The Winslow mail., 1916-06-23
y II AA'IA1E1' xA1x'I
HE WAS THE MAN
BY PERCIVAL KANE.

I'm so sick and tired trailing
around after the fortunes of the fam
ily,' declared Lot emphatically.
Don't trail. Locate" Phelps sug.
gested mildly.
"Here?" Dots glance took in the
whole radius of valley and buttea
climbing UP into foothills. For PHYS
sake, Ruddy, do have some discrimi.
nation. l don't belong out here. Cant
you see that?"
Not with the naked eye. | think
you ut into the landscape mighty
we'll. He looked her over apprecia.
lively as she rode beside him "Wyom-
ing's 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 PROPOSE
ton where to Max it's a serious af
fair. We've got to live off the pro
ceeds of his place right now, and the
pickings are pretty small, | can tel
you"
Il don't see what he wanted to come
for anyhow. He knew better"
He was the biggest rancher out
there and Max's friend, but he wa
likewise sheriff, and she wondered
just how much he knew of Max and
why Max 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
Dots 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 loyal
ty toward her. After her marriage, il
had been understood that Dot was tc
live with them, and she had, like
Max, too, for all his easy-going ways
Max had played the market a bit
too heavily one day and had foun'
himself called to produce cash whe
he had none. He had used money IT.
trusted to him just overnight inten(
ing to replace it, and there had bee
none coming in to replace it with. TIL,
market dropped with slump, and
haggard, gray-faced man had returne
to Grace that night and told her tn
fiat truth.
Grace had money of her own, none
toe, that was Dots, from their fathel
and they had dubbed together an
had pulled Max over the crisis. H
had never seemed to get back hi
nerve, though, and finally they ha
sold everything and put the cash int
the little ranch next to Rudyar,
Phelps place.
do you know why Max came?"
"Sure,'' he said easily. He'll, get al
over that. Just lost the reins a fey
moments down there. And his wifi
will get used to it"
ooh, Grace likes it. She'd be salts
fed anywhere Max was"
I'm glad of that l rather though
she was more of city woman That
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, an(
I'm wanting to stay, and I wish to Coo
you'd marry me, and you wish yol
could escape and take up the ole
life"
Dot stopped her pony with suddel
grip on the reins, her gray eyes meet
ing his without evasion. She had only
known him three months, but il
seemed years,
II had a chance to sell out and &C
East a couple Of weeks ago, and !
didn't"
why not?"
Because I wanted to live next door
to you. Oh, l know it's four miles
over, but it's next door just the same
I didn't think you'd be trying to run
away before | roped you His tone
was low. Il never did any real court
ing in my life-that is, with definite
object in view-and l know you just
look at me as 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 no
where, It's been next door to paradise
for me since you came, Dot" Dot was
silent, weighed problems within her
self. asking herself questions.
II 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 we'll enough, !
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."
"Why-why, don't know, Ruddy. II
doesn't seem as If l 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, Ruddy. If it were only my