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red cloud, Nebraska: chief
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COMRADES OF PERIL
By RANDALL PARRISH
THE FELLOW IN
. She looked from him to the row of breathless men facing her,
impatiently, her bosom rising and falling tumultuously.
"And I've got to choose which one I'd rather marry f
"Well, yes, that is the idea crudely expressed. Not that you
art compelled in any way; only we feel it highly desirable; that
Hell, perhaps I may say, it is the will of Qod that you make some
such choice."
Her eyes wandered up and down the shrinking line, resting
calmly on face after face. If she felt any humor in the situation,
there, won, no expression of t visible. Sna, retained an appearance
of rulUn indifference, which was almost insolent.
"There ain't no more of 'em t"
"No; this is all."
And I got to pick from these t"
The preacher nodded his head, as she glanced inquiringly in
hit direction. The pent-up breath came in a sigh from between
her lips.
"Well, if I've got to, I have, I suppose, and so far as I can see
it don't make no qreat difference. Ill take the fellow sittin' over
there on the window the one with the pink shirt."
And they war married1. But they didn't live happily ever
after, because thi man-UK occur right at,the beginning of tho story.
Mareever there mi no lova or even acquaintance between tha jrouaf
couple. Betid, tha bride wa kidnaped on her wedding day. So it wa
Jnat naturally up to tho bridegroom to rescue her. And in he ad
venture that followed tho young people became "Comrade of Peril,"
with Cupid managing tho game.
Unusual? Well, it' another of thoio decidedly out-of-the
ordinary Weitern atorlet by Randall Parrith. DvIng the last three
year tha Waiters Newcpapar Union ha released six aerial by thi
popular author and each ha been a great auccett. Enough aid.
CHAPTER I.
Return of the Wanderer.
8helby, alone In the buckbonnl,
irove to the summit of tho ridge, halt
ing the broncs, ns his eyes swept over
the scene outspread below. Tho ani
mals, their dusty sides streaked with
sweat, stopped willingly after their
sixty-mile trip from the Cottonwood.
Below was a deep, narrow valley,
In the midst of which Poncn spread
out alon tho bank of tho creek that
gave the town Its nnmc. To Shelby,
wearied with the dull plains, here was
K scene of beauty.
Just beyond there was life, fresh,
luxuriant, sweet ; running water, lusci
ous green grass, and above all, that
which he craved roost, human com
panionship. To be sure, he knew
Ponca of old, and possessed no Illu
sion. Ugly, dirty, unkempt, Poncn
enade no pretense to either cleanli
ness, or respectability; It possessed
no pride, no hope of a future. It
ecmed to recognise Its destiny, and
toe content, a mere mushroom town of
tho frontier, an adjunct "of the cattle
trado, permitted to flourish today, but
s certainly doomed to perish tomor
row. The man who sat there on the ridge
gazing down, the reins held Idly In
bis hand, his eyes following tho wind
ing of tho valley, was a perfectly nnt-
oral part of tho picture ho belonged.
Beneath the tnn and dust was a
smoothly shaven face, a face of
twenty-five, or twenty-six, the features
atrong, nose somewhat prominent, lips
Ortn and full, with dark-gray eyes
shadowed by heavy lashes. In truth,
be appeared all man, a certain reck
less gnycty about htm not to be mis
taken, yet as evidently not to be light
ly taken advantage of.
"It certainly bents h 1," he mut
tered, unconsciously noud, "that a
man should dream about visiting a
Bump like this. Shows what sort o'
place Cottonwood Is to make n fellow
homesick for Poncn. Town looks
kinder dead; no cnttlo In tho corrals.
i-l, what's tho difference? There'll
be some of the old bunch hangln'
'round, an' we'll make things hum for
.while. Come, broncs, Jog nlong 1 Let's
how Ponca we're n live outfit l"
It was n rough, curving descent, the
trail In places barely wide enough for
jtho wheels, but tho driver never lost
tontrol, guiding the broncos with ex-
Ecrt hand, until they finally swung
bout the edge of n great rock nt the
bottom, and went charging at full
gallop Into tho main street. To better
v express tho exuberance of his feelings
at this return to civilization, and an
nounce his arrival, Shelby whipped out
bis gun and began shattering the at
mosphere, driving the animals frantic
as the sharp reports rang out over
their hacks.
