The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1909-11-12

| eyes as he reached for his cup. THANK
you, Mrs. McCloud, only one. after
that" He looked toward Marion. "All
| can say is that if Mrs. McCloud's
| husband had married her two years
earlier he might have been general
manager by this time. Nothing could
| hold a man back, even man OF his
modesty, whose wife can say as nice
things as that. By the way, Mrs. Sim
clair, does this man keep you supplied
with transportation"
"Oh, have my annual, Mr.. Bucks!"
Marion opened her bag to find it.
Bucks held out his hand. Let me
see it a moment" He adjusted his
| eyeglasses, looked at the pass, and
called for a pen; Bucks had never lost
| his gracious way Of doing very little
things. He laid the card on the table
| and wrote across the back Of 1t over
| his name: Good on all passenger
trains" When he handed the card
back to Marion he turned to Dicksie.
II understand you are laying out two
or three towns on the ranch, Mrs. Nc
Cloud?"
1.-TWO or three! Oh, no, only one as
yet Mr.. Bucks! They are laying out, oh.
such pretty town! Cousin Lance Is
experimenting the street work-and
whom do you think l am going to
name it after? You! l think Bucks
makes q dandy name for town, don't
you? And 1 am going to have one
town named Dunning; there will be
| two stations on the ranch, you know,
and l think, really, there ought to be
three"
"As many as that?"
81 don't believe you can operate
| line that long, Mr.. Bucks, with stations
| IA miles apart" Bucks opened his
eyes in benevolent surprise. Dicksie,
unabashed, kept right. on: 'Well, do
you know how traffic is increasing
over there, with the trains running
only two months now? Why, the set
tiers are fairly pouring into the coun-
try"
will you give me corner lot II we
put another station on the ranch?"
Will SlNc yOu Iho IL SOu "iii SA'S
us excursions and run some OF the
Overland passenger trains through the
valley"
Bucks threw back his head and
| laughed in his tremendous way. Il
don't know about that; | daren't prom
Use offhand Mrs. McCloud. But If you
can get Whispering Smith to come
back you might lay the matter before
him. He is to take charge of all the
| colonist business when he returns
Whispering Smith, lying on his iron
bed in the hospital, protested not to
be able quite to understand why they
had made such fuss about 1t. He
underwent the excitement of the ap-
pearance of Barnhardt and the first
talk with McCloud and Dicksie with
hardly rise in his temperature, and,
lying ia the sunshine of the afternoon,
he was waiting for Marion. She ran
half blinded across the room and
dropped on her knee beside him.
my dear Marion. why did they drag
you away out here?"
"They did not drag me away out
here. Did you expect me to sit with
folded hands when heard you were i'll
anywhere in the wide world?'
He looked huHgrily at her. Il didn't
suppose any one in the wide world
would take it very seriously"
"Mr. McCloud is crushed this after
noon TO think you have said you would
not go back with him. You would not
believe how he misses you"
1T has been pretty lonesome for the
last year. didn't think it could be so
lonesome anywhere"
Nor did l."
Have you noticed it? | shouldn't
think you could in the mountains. Was
there much water last spring? Heav-
ems, I'd like to see the Crawling Stone
again."
"Why don't you come back?"
He folded her hands in his own.
Marion, it is you. I've been afraid l
couldn't stand it to be near you and
not tell you"
What need you be afraid to tell
me?"
THAT I have loved you so long"
Her head sunk close to his.
Don't you know you have said 1t to
me many times without words? I've
only been waiting for a chance to tell
you how happy it makes me to think
it is true"
THE END.