Red River prospector. (Red River, Taos County, N.M.) 1900-190?, 1904-08-04

HN6N 80 4Aa ARAAN
doing the unexpected thing. Every
body predicted. and with reason, that
II Molly Cartwell got engaged before
the season was over It would be to
young Maxwell Barton. the broad
shouldered newspaper man from Mis-
HissippL. And up to that momentous
afternoon It is fair to say that Molly
and Max shared the common convic-
ton. They were great friends. Every
body also said That it would be an ex-
Cellent match. For Molly" ONE OF
the women added. But that was only a
squirt of feminine over which
the men shrugged their shoulders
They knew the state OF Max,s tinanOss.
And now Molly had sent down word
that she was sorry, bat that she would
not be able to go boating this after
noon, and Max had swung off 70 the
wharf, covering hts disappointment
with one OF Rlghb9Tfs songs:
Oh, my Mexican Iuania,
In the moonlight 4 Will meet her,
Way down upon the silver Rio
@rande."
Molly heard. and the hand that held
THE beautiful ming 'tKitdhed %nervously-
What a voice be hadi And every
thing about him is as big as his voice"
she added regretfulby. 81 wonder If he
would care. much. il would hate to
hurt him. ale is such a happy hearted
fellow in spite of his bad luck" Her
eyes went back 10 THE ring.
For this was the unexpected thing
Gus Holden had done. He had written
Miss Molly Cattwell a business-nke
offer Of marriage and backed up his
offer with a perfect love of a diamond.
IF l see the ring on our hand to-
night, Il shall understand that you
have decided Ito make me one of the
happigst of men, - had been the formal
ending of that formal letter.
Il suppose II will have to get mar-
ried some day" she reflected. But OF
a truth, this was o exactly the way
she had intended to be made lowe to
by the mansshe would eventually mar
~. Heaven knows what she had in
tended should happen. Most girls
NANN AOhAtAAlAN AOhC ahaAAs anu tlhGAE
was no romano about this straight
cut and thrust letter; nothing hut the
ring.
Oh, that ;ringl What a beauty 1t
was. iHowtthe other girls would go on
over IT.
Everybody knew Gus Holden had
more money than he could spend.
Thatvwas all they did know about him.
THE tdeaoof marrying a nan she had
not met a dozen times! Why under
the ssun had he taken it into his head
90 be in such a hurry!
1.-The happiest Of men," How cold
it looked ION paper. No doubt he had
written 1t because he considered 1t the
correct thing, like the Yours truly
aat the bottom of a business letter.
For a minute she gave place TO pet
tishness and wished with all her heart
that Gus Holden had kept his old let
ter and his old ring to himself, and
that she was out on the water having a
good time with Max. Dear odd Max,
with his huge head and deep voice,
and. best of all, honest, happy heart.
Al very charming attributes, mo
doubt, but yet not much in the way of
assetsywhen looked at from the dollars
and cents point of view.
sand I'll have to get married some
day. Gracious knows don't want to
be an old maid" She picked up the
ring and looked at it lovingly.
you are a beauty, aren't you? Why,
Max would have to sell everything he
owns, down to his golf clubs, before he
could give a girl such a thing as this.
But, then, Max is a man. and he does
work hard. My goodness, how glori-
ously he could make love to a girl. If
only he could afford it," And Molly
pushed aside the ring and dropped her
face into her hands. that she might the
better recall a certain delicious after
noon she and Max had spent together
,tramping over the hills with their
lkodaks. The huskiness tuat had come