But if any sensntlon wns expected,
It signally failed to materialize. Ponca
remained deserted, and unimpressed.
txng experience had- either rendered
tho Inhabitants Indifferent to such a
(llsplay, or else the town hod gone
mtcrly dead. Tho silence and desola
tion caused Shelby to utter an oath,
and suddenly swing his team up to a
hitching rack In front of. McCarthy's
alooa, the door of which stood In
irltlngly open. An Instant the per
plexed driver sat there, staring grim--ty
about from end to end of tho de
V&rtmi street
"What the h II" ho ejaculated at
last, "Is up anyhow? la this a grave
jrard I've got Into? Lord, It can't be
toll the boys have got out; but some
thing la sure dead wrong. Well, Mac's
tjpen anyhow. I'll go In and find out"
lie sprang out over the wheel, stif
fened from the long ride, yet standing
erect nevertheless, and strode up the
aalooo steps sod In through the opes
THE PINK SHIRT
door. Ho had expected a Welcome
and this strange lack of Interest on
the part of the citizens of Ponca had
already considerably chilled his en
thusiasm. Once Inside, he stopped,
stnrlng about In even deeper perplex
ity. Tho big saloon wns absolutely
empty of patrons the tables were un
occupied ; no one wns lined up In front
of the long bar, and no sound of voices
or of poker chips came down from the
room above. The place seemed like
a huge grave, and, for n brief mo
ment, he even failed to perceive Its
only occupant a red-mustnehed bar
tender In front of the mirror. Indus
triously rubbing the Immaculate glass.
Thoroughly angered by this time, Shel
by advanced, his footsteps muffled by
the sawdust on the floor.
"What the h 1 Is the matter with
this dump?" ho demanded savagely, his
(1st thumping the bar. "Oh, so It's
you, Is It, MoranT Well, are you all
Hint's left In Poncnr
The red-mustached one turned In
differently, yet managed to extend a
rather limp hand In fraternal greeting.
"That's 'bout the size of It, Tom,"
he admitted gravely. , "Where' yer been
the last six monthsi"
"Over on tho Cottonwood, ranching.
Say, I ain't seen nothln' but dogs
slnco I struck this vnlley. What's
up? Poncn gone on tho bum?"
"No; she's all right mostly. Be nil
right tomorrow, I reckon, fcr Ditch
cock's outfit's comln In with a bunch
o' steers. Whnt'U yer drink?"
"nest ycr've got, o course. That
looks a bit like old times, an' tastes
like It. Take a Bnort with me, Moron.
Where's Mac, an' all tho boys, any
how?" "Out tcr the funeral; that's what's
the mutter with this town. The whole
kit an' caboodle gone across the
creek to help plant old Dad Calkins.
You remember Old Dad?"
"No, can't sdy I do; what was he,
a gambler?"
"Kind of a tin-horn; soused most o'
the tlmo but still everybody liked him ;
pretended tcr bo n blacksmith when
he first come, an' put up a shack down
there next tho hotel. Never worked
mor'n three dnys to my knowledge
Blnce-i-Just naturally bummed 'round,
but he was n h 1 of a good story-teller,
an' tho boys cottoned to him. Sure,
yer must have knowed him."
Shelby shook his head. "What did
he die from?"
"Shot himself, I reckon. Ho was
picked up over back o' the dance hall,
with a bullet In his nut an' a gun In
his hand. The girl wns huntln' for
him, 'cause ho didn't come home, nn'
so Dnn he went nlong with her. The
two of 'em found hlra out there."
"What girl?"
"Dnughter, I s'pose. She's been
yere kinder kccpln' house ever since
I first know tho cuss."
"How old Is she?"
"I ain't no Jcdgo o' females' ages,
If yer ask me, but maybe sixteen or
seventeen. Quite a wsp of a gurl
first I saw her, but she don't ninko
up with nobody; sorter sullcn-llke, an'
Just stays ter homo all tho time."
"Where'd you soy all this rumpus
wns goln' on?"
"Over cross the creek, beyond that
bunch o willows. You know where
tho graveyard Is. Goln' ter be some
obsequies, you bet. Dan he went clear
to Buffalo Gap for ter git a preacher
ter do the thing up swell. What's the
matter with yer goln' over there, Tom,
an' takln' the show In? Dan'll be
be mighty plensed ter see yer horn In."
Shelby helped himself to another
drink and gased disconsolately about
the big, deselated room. "I reckon
I'll turn the broacs Into Davis' corral,
as' then amble, along," he said slowly,
"lives a uaral's better than this
dump teday."
He had waded tho shallow waters
and reached tho edge of tho willows
before his eyes distinguished the
crowd gathered In the open space be
yond. It wns surely some funeral;
there was no doubt about that. A mass
of men stood there, bare-headed In
the sunshine, and beyond them, on n
little knoll, a small bunch of women
were crowded together, girls from the
dance hnll mostly, Judging from their
clothes and faces, although one or two
older women were at the farther end.
