The Omaha Sunday Bee
MAGAZINE
FEATURES
VOL. 51 NO. 29.
MAGAZINE
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING. JANUAKV i, 1922.
1-M
FIVE CENTS
READING SIGN '
By Kenneth B. Clarke
lUbawa)
-
Tha Man from Arizona and the
Girl from New York Couldn't See
Around the Dig Bend in the Trail,
Cut They Read the dew and They
Took the Chance Together.
LANHAM. tha owner of the Broken Trigger,
ait by tha lamp on the big table, eewlng.
It was an Incongruous buainess, for Lan
hun waa tall and large handed and the thine
he waa bent upon ao seriously was repairing a
rtdlruloualy little pair of overalls.
Hla foreman leaned over the back of a tilted
chair, watching the operation Intereatedly.
Acrosa tho bl( knee waa Kpread the scat of tha
diminutive garment, acarred with a three-cornered
tear. which had been rained Into hard
welta by overhand airokea with naddle thread,
pulled tight. . .
"She reada like a Lazy I brand," the fore
man declared. ."An' Khe aure'aets in the right -place."
Lenham went on with hla task, unrespon
sive, lie waa pushing the needle through a
puckered ridge of the coarse material with the
end of an empty rifle rnrtrldge.
"You'ah young offspring's gotn' to feci like
, he'a settln' on a rawhide rope," the foreman
Miggcstcd. "Let me take 'cm down to tlfc black
. smith ahop an' flatten them seams some on the
anvil." .
A Jerk of the thread loosened an avalanche
of assorted stuff from the small pocket Into
Laahn m's lap. Curiously he fingered tho col
lection and spread the exhibits upon his broad
panu. There was a little wad of red wool yarn,
llje wheel from a broken spur, the dried head
tit a horned toad, a Mcx Hilver dollar, and a'
Jul glass atop'p"- from a bottle.
tyl Lanham went n with his task, unrcspon
Ue held It up to the light. "I wondered what
had become of that." he said quietly. - "It was
hers, you know." There was a peculiar gentle
emphasis in the way he paid "hers." "Belongs
to a bottle that always stood on her bureau. It
held lilac water."
Ills big hand closed tir'jtly upon the boy's
treasure. Tho foreman lowered his eyes and
dared at his boots.
"Lilacs grew' where T, brought her from
and were sort of strung along with our
courting."
Lanham rocked tho bit of glass on his palm
and watched the changing colors gleaming
from its facets.
"Little 'Don probably hooks her memory up
pretty close to that bottle, like a pup holding a
scent. . She used to let him wet his nose with
the stopper." i '
He restored Mho stuff to the boy's pocket
when his sewing was flnlxhcd, and, taking the
lamp with him, went off to his bedroom. Stand
ing over the cot in a corner across from his
own bed, the father lowered the lamp beside
the sleeping boy's face. An anxious frown
clouded the little lad's expression, as though he
were not resting peacefully., t.unham crouched
flown upon his heels and softly touched the
' small hand flung limply across tho blanket. At
' once the hand-tightened upon his linger,, tho
child's frown, gave way to thai relaxation of
happy surprise and the smiling lips drowsily
whispered, "Muvvy!"
Two years of solely masculine .attention had
.molded .domestic matters at the ranch crudely
. awry.- Lnnham noted that the little hand about
his finger' was grimy in its creases.- that, tho1'
'"V'orners of the . boy'. mouth were caked with ,..
dried syrup, that the tucking of 1bi bed .covers
was bunchy and haphazard. Tho whole room
had an air of dispirited unwelcome. Lanham's
steady gray ryes roved over the dssolate, silent
place. They came to rest again, tenderly, upon
rhe boy's face. He gripped the small hand
softly and rose to prepare for sleep.
The regular ranch routine went on with un
changing demands upon the father's attention
end with unrelieved monotony for the boy until,
early in December, a sudden Impulse seized upon
. the cow hands to "make a Christina's for the
kid." It caught them collectively, like a spread
ing epidemic, and a stir of stalking mystery,
enveloped the outfit. ','-. ' -
.' By day the brawny, bowleggcd horsemen
' trailed little Don off, singly, and with' studied
and cunningly indirect questioning sought to
arrive at conclusions as to the small lad's secret
' longings. By night, bafiied and uncertain, they
secretively thumbed over the bulky mail order
catalog from Chicago, straining for suggestions.
