The evening world., 1911-12-12

when IL come to chooAn' q husband
she'd prefer TO tie up to q
name. An so Lon didn't craze on that
range no more"
~''This country's goin' plum 10 -
sneercd Dexter. Dut a laugh silenced
him. And the youth continued.
at might have been fxcd NJ for
Lazy" he went on. only when she
found out his name was Lazy. she
wanted to know right on ~ he could
support n wife-providin' he got one. He
said he reckoned he could. an she told
him he could experiment on some Other
woman. An now Laxy'n have TO look
around quite q spell before hen get an
other ohancst. I'd call that be.n' In
mighty poor luck"
Lazy was giving his undivided atten-
ton to his plate.
AN she como ur4eht out ~ tnld
Wrinkles he was too old; that when she
was thinkin' Of getIn' Wooded to sorne
| old monoIith she'd scnd word to Egypt.
! where they keep 'cm In stock. Beats mo
| where she gets all sthem words. y
Told me she'd studded. her diction-
ary," said q man VINO SAT near FersuS
son, ia,
The younk man srinned. "wdl. I
swear II I didu't come near forgcttin.
| elem Miller" ne said. IF you hadn't
spoke up then, I reckon YOU wouldn't
have been In on this deal. An 80 she
told you shed studied her dictionary.
Now, I'd call, thai news, some onea
been tcllin'. me that she'd askcd you
tho meanin' OF tho word 'svaporate,
An. when vow couldn't tell her she told
YOU TO do It. Said that when you GOT
home you might look up n dictionary
an then you'd know what she meant. -.
An now Leviatt'sI hanSin'. around
over there" contiAued the youth.
lie, claimin' to be rcin' TO see HIN
Radford, but I reckon he's col. the sans
kind OF sickness az the rest OF us
AN you Amt saytn' q word abous
what she said to YOU" observed Miller.
"She must have. treated you awtul
gentle. seeln' you won't tell" lalL4 -,
WELL" returned the YOUNG man 80,
amt Iayin' II all out TO you. bntTu
tell you this much: she said shc ~
goin' TO make me n OF the cheracsers
in that book she's, writin'." -. yn.
Nv ell, now said Miller. "thats sure
Iettln' you down easy. Did she say
what the character was soin' to Der
IT reckon she did" -.
"An' now you're soin' to tell Us boys'.
IAN now I'm goin' TO tell YOU boys
returned skinny. But j reckon tneroa
a drove Of them characters here. You'll
Hnd them with every outnt. an your
know them chiefly by their bray an
| their long. hairy ears. -
T>hs young man now smiled INTO Ms
plate. while a chorus OF laughter rose
around hfm. In making himself appear
az ridiculous a figure a. the others the
| Young man had successfully extracted
ALI the sting from his story and gained
the applause OF even those at whom he
had struck.
But now a sound was heard outside.
| and Leviatt came into the room. III
nodded shortly and took his place at the
and OF the table. A certain reserve
came into the atmosphere OF the room.
No further reference was made 10 tne
subject that had aroused laughter. po'
several of the men sntckered Into theif
plates over the recollection OF Leviatta
| connection with thu incident. :
Az the meal continued Leviatt's gaze
wandered over the table. resting f1na'iy
upon Ferguson. The boss lace
darkened.
Ferguson had seen Leyiatt enter: sew
craI times during the ourse of the meal
he felt Leviatt looking at him. Once,
toward the end. his glance met the
range boss's fairly. Leviatt's eyes gilt
tered eviiy; Ferguson's lip curled with
a slight contempt.
And yet these men had met but twice
before. A man meets another In North
America in the Antipodes. lie looks
upon him. meets his eye. and instantly
has won q friend or made an enemy
Perhaps this will always be- true OF men,
Certainly II was true OF Ferguson and
the range boss.
What force was at work in Leviati
when In Dry Bottom he had insulted
Ferguson7 Whatever the force II had
old him that the steady-eyed. delib-
crate gun-man was henceforth to be an
enemy. Enmity. hatred. evn Intent.
shone out OF his eyes as they met Fer
glsOn's,
Beyond the slight curl Of the lips the
latter gave no Indication OF feeling. And
after the exchange Of glances he re-
sumed eating, apparently OF
Leviatt's existence.
Later, the men struggled from the
clubhouse. seeking the outdoor 10
smoke and talk. Upon the bench Just
outside the door several OF the men sat;
others stood at a little distance. or
lounged In the doorway. With Rope,
Ferguson had come out and was stand
Ing near the dog., talking.
The talk was light. turning p trivial
Incidents of the days w~ork-tbihgs that
are the monotony OF the cowboy life
Presently Leviatt came out and Joined
the group. He stood near Ferguson.
mlngling his voice with the Others. For
A little time the talk flowed easily and
much laughter rose Then suddenly
above the good-Datured habbls oame a
harsh word. Instantly the other voices
ceayed, and the men OF the group
centred their ~glances upon the n
boss. for the harsh word had come from
him. lie had been talking to a man
named Tucson and Il was TO the latter
that he had now spoken.
There's a heap OF r~attiers in this
country" he had SAID.
Evidently the statement was irrele-
want, for Tucson's glance at Levlatt's
face was uncNmprehending, But Leviati
did no, wait for an answer.
"A man might easily claim to have
been bit by one of them" no continued,
his voice falling coldly.
The men OF the group sat In a tens,
silence. trying TO penetrate this mys
terry that had suddenly silenced theil