Shelby caught a gllpmse of the ex
preacher, -elevated on a' box, and his
ears caught the sonorous words of ex
hortation with which be ended his ser
mon, There followed a faint applause,
checked Instantly by McCarthy, who
politely requested the bunch to stop
making d d fools of themselves,
and Immediately announced that the
Ponca mnlo quartette would sing "On
ward, Christian Soldiers," after which
those who desired would be given the
opportunity to view for the last time
the features of the departed. As the
luBt dulcet strains of the hymn rolled
away, McCarthy, as though anxious
to preserve the lives of the singers by
quick action, pushed bis way once
agnln to the front.
"Now, you bucks," he roared out
tersely, "line up along them willows.
nt go first with the daughter as chief
mourners, an' then the females will
fall In behind. After that the rest of
yer can mosey along. We'rojcoln' ter
do this up In some Btyle, air It ain't
Just goln' to be showln' proper respect
fer the dead, but we're agoln' ter re
member the orphaned and the father
less. Thet's the way Ponca does busi
ness. Now, chip In, gents; there's n
box there nt the head of the corpse,
an' after yer've had n squint at 01'
Dnd cough up something fer the gurl."
Shelby dropped Into place behind
the stage agent, who recognized the
newcomer with a bard handgrip and
grin of welcome.
"Just blow In? We're glvln' Old
Calkins the time o' bis career; owed
me a hundred, but what the h 1 do
I care! Know the ol' cuss?"
"No; I Just dropped around fer to
pass away the time. Some spouter
thnt fat preacher."
"Ain't he, though I" admiringly. "He
sure shot off some language I never
did hear afore. Yer beard our quar
tette, I reckon?"
"Heard It I Not being altogether
deaf, I did. Hullo, the procession Is
about to start so that's Old Calkins'
girl, is It?"
Tho stage agent nodded.
"Yep; not so darned much to look
nt, either. I don't reckon I've seen
her nf ore fer n year."
Shelby could not have described
whnt there was about the girl to in
terest him even slightly. As Mike
said, there was not much to look at,
and what there was had been rendered
particularly hideous by the Ill-fitting
black dress In which she was dressed.
She walked well, and she held her
head 'stralgh't up, a bit defiantly, look
ing neither to right nor left as Mc
Carthy led her forward by a grasp
on one arm. The corners of her
mouth drooped a trifle and her hair
was drawn straight back and 1ound
In a wisp. Altogether she made
rather pathetic picture, and this some
how Impressed Shelby, no watched
her stop at the head of tho opened
casket and look down nt the face of
the dead man. There was no sign of
a tear, no semblance of a sob, and
There Was No Sign of a Tear.
then she moved on with no change
perceptible In ber face, outwardly un
moved. To all appearances her only
desire was to have the affair ended
and be left alone.
Shelby passed and stared do' to at
the faco In the casket, tbat of a man
of sixty, possibly, yet exhibiting even
In death the marks of a hard life
which had unduly aged biro. It was
rather an InteUlgaot face, framed In
if I 1
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a white beard, with the fragment of n
scar showing on one cheek. There
was something about the face strange
ly familiar, yet he could not recall
the man to memory some way the
sight of him hnd turned his mind back
to army days, yet the two would not
connect themselves definitely. As he
thrust' his contribution Into the box,
McCarthy gripped him cordially.
"Well, bless me, If here ain't Tom
Shelby, lookln' like n white man, and
blowln' his money like n good sport.
How's things on the Cottonwood?
Pine as silk, hey? See yer later, Tom.
No, yer don't, Ramsay! You tried
that game on me once before. I'm
keepln' cases here."
There was a moment's delay, while
Ramsay reluctantly dug down Into his
Jeans for an amount satisfactory to
the party In charge, and Shelby, still
struggling with his elusive memory,
bent over and asked hoarsely:
"Say, Mac, who was this guy, any
way?" "Old Dad, you mean? Furst I knew
of the fellow wns about three years
ago, hlackBmlthln' down at -Kelly's
camp. When thnt moved on he come
up here, an' has-been hangln' 'round
ever since. Wn'n't such n bad sort,
'cept when in liquor; a smart ol' devil,
too; read everything he could get hold
of."
"Do you hnppcn to know if ho wns
ever in the army?"
"Come to think of it, Tom, I do.