The spirit of competition was rife. ,
Eventually, one by one, they sent away let
ters with enclosures of "money as each narrowed t
a list of tentative selections to his final choice i
of a' gift pre-eminent and each with an en-
iarged air of elation.' Then, as certain notices
began to arrive in the mails, they stole away
one by one to the express agent at the railroad,
a half-day's ride out, and rode in after dark,
each craftily hiding a package in a place of
inviolate seclusion.
Christmas docs not come to the high, hori-roh-wide
mesas of Arizona it has to be intri
gued. Three days before Christmas Andy Ames,
the runt of the outfit, rode away toward the
mountains, Rn ; unladen packhorse trailing be
hind him. He returned after dark on Christmas
Eve to find that his bunkmates had plucked the
cotton stuffing of his quilt all into little pieces
to make anow for the tree he was bringing
) back. t
The Chinaman's kitchen mirror had been
', broken into small bits and tied into, a festoon
of glittering brilliants. Empty brass shells of
assorted calibers, with tin stars and hearts and
crescents fashioned' from cans, had been strung
into dangling garlands. Candles had been
spiked to clothespins, and their fervor had be
come so emotional that a suit of underwear of
Bud Sellers had been sacrificed in an attempt
to extract the dye to stain 'the candles red.
After the boy had been herded to bed and
. the tree had been set up and dressed, the men
disappeared In a body, only to return, one at a
time, with cautious backward glances and
hoarse whispers. Each slipped a package from
under his coat and passed it to Lanham in sup
pressed excitement. They gave their varied in
structions: . , ,
"Open her up, Clint, an' stack her under the
tree for His Xibs." -
"Peel her down. Chief, an' set her where the
light will hit Jer good."
"Be aura an' tell him this here's from me."
. The instructions differed, though all bore
tha same note of unconcecaled pride; but the
packages w ere strangely alike in shape and size
and weight. Eight of them lay in a row. and
Lnham curiously tore open the ends of the
wrappings, one after another, and peeked in.
Before going to bed he dug out a package
of hla own. tossed it on the table, and stared
at it in helpless perplexity. It varied from the
eight ethers in no particular of shape. si or
weight He held It in hia hands for a moment,
thinking; then he cast it indifferently into the
cobwebbed space behind the wood box and
crossed softly to the doorway of the bedroom.
For ten minutes or longer he stood somber and
quiet, gaiing toward the shadowy corner where
the little boy lay asleep. '
In the morning, when word came to the
bunkhouse that little Don waa finishing hia
breakfast and that the big moment of ahowing
him the tree was at hand, the punchers aoft
footed through the kitchen and dining room to
the closed door f the big room. There, by
kneeling, crouching, leaning and tip-toeing they
ontrived to allign their eight heads vertically
with the door frame, and at the round of Lan-
Lanham
ham's voice calling to -Don they, opened thedoor
a crack. ... ',.'
Slowly the. expectant grins on tho brown
races slackened and hung loosely like slits in
mail pouches. Their eyes, glinting in the candle
light, widened and remained fixed in flshlike
stares. For there, ranged' under the, tree. like a
lack in an army, stood eight small rifles eight
little .22 Winchesters,' as alike -.as 'gauge tests
could make them. '- - '
The boy cajiie in' with Lanham's hand about
his .shoulder. For a-long moment his, naze took
in tho lighted -tree with its barbaric adornments.
