The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-01-07
The EUening Story
Next Door to Nowhere
(By Percival Kane.)


I'm so sick and tired trailing
around after the fortunes of the fam
| ily." declared Dot emphatically.
Don't trail Locate" Phelps sug-
gested mildly
'Here?" Dots glance took in the
whole radius Of valley and buttes
climbing up into foothills. For PHYS
sake, Rudy, do have some discrimi-
nation. I don't belong out here. Can't
you see that? -
Not with the naked eye. I think
You fit into the landscape mighty
/ WE'LL He looked her over apprecia-
/ lively as she rode beside him wy
! omings all right. I've lived here five
/ years, and it's treated me fine and
dandy"
You mean you've treated it fine
/ and dandy. You had money when you
! came out here, and you could afford
/ to play with the whole ranching prop
osition where to Max it's serious af-
! fair. We've got to live off the pro-
ceeds of his place right now, and the
/ plckings are pretty small, 1 can tell
/ you"
Il don't see what he wanted to
! come for, anyhow. He knew better"
! She shot him a quick, inQuiring
/ glance, then stared ahead of her down
| the valley trail they trod upon. He
was the biggest rancher out there and
Max's friend, but he was likewise
sheriff, and she wondered just how
had chosen to come out there right in
| the midst of his career.
The shame and agony of it all were
still fresh in Grace's mind. Grace was
! her elder sister. Ever since she could
remember there had been no mother
| hand over her, only Grace, and she
| had grown up with love and loyalty
toward her. After her marriage, it
had been understood that Dot was to
live with them, and she had liked Max,
n aaS
( had been too ambitious, had pushed
him ahead too fast, so eager in her
| ambition for him that she overlooked
the verities and code of honor in small
| things.
Max had played the market a bit
too heavily one day and had found
himself called to produce cash when
he had none. He had used money in
trusted to him just overnight intend
ing to replace it, and there had been
none coming in to replace it with
The market dropped with slump
and haggared, gray-faced man mad
returned to Grace that night and told
her the flat truth.
Grace had money of her own,
money too that was Dots, from their
father, and they had dubbed together
and had pulled Max over the crisis
He had never seemed to get back his
nerve, though, and finally they had
sold everything and put the cash into
the little ranch next to Rudyard
Phelps's place.
Does anybody ever stay out here
unless he has %" she asked softly.
well, I have. I like it," he an
swered simply you see, down in the
cities men elbow each other and
they're so jammed they can't lift their
hands to God. That may be just no
ton of mine, but 1 like to feel there's
a sort of understanding between Some
! body up yonder and me. I never did
like a trail that leads nowhere. I've
lived in the city for years, and the
only thing you miss out here is COM
partnership. 1 hope you don't get dis
couraged and go back. It's been great
/ having you all so near"
DO you know why Max came"
Sure" he said easily. He'll get
all over that. Just lost the reins few
moments down there. And his wife
will get used to it.
"Oh, Grace likes it. She'd be salts
| fled anywhere Max was"
I'm glad of that I rather thought
she was more of a city woman. That's
all this place lacks-the right woman.
Amt it funny" he didn't look at her
but ahead of them. Here you're
wanting to pull away from here, and
I'm wanting to stay. and l wish to God
you'd marry me, and you wish you
could escape and take up the old
/ 1ife-''
Dot stopped her pony with a sudden
grip on the reins, her gray eyes meet
/ ing his without evasion. She had only
known him three months, but it SEEM
| ed years. He had seen her nearly
every day in that time, and still, as she
! had told Grace when the latter had
warned her, Ruddy seemed SO safe"
no one could fall in love with him.
Now, she looked at him with frank
curiosity, quite as if she had never seen
him before in that light, looked at his
face, tanned and good-tempered.
square jawed, his brown eyes full of
quiet humor, his hair a bit chestnut
! in the sunlight.
/ Il had a chance to sell out and go
East a couple of weeks ago, and I
didn't"
why not?"
Because I wanted to live next door
to you. Oh, I know it's four miles
over, but it's next door just the same.
1 didn't think you'd be trying to run
away before I roped you" His tone
was low Il never did any real court
ing in my life-that is, with definite
/ ob+0ct in view-and I know you just
look at me as a sort of easy-going
pal, but I've hoped some day you'd
get tired of Max's ranch and step over
the line to mine. You said the other
day you hated to live next door to
nowhere. It's been next door to para
disc for me since you came, Dot" Dot
was silent, weighted problems with
herself, asking herself questions.
Il know you can't be sure" he went
on I'm Eastern by birth, played on
the same football team with Max
years back, we belong to the same
fraternity. You like me well enough.
I know that, but the point is would
| the whole world look black to you If
you knew you never were going to
see me again ?"
! Dot met his eyes at this gravely, al
most with fear in her own Slowly
she answered;
/ 'fWhy-why, I don't know, Ruddy.
/ 1t doesn't seem as if 1 could ever bear
! that Maybe I've grown used to you"
I'VE wouldn't stay here all the time,
/ you know. I've got plenty of cash to
/ drift around on when you felt like
change"
/ Her eyes filled with tears
| Listen, Rudy. If it were only my
| self-but how would Max feel to think