The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1895-07-06

u 'NSh oibSi tllot. io oDStI tttI.
Then he consigned the letter to his
pocket.
Quemadura Flat was isolated from
railroads, and ten days elapsed be-
fore an answer was received. A
brief note from Miss Halsted-ad-
dressed, by the way, to Miss"
Dorothy neutrality-suspicious. Fred
of its arrival, and within the snug
precincts of her dwelling lie found
that young lady considerably anus
ed. Mr. Williams reply was certain
ly in keeping with the advertise.
ment by which it had been pre-
ceded.
MY dear Miss Weldon, " it began.
Thanks for your letter. Thanks,
too, for your picture. l also thank
God that l have been permitted to
receive them. Perhaps that sounds
like a stampede of fervency, but I'm
more accustomed to stampedes than
to writing letters. Therefore when
l tell you that I like your points you
a back my words"
And thus launched upon the sea
of OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES in four
pages of very "unfashionable" paper
-ho continued. He reiterated all he
had previously published and added
considerable in unimportant detail,
of which reference to certain bank
ers in Los Angeles comprised no
small part. Nor was Fred's allusion
to cowboy chivalry without its ef-
feet, for, in conclusion, he went on;
"As to your own right to your
brand, no further remarks are nee
essary. have seen your face Con
paper), and have heard you talk
| know the yelp of a sneaking coy
ote, and | never yet failed to recog-
nize the joweled hide of a rattle.
snake. That's all"
With this, however, Miss Halsted
appeared less ~agreeably diverted.
There's a rough, Quixotic ca
dence about it that approaches pa
thos, was her amusing comment.
Fred laughed.
He does put it rather neatly"
he vouchsafed, but he's only O.
cowboy, Dolly, and besides this is
only his first. Who knows what a
mine of loving tenderness we may
yet develop?'
The young girl shook her head.
You, perhaps; not me-" she re-
turned. Il shall write no more"
But, Dolly, think of the
II know-the fun, Miss Halsted
interposed. But it's not fun for
him, and l refuse to continue"
Nevertheless another letter was
written, and in Dolly's delicate Chi
Biography. Nor did Fred's subse-
quent expression of satisfaction
arise wholly from the epistle itself,
rather from the young girls sub
servience to his wishes.
AS before, a lapse of ten days
brought the reply. So also did each
succeeding interval for several
months thereafter. And they GER
tainly yielded no small fund of en-
tertainment. The writer, albeit he
invariably answered by return mail,
was by no mea of a lovclorn dis
position. He strayed into anecdote,
thence to humor and with results,
in a crude way, infinitely amusing
Fred, too, it has since been asserted,
soon viewed the correspondence
from another standpoint, and indeed
it did permit him to visit Dolly with
a frequency prohibited by conven-
tionality.
But it must be confessed that Mr.
Witham speedily began to chafe I'M
der the restraint of combining words
to a mailbag. Each letter contained
it's appeal that he be permitted to
visit the city. Nor yer his plants
without a certain element of the pa
thetic. His ranch was 60 miles from
civilization and refinement. That 60
miles he now traversed to receive
only a letter
And he's scarcely to be blamed,
Dolly, Fred once observed. Think
of what his longing would be had he
seen your own features instead of
Mile. Clio's!' Then he contemplated
the girls fair face with a smile, and
turning away hummed a bar of
something about a letter that new
er came"
Meantime, however, there arrived
a day when the newspapers had &C.
casion to publish Jake Witham' 8
name. 1t was only a brief notice -
telegraphic-and recounting the do
struction by fire of Quemadura Flat,
the settlement wherein that gentle
mar received his mail. He had been
present at the time, presumably
awaiting the customary letter, and
had generously donated $500 to those
rendered homeless.
AS the item met Fred's Y a
change came over his face, and clip
ping it from the paper he conveyed
it to Miss Halsted.
I'm rather sorry, after all, Dol
ly, that we selected such a man for
a fool" he said, with a seriousness,
10 him, unusual. He certainly APP
pears to have a heart, and a big
one"
Dolly smiled, albeit somewhat sa-