The surprise was complete, but mystifieafiouwas
his outstanding emotion. - And then his eyes
dropped to the-array of smalt 4' ms,,; ,-. "
" The spread of gifts begftir'.an'd' ended with,
rifle. . There waa niughf beside - The effort; to
play' up "to, 'his " big father's expectations w1 '
manly end firm, but no word nor action came to"
allay the rising lump in his throat. - In the end 1
the child in him won oyer the insecure ground
ings of manhood. His arms vent' about tho
long leg at his side. 'His faeo' dropped against
Lanham's hip, and' tho stroking touch upon his :
shoulder loosed a desolate sob frru his quiver
ing lips. . . ' ' '
The door closed silently before the string of
masks peering from the gloom of the dining
room. And silently the-men straggled, buck to
the -bunkhouse, noticing anything but one
another. ; ;.- '. . '
In the big room, with their backs to the tree,
Lanham and little Don sat" entangled' together
in a great leather chair. The lingering last
shudders of long sobbing were still shaking the
little frame encircled in Lanham's arm.
"What did you want?. What would you like,
my old son?",,he asked, gently., .
"I don't know. I d-don't know what," the
child quavered. "Only something:"
. 1 4 ; '--."
Late one evening of the following spring,
when the checking over of the herds had been
completed and the range was promising fair,
Lantiam sauntered over to his foreman's small
cabin and asked him to step outside a minute.
The two men leaned over a gate in the faint
light from the open door, Lee Winton waiting .
for Lanham to speak. A horse whickered softly .
acfoss the corral,, and a dark body loomed to
ward them through the cool dusk. Presently,
the nibbling lips of a great brown head were
thrust into. Lanham's hand and the confiding
animal nudged him to provoke a fondling. Lan
ham stroked the velvety nose inattentively.
"I want to speak of. something I've been
thinking about since last Christmas.'' he said,
and seemed to- be . choosing a-beginning with .
especial care. "About my boy," he added. Win
ton smoothed a cigaret paper in ; regardful
silence. . , V : .-. -..
"I find the little fellowis not part of us
here. He is lonely, Lee damned lonely. He
does not stiffen to the 'life oh the ranch.' He
needs something to direct his interests or '
rather some one to direct them; and pretty soon '
he will need .book schooling." 5 Another silepce
followed,' and the foreman rolled and re-rolled
the tobacco of his cigaret. ' . .
"If we were . to have a woman here "
Lanham continued, and halted, "the. right kind
of a womapsome 'otte'to take the place of the
mother that left him " His fingers slowly
combed through' the 'tangled mane of the big
roan, and he abandoned this beginning as too
involved. ' .. " L '
"What I've had in mind," he continued pres
ently, "is some one young enough to be under
standing and companionable to him some one
interested enough to love him some one nice
In the ways that this outfit lacksj But there's
an obvious difficulty." ' ' '
The foreman ground the glowing end of his
match into the gate rail and reflectively exhaled
a thin drift of smoke. '
"1 reckon any female old enough to escape .
the stigma of we-all cow waddies." he. comment
ed, "would of prettynigh outlived "her useful
ness to little Don." ' He glanced . toward the
sound of men's low laughter beyond a lighted
doorway at a little distance. " -
"If there were another 'way to secure the
right person for the boy I Vould choose it in
preference." Lanharn stated after several min
utes, and his voice came strangely devoid of its
usual gentle modulation. "As it stand.", I am
going to ask a young woman to marry me."
To the foreman, who knew the feeling with
which Lanham held to certain memories, the
announcement struck with an almost physical
impact.
"There is only one woman I can think of
and why I should think of her I do not know.
I met her only once, and talked with her less
than ten minutes. Why I think any fine woman
might consider the proposal I have to make is
beyond understanding a proposal of marriage
with tha factor of love deliberately crossed out?
ff .Y '
. i f "z? ut
found himself oat on the veranda with Barclay's crumpled figure hanging tortured in the wrenching
hi hand: Fatilelv he wondered what to do with the mam.
- But I believe this woman might, in all sincerity. '
I am going twenty-two hundred m'k-s to find
out.' I'll think it over, a bit." And he walked
slowly away toward the house. , V
He did think it over for several days more;
and then he and. little . Don left for the east.
