The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1911-04-06

fully avoiding any unnecessary con-
tact with the member upon which be
was WORKING, Nevins completed the
obstruction or the boot Ten minutes
later caught her pony, and was as
sisttng her into the saddle. She had
watched him rope the little animal.
ner eyes growing wide with admira-
ton Tor his cleverness- And now. hav-
ing done all he could do to alleviate
her suffering, he swung into his own
saddle and prepared TO depart
reckon you'll git along now
ma am he said, facing her half the
length or bride rein between them.
The young lady turned her head
and gazed into the Western distance,
At exactly the same instant a pair of
very muscular arms crushed her own
TO her sides and drew her far over.
AS she turned her head in fright the
arms were raised, two hands caught
her head, and Nevins' lips pressed
here-ruthlessly, roughly, brutaIly.
She struggled frantically to free her
self, striking his hands. beating him
in the face with her fists And then
II was done and he was gone, his pony
gathering in flying gallop ahead OF
her. When ne had gone a hundred
yards, he halted, standing In his stir
rups
II reckon we're square now,
ma'am." he yelled. 1T was mean of
me, taldn' advantage that-a-aYay. But
lookin'"
Another clatter, a word OF partins.
and nc was OF in a balloOninE AUST
cloud
Bitterly had the cook complained
TO the range boss over the addition to
the OUTFIT. But he limited nothing TO
the addition himself. That, all things
a. 3 FNrrrn oil =
and the cook was not a meddler. Yet
with the added labor of cooking for
an extra man, he could not forego the
tense observation-expres private
iy to himself-that the way McVea
showed extra men "onto him" was a
stated, he limited nothing of this TO
the new man. a certain intuitive sus-
picion that his remarks would not be
well received by the aforementioned
new man helped him remarkably In
accepting the inevitable. He never
did cotton TO men who "toted" two
guns.
1t became an irritation TO him that
the other men of the outfit had adopt
ed tho new man. They had admitted
him 10 the campfire fellowship: they
gambled with him; they laughed over
his dry humor- In his presence they
told many tales Of personal adven-
lures; drew glowing word pictures OF
paSt experiences, garniShed with queer
idioms and picturesque dialect re-
vealing giimpses Of the past. illumt-
mating flashes Of information concern
ing themselves that. had a man asked
would have produced a pistol
Yet through IL all they got very lit
tie from the new man. His name was
Lon Dexter; he was from Wyoming.
McVea had promised him steady work.
That was ALI 1t was all that he had
said; II was all the outfit could ex-
pect.
The cook was curiously unsatisfied.
lie had watched Dexter with a per
seVcrence that merited a reward Yet
ne had discovered nothing. There was
a certain peculiarly OF figure and
movement that puzzled him. Some
where back in the years he had seen
TINS man. But like n song that lin
gers, half forgotten. he could not sum-
mon the recollection into the present.
The undulatinE drawl, the flashes OF
cold tnsolence, the threat OF slumber-
inS violence that lurked about him.
the voice, the carriage OF the head
and the slight droop of the shoulders
an combined to produce a man he
mad once known, but who had passed
into the yesterday OF his mind.
Something Of all this he placed in
concise words TO the ear OF San