The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-06-25
The
Ranchnnan
True Loves Course Did Not
Run Smooth With Him.

Some years ago it was quite the
thing for young men who had inherit
ed means to go west and start ranch.
Arnold Tucker, after being graduated
at one Of the principal eastern univer-
stiles, finding himself in possession of
q fortune, concluded to follow ranch
ing as an occupation and proceeded
westward to carry out his purpose. He
found ranch for sale without any
trouble. The business was not prov
ing profitable, and those who had put
money into it were anxious to get it
out. However. they did not communi-
cate this to Tucker, and he bought one
of the best ranches, well stocked for
what he considered low price.
Young men have good deal to learn.
and Tucker was no exception. He was
an energetic man, full of pluck and de-
termination. attended faithfully to all
his stock required and had it not been
for one stumbling block In his way
might have succeeded. That stumbling
block was a woman.
One day while he was riding over
his broad acres he suddenly felt his
horse sinking down under him. Real
izing at once that he had struck
quicksand. he made an effort to ex-
tricate himself, but his horse struggled
so that he did not succeed. Then he
saw woman. mounted, galloping to-
ward him. A lasso whirled, and
moose fell on his shoulders. This he
fixed under his arms and the woman.
tying the other end Of the rope to the
pOmmel of her saddle, spurred her
horse away from the quicksand and
pulled him out.
Madge Hardesty was the woman
who kept Tucker from being swallow
ed up with his horse, the natural con-
sequence of which was that he should
be swallowed up by the woman, espe-
cially as she was young and in her
wild western way fascinating. She
was certainly beloved by the men of
the region in which she lived and
would have been by the women had
there been enough women Of her class
men, She had gained the respect of
all by running ranch her father had
left her, and running 1t successfully.
There was not a man within fifty miles
to whom she was not known and not
one Of them, from the most unfortu-
nate ranchman to the toughest cow
puncher, who would not have risked
his life to serve her.
Tucker was far above them all In re-
finement and education. There was
an affair of the heart between him and
his preserver, and it would doubtless
have ended in the usual way between
lovers had not Tucker left sweet
heart In the east Several months
passed after his being dragged from
the quicksand, and it was recognized
by all that Madge was In love with the
"swell ranchman," as he was called,
when he suddenly departed for the
east
Why he left. when he was to return.
whether or not he had Tilted Madge
no one knew unless 1t was Madge, and
she would not tell. But what her
tongue refused to speak was evident
from her appearance and her bearing
At first she gave vent to fits of assumed
gayety that were followed by spells of
real depression. This was followed by
an uninterrupted languor. Everybody
knew by this time that all had not
gone well with her in the matter Of
fuckers attentions, and the feeling
against him was hostile.
The truth is that Tucker had been
caught in an ENHANCEMENT with
Madge Hardesty as he had been
caught in the quicksand. He had been
engulfed in each before he realized
that he was in danger. AS soon as he
came to such realization concerning
Madge he took himself off. He was
bound In honor to the girl in the east,
and, being an honorable man. he re-
turned to her
Let man drink lemonade, then
wine and then return to lemonade and
the taste of the weaker beverage is in
sipid. Tucker had gone west feeling
that he had left dream" When he
returned the dream had faded, and he
found a girl like other girls. no more.
no less attractive There was no fla
vor In her. The result was that he
was different man to her from what
he had been. She was not greatly dis
pleased at this, for she saw in him
western manner that she considered
by no means an improvement on his
former self. The result was that they
agreed to disagree.
One day herder who had drifted
into little town not hundred miles
from Madge Hardesty's ranch report
ed that he had seen Tucker there. !
Herders are not models of diplomacy
or common sense. A dozen or so of
them banded themselves together for
B purpose. They rode to the town
where Tucker had been seen and fore
ed him to go with them to Madge
ranch. The first Madge
knew of what they were doing was
being called out on the veranda of her
ranch house, where she saw Tucker a