, There were times during the long train jour
ney 'when Lanham groped ."desperately - for 'an'
- alternative plan that would make it possible for
himi to turn back. Then at other : times ho
searched methodically behind the general mo-
live of plain impulse- for the exact point that
had' drawn him forth to seek this -one woman,
scarcely better known to him than any of 'fifty
others with whom chance or .necessity had peca-
sioned the 'exchange :of a fw ;wor!W f'jy "
V Brought "down to affinal analysis., he th'ousbt ,
he found the underlying point in a memory: of '
;lhe -vny A the . .gird - had .. ispoken the word
"Arizona." ..-.,' . " . ,"'""
''-.'" , He 'had met her in the offices of a firm, that
looked after his interests in a northern mining
property. ' Thoy hod bee.n intrqduccd by Bar- '
clay-' the secretary of the company, and she had
'ta1;en his dictation of .a few ' letters. . -Afls .ho '
.figned the letters .they t.hafl. talked,: briefly and
impersonally. . She had questioned him inter
estedly about the west. s '
"Arizona! How . I, love the sound of it!" she '
had said softly. '." . ... "'
In the morning the , executives had not '
.arrived at. the office when' Lanham vcame in. . A
' boy was sorting mail in a far corner and a book-
keeper was opening the safe. Miss Maitland
stood beside her desk,removing her gloves. Lan
ham had . been watching distantly the entrance -of
the building, and had followed her up in the
next elevator. , .. , ., ' , ;
. . "Mr. Lanham!" the girl cried, out softly , in .
pleasurable surprise as the big fellow stepped v
toward her hesitantly. She gave him her hand
Impulsively, as to an old friend that had re
turned. - In her. eyes was a look as though she .
were seeins "Arizona." , ' . ... ;
- . "We were not expecting you. Mr. Barclay
has not come down yet.": ,
i "I will see him later,". Lanham replied. , "I ,
came this morning. Miss Maitland. to see you -1o
ask if I -might see you alone, later. Possibly
this evening, when the .office closes?", , -...
The. first thought to flash into the, girl's
mind was that he wished to -question, her pri
vately about sohiething to do wijth his business
affairs in. which he did not wholly trust the
firm.: She dropped the thought quickly. A man '
with his sort of gray eyes would not deal indi- '
,'rectiy, and through u woman. Then it oc-,
; curred to her that possibly this meant the offer
of a secretarial position in his employ prob
ably in the west possibly on hi3 ranch. The
surmise gave- her a little thrill of excitement .
and of adventure knocking.- .
"I should like to impose one condition," she
replied with engaging note of challenge, in
her voice, "that you. talk to me again about the
west." . .
-; j "I shall talk to you about Arizona," Lanham
, answered, smiling, but with a peculiar tone of
seriousness that rather tended to confirm tho
girl's hasty speculation. s .. .
It was arranged that he should call for her
t five o'clock. He came a little early and talked '
with Barclay, .but. left when she was ready,', and
they went uptown on top of .a Fifth avenue'bus.
"As they' rode, above, the crowds and the traffic
ther.girt. kept.up a running fire of gay, satirical 1
'commek on, people' and the phases of city life ,
.about them, which she. felt must ' strike- him
humorously. . .'Lanham found f himself being ,
genuinely .entertained. : ..' . '.
- At Fifly-ninth.. street they left the bus and
walked through, the park, up and across to the .
street of the, girl's little apartment. Lanham
talked' of roundup, days on the range, of the
.country' where his . ranch lay on the 'Broken
Trigger, and of how to roast wild turkey over , .
an opea fire. Rqsponsive to the girl's eager interest-he
'talked Well and found many half-forgotten
things of unexpected interest to himself. '
3ut of the thing he had come to speak to her '
about he could not talkat all; and the girl knew
.that something had slipped. She wondered If
.her manner had been too social to impress him
favorably as one stiited f"r secretarial duties.
' . t'pon leaving' her nt the steps of the apart
ment Lanham managed a vague beginning.
r "My little boy Is with me. He is mere lonely
than any boy should be. ' I should like mights
well, to have you know him, if you could that
is, if you would care "
And., .now the girl understood ' it all, she
thought.- Busy man in town for few days no
friends week-end coming.' and .boy on his
hand."' But why this reeking of a private inter
view and this elaborate leading up to to simple '
a request?
.'Tomorrow is Saturday," she answered. In
terestedly: "let me have him for the afternoon. .
