Mexico weekly ledger., 1909-04-01


here an ornery boundary rider.
~oh; it's a long storyir said the
other man, Struggling his shoulders.
4 heerd as you was going to marry
old man McKenzie's little gal?"
so I was"
Did you hev e dust-up, them"
Stevens smiled.
No; +" He shifted ~uneasily In his
saddle, and relapsed into silence,
The musterer said nothing, but went
on munching damper- Presently Ste
vens broke the silence.
ITS like this. Jake: l wasn't good
enough for her: not by a long way.
1 didn't care two about her real
iy. AT least, | don't think so. I'm a
bit Of a BLACKBOARD, Jake
The musterer shifted disdainfully.
He abhorred this sort Of modesty.
7 settled down on that station, p
e on Stevens. ~and feathered my
pretty we'll The men all liked
me-would do almost anything for ne,
l believe. Old man Mackenzie told me
he thought a heap Of me-. So did his
wife. SID Dorothy Well, I'm not
trying 20 pile it on. but anyone could
see she really did care for me, poor
kid And, up till one night, | only
looked at it my own way. As soon as
we were married | should have been
pretty near running the show-one
of the richest horse-rearing stations in
North Queensland. That was enough
for me.
But n night, as | came across the
paddock, | heard her in the living
room singing. The lamplight was
streaming out across the grass, and |
could hear her Tc5rs AMI the uoses Of
the piano canning hzEz al sAa Et1d
! ven y and crHlr EisnE lhs ws-zlA
and stopped by 1iR x-inhuv lwfa1E IN
She wRs sitting 81 tins uIEIh, ,ia1
Ing softly. End singing Sine ufEHn Ed.
thai in the evenings. Her MIR was
Glowing in the lamuiiEhf-stast BvHz-E
hair ii was 5ahs yellow, WIN a.
touch Of red n ff-aIpa hnT ing niue
eyes were iookinr nut tntD the ni-m
Sort Of seeing whst NREns there vpr
know.
And then IL seemed 70 KIND ~ hr
me. knew Nha1 = h-lsnkFuErG ! was
i wasn't hail good enough fu far. So
1 ht out for the up-counry somewhere
right away. Found myself ~ here liz
the fapper. and took on ahis tah SIS
10 give her a chance 70 forge, ne
SayTyy7
He stopped. Jake twiddled the hash
of his stock-whip for a few mlnBieE,
and then said. ruminativeiy
Reckon you've got the spike ~
preston, the doctors Gail IT. dmE
they Never knew q mar yet viii
the imagination OF a jaek-rsbbIt that
didn't get like that sometimes up il the
bush
You don't savvy. Jake. I'm a low.
down beggar all through Well, you
know. anyway. I've led a pretty rough
life and a pretty wild un, don't your
Sos many another chap, and been
a real good sort with it all" quoth
Jake, with sturdy loyalty. Like all
the rough fellows ~upeountry, he
idolized Fred Stevens. "And what's
past is done with, amt itTT
Yes. But | should have been play
ing it low. old chap. to have married
her when | felt l didn't care for her,
and I'd got such a black record back
of me. l couldn't do it. It's not fair
on a girl when she's fair in love with
you, and you don't care. l wish I'd
never gone there now." he added.
with sudden vehemence. 4 can't get
her face out Of my mind!"
The musterer gazed at the distant
blue hills. He didn't exactly follow
his companions feelings, but he under
stood vaguely.
Poor devil" he murmured, which
was his superlative of sympathy.
They rode on towards the hills in 81
lenee for some time. Then the mus
terer looked up suddenly.
There's chap riding up he said.
Comm on at no end of a a too"
Stevens shaded his eyes with his
hand and stared across the plain. In
the mist rising from the rain-soaked
ground he could Just make out the
dark form Of a horseman coming rap.
idly nearer and nearer.
Wonder what he's after. now?p
queried Jake, embellishing his re.
mark, as was his wont, with refer.
ences to the Deity, his Satanic males.
ty, and the Internal regions.
The figure came nearer stiIl. II was
unacceptable so far. Stevens didn't
know the horse; and a blue shirt. a
pair Of moleskin trousers. and a iop
hat are too frequent in Queensland to
be a mark of naturalization.
And then the newcomer raised his
arm and gave a ringing "Co-e-ee!"
Stevens started.
TITS Mullinsi" he said.
who's her
"One of the men down at Watawa
Particular chum Of mine"
He smacked his nag across fhe
tanks and started on to meet tbc
newcomer. Mullins flung himself Out
OF the saddle as he came up.
say, Mr.. stevens, you've got to gel
right back to Watawa." be beloved
Get away right now"
why, what's up2"
Miss Dorry. She's fair lit out 70,
dying You're the only chan that car
save her. She keeps asking for you
How's your nag? Pretty fregb?p
But what's the matter with herr"
"Nothin'. Just fading away, like
oh, get a move on, dol"
How did you find me?"
Knew where you were, weeks back
Are you goingT'
Mullins, how can / go? I'm a
BLACKBOARD, and a."
oh, law and glory, what does fl
matter what sort a man is IL a Cir
wants him? VII Won al ~