Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-06

vaguely Lazy SCarSdale was glad the tall
one had not responded. She leaned back in
| the red leather seat and smiled at Mr..
Cherry Barnes.
The colonel looks something great. don't
her he said. Got fatter since he was up
last year. too. Couple of weeks on the
range will put lather Of tan on him that'n
make him show up like sure enough
Rapahoe buck"
"Oh, Toms looking fine" retorted Mrs.
| Wickes fervently. with little side glance
at the silent, graceful form beside her.
| Hes pretty happy these days"
| And Cherry 'tumbled," and wondered
what under the light of heaven that slim.
sweet girl saw in big, rough Tom MCGOWAN.
Lady Scarsdale is her name he said
after the red automobile had rolled down
the smooth dusty stretch of road that led
| over the country toward the Sunset ranch.
| One OF your folks l guess. Harry.
| Harry kincaid did not answer Standing
| with his feet apart. his hands deep In his
pockets. he wondered what freak of fate
| had brought the widowed Lady Scarsdale
| across the sea, and half world around to
| cross his destiny. Lady Scarsdale, the
name rang in his ears with mockery. That
slender, dreamy-eyed girl, Lady Scarsdale
| He shut his teeth grimly, his eyelIds mar
rowing as he thought of an old, spare fig
ure whom the world had called Lord Scars
dale And that girl had been his wife:
| 'All those high society English ladies'
have got that yellow hair. and the peach
blow, amt they? Climate. guess"
She is not English" said kincaid. She's
an American. from Wyoming" Cherry
| chuckled
Did you get that beam of sunlight from
| Toms radiating smle?" he asked Reckon
| he believes in hanging on to home prod
| ucts."
For the next month matters looked as IL
| Cherry We're right. Sunset ranch lay at the
| feet of Lady Bell to do with as she liked
and Its owners neck was beneath her dam
| ty heel But there were days at 4 time
| when the Hon. Tom was called by virtue
| of his office, down to Cheyenne. and his sis
| ter Nell forgot her role of chaperone at
| large. and motored joyously with her old
| pal Cherry. For more than mere miles
| lies between Washington and Wyoming.
and the freedom of the range steals into
ones blood, and rouses the primitive in
stincts. Cherry would not have shone at
| Washington, but he conceded perfectly
| with the primitive values.
And into the body and soul of Lady
| Scarsdale there crept. too, this strange.
insidious spirit of the open. 1t is
| is pantheistic mystery to II. a personal
mingling with the very forces OF nature.
until the minor things of life-life such
| as Lady Scarsdale had known in Lon
| don, and Paris, and Observation-Disclosures
simply nothing in the general scheme of
things. There remained only the grandeur
| OF the open where one might do just as
he wanted to according to the primitive
values.
'If only one never had to go back
she had said one day, when Kincaid had
ridden with her along the ridge Of sand
stone buttes and they had paused to look
at sudden upon belt of green, celft by
| w,
TT isn't the going back" Kincaid had
answered slowly. 1T is the going back
| alone"
She had not looked at him. nor spoken
again. There was no need. In her silence
he read a greater confession than mere
words could have said. and she dreaded
his eyes. Through and through they
searched her, read her thoughts and left
her unmasked. without pose or balance.
until she was conscious of a wild. unrea-
sonable longing to put everything behind
bar ali n-<fG 1I4 e. f.r.l
and sisters, the poor. pitiful brief honey
moon when age and creeping gray death
had seemed to steal over her. and choke
all the sunlight out of life put II all
away, and stand by this mans side, only
knowing love.
Who he she did not know, nor care
about. All her life she had been taught
to Judge man by his pedigree and name.
The man himself counted for little. Even
MCGOWAN, with all his crude roughness,
had been relief
One day she had come home from a
ride with Kincaid and found Nell wait
ing for her on the little veranda of the
one-story ranch house. Keenly, kindly the
other woman's blue eyes had looked at
her, looked at the light in her eyes and
the rose flush on her face. Kinca!d
lifted her from her pony. When they
Tom doesn't stand a ghost of a chance,
does he, dear?' And as Lady Scarsdale
was silent: why don't you tell him so2
1t would d, ease up matters little
Just because Harry Kincaid isn't the
boy to butt into another mans game"
up here play square deal in love as
well as other things. They're not your
continental breed. You can't give Harry
a fair show until you've fired Tom"
MCGOWAN came back from Cheyenne
that night And the following morning
the red automobile took the road for Sum
set station that the colonel might catch
the noon train for Omaha.
standing on the yeranda with her ewes
red and swollen from crying Nell turned
glowing. proud face on the woman be-
side her.
Isn't he game. thought" she exclaimed.
II knew he'd clear out If you once told
MIN there was no show. I'm awfully sorry :
for him, but he'll pull up all right Toms
| game"
Kincaid understood, too. without her
telling him. He went to the station with
ranch. she had gone for ride Nell said.
He knew where to find her, just as he had
known an the way home that she would
be waiting for him. And the letter he
carried grew heavier 1t seemed. with ev-
| cry mile he covered.
| she was sitting at the base of his
blasted pine on Devils Peak when he
found her. Near by grazed the black pony
MCGOWAN had picked for her In her rid
ing suit, with its short ankle length skirt,
younger snd p ma4s r Wa,st ta she looked
Kincaid took her in his arms she leaned
back her head on his shoulder.
whispered.
Wen have to. sweetheart. sometimes"
he said For your sake. I've told Tom
that 1 Will leave the ranch. 1t had to be-
you know. He understood. But listen to
me. ! am not rich-'
She placed her hand over his lips imper-
atfvely.
Il won't listen," she exclaimed. There
are other places besides the Sunset that
we can go to, aren't there? don't want
you to be rich. 1 only want to be with
you, somewhere. anywhere"
DO you think it's fair? Do you think
I have a right to ask?
/ She laughed and closed her eyes. Kin
caid kissed her and the letter in his pocket
felt less weighty.
Lying at her feet under the old. black
ened pine, he handed her the envelope later
and watched her read what IL contained.
1t was brief business letter from the late
! Lord Scarsdale'S barsters in London and
merely notified Mr. Henry Kincaid of the
death of his fathers cousin some months
previous, and of their difficulty in locating
the whereabouts of the said Mr.. Henry