, hud often
longed for a sy i.'.patheti car to pom
into It a good honest complaint of hal
ing to do this end tin t. She could not
exactly go this far with Cm:. In Will,
but she could s-iiy it was pretty hard
to get along and gave some details.
She felt that she knew him so very
well In those few hours! Red heard
with nods of as-sent, lie bail scented
the conditions at once.
"It ain't any fun skidding on the
thin Ice." said ho when they hnd con
cluded the talk. "I've had to count the
beans I put In the pot, and It made me
hate arithmetic worse than when 1
went over yonder to school. Well,
them days have gone by for you, Mat
tle." He reached down and, pulling
out n green roll, slapped It on the ceu
tor table. "Blow thnt In nnd limber
up and remember that there's more
behind It."
Miss Mattle's pride rose ut n leap.
"Will," she r.ald, "I hope you don't
think I've told you this to get money
from you."
He leaned forward, put his hand on
her shoulder and held her eyes with a
sudden access of Bternnoss nnd au
thority. "And I hope, Mnttle," said he, "that
you don't think thnt I think anything
of the kind."
The cousins stared Into each other's
eyes for a full minute; then Miss Mit
tie spoke. "No. Will." snid she, "I
don't believe you do."
"1 shouldn't think I did," relorled
Red. 'What in thunder would I do
with all that i .oueyV Why. g iod
Lord, girl. I cou.d paper your house
with Sl bills! Now you try to lly
them green kites, like I tell you."
Miss Mnltlo broke down. The not ful
ly realized strain of llfteen years had
made i'-elf felt when the co.-d sn iji
ped. I don't know how to thank you
I don't know what to say. Oh, Wil
liam, It seems too good to be true!"
"Whut you crying about, Mattie V"
said he, in sore distress. "Now hold
on! Listen to me a minute! There'n
something I want you to do for me."
"What Is It V she asked, drying her
eyes.
"For dinner tomorrow," he replied,
"let's havo ii roast of beef . out that
rise." Indicating a washtub.
The diversion was complete.
"Why. Will! What would we ever
do with ItV suid she.
"Do with It V Why, eat It!"
"Rut we couldn't eat all that!"
"Then throw what's left to the cats.
You ain't going to
the tlrst favor I ask
fall down on m
?" with mock scrl
ousucss.
"You shall have the roast of beef.
'Pears to me that you're fond of your
Ftomach, Will," said Miss Matiie. with
a recovering smile.
"I have a good stomach that's al
ways done tho right thing by me when
I've done the right tiling by It," said
Red. "And, moreover. Just look nt the
constitution I have to support. Rut
say, old lady, look at that!" pointing
to the clock. "Klex en-thirty; time de
cent people were putting up for the
night."
The words brought to an ncute hinge
a wandering feai
rear which hnd Ph
Mat lie's mind at Inter
through Miss
vnls during the evening. YA hero was
sho to look for sleeping nccotumoda
lions for a man? She revolted against
the convention thai lu her own mind
. .-.,11 ,,,. .1... mcI ,.r t.'nl.'flj.l.l f.ii.lxiil. I
the use of her house for tho purpose.
Long habit of thought had made these
niceties constitutional. It wns almost i
as dllHc-.t for Miss Mattlo to hay "I'll)
fix up your Ised right thero on thoi
nofii" iiB It would have been fuelled i'
pick n man's pocket, yet when sue
thought of Ida Instant nnd open gen
erosltv mid what a dismal return
1 here for It would Ik to thrust him out
for reasons which she divined wo'ild
have no meaning for him. she heroical
ly resolved to throw custom to Un
winds and speak.
Re' the difficulty was cut In auolhei
fnshlon.
"There's a little barn In the back
yard that caught my eye." said Red.
"mi"" If you'll lend me a blanket I'll
roll It out there."
"Sleep in the barn! You'll not do
any such thing!" cried Miss Mattle.
"You'll sleep right here on the sofa or
upstairs In my bed. Just as you
choose."
