Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1917-12-21


with hattering attention whenever his
lady spoke. The horse went ON, calm
ly stepping over this rock and around
that as If it were the simplest thing In
the world to find sure footing and car
ry his lady smoothly up that trail. He
threw up his head so suddenly that
Billy Louise was startled out of her
abnless dreamings and pointed nose
aid ears toward the little creek bot
tom above, where Marthy had lighted
her campfire long and long ago.
A few steps farther and Blue stop
ped short In the trail to look and lis
ten. Billy Louise COLD see the nery-
Gus twitchings Of his muscles under
the skin of neck and shoulders, and she
smiled to herself. Nothing could ever
come upon her unaware when she rode
alone so long as she rode Blue. A
| hunting dog was not more keeDly alive
to his surroundings.
go on, Blue" she commanded after
a minute. "If it's bear or anything
! like that you can make a run for it;
| if It's a wolf I'll shoot it. You needn't
stand here all night, anyway"
/ Blue went on, out from behind the
willow growth that hid the open. He
returned to his calm, picking a smooth
! trail through the scattered rocks and
tiny washouts. 1t was the girls turn
to stare and speculate. She did not
know this horseman who sat negligent
| " in the saddle and looked up at the
| cedar grown blum beyond while his
| horse stood knee deep in the little
stream. She did not know him, and
there were not so many travellers in
the land that strangers were a matter
of Indifference.
Blue welcomed the horse with dem
ocratic nicker and went forward brisk
| ly. And the rider turned his head,
eyed the girl sharply as she came up
and nodded a cursory greeting. His
horse lifted its head to look, decided
that it wanted another swallow or two
and lowered its muzzle again to the
water.
Billy Louise could not form any opin-
ion of the mans age or personality, for
he was encased in a wolfskin coat
which covered him completely from
hat brim to ankles. She got an impress
sion Of a thin, dark face and a sharp
glance from eyes that seemed dark
also. There was thin, high nose, and
beyond that Billy Louise did not look.
If she had the mouth must certainly
have treasured her somewhat.
Blue stepped nonchalantly down into
the stream beside the strange horse
and went across without stopping to
drink. The strange horse moved on
also, as If that were the natural thing
to do-which it was, since chance sent
them travelling the same trail Billy
Louise set her teeth together with the
queer little vicious click that had al
ways been her habit when she felt
thwarted and constrained to yield to
circumstances and Strengthened herself
In the saddle.
Looks like a storm" the fur coated
one observed, with a perfectly trans
parent attempt to tighten the awk-
wardness.
Billy Louise tilted her chin upward
and gazed at the gray sweep of clouds
moving sullenly toward the mountains
at her back. She glanced at the man
and caught him looking intently at her
face.
He did not look away Immediately,
as he should have done, and Billy Lou
Use felt little heat wave Of embar-
rassment, emphasized by resentment.
"Are you going far?" he queried In
the same tone he had employed before.
''Six miles," she answered shortly, |
though she tried to be decently civil.
I've about eighteen" he said.
Looks like Wen both get caught out |
in a blizzard"
Certainly he had a pleasant enough |
voice, and, after all, it was not his
fault that he happened to be at the
crossing when she rode out of the
gorge. Billy Louise, in common JUS
tice, laid aside her resentment and
looked at him with a hint of a smile
at the corners of her lips.
THAT'S what we have to expect when
we travel In this country in the win
ter" she replied. Eighteen miles viii
take you long after dark"
'Well, 1 was sort of figuring on put
ting up at some ranch if IT got too bad.
There's ranch somewhere ahead on
The Wolverine, isn't there?"
Yes" Billy Louise bit her lip, but
is an unwritten law OF the
Vest, law not to be lightly broken.
That's where live. Wen be glad to
lave you stop there Of course"
The stranger must have felt and adj
nired the unconscious dignity OF her
one and words, for he thanked her
imply and refrained from looking too
ntently at her face.
Fine siftings Of snow, like meal flung
own from gigantic sieve, swept into
heir faces as they rode on. The man Z
urned his face toward her after a long
Hence. She was riding with bowed a
cad and face half turned from BIN
nd the wind alike. 0
You'd better ride on ahead and get a
! out of this" he said CURLY. "Your e
orse is fresh. It's going to be worse r
|