Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-08-01

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was that he had come to tell her. He
side of the Colorado, and had had
rews of her husband there, quite by
chance.
"Tell me-" said Maggie, "teI me the
whole thing. 1 want to know"
Leslie told her, tipping back in his
chair with his hands clasped behind
his fine head, and his buckskinned
legs crossed with a swing.
"Well," he started, lit was this way,
you see. He lit out with a woman-a
bad egg from ove Central way"
Central City was the railway town.
''They went into California, and they
set to keeping a RESTRAINT at Meyers
mine. He got tired of her by and by.
and he vamoosed the rancho there,
too, and went down near TO Los
Angeles. He sot into a scrap there
and the other fellow was a better
shot. L guess. That's all"
"Who told you?' asked Maggie.
1.-TWO fellows that was on the cor
oner's jury" he answered her.
what did he fight for?"
woman" he told her. CURLY. "She
was the other mans wife"
Maggie's face was so near the color
of the alkali sand outside that it
could not turn pale. And the only ex-
preston of which her eyes had ever
been capable was a dull hopelessness.
So there would have been no guessing
how the news affected her except hat
her fingers strained until the joints
of them were livid. "Where's he
planted?" she asked.
He told her the name of the town.
eff you'll marry me now, I'll take
you to see his grave"
Maggie began to cry then. Even
when Dennison had departed she had
not shed a tear. So it was all the
worse now. Tears held hack for FOUR
years from eyes, heat-dried, come
painfully.
Leslie thought for a while tina she
was going to die. And hat would
be his fault. 1t occurred to him
that he had perhaps been abrupt.
He had never seen a woman cry, be-
cause women had not entered much
into his scheme of things. For a
while he sat and shifted on his chair
and watched, very unhappy indeed.
Then he got up and went to her and
put mis- hand on her shoulder tenta-
lively. She pushed it of-and he
felt that he had been unwise again.
So he walked to the door and stood
there, his feet wide apart, consid-
ering the glaring fiat and looking
back at Maggie, over his shoulder,
now and then.
She cried for a good half hour, and
the whole experience frightened Les
lie so much that it was not until
nearly sunset that he dared get up to
the subject again. He meant to go
at 1t tactfully this time, but it came
at the end of a long, strained pause.
"Say-what about our getting joined
in wedlock and all that-anyway?'
held his breath for fear she would
cry again.
But she took it quietly this time.
81 amt sure he's dead" she answered.
81 am" said Leslie. But I'll go
fetch the fellows hat told me about
it, and you can find out for your
He went out and saddled his
broncho, and departed by the way
he had come. "I1n be back" he said.
He had no idea where the fellows
were to be found. They had been
.prospectors, and might be anywhere
in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado or
phrasing might have been less pol
ished, his sentiments were indentical
with those of Calonne-if it were but
impossible, it should be done. It
took him four months to do it. But
at the end of that time he rode up to
the adobe again. There were two
men with him, and they went into
details that caused Maggie to be con
vinced.
"A1l right" she said to Leslie that
night, 'I'l marry you" 1t was not
enthusiastic, but Leslie made allow
ances, and took what he could get.
So, the next morning, the ranch
left in charge of the two
vaqueros, the Mexican woman, the
Il children and five mongrel dogs.
And Maggie and Leslie rode off, side
by side, with the two men bringing
up the rear. The same padre who
had made her Mrs. Dennison made
her Mrs. Leslie now, and gave her
his blessing. She took it stolidly.
Then she and her husband took the
the train for California, to see Den
nison's grave.
The head board to it had the sur
name in black letters on a plain board
ground. Maggie did not like that,
Leslie paid for a new one-white,
painted with the Christian names as
well. When it was duly put up, they
went on their way. The way was to-
ward the Mojave. Leslie had mining
interests up there, and, being in the
general neighborhood, he took the
opportunity of looking them up.
At Mojave they left the train. hired
a wagon and proceeded toward the
interior. All day they drove along
road that wound between soft
hills, pale brown, shrub
flecked. The sun scorched. Near the
railway there were small cultivated
bits, where green things grew. But
they stopped after a while. By after
it was ~desolation.
"Where'n we put up to-night?'' !
Maggie asked-the first time there
had been a word in two hours or
There was a house ahead, he told
her. He had inquired as to that. It
was IS miles from the railway-more