Evening star., 1915-02-21


fun, and ranch owner trailing around over
the country with Wild West Show just to
kill time and break the monotony. Says
ones as sensible as the other
ashes right said. Were all Idle
Rich together
"He shook his head. He couldn't just see
it. He had poor luck making love to her.
You never saw worse battered man than
he was the night she turned him down cold
and distinct when he asked for show in the
game.
WIHAT happened at last wasn't on the
posters-it hardly ever is. We were
giving the night performance, and had
em banked to the top row. Lots OF swell
people in the boxes too, every seat full up.
All was lovely, Indians sober, the stage
holdup, the roping, riding, shooting, every
thing right up to high standard, audience
well pleased, and old Doc Carson gibbering
with Joy.
"Harve,' said Bruce to me, ride around
the amphitheater with me, and III show you
the Coates family. They're all here to-
night
ave rode around and saw them; but l
noticed the girl wasn't waving any handker-
chiefs or throwing any pos1es in our dlrec-
ton. Bruce swept his big hat off very po-
ltely as we rode by their box, and did like
wise. They all bowed and smiled but the
smiled smile. My old friend looked down
his nose at that.
"The performance went along smoothly
until the buffalo hunt was pulled off. We
had our six head, which comprised the herd,
led by an old one-eyed bull, and the Indians
stalked 'em from behind dummy hills,
dashed out on ponies, and shot 'em with
rubber tipped arrows most cruel and bar
barous Of course the buffalo chucked their
heads down and kicked up the dirt in all di
rections, and with the Indians, painted and
whooping after EN-, it made very realistic
hunt on a small scale We had a netting
people; for a buffalo, when he gets his
head down, never looks where he's going.
When they hit that wire net, though, it
turned em.
THAT night they were whooping. 1t up
like hundred years ago on the Nebraska
plains. Every time buffalo would hit the
net the people sitting on the other side
would climb over each others heads until
they got wise that there was no danger.
There was danger, though, and we didn't
know it. 1t must have been weak place
in the wire, and it CHANGED that old One
eye found it. He was big rascal, and
pretty mean 100. lie WOulun hesitate 10
charge man if he happened to be in bad
humor.
at was close to the Coates box. Just
beyond them from where Bruce and me sat
on our horses a double row of women and
kids occupied the lower tier of seats. Here
came old One-Eye head down, and snorting
mad, with yelling Indian on each side.
Straight for the women and kids he scam
pered. When he hit the net, instead of be-
ing thrown back on his marrowbones as ex-
pected, he q0ent through! Not all at once,
mind you; for he was tangled up considerably
and the broken wire ends tore at his name
and pricked his hide, which only made him
madder.
"At last he scraped through, sized up the
scrambling crowd, and dropped his head to
charge EN-. Then something else happened.
DOROTHY COATES dropped over the
~ side of their box-she was the nearest
in their party-and ran between old One
Eye and the screeching kids. Man! 1t was
a crazy thing for a girl to do, and nervy
too when you come to think of it. She had
nothing but her little bare hands to fight
him with, either.
"Bruce left his horse while going at a run,
over that ten-foot fence he went, lit on his
hands and knees, and was up like rubber