Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1916-06-01
CHAPTER xx-cortinued.

The veranda at Lieber's was like
that of Fazenda Flores only much big
ger. 1t looked out upon wide stretch
of desert but away at the rim of the
desert one could feel the river. The
roar of the falls mumbled in the ear.
It came from so far away that one
had to strain ones ears to actually
define it. After supper they gathered
on the veranda. They sat in rude, raw
hide chairs which were comfortably
strong and tilted them back to the
national angle. Lieber and Gerry
smoked corn-husk cigarettes but Kemp
stuck to his yellow papers. Gerry did
not want to talk. He sat where he
could watch the strange pair whose
companion he was for a night. Into
the souls of Lieber and Kemp the long
silences of solitude had entered and
become at home. They were patient
of silence. Speech had its restricted
uses. They still had their hats on.
Lieber's was pushed back, Kemp's
was drawn forward. Kemp was whit
Ting. Kemp's words Of farewell came
back to Gerry, Its long trail from
the Alamo to New York, but the whole
country's under one fence" Texan,
Pennsylvania Dutchman and New
Yorker might be social poles but to-
night they seemed strangely near to
each other.
The next morning Gerry was up ear
~, nervous after his first nights alb
sence from Fazenda Flores. Kemp
watched him saddle his horse. "That
amt one of the fve," he remarked.
"No," said Gerry. 81 traded the
roam for the iron-gray. Do you think
was done"
II amt sayin'," said Kemp cautious
ly. II don't want you should think l
was teachin' you, Mr.. Lansing, but
that boss amt no iron-gray. There
amt no such color for a boss as ever
heern tell on. That boss is a blue an
he's true blue"
"All right, Kemp" said Gerry, smil-
ing. you've named him true blue and
True Blue he is from this day."
Lieber came out in pyjamas and
called them for coffee. When they
were seated he proposed to Kemp that
he make his headquarters at tbs ranch
for while. The advantages were evil
dent. 1t was congregating point for
the natives from miles round. Goat
skins came into Lieber's from hun
dreds of miles up country. They came
singly, in donkey loads or In whole
packtrains. Sometimes they passed
directly into his hands from the pro-
Queer; sometimes they ran through a
chain of transfers, from hand to hand.
All news conferred at and radiated
from Lieber's. The same men that
brought in goatskins would be glad to
add orchids to their stock in trade.
Kemp grunted his thanks. He had
waited two years for this offer. The
realization of the obligation Lieber
was putting him under embarrassed
him. He began to talk. "These greas-
ers," he said, take a lot o. teachin'
sometimes, an sometimes they don't.
Eft instance, You can tell 'em that Cat
tleyas are wo'th money and that the
rest O. their parasites amt, md after
they seen you throw Bu'lin'tonias an
oncfdiums an Miltonias into the dis
card TO three months steady, they be-
gin to sober down to jest Cattleyas md
realize that it's no use holdin' four
aush against workin' pair"
At the scientific names dropping so
anonymously from Kemp's lips, Ger
~ stopped eating and looked up. Lie
Ders face wore the smile of one ,who
mad heard it before but is quite Will
ing to hear 1t all over again.
ect," continued Kemp, "yo' en-
pon III you're biin' an Jon can't held