The Topeka state journal., 1906-05-23
TIE EVENING STORY
senorita Rita.
~ Izola Forrester. ]

I et9 4AS caught glimpse OF IL SAQ6WaySe
Perhaps he returned moodily. Il
nave stayed too long already"
ou do not like Texas, senor? ??
ou did not call me senor last
but she did not turn her head. You
called me-Jack'
She laughed and flashed a hasty
glance at him from her soft, dark eyes.
That was a long time ago-last
week-but I will cali you it again If
you wish. Mister Jack
Carruthers did not notice the conces-
SION or her gay scorn. He started out
to where the cattle browsed-a sea of
still. brown waves. hundreds of them,
Inotionless and peaceful in the morning
sunrise Here and there on the out
skirts stood a figure Of horse, with
silent rider. watching the grazing
herd Carruthers' gaze swept over the
mass until it rested on one herder at
the extreme north. Even with the dis
tance Of nearly a mile between them he
knew what the figure looked like, knew
that it was watching them as he was
watching it. It was not pleasant
knowledge.
You have changed your mind, seno-
I rita Rita" he said bitterly, since
Ramon came to the ranch l was very
happy-in Texas, until your old sweet
heart appeared
Rita laughed again, deliciously,
warmly, with a full enjoyment of his
mood.
You are not tired of Texas, Mister
Jack she said merrily. You are tired
/ of me-ah, yes, I say you are You
! love me so n1adly, so entrancingly, In
/ til somebody else comes who also loves
me so madly, so entrancingly too. and
then, all al once, you are jealous and
distant and dissatisfied, and prestol
now, this minute, you say you will leave
Texas, you will never, never come to the
Fortuna Ranch again. You are-What
did you call me the day cried when
| Pep broke his leg2-kid, that is it; you
are big, foolish kid, Mister Jack. When
| a man loves he does not sulk and ride
away. He stays and fights. Seel' She
held up her hand and snapped her small.
tanned fingers sharply in the air. I
would not give that for the silly kid
| lover who rides away. Ramon is 4
Mexican. but he is brave, he can fight;
| If but let him know the least bit
! loved him he would carry me of his
| horse, way, way south over there to
Mexico. You would not carry me away
to your home like that, would you, Mis-
ter Jack?
7 would carry you to the end Of the
| world" retorted Carruthers.
But not to your home?" she 1er-
sisted.
q have no home" said Carruthers.
When came here to Texas I meant
to stay even before I met YOU.
But you are rich. Ramon says you
| could buy all of the Fortuna for a pas
time if you cared for it. And the For
tuna is the richest ranch within a hun
dred miles Of the border. There is 10
cattleman so rich as my father in
Mexico"
She lifted her head with the little
tilt of pride he knew well. Senorita
| Rita Riaz, heiress of the Fortuna,
could we'll afford to lift her head a
trif1e higher than other girls. But to
Carruthers the motion brought merely
regret. He knew the truth about the
Fortuna; knew what every Texan as
L ~
a week-that old Diablo Riaz had
! squandered his wealth in gambling,
that not a thing on the Fortuna was
! unmortgaged save his daughter, and
even she. 1t was rumored. was pledged
to Ramon Doranda in return for his
promised assistance when the crash
came.
Carruthers might have given the
same assistance and claimed the same
reward, but something within him re-
VOTED against making the hand of the
girl he loved the stake in a transa ction
over old Riaz's gambling debts. If he
could win her, if he could hold her
promise freely from her own lips, then
he felt free to buy up the whole For
tuna when the crash came and lay it
at her feet. But she must be free to
say yes or no. And she would say
neither. She would only laugh.
'Have you told Ramon you would
marry him % he asked with sudden
curtness. The uncertainty was mad
dening to him.
Why do you ask?" she answered
teasingly.
RIA he pleaded. "be serious. If
She raised her arm with a sudden.
imperative gesture and pointed to the
Look" she cried. "rhey are stam-
peding!"
Carruthers looked. The brown sea
had suddenly stirred to life. Undulat-
ing, swaying, branching out loosely at
| the edges, it was Iurchins toward them
There seemed to be nothing rapid or
| swift about it's coming. Carruthers
thought, almost idly, of how 1t resem-
bled the swing of a bunch of race
horses rounding the end of the field
when the movement was so concerted,
so deliberate, that it hardly seemed a
movement. The herders were riding
here and there in confusion. They
seemed mere specks of helpless misdi-
rection in the distance.
Rita's face had lost its color. She
turned her horse about, the rein held
short and tight in her clenched hand.
I'VE must race before them as they
come" she said. IF the horses keep
their strength they will not trample
us"
But Carruthers had slipped from his
saddle.
them he answered. "Dismount and
do as I tell you
The stern masterfulness of his tone
startled her. He had never spoken like
that to her, no one had.
Hold the horses he ordered. She
obeyed, watching him in breathless 81
Ience. The brown cloud on the prairie
was becoming more and more distinct
i There was a heavy, low rumble in the
air like far off thunder. Carruthers
drew a cigarette case from his pocket
and after hunting carefully, he pro-
duced one match.
.sThat is the only one I have" he
said. pray that 1t doesn't go out.
He struck it on the box The faint
fame wavered in the southeasterly
breeze. caught the end of the cigarette
and lit it. Before tha match went out
Carruthers knelt and set fire TO the
grass. It was dry and yellow from