Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1917-07-19

thef discovess0 u0reovee, cool1o0-
ing ease u oeelng each Other. undo
tected By hostile eyes. gradually rem
dered the lovers less cautious In their
arrangements
DE Spain. naturally reckless. had
won In Nan Q girl hardly o con-
cerued. Sc~lf-reliant. both Of them,
and i~nstinctively visilant. they spent
30 much time together that Scott aud
Lefever. who. before a fortnight had
passed after Dukes return home. sur
missed that De Spain must be carry
Ing on some sort of a clandestine at
fair limiting toward the gap. only ques-
toned how long 1t would be before
something happened. and only hoped
It would not be, in their " word,
unpleasant. 1t was not theirs In any
case to admonlsh Dc Spain. nor to
dog the movements Of SO capable a
friend. ever when his safety was con-
cerned. SO long us he preferred to keep
his wi c9unsel-there are limits
within which no man welcomes unla-
vited assistance. And De Spain. 10
his long and frequent rides. his pro-
tracted absences, Indifference to the
details Of business and careless humor,
had evidently passed within these
limits.
What was stage traffic to him COM
pared to the sunshine on Mans hair !:
what attraction had schedules to offer
against a moment of her eyes: what
pleasing connection could there be be.
tween bad-order wheels and her low
laugh?
The two felt they must meet to dis.
cuss their constant %perplexitics and
the problems Of their difficult situa-
ton; but when they reached their
trysting places. there was more Of gay-
ETY. than gravity, more Of nonchalance
than concern, more Of looking into
each others hearts than looking into
the troublesome future. And there
was hardly an inviting spot within
miles of Music mountain that one or
the other Of the two had not waited
near. q
There were, Of course. disappoint.
ments, but there We're only n few fail
In their arrangements. The diff
culties of these fell chiehy on Nan.
How she overcame them was a source
of surprise to De Spain. who marveled
ut her innocent resource in escaping
the demands at home and making her
way, despite an array Of obstacles, to
distant Impotence.
Midway between Music mountain
and Sleepy Cat a low.lyins wall Of
rock, in part sand-covered and in
part exposed, parallels and sometimes
crosses the principal trail. This undu-
ridge was a favorite with De
Spain and Nan, because they could
ride in and out of hiding places with
out more than just leaving the trail
itself. To the west of this ridge, and
commanding 1t, rose rather more than
a mile away the one called Black Cap.
Suppose" said Nan one afternoon,
from De SPANS side toward
mountains, someone should be
on us from Black Capy" She
pointed to the solitary rock.
IF anyone has been, Nan, with a
good glass he must have seen ex-
changes Of confidence that would make
him gnash his teeth. l know if ! ever
saw anything like it Id go hang. But
the country around there is too rough
for a horse. Nobody even hides around
Black Cap, except some tramp hold-up
that's crowded In his getaway.
Bob Scott says there are dozens of
mountain lions over there"
But Sassoon had the unpleasant pa.
tience of a mountain lion and its dog.
ged persistence, and, hiding himself on
Black Cap, he made certain one day
Of what he had long been convinced
Nan was meeting De Spain.
The day after she had mentioned
Black Cap to her lover, Nan rode over
to Cnlabasas to get a bride mended.
back. she encountered Sas.
soon just inside the gap. Nan so
detested him that she never spoke
when she could avoid it. On his part,
he pretended not to see her rs she
When she reached home she
found her Uncle Duke and Gale stand.
ing in front of the fireplace in the liv-
ing room. The two appeared from
their manner to have been in Il heated
n that had stopped sud.
denly on her appearance. Both looked
at MN. The expression on their faces
forewarned her. She threw her quirt
on the table, drew or her riding
and began to unpin her hat
but she knew Il storm was impending.
Gale had been made for n long time
to know that he was IN unweicome
and Mans greeting Of him wns
he merest ~contemptuous nod. swell.
she said, glancing Mt Duke,
I'm late again. Have you had sup.
Duke always spoke CURLY; tonight
his heavy voice was as sharp US an
TX. "Been late a good deal lntely."
Nan laid her hat on the table, and, |
%composedly from one suspi-
face to the other, put her hands |
Up to arrange her hair. Pm going 10 |
.ry to do better. III 20 and get my
supper II you've had yours" She
toward the dining room.
Hold on!" Nan paused at her I'm.