The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1904-06-01
CHAPTER TX.
GWEN.

S"EN.
An Ut was not many days after
H8l Il my arrival In the foothill coun.
E69Naed try that l began to hear of
e2Sys&D Gwen. They all had stories
of her. The details were not many, but
the impression was vivid. She lived
remote from that center Of civilization
known as Swan Creek in the postal
guide, but locally MS Old Lat0ur's, far
up among the hills near the Devils
lake, ana from her fathers ranch she
never venturcd. But some of the men
had had glimpscs of her and had come
to definite opinions regarding her.
"What is she likc?" I asked BIZ one
day, trying to pin him down to some
thing like Il descriptive account of her.
"Like! She's n %tcrrcr," he said,
with slow emphasis, "a holy t%errer."
"But what is she like What does
she look like?" | asked impaticntly.
Look likc?" lie considered n mo
I ment, looked slowly round as If search
ing for II smile, then answered, ~
dunno"
Don't know: What do YOU mean?
Haven't YOU seen herr"
"Ych! But she amt like nothin'."
Bill was quite decided upon this
point.
1 tried again.
"Wcll, what sort Of hair has she got2
Shes got hair, supposc?"
"IIaycr! Well, II few said Bill,
| with some choice combinations of pro-
family in population of my suggcs-
ton. yards of 1t! Red"
"Git OUT" c%ontradicted Iii. "Red!
'Tain't no more rcd than mine.'
Bill regarded HIS lair critically.
"What color do YOU put on to your
old brush?' he asked cautiously.
"'Iain't no difference. 'Tuin't red,
anyhow"
"Rcd! Well, not quite exactly" and
Bill went off into n low, long, choking
chucklc, circulating 10Y and then:
"Rcd. Jce-mi-ny Ann. Rcd!'
mo, H." he went on, recovering him
self with th" same ab%ruptncss as he
used with his bronco, and looking at
his friend with II face ever more than
usually solemn, "your haycr amt red,
Hi; don't let any of your relatives
persuade you TO that. 'Tain't red!
oi' ~ w 81 VII uSblll, u
| pulled himself up with dangerous sud
dcnncss. at may be blue, cerulyum
blue or ever purple, but red'- He
paused violently, looking Mt his friend
rs if he found him n new and interest
ing object OF study upon which he
could not trust himself to speak. Nor
could he be induced to proceed with
| the description he had begun.
But Eli, paying no attention to Bits
grafton, took up the subject with en-
thusiasm.
"She kin %ride-slhc's n regular buster
to ride; amt she, Bill!" Bill nodded.
"She kin bunch cattle an cut out an
yank a steer up to any cowboy on the
range"
"NNhy, how big is she"
big? Why, she's just a kid! 'Tain't
the bigness of her; it's the nerve. She's
got the coolest kind of nerve you aver
seen; hain't she, Billf" And again Bill
nodded.
"Member the day she dropped that
steer, Bill?" went on HI.
"What was that" I asked, eager for
a yarn.
"Oh, nuthin'," said Bill.
"Nuthin'! rctorted HI. pretty big
nuthin'!'
"What was itf" urged.
ooh, Bill here did some funny work
at old Meredith's round up, but he
don't speak of 1t. He's shy, you see,"
and Eli grlnned.
"Well, there amt no occasion for
your proceedln' on TO that tact" said
Bill dlsgustediy, and HI Loyalty re-
Trained, so l have never yet got the
rights of the story. But from what /
did hear l gathered that Bill, at the
risk of his life. had pulled the Duke
from under the hoofs Of a mad steer,
and that little Gwen had In Che cool
est possible manner "sailcd In on her
bronco and, 10y putting two bullets In