The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1910-10-27
She Changed
Her Mind
By CORA THOMSON


The little girl on the the speckled
broncho gave q little cry Of pleasure
- the small cavalcade rounded q turn
In the hills and came abruptly into a
little valley. It was too small for a
canyon and too big for q gully, great.
h~at-topped rocks were scattered about
and among them a pounding stream
tore its way. AL :
How pretty" she said. whats
Its name?"
The man on the horse beside her
glanced at her a trife whimsically
before he spoke.
Its name bellies its looks" he told
her; Its Rattlesnake gulch!"
Even as he had expected. Eleanor
Meade's face twisted into q little
trown Of disgust. How horrid!" she
shivered. That's the trouble with
your west-you won't ven let one
enjoy the really pleasant spots, but
spoil them with some fantastic
name!"
1T isn't fantastic in this case" Nor
wood told her as they drew rein.
waiting for the Others. TITS solemn
truth. Time was when Rattlesnake
gulch was a decidedly dangerous spot
because of its inhabitants that re-
sided beneath those fiat stones and
summed themselves thereon by the
dozens. They practically are cleared
put now. BY the way, it is the
extreme northern limit of the ranch"
Bert Norwood swung around in his
saddle as their horses plodded slowly
On and waved his hand at Rattlesnake
gulch.
There's a story about that very
place." he said, Seeing 1t brought it
to my mind, and then I knew the fell
low. When he first came out here
from the east he wasn't very bad and
he wasn't very good. He hadn't run
up against any of the hard things of
life and he was selfish because he
Al ignorant and raw. He had never
had to think of anybody but himself
and his W pleasure. He really didn't
amount to very much. At that time
Rattlesnake gulch had a thriving and
lively population and this trail was
given a wide berth. You see, If by any
chance one went over the edge the
only way to get out was to o the
gulch and the stream and get up to
the other side, where it isn't SO steep.
and naturally nobody wanted to make
the trip, because there wasn't one
chance in a hundred he'd get through
unframed. Well, one day Smith, this
chap I'm telling you about-was on
the upper trail around the hills. Down
below him he saw a pony with q
swaying rider whom he recognized as
Pete, n of the cow-punchers at the
ranch where he was staying. Pete
was the regulation bad mana worth.
less, n%o-account, ugly brute, who had
been particularly obnoxious to Smith
v e since his arrival. A man can
be brave in a good cause, but when
1t comes to risking a wretched death
for the sake of something worse than
nothing 1t calls for a brand of heroism
and self-sacrifice Smith never had.
"He reasoned coldly that he prob.
ably was much more needed in the
progress of the world than Pete, but
he still stared down into the distant
gully. To his disgust. he found he alb.
solutely could not ride of and leave
Pete to get of the best way he could.
At first he argued that he would gal.
lop to the ranch and send some OF
Pete's associates to rescue him. He,
Smith, certainly owed Pete nothing in
the way of charity. It was only com
mon sense. Then Smith found he was
guiding his mount down the lower
trail mechanically.
Later he realized 1t was the first time
In his life that the common law of hu,
mainly had clutched him and said:
Your turn to help!' and had brought
him face to face with the fact that
you can't run your life for yourself
alone. And so-well, he went down
into R%attlesnake gu1ch and carried
Pete across the stream and up the
other side and nothing happened. He
wasn't fated to die by means of Rattle
snake gulch. That's all. But it real,
ly changed Smiths life doing that. II
made a mar Of him. I mean it made
him realize that there were other PEG,
pie in the world beside himself"
Eleanor Meade was looking into the
deepening shadows. eyes," she said,
There are fine things like that hap
pening out here, of course. I'd like
to know that man. Where"
"Oh, he left this region long ago."
said Norwood. There are the others!"
The rest of the party came gallop,
ing up-Norwood's sister, Eleanor'i
cousin and the two men.
Say. Jimmie" Wharton called out
ripping place back there you've got on
your ranch. Bert! That Rattlesnakl
place. Your sister was Just telling III
about the time you were fool enough
to cross it for q worthless loafel
working for you! l thought you used
to have some sense!"
II didn't suppose Alice knew about
It," Norwood stammered to cover hill
wrath and confusion. Anyhow tho
story was so exaggerated. There wa
no<hinu IN if1B