W caa go to see tho animals at Bronx park
and baye bo end of a jw4 V " '
"That's good of you," .Lanham said, grasp
ing her hand, and again there was that peculiar
(.ar'nestnesy in his manner as he added, "I hope
you will find him likable and good company."
The next evening Lanham waited for them
at the subway station. - They. raced down the
platform towaj-d him with a burst of happy
laughter.' Helen Maitland's eyes- were" bright. .
"Adorable!" she breathed .in a. "whisper, with a
nod toward the small head : hugged, under her -arm.
And then aloud, "We're going back to-
morrow to' finish up.'V-' - j , '.; - ' ' .y'"
They'dinfed together,' arid afterward' took the ,
boy to the Hippodrome. His body was limp .
with fatigue, but ..his eyes were still alight nd.'
spa"rklin'g as Lanham helped him- unbutton and
unbuckle for bed,- - ' .'',' -'v'T'1 .'.,'".V '.?'.
. "How do you like Mis(s .Maitlnud, eld son?" '.'
Lanham spolic quietly,- sccaningly with the most .
casual, interest,, in order, that, the answer should
not , be colored to meet any suggestion of ex
pectance, i i . , . ; . , ' j
-,; :"0( T- can't tell you how much,- dad! She
just makes you feel glad," sort- of." ' ' , ;
, "About this racket tomorrow, son did you ;
speak of it first,' or did slie?" ' "
"Well, I don't know exactly.' We stood look-
ing back toward where the monkeys, were, and
then, she looked at me and I .looked at her, and .
Chen she laughed that glad way and I laughed
and then I reckon' we both said it right together, .
sort of 'Eef's,. come agaiii tomorrow!!"
At their meeting to start the expedition-the
following day Lanham asked to join with them.
At the zoo he loaded Don with ' peanuts and
turned him , loose upon the .monkeys, taking the
girl to, himself. ' A sudden panic hed seized him,
to have the affair. over with as quickly as pos
sible; either to declare himself fairly and
squarely before this unsuspecting 'young crea
ture and to face her probable amazement, or to
abandon the -idea, forthwith. He had decided,
abruptly,, to see, it through. ' , '
Leading her to a bench in the open, where
the least attention would be attracted, he leaned
forward with his elbows on his knees and wait
ed before, speaking until a. jumpy pulse beat in
his throat subsided.- , V , .
' i "In . tho.- west, Miss Maitland, a man gets
into a .way of 'reading sign,' as f. ,s called out
there, wherever he goes. His welfare, sometimes'
bis life, depends upon his ability to see and re
member little things he runs across on a trail. '.'
The depth of, a hoof print, the way a twig has
been bent, the look in a.man's eye anything'
may be sign to him and tell him things he
needs to know. ; From' sign he comes to pretty '
definite conclusions about things he can't see
around the bend. Sometimes he's put where he
will stake-ag6od deal on his judgment, and take
a lot of responsibility." : - .; f
v Lanham' raised his eyes from the walk and
gazed off vaguely beyond the distant groups of
holiday -folk. . J r : ,
' "I met 'you a long time ago," he "continued,
"Our trails crossed just oncer but I read .sign '
then, and now, after three years, I've come 2,000
miles' to ask you something that may just stir v .
up that lively sense of humor of yours and pile
me on the; back of my head, or it' may draw'
down scorn and anger upon ine." , .
He hesitated,'" but fearing ' that slopping s
would mean weakening he caught himself -up ;
again quickly;. ; , , ' ' ' '
"It has taken a good deal of thought to de
cide if this would be a right thing to' do,; and :
a gopd deal of nerve to get to the" point of ask- ...
ing you. ".And. all r have to go on is what, I've - ,
built' up ; out 'of impressions sigh. "But-I'm .
staking a good deal .on my, judgment, that at '
least you would' be understanding.". ' - -
'"I would'like to be," the girl replied. "Maybe, ,',
I will be. yet if we give us both time." "She-was .
smiling in genial amusement;' he was so like an
awkward .boy inviting .hfs teacher to a picnic t
It did look like the offer.of a' job aftt'r all; but
she 'wondered ' that there' should be, so much "."
diffidence. ' ' . ;- : -
.Lanham "felt her smile' upon hint and was
conscious that he had been circling about the i :
issue.,' At least he could turn and loolt the girl ..
in the eyes. ; He did so. " " -"
'This is 'different. Miss Maitland.'. Jsot many -"
WQmen would.be understanding.1 . you're -the '
only one I know that might be both understand-
ing and interested, and well" They both 4
smiled now. . Lanham couldn't help "it, after she
ted. And then with earnestness, hut with re
gained assurance, Lanham continued: 1 .'
