Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-04-08
,oo oooo 1000 oooo ooooo00ooO{
/ OLD STONER'S GIRL|
How She Became a
Happy Woman. !
BY HOWARD, SHERlN.

g BY HOWARD SHEhIN' 2
0oo oooo oooo oooo ooooo 900
The story properly begins at mid
night on the San Luis Obispo coast
California, 20 years ago, when the sep
TENDER moonlight shone down upon
stoner's cattle ranch. near the Pacific
ocean, in the rugged Santa Lucia
mountains. :,
Stoner had been a Texas ranger and
could hold his own extremely well I'D
that rough frontier community. He
had carried off a pretty Spanish wife
from the Chihuahua region years be-
fore, had brought her to the rocky
California coast and had purchased
settlers claim and an old adobe
house built by Spanish hidalgo half
a century ago.
Here he farmed, raised cattle on the
unused government lands and Kept
sort of hotel, for several mountain
trails Joined at that point the broad
highway which led from the county
seat, 20 miles south, to the northern
settlements in the pineries. He had
five daughters, too, the youngest, Their
esa, known as Tessa, a girl of II. That
added to the attraction, and almost
every night the dark eyed half Span
ish girls sang and danced, and Old
Stoner managed to hear all the news
that was afiOat, and somehow most OF
the loose coin Of the region ultimately
found its way into his pockets. He
was a deep one, that same Ephraim
Stoner, quiet, sly and patient, secret
in his methods and deadly in his blow.
Stoner's wife and his four eldest
daughters were uneducated and in
complete subsection to his will. But
Tessa had more brains and energy than
all the rest put together and quite as
much beauty, and so the old Texan
ranger took a certain pride in her and
had even allowed her to attend dis
trict school for two years.
This midnight when, as have said,
the story begins person Of a prying
might have discovered sew
eral interesting performances in prog
ress around the Stoner abode. On the
north side of the house Tessa was lean
ing from her window conversing In low
tones with a blond, fair haired and
sturdy young man on horseback.
"Tom, do you know my father? He
is not the careless, warm hearted man
you may suppose. l must admire his
but that is all. l warn you.
Tom, there never was a more danger
Gus man. He may be where he hears
every word you say, though IL he is he
will not speak to you or me about it.
But If he knew you cared for me he
would be your enemy. He has other
plans for me. He wants me to marry
for money"
Tom Warren had once been the
in the mountain district.
miles away, where Tessa had been one
Of his pupils. Thrown upon his own
resources from his childhood, he had
developed strong, earnest character
and was already so popular In the
county that he had just been elected
sheriff, though the youngest man on
The ticket. /
While Tessa and her lover were talk.
Ing scene Of a different nature was
being enacted on the south side of the |
DID adobe. which overlooked deep IA.
vine and camp of five or six men in a |
field below. For several years thes.
men had spent their summers there,
'stensibly hunting, fishing and explor
ng the country with their dogs and
guns. Every one knew them. and most
persons liked them. Tessa did not.
Stoner, though 1t was midnight, sat
n the moonlight on an old rawhide
hair outside the door smoking his pipe
md meditating-a tough, sinewy, griz-
lied night owl of a man.
"That Internal knucklehead at the
amp ought to have reported before
low," he thought to himself as H..
smoked.
A man came out of the brush and
poke deferentially.
"Cap'n, good evening"
"You're late"
"Dick was shot" =
"Well?"
"Just as the driver throwed of the
1ox. Shot by passenger in the neck
aid shoulder"
He mustn't stay here to get us into
trmble. Take boat and carry him to
the point and leave him in the caye
thee"
"les, cap'n."
"Iow much aboardw
About $1,000 for the Josephine min.
ars,"
send it over the cliff before morn.
ng, and I'll divide it up soon. But
You be extra careful-that new sheriff
S a smart one"
"All right, cap'n. "And the man went
'ack to camp.
A moment later, Just as Stoner was
'oing into the house, there was a
ow thud Of horses hoofs, and Tom
Warren, the young sheriff, rode down
he trail around the corner of the
Id adobe building into the country
DAD that led to the west. He had at .
asst yielded to Tessa's entreaties to
Go, go, this minute, Tom"
lmpassive as Stoner was he felt q
tile startled by the sight.
Where In the devil did you come
rom, sheriff? Anything up in this ,
art Of the country?"
"Oh. no, not particle. I've been
listing my old school In the noun. :
lins and took the trail home down ,
ayucus."
This was plausible enough for there .
as blind trail that entered the can. =.
On just east of the angle of the house :