The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-12-21

for three or four minutes before she
received any inkling of what lay ahead,
though Blues behavior during that in
terval had served to rcassure her some
what. He was interested still in what
lay just out of sight beyond a shoulder
of the hill, but he did not appear to be
in the least alarmed. Therefore Billy
Louise knew it couldn't be a bear, at
any rate.
They came to the point of the hills
shoulder and Billy Louise tightened the
reins instinctively while she stared at
what lay revealed beneath The head
of the gulch was blocked with corral
small, high, hidden from view on all
sides save where she stood, by the
jagged walls of rock and heavy aspen
thickets beyond
The corral was but the setting for
what Billy Louise stared at so unbe-
lievingly. A horseman had ridden out
of the corral just as she came into
sight, had turned a sharp corner and
had disappeared by riding up the same
slope she occupied, but farther along
and in a shallow depression which hid
him completely after that one brief
glimpse.
OF course the gulch was dusky with
deep shadows, and she had had only a
glimpse. But the horse was dark bay
and the rider was slim and tall and
wore a gray hat. The heart of Billy
Louise paused moment from its steady
beating and then sank heavily under
great weight. She was range born and
range bred. She had sat wide eyed on
her daddy's knees and heard him tell of
losses in cattle and horses and of cor
rails found hidden away in strange
places and of unknown riders who dis
appeared mysteriously into the hills.
She had heard of these things; they
were a part of the stage setting for
wild dramas of the West.
With a white line showing around
her close pressed lips and a horror in
her wide eyed glance she rode quietly
along the side of the bluff toward
where she had seen the hOrSeman dis
appear. He was riding dark bay and
he wore a gray hat and dark coat, and
he was slim and tall. Billy Louise
made a sound that was close to a groan
and set her teeth hard together after
ward.
She reached the hillside just above
the corral. There were cattle down
there, moving uneasily about in the
shadows. OF the horseman there was,
of course, no sign-just the corral and
u few restless cattle shut inside-and
on the hilltops a soft, rose violet glow
and in the sky beyond blend of pur-
pie and deep crimson to show where
the sun had been. Close beside her as
she stood looking down a little, gray
bird twittered wistfully.
Billy Louise took a deep breath and |
rode on, angling slightly up the bluff |
so that she could cross at the head of
the gulch. 1t was very quiet, very |
peaceful and wildly beautiful, this jum-
BILE of hills and deep gashed canyons.
But Billy Louise felt as though some |
thing precious had died. She should |
have gone down and investigated and |
turned those cattle loose-that is, IL |
she dared. Well, she dared; it was not |
fear that held her to the upper slopes. |
She did not want to know what brand
they bore or whether an iron had scar
cd fresh marks.
"Oh, God" she said once aloud, and
there was prayer and a protest, a
curse and question all in those two
words
So trouble-trouble that sickened her
very soul and choked her into dumb
ness and squeezed her heart so that
the ache of it was agony-came and
rode with her through the brOoding
dusk of the canyons and over the
brighter hilltops.
Billy Louise did not remember any
thing much about that ride except that
she was glad the way was long. Blue
carried her steadily on and on and
needed no guiding, and though Wolver-
inc canyon was black dark in most
places she liked it so.
John Pringle was standing by the