The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-04-14

"Nan, what do you meant"
srYou must give me up"


/ 'Nan. what do you means"
4 .sYou must give me up"
| They were sitting in the hospital
/ garden, he at her side on the bench
] that he called their bench. 1t was
There he had made his unrebuked
1 avowal--here, he had afterward told
her, that he began to live. "Give you
up," he echoed with gentleness. ''How
/ could 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 sicken and faint in the saddle, I'd
lose my way in the hills; without you
/ there would be no tomorrow. No mat
4 ter where am, no matter how / feel,
| If think of you strength wells into
| my heart like spring. / never could
give you up"
He told her all would be well be-
cause II 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.
/ 1t 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
1 been whetted with the prospect of
death, and perhaps more than one, in
the meeting of men whose supremacy
with the gun had never been success
fully disputed. 1t required all TIE
diplomacy of Lefever to pull off,
conference between the two whicE
should not from the start be hopeless,
because of q crowd of Dukes partisaiis
whose presence would egg him on, I'm
spite Of everything, to combat.
But toward eleven o'clock In the
morning, De Spain having been con-
i cealed like circus performer during
every minute earlier. Duke Morgan was
found, alone. in q BARRIERS 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.
I Passing with an easy step the row
| Of BARRIERS lined up in waiting beside
Il Z ~faxssr ctr o1fyItf
.gssn Tie epen aisle, behind Morgan's
back. While Duke bent over the case
to select a cigar, De Spain, passing,
placed himself at the mountain-man's
side and between him and the street
sunshine. 1t was taking an advantage.
De Spain was well aware, but under
the circumstances he thought himself
entitled to q good light on Dukes eye.
4 De Spain wore an ordinary sack
street suit, with no sign of weapon
about him; but none Of those who con-
sidered themselves favored spectators
of long-awaited encounter felt any
! doubt as to his ability to put his hand
4 on one at incOmparably short notice.
| There was, however, no trace of hos
/ fility or suspicion In De SPANS greet
ing.
| Hello, Duke Morgan" he said frank
~. Morgan looked around. His face
/ hardened when he saw De Spain, and
1 he invOluritarily took a short step
backward. De Spain, with his left hand
/ lying care.essly on the cigar case,
I faced him. II heard you wanted to
see me-" continued De Spain. II want
TO see you. How's your back since you
went homer
| Morgan eyed him with a mixture of
suspicion and animosity. He took what
was to him the most significant part of
DE SPANS greeting first and threw his
response into words as short as words
could be chopped: what do you want
to see me about2'
Nothing unpleasant, hope" re-
turned De Spain. Lets sit down a
minute"
| Say what you got to say"
"Well, don't take my head off, Duke.
I was sorry to hear you were hurt. And
I've been trying to figure out how to
make ii easier for you to get to and
from town while you are getting strong.
Jeffries and both feel there's been q
lot of unnecessary hard feeling be-
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 81 lie pocket
and held out an unsealed envelope to
Morgan. Duke, taking the envelope,
eyed it distrustfully. 'What's this?'
he demanded. opening it and drawing
out card.
Something for easier riding. An
annual pass for you and one over the
stage line between Calabasas and
Sleepy Cat--with Mr.. Jeffries' compli-
ments.v
Like flash. Morgan tore the card
pass In two and threw 1t angrily to the
floor. aTell Mr. Jeffries," he ex-
claimed violently, "to--"
The man that Glanced at that mo-
ment to be lying In the nearest chair
slid quietly but imperiously out from
under the razor and started with the
BARRIERS for the rear door, wiping the