"If It's all the same to you. I'd rather I
not. So help me Rob. I'd smother in'
here. Had the darnedest tl-ne coining
on that ecr was-hotels. 1 Ittle white i
rooms with the walls coming In on J
yon. Worse than rattlesnakes for keep-j
lug a i.iitn awake. Reminds me or the
hospital. Horse fell on me iiiue aud
smashed me up so that I had to be1
sent to p't puttied up agilii, and 1
never struck such a mouth as that
since I was born. The doc told me I i
mustn't move, but I told him I'd chuck!
him out of t It window If ho tried lo!
stop me, and up 1 got. I'd havo gone I
de'td sure If they'd held me. a week I
more. 1 speak for the barn, Mattie,
and 1 speak real loud; that, is, T menu'
to say I'm going to sleep In the burn,!
unless there's somebody a heap larger!
than you on lh premise. Now, there's I
no us - for you to talk I'm going to do
Just a. 1 say." I
"Well, 1 think that'st Ju-l dreadful!"!
said Miss Mattle. "I'd like to know!
what folks wjll think of mo to hoar
I tinned mv own i ousin out In the
barn." Uer voice trailed iff a little
at the end as the gist of what they
might -ay if he stayed in the hoii-e oe
cc.uvd ! hi"'. "Well," she continued,
"If you're )t I suppose I can't object."
Mi-s Maui" was not it good hand at
pl iy ii'-t a part.
Tin set." said Rod. "Oct me a
bliiiiki'l." As she came hi with this
lii' added, "Say, Mattle, cr.iiid you let
me hiie a loaf of bread? I've got a
habit of wauling sometlihi'; to eat In
the middle of the night."
"Certainly! Don't you want some
butler Willi it? Hcii I'll fix it for you
on a plate."
"No, don't waste dish washing. I'll
show you how to llx It." He cut the
lonf of bread In half, pulled out a por
tion of the soft, part and tilled tho hole
with butter. "There wo arc, nnd
nothing to bother with afterward."
That's a right smart notion, Will,
but you'll want a knife."
In answer he drew out n leather case
from his breast pocket and opened It.
Mini Mttttlct'tnml in Ihv lnOf upctudilimr
Wnhln xvus knife, fork, spoon and txvo
Hat boxes for salt and pepper. "Yon
see. I'm f..od," suld he.
"Isn't that a cute trick?" she cried
Admiringly. "You're ready for most
anything."
"Sine," said Red. "Now, good nlcht,
old lady." Ho bent down in so nat
ural n fashion that Miss Mattie hud
kissed him before sho knew whnt sho
was going to do.
Down to tho barn, through the soft
.luiie evening, went Red, xvhlstllng n
' Mexican love song most melodiously.
' , Miss Mnttle stood in Hie half opened
j door and listened. Without was halm
nnd starlight, and the spirit of Mowers
breathed out In odorp. The quaint nnd
pretty tune rose and fell, qunvurad,
I lilt -1 along as it listed without re
i gai'i' for I a xv and order, it struck Miss
Mat.le to the heart. Her girlhood, with
its misty dreams of lm opines, came
' tcok to her on the wings .if music,
.,,HU.t llmt n BWCP ,.... Hhe f
said,
with a lump lu her throat.
Sho went up Into her room and sat j
down a moment lu confusion, trying to ,
grasp the reality of all (hat had hap
pened. In the middle, of the belief ,
that these things were not so came the
regret of n sensltivn mind for errors ,
committed. She remembered, with a J
sudden sinking, that she had not thank'
ed him for the neeklnce. And tjie mon-'
n&3nEllli& 7 Mil I
jga?" ifv---Vlf III
il II J tr ii
( IHSm '
ey lay even now on tho parlor inYTn j
whore ho bad cast it! Thin added llu
physical four of thieves. Down lt
went and got the money, counted Kit
to her unmitigated aslonlsthnieiil. $?&:
and thrust It beneath her pillow, wll'
a shUer. She wished she had thou?;ht
to tell him t)i take euro of It. Rut sup
pose the thloxcs were to fall on liln
an he slept? Red'a friends wotihMie
apont their sympathy on tho thltvc .
She rejoiced that the money i:n
where it was. Then sho tried to re
member what bIio hnd Bald throughou'r
tho evening.
"Well, I suppose 1 must hitxe aele -like
a ninny," she conclude I. "Ilu
Isn't he Just splendid!" Aud as Coush
Wllli handsome face, with Its daring
kind eyes, came to her vision sho fel
comforted. "I don't believe but w h.v
he'll nuke every allowance for huw
exciied 1 was," said she. "Ho sceiti'
to understand tboo things! for all he's
liiich n large man. Well. II doesn't;
iieeni an If It could be true." Willi !
half sigh, Miss Mottle knelt ami sci-i
up her modest petition to her Mako
a nd got Into her little white Ised.