"I've tried 'to make it easy. I fear I can'f.
It Cjoncerns my .little son. He hasn't any moth--cr,
and he needs one desperately out there irv.
that bungling, man outfit. I've come to - ask'
you to go back-with us and be a mother to
him." This was different. But for the moment all
other significance was dulled for the girl by
the bright promise of the words, "go back with !
us." She felt inly "Arizona" calling. Lanham
grasp or
gazed at her, amazed by the sparkle of delight
in her expression. .
"I suspect ou do not understand after all
yet. There wouldn't be another womanwithin
eighteen miles; not another gentlewoman with
in eighty. There would be no seclusion from
daily contact with a dozen lone men shut aWay
in a life of -their own making. The problem
would entail being married to me going back
under the claim of my unquestioned protectin;'-V
..v -The; girl started, involuntarily. Her .lips
were parted and her eyes were wide in amaze
ment; but she' was not bewildered by the pro
posal so much as struck by a startling remem
brance. She recalled 'thinkipg on the day when
Lanham sat dictating by her desk, "What eyes .
r be trusted!" And as, he turned away to leave
her, "What a back to rest behind for shelter!" '"
Here were the thoughts returned in a proffered
actuality the call to trust the- protection'
offered. - She turned upon him a look , of quiet
wonder. , . ' V "---..'
"Forgive me, if you . can!" Lanham spoke
quickly. "I intend, only, respect. In return for
what I ask I am prepared to give you all that
t have left to give." lie looked away; then
added gently: VThat would mean everything but
love. Please know I care enough for. your feel
ings to spare you any implied effrontery of that
sort, after a day. and a half acquaintance."
"Please don't be so concerned over my feel
ings." Her tone was without rebuke, and not
at all Ironic. . "They are buried deep. You see,
I have worked for years in an office, where men
ere habitually unconcerned. And besides, you
know, you are staking your judgment on my
understanding." - ' , '
Lanham smiled again. "Well, frankly," he
declared with an undefinable sense of relief, "I
held a memory of you, and you seemed to char
acterize the sort of things I would like to have
surrounding my boy. I came directly to you in
my trouble. . I thought of you here, alone, and
not happy. You seemed not to have found the
things you desired and, in a way, to be resigned
to less. I found myself desolate, and left with
a problem that was beyond me. With difficulty
and a sort of bafflement in both of our lives, it
seemed as though possibly We '!"
"So you suggest that we-pool our misfor- .
tunes and work out a partnership of wretched- '
ness! I'm not sure that I should enjoy that."
"I fear I put it badly."
"I think you put it gloomily. Now, assum
ing you wish to induce me to come, why not
offer the inducements instead of dispiriting me
over the prospect?" '
Lanham looked up quickly.. But there was
no flippancy in the girl's quietly humorous gaze.
After all, the suggestion was obviously logical;
he was not presumed to be making love to her.
"I. really .mean to' offer all thaf I have to
give," he safd. "You 'would be leaving every
familiar association and giving your life's hap
piness into our keeping. I "would try to make
it secure.,. Love you would have, I know, from
little Don. I would give you every material
comfort and all kindly consideration in my pow
er.. I would protect you in every way. And
you would know the feel of sweeping distance,
clean air ' and ' sunlight, and the sweetness of
purple evenings the things I believe you said
must mean to you 'Arizona.' I'm afraid that is
all." . .
"That is much." The girl spoke with quiet
feeling. She looked off over the treetops and
color from aroused emotions tinged her cheeks.
