The Yale expositor., 1914-11-19

fer hev ye fetched yer gun ter the
feld?"
The boy laughed. ooh, hit amt
nothin' perticler," he treasured. Hit
hain't nothin' fer a gal ter fret herself
erbout only l kinder suspicious
strangers Jest now"
Air the truce busted" She put the |
question in tense. deep-breathed |
whisper and the boy replied casually, |
almost indifferently
mo. Sally, hit haint Jest ter say
busted, but pears like hits right
smart cracked. l reckon, though" he
added in half-disgust, 'nothin' won't
! come of hit"
Somewhat treasured, she bethought
herself again of her mission.
This here furriner .haint got no
harm in him, Samson" she pleaded.
HE pears ter be more like gal than
man. He's real puny. He's got
white skin and a bow OF ribbon on
his neck-an' he paints pictchers."
The boys face had been hardening
with contempt as the description ad-
vanced, but at the last words a glow
came to his eyes and he demanded
almost breathlessly:
Paints pictchers? How do We know
that?"
81 seen em. He was paintin' one
when he fell often the rock and busted
his arm It's shore es beautiful es-"
she broke off, then added with a sud
den peal of laughter-"es er FLETCHER"
The young man slipped down from
the fence, and reached for the rife.
The hoe he left where II stood.
"Ill git the nag" he announced
briefly, and swung of without further
parley toward the curling spiral OF
smoke that marked cabin quarter
OF mile below. Ten minutes later
his bare feet swung against the ribs
OF gray mule and his rife lay bal
anced across the unsaddled withers.
Sally sat mountain fashion behind
him, facing straight to the side.
So they came along the creek bed
} and into the sight of the man who
= still sat propped against the messy
rock. AS Lescott looked up he closed
; the case of his watch and put it back
into his pocket with smile.
"Snappy work, that" he called out.
Just thirty-three minutes. didn't
believe 1t could be done
Samson's face was masklike, but
: as he surveyed the foreigner, only the
: ingrained dictates OF the country's
hospitable code kept out OF his eyes
CLEAN OF scorn for this frail mem
ha ~ nh ha OF luya ri
"Howdy?" he said. Then he added
. suspiciously: What mout yer husi-
ness be in these parts, stranger"
: Lescott gave the Odyssey of his wan.
' derings. since he had rented a mule
3 at Hixon and ridden through the coun-
try, sketching where the mood prompt
q ed and sleeping wherever he found q
hospitable roof at the coming of the
!, evening.
"Ye come from over on Cripple
shin?" The boy flashed the question
o with a sudden hardening OF the voice
Q and, when he was affirmatively ans
8 swered, his eyes contracted and bored
J. searchingly into the strangers face
& "Where'd We put up last night?"
O RED Bill Hollman's house, at the
b mouth of Meeting House fork; do you
8 know the placer"
d Samson's reply was curt.
z 81 knows hit all right"
n There was a moments pause
n rather an awkward pause. Lescott't
" mind began piecing together frag
ments of conversation he had heard
v until he had assembled a sort OF men
r tai jigsaw puzzle.
d The South Holman feud had beer
Q, mentioned by the more laxative o
Is his informers, and carefully tabooet
ID by others-notable among them hi
g host of last night. II now dawned oil
70 him that he was crossing the boun
b. dairy and coming as the late guest o
or Holman to ask the hospitality OF
ID South.
d. 81 didn't know whose house IL was,
he fastened to explain. until l wa
benighted and asked for lodging The
were very kind to me. I'd never see
he them before. I'm stranger here
Oh abouts"
ne Samson only nodded. If the explans
ID ton failed to satisfy him, it at leas
n seemed to do so.
RI 81 reckon ye'd better let me hol
~ We up on tibet old mule" he said
&c hits a-comin' on ter be night"
With the mountaineer's aid, Lescot
cd clambered astride the mount, then h
ve turned obviously.
VI I'm sorry to trouble you," he vel
on tured, but l have a paint box an
~ some materials up there. II you
~ bring them down here, I'll show 20
~ how to pack the easel, and, by tn
ha way" he anxiously added, pleas
to handle that fresh canvas carefully
. by the edge-it's not dry yet.
yit He had anticipated impatient col
nv tempt for his artists impeachment
ht but to his surprise the mountain be
climbed the rock and halted befol
ed the sketch with a face that slow
re- softened to an expression of amaze
ia. admiration. Finally he took up II
p" square of academy board with te
1o-o ,,Afob hfa ronoh no nf