Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-03-24
KIT OR NELL?


cattle he was as thin as a rail and
homesick with that awful homesick-
ness which man feels who hasn't a
home. He was in sight of Bryson when
his pony went down and, falling on
him, fractured his leg. When they
got him in town, they took him to the
hotel and proceeded to mend him.
Thought you was just in time to go
to the weddin' Jim," said some one.
what weddin'?" asked Jim, glad to
speak and save himself from groaning.
'The weddin' up at Lees"
"At Lee's?" cried the sick man, sit
ting up. (Which girl is goin' to be
married-Kit or Nell?"
Don't know"
Carrot Jim got up on his elbow and
looked over the crowd.
"What mans here that will do n
service for me?" he asked. That 1t was
not trining service which he was
about to ask was apparent from his
manner. His face was strained and
white with physical pain. but in his
eyes was look such as physical pain
cannot give.
II guess I'm your man." young Hig-
gins said, coming around from behind
the big base burner. whats the job?"
He was strapping young 1rishman,
with round blue eyes, and Carrot Jim
got him out of a stampede on the range
the year before. Every one had for
gotten 1t except Higgins himself. Its
1. H..
$50 I'll be glad to git out of here. What
do you want me to do?"
Carrot Jim saw everything black be-
fore him, and his voice as he spoke
sounded far off and like the voice of
another man, but he managed to say:
ride to Lee's-now, now, now! Git
back before the weddin' and let me
know whether it's Kit or Nell"
''Well?" said young Higgins. "Well?"
'Well," cried Carrot Jim. gesticulat-
ing violently with his fingers like a
man in the wheat pit, ''if it's Nell, come
back here and let me know, and I'll
set 'em up for the hull crowd. and If
it's Kit-why, If it's Kit
"Then," said young Higgins, compre-
hending, probably you'd rather not
see me at ALL"
Don't be fool, Jim," said the hotel
clerk. ''If weddin is on, it can't be
stopped. There's storm comm up.
wouldn't want anybody l was con-
sarned about goin' far today"
But Carrot Jim turned frantic eyes
on young Higgins, and Higgins nodded
to Jim and went out.
1t was eighteen miles up to Lees,
and the road lay in the open country.
1t ran in fact the length of treeless
mesa, and the pulverized dust of the
highway, poisoned with alkali, was a
torture to the nostrils binding to the
eyes, agoniZing to the throat. Higgins
got Il cayuse, because they have the
souls of Indians in them and will 60
their journey no matter what comes.
By and by there was yellow whirl
Of dust all about him, and the little
cayuse was blown out of the road, and
then suddenly the wind seemed blow
ing from the heart of Glacier bay, and
there was an awful iciness that seemed
to freeze his heart and great swirls Of
yellow sand going up to heaven-splen-
did moving spirals wonderful to see
and noise as of great angry waters,
though there were no waters.
But the cayuse, mind you, had the
soul of an Indian in him and would
go to his journeys end, no matter what
came. So he put his nose to the ground
and stood there with his rigid legs
planted firm, and the young Irishman
To-, flo IN bOrca'c hao thnv
stuck together like two brave fellows
who knew when the fight came and
weren't going to run away.
In few moments the dramatic part
was over, the thermometer had fallen
% degrees, and northwester was
beating on them. Then they took up
the road again and pushed on. When
they got to Lees, the horse whinnied,
and some one came out and lugged
Higgins in to the fire, and after drink
or two he was all right. And then,
what with having the cold in his brain
and the memory of pretty victory in
his heart-for he liked to be hero
and was glad he was alive-he sat up
and whooped like an Indian, SO that
the cayuse out in the stable heard it
and lifted its ears as If his old mas
tiers were calling him.
For the bride was Nell; it was Nell,
with the china blue eyes and the silly
yellow hair, and Kit-who had lovely
eyes of brown and brow like Ma
donna's, and whom Carrot Jim had
been thinking of all those awful soli-
tary nights up on the range-Kit was
asking Higgins how he felt and why
Carrot Jim hadn't come with him.
They didn't want him to go back
that night. They said it was suicidal.
but Higgins had his own ideas, and he
had read of D'Artagnan, so he got into
squirrel skin coat and kissed the
bride and took a stirrup cup and rode
away. In his breast was an envelope
with lock of brown hair. 1t was for
Carrot Jim, and Kit had cut it for him
with her own hands.
So the Irlshman went out singing
and laughing and swearing at the