Silence fell, between them, but it was a pause
that held Lanham tense as he watched her.
-, "How strange." she said, speaking as in a
reverie, "how-different - from any way I had
thought of It as coming!" ; She turned to face
Lanham and.the light of excitement was in her
eyes. "The way of 'Arizona!' " . i.
.' "You -must see" he interposed.
" "I do see. It isn't that I am confused or
bewildered; it is the thrill of having to decide
one's action in a big way,' on what lies unseen
around a great bend in the trail. To stake one's '
whole future on a' single. cast of judgment'."
,'But'I .never meant you do not have to
decide "
- : "No." I don't want it spoiled by waiting to
ponder over it. Our trails crossed but once, and
now as they cross again yuu hail me and beck
on to-follow. on. , Something in me cries out to
."lust the way of. it. . I didn't know anything ever
could be like that. .It may never be again. And
that' must be the way of my answer." The
girl's hands were clasped tightly upon her knee,
and again she looked off over the treetops.
"Six years' a go, when I was twenty," she con
tinued, "with one quick thrust" Fate struck at
me to-crumple up my happinecs took away a
father, home," comfort, and a carefree sense Of
trust and a man who had talked love, but who
disappeared when it was found there was no
wealth. And now it is mine to Mrik back and
retake the gladness of living. , v
"At twcnty-nlx with disillusionment behind
one well, one la content to find happlneaa lit
Implcf realities. You bring those to me, hon
cutlj, generouHly and lovo la neither uffcrtd
nor asked. 1 could feel honored and aafa In
your care always. So lt me hava my big mo-,
ment of decision now." She dropped her hand
Into Lanhnm'a and thalr fingers closed together.
"I will uo with you around tha bend," ahe said.
Tho hitudclasp between them had only tha
solid quality of binding an agreement, but It
waa not until tha girl released her flngera that
Lanham relaxed hla hold upon her hand and
roused from unnotlclng abstraction.
At the close of the day Lanhum brought '
back confused impressions In which monkeya
and elephants and hla boy'a laughter and tha
rlrl'a flushed chceka were intermingled aa In a
dream. It seemed aa though their talk on -tha
bench must bo a dream also, and that he must
await some confirmation from her before accept
ing it as a reality,
At the apartment steps again at parting lan
ham watched the girl aa she knolt before lit t lata
Don with her arma about him to aay good-night
and then he knew.
"Vou will hRve many thlnga to do, of course.
How long do you think?" he asked her.
"A few clothes, some hooka to pack a week,
ten days what does It matter? Why wait?"
ahe askd.
"And when shall we " Lanham faltered
and stopped, confused. But the girl answered
iwered
a. At
lightly and steadily.
"On the day you may plan to leave.
least I will hold to that much womanly reserve
lerve.'.'
From the pastor'a atudy in an inconspicuous
little church they went directly to the train;
and In the early evening, three daya lataV, Lan
ham brought tha buckboard around to tha adobe'
atation for the drive to the ranch.
Darkness fell before they reached tha ranch,
and aa they drew Into the folds of soma low
hills they encountered a blackness of night that
made Helen wonder at the calm assuranca with
which Lanham sent tha horses on at an un
checked rapid pace. She could hear tha alap
and creak of harness ahead of her, but not a
thing could she see of the team or tha road.
Inetinctively she cowered low on the seat and
clung closely to the little lad beside her, aa
though to ward off a mysteriously palpabl
something that continuously threatened to closd
in and Immerse her.
Quietly Lanham's voice came out of the
to soothe her unspoken misgiving.
"Another mile and you will see
at the Broken Trigger, but it will takt
than half an hour to reach them. You
all of this very beautiful in the morning!
The foreman and the Chinaman we
only ones to offer a welcome when they arr-
the men reticently kept to the bunkhouse.
Helen it was aa though she had been
blindfolded and placed upon a dimly Mtj
strangely set and cast for some fantastic
mime.
The Chinaman grinned and ducked
rled away with a slap-slap of cushloneJ
prepare a supper. Lee "Winton carried til
to Helen's room and shyly gave her ha
mighty pump In acknowledgment of 1
duction; tfte'n 'tite Jllgh heels clacked
across the veranda Hoot and he alippn
into the dark. And so Helen Lanhail
herself around the great beHdv. 'th
oeaung queeny.
