The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-02-10
The Great Conserva-
ton Novel
(Continued.)

tone Of sadness with which we con-
front the perfect night. the perfect
flower. the f1awless landscape. 1T Is
both grand and peaceful"
This tone Of sadness pleased him.
and he reflected that she had not ut
tered a vncuous or silly phrase since
their first meeting. she is capable
Of great development" he thought.
Aloud he said: "You are a strange
mingling of east and west. De you
realize it?'
an what wayr she asked. feeling
something ardent in his tone.
you typify to me at this moment
this whole state You fill me with en-
thusiasm for fits future. Here you
are. derived from the lawless west,
yet taking on the culture and restraint
of the east so readily that you seem
not In the least related to-
he checked himself at this point.
and she said. my mother Is not as
rough as she seems. Mr.. Cavanagh."
''She must be more of the woman
than appears or she could not have
borne such a daughter. But do 20"
feel your relationship to her? Tell me
honestly. for you interest me-"
st didn't at first. but / do now. /
begin to understand her. and. besides.
i feel In myself certain things that are
in her. though I think am more like
the wetherfords. My fathers family
home was in Maryland" ,s~
Ross could have talked on all night.
50 alluring was the girls dimly seen
yet warmly felt figure at his side. but
a sense Of danger and knowledge
that he should be riding led him at
last to say: cit is getting chill. We
must 60 in. but before we do so let me
say how much I've enjoyed seeing you
again. hope the doctor will make IA
vorable report on your mothers case.
You'll write me the result Of the ex-
animation. won't your"
eff you wish me to-"
ct shall be most anxious to know"
They were standing very near to
each other at the moment, and the
ranger. made very sensitive to wo-
mans charm by his lonely life, shook
with newly created love of her. A
suspicion. a hope. that beneath her cul-
tivated manner ley the passionate ma
ture of her mother gave an added force
to his desire. He was sorely tempted
to touch her. to test her. but her sweet
voice, a little sad and perfectly un-
conscious Of evil. calmed him. She
said: ii
Il hope to persuade my mother TO-
leave the Forks All the best people
there are against US. Some of them
have been very cruel to her and to me.
and. besides. despise and fear the
men who come to our table,"
"You must not exchange words with
them" he all but commanded. "Be-
ware Of Gregg; he is vile lot. Do not
trust him for an instant. Do not per
NIT any Of those loafers to talk with
you. for il you do they will go away to
defame you. ] know them They are
unspeakably vile. 1t makes me angry
to think that Gregg and his like have
the right to speak to you every day,
while can see you only at long inter-
walls. ! wish my station were not 30
far away. But I'll ride down as often
as my duties will permit. and you must
let me know how things go. And II
any of those fellows prosecute you
you'll ell me, won't you? / wish you'd
look upon me as your big brother.
VIII you do that?" His voice entreat-
ed. and as she remained silent he con-
tinued: Roaring Fork is one Of the
worst towns In the state, and girl
like you needs some one as protector.
/ don't know just how to put 1t so
tat you will not misunderstood me.
but. you see. l protect the forest, the
streams and the game, help the set
tier in time of trouble. I am kind Of
all round big brother to everybody
who needs help in the forest. In fact.
I'm paid for protecting things that
can't protect themselves, and so''-here
he tried to lend his voice the accent Of
humor-"why shouldn't / be the pro-
tector of girl like you. alone-worse
than alone-in this little cow town.
She remained dumb at one or two
points where he clearly hoped for q
word. and she was unable to thank
him when be had finished. In this 81
lence curious construction came into
his throat. IT was almost as II he
had put his passion into definite words.
and as the light fell upon her he per-
ceived that her bosom was heaving
with deep emotion.
IL am lonely" she faltered out at
Iast-"horribly lonely. And know
now how people feel toward my moth
er. and II hurts melt all hurts me-
But I'm going to stay and help her.
She paused TO recover her voice. "And
you do seem different. IL trust your
Pm glad you understand me, and
you Will let me know if / can help
you. won't your
YES" she answered simply.
Good night" he said. extending his
hand.
She placed her palm to his quito
frankly. but the touch Of 1t made fur
Their speech at the moment impossible.
They went I'm with such telltale faces
that even Redfeld wondered what had
passed between them.
Excusing himself almost at once.
Cavanagh left the room, and when he
looked in few moments later he was
clothed in the rangers dusty green
Uniform. booted and spurred for his
long. hard ride. Mrs. Redfleld follow
I'd him into the hall and out on the
doorstone to say: Gross, you must be