Gunnison news-champion., 1913-01-31

Attkss&tt4r 90 8<s<tf" 49,"
4 Esas have sees the saHiis pF'sssse
of asr hand ssoE his ssaese. sa' e~
voice eoaslaaaG - rms ~ sss ears ne
hsa never been . ~omsH : Hsss- NOT
xas he specially Interested W tHs
.oman basiass him. NJ had seen heE
fairly pi-h his f-si apDreasatise
GLANCE. saon b. Rad CiSalSed Hsio NE
stage oa The yreoeains aay RE had
realized there fsssly the charm OF her
saae. The aass rossi.h eyes. the eiass
skia. the ssaIsh OF aars hair. fet
al this vas imDersoual. however
pretty she might b.. the fact Vas
nothing 20 him and never ooald be.
knowing who she was. b. eompFe-
naHaed Instantly she social gun
sssetchiag snsridged betweea them
An educated maa himself. Wish family
connections he had hong ago ceased
to disouss. he realizsd his present
position more keeuly than he other
wise might fie had enlisted IN the
army With no Misunderstanding AZ TO
what a privates Uniform meant tie
had never heretofore supposed he re-
gretted any loss in this respect. his
nature sppareutly satisfied Wirh tie
excitement OF active frontier service.
yet he vaguely knew there had been
times whsn he Ionged for companion
ship with women OF che class 10
which he had once belonged. Fer
tunately his border stations offered
Httle tomu,ation in this respect. and
be had grown TO believe that he had
actually forgotten That afternoon
even-sweetly fair as Miss Mcdonald
undoubtedly appeared--he had looked
upon her without ehe throb OF a pulse,
az be might upon picture. she was
not tor him even 10 adHfre-she was.
Major Mcl)oualds daughter. whom he
had been sent to guard. That was all
then.
Yet he knew that somehow it was
different now-the personal element
had entered unwelcomed into the
equation. sitting there Ia the dark,
Gonzales body crumpled on tine fi0or
at his feet. and Moylan lying stia and
cold along the back seat. with this
girl grasping his sleeve In trust, she
remained no longer merely the Ma
jors daughter-she had become her.
self. And she did not seem to care
and did not seem to realize that there
were barriers of rank, which under
other circumstances must so utterly
separate them. She liked him, and
frankly told him so. not as she would
dismiss an inferior with kindness,
but as though he was AN equal, 80
though he was q gentleman. Some-
how the very tone of her voice, the
clinging touch of her hand. sent the
blood pumping through his veins.
Something besides duty inspired
him; he was no longer merely . sol
der. but had ssaAenly become traas-
formed into q man. Yeah sf reprss-
stOa, Of iron 1iscipline. were bl0ttel
out, and he became evea as his birth
right made him. Molly McDonalA,"
Molly Mcdonald" he whispered the
name unconsciously to himself Then
his eyes caught the distant flicker q
Indian hre, and his teeth locked sav-
aGely.
There was something else to % -
sides dream. Because the girl haA
spoken pleasantly was 10 reason Why
he should act the fool. Angry ct him.
self, he gripped his faculties, ana
faced the situation, aroused, intent.
He must save himself-and her! But
how? What plan promised any pos
sibility Of success? He had their sur
roundings in q map before his eyes.
His training had taught him to note
and remember what others would az
naturally neglect. He was a soldier
OF experience, . plainsman by long
training. and even in the fierceness of
the Indians attack on the stage his
quick glance had completely visual
lied their surroundings. He had not
appreciated this at the time, but now
the topography of the immediate re-
gion was unrolled before him in de-
tan; yard by yard it reappeared as
though photographed. He saw the
widely rutted trail, rounding the BLUM
at the right hundred yards away.
curving sharply down the slope and
then disappearing over the low hill tn
the left, a slight stream triekIing
along its base. Below, the short buf-
falo-grass, sunburned and brittle, ran
TO the sandy edge of the river, which |
howed silently in a broad, shallow.
yellow flood beneath the star eleam.
Under the protection of that bank. but
somewhat to the left, where a handful
Of stunted cottonwood trees had found |
preearious foothold in the sand |
sieamed the solitary Indian fire.
About its embers, no doubt. squatted
The chiefs and older warriors, feast
ing ana taking council, while the
younger bucks lay. rifles in hand,
<iong the night-enshrouded slope-
thelr cruel, vengeful eyes seeking to
distinguish the outlines of the coach
against the black curtain of the blur.
This had proven thus far their sal
gation-that steep uplift OF earth
against which the stage had crashed
IN its mad dash-for its precipitant
front had compelled the sayases to .t.