The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1904-01-08


From her face had no doubt that she
would not hesitate to do as she had
said. l changed my tactics, for was
anxious about my pony, and said, with
my best smile:
Cant you call them back? Wont
they obey your"
Her face changed in moment
rs it your pony? Do you love him
very much?"
"Dearlyw | said, persuading myself
of sudden affection for the cranky
little brute.
She sprang upon her pinto and set off
down the tHail The pony was now
coursing up and down the slopes,
doubling like hare instinctively
avoiding the canyon, where he would
be cornered. He was mad with terror at
the huge brutes that were silently but
with awful and sure swiftness running
him down.
The girl on the pinto whistled shrilly
and called to her dog: Down, Wolf,
Back, Loo But, running low, with
| long, stretched bodies, they needed not.
but sped on. ever gaining upon the
pony that now circled toward the pinto.
As they drew near in their circling, the
girl urged her pinto to meet them.
loosening her ariat as she went. AS
the pony neared the pinto he slackened
his speed; Immediately the nearer dog
and sprang for the pony's throat. But.
even as she sprang, the lariat whirled
round the girls head and fell swift
and sure about the dogs neck, and next
moment she lay choking upon the
prairie. Her mate paused. looked
back and gave up the chase. But dire
vengeance overlook them, for, like one
possessed, the girl fell upon them with
her quirt and beat them one after the
other till, in pity for the brutes, in
terposed.
"They shall do as say or l shall
kill them! shall kill them!" she cried,
raging and stamping.
Better shoot them" | suggested.
pulling out my pistol.
Immediately she flung herself upon
the one that moaned and whined at
her feet, crying:
If you dare! If you darer' Then
she burst into passionate sobbing.
You bad Loo, You bad, dear old Loo.
But you were bad-you know you were
bad" AND so she went on, with her
arms about Loo's neck till Loo, whin-
ing and quivering with love and de-
light threatened to go quite mad, and
Wolf. standing majestically near, broke
into short howls of Impotence for his
turn of caressing. They made strange
group, those three wild things, equally
fierce and passionate in hate and in
love.
Suddenly the girl remembered me.
and standing up she said. half
ashamed:
They always obey me. They are
mine, but they kill any strange thing
that comes in through the gate. They
are allowed to-"
1T is pleasant whim."
"What?"
Il mean. isn't that dangerous to
strangers?'
"Oh, no one ever comes alone ex-
cept the Duke And they keep off the
wolves"
The Duke comes, does hep
Yes and her eyes lit up, He is
my friend. He calls me his princess.
and he teaches me to talk and tells
me stories-oh, such wonderful stories"'
looked in wonder at her face, so
gentle, so girlish, and tried to think
back to the picture of the girl who a
few moments before had so coolly
threatened to shoot me and had so
furiously beaten her dogs.
kept her talking Of the Duke as we
walked back to the gate, watching her
face the while. 1t was not beautiful
it was too thin and the mouth was too
large. But the teeth were good and the
eyes, blue black with gray rims, looked
straight at you-true eyes and brave
whether in love or in war. Her hair
was her glory. Red it was, in spite of
His denial, but of such marvellous, in
describable shade that in certain lights,
as she rode over the prairie, it streamed
behind her like purple banner--a
most confusing and bewildering color,
but quite in keeping with the nature
of the owner.
She gave her pinto to Joe and, stand
ing at the door. welcomed me with a
dignity and graciousness that made me
think that the Duke was not far wrong
when he named her Princess"
The door opened upon the main or
living room. 1t was long apartment,
with low ceiling and walls of hewn
logs chinked and plastered and all
beautifully whitewashed and clean.
The tables, chairs and benches We're all
homemade. On the floor were mag
nificent skins of wolf, bear, musk OK
and mountain goat. The walls were
decorated with heads and horns of
deer and mountain sheep, eagles wings
and a beautiful breast of a loon, which
Gwen had shot and of which she was
very proud. AT one end of the room
huge stone fireplace stood radiant in
its summer decoration of ferns and
grasses and wild flowers. AT the other
end a door opened into another room.
smaller and richly furnished with
relics of former grandeur.
Everything was clean and well kept.
Every nook, shelf and corner was
decked with flowers and ferns from
the canyon.