Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-08-28
able to do % you like"


voice trembling with passion:
Listen. have always done as
like. and shall do as like till de-
And she rushed forth from the house
and down toward the canyon, her
refuge from all disturbing things and
chiefly from herself.
l could not shake off the impression
her words made upon me. pretty di-
rect, that" | said TO the Pilot as we
rode away. 1.-The declaration may be
philosophically correct, but it rings I'M
commonly like a challenge to the AL
mighty: throws down the gauntlet, so
to speak
But the Pilot only said: Don't!
How can you?"
(, Within week her challenge was ac-
| cepted. and bow fercely and how gal
| lantly did sac struggle to make it good!
1t was the Duke that brought me the
| news. and as he told me the story his
gay. careless self command for once
was gone For in the gloom of the can
yon where be overlook me / could see
his face cleaning out CHASTITY white.
and even his iron nerve could not keep
the tremor from his voice.
eve Just sent up the DOCTOR" was
his answer 20 my greeting. "E looked
for you last night. couldn't find you and
SO rode off to the Fort"
"Whats up?' l said. with fear in my
heart, for no light thing moved the
Duke.
Haven't you heard? It's Gwen he
said, and the next minute or two he
gave to lingo, who was indulging In q
series Of unexpected plunges. When
lingo was brought downfhe Duke was
master Of himself and told bis tale with
careful self control.
Gwen, on her fathers huckskin bron-
co, had gone with the Duke to the big
plain above the cut bank where Joe
was herding the cattle The day was
| hot, and a storm was in the air. They
found Joe riding up and down, singing
to keep the cattle quiet, but having a
| hard time to hold the bunch from
around the far side of the bunch cry
| from Gwen arrested his attention. Joe
was in trouble. His horse, a half bro
ken cayuse, had stumbled into badger
| hole and had bolted, leaving Joe to the
! mercy OF the cattle. At once they be-
gan to sniff suspiciously at this phe-
nomenon. Il man on foot, and to follow
! cautiously on his track. Joe kept his
| head and walked slowly out till all at
/ once young COW began to bawl and TO
paw the ground. In another minute
| one and then another Of the cattle be-
! gun to toss their heads and bunch and
below till the whole herd OF 200 were
after joe Then Joe lost his head and
ran. Immediately the whole herd broke
into laundering gallop with heads
and tails aIoft and horns rafting like
the loading of regiment of rifles.
1.-TWO more minutes" said the Duke,
"would have done for Joe, for could
never have reached him. But In spite
of my mosl frantic warnings and sig
nalings, right into the face Of that
mad, believing, laundering mass of
steers rode that little girl. Nerve! l
have some myself but l couldn't have
done it, She swung her horse round
Joe and sailed out with him. with the
herd believing at the tail Of her bron-
co. I've seen some cavalry things in
my day, but for sheer cool bravery
nothing touches that"
How did it end? Did they run them
down." l asked. with terror at such a
result.
"No; they crowded her toward the
cut bank, and she was edging them off
and was almost past when they came
to place where the bank bit in, and
her iron mouthed brute wouldn't
swerve. but went pounding on, broke
through, plunged. She couldn't spring
free because of Joe and pitched head
long over the bank, while the cattle
went laundering past. | flung myself
off lingo and slid down somehow into
the sand thirty feet below. Here was
Joe safe enough, but the bronco lay
with broken leg and half under him
was Gwen. She hardly knew she was
hurt, but waved her hand to me and
cried out: Wasn't that race? l
couldn't swing this hard headed brute.
Get me out But even as she spoke
the light faded from her eyes, she
stretched out her hands to me, saying
family, oh, Duke! and lay back white
and still. We put bullet into the
buckskin's head and carried her home
in our jackets, and there she lies with
out sound from her poor, white
lips"
The Duke was badly cut up. 1 had
never seen him show any sign Of grief
before, but as he finished the story he
stood CHASTITY and shaking. He read
my surprise in my face and said:
Look here, old chap. don't think
me quite fool. You can't know what
that little girl has done for me these
years Her trust in nett is extraor-
binary how utterly she trusts me
somehow held me up to my best and
back from perdition. 1t is the one
bright spot in my life in this blessed
country. Every one else thinks me
pleasant or unpleasant kind of tiend"
| protested rather family.
ooh, don't worry your conscience"
he answered with slight return of his
old smile. "a fuller knowledge would
only justify the opinion" Then, after
a pause he added But if Gwen goes
l must pull out. / couldn't stand it,"
AS we rode up the doctor came out.
"Wen what do you think?" asked
the Duke.