. Coming ' from her room the
she found Lanham waiting for her.
fore the wide fireplace. '
"It looks pretty rough and tousled," he said, .
Indicating the big room. "I'm seeing it through
your eyes, and I'd no idea it was quite so awful.
But you will know what it needs. . When you're
ready I'll give you- a few of the boys and you
can hold a little roundup in here,"
But Helen waa not noticing the room. Her
eyes were upon Lanham, bright with wonder.
Booted and clothed for the saddle, he seemed to
be even broader of shoulder and taller by inches.
In gray doeskin breeches and a soft leather vest
edged with a narrow band of Indian beadwork,
.. ., . . , 1 1. 1 1. . ,'. 1 T n ,. A 1.. U . . ,
throat, and silvered spurs at his heels, he seemed
to have regained his native element. The litha
power and gentle, dominant ' poise of the man
stood forth with a touch of primitive splendor.
She had nbt thought of him as handsome until v
this moment.
Feeling her gaze upon him, he glanced down
at his boots and explained: "I've been trying out
a horse I wired Lee to break in for you. After
breakfast we'll see if you are pleased with him.
There is a little butte three miles from here,
where I would like you to meet' 'Arizona.' "
i - t j it,., t - j .... , ...... ir.i..
X lei uiu.1 mil jum mealing j-uu, nvien
answered. "I wonder if I, too, can ever become
like that!"
The following day Helen held her roundup.
She could wait no longer to lay her hands upon
the possibilities of the big room with its Navajo
rugs and its general spirit of frontier homeliness
and rugged comfort. The boys came at Lan
ham's command, shy and blundering before tha
sweet voice and laughing dark eyes of the little
"herd boss." Their embarrassment took the
form of wild-eyed, plunging rushes to do her
will. They seized upon furniture cr swept up
indiscriminate armfuls of anything loose at tha
mere pointing of her finger, and hurtled into
one another in mad dashes for the door and
Veranda with their burdens. ,
With quick intuition Helen promptly called
them by their first names and with a comradely
touch that at once relieved a feeling of tension
and dread the men had been under since the
receipt of Lanham's telegram. Deftly she drove
them with a firm hand and lured them from
their shells with a winsome gaycty that grad- ;
ually reduced the outfit to a state of willing;
servitude and adoration.
Stooping over the woodbox with a broom,
Bud Sellers prodded a dust-laden package from -the
narrow space next to the wall. .The sle
and weight and shape of the package seemed
to awaken memories in Bud. Stripping back a
little of the torn wrapping from the end, ha
identified the contents exactly. Lanham's name,
itS consignee, lettered boldly on the labelcom
pleted, the story.
But crouched on hands and haunchaBV Mid,
tilting his chin to the heavens, he loosed a lose,
desolate howl and another, and another, a
rising.anguish. The sounds brought Hales irOBtf
her investigation of Lanham's room.
"What in the name of mercy has happened
now?" she asked. "What is it?"
Bud solemnly handed her the package. "It
happened a long time ago. ma'am." he answered.
"I reckon the Chief had ought to tell you. I
just can't. Ask him when the little fella ain't
around." he added, guardedly.
When Lanham returned in the evening hd
stood in the doorway and gazed. The big room!
was marvelously altered in arrangement, order"
and cleanliness. Enticing welcome reached out
to him. from every point with a sort of prace
givlng benediction. Flowers and richly colored
ijroupiniis of wild shrub branches brightened
dull cornera, and in the lamplight at the c-.nte
table Helen sat reading to Don. Khe was s ned
in something that fell softly In blue silken folda
and a light scarf lay about her shoulders and
over her bare arms. Don had a look of recent
and thorough scrubbing and brushing thaf
brought a self-conscious but happy smiTe to hia
iips as he gazed up at his father.
Lanham unbuckled hia spurs and droppf
them on tha veranda by the door: and for tfcaji
, Turn to Tag Three.) "
1
