The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-01-27

ing the horses over and inspecting the
wagons with new but mild curiosity,
awakened by Jeffries' proposal, De
Spain walked back toward the station.
He had virtually decided not to take
the job. Medicine Bend was his home.
He knew every man, woman and child
in the town. Before the tragic death
of his father, his mother had lived
there, and De Spain had grown up in
the town and gone to school there. He
was railroad man, anyway modest
trainmaster-and not eager for stage
line management.
AS he passed Grant street again he
encountered party on horseback
heading for the river bridge. Three
of the men were riding abreast and
little ahead. OF these, the middle
horseman was spare man of frankly
disreputable air. His face was drawn
up into a one-sided smile. Satt Nor
gan's smile was habitual and lessened
his stern aspect. At his right rode his
cousin, Duke Morgan, older, shorter
and stouter. His square, heavy-jawed,
smooth-shaven face was lighted by
hard, keen eyes, and finished by an I'M
compromising chin. Duke was the real
head of the clan, of which there were
numerous branches in the Superstition
mountains, all looking with friendli-
ness or enmity to the Morgans of Nor
gan's gap.
The yellow-haired man riding on the
left, with a red face and red-lidded,
squirting eyes, showed none of the
blood of his companions. But David
Sassoon, the Calabasas gambler, quon-
dam cowboy, and chronic brawler,
stood in some way close to the differ
ent Morgans, and was reputed to have
got each Of them, at different times,
out Of more than one troublesome af-
fair, either by sheer force of arms, or
through his resourceful cunning.
These men were followed by young
er man riding with very young wom-
an. De Spain knew none of the 'front.'
rank men, but he knew well Nan Nor
gan and her dancing partner. Gales
face lighted as he set eyes on De Spain,
and he spoke quickly to Nan: There's
your handsome Medicine Bend gum
man.
Nan, glancing toward De Spain,
seemed aware that he heard. She
looked away. De Spain frightened up
with rage. The blood rushed to his
face, the sarcasm struck in. If the
birthmark could have deepened with
humiliation it would have done so at
the instant, Of the cold. inspection Of
the girls pretty eyes. Gale, calling
ahead to the others, invited their at
tention to the man on the street cor
ner. De Spain only stood still, re-
turning their inspection as insolently
as silence could. Each face was faith
fully photographed and filed In his
memory, and his steady gaze followed
them until they rode down the hill and
clattered jauntily out on the swaying
suspension bridge that still crosses the
Rat river at Grant street, and con-
meets the whole south countryside
Spanish sinks, the Thief River gold
fields, the saw-toothed Superstition
range, Morgan's gap, and Music noun
tain with Sleepy Cat and the railroad.
De Spain, walking down Grant
street, watched the party disappear
among the hills across the river. The
encounter had stirred him. He already
hated the Morgans, at least all except
the blue-eyed girl, and she, it was not
difficult to divine from her expression,
was, at least, disdainful of her morn
ing rival.
Reaching the station platform while
still busy with his thoughts, De Spain
encountered Jeffries and Lefever.
"Jeffries, I'll take that Thief River
stage job" announced De Spain bluntly.
whats the reason that fellow
changed his mind?" demanded Jeffries,
when Leftover Joined him later In bis
office.
'sDon't ask me-" frcwned Lefever
perplexed. Don't ask me. Henry is
odd in some ways. You can't tell
what's going on inside that fellows
head by looking at the outside of it.
Jeffries grunted coldly at this bit OF
wisdom. "Tll tell you what I should
think--if ! had to think: Henry de
Spain has never found out rightly who
was responsible for the death of his
father. Iie expects to do it, some
time; and long ago some of these same
Morgans lived on the Peace river above
his fathers ranch"