La Junta tribune. (La Junta, Bent County, Colo.) 1881-1939, 1906-08-18
Darkesf Just Before Dnsu1

Iooo00o00ooo0ooooooooooo0G8
from The pedestrians on the sidewalk.
all Of whom sxpscted to see the Eirl
manxiso to death beneath the iroa-
shod team.
EvaA as the gasp OF emotion aAA
sympathy went up. however. n tall.
athletic Agure. clad in the unmistak.
able habiliments OF the vest, sWung
from the car. and. with the precision OF
the trained horsemAn. grasped tAo
rearing horses by the bride reins, aAd
with the strength and knowledge OF
the plains threw them sideways with
force which naAs them sverve IN
nearly . hai circle. Tho carriage
barely touched the unconscious form
Of the girl as 1t swung around.
A second later the big man under
the SLOUGH hat had the girl In his
arms like she was a baby. and vas
stridinS toward tbs oDrner drug store
At . race which would have made aA
Ordinary man run to keep up with
him. e.
II developed that the fainting nt
vas not serious at all, and was due
AsOhy - anu W ihS AASt w.
STRATA the girl had been under. There
was 10 physical injury At all. and she
soon recovered. .r
The tall stranger. however. insisted
on taking her home In a cab-she had
never bssa u a cab before-aad when
he pai1 ths eabman he pulIed from his
inslds ppeket . roll OF bills which
nade feiA gasp. In all her life she
had Lcver seen 20 much money.
Nina thanked him with an express
stoa in her eyes that made his heart
beat faster than It ever had thumpsd
IN all ~ NE. md soboidsasd him
- ask Aer = - nlsht call q ths soi-
lowing svsaing and ASCERTAIN II there
were any bad effects OF the accident.
my name + Thad Quaker" said he.
bluntH. Il live IN Oklahoma, and
came here with a few carloads OF cat
tie. sold EN- at thunderin' good
price. and thought would stay over
day or two and see the sights. c0
all-nrea glad did. cause there dtd1's
poom TO be nobody about who knew Q
blamed thing about horse-and you'd
beea all in In about a minute"
% he called the next night. causing
almost a. much surprise to Nina's
sister and her husband and the vari-
Gus children as the cab had caused the
night before. There vss a wheszy
and puffy Old melodion in the stully
little psrlor. and Nina played for Mr..
Bunker. Her playing was very indif-
feren.. but Thad thought 1t was ths
grandest music he had ever heard. and .
great desire came over him to buy -
brand-rew melodion and ship II to his
lonesome home In Oklahoma, and then
carry Nina along with him to play Il
for him forever. What he did. how
ever. was to induce her to lay on from
her work on the following day and
show him The mysteries OF the park.
II was red-letter day In Nina's
life In more ways than one. In the
FIRST place she had never laid on from
remember Nor had she ever been g.
corted about BY man: nor bad shs
ever teen treated to such a fins dinner
in 10 nne . restanrant-in fact. never
had Dcney been spsnt for her psrsonal
But ths great thing was whsa he
asker her 10 marry hin and @, - o.
laAome With hin-assnring ~ that
he had two sections OF the bsst laad
In tho territory all under cultivatiea
a,d pad for. plenty Of cattle I'D
money b tbs bank.
And - pisesd her hands IN Ais
and turned 10 him . facs % Wondsr.
fully tYaasspGned ~ fne- drill Of .
~~~ ~u,S,Hars~ S.~ snasGi,uf h~ r.us>S