Once when he wns drunk, he showed
me his discharge papers. Lemmesec;
h I, yes the ol' cock wus n sergeant
In the Sixth cavalry. That's all right.
Ramsay pass along. Now, whose.
next; step up lively, hoys."
Shelby drifted along with tho line,
which broke into groups, watting si
lently for the ceremonies to bo con
cluded and the body lowered Into the
grave before wending their way hack
to the delights of Ponca. The ranch
man lingered with the others while
the preacher solemnly consigned the
body to dust, but when he saw the
quartette climbing bnck Into the wag
on for a final song, he promptly
Joined a number who were attempting
to escape. Shelby paused and glanced
bnck; the distance was too grout to
distinguish faces, yet there was no
mistaking the pathetic figure of the
girl standing In loneliness beside the
still open grave. She hnd not particu
larly appealed to him before, but now
his heart made vague response to her
loneliness.
It wns doubtless this lingering mem
ory which kept him nwny from Mc
Carthy's saloon during the next hour.
He had lost his earlier Inclination for
a wild carouse In town, or any desire
to renew old acquaintances at the bar.
He was almost persuaded to load up
In the morning, If he could find the
hand he needed and drive back to Cot
tonwood. There wns nothing In It,
this getting drunk on vile whisky nnd
blowing In all he hnd saved nt fnro.
H 1, no I ne needed every dollar to
make the ranch pay nnd could not
afford to be a d n fool forever. Here
Is where he would quit. No doubt, he
was honest enough In these Intentions,
yet the mood pnssed away so com
pletely thnt before night he was again
with the gang and had stowed away
sufficient liquid refreshments to com
pletely overcome nny lingering recol
lection of any higher purpose. In this
hnppy condition he finally wended his
way across the street to the shelter of
the hotel.
CHAPTER II.
, Outlining a 3 Plot.
The Occidental hotel, Hicks proprie
tor, wns merely a place In which one
could sleep nnd cat, If one was thor
oughly acclimated to border Ideas of
comfort. McCarthy, having no homo
of his own, roomed over his snloon,
but wns compelled, to eat the Hicks
brand of cooking, and, with many
apologies therefor, had, on this partic
ular occasion, tlio ex-reverend from
Buffalo Gap a's his honored guest.
Shelby saw the two when he first en
tered, over In tho farther corner" nnd,
as there chanced to be n vacant sent
beside McCarthy, he made his slightly
uncertain way In that direction and
succeeded In safely establishing him
self on the empty bench. The room
wns well filled with men, most of them
still discussing the Important event of
the nfternoon, and he soon beenme
nware that the conversation of the two
next to him bore upon tho same sub
ject. Shelby stared at the smoking, grensy
mess outspread before him, prying
oncn a soggy niscuit, anu asiteu a
question of McCarthy.
"How'd tho collection come out,
Mac?"
"What collection? Oh, for the gurl ;
'bout five hundred, wn'n't It, reve
rend?" "Four nlncfy-seven," said the
preacher In his deep voice. "Qulfo
an assistance for the young woman
In this time of bereavement, as I am
Informed her father left little or no
property."
"Property! Old Calkins I Well, I
should say not. And what's more,"
the saloon-keeper becoming Interested,
"I don't see how that money's goln'
ter do her much good. 1 was Just
Copyright, A. O. McClnrf and Co
tnlkin'' ter the dominie yere about her.
Tom, what Is she agoln' tcr do? An
what bed this town ought ter do fer
her?"
"What do you mean? They done
enough, nln't they, with that swell
funeral on' five hundred bucks on top
of It? Whnt more would she expect?"
"She don't expect uuthln. That
nln't her style. I got nn Idee she
won't even accept this bunch o' coin.
Sho's the ornarlest heifer I ever saw.
But that's got no beurln' on us. She's
nn orphan, left yere In Poncn with
no visible means of support. 'She's
a decent girl ; nobody c'ver said nuth
In' against her, nnd the wny it looks
tcr me we got a moral duty ter per
form. Ain't thnt It, Reverend?"
"Thnt Is the .thought I endeavored
to convey," returned the visitor from
Buffalo Gap seriously. "You heard
me, I presume, young man?"
"Only the Inst few sentences," ad
mitted Shelby. "I don't belong here,
but Just happened to drift In today." ,
"Tom's runchln' over on the Cotton
wood," Interrupted McCarthy, "but
he's a mighty straight guy, an' I'd
like ter have him express his feclln's
on this yere Idee, o' yours, Reverenjl.
It's rather a new one on me."
The preacher straightened up and
cleared his throat.
