Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-04-22
81 THE !
zAlBARRlER'
AA-H
BY
REX BEACH
~ .coPYRisxraooesYn HARPER BROTHERS
CHAPTER TX.
THE AWAKENING.


THE AWAKENING.
@ARLY the next morning Corpo-
raj Thomas came into the
n store and found Necia tending
it while Gale was out. Ever
since the day she had questioned him
about Burrell this old man had taken
every occasion to talk with the girl,
and when he asked her this morning
about the reports concerning Lees
strike she told him Of her trip and all
that had occurred.
"You see, I'm a mine owner now"
she concluded. IF it hadn't been a
secret I would have told you before
went, so you could have been one Of
the first"
"I'm goin' anyhow" he said, eff the
lieutenant will let me and II it's not too
late"
Then she told him Of the trail by
Black Bear creek which would save
him several hours.
$50 that's how you and he made it?"
he observed. gazing at her shrewdly.
II supposed you went with your ia
ther?"
"Oh, no! We beat him in," she said
and fell to musing at the memory Of
those hours passed alone with Meade,
while her eyes shone and her cheeks
glowed. The corporal saw the look, and
1t bore out theory he had formed dur
ing the past month, so as he fingered
he set about a task that had lain in his
mind for some time. AS rule, he was
not careful man in his speech, and
the delicacy Of this maneuver taxed his
ingenuity to the utmost, for he loved
the girl and feared to say too much.
"The lieutenant is a smart Young
fellow" he began, land it was slick
work jumpin' all those claims. It's
| just like him to befriend a girl like
you. I've seen him do it before'-
'What!' exclaimed Necia. "Befriend
other girls?"
"Or things just like it. He's always
dom favors that get him into trou-
ble.''
'This couldn't cause him trouble,
could 1t, outside of Stark's and Run
MONS grudge?"
mo, I reckon not" assented the cor
poral, cropping blindly for some way Of
expressing what he wished to say.
Except, Of course, it might cause a
lot Of talk at headquarters when It's
known what he's done for you and
how he done 1t. I heard somethin'
about it down the street this morn
in, so I'm afraid 1t will get to st.
Michael's and then to his folks"
II don't understand" said Necia.
HE hasn't done anything that any
man wouldn't do under the same cir
cumstances."
mo mans got right to make folks
talk about nice girl" said the cor
poral, land the Teller that told me
about It said he reckoned you two
was in love-" He hurried along now
without offering her chance to speak.
"Of course that had to be caught up
| quick; you're too fine girl for that"
'Too f1neY" laughed Necia.
II mean you're too fine and good to
let him put you in wrong, just as he's
too fine fellow and got too much
ahead of him to make what his peo-
pie would call a messy-alliance."
"Would his people object toto such
a thing?" questioned the girl. They
were alone in the store, and so they
could talk freely. "1'm just suppos-
ing. you know"
20 Lord! Would they objectw Cor
poral Thomas laughed in highly arti-
,ficial manner that made Necia bride
and draw herself up Indignantly.
go ahead and tell me; won't be
offended" insisted the girl "You
must. don't know much about such
things, for I've lived all my life with
men like father and Poleon and the
priests at the mission, who treat me
just like one Of themselves. But
somebody will want to marry me some
day, I suppose, SO ought to know
what is wrong with me-" She flushed
up darkly under her brown cheeks.
Corporal Thomas began to perspire
uncomfortably, but went on doggedly:
"I'm goin' to tell you story, not
because it applies to Lieutenant Bur-
rell"-
"Of course" said the girl.
-''but just to show you what mean.
It was good long spell ago, when I
was at Fort Supply, which was the
frontier in them days. like this is now.
We freighted In from Dodge City with
bull teams. and 1t was sure the fringe
Of the frontier-no women, no society,
nothin' much except fort, lot Of In
juns and few officials with their
wives and families. Now, them kind
OF places is all right for married men,
but they're tough sleddin' for single
ones, and after awhile Teller gets
awful careless about himself. He
seems to 60 backward and run down
mighty quick when he gets away from
civilization and his people and restau-
rants and such things. He gets plumb
reckless and forgetful Of what's what.
There was captain with US, young
Teller that looked like the lieutenant
here and good deal the same sort
high tempered and chivalrious and all
that sort of thing, West Pointer, too,
good family and all that, and, what's
more, a captain at twenty-five. Now,
our head freighter was married to a
squaw, or leastways he had been, but
in them days nobody thought much Of
1T any more than they do up here now,
and particularly because he'd had
government contract for long while