The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-12-06
Helen
MacAlister
A Story Of a Grl Bought
Up With Co~punchers-
D.. LID q ATED
By HORACE SLATER

Ny father WA ta.srssra6 WITH A
S.srenr.an AZ tie name Il Mao lissrer
ID ranch!lg IN the vasr- MacA-!srar
ATTENDED. To Ehe stock catSt1,g, while
my father reusatne.! IN tie easC alaaag-
ing the financial and Il lie a'IatHess
When my tacher ttef! : vas rNeur7
one years nd I tornd with Tia viii,
leaving AL Tia crnperr9 Z. aie lecrsr
stating thac Il wa A.. 3. -he ,7Aca.
He and lis carmen .a! vtrrylallT been
ene owner and -hIa Wa Al thac had
saved .heir tZl7 esCGlerC tr1nl 1alk
r,.prcy Mac lsC..r la. ,..e,t Ten ? =, r.
before. since when my 'araer ha!
naanage,t The business Acme FOR ai-a~
self and lila "a 'rIls>rs .ta!giEer, Da0
was sole heir III Ter eacter's interest.
Frani ny fathers itaarh, the lercsr
weur IN I'll say WA Z. 1e soie llaa
agar for nl7selt and chIs tauglrer,
EEAier MacA.ster. now seventeen years
az ags.
+ am a alech0...ca! chap and atcer
reading this letter SAT back n EaY chair
ror !ob u thinking. I'D aoc ce+Isa
any business rala lions with a woman.
Ny father had 5eeu lea Ing with A
child who Uas now autertng rpon NO
manhood Doubtless my rasf world be
far harder than his The .es7TIc AZ mp
thinking was resolution 10 60 west
and Ions over The property and espe,
ciaI!y the owner ~ the ofher half Of It.
When reached the ranch t7rnd II
entirely In the hands IL men Asking
for Mhss MaeAIlster was tod that
sae was visiting a raach near By
where there WAS a woman, sincr. there
was no one ot her own sex At her own
home was further In formed tia. abe
had lived only among the naeu an the
ranch from The time she Was 1--WE yea n
Old, when her mother died, and her
father had the undivided care II her
She had never been away from home
TIT this visit.
l sent 10 Miss MacAaater A. regrlest
that she come home. since is was nee.
essary that we have business talk
together She returned at once On
the day OF her arrival waa sitting on.
the veranfa ~ the ranch house Be-
Ing just from the east, waa dressed
In eastern costume Miss MacA lister
was ROBBED In cowboY apparel Of a fem
mine cut She rode ~ 20 the house on
hors"tyark as'tide, and flng!ne her
right leg over the saddle, planted t. on
the ground: then, taking the left foot
from the atIrrTp, abe trrned and came
up the steps
Suddenly she stopped and looked me
over from my derby hat to my check.
ed spats. Evidently abe had never
seen one got Up as was before.
Are yoa Mr. MI!ibank;" she asked
Il am | replied, rising and making
a dra wing room bow
II did ma reckon | was to meet a
tenderfOot," abe said. with scotch
accent. Her father and mother had
been Scotch hlghlanders Have they
taken guide care OF yer
II think they have been waiting your
arrival to dispose OF me. Men are not
as well fitted "a women for household
affairs"
II say" she said To several men
lounging about what do you mean By
leaving the gentleman without a room
and sumwhat to eati Bestir your.
selves and show him to the room his
father always had when be visited us.
Gang on
To my horror the order was accom-,
panied with a yoIley Of oaths emanat-
Ing from a rosy little mouth, the most
Inappropriate instrument In the world
for their conveyance. One of the men
addressed shouldered my trunk. which
had thus far been left on the veranda,
and carried 1t to a room on one side
OF the hall within. followed him and
made toilet, donnlng a flannel shirt
which fortunately had brought along
as a protection from the cold. While
doing 30 heard Miss MacAlister talk
ing with some cowpunchers In the hall,
and, though her voice was musical. her
words did not differ from theirs.
There was the same cowboy nomen.
ciature. the same slang and, what graf
ed most on my sensitive nerves, the
same oaths
Now, II Miss MacAlister had been an
angular, homely, coarse visaged wo-
man doubt IL I would have been
shocked. would simply have been
disgusted. As II was, while | was
Jared, | was fascinated. II this pref
~ Scotch girls accent was a bit like
q finger on the strings OF a mandolin,
her oaths were the bitters in a sweet
drink. At any rate. they were unique.
II occurred to me that the daughter
OF q gentleman brought up among
men. with no associates of her own
sex, would naturally fall into their
ways. OF the two elements that go to
make up the social human being. hered.
fly and environment, the latter had the
field all to itself Nevertheless. In Miss
MacAlister's case. heredity had not
been put out OF the fight, for among
the slang and the oaths was a cropping
out Of gentility that must have come
from parents OF refinement