Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-01-23
: Avanagh,
Forest
Ranger
The Great Conservation
Novel
By HAMLM GARLAND
BY HAMLM GARLAND
ce,,dsl.. 1910. b. lsa.n. Ga.laad
CHAPTER II.
mr. rorrsr aAron.

TEE FOREST 1ANoER.
YED VIRGINIA was awakened nett
morning by the passing Of some
one down the hall calling at each
- door. "six o'clockv' She had not
olspk 1t MI TIM after 1. She was lame,
heart weary and damaged. but she
fose ana dressed herself - neatly 40
before. She had decided to return to
sulphur. II cannot endure this" she
had repeated to herself = hundred
times. ~ ,ctll noty'
Hearing the clatter Of dishes, she
ventured with desperate courage into
the dining room, which was again
Allied with cowboys, coal miners.
fanchers and their tousled families
and certain nondescript town loafers
ct tamp-like appearance.
Slipping into a seat at the end OF the
table which offered the cleanest cloth,
Lee Virginia glanced round upon her
neishbors with shrinking eyes. All
were shoveling their food with knife
blades and guzzling their coffee with
bent heads. Their faces scared her,
and she dropped her eyes.
At her left, however, sat two men
whose greetings were frank and man
II and whose table manners betrayed
q higher form Of life. One Of them
was a tall man with lean red face,
against which his blond mustache lay
IKE chalk mark. He wore cordu-
row Jacket cut in Norfolk style, and In
the collar Of his yellow shirt a green
tie was loosely knotted. His hands
were long and freckled, but were man
1festly trained to polite usages.
The other man was younger ana
browner and of compact, athletic fig
ure. On the breast Of his olive green
coat hung a silver badge which bore a
pine tree in the center. His shirt was
tan colored and rough, but his head
was handsome. He looked like a
young officer in the undress uniform
Of the regular army. His hands were
strong, but rather small. and the lines
Of IS shoulders graceful. Most at
ID ! Of all were his eyes, so brown,
quietly humorous and so keen.
TN the rumble of cheap and vulgar
talk the voices Of these men appealed
to the troubled girl with great charm
She felt more akin to them than to
any one else in the room. and from
time to time she raised her eyes to
heir faces.
Chey were aware of her also. and
-. cir gaze was frankly admiring as
- as wondering. and in passing the
and eggs or the sugar they con-
Niyed to show her that they cOnsid-
led her lady in rough place and
An..k %v,~x~ would liEo m know more
about her.
She accepted their civilities with
gratitude and listened to their talk
with growing interest. 1t seemed that
the young man had come down from
the hills to meet his friend and take
him back to his cabin.
81 can't do it today, Ross" said the
older man. ~ wish could, but one
meal OF this kind is all can stand
these days"
Mrs. Wetherford. Selling the mo-
ment, came down to do the honors-
'sYou fellers ought.to know my girl
virginny, this is Forest Supervisor
Redfield, and this is Ross Cavanagh,
his forest ranger in this district. You
ought to know each other. My girls
Just back from school, and she don't
think much Of the Fork. It's little
too coarse for her"
Lee flushed under this introduction,
and her distress was SO evident that
both men came to her rescue.
The older man bowed and said, Il
didn't know you had daughter, Mrs.
wetherford." And Cavanagh, with q
glance Of admiration, added. We've
been wondering who you might be-"
Lie went on: II thought I'd got rid
Of her. She's been away now for
about ten years. don't know but 1t
was a mistake. Looks like she's
grown q little too fne haired for us
doughies out here"
$50 much the worse for u.s." replied
Redfeld.
This little dialogue gave the girl time
to recover herself, but as Cavanagh
watched the blush fade from her face,
leaving it cold and white, he sympa-
thized with 'her-pitied her from the
bottom Of his heart. He perceived that
he was q chance spectator of the first
scene in a painful domestic drama
one that might easily become trag-
es1y. He wondered what the forces
might be which had brought such
daughter to this sloven, this virago.
To see a maid Of this delicate bloom
thrust into such : place as Lie Weth-
erford's shotel' had the reputation Of
being reused Indignation.
when did you reach town." he
asked, and into his voice his admira-
ton crept.
''Only last night" i
ssYou ind great changes here?'
''Not SO great as In my mother. It's
all''- She stopped abruptly, and he
understood.
Lie being draws back to her cash
register, Redaeld turned to say: my
dear young lady, don't suppose You
remember me, but knew you when
you were tot Of i've or ak. I knew
your father very well"
sDid youY Her face lighted up.
EYES, poor Fellow: he went away
from here rather under . cloud, you
know"
81 remember little OF It. was
here when the shooting took place"