Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-07-06
Euening Story
THE pAwN's EARLY LIGHT.
BY lxola Forester.
Copyright, 1916, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.)


Copyright, 1915, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.)
Just about twenty miles southeast OF
Ell Rey Pass lay Tom Madigan's ranch.
Tom was big and good natured. The
tides Of war rllmors never ruffled his
daily calm or happiness. He had tidy
bunch Of Mexicans working for him.
good fellows every one Of them, and he
didn't see why Uncle Sans arguments
should interfere with their friendly
and sociable relations.
Which was also why he put no OBJ
stacle in the way of his customary
spring roundup house party. Every.
thing went off as usual and Tom beam.
ed at the world and swore there was
no Mexican problem. Clarita Gomez
flashed her quick smile at him and &C.
cepted his invitation to settle at Sweet
water ranch with her brother Juan.
There amt better cattle man In
all Texas than Juan" Tom had said,
Shaping the tall, lean Sonoran on his
shoulder. I'm going back east In
June to bring back. the best girl In the
whole United States of America and
III leave things here to Juan"
! 1t took Clarita about a week 10 estab
lish her preference for the Yankee
rancher Every quick glance Of her
dark eyes told her secret, but Tom
would ride away from the Gomez
shack on his way to meet the mail
wagon at Muddy Ford and only think
of the letter he would get from little
blue eyed girl down In Maine,
He left the first Of June. just when
i the border was bubbling over with
d, trouble.
'Ill be back by July" he told Juan
and We'll have the biggest knockout
Fourth the old ranch ever saw in hon
,, or of the bride, understand Juan. Have
everything in good shape"
The first thing Juan did after his
boss took the east bound train was to
fire the four American cowboys and
substitute Mexicans. The boys rode
over the FL Rey Pass and Joined the
army. Two days later, bunch of cat
tie was driven over the border, cattle
with Tom Madigan's double y, on their
TANKS, headed for the mountains. And
there was no one to send word to Ne
ponsett, Maine. 81.
The happy bridegroom was married
| at the little white church, June 20 to
Sue Phillips, and all the way west he
told her of the roomy, comfortable
ranch house lying IN the fertile valley
below the pass and how she'd be boss
of the whole outfit.
aren't there any women around us
Tom?" .......
well, yes" said Tom truthfully; but
innocently, there's old Galora--sort of
Mexican Indian, she is-that does the
cooking. And there's Clarita. You'll
like her. She's the sister Of my fore,
man."
! "Pretty?" asked Sue -...t.
And Tom, being IMMERSED in the
proper code, said she was highly pretty
! and about eighteen. Sue read maya
zine for some time after that her hrm
little mouth set rather closer than
usual They stopped over at Chicago
| for a week and made for Texas in time
! for the Fourth. Tom had sent on &
big supply of fireworks and flags from,
New York. ,h-
We'll shoot rockets so high they
can see them at Fort Lomar,' he said
| At the station he hired a car to take
them over. 1t was late and he had not
let Juan know of his arrival. Just as
they were leaving, a couple Of soldiers
came up the broad steps and Tom shot
out surprised hail at his old boys
Sue waited impatiently while he talk
ed to them in low tones. When he
came back, he looked Oddly not like
the good natured Tom she had known
but tense. angry man who meant
business. They started away with the
big box of fireworks strapped to the
Muddy Ford Tom halted the car at a
little clubhouse the boys used when
grazing was good along the river. 1t
was empty now. He put the provi
sions inside and the box of fireworks
I'm going UP to the ranch alone" he
told Sue, holding her in his arms and
kissing her. Girl, dear, I'm mighty
sorry to bring you home to this, but
you've got to share the sorrows as well
as the Joys, you know. Promised it,
didn't you? And tomorrow's the
Fourth We amt got any time to lose
If we're going to raise Old Glory high
that'll be nine o'clock--you set off this
If amt back for you in two hours
bunch Of skyrockets one after the 9th.
er, and hop for town in that car as fast
as the boy can take YOU Son" he
turned to the boy-"you don't have to
worry about anything except to get to
Lomar Junction"
Sue waited, his last kiss fresh on her
lips, her eyes fixed on the silhouettes
OF trees outlined against the clear, fair
moonlight. They marked the river
course where Tom stole on up to the
| ranch. She wondered what lay ahead
Of him. What it was he had not told
her, and some way she thought of the
| girl Clarita. After awhile she turned
back from the low shack to find the
boy whistling softly to himself as he
knelt on the ground, making little
mound to rest the rockets against.
Its two hours" he told her. Here
goes the first"
It shot up in a. long kissing line like
a. thrown lariat. higher and higher un.
til it burst lightly into colored stars.
They'll see that clear over to the
! " q. lat az nff