The Press., 1911-09-06

Raymond blurted his startling an
nouncement and lodged out Of tn,
bunk house. His three comrades staret
open mouthed at one another unit
Pepper broke the silence.
"MarriedT' he uttered dazedly. "Dit
he say thatr'
Tony Con solemnly nodded. ZANE
he said her name is Emmerett Hodge,
he said In an awed tone. s-TrsT sEaS
\ "Emmerett HodgeY' repeated PrOll
bitterly. "a girl with name nk'
that always has tony wedding
What did Raymond say about it7
didn't sense It all, was 50 habber
gasted." fsjE f saer ra us -,
"As near as / can r'cOllect he sait
there was to be a fancy time at he
house and we was invited. Tony her
has got to stand up with the bride
groom" t
Jink, Probe unjointed his long leg
and stood erect, towering above thu
other two. what about a weddin
PRESENT. he demanded.
That's easy. Wen all chip In and
git Mrs. Carwood to buy 1t down tt
Penfeld. Wimmen always know wha
to git
Tony Goff shook his head. mix or
that, Pepper. Why, Raymond's beer
our mate for three years-eVer since
come to the Twin Star. 1 fee
mighty friendly to him. reckon al
of US do, and we must pick out the
present ourselves. What sa-ayf" II
The others nodded assent, and as II
happened that the morrow was the
monthly pay day they decided to ride
over to Penfeld the next afternoon
and select a wedding gift for Ray
mond's bride.
With pockets well lined and bronZed
faces portentously solemn with the
import OF their mission, the three set
forth on the twenty mile ride from the
Twin Star cattle ranch to the largest
town In the county. -t..-.-..ze n
They stopped at Red Spider for the
mail, and the three wedding invita-
lions that faced them nearly caused a
stampede. link Prole stared unhappi-
ly at the engraved words.
j 'I dunno" he hesitated. at might
be this present business Oughter be did
by an expert. If we should make a
mistake she-the lady Emmerett-
might take offense at what we got"
Tony Goff tucked his envelope away
and prepared to smoke. There amt
no use losing your nerve" he said at
length. You braced us to the job, and
we got to carry 1t through. Mebbe we
amt got to go clean to Penfield. What
you think of that lamp in Cox's win
dcr?'' He pointed lean forefnger at
the dusty, fly spotted merchandise dis
played by the postmaster.
The three surveyed 1t longingly.
1t was tall lamp Of pink glass and
when freed from dust and lighted
might cast an added rosy glow over
the future Of the newly welded pair.
Mr.. Pepper strobe to the door and
bawled an inquiry. E5
He returned and flung himself on
his horse. Three ninety-eight, includ-
Ing the shade" he repeated contemp-
tuOusly, land US with hundred In
our pockets to spendw ElsE.Lt
With one accord they resumed the
Journey to Penfeld, leaving behind the
dark shadewing mountains with the
last glimmer Of the sunset along the
upper ridges. It was after dark when
they pounded into the town, and, hun
CRY and thirsty, they made their way
to a restaurant and satisfied their ap-
petites.
Afterward they entered the Farnum
emporium, a maze Of narrow aisles
running between shelves and counters
laden with glass and china in every
conceivable form OF fragility. The
side walls Of the store were lined with
counters upon which were piled house
hold wares, while the rear presented
q gloomy barricade Of furniture against
a background Of gaudY carpets.
Jink Prole sidestepped down an
aisle and reached the barricade just
as pretty girl arose from a chair and
laid down piece Of fancy work.
what can do for your she asked
briskly.
Before the tall ranchman could an
swer there came terrific. crash and
the sound Of splintering glass blended
with startled profanity.
"Ohw exclaimed the girl. ''That's
real cut glassi''' ~
"'Tis considerable cut up" agreed
Prole as they reached the scene Of
where Pepper and Tony Con
stood staring down at the havoc they
had created. How'd you manage to
clean off the hrII shaIf2"
y Mfr. Pepper twisted his long mustache
"Of course 1t can't be because
It's narrow gauge here. We squoze
as wells we could, but some
how there want no place for elbows.
Now, miss. what's the damageT' He
dug his hand deep into a pocket and
brought forth his months pay, $40.
The girl knelt upon the floor and
bent her head above the fragments,
oieeing them together with little dis
mayed EXPLANATIONS. At last she tossed
,ack her misty black hair and looked
lp at them with slowly crimsoning
heekA. --3 E Hv 4ss9I
Its too bad" she said regretfuIly,
but this Is real cut glass, and it's aw-
VI C4DCASANCs 4ACAS Was q WdtCE UOC-
lie and six tumblers-$1O for the bot
lie and 81 apiece for the tumblers- T
That's $22. I'm awful sorryw
without a word Pepper and Con
'ach laid $11 on the shelf. The girl
ook 1t reluctantly. Il told Mr.. Far
lum he had the shelves too crowded /
o be safe" she said. you've paid for
hese things. Would they do you any
God II was to mend 'em for you'll
,ou could use 'em for ornaments"
Mary, miss; they amt any good to
s. We're looking for-what are we
'oking for, PrOIe?" demanded Con im-h
atiently. o5a It.a3 q,
"A wedding present." drawled Mr..
role, gingeTIy Withdrawing from the
erilous vicinity OF breakabIes. "We
bought Of pink glass lamp, but it'll
ont cost enough. Have you got O
eal expensive Iuminator, mIss?p aah
The girl smiled and led the way to q