"Well, here's the case of o young
girl, seventeen or eighteen years old,
who has had no experience whntevcr
In life, suddenly left nn orphan In this
town, without nny money or friends,
so to speak. Where can she go? What
can she do? There Isn't n place she
could earn a living here, excepting
the dance hnll; there Isn't n place In
this town sho could call home. That
Is what I tried to mnke clear to Mr.
McCarthy that the men f this town
ought to give her a chance. Mac here's
a married mnn; got n wife und two
daughters of his own bnck East nnd
ho cottoned to my Idea right nwny."
"But what Is your Idea?"
"Marriage, sir marriage; honorable
matrimony. I even offer my services
freely. The girl should be given n
husband nnd a home; this would as
sure her future and relieve Ponca of
every obligation.- Do you see the
point?"
"Yes," admitted Shelby, yet rather
dazed at the project, "but there would
seem to be certain obstacles In the
wny of such a scheme. No doubt you
hnve considered these. Who, for In
stance, would mnrry her?"
"There Isn't likely to be nny trouble
nbout thnt," confidently. "If she'd fix
up she'd be n right good-looking girl,
besides, she's got five hundred dollars
to start with and that's more money
than n lot of these gazabos ever saw
In nil their lives. I'll bet there's fifty
men In Ponca that would Jump ut tho
chnncc."
"Rounders and tin-horns."
"Some of them sure. But thero
would be some decent fellows among
them. Thnt's about how we figured It,
McCarthy?"
The saloonkeeper nodded.
"There's quite u few of tho right
kind 'round Ponca, Tom. who'd bo
mighty glnd to get n decent woman
nnd settle down. I could name n half
dozen right now. Whnt I ain't so sure
'bout Is the gurl."
"She mlghf object? Of course sho
will, ond why shouldn't she. You
wnnt to know whn.t I think of tho
scheme. Mnc? Well, It's n fool Idea
nnd It won't work that's what I think
of It; It's Idiotic."
Tho Buffalo Gap mnn leaned for
ward, drawing In his paunch so ns to
view the speaker around McCarthy.
The words of condemnation evidently
rut. for his face was flushed, although
he held his temper.
"That's what Mac here said 'at first,
but now he believes It will work, and
so do I." ho explained gravely. "It
Isn't nt oil likely tho girl will object
to getting married, provided she hooks
up with n inn sho sort of likes. Tho
only problem Is to discover tho right
fellow."
"And you think you can go out
In this town, rope an' hog-tlo nny
stray maverick you find on the rango
an' give him the brnndln' Iron, do
yer?"
"You gat right out o' hero,
the whole kit an caboodle of
you."
(TO UI3 CONTINUED.)
Cave Always of Interest
None of the pecullnr formations of
tho earth uro more Interesting thnn
caves, nnd many are the adventures
thnt hnve been hnd by the explorers
of these often mysterious caverns.
The very word Mcnve" seems to hnve
n strong attraction for everybody.
Some of the Host nnd most Interesting
stories linvo been written nbout adven
tures In caves, so they 'have nlways
been well advertised on library
shelves. And then we must remem
ber thnt caves were tho only homes of
mnny people who lived In tho undiscov
ered ports of the world thousands of
yeors ago, and this In Itself adds much
historical Interest to these natural
tunnels under the surface of the
earth.
FROM FORTY-FIVE
TO SIXTY
A Word of Help to Women
of Middle Age From
Mrs. Raney.
Morse, Okla. "When I was 45 yean ,
eld LydiaE. Pinkham's Vegetable Com
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of Life in safety. 1
am over 60 and nY
raised a family of
eight children and
am in fine health.
II y daughter and
daughters-in-law
recommend your
vegetable Com
pound and I still take
it occasionally tar-
You are at liberty to use m
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Morse, Oklahoma.
Change of Life is one of the most
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This good old-fashioned root and berk
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If you want special advice write U
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I I'fllinillllllllllfllli TTT
KVuselM
PATENTS aiwifflaa
rm " w b.O. AaTlceand bookica
Rataaraaaonabla. Ilia-heat rtrea. Btaiaarrtoea
I Uave 130 Acre Urawitar County, Text,
Land. Would Ilka to trad for food, aound
ar corn ot aqual value. Price 14.00 par
acrf. Owen Marchbanka. Ennla, Teaa.
FRECKLES gSg
Stop Your Coughing
Ma need to let that coach aanUt. 8to the
irritation, and rcmora tickliaa and hoar
a by toothUaj tha laSimtd throat wtth
PI SOS
" W. N. U, LINCOLN, NO. 44MM,
A
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