Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-11-09

the elder girl still kept on the alert. A nervousness born of loneliness had taken possession of her. If the door latch rattled she raised herself, listen ing. If Simon rubbed himself against the warm outer stones of the fireplace, she sprang up, startled sentinel, with wide eyes and clinched hands.
 But an hour passed. The wind lull- ed. Simon lay down. She fell to think ing of the storekeeper. She felt surer than ever now that he did not covet the bend. Setting aside the fact that he had brought them good news, she was glad he had come. It gave them a neighbor. And, yes, she forgave him the smile that had provoked her resentment. After all, the name Dal las did sound Texas. ~
 With morning and the rising of the sun she was up and doing the few chores about lean-to and shack. But when the surveyors arrived, making short work of their last few miles, she and Marylyn shut themselves in and escaped being seen. The engineers gone toward Clark's, Dallas again took up her watch
 Twice before night she was reward ed. The mail sergeant passed, bring ing a batch of letters to a grateful post, and late in the afternoon an h. dian runner came into sight from up the Missouri. Scorning to use the fer ry, he dropped into the river where the coulee emptied and swan across.
 The arrival of the scout Dallas asso- ciated instinctively with the expected return of the troopers and felt a re- lief that she would not have cared to confess to her father The unusual hustle that marked the next three days at Brannon seemed to justify her be- lief. Below the barracks on the level bottom land men were busy erecting strange structure. Tall cottonwoods were hauled from the river and set on end in the sandy ground. AS time passed these came to form a tight, cir cular pen.
 The night of the third day there was activity on the other banH&of the Mis- souri. Unknown to shack and fort, the squalid line of shanty saloons that stretched itself like a waiting serpent along high bench opposite the new stockade sprang into sudden life. Two wagons filled with men and barrels crossed the bend and emptied them selves into the dilapidated buildings. And far into the early hours loud laughter, the click of chips and the clink of glasses disturbed the quiet of the night. At dawn an officer stand ing, field glass in hand, on the gallery at headquarters saw two wagons drawn up in front of Shanty Town and called down a curse upon the heads of the sleeping revelers.
 "Just see therew he exclaimed. "Some vermin got wind of the pay masters coming and are here to fleece the men,"
 A lieutenant sauntered up, putting out his hand for the glasses. There wasn't a soul in those huts yesterday" he said.
 "No, of course not" sputtered the other. "The devils stayed at Clarks till the punchers got back from Kan sas City. Now they're on hand to keep our guardhouse and hospital full By gad, if commanded here I'd have the whole street fired!'
 Well" said the lieutenant, "the men have a way of disciplining that kind themselves. Some day when a favor lite is cut in a brawl or cheated at cards they'll shoot up the place. If there's anything left it II move on." Tt won't do any harm to keep an eye on Shanty Town, all the same" declared his companion fiercely. Re member the man that ran 1t last year? Slick, by gad! Why, the paymaster might just as we'll have stopped over there-he and his iIk got every cent! He wasn't bad man, mind you not brave enough for that-but keen nosed as a moose, conceipd as an In- diam
 "What was his name?"
 "Oh, Dick or Vic Something-orother. I don't know what. He's bragging renegade. anyway"
 Unaware of a reconnoiter, the oecu- pants of the line of shanties slumbered serenely on, and not until noon did high plumes of smoke, straight as the flag pole on the parade ground, an- nounce to the secretly delighted troop CTS at Brannon their tardy rising.
 Dallas, too, saw the busy chimneys. but while watching them intently from an open window, her attention was at- tracted all at once in the opposite di- rection. She heard coming out of the couIse a chorus of shrill talking. like the pow-wow of a flock of prairie chickens. Then a horse snorted and there was a low rumble of wheels Thinking that 1t was her father, she leaned into sight As she did so a team came scrambling over the scarlet brink. dragging wagonful of men and women
 AS the horses gained the level prairie their driver laid aside a huge black snake whip with which he had been soundIy whacking them and looked | about The next moment Dallas saw him rein in his team and spring to his l feet. He was looking toward the shack. and he raised his whip hand nenacingiy.
 Look at thatl Look at thatr' he l cried wildly, his voice carrying through ] the clear air.
 All looked where he pointed, and I