In the meantime Red's act Ions woiiM.
have awakened suspicion, lie hunle
around until he found a tin can, then
lit a mutch and rummaged the ban
amid terror strW ken squawks from tl
inhabitants, (he hens.
"One, two, three, four," ho counted
"Reckon I can last out till morning ot
that. Mallli', sites white people jus:
the nicest I ever saw but she ain';
used to providing for u full grows
man."
I He stepped to the hack of the ban.
and looked ubivil him. "Nobody vtv
; see me from here," lie said in rati-
j faction. Then he scraped together :
' pile of chips and slicks aud built .
I tire, tilled the llu can at the brook. f.:
I It mi two itones over the lire, lolled
himself ii clg.irotlo and walled. A.
large, yellow tomcat came out i tit.
brtwh and throw his green lo-iitltlgln-on
him. I'lo.iowing teiitutholv.
"Hello, pussy!'' said Red. -You bur
gry too? Well, jus! wait a minute an i
we'll help that feeling. Like brcai..
pussy?" The cat gobbled the iiiocm
greedily, came closer and begged fot
more. The tin can boiled oxer. Re I
popped the eggs in, puffed his clg:
retto lo a bright coal and looked at hK
watch by the light. "Gee! Ten mh
utes more now'." said In. "Hardly
seems to me aa If 1 could wait." Tl.
pulled the watch out sex oral times
"What's the matter with the d-
thing? I bellyve it's stopped," h
growled. Rut at Inst. "Time'." ht
shoutcd gleefully, kicked the can mr
nnd gathered up its treasures lu iti
linudkcrchlcf. "Now, Mr. Cat, we're going Ji d
Borne real eating," snid he. ".lust sit
right down and nuiko yourself :u
home. This Is kind of fun, by .links"
Down weut the eggs, and down xveiu
the loaf .of hiend in generous slices
never forgetting a fair share for tin
ea t.
"Woosh! I feel heller!" cried ReiJ
"And now for some sleep." He swunjr
up Into the hnyloft, spread tho blnu
ket on the still fragrant old bay ni'U
rolled himself up hi a (rice.
"I did a good turn when I en me up
here," he mused. "If I have got only
one relation, she's a dandy-so protty
aiul quiet and nice. She's a itinrk
for all I've got. is Mattle."
The cut came up, purring ami "inak
ing bread." He snllfcd feline fashh-i
at Red's face.
"Foo! Shoo! Oo 'way. ini--y I ivt
tie yourself down and we'll pound our
ear tor .inouicr tony nines, i iiue you
tlrst rate when you don't walk mi my
face." lb' stretched and yawned enor
inously. "Yes. sir, Mattle's all rlglttf
said lie. "A-a-a-ll ri" And Chantr.
Seechee Red wns in the laud of dreams
Here, back In f lod's country, w it hit
twenty miles of the place where he
wsis born, the wanderer laid him dowi
again, and lu svltc of raid ami foray
whl.-ky and poker cards, xvenr and
tear, hard times ami, hardest lest o'
all, sudden fortune, ho was much the
same impulsive, honest, goueruUH
devll-may-cnre boy who hnd loft then
twenty-four years ago.
To be continued, f
To Stop Hiccough.
Hiccoughing can bo slopped by
Eiieex.lng. A physician says ho bits
successfully cured a cane of jiorslstenr
hiccough by tickling the patient's iiu-i-It
la not nece-sacy that the stimulus'
applied to I ho noso ho folloxved by
sneezing, tho application of a mild ir
ritant to the nasal mucous mentbraiiv
being sufficient to divert the nervo'i'
energy Into other channels. -New York
Press.
"George, I saw thnt Siiigielon uo:r
an today tarrying tho silk limbic" i
thnt sho borrowed from me at the "bdi
card party."
"Why didn't jou nsk for it?"
"I was Just going to when I i em .!!-
bored thnt I borrowed It from Mi
i Trumper."C!evelnnd rJaln Dealer
Mrs. I.apsling was exhibiting lo th
cnller tho latest addition to. her -toclc
of household remedies.
"I have n good deal of fa lib In lhh
medicine," she averred. I got It from,
the hypothecary himself, nud he said
he'd uever known It to fnil."-C'Ulis(-Tribune.
Hemp Is a Phlllppluo natural moitoj
oly. It cannot ho grown prolltably lu
any other part of tho world. Tho Unit
ed States Is (he largest consumer.
-i
-r
