The Ozark spectator., 1917-05-23
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''Nan. what do you mean?'

"Nan. what do you meanT
 You must give me up."
 They were sitting in the hospital garden, he at her side on the bench that he called their bench. It was here he had made his unrebuked avowal-here, he had afterward told her, that he began to live. Give you up." he echoed with gentleness. How could l do that? You're like the morn ing for me, Nan. Without you there's no day: you're the kiss of the noun tain wind and the light of the stars to me. Without the thought of you I'd sielen and faint in the saddle. I'd lose my way in the hills; without you there would be no tomorrow. No mat ter where I am, no matter how l feel, if I think of you strength wells into my heart like spring. l never could give you up."
 He told her all would be well be- cause it must be well: that she must trust him; that he would bring her safe through every danger and every storm. if she would only stick to him. And Nan, sobbing her fears one by one out on his breast, put her arms around his neck and whispered that for life or death, she would stick.
 It was not hard for De Spain next morning to find Duke Morgan. The difficulty was to meet him without the mob of hangers-on whose appetite had been whetted with the prospect of a death, and perhaps more than one, in the meeting of men whose supremacy with the gun had never been success fully disputed. It required all the diplomacy of Lefever to pull off" u conference between the two which should not from the start be hopeless because of crowd of Dukes partlsans whose presence would egg him on, in spite of everything, to combat.
 But toward eleven o'clock in the morning. De Spain having been con cealed like circus performer during every minute earlier. Duke Morgan was found. alone, in barber's hands In the Mountain house. At the moment Duke left the revolving chair and walked to the cigar stand to pay his check, De Spain entered the shop through the rear door opening from the hotel office. Passing with an easy step the row of barbers lined up In waiting beside down the open aisle, behind Morgan 8 back. While Duke bent over the case to select cigar De Spain, passing, placed himself at the mountainman's s side and between him and the street sunshine. It was taking an advantage, De Spain was well aware, but under the circumstances he thought himself entitled to good light on Dukes eye. De Spain wore an ordinary sack street suit. with no sigu of n weapon about him but none of those who con sldered themselves favored spectators of long-awaited encounter felt any doubt as to his ability to put his hand on one at incomparably short notice. There was. however, no trace of hos tility or suspicion in De Spain's greet ing.
 Hello, Duke Morgan" he said frank ly. Morgan looked around. His face hardened when he snw De Spain, and he involuntarily took short step backward. De Spain, with his left hand lying carelcssly on the cigar case, faced him. 'I heard you wanted to see me-" continued De Spain. "I want to see you. How's your back since you went home?"
 Morgan eyed him with mixture of suspicion and animosity. He took what was to him the most significant part of De Spain's greeting first and threw his response into words as short us words could be chopped: What do you want to see me about?"
 Nothing unpleasant, hope" re- turned De Spain. Lets sit down n minute"
 Say what you got to say"
 "Well. don't take my head off, Duke. was sorry to hear you were hurt. And I've been trying to figure out how to make 1t easier for you to get to and from town while you are getting strong. JefYries and both feel there's been n tVt VA dhhCNNSoaiy lSthhS Oc- tween the Morgans and the company. and we want to ask you to accept this to show some of it's ended" De Spain put his left hand into his side pocket and held out an unsealed envelope to Morgan. Duke, taking the envelope, eyed 1t distrustfully. "What's this?" he demanded, opening 1t and drawing out q card.
 Something for easier riding. An annual pass for you and one over the stage line between Calabasas and Sleepy Cat-with Mir. Jefrries' compli- EleEts."
 Like a fash. Morgan tore the card pass in two and threw 1t angrily to the floor. "rell Mir Jeffries," he ex- claimed violently. "to-"
 The. man that chanced at that mo- ment to be lying in the nearest chair slid quietly but imperionsly out from